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adventuringblind · 9 months

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Drive With You Forever

Chapter Five: Cats, Cluelessness, and difficult communication

Max Verstappen x Reader x Charles Leclerc x Lando Norris

Chapter Summary: a brief interlude in the off-season before 2020, Sebastian adopts Charles, Max struggles to communicate his feelings, and the reader makes a new friend 👀

Warnings: mentions of SH, reader over does it again, seizure like episode, Lando is awkward, Charles is awkward, Max can't do feeling well yet, jos verstappen

Notes: ah yes, the gang is all here now. I have more action coming in the next part. Maybe also some fluffy stuff. I've been trying to get some blurbs done for what isn't shown in the long chapters because I've had to cut down on some things. I would love to give y'all some content of our duo, trio, or quartet doing something specific.

Previous <-

Masterlist

The end of the season means a bit of a break for the drivers. A chance to spend some time with their families. For her, it means spending time with Sebastian and Hanna in Germany.

The trio had wanted to officially introduce themselves. They knew, but the three barely got a chance to interact all together. It would be nice to catch up anyways.

They are all sat at the dining room table. Even the littles wanted to join in on the conversation. Mostly they spout of randomness as they listen but it’s still endearing to everyone.

The three are sat in a row. Charles far left, the female in the middle and Max on the right if her.

“So I’m curious, who gets the middle of the bed?” Seb laughs at his own question. Hanna playfully hits his shoulder. Charles and Max both look at her. She just rolls her eyes as they both start laughing.

“Are you three moving in together?” Hanna asks this time. Genuine curiosity, unlike her husband.

Charles almost chokes. He hadn’t thought about it.

He’s thankful he’s not the first to answer. “Are you saying you want me out?” It’s a playful question from the girl. She’s smiling like an idiot at the banter.

“Of course not. You’re welcome here forever.”

Max swallows his food then joins the conversation. “We were actually planning on moving some things to my apartment since we’re here.” Now Charles feels out of place. Was he not asked yet for a reason? They hadn’t been together long so it would make sense. “Charles lives in Monaco already so I figured his things would be easier to move.” Max explains.

Now he’s confused. Something Max can clearly see. They make eye contact for a moment and Charles is left a mess. “Unless you don’t want to anymore?”

Charles is shaking his head no at lightning speed. He definitely wants to. He’s tired of living alone and throwing himself pity parties over breaks. Plus, he learns he sleeps better when he's not alone.

Moving feels more sentimental to her this time. She had more stuff than when she was fifteen.

Sbeastion offered to let them fly private with him to help move her stuff to Monaco. She wanted to, but it was unnecessary. Most of her belongings that she needs fits into an extra suitcase.

Max and Charles both kept asking her if she had anything else. It was getting on her nerves a bit.

Hanna and Seb had done the same thing when she first came to Germay. Though she had less then. Hanna had taken her to get some new clothes because her t-shirts all had holes in them.

Flights were weird. The first class has two seats for each row, meaning that one of them got to sit somewhere else. They often played musical chairs on the plane because of this.

She'd always had an affinity for even numbers.

It was an interesting dynamic they had created. Charles and Max are barely a month apart, and she's just turned nineteen. They get to do things she can't yet. But she's gentle and knows exactly what they need and is far to gentle for what she's been through.

Charles felt that he was playing catch up with the other two. He was new to this and still new to them. He, however, was the best at communication between the three.

Max, having grown up in an interesting family setting, is aggressive and protective. His communication skills are lacking, but he would do anything to keep his significant others out of harms way.

Today was one of those days that Max was struggling communication wise. It had started after an intense phone call where the other two were attempting (and failing) at deciphering dutch.

She'd offered to sit next to him if he needed consoling, but he decided to sit further away from the two. Leaving them to figure out what happened.

This had brought the thoughts of even numbers. If they were flying with four of them, Max wouldn't be able to mope alone.

"Do you think it was Jos?" Charles asked. His eyes had been on the Dutch for most of the flight.

"I would assume so given that he was speaking Dutch, and he doesn't do that with many people."

Both sigh. Jos had been on Max's ass about moving up into a championship title. Che was ready to have some words, either him, next time they were together, and Charles was going to start making a point to celebrate every placement in a race.

It didn't take long to get to Max's apartment. It's not the most luxurious, but it's comfortable. He's planning to get something worthy of the three of them after he gets a title.

Max had successfully locked himself away in his bedroom. The other two left to figure out what he needs. Maybe it is just a time thing?

"Is he usually like this after a call with Jos?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "It depends on if he's praising or berating."

"Can we help him?" Charles is eyeing the closed door and her. His brain working out every way to get him to open up.

She smirks. There always one thing that cheered up Max.

Max was choking back tears. He felt weak. Like he was never going to he enough.

He felt bad for stomping off the way he did, but he didn't want his partners to see him like this.

He hears the soft rape of knuckles against the door. "Mon Amour? Can we please come in?"

He grunts, but the Monegasque takes it as approval.

Charles peeks his head in. His gentle steps are coming closer to Max. He doesn't look up. He just keeps his head buried in his pillow.

Charles doesn't say anything, which he appreciates. Just sits down on the edge and lets Max's body dip towards his. Then he's running his fingers through Max's hair.

It's not long before another set of footsteps are padding into the room. These ones softer then Charles, telling Max it's y/n.

She's successfully moved both Jimmy and Sassy into the room from their hiding spots and is holding his favorite movie. She sneaks in and closes the door behind her.

They spend the next couple of hours lying in bed with the cats and watching their movie.

Max feels himself calming down. They don't talk about anything. Aside from occasionally copying the lines from the movie they've watched far to many time.

It's after that he feels like he can say something. His mind finally grounded back to reality. "I'm sorry for shutting you both out. I was just... agitated, I guess."

The Monegasque has his fingers back in his hair in an instant. "It's okay, you needed space. Do you want to talk about it now?"

The youngest places sassy on his chest as a way to comfort him. Her hands intertwine with his.

"Just frustrated that my dad thinks I'm not trying. He started spouting that I'll never get anywhere at this rate."

"That a lie. Jos is obviously lacking brain cells." The youngest pipes. "I can throw him into a wall if you want?"

The idea actually makes him smile.

Charles was the next to move things in. Though it was mildly awkward explaining to his family why he was moving somewhere else.

Turns out he can't keep a secret. His family is accepting. Pascale welcomes both into her home. She takes a particular liking to the quiet girl who is still always between the two older boys.

His stuff takes up more of the apartment than hers. The contrast of red and blue is now showing everywhere.

"If Charles is red, Max is blue, and I'm always in the middle, does that make me purple?" She spouts while unpacking a box of ferrari shirts.

Max spits out the water he was drinking. Charles starts wheezing. And she is laughing at her own comment.

"Where did you come up with that, Chéri?"

"Just a thought I've been sitting on since we started dating."

"You're not wrong, though." Max is wiping his mouth clean from the water.

It's weird going places together. Not errands and things, but social gatherings. Charles has asked to keep things private for now. He's not fond of the questions people have about the nuances of their relationship.

They came and left separately. Usually, depending on who wanted to leave first, the other would wait about fifteen minutes.

A few months into the break, Lando Norris decides to call Max and invite him and his lover to a party. He does the same for Charles a minute after he hangs up with Max.

The three of you have to hold in your laughter as Charles tries to get through the phone call listening to the same details.

Despite what Lando said, this was not the type of party any of you are used to by now. At least not Charles and Max. She'd been to few and got overwhelmed by it all pretty quickly. Sometimes, she'd use it as an excuse to get the boys out of the apartment so she could have the cats to herself and play around with her powers.

Charles and Max both hate it when she does it alone. They've found her on the floor passed out on multiple occasions. She doesn't care, though. The visions and nightmares of her father were more reason to keep going.

Regardless, this party is small. Just a few drivers who had been in town or live in Monaco are here with their partners.

Kika and Pierre, George and Carmen, Alex and Lily, Carlos is here along with Daniel. Charles is seated in a solitary chair. The couches have been taken. Daniel and Lando on either side of him.

It feels nice and intimate in a way. She hadn't seen many drivers just get together to hang out like this.

Charles is ever the gentleman and offers her the chair, which she takes. Him and Max are now making themselves comfortable on the floor in front of her.

They're eating, drinking, laughing, and sharing stories from the past. It's nice and relaxing.

She taps Max's shoulder, alerting him that she's going for water and asking both boys if they need anything to which they reply no.

She spots Lando in his kitchen getting a drink. It's not an alcoholic one, just juice that looks like it could be alcohol.

She turns on his tap for water, and Lando jumps out of his skin. His eyes rapidly look between her and his cup.

"I like to mix my alcohol with juice...?" His voice sounds unsure. Does he think it's not okay to just have juice?

"Juice is a good choice, in my opinion. Alcohol is strong and feels funny sometimes."

Lando visibly relaxs. "Promise you won't tell anyone? They laugh at me sometimes when I do this."

"I promise."

Lando was around more after the party. He seemed comfortable around her and Max. He'd opened up about his anxiety to them and played far to many games with Max.

What they were not expecting was for Lando to show up at their apartment door at three o'clock in the morning. His breathing uneven body shaking like a leaf.

She knew what this was. She'd had plenty of panic attacks.

She guides him inside to the couch and is trying to asses the situation. Get his breathing to calm down so he doesn't hyperventilate.

It takes ten minutes until he's calm.

"Did something happen?"

"Just a nightmare, and I couldn't calm down after."

"Did you walk here?"

He nods his head yes. Exhaustion flooding his eyes.

"Is Max asleep?" He asks.

"Should be. He sleeps like a rock most of the time." They both giggle. Lando is now able to relax in a calm environment.

They are interrupted by two sets of footsteps. Charles and Max come barreling into the living room. Panic on their faces one minute and embarrassment the next. Lando staring at the with the utmost confusion.

The older boys are shirtless and in sweats. Max's arm protectively outstretched in front of Charles.

"...oops."

Lando is not stupid. He may be the youngest on the grid currently, but he's not stupid.

He saw how the three of them looked at each other. Charles definitely touched them both far more than what friends do.

Originally, he thought he was crazy for watching them. Yet he couldn't help but be intrigued. How they all interacted. How they just flowed together.

Now he sits on their couch. Max looks like he's guarding Charles and y/n. The Dutch has yet to sit down and is leaning against the wall. Charles is sitting across from him with the females head in this lap. His fingers running through her hair.

It's a terrible feeling. Like he's left out of whatever this is. Three of his best friends spend all their time together, and he's just here. Young and naïve Lando.

"Did you have a feeling this would happen, Mijn liefje?" Asks Max from his perch on the wall. She shakes her head no in response.

Lando had heard about her knack for predicting future outcomes. He'd heard rumors about magic and tarot cards, but she'd never said anything to him.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here in the extra bedroom, and I can't take you home in the morning."

"That sounds nice, thank you."

She woke up exhausted. She felt guilty for not having warned Max and Charles. Her mind to far gone that they were mad at her. She spent her night trying to get any glimpse of their future but didn't get anything useful.

She hid herself away in the master bathroom. The wet towel and the floor her new best friend.

She could smell breakfeast. Max is cooking for all of them. They learned quickly not to let Charles cook. Lest they all die.

She was in bed with them this morning. Only crawling out from their hold when she felt them stir.

Every question puts her further into the fog. Was she going to lose them? Are they upset with her? Is Lando okay with them? Would he tell people?

It's too much for her head.

She goes for another attempt. She knows she's overdoing it. The further she goes with less time in-between brings her closer to the edge of her body going numb.

Nausea creeps into her stomach, but she sees them. Further down the line. Happy and four.

Four? This could be shocking, and yet somehow, she already knew. Her mind just needs a but of confirmation that it's possible.

The nausea gets stronger. Her nose is bleeding heavily. She pushed it past the limit.

They won't mind, though.

Max is making breakfast and quietly humming to himself. Charles has his hands on his hips, the two of them swaying back and forth to the tune.

"Do you think I should go check on her?" Charles mumbles into his shoulder.

"She may want space after last night, she was taken off guard and might need to peocess." He explains, then turns his attention back to the pan.

"I'm worried, though. She was crying last night after Lando went to bed, and I don't think she slept."

Lando slides around the corner. His face lighting up at the smell of food. "Can I... can I have some?"

Max laughs at the Brit's excitment. "Of course. I made enough for all of us."

Lando sits himself on top on the counter. Watching the Dutch and Monegasque lean into each other. He takes notice that someone is missing. "Is y/n okay?"

Both boys sigh with heavy concern. "She had a rough night." Explains Charles. His body is fighting the urge to go get her. "I can't take it anymore, I'm going to check on her."

Charles leaves Max and Lando in the kitchen. His legs taking long strides back to the bedroom.

"So you guys all sleep together? Not like sexually- I guess - I mean at night to sleep."

Max smiles at the Brit. His curiosity was nothing he didn't expect. "Yeah, we pile into the same bed at night. All of us sleep better that way."

Lando hums. His palm rubs his face with anxiety. "Would you ever add a fourth?-'m asking for a friend..."

Max already knows. Somehow, someway, he already knows where this is going. "Depends. It took months of discussion before Charles joined us. But I'm sure if the right person came along, we'd be open to it." Max turns around to face Lando and shoots him a reassuring smile.

Lando's cheek tint pink, and Max knows exactly what he wants.

Charles leclerc is usually someone who panics. This time was no exception.

He'd seen plenty after his six months of being together with his partners. Particularly how the femal among them is prone to violent behaviors against herself. He's seen all of her powers now and how they affect her if she uses them too much. He's been there to help soothe her after night terrors while Max fetches her water.

He was glad she opened up to him about her past more. He knew the generally what had gone on but no details, nothing like what he knew now.

The prospect of her father coming back for her at some point is what drover her to the breaking point on most days.

Now, Charles is faced with a locked door and the sounds of thrashing from the other side. He'd tried picking the lock, something him and Max both learned to do after instances like this, but his hands are far too shaky to maneuver the pins.

So he does the only other logical thing and breaks the door down. Only enough that he can lean it somewhere and not let it fall on her, but it felt cool to kick it in.

Charles has seen a lot of things, but this is completely new. Her muscles are tensing at a rapid speed, and her eyes are rolled back into her head. Her breathing movements are unatrual.

"Max!"

It takes ten seconds, and he's there. His body and mind reacting to the situation. He's trying to hold her in his arms. Attempting to wake her up from whatever trance she's in.

Max hisses through his teeth when he touches her. Her skin in his searing his hands. Yet, he pushes through.

Charles feels helpless. "What can I do?"

"This has happened before. She must have forced a vision. She'll come out of it, we just need to make sure she dosen't die in the process."

The two boys are then lifting her body of the floor. Charles now carries her to the bed while Max runs around grabbing things. Mostly ice to cool her down. Charles rambles on to her about nothing and everything. Max said they should talk to her, giver her some to help bring her back.

Both of them forgot they left Lando in the kitchen. The Brit left to finish making breakfast in light of their emergency. Again, they are shocked to see his pale face watching the scene unfold before him.

"Can I help?" Is all he can manage.

"Do you want to trade places with me? I think the liquid benadryl might help."

Lando is taking over for Max tentatively. He takes the ice pack from the Dutch and places it on her forehead.

Lando can see the sweat and tears mixed with fresh blood. It's scary, and he's nervous. Why are they not taking her to a hospital?

Normally, she's the one calming him down. She always knows exactly what he needs to hear. He's not been in this position, and it scares him to see her like this.

He slides one hand down to her bicep. His fingers tap out the melody to her favorite song. A trick she used on him to bring him back to earth when he got in his head.

About halfway through, she's sucking in a breath, her body sitting straight upwards. Her eyes are no longer stuck to the inside of her head. She's still sweating like mad, and her body is twitching, but she's awake.

She's breathing heavily. Dry heaving and coughing into herself. Her hands are quick to find Charles and grasp at him, searching for the familiar comfort.

Lando watches her intently. Her sobs are painful. They sound broken, like whatever she's just been through was some sort of of torcher.

"Chéri, can I set you with Lando for a moment? I need to tell Max you're awake." Charles whispers gently. Lando takes note of how he's cradling her. His hands on the back of her head and under her legs to support her weight.

She barely nods her approval. Her body is slid close to Lando, who embraces her. Attempting to replicate what Charles was doing. He finds himself tapping the same melody on her knees.

"Was that you tapping? When I was asleep?" She chokes.

"Yeah, could you feel it."

She nods her head against his body. "You brought me back, thank you."

Lando lets his body relax into hers, knowing he at least did one thing right today.

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joelswritingmistress · 3 months

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You Scare Me, Professor: Chapter 37

Summary: The reader is taking graduate classes at a local university in the wooded upstate New York. She is drawn to her professor, Dr. Joel Miller, though she is also inherently aware that he has something dark about him that she can't quite put her finger on. As the reader's attraction grows deeper, she has to decide whether to endure the danger or run away as fast as possible.

Pairing: Professor Joel Miller x f!reader

Woodbridge University. Another frigid February evening. Another text to James that I didn't want to send. I had to give it to him, he was being a really good friend in light of the awkward interaction the last time we had seen one another.

I waited in my car until I saw him crossing the parking lot and braced myself as I got out.

“Hey,” I greeted, “Thanks for meeting me here. I'm sorry to bother you like this.”

“It's no problem.” James shrugged with a genuine smile. “Not like I have much to do most nights anyway.”

I nodded and looked down, and then back up. “Are we okay?” I asked.

He nudged me with his elbow. “We’re good. I, uh.. I just hope I didn't put a damper on our friendship.” James made a face. “I was bummed out at first when you weren't interested but that wore off a little bit and then I was just kind of bummed that I might've ruined our friendship.”

I took a deep breath, feeling some relief from his response. Finally, someone wasn't mad at me. And this was the guy that I had assumed, of the three of them, would be.

“I'd really like to remain friends,” I told him. “It's just bad timing, I think because I'm with somebody and-”

“Don't even explain. You don't owe me anything. Let's just, for my pride’s sake, pretend it didn't happen.” James shrugged and I smiled at him with a nod.

“Okay,” I then added, “Thank you.”

“Thanks for not making it weird.”

James and I strolled toward the building and I squinted my eyes toward the entrance when I spotted a familiar face. Our eyes met briefly and he did a double take.

“Will?” I gave a wave and he waved back.

“Who's that?” James asked.

“Oh, that's..” I caught myself. Carol’s husband-to-be. Dr. Miller’s future brother-in-law. Shit, I didn't know how to explain how I knew him.

“Hey hun, how are you?” He greeted me with a quick hug and then extended his arm to shake James’s hand. “Will Brennan.”

“James.” He gave a nod.

“I just had a quick chat with one of the guests of honor,” Will explained with a grin. “Will you be playing hookie tomorrow night and Friday, as well?”

His words were vague enough, though my eyebrows lifted and I suspected Will got onto the same page as me. He cleared his throat and glanced at James, “Family gathering,” he added.

“Yes.” I nodded at him and smiled big and borderline awkwardly at my friend. “I already took work off.”

“Great.” Will smiled and then rolled his wrist to glance at his watch. “My lovely bride is late.” He looked back and forth between the two of us, “We’re here to see a former student perform next door in the strings quartet. Brilliant young woman. Excellent musician.” He motioned toward the theater.

“That's nice.” I smiled and nodded, wanting to chat him up some more about the wedding; but I couldn't with James standing right there.

“Ahh.. there she is now.” Will huffed a laugh and shook his head when he spotted Carol’s car practically whipping to a screeching halt in a parking space nearby. “Give her a ticket for that, will ya?” He tapped James with his fingers and gave a laugh.

James snickered and looked at me. “You'll be alright now?”

“Yeah, thank you.”

“No problem.” He added to Will, “Nice meeting you.”

“You, too.” Will gave a quick wave and then wiggled his eyebrows as Carol approached.

“Traffic!” She claimed, making him chuckle.

“I'm sure that was it.” They shared a quick kiss and then Carol realized I was standing there and leaned in for a hug.

“Are you getting excited?” I asked, glancing briefly at Will and then more directly at Carol.

She gave a nod. “The last few nights I’ll be spending as a Miller.” Carol looked at Will, “It took me long enough.” Her eyes flashed back to meet mine, “I was sort of a lone wolf for most of my life. I never met a man I wanted to spend all my free time with.”

“I don’t know how I pinned down this free bird,” he admitted with a grin.

I smiled at their interaction. They seemed very much in love and it made it all the more special, in my eyes, that Carol had never wanted to settle down with anyone until she met Will. I was thrilled to know she was getting her happy ending, especially after a rough start in her younger life.

“I’m very happy for you both,” I said, “And I’m honored I get to attend.��

“I just stopped in and said hi to Joel,” Will told her.

“I’m sure he’s working hard.” Carol said in a sisterly, eye-rolling fashion, and thenl turned to me and pointed her finger in my direction, “Keep him on his toes.”

“I will,” I promised with a grin.

They both smiled and nodded before Will checked his watch again. “Ready, my dear?”

“Ready.” Carol linked her arm through his and they gave a final farewell before heading down the lighted walkway toward the school’s theater.

I bid them a farewell and texted Dr. Miller to let him know I bumped into his sister and Will. And then Dr. Stevenson’s class dragged on for the next hour-and-a-half. I was partially focused on the material, partially focused on Trevor and partially focused on leaving the area the following day for the wedding.

With ten minutes left in class, I texted James. I checked my phone every minute or so but he never responded. As I was walking out I sent a second one to see if he was around.

Trevor passed me by without so much as a look. The rest of the class filtered out one by one and made their way to wherever they were going.

I glanced down the hall toward the brown door that led into Dr. Miller’s lecture hall. To kill a few minutes in hopes that James would respond, I wandered down and put my ear to the door.

Inside, I heard Dr. Miller’s muffled voice as he carried on about something similar to what we had learned the night before. I smiled to myself. I couldn't wait to see him now that both of us were past the little spat we’d had the night before.

I glanced down at my phone and when I saw James hadn't gotten back to me, I decided to be loyal to the agreement I made with Dr. Miller and called campus security.

“Hi, my name is (Y/N). I'm really sorry to bother you, but is there someone available to walk me to my car? I just don't feel safe at night since the incidents have happened.” I paused as they responded, “Thank you. I'm in the psychology building.”

I put my pride to the side and wandered up to the main floor. Two other young women were huddled around a cell phone laughing by the entrance and just outside on a bench someone sat alone with the hood of a black Northface jacket pulled up. It was Trevor.

He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his thumbs typed away on his phone.

“Shit.” I whispered the word to myself and waited for campus security to show up. When a small white car with a single, orange flashing light pulled up, I wasn't sure if it was for me or not. When the security officer got out and started looking around, I pushed open one of the doors that led out into the cold and waved a hand. I didn't look back at Trevor.

“You called?” The tall, thin man asked.

I nodded. “I didn't expect a car. Thank you for coming out.”

“No problem. Where are you parked?”

“At the back end of the lot over there.” I motioned with my finger and saw the man make a subtle face, most likely because my car was so close, but otherwise smiled and nodded.

When I hopped in the car, I turned and made eye contact with Trevor, who looked away immediately and paid full attention to his phone.

“Thanks,” I said again to the driver. “I usually call James to walk me but he didn't pick up.”

“Oh, you're the one.” The man huffed a laugh and then realized what he had said aloud. When I didn't say anything he added, “James is off duty.”

“He walked me to class earlier.”

His coworker shrugged. “Sounds like he’s.. always willing to help you out.”

The car stopped beside mine and I opened the door. “Thank you.” I have a nod.

“Anytime.” The two of us exchanged a wave and I climbed into my car. Thankfully, my last night at Woodbridge, for the time being, was relatively uneventful.

I wish I could have said the same for my final day of work before the trip. It wasn't long after morning coffee that one of my work friends made the announcement to all of us - one that was dreadfully haunting and raw and real.

“They found another body at Woodbridge!”

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biblioklept-writes · 1 year

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hi. is it possible to do an enemies to lovers between aemond x reader? the reader hates aemond for his arrogance and impulsive behaviour. aemond supposedly "hates" her and is in complete denial. however, he gets jealous when she is performing traditional dancing with one of her male friends because he doesn't know the moves and feels left out. after the dance, he chases her to the gardens after the dance while the reader is wearing her traditional costume and jewelleries. and that was when he finally notices how beautiful the reader is. if you can consider this, that would be great! thanks!

Hey anon! thank you for this prompt <3

I am going Desi!reader with this, hoping that you were desi and came to my blog from this hehe. I feel this prompt suites modern times better than hotd era and I incorporated a tinsy bit of this ask, sorry if thats not what you had in mind!

I was a fool (Modern!Aemond x Reader)

Content: just some jealous Aemond in an arranged marriage type of situation, could be considered fluff

A/N: Ravi is just an OC (if you are familiar with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder then not really)

HOTD Masterlist | Modern!Aemond Masterlist

Sometimes, being a rich heiress was tough.

You enjoyed a luxurious life thanks to your parent's jewellery making and retail, and a luxury hotel chain - they were one of the most famed in all of Westeros, having migrated from the Indian Subcontinent in their youth.

As their eldest daughter and heiress, you were introduced to the Targaryens, a strange family full of scandal, yet they were the wealthiest of the business families in all of Westeros - dealing with luxury vehicles, home decor, skin care and cosmetics line - and they owned some smaller, less expensive brands under elusive names. Surely not all of their business was legal, just like yours.

You had first met Aemond Targaryen at one of your mother's seven star hotel, right by the King's Landing Airport. It was a rather secretive place and paparazzi stayed away, courtesy of the Airport Security Force. You had become accustomed to the bright lights and the shining marble flooring and the high ceilings, non of them piquing your interest as they did when you were a child.

You had heard a lot about him, more than you were willing to admit. You had attended the same university, with him being two years your senior. He was stoic - stayed quiet save for answering the professors. Among the girls, he had a reputation of being inexpressive and condescending, even though he was a pleasure in bed. You and him never had the same crowd - not in university and never outside of it. You had heard he loved cars and partook in numerous F1 races and had a stellar reputation - almost always getting to the podium.

Reputation or not, you did not like him. He was a stuck-up and arrogant man, and you couldn't stand the thought of marrying him even for a profit to your family. Pretending to be in love with this man was tough, even with his god-like beauty.

Aemond has his permanent scowl on his face, even when you are having a very public dinner with his cousin Baela and her fiancé. You and Baela are having a light-hearted conversation on the subject of cosmetics, sharing your preferences and icks. Bonding over the fact that neither of you manage to get a foundation that matches perfectly, you pitch that maybe you should start your own cosmetic line catering to darker skins specifically.

"I'll promote you for free," Baela quips. "It's time we take matters into our own hands, isn't it?"

"That's what I am saying," You chuckle.

Both your companions are sitting in complete silence after exchanging etiquette compelled pleasantries. They quietly pick at their plates, and you pity the Lannister man - Baela's fiancé - for being stuck with your soon to be fiancé, Aemond. You've stopped feeling anything for him quite a while ago, your date.

"Red is really your colour," Baela compliments once the quartet of you is out of the restaurant. "It's hard to keep eyes off of you,"

The two of you walk arm in arm behind your respective dates, feeling pleasant in the cool evening air. "Thank you," you say, pushing your hair away from your eyes. "You're a stunner yourself, Baela."

She stops, and lets the men walk out of earshot before asking, "How does my cousin treat you?" She sounds concerned.

You take both her hands in yours, heart warmed by her concern. "He's fine. We barely talk. That's great," you say. "Otherwise I'd have slapped him by now."

"He's a bit of a... personality," Baela agrees. "If he does anything that bothers you, let me know. I will put a word to his mother."

You chuckle, "Sure," The only reason you've not turned your house upside down is because of this family. They have their quirks, but Baela and her twin Rhaena, Alicent, Helaena and Daeron have been very welcoming of you, making sure that you feel right at home.

As etiquette rules, Aemond waits for you by the passenger side of his Rolls Royce as you walk to it, opening the door for you then going over to the driver's side. He is quiet again, and you start scrolling through your phone, answering any messages that need urgent attention. It's always like this, you barely speak aside from exchanging pleasantries - and honestly, you didn't mind it too much.

It's not like you hadn't tried, you had always tried to make small talk, to get to know him better, but his responses never exceeded one word. How was your day? Average. How are you feeling? Good. And that was on the good days, otherwise, you've only ever heard him hum or snark in response.

He wasn't controlling of what you were doing or who you were with - one could say it was all they asked for in a rich husband who let them do whatever they want. You didn't want that though, you were the eldest daughter of ultra rich immigrant parents, you knew how to get things done your way, and you knew how to keep everyone in line without having to utter a word. But you were also the eldest daughter of immigrant parents, always having to set a pristine example for your little brother and youngest sister, be the perfect daughter, caretaker, student, dancer, performer, the best of your year, raise your siblings while your parents work and do so without any complains to anyone. Expressing your qualms meant a lecture on how ungrateful you were of everything that your parents provided for you and being unable to say something in your defence because then you 'd be talking back like an ungrateful little brat.

This to-be marriage with Aemond was something set up entirely by your mother and his. Your mother couldn't wait to rub it in everyone's face that her beautiful, perfect daughter, her heiress was about to get married to one of the most handsome, and the richest bachelor in all of the continent, who had a stellar record in academics and was an expert in finance, and had no blemishes in his portfolio.

Turning this down would earn you a lifelong worth of taunts and lectures, so arguably this was better than that. Complete silence with a stranger you can trust, but not speak with. A stranger who would soon be your fiancé and put on a show for the tabloids to gossip about to give the reporters their content.

You think he hates you - he doesn't spare you one glance from his good eye - always keeping his sapphire-eyed side to you. Aemond had lost that eye in childhood, back when you were still fascinated by the pristine marble floors of hotels. There had been some accident involving his nephews from his stepsister, and your mother had sent her condolences to Alicent with some jewels. The current sapphire that he wore was the latest gift from your mother for announcing your cold courtship.

It's a few evenings later and you are visiting Aemond's penthouse in the heart of King's Landing to give the paparazzi a show, to give the tabloids something to gossip about the next morning and afternoon, when you are planning to leave.

You quite enjoy the music and the open bar, hating the strong taste of vodka, but not quite getting enough of it. You definitely aren't sober anymore, moving to the fast tempo of the music that you cannot distinguish - you only know that it makes you feel powerful like a divine goddess waiting to unleash her rage.

"Couldn't even wait for me to get back from work before getting drunk?" Aemond says. His voice is deep and it makes you shiver, for you have never heard him speak more than one word. "I wonder what my mother sees in you," he grumbles. "Whatever she does, I don't."

You give him the finger, and close your eyes to get lost in the music again. You really don't care what he thinks of you, but something in his words was straight up insulting.

"No words to say now?" He snarks.

"What is it that you pride yourself in, hm?" You ask, glaring at him.

"I graduated with the top scores in my degree, I am the best finance manager and the best Westerosi F1 driver - " he starts to say, offended. For a moment you wonder if he's drunk too, but the condescending look in his darkened violet eye has you lashing out on him in rage.

"Yeah, big deal racer-boy." You snap your fingers in front of his face, having to look up. "I was also the top scorer in my year - across all majors, I can hack into your finance system and bring it down and you wouldn't even know what happened. I run an NGO, I manage my mother's finances and I know how to stitch, embroider and cook. I can survive if left alone - but you'll start crying for your mother the moment you are left alone with no servants or money to take care of you. If anyone gets to act like a stuck up arrogant little bitch that should be me."

"Oh please, your mother was the one pushing for this marriage because she knows you are incapable of anything," He snaps at you. You are nose to nose, and you want to smack him hard across the face, but you hold back that grudge.

"You know what your beloved mother told me before we started all this?" You challenge. "Do you? DO YOU?" you exhale before saying, "She said that there is no other woman who could possibly put up with this attitude of yours - that she knows you will not be able to survive on your own, you big man-child. Putting a little show on for the reporters doesn't make you a man."

You push him back and take the elevator, yelling a "Fuck you!" before the door closes and hides his comically scandalised face.

Trouble in paradise? It seems the most eligible bachelor in Westeros is free for taking again.

"What is this that the newspapers say," Your mother says, tone chiding. "Why would you leave in the middle of the night?"

"I cannot stand Aemond, mother!" You complain. "I cannot stand him. If Alicent weren't so sweet, I'd never have agreed to this whole thing."

"Sweetie, please. Think it over again." Your mother insists.

"Consider this arrangement over if he doesn't apologise to me." You declare, glaring at your mother with untamed fury. And for once, she is rightfully terrified of your eldest daughter-rage. Your little brother supports you, making your point stronger. He can be a pain in the ass but he can also be helpful in times like these.

There is a gala event on the weekend, and your family friends from Little Kilton are invited. The Singh Family is here, as is your old friend Ravi. You hug him tightly and ask him about his girlfriend and the crimes that they uncovered together. He's giggly talking about his lovely girlfriend Pip, calling him Sarge and other cute names like that.

You want to be normal at that moment - not the daughter of diamond merchant and a luxury hotel chain owner, but a daughter of normal immigrants, with a boyfriend who can love you as Ravi loves his Sarge Pip.

You are quite done with everything, and decide to dress in traditional clothes for the gala, opting for a rather fancy lehenga. You are going to dance tonight, flaunt your classical dancing skills with Ravi as your companion. Your outfits accidentally match with the similar shades of green and silken fabrics - Ravi clicks a selfie and sends it to his girlfriend, who instantly calls and you finally get to see her in her element. You see the way Ravi's eyes light up on seeing her, and a knife twists at your heart - because you'll never have anyone be this happy to see you.

Pip gushes about how pretty you look and how no one will notice Ravi with you in the room, and you share a good laugh at Ravi's pouty look, claiming he looked ravishing.

"Alright, we're there." Ravi says. "I'll call you when I get back, Sarge. Love you."

"Love you." Pip says before they hang up.

"You're so in love it's disgusting." You say, lips twisted in mock disgust. "Put a ring on it already."

"That's the plan," He says with a dreamy smile. "I didn't come over just to see you, did I?"

"Ravi Singh!" You scream with your hand covering your mouth. "Oh my god, you absolute dork in love you can't be for real!"

"I hope she says yes." He sighs.

"Oh, she will." You declare. "I'll help you pick out the ring."

You told Ravi everything about Aemond and your situation with him, and the paparazzi didn't stop clicking pictures as your mom walked with you, with Ravi accompanying you. He's a little nervous, but he hides it well.

Once inside, you spot Alicent and Helaena, and introduce them to Ravi as your childhood friend and they are really welcoming of him. Alicent looks upset over her son's behaviour and apologises on his behalf, but you lie and tell her that's fine. Your mother can break her heart later gently if her son fails to prove himself worthy to you.

You spot Aemond's silver head in the corner of your eye as you walk away from Alicent and Helaena, and grab Ravi's wrist and have him look at your former-soon-to-be fiancé.

"He looks like an elitist snob," Ravi comments.

"You're not wrong," you say.

"I think jealousy would do him some good," Ravi says. "Let's go get changed, I believe our performance is in an hour. Don't you need t0o much time to get changed?"

"Let's go," You say, grinning. You whisper to your mother, actively avoiding looking at Aemond, not bothering to put up any civility for him. You'll never look at him in the face again if he doesn't apologise for his condescension.

The beat of the classical music hits your veins, and you and Ravi are dancing to the rhythm, going where the music takes you. The whole crowd is silent, entranced by your performance. It's nothing too strenuous, but you manage to impress them. You trust him enough for the couple of lifts that you have, earning a loud applause as you finish your performance with you on one knee on the right of the stage and Ravi in identical position on the left.

You are panting heavily as you get off the stage as the applause slowly quiets down, changing back into your magnificent green lehenga before going out to get some fresh air. The gardens are impeccably maintained, with trimmed bushes and perfectly shaped trees, the clean air replenishing the stale one in your lungs, making you relaxed after the costing performance.

You take a seat on a bench under a tall tree, in relative isolation as you catch your breath.

A scowl curves your beautiful face as you hear the sound of your name in Aemond's quiet, deep voice, wondering what more he could possibly have to say to you.

"What business have you got here?" You bitterly ask.

"You were amazing back there," He attempts.

"I am aware, thank you." You say, still refusing to look at him. "I had a great partner with me."

"Speaking of a partner, who is he?" Aemond asks.

"None of your business anymore," You snap.

"I just want to talk," He tries again.

"There's nothing there to talk," you stop him. "You made it pretty clear that I am not worth your time or attention."

"It was foolish of me to say that." He amends.

"Yet, that is what you thought was the truth." You say, looking ahead at the bushes in front of you.

"I'd have danced if you asked me to," He confesses, changing routes.

"You left no room for questions," You counter. "No self respecting person would ask something of you after only receiving one word or one syllable response for more than a month. And as a self respecting person I don't deem you a fit partner."

"And he is?" Aemond asks, you can hear in his voice - the anger, the strain that he has in his jaw.

"Surely," You tease, voice deadpanned. "Much better than you, definitely."

"What do you want me to do?" Aemond finally caves in, sighing.

"I don't know, maybe your top of the major brain should have the answers," You snap again. Your glare and voice have bite, but you do not give him the satisfaction of facing him. The warmth of his body comes at your side as he takes a seat beside you and lets out a long sigh.

"Look, I know it was foolish of me to say what I did," He started. "I want to ask for your forgiveness."

"You've not given me any reason to trust you," you say. “How can I forgive you if I know nothing about you?"

"We ought to change that then." Aemond decides. "Let me take you out sometime."

"You had all the time in the world to take me out, yet…" you trail off.

"I had been a fool," He sighs, rubbing his face. "A stuck up arrogant little bitch, as you'd rightfully put."

"What changed?" You ask, finally turning to look at him. Aemond's usual scowl is replaced with a soft, pleading crease in his brow. His lilac eye is uncharacteristically soft - you can swear that he has tears in both his eyes - the sapphire one and the intact one. "Please don't tell me you are doing this because your mom asked you to."

"She doesn't know what happened," Aemond confesses, his voice dropping down to a whisper. "I just needed to hear what you told me the other day."

"And?" You prompted.

"I have always thought you to be insanely beautiful," Aemond confesses with a hesitant sigh. "But today you look divine, crafted patiently by the Seven themselves."

"Hmm, go on." You say with a cheeky grin, and Aemond chuckles. This the first time you ever heard him laugh, the first time you have ever seen him smile. He has a pretty smile and his laugh is one of the most pleasing sounds to your ears.

"I was intimidated by you, to be honest." He confesses. You have never heard him sound so vulnerable, exposed, and you realise that you are rather fond of it. "You're this insanely talented, beautiful woman who has her life together with everything sorted and I don't think I have ever learned how to keep up a conversation."

“You big, foolish man,” you press your lips together, inhaling a deep breath. “That degree is of no use, you should return it. How can you manage finance without knowing proper communication?”

“Maybe you can help me with that,” He says with a smile. He has dimples.

“I’d like that,” You nod.

“I’ll pick you up at seven, tomorrow?” He asks.

“Why wait?” you shrug.

#aemond targaryen x reader #ask ans: oneshot #ask: modern!aemond #modern!aemond x reader #aemond x you #modern!aemond #aemond targaryen #modern hotd #hotd fic

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gidaryeong · 4 months

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2023 drama roundup

Unchained Love: I still hum the unhinged flute intro on a regular basis, easily my fave intro of 2023! I didn't actually finish the show due to dwindling interest, but for the first 14 episodes or so I took a keen pleasure in it (and it made me go on a eunuch webnovel spree, expertly curated by @mercipourleslivres). I love it when heroines are allowed to be truly funny, rather than just quirky or ditzy. Also appreciate the goofy Lamp Prince turning into a brutal incel tyrant the moment he got power.

Six Flying Dragons: I don't think I can write anything succinct enough for the roundup format so I direct you to my "my sfd tag" if you want to access my enthused livetweeting. Show of all times, lives were changed.

Tree with Deep Roots: I literally can't think of a better topic for a tv show than Sejong the Great constructing hangul together with his band of nerds, one of whom he has a weirdly intense, vaguely erotic relationship with. Han Suk-kyu carried this entire show on his trembling shoulders. What an actor! What range!!! It was such a treat to watch him smugly debate his ministers, roleplay a farmer, and hiss half-mad soliloquies to himself in the dark. It took nuance and depth to portray the kind of inner conflicts and generational trauma that Sejong battles in the background of this drama. To be honest I didn't always enjoy the Milbon subplot which I felt got repetitive, and often found myself wanting to fast-forward the wuxia scenes. In a better world the show would have centered the whip-smart palace maids and their alphabet workshops. But I will definitely rewatch this soon. And maybe also write a fix-it where Sejong and Soo-yi fuck idk.

Quartet: Cute little murder mystery about a found family of freaks, liked it a lot.

My Country: The New Age: As entertaining as ever. Very fun to rewatch this back to back with Tree with Deep Roots, since Jang Hyuk plays diametrically opposite characters with the same vigor and commitment.

Gone with the Rain: Sometimes you watch something which you understand is technically a masterpiece but it doesn't do anything for you, and sometimes you watch a piece of campy silly fun and it makes you tingle with joy. This was the latter category for me. I liked the first and middle parts enough to make up for the lukewarm fizzle of an ending.

The Autumn Ballad: Has some fucked up elements that are difficult to stomach, but the parts that are good are really good.

Not Others: Bingeable! But imo they could have cut out the stalker/murder cases and just focused on the excellent family drama.

The Matchmakers: This surprisingly swooped in towards the end of the year as my favorite comedy of 2023, all thanks to a rec by @haraxvati. I adore Cho Yi-hyun in this role!!! She is so hot as a shrewd matchmaker with a fake mole and a twinkle in her eye. Love the virgin prince with his yearning-induced panic attacks (Rowoon didn't work for me in The King's Affection in a quite similar role, but he's so much weirder and lamer here, which is something I like in a man). I am obsessed with the side plot of the crossdressing romance novelist and the solemn police officer who is trying to capture her and ends up giving her free home renovations and smouldering looks instead. Also, Park Ji-Young and Lee Hae-Young are two of my favorite villain actors on their own, and here they are married!! Still have a few episodes to go, but I intend to binge them as soon as I post this.

Dramas I dropped or paused:

Our Blossoming Youth: I shipped the heroine and her cute maidservant a little too much to bear the dull prince they stuck her with. But I might rewatch it some day bc I want to write a Sherlock Holmes fic for the girls.

Little Women: A real disappointment, because I love Louisa May Alcott and I love Jeong Seo-kyeong. Once again, letting the women kiss might have solved much of it.

Island: Casting Kim Nam-gil as an expressionless cool-guy action hero offends me personally. (Yes Song of the Bandits I'm giving you the stinky eye also.) But Lee Da-hee and Cha Eun-woo were delightful!

See you in my 19th life: I couldn't, even for my most darling Shin Hye-sun, go beyond episode 1. There's something about a kid dating another kid even though she's a literal adult inside her brain that I can't really vibe with.

My Dearest: I do intend to finish this, but I lost the thread after the first half. It got a little too dark for me I think.

#you'll get my moving and minglan recaps in the 2024 roundup because i haven't finished them yet #(i like minglan too much to binge it and my husband won't let me watch either show without him)#unchained love #six flying dragons #tree with deep roots #quartet #my country: the new age #gone with the rain #the autumn ballad #not others #the matchmakers #our blossoming youth #tvn little women #tving island #see you in my 19th life #mbc my dearest #2023 recap #kdrama

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beautiful-basque-country · 1 year

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Las Vulpess: the scandal

Just 40 years ago, four girls from the Bilbo neighborhood of Irala, between 17 and 21, starred in the first media scandal related to freedom of expression in Spain. Las Vulpess had not yet recorded a single single when the music critic Carlos Tena decided to make a music video with them on his new program on TVE, Caja de ritmos.

The sisters Loles and Lupe Vázquez (guitar and drums, respectively), were responsible for adapting the lyrics of I Wanna Be Your Dog - by Iggy Pop & The Stooges - in their own way, which Mamen Rodrigo would sing while Begoña Astigarraga played the bass. The song's title?: I like to be a whore.

youtube

Nothing happened at that time, since it was a program with a very small audience. The scandal erupted ten days later, when newspaper ABC published the lyrics of the song and vigorously protested its broadcast in children's programming hours, arguing that the song "degrades Spanish society, revolts the father of a family, unworthy the responsible citizen, breaks the intimacy of the home, violates what is established in the Constitution and goes beyond the limits of what is tolerable".

The media of that time asked for heads to roll: Caja de ritmos was not broadcast again, the presenter submitted his resignation and, the following Saturday, what the children's audience could see at that time was… a bullfight.

The snowball continued to grow until it reached the courts. The State Attorney General's Office filed a criminal complaint against the director of the program "for offense to modesty and good customs" and Loles Vázquez as the author of the lyrics and Mamen Rodrigo as vocal interpreter for public derision. Three, five years in prison and ten years of disqualification were requested for them. In 1986, the case was dismissed.

Thanks to growing up in very politically committed families, Loles – whose parents had fought against Franco in hiding, from unionism and women's associations – also had that support.

"My family helped us, my parents and brothers understood and supported us, we all went together, and it was quite important to feel so supported," the guitarist confesses. "We did not fear for our future, but of course it did worry us, because handling a scandal at the age we were was not easy, on the contrary, it was very difficult. A lot of stress, the phone did not stop ringing, everybody wanted to exploit the whole scandal: first musically and then the media, the political parties… It was pretty fucked up, speaking clearly".

Las Vulpess were the first all-female punk-rock quartet in Spain. I would venture to say that, even, rock in general. "If in the US or England it was already difficult for women to be in a rock group, well imagine in the Basque Country at that time. Even the boys had a hard time getting their instruments or a place, nobody had money, we were in a super harsh crisis. Rock and roll was very sexist, women's work was basically escort, groupie. Punk revolutionized everything, and one of the things that changed was the role of women. We too could be in a stage", concedes Loles Vázquez.

Now we are more accustomed, not only in punk but in more formal commercial pop, to hearing the word "bitch" or "whore" reversing its connotations of insult as a symbol of pride and self-affirmation. And, although it is impossible to collect data that proves anything, if they were not the first in the world, Las Vulpess sure were pioneers in this. Before rappers like Queen Latifah or MC Lyte began to use "bitch" in the same way in the US at the end of the 80s, no other precedents have been revealed. "I first played with Latin, hence the Vulpes thing," [Vulpes means fox in Latin, fox in Spanish has the same meaning that bitch in English] explains the author of the adaptation, which she wrote at the age of 15.

"It was what I received then. I wore leopard miniskirts made from car upholstery, we tore our stockings at the feet, because there weren't those things like leggings today… So with those looks, the stiletto shoes, the nets, the eyes painted with the eyeliner, when the guys passed by me they yelled at me: Whore! That was what they called me the most. And, well, I liked it. I liked being who I was. Being different was a source of pride. Those guys who defended marriage and those who were junkies and considered themselves cool, all told me the same. All those people calling me a bitch made me think, to that age, that being a whore was cool."

But what happened to Las Vulpess? Their label, Dos Rombos, hurried them to record the single that quickly sold out a circulation of 7,000 copies and, shortly after, sold 5,000 more, but the girls said they saw hardly any money from it.

Although the worst came with the concerts. On May 18, 1983, barely a month after the controversy, they performed at the temple of the Movida in Madrid, the Rock-Ola. But they ran into the peculiar reception of the security personnel in the room, who gave them a beating in the dressing room for singing a song critical of the Police. According to what Las Vulpess recounted, when they went to the nearest police station to report what had happened, they found that the agents who attended them were the same ones who had attacked them. They were policemen who had infiltrated the concert. It was not the only time, as confirmed by the guitarist.

"Yes, they used to beat us, yes. We were included in concerts with groups that had nothing to do with us. Then the press also released many lies and there were people who thought we would go out naked or in our panties. People weren't going to see a punk rock concert, they were going to cause a scandal. Buses full of fascists also came to boycott us, and we had to get out on our feet many times".

"In the end, everybody wanted to take advantage -adds Loles-, we were fresh meat, and both the politicians and the promoters took advantage, (…) they took all the money and we could not return home. All that burned us out a lot, it annoyed us quite a bit, and clearly, that caused us to break up, although it must also be emphasized that there were already musical differences between us".

That summer at the Bilbo festivities Las Vulpess said "enough" and disbanded a fortnight before entering to record what should have been their first album.

Source

#euskadi #euskal herria #basque country #pais vasco #pays basque #las vulpess #basque people #euskal musika #punk #history #awesome women #spain #Youtube

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cafeseoulmate · 1 year

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mastermind

princess diaries-inspired modern royalty au, enemies to lovers au; wc: 1.9k; warnings for cursing

Funny enough, the first time you met Choi Yeonjun was also at a ball. Two weeks ago, actually. It was your 21st birthday and your parents made you dance with all of the eligible bachelors in attendance as per tradition, including the boy with the mischievous glint in his eyes and the cocky smirk.

You flirted. He flirted. You're quite sure he almost leaned in to ask you to sneak out too had Kang Taehyun not approached the two of you for his turn at the dance.

But you weren't aware of who he was that time, much less of the fact that he's the heir to the dukedom of Gyeonggi-do and the eldest of the Gyeonggi-do Choi clan which descended from the royal family your ancestors overthrew centuries ago. You can't admit it to anyone now, especially in light of recent revelations, but you may or may not have been too distracted by his looks even at the end of that night to ask your personal assistant about him.

So having to dance with him again, in another ball strategically organized as a PR stunt to ease the public’s opinion on the current succession crisis, only one thing keeps running through your head: fuck Choi Yeonjun and his ridiculously attractive features.

"Stop frowning." Said demon spawn whispers dangerously close to your ear, following his words with a pinch of your waist that almost has you yelping loudly. "They're still taking photos."

You can only imagine how it looks like from the guests' point of view, especially your own mother, Yeonjun’s mother the Duchess of Gyeonggi-do, and the palace's head publicist, Director Kim, who've been sipping wine in a corner together like vultures since Yeonjun invited you out to the dance floor.

As the current faces of your respective families, you have to act like you’re on amicable terms with each other, like it was still last weekend when the press mistook the two of you as being flirtatious with each other.

So your first instinct is to feign the most sickeningly sweet smile as you tilt your face away and look up at him, chuckling genuinely when he visibly fights the urge to cringe.

"Sorry, I just can't help it." You shrug, taking it upon yourself to lead the waltz while he's momentarily caught off-guard. "This isn't really the best of times, isn't it? Not like last Saturday, when you could've clued me in on some things so we wouldn't have to be in this situation."

You move the two of you in a circle so that your back is now turned away from the three women watching your every move, Yeonjun retaliating by then waltzing the two of you to the other side of the hall.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not really the type to show my family tree on the first meeting." He replies dryly, rolling his eyes in annoyance as he twirls you. "And we're in this ball because you stomped on my foot and had my seat secretly removed at the East Asian Summit on Wednesday.“

"Because you didn't tell me that you're from the family who's trying to take the crown." You roll your eyes without care, scoffing when Yeonjun reprimands you under his breath. "But you were shameless enough to follow me to Tokyo and pretend like you're also representing the Crown. You kind of deserved it."

Yeonjun sighs in exasperation, hands unconsciously squeezing your own harder. "I already told you, that was Parliament sending me there last minute because of th—God, why am I even explaining myself to you?" He then stops the waltz as the live string quartet also ends their piece, staring you down instead of turning to the stage and clapping for the performers like everyone else. "Look, believe me or not, I really don't give that much of a shit for the throne, at least not in the same way as my parents. Everything up until now—my family's claim, the Summit incident, the ball—has been because of our families' centuries-long feud over the throne and Parliament members being a bunch of disorganized assholes."

He then moves you away from the dance floor as another song begins to play, gentler this time with his hands almost feather-light on your upper arms. "If it were up to me, I'd just inherit the dukedom from my father quietly and go back to the U.S. come Spring to resume my Master's. The throne has you as a living immediate heir, anyway, so why should I try to insert myself in that?" He continues, eyes softening while your glare hardens. "But my parents have sticks up their asses and want to push me into this while Parliament's pushing you to marry in a month as per old succession laws so until then, whether we like it or not, you're stuck with me at public events."

You hear another faint click of a camera in the distance and his first instinct is to cover you by moving to the direction of the camera.

And then, the stupidest, craziest idea comes to mind—one that will definitely make the King and Queen of South Korea order your head on a silver platter tomorrow at the latest but at least Director Kim would be a bit impressed with.

"What if you marry me?"

Yeonjun furrows his brows, expressing what seems to be genuine concern and maybe even alarm for the first time since you’ve met. "Excuse my language, Your Highness, but what in the actual fuck now?"

You also want to ask yourself the very same question as you observe his reaction turn worse as the question lingers but you eventually swallow your pride anyway and continue, pointing to yourself. "I need to get married in a month so Parliament and the rest of the country would approve of my succession because of old boomer laws." You then point to him after. "Your family wants you to be King because you’re descended from the King my ancestor overthrew. It’s two birds with one stone.”

“Technically, I’ll be King consort, then—“

“The first thing we’ll do is change that if your parents really insist.” You retort immediately, feeling your mouth moving quicker than your brain is processing any of your own words. You don’t even notice Yeonjun’s ears turning pink when you refer to yourselves as a collective ‘we,’ as if you noticed the usage yourself as you speak quickly and in hushed tones. “Well, I mean, I’ll abolish the marriage law first but it’s—okay, your title’s the second thing I’ll handle!”

Yeonjun gathers his composure again and squints his eyes suspiciously at you, crossing his arms in thought as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “But you made it apparent to me the whole week that you hate me and, I quote, would make it legal for yourself to hang me by my toes in the courtyard with your head of security.” He points out. “Why should I agree to this?”

“Well clearly, I’ve changed my mind and we don’t really have that much of a choice in this situation.” You scoff, mirroring his crossed arms stubbornly. “If you really were being sincere just now in that you don’t want any part in our families’ drama as much as I’m pretty much over all the hoops I have to go through to take the Crown, we’ll have to be smarter in going about this. That’s just how it is in this court.

“Now, it’s not the most ideal proposition but it’s probably our best option right now, given I’m the only one who’s doing the thinking so far. The worst case scenario of this whole fiasco is that a long and legal court battle between our families would happen which could be bad PR for the Crown and very unproductive of South Korea.

“You can walk away from my offer and continue being a pawn in your parents’ schemes without any insider ally, I don’t really care. Or, we can make this work: we’ll get married at the end of the month, change the laws on the throne and succession via marriage, and go off on our separate ways as a married couple. I can rule on my own and you can leave whenever you want, just have staff ready to carry your work when you do and occasionally arrange for public appearances as King.”

He thinks it through for a moment, gaze darting down to his dress shoes with his lips pursed and his right hand tapping on his left bicep rhythmically.

So in the same silence, you also contemplate on your own offer. To be fair, outside all of the succesion drama, the Gyeonggi-do Choi family isn’t all that bad: they rule over their province exceptionally well your parents mostly are friendly and civil with each other outside the discussions on the history of the South Korean throne post-World War II. You would know, you majored majored in Diplomacy and International Relations like most noble children and took a minor in History specifically for this very situation.

Yeonjun, on the other hand, though you’ve only known him for a week at this point (debatably even shorter than that since he did keep his title and family background a secret until just this Wednesday) seems like a decent guy. From your first dance, you’ve gathered that he’s taking a Master’s in Political Science at Harvard, dances pretty well, and seems to genuinely care about making a difference as a ruler like you.

And, fine, he’s also attractive as hell and a true gentleman whenever you’re not bickering or stomping his foot in front of other Asian state leaders.

What could go wrong?

“If it’s too complicated, then forget i—“

“I’ll do it.”

At the same time, a trio of female guests pass by, the tallest one in the pink ballgown accidentally bumping shoulders with you and almost causing you to topple over.

Yeonjun catches you by the arm just in time, steadying you with another hand to your own. “Are you okay?”

“Are you serious?” You ask back, unconsciously holding onto his arm as you stand straight once more. “You’ll do it?”

“We’ll have to discuss my role as King first since you mentioned that you’ll change the laws on consorts. We’ll have to ensure that my parents are satisfied with it and that my responsibilities are laid out clear for me to follow well.” He answers, belatedly letting go of you with an awkward cough. “And we’ll have to discuss how we’ll navigate the marriage, too, since it’s more out of convenience than choice. That, and a bunch of other marriage and business contingencies.”

You nod in agreement, already feeling an unfamiliar weight on your shoulders as your offer slowly sets itself in motion. “We’ll have to learn to trust each other first too, more than right now. I’ll need to know that you won’t overthrow me the second your title and power are changed from consort to King.” You add with a raised brow, extending your hand out for a handshake that should seal the deal. “Personally, even with the stunt you pulled off this week, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt as early as now if you’d give me the same. So do we have a deal?”

Instead of shaking your hand as you expected, however, he takes your hand in his to pull you closer until you’re chest to chest with him before planting a kiss directly on your lips.

“Deal.” He smirks against your wide eyes and slacked jaw, immediately taking the opportunity to plant another kiss to your parted mouth. “How about we sneak away and discuss this more in the garden? This is also the perfect time to disappear and leave everyone hanging.”

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jelzorz · 2 days

Text

Crack quartet timeline 2: electric boogaloo

BC I'm bored and waiting for a) the 6x03 answer and the 6x04 clue, and b) my last two essays to be released

Some housekeeping for those only just now stumbling on the concept of the crack quartet:

The tdp post-canon crack quartet refers to rayllum and the following set of insane sounding ships: corterry, sorpeli, and claudiez

Yeah I know I'm a nutcase, it's cool

In my defence, I got talked into the other three by @raayllum but when they're right, they're right

Part one of the crack quartet timeline and hcs is here!

A reminder to everyone that the crack quartet can only ever happen years and years after canon when everyone involved is significantly older and able to consent, so please keep that in mind before y'all come at me

Also I share some of these hcs with @raayllum but they also have their own hcs and would be absolutely thrilled to talk about them so please go and encourage them so I'm not the only one in the sorpeli tag

Now that that's out of the way!

When we last left the crack quartet timeline, Viren had returned to Katolis castle and was causing absolute mayhem in the crack quartet family unit. At this stage, Ezran's council consists of Ez, Callum, Rayla, Soren, Barius, Opeli (resigned from High Cleric but still on the council as per Ezran's request) and Clio (the new High Cleric). By now, Callum and Rayla have a little girl called Sarai, Ez is formally courting Claudia, and Soren and Opeli have been told they're expecting twins.

If you haven't read the snake (which I swear I'll finish), our gang agrees (for a very loose definition of agreeing) to give Viren a trial. Callum is furious and has been an absolute asshole about it but it goes ahead with Callum prosecuting and Soren begrudgingly representing his father (because if it's not him, it's Opeli and she is heavily pregnant at this point so...). Viren is found guilty but Ez refuses to execute him (he Doesn't Want To Be That Kind of King) and exiles him instead.

Claudia finds herself with a decision to make: she has always wanted to keep her family together and now it's being torn apart again. The others are SUPER CONCERNED for a hot minute, because if she leaves and breaks Ezran's heart and chooses her father AGAIN after everything that's happened, they will not be able to forgive her a second time. In the end, it's not that difficult a decision to make. Ezran is here. Soren is here. She will have two brand new nieces in the summer. She chooses to stay.

Callum is not happy about Ez's decision but he can't keep disagreeing with him like this either, and together they agree that they both might benefit from a little bit of space. Callum never really wanted to be a prince anyway, and Ez needs the space to come into his own and find his own way, without being parented by his brother. It's tearful, but ultimately for the best, and they're still going to be brothers no matter what. It's the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one too. Callum and Rayla pack up and head for the Silvergrove. Ez et al see them off and promise to come and visit once they've settled in.

Callum and Rayla run into Corvus and Terry on the way who are, to their surprise, living happily together in a partnership no one expected and have been quietly keeping up with the Katolis Castle soap opera. They're glad everything's settling down and gladder still to meet baby Sarai. They catch up before Callum and Rayla continue on their way.

Soren and Opeli's twin girls are born the following summer. It's a tough labour, but the three of them come out fine and Soren heads out to Temple Hill in a rare show of faith to thank the goddesses his wife had once devoted herself to for keeping his family safe. Callum and Rayla return to the castle to offer their support and so Sarai can meet her new cousins. Ez and Callum are reunited and happy to be together again. Tentatively, Ezran tells his brother that he is considering marrying Claudia. Callum takes it well! He's just happy that Ez is happy, even if he's still a little apprehensive about Claudia's presence in the castle.

Claudia takes it less well. She knows what she is and what she's done. She knows how this will look to people who know of her crimes but don't know her. When Ezran asks, she says no. Then she disappears.

Callum is Fucking Furious. How dare she. How dare she hurt his brother like that. How dare she leave. This isn't digging up any old wounds At All. And although he promises Rayla that this has nothing to do with what happened when they were kids, Rayla still remembers how much she hurt him and can't help but wonder if he still feels that sting, even after all this time. And she wants to fix this! She can't stand seeing her boys hurt like this. And who would know where Claudia went better than

Soren. The poor man is exhausted. Y'all thought one newborn was bad—try two. He and Opeli take turns with the girls but the added stress of Claudia disappearing isn't doing them any favours. But he has enough brain left in him to guess the one place Claudia might have gone.

He reaches out to Corvus and Terry who are a hub for information at this point, and they point him the direction of a small town in the Independent Isles. There's an ex-mage over there that they keep hearing about. Apparently he was exiled from Katolis last winter. Does that help at all?

Sure does. But who to send? Ez can't go, and Callum shouldn't go, and Rayla can't go by herself. Soren doesn't want to leave Opeli but, in her words, their duty is to Ezran, and Ezran needs help. Claudia is his sister too and Opeli insists she'll be fine with the twins. He should go with Rayla. Reluctantly, he goes, and they're halfway out to the Independent Isles when who should they find stowed away in the back of their carriage but Ezran, who is sick and tired of having other people deal with his problems for him. If anyone's going to convince Claudia to come home, it's going to be him.

They find Viren helping to rebuild a village on the coast of one of the Independent Isles. It's awkward, but Viren is definitely better than he was when they saw him last, and he's glad to know that Soren and the twins are doing well. He hopes to meet them one day but won't hold Soren to that if he doesn't feel comfortable with it, but Soren surprises them both with "maybe one day". Viren tells them that Claudia was here but left again not long after. He asks Ezran what happened. Ezran won't say. Still, he tells them Claudia went to Del Bar and wishes them well.

@raayllum and I have discussed this At Length, but they find Claudia hiding in Del Bar and seeking guidance from Lissa. Lissa is more surprised than anyone to see the King of Katolis at her door with her son and an elven ambassador, but ultimately, whatever happens next is Claudia decision.

What happens next? I don't know yet! But Claudia does eventually come back, and everything does eventually work out. If I ever finish the snake, I'll write this too. And I might be crazy but the Katolis Castle soap is never ending and full of drama and I love that for them.

#canon crack quartet #rayllum #sorpeli #claudiez #corterry

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non-un-topo · 1 year

Note

re: queer quartet prompts -- idk if you're wanting things to draw or to write, but what about horse stealing? Or horse riding in general? I know you've mentioned the idea of queer quartet accidental baby acquisition recently, and a drawing of that would NEVER go amiss!

Hello, friend, and thank you for the excellent prompt! <33 I definitely cannot draw horses, so have this silly ficlet! 😂

The garden gates flew open, and Andromache barrelled through like a storm. As she stomped over the diligently-laid stone path and into the night, it became clear that there was a rather lewd squelching sound following each of her footsteps.

Oh. No, not following. It was her footsteps. Her felt boots were soaked through. Great.

Behind, still in the candle-lit garden, it sounded like Yusuf was sweet-talking the party guests because how could he not? Nevermind that every rose-adorned prick in there wanted to chase him out the moment he entered.

“That was very heroic of you,” commended (teased) Quỳnh, in step with her as she always was. “Coming to the aid of our dear, defenseless Yusuf. Indeed, I did not think artists liked to get their hands dirty.”

The playful jest was aimed at Yusuf, who must have followed the rest of them out the gates judging by the sound of his affronted gasp.

“Right, they just wanted to hurl disgusting words at him,” said Andromache, steeped in rage and fountain water. How was she supposed to have noticed the one floor tile slightly out of place, just waiting to trip someone? Oh well, a little shallow water never hurt anyone. Well, except for the man she continued to beat on after she pulled him into the fountain with her. Pure, heart-stopping terror on that poor fool’s face.

“They are not artists,” said Yusuf, and Andromache thought he was going to join them in the fun of insulting the rosy buffoons, but instead he explained simply, “They are commissioners, specifically because they do not paint.”

“Well anyway, they didn’t even look at your paintings, Yusuf.”

“Certainly, you’d already punched my client in the jaw before he got the chance.”

Andromache smirked.

“High society and us do not blend, I fear,” sighed Quỳnh with false woe. Andromache turned around in time to see her press the back of her hand to her forehead and swoon.

“No great loss,” said Nicolò, who had been rather forcefully silent since Andromache pulled herself out of the fountain and Yusuf pulled the sopping wet sod out too.

They marched past the stables, housing show horses who belonged to Yusuf’s wealthy client but who remained enclosed during this party. Andromache could never have missed the timeless scent of their coats, the sound of the little huff for attention.

Seeing her family’s sour faces, hidden beneath a thin layer of amusement though they were, Andromache felt that flutter of mischief return.

She crossed over to the stables and reached into the window above the closed door where a lean, well-groomed head peaked out at her. She hushed it, running her hand down its velvety nose, admiring its shiny golden coat.

“My heart,” said Quỳnh, as one speaks to a child who has just spotted a toy they want.

“Shh,” Andromache hushed the horse, who huffed and shook its head left to right, a mop of golden-thread hair falling into its eyes. “I’m making a friend. Isn’t that right, you beauty? Was it you who called to me?”

“Oh,” muttered Yusuf, behind, “she’s doing it again.”

“Andromache, that horse is not yours,” whispered Nicolò.

“You are not anybody’s,” Andromache cooed at the horse, gentling it, brushing down its nose. “Isn’t that right? Would you like to be free?”

“Oh, dear,” returned Yusuf’s voice.

There was a good long moment of silence where all Andromache could hear was crickets and the whistling breath of the horse, before Quỳnh piped up and joined her at the stables.

“Alright,” Quỳnh said, and opened the doors. “Quickly.”

Andromache could have swooned, herself.

She took the golden mare, of course. They were friends now, were they not? Quỳnh fetched a lovely brown and white gelding from farther inside the stables, and into Yusuf’s hands she placed the reins of a moon-silver mare. When she dipped back inside the pitch darkness of the stables, Nicolò leaned his back to the door, eyes on the garden party they’d left behind.

Then from the shadows Quỳnh appeared with a fourth set of reins in her hand. But behind her came the shape of a horse’s head no more than four feet off the ground.

Andromache held in a howl with all the restraint in the world.

“Here you are, brother,” Quỳnh chirped, as she guided the pony to Nicolò. He turned away from the garden to look, and did what could only be called a double-take before looking up at Quỳnh’s retreating back with wide eyes.

“Mount,” ordered Quỳnh, and Andromache did as she was told, yes ma’am.

Voices were beginning to raise from the direction of the garden. Easy as slipping into a pair of pants, Andromache mounted the mare and they took off, Quỳnh and Yusuf not far behind.

“Hey!” barked Nicolò, the poor thing. “Hey!”

Andromache looked back to see him trying to straddle the pony, practically standing up normally with his legs on either side of its stout belly. With a little tug on its reins he tried to get it to move forward, and just when Andromache thought the sight could not get any more ridiculous, the pony began to prance with the daintiest, shortest steps Andromache had ever seen. Nicolò looked behind himself at the angry mob coming their way, and screamed as he hunched forward on his belly over the pony’s back. It barely picked up the pace.

Andromache had tears in her eyes when she looked forward again. Floods of tears.

“Why must you be so cruel!” Yusuf wailed, though she heard the cheeky bastard laughing too. “My love, I’m coming for you!”

As Yusuf clicked his tongue and turned his horse around, Quỳnh pulled the gelding up to Andromache’s side.

“Such mischief, my Quỳnh.”

“Hey…” Quỳnh was the picture of innocence with the way she batted her eyelashes. “The pony was all that was left.”

Andromache threw her head back with a laugh, and she absolutely did not nearly fall off the horse.

#sage writes #tog #the old guard #the old gays #love them love this prompt love you #i may yet draw something for the accidental baby acquisition prompt!#ficlet

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artzzyb00-27 · 6 months

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{💜Kimchi Prep & Dish💜}

Korean readers need more representation. That's it. Also, if I ever offend any of you white people. Please, respectfully, get over it. No one has said anything(maybe because I haven't joked about it yet satirically) but I've had experience with people telling me the being racist to white people was a thing. And that they shouldn't be responsible for their ancestors actions. Then later on go to make racist jokes. Not saying I hate white people, I just don't immediately like you guys. The bar is not the hard to overcome anyway. Just don't be a racist biggot and we're good.

In Queens there was a small Korean restaurant with a pretty decent community filled with familiarity. Something that attracted a quartet of mutant turtles who were always longing for new experiences. And places like this were perfect.

The culture was unique, music was widespread, and people were of different variety and presentability. Proven especially with Iseul Ok(pronounced; 'Ock'). One of the daughters helping out at her grandfather's restaurant. The turtle brothers had saved the blind man before from some low lifer's and he repaid with food for life. No complaints were made, anything to stop eating pizza whenever they couldn't get any specific ingredients.

So when they told him about their situation, he told them to come after hours so they could eat in peace behind the building. Which turned to them meeting his youngest grandchild. She was really sweet. Shocked about their appearance at first but then quickly turned when she started cracking jokes with Mikey. So Donnie watched. Observed. Tried to make sense of her. Learn about her.

He gained an interest to learn about the culture of her and her family. Which turned to him asking about Kimchi. Since it had gained a lot of popularity on TikTok, and it reached his 'For You Page'. To say she was ecstatic was an understatement.

"Kimchi's really important to us. It's a national treasure. You know for some people it represents love and future?" She asked rhetorically, which made Donnie tilt his head to the side smiling. Listening to her ramble was something he found appealing. She wasn't ashamed for her culture, which sadly was something that happened to often in cultures who weren't colonizers.

"How come it's popular?"

"Our ancestors wanted to achieve balance between nutritional qualities and health. At first it was pretty bland. Some salted vegetables with Korean Radish. Later on spices were added. There's a lot versions of it now but they each have the same origin. At least 180 varieties."

"Damn! People sure love their food." Donnie mused as Iseul collided her hip with his playfully. After fully making it Iseul turned to Donnie with a weary smile. He smiled back at her nervously.

"Sorry, it's just,... usually for it to get good fermentation it should be stored for at least one or two days. Or sometimes two weeks. You can try it now and bring your brother's back so they can taste the good version."

"Whatever you think is best. I'm only just learning." Smiling, Iseul grabbed a piece that looked more covered in the spices and fed it too the 6'11 turtle. Who leaned to reach her 5'10 stature, which was taller than most women in her community. Older generations barely reaching 5'3.(Y'all are tiny, no offense)

Savoring the flavor, Donnie's eyes lit up at the texture and amount of flavor. He was so happy in fact, that he started churring. Shamelessly might I add. Which made her happy. It showed that he was comfortable around her and didn't try to mask himself to appear more "normal".

"It's delicious, can't wait to try it again in a few weeks." He smiled at Iseul and helped clean up the kitchen after putting the Kimchi away in storage.

"Remember to bring your brothers. I want them to get a good taste of it." Nodding in agreement, he left her apartment and arrived home around 2:30 am.

--------------------------------

A few weeks later the brothers were headed to Iseul's apartment to try out the infamous food Donatello had been hyping up. Smirking in amusement Raph nudged his older brother who returned the emotion and turned to his nerdy brother.

"Question. How long have you been waiting for this?"

"Not long, like two weeks. Only because it makes the flavor set in more." Nodding at the explanation Leo glanced at his other two brothers and looked back to Donnie.

"And you're sure it isn't because we haven't been able to see her that you're so excited?" Rolling his eyes, Donnie turned away from his leader.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." A small laugh came from Mikey as he walked up to his brother in purple coloration.

"Bro, if we were messing with you, you could tell. Be honest now,.." A pause fell over the turtles waiting for the youngest one to finish his sentence, "Have y'all kissed yet? Ow-!"

Getting hit by a pebble to the noggin wasn't fun. Especially when it was thrown slightly faster than usual by the most yolked out of the ninja quartet. Glaring at his little brother, Raph turned to his twin brother.

"Ignore him, let's just go. But D, seriously. Just ask Ise out man. Her family already knows about you. Not much stopping you," Donnie went to open his mouth to retort but was shut down by Raph. "Cept for losing the friend-ship, and yadda yadda."

"We'll make give Donnie advice later. We gotta hurry before Iseul starts spamming our phones." Leo told the others before running off with the three in tow.

Arriving at the apartment, Iseul opened the window for them to come in and made sure no one was watching. Setting their weapons down somewhere safe the brothers went to relax on the couch and started the Nintendo to play Mario Party. All of them except for Donnie and Iseul who was getting the giant container of Kimchi out.

"Feast your eyes, Dontron." She said while lightly pushing it towards the turtle. The food was bubbling and making noises. Eagerly Donnie grabbed a piece of cabbage ate it. Eyes lighting up in enthusiasm. Turning his head to the tall girl next to him.(Who was still small compared to Paul Bunyan over here.)

"It's even better than before! You have to let me take some for Splinter. Guys get in here!" With a few seconds the turtles and Iseul were snacking on the Kimchi while also enjoying video games and at some point a movie. After some talking the brothers got ready to leave. All but one.

"You guys get going. I'll catch up." He said handing Leo the bag containing a portion of Kimchi for their master. Agreeing, the three turtles left through the window and headed up to the roof. Iseul looked at Donnie confused. That is till he pulled her into a hug, which she reciprocated, and began talking.

"This is really hard to say and get off my chest. I know we're best friends and we don't keep secrets from each other and you've said before that you can tell me anything,.." Taking a pause after putting the girl down and looking at the ground to avoid eye contact he barely lifted them to see her face. She caught on to what he was saying. "But that's also why I'm not as nervous to tell you this because I know that you're not someone to shut out others who are emotional or don't think before acting. Something I admire about you the most."

At that point Iseul got on her tip toes and kissed him on his cheek. Standing there in shock and lifting a hand to touch the area she kissed. Hearing a click they both turned to the window and saw Mikey laughing and running back onto the roof. Groaning Donnie looked back to Iseul and smiled.

"Let's make this official tomorrow. My grandpa is making a giant buffet for the community and he wants all of you to come. Could also give them a chance to meet Splinter." Nodding, Donnie leaned down slightly and kissed her forehead and ran out the window.

Jumping up to the roof ignoring his shit-head brothers staring him down after smiling at the pictures the youngest turtle took.

#bay tmnt #bayverse tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2014 #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2016 #tmnt #bayverse tmnt fanfic #tmnt 2016 #bayverse turtles #tmnt 2014 #bayverse donnie #bayverse donnie x oc #tmnt oc #oc #korean oc #korean readers please critique if needed #tmnt oots #tmnt out of the shadows

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ave09 · 10 months

Text

life day

han solo x reader

note; i don’t know what this even is, but this plot is my absolute favorite. i have two more han requests coming out soon and two more harrison (one a request, one not) but until then, i’ll be feeding you all other han content bc i have a lot of short ones written. also… if y’all have indy requests, send ‘em in, i wanna write for him but have no ideas 😭

han looks so fucking adorable in this gif i can’t-

“okay, now that everyone’s name is helmet, everyone will take turns taking a name.”

“i think we know how it works, luke.” you mumbled, glancing up at the blond, “remind me why we’re doing this?”

“because it’s almost life day! it’s a fun tradition to take our mind off of the empire.” luke exclaimed. well, first off, the empire should be the main focus considering darth vader was currently searching for the rebels. and second of all.. you realized that tatooine sure had some strange traditions.

“can we just take names now?” han asked, impatience lacing his tone. “have somewhere to be, solo?” leia questioned. “yeah, actually i do princess, my ships a wreck, i got better things to be doing-“

“guys! come on, this is important to me.” luke said. it wasn’t ideal, but, you’d indulge in this event for the sake of sweet luke skywalker’s happiness.

“alright, i’m drawing.” you announced, reaching into the helmet, where only four small pieces of paper rested. luke had failed to rope anyone else into this, not even chewie.

you took a paper, holding it tightly in your fist. “don’t look at it,” luke warned, “yeah yeah, i won’t.” you replied.

you watched and waited as leia and luke took their names. and of course, han, being the most extra man ever, took about twenty years to reach into the helmet and take the paper.

“there’s only one left, just take it!”

luke set down the helmet, a bright smile on his face, “okay, now, without anyone looking, check who’s name you got.” carefully, you began to unfold the small slip of paper. beside you, han leaned over, trying to peek, you elbowed him lightly, “back off solo.”

you opened the paper to see the name han solo written in luke’s cursive writing. you refrained from rolling your eyes. why couldn’t you have gotten leia?

“ooo, you won’t believe who i got.” han said smugly, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at you before winking at leia.

ah, of course. of course han would end up choosing leia.

and yet you’d pulled his name. now you had to figure out what the hell you were gonna get him.

“okay, great! now, life day is in a week, and my family would usually do it the night before, so we have six days to get the gifts ready, which by the way, don’t do anything too big, we don’t have that much options here in the base, oh! and remember: don’t tell anyone who you have.”

the quartet then dispersed, going on their separate ways. you knew this was going to be a struggle. you were far closer with luke and leia then you were with han.

you and han were friends… sort of. there was constant bickering, constant flirting, it was a lot to handle, but it all honesty, you didn’t know him that well to know what he’d like. which is why you decided that you needed to talk to chewie.

you waited until later in the day, you’d seen han leave with leia, they were trying to be discreet but seemed more suspicious then anything.

you were fairly certain their was some sort of relationship there, but was unable to find any confirmation.

you approached the falcon where chewie was working. you were thankfully that you’d been studying wookie now that you didn’t have han to translate.

“chewie! hey, can i talk to you!” you asked. the wookie glanced up from his work, nodding, beckoning you over. you met him on top of the falcon, taking a seat beside him.

“so, i’m sure han’s told you all about this life day tradition that luke wanted to do.” chewie nodded.

“right. so, i.. i got han,” you mumbled, “and i have absolutely no clue what to get him, considering you’re his best friend, i thought you could give me an idea.”

chewie remained silent for a moment before giving you a toothy grin, growling softly.

“i’ve got a few ideas for you.”

— — —

“okay! i’m so excited for this, you guys, i don’t think you understand.” luke exclaimed. you were seated criss cross on the floor, han sprawled out beside you while luke and leia were seated on the couch.

“we’re excited too.” leia said with a smile. you were somewhat excited as well, but mostly nervous. you were suddenly regretting what you’d gotten him. it was already difficult as it is considering you couldn’t really leave hoth so it was left to being creative to find a good gift, plus most of chewie’s ideas were horrid, so you were on your own.

but you felt as if it wasn’t enough now, and you were terrified that he’d absolutely hate it.

“alright, who wants to start?”

“why don’t you go, luke?” you suggest, knowing he was bursting at the seams to give his gift. the blonde smiled brightly, retrieving a gift bag, passing it to the woman beside him. “happy life day, leia.” the brunette took the bag from him, pushing away the tissue paper before retrieving two books.

“i remember you telling me how interested you were in the galaxy, all the stars and stuff, i found these old astronomy books in storage and thought you might like them.”

you could tell he was nervous, but leia laughed, “i love these, luke. thank you.” she said, pulling him into a side hug, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek, the young man flushing bright red.

leia then retrieved a small neatly wrapped package, handing it to the blonde beside her. your stomach suddenly dropped upon realizing that it was you who han had picked.

you felt your stomach churn nervously, trying to focus on leia and not the man laying beside you.

luke opened the wrapped package, blue eyes widening. “you didn’t!”

you furrowed your brows, “what is it?”

“don’t be shy skywalker, show us what you got.” the excited blonde reached into the box to retrieve what looked like a plaque. you and han exchanged confused looks.

“not to be that person.. but.. uh, what is it?” you asked. luke then turned it to face you and han. “it’s a plaque for my x-wing!” and so it was. displaying in a fancy sort of font was ‘general luke skywalker’

“y’know i was talking to leia a week or so ago about how i’d love some way to like personalize my x-wing, and now i have a fancy plaque!”

you couldn’t lie, seeing luke this happy over a plaque warmed your heart. he turned to leia, “thank you, i really love it.”

seeing as you and han were the only two left, it was obvious that you’d picked on another. and while you wanted nothing more than to get this done and over with, han seemed to take this opportunity to go first. he reached into his pocket, retrieving a small black box.

he passed it to you, and you took it carefully. “i couldn’t find any wrapping paper, but happy life day sweetheart.” he said to which you smiled.

you pulled open the box, a gasp slipping past your lips at the contents inside. you were speechless.

you could feel han’s eyes on you, you glanced up, meeting his gaze, “han..”

“what is it?”

carefully, you lifted up the gift. in your hand was a silver chain, and hanging on that chain was a small ring. it was intricately designed, and it looked to you as though it was handcrafted.

“i know you usually wear necklaces, but i didn’t remember until after the ring was made-“

“you made this?” the man nodded, “yeah, i had some scraps from the falcon, and i know you like the ship despite how much you pretend you don’t-“

“this is amazing, han.” you breathed, taken aback by the effort put into this gift. for once han seemed to be unable to come up with a snarky comeback, and he even-he even looked nervous.

wait a second.. was he blushing?

but now, you were nervous, passing him your gift, “now i feel like mine is kinda basic.” the man took it from you, rolling into his stomach, laying the gift before him.

once again, being absolutely dramatic, the man took ages unwrapping the somewhat large gift. you held the necklace in your closed hand, still trying to understand how he could’ve given you such a gift. it meant so much. knowing all the effort he’d put into it, it made your heart flutter.

but now your heart pounded rapidly as he had finally unwrapped your gift.

you watched his hazel eyes widen, and you feared the worst.

“did you draw this?”

slowly, you nodded. luke and leia leaned forward, both gasping at the sight.

you didn’t know what to get the man. and chewie’s ideas were far too ridiculous. so, you’d resorted to what you were good at.

drawing.

you’d sketched a picture of the falcon, and standing in front of it was leia, luke, chewie, and the captain of ship himself.

it had most definitely been your best work, and you’d framed it and everything.

“i thought you could put it in the falcon or something…”

“y’know, i just might. this is a really good drawing.” you smiled. he genuinely seemed happy about this, there was no false sense of joy.

he really liked it.

luke clapped his hands together, “i’d like to say that this was a success! we should do it again next year.”

“for once, i’m agreeing with you luke, this was kinda fun.” han agreed. “i can see this becoming a tradition.” leia added. all eyes then fell on you, and you couldn’t help but smile, “i suppose i’d been able to participate next year.”

the smile on luke’s face said it all. “happy life day, everyone!”

— — — —

you were in your quarters, seated on the couch, thinking about the events of the day. you were still in awe about han’s gift.

it was just so special.

and you had yet to put it on. you just couldn’t will yourself to do so. why? you didn’t know.

you held it in your hands, your fingertips brushing over the ring. it was so perfectly designed, and you struggled trying to imagine han solo taking time out of his day to create such a unique piece of jewelry.

a knock echoed throughout the room, catching you offguard. “come in!” you called, expecting it to be leia, but was surprised to see han enter the room.

“hey,” you greeted.

“hi.” he replied, hazel eyes darting to the necklace in your hands, furrowing his brows, “you haven’t put it on yet?”

you shook your head sheepishly. “you want me to help?” you hesitated a moment, before replying, “sure.” the man approached you, extending a hand towards you. carefully, you set the item into the palm of his hand. he then took a seat beside you, gesturing for you to turn your head.

you did so, han placed the necklace around your neck, his fingertips brushing against the nape of your neck as he clasped it.

“there we go.” the chain now hung around your neck, and you could tell how proud he was. “thank you.”

“my pleasure.” he replied, shifting slightly in his seat. “hey, can i ask you something?” the question was somewhat abrupt but you nodded nonetheless.

“why weren’t you in that picture?”

now that was unexpected. you averted eye contact, “well…” you paused, sighing, “you are far closer with those three then with me.” that was just the blatant truth. han furrowed his brows, “so that suddenly makes you not important?”

“han, i don’t understand-“

“y’know i care about you right? like a lot?” you were taken aback. “what?” you asked. “i care about you a lot.” he then rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “i know i suck at showing how i feel but…”

“our banter, our flirting. i kinda love that. and i kinda love being around you.”

a small smile spread across your lips as your fingertips brushed against the necklace around your neck. “funny, i kinda love being around you too.”

despite how you constantly played off being annoyed by him, you had never had as much fun as you did when he was around.

he scooted a little closer to you, retrieving something from his jacket pocket but you couldn’t make out what it was. he then lifted his arm, holding something above your head.

you let out a laugh at the sight. “are you serious right now?” you asked to which he nodded, a mischievous grin on his lips, “you’re sitting under the mistletoe, sweetheart. don’t ya know what that means?”

you nodded, “of course i know, han.”

“well then, why don’t we-“

he was taken aback as you leaned in, pressing your lips gently to his. he froze up for a moment, before dropping the mistletoe, his large hands cupping your face as he deepened the kiss.

it was a magical kiss. that was the only way you could describe it.

you then pulled away, “happy life day, han.”

he let out a soft chuckle, “best life day ever.” he replied before kissing you once again.

it truly was the best life day yet. you’d spent the day with your closest friends, and an unexpected romance had bloomed, and it would continue to blossom for many years to come.

#harrison ford x reader #harrison ford #harrison ford movies #young harrison ford #star wars #han solo x reader #han solo #leia organa #princess leia #luke skywalker #chewbacca #han solo fanfic #han solo imagine #empire strikes back

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dustedmagazine · 4 months

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Music is an Essential Verb: Derek Taylor 2023

Music remains, along with family, friends, and a select few venial vices, my primary daily defense against the mental erosions of spiritual malaise and existential dread. Being a humanist also means being a realist, and little looks to be different on that score in the year ahead as we continue to careen toward a bleak and self-defeating dénouement. The veil of uncertainty around what ultimately feels like inevitability redoubles the need to remain thankful for and supportive of those who devote themselves to art. Summary capsules below describe some of the sounds that kept me going in 2023.

Peter Brötzmann, Wayne Shorter, Kidd Jordan, & Charles Gayle

“The trauma of my generation was what our fathers had done to the rest of the world, and so we said, ‘never again,’ and that was the whole impetus through all my life, and it still is.” ~ Brötzmann (2018)

Musician attrition and demise are dispiriting aspects of every annum, but the departure of four disparate octogenarian reedists exacted an especially steep emotional and cultural toll this year. Shorter and Jordan passed away in March, each of them leaving a rich legacy as indefatigable improviser and altruistic educator that continue influence and inspire. Brötzmann exited in June after the return of a protracted respiratory illness. Few if any can match the magnitude of his mileage and six-decade itinerary as an irrepressible, obstinately adventurous world traveler. Gayle ascended in September, an ardent, uncompromising eremite to the end. All four men left behind discographies and concert/interview footage that will leave the faithful and curious listening and marveling in perpetuity, but their collective absence still aches.

Kirk Knuffke & Joe McPhee Quartet + 1 – Keep the Dream Up (Fundacja Sluchaj)

One of the manifold joys of following the output of Kirk Knuffke is anticipating who he’ll collaborate with next. The cornetist’s ears and imagination are as huge as his heart, a trait he has in common with the equally equanimous Joe McPhee. They’ve known each other for years but Keep the Dream Up is their first released collaboration and it’s an affirming alloy of their complementary creative temperaments. Longtime McPhee comrades Michael Bisio and Jay Rosen complete the quartet with bass clarinetist Christof Knoche comprising the additive on a Brooklyn studio session that captures collective creative lightning in a digital bottle. My album of the year for these reasons and more, although hopefully Joe will bring his brass to a follow-up conclave soon.

Don Byas – Classic Sessions 1944-1946 (Mosaic)

Saxophonist Don Byas recorded prolifically during the 1940s. His porous sound and popular style bridged the schools of swing and bop through prowess and panache aligned with the most esteemed of post-WII tone scientists. That sustained industriousness hasn’t reflected in reliable access to his works, primarily because they’re spread across a plethora of independent labels and competing copyrights. Leave it to Mosaic Records to rectify the longstanding reissue lacuna. This long gestating collection corrals and sequences the bulk of them across ten discs, scrubbing their sound, and adding an expansive cache of rarified verité concert recordings made in a Swedish jazz fan’s residence. Indulging in one’s Byas bias has never been easier or as edifying.

Fred Anderson – The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 2 (Corbett vs Dempsey)

Patience and long-game aptitude are among music producer/archivist/advocate John Corbett’s virtues. This unexpected, but abundantly welcome sequel to an archival Anderson collection on Corbett’s long defunct Unheard Music Series took 23 years to secure commercial circulation and offers an additional hour-plus from the same gig in improved sound. Fellow AACMers Billy Brimfield and Hamid (nee Hank) Drake join bassist Larry Hayrod in bringing vibrant, detailed life to the Lone Prophet of the Prairie’s (as Anderson was affectionately known) serpentine, cerulean melodies. Corbett’s current label released a plenitude of music in 2023 (see also below) but the uncommon opportunity to hear more Anderson of any vintage makes this release worthy of independent mention.

Jason Adasiewicz

Corbett vs. Dempsey also had a welcome role in Jason Adasiewicz’s return to record with two different projects. On vinyl, Roy’s World documents a 2017 Chicago studio session by the vibraphonist’s quintet originally intended as the soundtrack to a film based on neo-noir novelist Barry Gifford’s short stories. Chicago stalwarts Josh Berman, Joshua Abrams, Hamid Drake, join saxophonist Jonathan Doyle in the ensemble for a program that sounds at once fresh and nostalgic while always vital. On CD, Roscoe’s Village dispenses with band for a solo selective foray through the songbook of Roscoe Mitchell including evocative renderings of “Congliptious” and “A Jackson in Your House” that retain the composer’s essence while striking out in bold new directions.

Natural Information Society

Grounded as it is in core voices of guembri, frame drum and harmonium, codification of Josh Abrams’ NIS as a jazz ensemble immediately feels reductively incomplete. All participating instruments can be active architects in the undulating, melody-laced drones that frequently form the basis of the band’s gradual, granulated improvisations. Performances are more akin to collective expeditions where a galvanizing gestalt effect is afoot; one where earned communal peaks preserve the individual power and agency of the interlocking parts. Since Time is Gravity augments this already catalytic template by incorporating a larger contingent of Chicago colleagues including tenorist Ari Brown to the equation.

Abdul Wadud

A jazz-based improviser on the cello who didn’t double on other stringed instruments, Wadud was also a consummate collaborator and sideman. Magnanimity in lending his substantial talents to the projects of others resulted in a paucity of albums under his own name. By Myself from 1977 on the Bisharra label is a revelatory anomaly on that self-effacing resume. Wadud approaches the instrument as a multifaceted sound factory, plucking, strumming, and bowing, often simultaneously, to create solo tone poems steeped in personal poignancy. Gotta Groove’s vinyl reissue is a beautiful facsimile of the original album object in faithfully reconstructed fidelity.

Marion Brown

Georgia-born altoist Marion Brown had a lengthy, storied career but the body of recorded work that he left behind can present difficulties in terms of ingress to its totality. Scattered across labels, years, and circumstances, much of it is either out of print or commercially unreleased. That collective relative obscurity makes a trio of releases, two on the German Moosicus label, and a third Record Store Day viny reissue of Brown’s 1970 studio duets with Wadada Leo Smith under the shared sobriquet Creative Improvisation Ensemble even more valuable. Of the former two, Mary Ann presents concert material by Brown’s quartet from a 1969 Bremen club gig in soundboard fidelity. Gesprächsfetzen & In Sommerhausen combines two more German concert snapshots, quintet, and sextet, from 1968 & 1969 with Gunter Hampel originally released on the Calig imprint. Steve McCall is a boon on drums in all three contexts.

Art Pepper – Complete Maiden Voyage Recordings (Omnivore)

Art Pepper was an inveterate rake for most of his life, magnifying destructive interpersonal tendencies with drugs and frustratingly frequent acts of self-sabotage. That star-crossed propensity makes the fact that he left so much magnificent music even more miraculous. This lavish box is a fascinating compendium of the constantly competing artistic contradictions at his center, collecting a quartet gig across three nights and seven club sets in Pepper’s native Los Angeles, ten months prior to his premature passing at 56. Over half of the music is previously unreleased and the rhythm section, led by the impeccable and implacable pianistics of George Cables, gives Pepper a cumulative confidence boost that keeps him on the rails. None of it has ever sounded better.

Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra

Los Angeles of the late-1970s was an unforgiving environment for the economic necessities of orchestral jazz. The Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra, under the nominal leadership of pianist/composer/community organizer Horace Tapscott, was a tenaciously subversive force in the face of that ruinous rule. Adopting the Immanuel United Church of Christ as an informal base of operations, the large ensemble resourcefully engaged in an ambitious series of concerts in 1979. The Nimbus label, long a Tapscott exponent and repository, released the first three entries this year in an archival subscription series collecting the voluminous results. Titles are also available individually and present the pivotal band at a performative peak with star soloists Sabir Mateen, Billy Harris, Jesse Sharps, and Robert Miranda shining just as bright as their fearless foreman.

Alan Skidmore – A Supreme Love

Unexpectedly issued on Mark Wastell’s Confront label, an imprint better known for its fealty to free improvisation, this six-disc archival tribute to Alan Skidmore’s 70+ year career in music launches with the saxophonist’s 1961 radio debut and lands some seven-hours later with his intimate 2019 rendering of John Coltrane’s “Psalm.” The aural expanse between is brimming with bright moments and luminary collaborators the likes of which include Tony Oxley, Kenny Wheeler, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Mike Osborne, Elvin Jones, and another dozen name drops from the top tier of improvised music. It’s a wild, illuminating ride and a sterling example of a musical memorial done right.

The Jazz Doctors – Intensive Care/Prescriptions Filled: The Billy Bang Quartet Sessions 1983/1984 (Cadillac)

Billy Bang and Frank Lowe shared a bottomless fraternal bond forged through parallel traumas internalized in Vietnam and expressed by the subsequent embrace of the restorative power of improvised music. The pair of sessions (one reissued, one archival) collected on this disc epitomize their deep attachment arguably as well as any of their other numerous collaborations. Outside the cardinal duo, the Jazz Doctors never really had a stable lineup, but the quartets here embody two of their best. Both programs are loosely adherent to freebop conventions with violin and tenor saxophone combining over contrabass and drums for a potent front line. Bang and Lowe are long gone now, their shared absence making the availability of this music even more precious.

Attila Zoller & Jimmy Raney

Hungarian guitarist Attila Zoller had selective affinity for other artists on the instrument, so much so that his mid-career period is seeded by fateful encounters with plectrist peers. Most prolific among these partnerships was his prudent pairing with Jimmy Raney. A popular proponent of bop-based jazz, Raney was in a similar exploratory headspace when the two joined forces on a trio of recordings for the German L + R label over a seven-year span. Concert dates from Frankfurt (’80) and Berlin (’86) find the duo spooling out lengthy dialogues that dabble in free improvisation while keeping codified melodies within reach. An earlier New York encounter (’79) explores their rapport in a studio. All three reissues on the Japanese Ultra-Vybe imprint are aces.

Steve Swell’s Fire Into Music

Simultaneously emblematic of NYC free jazz in the early aughts and fiercely dedicated to resisting pitfalls of provincialism by touring generously and rigorously, trombonist Steve Swell’s Fire into Music was one of the finest quartets of its kind. Posthumously dedicated to the late altoist Moondoc, this three CD set collects a trio of small venue concerts by the band from gigs in Texas and Ontario. As with the horns, William Parker and Hamid Drake are ideally suited to the extended, expository freebop safaris that formed the ensemble’s flexible repertoire. Swell’s the leader on paper but sagely embraces musical communalism without fail.

Intakt

Running a physical media imprint in the 21st century is an inherently parlous enterprise, but this steadfast Swiss label continues to evidence how it’s done. This year’s standout catalog entries include Andrew Cyrille’s Music Delivery/Percussion, the octogenarian drummer’s third solo album and first in 45-years; bassist Jöelle Leandré’s solo Zurich Concert; pianist Aruán Ortiz’s Serranías Sketchbook for Piano Trio; Beyond Dragons by the trio of saxophonist Angelika Niescier, cellist Tomeka Reid, and drummer Savannah Harris, and Ohad Talmor’s Back to the Land, a quartet-plus-guests survey that takes its compositional focus an archival workshop date by Ornette Coleman and Lee Konitz.

Ezz-thetics

The appearance of the Swiss Ezz-thetics imprint four years ago raised both eyebrows and ire. Lacking access to master tapes, veteran free jazz and new music producer Werner Uehlinger sourced commercially released editions instead, employing ace audio engineer Peter Pfister succeeded by Michael Brandli to rejuvenate and refurbish the recordings, stateside copyright considerations be damned. Reaction was expeditious and polemical, but proof is in the hearing as most of the label’s dozens of releases sound better than their original incarnations. Catalog highlights this year include another round of Albert Ayler airshots including his pivotal meeting with the Cecil Tayor Trio in 1962 on More Lost Performances, Charles Mingus’ At Antibes 1960, and Ornette Coleman’s At the Golden Circle.

Fresh Sound

Jordi Pujol is akin to Uehlinger in that he refuses to let his vision and ambitions as a producer be abbreviated by external opinion. In Pujol’s case it’s yielded a bountiful inventory of antiquarian titles that rights holders have shown little to zero interest in restoring to begin with. Cases in point for this year include a definitive collection of obscurando saxophonist Boots Mussulli’s works; concert and studio collections by the Count Basie alumni tandem of Al Grey and Billy Mitchell; hens’ teeth rare leader sessions by Arthur Lyman vibraphonist Julius Wechter; and a two-fer of Julliard-trained Ellingtonian Cass Harrison piano trio albums. Exciting guilty pleasures all around.

Playing for the Man at the Door

As complex as he was controversial, Robert “Mack” McCormick deserves consideration in the esteemed company of other maverick cultural archivists like Alan Lomax, George Mitchell, and Harry Smith. With a preservationist purview mostly comprising Texas and bordering states, McCormick spent much of his adult life obsessively documenting and disentangling the cultural capital of the region through recordings, photography, interviews, essays, and research. Smithsonian Folkways became repository for the massive reservoir after his passing and this box is the first in what will hopefully be multiple dispatches from the same. Unreleased field recordings of Mance Lipscomb and Lightnin’ Hopkins represent the big names, but works by the likes of Hop Wilson, Cedell Davis, Robert Shaw, and a handful of others are just as persuasive. Bongo Joe Coleman’s impassioned presidential pitch closing the set will have listeners pining for a time when third party Executive Branch candidacy didn’t seem so fraught.

Joni Mitchell Archives - Vol. 3, The Asylum Years 1972 to 1975

Mitchell’s continuing project corollary to her old friend Neil Young’s analogously exhaustive retrospective enterprise, this third entry in the series finds her 30-something-self further broadening the lens of her art beyond the solo concert music that dominated the first two boxes. There are stirring solitary shows here, too, but it’s the band offerings that prove most revealing, particularly in the company of reedist Tom Scott’s fusion group L.A. Express. James Taylor, Graham Nash, and David Crosby lend contributory hands, and there’s a brief but intriguing collaboration with Young alongside a trove of demos and workshop versions of songs from her first three albums for Asylum.

Martin Davidson

In closing, another memorial. Martin Davidson wasn’t a musician, but European free improvisation as an art and archive would be a fraction of what it is without his copious and enduring work. As steadfast proprietor of the Emanem label he put his resources into musicians whose efforts frequently fell outside the probability of consistent commercial remuneration. Under his aegis, influential improvisers like Steve Lacy, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, and Paul Rutherford gained robust catalogs alongside other aspiring artists who never garnered even niche cachet. Davidson was a curmudgeon and an anachronism, trusting his ears implicitly, suffering the indignities of inquiries from strangers seeking audience with the hip hop icon who shared the phonetics of his imprint’s name, and advancing the pleasures of physical media well past their purported expiration date. He was also a talented writer, adding invaluable context to his releases through first-person testimony and critique. Martin will be missed.

And as is tradition in this 20th iteration of this year-end exercise, 25 more titles in stochastic order. Thanks to all for reading, and gratitude to Jennifer Kelly for providing the forum and formatting.

Rodrigo Amado’s The Bridge – Beyond the Margins (Trost)

James Brandon Lewis – For Mahalia with Love (Tao Forms)

Henry Threadgill – The Other One (Pi)

Guillermo Gregorio – Two Trios (ESP)

Rob Brown – Oceanic (RogueArt)

Rich Halley Quintet – Fire Within (Pine Eagle)

Milford Graves w/ Arthur Doyle & Hugh Glover – Children of the Forest (Black Editions)

Mike Osborne – Starting Fires: Live at the 100 Club 1970 (British Progressive Jazz)

Jim Hall – Uniquities Vol 1 + 2 (ArtistShare)

Madhuvanti Pal – The Holy Mother (Sublime Frequencies)

V/A – On the Honky Tonk Highway with Augie Meyers & the Texas Re-Cord Company (Bear Family)

Mal Waldron & Terumasa Hino – Reminiscent Suite (Victor/BBE)

Oum Kalsoum – L’Astre D’Orient 1926-1937 (Fremeaux & Associates)

Sonny Rollins w/ the Heikki Sarmanto Trio – Live at Finlandia Hall Helsinki 1972 (Svart)

V/A – Equatoriana: El Universo Paralelo de Polibio Mayorga (Analog Africa)

Evan Parker – NYC 1978 (Relative Pitch)

V/A – If There’s a Hell Below (Numero Group)

John Coltrane – Evenings at the Village Gate (Impulse)

Derek Bailey & Paul Motian – Duo in Concert (Frozen Reeds)

Peter Brötzmann/Fred Van Hove/Han Bennink/Albert Mangelsdorff – Outspan 1 & 2 (FMP/Cien Fuegos)

Hasaan Ibn Ali – Reaching for the Stars: Trios/Duos/Solos (Omnivore)

Mark Dresser – Tines of Change (Pyroclastic)

Steve Millhouse – The Unwinding (Steeplechase)

Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet – Hear the Light Singing (RogueArt)

V/A – Destination Desert: 33 Oriental Rock & Roll Treasures (Bear Family)

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apollosgiftofprophecy · 1 year

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Welcome to the Cave of Delphi!

I promote love, not hate on this blog.

Apollo love (platonic) in particular.

If 1,000 people love Apollo, I am one of those people. If 100 people love Apollo, I am one of those people. If 10 people love Apollo, I am one of those people. If only 1 person loves Apollo, I AM that person. If nobody loves Apollo, than I have left this world. If the world is against Apollo, I am against the world.

New followers, Please:

Change your profile picture;

Add a description to your blog; and/or

REBLOG!!!! THINGS!!!! :D

So I know you aren't a bot and I won't block you :3

Tumblr thrives on reblogs :3 as do us other bloggers :3

thank u <3

About Me

Age: 19

Nationality: American

Religion: Roman Catholic

Pronouns: She/Her

Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic (sometimes I use Panromantic)

Sexual Orientation: Asexual

Current Obsessions: Greek Mythology, Apollo, Trials of Apollo, Apollo, Ancient Greece, Apollo, Roman Empire, & Apollo

My Cohost

My Youtube Videos

My Posts

Favorite Posts

The Copollo Fic Masterlist

Fic Recs

🏹➳~My Fanfics~➳🏹

Fanfic Update Order

The Works of Apollo - RRverse Canon Compliant

Adventures in (Grand)Parenting: Featuring Koios - Our favorite grandpa and his many trials and errors at grandparenting

Alder's Mess of ToA AUs - RRverse Canon Divergent AUs within the series

The Crew of Dodona - ToA Pirate AU

Mythology Fics - The OG myths

Tag List:

#ramblings of an oracle - me spouting whatever i what

#the oracle speaks - asks i have answered <3

#my incorrect quotes - IQs from my own fanfics, not from the myths or ToA

#my art - self-explanatory lmao

#fic asks - asks about my fanfics <3

#ask game - responses to an ask game

Mythology

#apollo love

Duos

#sun n moon twins - Apollo n Artemis <3

#truth n lies - Apollo & Hermes

#logic n chaos - Apollo & Dionysus

#knowledge & wisdom - Apollo & Athena

#theives' hunt - Hermes & Artemis

#poetry and love - Apollo & Aphrodite

#light and fire - Apollo & Hephaestus

#plague and war - Apollo & Ares

#stepduo - Apollo & Hera

#harmony & order - Apollo & Zeus (mainly ToA)

Groups

#the disaster trio - Apollo, Artemis, & Hermes

#queer quartet - Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, & Dionysus

#troublesome triad - Apollo, Hermes, & Dionysus

#raggamuffin kids - all of the second-gen Olympian sibs

#civilization trio - Apollo, Hermes, & Athena

#the music gang - Apollo & the Muses

#chaotic crew - Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, & Persephone

#tasteful trio - Apollo, Dionysus, & Aphrodite

#delphic triad - Leto and her babies <3

#regal trio - Zeus and the twins

#raggamuffin parents - 1st gen Olympians AKA the children of Kronos

#delphic fam - the maternal side of the twins' family <3

The Stuff

#greek mythology analysis

#incorrect greek mythology quotes

#mythology aus

#greek myths

#greek myth fanart

#greek myth memes

#greek myth headcanons

#greek myth vines

#greek fam tree

#greek history

#apollocinthus - Apollo & Hyacinthus Supremacy Here

#apoly - Apollo's polycule because he is <3

Then just type in a god/goddess to find stuff with them in it. I can reassure you i will have plenty of stuff with Apollo, Artemis, & Hermes.

sometime tho i will put extra stuff behind it (ex: #pan the god)

for reference: I classify a "meme" as a funny post with pictures or something like that. A "quote" would be, well, quotes.

The Trials of Apollo (RiordanVerse)

*stuff that is exclusively from ToA*

#sunflower siblings - apollo & meg

#sibling shenanigans - apollo, artemis, thalia, & jason

#triumvirite holdings - the three nasty emperors

#prophecy pair - apollo & rachel

#incorrect trials of apollo quotes

#nero

#commodus

#caligula

#meg mccaffery

#python

#copollo - the guilty-pleasure, absolute TRAINWRECK of a ship between Apollo and Commodus. *slaps ship* i can fit so many ISSUES into this ship!

#toa fanart

#toa theory

#riordanverse headcanons

#toa memes

#toa polls

#toa fanfiction

#apollo fanfiction

#if i was a demigod

ToA Fanfics

#tsari: eclipse

Epics

#the iliad

#the odyssey

#the aeneid

#the trojan war

#trojan war memes

#incorrect trojan war quotes

then just type in a character's name (Ex: #diomedes) and it should pop up. However, some characters I've put extra stuff with like:

#prince hector

#helen of sparta

#jason the argonaut

so as i go/find those names with extras in them i'll place them above

Other

#not myths but it's related

#rome

#poetry

#music

#the haiku bot

#resources

#blood of zeus

#roman emperors

#sacred animals

#statues

#paintings

#notes for later

#not myths

#rhymes

i have a tag for other deities so just type in their name and then what religion they are (Example: #frey norse god; thoth egyptian god; bast egyptian goddess; ect.) <- all one tag

i won't do it often, but i also may reblog stuff from other mythologies like norse or egyptian (HA I SPELT IT RIGHT FIRST TIME WHOOP)

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eldritchpluto · 9 months

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Ghost Quartet Set Ideas

Ok, for context, I’ve been thinking about a set for Ghost Quartet for 3-4 years now . As much as I love the sparse staging of the original show, I’ve always been curious to see how the show could be translated to a different style of production! Also I’m a sucker for big complicated sets.

An important disclaimer. I’m not a set designer in ANY sense of the word, I’ve just been working in school/community theatre for the past 4 or 5 years as an ASM, an SM, or shift crew guy! I’m fully aware that most of this is very unrealistic or even impossible. I just wanna nerd out!

Alright, let’s do this.

Firstly, my idea staging would be a type of thrust stage. I think the original production (and many that came after it) saw how beneficial a more immersive staging would be. This is a very intimate story in many ways, so taking advantage of that is a great idea. However, I’m thinking of a slightly edited version because it works a bit better for my vision.

It would be similar to this above stage, but would have a much wider back part more close to the dimensions/sizing of a smaller proscenium stage!

Then, the set itself! The set would be largely situated in that back part of the stage, and would take the form of what looks almost like a dollhouse. (Again, probably not practical at all, just let me nerd out here)

The house would be a very typical “family home”, and I would want much of the style of furniture to match the vibe that other productions have captured. The photo below has what I’m looking for! (And this is from the London cast I believe? Idk if it was their real set or something just from this one video, but either way!)

The set being a house is very very central to a lot of the thematic ideas I want to go for with this staging! I’m not fully set on what rooms there will be, but the rooms/set pieces that are important to my “vision” are a staircase, a bedroom, an attic, a kitchen, and to hopefully have a piano of some sort in there. Otherwise, nothing is set in stone.

Lighting would be rigged in a way that would allow for the possibility for just any one room is fully lit at a time! But also the whole house could be lit as well. Also, with the returning idea of stars in this show, I’d love to have small LEDs on the back wall of each room, which could be controlled to light up as stars, even in rooms that are currently dark!

Ok, with the basic set idea out of the way, let’s focus on WHY I want it to be staged like this. Firstly, it’s obvious one of the main themes of this show is family, or just in general, deep connections. On top of that, all of these stories and people are connected in some way! So, having it set up like this would help emphasize how all of these stories, no matter how big or small, are a part of each other. One of the main ideas is having each storyline based in only one or two rooms, allowing them to still feel separate, and to create a visual distinction for each storyline.

Now for the REALLY fun part!! Talking about how I would stage this. I’m not going to go through every single song (although I do have thoughts for all of them), but I’ll focus on the big ones!

All of the songs that take place “out of” the story (I mean not fully, but you know what I mean) are outside or the house. These would be located on the thrust part of this stage. Firstly, this is to frame our quartet as our storytellers, and kind of our framing device into this all. They’re a more introspective group, so they are outside of it a bit. On top of that, it gives them more chance to directly connect to the audience. Songs with this would be “I Don’t Know”, “Any Kind of Dead Person”, “Four Friends”, “Prayer”, and “Wind and the Rain”!

The songs involving the astronomer will take place in the attic. He’s always looking up at the stars, and is using the high vantage point to see it all. Also this is a bit of a stretch, but having him here makes sense because he’s kind of “hanging over” the story. During songs like “The Telescope” and “The Astronomer” the LEDs would be on in the other rooms to simulate the stars.

I think the Usher storyline would take place in two side by side bedrooms? Maybe just to help separate the stuff with Lady Usher/Roxy compared to stuff with the younger cast of Family Meeting. I also just have some ideas for some specific blocking that could utilize two side by side rooms!

Here’s where it gets fun! I very badly want “Starchild” to take place in a stairwell. Here, Starchild is in the house, it should be connected to everything else. But, despite being so close, she can’t enter any rooms. She’s stuck. A part of the house, but never one that any sort of family spends time in. Also because I’d love to have family pictures in the stairwell, which starchild can look at, but it’s only reminding them of the family they’re separated from.

Subway!! I see the subway storyline as our “connecting piece” of the show. It’s directly referenced in the other storylines very often, and it’s very much a turning point for Rose’s character. So, instead of having Subway be concentrated in specific rooms, I think each “archtype” in that storyline gets their own room. And as they’re mentioned in the song, the light of the room they’re in flashes. I have a very very specific mental image I’m having a hard time describing, but it’s there!

I want solider and rose to take place in the kitchen, and the kitchen has kind of a bar stool situation? Just fits the vibe. Also because I’d love to have the honey just come from a kitchen cabinet, that’s oddly funny to me.

My ideas are the least developed for the tango dancer storyline, but I’d love for the room it takes place in (likely a living room) to have a piano!

My ideas are similarly murky with the camera shop, I’ll figure it out :(

Ok!! Time for my favorite staging which is, of course, “Hero”. This is the point where Rose is reflecting on everything and sees the entirety of her lives. I think this song would start on the outside of the dollhouse, but as it goes on, she begins walking through the house. Before, during specific storylines, characters wouldn’t leave their designated rooms. But now, Rose walks through it all, finally seeing the whole picture. She can also interact with props from other storylines!! I would want this moment to be really big, and for it to shatter a lot of the norms set by the staging thus far.

Ok, I’ll stop my ramble there for now!! I understand this is super unrealistic, but I wanted to say my ideas anyway! I love this show more than anything, and I’d do anything to work on a production someday. I would just love for the set to also lend itself to the major thematic ideas, because I think it could be used in a way to strengthen the show.

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for listening to my ramblings!! Feel free to send me any ideas if you have them, or if you have any questions/clarifications! I’d love to talk about this :D

#ghost quartet #set design #please give this a read if this is your thing!! I’ve been thinking about this for a long time #and I’d love to talk about it even more >:3 #also this show is increodble and I’d love to find further ways to expand it <3 #ough the head is FULL of ideas

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sixty-silver-wishes · 9 months

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2 am but . god I love shostakovich so much thank you shostakovich for existing and being brilliant and nervous and stubborn and determined and terrified and compassionate and impulsive and hilarious and angry and human and everything you were

thank you for trio 2. even though it wasn't written for me. thank you for the cello sonata and violin concerto 1 and lady macbeth and all the symphonies and quartets and the preludes and fugues and rayok and the song cycles

thank you for introducing me to sollertinsky and weinberg and gogol and ustvolskaya and schnittke and gubaidulina and chekhov and dostoevsky. and evtushenko, whose family gave me a book of poetry because of you

thank you for surviving. even when it hurt. even when you lost friends and the whole world had its eyes on a fragile man with two children and a piano and a trembling cigarette between your teeth, and a life to live and hands that shook and a packed suitcase and the fact that elmira nazirova said you hardly ever conducted your own music because you were terrified of all those eyes watching you from behind. thank you for knowing you had to create, to laugh and cry and live. and for letting me laugh and cry and live with you 48 years after you died

thank you for introducing me to your language, because I studied a whole language just to get to know you better, and there aren't many other people I would do that for

thank you for introducing me to people who are now among my closest friends. you never knew me, or them, but our lives are different now because of you

thank you for all the times I read the news and was fucking terrified and I put on your music and knew that as horrible as things were in the last century, there were good people, and there were good people throughout history, and there are good people now, and there will always be good people, and then I felt a little less afraid

thank you for all the books and music and photographs and footage and little pieces of you I've gathered over the years, in hopes that each bit of evidence could let me see you a little more

thank you for all the writing I've done about you, and how much you've inspired me, both as an artist and as a person, and how you'll never know it but dammit, us researchers aren't supposed to talk about historical figures like this. you're dead, and we must be credible and objective and distanced.

but today, I don't think it hurts to say that you changed my life.

Drink a toast of Kakhetian no. 8 with Ivan Ivanovich for me, if they have Georgian wine wherever you are.

I'm glad you existed.

#rambles #shostakovich #dmitri shostakovich #history #music history #composer #classical composer #dammit I'm getting emotional #classical music

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agirlwholovesrockstars · 4 months

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as long as you love me so, let it snow

☆ EDDIE MUNSON'S MASTERLIST ☆

❣ AGATHA'S MAIN PAGE ❣

Summary : you never engage easily into any social gatherings, you're very quiet until Eddie came

Word Count : I apologize for not eyeballing the count 😭

Warnings : 18+ Rockstar!Eddie Munson x FEM!reader, language, reader and Eddie are both (20), jealous!reader, unrequited feelings, idiots in love, no use of y/n, reader is insecure at some points, modern setting, Eddie is very friendly and sweet and that alone can be shocker to reader! not in a bad way she's just not used to it, reader is not easy to form a bond at first since she's too serious and Eddie is very patient with her! 😭💖 (omg- I seriously need him- no joke)

What to Expect : strangers to lovers, friends to lovers, fluff, a bit of angst, come on, you guys it's Christmas I'm treating you very dearly with loads of content 😚

Note To Reader : I just came up with this idea that reader is usually reserved until Eddie like a switch that finally someone light up her world! 🥹🫶🏻

Author Note : I really hope that y'all gonna love the Christmas specials that I'm putting up before 2023 ends (I'm so active- like?!? WHO AM I?!?)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! 🎄☃️❄️💓✨

You don't usually get so excited when it's the holidays

But, you do enjoy, seeing everyone and having your stomach full from all of the feast

You're just not in the mood to interact since your social battery? can drain easily, you can't keep up that long, sometimes

Sure, you do have friends around that is genuinely do care for you and always be there for you

You're really just not an energetic person

That is until..... He came

You became friends with Nancy at the University and still- you're being in denial that you found yourself a friend

Nancy invited you over to Hawkins to spend your Christmas with them- you're very hesitant at first but you give it a try

The fact you thought you'll messed it all up because you're so nervous to meet her friends and family for the first time

It's your second time here and you just really don't understand why you feel looking forward about this, again

It's a new feeling and it's so foreign

You're leaning standing on the side of the room while watching the snowflakes fall outside

The kids are bickering each other over something and a year later you're still amused observing them

"What do you suggest that we should do?" Dustin sighs in exasperation as he holds his list of Christmas activities on his hand

He taps his pen below his chin as he couldn't taken a hold of his impatience towards his friend

He groans in frustration "Make up your mind!-"

"We should do a movie marathon- we haven't done that yet!" Max spoke up before she could hear Dustin's banter

"That's- impossible- our schedule is clearly tight! No one can attend since all of us are not available!"

"All of us?!? You haven't asked anyone yet!"

"You don't believe me?!? I'm not wrong about this, Max" Dustin throw his hands up in surrender

Max nods as she raises her eyebrows and crossing both of her arms at the same time as she jerks her head towards everyone else in the room gesturing to ask about the plan

Dustin shakes his head at her as he goes out to ask anyone

To his surprise, she's right

Max smirks at him when you're the only one left

"My god- your plan still sucks, Max" he mumbles to himself, he winces when realized he said it in his outside voice

"Could you think for a better activity?" Max replies in a sassiest way as she watches him walking towards you

"Your films choices are awful" Dustin said without looking back at her but she can see the disgust look from his face

"Hey, Top Gun is not awful!" Max shouted as she rolls his eyes at him

"Hi"

You look back at the kid in front of you, nervously clasps his hands together

"What up?" You manage to form a small smile as you bring your body forward to face him properly

He raises his eyebrows, of course- he knows that you're not into small talk but to all of young kids in the group?

You're still cool to them

Why? You seriously have no idea why someone like you and even use you as a role model

Maybe, they love you because you're very authentic and real

Yes, you being the silent one but also you're the most protective and strongest person of them all

They admire everything about you and you never ever understood it why

All you can say is that you're just so very grateful to have them in your life

So grateful

"Uh, are you game for a movie marathon with us? everyone is invited"

You nod and think about it for a moment until you can finally muster to say something back

"When?"

"This coming Saturday"

You nod again and there's your same old dialog

"Is he coming tho?"

"Who?"

"Eddie"

"Y-Yeah- I haven't asked him about it yet since he's not here and I'm sure, he'll be there"

"I'll go, why not- I'm not doing anything on that day, so...." you shrug smile at him

"Great!" The boy shows his pearls and the grin grows even more wide when he looked at over your shoulder

And the man in question is coming in to put his arms around you before you can even follow the kid's gaze- you melt within his touch

"What's happening?" He asks as he turns his head at you and Dustin

"Movie Marathon, this Saturday" you fill him in

"Ooh" he beams in interest "I am so in!"

Dustin hops lightly on the floor as he gives both of you a thumbs up as he goes back to Max who smiles so smugly at him now

"What are you doing by the window?"

You scratch your head "Watching the snow? I'm just bored- I guess" you slumped your shoulders

"Aww- just say it that you missed me" he pulls you by his side and you roll your eyes playfully

You know what he's doing, he wants you to laugh and he never fails by attempting to do so

But in fact- you really do miss him

Just too afraid to admit your feelings too vulnerable

Eddie continues to tease as you finally tug up a smile at him

"Ah yes finally there's my girl!"

You giggle as you poke his side by using your elbow as he laughs as well

"Look what I found at the store"

He surprises you by a gift, it's a small cute white teddy bear with red bow on the neck and your eyes flashes in astonishment

"Eddie- you did not-" you hold the teddy bear as he can see the joy glint on your eyes

Your gaze softens at him "Thank you"

"Don't mention it, sweets" he says as leans down to kiss on top of your head

"I am happy to see you happy" he adds and that makes your heart swell even more

You're absolutely not falling for him, are you?

"I'll be back for dinner, Nance" you announced as you check yourself in the mirror

"Going out with Eddie, again?"

"Yeah, why?" You asked her in the reflection

A mischief on her eyes, you can't miss it

She leans on her side on the wall as she watches you adding a lip and cheek tint

"Nothing, it's just that you look cute together"

You slowly turn to look at her with a look that says "Seriously?"

"I'm serious! I mean- ever since I bought you here- you two- just I don't even know how it happened- you both clicked!" She exclaims as she scoffed at you while shaking your head as you dismissive a hand at her

"And ever since then- it's obvious to everyone that if someone else sees you both- you both looked like in a relationship" she added as she waits for your reaction

"I'm sure that his only true intentions are being with friends with me, nothing more than that" you say as you put your makeup back in your shoulder bag

"Keep telling that to yourself and just watch it become real right before your very eyes" she argues with you as she takes a deep breath before continuing

"For example- you said in the first place that I ain't gonna be your bestfriend and look what happened"

She has a damn point

Seeing her smiling to herself at the back of your head knowing fucking damn well that she is indeed right to her guts

You roll your eyes at her as you open the door

"Bye, Nance" you bid goodbye with a snarky tone

She only chuckles at your ignorance as she waves at you

Eddie is always have been so caring for you

He did all of this for you

When he can do something else or choose someone else to hang out with

Instead, he always chose to be with you

Why is that?

In your friendship, Eddie is the loudest and talkative and he really doesn't mind if you don't talk a lot like him and he just admires you for being a good listener

You don't even know of how a good friend you are like you just need to know that you are

You made him realized a lot of things that he did last year when he could cut off some people

When he should've done it ages ago

You're the one that pushed him to do it and to not be scared to do it for his own well-being

You're there when he's having a hard time to move on- you even comforted him that is okay to feel this way and it's completely normal

You're an amazing person in his eyes

You made him feel that he's worthy and lovable and his mission is to make you feel that way too

You listen to him with a smile on your face, you can't fight it off everytime you spend time with him

His always animated when it comes to storytelling and it's really entertaining to watch him gush over the things that you could relate to

You're taking a big step because you're obviously not being honest with your feelings so....

"Eddie- wait a second" you interrupt him at his mid-sentence

He stops as he clears his throat, he immediately rests his hand on top of yours as you look down smiling at it

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to ask"

"Sure, go ahead"

You look through his eyes and by that you knew, you knew you could say anything to him without judgement behind it

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Being so nice to me, I mean- sometimes I get confused like I don't know if it's just your personality for being this sweet or you do this with anyone"

"I like you" he says plainly with a cheeky smile that shows his dimples

You flustered at his reply "W-What?"

"I just like you- don't get me wrong- I love all of my buddies out there but whenever I'm with you- I feel complete"

"But I'm not that outgoing person"

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is that don't you get tired of me? Or like get bored hanging out with me?"

"Why would I think something like that? Do you think I thought about something like that?"

You blink and your duck your head down shyly as you shook your head

You curse your negative thoughts inside your head literally ruining the beautiful moment that you're having right now

You tried your best not to think of them too long, wishing for all of it to just go away

"Listen" he leans forward to hold both of your hands

You raise your head slowly, too nervous to see the anger in his eyes but you saw nothing

Just pure understanding and compassion

Your heart skips a beat at the sight of it

"I like you for being who you are and I even more love it when we both have the same qualities like you don't give a fuck about anyone else" he exaggerates his words that you always liked and that earns a small chuckle from you and he smiles at it

"You helped me and I'll be doing the same thing with you like you have no idea- how much you mean to me and I just wanna say thank you for everything" he says with so much love on his words like you can't trace anything that is half-hearted

Every part and every word he said comes straight from his heart

He just cannot do that to you and say something like that

The feeling is really feeling, you're knocking off every tendency not to kiss him on the spot

"But I feel so bad for you like I think I'm extra hella mean to you at the first meeting"

Yeah, you're right, he knows that- hell- he even remembers everything on your first encounter together

You always have your guard up and despite your feisty and always looked so intimidating

That didn't made Eddie stop for being friends with you, like he's even the one who approached you, he is willing to do anything and so eager to be in your life

You don't stopped him

You didn't even try to push him away

You don't threaten him to go away

It's because you liked his company

You liked how he is so patient with you

You thought giving him the lousy replies and statements will make him leave but he didn't

He stayed

He is so glad that he did because he gotten the first belly genuine laughs, the first excitement from your eyes, the first cute and adorable reactions at you

As if he can read your mind "Does that stop me from being your friend?"

"No"

"Exactly"

You chuckled slightly "I just don't understand why out of all the people you chose to be friends with me"

"You don't believe that you can have a cool metalhead bestfriend like me?" He says cockily with a lazy smile on his face that made you throw fries at him

He blocked it as he blows raspberry at you "Aha! You missed!"

You chuckled as you pinch his cheeks "Gotta go at the restroom but I'm not done with you yet" you point at him

As he pretends to be petrified at you "Ooh- look at me! I'm getting killed!"

You laugh as you shake your head at him

You check yourself once more at the mirror

You swore to yourself that you're gonna tell him this time around

You gotta admit it

You inhale and exhale as you walk out of the restroom

The smile on your face falls as it lands on the girl that he's talking to

He looks.... glad?

Oh- so this is what it feels to be jealous

You feel nauseous on the scene that happening right now

The girl who is talking to him is so

You saw Eddie dismissing his hand at her as if telling her to keep the conversation short but the girl just won't let it drop as she continues to babble

You know Eddie, he is just too polite to just say "fucking shut up and leave me alone"

You feel so annoyed and also angry at the same time

You reached over at the hem of your purple dress as you crunch it down not caring if it makes a crinkle out of the fabric

You missed the fact that Eddie is now brand new upcoming artist and this is the only beginning of his career

You huffed when she finally leaves

Eddie lights up that you came back on your seat across from him but only to find the hot raging fire that is on your eyes

He doesn't even know where it is coming from

He has never seen you this angry

If you try to look at him, he swear that your looks could kill any person in the room right now

You look intimidating in your usual resting face but with a mad emotion forming up?

This is the only time that he really felt intimidated

"Is everything okay?" Trying to look at your fiery eyes, he is confused, of course- he keeps rethinking everything that made you mad

"Yeah, I'm good" you say unenthusiastically as you finish your milkshake

By the tone of your voice, suddenly the room felt too hard to breathe because you still haven't looked at him just yet because he knows you're avoiding it

He swallows as he chews quietly on his burger

The ride home was like a screeching metal sound that is begging to be stopped

It's so ridiculously quiet

You're giving him the silent treatment?

He is appalled, appalled in a way that this is how you really get upset

He's gonna remember this, so he it won't happen again

Hopefully, never again

And that was it- that was the night

You didn't say goodbye or didn't say anything after that

When Nancy saw you with the look- she knows that you needed to be alone

"What's with her?"

"Huh?"

Lucas nudges his chin towards you as he waits for Mike reply

Your usual resting face looks even more colder than before

You sitting alone in a couch, arms crossed, as you pretend to watch on whatever the TV is playing

Mike glances at you and he felt a dagger stabs through his heart when he saw your face

"Maybe, it has something to do with-"

"Eddie"

Lucas and Mike looked back at each other with raised eyebrows as they run out and look for their dungeon master

The boys knew, of course- how much he feels for you, so, they're gonna help cause' that's what real friends do

"You have to fix it" Lucas blurted it out

"What?"

Eddie is talking to Jeff and Gareth, when the two young boys interrupt their conversation

"You have to make amends with her!" Mike points at you

Eddie follows the kid's direction as he blinks rapidly and gulped

"Nah- Uh- I can't"

"Why?"

"Because- fuck- you know how she's like when she's like that?!?"

"But you have to-"

"Don't worry about it, fellas- he's already concocting a solution" Gareth speaks as he throws a wink

"He's actually talking about her with us" Jeff snickers as he watches Eddie stresses

Eddie only grumbles in response when his bandmates exposed the conversation earlier

"The look on your face is not appealing for this time of the year"

The familiar voice behind you spoke as you throw your head back at the soft surface

"Hey" you say with literally 0% energy

Robin sits beside you as she takes a good look at you

"My, My, My, I can see it- jealousy, clear as day" she gestures at your face as you scoff

She only smirks "What's going on inside your mind, huh?"

"I just saw him talking to another girl yesterday" you sneered as you clenched your jaw

She clicks her tongue as she brings herself closer to you

You furrow your brows as you watch her lean forward

The scariest thing with Robin is that she can read your fucking mind

"If you're thinking about Eddie hanging out with other girls" she clears her throat and straighten herself up

As if she prepares for an ultimate speech

"Well, for your information, sweet pea- is that he never does that to anyone, he only does that to you!" She punctuates every word she said with a finger pointing at you

Still, you won't let her see your surprised expression, you try to mask it

You tilt your head at her as you laugh in disbelief

"Please be fucking for real, Robin?"

She chuckles at your stubbornness "Girl- If you're weren't present right now, he won't attend and he won't be here if it wasn't for you"

You went silent on that because Robin is making sense

A lot of sense

"Eddie is never the one to show up in these events but when you came around- he's always here"

Robin added a lot more sizzle on the stove that made the fire inside of you grows larger

You remember that

It was so late that night but Eddie came last minute because Nancy mentioned about you staying and spending the holidays with them

You're aware that she always talks about you

That's why he's so excited to meet you in the first place

Robin smiles like a freaking Cheshire cat when she successfully made your brain go right where it belongs

Your eyes might hurt for eyerolling too much as you get up and headed towards to-

Obviously, Eddie

Robin giggles as she says "Glad to be a part of your service!"

You saw Eddie yelling over to his friends and bandmates as they stopped talking when they saw you

He knits his brows as they watch all of them go running away one by one

When he turns around, he sighs nervously

"I just wanna apolog-"

"I'm sorry"

Both of you talked over to each other as you both stare and he wants to laugh at how ridiculous this is

"I appreciate everything, you've done for me- Eddie- and I apologize for my behavior last night"

"No- it's okay-" he stopped at what he's supposed to do when

His idiotic mind finally catches up at the thing that annoyed you last night

"Oh- is that girl!"

You frown at him "Look- you don't have to bring it up-'" you sigh in defeat

"You know what- this is bullshit- I'm outta here" you walk away but he tails at you

"You can't"

"Why?!?"

"it's blizzard out there!"

You glance the window outside, it's a damn snowstorm- alright

"I'm gonna find my way out of here"

"What?! why do you want to do that?!"

"To stay the hell away at you"

He laughs darkly as he jogs over your path to block you- you crossed both of your arms

"That girl yesterday was one of the bullies that made my life, the hardest, I didn't gave her the satisfaction that just because I'm getting better at my career, I won't forget the things she do to me before"

The crease in your forehead flattens as you look at him directly

"So, you don't have to be jealous over something that isn't necessary" he finishes with that

Oh, he is speaking the truth and that makes even feel more worst than ever

Not a single fucking thing that says "dishonest" on his eyes

HE IS THE IDEAL MAN

"Guess what? Eddie- that won't convince me!" You sarcastically replied with a fake smile as you move over aside to walk out of him

He knows this wouldn't be easy, he smiles down and he's amused at this

He shook his head as he spoke again

"You missed my hint"

You halt your tracks as you look back at him

"Missed what?!?" annoyance setting in your tone

He walks towards at you with a smirk laying on his face

"I gave you a hint yesterday and you missed it"

You squint your eyes at him as you try to remember the things that he said to you

The simmering anger inside of you that almost bubbled into the boiling point has died down when it finally hit you

"I like you" his voice echoes to your mind

When you look back at him, he smiles wildly as he moves closer to you

He puts your wispy bangs on the side as he can see it hurting your eyes

Your gaze softens as he whispers "You're so pretty"

And out of the blue, there goes his antics, he goes down on his knees

"I would seriously die for you!" He shouts out loud earning an attention to some of your friends

You laugh as you try to help him get up but he won't budge

"I will worship you every single day until I die!"

Steve appears in the corner as he announces

"The Grinch is about to start y'all gonna miss it!"

You and Eddie giggle as he finally back up to his feet

Both of you get what you want to chomp down while watching the film

He gave you, your favorite, the buttered popcorn

You blushed as you about to take it he pulled you as he kisses your cheek that alone made you let out a small gasp and he smirks

Causing you to flip him off as he laughs

While heading at the living room both of you started teasing at each other

"if you left you won't be getting that popcorn"

"Yeah, yeah, you won- stop gloating already"

"You love me, don't you?"

"Shut up"

"You love meeee"

"I do"

He's like a goddamn kid, hopping like a toddler as he pulls you to his side, you look at him with a glowing smile

Unbeknownst to the both of you, Jeff, Gareth, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Robin and even Steve both shared high-fives together when both of you finally get together at last

❄️❄️💗💗

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