#the house is full of film crew but they don’t get in your way at all in they’re very polite people
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In Plain Sight (Part 7)
Summary: It’s Christmas time for the Ackles family and Crew! But the reader and Crew’s sneaking around could only last so long and the truth coming out can be explosive...
Masterlist
Pairing: Jensen x daughter!reader (with lots of daughter!reader x OMC)
Word Count: 6,300ish
Warnings: language, brief mention of drama/child abuse, family angst, implied smut
A/N: Here’s the big one for ya! I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I have! It was so much fun to do something a bit different!
______
One Week Later
“Hey,” you said, slipping into Crew’s room at the cabin your dad had rented. He’d gotten in not long ago and spent the better part of that time being introduced to relatives left and right.
“Hey,” he said, voice laced with tiredness. “Are you sure it’s cool I get my own room? All the kids are sharing and-”
“My cousins and siblings love to bunk together. This house has like ten bedrooms.” You rested your hands on his waist, pulling his body flush with yours. “You okay? I know it’s a lot of new people.”
“I’m good. I didn’t realize you had so many cousins.”
“Yeah. I’m the oldest by a good ten years so I apologize in advance for the constant piggyback rides they’ll request.”
“No it’s fine. I like being in a house full of people again,” he said as the door burst open, your little brother bursting in.
“Crew! We’re going sledding! Will you go with me?” he asked, hopping up and down on his tip toes.
“Crew just got here after a long drive. Maybe-”
“Of course, buddy. Why don’t you go get ready and I’ll be there in a minute?” said Crew. Your brother took off, Crew smiling when you cocked your head. “I just need a couple minutes to myself.”
“Okay,” you said, pecking a lightening fast kiss on his lips. You started to leave when he chuckled, tugging on the back of your jeans.
“Oh, no. You’re not going anywhere,” he said, pushing the door shut, locking the door quietly. He cupped your cheeks, devouring your mouth with slow, kitten kisses. “I missed you the past few days.”
“You should have come up with us yesterday.”
“I needed to find your present which is awesome if I do say so myself.”
“Please tell me it’s something small. I’m not a fancy gift kind of girl.”
“You’ll have to wait three days to find out,” he said, booping you on the nose, a devilish smirk on his cheeks. “Want to watch a movie with me tonight?”
“Is that code for sex?” you laughed. He put a hand on his chest, gasping to himself.
“You heathen!” You whacked his chest, Crew giggling, pulling you against his firm body. “I was simply asking if you wanted to watch a feature film with a gentleman such as myself. If your deviant hands wander, well that’s your fault.”
You grinned, earning a wet, teasing kiss, a tiny scratch of stubble on his jaw from where he hadn’t shaved in the past few days. “And if your tongue wanders?”
“Oh well we can’t trust that thing. It has a mind of it’s own when it comes to you.” Large hands slid around to your ass, squeezing each mound of flesh playfully. “Where’s your room?”
“Right across the hall. No one’s down here but us,” you said. “Plenty of privacy.”
“You and that heathen behavior again,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Heathen behavior would be me telling you I packed my vibe.” His eyes immediately darkened as you trailed a finger across the broad plains of his chest. “Oh how easily you can be corrupted.”
“Corruption with you sounds hella fun,” he chuckled, footsteps echoing outside the hall. He forced himself away and unlocked the door, the nerves creeping back into his features. “You’re sure I’m not in the way being here?”
“Crew. If we didn’t want you here we wouldn’t have asked.”
“But it’s not just your family. It’s your whole family and I don’t want to screw any of that up,” he said as the door opened slowly, your dad poking his head in.
“Hey. Calm down,” he said, Crew breathing deeply. “You’re not screwing anything up, alright? You’re here cause you’re family. End of discussion. When you need a break, because god knows I love these people but five days with all of them is a lot, then take a break. No one will think you’re weird. Y/N normally gets sick of us on day two and runs off with her camera so relax. Join in the stuff you want to, take the space you need. And now’s a good time to tell you both that we got the cabin for an extra week for just us so you are welcome to stay for that too Crew.”
“I think I got to take it one day at a time.”
“That’s perfectly okay,” said your dad, clasping Crew on the shoulder, smiling softly. “We want this to be fun for you. Now go throw on some snow pants before the twins come dragging you out of here. Between my brother and me you should find a pair that fits.”
“Thanks, Jensen.” He glanced back at you and you nodded.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” He eased some, heading out of the room as your dad stood by you.
“Try to peel him away when you need a break from us. He’ll probably need one too.”
“Of course. Between you, me and mom we’ll try to make this good for him.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, kissing the top of your head. “And I will try to convince grandma and grandpa that he’s not your boyfriend. They got it stuck in their heads for some strange reason.”
You laughed nervously, your dad shaking his head.
“Yeah, I don’t know either. So. Sledding?”
“Sure. I’ll go change,” you said, ducking across the hall, shutting the door behind yourself. You leaned against it, breathing slowly. “This is going to be harder than we thought.”
You knew Crew was enjoying himself when you heard his laugh echoing down the hall the next evening. You turned the corner with your camera out, Crew red in the face from laughter, half his face covered in green frosting. Your uncle’s were sporting red and white frosting in their hair, meanwhile your dad was nowhere in view but you could see his legs from behind the island.
“No, no, stop! I’m gonna tell mom and dad!” you heard him laugh. You jogged over and leaned across the island with arms outstretched, camera aimed downwards, snapping a picture. “Y/N! Don’t you dare!”
“Oh my god,” you laughed, a picture of him half pinned down, half covered in every color frosting in the house popping up on your screen. “Who thinks this should be dad’s new insta profile pic?”
“No!” he shouted as the rest of them shouted a resounding yes. “I’ll disown you!”
“Eh, you’re not that scary,” you said, quickly uploading it to the cloud and finding it on your phone. “Let’s do a poll, see what your fans that follow me think.”
“Mom!” shouted Jensen. “I’m being bullied!”
“I don’t hear any bullying!” she shouted back from the den, your mom and aunts cackling to each other when you dad huffed.
“Y/N don’t you dare post that!” he said. You leaned over the counter, showing him the picture as your uncle continued to slap more frosting in his hair.
“But you and Crew look cute!” You hit post, Crew immediately sitting up.
“Wait. You didn’t say I was in the picture!” Without his help your dad was able to pop up, the pair of them staring you down. “Jensen.”
“I’m thinking the same thing, Crew.” They shared a particularly evil looking smile and you took off running for the front of the house, bypassing where your grandpa was playing a board game with some of your cousins. You ran behind him, Crew and your dad standing at the entrance of the room.
“Y/N, can I see your camera?” asked your grandpa. You assumed he wanted to see the picture, surprised when he snatched it out of your hands along with your phone. “Go on.”
“Grandpa!” Your jaw dropped. “You’re going to let your evil child smother me in frosting just like that?”
“Of course not. He’s going to give you a ten second head start.” You blinked, your little cousins giggling. “Eight. Seven.”
You took off past them, the two of them moving when you hit three seconds to go. “You’re cheating!”
“Who said we were going to follow the rules?” laughed your dad as you sprinted past the den, more than a few heads turned your way, watching you race around the family room. Your dad ducked into the kitchen, speaking for a moment with your uncles and grabbing a can of frosting, suddenly all four of them grinning.
“Oh fuck.” You decided to take your chances and ran out the back door in your slippers, grateful they were like boots and you were able to spare your feet from the cold snow.
Until you felt a tackle from behind that was, rolling onto your back just in time to see Crew kneeling over you. A glob of pink frosting came out of nowhere, smeared all down your face. There wasn’t much you could do at that point except smush the frosting your attackers already wore, giggling when you opened your eyes and saw Crew with a blue mohawk for hair.
“You look fucking ridiculous,” you laughed.
“Tell that to your face,” chuckled your uncle, some of the snow nearby turning a mixture of colors.
“Hey. Hooligans,” said your grandpa, aiming your camera at you. The five of you managed to brush yourselves off, Crew picking you up in his arms with a laugh. “Bet you’re glad you came to this hot mess of a family gathering, aren’t you Crew?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he chuckled, your grandpa taking a few more pictures before he was laughing to himself.
“We better go clean up,” said your dad, everyone carefully trudging inside and heading off for their bathrooms.
“You can let me down, Crew,” you said when you were alone.
“Oh the others might have given up but I caught you. I get to do as I please,” he whispered. You dared to swipe your thumb over his frosting covered lips and suck on it, Crew groaning. “Well now I need to shower first for that boner you gave me.”
“Kids?” said your mom, Crew quickly spinning with you. She had your camera and snapped a quick picture, looking very smug with herself. “Aw, don’t you two look adorable.”
“We’re always adorable,” said Crew, your mom laughing, opening the door to the bathroom for you.
“Crew, you can use the bathroom upstairs. It’s going to take Y/N a minute to get that frosting out of her hair.” You froze when you saw yourself in the mirror, immediately starting to laugh. “Oh yeah, you all look like idiots. But we love you anyways. Now go wash up and leave your clothes outside the door. I’ll clean it up.”
“Thank you mom!” you said, Crew pecking a kiss on her cheek, causing her to shriek when it left behind a big glob..
“Thanks Dee!” he said, skipping off as she huffed.
“You’re just as bad as him!” she shouted. She shook her head, setting your camera down in your room, returning as you kept on staring into the mirror. “Do you need help?”
“I think I’m just going to get under the water in my clothes and peel them off,” you said, turning the shower on. She shut the door as you climbed under, pulling the curtain closed, watching the frosting fall off to the shower floor. It washed out easier than you thought, your mom collecting the wet items as you handed them around the curtain. “I think I’m good.”
“Shout if you need something,” she said, lightly laughing to herself. “You know you just made that boy feel like part of the family.”
“I know. Why do you think I did it?” you giggled.
“He’s lucky to have you.”
Twenty minutes later you were on the couch in the family room, your aunts and uncles having relocated to watch a movie with you. You did a double take when Crew came downstairs in nothing but a towel, damp hair sticking up at odd angles, quickly scurrying through the room and down the far hall where your rooms were.
“No wonder that show of yours is doing so well,” teased your aunt, your dad whacking the back of her head. “He’s a good looking boy!”
“What? You think I’ve been working out like crazy for fun?” he said, flexing his arms.
“People are not watching the show for your ugly mug,” she laughed, your dad pulling her into a headlock. “Mom!”
“Don’t call your brother ugly, honey and Jensen stop tormenting your sister,” said your grandma as she drank the last of her wine.
“Oh no, she’s right,” said Crew, returning in a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a long sleeve white henley. “Jensen’s horrendous.”
“Exactly!” she said, holding up her hand for a high five. “Crew gets it!”
“Yeah, yeah, he gets it,” said your dad, pulling Crew down into the spot beside him, giving him a noogie but failing due to his wet, slippy hair. He sighed, slumping down with crossed arms. “Someone put on a movie before this awful family bullies me more.”
“You love it,” said one of your aunts as you got up to refill your glass of wine. Crew followed after, keeping his voice low as you found a glass for him.
“Sit next to me,” he murmured as you handed him the bottle.
“Probably not wise. My dad is oblivious but the rest of the family is not,” you whispered. “Come to my room tonight?”
“Alright. I’ll be there, kid.” he said. He squeezed your hand behind the safety of the island, offering you a quick smile.
“Love you,” you said, barely audible but his pinky latching onto yours told you he’d heard it.
“Back at ya,” he whispered, letting your hand go, returning to the couch beside Jensen, your dad’s arm slinging over his shoulders.
You were warm when you woke up the next morning. Very, very warm. You curled your body and felt something firm yet soft beneath you. Blinking open your eyes, you spotted a sleeping Crew, his hair adorably messy as you used his bare chest as a pillow. Damn, he made a good heater. You were pretty sure the only blanket you had on was barely covering your ass and yet you still felt perfectly cozy.
You traced a line over his chest, Crew smiling as he woke, kissing you lazily, a thought nagging at the back of your mind.
“Honey bun, time to get-” Your eyes flew open, your dad slack jawed in the doorway, staring at where you and Crew were very much naked in bed together. He slammed the door shut, the two of you quickly scrambling out of bed, Crew throwing his sweatpants back on while you did your best to tug a bra on and Crew’s henley.
You had your underwear pulled up when Crew gave you a quick glance, opening the door, your dad right there. “Jensen we-”
Your dad’s face was furrowed, an eerily quiet rage in his features you’d only seen from him on a TV screen. “Get out of this house. Leave your shit and get the fuck out of this house now.”
“Dad we-”
“Get your ass out!” shouted your dad, voice booming so loud you were sure everyone heard. Crew flinched and opened his mouth, your dad’s eye twitching. “Now!”
Crew shrank back into himself, lowering his head and quickly going past.
“Crew!” You tried to follow after but an iron clad grip grabbed your arm, your dad’s fury now aimed at you. “What the fuck was that!”
“He takes advantage of you and you’re pissed at me?” You yanked on your arm, his hand not budging.
“He’s my boyfriend! What is wrong with you!” you said, trying to go after Crew, hearing a car rev in the driveway. “Let go of me.”
“You were engaged less than four months ago and now he’s in your bed? He’s not your boyfriend. He’s taking advantage of you!” he yelled.
“No he’s not! I don’t give a shit about Anthony! Crew is my boyfriend! He has been for nearly two months! You’re too thick headed to see me as anything but a little girl.”
“He’s using you for sex!” he shouted.
“I took his damn virginity! We love each other!”
“No you do not!” he bellowed, tightening his grip on your arm. “He’s manipulating you!”
“Just because you were by that crazy bitch doesn’t mean he’s doing that to me! You just ruined his fucking Christmas when he was so scared to come here. You’re not just his friend, asshole. You’re like a dad to him and you just destroyed your relationship with him forever all because you can’t get it in your head that I’m not a fucking child!”
He stared at you, his grip easing enough for you to slip out. You grabbed a pair of leggings from the floor and tugged them on, barely grabbing your phone before you were storming down the hall, ignoring the looks of your family. You were semi-grateful it seemed like the little kids were playing outside and hadn’t overheard.
“Y/N-” said your mom as you shoved on your boots and grabbed the keys to the SUV from the front table. “Y/N.”
“If he wants to apologize, he can. Otherwise I’m finding Crew and spending Christmas with him.” You took your coat off the hook and headed outside, in the car and down the road, trying to track down Crew before he got too far ahead of you.
He didn’t get far at all though. His car was parked at the far end of the driveway, hidden from sight, his head slumped over the steering wheel. You parked behind him and got out, Crew jumping when you knocked on his window.
“Honey,” you said, ripping the door open, pulling him out of the car into a hug.
“He hates me so much. I figured it’d be awkward but I never thought he’d fucking hate me,” he said. You hugged him tight, Crew suddenly pushing you away. “Go back.”
“What?” you asked, Crew shaking in the cold. “Where’s your coat? And your fucking boots? Fuck Crew.”
You walked him over to his passenger side door, pushing him inside, giving him your coat to at least try to cover himself with. You slid behind his wheel and blasted the heat, Crew sniffling quietly. “Crew. Why didn’t you get your coat or boots?”
“He scared me,” he said, closing his eyes. “He was so angry.”
“Crew, my dad would never hurt you. He isn’t violent.”
“Well some dads hurt their kids!” he shouted. His bottom lip wobbled as you narrowed your eyes.
“Who hurt you.” He shook his head, looking out the window. “Hey, I know people can be pieces of shit. My birth mother slapped me so hard I had a bruise on half my face for two weeks. My dad was so disgusted with himself for not stopping it he could barely look at me. Who fucking hurt you?”
Crew sighed, throwing his head back against the headrest. “I went to a foster home after my family was gone. The father was…” He shivered, letting you tuck the jacket around him. “He’d get loud and then he’d smack us around. Told me if I said a word about it he’d do worse to me. Jensen got so loud it felt like I was back in that house waiting to get hurt again.”
“Crew.” You ran a hand through his hair, wrapping him up in your arms. “Honey, I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“You should go,” he said quietly, resting his head on your shoulder. “It’s Christmas eve. I don’t want to ruin it even more for you than I have.”
“You ruined nothing. He’s the one that acted like a neanderthal. I am spending Christmas with you and that’s that. Give me one second and then we’ll go get some breakfast.”
You jogged back to the SUV, finding a pair of your dad’s sneakers shoved away in a gym bag, your hoodie and some money in the glovebox before you hopped back into the car. You gave him back his shirt and put on the sweatshirt, Crew a little more at ease. “Where are we going?”
“We are going to go have our own Christmas and nothing’s going to get in our way.”
Four Hours Later
“I used to want to be a basketball player until I realized I wasn’t tall enough,” laughed Crew, munching on his box of chicken nuggets. “I thought I-”
You both turned to the knock at the motel door, three loud thumps drowning out the Christmas movie you had on in the background. “I’ll get it.”
“I’m not letting you get the door at a motel, Y/N,” said Crew, quickly hopping up to his feet. He peered through the eye hole, closing his eyes. “It’s Jensen.”
“He probably put a freaking tracking app on my phone or some shit. I’ll deal with him.” Crew went back to the bed, his back to the door as you opened it quickly, slipping outside.
“Hi,” he said, nose and cheeks pink from the cold. “Can I come inside?”
“How’d you find us?” you asked, crossing your arms. He nodded to Crew’s vehicle.
“Texas plates on Crew’s kind of car. Figured you didn’t have that much cash on you. Only took a few hours of driving around to find you.” He forced a smile. “If I’m not allowed inside, can we talk in the car at least? It’s freezing out here.”
You sighed, following him to the SUV, climbing into the passenger seat. He was quiet, watching the motel door closely. “I know I probably lost him for good but tell me I didn’t screw up so badly I lost you too.”
“Of course you didn’t.” You rested your head against the cold glass. “I was cruel to you. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. But it was deserved.”
“Dad,” you scoffed, turning in your seat to face him. “No you didn’t. I’m know better and I knew exactly what to say to make you feel awful and that was wrong of me.”
“I hurt Crew. I backed you into that position.” He paused a beat. “How long have you two been together?”
“Just after Halloween. Almost two months,” you said, crossing your arms. “But the attraction was there from the start.”
“I’ve sort of realized that I should have picked up on the fact that my two introverts were suddenly stuck on each other like glue. I thought you guys were just best friends.”
“He is my best friend. He’s also someone…dad, I love him. I know the difference between what I had with Anthony and what I get with Crew. This isn’t something childish and Crew never pressured me into anything. We flirted but it…I need him to be okay and I’ve never felt the way I do about him about anyone.”
He closed his eyes, nodding to himself. “There’s so much I want to say to try and explain where my head was at. It doesn’t matter though. All that does is that I apologize to the two of you for being an asshole.”
“I think you owe it to Crew to try and explain. Because honestly, he’s scared of you, and you will not go back to the way it was between you two if you don’t open up too.”
“I know.” He slowly opened his eyes. “He ran out of the house so fast he didn’t even take his shoes. I saw him flinch too. I didn’t like that.”
“Do you know…” you trailed off, your dad staring blankly. “He’s never told you about his time in foster care, has he.”
“He doesn’t like to talk about it. Why?” You crossed your arms, squeezing your eyes shut. “No. Do not tell me some asshole laid a hand on him and that’s why he took off so fast earlier.”
“You two guys need to talk and as much as I know you hate it, you have to be fucking open with him and I mean you drop down every single wall you have.” You nodded at the door. “And you need to do it without me there. I’ll be here until you’re done, okay?”
He put a hand on the door, a small soft appearing on his face. “I’m sorry I took out my anger at Abigail and that prick Anthony on you two. I just can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt and god, Abigail wanted to hurt you again. That feeling of being in the dark and feeling like a betrayal when I saw Crew with you made me-”
“Overreact. I know. That’s why I forgive you and I forgave you for snapping at me. But Crew doesn’t know you like I do, which is why you need to go fix this.” He opened the door, sliding outside.
“Y/N.” He gave you a single nod. “Why do you forgive me so easily?”
“Because you’re my dad and you only do the things you do because you love me. It’s hard to stay mad at someone for loving you.”
“Even when I hurt your boyfriend?”
“That’s between you and him now. Stop stalling and get in there. It won’t make this any easier.”
“Wish me luck,” he said, forcing a smile before he shut the door. You watched him go to the motel room and slowly push the door open, ducking inside.
You slumped down in your seat and sighed. “Please let them figure this out.”
One Hour Later
You blinked open your eyes when your dad knocked on your window. You opened the door, following him into the motel room where Crew stood, arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed.
“Crew and I were unable to-”
“Jensen’s a dick,” snapped Crew, freezing you in place. Your dad glared at him, your heart sinking.
“You slept with my daughter you son of a bitch,” he growled.
“It wasn’t the first time either,” shot back Crew. Your dad got in his face as you flung yourself forward, pushing them apart.
“Stop! What is wrong with you two!” you said, hands keeping them at bay. “I-” Crew’s lip curled up as he started to snort, your dad shrugging with a grin when you turned to him. “Oh you two fuckers! I hate both of you!”
“It was totally my idea,” said your dad. “We worked through the script for quite a while. Of course the rookie here had to go and break character early.”
“We worked out a whole stunt routine and everything,” said Crew. You flipped them both off, grabbing your coat from the bed and tugging it on. “Uh oh. I think we pissed her off.”
“She forgives easily,” chuckled your dad, throwing his arm over Crew’s shoulders, the pair of them smiling as you felt some of your rage simmer down. “We worked it out, honey bun.”
“How much did you work it out or did you two avoid the conversation by deciding to prank me?” you asked with a scowl. Your dad ruffled Crew’s hair gently. It was only then that you noticed both of their eyes were tinged red. “Were you crying?”
“Pft,” said your dad as Crew nodded. “Okay, yeah. Maybe there was a bit of that. But it’s only because we care about each other and no, not because of you. We had to remind ourselves we have our own relationship that exists outside of you as my kid and Crew as your boyfriend. Once we got past that, I’d say we’re in a different place.”
“A better place than we were even before,” said Crew, your dad rubbing his back. “But I did have to promise to minimize the chances of him walking in on us together.”
“We will be locking the door more diligently,” you said, waving towards the door. “Now can we get out of this reject of a Supernatural episode and go back to our nice Christmas themed cabin? Where I won’t catch a disease?”
“I think we can do that,” said your dad, pulling you into a hug with the two of them. “But going forward, please don’t hide things from me. I won’t press or say a word if Crew stays over or you stay over his place but I just want to know what’s going on in your lives. Both of you. And you don’t get to hog him anymore, Y/N. I still get to do shit with him.”
“We can share,” you said, hugging them both. “Crew. I apologize in advance for sort of letting it slip in a moment of anger to the whole family that you were a virgin before.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure Dee has squashed anything they would say,” he said, your dad humming.
“Oh yeah. That woman and I are going to have another word. I can’t believe she knew the whole time,” he groaned. “We’re supposed to keep secrets from you guys, not the other way around.”
“To be fair, we did sort of beg her not to because we were nervous of a certain stubborn headed man’s reaction,” you said. “And she was nervous too.”
“I know. I need to tone down the overprotectiveness,” he said walking towards the door. “I’ll see you two back at home soon?”
“Yeah, we’ll be right there,” you said. “Give us a second?”
Your dad headed out, Crew and you picking up your trash before heading back to the check in to return the key. “You didn’t just accept his apology to make it all go away, right?”
“No,” said Crew, interlacing your fingers together. “He was…he apologized for hurting me and told me I didn’t get to experience this yet but parents fuck up sometimes. And he told me no matter what happens between you and me, he’ll always be my friend and someone I can confide in. Yeah, it feels different than before but I think it’s stronger, not breakable if that makes sense.”
You squeezed his hand. “Good. You deserve to have those relationships, Crew.”
He kissed your temple, letting his lips linger. “Christmas always this eventful?”
“Uh no. Next year will be way more boring. I promise.”
One Year Later
“Hello, honey bun!” shouted your dad, bursting into your bedroom where you were wrapping up a last minute present for Crew. You jumped up, sighing when he clasped his hands behind his back, a devilish grin on his face.
“Whatever you and Crew are up to, the answer is no.” You cut off another piece of tape, your dad rocking back on his heels, watching you wrap. “You’re being a creeper, dad.”
“I’m just waiting for you to be done. I have strict instructions.”
“Instructions to do what?” you groaned, fighting with the roll of tape. He came over to help, holding down the wrapping while you tore off a new piece. “Thanks.”
“That’s a pretty picture of you guys at the premiere,” he said, nodding to the frame. “I still can’t believe he convinced you to come.”
“He did sort of throw that whole I made him come to Christmas last year thing in my face. It wasn’t that bad honestly. I got to meet Jack Quaid actually.”
“Oh you met Jack? How was that?” he asked as you grabbed some ribbon, wrapping it around the box.
“He’s super nice. I think him and Crew didn’t work together much on the movie but they hung out at the after party, talked video games for like an hour I swear,” you said, finishing with your wrapping. “Okay. All set.”
“Perfect,” he said, helping you to your feet. He immediately picked you up and threw you over his shoulder, leaving the present behind on the floor.
“Uh. I have questions,” you said, poking him in the back.
“Oh, you’ve been kidnapped at request of your boyfriend. These things happen,” he said, carrying you downstairs of the house in Colorado.
“Uh,” you said when he came to a stop and set you down. He pulled an eye mask out of his back pocket, thrusting it forward with a grin. “Come on, a blindfold?”
“I’m just the hired henchman in this scenario.” You groaned, pulling it down over your eyes. You grabbed his shoulder when he picked up your foot, the blindfold immediately coming off. “Hey! You’re supposed to keep that on.”
“Let me put on my own boots before you kill us both,” you said. He held up his hands, telling you to put on your coat too before the blindfold went back on. You knew when he pulled you outside, the air crisp and chilly.
“Have fun,” he chuckled before you heard the door shut behind you.
“Crew?” you asked, hearing the crunch of a boot in the snow. It was quiet, everything muffled by the snow on the ground. “Crew?”
“I’m right here, kid,” he murmured from close by. “I’m going to take off the blindfold, alright?”
He turned your body to face the yard, cold fingertips brushing over your cheeks. He pushed the face mask up and off, your eyes adjusting to the lights before you.
“Did, did you decorate the gazebo with lights?” you asked, turning your head up, Crew shrugging.
“It’s more of a hot chocolate and whiskey hideaway,” he said, holding up a thermos. “Want some?”
“Sure. What’s with the kidnapping plot?” you asked, eyeing him up and down. “You’re up to something.”
“Yup,” he laughed. “I bet you’re dying to know what.” He booped your nose. “Only time will tell.”
You narrowed your eyes, smiling as you headed across the yard to the gazebo. You gratefully took a cap full of hot chocolate, a splash of whiskey thrown in, the heat warming your hands. “Foxe…what are you up to?”
“I’ll give you a hint.” He sipped from his mug, pulling you to lay your legs across his lap. “Look up.”
Your gaze went to the strand of mistletoe strung above. He kissed you the second you glanced back down, his mouth warm and chocolaty.
“You’re trying to throw me off,” you murmured against his lips.
“Is it working?” he grinned.
“Not a chance,” you said, noticing the house was dark. “Why are all the lights off?”
“Your parents are taking your siblings out to dinner. We have the house to ourselves for the next few hours.”
“Oh I like that surprise,” you giggled.
“I figured you would,” he said as you heard a car pull away. “Y/N. Look at the house again.”
He turned your chin, gaze finding the one single strand of lights that was now turned on. A single strand written out into a few simple words.
“I love you, kid,” you read, Crew pulling you into a hug. “Why are you so cute?”
“It’s my specialty,” he teased, smushing his cheek against yours. “I needed your parents’s help to get it all readable. Plus I wasn’t quite finished but they had to go to make their reservation and your dad volunteered to keep you busy for a few more minutes.”
“Thank you so much. I love you too,” you said, pecking a kiss on his lips. “For a second I thought you were going to ask me to marry you.”
“No, no,” he chuckled. “I’m not going to ask you to marry me through Christmas lights.”
“I wouldn’t mind-” you said, Crew knocking the thermos over, spilling the hot liquid all across the floor boards. “Well.”
“This is why this shit only happens in movies,” he sighed. “It’s getting cold out anyways. We can warm up with cocoa, enjoy that fireplace in our room…”
“You read my mind,” you said, helping him clean up what you could before heading inside. Five minutes later you were in your bedroom, his present tucked away with the others, Crew laying out a blanket in front of the roaring fireplace.
“Could you grab me another blanket?” Crew asked, nodding to the one at the end of the bed. You hummed, picking it up, something small falling out of it, bouncing on the floor. You bent down to pick it up, eyes flickering to Crew when you saw him kneel up, smirking up at you. You stared at the box again, his grin growing even wider. “So. I know you’ve answered before but I have to ask one last time and this is a big one. Did I catch you, kid?”
“Yeah. You did, Crew,” you said as he pushed the box open, your eyes going wide. “Uh. Question. This is meant to be an engagement ring, right?”
He immediately hopped up, jaw dropping when he looked inside to find a pair of earrings.
“Oh fuck. Your dad put the wrong box in here earlier,” he said, pausing, staring at you in horror. “He was going to give Dee the earrings at dinner tonight. I fucked it up. How did I fuck this up? I’ve been planning this for months and I fucked it up!”
“Honey, relax,” you said, setting the earrings down and wrapping your arms around him. “You can give me the ring later. My answer is still yes. You’re all that I need.”
He tucked your hair behind your ear, shaking his head with a laugh. “You sure you want to marry this idiot?”
“Oh yeah. He’s been mine for a long, long time. Besides, we can blame this on my dad.”
“Totally his fault,” he chuckled, holding you tight. “I love you so much.”
“You too, Crew. Now let’s get to celebrating. I’m still cold.”
“And I know just how to warm you up.”
_________
#jensen x daughter!reader#Jensen x daughter!reader series#Jensen Ackles#daughter!reader#dean x reader x sam
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Put Me in a Movie - Chapter Three
Miguel O’Hara x Fem!Reader
Summary - You’re a famous actress and he’s one of the greatest directors of all time. What happens when you get cast in his new movie?
Chapter Two
The buzzing of your phone wakes you up. It’s still dark out when you wake up. You grab your phone and check to see who’s calling you.
“What do you want, Stella? It’s four o’clock in the morning,” you grumbled.
“You promised me you wouldn’t get drunk!”
“I didn’t!” you lied.
“Don’t lie to me. Miguel told me everything.”
You search your mind for the festivities of the night. All you remember is drinking and then lying down on a lounge chair. The events after that seemed like a blur.
“What do you mean ‘Miguel told you everything’?”
“Do you not remember?” Stella asked. When you didn’t answer she continued, “Miguel saw that you were drunk and drove you home. You fell asleep in his car and you weren’t waking up so he had to carry you up to your bed.”
Oh my god. There’s no way that your new boss had to carry you in your drunken state all the way up to your bedroom.
“How did he get into my house?” That was a genuine question that needed answering. Even though he was your new boss he was practically a stranger.
“I let him know where your spare key was,” Stella said.
“Stella, you can’t just let strangers know where a key to my house is. For all I know, he could be dangerous.”
Stella didn’t answer you. All she said was “I’ll let you get some more sleep. You need to be at the table read by two in the afternoon,” before she hung up without another word.
The second time you woke up was at ten o’clock in the morning. You were a bit more rested but your head was killing you. You took some Advil and ate a carb-heavy breakfast. You liked cooking. It brought you peace of mind in the morning before a stressful day.
The drive to the studio was nerve-wracking. You were sweating even though the air conditioning was on full blast. You felt like you already messed up your first impression with the director. Did Miguel think that you were some spoiled brat that couldn’t handle her liquor? Well, you guess you’ll just have to find out.
The table read was held in a large conference room. There was a long table in the middle of the room with enough chairs for a small army. There were a few people in the room. A man about five foot ten with brown hair and hazel eyes. He seemed pretty friendly and welcoming so you decided to approach him.
He welcomed you with a warm smile and a handshake. “I’m Peter B. Parker. I’m playing James, the American soldier your character falls in love with. I’m a huge fan.”
The two of you talked for quite some time as more people filled the room. Most of the cast and crew came up to introduce themselves to you. You met a few producers and a few minors and supporting characters, the writers of the script, a few heads of departments, and studio executives. The only person that didn’t come up and introduce themself to you was a girl about two or three years younger than you. By no means did anyone have to come up to you and introduce themself to you, but her vibe felt sort of off. She was standing in the corner of the room glaring at you. It took you a few glances to finally make out what she looked like.
She was tall, about a whole foot taller than you. She had fiery red hair and a wildly beautiful face. It was unnatural how beautiful she was. You recognized her as Tasia Wells, the daughter of actress Florence Wells and director William Wells. Tasia started off her career as a runway model but she soon realized that acting is where she could make a mark. She was a pretty new actress having only acted in two films so far. But from what you’d seen she wasn’t half bad.
You gulped as you and Tasia made eye contact. It was for a brief second, but it felt like forever. She looked like she was sending you a message of some kind. The message felt like a warning. The two of you definitely wouldn’t get along.
You asked Peter who Tasia was playing. He said Tasia is playing Rose, an American nurse that falls in love with Peter's character but he obviously doesn’t return the feelings.
Seconds later, Miguel enters the room and everyone falls silent. They all await their master's next order.
He commands everyone to sit in their designated seats. You sat in between Peter and Tasia. She’s even more intimidating closer up.
“Alright, everyone. I think we should start with introductions first. I’m Miguel O’Hara. This is the seventh film that is attached to my name. Don’t fuck it up and make me regret it.” Some people in the room visibly gulped in fear when he said that. Miguel was an intimidating man and you didn’t want to find out what happens if you get on his bad side.
It was time for everyone to introduce themselves. You got the vibe that everyone would be easy to work with except Tasia. This was her introduction, “Hi everyone, my name is Tasia Well, yes Tasia Wells and no, I will not introduce you to my parents so don’t ask.”
You dealt with a lot of nepotism babies in your years working in Hollywood. Most of them were very humble and grateful to work in the same industry as their parents, but sometimes that wasn’t the case. Once in a while, you would encounter nepotism babies that acted like Taisa, arrogant and egotistical. Those were the ones you hated working with.
The script in front of you was pretty thick. It was about one hundred and eleven pages long which meant that the film would run just under two hours. The script was titled To Love . Your character breakdown was pretty simple. You would be playing Polina, a Russian spy who poses as the American nurse, Linda, during world war two. Polina was very closed off and mysterious and that’s why James, played by Peter, liked her.
You knew you were going to love playing Polina/Linda. From the first line to the last line, she had you laughing, crying, or questioning yourself. She was such a complex character which made you go outside of your comfort zone. You were used to playing the underdog in most films, but in this one, you were the heroine.
After the table read, a few people stayed back to socialize. You talked to Peter about his wife whom you’d admired for a very long time. Mary-Jane Parker was a New York Times bestselling author and journalist. She’s written about four of your all-time favorite books. Without them, you wouldn’t be the person you were today.
In the corner of your eye, you see Tasia talking to someone. You can’t see who it is unless you turn your head. You decide to risk it and you turn to see who she’s talking to. Miguel looks completely disinterested in the conversation they are having. His arms are crossed and he’s looking at the wall. As if he can sense your gaze upon him, his eyes meet yours. The way he looks at you makes you feel like the only girl in the world. You quickly avert your gaze back to Peter who didn’t notice that you weren’t paying attention.
“Anyways, I better get going. MJ and May are waiting for me at home. I’ll see you soon.” Peter bids farewell and soon enough, it’s only you, Miguel, and Tasia in the room.
You can still hear her voice. It’s a sickly sweet one that makes teen boys go crazy. You almost want to chop your own ears off from the sound of her voice. Is this jealousy talking or your actual feelings?
You leave the room and start to head over to your car. It was getting pretty dark outside and the only form of light was the ones on the outside of the sound stages. You parked by a dead tree and a stray dog that looked like she hadn’t eaten in a few days. She didn’t have a collar and she looked pretty young. You said to yourself that if the dog was still there by the time you were done with the table read then you would take her home with you, and lo and behold the pup was still there.
You bent down and extended your hand out so that the dog could sniff it. The dog wearily came up to you and sniffed your hand. She was a pretty puppy. You didn’t know what kind of breed she was so you would have to take her to the vet to find out. Surprisingly, she let you pick her up and caress her skinny body. Your heart broke for the dog because she was alone. Much like yourself.
“I didn’t know you were a dog person,” Miguel’s distinct voice said behind you. You didn’t hear him approaching you so you jumped out of fear.
“I love dogs,” you said as you looked down at your new puppy. “How are things going with Miss. ‘No, I will not introduce you to my parents’?”
Miguel laughed at your question, “She’s a character but I’ve known her since she was a kid. Plus, I owe her dad a favor.”
“Did anyone actually audition for this film or was it kind of like you filling in roles with people you already knew?” You asked. The dog shifted in your arms.
“More or less. Peter was actually the only one out of the main three to audition,” he added. Miguel wanted to ask you how you were feeling after last night but he thought that it wasn’t the right moment to speak about that. You awkwardly shifted from your heels to the balls of your feet.
You had the feeling that this conversation with Miguel was going nowhere so you told him that you were going to leave now. What’s the worst thing that could happen? He’s already seen you drunk out of your mind and now you were saving a stray puppy.
At home, you gave the dog some water and a bowl of leftover white rice. You looked it up on Google and it was safe for dogs to eat. You let her go outside to use the bathroom before letting her back inside to sleep.
Before you settled down in bed, you received a text message from an unknown number.
“Hope you and the dog made it home safe.” Who could that text be from?
Chapter Four
#miguel o'hara#miguel o'hara x reader#miguel o'hara x female reader#miguel spiderverse#miguel x reader#spider-man: across the spider-verse
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ACCIDENTAL GOD: Prologue.
Pairing: OT8 Ateez x Reader Fantasy AU
Synopsis: You get summoned into a fantasy world by a group of runaway misfits, (who strangely look like your favorite idols) who claim you to be an ancient forgotten War God, and they need your help to survive while being hunted down by a tyrant King.
Warnings: Heavy Religious themes, member x member, eventual smut, slow burn, gore, death, language, torture, angst, fighting, magic, mentions of past abuse, rituals, blood rituals,
Let me know if i missed anything! More warnings will be added as the story goes.
A/N: I haven’t written in a LONGGG time and I don’t know what I’m doing so bare with me here, I can’t promise it’ll be great. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Also this is kinda short.
Masterlist, Chapter One
They were running away again. Their clan was found again. Wind was rushing past Hongjoon’s ears, small branches scraping his face as he weaved and ducked through the brush. He could hear the soldiers yelling at them to stop, but of course they wouldn’t. If any of his clan members stopped, a fate worse than death would await them, he was sure. He still held onto Seonghwa’s hand, the closest person to him when Mingi came running into the camp frantic, yelling to alert everyone of the guards invading their little camp. Seonghwa was Hongjoon’s best friend, he would do anything for him. Hongjoon had helped Seonghwa run away from the castle, risking his life in every way possible to help the runaway prince, and he would do it a thousand times over again. It’s at times like this, however, as his clan’s lives and his own we’re at such a high risk, does Hongjoon wish he’d stayed and took over his family’s Magic shop in the town. As much as he hated it, at least he wouldn’t have been on the constant run from death.
Leaping over yet another log (or rock maybe, he wasn’t paying enough attention to care), he was praying that the rest of his members were behind him. Hongjoon could confirm one of course, still grasping Seonghwa’s hand so tightly he feared he might break it, he still couldn’t look back to check. If he risked it and stumbled, not only would it be over for him, but Seoghwa too. He might accidentally drag him down with him, so he only could pray. Hongjoon was beginning to tire, his sides and legs painfully throbbing, his ragged breaths and rapid heartbeat pulsing in his ears preventing him from hearing much else. Seonghwa was in the lead now, pulling Hongjoon along as he began to inevitably slow down. The leader stared at his friend, none of them knew these woods, none of them knew where to go. If only he had hid his clan better, had been a better leader they could’ve avoided this. If only-
Seonghwa looked back.
Surprise and fear was strewn across his face as he whipped his head around.
He tripped. He fell.
And he brought Hongjoon with him.
It was just another day for you. Groggily waking up, you checked your phone. 9:00 AM. Ah, today you had to film with your dance team in public, a few full dances, maybe some TikToks. It was all for fun, as it wasn’t your job. While you love performing more than anything, realistically speaking you knew you could never make it in the industry, so you settled. You stuck to being the head chef at a restaurant, and volunteered at an animal shelter every so often. Being a chef payed well, considering it was a nice restaurant, and it allowed you to afford any props and costumes for your dance crew. You were even able to get your own house to yourself! While small, it was perfect for you. You finally got out of bed to get ready for the day, as you would be performing for a good while to entertain people as well as filming. You ate, showered, brushed your teeth and such. You did your makeup as best you could, a more natural style with red eyeshadow underneath your eyes. You slipped on a black bodysuit, it was a sleeveless turtleneck with an oval window on your chest to show off your collar bones. The lower half being cut in a way it showed off the skin of your hips freely. You then threw on black cargo pants, various graffiti designs in white printed on them, and black fingerless gloves long enough to pull up to your mid bicep. Silver earrings with asymmetrical chains dangling off them and a solid thick wire necklace with a single hoop in the middle as a nice touch.
{Here is the reference for your outfit :) it was difficult to describe}
You checked the time once again, 10:30 am. Right on schedule for once, you check your backpack to make sure you have everything. Phone, portable charger, tripod, deodorant etc. Wow, you really had yourself together for once! You were so used to somehow always being late or forgetting something, maybe today would be a good day for you. You felt optimistic. Walking up to your door, you slipped on your favorite black combat boots to match your outfit. After locking the door to your house you slip into your car and set up some music. K-pop of course, you gotta get yourself in the mood to perform like an idol, right? As you drive towards the town square where your crew would be performing, you were able to have some time to think to yourself. You hoped your teammates would be on time and prepared, you had worked hard to find good dancers and to put this group together on your own. You used to do everything yourself other than filming. Teaching choreography, video editing and promotion, you did it all. Now with your wonderful teammates, they took a lot of burdens off of you, taking some of those jobs and helping the best they could. You took pride in your group, from winning competitions to just seeing the amazement of bystanders in the audience, it was something you absolutely adored. You were able to make people happy and inspire them this way, and that's all you ever wanted to do. You made sure to keep yourself as in shape as you could. Often working out at the gym, doing skincare and taking care of yourself to make sure you looked your best. You wanted people to see it was achievable, as you once hadn’t been this way and struggled for a long time to properly care for yourself. You were doing so much better than back then, and you were proud of yourself. You could hold your head high, you now had confidence in yourself and your capabilities, including self defense. You enjoyed taking martial art classes, originally just for self defense in the case that something happened, but you ended up enjoying it more than you thought. It was a wonderful de-stresser, and it played a main part in your confidence. You felt you could be someone people could look up to now, and you hoped that people were able to take inspiration from you.
You pulled into a random parking spot on the side of the road close to the town square. As you got out with your bag, you took in the scenery. Your crew has performed here many times, as do many others since it’s a popular spot. Brick buildings surrounded you, small shops and Cafes, boutiques and more, all being used by the many people that now walked the streets. It was midday, a perfect time to entertain as people were out of their jobs for lunch or simply out and about enjoying the day. As you walked to the meeting spot looking for your team, you started to feel a bit odd. You could see your team now, them waving excitedly at you, their Captain, however; your vision was blurring, swirling. Colors seemed to suddenly turn gray then back to normal again as you stumbled. You weren’t focused on your team anymore, what was going on with you? You felt just fine before, in fact you had felt great all day up until now, so why are you suddenly feeling so faint? You wanted to throw up, your stomach in knots as you knelt on the sidewalk. You were sure people were staring but you didn’t quite care. A loud ringing filled your ears and blocked out all other noise. Everything was mushing together, you couldn’t tell what you were looking at anymore, couldn’t feel the hands trying to pull you up. You couldn't keep a coherent thought. All of your senses were focused solely on the ringing in your ears. What was happening?
It was just another day wasn’t it?
#ateez#ateez x reader#ateez x oc#ateez fantasy au#fantasy au#fantasy#x reader#reader insert#god reader#kim hongjoong#park seonghwa#yeosang#ateez yunho#jongho#jung wooyoung#choi san#member x member#gn reader#idk what else to put in the tags#fanfic#ateez fanfic
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Poison
Kingo x reader
warnings: alcohol
a/n: eternals can get drunk right? they can now if im wrong! <3
prompt: @autistic-solar-fandom: “Thanks love! So yea, 'Poison' by Rita Ora w/ Kingo from Eternals, with the tropes 'Mutual Pining'/ 'Idiots in Love', in a blurb. Love you, hope this clears things!”
“Cut!” Halted the actors and actresses before the camera, giving Kingo a chance to wink at you in his final pose of the scene, another flirtatious gesture from the star of the film he’s been working so very hard on. You were a crew member he just attached to, and there was something about him that was so…magnetic.
You stood near the refreshment table, watching Kingo walk your way in such a confident manner, ready to greet his good friend. “Y/N! What did you think?”
“Gets better each time I see it.” You chuckled, handing him his special anagrammed cup full of fruit infused water, which he delightfully accepted.
“You’re good luck to have around, that’s for sure.” He told you, shooing away Karun as he saw him approaching. “Would you maybe like to, oh, I don’t know, come by my house again tonight? It’s just so lonely and boring when it’s just me.” You chuckled at his invitation, as well as his complaints. “What? I may look like I have everything, but there’s still one thing missing!”
“And that would be?” You asked, sipping your plastic water cup.
“Oh, you know.” Kingo smirked, waiting for a reaction from you.
“There’ll be wine?” You asked him, brows raised.
“Only the best for you.” He assured you. And after filming wrapped for the night, you and Kingo headed to his home, a beautiful mansion passed down through generations, full of memorabilia and artifacts you’d gaze upon in wonder each time you visited. “See something you like?”
“You ask me that every time.” You held your wine glass in your palm, stem between your fingers, and moved it in a circular motion. “You just want to tell me some long story to hear yourself talk.” Kingo and you stared at each other for a long moment and broke into laughter, which may have been because it was true.
“Come, sit with me.” Kingo was seated on a pillow on the floor, close to his antique fireplace. He patted a pillow beside him and you took a swig of your drink before obeying his request.
You two had obviously liked each other, and everyone else you worked with could see it, as well. Kingo doesn’t pay this kind of attention to anyone else, and he had realized that. But you didn’t really know how it’d work, you just enjoyed the extravagant company he provided if that’s all it could ever be. Kingo still hadn’t explained the whole “Eternal” thing to you, either, which had probably been the one thing holding him back.
But not tonight.
You two had gone from two glasses to two bottles through the night, now laying opposite of each other on the floor. You felt looser, lighter, and almost delirious. “Kingo?” You muttered, staring at the ceiling.
“Yes, y/n?” He answered you.
“Hi.” You simply said.
“Hi, y/n.” There was a short pause, a silence that brought up an idea. “I’m like, immortal, you know?”
“You’re drunk, you know?” You began to cackle at the claim he made, it made him smile to himself. You each clasped your hands over your stomachs, still lying on your backs as you carried on through the night.
“I might be. But I’m also thousands of years old. Crazy, right? And wanna know what’s crazier?” You tilted your head upwards to get a glimpse of him. “I believe I’m in love with you.” He admitted in his hazy state of mind, the clearest thought he’s had all night. He looked back at you, from an upside-down point of view. Your lips were turned downward…wait, no. You were upside down. You were smiling. You reached a hand up and back to him, which he took, and you grasped it tight.
“That is pretty crazy. I must be crazy, too.” You told him, slurring your words a bit. “Tell me more about you being immortal or whatever in the morning. And more about how you love me, yeah?” Your eyes were closed by now, you had drifted off with your hand in his. You both knew you’d rest well tonight.
taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @locke-writes // @sweetheartlizzie07 // @queen-destenie // @johnmurphyisqueer // @captainshazamerica // @ravenmoore14 // @canarypoint // @procrastinatingsapphictrash // @swanimagines // @randomfandomimagine // @petersgroupie // @summersimmerus // @scarthefangirl // @bad4amficideas // @sheridans-dynamos // @simsrecs // @prettysbliss // @skdkdkckfk // @simp-legend // @zoeyserpentluck // @wild-rose-35 // @ipurpleeyou // @nekoannie-chan // @punk-rock-raven // @evilcr0ne // @minxsblog // @v0idl1nq // @sydknee624 // @ruvaakke // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @amirahiddleston //@multifandomfix // @beth-gallagher22 // @brutal-out-here // @rqmanoff // @elenavampire21 //
#kingo#kingo x reader#kingo imagine#kingo eternals#kingo eternals x reader#kingo eternals imagine#eternals#eternals imagine#eternals x reader#marvel#marvel x reader#marvel imagine
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the wildest stupidest thing just happened, I live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. I go out to walk Talia the chihuahua 100 yards from home, see the local yobbo on a moped who doesn’t wear a helmet and does wheelies and whatnot up and down the one way street and he’s sat on his scooter looking ill with two police dudes crowding him so I snap a photo, like 30 m away and I’m obvious about it then put my phone away because I’m going to keep walking past him and ask is everything’s alright sirs, has there been an accident? yadda yadda neighbourly stuff. I walk up and before I can say anything sunglasses cop gets in my face wants to know why I took a photo and I need to hand him my phone right now because that’s illegal and must be deleted. (assume all caps speech from sunglasses)
If he’d been remotely polite and non-threatening, I probably would have complied, dog knows I’ve let systemic medical violence happen like I was watching it as an omniscient narrator. but because he came on so strong I’m frozen and robotic and worried for the young man if he’s this furious at a passerby.
I yammered something about just making sure the dude’s ok, you never know, sometimes things get out of hand and sunglasses wants to know why I’d assume that and I mumbled theyoungmanisn’twhitesosometimesthisdoesn’talwaysgogreat. Partner was chilling but sunglasses was really upset that “I’m profiling him”. Thank goodness he didn’t say reverse racism outright because that might have made me laugh - I have zero social skills and this man looks like this but buff skipped leg day full black uniform, black upper arm tats and crew cut #2.
I stay frozen (my brain is starting to feed me fawn/de-escalation/police soothing sympathy lines -because duh you guys know my childhood and teens- but it’s not making its way to my mouth) and don’t hand over my phone, “is that legal sir?” “yes it’s illegal and dangerous to publish photos of police. you are in violation, police endangerment, if you refuse to hand over your phone you’ll be sent to the gendarmerie” and somehow gendarmerie snapped me back: I can deal with gendarmes, the locals are fairly chill: they helped us sort out a restorative justice plan about ten years ago when a helper stole a large amount of money. I said “ok. yes. gendarmes, sir are you really sure this is legal?” and so he told me to sit down and the gendarmes would be called. I feel oddly relieved that I’m forced to be present with the young man so I sit right there in front of the moped (Talia was so unbothered by all of this - she would make a terrible guard dog), though he’s looking alright, I think he was just scared so I text M: “I’m close, at the olive grove corner but in trouble with the police for taking a photo, could she look up my rights” (I don’t have data).
Anyway five to ten minutes later, sunglasses has made a bunch of phone calls. I’m told I’m “allowed to leave” but sunglasses “would like to give me his strong opinion that I'm extremely prejudiced and shouldn’t interfere or make assumptions”. I get up and walk away with the intent of staying half way down the road but the gendarme car had arrived and a bunch of folks had appeared as it’s the end of school so I asked the dude if he was going to be ok and he said “yeah, it was my bad and it’s cool” and walked to M coming down the road - she had not looked up if it was legal, just thrown on a jacket and run out.
Anyway https://blog.droit-et-photographie.com/retour-sur-le-droit-a-limage-des-policiers/ it is totally legal to film police or gendarmes AND legal to publish. Sunglasses is in ‘us vs them’ mode, I could see it from his body language from far away and that’s a THEM problem (that and his collagues are smashing skulls left and right on TV right now).
This is so stupid and surreal, I barely leave the house, I live in a tiny town on the border of provence and haven’t been able to protest in decades and my crip-ass with a tiny dog is getting in trouble? LMAO.
Moped yobbo will need to redo his permit with the gendarmerie. It’s not a police matter*, i saw a police van and assumed there had been an accident or a crime. Pretty sure these two were supposed to be in town in case of protest vandalism but saw moped youngster and decided to rack one up.
this is the photo, a blurry thumb photo, it didn’t need emoji censoring and they’d moved away from the dude by the time I could snap.
PS if you’re french download the Urgence Violences Policieres app
*Turns out there are 8 police officers in town and they have jurisdiction over protests, curfews, mayoral protection, dangerous animals and traffic.
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Ummm...I might have stumbled onto something big here guys.
WARNING: THIS POST MIGHT CONTAIN CASTING SPOILERS FOR TWD DARYL SPIN-OFF....READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
So last week, Norman posted this picture of an adorable little girl on his Instagram who is apparently going to be part of the Daryl Spin-off:
And I found myself stewing all week over this picture because I couldn’t help but think that little girl seemed so familiar. We don’t know her name but she’s been seen before in things related to the new show. We also don’t know who her character will be - though there is a certain ship who assumes that just because she appears to be of mixed race, she will actually be Daryl’s child with a certain someone.
*However, I do not think this will be the case - and no, it’s not just because I’m biased. I’m actually working on a post explaining why at the moment*
Anyhow, all we currently know for sure is it seems like this little girl will play some sort of role in the spin-off - at least initially. The rumor floating around certain trusted spoiling circles is that she might be palling around with Daryl for at least a little while.
So since she looked so familiar and I’ve failed at identifying the actress using the normal methods, I’ve passed this post around to some of my crew all week long to see if any of them recognize her. That answer was a firm “No” but everyone did agree that she was definitely a child acting in some capacity on the show. Here are some things my peeps pointed out:
She is in full costume
She is not a Zombie
She is in special effects makeup
She is wearing a lace front wig (apparently you can see how they blended it into the dirt makeup on her forehead) which makes sense because who would want to attempt to get all that gunk out of a child’s hair everyday? Imagine the knots!
She is absolutely adorable!
And then it finally hit me where I might have seen her before…
So do you all remember last week when I pointed out the Junona Fashion House picture Emily recently shared as an Instagram story?
It happened to be from the Paris Collection and I observed how coincidental EK posting something related to Paris right as filming for the Daryl Spin-off starting up was.
Well let’s just say there might be even more to this “story” than I originally thought.
Because if you look at some more of these Paris Collection pictures side by side with the one Norman posted - you realize that the model looks an awful lot like the one appearing in the Daryl Spin-off:
Of course, there’s no way to know for sure if it is the same girl until we get a couple more straight on shots from the Spin-off showing her entire face.
However, when I passed this comparison around to the same crew from before, everybody’s consensus was the model was probably the same child pictured on set by Norman - only in a lace front wig.
So while we can’t be sure if it’s her or not, it’s definitely more than enough to raise suspicions. For now, the resemblance is a bit more than simply uncanny.
If they do end up being the same girl, this is huge! Because the question becomes why would Emily have any connection to the child actress appearing in Norman’s spin-off being filmed in Paris unless she was also somehow connected to the little girl and the show?
For the record, I was able to identify the Junona model as a little french girl by the name of Halima or Hali for short. I do not know anything else about her (and would honestly feel creepy if I did - she’s a little girl) other than she’s done lots of other Paris fashion houses, seems to be at least bilingual (French/English), and this was her latest fashion shoot done not too long ago.
I could not find any acting credits but that would not be unusual without a last name and with all the information available about her being limited to this particular fashion shoot. Also, she is young and this could be her first acting gig.
Just to cover my tracks, I could not find any apparent connection between the Canadian-born - but mostly International (mainly Paris and Brussels) - child photographer, Emily Kornya and either EK, TWD, or any other project EK has worked on. She has done work in NYC a few times here and there so unless they crossed paths or circles somehow when EK lived there, it doesn’t appear that EK knows her personally or anything.
Anyway…thoughts?
#Bethyl#team delusional#team defiance#teamreckoning#beth is alive#beth greene lives#beth greene#This is TDs smoking gun if it proves true
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The Owl House Fan-Film Campaign
Prefix: A COPY ANNOUNCEMENT FROM TWITTER AND AMINO. I thought I should share the news and get as much help as possible from any social platform I had.
It’s been a while since I was on tumblr, so this may fall on deaf ears, but I figured it was worth a shot to post on tumblr. Currently, I’m making a toh fan-film. The project is pretty grand since I plan for it to be animated completely from scratch, with a runtime of about 40-55 minutes. I’ve already started script writing, with the main story and characters all planned out. I also plan to storyboard, animate, and do some concepts and character designs. But the problem comes in literally everything else. If I want to get this film out and complete without having to work everyday nonstop for 5 years, I need a team of artists who would be willing to help. In order to pay for equipment, programs, music commissions, and other things artists need, I set up a pattern and have already made a twitter post calling out to other artists and creatives. My twitter is very small though, and while it’s slowly gaining traction, we need a full crew sooner rather than later. That’s why I’m here now. Asking if there were any willing fans and artists willing to join in and help make this passion fan project a reality. I also have some Concept Art done by the talented Kaereth on twitter to show you all a proof of its development (They weren’t officially involved, I just commissioned them for some help on concepts since I was stretched so thin):
If you want a deeper insight on the plot of the film and a look at my personal rough character designs for the focal characters of the film, there’s a link to my twitter post and the patreon website below.
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/mist_hazy/status/1546305359945601026?s=21&t=QnifxQ5sWKe_9Pv_lBlq1w
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/Hazymist
I’ve already improved as an artist in the short time I’ve started working on this movie, with my latest work being vastly superior to anything I’ve made for the movie so far. It’s another part of the reason I’m working on it so hard. I’m learning so much about animation and my skill is increasing. I know the same can happen for anyone else who works on the film. You don’t have to help if you don’t want to though. It would help a lot if you just shared this on your aminos, instagrams, twitters, even your tumblr pages! Anything to spread the word that I’m looking for artists. If you do want to help however, I’m posting a discord link at the end of this blog, for if you wanted to apply to a role or position on the team. There are instructions and explanations on what each job requires there.
This is one of the most ambitious things I’ve ever attempted. I’m not just doing this for fame and obviously no monetary gain. I’m doing this because I genuinely love this show, the field of animation, and I want to express my passion for both. I hope one of you out there feels the same way, and wants to see this small little dream be made true.
Crew Discord:
https://t.co/AxxWWytY2Z
#the owl house#toh#toh fanart#the owl house fandom#the owl house fanart#luz#amity#eda clawthorne#toh king#the owl house fan film#my art#thnx for reading if you made it to the end
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This is a true story u guys.
So, several years ago, I got to be a contestant on one of those gameshows where they give u random tasks like “convince a fellow grocery store customer to buy 20 cans of dog food”. I can’t say the name of the show bc it didn’t end up airing and I signed an NDA. Anyway, on my episode they sent us to this fancy soirée and we had to try to get one of the of the other attendees to go out with us - but we could only use ONE (1) pick up line that we had written earlier.
Even though we were told that the pickup line should be multipurpose like a Swiss Army knife, I chose to go with “Are u a lawyer bc this is a great horse divorce” (a play on the mispronunciation of “hors d’oeuvres”).
They set us loose at this party and I’m very strategic about my targets. The first person I chose is the grandma with the sword we’ve all seen in the Tumblr ads, but this is before she was chosen to be in the Tumblr ads, so she was a bit younger. I knew she was the hostess because I could see several portraits of her ancestors holding similar bedazzled swords around the house.
I asked the servers where I might find her and they tell me she’s upstairs in the “crystal room”. I didn’t know what that meant but I head for the stairs, only to be met by a bunch of paramedics coming down with a stretcher. Apparently, our hostess had taken too much meth and needed to go to the hospital. I refrained from saying my pickup line out of respect as the stretcher is wheeled past me.
Next, I head to the kitchen. The second person I have chosen is the chef, and I know he’s the chef bc I recognize his face from the Chef Boyardee cans at the supermarket. I go up to him and say “Hello Mr. Boyardee it is an honour to meet u, I didn’t know u did catering”
He says, “u can call me Hector. Boyardee was my parole officer’s name. And yes, I do cater private events. People just don’t eat as much beefaroni these days - the money isn’t rolling in like it used to”
I am not surprised because I rarely see ads for Chef Boyardee products anymore but I pretend to be sympathetic to make him more receptive to my pickup line.
I say, “that’s a shame because the food is so authentic and Italian. By the way, are you a full time chef? Just wondering bc I thought u might be a lawyer since this horse divorce is so great”. Then I take out a ravioli from my pocket and eat it to show my appreciation for the horse divorce.
Hector is stunned, and asks the camera crew to stop recording and leave. They don’t. He then whispers to me, “does anyone else know my ex wife is in the ravioli?”
Confused, I ask “are u saying your ex wife is a horse?”
He shakes his head, tears spilling from his eyes, and croaks, “she… she WAS a horse” before bursting into tears.
I look at the camera crew behind me but they have all fainted. The camera, however, still had that blinking red dot so I know it’s still filming. I shut it off and toss it in the deep fryer. Turning to Hector, I say, “No one knows your ex wife is in the ravioli. I was only able to tell because this isn’t my first rodeo”
He stops crying and looks at me in fear, “are you… are you saying this isn’t the first time you’ve eaten a horse?!”
I tell him I used to eat copious amounts of glue as a child and he trembles at my feet and begs for his life. I consider it, but then decide the world is better off without beefaroni and toss him in the deep fryer as well.
Exiting the kitchen, I see some of the other contestants conversing with the party guests, and remember what I came here for. I go back into the kitchen and pull Hector out of the deep fryer. He’s still alive bc the deep fryer was not set up so there wasn’t any oil in it and it was off the whole time.
Hector is still crying so I tell him to shut up and bring his sharpest knife and biggest bowl upstairs, along with a chef hat for me because I’ve always wanted to wear one. He tells me that he’s the only one allowed to wear the Chef hat so I take his. I tell him that from now on, he will address me as Chef Boyardee, and I will address him as Ratatouille. He looks resigned and agrees.
We head upstairs to the crystal room where I make him harvest the largest, bluest chunks of meth from the walls and put them in the bowl. Then we climb out the window, but he is off balance bc he’s unused to moving around without the weight of the chef’s hat on his head, so he falls to his death.
I finish climbing down, and look at his body, then the bowl of meth in my hands, and back at his body. An idea strikes me I and take the cash and ID from the wallet in his pocket, as well as his phone. I use his still warm thumb to unlock the phone and compose a text message and cc all of his contacts. It reads: Chef Boyardee is back baybeeee! We will be rolling out an all new “beefaroni” recipe later this year with a special ingredient! Look for it in the canned foods aisle at your local supermarket!!💙”
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Hola! I came upon your post regarding someone asking you about the industry and speaking about the unions.
As someone who used to work for SAG-AFTRA and left after a year. It’s in shambles. I left SAG due do to it’s mistreatment of staff and being underpaid. The Union reps don’t get the best negotiating for those who work in SAG and mind you that organization represents over 160K people in the industry! The advise I would give that person wanting to get into the industry is DON’T! Run away and find another passion. And like you said, you have to know people’s aunts or uncles or some odd networking that doesn’t apply to normal folks.
People want to get into this industry because they think it's all glitz and glamour. Let's break it down.
Sure, the most famous actors and musicians are rich and famous but they're often lonely and isolated af. You've seen the documentaries. I'm not lying. You just saw Selena's documentary. We're not even going to talk about toxic ass fandoms because you know how I feel about them.
Unless you're Shonda, Ryan Murphy, JJ, or some famous showrunner with an overall deal that the studios value you're probably getting paid shit as a writer. Rooms are getting smaller. Series orders are getting shorter. With streaming you're also not getting paid residuals. Syndication isn't happening anymore. All the ways in which writers could make a living are disappearing. Oh oh oh...and the moment a fandom doesn't get their way they think they're within their right to harass, stalk, and abuse writers because they have no idea how this industry works and the fifty seven layers that go into decision making beyond just the name on the "written by" on an episode and because they think they know how to do our jobs better than we do.
Crews work literal criminal hours for less than stellar pay. 16-18 hours days, 6 days a week, in inhuman conditions to make your favorite shows only for you to turn around and BITCH like children when you don't get your way. There is NO work life balance. People miss their children being born on the regular. People get severely injured and have to go back to work the next day because they're essential to the functioning of the set. Look up any of the stories that were coming out when IATSE almost went on strike over the pandemic so you don't see I'm exaggerating. What Hollywood does to people isn't borderline criminal. It's criminal. Full stop. We're treated like animals half the time. People are forced to lie on their time cards constantly so they don't pay us for overtime or to skirt union turnarounds.
Yeah, I do this because I love this and at this point I'm way too deep but I wouldn't recommend anyone else getting into this. I've seen what this does to people. By age 45 the bodies of people who work on crew can be battered and destroyed. Why? Because you often don't even have the time to go to the doctor. Why? Because you work 16 hours, 6 days a week. When would you have time to go get checked out if you feel something wrong? You want to know what is one of the most common ways film crew members die? Car accidents. They fall asleep driving back home. Exhaustion. After working for weeks or months on a production. 18 hour days. They don't get you a hotel close to set so you have to drive an hour back to your house to sleep for two hours before you have to drive back then you fall asleep behind the wheel and you die. It happens more often than you'd think. We do this shit because we love it but I wouldn't wish the conditions we work under on anyone.
Don't do it. It's not worth it.
#literally do ANYTHING else#except be an influencer#I live in LA and those are the worst people you'll ever meet#Hollywood#rants#anonymous#answers
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Little Homeworld Life chapter 5: But Wait, There’s More! (originally posted on September 12, 2022)
AN: At long last, Teal Zircon gets an episode to herself! In fact, she'll be getting two this season, because she's just so much fun to write. Yeah, she can be insensitive and act like an annoying little kid, but at the end of the day, she wouldn't hurt a fly! In fact, the fly would put up more of a fight. In short, get ready for a lot of laughs with Teal around, and maybe a few other surprises here and there too.
Synopsis: Teal Zircon is recruited to star in a commercial for Little Homeschool.
Cast:
Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon
Estelle as Garnet
Michaela Dietz as Amethyst
Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl
Atticus Shaffer as Peedee
Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot
Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Zuli
Uzo Aduba as Bismuth
Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, Rude Commercial Narrator
Lauren Ash as White Topaz
Noël Wells as Black Rutile
Alex Newell as Monazite
--
"UP YOURS, DELMARVA!" a commercial loudly insulted the viewers as the Crystal Gems watched the taunting advertisement. "If you're dumb enough to buy some refrigerators this weekend, you're stupid enough to come on over to Big Kim's Appliances! Overly expensive products, absolute garbage, fees!" she bellowed while the commercial demonstrated how crummy the store's products were. "We don't care what you think; YOU NEED THESE REFRIGERATORS! We believe that you are so woefully idiotic that you'll buy any piece of trash we'll sell you, GUARANTEED! If you think we're ripping you off, THEN GET OUT YOU HOPELESS, LIFELESS MOTHERF-"
"Okay, I think that's enough of these commercials." Pearl interrupted the announcer by shutting off the TV. "Now, I presented this overly persuasive advertisement to you all today because Little Homeschool has been experiencing a bit of a slump lately." To demonstrate, Pearl then unveiled a graph revealing the growing lack of Gems attending the school, which was far lower than average. "Ever since Steven left us, the school hasn't seen much attendance lately, and it's starting to look very concerning."
"Good, the fewer thralls, the better!" Black Rutile jeered at her archenemies while passing them by with a crate full of machine parts.
"Nobody invited you to this meeting." Garnet coldly told the Rutile. "Now leave."
"I just felt like insulting you anyways." Black Rutile grumbled as she kept walking. "Got better things to do today."
"Anyways, it seems many Gems came here because they were attracted to Steven's kindness and charisma." Pearl continued her speech. "Without him around, we need to find a way to replicate that personality so we can attract more students. Any ideas?"
"We need big signs." Garnet coolly suggested. "Big signs always mean big crowds."
"But we need to attract Gems from all across the universe." Pearl proclaimed. "We need a sign that big for everyone to see!"
"I don't know, maybe an open house or something?" Lapis then added. "I can help make pamphlets, and we can pass them out."
"Hm, that would take a lot of time, though." Pearl pondered. "Any other ideas?"
"Ooh, let's make our own commercial!" Amethyst eagerly replied. "Just like that refrigerator one!"
"I agree with Amethyst here." Jasper concurred with her surrogate sister. "Plus, that lady in the ad sounded awfully familiar."
"But who do we make into our spokes-Gem?" Bismuth asked. "I mean, Lapis and Jasper sure ain't person people, and Peridot would just make the ad all about her."
"I'm standing right here, you know!" Peridot complained. "I think out of all of us, Garnet, Amethyst, or Pearl would be the best for our advertisement since they are far more familiar with Earth than any of us could ever hope to be."
"You raise a good point, Peridot, but I have a different Gem in mind." Garnet proclaimed before she looked at White Topaz sitting next to her. "White Topaz, we need Teal Zircon. Have her brought to us ASAP!"
"Yes, ma'am!" White Topaz obediently saluted. "Uh, what for?"
--
"Ooh, I'm so excited you picked me for your ad!" Teal Zircon cheered gratefully as the Crystal Gems became a film crew with Peridot, White Topaz, and Amethyst on sound, Lapis and Jasper working the lights, Bismuth making props, Garnet holding the clapperboard, and Pearl in the director's seat. "I'll have you know; I was a real mean advertiser before the Rebellion because everyone says I have high energy and an eccentric personality."
"That's exactly what we need for this commercial, Teal!" Pearl replied before turning to the Gems' chosen cameraman. "Okay, Peedee, are you ready?"
"Hang on, Miss Pearl, just need to make sure the camera's just right." Peedee Fryman replied as he took off the lens cap on his video camera and made some final adjustments. "Okay, here goes nothing!"
"Understood." Garnet nodded before bringing out the clapperboard. "New Little Homeworld commercial starring Teal Zircon, take one!" she announced before clapping it shut. "Action!"
"They have brought down an entire regime with words instead of lethal force." Teal Zircon began narrating over a montage of the Crystal Gems in a goofy Spanish accent. "They saved all life, the universe, and everything more times than you can count on your fingers. They're some of the biggest celebrities in the known universe. These are the most interesting Gems in the world."
The scene then transitioned to Teal reclining on a bear skin rug in front of a fireplace while holding a bottle of wine in her hand. "I don't usually hang around on Earth, but when I do, it's learning how to live my life at Little Homeschool." She declared, still with the Spanish accent. "Stay fusing, my friends."
"And cut!" Garnet announced with another clap of the clapperboard, ending the commercial. "Good work there, Teal, though I have no idea where the fireplace came from."
"Yeah, and is that bear rug made from a real bear?" Pearl asked while picking up the rug. "And is that wine?!"
"Yeah, the wine is real. The bear isn't." Teal explained. "I have a knack for pulling out props when the situation calls for it."
"Yeah, but this is totally unlike the vibe we're going for!" Amethyst stated. "We're supposed to teach Gems to abandon their conquering ways, not encourage them to be swingers!"
"Ooh, that reminds me, I think we could use a swingset somewhere around here." Pearl sidetracked the discussion.
"Uh, Pearl, I don't think that's what Amethyst means." Lapis pointed out Pearl's error.
"Ew." Pearl reeled in disgust once she realized what she had just said. "Well, what else can we do?"
"I think I might have a few ideas." Teal declared before pulling a cricket bat out of her gem. "Cricket?"
"Cricket?!" Peridot complained about the idea. "Nobody understands cricket! You must know what a crumpet is to comprehend cricket!"
"Yeah, sounded a lot better in my head." Teal immediately agreed and threw the bat away. "Okay, I got a better idea!"
--
"New Little Homeworld commercial starring Teal Zircon, take two!" Garnet announced. "Action!"
"Hello, Gems." Teal greeted her audience in a heavy, baritone voice while standing in a bathroom and wearing a towel around her waist. "Look at yourself, now back to me. Now look back at yourself, back to me. The yourself you once knew is gone, and that can be helped at Little Homeschool." She declared. "Look down, back up. Where are you now?" Teal asked while changing her form into sailing attire as the setting changed into a maritime one.
"You're now on a boat with the Gem your gem could look like! Now look at your hand, and what do you see?" she asked again before presenting a box of donuts. "I have it now, and it's a box of donuts from the Big Donut! Now look again; the donuts are now solid gold!" After Teal revealed the golden donuts in the box, the scene then slowly changed to the Zircon riding on Jasper's back on the beach. "Anything is possible when you come on down to Little Homeworld, where you can learn not to be a genocidal conqueror! I'm riding on a Jasper."
"I don't know what just happened, but I hate this." Jasper said in a mix of confusion and quiet outrage as the shooting ended.
"How is she doing this?!" Pearl exclaimed as Teal got off Jasper's back. "One moment she was standing in a bathroom, the next she was on a boat with that box of gold donuts, and finally she was on Jasper's back! Can she warp reality to her whims, or is it all an illusion?!"
"I don't know either, but this is really entertaining." Garnet smiled. "But still not what we're looking for. Maybe we should do a little more wholesome."
"How wholesome are we talking here?" Peedee asked Garnet.
"Maybe loud and inviting, yet still super friendly." Bismuth answered. "What do you think, Teal?"
"I mean, I have good ideas, but I'm willing to try anything once." TZ reluctantly agreed with her fellow Crystal Gems.
--
"Hi, Teal Zircon for Little Homeschool!" Teal Zircon energetically introduced herself while wearing a blue polo shirt and khakis and having shapeshifted herself a thick beard. "The one-stop place for all Gems to let go of their problematic pasts and make a change for the better! Just look at all the activities we're offering!"
"Good thing Greg happened to have those clothes lying around." Pearl muttered behind the camera as Teal continued her explanation.
"We got all kinds of art classes, like painting and sculpturing!" Teal exclaimed boisterously. "There's also yoga, swimming, fashion, technology, self-defense, and so much more! Just look at all these satisfied Gems!"
"I was a constant threat to the Crystal Gems, but thanks to Little Homeschool, I now have a healthier way of expressing my anger." Jasper said flatly. "Thanks, Little Homeschool."
"For most of my life, I was but a humble servant who had no personality of my own." White Topaz added. "But after going to Little Homeschool, I finally found someone who loves me for me!"
"I was formerly a Peridot in service to the great Hessonite who antagonized the Crystal Gems in their quest for the Light Prism" Squaridot proclaimed. "But after some soul-searching, I became a vigilante sidekick before finding my one true place here!"
"I was forced to come here against my will." Black Rutile grumbled. "Wait, how did I even get in this commercial anyways?! I was just in my house!"
"Another satisfied customer!" Teal exclaimed while showing Black Rutile away from the camera. "If you ever feel like attending, come on down to your local Warp Pad and see all there is to see on this wonderful planet, guaranteed!"
"And that's a wrap!" Pearl exclaimed as Peedee finished recording. "Wonderful job, Teal, I think we finally have our commercial!"
"Aw, that's it?" Teal moaned in disappointment. "I got so much to show you! I got illusion powers, meaning I can create anything, which is why I did so many cool things for all the previous takes!" With a mere snap of her fingers, Teal took off the polo & khakis and reappeared in a bright flash of light dressed in a jester outfit. "Like this, for example, puddin'!"
"Okay, that certainly explains a lot." Amethyst realized. "What else can you make?"
"Oh, like you wouldn't believe!" Teal exclaimed before changing out of her jester getup and transforming the set into a disco club, complete with everyone dressed in appropriate attire. "Come on, everybody, shake your groove things!"
"Oh goody, the seventies." Pearl grimaced at her current attire as Peridot began cackling at the taller Gem.
"Oh my stars, did your hair seriously look like that during that time period?!" Peridot laughed and pointed at Pearl's big afro.
"I was going through a phase!" Pearl yelled at Amethyst as the setting changed to a sinking ship. "Now what?!"
"My friends, it's been an honor playing with you." Teal solemnly said before she pulled out a violin to play while the ship began sinking to the bottom.
"Can ya hold still for a sec?!" Bismuth yelled. "We're excellent as is; no need to keep throwing all this at us!"
"But I got so much more to show off!" Teal declared as she began flipping through even more illusory settings for the Gems to examine, though the speed at which she presented them proved to be very overwhelming very quickly. It wasn't until someone told her to stop that Teal slowed down.
"WE SAID CUT IT OUT!" Jasper roared in Teal's face, sending the Zircon falling over as everything returned to normal. "How about we take five for a bit?"
"Okay, guys, whatever you say." A stunned Teal agreed before picking herself up and walking away, her hair blown back by Jasper's yell before she straightened it back to normal.
"Don't you think you were a little harsh, honey bear?" White Topaz asked Jasper.
"I know. I gotta work on my anger issues." Jasper replied to her girlfriend. "But seriously, that Zircon really gets on my nerves! She's like an annoying little kid who never knows when to shut up!"
"Come on, Jasper, no need to be so callous." Peridot added. "Though you are kind of right, Teal Zircon possesses a rather prepubescent mindset and doesn't know how to read the room. She just needs to learn how to grow up a little."
"Think she'll be back?" Lapis wondered to the others.
"I'll go look for her." Peedee declared and walked away in search of the Zircon.
--
"I guess that's an actor's life for me." Teal Zircon mused to herself while lying down on a bench. "You think I'm coming off too strong, me? Yeah, me, maybe I should tone it down a bit."
"Are you talking to yourself?" Peedee asked Teal as he found her on the bench and sat beside her. "Don't want to be rude, but you're kinda weird."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Teal replied tonelessly. "I didn't have that many friends before joining the Crystal Gems because everyone thought I was too obnoxious, so I kept acting out, hoping that someone would find me funny."
"Well, did anyone find you funny?" Peedee asked again.
"Rose certainly did, which is how I joined the CGs." Teal answered. "Or was it Pink Diamond that found me funny? Man, learning that my former boss turned out to be a Diamond in disguise makes everything really confusing now." She then sat up next to Peedee. "But even now, I'm not sure if this kind of behavior is winning me any favors, especially with Jasper."
"Well, you tried taking it down a notch?" Peedee suggested. "I mean, I get you want to make yourself known, but maybe you should be a little more subdued in your advertising."
"Yeah, maybe you're right!" Teal declared in realization as she sprung up from the bench. "I should try to be more chill! Thanks, Peepee!"
"Um, it's Peedee!" Peedee corrected for Teal, but she was too busy running towards the film set to hear him. "Then again, I never did tell her my name. Eh, whatevs."
--
"Guys, I'm ready to start shooting again!" Teal exclaimed to the Crystal Gems as she returned to the set. "And this time, I think I got it!"
"Oh, that's wonderful, Teal!" Pearl cheered with a little clap. "Uh, what do you have anyways?"
"It!" Teal answered. "I just gotta be a little more subdued! You know, it!"
"If we knew what it was exactly, we'd understand what you were talking about." Jasper responded sourly before Lapis smacked her in the head.
"She's saying she wanted to take this in a different direction." Lapis stated. "Didn't she make that clear?"
"Okay, fine." Jasper answered. "But this better not get weird like all the last times!"
--
The new commercial opened on a wide aerial shot of Little Homeworld with a chintzy logo of Little Homeschool over it. Then it cut to Teal Zircon standing next to a leaking water tank while holding a piece of tape. "Hi, Teal Zircon here for Little Homeschool. The place where you could find inner peace and tape your life back together!" To emphasize her point, Teal slapped the tape onto the leaking tank in slow motion. "In just a few short months, you can become a new Gem, unlike the one you were before!"
The commercial then transitioned to the pasts of some of its students, like Jasper, White Topaz, the Lapis twins, Topaz, and Emerald. "Wow, take a look at all these Gems! Forced fusion, subservient to a sociopathic revolutionary, terraforming, capturing humans, subjugating planets, that's a lot of damage! But now, with Little Homeschool, they've all changed their lives for the better!"
After another montage of the Gems in their current states, it returned to Teal posing by the pool where Zuli was doing laps. "We got all sorts of activities you can do here. In fact, I'm right behind one of them right now!"
"When did you get here?" Zuli asked Teal while emerging from the pool.
"Unimportant!" Teal commented excitedly as Zuli threw a towel over her shoulder. "But what isn't unimportant is the lifelong connections you can make here! Who knows, maybe you could even become part of a fusion for life, like this big missy over here!" She then gestured over to a hologram of Fluorite. "Check this out, six Gems in one giant caterpillar! Isn't that amazing?!"
As the commercial concluded, Teal was then shown sawing a rowboat in half. "I just sawed a boat in half!" she happily declared. "Because it's evocative of the Gem you could become at Little Homeworld! Operators are standing by right now to enroll you today! Call now, and you'll get a free T-shirt with your new schedule!"
"We don't have an operator, or free T-shirts!" Amethyst called from offscreen before the cameras stopped rolling.
"Outstanding Teal, though, is this supposed to be your idea of subdued?" Peridot asked.
"Indeed, she was a little less high energy, but still very upbeat." Garnet added. "I thought you said you wanted to be more subdued."
"But I was being subdued!" Teal complained, offended that she wasn't being respected for trying the best she could. "What, was not doing what you wanted me to do not enough for you guys?!"
"Teal, you don't understand!" Pearl exclaimed before Teal began stomping away in a huff. "Please, come back!"
"You'll be hearing from my agent about this!" Teal bellowed without even turning around.
"You don't even have an agent!" Jasper yelled back. "Geez, she can be so irritating sometimes."
"Well, maybe it's because she wants attention, but doesn't know how to get it without making a scene a lot." Peedee deduced. "I mean, she did tell me that she acted that way because she didn't have many friends on Homeworld."
"Well, if you guys have apparently become friends, then why don't you talk to her?" Lapis suggested to the young Fryman son.
"I'll see what I can do." Peedee declared as he once again walked away in search of Teal.
--
"I swear, I'm doing what they wanted!" Teal muttered to herself. "Am I just not satisfying enough?"
"Hey, Teal, can I talk to you about what just happened?" Peedee asked the Zircon as she turned to notice him standing behind her. "You doing alright?"
"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine, Deedee!" Teal proclaimed before immediately correcting herself. "Okay, I'm actually lying because I still feel like I barely have any friends here."
"Yeah, I can see where you're coming from." Peedee replied. "Like, Steven was a pretty close friend of mine when he still lived in Beach City, but then we just pretty much drifted apart as he got wrapped up in more crazy adventures while I'm kinda left in the dust. So yeah, I kinda understand you being so lonely."
"Yeah, having to air out all of Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond's dirty laundry can really take up a lot of time." Teal concurred. "So what should I do now? Maybe learn to read the room better so I can make friends?"
"I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with what I just said, but yeah, maybe you should." Peedee replied. "Let's bring you back so you can make up with them."
"Sure." Teal agreed. "You're a good kid, Deepee."
"You know what, I think I'll let it slide this time." Peedee laughed as the two began walking back to the set.
--
"So, there goes our lead actor." Pearl mused as the gang began packing up the set while Teal and Peedee were talking. "I suppose we can make do with what we still have, though the question remains which one to use?"
"I like the one where Teal had the beard!" Amethyst exclaimed. "That one made me laugh!"
"I personally found the one with the boat quite entertaining." Garnet provided her opinion on the finished commercials. "It's easy to be taken out of context."
"Hello, Gems." Black Rutile purred as she appeared from behind the camera. "If your leading Gem is out of the picture, then are you in the market for a replacement, perhaps?" she suggested. "I happen to possess many qualities for an ideal spokeswoman, like charisma, energy, a commanding presence, and a pretty face too."
"Are you going to turn this into a propaganda video?" Bismuth asked as Black Rutile began recording herself on Peedee's camera.
"Oh my, how could you possibly have guessed?" Black Rutile chuckled before clearing her throat. "Greetings, Gems of the universe, I am Black Rutile! Former pilot turned right-hand of White Diamond turned freedom fighter against the tyrannical Crystal Gems, and I am here to give you the offer of a lifetime!"
"Called it." Bismuth grumbled as the Gems dumbfoundedly watched Black Rutile's attempt at advertising.
"For too long now have we suffered under the iron-fisted rule of the monstrous Steven Universe and his Crystal Gems hive mind!" Black Rutile continued speaking. "However, I, a humble veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate, saw through the corruption these peace-loving beasts have infected our mighty society with and brainwashed trillions to their cause! Steven has vouchsafed us his twisted, possessive idea of love and tolerance at the expense of many hard-working Gems and every planet under the Diamonds' thumb. Now, it's time we come together right now to fight back against this crystalline threat and restore our species to order with me as your fearless leader!"
"Hey, are you making another commercial without me?!" Teal yelled from offscreen as she zoomed in front of the camera and knocked Black Rutile over. "I got another thing to say!"
"I was in the middle of something, you infernal advertiser!" Black Rutile yelled with a teal foot to her face. "Now get off of me!"
"What do you have to say now?" Pearl asked Teal.
"Well, I just wanna say I'm sorry for how I acted just now." Teal apologized for her behavior. "Thanks to Peedee here, I think I should know better to read the room and be more considerate of others. He's a good kid."
"Thanks, Teal." Peedee replied gratefully. "Now, are we ready to get this going again?!"
"You bet!" Teal proclaimed eagerly. "Make sure to get my good side!"
"Okay, let's do this one last time." Pearl accepted what was going on now. "Places, please!"
--
"Hi, it's Teal Zircon with Little Homeschool!" Teal introduced herself while wearing a headset and holding an absorbent towel. "Now Little Homeschool is a lot like this absorbent towel here, because they both can drain every drop of your bad side dry and leave nothing behind, like so!"
To demonstrate, Teal dipped the towel into a small bucket of water that seemed to empty the moment the towel went in instantly. "It's like a towel, a sponge, or maybe a school that'll help you get away from your bad self so you can truly make a change for the better!"
As Teal continued speaking, a montage began playing of some of Little Homeschool's various students. "This is for the Rubies, the Lapises, the Jaspers, the Emeralds, the fusions; Little Homeschool was established only a few years ago, but business has been booming since then, and we've been able to provide a home for all of its students too!" she declared. "So come on down to Earth today in the solar system and see how you too can become a student of the one and only Crystal Gems!"
"Or join the Rutile Rebels and fight for freedom for all Gems!" Black Rutile exclaimed as she freed her face from Teal Zircon's foot and hastily got up, but the commercial ended before she could finish.
--
Once filming had ended, the Gems decided to edit together every commercial they filmed starring Teal Zircon because nobody could choose which to use. Ultimately, business began speeding up again thanks to their new advertisement.
"Hello, Gems. Teal Zircon for Little Homeschool! The place where you could find inner peace and tape your life back together! We got all kinds of art classes, like painting and sculpturing! Little Homeschool was established only a few years ago, but business has been booming since then, and we've been able to provide a home for all of its students too! If you ever feel like attending, then come on down to your local Warp Pad and see all there is to see on this wonderful planet, guaranteed! Stay fusing, my friends."
"Well, guys, it looks like we finally got our commercial!" Pearl exclaimed as their completed ad aired on television across the country and the universe. "And it's all thanks to you, Teal!"
"Please, you're making me blush!" Teal replied nervously. "So, who do you suppose we'll bring in with this?"
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Garnet adjusted her glasses with a grin before the Crystal Gems all heard the Warp Pad hum. "A new student, come on, everyone!"
When the Gems raced to the Warp Pad, they were greeted by a little brown Gem who had her gem replacing her nose and wore brown overalls. "Hey, uh, my name's Monazite. Is this Little Homeschool?"
"Let me guess, did our ad send you here?" Teal Zircon asked. Monazite nodded. "Then welcome to the party!"
--
Thus brings an end to this chapter. Yet as the title implies, but wait, there's more! We got eight more chapters left til we can end the first season, and I can assure you that you're in for a real treat! As for the next chapter, well to give you a hint, you've seen the Amphibia episode Civil Wart, right? Well, this time, it's a shipping war related to Camp Pining Hearts, plus a reference to a certain incident in the SU fandom from years ago that I've been wanting to do for ages. See you later!
#steven universe#steven universe future#steven universe alternate future#fanfiction#little homeworld life#teal zircon#garnet#amethyst#pearl#peridot#lapis lazuli#jasper#bismuth#white topaz#peedee fryman
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How to Become a Director? Professional Director Experienced
Becoming a movie chief is not a straight path. Roughage many ways to get there, but ultimately only feed one driving force: you. Regardless of your education or actual skill set, if you want to make movies, you will. But that’s easier said than done, so let’s dig a little deeper to answer how to become a director.
Every director sees good acting & modelling skills in every person who is coming to give auditions. And these words ICE Institute knows that’s why they only focus on polishing your skills. Their course is higher rated as the best Modelling courses in Delhi & Mumbai, India. And many big production houses also recommend there institute to learn filmmaking. Let’s see the step-by-step path to becoming a better director.
Learn from the best
There is a certain technical qualification that you will need to become a director. But actually learning to direct can come from two sources: working on your own films and analyzing other people's films. Watching movies from great film directors is easy (and fun!) way to understand the film language. But don't take it from us, here's someone who knows a thing or two about how to be a director.
The Internet is full of resources that allow you to study, analyze, discuss. You can find filmmaking tutorials and video essays on sites like StudioBinder's YouTube channel or our free masterclasses on filmmaking techniques.
Artists need inspiration, and even established filmmakers like Spielberg find it in the work of their heroes and their peers. Maybe you love David Fincher's movies, but you assume you'll never be able to direct like him. With videos like this, when we take a closer look at a particular filmmaker's techniques and strategies, it doesn't seem impossible.
Crew on film sets
Becoming a director of film or television requires more work experience than formal educational training (though graduating is helpful). The best film schools can make a big difference in becoming a great technical director, but working in multiple capacities on set can better prepare someone to be a film director.
Most of the people start working as production assistants but after that there are many more options. Here's a great video that explains those choices and the hierarchy on film sets.
Working as an assistant to directors, cinematographers and film editors introduces a person to the full range of a director. Using these learned techniques from the field to write and direct individual films is another way to be recognized as a potential film director.
Write a short film
Becoming a film director is a main job that you basically have to give yourself 100%. Major studios are not offering film director jobs and you can't just walk in and apply for one. This means you have to bring them to you. And so making your own movies is an essential step.
To make your own film, first you need a script. You can write your own screenplay. This is the best option to start. For every director looking for material, there are 10 scripts with 10 writers, each just waiting for someone to make them.
If you are going to write the script yourself, the best option is to use screenwriting software such as in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
Direct a short film
The qualifications required to become a film director are less about formal credentials, and more about practical experience. There are many directors who have no formal education. So, what exactly does it take to become a film director?
You have to prove that you can direct before someone hires you to direct. Start small — use your phone and a few friends and build something like the Mumblecore crew did. Focus on the basics and then, after a few "no budget presentations", you can expand the parameters.
Here David F. There's a short film from Sandberg (Lights Out, Shazam!) that he made with his wife in their home — proof that you can do a lot with no budget and no crew.
Attend film school
Film school is a great option for some people. The benefits of getting formal education are obvious but there are also disadvantages. Even going to the best film schools has advantages and disadvantages. But if you want to do it then go blindly because once you get certified then there is no limit to the opportunity you get. So if you want to join then choose the best Film direction course in Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, or any place you live.
Benefits of joining a filming school
Instead, one of the main benefits of a film school education is getting a degree. Not all film schools offer this, so make sure you understand this when you apply. To be clear, the degree you receive when you graduate from film school has more fearlessness outside of Hollywood than it does inside. If the movies don't work, at least you have "a degree in something."What film school offers is that hands-on experience that we've already discussed. You'll get to work with high-end, state-of-the-art equipment, like the best 4k cameras with the latest Cooke lenses, and learn from working professionals (probably).
#acting school#acting classes#Modeling#modeling classes#fashion model#modelling course#acting academy#filmmaking#Film direction course
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Flowers Are Better Than Snowdrifts
This will come as no shock to anyone who knows me, but I love spring. To paraphrase some action movie or other: Winter is the disease, and spring is the cure. Summer is that wild celebration you throw when you realize the disease is going to strike again, so you might as well party.
This being Indiana, there could be a foot of snow on the ground by the time you read this, but at the moment it’s been pretty nice in between the thunderstorms. Wait, let me check …
Huh. Heat wave. Better than winter, when snow is some kind of permanent nightmarish superglue. Nobody ever froze to death in a thunderstorm, unless they hid in a chest freezer. That would freeze your chest.
The only bad things about warm weather are pollen and bugs, and pollen can be medicated. I like to think of allergies as a luxury tax for being able to walk outside wearing less than eight layers of clothing.
One of the first signs of spring – other than any part of my skin being seen outdoors – is the appearance of budding plants and flowers. That burst of color, a visual shock after months of white and various shades of dirty gray, does more to cheer me than all the chocolate in Hershey.
This is nothing to sneeze at. Actually, it is.
Maybe you could say my love of spring is like a red, red rose. I came up with that all by myself, honest. Well, I stole it all by myself.
I need to see that color outside, because inside I’m the kiss of death for a plant. There’s a graveyard of flower pots in my garage, sad rows full of bare earth and dead, dry stalks. In the plant community I’m known as the Mark Horseman of the Apocalypse. The last time I walked through a botanical garden, twelve species went extinct.
I’m the Darth Vader of plants; I just choke them out.
And yet, just outside the house, plants thrive. Like the spiders who invade my home every year, they live for the thrill of being near danger. Mind you, I had no idea what those plants were, until I found a phone app to identify them.
According to the internet, the various plants around my house include:
Lilacs, which produce one of the most wonderful scents since fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I bought lilac scented laundry detergent over winter, but it just wasn’t the same.
"I wish Mark would get out of the way so I get a picture of the lilacs."
Narcissus, a variety of daffodil. Narcissus sounds so much more exotic and interesting, though. Narcissus is also a character from Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection, and thus is a hero to many in Hollywood. Things ended badly for Narcissus; but then, the Greeks wrote tragedies, not comedies.
Tulips, a flower that first came from Holland, Michigan. Some people from the Netherlands visited Michigan, and so fell in love with the flower that they made it their own and also nicknamed their country Holland, which seems like some kind of intellectual theft, to me. But revenge is sweet: For a time tulips became so valuable in the Netherlands that they replaced the national currency. Their entire economy crashed when some kid took his thumb out of the dike, looked around, and said:
“Dude. They’re flowers.”
At the moment my tulips are in hiding, waiting to see if I go crazy with the lawn mower or weed spray. However, a line of eye-poppingly colorful flowers eye-popped up against the neighbor’s house, where presumably they’re safe from me. Silly flowers.
"Just stay closed until he goes away."
Then there’s forsythia, a bush that sprouted some bright yellow blossoms. Someone told me I shouldn’t trim the forsythia, but it grows so fast that one of its branches once stabbed me in the leg as I innocently walked by with the garden sheers. One year I didn’t trim it at all, and a film crew came by and paid me a hundred bucks to use it in their low-budget monster movie, “Attack of the Sixty Foot Sythia”. I don’t know what they left out the “for” for, except maybe that “S” sound is scarier: Stormtrooper; Scythe; Senator …
I also have some roses, but as of this writing they haven’t bloomed. Maybe they’re standing by with the tulips. Waiting. Plotting.
Oh, and dandelions – how could I forget dandelions? Weeds, you say? Nonsense! They’re harmless and colorful, they make necklaces and wine, and what the heck is wrong with that? Those are flowers, believe it; the narcissus lovers are just jealous.
In any case, any bloom that doesn’t immediately kill you is better than a snowdrift.
http://markrhunter.com/
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
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#jude bellingham#*gif#.x#*edit#let me set the scene:#*clears throat* ehem#you wake up in your home that you and jude live in#only this morning you know he’s doing an interview in the garden#something about his personal life and how it’s changed since moving to germany to play for dortmund#it’s a sunny morning so you pop on some shorts and a t shirt and pop your slippers on to go downstairs#the house is full of film crew but they don’t get in your way at all in they’re very polite people#you look out of the big french doors which join your kitchen to the garden out back and see him sat in front of the camera#you can’t hear him as the doors are closed but he looks relaxed and he looks very handsome#the slippers adorning his feet make you laugh to yourself as he knows that they won’t be caught on camera#you make yourself a cup of tea and quietly open the doors to the garden and lean against them enjoying your morning brew#and your morning view#in between the journalists questions he looks up at you and winks#‘morning babe’ he mouths#‘morning handsome’ you mouth back and blow a kiss to him#anyway#hope you all enjoyed that
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𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲
𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: vinnie hacker x influencer!fem!reader
𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: you and vinnie try to keep your relationship under wraps throughout a wild game of real life among us.
𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: swearing, (it’s among us, so ✨murder✨) anxious reader, pure fluff
𝗔/𝗡: this was requested by @morganwilliams !! i hope i did this request justice!
THIS IS A LONG ONE!! really really hope you guys like it :)
this is based off of james charles’ among us in real life 2 video
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
whenever someone asked you about your career, you were never a hundred percent sure what to say. “i stand in front of a camera and make shitty jokes for a living” just didn’t have a nice ring to it.
you often found yourself settling on the term influencer, but it was hard to see yourself as someone who influenced people.
sure, you’d talk about things you enjoy doing and maybe sprinkle in some opinions or two, but the idea of you having the power to form someone’s day or perspective on life was draining. you never saw your content as a job, yet it was the only income of money in your life.
the bottom line was, you were grateful for living such a rare and unique lifestyle.
your boyfriend was too.
you weren’t close with a lot of content creators, but you did end up forming a bond with dixie d’amelio and her sister charli.
the three of you got along really well and would film tiktoks whenever you were together. while you already had a following, your view count skyrocketed after being featured on the sisters tiktoks. it was overwhelming, but they helped you through it.
dixie was always there for you whenever you needed a break and someone to lift your spirits, while charli was always there for you when you needed to rant or a shoulder to cry on. the two girls knew you better than most, and when they invited you to join them in a james charles video, you were extremely nervous. even more nervous when they told you that james insisted to have you join.
you wanted to say no, but after them promising you that it would be fun, you decided against it. you had never met james, despite him being close with the sisters, and you were really excited to finally meet him and whoever else would be there.
you were in a groupchat with dixie and charli, the three of you discussing the event. everyone was bringing dates, except james, meaning that there would be eleven people in total if y/n went.
dixie was bringing noah, her boyfriend who you had only talked to through facetime when he called her while you were with her. he seemed nice on the phone and you were sure you’d get along since you were close with dixie. charli told you that she was bringing larray, someone you had never met in real life either. you knew james would be there, obviously, but that was it.
you decided to reach out to james and let him know that you were nervous, but excited to meet him. the two of you chatted through dms and he informed you on who was scheduled to be there. he wanted you to bring a date too. anyone, as long as they were an influencer of some kind, and you immediately thought of your boyfriend. so you texted vinnie, who was down with the idea.
the only people you knew there were dixie, charli, and vinnie. you weren’t good with first impressions and vin knew that.
“i will be there with you the whole time! and it’s gonna be really fun, i know it.” he kisses your temple and rubbed your shoulders. he always had a way with reassuring you.
when you arrived, you were met with a grinning james. he gave you and vinnie hugs before opening the door and letting you in. he wanted the reveal to be a suprise so he lead the two of you to a guest room with suits and accessories laid out on a bed. james was already in gear, a white space suit on his body.
you and vinnie were the last ones to arrive, leaving three colors left to choose from. the rest of the crew mates were waiting in a living room.
“okay, so these are the options left, and we have little accessory thingys to choose from, so i will leave you guys here and you can pick between these and when you are done just meet me at the bottom of the stairs and i’ll introduce you to everyone. okay?” james rambled as you and vinnie looked over at the items left.
“okay, cool. sorry we were late!”
“no, no! don’t be, it’s okay!”
before walking out, he pulled you to the side. “i just wanted to say, dixie told me about you guys and i promise not to say anything about y’all’s relationship, i get it. and don’t worry if something gets caught on film, okay? i can edit it out, just have fun!” you whispered a quick thank you and he gave you another hug before closing the door, leaving you and vinnie to get changed.
“what color do you want?” you asked.
there was brown, black, and pink left.
“i call black!” you reached out and grabbed the suit, holding it up to your body.
“hey, i wanted black!”
“too bad, it’s mine.”
“fuck, i guess i’ll take pink then..”
you ripped off your shirt, leaving you in a bra before zipping up the suit. it was hot as fuck outside and you knew you’d melt if you wore something heavy underneath. you and vinnie made slight eye contact every few seconds, while jumping into your costumes.
“pink looks good on you, babe.” you giggle.
he smiles and picks up a headband with horns on it.
“ooo!” you zipped up the jacket before running over to look at the options. a gasp left your lips once you saw the fuzzy cat ears and you swiftly placed them on your head.
��lovey, look it!” you turn to vinnie with a smile on your face as you point to you cat ears.
“aww.” vinnie coos, wrapping his arms around your back.
“in all serious babe, we need to make sure we keep this under wraps.” you state.
“keep what?”
“us.”
“oh..” his mouth lowers into a slight frown as he plays with your hair. “yeah, i know.”
“we don’t want to start any drama and i don’t want either of us to get hate, so just… i don’t know- keep your distance today.”
“oh.. okay. i see how it is.” he crosses his arms, a charming expression resting on his face.
“no- not like a big distance! just ya know… try and look platonic.” he simply nods at your words before you both walk down the stairs to meet james.
“ahh!! you look so good, oh my god!” he gushes before leading you two to meet the rest. as you step through the house, voices louder and louder. you were already overwhelmed by the amount of people you could here. you turned a corner and was met with eight people, all sitting around a couch, chatting. lights were set all around them, illuminating the bright colors they wore.
you gulped and felt vinnies hand interlock with yours. he lightly squeezed before letting go, his way of letting you know that he was there.
i hope no one saw that.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
after meeting everyone, we all settled down and stood around a table, a black backdrop behind us. you tried to keep some space between you and vinnie and decided not to stand next to him, but to stand next to james and dixie instead. charli stood behind you while vinnie stood behind james. you turned your head to the right and was met with vinnie who was already looking at the back of your head. he was still close by, but far enough to go unnoticed. he smiled at you and you smiled back, before quickly turning around as james started his introduction.
you were too nervous to comprehend fully what he was saying, but snapped out of it once it was time to introduce yourself.
“quen, purple.”
“nas, cyan.”
“dixie, blue!”
“charli, green.”
“y/n, black!”
“james, white.”
“nai, orange.”
“vinnie, pink!”
“larray, red.”
“chase, lime.”
“noah, yellow.”
we cheered before gathering to the table. you and charli both picked the cat ears and gushed over how you guys matched. you tried to act natural, but you’ve never been in such a foreign setting and the fact that you had to keep your relationship with vinnie a secret, didn’t help. the only people who knew you two were dating was charli, dixie, noah and james. everyone else had no idea.
you stayed with charli, chase on the other side of you as you guys waited to get your cards. vinnie was talking to charli about something, so you decided to be brave and spark a conversation with chase.
“so.. was like your first choice?” he looked over at you, a phone in his hand ready to film.
“huh? oh, no, not really.. i didn’t mind though.” you just nodded.
awkward.
“hey, you and charli match!” he smiled, pointing at your headband with cat ears on it.
“oh, yeah!”
“that’s so cute!” he giggled, looking down at his feet. he shifted forwards in the line.
“yeah.. what do you have?” you reached out to grab whatever was on his head.
“oh, it’s a leaf.” he bent his head down so his hair was on full display, showcasing the headpeice.
“how cute!” vinnie couldn’t help but overhear the conversation. he knew chase was single and that you were his type on paper. he wouldn’t have to worry about him hitting on you, if he knew y’all were dating, but he didn’t.
you nodded, looking down at the table in front of you. you found yourself wanting to continue the conversation with him.
“so, did you- where you in the last one?” he looked into her eyes, “the last james among us video, i mean.” you chuckle awkwardly.
“oh! yeah, no i wasn’t. this is my first time.” you both made eye contact before making your way to the other side of the table and grabbed your cards. you looked up to see vinnie across from you. you gave him a small smile and he looked at you with a straight face. for a quick second, you were sure he was upset with you, but then he sent a sly wink your way, causing you to suppress a chuckle.
charli placed her hand on your shoulder. “you’re gonna be alright, right?”
“yeah! yeah, i think i’ll be okay..” you nodded.
“okay, i’m gonna be here if you need me, just come and find me okay? if you get overwhelmed, let me know and we can talk to james about it.”
“thank you, charli.” you hugged her and she kissed your head.
“now go have fun!” charli made her way outside.
ROUND ONE
you held your camera before walking towards the back of the house where the asteroids were. you opened your card and showed it to the camera.
CREWMATE
“im innocent, y’all!” you exclaimed before looking over your tasks.
1: fix the wires
2: bell grab
3: ball toss
4: puzzle
seems easy enough
“alright, y’all! i don’t know… where the fuck i am.” i walked out of the room and made my way into a hallway. i didn’t notice chase walking behind me until he spoke up.
“where you off to?”
“JESUS! oh my god, you scared the fuck outta me!” you playfully hit his arm before turning around and continuing your way through the house. “i don’t know, honestly. i have to fix the wires though..”
“oh, cool.” he nodded, his camera recording him and the girl walking.
noah started to approach them. “oh hey.”
“oh hey!” chase said.
“hey huddy.”
“hi noah..” you smiled and reached your hand out. noah high fives it before saying a small “hey y/n..” and walking by you and chase. you found the room with the wires and you and chase went your separate ways.
when you entered the room, you were met with a bright pink jumpsuit.
“hey, pretty girl.” he smirked. they were alone, the red light illuminated their faces.
“you are so lucky im holding the camera…”
“what?” he shot her a puzzled look, causing her to stare.
“oh…”
“yeah, ‘oh.’ vinnie, you need to be careful…”
“i know, i know… im sorry. from now on, we barely know eachother.” he placed his hand on his chest and you shot him an uncertain face before nodding and fixing the wires. you both kept your cameras out, making sure to edit this conversation out later.
all of a sudden, a body was reported.
“oh, shit..” vinnie stated. you both looked at eachother in suprise. “someone’s dead!” you walked quickly to the main room. “already??” you asked your camera.
when the couple entered the room, larray walked by and started talking to james who was playing dead on the floor.
“james is dead, you can’t talk to him.” vinnie stated.
“couldnt care less!” larray replied, causing y/n to laugh.
the group started conversing and chase admitted to finding the body.
“okay, you were at the puzzle.. y/n, where were you?”nas asked.
“i was fixing the wires with vinnie.”
stay cool, y/n. stay cool.
“where were you, nas?” you asked.
“i was outside by the vent thing.”
“BY THE VENT THING?!” charli yelled. you immediately started cracking up and grabbed charlis arm to keep yourself steady.
“WHY WERE YOU BY THE VENT?!” you two were cracking up and everyone else started yelling at nas.
“he came up to me, and was trying to kill me!” larray shouted over the noise.
while nas shared his defense, nai cut everyone off.
“should we skip!? should we skip? we have thirty seconds, should we skip or are we voting?” larray stood next to her, nodding his head as everyone decided to skip.
“okay guys…” y/n spoke into the lens, “i have to try not to die, because clearly, there is a murderer on the loose.”
you turned around at the sound of your name being called. charli waddled up behind you in her green suit.
“hey!”
“hi, i’m scared and don’t want to be alone.” she explained looking into her camera, causing you to laugh.
“no, because same! what task do you have?”
charli pulled out her card and you scanned it.
“i have the bell grab too! i think it’s over here.” you pointed as charli followed behind you.
“hi, charli!” noah greeted, walking by you two. you both said hello before finding the bell grab station.
“oo! okay, so i have to jump and try and grab the bell.”
charli went first, starting off in small bounces on the trampoline.
“you’ve got this!”
her hair blew in her face as she laughed breathlessly, reaching her arm out to hit the bell. she kept jumping until you heard a light ring.
“i did it!” she jumped off and wrapped her arms around you, causing you to almost drop your camera. “that was harder, than i thought it’d be!” she was out of breath as she watched you step on the trampoline.
you hit the bell in the first try, charli’s mouth agape. “no way!”
“i can’t believe i did that!” you angled your camera to show the two of you in shock.
charli moved into the house, while you walked to the other side of the backyard to the ball toss.
an emergency meeting was called before you could get there. you and noah entered the meeting last, you both stood to the side of the table. you looked up at your boyfriend who was trying his best to stay cool despite how cute you looked with your hair all messed up from jumping and your cat ears.
“what happened?” vinnie shrugged.
“you called this shit?” quen asked looking at charli.
charli explained that quen reached for her knife while they were alone doing asteroids. the group was now trying to figure out who was lying as the two girls yelled at eachother. dixie walked up to noah, now standing next to you. “do you think charli is lying?”
“i can’t tell..” you said, before slamming your hand on the table. “WAIT! guys, listen.” people continued to talk over you, making vinnie scream ‘shut up’ at the top of his lungs. everyone’s eyes were on vinnie.
“y/n has something to say.”
“thank you! okay, so i almost forgot, me and charli did the bell grab together, and she never tried to kill me, so i don’t think it’s her..”
“right, but you two are close, right? so she wouldn’t kill you.” nas explained.
before you could answer, quen added, “yeah, how do we know you aren’t the imposter? it’s probably you and charli!”
it was time to vote and it was a tie, meaning no one got ejected.
“okay, bitches.” you were out of breath from walking around the house, but you had to make your way to the basketball court. “i still have to do the stinkin ball toss…” your sneakers hitting the ground and the conversations from afar was the only thing you could hear. “so… i see nothing but trees and tiktokers… life is crazy!” you held the camera up and made a fuckboy face before doing the ball toss and making your way back to the house.
“hey guys!” you smiled as larray and nai walked by you, heading towards the station.
“hey, y/n! don’t mind me, just chilling with my bestie!” larray responded.
you looked at your camera with wide eyes before mouthing ‘sus’.
a few minutes later, while you were working on a task, an alarm ran off and it was declared that the round was over and that the imposters won. quen and larray admitted to being the imposters.
“no way!! did you kill nai when i went by you guys?”
“yes, i killed her. i was like ‘oh, fuck, y/n is gonna see us’ so i waited for you to leave!” you all erupted in laughter before being handed your second card.
ROUND TWO
“let’s see….” you opened the note with your fate on it and sighed contently. “thank god, i don’t want to be imposter!”
CREWMATE
1: who’s the imposter challenge
2: ball toss
3: shooting asteroids
charli walked by you as you headed towards the first station. you both said hi before she claimed to be going to security upstairs. you filmed her walking up the stairs before moving the camera back to your face. “not sure if i trust that, but okay.”
you stayed in a fairly large group of people when the alarm went off. charli reported james dead body.
“poor james! he’s died first every time.” you frown at your camera. vinnie walked up behind you and instinctively put his hands on your waist before quickly removing them.
dumbass.
dixie had to leave, so mario replaced her and next to nas. vinnie tried his best to nonchalantly stand beside you.
“i’m skipping..” vinnie mutters, scratching his neck.
“me too.” you nod your head as the majority vote was revealed. most people skipped, meaning no one was ejected.
“hey, boo!” you spotted lil nas dribbling a basketball infront of his tripod.
“hey!” he greeted and gave you a hug. the two of you hit it off before the game started. you both did the ball toss together, his hands on his camera with yours laced in your hair.
“ugh, look at us!”
the light hit the two of you in a way that made you look godly. you both had your arms extended and filmed the lighting on your faces.
“love that!”
“yes… oh my god i would do me. i would do us, honestly.” you both laughed when the alarm went off.
“okay, girl, you can back me up here! i swear, i think it’s quen, because she was looking at me weird as fuck dude..”
“oh my god, make sure you say something during the meeting!”
“i will.” you both walked into the room to see everyone yelling. vinnie stood in the corner, his face soft like a lost puppy. she could tell he was confused.
the group voted out quen who turned out to be innocent and continued their tasks. you spent the next round doing asteroids and were alone the whole time when another meeting was called. nai and charli were exposed as imposters.
“okay, i don’t know what the fuck happened.” you felt someone lightly tap your side and turned to see your boyfriend.
“i have no fucking clue, i was banging my head on the bell.” you bursted out laughing and he shushed you while the group commerced.
“i got that on camera!”
what a weirdo. i love him so much.
ROUND THREE
“god, if you love me, please don’t give me imposter that is just too much work..” you placed your hands on your knees and took a deep breath before opening the card.
CREWMATE
you smirked at the camera and pointed. “i’m a finesser, i swear…”
1: puzzle
2: fixing wires
3: shoveling snowballs
“time to go do the puzzle!” you singsonged before you felt something round knock you in the back. vinnie stood there with a finger to his lips.
“what are you doing? is that a snowball?”
“yeah, i took it from the station, don’t tell james.”
“what do you want?” you giggled. the two of you were alone without any cameras.
“you just look really cute with your cat ears and i wanted a kiss..”
“oh, my god no!”
“what?”
“you are gonna try and kill me!” you shouted. “no i won’t!” you knew you would regret this if he killed you, but a kiss is a kiss.
“vin, i swear to god, if you kill me-“
“i won’t.” he pressed his lips to yours and you quickly wrapped your legs around him, your fingers pulling lightly on his locks. you broke away from the steamy kiss and picked your camera back up.
“pleasure doing business with ya..” you shook his hand, when an alarm went off.
james and nas found mario’s body and the group interrogated the two. charli handed you a bag of m&ms. “you doing okay?” you smiled and nodded.
what a sweetheart.
they skipped and continued completing their tasks. you popped an m&m into your mouth and began to talk to your camera. “i honestly am so proud of myself for not dying! like, damn… i did that.”
after completing the puzzle, noah’s body was discovered by nai. “okay, it’s definitely y/n and vinnie!” james yelled, everyone’s eyes were on the couple.
“what?! no, why me?”
“no, okay, it’s definitely james. there’s no way- james has died first every round and now that he’s imposter, he’s not dead and goes upstairs with noah, leaves and noah’s dead? that’s not a coincidence, and it’s not nai because i doubt she got it twice in a row, come on.” james started to call vinnie a liar.
“what- why- why, do you think its y/n?” vinnie asked.
“sister y/n was following me at the start of the round!”
james what the fuck.
“UMM I DID NOT!”
the group ended up with 4 votes for james, 1 vote for quen, 1 vote for vinnie, and 1 vote for nas.
“it’s definitely vinnie, his girlfriend is just backing him up, i swear.” nas mutters.
did he just call me his girlfriend?
fuck… they are onto us
future james, please don’t use that footage.
“i’m fixing my wires! fixing my wires!” you sang, the tripod standing before you. “fixing these motherfucking wires- okay i’m done.” you walked downstairs and heard a meeting called.
nai was found dead and chase and vinnie were accusing nas and larray.
“i know it’s not me!”
“okay, it’s y/n!”
“what? i just said it’s not me nas, what the fuck!”
the group tied between chase and nas.
“guys this is so fucking stupid! stop tying..” you groaned and heard vinnie shout ‘i agree’ before making your way to the christmas tree to shovel the snowballs.
vinnie walked up behind you and started shoveling with you.
“are you going to kill me?”
“what? no, y/n.. i don’t even have this task.” he giggled, his face turning a crimson shade.
“why are you here than?” smiling up at him but keeping your distance, you felt your knees start to weaken at his smile.
“i just wanted to make sure you aren’t dead.”
as if on cue, an alarm was rung and everyone voted for larray, making nas and james win.
“imposters win!” james squealed.
nas walked up to you and gave you a hug. “bestie, what happened?!”
“sorry, i had to keep them off of me, i was starting to look sus!” everyone started making small talk and you decided to ask him what was on your mind.
“so, who told you about me and vinnie? was it james?”
“what? no, i could just tell. i get that it might be difficult, but you guys are really cute together- honestly.”
he walked away before you could answer and you could feel a smile work it’s way onto your face.
everyone got together to film the outro, y/n standing next to vinnie. while james was talking, she took a deep breath and grabbed the sides of vinnies face, pulling him in for a kiss. nai turned and saw, putting her hand over her mouth in shock. no one else noticed since they were in the back row. when she pulled away he smiled at her, before they regained their composure.
after the cameras turned off, y/n walked up to james who was eating m&ms.
“hey, you are gonna see something in the background of your outro..” james nodded.
“leave it in.”
@radioblah-blah
#vinnie hacker x reader#vinnie hacker#vinnie hacker imagines#tiktok#tiktokers#tiktok imagines#youtube#youtuber imagines
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#36 please? :)
"You're the first person I think about when I wake up."
Thank you @heathersaid <3
From the prompt list 101 Ways to Say I Love You
An alternate take on the time between the end of THG and the beginning of Catching Fire. Canon-Divergent. Rated T
The sculpted bronze water fountain in the center of Victor’s Village had been installed, according to Effie Trinket, as a gift for Twelve’s Victors for their contributions to Panem. The care the artists took crafting it, entirely with them in mind, was situated in the center of the rarely-traveled lane. The fountain was for their enjoyment- why they should be honored by the gesture!
Effie, of course, was full of shit.
Like their homes and everything in them, the water fountain was nothing more than a prop for the Capitol crews to shoot footage around. Twelve’s drab surroundings certainly weren’t picturesque enough for the viewers without classing it up a bit.
Couldn’t let anyone see the starving children or the emaciated elderly. It would be untoward to film the Star-Crossed Lovers in front of anything so crass as a row of run-down shacks— the “Capitol-provided housing” for most residents of the area.
Not that the water fountain held any meaning to Katniss. She gave very little thought to it and certainly wasn’t at that moment. It just so happened she finally cornered Peeta next to the fountain for a long-overdue conversation.
Catching up with him had proved no small task. Not because Peeta avoided her, which he did. This was the first time Katniss found the nerve to approach him.
Peeta and Katniss, The Star Crossed Lovers, were a big deal in the Capitol for their whirlwind romance, their oath to die together if they neither was allowed to live.
Forget about them being lovers; Katniss was concerned with salvaging some part of their wrecked friendship at this point. “I didn’t know it was real for you till later,” she admitted to Peeta nervously while he stood next to her in silence. He made her ill at ease, but she was the one who’d stopped him, waving the white flag so she’d better suck it up and get out what she needed to say.
She missed Peeta. She was mentally caught trying to explain that she didn’t want to pretend they were in love for the cameras, only to act like strangers at home. It frustrated her and left her feeling guilty that they’d spent all those years hovering around each other only to slide back into avoidance post-games.
Katniss didn’t care for people lightly. Whatever her feelings for Peeta meant, he’d lured her in with his kindness and now had a place in her heart. Their lives became irrevocably tied by both small things that meant a lot, like the friendship and coziness of time spent inside a cave in the middle of hell, and larger ones, like life-threatening sacrifices they made for each other. The horrors they’d survived and the misery of watching Peeta die behind an impenetrable wall of glass, twice, only for medics to resuscitate him.
Peeta was the only one who might understand the nightmares waking her at night so fearful she prayed not to fall asleep, the guilt, the constant state of dread she existed in, knowing one slip up could mean the destruction of everyone she loved. She couldn’t lose Peeta. She needed him.
“I thought you were playing your part for the Games. I thought you knew,” Katniss murmured. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I was only thinking about trying to keep us both alive. It’s what I’ve done my whole life,” she added as an afterthought. “I didn’t know until the interview that Haymitch hadn’t let you in on our plan. He didn’t give me a chance to explain things to you or talk to you alone.”
“I’m not a mind reader Katniss, although you and Haymitch have that skill in the bag,” Peeta said. He sighed. “I know you weren’t playing with my emotions. I’m mostly embarrassed. I should have known.”
“Don’t be. Peeta—” she wanted to tell him she cared about him, but that would just confuse both of them more because she didn’t know what those feelings meant.
“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t believe it when I told you I liked you in the first place?” He seemed puzzled. Hurt, but not angry. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”
Katniss laughed uncomfortably. “You were such a good actor, and everything in the Games is a show. You know that!. That’s why I didn’t know what to believe from you. We didn’t even know each other then. It didn’t make sense that you were interested in me. And you’re hard to read.”
“Me? I’m hard to read?” he said dryly, smiling at her for the first time in a long time. That parting of lips and flash of white teeth bolstered Katniss’s confidence.
“Look at how you got in with the Careers! You fooled them, and the Capitol audience loved you at first sight.”
“They only cared about me because of you,” Peeta said bemusedly.
“You were the one who gave them something to be interested in in the first place.” Sure they thought a lot of her now but during the pre-Games interviews? She hadn’t stood out from the crowd a bit. “They didn’t give a damn about me until the Games began,” Katniss felt like shaking some sense into Peeta. “We both know they liked “us” better than me. You’re a lot more charming than I am.”
“Oh yeah?” Peeta said drily.
“Yes, really,” Katniss had to cover a laugh behind her hand.
The smile dropped off her face when he shrugged. “Charming to everyone but you.”
“I think you know that’s not entirely true,” she said, breaking the silence that settled between them once again. “You never let me explain once we got off the train.”
“You don’t have to say that,” Peeta told her. “I was such an ass to you that day, and I’m sorry for acting so wounded. I don’t always know what to say when caught off guard. Sometimes I lash out.”
“I never know what to say either. Obviously,” Katniss murmured, thinking of the whys of how they found themselves in this situation.
He smiled at her admission. “I’ve come to realize that.”
“But you’re wrong about everything,” Katniss began, scuffing the toe of her Capitol boots on the cobblestone walkway for something to do. She wasn’t good at saying things, but to get Peeta to see; she was going to try. “You thought it was all an act, but It wasn’t. I was confused by you and my feelings. I liked our time together in the cave,” she admitted. “I liked kissing you.”
“You did?” Katniss could hear the smile in Peeta’s voice.
“Yeah. You were funny and kind, and you made me feel safe. You don’t know how much it meant having you there. After, on the way home, I hated it when you thought everything I did or said was an act.”
“You said not all of it,” Peeta took her hand, threading their fingers together.
Katniss exhaled raggedly. “Not all of it isn’t the same as none, you know. Not all of it means some. But it doesn’t matter what I feel or don’t feel. You’re wasting your time on me. I’m never getting married.”
“I didn’t ask you to marry me,” he said, sounding confused. “We’re sixteen, Katniss.”
She had to make Peeta see he was only kicking the can further down the road with that thinking. She couldn’t begin something she wouldn’t let herself finish. She didn’t have that luxury. “Sure, we’re sixteen, but we won’t be forever. And then what? I can’t let myself feel that way about you. I care about you a lot, but I can’t fall in love with you.”
Peeta didn’t answer. He had that unreadable expression on his face again. “Can you at least say something?” Katniss prodded nervously.
He sighed. “Do you want to try being friends? You’re the first person I think about every morning, and not talking to you or knowing how you are has been awful. I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Katniss admitted. “I’d love to be friends again.”
Peeta smiled, and the tension she’d been carrying around rushed away in a torrent, leaving her steadier than she’d felt in months. Overjoyed, she stepped into Peeta’s space and threw her arms around him. The last time they’d spoken, she never wanted to let go of him, unsure if she would ever have the opportunity again. Now that he understood, Katniss wasn’t going to waste it.
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until dawn - ljn
part I | part II
⤑ summary: basic number one rule of the museum is not to touch the art. but no one told jeno that falling for one of them isn’t allowed either.
⤑ pairing: jeno x female reader
⤑ word count: 14k
⤑ genre: fluff, humor, angst | broke architecture major!jeno, historical figure!reader, college!au
⤑ warnings: jaemin mentions onlyfans as a joke, references to actual historical figures (some try to flirt with jeno lol) and literature, explicit language
⤑ author’s note: wow, i’ve had this idea for almost two years! this one was inspired by one of my favorite childhood movies, night at the museum. it definitely required a lot of research and brainstorming, and finally i brought it to life! it was so fun to play around with the characters, and even if majority of them are real people, this is all still fiction.
i also wanna mention one of my moots, marge for enlightening me about her life as an architecture major.
⤑ taglist: @renjunniehome (dm me if you want to be added)
⤑ leave me some feedback, constructive criticism or hellos!
Dormitory rent was another thing to worry about aside from the inflated university tuition per semester. Although he’s lucky to have his parents backing him up already on it, paying the monthly rent for his dorm was the remaining objective on Jeno’s list.
Plus, money for food. The man was a heavy eater, following the whole “gym is life” mantra.
Splitting it already with two of his dorm mates turned best friends, Renjun and Jaemin, his plate felt lighter. But the question still lies: where on earth was he going to get the money?
He’s practically checked out every available part-timing job in university and anywhere near campus. Barista at the same café Jaemin works at, teaching assistant for an art school for kids, convenience store cashier, library assistant, all taken in a heartbeat. The burden of his friends paying his debt these past months took a toll on him, almost to the point he almost considered making an Onlyfans.
“Yah, just find something else! Part-timers are in demand right now!” Renjun intensely closed his laptop before his older friend gets any suggestive thoughts.
“I mean, you didn’t work out your body to look the way it is for nothing.” Jaemin pitched otherwise, lifting the front back up. “When do you want to start filming? Loads of chicks would dig a piece of you!”
The contradicting opinions of his friends were like the devil and angel debating on his shoulders. Useless, he gave this worry a rest and returned to drawing new plates. A common thing when you’re an architecture major. Those deadlines were nearing. Looks like he’ll pull another all-nighter again.
Good thing most of his classes were late in the morning until 6 pm.
As if someone from above heard his petition, Jeno saw a help wanted sign posted on the bulletin board outside of the university museum. He initially went there to document some artwork and architecture models from Greek and Roman times, further analyzing how they’re still apparent in modern buildings.
The sign explained the need for one part-timer from any college to cover the night shift of the museum due to the current night guard’s full semester absence. He only had to come in 3x a week, choosing his days since he was still a student. Even the pay was above average, considering that most part-timers never go beyond midnight. Jeno would, on the other hand, always staying for his projects or gaming with the boys. Drinking sometimes during late-night Fridays with his entire college crew.
The pay would leave him a load of extra cash for himself, thus he sent an application to the museum office right before he left. A week later, while he was out with the boys, he got a text from the office that they wanted to meet him again for a final interview first thing on Monday.
Perhaps it was having architecture as his course and a healthy physique that landed him the part-timer position. Mainly, the latter because guards required strong endurance and fighting skills when worse comes to worst. It would start at 9 pm until 6 am the following day, and there was a designated uniform of it too. Blue blazer with matching trousers, white dress top, and loafers.
Aside from the typical museum etiquette the head director instructed him about, there was an unofficial list of tips written on paper given from the night guard on leave when the director handed you over his box of office-related things.
Only read at the night guard office once you’re the remaining staff left.
He did as he was told like an obedient son, flipping the succeeding page.
To my temporary replacement,
This part-timing job is nothing regular than the other jobs. You’ll witness things as you’ve never imagined them to be, almost like witchcraft. You’ll be lost and maybe frightened, or that’s how I felt the first time because no one led me through it all those years ago. Lucky for you, I made this small guide on how to properly take care of the place that the other staff doesn’t know about.
Before you proceed, I request you take a 5-minute stroll around the lobby first to understand what I’m talking about. After such, go back to the office or somewhere quiet then browse through the guide as quickly as you could.
Art is timeless here, so they need to be taken care of.
Good luck!
Park Sanghoon
Night Guard on Leave
Nothing could’ve prepared Jeno for what’s to come once he unlocked the office door. They say that art brings so much color to our life, allowing us to feel all sorts of emotions in a glimpse. But no one ever interpreted art to be literally alive and walking in the halls.
Behold, random wax figures and marble sculptures that he’s seen in the past roamed the hallways, as well as the paintings were interacting with each other side by side. Even the standee of a puppy from the entrance played fetch with one of those sculptures. He swore he looked like Hermes the messenger god from his arrow headpiece and sandals.
It made more sense why the guard on leave explained his feelings during the first day because it resembled Jeno’s. But unlike that guard, Jeno sucked it up. No one ever does well on the first day, even if others say otherwise. The first day was a learning experience, so he collected his thoughts even though the goosebumps triggered his body during that one rotation.
There was an indoor garden, already locked by the day guard earlier. The only room without any art piece, where students lounge to study the plants or relax in nature.
The sculptures section ahead, showcasing various fictional figures specifically from Greek mythology, chattered away about family drama and beliefs. The sculptures of Hades and Zeus, according to their title plate, argued relentlessly about power while Athena always intervened by shouting or even throwing arrows or daggers to any of the lightbulbs there.
That was one rule in the guide, but Jeno didn’t know yet until he came inside the room and swerved the attention of the arguing duo.
“Well, what do we have here?” Zeus, in the center, straightened his posture on his throne to present himself in a more regal way. “Are you perhaps the temporary replacement of Sir Sanghoon?”
“Sir Sanghoon’s stand-in is rather good looking, don’t you think?” Hera mused, stepping down from her throne beside Zeus to take a closer look at the taller male. Her cold fingers trailed his jaw until his chest, where his heart was beating intensely. She even pinched his toned bicep, mouthing wow.
“Truly handsome you are, my dear. So full of life, please introduce yourself to us.”
While Jeno introduced himself to everyone in that room, he answered any sorts of questions they had for him too. From his age, educational background, hobbies, Aphrodite just had to ask him if he had a girlfriend because he was that handsome.
“Nope, I’m single. With my degree in architecture, the requirements are so heavy I can’t even try dating.”
Mentioning his degree excited the gods, telling him how their people created and designed all these temples to house them and perform rituals. They loved it so much. This was a copy-paste of what Jeno learned from his history classes, and for a first, he’s hearing the perspective of the Greek gods.
Mind-boggling that he hasn’t fully freaked out yet. That’s what Athena anticipated when Sanghoon told her about his short leave, putting her in charge of everyone for the meantime while the replacement settled down.
The college museum was built during the late 70s as a gift from one of the alumni. It was for the purpose to preserve history and educate college students outside the classroom. The Greek mythology exhibit was the oldest one, making Athena have more seniority. Over her stay, she’s seen every new guard lose their senses during the first night. Some not even returning for a second night. She got used to every outcome, and so far, only 8 people lasted after the first night. A couple of students in the 70s and 80s, Sanghoon in the 90s, and now Jeno was one of them.
“Jeno, aren’t you terrified by us? You just got a job in a museum that comes to life every night, and it’s not a normal thing.”
“Well, I’m still shaken up about it. But it’s my first night, and it’s when I learn everything about the place from head to toe. Plus, I really need the money.”
“Money for what? But you’re young, a student even!”
“Yes, I am. However, I do pay for the rent in my dorm. So, this job is like my first big responsibility, and I want to perform well.”
Athena commended his sense of authority, capable of leading himself. She noticed how well-spoken and poised he is, respecting and listening to everything the gods and goddesses said even if they were nonsense. She never liked to compromise with her power, taking a while to like Sanghoon back in the day. Though Jeno looked like a natural leader on his first night. If he could take care of himself well, he’s skilled to take care of the rest in the museum as well.
Plus she had full control on the nights he won’t be there, especially the weekend.
With his potential, Athena mentored him the entire night about the gist of the entire museum. Every upcoming leader needs an intelligent mentor, right? She was naturally gifted with worthy leadership skills, managing Jeno like her own child.
Athena explained how the museum came to life, which was through a royal golden plate from the Oriental room. It was a gift from a popular sorceress in China to an affluent family from the Han dynasty, who wished them a long life after she was saved from invaders due to them. The plate preserved over time, becoming an artifact. Its power remained immortal, mutating to bring life wherever it goes. In this case, the museum since its arrival in the late 70s as well.
“That’s why the Oriental room must be locked always so no one could touch or break the plate.”
After she ordered Jeno to lock the mentioned room, alongside the Foreign Art Exhibit Room which he checked out for his class, she led him to the best view of the entire museum. Center of the second floor, where stairs were on both sides. Jeno marveled at the vivacious atmosphere, witnessing actual art living, breathing, and enjoying themselves.
“Unreal, right?” She leaned in the railing, scanning through the chatty paintings.
Jeno also leaned down, deep in thought and wonder. “Absolutely, Athena. How come no one knows about this? Art coming to life? It’ll invite more students to the museum.”
“That goes against a golden rule as a night guard in this museum.” She replied bluntly. “The life that goes on inside this museum at night must remain a secret to the public.”
Jeno predicted this kind of response, having watched too many films where anything supernatural mustn’t be revealed. Although he liked the advantage of knowing something this powerful, he’d never abuse it.
Athena’s intellect was beyond the world, seamlessly reading Jeno’s expression and what he was thinking. He had good intentions even if he’s a bit mischievous. She needed to keep a keen eye on him, but for now, he needed to explore on his own.
“Anyways, Sanghoon still left out some other details. So if you have any questions, I’ll be at my exhibit trying to shut my father and my uncle up again.”
“Can you not use any weapons to do so?”
“Can’t make any promises, Jeno.” She slyly cracked her knuckles and neck as if she was fighting another battle.
Jeno was silently left with himself, finally browsing through Sanghoon’s guide while seated in one of the museum benches.
It consisted of 25 rules, wherein the first two rules consisted of locking up. One, for the doors and gates of the museum, so no art piece could escape. If they do, they will turn into dust when the sun is out according to Athena. Two, locking the Oriental and Foreign Art Rooms, which was already done.
Rule #5: Let Mochi the puppy from the lobby tag along with you; feed him treats if you have any.
On cue, the little guy barked from the corridor and raced to his side. Jeno carried him, babying him for a little and letting him lick his face a few times before putting him back down. He’s surely going to the pet store first thing in the morning with the museum allowance the director gave him.
Since he was on the second floor, he read and followed the rules that fit in before returning downstairs. On the other side of the floor were the wax figures exhibitions: one for prominent men in history while the other for prominent women. Well, more people to get acquainted with.
It’s the exchange of gasps and profanities he received when he chose the latter room. Seeing their faces, these were women he’s learned in school and online. Now in the (fake) flesh. Except for one girl he’s never heard of, unbothered in her corner sketching her life away in a sketchpad. But before he could check who she was, a suggestive touch on his arm distracted him.
“My, oh my, Hera wasn’t lying when she said that the new night guard was a fine specimen.” By her dark blue eyeshadow and eyeliner with the snake-like crown, Cleopatra studied him like he was one of the most renowned art pieces. Even patting his chest, abdomen, and arms with both her hand, Jeno caught a suggestive glint in her eyes and a smirk across her red lips.
Rule #13: Reject Cleopatra’s seductive advances at all costs.
“Goodness, Cleopatra. It’s only his first night, and you’re scaring him.” With her accent, round eyes, and a chic formal outfit, she carried a posh aura while unhesitatingly scolding the Queen of the Nile.
“Come on now, Diana. He’s stunning, who wouldn’t go after him?” If no one knew her, you’re not reading up on your world history. She’s said to have been a lovely and intelligent woman, gone so soon. Jeno definitely understood why after she detached Cleopatra’s raging hands off him.
Rule #14: Treat Princess Diana and Hera like your own parent.
“Your highness.” Jeno nodded at her out of respect, only making her chuckle uncontrollably.
“No need to address me like that, love. Now, come here.” She widened her arms for Jeno, hugging him amiably. He sensed her motherly warmth, accepting such a gesture. “You remind me so much of my youngest son, Harry. Welcome to the night shift of the museum, love.”
Similar to the Greek mythology exhibit, he introduced himself and responded to any questions that the women wax figures may have. Good for him, they weren’t crossing any borders and kept him at ease.
“A student like you working at night to pay rent?” Katherine Johnson, an African-American NASA mathematician whose calculations led to the success of a lot of famous spaceflights, cannot believe her ears. Students must only focus on school, nothing else. “What about your studies, boy?”
Rule #15: Engage in academic discussions with Katherine Johnson whenever you can.
“Most of my classes are in the afternoon, Miss Katherine. So I’ll sleep in the entire morning later and study during my breaks.”
“Mr. Jeno, what do you like to do outside of work?” Anne Frank, a German-Dutch teenager whose revolutionary diary that documented her life in hiding from the Nazis gained popularity worldwide after publication dreamily asked from her section of the exhibit. Her life was robbed of greatness merely because of her religion and war.
Rule #16: Bring delicious food or gifts to Anne Frank.
“Well, I like to bike with my friends, exercise, and draw whatever comes into mind!”
Everyone he’s met so far acquired pleasure in knowing about who he was and his passion for architecture, ridding the “freaking out” phase Athena assumed he had. Yet not everyone in this exhibit bothered to give him a shot.
Jeno’s attention from Anne talking about her crush towards Peter van Daan, a teenage boy who lived with her, switched to the section beside her, where an unacquainted figure was zealously sketching as if something was due to the following day. It reflected how he’d look when he’s cramming one of his plates due to first thing in the morning. While he properly excused himself, he quietly gazed at the way this woman scrunched her eyebrows when she erased something then drew it again. She was someone he’s never seen or heard before, reading the information plate in front of him about her.
(Y/N) (Y/L/N), Explorer and Author. (1854-1900)
Wealthy women in the Victorian Era only served one purpose in society: marry a man from a prestigious family, have his children and join whatever interests they have. However, for (Y/N), she wasn’t going to conform to those standards.
Born into the affluent house of (Y/L/N), she was the youngest of 8 children. She was said to be the kindest and sweetest sibling out of everyone, not capable of hurting anyone or anything. She said it herself that she can’t throw away a dying flower because it’s too painful. While 5 of her older brothers were sent to school, she stayed at home with her 2 older sisters Cecilia and Amelia where she learned how to play the piano and take voice lessons from impressive teachers. Due to the huge age gaps between them (12 and 8 respectively), she never felt close with them. She was only closest to the 6th and 7th siblings, her twin brothers Benjamin and Liam whom she only had a 2-year gap. She was also best friends with one of the scullery maids her age, Lily, because she found her amusing that than the boring rich girls her mother forced to interact with.
The moment it bothered her that she wanted to live a more meaningful life was when Amelia got married. She was 12 years old at the time, and it left her as the last unwed daughter in the family. Badly did she want to revolt, which she gradually did. Instead of practicing piano, she’d sneak in to read every book in her father’s office. She secretly studied the notes of her older brothers from school and even dressed as a boy numerously thanks to Benjamin and Liam to join their classes or field trips.
This was her routine up until the age of 18 when she stomped her foot down and expressed to her parents that she wasn’t going to let Victorian society dictate her. The night before her parents were bound to send her to her great aunt’s home down South to sort her out, she successfully snuck out her house thanks to Lily, Benjamin, and Liam. It’s another good thing that she saved a lot of money for that moment.
Off she went across Europe first, then sailed to America and even parts of Asia. Initially under the name Lilibe, coined from picking the first two letters of her brothers and best friend, she documented her days and nights through her journals and sketches. Over time, she sent them to her brothers for publication. It started the franchise, “The Adventures of the Young and Free Lilibe”. There are 10 books under it.
She learned French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean by herself as she made friends from those places. It was rare of someone like her to be fluent in Oriental languages, surprising locals every time she spoke to them. She was the only explorer to vividly describe life in different Asian lands in English, talking about their history and culture. With her accurate drawings of diverse citizens and their daily lives, it educated a lot of those living back home in Europe about them rather than speaking lowly of them.
In Seoul did she stayed the longest until her death from pneumonia at the young age of 46.
In her posthumous work, Finding Me, did she reveal her real identity, dedicating it to her parents whom she apologized and expressed her love for them despite everything that occurred between them. She talked about the last years of her life in Seoul, how locals were so nice and inviting to her, and how she adopted kids instead of having her own through the years.
“It’s not because I never found love in men. It’s more like I found love in doing things I’m passionate about. Traveling, learning new cultures, it outweighed the human need of romance.”
Due to her thrill in taking risks and embarking on wondrous adventures, it brought inspiration to a lot of young girls pressured to marry at that time to pursue what they really want.
A remarkable background you had, Jeno contemplated. How come no one discussed her in his classes?
You kept brushing the bangs of your hair back as it fell repeatedly. But you got irritated instantly because it sabotaged your drive, you brought out a hairpin from her desk and attached it on both sides. But when you shifted your angle of focus, the corner of your eye locked with Jeno’s attentive gaze.
He didn’t flinch, even he should’ve. He wasn’t one to linger his look on anyone’s physical appearances, but your story and the passion on your face as you sketched mesmerized him. He was charmed, to say the least.
“Uhm, hello there?” You broke the silence due to your uneasiness about it. What’s his deal?
Jeno bowed, reintroducing himself to you. As soon as his presence settled in the room when Cleopatra attempted to hit on him, you could’ve cared less. Though this man was a first for you, a first in a long time as all guards would feel intimidated by you during the first night. Even your sharp tongue didn’t faze him. “Staring is rude, sir. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”
“She did,” He wandered through the exterior of your section, by the fence that separated you and him. Not breaking eye contact, his eyes turned into moon crescents as he smirked with trouble. “Though she also told me to appreciate the art too.”
Snorts noisily exhaled from Cleopatra, who took the center section of the exhibit, succeeded by Princess Diana’s whispered gasps and Katherine’s side-eyeing Anne beside her while she taught her math. That was an odd way a guard conversed with you, but Jeno was merely doing what the rules stated. Partly, he was impressed with his cheesy pick-up line, partly embarrassed because he’s never spoken like this to anyone.
Rule #17: Act playfully around (Y/N) (Y/L/N) to break the tension; she’s a harsh one.
There was irony between the information he read about your life versus the wax model. Even when you faced sexism and ran away according to your history, never were you impolite to anyone in your life. You couldn’t even kill a lurking fly when it roams around your food! It showed Jeno a possibility that as much as you’re just a wax version of someone famous in the past, maybe the external environment around you had a heavy influence too.
“You fool!” His confidence exasperated you, urging you to persistently throw balls of paper with your failed sketches at him. No one dared to talk to you like that, most especially a night guard. “Take that for your comment!”
If you thought he’d scram away and act repentant, you were proven wrong. His reflexes were parallel to a spider, capturing every single paper ball without fail. Up and down his body went, one arm held on to them and no more were left on your part. Never a single defeat during the first meeting in years, but that seemed to alter now.
“Give up already, Ms. (Y/L/N)?” Jeno remarked vibrantly as he discarded your mess in the trash bin behind him. If he managed to get everyone to like him tonight, he wanted to make sure to have you onboard too.
Whatever agenda he had, you weren’t up for it. You’d treat him the same way you usually treated Sanghoon for the past 20 something years: cold and ignorant. From your stool, you left your comfortable position to come face to face with this man. He better be grateful for that barrier in between you, or else you would’ve caused mayhem.
“Never in your wildest dreams, Mr. Lee.” Your mouth gave a half-smile, clenching on the bars to liberate your annoyance. Before you could fend back, that’s when Princess Diana intervened between your heated dialogue.
“Oh heavens, children!” She stood by the barrier, mostly to protect the newbie Jeno with her body. “(Y/N), he just wanted to know you. Must you be so cross?”
This Princess Diana embodied all the traits the real one had: soft-spoken, intelligent, and protective. She’s gotten so used to your gradual temper, staying on standby whenever anyone tried to mess with you. Even if it was harmless, you could get so mean!
“Diana, he was mocking me! Saying such a sleazy phrase as if to amuse me, ha! Not a chance, I hate people like that.”
“Not us women though; you just despise men in general.”
“And you’re absolutely right!” With a smug smile, you greedily rejoiced. “Anyways, escort this disgrace out. I’m not in the mood to get angry when I have a lot of inspiration on mind right now.”
While you resumed your sketching to let go of that extra steam, Jeno was left with Diana who apologized on your behalf. Your pride was too high to do that, and as the motherly figure among them, she always took care of things in your exhibit.
“I’m so sorry for that, Jeno. She’s not really like this, but I know how much you tried your best. It was quite a fresh spectacle honestly.”
Whatever was responsible for your abrasiveness, Jeno yearned to know. He couldn’t understand who you were yet even knowing your life story. All he wanted was to get along with everyone. It was the key to successfully maintain his job for the next 6 months.
“How can I make her come around then?”
A demanding question that no one had a solid answer to. Diana recalled how much Sanghoon didn’t let your dislike for him get to him, maintaining a respectful boundary in between each other after his past attempts. Though with Jeno, observing how he riled you up and your focus entirely on him, she hasn’t seen anything like it since the 80s.
There was something in Jeno that may just get you to warm up and return to your kind nature.
“Aside from acting playful, as Sanghoon recommended, I can think of two ways, love.” By the doors of her exhibit, where Jeno was already waltzing the corridor to visit other rooms, she suggested smartly. “One, argue back to her opinions. She hates whenever anyone tries to get her way, but boy, you’re just as wise as her. No one was brave enough to peeve on her until you came.”
“How about the second way?”
“Do your research, love. Aside from libraries, you have those small technology devices that allow you to search up anything.” She tousled Jeno’s brown locks as if it were her actual son’s. Some habits just don’t die when you do.
“Brush up on your history, Jeno. Not only will it help you with (Y/N), but it’ll serve purposefully with the other art pieces here.”
Boy, he was ready to crash in his bed for a few hours after all those interactions. His introverted nature required to be revitalized.
Towards the last hours of his shift, the art pieces who’ve strolled in the first floor lessened his plate by not leaving any major clutter behind. As if she listened to him, Athena didn’t break any lightbulbs too.
His main highlight would be meeting the men of the historical male section, who flaunted a more humorous ambiance. Freddie Mercury from Queen insisted he drink a glass of his wine and to bring more wine next time, which he denied since it would against Sanghoon’s rules. King Sejong the Great and Martin Luther King Jr. argued back and forth over the most random things (pineapple on pizza specifically), while Steve Jobs mediated whenever one crossed the line. Meanwhile, William Shakespeare was too preoccupied in his writing and speaking to himself about his books, wondering how to improve them.
During one of his breaks today, he multitasked drawing a new plate with his research on every art piece to know them better. He started with the exhibit of sculptures of the Greek gods and goddesses, which were Zeus, Hera, Hades, Athena, Hermes, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Artemis, Dionysus, and Circe. They weren’t the complete roster because the rest were in other museums across the globe, as said by Athena before sunrise. The majority of them he knew what they were in charge of, but the rest were foggy to his knowledge. Typing away and jotting notes down, he started downloading his favorite jazz songs too.
Rule # 4: Play jazz music to the paintings on the first floor so they can relax and dance within their frames.
Circe is a minor goddess, the daughter of the sun god Helios. She’s recognized for her versatility in incantations and herbs, capable of transforming people into animals. From Jeno’s perspective, she’s mostly within her space with her journals and magic wand, trying new spells or combinations of herbs. For the latter, he had to keep a closer eye on.
Rule #9: Don’t let Circe, god of potions, into the Oriental Room to get plants and herbs.
He discovered that Dionysus is the god of wine, happiness, and theatre. That’s why every god in the exhibit had full wine glasses during their gathering. It also added up why Freddie Mercury always comes to him when his bottles run empty, though he mustn’t go overboard.
Rule #18: Make sure Freddie Mercury doesn’t get too drunk from the wine of Dionysus; he might make numerous scenes if he does.
After his lone studying session, he took a short trip to the pet and convenience stores to buy food. He got a dumbfounded look from Jaemin back in the dorm room, who was studying for one of his quizzes in Biology in a couple of hours.
“Woah what’s with this stash? Is it for yourself or something?”
“The museum surprisingly has a lot of tasks needed to be done at night. And no, not from my wallet but the allowance they gave me before you get a heart attack.” Jeno plopped on his solo bed, covering his face with a pillow.
“Thank God.” A relaxed sigh escaped Jaemin’s lips, taking back his balled-up fists meant for his roommate. “I think I would’ve stormed that boring museum if they made your broke ass spend a cent.”
“Boring?” Jeno removed the cushion hastily, eyeing his busy and coffee-high roommate. The scent of black coffee from his mug spread in the room, assuming that this upcoming test was testing his roommate’s patience again.
Not even trying to look at Jeno while reviewing his handwritten notes, Jaemin continued giving his opinion. “Museum culture is dead, Jeno. Not everyone has the time to roam around one, plus people can always look up the artifacts online these days.”
People were entitled to their own opinions on numerous things, though Jeno begged to differ with his roommate’s. Especially after witnessing the magic of the night shift, you shouldn’t merely judge a book by its cover. In this case, you shouldn’t judge an artwork or art piece merely on its history and legacy.
Maybe because his roommate was in the science department, he thought this way. A lot of art students regularly visit the museum both for fun and for their classes, and Jeno was one of them. Though he was too sleepy to explain his side, he let it slide for now and snoozed throughout the late afternoon.
An hour before the start of his shift, Jeno promenaded the emptying museum to inspect anything else he might’ve missed out on from last night. There were two areas according to his rotation, both in the first floor.
One was the Diorama Room. Divided into 4 sections, highlighting some of the well-known ancient civilizations in world history. Ancient Egypt and Ancient China to your left, Ancient Rome and Ancient Maya to your right. They acted as if they were the actual people during those times, giving Jeno a laugh when they cracked jokes in between. Such tiny figures, yet the rule for them said otherwise.
Rule # 7: The small figurines in the Diorama Room are feisty, so make sure they don’t fight with one another again.
The remaining room left was the Theater Room. He’s never been here, though his art friends have for film festivals held by the university.
The interior of it was set to look like an actual cinema place you’d see in a mall. There was a mini lobby with a few posters of iconic films over the years. Singin’ in the Rain, Back to the Future, Titanic, those were some framed and hung on the wall. There were two other doors there: one leading to the chairs and the other where the movie projector was. The latter room was pretty riveting, wherein you can choose to watch old short films through an 88mm film projector or switch to a cd player for the newer releases.
Back to those posters, they weren’t an exception to the magic and a simple rule was left for Jeno to do.
Rule # 10: Chatter with the movie posters in the lobby of the Theater Room; they love meeting new faces.
Since there wasn’t anyone checking out the Art Rooms on the second floor, he closed them. Though as he was about to lock the Oriental Room, the ravishing plants around the royal plant appealed his interest. Said to hold magical properties from his research, Jeno was reminded of another rule to keep in mind for later.
Rule # 3: The fake flowers in the Oriental Room come to life too at night, so when no one is lurking, water it diligently.
Instead of lounging at Sanghoon’s office first, he brought his important items to the front desk of the lobby and continued sketching his plate. He wanted to watch the art come back alive with his two eyes. Usually, he’d have coffee when he does his work, but due to another crucial rule in the guide, he’d rather not take the risk.
Rule # 6: The lobby room can get rowdy, so keep any drinks away from important items.
On the dot, the cries and yawns from the art pieces around him reverberated. Closing his sketchpad, his night guard mode was on. Connecting his laptop on the aux cord of the museum speakers, he tapped play on his playlist of jazz music that’ll last for the entire shift duration. As the first notes flooded the entire vicinity, sounds of joy left the lips of each painting. Some were humming, dancing, and even singing along.
“You can never go wrong with Frank Sinatra!”
“This Jeno lad really did the heavens’ work quick!”
Having the sense of accomplishment on his sleeve, the small barks of his fluffy pal reached closer to him. As he kneeled to find him, he was only taken by surprise as Mochi excitedly jumped on him. Tumbling over, Jeno chuckled innocently as Mochi licked his face numerously. This puppy was friendly, easily liking everyone at first sight. He wasn’t as choosy like Daegal, the puppy of his friend Chenle studying Business Management.
Once he composed himself and cradling the dog like his own, he fed him a dog treat from the desk.
“Good boy, Mochi!” He rubbed his fur while the puppy happily munched on it, ready to fulfill more of his duties.
He skipped the Greek mythology exhibit since Athena was doing a good job not letting anyone go overboard with their powers, though he’ll check in again in a few hours. He met the posters of the theater room, who were celebrities he grew up watching on tv. Sanghoon was right; they were the kinder group in the entire museum because they were more laidback.
On to the second floor, all the female wax figures lounged by the male section due to another lecture from Shakespeare. Although the guide informed him that most of the time it could get boring, this lecture was more stimulating. On his platform, he elaborated with conviction the lines of one of his famous books, Romeo and Juliet. A must-read book back in his high school days, there’s no way Jeno could’ve missed that out.
From the looks of it, Jeno perceived that Shakespeare was performing spoken word poetry due to him reading only Romeo’s lines while Cleopatra read Juliet’s beside him. This kind of show was one of the sources of entertainment to these figures, so Jeno leaned by the side of the door to listen. After all, the famous author of it was a few feet away. Cleopatra channeled such a naïve character to her ability, absentmindedly saying as she clutched her chest.
“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.”
“Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”
“'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose-”
The flow of an engaged Cleopatra was abrupted by the loud yell from Shakespeare in front, specifically to an amused Jeno. “Jeno, my boy! Welcome back!”
Such an announcement diverted everyone’s attention to the back, some running to Jeno to give their respective greetings. It’s rare for everyone to feel at ease with a new guard, taking them weeks to approach them due to the intimidation. Though Jeno’s bright presence felt welcoming, so they accepted it. Perhaps it’s because of his youth, it reminded them of theirs too.
Shakespeare highly requested (or forced) Jeno to take his part as Romeo, intrigued to watch someone younger read his lines. Since most of the male wax figures were aged, it never satisfied Shakespeare so he jumped on this opportunity as quickly as he could. With the roaring cheers from the other figures, Jeno might as well give it a try. It wasn’t like his friends were here to clown him like they usually would if he did something humiliating.
Jeno shockingly liked this activity as he wasn’t much of a performer on stage, but someone who does the behind-the-scenes of it. He realized as he read the lines from the book Shakespeare asked him to follow along with why people held university-wide spoken word shows a few times per semester. He was no actor, but it’s delightful to have tried it at least once in his life.
“O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?” As if the edge of the platform was the balcony of Juliet (or Cleopatra rather), he knelt as he ardently spoke his lines. He’s emphasizing this rush of uncontrollable desire for her, rambling whatever he would do to get the girl.
“What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?” Cleopatra questioned from her chair, inching closer to the young boy. Even outside character will she attempt to charm Jeno, but Jeno was quick to catch it and kept his distance.
“The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.”
“I gave thee mine before thou didst request it, and yet I would it were to give again.”
“Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?”
“But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”
Everyone was condensed by their top-notch acting, as if this was the actual play unfolding before them. Jeno wasn’t so sure how he got himself in character without preparation, yet he felt what his character felt. He comprehended the material a lot better now than when he was still in high school.
However, there was always that one killjoy to ruin the heartfelt mood.
“How dumb is it to say that you’re in love after the first glance?” You opposed, putting the spotlight on you. This book was said to be a classic in literature, but as you matured physically and mentally, you could no longer agree with it. “Isn’t love the same thing that killed Romeo and Juliet in the end?”
Remembering what Princess Diana told him, he wasn’t going to let this pass. He wanted to give a piece of his mind too, caring less if the show must be paused. “Love is an emotion we don’t ask to feel. It’ll come to us when we least expect it, even when the timing of it can be crucial.”
“Of all the people Juliet could’ve gone for, it just had to be the enemy.” In all the years you’ve been brought to life, no one dared to test your opinions because they were aware of your intelligence, from the streets to the books. When someone bark, you’d bite back. Hard. “With all due respect, I love your works, Shakespeare. Yet the fate you’ve given these two at a young age was grave, could’ve you given them a better outcome or another character to love instead?”
“Giving them extra characters to love won’t address the horrific life fact that love can be dangerous. Regardless of what status you’re in, you can’t stop the attraction towards someone. The heart wants what it wants.” Jeno pressed his hand to his chest, pumping it a bit. Unknown to you and him, the audience found more entertainment in your argument. Anne, who was munching on the popcorn Jeno gave her earlier, passed the snack to Katherine who just couldn’t stop watching.
If this man wanted a challenge, you’re all ears. Who was he to compete with you? Was he not intelligent to know who you are?
“So are you insinuating that we just go with the flow? Be a slave to our emotions too and let them dictate our next motives?”
“Slave is such a strong word to use, (Y/N). But it’s not like we can’t choose who want to love because we actually can. In this case, Romeo chose Juliet and vice versa.”
“But what happens if the person you choose doesn’t choose you in return?”
“At least you tried your best, right? It’ll hurt like hell though, but it won’t last forever.” From his kneeling position, Jeno strutted his way with confidence. Trying not to let it mess with you, your extreme stare at him as if they’ll shoot lasers. Inches away from you, Jeno declared. “Love always has risks, that’s a given. Romeo and Juliet still tried and followed their hearts despite the downfall. But it was a needed downfall to get the message across.”
“No one would be that foolish to risk their lives for love though, right? Life is so precious, why would they do such a thing?”
“Even if they knew what their lives were without each other, they still preferred living a life where they were both in the picture. Therefore, they tried all they could that time because the regret of not doing anything at all carries a heavier burden.”
Whenever anyone argued with you, their debating points they spat back would further piss you off because most of the time, it never made sense. Back when this rude man told you to go home and be a wife in your earlier years of exploring, you civilly told him to fuck off, kicking his balls because he cornered you in an alley. For the first time, a man who tried to challenge you actually made sense. Was it because he lived in a modern time, where minds were more open? Because of the amount of sexism you faced in the past, you’ve turned a blind eye to the current period.
But your high pride maintained, not submitting into anything he said. “I still think it’s stupid to risk your life for love. There’s no such thing as having only one true love anyways, and you have to be alive to see it.”
“Fair point, but again, the feeling of regret and carrying it your entire life doesn’t fade easily. It’ll make you reflect on the what-ifs, and it’s heart-wrenching.” Jeno digressed, walking around you in circles. He’s intentionally trying to drive you mad, but he could care less. He wanted someone to put you in your place and open your mindset. “The question stands: would you rather try and go for it even knowing its risks or regret not even trying for the rest of your existence? Quite ironic for me to ask you that, don’t you think?”
Past the information board, Jeno researched more of your life history online. Your whole life was grounded on risks, from breaking the standards of your society, leaving your family and home country, to fending yourself from disrespectful men. Rather than living the original life expected from you, you chose not to because it didn’t make you happy. Such a risktaker he knew you are, but with the topic of love, he wondered why you were on a fence with it. Though some records stated you’ve had rendezvouses with a few men in your journeys, love was never in the equation. The single life was what you chose and you were more than satisfied, plus your adopted kids filled that supposed void anyways.
This man may have studied your history, but so much he still doesn’t know. Information that never made the books because you chose not to write or tell anyone about it. Aside from the discomfort growing in your chest, everyone else felt the awkward tension when you were lost for words.
Never been defeated in an argument, until tonight. Your mind lost its drive and willpower.
“Touché, Lee Jeno.” Indeed, his name you’re acquainted with. Numerously passed around in your exhibit, mostly from the lips of Cleopatra, who’d fantasize all the graphic things she would do to him. Too much information, least of your interest. “Please excuse me. I’d like to work on my sketches to ease my mind.”
As you quietly exited the room, an all too familiar sculpture leaned against the railings overseeing one side of the museum. Just like you, she hated accepting defeat or compromises. She always rooted for you to win. With a faint chuckle, “Facing a loss for the first time, I see.”
“Don’t even lecture me about it, Athena. I’m still fired up, and I need to relax.”
“Jeno is a different breed, isn’t he?” She stuck to your side, strolling wherever your feet led you.
“Different as in he’s a man? Yes. What else is there to it?”
“Men these days aren’t as trashy as those back in the day though. Shouldn’t you give him a chance?”
“Last time I did, it destroyed my heart. I’m not allowing myself to let men in even as a friend, Athena.”
She knew exactly what you were referring to, not touching on it further. No way will you let heartbreak or disappointment from men bother you. Even Sanghoon’s sweet company took a while to tolerate. You really needed to sketch this out on your pad right now, excusing yourself from Athena’s presence. Isolation wasn’t new to you; it’s what’s protecting your entire being. Immortal as you are, you had to recover from the past pain so the next decades won’t feel as brash.
You hoped to return to your old self when you were a fresh new figure in the 70s. So naïve, only proud of your accomplishments, and purely happy.
While Jeno continued to finish his scene in respect to Shakespeare, he received a standing ovation for his mini-show. Cleopatra didn’t expect such talent from him, growing fonder of the younger male. Whether she seduces him or not, he was never afraid to try new things and she liked that about him.
“Bravo, love!” Princess Diana praised, clapping at him.
Although Jeno appreciated all this positive attention, his thoughts bounced back to your and your stance on love. The debate earlier was just out of being playful, interested to hear your opinions. Though, he’s worried that he might’ve offended you. It may have been time to finally witness something like that, but then again, he was sure he touched something personal to you. No matter how you tried to fight it off, your eyes can’t lie. Staring down at him, there was pain beneath it. Your eyebrows scrunched to the center, thinking deeply yet remained utterly speechless.
A win he didn’t feel good about.
“It’s time she encountered something new in the years she’s been here. Give her some space tonight, then try again to reach out to her. Kindly this time; I’m not in the mood for another brawl that could end up like the Greek gods’ past fights downstairs.”
These clever words shared by Katherine loitered his mind for the rest of the night, eventually going back to finishing his current plate since everyone was behaving well. As great it is to get the approval of the majority, he tried brainstorming ways to make you like him too.
He understood the whole “men are trash” concept in today’s modern society, but if he could prove it wrong to at least one person, it would be you. Whatever is holding you back, he only hoped that you’d let it go. Questionably unsure as to why he was so persevering, he concluded that it was so he could perform his job better as the night guard. Set higher standards than Sanghoon even.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Weeks passed, and his attempts continued to be unsuccessful.
The capability for you to ignore his efforts remained strong, whether he was pestering you over small things or debating with you again about anything. Life, books, morals, the two of you always head butt each other. Anything good he did, you searched for a flaw in it. Whatever acts he’s tried and continued trying, not one flinch from you ever.
Even if that’s his state with you, his job no longer felt stressful nor strenuous. He’d try to sleep more on days he was off-duty. Although the fatigue of staying beyond his usual sleeping time was inevitable, he compromised to take a nap lasting an hour or two when the art pieces weren’t acting frisky.
Plus, there have been multiple times they adapted to any alterations so his physical well-being wouldn’t fall sick. Per order of Princess Diana and Hera, who by instinct became his motherly figures here, only wanting what’s best for the kids.
He became accustomed to everything that went on at night, discovering things on his own without Sanghoon’s guide. Anne talked about how much she missed biking in her neighborhood, so one night, Jeno snuck his bike inside and let her use it around the first floor. With proper monitoring so none of the paintings would be unbothered or pieces wouldn’t tumble.
Hermes the messenger god was fluent in every language possible, so every so often, Jeno would freely speak to him in Korean because sometimes he felt he could explode by the amount of English he used every night. Bilingual things, you know. He knew you were multilingual too, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t converse with you.
Because Jeno was heavily favored, that should’ve been enough to push through his night shifts before the end of the semester. In addition to that, the hourly rate was above the average of whatever Jaemin or Renjun was earning. For the past 2 months, Jeno paid upfront first, even paying back all his debts. It almost made Renjun want to switch jobs with him.
“Trust me, Renjun. You don’t want it, being the lowkey scaredy cat you are.”
Work no longer felt like work, and that’s what everyone aspired to feel. Nevertheless, he tended to worry over you mid-shift, glancing at you from his side view. Sketching, reading, and writing were your default actions. No matter how many times he said to himself not to let your dislike for him affect him, it’d always backfire.
Why were you so cold?
What made you lose your fire from all the research he did about your lively personality?
When morning arrived and he gathered his stuff, you’d be the last thing he’ll check on. Frozen in your standing pose, smiling as you held a book and a pencil, he detected how fake it was. Bystanders would only assume your happiness was from your achievements, though Jeno’s gut firmly pried that something grand overpowered that happiness. And definitely, not in a good way.
Out of all the art pieces, he investigated on you the most. Skimming through every material in the library, endless searching on the net, even asking professors from the History department thanks to Renjun, he did whatever he could. People may already think he was obsessed with who you are, but only little did they know.
Another plate was done and submitted, and he promised himself to look you up one last time before surrendering. For someone who’s rarely given up on a challenge, this one was really out of his control. Maybe he should follow Sanghoon’s footsteps now.
You lived centuries before him, and there’s limited material of you left. Rather than learning of your adventures again, he dug through what things you liked over your life. Maybe by giving one of them, it’ll lessen the tension from a 100 to 99. Maybe you preferred gifts over words, he’ll never know until he tried.
Boom.
According to one of your journal entries, there’s a fond liking you’ve acquired for lavender roses from Benjamin and Liam when they visited you in Paris in secret because of how much you missed them. It went both ways, praying your family ties could be recovered.
It’s a good thing he needed to refill his stock of items for the art pieces so he could pass by the flower store a few blocks away from his dorm. That night, without further words, he graciously offered you a fresh lavender rose in between your new sketching session.
“I may not know exactly why you’re spiritless around me, but with this rose, I hope we could work something out.”
Your frigid face of disdain, keeping your chin high and squinting your eyes with judgment, began to crumble down. Of all things as a peace offering, he gave you that? Then again, it’s not like he knew that an item you liked so much became something you’ve grown to hate and why so. No history books could teach him that.
Vulnerability was a normal thing, yet feared by many. Once one uncovered your weak spot, they could harm you. You still couldn’t trust Jeno fully, not willing to show your helplessness nor were you ever going to tell him. Hidden from his knowledge, everyone else including Sanghoon were familiarized as to why this kind of flower tormented you.
You sprinted like thunder out the exhibit room to wherever it’s private to control your senses. You may not have a physical heart, but your emotions were just as actual as a human’s. You needed to regulate your panting breath. In the past decades, you’ve not shed a singular tear but the cycle broke when they streamed out your miserable eyes like a flowing river. Quiet sobs, an empty corner near the fire exit was where your wobbly legs faltered, the painful memories of the past replayed in your head. Once beautiful, but now an agonizing reminder of what could’ve been.
Katherine, Cleopatra, and Anne were swift on their feet to hunt you down, anxious of what you may do next. Seeing or the mention of these flowers still affected you despairingly. Sanghoon must’ve forgotten to write them down, or perhaps he didn’t know either about this fact during all the years he’s worked there.
It’s one of the biggest secrets of his museum. By the clueless face Jeno had with his eyebrows raised, mouth, and small eyes slightly open, he repeatedly asked what he did wrong and adding that he never meant to harm you. Indeed, they knew that yet what occurred involved a secret in the list of museum secrets. Confidential only between art pieces according to Athena, none of the male wax figures spoke a word, only pitying the boy.
“I wasn’t here yet that time, but they said that it was once beautiful, but now it’s a rough period.” With hesitation, Princess Diana chose to reveal it to rid Jeno’s misery. She didn’t mind having to argue about it with Athena later on, as this may further affect the two of you later on.
“A long time ago in the early ‘80s, there was a night guard around your age named Junmyeon. Also, a college student, trying to make ends meet. He did it for 3 years until he graduated. Though within his stay, not only was he such a delight to everyone, he broke a golden rule in the guide. I believe you do know the guide much more now, Jeno?”
“Yes, I do, Princess Diana. Memorized it even, but which one specifically?” Jeno’s desperate eyes pleaded, only hoping for the best and to fix what he messed up.
“You can form friendships with the art pieces, but nothing more.” Princess Diana replied bitterly. “Junmyeon was an aspiring painter, a different path from his business-oriented family. He was seen as the black sheep. She resonated with him, sharing the burden and lifting it by doing whatever fun they could in the museum. In time, they both fell in love with each other; they were each other’s first loves.”
“Why must something beautiful like love be broken? It’s not like you can control it. That golden rule makes no sense.”
“It does, unfortunately. Wax figures like me cannot age, while humans like you can. None of them could accept the reality, always pushing it away. Until Junmyeon’s last week in university, he broke it off with her unexpectedly. From there, (Y/N) was heartbroken for decades. With heartbreak, giving the cold shoulder and bitterness followed. Then with the lavender rose you gave that she used to love became a flower that she associated with Junmyeon too because he gave her one almost every night for those past 3 years.”
Things finally added up, and the guilt in Jeno’s gut expanded. His major lightbulb moment was a major failure.
“Has Junmyeon ever returned to try and win her back?”
“Well, there was one time he did come back for an art exhibition for his paintings in the 2000s. I was already here, then he had a woman around his shoulder with an adolescent boy holding his hand. He roamed around our exhibit and kept gawking at (Y/N). We may be asleep, but we remember the conversations exchanged in the room. So, his son then asked him if he knew who she was.”
“What did he respond?” Jeno attentively listened, on the edge of such a hurtful tale.
“He knew her name, praising her for historical achievements. However, nothing as a former friend or lover. From what I predict, he ingested one of Circe’s potions.”
“But I thought Circe isn’t allowed to make potions for actual consumption. She’s not even allowed to enter the Oriental Art Room.” Jeno pointed out, overwhelmed at the puzzling past. Princess Diana was mindful that she had to stop spreading too much information, so she had to end her discussion with the lost boy.
“There are a lot of secrets about this museum, Jeno. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal to you to protect our peace.”
With due respect, Jeno quit his follow-up questions and concerns. The only thing he wished to do was mend his relationship with you. As vague as to where you even stood in the first place, he unintentionally crossed a line due to his selfish intention to befriend you.
“What can I do now, Princess Diana? You know I’d never push her buttons like that, even if I’m a whimsical person.”
“Oh, my boy.” Princess Diana soothed, holding both her hand on his sweaty palm and cupping his cheek. “For the meantime, give her space. No taunting for a while, and just observe her from a distance. Though do not fret the slightest; I’m sure she’ll be okay again.”
During that interval, you were hunched on the wall, bawling and weeping like the wound was brand new again. While Katherine and Anne stood by your side, on the lookout for anyone who’d be spying on you, Cleopatra knelt in front of you as your infinite tears gushed down.
“My dear,” She tried to wipe some of them while holding your hand. “It’s been years, and Jeno didn’t know a single thing. He didn’t mean to do it.”
“I don’t care, Cleopatra! He should’ve stopped trying to socialize with me because I won’t ever live down my experience with Junmyeon.”
“As if crying like this will bring Junmyeon back to your life,” Cleopatra exclaimed, holding in her temper. Acquainted with heartbreak, it’s awful that it changed you entirely, but you should’ve found a way to heal. Throughout your attitude change, it’s mostly you in pain, not those you inflict it to. “My dear, I love you a lot. But this Jeno boy is different, and you know it.”
“He’s still a nightguard, for Christ’s sake, Cleopatra.”
“You shouldn’t generalize that all night guards are bad just because of one encounter that occurred at the wrong time.” Brushing some strands stuck by your wet visage, she professed to you bluntly. “You’re never going to know how good Jeno is unless you slowly open up again, (Y/N). Not forcing you the slightest, but healing started once you’ve acknowledged the past and move on from it.”
“But I’m scared, Cleopatra.” You restlessly admitted, hunching even more against the wall. Your poor, metaphorical heart could only take so much. You barely expressed sorrow towards others as you always held a strong exterior, only letting it out alone. Not holding back anymore, Cleopatra brought you in for a hug. The last time she did that was the first night after Junmyeon left, calming your intensified emotions so you wouldn’t do anything dumb that night. No violence, just pure sorrow.
“My dear, it’s alright.” She whispered while stroking your back upwards. “But you’re a risktaker; that’s how people remember you. Now, you must challenge yourself to move on from things that didn’t work out. Because once you do, it’ll put your heart and mind at ease.”
“Do you think I’ll be okay again?”
“Yes, you will be, my dear. You are not alone, and never will be.”
Acting like the dutiful son he always was, Jeno distanced from you.
He still cracked jokes, chatted with the art pieces, and followed the rules, yet never did he utter anything to you. You’ve proudly anticipated it since day one, not wanting him up in your business or teasing you ever. But this time, it felt odd.
On nights he didn’t report, you’ve unconsciously wondered what he may have been up to. A job like this at his age was just as Sanghoon once said: nothing in the regular.
Was he with his friends?
Was he resting well?
From the moment you chose to let go of your limitations and old thoughts, it included your grudge against past guards. Asking for forgiveness to Sanghoon when he returns was on the top of your list, however, that’ll take a while to happen. In the start, you’re baffled as to why he no longer picked on you like every night he’s been present. Somehow, it became a habit you’ve gotten used to, having so many comebacks planned to fend yourself. But you didn’t want to concede to it, maintaining what was left of your pride since that breakdown.
While on the subject, you suspected if anyone told him anything that night because that also indicated the last time he reached out to you. By anything, it would be your unwritten past with Junmyeon. A part of yourself in the museum that you didn’t want to disperse like rapid-fire again. It would be the last thing you wanted Jeno to know.
To your misfortune, Princess Diana came clean due to your growing concern over it. Although your attitude changed and people got used to it, you could only blame yourself that you were responsible for Jeno’s change.
“All he wanted was to understand and enlighten us with his likable presence. Then with you, you were his challenge because of your high walls. Out of everyone, he tried to learn everything about you. From my observation, whenever he has a goal, he’s determined to achieve it.”
“But I’m trying to be better now, Diana. Why did he stop?”
“He may have determination, but he knows where the boundaries lie.” Princess Diana patted the side of your arm, giving you a half-grin. “It hurt him when he hurt you, even if it was accidental. So he opted to give you space; that way, you could catch a breather and he wouldn’t harm you anymore. It was what you wanted from the start anyways, right?”
A hard pill to swallow, though it was a fact. It’s just that now, you’re slowly willing to release yourself from the dark. It’s been decades, and more to come. Nothing can move on unless you do.
“Where is he, Princess Diana?”
Just as she predicted right on the edge, Diana completed the grin on her face and led you to the entrance of your exhibit. She may be younger than you, but you’re reverted in your twenties while she remained in her mid-thirties. Gaping the wide museum from the railing, starting from the painting exhibit in the lobby to across the other side of the museum, Diana spotted the black hair of the boy in the Foreign Art Room.
“Over there.”
Observing where her eyes focused, you caught a glimpse of a recognizable side profile. The owner’s eyes were completely taken by whatever he was drawing on the fold-up desk he brought out from the storage room. By the tedious action of his right hand going up and down, you’ve gotten so used to his part-time identity as the night guard to entirely dismiss his current status as a university student.
Architecture specifically as he first introduced himself to you. The same path your oldest brother, Christopher, worked in. The look of tenacity Jeno presented as his eyebrows continuously scrunched, his crescent orbs hastily spied his work for any unnecessary details and his veiny hands brushed his already messy hair, you were profoundly reminded of Christopher when he was designing his possible future house. You were 8 years old, and he was 22, who just got married. He explained how many floors it’ll have, what rooms to put and what extra furniture he’ll place to make it feel more at home.
Seeing how exceptional his art skills were, you started to sketch like him. With flowers first, it turned into bedrooms and sceneries of your neighborhood. You felt your shoulders rise in accomplishment when you were able to accurately draw people. As much as you credited Benjamin and Liam the most in your works, it’ll only be within yourself to know that you also held a soft spot for Christopher.
Excusing yourself to Princess Diana, you bravely yet quietly ventured into the Foreign Art Room. Hiding first from one of the cement columns, you resumed watching him sketch. Instead of a pencil, he used a black pen with a tip as thin as a pencil. Your assumptions would be it was for a class, basing it on him informing everybody earlier that he’ll be inactive for the remaining hours of his shift to focus on his midterm requirements. That must be difficult to balance, yet he still does everything expected from him. Maybe the second cup of iced coffee beside him stimulated his bones and mind, letting his imagination free.
Through the limited space, you tiptoed whilst holding the side of the column to make up his work. There were 2 and a half rectangular shapes stacked on top of each other, the third one he was still tracing. A sign encrypted with tiny written words you couldn’t decipher, the beauty and modernity of Jeno’s plate cannot go unappreciated.
“That’s absolutely beautiful.”
Sweet words you didn’t think would bounce back in the room, Jeno’s pace ceased whilst you hid again. Art pieces capable of walking weren’t allowed here, he locked the door even beforehand! Or he thought as he was rushing to get his work done because one of his terror professors moved up the deadline to tomorrow morning. Not even 25% finished, he petitioned for everyone’s cooperation just for tonight.
He used up his 2 days of not having the night shift for other projects, and not wanting to ruin his perfect attendance, he proceeded to show up.
The voices from the foreign paintings around him hushed for him out of respect. So possibly someone snuck in, his head looking around for intruders. But only did he quit it when he saw your blurry reflection leaning against the column. The glass windows slightly mirror back what it sees, without you knowing that.
Not to mention, the small bit of your lilac dress was left out. Of all people, it was you?
“Do my eyes deceive me or is Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N) inside when she’s not allowed so?”
To break the killing tension, he tested the waves with an innocent taunt. Never did you reach out to him, so least to say he was entertained whilst keeping his distance.
Fixing your proud stance, you responded in a low baritone voice you used to persuade numerous men in her adventures. “Uhm no, I don’t know who she is.”
As intelligent as you were, Jeno was a few steps farther than you this time. Educated about the risky ways you’d get around and one of them was changing the pitch of your voice, he heartily laughed at your unsuccessful attempt.
“Okay don’t lie, (Y/N). I can see a trail of your dress and your cloak. Oh, your reflection too.”
Damn, you peeked a little to realize that he was correct. Hauling your dress back in to readjust your outfit, you pushed your hair back before appearing to him. Though when you did such, you didn’t suppose that he was practically beside you the entire time. Bumping into his towering stance of 5’10 while the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, your proud posture loosened up. He even discarded his blazer. A few more inches, he could’ve cornered you on the column if you didn’t take another step back.
Has he always been this tall or were you so used to your boots having high heels under? Oh wait, maybe because you wore flats this time because it’s making your toes sore. Your head bowed from struggling to maintain eye contact with him, your palms caressing your cheeks that suddenly heated up. Clearing your throat, you straightened your back again like nothing happened.
Jeno thought otherwise, shrugging his shoulders as he chuckled. He’s never seen you get shy, not that it was a bad thing either. The temptation to play around it more was there, but he was running out of time for his assignment.
“Come in. I’ll let you off the hook this time.” His arms opened up, allowing you access to such a wonderful exhibit. Paintings from different European periods, miniature versions of famous infrastructures inside glass containers, and replicas of Greek columns in the front entrance, no wonder it’s important to protect them all.
“Are you sure?” Watching him return to his spot, which was a bench in the center of the exhibit with a table in front, it didn’t process that you were gawking at his toned back. His broad shoulders and the evident muscles in his arms while he stretched, your eyes were speedy to look away when he tried to take a glance at you.
“I don’t think the paintings here and I mind.” Sitting down again, he tapped the vacant space beside him. “Feel free to watch me draw if you want to.”
Settling by his side, he recommenced where he left off. Now with a closer view of his piece, it did look like a building as you thought. He was sketching the remaining outline of the 3rd floor of this hypothetical place, continuously checking his ruler to monitor if the lines were consistent. Able to pick up on the words of the sign beside the building, you wowed with one hand on your lips.
“You’re redrawing Seoul National University Museum of Art?”
“One of my plate assignments was to visualize a renovation of a certain place, so I chose the museum.”
“Why so?”
“Well,” Jeno shook his pen so the ink could come out. “This entire place comes to life with the royal plate, so I think we should expand the space and bring in more art pieces to life if we add another extra floor. A rooftop area for visitors and events would be fun. And definitely, we should modernize the exterior and interior a bit because it looks outdated personally. That’s also what my friends think too.”
Noticing the minor details of his plate whilst removing any unnecessary pens so it wouldn’t smudge, “Huh, I quite agree with you.”
For the first time since his night shift, you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), came into an agreement with him. He became so accustomed to clashing opinions that now, you had no contrasting points to make at all. A good change perhaps was what he’s witnessing.
“Woah, who are you agreeing with me and where’s (Y/N)?” He creased his brows whilst locking eye contact with you. This time, you didn’t wince away and just nudged him on his shoulder to get back to work.
“Hush, Jeno. Isn’t that due later? Get to work, I’ll roam around here for the meantime.”
After decades in this museum, you’re enlightened with the foreign paintings in which some you’ve heard of in your younger years and some that were created beyond your time. The Birth of Venus, Liberty Leading the People, Girl with a Pearl Earring, there’s an advantage of learning about their stories that humans couldn’t interpret. Logical that this section must be off-limits because these pieces were extra special, yet there’s so much more than what meets the eye.
There’s peace in silence while you wandered around, though it doesn’t hinder only at the art. Jeno hasn’t uttered a word since he got back to drawing, and once you asked him what’s doing now, still no answer back. Odd, he’s constantly awa-
Oh, my. You must’ve jinxed it.
Your eyes laid on Jeno leaning forward on his desk with his arms serving as his pillow, resting his head sideways. Soft snores and minimal movement in his upper body to shake the growing cold temperature of the room, he was sleeping like a log.
Putting into perspective, he hasn’t acquired enough rest specifically this past 2 weeks. The endless number of plates due making him work extra during his shift rather than sleeping in the slightest, exhaustion must be an understatement. Coffee no longer pushed him to his maximum for this week even.
But this was the path he chose, and it’ll have its challenges. Still, if you could relieve the stress in any way, you would. This would be one of the ways to repay for all the rudeness you’ve passed on him. Scurrying to his side, placing the plate on the side with his other things. You returned the caps of his open pens so they don’t spill. They must be expensive, recalling how Jeno shared the cons of being an architecture major to Princess Diana. One was the pens needed for sketching, and any tiny damages to them meant buying them again.
With his watch on clear display, he only had 2 hours left until his shift was done. Then, 4 hours until his plate assignment was done, and his current plate was far from done.
The blunt impulse to wake him up slithered your mind, though his calm state deflected your duty. As if you were on board a ship again for your explorations, you paid attention to the view with a relaxed mindset.
Lee Jeno specifically was the view.
His coffee-stained lips were parted and his sharp nose breathing in and out at a relaxing pace, he must be dreaming a happy moment the way half his lips curved into a smile. If he’s resting well, then you too would be calm.
Because of your past disinterest in him, only at this moment did you observe how sharp his jawline was and the cuts on his arms he sought refuge in. No matter how many times you tried to deny Hera’s compliments of him on the side, you couldn’t.
Lee Jeno embodied attractive features; both physical and emotional.
Back to his plate, it’ll put him at a disadvantage if he submitted the way it looked before he passed out. But you remembered all those extra details he mentioned and wanted to add to this project. Being an explorer, you documented all your ventures through words or drawings. You’re fast to adjust to anything new too.
For all the good he’s done for everyone, he only deserved some help in return.
Your version of help was sketching the remaining details of this plate, using other pens for more emphasis. It’s a risk also, but no way could you turn a blind eye on Jeno this time.
Around 5:30 am, Jeno’s eyes blinked open due to a brightening light from the outside. Stretching his limbs, he finds a velvet cloak wrapped around him like a blanket. But before he could question it, he pulled his arm in to see the time on his watch.
“Fuck!” He cursed, realizing that his so-called 10-minute snooze break aborted.
“Oh my, you’re awake!” From his frazzled state, there you were. So put together yet active, some strands of your hair falling down your face even with your hair up in a ponytail. “How was your sleep?”
This whole time he could’ve been woken up, yet you chose not to. You’re aware of his deadline, yet you let him rest entirely. He could’ve burst out in stress, yet he didn’t. You and he may have started on the wrong foot, yet it’s impossible of you to do such an evil thing. He’ll just have to tolerate the outcome later today.
“Refreshing. I really needed it.” Packing his things in his bag and closing the table, you trailed along as he exited with you. Locking up, he has 30 minutes left to accomplish the cleaning. A long good morning indeed.
But his worry of that vanished when you admitted that you had it all covered.
“Everyone helped out in cleaning, plus there are no damages made either.” From your hand, you returned one of his keys that was on his guard blazer. “I double-checked the Oriental Room and locked the doors again.”
“Why are you suddenly so nice to me, (Y/N)?” He questioned with confusion, wearing his blazer again and patting away any creases. He placed your cloak over you again like a true gentleman.
Without a word, you simply invited him to walk you back to your exhibit as parts of the sun began to rise. As you returned to your section, your fellow figures readying themselves to pose again,
“It’s my way to apologize for my very rude first impression and the succeeding moments after. I was too cooped up in my past that I was too afraid to let humans in again, night guards in particular.” You admitted, removing your cloak and placing behind your chair like always. “I’m so sorry, Jeno. Everyone was right about you and your kind heart.”
“About time.” Cleopatra’s sultry voice cut in, laying on her day bed.
Before you had the chance to flip off, Jeno mediated swiftly. With a gentle smile, “No worries about it. I’m just happy you’re okay, after all you’ve been through.”
“Can we start over then?”
“Absolutely.” With his free hand, he brought it out. No matter what kind of introductions, shaking one’s hand was the best way to start a friendship. “Good evening. I’m Lee Jeno, the new museum night guard.”
“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), explorer and author.” Sighing at his humor, you still replied by shaking his hand. “And I believe you’re mistaken, Lee Jeno. It’s a good morning.”
Seconds after, you imitated your typical pose and smile. Only now, the latter was more genuine. Finally, a fresh start to end your agony.
Once the sun fully revealed itself, every figure including yourself froze back to sleep. Something Jeno wished to catch up on if it weren’t for his damn plate. He was so screwed, already contemplating his next steps if he does fail this class. The possibility of getting delayed in all aspects, he dreaded it already.
Heading back to his dorm, where both his roommates completely passed out from soju on the couch, he sat by his work desk and turned on his night lamp for more light since the sun wasn’t strong enough yet.
With another cup of coffee, he cracked the joints of his knuckles and laid out his pens. He had 2 hours left to submit this plate, and at most he should accomplish 50% of his initial plan. However, he didn’t anticipate such a gorgeous outcome when he brought out his plate.
Picture perfect of every detail he desired, even adding a rooftop area with that he’d love to have if ever the museum does go under renovation one day. Rather than setting the plate during the day, it was at night as the skies were dark and bright specks of yellow inside the building symbolized light.
So much for wasting coffee, he’ll just give it to Jaemin when he wakes up later. Below the final product, a note written in cursive was stuck on it.
I knew you wanted to get this specific plate done, but you mustn’t compromise your sleep for it. It’s your inhumane professor’s fault!
To make up for my faults, I wanted to help you out. I paid extra attention to the details you spoke highly about, so I only hoped that I interpreted it correctly. It’s risky, but as someone who researched so much about me, would you be surprised that I did such a thing?
PS: Get back to sleep. I’m quite sure your desk is laid out the same way in the Foreign Art Room.
Respectfully,
(Y/N)
Turning off his lamp, Jeno jumped the covers of his bed to continue his lost sleep. Without an ounce of care that he hasn’t changed into cleaner clothes, he’s relieved that he won’t flunk his class.
Most of all, he’s relieved that you’ve melted the ice in you and allowed kindness to come in. Jeno may never understand how hard that must’ve been for you, yet he raved you for it.
“Oh, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Surprise is an understatement when it comes to you.”
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