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watchmegetobsessed · 3 years

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Never Have I Ever - Harry Styles (part 5)

uh ohh, part 5 baby! im quite enjoying this story so far and i have some fun things planned for it, so i hope you’ll stay with me for them! in today’s part, our fav new celeb couple takes it all the way, though i chose not to include the actual sex part, however im still treating you all with some dirty stuff so enjoy!

pairing: Harry x actress!reader

word count: 4.6k

warning: NSFW content

SERIES MASTERPOST

masterlist

New couple alert?

Harry Styles and Y/N Y/L/N have been spotted having lunch and grabbing coffee several times in the course of the past few weeks. All the outings looked casual and friendly, they gladly stopped for fans that approached them and the word has it that they’ve been getting closer to each other, though neither of them confirmed anything.

Harry Styles has been known to be single for a while now, only faint rumors swirling up sometimes, but none of them were proven to be true, the young actress is the first woman he has been linked to in a long time. Y/N Y/L/N has been focusing on her blooming career and has been single since her split from long time exboyfriend and fellow actor, Levi Hudson. The pair dated all through 2018, splitting in the beginning of 2019. Hudson has admitted their hectic schedules made it impossible to maintain their relationship while Y/N did not confirm anything.

Styles is going on his world-wide tour soon, while Y/L/N is currently between two projects. The young celebs seem to be enjoying each other’s company and fans have been quick to jump into speculations about their alleged romance, however there is no evidence as of right now.

“Thank you so much for your time, it was a pleasure to talk to you,” the young interviewer smiles at you, holding her hand out and you shake it with a warm smile.

“Thank you for having me! And I really like your shoes, by the way,” you point down at her electric blue pumps that you’ve been eyeing since the start of the interview.

“Oh, thank you! Got them from a vintage store,” she beams, a slight blush playing on her cheeks clearly a little starstruck from your compliment.

“Love those little stores.”

“Me too,” she giggles collecting her papers and notes. “Someone will contact you and your team soon about the photoshoot and I’ll email you a draft of the interview in about a week.”

“That’s perfect, thank you so much,” you nod at her grabbing your purse from the side table next to you. Grabbing your phone from the depth of it you smile to yourself upon seeing the text from Harry.

“Call me when you’re done with the interview Xx.”

You say your goodbye to everyone before heading out of the building. Lawrence is at the front waiting for you in the car and he greets you with a warm smile when you sit into the backseat. As he starts the car and heads back to your home, you call Harry, who picks it up after the second ring.

“Hey! How was the interview?” he beams brightly, his voice immediately making you smile.

“Great! This young girl did it and she had some exciting questions.”

“Sounds lovely. Can’t wait to buy a Cosmopolitan with you on the cover soon,” he says and you can hear the grin through his voice.

“Will look good in your hands for sure,” you chuckle.

“Right. So I have a question for you.”

“Go for it.”

“I’m doing this very small show at Beacon Theater this weekend, kind of a practice before the real tour begins and I was wondering if you’d be up to come. Would love to have you there.”

“When is it exactly?”

“Saturday at nine. I know it’s a short notice and I get it if you have something else going on, just wanted to ask.”

“I think I can make it work,” you smile, thinking back at what your day looks like on Saturday. “Can I bring someone?”

“Of course! Just let me know how many people so I can have the tickets sent over to you.”

“Thank you. It’s sweet of you to think about me.”

“You know I always think about you,” he murmurs and his voice sends a shiver down your spine. Crazy to think how much he can affect you with just his words, he just has a special spell on you, it seems.

“Still such a flirt, I see,” you chuckle, feeling your cheeks heating up as you hear his soft laugh on the other end of the line.

“For you, always.”

“Alright. I’ll text you about the tickets and thank you again. Can’t wait to see you perform finally.”

“It’s been due for a while now, right? Kind of promised you some tickets on Ellen, if I remember correctly.”

“You did!” you laugh thinking back at the time you met him. How funny that just one short game on a talk show led the two of you here. You have to thank Ellen though.

“Now I’m finally keeping my promise. Talk to you later then, Love. Have a great day.”

“You too, Harry.”

You manage to convince Sydney to join you for the concert, she sounds excited when you ask if she had anything to do on Saturday. Seeing Harry perform before his tour kicks off is a thrill for her she wouldn’t pass on for anything, so she is really grateful that you thought of her as your plus one.

Harry has your passes sent over to your place on Friday and it comes with a bouquet of flowers as well as a card.

“Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. What’s your favorite song? I’ll make sure to perform it just for you. –H”

He never fails to make you feel like the only woman on the planet and you can definitely see why so many fall for him even without meeting him. The man has all the power to charm anyone with just a smile.

You put the flowers into a vase and leave them on your dining table before grabbing your phone and sending him a quick text.

“It’s Only Angel,” you simply write, hoping he’ll get it why you just wrote that. Luckily, he does.

“Straight to the setlist. Dedicated to You.”

Finishing up the last touches to your makeup you bop your head to the song blasting through the stereo. It’s Only Angel, of course. You’ve had it on repeat all afternoon and now you can’t wait to actually see Harry perform it live.

Just as you are about to get changed, Syd arrives so you let her in with a beaming smile and when she hears the music upon walking into your place she cheers in excitement.

“Yes! This is such a jam!” she smirks, doing a little dance as you lock the door behind her.

“You look fantastic, Syd,” you tell her. The black short dress looks amazing paired with the lilac oversized blazer. Her makeup matches the same color and you are obsessed with the fishnet tights. She will surely make men wish she was into them.

“Thank you! Spent two hours figuring out what to wear, so I hope I look fantastic,” she giggles.

She helps you put together your outfit as well. Wide legged flaming red pants that make your waist look snatched, a black sheer top tucked into it with just a black bralette underneath. You already know Harry will be a fan of the skin you’re showing, you can’t wait to see his face when he finally spots you.

You quickly pack your essentials into a black Chanel purse along with stuff you need for a possible sleepover if things might take a pleasant turn, and you finish with everything just when the doorman calls up through the intercom that Lawrence has arrived.

“So, what’s the deal with you and him, if I may ask?” Syd questions in the car, not in a nosy way, more like a curious, friendly way.

“We are… getting close,” you say, tasting the word on your tongue. You haven’t labeled whatever you have going on with Harry, nor do you really know what it should be called. You’ve been trying hard to make time for each other as much as possible, making small lunch and coffee dates a regular thing. He came over to your place one evening for a movie and that’s the only time you were able to be alone with him, though nothing sexual happened. Yet. The real deal is yet to happen and if you are being honest you are running short on patience. It’s getting harder to hold yourself back and keep your hands to yourself as well when you are out with him, but you agreed to keep it lowkey out in the public.

Tonight, however, you have a feeling what you’ve been waiting for so long might actually happen and you can only hope Harry is planning the same thing. You are absolutely ready to bluntly ask if he wants to spend the night at your place.

“But you’re heading… somewhere, right?”

“I hope so,” you smile shyly.

“That’s amazing. I think you two are a match,” Syd smirks at you.

By the time you arrive to the venue the gates have been opened so people are busy getting inside, giving you the chance to walk inside through the backdoors without any fuss.

“Miss, Harry requested me to usher you to his dressing room when you arrive,” the girl at the door smiles at you with a clipboard in her hands and a headset covering her ears.

“Oh, alright,” you nod, turning to Syd. “You go ahead and get us a good place,” you tell her and she nods walking away with a wave as she heads up to the second floor that’s fully reserved for friends and family.

Following the girl down the hallway you are led to a room that has Harry’s name on it. She gently knocks on the door and a few moments later it flies open, revealing Harry in a colorful suit and a simple white button-down shirt. He looks breathtaking, hair fixed perfectly and the wide grin stretching across his lips when he sees you standing there.

“You’re here!” he breathes out, grabbing your hand and pulling inside, snatching you away from the preying eyes. Once the door clicks closed behind you, he is quick to press his lips to yours in a sweet welcoming kiss. Ever since your first official date he hasn’t passed on any chance to kiss you whenever you had the luxury of privacy to yourselves, which hasn’t happened too much, leaving you both with a growing hunger for each other every time you meet.

“Mm of course I am,” you smile against his lips before pecking them one last time and leaning back. “Looking great, Mr. Styles,” you grin, taking your time to wander your eyes down on him.

“Yeah? Like the suit?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, I love your outfit as well. M’gonna have a hard time not thinking about you on the stage.”

“Please think about me,” you breathe out with a coy smile.

“Don’t fucking say that to me, you are giving me a hard time,” he groans and you just chuckle at the tortured look on his face.

“Sorry,” you mumble, but your face doesn’t meet your words. He squeezes your waist gently, pecking your lips in a rush before he lets go of you.

“I need to go over a few things before we start, so just go ahead and join Syd. Meet me here after the show?”

“Yeah, perfect,” you nod smiling. “Good luck out there,” you wink and he grins at you with bright eyes. His hands grab onto yours before you head out, pulling you in for one last kiss before you leave.

You feel flustered and you take a few deep breaths on your way up to the gallery to find Syd who managed to get an amazing spot at the front on the left side.

They offer everyone up on the gallery some champagne before the show starts and looking around you see a few familiar faces, but no one you specifically know. You stick with Sydney who is over the moon about the show and you are kind of sharing her excitement.

When the lights go down and the music finally starts, you can’t help but join in with the screams that fill the theater.

You’ve seen videos of him performing, in One Direction and solo as well. You’ve seen pictures and you’ve heard the words about how amazing he is on stage, but none of those live up to the actual experience. The sensation that takes over you just by seeing him appear on the stage as the whole theater chants his name as one, it completely sweeps you off your feet and for a second you wonder how you could live a life without this experience.

When his voice starts to flow through the massive speakers you need to take a deep breath, a shiver runs down your spine and you chug down the rest of your champagne so you could get rid of the glass and hold onto the railing with both hands because you feel like you need to ground yourself before you shoot into the sky.

Song after song, he performs perfectly, bringing every single person in the audience to that euphoric state they’ve been probably seeking their whole life. The experience is surely one of a kind, something you’ll definitely be thinking about for a long time.

Time seems to stop, though it cruelly carries on even when you forget about it completely. The concert is nearing its end and Harry takes a breather as he places his guitar to the stand behind him. You watch his every move as he walks back to the microphone, his gaze moving up to the gallery, roaming through the people until they find you.

“This last song is dedicated… to my Only Angel,” he murmurs into the microphone as the audience erupts, blows up at once and your heart skips a beat when his eyes linger over you for a little longer before the music starts to play.

You faintly hear Syd screaming next to you, probably aware that the dedication was addressed to you, but you can’t tear your eyes off of the man on the stage.

He nails it perfectly, looking like an absolute rockstar that he truly is and for a moment you can’t believe you have his attention and interest. How can such a precious and unbelievably talented man be in your reach?

Because I deserve great things in life, you tell yourself, a little mantra you’ve gotten around to repeat every time you found yourself doubting your success and happiness.

The concert eventually ends and though no one in the room desires the end of it, Harry leaves and you are abruptly brought back to reality.

“That was… something else truly,” Syd breathes out as the two of you linger around a little longer, trying to come down from the high you just experienced.

“Yeah. He is so fucking talented it’s almost unfair,” you chuckle running a hand through your hair.

“This tour will kill thousands of people all around the world,” she muses and for a moment, reality sets in and you realize that Harry will leave for his worldwide tour very soon, leaving you behind.

You get rid of the thought, not wanting to stress over something that’s not relevant just yet and you don’t want to ruin the evening either. Fears and stress can wait a little longer.

The two of you make your way backstage, walking into a bit of a chaos as all close friends and family want to congratulate to Harry and the band as well. Standing at the side you let everyone have their time, barely even seeing Harry in the sea of people in the spacious green room. Syd keeps you company as you wait and about thirty minutes later it seems like the crowd is starting to loosen up.

Harry spots you and excuses himself immediately from his conversation with a couple, heading in your direction with the widest grin you’ve ever seen on his pretty face.

“Congrats, that was mind-blowing,” you smirk as he reaches you, a hand curling around your waist as he leans down and places a kiss to your cheek, keeping it as moderate as possible, though you both just want to jump at each other.

“Thank you, Love,” he nods, a blush tinting his cheeks from your words. “Hello Sydney, so great to see you again,” he greets the girl next to you and they share a short hug.

“Hi! Loved the show so much!” she giggles in excitement.

“Thank you for coming.”

The three of you chat for a while before Sydney says she is gonna call herself an Uber, so after saying her goodbye she leaves you alone with Harry, as much as you can be alone with a bunch of other people around.

“I wanted to ask you something,” he clears his throat as his hand finds its way back to the small of your back.

“Go for it.”

“We are gonna grab a drink at some bar, but nothing over the top and I wanted to ask if you would want to join.”

“Sounds good,” you smile, feeling a little disappointed. This is not exactly what you wanted him to ask. Luckily, he is not done with his questions.

“Also… I-If it’s cool by you, I thought that… maybe you could come over?”

“Mmm, go over and do what?” you tease him, your smile stretching wider with each passing moment.

“I have plenty of ideas, Love,” he breathes out, making you laugh. “We could drop by your place if you need anything to stay over.”

“No need. Packed a bag,” you slyly grin at him, taking him by surprise clearly, but it’s surely a pleasant one.

“Always a step ahead of me, huh?” he smirks, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

It takes some time to actually leave the venue and head off to the bar with a close group of friends of him and the band. A secluded area was already reserved for you that has its own bar, so you could enjoy the evening without worrying about preying eyes of strangers or fans. You really weren’t in the mood to keep your distance from Harry, this way at least you were able to touch each other in a more intimate way without speculations swirling up immediately.

You get to know his band and some of his friends, they are all genuinely amazing people, but you weren’t expecting anything else. You figured he only surrounds himself with people like him. His hands often find your waist and he doesn’t shy away from kissing your cheek or giving your hips a gentle squeeze, just letting you know you have his attention and he appreciates that you’re there.

It’s nearing one am when the guests start leaving and soon enough you find yourself in the back of your car with Harry, heading to his place, while you try your best to keep your hands away from him. You wouldn’t put Lawrence through the trauma of having to see or hear something he shouldn’t.

But that doesn’t stop you from kissing, something you’ve been dying to do all night. Your hand rests on his thigh while he has an arm curled around your shoulders, keeping you tight by his side, delicately brushing his nose against your hair every time your lips are not connected.

“Thank you, Lawrence. I’ll call myself a taxi in the morning, have the day off,” you tell your driver who smiles in your way thankfully while Harry grabs your and his bags from the back of the car.

“Thank you, Miss. Enjoy your night,” he nods in your way as you shut the door closed.

You try to take your duffel bag from Harry, but he insists to carry it as the two of you walk inside his house.

“Want something to drink? Water, tea or something?” he asks, setting the bags down near his giant, comfortable looking couch. Your thoughts immediately wander to a dirty field, picturing him sitting on that very couch as you kneel in front of him, pleasuring him so good that his eyes roll back…

“Yeah, water please,” you say clearing your throat. Some hydration will come handy after the drinks you chugged down at the bar.

You follow him as he shuffles into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and a bottled water from the fridge for you, pouring some into the glass before handing it to you.

“Thank you. You have a nice place for yourself,” you tell him, looking around in his home.

“Thanks. Been working on it for a while,” he chuckles softly. “Feels a bit too big for just myself though.”

You finish the water and set your eyes at him, feeling your hunger for him grow with each passing moment. Placing the empty glass to the marble counter you take a step closer to him.

“You feel lonely often?” you question in a low voice. His eyes return to you and you are happy to see the same lust in them.

“Would say so, yes,” he nods, running his tongue over his pink lips before he reaches out and grabbing you by your hips, he draws you close to him. Leaning down his lips brush against the shell of your ear, a shiver runs down your spine when you hear his whisper in it. “Hope it’ll change soon.”

At a loss of patience, you grab his face and angle it perfectly so you can kiss him hard. And by hard, you mean real hard. He stumbles back from the force, but manages to keep his balance, returning the kiss just as vehemently as he receives it, a tug of war starting between the two of you.

His hands work fast on the sheer fabric of your shirt, pulling it out from the waistband of your pants, getting rid of it eagerly as his lips wander down on your neck, collarbones and chest. He easily turns the two of you around so you are pushed against the edge of the countertop, his hips pushed against you and it’s clearer that daylight just how excited he is to have you here tonight. Your eyes flicker over to the couch again and the desire to please him with your mouth just bursts, you can’t hold yourself back anymore.

So you push him away from you, grabbing his wrist and yanking him after you, heading towards the couch. You push him down and his lustful eyes follow every move of yours as you kneel in front of him and he realizes what you are about to do. He doesn’t stop you when you work to unbutton his pants, but his hand finds your chin and he pulls you up for a swift, but passionate kiss.

Once you successfully undid his pants he lifts his hips and you spare some time and energy, pulling them down along with his underwear, leaving him only in his vintage printed t-shirt as his cock springs free. You push your thighs together just at the sight of him, the way his eyes burn down on you, how his lips part when your gazes meet and the way he sucks on his breath when your fingers dig into his thighs near his crotch as you situate yourself closer.

“I believe I owe you an orgasm, don’t I?” you ask with a cheeky smirk before wrapping your left hand around the base of his shaft, giving it a gentle squeeze, just enough to get him even more excited. A whimpered moan slips from his lips and you lean closer, giving his cock a lick from bottom to top, wrapping your lips around the head as you swirl your tongue around it.

“Fuck hell!” he breathes out, clearly enjoying himself, hands fisting the cushion next to him, but you bet they’ll be buried in your hair soon.

You’re not an expert in the field of blowjobs, but it’s been your thing to come barging right through the door and jump the easy teasing whenever you were on your knees for a man. So with your hands fixed on his beautiful face, you sink down on him, his cock gliding into your mouth right until the tip reaches the back of your throat, earning the loudest moan you’ve heard from him. Shutting your eyes closed you keep him like that for a second until the urge to gag starts to set in, so you slide him out, your saliva dripping down his erection as your eyes meet his and you can tell you shocked him with your bold first move.

“Do that one more time and I won’t last for a minute,” he warns breathing heavily and you just smirk up at him before going into action again, this time only taking a smaller portion of him, pumping the base to make up for the lack of deep throating, but it appears that he enjoys just the simple part of it equally. As you keep bobbing your head, taking as much of him as you can without gagging, his right hand flies to your hair, taking a handful of it as he gently guides your head, keeping it in the rhythm that works the best for him and you happily let him do whatever makes him feel good.

When your free hand goes to gently massage his balls your name erupts from him in the most voluptuous way you’ve heard him call out for you. As if he just cried out for God himself.

“Y/N, fuck, I won’t last long,” he warns you, but that’s all you want. You need to see him come undone under your touch, you want to be the reason his breath hitches. Picking up your pace you see him whimper some more, head falling backwards to the back of the couch. It’s a heavenly view and you wish you could take a picture of his beauty as he enjoys himself on this intimate level. You’ve never wanted to please a man more than him and just seeing him in this blissful state makes you wet through your underwear.

When his breathing starts to get uneven, chest heaving wildly, you take all of him again, his head poking the back of your throat and you push your tongue against his length as you slide him out, picking up the same pace that you kept before, both hands working hard on him.

“Fuck! I-I’m gonna cum!” he warns again and just a few seconds later, you feel the evidence of his satisfaction spurt into the back of your throat, eyes falling on you as you give him one last lick before swallowing everything that’s in your mouth.

“Holy shit,” he breathes out pulling you up, eagerly kissing you without a second thought, his hands cupping your cheeks to keep you in place. “You surely know how to kill a man, yea?” he huffs making you chuckle.

“Think you can go for a second one?” you sheepishly ask, blinking up at him from under your long lashes.

“I’ll have enough time to recover while I eat you out like you’re my last meal,” he bluntly replies, and a moan almost slips from your lips.

“Show me what you got, Styles,” you challenge him and he doesn’t need more, he easily picks you up, wrapping your legs around his waist as he heads straight to the bedroom.

“As you wish, Angel,” he mumbles against your skin, peppering your neck and shoulder with featherlike kisses along his way until he throws you to his bed, ruthlessly tearing the remaining of your clothes off your body.

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mashtonasfuck · 5 years

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I was at work when Ash posted this, and came out of work to see the notif and then proceeded to sit in my car sobbing for 20 minutes. This man, and this band are my lifeline. I’ve never told y’all my story about how I found 5 Seconds of Summer, but now seems like a good time. I’ll put it under the cut so it doesn’t clog up your dash.

I found Luke around the 14th of March 2011. I was 14. He’d posted his cover of ‘Fireflies’ by Ron Pope a few days before, and there was just something about it that I couldn’t get out of my head. At the time I didn’t think much of it (this was pre-youtube account) and I kept checking back every now and then to see if he posted anything else. In April of that same year, Mike and Cal uploaded a video introducing them as a three piece under the name of ‘5 Seconds of Summer’ - they did a few more covers, most of the time with only two of them lmao, and I kept checking back to see what they were posting. Ash joined them in December 2011 and they became a four piece.

When they uploaded the video for ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, I knew that I wanted to keep watching their content as there was just something I still couldn’t shake. The energy with the four of them had shifted somehow from just being the three of them, and it kept me interested.

They toured a lil bit of Aus in 2012, and I spent my days on Youtube watching shitty videos of them playing songs they’d written themselves rather than covers. They then revealed that they were releasing an EP later in the year. They dropped ‘Unplugged’ in June 2012 in Aus and NZ and I remember being super sad that I couldn’t buy it in the UK yet. It was released WW in December 2012, and you bet your ass I bought an iTunes voucher so I could buy it (remember iTunes vouchers?? Those were the days, RIP iTunes). They moved to London at the end of that year. I remember seeing a video someone uploaded of them doing an impromptu session playing in a park in London and being so sad that I wasn’t there to see them. They did some small intimate shows in the UK while they were over here, but I never got to go to any of them.

In early 2013 they started touring with 1D, but again I never got to see them. I LIVED for the shitty videos people were posting on Youtube of their performances, and I was desperate to see this band I’d become so obsessed with following.

On the 24th of February 2014, they uploaded the video for ‘She Looks So Perfect’ on Youtube. It was at this point that my friends at school became aware of them and started following them, despite me telling them for years that this band were awesome (teenagers, am I right?). On the 27th of June 2014, they released ‘5 Seconds Of Summer’ out into the world. I was 17 years old.

At 17, I was struggling with A LOT. My grandad was very ill, my friends turned out to not be my friends, and it’s probably one of the loneliest periods I’ve ever had in my life. I’d experienced what I thought was heartbreak, and their self-titled album was everything I needed at that time in my life. I finally saw them on the 5th of June 2015. I got to spend two hours in a room with my four favourite people in the whole world. I have a video of them playing ‘Everything I Didn’t Say’, and all you can hear is me sobbing in the background lmao.

Walking out of that venue, I knew my life would never be the same.

I was pretty active on social media at this point, as were the boys, and seeing the stupid things they got up to on Keek and Twitter genuinely made my days so much brighter.

As we all know, ‘Sounds Good Feels Good’ was released on the 23rd of October 2015. I was 18, my parents had just split up, my grandad had died and I felt like the whole world was out to get me. I fell into a period of intense depression and did some things I’m not proud of, and I honestly didn’t see a way out. Then SGFG came along. That is the album that quite literally saved my life. Listening to the four people I admired most in the whole world singing lyrics about things I was going through, being the same age as me, was totally overwhelming. I don’t remember my first listen through of that album - what I do remember is the way that it changed my whole world view.

They understood exactly how I felt, down to the last detail. To this day I have to leave Broken Home and Invisible off of playlists because they jolt me back to a time in my life that I don’t ever want to experience again. That whole album was my saving grace for a long time. I’m eternally grateful to them for releasing it when they did, as I’m gonna be straight up and say that I might not have been sat here typing this today.

I went to their show for the SLFL tour on the 8th of April 2016. I spent most of that night crying my eyes out and getting weird looks from the people around me, but I didn’t care. This was my band, and they were playing the songs that literally saved me. The SGFG era was emotionally draining for me for a long time, and it took me a while to be able to listen to most of the album again as it just felt so raw.

When they took time off to rejuvenate themselves before album three, I was worried. For the last 6 years this band had been what kept me waking up each morning. The lack of content was freaking me out and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it. My mental health was on its way down again and I found myself going back to old patterns.

At this point, I’d been in a relationship for almost three years, was engaged, and was living with my then SO. I thought everything was perfect, I had the life that I wanted with a man that I thought I’d be with forever.

In February 2018 they released ‘Want You Back’, and I loved it, but didn’t have the connection with it like I did with SGFG. I missed out on tickets for the 5SOS III Tour (and may have cried about it, but it’s fine), but bought tickets for the Meet You There Tour before they even released the album. This was my band, of course I was going to see them.

When ‘Youngblood’ dropped, I had a day off from work. I set my stereo system up, and lay on my living room floor with the speakers around me in a circle. I wanted to feel the new album, not just listen to it (weird, I know). Want You Back and Youngblood were fine, but then we hit Lie To Me.

‘I know that you don’t, but if I ask you if you love me, won’t you lie, lie, lie, lie, lie to me?’

I genuinely felt all of the breath I had in my lungs, vacate. I’m gonna be straight and say that I hadn’t been happy in my relationship for a while despite what I said above - my partner was emotionally abusive, and the warning signs were clear, I just didn’t want to see them. That one line haunted me every time Luke sang it, but I let it play through and moved through the rest of the album. When it finished, I let it play through again. I let those lyrics flow through me, and by the time it got round to Lie To Me again, I was sobbing. Once again, these boys knew exactly what I needed to hear, at the exact time in my life that I needed to hear it. It took me seeing them again in November of last year to make a change in my life.

If you’ve been around for a little while, you’ll know that I’ve shared my Meet You There Tour story before, but if you haven’t read it, you can find it here. I stood at the back of the O2 Academy in Birmingham, a year ago tomorrow (1st of Nov) and cried. Listening to my boys sing those songs in person absolutely broke me, and made me realise that I wasn’t happy in my relationship. I left that show heartbroken, and overwhelmed, and honestly exhausted, but I drove back home and spent the next two months trying to fix the relationship I was so unhappy in.

I thought I’d made progress, but after Christmas of last year, everything fell back into old patterns and enough was enough. Watching my ex-partner walk out of the front door was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. I’d taken the plunge, but I was broken. I moved back in with my mum in January of this year, which has been incredibly stressful (that’s another story lmao), but the one thing that has kept me going is these four boys.

Ashton is always the one that I feel the most connected with - I don’t know if it’s because he’s the oldest and people usually think I’m a lot older than I am, but his life philosophy and his attitude towards the things which make him a better person, inspire me every day. Whenever I’m having a shitty day, he always seems to put out a Tweet which says exactly what I need to hear. His love for us keeps me going every day, and I strive to be even half the person that he is. He does so much for us, and I thank God every single day he biked halfway across Sydney to attend that first band practice as a four-piece.

Their music makes me feel a lot less lonely, in a world that hasn’t always been the kindest to me. Because of them, I’ve met some of the coolest people on the planet through this godforsaken website, and the existence of these people in my life makes me excited to wake up each day.

This Tweet from Ash tonight reminded me exactly why I stayed with this band way back in 2011. Their passion for their art inspires me every single day and I am constantly in awe of the way they continue to push themselves and their performance.

I am not the same person I was at the start of the year. ‘Youngblood’ has helped me reinvent myself into the person I’ve always wanted to be. I’m so much stronger than I ever thought possible, and I’ve only realised that because of four dorks from Sydney that told me it’s okay to be whoever you want to be.

I will forever be grateful for their music, their passion, and their presence on this Earth. I’ve never stuck with any artist as long as I’ve stuck with this band, and I would not change that for the world.

Thank you 5SOS, for always being there for me, even if no one else was. I love you guys.

#personal #wow #that ended up being a lot longer than I was planning #if you read all of that #I'm impressed #thank you #tw: sucide #tw: depression #tw: self harm #cashtonasfuck

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kentuckywrites · 5 years

Text

Santago and the Not Red Nosed Mediator

Santago gets another assistant in his Christmas shenanigans in the form of a friendly Mediator ( @anryl ).

The bedside clock read 12:03. Sydney blinked a few times as he stared at it, wondering how on Mira he’d slept so late. He forced himself to sit up, running his fingers through his long, unkempt hair. After a loud yawn, he looked over his shoulder towards the other half of the king-sized bed. The covers were pushed back; he was the only one left. Sydney raised an eyebrow, but the question of where his partner was didn’t linger for too long. He simply grabbed his glasses, hopped out of bed, and headed downstairs to make himself breakfast.

Or at least, that was the plan before he saw the mess.

Every device was on: the TV, blaring news about the weather for the next few days, the coffee brewer, whirring to life next to an array of empty coffee mugs, the lights, brightening up the carnage spread throughout the room. Sydney had to stop halfway down the stairs as he almost tripped over said carnage. It was a thin strip of paper, stretching out down the stairs and over the railings and thrown over every piece of furniture. He could just make out Pongo’s scribbly handwriting on the paper.

After stepping carefully over a few tangled strips, Sydney finally spotted Pongo, hunched over the island counter and staring down at the end of the paper - or, was it the beginning? - all while sipping from a dark blue mug. He wasn’t wearing a top, but Sydney saw Pongo’s usual vest and underarmour on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

“...Pongo? What the fuck are you doing?” Sydney decided to ask.

Pongo’s eyes shot upwards and he jumped back, almost spilling the contents of his mug. “SHIT - I MEAN FUCK - NO GODS DAMN IT -”

Sydney couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m more of an awful influence than I thought, huh?”

Pongo regained his composure, standing straighter as he grasped both the mug and the paper a little tighter. “Do not say that! You are the light of my existence! - well, I mean, the sun also helps keep us all alive too but you get what I mean!!”

“Heh...same to you. Don’t know where I’d be without you.” Sydney looked away, biting the lip between his piercings. “But ah, it’s too early to be sappy. What’s up with the paper everywhere?”

Pongo paused.

“It is a list.”

His words sounded forced. Sydney could understand at this point that Pongo was being honest, though the subject was something he didn’t want to be entirely honest about. He danced around and over the paper on the ground in an effort to reach Pongo, who watched with an amused expression.

“Well, if there’s anything you need help with regarding said list, let me know,” Sydney made the last few steps over to Pongo, who purposefully angled his wrists so that Sydney couldn’t see the list’s contents.

Pongo grinned softly. Sydney blinked once, and something soft pecked his cheek, a familiar warm sensation that sent chills up his spine. Pongo returned to looking over the list.

“I will actually need one thing from you, if that is okay,” He told him.

“Sure. Name it, I’ll do anything.”

“...I want you to um...I want you to be home for Christmas.”

Sydney tilted his head at first, but then his curiosity shifted to understanding. “Oh. Of course, fuck, I’ll be home, I promise.”

Pongo gripped the list tighter. “F-Fantastic! We can spend it together! Christmas, I mean! Yes! It will be tons of fun!” He began to collect the list into his hands, though he only managed to grab so much of it before realizing just how long it was, just how much of the room it spanned across. “Now, ah, I would love to stay but I have a lot of errands to run - Eros needs a tuneup before tonight so I ca - SO I CAN PERFORM IMPORTANT MISSIONS BECAUSE BLADES DO NOT REST ON CHRISTMAS EVE -”

Sydney slipped his hand over to Pongo’s left hip. That got the Interceptor to shut up very quickly.

“Then don’t let me keep you,” He winked, “I’ll be home when you’re done with it all.”

Pongo let out a small, shaky exhale. “Right. Sorry, there is just a lot to do tonight. I promise I will be back - though, ah, it might be very late tonight.”

Sydney nodded once, and Pongo pulled away from his grasp, bending down to pick up some more parts of the paper. Without asking for permission Sydney went around the table to help pick some up, and in the next ten minutes they’d compiled all of the paper into Pongo’s large and loving arms. He had to put it down onto the couch to quickly throw on his under armour and vest, but he managed to pick it all up again on the first try.

“Okay! Have a wonderful day, Sydney!” Pongo called out as he somehow opened the door on his own to leave. As soon as the door closed behind him Sydney smirked, taking a brief look around and placing a thoughtful hand to his chin.

“Now, what to do while he’s gone…”

Danny knew about Christmas. Meep had told him wonderful stories about the holiday, and they even got to read some of the history behind it, since the information was recovered from one of the Lifehold databases. He understood why the commercial district was covered in garlands and why the windows he walked past sported figurines of Santa and his sleigh and reindeer. It was a great tradition, he thought, and he beamed thinking about how Santa would visit them all again this year to deliver gifts.

Though he couldn’t help but think about it. How exactly did one man deliver gifts to an entire planet? And how had he gotten aboard the White Whale? Danny’s focus shifted, his mind wandering as he tried to process the different answers for his questions. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t comprehend the figure sprinting towards him at full speed, unable to dodge away thanks to a large collection of paper in his arms.

“gAH -”

The collision was quick and strong, knocking Danny to the ground with a thud. He managed to keep his head from hitting the sidewalk too hard, but he couldn’t say the same about his rear, which now stung like the toxins from a madness hornet. With a small groan he sat himself back up and assessed the damage on the other figure’s end. The papers - wait, paper, it was all one long sheet - was scattered all over the other person’s body, though as they sat up Danny could pinpoint a key feature that helped identify them: pupiless indigo eyes.

“P-Pongo?” Danny stuttered, “Are you okay?!”

Pongo shook his head, and at first Danny panicked, thinking that was his response. But eventually Pongo started to laugh.

“I am alright, are you? I am really super sorry about running into you, I am in an awful rush and I cannot really see past -”

“The paper,” Danny guessed, reaching down to sweep up some of it in his hands. In doing so he noticed words written on it, childish calligraphy marked in black pen. He thought nothing of it until he saw names. And next to those names, objects.

Scarlen: Geographical History of Planet Earth

Draco: History of France

Sunel: heelies

Blue: robo kitty plushie

Shintaro: worm on a string

Danny’s eyebrow perked up. “Hey, Pongo, what exactly is this?”

Pongo froze.

“A...a list.”

Danny didn’t need any other clues after that.

“Wait, are you...ARE YOU SANTA?!”

Pongo’s hands went up defensively. “W-Wait, shoosh! Please, not so loud!”

“Oh, ah, sorry. But...are you -”

“Y-Yes?...Well, I was never on Earth because...you know.” Pongo gave a small shrug. “But for the entire time that New Los Angeles has existed, I have been acting as Sandy Claws.”

“...Santa Claus.”

“Sappy Cause, yes,” Pongo nodded feverously. “I think this is the third year I have done this. The new influx of xenoforms in NLA has made the list much longer than last year, but it is nothing I cannot handle!”

Danny chuckled. He stood up with some of the list in his hands, and Pongo was quick to follow, taking some more of the list in his arms. He caught a group of people giving them weird stares from behind Pongo, but he didn’t let his attention linger for long.

“So you’ve been delivering presents year after year all by yourself?” Danny asked, “That sounds like a lot of work for just one person, I’m really impressed!”

Pongo buried his face into the paper in an effort to hide his rising blush. Whether it was from embarrassment or nerves, Danny wasn’t sure. “Well I mean, ah, I had a lot of help from my bestest friend L’Cirufe, though I am the one who buys all the gifts and ends up delivering them.”

“Doesn’t that kill your credits account?”

“You would be surprised, especially considering how much Commander Vandham is willing to pay for a nice tank top.”

Pongo shifted his stance. “Well, in any case, I need to get going. My Skell needs to get checked in for a tuneup and if I stay any longer I will be late for the appointment!”

The paper made more crumpling sounds, disguised under the bustle of commuters and BLADEs going about their day. Danny scratched the back of his neck, giving Pongo a small grin. When the idea struck him, his jaw went slack and he jumped up once. “Wait, Pongo, do you think I could help you? With delivering presents this year, I mean. I could pay for the stuff you’re buying too if you need.”

Pongo stared at him, pensive. Danny may not have known the exact thoughts running through the Interceptor’s brain, but he could see them running through his indigo eyes. Inside them danced little lights, shooting stars of inspiration, sparks that didn’t die even when Pongo spoke again.

“You could be Randolph.”

Danny squinted at him. “D-Do you mean Rudolph? And how would I be a red nosed reindeer?”

“I mean, you could get a costume like L’Cirufe and I do,” Pongo suggested, “Wait, did I mention L’Cirufe helps me every year? He is an elf, so that is why I picked Rudolph for you, since I am Santa, unless you want to be Mrs. Santa Claus?”

“I’ll take Rudolph,” Danny giggled, “Parts aside, where should I meet you to help out?”

“Oh! Ah, after Eros is tuned up and after I go on the spending spree, L’Cirufe and I usually go to the top of BLADE Tower to sort through all the gifts and make sure we have everything. We used to meet in my barracks, but then there were too many gifts to fit in there!”

Danny caught Pongo’s feet tapping up and down, remembering what it was Pongo was trying to do. “Okay, I won’t keep you much longer, but I really want to help. Maybe cut the list and let me buy some of the things on it, and I’ll bring them up tonight!”

“Okie dokie!” Pongo nodded, scrambling through the extensive list to find a spot to cut. He eventually reached a point where the end was in sight and tore it as carefully as he could. Danny opened his mouth to argue - he’d ripped it so that Danny would only get less than a fourth of the list!! - but the deed had been done. Pongo thrust the smaller sheet into Danny’s hands.

“Right, get those, if you could wrap them before tonight that would be amazing, and remember, top of BLADE Tower, nine P.M. sharp!” Pongo chirped, and before Danny could reply Pongo was bounding past him, a skip in his step. Danny watched him go, laughing as he promised to be there. Once Pongo was out of sight Danny looked down at the portion of the list he’d been given, recognizing some more names.

Touya: hot chocolate and kitty mug

Christie: Ovis pillow

Mina: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Pandora: rose gold earring/necklace set from Delair’s

Athena: A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Jenkai: even BIGGER Ovis pillow

Danny blinked a few times. Those weren’t the only ones on the list, of course, but they were just a few of the names he recognized. And he couldn’t help but gape at what was written for Pandora - how was Pongo going to afford that?! Well, it was Danny’s problem now, and he was intent on getting started. With a deep breath and a puff of the chest, he set out, determined to get everything Pongo needed for the night.

He wondered along the way if Pongo had gotten himself anything. The answer came quickly. Danny made a mental addition to the list.

To his surprise, buying all the gifts cost Danny less than five thousand credits. Pandora’s earring and necklace set contributed to seven hundred and fifty of those credits, but it was still less than he expected, and he even found time to buy wrapping paper and bags to wrap them all in. It didn’t make them any easier to carry, so Danny even put some credits into buying a larger bag for them all. He patiently stood in BLADE Tower’s elevator with the sack now, thankful that no one else was in the elevator with him. He wouldn’t have been able to explain everything without ruining the magic.

The elevator came to a stop at the top level of the tower and the doors slid open without a noise. Danny walked out and ascended the small flight of stairs that would lead him to the roof. At the top was another door, and one shove later he’d made it to the roof. He laid eyes on Pongo almost immediately, who stood next to a lit up Lailah Queen Skell with the list still in hand. However, instead of his usual Interceptor garb, he now donned a red and white fluffy coat with a black belt around the waist. His black hair was covered partly by a Santa hat, though Danny noticed the puffball on its end was heart shaped. Pongo was joined by L, who was pacing back and forth next to the Skell and donning a rather revealing elf costume. It didn’t have sleeves and had no pants, showcasing his strong thighs and calves. Danny rolled his eyes.

Pongo gave Danny a wide grin and rushed over to meet him at the door. Danny didn’t notice the pair of reindeer antlers in his hand until Pongo had put them on his head. As he adjusted them with one hand, Pongo rattled excitedly. “Danniel, you made it!! I got you antlers because you are our Rudolph now - though Rudolph had a red nose according to the stories, but you are still close enough! Oh, I hope it was not too much trouble getting all the gifts, I can take that bag if it has all the gifts in them, see, I have a much bigger bag attached to Eros with all the gifts in them, wait, were you able to wrap them -”

“I did!”

“Thank goodness! Thank you so so much Danniel you have no idea how much this means to me -”

L stepped forward, laughing and adjusting his pointy elf hat. “We suggest you inhale the atmospheric contents, Pongo! There is still time before the deliveries must be made!”

Pongo heeded his advice and stopped to take a deep breath. Once he had regained his composure, he told Danny, “My apologies, I get nervous about this. I want everything to go right, you know?”

Danny nodded. “I get it. Now, is there anything else I could do to help?”

There was a long silence and Pongo put a finger to his chin. Something about his costume made him look younger, more innocent. How was the sky so dark now, yet his eyes so bright? He got too focused on them, and in the seconds after the silence had started, it was broken.

“Just help me check through the presents one last time, I would say. The delivering stuff is all on me, so once I am on my way, you could get back home and get some rest. Who knows, you might even find a gift at your front door when you wake tomorrow morning!”

At that, Danny’s face fell. Over Pongo’s shoulder, L gave Danny a reassuring wink. “No worries, our mediating companion! Pongo has accomplished the deliveries for two years straight - wait, we request a stop in the current conversation, what is the sexual identity of time?”

Pongo’s eyes widened. “...Is time...gay?...No, I have no idea, I do not think it applies to any conversation here. Danniel, I require the sack of gifts, then we can run through everything one more time before I depart.”

“Right! Let’s do this!’ Danny cheered.

Together the four collected all the presents together and ran through the list one more time, making sure every name had a gift. Danny’s head perked up when Pongo called Meep’s name, and L held up a small box from the large sack on Eros’s back.

“What did you get Meep?” Danny asked.

“Oh! Something called a friendship rock,” Pongo explained, “See, it is like a normal rock, but it is the symbol of friendship.”

Danny had a feeling Meep would be happy to receive that.

The list reached its end sooner than he realized, and no name went without a gift. Although, once the end had been reached and the two natives of Mira were about to pack everything back up, Danny realized there were some names missing from the list. Notably: “Pongo, L, why weren’t you on the list?”

L’s answer came quick. “It is simple: we do not celebrate the Chris Tee Mas. But we are one of Pongo’s greatest friends, and assisting him in his hollandaise efforts brings me great joy - enough to be considered a gift all in its own.”

A hint of blush made its way across Pongo’s cheeks and nose. “Aw, L’Cirufe...ah, I am not on the list because of a similar reason. Delivering gifts and making people happy is a gift to me.”

Danny shifted his hands behind his back, carefully trying to put his hand in his back pocket. Looks like I was right, he thought as he slowly took out a small box, he deserves a gift...even if it’s not much.

As Pongo was about to turn away, Danny reached out with his empty hand and caught Pongo’s forearm. “Before you go, ah...I wanted to give you something.”

Pongo turned back to look at him, lips pursed open. “Danniel, you did not have to -”

“For all the smiles you’re about to put on peoples’ faces, yes, I had to.”

Danny held out the box, no larger than his palm, a small pastel blue satin cloth fitted around its edges. Pongo hesitated before taking it, observing it quietly. After a moment, he opened it and peered inside. Danny explained, “See, ah, the jewelry set Pandora wanted - that you had written down for her - didn’t say anything about rings, but there were two rings with the only rose gold set they had left so I thought maybe you’d like them?”

“They are really pretty, Danniel…” Pongo breathed. Danny had to squint to see the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “Th-Thank you…”

L looked over Pongo’s shoulder, gasping at the rings in the box. “Oh! Are you assisting in Pongo’s proposal plans, Danniel?”

Danny took a step back as Pongo jumped in surprise. “WH-WHAT?! D-DANNIEL HAS NO IDEA ABOUT THAT - OH G-GODS UM, I SHOULD GO AND DELIVER PRESENTS NOW, SEE YOU GUYS LATER!!”

And off he ran towards Eros, making sure to close the box and put it in one of the coat’s pockets before climbing up to the cockpit. With the sack secured, all that was left to do was turn Eros on and take flight. As Eros ascended into the night sky, L and Danny waved him goodbye. The Skell trailed like a comet in the sky, leaving behind wisps of pink and purple in its wake. Danny wondered then how many people would make a wish on the nonexistent shooting star. He closed his eyes. Maybe just this once, he’d make a wish.

I wish everyone has a great Christmas.

He opened his eyes again, and the waiting game began.

L offered to stay with him for the night, but Danny was persistent. He didn’t think he would fall asleep that night; it was too enchanting to watch the star fly around and deliver presents. Danny told L he would be okay on his own, and L left close to midnight. He found a small wall to lean against and allowed himself time to relax. When was the last time he’d had this? He told himself to do this more often - maybe not here, maybe not like this, but somewhere, and maybe with some art supplies.

Danny almost didn’t catch the first hints of the sunrise. How had time flown by so fast?! He sat himself up, hearing his spine crack as he yawned and stretched upwards. As if on cue, the roar of a Skell’s engine grew louder, louder, and Eros appeared on the horizon, approaching BLADE Tower. Danny waved towards it, and the Skell eventually came to park on the roof. The engines were killed, and the cockpit slid open. Santa Claus - Mira’s very own Santa Claus - hopped out, greeting Danny with a gentle smile.

“Danniel,” Pongo said, pulling the hat off and tossing it back up into Eros’s cockpit. “Why did you wait here for me? You could have gone home and gotten some rest, you know.”

“I figured Rudolph sees Santa’s adventure to the end,” Danny admitted, “Plus, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Pongo joined him sitting next to the wall, sighing as he let himself lean against it. “I am fine, Danniel, I -” He couldn’t stop himself from yawning, unable to finish his sentence.

Danny took a long, hard look at him. Pongo stared out at the open expanse of sunrise, the light catching his eyes but doing nothing to brighten them now. If anything, they looked dull - not lifeless, but tired.

“You should get some sleep,” Danny began, but Pongo cut him off.

“No. I do not sleep.”

“Why not?”

Pongo paused.

“...Nightmares. Every time I close my eyes they haunt me. They feel so real and no matter what I do I cannot control them.”

Danny became aware of the distance between them. There was a mere inch between Pongo’s gloved hand and his own, and with one decision there was no room at all. Pongo’s head tilted, incapable of showing any extreme forms of surprise.

“Danniel?”

Danny grinned. “People have come to me with that problem before. Sure, medications work, but I think what you need is some reassurance.” He used his right hand to pat his left shoulder. “Try napping on my shoulder. I’ll be like your human safety blanket.”

It didn’t take long for Danny’s grin to reach Pongo. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Slowly, surely, Pongo scootched over closer to Danny and laid his head to rest on his shoulder. With the distance closed, Danny could smell Pongo’s hair, soft touches of vanilla on the breeze. Its length posed a short lived challenge, for Danny was able to push some loose strands away before it could make his nose itch. He even let his cheek rest on Pongo’s head, closing his eyes for a brief moment before letting the cool air embrace them.

“Try to get some sleep now, okay?” Danny whispered.

Pongo didn’t respond. Danny couldn’t see whether his eyes had closed or not, but he could just make out the slow rise and fall of Pongo’s chest, an indication of sleep. He wasn’t concerned, and instead took a moment to admire the reds and oranges of the sunrise. Everyone would be waking up to presents at their doors, radiance that could rival the dawn. It made Danny feel warm inside, accomplished. Ready to take on another day.

He spoke to the city, to all its inhabitants, and he spoke to the planet, their home amongst the stars.

“Merry Christmas, everyone.”

#xenoblade x #Santago and the Not Red Nosed Mediator: Short Story #Danniel #L #Sydney #did I top last year's fic? I'm not sure #I still think this is adorable #and I hope I got Danny right because I'm rusty with writing him #also FUCK THAT LITTLE PLOT TWIST IN THERE #YOU KNOW THE ONE

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agoddamnbeautifulidiot · 6 years

Photo

Flicker of Hope

Chapter Four: The Enmore

Flying to Sydney was supposed to have been a highlight.

What had started as a great flight had quickly become a nightmare. Of course, Niall had accidently forgotten to mention that it took almost 21 hours to get there. But, then again, you could’ve checked. The kicker was, you’d never been able to sleep on planes. The quarter Zanax you’d popped did nothing to quell your nerves of being stuck in a metal cylinder thousands of feet in the air.

Niall, however, could sleep just about anywhere and was happily passed out in the pod next to yours, eye-mask firmly in place.

Sighing, you roll your head and turn your attention back to your little tv screen. At least there’s wifi on the plane and plenty of episodes of Stranger Things to binge. Despite your insistence that he’d love the show, Niall had opted for sleep instead. Which was probably the smarter decision considering how long you’d already been awake and that there were still several hours left of the flight.

Thankfully your arrival in Sydney had been low-key. Niall had several interviews lined up and you were excited to get some exploring done. Plus, you were looking forward to going out on the gorgeous water tomorrow. All in all, Australia was probably going to be one of your favorite stops on the tour.

“Ya gonna try ta sleep now?” Niall asked from the doorway of your bathroom. “I know ya didn’t get a wink on da plane. Never have been able ta sleep that way.”

With a tired chuckle, you glance over at him in the mirror. “You know me too well, Horan.” He smiles brightly, eyebrows lifting in amusement. “How many interviews you got today?”

“Just a couple,” He shrugs, watching you in the mirror. “Some radio stuff and such. Thankfully, we’re getting it all out of the way today so we can enjoy the rest of da trip.”

You nod, pulling your hair up before edging around him into your suite. “Good. Well you have fun with that and I’ll just be here, attempting to convince my body it didn’t just stay up for 26 hours.”

Niall laughs loudly, head thrown back as his throat moves with the sound. “Ya do that, love. I’ll be back later tonight after you’re done playin’ Sleepin’ Beauty.” He leans forward, hand on your neck, to place a gentle kiss on your forehead. When he closes the door behind him, you sag slowly to the bed, mind racing.

“Well,” You sigh, rubbing your face. “How the hell am I supposed to sleep now?”

“Ok, turn around so I can put this on your back.” You hold up the bottle of sunscreen, to which Niall only rolls his eyes and sighs, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.

“What?” He scoffs at the look you aim his way. “I don’ need any more sunscreen. Ya already got me face and me legs. Gonna be white as a ghost at this rate. Besides, we aren’t gonna be on da boat for dat long.”

You’re pretty sure your eye-roll could be seen from space, but sometimes dramatics were the only way to make this kid understand. “First of all, we are in Australia. I’m pretty sure you could get a sunburn standing inside, you pale ass leprechaun.” Niall makes an offended noise, but you don’t let him interrupt. “And second of all, I’m not gonna listen to you whine tonight because you decided to have a few drinks today and your shirt mysteriously disappears and you look like a damn lobster. So take off your shirt, turn around and let me put this on your back.”

It’s less of a fight after that and an hour later, you’re on a boat enjoying the beautiful sunshine in the most beautiful place you’ve probably ever been. Tipping your head back, you enjoy the sunshine. Sun, drinks, time with your best friend; there couldn’t possibly be anything better.

“So,” You turn your head, watching two of the girls you’d been introduced to. You’d forgotten their names, but thankfully none of them had taken notice yet. “You and Niall, then?”

Beneath your sunglasses, your eyes widen and you have to stop yourself from sputtering. “What?” They share a look and I’m a little convinced they’re both tipsy.

“Ya know you can tell us.” The other one attempts to persuade me. “Niall talks about you all the time. Every time he’s here, he just can’t shut up about you.”

Niall laughs from across the boat, pulling your gaze to him. The last week has been a whirlwind for you, with the tour and with everything you’ve come to see about Niall. Everyone kept giving you hope, and as much as you don’t want to admit it, you’re really starting to wonder if they aren’t all right. He’d been more affectionate lately, more touchy-feely and quite possibly the most moody you’d seen him. Were you part of the reason?

“Don’t take it all to heart, love,” Blinking, you turn back to her friend. “I mean, no one can tell you what Niall’s feeling but Niall. And he’s a man, so we may never know.” You chuckle along with them, but deep down, your heart aches at the thought.

Can I live without ever knowing?

The inside of the Enmore is simple and elegant. It’s small and another venue you know Niall probably requested. He’s always loved Australia and he’d make sure to get everything he wanted when coming down here to tour.

Niall jokes with the crowd, eyes alight with joy at all of the fans who’ve come to see him. He’s amazed at the turnout for this tour; amazed at the reaction to his first album without the other boys. But you’re amazed by how little he sees of himself.

Even when he’d been a part of On Direction, he’d never understood it. Sure, he’d put on the façade and play along, but he’d always questioned why they’d kept him back. Why he was part of the biggest boy band on the planet. Hopefully now, once this tour was over, he’d see what his fans had always seen. What you’d always seen.

“Four down, seventeen ta go!!” You laughed when Gerry lifts the beer above his head in cheers and almost ends up wearing the entire drink. “On ta Tokyo lads!”

Niall’s suite is filled with laughter as the guys cheers to themselves and a fantastic show. In the middle of it all, Niall radiates happiness.

Grabbing another drink, you make your way over, squealing as he pulls you down beside him by the bottom of your shirt. “Niall!” He pulls you in, arm around your shoulders. “How many have you had there, babe?” He says nothing, just pulls you in tighter as Jake changes the music blasting through the speaker.

You wince and cover your ear as Niall shouts beside you as the beginning Witchy Woman fills the room. It’s a rowdy night, but all in all, there’s nothing better than being tucked against Niall as he enjoys his success.

CHAPTER FIVE PART ONE

#niall horan #niall horan fic #niall horan blurb #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan fluff #one direction #one direction fluff #one direction fic #one direction fanfiction #one direction blurb #flicker #flicker of hope #my writing

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phantoms-lair · 7 years

Note

1) Concept: Danny takes a couple years off after high school to earn college money/take some online courses to improve his GPA, and protecting the town from ghosts, and also to give Jazz time to get her psych degree at least mostly done (possibly starts college online). Once Jazz has her degree, Danny leaves Amity to pursue his interests in Astronomy, and Jazz returns, permanently, and

(Post Series, no Phantom Planet. Fenton Parents know by now, and Valerie figured it out based on what she learned about Dani)

“Jazz, are you sure about this?” Danny looked at the sky concerned.

“Little brother, you have given so much to this place and it’s people, now it’s your turn to follow your dream. Just relax and let me help you.”

“I think ‘Let me help you’ is as much your catchphrase as ‘Going Ghost’ is mine.” Danny gave her a wry smile. “But a lot of my enemies are dangerous. I don’ want you getting hurt doing something I should have been.”

“I’ve got this Danny. Don’t worry, I’ve been working out a plan with Valerie. We’ve got this covered.”

At this Danny relaxed slightly. Valerie may have gotten past the ‘All ghosts are evil’ thing, but she was still one of the most viscous hunters her knew. She could keep Jazz safe.

~ (More under cut)

“Got your first patients,” The Red Huntress flew into the small clinic, Johnny 13 and Kitty is a glowing net.

“Thanks Val.” The two ghosts were unceremoniously dumped on the floor, The Red Huntress saluted before flying out again.

“Hey Jazz, long time no see,” Johnny said a little nervously.

Kitty whirled on him “And how do you know her?”

“I’m the girl Johnny chose to pretend to like so he could sacrifice me to get you back when you lost your form.” Jazz explained as calmly as if she was discussing weather. “He’s very nervous right now because obviously he knows I’m working with the Huntress and is wondering what revenge I have in store for him, and if you’re being dragged into it.”

Johnny gulped.

“I’m not going to lie, Johnny 13. Having my first romance end that way was, let’s just say unpleasant and leave it at that. But that’s not why we’re here. You two have been having another spat, and dragging the town into it, again. So we’re going to talk about what’s bothering you both.”

She reached over and took Kitty’s hand in one of hers and Johnny’s in the other. “Your love was so strong it survived your deaths. It’s strong enough to survive what you’re going through now and we’re going to make sure of it.”

“Thanks so much Dr. Fenton.” Sydney Pointdexter rose from his seat.

“No, thank you.” Jazz insisted. “You’re the first person from the Zone who started come here willingly. It’s helped a lot.”

“Well after how you helped the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost, I definitely figured it was worth a try.” Rather than flat out dismissed the two obsessive ghosts, Jazz had found a way to redirect them. Upon finding out Lunch Lady could conjour food that was perfectly safe and edible to humans, she’d had her set up with various homeless shelters and relief efforts. She was now praised as a hero in her own right.

Box Ghost ended up working with relief efforts too, in his case in making sure the supply shipments got where they were going. Any shipments that would normally be lost were brought in. (The hard part had been getting him to let go of them. The simple solution was to actually pay him in his preferred cardboard boxes and bubble wrap. He easily lost interest in metal and wooden cases over those.)

“I’m glad. I feel better about myself then I think I have since long before my death. But when your brother comes back in town, could you find a way to let me know. I really need to apologize.”

“Sydney, you know Danny doesn’t hold it against you.” Jazz reminded him.

“No, but I do. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let anyone else get bullied like I did. And not only did I not notice years of it, but I jumped to a conclusion and protected a bully and stopped the victim from standing up against him. Danny basically let Dash go after him for the next three years and I can’t help but think I’m at least part of the cause. I know there are other reason, keeping his secret identity and just how much the bullying became institutionalized at Casper High. But I still have to apologize for the part I played. I really feel like it’s something I need to do.”

“I’ll let him know when he’s back on break.” Jazz promised. “He knows where to find you, right?”

“Yeah, I’m staying with Klemper now.” It would be a while before Sydney went back to his own ‘lair’. He’d created his own living Hell, rebuilding the place and people who’d tormented him over and over. It had temporarily gotten better after his encounter with Danny, but had soon reverted.

Thanks to Dr. Fenton he realized how much damage it was still doing to him in terms of his anger issues and his self worth. Sure most ghosts found Klemper annoying, but Sydney found a kindred Spirit in the lonely soul who just wanted a friend. Not to mention how much it warmed his heart that no mattered how often he was around, Klemper’s face lit up whenever he saw him. The chilly ghost treasured his first real friend, and knowing that someone truly cared and wanted his company did as much for healing Sydney’s hurts and these sessions with Dr, Fenton. If he ever managed to turn the School into something less toxic, he’d certainly be bringing Klemper back with him.

Sydney left and Jazz began to pack up. She had plans for tonight.

Plans that were interrupted by a dour ghost wearing a spiked crown.

“Prince Aragon,” Jazz greeted cautiously. She recognized him from Danny’s files.

““Miss Fenton,” The ghost greeted with a hint of contempt.

“Doctor Fenton, if you don’t mind.” Jazz held herself firm. Somehow she doubted the exiled Prince was here to enlist her services.

“I do mind. I’ve been hearing of you ‘fixing’ ghosts, letting them fit into human society. So I’ve come to ask you woman, if you think you can fix me.”

He was obviously trying to be intimidating, but Jazz just met his gaze evenly. “No.”

“So you admit-”

“In order to help anyone, I need one thing. That the individual I’m helping wants to improves, wants things to be better. You don’t care about bettering yourself. You don’t care about adjusting to have an easier time in the world. You want the world- both worlds- to bend to your whim, or to break them if they don’t. So know, I can’t fix you. The only thing I can do is help put you down like the overstuffed peacock you are.”

Prince Aragon snarled at the insult, his teeth sharpening as he began to change into his dragon form. The change had barely started when Jazz moved suddenly and there was immense pain for where his heart would be. “What…have you done…”

Jazz opened the chamber on the gun she had pulled out. “Ecto-Electrical bullets. Fenton works latest. Doesn’t do lasting harm, but can disrupt almost any ghost powers.” She loaded another round in the Chamber. “This one is a weaker version of Dad’s Ecto-Dejecto. The working version. It won’t wither you away to nothing, but it will sap your powers until your weaker than Spectre in Nirvana.”

She placed the gun between the fallen ghost’s eyes. It was a more brutal style than she preferred, but if there was one thing Jazz Fenton understood, it was psychology.

Ghosts were physiologically very different from mortals. With the semi-exception of Halfa’s they had no such things as bones or internal organs. Even the ones that did, it was more that they expected them to be there rather than to serve a purpose. Putting a bullet between Aragon’s eyes was no more dangerous than his kneecap or even his hair. But most ghosts were once human, and Aragon was no exception. The way his eyes shrunk to pinpricks show he instinctively recognized this as a killing shot.

Jazz refused to let her face change as she fired the energy draining bullet, then sucked him up in the thermos, and only then allowed herself to falter. Aragon would be weak for months before the dejecto wore off, he wouldn’t be a threat to anyone till then. And she’d achieved what she needed. She’d made him afraid of her.

He might avoid her afterwards. He might seek her out to conquer his fear metaphorically and literally. She didn’t know. But fearing her was acknowledging she could harm him. It was a small step first step to getting rid of his misogyny, but a step none the less.

Valerie whistled as she walked in. “Looks like one of the spooks gave you some trouble.”

“Prince Aragon.” She lifted the thermos. “He won’t be bothering anyone else for a while, at least.”

“We’ll drop him off when we pick up your Mom. If you’re still up for tonight.”

“Yeah, a night off is exactly what i need.” Jazz pulled on her jacket, slipping the thermos in.

“That’s good, because Sam’s already waiting with Kitty and Ember. All we need is to pick up Mrs. Fenton and Dani. Girl’s Night Out is go!” Valerie cheered.

#DragonfishDreams #Danny Phantom #10 Years Later #Spectre is now more Jazz's nemesis than danny's. The two HATE each other #Ghost Writing

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crotchexplorer666 · 7 years

Note

ALL

Ri beat yew to it, Gnart. x’”D

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?My brother. He messed something up on one of my game accounts and kept crying even though I kept telling him I wasn’t angry.

2. Are you outgoing or shy?Both? This is a hard question..

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?Uh, all of my friends?? No matter how long it takes...

4. Are you easy to get along with?If I like you. I’m really good at avoiding people.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?Probably. They better tell me that I did some wacky things while I was drunk, or I will be very ashamed of myself.

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?No single personality type. People who don’t think they’re smarter than me are nice. ;D

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?No.

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?Chuck Norris. When there’s a meteor shower, Chuck Norris grabs a bar of soap.

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?A little, but it depends on who’s bringing up the conversation.

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?Does insulting myself with deep remarks count..? Otherwise, @rubbishbin--trash. c”x

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?“My Gatorade bottle is empty... RIP x666”@the-devils-assisstant

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?- “Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money- “Magic Man” by Heart- “Hells Bells” by AC/DC- “Renegade” by Styx- “Come on Eileen” by (I think) Dexy’s Midnight Runners- +1000 more13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?No, but people really like to??

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?Oh, yes. What else would I do?

15. What good thing happened this summer?Summer camp, and I drew a little-

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?My dad? I don’t care..?

17. Do you think there is life on other planets?Eh, I don’t mind hearing other people’s opinions.

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?Carlos? Nah.

19. Do you like bubble baths?I’ve only had one bubble bath in my life. With Claire. x”D

20. Do you like your neighbors?They are so nice, and then I feel bad for not visiting them more often. One time, I had to borrow someone’s phone, so I went over to Anne’s house (she’s probably in her 40s because the neighbors around here aren’t usually young). Before she let me borrow her phone, she let me inside to eat cookies with her and started asking how I was doing and being so nice.

21. What are your bad habits?Biting my lip, hating on myself whenever no one else is around to distract me, forgetting to eat..? x”D

22. Where would you like to travel?To any of my internet friends. .v.

23. Do you have trust issues?No, but that isn’t all that great.

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?There is no “daily” routine ^^’, but I like going to jazz band practice on Wednesday nights.

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? M y n o s e.

26. What do you do when you wake up?Check my phone-

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?Lighter. I was always jealous of people with very pale skin because then their hair could be dyed any color without having to worry about it clashing with their skin color. ;o;

28. Who are you most comfortable around?Myself.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?I have no ex’s-

30. Do you ever want to get married?Yes. ;v;

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail?Yeah. xx I’m too wimpy to cut it short.

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?No, thanks-

33. Spell your name with your chin.jdennkcvdfdOMG THAT ALMOST WORKED

34. Do you play sports? What sports?Cross country in ze fall, softball, and I wanted to do track but softball was in the same season. xx

35. Would you rather live without TV or music?No TV, pls. I’ll make my own cartoons if I have to..

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?Duh.

37. What do you say during awkward silences?Do you like cats?

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?Uh-- I’m very flexible-- Though I would love it if someone (even just a friend) wrote me a poem. ;w; I write poems for my teachers and friends.

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?I go all around the place??

40. What do you want to do after high school?yo mama Go to UCLA

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?Mhmm, even murderers. (A reasonable second chance with the adequate amount of security cameras making sure they don’t repeat their wrongdoings.)

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?There’s chaos inside my mind.

43. Do you smile at strangers?Yeah, doesn’t everyone?? .o. Just me?? Okay..

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?Neither.. c”x I like staying on dry land..

45. What makes is the reason you get out of bed in the morning?@natisuttertrash

46. What are you paranoid about?Everything-

47. Have you ever been high?Nah.

48. Have you ever been drunk?Nuh-uh, but I intend to one day. (weird goals)

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?I don’t think so.

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?Gray. (PE clothes..)

51. Ever wished you were someone else?Hell, yes.

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?M y n o s e

53. Favourite makeup brand?None?

54. Favourite store?Nope..

55. Favourite blog?I can’t choose a favorite, guys. ;o;

56. Favourite colour?Red. Any variation of red. Pink, maroon, etc. Black and white look great with red, too. ;v; Red, black, and white. y e s

57. Favourite food?All things with rice.

58. Last thing you ate?Pretzels..

59. First thing you ate this morning?P-pretzels..

60. Ever won a competition? For what?A chugging competition with soda. x”D

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?Noooooo

62. Been arrested? For what?Nooooooooooooooooo

63. Ever been in love?...Yes

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?Uh, I doubt kissing someone on the cheek in a game of “family” when I was 7 counts.

65. Are you hungry right now?Nah, I had an ass-load of pretzels. Many donkey bags full.

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?They are all equal. ^^

67. Facebook or Twitter?I don’t use either. xx (I have accounts, I just don’t use ‘em.)

68. Twitter or Tumblr?Tumblr

69. Are you watching tv right now?Nah.

70. Names of your best friends?Is it bad that I have ten-- I do have to admit, I have my favorites. (But I won’t say..)

71. Craving something? What?Pretzels.

72. What colour are your towels?All the colors. Literally. There’s even burgundy, mint, etc. in the mix. It’s kinda ugly.

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?Sometimes one, sometimes six.

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?I sleep with my kitty. ;v;

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?More stuffed animals than pretzels.

75. Favourite animal?Cats--

76. What colour is your underwear?Of course I just happened to be wearing my ONLY pair of hot pink panties right now.

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?Vanilla.

78. Favourite ice cream flavour?Mint chip, FTW.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing?What if I’m not wearing a shirt..? (It’s blue)

80. What colour pants?Black with ninja turtles.

81. Favourite tv show?S p o n g e b o b will always be my #1.

82. Favourite movie?Either Blended, Mean Girls, or this other one I can’t remember atm.

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?The original is always boss. Both slay me, tho.

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?Mean Girls

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?KAREN SMITH ;O;

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?Nemo’s mom.

87. First person you talked to today?My dad.

88. Last person you talked to today?@the-devils-assisstant

89. Name a person you hate?I’d rather not say. c”x

90. Name a person you love?@natisuttertrash

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?Me.

92. In a fight with someone?No? I don’t think so?

93. How many sweatpants do you have?I don’t know. x”D

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?At least four.

95. Last movie you watched?The Cobbler.

96. Favourite actress?Marilyn Monroe.

97. Favourite actor?ADAM SANDLER-- YOU DONT NEED TO ASK ME TWICE

98. Do you tan a lot?Not intentionally ;^;

99. Have any pets?My precious kitty, Benjamin. .D.

100. How are you feeling?Do I have to answer every question on this??

101. Do you type fast?If you asked one of my friends, they’d say something along the lines of: “Hell, yes.”

102. Do you regret anything from your past?Ye; I lie about that a lot, though.

103. Can you spell well?Y E S

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?Oh, yeah. Sydney was the best. ;n;

105. Ever been to a bonfire party?Yes, actually.

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?Probably. xx

107. Have you ever been on a horse?Oh, yeah. My first time on a horse was TACKLESS on an ARABIAN on a RAINY DAY. (Luckily Liesie’s the horse wrangler.)

108. What should you be doing?I don’t know.

109. Is something irritating you right now?Yes. You never asked what.

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?Yeah. >~

111. Do you have trust issues?Refer to #23, I think.

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?I don’t remember.

113. What was your childhood nickname?J-J

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?Well, I was born in Tokyo, moved to the US, and moved three times within the state while visiting my grandparents in China every summer (until they passed away).

115. Do you play the Wii?I don’t have one of those thingies. x”D

116. Are you listening to music right now?Yes... PSYCHIC, I TELL YOU.

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?Yes but I ran out of it ;o;

118. Do you like Chinese food?I am Chinese.

119. Favourite book?Any Percy Jackson book. ;D Is it bad that I still ship Reyco after Riordan crushed some of our hearts in a subtle way by having Reyna brother-zone Nico and then having Nico and Will get together??

120. Are you afraid of the dark?Not when I’m with someone else.

121. Are you mean?I don’t know. Am I?

122. Is cheating ever okay?Depends.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean?Nah. x”D

124. Do you believe in love at first sight?Y e s

125. Do you believe in true love?What’s your definition of true love?

126. Are you currently bored?No, because I have this 150-question thingy to take care of--

127. What makes you happy?Music.

128. Would you change your name?YES. I would literally change my name from Jenn to June.

129. What your zodiac sign?Gemini.

130. Do you like subway?Subway or subways? Subway is okay. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a subway.

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?Lock myself in a room and think everything through.

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?Wasn’t this already asked??

133. Favourite lyrics right now?The lyrics of “Come Together” by Beatles. (I prefer the Aerosmith cover, tho)

134. Can you count to one million?Nope.

135. Dumbest lie you ever told?I tell a lot of dumb lies to make it obvious that I’m lying. That’s just how I fail at being funny. ;w;

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?Closed.

137. How tall are you?5′3

138. Curly or Straight hair?My hair never decides. Everytime I take a shower I never know if it will drive straight, wavy, or curly. xx Plus it’s hard to brush.

139. Brunette or Blonde?Brunette. MY HAIR IS DARK BROWN; N O T B L A C K.

140. Summer or Winter?Winter days, Summer nights (I prefer Summer nights).

141. Night or Day?Night. ;u;

142. Favourite month?December.

143. Are you a vegetarian?No, but sometimes it seems like it. x”D

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?A l l o f t h e m.

145. Tea or Coffee?

146. Was today a good day?Meh.

147. Mars or Snickers?Snickers.

148. What’s your favourite quote?Ahhh, too little time left over to decide.

149. Do you believe in ghosts?This question is too hard. c”x

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?“The children’s pants had large wooden boxes in them.”

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teddyaltman · 7 years

Note

all the even numbers yo

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? yeeees omg it is snowing here rn and we just went outside and i love it i love it i looooove feeling cold but only on a lil bit of my body i hate it when im all over cold4: how do you take your coffee/tea? black and strong, no tea thanks6: do you keep plants? yes, i have one money plant and it’s now named sophie courtesy of delani8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? screaming into the void (cross stitch)10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? stomach unless i’m with someone else and then probs side12: what's your favorite planet? uranus duh jk mars is bright tonight14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? so my best friend has a flat in london and it’s gorgeous and i would like to live there tbh, its just full of things that make us happy like harry potter wands and two tvs so you can play xbox together on two screens and things from travels around the world and a piano and i just love it16: what's your favorite pasta dish? a no pasta dish 18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. the time i fainted at may’s nephews graduation and got an ambulance called they’re never gonna let me live that shit down20: what's your favorite eye color? idon’t rly have a favourite but i like when you’re looking at someones eyes and they’re smiling back at u22: are you a morning person? yes! i like to get up early and curl up with a coffee and a book on a day off or when i have work i get up early to walk buddy or meg and then watch neighbours while i eat my breakfast 24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? i literally talk to my dad about eveyrthing, also dan, my mum and my sisters i never keep secrets from26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit? my flowery docs!28: sunrise or sunset? oOOoOOh both?? okay gun to my head sunrise over a lake is the most beautiful thing 30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? yes32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. when we were at uni dan and i used to call each other in the middle of the night if we were walking home drunk and we just used to talk and talk about anything and everything until the drunk one was sober enough to sleep34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? a bunny called bunny that i got when i was born (okay well actually its a replacement cos i lost the original in a service station in france on the way to disney when i was 2) but i still have it and it’s gross because i used to fall asleep by chewing on her ears and holding her tight around the neck so she looks awful but she’s still my bunny 36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now? sugarland38: tell us about your pet peeves! idk i don’t like it when people ignore me40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you? i have a wolf necklace that mg bought me for secret santa one year its gorgeous and i love necklaces and most of mine are anchors or giraffes but the wolf one is so amazing and so me and i love it42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! starbs dude im easy44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? laying on the sofa in my snug on dec 27th 46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. i cannot think of a single pun i suck48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? being abandoned and yep probs50: what's an odd thing you collect? HAHAH i collect SO MANY THINGS i have a collection pROBLEM okay i collect hurricane hard rock glasses, and i collect US quarters and i collect those special cups you can buy at the cinema sometimes and mugs from places i love and i have a p good pop funko collection and a hELLUVA lot of DVDS just idk if you can buy a ~collectors thing i probably will im a sucker for advertisement52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? its been like a week but omg the hollywood sign one

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? my sister when she just watched derek die on grey’s56: what are some things you find endearing in people? when they ramble on about something thye love, when people are so passionate you can feel it radiating off them, when someone tries their best to make you smile when you’re upset, when people pat dogs 58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? marygrace is the vodka aunt im probs the wine mom 60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? yeah but i don’t read a whole lot of it, idk i like simple stuff 62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? eh not rly sometimes apple or cranberry but not often i just drink coffee64: what color is the sky where you are right now? WHITE cos SNOW66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? any flower crown is an ideal flower crown68: what's winter like where you live? coldish, and grey v grey but i like the feeling of the cold mist snaking around you and seeing your breath when you’re walking and wearing a hat to keep ur lil ears warm!! sometimes it snows and ilove that70: have you ever used a ouija board? lmao no but i would LOVE to72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it? at work i keep so many notes about eveyrthing but i have a p photographic memory so i don’t rly need to its just so i can make sure stuff is organised and so i can show that i’ve listened to what people want74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. loud and passionate and so caring, finds an unrelenting joy in the most unexpected of things and is so strong and honest and proud. hates zombie culture. 76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't? nope! 78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? love a good minion80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? they’re cream bc my sisters and i used to switch around a lot so we all got them painted the same so it didn’t matter and we could stick up whatever we wanted to make it our own space. i did have a jungle room at one point and the walls were orange that was cool and in my hp room i had one RED wall for gryffindor that was awesome82: are/were you good in school? english, particularly lit, history, food tech, film, maths but i Hated that uuuh i was a good student - not a great one bc i was lazy and dumb in school and didn’t study like i should have done but i did p well 84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? yessss i want an anchor on my ankle and expecto patronum on my wrist and delta lyrics on my ribs and also ‘faith, trust & pixie dust’86: do you like concept albums? which ones? what88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? impressionists90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. chicago is one of the best cities i have ever been too and i’m so lucky to have lived so close for a year it’s just so vibrant and full of life but not ~super busy so you feel crushed and rushed all the time and i rly loved it bUT also shoutout to brisbane which was a huge surprise how much i loved it and i explored it on a segway which was incredible and obvs sydney owns my lil heart and i wanna stare at the opera house forever92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? i hate pasta94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? jesus96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? ha remind me tomorrow pls98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? in the blue mountains in aus! yeah i love to hike except im not a fan of hills, whenever i hike with dan he gets me to explain the plots of tv shows to him to distract me he’s the best100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? def the future bc i have some great memories of the past 5 years and i wouldn’t be who i am today without them but i do not want to go back and relive them thanks

#phew done #question time #about me #long post #alexdavnrs

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metalindex-hu · 6 years

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Like a worldview – interview with Plini

Like a worldview – interview with Plini - http://metalindex.hu/2018/08/23/like-a-worldview-interview-with-plini/ -

It’s not your first time to play in Budapest. How do you like the city and the venue?

From purely music prospective, the crowd is always amazing. The first time we can with Animals [as Leaders], the crowd was insane. The venue is beautiful, and we came back, and it was just as beautiful, and now we’re back again and it’s still beautiful.

Do you like the architecture of Budapest? Have you had any chance to take a look at here?

Yes, we are only here about a day, but always trying to walk around. Like this morning, we went across the green bridge [Szabadság-híd] into the town a little bit, and the drummer [Chris Allison] playing with me tonight…it is his first time here, so I was walking with him and just see his reaction to it. It was funny because he was just like…’holy fuck, this is beautiful’. Yes, it is an incredible city.

How you started to have any kind of connection or relationship to music? What was the start?

When I was growing up, I guess when I was 5 or 6 years old, my family was to listen to The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson and like that, and I just started to tap along, and then eventually that turned into me wanting to play drums. And then I finally started playing drums, but it’s too loud because we lived in an apartment, so I played ukulele for a little bit until it broke. And then I got a guitar to replace the broken ukulele, in that kind of set this whole thing off.

Have you ever learnt playing guitar, or just managed to grab it, and started to play?

Yes, I just picked it up. I tried learning some scales, but I found it really boring. So I just started to learn songs by bands I like, and then techniques from guitarist I like.

What do you think, in the life of a guitarists or a guitar player, how important the role of the talent, and how important the amount of practicing is?

I think talent doesn’t necessarily matter because I know a lot of guitarist, and I know that they all have different talents, like some people are just naturally really good at playing fast or really good at learning music, and others are terrible at playing fast but they play really expressively. I guess the most important thing is to figure out what you’re naturally good at, and then work on that, because you can become more unique and expressive in that skills.

You told that drums were quite loud, and you told a bit about the broken ukulele, and later on you ended up with guitar, but why guitar was the next one, why not say piano or something like that?

I’m not sure. I can’t exactly remember, but it might be that I started getting into metal music around that time and so I was getting interested in the stuff that metal bands are doing. I guess the most interesting part to me if not the drums is all the riffs.

Where your inspiration is coming from? I know about cheese, but what else is inspiring you?

Totally stuff like this [around me]. Traveling around, getting to see different places in the world, getting to meet different people and starting to think about writing music. Sort of the same way as people who write books. The only way that they get continued inspiration is by doing things and meeting people, so they have stories to play with and I think the same with music.

I had the impression that touring all over the globe is quite a tiring job and most of the musician are simply trying to survive it without getting inspired.

I guess it can be but I never was in a band until I started doing this. So I’m sort of invented my own idea what touring should be, I think it should be totally fun, surrounded by friends and that’s not tiring. We try to sleep as much as possible, walk around and eat.

How are you writing music? You are the only person who is responsible for everything, or you can get inspirational or input from the other band members?

Usually I recorded demos, so that includes some bad bass playing and programmed drums and then send it to them and see what they think. Hopefully they like it and then from there, we can work on it together and they write their own parts to be more interesting.

In your mind or in your practice, writing the music or writing the song is a step-by-step work or it’s quite a spontaneous one?

It’s a bit of both. There are parts of it that are quite logical, like arranging a song or layering different instruments, but a lot of the time it’s random sparks of inspiration that make the song that I end up finishing and releasing.

Your main occupation is to play in a band, manage this band and do studio works, tours, whatever else. Do you have any time remaining over that?

Not really. Even today we were driving from Bratislava which was about two and a half hours, and I spent most of that time messaging somebody that I’m hoping to collaborate with next year, so just talk about how we can make it work, and when he’s free and started getting the logistics of that. It’s a kind of…like a non-stop [job], just planning ahead and head and ahead. But then I guess I have free time like when we got here, we walked around for two-three hours, so it feels quite balanced.

If I’m right, in the past you used to use Primetone pics, and I think playing fast music you need a sharp one.

I started using the same pick that Jakub Zytecki using which is the [Jim Dunlop] Jazz III, I’m not sure exactly which one it is, but it has a grip on it, that’s not like the standard one. I found that just the slightly thinner pick is a little easier for the fastest stuff.

I just read in one of your interviews that your opinion was to have very little change with the instruments, with the guitars, but nowadays we have many-many virtuoso guitar player, so what’s the reason behind if not the instrument?

I guess I’m not actually that interested in the guitar. I mean have one what I really like, it is enough for me because I want to make music not make guitar noises I guess.

How important part of your music is based on improvisation?

In the beginning I guess it all comes from improvisation because I start up just playing whatever happens, but then there’s quite a large amount of work between the original thing that I play and the final product.

Vast majority of your songs are more or less continuous or ‘endless’ solos. How easy is to learn them, to remember them?

It’s getting easier and easier I guess. I have decent muscle memory so if it comes to playing a song that we haven’t played for a year or two, usually it comes back quite fast, and I think it helps that I played it in the first place.

Do you need any kind of warm-up before starting a gig?

If the temperature is cold then definitely. But I find the best warm-up for me is just being relaxed and in a good mood because none of the music is too difficult and I’m not too worried about making mistakes. Usually if I make a horrible mistake I find it funny, and people in the crowd will find it funny rather than…I don’t think it will ruin the song, unless I were ruin three whole minutes of the song but that hasn’t happened or that maybe happened once. So the best warm-up is just getting into it, kind a good friend of mine, I can just go and have fun.

How many time do you have for your family, how they can tolerate this lifestyle?

I guess they are very supportive and excited for me. And it works out that I’m maybe home half of the year or maybe a little less than half of the year, which is still quite a lot. I mean I live with my family so I see them more than a lot of people would see their families anyway.

What was your impression on the Brutal Assault two years ago, and now?

The first one that was by far the biggest show that I ever played in my life and then to have such a positive crowd response was amazing. This time, I kind of had high expectations as because I’ve done it before, I knew that everything’s great, the catering is great, the production and all the crew are really nice, but then isn’t exceeded my expectations this time. It’s an amazing festival.

I have seen the half-moon on your guitar tabulatures, on the CD’s and also on your guitar. Does it have any kind of specific meaning for you?

Not that I remember. I think the artist who did my first EP just put one on there on a whim and then I really liked it so it ended up being on the next album artwork, and then just became a sort of logo. I guess in a loose way I like space and planets, but nothing specific about that.

Your guitar tabs are available in different kinds of shops. Are you writing them on your own? How they were created?

That is a guy that works for Sheet Happens who published them all. I send all the individual parts to him and he transcribes and then sends to me and I make sure it’s all correct. It’s kinda crazy how good he is, like he knows which fret it will be in on which string even it’s the same note. He can usually get to that 95% right straight away, and then I make the changes, and that’s it. Sometimes he transcribe in a way that’s easier to play than the way I originally played it and I end up learning that.

You are running your own band from Sydney from Australia but you are also involved in Intervals from Canada. Where the relationship has been coming from?

I guess from the internet. We are both people who play guitar and write music and sort of in a similar way. We got to know each other just because of that like ‘hey man, your project is cool’, and then started chatting eventually Matt, and got along really well as people as well, and that’s how I kind of just crossed over.

Is it possible to make any kind of practicing together because you are living on the opposite side of the globe?

Before we did those couple of tours, we would get together for a day or two before the tour started, but I guess because the quality of the musicians we play with is just so good, that everyone learns their parts, and we just come together and everyone kind of logs in quite quickly.

So you don’t really need long practicing sessions or to train together.

No, I mean in an ideal world, we probably would have a week or something but usually the first show will be pretty good, the second shall be good and then from there it’s hopefully really good.

If I’m right then you are doing different kind of workshops during tours, but what about teaching?

Teaching…it’s something that I like doing…I’ve never done much regular teaching so having a student that I see every week or anything like that. When I’m on tour I really like meeting people who were working on similar things or interested in what I’m doing…it’s a fun thing to do.

Are you doing workshop now here in Budapest, or not at the moment?

No, this is the first tour in a while when I haven’t done anything and I actually really like, because I have more free time. So right now I would normally be doing a lesson and then going to be rushing to have dinner and play the show. It’s nice to have a little bit extra time.

What the music does mean for you?

That’s a big question! I don’t know…I guess it’s the one thing that I enjoy everything about. Like if I go to a restaurant, I’ll be listening too what’s happening in the music, or I’m going to go to a concert or I’m thinking about like how can I make this river into a song, or something like that. Just a kind of like a worldview.

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yaelsstory · 6 years

Text

Product Of A Murderer - Chapter 7

Summary: Yaël, a twenty-four years old girl with the powers to control the four elements, lost all her memories after a terrible incident. While trying to get her memories back, she somehow befriends Wade Wilson and Peter Parker. It’s a bumpy road, because after being gone for almost a year, everyone thinks she’s dead and there are many different reactions to her comeback. That …and while struggling to remember her life as it was before, she discovers that she isn’t who she thought she was. Maybe there are a few things she doesn’t want to remember at all… .

Note: This story is the third part of the Sweet Child of Mine-serie. You can read the other parts of this serie on AO3 on my account (Caspinn) or on my friend’s account (kalkoenvsneoklak).

If you want to read more about the story of Peter, Tony and Steve, you should read part one of the series: Being a Stark.

If you’re interested in the story of Natasha Romanoff and James “Bucky” Barnes, I suggest you to read part two of the series: Golden Locks, Silver Arms.

"Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter Than the sun"

Fun. - We Are Young

Maybe drinking with Wade wasn’t such a smart idea after all, Yaël realized after a few pints and wines. The man just couldn’t get drunk. Every time he got a bit tipsy, he almost immediately sobered up again.

But the Merc with a mouth kept feeding her drinks. Of course, Yaël could’ve stopped drinking at some point, but she simply didn’t. Was it out of frustration or something? Even she didn’t know, instead just keeping on drinking with zero fucks to give.

The night started with Wade showing up at her apartment, carrying a big box and throwing a piece of fabric at her. The piece of fabric happened to be a very open dress, which Yaël didn’t want to wear. But she came to realization that all her clothes without holes in, which weren’t a lot, were in the laundry.

In the end; she had two choices: going out looking like a hobo or looking like a fancy slut. She still wasn’t digging the slutty dress, but she really, really didn’t want to appear in public looking like a homeless person. It was dark-green, like the color of a pine tree. The cleavage was very deep and there were openings to each side of her ribs. Okay, she wasn’t naked or anything, but still…

“So what, are you like, my pimp?” Yaël asked Wade a bit sarcastically as he was doing her make-up.

“What?! No way, you look way to fancy and fabulous to be a prostitute!”

“Dude, look at me,” she said as she pointed at her breasts. “These two are almost falling out of there. It’s way too tight!”

“They look great! And it might be tight up there but look how swirly your skirt is! It looks like you’re a ballerina made out of satin!”

“And why again do you know how to do my make-up?” Maybe Yaël should be worrying.

“I had and still have my party-days!”

“What do you expect me to think about that?” Yaël laughed. This guy was weird but so, so great. Well, as long as he didn’t start throwing plates around the place. That was of course something she wouldn’t forget that easily.

When Wade was done with making Yaël look like she has royal blood, but the slutty version of that, he took the big box he brought with him and gave it to Yaël.

“What? This is for me?” she asked. Wade nodded and that was for Yaël a sign to open it. Black, matte plates. A dozen of them.

“You like them?” Wade asked. “I promised I’d get you some beautiful plates and these fit with your dark soul.”

“Thanks,” Yaël answered with a wide grin “They are so cool! I mean like, who the heck has plates like these?”

After they put away the plates, they decided it was time to go. “So, are we going to have sex after this?” Wade asked as they were walking down the stairs.

“You wish, horny-boy.” Yaël answered dryly.

A few hours later, Yaël was laying on her back on a filthy floor in a bar. A random dude used her belly as a pillow while they were thinking about weird ways to say their names. Not that Yaël would remember his name afterwards.

“Yaël, you want another?” Yaël looked up and saw Wade hanging above her with a pint in his hands.

“Wade, I lost you!” she answered him, happy to finally see her friend back after such a long time.

“Oh girlie, I really was only gone for five minutes to take a wee, but okay.” Wade answered while glancing at the guy who was laying on her.

“Wait, is that legit a different dude than from five minutes ago?”

“No. This is still Tim.” Yaël turned with her eyes.

“Eh, my name is Jeremy,” The guy answered awkwardly.

“Oh.” It was a bit quiet after that while everybody tried to forget about that last bit.

“Come on,” Wade shooed the man off her belly “Let’s go, before you start an orgy here.”

“Why would I do that?!” Yaël stumbled a bit as Wade helped her get up.

“I don’t know what your natural habits were on that planet of yours!” Wade said while handing her the beer.

“Wait, I’ll come for you later, you gave me your address!” Jeremy said to Yaël with a ridiculous looking playful smile.

“No I did not!” Yaël said, she wasn’t that stupid.

“Yeah, you did, it’s P Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!” Wade looked a bit surprised at the dude, then he started laughing so loudly that the sound filled the whole bar.

“You…are drunk,” Wade grinned while pointing at Jeremy. He then pointed at Yaël “And you…are a genius! Come on, we’re going home.”

“No! You’re not going to steal my ch-chick!” Jeremy blabbered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Dude, she’s my chick, we’re married! The girl is my property, I even pee on her every now and then!” Yaël curled her nose a bit after Wade’s reply. But she wasn’t thinking fast enough to talk back, this was all so random.

“Dude, I spoke to her a moment ago, she’s my girl too!” another drunk guy ‘joined’ the ‘conversation’, like he didn’t even hear Wade’s weird exclamation. Other guys came buzzing around them too, talking about how Yaël somehow seemed to be their property.

“Wait? Are you guys too drunk or too dumb to see that we’re in New York right now and she gave you all an address in Sydney, you know, Australia! It’s the address Dory always repeats in Finding Nemo, you dumb twats!” Wade yelled, but nobody listened to him.

Yaël totally didn’t like being called a piece of someone and every time some random guy she just danced with or had a drink with, said it, she got more and more annoyed. So when someone laid his hand on her shoulder to pull her back to him, she snatched out of it and…accidentally used her powers. Being drunk made it way harder to control them.

When she looked up, she saw that one of the curtains was on fire.

“Uh-ow…” Wade mumbled. One of the five men around them, pointed his finger to Wade and screamed

“HE DID THIS, HE’S CRAZY!” Of course, Wade totally didn’t do that, but these five drunk men felt certain he did just so they couldn’t take Yaël home.

“JEZUS FUCKING CHRIST!” Yaël suddenly screamed, way louder than the other men. “ARE YOU ALL IDIOTS?! I TALK TO YOU GUYS AND YOU ALL SUDDENLY THINK WE HAVE A ROMANCE?!” Wade looked at her, picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and carried her outside while she kept screaming. “I HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL END ALONE! BURN IN HELL! ANY OF YOU FUCKING PRICKS MOVE AND I’LL EXCECUTE EVERY MOTHERFUCKING LAST ONE OF YA-”

“Okay, are you now quoting the intro of Pulp Fiction? Girl, stop being way cooler when you’re drunk. You just wait here, I’ll fix you a ride home, okay?” Wade said after he put her back down as soon as they were outside.

“What are you going to do?” Yaël grumbled.

“I’m going to fix this mess inside.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Wade.” Yaël replied annoyed.

“I didn’t say you did… You did nothing wrong actually,” he said while typing a text. When he had send it, he repeated “Wait here” and ran back inside.

“It’s ohso quiet, tudududuu, tudududuuu…It’s oh, so still…” Yaël sang to herself just to see her breath in the cold air. How long was she standing here? She was feeling a bit sad. Why couldn’t she just enjoy an evening without getting herself into trouble? She felt like, like…like she needed a permanent babysit or something, but she was an adult, right? It wasn’t her problem that those guys were stupid idiots filled with testosterone!

That and Wade put her in this stupid dress, maybe he just wanted a fight. Maybe he used her to make a fight. Yaël smiled at her own drunk stupidity.

Yaël was turning in rounds just to make her skirt swirl around. After a little while, she stopped turning, but couldn’t stop laughing. As soon as she stood still, she saw Steve standing in front of her. Then, of course, she tried wobbling over to him, but fell down of dizziness, what made her laugh even harder.

“H-how long have you been standing there already?” Yaël rolled on her back and looked up to Steve.

“A solid five minutes. Get up.”

“Help me in this eternal embarrassment,” she muttered, looking up into the sky with the palms of her hands facing upwards.

“How much did you drink?”

“Seven beers and four wines!”

Steve sighed and helped her get up. “Wait, is that all you’re wearing?” He asked her, she shrugged. “Yaël, it’s January. Where’s your jacket or vest or something?”

“Inside, but I think Wade is causing a deicide there…” Steve snorted, unzipped his jacket and hung it over her shoulders. He signed her to follow him and so she did.

“Since when do you wear dresses like that?” he asked while walking towards his car.

“Wade gave it to me.”

“What? Did he want you to get objectified?” he frowned.

“I don’t like getting objectified.” Yaël muttered, also frowning.

When they got to the motorcycle, Steve pushed a helmet over Yaël’s head. Yaël climbed on and a second later, Steve sat down behind her.

“I know you don’t like getting objectified, so why are you wearing it?” The motorcycle turned on with a hum and Steve steered the vehicle to leave the parking lot it was standing on.

“Because I don’t have other pretty clothes,” Yaël pouted.

“You don’t need revealing dresses to look pretty, Yaël.” He had a point there, didn’t he? Or was he complimenting her? He was! He meant that she didn’t have to look like a prostitute to be attractive, right?

“Did you know I dreamt about you?” The words suddenly flapped out of her mouth.

“Oh, did you?” She could swear she saw him smirk a bit.

“Not like that! But I have like weird memory-dreams where I discover stuff about my past. I don’t really know how it works. How are you and Tony by the way?” Steve blinked a few times, he must be exhausted. How late was it anyways? He was still waiting for the conversation to end before taking off with his motorcycle. Otherwise the vehicle would make too much noise for them to hear each other. Good guy Steve.

“Wait, Yaël, one subject at a time. Why don’t you tell me more about those dreams of you?”

So, Yaël told him what she had seen at night. She didn’t know how much she told him afterwards, because somewhere during her own words, she fell asleep and that’s when Steve finally started driving. Sometime later, when Steve carried her off the motorcycle, she woke up and started rattling again.

“So how’s Tony? You should invite him! We should like, h-hang out rrrright now!” Steve shook his head and put her back on her feet, looking a bit cautious to see if she’d fall down again.

“Not a smart idea, Yaël.”

“What? Am I not fun enough for this mister Stark? Is he handsome by the way? Don’t look at me like that!” Steve glanced at her, his cheeks turned a bit reddish. When they arrived at the lift Steve pressed the button. This time there was no one sleeping between the doors, because the thing came immediately.

“I… I just don’t think you’d like meeting him.” Steve said without looking at her. What was he talking about.

“Is he no fun?”

“No-yes, yes, of course he is fun, Yaël.”

“So, what’s the problem then?”

“Maybe he just…doesn’t want to meet you.” Auch, why the hell would somebody just reject her like that without giving her a chance? Unless…she once got a chance?

“I fucked up, right?” Steve gave up his language-stare immediately.

“Oh, no, no, not really, Yaël. I mean, you didn’t know what you were doing, and he wasn’t really capable of looking at you differently after that.” Yaël felt a tear running down her cheek even though she didn’t understand what Cap was talking about. Someone didn’t like her, and she wasn’t sober at all, enough reasons to cry.

“What are you talking about?” Steve casually wiped away her tear and signed her to get out of the lift. Apparently, they had arrived at her floor.

“Well, it’s a bit complicated and as you’re drunk, and you don’t even remember big parts and persons of your life when you’re sober, I think it’s smarter to wait until you remember a bit more before I explain this to you. Let’s just say that, when you arrived in New York, you didn’t really know which side you were on.”

“And I made trouble with Mr. Stark?”

“Eh, yeah, kind of.” That was vague, and unfair. She had the right to know what she had done, but Steve was persistent and kept his mouth shut. His lips even turned a bit white from pressing them together after Yaël tried to get the story out of him by keeping asking questions while poking him.

He seemed to be glad when they entered her apartment and Yaël’s concentration surrendered itself.

“LOOK AT MY PLATES!” she happily yelled, totally unaware that she lost her own poke-war and that she had been rejected by an unknown person just a minute ago. Yaël showed the plates she got from Wade. Steve just threw her a tired smile. Then he frowned, like he suddenly thought of something.

“Wait, Yaël, why did Wade put you out of the bar like that? I mean, he always seems so nice, I can’t imagine him just dumping you outside for just a reason like a little fight.”

“I set the bar on fire,” Yaël confessed while staring at the plate in her hands. She felt like it was a crime that Steve wasn’t as enthusiastic as she was about the plates. Steve stared at her for a moment, trying to find if Yaël’s answer was a joke or not.

Then he scratched his head and said: “Of course you did… Someone like you shouldn’t drink, Yaël. Maybe I have to warn Wade about that.”

Yaël could not think of any other reply than just sticking out her tongue.

“Okay, Yaël, we’re going to sleep now, right?” Steve asked hopeful, but Yaël showed no mercy.

“No, we still need to dance!” Yaël grabbed Steve’s waist. Steve tried to gently push her back.

“There’s no music, Yaël, let’s go to bed.”

“You want me to sing Edith Piaf for you?” Steve smiled widely at her for remembering his taste in music. “Steve, dear,” Yaël said as she grabbed his hand and put her other one on his shoulder. He automatically put his hand on her back “We need to practice for that special dance for when you get married to that asshole. Since you don’t have a mother to dance with, you’ll have to do it with me.”

Steve sighed, but let Yaël calling Tony an asshole just this once.

“Yaël, I’m pretty sure that you’re talking about a father-daughter dance, so maybe we have to wait for that when you get married, right? Since you’re not my dad and I’m not your daughter either.” Yaël looked up, still holding him, ready to dance.

“Are you going to do the father-daughter dance with me?”

“Who else is going to do that when you get married?” Yaël frowned as she thought about a detail she was missing there. She didn’t have a father to dance with, nor one to walk her to the aisle or repair stuff for her when she didn’t know how to do it. She didn’t have a dad to save her with the small things of life, like the daddy’s shoulder to cry on or a dad who’d protect her from the big, tough world. Maybe not all fathers are like that, probably not.

Her sight on fathers probably was more magical than reality. She once had a father, though. A very sweet, good man. It’s weird how things can change so enormously. It’s weird how she’d be able to imagine Cem walking her to the aisle but knowing that never happened nor ever will happen.

Steve was a good replacement for all of that cheesy stuff…but that was not what crept into Yaël’s head.

“Oh,” she said as she remembered what it was. “I’m not going to get married!”

“Yeah, not right now, but-“

“No, not ever! You see, I’m banished, I don’t even have the right to get married.” By being drunk, she accidentally started mixing her memories of the two worlds she had been living in.

“Of course, you do, Yaël…” Steve muttered a bit surprised. Yaël laid her head against his chest and yawned.

“No, I don’t, I don’t have that right…”

Steve looked down to answer her, but saw she fell asleep against him.

0 notes

kentuckywrites · 3 years

Text

The Year Without A Santago

Santago’s out of commission this year, and it’s up to @deltheor ‘s Sydney, @anryl ‘s Danny, and L to deliver Christmas to NLA.

December 24th. The winds were howling, and rain pounded the ground with full intent to annoy whoever crossed it. Sydney grit his teeth; what perfect weather for this mess of a night. He was intending on surprising Pongo when he got home with some nice relaxation time, maybe watch a Christmas movie or two. But Pongo had surprised him first.

It started with a call from an unknown number. The first number code was easily recognizable - it was someone from the MMC. Weird. Sydney picked up his comm, more curious than anything, unable to connect the pieces just yet. A woman asked him the initial question, introduced herself with a forgettable name. Is this Sydney? Yeah, what do you want? Well, let me sigh deep enough to show you something’s wrong, pause for dramatic effect, and then tell you about how Pongo’s legs were torn from his body during a particularly brutal simius encounter in Noctilum. Oh, and he’s fine now by the way, but we figured we should let you know.

...No, it wasn’t told like that, but Sydney felt ready to puke regardless.

It hadn’t taken him long to get into one of his golden Ares 90, fly up to the MMC, and slam the doors open to demand answers. He was told with increasing annoyance to shut the fuck up, take a deep breath, and listen closely. Yeah, Pongo’s legs weren’t attached when he was wheeled in, but now they are thanks to maintenance center magic! But he would need to rest in the center overnight to make sure there weren’t any complications with the reattachment, and then he could go home. Of course, he was prohibited from taking any missions for two weeks to make sure the recovery went smoothly. Sydney could already figure out how that conversation would go down.

He was led towards one of the many identical pods in the center, where he was told to take as much time as you need, but actually don’t, because Pongo needs to sleep. He looked like he was sleeping, when Sydney first approached. Eyes closed, head down, slow yet steady breaths. Once the nurse left them alone, Sydney stared at Pongo’s head. He could feel the anger in his heart and his throat, both burning, both strained.

“...Pongo, what the fuck?”

Sydney hissed. Pongo’s shoulders slumped down, his head picked up, and his eyes tried desperately to focus on Sydney. A breathing mask was strapped to his mouth, colored a sick transparent hospital green. Sydney could see his weak grin underneath.

“Some nurses...asked the same thing.” Pongo’s voice was feeble, wobbling. “I...It happened so fast. It was going after...after -”

He coughed, loud enough for Sydney to put his hand up to the glass to stop him from talking more.

“Of course you were protecting someone. You idiot.”

“What else was I -”

“Oh I dunno, think about yourself for once? You’re not invincible, Pongo, one of these days you’re not gonna -”

“Sydney.”

A weak hand raised to match Sydney’s, though his fingertips hardly touched the glass that separated them. Sydney bit his lip and averted his gaze, knowing fully well what Pongo was about to say. They’d had this conversation before, and it had gone both ways. They were hypocrites, self sacrificing for different reasons, but hypocrites nonetheless. Such a shame that they were both so stuck in their ways, such a shame that they’d never change no matter how hard they tried.

Maybe that was why Sydney needed Pongo. Because they both knew this, and yet Pongo stayed. He knew the darkest parts of Sydney’s heart, all the pain and destruction he’d left in his wake. And yet he stayed. Sydney once thought him a fool, but now he knew Pongo was a believer. Pongo knew his heart and loved everything he hid inside it, the shadows and the sunlight, the dreams and the nightmares. Even now, Sydney didn’t understand why, but all he could do was be there for Pongo in return.

“I...I have a favor to ask you.” Pongo grew shy, but tried to mask his insecurity behind a stronger tone, “You have to promise to keep it a secret, and not to laugh.”

“Why would I laugh?” Sydney asked. He was being serious, but Pongo chuckled, coughing softly at the end.

“I will not be out of the maintenance center by tonight,” He explained, “I know they probably told you I will be fine, but...but I know what is going to happen. I will need until tomorrow morning to adjust.”

“How do you know for certain?”

“They were able to reattach my normal legs, but...the procedure itself and the parts used are man-made.”

Right. Made of miranium, avatar of Mira. Issues involving compatibility between parts made of miranium and parts made by human hand. Sydney nodded carefully, staying silent as Pongo continued.

“That means I will still be in here until Christmas Day. Hopefully the adjustments go smoothly, but...well, I was unable to finish everything yesterday, and I thought I could take a few missions before handling the rest, but I cannot do anything when I am stuck like this.”

A memory resurfaced from a year ago, an image of Pongo carrying a long list of names. Sydney hadn’t pieced together the puzzle back then, but in that moment he did, and suddenly the realization of what Pongo was about to ask hit him like a vehicular Skell.

“You...you want me...to play Santa for a night.”

Pongo chuckled, hard enough that he went into a small coughing fit. After he’d caught his breath, he said, “I already bought a majority of the gifts. The only ones left are at the bottom of the list, which is in my barracks. I can pay you back for those gifts, too, because I know this is short notice -”

“Don’t think for a fucking second you need to pay me back,” Sydney retorted, “Save it for the MMC costs. God knows you’ve probably racked up some huge fucking medical bills from throwing yourself at every indigen on the planet.”

“More like every indigen on the planet has thrown me,” Pongo grinned sadly, “But anyways...once you get those last presents, at midnight go to the very top of BLADE Tower. L’Cirufe and Danniel will be there to help.”

The names sounded familiar - wasn’t Danniel one of Meep’s friends? - but Sydney didn’t linger long on trying to remember their faces. “I dunno, Pongo, I’m...I don’t know if I’m really the guy you should be asking.”

“I know you can do it,” He said, “I asked you because I trust you. If you do not want me to pay you back for the presents, at least I could pay you back for doing this for me…”

At that, Sydney stepped forward, his forehead pressing against the cold glass of the pod. A tiny thump seconds later told him that Pongo had done the same, their foreheads separated by a thin layer of glass. It felt like a wall, impenetrable, enforced by steel.

“Just be home for Christmas, okay?” Sydney said in a soft whisper, “And next time you see a simius, maybe use an Art to parry the attack and not your entire body.”

Pongo giggled at that.

“I cannot make any promises there, but I can try. Now, go be the best Santa Claus New Los Angeles has ever seen.”

It didn’t take long for Sydney to find the list in Pongo’s barracks. The paper, long and stretched out and slightly stained by coffee spills, was crumpled up in a loose ball on Pongo’s bed. At the bottom of the list were five unchecked names and presents, and Sydney assumed these were the ones Pongo had missed. Where the other presents had all gone, he wasn’t sure, and a part of him was scared to ask where they’d been stashed away. The names Pongo had mentioned - L’Cirufe, Danniel - would they know? No, he wasn’t about to track them down. Pongo asked him to do this first. He’d worry about the rest later.

Sydney considered tearing off the little part of the list that had what he needed to find, but thought better of it. It’d be less conspicuous to type it in to his comm device for later reference. After typing out the gifts and their intended recipients, he left Pongo’s barracks, locking the door behind him. The administrative district greeted him with the heavy air of duty, of BLADEs intent on finishing missions and delivering supplies before the day was up. Sydney took a deep breath, sighing audibly. This wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend Christmas Eve, but fate wasn’t a friend of his, not by a long shot.

The commercial district wasn’t a short walk. There was a small maintenance elevator he could take down to the residential district, or he could take the one that led to the hangar. What an important decision he had to make! Sydney let his feet drag him towards the smaller elevator, hoping it was quiet enough over there that he wouldn’t have to interact with anyone. Thankfully all was quiet and he got the elevator to himself, and it silently brought him down to the drop-off point in the residential district. Adjusting his glasses, Sydney blinked.

And of course, in the moment his eyes were closed, someone rushed past him. Yes, rushed, as in this person was running to get to the elevator that just arrived. Sydney couldn’t help but sneak a glance over his shoulder at the poor soul who nearly ran into him. They had dark skin, freckles, a mop of brown hair, metallic arms -

Oh. What a funny coincidence.

“Sorry, sorry,” Danny apologized, frantically pressing buttons to activate the elevator. Sydney knew he didn’t have much time to decide whether or not to engage with who Pongo said would be one of his “partners in crime”. His brain decided it’d be better to bite his tongue, wait until the night to spring this unpleasant surprise.

“You going to see Pongo?”

His heart, however, forced the words out of Sydney’s mouth before he could process he’d even spoken. Damn it.

Danny paused, his hands still hovering over the elevator controls. “How did you...wait, are you Sydney by any chance?”

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“O-Oh. Pongo’s mentioned you a few times, that’s all.”

“I mean, we’re dating, so.”

“Right! Right, you’re right.”

“...”

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, the tension in the air palpable. “So how did you know I was going to visit him?”

“Because I just came back from the MMC,” Sydney explained tersely, “He, ah...asked for my help. For tonight.”

He looked confused for a moment, but then the realization dawned on him and his eyes widened. “Wait, you’re gonna be...so Pongo’s not gonna be able to make it tonight?”

“Nope. Still recovering. Should be out by tomorrow.”

“And he wanted you to step in for him?”

“What’s it sound like?” Sydney muttered, “I get it. I wouldn’t have picked me for the job either -”

“No, that’s not what I was gonna - okay,” Danny sighed, clearly anxious, his feet shifting in place, “He messaged me yesterday saying he still had some presents to pick up. Did he ask you to do that as well?”

“Yep,” Sydney said, “It’s what I was gonna do, if someone hadn’t nearly knocked me the fuck over by running so damn fast.”

“Sorry again about that,” Danny apologized yet again, “But since you’ve got that covered, that’s one less thing to worry about for tonight! Thank you in advance, and I ah...I guess I’ll see you later? 9 PM, top of BLADE Tower. I’ll be there with L early to help out.”

“Mhm.”

Danny gave him a grin, stepping backwards further into the elevator without breaking eye contact. Sydney stared him down until he finally turned to activate the elevator, and up he went to the administrative district. Sydney let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, turning around to continue his journey to the commercial district. He thought about how he could’ve avoided that interaction had he the brain cells to consider calling a cab before. But that would’ve been worse to deal with, he figured, because at least Danny was a friend of a boyfriend. There was no telling what kind of lowlife he’d end up with in a taxi. Did NLA’s taxi service even go up to the administrative district? Sydney didn’t spend much time on that question, focusing his attention on the sidewalk and avoiding the weird looks he eventually got from passerby.

Pongo liked to skip over the lines. Something about bad luck and weird Earth traditions, he’d said. Sydney wasn’t one for superstitions, but he found himself purposefully stepping over the lines until he reached the commercial district.

It was easy finding all the gifts on Pongo’s list, but not as easy getting into the shops. Everyone had collectively decided to shop for Christmas presents last minute, Sydney had discovered, and it made navigating through the shops harder than it should’ve been. Every time someone shoved past him, he had to take a deep breath, think of how much this meant to Pongo, remember not to cause any trouble. The last thing he wanted was extra eyes on him.

All that was left for him to do was wait until it got closer to nightfall. Sydney helped himself to a microwave dinner at home; he wasn’t in any mood to eat out since he’d had his fair share of people for the day. Before he knew it, 9 PM had come around, and he made his way towards one of his golden Ares with the stash of presents in tow. They were all small enough to fit in the cockpit with him, thank goodness. He climbed inside and took off into the night, only focused on reaching his destination and not the city beneath him. At the top of BLADE Tower, Sydney could make out two Skell frames, as well as tinier figures standing close by. A larger form, more lumpy and obscure, was placed in between both Skells. Sydney could only assume it was the collection of Christmas presents that had already been collected and wrapped.

His Skell touched down with a thud, and he made eye contact with both figures. The tall one was L, the owner of the curio shop in the administrative district. He was dressed in what Sydney could only describe as a monstrosity: a green and red bunnybod with little Christmas lights strung around his waist like belts, thigh-high green tights and pointed red shoes, a similarly pointed green and red hat with a bell on the tip. Seriously, he didn’t need to see that tonight. At least Danny had the common sense to dress with a normal degree of festiveness; he was wearing a red and blue ugly Christmas sweater and a headband with felt antlers attached. Weird, but passable.

Seeing them both through the glass of his cockpit made Sydney shudder. His regular sweatshirt and sweatpants weren’t exactly the pinnacle of holiday cheer. In fact, going to get into “costume” would be a fine excuse to leave now and not come back and forget this ever happened! But he bit his tongue, teeth maneuvering carefully around his piercing, and decided it was too late to back out now. Besides, Pongo wasn’t the only one who needed him now. L and Danny did, too.

He exited his cockpit, taking the gifts he brought in the crook of his arm. When his feet touched solid ground, L swooped in and took the gifts before Sydney had a chance to explain what he’d gotten.

“Oh, these are most wonderful presentations! No wonder Pong’netai-opta has such faith in you!”

“Po...do you mean Pongo? The fuck’s up with that long ass name?” Sydney frowned, thoroughly confused even though he’d been there less than a minute. But L had already wandered off to the large sack full of presents, which looked close to bursting out the seams upon closer inspection. As he sorted things out and checked tags, pulled some gift wrap out of God knows where and began wrapping up Sydney’s additions. Danny, meanwhile, scooted up to Sydney’s left hand side and watched along with him.

“When Pongo first decided to do this, he told L, and ever since they’ve been doing this together,” He revealed some unwanted exposition that passed through one ear and out the other, “I only just started helping out last year through a weird turn of events. Pongo basically assigned us roles - he’s Santa, of course, L’s an elf, and I’m apparently Rudolph?”

“You forgot your bright red ball this year!” L called out over his shoulder, prompting a panicked reaction from Danny.

“I didn’t have one last year either! Pongo just gave me the antlers and said it was okay - is it okay?”

“Ah, we meant no mental distress from commenting on the matter! After all, the same predicament could be said of our own festive attire. Elves from Earth had longer pants, and yet this style looks and feels far more pleasing!”

“Where did you even get an outfit like that?” Sydney asked out of morbid curiosity.

“We had this tailored to our exact proportions, since we are rather large in stature. Why do you ask - would you perhaps be interested in a matching set for yourself?”

“Oh FUCK no,” He retorted, but immediately froze when L seemed confused at his strong reaction. Sydney backpedalled as hard as he could, but there wouldn’t be any saving this interaction from an awkward end. “I don’t...really not my thing. A-And you said it yourself, you seem like you’d be hard to shop for since you’re ten fucking feet tall.”

“We only have two feet, my keen-eyed friend!”

“Good grief.”

Sydney groaned, almost convinced that he should leave before things got more awkward. But fate had different plans, because of course nothing should benefit Sydney tonight. L suddenly shot upwards, seemingly done with his preparations and spinning around to address both him and Danny.

“Every presentation has been wrapped accordingly! Now the fun part comes running - you must deliver all of these to their selected addresses!”

Sydney’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “W-Wait, it’s my job? What about you?! Don’t just tell me I’ve gotta do this by myself while you sit around and play with your dicks!”

Danny made a choked noise, his gloved hands shooting up to his face to hide his blush. L, however, didn’t seem bothered by Sydney’s vulgarity. “Of course it is your profession, Sydney! After all, Sandy Claws is the only one to deliver presentations on the eve of Christmas, or so the Earthen legends dictate. Fear not, however, for Danniel can direct you to different locations if you find yourself lost!”

“Y-yeah, I can link to your comm device and make sure you’re delivering to the right addresses,” Danny pulled out his comm device and waved it with a somewhat shaky hand, refusing to look Sydney in the eye, “It’s a program that one of Pongo’s Outfitter friends gave us. Pongo thought it’d be a good precaution in case he messed up some of the addresses - he hasn’t yet, as far as I know, but...well, I mean, it’s still really good to have, especially for y -”

“I know my way around the damn city, I doubt I’ll need to fire off a distress signal just because I get a little turned around,” Sydney said, “I get the picture, though. Alright, I’ll get everything delivered. Have fun inventing the dick fiddle while I’m gone.”

“How would one craft their genitalia into a musical instrument?...” L thought out loud, prompting a very loud and pained sigh from Sydney. He turned back towards his Skell, but before he made it far, Danny’s hand clamped down on his shoulder. Sydney opened his mouth, and then there was a hat on his head. A Santa hat. Sydney stared at Danny as the Mediator tried to give a confident smile, though it was laced with too much embarrassment, it was too pitiful an attempt to raise Sydney’s spirits.

“Fly safe tonight! I’ll be keeping watch up here, just let me know when you’re done and we can both go home.”

All Sydney offered in response was a nod. He climbed back into the cockpit of his Skell, and only when he was fully inside did he raise a hand to rip the Santa hat off his head. However, it didn’t leave his hand, and his arm simply fell to his side. This was a strange and twisted way to spend Christmas Eve, but what was a charade without a mask to wear? What was a night dedicated to Christmas spirit without a magician spearheading the magic?

Sydney started up his Skell, flew off into the night with the sack of presents in its mechanical hand. Out of sight of L and Danny, he still pouted as if someone was watching him, but his hand returned to place the Santa hat back on his head.

December 25th. An early morning, clear skies, a gentle sunrise after a long night. It was a good day for Christmas, though too soon for anyone to enjoy it.

A tired Sydney dragged his feet through the front door of his house. Every present had been dropped off at peoples’ houses and barracks and other weird places. Who knew the Ma-non had so many individual sleeping pods on their ship?! Seriously, even though the ship was huge, there was no way that many individual rooms fit on board. It was a conundrum that Sydney had no energy to solve, and he figured the question would dissolve after a good nap.

This was exactly his plan, and he knew he fucking deserved it for putting up with the night’s events. Sydney collapsed onto the couch, not caring much for looking proper, and thankfully sleep came to him quickly and without trouble. In his sleep deprived state, he forgot to lock the door behind him, but it was a fleeting thought that he didn’t care enough to solve.

Pongo partially stumbled inside an hour later, his legs shaking. He kept a firm grip on the doorframe, doing his best to stand upright. He’d managed to convince the MMC medics that his reattachments were suitable, but it had come with a price. Having to walk as normally as possible meant that everything below the waist hurt terribly. Thank the gods he was able to fly his Skell normally so no one else could comment on his balance issues.

Mira told Pongo that it could give him a better pair of legs tomorrow. A belated Christmas present, straight from the planet itself! They both complained about how awful it was that human-produced products and miranium-based materials couldn’t harmonize, and once again Pongo got scolded for nearly throwing his life away. He ignored the latter, having heard enough of it before, but gave a halfhearted promise to do better next time around. For now, he had other priorities.

Closing the door behind him, Pongo saw Sydney collapsed on the couch, arms and legs splayed out at strange angles. One arm dangled off the edge of the couch, a pillow fallen and defeated inches away. Pongo couldn’t help but grin at the sight. As steadily as he could, he made his way upstairs, grabbed a spare blanket, came back downstairs without losing his footing. He draped it over Sydney, making sure he was tucked in and warm. In response, Sydney seemed to curl into himself, nearly burying his face into the newly acquired fleece.

His work done, Pongo sat down on the floor, leaning his back up against the edge of the couch. Sydney’s hand was draped to his left, and Pongo gave it a gentle squeeze before settling in, his eyes fluttering as they begged him to sleep, to rest and to dream. For once, Pongo began to let the unconscious claim him, and before he found himself in the dream, three quiet words left his lips.

“Merry Christmas, Sydney.”

#xenoblade x #The Year Without A Santago: Short Story #Danniel #Sydney #L #tiny mention of Meep #L and Sydney's banter sent me #poor danny had to deal with TWO fools this year lmao #anyways I've had this idea since last year #I'm happy I was able to finish it this year!!#also DONT WORRY PONGOS GONNA BE FINE #(probably)

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