#i really do love the art and design section of libraries so much
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good evening i just got home i had a really nice day!
#went to my friend's dorm and she loved the gifts and then we talked abt idk life and career prospects#she said she wants to go to art school too to study graphic design#another stem person who didn't consider art school until now#anyways then i went to the university library to find some inspiration for my website#amd i looked at a book of earrings it was so cool#i should go more often alhkdj#i really do love the art and design section of libraries so much#then i went grocery shopping and on the way back realized i need to buy a new bus pass...#i don't have money for that#also im not sure if i remembered to have breakfast before the psychiatrist appointment but im now starving#got some ready made risotto bc i do not have the energy to cook rn#thank you for listening to the details of my day 🫶
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tuesday again 6/6/2023
two things to frontload:
if you have good vibes to send off in service of me getting a livable apartment in the greater houston tx area i would be most grateful, bc the hunt ain't fuckin goin too fuckin great
go play ABZÛ
listening
soul bossa nova by quincy jones bc it popped up on my discover weekly. i can only assume spotify recced this to me for bossa nova reasons bc i have been categorically ignoring austin powers my entire life and intend to continue on in this fashion.
youtube
it is a bop tho.
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reading
when i wrote the pinned post for this blog i settled on "a common throughline in Shit What I Like is understanding how and why systems work" bc i hadn't yet listened to Well There's Your Problem, a podcast with slides about engineering disasters and systemic failures, and "OSHA aficionado" is shorter but less snappy than "WTYPP fan". anyway when i think "chemical spill" i do not generally think "hand sanitizer spill", and when i think "how do i get rid of all this unsellable poorly made hand sanitizer made in the early days of the pandemic" i do not immediately leap to "well i'll just dump pallets in this parking lot and warehouse and surely it won't spill and/or explode bc hand sanitizer is a product that makes you safer".
ArtNaturals was, at that point, not on the [FDA warning] list. Its sanitizer, labeled with a tasteful, millennial-friendly design that said it was vegan and infused with jojoba oil, was marketed as “safe for kids” and “a great bulk hand sanitizer pack for parents and teachers.” At least two school districts on the West Coast had purchased the sanitizer to distribute to students, in addition to two Ivy League universities. Then, in March 2021, a year into sales, an independent lab in Connecticut called Valisure announced that it had found benzene in the company’s sanitizer. Benzene, a widely used industrial chemical derived from petroleum, can be absorbed through the skin and is known to be a risk factor for leukemia.
came across it bc my rss feed really wanted me to subscribe to longreads (no), but this one did catch my eye as i was checking to make sure the site still wasn't for me
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watching
youtube
watching this was a unexpectedly funny experience bc i recognized one of the backing instrumentals as a previous tuesdaypost song, which kind of felt like solving a mystery book on chapter three bc u knew an obscure fact about eels. this documentary came out in nov 22 and the song was one of this past feb's tuesdaysongs so i can only assume the spike in popularity from the documentary propelled it onto my discover weekly playlist??? the internet is a series of algorithmic tubes &tc
this is a tremendous work, as a documentary/history/archival effort/piece of art. it made me tear up. there's a very lovely sequence about memory and legacy that got me thinking a lot again about how i would like to be remembered. ive rewritten this section four times, when usually i don't redraft the tuesdaypost much at all. boils down to: complex and weird topic to talk about as an orphan, i am reluctant to be any more emotionally vulnerable than i absolutely have to during this time of great cross-country change and moving upheaval.
i appreciated how this was not tearjerker webby bait, which would have made it feel very hollow and embittered me even more during a week i am already predisposed to hate humanity. instead, mr perjurer is simply very good at his job (being an ethical documentarian)
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playing
one game i really loved and one game i really hated, so it goes.
despite religiously downloading the epic store free game of the week bc i have a reminder written in my planner, i never fucking remember to actually look at what i have in that library.
ABZÛ genuinely healed my heart during a very unpleasant weekend.
i don't use this as a recs platform except for this one time when i am cashing in all my chips. go play ABZÛ, it takes like an hour and a half.
all you need to know about it you can get from the cover art. it is not a hard game and it is not a horror game. i went in totally blind and the less you know about this game the better. i was delighted nearly every minute. every time i saw an ammonite i felt like i was seeing an old friend. there are SO many clever game design choices i want to talk about. message me after you play this. i said "of COURSE IT WAS AUSTIN FUCKING WINTORY ON THE SCORE" during the credits. what an absolutely goddamn perfect little jewel of a game.
AGAIN: go play ABZÛ.
youtube
i also played Call of the Sea, bc it was in my epic library and i wanted something fast and oceanic to continue the high of ABZÛ.
Call of the Sea did not continue the high of ABZÛ. i think this team carefully and thoughtfully sidestepped several of the usual issues is making something Lovecraftian but fell into the rest of the pits. eg i liked that they had Polynesian culture consultants, but from an interview it seemed like it was limited to a one-day crash course? i am deeply grateful this isn't a dead-wife game and the female protagonist has a great deal of agency, but she's still a rich white lady from boston trekking about the Tahitian islands commenting on primitive structures, which made me suck air in through my teeth at many points. there is an "ancient slave culture" thread that never actually resolves. i really wish it resolved. the game overall is in a very weird place, trapped between the norms and mores of the early 40s and the 2020s. you have Got to commit to one or the other.
the overall vibe is very polished for a first game. general vibes are Firewatch but puzzle-adventure. the lighting is a little too dynamic and was very distracting throughout. due to this studio's age (new) and odd location (spain) and how their debut game came out (took a year and a half to make, debuted on gamepass) i understand why this game exists the way it does from a marketing and industry standpoint and why they favored visual polish and art style over everything else. it's still annoying bc it is so close to an interesting game.
the twist particularly infuriated me as a chronically ill person, spoilers for the twist behind rot13
gur gjvfg vf gung Abenu gur cebgnt vf frpergyl n "Qnhtugre bs Pguhyuh", naq ure puebavp cebterffvat gb grezvany vyyarff vf op fur'f ba Rnegu naq abg va gur Urnirayl Ernyzf jvgu Pguhyh jurer fur orybatf. guvf frg bss fbzr fvyrag nynez oryyf gb zr nf n puebavpnyyl vyy crefba, op vg vf Fb fvzvyne gb gur Arj Ntr "vaqvtb puvyqera" pbaprcg. n terng qrny bs zrqvpny nohfr naq abezny nohfr fheebhaqf guvf pbaprcg. guvf ernyyl fbherq gur raqvat sbe zr
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making
fallow week. if it isn't moving-related it isn't happening, and even then a lot of moving-related things are grinding on painfully slowly
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Hey I noticed you talked about archiving in the tags of a post!! What do you archive?
Hi!!
I volunteer at one of the oldest public art museums in the US, specifically their library & archive department.
Since the museum's inception, the library and the archive were separate entities, with their own collections of "ephemera" (various documents that are meant to be discarded, but paint a crucial picture of the past; think menus, invitations, personal correspondence, receipts, etc.). However, they merged about 10 years ago, meaning that they have two HUGE collections that need to be collated.
My job is going through each of the "year boxes" for each of these departments and turn them into one box, while also sorting for organizations that have their own collections, things the museum had no hand in, things that are labelled wrong, all of that. Each department had a different approach & system for their organization. The library's boxes are a much more pared down collection, while the archive's boxes tend to be... Much more generous as to what they include, which isn't all that helpful, as these boxes are generally meant to be a chronology of the museum itself.
So, basically, I sit down with two overstuffed boxes. I take inventory of what they have, and start making folders. For example: let's say I find a folder in the library section labelled "Watercolor Exhibit | March 4, 1939". I go through the materials in there, seeing what they have, if they have extras (ie over 4) of certain items. Then I go through the archive box and see if it has anything the library folder is missing. I might end up with 7 programs/lists of pieces & 2 invitations. 3 programs go in the duplicate pile. I re-file it, and the process continues with every movie screening, every exhibit, every event (that the museum sponsored), organized by date.
It's a lot of work. I try to do one year at a time, but sometimes the library box will combine two years while the archives didn't, so I have 3 boxes to work with total. And dealing with literally hundreds of individual pieces of paper that need to be independently evaluated (and only having three hours a week to do it) is overwhelming.
It is one of the most rewarding and satisfying and fulfilling things I have ever done.
Here's some of the cool things I've come across: this is only a small sampling of the really interesting pieces of history I handle all the time!
One of the side effects of this is that I now have an intimate knowledge of this period of art history, but also graphic design. (Which is really cool to me, as someone who considered entering that field and still uses those skills all the time.) Like... Seeing the evolution of layouts, fonts, gimmicks, styles, just over the 15 years or so I've done, that's really cool.
Museums love their volunteers <3 They've been so kind to me over there and have really helped guide me towards the right direction in regards to my career... I'm a public librarian & a full time student right now, but I might lean towards more special collections/archiving in the future. Who knows.
Sorry this was really long, it's kind of a complicated gig!
Thank you!
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what’s in the gaang’s youtube history 📺
aang likes videos of people doing impressive skateboard tricks, video game speedruns, heartwarming videos titled smth like "WATCH THIS TO HAVE YOUR FAITH IN HUMANITY RESTORED", unlikely animal friends, cats being silly, puppies running around, comedy sketches with high production value, and whatever else 12 year old boys watch on youtube (lego??? minecraft??? pokemon??? i .... don't actually know)
katara is addicted to youtube almost as much as she is addicted to twitter. she watches so many longass videos on social/political issues and then tweets the creators about how one hour and forty three minutes into the video they stated an opinion that she personally disagreed with, and she demands an apology. she also loves elaborate makeup tutorials that she would never even bother to attempt to replicate (but she likes to think that maybe one day if she gets invited to the met gala, she now has some looks to choose from)
sokka's youtube library is extremely eclectic. he can't stop clicking on videos titled shit like "intro to particle physics" just to watch the entire thing and be like "why did i watch this i knew all that already." but yknow. he just had to make sure. he's a big fan of chris fleming, and he's made all his friends watch "gigi the christmas snake" multiple times. he's gone down a lot of rabbitholes in his day, but his personal favorite side of youtube is the videos of chemical reactions, especially the ones that end in an explosion.
toph occasionally enjoys listening to longass video essays about obscure topics, but mostly she just listens to podcasts. she’s also partial to this one video that’s just the sound of a chainsaw revving on a 10 hour loop, and she plays it at just the right volume that her parents will be like “what’s that awful noise?” to which she innocently responds “i don’t hear anything” and they’re like “oh no you must be able to hear it, it’s so annoying” and toph’s like “are you sure? it sounds normal to me.” she tries this on katara once, but katara gets so frustrated that she just yells “oh wow didn’t realize you were blind AND deaf” and that leads them to get in a very violent brawl in which toph’s nose is nearly broken, so she decides to limit this particular gambit to the company of her parents only.
zuko exclusively uses youtube to watch cute animal videos. otherwise, he's terrified he'll accidentally click on something that might potentially radicalize him, since he read somewhere that the algorithm was designed to do that, or worse, direct him to one of those content farm generated animations of elsa getting a c section, which is apparently also a concern. frankly, the internet scares him, and he tries to avoid it as much as possible.
suki watches npr tiny desks, kexp live, lofi hip hop anime beats to relax/study to, and best of vine compilations. anything on youtube that isn't music or shortform comedy simply does not interest her.
to boost her platform, ty lee decides to go on a reality show. she pretends to be a vapid airhead, but is actually very subtly manipulating not only the other contestants, but also the crew. she walks away from the whole experience with double the number of instagram followers (she already had a sizable amount) and a huge bag. anyway, azula goes through a phase of obsessively watching a lot of clips from. that
mai is indebted to the guy who reuploaded all the “patti reviews exotic animals” videos after they got taken down from the original channel. her favorite youtube video of all time though is nathan fielder thin watermelon. she rewatches it at least once a week
ty lee’s youtube history is just meditation playlists and also the goriest true crime stories she can find #justgirlythings <3
yue loves the artful simplicity of those animated tedx videos. they’ve led her down a lot of really interesting research rabbitholes. she promised katara she’d stop sending them to sokka though after he spent the next month telling her about nothing but eel mating habits and lesser known facts about genghis khan
iroh only uses youtube to watch recordings of tea ceremonies and isn’t even aware that there are other types of videos on the platform. ignorance is truly bliss
jet exclusively watches videos with the word “callout” in the title. the longer and more contrived, the better
#kyoshialone#asks#the gaang and#modern au#i guess#this ask was really hard because my knowledge of the content on youtube is very limited lmao#clearly i shouldve asked my brother what kids his age are into before trying to answer this
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The Myth of Persephone in "Punderworld."
Apparently it's been two years since I posted one of these. Technically I actually did read something a few months ago, a very short story called "Persephone Remembers The Pomegranates," but I found it so short and unmemorable that I forgot to even write about it. It felt like a fanfic someone was charging for instead of an actual story.
So let's talk about "Punderworld" instead.
I had heard of this one years ago and thought it looked cute, but I never really went beyond that. The other day though when I went to the library to work and completely forgot my computer, I decided to settle down in the graphic novel section to read a book I brought. But first I HAD to look through the shelves just in case there was something I needed to read there. I ended up checking out some books, and this was one of them.
This is definitely not a conventional retelling of the myth. In fact, after the first volume, the myth hasn't even been fully told. I expect there to be at least one or two more volumes.
The story starts with Hades talking to Zeus at a party for Artemis, which he is reluctantly at because he needed to ask Zeus a business question. At the same time, Persephone and her mom are fighting about how she won't let her go to the party, which spirals into how she won't let her live her own life. We find from these talks that Hades and Persephone met once when he went to get a cornucopia from Demeter and have only briefly seen each other since but they are both infatuated. Zeus decides to "help" by planting a trick by the lake when Seph lives. Hades rushes there to see a chariot that Persephone gets swept away by when she goes to inspect it. Hijinks ensue as the two have to land the thing in the River Styx and ultimately get separated. When he finds her, he tells her who he really is (Demeter had insisted he was a minor deity) and offers her a tour. She wants to go but says she needs to get home and then we see Demeter finding her bed empty.
It's kind of a lot of book for so little plot, but the good thing is that we get a really strong feeling for the characterization of everyone. Hades is pretty socially awkward in an endearing way and Persephone is strong willed and more straightforward (see also: flirty). Both of them are really hard working and reliable. I like the characterization a lot.
I also LOVE the artwork. I've seen a lot of good comic versions from an art perspective (like the Allison Shaw one or the George O'Connor one) but this one may be my favorite. There is a ton of thought put into the designs and at the end of this volume the author talks about why she made the choices she did. As a Greek myth nerd I already saw what she was doing, but it was great to see. I love the detail about how all the major deities have crowns that are unique to their domain and some change with their moods. There's also a lot of little details in the writing that show the author really did her research about ancient Greek customs and such and I really appreciate that.
Not judging too much since the story is probably not even halfway done, I will say I don't know how I feel about some of the changes. I like the idea of Hades not kidnapping her but the way in which they got to the underworld felt weirdly convoluted. I like that it put them in a position to have to work together (again, the characterization is very good) but it felt a little overwrought. I also think it worked to have them already knowing each other but I wish it had shied away from the "already in love and spoke once" trope just a bit. While you're changing stuff, why not just have them be interested and fall in love over the course of the book?
Either way, I will definitely keep reading these if they keep getting published.
But it could also use more puns.
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thief 2x was honestly really good and not excessively frustrating or gimmicky. it felt like a genuine expansion to thief with great level design. the voice acting was pretty good too and not too distracting. the story was okay and even had the classic thief 'boring last level in another dimension' thing. but hey it was not as bad as Escape!
i still reaslly hated the zombie levels but thankfully there was only 2 of them and only 1 i would call actively frustrating. the rest (except the last mission as is tradition) are very good and creative!
Unexpected Shelter:
literally the first mission and i had to look up a walkthrough. this is probably bec\ause im stupid but oh well. it was pretty unique and i liked the rain effects OOh actually this mod has rain and snow which is really fun. i wish they did more with the snow though because its an interesting concept for a thief game. not much of note on this level
The Trials That Shape Us:
i knew on this level that this mod was Great. very fun to play through and an interesting concept and really funny at times with interesting things to read on the way. i will say though some of the levels felt a little scarcely populated? though... i play by knocking Everybody out so its probably just my own faukt...sory..
While The City Sleeps:
literally so fun! by example of Life of the party we love city levels with all kinds of houses to explore. there was several fun ways to solve the level hovewer.... it felt weird that i could just break into the door instead of actually looking for an alternate solution... but its okay because doing all that stuff was fun anyways. also the scene with other thieves was really funny and enjoyable.
Shadowing The Enemy:
okay. i have to admit i did this level in probably the dumbest brute-force way. this level is interesting for me to see alternate solutions for because there surely is other stuff i can do to get into the train. the section inside of the train was sooo fun and enjoyable and creative too !
The Redistribution Game:
its okay. i was confused and had to look up a guide because i went through the whole level but still somehow missed a lockpick...
A Question Of Knowledge:
it was fun but i was confused at the very end as to where the library was so i had to look up a walkthrough again but otherwise great exploration and map design
Down Among Dead Men:
its a zombie level. i had to consult the walkthrough really often and i just dont enjoy the zombie levels !
The Art Of Deception:
it was fun! i actually thought it would be way longer though
Into The Fray:
this was a little frustrating because sneaking was basically impossible at times and i even had to kill npcs which i Never do in a thief game... but at least it was short
…of Ill Repute:
Great level overall but once again i was confused at the very end and had to look for help. aside from that it had a lot of highlight memorable moments
The Grand Hotel:
FUN! but a bit confusing with the layout. by the end of the mission i was basically running around the map with everyone knocked out looking for whagt i was supposed to be doing. but, its fun to explore!
also t2x had really really great cutscenes. they made the things karras was doing even more horrific than they were in the original game... wheeew..
The Cure:
zombie level with scary floating heads. i did not like it and had to basically follow a guide to a T
Betrayal:
Classic underwhelming last mission of a thief game. it wasnt as bad as the several last missions of thief 1 but still.
overall very much worth playing and replaying ! i think ill play cosas missions next
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Week 1.1 SDL
Part C: Compile images and information about 3 case studies that are inspiring to you.
Case Study One:
https://bestawards.co.nz/public-good-award/student-public-good/thomas-mackisack/spot-check-1/
Thomas Masckisack - Spot Check
“More New Zealanders die from melanoma than on our roads. If melanoma occurs, early diagnosis is essential to survival. SPOT CHECK is a personal skin cancer detection system. Combining the power of advanced camera hardware & artificial intelligence, it can identify and track suspicious spots– catching melanoma before it’s too late.”
My thoughts:
I was looking at the best awards website under the public awards section for 2022. And I came across this that was very inspiring to me. Being someone that loves summer and loves to tan in the summer but forgets to reapply sunblock I have times where the idea of melanoma has crossed my mind. It’s very cool and interesting to see how he has developed this whole idea and device for someone to be able to detect if they do have melanoma. It seems to be a product that I’ve never really seen before. Being so easy an accessible it’s insane to me to see how he has compiled this invention. It makes it easy for doctors to use or even for the day to day person to use it when needed. I feel like having something easy, quick and efficient is extremely needed in this society.
Case Study Two:
https://bestawards.co.nz/public-good-award/student-public-good/aut-art-design/big-deal-so-what/
Jenna Billman - Big Deal! So what?
“Why is it we live in a world that is so diverse, yet we are constantly judged if we don’t follow the ‘norms’ of society?”
My thoughts:
Firstly I was so captured by the font and the imagery. Especially the colours and the simple drawings. Being something that is so simple yet so effective is something that really captured my intentions. After reading further in the description I saw that this was quite a unique idea. Looking at the idea of how if we don’t follow these social norms we are so easily judged by whoever. Being something that I have experienced and I’m sure a lot of people as well have. I really loved her idea of how it was a poster but within the poster there was multiple of stickers. This made the poster so much more interactive and people walking by that related to the heading/idea could contribute and grab a sticker. I really loved this idea!!
Case Study Three:
https://bestawards.co.nz/public-good-award/student-public-good/aut-art-design/blus-backpack/
Kendra Smith - Blus Backpack
“Blu’s Backpack is an illustrative and informative picture book that follows along with a character, Blu, who has Autism. The brand project intends to help support and raise awareness about Autism among primary school children. The illustrative picture book brings knowledge and educational help to children who have been recently diagnosed and are struggling to understand the disorder. Arguably, there seem to be limited educational resources or picture books specifically aimed at Autistic children and this is something I want to create to help that gap in the market. The book tells Blu’s story and everything he stores in his backpack that helps him to go about his daily successes and struggles with Autism. I created ‘Blu’ as someone who young children could relate and be identified with and feel as though they are not alone or different.
The book contains 14 pages of illustrations and information told through a playful perspective, steering away from a clinical approach. My production and creation techniques consisted of surveys and interviews with families to gain the correct knowledge and terminology. Methods of storyboarding, drawing and illustrating of ‘Blu’ were combined to create the final picture book. This picture book would be distributed at clinics, paediatrician offices, libraries and schools for parents, families and children.”
My thoughts:
First impressions I thought this ideas was soooo sweet. I loved how it she went for more of a playful approach rather than a more medical approach. And it being a source that young kids can easily relate to that have Autism. I really love the story telling idea and having it as a picture book. I also really love the illustrative approach they look it’s very playful and light. I also really love the contrast between the blue to beige to orange colours they chose. Overall it’s such a cool idea for children with Autism to be able to look at a book where they can relate too because not all children books have this!!!
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until dawn - ljn
part I | part II
⤑ summary: basic number one rule of the museum is not to touch the art. but no one told jeno that falling for one of them isn’t allowed either.
⤑ pairing: jeno x female reader
⤑ word count: 14k
⤑ genre: fluff, humor, angst | broke architecture major!jeno, historical figure!reader, college!au
⤑ warnings: jaemin mentions onlyfans as a joke, references to actual historical figures (some try to flirt with jeno lol) and literature, explicit language
⤑ author’s note: wow, i’ve had this idea for almost two years! this one was inspired by one of my favorite childhood movies, night at the museum. it definitely required a lot of research and brainstorming, and finally i brought it to life! it was so fun to play around with the characters, and even if majority of them are real people, this is all still fiction.
i also wanna mention one of my moots, marge for enlightening me about her life as an architecture major.
⤑ taglist: @renjunniehome (dm me if you want to be added)
⤑ leave me some feedback, constructive criticism or hellos!
Dormitory rent was another thing to worry about aside from the inflated university tuition per semester. Although he’s lucky to have his parents backing him up already on it, paying the monthly rent for his dorm was the remaining objective on Jeno’s list.
Plus, money for food. The man was a heavy eater, following the whole “gym is life” mantra.
Splitting it already with two of his dorm mates turned best friends, Renjun and Jaemin, his plate felt lighter. But the question still lies: where on earth was he going to get the money?
He’s practically checked out every available part-timing job in university and anywhere near campus. Barista at the same café Jaemin works at, teaching assistant for an art school for kids, convenience store cashier, library assistant, all taken in a heartbeat. The burden of his friends paying his debt these past months took a toll on him, almost to the point he almost considered making an Onlyfans.
“Yah, just find something else! Part-timers are in demand right now!” Renjun intensely closed his laptop before his older friend gets any suggestive thoughts.
“I mean, you didn’t work out your body to look the way it is for nothing.” Jaemin pitched otherwise, lifting the front back up. “When do you want to start filming? Loads of chicks would dig a piece of you!”
The contradicting opinions of his friends were like the devil and angel debating on his shoulders. Useless, he gave this worry a rest and returned to drawing new plates. A common thing when you’re an architecture major. Those deadlines were nearing. Looks like he’ll pull another all-nighter again.
Good thing most of his classes were late in the morning until 6 pm.
As if someone from above heard his petition, Jeno saw a help wanted sign posted on the bulletin board outside of the university museum. He initially went there to document some artwork and architecture models from Greek and Roman times, further analyzing how they’re still apparent in modern buildings.
The sign explained the need for one part-timer from any college to cover the night shift of the museum due to the current night guard’s full semester absence. He only had to come in 3x a week, choosing his days since he was still a student. Even the pay was above average, considering that most part-timers never go beyond midnight. Jeno would, on the other hand, always staying for his projects or gaming with the boys. Drinking sometimes during late-night Fridays with his entire college crew.
The pay would leave him a load of extra cash for himself, thus he sent an application to the museum office right before he left. A week later, while he was out with the boys, he got a text from the office that they wanted to meet him again for a final interview first thing on Monday.
Perhaps it was having architecture as his course and a healthy physique that landed him the part-timer position. Mainly, the latter because guards required strong endurance and fighting skills when worse comes to worst. It would start at 9 pm until 6 am the following day, and there was a designated uniform of it too. Blue blazer with matching trousers, white dress top, and loafers.
Aside from the typical museum etiquette the head director instructed him about, there was an unofficial list of tips written on paper given from the night guard on leave when the director handed you over his box of office-related things.
Only read at the night guard office once you’re the remaining staff left.
He did as he was told like an obedient son, flipping the succeeding page.
To my temporary replacement,
This part-timing job is nothing regular than the other jobs. You’ll witness things as you’ve never imagined them to be, almost like witchcraft. You’ll be lost and maybe frightened, or that’s how I felt the first time because no one led me through it all those years ago. Lucky for you, I made this small guide on how to properly take care of the place that the other staff doesn’t know about.
Before you proceed, I request you take a 5-minute stroll around the lobby first to understand what I’m talking about. After such, go back to the office or somewhere quiet then browse through the guide as quickly as you could.
Art is timeless here, so they need to be taken care of.
Good luck!
Park Sanghoon
Night Guard on Leave
Nothing could’ve prepared Jeno for what’s to come once he unlocked the office door. They say that art brings so much color to our life, allowing us to feel all sorts of emotions in a glimpse. But no one ever interpreted art to be literally alive and walking in the halls.
Behold, random wax figures and marble sculptures that he’s seen in the past roamed the hallways, as well as the paintings were interacting with each other side by side. Even the standee of a puppy from the entrance played fetch with one of those sculptures. He swore he looked like Hermes the messenger god from his arrow headpiece and sandals.
It made more sense why the guard on leave explained his feelings during the first day because it resembled Jeno’s. But unlike that guard, Jeno sucked it up. No one ever does well on the first day, even if others say otherwise. The first day was a learning experience, so he collected his thoughts even though the goosebumps triggered his body during that one rotation.
There was an indoor garden, already locked by the day guard earlier. The only room without any art piece, where students lounge to study the plants or relax in nature.
The sculptures section ahead, showcasing various fictional figures specifically from Greek mythology, chattered away about family drama and beliefs. The sculptures of Hades and Zeus, according to their title plate, argued relentlessly about power while Athena always intervened by shouting or even throwing arrows or daggers to any of the lightbulbs there.
That was one rule in the guide, but Jeno didn’t know yet until he came inside the room and swerved the attention of the arguing duo.
“Well, what do we have here?” Zeus, in the center, straightened his posture on his throne to present himself in a more regal way. “Are you perhaps the temporary replacement of Sir Sanghoon?”
“Sir Sanghoon’s stand-in is rather good looking, don’t you think?” Hera mused, stepping down from her throne beside Zeus to take a closer look at the taller male. Her cold fingers trailed his jaw until his chest, where his heart was beating intensely. She even pinched his toned bicep, mouthing wow.
“Truly handsome you are, my dear. So full of life, please introduce yourself to us.”
While Jeno introduced himself to everyone in that room, he answered any sorts of questions they had for him too. From his age, educational background, hobbies, Aphrodite just had to ask him if he had a girlfriend because he was that handsome.
“Nope, I’m single. With my degree in architecture, the requirements are so heavy I can’t even try dating.”
Mentioning his degree excited the gods, telling him how their people created and designed all these temples to house them and perform rituals. They loved it so much. This was a copy-paste of what Jeno learned from his history classes, and for a first, he’s hearing the perspective of the Greek gods.
Mind-boggling that he hasn’t fully freaked out yet. That’s what Athena anticipated when Sanghoon told her about his short leave, putting her in charge of everyone for the meantime while the replacement settled down.
The college museum was built during the late 70s as a gift from one of the alumni. It was for the purpose to preserve history and educate college students outside the classroom. The Greek mythology exhibit was the oldest one, making Athena have more seniority. Over her stay, she’s seen every new guard lose their senses during the first night. Some not even returning for a second night. She got used to every outcome, and so far, only 8 people lasted after the first night. A couple of students in the 70s and 80s, Sanghoon in the 90s, and now Jeno was one of them.
“Jeno, aren’t you terrified by us? You just got a job in a museum that comes to life every night, and it’s not a normal thing.”
“Well, I’m still shaken up about it. But it’s my first night, and it’s when I learn everything about the place from head to toe. Plus, I really need the money.”
“Money for what? But you’re young, a student even!”
“Yes, I am. However, I do pay for the rent in my dorm. So, this job is like my first big responsibility, and I want to perform well.”
Athena commended his sense of authority, capable of leading himself. She noticed how well-spoken and poised he is, respecting and listening to everything the gods and goddesses said even if they were nonsense. She never liked to compromise with her power, taking a while to like Sanghoon back in the day. Though Jeno looked like a natural leader on his first night. If he could take care of himself well, he’s skilled to take care of the rest in the museum as well.
Plus she had full control on the nights he won’t be there, especially the weekend.
With his potential, Athena mentored him the entire night about the gist of the entire museum. Every upcoming leader needs an intelligent mentor, right? She was naturally gifted with worthy leadership skills, managing Jeno like her own child.
Athena explained how the museum came to life, which was through a royal golden plate from the Oriental room. It was a gift from a popular sorceress in China to an affluent family from the Han dynasty, who wished them a long life after she was saved from invaders due to them. The plate preserved over time, becoming an artifact. Its power remained immortal, mutating to bring life wherever it goes. In this case, the museum since its arrival in the late 70s as well.
“That’s why the Oriental room must be locked always so no one could touch or break the plate.”
After she ordered Jeno to lock the mentioned room, alongside the Foreign Art Exhibit Room which he checked out for his class, she led him to the best view of the entire museum. Center of the second floor, where stairs were on both sides. Jeno marveled at the vivacious atmosphere, witnessing actual art living, breathing, and enjoying themselves.
“Unreal, right?” She leaned in the railing, scanning through the chatty paintings.
Jeno also leaned down, deep in thought and wonder. “Absolutely, Athena. How come no one knows about this? Art coming to life? It’ll invite more students to the museum.”
“That goes against a golden rule as a night guard in this museum.” She replied bluntly. “The life that goes on inside this museum at night must remain a secret to the public.”
Jeno predicted this kind of response, having watched too many films where anything supernatural mustn’t be revealed. Although he liked the advantage of knowing something this powerful, he’d never abuse it.
Athena’s intellect was beyond the world, seamlessly reading Jeno’s expression and what he was thinking. He had good intentions even if he’s a bit mischievous. She needed to keep a keen eye on him, but for now, he needed to explore on his own.
“Anyways, Sanghoon still left out some other details. So if you have any questions, I’ll be at my exhibit trying to shut my father and my uncle up again.”
“Can you not use any weapons to do so?”
“Can’t make any promises, Jeno.” She slyly cracked her knuckles and neck as if she was fighting another battle.
Jeno was silently left with himself, finally browsing through Sanghoon’s guide while seated in one of the museum benches.
It consisted of 25 rules, wherein the first two rules consisted of locking up. One, for the doors and gates of the museum, so no art piece could escape. If they do, they will turn into dust when the sun is out according to Athena. Two, locking the Oriental and Foreign Art Rooms, which was already done.
Rule #5: Let Mochi the puppy from the lobby tag along with you; feed him treats if you have any.
On cue, the little guy barked from the corridor and raced to his side. Jeno carried him, babying him for a little and letting him lick his face a few times before putting him back down. He’s surely going to the pet store first thing in the morning with the museum allowance the director gave him.
Since he was on the second floor, he read and followed the rules that fit in before returning downstairs. On the other side of the floor were the wax figures exhibitions: one for prominent men in history while the other for prominent women. Well, more people to get acquainted with.
It’s the exchange of gasps and profanities he received when he chose the latter room. Seeing their faces, these were women he’s learned in school and online. Now in the (fake) flesh. Except for one girl he’s never heard of, unbothered in her corner sketching her life away in a sketchpad. But before he could check who she was, a suggestive touch on his arm distracted him.
“My, oh my, Hera wasn’t lying when she said that the new night guard was a fine specimen.” By her dark blue eyeshadow and eyeliner with the snake-like crown, Cleopatra studied him like he was one of the most renowned art pieces. Even patting his chest, abdomen, and arms with both her hand, Jeno caught a suggestive glint in her eyes and a smirk across her red lips.
Rule #13: Reject Cleopatra’s seductive advances at all costs.
“Goodness, Cleopatra. It’s only his first night, and you’re scaring him.” With her accent, round eyes, and a chic formal outfit, she carried a posh aura while unhesitatingly scolding the Queen of the Nile.
“Come on now, Diana. He’s stunning, who wouldn’t go after him?” If no one knew her, you’re not reading up on your world history. She’s said to have been a lovely and intelligent woman, gone so soon. Jeno definitely understood why after she detached Cleopatra’s raging hands off him.
Rule #14: Treat Princess Diana and Hera like your own parent.
“Your highness.” Jeno nodded at her out of respect, only making her chuckle uncontrollably.
“No need to address me like that, love. Now, come here.” She widened her arms for Jeno, hugging him amiably. He sensed her motherly warmth, accepting such a gesture. “You remind me so much of my youngest son, Harry. Welcome to the night shift of the museum, love.”
Similar to the Greek mythology exhibit, he introduced himself and responded to any questions that the women wax figures may have. Good for him, they weren’t crossing any borders and kept him at ease.
“A student like you working at night to pay rent?” Katherine Johnson, an African-American NASA mathematician whose calculations led to the success of a lot of famous spaceflights, cannot believe her ears. Students must only focus on school, nothing else. “What about your studies, boy?”
Rule #15: Engage in academic discussions with Katherine Johnson whenever you can.
“Most of my classes are in the afternoon, Miss Katherine. So I’ll sleep in the entire morning later and study during my breaks.”
“Mr. Jeno, what do you like to do outside of work?” Anne Frank, a German-Dutch teenager whose revolutionary diary that documented her life in hiding from the Nazis gained popularity worldwide after publication dreamily asked from her section of the exhibit. Her life was robbed of greatness merely because of her religion and war.
Rule #16: Bring delicious food or gifts to Anne Frank.
“Well, I like to bike with my friends, exercise, and draw whatever comes into mind!”
Everyone he’s met so far acquired pleasure in knowing about who he was and his passion for architecture, ridding the “freaking out” phase Athena assumed he had. Yet not everyone in this exhibit bothered to give him a shot.
Jeno’s attention from Anne talking about her crush towards Peter van Daan, a teenage boy who lived with her, switched to the section beside her, where an unacquainted figure was zealously sketching as if something was due to the following day. It reflected how he’d look when he’s cramming one of his plates due to first thing in the morning. While he properly excused himself, he quietly gazed at the way this woman scrunched her eyebrows when she erased something then drew it again. She was someone he’s never seen or heard before, reading the information plate in front of him about her.
(Y/N) (Y/L/N), Explorer and Author. (1854-1900)
Wealthy women in the Victorian Era only served one purpose in society: marry a man from a prestigious family, have his children and join whatever interests they have. However, for (Y/N), she wasn’t going to conform to those standards.
Born into the affluent house of (Y/L/N), she was the youngest of 8 children. She was said to be the kindest and sweetest sibling out of everyone, not capable of hurting anyone or anything. She said it herself that she can’t throw away a dying flower because it’s too painful. While 5 of her older brothers were sent to school, she stayed at home with her 2 older sisters Cecilia and Amelia where she learned how to play the piano and take voice lessons from impressive teachers. Due to the huge age gaps between them (12 and 8 respectively), she never felt close with them. She was only closest to the 6th and 7th siblings, her twin brothers Benjamin and Liam whom she only had a 2-year gap. She was also best friends with one of the scullery maids her age, Lily, because she found her amusing that than the boring rich girls her mother forced to interact with.
The moment it bothered her that she wanted to live a more meaningful life was when Amelia got married. She was 12 years old at the time, and it left her as the last unwed daughter in the family. Badly did she want to revolt, which she gradually did. Instead of practicing piano, she’d sneak in to read every book in her father’s office. She secretly studied the notes of her older brothers from school and even dressed as a boy numerously thanks to Benjamin and Liam to join their classes or field trips.
This was her routine up until the age of 18 when she stomped her foot down and expressed to her parents that she wasn’t going to let Victorian society dictate her. The night before her parents were bound to send her to her great aunt’s home down South to sort her out, she successfully snuck out her house thanks to Lily, Benjamin, and Liam. It’s another good thing that she saved a lot of money for that moment.
Off she went across Europe first, then sailed to America and even parts of Asia. Initially under the name Lilibe, coined from picking the first two letters of her brothers and best friend, she documented her days and nights through her journals and sketches. Over time, she sent them to her brothers for publication. It started the franchise, “The Adventures of the Young and Free Lilibe”. There are 10 books under it.
She learned French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean by herself as she made friends from those places. It was rare of someone like her to be fluent in Oriental languages, surprising locals every time she spoke to them. She was the only explorer to vividly describe life in different Asian lands in English, talking about their history and culture. With her accurate drawings of diverse citizens and their daily lives, it educated a lot of those living back home in Europe about them rather than speaking lowly of them.
In Seoul did she stayed the longest until her death from pneumonia at the young age of 46.
In her posthumous work, Finding Me, did she reveal her real identity, dedicating it to her parents whom she apologized and expressed her love for them despite everything that occurred between them. She talked about the last years of her life in Seoul, how locals were so nice and inviting to her, and how she adopted kids instead of having her own through the years.
“It’s not because I never found love in men. It’s more like I found love in doing things I’m passionate about. Traveling, learning new cultures, it outweighed the human need of romance.”
Due to her thrill in taking risks and embarking on wondrous adventures, it brought inspiration to a lot of young girls pressured to marry at that time to pursue what they really want.
A remarkable background you had, Jeno contemplated. How come no one discussed her in his classes?
You kept brushing the bangs of your hair back as it fell repeatedly. But you got irritated instantly because it sabotaged your drive, you brought out a hairpin from her desk and attached it on both sides. But when you shifted your angle of focus, the corner of your eye locked with Jeno’s attentive gaze.
He didn’t flinch, even he should’ve. He wasn’t one to linger his look on anyone’s physical appearances, but your story and the passion on your face as you sketched mesmerized him. He was charmed, to say the least.
“Uhm, hello there?” You broke the silence due to your uneasiness about it. What’s his deal?
Jeno bowed, reintroducing himself to you. As soon as his presence settled in the room when Cleopatra attempted to hit on him, you could’ve cared less. Though this man was a first for you, a first in a long time as all guards would feel intimidated by you during the first night. Even your sharp tongue didn’t faze him. “Staring is rude, sir. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”
“She did,” He wandered through the exterior of your section, by the fence that separated you and him. Not breaking eye contact, his eyes turned into moon crescents as he smirked with trouble. “Though she also told me to appreciate the art too.”
Snorts noisily exhaled from Cleopatra, who took the center section of the exhibit, succeeded by Princess Diana’s whispered gasps and Katherine’s side-eyeing Anne beside her while she taught her math. That was an odd way a guard conversed with you, but Jeno was merely doing what the rules stated. Partly, he was impressed with his cheesy pick-up line, partly embarrassed because he’s never spoken like this to anyone.
Rule #17: Act playfully around (Y/N) (Y/L/N) to break the tension; she’s a harsh one.
There was irony between the information he read about your life versus the wax model. Even when you faced sexism and ran away according to your history, never were you impolite to anyone in your life. You couldn’t even kill a lurking fly when it roams around your food! It showed Jeno a possibility that as much as you’re just a wax version of someone famous in the past, maybe the external environment around you had a heavy influence too.
“You fool!” His confidence exasperated you, urging you to persistently throw balls of paper with your failed sketches at him. No one dared to talk to you like that, most especially a night guard. “Take that for your comment!”
If you thought he’d scram away and act repentant, you were proven wrong. His reflexes were parallel to a spider, capturing every single paper ball without fail. Up and down his body went, one arm held on to them and no more were left on your part. Never a single defeat during the first meeting in years, but that seemed to alter now.
“Give up already, Ms. (Y/L/N)?” Jeno remarked vibrantly as he discarded your mess in the trash bin behind him. If he managed to get everyone to like him tonight, he wanted to make sure to have you onboard too.
Whatever agenda he had, you weren’t up for it. You’d treat him the same way you usually treated Sanghoon for the past 20 something years: cold and ignorant. From your stool, you left your comfortable position to come face to face with this man. He better be grateful for that barrier in between you, or else you would’ve caused mayhem.
“Never in your wildest dreams, Mr. Lee.” Your mouth gave a half-smile, clenching on the bars to liberate your annoyance. Before you could fend back, that’s when Princess Diana intervened between your heated dialogue.
“Oh heavens, children!” She stood by the barrier, mostly to protect the newbie Jeno with her body. “(Y/N), he just wanted to know you. Must you be so cross?”
This Princess Diana embodied all the traits the real one had: soft-spoken, intelligent, and protective. She’s gotten so used to your gradual temper, staying on standby whenever anyone tried to mess with you. Even if it was harmless, you could get so mean!
“Diana, he was mocking me! Saying such a sleazy phrase as if to amuse me, ha! Not a chance, I hate people like that.”
“Not us women though; you just despise men in general.”
“And you’re absolutely right!” With a smug smile, you greedily rejoiced. “Anyways, escort this disgrace out. I’m not in the mood to get angry when I have a lot of inspiration on mind right now.”
While you resumed your sketching to let go of that extra steam, Jeno was left with Diana who apologized on your behalf. Your pride was too high to do that, and as the motherly figure among them, she always took care of things in your exhibit.
“I’m so sorry for that, Jeno. She’s not really like this, but I know how much you tried your best. It was quite a fresh spectacle honestly.”
Whatever was responsible for your abrasiveness, Jeno yearned to know. He couldn’t understand who you were yet even knowing your life story. All he wanted was to get along with everyone. It was the key to successfully maintain his job for the next 6 months.
“How can I make her come around then?”
A demanding question that no one had a solid answer to. Diana recalled how much Sanghoon didn’t let your dislike for him get to him, maintaining a respectful boundary in between each other after his past attempts. Though with Jeno, observing how he riled you up and your focus entirely on him, she hasn’t seen anything like it since the 80s.
There was something in Jeno that may just get you to warm up and return to your kind nature.
“Aside from acting playful, as Sanghoon recommended, I can think of two ways, love.” By the doors of her exhibit, where Jeno was already waltzing the corridor to visit other rooms, she suggested smartly. “One, argue back to her opinions. She hates whenever anyone tries to get her way, but boy, you’re just as wise as her. No one was brave enough to peeve on her until you came.”
“How about the second way?”
“Do your research, love. Aside from libraries, you have those small technology devices that allow you to search up anything.” She tousled Jeno’s brown locks as if it were her actual son’s. Some habits just don’t die when you do.
“Brush up on your history, Jeno. Not only will it help you with (Y/N), but it’ll serve purposefully with the other art pieces here.”
Boy, he was ready to crash in his bed for a few hours after all those interactions. His introverted nature required to be revitalized.
Towards the last hours of his shift, the art pieces who’ve strolled in the first floor lessened his plate by not leaving any major clutter behind. As if she listened to him, Athena didn’t break any lightbulbs too.
His main highlight would be meeting the men of the historical male section, who flaunted a more humorous ambiance. Freddie Mercury from Queen insisted he drink a glass of his wine and to bring more wine next time, which he denied since it would against Sanghoon’s rules. King Sejong the Great and Martin Luther King Jr. argued back and forth over the most random things (pineapple on pizza specifically), while Steve Jobs mediated whenever one crossed the line. Meanwhile, William Shakespeare was too preoccupied in his writing and speaking to himself about his books, wondering how to improve them.
During one of his breaks today, he multitasked drawing a new plate with his research on every art piece to know them better. He started with the exhibit of sculptures of the Greek gods and goddesses, which were Zeus, Hera, Hades, Athena, Hermes, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Artemis, Dionysus, and Circe. They weren’t the complete roster because the rest were in other museums across the globe, as said by Athena before sunrise. The majority of them he knew what they were in charge of, but the rest were foggy to his knowledge. Typing away and jotting notes down, he started downloading his favorite jazz songs too.
Rule # 4: Play jazz music to the paintings on the first floor so they can relax and dance within their frames.
Circe is a minor goddess, the daughter of the sun god Helios. She’s recognized for her versatility in incantations and herbs, capable of transforming people into animals. From Jeno’s perspective, she’s mostly within her space with her journals and magic wand, trying new spells or combinations of herbs. For the latter, he had to keep a closer eye on.
Rule #9: Don’t let Circe, god of potions, into the Oriental Room to get plants and herbs.
He discovered that Dionysus is the god of wine, happiness, and theatre. That’s why every god in the exhibit had full wine glasses during their gathering. It also added up why Freddie Mercury always comes to him when his bottles run empty, though he mustn’t go overboard.
Rule #18: Make sure Freddie Mercury doesn’t get too drunk from the wine of Dionysus; he might make numerous scenes if he does.
After his lone studying session, he took a short trip to the pet and convenience stores to buy food. He got a dumbfounded look from Jaemin back in the dorm room, who was studying for one of his quizzes in Biology in a couple of hours.
“Woah what’s with this stash? Is it for yourself or something?”
“The museum surprisingly has a lot of tasks needed to be done at night. And no, not from my wallet but the allowance they gave me before you get a heart attack.” Jeno plopped on his solo bed, covering his face with a pillow.
“Thank God.” A relaxed sigh escaped Jaemin’s lips, taking back his balled-up fists meant for his roommate. “I think I would’ve stormed that boring museum if they made your broke ass spend a cent.”
“Boring?” Jeno removed the cushion hastily, eyeing his busy and coffee-high roommate. The scent of black coffee from his mug spread in the room, assuming that this upcoming test was testing his roommate’s patience again.
Not even trying to look at Jeno while reviewing his handwritten notes, Jaemin continued giving his opinion. “Museum culture is dead, Jeno. Not everyone has the time to roam around one, plus people can always look up the artifacts online these days.”
People were entitled to their own opinions on numerous things, though Jeno begged to differ with his roommate’s. Especially after witnessing the magic of the night shift, you shouldn’t merely judge a book by its cover. In this case, you shouldn’t judge an artwork or art piece merely on its history and legacy.
Maybe because his roommate was in the science department, he thought this way. A lot of art students regularly visit the museum both for fun and for their classes, and Jeno was one of them. Though he was too sleepy to explain his side, he let it slide for now and snoozed throughout the late afternoon.
An hour before the start of his shift, Jeno promenaded the emptying museum to inspect anything else he might’ve missed out on from last night. There were two areas according to his rotation, both in the first floor.
One was the Diorama Room. Divided into 4 sections, highlighting some of the well-known ancient civilizations in world history. Ancient Egypt and Ancient China to your left, Ancient Rome and Ancient Maya to your right. They acted as if they were the actual people during those times, giving Jeno a laugh when they cracked jokes in between. Such tiny figures, yet the rule for them said otherwise.
Rule # 7: The small figurines in the Diorama Room are feisty, so make sure they don’t fight with one another again.
The remaining room left was the Theater Room. He’s never been here, though his art friends have for film festivals held by the university.
The interior of it was set to look like an actual cinema place you’d see in a mall. There was a mini lobby with a few posters of iconic films over the years. Singin’ in the Rain, Back to the Future, Titanic, those were some framed and hung on the wall. There were two other doors there: one leading to the chairs and the other where the movie projector was. The latter room was pretty riveting, wherein you can choose to watch old short films through an 88mm film projector or switch to a cd player for the newer releases.
Back to those posters, they weren’t an exception to the magic and a simple rule was left for Jeno to do.
Rule # 10: Chatter with the movie posters in the lobby of the Theater Room; they love meeting new faces.
Since there wasn’t anyone checking out the Art Rooms on the second floor, he closed them. Though as he was about to lock the Oriental Room, the ravishing plants around the royal plant appealed his interest. Said to hold magical properties from his research, Jeno was reminded of another rule to keep in mind for later.
Rule # 3: The fake flowers in the Oriental Room come to life too at night, so when no one is lurking, water it diligently.
Instead of lounging at Sanghoon’s office first, he brought his important items to the front desk of the lobby and continued sketching his plate. He wanted to watch the art come back alive with his two eyes. Usually, he’d have coffee when he does his work, but due to another crucial rule in the guide, he’d rather not take the risk.
Rule # 6: The lobby room can get rowdy, so keep any drinks away from important items.
On the dot, the cries and yawns from the art pieces around him reverberated. Closing his sketchpad, his night guard mode was on. Connecting his laptop on the aux cord of the museum speakers, he tapped play on his playlist of jazz music that’ll last for the entire shift duration. As the first notes flooded the entire vicinity, sounds of joy left the lips of each painting. Some were humming, dancing, and even singing along.
“You can never go wrong with Frank Sinatra!”
“This Jeno lad really did the heavens’ work quick!”
Having the sense of accomplishment on his sleeve, the small barks of his fluffy pal reached closer to him. As he kneeled to find him, he was only taken by surprise as Mochi excitedly jumped on him. Tumbling over, Jeno chuckled innocently as Mochi licked his face numerously. This puppy was friendly, easily liking everyone at first sight. He wasn’t as choosy like Daegal, the puppy of his friend Chenle studying Business Management.
Once he composed himself and cradling the dog like his own, he fed him a dog treat from the desk.
“Good boy, Mochi!” He rubbed his fur while the puppy happily munched on it, ready to fulfill more of his duties.
He skipped the Greek mythology exhibit since Athena was doing a good job not letting anyone go overboard with their powers, though he’ll check in again in a few hours. He met the posters of the theater room, who were celebrities he grew up watching on tv. Sanghoon was right; they were the kinder group in the entire museum because they were more laidback.
On to the second floor, all the female wax figures lounged by the male section due to another lecture from Shakespeare. Although the guide informed him that most of the time it could get boring, this lecture was more stimulating. On his platform, he elaborated with conviction the lines of one of his famous books, Romeo and Juliet. A must-read book back in his high school days, there’s no way Jeno could’ve missed that out.
From the looks of it, Jeno perceived that Shakespeare was performing spoken word poetry due to him reading only Romeo’s lines while Cleopatra read Juliet’s beside him. This kind of show was one of the sources of entertainment to these figures, so Jeno leaned by the side of the door to listen. After all, the famous author of it was a few feet away. Cleopatra channeled such a naïve character to her ability, absentmindedly saying as she clutched her chest.
“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”
“Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”
“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose-”
The flow of an engaged Cleopatra was abrupted by the loud yell from Shakespeare in front, specifically to an amused Jeno. “Jeno, my boy! Welcome back!”
Such an announcement diverted everyone’s attention to the back, some running to Jeno to give their respective greetings. It’s rare for everyone to feel at ease with a new guard, taking them weeks to approach them due to the intimidation. Though Jeno’s bright presence felt welcoming, so they accepted it. Perhaps it’s because of his youth, it reminded them of theirs too.
Shakespeare highly requested (or forced) Jeno to take his part as Romeo, intrigued to watch someone younger read his lines. Since most of the male wax figures were aged, it never satisfied Shakespeare so he jumped on this opportunity as quickly as he could. With the roaring cheers from the other figures, Jeno might as well give it a try. It wasn’t like his friends were here to clown him like they usually would if he did something humiliating.
Jeno shockingly liked this activity as he wasn’t much of a performer on stage, but someone who does the behind-the-scenes of it. He realized as he read the lines from the book Shakespeare asked him to follow along with why people held university-wide spoken word shows a few times per semester. He was no actor, but it’s delightful to have tried it at least once in his life.
“O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?” As if the edge of the platform was the balcony of Juliet (or Cleopatra rather), he knelt as he ardently spoke his lines. He’s emphasizing this rush of uncontrollable desire for her, rambling whatever he would do to get the girl.
“What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?” Cleopatra questioned from her chair, inching closer to the young boy. Even outside character will she attempt to charm Jeno, but Jeno was quick to catch it and kept his distance.
“The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.”
“I gave thee mine before thou didst request it, and yet I would it were to give again.”
“Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?”
“But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”
Everyone was condensed by their top-notch acting, as if this was the actual play unfolding before them. Jeno wasn’t so sure how he got himself in character without preparation, yet he felt what his character felt. He comprehended the material a lot better now than when he was still in high school.
However, there was always that one killjoy to ruin the heartfelt mood.
“How dumb is it to say that you’re in love after the first glance?” You opposed, putting the spotlight on you. This book was said to be a classic in literature, but as you matured physically and mentally, you could no longer agree with it. “Isn’t love the same thing that killed Romeo and Juliet in the end?”
Remembering what Princess Diana told him, he wasn’t going to let this pass. He wanted to give a piece of his mind too, caring less if the show must be paused. “Love is an emotion we don’t ask to feel. It’ll come to us when we least expect it, even when the timing of it can be crucial.”
“Of all the people Juliet could’ve gone for, it just had to be the enemy.” In all the years you’ve been brought to life, no one dared to test your opinions because they were aware of your intelligence, from the streets to the books. When someone bark, you’d bite back. Hard. “With all due respect, I love your works, Shakespeare. Yet the fate you’ve given these two at a young age was grave, could’ve you given them a better outcome or another character to love instead?”
“Giving them extra characters to love won’t address the horrific life fact that love can be dangerous. Regardless of what status you’re in, you can’t stop the attraction towards someone. The heart wants what it wants.” Jeno pressed his hand to his chest, pumping it a bit. Unknown to you and him, the audience found more entertainment in your argument. Anne, who was munching on the popcorn Jeno gave her earlier, passed the snack to Katherine who just couldn’t stop watching.
If this man wanted a challenge, you’re all ears. Who was he to compete with you? Was he not intelligent to know who you are?
“So are you insinuating that we just go with the flow? Be a slave to our emotions too and let them dictate our next motives?”
“Slave is such a strong word to use, (Y/N). But it’s not like we can’t choose who want to love because we actually can. In this case, Romeo chose Juliet and vice versa.”
“But what happens if the person you choose doesn’t choose you in return?”
“At least you tried your best, right? It’ll hurt like hell though, but it won’t last forever.” From his kneeling position, Jeno strutted his way with confidence. Trying not to let it mess with you, your extreme stare at him as if they’ll shoot lasers. Inches away from you, Jeno declared. “Love always has risks, that’s a given. Romeo and Juliet still tried and followed their hearts despite the downfall. But it was a needed downfall to get the message across.”
“No one would be that foolish to risk their lives for love though, right? Life is so precious, why would they do such a thing?”
“Even if they knew what their lives were without each other, they still preferred living a life where they were both in the picture. Therefore, they tried all they could that time because the regret of not doing anything at all carries a heavier burden.”
Whenever anyone argued with you, their debating points they spat back would further piss you off because most of the time, it never made sense. Back when this rude man told you to go home and be a wife in your earlier years of exploring, you civilly told him to fuck off, kicking his balls because he cornered you in an alley. For the first time, a man who tried to challenge you actually made sense. Was it because he lived in a modern time, where minds were more open? Because of the amount of sexism you faced in the past, you’ve turned a blind eye to the current period.
But your high pride maintained, not submitting into anything he said. “I still think it’s stupid to risk your life for love. There’s no such thing as having only one true love anyways, and you have to be alive to see it.”
“Fair point, but again, the feeling of regret and carrying it your entire life doesn’t fade easily. It’ll make you reflect on the what-ifs, and it’s heart-wrenching.” Jeno digressed, walking around you in circles. He’s intentionally trying to drive you mad, but he could care less. He wanted someone to put you in your place and open your mindset. “The question stands: would you rather try and go for it even knowing its risks or regret not even trying for the rest of your existence? Quite ironic for me to ask you that, don’t you think?”
Past the information board, Jeno researched more of your life history online. Your whole life was grounded on risks, from breaking the standards of your society, leaving your family and home country, to fending yourself from disrespectful men. Rather than living the original life expected from you, you chose not to because it didn’t make you happy. Such a risktaker he knew you are, but with the topic of love, he wondered why you were on a fence with it. Though some records stated you’ve had rendezvouses with a few men in your journeys, love was never in the equation. The single life was what you chose and you were more than satisfied, plus your adopted kids filled that supposed void anyways.
This man may have studied your history, but so much he still doesn’t know. Information that never made the books because you chose not to write or tell anyone about it. Aside from the discomfort growing in your chest, everyone else felt the awkward tension when you were lost for words.
Never been defeated in an argument, until tonight. Your mind lost its drive and willpower.
“Touché, Lee Jeno.” Indeed, his name you’re acquainted with. Numerously passed around in your exhibit, mostly from the lips of Cleopatra, who’d fantasize all the graphic things she would do to him. Too much information, least of your interest. “Please excuse me. I’d like to work on my sketches to ease my mind.”
As you quietly exited the room, an all too familiar sculpture leaned against the railings overseeing one side of the museum. Just like you, she hated accepting defeat or compromises. She always rooted for you to win. With a faint chuckle, “Facing a loss for the first time, I see.”
“Don’t even lecture me about it, Athena. I’m still fired up, and I need to relax.”
“Jeno is a different breed, isn’t he?” She stuck to your side, strolling wherever your feet led you.
“Different as in he’s a man? Yes. What else is there to it?”
“Men these days aren’t as trashy as those back in the day though. Shouldn’t you give him a chance?”
“Last time I did, it destroyed my heart. I’m not allowing myself to let men in even as a friend, Athena.”
She knew exactly what you were referring to, not touching on it further. No way will you let heartbreak or disappointment from men bother you. Even Sanghoon’s sweet company took a while to tolerate. You really needed to sketch this out on your pad right now, excusing yourself from Athena’s presence. Isolation wasn’t new to you; it’s what’s protecting your entire being. Immortal as you are, you had to recover from the past pain so the next decades won’t feel as brash.
You hoped to return to your old self when you were a fresh new figure in the 70s. So naïve, only proud of your accomplishments, and purely happy.
While Jeno continued to finish his scene in respect to Shakespeare, he received a standing ovation for his mini-show. Cleopatra didn’t expect such talent from him, growing fonder of the younger male. Whether she seduces him or not, he was never afraid to try new things and she liked that about him.
“Bravo, love!” Princess Diana praised, clapping at him.
Although Jeno appreciated all this positive attention, his thoughts bounced back to your and your stance on love. The debate earlier was just out of being playful, interested to hear your opinions. Though, he’s worried that he might’ve offended you. It may have been time to finally witness something like that, but then again, he was sure he touched something personal to you. No matter how you tried to fight it off, your eyes can’t lie. Staring down at him, there was pain beneath it. Your eyebrows scrunched to the center, thinking deeply yet remained utterly speechless.
A win he didn’t feel good about.
“It’s time she encountered something new in the years she’s been here. Give her some space tonight, then try again to reach out to her. Kindly this time; I’m not in the mood for another brawl that could end up like the Greek gods’ past fights downstairs.”
These clever words shared by Katherine loitered his mind for the rest of the night, eventually going back to finishing his current plate since everyone was behaving well. As great it is to get the approval of the majority, he tried brainstorming ways to make you like him too.
He understood the whole “men are trash” concept in today’s modern society, but if he could prove it wrong to at least one person, it would be you. Whatever is holding you back, he only hoped that you’d let it go. Questionably unsure as to why he was so persevering, he concluded that it was so he could perform his job better as the night guard. Set higher standards than Sanghoon even.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Weeks passed, and his attempts continued to be unsuccessful.
The capability for you to ignore his efforts remained strong, whether he was pestering you over small things or debating with you again about anything. Life, books, morals, the two of you always head butt each other. Anything good he did, you searched for a flaw in it. Whatever acts he’s tried and continued trying, not one flinch from you ever.
Even if that’s his state with you, his job no longer felt stressful nor strenuous. He’d try to sleep more on days he was off-duty. Although the fatigue of staying beyond his usual sleeping time was inevitable, he compromised to take a nap lasting an hour or two when the art pieces weren’t acting frisky.
Plus, there have been multiple times they adapted to any alterations so his physical well-being wouldn’t fall sick. Per order of Princess Diana and Hera, who by instinct became his motherly figures here, only wanting what’s best for the kids.
He became accustomed to everything that went on at night, discovering things on his own without Sanghoon’s guide. Anne talked about how much she missed biking in her neighborhood, so one night, Jeno snuck his bike inside and let her use it around the first floor. With proper monitoring so none of the paintings would be unbothered or pieces wouldn’t tumble.
Hermes the messenger god was fluent in every language possible, so every so often, Jeno would freely speak to him in Korean because sometimes he felt he could explode by the amount of English he used every night. Bilingual things, you know. He knew you were multilingual too, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t converse with you.
Because Jeno was heavily favored, that should’ve been enough to push through his night shifts before the end of the semester. In addition to that, the hourly rate was above the average of whatever Jaemin or Renjun was earning. For the past 2 months, Jeno paid upfront first, even paying back all his debts. It almost made Renjun want to switch jobs with him.
“Trust me, Renjun. You don’t want it, being the lowkey scaredy cat you are.”
Work no longer felt like work, and that’s what everyone aspired to feel. Nevertheless, he tended to worry over you mid-shift, glancing at you from his side view. Sketching, reading, and writing were your default actions. No matter how many times he said to himself not to let your dislike for him affect him, it’d always backfire.
Why were you so cold?
What made you lose your fire from all the research he did about your lively personality?
When morning arrived and he gathered his stuff, you’d be the last thing he’ll check on. Frozen in your standing pose, smiling as you held a book and a pencil, he detected how fake it was. Bystanders would only assume your happiness was from your achievements, though Jeno’s gut firmly pried that something grand overpowered that happiness. And definitely, not in a good way.
Out of all the art pieces, he investigated on you the most. Skimming through every material in the library, endless searching on the net, even asking professors from the History department thanks to Renjun, he did whatever he could. People may already think he was obsessed with who you are, but only little did they know.
Another plate was done and submitted, and he promised himself to look you up one last time before surrendering. For someone who’s rarely given up on a challenge, this one was really out of his control. Maybe he should follow Sanghoon’s footsteps now.
You lived centuries before him, and there’s limited material of you left. Rather than learning of your adventures again, he dug through what things you liked over your life. Maybe by giving one of them, it’ll lessen the tension from a 100 to 99. Maybe you preferred gifts over words, he’ll never know until he tried.
Boom.
According to one of your journal entries, there’s a fond liking you’ve acquired for lavender roses from Benjamin and Liam when they visited you in Paris in secret because of how much you missed them. It went both ways, praying your family ties could be recovered.
It’s a good thing he needed to refill his stock of items for the art pieces so he could pass by the flower store a few blocks away from his dorm. That night, without further words, he graciously offered you a fresh lavender rose in between your new sketching session.
“I may not know exactly why you’re spiritless around me, but with this rose, I hope we could work something out.”
Your frigid face of disdain, keeping your chin high and squinting your eyes with judgment, began to crumble down. Of all things as a peace offering, he gave you that? Then again, it’s not like he knew that an item you liked so much became something you’ve grown to hate and why so. No history books could teach him that.
Vulnerability was a normal thing, yet feared by many. Once one uncovered your weak spot, they could harm you. You still couldn’t trust Jeno fully, not willing to show your helplessness nor were you ever going to tell him. Hidden from his knowledge, everyone else including Sanghoon were familiarized as to why this kind of flower tormented you.
You sprinted like thunder out the exhibit room to wherever it’s private to control your senses. You may not have a physical heart, but your emotions were just as actual as a human’s. You needed to regulate your panting breath. In the past decades, you’ve not shed a singular tear but the cycle broke when they streamed out your miserable eyes like a flowing river. Quiet sobs, an empty corner near the fire exit was where your wobbly legs faltered, the painful memories of the past replayed in your head. Once beautiful, but now an agonizing reminder of what could’ve been.
Katherine, Cleopatra, and Anne were swift on their feet to hunt you down, anxious of what you may do next. Seeing or the mention of these flowers still affected you despairingly. Sanghoon must’ve forgotten to write them down, or perhaps he didn’t know either about this fact during all the years he’s worked there.
It’s one of the biggest secrets of his museum. By the clueless face Jeno had with his eyebrows raised, mouth, and small eyes slightly open, he repeatedly asked what he did wrong and adding that he never meant to harm you. Indeed, they knew that yet what occurred involved a secret in the list of museum secrets. Confidential only between art pieces according to Athena, none of the male wax figures spoke a word, only pitying the boy.
“I wasn’t here yet that time, but they said that it was once beautiful, but now it’s a rough period.” With hesitation, Princess Diana chose to reveal it to rid Jeno’s misery. She didn’t mind having to argue about it with Athena later on, as this may further affect the two of you later on.
“A long time ago in the early ‘80s, there was a night guard around your age named Junmyeon. Also, a college student, trying to make ends meet. He did it for 3 years until he graduated. Though within his stay, not only was he such a delight to everyone, he broke a golden rule in the guide. I believe you do know the guide much more now, Jeno?”
“Yes, I do, Princess Diana. Memorized it even, but which one specifically?” Jeno’s desperate eyes pleaded, only hoping for the best and to fix what he messed up.
“You can form friendships with the art pieces, but nothing more.” Princess Diana replied bitterly. “Junmyeon was an aspiring painter, a different path from his business-oriented family. He was seen as the black sheep. She resonated with him, sharing the burden and lifting it by doing whatever fun they could in the museum. In time, they both fell in love with each other; they were each other’s first loves.”
“Why must something beautiful like love be broken? It’s not like you can control it. That golden rule makes no sense.”
“It does, unfortunately. Wax figures like me cannot age, while humans like you can. None of them could accept the reality, always pushing it away. Until Junmyeon’s last week in university, he broke it off with her unexpectedly. From there, (Y/N) was heartbroken for decades. With heartbreak, giving the cold shoulder and bitterness followed. Then with the lavender rose you gave that she used to love became a flower that she associated with Junmyeon too because he gave her one almost every night for those past 3 years.”
Things finally added up, and the guilt in Jeno’s gut expanded. His major lightbulb moment was a major failure.
“Has Junmyeon ever returned to try and win her back?”
“Well, there was one time he did come back for an art exhibition for his paintings in the 2000s. I was already here, then he had a woman around his shoulder with an adolescent boy holding his hand. He roamed around our exhibit and kept gawking at (Y/N). We may be asleep, but we remember the conversations exchanged in the room. So, his son then asked him if he knew who she was.”
“What did he respond?” Jeno attentively listened, on the edge of such a hurtful tale.
“He knew her name, praising her for historical achievements. However, nothing as a former friend or lover. From what I predict, he ingested one of Circe’s potions.”
“But I thought Circe isn’t allowed to make potions for actual consumption. She’s not even allowed to enter the Oriental Art Room.” Jeno pointed out, overwhelmed at the puzzling past. Princess Diana was mindful that she had to stop spreading too much information, so she had to end her discussion with the lost boy.
“There are a lot of secrets about this museum, Jeno. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal to you to protect our peace.”
With due respect, Jeno quit his follow-up questions and concerns. The only thing he wished to do was mend his relationship with you. As vague as to where you even stood in the first place, he unintentionally crossed a line due to his selfish intention to befriend you.
“What can I do now, Princess Diana? You know I’d never push her buttons like that, even if I’m a whimsical person.”
“Oh, my boy.” Princess Diana soothed, holding both her hand on his sweaty palm and cupping his cheek. “For the meantime, give her space. No taunting for a while, and just observe her from a distance. Though do not fret the slightest; I’m sure she’ll be okay again.”
During that interval, you were hunched on the wall, bawling and weeping like the wound was brand new again. While Katherine and Anne stood by your side, on the lookout for anyone who’d be spying on you, Cleopatra knelt in front of you as your infinite tears gushed down.
“My dear,” She tried to wipe some of them while holding your hand. “It’s been years, and Jeno didn’t know a single thing. He didn’t mean to do it.”
“I don’t care, Cleopatra! He should’ve stopped trying to socialize with me because I won’t ever live down my experience with Junmyeon.”
“As if crying like this will bring Junmyeon back to your life,” Cleopatra exclaimed, holding in her temper. Acquainted with heartbreak, it’s awful that it changed you entirely, but you should’ve found a way to heal. Throughout your attitude change, it’s mostly you in pain, not those you inflict it to. “My dear, I love you a lot. But this Jeno boy is different, and you know it.”
“He’s still a nightguard, for Christ’s sake, Cleopatra.”
“You shouldn’t generalize that all night guards are bad just because of one encounter that occurred at the wrong time.” Brushing some strands stuck by your wet visage, she professed to you bluntly. “You’re never going to know how good Jeno is unless you slowly open up again, (Y/N). Not forcing you the slightest, but healing started once you’ve acknowledged the past and move on from it.”
“But I’m scared, Cleopatra.” You restlessly admitted, hunching even more against the wall. Your poor, metaphorical heart could only take so much. You barely expressed sorrow towards others as you always held a strong exterior, only letting it out alone. Not holding back anymore, Cleopatra brought you in for a hug. The last time she did that was the first night after Junmyeon left, calming your intensified emotions so you wouldn’t do anything dumb that night. No violence, just pure sorrow.
“My dear, it’s alright.” She whispered while stroking your back upwards. “But you’re a risktaker; that’s how people remember you. Now, you must challenge yourself to move on from things that didn’t work out. Because once you do, it’ll put your heart and mind at ease.”
“Do you think I’ll be okay again?”
“Yes, you will be, my dear. You are not alone, and never will be.”
Acting like the dutiful son he always was, Jeno distanced from you.
He still cracked jokes, chatted with the art pieces, and followed the rules, yet never did he utter anything to you. You’ve proudly anticipated it since day one, not wanting him up in your business or teasing you ever. But this time, it felt odd.
On nights he didn’t report, you’ve unconsciously wondered what he may have been up to. A job like this at his age was just as Sanghoon once said: nothing in the regular.
Was he with his friends?
Was he resting well?
From the moment you chose to let go of your limitations and old thoughts, it included your grudge against past guards. Asking for forgiveness to Sanghoon when he returns was on the top of your list, however, that’ll take a while to happen. In the start, you’re baffled as to why he no longer picked on you like every night he’s been present. Somehow, it became a habit you’ve gotten used to, having so many comebacks planned to fend yourself. But you didn’t want to concede to it, maintaining what was left of your pride since that breakdown.
While on the subject, you suspected if anyone told him anything that night because that also indicated the last time he reached out to you. By anything, it would be your unwritten past with Junmyeon. A part of yourself in the museum that you didn’t want to disperse like rapid-fire again. It would be the last thing you wanted Jeno to know.
To your misfortune, Princess Diana came clean due to your growing concern over it. Although your attitude changed and people got used to it, you could only blame yourself that you were responsible for Jeno’s change.
“All he wanted was to understand and enlighten us with his likable presence. Then with you, you were his challenge because of your high walls. Out of everyone, he tried to learn everything about you. From my observation, whenever he has a goal, he’s determined to achieve it.”
“But I’m trying to be better now, Diana. Why did he stop?”
“He may have determination, but he knows where the boundaries lie.” Princess Diana patted the side of your arm, giving you a half-grin. “It hurt him when he hurt you, even if it was accidental. So he opted to give you space; that way, you could catch a breather and he wouldn’t harm you anymore. It was what you wanted from the start anyways, right?”
A hard pill to swallow, though it was a fact. It’s just that now, you’re slowly willing to release yourself from the dark. It’s been decades, and more to come. Nothing can move on unless you do.
“Where is he, Princess Diana?”
Just as she predicted right on the edge, Diana completed the grin on her face and led you to the entrance of your exhibit. She may be younger than you, but you’re reverted in your twenties while she remained in her mid-thirties. Gaping the wide museum from the railing, starting from the painting exhibit in the lobby to across the other side of the museum, Diana spotted the black hair of the boy in the Foreign Art Room.
“Over there.”
Observing where her eyes focused, you caught a glimpse of a recognizable side profile. The owner’s eyes were completely taken by whatever he was drawing on the fold-up desk he brought out from the storage room. By the tedious action of his right hand going up and down, you’ve gotten so used to his part-time identity as the night guard to entirely dismiss his current status as a university student.
Architecture specifically as he first introduced himself to you. The same path your oldest brother, Christopher, worked in. The look of tenacity Jeno presented as his eyebrows continuously scrunched, his crescent orbs hastily spied his work for any unnecessary details and his veiny hands brushed his already messy hair, you were profoundly reminded of Christopher when he was designing his possible future house. You were 8 years old, and he was 22, who just got married. He explained how many floors it’ll have, what rooms to put and what extra furniture he’ll place to make it feel more at home.
Seeing how exceptional his art skills were, you started to sketch like him. With flowers first, it turned into bedrooms and sceneries of your neighborhood. You felt your shoulders rise in accomplishment when you were able to accurately draw people. As much as you credited Benjamin and Liam the most in your works, it’ll only be within yourself to know that you also held a soft spot for Christopher.
Excusing yourself to Princess Diana, you bravely yet quietly ventured into the Foreign Art Room. Hiding first from one of the cement columns, you resumed watching him sketch. Instead of a pencil, he used a black pen with a tip as thin as a pencil. Your assumptions would be it was for a class, basing it on him informing everybody earlier that he’ll be inactive for the remaining hours of his shift to focus on his midterm requirements. That must be difficult to balance, yet he still does everything expected from him. Maybe the second cup of iced coffee beside him stimulated his bones and mind, letting his imagination free.
Through the limited space, you tiptoed whilst holding the side of the column to make up his work. There were 2 and a half rectangular shapes stacked on top of each other, the third one he was still tracing. A sign encrypted with tiny written words you couldn’t decipher, the beauty and modernity of Jeno’s plate cannot go unappreciated.
“That’s absolutely beautiful.”
Sweet words you didn’t think would bounce back in the room, Jeno’s pace ceased whilst you hid again. Art pieces capable of walking weren’t allowed here, he locked the door even beforehand! Or he thought as he was rushing to get his work done because one of his terror professors moved up the deadline to tomorrow morning. Not even 25% finished, he petitioned for everyone’s cooperation just for tonight.
He used up his 2 days of not having the night shift for other projects, and not wanting to ruin his perfect attendance, he proceeded to show up.
The voices from the foreign paintings around him hushed for him out of respect. So possibly someone snuck in, his head looking around for intruders. But only did he quit it when he saw your blurry reflection leaning against the column. The glass windows slightly mirror back what it sees, without you knowing that.
Not to mention, the small bit of your lilac dress was left out. Of all people, it was you?
“Do my eyes deceive me or is Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N) inside when she’s not allowed so?”
To break the killing tension, he tested the waves with an innocent taunt. Never did you reach out to him, so least to say he was entertained whilst keeping his distance.
Fixing your proud stance, you responded in a low baritone voice you used to persuade numerous men in her adventures. “Uhm no, I don’t know who she is.”
As intelligent as you were, Jeno was a few steps farther than you this time. Educated about the risky ways you’d get around and one of them was changing the pitch of your voice, he heartily laughed at your unsuccessful attempt.
“Okay don’t lie, (Y/N). I can see a trail of your dress and your cloak. Oh, your reflection too.”
Damn, you peeked a little to realize that he was correct. Hauling your dress back in to readjust your outfit, you pushed your hair back before appearing to him. Though when you did such, you didn’t suppose that he was practically beside you the entire time. Bumping into his towering stance of 5’10 while the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, your proud posture loosened up. He even discarded his blazer. A few more inches, he could’ve cornered you on the column if you didn’t take another step back.
Has he always been this tall or were you so used to your boots having high heels under? Oh wait, maybe because you wore flats this time because it’s making your toes sore. Your head bowed from struggling to maintain eye contact with him, your palms caressing your cheeks that suddenly heated up. Clearing your throat, you straightened your back again like nothing happened.
Jeno thought otherwise, shrugging his shoulders as he chuckled. He’s never seen you get shy, not that it was a bad thing either. The temptation to play around it more was there, but he was running out of time for his assignment.
“Come in. I’ll let you off the hook this time.” His arms opened up, allowing you access to such a wonderful exhibit. Paintings from different European periods, miniature versions of famous infrastructures inside glass containers, and replicas of Greek columns in the front entrance, no wonder it’s important to protect them all.
“Are you sure?” Watching him return to his spot, which was a bench in the center of the exhibit with a table in front, it didn’t process that you were gawking at his toned back. His broad shoulders and the evident muscles in his arms while he stretched, your eyes were speedy to look away when he tried to take a glance at you.
“I don’t think the paintings here and I mind.” Sitting down again, he tapped the vacant space beside him. “Feel free to watch me draw if you want to.”
Settling by his side, he recommenced where he left off. Now with a closer view of his piece, it did look like a building as you thought. He was sketching the remaining outline of the 3rd floor of this hypothetical place, continuously checking his ruler to monitor if the lines were consistent. Able to pick up on the words of the sign beside the building, you wowed with one hand on your lips.
“You’re redrawing Seoul National University Museum of Art?”
“One of my plate assignments was to visualize a renovation of a certain place, so I chose the museum.”
“Why so?”
“Well,” Jeno shook his pen so the ink could come out. “This entire place comes to life with the royal plate, so I think we should expand the space and bring in more art pieces to life if we add another extra floor. A rooftop area for visitors and events would be fun. And definitely, we should modernize the exterior and interior a bit because it looks outdated personally. That’s also what my friends think too.”
Noticing the minor details of his plate whilst removing any unnecessary pens so it wouldn’t smudge, “Huh, I quite agree with you.”
For the first time since his night shift, you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), came into an agreement with him. He became so accustomed to clashing opinions that now, you had no contrasting points to make at all. A good change perhaps was what he’s witnessing.
“Woah, who are you agreeing with me and where’s (Y/N)?” He creased his brows whilst locking eye contact with you. This time, you didn’t wince away and just nudged him on his shoulder to get back to work.
“Hush, Jeno. Isn’t that due later? Get to work, I’ll roam around here for the meantime.”
After decades in this museum, you’re enlightened with the foreign paintings in which some you’ve heard of in your younger years and some that were created beyond your time. The Birth of Venus, Liberty Leading the People, Girl with a Pearl Earring, there’s an advantage of learning about their stories that humans couldn’t interpret. Logical that this section must be off-limits because these pieces were extra special, yet there’s so much more than what meets the eye.
There’s peace in silence while you wandered around, though it doesn’t hinder only at the art. Jeno hasn’t uttered a word since he got back to drawing, and once you asked him what’s doing now, still no answer back. Odd, he’s constantly awa-
Oh, my. You must’ve jinxed it.
Your eyes laid on Jeno leaning forward on his desk with his arms serving as his pillow, resting his head sideways. Soft snores and minimal movement in his upper body to shake the growing cold temperature of the room, he was sleeping like a log.
Putting into perspective, he hasn’t acquired enough rest specifically this past 2 weeks. The endless number of plates due making him work extra during his shift rather than sleeping in the slightest, exhaustion must be an understatement. Coffee no longer pushed him to his maximum for this week even.
But this was the path he chose, and it’ll have its challenges. Still, if you could relieve the stress in any way, you would. This would be one of the ways to repay for all the rudeness you’ve passed on him. Scurrying to his side, placing the plate on the side with his other things. You returned the caps of his open pens so they don’t spill. They must be expensive, recalling how Jeno shared the cons of being an architecture major to Princess Diana. One was the pens needed for sketching, and any tiny damages to them meant buying them again.
With his watch on clear display, he only had 2 hours left until his shift was done. Then, 4 hours until his plate assignment was done, and his current plate was far from done.
The blunt impulse to wake him up slithered your mind, though his calm state deflected your duty. As if you were on board a ship again for your explorations, you paid attention to the view with a relaxed mindset.
Lee Jeno specifically was the view.
His coffee-stained lips were parted and his sharp nose breathing in and out at a relaxing pace, he must be dreaming a happy moment the way half his lips curved into a smile. If he’s resting well, then you too would be calm.
Because of your past disinterest in him, only at this moment did you observe how sharp his jawline was and the cuts on his arms he sought refuge in. No matter how many times you tried to deny Hera’s compliments of him on the side, you couldn’t.
Lee Jeno embodied attractive features; both physical and emotional.
Back to his plate, it’ll put him at a disadvantage if he submitted the way it looked before he passed out. But you remembered all those extra details he mentioned and wanted to add to this project. Being an explorer, you documented all your ventures through words or drawings. You’re fast to adjust to anything new too.
For all the good he’s done for everyone, he only deserved some help in return.
Your version of help was sketching the remaining details of this plate, using other pens for more emphasis. It’s a risk also, but no way could you turn a blind eye on Jeno this time.
Around 5:30 am, Jeno’s eyes blinked open due to a brightening light from the outside. Stretching his limbs, he finds a velvet cloak wrapped around him like a blanket. But before he could question it, he pulled his arm in to see the time on his watch.
“Fuck!” He cursed, realizing that his so-called 10-minute snooze break aborted.
“Oh my, you’re awake!” From his frazzled state, there you were. So put together yet active, some strands of your hair falling down your face even with your hair up in a ponytail. “How was your sleep?”
This whole time he could’ve been woken up, yet you chose not to. You’re aware of his deadline, yet you let him rest entirely. He could’ve burst out in stress, yet he didn’t. You and he may have started on the wrong foot, yet it’s impossible of you to do such an evil thing. He’ll just have to tolerate the outcome later today.
“Refreshing. I really needed it.” Packing his things in his bag and closing the table, you trailed along as he exited with you. Locking up, he has 30 minutes left to accomplish the cleaning. A long good morning indeed.
But his worry of that vanished when you admitted that you had it all covered.
“Everyone helped out in cleaning, plus there are no damages made either.” From your hand, you returned one of his keys that was on his guard blazer. “I double-checked the Oriental Room and locked the doors again.”
“Why are you suddenly so nice to me, (Y/N)?” He questioned with confusion, wearing his blazer again and patting away any creases. He placed your cloak over you again like a true gentleman.
Without a word, you simply invited him to walk you back to your exhibit as parts of the sun began to rise. As you returned to your section, your fellow figures readying themselves to pose again,
“It’s my way to apologize for my very rude first impression and the succeeding moments after. I was too cooped up in my past that I was too afraid to let humans in again, night guards in particular.” You admitted, removing your cloak and placing behind your chair like always. “I’m so sorry, Jeno. Everyone was right about you and your kind heart.”
“About time.” Cleopatra’s sultry voice cut in, laying on her day bed.
Before you had the chance to flip off, Jeno mediated swiftly. With a gentle smile, “No worries about it. I’m just happy you’re okay, after all you’ve been through.”
“Can we start over then?”
“Absolutely.” With his free hand, he brought it out. No matter what kind of introductions, shaking one’s hand was the best way to start a friendship. “Good evening. I’m Lee Jeno, the new museum night guard.”
“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), explorer and author.” Sighing at his humor, you still replied by shaking his hand. “And I believe you’re mistaken, Lee Jeno. It’s a good morning.”
Seconds after, you imitated your typical pose and smile. Only now, the latter was more genuine. Finally, a fresh start to end your agony.
Once the sun fully revealed itself, every figure including yourself froze back to sleep. Something Jeno wished to catch up on if it weren’t for his damn plate. He was so screwed, already contemplating his next steps if he does fail this class. The possibility of getting delayed in all aspects, he dreaded it already.
Heading back to his dorm, where both his roommates completely passed out from soju on the couch, he sat by his work desk and turned on his night lamp for more light since the sun wasn’t strong enough yet.
With another cup of coffee, he cracked the joints of his knuckles and laid out his pens. He had 2 hours left to submit this plate, and at most he should accomplish 50% of his initial plan. However, he didn’t anticipate such a gorgeous outcome when he brought out his plate.
Picture perfect of every detail he desired, even adding a rooftop area with that he’d love to have if ever the museum does go under renovation one day. Rather than setting the plate during the day, it was at night as the skies were dark and bright specks of yellow inside the building symbolized light.
So much for wasting coffee, he’ll just give it to Jaemin when he wakes up later. Below the final product, a note written in cursive was stuck on it.
I knew you wanted to get this specific plate done, but you mustn’t compromise your sleep for it. It’s your inhumane professor’s fault!
To make up for my faults, I wanted to help you out. I paid extra attention to the details you spoke highly about, so I only hoped that I interpreted it correctly. It’s risky, but as someone who researched so much about me, would you be surprised that I did such a thing?
PS: Get back to sleep. I’m quite sure your desk is laid out the same way in the Foreign Art Room.
Respectfully,
(Y/N)
Turning off his lamp, Jeno jumped the covers of his bed to continue his lost sleep. Without an ounce of care that he hasn’t changed into cleaner clothes, he’s relieved that he won’t flunk his class.
Most of all, he’s relieved that you’ve melted the ice in you and allowed kindness to come in. Jeno may never understand how hard that must’ve been for you, yet he raved you for it.
“Oh, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Surprise is an understatement when it comes to you.”
#nct#nct au#nct scenarios#nct x reader#nct fluff#nct angst#nct smut#nct imagines#nct dream#nct dream au#nct dream scenarios#nct dream x reader#nct dream fluff#nct dream angst#nct dream smut#nct dream imagines#lee jeno#lee jeno x reader#lee jeno au#lee jeno scenarios#lee jeno angst#lee jeno imagines#lee jeno fluff#lee jeno smut#jeno#jeno x reader#jeno au#jeno scenarios#jeno imagines#jeno fluff
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Sometimes thing happen both quickly and slowly at the same time, dumping you out the other end feeling dazed and confused.
In the grand scheme, this is something that started back in high school. In the 90s. HTML was still new. Netscape Navigator was the pinnacle of what the internet could do. And I wanted to make webpages. I taught myself HTML an hour at a time on library computers and in the computer labs at school. CSS hadn’t really been adopted yet.
I ran circles around my high school HTML teacher, because he was accustomed to teaching hardware and not coding. He was learning along with the rest of us.
But given the era, web design wasn’t seen as a real job and normal programming was said to be difficult. With no access to it, I foolishly listened to the people who said programming was all math and science and super boring, and kinda let it go. I still did some HTML here and there, learned CSS pretty okay, picked up a bit of PHP, but mostly didn’t expand much.
Fast forward 20 years. I’ve dropped out of college 4 times, having attempted 4 different majors (general art, theater design, architecture, graphic design) and find myself unemployed. With a hyperfixation on a few projects, I get it in my head to give college one last try. Just so I can learn PHP and databases to make a project happen. But the degree included Python. An actual programming language. I dreaded it, having recalling all the insistence that it was boring math stuff.
After the first week or 2, I found out I loved it. I had to stop myself from rushing too far ahead and almost immediately the teacher knew me well. Mostly as “Does anyone besides Colin have the answer?” When the class was over, I wanted more.
I finished that class about 6 months ago. I’ve finished another term after that, and I’m nearly done with the 2nd. A lot of that eagerness has faded. Not for lack of wanting more, but out of sheer disappointment. I’d thought the degree would give me all I needed to get a job. But it’s really just a loose collection of introductory classes that add up to not a whole lot.
A week or so ago, I started rooting around for what else I needed to learn. Looking at the things jobs required. Looking into videos on what it takes. I ended up with a big pile of stuff I needed to do, but with no clear way of getting into it properly.
Yesterday, I asked the teacher of that Python class for advice on where to learn more. I half expected him to suggest going to one of the universities in the area. But instead, he linked me just to the computer science section of EdX.
Free online classes, full classes. Mainly from Harvard. With an option to pay to actually get grades and proof of completing it. They even offered financial assistance. In a whim I gathered up a few classes that looked good and put in for financial aid. I expected to get rejected, cause who’s gonna listen to a sob story about being flat broke at almost 40 and “I promise I won’t drop out this time.”
They responded in less than 24 hours. I got access to 3 Ivy League classes (yes, I know it’s not the same as actually attending the school) for under $50 out of pocket.
And that’s how 2 nights in a row I was devouring completely voluntary lectures on coding at 2am.
If you’re really passionate about something, don’t let it go because of what people who aren’t interested in it say. They don’t know what they’re talking about.
It doesn’t hurt that in this case, it’s reasonable I could end up with a really good salary at the end. But that’s more of a cherry on top. I’ve worked this hard for 2 decades on stuff that left me broke, so my brain isn’t exactly money motivated.
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I was tagged by the lovely @morallygreywaren 💖💖💖
Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!
So, in reverse chronological order:
1. To Gaze at the Stars (TOG): Swiping his hand across the bathroom mirror, he saw his miserable eyes in the clear patch of the fogged up glass.
2. Music of Eternity (TOG): Yusuf had known a small handful of people with green eyes in Egypt, three of which were his childhood friend, Kyriakos, his mother, Sophia, and sister Layal.
3. By Luck or Design (Miraculous Ladybug): Sometimes, Marinette wondered, just how random were coincidences and what percentage of them counted as ‘luck’? (someday I’ll go back and finish this)
4. While You Were Sleeping (Voltron): In his defense, Lance didn’t mean for one small lie to get as out of hand as it did.
5. The Name of the Game (Star Trek): As a man of science, Leonard McCoy didn’t make a habit of believing in things he couldn’t see. Taking into account all the bizarre shit he has seen since he had boarded the Enterprise, there might not have been much left for him to dismiss as mere fairytales.
6. What Flies Without Wings (Star Trek): Leonard was stuck outside his common room again. He had dosed off in the library for roughly four hours in the medicinal potions section and didn’t get the chance to sneak back home among the last of the Seventh Years.
7. Wham, Bam, Thank You, Man (Captain America/MCU): Steve really shouldn’t let Tony plan his, or anyone else’s, birthday parties.
8. In All But Name (Miraculous Ladybug): The tricky thing about Soul Marks was not just that names were a lot more an inscription on the inside of your wrist - they were tricky because Fate had a sick sense of humour. And Marinette had learned that the hard way.
9. That Is Not A Fruit Bowl (Star Wars Sequels): As a pilot, Poe had perfect hand-eye coordination, or he thought he did until the rest of his squadron decided to take a field trip to a tennis stadium. Once he had the racket in his hand and bright green balls of death hurtling at his face, Poe’s pilot’s precision (ha) went out the window.
10. In It to Win It (Voltron): Lance felt it just as he was bending over the starting block. The instant his eyes landed on a guy in a red jacket in the stands Lance’s vision pulsed red and his heart contracted painfully, making it hard to breathe and ruining his sight.
11. Jealousy (Turning Saints Into the Sea) (Captain America/MCU): Emotions were a tricky thing, Bucky mused as he watched the evergrowing residents of Avengers Tower roam about, talking, joking, shoving and playing with each other.
12. Green Blood and Chocolate (Star Trek): Ever since he became captain, Jim never really knew what to do with himself at parties.
13. Baby, You're a Work of Art (X-Men Prequels): There were a lot of things he could say no to, especially a lot of harebrained ideas Raven pulled off the top of her head, but there were times were the persistent nagging, bouncing and “Please! Please! Please!” made him give in. Or consider giving in. That was until Raven broke the ice with “You should take an art class.”
14. Love Tap (Arrowverse): Another successful team-up with the Flash and Team Arrow was underway, but through most of it was just Barry and Oliver after the abandoned building they were inspecting split in half and separating them from the rest of Team Arrow.
15. What's In A Name? (Arrowverse): A Soul Mark was a part of life that most people just accepted but most people never got. It was the subject of movies, books, ballads, tragedies and comedies and even crimes and scandals, but the latter part Oliver wasn’t totally aware of until he got older.
16. Lattes, Prequels and Wrong Tables (Arrowverse): Oliver wanted to fight hard for the Being Friends part with an ex and actually succeed with Laurel, but he didn’t think that would include her setting him up on a random blind date with one of her friends in Central City.
17. Model Behavior (Miraculous Ladybug): The summer before college Marinette managed to convince Alya to take an art class with her.
18. Marked Territory (Teen Wolf): Being the only human in a pack of supernaturals had no pros. None whatsoever. At all. Not even a little bit. Not even the bit about being yourself on the full moon because being a human on a full moon made it ten times more likely for Stiles to be mauled by whatever was rampaging around during said-full moon.
19. Late Night Conversations (Arrowverse): It was the end of another team-up between Team Arrow and Team Flash, or, as Thea liked to them Actual Speedy and the Nerds.
20. Good Vibrations (The Flash): To say Cisco had no idea how to handle his powers was a great understatement.
Analysis: I have a lot of statement or snarky sentences as starters xD I think I might them the most gripping? My titles range from poetic to blunt/literal, so it depends on how seriously I take the contents of the fic itself it seems.
Tagging @kiaya @ignisentis @sholeh675 @morvith @socvrates @scimitar-and-longsword @thevalesofanduin @petersock @pinkninjapj @mieraspeller @sal-si-puedes
#I don't remember writing most of these HELP#I have over 50 fics???#i forgot how many arrowverse fics i wrote lmao#or that i wrote one for Teen Wolf#or Star Wars#or the MCU#how shitty is my memory?#tog#miraculous ladybug#arrowverse#star trek aos#kaysanova#ladynoir#flarrow#mcu#stucky#spirk#mckirk#klance#vld#voltron
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OMG HAPPY 2OO LUV!! ILYSM, AND YOU DEFINITELY DESERVE MORE!! AS EXPECTED I'M HERE FOR THE MATCHUP EVENT AND I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING LATE KSDJFHSDF
1 | name : amie
2 | pronouns : s/her
3 | preferred gender : doesn't really matter
4 | self-description :
— it's ya clown sho <3 anyway, i'm an ambivert but more inclined towards the introvert side. my MBTI is INFJ and i'm a Gemini. i'd describe myself as someone who's very observant? yea, i guess. i'm awkward and you know it. My favorite color is blue, specifically sapphire, but i love all pastel colors. My fav show is Chicago Medical and all the psychological and crime thrillers out there are my favorite ( silent patient is my #1 though ) I love painting, playing piano and basketball!
— what i look in a partner you ask, uh, someone who can tolerate my silence. there are times when i go quiet for a whole day, i'll barely speak, no interaction nothing. i want someone who'd not exactly 'deal with it' but 'understand it.' also, i want someone who i can talk to without any hesitation. i have a hard time opening up so i don't do it but when i do, i spill almost everything. i might cry, might have anxiety attack, i might even shout. i know it's not very healthy but i want someone who can help me with those. plus someone who i can read with please <3 cheating and not having any respect for personal space would be the major deal breaker for me
5 | gen. aesthetic : my fashion sense starts from sweats and ends in sweats. i'm a big fan of those oversized hoodies and shirts, like something really comfy. however, i do have a collection of formal wears like blazers and dress.
6 | color/s to describe myself : red, actually. if not read then blue. it switchers but red 90% of the times.
7 | fav song/s : literally everything by Chase Atlantic and The Neighborhood. However, my absolute favorites are some of the famous classical pieces like Experience by Ludovico Einaudi and Chopin's Ballade No. 1 Op 23.
8 | fav genre of music : classical music ( Beethoven, Einaudi and Chopin own my heart )
Lol this is very lengthy I'm sorry, btw congrats again!
I looked into MBTI, I looked into zodiacs, I went off of what you said
Here he is, the man, Seijoh’s do-it-all guy
HANAMAKI TAKAHIRO ur new boyfriend
There is not enough content for him, anyway
How You Met
Bear with me here
Think about this
Artist!hanamaki
You love painting? Art club.
Idk if youre actually in any art club but shhh
Anyway, it was probably some sort of community thing full of tons of different age artists (bc you’d have basketball or something after school and he had volleyball)
So like once a week on thursday afternoons everyone gets together and does all sorts of artsy stuff
Everyone listens to lo fi music (or you can bring headphones) and chit chat and just paint for a couple hours
Its in the back section of a library (bc the library near me does stuff like this its awesome) so if you want you can go read a book while you wait for things to dry
One day the person that ran it suggested you talked to the new guy
He was about your age, it was his first day, they didn't know what all he was good at, and tbh they thought you two would look cute together
Just the vibes yk
So you set up your canvas and stuff next to him and introduced yourself
And you guys just vibe to the playlist
He’s REALLY good
Compliments you a lot too
Which is fun because he’s cute so it makes you a little flustered
You find out you guys go to the same school and he’s on the VB team
And says he has a (practice) game that weekend and asks you to come if you can
Which you do
And they win! So its fun!
Matsukawa basically asks you out for him though
He’s heard all about you already
“You don't get it issei! She’s so pretty!! God, she touched my hand and I thought I was gonna die!!!!!” “the enthusiasm is new for you” “shut up asshole” (conversation from the night before)
So he walks up to you after the game and is like “Hey so,,, we’re going out to get some lunch, you wanna come?”
Makki thinks HES flirting with you and is pissed off about it
Until you all sit down for lunch and oh, the only open spot for him is next to you (since when is matsukawa willing to sit between iwaizumi and oikawa??)
He asked you out after art club that week (Mattsun threatened not to give him any more monster for the rest of the month if he didn't get the guts to do it)
General Headcanons
You date hanamaki, you're also dating matsukawa
There’s no separating them (good thing ur MBTIs work together too, especially for strong friendships)
This was literally my first thought
So
Good luck with both these trolls
More on that later
Of course he’s going to be worried if you go radio silent for a while, but he'll understand
There are some days he’s not gonna wanna talk either
He’s really supportive on your bad days of course
Expect a random text in the middle of the evening from him
“Hiya sweetheart, just wanted to remind you that you’re beautiful, I love you, and I hope your day is going well.”
When he’s having a bad day, the same thing is all he needs from you to keep moving
He’s a really honest person. If you want to talk to him, be prepared not to get any sugar coating. If you tell him to shut up because you don’t want advice, he will. But if you expect advice from him, expect brutally honest advice. Subtlety is not his strong suit, so when it comes to advice, he’s going to tell it like it is. He's just trying to help, yknow?
However, he’s pretty good with people, so will know how to comfort you when something is bothering you. Tea and cuddles? Gotcha. Dancing at 11pm because neither of you want to sleep yet? On it. You want him to hold you? Perfect.
He’s not like...the most touchy person? There are some things he’s really indifferent on, and other things he’s stubborn as hell with. Whatever you wanna do, though
His weakness though
⚠️this part is slightly little bit suggestive⚠️
He will randomly walk up to you and pull you against him, give you a really deep kiss, smirk and walk away like nothing happened
Like hands in hair probably almost making out and then just
Walk away
Because that’s how he kisses and it’s breathtaking every time
It’s either little temple kisses or forehead or cheek pecks or something
Or that
And probably leaves you flustered and it’s funny (to him) (and to me if I was there with you) (bc that would be funny)
Hmm I’m thinking
I’m thinking hair dye dates
He needs help doing his hair from time to time Y’know (he doesn’t he just likes spending time with you) and he wants to make it pink again
So he teaches you how to do his hair and even offers to dye yours one day
Either just a strand or the ends or everything, up to you
Imagine having twinning hair dye with makki isn’t that cute
I think it’s cute
I said ur platonically dating mattsun right
Yes you are now
He absolutely adores you and loves how much makki loves you
Probably would have asked you out if makki didn’t but he was really pushing for makki to because he was just all over you in the beginning
He wasn’t overly attached to you romantically so being friends? Perfect. Sounds great
You two get along wonderfully though like you act like siblings once you warm up to each other
Again, very brutally honest person, but a little more awkward so doesn’t know what he’s saying might come off as he’s acting like a dick
He doesn’t try to though and he does really care about you
Flat out told makki if he breaks up with you and breaks your heart he’s gonna kick his ass (makki doesn’t know he had the same (less aggressive) conversation with you)
Tbh all of the VBC at seijoh loves you
Oikawa loves talking to you he thinks you’re great for makki
Gets you in on he and makki and mattsun’s antics
Iwa thinks you’re good too he just doesn’t know you as well
I think that kunimi would like you (he was almost a runner up--)
Kindaichi too
The first years just think you’re cool even if they won’t say it out loud
Seijoh VBC loves you
You got mattsun’s approval
And hanamaki loves you with literally everything in his life
So
You’re pretty set with your strawberry baby huh
Date Night!
SLEEPOVERS
I was waiting for some matchup to come along that gave me sleepover vibes
In a perfect world where you could do sleepovers with your bf because most parents would,,,not let that happen
Imagine…
He shows up at like 7:00 after practice, pizza in hand because he picked up dinner
You two eat, chat about your day, he probably scarfs down half the pie bc it’s after practice ofc he’s hungry
So when you guys are done eating you head up to your room
And make pillow fort
It’s mandatory
Different design every time, but there’s a pillow fort nonetheless
And then when there’s just enough room for the both of you to climb in
You get a blanket and a couple pillows and one of your phones or laptops or whatever and watch a movie and cuddle
When the movie is over you guys break out the face masks
You ever wonder why he has such great skin? It’s thanks to you (or if you don’t have masks, he picks them up on the way home from practice)
But anyway you guys talk shit about people for a while and sit with the masks on (it’s usually him talking about how Oikawa is a bitch as much as he loves him) (or about whatever he and Mattsun were talking about lately)
You both get chances to vent while the masks sit on your face and you just vibe with music (usually that you pick) (he listens to like,,,meme songs and like CORPSE yk)
After masks you guys make/get some snacks and munch on those during another movie but this time you’re in comfy jammies and more relaxed Y’know
Less paying attention to the movie you’ve seen a million times and just vibing in each other’s presence and it’s just really sweet
Fall asleep on his chest
Let him fall asleep on yours
Either way, you’ve got him whipped for you he loves you
Not that he doesn’t already but that’s his favorite thing ever so please just let him do that
Always makes sure to tell you he loves you before you sleep too
If you fall asleep first he takes embarrassing pictures of you with your hair being a mess & you best bet he sends them to mattsun because “she’s so cute omfg” “dude” “dude what” “you’re so fuckin stupid” “?” “Whatever—good luck being whipped just tell me when you need to get a ring, k” “you’re such a jackass” “yeah yeah Gnight”
Zodiac/MBTI
Okay so I’m not doing a big long paragraph for all this BUT from what I understand, Gemini/Aquarius are really compatible, and ENTP and INFJ are known as “perfect matches” sO (I had a really hard time deciding between Atsumu and Makki because they're both ENTP)
Psst Gemini + Leo is compatible and so is INTP + INFJ,,,, so, again, asking you to marry me sho 💍💍
Aesthetic/Vibes
Playlist
Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 846
Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi Trio (meme song)
Sky Full Of Stars by The Piano Guys
Someone To You by The Piano Guys
Shut Up And Dance - Simply Three
Runners Up
Miya Atsumu, Tsukishima Kei
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Chronicles of a Parisian Dumbass 14
Happy Chronicles Update! I promise I'm still trucking along on this baby. I think?? We've also officially reached the halfway mark on this installment, which is kind of. Wow. That's WILD.
anyway, I hope you enjoy!
welcome to today’s episode of Luka’s Word to the Wise: whatever it is, it doesn’t have to be perfect. it just has to be good.
thanks, I.
Ivan is right. And technically, so is his Ma, who’s been telling him and Juleka this for as long as he can remember. But Luka will give them the gratification of saying I told you so when this is all over. Even though he could take a stab in the dark and guess that only one of them would take him up on that offer. And it wouldn’t be Ivan. And it wouldn’t be his Ma.
In between messaging back and forth with Bubbles over the next couple of days, Luka puts together a flyer. It’s not exactly the best—just something he threw together on one of those free graphic design websites, definitely nothing like a Gabriel billboard. But it’s punchy, and it fits the vibe, and it gets the overall message across. And more importantly, Juleka doesn’t give him The Look for it. In fact, she smiles over his shoulder when it’s done, and she rubs her fist in his hair, and she affectionately says, “Now can you chill?”
Luka only grins and throws her into a fireman’s carry for another round of ping-pong. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t know how to be totally chill any more.
They pool pocket money, leftovers from past paychecks, to put in an order for copies at the local print shop. Only Rose has ever been; she tells them she’s tagged along with a couple of old friends from an art club to print issues of the comic they’ve been working on together. It’s nice to see her take the lead, point out the best paper stocks and finishes and spot colors, whatever those are, based on what she’s overheard. It certainly beats the alternative: four barely-adults standing awkwardly at the counter, pretending they know what they’re doing.
Even if, according to Luka’s Ma, that’s most of what adulthood is, anyway.
They decide on something glossy because it makes the colors pop, and admittedly Luka has to thank his lucky, anxious stars for saving the file in every format imaginable because he wasn’t sure which one they’d need. Before he leaves them and heads to work on his bike, Juleka gives him another smile, and Ivan manages a single, subtle nod, and Rose’s eyes sparkle. And it’s starting to feel a little less like a thing he needs to do. It’s a thing he wants to do. With them.
And, well. Any bonuses are just that. Bonuses.
These days, Luka’s made it a point to bike past the bakery on his way to work, because if he’s as much of a regular as the Dupain-Cheng family claims, then he might as well act like it. To be fair, he doesn’t always stop in to talk or buy something; in fact, most times he doesn’t. maybe it’s some silly sense of hope that he’ll be seen. That Marinette really did talk to her parents about picking up an extra shift or two behind the counter. That there’s still room on the bulletin board for him—them. And most times, it is just Mrs. Cheng at the storefront, organizing displays or chatting with a friendly customer.
But sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes it is Marinette, idly staring at the window with what he can only assume is her sketchbook at her side and her apron tied around her waist. And sometimes, she looks up at him. And sometimes, she waves and smiles with all the warmth and none of the sweat of July.
That’s why he does it. For the sometimes.
The flyers, once they’re printed, are nothing short of gorgeous, but Luka can’t bring himself to take any of the credit for it. More than anything, he’s just happy to see his bandmates all in on this, even if he did jump in with both feet. Even if they do still rib him during practice about how he’s way too invested in this. (At least Mylène has only nice things to say. He’ll have to remember to order a few extra pastries just for her.)
They split the flyers into four stacks, because of course Mylène insists on helping and of course Rose and Juleka insist on going together. They run or pedal off in different directions once they’ve put a game plan together, and at least Luka can credit them for not teasing when he offers to take the third and fourth arrondissement. They all know it’s where the bakery is, in spite of how he talks up the Place des Vosges. They know, and they don’t have to say anything.
He’s still trying to figure out whether it’s a blessing or a curse to have your real-life friends on your social media accounts.
Even as he’s hanging the flyers in downtown coffee shops, in libraries, on signposts and public bulletin boards, Luka can’t stop staring. With every flyer he pins or tapes up, he finds something new to love about it. A splash of neon color in the top left corner. The jagged, cutting edges of the lettering. The blurred glow of a spotlight. Every time he looks, he gets the feeling that he’s already there. Music pounding in his ears, stage lights burning so bright and hot they make him sweat, fresh calluses on his fingertips that he’ll regret and adore later. He doesn’t think of stardom often, but he imagines this is something close to it.
At the very least, it’s what he would want to make of it.
It’s close to closing by the time Luka arrives at the bakery-patisserie; the usual lingering smells of fresh bread and sugary frosting and the easygoing music are both conspicuously absent when he walks in. But Mr. Dupain and Ms. Cheng are both missing from the storefront, and he has to double check the time on his phone to make sure he didn’t accidentally arrive too late, or that he’s not interrupting some closing routine. It shouldn’t take long; he spent almost the whole bike ride over rehearsing what he needed to say. He looks around cautiously, even clears his throat in case it gets someone’s attention.
It does. Marinette pops up from behind the counter with a squeak, and it startles him so much he nearly drops the stack of remaining flyers in his arms. And that would’ve been a pain in the ass as much as it would’ve been straight out of one of Rose’s cute romcoms for Marinette to round the counter and help him pick them up until their hands brushed over the same one.
Jesus. He really needs to get out of the house on his sister’s date nights.
He really needs to have a date night.
He also really needs to stop thinking about date nights when the person he’d actually consider a date night with is right in front of—
“Luka?”
He blinks to attention, standing awkwardly in the quiet. God, he really hopes he wasn’t staring at her when he zoned out like that. “Sorry,” he mumbles.
Marinette shrugs it off with an apologetic smile. “We’re fresh out of napoleons, you know,” she says casually, slipping past him to flip the sign on the door. “Guess you’ll just have to come first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, I guess I will—wait—” He shakes his head. “No, that’s not why I’m here.”
Marinette pauses at that. Even seems to stand a little taller, intrigued. Hopeful? “Oh…? Then why… are you here?”
Meekly, Luka holds up one of the Kitty Section flyers and nods toward the bulletin board. Here’s hoping he—it— isn’t too much of a disappointment.
Marinette squints at the flyer for a second, and then her eyes widen and spark in delight. She looks… impressed, at least. which isn’t to say she’s never seemed impressed by him before. It just makes all the things he’s been working for a little more worth it. “Wow,” she says. “You really weren’t kidding about being in a band, huh.”
“You know it,” he says with what he prays is a casual shrug; this… wasn’t part of the script. “I don’t wear this thing on my back just to look pretty.”
She stifles a laugh, then claps a hand to her mouth immediately. “Sorry, I didn’t—I wasn’t implying that you’re not handsome—pretty— “
Oh God. She’s stammering. And it’s adorable.
Marinette composes herself with a deep breath and her arms folded over her chest. “There are pushpins in the corner,” she says. “Hang it up wherever you want.”
Except Luka can’t help feeling like she’s got her eyes on him the whole time. Either she’s coming to terms with the fact that he was telling the truth all along, or she’s… judging him. Or the flyer. And honestly, he can’t tell which is worse. “What’s wrong?” he asks once he notices she’s still staring. “Did I put it up at a funny angle or something?”
“No, just… thinking…” Her voice sounds distant, perhaps somewhere he might never find her. But then she snaps her fingers, and she says, “That’s it!”
“Uh.” Luka’s brow furrows. “What’s it?”
“Oh, just… sorry, my thoughts just ran away with me, I guess.” Marinette steps toward the flyer, brushing her fingers over it and wincing. maybe it’s just from the finish; his nails have scraped over then more than once, and it felt just as bad as a chalkboard. “I was just thinking, well… you’ve been good to my parents and all. Why don’t we help you with promotion? You know, put postcards in the boxes or bags. It couldn’t hurt, could it?”
Luka nearly spotters, but the only thing he can manage to say is, “Where am I gonna get postcards?”
“I can make ‘em.” She says it like the simplest, most obvious thing in the world, and looks him up and down when he falters. “If… you and your band are okay with that, I mean. Cause I, y’know… dabble, in graphic design. But I don’t want to impose, if you’re okay with this. It’s your band and all.”
“I can,” he starts to say; then he stops himself, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “I can ask them?” Idiot, he thinks. That wasn’t supposed to be a question. “I’ll let you know what they say. Have to come in bright and early tomorrow anyway, right?”
Marinette only smiles. It’s faint, almost absentminded, but that sweet little tug at the corner of her mouth is hardly lost on him. “You don’t have to.”
“Ask them?”’
“Come by.” Her bag is hanging on a peg by the register, and she’s off rummaging through it before Luka can ask what she means. He gravitates toward her more than he actually walks to her, and by the time he reaches the counter she’s fishing a card out of her wallet. It’s pink and black, decorated with the same spray of flowers and monogram as her apron. when he turns it over, there’s her name at the top, and below that, two email addresses. And two phone numbers.
He looks up, wide-eyed.
“So,” Marinette says. “Unless you’re coming all this way for a napoleon, a pear tart, and my pretty face, I think you’re good.”
“I—” Luka turns the business card over and over as though it will teach him now to speak again. “I guess so.” Does she know he thinks her face is pretty? Wait—of course she does, he gave her that note. Oh, Jesus, does she still have that thing? It’s been weeks. “Well,” he says, scuffing his heel against the tile. “Who knows. Maybe I’ll come anyway.”
Okay, that was definitely not part of the script.
But then, neither is the way her eyes are sparkling. “Well,” she murmurs. “Maybe you will.”
“I should, uh—” He jerks a thumb toward the door. “Go, um. Happy closing?”
She laughs behind a hand, glancing between him and the tacked-up flyer before she grabs a broom and sends him off with a delicate wave. And to be honest, Luka’s never been angry with nature before, but he curses the wind for being so loud that he can’t hear that giggle in his head, over and over. Almost as much as he thanks it for drowning out all the stupid things he said, and the lingering questions of why she offered at all.
Luka’s Word to the Wise, Part 2:
Progress isn’t linear but it sure as hell doesn’t mean you can’t stutter your way through getting a girl’s number and succeed.
#miraculous ladybug#lukanette#luka couffaine#marinette dupain cheng#fic: chronicles of a parisian dumbass#HELL YEAH LUKA THAT'S MY BOY
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Finding a new RPG system
SO I haven’t hosted D&D at my library for like a year in a half now. With covid being a thing, it just wasn’t happening. I had considered doing it online, but I talked to one of the guys and he told me that the others weren’t interested in doing stuff online. So I just let it go. The other day one of the other guys from the group walked into the library and I started talking to him. I mentioned the possibility of starting D&D back up and he got pretty excited about the idea. I asked him if he had been in touch with any of the other guys from the group and he dropped the bomb on me that they had been playing online and had just finished up a campaign... Oh... Okay... I’m not sure how I should take that... But he did seem interested in starting up in person games again and said the others would like to come back too. So I’m just going to set the whole telling me they weren’t interested in online gaming and then having an online campaign without me aside and focus on the fact that they do want to play in person.
I asked what game they would want to play when we start back up and I’m instantly told Albedo Platinum Catalyst. And I’m like, oh dear god, no... Not Albedo... Look, I love the setting too... but the rules... My god, the rules... Do you even understand them? Does anyone...? I can make a character and run social situations, but that’s about it... God help us if we ever get into combat... Hell, I wasn’t even sure how you guys were going to fix the damned ship the last time we tried to play... The whole module was about fixing the ship and I had no idea how that was supposed to work...
But then I remembered something... I remembered a review I watched once for a game called Hc Svnt Dracones. And I remembered that the setting was almost exactly the same as Albedo. It was a bit more corporate cyberpunk and a bit less military, but other than that is was pretty much the same thing. It was still anthropomorphic animals, created by humans, left alone in space to figure things out on their own after the humans went away... And it’s a more modern game with more modern rules. And one that wasn’t designed by a retired military vet who loved graphs and math and complicated rules more than he did actually playing a game... I could offer to run that for them instead of Albedo. Hell... the settings were similar enough that if they really wanted to, we could just convert their old characters into the new system and pick up the old game where we left off.
But I was not about to just jump into it without fully understanding what I was doing based on one review I watched. That was how I got into the whole mess with Albedo in the first place. So I decided I would buy the book first, read through it, and make sure I can actually run the game before I offer it to them as an option. And this was where I made the mistake of thinking newer is always going to be better. It’s a bad habit I have considering the first table top RPG I ever played was D&D 4e. Once 5e. came out and I saw how much better, and easier, that was compared to 4e, and having never played any editions before 4e, I just kind of fell into a bad habit of assuming if there is a new edition, it’s because it’s an improvement over the old one... So I bought the newest edition of Hc Svnt Dracones. Hc Svnt Dracones 2.0...
Okay so that was a mistake... After going through the book I couldn’t even figure out how to make a character. Pretty much everything else in the book was utterly worthless if I couldn’t even figure out how to make a character... The book had a section to tell me what to do to make a character, but it didn’t tell me how to do it. I’m like, where are all the stats? Where’s the information on what does what? Why does this keep reading like you already expect me to already know how to do this and to already have the 100 something pages of world information memorized before I even attempt to put anything on paper? Where are the rules? Do you not understand how to write an RPG?
So I went online and found the official youtube page and looked up the video on character creation. And huh... The character creation video didn’t tell me how to create a character either. And oh yeah... he does expect me to already have the 100 something pages of world information memorized before I even attempt to put anything on paper... So in other words... The book was useless... I couldn’t use it at all. What I had was basically a history book with a lot of nice art and then a section in the back telling you to do stuff with no instructions. So that was a waste...
Then I went back and bought the first edition of Hc Svnt Dracones to see if it made any more sense that the new one did. Because at this point I was desperate. If I didn’t find a system we could run this game on I was going to have to tell them we couldn’t pick our old Albedo game back up and we would just have to play something else. And I really don’t want to tell them that because I know they are all tired of D&D and Gamma World and if I say, let’s do something else, they are going to say Star Wars... *Shudders.* I can’t play Star Wars again... You don’t understand what I’ve been through... I can’t go back to that...
But I got the first edition book and, Oh my god... It’s an actual tabletop RPG... It actually reads like a game... It has rules... and stats... and they are actually attached to the relevant information so I don’t have to memorize a whole history book to understand what I’m looking at... I can actually make a character... In fact, not only can I make a character, but making one was easier to understand than it was in any RPG I’ve ever seen... Even D&D took me longer to figure out than this did... And oh my god, it actually looks fun... and has far more options than Albedo ever did... (Other than the fact that I can’t play as a platypus now, but I’ll get over it.)
So now I think my group of “We are totally not furries that would be gross and weird” can play the furry game they have been begging for and go on living in denial while they fulfill their dreams of being femboy foxes and getting dommed by hyena women... in space...
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Treat Instructions!
The fills have been posted! 90 incredible Stuckony stories for you to enjoy!
For the next week while you enjoy guessing who made them all, we’re encouraging you to put extra treats in people’s stockings. You can do this in two ways: Discord or Tumblr.
Below the cut, you’ll find a list of the folks who have requested treats linked to their tumblr stocking post. You can reply to/reblog the Tumblr stocking post and share the treat there!
Or!
You can head over to Discord and share it there. You can do this through DM if the person allows, or @ the recipient on our STB Enthusiasts 18+ Discord server if both of you are there. (Are you? You should be! We’re guessing who created the amazing fills over there all week!) We’ve created a special channel - #stocking-party - just for this purpose.
Treats do not need to be Marvel or Stuckony-themed, but they certainly can be! Here are a few examples for how to make someone’s day even brighter: fic comments, gifs, pictures of animals, recipes, moodboards, and Flame really likes being told she’s pretty - just to name a few. Exactly like the fills, this is open to everyone and anyone who wants to make someone’s day.
Anyone who signed up for a stocking - be sure to check your stocking post for treats! Treats are open until October 3rd. But if you want to keep sending love to each other after that, well, we’re not going to stop you!
Treats are CLEARLY LABELED on the stocking posts as treats, so please be careful to follow wishes carefully! Click through the readmore for the full list of treat requests or click here for the archive of stocking posts.
betheflame - "I love gifs, and jokes, and anything to do with any of my fanworks. Puppies are just joy in photo form to me."
FestiveFerret - "I love allllll animals, especially ferrets. I cook, knit, crochet, and garden. I love pictures of pretty yarn, kind messages, anything to do with any of my fanworks, puzzles and brain teasers."
HogwartsToAlexandria - "Moodboards! Playlists! Love notes! (🥺) Fun pics and thirsty ones! Snippets of your own headcanons about the boys! Additional prompts you think are great! Reclists of shortish fics (anything over 3k I'm less likely to read, sorry!) Links to artsy time-lapses (they're a drug of mine..) and anything that came across your dash you think I might like. Commenting on your favorite of my fics if there's any you like. Stick figure drawings about anyhing at all... I just love gifts 🥺😍💕"
ashes0909
Bill_Longbow - "Mini Avengers cross stitch patterns"
hundredthousands - "Fanart, moodboards or headcanons of any of my prompts or likes would be loved!"
Corsets_and_Cardigans - "Moodboards, Baking recipes, anything fall or Halloween themed, pictures of cute animals. I knit, sew, cross stitch, and bake, anything themed there."
RedToni - "musicals, books, sims, social work, singing, baking"
DepressingGreenie - "Chickens. Secretary birds. Gardening (I'm particularity fond of: food gardening, native Australian food plants, Food Forests, cottage style gardens, and heirlooms plants). Dragons/Wyverns + other mythological creatures. Snakes with arms or hats... or both. Puns. ...and anything to do with any of my fanworks."
Wiggle - "moodboards, I haven't put up prompt or ask posts in forever come hmu, headcanons, stick figure art, wild AU ideas, gifs of the boys, puppies, and anything to do with my fics/writing"
realityfallsapart - "I do like to bake 👀👀"
Fearlesslexi - "I love pit bulls and reptiles so pictures of those would be amazing"
willidothefandango (nagth) - "Movie and podcasts recommendations (anything mysterie and science fiction themed) and pics of cute cats and dogs (specially weiner dogs!) are all appreciated"
RoseRose - "Kitty pictures are awesome! Really, any adorable animal picture. Dragon pictures. Anything to do with any of my fanworks. Silly headcanons are also fun! Also, fic recs!"
JimmieJive - "I don't quite get this section but, SNAKES, I love snakes. Actually any cute animals are great. Was thinking of trying cross stitch so any beginner patterns are cool too." "
Ruquas - ""I love recipes. You have a recipe that you absolutely adore and would eat only if it was socially acceptable? I would love to try it. And pictures of landscapes. Doesn’t matter from where, with water or without, with animals or without, but I love landscapes"""
Skeeter_110 - "Moodboards, art of any kind, recipes, prompts"
JacarandaBanyan - "Moodboards are always fun!"
goindownshipping - "I love to cook! If you have any go-to recipes, I'd love to try them out. I'm not picky!"
newtypeshadow - "Fanart, foxes and kitsune, wolves and werewolves, dragons, funny pics and gifs, cute animals, anything to do with my fics, recs, headcanons, marvel meta."
Not_Crazy_Just_a_Fangirl - " translations of my fics, book recs, pokemon, fanart, song lists, recipes, dnd oneshots?, anything really"
justanotherpipedream - "I love to cook and always love trying new recipes! Puzzles, animals, gif sets, cat/dog videos, fun crafts, colouring pages."
mayamoksin - "Art would be cool. :) Also interesting but simple baking recipes. Any minimalist tattoo designs would be awesome to see. Maybe an idea for a new tumblr username."
Dodo - "sewing patterns for plushies, and cookie and pie recipes."
asphxdels - "moodboards, playlists"
nativemossy - "PLEASE send me pics of your pets or advise for my garden lol"
ABrighterDarkness - "I love, love, love foxes! I mean, I love animals period but foxes are <3 <3 <3. Moodboards, gifs, anything to do with my fics/writing, got any one-pan/pot-wonder recipes to share? I also love reading and learning the 'weird but true' type fun facts/trivia!" "
Huntress79 - "- cooking recipes (only in German and/or English, please), from wherever in the world you are! - cute pics of baby kittens, dolphins - knitting and/or crochet patterns (again, only in German or English, please)"
Publisher021 - "Mood boards"
iam93percentstardust - "Moodboards! Playlists! Prompts! Cats! Foxes!"
Faustess - "Funny or fandom cross stitch, lower carb recipes, cats, owls, moodboards, gifsets, memes - all kinds of stuff!"
MercurialMagpie - "my favorite animals are foxes, cats of any type, and Western dragons"
seleneaurora - "art, recs, cute animals"
Aquatigermice - "I like dogs, fish (Bettas), Tsums tsums, cake, tigers, snow and coloring sheets." "
OddConfection - "- I am always looking for new things to bake, so recipes are welcome! - Dark fairy tale/witch aesthetic - The moon/space - Mythical creatures. - Libraries"
MassiveSpaceWren - "Recs for the things I like, recs for TV series that are nice to watch without super much attention (for example while drawing). Anything with feathered dinosaurs."
groffiction - "love crafts, art of any kind, stuffed animals, drawing, stickers, horses, cats, dogs, wolves, etc."
lokivsanubis - "fresh laundry, betting on random things, dogs."
LadyUkkey - "Art~! Playlists! Stories!"
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Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 - Review
Finally finished watching all 6 episodes of the Frozen 2 Documentary! My consensus is drum roll please... it was not very good.
Things I liked first: I loved watching the team get emotional when they saw their projects coming together (finishing Into The Unknown, etc).
Watching random guys rub rocks together for sound design was funny.
I loved looking at the Disney offices and all the merch, posters, art, etc.
The actors/workers were very charismatic and believable. They seemed to legit enjoy their work and were happy to help.
- -
Criticism:
The documentary promised to be a look into all the hard work, collaboration, blood, sweat and tears, it took to make Frozen 2, but it came off more as a look into the very final stages of Show Yourself and a few unfinished animation clips. So little of the actual movie making process was shown and it was extremely misleading and frustrating.
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Songs:
Songs and the songwriting process were definitely the aspect of F2 Disney was most comfortable showing, but that’s saving very little because the attention per song was extremely restricted and lopsided. About 50% of the entire docu-series focuses on just Show Yourself while every other song gets about 20 to 1 minute(s) of screentime (in order from most to least discussion, it goes: Next Right Thing, Into The Unknown, Lost In The Woods, Some Things Never Change, When I’m Older, All Is Found, and Vuile isn’t even mentioned by name). And even when they did discuss these songs, they only showed the lyrics that got into the movie, no cut lyrics or alternatives were shown at all. So it was just long extended scenes of Jenn and the Lopez’ trying to decide whether they should or should not add parts to the song which we, as the viewer, already know were added. And again, they showed no alternatives, so it wasn’t a choice of A or B, it was A or maybe rewrite the middle-ish but no specifics.
They didn't even discuss the public outtakes / deleted scenes they've already released / planned to release like "Get This Right", "Seek The Truth", "Unmeltable Me", etc (they did mention “See They Sky” but nothing else).
The last thing I’d like to mention for this category is that they did discuss the intended emotions / themes of the songs they kept in. They talk about how Show Yourself was supposed to make you feel empowered and satisfyingly wrap up the story, how Next Right Thing was supposed to make you feel just as emotionally raw as Anna, etc. So I can give them credit for that. But again, these explanations became few and far between once they got into the “lesser” songs. Nor do they explain why certain songs were added to the story; for example When I’m Older’s entire existence was justified with “kids really liked it”. “Lost In The Woods” was an 80’s rock ballad because they kinda just wanted to make a 80’s song, etc.
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Animation:
Again, just like the songs, Disney was very comfortable showing off the animation process, but only unfinished clips, models, skeletons, etc of shots that were actually used in the film and nothing else. But, I did have fun watching animators physically act out character movements, record them, and then animate them (ex: that poor girl who recorded like 5 shots of her own face singing, all super imposed on bobbing reindeer shaped bubbles for the Lost In The Woods scene lol).
The most new/deleted content they showed were storyboards and sketches of Show Yourself where we got to see alt. backgrounds of Ahtohallan and young Iduna and and See the Sky which was a dance-off type thing between the Northuldra / Arendelle soldiers.
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Story:
This, and every consecutive category, is where this documentary was severely lacking. They showed no alternative scenes or storylines like “Hard Nokks” or the secret library. Nor did they go into the intended messages/significance of the story elements they did use, like why they chose to trap the Enchanted Forest in mist, why they spared Arendelle, why Elsa left Arendelle, why they chose a dam for the physical boundary they needed to destroy (even though apparently it was loosely based on an IRL dam that hurt the IRL Sami people; I got this from outside resources), etc.
They also don’t dive into any character motivations (outside of the context of Elsa in Show Yourself/Into The Unknown, Anna in Next Right Thing, and Kristoff in Lost In The Woods).
They very explicitly refused to discuss any changes they made to the script. In episode 5 they spend a lot of time emphasizing the importance of audience feedback but refuse to show any actual feedback (they even talk about how they gave out questionnaires but don’t even show us a blank one). This was very blatant and annoying because they spent a lot of time looking DIRECTLY at the camera going on about how important feedback was, how being willing to change was important, how they DID change things, and how change impacted a lot of the movie (ex: cutting songs and simplifying things for children), but refused to show anything. The one (1) change they did show was the prologue, so we see young Anna and Elsa playing before we see Agnarr's flashback, but that was pretty much it.
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Design / Environments:
Character design and dress design was not discussed at all. They do show us a few seconds of fabric physics for Elsa’s spirit dress and show us how they designed Olaf when he was pretending to be Grand Pabbie (using his snowball feet as ears and ferns as a cape), but nothing else. You’d think that since Elsa and Anna both had like 5 costume changes each, they’d want to discuss that, but no. Nor do they even mention Iduna’s shawl / the unity snowflake which had a ton of significance in the movie. They also don’t discuss the designs of the spirits or their symbols (or even water animation for the Nokk’s body which would’ve been perfect in the animation portions).
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Research:
The only research we see them doing is visiting IRL glaciers for Ahtohallan in episode 3. This was neat and all, but also very bittersweet because they really emphasized how spectacular and breathtaking Ahtohallan was going to be, but it was literally just an empty cave made of ice; and not even shiny ice (like Elsa’s castle) just dark, flat, and blue. Like I know creating environments is hard but Ahtohallan is very literally empty besides a few extremely narrow hallways and dark colorless abysses. Like it may have been hard to build in a computer but it was NOT creative nor something to boast about (especially compared to the concept art they showed). But this is all my opinion...
They do show a black sand beach which greatly inspired the black sea, but otherwise they don’t show the research it took to properly replicate the Enchanted Forest (like plant life and ecology) nor any of the locations Elsa and the gang briefly passed through on the way to the forest.
Most egregiously of all they completely omit the Sami community and their contributions to the film. They don’t address them by name or even acknowledge the Northuldra are based on them. Nor do they mention the apparent collaboration they did with the Sami community to accurately replicate their culture. The closest they get to acknowledging them or their hand in the creation of F2 was that the subtitles described Vuilie was a "yoik". Which does not count, since no one even says it out loud. You could dismiss all my other complaints about the lack of content and deleted scenes, but this is just flat out disrespectful.
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Ending Note:
To me, I just don't see the point of this. If this entire documentary was condensed into an hour long YouTube video and explicitly only about the songs/animation I would've been perfectly happy and would've given this an A! Maybe even more because the little parts about the sound design and interviews with the cast would've been little bonuses. But I can't because this is a 6 episode Disney+ only "documentary" on all of F2.
Tl;Dr - I expected a lot more, but was severely disappointed. I wanted an inside sneak peak on the making of one of Disney’s most iconic and my personal favorite IP, but instead I got 240 minutes of Jennifer Lee and the Lopez’ trying to feel the vibe of Show Yourself and crying. Surely they could’ve cut some of that out to talk about literally anything else. Watching this just felt pointless and I was never engaged nor were my curiosities satisfied.
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Extra Note:
For about 10 minutes at the end of one episode (which may seem short but that’s like ¼ of an episode), the documentary takes a detour to talk about Ryder Buck. Ryder Buck was Chris Buck’s (one of the director) son who died shortly after F1 was released, and I mean no disrespect but the sequence dedicated to him had nothing to do with the film or documentary. One of the F2 character’s was named after Ryder, but that was the only connection (they don’t even mention if Ryder in Frozen was based personality-wise on IRL Ryder, just that they shared a name). The whole 10 minute sequence was literally just a charity event in Ryder’s name and Chris and his wife sitting on a mountain talking about how they miss him. Again, no disrespect and I’m sorry Ryder Buck died so young, but a documentary on Frozen 2 wasn’t an appropriate place or time to talk about him.
Crossing out this section because some people took this as an opportunity to attack Chris Buck and his son, which is completely unacceptable and disgusting.
#frozen#frozen2#disneyfrozen#frozen analysis#frozen 2#frozen 2 analysis#intotheunknown#frozen2documentary#Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2
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Golden Cuffs Epilogue: The Future
Cover art by @paradigmparadoxical
Rumbelle Dark Castle BDSM AU
They talk about what’s coming next
Read on AO3
Snow piled up outside the uncurtained windows of the dining room, but Belle was warm on the couch by the fire. There was a pair of stuffed armchairs by the hearth now, instead of only one, and the long couch was positioned in between them. It was the warmest part of the room, where Belle liked to wait for Rumpelstiltskin to come home to her.
There was a new chair at the dining room table as well, just as grand as the carved oak that had always been there. Three times a day, Belle took her meals sitting at Rumple’s right hand. He presented her food to her on a tray, just as he had when she had been his thing. But now Belle always ate with a knife and a fork and a spoon--unless one of them thought it would be amusing for her to do something else.
Overall, the dining room was more crowded than it had been when Belle had first come to the castle. Not only had the number of chairs doubled, but new footstools and tables had appeared beside them. Rumpelstiltskin had even set up a spinning wheel in the corner, so he wouldn’t have to hide away in his tower when he needed to think. The armchairs were set up on either side of the fireplace, with the long couch between them. All three pieces bordered the lush carpet where she had first laid out for Rumpelstilskin to watch her pleasure herself.
Nowadays they attempted to act with more decorum outside of their bedroom. They didn’t always succeed. Though their relationship had progressed and matured over the months of their marriage, Belle and Rumple often found themselves defaulting to the first activity they had ever done together. Their appetites for each other had not waned. Belle was still amazed by how much she could have of her husband, and then how quickly she could begin to crave him again.
She treasured all the time they had together, to make up for the all times he had to leave her alone. He left the castle frequently, and often at odd hours. Sometimes he would be gone for only a moment, but more than once he had disappeared in the morning and then woken her when he joined her in their bed. Though Rumpelstiltskin rarely slept, he said he liked to be with her at night. He had told her he liked the stillness of their bedroom, that listening to her breathing was a calming force in the midst of all the tumult around them.
She knew his plans were progressing. He told her of the pieces he had set into place--some of them years and years ago--and how they had only just begun to move into the alignment that was necessary for his master plan to come to fruition. Belle understood the business that took him away from her, but she couldn’t help leaving her mark on him while he was hers.
During the evenings he spent at home, they had picked up the habit of sitting together in their stuffed chairs. They would converse or read aloud to each other, when no other amusement presented itself. Of course, the real game was in seeing how long they could stay in separate chairs, before he knelt at her feet or she sat in his lap or they simultaneously realized how much more comfortable it would be if they were both on the couch, where they could stretch out or curl up or put themselves in any number of positions.
The couch was Belle’s favorite addition to the castle’s furniture. She had a special fondness for anything that was big enough to share with her husband. It was all cloth and soft stuffing, with a design of blooming roses embroidered along the cushions. To her mind, it was much cozier than the leather armchairs, and it was a better reading spot than their bed. Especially on winter days like this, she was happy to spend hours wrapped up in blankets with a cup of tea and a good book.
Since Belle had come back to the castle, the population of books in the dining room had exploded. Though Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t enter the library, he was able to summon any volume that was needed. And because Belle had no desire to ever set foot in the library again, the books never made it back to their shelves. They stayed in the rooms where they had last been read, piled on tabletops or stacked on the floor. The castle was now delightfully cluttered with books. It was the home that Belle had always dreamed of.
On this snowy day, she was re-reading Jefferson’s wedding present to her, a book he had picked up in one of his other worlds. It claimed to be a history of two kingdoms called Florin and Guilder, and the marriage negotiations of one kingdom’s crown prince. There were pages and pages of very dry texts about the queens and princesses of these countries packing up excessively-detailed wardrobes and traveling to visit each other to arrange a suitable match. The first chapters were so dull, even to Belle, that she was half-tempted to put the book down and never pick it up again.
But Belle was never one to judge solely on first impressions.
The more she read it, the more entranced she grew by the creeping subplots. The book, it seemed, wasn’t really about the snobbish prince and the cold-blooded count and the war the prince was trying to start by sabotaging his weddings. The real heart of the story seemed to be about a farm girl of rare beauty and the farm boy who loved her but could never say it. And even when the farm girl was made into a princess and sent off to marry the prince and the farm boy was lost at sea and then became a famous pirate, it seemed inevitable that they would be together. No obstacle could stop their love, even death could only delay it a little.
It was nothing like her own love story, but she still deeply felt the truth of it.
The doors to the dining room flew open with crash and Rumpelstiltskin strode in. “Terrible news!” he announced grandly.
Belle looked up from her page. “Are you being dramatic? Or is something truly terrible?”
He spun on his heel, his long cloak flaring out behind his shoulders. Belle liked that cloak; it was the fur-trimmed one that he’d gotten in a deal from Prince Charming. It gave her Rumple such panache, such style. He tended to wear it when he was feeling playful. The cloak billowed out from behind him as he strode over to her place by the fire. He gripped the back of the couch like a clawing menace.
“Oh, this news is terrible indeed, my sweet! Fearsome and horrifying--news that will send all good people in paroxysms of dread!”
Smiling, Belle pointed her stockinged toes to indicate the section of the couch that was empty. She set her book down on a small table, next to her empty tea cup. “News that frightens good people usually delights evil ones,” she said.
Rumpelstiltskin grinned and jumped over the back of the couch. By the time he landed next to her, his cloak had disappeared. Safe in their home, he wore his comfortable clothes--a red woolen shirt and loose-cut gray leather trousers.
He took her hands and leaned over to kiss her lightly on the lips. “You’re right, my dearest Belle. All the forces of darkness are rejoicing on this terrible, happy day.”
“Do you want any of the blanket, Rumple? It’s chilly, even by the fire.”
Her husband sprang to his feet, still too animated to stay in one place. “I’ll get you more tea!” He scooped up her cup and took it over to the magic cupboard.
“Make some for yourself,” Belle ordered casually. “Then come and sit and tell me what’s going on.”
Though her back was to Rumple, she could hear him humming. His footfalls were light, almost dancing. That was how he moved when he was purposeful, happy. In the seven months since their wedding, Belle had come to recognize it as the sound of him willingly obeying her.
It had taken a little time, but she had gotten used to having power over him. Rumpelstiltskin could be like quicksilver, going in a thousand different directions at once. But when she gave an order, all of him collected together. He became focused, almost fixated on doing her will, on pleasing her. It was a heady thing. More and more, Belle understood how amazed he had always been at her obedience, when she had worn his golden cuffs.
She had learned to be careful with her phrasing, when to make something an order, or a request, or a simple observation. One night, after they had made love in their big bed, she had told him to stay as she had fallen asleep, and he had been unable to move until she woke up. He had laughed it off in the morning, saying that care was always the first price of magic. Mortified, Belle had resolved that she would consider her words from then on. Rumple was not going to pay the price for her slips.
“Here you are, sweetheart.” He came back to her with a cup and saucer in each hand.
The tea set was new too. It was a creamier ivory color than the white porcelain had been, and the shape of the cups was taller and sleeker. Rumple had offered to recreate the set that she had used to serve him with, but Belle had demurred. Now, the only remaining piece of that first tea set was the chipped cup. It held a place of honor on top of the magical cupboard and still functioned as a silent request for a game. Hardly a week passed without one of them offering it to the other.
Rumple had made her tea the way she liked it--black, with one spoonful of sugar. She took a sip before she set it on the table and adjusted the blanket that covered her lap.
“Delicious, my love,” she pronounced as he sat down. She put her feet in his lap and covered his legs with her blanket.
“Really?” he asked, his eyes wide, his smile hopeful.
Seven months of marriage and he still looked at her like she was too good to be true. Seeing him like this always touched Belle’s heart.
She put her hand on his knee. “Yes, my Rumple. You did very well.”
“Thank you,” he whispered. Then he shook his head. “But you wanted to know about my news.”
“I do, yes.” Now that she was settled, Belle picked up her tea. “What’s happened that’s so terrible?”
“You remember that girl who called for me about the cure for a broken heart?”
Belle hadn’t known about that meeting when it had happened, but Rumple had told her about it. During those terrible weeks when she was locked in the library, he had made a deal with a love-lorn princess.
“Snow White, of course. You gave her the same memory potion you threatened me with.” She poked playfully at his chest with her toes. It was all so long ago. She had forgiven him, and now she could tease him.
“It was not a threat.” Knowing her intentions, he took her bait with feigned aggravation. “It was a sincere gift! I truly thought you would have been better without me.”
“And you were truly wrong, my love. I knew that potion was a bad idea from the beginning. Losing the memories of a person you love will make you a different person--a worse person. And that’s why the princess and her dwarf friend came here and begged you to undo it.”
Smiling, Rumpelstiltskin took Belle’s hand and kissed it. “And that’s the last time I don’t listen to you, my Belle.”
“Good. Now, did something terrible happen to Snow White?”
“Oh, many terrible things. I’m sure her step-mother made sure of it.”
Belle knew perfectly well that Snow White’s step-mother was Regina. She could have told Rumple that he didn’t need to avoid saying her name. But there was also something sweet about the way he spared Belle from having to think about that woman. Though she had forgiven him for everything, there were still some things they couldn’t tease each other about.
“You told me that she was under a sleeping curse for a while, but her Prince Charming was able to break it.”
“Yes,” Rumpelstiltskin said softly. He held his teacup between his hands. “True Love’s Kiss can break any unwanted curse.”
Belle had often wondered about True Love’s Kiss. She kissed her husband a hundred times a day, surely at least one of those kisses would be born of true love. But she had never seen a magical reaction resulting from their love. When she had come into Rumple’s service, she had never thought that being the Dark One was itself a curse, though he had since told her more of the secret nature of his power. Perhaps that was why the curse on him had never broken from her love, because she couldn’t think of his darkness as unwanted. She knew it as a part of him, something both of them delighted in.
Besides, when she had the Dark One on his knees or bound to her bed or happily doing domestic chores, she couldn’t be so sure that a curse hadn’t been broken. He was honest with her now, and he loved her--that was all she had ever wanted to change about the man who was now her husband.
“So she woke up.” Belle continued the conversation. “What happened next?”
“Happily ever after, of course. The royal couple united their power and led a righteous crusade to purge evil from their lands. And they won! They got married this morning, certain that no darkness could ever befall them.”
“And yet we still have terrible news.”
“Yes,” Rumple sighed. “Yes, because even more than being good, Snow White and Prince Charming are nice. And nice people are not always smart. They should have known better than to leave their most powerful enemy alive.”
Belle tilted her head. “But you’re not their enemy, Rumple. You’ve been helping them every step of the way.”
He kissed her hand. “Don’t say it so loudly, my sweet. Someone might get the wrong idea about me. Besides I’ve never let them come close enough to even think of trying to kill me--not yet, anyway. No, Snow White’s real enemy is her oldest enemy, the one who has hated her since she was a child.”
“Regina.” Belle swallowed the name like a bitter draught. “What kind of person has that much hate for a child?”
“The kind of person who cannot admit who she really blames for all her misery.” Rumpelstiltskin sighed again. He let go of Belle’s hands and his claws balled into fists. “The kind of person who was taught again and again that power is the ability to cause pain.”
She felt the fury rising up in him, the guilt and self-hatred that could drown her husband if it was given free reign. He blamed himself for Regina, Belle knew. He blamed himself for what the queen had done to her, as well as every evil thing she had ever done or ever would do. After all, he had told Belle, he had been the one to teach Regina magic. He had been the one to encourage her bloodlust and set her on a trail of destruction that would eventually consume their entire world. Regina was a monster and he had made her that way--what did that make him?
“My love,” Belle reached out and took her husband by the wrist. “Take a breath,” she ordered. “Nice and deep for me.”
He obeyed her. His pulse raced under her fingers.
It did no good for Rumple to ruminate on the evils of the past. She hated seeing him in this kind of anguish. It was better to stop these storms before they could become full-blown tempests. And her husband always did what she said was good for him.
“Another.” She kept her tone even. He took another deep breath. She didn’t have to order him for the rest of them, didn’t have to order him to keep breathing until the worst of his demons had passed.
It was odd to think of Rumpelstiltskin being at the mercy of his own emotions. She was still used to thinking of him as being in control--and yes, that was the face that he presented to the world. But in private, with her, in the safety of their home, he was able to show her all the pain that he had carried inside him for centuries. Belle knew well what it was to feel weak against forces that overwhelmed her. Belle knew what it was to succumb to attacks of fear or sorrow. And she knew what a great help it could be to be told exactly what to do, moment by moment, breath by breath.
“Are you ready to keep talking, Rumple?”
He took another shaking breath, then nodded. “Yes, Belle.”
“What did Regina do?”
“The wedding was this morning,” he began. “Snow White and her Prince Charming said their vows and pledged their love until death did them part.”
“A fine and noble thing to do, don’t you think?” She squeezed his hand, trying to remind him of their wedding, their vows.
The smile he gave her was weak and hollow. If pleasant memories couldn’t help him, then he was truly shaken.
“As soon as they kissed,” he went on, “the Evil Queen burst through the doors. After a bit of posturing, she declared her intention to take away everything from everyone in this world.”
Belle’s breath caught in her throat. “Do you mean this is it? She’s finally going to cast your curse?” This was what Rumple had been working toward for so long. Regina was going to send them to the Land Without Magic. Rumple was going to see his son!
He rocked his head, nodding. “She’s going to try. She’s going to fail, at first, and she’s going to become desperate enough to ask me for help. And she made her announcement in front of the people who would most want to keep her from succeeding.” He rubbed his thumb over Belle’s wedding ring. “Very soon, a good many people are going to want to know how to force me to give them answers.”
Belle’s excitement that Rumple’s plan was finally coming to fruition quickly succumbed to the dread of everything she knew this plan would entail. They had formed this part of things together, hammering out details of moves and counter-moves that would get them both to where they needed to be as safely and smoothly as possible.
But the realization still made Belle’s heart sink like a lead weight. She pulled Rumple’s hand up to her chest. She suddenly needed to feel the warmth of him, the solid realness of the man she loved, who would love her no matter what separated them.
“How long, do you think, before the curse is cast?”
Rumple scooted closer to Belle on the couch. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders so that they lay on each other, both of them bearing the other’s weight, shouldering a shared burden.
“The queen doesn’t know it yet, but this curse cannot be cast before the one destined to break it has been born.”
“The savior,” Belle whispered. Absently, she stroked her Rumple’s hair.
“Yes,” he assured her. “Snow White and the Prince’s child, the product of true love, a person with light magic infused into every part of their being. They will be the one to fight the queen’s darkness--and destroy it.”
“But only after twenty-eight years.”
Rumple nodded and kissed her on the temple. “Twenty-eight years and nine months from now. That’s when the final battle will begin.”
“So you think the curse will be cast exactly nine months from now?”
“The royal couple only married this morning.” There was a trace of impishness in Rumpelstiltskin's voice. “If their child comes sooner than nine months, I will be quite scandalized!”
Belle snorted at his joke and her heart lightened. Seven months of marriage and it still amazed her how much better she felt when he was around her. There were still problems in the world and trials that they faced, but now they faced them together. When she was near Rumpelstiltskin, every sorrow she’d ever known could be dealt with, or talked about, or pleasantly ignored for a few hours.
But this.... This curse was the greatest calamity that had ever befallen them. Regina’s curse was the worst thing that had ever happened to anyone. It would be, quite literally, the end of the world.
“How long?” she whispered. Without her being aware of it their positions had shifted and now she was clinging to her husband. “How long do we have before the plan is set in motion?”
He held her close. Sometimes Rumple could take as much comfort from holding her as from being held himself.
“A few months,” he said grimly. “Perhaps we’ll be able to celebrate a year of marriage together, but I can’t promise it. The cinder-girl will be pregnant soon. When I come after her baby, that will give our heroes an excuse to finally put an end to my evil. I’ll let them capture me, let good and evil both think they’ve won--when in reality it’s us who are getting everything we want.”
“Except each other.” Lying on his chest, Belle stared into the fire as tears welled up in her eyes. “We’ll be separated for months. You’ll be locked in a cage, Rumple!”
“A cell, my sweet, not a cage.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “That’s not such a miserable fate, is it? To sleep in a dungeon for a few turns of the moon?”
He was trying to assure her, and she tried to let him. “If you fall in love with any of your captors, I will be very put out.”
She felt the chuckle in his chest, and he kissed her on the temple. “Never, sweetheart.” He took her hands and held them in his own. The firelight glinted against their wedding rings. “And once the curse is cast, even living in a strange new world, our rings will still connect us to each other.”
Belle sat up to look her husband in the eye. “Do you think we’ll be together then?”
With their rings still touching, Rumpelstiltskin cradled Belle’s face in his other hand. His eyes were full of sorrow as he looked at her. “Together, yes,” he said, “and absolutely miserable.”
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