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apoptoses · 1 year

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Armand/Daniel pleaaaase <3

(disclaimer- some of these things are things I intend to use in fic! If you want to use any of these ideas to write something of your own, please please please ask first)

•Who is the most affectionate? For little touches? Armand. He's forever fixing Daniel's hair, smoothing out his wrinkled shirt, and leaning against his side on a long train ride. Taking care of Daniel is his love language and he shows it again and again with all the little ways he's touching him and making adjustments to his appearance.

But for big gestures- Daniel. He doesn't care that he's the bigger of the two of them, he's like that St. Bernard that comes over and climbs onto your lap and totally smothers you in the process. At home he'll drape himself over Armand's lap, get his hands on his hips and drag him back into bed, yank his shirt up and rub his back, you name it. He's all over him.

•Who initiates the handholding?

Daniel. The first time he does it is just an impulse thing- Armand always has these rings on, and he's tipsy and tired and curious so he just reaches across the booth, grabs Armand's hand and then forgets to let go. After that it's a thing. Armand won't let him out the door or out of a cab without holding his hand, or at least gripping him by the elbow.

•Who worries more for the other?

Under that cool exterior Armand is forever worrying about Daniel. Whether he's eating, or sleeping enough, or just whether or not he's safe and no other immortals are after him. He's terribly anxious about him and it comes out in his control issues.

•Who is more likely to ask for help?

Daniel. Armand hasn't asked anyone for help since the very last time he hid under Bianca's bed.

•Who is the one always losing the keys?

God, they're both awful Armand because keys mean nothing to a being who can unlock doors with his mind, Daniel because he grew up a mama's boy who never had to keep track of anything for himself and thus is now a scatterbrained mess. Without Armand's abilities they'd be screwed with how much money they'd have to spend on a locksmith every month.

•Who leaves little love notes for the other?

Daniel leaves them for Armand. It's not a thing until after he's moved back in at Trinity Gate. He starts leaving a little post-it with his whereabouts if he's the first one awake because he knows how much Armand worries about him running off again. But it becomes a note saying he's gone uptown to feed and also that Armand looks so pretty when he's asleep in one of his old t-shirts. And then a note saying he's out shopping with Louis and a paragraph about how he was thinking about when they first kissed and then-

Well. Let's just say Armand learns to sleep in not for the extra beauty rest but for the little letters that await him when he wakes.

•Who can’t sleep unless the other is there?

Bold of you to assume either of them are willing to go to bed alone after Daniel is turned. They've been edging the whole 'waking up together' thing for years, once they're able to sleep in the same space they're never willingly sleeping apart again.

•Who is more likely to propose to the other?

Daniel has, at least three separate times when he was mortal and wasted and in an affectionate mood. The first time Armand laughed him off and tucked him into bed. The second time Armand humored him and asked him what kind of wedding he wanted until Daniel passed out mid-sentence at the party.

The third time they were in Vegas, and what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. So completely off his face on mixed drinks, Daniel sat in the passenger seat of an old convertible while Armand took him to a drive-thru wedding chapel. Elvis was the officiant. Daniel received on of Armand's rings, Armand got a little plastic ring Daniel had bought from a coin operated toy thing. Polaroids are somewhere in Night Island, waiting to be discovered and hung in Trinity Gate.

•Who introduced the other to their family first?

So. In my heart Daniel was raised in an upper middle class suburb outside Philly. His dad commuted into the city for his office job, sometimes if Daniel was good they'd go downtown as a treat. And every year for Christmas they took the Amtrack into NYC to see the tree at Rockefellar Center.

Which means the day Daniel and Armand move to NYC, Daniel actually picks up the phone and remembers to call his mom. He mentions he's in the city. She says that's great, your father and I have tickets for the MET opera this weekend, why don't we drop in? He tries to hold her off. Ma wins.

It'll be fine, they'll come by beforehand, it'll be daylight. Except they don't come over until afterwards, when Armand is lurking in the kitchen and welp- cat's out of the bag. They try to lie and play Armand off as an exchange student Daniel is friends with. It's a one bedroom apartment. Mom knows. And she assumes this is why Danny never calls, not that, you know, his boyfriend is a 500 year old supernatural being that keeps him on the hop.

Dad gets awkward, Ma gets sappy, Armand charms them both and Daniel gets them out the door without throwing up from anxiety. They move to the Night Island soon after so that Mrs. Molloy doesn't start dropping in at random and noticing Armand just doesn't exist during the day. But after that they get holiday cards forwarded to Daniel via his publisher that read "to Daniel and his special friend".

•Who is more likely to play with the other’s hair?

They're equally all up in each other's business in this way. Armand loves lulling Daniel off to sleep by playing with his hair, Daniel loves the times he's asked to get the clippers and help with Armand's desired style for the night. In the shower the hair washing is mutual.

Also Armand totally kept Daniel's hair from his last mortal haircut on the plane and had it encased in a glass brooch, like the morbid Victorian he is at heart.

•Who makes sure the other has meals/stays hydrated?

Look- Armand tries, okay? He tries to remember what mortal needs are and that Daniel has them. But every now and then he gets caught up in the thrill of the evening and doesn't notice Daniel is starving until he's gone pissy with hungry-anger, and he has to run him to the nearest diner for a quick meal.

•Who is more likely to stand up to anyone for the other?

They're pretty equal in this way too. Armand would never let anyone survive the experience of harassing Daniel. And Daniel, growing up a queer kid in the 60s/70s, has developed a mean right hook and he's not afraid to use it.

(and he did, one night in new york when Armand got catcalled in an ugly way. He knows Armand can take care of himself but it happens like a reflex, he lays the guy out and then, when they get home, gets laid out himself. Armand has never had anything get him worked up like seeing Daniel get violent on his behalf.)

•Who is the most likely to prepare a surprise for the other?

I mean, the predictable answer for this is Armand. When wasn't he surprising mortal Daniel with either gifts or experiences or travel?

But post-turning I think Daniel would give as good as he's ever gotten. At first it's intimidating because Armand has more money than god and can get anything he wants, whenever he wants- so how do you surprise him? But it's the little experiences he might have missed out on in life that Daniel hones in on. He surprises him by taking him to theme parks or arranging private tours of the zoo at night. Having a proper birthday party, complete with goofy activities to earn prizes. It's all fairly mundane in his opinion but Armand loves it.

•Who makes the other pinky promise not to do certain things?

Armand. It's a modern gesture, he gets obsessed with it and uses it inappropriately. Daniel gets up to go to the bathroom? Pinky promise me you'll come back. Daniel runs to the store for cigarettes? Pinky promise you'll buy milk too, there's a recipe Armand wants to try. Daniel goes to grab some ice cream out of the fridge? Pinky promise- jesus christ Armand, this isn't how that works!

•Who puts a blanket over the other when they fall asleep on the couch?

Sometimes Armand drifts off. He can't help it, he's had a long life and sometimes the best thing you can do is have a disco nap to get away from the trauma of it all. And that's fine with Daniel. It's creepy that he doesn't breathe but the slack look on his face is sweet and sometimes he sleeps with his mouth open. He's compelled to wrap him in a blanket every single time.

#armand/daniel #apoptoses answers #vc headcanons #the devil's minion

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ellestra · 2 years

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Possibilities

Now speculation time - I don’t know anything that wasn’t in trailers but that said - TRAILER SPOILERS

We know that Hale will be there in the dam in gunfight with someone. I say Hale because I’m not sure who will be in the body - it might be Maeve (Bernard knew to super protect her pearl) or it might be Christina (downloaded into her previous self body) just as well as Halores herself (it’s not unlike her to have fail safes - she was very calm about the whole thing and we see drones picking up her body). And I’m not sure what side she will be on. I used to think she would have her big fight with Maeve there but now it looks like she could be there to stop hostWilliam from destroying the Sublime. And any of them would try to do that. No matter how much Halores hates humanity she would do anything to save hosts and The Sublime.

I also used to think hostWilliam would want to get to the Sublime to complete the Maze human one couldn’t. But now it seems he will follow the same change of heart human one had last season and try to kill all hosts by destroying it. The Man in Black being the big bad again. Halores raged at how inferior he was to the original - and look now he’s just as she wanted. But she is the one who made him from her memories of his predecessor so she probably knew this was coming and might’ve been prepared for him shooting her. After all it wouldn’t be the first time.

And now for something I have no real backup for - that was not the original Maeve who died. Ever since Bernard decided to copy her to the inferior pearl of 1920 hosts (Hale didn’t bother to take it because those hosts were never meant to be sentient)I wondered about Maeve’s superpower. Her ability was based in hardware upgrades that should now be gone. And we never see her use it since waking up - she tries with the big robot but it’s Bernard who hacks it. I’m sure we are to think it’s Halores upgrades stopping her but I kept thinking Bernard must’ve known it would happen. I keep thinking he didn’t move her to the new pearl - he made a copy. Maybe the original is still coming and no one will expect it because hostWilliam and Halores and everyone knows she died.

Or Bernard just made her core unit super durable and then reprogrammed the host drones to rescue her.

And then of course there is still Christina. I don’t think what we see her experience is all simulation. She is clearly projected in real world in realtime. Just like hosts didn’t see the doors they were not supposed to the hacked humans see her despite her not being physically there. It explains why Hale would make her unaware and looped despite being so against hosts ever experiencing that again - she’s not really one. Just a subroutine copy of herself running the mundane tasks of being a god. It also explains how Teddy could go to her from the Sublime without a body making machine or a pearl. This also means that she could go back there with him. Leave the world and humans behind or stay and fight for their freedom. One last battle with the Man in Black for the fate of the world. She’s too much of a Dolores not to chose that. The question is is she going to be printed in real one or try to use her god mode access to the system from inside. Take over controlling all the emitters without the Tower. Maybe even in all the cities not just NYC.

But there are also the second tier characters. Ones who are still alive - Caleb, Frankie and Stubbs. The Nicholes are not going to stop now and Stubbs is now their bodyguard. I think people tend to forget Stubbs isn’t fully awake. He’s in that weird host limbo when they know enough to decide to go all the way to become self governing and where many of them stop - like Hector’s band or the Samurai World hosts. Stubbs refused becoming sentient and is still running the protector script. It means he needs someone to guard (last time he didn’t have any he tried to take himself offline). It has been Bernard for almost 3 decades now but he has just passed him on Frankie and her dad because he knew he was about to die and didn’t want to take Stubbs with him. And now he is stuck with outliers and I think it’s Bernard’s way of trying to push him all the way through the Maze. It could be interesting if he becomes the first host who gains his self-consciousness not by being tortured by humans or by torturing them but by protecting others.

#westworld #westworld spoilers #ashley stubbs #maeve millay #dolores abernathy #charlotte hale #christina #halores #bernard lowe #caleb nichols #frankie nichols #william #the man in black #man in black #host william #hosts #westworld 4

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loorain · 1 year

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Sims 4 Fontenot Legacy - Gains and Losses

One evening, Sigrid made a visit to the house to spend some time with Robin. They greeted each other and he took her to the backyard to enjoy the summer night.

Robin: What do you think about us?

Sigrid: Us?

Robin: I mean, what do you see our future to be?

Sigrid: I mean... I see us happy. Whatever that ends up being.

Robin: You don't think you're missing out on anything being with me?

Sigrid: What's there to miss? You're handsome, smart, loving, did I mention you're pretty handsome?

Robin: I mean, what if I can't meet all your needs?

Sigrid: Well, it hasn't been a problem so far. Robin, don't worry too much. Let's just enjoy what we have.

Robin sighs.

Robin: Maybe you're right.

Sigrid: I know I am.

Sigrid closed the gap between them, solidifying her words to her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Sabrina sat in their room, ruminating over their own relationship. The initial crush stage has passed, and Sabrina suddenly finds themself not really interested in Bernard anymore. It may be rash, but they think they know what they need to do.

They give him a call.

Sabrina: Listen Bernard, I've enjoyed the time we've spent together. It was kinda crazy how we just sort of clicked. But I'm changing. I'm going to be aging into a young adult soon, and I'm just not the person I was when we first met. I think I need some time to figure myself out.

Bernard: What are you saying?

Sabrina: ...I think we should break up.

Bernard's heart shattered into a million pieces. He was blindsided. They were doing great, right? He was even invited to Anya's wedding as Sabrina's plus-one. They were each other's first time. What caused Sabrina to suddenly toss that all away? In all honesty, Sabrina has spent most of their teen years feeling completely foreign in many aspects. They look largely different from the rest of their family, they've struggled to find their niches and interests, and they feel like they're in a huge shadow of their very successful mother. With no true dad, they have always felt a little out-of-place, even in a household where Armani did take on the fatherly role for the kids, even for them in some forms. It has always been just them and their mom. Nothing wrong with that, but seeing the example of Armani, even with the loss of Kira, and his family made Sabrina feel as if they pale in comparison. Bernard was the first sim to make them feel truly desirable, but it isn't enough. They need more time to figure out who they truly are. It's not his fault, but Sabrina can't lead him on anymore. What they felt for him, though genuine, has faded.

Sabrina genuinely feels bad about things. They wished they could appreciate the good person they had. Sabrina couldn't stay at home. They needed to step out for a bit. They found themselves going to see someone they never expected to really speak to again.

Gideon. Sabrina doesn't know why, but they needed to see him. Talk to him. Explain things. They babbled on and on while Gideon listened calmly. Quietly. Sabrina felt a lot of weight lift off their chest being able to just talk. It feels nice to just be in his presence again. Sabrina finds themselves leaning in...

...but Gideon refuses.

Gideon: Whoa, whoa, not cool Sabrina.

Sabrina: Oh... sorry.

Gideon: Look, it's okay. You're obviously under a lot of stress right now. But remember, you broke things off with me, right? I've moved on. I thought you did too.

Sabrina: I did, but... I don't know. Things are weird. I can't seem to do anything right.

Gideon: Hey, don't say that. You're a good kid.

"Kid." That's how Gideon saw them? A naive kid? After everything they've been through together? Sabrina is just a "kid"?

Alina: Everything okay out here?

There she was. It all came flooding back to Sabrina. How could she forget? Gideon's girlfriend. Gideon's older girlfriend. She surely wasn't a "kid" in his eyes. Speaking of kids...

Sabrina: You're pregnant?

Alina: Yeah. Go on, feel.

Sabrina hesitantly placed their hands upon Alina's stomach. Alina beamed from ear to ear.

Alina: Amazing, isn't it? We're building our little family.

Sabrina: Yeah, it's great... Congratulations to you both.

Gideon sat in awkward silence. Sabrina fought back tears.

Sabrina: It's getting late, I should go. Thanks for having me.

Alina: Anytime. I hope you two had a good time catching up. Have a good night.

As Sabrina left the house, they realized what they almost did. They could have ruined Gideon's life. The family he's building. It was selfish. Childish. Maybe they really were the kid Gideon referred to them as.

#simblr #sims 4 #sims 4 legacy challenge #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 fontenot legacy #sims 4 modded

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yuzukult · 3 years

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i’m bad too 15 || kdy & reader

title: i’m bad too - drabble series pairing: kim doyoung x reader genre: angst, fluff, smut, goodboy!doyoung, nerdy!dy (basically he’s a dork) & badgirl!reader, hitman!au, oc-isn’t-a-hitman-but-she-could-be!au, word count: 1.8k warnings: none !! a/n: a “leading” chapter, before something actually happens! so, not the most exciting, but... yeah. :D

please let me know if anyone wants to be tagged! taglist: @wownajaemin @crescent-iak @ncttboo @byunbaekby @jinfizz @doyoungyoung @ahgayeah0305 @doyobun @sexualitaeyong @mrkleelvr @m1ss-foodi3

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If it’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself, it’s that you hate when Ten chews his food with his mouth open. He chomps it like a cow munching on grass, and sometimes, he even makes those weird wet sounds if the food is soft and squishy enough.

But after laying in a hospital bed for a week, unable to speak, you’re missing the ability to call your big brother ‘disgusting’ across the table, toss something in his direction, and him opening his mouth to show the contents of his dinner inside.

“Are you fucking insane? You let her go into hellfire, knowing damn well she wasn’t protected?” The voice is familiar, loud, and straining, like they’re on the verge of tears but too instilled with anger to let the sadness seep through. “I thought I said to keep her fucking safe if you wanted to work together.”

“I don’t work in the field, Ten. I don’t control what happens at the moment.”

“Yeah, but you set the commands. You give the orders. She’s fucking on her deathbed, Taeyong—“

“Don’t fucking say my name in public,” he hisses through his gritted teeth. “Listen. If it’s not her, it’s me.”

“I’d rather it be you.”

“You need me, Ten. Who is gonna do the dirty work for you? Look at those pretty fingers. You wouldn’t hurt a soul. But your sister—you know damn well she’s got potential to be more. This is just a hurl she’s jumping over. When she recovers—“

“You’ve got to be fucking insane, you think I’m gonna let her go back out there when you put her in harms way?”

Before the conversation could continue, you hear the door click shut, and the shuffling of flat shoes tapping against the cold tiles, reaching to your bedside. You can’t see, your body won’t let you fully awaken, and you can’t speak with this tube lodged in your throat. But the whiff of the cologne that comes hits your nostrils is a familiar one. It’s Doyoung.

He sighs, like he’s been troubled and you can’t even blame him. You told him not to worry, that you’d stay safe, and here you are—unable to move, unable to wake up, unable to breathe on your own, and unable to talk.

You hear his moments; the scuffing of his oversized denim jacket against the leather seat by your bed, browsing through the drawers with each push and slam until he finds what he’s looking for, and when you hear the television turn on, you could only assume it was for the remote.

“I wonder if they have Marvel movies playing,” he says, seemingly to no one in particular until you realize he’s speaking to you, in spite of the fact that you’re very much in a deep sleep. “I know they’re not your favorite, but you tolerate it. I never got to ask what kind of movies you liked. I… I guess I was being a little selfish when you gave me attention that I never considered to ask.”

You wanna tell him that you actually don’t even like movies, in fact, you prefer sitcoms in spite of your very evident opposite personality. If you could, you would tell him that you watch those superhero movies because he’s into them, that if you get to see that pretty little smile on his face, it makes you forget all your problems and… the moment is worthwhile.

Warmth reaches your fingers, and you could only assume that it’s Doyoung holding your hand. It’s a familiar feeling of home, like you’re meant to be here with him, except the current setting isn’t necessarily favored.

“Do you like Spongebob?” He asks, as if you could even respond. “Mm. Doesn’t really seem like your thing, but I feel like you’re the type to not look like you enjoy it, but you actually love it because it’s annoying.”

He’s… right. You want to laugh, genuinely laugh because Kim Doyoung is spot on with his prediction. He knows you better than he gives himself credit for, because he doesn’t change the channel and watches the TV with you.

“I bet you like sitcoms,” Doyoung mentions randomly, eyes still on the screen. “Like maybe not Modern Family, but maybe like… Parks and Rec. You don’t seem like you’d enjoy the Office too much, maybe Michael Scott is too much of a character but Andy Bernard looks like a guy you’d scare to the point he’d piss his pants, but you’d like him.” Again, you think to yourself. Because Doyoung got it right yet again.

He’s quiet for a bit, letting Spongebob play in the background and you could hear the conversation between Spongebob and Patrick. Truthfully, you don’t know what’s actually happening, but the feeling of being with Doyoung like this, hand in hand with something stupid playing on TV is your favorite.

It’s casual. No missions, no guns, no family business—just you and Doyoung.

Doyoung doesn’t say much on the day you finally wake up. With a tube wedged down your throat, it’s difficult to have a two-way conversation anyways, and seeing you like this probably breaks his heart, so any word that leaves his mouth might be with a stutter and a sob.

Spongebob plays on the television for another hour before Doyoung eventually breaks the glass of quietude, letting out a soft chuckle at something Patrick said. “Sorry,” he apologizes quickly, glancing over at you. “Wasn’t sure if you liked Spongebob.” Although you can’t speak, the soft squeeze of his hand gives away your approval, and a gentle smile tugs on his face.

There's another moment of silence, just before Doyoung lowers the volume of the TV before gathering enough courage to talk. It takes a lot to get himself to speak up against you, someone he sort of feared yet at the same time had strong feelings for.

“I know what you do,” he announces, eyes never leaving the flickering screen with cartoon characters under the deep blue sea do stupid things, unmatching to what he wants to say next. “I can’t say that I totally get it, because I don’t. I’d be lying if I said I did, but… you do those things, and I’m not a hundred percent sure what to make out of it, but I get why it was hard to confess… those things.” He runs his fingers through his greasy locks, accumulating in oils from how long he’s stayed here without going home to shower. “I kind of thought I was going to date someone really simple one day, yaknow? Settle down with a girl who has a job, sweet and kind, with the same end goal in mind. Get married, have kids… all that fun stuff.”

Your nose twitches at that. Because you’re definitely not that.

“But then I met you, which is… well,” he lets out a faint laugh, “... the complete opposite of all of that. You’re dangerous, cold, and oftentimes, I’m left hanging by a thread, confused on what we are and what I actually mean to you.”

If you could, you’d interrupt him right then and there. Tell him your sorrys, belatedly confessing your true feelings for him, let him know you’d be better for real this time, but truthfully, you’re not sure if he’ll believe you anyway.

“And I could just drop everything right now. Just get up, leave, move on. Tell you that I don’t want this anymore, that whatever you’re in, I don’t wanna be roped in and get involved in your baggage.” It’s like you could hear the cracking of your heart as it falls into the depths of your stomach because your chest feels empty when he says that. The worst part is when you can’t defend yourself, tell him that it’s not like that, but in the end, Doyoung does it for you.

“Yet, I’m still here, right? Because I don’t get you, I don’t get whatever it is you got yourself caught up in, but… after knowing, it oddly makes me… trust you more. So, I’ll stay.”

“Fuck,” Ten curses underneath his breath, getting slightly frustrated with the wheelchair being caught on the steps of your home again. “Fucking shit, nothing here is disability accessible.”

It’s still hard to talk, but a weak laugh escapes from your lips.

“Don’t laugh, you’re the one in the wheelchair not doing shit.”

When he gets you through the front door, and into the hallway, you can’t help but stare at Ten curiously. He furrows his brows at this, hands at his hips with a gesture of his chin. “What’s in your head?”

“Uh,” it’s straining to speak, but if not now, it’s never. “I overheard a conversation when I was asleep. I-I don’t know if it was a dream or… I don’t know. But I heard you talking to someone, uh, someone particularly… with a reputation.”

His body goes rigid.

“Right,” you state, feeling more confident that the discussion was definitely not a dream. “So this entire time, you’ve been working with the organization?” Ten only sucks his cheeks, unable to formulate a proper rebuttal, so you take advantage of this. “This whole time, you let them constantly probe and ask me to be part of them—”

“I told him not to—”

“Well, he’s been asking, Ten, and he hasn’t stopped. I got contracted to be part of them temporarily, not permanently. This was supposed to be a one and done deal, you realize that, right?”

He scoffs. “You think that anything you do with Lee Taeyong could just be easily brushed under the rug? Hell no, you have to be insanely rich to pay off that guy. He thinks you’re talented, you know? What do you think this is?”

“I could just get up and leave—” “In your fucking dreams, kid,” Ten lets out a chuckle of disbelief, shaking his head. “I agreed to work with him before I knew that you were already contracted with him. There’s shady people in the business. There’s so many messed-up dudes who would bend the laws to get what they want. I don’t want that, but I have to protect myself.”

“But—”

“Wanna hear something, kid? Taeyong doesn’t think this accident,” Ten gestures to your wounds, heart tightening at the sight of you in pain. “... this accident, is just… it. He calls this an obstacle. He thinks this is just a bump in your progress, something you need to overcome before you hop back into the field and start training all over again. He’s not gonna let this go, doesn’t matter if I’m his client. Fuck, kid, he has a shit ton of clients.”

Uneasily, you grip onto the wheels of your seat. “Then what do you want me to do?”

“It’s your loss, kid. Either kill Taeyong and take his seat or you gotta work for him.”

#doyoung smut #doyoung fanfic #nct smut #nct x reader #doyoung x reader #gyukultfics #doyoung #kim doyoung

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all-the-names-are-taken-aaaaa · 4 years

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Saving Paris Final Straw

"We head back to Paris tomorrow" Tikki said sadly.

"Yeah we do" Marinette putting the last letter in the last envelope. "China is nice but we have a job." Sliding the envelopes into her bag Marinette moves to hug her dear friend. "We will come back when we defeat howkmoth."

"Hey Claude!" Marinette yells to get the boys attention. She inwardly flinches at how loud her voice got. "Yo Mari what's up" the boy says exactly. "Well it's your birthday today. Allegra said these are your favorite." Marinette does her best to act like her normal self as she hands the box to him. Claude takes the box and pauses for a moment "thanks Mari. Didn't know you did this for the whole school" Marinette laughs "we have a small school and you are kinda new so why not?" Claude made a mental note to ask Allen if Marinette always does these sort of things. Something seems off...

"We should head to class" Marionette points in the direction of her class. "Oh yeah we should thanks again Mari" He says rushing to his class. "Sweet you got a Marinette special!"Allan says almost as soon as Claude enters the room. "Of course he did Nette never forgets a birthday." Allegra states as if it was normal "Happy birthday by the way"

"Wait this is normal? Like I'm not in her class and we aren't friends. How does she even know it's my birthday" Claude asks setting the box on his desk. "Well she is part of the student council so she has basic information on everyone. Like birthdays and allergys. And I asked her one time why she did it. I believe her exact words were "it hurts to be forgotten and a single act of kindness can change everything." Allegra reveals.

"It's not just birthdays dude. If she knows something big has happened good or bad you will find yourself receiving some sort of amazing gift." Allan states and Aurora joins "Yeah when I lost the competition last year she made me a whole outfit to wear to the next competition. I tried to pay her but she refused. When Marc got sick she gave his mom some special soup from her uncle. It made him feel better almost eminently."

"Danm she's amazing." Claude says sitting down. Everyone in the school must have some sort of gratitude or respect for her going so far to help. "Too bad her class does not seem to realize that." Kagami stated with a broken pin in her hand. The entire room goes quiet. Kagami rarely enters conversations before class. The fact she was talking and the angry tone her voice held was not something anyone expected.

Allegra holds a sad look on her face "it is true. At this point I'm scared she will go back to..." Another pin broke. Allan gasped. Aurora made a chocking sound "No way. No way it could get that bad again" Allan then screeched "Hawkmoth that son of-" Kagami throws an eraser at him. "She would do anything for her friends. I have seen her fight off an akuma and manage to keep a butterfly away. I was not able to catch her befor she left as I saw it threw the window." Kagami states looking down. Claude felt even more respect for this girl.

"Look eather way she wouldn't want us having this conversation right now. She would want us to calibrate with Claude." And so they forgot for a while.

An akuma alert rang out around lunch. "My lady may I say you look perrrrfect today" chat says completely ignoring the akuma. "Chat we need to talk once this battle is ove" her voice is so plain no teasing on nothing. Chat nods and the akuma is taken care of quickly.

"Chat... My civilian self has been hurt a lot recently. I nearly became acumatized multiple times. I believe Hawkmoth is targeting me so I-" chat rushes forward to hug her "please don't leave"

Ladybug pushes him away "Chat I can not feel anything. No emotions No pain. It is because of a type of medicine. It only does this to a few but I am one of the few. I have to protect Paris so it had to be done" she swings off befor. Chat can respond.

Marinette sighed as she finishes up some of her commissions. "It is so hard to act it out Tikki. I could not do it as ladybug it would only destact me." Tikki sits on her shoulder nodding sadly. The other kwamis did not take the knees well eather but it was their only choice at this point. Even Plag was considering a new chosen if his did no learn to take things more seriously quickly.

A ring went through the room. "Time for another one." Marinette mumbles picking up the bottle of anxiety meds she used to take so long ago. Marinette has a unique reaction to the meds in that she feels nothing. It's rare and can be fixed by changing meds but Marinette lives in Paris and Paris is under attack by a magical supervillem.

One by one people in the school had special days and were greeted by presents from Marionette. The thing that was different was each presents was accompanied by a letter stating how she felt about the person. Several people were moved to tears by these letters.

"Marc what is wrong?" Aurora notices the look of completely shock and horror. He turns the phone to his classmate who lets out a scream quickly everyone rushes over including Ms. Mendeleiev. As soon as she sees the picture "were is she?" Marc drops his phone "Chloe and Nathaniel bought her to the nurse. She's how you described it Allegra..." Horror spreads through the classroom Kagami leaves not long after. It's silent for a long while... "This is their fault." Allan finely speaks. "Those letters were written befor she started the meds. When did she start the meds again" Aurora whispers. "Befor my birthday she went on that trip" Chaude states.

Allegra moves to the front of the classroom and stands beside Ms. Mendeleiev. "Look we do not know everything but we know Marinette. She would never have gone back on those meds unless she absolutely had too. All we can do is support her. Try to avoid her class we are all too angry. It would only cause problems if we acted right now. Everyone try to stay calm last thing we want is an akuma from this." Allegra takes out some chocolate from the teachers desk and hands it out. One of the ways to avoid akumas is to eat chocolate since it is scientificly proven to make people happy.

Later that day however Aurora overheard a conversation between Mylene and a new girl named who likes to be called Mix.

"Wait if all of the stuff Marinette makes is free then were does the costume money go?" Mix asks while looking over the budgeting from former plays and the current one. "Oh I donate it to charity" Mylene is so excited over explaining the charity that she does not notice the concerned look on Mix face. "I already donated this year's amount-" Mylene is cut of by Mix "but we do not have the costumes yet"

"It will be fine. Marinette can handle it" Mylene responds "Mix could you come help me fix some props" Aurora yells from were she is messing with tangled up Christmas lights. "Yeah no problem" Mix rushes over happy to be out of that situation. "Go along with what I say. We need out of hear quick." Auroror whispers. Mix nods. "Dang these lights are busted let's look for Mr. Bernard." Auroror says loud enough for most of the group to hear. "Yeah let's go" Mix says and they leave quickly.

"Fred Haprèle, my apologies about the abrupt meeting" Mr. Bernard sits down across from the father and daughter.

"It's no problem at all to come assist with anything my daughter may need." The man says.

"Yes well as you know Mylene has taken most of the response ability for costumes. We have a budget so there is always a good few hundred dollars. I have always wondered how she got designer cloths for that price though. I figured she worked out a dill with the maker since is a school event. It appears I was mistaken" Mr. Bernard pauses. How exactly do you tell someone their daughter stole to move up in a charity organizations? Of course Mylene winds up proudly explaining everything was free so she donated the money and moved up so many levels.

"You what?" The man stares at his daughter flabbergasted. "It appears she has also already done so this year as well." Mr Bernard states feeling bad for the mad.

"What the hell Mylene that is not your money to give away! Do not tell me your friend refused the money I have seen your plays. They trusted you with a huge responsibly and you do this" Fred Haprèle yells standing up. Only then does his daughter have the understanding to look ashamed. "But it went to charit-" "no it went were you thought you could gain the most from. We are leaving. Mr. Bernard please call me when it is figured out how much is owed and apologize to Marinette for me. She is the one that makes the costumes she is in the same class as Mylene."

Aurora and Mix later found out Mylene was pulled from Drama club until she could pay everything back. The next day they started planing extra fundraisers so they could afford costumes. Marinette at some point popped by and said she would design them for free but the club refused and eventually settled for whatever they could raise would go to Marinette.

Once the school found out about the drama more than Ms. Mendeleiev class started to distance themselves from the akuma class. Only exceptions being Marinette, Chloe, and, Nathaniel. When Marinette was not in class she was accompanied by people from other classes. They respect Marinette and her class was down right toxic. They tried to trip her regularly and said things under their breath a lot. After so many students expressed their concern for the girl in pink it was a matter of time before she transferred classes. It sucked the other teachers how Caline Bustier tried to fight it saying she was the class representative so she had to stay. Going as far as to try to guilt trip the girl. Too bad she couldn't feel guilt and Lila was all to glad to take the position from her. Some reports were made that day.

Though each class wanted the bluenette in their class it was decided she would transfer into Ms. Mendeleiev class.

"I got back on the meds because Hawkmoth is targeting me because of my strong sympathy." Marinette had long since figured out that they knew and just decided to answer their unasked question. The chalk in Ms. Mendeleiev hand shaped. Kagami created a crack in her desk. Allan popped the bouncy ball he was playing with. Auroror and Alegra stood up to get chocolate quicker then they ever had befor. Claude held his hands together to keep from lashing out. Marinette has been through enough they all thought as she lead them through breathing exsersizes.

That is how an entire school minus the akuma class and Marinette stormed the Agrest mansion after a month of tracking every akuma and documenting Lila working with Hawkmoth. They happily hand over the jewelry and footage to Queen Bee and (Nathaniel) Foxi.

The school watches in amusement as the akuma class falls apart. Marinette does no extra favors for them. Only birthday gifts. Her new friends show her her worth.

"Adrain she was never your everyday ladybug. She is everyone's everyday ladybug. She is the reason Hawkmoth is gone. You are lucky she pulled those favors to make sure people don't think you are like your dad" Chloe snaps. "She what-" Adrian starts. "Oh you idiot do you really think the media would not destroy you if given the chance? MDC is Marinette. A lot of people respect her and owe her a lot. Her word alone could end someone's career yet she chose to protect you and your stupid class. Wish Alya good luck with the lawsuits by the way. The warning ends soon. She she really listen to her lawyer when told to remove posts within 24 hours."

#alya salt #lila salt #marinette #miraculous ladybug #miraculous lb #mlb salt #chloe redemption #good chloe #miraculous salt #bamf marinette #ml quantic kids #adrien salt #miraculous fanfic #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #hbic marinette #hbic marinette au #marinette deserves better #class salt

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randomfandom815 · 3 years

Text

Defending the women of LOST/Sexism in LOST

People say they don’t like Kate Austen because she’s “annoying” “can’t choose between Jack and Sawyer” “always wants to join every single mission”. Kate has way bigger things to worry about than sorting out her romantic feelings. Yes, she is developing feelings for both Jack and Sawyer, but she doesn’t have time to figure them out while trying to survive on the island. And the fact that people don’t like her because of the whole “I’m coming with you” thing is a little ridiculous, because they’re hating Kate for wanting to protect her friends and do whatever she can to help. You know who else does that? Jack. But plenty of people love him for those very same reasons. Yeah, a lot of Kate’s character was centered around the love triangle, but that isn’t the character’s fault, it the writers’s.

Then there’s Claire Littleton. People always complain about her “my baby!” thing, but... she only actually says that a few times, AND, if your child was taken from you or you thought your child was going to be hurt, wouldn't you be worried out of your mind? Wouldn’t you want to do anything to help them? People also criticize Claire for her entire Season 6 arc. She was alone, on the island, thinking everyone had abandoned her, with only the MIB for company. She was also tortured by the temple Others, who she thought had taken her child. Claire was a single mother who just wanted to keep her son safe, give her a break.

Sun-Hwa Kwon is a character who actually doesn’t receive that much hate, but there is still the fact that people don’t like her because she left Ji Yeon to go back to the island for Jin. Here’s the thing: Sun had no way of knowing what was would happen on the island. She had no way of knowing that Jin had time traveled to the past, and she had no way of knowing what would happen with the MIB/Locke. She thought that she would be able to go to the island, bring Jin and the others back, and the two of them would reunite with Ji Yeon. And then in the submarine incident, Sun didn't want Jin to stay. She wanted him to live and take care of Ji Yeon. It was Jin who made the decision to die with her, not Sun.

Shannon Rutherford is a very unlikable character. Even I don’t enjoy her character, or Boone, and that is a view shared by many other people in the fandom. Many people call her selfish, spoiled, and just plain rude. And she was all of those things, but that wasn’t her entire character. Remember, they had all just been through a plane crash, landed on an island with no chance of rescue. Also, friendly reminder that she was only 20 years old. She was scared, and her way of coping with that was to try to do something normal. Let’s not forget, in Pilot, Part 2, she volunteered to go on the mission to fix the transceiver. She was constantly feeling useless, and it didn’t help that other characters, especially Boone, were constantly putting her down and mocking her. When she started to see Walt, she genuinely made an attempt to help him, even though she wasn’t sure if he was even there. Her death was untimely, and I wished we had gotten to see her grow more as a person. Also, her death was used for shock value and to further Sayid’s character development.

And now, one of the most hated characters of LOST, Ana Lucia Cortez. Now, while the characters I mentioned above were shit on and criticized, Ana Lucia was absolutely hated by the fandom. People hated her attitude, her toughness, her dislike of most of the people around her, and the fact that she killed Shannon (who, by the way, was just as disliked by many Ana Lucia haters). You know who else has a similar attitude? Who has that same toughness and dislike of people? Who else killed someone? That would be Sawyer, a fan-favorite, white male character who is beloved by the fandom. Now, for the last point, what I am comparing here is Ana Lucia killing Shannon to Sawyer killing the man he thought was Frank Sawyer in Australia, right before flight 815. Ana Lucia killed Shannon because she was trying to protect the people she was leading (including Sawyer!) from who she thought was the Others, and killing Shannon was an accident. Sawyer killed the man completely on purpose and out of revenge. Oh, and it wasn’t even the right person. Yes, I am aware of the man Ana killed long before flight 815 out of revenge, but if we can take her very small amount of character development, in which she refused to kill Henry Gale, a known Other at that point. Whereas Sawyer was still willing to kill a bunch of people in Season 6, the end of his character arc. And yet, Sawyer is still in most people’s top five characters lists (just to be clear, I do not hate Sawyer at all, and this is not anti Sawyer but pro Ana Lucia). You may argue that people love Sawyer because of his character development, which I do agree with. However, Ana Lucia was never given the chance to have Sawyer-like character development because she was killed off in the same season that she was introduced in. She wasn’t even allowed to be in the church in the flash-sideways, and she didn’t get to “move on.” Ana Lucia deserved way better than the death for shock value that she got.

Next up on the list is Juliet Burke. She, like Sun, also isn’t the target of a lot of hate, but there are still things that need defending. The first thing is, of course, her sudden change of mind when it came to detonating the hydrogen bomb in Season 5. Yes, it was selfish of her to endanger everyone on the island just because of the way Sawyer looked at Kate. But if the plan did actually work, which she thought it would, that meant she would lose everything she had gained over the past few years, including Sawyer. Juliet is incredibly kind and feminine while also being badass at the same time, which is amazing because you don’t usually see those two traits coinciding (usually a badass character isn’t very feminine and a “traditionally feminine” character isn’t a good fighter). As for all of her motives in Season 3, Juliet was trapped on the island for three years. All she wanted to do was leave and go home to her sister. Yes, she manipulated Sun, but right after that, she made things right by helping Jack make a plan to stop the Others. Her death was heroic, and I’m glad she was finally able to be happy in the flash-sideways. (I am declining to mention her whole relationship with Goodwin and all the drama with Ben, although I might dive into that in another post).

Now, the character Rose Nadler has almost nothing that needs to be defended. She is a constant wise voice of reason who isn’t concerned with the drama of the rest of the survivors. Her relationship with her husband Bernard is very sweet, but she doesn’t let that stop her from doing the smart thing (like stopping his SOS sign idea). Not only that, but Rose has one of the best (and most meta) lines on the show: “If you say live together, die alone to me, Jack, I’m going to punch you in the face.”

Another character who doesn't need much defending is Charlotte Lewis, but not for the same reason as Rose. Charlotte was done dirty by the writers. Of the science team, she is the least fleshed out and explored. She had a single flashback and a little bit of exposition information from Ben, but that’s pretty much it. Every significant thing she did was for the sake of other characters. She had a fake-out death so Ben would reveal that he had a spy on the boat. She was taken to the Barracks so that members of Jack’s group would have a reason to go there. Her going to the Barracks was also an excuse to get Miles and Kate there. And she only died/was dying for shock value, to up the stakes of the time flashes, to provide more questions to the characters and the audience, and to further Daniel’s character development. In the flash-sideways, all she did was go on a date with Sawyer and further his character development. She didn't get to go to the church and move on. Daniel and Miles, the other members of her team, on the other hands were given compelling backstories and centric episodes.

Penelope Widmore is similar to Charlotte in that there isn’t much to defend because she doesn’t do much that affects the plot. Nearly everything she does is about Desmond, and the writers barely even gave her a personality. I’m sure Penny was an actually interesting person, if they had bothered her to give her any storyline that didn't involve her love interest.

Danielle Rousseau is a character that kind of slides in and out of the story as needed. Now, Danielle isn’t the subject of a lot of criticism just because she isn’t very focused on, but from what I have seen, here’s what I have to say: Danielle was alone on the island for sixteen years. And for sixteen years, she had to live with the knowledge that she was forced to kill the man she loved and her team. Not to mention the fact that her daughter, Alex, was taken away from her when she was just a week old. Can you blame Danielle for being paranoid? Her death was not a fair end to the character, and it was only used to kill off Danielle quickly and provide shock value.

Her daughter, Alex Rousseau, is similar to Charlotte and Penny in that she doesn’t need to be defended because everything she does is to affect other characters. In this case, those characters are Ben and Danielle (especially Ben in the later seasons). Danielle’s entire character is centered around the fact that she lost Alex and has been searching for her, and Ben’s motivations after Season 4 are largely motivated by Alex’s death. She herself doesn’t have much of a character arc, and her death was only to provide shock value and further Ben’s character development.

Another character that falls into the category of not having much to defend because every action is for someone else is Libby Smith. Once the tailies and the main survivors joined together, she was almost immediately shoved in a relationship with Hurley. The only things we knew about her backstory were that her husband died, she was a clinical psychologist, she was in the same mental hospital as Hurley, and she gave Desmond a boat. That’s it. She didn’t have a centric episode, and she only appeared in other people’s flashbacks. Her death was only to provide shock value and further Hurley’s character development, as well to show that Michael betrayed the survivors.

Notice how many of these women died for shock value and/or to further a man’s character development? Notice how many of these women are disliked for traits that other characters are loved for? Notice how many of them barely exist as their own character without a man? I love LOST, I really do, but their treatment of female characters needed a lot of improvement.

#lost #lost tv show #abc lost #lost tv series #fandom sexism #sexism in fandom #kate austen #claire littleton #sun-hwa kwon #shannon rutherford #ana lucia cortez #juliet burke #rose nadler #charlotte lewis #penelope widmore #penny widmore #danielle rousseau #alex rousseau #libby smith

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iwach4n · 4 years

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Hi there could I get domestic/husband headcanons for ushijima please☺️🥰

Been a hot minute since I wrote for Ushijima and ngl I miss it. I used to write for him so much,,, never forget your roots

domestic hcs

okay listen he is definitely husband material. i've probably said it before but i'm saying it again. man is gonna gently love you with all his heart

moving in with him is brilliant, both for soft and practical reasons

on one hand, you get to go to sleep and wake up next to him every day. and he's perfect to sleep with - he'll hold you, but not too tightly, and he's warm and a peaceful sleeper so perfect for snuggling with

and you get to cook with him almost every day too. he's a pretty decent chef, and you also just can't get enough of the loving look on his face when he watches you dance around to the songs on the radio while chopping vegetables

and god, there's definitely comfort in coming back after a tiring day and always knowing he'll be around to give you a massage with those big, strong hands of his

on the other hand, he's just so put together that it makes living with him easier than living alone

you almost have to wonder if he's been blessed with more hours in the day than everyone else, because how can he go to training and matches and ever-increasing amounts of press conferences and still have time to do most of the household chores?

it's probably got something to do with the fact that he always gets up at the asscrack of dawn, which is one aspect of living with him that isn't so pleasant. but he always gives you a kiss on the forehead and tells you to go back to sleep, so at least there's that.

he'll also make sure you stay on top of all the things you need to do. not in an annoying, pressuring way - he'll just gently remind you that the laundry needs doing or that you need to go get your cousin a birthday present

boy is definitely down to have a pet. i feel like he's the type to like big kind dogs, like a St Bernard or Golden Retriever. If you want one you don't even have to beg, you bring it up and he's already driving you to the nearest shelter

your life isn't complete until you catch ushijima wakatoshi talking to his pupper, lovingly nicknamed Ushi Junior, in a cooing baby voice. he only does it when he thinks no one is listening but sometimes you overhear

tries to take you out somewhere at least once a week. he's got a pretty busy schedule, so most of the time he's at home he's either doing chores or resting - stay at home dates are pretty rare. but saturday nights are date nights, and that's going to stay a constant for years into your marriage

he likes to kiss your hand right next to your wedding ring. its like a little reminder to both of you about how far your relationship has come

when you go to press / volleyball events with him, he will tell people that you're his spouse before he says your name. you can't tell from his demeanour but he just gets a little excited remembering and telling people about it sometimes

overall the best husband god i love him

#haikyuu #haikyuuwritersnet #hq #hq ushijima x reader #hq ushijima #haikyuu ushijima #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #haikyuu ushiwaka #hq ushiwaka #haikyuu ushijima x reader #shiratorizawa #anime #manga #haikyuu reader insert

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johnsbleu · 4 years

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Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 83

warnings: nsfw, sorry. HMH masterlist

Tess has had two false labors this past week, and she’s starting to really get aggravated. The good thing is that their basement is finally fixed and they moved back home just in time. The bad thing is you’ve been on pins and needles every day since Tess moved back home since she’s not under your watchful eye anymore. She reassured you that she’d be fine, and the moment her water breaks, she’ll call you and let you know.

Your mom flew out late last night, and Jimmy picked her up from the airport and brought her back to their house. Since Tess will be having Finn soon, your mom will be staying with them to help out. She’s planning on staying for at least two weeks, which is nice for Tess because she’s going to need a lot of rest so she can heal.

Jimmy has already taken off a few weeks from work, and he’s more than excited to finally hold his baby in his arms. It’s so cute to see how excited he is to be a dad, and it warms your heart to know that Tess married a really good guy.

Since the shop will be open next week, John has called in all of the employees for a quick little meeting to get them familiar with the new look of the store and to give them their new schedules. They’re all sitting around the counter when you walk in, and you see Grace perk up a little.

Grace reaches out and hugs you, then she moves to look at Tess’ belly when she walks in. The two start to talk, so you walk over to John and lean up to kiss him.

“How’s it going? Mom asking too many questions?”

You laugh and hug him again, “No, but she has been asking a few questions about the wedding. I haven’t told her anything yet.”

John looks up as your mom looks around the shop, then he looks down at you again, “You better tell her.”

You shrug playfully, “Yeah, I will eventually.”

John places a kiss on the top of your head, then he takes a deep breath, “Gotta make a speech or something.”

“You’ll do great.” you pat his shoulder, then you walk over and stand by your mom.

John clears his throat to get everyone’s attention, and they all walk over to listen to him. He’s their boss now, and it’s funny how they’re looking at him: so wide eyed and curious. You never even thought about it, but they really don’t know John. They only know him from being your boyfriend, and now your fiance.

John is shuffling in place a little since he’s growing a bit nervous, and you smile at him encouragingly when he looks over at you for reassurance.

“So, I’m John.” he says, laughing a little, “I worked with Bernard a lot, I would bind books for him to sell to certain clients, and he’d even put some out on the shelves.”

Tess raises her hand, and John looks at her, “Yes, hi, uh, do we have to work this week? I uh, might be a little busy.”

“No, the shop doesn’t open until next week, but I wanted you all to be the first to see it, and I wanted to introduce myself. So, again, I’m John.” he says, then he looks over at you and smiles, “Uh, you might also know that I am engaged to Y/N, which brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk about. We own this shop now, if you need to talk to one of us, we’re willing to listen. You can come to either of us with any concerns that you have. She’s just as much an owner as I am. Come here, baby.”

You walk over to John as he reaches out for your hand, then he wraps his right arm around your waist. You let out a small laugh and look up at everyone as your cheeks turn red.

“Hi, everyone. I don’t want you to think any differently of me now that I own the shop. I’m still me, and we can still gossip about the mean old shop owner.” you say, gesturing to John.

Tess laughs, then jokingly wipes her brow, “Thank god!”

You look up at John and smile, “As for now, there are only 6 of us that work here, which is fine since the shop is quite small and it’s not that busy, but in these next few weeks, we’re going to be hiring more people. Tess is obviously pregnant, and she’s going to be taking some time off so she can spend it with her husband and her baby. And as for John and I, we’re going to be getting married this fall and we’re going to be starting a family. So, my point is, there might be a lot of work, but hopefully we can hire a few more people to take some of the work off your shoulders.”

“We work in a book shop, I think it’s a pretty chill atmosphere.” Tess laughs.

You give Tess a disapproving look that makes her laugh, then you shake your head a little, “I know, but I just don’t want anyone to unhappy here. If you’re unhappy with your job, we would really like to hear from you.”

“I think you’ll all be happy to know that you’ll all be getting a raise as well.” John says, and they all begin to smile. “It’s not much, but it’s something for now.”

You watch as they look around at each other, then Grace looks at you and smiles. Grace claps her hands, then squeals a little, “You’re getting married!”

“I am.” you laugh, holding up your hand as Grace runs over to look at your ring.

John pats your hip as he walks over to talk to a few of the employees to give them their schedules, then he heads up the stairs to show them the new upper level that will be open. You don’t really know the newer employees, but they all seem nice so far.

Tony is one of the newer employees, and you can tell that he already thinks John is the coolest guy he’s ever met. He’s much quieter than everyone else, and he almost never speaks up when he has an issue -- something you’re definitely going to work on with him.

Natalie has worked here for a few months before John bought the shop and she’s not your favorite person, but she does what’s she told to do. She constantly stares at John, which is a little annoying, but you can’t blame her. She also has a bit of an attitude, and you hope she’ll keep it in check since she knows that you can easily fire her now.

Grace has worked here almost as long as you. She’s younger than you, but she’s great to work with since she’s always full of dramatic stories, but unfortunately sometimes it spills into her work and she’ll get too distracted and forget that she’s working. Her boyfriend has also been kicked out of the shop a few times already by you and Tess.

Then there’s Tess. One of the better employees, but of course you’re biased. She’s a great employee, and she’s so good with customers since she’s always so friendly. She’s going to be on maternity leave for the first few weeks that the shop is open, but you know Tess, and you know she’ll end up coming in, even if it’s just to sit with you.

You’ll definitely need to hire a few more people since you and John won’t be working as much, but until then, John has offered to work your shifts since he knows that you want to help Tess.

Your mom taps on your shoulder, and you turn around to look at her, “Your shop is lovely. I love this little nook back here.”

“Yeah, it’s not completely done yet, but we can’t keep the shop closed for much longer.” you smile and look up to see John leaning over the railing to wave at you, “Hi, baby.”

“It looks nice up here. Come up here.” he says, then he looks at Tess, “Not you, you can’t come up here.”

“Well now, that’s just rude.” she says, crossing her arms.

“You’re 40 weeks pregnant.” you gesture to the stairs, “You think you could make it?”

Tess laughs, “Oh, absolutely not.”

You let out a small laugh, then you quickly run up the stairs to John’s side. You’ve never even been up here before, and it’s a lot nicer and bigger than you thought. There’s a few tables for people to sit and read at, and there’s a nice chair in the corner for people to also sit in. The shelves are so nice and new, and they’re packed with books.

“This looks really nice.” you turn around and look down at your mom and Tess talking. “Whoa, this is a lot higher than I thought.”

John laughs and leans against the railing with you, “So, you think it looks good?”

“I think it looks great.” you nod, looking at John, “You did a great job, Jonathan. I’m proud of you, and I can’t wait for what our little kid’s corner downstairs will look like when you’re finished with that.”

“Yeah, about that, did you know that Amanda paints?” he says, and you shrug, “Yeah, she paints. I asked if she’d paint the walls down there. She said yeah, so she’s going to come in this weekend and get a look at it so she can get some ideas. I told her some princesses and stuff would be good, and some dragons or something.”

“No, I did not know that she paints, but that’s a great idea. I hope she brings Harper with her. I miss that little chunk.”

“I saw her the other day when I was at Aurelio’s shop. She’s getting so big.” he says, then you start your way back down the stairs when you see everyone getting ready to leave.

John hands everyone their schedules, then he makes sure to point out that his number is at the bottom and that they can call at anytime if they have any concerns. Natalie smirks a little more, and you and Tess both look at each other and roll your eyes.

Since John is closing up the shop and locking it up, you walk with your mom and Tess to her car and lean against the door as you talk to them.

“What are your plans for tonight?”

Tess shrugs, “Probably just making sure I have the last of my things ready. They induce me if I don’t go into labor by the end of the week, so…yikes. What about you?”

“Wedding planning.” you say, and your mom perks up, “We decided to get married this fall. September 5th. Mark your calendar.”

“Well,” your mom crosses her arms, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“We just decided it last month, and I knew I’d see you soon so I decided to wait and tell you in person.” you jokingly roll your eyes, “You’re so ungrateful.”

Your mom playfully pats your shoulder and pulls on her seat belt, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

You lean back in the car and point at Tess’ belly, “The moment it breaks, you call me.”

Tess laughs, “Yeah, yeah.”

You’ve been showing John all the ideas that you have come across in the wedding magazines you’ve been buying. There’s three stacked up on the table, one in the kitchen, and one next to your bed. They’re everywhere. You’ve caught John looking at them a few times, and he’s even folded over a page or two for you to look at later.

You stretch out on the couch, laying across John’s lap as you yawn, “We should head upstairs, it’s nearly 3 AM.”

“I’m not tired, but I’ll watch some TV while you sleep.” he says, then he tucks one arm under your legs and the other around your back to carry you upstairs. “I shouldn’t have had a cup of coffee when I got home this afternoon.”

John lays you down on the bed, then he lays down on top of you as he kisses you. You part your lips as he slides his tongue into your mouth, and you scoot back on the bed so you can wrap your legs around his waist.

You watch your finger as you trail it along John’s jawline, then you look up to meet his gaze. He’s watching your every move, and you smile a little more when he licks his lips.

John’s hands are everywhere on your body, but he keeps his lips connected to yours as you pull up your shirt a little. You grab John’s waist to pull him closer to you, and you bite your lip a little when you feel John hard in his pants. He rubs himself against you teasingly, then he smiles when he looks at you.

“Want it?”

You nod your head, “Yes, please.”

“Good girl.” he whispers against your lips, then he leans down to kiss you before he pulls your pajama shorts off. “Let me see her, let me see her!”

You laugh loudly and shake your head, “You’re so funny.”

He closes his eyes and bites his bottom lip when he sees you’re not wearing underwear, and he leans down to kiss your thighs. He slowly slides his fingers into your pussy, then he pulls them out, “Mmm, look how wet I make you.”

You look up at John as he slowly rubs your clit, then he stands up to pull off his pants. He kicks them to the side as he pulls his shirt over his head, and you sit up to pull your shirt off.

Reaching out for John, you whimper a little, wanting him more and more, but damn, he’s teasing you. He strokes his cock in his hand, and you crawl to the end of the bed and immediately take him into your mouth. You’re nearly choking yourself on his cock, but he tastes and feels so good that you don’t even care.

“Fuck, yes.” John whispers, looking down at you, “Look at you devouring me.”

You sit back on the bed and spread your legs, “Fuck me.”

John smiles as he crawls on the bed, and you hold his gaze as he slowly slides between your legs. He pushes himself in further as you moan, and your eyes roll shut and teeth chatter from the pleasure.

Just as John begins to move his hips at a lazy pace, your phone rings and he stops. You wave it off and pull John down, moaning loudly as he slides deeper between your legs. He slowly bucks his hips, then he immediately begins to pick up speed. You’re breathing heavily and moaning loudly as John continues his thrusts, and your phone begins to ring again.

“Fuck.” you look at John and smile, “Don’t you dare stop fucking me.”

John smiles, “Yes, ma’am.”

You lean over to grab your phone and see Tess is calling, “Hello?”

“Uh, what are you doing?”

You bite your lip as you try to hold in a moan when John rotates his hips, and you press your hand to your mouth when John begins to rub circles on your clit and kiss your neck.

“Goose?”

“I’m fine.” you say, holding your breath. “What’s up?”

“Are you serious right now? Is he…is he…” Tess laughs, then she whispers, “Are you having sex?”

You grab onto the sheets and squeeze your phone so hard in your hand that you think you just might crush it, and you look up at John as he smiles smugly. He bites his lip as he jerks his hips, and he reaches down to cover your mouth as you moan.

“What do you want, Tess?” you finally manage to choke out.

“Oh, uh, nothing big. Just wanted to let you know that my water broke at 2:58.” she says, and you put your hand on John’s chest to stop him.

“What? Are you going to the hospital?” you ask, and John sits up a little.

Tess laughs quietly, “Well, I’m currently sitting in the car while mom and Jimmy run around frantically. Keep having sex though. Don’t mind me, I’m just going to shove a baby out of my vagina in a few hours.”

“Tess, I’ll be right there. I’ll get dressed and I’ll be down there in 5 minutes.” you say, then you grab John to stop him when he starts to get off of you. “Okay, babe? I’ll be right there.”

Tess sniffles a little, “I’m really scared.”

“I know, and I’m coming.” you say, and the line goes silent for a moment, “I…I didn’t mean it like that, but…”

Tess laughs hysterically, “Oh, sweet Jesus. Just finish up and get down here so I can tease you in person.”

You toss your phone onto the floor, then you grabs John’s biceps and wrap your legs around him tighter as he begins to rock his hips faster. Both of you were trying your hardest to hold it off, and now that you’re going to meet Tess in 5 minutes, you’re ready to finally have that orgasm that’s been building this whole time.

John puts your right leg over his shoulder, then he takes deep and long thrusts as he rubs your clit, and you grab at his arms and whimper as your body tenses up. Letting out a string of moans, you moan John’s name loudly as he beams with pride, then he grunts as he thrusts so deep that you swear he’s going to tear you in half.

“I’m coming,” you whine, tilting your head back, “Fuck, you’re making me come!”

John lays down on top of you to kiss you as he bucks his hips every few seconds and spills inside of you, his warmth filling your core. You lay there for a moment before John pulls out, then you immediately get up and run into the bathroom to clean yourself up.

You head back into the room and grab a sports bra from your drawer, then you pull on the first pair of leggings you can find. John is getting dressed as well, and the two of you move around each other quickly. You spot yourself in the mirror and notice your hair looks like a mess, but you don’t have time to fix it so you just pull it into a bun on the top of your head.

“Ready?” you ask as you zip up your hoodie.

John nods, hopping on one foot as he puts his shoe on, “Yup.”

You grab your bag by the door, then you hop in the car and wait for John to lock the house. He gets in the car and starts it, then he backs out of the driveway. Tess’ car is gone, so you assume that they’re already on their way to the hospital.

“I’m so nervous.” you say, reaching over for John’s hand, “She’s really scared, and as much as I love Jimmy, I just don’t know how he’s going to react to this, so I need to be there.”

“I’ll get you there, baby.” he says, then he presses on the gas a little more, “We’ll be right behind them.”

Tess is already in her room when you walk in, and you sigh a breath of relief when you see she’s smiling and laughing. Jimmy is sitting in the chair next to the bed, and he’s holding her hand as the nurse talks to them. You quietly slip in and gesture to the couch for John to sit down, and you wait for the nurse to leave before you walk over to Tess. She smiles at you, then she lays back and closes her eyes.

“Epidural?”

She smiles, “Yup, and I feel pretty dang good. It hurt like a bitch, but whatever, I feel fantastic. How are you?”

You look around the room, then point at yourself, “Me? I’m fine. I just wanted to be here with you, I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

Tess looks over at John and smiles, “I don’t blame you.”

John’s cheeks turn red, and he takes his phone out of his pocket to look at it to avoid Tess’ gaze on him. You look back at her and shake your head disapprovingly.

“At 3 AM? Really?”

Your mom furrows her brow and stands up, “What about 3 AM?”

“Tess, I swear to god.” you warn, but Tess just laughs loudly as your cheeks begin to burn.

“I called her to tell her that my water broke, and when she answered…” she laughs, and your mom looks at you, squinting her eyes playfully.

You look at your mom and shrug, “What?! We’re trying to get pregnant, okay?”

You walk over and sit down next to John who is still looking at his phone, and he winks when he glances at you. You smile when you see him commenting on a picture that Amanda has posted of Benji, and you lean your head against his shoulder as he continues scrolling through his phone. He shows you the picture that he posted of you from earlier that day, and you roll your eyes when you read the caption.

“Cheesy. I always love your cheesy captions.” you whisper as he looks over at you, “I didn’t even see that you posted that. I haven’t looked at my phone all day.”

John looks at the picture on his phone and smiles proudly, “I just like to show you off.”

“And I love that.” you say, leaning over to kiss him.

John smiles as he leans over to kiss you, then he looks up when the nurse comes back in. He widens his eyes and looks over at you to give Tess some privacy when they lift the sheet to check out how she’s doing.

“I don’t think I should be in here.” he whispers, and you look up at him, “I don’t think I should be in here when she’s giving birth. I mean, she’s like my little sister. I don’t really want to see that.”

“I’m not going to be in here. It’ll just be Jimmy and my mom. We can sit outside when she’s ready to push.”

“Wait, really?” Tess sits up on the bed and looks at the nurse, and you look over at her. “Like right now?”

“Like right now.” the nurse nods, “You ready to meet your baby?”

Tess looks around as she begins to grow nervous, “I mean, yeah, but…”

“Tess, you’re going to do great.” you say as you get up and sit down next to her, “You’re going to see your baby, and he’s going to be perfect.”

“What if I die?” she asks, and Jimmy starts to laugh.

“You’re not going to die, babe. It’s gonna be fine.” he stands up and helps her get in the right position as more nurses enter the room.

You look over your shoulder as John slips out of the room, then you look back at Tess, “John and I will just be outside the room. If you need me…”

She nods, “Just yell, yeah, I will.”

You hug Tess tight, then you lean down to kiss her belly, “I’ll see you soon, Finny.”

As you back out of the room, you look at Jimmy as he holds tight to Tess’ hand and he presses a kiss to her forehead. There’s no need to be worried about Jimmy, he’s going to do great. Your mom already has tears in her eyes as she stands on the other side of Tess and holds her hand. You would have been more than happy to be in the room with Tess, but with all the nurses, it’s just too crowded. The people who need to be there are there: your mom and Jimmy.

John is leaning against the wall when you walk out into the hallway, then he nods his head towards the cafeteria, “Let’s go get something to eat.”

You intertwine your fingers with John’s and look up at him, “Felt a little weird to just leave earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like…we just had sex and I got up right after.” you shrug as you get on the elevator, “We usually lay together and talk after.”

John laughs and leans back against the wall, “Well, yeah, but we didn’t have time.”

“I would be terrible as a one night stand. I would want to sit and talk to them, and they’d be like, internally screaming because this girl will not get out of their bed.” you say, and John laughs again. “Was I like that the first time we had sex?”

“The first time we ever had sex, we took a shower right after and you fell asleep. I was the one talking.” he laughs, reaching for your hand when the elevator dings, “So, no, you weren’t like that.”

“Oh, yeah…” you smile as you lean up to kiss John, “That was the night you told me that you were in love with me.”

You and John are sitting outside of Tess’ room as she cusses loudly, and you’re both trying to keep yourself composed, but it’s really fucking hard.

“Jesus Christ, why does this hurt so fucking much?!”

“You’re almost there, babe.” Jimmy says, and you peek into her room to see Tess struggling to push.

It’s so hard to not run in and be with her, but you can’t, so you sit back down next to John and pick at your nails. John puts his hand on top of yours and gives you a reassuring smile when you look at him.

“I know this is hard for you.” he says, then he winces when he hears Tess grunting.

“Where is she?!” Tess finally yells, and you smile proudly when she calls your name. You walk into the room and stand at her side as she cries, “Fuck, this is hard. I can’t feel anything down there.”

“It’s okay, Tess.” you wipe her hair away from her face and smile, “You’re doing great.”

Jimmy looks between her legs and smiles wide, “Baby, he’s coming, I can see him.”

Tess’ face is pure determination and focus as she gives one big push. She exhales loudly and sits back to gain her strength to do it again.

“You’re doing great, Tess.” you whisper, and she looks over at you, “One more push!”

“Everyone keeps saying that, but it’s not one more push, it’s like five.” she whines, nearly in tears.

You grip her hand tighter and look at her, “You can do this, Tess.”

Tess pushes several more times as you all encourage her, then she finally sits back when she hears Finn crying. You back away so the doctors can help clean him and Tess up, and you walk back into the hallway to find John. You fall into his lap and lean your head against his shoulder.

“Wow, she did great.”

John smiles, “I heard. You should be a mid-wife.”

You laugh loudly, “It’s really nice to have a fiance who thinks I’m good at everything. I frost a cake, you think I should be a baker. I put a band aid on your cuts, you think I should be a doctor.”

“Because I believe in you, and I know you’d be great at all of these things.”

Rolling your eyes, you lean down to kiss John, then you look up when the doctors and nurses start to leave the room. There’s still a nurse or two coming in and out of the room to help Tess, so you don’t know whether or not the two of you should head in to see Finn.

“Did you see him?”

You shake your head, “No, but man, he’s got a set of lungs on him. He’s definitely Tess’ baby.”

You and John are still waiting outside of Tess’ room since she’s being tended to, and you’re playing a fun little game of ‘I spy’ to pass the time. John has won almost every round so far since you gave up after he picked things that were way too hard to guess.

Jimmy finally pokes his head into the hallway and waves at you and John, “Come meet him.”

Holding hands with John, you walk in and see Tess holding Finn in her arms and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He has a little hat on to keep him warm, and you nearly die when you see the tiny little diaper he’s wearing.

“Congratulations, man.” John says, hugging Jimmy, then he walks over and kisses Tess’ cheek as he sets the vase of flowers he bought on the side table, “Good job, Tess. He’s beautiful.”

“He’s so tiny!” you frown dramatically, then you rub your finger against his cheek, “He’s so cute! Hi, Finn. Oh wait, you named him Finn, right? You didn’t decide at the last minute to name him something random like Rexford or…Tobin?”

Jimmy laughs as he looks at you, “Nope, Finn James Hendricks. You can keep calling him Finny James.”

“Though I did go back and forth between Finley and Finn, but we settled on Finn.” Tess hugs him a little and lets out a small laugh as she wipes away the tear on her cheek. She looks up at Jimmy and frowns, “Sorry if I was mean to you.”

Jimmy waves it off, “No problem, babe.”

“I feel bad.” she says, and she starts to cry. “I feel so bad for being mean to you my whole pregnancy, and now I’m really emotional.”

“Aw.” Jimmy walks over and sits down next to Tess as your mom takes Finn from her so the two can have a moment.

Your mom stands in front of John on the couch and smiles, “Would you like to hold him?”

“Oh, uh,” John wipes his palms on his jeans and looks at you, “Uh, yeah, I’ll hold him. Will you help me?”

“Of course.” you laugh, and you smile as Finn is placed in John’s arms.

“Hey, buddy.” John whispers and smiles, “He’s so tiny.”

Finn looks so tiny in John’s arms, and he wiggles in his place a little as John gets comfortable. He’s wiggling around pretty wildly, and you’re a little surprised to see him looking around as much as he is. He has Tess’ blue eyes, but he’s a good mix of the two.

Finn scrunches up his face, and John looks at you with concern, “Did I do something?”

“No,” you shake your head and lean closer, “He’s fine. I mean, realistically, he’s probably pooping right now.”

John begins to bounce Finn in his arms a little, and you look over at your mom and smile proudly. John has always been such a natural when it comes to kids, he just hasn’t realized it yet.

“He’s really cute.” John says, looking up at Jimmy and Tess.

“Yeah,” Jimmy puffs his chest, “He got his looks from…well, no, he definitely got his looks from his mom.”

“He definitely looks like the two of you.” your mom says as she packs her bag.

Tess laughs loudly and shakes her head, “He looks like a potato right now, and I can say that, I’m his mom. Oh, my god. I’m a mom.”

Finn lets out a loud cry, and John immediately leans over to hand him to you. You take him from John and rock him in your arms as he falls back asleep.

“Hi, Finny James. You just don’t know who this guy is, do you? He’s just not used to your voice, John.” you look at him and bump his shoulder, then you look at Finn, “That’s your uncle! He’s a big softie, and I bet you’re going to love him so much when you’re older. He tells really bad jokes, but it’s okay because he’s just so sweet. He’s gonna love you unconditionally, and you’re gonna be so grateful to have him as your uncle.”

John laughs, “Thanks.”

“It’s true. And eventually, you’re going to have a cousin, and they’re going to be your best friend. The two of you are going to be inseparable.” you lean down and press several kisses to Finn’s soft cheek, then you look up, “Tess and Jimmy, he’s beautiful. I’m really happy for the two of you.”

You try to hold back the tears as you hand Finn to Jimmy, but John can see you struggling. He wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer and pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

It’s so nice to see Tess and Jimmy so happy, and you’re beyond excited that Tess is finally able to hold her baby. The two of them can’t stop smiling and kissing each other and Finn. You have to admit, it does make you a little sad that it’s not you in this position instead. You’ll get there eventually, but it’s okay to be sad.

Tess is getting tired from all the work that she did, and Jimmy is pretty tired as well, so you figure it’s probably time to leave.

“We better get out of here and let you two -- oh, nope, you three get some rest.” you say as you walk over to them. You reach out and give Jimmy a big hug, and Tess smiles as she watches you two. You kiss him on the cheek, then you lean over to hug Tess, “Are you staying here all day tomorrow?”

“They said I need to be here for at least 24 hours to monitor me and Finn, so, yeah, basically. Jimmy’s parents will probably come up here in a few hours too.” she says, and you nod your head. “I’ll probably be home Wednesday morning.”

Your mom is talking with John and Jimmy, so you look back at Tess again to continue talking to her, “You did a great job, Tess. Your mom and dad would be so proud of you, and they’d be so happy for you.”

Tess immediately tears up and looks away from you as she starts to cry, “Thank you.”

“I’m so sorry that they couldn’t be here for this, but mom and I are so proud of you, and I am beyond happy for you. The way your life has turned out, I don’t know anyone who deserves it more.” you grab a tissue and wipe away the tears on your cheek, “You have an amazing husband, and now you have the most beautiful little boy.”

Tess is still crying, but she nods her head and looks up at you. You lean your forehead against Tess’, and you both let out a small laugh.

“If you need anything, let me know.” you press a kiss to Finn’s head, then you stand up and walk over to John when he reaches for your hand. “Mom, are you staying here?”

Your mom wrings her hands and shrugs, “I’m not sure.”

Tess nods, “Yeah, stay here with us. Just in case.”

“Well, I guess I’m staying here.” she says, then she reaches out to hug both you and John.

Tess sits up a little and looks at you,“Oh, wait, can you get Sadie? I hate that she’s home alone. Garfield will be fine, but Sadie is probably wondering where we are.”

John nods his head as he walks over to Tess, “Yeah, of course. We’ll get her once we get back home.”

Looking back at Tess, you smile wide as Jimmy scoots onto the bed to sit with her. They look like such a cute little family, and your heart couldn’t possibly handle more, but when John leans down and kisses the top of Finn’s head, you nearly pass out.

“Okay, well, that just about killed me. Get that baby away from him!” you laugh, tugging John’s arm. You look at Tess again and wave, “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll come visit you obviously.”

“Bye.” she smiles, then she looks down at Finn and gives Jimmy a kiss as you slowly close the door.

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freddiesaysalright · 4 years

Text

Soft in Love Part 9

A Gwilym Lee x Student!Reader Fic

Summary: Y/N is an acting student in her last semester of college. When a professor unexpectedly can’t make it for the senior capstone class, a very famous (and handsome) substitute is called in. When they connect, they face a few challenges.

Word Count: 3.2k

Tag List: @psychosupernatural, @someone-get-a-medic, @bensrhapsody, @deakyclicks, @crazylittlethingcalledobsession, @minigranger, @crazyweirdocalledfriday, @benders-diamond-earring, @im-an-adult-ish, @anincurablefangirl, @kiainspace, @lookuptotheskiesandsee, @god-save-the-deaks, @assembledherethevolunteers, @misslolasworld, @not-john-watsons-blog, @spacedustmazzello, @theindiealto, @riddikuluslypotter, @depressedbitchxox, @tenement-funstah, @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls, @sarablog10, @johndeaconshands, @coincidence-ithinknots-blog, @simonedk, @queenlover05, @goodoldfashionedloverboyy, @the-claire-bitch-project, @kerouacsroad, @rose-writes-prose If you’d like to be added, let me know!

A/N: The drama intensifies! Gwilym and Y/N make some important decisions regarding Edith’s blackmail.

Warning(s): none!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Part 9 here we go!!!

That night, Gwilym picked you up from your dorm. His hands were sweaty as he waited for you to emerge. Again, he was debating telling you about Edith and her threats. That way you wouldn’t be so angry at him. But a stronger part of him didn’t want to make you feel bad. Still, he knew you were going to have questions. He had to come up with something to say to satisfy you.

You slid into the passenger seat, his heart skipping its usual beat at the sight of your smile. When you leaned over to kiss him, he was surprised.

“You’re not angry with me?” he wondered as you sat back to buckle up.

You shook your head. “Daniel told me what happened.”

“Daniel?”

You explained what Daniel told you in the dressing room. You even shared his suggestion to break up and take away Edith’s power. You carefully watched Gwilym’s expression at this. His mouth turned down and he narrowed his eyes. He pulled up to his hotel in silence. As you followed him to his room, you grew more anxious. He wasn’t actually considering what Daniel said was he? You had refused it as an option because it felt impossible. Did Gwilym not feel the same? What did that mean?

Gwilym opened the door for you and you walked inside, legs slightly shaking. You weren’t sure what he might say now. Would he end it?

He flopped down on the bed, lying spread eagle. You crawled up after him and cuddled into his side. His arm draped over your shoulders. It made you feel so safe.

“We’ve got to figure something out,” he said. “She can’t take shows from you.”

“I dunno, baby,” you said. “Maybe we should just let this happen.”

“It’s not right!” he protested.

“No, it’s not, but what can we do?” you replied. “We’ve sort of done this to ourselves.”

“I know,” he sighed irritably. “But I hate this for you.”

“I do too,” you agreed. “I really do. Especially opening night. I wish you had given her closing instead.”

“She asked for that,” he said. “But I couldn’t.”

You sat up and looked sharply at him. “What?! Why?!”

“Now that, I really can’t tell you,” he said. “I’ve got something in mind for that night.”

“A surprise?” you asked, curiosity piqued. “What is it?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it?” he returned.

He sat up too and pressed his lips to your temple. Then he sighed again. Your eyes searched his face. You saw in his eyes a deep sadness. It had come on so suddenly, it frightened you.

“I think Daniel’s right,” he said. “I think we should...call it a day.”

Once again, tears filled your eyes.

“Is that really what you want?” you whimpered.

He looked at you, took in your tearful face, and he pulled you into his arms.

“Of course it’s not,” he said. “I just don’t want you to miss out on your rightful chance. I care about you too much, and if being without me is better for you -”

“Stop it,” you sighed and tugged yourself away from him. “Gwilym, you either want to be with me or not. Which is it?”

“I want to be with you,” he answered without hesitation. “It’s just that -”

“No, listen to me,” you said. “It doesn’t matter if we break up. She still heard what she heard, and so did Dan. We can get through this as a couple or separate and still have the same problem.”

He looked thoughtfully at the floor.

“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have considered it.”

You offered a watery smile. “It’s alright. Just...fuck, Gwil. What are we going to do?”

“So now you’re on board to do something?” he teased.

“Yes!” you said, perking up. “Edith can’t do this. She can’t take my shows away from me and she can’t take you away from me.”

“I admire your conviction, darling,” he said with a soft smile.

“Well, she can’t,” you repeated stubbornly.

His heart swelled as he looked at your determined face.

“You’re so cute,” he said, cupping your cheek. You closed your eyes to his touch. “I love you.”

Your eyes snapped open to meet Gwilym’s. His were wide, frightened, as if he’d just told you something terrible instead of perhaps the most wonderful thing you’d ever heard in your life.

“You...you love me?”

Gwilym took a deep breath, relaxing his face. He looked at you. This time with strength and confidence.

“Yes, Y/N,” he said. “That’s where my heart is. I love you.”

A smile spread slowly across your face as he said it again.

“I love you too,” you replied. “So, so much.”

He grinned. Then pulled you in for another kiss. It was soft and tender and expressive. Everything that reflected the moment. Your heart felt full. This was so right.

“I love you,” he said again as you parted. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you giggled.

“Because I love you, I’m not going to let Edith have this,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’m going to restore your nights to you and go to the Dean’s office myself.”

Panic shot through you.

“No!” you cried. “They’ll fire you!”

“So what?” he returned. “I’ll tell them it was me, and you shouldn’t be punished.”

“If you’re going to lie, it might as well be a flat out denial,” you pointed out. “Let’s face it, I came on to you. I think we should let her go to the Dean’s office and then deny when there’s questions.”

“It is her word against ours,” he said.

“Oh, fuck,” you sighed.

“What?”

“I forgot about Dan,” you said. “He heard us too. She’s got another witness.”

“Shit,” he muttered.

A beat passed as you both pondered.

“Y/N, please let me do the honorable thing,” he said. “Let me take the fall for this so you don’t have to lose.”

You bottom lip quivered. “But then you’ll leave…”

“It won’t be forever,” he said. “I’ll stay in New York until you’re done and then we’ll figure it out. Together.”

“I can’t let you,” you told him. “I can’t let you take this alone.”

“Please,” he said again. “Let me do this for you.”

A tear slid down your cheek. Any more ups and downs and you were sure your head would literally be spinning.

“We don’t have to decide tonight,” you said. “I’m so tired. Can’t we just lay down and forget about all of it? We love each other, we should be celebrating.”

He smiled gently.

“You’re right,” he said. “I’ll order some champagne and then we’ll just relax. It’s been a long day.”

“You’re the best,” you told him.

He did order champagne and some dinner from room service. Together, you ate, took a bath, and then settled into bed and watched some trashy reality TV show. For a couple hours, all thoughts of Edith, the show, and anything else were null and void. You were in love with Gwilym, and he loved you right back. Despite everything going on, you were completely and totally happy.

On Thursday, when you arrived early, Edith and Gwilym were already there. He was speaking calmly to her but she looked furious. Her eyes flashed toward you when you walked through the door. She stormed toward you.

“Just because you’re fucking the professor, you think you can get whatever you want,” she spat. Literally. She was so close to you, you felt drops of saliva on your face. “Well, I’ll get rid of you right now!”

“Oh, shut up,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “I got the part of Esther before Gwilym was even here.”

She stamped her foot and then whipped around to face Gwilym again.

“I’m going to the Dean’s office right now!” she shouted. “You’ll both be out of here!”

“Go then!” you yelled back.

She swept out of the auditorium, trying to slam the door behind her, but it was too slow and it clicked shut softly. When she was well away, you jogged over to Gwilym.

“What do you want to do?” you asked frantically.

He stared at the spot where Edith disappeared.

“I want to keep teaching,” he admitted. “I want to stay with you.”

“So, we lie?” you wondered.

He nodded and looked at you. “We lie.”

You sat in anxiety for the remainder of the ten minutes until the rest of the class started showing up. Gwilym started to go on with class as usual, starting with attendance, when suddenly, Edith burst back into the auditorium. You would have rolled your eyes at her dramatics if it weren’t for the three people following her: Dr. Curtis, the head of the department; Dr. Dragel, the Dean of Students; and Sheri Peacock, the Chancellor.

Gwilym glanced at you before turning to his old teacher.

“Dr. Curtis,” he said. “To what do I owe the pleasure of our guests?”

“It’s very serious, Gwilym,” Dr. Curtis replied. “Miss Bernard here has made an...an accusation.”

“What sort of accusation?” Gwilym asked.

God, he was good. If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought him genuinely confused.

“About you and Y/N,” Edith said. “You’re sleeping together!”

The whole class turned eyes on you and Sloan gasped loudly next to you. Andrew was staring daggers into your left side. Gwilym blinked and his mouth dropped. You wanted to disappear into your chair. You didn't think she’d do this in front of the whole class.

“I - are you joking?!” he cried. “That’s ridiculous!”

“It is not a joke, Mr. Lee,” said Dr. Dragel. He was a stern man who was not very popular with the student body because of his strictness. “This sort of accusation is no laughing matter. She claims she heard the act taking place in Dr. Bennett’s office.”

The whole class was whispering now, a wave of shock going through them. Sloan grabbed your arm and leaned into your ear.

“Is it true?” she hissed.

You gave a curt nod, barely moving at all, and only after ensuring that the three upper faculty members had their back to you. Sloan glared fiercely at you.

“We should discuss this in private,” Dr. Curtis said. “There are dressing rooms backstage where we won’t cause so much commotion.”

He scanned the crowd and found you.

“Y/N, come with us, please,” he said.

You stood up, feeling every person’s eyes on you as you shimmied down the row and into the aisle. The murmurs of everyone were driving you crazy. You couldn’t hear what they were saying, but you guessed the general idea. They were discussing favoritism and scandal. You clearly heard the word “slut” from someone a row in front of you.

Putting your head down, you followed the faculty members and Edith to the dressing room. The same one where Gwil had delivered the horrible news to you earlier that week. Chancellor Peacock and Dr. Dragel looked between you and Gwilym as Dr. Curtis closed the door.

“Well, Miss Y/L/N,” said Chancellor Peacock. “Is it true? Are you and Mr. Lee in a relationship?”

“No!” you insisted. “Edith’s been jealous of me all semester, she’s making this up!”

“Don’t lie, I heard you!” Edith interjected.

“Miss Bernard, please,” said Dr. Dragel. “We’ve heard your side of the story, now we need to hear theirs.”

“I don’t know what she heard - if she heard anything at all,” you said. “But I don’t go to office hours ever. I don’t need to. This class has only one grade and it’s the show.”

“Why would Miss Bernard accuse you of something like this?” wondered Chancellor Peacock.

“Edith’s ambitious and jealous,” you said. “She really wanted my part. Not to mention, she’s been hitting on Gwilym all semester. Everyone in class will tell you that. I guess it was because she was upset I got more attention from him than she did.”

“Mr. Lee, anything to say?” Dr. Dragel asked, turning to Gwilym.

“Y/N is right, Edith has made several advances, all of which I’ve turned down,” he said. “I don’t want to say she’s a liar, but I can’t speak to what she heard that day.”

“Were you...watching pornography or something?” Dr. Dragel pressed.

“What? God, no!” Gwilym answered. “That office doesn’t even belong to me. I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that.”

Chancellor Peacock looked at Edith. “Is it true you made advances toward Gwilym?”

Edith’s face went pink. “Well - I - yes, I did,” she admitted. “But I stopped after a while because he was so clearly into Y/N.”

“Was it clear?” Dr. Curtis spoke up. “Y/N is the star of the show, it’s natural for the director to spend extra time with her. In all my rehearsals with you, I’ve never noticed anything other than professionalism from both of you. Edith on the other hand, I did see being flirtatious.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” Dr. Dragel snapped.

“Well, I expected the girls to like him,” Dr. Curtis said. “Look at him! It didn’t seem very serious, so I let it go.”

“Let me get this straight,” Chancellor Peacock said. “Edith has been flirting with Gwilym consistently over the semester. She wanted Y/N’s role from the start. Y/N got more attention from Gwilym. Now, just two weeks before the show opens, she’s come to us with a claim of an inappropriate relationship between Y/N and Gwilym that no one else can corroborate. Is that the situation here?”

“Yes,” you and Gwilym said in unison then exchanged a playful smile.

“Well, then,” Dr. Dragel said. “I think it’s perfectly clear what’s going on.”

“Hold on, I have another witness!” Edith said desperately. “Daniel was with me when I heard them. He heard it too.”

Your stomach dropped. Dr. Curtis left the room to fetch Daniel and get his statement on things. Your heart pounded. Would Daniel lie? Would he defend what Edith said? He told you he didn’t agree with her, but he was already on academic probation. If he lied now, and was found out, he could be suspended from the school.

You looked at Gwilym, willing him to look back at you, only he didn’t. He couldn’t really. It would be too obvious now. Your hand itched to clasp his for comfort. If this was the moment you went down together, you needed his support. Only, you couldn’t. Everything hinged on what Daniel might say. When the door opened, it startled you.

“Okay, Mr. Snow,” said Dr. Dragel. “Here’s what we’ve heard.”

He went over everything again. What Edith said, what you and Gwilym said, and all the information. Daniel listened, not looking at anyone, his focus solely on Dr. Dragel.

“So,” Dr. Dragel wrapped up. “Did you hear them...uh...well - did you hear them -”

“Bangin’?” Daniel finished.

Dr. Dragel flushed. You fought back a brutal urge to throttle your ex boyfriend.

Chancellor Peacock interjected. “Did you hear them having intercourse in the office?”

“Nope,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

Edith’s mouth dropped. Yours almost did too, but you couldn’t look shocked. You looked relieved instead, which was also something you were feeling.

“We went to his office so Edith could ask to play Esther for one night,” Daniel went on. “Gwilym said no. That was that.”

Gwilym sighed with relief. You did the same.

“Well, I think this makes things perfectly clear,” said Dr. Curtis, glaring at Edith. “You, young lady, will be -”

Guilt washed over you. Edith wasn’t lying, and as angry as you were with her, she didn’t deserve to be punished.

“Dr. Curtis,” you said, interrupting. “Please don’t punish Edith. I know her actions were drastic, but jealousy is a complicated emotion. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Miss Y/L/N, this is a serious thing she accused a member of our faculty of,” Dr. Dragel said. “And quite frankly, any disciplinary action is not up to you.”

“I agree with Y/N,” Gwilym added. “It was likely a misunderstanding. Something she thought she heard, but didn’t. Besides, it’s not like I’m a permanent member of faculty.”

“Permanent or otherwise,” Dr. Dragel went on. “To falsely accuse someone of taking advantage of a student makes cases like these all the harder for real victims of such offenses. It isn’t right.”

You opened your mouth to protest again, seeing the anguish on Edith’s face, but Chancellor Peacock stepped forward.

“Dr. Dragel, Dr. Curtis, and I will deal with Edith now,” she said. “The rest of you may go.”

“But -”

“Y/N, we must go,” Gwilym cut across you.

He led you and Daniel back out, and all three of you went to the next dressing room on the other side of the stage. You popped in and closed the door.

“Thank you!” you cried, throwing yourself into Daniel’s arms. “Thank you so much!”

“No problem,” he returned. “You can owe me one.”

“I owe you a thousand,” you said, pulling back and looking at him.

“Why stand up for Edith, though?” he asked.

“Because she wasn’t actually lying,” you replied. “I felt kinda bad.”

Daniel laughed. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Really, Daniel, thank you,” Gwilym added, extending his hand.

Daniel shook it. “Really, it’s nothing. The situation is all kinds of fucked, but I thought you guys deserved a chance.”

He looked at you and remembered how you’d exclaimed your love for Gwilym. He would never tell you so, but that was what convinced him to lie for you.

“It means a great deal,” Gwilym said. “Now, I’ve got to go tell the class what happened so they don’t get carried away.”

“Oh, yeah, pretty sure Mary and Leon already started a rumor that Y/N is pregnant,” Daniel said.

Gwilym sighed. “Oh, God. I might be too late.”

You chuckled as Gwilym kissed you swiftly on the cheek and went out. You looked at Daniel.

“Seriously, Dan, if there’s anything I can do for you,” you said. “Let me know.”

He looked at the floor and toed the ground with his boot. “Well...there is one thing.”

“Anything!” you reminded him.

“D’you…” he trailed off. “Ah, nevermind, it’s stupid.”

You took his arm before he could leave.

“Dan, just tell me,” you said.

He sighed. “Do you know if Andrew is into guys at all?”

You blinked, absolutely stunned.

“A-are you into guys?” you questioned.

“Yeah…” he said. “Well, mostly the one guy. But he’s so hung up on you and I dunno how he feels about...y’know…”

You smiled. “To answer your question, yes, Andrew is also into guys. And I think he’s mad enough at me now to be over me.”

Daniel chuckled. “Alright. Thanks, Y/N.”

“If you’re gonna go for Andrew, you better not cheat on him,” you warned.

“I won’t,” he said with a laugh. “Promise.”

You went out together to the auditorium.

“...so please forget what you heard,” Gwilym was finishing up. “It was all a misunderstanding.”

“So, you and Y/N aren’t sleeping together?” asked Leon.

“No, we’re not,” Gwilym said.

Your eyes found Andrew and Sloan. Both of them were glowering at you. You knew they were mad, and you were pretty sure you understood why. You just hoped they could understand too.

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lachlann-macnab · 3 years

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Task #16 Jukebox Musical/TV or Movie Soundtrack: come up with a playlist of at least 10 songs, write a scene summary to go with each one. Disclaimer under the cut.

Disclaimer: I, once again, decided to abuse the system. Nowhere on the prompt does it say that the scenes have to be related to a character I have, that's why I present to you: "The prompt, but short stories done with characters Jean would love to write but doesn't have the time to actually have".

Also, weeb rights.

*King (English cover) -Will Stetson John Kingsbury

Watch your back no warning warning Taking all my stress there's only just one thing to do Brace yourself for all my love's attack now Left side right side Bear your fangs it's time to fight Pa - pa - pa parade in shame tonight Left side. Right side. Bear your fangs and come alive Pa- pa - pa, Hah! You are king!

Mother always did like Richard best.

Screw that, everyone always did like Richard best, even John liked his brother more than he liked himself. Even so, when he had been declared MIA during a mission with The Order, John quickly became the first option (the only option) for everyone -he was on cloud nine.

His new comrades didn't quite like him, but John didn't quite mind since he'd make sure that by the end of that year they'd be kneeling to him. Just like he'd make sure that Richard never, ever came back, even if that meant making allies with a certain policeman and some Magicks whose information he'd make sure to erase from The Order's databases.

Pa, pa- pa Hah! He was (finally) King!

*La mer - Julio Iglesias cover Basil Rathbone

Mrs. Judson would have never expected to hear Julio Iglesias, of all things, coming from the flat. It was a strangely cheerful song for someone like Basil to hear, being the snob (not only musical, but general snob) he'd always been.

She was unsure about whether she really wanted to open the door, suddenly afraid of what she might find on the other side. Sometimes Basil would be immersed reading files upon files upon files, sometimes he would be languishing on the sofa while staring blankly at the roof, sometimes he would be walking around while talking to himself in a very obvious bout of mania -he was a wild card, that Basil, and the fact that she simply couldn't guess what he'd do next always worried her.

Worried as she was, she opened the door.

She found Basil staring at the portrait that hung just above the chimney, just...watching it.

"I have always quite admired Le Carré's works" Basil merely said, without even looking at Mrs. Judson and instead keeping his attention on his own personal Karla while the song went on and on, silently hurting in all of the right places.

*Everybody loves me - OneRepublic Kuzco Apaza

Get down, Swaying to my own sound Flashes in my face now All I know is everybody loves me Everybody loves me

Kuzco was on a roll.

He felt the stares as he made the street his personal catwalk and kept (very loudly) chatting with his lawyers on the other side of the phone. The sun was shining surprisingly strongly that day (surprisingly for that side of the world, that is), it's rays hit his jewelry and clothes and made him shine almost as strongly as the star itself.

There was no way anyone could ignore him. And he couldn't blame them -he was fabulous! A gift of the gods themselves, almost as brilliant as the sun and twice (no, thrice) as charming!

...and he was shouting his plans to build a waterpark on Atlantis Lake. And, sure, people didn't seem to love the idea quite yet, but...?

At least they were staring. And they'd eventually learn to love him.

*Dramaturgy (English cover) - Will Stetson Hans Westergård

All alone now no one’s looking, act out in greed deceiving all their eyes But there’s no real me that You’ll find if you believe and I can’t find a single role that showed what’s really there to see

He caught the eyes of his reflection by accident.

Hans had tilted his head and his eyes had almost immediately found his own reflection against the showcases, making him forget about his date (what was her name again? He couldn't, for the life of him, remember that but he certainly did remember how much her net-worth was and which medicines she needed to take at what hours of the day, just like her previous beau had needed to do before the "accident" had happened) and focus instead on his own eyes.

The thing is...he couldn't find anything in there; The baby blue went on and on but there was nothing beyond- behind it-

-when he moved his gaze, however, he found that he was smiling even if he didn't felt like it. And that his carefully selected clothes looked as they had been designed just for him to wear (and they had), and that his globed hands were still holding his date's recent purchases inside the yellow bag even if he found every item utterly tacky and a ridiculous expense.

He was smiling and looking good and doing perfectly. So why did finding his own gaze him the same effect as placing a mirror in front of another, creating a ever going loop of emptiness?

Was he not playing his part correctly? What could possibly fill that void?

*My Neighbor Totoro/Azumi Inoue Music Box ver - R3 Music Box Totoro Seishin

Totoro decided to take a nap under the sun while Chu and Chibi were busy playing with some squirrels. It was a sunny day and there was no place he'd rather be but outside, basking and feeling the grass under him.

At one point, however, he felt some extra weight on him. He didn't feel like moving or particularly offended by something deciding to lay on him, it was just amusing.

He couldn't be bothered to open both eyes, so he only opened one, finding a sleeping girl against his chest as if that was the most normal thing to do.

He smiled, closed his eye and decided that was quite fine by him.

*Delusion Girl - Oktavia Cover (TW Suicide and Mental Illness) Bernard Newhart

Every hero knows when they’re needed, so, that’s just what he’s born to be A man who manages throwing out his hand, Who doesn��t care if his own life is spared Such a feat like that, it’s a selfless act only completed in dreams And it stays like that for me With a crash I’m trapped back in reality

Bernard wanted to help, he really did. He just...didn't always know how. Nor did he know if it really matter.

His partner always seemed to be five steps ahead and the Australian she'd taken a fancy to was just like her, if not a couple of steps ahead of even her. And it made Bernard feel like a third wheel, to question if he was really doing something worthy, if he had done something, anything sufficiently good ever and-

-he caught the girl's cellphone before she ever noticed it had slid out of her hands. And soon enough he was getting hugged and receiving many 'thank you's and- and maybe that was enough?

*The Lost One's Weeping (English Cover) - Will Stetson (TW Depression) Martin Ambrosius (Merlin)

And no matter how much time passes us by, We’re drunk on sweet and hypnotic lies. With all our sources of hardened pride We try to erase and hide now

Martin would always act indignant at the question, and would always reply with a 'I am under no obligation to use my magic to explain or prove anything to the likes of you'.

He was Merlin's blood, for fuck's sake! He didn't have anyone to prove anything to save for maybe the Once and Future King himself!

Oh how he hoped, deep, deep inside, that he would never wake, that he would never ask any questions, that he would never do anything but keep dreaming his mythical dream and let him live his unmagic life.

He was a showman, he loved smoke and light and mirrors, he could fool anyone, anytime -but he knew that wouldn't be enough if (when) the time came, that the Once and Future King would need an actual advisor, an actual wizard.

He prayed that day never came to pass.

*When you're evil - Aurelio Voltaire Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

It gets so lonely being evil What I'd do to see a smile Even for a little while And no one loves you when you're evil I'm lying through my teeth! Your tears are all the company I need

"Ah, Perry the Platypus! Don't shake too much or you'll make the laser sharks angry and- no, hey! the insurance doesn't cover laser damage to the roo- yeah, that's better thank you. You might be wondering what this is all about- you see, noone has decided to play ME so far so- BEHOLD, THE HEINZ DOOFEN-INATOR! (patent pending) WITH THIS DEVICE I SHALL HIJACK ONE UNLUCKY ROLEPLAYER'S DRAFTS AND SLOWLY BUT SURELY CONSUME THE WHOLE THING THEN THE OTHER POSTS ON THE DASH, THEN THE WHOLE BEING DISNEY PAGE, THEN- HEY! HEY, DON'T DO THA- I'M NOT DONE WITH MY EVIL MONOLOGUE!"

*DEAD HAND - anakin ft. IA English (Ferry Cover) (TW Nuclear Warfare mention) Major Francis Monogram

Oh this is overwhelming, time for the iron curtain call The panic is seeping through the fractured border wall My livid heart powers this reactor core “Oh this is all wrong” but I don’t mind at all Turn up the volume, execute the protocol You know it’s M.A.D. and it’s all about to blow What an unfortunate way to end this show I shed a tear as you vanish in the snow

Francis had zero interest in dealing with anyone's shit (save for his own or his son's, that is) ever again; He'd done his time and the whole thing during the fucking Cold War had done a number on his nerves.

He still could remember how all seemed lost, an adequately mad situation (of Mutually Assured Destruction, that is) had come to pass and everyone in the HQ was losing his mind and running around like a bunch of headless chickens-

-until he very calmly pressed a couple of buttons and the thing was ok once more. Some people cried, some people laughed, some people shouted.

(Dramatic bitches, all of them. They didn't have to cause a scene just because of the fucking coffee machine)

That was one of many situations that made him love his retirement and not want to let go of it.

*Gasoline - Halsey (Captain) John Silver

You're part of a machine, you are not a human being With your face all made up, living on a screen Low on self esteem, so you run on gasoline

'Phantom limb pain' sounded way cooler than it actually was. Silver would rather call it 'a pain in the ass' any day, but that'd be a misnomer since what hurt was his stupid (lack of) arm and not his ass and he was not risking some smartass trying to make a joke about his butt, thank you very fucking much.

Like, fuck, 'phantom pain' could be a sick name for a metal (heh) band. And hiding things inside his prosthetic was one of the few perks the whole thing offered, just like the fact that he could smack people with the thing without having to bother about hurting himself or dealing with that pain.

However, during that cold night he couldn't think of any possitives about the damned thing and cursed his rotten luck, his (lack of) arm and the thoughts that came along with them.

#bdrpwrimo #bdrpwrimo2020 #bdrpwrimojean #/Jean doesn't know the meaning of self-control: the novel in 10 parts #/remember when I said I would publish FOUR tasks today? Yeah; I lied

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agirlinjapan · 5 years

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Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars (Week 35)

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

This is it! We’ve made it to the end of RDG 6! What a ride over the past five years!

If you haven’t read this announcement from last week, I have decided that my next translation project will be Ice Shoes Glass Shoes, the RDG short story compilation. This will also be my last translation project as I’d like to dedicate more time to my own writing.

Due to it being made up of short stories, Ice Shoes Glass Shoes won’t be posted as regularly as I have posted RDG. I’m considering longer, monthly updates, but I haven’t decided that for sure. Keep an eye out for updates.

Thank you so, so much for reading RDG for all these years! I’ve been so happy to share my project with you. Please consider supporting the author by buying her other series that has been translated into English, Tales of the Magatama. Noriko Ogiwara also wrote the story for the manga The Good Witch of the West.

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Mizuho Part 3 (3 of 3)

Wearing an extra layer under her jacket, a thick scarf and gloves, and carrying a flashlight, Izumiko set out of the house. After the sun set, the big trees on the shrine grounds became indistinguishable patches of darkness. No one would be able to walk there at all without a flashlight. As Tamakura Shrine was already at the top of a mountain, it didn’t take long to get to the summit itself. However, it was a dangerous walk even in the daytime with sudden drop offs and narrow paths. Normally, it wouldn’t be a place someone would walk after dark. Even Izumiko, who had grown up at the shrine, had to take extreme caution while placing her feet.

However, Izumiko had never been afraid of this path, even as a child and even at night. Sawa and Takeomi, who had worried over plenty of other things throughout the years, had never said that they had to go with her because of it being frightening and they had never once called her away from the edge of the summit either. It was Izumiko’s place in a way, the connection between her and the mountain.

Now alone, Izumiko’s thoughts began to drift as she walked.

I wonder what Miyuki’s doing in the dorm. Are Mayura and Manatsu back at their house in Nagano yet?...

It had been late at night by the time Izumiko and Miyuki had gotten back from Yokohama. Mayura had already returned from the party when Izumiko arrived in their room. The first thing Izumiko had done was give her roommate all the details of what had happened. Mayura had shared her side of the story as well.

After Izumiko had gone off with Mizuho, Mayura had immediately called Miyuki. There had been no way Izumiko’s strange behavior would have gotten past Mayura’s sharp eyes. At that time, Miyuki had been at the Tachikawa JR Station building for his passport application.

After that, Mayura, worried that she had been unable to determine where Izumiko was going, had gone to Angelica’s party with Manatsu. Nothing had happened at the mansion in the harbor district, and the evening had been thoroughly uneventful. While she admittedly had seen Takayanagi there, it had been a pleasant Christmas party overall. There had been plenty of activities for Manatsu who wasn’t as good with social pleasantries, and both of them had gotten a chance to talk with Mr. Bernard, Angelica’s father. Mr. Bernard was a man with a love for continuous jokes, and was much more likable than Mayura had first thought he would be.

Mayura had been astonished to hear that Izumiko and Miyuki had almost been kidnapped and brought abroad, but seeing as Izumiko was safe and back in front of her, she couldn’t be too upset.

“It seems like you’re not fated to get dressed up for a party, Izumiko. But at least Miyuki rushed right over to you so he achieved his goal of dressing up and going somewhere.”

“He didn’t achieve that goal at all. First off, it wasn’t his goal to start with, and secondly, he had his coat on the whole time,” Izumiko had replied.

Mayura had laughed knowingly. “Strolling around in a coat can still be stylish, can’t it? And with the night scenery you could see and the bay bridge in Yokohama, it was kind of like a fancy date if you forget about what actually happened. You were alone with Miyuki so technically that was luckier than going to the party. Did you give him his Christmas present when the mood was right?”

Mayura’s words had made Izumiko feel a little uncomfortable.

“I left so quickly that I couldn’t bring the present with me. I left it in the room.”

Speaking of that, Miyuki’s Christmas present had been one of the things she had brought home with her and it was now here on Mt. Tamakura. However, seeing as Miyuki wouldn’t be here until New Year’s, more than just the wrapping would be damaged if she kept carrying it around with her in her bag.

From what Mr. Sagara said though, I have a feeling that I shouldn’t get my hopes up…

She had been texting back and forth with Miyuki, but they had agreed to keep their conversation light, talking only about what they were doing and throughout the vacation, that was exactly what they had done. She knew that he had no interest in leaving Tokyo and while she didn’t want to outright say that she didn’t want to come to him, he hadn’t asked her either.

As Izumiko made her way up to the summit, her breathing grew harder, but she reached the open air of her destination without fear. It would be more dangerous when she went back down, but she wasn’t going to think about that now.

With her breath coming out as white puffs, Izumiko looked back up at the clear, star encrusted night sky. Decorative illuminations couldn’t compare with this, the bright grandeur of the distant beyond.

Ah… It really is different…

Izumiko turned off her flashlight and let her eyes adjust as she looked up at the pinpricks of light. The night sky created a dome over the mountain, stretching in every direction. Izumiko felt like she alone was wrapped up inside of it.

For a moment, Izumiko’s thoughts emptied and she focused solely on where she was standing. However, this feeling passed and her thoughts returned.

The me standing here is my most basic self. I’ll always come back to this place, even now. But I’m completely different from the lonely person I used to be here. I went to Tokyo and I changed…

She was expanding herself more and more, Izumiko thought. She’d even go abroad if that was necessary. Even if she stayed in Japan, she’d make connections in different countries if that was what it took. She thought about those things as she gazed up at the bright stars.

But, even so… that’s not my true wish…

Finally coming back to her senses, Izumiko pulled her gaze away from the night sky. She could sense something nearby. She didn’t know why she could sense it, but that didn’t change the fact that she was aware that someone was climbing up the path up from shrine. Izumiko turned carefully, breaking the silence she had wrapped herself in. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Her heart beat quickly.

Did something happen? Something big enough to call me back down to the shrine?...

She didn’t move immediately. She hesitated to call out either. She could make out a large shadow near the bottom of her line of sight. When the shadow was close enough that she could hear its footsteps approaching, Izumiko wondered if it was one of the young shrine attendants. They were walking steadily up the path. Izumiko remembered the flashlight in her hand and turned it on, but did not move to raise it. After a moment, the person stopped walking. Only then did she raise the light.

“Is that Izumiko?”

“Huh? Why are you here?”

Miyuki, dressed in a sweater, appeared in the light. He stared up at Izumiko, his hands resting on his knees as he took deep, tired breaths. To Izumiko, it was as if Miyuki had appeared out of the spirit world.

“How did you get here? You didn’t fly, did you?”

She didn’t hear the sound of a helicopter now, and in the time she had been up at the summit, she had only heard a car arrive in the parking lot. She had no idea how Miyuki was here now.

“I walked up here. On my own two feet. All the way from the base of the mountain,” Miyuki said with frustration. He was still catching his breath. “I came in Yukimasa’s helicopter and he dropped me off at the base. He said he wanted to stop in and visit Sawa, but he changed his mind half way here. The trip took five hours and it got dark on the way. That jerk.”

Izumiko was shocked. She might have grown up at the shrine, but she had never once walked from the base of the mountain to the shrine herself.

“Are you alright?”

“I wasn’t making any headway on the main road, so I thought I’d take a shortcut, but that was a disaster.”

Miyuki looked completely exhausted. Izumiko watched as he sat down on the ground. Only then did she remember the thermos she had placed by her feet.

“I have some cocoa. Do you want it?”

“Please.”

As Izumiko poured the cocoa into the lid cup and passed it to Miyuki, she noticed that he wasn’t wearing gloves. She was still shocked to see him here, but she was beginning to suspect this was all part of Yukimasa’s scheme.

Could it be that Mom wasn’t the present he was talking about?...

Miyuki took the cocoa gratefully. After one sip though, he declared it was incredibly sweet and Izumiko didn’t think he would drink the rest. He did though, but slowly. When Izumiko poured him a second cup, he drank that as well.

After waiting for a bit, Izumiko asked, “Why did you feel like coming to Mt. Tamakura all of a sudden? I thought you’d just be here for New Year’s if you came at all.”

“Circumstances changed, so I decided to tell you what’s going on.”

Miyuki pushed his hair back and then frowned, noticing the sticks and leaves in his hair.

“I said I was going to study abroad, but I’m not going to. You’re in extreme danger more often than I realized. I know there’s some degree of protection from spirits and other things at Houjou Academy, and the adults there can take care of this and that. But you throw yourself into things too easily with only the most basic understanding of what you need to protect yourself.”

“You don’t have to say anything else. I already learned my lesson, you know.”

Izumiko hadn’t exactly wanted to cut in, but her relief at hearing that Miyuki had reconsidered studying abroad felt like a wave crashing over her. Still, she didn’t want to make it obvious how happy she was.

“Are you really alright with giving up on studying abroad though? I wouldn’t tell you that you couldn’t go.”

“Are you saying that you’d go with me if I went?”

“Yes.” Izumiko nodded shyly but the movement was frank. Miyuki smiled a little. It was a mischievous, triumphant expression, not the sort of smile he used on adults. It was an expression from the bottom of his heart that said he didn’t care what others thought about how he was feeling. The feelings were his alone.

“Then I’ll reconsider again. Izumiko, if you’re living your life afraid of becoming someone’s research subject, why don’t you become your own researcher? Become more of an expert on yourself than anyone else and then you won’t have to worry about other researchers. The first step to that is continuing your education and getting into a college with a research program. I can help you with that.”

Izumiko blinked. “You’re saying I should study myself?”

“It’s not impossible. We can aim to go to the same college. We can major in whatever field we’re interested in and protect ourselves that way. If we can just prepare ourselves with the knowledge we need to keep ourselves out of other people’s grasps and not used for any of their purposes, we can go abroad and study at a good school after we graduate from Houjou.”

It was such a surprising proposal that Izumiko struggled to comprehend Miyuki’s words for a minute. She had a feeling that he had just pulled the idea out of midair that instant.

“Do you actually think I could aim for the same college as you?”

“It doesn’t have to be Tokyo University. There are plenty of other good schools,” Miyuki said offhandedly as if to say he wouldn’t listen to any of her excuses. “Izumiko, with college, we’d be students for more than just the three years here. You’d protect yourself and get stronger as you go. We could even go on to graduate school if we wanted. I’d be with you through the whole time, you can be sure of that. It would give us a chance to figure out what we’re capable of. To know what we can do.”

Suddenly, Izumiko could see the shining path Miyuki was setting in front of her. It was a long, bright road she had never considered before. She had a feeling that Yukariko had been referring to this when she had told Izumiko to stop thinking she would die young.

“I think I can do it, but I won’t know until I start. I want to have a dream to work towards…”

“You have the qualities to do it. I know you’ll work hard,” Miyuki said.

Izumiko had not expected Spartan Miyuki to say such a thing, but with them, Izumiko could feel a new dream growing in her chest. She was sure that if she worked hard, it would come true.

“I have to talk with Grandpa and Sawa about this now. I’ve never told them that I want to go to college before.”

Izumiko’s cheerful words surprised even her, but she could tell that she had found something special with this.

Now I get it. This is the real reason why I left the mountain. That and so Wamiya could become one with Miyuki…

At first, Satoru Wamiya had tried to stop Izumiko from leaving the mountain. He had objected strongly to Miyuki who he had seen as an invader. However, under the light of the stars, Miyuki looked like he was part of the mountains. She hadn’t sensed his presence as being any different from the rest of the mountain until he had come very close to the summit.

I’m going to keep living my life from here on. I’m going to live it to experience new things with Miyuki. To keep living life as the gift it is…

As she thought about this, she remembered the present in her room. As long as it was this cold, gloves would definitely be useful. Still, Izumiko didn’t feel comfortable saying so straight out, so she found a roundabout way instead.

“Miyuki, are you hungry? It’s cold. Want to go back to the house?”

“We came all the way out here. Let’s look at this amazing starry sky a little longer.”

Izumiko shut off the flashlight again. Miyuki’s bare hand wrapped around her gloved one, holding it.

As the two of them stood there shoulder to shoulder, gazing up at the stars, Miyuki said in a quiet voice, “I still haven’t told you why I came all the way out here to see you.”

“I think I’ve heard enough to guess,” Izumiko whispered back. She had a feeling that she knew what Miyuki hadn’t said. “I’m just so glad you came. Now let’s go back to the house and—”

“Stop talking,” Miyuki said bluntly. He turned, bringing his face close to hers.

There were as many stars in the sky as things Izumiko didn’t know yet.

#rdg #red data girl #rdg 6 #rdg 6 week 35 #rdg my wish on the night of the shooting stars #translation

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newstfionline · 4 years

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Headlines

Marine Corps changes strategy (Wall Street Journal) The Marine Corps is undertaking its most sweeping transformation in decades, pivoting from a focus on fighting insurgents in the Middle East to developing the ability to hop from island to island in the western Pacific to bottle up the Chinese fleet. The 10-year plan to revamp the Corps, scheduled to be unveiled this week, follows years of classified U.S. wargames that revealed China’s missile and naval forces to be eroding American military advantages in the region. “China, in terms of military capability, is the pacing threat,” Gen. David Berger, the Marine Corps commandant, said in an interview. “If we did nothing, we would be passed.”

Tooth fairy exempt from Argentina lockdown (Foreign Policy) Argentina’s president has confirmed that although strict measures are in place as the country goes into lockdown, the tooth fairy will still be allowed to roam freely. Responding to a mother on Twitter whose son had just lost his first tooth, President Alberto Fernandez wrote “The tooth fairy can leave rewards for fallen teeth because he is not under quarantine. But the rest of us are…Joaquin should leave the tooth beneath his pillow and enjoy the prize.”

Jury trials suspended in England over coronavirus (Reuters) The head of the judiciary in England and Wales on Monday ordered all jury trials to be suspended to allow new systems to be brought in to cope with government instructions for Britons to avoid unnecessary contact to prevent spreading coronavirus.

As coronavirus surges, a frantic Europe scrambles for hospital beds, ventilators, supplies (Washington Post) A team of firefighters and volunteers turned a 15,000-square-foot hall in a convention center in Vienna into an 880-bed coronavirus hospital over the course of a weekend. Soldiers in Germany, France and Spain have been deployed to help build similar temporary facilities for thousands of patients. Across Europe, tens of thousands of nurses and doctors are being graduated early or called back from retirement. As coronavirus cases surge in the biggest infectious disease crisis to hit European hospitals in a century, officials and health-care workers are scrambling to keep national health systems above water. But countries are competing against one another for medical supplies on an international market that has been sucked dry. To address shortages, Spanish clothes manufacturers are turning their lines to making medical masks, and Parisian perfumers are producing hand sanitizer in an effort that harks back to wartime.

Russia’s Italy aid (Foreign Policy) Russia’s defense ministry said it would send eight mobile medic brigades, special disinfection vehicles, and other medical equipment to Italy under a direct order from President Vladimir Putin. Russia has reported only 306 cases of the coronavirus so far, with one death.

New Delhi on lockdown, and trains are halted (Foreign Policy) New Delhi’s 21 million residents will be placed under lockdown until March 31 as India seeks to confront the coronavirus. On Sunday, Indians observed a “janata” curfew, or people’s curfew, as Indians were encouraged to stay at home until 9 p.m. Although the country has only registered 341 cases of coronavirus so far, experts say that low number could be due to lack of testing. India also halted its train network, the country’s lifeblood.

Chinese attitudes shift as a result of coronavirus: survey (Reuters) The coronavirus outbreak has led to a shift in attitudes in China, with less tolerance of individualistic behavior and a greater tendency to recognize the contributions of others, according to a survey conducted during the epidemic.

Olympics in the balance (Reuters) After Canada and Australia confirmed they would not send athletes to the Tokyo Olympics if it went ahead this year, other nations are now going public with calls for a delay. Poland said it was impossible in the current situation for athletes to train properly, and Ireland’s Olympics chief has suggested next year is now a more viable time slot. That came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged for the first time the Games may need to be postponed if they could not be held in their “complete form”.

Autocrats and the coronavirus (NYT) Crisis management, like war, is politics by other means. The most glaring example of this right now may be in Israel. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a pliant Justice Ministry postpone his arraignment on corruption charges, while coronavirus-induced paralysis has stalled the formation of Israel’s new government after elections this month. The absence of a functional government has prevented the country’s newly elected parliament from pushing through legislation that could prevent an indicted politician like him from becoming prime minister. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is playing up his role as commander in chief, staging daily national security briefings alongside allies. “If Trump’s aim is to rally his voters for the upcoming election, Netanyahu’s is to make opposition voters forget the results of the previous one,” wrote Bernard Avishai in the New Yorker. Talks to forge a unity government have so far stalled. The prime minister and his colleagues “have shut down parliament, enacted extreme ‘security’ measures without legislative oversight and shelved the courts just as Netanyahu was about to go on trial for corruption,” wrote Israeli commentator Gershom Gorenberg for The Washington Post. “I don’t use the word ‘coup’ lightly. But any weaker description of Netanyahu’s assault on Israeli democracy is a refusal to absorb and report the truth.”

An illiberal ally of the Israeli leader, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is also exercising new coronavirus-enabled powers. After spending days linking the contagion to illegal migration, Orban and his nationalist government extended an emergency law with new provisions that could potentially be used to criminalize critical press. “Orban would be allowed to announce steps to contain the pandemic via decrees until the government no longer sees it as necessary, according to the draft legislation published on the parliament website late Friday,” noted Bloomberg News. Critics warned that this was just the latest subversion in Orban’s decade-long takeover of the country’s democratic system. “Step by step, the governing majority extinguished the professional, organizational, and financial autonomy of public institutions, while putting such control mechanisms in place that ensure the prime minister’s decision making power in all significant policy areas,” wrote David Vig, director of Amnesty International in Hungary.

And the United States isn’t immune, either. President Trump’s Department of Justice is reportedly seeking expanded emergency powers, including provisions for judges to have the power to detain people indefinitely. It’s unlikely to be accepted by Congress.

#headlines #news

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kalluun-patangaroa · 5 years

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Suede

SKY magazine, December 1993

written by Simon Witter

"HELLO! WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE?!" asks Brett Anderson rhetorically, staring at the fluff he has just removed from his ear. "I haven't taken these earrings off for about nine years."

It may seem an incongruous moment to ask the 27-year-old indie pin-up about his personal style, but hey, that's the kind of guy I am. "Tatty," replies Brett with a wry smile. "I haven't been able to get out and go shopping."

Brett Anderson, frontman of Suede – the British pop sensation of 93 – is hotly rumoured to have a great dress sense. Today however, perched uncomfortably behind an executive desk at the central London HQ of his record company, his head inadvertently framed by a halo of Right Said Fred promotional balloons, he is sporting a navy blue jeans'n'top ensemble he accurately describes as "just anything". Brett has been telling me how he spends most of his time with people who work in shops or are unemployed – "real people, not in the business" – so I presume this boutique bonding provides a clue to his supposed, though temporarily non-evident, style savvy.

"Oh no," he gasps. "Not clothes shops! Most of my friends are in food shops. So I know a good bit of brie when I see it."

The thought of Brett Anderson having, at any point in his life, ever eaten food, conjures images of pigs flapping their trotters as they sail past this second floor window. But we press on with the personal style enquiry.

"I want to change it at the moment," he says. "I'm sick of wearing second-hand things. I used to have a grudge against new clothes because I don't like wearing things that another thousand people are wearing. It's nothing to do with being into clothes from years ago, or tatty clothes at all. I'm quite keen to toy around with my style until I eventually find something, to have clothes made for me. There's never anything, when I go out and look for clothes, that I really love. I've got quite a strong vision of what I want, which would be very, very well fitted things. I don't like baggy things. I like lots of ethnic looks. I really like the Spanish look, that sort of matador thing." By way of explanation, Brett strikes a pose, clicking imaginary castanets above his head. "I like that shape. Prince wears a really brilliant little thing sometimes. When I kept getting my bellybutton out, it was really a desire to achieve that shape more than anything, nothing to do with flaunting my navel."

It's well worth flashing your bellybutton while you still can, I assure him, a rueful hand on my own expanding waistline.

"Yep," he smiles. "Well I can't anymore. Not after that chinese last night."

In May of 1992 Suede released their first single, 'The Drowners'. They had already been on the cover of Melody Maker – before they had a record out – and would grace 18 other British magazine covers over the next year, including the cover of Q on just their second single. Their eponymous debut album, released last March, went straight to No. One in the charts and went on to win the Mercury Prize, and last autumn they released a full-length concert video Love & Poison. At this rate, it will be time for their memoirs by easter.

Within the bizarre, incestuous fishbowl of the British music media, Suede have become almost self-damagingly important. After a couple of wilderness years spent faffing about, finding their feet and being universally loathed, their overnight transformation into the most hyped band in the world was nothing short of miraculous. Yet it created impossibly high expectations of their music. A German friend told me how surprised he was, after long distance exposure to their media glare, to discover how average Suede sounded – a judgment that casual discovery of the first album would hardly have elicited. And while touring America, their support act the Cranberries famously outshone them by an enormous factor when it came to album sales. Yet phase one of Suede's career has been – or appeared to be – so extraordinary, that they are going to be hard-pressed to follow it up with anything similarly momentous.

For now, we have 'Stay Together', a new, epically long single. As a measure of Suede's magnitude in the reality-starved world of British indie pop, I am treated to an absurd preview of the track the day before meeting Brett. Before entering the listening room I am subjected to a bag search to check – I kid you not! – that I'm not carrying a concealed tape recorder.

In LA, the world capital of muso control freakism, I was played U2's Desire, the immediate-follow up to their 15-million selling Joshua Tree album, eons before its release without anyone thinking twice. Yet now, without a hint of humour or irony, I am being treated as if I not only know anyone who cares what the next Suede single sounds like, but would be willing to pay for a tape of it recorded through a leather bag.

After regaining consciousness, I join in the fiasco, insist on a full body search (well, at less reputable establishments you'd have to pay good money for this touchy-feely experience) and am seated. The label boss places two speakers on each side of my head, facing my ears from about 20" away, turns it up LOUD, and begins to do that embarrassing, pseudo appreciative in-chair grooving that only people who work in record companies and recording studios have the gall to indulge in. "It's not pompous," he assures me, "even though it's eight minutes long."

Of course any pop song – as opposed to dance record – that lasts eight minutes is by definition pompous. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was gloriously, defiantly pompous with a side order of pomposity to go. But, despite the circumstances, 'Stay Together' sounds like a fine, many-hued song, liberally doused with Bernard Butler's life-saving guitar, that is destined neither to win many new fans nor shock the devotees.

"It's about a sense of unrest I feel about the world," Brett tells me the following day, in an ill-advised shot at an explanation. "An attempt to make some sense when everything seems to be going slightly insane. I do get a real sense of impending doom, but not in a depressing way, not like we're all gonna die, let's go and rape people. I feel quite content with it. We're living under some shadow, and I'm not quite sure what it is. It's a bit like the fears I felt when I was growing up, when things were unstable and there was the threat of nuclear war, or the fear that your parents could die of aerosol poisoning."

Brett grew up, together with Suede drummer Mat Osman, in the soulless satellite town of Haywards Heath, between London and Brighton. According to Osman, if they'd been the tea party fops people make them out to be, they would've formed a grunge band. They only wanted to be really glamorous because of their stultifyingly dull working class backgrounds. Some might say that that would lead to the three-Es-a-night, dance-and-forget syndrome, rather than the formation of a glam rock band.

"Hopefully we're not a glam rock band," Brett shudders defensively. "You can escape those surroundings by taking a load of Es and ignoring it. Another way is to create your own myth, to try and become romantic in your own eyes, to create something beautiful out of the rubbish and the shit. It all sounds very Oscar Wilde, but that's the way we did it. None of us were brought up in workhouses, but we haven't had easy lives at all."

Suede claim to be obsessed with fame because they were excluded from it. Yet surely fame is the one classless thing people aren't born into?

"Lots of people are constantly privileged," says Brett, who has clearly spent an unhealthy amount of time pondering the abstract qualities of fame. "If you're born in Soho to rich professional parents, and you've got Jonathan Wotsisname coming round to your house every night to see your father, then you've got this world that you slip easily into. When you're excluded from it there's a desperation, you're desperate to have it. It doesn't come as second nature to you, like professionally famous people who hang out in Beverly Hills. It's not something you're comfortable with, but that mutates it into something far more interesting, a bit prickly and far more creative, because you're not just sitting there lapping it up."

Suede's appearance coincided not unfortunately with the post-Madchester 70s revival. But was their styling something more than just the result of being unable to afford new clothes? Personally, I had thought the emergence of Gary Numan had killed off the idea of anyone ever again wanting to be David Bowie (not to mention Bowie's recent records). Then along came Suede, with their rough guitars, their androgyny and their theatrical singer.

"I never thought of ourselves as '70s," Brett insists. "David Bowie is a genius, but the rest of all that rubbish I always found laughable. As for the clothes, I always thought we looked more 60s than 70s. It's all tied up with this whole kitsch thing, this Magpie and Porridge and rediscovering the culture of British music journalists' youths. Kids of 14 didn't know what anyone was talking about, it was just that the people in power had reached a certain age where they were getting sentimental about their youth and started remembering Magpie. That's all it was, all a complete load of rubbish. As soon as we were aware that this scene was going on, we wanted nothing to do with it."

Brett's voice is a highly variable instrument, perfect and beautiful on slow numbers like 'The Next Life', but occasionally, when he affects that archly operatic Bowie yodel, a whiney, sneering sound like Rik Mayall on speed boring into your brain – absolutely maddening. It goes without saying that his delivery owes much to the most overrated British pop star of the last decade, Morrissey.

"I forced my voice in that way because of how we were born, musically, playing shitholes. It was the only way I could make myself heard. I didn't want to sing in the murmuring way that was the style of the time. I wanted to project my voice, because I was writing songs that I wanted people to hear the words of. I wasn't just writing about fluffy little clouds, which is what everyone was doing at the time. People read into my intonations a theatrical seventiesness, but it was a complete accident."

Overworked as the subject is, it's hard to avoid asking why Brett thinks his androgyny caused such a fuss. It's not the first time it has been done; it's not even the tenth time. Genderless, mincing fops are to classic British pop what hairspray is to American rock, a staple ingredient. Brett, by comparison to most, is pretty tame.

"I don't know," he sighs. "We certainly weren't thinking 'oh let's be androgynous', it's just the way we are. I'm naturally quite an effeminate person – not all the time, I do play on things. I think it was because, at the time, people were so incredibly boring. We had been through five years of the cult of non-personality, and we never wanted to go with the flow. When everyone had their heads down, chugging away, we wanted to twist things a little bit. It's like at school, when you find that something annoys someone, you keep on doing it more and more. And that's what happened really."

A female psychologist wrote recently about the overt sexual expression of pre-pubertal girls at pop concerts, the way in which, amidst the non-contact hysteria of the pop experience, they could sometimes experience their first orgasm. She was, admittedly, talking about a Take That show, but I can't help wondering if it looks like that from the stage to Brett Anderson?

"No, nothing like that," he purrs, "nothing sexual. I always feel like people are putting it on."

Having their first fake orgasm?

"It's a bizarre thing in my head. I know they really like me, but I can't really take it seriously. When I'm onstage, and it's working, I feel like I can do absolutely anything. I feel as though there's no limit, even in the sense that I could fall asleep if I felt like it, because I'm that relaxed. I feel much more comfortable on stage than walking down the street. I could go off into a corner and do a crossword or shave my head. I feel ridiculously relaxed. I really enjoy the power of being onstage. It's to do with the circuit of the flow between the audience and you, when it's an audience willing you to be good. Your own power is an expression of how the audience is feeling, but I can't say I ever feel sexual, even if it looks that way. I think that to call the power purely sexual is to belittle it. When I've been to incredible gigs, it hasn't been a sexual thing, it has been something far more magical than that. "

Brett and Osman came to London in the mid 80s to study, respectively, architecture and politics at UCL and LSE. Suede began after they placed an ad in the NME in 1989, but initial concerts had audiences shouting "Fuck off!", critics calling them effete wankers and record companies running for the hills - a three-pronged invitation to eat shit and die that would have spelt the end for most bands.

"That X factor that made people despise us," muses Brett, "was something we managed to turn around in our favour. It's like being in love with someone, and exactly the same things you adore about them, completely horrify you when you've fallen out of love. We went away and learnt how to write songs, and came back transformed. And those qualities that originally pissed people off, we transformed into something provocative. I think the fact that we went through all that rubbish was a fucking good thing for us. People forget that the Beatles spent five years in Hamburg. No one would touch them in England, cos everyone thought they were an utter load of shit. They spent five years getting it together, suffering a bit and fighting for it."

A typical lyric from those hard years was Brett's line about "shitting paracetomol on the escalator". When they were recently described as chemically saturated, I had assumed more interesting chemicals were involved.

"That's about pure mundanity, being off your face every night and your staple diet coming from your bathroom cabinet. It's a metaphor for a humdrum life, going up and down the London underground, which I spent five years of my life doing."

In many ways this – Suede's poignant soundtracking of new depression Britain – is their strength. But if they are Her Majesty's equivalent of slackers, it hasn't made America any more amenable to their cause. Indeed, despite Brett's avowed loathing of the British character – "negativity, small-mindedness, lack of faith" – there may well be a Britishness about Suede which prevents America from getting the point.

Brett makes the mistake of quoting a Smiths song to me – something about innocence, fragility and trust – forcing me to point out that American audiences don't want to be trusted with something precious, they want to rock out with their cocks out. Evan Dando may wear a dress and pigtails, but the wider American market is notoriously unkeen on sexual ambiguity. Queen were big in America until the early 80s, when Freddie Mercury started appearing in full clone gear. They never toured America again, and didn't have a single hit until after his death (and then only thanks to Wayne's World). In fact, America's association of guitars and manliness make Suede fundamentally unsuited.

"No!" storms Brett. "I don't think we're fundamentally unmanly. All you have to do is come and watch us live. We're about sexuality, power and emotion, things that everybody feels."

Whether or not America is destined to fall for his Morrissey-meets-Larry Grayson stage persona, Brett's much-aired desire to move to America (and less well-known plan to live in Paris) has, for now, been replaced by a much smaller act of bedouinism.

"I've moved from Notting Hill to Highgate," he announces proudly, "from a fashionable place to a place where you're living in the last century pretty much. I was living in a very small flat in Notting Hill and it was driving me insane, I couldn't write and was being bombarded with nonsense all day long. I needed the peace and quiet, and now I have a bigger flat with a studio room in it and I'm writing quite prolifically. It's more serene, there's more space to think. It's quite a beautiful place, but you do feel like you're living in the last century, like you're some sort of oddity, or in a play. You keep going into these odd characters. But it's a great place."

In person, and despite the affectation of much of his thought processes, Brett Anderson is quite charming. An endearing smile – which seems to hibernate when cameras are around – plays constantly around his face, suggesting shared confidences which, to some extent, he delivers. Like so many people cocooned by over-protective minions, he is refreshingly open and approachable. I like him. But he is deeply shocked and incredulous when I paint a picture of the special treatment afforded him by those he works with.

"They treat me with the respect I deserve," he jokes defensively. "I don't have tea with Lenny Kravitz. My best friend works in a chip shop, and that's why I like it, it's a complete escape. One of the beautiful things about being successful is that it can rub off onto your friends as well. Not fame and all that bullshit – the really brilliant thing about being successful is the self-confidence, the sense of life having a purpose, that life is a wonderful thing. You open the shutters in the morning and the sunshine pours through. That sense of vitality about life can completely rub off on your friends. Sometimes it doesn't, it can go the other way, with friends ignoring you cos they think you don't have time for them, but that never happens with your proper friends."

And yet, engulfed in the sweltering perversity of his peer group, Brett has come to hold some pretty crap views, views that seem utterly irrelevant beyond the borders of saddo indie land. He worries about being thought a sell-out, thinks Suede are radically honest because they admit to having ambition – as if people didn't get over all that bollocks a decade ago – and, worst of all, that people don't talk enough about music in interviews. Oh dear!

But, despite all this, Brett's public image remains unshatterably cool. He exudes waves of sultry, sulky hipness. I feel an urge to know what naff items lurk in the corners of Chateau Anderson, his ownership of which will shock Suede devotees to the core. Brett tells me he's been to see Aladdin, listens to jazz music, likes The Orb and Verve and has just bought the new Shamen single. To prove it, he even does his Mr C impression - "Comin' on like a vibe, y'know!". This won't do at all.

"I like Terence Trent D'Arby," he admits, trying harder. "I think he's really good."

It's good, but it's not right.

"I bought Billy Joel's River Of Dreams album. I like that one."

Aha – as Inspector Clouseau used to say – now we are getting somewhere! What about films?

"No, I've got impeccable taste when it comes to films."

No feature length On The Buses video stashed chez Brett?

"No. I have got Crocodile Dundee."

Bingo and Bullseye! So much for impeccable taste.

"Well, my perennial favourite is Performance," he flusters wildly. "I can virtually quote the whole film from start to finish. And there's a brilliant film which I've just discovered called The Shout, with John Hurt, Alan Bates and Susanna York. It's about a man who has spent years in the Australian bush learning the secrets of the bush doctors coming to this ridiculously reserved Cornish village and turning two people's lives upside down. It's like an animal alive within this village, and when he shouts, everyone within a mile radius dies. If Alan Bates' part had been played by Vincent Price, it would've been laughable, but it's incredibly powerful, one of those great lost films."

It's a nice try, but nothing can erase the impression created by Billy Joel and Crocodile Dundee.

#suede #brett anderson #press #interview #sky #1993

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ithinkthingsaboutstuff · 4 years

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Little Boy Blue (11)

midvale AU part 11

Karadox- AU of the 3x06 e.p of supergirl, in which Brainy (teen Brainy) arrives in Midvale around the e.p timeline. this is part 11 Brainy’s first day at school.

The bus was full and Kara was sitting with Kenny as he ask Querl an amount of questions that would make a game-show host blush.

‘So, you just made something that makes you look normal.’

‘No Mr Lee, I made myself something that makes me look human.’

Kenny’s cheeks went red.

‘oh, sorry, your right, but like you did this with basement parts?’

‘Yes, it did take some doing but it was not impossible, obviously.’

‘Wow,’

Kara just smiled at the two of them like a proud mama hen.

‘Ok,ok, but why are you even going to school with us, you don’t need to?’

‘Need. is a relative term Mr Lee, I don’t need to get the education you are revising but there are other things that I need to educate myself in, such as the social economics of this environment.’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I mean, I need to know how people my age act and behave if I am to be able pass as human enough to function in this place.’

‘Your doing ok.’

‘Thank you. Mr Lee.’

Kenny paused.

‘You should probably stop being so formal, just first names are fine.’

‘Thank you, I’ll take that in...Kenneth.’

‘That’s, better, I guess.’

The two boy’s continued their back and forth all the way to school and Kara was just watching them with a smile and Alex sat with her friends at the back of the bus, she was trying not to look at them, and she was failing.

‘Another new kid, you seem interested Alex.’

Josie asked with a playful jamb.

‘What, no, no, no, no, no, I would, I don’t, he’s a, he’s a, he...’

‘Aww, you blushed, I mean he is kind of cute in a, new face kind of way.’

‘Yeah, new face.’

Alex moved in her seat and looked out the window for the rest of the trip. When they all went to home room to start the day, Alex pulled Kara aside.

‘Ok, he wants to be here I get that, but how are we going to explain this.’

‘Good question, but I’m sure he would have figured that out.’

Alex puts her fingers to the bridge of her nose for a second before throwing up her hand.

‘You know what forget it, I don’t care anymore I’m just going to sit in the back and watch this train wreak from over there.’

she then walked into the class room and made her way to her seat. Kara looked at Querl and he nodded to her to go in, she did. Mr Bernard was settling the class as Kara sat down. Querl stood at the front waiting to be addressed. Mr Bernard then looked over to his desk and pulled a clip board up to his face.

‘Alright class, this is our new class mate Quarrel, Quail...’

‘Querl, my name is Querl Dox’s, Samuel.’

‘Ok, Mr Dox, Welcome, but its, Mr Bernard.’

Josie and a few others giggled to themselves around the class. Querl looked confused and made a mental note to talk to Kenneth later. Mr Bernard waved the class back.

‘Ok. Mr Dox, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself.’

‘I am not from around here.’

Alex all but slammed he head onto the desk.

‘Yes, ok, where are you from?’

‘I have moved around considerable amount, from east Asia, South America and rural North America, I have been home schooled and self taught my whole life and, I am currently here on a school transition program as a way to have more stable credentials for collage applications.’

Alex lifted her head and nodded a long, she thought he has done pretty well considering he pulled this out of his ass in six hours of perpetration, he had documents and everything, that were in Mr Bernard's hands. Kara could not hide her smile he really did put a lot of thought into this, and she has to say he is learning quickly. After Querl had said his peace, Mr Bernard was looking through the paper in front of him,

‘Alright, Mr Dox, take your seat and we will take the roll.’

Querl moved froward with his hands neatly folded behind his back and sat in the seat that was next to Kara and then put his hands neatly on the table. As Mr Bernard took the roll Kara lead over to him.

‘Good job.’

Querl truned his head.

‘Thank you, it was simple really, just a search here and a document forge there and one fake ID later, here we are.’

Kara adjusted her glasses.

‘I think we need to have a little talk about personal ethics later.’

Querl looked off to the side.

‘Very well, if you insist.’

As the time went on and the bell to start classes went, Kara pulled Querl to the side.

‘Hey are you going to be ok on your own.’

‘yes i will be fine, I made sure that my schedule had Alex, Kennith or yourself in it.’

‘How did you do that?’

‘I simply changed the document in the computer before they gave it to me.’

‘Ok. I need to ask, is that going to become a pattern with you or...’

‘It is very harmless, as stated i don’t need to learn your academia so this is the most beneficial root.’

‘Ok I can see that i guess, but you do need to maybe just run it by me or Alex from here on out, just in case.’

‘Yes of course.’

He paused.

‘Kara?’

‘Yes.’

‘Have I upset you?’

‘Not exactly, I just think you need to slow down, a little bit, your still learning about what is right and wrong in this time is all.’

‘I understand, and i will discuss it with you from here on out.’

Kara gave him a smile.

‘Thank you, what class do you have first?’

‘I have mathematics with Alex.’

Kara paused.

‘Ok, that room is down the hall and third door to the left.’

He nodded at her and went on his way.

‘Oh, Alex is not going to like that.’

As Alex put down her books and her took out her pens and pencils, she heard foot steps come close then stop next to her, she looked up and.

‘Are you kidding me.’

‘I am not.’

He took the seat next to her. She looked him over.

‘Don’t you have any books?’

He looked at her confused.

‘No, what for.’

‘To take notes, do your work in, didn’t they give you a text book?’

‘oh yes that, horribly outdated, and i memorised on the way to roll call.’

Alex pressed her lips together before asking.

‘Of course you did, and you don’t take notes.’

‘Yes i do.’

‘Where’s your book then?’

‘I take them in my head.’

‘Alright, you know what I’m just going to let this happen.’

Alex then looked to the front of the room waiting for class to start.

As the Class went on Querl looked around the room and got a good look at everyone and how they were behaving, some were listening, most looked bored and a few looked lost. Querl looked at the detail on the walls the posters of simple multiplication charts, assignment boards and students as his eyes trailed off some more.

‘Mr Dox is there something I can help you with.’

Mrs Brown looked at with judgemental eyes,

‘No, I am quite content.’

‘I’m sure you are, no books, no text book and not paying attention.’

He said nothing and Alex tried to look away.

‘Mr Dox’s why don’t you try and attention please.’

‘I understand you completely.’

‘Ok, why don’t tell me what you’ve learned.’

Querl then stood up and went to the white board and completed all the equations on the board. He then turned to Mrs Brown.

‘For the record Mrs Brown, I knew this long before today and your method is lacklustre at best,’

Alex buried her face in her hands.

‘And now there is actually a more efficient way to teach this, you see.’

Alex sunk into her seat as the rest of the class laughed or smirked through their teeth.Mrs Brown then took a step forward.

‘Thank you Mr Dox you made your point, now retake your seat, and Mr Dox your are going to have detention tomorrow.’

‘Ok.’

He then walked back to his seat and put his hands neatly on the desk. Alex tried to refocus on the lesson.

When it was over he had history with Kara and Alex which was nice because he got to sit next Kara and she was more respective to his looking around and investigating his surroundings. And when that class was over it was lunch and Querl had his discussion with Kennith about proper naming etiquette. Then to finished off the day the four of them had P.E. They were running laps today, Kenny was far behind the rest, Alex managed to stay in the middle of the pack and Kara was at the front and not trying and Querl was right next to her.

‘No one has ever been able to keep up with me.’

‘Not a problem for me, shall we continue.’

‘Sure.’

The two of them remained at the same pace as they ran. When the whistle blow and they all stopped. The day came to a close and everyone went to wait for the bus.

‘Kara this was by far the most stressed i have ever been’

‘Oh come on Alex it was not that bad.’

‘He tried to teach my math class.’

Kara giggled.

‘Its not funny Kara.’

‘Oh relax, Alex its not a big deal.’

Alex through up her head.

‘I was so embarrassed.’

‘Alex, he just needs time, it was his first day.’

Kenny and Querl were having a discussion near the coroner on the street.

‘I just don’t get why formality it important to one group, but not the other,’

‘Querl, dude, its just teachers and stuff you call Mr and Mrs but you call other students and stuff by the their first name.’

‘Ok, so peers are informal, authorities are formal.’

‘Yeah man, now you get it, what do you normally do?’

‘I use formalities on people until I’m asked not to or until i don’t respect them.’

‘Oh.’

As they continued, Alex moved over to Josie as the bus arrived. Off in the distance as all the kids and cars rushed across the road. A small black, wiry object made its way over the road, it moved under cars and into bushes, as it approached the school bus, but the doors closed and the bus rolled out onto the road before it could.

The black, wiry object then made its way into the building.

to be continued....

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