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pjisskullourful · 3 years

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💙Victoria X reader

NSFW!🔥 sapphic smutty dirty swearing sexytimes

° Victoria de Angelis & female reader insert ✨ cameos by: Damiano, Thomas & Ethan

° 🎶 baby I got an idea... I should be your next girlfriend ||| your longterm friend & on&off crush, Victoria dares you to take part in a drag competition & you decide to give her a performance she'll never forget

wordcount:: 7,533

° wonderful anonrequest x2 - we have all read smut about the band being in the zone and reader getting turned in by it but I really want to see the opposite, so like maybe reader is a dancer and she is in the zone being a badass and one of the members (or more) just gets super hot and bothered, + We need some vic smut ASAP (with a female reader please). [ask & it shall be given- requests are open!]

° fuelled by queer queen gia woods' masterpiece NEXT GIRLFRIEND all the lyrics included belong to her ° tricks & stunnalina stage presentation heavily inspired by queen of everything KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE & her serve of actual sex on legs in this lipsync ° inspired by weekly sydney drag comp night- also called DRAG FOR DOLLARS which has the same setup of loudest cheer wins- which does welcome performers of all different schools of drag: including magical bioqueens✨ &before any of yall ask- yes, i have painted my body blue & goneout to a dragshow in only a bodysuit

"You should perform." Victoria leant in close, her words carrying clearly over the pumping music.

You almost choked on your drink, spitting the straw out of your mouth. You turned to where she had scooted over to the edge of the couch. For a moment, the rest of the nightclub faded away and you were trapped in her gaze, a lump in your throat.

People had been staring at you ever since you had left the apartment with your four friends - but that was to be expected when you had painted the majority of your body blue. But this was instantly different, it was so much more intense than the gawks coming from strangers.

It wasn't easy to settle under her fierce stare, it made your heart beat faster and your mind race.

Three years of friendship - three years of wondering, marked by the occasional dream. Three years of one or the other not being single. Three years of jokingly calling one another wifey and sharing a bed a few times per year. Three years of holding hands and people regularly mistaking you for a couple.

Three years of no action because you were waiting for the perfect moment, always half-considering that maybe she didn't feel the same way.

Now she was giving you that look, like you were the only woman in the world. She looked directly into your eyes, not getting distracted by the extreme makeup, or the black netting that covered your features, save for your eyes and mouth. She was looking at you like she expected something great, her interest secured.

"What, are you nuts?"

The group had come to your favourite gay club in Rome, hanging out simply because there was time in your schedules - an availability with the four members of Måneskin was getting rarer as time went on. But tonight there had been an opportunity, coinciding with the venue's weekly open stage night for drag queens. Drag for Dollars - it was a free for all, sometimes it was great and other times it was full of amateurs who had over-estimated their stage presence, running out of steam before the Lady Gaga song was finished.

It wasn't for you to participate in. You had never felt the urge - it was enough to just watch and cheer.

"This is a drag show." You said.

She nodded. "Right and what you are in tonight- that isn't drag, because…?"

You paused, this entire look had been thrown together, following an idea that had made complete sense in your head. You had simply kept adding ideas until you had something that was interesting, something that could add excitement into your Instagram feed. You wanted to impress your friends, to see how many a's Damiano would add to yaaas, to see what kind of flirty comments Victoria would leave on all the pictures that you posted.

"I don't quite meet the necessary criteria."

"Oh, come on…" She inched forward and put a hand on your knee. "You're the best dressed person here and I know you can dance, I've seen you vogue."

"That's just goofing around." You said.

She shrugged. "Okay, so why don't you just goof around on stage? What's the harm? Nobody here tonight cares, this is hardly Drag Race. And you'll probably win and then you get some money out of it. Why not?"

"Why not…" You repeated slowly, eyes going over to the empty stage. You felt the urge to do as she requested, to show off for her, to be the centre of her attention.

"Did you tell her our idea?" Damiano had sprung onto the couch next to Victoria.

"Your idea?" They had been talking about it, not just her fantasising about you on the stage. There was something equal parts relieving and disappointing in realising that.

"Yeah, Thomas is talking to the host right now to see if they've still got an available slot for you."

You looked across to where Thomas was standing by the bar, talking to a drag queen in a long, peach-coloured sequin gown. They were looking over a clipboard, heads bowed.

You were nodding as you turned back to Victoria and Damiano. "I'm gonna do it." You quickly sucked up the rest of your drink, locking eyes with her.

"Hell yeah!" Damiano jumped up and offered his hands to you. "Let's go pick a song."

You placed your empty glass down and tore your eyes off of her face. In the same instant that you took his hand, you were pulled up onto your feet. She waved to you before you were yanked into his momentum, scampering along after him.

"Is this a terrible idea?" You asked, tugging on his arm to get his attention. You realised he was the wrong person to ask - in all the time that you had known him, he had never ruled anything a bad idea.

"What, are you kidding? This is the best idea ever, this is going to be so iconic."

"Hey." Thomas greeted you with a smile. "They have room for you."

"Yeah." A deep voice came from the well-painted woman. "We'll start in about thirty minutes, just head backstage…" She indicated an inconspicuous door tucked away opposite the stairwell. "What song are you gonna do?"

"Uh…"

"We'll be alright, I know what songs are already picked." Thomas said.

The queen dismissed this with a flap of her wrist. "Nah, don't worry about that- the crowd loves when there's a double-up. Just pick something that's on Spotify and it'll be fine. When you've figured it out, talk to the stage manager- you'll be able to pick him out, he's wearing the trucker hat unironically." She tipped you a wink before leaving.

"What song are you thinking?" Damiano asked, both of them turning to you.

"I don't… I don't even- should I do Billie Jean and moonwalk, that'll get a pretty big cheer, right?"

His mouth dropped open. "You know how to moonwalk?"

"Oh I know what song." Thomas said, stepping forward. "The song that has the sick bass that comes in like…" He started to mime playing a bass guitar, making the sounds of the notes. "And then it goes, da-da dadadada da du-da-da…"

"Are you literally singing what's playing right now?" You asked.

"No, no, it's a new song. You played it when we were in the car the other day and Vic has literally not shut up about it since, 'cause it's the gay song, you know?" He said. "And there's that awesome guitar solo that closes it out."

"Um, do you mean the one that goes…" Damiano started mumble singing. "Um babida and there's a girlfriend, 'cause somethin' or anything and a girlfriend… ladida, somethin' about being sticky- sticky."

You hadn't been expecting for this to make sense, but somehow their ramblings sparked an insight in you. "Next Girlfriend by Gia Woods- I think that's what you're thinking of."

Thomas' face lit up and he clicked before showing you a thumbs up. "Yes! Do that song, don't you think?"

"That song is hot, you have to do that one."

You nodded to yourself, taking a moment to think it over as you readjusted the temporary long ponytail attached to the crown of your head. "Yep, I'll do that."

"Hell yeah!"

"We gotta get the euros ready." Thomas said. "We'll tip you lots. Wait, you don't have a drag name. Shit, we'll think one up… shit…"

"No, she doesn't need one. Look at her, showstopper without needing to say a word." Damiano said, picking up one of your hands and giving it a squeeze. "I feel like such a stage mum, God, this is the shit I was born for. But the question is- when you win, how much of the prize money are you gonna share with us?" You stared at him, slack-jawed. "What? I'm just sayin', it was our idea."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I probably won't even win."

"You're gonna win, honey."

"You will." Thomas said.

"The winner is picked by whoever gets the loudest cheer, and guess who has the loudest friends?" Damiano completed his statement by tucking his head down as his arms extended into a dab.

"And he doesn't just mean in this club tonight, he means in the whole of Rome."

"Right. I'm gonna go backstage and talk to the guy and touch up my lipstick and, I dunno, do stretches or something."

"You're gonna be amazing." Damiano said, releasing your hand after kissing the back of it.

"Do you want us to keep the song a surprise for the others?" Thomas asked.

"Yes, definitely."

You found your way backstage and quickly identified the stocky stage manager amongst the gaggle of drag queens already gathered here. You faced no issues in getting added to the running order and no one else had picked your song..

There was a wall-length mirror that was out of the way, you placed yourself in front of it, despite the lacklustre lighting it provided. You made adjustments to your costume, ensuring the foam padding was sitting where it should be against your skin.

You became aware of the tremble in your hands as you raked your fingers gently through the black ponytail of fake hair. It had been awhile since you had performed on a stage, even longer since you had performed solo. But it wasn't the feeling of being out of practice that was making you so nervous.

You were raising the stakes on yourself, already picturing how Victoria would look from the audience. You wanted to do something that would impress her - but it was more than teaching Ethan to perfect a tongue pop. You had to earn her attention and make her never want to look away.

You wanted to entrance her and mesmerise her - just as she did to you when she got down onto her knees on stage and writhed around without missing a single note. You would stare at her for an embarrassingly long time, sometimes missing the transition of one song to the next.

You wanted to make it impossible for her to not be amazed. Your true goal was to seduce her, to leave her so dazzled that she couldn't resist.

You planned to give her something that she couldn't not react to. Then, once you saw her response, you would have the answer you had been waiting on for years. You would know if she was attracted to you or if it was all a fantasy that you needed to snap out of.

"You're up next, after Barbies Bush- just wait there and you'll hear them say your name." The stage manager took you over to the curtain that covered the entrance of the stage. You nodded and smiled, to show you understood before going back to thinking over what you remembered of the stage layout.

You were running through the song, thinking about the pole that was mounted on the stage, off to the left. You were thinking about how to build the narrative. You had a few combinations of moves in mind when you heard your name said over the speakers.

You felt your throat clench, but you followed the music as you heard it. Sell the fantasy, you told yourself repeatedly, making the decision to recall that you had never let stage fright stop you before. You pushed your shoulders back and began onto the stage, doing your best impression of a runway model. You kept your chin raised, determined to create something Victoria would feel like she couldn't live without.

"I don't want no drama, but I know you're lookin' at me." You matched the movements of your mouth to the song you knew as well as you knew your own name.

You stopped before the ledge of the scuffed-up stage, running your hands down either side of your body. "Got the body of Madonna, like a virgin…"

"Wee-oww." You heard a voice scream out over the song.

Your friends were easy to pick out of the audience, even before Damiano yelled out. They were standing at the front of the stage and now you allowed yourself to look at their four smiling faces. You didn't let them break your concentration, it was enough to know that Victoria was staring up at you.

"Know you like what you see…" You spun around to put your back to the audience, swinging your arms up. You stuck your ass out to the left, planting a hand on this hip. You sent your ponytail flying through the air as you looked over one shoulder, letting the stage lights hit your face again. "You look so damn good on me, like you're good enough to eat, uuh…"

You turned to the crowd a little more, flipping your head down by your knee then throwing it back. "Now you're stuck in my teeth. Got me pickin' out a ring."

You walked towards the floor-to-roof pole, reaching for it with one arm while leaning the rest of your body back. "Baby, I got an idea, ohh…"

You timed your jump onto the pole to coincide with the shift in beat that indicated the beginning of the chorus. You grabbed it with both hands, holding your legs out straight as you completed a slow spin.

You heard more cheers, it sounded like more than just your friends and you could feel your confidence growing.

You curled your legs up, until you could link one knee around the smooth metal. You crossed your ankles over one another, continuing to spin. "And she should be your ex-girlfriend." You reached one arm out to the general direction of the audience. "Hey, you should be my next girlfriend.

“La-la-la, ooh!” You released your legs from the pole and loosened the grip of both hands, letting yourself slowly slide back down towards the ground, teasing out this last past of the chorus. “Mmm, la-la-la…”

You landed onto your knees, keeping both hands on the pole and completing a few body rolls, gyrating up from your crotch.

You were back on your feet in time for the second verse, bracing yourself with your feet shoulder-width apart. “California summer, like a popsicle, it’s drippin’...” You bent your knees before springing off your feet, throwing your weight backwards. You planted your hands onto the ground, completing the backflip without issue.

You slowed yourself down, gaining some grace for a landing with your legs spread straight out on either side. Once you were into the fully extended split, you looked back up to the audience. Your eyes immediately landed onto Victoria. There were paper bank notes fluttering around her head, your friends trying to give you tips.

“Spicy like a rumour…” You spun around, crawling towards the edge of the stage on all fours. “You’re my hallelujah, sticky.”

You remained on your knees, reaching out to collect the money from the eager hands of your friends. There were more than four sets of hands offering you money and you accepted it all, smiling as you continued to mouth every word.

You held the money in one hand, raising your arms above your head. You let your eyes settle on Victoria, feeling an electricity coming from her intense stare. “Baby, I got an idea, uuuhh…” She wasn’t singing along, just watching you with her mouth open.

You planted your hands onto her shoulders, shimmying forward to shake your tits directly in front of her face. “Hey, I should be your next girlfriend. And she should be your ex-girlfriend. Hey, you should be my next girlfriend.”

You tossed your head from side-to-side, letting your ponytail flick through the air to more boisterous cheers. “La-la-la, ooh, mm!”

A poke from Ethan got her attention, looking to her right, where he was pointing his phone directly at the two of you. She stuck her tongue out, playing it up for the camera as you couldn’t keep yourself from rubbing against her. “Hey, I should be your next girlfriend.”

You arched your back, planning to perform some more flips and tricks across the stage to close out the song. But there was a tug at the front of your bodysuit before you could get away.

You looked down and found the netting had hooked over the numerous studs pierced through her right ear. You grimaced, trying to work her free as your flow was broken.

Ethan moved in, taking over for you. You did what you could to salvage this last bit of the performance, even as you felt embarrassment rising. You placed your wrists together, pulling on the vogue moves you had practised almost endlessly in your mirror. You twirled your hands around, creating a figure eight with how your hands spiralled.

You kept the control in your arms, trying to ignore what was happening at your chest. You completed as many of the fluid arm dance moves as you could remember, maintaining your poker face. The guitar solo stretched on as you mimed checking your reflection in an invisible hand mirror, applying the imaginary powder puff to your cheeks one after the other.

"Da-da dadadada da…" You closed out the song by framing your face with quick gestures around your head.

The crowd was cheering and Ethan finally worked Victoria free from your bodysuit. You got to your feet, waving and getting ready to retreat.

"The audience participation was next level for that one, eh?" The host drag queen said into her microphone. "Look out fellas, she's got a spiderweb that's ready to trap ya… alright, who's next?"

You scurried off of the stage, back through the curtain and out of the way of the queen following you. You felt like an idiot - everything had been going fine until you had gotten too close to Victoria, determined to seduce her. You had probably come on way too strong, bordering on desperate.

But you had a whole wad of euros in your hand now. You collected your handbag and started to smooth out the bank notes, putting them into your purse.

You left the backstage area, only to be instantly grabbed and pulled into the embrace of Ethan. "That was amazing, girl. Best performance of the night, swear it."

"Really?" You looked up to find the rest of your friends had been waiting to see you. "That turned into a total train-wreck."

"No, no, no- everything before Vic's ear ruined it was spectacular." Thomas said.

"Really amazing." Ethan said, kissing you on the forehead.

"I've seen you do flips into the pool before, but I had no idea you could do that." Damiano said.

Victoria drove her elbow into his ribs. "She's a gymnast, dumbass. Why do you think I stopped doing yoga with her?"

"So, you knew that she could do all of that?” Damiano asked.

"Not to that extent, no." She said, looking down.

"Recovering with the voguing…" He said, finishing his compliment by raising his fingers to his mouth to perform a chef's kiss. "Pure genius."

--- --- ---

You had finished in second place - losing to a queen who had brought a big finish, in the form of a gun that spat out fake money. She was the only one to receive a cash prize. But, looking at the tips you had amassed, you had already earned that amount - along with the free drink tickets provided to the top three.

Other club-goers had continued to come up to you, grabbing your arm to tell you how great they thought you were. They wanted to compliment your skills on the pole, they wanted to praise your costume, they marvelled at your splits. Not a single person brought up the wardrobe malfunction at the end.

But you were still thinking about it. And you assumed Victoria was as well, she hadn't been able to meet your eye since you had gotten down from the stage. This was the exact opposite of what you had been trying to achieve.

You shared the drink tickets with your friends, as well as helping yourself to some more Midori sours. Victoria and Thomas kept disappearing, bouncing off across the dancefloor. You shared cigarettes with Damiano and Ethan, both of them wanting tips on how to vogue. Ethan could copy along quicker - the hand-eye coordination that allowed him to juggle, transferring to this skill as well.

You stayed out much later than you had originally planned, the crowd mostly gone by the time the five of you decided to call it a night. In the decision-making of who would buddy up to share an Uber home - you were paired with Victoria, thanks to the three guys living on the opposite side of the city to you and her.

The two of you talked in the backseat and it was almost normal. Almost. But you could feel the anticipation hanging in the air between the two of you.

You found a way to break the unexpected ice by making a joke, asking how many pizzas you could afford now that you were 'rolling in cash'. "I promise I'm not gonna let the money change me, just because I'm rich, that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop going thrifting with you. But I'd probably rather go to the upscale places, you know, less holes in the carpet, 'cause I'm movin' on up in the world…"

She laughed, shaking her head. "I think the money is changing you."

"Huh? Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of cash registers in my mind, you know, preparing myself for how it's gonna be when I buy enough Birkin bags for every day of the year."

"Did you know that it wasn't just us tipping you? Like, it wasn't just us being supportive friends- randoms were sticking their arms over my head to try to get the cash to you." She said. "Everyone was loving it, they were loving you. And why wouldn't they? You really slayed it."

You grimaced. "Really? It wasn't the most awkward thing in the world, at the end there?"

"No, did you not hear them cheering from beginning to end?" She asked and when you looked up, you found she was looking directly at you. "I was hoping that performing would help you get back some of that confidence that you lost when you… when Bella screwed you over.”

Her eyes dropped at the mention of your ex-girlfriend, a topic that both of you had been avoiding at all costs in the two months since the end of your longest relationship. You had kicked Bella out of your life immediately after discovering that she was cheating.

Victoria had offered to beat Bella up, to go to the bar where she worked and yank the extensions right out of her head. You had advised Victoria against this, telling her it was in no way necessary and that you were ready to put Bella behind you entirely. Since then, Victoria had done her best to build you back up, without tearing your ex down. She had helped you move on.

“You really looked incredible up there, babe. Can I put these videos in my story or did you wanna approve them first?” She asked.

“You took videos?”

“No, these are from Ethan. I wasn’t recording, I was too busy just watching you.”

You smiled, grateful for the dark lighting in the back of the car and the blue face-paint hiding the blush you felt rising in your cheeks. “Yeah, I kinda noticed that you were pretty- um, focused.”

“How could I not? You were magical up there, like poetry, but, uh, dirty poetry.”

You giggled before being jarred out of this moment, noticing that the car had reached a halt. You looked out the window and saw the driver had stopped beside your apartment building. “Oh, thank you, this is perfect.” You unbuckled yourself and got out of the car, with Victoria quickly sliding out after you. “Did you want me to grab your sunglasses for you?” She swung the door shut and the car pulled away. “Once I take my shoes off, I can be up-and-down in, like, three seconds.”

“No, no, no, don’t be silly, I’ll come up with you and get them.” She said of the item she had left behind during her last visit to your home.

When you were in the elevator, she turned to you, even in the awful and cheap overhead lighting, she was still breath-taking. Her cheeks were shimmering with perfectly applied highlighter, a subtle dusting across her cupid's bow drawing your eye to her lips all the more.

"So, forgive me for being so forward, but-..." She began and you felt your throat clenching. "With the cost of the entire look, maybe sans makeup, 'cause you already had all those supplies- was there a profit made from your little swimsuit and blue paint?"

"Oh, yeah, a huge profit. This was so cheap to throw together. It's literally scraps."

"Well, you make scraps look incredible and sexy and expensive." She said, her sentence punctuated by the ding of the elevator as you arrived at your level. "And ultimately, like a winner."

You smiled, liberating your keys from the rest of the mess in your handbag. "Yeah, well, we'll see who's feeling like a winner while I'm struggling to get all of this off my skin, to de-Smurf myself."

"It's gonna be difficult, huh?"

You opened your front door and instantly flicked the nearest light-switch on, illuminating your empty apartment. "Oh yeah, I'm probably not gonna get out of the shower before sunrise, and even then, I'll still be going to bed with blue caked behind my ears."

You were looking around, trying to remember where you had placed her sunglasses, when you felt her hand sliding into one of yours.

"What if I helped you?"

You turned to her, eyes wide as you waited for her to laugh, waited for her to declare this a joke. "What- in the shower?"

She giggled quietly, putting a hand over her face. "That didn't sound as creepy in my head. Look, forget that I said it."

"No, Vic…" You held her hand tighter as soon as you felt her begin to pull away. You put your other hand on her forearm, counteracting her attempt to move back. "I don't wanna forget it."

She was studying your expression carefully, hands going to your waist while you put your hands on her face. You brushed her hair away from her cheeks, stroking your fingers across her soft skin. You had to bend at the neck to eliminate the height difference caused by your platform boots.

You secured both of your lips around her bottom lip, leaning into her. Her hands moved to the small of your back, firmly pressing against your skin.

You felt her tongue pushing against your top lip and you tilted to your right, parting your lips to allow her access into your mouth. You could taste the beers she had consumed at the bar, but you didn't mind. You were so instantly drawn in by the way she moved her tongue, massaging it against your own.

You couldn't stifle a moan, so many endorphins rushed through your body - greater than the high you had received while your performance had been going according to plan. You didn't need the cheer from a crowd, or even money offered freely to you by the entertained strangers - the only thing that you needed to validate your existence was her and her touch.

"Well…" You said, shakily gasping for breath. "It's about time."

"What do you-?"

You burst out laughing, interrupting her train of thought. "Now there's blue all over your face, I'm sorry, babe."

She smiled, biting her bottom lip. "My offer to help you shower still stands."

You nodded and started to pull down the netted face covering. "Yeah, just gimme a sec' to take all of this foolishness off."

"Okay." She said, pushing her leather biker vest off. This revealed the leopard print bralette that you had spent most of the night trying to ignore.

You removed your constricting boots and began the process of shedding your padded body.

She was out of her high-waisted jeans and down to just her underwear while you were still picking at the clips that had been holding your wig secure all night long.

"I probably look like a crazy person right now." You said, peeling off the layers of false eyelashes.

"No, never."

She was grabbing you as soon as your corset and the last pair of pantyhose were removed. She brought your body close to hers, hands tracing across what had been concealed to the point of pain. She drew you in for another kiss, making you forget how sore your legs were and how sticky the body-paint had become.

She took your hand in hers, walking towards the bathroom as comfortably as if she lived here with you. There had been so many times when you had stood in this exact room, showering while a fresh set of clothes was set on the vanity. With the door locked, you would quickly dress yourself, unwilling to have her see you naked. It was different when you were hanging out at the pool with a group of friends and bikini tops seemed unnecessary. There was a different intensity, a different charge of electricity in the air, just at the thought of walking around naked in your apartment during one of her visits. It had always felt like something you should avoid, an impossible fantasy that would never work out.

But there was something about how things were unfolding right now that felt entirely natural. It was almost as if you had been priming one another to end up like this all along. Now that you were here, it felt like everything was falling into place.

She started to turn the shower on, working at getting the perfect temperature while you looked at your reflection. You were instantly laughing at the sight of yourself transformed into some kind of sea monster. Your blue makeup was patchy and the netting had left some lines on your face, similar in appearance to how the scales of a fish looked. You were struggling to think of a time when you had looked worse.

"You gonna come in here, or what?" She asked.

You moved over to where she was waiting, naked under the stream of the shower. You licked your lips, stepping into the shower with her, your skin raised into goosebumps.

She placed her hands on your cheeks, stroking softly while your eyes hungrily took in the sights of her body. You saw freckles where you had never noticed them before.

"I've thought about this, with you, so many times." She said as you watched drops of water catch on her lashes. "But then when I saw you on that stage- you were so sexy, so beautiful, so powerful. Watching you twirling around on that pole- it got me so wet and I just knew that I had to have you.”

She kissed you, drawing you in deep and you let your hands freely roam over her body, touching the parts you had only ever dreamt of or accidentally brushed against in the past. She linked both arms around your neck and you were amazed at how perfectly your bodies could fit together. There wasn’t any awkwardness or sense of being shy or not knowing what to do.

She moved a hand down, exploring over your shoulder before running it down the front of your chest. Her hand grabbed your breast, toying the nipple between her fingers. This produced a moan from you, heat lapping at your skin, beyond where the stream of the shower could reach.

"We're supposed to be getting all this crap off of me, not making you dirty."

She shrugged, tossing her damp hair off of her shoulder. "I don't care. I'm used to being dirty." She reached across to collect the bar of soap from its caddy. "But I'll do what I said, I'll help get you clean."

She moved back half a step, giving herself some space to work and watch as she did. She cradled the soap in her palm, running it across your skin. She massaged it along your chest and you felt your heart pounding.

She moved the soap up to your neck, slow and tender rubbing to work the paint free from your skin. She paid attention to each area as she cleaned it, every move purposeful - she was making you feel taken care of, as she always did.

You reached out to grab the jar of coconut oil, unscrewing the lid and scooping out some of the semi-solid oil. As she lathered your throat, you returned the favour, rubbing at what had transferred from your face onto hers.

You caught yourself in disbelief over this scenario, coming down from the lust enough to see reality and count yourself as so lucky that this was actually happening. Whenever her eyes met yours, you would blush and smile - as giddy as a schoolgirl on a first date with her dreamy crush.

"I wouldn't have thought that our first time showering together would be with me looking like a baby dragon just hatched- the aftermath of drag is seriously unsexy." You said, taking the oil to your face to dissolve the makeup still stuck on your skin. "Um, not that I ever- uh, that came out wrong. I haven't, like, pictured us showering together before."

"You haven't? God, I have…" She said. "Like coming home from the beach and both of us scratchy from the sand, but I'd be like, no, it's fine, you can have the first shower, I'll just smoke a cigarette and wait." You stared at her for a moment, at a loss for words over how well she had been able to hide this. "Turn around."

You did as instructed, putting your back to her. You continued to wipe the oil across your face, while she relocated the soap to clean the nape of your neck. She moved one hand along your shoulders before placing the other hand to the front of your body.

Your breathing halted at the first touch of her skilled fingers to your cunt. All of your focus swung to that area and you lost track of any other sensations - you couldn't hear the water hitting the shower tiles, nor could you feel it beating down against your skin. You felt yourself wanting to melt for her as she took her time in exploring across your labia majora.

"Sometimes I just really can't help myself, like when I'm staying here and you're taking a shower and I just can't seem to think about literally anything else. And I turn the music off and I just listen to the water and I let myself picture what you look like in here, on your own, washing your gorgeous body. And then, you'd come back into the room and I'd have to act like I wasn't wet.

"I'd have to act like I hadn't been imagining all the things you and me could be doing in that shower. Like I hadn't been thinking of all the ways I'd wanna touch you and make you feel so fuckin' incredible."

"Like what?" You asked.

She had gotten distracted from the bar of soap and, instead of feeling that on your skin, you were soon feeling her lips as she kissed along your shoulders. Her touch on your cunt became more noticeable, her fingers seeking out more of you to play with.

"I'll do whatever you want, baby." She whispered.

Her unoccupied hand went to your hip, caressing and gliding across your skin. You put your hand over her wrist, gently pulling her hand away from your pussy before she could touch upon your clitoris.

You knew that once she got to your pulsing hood, you would hardly be able to hold it together. You wanted her to know that she was allowed to explore more of your body. You wanted her to discover the parts that she liked best. You wanted all of the stimulation she could give you, you were greedy to have her awaken pleasure from all of your erogenous zones so that she could fuck you to an amazing height.

She allowed her hand to be dragged up from your crotch, over your stomach. You put your hand on top of hers, continuing to guide her up even further. You turned your face to hers as you placed her palm over your breast. She squeezed it into her hand at once, drawing a whimper from you. Her eyes were fixed on your face, watching how you responded as she tested the nipples' sensitivities with her fingers.

Your lips met, lining up perfectly so that you could taste her again. She soon had both hands on your tits, making you feel so secure and appreciated. You tilted your head, unable to wait to get her tongue into your mouth. This slow build-up was so easy, the two of you finding the rhythm you needed without issues.

Her deft fingers worked at your hardened nipples, finding the unique reactions they could produce. She rolled them and favoured them with gentle twists - tweaking them, and you, into a higher state of pleasure as you felt these sensations down to your core. She was so attentive to all of your needs, getting ready to light your soul on fire.

You slid your own hand down her tummy, seeking her perfectly maintained pubic hairs. She sucked harder on your lip as you cupped her cunt and you felt emboldened to keep going.

She sent her hands exploring in opposite directions - one returning to your cunt, while the other tenderly stroked your throat. You turned your body towards hers a bit more as you sought to deepen the kiss, to taste more of her.

Her fingers slid between your folds, seeking out your most intimate heat. Your teeth grazed across her lip as you started to feel her fingers on your clit. She let her fingers dance across the pulsing nub, waiting to set a rhythm - for now, she was just playing with you. You felt the tingles radiating up, hot sparks of electricity pricking at your core.

You started to work your fingers between her labia, feeling every sensitive twitch that acknowledged your hand in this tight area. You heard her draw in a sharp inhale when you slid your middle finger down and over her clit. Then you pulled it back up, allowing her to feel the pressure as you wanted. You took your time, lazily working to arouse her.

She was drawing circles around your clit, tight circles that were only getting faster with each rotation. The building pleasure stole your breath and your mouth fell back from hers, losing your energy for kissing, instead gasping as you sped up your hand.

"Oh, God…" You moaned through the first powerful shaking in your knees. You were getting so sensitive, every nerve in your body pulsing to the excitement she was setting. "Yes, touch me Vic, touch me, fuck me, oh."

She held your throat a little tighter, her hot mouth moving over the side of your neck. She was pressing her fingers down harder and you could feel the throbbing of your cunt growing so much stronger.

You spun around, pushing your chest to hers. Before she could slip, she was being pressed to the wall. She took her fingers away from your pussy. It was easy to look past the smeared makeup on her face, instead fixating on how dark and intense her eyes currently were - so differently to how she usually looked at you. She raised her fingers to her mouth, sliding them between her lips.

She moaned as if she was tasting the most decadent gelato known to man. You were able to bring this sound to an even higher level when you stuffed a finger into her slicked cunt. She slumped against the wall, her jaw hanging open as she started to pant.

"Uh, fuck…" You watched her eyelids fluttering as you inserted a second finger into her cunt. You had never seen her looking so weak, all of her usual bravado had gone into hiding.

Your heart pounded desperately and you wanted to know how much closer to the edge you could drive her. You ducked your head down and secured your lips around her nipple. You sucked the pebbled skin into your mouth, causing her to wrap her arms around you tightly. Her hand went to the back of your head, trimmed nails lightly scratching over your scalp.

You could hear her whimpering over every breath as her hand returned to your pussy. Her fingers sought your clit out again while you added a third finger between her quivering walls.

"Fucking, uh- you're gonna make me come…" She rasped, her fingers fumbling across your clitoris without much precision at first.

You released her nipple from your mouth, looking up at her as you licked your lips. "Good, I wanna make you come so fucking bad." You had begun to curl your fingers, stroking up higher and seeking her g-spot. "I've waited so long for this- I've gotta do it right…"

"You are- unhh, you are, baby, you are, I- fuck!" Her hips jolted into you when you put your finger to her clit.

Her fingers found a rhythm against your clitoral hood and you were soon rocking your hips forward, pushing more of your body weight into her. She followed the movements you made, setting into the pace your body wanted. She danced fast circles around your clit, full of energy despite how short on breath she was.

She manipulated full body tremors through you as she ran her fingerpad over the aching nub. The pearl was pulsing against her digits, your pussy weeping for her. You saw stars bursting in front of your eyes as every stroke hit to your core.

You pushed her closer to overstimulation, keeping your hands steady as if your life depended on it. Her clitoral hood felt swollen as your fingers slipped all over it.

You bit into your bottom lip as you felt your body transcending - all that you could feel was the fire she stoked higher with each confident swipe. With two fingers on either side of your clitoris, she petted you through to the climax.

The strength required for you to pump your fingers into her was lessened, thanks to how eagerly she was fucking herself against you - she just needed you to be there, to catch her excited bucks.

"Oh yes, yes, baby." She cried out, louder than you, louder than any other sound in the world right now and it was enough for you to drown in her pleasure. "Yes, yes, unf- oh, God, yes!"

Her walls clenched upon your fingers and you felt your sensitivities taking you over. Your eyes rolled back and every muscle in your body tightened - before you flew into such a glorious release. You dissolved, immediately wrecked by your climax. Your body shuddered, random flinches taking over your limbs as the electricity pulsed for a few more moments.

She cupped her hand over your labia majora - guiding you through the process of coming down, a comforting sign that she understood what you were feeling. Her arm was tight around your middle and she gasped as you removed your hand - the fingers feeling numb.

You put one hand to the wall above her head and shut your eyes, waiting for your brain to return to functionality after that overload.

A complete shock came to your system with what felt like a knife made of pure ice jabbing against your spine. You hissed, this rude awakening ripping you out of the afterglow far too soon. But you shouldn't have been surprised - it was a miracle that the hot water had lasted for as long as it had. You shuffled closer to her, attempting to get out of the way of the harsh stream.

"Fuck…" You groaned as you reached out for the taps.

She was laughing breathlessly, pushing her dripping hair away from her face. "C'mon baby, I'll warm you up again." She moved out of the shower first, offering a white towel to you once the water was halted.

Your eyes moved eagerly over her body as she wrapped the fuzzy towel around your shoulders. She was just as enticing now as she had been before your explorations. Her body was a work of art and now you could enjoy it without shame.

She linked her arms around you, her warm mouth meeting yours - slowly, sensually sucking upon your bottom lip until you felt ready to melt for her again. You were warmed from your head, down to the tips of your toes. You could have gone on kissing her like that for hours, discovering your favourite ways to experience her.

"Can I tell you a secret?" She whispered, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Uh-huh…"

"You look like you should be my next girlfriend…"

--- --- ---

If you like my writing, feel free to tip me. I am open to both commissions & requests, commissions get priority & the most input

#maneskin x reader #maneskin fanfiction #maneskin smut #maneskin fic #manesmut #victoria de angelis fic #victoria x reader #victoria de angelis x reader #victoria de angelis x you #gia woods inspired fic #anon request x2

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darlingpetao3 · 3 years

Text

House of W (Multiple!Wells x Reader, Chapter 9)

Rating: T

Summary: After having to deal with the deaths of an infinite number of Harrison Wells in the Multiverse, you, a magic-wielding meta, have a breakdown and unwittingly create a happy, fictitious sitcom life with some of your favourite men. In a world of comedy and cameos, can Team Flash and an out-of-town magician break through your powers to save you? And what if you don’t want to be saved...?

A/N: Well folks, it’s the final chapter... I’m not sure it’s actually all that great, but here it is and I hope it’s well received, nonetheless! Thanks for coming on this crazy ride with me <3

Tag List: @fandomdancer @bluesclues-1234 @crissymadlock @firstofficer-tilly @disneyoncerlover815 @marvel-lady10 @thecaptainsgingersnap @noctvrnalmoth @alexxlynn @dontbedumb3 @heyl0lwhatsup @ryou-cosmos @arianalilyblack @sonnensplitter @imagine-yourself-happy @stuckysdaughter @wintersire @i-dont-care-lol @booksandfandomsarelife1 @marvelhastakenovermybeing @marisughh

Eobard Thawne clutches his fist down beside him, surely feeling the surge of Speed Force energy running through his entire body once more. He looks like he’s just taken a hit of the most addictive drug—eyes flashing a dangerous crimson, his whole being vibrating at the speed of sound before everyone’s eyes.

The Reverse Flash turns to Libby and Belle—who both remain frozen in place out of sheer shock after realizing that this man isn’t who he claimed to be—and gives them one of his iconic shit-eating grins.

“Thank you, girls,” he says smugly. “I couldn’t have achieved any of this without you. The next time I have your real uncle under my boot, I’ll think of you wonderful girls.”

“What have we done…?” Belle whispers rhetorically to her sister. A speechless Liberty only shakes her head in reply.

Eobard locks eyes with Barry, who stands in the doorway to the kitchen. The villain smirks before he bolts off, running upward along the diminishing forcefield wall and out through one the holes forming in it. Barry watches on as he decides to let his adversary go. He’s learned by now it’s never the last time he’ll see Eobard Thawne. That bastard always seems to find a way back into everyone’s lives. He’s like a cockroach that won’t stay dead.

Yes… Barry will come face to face with the Reverse Flash again. He may not know when, but when he does, he’ll be ready.

Because right now, you need him.

Your world is falling apart.

Again.

The forcefield continues to fall slowly from above. Your time is limited. You know that in mere minutes, everything will disappear, including the people you love.

“Mom, we’re so, so sorry,” Belle tells you desperately. “We thought he was just teaching us how to perfect our powers. It felt like a game!”

“My dear, sweet girls,” you look them straight in the eyes as you explain to them, “I assure you both, it’s not your fault. Okay? You had no idea who he really was or what he was capable of. It’s not your fault, do you understand me?” They nod through their tears. “You two may have grown up incredibly fast, far too fast for my liking, in fact, but I am so thrilled that you were- are mine. You will always be my little girls. No matter what.”

“Thank you for being our mom,” Liberty says to you in all seriousness.

“No one is cooler or stronger than you,” Belle adds with a smile very reminiscent of her fathers’. If these two aren’t careful, you’re going to completely lose it in front of them.

Off in the distance, you spot Barry watching this heartfelt scene play out. You wave him over to meet his nieces, so he can see what you’ve created for yourself up close and personal. Libby and Belle should meet their real uncle, a true hero, before they’re…

Barry places a hand each on the girls’ shoulders. See, Barry? They’re real. And I’ll lose them too. Do you feel my pain now? This is what I live through all the time.

Barry’s eyes begin to glisten until the tiny bulbs of tears hold still, unwilling to fall just yet.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you both,” he tells them. “You’re both such bright stars.” They give bittersweet smiles up at him in silence. You don’t think they fully understand what will come to pass in mere minutes, but you do. You can feel it in your bones.

Barry steps back from your family unit so that you all can have one more last moment together. You take this final opportunity to bring your girls in close for a tight hug, letting a sob escape you despite trying to keep it together for your family. You wave a hand over to your husbands as if to gesture for them to get in on this family group hug, and quickly. They do so promptly, all four of them enveloping you, Liberty, and Belle as if to form a loving hug shield.

“I love you,” you make sure to say these three precious words, making eye contact to each and every one of those you have magicked into being here with you today… before they disintegrate before your very eyes.

And soon enough, you can’t even feel them anymore. The forcefield has vanished within the Lab’s basement, along with the Wells and the twins.

You cry. You shake and your body wracks with the sort of sobs that hurt your throat. Barry makes sure he holds you tightly. Caitlin approaches carefully and ends up holding your hand. Then it’s Cisco who puts his own hand on your shoulder as everyone else in the room looks on at your despair.

***

After some much-needed rest in the Medbay, you awake to a spookily quiet Labs. You’re not sure of the time (or day, even), but regardless, you figure it’s best to head home. Goodness knows it’s probably still in shambles. That’ll need to be fixed.

You heave a sigh as you leave the Cortex.

“Come on, you can sigh louder than that.”

You turn around to find the unexpected voice belonging to Zatanna. You imagine she must have had to recoup as well from the amount of magic she would have used to break through to your world.

“Oh, hey,” you say tiredly. “I take it you’re on your way, then?”

“Yeah, I have a show in Coast City in two days, so I better head off.”

“Listen, I’m really sorry to have brought you into all this madness.”

“No, please. If anything, I should thank you as well as offer my condolences... Your magic is something I've never seen before. Honestly, I’m still intrigued by it.” Zatanna hesitates. “Would it be weird if I gave you my contact information? I don’t come across many others with true magic. I’d love to keep in touch. Maybe we could learn from each other?”

“Yes, of course,” you agree. “I think that’s a great idea.” She hands you her card—a glittery black business card with her name and number.

“So, hey,” she says, “You going to be okay?”

You take a few seconds to think her question over.

“I think, in time, I could be,” you answer truthfully.

“I know it may not be much,” Zatanna says, “but one of my powers involves granting wishes. Before I go, is there anything I can do for you? You’ve been through so much. I’ve seen it. And everybody has something they're hoping for. Something they wish they could change…” She pauses, waiting for your answer, but also seems distracted. You wonder what kind of life this woman has led. What has she done in her past that she regrets or wishes for from the bottom of her heart?

“I only wish for Harrison Wells to be in my life,” you answer honestly. Is that so much to ask for? It seems to be that way.

“Is that what your heart most desires?”

You sigh. “More than anything.”

There’s another pause.

“You know, sometimes you’ll find that our wishes come true on their own, even without magic,” the magician points out ominously.

“That’s code for “I just can’t make that wish come true,” isn’t it?” you joke, somewhat.

“The people that we love—they’re only gone when we stop carrying them with us. How you choose to carry Harrison Wells is up to you.”

You let that sink in and press a hand to your heart. He will always be here with you. Right here. You’ll make sure of it.

“I wish you all the luck and magic in the world, (Y/N),” Zatanna says kindly. “It was nice to meet you.”

You nod in thanks, unsure of how to respond to that. With her aged, thick book under her arm, Zatanna Zatara walks down the S.T.A.R. Labs corridor, but you swear her body vanishes before she rounds the corner…

Despite all the trouble you’ve put her through—everyone, really—with all of this, you can still take comfort in the act of making a new friend.

As you walk through the empty hallways of the Labs, you make it to where the elevator lies. You go to press the button to summon the machine when a ding sounds before your finger even touches the button. The doors slide open, and the face that greets you shocks you to your very core.

“Hello, there,” he says.

In fact, you are so stunned that you take a step back, but in doing so, you stumble and begin to topple over. Luckily, a certain someone’s quick arms catch you in time.

The face you know all too well, Harrison Wells, that is, glows with a calm happiness as he looks down at you in his arms. Behind immaculate see-through frames, his pretty blues eyes twinkle like the stars. He smiles like he knows you. You stare up in disbelief, in relief, and in love.

“Hello… Harrison.”

#reader insert #harrison wells x reader #harrison wells imagine #harrison wells fanfiction #harry wells x reader #harry wells imagine #nash wells x reader #nash wells imagine #hr wells x reader #hr wells imagine #sherloque wells x reader #sherloque wells imagine #eowells imagine #eowells x reader #the flash imagine #the flash fanfiction

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someonestolemyshoes · 3 years

Text

Off the Record

Hello!! I am super excited to finally post my entry for @levihan-drabbles competition :D The prompt was super interesting and I had a tonne of fun writing this one!

The prompt I received was: Hange posts a picture of Levi somewhere and it becomes a meme.

(For those curious, this is the meme I used for inspiration)

Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Levi's lip curled.

"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.

"Enlighten me."

Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.

"That bullshit article."

"Ah. Was there a problem?"

Hange met Moblit in a small cafe a little way down the road from the newsroom. She was in good spirits—her morning had been productive; she'd made steady headway with research for her next interview, finished the final edits for a few smaller tabloid pieces she'd been meaning to brush up, attended three short, perfunctory meetings on tedious company policy, and laid the groundwork for another exciting interview opportunity.

She felt good. And now she had the pleasurable prospect of a hearty lunch, a passable cup of coffee, and perhaps best of all, Moblit's company. His company, and his camera.

Hange threw herself into the seat opposite Moblit the moment she spotted him, hunched over his laptop in a corner of the cafe. He lifted his coffee cup just in time for Hange to clatter against the table, the thin metal frame rattling precariously. She offered him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," she said, and then, "got anything exciting?"

"I don't know about exciting. Interesting, maybe, but no breaking news."

Hange flagged down a passing waitress with one hand, and waved Moblit off with the other. "Doesn't matter, doesn't matter," she said, then paused to order a drink and her favourite sandwich. "Tell me anyway."

"I got a tip-off from a waiter at Sina's."

Hange's eyes sparkled behind her glasses. She sat forward in her chair, folding her arms on the table top as she leaned closer. "Who?"

"Take a guess."

Hange grinned at him. Moblit was not one to play coy; he did his job and did it well, and reported his findings efficiently. To leave her to question it meant one of two things; he had photographed someone very high profile indeed, or it was somebody Hange was, for better or for worse, well acquainted with.

Or perhaps, if she were lucky, it was both.

"Let me see him, then."

Hange had taken far too much time in the cafe with Moblit. He had given her a rundown of all the details he'd gathered during his field work that morning, and shown her through his extensive photo gallery. It was impressive, the kind of archive Moblit could cultivate with only a 45 minute breakfast window.

Hange had been delighted. Moblit was right; it wasn't breaking news, nothing particularly thrilling, but there was a corner of the Internet, Hange knew, that would delight in a trashy little article just like this. Something quick and simple to bulk up the social media feed for the afternoon.

Plus, there was a series of pictures Moblit had snapped, a cluster he'd thought to be of no real merit, that Hange simply could not pass up.

She could lay down no facts with a story like this one. There was no hard-hitting investigative journalism to be had, but she could at least offer some speculation based on her knowledge of the subjects involved, and spin a tale juicy enough to get people talking.

It took little time at all to put the article together. Hange scribbled up an outline for the contents—the location; Sina's in downtown Hizuru, a luxurious restaurant serving five star meals at every hour of the day. High in quality, sickeningly steep in price. The time of day; 9am. To the best of Hange's knowledge, this was rather out of character for the subject. He was an early riser, but according to their interview last March pending the premiere of his newest movie, he wasn't the type to eat much at all before lunch time.

And then, the company. Eren Yeager was a relatively well-known actor, barely an adult at nineteen. He starred in his first role a decade earlier, and had seen commercial success in multiple movies and TV shows ever since. He had been something of a prodigy in his younger years, bold and precocious, possessing a natural talent many actors years his senior couldn't even hope for. As Hange understood it, he had recently hit a rather troublesome phase. An interesting line of inquiry, but despite his talent and his fame, Eren's presence was simply a cameo, compared to the subject of the article Hange was drawing up.

Levi Ackerman.

Levi is a fan favourite and a media delight. He's attractive no doubt, and his performance in any and every role is almost always met with critical acclaim. Outside of his career, however, he's an elusive thing, silent in any matters pertaining to his private life. He avoids any public event like the plague, and rarely shows his face at premieres or award ceremonies if he can possibly avoid it. He gives interviews only when required by some contractual obligation or other, or else when the journalist in question is so painfully persistent that it is simply easier to give in than to keep fighting.

Little of his personal life is known, but it is impossible for someone in Levi's position to avoid interacting with anybody at all, and even the great Levi Ackerman is not above scrutiny.

There are rumours. Several of them, accounts from fellow cast members, from staff, from directors, and even Erwin, his manager, has alluded more than once to Levi's sour disposition. He is prone, Hange has heard, to fits of anger, and is easily disgruntled by minor inconveniences. His dislike of anything unclean or untidy is the stuff of legends—Hange has seen this first hand, at their very first interview. He had entered the room, scowled at the chair before sitting in it, and given Hange a thorough once over before announcing, with no hint of humour, "your glasses are filthy."

Hange had found him both fascinating and quite delightful, in his own strange way. When he acts, Levi sounds eloquent; he is a master of emotive performance, wringing the last drops of anger, despair, or grief out of each and every word, or else injecting the perfect giddy jitter, or a tremor of humour when the scene called for it. As soon as the cameras stop rolling, though, Levi's tone becomes flat, and without a script, his words are clumsy and crass. He communicates poorly, quick to throw insults and crude remarks. Hange has interviewed him a number of times—she counts herself very lucky that Levi will consent to her requests without too much fuss, these days—and each time she finds herself spending half of their time together translating his answers into something a) family friendly, and b) understandable to the everyday reader.

There is nothing for Hange to translate this time. Moblit managed to speak to the waiter after Levi and Eren had vacated in hopes of gleaning any small tidbit of knowledge regarding their conversation, but the venture had been hopeless. The pair had grown silent upon the approach of any staff member, and spoke in tones too hushed for anyone nearby to hear. They learned nothing they couldn't extrapolate for themselves from Moblit's pictures; Eren looked sheepish, avoiding Levi's gaze in favour of staring into his drink, while Levi—

Levi looked furious.

Every picture featured his signature frown, which, in and of itself wasn't enough to assume Levi to be in any mood besides neutral, but some of the photos show a hint of bared teeth or pursed lips, with his brows pulled lower than normal, the space between them deeply creased. Hange found herself curious as both a journalist and as an acquaintance. They may not be friends, but Hange liked to think she knew Levi a little better than most people, at least. She could find nothing in their past interactions to suggest any relationship with Eren beyond the strictly professional. They had over a decade between them, and though they had worked together on more than one set, neither party had ever said anything to insinuate so much as a friendly attitude between them.

There was no resolution to her queries to be easily found. And luckily for Hange, this particular piece didn't require any. It was a gossip article, something spicy, jam-packed with buzzwords, what-if's and more questions than answers, designed to make people wonder. Levi's name in the title would be enough to draw people in; Eren's name was an added bonus. But the star of the show was Moblit's photography. Hange arranged the images she had chosen in a grid. In context, the pictures were intriguing, depicting a particularly ferocious part of Levi and Eren's exchange. Out of context, they looked a little ridiculous. Both would bring readers onto their home page.

Satisfied with her work, Hange queued the finished article for review, and turned her attention back to her schedule.

The article launched mid-afternoon. Hange watched, somewhat satisfied, as it was received much as she had expected it to be. The activity on their Twitter account skyrocketed, the tweet in question garnering more likes, retweets and replies in the hour after it's post than any other they’d dropped in the last month.

Hange had allowed it to slip from her mind after the first hour or so. She received praise from her bosses, and a text from Moblit, jokingly demanding she pay him even more handsomely for his work than she already had, and her cousin had called her in the evening on a quest for insider gossip she could share with her friends, but that had been the end of it. Hange thought of it no more until early the following morning, when she had stopped by the quiet little cafe beneath her flat for breakfast and her favourite coffee.

She had been polishing off her pancakes when the bell above the door chimed. She had paid little attention to the newcomer, until a shadow passed over her table, and a familiar voice said, "Oi, shitty glasses."

Hange looked up to see Levi Ackerman himself standing over her, his face twisted in a scowl.

There are perks of being reasonably acquainted with Levi. Hange always gets to conduct his interviews, and Levi only ever turns her down if her request is unreasonable. Like that time she demanded he meet her at this very coffee shop for "just a quick piece, about the cameo you did for the new season of Titans", only to show him she'd bought a new pair of glasses—"look, all clean!"—and, when pressed, admitted there was no interview at all. He had been far more hesitant to indulge her in smaller affairs after that, but Hange was still lucky enough to be his only regular interviewer after big releases.

More interviews means more commission for Hange, and more high profile work with other celebrities. Yes, being acquainted with Levi has its bonuses.

But it also has its downsides. Namely, that Levi will not hesitate to turn up at her regular coffee shop to berate her after she has posted some complete and utter wank at his expense.

Hange pushed her plate across the table and grinned at him. "Levi! Fancy seeing you here! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Levi's lip curled.

"You know what," he said. Hange braced her elbows on the table and rested her chin atop her knotted fingers.

"Enlighten me."

Colour rose in Levi's cheeks. For a moment, Hange felt a little guilty. For all Levi's grumbling and grunting, Hange had never seen him angry before.

"That bullshit article."

"Ah. Was there a problem?"

"You're a piece of shit, you know that?"

Hange sat back in her chair and sipped at her coffee. Levi's face was full colour now, a pale pink flush from his neck right up to his hairline. Hange gave him a measured look, then kicked out the chair opposite her.

"Sit," she said. "If you have issues, I'd be happy to discuss."

Levi looked for a moment like he'd like nothing more than to strangle her. Then he pulled out the chair the rest of the way, and dropped himself into it.

"I don't give a fuck about the article," he said. "It's shitty gossip anyway."

Hange raised a brow at him. She opened her mouth to continue when, without prompt, a young waitress approached their table, practically bouncing on the spot as she stopped and gave Levi a dazzling smile. Her cheeks were flushed prettily, and Hange would have thought she were simply starstruck, if it weren't for the light of mirth in her eyes.

"Good morning, sir. Can I get you anything?" She gave Levi no chance to respond, before plowing on. "Water? Or tea, perhaps? Forgive me, but you seem a little upset. Might a nice tea calm you down?"

Levi grit his teeth. "No, thank you."

Hange almost apologised to the poor waitress on his behalf, but she didn't look bothered at all by his rudeness. In fact, she had barely turned from the table before she snorted in laughter, and caught her giggles in her hands as she scurried back behind the counter. A second passed, before all three waitresses snickered.

"That," Levi hissed, "is your fault."

Now Hange truly was confused. She furrowed her brow at him. "How does that have anything to do with me?"

"You and your stupid article," he said. Hange looked back to the waitress, who looked to their table again before falling into a fresh fit of giggles. Hange turned back to Levi, a little sympathetic.

"I think she just fancies you."

"You're trying to tell me you really don't know the mess you've caused?"

Hange shook her head slowly. Levi watched her closely, searching for proof of the lie, but Hange's earnestness must have shown through, for Levi's anger abated a little, and he slumped back on his chair.

In lieu of a verbal explanation, Levi pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen a few times, typed something out, and scrolled a little way, before placing the phone on the table and sliding it towards her. Hange pulled it closer with a frown.

The screen displayed Twitter, and showed the feed beneath the search for Levi's name. Hange scrolled a few posts, eyes widening little by little as she went.

Levi was right. The contents of the article were of little significance at all. The photo grid, however, had gone viral overnight.

It showed four pictures of Levi and Eren, taken in succession. Each one showed only a portion of the back of Eren's head, but Levi's expression in every frame was more animated than Hange had ever seen him outside of his movie scenes, and each was more distraught than the last. Face tight, jaw clenched, teeth bared, with his finger pointed condescendingly in Eren's face. The second last picture shows his brows arched and his lips pressed into a thin line, and the final one—

Hange had laughed at it in isolation when Moblit had shown her. She had fully expected it to garner a few laughs, but she hadn't expected a photograph of Levi furiously slurping his tea to become a meme in less than 24 hours.

"I see," Hange said, as she calmly slid the phone back to him. "In my defense, you don't help yourself. It wouldn't be half as funny if you didn't hold your tea cup so weird."

"In my defense," Levi snapped, "If you didn't post it online nobody would have anything to laugh at."

Hange crossed her arms on the table and leaned towards him, smiling pleasantly. "In your defense, you wouldn't have been so angry in public if it weren't for whatever Eren had to say. What was that about, by the way? I'm terribly curious."

Hange expected a very Levi response to her prying; a scowl, perhaps a quick kick under the table, an 'It's none of your damn business, four-eyes', if she were lucky.

What she got instead was a haughty sniff, and a gruff, "He's fucking my cousin."

For a moment, they were silent. Either Levi's anger at his new meme status had temporarily disabled the part of his brain that blocked any mention of his private life from slipping past his lips in the wrong company, or something about Eren's indiscretion had rattled him so much, he couldn't keep silent about it. Either way, he looked increasingly surprised—and horrified—at himself for saying it out loud. Hange's eyes were wide, and Levi's were growing wider by the second. Of all the people to slip up to, he had slipped up to her. An entertainment journalist, the one person in his life who thrived on this kind of insider knowledge.

Hange swallowed. Levi was still staring at her like a deer in headlights, no doubt painfully aware that there was no taking back what he had said now.

Hange doesn't take a great deal of pride in what she does. She feels satisfied when her stories receive the reception she'd predicted, validated in her ability to analyse their consumer base and make accurate assumptions about what will hit and what won't, but the work itself feels dirty, at times. An opportunistic scavenger feeding on whatever carrion they can find, no matter how rotten it may be.

This is a perfect opportunity. Salacious details of Levi's interpersonal relationships, right from the horse's mouth. If it were anyone else, Hange would be scribbling every word verbatim in her notebook.

But this is Levi. Levi, who seems jarred by her last article (though Hange will maintain this, at least, is no real fault of her journalism, and also, absolutely hilarious) and was clearly, for whatever reason, incensed by Eren's actions.

Hange brushed her palms over her thighs, and picked a speck of lint from her trousers.

"This is nice, isn't it?" She said, "having breakfast together. We should do it more often. It feels good to just talk, sometimes. Off the record."

Levi blinked rapidly at her. He opened his mouth, but, still too shocked by his own loose tongue to speak, he said nothing. Hange pulled her phone from her bag and fiddled around with it some, tapping here and there, until she found what she was looking for. She turned it to Levi, and said, "I think this is my favourite edit so far."

Levi finally pulled his gaze from her, and looked down at the screen. It was truly something, the way the picture snapped him out of his stunned silence. Hange had never seen someone's face pinch up so rapidly.

"Come on, it's kinda funny. And look! That's Tony Stark, right? People are so creative. And maybe, if we're really lucky, Buzzfeed will do a compilation article of all the best ways people have used your new meme."

Levi rolled his eyes at her. It looked strange, with his face so tightly twisted. Hange chuckled at him.

She nudged his ankle beneath the table with the toe of her shoe. "Lighten up, you look constipated."

"Oi, out of the two of us I'm not the one who's full of—"

"—Full of shit, I know, I know. That honour is all mine."

They lapsed into another silence, this one marginally more comfortable than the last. Hange finished the last of her coffee and checked her emails, while Levi tortured himself some more by scrolling through his Twitter feed. After a short while, he spoke again.

"That...doesn't sound bad," he said.

"Hm?"

"What you said about talking more. Off the record. It doesn't sound bad."

It was Hange's turn to flush. Heat rose in her cheeks, and she occupied herself by rifling through her bag in search of nothing.

"Yeah?" Her voice, an octave higher than usual, cracked around the vowels. She cleared her throat, "will you have more gossip for me? It's almost painful that I can't share it, you know."

"Good. I'll share as many secrets as I've got, if it'll bother you that much."

"Sounds terrible," Hange said. She tore a clean corner off her napkin and scribbled her personal number onto it. She slid it over the table to him. "Text me."

Levi pulled a face at the piece of napkin. "Is that used? Gross, shitty four-eyes." He pocketed it anyway.

Hange didn't know what else to say. Levi didn't seem to either, and so he stood, and tucked his chair back in. Hange turned her eyes down to her empty plate. Her stomach and chest felt strange, almost sickly, but in an oddly pleasant way.

Levi rapped his knuckles on the table. Hange jumped, startled, and looked up at the sound.

"This part is on the record," he said. The corner of Levi's mouth quirked into a small, barely there grin. "I heard from a reliable source that Eren was so scared on the set of Last War that he pissed his pants. Twice."

#Levihan #snk #my writing #THIS ONE WAS SO FUN I would like to revisit this one day #I enjoyed their dynamic hehe

101 notes · View notes

jmnjmnjmn · 3 years

Text

Celebrity Crush| part 1 | BTS x Reader mini series

Pairing: BTS x Celebrity!Reader

Key words: celebrity crush, singer, idol.

Word count: around 8,000

Masterlist

Okay, this one is just regular fluff, but it definitely has potential to become more juicy, maybe even angsty... I had many ideas when I was writing it, but decided upon cutting it where I did. Maybe there will be part two to this story, maybe not. If there will be it will also probably be able to functionas a totaly separate one shot. Also I couldn’t decide on a ship here! Initially it was supposed to be RM, but I kept coming back to JK (my bias xd). That’s where possibility of an angst story lays... Anyway tell me what you think of this piece!

“AH!” Namjoon exclaimed, dropping his spoon down into his soup.

“Hey, watch it! You’re spilling everything!” Seokjin yelled back at him as some of his friend's soup splashed out from his bowl.

“What happened?” Hoseok asked, sipping his soup slowly and looking at Namjoon with curiosity.

“It’s-It’s (Y/N).” He stuttered out, his eyes still glued to the screen of his phone. He was scrolling through Twitter when he noticed a tweet from his favourite female artist, (Y/N), announcing her world wide tour.

“What? Did she message you?” Seokjin asked him with a chuckle, knowing well that wouldn’t happen.

“I wish.” Namjoon scoffed and clicked on a link to an article some music site posted immediately after reading (Y/N)’s tweet. “(Y/N) has announced details of her long-awaited world tour.” He read out loud to his friends already feeling his heartbeat pick up. “The singer has continuously updated her fans on the details, promising them that she was working on the announcement. Now, via a short video on Instagram simply captioned ‘Hello world’, she has finally revealed when and where the No Limitations tour will be starting off. You can see the full dates, which she simultaneously posted on her Twitter account, below.” He quickly scrolled down to take a look at the dates and locations. His jaw dropped as he scanned down the list and noticed the Asia leg of the tour. “Soul is on the list.” He muttered. “In January. Seoul is on the list.” He repeated looking at his friends with wide eyes.

“Finally!” Hoseok exclaimed reaching across the table to pat him on the shoulder. “You can go see her then.”

“It hasn’t been announced when tickets will go on sale.” Namjoon said in panic as he frantically searched the internet for information about the tour.

“I’m sure our staff can get you in there without a ticket.” Seokjin said casually, but Namjoon took the matter very seriously. (Y/N) wasn’t just someone who’s music he liked. He also had a huge crush on her as a girl in general and he wasn’t about to pass on an opportunity to see her perform live.

“I have to talk to our PD about that.” He said in an excited tone and clicked his Messages app to draft up a passionate yet professional text saying how much he wants, no, needs to go to (Y/N)’s Seoul concert.

“Now?” Seokjin asked, taken aback a little by his fast pace.

“No time to waste. It’s (Y/N) we’re talking about.” Namjoon chuckled. “If all goes well maybe we could work on some music together.”

“Yeah and maybe something more.” Hoseok teased him, earning a loud laugh from Seokjin. Namjoon only smiled up at them from his phone, because among those who followed the news about BTS it was a well known fact that he had a thing for (Y/N).

Whenever they would get asked about their celebrity crushes in interviews he would say (Y/N)’s name. Ideal girl - someone like (Y/N). A song they could listen to on loop - (Y/N)’s latest single. Fashion inspiration at the moment - (Y/N). Favourite movie - that one (Y/N) had a cameo in for like three minutes. It would happen so much that ARMY’s started making compilations of him talking about her on YouTube called “Namjoon drooling over (Y/N) for 7 minutes straight” and so on. At first he was embarrassed about it, but after some time that awkward feeling turned into hope that maybe she’ll see it and fall for him as well. He knew it was wishful thinking, but he still liked to imagine the moment you would message him saying you would love to collab on a song.

“I’m going to go talk to our PD.” Namjoon said, as he took off the bright pink sunglasses with Happy New Year written on top of them in a silly font. He wore them for the small photoshoot they just had for BTS’s New Year’s Eve post on Twitter.

“Now?” Jimin asked him, raising his brows. He was still wearing his party hat he put on for the session. “It’s New Year’s Eve.”

“I know. I just-” He was interrupted by Taehyung’s loud cheer. “I’ll be right back.” Jimin just shook his head at his eagerness to find out whether (Y/N)’s staff has already answered BigHit’s request for letting Namjoon go to your show with a backstage pass as a celebrity guest of sorts.

Since they were already at the BigHit headquarters for the photoshoot and a little celebration for the beginning of the new year Namjoon had to walk just a couple of doors down to get to PD’s office. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. After hearing a faint invitation he pressed on the handle and opened it.

“Oh, it’s you. Why aren’t you with the others celebrating?” The PD asked, obviously surprised to see Namjoon.

“Ah, yes. I’ll be joining them in a minute.” He said, remembering Jimin’s words. “I just came here to ask about the No Limitations show. It’s in January and since it’s already first of the month I wondered-”

“Ah, of course.” PD cut him off with a smile. “You're going.”

“Really?” Namjoon asked in shock.

“Yes, all of you are.” Namjoon must have looked very confused for a moment there, because PD rushed with an explanation. “We got an answer saying they were going to issue a formal invitation to the concert and an after party to the whole band anyway. Go and pass on the news to the rest of the boys. We’ll have a proper meeting about this next week.” Namjoon thanked him accesively and assured he’ll let the rest of the members know about the situation. As he walked down the hall he heard their voices from the dance studio they had the photo shoot in. He was speechless.

“It’s happening.” He thought, leaning on the wall to catch a breath before coming inside. After a moment he pushed the door open and joined his group members with a bright smile.

“Guys, guys. Listen” He called. “We’re going to (Y/N)’s concert!” He exclaimed and they cheered, gathering around him, smothering him with hugs and tugging on his cheeks teasingly.

“Look at him.” Jimin chuckled pointing at Namjoon who was pacing around the room. “So excited for the concert.”

“Of course he is. He’s going to meet his crush.” Seokjin added, also laughing.

The whole group was teasing him about (Y/N) all throughout January. It was seventeenth today, the day of her Seoul show and he couldn’t wait. They already got their hair and makeup done. They were dressed to the nines. All that was left was to get to the show.

“The car is here.” Someone from the staff announced and all the boys got up from their spots. As they walked down the hall together they all took turns patting Namjoon on the shoulder for encouragement.

“Do you think we’ll have a chance to talk to her?” Jungkook asked with excitement when they were all in the car together.

“Of course!” Hoseok exclaimed.

“No, but like, for real talk. Not just: nice to meet you, let’s take a picture, goodbye.” The youngest explained quickly.

“Hopefully.” Seokjin said, patting Namjoon on the thigh as that was something he was worried about. He would definitely be happy if he got even only a second with (Y/N), but he wished for more.

After a short drive the car stopped in an underground parking lot under the venue of the concert. As they got outside they could hear the cheers of the crowds gathered outside. Their staff took them on an elevator explaining once again how the night will go. First a before party with other guests, then the concert itself and after that the after party at a hotel. Namjoon repeated the sequence of these events in his head a million times already. Technically he was prepared, but practically he was a mess. His hands were sweating and his heart was racing like crazy. He looked around the small elevator at his closest friends and the familiar faces of BigHit staff who were accompanying them. Realising he has so many people around him for support eased his nerves a little.

“I can’t believe we’re in the same building.” Namjoon muttered under his breath.

“Yeah, she was also in the same building as us at the VMA’s and AMA’s and so on.” Yoongi teased him and everyone chuckled.

“That’s true, Namjoon.” Taehyung agreed with a grin. “You shouldn’t be so worried.”

“Easy for you to say.” Namjoon added right as the elevator door opened.

“Yeah, she already saw us perform at one of the award shows. She knows who we are. It’s going to be fine.” Jimin said in a nervous tone. Namjoon just nodded to himself trying to make the anxious thoughts go away as they approached the area where the before party was held.

They were all excited to see (Y/N)’s show and attend her after party, but with the tremendous enthusiasm also came the stress of meeting an A list celebrity from overseas.

“I can’t believe she’s still not here.” Namjoon whined to Taehyung and Jimin as the rest of the group scattered to chat with other invited idols and celebrities. “All the dancers and her band are here already.”

“It’s still early.” Taehyung tried to cheer him up. “She’ll show up any moment. I’m sure.”

“Definitely.” Jimin agreed with him energetically.

Before Namjoon could voice another concerned thought lingering in his brain everyone in the room started cheering and clapping. He looked around wondering what caused this reaction as he noticed the obvious reason.

“Thank you all so much for coming.” (Y/N) said stopping somewhere in the middle of the gathered crowd of celebrities and staff. “It means a lot. Really.” She put her hand to her chest as she spoke. “If all goes well the show will be starting in a couple of minutes. Wish me luck and have fun.”

“That’s it?” Taehyung asked as (Y/N) was rushed away by her staff to the stage entry. “I thought she was going to chat with everyone or something.”

“Do you chat with guests before the show?” Jimin asked. “That’s what the after party is for.” He explained and Namjoon hummed in agreement. Just the quick glimpse he caught of her was enough to leave him speechless.

“Let’s go watch the show.” Hoseok said approaching the three from behind with the rest of the group following close behind.

There was a big screen in the backstage lounge and a couple of smaller TV’s located at the stage entries for those that wanted to glance at the stage during the show to see the real deal. They watched the first half of the show in the lounge and later relocated to the left entry area. Namjoon’s eyes were glued to the screen as everyone around him chatted away. He tried to pay attention to the conversation and partake from time to time, but his focus quickly went back to (Y/N). She looked stunning singing and dancing on stage.

Suddenly a group of staff dressed in all black rushed into the area they were hanging out in with some other guests.

“Wardrobe change, left.” One of the staff said as she clicked on her earpiece.

Namjoon almost jumped out of his seat when he saw (Y/N) jogging down from the stage and into the swarm of her people from her team.

“Woah, that gave me chills.” Yoongi commented as (Y/N) passed by them surrounded by her wardrobe, hair and makeup team.

“Say something.” Hoseok whispered, elbowing Namjoon’s side.

“Like what?” He asked following (Y/N) with his gaze as she disappeared behind her dressing room's door.

“Great show, looking good. Anything really.” He encouraged him with a cheeky smile.

“No.” Namjoon shook his head, already feeling the blood rushing to his head.

“Do it. Do it.” The rest of the members repeated after Hoseok, but he only shook his head once again.

“She’ll come out any second.” Seokjin added in a warning tone.

He was right. The dance number performed by her backup dancers was getting to an end and (Y/N) should be running out onto the stage soon to sing the next song.

“Great show!” Jungkook yelled out in English.

All the boys’s heads snapped in his direction and then onto (Y/N). She was walking out of her dressing room in long strides. As Jungkook yelled out his praise she turned to look his way without stopping,

“Thank you!” She answered quickly before being escorted by her staff into the understage corridors.

All the boys started shoving and pushing the youngest member teasingly.

“Namjoon was supposed to say that. You took over his part. Jungkook, you’re so eager.” They yelled with laughter.

“What time is it?” Taehyung asked the group as most of the guests gathered in the backstage lounge to watch the encore of the show.

“It’s close to eleven.” Seokjin answered, looking at his phone.

“Before we finish off the show with this last song I just wanted to take a minute to say: Thank you so much.” (Y/N)’s voice echoed from the stage and through the speakers in the lounge. She was standing in the bright lights holding the mic to her lips. “Thank you for choosing to come see the show and spending the night here with us. I really can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for all of you, here in the audience and back at home watching and streaming my music and the shows. Thank you so much.”

“Ah, she’s so nice. Never forgetting about her fans.” People around muttered.

“I really, truly appreciate you guys. I cannot imagine how this year would’ve gone if I hadn't spent it with all of you, all of the people on the stage and behind it. We’ve been away from our homes for so long.” (Y/N) voice got higher with nerves and sadness that came over her as she spoke about her home. “We’re coming close to ten months on the road now. That’s a long time.” She said, bringing her hand to her chest to show her gratitude. “Thank you so much for putting up with me.” She chuckled and the staff cheered. “I feel so lucky and so fortunate to be working with all of you and to be able to perform in front of all of you.” She sighed deeply, undoubtedly masking a cry. “So thank you. I love you so much. Thank you.”

The audience was shouting and applauding loudly as (Y/N) walked off the stage waving to them. As soon as she was out of the view she handed her microphone to one of the sound people and took a big gulp of water from the bottle one of the staff handed her.

“Thank you.” She breathed out. “I need to get out of this hair as soon as possible.” She chuckled tiredly as she walked into her dressing room.

“We’ve got about twenty minutes to get you ready for the after party.” Her assistant, who was waiting inside, spoke calmly as the beauty and wardrobe team gathered around (Y/N) quickly taking out the bobby pins from her hair and undoing the back of her dress. “There’s quite a lot of guests your manager would like you to talk to, at least for a minute.” She said and quickly moved on to listing all the most important people attending the party.

“Have any of those people been informed that I might want to reach out to work with them later?” (Y/N) asked, getting into her oversized sweatshirt dress with the help of some staff so that she doesn’t ruin her makeup.

“No, that’ll be done after tonight. Sometime this week though.” She explained scrolling through something on her tablet.

“What time is the flight to Osaka tomorrow?” (Y/N)’s voice sounded tired as she thought of getting on another plane.

“Actually, there’s been a change of plans.” Her assistant said casually. “You got surprise booked for a daytime show tomorrow, so we’re staying in Seoul for that for the whole day and flying to Japan the next morning. The crew will be already there setting everything up for Saturday.”

“Two days in Seoul?” (Y/N) was surprised.

“Mhm.”

“What’s the show?”

“King of Masked Singer. You’re going to be the surprise opening act. I’ll fill you in on everything tomorrow morning.”

“Perfect.” She said smiling at herself in the mirror as the hairstylist was fixing up her hair.

“Heels or sneakers?” One of the wardrobe girls asked.

“Heels.” (Y/N) answered without hesitation. She wanted to look her best when surrounded with so many new faces at the after party and pairing sneakers with an oversized sweatshirt didn’t seem like the greatest combination for that.

“Ready.” The head stylist stated as one of the staff helped (Y/N) get into her thigh high booties.

From there, accompanied by security, (Y/N) and her assistant walked to the elevator that took them to the parking lot located under the venue.

As (Y/N)’s car pulled up in front of the hotel a swarm of fans and paparazzi started yelling out her name and waving to get her attention. She stopped to get her pictures taken, walked up to a couple of fans to sign their albums or pictures and walked inside to get to the after party. With her assistant following her every step and the three body guards right behind them she took yet another elevator to the hotel bar rented for the occasion.

“Let’s do this.” (Y/N) whispered to herself as she pushed the bar door open.

When she walked deeper into the crowded room random hands touched her shoulders and unknown voices spoke words of praise directed her way. She smiled and thanked the faceless mass making her way towards the DJ’s stand.

“That’s her.” Hoseok whispered as (Y/N) passed by the group of boys.

“Woah. She’s dressed cool.” Taehyung gasped, eying down her figure.

When she stepped onto the slightly elevated stage the DJ stopped the music and handed her a microphone. A wave of cheers erupted from the gathered guests as everyone noticed the star of the night had arrived.

“Hi.” (Y/N) spoke sweetly into the microphone and let the crowd yell or whistle back at her for a moment. “It’s so nice to see all of you here.” She chuckled. “Eat, drink, have fun. It’s all on me tonight. Just tonight.” She joked and the crowd clapped and yelled in excitement. “I know you all came here after the concert, but it’s not all about my music tonight.” Her tone turned mysterious all of a sudden. “It’s actually a very special day for someone else as well. A very funny guy, an inspiration in the studio, a dance mastermind and a dear friend and coworker of mine.” With every endearment term she listed the cheers got wilder. “Johnny Campbell. Where you at?” She asked looking around the room.

“Here!” Someone called out in the front of the room.

“Johnny, this is for you.” (Y/N) said in a low voice and started singing a very sexy adaptation of the birthday song.

As she finished someone in the crowd whistled and Johnny joined her on stage.

“Happy birthday Johnny.” (Y/N) finished off her wishes and hugged him tightly. “Let’s party, everyone!” She exclaimed into the microphone earning a loud cheer from everyone gathered at the bar.

(Y/N) made her way to the bar, stopping to chat and take a picture with someone every couple of steps. More than twenty minutes had passed from the moment she got off stage to when she finally got to the counter and grabbed herself a glass of expensive champagne. She sipped on the bubbly liquid and chatted to members of her dance crew. Looking around the room she locked eyes with a guy she recognised from somewhere. It took her a minute to realise it was BTS’s Jimin she was looking at. She smiled to herself, remembering that his group was on her manager’s to-talk-to list. Being halfway done with her drink she decided to down it and get another one before walking up to the group of boys.

“Oh my god.” Jimin exclaimed. “(Y/N) just looked here.”

“Where is she?” Namjoon asked, feeling his panic and excitement blur into one.

“At the bar.” He answered through gritted teeth.

“She’s coming here. She’s coming here.” Jungkook said quickly as (Y/N) made her way towards them.

“Hi, guys. I’m so glad you could make it.” She said in a sweet tone. “I’m (Y/N).”

“We know.” Jungkook blurted out which would normally earn him a shove to the shoulder from the older members, but the sound of (Y/N)’s chuckle at his comment made them relax and join her with nervous laughter. “I’m Jungkook.” He added extending his hand.

“I know.” (Y/N) answered with a smile and went for a hug and kiss on the cheek instead of a simple handshake.

“You know?” He asked in shock.

“Yes, I saw you guys perform at award shows, your music is everywhere. I know BTS.” The members smiled widely as she explained and started greeting the rest of them in the same way one by one. The hugs were quick, but still sincere. “I’m so happy you found time in your busy schedule to come see my show.”

“We wouldn’t miss it.” Namjoon said, trying to sound cool and collected. He wasn’t going to mention that he practically begged their PD to get them backstage.

“Oh, thank you.” She smiled and Namjoon’s knees almost went weak at the sight.

“Yes, great show.” Jungkook added and the group laughed.

“Oh, it was you.” (Y/N) also laughed realising it was Jungkook who yelled the words of praise her way halfway through the concert.

“Yes, I… Liked your dance with… By Your Side.” Jungkook said slowly making sure he picked the right words. “Great choreography.”

“Thank you.” She answered, bringing her hand to her chest as she accepted his compliment. “It’s nothing compared to your routines though. Those look hard.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. We work hard. A lot of practice.” They muttered with modesty.

“Honestly!” (Y/N) exclaimed. “I was trying to learn the routine for your song with Halsey with my girls… So hard.”

“Boy With Luv?” Jimin raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, but the foot choreo was killing me.” She complained jokingly.

“Hyung, ask her which member’s part she learned.” Jungkook asked Namjoon in Korean.

“He wants to know which member’s choreography you learned.” Namjoon explained.

“Yours,” (Y/N) pointed to Jungkook.

“Me?” He asked and she nodded energetically. “Hyung, say I can teach her the choreography.” He added in Korean with a wide smile, still shocked he’s talking to such a huge star. Namjoon and the rest of the boys laughed at the youngest member’s bluntness.

“He’s saying he’ll teach you.” Namjoon hurried with an explanation as (Y/N) looked confused by what they were laughing about.

“Watch out, ‘cause I’ll take you up on that offer.” She raised her brow at Jungkook cheekily who looked at Namjoon for a translation.

“She says she might take you up on that.” He translated to his friend and he laughed, feeling a blush creep up onto his face.

“I sang your song during soundcheck today.” (Y/N) stated and all the members raised their brows at her.

“Which one?” Jungkook asked.

“Sweet Night. V’s solo.” She said pointing to Taehyung. “It’s such a sweet song and you sound amazing in it.” She said, touching his shoulder.

“Thank you so much.” Taehyung smiled, bowing to her slightly.

Not in many moments Namjoon was glad that his members couldn’t speak English as well as he did, but right now he couldn’t be happier about it. They were all so excited to be talking to (Y/N) they forgot their tongues. The alcoholic beverages that they already consumed didn’t help either. They asked him for translations every other sentence, meaning (Y/N) needed him to translate for her as well, meaning he was talking to her more than any other member, meaning she looked at him more than at any other member. Despite the language barrier the conversation flowed so easily between them. He felt ecstatic.

“(Y/N).” Her assistant called her name and brought her to the side for a moment.” It’s showtime.”

By saying “showtime” she meant that it’s time for (Y/N) to perform a song or two to entertain the guests and keep the party going.

“I’ll be right there.” She answered her and walked back to the group of boys.

“V, could I borrow you for a moment?” She asked with a sweet voice.

Unsure of what she might want from him, but still excited Taehyung followed (Y/N) into the bar.

“You said you love Underneath and know the lyrics by heart.” She said, glancing at him as they walked side by side through the crowded room filled with chatter and music. Taehyung hummed in agreement, feeling his heartbeat grow faster and faster. “You know them well enough to sing it live with me now?”

“What?” He asked, almost tripping over his own feet.

“I’m supposed to perform a couple of songs now. Would you like to perform one with me?” She asked stopping and looked him in the eyes with hope.

“Of course.” Taehyung answered, giving her his signature box smile.

“Great!” She exclaimed and grabbed his hand to lead him backstage. “This way.”

“Where do you think she took him?” Seokjin asked as (Y/N) disappeared with Taehyung in the crowd.

“I have no idea.” Namjoon answered, also curious about the whole ordeal.

“She’s very nice.” Jungkook commented.

“Yeah, nicer than I imagined.” Yoongi added.

“We have to get a picture together.” Hoseok said and the rest of the boys agreed.

“Look, there’s (Y/N).” Jimin pointed towards the stage where the DJ’s booth was located.

“Welcome to the stage, the one and only, (Y/N) and Korea’s very own, V of BTS!” Announced the DJ and all the boys’s jaws dropped to the floor.

“What?!” They screamed in unison.

“Hi.” (Y/N) said in a low voice. “V and I have a very special cover for you tonight. Please enjoy, Underneath.”

The rest of the members sang along to the fast paced pop song as V and (Y/N) performed. The lyrics talked about hidden feelings and the tension that can build up if you don’t give them a way out. Even though (Y/N) and Taehyung never sang together before their voices blended perfectly in the duet. When they finished their performance the crowd applauded loudly. (Y/N) put her arm behind Taehyung and he did the same. Joined in this side hug they bowed to the audience.

After a minute or two Taehyung got back to his friends with the widest smile on his face.

“Can you believe this?” He was still in shock.

“Congratulations. You were so good. Woah.” All the boys chattered at the same time.

“I recorded you.” Seokjin added as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. They gathered around the small screen watching Taehyung and (Y/N)’s performance once again.

“Where is she?” Namjoon asked Taehyung as the video came to an end.

“Last I saw her she was talking to MAMAMOO.”

“Ah, so cool. She’s probably busy. We didn’t even take a picture together.” The group chimed. After a moment of sulking they went back to obsessing over the fact that they met (Y/N) and that one of their own members sang with her.

Surrounded by music, food and alcohol the time seemed to fly by very fast. Accompanied by their staff they left the party around two in the morning without having a chance to talk to (Y/N) one more time.

Mornings after concerts are usually pretty bad for both the audience members and the performing artists, but mornings after concerts combined with after parties, meeting new people and mingling with every music producer possible are even harder.

(Y/N) woke up with a headache and a bitter taste in her mouth. From her bed she walked straight to the bathroom to take a shower. When brushing her teeth she scrolled through her Twitter feed reviewing every other caption or photo on the endless string of posts from last night she was tagged in. She liked a couple of tweets posted by her friends and was about to lock her phone when she noticed a simple caption.

“Great show #정국” (Y/N) pressed on the picture to see it whole. She immediately recognised Jungkook, one of the members of BTS, a band she met last night. He was standing in front of the big monitor backstage with her tour logo on it, making hearts with his fingers and smiling at the camera. She smiled to herself remembering how easily yesterday’s conversation flowed with the group of boys.

“Ah, I wish I had his number.” (Y/N) muttered. “I could take him up on that dance lesson offer.”

(Y/N) rushed to open her hotel room’s door to the room service. The hoteboy brought in the big breakfast she just ordered minutes ago and set it on the table. As she got ready to dig into the scrambled eggs her phone started vibrating. She looked at the called ID and quickly picked up as she saw it was her assistant calling. She gave her a quick rundown of the day’s events and informed her she’s free to rest and relax until three in the afternoon.

“That’s when they’ll pick us up for King of Masked Singer.” She finished explaining.

“I have one more question.” An interesting idea popped into (Y/N)’s head. “Is there a way you could get me the number of BTS’s Jungkook?”

(Y/N)’s phone chimed as she was finishing up her breakfast. She picked it up reading the message she just recieved.

“I got it.” As she read the message from her assistant another one appeared on the screen. This time it was a string of numbers.

“Ah, what should I say?” (Y/N) pasted the number into her contacts and waited a minute before pressing the dial button. The phone beeped a couple of times before going silent. Jungkook didn’t pick up. “Hm. Let’s try again.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Jungkook was hanging out with his friends in their shared apartment. He was typing something up on his phone when the screen lip up with an unfamiliar number.

“Hyung, do you know this number?” He showed the ringing screen to Taehyung sitting beside him on the couch.

“No. Pick up.” Jungkook just shook his head at his answer.

“I don’t pick up unknown callers.” He rejected the call and went back to what he was doing. “This person is calling again.”

“Pick up.” More preoccupied with switching through TV channels, Taehyung encouraged him tiredly. Jungkook swiped right to take the call and put it on speaker.

“Hello?” He asked in Korean.

“Ah- Hello.” Jungkook and Taehyung locked eyes in surprise and curiosity as the person on the other side spoke in English. “It’s (Y/N). From yesterday.” Taehyung almost screamed in shock. Jungkook felt all his blood rush to his head.

“Ah, sorry. Hello. Sorry.” He stumbled over his words, trying to explain why he didn’t answer her call at first ring. “I don’t pick up if I don’t know the number.” (Y/N) chuckled on the other end of the line.

“It’s fine.” Her voice was sweet and calm. “Actually, I’m calling, ‘cause I’m still in Seoul-” Taehyung stood up from the couch covering his mouth with his hands, still in deep shock. “-and I was wondering- I was thinking about what you said last night, so…” Jungkook scrunched his eyebrows, trying his hardest to remember what he said that made (Y/N) call him the next morning. “If you have time we could meet and dance together.” Taehyung gasped. “You could teach me the Boy With Luv choreo and-” Jungkook couldn’t control himself and answered her before she could even finish asking the question.

“Yes.” He blurted out. Taehyung jumped back on the couch and pushed his shoulder with a huge smile.

“Really?”

“Yes, yes.” He assured her.

“Should I come to your-” Eager to see her he cut her off again.

“You can come to our studio. I will text you the address.”

“Great. I’m free until three in the afternoon so text me the time as well.” She added.

“Okay.”

“Okay. I’ll see you there.” (Y/N) added after a moment of silence.

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.”

“AH!” Jungkook threw his phone, which felt red hot in his hands right now, on the other side of the couch.

“What was that?!” Taehyung yelled, shaking on his shoulders. “How did she get your number?!”

“I have no idea!” Jungkook felt his body relax as he was no longer on the phone. “Oh my god. I have to text her now!” He reached to dig his phone out from under a stack of pillows and blankets on the couch. “And I have to go see her!”

“You’re doing great.” Jungkook praised (Y/N) with laughter as she jokingly overdid the moves and gestures in the choreography. “Like that.”

“Okay, but in all seriousness how did I do?” She asked, cutting the jokes short. Jungkook raised his thumbs up with a smile and she chuckled again.

“Let’s do it again and record it so we can review. You vs me.” He set his phone up on the floor by the mirrors in the studio space at BigHit.

“Teacher vs student.” Jungkook just hummed in agreement before playing the music.

Tired after practicing Boy With Luv for an hour and freestyling for almost two more (Y/N) and Jungkook sat down on the floor of the dance studio panting. She stood up to get herself some water and immediately regretted it.

“Ah, my legs.” Jungkook smiled at her words. Although (Y/N) danced in her music videos and during live performances her routines were far more relaxed that BTS’s regular dances. Their moves were sharp and strong and her’s more sexy and slow. Chucked her emptied water bottle back into her bag and turned to face Jungkook again. “Are you hungry?” He raised his brows, knowing what will come next if he says he is in fact hungry.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go eat something.” Her proposition was so blunt and free. He could not refuse her, but the excitement that filled his chest at that moment didn’t overshadow the fact that the rest of his group would be so bummed they didn’t get to eat with (Y/N) as well.

“Ah, can I do this to them?” He whined in Korean. (Y/N) gave him a confused look since she didn’t understand a word he just said. “My members will be jealous.” He explained with a slight smile.

“Oh, I didn’t think about that. Should we invite them?” That Jungkook wasn’t expecting.

“You want that?” He asked to make sure he didn’t just hear something wrong. (Y/N) smiled sincerely at his unsure expression.

“Yeah, why not?” Jungkook quickly got up from the ground and dug his phone up from his pocket.

“I’ll call them. Wait a second.”

“Okay.” (Y/N) answered as he walked out of the studio to call his friends.

Jungkook dialed Namjoon’s number, knowing he was at the apartment right now enjoying his day of rest. The line beeped a couple of times before he finally picked up.

“Hello?” His voice was low and sleepy in contrast with Jungkook’s, which was excited and fast paced.

“Hyung, listen. Get the rest of the guys and put me on speaker. I have something to tell all of you.”

“What is it?”

“Are they all there?”

“Wait a second.” Some shuffling and name calling was heard on the other side of the line before Namjoon spoke up again. “Okay, go.”

“So I’m with (Y/N) right now. We just got done dancing and all that and… She’s invited us all to lunch.”

“What? Oh, wow. Really? How cool.” The group erupted in chatter as they heard Jungkook’s news.

“Yeah. Can you come?”

“Of course. Yes. I can’t.” Another bundle of statements was heard.

“Who can’t?” Jungkook asked, saddened.

“Yoongi.” Seokjin said.

“I already have plans with our producers, but you all should go.” Yoongi explained, still encouraging the rest of the boys to go out.

“You sure?” Namjoon asked.

“Yes, go.”

“We’ll take a picture for you.” Hoseok joked.

“What are we going to eat?” Taehyung asked out of the blue.

“I don’t know.” Jungkook answered, not really having thought about that yet.

“Since we know Seoul maybe we should pick the place?” Seokjin proposed thoughtfully.

“Good idea. I’ll tell her that. When will you come here?”

“Thirty minutes? We need to get dressed.” Namjoon said and murmur of agreement was heard.

“Okay, okay. Don’t overdress though, we’re both in sweatpants.” Jungkook added with a chuckle. After exchanging goodbyes he hung up and sighed deeply, letting his shoulders relax a little before going back into the studio.

When he opened the door he saw (Y/N) stretching her legs in a sitting down position. He joined her on the floor before speaking.

As Taehyung pulled into BigHit’s parking lot Jungkook and (Y/N) were already waiting outside. Both dressed in large black puffer jackets going over their knees, they stood beside one another. Jungkook was looking over (Y/N)’s shoulder pointing to something on her phone.

“Now you can add a picture.” He said, swiping his finger on her screen. (Y/N) nodded and pressed on the camera option.

“Take a selfie with me.” She asked, raising her phone up to take a picture of the two of them.

Jungkook smiled shyly and pulled his mask down half way. (Y/N) did the same before snapping a cute picture to set as her contact photo. Jungkook quickly pulled his mask back up to cover his cheeks that started to turn bright red. He glanced over her shoulder as she manipulated the photo to fit both of their faces into the small square.

“And synchronise your contacts, so I will be there.” He added as she finally accepted the placement of the picture.

“Oh, great.”

“Yeah.” (Y/N) pressed on the ‘synch contacts’ button before looking up at Jungkook.

“Thank you.” She said sweetly and pulled her mask back over her nose.

“You’re welcome.”

Taehyung noticed the two of them standing in front of the building exit and slowly pulled up. As he got closer he rolled down his window.

“Hello!” The sudden greeting made them jump up slightly.

“Hi!” (Y/N) called back sweetly.

“Come in!” Shoulder to shoulder they walked towards the car after Taehyung's invitation.

Namjoon was already sitting in the passenger's seat making it so that Jungkook and (Y/N) had to sit together in the backseat.

“How was dance practice?” Namjoon asked them.

“What was it?” (Y/N) tapped Jungkook’s arm. He whispered something to her and she clapped her hands in realisation. “Daebak.” Namjoon and Taehyung laughed at her harsh pronunciation.

“It was good. Great.” Jungkook added after the chuckles died down. “Where are the other guys?” He asked Namjoon in Korean.

“The rest of the guys will meet us at the restaurant.” He explained in English, so (Y/N) could understand. She was still doing something on her phone when he glanced at her from the front seat.

“Jungkook.” Her shy tone echoed in the car. “I synced the contacts, but you’re not here.” She showed him her phone with a concerned expression. “Look.”

“Maybe I will just add my number like normal and then it will be saved in the contacts.” (Y/N) hummed in agreement, giving him her phone.

“What are you doing?” Taehyung asked in Korean, eying the two in the rearview mirror. Jungkook glanced at him, thanking god that (Y/N) doesn’t speak their language.

“I made (Y/N) a Kakao account.”

“And you’re putting your number in?” Taehyung continued in a teasing tone. Jungkook smiled at (Y/N)’s screen and typed in his ID.

“It’s not like that.”

The boys picked out a traditional korean diner with private rooms and floor level tables. They ordered mountains of meat to fry and tons of side dishes, soups and rice. At first (Y/N) widened her eyes at the amount of food concerned there will be leftovers, but within thirty or forty minutes she realised that those six boys’s stomachs can intake much more food that she can.

The conversation within the group flowed swiftly and comfortably as it did the night before. There even was some talk about possible musical collaborations. No one was looking at the clock, but at two o’clock sharp (Y/N)’s phone buzzed.

“Ah, it’s my assistant.” She announced with deep sorrow in her voice. “Unfortunately I will have to get going soon, guys. I have a TV appearance this evening.”

“TV today?” Seokjin asked in English. He seemed really shocked. When he spoke again he directed his words to Namjoon and spoke in Korean. “She shouldn't have eaten so much noodles and rice. She’ll be bloated and puffy. That’s very bad.”

“He says noodles and rice is bad for TV, ‘cause you might get puffy.” Namjoon explained to (Y/N) who just waved him off and chuckled.

“Ah, I’ll be wearing a big dress and a mask anyway.”

“What show are you on?” Namjoon asked, curiously.

“Something called King of Masked Singer.” The boys started talking over each other in Korean and patting Jungkook on the shoulders. After a moment of that Namjoon translated the jist of it to (Y/N).

“Yeah, so JK also was on that show.” (Y/N), who was sitting opposite to the youngest member of the group, looked up at him with a smile.

“Really?” She asked after swallowing another sip of hot soup. “What did they put you in? What costume?”

“I was…” He wanted to tell her everything in English, but was missing the most crucial word. “Hyung, how do you say fencer?” He asked Namjoon who looked confused for a second before answering him with a shrug. Jungkook reached to his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’ll show you.” He typed the right words into YouTube and passed (Y/N) his phone. As soon as she looked at the moving screen she nodded in realisation.

“Ah, fencer.”

“Fencer, yes.” Namjoon agreed. (Y/N) skimmed through the video listening to Jungkook’s clear and beautiful vocals in the cover of BIGBANG’s If You.

“Woah, this is good.” She said, looking up at him.

“Thank you.” He accepted the compliment as she passed the phone back to him.

“You know what you will have?” Hoseok asked.

“What I’ll be dressed in? Yeah, I’m singing Beauty and the Beast, so I’ll be a princess.”

“Ah, cute.” Seokjin called out with a chuckle as (Y/N)’s phone buzzed once more.

“Ah, I really have to go.” She sighed deeply as the boys whined at her early leave. “I have to get myself intact before going to the studio.” She said gesturing to her laid back outfit. Since she was meeting Jungkook earlier for dance practice she was wearing a pair of branded sneakers, high waisted sweatpants and a hoodie - an outfit most of the boys in the room thought of as very pretty, but to her it was just workout gear.

“Do you need a ride?” Jungkook asked, all of a sudden realising she drove here with them and might not have a ride back to her hotel, but (Y/N) shook her head.

“No, my security is already parked outside.” The boys nodded at the professional sound of that statement. She was an A list celebrity after all and couldn’t just run around town by herself.

Everyone stood up from the table as (Y/N) slipped on her shoes and jacket.

“It was so nice to see you again.” Namjoon started as (Y/N) turned towards them before going out the door of the private dining room. She smiled sincerely and swung her backpack onto her shoulder.

“I’m so glad we got to hang out.” She looked at them with a shine in her eyes before going in for a hug with each of them. “And that we got to dance.” She added stopping in front of Jungkook. He smiled and chuckled as she hugged him goodbye.

“Yes. Me too.”

The group exchanged a couple more words of goodbye before (Y/N) walked towards the sliding door. As she was about to close it behind herself she slipped her face mask down and smiled at the group once more.

“Hopefully that’s not the last I see of you.” She added and the boys erupted with negating statements and chuckles.

406 notes · View notes

mobagehelllocal · 3 years

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“lucky ending” extra notes i & iii

Hi, I said I would do it but then I released ver i so long ago that I felt I shouldn't do this unless I had another version out at least so yay! finally! ... I'll add ver ii here when I get around to writing it... *shifty eyes* So as usual, this is just my thought process and ideas while writing lol.

*please do not read if you haven’t read “lucky ending” ver i (dorm leaders) & ver iii (rook & lilia).

It was inspired by an anon ask and the button tradition from Japanese schools.

The anon ask went like this: First at all, I like do much your writing and I hope you are doing well. Second, I was wondering what would happen if the MC (Fem!s/o I guess) decided to not go back to her world, like she decide stay with her villain? Can you do make headcanons of this for the dorm leaders? Thank you very much. – from Anonymous

The button tradition, as narrated by the first years, is done when one person confesses and the other responds by giving them the button closest to their heart. In most Japanese uniforms it’s the second uniform, but in Twisted Wonderland--I looked at the ceremonial robes and the closest button should be the fifth. Maybe. I could be wrong.

The songs I listened to while writing this!

The original dorm leaders (and Rook) was written while listening to “Lucky Ending”, the ending theme of Fruits Basket. The English lyrics (translated by otenkiame!) are:

“Change is important. I want to do it well,/ but I wanna cry. It's still bad. I wanna cry”

“The word "goodbye" has disappeared completely from this world/ All that remains is me fooling around next to you/A day you don't laugh won't come anymore”

“I've understood it since being here/ These feelings of wanting to protect you aren't a misunderstanding/ If we can call what connects us bonds,/ everything changes/ everybody changes/ Even if in a different world, it'll never be different/ everything changes/ everybody changes/ Don't change, ever/ Stay here, stay here”

I think it’s obvious why I chose to use this as the title of the series. It’s a story about change but it’s also a story about the things you don’t want to change... And I think it’s not wrong to want to hold onto things.

I also listened to the same playlist that I listened to while writing “wendy?” “hello peter pan”:

“Can’t help falling in love” cover by Annapantsu, “If you’re not the one” by David Beddingfield, “Who Knew” by P!nk and “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift.

For Lilia in particular, I was listening to three Beauty and the Beast songs on loop. “Evermore” by Josh Groban, “Days in the Sun” by the live action cast and, of course--”How does a moment last forever” by Celine Dion.

“How does a moment last forever?/ How can a story never die?/ It is love we must hold onto/ Never easy, but we try/ Sometimes our happiness is captured/ Somehow, our time and place stand still/ Love lives on inside our hearts and always will”

Also for Lilia, Tolerate It by Taylor Swift.

“You're so much older and wiser and I/ I wait by the door like I'm just a kid”

“I made you my temple, my mural, my sky/Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life”

Malleus was definitely the first piece finished. Closely followed by Vil’s. I believe there was a gap inbetween them before I did the others? I wrote bits and pieces of Leona, Idia, Kalim and Azul’s. I think I finished Leona, Idia, Kalim then Riddle because I distinctly remember saving Azul for last.

One of the most important things for me, is that each story stands distinct of each other. So I gave myself a really hard time trying to figure out how each one uniquely belonged to each of the characters.

For the Prologue... I think because it’s set at the graduation of certain characters, I used that to my advantage and implied the stronger bonds between the Yuu!Reader and the entirety of the cast. Because a lot of time has passed and I feel like--regardless of what other people believe, bonds will be made and relationships will have strengthened enough for it to happen.

Riddle is honestly another really difficult character for me to write. I generally do love him and I enjoy his story, but something about him is difficult and I’m not sure why.

I think a part of me is also really miffed because from Heartslabyul-Savanaclaw, you could feel that Riddle really cared for Yuu on some level but then he just straight up disappears come Octavinelle chapter. I feel like there was potential to develop their relationship even more.

He WENT UP AND TIED YOUR RIBBON I REMEMBER I WENT DOKI DOKI OVER THAT.

I feel like because I’ve established that it’s a Yuu!Reader, it’s impossible for this story to not include both Ace and Deuce. So of course they featured in really big roles for this one, being responsible for telling Riddle the story.

I have to thank my friend, Mes, for bouncing ideas with me. They were the one who suggested what I could do with Riddle’s story by having ADeuce play such a big part!

I also tried my hardest to include Trey and Cater, and I’m pretty happy with their cameo. In a way, they definitely helped Riddle figure out his own feelings for you.

My favourite lines are: “I think you earned that much. I don’t believe anyone’s ever been in your situation before so—there’s no right or wrong about what you’re doing. It’s all about what you want to do.”

I wish someone would tell this to Yuu in general though. They’re the only one who has ever been in their situation (to our knowledge at least) and like... they’re definitely allowed to be even more selfish.

Leona is someone who I used to dislike a lot. I never hid that. It’s primarily because of how disappointed I am in the story of Savanaclaw probably. But like, I was always concerned about writing him properly because I thought that it was only right that I did right by him, because there would be people reading these stories who loved him. And I felt like I had to do right by that love.

I think... it’s wrong to believe that characters... villains... cannot fall in love or “won’t fall in love.” I think it’s wrong also to think that “people don’t change for love.”

In fact, people do change. You definitely shouldn’t change yourself to be loved, but... people change all the time to be their “better” selves. So whose to say that a good person, who you love, will not make you want to improve yourself? Isn’t that what we want when we meet people? To fall in love with someone who will ultimately make you better and never worse.

Or so that’s how I try to write the Twisted characters when they fall in love... With an understanding that “morally” the person they are falling for is “kind” and “good” and how a part of them might just want to be better just for that person. (Especially Leona and Azul). They don’t necessarily have to be nice to everyone, but if they can be better for one person... We stan healthy character growth.

But yeah, Leona is driven by understanding that he’s a very selfish person. But that he’s also very unfortunate and he doesn’t want tie you with someone who, he thinks, is actually worthless. He probably, deeply, thinks you deserve more.

Though his selfishness eventually wins out and well... Won’t you forgive him for it? :) For tying you down to this worthless second prince?

I think his own self-awareness does make him try harder. Not for everyone or everything... but for you. Just for you. I think that would be Leona’s love language--spending time with you, trying for you.

He’d appreciate if you didn’t call him out on it though, that would be very embarrassing.

Looking back, I’m surprised that it was the only version where none of the other boys from his dorm showed up lol. Which means Ruggie is the sole character who has yet to appear in the “lucky ending” series, huh.

My favourite lines from his story that still leaves me breathless and patting my past self in the back: ““I’m home—” you said—even if a part of you felt that home should have been two green eyes, a cocky smirk, and a warm patch of sunlight on the grassy ground.”

Like honestly, what was I on? Who was she?

Azul is, like Leona, someone who is so keenly aware of the things he’s lacking. In fact, he’s someone who thinks he’s lacking when he’s probably perfect in some aspects. He might act proud but a part of him--I think--thinks its not enough. It’s never enough. He can certainly do better still.

In that light, it’s why he thinks he’s undeserving of a partner. Especially one who is “kind” and “understanding.” While ultimately, Azul deserves people in his life who are that and “accepting” of him--I think he still thinks he doesn’t.

And thats why he lets go of the Yuu!Reader. It’s why he doesn’t “chase” after her like Leona did.

It’s because he’s selfish, because he wants her--that he forces himself to let go.

Azul needs someone who’ll tell him that he is worth something and that he’s definitely worth the effort. So please praise him a lot until he’s crying in happiness. I’m sure it’s the one thing he’s always wanted to hear from people around him.

Also my Poly!Octavinelle Agenda has never died and I am pleased Past!Ai got away with so much Poly!Octa hints in this story lol. But honestly, regardless of wht Octavinelle says... god, you can tell they genuinely care about each other.

I recently rewatched Octavinelle’s chapter and... by god, the amount of things I missed out on first watch. Jade’s concern when he realized Azul wanted to get rid of that photo... The fact Floyd was so willing to drop the fight to return to Azul too... Anyways, Poly!Octa Agenda for life.

Favourite lines: “Azul’s pathetic whimpers turned into guttural sobs. His fingers spread to cover his eyes—and his glasses slid off his face, down to his lap and then to the ground—at his actions. His whole body shook as he cried his heart out.”

It’s not as poetic as a lot of my other favourites, but for some reason these lines always get me when I reread them. There’s something so visceral about it.

Azul’s piece is probably the least visually stimulating out of all these stories? His was so emotionally driven compared to the others and I worried a lot about that.

I think I remember I was crying so badly as I was writing this.

Kalim is really hard for me because I feel like I struggle a lot with finding conflict in his character? He’s such a genuinely nice person, I find it hard to believe that the Yuu!Reader would feel alienated from him or something. So I brought in “environment” to get in the way.

My use of celestial imagery for Kalim is because of the Scarabia trailer! I really loved how it put Kalim as the sun and Jamil as the moon. I definitely will take advantage of that when I get around to writing for Jamil.

So because I wanted to use the sun, I chose to use the idea of comets for Kalim? I think I remember something about how meteors are drawn to the gravitation pull of the sun and can “escape” it or “be destroyed” by it. Haha, hot.

Jamil is someone who ultimately cares about Kalim too and I had fun writing his banter with the Yuu!Reader. I think I wanted to decribe the shadows licking his face reminscent to the marks from his Overblot but... I felt like doing that would give Jamil too much focus so I ultimately decided against it.

It would’ve been hot though.

Oh yes, one thing I wanted to talk about is Kalim’s rushed proposal. I remember people talking about it in the tags, comments... even in asks at that time. The reason he does it is because he’s someone who didn’t realize his feelings until you spelled out your own. It was a sort of: “Oh. Right. That is the word I’d use to describe my feelings.”

My favourite lines from his story is: “How does one bid goodbye to the sun?” and “No one ever willingly bids goodbye to the sun.They spend the rest of their lives trying to find the right way back to it.”

My god, who was this genius.

Vil is probably the most visually stunning out of all these stories. I feel like my stories go from super vivid imagery and setting to just complete emotional disasters lol. (Vil being the former and Azul’s being the latter... not that it’s bad, it actually suits the characters).

Oh man, I remember thinking that Vil is such a hard character to write because we don’t know what his motivation for perfection is. All we knows is that he wants to be the best but, why?

It’s like, for example, Idia. His motivations could be otaku-related. He doesn’t want to go to class because he’d rather go play or something. That sounds in character--but Vil was so hard because he wanted perfection.

But we already see him as such a perfect character, so what else did he need to be even more perfect? In that light, Chapter 5 did a really good job on presenting Vil’s motivations.

But honestly, I think I can comfortably say that the Vil I’ve written so far is pretty accurate? To his character. I’m really grateful I read his chat lines because his comment about intelligence really got me thinking about his possible motivations. It made it really easy to understand that Vil wasn’t like majority of the real world’s influencers.

One other thing that I was really happy about with his story is the use of the flower language. It’s something I hope I can use more because it’s so beautiful.

Oh! And the roses the Yuu!Reader talks about are double delight roses. They are specifically bred to have two colors--yellow in the center and pink on the outside. I thought it fitting that the Yuu!Reader breed special roses for Vil.

They can be called... err... Vil Roses?

My favourite lines from his story is: ““My happiness will not be dictated by others—no, Vil Schoenheit is a person who will grasp happiness with his own hands.” [...] “I’m giving you this button because I’ve already found happiness by your side.””

This line was actually inspired by Zelda C.W.’s MYth series. Specifically Hera’s story, Will.

Idia ...for him, I somehow had a very hard time imagining him trying to tell the reader to stay. Like that didn’t compute for me? I felt like his version was better approached in a more comedic light somehow.

I also felt that it would be cuter if the Yuu!Reader had already chosen to stay and Idia would need to hastily retrack his confession... Unfortunately, Yuu!Reader won’t let him.

Honestly looking back on it, I wonder how much of Chapter 6 is going to make me scream and want to rewrite Idia’s part?

My favourite lines from his story is: “He was never particularly good at lying—nor was he good at keeping secrets from you. You were a person he considered a dear friend—and he was always the type of person who ended up spilling everything to you. He liked being able to talk about the things he enjoyed—he liked that he had found someone who wanted to hear him out.”

A lot of my interpretation for Idia is closely linked to personal experience as an anime, manga and gaming fan. It was just a couple of years ago where people would actually be bullied for liking these things--but nowadays its become a norm. It’s... stunning actually but it makes me happy to know that maybe nobody will be judged for loving anime.

That being said, Idia’s longing to find someone he can talk to is something I really relate too--back then, it was so difficult to find someone to talk to about my interests... So I interpreted Idia as much the same. That what he enjoys about the Yuu!Reader is their ability to simply sit and listen to him talk.

Malleus... man, recently I’ve been starting to fall in love with him all over again. He was my first oshi ever... Anyways, moving on. You think I’ve talked enough about immortal x mortal but nope, we are not done. I love this theme in general, romantic or platonic.

I will never shut up about it you can’t make me.

Sebek having a good enough friendship with Yuu!Reader is such a delicious concept. Like mutual respect and Sebek understanding that Yuu!Reader gives Malleus a different type of companionship that Sebek, Silver or Lilia couldn’t...

And also, ultimately, Sebek and Yuu!Reader do love Malleus. In different ways, but I like the thought of Sebek respecting that and respecting the Yuu!Reader.

Me realizing just now that Silver joins Ruggie in the: “has never appeared in a lucky ending fic club.”... Sorry Silver, I swear soon. Once we get more content on you.

Celestial themes for Malleus are primarily, again, because he only ever seemed to meet you at night. And I thought it would be wonderful, if you were a bright spark to him.

Favourite lines are definitely: “Oh, bright light… I would prefer to live the rest of your life by your side… rather than spend centuries contemplating what it could have felt… to hold you in my arms.”

I am, always, going to be such a big sucker for the idea of immortals constantly remembering and loving mortals. Always holding them close in their memories, because in that way--their lovers have become immortal with them.

I also like to imagine that he eventually figures out a way to connect your worlds together so you can still talk to your friends and family from that world. He is one of the most powerful magicians around, I’m sure its possible.

Rook was honestly the most difficult piece for me to write because he’s so hard(?) for me to understand. He’s a mess of contradictions honestly and I... guess I’m excited to see what he’ll do come Chapter 6.

I actually rewrote his story so much. I got about 500 words with a different idea/plot in mind before deleting that completely and restarting from scratch.

I feel like Rook is someone who talks big and talks about love without actually knowing what it truly might feel like. He’s someone who doesn’t understand it and ends up mistaking it for his fascination.

Aside from me enjoying inserting other characters from the same dorm as much as possible, I felt that Vil was the perfect person to snap some sense into Rook.

Epel’s appearance there is basically to reflect how much I really hope the first year kids get really close to one another.

Rook is also someone who I think, doesn’t try to explain himself too much. He’s someone who I think talks a lot, but if people don’t understand him then he doesn’t need to be understood? That’s my impression. Lol, when “lucky ending” became a character study.

I also really loved the idea that Rook was fine with people running from him--to him that makes it all the more thrilling. But then you start running away from him and that just ends up making dread pool in his stomach.

My favourite lines from his story: “‘When something ends, it must be sad. So, tell me then, how an ending could be so beautiful?’ [...] .‘But there was one ending that was beautiful, non?’ [...] ‘That’s right. ‘They lived happily ever after’—are those not the words that define a beautiful ending?’”

I used the dusk metaphor for Rook. My idea is that he starts seeing dusk as an ending and how he can’t fathom how any “ending” is beautiful. When a story ends, it’s not beautiful to him, humu. But when that ending is the happily ever after then... That makes all the difference.

Lilia was actually easier than Rook’s but also fairly difficult. I had written the middle of Lilia’s piece while stumped on Rook’s actually. Lilia’s was probably easier because I love the idea of immortals and mortals.

I don’t really like the idea of mortals becoming immortals. Like, yes, it’s certainly sweet and spending eternity with a one true love is definitely the best possible ending but... I think there’s so much weight in an immortal choosing to love a mortal while knowing that they will ultimately lose them.

The biggest theme for Lilia is definitely time.

Thinking about it now... There’s been a lot of things in real life that’s just... Made me think about how we have less time than we actually think we have. And I think I ended up channeling that through Lilia... Though I feel like it is ultimately things Lilia would think about though.

The most important imagery would probably be the stars.

I honestly wanted to avoid it because I used celestial imagery for both Kalim and Malleus but the words just flowed out in a way that I felt that I couldn’t replace. So I went with it.

Lilia is no stranger to loneliness. One of the reasons he feels less alone is because he has family now and he doesn’t want to rob you of that. Family is so important to him because they are people who are meant to be with you--they are people who will make you less lonely--or so thats how I think? he thinks.

My favourite lines from his story: “He would relish in the way—You made the world pause. You made a moment extend into an eternity. You made an immortal crave just a little more time.”

I’m so immensely proud of this one? I don’t really have much else to say. There’s something so raw about it that I love. Also the part where it continues on to say that “Because there is never enough time.”

Me realizing my extra notes is just half me simping over these characters, half sharing headcanons, have actually giving good advice? perspective?, half song lyrics, half character study/analysis?

“lucky ending” is about change. Whether we want them to happen or not it’s... the human condition to change. For better or worse, we change--day by day. I think we all operate under a small panic about how everyday things are changing...

But “lucky ending” is also about the things that don’t change. Won’t change. Will never change. The things worth holding onto, the thing worth fighting for... or so I’d like to think.

#aimuses #ainotes #ai lucky series #twst #twisted wonderland #its 6 AM HEEHOOO

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snowpiercer-recaps · 2 years

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Season 2, episode 6: Breslauer Hallucination Station

Spoiler alert!!! This is a rewatch recap of Snowpiercer s2e6: Many Miles from Snowpiercer. Naturally, it is full of spoilers for that episode. However, it also contains spoilers for some other episodes of season 1 and season 2. You have been warned!

Melanie does the opening monologue today, discussing how she’s worried that Wilford will crush the people’s hope for a warmer planet. She zooms through snow on the volt sled, until she hits something and the engine gives out. She’s not far from the station, so she walks the rest of the way there with just one bag of supplies. When she begins to clear the way to the research station door, she uncovers a dead body with a bullet wound in its head. This is probably my least favourite episode of the whole show.

The opening credits sound slightly different, again! Have they all been different? I’m starting to wonder if I’ve missed some? Anyway, we open on Melanie inside the research station, getting the place all set up. She wanders around in the dark, and my screen doesn’t get bright enough to show most of what’s going on. Also, @train-pirate gets a cameo!

Melanie finds whatever machine that she’s been looking for, then finds another frozen corpse. It sends her into…

Flashback#1: baby Alex

It’s just a couple of seconds of them in their old house, nothing exciting.

Melanie logs her initial findings - namely the dead bodies - then makes plans her next day: she’ll get the solar panels working, then go back to fetch the luggage that she left on the volt sled.

… or not!

She was able to sort out the solar panels (and discovered a third corpse next to one of them - missing an arm), so she’s got plenty of power. But unfortunately there was a bit of an avalanche, so her volt sled and remaining supplies - including most of her food - are gone. Uh oh.

Next, there’s a mid-episode monologue! There are some pretty shots of Chicago while Melanie reminisces about pre-freeze life, and what it was like to have aspirations and dreams about the future. It brings us to...

Flashback #2: pre-freeze Snowpiercer

We’ve previously heard Melanie claim that she built the train (Wilford just sold tickets), and Wilford claim that Snowpiercer is his creation. But it seems like the reality is somewhere in between:

After that, we discover that the engine eternal isn’t actually eternal. But they don’t dwell on it, because Melanie is excited to drive the train!

Back in the present, Melanie counts out the few rations that made it to the station. There’s nowhere near enough. She raids the cupboards, but comes up empty, which leads to...

Flashbacks #3 & 4: more baby Alex

Again, they’re just short flashbacks of the two of them in their old house. Alex says she’s hungry.

When Melanie finishes checking the cupboards, she tries the fridge. She discovers the missing arm from the body outside, which triggers...

Hallucination #1: Wilford (1)

He’s smoking a joint (because, of course he is!) and teasing her about her lack of food. He thinks she should eat the arm, but she doesn’t want to.

Melanie draws a calendar on the dry-erase board. Those pens usually can’t survive three days in an average classroom, so I don’t know how the fuck she managed to find one that’s still working after the apocalypse!

After some more shuffling around the research station, Melanie boots up one of the computers. It displays a picture of the dead scientist’s family, which sets off...

Hallucination #2: Wilford (2)

Hallucination!Wilford taunts Melanie about the dead scientists, and their dead child. She tries to ignore him, so instead of engaging with him she explains her data collection process to the viewers. Hallucination!Wilford then belittles Ben and “That Spaniard.”

Does Javi use they/he pronouns? Cool!

Hallucination!Wilford then tells Melanie that jousting together is nice, because it keeps her mind off how hungry she is. She eats part of a biscuit, then connects to the first balloon! Yay!

A while later, Melanie is staring at an empty plate. The biscuit is gone. She didn’t eat it. She knows she didn’t But she must have? Hallucination!Wilford suggests that Melanie is cracking up, and she plunges into…

Flashback #5: pre-freeze Nightcar

Melanie is annoyed that Wilford is working on his brothel. He corrects her - it’s a Nightcar. Melanie insists that the train is now an ark, not for Wilford’s personal indulgences. Wilford thinks it can be both, and explains that the Nightcar is a release valve, to keep everyone under control. Melanie points out that the resources being used for the Nightcar could sustain twenty more people, and then asks Wilford why half of her geneticists were removed from the passenger list. Is it for more security? Wilford doesn’t need security, because there won’t be any guns on the train. But the Jackboots are needed to keep order - three thousand people aren’t going to get along the entire time.

Melanie fires back that if they’re going to save humankind, they need people who know how to save humankind! Wilford and Melanie haggle for places for geneticists and Jackboots for a while, until Wilford finally says the most Wilford thing possible.

He then threatens that if Melanie won’t accept that Snowpiercer runs on his order, then her family will lose their tickets.

Next, there’s another mid-episode monologue. Melanie tells us that she’s been at the station for ten days, and she’s pretty much out of food. She hopes she can survive for long enough to get the climate model finished. She clears the snow from the solar panels, then heads back inside to lick her ration packets, which makes her see…

Hallucination #3: Layton (1)

HalluciLayton is enjoying the fact that Melanie is getting a taste (intentional pun?) of what she put the tail through. He tries to encourage her to eat the frozen bodies, but she’s intent on surviving without them.

I’m really questioning Melanie’s ethics and priorities now. She’ll torture and murder, but can’t handle a bit of survival cannibalism? It doesn’t make sense!

The hallucination is interrupted by a noise, and then Melanie sees a rat! She pops outside to hack off a bit of arm meat to set a trap, and then…

Hallucination #4: Layton (2)

While Melanie engineers a rat trap, HalluciLayton reminds her that nothing should still be alive after seven years. She knows it’s crazy, but also she totally saw a rat, and her biscuit disappeared that time! The trap seems to work, and Melanie tries to high-five HalluciLayton - but he doesn’t exist.

After a bit more snow clearing and hanging around, Melanie conjures up another hallucination to entertain herself…

Hallucination #5: Wilford (3)

Hallucination!Wilford is speculating over the details of how the previous scientists died.

After that, it’s straight on to…

Flashback #6: departure day (1)

Melanie and Bennett are listening to calls for reinforcements. Bennett wonders how people found out departure time, and Melanie doesn’t think they necessarily did - where else would they go, near the end? Melanie then receives a call from whoever is transporting her family. She wants to know as soon as they arrive.

Wilford enters the engine, angry about the chaos downtrain. He told Melanie and Bennett that he needed more security! Melanie gets Grey a quick cameo, and Wilford tells Grey to unleash hell, and use all necessary force to prevent people sneaking onto the train. Melanie and Bennett share a concerned glance, but don’t speak up. Wilford wants to get moving, but Melanie’s family haven’t arrived yet. Bennett adds that they need thirty minutes to finish cycling up the engine, and Melanie’s expression suggests that he’s lying. Then, they’re interrupted by commotion outside - Jackboots are facing off with a small group of ticketed scientists.

Back in the present, Melanie has caught a rat! It’s real! And it brings on…

Hallucination #6: Layton (3)

HalluciLayton plays with the rat and suggests a recipe - but Melanie has a better idea!

Melanie paints the rat. No, really!

It’s not because she’s completely lost it, living all alone on the brink of starvation. Melanie painst the rat so that she can follow its painty little pawprints to figure out where it lives, and eat its whole family! She follows the rat until it disappears, and then breaks through the highly insulated wall without putting on her coldsuit (WTF?) and finds…

Hallucination #7: Alex (1)

Hallucination!Alex tells Melanie that she’s found a geothermal vent. Melanie thinks it’s a miracle. She roasts up a rat, and Hallucination!Alex says encouraging things about the warm vent and rats increasing Melanie’s chances. Then she asks how Melanie is going to get back, without the voltsled. Melanie has a plan: she’s going to walk! If she takes a battery with her, she has enough power to make it there and back if she has to (hmmmm… I wonder why she would need to tell us that?)

Hallucination!Alex then tells Melanie that she understands why Melanie left her. Yep - Melanie is hallucinating her daughter’s forgiveness. I can’t even try to unpack that, and apparently neither can Melanie because it sends her into…

Flashback #7: departure day (2)

The flashback continues where the previous one left off - Jackboots and scientists facing off outside the engine. The scientists have chips! In their hands, I assume? Or is Jackboot Tyson just really excited about snacks?

Melanie reveals that the scientists are “her geneticists”. Wilford needs six Jackboots more than he needs six geneticists. Melanie says they don’t have time to discuss it, so they should just let everyone on! Wilford agrees that there’s no time, then orders “terminate them.” Melanie watches the scientists get shot down, while Wilford tells her to never forget that the train runs on his order.

Wilford then asks for an update on their estimated departure time, to which Bennett stoically replies “28 minutes.” Wilford wants more blood, so he heads downtrain in his Jeep to open fire on the main gate. Melanie looks horrified.

In the present, Melanie is waiting for the twelfth balloon to ping. But, outside, a storm breaks the signal tower. It crashes down into a skylight, which Melanie quickly seals up (without gloves - WTF!) She heads outside to assess the damage, then comes back inside to hallucinate again...

Hallucination #8: Wilford (4)

Hallucination!Wilford tells Melanie that all the data has been lost. Why the fuck hasn’t she got a backup? She should have multiple backups! This shit is important! Anyway, because Melanie loves to hallucinate really rough shit, Hallucination!Wilford teases her about suicide. I don’t wanna write about that, so instead I’ll just say that the highlight of this scene is this:

Hallucination!Wilford doesn’t think Melanie is much better than him, and wants some gratitude for saving Alex. Melanie throws her mug at him, and it hits the wall because he doesn’t exist (when is she gonna learn??)

Next, Melanie stops hallucinating for a while to pop outside and fix the tower. When it goes wrong and she falls over, she makes a snow angel for a while and has yet another flashback!

Flashback #8: departure day (3)

Melanie is desperately trying to find out whether her family are on board. Her daughter is eight (lol)! Melanie loses communication with whoever she was talking to, then laments to Bennett that she doesn’t think her family have arrived yet. Wilford radios in to say he’s lost communication with Grey, and he’s going to drive back up to the engine. Bennett tells him they’ll be ready to leave in six minutes.

But they can actually leave within one minute. Melanie tries to head outside, to look for Alex. But Bennett stops her - she needs to make the call to leave. He doesn’t want to leave her outside. And, most importantly:

Melanie cries while she announces the departure, sets the train rolling, and asks nothing in particular for forgiveness.

In the present, Melanie gets up off the floor and continues to fix the tower. When she finishes, her data gets restored. She even connects to the twelfth balloon! Now, PLEASE BACK THE DATA UP!!!!!!

Melanie continues to eat rats, cross off days, and clear the solar panels. When it reaches the final day, Melanie is unable to communicate with Snowpiercer. Another two days go by without contact. So we know something is going to go wrong in the next few episodes! When Melanie still can’t contact the train, she hallucinates Alex again…

Hallucination #9: Alex (2)

Hallucination!Alex basically just exists for Melanie to try to forgive herself! They hug for a while (ish - Alex is still a hallucination), and Melanie cries.

Then, the room starts to rattle. Melanie touches the floor, and she can immediately sense that Snowpiercer is coming! She heads outside, dragging her sled. When she sees the train, she tries radioing to them again. They need to slow down! She reaches the tracks, but the train is zooming past way too fast. Alex makes it to the back window of Big Alice just in time for them to briefly see each other, and then the train is gone.

Melanie falls to her knees in despair. It’s a good job she brought enough batteries to make it back to the station! I can’t wait to get back to normal episodes.

#snowpiercer 2.06 #snowpiercer s2e6 #snowpiercer recap #incorrect snowpiercer recap #snowpiercer rewatch #snowpiercer season 2 #snowpiercer

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cicaklah · 2 years

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picard 2x03 thots

been having some thots again

I am a ds9 fan, it is my favourite star trek, and past tense 1 and 2 are up there among my favourite episodes. If you haven't seen them, due to a transporter accident Dax, Sisko and Bashir are transported to San Francisco in 2024, a few days before a historical moment known as the bell riots. Similarily to this episode, the three are separated by quirks of geography. They materialise around a subway station, Dax inside it and Sisko and Bashir outside it. Dax is rescued by a billionaire tech dude who hits on her and introduces her to high society, while Sisko and Bashir are rounded up and thrown into concentration camp for the homeless known as sanctuary districts.

Even TNG did this plot, when Data is trapped in the 1800s san francisco. And of course First Contact, with 2070s Montana. And voyager did it too, with the early 2000s. And TOS, in multiple episodes AND in The Voyage Home, And I am sure Enterprise did it.

The explicit use of 2024 in this episode HAS to be a clue that they're going to do the bell riots though, right? A big turning point in history? But why? There's literally a two part episode about this in another series saying that 2024 was the pivotal moment in the formation of the better future that these characters are from. We, as trekkie viewers, already know that this was a pivotal year! There was even a brief thing talking about sanctuary districts in this episode, and the memory alpha recap says that Raffi wakes up IN a sanctuary district, but er, how did she and Seven get out if so?

There was a rumour that Avery Brooks had filmed a cameo for this season, or that they were asking him, but while I really want some ds9 representation in this show other than a few mentions, I'm skeptical and apprehensive. I just don't think the writers of this show can do a subtle enough treatment of this plotline. I think they want to speak truth to OUR present, which misses the whole bloody point of star trek which used to embrace the divergent history, you know, that the late 20th century and early 21st century was leading up to a nuclear war that destroyed north american society and humanity was then dramatically saved by collaboration with alien races.

ANYWAY amateur star trek historian hour over, lets turn to Picard is an idiot part 2000, namely 1. letting my girl Agnes get assimilated and 2. NOT DOING WHAT SHE ASKED which was pulling her out when she got too assimilated!!!!! I mean we got the cool moment when Agnes got to show that she got the data out of the borg queen, and she looked wonderful in that scene shot from the queens angle, I sympathise, I also look best photographed from way above, but daaaamn, anyway, it was good but also UGH could someone put the idiot ball in the airlock and fire it into space???? absolute idiot ball.

If they assimilate my girl properly I will probably write a lot of fic but also be upset about it, lbr I'm in this show to the end.

ALSO I need to talk about how they killed Elnor...and only Raffi was upset. god Picard you are the WORST FATHER FIGURE EVER. But now they've done what I wanted, trimmed the characters down, though this just felt...ugh. just to upset Raffi...who has a lot of reasons to be upset anyway!!! She doesnt' need this!!!

The Rios and hot doctor lady ICE plotline was fine although excuse you he loves Agnes, I have written several fanfics about it.

FINALLY for todays thots, Raffi and Seven have so much potential but theres no bloody time to do it because THE FATE OF THE FUTURE AND THE GALAXY BLAH BLAH BLAH I'm gonna write them getting together and breaking up because the show won't do it justice. Sometimes you've got to fucking fix it yourself.

anyway this season is ON NOTICE but its still great and I'm enjoying it even if just to bitch about it.

#star trek picard #picard spoilers #picard 2x03 #picard thots

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knives-out20 · 3 years

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The Impact Of The Intergalactic - David Bowie Opinion Essay - by Beck S.

This is an essay I wrote about the span of David Bowie's career. I wrote it for a summer school course I took last year (August 2021) for a course called History of Rock & Roll.

My teacher gave nice feedback after he marked it, talking about how it was an "Excellent paper. It charts Bowie's progress throughout his career well, and includes significant detail. I could really feel the passion you have about him throughout. In fact, there is *too much* detail! The paper was supposed to be 3 pages max, double-spaced. Still, this is a good problem to have; better too much than too little."

So...enjoy!!

From his early works like Hunky Dory, to Black Tie White Noise in the 1990’s and stretching over to Blackstar as his final album, David Bowie has rarely had a bad album or song- in my opinion. His career has had ups and downs, his musical creations ranging in the way he would pitch his voice and what instruments he would use, the people he would produce with, and the wild things he would say. Charting David Bowie’s development over time is in fact an interesting journey.

Early on in his dreamy career, Bowie would have done nearly anything- or in fact, anyone- to grow in the music world. Hopping from band to band (like The Velvet Underground), producer to producer, doing whatever he could do to get ‘in’ in the industry. His early albums weren’t taken very highly in their times- especially with the ‘man-dress’ he wore on the British release of his The Man Who Sold The World album. Although, this dress was only the start of the androgynous appearance he would soon be known for, over the course of his 5-decade-spanning career.

The 1970’s were strange, to say the least. He married Angela Bowie at the start of the decade, then welcomed their son Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones a year later. Bowie went on to be hopped up on cocaine. David donned the look of one of his famous personas, The Thin White Duke. The same persona with slicked-back ginger hair, a white button-up under a black waistcoat and paired with black dress pants. The same Duke who called Adolf Hitler one of the first ‘rock stars’ and gave off a lot of faschist energy. He said many statements he’d later apologize for and grow as a better man from, which is good- it’s better than standing by then, or even backing himself up and supporting them. David Bowie called that period the darkest days of his life, and blamed the crazy statements on his horrid addiction and deteriorating mental state. The late 1970’s were more favorable, seeing as it gave the world what was dubbed the Berlin Trilogy alongside Brian Eno and David’s personal friend, Iggy Pop. Made up of three of his albums: Low and Heroes (both in 1977) and Lodger (1978). He moved from Los Angeles to Switzerland, then to Berlin as a further decision to escape his addiction (the reason he moved away from LA in the first place). It was in Berlin, of course, where he wrote his famous song Heroes, about two lovers, one from East Berlin and one from West.

Speaking of Berlin, David Bowie performed near the west of the Berlin Wall in 1987; he played so loud that crowds gathered on the east to listen. At this time, Bowie had no idea he would be the beginning of the city’s soon-coming unifying. After his death in 2016, the German government thanked him for bringing the wall down and unifying a divided Germany.

Music isn’t all he is known for, though it is a majority. He also starred in movies from time to time. Being the titular man in The Man Who Fell To Earth in 1976, Jareth the moody goblin king in Jim Henson’s 1986 Labyrinth film (what is most likely his most famous role), Monte the barman in the 1991 movie The Linguini Incident, cameoing as himself in Zoolander (2001), Nikola Tesla in the 2006 movie The Prestige, and even Lord Royal Highness in Spongebob Squarepants’ Atlantis Squarepantis in 2007, among a few others. David Bowie dabbled in the art of acting, and was not that bad at it. He was good enough to gain a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, too. Sometimes it bends my mind that my first introduction to my all-time favourite musician was in a Spongebob Squarepants movie, back before I knew who he was, but David Bowie was never one to shy away from foreshadowing. At least one song from many of his albums would hint at the direction he’d go in for his next release. For example, his track Queen Bitch on Hunky Dory foreshadowed his soon-coming Ziggy Stardust. And the Diamond Dogs track 1984 actually hinted at the Philadelphian soul of Young Americans, which is a more famous song of his, which he went on to perform on The Cher Show with its host.

The 1990’s were certainly an experimental time for David Bowie. But to my knowledge, I think the 1990’s was a time for everyone. He married supermodel Iman some days after performing at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, and released the album I named earlier, Black Tie White Noise. It is known to have had a prominent use of electronic instruments, as was his other 1990’s album, Earthling. The early 1990’s greeted David’s first real band since the Spiders From Mars, dubbed Tin Machine. They recorded three guitar-driven albums which received mixed reviews from the masses, but Bowie looks back at this period- as do I- with a certain fondness; “a glorious disaster” he called it, when talking to journalist Mick Brown. Tin Machine is a period I don’t listen to often, compared to his solo stuff, but I don’t press the skip button when it comes on.

Alas, the starman’s career drew to a close as the 2000s rolled in. David Bowie greeted the 2000’s with the birth of his and Iman’s daughter, the beautiful Alexandria Zahra Jones. After suffering a- strange, as it were- heart attack symptoms mid-song during a concert in 2004, he took a hiatus from his career. I say strange because given what I know, he was trying his best to stay healthy at the time. According to my special Rolling Stone edition magazine about David Bowie (released at the start of this year), he was on tour and performing in a really hot arena. But Bowie was sober, and had quit smoking. He was taking medication to lower his cholesterol, and worked out with a trainer. Bowie looked great, and yet he felt a pain in his shoulder and chest, along with a shortness for breath. A bodyguard rushed onstage to usher Bowie off of it, cutting the concert short. He only performed live once or twice after that point, but was set on never going live ever again. And he kept his word on that, unfortunately but also fortunately. Unfortunately, because David Bowie live would have been quite the experience- I wouldn’t know, personally. But fortunately, because I do not believe anyone needs a repeat of the 2004 Reality scare.

I am actually not too fond of speaking of his final years. Nobody really likes to speak of the last years of their idols’ life before their death, so it’s no surprise. Blackstar was David Bowie’s 25th and final album, recorded entirely in secret in New York alongside his long-time producer, Tony Visconti. The album's central theme lyrically is mortality, and seeing as Bowie was undergoing chemotherapy for his cancer at the time, I see it as his way of coping with his incoming death. His producer Tony Visconti called him a ‘canny bastard’, when he realized Bowie was essentially writing a farewell album. Every song on the album is what is considered a swan song, a swan song in question being a phrase for a final gesture of some sort before retirement or death. In this case, death. Over the course of recording the album, David Bowie’s chemotherapy had actually been working and he had an eerie optimism while recording. But by the time they shot the two music videos Blackstar and Lazarus, where he showed off the definite passage of time and cruelty of chemotherapy through sparse and gray hair with sagging skin, he knew his condition was terminal and that this would be a battle he would lose. Blackstar wasn’t the first album to have been made by a musician succumbing to a fatal illness, but in my opinion it is in fact the most beautiful. It’s jazzy, and elegant, showing how at peace he had become with dying.

Blackstar the album was released on January 8th, 2016. Also known as David Bowie’s 69th birthday. Two days later, David Bowie died at his Lafayette Street home on January 10th after living with liver cancer for up to 18 months. Beforehand, he had let it be known he did not want a funeral nor a burial, but rather that his body be cremated and the ashes to be scattered in Bali by his loved ones. His wish was received, and planet Earth was very much bluer and quieter without his colour and wonderful noise.

As I said earlier on, David Bowie’s career came with ups and downs. His mysteriously close relationship with Mick Jagger, his cross with famous underage groupie Lori Maddox, the births of his two talented children, his faschist bender in the 70’s, and final bang of Blackstar in his final year on earth. Through the highs and lows, his career and his music meant a lot to the quote-unquote misfits and freaks of the world, myself included. David Bowie turned and faced the strange, shouted “you’re not alone!” To those who felt the loneliest, he surely spent his career helping those who needed to be themselves, feel more freer and braver in doing so, no matter what they may be when they are themselves. He never went boring, he never went stale, he sang what he wanted and dressed how he pleased, and kept to his word on how much more to life there is when you’re just that; yourself. A year after David Bowie’s untimely passing, his son Duncan Jones accepted an award for British album of the year that was won by Blackstar at the 37th annual Brit Awards. When he accepted it, he made a speech about his father that I will leave here, and never forget. Seeing as it perfectly encapsulates David Bowie’ legacy, and the true meaning of his extraordinary career.

“I lost my dad last year, but I also became a dad. And, uhm, I was spending a lot of time- after getting over the shock- of trying to work out what would I want my son to know about his granddad? And I think it would be the same thing that most of my dad's fans have taken over the last 50 years. That he’s always been there supporting people who think they’re a little bit weird or a little bit strange, a little bit different, and he’s always been there for them. So...this award is for all the kooks, and all the people who make the kooks. Thanks, Brits, and thanks to his fans.” - Duncan Z. H. Jones (February 22 2017, at The O2 Arena in London.)

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lifeofkaze · 3 years

Text

An Art of Balance #5

A/N: That one was tough. I have never written something with so much physical action before, and I had to rewrite a huge chunk of it until I finally felt happy with it. Describing sports is really tough, as it turns out. Also, KC belongs to the wonderful @kc-needs-coffee who lets me to a little cameo once in a while 😊 Enjoy!

Word Count: ~ 3.100 (oops)

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Chapter 5: Back Home

A persistent rumour among the students was that Professor Binns had altered the clock in his classroom, back when he had been still alive. It was said, he did so to allow him to delve more minutely into every little detail of his subject he wished his students to remember.

If he hadn’t known any better, Orion could have sworn it was true.

He absentmindedly ran his quill through his fingers, trying his best to take in Professor Binns’s droning voice in what was their last class of the day. Orion glanced around the classroom. He estimated about half of the students were daydreaming about the upcoming weekend. The other half was fast asleep.

His gaze wandered out of the window. He could just make out the Quidditch pitch up ahead in the distance. The banners on top of the stands were swaying in a gentle breeze. He could feel it lightly brush his face from where he sat near the open window. It brought with it the pleasant warmth of a late summer afternoon.

Orion shuffled in his seat. He could feel his entire body brim with energy. The restlessness he felt had been bubbling under his skin for the last few days. He was itching to get back on his broomstick and to feel the wind on his face as he sped through the air.

This was what he had missed most during the summer break. When not at Hogwarts, he had no access to a broomstick, let alone people to fly with. Although Orion prided himself on always being grateful for what the universe had chosen to bestow on him, he sometimes he couldn’t help feeling envious of people like Skye. They could practise what they loved to their heart’s content, whenever or wherever they wished to.

He could feel McNully nudging him into his side. “There are only 23 minutes and 35 seconds left to his torment. 30 seconds as we speak,” he whispered.

Orion tore his gaze from the silhouette of the Quidditch pitch and turned to better face him. “Excuse me?”

McNully pointed at his now worse for wear looking quill. “You have been running your hand over this quill fourteen times in the last twenty minutes. In the last 45 minutes you have been staring out of the window seven times, with an average duration of five minutes. You have not been able to play Quidditch for 76 days in a row. And to add a personal note, tapping your foot excessively like that gives off an impatient expression and is rather annoying as well.”

Orion only now noticed his foot was indeed lightly tapping against the leg of table. He stopped.

“Sometimes I find your habit of observing your surroundings as meticulously as you do worrying, my friend.”

McNully shrugged, a carefree grin showing on his face. “What do you expect? I’m a commentator. I observe things and I comment on them. That is what I do.”

Orion had to grin at that. “It is indeed.”

He propped his head onto his hand, staring at the clock mounted above Professor Binns’s head. “I wouldn’t call it impatient, though. More like eager. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

McNully had started doodling onto his parchment, drawing tiny snitches between his notes. “Call it what you want, it doesn’t change what it is.”

Orion contemplated his words. “I agree. The appearance of the shell cannot change the core of things.”

He could see the confusion forming on McNully’s face. “I’m about 34 % sure that is what I said.”

Only a few hours later, Orion felt himself unable to wipe the grin off his face. He stood in the middle of his beloved Quidditch pitch, the sun warming the back of his yellow robes. The unmistakable smell of grass, wood warmed by the sunlight and broom wax made him feel almost intoxicated.

Most of his team had already taken to the sky. They were getting back into the swing of things, darting around the pitch, doing turns and dives. Even down here, the joy they radiated was contagious. Everyone was wild with excitement to finally be back.

“And here is Parkin with a triple backwards flip. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a move to be watched! But what is this? Parkin is challenged to a race around the pitch by Jameson! Which Chaser can push their Comet’s limits further? There is a 92,4 % chance we are going to find out!”

He stifled a laugh. Of course McNully was here to commentate on their first friendly of the season. Orion hadn’t been the only one antsy to get back to business.

His attention shifted to the group of tense looking students stood in front of him.

Orion had carefully selected a few Hufflepuffs that were known to be skilled flyers. Every one of them had the potential to fill the vacant spot on their House’s team. He had already been thoroughly testing them, before admitting them to a practise with the other players. They had all passed his balancing test. Now it was time for them to prove themselves in action.

When he saw the reserve players arriving on the field, he mounted his broomstick.

“Now, my friends, is the time. The quest to become one of the pillars the building that is the Hufflepuff team is built upon is almost complete for one of you. For our new Beater to be revealed, we will have to see how you fare in a real match situation.”

He raised his arm, calling his teammates down to his side. “We will divide into two teams and play for a bit before switching things up. Good luck to all of you.” He inclined his head towards the contestants, some of them looking positively sick with nerves. “May this division serve to bring us unison.”

He unlocked the trunk resting at his feet and watched first the Snitch and then the Bludgers shoot up into the air. Picking up the Quaffle, he pushed himself off the ground.

“Let’s play.”

If returning to Hogwarts had him feel like being home, tearing up and down the pitch made Orion feel like he truly belonged here. In contrast to the hectic movements unfolding around him, playing Quidditch granted him unparalleled focus, similar to nothing else. All that mattered was the moment at present, nothing before, nothing after.

He had taken himself back from the game playing out in front of him to better watch the students competing for the open position. Jason Everett, a rather loud and braggy guy, was one of the competitors he had chosen. He was sharing the dorm with Orion and McNully and Orion had never been able to form a real connection with him. To his surprise, however, he was showing great promise.

He decided to take the challenge up a bit. Putting himself on the same team as Lizzie and Skye, he wanted Everett to compete against a full set of Chasers for the second half of the match.

It wasn’t until flying with Skye and Lizzie by his side that he fully realised how much he had missed this. He felt like sheer life was running through his veins.

Although they hadn’t seen each other since the end of last year, it took them only a few manoeuvres to regain the unmatched unison the Hufflepuff team had grown reputed for. They had managed to create a bond between the three of them that didn’t require any words.

He felt this connection especially with Lizzie, allowing them to move almost as one when attacking the opposite goalposts. Throwing the Quaffle back and forth between them, it was no easy feat to stop them from scoring.

With Skye, it was different.

They had played together even longer than he and Lizzie. If there was harmony with her, it was all friction with Skye. The two of them were entertaining completely different beliefs on what Quidditch stood for and how it should be approached. As a result, they regularly clashed, on the pitch and off.

Contrary to what most people would think, the tension between them had never worn him down. Like a static charge, the constant challenge Skye Parkin posed to him acted as an energiser. Discussing strategic matters with her had never failed to give Orion new perspectives outside of his own thinking patterns.

“Here is what we all have been waiting for, my honoured spectators. Now, we are getting serious!” McNully was giving it his all in the commentary box, clearly relishing the first friendly of his not-so-secret favourite team.

“Amari and Parkin are on the hunt for the Quaffle, Jameson’s broken out of formation. If I didn’t know better, I’d say we are about to see the Parkin’s family pinching signature move! Watch this! The Chaser is flanked by Amari and Parkin. This is not looking good, ladies and gentlemen, if I were in possession of that Quaffle I would seriously be worried right now. Oh, and there we have it! Jameson makes expert use of her Comet’s impressive speed and pulls up from underneath her opponent, forcing her to either let go of the Quaffle or her broomstick. Parkin relieves her of the Quaffle, using her broom’s patented Horton-Keitch Braking Charm to drift around, racing to the other side of the pitch, Jameson overtaking her and Amari close by her side.”

Lizzie was diverging from the path he and Skye flew on, preparing to round and get behind the other team’s attacking Chasers, allowing Skye to pass the Quaffle to her at the last moment. They had used this strategy numerous times and it had seldomly failed them.

“Parkin sets herself up to score. Or is she letting Jameson have the advantage? We might never find out as Everett, hot contestant for the vacant Beater position, aims his Bludger directly at Parkin. This might get ugly!”

McNully was right. Everett had hit his Bludger straight towards them. It rushed towards Skye at a fast pace. Orion shouted a warning, but she had already seen it coming. She waited for a moment, dodging the Bludger at the last second before passing the Quaffle on to Lizzie, who made short work of the Keeper.

“And Jameson scores! That’s ten points for her team and an impressive show of flying skills from Parkin if I may add.”

Orion nodded contentedly before turning around and chasing after the Quaffle again. Lizzie and Skye both didn’t seem to have lost their fire. They were in good form.

Despite himself, he liked the potential Everett was showing. He wasn’t nearly the Beater they had lost, but he had foundations they could build upon. When Lizzie had needed to fill in for Bean a seasons ago, he and McNully had made a more than capable Beater out of her in a shorter amount of time.

His mind was taken off his thoughts when he saw a yellow flash dart past him. It was their Seeker Lucy, who had spotted the Snitch hovering just underneath the railing of the Slytherin stand. The other Seeker had seen it as well and both were racing towards it.

“Both Seekers appear to have spotted the Golden Snitch. Catching it would reward their team with additional 150 points. We’re talking the winning catch of this game here! O’Connell utilises the advanced speed of her broom, but Miller has less ground to cover! Both are nearing the Snitch at high speed, if no one slows down, we had better alert Madam Pomfrey. But no, no! O’Connell takes the absolute last out of her broomstick. She secures the Snitch and her team’s victory!”

Orion saw Lucy raise her arm in triumph, the wings of the tiny golden ball beating frantically against her palm.

Everybody was steering their brooms towards the ground, clapping Lucy on the back. Orion landed beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“That was magnificent catch, Lucy, well done.” He turned towards the other players that had gathered around them and raised his voice. “Although Lucy secured the win for her team, all of us have won today. As we were competing against each other, we were competing against ourselves. Overcoming what’s inside us makes us stronger, and lets us grow closer as one team.”

“One team!” everybody shouted what had gradually become their motto, raising their broomsticks up in the air.

Orion turned towards the contestants. “Watching you play, I have been able to gain insight to the path that lies ahead of us. I will contemplate which one of you will get the chance to balance our team. I will let you know my conclusion when it is time.”

“And that would be when?” Everett asked impatiently.

Orion tilted his head and smiled placidly. “The time has come when the time has come. And the time is not now.”

A mix of confusion and frustration on his face, Everett left them standing and headed for the changing rooms. Orion had seen this look countless times before. New players always needed time to grow accustomed to his ways.

He was already going over the contestants’ performances in his mind when McNully rolled onto the pitch and joined his side.

“Brilliant match! The way I see it, you and Gryffindor are pretty evenly matched this season. I announced them the day before yesterday. If you keep up the form and choose a capable second Beater, that is. I calculated the odds and I would say Jason Everett has the best chance of fitting in, he is fast and has suitable strength. His aim is not the best though, 31,6 % of his Bludgers missed their mark.”

McNully’s eyes lit up. “I know just which one of my playbooks he needs. He will never miss his target again.”

Orion quickly filtered the information his friend had been spewing at him. He was right. Everett was far from ideal, but which player was when they started out fresh? They were like rough diamonds, waiting to be cut and polished until ready to shine.

“Can a Bludger really miss its target, though? Or is it the Beater that misjudges the path the Bludger is meant to be taken?” he mused.

“Whatever it is, I am glad this particular Bludger’s path was not destined to end in Skye’s face.” Lizzie and Skye were approaching them, their brooms resting on their shoulders.

Skye scoffed at her words. “As if it could have hit me. I had things under control. It takes more than that to bring a Parkin down.”

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “He is no Erika Rath, for sure, but it was good enough for a beginner, I would wager.”

Skye’s face darkened. “Don’t remind me of her. It has been such a beautiful day so far.”

“You will have to deal with her rather sooner than later. Ravenclaw is set as your first match in two months’ time. And from what I have seen so far, their Beaters are still the best Hogwarts has to offer.” McNully’s voice had a dreamy touch to it, making Lizzie chuckle.

“We all know you particularly enjoy watching the Ravenclaw Beaters,” she teased with a sweet voice. “Give KC my love, next time you see her, will you?”

“I have no idea, what you are talking about.” His face was blushing a deep scarlet. “I am merely doing my job and keeping my statistics up to date. I’d better get going now.” McNully turned his wheelchair hastily and rolled off quickly.

Orion was giving the snickering girls by his side a scolding look. “You shouldn’t taunt him like that. Our hearts’ desires are out of our power to control.”

“Calm down, Orion, it’s just a bit of fun. He can take that.”

The sun had slowly started setting, the stands casting their elongated shadows across the field. Skye rubbed her neck. “Come on, Liz, let’s get changed and head back to the castle. I’m starving.”

Lizzie hesitated, glancing at Orion for a second. “Go ahead, I’ll be with you in a second.”

Staring at her friend in wonder, Skye shrugged. “Whatever. Make it quick, I won’t wait too long.”

After Skye had left, Orion and Lizzie were alone on the pitch. He watched her staring back at the castle for a moment, the sunlight catching in her golden-brown hair. She seemingly tried to collect herself. He couldn’t deny being curious about what was on her mind.

He smiled openly. “What can I help you with, Lizzie?”

For an instant, Lizzie seemed to look for a way to word her question. She didn’t look him in the eye.

“Uhm, you are quite good at Herbology, aren’t you?” she mumbled.

He raised his eyebrows. “Being in balance with oneself brings you closer to nature. If you listen closely, the plants can tell you what they need.”

She sighed. “I take that as a ‘yes’.” She ran her fingers over the smooth handle of her broomstick, still not looking at him, her shoulders unusually tense. “Would you mind helping me studying?”

He tried to hide his surprise. “You need a tutor? Professor Sprout regularly fills me in on the academic progress of our team’s members. She never mentioned you struggling.”

“I haven’t so far,” Lizzie replied quickly. “But I had a look at the curriculum for this year. It’s really tough, and I don’t want to mess up my O.W.L.s because of a plant biting my finger off.”

It still struck him as odd, but Lizzie was his friend. He wouldn’t let her down if she sought his help. “I’ll be glad to guide you through your curriculum, as long as you desire my help.”

Finally Lizzie met his eyes, obviously relieved. “Thank you, I appreciate this a lot.” She suddenly seemed to remember something. “Can my friend Rowan come, too?”

His surprise turned into confusion. “Rowan Khanna is struggling with a subject?”

“Well, she is a perfectionist.” Lizzie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. A strand of hair had come out of her ponytail and she impatiently tucked it behind her ear. She was radiating a nervous energy Orion had never seen on her before.

“Of course, bring her. I’ll talk to Professor Sprout about using the greenhouse and let you know the details, is that alright?”

All of a sudden, Lizzie seemed much calmer. She sighed with relief, a smile forming on her face. “Brilliant. See you in the Common Room.”

With that, she spun around and quickly left. Now alone on the pitch, Orion stared after her and wondered what in Godric’s name that had been about.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #orion x mc #orion amari x mc #lizzie jameson #art of balance #murphy mcnully #skye parkin #quidditch squad #the quidditch squad #quidditch

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