#my answers started getting lame near the end but alas
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Munkustrap for the ask game? 🥺
1. Canon I outright reject
I CANNOT find the post but there's this one Jack Rebaldi interview where he mentions something about how 'no one likes Munkustrap because he's the leader and nobody really likes the guy always giving you orders' and as much as I love Jack Rebaldi's Munk I just don't agree with that interpretation. Everybody loves Munk. To Me.
2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on
On the flip side of Munk actor interviews, Michael Gruber saying
'[Munk is] entrusted with giving the information to the other, maybe younger cats who have not been to the Jellicle Ball before. He gets up and says exactly what they're here to do. He's also caretaker of the kittens. He wants to make sure everybody's safe; in all the Macavity scares, he's there to protect the tribe. So he is the protector'
about Munk is really fundamental for me and how I see Munk, Munk's role in the tribe, and Munk's role in the story.
3. Obscure headcanon
His owner is an old unmarried lady who lives in an apartment by herself; she calls him Felix and he feels responsible for her bc she 'has no colony'.
4. Favorite line
Michael Gruber's American-ass delivery of 'or hairier' in Pekes is my favorite comedy moment in any and all versions of Cats I've seen, it gets me every time.
5. Best personality trait
He cares, deeply and personally, about pretty much everyone, and never hesitates to put himself out there to assist if someone needs it. He's a natural leader and a quick decision maker even under pressure, but he's still patient and compassionate with everyone he meets-- even when he's stressed or angry, he still makes efforts to be kind.
6. Worst personality trait
Munk physically cannot remove himself from a situation if he thinks he's needed, even if he's actively making it worse. He also is one of those people who refuses to let people just vent at him and tries to solve everyone's problems even if they don't want a solution to their problem.
7. Age/height/weight headcanon
Munk is shorter than Tugger but significantly stronger than him, so he can just scoop Tugger up in a fireman's carry and remove him from a situation if he's being annoying.
8. Unpopular opinion about them
Honestly I think I'm even more normie about Munk than about Tugger. I don't think I have any truly unpopular hot takes about him.
9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character
I do love his part of Jenny's song-- the way he's singing directly to the kittens on the ground, and his section of the song has this lullaby feeling to it that's just so calming and tender. I really love how for that song it's a duet (sort of) between a young dude and an older lady, but the older lady gets the snappy upbeat part and the younger dude gets the slow & sweet part. It really just establishes Munk as this soft and nurturing figure from the beginning.
10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)
Bway revival Macavity fight imo. It's just so damn good.
11. Faceclaim for the role
Michael Gruber is rlly my Munk, even the unique shape of his wig in 98 sticks out to me as a Fundamental Munk Thing™.
In human aus he's kind of this lighter-skinned 'racially ambiguous' kind of guy with dark hair, smile lines, a little bit of stubble, and a frequently worn sweater vest.
12. Crack headcanon
I feel like his human version would be a Beyonce fan, but like in the cringiest middle-aged-dad way possible.
13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done
Munk's always been a pretty level-headed and mature guy, even when he was young, so there isn't much that he's done that I can label as 'stupid' except perhaps jumping into dangerous situations to protect someone without considering his own safety first. My hc for how Plato joined the Junkyard starts with Munk running straight into traffic on a busy street bc he saw baby Plato abandoned between two lanes and petrified from fear.
Random ass kitten Munk had never seen before in his life, and he charged right into mortal danger without a second's thought about it. Brave, but also stupid.
14. Most heroic moment
Munk's doing heroic shit all the time. My previous answer is actually a good example, plus, you know, he's tangled with Macavity more than once.
15. Worst thing they’ve ever done
Munkustrap Has Never Done Anything Wrong, Ever, In His Entire Life.
16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves
I don't know if this is 'never admit to himself' levels but Munk wonders a lot if he shares some blame for how Macavity ended up. He and Mac grew up together, and while he always knew his older brother had a temper, he really and truly thought Mac was just rough around the edges, and that he really did care about Munk and the rest of the tribe deep down. But when Macavity betrayed the tribe and started doing Evil Deeds, Munk was left wondering if Macavity had always been rotten deep down, and hid it from all of them for all those years, or if he'd just.... snapped somehow, from the pressure of being Deuteronomy's heir, or something, and maybe there was something Munk could have done to help him before things got too bad.
As is, Munk may never know.
17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
18. What they’d go to see a therapist about
Stress & setting too-high standards for himself, probably.
19. Vices/bad habits
Never resting, for one. He basically never gets enough sleep. It's funny, in my human aus both Tugger and Mac suffer from insomnia, but Munk is oftentimes just as sleep deprived as those two despite being the only Deut bro without insomnia, just because he's always doing things. That man is responding to his work emails at 1:24AM for no goddamn reason.
20. Scars
He's got plenty of scars, most of them not huge, but he's been in all sorts of fights and even if asked he wouldn't even be able to identify how or when he got them.
21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)
I think he drinks wine in one scene in my human/celeb/soulmate fic, otherwise he's a real coffee man.
22. Best physical feature
I don't know what other cats would consider his best feature! By cat standards Munk is a handsome dude, but kind of in a normal, average way. Just, you know, a handsome guy you'd see on the street. Honestly I think his general vibes are his most attractive trait, though that's not physical. But nobody in all the world can look at a large muscular man being sweet and cute and patient with little kids and go 'nah 3/10 for me'.
23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like?
I'm thinking like... forest or campfire or something like that.
24. Most annoying habit
Asking someone to complete a task for him and then changing his mind and completing it himself before they can get to it.
25. 3 things they’d want to take with them if they were dropped off in the middle of nowhere
Again I need more details for this question but a book for sure regardless.
26. What they would do if stuck in an elevator with [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]
Munk I think is a pretty boring character as far as getting-stuck-in-an-elevator shenanigans go. Except for Macavity, that would probably be interesting. Anyone else would probably just be the two trying to escape together and then rock paper scissors for the next six hours.
27. Their guilty pleasure
Human Munk probably has a variety of snackies he considers guilty pleasures, like special chocolates or whatever. Cat Munk would probably say it's 'oh sometimes I go off somewhere in the Junkyard by myself and just sit for a while and enjoy the silence' and the person he's talking to is like THATS NOT A GUILTY PLEASURE THATS JUST KEEPING YOURSELF SANE
28. How they feel about [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]
I headcanon Jemima as being Bomba and Macavity's daughter, though this is a fact Bomba very much keeps to herself-- she's only admitted it to two people and Munk is not one of them. However Munk.... has eyes & he's perfectly aware of who Jemima's father is, though he's never gotten Bomba to actually admit it. This kind of creates a. .. . not 'weird' relationship, but a kind-of sad one, because Munkustrap knows he's this delightful little girl's uncle but she doesn't know it in return, and her finding out will probably be more devastating than anything, because it would come with the knowledge of who her father is.
So Munk just kind of has to treat Jemima just like he does the rest of the kittens and keep the knowledge of their relationship to himself, though he's always wanted a big family.
29. Eating habits
Munk is a Deuteronomy, so in both cat and human aus he can eat for fucking forever. Human Munk likes to cook and bake as well, and he and Demeter make their dinner together every afternoon, and very rarely order takeout.
30. Sleeping habits
Whoops, I already talked about this. He doesn't sleep as much as he should, but he sleeps soundly whenever he does get around to putting his head down.
31. If the had a tumblr what would it look like?
Probably politics. Plus some pictures or art or such that he finds interesting.
32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh
Kittens being cute will very easily get a smile out of him, though he doesn't laugh-laugh terribly often. One thing people don't know about him is that Tugger suffering something that he 1000% brought upon himself absolutely will get an evil grin or two out of Munk.
33. Something guaranteed to make them cry
Just like Tugger's answer, Deuteronomy's death. Munk's not a big crier I don't think, but when he does cry he's usually pretty quiet.
34. How they react when they are feeling X emotion (sad, angry, excited, scared, etc.—can specify as many as you like)
Most of these I think would result in Munk throwing himself into his work with vigor to get his mind off of the Bad Feelings. Munk's not quick to anger but he is quick to calm down after an outburst, and his excitement is usually going to be expressed through singing or dancing.
35. Their idea of a perfect day
This man will honestly be like 'yeah the perfect day would be a bunch of relaxation with my tribemates watching the kittens play and so on and so forth' and then refuse to stop working for ten minutes to make it happen.
36. Their favorite season
Late winter/early spring, the time of the Jellicle Ball and the incoming of the warm season.
37. What they really think about themselves
Munk struggles a lot wondering if he makes the right decisions as a leader and measures himself up to Deuteronomy all the time. He really wishes he could do more even though he's already always busy, and worries a lot whether the trust that the tribe places in him is justified.
38. Favorite holiday
Christmas bitch. Probably also a thanksgiving bitch as well.
39. Favorite game
He probably likes Monopoly. Like an insane person.
40. Favorite book
I imagine he likes reading but I'm not sure what I would say is his favorite book! He probably likes books about history and such a lot, and the occasional historical fiction.
41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be?
Probably his mother, whom he doesn't remember well.
42. 3 comfort items
UHH for human aus: he loves the old scrapbooks from when he and his brothers were kids, his favorite flannel jacket, and uh........ does his wife count as a comfort item,,,,
43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise
You KNOW Munk has got to be a steak guy. Unlike Tugger he can probably enjoy a good salad, and box mac and cheese is probably one of those things he whips up every once in a while for childhood nostalgia reasons. There probably aren't a ton of foods Munk even dislikes, much less despises.
44. Their happiest memory
Like I mentioned before, this question is hard for me. I hc that he and Demeter have triplets at some point after the events of the musical, so maybe when they were born.
45. Their favorite celebrity
He seems like the type of guy to like Elvis, idk why.
46. The person they most admire
Deuteronomy. I feel like that one is easy lmao
47. Their dream job
I don't think he really had big career aspirations, more of a family man.
48. Scariest moment of their life
Probably when Macavity betrayed the tribe.
49. Favorite toy as a child
He seems like a stuffed elephant kind of guy. Or maybe his collection of the little green plastic army men.
50. A memory they’ve blocked out
I don't think he really has any memories he's consciously or subconsciously blocked out. There are things he tries not to think about or remember, but not on the level of fully blocking anything from his head.
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I just feel like blowing raspberries on Reiner's tummy would be something that he would enjoy so much. It makes him laugh and it's really good for waking him up.
oh he’d absolutely love those 🥹🥹 especially when he’s feeling unmotivated to wake up!
its not reserved for weekends, but since he works during the weekdays, the responsibility of having to go to work motivates him to get up and complete the day. but when its a day he has nothing and noone to answer to, he has trouble formulating an excuse for why exactly he should get out of bed. but alas! the funny blowing of the tummies always adds that fun light into his life!!
“ReiRei!” You sweetly, yet tightly, called out.
Shucking open the curtains to your bedroom windows, you heard the expected delayed groan from behind you.
Usually, when you had come back from a morning walk and having done the weekly shopping, Reiner would at least have gotten out off bed once — at least to open the curtains — but it looks like none of that had happened today.
“Mmngg.” The blonde rolled over with the duvet now covering his head.
“Come on. It’s already 1pm, my love.” You gently remind, the bed dipping as you crawled onto the mattress from the other side.
“I knoooowww.” He whined although his voice was as deep as ever.
You sat on your heels on top of the bed as you pitifully watched the outline of the man you love.
Days like these weren’t usually the best for him but they were as equally as frustrating for you because you needed his help around the house. Currently, you were taking a lot of the weight of managing the home on your own and even you were nearing your limits.
You knew that you had to be patient with him — allow him to go at his own pace — but if you simply did that, you’d eventually get nowhere.
Even Reiner, regardless of how he was holding up, needed to compromise.
“Don’t make me come under there.” The intonation of your voice rose upwards at the end as you sing-songed your words.
Reiner didn’t answer but you weren’t in wait of a reply to do what you were going to next.
Lifting up the covers, you shuffled underneath the blanket before crawling over to where Reiner lay underneath it.
You rolled the man onto his back. He didn’t protest, and you know he didn’t resist because if Reiner wanted to be stubborn, he could easily hold his weight down and give you a hard time.
But he didn’t.
With little to no effort, the man was laying on his back and you did the one thing you knew would provoke somewhat a productive reaction.
You laid your palms on either side of his belly before bending down to blow an obnoxious raspberry onto his skin.
At the action, Reiner grumbled, albeit a lot softer than he was groaning before. He made a quick swat at your head — a lame attempt at it — as he didn’t try to show any further resistance.
You saw this as your chance.
“Come on, my ray of sunshine. Let’s get. You. Out. Of. BED!”
You blew another raspberry onto his belly but this time causing to Reiner to crease inwards and let out the mistaken sound of a giggle.
Your head instantly perked up at the sound, unsure if you heard correctly considering you were still underneath the blanket, but its when you blew his stomach again that you were proved right.
With a gasp of air, Reiner let out the most clear yet tinkly laugh that you’ve heard from him in awhile. He curled inwards on himself, holding the assaulted area but alas, he was glowing.
With a triumphant smile, you poked your head up at the top of the blanket, already wrapping your arms around the large male.
As the dying embers of laughter still decorated his lips, you laid a smacking kiss to his forehead.
“You feel ready to tackle the day, soldier?” You say in light heart, caressing the man’s head as he instantly found solace within your chest.
“Not quite.” He started, the phrasing already causing your shoulders to slug. “But I’m ready to try.” He finished much more quietly.
With a smile, you hushly cheered him on before kissing his forehead once again.
“That’s my man.”
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( LIKE ) akaashi keiji x gn!reader
wherein the reader confesses through a love letter ( email ).
cross-posted on my ao3 so if you see this there, then that's most likely my account.
WORDS: 1834
GENRE: comedy, one-sided crush
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DEAR AKAASHI KEIJI,
Good day. This is (Last Name) (First Name) from Class 3-6 and I am writing this letter to convey my feelings for you. My friend, Rei, had told me that this is one of the best ways that I can confess to the individual that I hold romantic feelings for, which is you. I had initially planned to make a bento for you but I then crossed that out when I accidentally burned the tempura along with my hand in the frying pan during the process, thus, I was not (and still not) able to fulfill such. Thankfully, my left hand was salvaged from the incident so I am able to type.
Firstly, I would like to ask how you are. I hope that all is well. I heard that Bokuto-senpai, your teammate, accidentally spiked a volleyball to your face a few days ago. I searched online and have found this thing called the “RICE” technique. And no, this is not a joke about soaking your face in rice to fix it; Rei likes to joke about that to me a lot, but do not worry, I do not make lame jokes. I applied the same technique to my right hand and it is now healing up well, thankfully. I will be inserting an attachment which obviously includes the link containing this RICE technique at the end of the letter. Please view it and follow the technique in the video if you have not done so yet.
Secondly, I will be stating the main reason as to why I am writing you a letter. I like you, Akaashi-san, and I do not think that I can say this to you in real life. I like to think that I am a great writer, but I cannot say the same for my verbal communication skills. It is the same status as my cooking skills and love life: non-existent. But with this letter, I hope that my feelings are starting to get across by now.
Lastly, despite the fact that I have mentioned my lack of verbal communication skills, I would like to make a request. If it does not trouble you, perhaps you would like to go on a date. My friend, Rei, had also told me that boys are usually the ones asking girls out on dates, but alas, I am no man and you are no woman. Although, I am sure that I might still like you the same even if we were. I am going off topic. Anyway, whether I am a man or a woman, it does not matter to me.
If your answer to the date is yes, then please meet me by the Ginkgo trees near Fukurodani’s basketball court, right beside the vending machine at exactly 3:00 PM tomorrow after classes end. I had asked Bokuto-san whether you all had practice during Thursdays, and apparently you did not.
If you do not go, then that is alright with me as well and I will no longer bother you. Please do not feel pressured to accept my feelings. I would hate for you to feel that way. Rest assured that I will accept whatever response you provide me with.
Thank you and have a nice day ahead.
Sincerely,
(Last Name) (First Name)
Fukurodani Class 2-3
> [ lastname.firstname@yohomail inserted an attachment ]
> https://youtu.be/xvFZjo5PgG0
PS. if you are not able to press the link, I suggest that you copy and paste it on your browser instead. I hope this helps.
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YOU WOULDN’T CALL YOURSELF COURAGEOUS. Such a word was quite loaded considering that there are situations that you would rather not face, but you could say that doing this; confessing to the person you like, is a courageous step on your part. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re scared. Simply standing here by the vending machine, being caressed by the cold wind passing by aids in causing your heart to continue racing. It also causes you to shiver, and so you hug your arms tighter around you, pulling your hoodie close against your skin.
You yawn. It’s one habit you do whenever you are nervous. Akaashi-san could appear from any moment now, after all, and the anticipation causes you to yawn once again.
But then, there is also this probability that he wouldn’t show up at all. If you were to estimate the probability that he returns your feelings, you could say that it’s not zero. You’ve interacted with him enough to see that he at least doesn’t dislike you—if the act of simply glancing at you whenever he would enter Bokuto-san’s classroom and you happened to also be there, was considered an interaction at all. It’s not even a glance; just a passing look as he searches for Bokuto-san.
The first rule of probability states that the probability of an impossible event from happening is 0, while the probability of a certain event is 1. So, given Event A being Akaashi coming here and returning your feelings, you could say that 0 ≤ P(A) ≤ 1 with P(A) representing Event A. The equation means that the probability of Event A is greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to 1. Still, that is simply one facet of the multifacets of outcomes that this one scenario can possibly bring and it doesn’t allow you to predict anything at all. It was a desperate attempt to stabilize and comfort yourself.
You aren’t comforted, worse, you are left at a standstill.
“(Last Name)-senpai.”
You jolt amidst your musings and stare owlishly at the newcomer.
You don’t like watching cheesy rom-coms and would much rather prefer to watch informative videos (e.g. the unexplored parts of the Earth’s waters which subsequently informs yet also scares you), but you could say that gazing at him feels like something straight out of a rom-com movie.
Akaashi Keiji stops to stand right beside you, in all his straight-faced glory, looking as cool as a cucumber right beside you. His ebony hair shines against the dewy light of day; the Ginkgo's green leaves filtering out the sunlight, but still somehow emphasizing the features of his face with its highlight. His eyes, straight and sharp ocean blue gazing at you with its usual intensity like raging waters, hidden behind glassy vitreous humour (i.e. the liquid that keeps the eye moist). There's still a bruise by his right eye but it doesn't make him look less breathe-taking to you. His lips, typically set to a straight line, is now quirked slightly downwards along with his furrowed eyebrows make you question whether something wrong had happened.
“Are you okay, (Last Name)-senpai?” He glances down at your bandaged hand. "And how is your hand by the way?"
You cough behind a hand lightly and stand straight, patting the imaginary dust away from your hoodie. “Yes, I am f-fine and dandy, Akaashi-san. My hand is well. I had applied the RICE technique which I hope you are aware of by now."
The corners of his lips quirk up and you internally panic. You had a step-by-step flow prepared for you to follow for an efficient and effective romantic confession, but it all had been thrown out the window all of a sudden.
“... !” So, you stand straight there, unsure of what to do, and avoiding his searching gaze.
“(Last Name)-senpai,”
You jolt once more. “Yes?”
He starts off slowly. “I have received the email you sent yesterday.”
You nod with your arms crossed and respond to him matter-of-factly. “Yes. Yes, I did send one. I am glad the email was well-received and not corrupted.”
No! Why would I say that? Why would it even be corrupted?!
His brows furrowed in confusion. “Why would it be corrupted?”
Yes, why would it?
You shook your head shortly. “Yes, why would it be corrupted? It is merely just an email containing my romantic confession after all. No hacker would be interested in attacking such a file with malware.”
He simply nods along, although you can see the confusion start to show on his face.
He doesn’t know where this conversation is going and clearly, you don’t either. So, with all of the courage you’ve spent saving up in your entire current lifetime, you take a step.
“Akaashi-san.”
“Yes?”
“If you have received my email yesterday then I must assume that you are aware of why I had given you the choice to meet or to not meet me here. Meeting with me here would indicate that you reciprocate my feelings, yes? And you are here right now, yes? Unless I am imagining things right now.” You almost stutter with your continuous sentences. You could do without the embarrassing last sentence but you’ve done well. Give yourself a pat on the shoulder.
He nods his head. “Yes I am well aware. Although,”
You deflated and it seems that he’s noticed this. Still, he continues on mercilessly.
“I felt that it would be rude if I simply did not show up.”
You admire that he is at least softening the blow. But the damage is done and you could feel the corners of your lips twitching down and the sting behind the back of your eyes. You did not anticipate this: to even be crying at all. You had spent the last few months planning and backing out on this confession, and you have strengthened your will to wholeheartedly accept whatever response he provides you with. As it turns out: You cannot completely rationalize your emotions nor can you always predict it. It is irritating.
You nod your head slowly. “I-I see. Do not worry about it, Akaashi-san. Rest assured, I will not bother you from now on.”
You make a move to bow deeply. “Thank you and have a nice day ahead.”
“Wait.”
A hand grasps the edge of your hoodie’s sleeve. You turn to look at him. His face is serious and stance is firm, and yet, his eyes turn softer. You don’t know. It is a disgustingly cheesy thought to even have, but you like to think that it did happen.
“Yes, it is true that I don’t reciprocate your feelings.” He began.
You nod in reassurance, standing up straighter as he releases his hold on your sleeve. You are now both facing each other and you can see the stress showing through the crease between his two slightly narrowed eyes.
You confirm firmly despite the twinge of pain. “Yes. Yes, we have already established that.”
“But that is because I’ve yet to get to know you.” He pauses, switching to speak less formally. “If it’s okay with you, (Last Name)-senpai, I’d like us to be friends and get to know each other first.”
Your heart fills with hope and you cannot help but stare at him with wide eyes.
“And maybe, we could go on that date once we have crossed that bridge.” He finishes off with a smile. It’s not wide and it doesn’t show his set of pearly teeth, but the corners of his eyes crinkle that you can’t help but do the same.
“Y-Yes. Yes, I would like that.”
His smile grows a tad bit wider and softer. “Please take care of me.”
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© flowerstardrops — do not commit any acts of plagiarism. i do not condone anyone stealing or copying my works, and especially posting these on another platform.
#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu!!#haikyuu#y/n#gender neutral reader#haikyuu anime#akaashi keiji x you#akaashi keiji#akaashi keiji x reader#akaashi x gender neutral reader#akaashi x you#akaashi x reader#fukurodani#awkward reader#haikyuu headcanons#headcanons#akaashi fluff#comedy#fluff#one sided love#pining#haikyuu crush headcanons#haikyuu romance#haikyuu fluff#flowerstardrops
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start of something new || franco && hunter
WHO: Franco Hart @submissivexhart && Hunter Clarington @hunterclaringtonswitch
WHERE: Some field on the grounds with a tree
WHEN: Sunday 2nd June in the morning
KINKS: Knifeplay and some slut shaming
NOTES: Franco goes for a jog and finds Hunter practising some knife throwing. Both boys throw caution to the wind and have a little fun.
Word Count: 3806
Franco had taken to strolling around when he was bored and today was no different. He thrown on his grey sweat pants, grey tanks and zip up jacket and taken a walk across the grounds when he saw someone throwing knives at a target. He was intrigued and walked over, keeping a safe distance as he did. He noticed one of the guys from his TPE class and smiled as a knife hit the target, "Hey Sir" he said, "Impressive" he said with a smirk, nodding his head at the target as he zipped from his bottled water.
Despite finding himself relegated to civilian life, Hunter refused to let his hard won skill stagnate and decay. Practice was a must, especially considering his lingering injuries. He had to adjust his stance and release and he scrapped the idea of working on knife skills with his left hand. No, he just had to be even better with his right now. Taking a deep breath, he aimed and threw the Perfectpoint PP-28-3BK knife, watching as it pinwheeled through the air and the leathal little point sank into the target. He had a fondness for the small throwing knives. Sure, they weren’t the best in close quarters combat (give him a Ari B’Lilah for that any day), but they were brutally effective. When he heard someone speak, he looked over and nodded at the other student.
Franco smirked at the other man and sighed, "Not very talkative are you" he asked. He stepped closer still and bit his lip, "I'm Franco Hart, we have classes together, Sir" he said, hoping to het a conversation going.
Hunter slipped a finger into the ring on the hilt of one of the knives, idly spinning it. “Hunter Clarington,” he said by way of introductions. “I don’t normally chat while I practice. It breaks focus.”
Franco sighed, "And I don't suppose you wanna break focus and actually hold a conversation with someone Sir" he asked, a little bit irritated but trying to not let it show.
Heaving a sigh, Hunter noted the twinge in his side and walked over to the target, pulling free the knives that were already imbedded there. “It’s all right, I was just finishing up,” he said begrudgingly, knowing that he shouldn’t overtax his injuries. “Are you interested in knife work?”
Franco smiled and bit his lip, "I mean I'm interested in knife work sure, but not throwing them at a target" he said with a smirk. He wasn't shy and he was forward about his feelings and thoughts, "You seem to know your way around a knife Sir".
Hunter’s eyes tracked the other boy’s movements. “I was in the Army,” he said, walking over to where the knife roll and whetstone lay. “They teach you some skills there and I always had an affinity for blades.” A part of him noted that the other boy was quite attractive, but he tried to ignore that. “If not throwing, what’s your interest?”
Franco laughed more to himself then anything else, "Army man, impressive Sir" he thought for a moment before answering the next question and bit his lip as he did, "I erm, let's just say me and my boyfriend enjoyed knives sometimes".
Hunter raised a brow at his response, chastising his disco for twitching with interest. “Knives aren’t toys,” he said gruffly. “Playing with them sexually can be very dangerous. Must be a kinky little sub to get off on that kind of thing.”
"Yeah well we didn't play with them often but they sometimes made an appearance" he smirked and then laughed again, "Little? I ain't little sir, people often think I'm a Dom but alas, I feel weak when I'm around an attractive Dom".
Tipping his head to the side, Hunter fingered one of his knives. “People who think you’re a dom are clearly fools,” he said, then, before he could help it, he asked, “Are you feeling weak now?”
"Fools" he said feigning mock hurt, "This physique can be misleading" he said with a cocky grin. He raised an eyebrow and gulped, "Well, you are an attractive Dom so I'd go with a little".
“Physiques can be misleading,” Hunter said, wetting his lips slightly. He wanted...something he’d never really allowed himself to acknowledge. “If I was into guys, I’d say you’re not bad looking yourself.” It was a lame comeback, but desire was at war with a lifetime of repression and thus his game was impaired.
Franco nodded and then heard the comment, "Not into guys huh?" He said with a smirk before adding, "Well, that is a shame". He sighed, "An army man like yourself, probably really good at the kind of things I like".
Hunter still watched to other young man warily. “Clarington’s don’t do that. It’s unacceptable,” he said, good hand tightening on the hilt of his knife. “Really now? What kind of things might those be?” He told himself that scenes did not have to be inherently sexual, but...who was he kidding?
"Claringtons aren't gay?" He said, raising an eyebrow, "Anyone can be gay Sir". He sighed and laughed, "We are both in TPE class right? I think that gives away the kind of thing I'm into". He paused, "I used to have a Dom boyfriend, I know alot about this life".
“My father would express a very different and...forceful opinion,” Hunter told him, then nodded. “TPE is essential I think. If one is going to be dominant, it’s important to be able to take control.” He considered this and said, “So you knew you were a sub before coming to Lima Heights then...or at least strongly suspected.”
Franco shook his head, "My parents were really accepting and considering my dad's a pastor, I was shocked". He paused and thought about the question, "Like I said, I had a Dom boyfriend in school. He ended up going elsewhere. So it would have shocked me to get anything else".
Hunter nodded. “And you’re looking for some familiar fun. Nothing serious or emotional...I might be willing to try that,” he said, then coughed and shook himself, running a thumb along the flat of the blade. “There are, after all, no rules that states all scenes must be sexual in nature.”
Franco shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah maybe that's it" be said, having not thought about it, "I guess familiar is what I'm looking for get over it". He watched as Hunter played with the knife, "No they don't Sir, scenes can be non sexual".
In a swift movement, Hunter spun the knife in his hand and stepped closer, blade grazing Franco’s neck but not so much as drawing blood. “Limits and safeword then,” Hunter said, eyes dark and serious.
Franco lifted his head, stretching his neck as he felt the knife against it, a desperate energy running through him. He gulped and nodded, "Vore, Scat, Vomit, ageplay and enclosed spaces and safeword is Red".
Turning the blade slightly, Hunter pressed the flat of it against Franco’s throat and dragged it over the skin. “Easy enough to remember,” he said, pushing Franco back until he was leaning up against the tree. “Hands on the bark, Pretty Boy,”
Franco felt something in him stir and the actions sent him a little wild. Backed up against the tree, he dropped his hands to his side, keeping his neck flexed so more of it was accessible, and placed his hands on either side of him, his palms flat against the tree bark, “As you wish, Sir” he breathed out, gulping once again.
Tipping his head to the side, Hunter hummed, “Now...what am I going to do with you...anything I want, isn’t that right?” He turned the blade again, dragging it along Franco’s jaw. “Look at that, sharp enough to give you a close shave.”
Franco nodded, his confidence still there and only increasing. He was never one to shy away from anything, “Any thing you want, Sir” he breathed, holding off calling himself a slut until he knew Hunter could handle the fact he was a man. He felt the blade against his jaw and bit his lip, hiding the moan desperate to escape him, “Lucky for us I’m clean shaven” he breathed out.
The heat of the moment emboldened Hunter and he stepped closer, pressing his firm body against Franco’s. He could feel the boy’s cock against his hip and knew his own was pressed against Franco’s abs. “They say power is an aphrodisiac...is giving it up one for you or are you just a horny boy?”
Franco felt Hunters body against his and it did nothing for helping him keep himself calm. He felt surprised at the move, considering ‘Claringtons didn’t do that’ but he kept his comment to himself, “Giving up power is a complete aphrodisiac” he said, a just audible whisper, “I’m also a completely horny slut” he said, finally letting himself break a little.
Hunter sucked in a breath, feeling his heart pounding. This was...not quite like any scene he’d allowed himself to imagine but holy shit.... “You are, aren’t you?” Hunter half growled, taking the knife away from Franco’s skin to spin it lazily before gliding it along the other side of the boy’s jaw. “Bet I could slice through your clothes and bend you over and you’d love it.”
Franco nodded, gulping as he felt the knife against his jaw once again and he raised an eyebrow, "You sure know I would, but I'm pretty sure this place has rules about wandering around naked and I ain't getting punished by them... Maybe you, but not them, Sir".
Hunter snorted. “You really don’t know what goes on here, do you? Be prepared to see all kinds of naked people and more than occasional public fucking,” he said, shifting his leg to push a strong thigh between Franco’s. “Guess we’re both learning something new today.”
Franco felt the movement in between his legs and looked down, still mindful of the knife near his skin, "I guess we both are but it isn't very clear what you are learning, Sir" he said with a smirk. Franco was normally very cocky and this was no different.
The knife sank into the tree bark beside Franco’s ear. His hips arched, letting the other boy feel his hard cock between their bodies. “Pretty clear I’m learning The Colonel will have another reason to hate me if he finds out,” Hunter said, his good hand, now free, clasping Franco’s neck, thumb brushing his Adam’s apple. “Can you keep a secret, Pretty Boy, or should we stick to playing with sharp things?”
Franco felt the knife go into the tree bark and then he felt Hunter's cock and he tried to hide the amused look on his face, "What he doesn't know, can't hurt him right?" he said, turning his head a little. As he felt Hunter's hand on his throat he gulped, letting him feel his Adam's apple move, "I'm the best at keeping secrets... Dirty little secrets".
“Good,” Hunter replies curtly, though inside he was thinking Thank God . He wrenched the knife free and hooked the tip into the neck of Franco’s shirt. “Tell me now if you want the shirt in one piece.”
Franco watched as Hunter removed the knife from the tree and smirked, "You know, I have other jogging clothes in my room, do your worst.... Sir".
The sharp knife sliced through the cotton like it was made of tissue paper. For the first time, Hunter brought his injured hand into play, pushing the shirt back to bare Franco’s chest. Then the flat of the knife smoothed over the boy’s pectoral, circling the little nipple.
Franco felt the shirt fell away with ease and gave a nod, "Crap material" he breathed out but he was cut of when he felt the knife on his pecs and playing on his nipple, "Mhmm" he moaned out, "Shouldn't feel good... Does feel good".
With a flick of his wrist, the cool, flat metal slapped the bud of Franco’s nipple. Hunter smirked. “Someone likes a bit of danger,” he mused before letting the knife play down the other boy’s abs.
Franco flinched but not cause of the knife, cause of the sudden movement on his nipple. He felt the cool blade move down towards his abs and gulped, "Didn't harm no one to live a little dangerously, did it Sir..." he paused before smirking and adding, "You seem to enjoy it too"
“Well of course, I’m the one who enjoys throwing knives and is...was an exceptional knife fighter,” Hunter said, pausing before the knife hit Franco’s pants. “Either strip or I cut them off too.”
Franco noticed the change in wording but choose to ignore it for the time being. He scoffed and moved his hands down to his trousers, "Don't fancy the trek back to my room completely naked" he breathed out, as he pushed his trousers and pants down, slipping them off as quickly as he could, "Even if I have nothing to be ashamed off".
“No you don’t,” Hunter agreed before carefully pulling off his own shirt and revealing the shrapnel and surgery scars that covered his left shoulder and side. He wasn’t ashamed of them, though he had really been going shirtless lately. Shaking his head to banish the thought, he ran his eyes over Franco and, in a bold move, wrapped a hand around the other boy’s dick.
Franco had moved his hands back to the tree when Hunter took his shirt off. He noticed the marks and wanted desperately to touch them but he kept his hands down. As he was about to ask, he felt the hand on his dick and he gasp, "Fuck" he breathed, "Could have warned me Sir" he smirked.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Hunter said, his hand moving along Franco’s cock. Though he was new to guy on guy action, he wasn’t stupid. “Wish we had some lube,” he muttered, then smiled. “Another time. Don’t think you’d much like me trying to fuck your tight ass dry, slut or no.”
Franco smirked, "Such a shame but you are right... We'll just have to arrange another time". He looked down at Hunter's cock and bit his lip, "Bet you could choke someone with that" he said
Hunter cocked a brow at him. “I think you should see if that’s the case,” he said, stepping over toward a rock that was used as a bench. His hand remained on Franco’s cock and he used it almost like a lead to make the other boy follow. Kicking off his pants, he sat, cock hard and jutting up proudly. “You want this?”
Franco followed, not running the risk of not doing so, his cock firmly in Hunter's hand. As Hunter sat down, he licked his lip and dropped down to his knees without being told, "Yes Sir, please let me suck your cock. Please let me suck it whilst you fuck my mouth".
“Fuck,” Hunter hissed, his cock twitching at the sub’s words. “Go ahead then.” He’d never had a guy’s mouth on him and wondered faintly if it would feel different than a girl’s...but he realized that was silly. Slightly rougher skin would bump his thigh on occasion, but the inside of Franco’s mouth was hot, warm and wet... A little groan escaped Hunter and he reached out, fingers winding into Franco’s hair as he guided the boy’s mouth up and down.
As soon as he was given permission, Franco started working on Hunter's cock. Moving up and down slowly at first, swirling his tongue as he came up, licking over the head and then going back down again. When he felt Hunter's hands in his hair, he moaned with cock in his mouth and started moving faster, wanting nothing more then to please the man in front of him.
Hunter watched Franco’s dark hair bobbing over his lap and his breathing sped up. “You’re just gagging for it, aren’t you?” He hummed, tugging to force Franco to take him deeper. “Bet you do this a lot, come out looking for someone to choke you on their dick. Fuck, I can see your on cock leaking...go ahead and play with yourself. I know you want to.”
Franco groaned at the words but they encouraged him and he forced himself to go as deep as possible, holding until he gagged and coming back up. He reached his hand around to his own cock and started stroking, "Just fucking gagging for it Sir. Such a needy whore" he breathed out before returning his mouth to Hunter's cock
“Should start carrying lube in your pockets,” Hunter teased, then grunted. “Fuck, I bet you have a nice, tight ass. Love to stretch you open and fuck you until you cum. When I do, you don’t get to touch your dick then. Gonna make you cum on my cock.”
Franco didn't respond, he just continued to suck Hunters dick. When Hunter talked about what he wanted to do, he showed his interest by switching to deep throating the other man, his nose touching Hunter's chest, holding until he gagged and pulled back, "Fuck I want that so bad" he breathed out, "Fuck your cock is so good".
The praise was nice and Hunter moaned every time he was deepthroated. “Fuck...you want to be the first guy I fuck, don’t you, Pretty Boy? All these years and I never cracked...till you came jogging up.” He didn’t know why today he had just...given in to his desires, but damn did it feel good to let loose.
Franco scoffed around Hunter's dick and brought himself back up, taking a few breathes, "Fuck yeah I want to be the first guy you fuck" he said, nodding his head, "I want to be the first guy to do most things... I'm fucking needy like that" and he went straight back to Hunter's cock, forcing himself down once again as he continued to stroke his cock.
Hunter couldn’t dwell on what that meat at the moment and he chuckled. “We can have plenty of fun then, Needy Slut,” he said with a snap of his hips, fucking into Franco’s throat. “Army teaches you how to have stamina to spare.” He had a feeling he might need it to keep up with Franco.
Franco gagged, drool coating his chin as Hunter fucked into his mouth. He placed one hand on the seat next to Hunter and the other still on his cock, stroking himself, pleasure rushing through him. He didn't take his mouth of Hunter's dick to respond, instead choosing to moan around the cock filling his mouth and throat.
This was far more fun than Hunter had ever dared to imagine and he found feel every time Franco choked on his cock. Fuck, that was hot. “You getting close, Pretty Boy?” He asked. “When you are, I want you to get up. Want to wrap my hand around both our cocks and jerk us off together.”
Franco continued to suck for a few more minutes and then he nodded and pulled himself of off Hunter, standing as ordered and flexing his neck, "So fucking close" he breathed out, "Please Sir".
Surging to his feet, Hunter stepped in close to Franco and wrapped his right hand around their cocks. The spit on his dick made the slide easier as he jerked them together, keeping intense eye contact with the sub as he breathed hard, chasing their release.
Franco groaned hard as Hunter started stroking their cocks together and he thrusts his hips into the movement, "Fuck... fuck" he breathed out, "I'm gunna fucking cum" and before he could stop himself, he came all over Hunter's hand, moaning hard as he did.
Seeing the other man fall apart as he came pushed Hunter over the edge and he hissed out a curse as he came hard. His hand was still working their cock, cum smearing all over the shafts and he pumped. “Oh, fuck,” he huffed, cheeks pink for exertion.
Franco took deep breathes to ride through his orgasm and looked down at their cocks a smirk creeping on his face as he lent in and whispered into Hunter's ear, "You want me to clean that up?"
Okay, so that made his spent dick twitch and Hunter hissed for a moment before nodding. “Get down there, Pretty Boy,” he said, then smirked. “I’ll be out here practicing every other afternoon if you happen to jog by again.”
Franco smirked, "Maybe next time, I'll make sure I have lube in my pocket" he breathed out, dropping back down to his knees. He sucked on Hunter's cock, cleaning up the cum that was there and then he reached for Hunter's hand, licking up what had gotten on there, "Bet you'd like for me to come by again?"
Hunter watched Franco lick his hand, then smirked. “I think we’d both enjoy the chance to come together again, don’t you?”
Franco rolled his eyes a little at the wording, "I know I would like to see you a little more often but I assume, on your terms Sir? Being that I'm your dirty little secret now?"
“Definitely a dirty secret,” Hunter said, taking a breath. “I can have friends though. Nothing stopping us from socializing on occasion. And No one has to know what goes on behind closed doors, do they?”
Franco smirked as he finished cleaning up what mess he could with his tounge and then stood himself back up, "Oh I like to have friends, especially one as hot as you, Sir" he said with a smirk.
Hunter quirked a brow at him. “Stop by sometime and I’ll show you my big knives,” he said, spinning the small knife in his hand.
Franco bit down on his lip and looked to the floor, "Sure, when?" he breathed out, walking to his clothes and pulling on his trousers. He picked up the remains of his top and walked back to Hunter, "I can be available to you whenever. Just message me my orders".
“I will in a few days...heck, maybe you shouldn’t shave and I’ll give you one before I fuck you,” he teased, thinking that definitely sounded like a plan.
Franco didn't even need to think about as he nodded, "I can do that Sir. I can go without shaving" he breathed out, "I'd really enjoy that".
Hunter finished righting his own clothes. “I’ll look forward to seeing you then,” he said, then stepped away and flung the knife at the target. It hit wit a thud, dead center in the bullseye
Franco watched the move but didn't say anything and shook is head walking away. He was pretty damn impressed with what he'd done today and he couldn't wait to get that message.
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if you say that you are mine
Sebastian meets Blaine at a business social in a box at Madison Square Garden. They try to make up for lost time, until Blaine finds out Sebastian’s boss wants to buy his company. Sebastian has to prove it’s not corporate espionage, it’s begging for a second chance.
Here we go again! It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, so hopefully I’m not too rusty. Thanks to @seblaineaffairs for giving me an opportunity to post something for Seblainiversary 2018, hope you guys like it!
m for a sprinkling of smut and language//inspired by the “should I stay or should I go” prompt from the original Seblainiversary post; title inspired by the song
Blaine likes sports. He’s never been the type of guy to memorize stats about the whole team or be able to recite the championship history in heavy detail, but he likes them.
And now that he’s divorced, he finds himself going to games by himself just because he can. Kurt would never begrudge him a day out at the ballpark, but after about an hour, he would complain about the greasy food, the inability to follow the game, and Blaine would lose all sense of enjoyment trying to make his husband happy.
So when his boss volunteers him to attend a hockey game in a private box, he jumps at the chance. His boss said that they needed some assistance getting some of their initiatives off the ground, and Blaine is the best man for the job.
When he steps in the luxury box, he is immediately taken aback. There’s a fully stocked bar, waiters mingling throughout the room, and a small crowd of at least 15-20 people. Normally when he goes to games by himself, he sits up as far as possible, wanting to remain another anonymous face in the crowd. Tonight, he knows he’s supposed to mingle, meet new people, and he’s fine with that.
Until he sees him.
The two haven’t interacted since high school, but Blaine would recognize Sebastian Smythe anywhere. He’s standing near the exit of the luxury box, so close to the seats that if he took two steps to his left, he’d be invisible to Blaine, just a mystery man in a crowd of mystery men.
Then again, Sebastian has always been a little bit of a mystery to him.
And then the person talking to him leaves and Sebastian looks up, right into Blaine’s eyeline. He doesn’t look like he feels the the life changing shock that Blaine felt when he saw Sebastian, but his eyebrows do raise slightly. Blaine isn’t sure how they do this. Do they act like they didn’t see each other? It feels like Sebastian remains stationary, but Blaine feels like he’s on a conveyor belt straight to him. He isn’t sure how he arrives in front of Sebastian but before he knows it, he’s opening his mouth to speak.
“I wasn’t sure what I’d say if I ever saw you again.”
Sebastian still has that same self assured smirk as all those years ago, “And that’s what you went with?”
Blaine laughs and releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, “What’s your best line for an old friend you haven’t seen in ten years?”
Blaine notices Sebastian’s slight flinch at friend, but he’s more occupied with trying not to stare as Sebastian takes a sip of his drink, clearly buying time to think of something clever. After swallowing and licking his lips, just to make sure Blaine sees them shining and wet, he responds.
“Still look hot in a blazer, Anderson.”
The Dalton model, blue and red and maybe just slightly too big, has been replaced with a sleek black jacket that compliments Blaine’s strong shoulders. He rolls his eyes playfully and replies.
“Mine was better. It implies that I’ve been thinking about you all this time.”
Sebastian sighs dramatically, “If only that were true. But alas, you were scooped up long ago by that understudy for Tinkerbell.”
Blaine’s shoulders tense up instantly, but not because he has any residual feelings left for Kurt. But he feels the inexplicable guilt of letting Sebastian slip out of his life. He doesn’t want to explain everything that happened that led him to this moment, but he does want to make his current situation very clear to Sebastian, even if he’s not willing to admit the reason quite yet.
“Actually, I’m divorced, so this Peter Pan is all on his own in Neverland.”
At this, Sebastian’s eyebrows raise, intrigued, “That can’t possibly be true. You two were practically attached at the hip. Maybe that was the problem, too close for comfort?”
“I think that was more of our problem. For him anyway,” Blaine says teasingly. Sebastian is impressed. This Blaine is looser, more comfortable than the one he remembers. Maybe losing Kurt (and those horrendous bow ties) has done him some good.
Not that Sebastian would’ve expected any different.
“Well then,” he says slowly, finishing the rest of his drink and distractedly putting it on a counter next to him, “since you never grew up, why don’t we finish what we started back in high school? My place is just a little ways uptown, care for a nightcap?”
Blaine is enjoying this. It’s been a long time since flirting with someone made him feel excited, and the fact that it’s Sebastian, someone he always wanted but never could have, makes it feel even more thrilling.
“I bet that’s what you ask all the boys,” Blaine says with a smirk, “minus the high school thing, of course. Unless every broken heart you left in Lima followed you to the big city.”
Sebastian leans over and murmurs low into Blaine’s ear, “For your information, it is a sacred few that make it through the hallowed halls of my home. I usually just leave them in the club bathroom when we’re finished.”
As Sebastian pulls away, they are both laughing, and Blaine feels the slightest twinge that he should stop this. The game isn’t even half over, he hasn’t spoken to anyone about work, and he’s seriously considering doing something with Sebastian that he always thought he might regret.
“I actually should probably be talking to some of these people since this is a business function,” he responds, and pulls out a business card from his blazer pocket. Sebastian reads it and asks, “Broadway Works Project?”
The name of the company Blaine works for is printed on the card, but he suddenly feels foolish for handing one to someone who just asked him to go home for a drink (and definitely more, but Blaine can’t focus on that right now).
“Uh yeah, it’s this little non-profit I work for. We’re small, but we do a lot of good work, and you probably don’t care at all,” he says with a self-depricating laugh.
“I’ll have to look into it,” Sebastian responds with a warm smile, “It was good talking to you, Blaine.”
“You too,” Blaine says, and slowly makes his way to some of the other small groups forming in the room. He makes casual conversation, explains the mission of Broadway Works Project, that they help up-and-coming actors looking to make it on Broadway with auditions, portfolios, anything they need to get their career started. His boss had sent him to drum up support for the project, mostly monetary, but he knew Blaine’s passion for the group would show through and bring support in whatever form they could get.
And yet, as he talks and mingles, all he can think about is Sebastian. The few times he allows himself to zone out of the conversations he’s having, he looks over and Sebastian is always looking his way, a small playful smile on his face, even from across the room.
It has been a long time since Blaine did something reckless. He’s done enough work for one night, he thinks he can afford to play a little too. They’ll forgive him at work tomorrow.
He walks over just as Sebastian is finishing talking to an older man, and the two exchange cards. He quirks his head to the side and smiles. He doesn’t even have to say anything before Blaine responds to the question he asked earlier in the evening.
“All right, yeah,” he answers, “Take me home, Sebastian.”
---
Blaine should’ve known Sebastian would never take the subway, so they stand in silence as they wait for a cab outside Madison Square Garden. It doesn’t take long, the city alive as always, but Blaine feels like he can feel his whole body vibrating as they get in and Sebastian directs the driver toward an address on the Upper West Side. He doesn’t know if it’s the thrill of going home with a hot guy, or if it’s because that guy is Sebastian, but he feels more alive than he has in a long time. When Sebastian leans back against the seat after stating the address, Blaine swears he winks at him before looking down at his phone and sending a few quick text messages.
He looks down at his own phone and sees a message from a coworker, and more importantly, an old friend.
How is the event? Get any buzz going?
She doesn’t like to be ignored, and she’ll give Blaine hell for it when she sees him tomorrow, but right now, he wants to think about nothing but Sebastian. As the taller boy writes an email, Blaine scans his body from top to bottom. He’s always been gorgeous, but growing older has done him so many favors. His teenage lankiness has evolved into sharp edges that define his long legs, and the button down he’s wearing is rolled up at the sleeves so Blaine can see his toned, but not overly muscular arms. He doesn’t even bother looking up from the email before saying, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”
Blaine snorts through a laugh, “And you think I’m the one with the lame lines.”
He hits send and smirks as he looks at Blaine, “I don’t think anything about you is lame. Well, your taste in men used to be, but clearly that has improved.”
Sebastian finishes his statement just as the cab comes to a stop and Blaine is immediately in awe of the beautiful building. They step out and he waves hello to Sebastian’s doorman, as they go through the lobby to the elevator and end up on the 14th floor of a 16-story building. The building is massive, but it appears to only have three apartments on the floor and as Sebastian unlocks the door and they move into his apartment, Blaine tries to control his eyes because he knows they must be bulging out of his head.
They walk through the slightly narrow foyer, into a large open living area where Sebastian has a massive white couch, an extensive bar area in the corner, and a record player sitting where Blaine has his TV. Past that though, is what takes Blaine’s breath away. The whole wall is a large glass window, looking out on the city, lights twinkling, televised advertisements constantly changing, cars moving slowly. There is no way any of those people below can see them, but Blaine feels like he can see everything.
Suddenly, Blaine feels nervous and slightly panicked. His apartment is nowhere as near as nice as this place, and he realizes he hasn’t even asked Sebastian any questions about his life, his job; hell, he could be married and just looking for a little fun on the side. This last part particularly makes him panicked and he can’t help the accusation from bubbling out.
“Are you married?”
Sebastian looks over from where he’s hanging up his coat in the closet by the door and laughs, “Insulted that you think I wouldn’t be able to afford this place on my own.”
Blaine can feel his walls coming down at the familiarity, “I’m just saying, I was married, and we still could never have afforded a place like this.”
Sebastian avoids the topic, and instead opts to go over to the bar, pouring two glasses of scotch, “What happened with you and your marriage?”
Blaine sighs, “I don’t know.”
Sebastian rolls his eyes playfully, handing a glass to Blaine, “You do know, you’re just too nice to say.”
Blaine nervously throws back his drink in one gulp, amazed at how smooth it goes down, and looks up at Sebastian, his hand shaking slightly.
“I don’t know what I’m doing with you.”
Sebastian takes a sip of his drink and then takes both his and Blaine’s glasses and sets them on the shelf next to the record player, where all his albums are displayed proudly.
“Nothing yet,” he murmurs, “but I am in fact, not married, so the possibilities are endless.”
He leans down and kisses Blaine, slowly, tentatively, like he doesn’t want to scare him, but Blaine doesn’t seem scared, returning the kiss like he’s giving permission for it to continue. Sebastian effortlessly reaches out to the wall, turning off the lights and putting them in darkness save for the glow of the city around them. Blaine gasps when he opens his eyes, letting them adjust to see the shine on Sebastian’s lips, the twinkling of the city lights behind him.
“Tell me something you don’t tell the other boys,” he says quietly.
Sebastian likes this game. He smiles, “This place was a gift from my Dad for business school graduation. After all the trouble I caused in high school, I think he was so grateful I actually did something with my life.” He doesn’t look hurt by this admission, just takes it as fact.
“Your turn, killer.”
Blaine practically goes weak at the knees at the mention of his old nickname. He and Sebastian have moved closer to the window, and the lights from the city are casting the most beautiful shadows on his face. He leans forward, placing his hand on Sebastian’s chest.
“I don’t think Kurt ever got over the insecurity he felt with you.”
This pleases Sebastian, or at least if his behavior is any indication it does. He leans down, ghosting his nose over the shell of Blaine’s ear before biting down gently on his lobe, moving to kiss down his neck. When he finally returns to Blaine’s mouth, Blaine receives his kiss easily, all while reaching for Sebastian’s shirt, unbuttoning it as quickly as possible, and sliding the shirt off his broad shoulders, stopping to stare at him in the light.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you, Sebastian.”
“I think I do,” he says, desperation lacing his voice, “because I’ve been waiting longer.”
Sebastian reaches down, pulling Blaine’s shirt over his head and pressing him against the window. He feels Blaine arch his back and shudder and pulls away to make sure he didn’t hurt him and Blaine just smiles sheepishly.
“Cold,” he says, gesturing at the window.
“Sorry, I just want the whole world to see,” Sebastian admits and Blaine asks breathlessly, “See what?”
“That you’re mine.”
Blaine knows that Sebastian’s always been a smooth talker, but god damn is it irresistible when he can actually do something about it.
“There’s gotta be a bedroom around here somewhere, right?”
“Fuck yes there is,” Sebastian breathes out, grabbing Blaine’s hand, but keeping him close, reaching with his other hand to unbuckle his belt and dispose of his slacks. When they get into the bedroom, he gently pushes Blaine on the bed and gets rid of his own remaining clothing. When he turns around Blaine has shed the last of his clothes and is laying back on the bed. Sebastian comes closer and Blaine pulls him on top of him, close so he can feel every inch of their bodies touching. Their cocks brush and as Blaine groans lowly, Sebastian laughs breathlessly. Blaine musters the strength to glare, but Sebastian just keeps smiling.
“I’ve waited a decade to hear you make that sound,” he admits.
“I’ll make some other ones if you play nice,” Blaine breathes out.
“Oh Blaine,” Sebastian says with a smirk, “you know I never liked to play nice.”
Without warning, he hoists Blaine’s legs up around him, leaning down again to kiss him and then murmuring close to his ear.
“Tell me again how long you’ve wanted me.”
Blaine babbles out “forever, since the moment I met you, please”, his breathing getting more labored by the second. Sebastian wants him to elaborate, but wants something else much more. He moves as quickly as he can to the side table drawer where he easily finds a condom and his bottle of lube. Blaine shuts his eyes, hearing Sebastian pop open the bottle and it’s only when the cool sensation hits his entrance that his eyes shoot open. He looks down and sees Sebastian working his fingers in and out of him, slow at first but faster, more assured as Blaine gets more comfortable.
Blaine can see the sweat shining on Sebastian’s abs as he breathes and fuck they need to get on with it before he comes just from the sight.
“Sebastian I’m...I’m ready, just do it,” he pants out and almost instantly feels a twinge of regret because Sebastian’s fingers are gone that very next second. But before Blaine can miss them, he feels Sebastian pressing inside him slowly and he reaches up to grip the headboard, his back arching to get him closer.
Sebastian thrusts shallowly at first, but hearing Blaine’s whines and watching as he scrambles to ground himself encourages his movements. He slams into Blaine once, testing the waters, and Blaine practically screams with pleasure.
So, yeah, he’ll definitely be doing that again.
He knows Blaine is getting desperate, so he reaches down to Blaine’s cock, bobbing hard and full between them and strokes once, twice, just to hear Blaine’s breathy moans of please and faster. Sebastian’s strokes become more frantic, knowing he himself is close to the edge, and as he thrusts hard once more, the combination of his cock and his hand become too much for Blaine and he comes, panting as Sebastian stills for a moment, just staring at the beautiful picture in front of him, the one he had given up on ever seeing.
“Well, don’t just sit there, move,” Blaine encourages him, wanting Sebastian to have his release. Sebastian happily obliges, pushing a few more times into Blaine’s tight heat before he’s coming, releasing Blaine’s legs from where he’s held them at his sides and drawing out of Blaine.
He rolls over onto his back and disposes of the condom. He knows he should get up, get a wet towel to wipe the remaining traces of Blaine off of his stomach, but he can’t seem to find the strength to move. Blaine seems to sense this so he gets up with a smile, coming back a few seconds later to wipe down Sebastian’s abs with a warm towel.
“You just wanted to touch me again,” Sebastian teases, still a little breathless.
“Yeah maybe,” Blaine replies with a smirk, throwing the towel in the bathroom and coming back to lay beside Sebastian. They don’t say anything for a few moments, and the next time Sebastian opens his eyes, Blaine’s breathing has evened out. He’s not usually a fan of the one night stand sleepovers, but for Blaine Anderson, he thinks he could probably make an exception.
---
When Blaine wakes up, he hears the sound of water falling and his first thought is how nice and relaxing the sound of the rain is. He opens his eyes and see his clothes scattered on the floor and smiles, feeling the soft sheets enveloping his body. Tentatively, he reaches for his cell phone and turns it over to see the time.
It’s 9:15. Normally he would have his breakfast and be on the train from his apartment in Brooklyn by 8 am.
They are going to kill him at work. Especially since he didn’t exactly do his job last night.
He’s in full on panic mode, running around the bedroom and throwing his clothes on haphazardly. He looks in the mirror in Sebastian’s hallway, making sure his hair is at least presentable. He realizes that the sound isn’t the rain, it’s the shower, but he doesn’t have time to have the awkward conversation with Sebastian about what they are or aren’t, and truth be told, he’s not sure he would have any answers that he feels confident in.
After ten years apart, they had a great night, but their past is complicated. So why not just leave it at the perfect night?
Blaine glances back toward the bathroom door, part of his heart begging him to stay. But his sensible side takes over, and he’s knows it’s best to go. So, he leaves without a word.
All the while, the water is still running.
—-
“What the fuck Blaine, where have you been?!”
That’s about the reaction he expected. He places an Americano from her favorite coffee shop down the block on her desk, hoping it will placate her, but she is still glaring with her arms folded.
“Sorry, I um...got caught up after the event last night.”
If anyone had told him after high school that the person he would be seeing most often would be Santana Lopez, he wouldn’t have believed it. But ten years, two divorces and one non-profit later, here they were: co-workers, and dare Blaine say it, possibly best friends. The Broadway Works Project happened at a time when they both needed it and when they both needed a friend. And although they had success working for the company, felt the most fulfilled they ever had at any job, both knew it had led to their hardest failures. But they were failures they both understood, and failures they could help each other through.
“You got caught up?” She said, an eyebrow raised, and then the moment Blaine had been worrying about all the way over from Sebastian’s happened. She’s studying his outfit a little too closely for him to not be caught.
“Blaine Anderson, you were wearing that tie yesterday! Did you actually get some?!”
“Oh my god can you keep it down?” He’s frantically looking around, hoping Santana’s outburst doesn’t draw the attention of their boss, Charlie, who no doubt will ask Blaine how the event went last night. Charlie is the founder of the group, and so passionate and dedicated to his mission that he would never skip out on an event to make it even greater. Blaine knew he had let him down, but he had managed to take a few business cards before he skipped out. So that had to count for something, didn’t it?
“Spill. Now,” she says quieter, “Was it…” She looks off into the distance, mentally scrolling through the list of attendees she casually glanced at the day before. Neither of them had remembered seeing Sebastian’s name. Blaine isn’t sure if that would have persuaded him to go or caused him to make an excuse not to. He knows now, but yesterday seems a lifetime away.
“It was no one. Now can we leave it?” Blaine knows as soon as the words come out that Sebastian is far from no one but he doesn’t know what he is, and he’s not trying to figure it out now when he’s two hours late for work and has to come up with an excuse as to why he doesn’t have any intel for his boss.
She lets it go (for now), and goes back to whatever she was working on, making phone calls and screaming in Spanish to casting directors and stage managers, and Blaine considers the matter forgotten.
It isn’t until about an hour later when he hears her stop mid-sentence and go, “I have to call you back.”
It isn’t much that makes Santana speechless, but she stops flat and stares behind Blaine. For a moment Blaine panics, thinking it’s going to be Charlie, but he is usually friendly and understanding, not a boss to be afraid of. Both Blaine and Santana know they don’t have anything to fear from Charlie when they don’t get their work done, he just encourages them to keep at it. So, he turns around to see who she could possibly be gaping at.
And standing in the middle of their office is Sebastian Smythe.
“Hey there Cinderella. You left so fast this morning the smoke was still clearing when I got out of the shower.”
Behind him, Blaine can hear Santana choking on her coffee and he turns around to shoot her a look. When he turns back, Sebastian is sitting on the edge of his desk giving him that salacious grin he’s having flashbacks to.
“I...how did you find me?”
He reaches into the pocket at the front of his suit jacket and pulls out a business card. It’s Blaine’s own.
“Your glass slipper.”
“I’m sorry, is this for real?” Santana says a little too loudly, caught between confusion, excitement and anger. A lot of time has passed since Santana and Sebastian’s confrontation, and she’s not sure where Blaine stands on everything. Although it does seem pretty clear that all seems to be forgotten and forgiven.
“Feels like I’m a new man since the last time we met, Santana.” Sebastian is over by her desk now, extending his hand and Blaine nods letting her know, it’s okay I’m okay.
She accepts his handshake, “Well you look damn good, Smythe. Still up to your wicked ways?”
“Nah, left that life behind. Now I am but a humble PR rep for an entertainment company.”
Blaine snorts, “Yeah, so humble he has an apartment the size of Yankee Stadium.”
“You’ve been to his apartment?” Santana asks with a grin, confirming her suspicions, “Well, well, well, this is interesting.”
“Santana, please, don’t tell Charlie,” he panics, “I went to Sebastian’s last night during the event, so I...I didn’t exactly accomplish our goals.”
“Oh honey, you accomplished every goal I’ve had for you for two years.”
“Two years?” Sebastian pipes up, interested, “For someone who was out of practice, you sure didn’t seem like it.” He and Santana exchange smiles and Blaine can feel himself turning red with embarrassment. He had left Sebastian’s apartment without a word, hoping to avoid any awkwardness of ‘what does this all mean’, and instead he was now getting it from both sides.
“Yes, well, is there something I can help you with, Mr. Smythe? Or did you just come all this way to sex-shame me?”
Santana and Sebastian share another look and Blaine hates it already. This closeness starting to form between them is trouble, and the last two people he wants causing trouble are his best friend and his...well, whatever Sebastian is.
“Well, Mr. Anderson,” he teases playfully, “I was hoping you might join me for a little late breakfast-early lunch. It’s the least I can do for keeping you from your work last night.”
He’s already started saying “Sebastian, we don’t have to…” when he hears Santana exclaim “Yes!” They both stare at her, Blaine shocked, Sebastian pleased, and she clears her throat to speak again, “Sebastian, would you mind giving Blaine and I just two seconds? He’ll be right out.”
Sebastian nods and leaves and Blaine turns back to her and hisses, “What are you doing?”
“Blaine, I haven’t seen you get this flustered over a guy in years. In fact, I think the only other guy besides Kurt that ever made you act this way is him. So why not take a chance and see what could be?”
“It was a one night stand, Santana. Consider it a check off my bucket list.”
“Talking about checking off your bucket list is exactly why you need to go have lunch and flirt with a hot guy. I’ll cover for you, say you ate some bad wings at the Garden last night and are at home barfing your face off or something.”
Blaine closes his eyes for a moment and thinks. He never really got to travel down this road with Sebastian because his heart had been occupied from the moment they met. Does he want to give him this chance 10 years later?
He picks up his bag, “All right, fine. But if I end up with another slushee in my face, I’m blaming you.”
She rolls her eyes, “That level of drama is so high school. Go get into some big boy trouble.”
He laughs and heads outside where Sebastian is ending a phone call. He smiles when he sees Blaine walk through the door.
“If something more important came up, we can reschedule,” Blaine offers, motioning at the other man’s phone. But Sebastian waves it off.
“No, no it’s nothing. So, where do you want to eat?”
Blaine’s eyes alight. If there’s one thing he loves about New York, it’s the food. And Sebastian looks like the type to order the same sandwich from the same deli delivered to his desk every single day because he’s too busy to go out to eat. Blaine is going to rock his world.
---
“Holy shit, this is amazing,” Sebastian moans.
Blaine is quite pleased with himself. They are at a little Italian cafe, not far from the Broadway Works Project, but far enough that Blaine (hopefully) won’t be running into his boss while he plays hooky with the hottest ghost from his past.
“Told you,” Blaine says with a satisfied smile, thanking the waiter and leaving them alone. Sebastian figures this is as good a time as any to ask the question again, the one he’s dying to know the answer to.
“So, come on, tell me. What idiotic decision led to you becoming a divorcee?”
“Wow,” Blaine says, taking a long drink of water, “pretty hard hitting topics for a first date.”
“This is a date?”
“Guess I should ask the guy who stalked me at my work after a one night stand.”
“Ouch, killer,” Sebastian says with a laugh and a touch of mock hurt.
Blaine can feel himself blushing despite himself, “Stop calling me that. It makes me forget that maybe I should hate you.”
“And why is that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, you’ve made me shirk my responsibilities at work twice now, you threw rock salt in my eye, you tried endlessly to break up my relationship…”
Sebastian’s smooth facade falls for a moment and he looks genuinely remorseful, “I am sorry about what I did to you all those years ago. I was an immature idiotic kid. I never would have forgiven myself if I had, god forbid, blinded you or something.”
Blaine smiles warmly, “It’s forgiven. Honest. Although, I’m pretty sure I’m still mad at you about that other stuff.”
Sebastian shrugs, “Hey, if you had given me a chance the first time I asked, maybe you wouldn’t have had all that heartbreak to deal with. Marriage and divorce, it’s so expensive, who needs it?”
At this, Blaine pauses, amused, “You wouldn’t have broken my heart?”
“Maybe,” Sebastian responds, noncommittal. He knows he wasn’t perfect, never has been. “But the fact is that Kurt did and you still haven’t told me how.”
Blaine explains quickly what they do at Broadway Works Project. How they act more like advisors than agents, but nevertheless, they advocate for actors, ones who just need a little help getting their big break. The same big break Kurt had been chasing his whole life.
“He didn’t get that I couldn’t just hand him these roles, you know?” Blaine sighs, “and then he got jealous because I was giving roles to other guys and he thought I must like them better and I just got so tired of it. I know it must’ve been hard to be him, coming to NYADA only to have so many doors closed in his face, but he never even considered how hard it was to be me. I never told him this because I didn’t want to crush his dreams, but it wasn’t me who didn’t want him in any of the shows. I tried, believe me.”
Sebastian picks up his glass of wine and takes a drink, “He never deserved you, I could’ve told you that.”
Blaine rolls his eyes, but is still smiling, “I think you did tell me that. That was the problem.”
“Well, I hope it’s not a problem that I’m telling you now.”
Blaine can’t believe how absolutely smitten he is still is for this boy. Maybe always was.
“Not in the slightest.”
—-
1 date becomes 5. Nightcaps become sleepovers.
Days become weeks become months.
And before he knows it, Blaine Anderson has a boyfriend. And so does Sebastian Smythe.
---
“I’m sorry, you’ve lived here how long and you’ve never taken the subway?!”
“Blaine, why would I ever share transportation with God knows who coming from God knows where when I could have a nice private car to myself? Nobody talks to me, I don’t talk to them, everyone is happy.”
“The subway is what makes the city come alive! You have to try it at least once.”
Blaine’s puppy dog eyes are met with Sebastian’s unimpressed side eye, but within minutes, they are on the platform, waiting for the train to take them back to Blaine’s apartment.
“Is this smell also part of the experience?”
“Nah that’s just trash,” Blaine says with a shrug, taking Sebastian’s hand and pulling him into the train as the taller of the two mutters, “Lovely.”
The train moves, it stops where it shouldn’t, they’re treated to an impromptu musical number, kids talk way too loud in front of them, but Sebastian never complains. He just looks over, Blaine’s head resting happily on his shoulder as they sit. He thinks it, but he can’t say it
Not with the knowledge that it might someday break Blaine all over again.
When they get to Blaine’s stop, Sebastian has never felt so relieved. They get off the train and the cold air of early fall hits them, but Blaine doesn’t seem to mind at all. He’s practically grinning ear to ear.
“Okay, you can’t like the subway that much, you’re acting like a character in a tourism ad. I’m worried you’re going to burst into a song and dance about the Empire State Building” Sebastian says skeptically.
“Not about the subway,” Blaine replies as they get to the door to his small brownstone, “You hated it.”
“Not my preferred transportation, but…”
“But you did it. For me.”
Sebastian feels his heart ache. Everytime Blaine does something like this, appreciates him for the little things, he can’t help but feel warm inside. But there’s always that feeling of guilt, the little voice in his head that says tell him before it’s too late.
Sebastian just nods and Blaine pushes up to kiss him. When he pulls away, he is still smiling.
“I love you, Sebastian.”
It’s been six months since they met again, but Blaine has wanted to say it since that very first date. He knew, even then, that there had to be a reason he had never fully given up on Sebastian Smythe.
Sebastian can’t say it, for so many reasons, so he kisses him back, hurries them inside so they can warm up. Blaine is so elated he got his feelings out, that they don’t even make it to the bedroom. They undress in the living room, clothes catching on barstools, shelves, even his TV, but he can’t bring himself to care. Sebastian loves him, he can feel it in his touch, the way he looks at him.
The way he drops to his knees in front of Blaine’s couch, looking up at Blaine ferociously as he kisses down Blaine’s torso, leaves little bites along his stomach, the inside of his thighs. By the time Sebastian’s lips reach Blaine’s cock, he’s practically begging for it, and Sebastian is happy to oblige. He takes him deep, humming around the shaft, and Blaine can’t help but stare as Sebastian works his tongue around him. He grips Sebastian’s hair, lightly, just to feel him everywhere. When it’s almost too much, he throws his head back against the couch, whimpering and scrambling, but Sebastian remains steady, moving up and down until he can feel Blaine’s release.
When he knows Blaine is close, he pulls off, replacing his mouth with his hand, and Blaine gasps, whipping his head forward. He leans up to kiss Sebastian frantically and comes hard, biting Sebastian’s lip as his hand works him through it. He takes a few moments to breathe, and when he looks up, Sebastian is cleaning up with Blaine’s t-shirt, and Blaine whacks him playfully on the side of the head.
“Hey asshole, that’s my t-shirt,” he says with a grin.
“Yeah, well, this was my lip, but you didn’t seem to care about that,” Sebastian replies, sticking his tongue out and then showing the little pricks of blood coming from where Blaine bit down as his orgasm hit.
“Oh my god, Sebastian, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
He shrugs playfully, “I don’t know, I may never be able to kiss you again.”
“Oh I highly doubt that,” Blaine says with a smile and Sebastian laughs, lying back on the couch. He nods and pulls Blaine on top of him, and everything starts again.
He wishes it could stay this way forever.
—-
“And last we have...Sebastian.”
He hears his boss state his name over the phone, the last order of business on the conference call and he sits up straighter, having been distracted by dread, knowing this moment was doomed to arrive.
“Um yeah, what can I answer for you?”
“What’s happening with the Broadway Works Project? We were supposed to have acquired them 6 months ago, I have agents waiting to foster that talent.”
He swallows hard and realizes he has no good answer for the predicament he’s found himself in. He loves this job, worked harder than he’s ever worked in his whole life to get where he is. If his boss wants to take over a company, he should be doing whatever it takes to make that happen.
But then there’s the picture of him and Blaine sitting on his desk, the two of them at Coney Island, Blaine looking up at Sebastian adoringly like he’s his whole world.
Sebastian can’t bear to tell him.
His whole world is a lie.
—-
Sebastian is standing in his apartment alone, staring out at the city, waiting for her to arrive. Blaine had said he was taking a new client to tour some theaters around the city, get an idea of exactly the types of shows he’d like to get involved with and Sebastian was more than happy to have some time alone.
He needs to figure this out.
The buzzer signaling someone is at his door chimes brightly and he could almost curse the happy jingling tone. He moves toward the door, knowing he’s dragging his feet. Knowing she’s almost certainly thinking she’s coming there for something happy. Knowing it’s the complete and total opposite.
When he opens the door, Santana is grinning, bottle of champagne in her hand, and even Sebastian is a little thrown off by this gesture.
“Hi, I’m so excited you called!”
She flings her arms around him for a hug and he hugs back, distracted and confused. He takes the bottle of champagne and holds it out, “What’s this for?”
She enters the apartment, walking straight into the kitchen area to look for champagne flutes.
“Your engagement, of course! I know some people might think it’s fast, but I’m so happy for you guys. Blaine is just so happy with you, and he won’t be home for hours. I made a very extensive tour list for him and Michael.”
Sebastian’s heart drops and he almost drops the bottle of champagne, but instead he places it gently on the counter and halts Santana’s search for the glasses.
“Santana, I need you to sit down.”
She looks taken aback; this isn’t exactly textbook behavior for someone who she thinks is about to ask the biggest question of his life, but as with Blaine, Sebastian has always been a bit of a mystery. They sit down on the couch, facing each other from opposite ends and Sebastian starts, shaky.
“I haven’t been honest...with Blaine.”
She instantly looks angry. She never thought she and Blaine would ever be this close, but he is her best friend, the person she would protect over anyone. But she tries to stay calm, hear him out.
“What do you mean, Sebastian?”
“When we met again, I was working for Mirage Talent Agency, and I still am. I was at that event at MSG looking for partnerships. My boss was looking to grow our business, so I had been talking to a few other reps from smaller agencies. Nothing too exciting. And then I saw Blaine. And that night, we didn’t talk about Broadway Works Project, or my job, we just reignited that spark. But the next day when I went into work, my boss told me about the company, said one of my co-workers saw me leave with Blaine and thought I was working with him on a deal to buy the Project. When I said I wasn’t, he insisted I should. That’s when I came to see Blaine, I had to figure out what to do.”
“So what? Your first date was a test?”
“I don’t know,” Sebastian sighs, frustrated, “I thought it might make it easier, if I could see Blaine in the light of day, realize we were only meant to last for a night, then I wouldn’t feel bad trying to acquire the company. He hurt me by choosing Kurt so long ago, I thought maybe this was my chance to even things out. But after that first date, I knew, I couldn’t hurt him. I’ve been stalling at work for months, saying the deal isn’t ready, things aren’t right, but I can’t do that for much longer. If my boss doesn’t see some results soon, I’m going to get fired, and Mirage might take over BWP anyway. So I don’t know what to do.”
Santana is furious now, “Jesus Christ, Sebastian. You should know he’s been through this before! You’re the one who told him that you’re not like Kurt, you’re different. You don’t want anything but him. What a load of shit.”
“That’s the thing, Santana, I know I want him! I don’t want the company, I never did. But I don’t know how to stop this without staying. If I’m there, I can fix this, I can try to set my boss’ sights on another company.”
Santana just shakes her head sadly, “I don’t know if you can fix this.”
“I don’t either.”
Both of them look up suddenly from the couch and there’s Blaine, standing in the foyer hallway. His eyes look hard and angry, but there is a weariness to him; Sebastian can tell that he’s been crying.
“Santana, would you mind?” It seems like that’s all he can get out, but she understands instantly. She shoots Sebastian a glare before grabbing the champagne off the kitchen counter. She puts one arm around Blaine, whispers “call me if you need me”, and then she’s gone.
“Blaine, please, let me explain.”
“I ran into Kurt. He explained.”
Sebastian is taken aback. “You still talk to Kurt?”
“I don’t, but if we’re going to make this about keeping secrets, you’re definitely going to lose, so I probably wouldn’t go there.”
Blaine is so angry he can feel his hands shaking. He tries to calm down, remember the details of Kurt’s story so he can keep the facts straight.
Blaine is getting off the subway, having just left Michael after the most meticulously planned tour of the city’s theaters courtesy of Santana. He’s planning on heading back to the office to finish a few things up when he’s walking up the stairs to head outside and he sees him.
Kurt. Coming down the stairs.
They both freeze, passengers around them swearing and jostling them to move out of the way. Kurt backs up a few steps so that he and Blaine are standing outside, away from the subway’s entrance.
“Hi Blaine, how are you?”
“I’m, um, I’m good, Kurt. How are you?”
Blaine can hardly believe this is the person he thought he was going to spend forever with. They seem so separate, so distant. He can barely remember a time when they were one, they are now so solidly two.
“I’m okay. Rachel is about to be picked up by a new agent, I think. They actually said that they work for BWP.”
Blaine is confused. Broadway Works Project is a small organization, they’re like a family. He would know if there was a new agent.
“I don’t think we’ve hired anyone new lately, do you know his name?”
Kurt shrugs, “I can show you a picture, he just followed Rachel and me on Twitter.”
He pulls out his phone and shows Blaine a picture of a man he has never seen before. But underneath the picture is his heading that reads: “The newest agent for the Broadway Works Project, a subsidiary of Mirage Talent Agency; coming soon!.”
Mirage Talent Agency. Or, as Blaine knows it, the company Sebastian works for.
His head is spinning and he knows he has to get out of here. But he can’t lose it in front of Kurt. He might explain why he’s so upset, explain that Sebastian is back in his life.
Explain that Kurt was right about him.
“Interesting,” he says distractedly, and if it comes off a bit rude, he can’t put forth the effort to care, “I’ll have to look into it. Good seeing you Kurt, I gotta run.”
And that’s practically what he does. He walks so fast he can hear his heart pounding in his ears. He can tell he’s on the brink of tears, but he won’t lose it in the middle of the city. Won’t let them get the best of his anger.
That has got to be saved for the person who hurt him most.
“Blaine, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“You’re right, he probably doesn’t know this. So tell me, Sebastian, who are you? Do you really work in PR?”
“No,” Sebastian admits readily and Blaine feels like someone has punched him in the gut, “my boss is Head of Acquisitions. I’m a Talent Manager, I handle agents who handle clients.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about this? We practically do the same job!”
“I didn’t know how to explain,” Sebastian says, frustrated, “I didn’t even know what Broadway Works Project was when we met again that night, and then the next thing I knew, my boss was suggesting we acquire it. I barely knew you then!”
“And yet, you took me to dinner, to plays, to fucking Coney Island and asked me question after question about my job.”
“I was getting to know you, Blaine. That’s what people do when they date someone.”
“So this whole time we’ve been dating, what was that, like corporate espionage or something?” Blaine feels like he sounds crazy, words he never expected to say coming out of his mouth.
“Jesus, how could I be spying on you when I didn’t even expect to see you ever again? I saw you that night and I thought fuck I missed him. I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am, but in that moment, everything changed course. I am so in love with you, I knew it the second you walked back into my life.”
Blaine isn’t sure what to say. He is seething with anger, but it is rare to hear Sebastian be so open about how he feels. He knows his resolve is weakening, so he tenses up, asks the question he needs to know the answer to.
“Is Mirage taking over BWP?”
“It’s not a done deal,” Sebastian tries to sound confident, “I can fix it. I can point my boss in another direction, I know how much Broadway Works means to you.”
“You do. And you knew how used I felt by Kurt and you did the exact same thing! I mean, Jesus, I love Broadway Works, but I don’t see why the fuck everyone in my life wants to take the control of it from me.”
“I don’t, I’m sorry, I was trying to prevent that,” Sebastian can feel that he’s practically begging now, but he doesn’t know what else to do. He can feel Blaine slipping from him by the second.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Blaine’s breath hitches. He is not going to cry in this moment. He takes a breath and finishes the statement.
“I can’t trust you anymore.”
“You don’t mean that,” Sebastian says calmly, the panic inside him threatening to erupt.
“Good luck with your deal, Sebastian. Maybe in some cruel twist of fate, you’ll end up being my boss.”
Blaine can’t even bear to look at him anymore, confronted with the fear that all it will take to forgive him is one look at Sebastian’s broken eyes, the way his body is slumped in resignation.
Blaine should’ve known better. Zebras can’t change their stripes.
And heartbreakers will always be just that.
—-
Santana is sitting on her couch, having a glass of wine when the knock comes. She rushes to her door, and on the other side, Blaine is standing, eyes red from crying.
When she sees him, she puts her arms around him and he starts sobbing all over again. They stand in her doorway for what feels like forever before Santana guides him in. She sets him up in her guest room, and asks if he needs anything.
“Fix my heart,” he sobs out and hers breaks.
She may not be able to fix his, but if she ever sees Sebastian again, she will shatter his.
—-
Blaine lays in Santana’s bed for a few days, staring at the ceiling, trying to make his heart stop hurting when he realizes he’s got to try to distract himself.
So he goes to work, tries to pretend everything is normal, and only Santana is the wiser.
But he watches Charlie in his office every single day, making frantic phone calls, pacing back and forth. He’s defending a company he didn’t even know was under attack and he’s woefully unprepared.
His heart aches, wishing there was something he could do about any of it. Wishing he could save the company he loves, the one who gave him a home.
Selfishly, wishing he could do the same for Sebastian.
“Should I tell him?” Blaine says quietly to Santana, motioning his head in the direction of Charlie’s office.
“Tell him what? You didn’t do anything wrong,” she replies.
“If I had never seen him again, if I hadn’t been with him, Charlie wouldn’t be having to fight to save us,” he laments.
“Blaine,” she says sternly, but caring, “maybe you dating Sebastian expedited the process a little, but bottom feeders like whoever Sebastian’s working for will always find a way to pick on the little guy. We’re underdogs, always have been. But we’ll be all right.”
He knows she’s not just talking about the company. But if he’s honest with himself, he’s not sure he believes her about any of it.
—-
Blaine thanks God for winter. A few days later, the biggest storm to hit New York in decades arrives, leaving him and Santana snowed into her apartment. He’s selfishly glad for the snow, seeing Charlie distraught and run ragged has been wearing on his conscience and although Santana told him none of it was his fault, he still felt responsible for bringing Sebastian, and thus, Sebastian’s company, into their lives.
He doesn’t allow himself to think about the fact that there were parts of Sebastian being in his life that were good. So good they keep him up at night, entering his dreams and even sometimes his conscious thoughts when he knows he’s alone.
“Maybe I’ll just be a spinster.”
“Don’t be dramatic, boys can’t be spinsters,” Santana says with what she calls “her most loving eye roll”.
“You told me not to be dramatic when he showed up at Broadway to take me to lunch. Maybe this is all your fault.”
She throws a cotton ball at him at this comment before continuing to paint her nails. He’s being mopey and sad, but at least he’s making jokes, which is a large step forward from the past few weeks. Part of her does feel bad that she encouraged him to go out with Sebastian, but she had seen the chemistry between them. Sebastian had shown up, like Blaine’s prince with the glass slipper and they had all fallen for it.
Blaine is lying on the couch, idly flipping through reality shows when his phone rings. He looks and sees that it’s Charlie and groans.
“Santana, can you deal with this?”
“If he wanted to talk to me, he would’ve called me,” she says, not looking up from her manicure.
“Pleaseeeee,” he says, turning over on his stomach and facing her with his biggest pout, “I’m heartbroken.”
She scoffs, but puts down the nail polish nevertheless.
“This shit is going to get old at some point, you know,” she says before greeting Charlie with a quick, “Blaine Anderson’s phone, this is his secretary.”
Blaine can hear Charlie laugh, and it’s such a welcome sound. He can’t hear what his boss is saying, but he is loud, fast, talking excitedly. Santana’s eyes are getting larger by the second, like she’s hearing some truly unbelievable news, and she tries to interrupt Charlie a few times, but he keeps chatting. Finally, she gets a word in.
“The donor was anonymous?” Blaine sits up straighter, stares directly at her. “I don’t know Charlie, but that’s absolutely incredible news! It’s definitely going to make Blaine’s day, I’ll be sure to tell him.”
She hangs up and takes a breath, trying to process everything she just heard. But Blaine is impatient.
“What donor? What did he call for?”
She laughs, incredulous, “Mirage was all set to buy us. And then they were stopped. By an anonymous donor who far exceeded what they were comfortable with bidding.”
Blaine takes a moment to let the news settle on him. He knows without a doubt who the donor is, but how?
And then the text comes through to his phone, which is sitting between him and Santana on the couch. They both look at once.
It’s all yours. All of it.
—-
Blaine leaves Santana’s apartment in a rush, taking the train down to Sebastian’s building, where he’s stopped by the doorman before he can even enter.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Anderson, but Mr. Smythe no longer lives here.”
Blaine is shocked, “What? Where did he go?”
“Relocated,” the stern man replies, and then lower, almost as if he’s ashamed to say it, “To Brooklyn.”
Normally, Blaine is strictly subway, but today, he springs for a taxi. He has to get home. Fast.
—-
His three-story brownstone has a small stoop where kids play, moms gossip, college students study.
But when he walks up to the building, all he sees is Sebastian, sitting and waiting for him. Looking absolutely gorgeous in the thinnest peacoat Blaine has ever seen.
“You do know it’s fucking freezing out here, right?” Blaine says, immediately removing his scarf and putting it around Sebastian’s neck. Sebastian stands up, looking at the scarf approvingly.
“Had nowhere else to go. I’m homeless,” Sebastian replies with a shrug.
Blaine raises an eyebrow, “So you’ve been sitting out here in the snow waiting for me?”
Sebastian sighs, “Okay, I may have gotten a hotel. But strictly for sleeping.” Blaine gives him a pointed stare and he continues, “Okay I may also have paid Luther to tell me when you showed up at my old place so I could be here.”
“Sebastian, how long have you been here? And why is that your old place?”
“I sold it,” he says, matter-of-fact, “It took a few weeks to get the deal done and everything squared away, but I figured my father’s very heartfelt gesture of congratulations should reward someone who has actually done some good. Like a non-profit for dreamers who need a hand.”
He is self-deprecating but he is also looking at Blaine with the slightest shimmer of hope in his eyes.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Blaine offers, but his voice indicates how touched he feels by the gesture.
“I know it’s just money. But I made the donation anonymous so that Charlie can just keep running BWP the way he wants to, and that you guys can keep doing the work you were doing before…”
He stops. Blaine knows he means before he came back into his life. Before they intertwined their lives, told each other everything. Well, Blaine thought they did anyway.
“I promised you I would fix it and I hope I did,” Sebastian offers, “Or at least made a start to.”
“Are we just talking about Broadway Works?” Blaine asks, stepping closer.
“I know I betrayed you. You have every right not to trust me. I did everything he did and broke your heart all over again, and if you never wanted to see me again, I’d understand. But I had to risk everything at the hope that you might give me another chance. I went ten years without seeing you the first time. I couldn’t do that again.”
As they stand outside Blaine’s brownstone, a light snow has begun to fall, but all Sebastian can see are the few tears rolling down Blaine’s cheeks. Last time they were together, Blaine swore to himself that he wouldn’t let Sebastian see him cry. But if this is going to work, they have to be open and vulnerable with each other.
And Sebastian seems to know that as he says, “I love you. I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you from the moment we met. And I will spend the rest of my life begging you to forgive me for this. If you’ll let me.”
Blaine laughs incredulously, but nods frantically, gripping the scarf at Sebastian’s neck and pulling him in to kiss him deep and long and slow. It’s freezing and the snow is picking up, so they are alone on the street, but even in a crowded room, Blaine knows, they would only see each other.
After all, that’s how this started.
And as they pull apart, they are still entwined, Sebastian’s hands in the pockets of Blaine’s peacoat, Blaine’s arms still flung around Sebastian’s neck, he leans in to offer a suggestion.
“Take me home, Blaine.”
They climb the stairs two at a time to the third floor, losing clothing by the second, Sebastian muttering “leave it” against Blaine’s lips, Blaine running back down the stairs to pick everything up before any of his neighbors have the chance to see him half-naked and disheveled. By the time Blaine’s apartment door shuts, their clothes are all discarded and Sebastian is looking all around at the place he will now call home.
At least, he hopes Blaine will ask him to call it home.
“Hey.”
Blaine’s statement beckons Sebastian’s gaze away from the apartment and when his eyes fall on Blaine standing in the doorway, a small contented smile on his lips, he isn’t sure how he ever looked away in the first place.
“Come on, our bedroom’s this way.”
His whole life, Sebastian has always been a strong advocate for mine and yours.
He’s beginning to think ours doesn’t sound too bad.
#seblainiversary2018#seblaineaffairs#seblaine#future#should i stay or should i go#sebastian smythe#blaine anderson#rating: m
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The Knight of the Lady in Green
A rogue meets a slightly unstable champion of a trapped princess.
Wordcount: 1861
It was the late evening in the small hamlet. The work of the day had been done, the merchants were packing their carts, the homes and shops where shuttering their windows, the fires of the wives’ hearth were heating just as the flames of the smiths’ furnace were being allowed to cool. Only one place was going to see business tick up as the Sun went down, and that was the tavern.
Amethyst played with the coin in her hands, twirling it between her fingers. She grimaced at the sound of merriment from across the street. The single copper was all see had, and it would afford her neither beer nor bed.
She needn’t complain, her stomach took up that job already. All the troll-holes she could find in a week’s ride had been picked clean, the days of easy loot seemed to be ending. She’d need to go back to hunting if she was going to have some of the finer things, again. Not animals, of course, she didn’t like hurting what she wouldn’t eat, and it’s not good money, anyway.
No, there was a reason she was waiting outside the tavern.
The noise picked up inside. Amethyst stopped twirling the coin. This seemed to be it.
The tavern doors swung open, and the barkeep – a man made strong from a lifetime of lifting inebriated adventurers – stepped out and threw what seemed to be a patron with a slight figure onto the mud in front.
“Don’t you be coming back ‘ere, causing ruckuses and recruiting drunks out of my bar!”, the barkeep boomed at the person he had thrown.
The person immediately sat up and pointed to the rails for hitching the horses, and bellowed “Barkeep, what of the feed for my horse?!”
“That old nag?! It’s ready to keel over dead! I’d tell ye to find someone more foolish than yeself to buy it alive, but seeing as yeself on your lonesome is the most sorry lack of sense I’ve ever come across I’ll tell ye that the butchers is down that there street! Good night to ye!”, and with that the door was slammed shut, leaving the figure and Amethyst as the only two in the street.
Amethyst grinned. A fool, and a fool that seemed to have been thrown out for causing trouble rather than running out of coin. She rubbed her chin, trying to decide on the scheme she was going to pull on this soul to relieve them of their money.
“Greetings!”, a voice screamed in her ear, nearly making her jump out of her boots.
“Gods in- what’s your deal, bub?!”, said Amethyst, spinning to meet the voice, one hand on her sword in its hilt.
It was a woman, clad in cloak and armour. Unlike Amethyst’s own cheap tunic, this armour seemed like it was worth something when it was new, but now it was horribly rusted, Amethyst couldn’t imagine it not making an awful creak whenever the woman moved in it, which made her wonder how she snuck up on her. Which made her realise, the figure thrown out of the tavern was gone! Unless…
“Your astute reflexes tell me you are of the quality that I require!”, the woman spoke, in the same voice that argued with the barkeep, “I seek the aid of the brave and the bold in this land to follow me in the recovery of a treasure!”
Amethyst eyed the woman’s face. She was smiling, the kind of smile that often quickly led to a village being burned down.
“Uhh, is this…”, Amethyst had a hunch that she needed to answer carefully, “…is this treasure yours?”
“‘Mine’?”, the woman looked away, “My heart is rich in courage, the coffers of love I hold for my sweet is vaster than any treasury owned by mortal kings, and my mind is encrusted by the tales of valour and dignity of the distinguished heroes of our shared past, but my purse, alas! there is not a penny in it, and I would have it none other way.”
“‘Does she always talk like this?’”, thought Amethyst, beginning to squirm under the stare of the woman. She wasn’t quite sure if she had yet blinked, “Then, uhh, what’s the treasure? I’m down for, heh, ‘recovering’ treasure. What’re we looking at, what’s the haul?”
The woman shook her head, “No, no, to even try to value it would insult its true preciousness. No relic, no jewel would ever be its match. For it is--
“Yeahyeahyeah, I’m in! Jeeze!”, Amethyst had scammed nearly everybody else in the hamlet and this odd woman was broke, in possibly more than one sense of the word, so she decided she had nothing better to do, “Let’s go get this treasure!”
“Excellent!”, said the woman, “You might have sensed that I am a knight, and I have had trouble keeping down a squire. These honourless days will be our ruin. But you, so bold to begin an adventure that you have little true grasping of, you have the makings of a squire in the first rate! In our time you will earn riches and renown, and everlasting glory will be your final prize, for you shall be the squire to Madam Lazuli, Knight of the Lady in Green!”
The woman, Madam Lazuli, ended with a flourished, leaving Amethyst nearly agape.
“OK.” Amethyst started, slowly, “Only 20% of that, tops, sounded good. For now, I’m in, but I want the details.”
Lazuli, somehow, grinned even wider, “Of course, my dear…umm, what was your na--?”
“Amethyst.”
“Amethyst! My dear Amethyst, a captain of men in arms never hides details from them that they are fully capable of understanding. He decides the course of action and they follow, to the death if needed, his hiding the course will only sow doubt in them. What castle walls could be so solid as the will of those riding to what they know to be their glorious doom?”
A bead of sweat ran down Amethyst’s neck. The started walking to the horse rails, Lazuli’s arms around her.
“Our quest is simple, but the prize is matched by none other. You needn’t worry of not gaining handsome reward even if I forgo my own, the Lady is fair and wise and will know what you’ve done for her.”
Amethyst scratched her ear, feeling the nerves in her head beginning to tingle in worry, “And, uhh, what are we going to do for her, exactly?”
“We’re going to kill a dragon.”
“And where is this go-- wait, WHAT?!”, Amethyst shook away, “A DRAGON?! WHAT DRAGON?!”
The Madam Lazuli stared rather blankly at her new squire, not foreseeing the sudden change in attitude, “Why, the Dragon of Caste Beta, of course. Alexinus the Horrible, Refuse of Hell, Her Most Damneded Impoliteness. Our Lady is trapped by that monster, and we shall serve her by slaying it. Where is your horse?”
Amethyst could feel a blood vessel trying to pop. She tried to see if Lazuli was at all drunk, if Amethyst was after all just enrolled in some extended joke. She saw nothing in the taller woman’s eyes, aside from a window into utter sobriety and a glimpse into a will that completely terrified her. Somehow, she knew that this woman meant it when she said she was going to the dragon that had been the scourge of the neighbouring land for many years, and even more bizarrely she felt the need to talk her out of it.
“But…but…have you…like, even seen a dragon before?!”
She wanted to smack her head against a wall for sounding so lame.
The Madam Lazuli replied, “My dear Amethyst, I assure you, I have read extensively on the slaying of dragons, and we have all that we need to face this one and a thousand more like it! For we do not draw our swords in fear or hatred, we take arms to aid the weak and defend the innocent.”
Amethyst was on the verge of a heart attack. “Yeah, that’s great and all, but like, you know what a dragon is, right? ‘Claws of spears, teeth of swords, an inferno that can fly’, also have severe anger issues and not really keen on us little guys with our swords and our wanting their big piles of gold?”
Lazuli’s face suddenly looked bileful, “‘Their piles’. The dragon we shall kill owns not a coin that it sleeps on, every last piece is that of the Lady. Worry not, I have seen this dragon, and this Lady is real, as I see in your eyes you doubt she exists.” Her face now softened, “But oh! with how I speak of her, how could she be real? Ah, but she is, my dear Amethyst! It was in my earliest days as a knight, when I first took to sword and saddle to aid whoever I came across. I passed near the castle, long conquered by Alexinus, just far enough away to not rouse the beast, when I saw her, in her tower. Her flowing green dress, her golden locks, how she shone like the brightest lighthouse, held within the cruelly charred tower. She looked upon me, a knight lost in her travels, and she spoke. She had given me my purpose, Amethyst, to free her by destroying her captor. There is nothing I desire more than to do this task. I could never take a bounty again after I receive what she deemed worthy of me, even if it was only the order to go on my way. I love her, you see. Yes, it seems ridiculous, but I love her completely, my heart is hers. I scorn every moment I used the world ‘love’ before the day I first saw my Lady.”
“…you don’t know her name. Do you?”
Lazuli waived Amethyst’s comment, “Bah! No name to my mind, and I know many fair names, could surely do her justice! But enough talk, I ask again, where is your horse?”
“I, wait, wuh…”, Amethyst’s mind was going numb at trying to comprehend the lunacy of this woman. Her insanity was like the Sun. Difficult to directly look at. Hence, she was quickly getting used to avoiding it, “I don’t have a horse.”
The Madam Lazuli grimaced, “Then Pumpkin shall need to carry us both.”
Amethyst started shaking, “Wh-who’s Pump--“
Lazuli stood before a brown horse at the rails, an old and sorry looking creature worn down by years. However, it’s golden eyes, more youthful than it’s body, flashed in the evening light, “Pumpkin is my loyal steed. She and I would go to the gates of Hell, so long as it was together.”
Pumpkin lifted her head and licked Lazuli’s face.
Before Amethyst could back away and try to forgot this evening, Lazuli had her picked up and mounted on the horse. “Wait, what’re you doing?! I signed up for plundering loot, not--“
“Hold tight, my dear Amethyst! For we ride!”
As Pumpkin galloped out of the settlement with her passengers, Amethyst quietly debated to herself.
Who was crazier? The crazy woman, or the sane woman who followed her?
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anyways, ill say bye now... i hope ure well rested and have a good day!! (wait, i remember what i wanted to ask!! at least i think this is what i wanted to ask? anywys, do u know what u want to do now that ure finished w school? if u dont mind me asking, of course, i understand if u think its a bit personal!) ok, now im done, have a good day!! take care and stay hydrated!! (and now i really did send u a bunch of asks..)
omg i hope u dont mind but ill be answering the stuff from ur last ask here (the one where i… deleted everything) under cut bc itll be 2x longer now
so first !!!!! how i got into kpop!!! it was thanks to my good pal (@.briwoon) boxy! i follow her on twitter and despite her being a day6 stan twt i had her unmuted anyway bc.. after years of being an anime blog on tumblr and seeing all my anime mutuals slowly converting into kpop blogs one by one i was able to filter the kpop out of my brain?? smth like that since back then i wasnt into kpop and i didnt want to unfollow since im mutuals with most of them :-0
another backstory - i was one of those people who never saw themselves getting into kpop? and i think the main reason was bc i thought liking kpop would make u seem lame?? due to the influence from people around me?? but as years went by and as my mutuals changed interests it stopped bothering me and that mindset kind of just? faded away bc who am i to call other people’s happiness bad?? but despite being okay with it i never really made the move to get into any groups lmao that was until i got tired of my interest at that time (seiyuu, japanese voice actors) and my interests would always. not last?? idk so maybe thats why i didnt want to get invested but it happened regardless
anyway usually i wouldnt take notice of her rts but this . this beautiful man with orange hair and minion glasses caught my eye when i was scrolling through my timeline and i was like o worm? oh mu god? hes beautiful? so i slid into her dms and asked her whomst the beautiful man was and she sent me all their mvs after that from congratulations to i smile (the most recent mv at that time, late june) for me to watch :-D now at that time, from what little knowledge i had of kpop.. i understood that groups would be singing and dancing so i was prepared to see some sick moves or smth?? but then. i clicked on miss i smile and my wig flew off? bc… wtf.? they were playing instruments???? and they sounded good ??? so i was like oh my god? a band??????
before day6 i also had (have) a preference for bands and the way their music sounds so i was like?? ready to just. get on board yknow?? i watched how can i say and i saw the lanky noodle wearing glasses and i was like o fuck mu life? i caved and asked boxy for their names and other information and best decision of my life bc.. they really make me happy!!! after that like the day after ? myabe they did a vlive and i was like o shit? what do i do… so i downloaded the vapp and wowie i love it? its my second home…… i watched every vlive they had at that time and i thought that was a lot… (it isnt, compared to mx) and i was just rly content??
(ok i know u asked for kpop and not … day6 or other groups bc im gonna talk abt how i got into mx and astro too bc…… how can i Not.. u can skip this part tho i just wanna ramble abt my loves? ill tell u when u can continue)
that was peak happiness for me at that time.. until… boxy started talking about monsta x in our groupchat (with @.tokayhk) and she would just ramble abt this kihyun fella (who i vaguely knew bc my real life friend likes him and mx and i bought her his pc before along with the guilty clan part 2) so i was like hmm interesting… and honestly? i wasnt going to get into monsta x i really wasnt planning on asking her abt them (since i was scared id lose interest in day6 right after) but then.. she started linking videos and i .. my resolve crumbled down as i heard monsta x yelling and … this beautiful cover (which boxy sent to show us how powerful kihyuns vocals are but i was 2 focused on mister aka minhyukku) and she told us how funny these monsta men are and i was like o h no…………….. eventually one day in late august i asked her to tell me more about these monstas…… aftert that i watched every mxray episode (starting from season 2 bc i dont know 1 comes before 2) and even though i didnt know anyone who was on screen except jooheon i found it really funny and?? it made me laugh so much i love mx?? ya… boxys kind of like my guardian angel?? shes really the reason im living tbh… introducing me to all these lovely people?? thank u miss boxy i love u
now. for the astrosus….. they were a bit different.. because i didnt have boxys help and they were the first group i took interest in solely bymyself so i knew i was in for a wild ride (at first, i couldnt even differentiate brian from sungjin in day6 lmao) after stanning monsta x and day6 i became more?? open to kpop and i started watching unhelpful guides on youtube bc . they were funnie and idk its nice??/ and i stumbled upon the astro one (which wasnt that funny but more helpful than anythng) and i was like. oh worm? the cicada group… bc i watched a short clip of them catching that stupid cicada in their office as it appeared on my tl one day so i clicked on the video ..and after watching that it led me to another video of astro being extra for 6 minutes and those six minutes/????? best six minutes of my life because theyre so fnny and they made me laugh a lot? (combined with the editing from op) so bc they were funnie i decided to look them up and read their profiles/??? i watched their nimdle video and only knew mj bc his tag was the two letters m and j lol but it really made me bust both of my lungs i just?? laughed A Lot
im not sure how i managed to put name to face so quickly but it mightve been bc after the nimdle videos i watched every ddoca and astro play as well as their vlives available bc.. i just inhale the content at godspeed??
for mx and astro i was drawn in by their personalities before their music because they were on more variety shows and had more chances to show dorky they all are which made it way quicker for me to fall for the two groups??? for day6 its a bit sad but the weekly scheduled vlives arent enough for me to tell what kind of people they are (although those r still hilarious) i just wish they would go on more variety shows?? its understandable if they themselves dont want to be on any shows though!!! i love all 3 groups with all my heart :-D
ok if u skipped u can start from here ill be answering the questions now lmao
FIRSTof all,,,,, youre learning how to drive?? thats so cool >:-0 we’re not allowed to learn until we’re like...?? 18?? or 21 idk but not so Soon :-( and its cute u think abt me (or of what to say) but pleaseth stay safe... i hope ur driving lessons go smoothly until u end theM!!! hopefully youll be able to get ur licence :-D
aNDD!!! the thought of drinking warm tea when its cold outside.. is so ?? nice to think about hecc u better drink that tEA and enjoy it !!!! stay warm and comfy miss RM ..... and it even snows there????? thats so cool tbh ?? (i love snow but maybe thats bc it doesnt snow here so i dont know the tru evil of snow but like.... its so.... white and fluffy??) i would ask u 2 take pics and show me but alas...... the time is not right :-( do u know when we’re allowed to expose ourselves?? i forgot rip... but its sometime next month right im excited???? since its near my birthday !!!!!
ok now to answer this ask no i actually have no clue what i want to be after i finish school?? yikEs but last year i (jokingly) said i wanted to be a farmer??? idk if i might actually do that probably not i guess im just freestyling (going with the flow) for now we’ll see where life takes me
and like i said u can ask me anything !!! im fine with it :-) alsooooo please dont ever feel bad about sending too many asks bc its a lovely thing to wake up to and i just?? get rly happy when i see all the asks in my activity :-D!!
#asks#rachel maria#oohh my this got really long#its already the next day so ill quickly answer the nxt set
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A Dozen Roses Ch 1
Otayuri I G-Rated
Yuri works in the flower shop.
Otabek is a business man.
This is how they fell in love.
Fluff, Falling in Love, Mutual Pining
Word count: 5.1K
Read on AO3
((Also this one is dedicated to @sleepyams thank you vilm darling for helping me bring this to life and encouraging me to make this a fic so please do send her some love too if you feel like it x3))
Yuri hears the door chime go off with his back facing the door as he prepares a wedding bouquet order. He says his greetings and asks,
“Would you like any help in searching for something specific today?” and as soon as he turns around he feels like the world is moving in slow motion.
He has never seen someone so handsome in his life till he laid his eyes on this man in front of him. Otabek was looking around as he was curious as to what in this store caught his eye and soon realized what it was when he made eye contact with this angel that appeared in front of him.
Yuri totally forgot what he was doing just a second ago and had his eyes set on this beautiful man, that he started to stutter. Yuri tried his best to snap out of it and compose himself and he tries once again to gently ask this gentleman if he needed any help. Otabek lands back to reality and has to blink his eyes a few times to make sure that this wasn’t a dream. Otabek tries to come up with a clever answer or remember his actual reason that he came here but he got distracted once again when he saw this man in front of him smile so cutely.
“Ah actually I totally forgot what I came in here for and then something else in particular caught my eye.”
Otabek was hoping that the hint in the air carried through as he read the guy’s name tag reading Yuri. He wanted to say that name over and over as if it was music to his ears. Yuri was thinking Otabek was possibly flirting with him but he was more convinced that this man has to be taken right?! Yuri clears his throat and says
“Well we are currently in a flower shop with all types of flowers that are great for all types of occasions.”
Yuri laughs a bit wondering if Otabek is catching on to the joke he’s trying to convey but he just starts to ramble in his head that maybe he’s just overdoing it.
After a few seconds of realization Otabek laughs and Yuri laughs with him. Their laughs together sounded like music to each others ears. Otabek decides to take this chance to say
“Thank you for informing me... Yuri? Is it?”
Yuri was surprised at hearing his name that he almost forgot he had his name tag on for one reason or another and says
“Oh yes that’s me, at your service!”
“I’m Otabek its very nice to meet you Yuri.”
As he extends his hand for a handshake Yuri is hesitant at first but gladly takes it and they feel a tingle across both their spines that they wonder if the other can hear how loud their heartbeats are sounding right now.
Neither really want to let go but Yuri is the one who decides to take the plunge and let’s go first. He swoops it in his hair to try and act natural but instead awkwardly laughs. Otabek notices the time and is sad he has to go so soon already, he’d stay here the whole day if he could. But alas work calls so he proceeds to tell Yuri,
“Ah I have to go now my break today is much shorter than I thought but I hope to see you again tomorrow! Maybe then I’ll remember what I was looking for.”
He manages to sneak in a wink causing Yuri to almost hiccup at the final realization that hit his heart.
So Otabek is flirting with me!!!? What??? Since when? I’m just, what I’m... Yuri gets out of his own head and catches his breath and says,
“Oh yes I hope to see you again tomorrow Otabek.” as he smiles so big he can’t even try to hide it.
Otabek’s heart goes hnng and waves goodbye and Yuri does the same. Otabek runs over back to work and is so ecstatic, he didn’t expect to find someone so beautiful as Yuri. He wanted tomorrow to be here already so he can see that angel again.
Yuri almost falls over as he holds on to the pillar next to him for support. He starts to talk out loud rambling to himself,
“Did that just happen? Did I just flirt... successfully?! I was just a nervous wreck though. What does he see in me? I know what I saw in him. I’m just so in awe but WOW! I’m really excited for tomorrow. But oh my heart needs to stop beating so loud.”
The next day rolls around and Otabek is right on time which surprised Yuri for a second since he didn’t get a chance to double check if he looked good or not. He managed to do a quick check and tried his best to look natural, it wasn’t like he was eagerly waiting for Otabek to show up. (He definitely was c;)
“Ah so you’ve returned. Welcome back, have you found what you were looking for?”
There is a slight pause as Otabek notices Yuri standing in what seems to be a slightly awkward position but decides to not point it out and just laughs for a second.
“You know I’m honestly not sure yet. I was wondering if you could show me around. Maybe then I’ll figure out if I’ve found what I’m looking for.”
Yuri is a bit flustered since he wasn’t actually sure what he was expecting to hear. But he somehow finds it in himself to compose a sentence.
“Oh yes of course we have a lot of lovely options I’m sure we can find it together.”
Yuri continues as he goes in depth about a section of flowers as their first lesson, which will soon turn into many. Otabek looks on both the flowers but also at the ever so lovely Yuri in front of him. He admires how much he knows and is willing to share with him all these little details. Yuri on the other hand was so immersed that he didn’t get a chance to sneak in a few glances at Otabek as he wished but he was glad Otabek was here to listen and hopefully enjoy.
Otabek unfortunately has to end this session and says,
“I’m sorry, I have to get going now. Work calls. Thank you for everything and I hope we can do the same tomorrow?” giving his killer smile that he himself doesn’t realize the effect it has on people.
Yuri feeling slightly breathless from both his rambles and this gorgeous smile and says,
“Of course I would love to.”
They both stand there for a bit just smiling at each other when Yuri’s co-worker brings them both to their senses and Otabek says a final goodbye for the day. Both are left with such a warm feeling in their heart that they hope it doesn’t go away anytime soon.
Their short time spent together during their respective breaks went from days, to weeks, to now a few months. They became so comfortable with one another that they found countless things to talk about throughout the flower lessons. Such as talking about a lame joke that they both laughed a bit too hard at when they were together. They found out they had similar tastes in music especially when Otabek brought up a playlist he had to show to Yuri. They even had similar interests in figure skating they both had such a special connection to it that they felt like they somehow must have done that in a past life or something.
It was crazy, all the little things that added up and they wouldn’t trade it for the world because they got to spend it with each other.
One day though Yuri came to realize just how much he didn’t stop to think of how this could possibly end. Yuri got so caught up in getting to know Otabek that he was nervous of what he could think if he ever found out that Yuri was not this gentle happy soul all the time. Yuri can get pretty loud if he’s pushed to the edge.
Yuri is never really sure how to describe it himself he’s in a way sensitive or how others have said quite peculiar. He was told these things at a very young and impressionable age and ever since he's been quite self aware. So he has been in a constant worried state when kids started to stray away from him or thought he was something else than what he acted like.
Due to this he’s had some trust issues and letting people come in close to his personal bubble. But Otabek was different he had such an energy, Yuri has felt nothing but comfortable with him. He was sure he’d be different from the others who got close and decided it wasn’t for them but Yuri was still nervous. He doesn’t want to mess this up... Otabek means so much to him that he will do his best till the end.
As Yuri was getting ready to close up the shop for the night he began to reflect on how he got to this point in his life. Yuri is a gentle being in the flower shop but this was not how it has always been. he has worked several jobs before this comfy one he’s found a place he likes to call home. He’s had this creep follow him from place to place for a while now but this time he’s had it. As soon as he got the vibe and knew he was near him once again he didn’t want to deal with it anymore so he finally let loose.
Little did he know that Otabek was across the street seeing the whole thing. Otabek notices Yuri before Yuri notices him about to ask,
“Hey do you need some help?” right when Yuri yells at the creep.
“Would you just fucking back off once and for all. I’m so tired of your bullshit. I’m finally in a good place in my life so stop ruining it.”
In this moment he was so sick and tired of trying to play this “nice guy” to this lowlife creep who has apparently followed him throughout all the jobs he’s had prior. Since Yuri was yelling so loud to make sure the creep understood he accidentally yelled, “WHAT?!!” to Otabek as he turned around.
He was shocked to see Otabek there and was like, fuck I ruined another damn good thing in my life huh... He gets shy at the hit of reality and tries to go back to the gentle side of him that Otabek knows replying, “I’m fine.”
Luckily the creep finally gets the picture from not only the yelling but also from the intense glare Otabek is giving him and runs off. Yuri ended up staring at the ground trying to hide from his embarrassment quickly says,”I have to go.” and runs off in any direction that is away from here taking the chance wisely as he hears Otabek’s friend calling his name.
Yuri makes sure the coast is clear and catches his breath and he rubs his eyes to try and get over his tears that he knows are about to form. He was really hoping to keep this thing with Otabek pure and maybe turn into a real relationship. But he’s so convinced that he ruined it like everything else before. So he stops at the nearest convenience store and gets his favorite treat on his walk back to his apartment and tries to sleep everything off.
Yuri calls in sick to the flower shop not wanting to face Otabek after what happened. He hears his cat Scorpio meow and decides to ask,
“Did I make another mistake again?”
“Meow”
“I did, didn’t I? I really hope he could have been different from the others but I guess I was wrong.”
Scoprio gives a certain look causing Yuri to say,
“You’re right I shouldn’t think like that I’m sure maybe someday I’ll find someone better… but I still just want him though……”
Yuri paces back and forth for the rest of the day going about business as usual just trying to take his mind off of Otabek. He would stare at his phone from time to time and was almost thankful they somehow managed not to exchange numbers yet because if they had, he’d be so tempted to call him right now.
He hears his cat meow next to him as if she knows what Yuri is thinking so well.
“But what would I even say to him ‘Oh sorry you saw that side of me I hope you don’t think of me differently. I know I’m trying to avoid you right now but can you forgive me’”
“Meow.”
“What if he’s like (deep voice impression of Otabek) “blah blah What The Fuck who are you again? I only knew flower shop Yuri blah blah”
Yuri ends up angrily sighing and gives up for the day.
One week has passed and Yuri is still the same frustrated self, he continues to ramble to his cat in hopes that maybe he’ll find an answer. He’s tried to talk to some of his friends about this but he felt at peace with his cat. Although he only heard meows every time, over the years it has become a comfort for him and deep down he felt like his cat knew just what to say. No matter how crazy that might seem he really was thankful to have really anyone to listen to him with no judgement.
Yuri was now reaching the two week mark and today he’s finally going to decide whether or not to finally come back. He had to ask the right person or in this case feline to help him make this important decision. He rarely did this and he still doesn’t really remember when or why he bought these outfits but he found the perfect one to put on Scorpio. He had this suit outfit for cats and it fit her so well that he couldn’t resist using it.
First Yuri snapped a picture of Scorpio sitting and posing so purrfectly. Yuri straightened up and asked Scorpio, in a very serious tone mind you, if he should finally start going back to work. He heard a long meow in response, in which Yuri assumed that as a yes. Yuri was nervous though and started to ramble as he does.
“But what if Otabek does show up though? What do I say? What if he doesn’t show up? Will I be okay with either outcome that comes my way? What do I want to see by coming back?...”
As Scorpio was yawning she just so happened to put her paw on Yuri’s hand and meowed as if she knew it was going to be okay. Yuri thought at first, what the hell just happened is my cat actually trying to hold my hand right now. But then he realized that,
“Yes I can do this. I’ll prepare for whatever outcome. thank you so much Scorpio for listening to me, now let’s get you out of that suit and I will reward you with an extra treat for being such a good girl.”
Meanwhile Otabek walks into the shop as normal but partly on high alert worried about Yuri. He wasn’t able to catch up to him that night and he really wish he did. He looks around and starts to fidget in anticipation when Yuri’s co-worker comes up to him and asks Otabek if he needed anything. Otabek turned around hoping he’d see Yuri but was very disappointed to not see him there.
So instead to be polite he said he was just looking around and was curious about if she had seen Yuri come to work today. She’s noticed Otabek come in from time to time and decided to let him know that Yuri called in sick. But said to come back tomorrow to keep him hopeful for Yuri’s return. She asks if there happens to be anything else he might need while she’s here.
Otabek looks around for a bit until he sees the perfect flower, a rose, a red one to be precise. He asked the girl if she could have this flower on reserve for Yuri, so he knows that he stopped by. The girl happily obliged his request and said that she was sure that Yuri would love it. Otabek thanked her kindly and soon left to go back to his work but he still had Yuri in the back of his mind. He hoped he was doing okay, he thought about him constantly.
He stopped by everyday at their usual meet up time in hopes that today would finally be the day that he’d see this angel again. The girl working there gave him a sad expression and said that he was still out sick. Otabek started to pout and sigh after the first full week passed but he never gave up hope. He knew he would have to come back sometime so everyday on the dot he walked on over and requested to leave one red rose every day so Yuri can see them when he does return.
Today is the day that Yuri makes his fateful comeback, he’s grateful for his coworker that covered his shift. He noted to himself to make it up to her sometime. Yuri is convinced that Otabek has probably given up by now right? Pfft like he’d even come back after the scene he saw. As he was getting everything in the shop prepared and was about to continue his rambling thoughts. He was pleasantly surprised to see two dozen roses in bloom and is amazed and in awe immediately saying “Wow!” and notices Otabek peeking behind them and they both blush.
Yuri is the most shy he has ever been when Otabek says
“They’re for you, I’ve been coming in like usual asking to leave a rose for every day I came. I also wanted to make sure that creep didn’t come back. But overall I just wanted to make sure that you were okay (shyly smiling)”
After a slight pause still in awe over the roses Yuri says, “Thank you they’re beautiful.” Now once again rambling in his mind, “Shit he’s right in front of me this has to be good to be true right?...”
An awkward silence falls over them both and Otabek says,
“So I’ve been meaning to ask you, Would you like to go on a date with me?”
(As they have been casually flirting for the past 3 months now so it’s about damn time right c;)
Yuri who is in complete shock replies, “Wait are you serious??!”
“I would never joke about something like that to you.”
“But you saw how I was, How I can be…. I’m not a gentle being you probably imagined and...”
He slowly gets interrupted by Otabek who takes Yuri hand and kisses it sending shivers down both their spines.
“I like that side of you as well, if anything I think I started to fall more in love. I’d love to get to know all sides of you, if you’d let me and same for you with me if you are willing.”
Otabek didn’t let go of Yuri’s hand until Yuri decided to yank his hand away out of both confusion and happiness and says,
“Okay.”
Otabek feeling happier than he has been in a long while replies, “Do you mean it??”
Otabek feels like a smitten kitten who just got a new toy. Yuri keeps the hand Otabek kissed close to his heart in attempts to cover up his loud heartbeats and quietly says,
“You heard me idiot.”
Otabek is so glad to see Yuri again after so long. Otabek just feels like the luckiest guy in the world right now and says, “I will see you tonight then.”
Yuri nods and Otabek says he has to go but that he’s really excited for tonight as he puts down the new rose left for today. Yuri sighs of relief when he hears the door ding knowing Otabek has finally left and brings his hand close to his lips and says,
“Someone pinch me this can’t be real life I must be dreaming right?”
He then takes a moment to smell the beautiful roses Otabek presented just for him.
Yuri was on cloud nine throughout the rest of the day that he couldn’t stop giving glances here and there at the bouquet of roses. To think that Otabek thought of him every time he came here and to leave a rose for him he just couldn’t believe how much love he felt through them. He was helping customers all throughout the day humming and dancing whenever he had the chance.
Otabek was so lost in thought as well thinking about Yuri and how he was finally able to convey his feelings properly. He wanted to tell him everything and more but he knew he had to be productive today to not fall behind. So they both were able to continue their work days just fine, leading to preparing for their date that night.
Read here for Ch. 2
#otayuri#yoi#yurio x otabek#otabek x yurio#yuri on ice#yuri on ice!!!#my stories#my ideas#my first full length fic is here you guys i really hope you enjoy it
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Ultizurk II: Won! (with Summary and Rating)
Congratulations! Here’s a near-unreadable screen!
Ultizurk II: The Shadow Master
United States
Independently developed and published
Released in 1992 for DOS
Date Started: 26 March 2019
Date Finished: 7 April 2019
Total Hours: 16
Difficulty: Moderate (3/5)
Final Rating: (to come later)
Ranking at time of posting: (to come later)
Summary:
One of a long-running series of independent games, Ultizurk II borrows its basic approach and many of its plot elements from Ultima games. Although more complicated than Ultizurk I, the author was still an amateur, which comes through in under-developed character development, combat, and inventory systems. There are some decent puzzle-solving moments, but the game overall is too large and too long for its extremely basic approach to role-playing.
****
Ultizurk II ended up comprising five outdoor maps, nine dungeon maps, and 5 “dream world” maps, all 64 x 64. This is far too big for a game of such limited playability. The maps exist in a mostly linear manner, which makes it a nightmare to go back and forth among the areas as you try to solve the various puzzles. Walking through the dungeons isn’t hard, if you bring enough herbs, but it’s long, particularly with the clunky interface and the need to stop and toss sling stones at monsters every five steps. Towards the end of the game, I just couldn’t take it anymore, and I confess that I used a hex editor to figure out the character’s saved coordinates and manipulate them to get him through the dungeons faster.
The order of the game’s maps.
You’ll note that all the areas are, indeed, named after features on Mars, although sometimes misspelled or otherwise a bit mangled. I was authoritatively not on Mars for this game, however, as the residents are always referred to as “Arcturians.”
In Arcturian, leaders are called “schwazzers.” Got it.
All of the dungeon maps were swarming with monsters. Most of the outdoor maps were, too, but a couple were monster-free. As promised by the manual, each of the cities outside the starting area had one or two NPCs. They all responded to NAME and JOB and then suggested keywords in their responses. Sometimes, the keywords were a bit unintuitive, such as when the leader of the planet says, “I see you are trying to help us, but alas!,” and the next prompt is not HELP but ALAS. None of them had much to say in general, and the game missed on opportunity to better flesh out the game world with these dialogues. None of them had anything to say about any water crisis, and almost all of the maps had a fountain or two, suggesting no crisis at all.
The Shadow Master had laid it out last time: my goal was to collect three crystals for each city’s mind machine (five total machines), use the crystals to power the machines, enter the dream worlds, and collect an orb from each. The machines require specific crystals in a specific order; the ones a machine requires are usually found closest to that machine. What you don’t want to do is wait until you have a bunch of crystals and then try to figure out what machine uses which ones and in which order. That takes forever and there’s no way to solve it but trial and error.
Slotting crystals into a dream machine.
A lot of the crystals are found lying on the ground within dungeons. The three used by the machine in Olympus Mons are dug up from shrines on that map. A few other crystals require you to solve side-quests. For instance, a caveman named Oog would give me a crystal if I could find his kinsman Zog (another Ultima VI reference) and get him to return. The two cavemen were several maps away, so that was a bit of a pain. Another required me to find some blue glass, have it refined by a glass smith, then have it assembled into a gem by a gem maker.
Finding Zog in a dungeon. That might be the worst NPC portrait in history.
The dream worlds all had their own puzzles. Most of them were navigational, such as one that had a bunch of invisible walls and required me to find my way to a bunch of lit braziers and douse them with a bucket of water. When I was done, the bucket of water turned into an orb in my inventory, but there was no message to accompany this, so I spent an extra hour just wandering this level, wondering what I was missing.
Dousing braziers on a level full of lamps and invisible walls.
Another dream world puzzle had the player nonsensically meet Wyatt Earp, who was trying to figure out how to best apportion sacks of feed among his buffalo ranch. It was basically a magic square puzzle–the columns and rows had to add up to 10–except with repeating values for the sacks (1,1,2,3,3,4,5,5,6) and no requirement that the values add up to 10 on the diagonals. There are systems for solving magic squares with nonrepeating values, and you can even do it with algebra, but at the time I couldn’t figure out a formula that would work with this nonstandard version. Eventually, I just solved it through trial and error.
Helping Wyatt Earp feed buffalo by solving a magic square puzzle does, admittedly, sound like something that would happen in one of my dreams.
When I had all five orbs, I slogged all the way back to the starting area and placed them in their receptacles in the transportation room. Supposedly, I just had to mentally concentrate on where I wanted to go, and I’d go there. Instead, I got a message that said “Overload! Overload! Overload! Machinery too old!” and the orbs all burst into flame.
Like trying to run any modern PC game on a one-year-old laptop.
The Shadow Master had nothing to offer about this turn of events, but he did say that he’d dug up an obscure keyword (HOTEYE) that I should mention to the humblest person I had met. Well, I hadn’t met any clearly humble people, but neither had I met so many people that I couldn’t swing by all of them with message. The intended recipient turned out to be Krindell, an Arcturian in Hellas who I’d previously dismissed as a lunatic because he just went on about flowers and how they teach him of the heart.
Krindell turned out to be the leader of the planet. The HOTEYE keyword led to a discussion of “the lens,” a theoretical construct that would melt a glacier in Elysium Mons, thus “restoring the water balance.” But the lens “needs a master” and only an “enlightened one” can create it. “If you have been virtuous, then legend says that the lens will stare you in the eye.”
Would it have been that hard to make a lens using actual lens-making equipment?
There really isn’t a way in this game to demonstrate virtue, which is why it was a good thing that, following the conversation, a lens just magically appeared on the ground next to Krindell. That was a pretty lame plot development. I suspect Dr. Dungeon originally had a more lengthy side quest in mind for acquiring the lens.
I took it to Elysium Mons and placed it in an obvious square. The glacier partly melted, leaving a river flowing through it.
But did it really happen, or was it just implanted?
Walking up the river, I encountered a generator at the top. When I tried to “use,” it told me to enter the “activation sequence.” I had no notes for anything like that, so I spent some time going around asking NPCs about it. Krindell still acted as if I hadn’t already gotten the lens, and the Shadow Master was still stuck on HOTEYE. After about an hour of futile wandering, I inspected the game’s code and found that the answer was “1175.” Apparently, it’s found on one of the signs scattered throughout the game, which it turns out you have to “use” to read; “looking” at them just tells you that they’re signs.
Any true sci-fi fan would have gone with 1138.
Entering the code brought about the long endgame. First, a computer display lit up on the generator, an automated mechanism engaged, and I had to re-enter the code. “Intergalactic transmission incoming,” it then said, and the face of an alien popped up.
Greetings, Earthling. Millions of years ago, our race had already developed space travel. We grew in knowledge and stature. We became as gods. We started with virtues similar to thine own. The planet thou hast seen was an experiment in genetics–the creation of life from inanimate matter. We do this because we respect all life, from the smallest microbe to the largest whale. Our policy is not to intervene once we have created a planet and brought life forth from it. The natural way of things must be allowed its course.
The planet thou hast just visited is but one among thousands like it which we developed countless eons ago. It developed along the usual evolutional pattern, but a problem arose with atmospheric pressure. Mathematical probability estimated life could only be sustained for a further maximum of four hundred years.
Then YOU came. Forgive our bluntness, but we’ve never seen such a primitive being display such compassion. You saved an entire world from certain death. You persevered for months. When the teleporter failed, you turned attention away from yourself and towards the planet’s need. The galaxies themselves sing your praise!
That sounds great, but how, functionally, do they do that?
I felt that was laying it on a little thick, particularly since I didn’t bother to help the planet until it appeared that I was stuck there. Anyway, the aliens somehow transported me off-planet, and I was able to witness a little graphics show by which “the red and brown planet turned blue with water and green with grass again!”
Someone recently discovered vector graphics, I see.
Then, somehow I was transported home to the Wizards’ Guild. The Dungeon Master began speaking and announced the end to the “contest . . . between the two top adventurers in the world,” namely the Shadow Master–that’s apparently his actual name–and me. This retcons the end of Ultizurk I a bit, where the Shadow Master kidnapped me and I didn’t voluntarily enter a contest.
The Shadow Master was named the new Guild Master given that he returned first. But the Shadow Master got up and made a speech in which he recounted my adventures, said that I had somehow “created matter out of pure mind power!,” and praised my selfless rescue of the Arcturians. At his recommendation the Council unanimously made me the Guild Master, and the Shadow Master went off to take over the Thieves’ Guild, where he “forgot all about his new-found humbleness.”
The Shadow Master falls on his sword.
This conclusion slightly undermines one of my complaints, that the game, despite its subtitle, isn’t really about the Shadow Master. But only slightly.
We’ll let it all sink in while I score the game:
2 points for the game world. None of it makes much sense, and it depends too heavily on recycled plot elements from the Ultima series, particularly Martian Dreams.
1 point for character creation and development. There’s no creation, and development is a matter of getting extra maximum hit points at weird intervals. I seemed to hit the level cap (Level 7) awfully early in the game.
3 points for NPC interaction. No game that adopts a keyword dialogue system is entirely bad, but there aren’t very many NPCs, and the interaction lacks the complexity of the Ultima titles. The bland Arcturians almost made me think fondly of the NPC in Ultizurk I who called me “granmassa” and wanted a potion of healing for her “po’ lil chile.”
The Shadow Master’s characterization was, I admit, a bit unexpected.
2 points for encounters and foes. It gets that for the occasionally-good puzzle. The various enemies roaming around the map are just icons with nothing of interest about them.
1 point for magic and combat. There’s no magic system (odd given that the character is a wizard), and the combat system consists of selecting “attack” and specifying the foe.
2 points for equipment. It gets both those points for the somewhat-interesting herb system. I never found any weapons other than the starting club and sling. There’s no armor or usable items. This is another area in which Ultizurk I was better.
Loot areas like this one in Syrtis Major Planum don’t offer anything but sling stones and food.
0 points for no economy.
2 points for a main quest with no choices or alternate endings.
2 points for graphics, sound, and interface. There are times that the graphics hold up, and some of the commands work well, but as a while the interface is clunky, the screen makes poor use of its real estate, and the sounds are harsh and offensive to the ears.
Even with the inventory window up, the game wastes a lot of screen space.
2 points for gameplay, mostly for a balanced level of difficulty. None of the other things that I look for–nonlinearity, replayability, and a proper length for its content–are present in the game.
That gives us a final score of 17, a bit lower than I ranked Ultizurk I. But Robert Deutsch is growing as a developer, and I find myself looking forward to Ultizurk III (1993; a two-part game) which, judging by screenshots, at least fixes the screen composition problem. We’ll also have The Great Ultizurkian Underland (1993), Wraith (1995) and Madman (1996) to enjoy. Although I’ve rated Ultizurk II a bit miserably, when you read comments by Dr. Dungeon like this one in an RPG Codex thread, you can’t help but root for the guy. If loving RPG development is wrong, he just doesn’t want to be right.
source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/ultizurk-ii-won-with-summary-and-rating/
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