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tearsofthemis · 4 years

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Tears of Themis : Chapter 1 “Social Snobbery” Part 5

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▌ Location- Commerce Avenue

MC: “Miss. Xue, is the restaurant entrance located in an alley?”

(As we approached the restaurant, Xue XinRang suddenly pulled me toward a side road.)

Xue XinRan: “You can call me XinRan. Grandpa Fang converted the first story of his home into the restaurant, so that’s why it’s not front-facing on Commerce Avenue.”

(I’m guessing it’s to be expected in the CBD area, but even the less frequented side roads are kept meticulously. The entranceway had a comforting atmosphere, as a light breeze picked up the delicate scent of camellias kept in flowerpots.)

Xue XinRan: “We’re almost there, it’s just around the corner. What do you think of the camellias, aren’t they pretty? Grandpa Fang planted them in memory of his late wife.”

MC: “I can see that Mr. Fang’s love for his wife has never wavered…”

MC: “...”

(After we rounded the bend, I stood still in place. We came face to face with someone who felt both familiar, yet foreign. He resided in every single one of my precious childhood memories, and yet, he had disappeared from my life eight years ago without a trace.)

MC: “Xia… Xia Yan!”

(He turned at the sound of my voice as his amber eyes widened in shock, recognition, and finally, lit up with joy.)

Xia Yan: “MC, is that you? It’s gotta be!”

(He ran toward me, and his bright smile instantly took me back to a sunny afternoon, eight years ago…)

[Flashback]

MC: “Xia Yan! How many times have I told you not to read while sitting on the window ledge, what if you fall?”

Xia Yan: “Sorry, I was lost in thought and ended up sitting here by habit.”

(The warm summer winds that rustled through the trees, and the birds that perched on its branches filled the skies with a lazy song. The colorful years of childhood melded away as our voices changed, but now, the memory only grew clearer in my mind…)

MC: “Are you thinking about your acceptance to Capital University? Mom called during lunchtime and leaked the news. She said you won’t be coming to school tomorrow.”

Xia Yan: “Yeah, I was accepted early to Capital University, I’ll move to the capital next week.”

MC: “You are absolutely incredible, to get accepted into the country’s top university in your sophomore year!”

▌ [Examine Xia Yan’s face]

Xia Yan: “Why are you staring at me so intensely…”

MC: “I can’t help but notice that you don’t look too happy, is your program major not to your liking?”

Xia Yan: “I don’t mind it, I’ll be studying bio-engineering. If my mom caught wind of the news, I think she’d be ecstatic. However… we’ve never been so far apart from each other. Will you… You have to work hard so you can get accepted and come to the capital to find me!”

MC: “There’s no way I’d apply to Capital University. I want to pursue my law degree, and everyone knows Stellis University’s law program is the best in the industry... The copies of Sherlock Holmes in your room, are you taking all of them with you?

Xia Yan: “Nah, I’ll leave it at your parents’ place. I'll leave you my bedroom key, you can borrow them whenever you like.”

MC: “Getting accepted to Capital University is such good news, I don’t understand why you and my parents were so tight-lipped about it.”

Xia Yan: “It’s because I asked them to keep it a secret. I didn’t know how to break it to you. All these years of me slumming it with your family, I’ve caused you guys a lot of trouble, so I-“

MC: “Hey hey, just because you’re going away for university, does that automatically demote us from family to strangers? God, I can’t believe you’d even say something so outrageous.”

Xia Yan: “W-wait! Don’t get upset, I misspoke.”

▌ [Examine Xia Yan’s key necklace]

MC: “Since you’re leaving anyways, can’t you tell me what’s in the box that’s opened with this key?”

Xia Yan: “Don’t you think it's more exciting to hang on to the suspense? When everything under the sun has been said and done, the story would have reached its ending.”

▌ [Examine Xia Yan’s book]

Xia Yan: “I’m the one who got accepted to university, so why do you seem happier than I am?”

MC: “Of course I’m happy. The top student of our grade is leaving, I can finally experience the joy of not being number two.”

Xia Yan: “That’s why you’re happy? You should’ve said so sooner, I would’ve let you have the spot…”

MC: “STOP! I don’t want you to let me have it!”

Xia Yan: “Ha, even if I tried my hardest to compete, once we get divided into streams, you’ll easily be the top student in liberal arts. I thought it’d a shame that we won’t be in the same classes, little did I know, you didn’t share the same sentiments…”

▌ [Examine the window]

MC: “Alright, alright, let’s liven up. Early acceptance is a happy occasion.”

Xia Yan: “Let’s promise to video call every day. That way, the distance might not be so bad after all.”

MC: “Okay, I promise.”

[Flashback ends]

(Our promise to each other lies in the past, so why does it feel like we’ve only said goodbye yesterday? It turns out, our childhood memories are ingrained in my heart, where a mere eight years apart would do little to erase it...)

Xia Yan: “I… I never thought I’d get to see you again. How have you been over the years?”

(I was about to ask him the same thing, looks like he beat me to it.)

MC: “I’ve been well, and you? I didn’t hear from you after you left for the capital. Meeting each other again like this is incredible… When mom, dad, and I tried to contact the university, they told us you were selected to participate in some secret experiment, so I...”

Xia Yan: “Y-yeah… It was a government project, so security was tight. I wasn’t allowed to interact with the outside world during the experiment, and the moment it ended, I came right back. I-”

MC: “You came back and didn’t even think to contact me. I’ll have you know, I never changed my phone number!”

Xia Yan: “It’s not that, I..”

(Xia Yan reached out and he tried to grab hold of my wrist. When we were little, this was his method of begging for forgiveness when I would jokingly pretend to be upset with him. But today…)

MC: “Xia Yan…”

(His hand paused midway, and he quickly pulled it behind his back.)

Xia Yan: “I didn’t mean to stay away for so long. Please forgive me?”

MC: “What forgiveness, I’m not actually mad at you, you know. I’m really really happy that I get to see you again!”

Xia Yan: “Really? Seeing me again makes you happy?”

(Perhaps my enthusiasm was contagious as Xia Yan’s body gradually relaxed again.)

MC: “Of course. Are you here to stay, or just visiting?”

Xia Yan: “...”

(Xia Yan flinched, but smiled at me once more.)

Xia Yan: “Would you like it if I stayed?”

MC: “What kind of wishful thinking is that. You’re already the government’s property, it’s not like you can stay just because I’d like you to.”

Xia Yan: “But I can! This time, I’ll listen to you.”

MC: “Alright, let’s not talk about that stuff. What exactly are you doing here? Are you…”

(My gaze wandered and settled on the Sherlock pendant Xia Yan wore, and it clicked in my mind.)

MC: “The private detective XinRan hired, it’s gotta be you!”

-------

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《CREDIT》 Translator: @humi-and-co Editor: @hallowsivy 《未定事件簿》Tears of Themis is a 2020 Chinese otome game by 米哈游Mihoyo. All original credits go to 米哈游Mihoyo.

《 VOICE ACTORS 》 Xia Yan | Jin Xian: https://weibo.com/riceranger Zuo Ran | Zhao Lu: https://weibo.com/mzhaolu Lu HaiYang | Zhang Pei: https://weibo.com/u/1937059462 Xue XinRan | V17-Su Wan: https://weibo.com/u/2925530143

#tears of themis #tears of themis translations #tears of themis trans #xia yan #tears of themis xia yan #otome #otome game #otome game translations #未定事件簿 #夏彦

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starlightshore · 4 years

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im kinda want to get into this sort of thing so is it okay to ask u a few questions? if not just delete this, but here goes? would u reccomend game maker studio 2, and how hard is it to use in ur opinion? and is there anything u wish u knew at the beginning of making ur fangame?

aw anon you’re so sweet! don’t worry about asking about this, its really exciting to make games and trying new things! i would not say i’m an expert, and i wouldn’t even say i know gml like. at all. i just understand a how the code is used, but now what the code itself is or what to type exactly. like, i understand the theory more so than actually doing it. which is, eh, fine? i’m getting by, and i’m still learning. i’ve only been using gms 2 for 2 months now.

also, i’m using a fangame engine! i feel its kinda like cheating lmao, but its just meant to be a framework to build your own thing off of. and i still need to learn gms2 to use it, and i plan on doing more advanced and complicated things (ie: changing how battles even work structurally.) so. i’m not good at gsm2 yet, but uh, really once you understand coding its not any harder than i’d imagine w/ other professional game engines. compared to unity, i like this better because it seems built on the idea of making 2d sprite games. its SO much more simpler and the userface (while. i’m not a fan of how it has its workspace but whatever) is simple and easy to grasp.

i can’t say for certain if i recommend game maker. its very pricey and doesn’t go on sale often. (big sales i mean, it goes on 15% somewhat frequently) i really, really recommend doing your research first.

so here i talk about what game engines i’ve used over the last year. (also i hear Godot is good!)

at the end of that post i said this: “TLDR; figure out what kind of game and story you want to tell/make. i could of saved a year’s worth of work if i just sat myself down and realized i wanted to make a completely new fangame separate from my old blog stuff. and that i wanted to make an rpg specifically.“

and so! past me has good advice. figure out the scope and what story do you want to tell. with AL, I know it has 2 chapters, and rn i’m only concentrating on chapter 1. chp 1 has 7 nights and one area where you fight enemies. its very story/character driven and is more so like. a deconstruction of the rpg genre than an actual rpg game. (i know that the word deconstruction is over used as hell, but it is what this is.)

it builds off the themes of the original, while focusing on things that i want to focus on and develop. ut, at it’s heart, is about stories and grief, i’m just taking it to a different extreme and angle.

uh, anyway, i really wish i knew what i wanted to make and understood the source material more and what i wanted to make. i’ve. thought really really hard over what UT means, what message toby was trying to convey, how he did it and what I thought about it. understanding what YOU want from and for your project is the most important thing. WHY do you want to make this? WHAT do you want people to feel and think about when playing? or even, after playing? it doesn’t have to be super deep either.

so, figure out what you what to make, and then you can work on the how. really plan your story, but honestly i wouldn’t recommend planning it in super big details right off. also, super helpful to have a friend help you brainstorm and plot check things for you. (shout out to my friend the sniffer

anyway, don’t plan things TOO detailed because things are GOING to change no matter how well you plan! just try to get get an outline done, then rewrite it 5 more times and then MAYBE you’ll be ready to tackle a more detailed version. then write it 5 more times. i can’t stress enough how important planning is, and how you shouldn’t expect everything to work out even on draft 10! things will work, and when they do, draft 10 is going to look like bad awful nonsense cause you’re at draft 20 now and everything is much more coherent and better. games aren’t written or consumed all at once on the fly. its not a piece of fanart, a fanfic, a comic. its not updated more than once. its out, and then its just out. plan for it.

and real quick, don’t worry about art assets! depending on how you do the art, that’s most likely going to change and its going to be polished LAST. i could go more into how you should think of art when game developing, but thats another topic. just. honestly use shitty art assets and worry about it later.

kris’ place holder sprite for deltarune ^ it don’t need to be pretty, it needs to be practical.

second advice: start SMALL!!! i feel i should of done this, and frankly i probably will have to sit down and do this lmao, basically, you should make boring small games to learn the basics. I know, i know, nobody really wants to recreate asteroid when you got big ideas of making stories and animations u wanna make. but like. you really need to figure out how the program works and how the code works in theory and practice.

ok so like, think of coding like this. i got this from a skillshare video series, so uh. i’m going to retell this but in a shittier and likely less nuanced way. sorry

ok so imagine. you’re telling this guy who is trying to get to Gary’s house. now, Gary’s house is just down the road, few houses down, now, you can tell this guy that and he’ll likely find the house just fine. but if you’re telling a robot it’s not going to understand what “down the road” means. what road? how long? it needs instructions that are simple and work in a language it understands.

so you tell the robot “go down two houses, stop at sign until x seconds pass, turn right, go forward 1 house, turn ect. stop at house, ring doorbell. IF Gary answers, go inside; ELSE: do not go inside, wait;

so this what i mean by understanding the theory behind the code rather than the code itself. yes there’s complexities and differences in each language, but they’re ALL based on the same concepts. different program languages are less like different speech languages, but rather different dialects of the same. (uh, like us english vs uk english) its just different rules and “spellings” of the same core concepts.

next advice: don’t be afraid to ask for help! but also! do so within reason! if people are OPEN for helping, be sure do so in the right environment and within what time works for them. compensate people for the time and effort if you can. ALWAYS try to figure out the solution yourself first. often with coding, it can be a simple solution that you could of thought of yourself if you took the initiative to. google is your friend, youtube is your friend! (ok, youtube isn’t, but in this case! yes!) the answer might not always be easy to find, and its perfectly fine to look for help but its good to at least try on your own first!

speaking of which! LEARN LEARN LEARN! be ready to devote A LOT of time to watching and reading about game development. this goes to every game making program, not just gms2. i watch. so many videos on gms. i rec having the video play at 1.5x or 2x speed to cut down time. obvs you still need to retain the information, so speed might be not a good idea then. and its REALLY GOOD to pause and type out the code and follow along. but its also good to just understand the concepts, and theres no harm in rewatching once you’ve understood it better at a different speed.

things WILL click and work out for you, and its going to be a very time consuming and long journey to get there. i LOVE making this game and telling this story but I also had no idea what i was getting into! and i probably will have more advice once i’m further in, (i’ve only used gms 2 for 2 months!) but thats the best i can say for now! i hope you pursue your dreams and start making things!!! you can do it!!!

the best time to start is yesterday, the second best time is right now! even if you put a little effort into it everyday, you’ll build up progress and you can learn SO MUCH over time and theres this whole world of possibilities out there! the world NEEDS your story and your perspective, and i think creating it in anyway you can is necessary for humanity! your work will mean something to someone someday, and i am so excited for you to start your journey!

#i know u probs meant gms2 specifically but this got a little out of hand lmao #long post #personal stuff #sams replies #Anonymous

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worktherooms · 7 years

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Bartenders and Bud-light

Lin x Reader

Word Count:4,209 (I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened :/)

Disclaimers: Alcohol mention, 1 curse word?

A/N: This is my first fanfic of any kind, so feedback is definitely welcome!! I took a prompt online “you make eye contact with a stranger across” and just ran with it. Thank you @secretschuylersister for reading it over!! I hope you all enjoy (cause I enjoyed writing it!!)

You found yourself at another stupid college party, where groups of college kids were chugging god-knows-what from red solo cups while some Top 50 song blared from unseen speakers.

It happened to be the first party of your senior year, friends were reuniting after their semesters abroad and talking about their respective summers. You scanned the room in search of someone you knew, but instead your eyes landed on a dark-haired boy chuckling in a corner. You have seen this particular male around campus, either running to class late with mismatched shoes or goofing off in the dining hall with his soccer team.

You two have never really crossed paths since he was a theater/music major, while you were a journalism major. Although do remember having an English class together your freshman year, but he didn’t talk much in class so you never paid much attention to him. But seeing him at this party sparked your interest, maybe because it was your senior year and all your friends all seemed to have found their soul mates? That couldn’t be! You were in the process of job applications and thesis planning– definitely not the time for romance.

You were standing alone near the drinks, the people who you came with were off somewhere playing beer pong or catching up with others who were back from abroad. Bored, you glanced down at the drink that your friend Maggie had concocted for you before she disappeared with some frat boy. You took a hesitant sip, winced, and set it down. There was way too much vodka and you had one too many incidents with the alcohol. Instead, you reached for a bud light.

Suddenly someone approached the table, it happened to be mysterious-theater guy. He glanced at you, and after a beat he asked “Hey, can you hit me up with a bud light too?” You shrugged and passed him the beer. He thanked you, dark, thoughtful eyes never leaving yours, and made his way back to his group of friends.

It had been a normal interaction between two people. Why was my heart pounding so fast? And why was I thinking how his hand had lingered on the bottle for a second before letting go? You thought, taking a gulp of beer. And how he had eyebags and disheveled hair but still looked good? Before your thoughts could spiral even more, her future lawyer friend, Natalie made an appearance.

“Maggie texted me saying she’s staying with the frat guy tonight.” Natalie smirked.

“Huh, I’m not surprised. Guess we’ll get details tomorrow? Ready to go then?”

“Yep.”

As you walked out of the party with Natalie, you didn’t realize that the mysterious-theater guy was still peering at you with curiosity.

After that party, you seemed to be seeing more of this mysterious-theater guy around campus. Either passing him on the way to class or checking your mail at the student center, he happened to be there. You didn’t pay much attention to it considering your school had a relatively small campus where you would see the same people several times a day. Occasionally you two would run into each other at some event, but the only interaction being a simple ‘hey, can you pass me a beer?”

It was soon time for the last finals of undergrad therefore you saw less of the mysterious theater guy, and decided to let it go, focusing on finishing up strong instead. Soon after, graduation approached and, of course, the graduation parties.

Maggie led your group of friends straight to the bar and ordered gin and tonics for the group. Then promptly launched into a conversation about her boyfriend, the frat boy. You, only half listening, examined the room. Most graduates were there- playing pool, engaging in conversations with their former professors, or dancing. A group of theater guys stood off to the side, downing beers like their lives depended on it.

You wondered where THE theater guy was. Usually he would have been at the bar already, asking you, or in this case the real bartender for a beer. Speaking of, you haven’t seen him since the grad ceremony.

“Hey, who are you looking for?” Natalie asked, sipping her gin and tonic, her brown eyes wide with mischief.

“U-uh, no-one. W-why?” You stuttered. Were you being that obvious?

Natalie rolled her eyes.

“Please, you’ve been gawking at that group theater guys since we got here. I didn’t know they were your type. But hey, who am I to judge. Just tell me. You haven’t been on an actual date since September junior year!”

“I have! This past January I went out with that engineering guy.”

“Jeremy?! Y/N, someone who was NOT a complete dumbass.” Natalie ranted to her friend.

“Oh.” You shuddered at the thought. It had actually been one of your worst dates. He wasn’t bad looking but too self absorbed and oblivious. No wonder you blocked the guy from your memory.

“So who is it? I’m actually pretty familiar with those group of guys.” Natalie pressed, looking over at the group herself. “Maybe I could set you up! And you guys could double date with me and Mark!”

“Uh well, I don’t know his name. But I think he’s a theater/music double major like Mark, he’s also on the soccer team.”

Natalie’s eyes twinkled with knowledge. “Hm…I think I had a calc class with him once– does he have ever messy hair, dark dreamy eyes, a little shy, never seems to wear matching shoes?”

“I haven’t really noticed his eyes, but yeah, messy hair, mismatched shoes, also likes Bud Light.” You added.

“How would you know if you never spoken to him?”

“I acted as a bartender for him a couple times.”

“AND YOU NEVER ASKED WHAT HIS NAME WAS?!” Natalie shrieked, causing a couple heads to turn. “C’mon Y/N, don’t throw away your shot.” The future lawyer grabbed your free hand and marched over to the group of theater majors.

“Natalieeee!! What’s upp?” A particularly drunk guy slurred, slinging his arm around her.

“I’m not here for you, Mark.” Natalie wiggled out of his grasp, trying to hide her smile. “I wanted to ask where Mr. Lin-Manuel Miranda was?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” One of the more sober guys asked. “He immediately flew out right after graduation, apparently he immediately got some acting gig in LA, that lucky bastard.”

You couldn’t believe your ears. He had moved across the country–a whole 3,000 miles away doing geeky theater stuff. You didn’t even want to pursue this guy, just intrigued by him.

——————————————————————————————————————

A Year Later

“A medium cappuccino with skim milk and two sugars, please?” You told the barista at the counter.

“That would be $4.25”

You gave her the money and took your drink, then looked around the busy cafe for a spot to sit. After traveling around the world for the past year you needed some time to collect your thoughts, to think about your next steps before flying out again. You noticed one free seat across a familiar mop of dark messy hair hunched over a laptop.

Mysterious-theater- guy? Lin-Manuel? What was he doing here? Even with the nagging from Natalie, you never reached out to him. With the constant traveling and full time career, a boy wouldn’t fit into that equation. You’ve known this since undergrad, but the only available spot was across from him. Taking a deep breath, you walked over to the theater stud not knowing if he would recognize you.

“Well, if it isn’t Bud Light boy.” You queried, trying to sound casual. It has been a while since you’ve seen each other. Lin looked up, facial expression confused for a moment before recognition came.

“Well, if isn’t my old bartender, Y/N right? How’s it going?” Lin asked, closing his laptop.

You never mentioned your name, so must’ve been the work of Natalie? “Work and traveling,” you nonchalantly replied. “What about you, Mr. LA?”

“The name’s Lin actually.” A beginning of a smile forming on the Latino’s lips. “Life’s been hectic, had to come back and visit the parents. Heard you were conquering every continent though?” He asked, then gestured for you to sit. You obliged, taking a sip of your coffee.

“So that’s the word on the street, huh?”

Lin nodded. How come he never had an actual conversation with this girl? Why didn’t he stay a little bit longer near the drinks during those parties? He mentally kicked himself. The only time your name was mentioned to him was when Natalie would talk about her cool journalism major friend who practically lived in the News room. As smart as he was, he never put two and two together.

“From what your friend Natalie has told me, you’re on your way. When’s your next project?”

“May, so in a couple weeks then I’ll be off to Brazil, until Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas.” You explained. “How about you?”

“Sounds like a crazy life you lead. But I have a gig out in LA right now, but also working a play about Washington Heights and growing up there.”

“Sounds exciting! So I guess you’re trying to be the next Shakespeare?” You teased.

Lin smirked, “nah, I couldn’t be compared to the genius, that’s the goal though.”

You and Lin spent the rest of the afternoon talking: everything from freshman year roommate horror stories to incompetent co-workers. Before you knew it the sun was setting and most of the afternoon crowd had dispersed, Lin was in the middle of a particularly intriguing story about him showing up at an audition with his pants inside out, when you noticed the time.

“I would love to find out if you realized you had your pants on inside out in time but I promised Natalie I’ll meet her for dinner, but it was great catching up with you, Lin.”

“Oh.” Lin’s face visibly fell. “It was fun talking with you too, Y/N. When can we meet up again? So I could tell you if I got the part!”

“Was that an excuse to get my number? Cause I’m assuming you got the part?” You quirked an eyebrow.

The boy feigned shock. “Huh maybe it was, pray tell then, what’s your number?”

You gave him your number and asked for his in return.

“I gotta tell you though, I’m heading back to Cali next Thursday so I hope we can catch up before then?” Lin asked, running a hand through his already messy hair.

“If you’re lucky.”

“Here’s hoping I’m lucky cause you’re one interesting girl, Y/N.” He winked and headed out the shop.

You don’t blush easily but the way this overenthusiastic theater nerd said your name made your cheeks color. As cliche as that sounded.

To Natalie 5:35 pm

I have so much to tell you over dinner!!

————————————————————————————————————————-

Several hours later, when you met Natalie at your favorite restaurant, you recounted what happened earlier that afternoon.

“Y/N, girl, I’ve been telling you for the past year to at least message him on Facebook, but did you listen? Nope.” Natalie exclaimed.

“You’re right, I should’ve, I just have this whole field journalism thing which doesn’t allow me stay in one place for more than a week. Any type of romantic relationship wouldn’t fit into that crazy lifestyle. “

“You should get to know him better! From what you told me he could be interested, it’s the twenty-first century, girls have the right to ask guys to hang out first. And Lin’s a nice guy-unlike Jeremy.”

You took in Natalie’s words. Judging by your conversation, maybe you should ask him to hang out-it couldn’t hurt. Even if nothing comes out of it, you might gain a friend on the West coast. Which might be a way to network, in order to find a more stable job.

“Y/N, what’s going through your head?” Natalie prompted.

“I’m going to text him to meet up before he leaves.” You decided. “Because why the hell not?”

Natalie raised her glass to toast with your’s “Hear, hear.”

To: Playwright Lin 7:10 pm

Hey, about your pants & interview, would you be so kind to tell me about it Tuesday?

From: Playwright Lin 7:11 pm

So you are curious? Tuesday works for me, how about dinner? would 7 work?

To: Playwright Lin 7:12 pm

7s fine. I look forward to hearing the rest of your story, Lin.

From: Playwright Lin 7:14 pm

I look forward to telling it, Y/N!

“Judging by how red your face is, he either responded with something sexual or cute.” Natalie teased. You showed your friend the messages which earned you a ‘see I told you’ look.

—————————————————————————————————————————

As Tuesday evening rolled around, You felt a sort of nervousness that you haven’t felt before– not even during the SATs or first job interview. Get it together! You scolded yourself. It’s just dinner with a guy. After taking a quick shower, you contemplated on what to wear. As if on cue, your phone dinged with several texts from Natalie as you stared blankly into your closet.

From: Natalie 6:00 pm

Since ur my best friend, i know ur freaking out about what to wear…u should wear that sweater im obsessed with and those black jeans. U don’t want to try too hard but still look cute.

Txt if u need me.

(Please don’t need me ;))

U got this!

You grinned and rolled her eyes, feeling the anxiety of going on a one-on-one with a guy disappear. Natalie had a point though, the pink sweater had a flirty flair to it and paired with black jeans gave a seamless look. It was an appropriate outfit for a first date if one can call it that. After grabbing your purse, you stepped out the door.

To: Natalie 6:50 pm

Wish me luck!

The restaurant you agreed on was walking distance from your apartment; so you weren’t too worried about leaving ten minutes before the meeting time. It was a small Italian restaurant that you both happened to enjoy while in college. Lin had agreed on meeting outside the place to avoid either one sitting awkwardly alone.

As you approached the restaurant, you noticed that Lin was already there, tapping away on his phone. You walked up and stood next to him. He didn’t notice.

“You millennials and your Apple phones.” You quipped.

“Guilty” Lin responded, putting his hands up. “Ready to go in and stuff our faces?”

“Ready if you are.”

You and Lin entered the restaurant, where you were immediately greeted by a hostess, who escorted you to your table.

“Here you are, your waiter will be with you shortly.” The hostess said.

“So continue about your audition story,” You said, after sitting down. “You must’ve left quite an impression.”

“You could say that, for once I was on time to something, and realized 15 seconds before my audition that my pants were on wrong. So I rushed to the bathroom, changed, with approximately 2 seconds to spare.”

“There should be an Olympic event for that.” You said, earning a laugh from Lin.

For the rest of dinner, you both listened intently on what the other had to say. Lin spoke animatedly about his upbringing in ‘The Heights’, as he called it, which you were beyond intrigued about. You could listen someone talk about their passions on end, especially from a cute boy with a equally as cute speaking voice. Before you knew it, the hostess had come over to give you the check.

“Sorry to interrupt, but the restaurant’s closing soon, I don’t mean to rush but it’s nearing midnight.” The hostess said.

“Shall we split it?” You asked, reaching for the check. Since it was closer to Lin he quickly grabbed it.

“Nope, my treat.”

“It’ll feel more like a date if we didn’t split it. And I was the one who asked you.” You pointed out.

“You’ve got a point there. But it’s all on me next time.” Lin deadpanned as he slid the check back over so you could look at it.

When will next time be? You wondered. He’s going back to California in less than 48 hours. And you’ll be in Brazil for the next 7-8 months. Maybe it was the wrong decision to go out with someone so charming, smart, and funny. It was only the second ‘date’ and you were already falling for him. The thing that you had been dreading.

“Can I walk you home?” Lin asked.

“Sure, thanks.”

You allowed him to walk you back to your apartment but neither one of you spoke. Each wondering what will come next after tonight, knowing your respective careers were demanding and happened to be on different sides of the world. As you arrived in front of your apartment, Lin was the first to speak.

“Look, I had a great time tonight, but given our circumstances, I don’t know when’ll I’ll see you again.” He whispered, his dark eyes meeting yours.

You sighed, a million things going through your head, you ultimately responded with “Let’s make an effort to stay in touch, and not make the same mistake as in undergrad without getting each other’s information.” You gave him a small smile, in which he returned.

“You can count on it, I’m pretty good with the whole tech thing.”

You leaned in for a hug, thinking a handshake would be too casual while a kiss would probably suggest something more.

“Bye, Lin.” You whispered, as you pulled away. “Have a safe flight.”

“See ya, Y/N.”

With that, you opened the door and disappeared inside your apartment, leaving Lin pining for you already.

————————————————————————————————————————-

A Year Later

After spending 7 months in Brazil learning about the culture and reporting about different political issues, you returned home knowing your next assignment wouldn’t be for a couple more months.

You needed these couple months to figure out where she stood with Lin. During the first couple months, phone calls and Facebook messages were daily. You had both wanted to Skype but due to the time difference and hard hours, it was hard for you to find a comparable time. In the last couple months, your communication slowed to only a few texts a week and less often phone calls, since apparently Lin was in the process of getting his musical to broadway and working part time. He would still send you pictures of Shiba Inus almost everyday which he knew were your favorite dog breed.

But when you texted Lin saying that you were going back home, you never received a response, which confused you but eventually brushed it off as him being busy. You knew that long distance friendships were hard, especially after college with everyone off doing their own thing.

Not only was only keeping in touch with Lin hard, it was difficult to get through to Natalie, who was swamped with law school work. You had been back for almost four months before being able to find a time to meet up with your lawyer friend.

Finally one day in April, you finally managed to find a time. You decided to go to the bar early and wait there for Natalie finish up at her criminal law class. You had ordered a bud light, picking at the label on the bottle, when you felt the presence of someone taking a spot next to you, before you could say anything, the person spoke.

“A bud light, please.” The person told the bartender.

Your eyes shot up when she heard the familiar voice. A voice you heard only through the occasional phone call. A person you hadn’t had a real conversation with for the past couple months. A person who ignored your text when you had explicitly said you’ll be back. You looked to the side and there he was, Lin, with his ever messy hair and eye bags, ordering the same type of beer as he did in college.

“Lin.” You breathed.

The actor turned to you, his face lighting up when he saw who had said his name.

“Hey…it’s been a while.”

“What are you doing here?!” You shrieked with a mix of excitement, anger, and shock. How dare he ignore you and then show up? Of all the bars, you run into each other at the same one, giving ‘of all the gin joints’ a true meaning.

“Well to tell you the truth, I quit the acting gig in LA.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “I’m sorry, WHAT?”

“Uh, yeah, didn’t want to pursue something that probably wasn’t going anywhere, so I came back here, looking for another opportunity-maybe really focusing on the musical. In all honesty, I wanted to see you, you’ve been on my mind the whole the whole time I was out West. Seeing those Brazil pictures on Facebook was really something. Doing what you love, it’s incredible and inspiring really. I know our paths are extremely different, but I want to make an us happen.”

You stared at him, taking in every word of his confession.You never experienced someone, much less a guy reveal his true feelings to you-willing to quit a job for you. You were only 24, you had your whole life ahead of you, and this wonderful guy just appears and ruins all that by quitting his job and wanting to be with you-travel with you. All of this was absurd. You couldn’t let that happen so you shook your head.

“Listen, Lin, I like you. A lot actually, but we only graduated college less than two years ago, we only gotten to know each other through technology. As much fun as our brief face-to-face interactions were, you can’t give up your dream of being the next Shakespeare, continue with your play and acting–for me. I’m never in one place for long, my office is out there.” You gestured around and continued. “So Lin, do what you love, keep writing, but be you, and you’ll know when the right time for an us is.”

Lin’s face was unreadable “I guess you’re right, Y/N. See you around.” He sighed, and left the bar.

What you didn’t tell him was your next assignment would be in New York, where you had found a permanent job there, working as an editor for the New York Times.

————————————————————————————————————————-

2 Weeks Later.

“Hello, I am looking for a Lin-Manuel Miranda, I believe he works here?” You asked the concierge at the front desk of an impressive looking New York studio lobby.

“Ah, yes, is he expecting you?” The concierge inquired, looking at an appointment book.

“I’m a friend, tell him… Natalie is here to see him.” You lied.

“OK, give me a moment.”

The concierge pressed a few buttons and said. “Mr. Miranda, a young lady named Natalie is here to see you.” She paused, allowing him to speak, then nodded. “You can go right up, 11th floor.”

“Thank you.”

The elevator ride up to his office gave you time to think. Of course you were nervous, you haven’t spoken to Lin since that night at the bar 2 weeks ago. Natalie had told you that he was heart broken, but you did the right thing. Lin couldn’t give up his whole career to be with you by dropping everything and wanting to travel with you.

The elevator finally dinged and you stepped out and walked down the hall until she saw the door that read 11C. Under that it read, “Lin-Manuel Miranda” You grinned to herself, so he has his own dressing room, you then hesitantly knocked on the door.

“Come on in!” His voice rang from within.

You turned the door handle with shaking hands.

“Nat-oh, Y/N?” His voice was filled with hurt and confusion when he realized it was you.

“Before you say anything, I came here to admit something: I actually got an editing job in New York, and will be moving here in a couple months. The only reason why I didn’t say anything before was that you took me by surprise, showing up to the bar like that. After not speaking directly for so long took a minute for me to process. I know I’m doing the same to you right now, which is completely unfair but I needed time to think and realize that there should be an us.” You rambled.

“Really? You got a job in New York, to be with someone who happens to be working on a play here? And 2 weeks ago when that same someone asked you, you full on shut them down? Leaving them to reevaluate entire life. Huh. Funny how that works.” Lin said, even with his somewhat scathing tone, you still recognized a playfulness to it.

“We were never good at the whole timing thing.” You confessed, noticing the distance between you two has diminished. “I like you, Lin Manuel.”

“I like you too Y/N,” Lin confirmed, “but I have to ask again, is this the right time for an us?”

“Let’s just give it a shot, bud light boy.” You said, closing the space between you and Lin.

#fanfic #lin x reader #lin manuel imagine #lin manuel fanfic #hamilton fic #writings

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dahliias · 7 years

Text

hello children it me theye. i am playing my love, my life, dahlia. you can read about my trash monster below n as always pls come plot w me ,,,,, u all know how i feel about plotting

lmao so. this is dahlia day hayes, aka twin sister to dexter hayes, aka the sensible one

jus call her dahlia . there are nicknames her Favorite People can use (dee namely) but if ur not someone she actively likes she’ll probably pour her drink on you lmao

ok so dahlia is 22, bisexual but its like a men 5 / 95 women thing , like she can appreciate the male form but 100% if u dont eat ur girl out she will

so dahlia grew up in new york with a really irresponsible mum and a constantly growing family; her dad abandoned her, shes got 5 younger siblings she helped raise, it was a real fun shitshow

basically her entire life up until about 16 was her family -- dexter, her siblings, her mother, she was consumed with morning routines, bedtimes, diapers, sick children, dishes, laundry -- she had almost no personality outside of “caretaker”

except .... dahlia is lowkey p freaking amazing up in her head ? she’s amazing at engineering and math. she can fix microwaves, toasters, ovens, driers, cars, blenders. if something broke in the hayes household, it’s dahlia you’d hear little voices screaming for.

she also has a calculator up in that head of hers. she’s been doing advanced calc since 8th grade, and senior year she was bored in two different ap math classes.

when she was 16 she decided that she wanted to try to make something of herself. she thought if she could claw her way out of the poverty-stricken mess, she could eventually bring her siblings with her and they could live a good life

so she applied for hundreds, hundreds of scholarships, met with college representatives, took her s.a.ts three times to get her 2300, -- all behind her family’s -- and dexter’s -- back

mid senior year, she found out that, against all odds, she had managed a full scholarship, living costs + relocation fees included, to berkley. with this knowledge, she pushed herself, and graduated with a 4.5.

she didn’t know how to tell her family, so she waited until a family dinner a few nights after her 18th birthday that she’d be leaving them. it broke her heart, but she desperately wanted to pursue her dreams, she wanted to know more about the world, and see more things than just the view from her crowded bedroom.

she left for berkley in august -- and it was nothing like she expected? it was horrid. overwhelming. her dorm room was too empty. she missed her family. it was like they were inside of her, ripping her to pieces trying to drag her back to them. she loved berkley, and finally had found a place she truly felt like she could belong and flourish, but she couldn’t handle being so far away from her twin, her babies, and her mother.

during spring break, when she finally saved up through work study to return, she dropped out and stayed with her family again; she hated herself for giving up something she was so excited and passionate about, but she felt like she couldn’t justify leaving her kids just to be selfish

so she adapted. she started working, although illegally, at a little nightclub as a waitress -- it helped, some, that she looked young, because sleezy drunk men were always willing to tip a young-looking blonde a little extra.

she did a fair bit of illegal shit too -- she stole, she cheated, she pickpocketed, she conned, -- and eventually she ended up in underground fighting

she’s good, too. at first she came home with the shit kicked out of her every night, but she learned to anticipate the throws and learned where to hit to make it hurt, and how to use her body to hurt other people.

she only fought on the weekends, but it was enough at the time

dahlia also grew angrier. every morning when she got home from a fight at 5 am and had to slather drugstore concealer all over her face to help get the kids up for school and out the door, she hated that -- once a genius with potential -- she let herself become a criminal.

when dexter left the family, she grew hard; it’s hard to learn that you can’t even trust your family, but she learned that. she started working double-time, with half the time to sleep, waitressing and pickpocketing, fighting in safe rings on the weekends didn’t cut it anymore, so she started to go to rings where she would be pit against grown men; it was riskier, but the pot was much larger.

eventually, one of the various dads of her siblings came back into their lives and tried to push in as “father,” and her mother, a wreck, let him. he told dahlia he wanted her to work on moving out because she was a bad influence on his kids, and dahlia was furious -- who was this man? a stranger who had left her family in the first place? she refused, obviously.

as time went on, the man became more and more aggressive with her, leading to an actual physical fight. she hurt him, and he kicked her out of the house she’d been raising her siblings in basically since she was a first grader.

she had literally no one -- so she took what money she had from the last few weeks, and put it together on a debit card. her plan was stupid and half-baked, but she decided that she would track down her wayward twin and force him to return with her so that she could get back the only purpose she had anymore -- her family.

dahlia’s not a nice girl. she doesn’t pretend to be. she’ll be perfectly cordial and nice, but if you pull a tone with her she’ll go 0 to bitch in ten seconds lmao.

she’s not afraid of very much at all, and she has literally like four switchblades on her at any given moment, even though she’s definitely dressed like some mannequin at forever 21 lmao

she always has a lighter or a box of matches on her, and when she gets restless or agitated, she starts striking the matches, shaking them out, and throwing them on the ground, or flicking her lighter open and lighting it over and over again

she’s v unimpressed w the male population. thank dexter and her dad for that lmao 99% sure her favorite water bottle dead ass says “male tears” on it

honestly dee is so ?? edgy n mean n tough ?? but she dead ass dresses like any other lil preppy thing w her shorts n skirts n her sheer ass shirt and heeled boots, she loves the hot weather in marbella so far so she’s just like yes please i love shorts and i hate jackets

she had never actually seen the ocean before bc berkley isn’t in beach county, so when she got to marbella and saw the ocean in person the first time she finally found the one thing that scares her and takes her breath away lol

so sometimes she just sits in the sand looking at it bc she hasn’t plucked up the courage to go and play in it yet shes honestly so intimidated by the ocean . she’ll never admit it bc she is the Man Of The House but still

it took her a while to hunt down her brother, she started in france and ended up here via hitch hiking and sneaking into trains, she has no fear its insane , so she’s probs only been in town like 2 weeks.

she’s currently staying at a lil youth hostel so she only really has a nice army backpack full of three or four mismatched outfits and a toothbrush and a phone + charger that only works w wifi. she’s stealing toiletries from tourists and makes a living pickpocketing atm

she’s probably going 2 be too easy to convince to kick back bc she hasnt had a goddamn day off in 4 years

when shes mad move anything breakable out of the way and do not stand close to a bar because she will throw a beer bottle at your head and she will destroy everything you own

the only ppl in the world who see any gentility to her are her baby siblings and they’re not here are they ?????

if she Adopts u she will show u how soft and sweet and lowkey maternal she can be, but otherwise nah

i genuinely am so brain dead now i cannot think of many plots but i have 3 i really want below so pls:

someone who she can stay with in the longterm -- just because she’s gonna be here for a while and there’s only so long she can pay the fees to stay at a youth hostel and live out of a bag honestly she’s gonna want to buy a bra and wash it regularly; i’d love if these two actually get along well whatever that means. like she’s not a horrible roommate bc shes spent her whole life cleaning up after other ppl but she’ll probs steal ur clothes bc shes not gonna buy her own lol

someone who can help her just fucking unwind for two seconds like girl needs to chill i swear ?? like get her drunk. get her to actually stand in the ocean. let her listen to music and eat good food. she’s never got to be a teenager, she needs that

a person who lowkey caught her with their wallet in her hand and was like dude wyd?? and instead of throwing a punch or calling The Law Enforcement Officers they actually stopped for a sec n now the two are unlikely bffs and they are her Emotional Support even tho shes mean and bitchy and likely is gonna be like “sad??? sad?????? i do not feel that emotion. nut the fuck up. ‘sad.’ what a pussy”

#islandrp:intro #cries theres so muchbackstory

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