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mrjoeiconis-blog · 1 year

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From the Archives: Interview from Oct 18, 2011 with Reviewing the Drama

Joe Iconis likes to silently hug people.

Besides that, Iconis is a prolific musical theatre writer. His Bloodsong of Lovewill receive an industry-only workshop this fall; he and the family are putting together a spook-tacular Halloween jamboree; and you can rock out 24/7 to the original cast recording of Things to Ruin, Iconis's song cycle which has played several venues throughout New York City. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the talented artist, and here I'm pleased to bring you part one of the interview. Check back next week for part two. Talk about your song writing process. What generally comes first, a lyric, the music or an idea, or can they not be separated? Moreover, as William Miller asks in Almost Famous, “Do you have to be in love to write a love song? Do you have to be sad to write a sad song?” Finally, do you find joy in writing even when you’re “on deadline”?

I’ve always wanted to be interviewed by William Miller. Great kid. My process changes depending on what I’m writing. Usually, I’ll start with an idea and from that will come some sort of hook. A lot of times there’s music implied. From there, I’ll write on a pad or sit at the piano or pace around my apartment like a lunatic. …Writing for me is usually messy, and huge, and epic. Usually, as the song or the scene gets more and more focused, I’ll get more and more still and planted in one place—which is either at a piano or at a Dunkin Donuts. I like writing in public places; it keeps me stimulated and keeps me from falling asleep at my computer or looking at porn.

Writing is sometimes joyful for me, but to be honest, rewriting is usually the most fun. Getting stuff down on paper initially can be terribly hard and frustrating. But once I’ve got something to work with, then it’s a party. When I’m writing on a deadline, it’s always a tough experience, but it’s also the best way for me to get myself to generate material. A deadline is a great motivator and/or kick in the pants.

As far as inspiration goes, most of my writing comes out of something [personal] I’m going through but it’s usually not cut and dry. I’ve written so many overtly personal songs, but nine times out of ten they aren’t about the thing they appear to be about. It’s funny: so often after…I’ve done a song that’s clearly about me, people will come up and say that they know the person I was writing about or something. Most of the time they’re totally wrong! But it doesn’t really matter anyway—I know all the answers to my songs, but I’d never be so presumptuous as to tell people how they’re supposed to react to my work or what they’re supposed to take from it.

Do you remember hearing your favorite song (current or all-time) for the first time? What was going on and what was it you responded to?

My favorite song is “Crying” by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. The first time I heard it was when my grandfather played me a video of k.d. Lang and Orbison singing it. I loved it and it’s a song that I’ve always associated with my gramps (he died when I was a senior in high school). Aside from the personal ties I have to it, I really think it’s a glorious piece of pop music. I love how it’s so simple and tight, and how it allows the singer to go from this tiny place to this huge, wrought, lovelorn wail.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/vmisOxCHEiw Discuss the high you get from performing. Do you feel you connect with the audience when you’re playing, or does that only happen for you before and after shows? What’s the energy like, from you perspective, on stage?

Before a show I’m jittery and insane. In spite of that, I love to speak to people and get a sense of the room I’m playing in. I hate being backstage before a show. It makes me feel nervous and disconnected. I’ve got ants in my pants so I’m no good at standing still. I like to know who is in the room, and I like there to be no barrier between the stage and the house. It can’t always happen, but the most magical moments during shows are those moments of connection—either with the people on the stage or people in the audience. I like to look at audience members right in the eyes.

After the show, I feel a connection too, but a lot of times I’m too exhausted mentally and physically to really have conversations. People come to the bar after shows and want to talk to me about ten million things, and I love that they do, but half the time I don’t even know what I’m saying. What I really want to do is just eat food and silently hug people. But I guess it’s hard to tell strangers that you want to do that to them.

What do you hope to have accomplished, or hope to be productively working toward, seven years from now?

I’d like to have a commercial production of one of my shows happen in New York at some point soon-ish. If we’re talking about Dreaming Big, that would happen on Broadway. In a perfect world, it would be a show that I believe in, and one that features these amazing artists I’ve been collaborating with for the past couple years. I’d also like to be working on ten other projects. I always wanna be working on the Next thing.

Is there a creative pinnacle for you? Or a creative nirvana? Oh, I don’t know. I think if I ever reach it, I won’t know that I did. I hope I don’t. I always wanna feel like I’ll get it right the next time. I just want to keep trying to do the best work I can and if its successful great, and if its not, oh well.

Will you ever be satisfied with your work, in part or whole? Explain. It depends. I think because theater is a living, breathing thing, there is a sense that work can always be growing or changing. I’ll occasionally have a moment where a great actor will be performing something I’ve written and I’ll think: “Ooh, ok. That’s as good as I’m ever gonna be. I will never be better than that.” Those moments are nice. They are little pats on the back. But that’s all. I think if I ever feel “satisfied” with my work or myself, I’ll be done.

For more information about Joe Iconis, visit mrjoeiconis.com. A huge thank you to Joe Iconis for taking the time talk with me. And now, I leave you with a favorite Iconis tune, "Rosalie."

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#Joe iconis #rosalie #Iconis and family #Youtube

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gubler-me-up · 3 years

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Unsung Heroes

Request: Hi! I just found your account and I am in LOVE. I know this is a sort of very specific ask, but could you write Spencer Reid dating a masculine/trans masculine person? I think it would be really cool so yeah lol thank u in advance 🥺🥺💖💖 (ur literally so damn talented)

A/N: Thank you so much for the request, anon! Sorry it took a long time to get to but I’m glad I’m getting it out before the end of the year. This is my first masc trans reader fic out of two in my requests, so I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know if there is anything I can improve on or anything you would like to see in my next masc trans spencer reid fic that I didn’t portray well here. I did a bit of research to make sure my portrayal was accurate but I am always open to improving my work especially so readers feel comfortable and represented while reading. Hope you enjoy and happy reading! 💕

Couple: Spencer Reid/Masc trans!reader

Category: Fluff

Content warning: None just pure ~fluff~

Word count: 2.5k

————-

You threw on your favourite flannel to complete your outfit. You looked at yourself in the mirror one last time to fix your hair properly before Spencer arrived. He might not be a fan of styling his hair but making sure your hair was to your liking was your thing. Especially after getting a fresh cut it was important to you that you made the best of it before your hair started to grow back.

You then quickly checked your beard to see if there were any noticeable razor bumps. You didn’t see any visible ones but the ones below the surface were always the dangerous ones. You ran your hand over your beard to feel for any up and coming bumps. You stopped your finger over a spot that felt tender to the touch.

“Ah, you already feel as if you’re going to be a pain,” you mumbled to yourself.

You heard soft knocks on your door before you could continue your battle with your soon to be razor bump. You grabbed your wallet and keys off of your dresser before leaving your bedroom to answer the door. You opened the door to see Spencer standing in front of you with his hands gripped on his satchel strap and an excited smile plastered on his face.

He gently lifted his satchel to bring your attention to it. You chuckled as you saw how full it looked. You looked at him with a quizzical expression as he started to laugh himself.

“I thought we could read some light literature as we indulge in these breakfast burritos you’re so excited about,” he said.

“I haven’t read a good book in a while let alone encyclopedias,” you chuckled.

“They’re not all encyclopedia’s. Just one,” he said.

You laughed as you closed the door behind you. You didn’t believe him one bit about only having one encyclopedia in his satchel but you weren’t going to overly tease him about it. You were more interested in him trying a breakfast burrito for the first time.

You originally didn’t get the hype over breakfast burritos for a while until you were running late to work one morning and saw a food truck nearby. They convinced you to try their breakfast burrito and you’ve been loyal to them ever since. You knew Spencer was more of a coffee and go person but you thought he might enjoy trying something new.

“We’ll find out the truth after we get something to eat,” you said.

Spencer smiled and nodded as he loosened his grip on his satchel strap. He let his hand loosely fall to his sides. You smirked as you reached your hand out to him and he immediately grabbed it. To say he was forever touched starved was an understatement.

You were glad you could give him something he didn’t already have plenty of in his life. Touching books and case files all day definitely couldn’t give him the physical touch he deeply desired. You were happy every day for the past six months you could be the one to embrace him in any amount of touch. Bonus points for him always smelling good as well.

Spencer pressed the button for the elevator. “Are these breakfast burritos really as good as you say they are?”

“You’re doubting me now?” You asked.

“No, I would never do that. I’m just saying we sometimes have different tastes in things,” he said.

“Oh? What kind of things?” You asked.

“Well, you prefer listening to more contemporary artists while I’m more into classical,” he said.

“Musical taste is whatever though. I can get down to Mozart any day,” you chuckled.

He laughed. “Well, you take your coffee with oat milk and three brown sugars. I take mine black with a little sugar.”

“If you think half the sugar canister is a little sugar then I don’t wanna know what you consider a lot of sugar.”

You both laughed as the elevator doors opened. You both stepped into it and you pressed the lobby floor. You looked at him with a smirk before grabbing his chin. He smiled at your touch as he looked lovingly into your eyes.

“What?” He asked.

“I think there’s one thing we can both agree we have good taste in,” you said.

You leaned in and kissed Spencer on the lips which you knew he longed for. He didn’t hesitate to embrace you fully into his mouth. You don’t think you’ve ever kissed a guy with softer lips than him. He latched his hands onto your face and started to stroke his thumb against your beard. It ran over the growing razor bump but you didn’t mind if he touched it.

You parted your lips from him before you changed your mind and opted to spend the day with him in your apartment. He chuckled and didn’t move his hands away from your face. It didn’t seem as if the good doctor was quite finished with you.

“You want another taste?” You joked.

He nodded. You obliged and leaned in to kiss him again. You could have him for breakfast all day every day. Since breakfast was taken up by a breakfast burrito with your names on it, you guessed you could have him for lunch instead.

————

You and Spencer had found a rock to sit on near the lake. The park was quite full for a Sunday morning but with such nice weather you couldn’t blame people for wanting to be out and about so early. You watched Spencer carefully as he took his time eating his breakfast burrito. You couldn’t quite tell if he liked it or not based on his blank stare into the water as he ate.

“How do you like it?” You asked.

He quickly snapped out of his long gaze into the water. He looked over at you and smiled but it couldn’t fool you. You knew something was running around that big brain of his and you wanted to know what.

“I like it. It’s definitely an interesting concept,” he said as he took another small bite.

“Spence, what’s wrong?” You asked.

He shook his head in response to you as he finished chewing. You gave him a second to finish whatever was left in his mouth before he started talking. He let out a drawn-out sigh before licking his lips.

“I was going over case files this week and went over this one from a few years ago. This little boy’s family was murdered and he was the only survivor. Found out he left his aunt and uncle’s house to go into foster care. Apparently, he’s been having a hard time no matter where he goes,” he said.

“Well, from being a human I can tell you family sucks but from working in social work I can tell you the foster care system sucks. It’s hard to look at some of these cases and talk to these children having a hard time for sure,” you said.

“I just don’t feel as if I’m making a difference,” he confessed.

You shook your head in protest. If anyone was making a difference it was Dr. Spencer Reid. You knew how doubtful he could be of his capabilities sometimes but you knew he just needed a little reminder here and there.

“Are you kidding? You’re out here risking your life to catch serial killers every day and you don’t think you’re making a difference?” You asked.

“But it just stops there. The lives ruined never get fixed. The survivors never know a sense of peace. I just help solve cases and then move onto the next thing,” he said.

“You don’t have to deal with the social work or therapy side of these cases because there are people who take that area over for you. You do enough, Spence,” you said.

“And you do the most, Y/N. You’re so good at social work and when you’re not doing that you’re dedicating your time volunteering for homeless youths,” he said.

“It’s easy to volunteer though. Anyone can do it,” you said.

“And here I am not doing that.”

Spencer stared back into the depths of the water as he took another bite from his breakfast burrito. A bigger bite this time. You were honestly impressed. He probably took a bigger bite so he had more time to chew and less time to talk about his worries. A true genius.

You looked into the water yourself. The waves coming in reminded you of what one of your coworkers said to you once. You laughed to yourself which brought Spencer’s attention back to you.

“You know when I first told one of my coworkers I was transgender they asked if my transitioning period felt as if that one scene in Mulan where she looked at her reflection and knew she was supposed to reflect who she was inside and then decided to pretend to be a man to go into war on behalf of her father. I said not exactly and before I could explain to them why their analogy wasn’t really accurate, they hugged me and said they were proud I was able to reflect who I was inside on the outside,” you said.

“The lake reminded you of your coworker’s ignorance?” He questioned.

You chuckled. “No, it reminded me of that scene in Mulan and then that reminded me of my coworker’s ignorance. That being said though they did tell me how a lot of people they know are unsung heroes. I asked what they meant by that and they said unsung heroes are people who are trying their best but aren’t acknowledged or are overlooked by others or themselves.”

“Are you trying to say I’m a little harsh on myself?”

“Just a little.”

He looked back out into the lake again. You could see the wheels in his head turning as he thought about what you said. You continued to enjoy your breakfast sandwich as you let him ponder on your words. Usually it was the other way around and the words you were pondering were a bit more complex but you were nonetheless glad you could get him thinking.

By the time he looked at you, your burrito was nearly done. His whole time thinking he hadn’t taken another bite of his burrito. You didn’t know if you were happy he was about to talk to you about his insights or upset because he made a good breakfast burrito get cold.

“You don’t think I’m an unsung hero do you?” He asked.

You shook your head. “Of course not. I think you’re just a hero who wants to save the whole world at once but can barely finish a breakfast burrito.”

He chuckled. “This thing’s huge.”

“And so is the world but just like your bites, you have to solve issues within it in small nibbles,” you joked.

He laughed as he took another bite out of it. He tried to chew it with a smile on his face but you knew he hated the fact it was cold. You laughed at him as he swallowed the remains of his bite. He carefully wrapped his half-eaten burrito before looking at you with a wide smile. You were glad to see him smiling again and the doubt lifted from his face.

“I think you’re right,” he said.

“You think I’m right? Say that I’m right again and you might just have to hand over your Ph.D. to me,” you joked.

He chuckled. “Which one?”

You both laughed. When Spencer made a joke, it was definitely one for the books. However, when he made a good joke it was one for the history books. You believed the longer you two are together the better his humour could become.

“All jokes aside, I want to spend my free time volunteering with homeless youths with you,” he said.

You looked at him surprised but a smile soon appeared on your face. You grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He looked at you with those big, beautiful brown eyes of his filled with hope. You nodded your head.

“I would love for you to volunteer with me. I think the kids would love learning a thing or two from you,” you said.

“Teach?” You said.

“Yeah. Every Friday we teach youths a different arrangement of skills that will help them in life. It’s a great sight seeing them have hope in their eyes again. I first started with counselling transgender youths in the program and have branched out to other members of the LGBTQ2S+. I now help homeless youths who have been victims of physical abuse. It’s definitely hard stuff to hear but seeing their faces when they know they’re being helped through their problems is the biggest reward I could ever ask for.”

Throughout your whole speech you could see tears at the brim of Spencer’s eyes. He tried to wipe his eyes before any tears could fall out but you already knew you had touched his soft spot. He smiled brightly at you before letting out a soft chuckle.

“I hope they like physics,” he said.

You laughed. “Taught the Dr. Spencer Reid way, I think they will have a new appreciation of the science.”

You both broke out into laughter again. You broke the laughter by kissing him on the lips. You could never get over how happy he looked every time you kissed him.

“I love you, Spencer,” you said.

He grinned. “I love you too, Y/N.”

“How about we get you some real breakfast and head back to my place for lunch?” You said.

You stood up on the rock and placed your hand out for Spencer to use to get up. He gladly grabbed onto it as you hoisted him up. For someone with a Ph.D. in physics you would think that he would have a better sense of how to balance. It was just another cute quirk of his you loved.

“Some real breakfast?” He questioned.

“Yeah, your coffee with a “little” sugar,” you said.

“Ah, my real breakfast. So what’s going to be for lunch?” He asked.

You grabbed his hand to hold as you two walked through the park. You smirked at him as you looked him up and down. He blushed as he let you examine him from head to toe.

“Your encyclopedia’s of course,” you said.

“Wait, what? Why my encyclopedia’s?” He asked.

“Ah-ha, so there are more than one in your bag,” you said.

He sighed. “Was this your way of making me confess that you’re right again?”

“Yes.”

“So there’s no lunch?”

“You’re lunch.”

“Ah, I see you’re on a diet then.”

“You know what? I love that my humour’s rubbing off on you so well.”

“I think it’s a sign we belong in each other’s life for a long time to come.”

You laughed. “I’m not the romantic type but I have to agree.

“So how come I’ve told all my friends from work you’re the most romantic person I know?”

“Oh? I guess I’ll show you how romantic I can be during lunch.”

—–

MASTERLIST

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#spencer reid #dr. spencer reid #dr.spencer reid #Spencerreid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer x you #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid request #spencer reid fic #spencer reid fluff #Criminal Minds #criminalminds #CM #mgg #Matthew Gray Gubler #spencer reid x masc trans reader

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ddarker-dreams · 4 years

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🎀 scarlet ribbons.

ITS SELF INDULGENT FRIDAY BOIS !! time for scarlet ribbons headcanons that i’ve been working on in between commissions, this is essentially just a reverse harem ... there’s no yandere here for once, just some vibes... click here for an explanation ! the reader described here is the same in all the scenarios. i’m using she/her pronouns for this reader.

Bruno Bucciarati;

He forms a special kind of attachment to you, seeing as you’ll be the second person to join his team. You won over his compassionate heart, preventing a much crueler fate. As a foreign exchange student, you had taken out a loan with Passione to complete your education. The problem is, the egregious amount of interest being too much for you to pay back on time. Bucciarati had been ordered to collect your debt. Instead of following through with his orders, he used his favor with Polpo to let you pay back your debt by working for Passione under his leadership.

Appreciates the dynamic and resolve you bring to the group. While he tries his best not to show favoritism to any members of his team, you’re someone he always looks out for extra much. Not because he thinks of you incapable, but because his care for you runs deep after knowing you for years. He’s definitely going to catch onto the others holding similar feelings for you though.

Acts a bit different towards you in one on one scenarios, versus when the others are around. He’s more relaxed when it’s only the two of you, speaking of matters not relating to work and checking up on your well being. Bruno realizes he could listen to you for hours, enjoying your unique perspective. He also finds your foreign accent endearing, and has mentioned it to see how you blush at the compliment.

Super sweet with you, always has looked out for your best interest. He’s your go to when you feel stressed about your situation, providing the support you need, since he’s the only person aware of your circumstances. Bruno is reassuring, helping you in the moments the debt to the organization feels impossible to overcome. He’s offered to help pay for part of it, but you always refuse, feeling grateful enough to him as is. It pains him to see you hurting, but he does anything he can to make you feel better. Always pays for your meals though, no matter how much you raise a fuss about it.

Giorno Giovanna;

There’s a certain warmth in you that he wasn’t sure what to think of at first. Giorno is an astute individual, making observations from afar, watching you joking and smiling with the rest of the team. He eventually comes to the conclusion that your presence fills his stomach with butterflies, seeing your more lighthearted approach to life. There’s something intoxicating about it, and he’ll jump for any opportunity to spend time with you much to the annoyance of everyone else, they already had enough competition wtf.

He’s a coy little shit at times. Giorno sees how the others look at you, especially how obvious Narancia and Mista are. When they get defensive over how much Giorno is talking to you, he’ll just flash a faux innocent smile and ask what the problem with it is. It’s more effective on Narancia, who just ends up sputtering before slinking away in defeat. Mista can kinda deflect the accusation better, though there’s still a blush on his face. Giorno knows what he’s doing lmaoo

It infuriates Abbacchio how obvious he is with you, like, the audacity of this man. Just swinging into Bucciarati’s team, trying to woo you away. Giorno is always asking for your opinion on how to proceed with certain things, even if his mind has already been made up. Anything just to talk to you. Most likely going to receive Abbacchio’s scorn the most for this, especially since Giorno will lean closer to you when you’re answering his questions. Giorno is just going :) , meanwhile Narancia is furiously taking notes. (”Okay, so if I ask [First] about this, I have an excuse to get closer to her...!)

He did strongly in school, maybe not as well as Fugo but is definitely academically gifted. So that means when he enters the picture, Fugo has some Competition for the English speaking buddy role. Giorno can understand most simple phrases and is capable of following the conversation, occasionally interjecting when he feels confident enough. Fugo might try and make his conversations with you more complicated because of this, since he’s petty and wants all your attention. You’re meant to be his English speaking buddy >:( !!

To be honest, Giorno’s not really sure what he’s doing, despite the suave impression he gives. Giorno has charisma, sure, but this is all very new to him. He’s still learning as he goes, and pays very close attention to how everyone else interacts with you. Anything to see your preferences, so he can use it to his advantage later. Has a large mental file on you, that comes in handy. He isn’t so much flirty, but more seeking out your company and thoughts on things.

Guido Mista;

Poor Mista almost friendzones himself in a way... he doesn’t mean to, but he wants to warm up to you in his own way!! And that way is through joking around and a lot of “friendly” banter. The friendly banter is more like thinly veiled flirting. He tries so hard to act cool and mysterious around you, like a Clint Eastwood character. Ends up being super goofy, though it works in his favor since he gets to see your cute smile!!! Victory!!

Mista has no shame. He’ll show up outside your apartment, food in hand, saying he wants to come over and hang. He even lets you pick the movie if that’s what you want to do!! A true honor, since Mista is willing to sit through stuff he wouldn’t normally be interested in all for the sake of winning you over. <33

Probably tied with Narancia for the most Unfortunate Mishaps to occur when attempting to woo you. Some favorites include, but are not limited to: when he tried giving you flowers but they kept making him sneeze, that time he was leaning against your door frame and fell over, and basically anything that happens when the Pistols come out. They wanna be his lil wing men, but they keep screwing him over... :<

“[First]!! [First]!! We’re bored, come hang out with us instead!!!!” You’ll end up with a flurry of Pistols swirling around you very often, putting Mista’s affection for you on full display. It irritates Fugo the most, he almost wants to smack them away like they’re flies lmao. They might start sweatin’ when they see Fugo’s eyebrow twitch, the Stand often interrupting your conversations with the blonde. Mista tests his patience for sure.

Pannacotta Fugo;

A bit of a typical tsun towards you at first. He’s all acting high and mighty, huffing about the newest member of the team not being as bright as him. In reality he just thinks you’re vvv cute, and doesn’t know how to process it. You greet him and his brain just kinda short circuits, and he gives a standoffish insult before running off to hide his blush. Bruno would find it endearing if not for his feelings for you lmao.

How he gets over this initial stump at the start of your relationship is by acting like you need his help. Especially if you stumble over any Italian words, namely Naples lingo being more difficult to master. He takes it upon himself to help you out... in reality he just really wants to spend more time with you. Also, seeing you stumble over words is precious, he tries not to tease you about it though. Does occasionally...

You end up being roommate at the start!!! To save money, but it’s whatever, who cares about the practical reasoning behind it. What matters is that he gets to spend even more time with you than the others. The problem is that Narancia and Mista make a point to come by often, which he finds to be very irritating. They even crash at your shared apartment at times, but because of how messy they are, don’t get an invitation to live permanently. Fugo is smug about how you picked him due to his cleanliness >:)c

English speaking buddies !! He might not be fluent in it, but he’s better at it than everyone else. Also a lot more capable of learning it, just for the sake of impressing you. Gets this very pleased look on his face when you two speak in simple English, Narancia staring over, pouting for being left out. It’s like a special connection or something, not that Fugo would ever admit to saying that to you. He’s flexing his academic muscles.

Narancia Ghirgha;

Anyone could look over at Narancia and see his huge heart eyes for you. You like the same foreign music as him!! You can speak another language!! He wants to learn English from you, and keeps asking. Sometimes butchers the pronunciation but god it’s so cute who cares. Teach Narancia one phrase and he’s gonna be saying it nonstop for the rest of the week. Fugo, the only other member to understand English on a decent level until GioGio, is gonna be miserable whenever this happens. That’s his thing with you! Why can’t Narancia get something else, smh ...

If you recommend him a song he will not stop listening to it. Also expect a lot of discussions about different artists, mostly hip hop ones when Narancia is leading the conversation. He thinks it’s so cool you understand what they’re saying!! Is gonna ask you to translate them a lot. He kinda just stares at you, mouth agape when you’re singing along, like woah!! His crush is so talented.

His most treasured moments with you, is when you recommend one another music, and share headphones. Sometimes you just bob your head to the rhythm, or sing along. Whatever the case, he gets to be close to you, and his brain is practically turning to mush at the fact your thighs are touching.

Fugo did him dirty once in the past. Before Narancia realized he had Competition for your affections, he went to Fugo, asking how to compliment you in English. He should’ve known by how Fugo was staring at him with the most malicious smirk that he made a mistake. The next day, when meeting up at Libeccio, he came up to you. Chest puffed out, proud after a night of practicing his phrase. Then proceeded to say to you in English, “I am a fucking idiot!!!!” looking all smiley and excited. Needless to say, you almost spit out your food and laughed about it for a long time. Narancia has been planning his revenge on Fugo ever since...

Narancia follows you around like a lost puppy at times, but he’s a lot of fun to hang out around!! He’ll buy you gelato, and even lets you have a bite of his food if you ask. No one else has this special privilege. There is a time you offered to let him try a sip of your drink, and he almost melted. All his brain could think of is, indirect kiss, indirect kiss!!!! One of the best moments of his life tbh.

Leone Abbacchio;

Abbacchio put a lot of effort into distancing himself from you. Why do you smile so much?? It makes him uncomfortable being around you, someone who is basically sunshine stuffed into a human body. It reminds him of all his shortcomings, which he feels he has no shortage of. But when you make the initially irritating decision to keep speaking to him, only giving space when you felt he really needed it, it won over his little grinch heart.

He’s been wrapped around your finger ever since. Unlike the other bumbling buffoons who are tripping over themselves to get an ounce of your attention, he plays it cool. More of a Bucciarati approach to things. Asking about your interests, letting you do most of the talking so he has no chance to embarrass himself (like *cough* Narancia *cough*).

Next to Fugo, is most likely to call other members out on their nonsense. He wouldn’t dare do so for Bruno, but everyone else is fair game. The main victim to this treatment is Giorno. Abbacchio might even offer some “advice” to him, giving false information all under the guise of assisting Giorno’s pursuit of you. He takes a more hands off approach on everyone else.

He doesn’t want to invite you over to his place because of how dreary it is, so he has to find other ways to get one on one time with you. This mostly happens by talking about things no one else finds of interest to you, namely makeup or other fashion things.

You are the only person who gets to call him any nicknames, the one you lean towards typically being Abba. Narancia once made a mistake of calling him this, only to earn a very threatening glare. When you do it though, he has to push down the urge to smile. How cute!!

Trish Una;

Gay rights time . Trish looks at you and immediately thinks wow, perfect girlfriend material right there. Still acts a bit reserved at first, considering her complex situation and how she’s still piecing it all together in her heard. Since you’re the only other girl on the team, she gets the benefit of Bucciarati assigning you to be extra close to her. All according to plan heheh >:)

When she flirts, she goes all in. Asking about what kind of perfume you wear, your favorite shade of lipstick, what kind of outfits you like the most. All of it is under the pretense of getting to know you better, and while she does enjoy that aspect of it, she might start adopting some of the things you find appealing. She is 100% gonna ask to borrow your shirts and makeup, and extends the same offer to you.

Trish is far more playful with you than the others, who all just kinda stare at the interactions like ??? When you were her bodyguard, she always subconsciously went to sit down next to you. No one else on the team can say anything, since she’s the boss’ daughter after all !! She considered you more of a distraction from her anxiety inducing situation at first, seeing as you had shared interests to speak about. Over time, your doting nature over her won out.

Would be pissed if you ever got hurt trying to defend her. You might joke around about how you’re her bodyguard, not the other way around. Trish just can’t bear the thought of losing someone important to her, after all she’s already lost.

Her phone background is a selfie the two of you took, even after she eventually distances herself from Passione to advance her singing career. Expect lots of texts messages, checking up on how you’re doing!! Trish unfortunately has a busy schedule, that requires a lot of traveling for her concerts and other bookings. Though anytime she is near Naples, she’s messaging you and asking to meet up. <33

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murroyilodel · 3 years

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PICK FIVE TROPES

i. screw the rules, i’m doing what’s right / good samaritan

The first one and I am already breaking the rules myself by combining two tropes into one, because I did not know which to pick. Esme possesses a lot of empathy. She cannot see anyone suffering and walk away. After she sees Quasi tied up and being mocked by the crowd and pelted with vegetables and possibly worse, she goes to him and steps onto the pillory, despite this meaning that she is spoiling an entire populace’s “fun”. At that moment, she does not care for them, she is only concerned about the person in front of her who is suffering. She tends to him, and even apologises to him, even though it is not her fault.

That is where the Good Samaritan comes in. As for screwing the rules, she lives in a society where the law considers her race a crime. She is always hiding, always running, just to get out of trouble. When Frollo tells her to stop helping Quasi and get lost, she is still trying to be polite and speaks in a calm tone and and addresses him as “Your Honour”. It is when he pushes it, that she finally snaps and pretty much screws it, and whips out her dagger and defies Frollo in front of everyone and lectures him for his hypocrisy.

ii. defiant to the end

Esme’s first choice is to get out of trouble if she can, as mentioned above. But if cornered, she does not break down and does not back down, even though she is panicking inside. Whether it is retorting back at the two soldiers because they falsely accuse her of stealing, or sparring with Phoebus both verbally and physically when she thinks he is on the authorities’ side, or finally, spitting into Frollo’s face after he gives her an unthinkable ultimatum, Esme will never surrender. It is not a matter of pride or martyrdom (she would very much like to live in peace thank you very much), but it is about keeping her dignity and conscience.

iii. world’s most beautiful woman

There is literally a lyric calling Esme the “finest girl in France”. Her whole design is gorgeous, with her poofy black hair, thick eyebrows, green eyes, brown skin and clothes that are quite detailed for a 2-d animated movie. The whole impression is to showcase how she stands out among a sea of people, holding them captive with her natural looks and sultry dances. Despite making her earthly and more mature than the previous Diz princesses, the animators / directors also imbue an ethereal quality in Esme, as angelic music is played in the background when Esme approaches Quasi to help him and soft candlelight caresses her face when she sings “God Help the Outcasts”.

A large part of what drives the movie and other characters’ motivation is Esme’s beauty after all. Phoebus is immediately drawn to her beauty in their first scene together - though he comes to appreciate her for so many other things later. Quasi - I think - is more touched by her kindness, but he does gape at her when she starts dancing during the festival and calls her a wonderful dancer later. Frollo in short sang Hellfire and burnt down Paris just to look for her.

iv. reluctant fanservice girl

Being the most beautiful woman - as with dramatic stories - means Esme’s life isn’t easy. She uses her charms because they help her earn money, and it is pretty much the only way she can earn money. She is not educated, she is an outcast, worse, she is believed to be a witch. While comfortable in her talents and sexuality and while capable of being quite flirtatious, she does not enjoy relying on her looks and does not fully embrace being a sort of femme fatale. When she expresses wholehearted admiration for Quasi’s artistic talents, she says “Oh, if I could do this, you wouldn’t find me dancing in the streets for coins.” When Quasi protests and says she is a wonderful dancer, she sort of brushes it off and says “Well, it keeps bread on the table, anyway.” Given the chance, it seems clear that she will not choose dance as her job, no matter how much she likes it.

v. improv fu

Esme fights hard and dirty with all she’s got. Two soldiers against her? High kick into one chin and Djali headbutting the other. Ten soldiers surrounding her at Frollo’s order? Disappear in a puff of pink smoke, use the people to crowd-surf and swing a metal helmet at the soldiers themselves etc. etc. Phoebus catching her off-guard and waving a sword at her? Take a candlestick and aim it between his legs before slamming it into his face. She is quick to check her surroundings and make use of whatever she can get her hands on.

TAGGED BY. @flyngfree ( thank you for this, it was great to write ! )

TAGGING. @thecurseisinourblood @sanctamater @xthesparequeen @hoopsheartthrob @emcads @musemelodies @iniziare @listered @enchantedorigins @adversitybloomed @misroberts / @gehwalt @riidcr @starsailingcaptain @keepmovinjunior @tharanduil @bulletballet & you, please say I tagged you!

#traits #notebook #what's a poor queue to do?

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ikevamp-annalyne · 4 years

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Annalyne Sonata [IkeVamp OC]

Hey guys! I am so verry happy to finally being able to officially introduce my IkeVamp OC, Annalyne! ٩(●ᴗ●)۶

This is a very long post, but I hope you won’t be discouraged and will enjoy learning a bit more about her, and the story I imagined for her (^.^)ゞ

I also commissioned the MOST AMAZING ARTIST EVER @lemonsqueazie for drawing my baby OC! ღවꇳවღ She is my favourite artist, and also an amazing human being that I love very much. She is so attentive to what you tell her, always doing everything to meet your ideas and make the best art for you! I highly recommend to check out her blog @lemonsqueazie alongside her Instagram and her DeviantArt post about her commissions! You can also find all the infos here.

NOW, ON WITH THE OC! (๑ゝڡ◕๑)

Name: Annalyne

Last name: Sonata

Nicknames: Anna, Nana, Lyn

DOB: June, 19, 1995 (25 years old)

Origin: French

Languages: French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean

Height: 160cm (5.25ft)

Sexuality: pan

Job: freelance fashion designer, blogger, gamer

Passions: fashion, drawing, eating, baking, cooking, videogames, reading, music

Phobias: larvas and maggots, bugs (except ladybugs)

Lover: Leonardo Da Vinci

"Heh? What is this? Kinda like a storage room?"

Annalyne is a very chill woman, taking things at her own pace and working hard towards her goals and dreams. When she doesn't work, she becomes a lazy slug chilling with a good book or videogames -part of why she is also a gamer-.

Her most prominent traits are definitely: her kindness, her humour -made of bad puns and references-, her caring side, her clumsiness and her supportive behaviour. Number one fan of her family and friends.

She will always go out of her way to make her loved ones feel loved, supported or just important. She can also easily throw hands if needed. No one messes with her or her close ones without getting punished.

She has a hard time trusting people. It looks like she is close to everyone, but she hardly confides in people. It takes a hecking long time to build a relationship of trust with her -due to some childhood traumas-

She is strong-willed and -way too- a tad stubborn. But she compensates by being very sweet and cute. She can be very anxious but eating calms her, explaining her chubbiness. Also, count on her for helping everyone.

She is very good at cooking and baking, and loves making things herself. She loves dogs, but honestly, she loves almost every animal ever. She has a talent with them, understanding them beyond reason: animals love her.

"Call me the PUNisher."

She is easily triggered by disrespect, racism, homophobia, bullying and abuse. She can kick your ass off if needed, being very rude and violent when angry -she already broke the arm of a racist, and slapped Shakespeare...-

Comte is the one engaging conversation with her, asking her if she likes this painting. She is hyper excited talking about it and Comte cannot help but giggle, finding a Da Vinci's fangirl in modern days being pretty rare.

How she met Comte:

Annalyne lives near Paris and absolutely loves museums. Therefore she spends a hella lot of time in the Louvre, especially contemplating Da Vinci's works. She meets Comte in front of Da Vinci's painting Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

They spend some time debating and chatting over Leonardo Da Vinci's life, works of art and other controversies. He smiles a lot throughout the whole chat, since he wonders how his old friend would react.

How she ends up in Comte's mansion:

Comte bids her goodbye after they have finally seen Mona Lisa from up close. She thanks him for the delightful conversation, happy she has met someone as knowledgeable as him on her favourite historical figure.

She is taken aback, quite surprised, and thinks the mansion is a storage room. Maybe the man is actually an employee? She is curious though so she walks through the hall and stares at everything in awe.

When he leaves, waving his hand, his pocket watch falls and Annalyne picks it up. She chases after Comte all over the museum and sees him going through a door. She opens it and ends up in the mansion's hall.

Who she meets:

While discovering the hall, she stumbles upon Leonardo who's asleep. She doesn't want to wake him up but God, she stares for a good minute at the sleeping man. "I have never seen such a gorgeous man..."

She walks past him and continues looking for Comte. But then, Napoleon appears and asks her who she is, and what she does here. She tells him she wants to find the gorgeous blonde man to give him his watch.

He offers to give to him in lieu of her. But she is wary of him, a stranger. And Comte appears, the noise having caught up his attention. He recognises Annalyne and is surprised she is there. She gives him the watch.

The first dinner:

Comte gladly accepts the watch and asks her if she wants to dine with him and the residents of this mansion. Mansion? She stares at him, dumbfounded, and frowns. "Mansion? Isn't that a storage room or something?"

Comte giggles and promises to explain it all over dinner. Her trust for Comte and her love for food makes her accepting the offer. How surprised she is upon seeing all these people gather around a huge table!

She sits down and gets served by Sebastian, under all the surprised looks. Comte then proceeds on explaining it all to her: how all the residents in there are famous historical figures, and how she is the past.

How she reacts:

She is surprised, but she believes in timelapse, magic, etc. So she just stares in surprise and shock but is soon overexcited to meet all these people who changed history and inspired her throughout her whole life.

She will ask a bunch of questions to each of them, questions she has always been curious about, like the rumours and alleged controversies. Even when she hears about not being able to go back in her time, she is strangely chill about it.

"Well, there's no helping it! I will come up with a lie when I go back there!" But she will write letters and leave them -along jewels of hers- in places she thinks her friends or family could find them in the future.

Meeting her soulmate:

Sebastian shows her her room and then tells her to explore the mansion if she wants to. What she does! She then remembers the man sleeping in the hall? He must be a historical figure as well, but who can he be...?

She wants to know so she goes to find him and stumbles upon him, nearly falling on top of him. He seems awake since he is sitting on the floor. He had heard her footsteps so he smiles at her. "Well, who do we got there, Cara Mia?"

She smiles at the Italian nickname and tells him everything about her being here. He is surprised she is so chill about it but he smiles and introduces himself. "Well Cara Mia, nice to meet you. I'm Leonardo Da Vinci."

Upon hearing the name, her eyes widen and her breath catches in her throat. She stares, her heart beating faster every passing second. His smile is intoxicating and she cannot help but blush and stutter.

"W-well, nice to meet you, Leonar- huh Sir Leonardo? How, how should I call you?" He laughs."Leonardo is enough, Cara Mia." He smiles and pats her head before standing up. "Watch yourself, Cara Mia."

Her reaction upon the vampiric reveal:

After having talked with Comte and decided to stay in his mansion, she actually wonders how he could resurrect them. She decides to ask Sebastian, her new colleague, and he just shows her the Rouge and Blanc bottles.

"What's that?" She asks, pretty curious."Take a look and you will understand." She first goes for the Rouge and recognises the metallic smell of blood. She stares at Sebastian. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"They are all vampires. Except I, who is human." She widens her eyes, sueprised, and then goes "Aaaaah, that's how he did! Makes sense!" She smiles. "Is Comte the one who transformed them all or no?" "He did, yes."

"So, is he like, a pureblood vampire? A superior vampire who can turn humans into vampires?" "How do you know about this?" "Oh please, Sebastian. Cinema, animes, mangas and books are full of vampires."

Sebastian stares at her, bewildered. "And you are not afraid? They could easily feed off of you, even kill you." "Oh please Sebastian, they're more like puppies than wolves! If they were capable of this, you wouldn't be here!"

"Plus," she says while flashing a big dumb grin. "If they wanted to eat me, they would have already bitten me and emptied me of all my blood. They are not dangerous." Sebastian is shocked at how chill she is.

Her relationships with the residents:

She gets close to every resident ofthe mansion pretty fast, especially since she is not pushy, funny, kind, calm and knowledgeable on a lot of matters. They all grow a soft spot for her, even shyer and harsher residents.

Napoleon: they bond over cooking and baking. Also, since she is French, she can tell him about the impact he had on her country.

Mozart: music is common ground for them. She knows a lot about him and will sing for him, being allowed in the music room.

Arthur: writing sessions together, in his room or hers. They tease each other a lot and she is quick to react to his flirting.

Vincent: they are very close, bonding over drawing and painting. They talk a lot about art and have art sessions.

Theodorus: she doesn't let him win with his harsh replies and he likes that. She is strong and adores Vincent: he likes her a lot.

Isaac: she isn't pushy and gives him room so he likes talking with or teaching her a few things. They often meet in his room.

Jean: he likes how pure she is but she doesn't let him avoid her. She will do anything to befriend him and he gives in.

Dazai: sharing writing ideas brings them closer. They also laugh a lot because they are both airheads amd chaotic walking memes.

William: she likes his work but hates him. She will always avoid him, or shoot sharp daggers glares at him.

Comte: the father figure. She loves going to him to talk or when she needs some calm, and having tea together.

Sebastian: always laughing and teasing each other. She will flick his forehead when he assumes things for her.

Her relationship with her soulmate:

She is a Da Vinci's fangirl so of course, she is a mess around him. At first, she just blushes a lot, stutters a bit around him and she fangirls when he is not around. "Omg I can't believe I witnessed him sketching!!!"

They bond very easily since they both love arts. And Leonardo is very curious about her fashion style, her job, and basically how the world works in modern days -she spent an entire night talking about phones-

One day, he finds her sighing in her room: "what's the problem?". "Ah, nothing, I'm just, not comfortable in Comte's dresses. I'm more into trousers or skirts from my time." He is curious so she tells him about modern day fashion.

"Ah, so women wear pants and shirts. Whatever they want." She nods excitiedly."Yeah, and I hope one day men will be able to do so as well! Wear skirts and dresses and heels. But toxic masculinity is still pretty deep..."

"Wait for me, Cara Mia" and he dashes off the room, to come back later with a stack of shirts and trousers. "Here, take these. They're mine but for now, it will do. Tomorrow, we're going shopping for you."

And they do go shopping the next day, buying loads of men clothes alongside jewels and shoes. Also, they buy fabrics, needles and everything for Annalyne to sew her own clothes. He loves seeing her so happy.

She spends the next days adjusting Leonardo's clothes and the ones they bought to her chubby curves. And Leonardo surprises her by wearing a dress. They go have dinner like this: her in men's clothes, him in women's clothes.

Legend says every resident nearly choked themselves of either shock or laughter. And Leonardo and Annalyne really enjoyed it a lot and decided to do this at least once a week -Leo enjoyed the dress, actually-

The purebloodness revelation:

She catches very early on that he is a pureblood, without him even telling her. She is extra sensitive so she kinda feels auras and saw how Comte and Leonardo's eyes are similar. His genius made even more sense.

"Leonardo. Are you like Comte, a pureblood vampire?" She asked him while they were shopping for fabrics. Leonardo nearly fell out of surprise. "What are you talking about, Cara Mia?" "Well, you know..."

"Same eyes as Comte, genius who can do anything, super strong and intimidating aura. Open-minded as if you've already seen everything, and laziness that can be explained by already having done everything possible..."

He stares at her and then laughs, patting and ruffling her hair. "You're awfully clever and intuitive, Cara Mia. Yes, I am a pureblood. Does it change anything between us? "HELL NO!" she shouts. "But I've got questions!!!"

She drowns him under questions on everything he's done, seen, lived. They spend almost all of their time together, teaching each other about their lives and their knowledge. Residents are jealous of the Leonardo monopoly.

How it "ends" between them:

She is a strong woman and will go back to her time. But she promises Leonardo she will find him, right after returning to her time. He asks her what day it was, when she entered the mansion. "March, 15th, 2020."

When she leaves, while everyone is crying, Leonardo calculates. "Okay, gone for a month in her time, so she'll be in the Louvre in April, 15th, 2020. Ah. My birthday." He smiles. Almost 200 years, but it will be so worth it.

When she passes through the door, she is back in her time. Asking a guide what day it is. "April, 15th, 2020". The day they agreed upon, and Leonardo's birthday. She smiles and then proceeds to rush out of the Louvre to look for him.

But then she passes in front of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Her favourite painting. A tall and gorgeous man is standing there, in a blue shirt and blue jeans. She feels it. She goes to the man, pats him on the shoulder, and asks: "Leonardo...?"

The man turns around, a huge grin on his face, bright golden eyes shining with love: "Was about time, Cara Mia..." she cries and throws herself at his neck; he spins her, crying as well, burrying his face in her neck.

"I missed you so much. Never do this again. 200 years was worth it but it was too long." She is a mess while crying. "I, I pwomiss Leo, I will neba leaf you again-" he laughs at her messy face. "Look at you, silly girl." He kisses her.

"I want you to see how much I love you in my eyes. They speak on my behalf."

Trivia facts:

She has a tiny water spray bottle she labelled as "Holy Water". Whenever a resident smiles or laughs, she opens it and "collects" their happiness. Thus, when one is talking shit about himself, she sprays the water on them.

"There, you have been blessed with Holy Water. Now love yourself or I agressively hug you." -the mistake on the label,on "thoughts" is intended, as it is is a mix between thots and thoughts, bitch thoughts she's gonna spray away.

She hates Shakespeare, Faust and Vlad. Whenever they pass by the mansion, she grabs the garden hose she labelled "Garden Hoes" and splashes water on them. "Oh no, you walking sin, stay away from my babies!"

She eats A LOT and puts shame on Theo when it comes to eating sweet things. They have pancake-eating competitions -and guess what, she wins-. She will be snacking 24/7 when nervous, anxious, sad and basically under negative emotions.

She listens to every type of music. She really enjoys any kind of rock music, and is also very knowledgeable on classical music. She likes to dance on Kpop and sing on Disney songs: her favourites are definitely I’ll Make A Man Out Of You and Why Should I Worry -in French-

She used to practice martial arts so she can beat the crap out of anyone being a little sh*t with her or her loved ones. She also has a very scary aura when furious, leading to most people just running away from her wrath.

She loves gossiping with Arthur. Whenever she knows about some rumours, or when she needs to talk about something that upset her, she goes to his room with coffee or tea. They both irradiate chaotic gossiping energy when together.

She is the mom friend, and becomes the mom of the mansion. She already told Jean to “get his bottoms in the living room to eat with all of them”, else she was going to kick his butt so hard he would be unable to sit or practice fencing.

All the animals LOVE her. Chérie is missing? She is cuddling with her in the patio. Lumiere is not under the bed? He is sleeping on her laps while she reads. King is nowhere to be found? She is playing with him in the garden. Snow White vibe.

She loves flowers and will put some all over the mansion. She puts one every day in front of every resident’s door, with a message written on a tiny piece of paper, something like: “You are a sweetheart and you deserve the best, keep going, dearie!”

#Ikemen Vampire #IkeVamp #ikevamp oc

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sayuricorner · 4 years

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Ever After High x Twisted Wonderland AU Headcanons part 8

Part 7 Part 9

AU concept

MASTERLIST

Warning: English is not my first language so sorry if it’s confusing!

This part will focus on Raven’s, C.A. Cupid’s and Poppy’s twisted Wonderland profile and as well on some headcanons of them with the Pomefiore dorm and the school.

Characters profiles:

Name: Raven Queen

Gender: Female

Age: 15-16

Birthday: November 25

Starsign: Sagittarius

Height: 165 cm

Eye color: purple

Hair color: Dark with purple shades

Homeland: White kingdom

Dorm: Pomefiore

School year: first year

Occupation: Student

Club: Light music club

Best subject: Music

Dominant hand: Left

Favorite food: Salted caramel

Least favorite food: Anything too spicy (ex: hot sauce)

Dislike: Doing what is “hexpected” of her aka being the new Evil Queen

Talents: Singing and music in general

“Everything is so differents from all what I though I knew, but this school do to me one thing Ever After High never do: it give me the opportunity to make my own destiny!”

In bonus, here’s some illustrations and fan arts of Raven in the AU done by the amazing and talented @zebrabaker and @icant-choosename-help ! ^^

Raven Queen(made with Dolldivine) by @zebrabaker as she is presented in their fanfiction “Choosing Destiny” go read it and their others fanfics as well please their writtings are amazing! ^^

Raven Queen as a Pomefiore student draw by @icant-choosename-help you can see this fan art’s post by clicking on this link and please take time to also check their others arts they’re an awesome artist! ^^

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Name: C.A. Cupid

Gender: Female

Age: "old as teenage love"

Birhtday: November 24

Starsign: Sagittarius

Height: 165 cm

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: Pink

Homeland: Olympus

Dorm: Pomefiore

School year: First year

Occupation: -Student

-Presenter at the school’s radio station

Club: School’s radio station(she’s the founder of that club)

Best subject: Mythology history

Dominant hand: Right

Favorite food: Cupcakes

Least favorite food: Can’t eat some fresh fruits, vegetables or nuts unless they’re baked(Headcanon I made up: she had a pollen-food syndrome that she contract because of her pollen allergy)

Dislike: Not being able to help someone’s love problems

Hobby: Give love related advices to her peers

Talents: love advisor

“In those troubled times some people’s hearts become troubled as well, with time they will heal and I’ll make sure to help!”

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Name: Poppy O'Hair

Gender: Female

Age: 15-16

Birthday: june 19

Starsign: Gemini

Height: 165 cm

Eye color: Blue-cyan-green

Hair color: Auburn with half dyed purple

Homeland: White kingdom

Dorm: Pomefiore

School year: First year

Occupation: Student

Club: Fashion club( she’s the founder of that club)

Best subject: Art

Dominant hand: Left

Favorite food: Chicken wings

Least favorite food: Liver and onions

Dislike: Being restraint in her creativity

Hobby: Fashion

Talents: Fashionnista

“New school, new horizons and a new page to my story!”

Raven Queen at Pomefiore:

-The first times at Pomefiore and NRC in general were a bit akward for Raven mainly because of the cultural shock.

-Her dormmates were very nice but them over complimenting her was very akward to her so at first she mainly hang out with Epel.

-With Vil at first things were not simple, you see, he was VERY extasic to had the direct descendant of the Beautiful Queen in his dorm so he was often rambling to Raven about how an honor it was to have her in Pomefiore, how great the Beautiful Queen was and how proud she must be to had the Beautiful Queen as her ancestor.

-This make Raven really unconfortable, she don’t know what answer to this all her life her lineage was paint to her as just being evil and now she was ina place where the Evil Queen was see as a hero. Honestly she don’t know how to process all this.

-This and she had some diseagrements with him about his obsession with beauty.

-As for Rook, well, he was nice with a charming but again: over-complimenting a bit annoying and in his case to the umpteenth power as if she suddenly become Apple.

-However she prefer not tell them about her disconfort ‘cause she’s scare to sound rude and offend them so she keep it to herself.

-At one moment, Epel took her aside to talk to her ‘cause he notice for a time that she seemed to be bothered by something.

-After he insisted, Raven finally explain to him what was wrong.

-After she said her piece about everything, Epel, rather shocked about what Raven gone through at her former school, was about to say something when they suddenly facing two shocked Vil and Rook who hear everything.

-Raven was about to say something only to be cut by Vil who say to her with a worried voice something like “You silly potatoe! Why didn’t you tell us a thing?”

-The four then got a long conversation during which they set the record stray:

1)She wasn’t in her former school anymore nobody is going to scold her for being who she want to be.

2)What her former headmaster and her former classmates tried to force her to do was wrong and she was in the right to stood up for herself.

3)She don’t had to be scared to tell what she think.

4)They’re her dormmates and by so if she had a problem or anything which is on her mind she can come see them for help.

5)”And please don’t be a stupid potatoe next time you feel like this and come to us to talk about it! Keeping all those negative emotions to yourself is not healthy at all!”

-Raven was surprised by hown this turned but she was also happy they didn’t reject her.

-After this conversation her relationship with her dormmates get better.

-The others classmates even noticed that Vil was strangely more and more invested into Raven’s well-being.

-Like for exemple, she show big problems of control of her magic? Vil go explain the situation to the headmaster in order for Raven to had tutoring with a experimented student to learn to control her magic.

-Or when some students surprised her singing and Cater even recorded her telling how good her singing is and that she should try the light music club? Vil made Rook fetch Raven(of course in a Rook style and by that I mean “take Raven by surprise and bring her to Vil while holding her like a bride”) and after discussing it with her he encourage her to join the light music club if she want.

-The others students joke that Vil act as a brother version of a mother hen even if Vil deny it. But one thing is clear in the students mind: whatever Vil is deny it or not Raven was now Vil’s honorary little sister.

C.A. Cupid at Pomefiore:

- Although she is still shaken about what happen with Apple at Ever After High, Cupid is intrigued by her new school, curious about the new possibilities to help people’s heart.

-She’s also very happy to see Raven once again and to be in the same dorm than her.

-When she learn that Pomefiore is based on the heavy efforts of the Beautiful Queen she though that that fit her perfectly, ‘cause after all the beauty of the heart is also an amazing thing and she put many great efforts in it.

-She barely get into Pomefiore that she begin to give advices to people who seemed to need it.

-Quickly words about her goes around the school and soon many others students came to see her for an advice.

-Face to all those students wanting her advices Cupid decided to re-create her radio show so like this students from NRC would be able to ask her for advices and got an direct answer.

-After talking about it to the headmaster Crowley and recruting some students she found the Night Raven College’s radio station.

-The radio got different show, Cupid’s is about love advice.

-In a matter of time the new school’s radio become very popular among the students.

Poppy O'Hair at Pomefiore:

-When she entered in the Night Raven College, Poppy was rather wary.

-She an undirect victim of Apple ‘cause she targered Holly accusing the girl to be too beautiful and to knew about the "Snow White” story too much to her taste.

-Because of this Poppy is very worried about Holly’s well-being, even after their transfer, so when the sisters have been sorted in two different dorms she wasn’t at ease at all.

-Fortunatly Raven reassured her many times to not worry about Holly and that she will be fine at Octavinelle.

-She often go find her sister at lunch time to ensure herself that Holly was okay.

-To vent her stress Poppy begin to draw fashion designs more than usual to keep herself mentally busy.

-One day she looked at all the designs she created, she made so many of them, so many she want to make real.

-Unfortunatly the only way to make it possible would be through a club, but there’s no fashion club in NRC.

-Then she think “if there’s no fashion club then why not creating one?”

-So with her new objective she gather all informations she need to create her club.

-She prepared all the documentation, found students, mainly from her dorm, who were interested to be members including Lizzie and Ashlynn.

-She then present her project to the teacher who she heard could be a potential teacher councelor for the club: Divus Crewel.

-When the teacher took a look at Poppy’s club project he become interested and told her he will present the project to the headmaster and will accept to be the councelor of this club if it approved.

-Some times later an hyperactive Divus Crewel burst in headmaster Crowley’s office while screaming “DIRE YOU NEED TO APPROVE FOR THE CREATION OF THIS CLUB RIGHT NOW!”

-And so the fashion club was officialy created

-The club took comissions from others students which with the money allow them then to create bigger projects.

-Even though Vil is not a member of the club he often model for them.

-He even post pictures of himself wearing the fashion club’s creations on his MagiCam giving the club a big exposure.

-Soon the fashion club become very popular and the school even turn to the club for making clothes for school events.

-Poppy even get commissions from celebrities.

TAG LIST :( a reblog will get you a place in the tag list! ^^)

@virgil-is-a-cutie , @zebrabaker , @icant-choosename-help , @twistedwonderlxnd , @cowardlybravette , @iwilldietomorrowyees , @balsae , @shinypainterkid , @biscuitbirdpeach , @feuilleszuyu , @pale-lady-dreamer

#ever after high #twisted wonderland #ever after high au #crossover #headcanons #headcanon #raven queen #poppy o'hair #ca cupid #au idea #fan art #repost #zebrabaker #icant-choosename-help

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ibijau · 4 years

Text

Worst engagement AU // on AO3

Set after lxc first saw that bunny painting and accidentally complimented it

I was not planning to spend so long on that painting, and in fact it wasn't even part of the original plan for this story but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It’s not that Lan Xichen wants to talk to Nie Huaisang. He’s tried before, and all he’s ever gotten out of his attempts is the other boy looking at him with big, frightened eyes and refusing to say more than two words. There’s a reason he doesn’t like his fiancé, as he’s told Lan Wangji quite a few times lately, and that reason is Nie Huaisang’s absolute lack of anything to make him interesting.

Lan Wangji, each time, just gives him that look. He doesn’t bother saying anything. Doesn’t need to. His silences carry entire conversations. In this case, the silence speaks of a painting of rabbits on which, even weeks later, Lan Xichen’s eyes still linger whenever he sees it.

And he sees it often.

Lan Wangji made sure of it.

He asked his uncle to help him display it in his room, where it is visible by any guest he might have. Which mostly means Lan Qiren, who doesn’t care, and Lan Xichen, who knows this is a personal attack against him. All because he tried to be nice to his brother by complimenting a painting that’s just…

A painting which is…

It’s just so…

But that’s the problem, of course. Lan Xichen can’t even bring himself to think that the painting is mediocre, because it’s not. It’s better than anything he’s ever managed to paint. The style shows a certain lack of formal learning, and it is obvious that it was made quickly, but somehow that’s part of what makes it so good. There’s a freedom to the lines that Lan Xichen could only dream to achieve.

He knows. He’s tried to reproduce the painting, in vain. His own attempts aren’t bad, but they feel stiff and heavy compared to the original.

Of course, it’s normal for Lan Xichen to find his own work lacking. He’s only just seventeen, and humble enough to accept there are great masters in this world whose level he will only reach after decades of hard work. It gives him something to strive for, and he rather enjoys the challenge of it all.

But being inferior to Nie Huaisang stings.

Everyone knows that Qinghe Nie isn't a sect for artists. Nie Mingjue shows polite interest when Lan Xichen speaks about painting or music, and he knows just enough to say if something is generally good or bad, but that's it. He doesn't get colours and lines, he can rarely tell one melody from another unless they're different enough, and he clearly doesn't care. So when Nie Mingjue has mentioned in the past that his little brother fancies himself an artist, Lan Xichen has assumed that just means a few childish doodles in the margin of his studies. It's the most anyone would expect from a disciple if Qinghe Nie.

And Lan Xichen likes Qinghe Nie and respects it and he would scold anyone who would call them a butcher's sect, but… but it makes no sense for Nie Huaisang to come from there and be capable of making a painting like that.

So that's what motivates Lan Xichen to give his crybaby of a fiancé another chance. Not his uncle's increasingly stern looks, not Lan Wangji's petulant attitude. No, it's just plain old curiosity.

That and something he won't admit in a thousand years, not even to himself. The hope that maybe, just maybe, he has more to look forward to than a lifetime tied to a blubbering idiot who acts terrified of him. If there is any chance that Nie Huaisang is more than he appears…

But hope is a dangerous thing, so Lan Xichen guards himself against it. In a world such as the one they live in, marriages are rarely happy, arranged ones even less, those of rulers of sects least of all. Of the leaders of the Five Great Sect, which hasn’t had a problematic marriage?

Still, a chance must be given, for the sake of fairness. So when one day Lan Xichen spots Nie Huaisang alone (he's always alone) in one of the gardens, a pile of papers at his side and a brush on his hand… He has to seize the occasion.

After taking his leave from the boys he was walking with, Lan Xichen directly goes to Nie Huaisang. His fiancé is so entranced in whatever he's doing that he doesn't notice him until Lan Xichen stops right next to his bench. In a second, Nie Huaisang gathers all the papers around him and gathers them against his chest, trying to hide them.

"May I sit with you?" Lan Xichen inquires, as if he doesn’t notice the other boy’s panic.

As always, Nie Huaisang looks up at him with the pitiful air of a startled rabbit, clutching his paper tight against his chest. Whatever he's been drawing must have smudged, which annoys Lan Xichen. To be so careless with one's work…

"Lan gongzi may do as he pleases," he mutters, quickly looking down. "This is his garden."

Lan Xichen sat down, careful to leave as much distance as possible between them, for propriety. He tries to peek at the sheets, but Nie Huaisang only holds them closer, wrinkling them and finishing to ruin everything.

"Were you drawing, Nie gongzi ?"

"I wasn't!" Nie Huaisang blatantly lies. "I swear I wasn't. I have far too much homework to be painting!" he claims with an awkward laugh.

And if he has to lie, can't he at least be good at it?

"That's too bad," Lan Xichen says, pretending he believes that. "I've been curious about Nie gongzi's art. Wangji showed me the piece Nie gongzi gifted him."

"Oh, that," Nie Huaisang mutters, his eyes widening. "I'm surprised he didn't throw it away. It was silly, and it's not very good. The rabbits were too fat, and I should have placed them better on the paper. It's really bad, I'm ashamed I gave it as a gift. Lan er-gonzi must think I'm too bold, giving him something this bad."

Past the shock of hearing that painting so easily dismissed, Lan Xichen can't help a slight thrill that Nie Huaisang noticed the same problems as he did. It's easy to see that a piece of art is good. Slightly less so to know why it's good. But it takes an expert eye to find what can still be improved, even in something excellent. It speaks of real skill and good taste, rather than the simple stroke of luck he sometimes told himself the painting might have been.

"Wangji is actually very happy with it," Lan Xichen announces. "He had it hung in his bedroom."

Nie Huaisang looks up at him, gaping in shock and mild horror rather than showing any of the pride Lan Xichen would have expected. It makes his usual annoyance flare up, but he forces it aside for once.

"It is a good painting," he insists instead, hoping his tone is complimentary enough, while also not showing just how much he likes that painting.

"Lan gongzi doesn't need to lie," Nie Huaisang mumbles. "I enjoy painting, but I'm not good, I know that. Father always said it was a waste of time and I should work harder on my cultivation."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Lan Xichen remarks, still fighting to keep his annoyance in check.

Nie Huaisang startles and throws him a terrified look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean… Lan gongzi didn't lie of course, Lan gongzi was just trying to be kind. It's, it's not necessary though. I know it's a silly hobby. I'm sorry I wasted time on this. I'll stop now and work harder so I don't bring more shame to Lan gongzi."

For a second, Lan Xichen hesitates. It's true that Nie Huaisang should focus more on his studies, especially since his grades are so bad and everyone knows he still doesn't have a golden core, which is shameful at his age. In fact, Lan Xichen half suspects that Nie Huaisang must have skipped classes of some sort to go paint those rabbits, for which he probably ought to be punished.

But no matter what he's saying, Nie Huaisang is a good artist, if that piece with the rabbits is any indication. In any sect but Qinghe Nie, his skill would have been noticed, encouraged and nurtured. In fact, even for his sect it's odd that he hasn't received more attention. If his cultivation were better, his lack of skill there didn’t outweigh other accomplishments of his... It feels unfair, for lack of a better word.

And so Lan Xichen is tempted to do something bad, and encourage Nie Huaisang’s talent. If he could produce a painting like that with nothing but his own taste and determination to guide him, Lan Xichen can't help but feel slightly eager to see what he might do with a few proper lessons. If he offers to teach Nie Huaisang, maybe he can learn in return how the other boy keeps his lines so light and pure.

But that's selfish of him, he figures. Lan Xichen only wants that because if they have this common ground, it will make their future marriage less painful. What's actually good for Nie Huaisang, he knows, is to improve his cultivation and work hard to catch up to others their age. It's just too shameful for a young master to be so bad he doesn't have a golden core. For the good of both their sects' reputation, Nie Huaisang needs to be more serious.

"It might be best if Nie gongzi focused on what's important," Lan Xichen reluctantly agrees. “When your cultivation reaches an acceptable level, you can see about diverting your attention again to other occupations.”

Nie Huaisang sighs, deep and heartfelt, then nods miserably. He really is a pathetic boy, but force once Lan Xichen feels sorry for him rather than angry at his weakness. It’s a little sad that even when finally Nie Huaisang turns out to have some talent, it’s at something that he cannot pursue freely.

“I’ll let you be now,” Lan Xichen announces, quickly rising from the bench, uncomfortable with that newfound pity for this fiancé he still doesn’t want. “Do work hard in the future, or your brother will be disappointed.”

The other boy flinches at that, but Lan Xichen chooses to ignore it and leaves. All in all, it was a disappointing conversation that managed to do little but making him even more frustrated about Nie Huaisang.

And yet, maybe in the future, if Nie Huaisang gets his act together and finally achieves a decent level of cultivation…

Only time will tell, but Lan Xichen wouldn’t hate having someone to paint with.

#xisang #nie huaisang #lan xichen #lan wangji #mo dao zu shi #worst engagement au #jau writes #ok now I'll start munching on those prompts I got but I wanted to finish this first!

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nosferatyou · 4 years

Text

If I Can Be So Bold: Chapter 2 (Jack White x OC)

Summary: The Girls first detroit show continues on with their headliner, the white stripes. And Lee gets to know our handsome stranger.

WC: 2.1k

Warnings: Nicotine use and mentions of alcohol.

Notes: I know this is shorter but that felt like the best place to stop the chapter. Keep you on your toes you know. More notes at the end.

Chapter Three

If you’ve ever been to a house show or a show in a small venue, you know its standing room only, which means limited views of the artists. Which means most people are pushing to the front to get as close as possible. And it is our first Detroit show we had to get as close as possible.

Sure, I might have pushed a little too hard and made a small enemy, but it is always worth it for music.

You will feel it in your chest, and you’re probably going to have the most fun upfront. The only exception is the mosh pit, but the chances are good that you’ll be thrown in by accident at one point or another.

The girls and I had fully pushed and fought our way to the front; the only thing separating us from it was a group of assholes who didn’t understand what the sharp elbow jab meant.

The moment our newfound friends entered the stage, people lost their shit, and understandably so. They were Detroit’s little secret, so to say. Everybody loved them and thought they were the only ones to love them. Still, all the cheering was enough for us to get kicked for a noise complaint.

They both were wearing red and white, which I'd noticed earlier but had thought nothing about. It now seems to be their “thing.”

I first saw meg, all smiles and adorning a kick-ass pair of coca-cola pants. Now Jack, what appeared to be a simple white shirt and bright red pair pants, was so striking. Maybe it was the bright lights, or perhaps he was just strikingly handsome, and I was using the clothes as an excuse. Either way, his face read that he was ready to do anything. Very sharp, very focused, and all the while looked prepared for anything.

Harriet elbowed me and quietly said, “Quite the blues band they are.”

“Oh, hush up Harry, let them have their fun.”

Then played his guitar, no introduction words, no hello. He’s straight to the point.

While their whole look was one of grandeur, which was impressive for such a small band, what truly caught me off guard was their cover of “Moonage daydream” by none other than David Bowie.

An already hard enough to cover song by any professional band. They somehow did it, and well too. They were keeping that Detroit garage sound and Bowie’s twang still in it.

Said assholes from before had a tape recorder in their hand, already recording their set.

Ezra spoke up.

“Sounds like a weirdo.”

“Not everyone is gifted with vocal chords as good as mine, Z.” Harriet said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“You guys need to learn show etiquette, lordy.”

They all eventually shut up, though, and started to get into it, Including me.

Throughout the energetic set, we started to realize how close our music was. Full of blues and heavy sound. The way they played with each other was just like how we did. They even had an overexcited frontman who ran the show.

Two things were for sure. He was incredibly talented, as much as he was attractive. Maybe Harriet was right with the whole rebound thing.

By the second song, we all were dancing with the music. Jumping along to the sparse chords of “Screwdriver,” every time he played the three magic chords, we all hopped in unison.

By “Let’s shake hands,” we all had been dragged into the mosh. All laughing our asses off and picking up any fallen comrades in the process. Harriet got a pretty gnarly bruise from that one.

Long story short is that we all were having way too much fun.

There was this slow song, though, gave the two of them more room to look around and see the crowd. They both were both so invested in their playing that they’d hardly looked past the stage.

Everyone in the crowd was just as enamored with watching them.

I caught a particular man’s eye. Just as he had mine earlier. Every time he'd sing he'd look up at me. Eyes filled with something completely different. They weren’t pissed off. They weren’t dark and brooding. He was just watching me, and he seemed so invested in it too. Maybe it was narcissism, but they almost seemed lustful? As dumb and cliche as it sounds, I saw it. The way he looked at me was with genuine interest. I, of course, returned it.

While I also had his gaze, I felt two more eyes on me. Which was, of course, was Harriet, noticing what was happening. Giving me the same dumb eyebrow wiggle as before.

I returned my gaze to the stage. Sadly our exchange of glances had ended, hed turned his back to the crowd to grab another guitar that was just laying on the ground. On the back of his shirt was a crudely written setlist with song names like “Bob Coffee” and “Sugar good.” Which I can only assume (And hope) are abbreviations.

For the last song of the set, they played an incredibly upbeat slide song. Which I much appreciated, no one used a slide anymore.

He gave an incredible performance and an even better solo(s) with the small piece of brass on his finger.

Once they finished, they quickly made their way off the stage, and we did the same, bouncing through the sea of people to grab another beer from our shared van.

“All I’m saying, Z. Is that if Timbuktu were real. Why have I never met anyone who's been?” said Harriet nursing her billionth beer.

“I swear to god you’re losing brain cells, Harry. Go check a fucking map.” Argued back Jo

“Josephine. That does not convince me of anything. It’s in all the stories! Take me to god damn Timbuktu, and i'll believe you.”

Jo groaned and threw her head into her hands. “Okay, firstly, my name isn’t even Josephine, it's Jolene, You know this. Secondly, you’re a lost cause.”

I grabbed my cigs, done listening to their dumb argument, And made my way to the back alley behind the venue.

As I came upon it, I saw tonight's man of the hour. Leaning against the broken wall of the venue, cigarette already in hand.

I had half a mind to turn around out of spite for Harriet’s sake, but was too far gone,

“Well, hey there, stranger.” I said jokingly, breaking the silence of the night.

He looked up, not startled by the noise. He didn’t seem bothered by the company either.

“Well, hey yourself.”

I took a spot next to him and grabbed a cig out of the pack, tapping the top of the box on my hand before. Almost instinctively, he was ready with his lighter. Id leaned in and breathed it in,

locking eyes with him in such close contact. Both of us Making the same eyes as before.

“Quite the show you played tonight.” I said after taking a long drag from my cig, he repeated the

action.

“Likewise,” he took another drag. “I'd have half a mind to think you’re copying us.” He said with a wink.

“Likewise.” I mimicked, wink included.

We both couldn’t seem to look at each other, eyes locked on the dark horizon. You know, that awkward stage of knowing somebody, but prolonged eye contact was just a no go.

“I haven’t seen you around here, and you have a face I wouldn’t forget. You passing through?” He asked

I gave a small laugh, “No, actually just moved here. Just me and the girls now. Taking over the southwest side.”

“No shit, huh? It seems we share a postal code.” He looked over to me with a small smile on his face.

“No shit. What street?” I asked, my excitement way too present.

“Ferdinand. Small shitty house, porch painted white and red. You can’t miss it.” He finished his cig, quickly grabbing another.

“Oh, I remember that! It was the first thing we noticed when we got here. But you’re a block over neighbor.” I bumped his arm, returning his small smile.

We went silent for a moment, just looking over the Detroit skyline, still in the stages of not knowing how to start conversations.

“So tell me, stranger. I want to get to the bottom of this mystery of our shared music. Who are your influences?” I asked, taking another drag and entirely putting my attention on him.

He laughed and put out his cig, stomping it into the ground.

“Well, it’s the blues. You know Son House and muddy waters. That and Iggy Pop.”

“Well, there’s the correlation. The same goes for me. Though I am more privy towards Taj Mahal and Howlin wolf Myself.” I stomped out my cig as well.

“You’re dad listen to them all the time?” He asked

“Oh, all the time.” I moved a little closer, not enough that he’d notice, but enough. “But country rules my house. It's law in Tennessee, you know.” I said, a small smirk falling on my face.

“More the reason to go then.”

I very dramatically rolled my eyes. “Eh, more the reason to leave you mean.”

He fake scoffed, covering his heart with his hand. “Are you telling me you don’t like country? Judging by your dad’s taste, it’s probably the good country you don’t like too.”

“Overplayed and over appreciated is what I always say.”

He moved closer, just as I did, and his goofy smirk grew. “You’re telling me you don’t like johnny cash?” He asked.

“Not a bit.” I crossed my arms matter of factly.

While we were in an “Argument,” I couldn’t stop thinking about Harriet’s words. Rebound. Plus his whole damn family wasn’t here to watch me shamelessly flirt.

“But I’m open to a certain handsome stranger changing my mind.”

He was unphased. In fact, it only made his smile grow.

“Well, I’ll just have to do that, Rosie.”

“Hm. Rosie. I like that.” I said, moving even closer to him. Were less than a foot away from each other’s face, and Though I exchanged so little words with this man, I was ready to kiss the hell out of him.

“Though I’m only going to let you call me that because you’re acting so nice. You know, lighting my cigs and all. Very gentleman like of you.”

“I aim to please, Rosie.” He said simply. He drifted even closer.

I could feel his hot breath on my face. My heart was beating out of my chest. I couldn’t stop my actions if I tried.

I pushed forwards and met my lips with his. My already booming heart felt like it was about to explode. Why Was I so nervous? Guess I half expected him to pull away.

He didn’t, though, in fact, his hand came up and cradled my face, and his other made its way to my hip. Pressing me against the brick.

Our bodies pressed together heatedly against the wall, us breathing heavily as our lips pressed together, heat radiating off the both of us. I could taste our shared breath, prominently cigarettes; I could feel the thud of our combined heartbeat as we fumbled to put our hands wherever we could. Both us acting like it was the one thing keeping us alive.

Everything about him was dizzying, the way his hands gripped me like his life depended on it, how passionately he was kissing me despite how soft lips were. It made my stomach dance; it made warmth consume me.

I so desperately held onto him, my hands finally settling around his neck, nustling into his long unruly hair. It scared me how much I felt that I needed that. How addictive he felt.

From the van and out of sight, I could hear the girls asking where I was. I slowly broke away from our kiss, not wanting to be found out by the others. Not yet. I wasn’t ready for their incessant grade school teasing.

We stayed close, still in each other’s arms. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. Not wanting to let go. Still hungry for his touch.

“I think I have to get the drunk children home.” I said with a sigh.

“It’s the responsible thing to do.” He said with a goofy smile.

I kissed him again, this time just being a small peck. It was still just as good.

I moved out of his grasp and went to grab a cig. He was ready with the lighter.

“Well, Rosie, if you ever want to..” His face tinted pink. “Jam. We will say jam. You know where I live.”

“I might just have to take you up on that offer.”

“Well, See you around, stranger.” I said with a wink.

“See ya around, Rosie.” He leaned against the wall and repeated my actions.

Turning around, I made my exit, cooly of course, but my whole body was buzzing.

Quick End notes:

Firstly, ooh that smooch. This series is not what you guys think this will be. This is only the beginning. And i mean it really is just the beginning, but chapter two.

Secondly, If you didnt catch it this is set in 1998. And unfortunately while in my planning, I didnt catch that he had the worst fucking haircut ive ever seen that year. So Im just gonna pretend he looks 2000 era jack white. (see below for a visual of what is and what should have been)

What is

What should have been

#jack white #jack white fic #if i can be so bold #the white stripes #jack white x oc #nosferatyou writes #series #meg white #ben blackwell #nashville #detroit #jack white x reader

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youtuberswithalex · 4 years

Text

hold on i found all of my old Christian music and im emotional, the nostalgia, so im just gonna do a react post--

first song was Hope is Coming by Nate Deezy and oh boy. oh boy. i met the dude and knowing how he talks and listening to his music. oh boy, he was kind of mimicking AAVE and it’s. not great to listen to now. the song is a bop music wise but. yikes

Overcomer by Mandisa. I used to BOP to this song and you know what? I still do. I saw her in concert and she was AMAZING

The The Earth Is Yours came on, which already was one of my favorites, and it was the cover by Gungor (or their original? I can’t remember) and I almost started crying because. Gungor’s music always made me feel really close to God, like He was my best friend. and now I kind of feel like I’ve lost a friend in stopping being Christian, and though I know I can still pray and stuff while still not being Like That, it just... hurts too much because it was so weaponized against me. I miss relying on Him for everything though.

Pause to get lunch

Good Morning by Mandisa and TobyMac. Hearing “top of the morning to ya” set off a visceral reaction to high five the air. also hearing them interact at the end is adorable

COME ALIVE BY CROWDER OHHH IT’S A BOP!!!

YOUR LOVE!!!

IS A LEMONADE

call me out by gungor?!?! how could i have forgotten this one!!!!! OH MY GOD AND I JUST REALIZED??? HOW RELEVANT THIS IS????? IF YOU TAKE OUT THE CHRISTIAN STUFF THIS IS STILL HOW I FEEL?????? CALL ME OUT WHEN I DO THINGS WRONG PLEASE

could i......... do a sanders sides animatic to this

WHITE MAN BY THE MICHAEL GUNGOR BAND. THE SAME BAND BUT A DIFFERENT NAME. THIS SONG NEEDS TO BE PLAYED TO EVERY CHRISTIAN WHITE SUPREMECIST. GOD IS NOT A MAN. GOD IS NOT A WHITE MAN. GOD IS NOT A WHITE MAN SITTING ON A CLOUD. GOD IS LOVE AND HE LOVES EVERYONE.

i just copied and pasted a link to the song on facebook jfkdlsjf pray for me (no pun intented)

Beautiful Day by Jamie Grace... I’m pretty sure I first heard this song on Veggietales? or maybe i freaked out when I saw it on Veggietales bc I already loved this song lmao. But it is still... you guessed it... a bop

i also just realized how much more diverse my music was back then versus now... out of the four artists I’ve listened to, half (if not 3 of them? i don’t remember what Gungor looks like) are POC. bruh current alex, I know all you listen to now is the RWBY soundtrack, but like. Diversify my dude

OHH HEAVEN BY GUNGOR??? THE CHILLEST CHRISTIAN SONG I ADORED

YOU ARE!!!!!!!!! CROWDER AGAIN

oh my god. oh my god jesus freak by newsboys. this song is fucking WILD to see in concert. the drummer goes up on a platform that goes sideways and starts SPINNING. while he’s going H A R D. also this song totally matches up with what i listen to now, style wise??

oh my god im getting dizzy from jamming to this one

R E S T A R T WE’RE GETTING ALL THE NEWSBOYS JAMS SUDDENLY

if anyone’s wondering what im doing as i listen to these, i’m currently checking out these artists’ twitters to see if they’re like... White Supremacist christians. Michael Gungor has made me happiest by blatantly retweeting and talking about the BLM protests, along with a tweet stating firmly that he accepts LGBTQ+ people. I knew I could trust this guy. I followed him. Crowder didn’t have anything blatantly for or against but he did make one post about not hating people using that one Dr Suess book, so like. he can slide for now but im not following him

DO LIFE BIIIIG!!!! JAMIE GRACE!!!!! THIS WAS THE ONE ON VEGGIETALES... WAS IT??? IT WAS AT THE END OF THE STAR TREK KNOCK OFF, I THINK???

OH BABY, FISHERS OF MEN BY NEWSBOYS

GO-O-O-O, GO-O-O-O-O

please be my strength by Gugnor? I don’t remember thohhhhh my heart i remember now

i used to harmonize to this all the time. it was one of the first ones i did that with :(

Steal My Show!! it’s pretty alright still. TobyMac didn’t really Get Me Worshipping like he did with a lot of other people, but I respect him at least-- wait let me check his twitter

alright i can respect him, he’s alright

Ah. Oceans by Hillsong United, AKA the song that every church-goer in 2015 hated because everyone played it every week. good reason to-- it’s really good still. are people still sick of it?? I remember holding my hands up to this a few times. and harmonizing many more

.......but oh man is it long. i do remember that now. eight minutes.......... why....... i definitely cried my eyes out and calmed down at conference one time during the length of this song

just realized that Jesus is a Friend of Mine isn’t on this playlist. Wow, Alex. Wow. What a waste of a Christian playlist.

THAT’S HOW YOU CHANGE THE WORLD

it’s so unfair that so many Christian artist put out That Kind of christian music, while Newsboys just. stole all of the talent. like come on guys spread it a bit. not EVERY song has to be a bop, you know /j

Speak Life by tobyMac. i... think im gonna skip this one jfkdlsj im just so not in the mood for this. He is definitely that That Kind of Christian Music style

LORD YOU ARE GOOD AND YOUR MERCY ENDURES FOREVERRR OH HOW WE JAMMED TO THIS AT CONFERENCEoh god it’s a live version and you can hear the Presbyterian Clap in the crowd

OH MY GOD MUSCLE MEMORY JUST BROUGHT BACK THE DANCE THAT WE HAD AT CONFERENCE OH MY GOD I COMPLETELY FOR GOT ABOUT THIS

i wish it brought back more than just the bridge before the chorus lmfao

alright skipping the rest of this because oh boy is it repetitive

STRONGER BY MANDISAAAA i forgot about this one omg. i loved this one, it used to be my Uplifting Song

Got another tobyMac and just skipped it jfkdsl

OH GOD’S NOT DEAD BY NEWSBOYS the movie was a lot of christians-are-oppressed propaganda but the song is pretty good still, i catch myself singing it sometimes still tbh

TRADING MY SORROWS?!?!?!?!? TRADING MY SHAME???!!!!! LAYING THEM DOWN FOR THE JOY OF THE LORD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? A BOOOOP

this was another one we had a dance for!!!! i remember this one more bc it was so much easier lmfao

HAPPY DAY!!!!!! THIS WAS MY FAVORITE ONE TO SING AT THE BIG MORNING AND EVENING MEETINGS AT CONFERENCE!!!!!! but this version is so slooooow but i couldn’t find any other version

....You Have Me. The song I always said that, when I die and go to Heaven, I’m going to find God and dance with Them to this song. Maybe, if They’re up there, we still will. This song gave me so much comfort in a time when I felt so alone.

I hope They aren’t mad at me for abandoning them. I hope They understand why I stopped going to church and listening to my parents about Them. That I remember who They truly are supposed to be, and that it’s not Them I left, but the church, and I struggled to disconnect the two. If They’re real... I hope they know that. And I hope They aren’t upset with me. I hope They know I’m sorry.

Fuck. I’m crying.

They DO still me. They DO still have my heart. But it’s the people that pretend to know Them that ruined me. I need to find a way to sever the connection. I want my best friend back. I miss Them. I miss being able to talk to Them about things and trust that They’ll take care of things and take care of *me* because They love me, no matter what my parents say, and They know who I am and They don’t love me despite that, but because of it.

THAT’S what I was taught. THAT’S the God I worshipped. Not the fake one the White Supremacists have taken hold of and ruined. The God that gave up Their only son to prove to us that They love us.

I don’t understand a lot about religion anymore. But I miss Them. I miss that comfort and love.

Fuck. Maybe that’s a good place to end this. If you made it this far, congrats! Thanks for coming on this journey with me. It was a long one. You’ve seen a piece of my heart that I’ll probably stamp back into the closet within a couple of hours lol

#long post #alex communicates #religion tw #abuse mention #caps #there's a lot of caps here jfdklsj

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reveonce · 4 years

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Best dancers in Kpop - 3rd Gen GG

Disclaimer: This is just my personal preference as a former dancer, not professionally, so please do not hit me...

In case of questioning, the groups I currently stan are Twice, Day6, Red Velvet, and Stray Kids.

INTRODUCTION _____________________

In Kpop, it’s not just about music anymore because 3rd Generation stans just overthrew it with so many criticisms and decided to view Kpop groups/Idols in a new perspective - and that is to check everything and compare.

Let’s get down to the basics. In groups, there are positions to fill in: Main Vocalist, Main Rapper, Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer and other positions such as Subs and just plain Vocalist and etc. I don’t know if this was a thing in the 1st generation of Kpop but there are pros and cons with these titles and what it means which causes a lot of immature “fans” to question an Idol once they sang or dance wrong, their visuals or their personalities.

In 2nd Generation (from what I remembered), 2NE1′s Minzy and SNSD’s Hyoyeon and more were the best dancers of their generation, alongside the boy group members like SHINEE’s Taemin and BIGBANG’s Taeyang. Their style of dancing, paired with the charisma and how they bring the performance, no matter how hard or easy it was, it was executed with no effort, that is, back in the day.

The most overlooked position in a group are in the positions of Main Vocalists and Main Dancers, let’s put Main Rappers aside because that’s another topic :)

BEST DANCERS ______________________

The title above is vague and is debatable, depending on what style or what is/are the person’s personal flavor, style and genre of dancing.

I personally look for passion, intensity, and technique, all in order. A dancer, in my opinion must be able to play base on what he/she feels about what the music is telling his/her body and emotions to drive the performance and execute it well, along with the techniques and charisma.

I hate ranking but here are my top 3 picks with no proper ranking:

- Seulgi -

Seulgi is undeniably one of the best SM dancers, and I consider her one of the best dancers of the 3rd Generation with her charming way of bringing the story through her dancing and her facial expressions to die for. She has that swaggy, groovy, natural with a touch of sexiness which makes her dancing versatile in any genre, that’s why she is a perfect member of Red Velvet.

For example: Be Natural, Bad Boy, Monster, Naughty, and Rookie and her dance covers.

I personally love Seulgi and I’d die to see her live and just fangirl over her because she’s just that cute bear who dances like she’s about to slay some dragon or something. With her amazing vocals, it’s clear that she will run the world with Beyonce lol

I have nothing against her dancing because like I said, she’s versatile, she can adapt so nicely in the choreography’s concept. She can make a hard dance look incredibly easy. I hope that SM can give her more solo dance breaks or bring her to Hit The Stage or similar shows because she deserves it!

BoA and Hyoyeon are right about Seulgi and I have high respects for this woman. She doesn’t slow down in her game will remain slaying on stage with her strong charisma and stage presence. She is indeed SM’s hidden weapon.

- Momo -

Dancing MOchine. Period.

I’ve always admired and loved Momo’s insane dancing ability. Back in Sixteen, everyone feared for her because she was the best dancer except for Nati (whose in Cube Entertainment now btw).In their pre-debut days as trainees, JYP trainees said that Momo is the best dancer, even the members agreed upon this. After being eliminated at the show, she was brought back by an a&r team(?) and JYP because they didn’t want a talent fully wasted.

At a very young age, she had a passion for dancing and that is one of the things I admire for someone as a dancer, to bring joy and entertainment through dancing. Her sharp, powerful and almost-precise dance ability gives her the title still to this day is being debated over -- “The best Kpop dancer”

Although her dancing may stand out from the rest sometimes. Based on the choreographies of TWICE, some just don’t give in for me since the dances are cute and quirky and her style of dancing doesn’t par with cute concepts with cute choreographies but as hyper as their dances goes, It sometimes fits nicely like It’s not different at all. Either way, I’d say it’s okay because it’s her style and I’m not in the position to argue with anyone or her.

With TWICE’s mature concepts coming in, It gives her more opportunities to explore and express more sides of dancing styles like she wanted to do for so long as a passionate dancer that she is.

My favorite dances of her so far: Move, Feel Special, Fancy, Likey, Like Ooh-Ahh, Touchdown, and Got7 dance covers (including Sixteen performances)

- Chungha -

Chungha-unnie, I love you even though I’m not your fan.

I haven’t got the chance to check her music out but saw her on multiple award shows with amazing performances and I love her style and her facial expression is just 10/10 for me. She brings the performance in like she’s the missing final piece of the puzzle and her charisma and style makes the choreography like it’s meant for her like the queen she is.

I saw her Hit the Stage performance and girl, those arms movements killed me, she’s faster than my internet connection. It’s a shame some of the staffs who are in-charge of some of the auditions in JYP put her down but either way, she won’t be that popular if she was to be in JYP because you all know the drill like IU and-- that’s another topic.

Like I said, I haven’t fully gotten into her music but saw the performances, although I forgot what it sounds like because I was paying attention to her technique, analyzing foot works and flow with the music. Wish her the best in these upcoming years in Kpop as solo artist!

Honorable mentions: IZ*ONE’s Chaeyeon BLACKPINK’s LISA ITZY’s Yeji and Chaeryoung GFRIEND’s SinB and MAMAMOO’s Moonbyul, _____________________________

Now, watching dance practices and performances of any 3rd Generation group, when one group’s choreography is just easy, people (not generalizing) quickly points out that “they are not talented” “the song is energizing but the choreography is just bleh bleh bleh” and starts bringing other idol groups, It pisses me off than those videos of 2 women dancing to a product commercial song, they put so much effort in it like the rent is due tomorrow.

These “fans” are quick to judge and point out other idols’ small mistakes, making it seem like it’s biggest major problem on the face of the Earth. As a multi-stan, I can’t even hide anywhere in the Kpop community except being a Swiftie because these people are so problematic, they beat instant noodles for instantly becoming professional dancers or dance majors in the comment sections.

These girls are my favorite dancers and most likely to be crowned as the best dancer of the 3rd Generation Kpop. I know that BLACKPINK’s Lisa wasn’t here like everyone thought she would but I have my reasons why and NO it’s not because I don’t like or stan Blackpink. That’s not who I am, musically and as a person, I respect BLACKPINK and any groups in KPOP but I have my own taste and I’m sorry if I didn’t match yours.

There are vast dancing preferences out there and it’s hard to get in all of that except you’re full-born dancer who seeks different cultural styles because you love them. Kpop is a big giant ball of a good mess and I know that there are more unnoticed idols out there who are true to their skills and has the potential to get to the top with these ladies, I salute them.

For me, everyone is a dancer inside and they have their own styles so I cannot fully judge them and so the last thing to do is support and love.

#dance #kpopdancers #seulgi #momo #chungha #best kpop dancers #kpop opinions #3rd generation #girl group #opinion #twice #redvelvet

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itsbap · 5 years

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From B.A.P’s Daehyun To Baby Hyun: An Interview With K-pop’s Newest Solo Artist

Jung Daehyun debuted in 2012 as part of the idol group B.A.P, but these days, he is embarking on his official career as a full-time solo artist. Although he released his first solo single “Shadow” in 2017, he is now working under the name Baby Hyun and getting a fresh, new start with a brand of music that is uniquely his own. He has a lot in store that he wants to show fans and will soon be doing so with the launch of his first solo mini-album.

What The Kpop was recently able to interview this talented artist and chat about both his past and his future. From serious music questions to fun questions about his favorite things, read below to learn more about Baby Hyun.

WTK: First of all, thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. Do you have anything to say to your fans before we get started?

BH: Hi, this is Daehyun. It’s been such a long time. Thanks for reaching out, and I do feel regrettable about how long it has been. I want to tell you guys a lot of stories as a solo artist. Please send me lots of love and support during this journey.

WTK: You were a member of B.A.P since 2012. Now that you are pursuing your solo career full time, what are the things you feel have changed the most? Are there any challenges you’ve been facing on your own?

BH: Before I was a member of B.A.P, I had vocal training for 10 months. After I became a trainee, I did about four more months of training, then I became a member of B.A.P and we debuted. Becoming a solo artist hasn’t changed things too much, but I do have to be on stage alone and do everything by myself. The biggest change I experienced at this point after becoming a solo artist is… everything feels new and different as I start afresh. It’s difficult, but it’s a rewarding experience each time I take a new step.

WTK: I’m sure you and the other members of B.A.P are really busy right now as everyone is starting their own solo careers and companies, but have you been able to meet up recently?

BH: I haven’t seen them much since the 2018 tour, but we still keep in touch and support each other from distance. I don’t think B.A.P separating has changed much with that. I still love, support, and miss everyone.

WTK: Do you have any plans for a solo fan meeting or tour overseas? I know so many fans would love to have you visit their countries.

BH: I can’t really go on an international tour right now because of my current circumstances, and also, I have some issues with my passport which makes it difficult. I do wish that I could meet and perform for them in order to make some great memories with my international fans. But as of now, I don’t have other ways than social media, so I’m trying to use that to return the love.

(Editor’s Note: Daehyun will be going to Japan in April for a joint fan meeting tour with fellow B.A.P member Jongup. You can click here for more information.)

WTK: You are primarily working on your own right now. Are you enjoying the challenge and freedom right now? Or do you find it difficult to do everything by yourself?

BH: Right now, it’s a process of building things up one by one. I plan to work as a single-person management company. I’m in the process of going through all of those procedures and setups. I can’t give this up or become too complacent and get lazy about it. Although the process is tough, I want to get to a certain point with it. I don’t know when that will happen, but I won’t stop or give up. It’ll be great if I had my fans’ support.

WTK: Everyone is so excited for your upcoming mini-album! Apart from the album, however, do you have plans for any additional activities like musical theater?

BH: I’m planning to show a lot of new and different things starting with this mini-album. However, musicals would be great as well if I get the opportunity. When the time comes, I hope a lot of the fans will come to see it!

WTK: Since you already have experience with acting through musicals, would you ever consider acting in a K-drama as well?

BH: I’m planning to get closer to the fans through music at the moment, but if I get an opportunity, I want to try acting too.

WTK: You have accomplished so much in your career as a singer. What’s the most memorable accomplishment to you?

BH: I did achieve a lot of things through my work and all, but I don’t get very attached to my past achievements. I get more motivated about the achievements to come in the future. One thing that never change though are the fans. No matter what the circumstances are, being with my fans is always so rewarding, precious, and dear to my heart.

WTK: Let’s talk about your upcoming album! What kind of songs will it include?

BH: All of the songs on the album have never been released before. It’s a way of declaring my brand new start as the solo artist Jung Daehyun. At the same time, I think I can show the fans a sound that’s more uniquely mine. Concerning other details, it’ll be great if you can check it out when the album comes out!

WTK: If you could collaborate with any artist, who would you choose?

BH: Since I just began as a solo artist, I want to show the people and my fans just my own music for a while.

WTK: Speaking of singers and music, what’s your favorite song these days?

BH: I listen to Luther Vandross a lot nowadays. He is a great artist. You can learn so much from him.

WTK: Do you have any new genres or concepts you would like to try as a soloist?

BH: When I’m somewhat satisfied with my music, I want to try jazz later on.

WTK: We’re really excited that you have a YouTube page now! What kind of videos and content do you plan on uploading?

BH: I plan to share a lot of things that I haven’t been able to share before— like my daily life and what goes on behind the stage. At the moment, I’m working on my videos. From now on, I plan to share a lot regularly through YouTube.

WTK: Your departure from TS Entertainment was very recent. Have you thought about taking a vacation and just enjoying some free time for now? Where would your dream vacation entail?

BH: I don’t think now is the best time for me to take a break. There are so many things I want to do and a lot of things I still need to improve on first. I plan to show a lot through music. My dream vacation would just be something like the sense of relief and relaxation that comes after a performance is finished.

WTK: Recently, a group of BABYz got together and wrote a song for B.A.P, even making a music video. Did you see it already? (Readers can click here to watch it.) If so, do you have a message for the fans involved in the project?

BH: I saw it on YouTube. I was so moved. It is because of the fans like this who show support and love that I don’t give up when things are tough and I’m able to stick to music. I want to tell them that I truly am immensely grateful. I want to say this more than anything— while I’m alive, I will sing for you guys. I truly love you guys.

WTK: Since so many fans sent in questions, we would like to ask you a series of quick, silly questions for fun. Try to keep your answers to one word if possible. The first one is— spring or autumn?

BH: Autumn.

WTK: Favorite book?

BH: I don’t have one.

WTK: Chinese food or Japanese food?

BH: Japanese.

WTK: If you could travel back in time, which person would you like to meet?

BH: Luther Vandross.

WTK: What is your biggest goal for 2019?

BH: I don’t have a set goal. I am just going to work hard and be consistent. I just want to meet fans more.

WTK: Do you still love cheesecake?

BH: No.

WTK: What makes you happiest these days?

BH: Singing.

WTK: Favorite place in Busan?

BH: Sajik-dong.

WTK: Thank you! That was a lot of questions (laughs). We held a game recently and the winner was able to submit a video question for you. We’ll show it to you, but our readers can click here to watch the video. The question was, “How do you deal with art block/being exhausted creatively?”

BH: (To the fan) I think that no matter what you do, there will be tough times and slumps. Often they will be repeated too. Even if you attempt to overcome it in your own way, it’s difficult to overcome it completely. The important thing is who is beside you at that very moment. When I was in a slump, sometimes it was because of people. But when I got over slumps, it was also because of people. I couldn’t overcome it completely on my own no matter how much I tried. The people who are by your side in a challenging moment are really important.

WTK: It’s been seven years since you debuted and many things have changed. Where do you think you will be in the next seven years?

BH: For sure, I will be doing music.

WTK: Whether about life or music, what is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

BH: Experience was the best advice. I still need so much advice, but I know that it will come through life’s experiences.

WTK: I know all fans want you to know how much they love you and how special you are to them, as well as how they will always support you in all that you do. Do you have any last words to your fans?

BH: I want to say thank you to all the fans for all the support and love that were given in the past seven years. And I hope you guys love my music as a solo artist too. I think nothing has changed. I’m still Jung Daehyun, and I love singing. All I want is to be remembered for that. I am truly grateful, and I love you guys.

Thank you so much to Daehyun/Baby Hyun for participating in this interview with us! He is so kind and was happy to answer every single question we included. In addition, he is working hard with English to be able to communicate more with fans. Whether it’s through music, YouTube, acting, or more, we wish him the best of luck and will be rooting for the success of all his solo activities!

source: What The K-Pop

#b.a.p #daehyun #t:interview #190320 #what the kpop

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radical-rad1986 · 5 years

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ESS sign-ups

Mmm... maybe sideblogs don’t show up in tag searches?? Because my key chain post does?

So the Escaflowne Secret Santa (ESS) is a gift exchange that’s going into its fifth year. If you love Escaflowne you should join! We love new blood people. Please follow the @esca-ss blog for information and updates!

Thanks @drkstars-art for reminding me! Omg it is almost the end of October isn’t it? :/

Yes I’mma still use this sideblog for sign-ups bc it functions. Sign-ups end 11/16, partners will go out 11/20. Please post gifts by 1/11/2020. (Cannot type ‘2019′ for that ha.)

Sign-up form is here, send your info to icm.9302014 [@] gmail.com to sign up. FAQ is here, if you can’t find the answer holla at me.

Remember that I ignore time zones; if your time zone is right then you’re good!!

Anyone who loves Esca and wants to participate is welcome!!! Reblog and tag!!

-----

If the blog doesn’t work, here’s the FAQ/Information and the Sign-up form:

Don’t see your question here? Just contact Rad via any method (email: icm.9302014 [@] gmail.com). [Heeeey, that’s a different email…. Yeah I don’t mind that the internet can see it. Responses will come from my primary email.]

What is the ESS?

The Escaflowne Secret Santa (ESS for short) is a fan-created holiday gift exchange to promote friendship between those who enjoy Escaflowne and to create new works for the fandom.

Who runs the ESS?

radicalrad-1986, call her Rad, hosts the ESS exchange. So far we’ve got four! wonderful years under the belt!

Do you need help organizing/running the ESS or working the Tumblr site?

At this time, no. If help is needed there’s already a list going. If there arises a situation in the future where Rad needs help she’ll ask. Thank you!

Who can join/participate?

Anyone and everyone who loves Escaflowne! You don’t need to be a part of the location we hang at or our little usual group on Tumblr. If you love Esca then come have fun, meet new people, make stuff for the fandom! It does not matter how old you are* or how old a fan you are; come join! (* = Please be 18+/local age of consent to participate in the NSFW exchange.)

How does this work?

1) Sign up by filling out this form and emailing it to icm.9302014 [@] gmail.com.

2) Receive your recipient’s name. 3) Create! (Keep it a secret!) 4) Check in at the requested times. 5) Post! 6) Have fun!! – Each year there will be someone helping Rad give out a set of names - including hers! Please check in with Rad, not the secondary person. Generic questions about the ESS should be directed at Rad. If you receive Rad’s name and have a question about her gift please contact the secondary person OR if you directly ask Rad be sure you’re anonymous.

When are the sign-up dates / posting dates?

These dates will change as the years go by so they’re not set in stone. If Rad is on top of things (haha) sign-ups will begin early October and posting week is mid/late December or early January. For the posting week you have the entire week, you’re not late if you post on Wednesday or Saturday instead of Sunday! :)

What can I do as a gift for my recipient? What quality does it have to be? How much time should I spend on it?

Whatever you want! If you’re a writer, write! If you’re an artist, draw! If you like making animated images, animate away! Music videos, fan soundtracks, manips, whatever your talent is. Please make something for your recipient to enjoy; if they don’t like Dornkirk don’t draw or write something elaborate based on him. Quality and time spent are hard to quantify. No one expects you to spend years on it or break yourself over it. “Please spend more than five minutes and don’t gift a rush job,” goes without saying. Surely no one will give a rushed gift but so it’s been said. Don’t compare yourself to another gifter and feel bad; know that your gift will be loved by the recipient and the fandom for the care and time you put into it.

Can I gift something NSFW or state that I’m fine with receiving it?

Yes! There is a secondary swap for those who are alright with NSFW. If you’re not into NSFW no worries! Must I gift something NSFW if I’m in that group? No; if your inspiration does not lead down that road that’s alright. It’s a way for people who are comfortable in the area to give/receive NSFW while those who are uncomfortable don’t have to worry.

Can I do BOTH swaps if there are two swaps?

Sure! The point is to have fun, so why not double it?

How/where should I post my gift?

Wherever you want; Rad is primarily linking to things on AO3 due to Tumblr’s 12/2018 stupidity.

– NSFW entries that are SFW: Please comment in the post that they are SFW as Rad will tag them that way for the filtering/block systems.

– NSFW entries that are NSFW MUST be under a cut!

– Tagging: Please @-tag this blog, esca-ss. In the tags section please tag it “ESS(space)[year]”. For example, “ESS 2017.” For the NSFW please tag it “NSFW(space)ESS(space)[year]”. Example, “NSFW ESS 2017”. Rad uses the Tumblr Search function to make sure she doesn’t miss postings. If this blog, esca-ss, doesn’t reglog your post within 48 hours please contact either this blog or RadicalRad1986 and nudge me.

Where do I sign up?? How much information should I provide? May I ask for an extra personalized gift?

Please email your form toicm.9302014 [@] gmail.com.

You can provide as much information as you want! Don’t write a book but don’t submit a single sentence either. :) — An ‘extra personalized gift’ means you’d like something based on fic you’ve written or art you’ve drawn or if you really like someone’s headcanon and you want your gift based on that. A generic request is alright but not specific (example of specific: fic A, chapter 2, lines 12-54). You must also include at least three generic likes as well. [If its longfic you can point to a chapter or two because yeah we may not have time to read 500,000 words.] Etc; it is not limited to fic, art, or headcanon. —— Example: “So I’d really like art based on this fic (URL link) that I/someone else wrote.” Or “I’d love to see a story based on this art (URL link) that I/someone else drew.” Or “Xyz posted this headcanon and I’d love to see this explored.“ As well as “I enjoy the VH dynamic, Folken intrigues me, and what the heck was Dryden doing for his five years abroad I mean how did he build his merchant empire-ish thing?” — URLs MUST be included, not just links. Links disappear as things are copied/pasted.

Can/should I message my recipient before the posting date? Can I post a teaser of some sort?

If you want, certainly! Remember though, it’s a secret! Don’t let your recipient know who you are or exactly what you’re making! If you’re having fun that’s the goal! (Example: Message your recipient as anonymous or Submit/send Rad or the ESS a teaser and she’ll post it, that way the original creator is temporarily disconnected from the teaser.)

What if I can’t post my gift on time or I have to duck out due to real life?

This is alright and totally understandable. There is a week’s time in which you can post your gift so don’t feel rushed. No one will look down on you because life happened. You have to take care of yourself first. Being a little late is obviously undesirable but understandable. If you’re going to be late or sadly must duck out please let Rad know asap. There are back-up gifters in place for this reason.

Deadlines and time zones

I try very hard to ignore timezone s. I live in Michigan, USA, so when I say a date/deadline I’m referring to my time zone of Eastern Standard. However, I try to allow twenty-four hours to go by before no longer accepting sign-ups or calling deadlines. If it’s the stated date in your timezone, you’re on time. :)

You sure link to your personal blog a lot… Just sayin’.

While I have notifications turned on for the ESS blog, Tumblr conspires against me and I don’t get the notifications. Notifications usually DO work for my personal blog. Therefore you’re more likely to get a faster response if you contact my personal blog. (Blame Tumblr.)

The form must be emailed to icm.9302014 [@] gmail.com. This form is to indicate what you want to receive as a gift; NOT what you don’t want to gift to someone else.

1) Screenname: 2) Places on the internet with URLs**: 3) Likes: – Esca universe: – Genre/topics/etc: 4) Dislikes: – Esca universe: – Genre/topics/etc: 5) SFW, NSFW, or both? 6) Does #3 and/or #4 change in SFW vs NSFW exchange? Is something alright with you in one exchange but not alright with you in the other? 7) If needed, are you available as a back-up gifter?

**: Please copy/paste or type out the URL on the form. For example: (radicalrad-1986.tumblr.com). When Rad receives sign-ups and their information she copies and pastes them into a Word/GDrive document. Text links usually don’t/sometimes carry over and thus your locations are lost! (This is an example of a text link.)

——

EXAMPLE:

1) Screenname: Rad (variations apply) 2) Places on the internet with URLs: http://www.radical-rad1986.tumblr.com https://archiveofourown.org/users/rad http://www.deviantart.com/rad1986 http://www.deviantart.com/rad-destiny-arcs http://www.fanfiction.net/~rad

3) Likes: – Esca universe: If you know me at all you know that the Series is my only focus and Eries and the Astons and Dryden are my peeps. I’d LOVE to see more Marlene/Mahad! Love the girls x their men too. ^.^ I do love the Movie and if you want to do my gift in another universe, any universe, that’s totally fine. The usual/standard is also enjoyed but it’s nice to have a larger variety. I’d love to see more of minor characters or pairings. I can be tempted with rairpares if they’re not terribly OOC. :D I would super enjoy fanart of anything I’ve written too, iffn you feel like it. Fanart of anything I’ve written would be wonderful! (My Aston girls fic is in the reworks but the gist is the same.) – Genre/topic/etc: I don’t follow really in-depth things well (like murder/mystery or politics) but pretty much anything. While clearly there won’t be any long-haul in a Christmas gift I am all for the in-depth, long journey instead of the immediate dessert. 4) Dislikes: – Esca universe: Not a fan of Dornkirk. That’s pretty much it! – Genre/topics/etc: Whump, infidelity, gore/extreme violence, unnecessary/extreme ragging on a character/topic. 5) SFW, NSFW, or both? SFW 6) Does #4 and/or #5 change in SFW vs NSFW exchange? Is something alright with you in one exchange but not alright with you in the other? I’m not a fan of Dornkirk but in a NSFW gift his thought process could be explored and while I dislike detailed violence, test subjects could be shown with minor details. 7) If needed, are you available as a back-up gifter? Yup!

#Escaflowne #The Vision of Escaflowne #Tenkuu no Escaflowne #Tumblr I hate you

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allthewayforbgs · 5 years

Text

Awkward Silence

Word Count: 4,000

Angst/Fluff

Summary: So maybe you’re in love with your best friend. And maybe telling him you hate his girlfriend isn’t the best time to tell him how you feel.

Spearmint. Chris Bang always smelled like spearmint, clean and refreshing. It was a scent that you had become unable to disassociate from your best friend. Hours spent in his room while he wrote and you did your homework, the lingering scent of it on your clothes after a too long, too tight but somehow not tight enough bear hug. It was a comforting scent, his arm over your shoulder as he listened to you rant on his front steps, as he gave you his shoulder to cry on after an awful breakup, a college or internship rejection letter, homesickness. Spearmint was Chris Bang and Chris Bang was home.

Of course, you would never tell him any of this. You liked to believe that he knew how much you cared about him and that just being together, being around each other in the way that the two of you always were would show him how important he was. But you also believed that saying it would carry too much weight.

Your mutual friend, Woojin, had caught onto it before you had. The three of you had made a habit of meeting for coffee in the mornings before work or class or Chris’ long studio hours with the rest of 3RACHA. Chris had gone off to order you all’s drinks—he was in a good mood because their newest mixtape had gotten the most streams out of any of their other project—and you hadn’t noticed that you were watching him. Or rather, you hadn’t noticed how obvious it was.

Woojin chuckled slightly and waved a hand in front of your face to pull your attention away from Chris. “So,” he said, a knowing grin on his face, “how long have you been in love with him?”

Your breath caught in your throat and your eyes widened at the sudden question. Love? You? Chris? That was ridiculous. How could you ever love someone as loud and goofy as Chris, especially when you two had basically grown up together. There was no way. You tried to explain that to Woojin, but you were flustered and could barely put together a complete sentence. When Chris came back with your favorite drink and a few pastries, Woojin’s question was still lingering in your head.

Love? You? Chris? How long had it been?

After much pondering on your end—and a few distressed calls to your friend Minho—you decided that it would be best not to tell Chris. You had been friends for years and telling him would only ruin that. You decided that you would rather get over—you could get over it, right?—instead of possibly making your relationship with him awkward. You decided. Until you met Ava.

Chris had invited you to the studio to watch 3RACHA record a new song, partially because you were his best friend and he liked your feedback, but mostly because he liked watching how nervous Jisung got whenever you came around. Changbin was playing a new beat for you and Jisung was trying to find something to do that wasn’t staring at you or nervous rambling. Chris had been looking over the lyrics when his phone chimed. Checking the text, a large smile spread across his face.

“I’ll be right back, guys.”

You watched as he practically bounced out of the studio and laughed once the door was closed. “He has friends that aren’t us?” You asked jokingly.

“Oh, I’d say Ava is a little more than a friend,” Changbin smirked. You started to ask what he was talking about when Chris returned, arm slung around the waist of girl you hadn’t seen before. She was average height with long, black hair, brown eyes and a body most girls would kill for. When the two of them entered, they were laughing, some joke the rest of you weren’t in on.

“(Y/N),” Chris said, still laughing, “This is Ava, my new girlfriend.”

If you had doubted it before then, at that moment you knew you definitely had feelings for Chris because those words felt like bricks. They came at you in slow motion, but the impact was still rough, heavy and uncomfortable. He hadn’t mentioned anything about seeing someone, certainly no one that he liked enough to make his girlfriend. He was supposed to tell you everything; he always told you everything. You were taking too long to say something, and you were sure that the expression on your face wasn’t the one Chris had been expecting. Changbin nudged you lightly.

“Uh, wow. It’s really nice to meet you.”

“A girlfriend, Minho! He has a girlfriend!”

You were pacing around your room, kind of cleaning but mostly just moving things from one pile of mess to another. You couldn’t focus. Your laptop sat on your desk, video chat open with Minho who watched you, slightly amused and slightly concerned as you moved around your room.

“So you’ve said at least three different times,” he said. “I’m sorry, I thought we had agreed that you were just going to leave it alone. Why do you care that he has a girlfriend?”

You stopped, hanging up the jacket you were holding before plopping down in your desk chair. “This is and isn’t about me having a crush on him.”

“I wouldn’t call being in love with someone a crush, but please continue.”

“ANYWAY,” you said, rolling your eyes, it’s not just about that. It’s the fact that he never once mentioned this girl. Like, okay, am I upset that he’s with someone else? Maybe.”

Minho muttered a “definitely” under his breath, but you ignored him.

“But I’m more upset that he didn’t tell me about her when we’re supposed to be best friends. I mean, he’s never kept any of his old relationships from me, so why couldn’t he tell me about little miss Gangnam?”

“Are you mad they’re dating or are you mad that she lives in Gangnam?”

“BOTH.” You sighed. “I’m just scared that we’ll end up drifting apart whether I tell him about my feelings or not…”

Over the next couple weeks, this became less of a fear and more of a reality. Chris had started skipping your morning meetups to spend time with Ava before she had to go to class and, when he did show up, he had either brought her in tow or the conversation seemed to center around how amazing she was or their latest date. And you wanted to be happy for him, you were trying your best, honestly. But you couldn’t say you didn’t miss how things had been before.

It was Changbin and Jisung who invented you to their showcase. Chris had somehow forgot to mention it. The other boys attributed it to nerves and how busy he was getting everything together. It was nothing big since they were still starting out, a gig at a local bar, but they were all excited because it was theirs. They were headlining their first show and, even if it was a hole in the wall venue, nothing could take that excitement away from them.

You and Woojin showed up early, Woojin helping with tech and you giving your best pep talks. Jisung blushed furiously when you told him you were proud of him and ruffled his hair. Combing his hair back into place with his fingers, Jisung muttered, “Cut it out” through his smile. Chris sat on the edge of the stage, running lyrics. You could tell from his posture that he was nervous and was probably scolding himself for a slip of the tongue or skipped syllable. You hadn’t seen him like this since the high school talent show. You wanted to go over to him, give him a hug and tell him to breathe, that no matter what happened tonight he was still one of the best artists out right now and, if he didn’t believe you, soundcloud and twitter could gladly confirm. But just as you were getting ready to head over there, Ava came bounding through the door, throwing herself into his arms. Sighing, you turned back to Jisung and Changbin and told them you were going to the bathroom before the show started.

As you were heading back to the stage, you could hear laughing coming from the hallway. Ava was leaning against the wall, on her phone. “No, of course not, have you seen the kid? He’s cute, but definitely not my type.”

You froze.

“He’s getting all sorts of press because of his music, but that’s basically the only attractive thing about him. For the few weeks that we’ve been hanging out, I’ve already gained like a thousand Instagram followers. His brand goes up and so does mine.”

The realization that she was talking about Chris left you with a strange taste in your mouth. On the one hand, you were glad your intuition about her being awful hadn’t just been fueled by jealousy. On the other, all you could think about was how crushed Chris would be when he found out. Regardless of how you felt about either one of them, he genuinely had feelings for this girl. And she didn’t give a shit about him.

Being CB97 was the only good thing about him? What about his stuttered laugh when he’s embarrassed or the dimple that always forms in his lopsided smile? What about how caring he is and how he’ll do anything to make other people happy, even if it means embarrassing himself? What about his eyes and his hugs that are always too tight but never tight enough? What about him?

You were angry, but you couldn’t tell him this now, not when he was going on stage soon and this was his night. You would deal with this later. Storming past her, you could see the look of panic on Ava’s face. She knew that you had heard her. Quickly, she told whoever was on the line that she had to go and followed you.

“(Y/N), hey, wait.”

You turned on your heel, glaring at her. “What?”

She smiled but it was fake and overly sweet. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have the wrong idea about me.” Ava started to say something else, reaching out to hold your hand but you swatted her away.

“Thanks, but I think I’m a pretty good judge of character.”

Taking a couple deep breaths, you tried to push it from your mind. Right now, your friends needed you to be there for them.

Doors for the show opened at 6 and it was packed almost instantly, the bar filled with the low hum of people talking all at once. You managed to find Woojin and Minho at a table not far from the stage, two baskets of fries and a couple drinks spread out in front of them. You took a seat between the two of them.

“What’s wrong?” Minho asked almost as soon as you sat down. Aside from Chris, he was probably the person who knew you best in the whole world so, even though you looked completely fine to Woojin, Minho knew better. You smiled and told him not to worry about it.

“I’ll explain later. Right now..” You caught sight of Chris who was still very obviously nervous. He had turned his attention to nitpicking at the other boys clothes and microphones. “Right now, we just need to be here for them.”

Once the first few notes of Don Quixote started, the low hum erupted into cheers. You watched intently as 3RACHA performed. You had seen them in the studio several times, and you knew probably better than anyone how passionate these boys were about their music. But this was something completely different. These boys on stage were like different people: powerful, charming, flirty. They were leaving everything they had on the stage. The showcase ended with lots of thanks to the audience for attending and then a new song, the applause afterwards practically deafening. Even if no one else could see it, you knew that look on Chris’ face. That was the look of someone who’s dreams were coming true.

“I think I’m going to tell Ava that I love her.”

You had been unloading your dishwasher when he said it. It was absentminded, an offhand comment he made while scribbling in his notebook. You were caught off guard and ended up dropping the plate you were holding, the glass crashing against the floor, your hands still poised in the air as if you were still holding it.

“(Y/N), are you okay?” Chris jumped up and moved you away from the mess, sitting you down at your kitchen table before grabbing the broom. “You really have to be more careful. What if you had gotten hurt, huh?”

You watched as he cleaned up your mess and then closed the dishwasher. He sat down across from you, worry in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

Without blinking, you muttered, “You need to break up with Ava.”

Chris’ blinked a few times, confused, before asking, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, you need to break up with Ava.” There was more conviction in your voice the second time you said it.

“And, why would I do that? I really like her, (Y/N).” Chris was speaking slowly, trying to get you to understand. “I think I do lo-“

“Don’t say it again.”

“I don’t understand. Why would I break up with someone who makes me happy?”

You bit your bottom lip, trying to put together your words. You needed to tell him the truth without sounding terrible. You needed him to understand that you were only trying to help him.

“She doesn’t care about the way you think she does…”

Chris laughed. “Come on. There’s no way that’s true. I mean, if she didn’t care about me, why would we have been spending all this time together? Why would she have asked me out?”

“Chris, she doesn’t care about you. She cares about CB97.”

“(Y/N)…”

“Ava isn’t who you think she is. She’s using CB97 for clout and I just don’t want you to get hurt because-“

Chris interrupted you, standing up from the table and grabbing his notebook. “The only person hurting me right now is you.”

“Wait, what?”

“Look, I get it. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Ava. Woojin told me you were upset that I was missing our morning coffee. I miss hanging out with you, too.” No. That look in his eyes. Was he disappointed in you? You couldn’t believe this. “But making up lies about my girlfriend just because you’re jealous? I never thought you would do something like that.”

You gasped in disbelief. “Did you just…Did you just call me a liar?” When he didn’t answer, you couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re joking, right? Chris we’ve been friends for like half our lives and I have never lied to you. Why the fuck would I start now? We’re supposed to be best friends.”

“Exactly.” He said. “We’re supposed to be best friends. So why can’t you just be happy for me that I found someone I want to be with?”

“Because she doesn’t want to be with you!” You were yelling. It wasn’t on purpose. You hated raising your voice. But you were angry and frustrated. Angry that this girl who didn’t give a shit about him was using him and coming between the two of you. Frustrated that he wasn’t able to see it. “At the showcase, she was bragging on the phone about how many followers she had gotten, how much her ‘brand’ had increased all because she knew you. Ava doesn’t care about you, Chris. I need you to listen to me.”

“You’re lying.” Chris said adamantly. “She didn’t even know I was CB97 when we met. There’s no way that’s true. Why are you so bent on getting me to break up with her?”

Twice. He had called you a liar twice. Why were you even having this argument? Why was it your job to tell him that his girlfriend was a piece of shit? Why were you so bent on getting him to break up with her? A small voice in your head said, “Because we’re best friends.” A louder voice, definitely not in your head, said “Because I love you.”

Chris froze and so did you. You had decided that you weren’t going to tell him. You were set on not telling him. And even if you had wanted to, you didn’t want it to be like this.

“Chris, I…”

He spoke over you, probably afraid that you were going to say it again. “I need to go.” And just like that, he was out of your apartment. You slid down in your chair, face in your hands. This wasn’t even close to how you had seen your day going.

Fighting with Chris was the worst feeling because, when you were upset, he was the first person you would always turn to. How could you do that when he was the reason you were upset? So, instead, you turned to Minho who asked no questions when you asked him to come over asap. A pizza, pint of ice cream and a few Disney movies later, you had told him the whole story and gotten everything out of your system. He listened and, despite a few wise cracks here and there, Minho didn’t judge you.

Once you were done, he said, “You need to talk to him. And before you say, ‘but Minho there’s no way I could’ or whatever else you’re gonna say, there isn’t an option.”

You sank down into the couch, a bag of your favorite chips in your lap. “I don’t even know what I would say to him. ‘Sorry I randomly confessed my love for you, but your girlfriend is still a piece of shit’?”

“Well, maybe not exactly like that, but basically.”

You groaned, falling over into Minho’s lap. “This is just so dumb. I can’t believe he made me out to be the bad guy because I was trying to protect him…”

“Can you blame him? I mean, if someone told you that me or Chris or Woojin were only pretending to be your friend, would you believe them right away?”

“…No…”

“Exactly.” He smiled down at you. “Sometimes it’s hard to listen to the truth when its something you don’t want to hear. But you need to talk to him. Sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah…But for now, I wanna watch Moana again.”

Despite Minho’s advice, it was another week before you saw Chris again. The other boys had caught onto the fact that the two of you weren’t speaking. Not in a “we’re both busy and just haven’t had time” way, but that the two of you legitimately weren’t speaking. Woojin noticed when you didn’t show up for coffee three days in a row. Jisung and Changbin noticed from the way Chris tensed up in the studio at the mention of your name. Even if they didn’t know what was going on, they knew they needed to intervene.

Jisung texted you asking you to meet him for lunch. You were hesitant but agreed to go since he hadn’t mentioned anyone else going. Of course, you should’ve known better. When you got to the restaurant, all of them were sitting together, Chris freezing midsentence when Changbin called you over. You were tempted to just leave but, between Woojin, Changbin and Jisung, you knew they would probably drag you back. The boys shuffled seats so that you were forced to sit directly across from Chris, but you looked at everyone but him.

“Jisung, I thought you said it was just going to be us.”

“Sorry…We just…We’re all worried about you two. So, we’re going to go over there,” Jisung pointed at a table not that far away from the one you all were currently sitting at. “And you two are going to talk this out.”

“And don’t even think about leaving until you do,” Woojin added. The three of them moved tables, Changbin letting you know that they were watching in case either of you tried to run. Sighing, you forced yourself to look at Chris.

“Ava and I broke up.” You weren’t sure what to say to that, but Chris didn’t give you a chance to say anything. “That same day, actually…not long after I left your place.”

His voice was ow and he sounded sad. Softly, you asked, “How come you didn’t say anything?”

Chris stared at you for a moment and, for some reason, you felt naked. Maybe because he had never looked at you like this or maybe because he never did acknowledge your confession. Even if you had gotten rejected, at least you would’ve known where to go from there.

“Do you have any idea how unfair you’re being?” he asked. Your eyes widened at the question.

“What? What do you mean?”

“(Y/N), we’ve known each other for like 7 years.”

“8, actually…” you interjected, and Chris couldn’t help but snicker a little.

“Fine. 8 years. And, in all that time, there was never any kind of clue that you thought of me as anything other than a friend.”

“In my defense, this was a fairly recent development…”

“You have no idea how unfair it is for me to have finally convinced myself that I was over my feelings for you.” Chris could see it on your face that you were going to interrupt him again, so he said, “Let me finish first. You have no idea how unfair it is for me to finally think ‘we can just be friends’ only for you to not only tell me that my girlfriend is using me but also that you’re in love with me.”

You had known that telling him that while he was in a relationship would put him in a tough spot and, you honestly hadn’t meant to say it. But it was too late now. He knew and now you both just had to deal with it.

“You were right about Ava…I’m sorry that I called you a liar and for very actively avoiding you this past week. But I had a lot I needed to think about.”

“I know…and I am sorry for just dumping that on you then. I was just frustrated and it slipped out. But we can just pretend I never said it.”

Being around Chris had always felt comforting but, right now, you had never felt so vulnerable.

“What if I don’t want to do that?” Chris asked.

“Then what?”

Chris sat up a bit in his seat and reached across the table to hold your hand. His skin was warm and soft against yours. “Then we can figure out what that means for us.” Us. The word felt weighted and a little scary, but the small grin on Chris’ face made you relax. “Although, I do have one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to hear you say it again.”

It took you a second to realize what ‘it’ was. When you made the connection, you felt your ears and cheeks heat up with embarrassment at the sudden realization that the rest of your friends were still watching the two of you.

“Come on, not in front of the kids,” you whined. Chris just laughed and gave your hand a squeeze.

“Nope, definitely in front of the kids. I want to hear you say it.”

You glanced over at the other table where the other boys were grinning and watching the two of you intently. Turning your attention back to Chris and let out a deep breath.

“I love you.

#bang chan scenarios #stray kids scenarios #chris bang #bang chan #stray kids #stray kids reactions

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hanalwayssolo · 5 years

Text

Somewhere Between The Music and Lyrics: Ch. 1

A/N: I’m terribly off my own schedule, as usual! So. This Prompto one-shot became a monster I did not expect so I’m splitting it into two chapters. Honestly, among the chocobros, Prompto’s the first one that came to mind when I wanted to do a band AU of sorts—because I’ve heard Robbie Daymond sing on one of their LAVA streams and it is glorious. Anyway! Song featured for this first half is Gavin DeGraw’s We Belong Together.

Tagging pals! @raspberryandechinacea @noboomoon@emmydots @bleucommelhiver @gowithme @hanatsuki89 @valkyrieofardyn @animakupo @lazarustrashpit @blindedstarlight @mp938368 @boo-dangy

Prompto had been busily sifting through The Lost Boys’ unanswered emails at the back of their tour bus when he hears his song.

Except, it’s not quite his song.

He recognizes the lyrics in an instant—and he of all people would know of course, since he had written those words as a cry for help for his hopelessly romantic soul. But the song that aches through the speakers holds none of Ignis’s electric riffs, the swell of Gladio’s drums, the steady hum of Noctis’s bass, let alone his own vocals. The one he hears is his music stripped to its rawest, the words made vulnerable by a melancholic leak of a lone acoustic guitar and an exquisitely soulful voice.

We belong together Like the open seas and shores Wedded by the planet force We’ve all been spoken for

Prompto scrambles to the front lounge to find Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis huddling by the booth over a laptop set on the table, their eyes glued to the screen in wild wonder.

Curiously, Prompto eyes them—still grinning wide in awe—and asks, “Are you guys hearing what I’m hearing now? Am I dreaming? What is happening?”

Noctis snorts a laugh. He swivels the laptop to face Prompto. “You might want to check this out, my friend.”

Prompto excitedly moves closer. Immediately, he sees the video accompanying the song entitled “we belong together (cover) by my amazingly talented roommate!!!” posted by username MasterPelnaK. He barely even notices how this video has been raking almost five hundred thousand views and likes in the last twenty-four hours as his attention zeroes in on the stranger sitting on a bean bag, equipped with nothing but the guitar and that voice.

What good is a life With no one to share The light of the moon The honour of a swear

Gods. The tone and vibrato is so on point it sends shivers down his spine. But then, Prompto begins to wonder why this person is not even looking directly at the camera. Were they even aware that they were being recorded? It seems all too candid given the angle, as if the camera had just been discreetly set up on a low-lying table. Not to mention the very personal space in the background, too: a well-lit room of white walls, a cozy looking sofa, an impressive shelf of books and vinyl records tucked between potted fiddle leaf figs. Somewhere out of sight, hushed whispers could still be heard. Was this only recorded from a mobile phone?

Anyway, not that any of these things mattered. Prompto has rarely come across other artists covering their songs, and when he does, each one he cherishes dearly. But this one—this one, for heaven’s sake—has moved him the way the winds bend the trees to its will, a tiny flint that sparks a flame. He didn’t realize that the words he had written could be afforded such lyrical heft, that the music he had created had been a delicate and honest confessional that could fit someone else’s voice so beautifully, like finding a piece of a puzzle he never knew he had been missing.

Where have you been all my life?

So Prompto watches it again. And then a couple times more. Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis gather to watch him curiously. Prompto briefly skims through the comments section and is thoroughly relieved to read overwhelmingly positive feedback. He didn’t even mind when he comes across a comment that says “this is even better than the original!” because fuck it, he shares the same sentiment.

And before Prompto could even scroll back up to replay the video, Gladio drags the laptop away from him.

Prompto sneers in protest. “Dude. Not cool at all—”

“What’s not cool is obsessing over a cover of your own fucking song,” Gladio says in jest.

“Hey, it’s a fucking cool cover, okay!” Prompto scoffs and flicks his eyes on the ceiling—almost rolls them, but not quite so. “And please, big guy. I’m not obsessing. I’m too chill to be obsessed, thank you very much.”

“I clearly remember you saying to the crowd earlier how you’re never the ‘chill’ person of sort, and my word. How quickly the tables have turned,” Ignis casually remarks as he takes a sip from his mug of coffee.

Prompto’s mouth falls open. He did say that onstage during their performance back at Leiden Fest. His immediate regret is letting Ignis triumphantly take it against him.

Meanwhile, Noctis lifts a suspicious eyebrow at Ignis. “Iggy, are you sure you’re not drinking tea? ‘Cause you just poured a scalding one right there.”

“I’m impressed—that’s a good one.” Gladio gives Noctis and Ignis a thundering high-five. They burst out in a gale of laughter.

“You guys are enjoying this, huh.” Prompto grabs a pillow and smashes it at Noctis, who only yelps in between fits of laughter. He hurls one at Gladio, too, but the big guy has reflexes of a jungle cat, so he only ends up catching the thing. Ignis, however, Prompto hesitates at the last second when he shoots him a menacing glance. “Okay, I’m not even going to bother attacking you, ‘cause I’m pretty sure you will kill me if you spill that coffee.”

Ignis gives him a smile and a nod, and returns to his drink.

“Also,” Noctis says, “now that I think about it, you’re giving off that same look and vibe the first time you were crushing on Cindy.”

“What? I do not—okay, okay—” Prompto groans, jabbing a finger at Noctis— “that is different. Cindy is our road manager, so I’m choosing not to cross the line. While this…” Prompto pauses and takes a deep breath. “This is also different. A very surreal and magical kind of different.”

“Now I’d say someone’s been bitten by a lovebug.” Ignis leans back on his seat, arms crossed, regarding Prompto with a pleasant smile.

Gladio laughs. “Tell me about it.”

“I can’t believe I’m friends with you guys,” Prompto says in a miserable groan.

But frankly, Prompto is far from miserable having Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis as friends. He considers himself quite fortunate to have found brothers in them, painfully annoying as they may be from time to time. Besides, it was through their music that helped them bond and weather the toughest of their adolescent years: they were no stranger to teenage angst, to riotous episodes of rebellion, to whirlwind romances and crazy ex-lovers, and to the turbulent journey that led them to be the band that they are today. Naming themselves The Lost Boys seemed to be a fitting tribute to the misadventures of their youth: Always lost and never found.

And yet, regardless of their highs and lows, the four of them have always had each other’s back. And that has not changed even now that they are in their thirties.

Perhaps Prompto is being overly sentimental at this point, but that’s just how it is.

Or maybe, he really has been bitten by a lovebug.

“In any case—“ Noctis firmly clasps Prompto’s shoulder— “this amazing cover of your song is breaking the Internet as we speak.”

“Well, yeah.” Prompto shrugs, though he cannot hide it in from his face how pleased he truly is. “Though I do wonder who this MasterPelnaK is.”

“Definitely not the person in the video, that’s for sure,” says Gladio.

“If I may?” Ignis reaches for the laptop from Gladio. “Let’s see here—“ the boys squeeze themselves into the seat so they could also get a look as Ignis hovers around the profile page— “this Pelna Khara happens to be a video game blogger—“

“It’s a vlogger, Iggy—get in with the times,” Prompto corrects cheerfully.

Ignis exhales an exasperated sigh. He returns his attention back on screen. “Apparently, this vlogger streams gameplays and commentaries—“

“Really?” Noctis interrupts out of a sudden rush of excitement. “Do you think he has one for Assassin's Creed—“

Prompto nudges Noctis by the arm. “Dude.”

“Right. Sorry,” Noctis says sheepishly. “Carry on.”

“Anyway.” Ignis is unfazed by the interruption as he goes on: “It appears that this is the first time this Pelna fellow uploaded this sort of material.”

“Oh and look, he’s very popular, too,” Noctis says. “Ten million subscribers? What the fuck—“

“Wouldn’t be surprised now that the video got so many hits overnight,” Gladio notes pensively. “And check it out—“ he points at the bio section— “he lives in the city. Says his hub is somewhere in Downtown Insomnia.”

As if struck by the same spectacular idea, Noctis and Gladio exchange knowing glances. Ignis, of course, is quick to catch on.

It takes a while for Prompto to understand what’s going on, and when he finally does, he shoots them all a dubious gaze. His friends are up to something, and the glint in their eyes could only spell mischief.

“Guys—” Prompto starts as calmly as he could, hands raised in an almost surrender— “whatever you guys are thinking, we don’t need to do this—”

“We don’t need to—but you do,” Gladio claps Prompto’s back. “We got ya, my guy.”

“And before you all intend to push through with this,” Ignis says, “would anyone be so kind as to ask Cindy if we can change our course and make a quick pitstop. And let Iris know, too, since… well. She’s our handler, after all.”

Gladio rises out of the booth. “On it,” he says as he makes his way to the driver’s seat.

“And allow me to send a message to this fella,” Noctis adds promptly, already typing away in front of the laptop.

Prompto sinks helplessly to the seat beside Noctis. “Why are we all friends again?” he says loudly, and the meaningful response he receives is the sound of their amused laughter.

“I want that video deleted right now.”

Pelna winces at the sharpness of your words. Crowe, on the other hand, looks like she is ready to give you everything the world has to offer. In the years you have spent sharing a flat with them, this must be the first time you have ever seen them this apologetic. Which is only fair because this is the first time they have done something quite outrageous to upset you. Yes, sure—Crowe and Pelna might think you’re overreacting right now, but you’re no video blogger or Internet celebrity like the both of them are, so that’s entirely beside the point. As they sit side by side cowering on the couch and you standing over them—hands on waist, jaws clenched, eyes seething in fury—it’s as if they have committed a crime against all of humanity that cannot be forgiven.

Except the casualty of the said crime is you, and only you.

“Look, you have every right to be mad at me for my negligence—” Pelna nervously raises a hand, trying to look at you dead in the eye but flinches as if you are burning bright like the sun— “but I fucking swear, it wasn’t me who uploaded the thing! Okay, I admit—I’ve been tempted to record you for some time now ‘cause in case you don’t know this yet, you’re a really good singer. But trust me on this! I really have no idea how that video got out, I promise!”

“And it’s certainly not me who recorded you!” Crowe adds in their defense. “My alibi may not be perfect but I was already drunk that time! And even if I’m sober, I wouldn’t dare barge in Pelna’s room and tinker with his toys. Gods know what I’d find in there—”

“Only the good stuff, my dude,” Pelna says, suddenly pleased with himself. “Nothing but the good stuff—”

“How about we focus on the issue at hand, yes?” You pace back and forth, and in dire resignation, you finally flop on the armchair next to the couch. Fucking hell. It’s too early in the morning to have a head-splitting migraine. You wish this had been from a hangover or some other sickness, but it’s insane how this is all caused by seeing a video of yourself on the fucking Internet with no recollection of recording it at all. Sleuthing to find out the events that unfolded the night of Pelna’s birthday only seemed to make throbbing in your head even worse. As far as you could remember, most of the folks had been severely battered—which was why you had the guts to pull out your guitar and sing the blues away as everyone dozed off in their drunken stupor. But in your tight-knit circle of friends, if there’s anyone who could impressively hold their liquor the same way they could hold a knife, it could only be...

“Wait a fucking second.” Crowe narrow her eyes at Pelna, and then at you. She fishes out the phone in her pocket and hurriedly dials a number. With her phone on loudspeaker, the line rings once, twice, thrice. And then, a voice.

“What’s up, Crowe—”

“Nyx.” Crowe’s tone is already accusing that you didn’t even bother butting in. “You’re the one who uploaded the video on Pelna’s channel, weren’t you?”

A suspicious pause. Then, Nyx laughs. “Maybe.”

Pelna grabs the phone from Crowe. “I swear I will kill you when I see you, man! How dare you dishonour me—” as a knee-jerk reaction to his response, you kick Pelna in the shin that he yelps when he says— “and how dare you dishonour our friend!”

On the other line, Nyx is still laughing. “Wait, on a scale of one to ten, how angry is —”

“Not the fucking point!” Pelna snaps back. “How did you even manage to get into my account, you piece of beautiful shit?”

“Well, maybe next time you should make sure you always logout, alright?”

“Well, fuck you.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.” Nyx says breezily. Even in a phone call, his voice never fails to carry his air of arrogance. “But hey, kidding aside. You all said that we should help each other in living to the best of our potential, right? And our friend right there with you, Pelna—yes, you, I know you’re listening, too—do you even realize how fucking talented you are? You have been serenading us all our life, and this is the least I could do to share how proud I am to have a gifted friend like you. I’m sorry if it’s a jackass move, but I know if I asked for your permission, that thing would never see the light of day.”

The four of you bask in a sudden uneasy silence. You should not have been touched by Nyx’s words, but here you are, almost moved into tears. Despite his occasional display of pride and vanity, Nyx is one of the kindest human beings you have ever had the pleasure to meet. He may not seem like it, but he’s the very definition of a jerk with a heart of gold. You just hope he could completely forego being the jerk and stick with his golden heart instead.

This time, you take the phone from Pelna and say, “Treat the three of us for dinner for the next two weeks, and I’ll decide if I should forgive you.”

“Consider it done. I’m a man of my word,” Nyx says, and the sound of his relief is evident in his voice. “Now... am I out of trouble?”

“Certainly not, you dickhead. Later.”

You drop from the call and hand the phone back to Crowe. The two of them gape at you as if you have finally turned out to be the monster they have always known you to be.

“Wow. You really did that,” Crowe says, looking very impressed. “You actually shut Nyx up and made him agree to pay for two weeks worth of dinner. Aren’t you a delight.”

You manage a small smile. Pelna heaves one loud sigh of relief. “Now that we’ve finally cleared things up, are you sure you want me to take the video down? You’re really getting a lot of hype from my channel, I mean we’re close to half a million views! And—“

The shrieking sound of the doorbell cuts your conversation in an abrupt halt.

“Wait, I’ll get that,” Crowe gets up and rushes toward the door.

“So? Whaddaya say?” Pelna urges fervently. He is still invested on persuading you, and you can see it in his kind eyes. “It’s one video, I know… but you gotta believe us, you really are a fucking talent—”

“Pel, it’s not that. It’s...” You get on your feet, circling around the coffee table, as if it would help you articulate all the reasons behind your sense of trepidation. Honestly, you appreciate having Pelna and Crowe as friends for their selfless outpour of love and support for your craft. But how can you explain to them that sometimes, your own music terrifies you? Is there any logical explanation behind being scared of your own voice? So here you are, standing in front of Pelna, falling extremely inadequate to gather the words out of your mouth. Instead, you say, “I’m… just worried. What if The Lost Boys had seen it? And what if they’d hate me for it?”

Pelna offers you a weird, strained look. “Well, about that—”

“I don’t think there should be anything to worry about. We love it!”

The bell-like bounce of the voice that spoke clearly does not belong to Pelna nor Crowe, nor does it fit in the ordinariness of the space of your shared apartment.

You turn—hesitantly, too carefully—to see three of The Lost Boys standing by the doorway with Crowe. And standing in front of you is their frontman, Prompto, smilingly extending his hand to reach yours.

This horribly sunny day is getting stranger and stranger, and it’s not even noon yet.

Pleasantries have been made—and a little bit of internally slapping yourself in the face to make sure this is all happening—and now, it has all come to this. Leaning from the bar counter, you watch as the four infuriatingly beautiful men of The Lost Boys struggle to squeeze themselves in the poor thing you all call a sofa. Across from them is Crowe, sitting cross-legged on the coffee table, analyzing each of them from head to toe with the sole purpose of intimidating the shit out them. Which is no surprise, of course; Crowe rarely gets star-struck in the presence of famous people, and even if she does, she hides it effortlessly well. Meanwhile, Pelna is playing a staring game with the band’s drummer—and frighteningly the tallest and largest in the group—that you cannot help but wonder if Pelna has some sort of a death wish that he needs to get fulfilled right this instant.

“So, let me get this straight—” Crowe says, crossing her arms— “and I hope you don’t mind if we’re being cautious ‘cause, well, we don’t want our roommate to get dragged into something sketchy, but… you came all the way down here to this shabby neighbourhood after you saw the cover of your song, and now you want to collaborate on a song? Is that it?”

Prompto is the one who willingly answers with a vigorous nod. He seems unfazed with Crowe’s intention of scaring them off. He glances your way before he says, “And there’s no need to worry about the contract and all that legal stuff, ‘cause we’ll have that arranged. Right, Ignis?”

“Indeed,” says Ignis. “I know this arrangement seems completely out of sorts, seeing as we came here on such a short notice, but I can assure you that we offer nothing but the best of intentions.”

“Really?” you say as you move from behind the counter to sit together with Crowe. “But you’re all men. And you know what’s more dangerous than men? Celebrity men.” No one said a word. A moment’s silence lingers as you study each of their faces, and then: “So how do I make sure that I could trust you with… this? That this isn’t some publicity stunt you’re trying to pull—”

“It’s not like that at all,” Prompto says firmly. “And if you have any doubts with your safety, well, I’m sorry if our friend Gladio looks so menacing for our image—”

“Seriously?” Gladio scoffs, turning to Prompto. “You really hurt my feelings.”

You try to stifle your laughter. Somehow, now that you look closely at the four of them, they remind you of Nyx, Libertus, and Pelna.

And suddenly, you feel bad for putting them in a hot seat like this.

As The Lost Boys begin to discuss amongst themselves with what you assume to be a stream of their inside jokes, Pelna sidles up to you while Crowe loops her arm around yours. Whispering, she says, “I think you should do it.”

Pelna discreetly adds, “And if they ever get you into trouble, Nyx is a lawyer so he should have your back. I already texted him and he’s ready to keep an eye out for you.”

You let out a rueful sigh. You have to admit, it’s hard to stay mad at Crowe and Pelna and Nyx when this is the way they exhibit their unwavering friendship: with a flourish of genuine love and steadfast support.

Empowered by your friends’ confidence, you clear your throat and you turn your attention to the four men sitting in front of you. You fix your eyes at Prompto, and you ask, “So. When do we start this thing?”

#final fantasy xv #ffxv #ffxv fanfiction #fanfic #prompto argentum #older!prompto argentum #prompto x reader #older!prompto x reader #my writing

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shireness-says · 6 years

Text

Playing the Part

Prologue: Overture

Summary: As a stage manager who's clawed her way up from bottom, Emma Swan can handle just about anything thrown her way. But does that include handsome lead actor Killian Jones? A CS Broadway AU. Rated T for language. Also on AO3.

A/N: It’s finally here - the Broadway AU I’ve been threatening to write for ages! I’m excited to finally post this, and I hope you’re excited to read it. I’ve got a bunch of these saved up - 7 completed chapters and significant chunks of 4 more - so I should be able to post these every Monday.

I had a lot of help getting this to its final state, so special thanks to @katie-dub for coming up with the title, @kmomof4 for proofing my outline, and @snidgetsafan for her ever-exceptional beta skills. Y’all are the best.

Each chapter title will be pulled from musical songs. The overture is traditionally the music that plays after the lights dim but before the show starts, and oftentimes sets the stage for the show to come by combining snippets of the musical numbers to come.

Overarching disclaimer: my theater experience is purely on the community theater level and only on the techie side, not the acting side. I strive for accuracy, but pull on my own experience and as such may not achieve it.

Tagging those who have expressed interest or I think will like this: @winterbaby89, @thejollyroger-writer, @mythologicalmango, @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713, @revanmeetra87, @onceuponaprincessworld, @courtorderedcake, @snowbellewells, @branlovesouat, @aerica13, @searchingwardrobes, @teamhook, @awkwardnessandbaseball. Send me a message if you want me to keep tagging you or to be added to this list!

Without further ado: enjoy!

Emma Swan falls into working theater crew somewhat on accident.

That’s the story of her life, really – unexpectedly pregnant at 18, moved to New York on a whim (the reasoning being roughly “if not now, when?”), ended up with a job at Granny’s Diner because it happened to be next to what must be the only free parking in the city, and with a roommate because the owner’s granddaughter just happened to be looking for an apartment and a roommate at that very time.

In the same vein, while it was less of an accident that she became friends with Mary Margaret Blanchard (NYU theater major and friend of Ruby’s who liked to study at the diner), it was entirely by chance that Mary Margaret got her working crew. The truth of the matter is that Emma had a 4-month-old and very little cash, and the NYU theater department needed someone to do some scenery painting. While she may not have been the most artistic of people, Emma was pretty sure that she could handle putting paint on the wall. She could come in whenever she wasn’t working at Granny’s, and best of all, she could bring Henry with her in his carrier. It’s a perfect convergence of circumstances. The powers that be must have been pleased, because come show week, they’d asked her to stay and help move sets. And after that, well… things just spiraled from there.

The funny thing is that Emma had never considered herself a theater fan. When she had started working NYU shows, it had just been a job, not some great passion. Granted, she had only seen a terrible high school production of Fiddler on the Roof and a nearly worse community theater production of Ragtime – and both only because they were free and through her school at the time. There just wasn’t really a chance to see any quality theater as a foster kid. Ruby, when she found that out, naturally decided to fix the situation immediately by taking Emma and Mary Margaret to see Chicago for her own birthday. And as soon as Emma heard “All That Jazz”… she was gone. There was no going back.

Emma somehow found herself an unofficial member of the NYU theater family, especially when visiting lecturers and special events used the auditorium – events that still needed staffing but that the theater majors were reluctant to assist with. From there, she followed Mary Margaret and Ruby (their own aspiring costume designer) through their own smaller roles and shows. Ruby took extra classes in hair and makeup at a local cosmetology school, hoping to expand her portfolio of talents. Mary Margaret kept adding to her resume any way she could, working on any show that would cast her. And Emma somehow continued working her way up the ranks, recommended by word of mouth, towing a toddler (and later a child) along with her. Somehow, all those fortunate accidents brought her here, to this moment – an adult with her own place, a great kid, a support system of friends she views as family, and an ever-rising positive reputation in a decently paid profession. For someone who thought, ten years ago, that her life would be a series of dead end jobs and tiny apartments shared with roommates she’d despise, every day is like she’s living a dream.

This feels like the pinnacle of her achievements, however. She’s certainly worked as a stage manager before – in fact, it’s become her own niche, calling the shots. Her unconventional education has resulted in a working knowledge of nearly all the aspects of technical theater, which has proved incredibly helpful in dealing with her various colleagues. It’s like speaking another language - people are more willing to fill her in on the more complicated terminology when she shows she knows the basics. But this… this is a whole different thing. This isn’t one of her Off-Broadway shows, or one of her limited runs, but a major production. It wasn’t supposed to be – when she signed on as stage manager, set to work with a young director she came up with at NYU, it was still Off-Broadway, an adaptation of Pride & Prejudice they already knew would either be a huge hit or sink into obscurity. But then, some investor who loved the original work caught wind of Merlin’s vision, and suddenly, they had a significantly higher budget, a theater right in the heart of the theater district, and likely a lengthy run – if all goes well. Oh, and one more thing had significantly increased – the pressure on everyone involved.

Of course, just to complicate things, the change in venue isn’t the only thing weighing on Emma’s mind. Initially, Emma had been asked to serve as one of the assistant stage managers, to work backstage the way she prefers and relaying the stage manager’s orders, helping the entire show run smoothly. However, even that plan had changed. The intended production stage manager, finding herself pregnant with twins and violently ill as a result, chose not to participate in the show. Emma can’t blame her – she remembers how tired she was with Henry, and he was only one baby. But Merlin had then asked Emma to step up into an expanded role, saying that he trusted her for this position more than anyone else.

Emma’s flattered, she really is, but the truth is that she’s never run a show at this level. Call the cues for a show, check the equipment, coordinate everything that needs to happen? Yes, sure, of course. She can do that in her sleep now (somewhat literally, sadly – she’s developed an unconscious habit of dreaming the various light cues). She’s stage managed her smaller shows without any issues. But with a budget this large and stakes this high? Feeling like she personally is the linchpin that could make this show soar or crash in spectacular fashion? On a show they’re all aware could make their careers? That’s new, and terrifying, and Emma privately wonders if she’s the right woman for the job.

But she takes the promotion for that very reason - it’s new, and an incredible opportunity to get her name out there if the production succeeds. She’d be an idiot to turn this down, but that doesn’t make her any less nervous.

Really, at the end of the day, this latest promotion is representative of how she’s made her way through most of her career – a bunch of happy accidents and an unwillingness to say no to any opportunity, now having lead her to a cold room and a crowd of men who all want to be Mr. Darcy.

Nice.

Honestly, this part of the job leaves her as basically a glorified secretary, recording everyone’s contact information so that she and Merlin can handle callbacks later. He asks for her opinion every so often, but honestly, what is he expecting her to say? She can’t carry a tune, and her opinions are usually “yeah, he seems like he won’t be a complete pain in my ass”. They’ve already pre-cast their Elizabeth – a lovely woman named Belle French, who had been an up-and-coming TV actress before an ugly scandal with a prominent producer – but Merlin had wanted someone new for Mr. Darcy. Emma can’t help but understand and agree with that decision – Mr. Darcy is somewhat of an unknown factor for so much of the source material, it seems appropriate that their actor also be something of an unknown quantity, someone the public doesn’t know how to define yet. Unfortunately, they must have overly emphasized the arrogant side of Darcy in the casting call, not the shy romantic, which seems to have brought out every egotistical actor in the city - all convinced that they would be perfect for the role. Don’t get her wrong, the arrogant façade Darcy presents is certainly important (and definitely present in this room, good lord), but Pride & Prejudice was one of the few books in high school Emma actually enjoyed – she knows there needs to be more than that. Whoever they choose needs to also be able to pull off a certain amount of vulnerability, a certain level of discomfort and awkwardness. So many of these would-be Darcys are just too… suave for her taste.

That’s why she’s particularly hopeful about this next prospect. He had swaggered in, as confident as the rest, but as she’d watched him interact with the others, there had been a certain amount of nerves that the rest weren’t letting show. He aces the choreography audition (perhaps because he throws himself into rehearsing in a way the others don’t, like it’ll ruin their persona if they’re shown practicing the steps), has a singing voice that will work well for Darcy (while looking adorable, scratching behind his ear when they ask about his relatively small experience on the stage). What really sells things for Emma, however, is how, when introduced to Belle for a test of how they’ll act together, he stutters over all his words and turns bright red after finally blurting out a “oh, I’ve heard so much about you!”. He’s an awkward mess behind that swagger and false confidence, and it’s a little perfect.

(It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes, and one of the more polite Darcys she’s dealt with today.)

So when, after a very long day, she’s asked her opinion about the variety of men who auditioned that day, Emma doesn’t hesitate to put her personal vote in for Killian Jones.

God, she just hopes she doesn’t come to regret that decision.

#Playing the Part #my writing #cs ff #modern AU #Broadway AU #stage manager!Emma #actor!Killian

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