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#and 'well the problem here is that you're retrieving a list of numbers and telling Hibernate to interpret them as a random object'
rabbiteclair · 6 months
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do other fields have this thing where 80% of people who are, in theory, mid-career experienced professionals are barely capable of performing fairly basic tasks without personalized guidance, or is software development just suffering under the curse of an entire generation being told to go into the field if they want to earn enough money to pay rent
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favorite band/artist?
Sheesh. Complicated one.
You see, my music tastes are, to put it mildly, rather varied. I think it showed in my music recommendation post and the post that further explored one of those artists, but to further illustrate, my library includes:
Earth, Wind & Fire
New Kids On The Block's Jordan Knight's first solo single
Dubstep band Hadouken!’s Lana Del Rey cover
A mashup of Wham! and a fishing anime
A Japanese bilingual melodic punk rock band's two songs about bowling
80s remixes of Justin Bieber songs
A Japanese "punk ska and melodic hardcore band"'s cover of Scatman’s World
A 140+ song Beatles remix collection, featuring such gems as "Octopus's 3D Garden", "I Saw Her Yankin' There" and "Help!" (suspicious)
A eurobeat female duo of rotating Italian and British members’ Abracadabra-sampling track about falling in love with a banana
A remix of Azumanga Daioh’s Sata Andagi scene I retrieved from a porn site reupload
Moldovan folk punk band and folk musician duo’s collab about celebrating the reopening of a railroad
The soundtrack of Pictionary for the NES
A mashup of AVICII, Rick Astley and Chumbawumba
An 80s pop Linkin Park remix
Black Sabbath covers by The Cardigans (of Lovefool fame)
JT's solo debut
A Flock Of Seagulls (of I Ran (So Far Away) fame)
One (1) DJ Khaled song
A 2011 My Little Pony-themed song by then commentary youtuber
(And I beg each and every one of the people who read this list and thought "Okay that one cannot possibly be good" to hop in my askbox and allow me to prove them wrong.)
But let's go through bands and artists I've not posted about before.
Two Door Cinema Club Just out of statistics. I can prove I played I Can Talk over a hundred times and I can tell you any number under two hundred is underselling it. There is genuinely some problem with my brain that that intro slots into perfectly.
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Oh also all the rest of their first album this comes from is this great too, and if you ask me what a perfect album sounds like I will tell you it's not that far off their second album.
OK Go Now, I like the music. Actually, I'd left my two guitars alone for years until an easy OK Go song made me think "Oh, maybe I can play this" and realize that rather than -as I had prior- just play the music I'd been taught I could actually teach myself to play the music I was listening to, which snowballed into playing more OK Go songs and then it expanded and now I have a ukulele, a bass, a third guitar I need to merge with that bass (it's complicated), a fourth "guitar" (it's complicated) on the way, a Casio calculator/synth (it's complicated), a melodica, a launchpad and a kazoo. Whoops. But really, all you need to be sold on OK Go is see two of their videos. One to find out what they're like (and you're already good on that front because you have visited the internet ever and have thus seen Here It Goes Again aka "The Treadmill Video" aka what when posted to YouTube upon its CEO begging them became the biggest video of all time) and another to find out that no the first one was not a one-off fluke. I am serious, go click that link, it takes you to a playlist of their videos and each one is crazier than the last. I mean they played a song with a car. A song. That has a guitar solo. With a car. Have you seen the name of this channel.
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Ah, right, the name of this channel. I guess I have to say a thing about that car now. Uhhh this video was sponsored by Chevrolet to promote the Aveo which, despite being badged as a Chevrolet, like many of the more Europe-oriented Chevrolets was made by the automotive branch of Daewoo, brand General Motors picked up after the Daewoo conglomerate (then the second largest in South-Korea which may as well be called Samsungland) went bankrupt in '99 over almost $90B modern dollars in debt. Its founder Kim Woo-chong (because Lord knows the "woo" in Daewoo did not stand for "woo what a great car") earned a ten year sentence, but I feel they focused too much on the wrong guy. The REAL criminal is whoever penned Daewoo cars.
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A good person doesn't do this on purpose.
Owl City I have too few of his songs, but I absolutely love how comically upbeat he is. He is so precious. If c: walked this Earth. I mean "Golf and alcohol don't mix and that's why I don't drink and drive / Because, good grief, I'd knock out my teeth and have to kiss my smile goodbye". Protect this man at all costs. Also one time I saw the Fireflies video after what must have been a good decade and you know when you feel near crying? I adored that song when I was a kid and I was right.
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Liquido European one-hit wonders - and not even "people know them just for one song", not even "people don't know them and just know the song"; I found you can tell people the name of their hit and they won't know what you're talking about. But hum the riff and infallibly, invariably any single person in my country (and, in my limited experience, the rest of Europe) will go "Ooooooh, that one". And to be fair, those guys did stumble on one of the most memorable riffs in modern history.
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Not saying this is a hidden gem of a band, I am sure some bigger music nerd would stamp a big fat "SEEN BEFORE" on all their stuff, beyond some enjoyable splashes of "I wonder how much of this is them leaning into it" cheese (yes, even more than that video) - but I've still got their whole discography including all the B-sides, because to me, so what? It's good music and I'll treat it like it. What's the point of praising "groundbreaking", "genre defining" works and then glossing over those inhabiting the ground they broke and making the genres they defined? When I eat bread I don't complain that it doesn't innovate or set itself apart from the rest of the genre, so as long as my music doesn't bore me why should those be problems there? I feel like people have a problem in general separating their enjoyment of a work from its artistic merit. I'm digressing.
The Beatles If you ask me "What's your favorite number of pant legs?" I'm not going to answer five because two would be cliché.
And now we get to the final answer, the real answer, in such a league of its own it deserves to be separated from the rest via a Read More.
I lied, this is under a Read More because it's an entire fucking dissertation. Your fault for asking.
Caparezza I've spent well over a decade of my life mulling over his lyrics to the point me and my ex-flatmate played this game where she told me a random word and I'd try to find it in his lyrics (e.g. the first word of your ask, "favorite", was used in the second verse of the sixteenth track of his sixth album, yes I am neurodivergent why do you ask), and still it happens that as I am going through my everyday life I happen to accrue some information and slam my forehead going "Oh my God THAT'S what he meant there". His songs are more layered, more deep, more thoughtful, more cutting, more witty, more clever than most prose you see around and still he manages to play with his words and rhymes with incredible dexterity.
Take his last record, Exuvia - actually, take the previous record Exuvia picks up from, Prisoner 709:
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Its name not only introduces the theme of imprisonment, but also of dilemmas and juxtapositions, since the prisoner's number, 709, stands for the dilemma about the number of the record: it's the 7th in his discography as Caparezza, but the 9th if one also counts the two shit records he made under his previous name Mikimix (we don't talk about those). Its tracklist, indeed, while being as typical for him incredibly varied in topics (from religions to his affinity with Ludwig II of Bavaria to "I'm not [x], BUT-" types) is arranged as chapters of a journey through an imprisonment (The Crime, The Punishment, The Weight, The Psychologist, The Letter, The Visit, The Yard Time, The Torture, The Revolt, The Guard, The Infirmary, The Window, The Evasion, The Hiding) and associated to dilemmas - for instance, as the record is about his feeling imprisoned in his body and in his role, the first song -and first chapter, The Crime- is indeed Prosopagnosia (i.e. face blindness), a track about him no longer recognizing himself in the artistic reputation he built himself, with the dilemma being between "Michele", his name, and "Caparezza", his rap name. Oh, and if you also want a taste of the impressive wordplay, well, count the letters of those two names. Yep. Every single one of the 16 tracks is a dilemma is between a 7 letter word and a 9 letter word. Because of course it is.
So now, let's get to the last record, Exuvia.
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Nah, the pop-up edition's cover fucks way harder.
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That's more like it.
Exuvia is the exoskeletal remains left behind by ecdysozoans after ecdysis, i.e. when creatures like insects and crustaceans develop a new exoskeleton and crawl out of their old one, as this record starts from his escaping from the anguish compounded through all his previous records and through a deep analysis of his past, his self, his surroundings, his fate, condensing it all and moving on to a new self, a new birth, a new shell. (Understand how I feel when people say the greatest rapper of all time is one whose greatest record is called "Damn" because the songs made him go "Damn" and whose biggest song is "Biggie Smalls' Juicy but this time about me".)
Well, in the second track of it, about running away from the dire situation of hatred, decay and persecution described in the first track, he says, and I paraphrase,
I give it all up, I'm dying, I retreat - Caporetto plus Waterloo Dripping and smelling like my head was in a station's toilet- oh.
introducing the desperation and hopelessness of military defeats and immediately following it up with an image whose comedic nature makes a contrast so stark as to surprise even him while still, being a reference to the military's hazing and bullying, latching back to the line before. While the prose I represent it with is deliberately poor, the concept behind the words is brilliant enough that it would be a good line if it didn't rhyme at all. And yet the original lines rhyme for twenty syllables. TWENTY.
Thing is, you can be as clever as you want, but the underlying music, you know, it can't be clever, it can just be good or bad. One would think. And yet the music is not just good but full of clever, witty samples and ideas that don't just reinforce the track's mood but tie the instrumental inextricably into the lyrics' themes, like Larsen (the track about his tinnitus, which he calls by audio feedback's technical name of Larsen effect) using high-pitched synths and emphasizing cymbals, Prisoner 709's title track being 79bpm (I wager 709bpm was a bit non-doable), House Credibility's instrumental featuring intercom buzz and cowbells reminiscent of cookware, or, well, everything in Exuvia's second single. See, that song is about the choice he faces between the story of Beethoven, who despite all his challenges kept devoting himself to music until the day he died, or that of Mark Hollis, lead of Talk Talk, who despite all the fame peaced out to focus on his private life - and the entire instrumental is devoted to that concept: the verses' reference Für Elise, the chorus Such A Shame, and the bridge I Believe In You; and when you tun into the background choirs you find they are rhythmically repeating "I don't know".
You start to get a clue why there's three years between his records.
So if his songs are so fucking good, why is he not famous? Well, he is! Except for his first album which no one really noticed (fairly so in my opinion - while I like a few songs I feel he really got going in his second one), the following records did really well for someone with such dense content: his third record has been certified gold! And all the others platinum. Some twice. Never since the first one did a record of his peak under 5 in the charts, and he's got 8 gold singles, 3 platinums and a double platinum. And don't get me started on the shows.
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(That's me in the background!) Hell, he's even been on the cover of Billboard! So why've you never heard of him? Well, see the word next to Billboard.
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Yep. The man, Michele Salvemini, is an Italian born and raised and, like any proper Italian, doesn't speak a whole lot of English, so pretty much all the English you'll hear in his music are the handful of English features, like Michael Franti, DMC (!) and Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley, with which he made a song about Italy's emigration crisis.
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Emigration that is also internal, from the underdeveloped, falling aparty and criminality-run south of Italy to where all the industries are, the richer and we-pretend-it's-not-criminality-run north. And since he's from Apulia, Italy's heel (his rap name in fact means "curly head" in Apulian dialect), he's made a song about its woes too, featuring the music of the tarantella, Apulia's traditional dance. (I don't know why y'all add an A in front. It's fucking "Puglia", y'all.) Here's an imperfect translation with a couple of helpful explainers to the asterisked terms over in the video's description.
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It depresses me every time I think about it that all the English speakers I know will never be able to fully appreciate his lyrical brilliance. But oh well. At least y'all can appreciate the music... so fuck it, have that song whose music I yapped about so much. You'll hear the choirs in the background say "non so" (I don't know)... and a bunch more Italian words (translated here for those on desktop who want to follow along).
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Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question - if you liked this post, you might like those!
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slafkovskys · 3 years
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me, you, and the stars / j. norris
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☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
my masterlist!
title from summer days by martin garrix
warnings(s): swearing, nsfw content (18+), jealousy, josh is just an asshole for the first half idk, alcohol, mentions of underage drinking
word count: 4.9k
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“look y/n, we're leaving whether you’re with us or not!” you hear josh’s familiar voice shout from the other side of the closed door. you hear a deep sigh before a thump, which you’re fairly certain is him propping himself against the wall.
“no you won’t!” you respond. you brush the tinted wand of your lip gloss over your lips before twisting the cap back on and dropping it back into your makeup bag. you take your phone off of the charger before walking back into your bedroom and across the floor to the door. you pull it open to find josh (unsurprisingly) still on the other side. “well well well, what do you know? you’re still here.”
“you don’t have to act like such a brat,” he grumbles. he pushes away from the wall and takes in your choice of outfit, raising an eyebrow, “that’s what you’re wearing?”
“i’m not doing this with you tonight, josh. last time i checked, i’m an adult and i didn’t ask for your opinion. if you don’t like my outfit, you are more than welcome to stay behind and cry about it and i’ll make sure to have a couple drinks for you,” you roll your eyes as you smooth down your dress, a loose little number that fell from thin spaghetti straps and fell just at the middle of your thighs.
“i just don’t want to have to watch over you all night. guys are- they’re gross y/n,” he’s a couple of steps behind you on the stairs as he starts his little spiel. “i don’t want you to be exposed to that.”
“then why the hell did you invite me to come if you’re just going to be overbearing the whole time? besides, like i said before, i’m twenty years old and i haven't needed a babysitter since the third grade. if i can survive your friends, i should be able to survive a bonfire with a couple of strangers.”
you don’t tune in for his response as you walk out of the front door of the rented cabin and towards the truck. the passenger seat, which had always been designated as yours ever since he’d gotten his license, was empty and the rest of the group that was riding with you was piled into the back. you pull open the back door and will looks at you confused. you jut out your bottom lip and look at him with pleading eyes, “will you take shotgun?”
“what’s the problem now?” he slides out of the backseat anyway and takes the passenger seat while you take his seat.
“i don’t wanna talk about it,” you buckle your seatbelt and cross your arms over your chest, turning your head to look out of the window when josh opens the driver’s side door.
“seriously?” he scoffs when he finds one of his best friends where you were supposed to be. it wasn’t rhetorical, but you act like it was as you turn your body away from his watchful eyes. “whatever.”
he pulls away from the house with the rest of your group following behind in a separate car. your destination was another cabin not far from your own for a bonfire put on by someone who you didn’t even know. hunter had found out about the party on his trip to the grocery store with coale earlier in the day and once the information was shared with the group that there was allegedly going to be free alcohol, it wasn’t hard to get everyone on board.  
the cabin was a little ways down the road, not that far but still too far to walk. when josh pulls behind the already long line of cars in the driveway, you all pile out and head for the house where everyone immediately splits up into their own groups.
emily tried to convince you to come with her and kate outside, but you declined, promising to join them a little while later instead. you quickly found the alcohol piled into a plastic bin on the counter, fish yourself out a can, and retreat to the living room.
your eyes scan the room. there were already loads of drunk twenty-plus-year-olds stumbling around and you even noticed some teenagers who had either convinced their parents to let them come or snuck out, making the rounds as well. your knack for observing caused you to focus on a boy.
he couldn’t be older than you, not by much if he was, and he was staring right back at you. unlike you, though, he wasn’t alone. he was quick to abandon whatever conversation he was having before to make his way across the room once he realized that you had noticed him. you turn your head quickly and your cheeks burn at the realization that you had been caught.
you don’t have time to slip away before he’s standing in front of you. his grin is soft as he speaks, “hi.”
you swallow, heart-pounding for some unknown reason, before lifting your head to meet his eyes. you muster your best ‘i’m fine i swear’ smile, “hey there.”
“i hope i’m not bothering you or anything. i just saw you standing over here by yourself and figured i would just come over to make sure that you’re okay?” he scratches the back of his neck.
“aw, that’s sweet of you,” you say, running a hand through your hair. “i’m okay, i just kind of like to know my surroundings, get a feel of the place before i really do anything. weird habit i guess.”
his eyes track your can as you raise it to your lips, “no, no, you’re fine. i’m ben by the way.”
he holds out a hand to which you raise an eyebrow at. he notices and pulls it away quickly. you shake your head and giggle softly, “i’ve just never had a guy try and shake my hand at a party before, ben, but i’m y/n. it’s nice to meet you.”
“you too,” he moves to lean against the wall beside you, his shoulder barely touching yours. “are you from here?”
“no actually. just visiting with some friends on vacation. i’m from oxford,” he raises his eyebrows. you wave your free hand around, “it’s in-”
“i know where it’s at. one of my buddies is from there, i’ve just never met anyone else who was,” he grins. “i’m not from here either. grew up outside of toronto for a little bit and i’ve kind of been a bit of everywhere since.”
“so you’ve traveled a lot?” you ask, turning your body towards his. he hums and you raise your eyebrows, “i want to do that so badly. it’s, like, on the top of my bucket list.”
“you don’t get to travel much?”
“i mean, not really. i’ve been to dallas, new york, the ‘bigger’ places. the only place outside of the us that i’ve been is ottawa which is not that extravagant if i’m honest,” the thought of josh crosses your mind at the mention of ottawa, but it’s gone almost as quickly as it came when ben chuckles.
“why specifically ottawa? it’s not usually people’s first choice,” he raises his eyebrow and you shrug. “it’s complicated?”
“a little bit. anyways, what brings you here? do you know who owns this place?” you ask and his face flushes.
“um, i do. well, not me. my dad does. he let me borrow it for the week so i packed up a couple of my friends and borrowed the family dog and here i am,” he watches as you perk up at the mention of a dog. “do you want to meet him?”
“he’s here? can i?” it doesn’t take much for you to follow him away from the living room and down the hallway. he pushes open a door and (though it wasn’t your smartest decision to follow a stranger into a room) you're met with the sight of a dog. you gasp and he lifts his head, standing up with a stretch as you bend down. he moves off of his very comfortable-looking bed and moves in between your open arms. you squeal, “hello!”
“his name is tex, short for texas,” ben takes a seat on the bench beside the washing machine and watches as you embrace the golden retriever. “he likes you.”
“what’s not to like?” you question, looking up at the brunette with a smile. tex huffs as he takes a seat and you squeeze him gently, “you’re just the sweetest boy, aren’t you? i bet you’ve never done anything wrong in your entire life.”
“he’s does have a knack for shoes-” you cut ben off with a glare and he raises his hands in surrender, “you’re right. he’s never done anything in his entire life.”
“good answer.”
you don’t know how long you were in there with ben, playing with tex and making small talk before someone stumbles inside. he looks between ben and you and smirks, “sorry ben. we’ll find somewhere else.”
you realize then that there was a girl behind him and your cheeks burn as he closes the door. you find a neon green rope and dangle it in front of tex who eagerly snatched it from your hand. “i should be getting back out there. thank you for letting me play with him.”
“actually, i was going to ask if you wanted to get out of here? we could drive around a little bit,” he’s nervous and that was something that you could tell right off the bat. “you just said that you don’t travel much and i know it’s nothing astronomical, but i could just show you some places around town.”
in your slightly not sober mind, it didn’t even click that it was well into the night. you smile, “that sounds good. let me go and tell my friends and i’ll meet you back in the living room?”
“sounds good,” he watches as you bid tex farewell and follows you out of the room. you part ways as you head off to look for someone that you knew. it didn’t take long before you found josh outside surrounded by people. while he was the last person you wanted to tell, almost everyone that you knew was with him and you were beyond ready to leave.
you make your way over, tugging on the sleeve of his t-shirt to get his attention. he tilts his head to the side and when he realizes it’s you, his hand comes to rest on the small of your back as he pulls you to his side. he bends down to hear you, “what’s up?”
you're very aware of the attention that you’ve drawn from the group, the females who didn’t know about yours and josh’s abnormally touchy relationship especially, but you just push yourself on your tiptoes so that your mouth is beside his ear, “i’m leaving.”
he makes a noise of disapproval, “with who?”
“ben,” you shrug as though it was nothing.
“who the hell is ben?”
“we met earlier. he’s gonna show me around.”
“it’s past midnight, y/n. the only place you’re going is back to the cabin and i’m going to be the one taking you there. now, if you want to go so badly, give me five minutes and we’ll leave.”
“no, josh,” you try to pull away from him, but he doesn’t allow it whatsoever. “let me go!”
“y/n,” he sighs, handing his cup off to will who dumps whatever was in there into his own and turns you both away from the group. he keeps an arm slung over your shoulder as he slowly walks you towards the house “i don’t know how much you’ve had to drink tonight, but obviously too much if you think i’m letting you leave with someone that you just met.”
“we met the other day, at the grocery store,” the lie slips easily from your lips but josh shakes his head. he’s known you long enough to know when you were lying and the way that you were avoiding his eyes told him everything that he needed to know. that and you had been very adamant on not tagging along for any grocery store runs since you had arrived. you groan once you realize that he’s not letting you off that easy and try, once again, to pull away from him, “it wasn’t even that much! and what about you? i don’t want you driving me home if you’ve been drinking!”
“i’m 6’1 and almost 200 pounds, princess. i’ve barely had one full beer and i’ve been sipping on that for about an hour. i’m perfectly fucking fine to drive,” he rolls his eyes. he walks you both through the house and points to the couch where two couples were making out, “if you don’t believe me we can sit right there and wait for half an hour. will that appease you?”
“i fucking hate you,” you spit, finally pulling away from his grasp. you storm towards the front door and throw it open, finding ben perched on the swing out front. he stands when he sees you and your eyes soften, “ben, i’m-”
“oh, so you’re ben?” josh slides up behind you and holds out his hand for ben, poor ben, who looks very confused as he reaches out to shake it, “‘m josh. thanks for offering to give my little y/n here a tour of the town at one o’clock in the morning, that was very, very kind of you, but she’s going to have to decline. you have a good one though.”
“i want to hear that from her,” ben looks at you almost hopefully. “y/n?”
“i’m sorry,” you mumble, turning away from him and making your way down to where josh had parked. he takes his sweet time making his way down the driveway and refuses to unlock the truck until his hand covers yours on the handle, “will you please just unlock the door?”
“lose the attitude,” he scoffs, “you didn’t even know him.”
“i was getting to know him josh. you always fucking do this,” you huff and he finally unlocks the door. his hand tightens on yours as you both pull on the handle. you rip your hand away as you lift yourself into the truck and sink onto the passenger seat. he watches as you reach out to pull the door closed. you pause to utter the words, “and i’m not yours so you can stop fucking saying it.”
before pulling the door closed rather forcefully. he scoffs and shakes his head, making his way around the front of the truck. he starts it and throws it in reverse, putting his hand behind your seat to look out of the back glass, “we’re talking about this when we get back.”
you lean forward and turn the radio up, drowning him out.
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the second that he kills the engine, you snatch the keys from his hand and stomp towards the front door. you throw it open, not bothering to close it as you tossed the keys onto the counter and made quick work of going to your room, rushing to beat him because he could move a lot faster than you were able to.
you hear his loud footsteps echoing in the otherwise quiet house as he ascends the stairs after you. you make sure to slam the door when he’s barely six feet away and twist the lock.
“leave me alone!” you shout as you pull out a pair of shorts from your bag. you peel off your clothes and throw them in the pile along with your other dirty clothes and make your way into the bathroom.
you grab your toothbrush just as you hear the lock turning and you want to scream. you ignore him when he walks in, leaning against the door at first. when you don’t pay him any mind, instead grabbing your toothbrush. he grins knowingly, used to your antics, “you’re ignoring me now?”
when you don’t answer, he moves to stand behind you so that you would have to look at him in the mirror, but you only turn towards the door. he chuckles, “oh, you’re good.”
you for sure thought that he wouldn’t wait you out, but he seemingly had no problem doing so. he takes a seat on the edge of the bath and props his head in his hands, watching you intently as you start to take off your makeup. you pick up a bottle and he points his finger, “what’s that for?”
you continue your silence.
“you have to talk to me at some point. we’re here for three more days, y/n,” he sighs and you shake your head. you look into the mirror, connecting your eyes with his, and you open your mouth to speak. his eyebrows raise and he smirks, which causes you to close your mouth and grab a towel to dry your face.
you weren’t going to let him win.
when you turn to exit your bedroom, he follows quickly behind. you make your way into the kitchen and turn on your phone, connecting it to the speaker that sat on the counter. it was jack’s and he had specifically told everyone not to run the battery down because he had forgotten to bring the charger, but it was the only way that you would be able to drown josh out.
you pick your playlist and turn your volume all the way up before tucking your phone in the waistband of your shorts. you move over to stand in front of the sink, fishing out some of the dishes so you could start to fill the sink. josh leans over the other side of the counter, “you’re so pissed off at me that you’re doing the dishes? are you serious?”
you look up at him and point to yours, a silent way of saying ‘i can’t hear you.’ something changes in his eyes and you look down at the sink as he pushes away from the counter. in a matter of seconds, the speaker is turned off and his hands are on your hips. the music is still playing and you feel his hand pull your phone from its place. with one of his hands holding your phone, you're able to turn around, “hey!”
“hi,” he smirks knowingly. he pauses the music and pockets your phone in his jeans. you go to reach for it, but he grabs your wrist, “now, you can either continue to act like a brat or we can have an adult conversation.”
you glare at him, “i’ll keep being a brat, thanks. now leave me alone and give me back my phone.”
in an instant, he’s lifting you onto the counter. his hands cage you in and you look at him with wide eyes, “what is your problem, y/n?”
“i could ask you the same question, josh,” you hold his gaze. you wanted so badly to reach out and place your hand on his cheek, press your lips to his own, but you couldn’t. you shouldn’t. you were still mad at him. “you’re such a fucking cockblock and i’m sick of it.”
“it’s not my fault that you can’t take a fucking hint,” he rolls his eyes. you take a deep breath and he looks at you with an expression that seems almost shocked, “are you- why do you think i did that?”
“because you’re an asshole?” you accidentally touch your hand to his and you pull it away quickly.
“please don’t do that,” he sighs. he reaches for your hand and you let him curl his fingers around your own. it felt strange, it felt- it felt good. “you’re the only one that matters to me, y/n. why can’t you understand that? because i don’t know how much clearer i can be.”
“you’re drunk josh,” you repeat what you had said earlier when he offered to drive you home.
“you know damn well that i’m not, y/n.” and he was right. you know josh, been around him enough to know what he was like when he was under the influence and this, this wasn’t it.
“what do you mean?” you squeeze onto his hand. “you said that i’m the only one that matters to you. what do you mean?”
“i haven’t taken anyone home in almost a year because of you. even in belleville, even when i got called up. they tried to get me to hook up with someone but i couldn’t. you’re the only person that i want in my bed and you-” he pauses, shaking his head.
“what did i do, josh? you’ve been a total asshole to me and i’m supposed to realize that that means that you want me? what are we, eight?” you shake your head, untangling your  fingers from his. you lean back on the counter and he looks at you almost pleadingly, “you aren’t my boyfriend and you need to stop acting like it. this shit isn’t going to fly anymore.”
he goes quiet before he leans forward. his lips press to yours and a warm feeling takes over your body. you melt into him when he moves one of his hands to rest on your back and the other to rest on your cheek. his hand pulls you forward and you wrap your arms around his neck. he’s the one to pull away first, breathing heavily. his eyes are glazed over and by the way he’s gripping onto you, you can tell that he doesn’t want to let go. “was- is this okay?”
you squeeze his wrist on the hand that rested softly on your cheek as though he would slip away before you leaned back in after taking a deep breath. his hands slides up your back, slipping under the hem of your shirt and you pull away this time, pressing your nose into his neck, “not here. someone could walk- josh!”
you tighten your arms around his neck as he takes you down the hallway to what you knew to be his bedroom. he pushes open the door and drops you down onto the bed, which causes you to squeal as his body covers your own.
you run your hands along his shoulders and he slides his fingertips under your shirt. he’s nervous, you can tell, maybe a little hesitant as well.
“josh,” you call, running your index finger along his jaw, “this is okay with me. i promise you. is it okay with you?”
“more than okay,” he confirms, “are you sure that you want to do this? things won’t ever be the same if we do.”
why did he have to say that?
if it was anybody else, you wouldn’t have even had to think about it. if it was ben, it wouldn’t have meant anything. but this wasn’t just anyone. it wasn’t just ben who you had known all of an hour before you were willing to get into his car. this was josh who you had known since you were kids. josh that you had harbored a crush on since you were thirteen and he was fourteen. josh who you were forced to watch from a distance as he got older and buffer from the hours spent training, who you had to watch as he brought the occasional girl home to meet his mother.
you had never told anyone how you felt and no one ever seemed to notice, which was fine. perfect even. but now-
you look into his eyes as you whisper the single word, “please.”
that seems to be all he needs before he hooks his fingers in your shorts and tugs them downward, taking your panties with them easily. he tosses them to the side and chuckles as his fingers lightly run across your slit, “you’re already soaked.”
“i’ve been waiting a long time for this,” you admit, biting your lip as his thumb runs over your clit.
he sinks his index finger in slowly, pressing his lips to yours as you gasp. it doesn’t take long for him to work in a second before he speaks again, “why didn’t you say anything?”
“to be fair, i thought i was the last person that you wanted to sleep with. you aren’t the best at showing your emotions,” you grumble and he grins.
“you and your attitude,” he shakes his head, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he stretches you open. “what am i gonna do with you? don’t think that i’ve forgotten about how much of a little brat you were being earlier.”
“well,” in a sudden act of boldness, you move your lips to dance over his ear, “what are you gonna do about it? because as much as you seemed to want me out in the kitchen, you’re moving awfully slow.”
that seemed to ignite something inside of him.
it was only a couple of minutes later when both of your clothes were thrown about the room and he was ripping open a condom. you grin as he presses the tip to your slit, taking some of the wetness.
“josh,” you moan as he sinks in, slowly filling you. “fuck.”
“worth waiting for?”
“you pick the worst times to be an ass- holy,” you arch your chest into his as he bottoms out. you try and pull away but he wraps his arms around your thighs, keeping you still.
“that’s it, princess,” he coos, sucking a mark into your neck. “look so pretty on my cock. can’t believe i waited this long to see you like this, fuck.”
a whine forms in your throat as he pulls out, only to thrust right back in. he lets you dig your nails into his back as he finds his pace, finding your g-spot almost a little too quickly.
his hips snap against yours and his mouth makes its way from your neck to your breasts, taking the opportunity to leave hickeys there as well. there was no way in hell that you were going to be able to hide what had happened and you somehow find the words to voice that, “everyone’s gonna know.”
“fucking good,” he lands a particularly harsh against your spot, “want them to know that you’re mine. that they can’t have you. i’ve seen the way they look at you and i don’t like it.”
“we’re gonna have to work on that but now, i’m gonna-”
“you’re gonna ask me nicely,” his thumb finds your clit and he begins to circle. “you’re gonna show me that you can be good and say please.”
“i hate you,” your words have no real meaning and he knows that by the chuckle he has the audacity to let out. “please josh, please let me cum. i’ll be so fucking good, let everyone know i’m yours.”
“say it again,” he demands.
“i’m yours,” and that was the end.
you feel him spill into the condom before he give you permission, spilling over his cock as you tighten your arms around his neck and press your lips to his as you ride through the aftershock. he rocks upwards a few more times before slipping out and resting his head on your bare chest. his fingers run over one of breasts, “didn’t show these enough attention.”
“they’re covered in hickeys,” you breathe out, “they got the memo.”
you find yourself tangled under his covers not thirty minutes later, both fresh from the shower. you had spent minimal time actually under the water and more time-pressed against the wall with his lips pressed against yours.
your hand ran through his hair as his head rested on your naked chest. you can’t help but stare over his shoulder out of the large window that overlooked the lake. the stars were twinkling high above while everything else was quiet. too quiet.
wait-
you patiently wait until you were positive that he was asleep when you start to shift backward, trying to escape his grip. you had your feet on the ground, ready to search for your clothes before he makes a noise of protest.
“woah,” he says when you move to get out of the bed. his hand curls around your side and pulls you back to his chest, “what are you doing?”
“i’m going back to my room,” you look at him confused. “everyone’s bound to be home soon and i don’t want them to find us like this.”
“i don’t care if they see us, y/n. what part of you being the only one that i want didn’t you understand?” he sighs as he pushes your hair out of your face. you wrap one of your hands around his arm as he does so, “i don’t just want you for tonight. i want you for the long run, y/n. i don’t know exactly what that entails, but i do know that i want you to be here when i wake up in the morning. we can talk about it then, okay?”
you look into his eyes, trying to find any hint that he wasn’t telling you the truth, but you couldn’t. you relax into his chest and let his arms wrap around you once again, “in the morning.”
“in the morning,” he agrees and presses his lips to the top of your head.
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hanaridulsetcheese · 4 years
Text
Coffee Shop~ Bang Chan
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Reader's POV
I walked into the coffee shop and headed to the back room. I changed into my work clothes and walked to my boss' office. I saw her behind her desk with mounds of paper piled high.
"Miss K? " I called out to her.
Her head snapped up in my direction, she gave me a kind smile but it didn't reach her eyes.
"(Y/N)! You're here, thank god. " She walked over to me and pulled me into a desperate hug.
"What's wrong? " I asked, patting her back.
"Jihoo called in sick and I just got an emergency call from my sister, I need to go urgently, can I leave you alone here? "
My eyes widened and I looked at her in shock. "You want to leave me alone? It's my first day, what it I screw up? "
"You'll be fine, I trust you. Plus, I will only be a phone call away. Please tell me you'll do it! "
I looked at her, she was really desperate and I didn't want to let her down. I smile at her and nodded.
"Oh thank you! " I squeezed me tightly.
"You're w-welcome. " I say, gasping for breath as she let go of me.
"I really need to go now, I made a list of everything you would need to do, I will be back just be closing time, my sister's on the other side of Seoul. " she says handing me the list as well as the keys for the shop.
"I'll make sure everything goes well. " I say.
A few minutes after she explained everything to me, she left and I was left to open the shop. I made sure everything was set and ready before I prepared myself for the day ahead.
•=•=Time Skip=•=•
The shop wasn't so busy so I was able to relax a bit, there were a few customers sitting and going about their business normally.
I say down at the register and pulled out my phone, playing random games I didn't know I had installed.
A few minutes later, I hear the bells above the door jingle so I put my phone away ready to tend to the new customer.
"Welcome to Tea Time, can I help you? " I asked, getting off the chair to tend to the customer.
I look up and see a really tall male in front of me, he was looking at the menu board above me, his black clothes were lightly damp with the rain from outside.
His face was hidden with the hood of his jacket and huge sunglasses despite the fact that there was a lack of sunlight.
"Can I get a regular hot chocolate? " He looked down at me. He had a thick Australian accent that was honestly really cool.
"Sure, anything else? " I asked, punching in his order.
"Just a hot chocolate thank you. " He smiled, dimples formed on his cheeks.
"That will be $2,50. " I said.
He reached into his laptop back that I didn't notice before, probably because it was black and pulled out some notes. He handed it to me and I placed it in the register.
"Would this be to-go? " I asked him.
"No, I'll be here. I'll be at that booth over there. " He points to the last booth in the shop, near the window, I nod and turn to make his order.
When I was done, I went to go and give him his drink, I took this time to notice that it was only the two of us and another man in the shop, everyone else had left.
I walked towards him, not really paying attention to what I was doing, the other man had bumped into me harshly making me spill the hit chocolate on to the Australian man's notebook.
"Sorry! " said the guy as he rushed out of the shop.
"Are you okay? " the Australian man asked.
"I'm fine, I'm so sorry about your book, I'll get you a new one. " I said, looking at the page now covered in the brown drink.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. " He takes of his sunglasses.
The first thing that came to my head was, 'Wow, he's really good-looking. '
"Thanks. " he chuckled.
I realise why he said this and blushed, I said it out loud.
"I'm s-sorry, I'll just go get something to clean this up. " I rushed to the supply closet and shut the door.
I leaned against it and took several deep breaths, trying to bring my bright red face back to it's normal colour.
I got the mop from the closet and walked back to the Australian man.
"You're back, I thought your disappeared. "
"I, er- couldn't find the mop. " I blushed again.
"Well there's no need for that, I fixed the problem. " He gestured towards the now spotless floor, the cup layed on the table next him.
"How did you- "
"Baby wipes. " He picked up a pack of baby wipes and showed them to me. "Mum always told me to carry a pack of these wherever I went, now I see why. "
"I'm sorry about that whole scene. Let me get you another cup. "
I prepared another cup of hot chocolate for him and retrieved the money he gave me for it.
"Here you go. " I hand him the drink and money. "It's on the house, makes up partly for the book. "
"You didn't have to. " he says. "What would your boss say? "
"She kind of owes me for leaving me alone today, so it's cool-eh " I say.
"Chan. " he says, giving me a dimpled smile.
"(Y/N). " I reply.
"Nice to meet you. " He says.
"Same here. " I blush as he looks at me.
"You sure blush a lot. " he says.
"I'm not blushing, it's just- cold in here. "
"With the thermostat at the warmest temperature, I find it hard to believe. " he says.
"I just- "
"It's okay. I'm just messing with you. " he laughs. "So what's girl like you doing here working when you could be out there? "
"Girl like me? "
"You know, young, pretty- "
"Oh, I- " I look at him. "I'm trying to earn some money and get some experience. You know, makes my chances of getting into college better. "
"I see, I wish I could go to college. " He said.
"Why can't you? " I ask.
"Let's just say, I don't have the time to. " He says. I looked at him Inna confused way but decide to dropped the topic.
"So what do you want to study? " he asked.
"Music. " I said, with a tone of admiration.
"Big interest in the music industry I guess? "
"Very big interest. " I say.
"That's funny because, I'm in the music industry. " he says.
"Seriously?! " I take a seat opposite him. "How is it? What do you do? It's it fun? "
"Woah, one question at a time. " he chuckled.
"Sorry. " I apologized.
"I'm still training but I want to be able to produce music soon. " he says.
"That's the same with me! I really want to be able to produce my own songs, the feeling of having your song play of the radio is something I want to experience. "
"I know what you mean, being able to express your feelings your own way through something you created, that's amazing. "
"It is. " I smile. "Have you come up with any tracks yet? "
"I have a few, I'm almost done with my current one. " he says.
"Can I hear? " I ask shyly.
"Sure. " he turns the laptop and hands me the headphones, it place it on and press play on song. Instantly the beat fills my ears and I find my self indulged in the song.
"This is really good, I love the background beat, and the vibe it has- it's brilliant. " I say when the song is over. "Was that you rapping? "
"Yeah, and two of my other friends, we're in like a temporary band I guess. "
"It's really good, that fast rap part at the end was the highlight. "
"Thank you. I feel like it is missing something though. "
"Maybe more reverb, to really highlight some parts. " I say.
"More reverb? "
"Yeah see. " I highlight the parts that had the fast rap parts and more reverb to it making it stand out more.
"Here, listen. " I hand the headphones back to him.
He listening to the song again and a look of satisfaction comes into his handsome features.
"(Y/N) you're a genius! " he high fived me.
"Reverb makes everything much better, it's like the mother's hug or music. "
"Smart. " He says, he does a few more things to the song and smiles brightly. "I sent the song to my boss, he's gonna give it a listen, you saved me so much if time, thank you. " he said.
"You're welcome. " I say.
The bell on the door chimmed again and I look towards the door.
"Miss K, you're back. " I say, bowing to my boss. I didn't realise that it was almost closing time.
"Thank you for taking care of the shop, I owe you one. " she said, noticing Chan at the corner.
He got up and walked over to us, "Thank you for today, I will definitely be coming here more often. " he said walking out.
"A friend? " Miss K asked.
"It's a long story. " I sigh.
"Well, thank you again, I'll let you go now. I'll lock up. " she said.
I bowed to her again and got ready to go home. I hung up my apron in my locker and put on my jacket. I bid Miss K goodbye before stepping out.
A felt a shoulder on my hand so I turned around and was met with Chan.
"Chan, you're still here. "
"Yeah I was wondering if we could hang out sometime, I feel like I could use your knowledge. " he says.
"Uh sure, I love to. " I say and we exchange phone numbers.
"See you around (Y/N). " he said as we parted ways.
I went home that day smiling like a weirdo, I had a feeling that spilling that hot chocolate was the best thing I could've ever done in my life.
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