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peanutpinet · 3 years

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Lee Taeyong (mafia leader) x Reader (female)

A/N: Hello everyone!! To everyone who has been liking and reblogging my Lucas fanfic, thank you so much!! I'm new to NCT so it's amazing to see people reading my fanfic :"

Ngl, while I've seen and known Lucas for some time, it was Taeyong that caught my eye in all of NCT (before more biases in future). This fanfic of Taeyong was inspired by a fanfic I read bout another member.

Quick summary: Basically Taeyong runs the whole NCT mafia and they're currently training the new recruits before they can be considered part of NCT (both male and female). You, Shotaro, Sungchan and Jisung were the higher ranks of the new recruits (though Jisung was already considered part of NCT).

Warnings: slight brutality (?) trauma, probably a bit of cursing and illegal businesses

A/N update (7th June' 22): here is link for Pt.2 - link

So, as mentioned in the summary, you, Sungchan, Shotaro and Jisung were considered the highest-ranking amongst the new recruits. Despite Jisung already being considered part of NCT, not everyone in NCT really allowed Jisung to join them unless it is a simple mission.

I'm getting ahead of myself, lol. Let's rewind a bit. Basically, NCT was a wholeass mafia that targeted all the dirty businesses; illegal bars, brothels, etc. While you can say that NCT works like a secret agency, they don't really follow the laws that much but at the same time, the government would occasionally ask them for help. Taeyong was the one that created and led the whole entire NCT.

NCT would open new recruitments from time to time, mainly the government told them to (let's just say it was part of the deal between the government and NCT). The government would help NCT in covering them, providing them everything they need whilst they were the ones that have to handle all the illegal businesses that were occurring and would have to train the recruits that the government provided to them. One of them was you.

You definitely stood out from all the new batch of recruits not only with your looks (note: everyone is beautiful ok, please don't think that you have to be a model/actress to be considered beautiful) but with your set of skills as well; which is how you were able to climb to be at the same ranking as Shotaro, Sungchan and Jisung, the three recruits that were transitioning to be an NCT member.

Not only that, the ones that taught the recruits all considered you their favourite student. Occasionally telling you stuff from the mission and entrusting you with some files; even asking you to help them out. One of which was Renjun and Xiaojun who takes care of the health department.

You were bringing some paperwork from Renjun who just finished the chemistry lab and he asked you to bring his papers to Xiaojun who was in the surgery room. However, the class that Renjun ended was very late and you didn't get enough sleep because you were up practising long-distance shooting (one of your weakness point). So you were basically running very low in energy and was slouchy until you bumped onto a broad chest, accidentally dropping all the paperwork Renjun sorted.

But instead of falling to the ground, you felt someone grabbed your hand, pulling you and another hand holding your waist, stabilizing your stance. Once you've regained your balance, you apologised constantly until you met up with the boss of NCT himself, Lee Taeyong.

"OMG!! I'M SO SORRY!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO!! I was just sleepy but that also shouldn't be an excused to bumping into you" you muttered, apologising as you bowed a good 90° and was expecting a scolding but got a chuckled instead

"No harm done. I should apologise as well. You're in the top rankers with Sungchan, Shotaro and Jisung, right?" Taeyong asked as you finally lifted your head, looking at his sparkling boba eyes

"E-eh? Yea...I guess you can say that. Though I'm nowhere near as good as them" you mumbled, remembering the paper you dropped, starting to pick them up

"I heard it from Xiaojun, Jaehyun and Mark. Speaking of which, were you delivering these to Xiaojun?" Taeyong asked, helping you by picking up some of the papers that were scattered by his feet

"Yeap. Renjun asked me to send them since he said he had other things to do" you admitted, trying to rearrange the papers

"You seemed tired though. Haven't been sleeping well?" Taeyong asked, handing you the papers he collected

"Oh thank you. No no, I'm used to it. No worries. I'll get going now. Sorry for the mishap" you mumbled, bowing to Taeyong as he gave you a slight nod

"Be careful and after you send the papers, go and rest. I'll be sure to tell Renjun to find someone else to do his work or at least have someone else to help you. You shouldn't have to do it all on your own. Have a good nights rest" Taeyong mentioned as you both went to your respective way

You couldn't help but be amazed at Taeyong's warm side since he appears cold most of the time that everyone but those in NCT was terrified of him, yourself included (well, at least before that incident). Not only that, Taeyong actually stay true to his words about Renjun making you do lots of his side works. Because ever since the incident and you handing Xiaojun the papers, you felt that both Renjun and Xiaojun would make sure to not overwork you and both of them would do their side works along with you instead of making you do all of them on your own.

But today was not one of those days. Renjun had a full day of teaching whilst Xiaojun had to join with the WayV unit for a mission and requested you to take care of the surgery aka clinic room; which you didn't mind that much. Despite constantly worrying that Taeyong would kill him, you told Xiaojun that he has a legitimate reason to leave you alone. You also added the fact that he has taught you a thing or two about medical stuff. Like how to patch someone up when they got shot, how to help people who got food poisoning, etc.

The truth was, you never really believed how useful these skills were until today; the day Xiaojun had to leave for a mission whilst Renjun was busy with a full day of teaching. You just finished your class with Jeno and Jaemin about agility and combat battle and was just chilling in Xiaojun's clinic, reading the sticky note he left on the desk when you heard the doors being barged open; shocking you until you saw who was the one that came in. It was Johnny and Yuta helping an injured Taeyong into the clinic.

"Wh-what happened?" you asked, rushing over to see Taeyong's limp body which you ushered Yuta to help place him on the bed

"Where's Xiaojun?" Johnny asked back

"He's out on a mission with WayV" you answered, helping Yuta lay Taeyong down

"Renjun?" Yuta asked

"Full day of teaching" you replied, observing Taeyong's slightly bruised yet still gorgeous face

"The two of them left you alone?" Taeyong managed to blurt out, raising his head a bit

"Lay back down, you're hurt. Plus, Xiaojun taught me what he knows, always saying that I may need it someday. What happened? Was it a hit (a murder)?" you questioned, looking for injuries and saw blood on his shoulder

"You can say that. I got shot on the shoulder. Really need to get the bullet out and stitch it. Can you do it?" Taeyong asked softly

"You're allowing her to do it? No offence. We've heard great things about you but this is quite serious. One mishap and he could lose more blood" Yuta blurted, making your heart beat faster, worried that you may not be the right person to actually do the job

"Xiaojun and Renjun trust her. So why shouldn't we? It's not like those two never make any mistakes. I trust you. Do whatever you need to. Just get the bullet out and stitch it" Taeyong instructed and you went to grab all the tools to do the job whilst you asked Johnny to help Taeyong take off vest and shirt

"That's a huge hole, you sure you trust me with this?" you questioned, putting on your gloves

"Yea. The longer we wait, who knows how bad the infection will be. Go ahead" Taeyong muttered as he was now lying face down, his back was fully exposed to you

"Okay. I'll get started now" you mumbled, taking a deep breath as you proceed

To say you were nervous was an understatement. You were almost shaking if it weren't for Johnny giving you some encouragement whilst Yuta nods, agreeing you to do the procedure. As you were trying to pull the bullet out, you can hear Taeyong's groans but once it was out, both you and Taeyong simultaneously sigh with relief. You put the bullet onto the surgical tray before beginning to clean and patching up the wound.

Once you were done, you threw your gloves before grabbing the cast to wrap around Taeyong's upper body to cover up the wound. You didn't realise how close you were to him until you turn to wrap the cast around the front part of his chest and him calling out to you; especially since Johnny and Yuta have left.

"You know. For someone who has only been taught about this and just did it for the first time, you're excellent" Taeyong commented, grabbing your attention

"I, uh, th-thank you. I was definitely worried if I might've accidentally killed my own boss" you mumbled but quickly slapped your mouth as you realised what you just said but Taeyong just laughed

"Nah, I trust you. Thank you, really. I can see why Xiaojun and Renjun trusted you" Taeyong mumbled, pushing your bangs out of your face

"The-they were the one that taught me, so, I guess you should praise them for being amazing teachers as well" you managed to utter before going back to wrapping the cast

"Though, I heard that you were struggling with the shooting lesson, why's that? Did you get your eyesight tested?" Taeyong shifted the conversation

"Yea, I got my eyesight tested and got glasses and contacts. And, there, you're good to go. When you shower, do be careful and be sure to let either Renjun or Xiaojun know" you reminded

"Of course. I'll be sure to let them know. When is your shooting class, btw?" Taeyong asked as he tried to put on his jacket since it's easier than putting a shirt on

"Ummm, Monday morning but I like to practice it whenever I can" you mentioned, helping Taeyong put his jacket on, leaving nearly no space between the both of you

"I should make a mental note to check the actual classes myself whenever I can, then" Taeyong mumbled, but it was loud since there was only the both of you

"You don't trust your members, is it?" you chuckled, shaking your head

"They can be a bit, wild. So, I should really check on the classes and some of the new recruits. If I have some more free time, I might just check up on your solo practice. Consider it as thank you for patching me up" Taeyong muttered, you can feel his breath right by your face

"It, it's nothing, really. Plus, you must have lots of other things to do since you are technically the boss" you stuttered, looking away

"Doesn't mean that I don't have any free time. Plus, I have a few right-hand men. They often help me. As you can tell with Johnny and Yuta" Taeyong chuckled

"It's definitely nice to have others to share your difficulties" you mumbled but Taeyong heard what you said

"Yo!! TY, are you done?! We got some problems with those new recruits. Jeno and Jaemin are trying their best to tame them" Johnny shouted, barging in, startling you in the process as Taeyong placed a hand on your shoulder

"Yea, I'll be there. We'll talk some other time, hmm? Thanks for patching me up" Taeyong smiled, patting your head as he walked towards Johnny

"Sure thing boss" you stated, bowing

"Um, Taeyong. Call me Taeyong" Taeyonng mentioned, slightly tilting his head back to face you, a smile crept on his face before leaving

It's been 2 weeks since Taeyong got shot and he actually came to several of the classes, mainly at the time where you were in the class. Whether it was during chemistry, hacking/coding, physical training or even during lunch breaks where he would just stay by the corner, talking with some of the NCT members. Unfortunately, Taeyong was always not able to attend your shooting class. But that doesn't mean he couldn't see you practising on your own.

One faithful night, you were in the shooting room to do your annual shooting practice. You were setting up your targets, bullets and guns along with other equipment like goggles, gloves and earmuffs. You were just starting to shoot for a few minutes when you sighed, about to take a break when you heard someone talking; immediately, pointing the gun in the direction of the person.

"It's interesting how your stance, gesture and even gaze were just about perfect yet, you still missed the target" a voice mentioned as you pointed the gun towards the person that slowly walked under the light, revealing Taeyong

"B-boss..." you muttered, lowering your gun

"Haish. I thought I said to just call me Taeyong. Is alright, I know it's hard. But yea. It is definitely interesting, just like what Jaehyun said" Taeyong stated as he stopped right in front of you

"Teacher Jaehyun?" you questioned

"He said that he just can't seem to figure out what's wrong. He checked your posture, stance, your eyesight, glasses, even the equipment. But nothing. So, I'm here to see it for myself" Taeyong mentioned as you just looked down at the gun

"I, I guess I'm just not good at everything" you sighed

"No one can always be good at everything. But there's no harm in trying. Just shoot again. I'll observe up-close. Jaehyun couldn't really observe you personally, so, I thought I'd do it. Now, go and shoot" Taeyong instructed as you began to shoot at the target, yet missed it

"Did you have any bad experience with guns? Past trauma, perhaps?" Taeyong questioned, looking at the shots you made

"I, I don't think so. I never close my eyes when shooting..." you mumbled but Taeyong cut you off

"No, you don't. But your fingers and ears seemed to tell a different story. Just as you were about to pull the trigger, your thumb may unconsciously redirect the aim, making you miss the target" Taeyong explained as you took a step back from your standing point

Taeyong then grabbed the gun from you and shot at the target on the head, both eyes, throat, heart, stomach and private areas. The sound of the guns didn't scare you, but more so where they landed that made your heart unconsciously beat faster.

"Everywhere I shot was a person's most vital points. Your aim was just like mine. But if my hypothesis is true, you redirected the aim just by mere centimetres, missing the vital points. Even places that you are most likely to hit, the stomach. You instead hit more upwards, right near the kidney. Not an extremely vital point. Why is that?" Taeyong questioned, turning his head towards your now quivering body

"I...I don't know. At least, I don't remember any incident" you stuttered as Taeyong stepped closer towards you yet it made you stumble backwards but Taeyong quickly grabbed you by the waist as he put the gun down, brushing strands of your hair out of your face

"I'm not going to hurt you. And I'm not going to force or pressure you to remember what happened. If you can't shoot, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. Please know that it's completely fine with having a trauma. It doesn't make you any less than the others. Instead, it proofs how strong you are. Whenever you remember or want to talk, you can find me, okay?" Taeyong reassured you, cupping one of your cheeks, making you look at his soft boba eyes

"I'll let Jaehyun know my hypothesis and tell him to cut you some slack. For now, just take a rest. I know you've been pushing yourself very hard considering the upcoming test is just a week away. I reassure you that there's nothing wrong with you. You're human like everyone else. C'mon, let's get some rest, alright? It's getting very late" Taeyong suggested as you just nodded, allowing Taeyong to guide you back to your room where everyone was already asleep

One week has passed since Taeyong suggested that you might have had a trauma in the past that made you always miss your shots. Taeyong also suggested you to see Ten for consultation and even told the rest of NCT about the possibilities of the recruits having some sort of trauma that may be the reason why some of them excel better than others. This discovery allowed NCT to slightly alter the upcoming exams, allowing recruits with traumas to be consulted beforehand, and if they were triggered, they would be excused from certain exams like you with shooting.

But despite being excluded from the shooting exam, you still excel in the other exams, allowing you to be in the top ranks one last time with Shotaro, Sungchan and Jisung; right before the three of them are officially part of NCT. To celebrate their promotion, you got a cake for the three of them and was about to ask the cafeteria people if they could keep it for you but as you made your way to the kitchen of the cafeteria, you were stopped by Courtney (random name) and her lil gang of terror.

She and her little gang have never been fond of you, Shotaro, Sungchan and Jisung (essentially, all of the teacher's favourites, for obvious reasons). They have always been 2nd best compared to the four of you and would sometimes get in trouble for trying to flirt with some of the teachers or get into some random fight (especially in combat battles).

"So, who's this for? Lee Taeyong? Our boss?" Courtney questioned, taking the box of cake you were bringing

"No. It's for my friends, who, unlike yours are actually genuine friends. So, give it back. I'm not in the mood to pick a fight" you growled, looking at her gang death in the eyes

"Oh?! But our sources tell us that you've been hanging a lot with our boss. Could it be the reason why you still get the top score despite not joining the shooting exam? What? You let him get in your pants?" Courtney scoffed as her gang just chuckled while you were already bawling your fists

"You can say whatever you want about me but not Tae--our boss. You're just asking a death wish" you fought back, just glaring at them

"Wow, you even nearly called him by his first name. What? You created some sort of love potion in his food and convinced him that you have a trauma with guns? I pity you" Courtney argued, "accidentally" dropping the cake on the ground

"Maybe if you and your gang cared about paying attention in class just as much as the gossip around the base, maybe you would've done better" you clapped back, earning some gasps from the crowd that were starting to surround all of you

"Why you bit--" Courtney cursed and was about to hit you when you grabbed her wrist

"See my point?" you scoffed, pushing her back as her gang helped her

"That's how you want it to be? I'm warning you. You should apologise. Your lil friends aren't here to save your ass" Courtney sassed as she signalled her group to surround you

"This is between you and me. Plus, my friends shouldn't have to get their hands dirty for some makeup stain from your excessive makeup" you challenged, preparing your stance

"Get her!!" Courtney shouted as her gang began to launch at you

Jisung's POV

Despite wanting to spend our "last" lunch with (Y/N) before the three of us are officially part of NCT, we were called by the staff for our final fitting for the NCT uniform during the first half of lunch break. But the minute all three of us were done, we quickly thank the staff and raced to go to the cafeteria.

"Last one there have to do the chores for a month in our new dorm" Sungchan exclaimed as the three of us rushed to the cafeteria

"Hey!! That's not fair!! You got a head start!!" Shotaro protested but kept on running either way

But when we were about to reach the cafeteria, we could already hear commotion right from outside of the door. Confused, we opened it to see almost the whole cafeteria become a huge circle. Curious, we tried to jump to see what was going on until one of the cafeteria staff came up to us and explained the situation, how (Y/N) was fighting Courtney and her gang.

"You have to stop her gang. (Y/N) may be strong but there's almost 10 of them. She'll get tired. One of you should find some members of NCT as well" the cook of the cafeteria suggested, worried can be heard from her voice

"(Y/N)!!!" Sungchan shouted, grabbing the whole entire cafeteria, making the crowd in front of us slightly parted

However, right when Sungchan was about to go and get (Y/N) out of there, some of Courtney's gang covered the fight but we managed to see Courtney took advantage of (Y/N)'s distracted state, landing quite a punch on her face, making (Y/N) fall.

"JISUNG!! GO FIND THE HYUNGS!!" I heard Sungchan shouted as he attempted to break Courtney's group that blocked the fight

"Go, I'll help Sungchan. You have to find Taeyong-hyung, especially. I heard that he and the MAW (make a wish) unit just came back from a mission" Shotaro suggested, pushing me towards the door

As I rushed out, I heard Shotaro shouted for me to be careful. Not knowing what he meant until I heard several footsteps right behind me. Turning my head for a bit, I saw two men from Courtney's gang trying to catch up to me. Knowing that there was only one place where NCT would be when they came back for a mission and that there was only one way to that room unless you are part of NCT, I had no choice but to run as fast as I could.

Whilst running, I heard gunshots being fired. Looking back, I saw the two men holding guns in their hand. This is bad. I was basically an open target because I had to cross a bridge from the cafeteria building all the way to the transportation building. I tried my best to dodge the shots but apparently got one of my leg grazed by one of the bullets, making me fall right near the end of the bridge.

"Don't worry, we won't kill you. But we do have to make sure you keep your mouth shut" one of them stated, pointing the gun right towards my face

"They're going to find out either way. It's best for you to admit right now before you get into a whole different level of trouble" I suggested, hoping that one of the Hyungs come out of the building

"Which is why we're just going to keep you all in a room, telling everyone that there was a mole amongst the recruits" the other one spoke

Just as they both took another step, we all heard several gunshots being fired off, hitting both their guns as we all look towards the direction of the shot. Relieve soon washed over my face as I saw Jaehyun-hyung and Xiaojun-hyung firing off the gunshot. But when I turned to see the two male, their faces turned pale as they realised who fired off the gunshots, immediately making a run for it but I saw Taeyong-hyung nudging both Lucas-hyung and Jaemin-hyung to catch the two male.

"Are you alright?" Doyoung-hyung asked, helping me stand up but I wince in pain, remembering the scar I got

"I, I'm fine. Don't worry about me" I managed to state

"You're clearly not. Doyoung, go with Xiaojun and patch Jisung up whilst I have a word with those rascals" Taeyong-hyung instructed, clearly pissed

"Hyung, wait!! You have to help (Y/N). Those two were part of Courtney's group. They have (Y/N) surrounded. Sungchan and Shotaro were trying to get them to break off but it's not working" I blurted, making all the Hyungs eyes widen

"Where are they?" Taeyong-hyung demanded

"Caf-cafeteria. I don't know what exactly happened. The three of us just got there and it was already happening" I explained

"Jaehyun, get Jeno and Johnny, now!! Doyoung, Xiaojun, patch Jisung" Taeyong-hyung ordered, clicking his gun as he and Jaehyun-hyung left me with Xiaojun-hyung and Doyoung-hyung

"(Y/N), stay strong. They're coming to save you" I prayed

Back to the regular POV

For the first few minutes, you managed to dodge all of their attacks, also firing off some punches back. And while a lot has considered you strong, you were still human and humans have their limits. You were starting to grow tired up until you heard your name being called out by none other than Sungchan.

"(Y/N)!!!" you heard Sungchan shouted, grabbing the whole entire cafeteria, making the crowd in front of you slightly parted

"Sung-sungchan?" you mumbled, clearly distracted, allowing Courtney to fire off a good punch on your face, making you land on the floor, holding your cheek as you felt the burn from the punch

Right then and there, all the noises you heard become muffled. Some memories you never knew you had were starting to flow. It's like deja vu. You blinked and slowly looked up to see a gun being pointed straight to your face alongside a vivid memory filling your eyes as if you were switching channels between two similar shows.

At this point, you were stunned, paralyzed even. You just sat there, hands instinctively on the ground, ready to help your fallen body retreat but you just couldn't. Your mind was screaming for you to get out of there, your ears were shut off, blocking every single voice as your eyes just froze at the sight of the gun in front of you; recalling a memory you were hypnotized to forget.

As the memory was replaying, you felt tears beginning to fill your eyes, blurring your vision. Until you heard a gunshot being fired off. But it wasn't from the gun that was pointing at you. Instead, the bullet hit the gun, throwing it out of the holder's hand. Searching for the person that fired it off, you were met with those boba eyes. The same eyes that may seem just as soft as bobas have turned hard, seemingly like the opening of a gun, ready to fire off bullets at your attacker.

Your eyes followed the male's every movement that was followed by 5 other men. 2 of which were now next to you. However, your ears still couldn't hear anything until the male you've been watching turned his head towards you, his eyes turning back to the soft boba eyes you knew and hearing your name being called out; immediately snapping you back to reality. But because your nerve system just functioned back, there was too much information for your brain to take in that your body started to shut down, blacking out.

Taeyong's POV

Right when I heard about (Y/N) being involved in a fight, something in me just snapped. I ordered Jaehyun to get Jeno and Johnny just in case for backup. I even loaded my gun, not even replying to Jaehyun who was questioning me why I have my gun loaded.

As we almost arrived at a secret entrance of the cafeteria, we met up with Jeno and Johnny. I instructed them to make sure no one left the scene until I leave and they nodded without questioning since Jaehyun must've explained the situation to them whilst I was busy loading my gun.

The four of us then went through the secret entrance, which was on the 2nd floor of the cafeteria. Immediately, our attention was on the people right in the center of the circled crowd. But for me, my attention was immediately towards (Y/N) who seemed to be paralyzed as a gun was pointed right in front of her.

Without thinking, I positioned my gun, firing off a bullet that hit the gun, even grazing the skin of the holder's hand as blood was seen to be dripped onto the white floor. While normally I would be angered by this mess, I was actually pleased at the sight. Especially when that lil gang's faces shifted from anger to horror the minute they saw I shot the gun.

"Don't any of you dare leave this place" Jaehyun commanded as he noticed some of the recruits trying to flee the scene

As we made our way downstairs, the sea of recruits parted from both our end and at Sungchan and Shotaro's end. Both Shotaro and Sungchan immediately went to each of (Y/N)'s side, trying to snap her out of some sort of hynotisation.

"(Y/N)..." I muttered, looking back at her as did Jaehyun, Jeno and Johnny with worried gaze

The second I called out to (Y/N), she seemed to snap out of her thoughts, looking back at me before her body failing her as she passed out in both Sungchan and Shotaro's arms. And as much as I would want to be the one to bring her and take care of her, I knew I had to put these rascals in their place.

"Both of you, take her to Xiaojun. He and Doyoung are there patching up Jisung. They should be done so, they should be able to help her. Stay with her until further notice. Dismissed" I instructed as the two young ones carried (Y/N) out of the cafeteria, making the whole situation tensed once more

"Try your best to not kill them" Johnny reminded me

"Killing them would be to easy. And you know how much I hate the easy way out. Clearly you've been to nice with your punishments" I shouted, making sure all the recruits hear me

"Now. Care to explain to us how the hell did you have a loaded gun out of class?!" I demanded, clicking my gun as I pointed it at the rascals

"We, we just founded some..." of them spoke but I shot right by their hair, only making some of their hair fall

"I'll give you one more chance. ALL OF YOU!! You should all know. I never miss a target" I growled and immediately some of the rascals, mainly 4 girls and 1 man, got on their knees and admitted everything whilst the girl in the center, assuming Courtney and two men were just glaring at them

"Jaehyun, I'll leave these ones (pointing at the ones on their knees) to you. While the rest of you better come to my office at 10 p.m sharp. If any of you are late by even a second, I ensure you that your punishment will be worst than death to the point you'd wish you never crossed the line or even beg for me to kill you right now. AND THIS GOES FOR EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS ROOM!! If we catch any of you acquiring something without any legal reasoning or proof of the reasoning, starting a fight or "purposely" hurting a fellow recruit or even spreading false rumours about each other; you'll all wish to be punished by your teachers as many times as they'd like rather than punished by me for one time only. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" I shouted, earning an immediate response from everyone in the cafeteria

"Good. CLEAN THIS MESS THEN GET BACK TO CLASS!!" I ordered, leaving the scene to Jeno and Johnny as Jaehyun brought the 4 female and 1 male to the teacher's office

After helping Jaehyun making sure the 5 rascals didn't try to escape as we brought them to the teachers' room, I barged in, grabbing all of the remainders of NCT's attention who all have question marks popping from their head.

"I'll keep it simple. They were involved in a fight against (Y/N) and had access to loaded guns. At the very least, these 5 did admit how they got the guns and what sort of happen prior to the fight. I entrust their punishment in your hands. And also, why the hell did none of you know that there was a fight in the cafeteria?! This better not happen ever again!! Especially when some of us are off on a mission!! Understood?!" I scolded the ones left to take care of the whole base

After leaving the room, I straight went to Xiaojun's surgery room, barging in as Xiaojun was nowhere to be seen but the three new members of NCT, Sungchan, Shotaro and Jisung. The three of them stood up and bowed to me which I quickly bowed back; asking them where did Xiaojun go.

"Where's Xiaojun?" I questioned, looking around

"He's back there. He told us to wait out here as he takes care of (Y/N)" Shotaro mentioned

"We've been waiting for almost an hour now and..." Jisung added as we heard the door from the back of the room open, revealing Xiaojun in his surgical uniform

"How is she?" I immediately asked as Xiaojun took his gloves and mask

"She's fine. I think it was a shock from what happened. I asked Ten about it and he said that she was triggered, shocking her body and paralysing her for a moment until you sort of broke the trigger. But when she snapped back, everything was too much for her body to handle, her neurons carried too much information, making her body shut down. She's stable right now, don't worry. You all can go see her. I'll be off to freshen up. Honestly, not what I expected after coming back from a mission but hey, there's never a dull moment when you're in NCT. I'll see you all later" Xiaojun mentioned, leaving me with the younger ones

"C'mon, let's see her together" I muttered, reassuring the young ones that it's alright to go in

Once the four of us were inside, we noticed (Y/N) sleeping on the bed, some wires were hooked to her hand. Jisung and I went to one side of the bed whilst Shotaro and Sungchan went to the other side. No one really spoke a word until I finally broke the silence.

"I hope that none of you blame yourselves for what happened. You were not in the area when it did and when you did arrive, you tried your best to break it off, some even got hurt. I ensure you that it was none of your faults and I will put them in their places" I stated, grabbing the younger ones' attention

"B-boss, I meant, Hyung-ah. We should've been able to break the fight. In a real battle, there might be cases where we would be outnumbered and today, we didn't really prove that we deserve to be part of NCT" Jisung mumbled, as he and the other two lowered their heads

"Don't be like that. I'm sure (Y/N) wouldn't really want you to hear that when she wakes up. There's a reason why we decided to promote the three of you. It's not always about skill, you know. Like you mentioned, when it comes to the real battle, it's different. There are times where you might've miscalculated. But the important thing is that you don't forget your team and work it out together, regardless of the outcome" I tried to encourage, patting Jisung's back, looking over at the other two across me

"C'mon, enough with the long faces. How bout you all go freshen up. I'll be here to watch over (Y/N). Go on" I told them, nudging all three of them to go to their rooms and freshen up, now left alone with (Y/N)

"Sorry that you had to experience that on your own. It must be scary, hmm?" I whispered, grabbing a chair as I sat right next to (Y/N)'s bed, stroking her cheek

"Don't worry, you're alright now. You're safe. No one would be able to hurt you, I'll make sure of it. You take a good rest, alright? But not for too long, everyone will be worried" I mentioned as if (Y/N) could hear me

"You won't be stuck within those recruits for long. The guys and I have requested for you to be the first female to be part of NCT; though it's taking a while to be processed, you will be part of NCT very soon. You won't have to part ways with your three friends for too long. Also, you'll be mainly be helping Xiaojun and be part of the medic team for missions, that way, we all can be here to watch over you; including me" I explained, grabbing (Y/N)'s closest hand in between my hands, kissing her knuckles and rubbing them

"Yea, hopefully, we won't see any lovey-dovey action right in front of us; especially in my lab" I heard Xiaojun muttered

"No promises. Do you mind looking after her? I have to go shower then need to finish some paperwork done whilst figuring out what would be the best punishment for those five rascals that didn't try to admit their mistakes" I growled

"I'm sure you have like 127 ideas running around in your head. But yea, go and freshen up. I don't need more bloodstains around here. Plus, the three youngsters are in front. They said that they didn't want to come in and bother you" Xiaojun chuckled as I stood up

"Oh? Is that so? Guess I've been here for quite some time. I'll send them in. Let me know if she wakes up. I'll be back with some paperwork cause I also need you to go over some stuff" I stated

"Sure thing Tae. See you later then" Xiaojun mentioned as I left the room, not forgetting to let the three new members in the room, giving them a reassuring smile and slightly messed up their hair before leaving to freshen up

Back to Normal POV

After Taeyong went back to his room to freshen up, he took all the paperwork he had to do and headed back to Xiaojun's lab where Xiaojun and the three new NCT members. Knowing that he might be in the lab for quite some time with the other four, he decided to order some food for all of them; even saving some for (Y/N) as if they expect her to wake up some time that day.

Despite seemingly busy, Taeyong would occasionally comment on whatever conversation the three new members and Xiaojun were having; nearly forgetting that he was the boss of a mafia. When it was near the time for Taeyong to finally confront the five recruits that caused trouble, he sighed, taking his glasses off and telling the others that he had to leave soon.

"Sorry to inform so sudden but I have to leave soon. It's 9 and I have yet to know what to do with those 5 imbeciles" Taeyong groaned, combing his hair back, leaning onto the chair

"Hyung-ah, c-can, we come with you?" Jisung mentioned, making their leader cock an eyebrow, looking at Xiaojun for some sort of answer

"We want to confront them as well!! (Y/N) is our best friend. And no one should get away for what they did to her" Sungchan stated

"Are you sure you won't kill them? We still need them, unfortunately" Taeyong sighed

"I don't see any harm in bringing them, Tae. I mean, Johnny, Yuta, Jeno and Jaehyun would be there, right?" Xiaojun asked

"Yea. Essentially making sure that I, myself don't kill them. Taeil, Mark, Doyoung and Jungwoo are handling the other five rascals whilst Lucas, Kun, Haechan and Jaemin are keeping an eye on the recruits" Taeyong mentioned

"We promised we won't kill them. Though, no promises in not hurting them" Sungchan stated, standing up alongside the other two

"I admire your will. Alright, you can come. Plus, your hyungs will be there in case any of you or even I go berserk" Taeyong chuckled, standing up as well

"Well, have fun, Ten is coming to keep my company also just in case if (Y/N) wakes up" Xiaojun stated

"Sure thing. Oh, here, I brought a hoodie and some sweatpants for (Y/N), just in case she wakes up. When she does wake up, just inform any of us" Taeyong commented, handing Xiaojun some of his clothing

"Sure thing. Have fun all of you, don't beat them up too much" Xiaojun exclaimed as Taeyong and the three new members went out of the room and into Taeyong's office

After Taeyong left, Xiaojun went back to finish some reports he had to make whilst they were on their mission. Not long after, Ten came into the room, bringing some snacks and drinks. The two men then just talked about the possibilities of punishment Taeyong was gonna do towards the recruits when they heard a groan coming from the other room, the room where you were in.

"I think she's awake" Ten mentioned, looking over to Xiaojun

"You think? Contact Jae cause I'm pretty sure Taeyong is interrogating the recruits" Xiaojun instructed, rushing over to you who had just woken up

"Wh-where am I?" you questioned

"Glad to see you awake (Y/N). How are you feeling?" Xiaojun mentioned as Ten helped you sit on your bed

"Xiaojun? Eh? Teacher Ten, what are you doing here?" you asked

"You passed out during lunch and got hit quite badly on your face. Do you remember anything?" Xiaojun asked

"Right. Courtney managed to punch me then I felt I was paralysed? Taeyong and some others came then I passed out. Guess that's all I remember" you mumbled, holding your head in your hands

"Don't worry, you just passed out for a few hours. It hasn't been one day. Also, Tae left a hoodie and sweats for you to change into when you wake up" Xiaojun mentioned, handing you Taeyong's clothes

"Th-thank you. Where is he? Taeyong, I mean" you mumbled

"He's in a..." Xiaojun was about to answer before Ten pulled him back

"How bout you change first (Y/N), we'll take you right to him after" Ten replied to you, dragging Xiaojun out of the room to his "office"

"What was that?! We can't just let her go into that..." Xiaojun scolded

"Listen. It's best for both of them. (Y/N) is not mentally that stable and Taeyong was the one to snap out of that trauma memory. As for Taeyong's side, how sure are you that he won't "kill" the recruits, he's for sure going to break them. Having (Y/N) there means he'll be calmer and won't be so rash" Ten explained

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Xiaojun contemplated

"Positive. Plus, the others are in that room. With (Y/N) there, those recruits wouldn't dare to do anything. Taeyong and the others will be watching their every move and what word will come out of their mouths. It's not just a good idea, it's the best idea" Ten exclaimed

"Xiaojun? Ten? Are you there? I'm done changing. C-can I go see Taeyong?" you questioned, opening the door slightly

"Of course (Y/N)!! Come, let's take you to him!!" Ten cheered, going behind you whilst Xiaojun is beside you just in case if you suddenly fall again

Over at Taeyong's side, he, the three new members, Johnny, Yuta and Jeno were there to "welcome" the recruits that caused the whole mess in the first place. Lucky for them, Jaehyun actually managed to get all five of them to arrive at Taeyong's office by 10pm sharp, all the men in the room immediately had an intense stare towards the recruits as Jaehyun proceed to lock the door.

"Impressive. How did you get the five of them here on time?" Taeyong asked, leaning onto his chair

"I don't think if I explain to you, you would believe me" Jaehyun joked

"Fair point. Since you all arrived on time, I'll be a bit lenient. I'll enlighten your punishment if you admitted what you did, tell me the whole entire story on how you had a loaded gun to the point you even pointed it at a fellow recruit. Tell me, did you actually plan on shooting her?" Taeyong questioned, but no answer came

"Pretty sure they were. It's impossible when a loaded gun is only used to scare someone off" Sungchan scoffed

"Sungchan" I warned, looking at the recruits who all had their head hung low

"Sorry. It's just, I'm sure that it was all planned" Sungchan sighed

"I don't blame you for saying that. Actually, I heard that you were actually talking about me, Courtney. And by my full name" I mentioned, as the girl Taeyong called out twitched

"I, it, it slipped sir" Courtney stuttered

"Is it? What was it that you say about me? Care to say it? I'd love to know what you think of my personal life" Taeyong scoffed, scaring the girl

Just before any of them said anything more, there was a knock on the door of the office. Jaehyun, who was the closest to the door, opened it slightly as Taeyong was slightly pissed that someone was interrupting his sweet time in tormenting the recruits. Until he heard that it was you by the door, along with Ten and Xiaojun.

"Xiaojun? Ten? And..(Y/N)?! You're awake already?" Jaehyun exclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention in the room

"Hey Jae. (Y/N) wanted to see Taeyong. So, we brought her here" Ten exclaimed as Xiaojun shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose

"Well, I would allow it but like, we're in a meeting and I'm not sure if Tae would..." Jaehyun tried to explain before Taeyong cuts him off

"Let her in" Taeyong stated as Jaehyun began to open the door widely, allowing Xiaojun and Ten to help you go into the room and right in front of Taeyong

"Hey, you alright. Anything wrong?" Taeyong asked, grabbing both your arms, pulling you so you were standing in between his legs

"Was, was just worried. I wanted to apologise" you mumbled

"You got nothing to apologise for. Ten, Xiaojun, you can go. She'll be fine here with us" Taeyong stated, looking over to Xiaojun and Ten who just bowed

"Call us if you need anything" Xiaojun mentioned right before he and Ten left

"You hungry? We left some food for you back at your room" Taeyong whispered softly as he guided you to sit on his lap, basically making him cradle you

"No. Umm, why are they here?" you questioned, slightly looking at the very people who harmed you

"Just a little interrogation. If you can't take it and go, I'll let you go. I just want a bit of confirmation from you, is that alright?" Taeyong whispered in your ear as you buried your face in the crook of his neck

"Okay..." you muttered, feeling a smirk growing on Taeyong's face

"Now, I hope you'd answer the truth from now on. No one harms anyone in this base, especially anyone from NCT and that includes (Y/N) and gets away with it. If you won't answer me truthfully, guess I'll just have to discipline all of you the hard way" Taeyong growled, looking death straight at the five recruits but his hand caressing your waist, calming your nerves

A/N: wow, this turned out longer than expected. I did not mean to make it this long but that was the idea that was stuck in my head for a while and funny enough, took me a good 3 days to write XD Anyways, thank you for reading!!

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pluviophile-bookworm · 3 years

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High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Rewatch pt. 5

Technically, I shouldn't be doing this right now. But who are we kidding? I miss my Wildcats and this seems like the only thing I can do to see them again right now. So here goes

1x8: The contractually obligated emotional rollercoaster

This episode sure is a lot... I don't know if I'm ready. But it makes no sense to skip this one. I never skip through stuff I love, even when some parts are borderline traumatising. Plus I remember this episode having a bunch of hilarious moments that are definitely worth it.

'I'm really not sure what to say' — Me neither, Miss Jenn, me neither. I'm just sitting here watching this and I know I'm supposed to comment, but I just can't think of what to say. Sometimes the silence just speaks for itself.

'The Lucky Ducky Puppet Pavilion' — I can never overlook that line. Not when I know how much it took for Matt to deliver it. Fun fact: one of my cats is called Lucky, so when his siblings were about to be born, I briefly considered naming them Ducky, Puppet and Pavilion as a joke.

Ah, the El Rey. The place where Miss Jenn totally did not suffer a professional heartbreak. Things are about to get real here. And by real I mean... real dramatic.

I've got to say, I love the duality of Big Red (well, I do love everything about him so that was a no-brainer, but still): doesn't know how to hang a light, but sure does know how to light up a room; amazing with power tools, but took three weeks to make a paper-mache basketball because he kept gluing his fingers together (that last part is far more relatable than I care to admit). I just love him, ok?

The way Carlos acts about Miss Jenn's box of production notes... honestly, I totally get it. I feel like if there's one person at that point who cares about the show much more than anyone else, it's him. And I fully understand why that is. That poor boy has been lonely for too long, and this show is giving him the chance to be part of an accepting community for what feels like the first time in a long time. Just... give my boy Carlito all the hugs.

For a place that allegedly hasn't been used in so long, the El Rey is not nearly dusty enough. I mean, you should see my room if I forget to hoover for longer than a week. And we're talking about years here. There's allegedly mould in that place, but I don't even see dust. Oh well, maybe I would, if it weren't for that lighting — or lack thereof, more like.

'Whatever it says in Miss Jenn's audition file, I am me, and that is the only me I need to be.' — A beautiful sentiment, my dearest EJ. Now maybe hold on to it for a while... just a suggestion.

'Lacks emotional connection to the material' — well, I do have to agree. My first impression of EJ when I was watching the first couple of episodes for the first time was that he was 'too polished to be Troy'. Too much Technician, too little Performer. And I do love my Performers over my Technicians.

Wait, is that a Redlyn background moment I see? I mean, everything is super chaotic and fast-paced, and my two ginger babies are just sitting together on the side of it all. Bonding, I assume. Good for them.

Seb being the only one to know why Natalie is absent, along with the two of them sitting together in 1x1, makes me think... Natalie and Seb are totally besties! I mean, he's basically besties with everyone he ever talks to, so... what can I say, that boy is sunshine incarnate. He deserves all the love and appreciation.

'I know how to hang... out' — gosh, I love this one. And I can only hope everyone was laughing with him, not at him. Because there's nothing to laugh at. My boy got dragged into this whole crew stuff, it's not his fault he doesn't know everything. He's more of an on-stage person than a backstage person anyway. Maybe put him in the spotlight next time and prepare to get your socks knocked off.

No, Ash, your baking club is not at all irrelevant! Honestly, I have nothing but immense admiration for how Ashlyn manages to be in the top two students most dedicated to theatre and do all those other extracurriculars. And she probably has a 4.-something GPA, too. I don't know what the Caswells are feeding their children, but I need it this instant.

'I just don't know how to make things light up' — 'You walk into a room?' — I just... this is one of my favourite Redlyn moments in the history of Redlyn. See, the thing about Ashlyn's line here is the tone in which she says it. She doesn't mean it as a compliment, but as a statement of the absolute truth. You can hear that in her voice. And with good reason, too, because she isn't lying at all. My boy Reddy sure does light up a room by walking into it. Both of them do, really. They're soulmates, you know.

'This place is not creepy at all...' — Yeah, and things between Ricky and Nini are not totally awkward at all, either. I'm living for this.

'I can do Troy!' — Sure you can, Eej. Sure you can. Emotional connection to the material and all.

Ok, but this entire scene... Carlos marking Gabriella's lines completely flatly, EJ emoting like he's in a freaking telenovela and also chopping onions... Carlos' reaction to the latter... I'm living for all of this.

Big Red just suddenly appearing next to Miss Jenn has me rolling... and also kind of wishing he could appear like that next to me too. I mean, it's not like I've visualised that so many times... certainly not every time I have to pass by a stray dog, or give a blood sample, or talk to people, or whatever... why do you ask?

'I never really loved the name Nina anyway' — listen, I relate to the sentiment of not being super fond of your given name, but... what was that stuff in s2 about, then? I mean, I do understand that too, but the two just seem to clash a bit, I reckon. That's all.

Also, can we talk about Rini's chemistry and how it's sometimes there and sometimes nowhere to be found? I think I've figured it out. Every time the chemistry is there, they're talking about or doing things that are not necessarily inherently romantic. Reminiscing about kindergarten, how they gave each other their nicknames, 'the ribbon in your hair, the secrets that we shared, the way that you would stare at me across the room' (yeah, I went there, and for a good reason)... see, Ricky and Nini have that kind of thing going on where, however hard you try, you just can't be indifferent to the other person. It's obvious that they love each other so much, but whenever they try to make it romantic, something goes south. What I'm saying is, when you're really good friends with somebody and you try to force it into something 'more', or better said, something else (because romance is not inherently 'more' than friendship and you can pry that out of my cold dead aro hands), and the operating word here is 'force', things are bound to go wrong and even reach toxic territory. And Rini are living proof of that. Some people are just better as friends, and sometimes the entire 'I don't want to ruin our friendship' trope is very valid. I just want them to be best buddies, is that too much to ask?

Bless Steph for pushing Kourtney forward when Miss Jenn needed someone to sing! Honestly, it's moments like these that make me feel like the background characters are criminally underrated. I realise not every character can be equally central to the plot, but with this cast, I kind of want them to be. I have the feeling that most, if not all of the one-line characters in this show are people with just as much talent and potential as the main cast. They deserve recognition, you know.

Going off of the above, Dara Reneé is living proof of the point I just made. You know how Kourtney was supposed to be a one-scene wonder with two lines? And then Dara showed up and hiding her in the background was instantly out of the question. I wonder how many more hidden gems there are in the show, just sitting in the background, delivering their single line and waiting their turn in the semi-metaphorical wings.

'I just need a minute, or a vacation, it's not clear' — Me, all the time. Especially after I read chapter 11 of @redlyncentral's Let It Go. That ending broke me. And this line by Miss Jenn just reminded me of that feeling, even if what she's feeling right now might not be the exact same thing I went through with that chapter the other day. That being said, everyone go check out my lovely friend's writing right now, I promise you it's worth every second.

'We're going to take a... long five' — What, no 'thank you, five'? I was expecting that. But I guess everyone is a little bit too distraught for that now.

I have to hand it to Carlos — even when he's very obviously uncomfortable and lowkey scared of some people, he just goes up to them and calls them out. I wish I could ever be bold enough to do that.

Wow, not EJ thrashing Carlos' 'forest of boys' idea. Again. I don't get why everyone dislikes it so much, I think it's brilliant visual poetry and should have been given a chance. I said what I said.

You know, everyone has been calling the show out for saying HSM premiered in the cinema, not on telly like it did in real life; and I have been agreeing with that sentiment. But notice how Miss Jenn said 'the Utah premiere' and how there were family and friends in the audience? What if that was some sort of semi-private screening for cast, crew and their family members? It would make sense. And of course, it was held in Utah because that was where the show was filmed and where the majority of background actors, dancers and extras are from. Idk, but it makes sense to me. Note that I have very limited knowledge of how the period between post-production and the release of a movie works.

Isn't Ashlyn the best, though, always noticing when someone is not ok, hearing them out, helping them... I wish I could be half as good a friend as she is. She and Big Red are totally soulmates in that, too. And they deserve each other more than anyone else deserves them, honestly. I just love both of them so much, both as individuals and as a couple, and I cannot be made to shut up about that just yet.

I've got to say, the entire 'me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me' - 'you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you' thing was super funny. And it makes me love Rini — strictly as friends — even more. You know, I think I used to ship them during s1 because the script wanted me to. Exactly like I didn't notice Big Red until midway through the season because the script didn't want me to. Sometimes the script, the acting, the directing and other stuff has immense power over viewers' perception of a show's plot and characters. And that is, as I always point out, what rewatches are for — noticing things that may have escaped you the first time over.

Yeah, so Nini was Ricky's first crush. So what? Many people have had crushes on their best friend at some point or another. That doesn't necessarily mean they're better off as a couple than they are as friends. The opposite idea is just amatonormativity speaking. I mean, sometimes it's nice and it works out; I love me some well-written best-friends-to-lovers, but that's just not always the case and the media should stop pushing the idea that platonic relationships are in any way inferior to romantic ones.

I've got to say I really don't like it when someone interrupts two people's romantic moment (and Big Red is not exempt from my frustration in such cases even though I love him so much — just think of the In a Heartbeat scene), but honestly, bless Reddy for not letting Ricky and Nini kiss. I mean, I know full well they do kiss later on (and how!), but it's just nice to have semi-platonic Rini for a while. If and when we get season 3 (manifesting!), I really hope we get more of them putting some stuff behind them and just being best buddies.

Kourtney and Seb's friendship is honestly goals and I really wish we'd got some more of it. Just another thing to add to my season 3 wishlist. Along with, you know, an actual season 3.

EJ saying all those nice (and very true) things to Carlos has my heart (or, well, he's renting it temporarily from Redlyn and Seblos, but you know). And Carlos really was like 'A for effort, C for execution', and I adore him for that. But EJ is seriously growing. He's pretty much reached EJ 1.8 at this point, and I love to see it.

Say what you want about the Lucas Grabeel dream sequence, but I love, love, love it. Completely unironically. I mean, he's kind of my favourite OG cast member. And the 'I'm more of a Glinda' comment referencing Kate Reinders actually being one of the BWay Glindas? Here's a note from when I first watched 1x1: The drama teacher won’t stop spilling her coffee and I love her. Also, her actress was Glinda on Broadway, so I stan. See, I didn't even know Miss Jenn's name yet and I already loved her. But then she went and did some stuff in s2 and ruined all of that. Add 'proper Miss Jenn redemption' to my s3 wishlist, I guess. But I'm getting off-track (when am I not?)

I only just noticed that all of the iconic BWay leads mentioned in the song (sans Glinda, of course, but that wasn't even a proper part of the song) start with an E. I wonder if that was on purpose or a lucky accident...

'And you never know when you'll get a cameo...' — If anyone in the HSM franchise knows anything about making the most of a cameo, it's Lucas. I'm referring to his post-credits scene in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, of course. That is one of my absolute favourite scenes in the entire movie. Well, that and The Rest of My Life. I very unironically love that number.

Another thing on the list of things I very unironically love — the transitions both into and out of this scene. I just think they're neat.

Have I mentioned before how much I love it that Carlos' response every time someone asks where he has to be is 'Broadway'... it just reminds me a lot of Seb's 'Friendship!' — that's some soulmate stuff right there, if you ask me.

'I just... almost did something really stupid' — Yes, Nini, yes it was very stupid. And you're going to do it anyway. You wouldn't if I had any say in this, but I don't and so here we are. In a world where Rini are a romantic thing, Redlyn get 5 minutes of screentime in s1 and two major moments demoted to post-credits scenes, Seblos haven't even properly discussed their issues, and Portwell didn't even kiss on screen. I lowkey hate it here. Still, I feel like things are going in the right direction. If we get a season 3, that is — and we better be getting it, or I will riot and I know I won't be the only one.

No but... just imagine if Kourtney hadn't called YAC for Nini, but for herself. There's so much potential there... and I think Kourtney and Ashlyn deserved that spot every bit as much as Nini did, and then some. I said what I said.

Well, this was 1x8. This post is already way too long, plus I want to do a double feature of the last two whenever I get to rewatching them, so I'm ending this here. It was just as much of a journey as I remembered it being, and not nearly as negative as I had the feeling it would be. I absolutely loved it, you know. And with good reason too.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts: the rewatch #ricky bowen #nini salazar-roberts #ej caswell #ashlyn moon caswell #big red redonovich #carlos rodriguez #seb matthew-smith #kourtney greene #hsmtmts miss jenn #redlyn

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enchantednightingales · 4 years

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RJC’s review of: A Number

I’d like to start by apologising for the continued use of the almost-pun “A Number” but in my defence... Caryl Churchill started it.

There are A Number of things one can look forward to in Polly Findlay’s production of “A Number” at The Bridge theatre and just three of them are Colin Morgan. Fangirls can delight that Colin’s stealth stage door exit skills have FINALLY been put to their stunning first use on stage. Colin plays three different characters with about six to eight costume changes in the space of an hour. He disappears and reappears completely anew and it is magnificently seamless.

When I first read the play I had A Number of concerns. Maybe I’m an old fashioned kind of gal but I prefer sentences to begin AND end. I’m greedy like that. I found the play far too difficult a read and I was somewhat apprehensive about the production. Fortunately, I see the text benefits from performance as Roger Allam and Colin Morgan breathe something reminiscent of natural into those lines. I tip my imaginary hat to them as well, remembering that stuff must be tricky, the majority of these lines don’t follow a natural structure and tripping on the lines would weaken the effect.

I am not completely sold on this effect to be honest. It cries device to me and distances this tale from pertinence. “She was one of those people, when they say there has been a person under a train” is a good example. WHO EVER says that? Ever? Nobody. I’m a great lover of words but apparently I don’t like them in this particular order. I never was one for the abstract. Be prepared for a little abstract.

Colin’s nasal and fumbling B2 makes a lot more sense in person than I could have ever anticipated when reading. A Number is obviously not quite my cup of tea shall we say but it is becoming an increasingly tolerable piece thanks to the efforts of this production. It’s an intriguing story. A failed father seeks a fresh start, sends his son into care but not before cloning him, as “tribute”. Written just as cloning became a legitimate thing it’s pushing at big relevant buttons but for my money it’s a paper thin approach. It’s definitely a conversation piece though, a trigger of questions, forcing you to think and figure the thing out. If you can be bothered to meet it half way and you kinda have to.

A Number is another “sins of the fathers” type narrative in which Salter, the father, cannot break the cycle of his own ineptitude and selfishness. A price his sons inevitably will have to pay. I won’t give that price away but it makes for a sad little story. Some emphasis on little. When it could have been bigger (that’s what she said).

A Number hits a number of notes in its short duration. It’s kinda funny, it’s even kinda cute (maybe that’s just Colin), it’s kinda sad, kinda creepy, kinda cruel and ultimately super dark.

Roger Allam and Colin Morgan pull out of the bag a rather lovely and truly unforgettable chemistry as father and sons. I’m not quite used to seeing Allam as the “little man”. His appearance is entirely ordinary and as a character he’s far from powerful or noble. For a man usually possessed of scene stealing charisma, Allam fearlessly relished in the grim and pitiful. He’s squirming from the beginning to the end. Trying to contain the anger of his first son, trying to contain the disappointment of his second son and in the final act, trying to salvage some scrap of meaning or importance from one beautifully blasé last (of 19) hopes. Allam’s physicality when B1 is on stage is intriguing to watch as he screams fear and seeks distance. His tone when B2 is on stage almost convinces you of wholesomeness and genuine love. Salter is quite an understated journey but enjoy as Allam hits every single note of it in true masterclass fashion.

One could marvel for A Number of hours about how amazing the stage is for this production. The first night, when the room completely changed angle, my eyes widened like a kid in a Colin Morgan-themed Candy store! WOW. It messed with my mind so much that I was second guessing everything. What they can do nowadays is awesome. I still don’t quite get how it all works and where exactly Colin escapes to in-between but... that’s the magic of theatre for you.

I’m also a big fan of the 90s kinda feel. The stack tables, the CD tower, the TV stand, the landline phone! It’s soooooo 90s I keep expecting to hear Hanson’s MMM Bop playing upstairs or something. I feel like I’m a teenager again, at my friends’ house and it’s all kicking off between her hot older brother and his step-dad again. Flashbacks....

My only criticism with the whole set change thing is the decision to blast some crazy sounds at you for their duration. It’s like watching a crappy horror movie with jump scares that don’t lead anywhere. It’s not particularly satisfying and ones patience for it tends to wear thin. Especially when everyone around you likes to gasp and yelp every time it happens. Personally, not sure why nobody just took my advice of playing Bjork’s “Army of Me” in-between the set changes. I’ve only got an entire playlist of suggestions but whatever. You know better. I suppose it might wake the odd theatre sleeper.

Can I talk about Colin Morgan now?

I feel like A Number is a bit of a showcase of everything Colin can do (and do better than anyone else). He’s got the skills for comedy, for brutality, for tears and not to mention his signature LIMITLESS energy. As his self-elected number one fangirl I will quite happily sit there and bask in the pride as he totally nails this whole thing.

Colin’s three characters are all quite different. One might easier refer to them as Benjamin, Leo and... well... Michael. B2 is adorable in his almost whiney tone and sounds possibly too much like Yasmin in “Worldship Humility” accent (for my liking). I keep expecting him to start calling people goat fucking somethings but so far he’s not done it. His twitchy, stiff awkwardness is reminiscent of Benjamin but that’s about it.

B1 isn’t exactly Leo-like, he’s far too efficient for that, he just STRANGELY ENOUGH looks A LOT like him. The hoodie and denim don’t help. He’s got that similar breaking point type edge to him. B1 sounds as serious as he is and for the first time ever, Colin is somewhat unsettling, I don’t blame Roger for keeping his distance. He’s a tad nasty and Colin goes there. Customarily though Colin helps us to “see it human” with a tear or two. As poor B1 just sits there stewing in his own anger, hatred and confusion, lost to a father and lost to himself. It’s a sad tale and Colin sure won’t let you miss the point.

B1 is part of my favourite exchange which involves Salter demonstrating his worst colours when he justifies his actions by claiming B1 was something to be crushed. Representative of the lacking thought and care that can go into the creation of life that is ultimately one of mankind’s most devastating flaws. B2 speaks of being cloned from a speck and says “you threw the rest of me away”. Colin slays me with that line. I am dead now. He killed me. Here I must afford A Number with the compliment that it is effectively unsettling and unpleasant, which is, what I think it was going for. I hope.

Can I talk about Michael now?

He’s so adorable. Can I just point out SPOILER that Michael is Irish! Even Irish clones are better! Unlike in All My Sons, Colin catches a break and can conclude this show on a happier note, he’s a happy man attune to and accepting of similarities to the likes of apes and lettuces. He’s a purple shirt of sex wearing Maths teacher twenty years away from Netflix and Chill with his pointy eared wife (possibly called Rebecca in my head) and he’s at ease with life, fatherhood and clone-being. I love Michael. When he’s on stage “you can’t help feeling wonderful”.

Dean (Gloria) has a cheerful contender for my heart. Who saw that coming?

After that ridiculous wait we all had to endure while Colin was being all lazy and stuff we finally get some Colin vs Bad Dad on stage again!

PS. Did I mention that Michael is lovely?

#ColinMorgan #Colin Morgan #Roger Allam #RogerAllam #A Number #ANumber #TheBridgeTheatre #The Bridge Theatre #RJC #Polly Findlay #Caryl Churchill

174 notes · View notes

aqvarius · 5 years

Text

[WALKTHROUGH + REVIEW + CG] Romance MD: Tetsuya Hosho

This review is coming in a whole month late because life got in the way of my happiness and general enjoyment lol. When I started writing this, there was still a heart sale on and there was no time limit for reading Hosho’s route PLUS the Collector’s Edition was available! So the value of this review is significantly less than it should have been but sadly life has just been so busy. Hopefully this is still helpful.

Expectations:

I was both more excited for, and afraid of, Hosho’s route. I was certainly more excited than I was for Takado’s route. But I was also afraid that Hosho was going to be So Dark like proper haraguro and this Dr. MC would just get sucked into his darkness and fall in love because of Stockholm Syndrome. I don’t really know if I have anyone that I would compare him to just based on first impression - Maybe Ryoichi from Seduced in the Sleepless City? In general I’m a bit wary of the super flirty and/or princely guys cause they’re always the type that don’t take love seriously and just mess around because they’re ToO aFrAiD tO tRuSt PeOpLe and they’ll treat you like garbage and you just have to deal with all their shit with unconditional tolerance because you’re in love. (Shinobu Narita… my nemesis… will I ever get to a point where I stop mentioning this…? Probably not.)

So basically I was eager to try Hosho but I also went into his route with a heap of trepidation. If you’ve read my Takado review, you may also know that I’m not a huge fan of RMD’s Dr. MC. Was she any better in this route? Let’s see…

Click below to read the full review, plus walkthrough and CGs

Reality:

This route both exceeded my expectations in terms of plot but also let me down a little bit in terms of the relationship. Let’s start with Dr. MC. Hosho’s MC is fine… maybe I’m just being extra biased because I don’t like her sprite lmao #shallow. I do find her substantially more likeable than Takado’s MC who I personally don’t really like. I like that she actually acknowledges her feelings and actually… has… feelings lol, although something I don’t like about Dr. MC is that she’s not very introspective. I feel like other Voltage MCs tend to have a better grip on their emotions and what it is they’re feeling but Dr. MC is a bit like… omg WHAT??? I’m in LOVE???? They do refer to her as a robot at times which I kind of agree with lol, and I tend to prefer my MCs to be human. Also, I’m so confused by the reports that she writes. Aren’t they factual reports? When I write notes at conferences, I just write about people’s papers… I’ve never in my life written a report on my supervisors’ personal lives, nor would I show them to anyone if I did, and certainly not to the department head!!

Dr. MC is better about acknowledging her feelings and accepting her love for him in Hosho’s route though, I will admit, but it’s just my personal preference to like sweet MCs. If you like MCs which are a bit more snarky, you will probably like Dr. MC. However, because we read these routes from the perspective of the MC, I overall find it easier to actually fall in love with the love interest and the relationship when the MC falls in love. Which Hosho’s Dr. MC does… but just in a way that I don’t find very convincing? I wonder if it’s maybe that I can’t figure out why she falls in love – it feels more like general pity/comfort than love, although it does provoke an interesting thought exercise into what we might define as being in love. The strange thing is that plot-wise, I think them falling in love is smooth enough, but I honestly think it’s just the writing style that I find a bit too clinical (lol) maybe? So while the pacing is fine, it still somehow feels a bit abrupt. I haven’t quite figured out what exactly it is about RMD that I just find slightly off… (and I’m also too lazy to do a proper analysis and compare to some other titles).

I think it also depends on how you play otome games: do you treat the MC as a separate person? Do you tend to self-insert as the MC? Or is it sort of a mix of both?

Personally, I find for myself that it’s a mix of both. I like MCs that I can relate to, so in that sense there’s an element of self-insert, but I also do see her as a separate person (since they make a lot of choices that I wouldn’t and tend to have a form of strength and conviction that I absolutely do not have lol). Something I realised about myself is that when I read shoujo manga, I’m pretty indiscriminate about what types of guys I like… it’s more about the chemistry between the two characters. Speaking of playing otome games, I don’t really know how I feel about the Sekai inserts… I mean it’s fairly relatable to mentally interact with your favourite otoge characters but from a reader perspective, we know absolutely nothing about Sekai so I don’t feel any particular way about seeing him. Maybe it’s just a different way of communicating Dr. MC’s thoughts but yeah I don’t really know that the Sekai inserts are necessary…? Let me know what you think about him.

Also so maybe this is maybe a cultural thing but like what is the DEAL with the pheromones? I can tell you for sure that I’ve been attracted to people in my life but I’ve never felt them like leaking pheromones. (I think my boyfriend smells amazing and it makes me wanna be close to him but like… are those pheromones? I don’t know.) I find it funny that out of all of them, Hosho probably has the most ‘regular’/realistic(?) character design but we have to take their word for it that he’s the Sexiest Person Ever. I feel like it was a bit over the top but then again I really did become convinced that Hosho is just super sexy so… I guess it worked? But equally, I feel like it could have been toned down a little and I still would have believed that Hosho is sex on legs. He’s actually really likeable… but somehow I feel that the chemistry is lacking? There’s something about Dr. MC that I find just kind of bland.

My own doctor friends are totally normal people (by which I mean they have their own quirks and weirdness and hobbies/interests lol that’s what makes us friends) and even each individual love interest has their own personality and quirks so I’m not quite sure why Dr. MC just seems kind of dull to me. I mean I really like some of the newer Voltage MCs like the ones from Masquerade Kiss and Irresistible Mistakes, who are also career women and have a more concrete personality and yet can still fall in love, even when they may not want to. If we’re talking chemistry and sexual tension, look at Kazuomi and MK MC! Even though Hosho is supposed to be a walking sex machine, I didn’t really get much of a sense of actual chemistry between him and Dr. MC. So I think I like Hosho as a person (as in I, both from an observer’s perspective and my own personal tastes, like Hosho) but I don’t love his route. I feel like he would be better off with a different MC, like maybe My Sweet Bodyguard MC – someone who comes off a little sweeter – or even someone like IM or EITM MC who’s a mix of sexy and sweet.

I actually quite like Hosho, but I’m not sure if it’s just because he reminds me so much of Soma. He’s got that same kind of charisma and mystery (and popularity/smoothness with women) to him. I actually wrote in my notes while playing that Hosho is a sluttier version of Soma. While not as cold as Soma, Hosho can definitely be cool when he wants to be, doing the classic “pulling away because he’s scared to love” thing. I do think there is an element of the “omg he’ll treat you poorly because he’s too afraid to trust people” but I actually like the way it’s done in Hosho’s route. So rather than treating you poorly because he’s too afraid to trust, it’s more like he pushes you away because he’s afraid of being loved because everyone who’s loved him has left him or forgotten him. I actually don’t find him to be too cold – some LIs can act up in really twisted ways (Shinobu…. Narita…..) because they have bad personalities lol but Hosho’s strategy is just to distance himself rather than be malicious about it. In a way, he’s once again similar to Soma who is kind and professional but distant/cold rather than intentionally cruel because of his own dead sister trauma.

All things considered, I think Hosho’s personality is actually quite regular – he’s just a flirty, pretty nice guy who uses physical intimacy to distract from his trauma. He comes across as both mature and composed but also stuck in his childhood and still quite vulnerable in some ways. He’s someone who has definitely found his own ways to deal with his issues, whether or not they’re actually healthy for him. We may have to wait a good while to see this (if RMD is still being continued beyond season 1) but I’m curious to see what he’ll be like as a love interest/boyfriend once his trauma has been dealt with.

(Cute rare blushing Hosho. As rare as cute rare blushing Soma)

I’m also kind of sad that Hosho doesn’t speak in Kansai dialect because I personally think Kansai ben is REALLY sexy and it would make his casual sexiness even better but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I was wondering if they just forgot about it but then you see him speaking in ‘translated Kansai ben’ (a.k.a. the bogan accent that Voltage likes to use as a replacement) as a kid and it’s soooo cute.

(SO!!!! ADORABLE!!!!! I LOVE BABY HOSHO)

(A bonus crying baby Tetsuya… pulls at the heartstrings…)

Something that I do like about all the Romance MD guys is that they all have their own different personality traits but they’re actually all so well-read and clever and demonstrably good at their jobs and individual specialties and they take their job seriously and work hard at it. This is certainly the case with Hosho too, who is a staggeringly talented neurosurgeon both in terms of practical skill and research. Perhaps even more than Takado, I developed a feeling of respect for Hosho as a doctor, although this may be because of the Dr. MC perspective in the storytelling – maybe this is another reason why I feel the chemistry is generally lacking in RMD because it sort of feels like there’s more of a professional relationship being built than a romantic one, and it doesn’t have the same sort of balance that we can see in other workplace romance titles such as Her Love in the Force, Our Two Bedroom Story and IM. I do feel like Hosho gets away with super unprofessional behaviour that Kasumi just kind of allows. I did want more explanation for the Kasumi-Hosho relationship a little bit more, although I am wondering if Kasumi just has a special relationship with every individual member of the ICU crew. 100koi+ has Takado’s MS from Kasumi’s perspective for some reason, so I’m assuming he has some significant relationship there too.

In general, there’s less banter amongst the doctors compared to Takado’s route which was kind of a shame, because their dynamic is part of what makes this game fun. I honestly think Takado is more fun outside of his own route. His grouchiness is kind of amusing. Hosho’s route also reveals a tiny little hint of what I think is Sen’s own true personality, as well as his obsession of Kasumi.

Reading Hosho’s route also piqued my interest in all of the other Lis too. All of these doctors have such trauma-filled lives!! I get that being an ICU doctor comes with a lot of mental pressure and having to deal with losing patients is terrible but they have so much shit going on in their personal lives too. It’s sort of like KOR levels of drama except they’re the affected ones rather than Dr. MC. Watch Ekuni actually have some sort of trauma-induced narcolepsy or insomnia and the theme of his ‘sky’ will be either sunrise or a dark vortex of a night sky. I bet Sen has some complex about being a child genius and his parents will be super demanding, which is maybe one of the reasons why he’s so obsessed with super young Chief of Medicine Kasumi. I’m also willing to put money on my guess that Matsunaga will have the most serious drama of them all.

By the way I forgot to mention this in my Takado review and I have no knowledge or whether or not it’s actually accurate so I wouldn’t trust my opinion on this but I appreciate the medical research the writers had to do. I like that they explain some things just enough for noobs like myself to understand what’s going on, but it doesn’t read like they’re dumbing it down.

There are a few plot points which I feel are a bit cliched and maybe not as cleanly relevant as in Takado’s route, such as the nurses bullying you cause they miss being on Hosho’s sex rotation. (Also I was really prejudiced against Shirayuki I’M SO SORRY MISUMI FOR JUDGING YOU BASED ON YOUR SPRITE) and the whole thing about Hosho’s reputation as a demon because of his fanatical obsession with memory-based research. I think it’s quite normal in professional research communities to have a particular field of expertise and to focus most of your papers on that one subject and/or adjacent subjects. I’m not really sure why he might have a bad reputation or have people gossip about him because he focusses on one particular niche so I’m wondering if maybe it was a plot point that the writers thought would make Dr. MC begin to feel defensive of him. I had a similar view of that scene in the Pen when the nurses are slating him – I don’t feel like that was a particularly strong narrative point aside from drumming up a little more of that “he loves you but can’t be with you because he’s damaged” conflict. Overall, I would say that Hosho’s route plot is not as dramatic and is rather a little more subdued than Takado’s route, but I felt like Takado needed a route that dramatic to bring him and Dr. MC together while Hosho doesn’t. His route is surprisingly heartbreaking, the more you find out about him the more you just feel so terrible for him. When I went back and flashed through to do the walkthrough, I realised how awful some of the things that people, including Dr. MC, say to him are in light of his past and it definitely made me feel a lot more for him. I found Hosho’s backstory really unique and creative, and it explores some fairly mature themes and definitely adds dimension to the dead relative trope. Because his situation has not been fully resolved, the narrative definitely sets up well for a second season, and I imagine at some point he will have to come to terms with reintroducing himself to his mother.

Regarding pacing, I felt the same reading Takado’s route but I find the routes always start off quite slow. If I were reading them outside of the no wait period, I probably wouldn’t make it past episode 7. There’s also something kind of tiring about being at the early episodes (probably until about halfway?) and just wondering when the actual plot will start haha. But once the backstory starts coming in, then the pace really picks up. I don’t know that this route needed 30 episodes because I don’t think they were utilised as well as Takado’s 30 but 30 episodes = likely more money for Voltage if you spend hearts to avoid wait times lol.

Something I noticed about the game is that when I went back to replay to make the walkthrough, I could actually choose select chapters (rather than having to revert back to episode 1 and play through all the way). I didn’t test this before getting to SHE so maybe the ‘Collector’s Edition’ perks are unlocked once you get SHE! Speaking of getting SHE, you and Hosho don’t end up together in the Normal Ending so… there’s that… and the scene is literally like less than 10 screens long. I feel like it’s slightly unfair since Takado’s Normal Ending at least still has a confession from him.

Finally, I did also note some coding errors in the text boxes, something that I haven’t seen much in newer Voltage titles (we kind of got used to seeing typos and errors pop up here and there in some of the older titles haha).

To me, Hosho and Takado are both guys that I think I like that have compelling histories. My main issue is just feeling like there’s some chemistry lacking with regards to Dr. MC and the expense of the Love Choice system. That said, I’m even more curious to see what happens in Sen’s route, which I believe should be coming out next.

Hosho’s route costs 197 hearts in total. Less than Takado but still a HUGE amount. If you really wanted to buy all the heart scenes, I would suggest making the most of the heart sale that’s on right now and getting the 200+10 hearts deal for 19.99 although this is still atrociously expensive. (lol this is how long ago I started writing this review). As always with Love Choice, you miss out on key plot points if you don’t pick the heart scenes, or there will be contradictions between your choice and what happens next. I really wish there was a better way to still get the plot points and key elements and just miss out on some sweet scenes. Like with Takado’s route, a huge amount of hearts are concentrated in the last 10 chapters. Between chapter 20 and 29 of Takado’s route, the heart scenes cost 110 hearts; with Hosho’s the heart scenes in chapters 20 and 29 cost a whopping 133 hearts!!! This means that 67.5% of the required hearts are concentrated in the last third of the route with 16 points value, so I would save hearts for some of the later scenes rather than the earlier ones if you wanted the heart scenes and/or to get to SHE. If you ignore the ones that I said aren’t worth it, that should give you 26 points which brings you to SHE with all the CGs. Alternatively, scroll past the walkthrough to see the CGs.

Walkthrough below:

Ep 1: (by the way, these options didn’t have “A” or “B” which I think is an inconsistency)

“Let’s start in Pathology.”

“Nurses Station first.”

Ep 2: A: “Are you sure?”

B: “I don’t believe you.”

Ep 3:

A: “I’ll keep that in mind.”

B: “I can’t quit now.”

Ep 4:

A: “Wow. Ouch.”

B: “It’s so true.”

Ep 5:

A: “I don’t get it either.”

B: “It IS beautiful.”

Ep 6:

A: Keep watching. (Love Meter +1/CG) 5 hearts

B: Leave him alone.

Ep 7:

A: “Yes, please!”

B: “Don’t you want to visit your folks?”

Ep 8: (Plot point here)

A: Visit the temple. (Love Meter +2) 8 hearts

B: Turn back.

Ep 9:

A: “Like what sort of people?”

B: “Speaking from experience?”

Ep 10:

A: “Yeah.”

B: “Do you think I’m joking?”

Ep 11: (Absolutely useless. Don’t waste your hearts on this)

A: Start a consult. (Love Meter +2) 10 hearts

B: Admit to being stumped.

Ep 12:

A: “Snap out of it!”

B: “Heeelp!”

Ep 13?: (Not really sure this one is worth it)

A: Try to convince him (Love Meter +2) 10 hearts

B: Leave it alone.

Ep 14:

A: “He’s not like that!”

B: “Wanna bet?”

Ep 15: (A fairly nice scene and a decent heart to love meter value)

A: Go home with Tetsuya. (Love Meter +3) 13 hearts

B: Go to your place.

Ep 16:

A: “Just get some rest.”

B: “Do you want anything?”

Ep 17:

A: Talk to him. (Love Meter +2) 10 hearts

B: Watch him go.

Ep 18:

A: Suck it up.

B: “Should I go in looking like this?”

Ep 19:

A: “I want to be a neurosurgeon.” (Love Meter +2) 8 hearts

B: “I want to go to Ortho.”

Ep 20:

A: Stick up for him. (Love Meter +1/CG) 13 hearts

B: Feign ignorance.

Ep 21:

A: “I’m just his coworker.”

B: “I don’t have that power.”

Ep 22: (Don’t waste hearts on this. Basically nothing happens)

A: See him off. (Love Meter +1) 10 hearts

B: Go with him.

Ep 23: (Some plot here that will be missed without the heart scene but I don’t think it’s that necessary)

A: Talk about it. (Love Meter +3) 20 hearts

B: Do nothing.

Ep 24: (Important plot points and cute baby Hosho scenes)

A: “Tell me.” (Love Meter +1) 15 hearts

B: “I’d rather not.” (you get a second chance to select A if you select this option)

Ep 25: (gives you some love meter points but story-wise I don’t really think it’s worth it)

A: Offer comfort. (Love Meter +3) 19 hearts

B: What’s done is done.

Ep 26:

A: “I refuse.” (Love Meter +1/CG) 15 hearts

B: “All right.”

Ep 27: (Expensive but LOTS of story)

A: “Yes, please.” (Love Meter +3) 22(?!) hearts

B: “I’d rather not.” (you get a second chance to select A)

Ep 28:

A: “Sure.”

B: “I’ll go home with you too?”

Ep 29:

A: Squeeze his hand (Love Meter +3) 19 hearts

B: You can’t respond.

CGs:

#romance md: always on call #romance md #rmd #rmdaoc #tetsuya hosho #voltage #voltage inc #voltage otome #otome game #otome blog #otome romance #love 365 #love 365 find your story #review #walkthrough #otome walkthrough #love choice #宝生哲也

63 notes · View notes

kc-s-e · 5 years

Text

gcse exam thoughts

3rd - 4th April

art : I'm really proud of how it turned out. No joke, I think it's the best piece I've ever produced, my only concern is that the flowers I glued on will fall off. Hopefully it'll hold up though, all I need now is to complete my coursework and it's over!

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13th May

religous studies one : Okay so the D questions literally saved my arse BUT I completely blanked on the Rosary and St Augustine. Luckily they're only B questions but I'm still kicking myself over them. Overall I'm not really bothered though, because it went okay for a first exam.

14th May

biology one : Oh my god this exam was really easy, I only got stumped on questions about the gills (which I really can't remember studying) but it's definitely gone really well. But everyone I spoke to said it went well too so the grade boundaries are going to be high.

15th May

english literature one : Okay honestly my favourite exam so far. The questions were so good I believe I'm in love with AQA now. The Macbeth question I think I rambled a bit, but A Christmas Carol was basically asking about Scrooge's redemption and that's honestly beautiful.

16th May

chemistry one : So my mind completely blanked on literally any calculation question, which is really annoying, but the writing questions (especially titration) went really well I think, the first half was great, but any maths question confused me.

20th May

religious studies two : Personally think this exam went better than the first one. The only major concern was the question about the Second Vatican Council, which I am confused about, because I honestly don't remember studying it?

21st May

mathematics one : Okay so AQA has been suspiciously nice recently, because that was so easy? I am confused? Apart from a few daft marks that I'm kicking myself for not getting, then it should've in theory gone well.

geography one : Story time, I started cramping just as I entered the exam hall (aha kill me) so I decided to do the 1-2 marks until my cramps ceased, only to find out that THE MAJORITY OF THE PAPER WAS 1-2 MARKS and that the rest of it was super easy too?!

22nd May

physics one : What a blessing this exam was brilliant! It was super easy, and the only 'problem' was the five mark defibrillator question, but other than that it was all good, I'm upset about the lack of practicals in the exams though, I like my eureka cans!

23rd May

english literature two : AQA back at it again with the beautiful questions. I chose Sheila for AIC (it was really easy, I'm dead proud of myself) and I compared War Photographer to Remains. Honestly, Harry needs protecting though, 2k19. God bless him.

religous studies three : Okay that was probably the R.E exam I liked the least but that doesn't mean to say it was bad. I only remembered what the Sukkot was five minutes until the end so smh, but still went okay I think.

24th May

psychology one : So much easier than the specimen papers! They must have learned from their mistakes because it was so easy. I think we need longer on this exam though because I was writing up until the end. I'm so sick of PEE chains at this point!

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3rd June

psychology two : Just as good as last time thankfully, and weirdly enough I'm gonna miss it, despite taking psych at a level. When I got to the self question about 'safety' my mind completely blank and nearly threw my pen. I finally figured out it was Maslow though! Loved the research methods 12 marker, what a blessing!

4th June

english language one : I chose the abandonment story for the writing question and I think it went really well! I've always been good at language, and the extract was nice, but after seeing what happened to Alice later on I'm very upset.

5th June

geography two : I dont think this went as well as the first one, and I am 99% sure that I blagged most of it but it doesn't matter because there were plenty of nine markers and six markers which really helped. Barely any questions on Rio though which was annoying.

6th June

mathematics two : Not too bad? I don't know, maths has never been my strong point, but I think I definitely passed. The first exam went a lot better though, because there were a few difficult questions on this paper (like the last one) but I'm hoping to pull up my grade on the last paper.

7th June

english language two : I'm on the fence about this one. I've always been good at English language but I don't think this was as good as the first, but fiction is my strong point. I wasn't too happy about question four but question five basically wrote itself.

biology two : Apart from a few daft mistakes, this exam was quite good, just not as good as the first biology paper I think. I didn't mind the big markers either, apart from the questions about the eye (my mind blanked on that one).

11th June

mathematics three : Yeah so I am never ever ever discussing maths again after today. Basically, fucked up the circle question (realised hours afterwards that it was 90 + 35 so I'm a fucking idiot), paint question and QR question went okay, but overall FUCKING HATE THIS PAPER I CRIED IF I GET HIGHER THAN A FIVE WE ARE THROWING A PARTY

12th June

chemistry two : Okay so.... Not too bad? I mean it definitely wasn't amazing (how many flipping tests do you want to include aqa) but it could've gone a lot worse. Then again, I did nearly write an apology at the bottom of the page for the marker. I did completely screw up some questions though so whoops!

13th June

geography three : Super easy, don't think I even have to mention that. Though I didn't realise that we got the pre release given to us so I spent ages trying to memorise facts like an idiot.

14th June

physics two : Not that bad for a last exam. I'm not expecting like 9s or anything but it was okay. The best part was leaving when I got jumped by all my friends in hugs, and I weirdly felt a little nostalgic about it all, its like I blinked and suddenly I'm leaving school.

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autumnsnuggling · 5 years

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Fanfic Author Meme

Thanks @rockmarina, @ununquadius and @gnarf for tagging me! 3 people!!! I feel so loved right now!!!

Author Name: april-thelightfury115

Fandoms You Write For: Definitely the Harry Potter fandom. I mainly write Drarry but am open to writing many other ships with a few exceptions! I won’t list them all here though lol

Where You Post: AO3 under the name TheLightFury, and I post drabbles/shorter work here. If I have a fic to post though, I’ll post the first so many words then add a link in the hope that I’ll trick people into following the story lol.

Most Popular One-Shot: Oooh, going by kudos mine is What He Needed (the short version of Draco making Harry cry). It was definitely my most popular piece on Tumblr too, reaching over 1k notes which was just ASTOUNDING! Loved writing it so much!

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: Funnily enough, the long version of that fic! To be fair, it’s the only multiple chapter fic I’ve really done so far, but The Final Straw series has received the most kudos and comments on any of my work, and I’ve loved every single one!

Favourite Story You Wrote: Ahh this is so hard! I kind of want to say The Final Straw because it was a really difficult thing to write and so I’m really proud of it. But I also loved writing Silence and Peace at Last, the latter of which was my most self-indulgent piece ever!

Story You Were Nervous to Post: Oooh, um… Probably The Revelation! It was my first fic so I wasn’t sure I was going to get any attention for it at all, and it’s centred around Harry realising he was abused when he was younger, so it’s quite a heavy fic. But it went okay and even if it’s not one of my most popular pieces, it was a really important piece to me so I’m glad I threw it out there!

How Do You Choose Your Titles: By selling my soul one piece at a time to a demon lord who I summon from the depths of hell. Lmao, okay seriously it just depends! Sometimes they come to me quite easily and others I sit at the screen staring blankly for far too long. Normally I try and think about a key point in a fic or key message and make something up to do with that.

Do You Outline: It depends on how long the piece is. I usually start the piece with a clear idea of where I’m going and the main turning points, but leave the very fine details unknown and just work them out as I go along. I do, however, write down all my ideas in a notebook so as I don’t forget them!

Complete: 24!!!! AMAZING!!! A lot of them are drabbles but still! The first thing I posted was in February this year so that’s a lot for me!

In-Progress: 2 WIPs on AO3, and I have 8 in my gdocs, plus 9 prompts for Tumblr and about 20 ideas running around in my head that I haven’t committed to paper yet!

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started: Coming soon will be finishing my newest WIP (A Change of Chemistry, just finished drafting chapter 3), my drizzle will be revealed, and then who knows. I need to finish The Final Straw series, and I have prompts and stuff stuck in my ask box which I’m meaning to fill so it just depends what I feel like doing!

Do You Accept Prompts: I do! I love getting them (but I ask people check what I won’t write first, in my Tumblr bio) but I tend to prioritise them over my long fics which can be problematic for me. Need to figure out a system where I do one for Tumblr, one for me, because I feel guilty making people wait for too long. There’s 2 in there that have been in there since March and it’s KILLING ME.

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: HHHhhhh!!! I’m planning on doing a music series and a fic called Luxury (not telling you anymore than that!) and an Animagus!Draco fic which has been my major WIP since FOREVER and I NEED TO WRITE THIS BABY!!!

Tagging: ooh, um, I can’t think of who hasn’t been tagged yet, so if anyone wants to do it, just tag me and say I tagged you lol.

Thanks so much! This was great fun gushing over all my writing!!!

#fanfic author meme #tag game #much fun

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nahret · 5 years

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It Takes Two

I’ll be honest: I have not been looking forward to Dui’s story, which is why I let it lie for so long. On the surface, there is obviously nothing wrong with Dui, quite the contrary. He is by far the kindest god of the entire bunch, a quiet person who genuinely cares about his friends and the MC. But I’m not new to the Japanese approach to mythology, and there is one thing that is simply a given: the Gemini sign will always have the evil twin and/or split personality problem. Always.

My favourite anime show, Saint Seiya, managed to combine both concepts: Saga, gold saint of Gemini, did not only have a dark side within himself, but also an actual evil twin brother, Kanon. Now, in Saint Seiya, Saga was (and is) my most beloved gold saint, and in terms of favourite character, second only to Phoenix Ikki. But what I’m looking for in an action show is radically different from what I’m looking for in a romance story, and a split personality is pretty high on my List of Nope.

Saga’s split personality

Saga and Kanon

In everybody else’s route, Dui is depicted as a soft-spoken, friendly god who has everybody’s best interest at heart. As sweet as he is, I expect his evil twin to be all-out evil. And while I know that a story needs an antagonist, and that a fair amount of drama is to be expected, I really prefer enemies that are not, you know, oneself.

Okay. I’m sure everything will come up roses in the end. Let’s have a look.

Synopsis

This time, the choice makes sense: when the MC falls off that roof, she calls upon the kindest of the gods she has encountered, Dui. He catches her and teleports her to the mansion. He is nice to her, and concerned for her well-being. When the other gods arrive, he tells them not to scare the MC.

Alone in his room, however, he suddenly hugs the MC, much to her surprise. He is gentle and playful, and he smells amazing… And the MC’s heart is just about leaping out of her chest. But surely, he doesn’t mean anything by it? He is an exceedingly kind god; when there is a disturbance in her apartment complex, he offers to stay in her room to watch over her while she sleeps. Without the ulterior motives Ichthys or Teo would certainly have in this particular situation.

Things proceed as usual. Since the MC needs to be present for Dui to do his job in the Department of Punishments, she helps him cast his punishments by the reflecting pool. When he hands her a piece of paper, she cuts her finger on it. The tiniest bit of blood is visible – and here we meet Shadow Dui.

Look at this innocence.

Shadow Dui is, of course, the Evil Twin. His existence was hinted at by the other gods, especially Scorpio and Ichthys. Shadow Dui takes a dim view of the MC and her “meddling” in Dui’s life. In no time flat, he decides to find a definitive solution for this problem and attempts to drown her in the pool. Just as the MC is about to hit the water, though, Shadow Dui falls to the ground, unconscious. This is when Scorpio and Ichthys show up, who take Dui up to his room, and explain the situation to the MC. Apparently, something severe happened with Dui, and his shadow personality was created. Clearly, it must have something to do with the great sin that got Dui exiled to earth in the first place…

Of course, once he comes to his senses, normal Dui urges the MC to stay away from him, as it’s far too dangerous for her to risk triggering the shadow self. Naturally, the MC, already in love with Dui, refuses. She intends to make him whole again, instead. The next time Shadow Dui appears, the MC is actually sensing that she is making a kind of headway: Shadow Dui exists to protect normal Dui, whom he considers a weakling. He will go to any lengths to keep normal Dui safe. In the meantime, however, he will help Dui with his work, replacing the soft punishments the latter had devised with, basically, horror and mayhem. Yet again, it takes Scorpio’s and Ichthys’ intervention to stop Shadow Dui before he kills the MC. Scorpio tells her to stay away from Dui in the future, but she can obviously not give up on him.

Epilogue

Ugh, mom, I don’t wanna, do I have to? Well. I guess I already bought the epilogue (for all the stories, for the sake of consistency), so I might as well read it. But if the main story is anything to go by, I won’t have much fun with it.

Quite typically, we’re at this juncture where the MC and the god of choice are together, but haven’t had sex yet. Partheno is the notable exception to this rule, and his purpose was nefarious. Things being as they are here, Dui and the MC have not done the deed, but the other gods don’t know that. Teo’s and Ikky’s wild speculations and inquiries on what it’s like between a human and a god make our MC blush furiously, of course. Ichthys’ assertion that Dui can tie cherry stems into knots with his tongue are not helpful. Oh, not normal knots; heart-shaped knots. Our besotted couple ends up fleeing the scene.

They decide to take a day trip to a cherry orchard together – cherries are Dui’s favourite food – where the MC realises that she really has two boyfriends, in a way. While Dui and Shadow Dui now get along and can apparently communicate with each other, they do not share the same memories. After repeatedly confusing the two, the MC walks away to clear her head and promptly gets lost in the orchard. After the mini-crisis is resolved, there is the usual hemming and hawing about being naked together, because of course she wants it, but cannot bring herself to admit it. It’s tedious. At least Shadow Dui talks the straight talk. There’s sure more chemistry here than in the main story.

The Chemistry

Dui is everything we’re looking for in a person: sweet, considerate, thoughtful, polite, not to mention quite handsome, as they all are. How is one not to fall in love with him? One very positive aspect is that the confession comes early on, and from his part. There is much emphasis on his purity and innocence, and it’s actually lovely. What follows, though, is the MC being far too lenient with Shadow Dui’s behaviour, especially once she concludes that he must be “misunderstood” because he’s only trying to protect Dui. Which means that she starts taking crazy-stupid risks in order to save them both, of course.

My man Scorpio is in control of the situation.

Everything is kind of predictable: she falls in love with him, because he’s really easy to love. He falls in love with her, because the story demands it. Shadow Dui is evil, but is he really? Must he not be redeemable somehow? Scorpio is being Scorpio, Ichthys is being Ichthys, and they’re both really good at it. At chapter 10, I was wondering when Zyglavis was gonna drop by. And the King. Then Zyglavis makes an appearance. And the King.

And yet, there’s no… I don’t know. No palpable, chemistry, if you will. It’s all telling, no showing. In other stories, there was a rawness of emotion about the characters, that I feel is completely missing here – except where Shadow Dui shows up. And that’s just not enough.

The Love Meter

I suspected as much: I couldn’t get out of the Forbidden zone. Really, I’m not surprised. Sometimes, characters just aren’t for me. But sometimes I chose the answer that I really thought would push the needle back into Blessed, only to have it go deeper into Forbidden. I guess I should have been more accepting of Shadow Dui, but I have trouble getting into people who are repeatedly trying to murder me with their bare hands.

Bottom Line

I’ll be honest: it took me eternities to finish this story. Not only was I not really engaged, I also find this trope a bit more problematic for me personally than a lot of others. That’s because we see a lot of that in real life: women who stay with abusive men for the times when they are treated nicely, or to save the men in question, or both. Now, I know, here it is not within Dui’s control when Shadow Dui appears. I know. It’s just not a trope I enjoy. Also, Scorpio blaming the victim is not my favourite thing, even if it is in keeping with his personality. Apart from the above, I just have to admit I didn’t really feel it, if you know what I mean. Yes, Dui is super nice, and loyal to a fault. (No, really. You have no idea.) But there is not enough friction there that is not Shadow Dui. Look, I’m gonna say it: this was boring. Not out-of-my-mind boring, but just not interesting. Pity.

Star-Crossed Myth: Dui It Takes Two I'll be honest: I have not been looking forward to Dui's story, which is why I let it lie for so long.

#Dui #otome #otome game #otome review #Star-Crossed Myth #Voltage game

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soldatbarnes · 6 years

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Sweet Dreams

Summary: After having a sex dream about Bucky, it’s pointed out by your friends in front of the man himself, and your adoptive father, Tony. // This had been requested.

Bucky Barnes X Reader

Word Count: 1763

Warnings: This is ridiculous. There’s bad language and Smut, because of the sex dream. (oral sex, female receiving). Awkwardness, and some fluff?

A/N: Turns out I wrote more smutty pieces than I remember? I thought after all the drabbles and Lance Tucker that I’d post something Bucky for y’all.

You lay on the bed watching as he stalked across the room, staring at you like a predator. His eyes looked like fire, and his bottom lip was lodged between his teeth. He let it go, soothing it with his tongue, standing at the foot of your bed.

“You gonna tell me what you want?” he raised his eyebrows at you, palming the growing bulge in his pants. You lay there, unmoving, eyes wandering over him. He wore only a pair of grey sweats, hair mussed as he gazed at your naked body.

“Buck, you know what I want.” You mewled, running a hand over your bare breasts and down to your core. Wet and wanting. Just how he liked it. A smirk graced his face, before he crawled up the bed, leaning his body between your legs. He wrapped his arms under yours, lifting you up slightly and his lips met yours in a bruising kiss. All tongue and teeth. Just how you liked it. You shivered at his touch, cold metal causing goosebumps. He moved his lips down your jaw, towards your ear and down your neck. Licking. Sucking. Biting. You wrapped your legs around his waist, shamelessly grinding your heat against his covered cock. You felt him smirk against your stomach as he was making his way down.

“Oh, honey..” he began, as he lifted your legs up and over his shoulders, “I’m going to ruin you.”

You moaned loudly as his tongue hit your clit. He always knew what amount of pressure to use and when. He went at you like a starving man, leaving no part of your pussy untouched. His favourite thing was to make you come all over his tongue. One minute his tongue was prodding, in and out of you. The next his mouth was firm around you, sucking, causing you to cry out in pleasure. Your fingers were in his hair, holding him in place, yanking when it felt all too good.

“Ohhhh Buckkyy..” you breathed, when his teeth grazed over your clit, before kissing like he would your mouth. Moments later you were undone, coming harder than you ever had before.

“Oh fuck!” you shouted, body shooting up. Your breathing was heavy, a light sweat coating your body. Looking around your room, you remembered that you were alone. “Fucking dream... Fucking great dream..” you mumbled, flopping back down on the bed.

You had dreamt of Bucky before, a few times. You’d never had a dream like that though. That was new. It’s probably from watching him in the gym earlier. The way his sweats hung low on his hips. He never wore a shirt working out, much to your frustration.

Taking a deep breath you tried to settle your body. You could feel the ache between your legs, despite just having an amazing orgasm. You couldn’t help but think that the real thing would be so much better.

Unfortunately that could never happen. No matter how much chemistry you had with him. No matter how much flirting back and forth. It just couldn’t be. You sighed, silently wishing that your father was somebody else. You loved him with your whole heart, but sometimes he made things a little difficult.

“Good morning, love!” Your father greeted as you walked into the dining room. The team was all set up, having a family style breakfast. There was only one spot left, between your father and Bucky. You looked down, rolling your eyes before plastering a smile on your face.

“Good morning!” Everybody said their ‘hellos’ and ‘good mornings’ as you sat. Immediately Bucky grabbed the plate of pancakes to offer you as your dad held out the homefries.

“Bless you boys.” you smiled, kissing your dad on his cheek and quietly thanking Bucky.

“What, no kiss for me?” he pouted. You giggled and planted a quick one on his cheek, trying hard not to blush and think of your dream.

“Don’t give her any ideas Barnes.” your dad mumbled, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Just want her to be comfortable around me Tony.” he smiled, his white teeth shining, as he leaned his arm on the back of your chair.

“Well, she doesn’t need to be too comfortable with you.” Tony smiled at Bucky, close-lipped and uptight. He had been watching you and Bucky doing your flirtatious dance since you got back from University and he didn't like it. It’s not that he didn’t like Bucky, because the soldier had grown on him. He just didn’t like the thought of you with anybody.

Tony wasn’t stupid. You were a beautiful woman. Men were always fawning over you. And when you showed up he saw the looks on the teams faces. He also knew what a good looking man was, and knew enough that you were now surrounded by them. He didn’t like that. With you being so close with them he knew something was bound to happen with somebody, he just wished it would take longer.

“Well, not that this breakfast isn’t super fun, but don’t we have training in half an hour?” Sam asked, knowing that the men’s stare-off could last all morning.

“That we do.” Tony stood up. “Barnes, why don’t you help me clean up?”

“Sure thing, Stark.” he replied, standing quickly before gathering as many dishes as he could. Natasha watched them turning to make sure that they were out of earshot.

“What’s up with you this morning?” she asked you, giving a pointed look.

“I’m sorry?” you asked, afraid of where she was going with this.

“When you walked in your face went more red than it usually does.” Wanda commented.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” you cleared your throat, grabbing for your mug.

“I think you do,” Nat said, getting up and sitting in your father’s empty seat.

“When you saw Bucky your face drained, before going hot rod red.”

“It’s true.” Sam agreed, nodding. Traitor. They all knew about your crush on Bucky, and Nat could read everyone like a book. Steve just sat there, silently sipping on coffee, pretending to read the newspaper.

“It’s nothing really. I had a really weird dream and he was in it.” you shrugged, trying to play it off.

“Your face is red again.” Wanda commented. Steve peaked over the paper.

“What kind of dream?” Nat pushed. You knew she wouldn’t let it go.

“It was.. Ummm.. a dream... Of a sexual-ish nature..” you coughed. Hoping the conversation was over.

“That’s all? There was just a little heat?” the redhead carried on.

“Umm. Yeah. Nothing to write home about.” you shrugged.

“So, when nothing happens do you usual shout loudly like your finishing?” Sam asked, causing Steve to choke on his coffee.

“You had a sex dream about Bucky?” Tony’s voice sounded, the room growing silent. You turned and saw your father standing in the doorway, Bucky behind him, mouth wide open.

“D-Dad... Hey...” You didn’t want to have this conversation with anybody. You really didn’t want to have this conversation with your father. And you definitely didn’t want to have this conversation with your father with Bucky standing there. AND in front of the whole team.

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me!” he shouted. “That’s it! Barnes, you’re moving rooms!”

“What?” Bucky asked, looking at him like he’d grown another head.

“You sleep too close to my angel. Your moving rooms. Switch with Steve.”

“Tony..” Steve started.

“And no more walking around shirtless!! Clothes on! Put your arm away! And pull your hair up! I don’t know what it is about you, so we’ll change everything!” He was pacing back and forth. You wiped your hands down your face, mortified.

“Well, as fun as this conversation is, I’m going to go and figure out how to disappear now. Wanda you can have my things!” You shouted, running out of the room.

“Look what you did!” Bucky accused, staring Tony down.

“Look what I did?” he looked shocked. “Look what YOU did!!” Bucky gaped at him.

“Somebody should go check on her...” Sam mumbled.

“I’ll go!” Bucky and Tony spoke in unison, before staring at each other again.

“Uh-oh..” Sam and Nat exchanged looks.

“Are you into her?” Tony asked Bucky, the room stilling.

“Of course I am!”

“Then, you go.” Tony motioned.

You were laying on your bed, face down. Mortified. Your dad knew about your dream. Bucky knew about your dream. You were hoping the mattress would swallow you. A knock sounded on your door.

“Go away!” you yelled into your pillow. You heard the door open and groaned. Nobody in this damn place knew anything about boundaries.

“Hey..” You sat upright and faced the door. Bucky was letting himself into the room, closing your door behind him. “Just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” he spoke gently, like he was trying not to spook you.

“Embarrassed beyond belief, but other than that.” you flopped back down, throwing your arms over your eyes.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” you felt the bed sink at the foot, figuring it was from the weight of him sitting down. “It’s alright to have sexual feelings. If they don’t come out in life, it makes sense that they happen in dreams right?”

“Yeah? You have sex dreams and then have them pointed out in front of all of your friends and father and the person they were about?” you huffed, angry at his patience and understanding.

“No. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have them.” You resisted the need to peak from under your arms at him. “Look, if it makes you feel better, you're not the only one who has had a sex dream about somebody in the tower.”

“I’m not?” you questioned, leaning up on your elbows. “You dream about Sam don’t you? Look I know he’s delicious bu-” you were cut off when he pulled your leg, dragging you down towards the end of the bed.

“Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine?” he smirked, running his hand over your stomach and down your thigh.

“I’m not telling you anything!” you squealed when he gave your thigh a smack.

“You sure about that?” he straddled his body over yours. “Nothing you want to talk about?” he nudged your nose with his.

“How ‘bout I guide you instead?” you asked breathlessly as he gazed through you.

“Sounds good to me!” he chuckled, bringing his lips to yours.

You might have ended up mortified, but at least you figured out that dreams could come true.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky smut #bucky barnes fluff #bucky fluff #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky oneshot #bucky barnes one shot #bucky one shot #bucky barnes fic #bucky fic #sebastian stan

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angstymarshmallow · 6 years

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Tagged - 20 Questions

Okay Elle @the-everlasting-dream, my dearest - since you tagged me; here we go :’)

1. When/what age did you start writing? Probably as early as I can remember. I was always in love with the ideas of stories; of the kinds I could create because I loved making up characters. So probably around 9 or 10 is the first memory I really have of really trying to write stories with a pencil and paper.

2. What inspired you to start? As a child it had a lot to do with seeing television shows and reading books that really inspired me to want to write my own. And eventually it kind of spiraled from there, except this time I’m sparked by my imagination.

3. Where and when does inspiration usually strike you? Everywhere. When I’m listening to music, when I’m just about ready to fall asleep, when I’m in the middle of a show or even just talking with someone; something just goes off inside my head like yup this is a good time to think and day dream about this.

4. Where and when do you usually to write? Morning? Late at night? On the bus? In bed? Mostly in the theatre? room of my home. Usually at wee hours of the night/ morning, that’s when my imagination really comes alive.I can also write a lot in the morning as well but I’m less productive. I used to write in bed a lot but mostly its wherever I can; usually in a sitting position.

5. Do you listen to music while writing? If so what genre/playlist? I’ve started listening to music while writing, especially if a song specifically speaks to me and especially for fanfiction. It kind of just depends though, I still for the most part prefer silence - mostly i end up tuning everything out at some point if it feels too loud. I listen to a lot of folk music, some pop, indie - Jane @irlquinnkelly made this awesome playlist for me recently and I’ve been really listening to that too lol.

6. Which category do you like best? Angst? Fluff? NSFW? Other? Definitely angst. Nothing speaks to me more than getting my heart broken or twisted. I really like feeling something for a character’s circumstances. But I also enjoy good fluff and nsfw as well.

7. Which category do you find most challenging to write? Fluff. I write it sometimes, more recently but I can never really tell if it feels authentic. I really only hope it does and go from there. Humour is kind of hard to write too, but I don’t force it - if the characters calls for it, well then it happens.

8. If you had to pick your favourite Choices book, which one would it be and why? For awhile it was Most Wanted, because everything about that book is so damned brilliant. Now it’s mostly The Royal Romance. I’ve written so much fanfiction about it lmao, and I really just genuinely enjoy the story. It’s got such good characters that you can’t help but love and the plot isn’t hard to follow.

9. If your Choices LIs were real, which one (and only one!) would you personally want to be with? Probably Seth. We’d have so much in common; we’re both huge dorks, we both make references to video games (sometimes) obscure, we both enjoy roleplaying board games and we’re both into humour! Seriously, he’s adorable and I feel like we’d have good chemistry.

10. Do you share any physical characteristics with your Choices MCs? Pics/selfies optional :)Not really no. On a general level, I try not to make my MCs too much like any given person. They’re their own people that just live inside my head - sure there coincidences mostly accidental lol and I guess on some level we share some familiarity but physically - nope.

11. Which MC do you share the most personality traits with? I’ve been told I’m a bit like my TRR MC Robyn aha, which makes me happy because she’s super awesome! But I don’t really see myself sharing a lot of personality traits with any of MCs. I mean yeah, there are some similarities again- but my mind is kinda coming up blank.

12. Which Choices character do you feel you have the best grasp of in terms of personality? I think (and I’ve ah been told,) I genuinely get Drake pretty well in terms of personality.

13. What’s your favourite choices pairing to write for? Definitely Drake and Robyn, with Dia and Zig a close second. BUT. Thomas and Tatum are starting to give them a run for their money aha - I know I should choose one, but I love these three a lot so this makes it so hard :’(.

14. What is a pairing/s you hope to start writing for? I would love to write more Grant x MC material; but they aren’t a couple that a lot of people enjoy. I would love to write some Mr. Sinclaire x MC too.

15. What do you hope to improve in your writing? Everything. I’m always striving to be better with everything - whether its attention to detail, or editing (because sometimes I go back and cringe at awkward sentences I’ve created or dialogue that just doesn’t...?) or for emotional appeal because I want readers to laugh and cry, to feel something so strongly that they embody that character - I genuinely believe the more you practice, the better you are at something. And that something for me is everything.

16. Any pet peeves related to writing? Grammar and spelling or huge for me, if I see something more than a few times, I immediately stop reading because it’s such a hugee turn off for me lol. I’ve seen some great second person narrative but on a general level I don’t particularly enjoy them in fanfiction.

17. Are you inspired by any IRL experiences when you write? Care to share? Similar feelings sure - it’s hard not to pour your heart out, to work whatever you’re going through in your writing (at least for me anyway), but not specific personal experiences because my characters are their own y’know?

18. Is there any particular piece of work you consider to be your ultimate writing goal? Something so amazing you hope once day you’ll be able to be up to that standard? Nothing in particular that I can think of other than my own personal favourite authors that have always emotionally gotten me invested and have gripped me from nearly the beginning every time.

19. Did/do you write for any other fandoms? If so which ones? Nope just choices aha.

20. In your spare time (when you’re not writing) what other hobbies do you pursue? Reading (not as much as I used to), video games, board-games, writing poetry, a bit of drawing - I’m trying to learn html but my attention span is so wack sometimes...ah kickboxing lots and lots of kickboxing. And I think that’s all I can think of.

Share and tag your favourite writers!

@hellomynameisdeviblaire @mrswalkerwrites, @blazerina, @choicessa, @irlquinnkelly, @tmarie82, @boneandfur, @i-dream-so-i-write, @nerdpossible, @losrchester (I miss her writing) @mewly (I loved what you showed me and I need moreee) - I can’t think of anyone else at the moment, but there’s so many great writers in this fandom, I’m just very bad at checking tags for fics I want to read ahhhh.

#tagged game #personal #about me #writing tag game?#playchoices

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pongpalace · 7 years

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curtains for a home

Day 6 of #omgcpwomenweek: Future

big love to @apprenticedmagician for listening to me moan about tenses and then reading through to make sure i hit my mark.

warnings for character death (haus ghost pov)

also on ao3

I wanna live with you Even when we’re ghosts ‘Cause you were always there for me when I needed you most I’m gonna love you till My lungs give out I promise till death we part like in our vows

—Say You Won’t Let Go, James Arthur

It’s usually during the summer, when the Haus is quiet without all the boys there making messes and noise and a home, that Mandy ends up thinking about it. She tries not to, really she tries—it’s depressing enough to regularly lose time because you’ve suddenly run out of ghost mojo or whatever and you have to disappear for a while—but there’s something about the kitchen and it’s curtains that makes her wonder if she would’ve chosen the same ugly pattern had she ever gotten the chance to.

She probably would’ve; Jenny loves them.

If Mandy lets herself, she can easily imagine what else she would’ve done had she had the chance. She thinks she would’ve graduated with a degree in one of the sciences. She hadn’t declared anything yet before… well before, but her biology and chemistry classes had been her favourites, and her parents were pushing hard for pre-med. She can’t remember how she felt about being a doctor at the time, and now she has mixed feelings about it after seeing first hand how demanding a major like that can be. She thinks physio therapy would’ve been a good fit for her though.

Watching the curtains blow gently in the breeze from a window that wasn’t closed properly somewhere, Mandy wonders if she and Jenny would’ve figured themselves out before graduation, or if they would’ve danced around their feelings all four years until they graduated and became a distant memory to introduce to their new families at the 25-year reunion. Mandy wrinkles her nose; that’s an unpleasant thought. She couldn’t imagine spending the past like, 30 years with anyone other than Jenny.

Maybe then, they would have moved in together after walking the stage and finding jobs in the same city. There are athletes who can benefit from a good physical therapist everywhere and Mandy would’ve followed Jenny anywhere she wanted to teach. Mandy never saw Jenny with kids, but from the way Jenny talks about her younger siblings, Mandy thinks she was amazing with them. There’s no doubt in Mandy’s mind that Jenny would’ve had her choice of jobs to pick from.

So they’d rent out a two bedroom apartment that they probably couldn’t afford at first. But what’s a couple more months of getting help from your parents until you cash your first paycheck?

Mandy wishes she knew.

There’d be a fight about who would get the bigger bedroom probably. Mandy would win, but Jenny would pout so they’d compromise by sharing the bigger closet and Jenny would pick out the decorations that made the place theirs. The curtains she’d choose would be ugly as all hell, but she’d love them so Mandy wouldn’t say a bad word about them. If it was possible, the couch would match but Mandy would say a prayer that the carpet colour can’t be changed. They’d get unmatched dishes from a second hand store down the street, and they’d each have a favourite mug, bowl, and plate. Jenny’s days would start earlier, though they’d quickly learn that she’s a mess in the morning so Mandy would wake up early enough to make coffee for both of them. She’d spend the hour or so after Jenny left reading the paper her parents paid for as a you’re-a-grown-up-now gift. She’d look through the crossword, and fill out what she could but it would always be more fun to finish it with Jenny after dinner, when Jenny would make up words to fit the definitions.

“Cinnamons,” she’d call them, snorting with laughter every time Mandy would phonically try to sound out what Jenny wrote in her perfect teacher handwriting.

Mandy would be happy with her job at a small clinic down the road from the hockey rink. As the newbie in the office, she’d take on the newer clients, the teenagers who, between growing pains and the physicality of their sports, needed to see her for routines to strengthen the ligaments of their knees. They’d never do the stretching she sent them home with but she’d perfect her disappointed look early on from watching Jenny practice her’s, and word would spread that the strengthening routines during appointments would get harder if you didn’t stretch at home properly.

But work would still be work and sometimes you needed to unwind. Jenny, with her classroom of energetic eight year olds would understand completely and during the first long weekend of the school year, Mandy would make sure to request the same day off. They’d make sure that they had enough alcohol to keep up with an apartment full of their sorority sisters and the friends they’d make at work. Day drinking on a Saturday would be disguised as a late housewarming party, but that excuse wouldn’t feasibly carry over to the mimosas Jenny would serve at breakfast on the Sunday for those who stayed over.

The two day hangover Mandy would end up with, even after the grease that Jenny insisted she eat, would be a reminder that they’re not in college anymore. It wouldn’t taste as bittersweet as it could though; she’d be happy to have graduated with the memories and experiences, but she’d be realistic in understanding that some college friends aren’t lifelong friends. She’d probably be more upset about growing apart from her sisters if she didn’t expect to always have Jenny in her life.

That night would be when Mandy would let herself finally think about how she wants Jenny in her life. They’d be in the kitchen and Jenny would have on the reading glasses she insisted she didn’t need while she did last minute marking before the school week, hair piled on top of her head, and she’d somehow be the most beautiful creature Mandy had ever seen. The noodles Mandy would make for an easy dinner would boil over, she’d be so distracted watching the way Jenny scrunches her nose while she read, and while Jenny would laugh at Mandy jumping to get the pot off the heat, she’d still get up and help her clean the water on the stove.

In the morning, Jenny would be running later than usual and take her coffee cup to drink on her way to school, pressing a quick kiss to Mandy’s lips in thanks before she would literally run out the door. Mandy would spend the day thinking about it, going between wondering if a three day hangover made her imagine things and worrying that Jenny regretted that they ever moved in together because Mandy’s sexuality was apparently contagious.

Mandy wouldn’t stop worrying until she got home from work to find more candles and flowers that she’d left in the apartment when she’d left earlier.

“I meant to do that properly, like, with discussions about feelings or whatever,” Jenny would say, face flushed from the heat coming off the biggest casserole Mandy had ever seen. “But you just… You’re like, so good to me. And I don’t know if you like, know how much I appreciate what you already do for me and like, it might be selfish or whatever, but like, I want more. I want to wake up next to you, and I want to kiss you, and probably spend the rest of my life with you.” She’d shake her head, and laugh to herself. “I’m like, 80 percent sure I’m in love with you Mandy, and like, you should probably know that.”

Jenny, not one for making big speeches about herself, would finish with a shrug and Mandy wouldn’t be able to do anything but cross the kitchen and answer everything Jenny just admitted with a kiss, hoping that would be enough to convey her feelings.

They would share the bigger bedroom in the apartment, and kisses with coffee would become a part of their normal routine. They’d learn more about each other; that Jenny laughed when she orgasmed and that Mandy didn’t like to be cuddled while she slept, but couldn’t actually fall asleep without a forehead kiss as they rolled to their separate sides. It wouldn’t always be easy—they’d fight about whose turn it was to do the dishes or plan their dates—but being together would always feel right.

Upgrading from an apartment to a house would be a natural progression when they would have the means to do so. There wouldn’t be a fight over the bigger bedroom, but somehow Jenny would still get to pick out the curtains, insisting that the ones from the apartment match the new paint colour that they choose for the kitchen and after seeing how happy the curtains made Jenny in the apartment, Mandy would find that she didn’t have a good argument against them.

Their parents would stop making comments about it being strange for two women to live together as roommates past their early 20’s when Mandy and Jenny make the trip to Canada to exchange vows, and they’d cry through the vows again in 2015, this time with both their parents and children watching.

They would have had such a good life together, Mandy thinks.

The curtains in the Haus have stopped moving and suddenly it’s taking all of her energy to concentrate on the pattern. She closes her eyes and goes through the motions of breathing deeply; a technique she’s borrowed from watching the boys in the Haus.

It does nothing to ground her and between one faked breath and the next, she’s gone.

#omgcpwomenweek #mandy/jenny #omgcp #omgcheckplease fic #haus ghosts #femslash #future fic #kinda?#major character death #kinda #i mean #we know they're ghosts the whole time #i made myself very sad writing this #ive been sitting on this one the longest #and i thiiiiink it might be my favourite thing i wrote this week #day 6: future

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antemortem-rp-blog · 5 years

Photo

WELCOME, Lynn !! You’ve been accepted for the role of Caroline Forbes. We’re so excited to have you join the ante mortem family. Please look over the checklist and make sure to send in your account within 48 hours. We look forward to seeing you on our dash.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name / Alias: Lynn

Age: 23

Pronouns: she/her

Timezone: est

Anything Else?: I just graduated university and moved back to America? I suppose as a fun fact if that’s what you’re looking for, oh and I love to bake pies.

IN CHARACTER

Desired Character: Caroline Forbes

Why?: It’s probably redundant to say that I love Caroline, most likely even more so to say that it has to do with the fact that she has some of the best character growth that I’ve ever seen in a tv show. Followed unfortunately by a pretty strong regression, but she still has remained my favourite character that always seems to rear her head again once I think I’ve forgotten about her, which is a stubborn hearted persistence which honestly is pure Caroline. I think my favourite thing about Caroline isn’t the label that she’s good because there’s a lot of times where Caroline isn’t a good person or falters as a good vampire, what she is however and what is probably leagues more important is kind. Caroline grows to be exceptionally kind and perceptive and I think it’s amazing. I could go on more but then my application would be a 30 page rant about why Caroline Forbes is amazing and honestly if you accept me you’ll get it in small snippets at a time. Why I want to write her in this rp specifically however is that Caroline is by far the best at being a Vampire, it’s her at her best self and in a lot of ways I think it’s her final destiny. But here she’s a human instead and that is fascinating to me, it’s refreshing from always tackling her from one end of her story. I like the fact that she was able to grow into herself a bit by going into college, but there’s still those human insecurities woven into her at the same time that I get to play with. I think this is a once in a life time writing wise chance to explore this, as it doesn’t appear to be a very common theme. I also like that she has family, family relationships is one of my favourite things to write next to friendships. They really define a person and I think Caroline benefits from having family around her and her cousin just seems like a fun interaction to me. She’s an excessively loyal person after all and with how heavily she lays that loyalty upon her friends imagine the sort of things she’d be willing to go through for blood.

Character Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality & Ships: I personally see Caroline as Pansexual, I think she doesn’t really care much for gender so much as the person and just what about them attracts her. Caroline just wants someone who will love and listen to her, just someone who will care half as much as she does. Not even considering what she’s always settling for unfortunately. I also like to think of it as a bonding point for her and her Dad, just a sweet little hc of mine. I’m fairly open with shipping for Caroline I like her with people who respect her so that’s a very low statistic in her actual dating life, I liked her and Matt not as a forever situation but they were good at the time, I like Klaroline he had a lot of respect for her agency and wanted more for her which was lovely. I don’t ship Steroline I think being with Stefan really regressed a lot of Care’s progression which was frustrating and I’m also not a huge fan of Forwood I liked them for a short while but their relationship in the end just ended up being bad for the both of them. Outside of that I’m pretty open with her as a person and who she dates it really just comes down to chemistry. I love her having an ex though in Jake and I really love that at the end of their relationship even if she got him to start opening up in the end it was someone else who made the true positive change in him. It really falls into the inferiority complex she grew up with and I think would be an even bigger slap in the face than him dumping her in the first place. At the time, she would definitely still be petty enough to be angry that he found that happiness somewhere else rather than with her. Now however that’s definitely has changed although she’s not too thrilled about seeing him again considering how shitty of a boyfriend he was.

Occupation: In Legacies Caroline is a headmistress and I understand it she has a fantastic skill of purely just being an excellent Vampire and helping others master the art too, it makes sense. Their choice of putting her in broadcast journalism felt a little out of left field, I suppose it plays into her inquisitive nature Care does have a habit of wheedling information out of people but for who she was then it didn’t make all too much sense. I’d like to believe Caroline did start out as a drama major in school but soon transferred over to business when she found her passionate singing voice wasn’t getting her where she wanted to be. She swapped over to a basic business major graduating top of her class as is only the Forbes way. At the end however she was felt with an empty feeling of having no real set plan for what she wanted to do with her business degree so she took the only reasonable follow up. Getting a Master’s degree, it felt like the easiest answer to avoid making a choice while also continuing forward with an upward momentum while she went about figuring it out. Caroline Forbes did not fumble anything in life and she wasn’t about to let anyone catch her at odds end especially with the strain in all of her relationships recently. Currently her degree is in business administration as she feels a tentative pull towards making a career out of event planning. I’d like to see in the future her straying away and possibly changing her major to something in paper journalism following her trying to figure out what the hell it is everyone is so intent on keeping hidden from her. But her final destination with her degree and job will come out when she discovers her purpose. I like the idea of someone as pointed and goal oriented as Caroline floundering slightly in settling down her future for now she tells people she has event planning in her future with all the confidence an actual sure Caroline Forbes would use. I have no idea how much sense this makes.

Headcanons:

· Caroline knows how to shoot a gun and is licenced, but not just that she’s good at it too. It’s not a skill many would expect of her but her Mother is one of the sheriffs of the town and even in a place as safe as she’s been told as Chance Falls it’s still been taught to her as a necessary skill. There’s a shotgun in the house and she’s been taught where it is and the combo for the safe to get to it. What Caroline isn’t aware of however is that the shot gun has been loaded with wooden bullets for many years now. She’s been taught to never welcome anyone into their home without her Mom’s express permission, and when she was a teenager the habit stuck around for a while, at times due to her cousin’s pointed reminders. Since going away to college however the habit has waned to the point of her welcoming and natural hostess nature often leading her now to welcome those she doesn’t know quite so well into her home. While it hasn’t led to anything bad yet only time can tell if this habit will come back to bite her. Tristan’s slow return to her life, as Caroline can hold a rather icy grudge will be good for this, help him have a nice starting base to work from.

· As a teenager Caroline existed as the defining factor of what was cool, effortless party planning, dating bad boys, always having perfectly curled hair and being at the top academically and a leader? Easy. What wasn’t easy in her endless quest to be seen at the pinnacle of her school’s social scene was getting a tattoo. Especially when your Mother was one of the sheriffs, however that very title also meant that little attention was paid to Caroline on the regular that she was able to do this grand feat. She started simple, a small star on her foot done at a seedy parlour willing to overlook a poorly done fake ID. Naturally enough she brought along Bonnie and Elena, as her best friends and no matter the pleading and pulling after one shot of tequila a 14 year old Caroline Forbes left officially tattooed.

· The second tattoo came when she was 17 following a string of heart break. This time Caroline went to the tattoo parlour alone with an immensely better fake ID in hand and no friends trailing behind her begging her to reconsider. Unlike the spontaneous choice of her star the blonde lingered for a bit taking into consideration her different options before deciding on a small swallow taking flight on her wrist. It drew her in and as the plastic was wrapped around the freshly done ink set for her to leave Care couldn’t help but feel like that blank space of skin on her had been sitting there waiting for the bird to settle down. It belonged on her. Her Mother did in fact figure out her tattoos and it led to yet another horrible fight.

· Caroline has several nervous ticks, she tends to bite her lip, she glowers, brushes a thumb gently over her swallow tattoo or, most infamously she cleaned everything around her to an inch of its life.

· Caroline is one of those people who carries her purse strap on her inner arm. This has a lot to do with southern societal living and creating a more glamorous effect around herself. Purses are also one of the things she’ll splurge on. Specifically purses, moisturizer, perfumes and shoes. She also believes it’s important to own at least a few tubes of high quality lipstick, one for each colour pallet.

· Marilyn Monroe’s favourite lipstick was Guerlain’s ‘Diabolique’ the colour is now discontinued but they then released ‘Red Insolence’ a near identical shade which Caroline of course owns. It smells like vanilla and berries and while she may model her life after Scarlett O’Hara there will always be a bit of Marilyn in her. Besides, everyone needs to own a timeless red.

· Caroline is well aware that she was a shallow bitch in high school, she’d had a whole break down about it once to prove it and at times she still felt that lingering push in her gut that she was just as shallow as before but that wasn’t the point. She’d been a supremely shitty teenager even going so far as to on occasion snub one of her closest friends Stiles, all because he wasn’t what anyone would really be calling cool back then. His social status did eventually change and Care is ashamed to admit now that she’d started being seen more in public with him around that time. There were times even when she was publically ignoring him that she would step in if someone appeared to be being too mean to him. The fact that he seems to be pulling away from her now feels like karma. If she’d always been the sort of friend he deserved every time maybe he wouldn’t be ignoring her now.

· Less serious one but listen Caroline was 100% pissed to find out everything horrible that goes bump in the night is real but unicorns aren’t. It’s something she will be bringing up at some point.

· Caroline doesn’t just love bubble gum pop music, she loves classic rock anthems. I’m taking this headcanon based off of her karaoke preferences. Her reasoning is that classic rock ballads from the 80s are some of the most powerful and romantic things you can find. It’s not something she advertises and you might not notice it unless you’ve heard her do karaoke or watch her get ready in the morning.

· Caroline as student body president, valedictorian and head of too many committees to name applied to a vast variety of colleges and was accepted to many including Ivy’s. However, she wasn’t brave enough to leave, she didn’t believe in herself so she decided to play it safe and go to Constance with Elena instead. She doesn’t regret her decision even with the way her friend has been pulling away but a secret deep part of her does wish that she’d at least gone out the visit those colleges she got into. It’ll stick in her mind as a what if especially as she continues to be frustrated by the isolation and exclusion she’s going through.

· Caroline’s underwear always matches, it’s just a little tic of hers and helps her feel more put together every morning. There’s nothing like concurring the world knowing you’re put together from literal top to bottom. She’ll shamelessly walk by having just purchased three new lingerie sets, there’s nothing to be embarrassed of after all, she has cute taste and if anything she’s setting an example of what everyone should be doing.

· There is a handheld vacuum in her possession specifically for cleaning up post party confetti and glitter, because that’s the sort of thing that will never come out of a vacuum and she’s not about to infect her other. It’s clearly labeled so as to make sure no one mixes up, not that she’s about to let anyone clear for her.

Para Sample:

Sitting in front of her vanity Caroline gently ran her curling iron one last time through the heaviest lock she’d have on show. The face that stared back at her was perfect, brows arched correctly, lashes thick but not clumpy. Leaning forward, she ran a finger carefully around the corner of her lip gloss, making sure it remained within the lines. But it was only for show really, to draw the eyes of the other girls around her, because every piece of her look was utterly flawless. A green dress was hung up beside her vanity, perfectly ironed and steamed as she’d done so herself. Somewhere out there in town her Mom was doing police things, her cousin was god knows where not that she particularly cared. As a flash of pain snapped through her system the blonde firmly shoved it down once again reenforcing that she truly didn’t. Her Dad though, she’d half expected him to show up. After all he was always the one who supported her in these things. The one who took her shopping before every school year, who helped drill her for gymnastics, and then for cheer. The parent who paid her the most attention and made sure that she was able to get the vast amount of attention that she so required, picking up the slack for her Mother who’d become so sucked into her work.

At the sound of a laugh her eyes drifted away from her own reflection instead landing on the back of her best friend and her aunt. How was it that Elena had most of her family die and still managed to have someone with her for the pageant? She shouldn’t be the one alone. As soon as the vicious thought slipped through her head she felt horrible, but it was true. She had the perfect boyfriend downstairs waiting for her, while Caroline had to dance with some substitute. All because her boyfriend, who she was still half sure was still half in love with her friend, was working. Caroline had almost been pathetic enough to ask Jake to escort her but not only would it royally piss of Matt, but her ego couldn’t take that kind of hit especially since her ex had recently been galavanting around with Faye Chamberline of all people. Her eyes remained locked on the happy little mixed up family unit as they at the same time unfocused.

She could see it in her mind’s eye now, standing next to her, probably holding hands with a death grip waiting for the news. Because Elena was her best friend and of course she’d want to stand beside her, because she loved her and she couldn’t imagine anyone else there next to her. So she would be standing there holding onto her, hearing Elena win and pasting a smile onto her features. Elena would get to feel a bit closer to her Mom a previous Miss Chance Falls and Caroline would get to feel her heart throb in pain at the loss of something she wanted so badly, and also feel like a horrible friend for hating her just a bit in that moment.

A hand softly reached up to brush against the heart-shaped necklace Elena had given her, just because she cared. Because that was the kind of person Elena was and it was, of course, the perfect piece of jewellery. Caroline did everything right, volunteering for everything within her reach, writing a killer essay, keeping a perfect smile with perfect posture before the judges. Answering every question with grace during the closed interview, she’d even googled how the royal family sat so as to make sure she was just that little bit more than everyone else. More what she did not know, but just more.

Her eyes dropped from looking at the reflection of her friend down to the vanity table. Elena would get the pity vote, because not only was she effortlessly beautiful and kind she had the perfect tragedy, and with her Aunt watching happily, and her perfect boyfriend standing beside the stage the committee would announce her name. Caroline would hug her and then she’d change out of her dress and walk herself home, leave a message for Matt and complain about her escort who would likely forget one or two of the steps she’d ruthlessly drilled into him. Her Mom would come home and if she remembered to ask Caroline would tell her about the pageant as well, or bring it up in a petty moment of anger during their next fight if she didn’t. Later she’d send a text to Tristan or Stiles, and the former might at the very least read the message and the later might commiserate with her over it being bullshit because even if she was on occasion a terrible friend/sudo-sibling he always seemed to come through. Bonnie she’d leave alone to celebrate with Elena, because Elena deserved to have a best friend who was for real happy for her in those moments.

Steeling herself Caroline sat up a bit straighter inspecting herself from her best angle and even her less flattering one, only slightly less of course. She’d meant it when she’d talked to Bonnie, when she’d softly tried to gather up her hope and confidence for this thing that she wanted so badly. She deserved this, she’d worked and earned this. So no matter what happened like Scarlett O’Hara she would preserve. She’d be so stunning that the town would gossip for weeks about how cheated she was out of the crown. Taking a small breath in and then out she smiled at her reflecting plastering her papier-mâché confidence back on before standing up and grabbing her dress bag. Caroline Forbes had a pageant to dominate.

Anything Else?: A future plot point for Caroline I’d really like to explore would be her becoming a Vampire as I think she’s meant to be. It’s not something I’m looking to rush however, I like drawing things out and reestablishing some relationships, just layering up a multitude of things so that when it happens the pile can topple over and we’re left with a lot of angst and conflicting emotions. I think it’d be especially interesting considering Tristan having killed the person he’s been intending to marry. So it’s really important to me to have a Tristan rper and their relationship rather strong before that happens.

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/goseabrook1/care/

Inspo Blog: https://luminescentgirl.tumblr.com/

#tvd rp #vampire diaries rp #supernatural rp #town rp #new rp #accepted #c: caroline

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ragsandmuffins · 7 years

Text

Musical Theatre Themed Ask

Okay, I’m gonna answer... all of these! (Because I have a paper to write and zero motivation. And also: musicals.)

Oh, and by the way, I’m going to assume that every “Broadway” is a “Broadway/West End” because Tumblr is a free platform.

1. What was the first musical you saw?

Mary Poppins, West End, 2006 (not 100% sure about the year)

2. What musical got you really into theatre?

Les Misérables - saw the film, started stalking the actors, you know how it goes.

3. Who was your first Broadway crush?

Aaron Tveit (he’s the main one) and Samantha Barks - like I said, stalking the Les Mis actors...

4. Name three of your current Broadway crushes.

Um... still Aaron Tveit? Plus Rob Houchen (Les Mis London) and Cleve September (In the Heights London and soon Hamilton London) - Also, I get “talent crushes” not physical attraction crushes.

5. Name four of your dream roles.

Only 4? Natalie Goodman, Enjolras, Maureen Johnson, and HERCULES MULLIGAN!!

(I can’t sing, act, or dance, nor am I a man, so...)

6. Favourite off-broadway show:

Heathers and The Last Five Years

7. Favourite cast recording.

Gotta be Hamilton, it’s just such a well-produced album. Bonus points for including nearly the entire show.

8. 2013 Tony opening number or 2016 Tony opening number?

2012? The Book of Mormon thing is just pure gold!

9. Favourite show currently on Broadway.

Broadway: I guess Hamilton - There are way too few that I actually know.

West End: Les Misérables forever!

10. A musical that closed and you’re still bitter about. Rant a bit.

In the Heights London! Though I can’t really complain, they extended their initially run several times and now they’ve cast my amazing Sonny as Laurens/Philip, so... But it was just so good!!

11. Best stage to screen adaptation?

Les Misérables. Controversial, I know, but I usually kind of hate movie musicals. With this one they did something new and different and I think it works. The Last Five Years is pretty good too, though it lost a lot in the adaptation (couldn’t be avoided).

12. Worst stage to screen adaptation?

Rent. I’m sorry, I love the show, I love the cast, but it all feels so staged and wrong and meh. Also, they cut Goodbye Love and left in fucking Santa Fé which adds exactly nothing to the plot!!

13. Favourite #ham4ham?

Gotta be the Schuyler Georges, but there have been so many great ones...

14. A musical you would love to see produced by Deaf West?

Oh, tricky... Maybe Next to Normal? That has a lot to do with people holding things in and failing to see each others’ struggles.

15. If you could revive any musical, which one would it be and who would you cast in it?

Not exactly a revival, but bring Next to Normal to the West End already! That show’s got a sodding Pulitzer. And London’s only a 2 hour flight away from where I live, not a transatlantic one, so I might actually be able to go see it.

Oh, and give Spring Awakening another chance, West End. Maybe adapt some American Sign Language into British Sign Language and...?

Also, maybe revive Rent, Broadway? (And cast Aaron Tveit as Roger... please?)

16. If you could go to a concert at the 54 below, who’s would it be?

That list would be waaaaaayyy too long...

17. Do you watch broadway.com vlogs? Which one is your favourite?

I’ve seen a few, but I don’t really watch them on a regular basis, so no favourites...

18. Make a Broadway related confession.

I really, really hate South Pacific. It was part of our American drama syllabus, as an example of a musical. Quite apart from the fact that I think it’s a godawful, sort of racist and sexist show (it’s from the 40s, go figure), it displays LITERALLY EVERY cliché about musicals!

19. What do musicals mean to you?

Hard to say... Apart from hours and hours of ALL the emotions, some awesome internet buddies (looking at you, @frei-und-schwerelos), I’ve got generally more interested in and knowledgable about theatre, which is a great asset when you study English. Musicals have also introduced me to a wide range of music I wouldn’t normally listen to and so many talented people I wouldn’t have known about otherwise...

20. Express some love for understudies and swings!

Okay here goes: I went to see the West End production of Memphis because of Killian Donnelly and then he unexpectedly wasn’t on that night - bummer. But then Jon Robyns just knocked it out of the part (and I only ever listened to Avenue Q and Spamalot because I watched clips of him when he was in those shows).

My first Thénardier was Adam Pearce and his version of “It was me wot told you so...” is the funniest one I’ve ever heard (he kind of went “No? Sorry, fair enough.”).

The second time I saw the show Adam Bayjou was Valjean and his Bring Him Home was one of the best I’ve ever heard (effortless high notes).

Also, Charlotte Kennedy was Cosette that time (she’s principal Cosette now) and her performance was so incredibly sweet! (She also brought some brunette power into the sea of blond that were Marius and Éponine.)

And Jordan Lee Davies was Bamatabois both times and he was great!

Oh, and my Christine from Phantom was the wonderful Lisa-Anne Wood.

21. Best Disney musical:

Mary Poppins - My first ever musical, fond memories, I still wear the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious shirt my dad bought me (11 years ago... didn’t fit then, fits now).

22. Which Disney movie should be made into a musical?

Uh, I don’t know. Tangled’s funny...

23. Which musical fandom has the funniest memes?

Hamilton and Les Mis. I mean, the Les Mis/Mean Girls crossovers alone...

24. Name a character from a musical you would sort into your Hogwarts house.

Well, the test sorted me into Hufflepuff (great house), but I know that I am a Ravenclaw (and, as we know, the hat listens to you). Okay, Ravenclaw... maybe Melchior from Spring Awakening?

25. Name a Broadway star you would sort into your Hogwarts house.

Ugh, that’s even harder! Sorry, no clue.

26. Best on stage chemistry?

Hmm from what I’ve seen live, Rob Houchen and Carrie Hope Fletcher were pretty darn amazing together.

From what I haven’t seen live, Jennifer Damiano and Adam Chanler-Berat, and Justin Johnston and Michael McElroy seemed fantastic.

27. A Broadway duo you love.

I’m gonna say Jonathan Groff and Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I’m not sure I understand the question...

28. What book, tv show, movie, biography, video game, etc. should be turned into a musical?

Umm... I don’t know. Supernatural sort of is a musical... A Lord of the Rings musical in the style of A Very Potter Musical might be fun. The Fellowship of the Sing? I’ll show myself out.

29. If you could make a jukebox musical, what artist or genre would you pick?

I doubt many people know her but: Vienna Teng. For three reasons (aside from me liking her songs): 1. Her songs tell stories. 2. She often writes from the perspective of “characters.” 3. Her songs are actual poetry!

30. Favourite role played by _________________?

I don’t get it. What am I supposed to put here?

31. What musical has made you cry the most?

I don’t actually cry often at musicals (internally I do), but It’s Quiet Uptown from Hamilton got me bad the first time. And I once listened to Next to Normal when I was already feeling like shit - bad idea! (Don’t listen to There’s a World when you kind of want there to not be a world, kids...)

32. What musical has made you laugh the most?

Probably Avenue Q and Something Rotten

33. Current showtune stuck in you head:

Well, you just put Hard to Be the Bard in my head!

34. A musical that has left you thinking about life for a long time or deeply inspired you.

Les Misérables... I haven’t spent a single week without thinking about that show (or, indeed, the book) since early 2013.

Next to Normal also gave me a lot to think about.

I keep discovering new little bits of genius in Hamilton lyrics. Also, I’m writing a paper on the early US for the second time in under a year and characters from Hamilton (otherwise know as historical figures) keep popping up. Seriously, I’m writing about the Whiskey Rebellion and every time I read Hamilton’s name my brain goes PAY YOUR FUCKING TAXES!

I’ve also thought quite a bit about Heathers and The Last Five Years, because both of them have had productions where they genderbended (genderbent?) a main character, which made me think about how it changes the story and why.

35. If you could perform any ensemble number , which one would you pick?

“If you could...” Are you implying that I don’t?! Come on, any theatre geek who claims never to have done a solo rendition of One Day More is definitely lying! Oh, and I rapped myself all the way through One Shot the other day and made only one mistake - one that Lin’s made before, so I’m proud!

36. Name a musical you didn’t like at first but ended up loving.

I don’t think that’s really happened... There have been shows where I thought “What in the holy hell is this?!” and ended up loving it. I mean, what in the holy hell is Avenue Q?!

37. What are some costumes you’d love to try on?

Give me that red vest! Also, let me play Enjolras! Yes, I know I’m a woman and can only hit that low “foooorm” when I’ve got a really bad cold, but fuck all that!

I’d also really like to try on Elphaba’s Act II dress, because it’s epic!

38. Favourite dance break.

Hmmm... I don’t really have one? The one in Cool and the ballet in Somewhere where they sort of replay what’s happened are pretty amazing (both West Side Story).

39. Favourite Starkid musical:

A Very Potter Musical is the only one I know... Sorry...

40. What’s a musical more people should know about?

Well, where I live, most people have heard of Cats, Phantom, and Mamma Mia and that’s about it.

But in general, I’ve never met anyone who’s even heard of Assassins (although many people who have met me have now heard everything about Assassins - I’m that kind of person).

41. What are some lines from musicals you really like?

Okay, this is gonna take a while...

"Can you remind me of what it was like at the top of the world?” (In the Heights)

“Oh, my friends, my friends, don’t ask me what your sacrifice was for.” (Les Misérables - internal Niagara Falls!)

“Here, put some hail into the chief.” (Assassins)

“But the sky’s gonna hurt when it falls. So you’d better start building some walls.” (Heathers)

“I’m not mad that you got mad when I got mad when you said I should go drop dead!” (Tick, Tick... Boom!)

“My God, in God we trust, but we never really know what God discussed.” (Hamilton)

“What doesn’t kill me doesn’t kill me.” (Next to Normal)

And just for fun: “Honest living, honest living, honest living, honest living,...” (Rent)

42. Name a Tony performance you rewatch and rewatch.

In the Heights, Next to Normal, Hamilton, and Spring Awakening (both versions).

#well that was fun #i'm procrastinating #theatre geek #musicals #just musical things #musical theatre

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