#first of all your scheduling is very much the outlier here

[yuellii]

🪼 HI USER YUELLII OMG I LUV JEALOUSY TROPES MAYBE THAT SAYS... SOMETHING ABOUT MY CHARACTER BUT I LOVEEEE JEALOUSY TROPES. AND WITH NEUVILETTE????? SOEMONE WHO PRIABBLY DOESNT EXPERIENCE JEALOUSY OFTEN IF AT ALL???? im sold. IM SOLD. PULLING OUT MY CREDIT CARD. IWOULD LITERALLY KILL TO READ UR THOUGHTS ON IT

The Four Stages of Jealousy : THE IUDEX.

STAGE I. — Identification.

There is a threat, that a person may feel losing someone to someone better than them. "I want what you have, and I hate that you have what I want."

Neuvillette wasn’t quite sure of the sudden twist in his stomach as he stood at your doorstep, a bag of pastries tucked under one of his arms and a box of tea bags carried under his other.

Saturdays, three o’clock sharp in the afternoon held meaning: A time in which he’d arrive at your boutique, treats in hand and a pleasant look on his face. He’d try on one of your hats, maybe, for it was a prime time for tea, taken advantage of by the two of you, alone together every Saturday afternoon. It was an evening of the week where he was most happiest, though that might’ve been only an assumption. But the tranquility he usually felt standing at your doorstep was never one he could ignore.

Unfortunately, said tranquility seemed to be lacking this time around.

What he expected as another nice time alone with you ( especially since it was on your undocumented schedule—but who cared for documents, when he looked forward to this meeting every week? ) was instead being interrupted by a certain someone. Namely, a certain Champion Duelist. And maybe, Neuvillette would not be so bothered, had she not been sitting in his seat.

( Said seat was also unspoken, or ‘undocumented’ between the two of you, but still. He sat there every week—therefore by repeated pattern alone, that antique chair in front of the table should be his. )

( And sure, this might’ve been your boutique’s seating area, where everyone comes to sit during the day; But on Saturdays during tea time, he’d like to think that seat was practically reserved for him. )

“Neuvillette!” you practically gasped, facial expression turning into one of lightened excitement at seeing him. There was a blissful ignorance in your voice—‘ignorant’ in the way he was truly glad you didn’t know he was mentally annoyed at the mere fact his seat was taken. But nevertheless, the tightrope of his heart fluttered at the sound of your voice, which always sounded so enthusiastic every week he came back here. Perhaps you were just excited to see him as much as he was excited to see you—the thought alone brings a shiver to his spine.

He approaches forward with a polite smile of his own when you pat the empty spot adjacent to you on the loveseat. Ah, so the theft of his usual antique chair leaves him to sit beside you. Maybe the uninvited guest was welcomed, now that he thought about it.

“What brings Miss Clorinde with us today?” he finally asked, addressing the most obvious outlier first. When he set the bag of pastries down on the table, he watched as the Duelist eyed it with interest.

Clorinde hummed. “I was here for a small chat, then I was told that Monsieur Neuvillette would be ‘arriving soon’. And here you are.” At the recount of events, Neuvillette noticed how Clorinde threw a playful look at you. This playfulness did not stop, unfortunately for him, when she leaned forward to peek at the paper bag he brought in. “Then I stayed, because I thought: ‘What could the Chief Justice possibly say that’s interesting enough for weekly conversations?’”

You gasped at her teasing insult. “Clorinde!” you scolded with slight laughter. “Monsieur Neuvillette is a great companion for tea conversations! He’s very interesting, indeed, I promise you!”

“Thank you,” Neuvillette coughed through his words. He’s beginning to feel a bit awkward here…

“Oh?” Clorinde piped up again, just before Neuvillette could even get another word out. “There’s a lot of pastries in here, and also a new box of tea?”

“He brings them for us to share every week!” you exclaimed happily, grabbing the bag off the table and kindly distributing a treat to everyone. And that’s when suddenly, Neuvillette wishes he only bought one for the two of you, because he watches as you set down the pieces of Conch Madeleines in front of the Champion Duelist, despite Neuvillette knowing those were your favorites. Meanwhile, instead, you gave him and yourself the remaining other pastries. But surely, you wouldn’t just give up your favorites like that… Unless you favored Clorinde. Ah, but maybe he was overthinking it. “Isn’t he the sweetest?”

Clorinde sends him a casual smirk, likely to tease him. “Sweetest, certainly.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to any of this at all.

When he eventually had to leave, Clorinde still stayed there to chat with you, and he felt empty walking out of your boutique. Emptier than usual, actually. It was certainly confusing, due to the fact nothing inherently bad happened, and he certainly didn’t want to say Clorinde’s presence bothered him, or anything over-the-top like that.

Hm.

Neuvillette didn’t get to talk to you as much as he wanted to today.

STAGE II. — Confrontative.

Where negative thoughts start to bloom as "envy." Jealousy begins to indicate love for the person, and the individual is afraid of losing that object of their love.

It’s the following Saturday when he sees you again, and he can’t quite understand why he feels an air of relief upon seeing that Clorinde is not there today.

“Neuvillette!” You greet him with the same smile and same excitement as always, and the rush of paradise courses through his body before he sits across from you in his usual seat: the antique chair right in front of you. He sets down his paper bag of fresh pastries; And upon doing so, he can’t help but smile when he noticed there are only two teacups on the table. One for you, and one for himself. “You seem a little more delighted today”—Was it that obvious?—“What’s gotten you into a good mood, Monsieur?”

He hummed. “Nothing, really.” He actually wasn’t quite sure why he was feeling so joyous today, either, but as long as you were sitting there still smiling at him, then it would all be alright. “It’s just natural, since it’s always my pleasure to spend my Saturday afternoons with you.”

Bring your hand up to cover your mouth, you lightly gasped at his words. “Oh, Monsieur!” you giggled. “I hadn’t known you could be a charmer with your words!”

He liked the reaction you gave him. He thinks he liked the feeling of approval you gave him, but even more. Neuvillette learned rather gradually that you always tended to get a happy sort-of embarrassment from his ‘compliments’. Said ‘compliments’, however, referred to mere truthful facts he’s laid for you. But there’s a certain loveliness that comes with confiding in someone to tell all your truths to, and he’s more than elated that you’re the one he trusts to blabber endlessly to. He just hopes it can stay like this for a long time: Just the two of you, enjoying your Saturday afternoon tea.

“So,” Neuvillette began, watching as you took a bite of the Conch Madeleine he bought specifically for you. He had to catch himself from smiling at you—if his duty was to buy your favorite treat every week, then so be it. “How has your week been since I last saw you?”

Your hand once again flies up to cover your mouth as you quickly finish to chew and swallow the bite before answering him. “It’s been fun, actually! I saw a concert performed by a famous violinist—I believe I might’ve even spotted you in the front row…”

“Ah, yes, that would’ve been me. It was a spectacular performance; I’m happy to know you saw it,” he smiled. Hm, if he knew you were there that night, he certainly would’ve said hello. Your hand moves upwards once more to bring your teacup closer to your lips, and now he’s curious to ask: “And that ring of yours—that’s new, when did you get it?”

“Oh!” After setting the teacup down, you quickly leaned forwards, outstretching your right arm to show off the ring to him at a closer view. “I just got it yesterday, actually. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“It is.” It really dazzles to compliment your eyes. Neuvillette catches himself thinking of little things he’s never thought before. Like the way your hair frames your face perfectly, especially at this angle. Or the way your eyes held this delicate shine he admired so dearly, only now heightened by the sparkle of the ring’s reflection. There’s a new tide of poetry unspoken in the depths of his mind, and they might as well stay locked until he figures out just what this emotion is.

When you offer your hand for him to get a closer inspection of the ring is when his breath seems almost stolen from his lungs. Months and months of these weekly tea meetings, and yet he feels this is the closest proximity he’s ever been to you. Here, in his antique chair in the middle of your boutique shop, holding your hand from across the table.

But he feels a spark that he prays you sense as well, for the mere desire of wanting this moment to last forever is enough to tell him that he is completely in love with you.

He leans down gently to reach closer to your hand, kissing your knuckle so featherlight next to the ring. “And it’s even more beautiful on you,” he mutters to you when he pulls away.

Your heart might’ve skipped a beat when you retracted your hand, but he has no idea—he was too lovestruck just now to even think properly. But you take just a moment to recover whilst he’s still stuck in his little daze; Though, who could blame him when he just discovered the ethereal feeling of falling in love?

“Thank you,” you exhaled with a smile that seemed a little breathless. “Lady Clorinde helped pick it, actually.”

…What?

Well, that was a name he completely forgotten until just now. He cleared his throat, attempting to regain his composure after the sudden whiplash of emotions. From finding out he’s in love, to the pang of unwarranted negativity for the Champion Duelist. As expected, he couldn’t tell what this uncomfortable feeling was, but he certainly did not like it.

“Clorinde was there, you say?” he tried to clarify.

You nodded. A little too happily for his liking. “We went out shopping yesterday.” Oh. “And she said this ring really matched ‘the colors of my personality’, whatever that means!” you wholeheartedly laughed. The way you spoke of her, with all this smiling and all these giggles, was making him crave for something more. Did… Did you perhaps want to see him more outside of these tea times, too? You seem perfectly fine shopping with Clorinde now, after all.

He’s never gotten personal time with you like that. It’s always been solely Saturday afternoons, nothing more. And yet, Clorinde immediately gets invited to your shopping runs, and apparently her opinion is also important enough to make you buy the ring? How unbelievable. Neuvillette bets if he was there instead, he’d buy you every piece of jewelry that you even took so much as slight interest in, because that was what you deserved. But no, here he was, not invited to these outings at all, and further stuck wallowing as your mere ‘tea companion’, and not something more.

The door to the boutique suddenly opens, and the both of you turn your heads to the customer.

But instead of a client, you were met with the face of a slightly-smiling Clorinde, ever so amused to see the both of you here again. Well, she shouldn’t be amused. Neuvillette was here on schedule.

“Ah, you’re here!” you say excitedly, briskly standing up to grab another set of tea; And now, Neuvillette can’t quite tell if you greet everyone at the door with this same excitement, and it’s not just restricted to him alone. He shouldn’t be that selfish, of course, so he thinks perhaps it should just not be directed at Clorinde, specifically.

“Pardon me,” Clorinde announced, making her way to the table after you set the tea display down. “I’ll be intruding on the both of you again.” Neuvillette wishes he had any right to refuse.

This time, now that he’s regained his rightful spot on the antique chair, Clorinde had no choice but to sit… right next to you on the loveseat—the same place Neuvillette sat last week when his spot was stolen. A moment comes forth where he now no longer wants his seat at all ( which he doesn’t understand why, because shouldn’t he be happy his unspoken designated seat is back? ), and prefers the loveseat.

Maybe it was the sight of Clorinde next to you, and the fact she was sitting so much closer than he’d like to imagine. And suddenly, that’s when he realizes he doesn’t like the idea of Clorinde being this close to you at all.

“Oh! You’re wearing the ring I got you!” Clorinde recognizes. She grabbed your right hand to immediately inspect it, and Neuvillette can’t help but feel like someone just shot him. Not only did she comfortably grab your hand like it was nothing ( meanwhile, he had to find both the confidence and the breath to even try to kiss your hand earlier ), but she also got it for you? The little detail you never mentioned: That Clorinde bought you the ring.

Now Neuvillette is internally questioning what exactly this ring means. Is it akin to a proposal? A vow? A promise ring for the future?

The longer he stays here the more insane he may be driven, he thinks.

“Sorry to cut my time here short, but I think I have to get going,” he spoke up. Both Clorinde and you looked over at him, and he figured this was a good idea—he doesn’t think he can handle another tea session where the two of you are happily talking as he sits there awkwardly quiet. “I’ll be off, now.”

“Already?” you frowned at him, and that expression almost makes him want to stay. But the sight of Clorinde still absentmindedly toying with your hand sends him into a spiral of emotions he needs to sort out. He’s already stood up to leave without realizing it.

“Unfortunately so,” he says. He might’ve sounded colder than he meant to. It was clear in your face you knew something was wrong, but didn’t want to say it out of privacy. But when he walked towards the door, hearing Clorinde continue your conversation on like normal, it was fruitless to even consider it.

He opened the door. It was raining.

It feels like he was losing your love before he could even have it.

STAGE III. — Redirecting.

Where pleasure is derived from hurting others, stemmed from unconscious feelings of envy. The envy can come in a so-called as a form of competitive implication.

The next time he saw you was around the market area in the morning, wandering the streets like a normal citizen on this wavering Wednesday.

Normally, he would have just smiled and waved at most, but this time, something compelled him to walk up and join you. “Is this where to find you on Wednesday mornings?” he asked curiously, catching your starling attention and watching as your lips curved to a smile when you recognized him.

“It is, Monsieur.” When you stepped ever-so closer to him, a mere basket around your arm being the only thing between you, he felt as if his feet had turned into bubbles, and there was a flutter of heaven around his shoulders. “My weekly groceries are scheduled for today, however I don’t recall ever seeing you on this side of the city, if that isn’t just my ignorance.”

He chuckled, “I’m usually at my office by this time, so you would be correct.” Then his arm slid against yours, taking the wooden basket out of your hands and walking a few steps forward down the market street you shopped at. “But I’m open to a change of pace, so might I join you on this lovely morning?”

The little smile of contentment you gave him when you answered “Of course” made his heart skip a beat. And when you walked forward to hook your arm around his free one, he swears to the sovereign he might simply dissolve right then and there. The closeness of your presence to him now makes his heart race in a way he feels it drumming in his chest, a feeling that is so human that it makes him almost taste the fruit of mortality. You, walking along with him as you hold onto his arm whilst he carries your grocery basket—you look like romantic partners, and he can’t help but feel sort of lightheaded at the mere thought of that.

“Ah, look!” you pointed, and Neuvillette allowed himself to be guided by the arm to a nearby vendor. “They’re selling slices of apricot pie.”

“You fancy these desserts as well?” he mused, already fishing his pockets for his wallet. “Perhaps we should purchase a slice or two and save them for our weekend tea session.”

You agreed, “I thought the same.” Then you noticed his shuffling and playfully waved off his hand, insisting he needn’t pay. “But I fear it might spoil by the time Saturday comes.”

“You want a bite of mine?” And that’s when Neuvillette wasn’t even surprised anymore to hear the voice of the Champion Duelist appearing out of nowhere. He has such horrible luck running into her, that he’s now just accepted it at this point ( or, for better words: he still has yet to accept the fact that maybe Clorinde was specifically seeking you ). She stood there, leaned against a pole with an easy-going expression and a fork in one of her hands, carrying an aluminum tin with the exact same apricot pie you were just eyeing.

You gasp at her appearance, “Sure!” Neuvillette doesn’t even have a moment to process the mere seconds it takes for you to slip away from his arm, leaving him to follow behind as you skip over to Clorinde. The uninvited guest takes it upon herself to feed you a bite with her fork—it was at this time that the Iudex began to feel like an outlier once again.

“We were actually about to buy a few slices ourselves,” Neuvillette piped in. He did it quickly, perhaps it was instinct so he wouldn’t be left out of the conversation again. “But an excellent point was brought up, that the dessert might spoil by the time we reach Saturday afternoon.”

“Why don’t you just buy one and eat it now?” Clorinde shrugged. Ah. Neuvillette internally scolded himself; He should’ve thought of that. And when you waved off her suggestion dismissively, claiming it was fine now that she let you try it, Neuvillette realized he completely missed an opportunity to have dessert with you on a Wednesday instead of a Saturday. That while he was still a man you only saw once at the end of each week, you’d be seeing Clorinde multiple times throughout it.

He wasn’t fond of the way Clorinde was still feeding you more bites of pie, either.

“Miss Clorinde,” he addressed. If only he had more of a grasp of human sociability, then he might’ve realized how firm his voice sounded in this situation that was… not so serious. “Shouldn’t you be alongside Furina at this time of day?”

“On a typical day, yes,” she answered simply. “And shouldn’t you be in your office?”

He almost glared. “No, actually, I’ve given myself the time to roam around today.”

“Oh wowww,” she teased, though Neuvillette might’ve heard it as something mocking. “Lady Furina would be pleased to hear that. Instead of being cooped up in your office or the Opera Epiclese all morning long, you’re out here at the market, even holding a basket for shopping.”

The Iudex cleared his throat. “Well, I’ll have you know that this basket isn’t mine.” There was an air of competitiveness in his voice, one that almost had him biting his tongue in surprise of himself. Because it was simply just as he said: a basket. But the fact it belonged to you, and the fact that he was carrying it for you—suddenly he wanted to boast it and show it off to the world, especially to Clorinde’s face. “The two of us are shopping together this morning, if you’ll excuse us.” His next move might’ve been bold, but the feeling of possessiveness was so airtight and he had no choice but to hook his own arm around yours once more, getting ready to turn and leave.

“So cold,” Clorinde rolled her eyes. ‘Cold’ was a word often used to describe him, but no, not here. He did not want to appear that way in front of you. “Is this really the attitude you want to spend all morning with?” she asked, this time directed at you.

Something in him snapped. There was an emotion that clouded his head far angrier than annoyance, and it sprouted from the way in which she made him look bad, like the stone-cold Chief Justice everyone thought him to be. Albeit with you, he was trying to be everything but that. Emotional, vulnerable, heartfelt, human—Clorinde was not going to take that away from him.

‘Is this really the attitude you want to spend all morning with?’ The question kept playing in his mind, as if she was any better than him? She, who most people also saw as stoic, should not be seen by you in a better light than him. She, who did not know your favorite desserts like he did, who did not make time for you like he did, who did not fancy you as much as he did—

He felt you tug at his arm, snapping him from his thoughts.

Your eyes held the same, worried look you gave him on Saturday when he left so abruptly. So jealously.

Neuvillette cleared his throat once more. “It seems you are correct, Miss Clorinde.” There was solemness in his voice. Yet he was so quiet as he unlocked his arm from around yours, and handed your basket to Clorinde. “My attitude proves to be too unfavorable for the likes of this lovely morning, I thank you for bringing it to my attention.” These emotions were too much right now; he was starting to fear them. “My deepest apologies to you both, I’ll be heading back to the Palais Mermonia now.”

He bowed his head as diplomatically as he could manage, but the skies were already darkening.

“I bid you both a fine rest of your morning.”

“Wait, Neuvillette!”

Your call was drowned by the deafening drums of his hammering heartbeat, and the patters of light rainfall from the somber sky.

STAGE IV. — Medea.

At this stage, the grip of envy appears almost irreversible. There is a hatred towards others that dominates their thinking, and happiness or success is no longer foreseen.

Saturday afternoon.

He couldn’t see you again, even if it was time for your weekly meeting, not when he was feeling like this.

Not when the sky was pouring from the mere thought of you, and how he’s probably already lost. It was inevitable for a man like him, and he should’ve realized so earlier. Three o’clock, and you were already probably sipping away with Clorinde at your side, pastries on the table and a dazzling ring on your finger. She was much more human than him, after all, and such a shortcoming became his eventual downfall.

The Palais Mermonia was quiet, though that might’ve been due to the endless rain that’s been pouring since Wednesday morning.

While it was nice, he couldn’t help but feel the silence only amplified his feeling of loneliness in this moment. Especially at this time: a time of the week in which he looked most forward to.

“Monsieur Neuvillette?” a Melusine knocked from right outside his door. “You have a visitor!”

And before he could even reply, that was when you ignored all formalities, all proper respect as you pushed your way through the door and into his office. The surge of panic he felt from your sudden presence was unrivaled to the way you made haste in getting seated in front of his office table, setting down your handful—said handful consisting of two teacups, and a bag of pastries.

His heart practically shattered. The familiar cups and bag of treats on the table, the way your hair and clothes were lightly damp from the rain—you made the effort, coming all the way here just to see him. Just so the both of you wouldn’t miss a single Saturday afternoon together.

“I believe you might’ve forgotten our schedule, good Monsieur.” A light scolding, yet partnered with the most comforting smile you’ve ever given him, and he starts to feel his hands tremble. “You seem surprised to see me,” you commented further, filling in the silence as he has yet to utter even a word. “Did you really think I’d just let you ditch me like that?”

It was hard to breathe, hard to find his voice when you were so patient with him. “Sorry.” It’s all he can mutter now, this blistering swell of emotions causing a waver in his voice. “I’m so, very sorry.”

“Don’t be,” you chuckled at him. His body tensed when you reached forward to grab one of his hands. But you felt cold just like the chilling rain outdoors, and now he worries you might catch a fever because of him. “I’ve been meaning to ask you what was wrong, but…” Your eyes drooped with a certain sorrow in their crevices, and Neuvillette found himself slightly squeezing your hands. “I couldn’t seem to find a good moment alone with you.”

He shook his head at you, whispering, “I don’t even know what’s wrong, myself…”

You frowned. This atmosphere was suffocating and just from one glance upwards at your face, Neuvillette could easily tell you were holding back something to say. Granted, it was his fault. He’s the one who’s here, sitting and sulking in his office with little to no explanation. He’s the one who’s kept you worried this past week from leaving so abruptly two different times now. If anything, he might understand how to be a human even less after this ordeal.

“Would you be so kind…” he starts, words like lumps in his throat, “to allow me to be honest? To let me ramble whatever nonsense I’m feeling for just a moment, so that maybe you can make some sense of it all?”

You gave his hands a comforting squeeze. “Of course.”

There’s a certain phrase caught dead in his tongue. And he’s never been afraid to speak his mind before, yet suddenly, your judgment of his feelings mattered much more than the truth of his words. But he was feeling so much, and if this was really the emotional baggage humans had to carry all the time, he could only wonder how most people have yet to burst from the hauntings of their own mind.

Or more accurately so—the hauntings of their own love.

These words were doomed to come spilling out. “You’ve bewildered me with mountains of emotions,” he rambles quicker than he thinks. “All from the sleight of your hand, I best believe I’ve fallen in love with you.”

He forces himself to ignore how your eyes widen in that moment, or how the grip from your hands suddenly loosens from the shock that rings through his confession. He doesn’t have a way with words, and he knows this. So in a hasty attempt to piece together a board of emotional exposure his mind cannot even comprehend, he does the only thing he knows how to: talk and talk, until he has no more truth to confess to you.

“But the feelings that came alongside my love,” he began to you, “are unexplainable.” As his voice ended in coarseness, there was such an hopeless look of utter confusion you had never seen on his face before, like he was silently pleading for you to help a poor soul like his own. “The beating of my heart when I see you… A stark contrast to the tightness in my stomach I feel… When Miss Clorinde joins us.” The ending of his sentence dropped to nearly a whisper, like he expected it to be sin. “But what I just don’t understand, is why,” the section of his brows furrow in distress, “because she’s my coworker, and I do not dislike her, but I feel as if I cannot stand her when she joins us…”

You listen quietly. He doesn’t know whether to be thankful or fearful whilst awaiting your reaction.

He continued, “But when she sat with us for tea, and bought you that ring, and joined us at the market…” This confession; It was arguably harder than confessing his love to you. Because Clorinde was your friend—maybe even closer, if he was so unlucky—and he might’ve crossed a line here he didn’t even know existed. “I felt like I hated her,” he finished.

You were still silent, though it wasn’t like he could see your expression anyways. He refused to even look up to it, choosing instead to stare down at your joined hands.

But this silence was deafening. Please, just reject him already. He let out the most exhausted sigh he has ever before, the weight of these human emotions bearing down on him. “So I was just…”

“Just jealous,” you finished for him, and he noticed in your voice how you were almost laughing quietly to yourself. The emotion you just named—he didn’t know how envy even felt like, much less jealousy ( though, he supposes he knows now ). “Neuvillette, you should’ve just told me you felt uncomfortable with Clorinde there.”

“Hm?” He was confused. So confused, that his eyes finally darted up to meet your own. And there you stood, most comforting of smiles on your face as your thumb began to trace patterns on the back of his hand.

You reassured him, “Those are times we spend together, dedicated to the both of our comforts.” Which was true, but he was ready to argue that he felt selfish that way—and that you wouldn’t love nor deserve a selfish man. “I trust you to tell me when you feel things are unfavorable,” you continued, “and I promise you, Clorinde would understand if I told her.”

“But,” he piped up, so much doubt in his eyes as if struggling to believe your words, “is she not important to you?” And now, he could not comprehend the bashfulness that raised blood to his cheeks, or the complete disbelief that you’d wave off the Champion Duelist just because of his silly discomfort. Human relationships; He feared he may never understand them.

“Of course she’s important to me—she’s my friend!” you lightly laughed. “But you’re important to me, as well. Please understand that.” His heart might’ve stopped for just a moment. “And when we have our scheduled times alone together, the last thing I want to have is you feeling uneasy when we’re supposed to be relaxing.” Your words, the kindness you shed—it was all so confusing yet so welcoming at the same time, that he feels it’s only a matter of seconds until he drowns from the sound of your voice. To feel such comfort in a person was bizarre to him, but it’s a feeling that makes him crave your presence all the same.

His eyes fell to another slight frown, voice quieter as if losing the will to argue. “But… I should not have the right to impede on a relationship significant to you…”

Now it was your turn to look baffled. The way he worded it. Oh, surely he didn’t— “Monsieur, do you think Clorinde and I are a couple?”

“Well, I certainly thought you two were getting to that state in your relationship,” Neuvillette answered truthfully, voice flowing without hesitation as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. The man who just confessed his love for you only moments ago was fully convinced you felt romance for another woman. “Hence why I was…” He turned his head to the side, shyly clearing his throat. “Envious…”

You practically burst out into giggles. In fact, one of your hands even let go of his grip just so you could cover your mouth to laugh. “Oh… Oh, Neuvillette, surely you jest!” you attempted to name whilst controlling your laughter. The Iudex was shell-shocked into pure silence, wondering what he could’ve possibly said to make you react this way, because as far as he knew, he was not making a joke. “Clorinde is only a friend to me,” you clarified. “Nothing more.”

He remains silent, but there’s a sweeping wave of new emotions that suddenly flood his shoulders.

“And if she sees me as anything more, then, well,” you continued, glancing up outside and then back down to meet his awaiting eyes. “Unfortunately for her, the love in my heart has already been captured by another.”

“By whom?” The lack of hesitation from his immediate question has more giggles escaping your lips. He looks at you, and your face tells him it’s an obvious question with an obvious answer, and yet he still cannot comprehend this even when you squeeze both his hands in yours once more.

“Who do you think, Monsieur?” And yet even after his face flushes red, he still has a focused look of anticipation on his face—it’s as if he absolutely will not believe it until you spell it directly to his face. “Neuvillette,” you sighed, but there was an air of gentleness in the way you say his name that relaxed his soul. “It’s always been you.”

The rain continued on.

But now the sun shined between each droplet, because if he could cry from happiness right now, he was sure you’d already be busy wiping his tears away. And this sunny rain continued on and on, even as he poured you tea, even when he bit into the pastries you bought, and even when he looked at you fondly across his desk, not a single doubt of your love.

And as for Clorinde, well, he might need a few more days to recover before he can forgive her for all the sporadic heart attacks she’s almost given him.

#neuvillette x reader #neuvillette imagines #neuvillette x you #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #neuvillette fluff #genshin x gender neutral reader #neuvillette

[why-the-heck-not]

hi ! i’m new to your blog and I really love your daily updates. how is computer science as a major? i am thinking about applying but im really scared about it being too fast and being dumb compared to everyone else (like how i felt in high school) plus im horrible at math but i want to potentially learn more about computers.

like i enrolled for that free harvard intro to CS50 class online but it was way too difficult for me to understand and I was 2minutes in and they were only talking about binary stuff ugh

Heyy!! Personally for me it’s been very varied in the difficulty levels. Like it’s never too easy, haven’t had a course where I’d just breeze through it with no problems, there’s always something (but that’s part of the fun in coding; being frustrated out of ur mind but when you crack it? That feeling is my favorite one out there). It’s yea has some mathematical thinking, but not outright maths that much (aside from AI that’s just lots of probability math & statistics). But I feel like it’s very different mathematical thinking from ”regular” math.

Also starting a whole new different subject is obviously at first going to be very confusing & difficult bc u have no existing concepts to place the things you’re learning on, the context keeps building up when u keep studying & usually things get clearer as you learn more.

Abt the binary stuff; you don’t rly need it for coding (like it’s good stuff to know obv to have like the basic concept of where everything is based on) unless you code in some assembly language. (Altho u could have some obligatory assembly language courses (we had one and everyone hated it lmao and it’s just one of those courses you’re looking forward to passing and never thinking abt again (at least was for me; some ppl love it)).

Universities are also more flexible if u feel like it’s too fast; there’s no set schedule you have to follow. You can take longer to graduate if u need to and it’s not the end of the world. And a lot of ppl actually do graduate like 0.5-1 year later (or more but I feel like that’s the common one; there’s the outlier spiders georgs of forever students who’ve been there for 8 years). Like I’m graduating in 4 years (hopefully 🤞) instead of the 3 that was the goal time. (<- all of that tho could be different in ur country’s education system, that’s just how it is here, like u can always apply for more time and it’s pretty easy to get)

Tho in the end, it’s hard for me to say. I don’t like the idea of ”being too dumb” for something; just might take some ppl more time/effort for some things than other ppl.

#i rambled a ton here (this is why you should think abt what you’re trying to say before starting to write lol) #asks #january 2024 #2024

[ezamevolni]

Jijinjung: Claws Out

When the story is hidden in the negative

Sunshine is also going MIA... maybe we could fight poison (tears) with poison (more tears) 🫠

Therefore here's a look back at 6 years ago.

Foreword (main content below the cut): wobbled back and forth on whether to post this or not but as you can see, I've landed on 'Y'.

I reason that with the cloak of Jinkook, I've already repelled like 92-97% of the fandom so my corner on the outlier won't cause any waves & there's isn't any true knowledge of the actual cause AND this is an incident from their distant past. A month ago I was determined to do a long written form version of that Jinkook jealous tiff from back in November 2017, this one:

Because I loved the analysis by With Jinkook/Kookjin from YT on it 💗

However, when replaying the fancam countless times to capture my silly lil screenshots and gifs, I found a different angle of the story that is much more plausible to me and unfortunately, not quite Jinkook-centered. It's a bit more like Jk got caught up in the middle of it.

The two leads are Jin and Jimin (again). So... this factored into my hesitation to post(Jinkook is still present but it's bittersweet).

⚠️ Contrary to the last petty argument pointed out between Jin and Jimin, this one implies a more serious fight. Please read at your own discretion. ⚠️

Please also remember that this is solely an outside perspective of the whole ordeal.

Due to there being no audible dialogue from the fancams and my inability to read lips and transcribe romanized Hangul, the content of the quarrel is still very much a mystery. Therefore, this analysis is highly interpretive.

I'm only going off the physical actions, looks, and reactionary effects visible from the fancams.

After this one, things will be back on track~ Got no more Jinmin cards hidden up my sleeve.

Alright, story time🌙

✨

It's 1 November 2017, and BTS had just returned to work after a short break over the last week of October.

Spirits in the team should be high because the members had spent their vacation relaxing or traveling; where especially of note was Jimin and Jungkook that went to Tokyo together (Oct 28-30). The Jikook trip was a pretty big deal because at that time no two members have ever travelled alone to another country before.

Their first schedule was performing for the Pyeongchang Olympics G-100 Concert, and Bangtan had gathered onstage for the ending ensemble song rehearsal.

BTS were waiting on standby like the rest of the singers, and 2seok had a cute lil interaction at the very start of the video. Jin gestured for Hobi to stand on his right and when moving over, both reached around each other for some playful butt pats.

Take note of Hobi's surprise at Jin returning the playfulness, it seemed like Jin was acting a bit out of sorts in his eyes.

Almost instantly, a slick Jungkook slid into frame after and made sure to get close enough to Jin for his jacket to brush against his arm.

I won't derail into giving examples of Jk making his presence known to Jin whenever someone is threatening his spot. There will be no end to this post. But veteran Jinkookers, I know you have a montage of sulky Jk in your minds ready to go 🙌

And if you're unsure if Jk's subtle bump against Jin had anything to do with 2seok, don't fret for Jk will follow up.

Soon, all the singers were directed to move forward on the stage.

While trudging up, Jin turned around to tell Jk about something he pointed at and ushered him up to the very front (probably because he was going to be in the ensemble).

It's clear there weren't any signs of tension between Jinkook yet:

Notice that Jimin was also selected to sing for the ensemble but Jin didn't seem to care or acknowledge this, for he passed up Jimin in his line of sight when turning to Jk.

Soon they eventually ended up standing in these haphazard positions, with Jk in the front by himself, and Jin shoulder to Jimin:

Jin's disdain for Jimin is subtle still because he hadn't shown any obvious signs of hostility yet.

But we could glean some unpleasantry by when Jimin turned towards him and he remained staring ahead, not responding in the slightest. Jimin then turned back to the front without doing or saying anything else.

The tension had began brewing, but was still minimal.

Next up, is when the conflict starts to crystallize. And we have secretary Min Suga to thank for making it apparent. For a couple of significant things happened at the same time.

Firstly in the new positions they were at, Jk was in the very front so none of the members were in his field of vision. Now let's watch him do a ballet turn as he tried to nonchalantly check on 2seok behind him:

Peg how Hobi looked back at Jk like he felt Jk's eyes on him. And peg Jimin, who was just an instrument in Jk's play of nonchalance. He didn't bother responding to Jk although he said something.

Additionally, look at how Jk took advantage of the momentum to take a step backwards - to be closer to Jin - but simultaneously also leaned in to Jimin. Yeeahh.. wasn't the best move.

The second significant event was the eternal roommates' whisper conversation while Jk was doing his lil twirl. Yoongi leaned in behind Jin, said something to him and then with a whip of their heads, both looked intensely over at Jimin.

This was the first obvious sign of discord.

Now from the angle of the fancam, I'm not sure if Jimin could see Jin turning to look at him but almost like a response, Jimin leaned away and moved to the left, pulling Jk along.

Looked like he was using Jk as a buffer between him and Jin 😂

Then next... came The Glare.

(BTW I know I'm picking apart everything to shreds lol I'll provide a summary at the end for anyone who doesn't want these hyper-analyzed break downs)

Within a span of 3 seconds, a flurry of events set in motion one of Jin's fiercest expressions to date. Being Jin biased, I focus on him a lot and I can say this for sure, it's different from when he smolders on stage or blinks hangrily. On a good day, he's a pro idol and knows how to control his expressions in public, but this day he let out an emotion I rarely see him show.

The chain of actions went down like this: Yoongi first said something to Joon, then Joon leaned forward to whisper to Jk. Jk turned to his right to hear Joon better and when this was happening, Jin was gesturing at something and turned to his left as if reporting to Yoongi, but then you find out his real motive was so that he could catch Jk's gaze and give him this incredibly intense warning:

I will wither like a daisy sprayed with pure bleach if he looked at me like that.

Jin-san is big mad.

The Glare could be a little confusing as to why suddenly Jin was mad at Jk but a connection can be made. There was already something going on between Jinmin and when Jk didn't draw a clear line from Jimin, he incurred Jin's wrath as well. Leaning closer to Jimin? Walking towards Jimin? Hmph.

There's another layer to this: that Jk was also involved in whatever angered Jin. He had gotten a pass at first but when he didn't make a stand for Jin or show any remorse (roughly speaking), Jin decided to retract his leniency. I'm only adding this layer based off Jin's behavior since the beginning of the video - being extra touchy with Hobi and later on with Tae and B.A.P Youngjae. Just remember that he's in the middle of a quarrel so you can't take his 'cheeriness' to be what it is. Dare I say Jin was being chummy with others to elicit Jk's unhappiness? It does look that way.

Ultimately, The Glare is thanks to Jinkook's special relationship, giving us an honest display of emotions from Jin. You rarely ever see him losing his cool in public but when it comes to Jk, Jin won't hesitate to show what he feels.

*Side note: There's more to dive into on how Jk isn't very attuned to others' feelings so Jin has to make it extra clear when he wants him to know.

A glimpse of this trait can be seen here lol because when Jin glared that hard at Jk, Jk still didn't get it at first 😂

Right after Jin shot laser eyes at him, Jk was just freed from RM's whispering, so you'd think he would check on Jin or would be affected by the glare... nah, he turned around to start singing playfully with Yoongi:

Look at Suga humoring Jk 😂

Jk probably did get a hint that Jin was mad because after a beat, he turned to stare unabashedly at Jin as if observing him. Jin soon started to playfully sing at Yoongi and only paused for a fraction of a section for his gaze to land on Jk - and only then did Jk turn away...still looking dazed but he got it this time 😂

I'll save the deep dive into Jk's headspace for another time.

And hence why the difference to how Jin displayed his anger against Jimin and against Jk. Jimin cares and will be highly reactive to others' emotions, but for Jk, you gotta spell it out for him. And when he does get it (and does care) he's gonna be extra, extra affected. Simply because less gets past his walls and his lil internal soldiers are less experienced with warfare. Therefore for Jimin, he plainly got ignored whilst Jk got a big dose of laser eyes.

Then let's switch focus briefly to the two rappers in the back - Yoongi and Namjoon.

Here's Yoongi and Joon's behaviors during the brewing tension:

And here's RM glaring at Jimin for 3 seconds:

These looks... Their reactions to the Jijinjung conflict was what really made me believe the Jikook trip by itself wasn't the cause of the tension. tbh I also don't see Jin getting so riled up two days later after Jikook arrived back in S.Korea. If anything, it felt like something that just happened before the fancam where Jimin did something to offend Jin, possibly involving Jk. I'm a Jnkkr so that might sound like I'm suggesting those two made out behind Jin's back or something but NOOO!! Not in that direction. Pls don't go there, delulu is welcome here but it has to have some moral limits. Honestly, I've got no idea...if you think you do, pls dm me ✨ I need some enlightenment.

(Can you guys believe we're only 1 minute into the fancam? LOL🕺🏻 Don't worry, the most important actions already occurred. I'll be fast forwarding through the remaining 3 minutes.)

Previously, I called him Secretary Min Suga because he seemed to have a grasp on the whole situation from start to finish and played advisor to various members.

Sin's second whisper conversation started up when:

Look at how Yoongi gestured for Jin to come closer so he may rest a whole elbow comfortably on the length of his shoulder. And Jk was listening.

In fact, after Jin heard something and went 'EH?' in an irritated manner, Yoongi continued talking and then Jk reacted to the convo by looking down and leaning away sulkily:

It's quite clear that Sin weren't chatting about dinner or the weather; it had something to do with Jk. Subsequently for the remainder of the video, Yoongi's little glances at Jk and Jimin also gave most of the content away. It also looked like Jin's final answer mouthed to Yoongi's questions was 'I don't/didn't know' ...hm.

At this point Jinkook who were standing pretty close together at first now had this ocean wide of a gap between them.

Later on, Secretary Min also whispered with Leader Kim and Jk saw this and wanted to hear the contents. Yoongi rejected Jk with a shake of his head and a kind smile.

🥲 Jk and Jimin were being shut out by the rest.

Meanwhile Jin, the one who's slighted, didn't seem to want to show too much negativity so he was doing his best talking and singing along with Hobi and Tae on the sidelines. Those two might not look like they were aware but they were, they're just choosing to stay above it.

As mentioned earlier, Jin got chummy with Tae. When Tae started mimicking the solo singer belting out a high note, Jin played along.

Tae had placed his hands around Hobi and Jin's shoulders, then moved to only Jin... just in time to catch Jungkook watching from the corner of his eyes:

Poor Tae... gotta say Jk's glare was much more effective than Jin's at making the other party shrink.

...Refer to the video for how distinct the mood was between the two groups: Jimin and Jk~ singing stiffly during their lines and those not in the song~ having fun lip-syncing. It's also noticeably how Jimin hadn't spoken or interacted with anyone except Jk.

My heart ached when Jk spotted Jin having fun during his second verse, and Jk tried to catch Jin's smile but failed.

How dare you ignore Jk. I'm sorry. But like how dare you Jin.

It must have been especially uncomfortable for Jk when he saw Jin throwing himself onto B.A.P. Youngjae, as they were dismissed from the stage:

His eyes never left Jin when walking off

Jk's unhappy gaze trained onto a specific direction

Hobi had also seen Jin and Youngjae, and seemed to be semi-reassuring (?) Jk by gently ushering him away.

🌗

The tension that built during the span of the rehearsal fancam did not go away in the remaining parts of the day. In fact, I'd say it culminated at an all-time high during the ending performance of the ensemble song that night.

Before getting to their official performance at night, there's another fancam where they were by themselves.

Their group rehearsal for DNA and Fire:

For the most part I couldn't see anything off but some instances did give away the individual member's mental state.

Example, during DNA, Jin and Tae were relaxed enough to be playing around with each other

Much like they were before during the ensemble song fancam.

Then between the two songs, BTS practiced a short segue into the second song and it's not common to see Jk with his head down while Jin was talking and then fully turning his body to block him out... (starts at around 4:07...I've hit the pic limit lol)

Jk also seemed tired and out of it during Fire:

'Tis why I say when he's affected, he's really affected.

🌘

I don't think a point-by-point break down is necessary for the ending stage Butterfly of the night. The tension was evident and consistent.. and made me super uncomfortable to rewatch once I was aware of the atmosphere and the split down the middle of the group.

There's also another angle from a different fancam, where you could see Jimin and Jk at the front row by themselves while the others stayed back.

Cameras and eyes were trained onto them so everyone was doing their best to smile and sway to the music. But these genuine kids... they can't ever hide their emotions entirely which for this case is heartbreaking to watch.

The two singing (🐥🐰) were standing there with their hands clasped together, the trio (🐻🐹🐿️) on the right seemed to be pretty cheerful while two remaining (🐱🐨) at the back weren't as stiff but also not quite relaxed. The whole group dynamic was off that night.

And Jk especially couldn't hide how bothered he was... like when he spotted Jin 'having the time of his life' (probably not tho), he who was also softly lip-syncing a moment ago, stopped short:

Another angle + extended reaction after:

Later on when the fireworks started startling everyone on stage, Jimin and Jk reacted in that 'tense but still wants to give some reactions' sort of way (like me at a birthday karaoke bar) while everyone behind them were literally running away.

Yeah...it was not a great day for the whole team overall.

🌒

Dear reader, if you've come this far and still aren't convinced that Jinmin were locked in a standoff during the entire day of Nov 1, as always BTS will clear the air themselves. (The Jinkook side of things was louder and I'm sure you could follow my train of thoughts better 😉)

The outro to this whole debacle can be found in the AskAnythingChat interview released half a year later in April 2018. WOOPDIDA!!!🧚🏽‍♀️ Yee, it's connected to November 1, 2017. Who knew that meme of a video had traces of drama gun powder eh😏

Because the interview happened only a mere 2 weeks after that day:

One of the many times I'm thankful for their hair colors that found me the filming date.

I believe those who had watched the interview already know the parts I'm about to mention. (3:37 & 5:12)

Even if you've never seen the whole thing you've definitely seen I LOVE HAMBURGER AND SPRITE✨

The basic structure was MC Jin reading the questions in English and the rest answering the questions to the best of their ability.

The question that gave the baby chick a chance to finally strike back against his Jin hyung on camera was this:

WHAT DO YOU GUYS ARGUE ABOUT THE MOST?

I could almost see the wheels turning in Jimin's head as he got ready to strike LOL

"Maybe you." Jimin said in a serious tone, pointing at Jin.

And everyone seemed a little confused because the atmosphere was still goofy a second ago. Then the Kim brothers all chorused in response ("What-What-Mo?"), to which Jimin simply repeated what he said in Korean, and everyone suddenly got the reference. When everyone's reactions were in unison, that's when you know they're thinking of that same, specific instance.

MC Jin had to continue the interview so he went, "Ahh~ EE, what kind?" Well now that you've brought it up...say it.

At the counterattack, Jimin got flustered and said, "Eohh... sorry." Eh, never mind I can't say.

Which prompted the whole team to start giggling. Yes.. he couldn't say what exactly and apologized quickly. (Also, I found it cute that Tae leaned forward when Jimin was hesitating, like he was warning his chingu with his eyes, 'Are you really going to say it?' and then laughed when Jimin just went "sorry.")

And the speed at how RM moved it along ("OK." That's enough) and Jin following with "Ok, ok, next question!" Jimin was also suddenly co-hosting, "Ok! Let's go, next question!" Teamwork✨ y'all.

Overall, from the tittering laughter and amused reactions, it's clear that they had all gotten over the argument and were no longer harboring residual unhappiness.

However, it was a pretty big quarrel after all and maybe the baby chick just wanted to get the last word in.

As one jab wasn't enough for his unserious Jin hyung, there came a second 😂

Double whammy. I think Jimin was satisfied with this final blow because Jin played along 😆 This was probably the last time we got a glimpse into this disagreement. I'd say it ultimately ended on a good note because the whole team was feeling good about cracking jokes, and neither of the two leads seemed to have taken anything to heart.

Conclusion time.

So an 'incident' had occurred on or before November 1 between Jin and Jimin, where Jimin seemed to have been the provoker. Jin was quietly freezing Jimin out, when out stepped Jk, not grasping the situation and only concerned about all the skinship his Jin hyung was getting. It's likely the conflict also had something to do with Jk because Jin seemed to be holding it in at first, but finally exploded at him on stage with a warning glare. Jk soon got the message and was adversely affected for the rest of the day as well.

The tension spread quickly throughout the team and while some were able to excuse themselves from the drama, some were stuck in the middle of it. The tension did not dissipate all day and was especially strong at the end of the night. How the quarrel was broken up is unknown, but likely was not dragged on because of BTS' policy: talk it out before the day ends. So although we didn't get to see the resolution, there probably was one once they were all alone.

About 2 weeks later, the guys were in America for their promos and attending the AMAs. During one casual interview, Jimin found an opportunity to 'strike back' at his Jin hyung for freezing him out on that cold November day. Jin took it in stride and everyone could finally relax about the whole ordeal.

Regarding the content of the fight:

It couldn't be something as simple as Jin being jealous over the Jikook trip. I say this because of how quickly and surely Yoongi and Namjoon sided with Jin. Their reactions seem to indicate that Jimin was the party at fault. Simply jealousy couldn't have incurred such a strong response from these two cool-headed cats.

Another aspect solely regarding Jimin - he's generally a very caring and considerate person, so whatever he did probably wasn't something he felt like was deliberately wrong. It's possibly a clash of values or an accident of some sort. Unfortunately Jin did take offense to the cause, and subsequently, everyone except Jk seemed to take Jin's side. Later on his jabs at Jin in the AAC interview also showed that he still felt defensive or maybe wronged over the whole ordeal. I don't know what was at the core of their fight but for some reason, I think I'm siding with Jimin again for this one. Just based off how everything looked, I didn't like the way the boys froze him out. (Jimin, did you maybe destroy Jin's pink hoodie? What other heinous crime could it be)

✨

Lastly, I have this small piece to add onto the validity of the existence of the Jinmin squabble...

At the Macau stop of their Wings tour on Nov 4, Jimin had to sit out on choreography due to muscle pain in his neck and shoulders. As someone who has frequently experienced stress before in the same manner, I believe the conflict might have had something to do with Jimin's health issues.

More footage on Jimin and BTS during that period can be found in their documentary series Burn the Stage and various fancams. As Jimin was in a vulnerable state, I won't be showing anything here, feel free to look them up.

But do watch this if you need a wholesome reason to cry because you will over how everyone took turns cheering Jimin up during Spring Day:

He's too hard on himself I feel. It seemed like everyone had already let go but he was still dwelling on it alone. Look at how all the members were joking around him 🙆 That's why this team is a team y'all. They never leave anyone behind if they're down.

Personal note: I think I get how Jimin felt because I've also had instances where I acted carelessly and caused someone to be upset, and this in turn stressed me out and I couldn't stop thinking about the situation even after days have passed.

BTW I really appreciate you who took the time out to read this post 💛 I tend to overthink a lot when writing about more 'negative' stuff so I start to get woooordy LOL I probably can't change how my brain works in the short term but perhaps after posting more, I'll get the hang of cutting to the chase 😁

Anyways, I'm glad I was able to tell this story years later as a fan because I'm that secure in their friendship and bond. There are ups and downs in any great friendships, and I'm here for all of theirs.

So that's my interpretation of the Jijinjung tussle. 🌙

#jin #jimin #jinmin #I'm all for my loves but drama & dot connecting are my passion #fighting is what makes people grow closer #jungkook #jinkook #kookjin #long post

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

Huh. I have been thinking about how Liam was the one who helped more with the melodies when it came to the songwriting, according to his own words, and yet 1D songs don’t really sound like his solo stuff. Louis is really the one who pushed for the rockier, maturing sound in the last three albums and that was also reported by other people. It shows how they listened to Louis, how his vision for 1D influenced how the others wrote on the songs. 1D’s legacy would simply not be what it is if it wasn’t for Louis. 1D itself was a juggernaut no one could really have predicted. None of their solo careers will do what 1D did simply because of how much of a phenomenon it was.

To be fair, I don’t think Liam wrote on most of the songs associated with his solo career. Maybe it was his insecurity or ambition to put out big hit songs?

Louis’ vision for 1D was so strong (and at the time, so controversial and indelible) that the MAIN 1D SONGWRITER, Savan Kotecha, talked about it in bitter terms four years later. Later he gave Louis the credit that he was due.

Still, there was the inherent pressure of the second album to contend with. The label wanted a “What Makes You Beautiful, Part 2,” and evidence that the 1D phenomenon wasn’t slowing down appeared outside the window of the Stockholm studio: so many fans, the street had to be shut down. Kotecha even remembers seeing police officers with missing-person photos, combing through the girls camped outside, looking for teens to return to their parents.

At this pivotal moment, One Direction made it clear that they wanted a greater say in their artistic future. Kotecha admits he was wary at first, but the band was determined. To help manage the workload, Kotecha had brought in two young songwriters, Kristoffer Fogelmark and Albin Nedler, who’d arrived with a handful of ideas, including a chorus for a booming power ballad called “Last First Kiss.”

Even Kotecha knew that from his boy-band history: Album three is, after all, when you start moving on. One Direction was ready, too. Kotecha credits Louis, the oldest member of the group, for “shepherding them into adulthood, away from the very poppy stuff of the first two albums. He was leading the charge to make sure that they had a more mature sound. And at the time, being in it, it was a little difficult for me, Rami and Carl to grasp — but hindsight, that was the right thing to do.”

“For three years, this was our schedule,” Bunetta says. “We did X Factor October, November, December. Took off January. February, flew to London. We’d gather ideas with the band, come up with sounds, hang out. Then back to L.A. for March, produce some stuff, then go out on the road with them in April. Get vocals, write a song or two, come back for May, work on the vocals, and produce the songs we wrote on the road. Back to London in June-ish. Back here for July, produce it up. Go back on tour in August, get last bits of vocals, mix in September, back to X Factor in October, album out in November, January off, start it all over again.”

Now here’s an interesting passage from Julian Bunetta, 1D songwriter:

For the most part, Bunetta, Ryan, and 1D doubled down on the rock sound their predecessors had forged, but there was one outlier from that week. A stunning bit of post-Mumford festival folk buoyed by a new kind of lyrical and vocal maturity called “Story of My Life.”

“This was a make-or-break moment for them,” Bunetta says. “They needed to grow up, or they were gonna go away — and they wanted to grow up. To get to the level they got to, you need more than just your fan base. That song extended far beyond their fan base and made people really pay attention.”

Julian got it right: TO GET TO THE LEVEL THEY GOT TO, YOU NEED MORE THAN JUST YOUR FAN BASE.

LTHQ, please pay attention.

Here’s another telling part:

… now that One Direction were four years into being the biggest band on the planet, it was natural that the relationships within the band would make it into the music as well.

“I think that on Four,” Bunetta says, with a slight pause, “there were some tensions going on. A lot of the songs were double — like somebody might be singing about their girlfriend, but there was another meaning that applied to the group as well.”

He continues: “It’s tough going through that age, having to spread your wings with so many eyeballs on you, so much money and no break. It was tough for them to carve out their individual manhood, space, and point of view, while learning how to communicate with each other. Even more than relationship things that were going on, that was the bigger blanket that was in there every day, seeping into the songs.”

You can read the Rolling Stone article here.

#rolling stone #louis tomlinson #liam payne

[lilweaselhub]

Blog updates!! (10/7) Applying to all blogs!!!

Hey! so I know I have been kind of absent for a hot minute. allow me to explain.

LONG POST, but PLEASE read if were mutuals!

Basically, about a month ago I started having some not so fun health symptoms (Pain, legargy hematuria (ill let google be your friend there) ). At first I thought i had a bad uti or another infection of some kind. The symptoms were on and off and I went to two appts at a clinic. First time said I had a UTI prescribed me medicine and sent me on my way. They ended up changing the antibiotic midway through saying it wasnt right. (This will be important later. ) 

 So i took it, thinking they knew what they were talking about. But less than a week later the symptoms came back worse than before. I ended up going back to the clinic, who because when I was there, had no symptoms they could see (Thanks body.) They sent me home.  Fast forward about two days later,and it gets bad enough to go to my first Emergency room visit. They proceed to tell me the antibiotics werent going to treat a UTI of Any Kind (Amazing), but give me new medicine and send me home.  

   So there I am, taking medicines thinking, surely---this will be the end of it. 

                       It was not.

Literally 24 hours later, I wake up in the WORST pain I have ever experienced in my life, unable to stop heaving, literally begging for it to stop. Back I end up at the hospital, who give me morphine (the pain was that bad.) and nausea medicine, and tell me after an MRI that lo and behold, a kidney stone is whats causing my pain.  One i cannot feesibly pass on my own. So they scheduled me for surgery. (That was the 28th). 

            Since, ive been recovering from said surgery over the past week. Its been on and off how I’ve felt and I’ve only really felt consistently better since wednesday. Ive still had a lot of nausea and pain. (Todays a bit of a bummer outlier cus im feeling some pain again).  I still have  till the 20th before I even get the stent removed they put in my kidney (fun). So Im still on a long road to recovery. But HOPEFULLY this will be IT, and it will be the last bout of recovery I have to worry about and I’ll be back in business as usual in a month. 

So what does this mean for rp on my blogs?

Well. I’m gonna be real, I miss rping a lot. But I havent felt great or really up to much of anything since this started. while its improving, its still very low in terms of energy, motivation and feeling well.

  Because of this, I’m going to say my blogs are on SEMI-HIATUS until 11/10. (This is a preliminary date as It may be pushed back or forward depending on how fast i recover). This does not mean I will do NO rps, but i will be doing a lot LESS. There will be days where I’m not here at all, sometimes several in a row. && I will be likely only doing short replies/asks until I’m back in the swing of things.

                            ***A little add on to this: I will be getting my next furbaby a golden retriever puppy between the 5th-9th of november. This will also CUT my activity but hopefully not as much as this health fiasco has been. I will be sharing pictures of him too when I get back dont even worry. He’s gonna be a spoiled lil bugger. but just in case i push the date further, or seem still low activity after the hiatus is over, this is probably why.

As always feel free to still send  me asks, or IMs. Or you can message me for my discord if you’d like to plot or talk! I’m still here, and I want to be here. I just didn’t account for a health emergency this year. 2022 has been a LOT for me. 

#tmi tw #ig #medical tw #LONG POST #if you read this! thanks! #im sorry ive been gone. #my motivation has taken a nosedive with my health #i lost like 15 pounds from how sick ive been #woof. #i miss you guys tho!

[magnoliaalchemist]

i have a petsitting job half an hour away from where i live and i really wish i had turned them down bc i’m dreading it

#i say stuff sometimes #i already hated driving long distance to petsit before i got my job #and i wanted to say ‘sorry you live too far away now that i have a steady job’ #but my mom convinced me to take them #her perception of work is a bit warped bc she has a job that allows her complete control of her schedule #and she was like ‘you cant have a job that gives u ur schedule a week in advance forever!’ #first of all your scheduling is very much the outlier here #secondly no i dont want to work here forever but its also only been 3 months #at least she was understanding when i told her i wouldnt be taking far away jobs anymore (after i’m done with this one) #i dont have a true day off until next saturday which doesnt seem bad #but i’m already feeling burnt out

[high-functioning-lokipath]

Star Trek - Leonard "Bones" McCoy x reader - Southern Charm - Words: 3,556

A/N: While I did write this with TOS in mind, I do believe it is fairly AOS compliant as well. Enjoy!

"Lieutenant Commander Y/N L/N, Chief Medical Officer of the Starship Serenity."

"Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Doctor L/N. I'm Captain James T. Kirk. This is my first officer, Commander Spock and our CMO, Doctor McCoy. We're looking forward to having you as the first trainee in the Starship Exchange Training program."

"Pleasure to meet you all. And I'm looking forward to it as well," You replied, stepping off the transporter pad. You gave the Captain a handshake, the First Officer a Vulcan salute and then turned to the grumpy looking CMO.

"How old are you?" He demanded to know.

"Old enough," You assured him, crossing your arms. "Why do you ask?"

"Just don't see many youngsters like you with that rank," He trailed off, leaving the statement open ended.

"Well, I happen to be an outlier. Or haven't you heard of that, Doctor? Besides, I'm not that young," You replied, curtly. You didn't often become confrontational this quickly but questions on your age and suspicions on how you got your rank were a sore spot for you.

"Just because I have to train you doesn't mean I have to like it," McCoy grumbled.

"I never asked you to." You quickly grabbed your bag that was transported with you and walked to the doors. Just before you stepped out to the hallway, you turned back around. "Captain, Commander, have a good evening. I am looking forward to working with you two over the next few weeks. Don't worry, I know where my quarters are. Doctor, I will see you at 6."

As you unpacked your bag, you thought over what happened in the transporter room. You had really been looking forward to this training and you had heard many great things about the Doctor. Of course, you had also heard he was a bit of a grump, but you hadn't thought it was this bad! You decided to stay in your room for the rest of that evening, as it was already late when you arrived, and try for a fresh start in the morning.

"Are you out of your mind? I'm a doctor, not an assassin!"

"I was simply saying, Doctor McCoy, that Starfleet medical personnel are completely untrained in self defense techniques! We are trained to save lives, not take them. That I completely agree with. But we must also be trained how to defend and disable. Defend ourselves, disable our opponents. Otherwise we may become a hindrance to any away missions we get assigned on!"

"Look, even if you're right, and you're not, when would we have the time to train?" He yelled. "Have you ever been to medical school? Do you know how stressful that is?"

"Of course I went to med school! I happened to graduate top of my class! And I remember very clearly how stressful it is! But they need to make it work! Even another month would be enough for most!"

"Another month?" He screeched. He raked his fingers through his hair and rubbed his forehead. "Look, I have plenty of training to defend myself in the field. Let's just agree to disagree and get this over with."

"Alright, Doctor," You sighed. The first 2 weeks of training slowly passed with the only change in attitude being on your side. You'd gotten to disliking the Doctor as much as he disliked you. Every day you trained was near constant arguing and insulting.

Unbeknownst to you, Kirk had started taking bets from the senior crew members on when in the final week you two would get together. Whoever won would get 3 days vacation. The current bets on Kirk's paper were:

Uhura: As she steps on the transporter to leave Thursday

Scotty: Monday

Chekov: End of shift Tuesday

Sulu: Beginning of shift Wednesday

Spock: At precisely 07:35 in the evening Friday

Kirk looked oddly at Spock when he submitted his estimate. "Spock, you do realize she is scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon."

"Yes, Jim."

"So why-"

"I have my reasons."

"Logical, I'm sure."

"Quite. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed in engineering."

"Ok, Spock. But don't get your hopes high about any vacation!"

Monday: Scotty's Day

You got up early and headed down to the rec room to get breakfast. Usually you had breakfast in your room but this morning, oddly enough, Scotty had invited you to join him for breakfast. Once you entered the rec room you mentally groaned. Of course McCoy would be there!

"Good morning, Scotty," You greeted, walking up to his table which was unfortunately right next to Kirk, Spock, and McCoy's table.

"Aye! And an even lovelier morning with you here, lassie!" You blushed slightly, surprised at the engineer's comment.

"Oh please!" You scoffed. You were about to walk away to the replicators to get your food when Spock cleared his throat.

"I believe Mister Scott is correct, Doctor. Your hair and makeup accentuate your natural beauty quite well."

"Spock!" You, Kirk and McCoy gasped at the same time.

"Look here," You finally said, gathering your composure. "I appreciate a compliment here and there but really! I'm going to go get my breakfast and I don't want to hear one more peep out of any of you when I return! Understand?" They all nodded and stuck to their word, not another compliment for the rest of the day.

Tuesday - Chekov's Day

Your shift had gone fairly well. Training with Doctor McCoy was finally becoming almost bearable and there hadn't been any major disasters. "Doctor, was there anything else you needed me for today?" You asked, stepping into the open doorway of his office.

"No, you can go if you'd like," He sighed, not lifting his eyes from his PADD.

"Is something troubling you, Doctor?"

"Just a lot of paperwork, darlin'," He said absently. You blushed brightly and he quickly tried to correct himself. "I mean, Doctor. Sorry." He finally looked at you, face as red as yours. You nodded and attempted to make a hasty exit but you ran into a gold blur.

"Oh! Ezcuze me!" Chekov quickly said, helping you up. "I'm wery sorry! Are you hurt?"

"Only my pride, Pavel," You replied, dusting yourself off.

"What in blazes happened out here?" McCoy yelled, stomping out.

"Oh nothing, Doctor," You assured him.

"Well watch where you're going next time!" He ordered. With that he marched back to his office and closed the doors. You sighed and wished Chekov goodnight before leaving.

"No vacation," Chekov mumbled softly before leaving Medbay too.

Wednesday - Sulu's Day

You walked into Medbay to start your shift only to find Sulu already there. "What are you doing here so early?" You asked. "Your check-up isn't for another 45 minutes."

"I wanted to make sure I got here on time. You know how it is on the bridge sometimes," He chuckled. You nodded and chuckled lightly. You checked the schedule on the PADD and noticed the Ensign before him had cancelled.

"Well, Sulu, you just managed to get an early appointment. Step on up!" You had him sit on the nearest biobed and grabbed your Tricorder. As you started running over the usual check-up points, Dr. McCoy walked in.

"You're here early," He commented. Sulu nodded and you explained what happened. "Alright. Y/N, I'm going to leave you to it. I have a headache this morning and I think I'll just sit in my office for a bit with the lights down." You looked at him a little better, noticing how exhausted he looked. His hair was a mess and there were dark bags under his eyes. He may be a pain but he was still human and you felt for him.

"Did you need me to get you anything, Doctor?" You asked. He shook his head but groaned at the movement. "Just comm me if you need anything." He made a noise of agreement and you went on with Sulu's checkup.

Thursday - Uhura's Day

"Good morning, Y/N," Uhura greeted you in the turbolift on your way to Medbay.

"Good morning, Uhura," You replied abit sadly.

"You alright, sweetheart?"

"I'm going to miss you all. I love my ship and my crew, don't get me wrong, but," You trailed off, unsure of how to explain yourself.

"You don't feel like family there?" She filled in. You nodded slightly. "Oh honey, I understand. Don't feel bad, alright? Who knows! Maybe you'll get a transfer one day even!"

"That would be nice I guess," You admitted. The doors swooshed open and as you stepped out, Dr. McCoy walked by.

"Doctor L/N," He said, sounding somewhat frustrated. "I need you to gather all the anti-toxin hypos we have."

"Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Spock just told me we're going on a mission tomorrow. He should have told me at least 2 days ago. The new colony on Oliza 6 sent out a distress call about 1 week ago saying that something was wrong. They said some of the younger people were having strange reactions to some of the foods."

"That's odd. Isn't the food on a planet usually tested first?"

"Yes but apparently they forgot to test on the younger adults. Blasted regulations. Test one adult you've tested them all." At this point you had nodded a silent goodbye to Uhura and started walking with Doctor McCoy down the hall. "Let's see if we can't find out what's on that planet and run some tests of our own. Might save some time."

"Doctor?" You said, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"I do have to go back to my ship this afternoon. I," you paused. McCoy had finally started to be nice with you and now you had to go. You didn't want to upset him again on your last day. "I'll help as much as I can on the tests of course, Doctor, but I-"

"No, no," He said with a sigh. "I didn't realize it was Thursday." He smiled slightly and put his hand on your shoulder. "If you tell anyone what I'm about to say, I'll have to kill you," He joked. "Your work has been excellent. Your skill set is beyond your years and please don't take that wrong. You've impressed me." You blushed at his praise. "Of course, I still don't agree with the extra combat training," He added. You rolled your eyes and he chuckled. "But I guess you're not so bad."

"Well thank you, Doctor. I, uh, I guess I'll get the hypos for you now."

"Oh, um, yes, thank you," he replied somewhat awkwardly. The rest of your shift went about the same. You and the Doctor awkwardly dancing around each other. Eventually, though, the time came for you to finish packing, and leave the Enterprise.

As you headed to the transporter room, Uhura came running up to you with a small package in her hands. "What's this?" You asked.

"Oh, just a little going away present that a few of us put together for you."

"That's really sweet of you. Thanks so-"

"Bridge to Lt. Uhura," The Captain's voice rang through her comm.

"Duty calls!" She exclaimed. "Keep in touch!"

"Will do!" You replied, heading off to the transporters. Once you got there though, you saw Scotty talking to the Captain through the comm. He seemed upset about something.

"But Captain! I-"

"Scotty, we need to help that colony. There's no time."

"Aye, Captain. Scott out," He sighed. "I cannae believe 'at."

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, lassie. I'm so sorry! The Captain just got an emergency message from Oliza 6. We're heading there straight away."

"So I'll be staying another night?"

"At least." Your brows furrowed in thought. While you did want to get back to your ship to start your transfer application, a few more days here was not all that bad.

"Ok," You replied. Scotty seemed surprised. "I'll just take this back to my room and then head to Medbay. They'll probably need me handy."

"Aye. I'll let the Captain and Doctor know." You nodded in reply and headed off. When you returned to Medbay, you could have sworn you saw a look of relief on McCoy's face.

"Doctor L/N," McCoy said. "I'm putting you in charge of Medbay for the time being." Your eyebrows raised in surprise. "Jim's put me on the landing party and you technically are the next ranking medical officer on this ship."

"Well, thank you, I guess," You said. "Have you made any progress on the tests?"

"I believe so," He pulled up some test results on his PADD and showed them to you. "The hobgoblin ended up helping me but he was actually of some use." He looked around furtively. "Don't tell him I said so though."

"I promise," you said seriously. You stared at each other for a moment before you both broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Really though, the fruits on Oliza 6 seem to be causing a buildup of adrenaline in their systems causing aggression, anxiety and heart problems."

"Hm, interesting."

"That's what the hobgoblin said," McCoy grunted. You chuckled and he finished explaining their plan to administer hypos to everyone. The comm suddenly whistled.

"Bridge to Dr. McCoy," Uhura said.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" He replied.

"The Captain is preparing to beam down now and would like you to meet him in the transporter room."

"Alright, I'm on my way." You followed the Doctor as he gathered a few last minute items from his office. When he grabbed his phaser from his desk you couldn't help yourself.

"Doctor, that phaser is last year's model. Didn't you get your new one?"

"Oh, must not've. I'll ask Scotty for one." He grabbed his communicator and flipped it open. "McCoy to Scott."

"Scott here. Whaddya need, Doctor?"

"L/N said my phaser is old. Got a new one for me?"

"Sure do, Doc. I'll have her all polished up for ya when ya get to the transporters. Just remember, this one's a wee bit more powerful than the last. She's got a bit of a kick!"

"Don't worry, Scotty, I'm sure I can handle it. McCoy out." You looked worriedly at him because, knowing his views on defense training and based on what he said, this new phaser would throw him for a loop.

"Doctor, perhaps you should just stay with your old pha-"

"Doctor L/N," He said stiffly. "I do not want to hear anything more about training. I am perfectly capable of defending myself. Please do not worry yourself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mission to attend to. Do you think you'll be able to handle Medbay while I'm gone?"

"Of course, Doctor McCoy," You snapped. You heard the Medbay doors swoosh closed and sighed, leaning on he's desk in his office. You closed the office doors and locked them, needing a moment to gather yourself. "Gah! That man is so annoying!" You yelled to yourself. "If he doesn't get himself killed on this mission-" you left your threat unfinished. "Oh! I could just kiss him," You seethed. "I mean, kick." You paused, mid-pace, and shook your head vigorously. Your brain had apparently taken a left turn without telling you. "Did I seriously just-and now I'm talking to myself. Ok, Y/N, get yourself together. You'll figure it out later." You finished your little pep talk and headed back out.

The first few hours were fine. One or two clumsy engineers with a few cuts and bruises. A sniffle here and a headache there. It was actually somewhat relaxing. You decided to be a little helpful and got some paperwork done for Dr. McCoy. As you sat in his office tapping away on your PADD, you found yourself lost in thought. You hoped he wouldn't be upset that you did some extra work for him. "That's not what I asked you to do, Doctor!" You mocked under your breath. Chuckling slightly you continued your quiet monologue, "Oh wouldn't he be upset if I ran a report on him. He definitely is overworked. He'd come in here, yelling and screaming in that adorable southern accent of his, and he would proba-" You interrupted yourself again. Staring off for a second, realizing what you just said. "Adorable? Good grief. I'm either unconscious or demented."

The rest of the shift went fairly well and you heard that the landing party was making good progress too. Finally you turned everything over to the night shift doctor and went to your quarters to get some rest before your shift began again in the morning. Your sleep that night was restless, though, and when your alarm went off you didn't think you had slept a wink.

Friday - Spock's Day

"Good morning, Doctor L/N," one of the nurses greeted you as you walked into Medbay.

"Good morning," You replied tiredly. "Anything on the schedule?" You asked as you got a cup of coffee from the replicator.

"No. Just a couple of vaccines that the nurses can take care of."

"Good. I'll be in the office if you need me then."

"Are you alright, Doctor?"

"Fine. Just couldn't sleep last night."

"Oh, I understand. I'm worried about Dr. McCoy too. As I understand, the reaction the youths are having is fairly viol-"

"I am not worried about the good doctor!" You yelled, angrily. "Just in case you didn't notice, he's not exactly my type. And even if he was, that is no concern of yours, nurse!"

"Permission to speak freely, Doctor?" She asked with a slight smirk.

"Of course," You replied, rubbing your forehead. "I'm not the dang Captain." She giggled lightly before replying.

"That's exactly what McCoy would say. No go get some rest. We'll hold down the fort, Doctor." With that she walked off to get a few things prepped for the day. As you walked into the office and sat down, you thought about her observation.

"Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit."

A few hours later, after a short nap and another cup of coffee, you were reorganizing the supply room when Scotty called through on the comm. "Doctor L/N! We're gonna need a team down here immediately! The captain and Dr. McCoy were injured and we're beaming them aboard right now!"

"Ok, Scotty, we'll be right there, how serious is it?" You replied. Chills had run up your spine when he said Dr. McCoy had been injured but you kept yourself focused.

"The Captain's not too bad. I think he said a broken arm. Doctor McCoy though. He's in pretty rough shape."

"Alright. L/N out," You signed off. You started to grab emergency supplies and sent the emergency team down to the transporter room. Just like Scotty said, McCoy was in critical condition by the time you saw him. He was completely unconscious, had multiple broken ribs, a broken right arm, a fractured left leg, and a concussion. After about 3 hours in surgery, he was finally patched up. You looked at the chronometer and saw it was about 3 in the afternoon. Deciding that you needed to talk to him as soon as he woke, you opted to sit guard on a chair next to his bed.

"Doctor L/N?" A nurse called out. You opened your eyes with a start. Looking at the chronometer again you realized another 4 hours had passed.

"Has he woken up?" The nurse nodded. "Well why didn't you wake me?" You whisper yelled, not wanting to wake him now.

"For the same reason you're whispering now. He didn't want to wake you." You shook your head and looked back at him sleeping on the biobed. "His vitals are good and he will likely make a full recovery in about a week."

"Oh no! This doctor is getting a prescription for some real R&R for at least a month. He's been far too overworked." You immediately grabbed the PADD with his chart information and put him on medical leave for a month. The nurse smiled at you and shook her head.

"You know, you're technically off duty now. You can head back to your quarters."

"I think I'll stay here a bit longer," You said slowly, a blush rising to your cheeks.

"I thought so," She nodded. You settled back down in the chair and got a bit more paperwork done on your PADD. Looking at the chronometer again you saw it just turned to 7:33pm. You heard a groan from the bed and saw the Doctor waking up.

"Well hello there, darlin'," He smirked.

"Hello, Dr. McCoy," You smiled.

"Oh for Pete's sake, would you please just call me Leonard!"

"I'll consider it," You grinned. You stared at him for a moment, realizing again just how scared you had been.

"You alright, Y/N?"

"I was just so scared, Leonard," You admitted. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to tell you-" you stopped mid-sentence, nervous to continue.

"Tell me what?" You decided to chance it so you bent over and gave him a quick kiss. Standing up quickly, you looked away embarrassed. "Well, I'm not sure I understood. Can I hear that again?" He smirked. You smiled and leaned forward again for another kiss. You vaguely heard the doors open but neither you nor Leonard paid attention.

"So, any plans for your 3 days vacation, Spock?"

#star trek #bones x reader #leonard mccoy #leonard mccoy x reader #star trek tos #star trek aos

[natrogersfics]

Game Plan - Chapter 3: Leave (Before You Love Me)

Artwork by @faith2nyc​ Read on AO3 

“Dude, don’t you do this for a living?”

The sound of Steve’s belly laugh reverberates through the room, prompting Natasha to look up from her phone to find him nearly doubled over on the floor as he sits huddled with a group of children around one of the numerous televisions.

“I do!” Steve says as he turns to Aiden, the eldest of the children they’ve met today at Stark Medical. “But probably not for much longer if you keep beating me like this!”

Aiden perks up, the boy’s face lighting up with pride at Steve’s comment, and the exchange she witnesses causes her to smile.

Not all athletes are great outside the confines of an arena. This is a fact that many people don’t realize, but one that she knows intimately. They can be arrogant, egotistical, self-absorbed – a lethal mix that can only beget trouble. Not that she could really blame them. When you have thousands of fans chanting your name on any given Sunday and an endless line of sponsors throwing more cash at you than you could ever hope to spend, it’s easy to forget that you aren’t actually the best thing to happen to the world since sliced bread.

Even so, inflated egos have never deterred her from pursuing this line of work. Yes, it’s a complete nuisance to deal with, but as any person working in Public Relations will tell you, that comes with the territory. In some way, the fact that her clients aren’t always the most stellar of human beings actually makes doing her job a lot easier. She didn’t have to waste time cracking open a beer with them to know that there aren’t layers to their personality to peel back. They are who they are, and all they want is for her to clean up the mess from whatever thing they said or did that’s currently proving to be an inconvenience.

This is a truth she’s held and accepted about every player whose file has come across her desk – until Steve Rogers, that is. Admittedly, when she had proposed this partnership to him, there was a part of her that believed that given enough time, she’d learn that he was just like every other person who’s come to her for help. That, what worries she had about their history would fade the second she learned who he was at his very core. But ten days and two hospital visits into this campaign, and it’s becoming increasingly evident that he might just be the outlier.

Today perfectly embodies why. They’ve been here for most of the day already, and in the first hour alone of walking through the children’s wing, she’d lost count of the number of casts and jerseys Steve has signed and the pictures he’s taken with patients and their families. Add to that the plethora of hospital administrators wanting to give their thanks and the many patients vying for his attention, Steve’s been pulled in a million different directions, and not once has she heard him complain.

The most astonishing part in all of this is that she knows he’s tired. Hell, she’s tired, and all she’s had to do for most of the day is usher him in the right direction. Nevertheless, his smile has not faltered. Not even when Jacob, a ten-year-old boy whose leg is in a cast, challenged him to a round of Madden on the PlayStation ten minutes before they were scheduled to leave. Steve just looked at her, his eyes seeking silent approval, before turning back to Jacob to give him a resounding yes.

That was two hours ago. Since then, one round has turned into another, which turned into three, until every other kid wanted to take their chance at defeating a real-life quarterback in a virtual stadium.

“You’re drooling.”

She looks to her side, rolling her eyes when she sees Wanda smirking at her. “Very funny.”

“Or at least you will be,” Wanda says, wiggling her brows. “Darcy wasn’t lying when she said he was disgustingly photogenic. And to top it all off, he’s a hit with the kids, too?” She sighs, holding out her camera. “I have to say, Nat, I don’t know whether or not to be impressed or disappointed that you aren’t climbing him like a tree right now.”

“Give me that,” she says, glaring as she takes the camera from Wanda, who snickers. She slides through the photos Wanda has taken throughout the day, her lips lifting in a smile when she comes across the one of Steve carrying Millie, a two-year-old girl whose hearing was recently restored. “These are awesome, Wanda,” she says. “When you can, can you send some over to Darcy-”

“To post for his Socials, I know,” Wanda finishes, pulling her phone out of her back pocket to show her. “Already ahead of you. Look” – she points towards the top edge of the screen – “#CapIsBack is trending at number three!”

Her smile widens as happiness surges through Wanda’s expression. Along with Darcy, the three of them had worked hard to come up with a catchy hashtag for Steve’s campaign. They’d cycled through countless iterations before Wanda had suggested that they pay homage to The Captain sobriquet Steve had earned early on in his playing days due to his excellent leadership on the field, and based on the online reactions to it, it’s evident that it was the right call.

“You’re my hero,” she says, giving Wanda’s shoulder a nudge with her own. “Seriously, you and Darcy are my dream team.”

“Yeah?” Wanda says, a mischievous smile pulling at her lips. “As in skillswise, on a scale of one to ten, you would say we’re… an eleven?”

“What’s an eleven?”

Her eyes widen when she hears Steve’s voice, but she quickly blinks her shock away as she turns on her heels to face him. “The number of minutes it took to get #CapIsBack trending,” she says. “Darcy posted some candids from this morning and the engagement numbers across all your Socials are moving upwards.”

Steve tilts his head to the side. “I’m assuming that’s a good thing?”

“Considering you only revived your profiles last week, it’s a very good thing,” she confirms.

“Not to mention your follower count is exploding exponentially!” Wanda adds, wincing at the volume with which she says the words before pointing a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to get more shots of the kids.”

She lifts a brow at Wanda, watching as her friend walks away before turning back to Steve, whose expression is still flummoxed from their exchange. “Follower counts are really important to brand executives,” she explains. “It gives them a gauge of how far your reach spans in certain markets. Nowadays, that metric could decide whether or not a company offers you a sponsorship.”

“Gotcha,” he says before shaking his head. “Sorry, I was never really one for this Social Media thing, so this is all brand new.” He sighs. “I guess I’m a little like a man out of time in that sense.”

“Well, that explains why those kids were schooling you at video games,” she deadpans, smirking when Steve narrows his eyes playfully at her. “In all seriousness though, don’t worry about all these platforms. That’s my job.” She shrugs. “But welcome to the new world, Steve Rogers.”

“Thanks,” he says, “and if I haven’t said it already, I’m so grateful to have you guiding me through all of this.”

She smiles, but before she can respond, a knock on the open door causes them both to turn to see a nurse standing at the doorway.

“Hi, I’m nurse Claire,” the tall woman in baby pink scrubs says before placing a hand on the shoulder of the little girl standing next to her. “This right here is Julia. She’s nine and today's a very special day for her.”

Steve smiles before bending down to get to eye-level with the girl. “And what special occasion are you celebrating today, Ms. Julia?”

“Doctor Palmer said my scans are clear,” Julia explains with a smile. “My Leukemia is gone!”

Her hand flies to her mouth as a gasp slips from her lips, and she moves to kneel next to Steve, who extends his fist out for Julia to bump hers against. “Oh, Julia, that’s wonderful news!” she says, smiling. “What would you like to do to celebrate?” She nods towards the television. “If you want, we could try to get you a turn on the PlayStation over there.”

Julia scrunches her nose. “I don’t really like video games.”

“That’s all right,” Steve says, gesturing towards the rest of the room. “I’m sure we could find something in here that you’d like to do instead.”

Julia grins at that, her big brown eyes scanning the room. “Did you do that yourself?”

She looks to where Julia is pointing before lifting the tail of her braid off her shoulder. “This?” she asks, smiling when Julia nods enthusiastically. “Why, yes, I did.”

“I’ve always wanted a fishtail braid,” Julia says, one hand reaching towards the top of her head. “But I lost my hair when I first started treatment. I have some now, but every time my dad tries to braid it, it turns out wonky.”

“I’m sure your dad tried his best,” she says, chuckling when Julia just lifts a shoulder in response. “Tell you what, why don’t we go to the couch over there and I’ll braid your hair?”

“Really?” Julia says, beaming when she nods before turning to Steve. “Will you help?”

Steve cringes, holding his hands out before him. “I’m afraid these are no good at braiding. But I’d be happy to help in some other way.”

“Hmm…” Julia says, her eyes squinting as she examines his hands. “Can you hold the hair ties?”

Steve laughs. “Like a pro.”

“And voila!” she says a while later, gesturing for Steve to hold up the hand mirror so Julia can inspect her handy work.

“What do you think?” Steve asks.

“I love it!” Julia says, all but squealing. “It’s exactly what I wanted!”

She smiles, sharing an amused look with Steve before turning back to the little girl. “Julia-”

“Thank you, Natasha,” Julia says before she can finish, turning to wrap her in a tight embrace.

“Oh,” she says in surprise before quickly giving Julia a light squeeze in return. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

“I’m going to show everyone!” Julia says, hopping off the couch and turning to face the two of them. “And you did really good being Natasha’s assistant, Steve.”

“Thanks, kiddo,” Steve says, chuckling as Julia walks away without so much as another glance back at them. “Guess I can add Professional Hair Tie and Mirror Holder to my resume now.”

She shakes her head, a smile playing on her lips as she rises from the couch to straighten the pillows she was leaning on. “The kids love you.”

“Me?” he asks. “You’re the one knocking the socks off of them. Not only are you a PR Wunderkind, but apparently, you’re also a Genius Hair Braider to boot.”

She snorts as she continues to fluff one of the pillows with her hands. “Hardly,” she says, “I just have a lot of practice with the latter since my little sister went through a phase of refusing to leave the house until her hair was in a braid crown.”

“I knew you were a big sister.”

Her eyes do not stray from the pillows as she continues to arrange them. “Oh?”

“Mhmm,” he says. “You hover.”

Her head snaps towards him. “I don’t hover.”

“Yes, you do,” he insists, laughing quietly when she crosses her arms over her chest. “Natasha, this is what? Our tenth day on the campaign? And every day, like clockwork, you make sure Darcy and Wanda take their break as soon as it’s noon.”

“That’s not hovering,” she argues. “That’s making sure my team is taken care of the way they deserve to be.”

“Exactly,” he says, “I never meant to imply that you hover in a bad way. Just, you know… in a way that’s obvious you’re used to looking out for other people.” He shrugs. “Something a big sister might do.”

For a moment, she just stands there, pressing her lips into a line as she contemplates his observation. It’s not as if this is the first time someone has ever assumed things about her, but it is rare that they turn out to be right. And though she’s not usually the type to share details about her personal life with someone she hardly knows, she surprises herself by plopping back down next to him. “Our mom worked long hours, so Yelena and I spent a lot of time together,” she says before shaking her head. “She’s a little daredevil, so I had to keep a close eye on her.”

Steve smiles, stretching his arm across the back of the couch as he shifts to face her. “I take it you two are close then?”

“Thick as thieves,” she says without an ounce of hesitation before arching a brow at him. “Why the sudden interest in my birth order, though?”

“Just curious,” he says with a shrug. “You already know everything about me, so I thought I’d learn a little about you.”

She scoffs, but even so, the corners of her lips quirk upwards. “Just to be clear, as your publicist, knowing everything I can about you is kind of my job.”

“Still doesn’t change the fact that we’re at a disparity here,” he says, holding a finger up. “For example, you probably already know that I’m an only child. Ergo, it was just me and my mom growing up.” He smiles. “Now that’s really two things about me, but now that I know that you have a sister, that narrows the gap between us a little bit.”

“A little bit?” she asks, smiling when he just waves her quip off. “Do I get to ask questions too?”

“You see, now that just tips the scales back in your favor,” he says, chuckling when she shoots him a withering look. “I’m kidding. But is there really a question you can ask me which answer you don’t already know?”

She hesitates for a brief moment, allowing her eyes to scan the room to see all the kids still huddled together. “The charity work you did in LA,” she begins, looking back at him. “Why didn’t you include that in your file?”

“Nothing goes over your head, huh?” he says, to which she just shrugs. He’s silent for a beat, his expression contemplative before he lets out a sigh. “I wasn’t doing it to land a contract.”

She parts her lips to respond, but the words do not come. And as she stares at him, his features dripping with nothing but utmost sincerity, it dawns on her then why, in spite of overseeing scores of campaigns and charity events in the past, this day has felt distinct from all the rest. It’s one thing to work with someone who physically might as well be considered the perfect specimen – that goes for nearly every athlete in the league anyway – and for the most part, their egos make it easy to see past their physical perfection. But to learn that underneath the peak human strength and physicality of that person is an equally big, if not bigger, heart? She’s worked long enough in this business to know that’s rare. A little smile creeps onto her lips, and with that, she gives him a nod.

He can’t breathe. Well, maybe he’s being a touch dramatic. It’s not as if the tightness he’s feeling in his chest right now is akin to having a three-hundred-plus-pound defensive end pinning him to the ground, though Steve’s certainly experienced that enough times to know it’s pretty damn close. But he is uncomfortable – irritated, even – and he chalks it up to the interviewer that’s been trying to cajole him into a cringeworthy sound bite for the last half hour.

The irony that he’s now sitting for an interview does not escape him. When the Avengers had first announced his signing, the reception was a mixed bag. There were some who cheered, delighting in the idea of him mounting a comeback and raving about what a coup the front office had pulled. Nevertheless, many were skeptical. Hardcore fanatics were, at best, lukewarm about the idea of a former NFC West quarterback jumping to the AFC East. Pundits on Sports Center dissected his ability to play pro ball again after a two-season hiatus. Then there were the ever-unescapable critics. He’s sure they had a lot to say (and likely still do), but if he hadn’t paid attention to them back then, he sure as hell isn’t going to do so now.

Fast forward two weeks, one front page cover of The Daily’s Body Issue, and a charity campaign kickoff later, and suddenly the tides have turned. Such was the number of requests Natasha had received from podcast hosts to talk show producers to book time with him that they had no other option but to schedule back-to-back interviews while he trains at the Avengers’ remote facility out in New Jersey. And that’s how he wound up in his current predicament – mic’d up on a plush leather seat in the Press Room in the middle of his third interview of the day with his patience running thin.

“Let’s talk about your career.”

The suggestion comes from his left, where a wooden desk with a surfeit of props across the surface has been assembled on the makeshift set. Behind it sits Johann Schmidt, the famously mercurial host of the streaming talk show HAIL HYDRA! and known to sports fans across the nation as the Red Skull – a moniker bestowed upon him for his impossibly sharp features and his penchant for dressing in the fiery color.

“7 seasons, 102 games played, 23,671 passing yards, 171 total touchdowns, 73.4% pass completion rate…”

As Schmidt rattles off a list of his career statistics, he steals a glance towards the front of the room, half expecting Natasha to interject that his pass completion rate is actually 74.3%, not 73.4. But she doesn’t, and he realizes that unlike the last few times she’s cut in when an interviewer misstates a fact about him or his career statistics, she isn’t doing so now because her attention is elsewhere. Or, more accurately, it’s being monopolized by the towering stranger she’s been talking to whose words have her tipping her head back in laughter.

The thought triggers a bitter taste in his mouth, and right then and there, it hits him. The inexplicable tension in his body, the irritation he feels – it’s nothing to do with Schmidt and his agitating line of questioning. It’s the green-eyed monster.

As he grapples with the thought, he shifts in his seat. He’s always been competitive. He is an athlete, after all, and he’s almost certain that anyone would be hard pressed to find one that didn’t prioritize winning. But jealousy is just not an emotion he’s ever leaned into. It’s childish, nonsensical, and he’s seen the crazy things it’s driven other people to do. Not to mention the fact that right now, he has absolutely no right to feel it – especially when it comes to his publicist, of all people.

“The New York Avengers haven’t had a successful run in the playoffs in quite some time.”

Schmidt’s statement pulls him out of his thoughts, and he crosses an ankle over a knee as he refocuses his attention on the host. “That said, it’s still the most storied franchise in the league, which is why it’s understandable that fans may be dubious about whether or not you’re the right man to lead the team back to glory.” Schmidt pauses, his expression bordering on menacing as he leans forward in his seat. “So, tell us, Steve, why do you think you’re the player to do that?” Schmidt lifts a shoulder. “What makes you so... special?”

“We all know I’ve suffered a major injury and that I haven’t played professionally in two seasons. So, I get it,” he acknowledges. “I get why fans are skeptical to give me a chance.” He shakes his head. “You ask what makes me the man to lift this team back up… What makes me so special? The answer, Schmidt, is nothing.” He shrugs. “It’s true that I’m often associated with LA because that’s where my career began. But at the end of the day, I’m just a kid from Brooklyn-”

“Just what every fan base wants to hear, am I right?” Schmidt interrupts, practically reveling in delight as he smirks. “The hero they’ve been waiting for… and he turns out to be nothing but ordinary.”

“Perhaps you see it that way, but I disagree,” he says, prompting Schmidt to raise a brow. “Being a kid from Brooklyn means that I can’t” – he pauses, shaking his head – “I won’t back down from a challenge.” He sighs. “So, while I can’t guarantee fans a Lombardi at the end of the season, what I can guarantee is that every time I put on that uniform, I will leave my heart out on that field.”

Schmidt is stunned into silence, and it’s only when the room suddenly bursts into applause that he comprehends why the man’s glib expression has soured into a scowl. Turning away from the host, he allows his eyes to sweep across the room to see the entire crew – both from the Avengers and from HYDRA – clapping enthusiastically. As he spots Darcy and Wanda in the corner, both of whom offer him a two thumbs up, pride begins to surge through him. But it’s only when he sees Natasha, her lips turning upwards as she gives him a nod of approval, that he finally smiles – his earlier discomfort all but forgotten.

“You killed it!” Natasha exclaims as he walks towards her at the end of the interview, and he’s surprised when she leans in to offer him a hug.

“Think so?” he says, returning the embrace and allowing himself to smile.

“Know so,” Natasha says as she pulls away. “Oh, and there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” Natasha moves to his side, and when he looks up, he straightens his stance when he sees the man she was talking to earlier standing before them. He’s dressed in an impeccably tailored charcoal suit, his stature massive enough that he could easily be a tight end or even a center. “Steve,” Natasha begins, “this is Thor Odinson, CEO of Point Break, the country’s leading athletic wear brand. They’re interested in sponsoring you.”  Her words cause the tension in his shoulders to dissipate. “Thor, this is Steve Rogers, our quarterback.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Johann Schmidt stunned into silence before,” Thor says, flashing his perfect teeth as he smiles and extends his hand out to him. “Seriously, good job.”

“Thank you,” he says, shaking Thor’s hand. “But that was all Natasha. She prepared me well.”

He beams in pride as he turns to the woman in question, because if he’s learned anything in the last two weeks, it’s that Natasha’s dedication to her job is unparalleled. Every day since this media campaign has started, she’s easily the most prepared person in the room – ready to fire off a Plan B, C, or D when necessary. While things haven’t always been smooth sailing, he’s certain that nothing has ever escalated into a mishap because of her quick thinking. If he’s had any success in turning the public’s opinion on him, it’s only because he’s been fortunate enough to have her as his guide every step of the way.

More impressive than Natasha’s work ethic though, is her capacity for kindness, and it’s something he’s witnessed time and again throughout their relatively short time together. As his publicist, she’s often the first line of defense when it comes to the media, and though he’s only been back in the public eye for a brief period of time, he’s seen how brash they can be when they press her for information. And yet, she’s never been anything but professional, even when the person before her does not warrant it. Add to that all the little things – like the way she watches over her team and how lovingly she speaks of her sister – and he’s not sure how anyone can do anything but admire her.

“This one,” Thor says, pointing a thumb at Natasha, “is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” he says to her more than anyone else, and as she playfully rolls her eyes, he pretends not to notice the hand Thor places on her shoulder.

“When he can nail interviews like that, my job is basically a breeze,” Natasha says, turning to Thor. “Anyway, shall the three of us discuss the sponsorship?”

“Yes, let’s,” Thor says, gesturing towards the door. “Lead the way, Nat.”

He arches a brow as he follows them out of the Press Room. Nat?

It’s a beautiful day out as the three of them discuss the potential deal around one of the tables in the patio of the facility, and as much as he hates to admit it, he learns that Thor’s actually a pretty cool guy – laidback, knowledgeable about football, and even a tinge hilarious. Before them, the turf is a rich verdant sea underneath the summer sun, and as he adjusts his sunglasses over his face, he makes a resolution to put aside what malicious emotions he may have felt in the Press Room. Regardless of his initial feelings towards the man, Thor could become his business associate, and he needs to act like the respectful partner that Point Break is interested in hiring.

When they finish going over Point Break’s proposal, the conversation inevitably shifts towards the game. Thor’s in the middle of seeking his opinion on the intricacies of a blitz when he’s interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

“Excuse me for a second, gentlemen,” Natasha says, picking up her phone from the table as her eyes scan over the name on the screen. “I need to take this.”

“Take your time,” Thor says, smiling brightly.

Natasha rises from her seat without looking back at either of them, turning away just as she answers the call to say, “Yelena, honey, is everything all right?”

His ears perk at the sound of Natasha’s sister’s name, and he finds himself only half listening as Thor moves on to telling him about how he won their company’s Fantasy Football League last season. He manages to insert a congratulations, and as Thor continues to outline his winning strategy, he shifts his focus to where Natasha is quietly talking on the phone a few feet away. Concern washes over him when he catches the way her brows furrow as she listens intently. Then, almost as quickly as she’d taken the call, she hangs up and puts her phone in her pocket.

“Everything okay?” he and Thor ask at the same time as she approaches their table.

“I’m not sure,” she says, eyebrows knitting as she looks bewilderedly between him and Thor. “But I do have to cut this meeting short. My apologies, but my sister lives on a campus a few miles from here and she said she really needs my help.”

“No need to apologize,” Thor says. “Can I-”

“I’ll come with you,” he says before Thor can finish his question. If the man turns his way at that, he doesn’t notice as he reaches to put a hand on Natasha’s arm.

“What? Steve, no,” she says, sighing. “I appreciate the offer, but you don’t have to. I don’t even know what’s up and you’ve already had a long day-”

“Natasha, I don’t mind,” he says unequivocally. He looks at her face, and in the short time he’s known her, he doesn’t recall ever seeing genuine worry fill her eyes until right this very moment. “At least let me drive you.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to have an extra set of hands, actually,” Thor suggests lightly as he gathers the last of the papers on the table and stands.

He nods at Thor – liking the guy more and more – before looking back at Natasha, who bites her lip. Eventually, she sighs. “Okay,” she says. “Let’s go.”  

“All right,” he says, turning around and extending his hands out like a gameshow host about to unveil the grand prize. “I present to you… one outrageously blue and velvety couch ready for some serious binge watching!”

Yelena holds up a finger as she inspects his work. “First of all, it’s called a loveseat.” He rolls his eyes at that – forty-five minutes into knowing her and already there’s no denying that she and Natasha are sisters. “And second, Natasha never mentioned your handyman skills,” Yelena says before shrugging. “But then again, that’s probably because she’s always so busy going on and on about your impossibly blue eyes.”

“Do you like being able to breathe?”  

He looks towards the source of the threat, and he’s unable to keep the smile off his lips when he sees Natasha, her cheeks slightly flushed as she looks up from her phone to glare at Yelena from the recliner she’s on. She’d been a nervous wreck the entire drive over to Yelena’s off-campus apartment, and it’s the first time he’s really seen her be anything other than calm and collected. That all changed though once they pulled up to see what Yelena’s emergency was really about – a loveseat she had purchased at a yard sale that she couldn’t bring up the narrow staircase by herself. In that moment, he recalls thinking that if looks could kill, the daggers Natasha was sending her little sister would have had Yelena on the ground.

Yelena just smirks in her sister’s direction before looking back at him. “Thank you for carrying it up.”  

“Yeah, it’s not as if you were risking anything,” Natasha says dryly before he can reply. “The hands you use to throw the ball are only insured for a bajillion dollars.”  

He rolls his lips in an attempt to suppress a laugh. The fact of the matter is, had Natasha not objected for the reason she just stated, he’s completely certain that he could have carried the loveseat all by himself without any trouble. Further, to say that he helped carry it up feels like an oversimplification when in reality, he ended up shouldering most of the weight anyway while the two sisters yelled and bickered all the way to Yelena’s apartment. And though he’s having way too much fun seeing the older sister side of Natasha, he knows better than to add fuel to the fire by voicing his thoughts. Instead, he opts for sharing an amused look with Yelena.

“Just wait until I tell my friends that the Avengers’ quarterback carried my loveseat,” Yelena says, wiggling her brows.

He grins. “Don’t leave out my impossibly blue eyes, okay?”

“Is that okay with you, sis?” Yelena says, looking over her shoulder. “You wouldn’t mind other women also getting lost in Steve’s eyes, would you?”

“Yelena!” Natasha admonishes, her jaw dropping. As she jolts forward in her seat, he tries to ignore the part of him that’s a little enthralled by the fact that she hasn’t exactly denied her sister’s claim. “You do realize I still work with your personal crane lift over there, yes?”

Yelena moves to stand next to him, making a show of leaning in as if to whisper something in his ear. “Don’t worry,” she says, keeping her voice at an audible volume as she pats his shoulder. “I’ll put in a good word for you with my friends.”

“Pleasure doing business with you,” he says, extending his hand out to Yelena to shake and chuckling when Natasha narrows her eyes at him from across the room.

“Jokes aside, though,” Yelena says, walking over to the back of the recliner Natasha’s sitting on to wrap her arms around her sister. “Thank you for coming.” She looks back at him. “And for bringing me my own crane lift.”

He shakes his head fondly at Yelena, and from where he’s standing, he watches as Natasha does her best to keep the annoyed expression on her face, but it only lasts a second before she sighs.

“Come here,” Natasha says, scooting over. Yelena curls up next to her, leaning her head on her shoulder. “You realize you could have just said you needed help, right? You didn’t have to scare me half to death.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Yelena posits, squealing when Natasha begins to poke her side. “Okay, okay!” – she pauses to giggle, holding her hands up in surrender – “It’s just that Mom said you were in the area. But I know you’ve been so busy lately, so I thought I needed some theatrics to actually get you to come over.” She pouts as she turns to Natasha. “I missed you a little.”

Natasha’s eyes soften. “Oh, malyshka,” she says. “You know I’ll always make time for you.” She sighs. “All you have to do is ask.”

“I know that…” Yelena says, shrugging when Natasha raises a brow at her. “Most of the time.” She smiles sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I actually got a lot of things done while you two argued about the couch placement,” Natasha says before looking towards him and rolling her eyes once more as Yelena goes on about how it’s actually called a loveseat. “Thor put the paperwork for the sponsorship through.”

“Already?” he asks, his brows shooting to his hairline in surprise when she nods. “Natasha.”

She beams. “He said he was very impressed with you this morning.”

“Impressed with me or impressed with my publicist?” he teases.

“Well, I can be plenty charming.” Her words elicit a scoff from Yelena, who she turns to glare at. “The point being,” she says, looking back at him. “As of twenty minutes ago, you’re officially the new face of Point Break!”

“I can’t-” he begins, but the words escape him and he can only shake his head in disbelief.

“So, what I’m hearing is...” Yelena says as he continues to process the news. “If I hadn’t forced you to leave that meeting, you’d probably still be going over the semantics and Steve wouldn’t have this deal, am I right?”

“Nice try,” Natasha says. “You still owe us.”

“Since we’re on that subject,” he says, “I think there’s a way you can pay… well, honestly, this is just for me and my morbid curiosity.” Natasha’s brows furrow at his words, while Yelena looks at him expectantly. He grins. “Got any old photo albums here?”

Yelena’s face lights up. “Even better. I have home videos!”

He pumps his fist in celebration, and it’s when Yelena bounds off the recliner and towards her room that Natasha’s eyes widen. “Yelena!”

“Your sister’s a great kid,” he says later on as they get back into the car.

“The best,” she says, adoration filling her expression as she clicks her seatbelt on. “She can be a little punk sometimes, but I love her all the same. Couldn’t be prouder of her, too.”

“Seems to me like she had a good role model,” he says.

She just shrugs. “Anyhow, thanks for helping out back there. I’d say I owe you one, but you did rummage through photos of me with braces and bad haircuts, so I’d say we’re even.”

“You were adorable!” he says, chuckling. “And the cheerleading videos of you in middle school? Priceless! I know you said you did ballet-”

“When did I say that?” she asks, brows knitting together. He opens his mouth to tell her, but he quickly presses his lips back together when he realizes the answer. A hand flies to the back of his neck, and in that moment, the memory seems to come back to her as well as she clears her throat. “What was that about anyway?” He arches a brow at her, to which she rolls her eyes. “The photo albums, I mean.”  

“Well, I did say I was trying to learn more about you,” he says. “Sure, a person’s past doesn't necessarily define them, but it can at least give some insight into why they’ve become who they are.” He shrugs. “Just trying to figure you out, is all.”

“Really, you’re curious?” she presses, her nose scrunching. “About me?”

“So curious I think you should just let me interrogate you to get it over with,” he says, smiling as he adds, “preferably over dinner.” He holds up a hand. “Not that your sister’s cookies aren’t delicious and satisfying, but I don’t think my trainer is going to buy that I got my protein fix from the peanut butter chips.”

She chuckles, her expression growing contemplative as she bites her lip. “I guess we could discuss our Social Media strategy for the Point Break promos…” she says, “and whatnot.”

“Yeah, and whatnot,” he echoes, a smile creeping onto his lips.  

This isn’t weird. This isn’t weird at all. At least, that’s what Natasha chants to herself as she and Steve cut through the lobby of their hotel en route to the restaurant at the back. For starters, it’s not as though she’s never had dinner with other athletes before. She has – many times, in fact – which is how she knew to book a table towards the back and to request to be seated immediately. Plus, she and Steve actually do have business matters to discuss. Even if he has just (voluntarily) been to her sister’s apartment to assist with a chore, that shouldn’t make this time any different from all the other times she’s shared a meal with one of the Avengers.

As they make their way into Christopher’s Bistro, the wooden floors beneath them glisten under the warm lighting, the earthy tones of their tablecloths coupled with the seafoam green cushioned booths offering a quaint coziness. In spite of the charming ambiance though, she finds herself scrupulously scanning the dining room. Much to her surprise, it’s not as packed as she thought it would be for a Friday night – just a handful of couples and a few families enjoying their supper – but even so, her eyes continue to search for any possible red flags.

It’s not that she’s being paranoid, per se. But if experience is anything to go by, she knows that the possibility of Steve getting mobbed by adoring fans is ever present. He may not be the most famous athlete out there at the moment, and yes, they weren’t in New York, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still run the risk of some eagle-eyed football aficionado noticing him. Better safe than sorry may be a cliché, but it’s one she’s an ardent fan of.

As if to underscore her point, her instincts are proven right when they arrive at the maître d’s podium. She zeroes in on the bar, her mental alarm going off when she catches sight of a group of women, shot glasses in their hands and their university’s insignia painted on some of their cheeks. One of them, a tall brunette sporting a halter top emblazoned with three Greek letters, looks up from her phone, her jaw dropping and her eyes lighting up in recognition when she sees Steve.  

“Shit,” she mutters as the woman taps her friend on the shoulder, presumably to share the news. She turns to Steve, eyes wide as she grabs a hold of his arm in an effort to whisper, “sorority tailgate, twelve o’clock!”

He stares at her, dumbfounded. “Huh?”

“Ms. Romanoff, your table is ready.”

The maître d’s words rise above her second warning, but there’s no use in reiterating it because it’s too late. The ruckus has already begun as the group of women hop off the bar stools and make their way towards them, and if this were a game, this would be the part where the pocket collapses and the quarterback gets sacked.

You’re Steve Rogers, right? Loved you on the cover of the Body Issue! I’m so excited for your return! Can you sign my shirt?

Flashes go off as a number of them pull out their phones, extending them outwards to snap a picture with Steve, who, in spite of the surprise in his eyes, just goes along and smiles. And from where she stands in front of the group, she offers him an encouraging nod because at the moment, that’s the best he can do to not escalate the situation.

It’s only when the tall brunette turns to Steve, one hand curling around his bicep as her girlfriends continue to snap away, that her eyes widen. Immediately, she pictures the headline Quarterback Scores Before Season Even Begins making its rounds in some form or another through every news outlet in the morning, and with a sigh, she pushes through the melee, tugging Steve towards her as she reaches him.

“All right, ladies,” she begins, making sure her voice can be heard over the commotion. “Thank you for the well wishes and the photos, but I’m afraid Steve has a meeting to get to.” She shoots the women a smile that’s all at once too big and too saccharine. “Have a great rest of your evening, and remember, go Avengers!”

Without looking back, she pushes Steve away from the group and out of the restaurant, stopping only when they make it back to the lobby. For good measure, she maneuvers him to the side and behind one of the marble pillars before pulling out her phone. She sighs. “Obviously, we’ll need to find someplace else to eat.”

Steve puts a hand over her phone, forcing her to look up at him. “What are the chances they’re the only group of people we’ll have to dodge?”

“On a Friday night in a college town?” she says, her words eliciting a cringe from him. She points a thumb in the direction of the elevators. “We could just forgo dinner. Call it a night.”

“Or,” he says, grabbing her attention, “we could try this thing that starts with room and ends with service? I hear it’s great. You tell them what you want, they bring it to your room so you don’t get accosted while you eat...” She scoffs at him, causing him to chuckle. “Unless, of course, starving to death is your thing.”

“Well, genius, looks like I’ll have you to thank for not dying of starvation,” she says, shaking her head as she smiles. “Goodnight, Steve.”  

“Wait,” he says, grabbing a hold of her wrist as she turns to leave. “We still have to discuss the deal and whatnot, remember?”

She tilts her head to the side in confusion. “But you just said we should get room service.”  

“Believe it or not, you can order room service for more than one person at a time,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “So, your suite or mine?”

Her brow arches. Okay, so maybe now it’s a little weird.

Voices from the television echo softly in the background as she and Steve sit at the table in her suite, chipping away at the small feast before them. And as they slip effortlessly into conversation, she finds herself glad that this situation isn’t as weird as she thought it would be.

“Are you sure your calling is in PR? Because I really think we could use you on the O-line.”

“I like all my bones exactly where they are, thank you very much,” she says, scoffing as she brings her drink to her lips.

“Just sayin’,” Steve says, spearing a piece of steak with his fork. “I’ve had the meanest defenses come after me while running out of the pocket. But that down there? That was terrifying.” He tips his head back, laughing. “Meanwhile, you handled them like a total badass!”

“Oh, please,” she says. “That group is nothing compared to the pool of reporters I have to reel in every game day. You’ll see.” He hums in response, and she smiles as she shifts in her seat. “So, the Point Break deal.”  

He sighs, seemingly still in disbelief. “I can’t believe it. I honestly don’t know if I’ve processed it just yet.” His eyes are full of gratitude as he looks at her. “Natasha, I can’t thank you enough for making it all come true.”

“Hey, I just made the talking points,” she says. “You did the rest.”

“I don’t think so,” he says, shaking his head. “My last sponsor dropped me after I got injured. Then after the scandal with my agent and my very, very public divorce...” He sighs. “Companies didn’t want to touch me with a ten foot pole. And now suddenly it’s as if they’re seeing me in a new light.” He shrugs. “It’s no coincidence that they’ve changed their mind since you’ve come along.”

“Steve, I didn’t highlight anything that wasn’t already there,” she says earnestly, reaching across the table to put her hand on his when he begins to disagree. “Sometimes people just need a little help seeing through the fog.”

“Yeah?” he asks softly.

She nods, and as he smiles, she tries not to pay too much attention to the little flutter in her chest as she retracts her hand.  

As they continue on with their meal, they delve further into the deal with Point Break, discussing in detail how to roll out the promos across his Social Media channels to garner the most engagement. Inevitably, though, they segue into other topics, and she recalls his assumption about her knowing everything about him because she has access to his personal file. And while she did know more about him than most people, if her line of work has taught her anything, it’s that you don’t ever really know someone just by reading about them.

With that in mind, she asks him about his mom, and what it was like growing up with just the two of them as a family unit. Steve’s eyes light up with adoration as he speaks of his mother, and he tells her about all the sacrifices Sarah Rogers has made for him – from working extra shifts to ensure he had the latest cleats to fighting to get him into the high school with the best football program. It’s then that he reveals why his former agent’s betrayal had hurt so much. Their friendship notwithstanding, his agent had embezzled money he had put away to buy his mother’s dream home. And though that incident hadn’t bankrupted him, it did endanger the one thing he wants most in life: to make sure that his mother never has to lift a finger ever again.

“That’s really great of you, Steve,” she says.

“Ma deserves it,” he says simply. “She deserves the world.”

She smiles. “She must be so proud of you.”

“She says she is,” he says with a nod. “But she also likes to say that I’m her favorite son even though I’m her only son, so sometimes I take what she says with a grain of salt.” They both chuckle, and he shakes his head. “Honestly, though? I think I’m the one who’s proud of her. From what I’ve seen growing up, being a single parent seems like the hardest thing on the planet.” He shrugs. “So, yeah, I do want to give her everything her heart desires.”

“I get what you mean,” she says. “Melina, our mom, raised me and Yelena all on her own. I don’t know where we would be if she hadn’t adopted us.”

“You and Yelena are adopted?” he asks, brows rising.

She nods. “Mom adopted me first, and then Yelena three years after,” she explains before smiling. “And our lives have been better because of it.” She lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “I know I’ll never be able to match what she did for us. But hey, helping out with Yelena’s college costs feels like a decent start.”

“Isn’t that what really matters, though?” he says. “Looking after those who looked after us, no matter how big or how small?”

“Yeah,” she says softly. “That’s exactly what matters.”  

A comfortable silence envelops them for a beat, their shared sentiment hanging in the air between them. “Well, on that note,” he says eventually, “since you so graciously hosted me in your suite” – he gestures towards their plates – “allow me to do the cleanup.”

“I won’t argue with that,” she says, watching as he walks over to the phone on the nightstand and calls room service for a pickup. When he returns to gather their plates onto the tray, she moves out of the way, plopping down on the foot of her bed. Her eyes turn to the television as he crosses the room to put the tray in the hall, and she smiles when she sees Moonraker playing on the television. “Why did you break up the encounter with my pet python?” she mouths along as Hugo Drax’s imposing form looms on screen. “Because I discovered he had a crush on me.”

“Who has a crush on who now?”

She turns in the direction of the door, her expression turning sheepish when she sees Steve, arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the wall with a smirk on his lips. “Hugo Drax’s python is crushing on James Bond. Allegedly.”

He purses his lips. “I don’t think I follow.”

“You’ve never seen Moonraker?” she says, barely containing her surprise when he shakes his head no. “But you’ve seen other James Bond movies, right?”

“I think I saw... The Man With the Silver Gun?”

“Golden Gun,” she corrects, watching as he shrugs.

An idea crosses her mind then, but the second it does, she already knows it’s a bad one. It’s one thing for her to let him help out with Yelena’s faux emergency. And though she doesn’t make a habit out of sharing her perspective on work and family with her clients, it’s not really that far out of line. But what she’s currently contemplating? It could be dangerous. As in, Icarus-flying-too-close-to-the-sun or walking-out-into-a-blizzard-in-your-underwear dangerous. But then she thinks about tonight – about how she thought having dinner with him would be weird when in reality, it’s been pleasantly eye-opening. If they could handle that, surely they could handle this.

With that, she pats the space next to her. “Come on.”

Slowly, his eyes pinball from her face to where her hand lies and back. “You sure?”

“Eh, what the hell,” she says, scooting back against the pillows. “I really like this movie and you’re embarrassingly James Bond-impaired.” He manages to scoff at that, and she looks at him as he remains frozen in place. “But only if you want to, of course.”

“I want to,” he says, and they both pretend not to notice how quickly his answer had come. He clears his throat, pushing off the wall before walking to the other side of her bed. “May I?”

“Have at it,” she says, settling back into the pillows. She watches as he reluctantly takes a seat on the mattress, his feet still on the ground. “I’m not going to push you off the bed if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“At least not while I’m looking, right?” He laughs softly when she mumbles maybe, then he’s toeing his shoes off, and she feels the bed dip as he settles back down on the pillows next to her. “So,” he says, turning his head to face her. “Tell me about this movie.”

She shifts to her side, propping her head up on her hand. “So it all starts when this space shuttle…”

The room is dark when she stirs awake a while later, the only source of light coming from the glow of the television screen as the credits roll. But it’s not so much the fact that she’d fallen asleep during her favorite movie that causes her eyes to widen as much as it is the arm she feels around her waist. And she does not have to turn around to know that Steve Rogers is in her bed. But not only that, he’s in her bed and cuddling her.

She cycles through the options in her head. She could – should – extricate herself from his arms and leave. That's the most obvious solution. Only this is her room, and based on the steady breaths she feels against the back of her neck, she knows he’s sound asleep. She could always wake him, of course. Keep them from crossing any more lines than they already have.  

Then it dawns on her. She doesn’t want to. And, perhaps the most disconcerting part of it all is that right now, even though she knows she shouldn’t feel this way, she’s completely comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that she could easily let herself drift back into a peaceful slumber and pretend like she’s not a publicist in bed with her player. And so, she does.

But come morning, when the sun’s rays begin to peek through the spaces between the curtains, filling her room with signs of a brand new day, the cold and empty space next to her is one reality she can’t sleep away

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

#Romanogers #Game Plan #Natasha Romanoff #Steve Rogers #one night stand AU #natrogers

[in-slytherin-we-trust]

oah you write for blaise ! that's so cool ! maybe something about him dating a girl who's a part of the wesley family and a slytherin (not blood related, maybe adopted or taken in) and blaise falls for her and in the beginning he doesn't want to be public about his feelings because of the reputation but he realized that.he doesn't care and even draco likes them together

Public Announcement (Blaise Zabini x Reader)

Y/N may not be a Weasley by blood but she certainly is a Weasley by heart. Heck she could even pass as Arthur and Molly’s biological daughter because she naturally has a flaming red hair, the very trademark of a Weasley.

She was barely 2 years old when Arthur met her in the orphanage. Both her parents had passed away from Black Cat Flu when she was still an infant. A tragic story really for such a sweet little girl. Arthur took a pity on her and decided to came for another visit a week later, this time he brought Molly with him. They then decided to adopt her and ever since then she is known as Y/N Weasley.

Bill, Charlie, and Percy adore her to bits. They never set her apart just because she was adopted. To them she’s a Weasley all the same. Fred and George put her on a pedestal, she’s the only person that never has to suffer their pranks, the twins are highly protective over her. Ron is the same age as her and they share a love for food and sweets. Ginny looks up to her more than she does to Ron (for obvious reason) and since they’re the only girls in the family, they’re always attached at the hip.

By the time she reached the age of 12 and got her Hogwarts letter, Molly was constantly bawling and feeling sentimental because she’s not ready to let Y/N out of her sight yet. Especially when she realized that next year will be Ginny’s turn to leave for school. The Burrow won’t feel the same with all her troublemakers gone from the nest.

After Y/N was sorted into Slytherin while the rest of her siblings are all in Gryffindor, she ran out of the Great Hall, ashamed of herself for getting put into a house with problematic reputation. She’s not even sure that the rest of the Slytherins will welcome her with open arms since she’s a Weasley, to them she is probably a blood traitor and a disgrace to their house.

Ron, Fred, and George went to look for her after the feast when they realized that she’s nowhere to be found. Fearing something might have happened. Even the twins aren’t in their usual playful mood because of the sticky situation that they all found themselves in. Who will take care of her now when she’s literally inside the serpents den?

They found her in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom, crouching under one of the sinks with her head tuck between her arms and knees pulled to her chest. A few quiet sobs rocked her body.

“Hi there, sunshine” Fred said softly as the three of them crouched down to her level. George placing a hand in her head, rubbing it softly.

“What am I supposed to do now? I thought I’d be a Gryffindor just like you all are” Y/N muttered. Even her voice came out raspy and weak.

“You’ll be okay, Y/N. We won’t abandon you or anything just because you’re in Slytherin” Ron said, giving his best attempt at comforting his sister. He bumped his shoulder to hers, it’s Ron’s way of showing brotherly affection.

“Yeah plus we could always sneak you in to the common room anytime you want” George said while wiggling his eyebrows.

The three of them smiled in relief when the girl finally let out a short laugh after George’s remark. “Thanks for making me feel better” Y/N replied, pulling her brothers into one big group hug.

“We got you, sunshine” Fred said and George added a, “Please tell us immediately if we need to beat up someone for you”

Y/N grinned, “Thanks for the assistance, I’ll keep that in mind”

———————————————————————

By the time she has reached her 4th year of being a Hogwarts student, she has gotten used to the snide remarks and dirty looks from her fellow housemates. And she is good at ignoring all of them, prefering the company of other houses instead. It’s not like she spends much time in the Slytherin dorm or common room so that doesn’t comes as that big of a problem to her. The only time she has to deal with the rest of the insufferable Slytherins is during classes.

But not all of them are unbearable, Y/N has several friends too inside the house, mostly those who are either half bloods or purebloods who have the same ideals as the Weasley. They’re the band of outliers. The odd ones.

That’s why it came as a surprise to her when she got paired up with Blaise Zabini during Potions for the rest of the year and he turned out to be... nice. She was more than prepared for the insults and taunting comments but all she received was pleasant small talk, he even complemented her dexterity and said thank you after class was finished. What has the world come to?

It’s not like she’s complaining about the rather lovely turn of events, but it just doesn’t make any sense to her. Blaise Zabini is the epitome of pureblood and one of Malfoy’s closest mate, why in Merlin’s name would he bother associating himself with her? A working class Slytherin. Surely he sees her as an unfitting being, someone not worthy of her blood. So what’s with the facade?

With every lesson, she found that they actually share a lot of commonalities. To name a few, Blaise too enjoys the art of potion making and he is actually a gastronome too; a lover of good food. But who in their right mind doesn’t?

Y/N catches herself anticipating every Potions class excitedly, looking forward to spending time with Blaise again and provided that she has a good excuse for it, none would bother them.

They grew closer and closer, taking pleasure in each other’s company. And as time runs, feelings grow. It started out simple enough, one day after they have wrapped up another lesson, Blaise asked her, “Anything on your schedule after this?”

To which she answered, “I’m planning to go to the library and get some reading done, why?”

“Mind if I tag along?” His question caught her off guard, second guessing whether she heard it correctly but Blaise’s hopeful eyes said otherwise.

“Sure, Zabini. Why not” And then he smiled. That damn smile that got her brain all fuzzy and her heart beating out of control. She really needs to get ahold of herself.

And that afternoon they wasted the rest of the day together, until it’s almost past curfew and they both of them reluctantly made their way back to the dungeons.

———————————————————————

“Fancy meeting you here” A familiar deep voice startled Y/N, she might have even jumped a little.

It was just another normal trip to Hogsmeade before she suddenly found herself face to face with her Potions partner inside Honeydukes.

“I think that should be my line, Blaise. Don’t other Slytherins usually hate going to Hogsmeade? after all it’s swarming with Gryffindors” Y/N retorted back, raising one eyebrow at him.

“Well I guess I just want a change of scenery, can’t you blame me for that?”

“Being cooped up inside a dungeon does that to you.. but the good thing you’re here now”

Y/N redirected her line of vision towards the shelves, eyes scanning over the rows of sweets to find what she’s looking for.

“Aha!” She shouted triumphantly, reaching out for a box of Salt Water Taffy. Y/N turned to look at the boy who’s still standing beside her, “Hey Blaise? can you grab some Cauldron Cakes for me”

Wordlessly he walked to the racks located on the other side, where said sweets are. “Here you go, principessa” He said while handing it to her.

Y/N can’t help the weird face that she’s probably making right now, “Principessa huh? did I just earn myself a new nickname?”

To be honest she’s just trying to poke a reaction out of him when in reality she’s absolutely loving the way the word rolls from his tongue. Blaise speaking Italian is definitely the crème de la crème for her.

Blaise gave her a small smile, “I think it suits you”

Y/N is trying hard to fight back a blush that is threatening to creep on her cheeks. Blaise is not a man of many words, that much she has learned, so little moments like this is precious to her. Moments where she can see the cracks in his usually stoic front.

Blaise waited patiently for her to pay her sweets before he falls in line beside her, the two of them seemed to get the same idea as they set a nice and slow walking pace.

“Who did you come here with?” Blaise asked, watching her as she opens the taffy.

“My brothers.. although i’m pretty sure both Fred and George are on a date now, and Ron is off somewhere with Harry”

After she succesfully tore off the packaging, she grab a taffy and bite into it, moaning in the process “Merlin, I would never get bored of these”

Meanwhile Blaise is looking at her the whole time, face turning into one of amusement, “Can I have a bite? taffy’s my favorite too”

To his surprise (and delight) instead of letting him take one out himself, Y/N reached in for a taffy and guide it in front of his mouth, “You’re really gonna feed me? what do you think I am, Y/N”

“Either bite it or i’ll have it myself, suit yourself” Y/N said plainly, a challenge clearly written on her face.

Blaise scoffed but slowly he leaned forward, biting the middle of the taffy while looking straight to her eyes, taking it slowly from her fingers, “Delicious as always”

Is he still talking about the taffy or something else entirely? Y/N wouldn’t know.. well he is savoring the sweets but his eyes tells something different.

Y/N cleared her throat, trying to ease some tensions, “Well are you going to return to the castle or....?” She asked, drawling out her statement.

“Want to go for some hot drinks? we still got some time before curfew”

“I’d love that”

———————————————————————

That’s how they ended up in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. This is Y/N’s first time here. Although the wafting scent of all kind of teas is mouthwatering, but the view that greeted them inside kind of threw her off.

The decoration was very tacky, frilly, and covered with bows. Pink assaulted her vision everywhere. Plus the place is cramped with couples. No one even bother paying attention to them since they walked in because most of the couples are busy staring at each other’s eye or snogging.

She shouldn’t be surprised, Harry did mention once that this place is the usual haunt for happy couples.

As they took a seat on the last empty table, Y/N looked at Blaise questioningly, “You sure about this place? it’s like a hot spot for couples, don’t want to give other people the wrong idea, do you?”

“And what would that be?” The git had the nerve to smirk cockily, leaning in closer until she can actually feel his breath on her skin.

Y/N quickly retreated back into the plush seat, “Nevermind that, is chamomile okay?”

“Brilliant, it’s like we share a thought”

Turned out chamomile is Blaise’s favorite brew too, just like her. Another thing to add to their growing list of shared love for something.

The sun is starting to set outside, giving an orange and pink glow filtering in through the window near them. It really is a glorious view.

They’ve talked for hours, conversation flowing easily as if they have always been the best of bud, being with Blaise felt good. It felt right.

Y/N can’t stop but stare his way, taking in his features. From his high cheekbones to the curve of his full lips.

“Y/N...” He suddenly half whispered her name, she meets his eyes again, “Yes..?”

Blaise watched her face carefully for any sign of hesitation or rejection as he slowly leans in, all is left between them now is what little space between their lips.

“May I kiss you?” He murmured. With the close proximity that they’re in, his lips even touched hers slightly when he speaks. Sending jolts through her body.

“Yes... please” She replied breathlessly.

Blaise grinned before he closed the distance, securing his lips on her, firm but not demanding. He’s letting her set the pace. But she doesn’t want slow or sweet, she wants passion. And he gave it to her. Sealing the unspoken deal between them.

———————————————————————

Y/N is sitting cross legged on the fur rug, back propped by a small pillow in the far back corner of the library, as she hums softly under her breath. Her fingers are rubbing soothing circles in Blaise’s head while he’s laying down with his head on her lap. Another library date.

Ever since the kiss at Madam Puddifoot’s, they’ve been closer than ever. Spending every waking moment with each other as much as they can. Sometimes Blaise would even hold her hand under the desk during Potions.

“What are we, Blaise?” She asked, voicing her confusion.

“Whatever you want us to be, principessa” He replied. One of his hands settle on her cheek, adding in the intimacy.

“What if I want more....” Y/N bites her bottom lips, scared of his reaction.

“More...?” Blaise asked, urging her to go on.

“Yeah... what if I want to be your girlfriend?”

Blaise was quiet for a minute and as the silent grew longer, so does the anxiousness that is clawing her insides.

“Then be my girlfriend, Y/N” He finally replied, a genuine smile blossomed on his handsome face.

“Really?” Y/N asked again, giving him a chance to back out if he was only joking around. As she scanned his face carefully, she found nothing but sincerity.

“Will you be my girlfriend (Y/N) (Y/L/N)?”

“God yes, a thousand times yes”

———————————————————————

Five months has passed and they’ve been succcessful so far in keeping their relationship a secret from the rest of Hogwarts. Well of course Y/N has told her brothers about it because she can’t really keep something as important as this from them, and although she was met by protests and resistance at first, they eventually let her be and said that they will still keep an eye on her and especially on Blaise. If he as much as put one foot in the wrong place, he’s gonna face the wrath of the Weasley twins in the form of never-ending pranks. That much was made clear.

Being in a secret relationship proves to be difficult and draining after a while. True at first it gave her such a thrill, all the midnight trysts and stolen kisses and secret longing glances. But she’s getting tired of all the sneaking around, of the pretending. She wants to be able to kiss him whenever she wants, walk to or back from class with him, eat at the Great Hall together, cheer for him in quidditch matches. Y/N feels like they are missing out on soo many things that most couple get to do together.

It’s even more unnerving for her now especially since Daphne Greengrass has been making nonstop advances at her boyfriend. Although Blaise never took a mind to it, but still she doesn’t seem to get the clue and hang around him all the time. Slytherins are even starting to bet on whether or not they will date by the end of the term. You can imagine the state that Y/N’s in under all these load.

“They would be such a handsome couple”

“Daphne Zabini does have a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“Blaise should just stop playing hard to get and get with her already!”

These are some of the words that she heard thrown around her everywhere she goes. Blaise and Daphne, Daphne and Blaise. God, it’s sickening.

It was sometime before midnight, Blaise and Y/N are laying on the grass outside near the Black Lake. Blaise was trying to tell her about something funny that happened to Draco when he noticed that she’s no longer paying attention.

“Something on your mind?” He asked, pulling her out of her daze.

Y/N turned to look at him, “You’re ashamed of me, aren’t you?”

Blaise’s eyes went wide at the accusation, he even looked wounded “How could you say that, principessa? I care about you so much”

“I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to offend you, it’s just that....” She trailed off, dropping her stare, she couldn’t even find it in herself to look at him.

She felt Blaise’s arms sneaked on her waist, pulling her to him. She weakly encased her arms on his back. Letting her head rest on his chest.

“What is it that troubles you so? come on, you know you can tell me anything” He encouraged her.

“I’m just jealous I guess... people are betting on you and Daphne and it bothers me a lot.... I mean you’re my boyfriend, not hers but people don’t know that, do they?”

Blaise cup her chin softly and raised her head so that they see eye to eye, “Do you know why I asked you to keep it a secret?”

She looked back at him, silently asking why.

“I didn’t want people coming at you, I know the others won’t take it lightly and I don’t want anything bad happening to you because of me. I could never be ashamed of you, Y/N”

His words brought some comfort to her, hearing him admit it out loud. Chasing her fears away, but some part of her still feel down. Not that she would let Blaise know that.

“I know this may be too fast but..... I love you Blaise” She whispered to his ear, she felt his breath hitched at the 3 words.

But he just answered her with a kiss. She doesn’t get to hear him say it back.

———————————————————————

The next day, Y/N returned to a lively common room. Potions class has been cancelled (which is surprising because Professor Snape never ever cancelled a class) which leaves the rest of the fourth year students free for the rest of the day.

Y/N was just about to make her way into the girls dormitory when Blaise suddenly hauled himself up into the table located in the center of the room. Gaining curious looks from every single person there.

“May I have your attention please?” He said, although he spoke in normal volume but Blaise has the power to make all attention immediately goes to him. Everyone hanging onto his every word.

“I have an announcement to make” Now this got the room breaking into a flurry of whispers, people speculating about whether or not it concerns the ‘Daphne bet’.

“I’ve heard about the bet that some of you have the audacity to make and I would like to make one thing clear so listen closely” He looks pointedly to every single faces near him, trying to get his point across.

“For those of you who don’t know, my name’s Blaise Zabini..... and i’m in love with Y/N Weasley”

To say that Y/N is dumbfounded would be an understatement to what she’s currently feeling as all eyes suddenly turned her way. A sea of shocked faces. And Y/N can only look back dumbly as she too is still trying to process what just happened.

“She is my girlfriend and has been since 5 months ago, so stop with the dumb rumors” Blaise continued. He too is looking her way, giving her a smile that she loves.

To make it even more mind-boggling, Draco Malfoy decided that he too would like to have a say about this matter.

“If any of you have a problem with it, wands at dawn. Take your problem up with me and Blaise in a duel”

Did Draco Malfoy just stand up for her for some unknown reason? Blaise she could understand... but Draco Malfoy?!

Y/N watched as Blaise gave a few taps on Draco’s back, “Alright then if that is clear, now bugger off, all of you” Blaise said in a very intimidating tone. Making the rest of the Slytherins scampered off, leaving Y/N with only Blaise and Draco in the common room.

“I can’t believe you did that” Y/N said, slowly approaching her boyfriend. “And you too, what has gotten into you? don’t you hate me or something?” She said, giving Draco an incredulous stare.

Blaise reached out for her and pull her to sit on the coach beside him, he snaked one arm on her shoulder, letting it rest there.

“I don’t hate you..” Draco replied, rolling his eyes. “I may or may not hate your siblings, but not you. Plus now you’re my best mate’s girl so I have to play nice” He grinned, an honest grin at that. It’s weird really, seeing Draco Malfoy smile genuinely.

“Thank you, Blaise. You don’t have to you know”

“Oh please... I know how much it actually bothered you”

“Plus now you have no reason to be jealous, we got nothing to hide anymore” Blaise said, as he boop her nose with his finger, making her scrunch it.

“Soo you love me huh?” Y/N teased, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

“Yeah yeah... I do love you” Blaise sighed, as if it burdens him a lot to admit that.

“Ugh... couples” Draco groaned from his position on the sofa across from them. “I’m gonna go before I throw up” He added before standing up and minding his own business.

Y/N and Blaise laughed at his reaction but despite that, they stayed in the same position, not minding anyone or anything, now that they have each other.

#blaise zabini x you #blaise zabini x reader #blaise zabini #blaise zabini imagine #blaise zabini fanfiction #slytherin #harry potter drabble #harry potter x y/n #harry potter x you #harry potter oneshot #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter x reader #harry potter smut #harry potter oneshots #harry potter imagine #harry potter #weasley family #fred and goerge weasley #ron weasley #weasley #draco malfoy prompt #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy smut #draco malfoy oneshots #draco malfoy oneshot #draco malfoy #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy fluff

[chrysalispen]

#2 - Aberrant

Nero tol Scaeva/G’raha Tia. NSFW. 

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33640546/chapters/83652457 He is not sure what to think of the imperial capital, all told, other than he is embarrassed to admit how small it makes him feel. Many things make Nero Scaeva feel small, in all fairness: he is a rail-thin twelve-year-old boy, freshly arrived in the city from one of the poorest rural provinces in the Garlean Empire (and his family is poorer still). He is far more aware than most of his dull-witted peers of the world beyond his tiny village, a world that is vast and open and waiting for him to make his mark upon it. It does not take him long to decide - although he has enough of a survival instinct to keep it to himself - that he does not care much for his Emperor's city. It is uniform in its stark grey ugliness, and it sprawls for malms south of the high mountain pass that leads into the upper reaches of the Ilsabardian tundra, as if winter has unhinged its maw to vomit ceruleum, iron, and Solus zos Galvus' manifest destiny onto the rest of the continent.

All that being the case: his first sight of the Imperial Magitek Academy's administrative building is one Nero has dreamed about for the last two years. It is a fresh start and he is determined to make the most of it. A cursory glance is all Nero needs to know he is comfortably the youngest boy here; he can feel surprised stares from the older boys boring into his back as he lunges up the wide steps two at a time, a smugly confident smile spreading his lips and his favorite book clutched across his chest. Part of him worries at the fact that his robe is handmade rather than store-bought, patched in several places, and as ill-fitting as the threadbare jumper and breeches beneath them. The other students at his tiny village school had often derided him for wearing his sisters' hand-me-downs. But he will have to cross that bridge when he comes to it. He is far more likely to be teased for his age than his clothes, or so he hopes.

"Seven hells, there goes another one," he overhears the derisive scoff on his way into the foyer. "I didn't realize the Academy was starting an engineering initiative for nursery school."

Nero knows how to ignore inane remarks like that and simply does not react to it, but once he's passed out of sight of the two upperclassmen he ambles behind a hefty column to eavesdrop. Anyone who happens to glimpse him- if they notice him at all - will assume he is simply reviewing his upcoming class schedule.

"Another one?"

"You didn't hear? Word is Midas nan Garlond's son will be joining us this year. Smarter even than his old man, so they say. The most brilliant prodigy the Empire's ever seen."

Something in him rankles sharply at that. Just as with the state of his clothing, Nero is all too conscious that his village is poor and small and so is the rest of his province, relegated to some of the most inhospitable lands in the Empire save for one thin stretch of arable land: little grows there other than root vegetables and pigs. He would prefer not to be reminded of his fundamental disadvantage, pitted against some privileged highborn boy he has never chanced to meet. 

Most brilliant? Oh, we'll see about that, Garlond. We'll just see about that.

From this moment on, he vows, he refuses to be anything but first. ==

Nero tol Scaeva, former tribunus laticlavius of the XIVth Imperial Legion, now just another nameless imperial deserter (albeit one with a handsome price on his head), is honest enough to acknowledge that he has outfoxed himself. There is one major thorn in his side frequenting the Saint Coinach encampment. This one Nero cannot even blame on Garlond, for he has brought this particular circumstance (and conundrum) down upon his own head thinking to use her as readily as her allies. As amusing as it has been to watch Cid's cheeks turn crimson with suppressed anger every time Nero takes an opportunity to insinuate himself with the Eorzeans, the engineer finds he is often distracted from any given purpose, or scheme, or tomestone study, by the errant toss of honeyed hair and the herbal spiciness of a lavender sachet. One of these days he's going to dig that blasted bag of flower petals out of her bedroll and toss it into the godsdamned lake, to hell with the consequences. "You too, eh?"

He manages, somehow, not to jump. The interloper unfolds his arms and straightens his posture from its leaning position against a nearby wall, long since crumbled beyond recognition. A rueful smile plays upon the Miqo'te's full lips as his tail swishes idly from side to side."

Don't look so surprised, Tribunus," he says. "Nearly every time I see you, you're watching her. Someone was bound to notice eventually."

Like himself, G'raha Tia is an outlier- an outcast and misfit with a knowledge of Allagan history and folklore nearly as comprehensive and encyclopedic as Nero's own. And just as with all those long years ago upon his arrival at the Academy, his competitive nature is instantly irked by a sense that this upstart boy is stepping on his toes. Certain aspects of the man's personality -- his friendliness and his quick japes, his willingness to accept most people at face value -- remind him so much of Garlond that the sight of him sticks in Nero's craw almost as badly as though he were Cid given feline form. And yet every time they share a space, G'raha invariably treats him with the easy familiarity of an old friend. He is often the only one who does so. It is confusing, and Nero does not like to be on the back foot in his dealings with anyone. 

"Not that I begrudge you for it, of course," G'raha continues. "She's absolutely fascinating."

He makes a sound that he hopes is a disinterested grunt but the younger man doesn't appear to have noticed his own dismissal. His eyes, one crimson and one a deep teal blue, seem to sparkle in the feeble light of the afternoon. Nero groans inwardly.

"I wager she presented you and yours quite the puzzle." That smile has never once left his lips. Moreover, it has taken on a sly cast, and unaccountably Nero feels his hackles rise at the sight of it. That this boy would presume to know anything about him-- "A Garlean who can use magic? One they call the Warrior of Light, no less? Your emperor would no doubt take great interest in such an aberration."

Remarks he had made to himself not so very long ago, in truth, but hearing them from another's lips pings the edges of Nero's temper like the sting of tiny pebbles. He grits his teeth.

This is your own fault for teasing her the way you did, a part of him chides. Now you can't let it lie.

"I do not recall asking for your observations, paltry and superficial as they are." He draws his dignity about him like a cloak. "And I would prefer not to trifle with such distractions. There is still much work for us to complete ere Garlond's useful little friend finds her way to the top of the tower."

"Come now, Master Scaeva, it's all right to admit it, you know." 

"Admit what?" His grin, brash and insolent, seems to split his face in twain with his mirth. 

"You like the Warrior of Light."

Nero scoffs, "Lies and vicious slander."

"Is it?"

"I detest her."

The man only laughs, the sound of it light and melodious and infuriating. "No need to dissemble, Nero. I assure you none here would think less of you for your infatuation-"

"Seven hells, I am not infatuated with the woman!" 

"-as from her deeds I personally find her to be a lady more than worthy of your high regard."

Thoroughly annoyed now, Nero retorts: "So then, what brings you to speak to me thus? Have you come to have a jest at my expense?" 

Once again he is on the defensive. His usual humor seems to have deserted him now that there is no Garlond present to visibly and loudly scorn, and it is in that moment Nero realizes just how emotionally taxing it has been to conceal his bitterness. It has festered for years, as he watched lesser men laud the 'young prodigy of magitek' all the more for his desertion and sometimes even misattributing Nero's own accomplishments and inventions to the damnable man. He hadn't really meant to let all those years of suppressed resentment pour out of him at the Praetorium in front of anyone present to listen, but it seems that once let loose there was no stopping his anger. Now it seems to be trying to fly free at every turn despite all attempts to maintain the jester's mask, his pride be damned.

What surprises him, when his eyes meet G'raha's, is the raw sympathy he sees there rather than censure. 

"No," the Miqo'te says. "But I did come to ask if you'd like to join me tonight."

"Why?"

The question is out before he can stifle his surprise. G'raha shrugs. 

"Why not? For one, I'm in the mood for company - your company, specifically. And you seem like you could use the 'distraction,' so-called, for all you insist otherwise."

==

He isn't sure why he agreed to it, even now. Extroverted as he seems, Nero tol Scaeva is both an iconoclast and quite content with his relative solitude.

And yet here he is, folded on his knees across the rough homespun bedroll with his fists curling into the linens and his deep groans vibrating against the lumpen pillow, the corner of which sits clenched between his teeth, and the only sound in the closeness of the tent beyond their heavy breathing is the wet slap of bared flesh. For all his diminutive stature, G'raha Tia is not a small man and even with his preparations the stretch of his girth burns, teetering just on the pleasurable side of uncomfortable with each rolling oil-slicked thrust. It makes Nero think of other nights, cold nights buried beneath blankets with a hot mouth on him and biting down on his knuckles to stifle the noise when-

Fingers dig furrows into one of his lean flanks and break the skin with their scratching. The sharp sting of it is a pleasant counterpoint to this hot and tightening ache, especially when G'raha tilts Nero's hips and adjusts his angle and the wide, flared head inside him grinds against his prostate. 

Nero spits another muffled curse into the pillow.

They are not taking many pains to be discreet, as he is well aware. He is just as aware that Rammbroes or the eikon-slayer could walk in at any time and see him like this: arse up and face pressed into rough hemp and saliva soaking into G'raha Tia's pillow, his face deeply flushed and his hair a sweat-dampened, tousled disaster. It's a distinct possibility and one he doesn't currently give a single damn about whatsoever. He is so hard it hurts and each heartbeat pounding through his temples echoes itself in the heavy, ponderous throbbing between his legs. 

He unclenches one fist from the bedding to squirm beneath his weight, then swipes his fingers hastily over his own leaking head and along his shaft before taking himself in hand. The angle is somewhat awkward and if he stays that way too long his arm will go numb, but Nero is undeterred in the heat of the moment. He rocks his hips back to meet the Miqo'te's powerful and increasingly rapid thrusts while stroking himself as best he can manage. 

It is over in what is probably moments but feels like years of drowning in steadily increasing pressure, the tightness in his balls and heat spearing down his spine and into his cock in the brace of seconds before he spills. Seed spurts over his clenched fingers and drips into the bedroll, and in a matter of moments he hears G'raha moan and his pace stutters and slows before stilling entirely. Neither speaks for long moments as they try to catch their breath. Nero relaxes his grip, then frees his arm just before the pins and needles sensation begins to set into his fingers.

"Let me get you something," G'raha mutters hoarsely. "You're-"

He doesn't need to finish the sentence but it still hangs between them as he sits back on his haunches to rummage in a nearby knapsack. Nero rolls onto his back with his ears still ringing and his heart beating as furiously as if it were the aftermath of a skirmish, and accepts the scrap offered him with a brief nod. Right now they're both too nose-blind to take note of the combined scent of sweat and musk. In a few minutes, he will collect his clothing and go find a likely place for a late-night wash before retiring to his own bedroll as if this had never transpired.

But that will come later. For the moment they lie next to each other, hip to shoulder to knee (as much as their notable height difference will allow), staring at the peaked corners of the tent. Nero is the first to break the silence.

"I don't think my head has been this empty in years," he says, and G'raha chuckles. 

"Your thoughts are your own worst enemy. I understand the feeling." His tail, draped over Nero's knee, beats a soft and lazy tattoo against his calf. "I suspect Aurelia would too if she knew."

"I doubt very much the eikon-slayer would care enough to commiserate."

"Why do you say that?"

Nero drawls, "Attempting to capture her on multiple occasions while using her as a test subject for Project Ultima will not have endeared me to her good graces, I suspect."

"You should give her a chance."

"History would indicate that course of action to be unwise. She despises me."

"Ah, so it's not that you despise her, you think she despises you." G'raha props himself up on one elbow. His brows lift and drop, and that wry half-smile returns. "That shouldn't matter. I took a chance on you tonight," he says, "and I was clearly right to do it."

"So you say," Nero's retort is dismissive on its face, but G'raha seems wholly unaffected by his scorn. 

"You're very unusual. A strange man indeed," he says. "Not at all what I would have expected of a Garlean. Cid isn't either, but you're a cut beyond even him. And as such, I wager you're well familiar with what it means to be alone- but so am I. So is she." Sadness lurks in the depths of his eyes, narrows the corners of his smile. "Everyone needs friends, Nero. Even you. And Aurelia... well, let's just say I don't believe the two of you are so very different." 

He almost objects but something stays his tongue. Entertaining tumble or not, easygoing demeanor or not, G'raha does not know him nor his history. He does not know what it is to live off the Empire's dregs, to scrape one's way to the top while leaving parts of oneself behind. Carving away the bits that don't quite fit into the gears, and even the rough shape made acceptable enough to fit can still never run as smoothly as the rest of the machine. 

Nero tol Scaeva has done perfectly well these last thirty-four years by himself. His scraping and cutting and striving earned him a career and relative renown. He doesn't need to complicate matters with friends. He doesn't need friends at all, not to get what he wants.

And watching as G'raha Tia's features relax and he drifts off into a contented doze, Nero almost wishes that were untrue.

#ffxivwrite2021 #2: aberrant #g'raha tia/nero tol scaeva #i said i'd write it and i did LMAO #chrysalispen writes #please mind the warning above this one is spicy #firm lemony business

[love-and-monsters]

Werewolf Girlfriend

F werewolf X GN human, 2,995 words. 

Welcome to Fortune Falls! I thought it might be nice to create a shared town for some of my monsters, so here’s the first installment that takes place there. Meet the locals with the help of Alice, a friendly werewolf. 

The idea of moving to Fortune Falls was an intimidating, if also exciting, prospect. It was one of the only fully integrated towns in the country. Most towns were largely occupied by one species. There were numerous reasons for it, some better than others. Most towns were built to house the population that founded them. Usually, the effort was fairly practical- harpies built tall, perch-like houses, nagas were much more comfortable in underground houses, and werewolves needed a large space to run around in, and so rarely lived in cities. Species tended to found their own towns instead of adapting to another way of living, so few towns had more than one or two outliers.

Fortune Falls had been designed as a town where all species could live in harmony. It had been built to accommodate all needs and had become a bustling little place full of every kind of monster.

Which was where you came in.

Medical concerns were one of the other practical reasons monsters rarely lived together. From feather-rot in harpies to shifter sickness in werewolves, the maladies monsters could get were varied. It was difficult to find a doctor who had trained in all the different diseases each species could get. It took extensive schooling and training, but finally, you had become one of the few doctors in the country who had certification in multi-species medicine.

There was a sense of deep pride as you drove into town for your new life. You’d managed to get a position at the town’s clinic, responsible for servicing the diverse population. There were a couple specialists there, but you were the only person with general species knowledge.

You pulled up to the clinic and went inside, tugging on your white coat. You schedule was packed- while the specialists would take on the patients they knew how to treat, there were only three of them and far more species in the town. Everything else got shuffled over to you.

Despite the rush and hurry of your work, you were enjoying it. You saw a demon with weakened horns, a harpy with mites in his feathers, and even a minotaur with the flu. Each new patient was a new challenge and you enjoyed every The clinic was just about to close and you were finishing up in the front lobby when the glass doors at the front swung open. A group of people in their late twenties staggered into the office. They were all fairly muscular and looked like they’d been in quite a few scrapes- there wasn’t a single one of them without an open cut or scar. Three of them were gathered around a fourth woman in the middle, supporting her. She was favoring her right arm, and there was an unfocused look in her eyes.

Your trained eye took in the rowdy, but friendly and excitable nature of the group and made a differential diagnosis. Werewolves. They were remarkably hardy, but close to the full moon, even the older ones tended to act like rowdy teenagers. Given the way the woman was favoring her arm, you guessed she’d sprained it at best, snapped it in two at worst.

“Hey, doc!” One of the women toward the front of the group waved you down. “Got a patient for you!”

You focused on the woman in the center of the group with the injured arm. She was buff, you noticed appreciatively, with short brown hair that flopped over her eyes as she grinned sheepishly. “You’re the patient, I’m assuming?” you said.

The woman stepped forward, breaking away from the rest of her pack. “Yeah, that’s me,” she said. “We were kind of roughhousing. Did something to my arm.” She looked back at the rest of the group with a half-smile. “Wanted to walk it off, but the pack kind of dragged me here.”

“Probably a good thing. Come on back. I’ll give you an examination.” You led her into the back of the clinic and moved toward the X-ray room. “I’ll need to take a quick X-ray of that arm. Just to see if it’s broken or not.”

“Might be broken,” she said, cradling her injured arm in her good one. “It feels like that.”

You gave her a side-eye as you set up the machine. “You’ve broken your arm before?”

“Yeah. Other arm, though, not the same one.”

“You should be more careful,” you said. “And stand here. Put your arm here… All right, I’ll be back in a moment.” You stepped out of the room. Her eyes followed you to the door. There was a whirring noise as the machine warmed up, then you stepped back into the room.

“How’s it look, Doc?” the woman said as you looked at the X-ray on the computer screen.

“Well, you definitely broke it,” you said. “See there?” The woman leaned close to your shoulder as you tapped at the X-ray. “There’s a little crack in your forearm. It looks like you just cracked the bone a little- not a clean break, but not shattered either. It’s not too big a crack, so I’m not going to give you a hard cast.” You led her into an examination room and gathered the materials for a sling. “Keep your arm in the bindings for a month.”

You carefully wrapped her arm and fitted it into the sling. She was still the whole time, only making the smallest of noises, even when you were sure it was hurting her. “Don’t let it get wet. And I’ll give you a prescription for some stronger pain meds.” You frowned at her. “And no shapeshifting for the month.”

She made a whining noise in her throat that sounded remarkably like a sad puppy. “But it’s the full moon next week!”

“You’re in your thirties. Surely you’ve learned to control the change by now,” you said. Werewolves had more difficulty controlling themselves on the full moon, but that was mostly an issue for younger wolves. Once they passed their mid-twenties, most werewolves were pretty good at controlling their change.

“Yeah, but it’s the full moon! We always go out on the full moon…” She trailed off when she saw your glare. “Okay, Doc. I’ll stay inside.”

You walked her back outside of the room and she was immediately surrounded by her small pack. They talked over one another in their eagerness to ask her how she was. She was utterly swept away under a wave of affection. You smiled at them. It was nice watching their group, if a little sad. Moving had meant leaving your old life behind and your job was busy enough that you hadn’t had an opportunity to get together with anyone.

“Take the prescription,” you said, passing her the piece of paper through her circle of wolves, “and remember what I said about transforming.” She grinned at you and gave a wave before she was swept out the door by her companions.

You hadn’t been expecting to see her for another few weeks, so when you stepped out of the examining room at the end of the day a week and a half later, you were surprised to see her standing there.

=It didn’t take long for your surprise to turn to annoyance. Her sling was not around her arm, but held limply in one hand and there was a sheepish smile on her face. “Let me guess,” you said in a dry voice. “You decided to transform.”

“It wasn’t exactly a decision,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “My pack came by on the full moon and I was already struggling not to transform and they really, really wanted me to come with them and it just kind of… happened?”

“Mmhmm,” you said, lifting an eyebrow. She was at least five inches taller than you, but she shrank under your gaze.

“Sorry,” she said. “Uh. I thought maybe I could get away without coming back, but my arm is, uh. Really starting to bother me.”

 You let out a gusty sigh. “Come on in.” You held the door open, letting her walk past you into the examining room.

It didn’t take long to hook the sling back up around her arm and set everything back in place. She remained quiet the entire time, only occasionally looking up at you. Admittedly, she had some very good puppy-dog eyes. Maybe you were just tired, but they were kind of melting your heart.

She was your last patient of the day, so you walked out with her. “You should be careful about driving with that sling,” you told her. She gave a shrug and an easy smile.

“I don’t drive. I walked here. I was just going to walk home.”

“How far away do you live?” you asked. “It’s not far, is it?”

She wasn’t a terribly good liar and her eyes immediately dropped to the ground. “Uh. I mean… not too far.”

You sighed. “Some to my car. I’ll drop you off.”

“I don’t want to put you out,” she said.

“I’ll consider it part of your visit. I don’t want you deciding to run home as a wolf or something,” you said.

“I wouldn’t-” she began, but you turned your steely gaze onto her and she shied away a little. “Okay. Okay. I’ll come with you.”

She hopped into your car and you headed off into the night. “Thanks for this,” she said. “I mean it, Doc.” She paused for a moment. “Hey, I never introduced myself to you. I’m Alice.”

“I know. I looked at your file,” you said. Alice rubbed the back of her neck, turning to stare out the window. You cringed. Damn your poor social skills. “Um. Sorry.” You told her your name. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yeah! You’re new around here, aren’t you?” Alice asked. You nodded. “Thought so. Hey, maybe I can show you around a little bit? I’ve lived here, like, my whole life.”

“Er,” you hesitated. In that moment, you turned your head to Alice, which was a mistake. Her eyes were in full puppy dog mode and it tugged at your heartstrings like nothing else. “Oh, all right. I’m off tomorrow, if that works for you.”

“Sure does! I’m a ranger in the woods with my packmates, they’ll cover for me if I ask.” Hm. Park ranger. That worked well as a career for a werewolf.

Eventually, you pulled your car to a stop outside of Alice’s house. It was toward the outskirts of town, bordering the woods. She waved to you as she trotted to her house. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” she called.

You drove back home. There was a bundle of nerves buzzing in the pit of your stomach. You pushed it away. This wasn’t a date. Not really. She was just being friendly. Werewolves were like that.

A little after lunch the next day, you drove to Alice’s house. She was waiting for you outside, springing eagerly to your car. “Hey! Glad you’re here. You ready for a tour?”

“Sure,” you said. “Where do you want to start?”

She had you park on the main street of town and hopped out of the car. You hadn’t had a great look at the town the last few times you’d driven by. Now, you noticed exactly how interesting the architecture was. There were few stairs, probably to assist the nagas. A couple perches stood high above the streets for harpies to land on. A couple of stores boasted supplies for magic practice and a few more of them had obvious specialty foods for some of the specialized residents. You noticed more than one shop sporting blood or raw meat on their signs.

“Never been to a fully integrated town before?” Alice asked, taking in your startled expression. You shook your head.

“Afraid not.”

“That’s wild to me. I’ve lived here my whole entire life. I can’t even imagine a place without all monsters living together.”

“It is pretty amazing. All these different people with different needs living together,” you said. Alice nodded.

“Come on, I’m going to give you the full tour!”

She pulled you along street after street, showing off store after store. A few were specific in their target demographic- scale care probably wasn’t going to be useful for anyone but nagas and maybe some demons. But most at least tried to be open to a variety of species. You saw store after store until they blurred together in your mind. Eventually, you found yourself sitting outside a café, Alice chatting with the horned waiter.

The amount of people she knew was astounding. There hadn’t been a single person she hadn’t at least known the name of, and most of them she was at least familiar with. Werewolves were typically friendly, but Alice took it to an extreme you’d never seen before.

“What do you think of the town so far?” she asked, turning to you. “Pretty nice, isn’t it?”

“It’s very nice,” you said. “Very… friendly.”

“We’re all nice here. It’s part of the town’s charm! Plus, my family’s been here for a long, long time. We’re one of the first families here.”

“You helped found the town?” you asked.

“My family did! Not me. I’m not that old.” She made a face and you laughed. “If you’re interested, you can talk to grandma about it. Her mom and dad were some of the original founders.”

“Maybe,” you said. “If you don’t mind seeing more of me, I guess.”

“Nah, I don’t mind! You’re, uh. Really nice.” Alice busied herself with her coffee, so you couldn’t really see her expression.

“Even if I’m strict about your sling?” you said.

“You’re a doctor. You’re supposed to take care of me, even if I’m not always smart enough to do it myself.”

“Well, I know that instincts can be strong for werewolves. I feel sorry I couldn’t do more for you.”          

“Well, until medical magic can heal bones in one snap, I don’t think there’s much either of us could do about it. I’m just really happy you were willing to see me after hours. You didn’t have to.”

You shrugged. “I took an oath. I’m never going to leave a patient injured.”

“You’re a good person,” Alice said. There was a tender note in her voice and you could feel your face heating up.

 Alice dragged you around the town for the rest of the day. You saw shop after shop, got introduced to person after person, and by the end of the day, you felt like you’d seen ever last corner of the town.

“Thank you for the tour,” you said as you dropped Alice off at her home. She shrugged.

“Least I could do. And hey, I wouldn’t mind helping you out if you need anything else around town. I know this place like the back of my hand and I’m always willing to help someone out.” She gave you a thumbs up and you smiled back.

“I think I might take you up on that. I’ll see you soon.” You watched as Alice trotted back to her house.

As it turned out, you called on Alice much more often as time went by. It was for little things, really. You would ask her what places in town served the best coffee, where you should go for a good haircut. Then you started asking her for help around the house. It had started with you casually mentioning that there were a few lights in your house that flickered constantly. Alice had said she was good with her hands, so she came over and started fixing things. After that, you’d started mentioning little issues with your house to her. More often than not, she had some idea of how to fix it, and when she didn’t know, she knew someone who did know. You’d been spending an awful lot of time hanging around her. It was honestly the highlight of your day, to get home and spend some time with her.

She stopped by your office a couple weeks later. “Seeing me at work now?” you asked when you saw her walk into the waiting room. She gave her usual friendly smile.

“You said you wanted to look at my arm before you have me the all-clear,” she said. “Figured it would be easier to do it here than in your house.”

“I wouldn’t have minded,” you said. “Come on into the back so I can get a look at you.”

Alice sat down on the examination table and you removed the sling. “How’s the house?” Alice asked as you prodded gently at her arm. “I feel like I’ve fixed everything in there.”

“It’s a pretty old house,” you said. “I guess it needed some fixing up.”

Alice grinned. “Hey. I don’t mind. The company’s good. I guess what I meant was that I’m a little worried.”

You lifted your gaze from her arm. “What about? You arm seems pretty good. I think you can go back to running around as a wolf.”

“Not about that,” Alice said. “I mean, now that your house doesn’t have any more things for me to fix, and my arm’s all fixed up, we don’t have a reason to see each other anymore, right?” She shrugged. “Might have to go and get myself hurt again just so I can see you!”

“Don’t you dare!” you said. Alice snorted with laughter and you felt yourself grinning along. “Hey, if I can think of something else for us to do together, you think you can stop yourself from getting hurt again?”

Alice pretended to think about it. “Maybe. What did you have in mind?”

“Come over to my house on Saturday and you’ll find out. But only if you keep yourself safe,” you said.

“I can do that,” Alice said. She slid off the examination table and grinned at you. “I’ll see you then.”

#exophilia #monster girlfriend #werewolf #werewolf girflfriend #monster gf #werewolf gf #monster lover

[sinceileftyoublog]

Riot Fest 2021: 9/16-9/19, Douglass Park

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Much like Pitchfork Music Festival earlier this month, this past weekend’s Riot Fest felt relatively normal. Arriving at Douglas Park every day, you were greeted by the usual deluge of attendees in Misfits t-shirts and dyed hair, the sound of faint screams and breakneck guitars and drums emanating from nearby stages. The abnormal aspects of the fest, at least as compared to previous incarnations, we’re already used to by now from 2021 shows: To get in, you had to show proof of vaccination and/or a negative test no older than 48 hours, which means that unvaxxed 4-day attendees had to get multiple tests. Props to the always awesome staff at Riot Fest for actually checking the cards against the names on government-issued IDs.

For a festival that dealt with a plethora of last-minute changes due to bands dropping out because of COVID-19 caution (Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.) or other reasons (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle because of concerns around Mike Patton’s well-being), there were very few bumps in the road. Whether Riot Fest had bands like Slipknot, Anthrax, or Rise Against in their back pocket as replacements or not, it very much felt like who we saw Thursday-Sunday was always supposed to be the lineup, even when laying your eyes on countless “Death to the Pixies” shirts. Sure, one of the fest’s main gimmicks--peeling back the label on Goose Island’s Riot Fest Sucks Pale Ale to reveal the schedule--was out of date with inaccurate set times and bands, and it still would have been so had Faith No More and Mr. Bungle stayed, since Fucked Up had to drop out last minute due to border issues. But the festival, as always, rolled with the punches.

The sets themselves offered the circle pit and crowdsurfing-inducing punk and metal you’re used to, with a few genre outliers. For so many bands of all styles, Riot Fest represented their first live show in years, and a few acts knew the exact number of days since their last show. For every single set, the catharsis in the crowd and on stage was palpable, not exactly anger, or elation, but pure release.

Here were our favorite sets of the festival, in chronological order.

WDRL

Last October, WDRL (which, amazingly, stands for We Don’t Ride Llamas) announced themselves with a Tweet: “y’all been looking for an alt black band,, well here you go”. A band of Gen Z siblings, Chase (lead guitar), Max (lead vocals), Blake (drums), and Kit Mitchell (bass guitar), WDRL is aware, much like Meet Me @ The Altar (who, despite my hyping, I couldn’t make it in time to see) that they’re one of too few bands of POCs in the Riot Fest-adjacent scene. Their set, one of the very first of the weekend during Thursday’s pre-party, showed them leading by example, the type of band to inspire potentially discouraged Black and brown folks to start punk bands. Max is a terrific vocalist, able to scream over post-punk, scat over funk, and coo over slow, soulful R&B swayers with the same ease. The rest of the band was equally versatile, able to pivot on a dime from scuzzy rock to hip hop to twinkling dream pop. Bonus points for covering Splendora’s “You’re Standing On My Neck”, aka the Daria theme song.

Joyce Manor

Joyce Manor’s self-titled debut is classic. The best part of it as an album play-through at a festival? It’s so short that you can hear it and you’ll still have half a set for other favorites. So while the bouncy “Orange Julius”", “Ashtray Petting Zoo”, and ultimate singalong “Constant Headache” were set highlights, the Torrance, CA band was able to burn through lots from Never Hungover Again, Cody, Million Dollars to Kill Me, and their rarities collection Songs From Northern Torrance. Apart from not playing anything from Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (seriously, am I the only one who loves that record?), Joyce Manor were stellar, from the undeniable hooks of “Heart Tattoo” to the churning power chords of “Catalina Fight Song”. After playing “Christmas Card”, Johnson and company gave one final nod to the original fest cancellation, My Chemical Romance, who were slated to headline 2020, then 2021, and now 2022. If you ever wondered what it would sound like hearing a concise punk band like Joyce Manor take on the bombast of “Helena”, you found out. Hey, it was actually pretty good!

Patti Smith

Behold: a full Patti Smith set! After being shafted by the weather last time around, a sunglasses-laden Smith decided not to fuck around, leading with the inspiring “People Have The Power”, her voice as powerful as I’ve ever heard it. Maybe it was the influence of Riot Fest, but she dropped as many f-bombs as Corey Taylor did during Slipknot’s Sunday night headlining set. After reluctantly signing an adoring crowd member’s copy of Horses, she quipped, “I feel bad for you have to cart that fucking thing around.” It wasn’t just the filthy banter: This was Smith at her most enraptured and incendiary, belting during “Because The Night” and spitting during a “Land/Gloria” medley, reciting stream-of-consciousness hallucinogenic lyrics about the power of escape in the greatest display of stamina the festival had to offer.

Circa Survive

“It feels good to dance,” declared Circa Survive lead singer Anthony Green. The heart and soul of the Philadelphia rock band, who cover ground from prog rock to post-hardcore and emo, Green was in full form during the band’s early Friday set, his falsetto carrying the rolling “The Difference Between Medicine and Poising Is in the Dose” and the chugging “Rites of Investiture”. While the band, too, can throw down, they’re equally interesting when softer and more melodic, Brendan Ekstrom‘s twinkling guitars lifting “Child of the Desert” and “Suitcase”. Ending with the one-two punch of debut Juturna’s introspective “Act Appalled” and Blue Sky Noise’s skyward “Get Out”, Green announced the band would have a new record coming soon, one you hope will cover the sonic and thematic ground of even just those two tracks.

Thrice

Thrice played their first show since February 2020 the same day they’d release their 11th studio album, Horizons/East (Epitaph). To a crowd of fans that came to hear their favorite songs, though, the Irvine, California band knew better than to play a lot of the new record, instead favoring tracks like The Artist in the Ambulance’s spritely title cut and Vheissu standout “The Earth Will Shake”. Yeah, they led with a Horizons/East song making its live debut, the dreamy, almost Deftones-esque “Scavengers”, and later in the set they’d reveal the impassioned “Summer Set Fire to the Rain”. But the set more prominently served to emphasize lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue’s gruff delivery, on “All the World Is Mad” and “in Exile”, the rhythm section’s propulsive playing buoying his fervency. And how about Teppei Teranishi’s finger tapping on “Black Honey”?!? Thrice often favor the slow build-up, but they offered plenty of individually awesome moments.

Smashing Pumpkins

William Patrick Corgan entered the stage to dramatic strings, dressed in a robe, with white face paint except for red hearts under his eyes. He looked like a ghost. That’s pretty much where the semi-serious theatricality ended. The Smashing Pumpkins’ first Chicago festival headlining set in recent memory was the rawest they’ve sounded in a while, counting when they played an original lineup-only set at the United Center a few years back. It was also the most fun I’ve ever seen Corgan have on stage. Though they certainly selected and debuted from their latest electropop turn Cyr, Corgan, guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and company more notably dug deep into the vault, playing Gish’s “Crush” for the first time since 2008, Adore’s “Shame” for the first time since 2010, and Siamese Dream barnburner “Quiet” for the first time since 1994 (!). Best, every leftfield disco jam like set opener “The Colour Of Love”, “Cyr”, and “Ramona” was quickly followed by something heavy and/or recognizable, Chamberlin’s limber drum solos elevating even latter-day material like “Solara”. At one point, Corgan, a self-described “arty fuck,” admitted that years ago he would have opted for more experimental material, but he knew the crowd wanted to hear classics, the band then delving into a gorgeous acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight”. And while Kate Bush coverer Meg Myers came out to sing Lost Highway soundtrack industrial ditty “Eye”, it was none other than legendary local shredder Michael Angelo Batio who stole the show, joining for the set closer, a pummeling version of Zeitgeist highlight “United States”. Leaning into the cheese looks good on you, Billy.

The Bronx

Credit to L.A. punk rock band The Bronx, playing early on a decidedly cooler Saturday early afternoon, for making me put in my earplugs outside of the photo pit. Dedicating “Shitty Future” to Fucked Up (who, as we mentioned, had to drop out), the entire band channeled Damian Abraham’s energy on piercing versions of “Heart Attack American” as well as “Superbloom” and “Curb Feelers” from their latest album Bronx VI (Cooking Vinyl). Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne’s guitars stood out, providing choppy rhythms on “Knifeman” and swirling solos on “Six Days A Week”.

Big Freedia

The New Orleans bounce artist has Big Diva Energy, for the most part. After her DJ pumped up the crowd to contemporary Southern rap staple “Ayy Ladies” by Travis Porter, Big Freedia walked out and showed that “BDE”, firing through singles like “Platinum” and “N.O. Bounce” as her on-stage dancers’ moves ranged from delicate to earth-shaking. At this point, Freedia can pretty much do whatever she wants, effortlessly segueing between a cover of Drake’s “Nice For What” to “Strut”, her single with electropop DJ Elohim, to a cover of Beyone’s “Formation”. Of course, the set highlight was when she had volunteers from the crowd come up and shake and twerk--two at a time to keep it COVID-safe--all while egging them on to go harder. Towards the end of the set, after performing the milquetoast “Goin’ Looney” from the even-worse-than-expected Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack, she pulled out the beloved “Gin in my System”. “I got that gin in my system,” she sang, the crowd singing back, “Somebody gonna be my victim,” a refrain that compositionally not only leaves plenty of room for the thundering bass but is thematically a statement of total power--over sexism, racism, the patriarchy--even in the face of control-altering substances.

Les Savy Fav

During Les Savy Fav’s set, lead singer Tim Harrington at various points--*big breath*--went into the crowd, deepthroated an audience member’s mohawk spike, found a discarded manikin head with a wig on it, revealed the words “deep” and “dish” painted on his thighs and a drawing of a Red Hot on his back, rode a crowd member like a horse, made a headband out of pink tape, donned ski goggles, surfed on top of a door carried by the crowd, squeezed his belly while the camera was on it to make it look like his belly button was singing, and referred to himself as a “slippery eel.” Indeed, the legend of Les Savy Fav’s live show starts and ends with Harrington’s ridiculous antics, as he’s all but out of breath when actually singing dance-punk classics like “Hold On To Your Genre”, “The Sweat Descends”, and “Rome (Written Upside Down)”. We haven’t heard much in terms of new music from Les Savy Fav in over 10 years--their most recent album was 2010′s Root For Ruin--but I could see them and the extremely Aughts genre in general become staples of Riot Fest as albums like Inches, The Rapture’s Echoes, and !!!’s Louden Up Now reach the 20-year mark. Dynamic vocalists, tight bands, and killer grooves: What’s not to love?

State Champs

This set likely wins the award for “most immediate crowd surfers,” which I guess is to be expected when you begin your set with a classic track 1--album 1 combination. “Elevated” is the State Champs number that will cause passers-by to stop and watch a couple songs, the type of song that can pretty much only open or close a set. And because they opened with it, the crowd immediately ramped up the energy. It’s been three years since the last State Champs full-length, Living Proof, so they were in prime position to play some new songs. As such, they performed their bubblegummy “Outta My Head” and “Just Sound” and faithfully covered Fall Out Boy’s “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago” (releasing a studio version earlier this week). But the tracks from The Finer Things and Around the World and Back were, as usual, the highlights, like “All You Are Is History”, “Remedy”, “Slow Burn”, and set closer “Secrets”. At the end of the day, it didn’t entirely matter: The crowd knew every word of every song.

Bayside

Putting State Champs and Bayside back-to-back on the same stage made an easy decision for the many pop-punk bands at Riot Fest. Bayside’s been at it for twice as long, so the breadth of their setlist across their discography is more variable. Moreover, they’ve thrice revisited their discography with acoustic albums of old songs, so even their staples are subject to change. They provided solid versions of Killing Time standouts “Already Gone” and “Sick, Sick, Sick”, Cult’s “Pigsty”, and older songs like their self-titled’s “Montauk” and Sirens and Condolences’ “Masterpiece”. For “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, though, they brought out--*gasp*--an acoustic guitar! It was a rare moment not just for one of the most popular pop punk sets but the festival in general, a breather before Vacancy shout-along “Mary”.

Rancid

“Rancid has always been anti-fascist and anti-racist,” said Tim Armstrong before the band played “Hooligans”. It was nice to hear an explicit declaration of solidarity from the street punks, reminding the crowd what really matters and why we come together to scream and mosh. The band expectedly favored ...And Out Come The Wolves, playing almost half of it, and they perfectly balanced their harder edges with more celebratory ska songs like “Where I’m Going” from their most recent album Trouble Maker (Hellcat/Epitaph). My two favorite moments? The breezy, keyboard-laden “Fall Back Down” from their supremely underrated 2001 album Indestructable, and when they asked the crowd whether they wanted the set to end with “Time Bomb” or “Ruby Soho”. “We have 4 minutes left, and it’s disrespectful to play over your set time,” said Armstrong. It’s easy to see why Rancid continues to make an impression--instrumental and moral--on touring bands new and old.

Run the Jewels

The brilliant hip hop duo are masters of balancing social consciousness with the desire to fuck shit up for fun. Live, the former tends to come in between-song banter, the latter with their actual charismatic, tit-for-tat performances of the songs. However, Run the Jewels also are probably the clearest live performers in hip hop today, Killer Mike and El-P’s words, hypersexual and woke alike, ringing in the ears of audience members who don’t even know the songs. (Looking around, I could see people smiling and laughing at every dick joke, nodding at each righteous proclamation.) Some of the best songs on their most recent album RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/BMG) are perfect for these multitudes. Hearing both RTJ MCs and the backing track of Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha chanting “Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar” on “JU$T” as the rowdy crowd bounced up and down was the ultimate festival moment. For those who had never seen RTJ, it was clear from the get-go, as Killer Mike and EL-P traded bars on “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)” that they’re a unique hip hop act. For the rest of us, it was clear that Run the Jewels keep getting better.

The Gories

It felt a little weird that legendary Detroit trio The Gories were given the first set of the final day--I’d have thought they’d have more draw than that. No matter what, they provided one of the more satisfying and stylistically varied sets of the festival, showcasing their trademark balance of garage punk and blues. Mick Collins and Dan Kroha’s guitar and vocal harmonies were the perfect jangly balance to Peggy O’Neill’s meat and potatoes drumming on “Sister Ann” and “Charm Bag”, while folks less familiar with The Gories were treated to their fantastic covers of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and The Keggs’ “To Find Out”. Smells like time for the first Gories album in 20 years!

FACS

I thought it would be ill-fitting to watch a band like FACS in the hot sun, early in the day. Their monochrome brand of post-punk seems better suited for a dimly lit club. But the hypnotic nature of Brian Case’s swirling guitar and Alianna Kalaba’s slinky bass was oddly perfect in a sweltering, faint-inducing heat. Just when you thought you might fade, squalls of feedback and Noah Leger’s odd time signatures picked you back up. Songs from their new album Present Tense (Trouble In Mind) such as “Strawberry Cough” and “XOUT” were emblematic of this push-pull. And everything from the band’s red, white, and black color palate to their lack of stage banter suggested a cool minimalism that was rare at a festival that tends to book more outwardly emotional bands.

Alex G

On one hand, Alex G’s unique combination of twangy alt country and earnest indie rock makes him an outlier at Riot Fest, or at the very least a mostly Pitchfork/occasional Riot Fest type of booking. On the other hand, like a lot of bands at the festival, he has a rabid fanbase, one that knows his back catalog hits, like “Kute”, “Kicker”, and “Bug”, as much as if not more than hyped Rocket and House of Sugar singles, like “Bobby” and “Gretel”. Backed by a band that knows when to be loose and when to tighten up--and the instrumental chops to do so--Alex G was better than he was a Pitchfork three years ago. He still sings through his teeth, making it especially hard to hear him on louder tunes such as “Brick”. But when the honesty of his vocals combines with the dreamy guitars of “Southern Sky” and circular melodies of “Near”, it’s pure bliss. 

HEALTH

The formula for the LA industrial noise band has pretty much always been Jake Duzsik’s soft vocals contrasting John Famiglietti’s screeching bass and pedals and BJ Miller’s mammoth drums. Both in 2018 and Sunday at Riot Fest, the heat affected Famiglietti’s pedals, which were nonetheless obscured by tarp. Or so HEALTH claimed: You wouldn’t know the difference given how much their sound envelops your whole body during one of their live sets. Since their previous appearance at the festival, the prolific band has released two new records on Loma Vista, Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear and collaboration record Disco4: Part 1. Songs from those records occupied half of their excellent set, including battering opener “GOD BOTHERER”, “BODY/PRISON”, and “THE MESSAGE”. It was so wonderfully loud it drowned out K.Flay’s sound check drummer, thank the lord.

Thursday

Last time Thursday played Riot Fest, Geoff Rickly was battling heroin addiction, something he talked about during the band’s triumphant late afternoon set on Sunday. He mentioned the kindness of the late, great Riley Gale of Power Trip in extending a helping hand when he was down and extended his love to anybody in the crowd or even the world at large going through something similar. To say that this set was life-affirming would be an understatement; after 636 days of no shows, Rickly was at his most passionate. He introduced “Signals Over The Air” as a song the band “wrote about men beating up on women in the pit,” that a record exec at the time told them that it wouldn’t age well because he thought--no kidding--sexism would eventually end. Rickly’s voice, suffering from sound issues last time around, simply soared during Full Collapse’s “Cross Out The Eyes”, No Devolucion’s “Fast to the End”, and two inspired covers: Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Texas Is The Reason’s “If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours”. The latter the band played because TITR guitarist Norman Brannon’s actually on tour with them, though Rickly emphasized the influence the NYC post-hardcore greats had on Thursday when they first started. Never forgetting where they’ve come from, with self-deprecating humor and radical empathy, Thursday are once again a force.

Devo

Much like the B-52′s in 2019, Devo was the set this year of a 70′s/80′s absurd punk band with some radio hits that everybody knows but with a swath of die-hard fans, too. It’s safe to say both groups were satisfied. You walked around the fest all day wondering whether the folks wearing Devo hats were actual fans or doing it for the novelty. By the time the band actually took the stage after a career-spanning video of their many phases, it didn’t really matter, because it was clear the band still had it, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale’s vocals booming throughout a massive crowd. They ripped through “Peek-a-Boo”, “Going Under”, “That’s Good”, “Girl U Want”, and “Whip It”, which caused the fans waiting for Slipknot (and presumably some Devo heads) to form a circle pit. And that was all before the first costume change. Mark passed out hats to the crowd, fully embracing converts who might have only known “Whip It”. The feverish chants of “Uncontrollable Urge” and synth freakouts of “Jocko Homo” whipped everyone into a frenzy. And the band performed the “Freedom Of Choice” theme song for the first time since the early 80′s! I had seen Devo before, opening for Arcade Fire and Dan Deacon at the United Center, but the atmosphere at Riot Fest was more appropriately ludicrous.

Flaming Lips

“The Flaming Lips are the most COVID-safe band in the world,” went the ongoing joke, as throughout the pandemic they’d give audience members bubbles for their bubbles to be able to play shows. The normally goofy and interactive band scaled back for Riot Fest. Before launching into their traditional opener “Race For The Prize”, Wayne Coyne explained that while the band is normally proud of where they come from--Oklahoma City--they’re saddened by the local government’s ignorant pandemic response and wouldn’t risk launching balloons or walking into the crowd because they might be virus spreaders coming from such an under-vaccinated area. To his and the band’s credit, they wore masks during the performance, even when singing; Coyne removed his only when outside of his bubble that had to be deflated and inflated many times and that sometimes muffled his singing voice even more than a mask. Ever the innovative band, they still put on a stellar show. Coyne autotuned his voice on “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″, making it another instrument filling the song’s glorious pop melodies. Less heavy on props, the band favored a glitchy, psychedelic setlist that alternated between beauty (”Flowers Of Neptune 6″, “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”, “All We Have Is Now”) and two-drummed cacophony (“Silver Trembling Hands”, “The W.A.N.D.”). They’ll give a proper Lips show soon enough, but in the meantime, it was nice to see them not run through the motions.

Slipknot

Apart from maybe moments of Slayer, I’ve never witnessed a headliner at Riot Fest as heavy as Slipknot was. Even the minor ethereal elements present on their most recent and very good album We Are Not Your Kind, like the chorus of voices during “Unsainted”, were all but abandoned live in favor of straight up brutality. Sure, there were moments of theatricality--Corey Taylor’s menacing laugh on “Disasterpiece” and pyrotechnics in sequence with the instrumentation on “Before I Forget” and “All Out Life”--but for the most part, Slipknot was the ultimate exorcism. Taylor’s new mask, with unnaturally circular eyes, seemed like it came from a particularly uncomfortable skit from I Think You Should Leave. They bashed a baseball bat to a barrel during the pre-encore performance of “Duality”. And the songs played from tape, like the gasping-for-breath “(515)”, were designed to contrast Slipknot’s alien appearance with qualities that were uncannily human. For a band whose performances and instrumental dexterity are otherworldly--who else can pull off tempo changes over a hissing, Aphex Twin-like shuffling electronic beat on “Eyeless”--the pure seething emotion on songs like “Psychosocial” and “Wait and Bleed” shone through. Like Smashing Pumpkins, and like so many other successful Riot Fest headliners, Slipknot abandoned drama for pure, unadulterated dirt.

#live music #riot fest #wdrl #joyce manor #patti smith #circa survive #thrice #smashing pumpkins #the bronx #big freedia #les savy fav #state champs #bayside #rancid #run the jewels #the gories #facs #alex g #health #thursday #devo #flaming lips #slipknot #barry johnson #chase knobbe #colin frangicetto #eddie breckenridge #riley breckenridge #james iha #matt caughthran

[lovelyirony]

#200: “He loves you, you know? He’s just afraid of admitting it.” for ironhusbands if you're still accepting them??

Tony has been in love before. Or he thinks he has, sometimes it doesn’t feel like he ever was. 

Because Ty stood there sneering, laughing high and loud when Tony uttered the phrase “I...I loved you.” 

“Sure you did,” Ty says. “And I was in love with you, Tony. Sure.” 

Turns out that Ty was never in love with him. It was all to get some inventions stolen so that he and his family could sell the products first and make money off of it. And Tony hadn’t ever seen that, he had looked at him adoringly. 

Being in love hurt. It hurt with the ache of his chest and the throbbing of his head as he stared at nothing and typed out some random bullshit for one of his classes. He was still doing everything normally, everything by the book. 

But he was out of love, he thinks. 

He called Jarvis, who quietly admits that he never thought they were a suitable match. 

“There was something about him, Sir,” Jarvis says quietly. 

“You didn’t tell me,” Tony responds quietly. 

“I wanted you to be happy. I had no evidence.” 

“You know I trust you more than anyone else,” Tony responds. “You know that, Jarvis. I--you’re more of my family.” 

Jarvis cries a bit after that, and then Anna overtakes the phone and talks to Tony about school and how to get over something like this. 

“I had a boyfriend who I loved too,” she says. She doesn’t say that Ty was awful, doesn’t say that Tony deserved so much better. “And it feels weird because it’s over and you have all of these memories. But time will heal. Try a new activity, darling. Get your mind off of it and I promise it will start to get better.” 

Tony doesn’t know what new activity he should do. He looks some up in his encyclopedia set because if he gets on the computer he’s going to be bombarded with news ads about “Tony Stark Cheats: Ty Spills All!” or “Breaking News: Viastone Released Brand New Phones. More on Page Six.” 

And he hates that. He fucking hates that Ty took from him, from his passions. 

It’s not healthy. No, not in the slightest. 

But Tony starts to plan on revenge. 

Ty gets it in the form of Tony hacking into the company and releasing evidence that Ty isn’t who he says he is in terms of genius. After all, Tony was the one who helped him pass a basic engineering class. 

But that doesn’t make everything go away. 

Then they email him and say he’s getting a roommate. Fucking fantastic. 

His name is Jim Rhodes. He’s ROTC with a major in aerodynamic engineering, Tony thinks. 

Tony knows as soon as Jim walks through the door that he’s his type. Ty was an outlier in the situation; he was funny, he was cute, and he liked Tony right off the bat. When you’re Tony, that usually doesn’t happen that someone so naturally likes you. They want something. 

Ty was just exceptionally good at lying. 

But this guy...he gives a look to Tony’s space, to the fridge where there are magnets from different companies pasted on, and to the open kitchen. 

“Can I put a few things in the fridge or not?” 

“Go for it,” Tony says. “I only do energy drinks and the occasional cheese stick in there anyway.” 

He nods. He’s methodical in unpacking. Socks and underwear in the same drawer, shirts in the next, and then pants. He hangs up all of his dress shirts. 

“What time do you usually go to bed?” He asks Tony. 

“When I remember,” Tony replies. “Just yell at me to turn off lights or to stop working, I usually...it takes a bit.” 

“What are you majoring in?” 

“Mechanical engineering,” Tony responds. 

They nod. It’s awkward. 

For the first two weeks, they don’t talk to each other. It’s not that they don’t like each other, it’s just that scheduling conflicts and the fact that it’s a new roommate at semester makes for quite the difficult transition. 

It’s a Saturday afternoon when Tony blinks out of his project, asks Jim if he wants to go out to lunch, and they walk over to Tony’s favorite coffee/lunch place. 

Jim is not sure what Tony is trying to do. At all. He knows the Stark brand--he’d have to be living in the mountains for the last fifty years to not hear anything about it. 

So he thought that Tony would have a stick up his ass and probably think that Jim was not high-status enough. 

But as it turns out, it’s the opposite. Tony offers apologies for everything, dresses casually, and forgets to eat lunch and dinner. 

(He has pushed food in his direction, and made some loud noises to make sure he gets out of his engineering and inventing haze.) 

And here they are. Tony orders coffee and lunch and looks at Jim expectantly. 

“I got it this time,” Tony says. 

“Only if I can get it next time,” Jim answers. “But I’ll have the peppermint latte and the house salad, please.” 

“Rabbit food,” Tony announces. 

“Just because I have workouts tomorrow,” Jim jokes. “I’d rather work off salad than a burger. Those are for savoring.” 

Tony laughs. 

And it’s the start to a wonderful friendship. Jim quickly becomes Rhodey after they decide that they should have their own Wine Wednesday, and Tony becomes nicknamed Tones occasionally. 

If you ask everyone who came up with the nicknames first, they will tell you Tony, because Tony gives nicknames to anyone who breathes in his direction. 

But it was Rhodey. 

He’s the one to call Tony “sweetheart” first, which leads to Tony blushing like a madman and Rhodey thinks it’s very cute. 

Rhodey is the first to have a crush. He is. Tony will swear up and down that he loved Rhodey right from the get-go, but Rhodey knows. 

He first fell for Tony when they were getting dinner together at 8:45 at the Chinese restaurant down the street, and Tony’s laughing about bad soap operas, and Rhodey knows that this guy? It wouldn’t be bad to spend the rest of his life in his arms. 

From then he knows he is screwed. 

Tony has made no secret of who he likes. He thinks everyone is cute, and Rhodey knows that. 

He doesn’t often mention that he likes guys, but it’s definitely there. 

Rhodey also doesn’t like messing around with things. Never has, probably never will. 

But he can’t tell Tony when they go to visit Jarvis and Ana. If he gets rejected they still have to ride home together, and that’s...Rhodey doesn’t want to think about it. 

But it’s when it’s early morning and Ana and Tony are headed out to an estate sale that Jarvis takes Rhodey to the veranda for coffee. 

“He loves you, you know,” Jarvis says quietly. “I think he may be a bit hesitant to tell you if he doesn’t know how you feel.” 

Rhodey smiles. 

“Jarvis, I love Tony more than anyone in my life.” 

So he outright asks Tony at the end of the semester, when the trees are flowering and Tony smiles at birds that chirp early in the morning. 

He asks him over coffee. 

Tony blinks. 

“You...you like me?” 

“Well, yeah,” Rhodey says. “Who wouldn’t? You’re cute, kind, and I live with you. Hard not to notice that type of thing.” 

And Tony starts grinning because everyone does like him, but never like this. They like Tony Stark. 

They don’t like Tony. Who sometimes forgets to sleep. Who sometimes accidentally buys four cartons of blackberries two days in a row because he forgets about it. 

Tony says yes. 

And it’s fantastic. They make breakfast together, communicate well, but Tony doesn’t say it. 

“I love you.” 

Rhodey says it a lot. Tony does not. 

And it’s not bad, at first. It’s new. But then Tony won’t say it back. He shows it just fine. He would buy the world for Rhodey if he really wanted it, but he won’t say “I love you.” 

He thinks there might be something there, but he doesn’t want Tony to feel as if it’s necessary. 

- 

It’s when Pepper comes around that Rhodey notices more openness. 

Maybe it’s because Pepper is blunt and doesn’t know about Ty, or maybe it’s just because both he and Tony are pretty sure she could take over the world and people would be fine with that. 

But Pepper tells Tony something, or maybe something happens at work, because Tony comes flying into the apartment. 

“I love you!” he declares, peppering Rhodey’s face with kisses. “I love you I love you I love you. A lot.” 

“What brought this on?” Rhodey asks, taking his boyfriend into his lap. “Not that I’m complaining.” 

“Just realized I hadn’t said it yet,” Tony says. “And you deserve to hear it every day.” 

Rhodey smiles. 

And then he reminds himself to go ring shopping. 

#it starts out sad but it gets fluffy i PROMISE #y'all know i can't do sad or angst u know this #lovelyirony writes #ironhusbands #rhodeytony #tony stark #rhodey #iron man #war machine #rhfe

[blousejudo6]

Apple Launches Scheduled for Next Season

Apple is considered to be the state-of-the-art enterprise in the world now. It is the business to which nearly all others search for direction. When Apple reveals an innovative new design vocabulary or launches a new product, it creates ripples throughout the marketplace. Suddenly, the entire industry is crafting products in Apple’s overall image. However to say Apple is merely a trend-setter understates the organization’s position as probably the figurehead of invention in customer engineering. Apple isn’t simply setting technology trends; Apple’s vision pieces precedents and starts actions that allow the developments to exist in the first place. As great as it must experience to be Apple in this situation - and as humbling since it must experience to be any of the many businesses copying Apple at every convert - it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Most people can claw your way to the top of a mountain, but there’s not a lot of stable ground up there. One incorrect step as well as your toppling back down the mountain, undoing years of the hard work needed to get up there. We do not want to discount Apple’s successes in 2018: Apple Pencil support for ipad device was a good addition; iOS 12 has provided new life to iPhones as old as the 5S; Apple Watch Series 4 is literally saving lives; and that’s only a few highlights. Looking back again, though, 2018 was a fairly tough year for Apple as certain missteps finished up affecting the company’s bottom line. Amongst Apple’s most dubious techniques in 2018, there’s one I wanted to discuss for a significant purpose: With no second-generation iPhone SE in sight, it seems Apple has exited the spending budget flagship market. The fact is, I’ll take it one step additional: I am convinced Apple would not be launching any longer budget iPhones, and here is why. Apple’s product collection is certainly varied. The company generates revenue from services like iTunes and Apple Music to accessories like AirPods and the Magic Keyboard, from home entertainment devices like Apple TV 4K to personal processing devices like the MacBook Pro. However sales for most of these are not that amazing (though Apple’s income certainly are). It is actually the iPhone that makes up about nearly all Apple’s income. Since its debut in 2007, iPhone has pushed Apple’s revenue to such incredible heights that the company is just about the first trillion-dollar company in history. With so a lot of Apple’s income riding on the game-changing gadget, you can bet there will be a significant drop in Apple’s revenue if people beginning buying less iPhones. And that is specifically what we are experiencing. Immediately after a modest fourth quarter, revenue for Q12019 - which, to be clear, is comprised of October, November, and December, covering the holiday shopping season - was lower than Apple actually projected. With the expense of fresh iPhones rising, income would’ve increased actually if unit sales experienced only remained steady, but there were fewer iPhone units sold through the period. The implication can be that demand has waned, or it’s feasible there wasn’t much demand for Apple’s costly new iPhones in the first place. The first symptom of challenges was in 2017, the entire year iPhone X premiered. At a starting price 50 percent higher than the prior year’s baseline model, iPhone X unit product sales were reportedly smooth although Apple’s income increased. How? Because even though Apple sold roughly the same amount of units as the year before, the common cost of an iPhone had improved. When you sell the same quantity of products but tag up the price, you still visit a bump in product sales. Of program, it’s not just the iPhone that’s become more expensive. Apple has raised selling prices across virtually all the company’s stock portfolio. But with the iPhone driving revenue, the implication is usually this: If iPhone sales and profits continue to be toned or begin to fall, Apple will have to keep raising the price of the iPhone each year to maintain year-over-year revenue gains. As you can plainly see, it’s not a coincidence Apple has made a decision to stop reporting iPhone unit sales publicly. Also if 2017 was an outlier, the start of new iPhones in the fall is meant to give Apple a go of revenue adrenaline in the final stretch, allowing for a strong finish as the business crosses the fiscal finish line. But for the second season in a row, that did not happen. Doesn’t it appear reasonable, if improbable, that increasing the costs for brand-new iPhones has resulted in lower demand? About a week ago, Apple CEO sent a letter to investors. You can browse the letter for yourself on Apple’s web-site, nonetheless it warns investors that Apple’s 1Q2019 income will end up being $9 billion lower than was originally projected. The letter largely blames China’s overall economy for the vast majority of the year-over-year iPhone income decrease although also suggesting that individuals are still adapting to the termination of carrier financial assistance. In a recently available talk Cook reiterated most of the same points to explain lower-than-anticipated iPhone gross sales. Besides slowed development in growing marketplaces and the lack of subsidized pricing through carriers, Cook pointed to iOS 12 and the $29 battery substitute program while having encouraged users to keep their previous iPhones rather than choosing new ones. As you might remember, Apple started the battery alternative program in late 2017 in hope of hiding the smell of the electric battery hot debate, which had earned accusations of designed obsolescence. As stated by Cook, many with old iPhones didn't upgrade mainly because they could get new batteries for cheap. This would take away the overall performance caps that Apple had imposed on them, repairing their iPhones with their original glory, particularly when paired with iOS 12. Actually, Apple went to lengths to ensure that iOS 12 would make older iPhones faster, so Make is likely correct in thinking the battery substitute program and iOS 12 factored in to the weaker sales of 2018 iPhones. On the other hand, Cook asserted that complicated trade relations between the US and China was ultimately the largest factor. China represents a ton of untapped sales potential for Apple, so there’s probably some truth to that, too. You can observe the entire interview in the video below if you want to hear more of what Make has to say about it. On the other hand, critics and analysts possess suggested poor iPhone sales are a indication of market saturation; at this point, most people who would like an iPhone already have one, and that’s a hard hurdle to overcome, especially with people transitioning much less frequently. It is even quite feasible that Apple priced the 2018 iPhones out from the developing markets the business claims to end up being targeting. After all, in the event that you live in China and need it a new mobile phone, are you going to buy an iPhone XS for $1,000 (¥6800) or even more, or will you get the latest Vivo or Xiaomi Android smartphone that’s manufactured locally and will do in essence anything iPhone XS can do at a small fraction of the price? Not surprisingly, Cook basically sidestepped this issue of ballooning iPhone prices - a concern that we’ve seen across most of Apple’s products for that matter - which has been one of the primary criticisms of brand-new iPhones. New Asking Price will Increase Price raises for the iPhone used to end up being pretty rare. In fact, after carriers stopped providing subsidized pricing on smartphones, forcing us to start paying complete MSRP if we wished to buy fresh iPhones, we're able to at least count on a constant starting price from 12 months to year. That starting cost used to be $649. With the launch of iPhone 8 in 2017, it jumped to $699, a unsatisfying gain, but it was not too surprising. It was only a $50 boost after generations of a consistent price, a lot of people gave Apple a pass. And also, actually at the higher price, iPhone 8 seemed positively cheap when compared to $999 price on the new iPhone X. Yet apparently, the price increase for iPhone 7 collection a precedent because in 2018, the purchase price jumped again. Matching the increase from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8, the 2018 iPhone collection started out at $749 for iPhone XR. You would argue that iPhone XR is a better device than iPhone 7 and justifies the extra $100, but value is subjective. Although some might say iPhone XR is worth its $749 starting price, especially compared to Apple’s more high quality models, many customers will fixate on how each new generation of iPhone is more expensive than the one before. And at this time, can you blame them? To create matters worse, as iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR were getting unveiled in stage during Apple’s fall 2018 event, iPhone SE was being discontinued. So not merely are iPhones getting more and more expensive, but Apple has eliminated the only spending budget option we had. So if you’re looking to get a new iPhone in 2019, there’s very little choice anymore. Buyers are effectively being forced to accept Apple’s higher starting price in the absence of a true budget iPhone. Naturally, consumers and critics alike are getting more vocal within their calls for an iPhone SE successor. Overwhelming Unpredicted Benefits Apple revealed the iPhone SE , which stands for Special Edition, in March 2016 at a particular spring event. Both for consumers and the industry at large, iPhone SE was an extremely un-Apple device for Apple to release. The iPhone 6 had simply jumped in size and received a totally new design from the previous generation. Then iPhone SE was released, having a smaller, compact form with its design practically indistinguishable from the previous-generation iPhone 5. Even more surprising was the actual fact that iPhone SE particularly featured most of Apple’s up-to-date, front runner-level engineering in spite of the reduced starting price; for just $399, you got the same custom A9 processor as iPhone 6S and a 12 MP camcorder with 4K video recording and a bigger battery. In reality, the only significant short-cuts were the lack of 3D Touch and the use of first-generation TouchID rather than the faster second generation. But, again, taking into consideration its low starting price (which eventually settled to $349), the iPhone SE provided uncharacteristically great value for something made by Apple. The challenge was that iPhone SE didn’t become a top-selling iPhone. In the course of its life-span, its defining characteristic was that it offered an inexpensive point of access to the iOS ecosystem though it eventually gained relatively of a cult following among particular Apple fans. Naturally, after iPhone SE had been the baseline of the iPhone lineup for a couple of years, buyers were prepared for the obligatory refresh. While iPhone SE offered an excellent cost-to-performance relation in 2016, a refresh could link the functionality gap that grew as iPhone SE’s A9 processor chip was followed and changed, first by the A10 Fusion chip in iPhone 7, on the other hand by the A11 Bionic in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X . Patiently Expecting Apple's New Releases Affirmed, we heard that Apple was working on a new version of the budget iPhone. Details varied, however the iPhone SE successor - alleged to be named possibly iPhone SE 2 or iPhone X SE (with suffix and modifiers meticulously arranged)- appeared to have the same purpose as the initial, which was to be a compact, low-cost iPhone offering great functionality and most of the most recent features. A lot of the difference surrounding the naming method for the iPhone SE 2 was because of unclear stories as to whether the device would maintain its iPhone 5-era design or whether it would embrace the new iPhone X visual. Some customers insisted (or maybe hoped?) iPhone SE 2 would appear to be an iPhone X from the front with a almost bezel-less, edge-to-edge display. These accounts were generally informed by supposed designs for display screen protectors and situations; if legitimate, the implication was that iPhone SE 2 would have a bezel-less, notched display related to iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Of program, the notch would become among the defining characteristics for 2018 smartphones overall as its was imitated by nearly every smartphone manufacturer after the iPhone X debuted in past due 2017; nevertheless, for Apple’s reasons, the notch just exists to house biometric sensors for Apple’s proprietary FaceID. So the implication was that iPhone SE 2 would feature FaceID although the high cost of FaceID components made it an unlikely inclusion in virtually any budget iPhone. Following these reviews, renders were made to show how the device might appear if it ended up being real. Assuming the case designs and resulting renders were accurate, iPhone SE 2 would’ve been a fascinating device, the lovechild of the bygone iPhone 5 and the more futuristic iPhone X. Provided Apple could keep production costs and, by expansion, the MSRP down, iPhone SE 2 could’ve easily outsold the original iPhone SE, possibly learning to be a top seller like the original iPhone SE never could. These weren’t simply the pipe dreams of iPhone SE followers and anyone who wanted cheaper iPhones; reports from Apple’s own suppliers all but confirmed plans for iPhone SE 2, offering estimates for possible production schedules and ship dates. In early August 2017, Wistron Corp. - a low-volume manufacturer located in Taiwan that Apple recruits when iPhone demand is high - was focusing on expanding its production base to accommodate a fresh compact Apple smartphone, which many presumed to end up being an updated iPhone SE. After that came a tentative ship day: In late November 2017, Economic Daily News in Taiwan reported Apple have been eyeing a release day in the first half of 2018 for the iPhone SE 2, which would’ve been consistent with the spring release of the original iPhone SE. January 2018 brought another report of iPhone SE 2 launching in 2018. Shortly thereafter, there was a rumor iPhone SE 2 would feature a glass rear panel, suggesting the addition of the wireless charging features that the iPhone has already established since 2017. Just simply because rumors pointed to Apple gearing up for the release of a next-generation iPhone SE, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities who's known for predicting Apple’s products with uncanny accuracy, planted one of the 1st seeds of doubt. In late January 2018, Kuo reported iPhone SE 2 had very little chance of released because Apple had exhausted its resources on the three flagship models to be released in 2018. Of training course, those three models finished up being iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. However, rumors persisted - though at a slower pace - in spite of Kuo’s question. For instance, there were specifications and other information on the iPhone SE 2 reported in April 2018. Regarding to these leaks, Apple designed to keep production costs (and, by expansion, the eventual retail price) down by omitting the 3.5mm headphone jack and using iPhone 7’s A10 Fusion chip rather than the A11 Bionic chip found in iPhone 8 and iPhone X. For all intents and reasons, the axe was decisively dropped in July 2018 as BlueFin Research told MacRumors that Apple had nixed all programs to proceed with iPhone SE 2. We’ll probably never find out for sure whether iPhone SE 2 was ever actually in the pipeline; however, also if it had been planned initially, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever obtain an iPhone SE 2 at all. It’s been four weeks since the start of the 2018 iPhones, an event that coincided with iPhone SE being removed from Apple’s lineup, which, in and of itself, allegedly happened because Apple retired its A9 processor chip. So apart from Apple quickly unloading the last iPhone SE devices at a discounted $249 price, which took just 24 hours, iPhone SE is fully gone from Apple’s catalog, and anyone looking forward to a next-generation iPhone SE has little trigger for hope. In the event that you ask me, the writing is on the wall structure: Apple won’t be making another budget iPhone. FORGET ABOUT Budget iPhone? Spending budget smartphones, or smartphones that price roughly $300 or less, are pretty common today. In some instances, these budget devices offer great bang for your buck. Some of the newer notable examples include the Moto G6 for $240, LG Stylo 4 for $250, Huawei Mate 20 Lite for $290, and, of course, the amazing Pocophone F1 for $299. Should you have a tad more to spend, you can look for a used or refurbished Samsung Galaxy S8 for just barely over $300. Or you can get the brand new Nokia 7.1, an Android One gadget with the design and nearly all the features that top-shelf Android flagships have for the discount price of $350. I’m not sure where the term originated, but I totally agree: “Good mobile phones are receiving cheap, and cheap cell phones are receiving good.” Of program, you might’ve pointed out that the smartphones mentioned previously are Android smartphones. What about iPhones? When carriers did apart with subsidizing smartphones, we had to start paying full retail cost for new smartphones. Therefore Apple’s decision to create the iPhone SE was extremely timely: Rather than paying $649 or more, you could buy an iPhone at under $400 without producing a huge amount of compromises. Suddenly, individuals who favored iOS to Android had their very own Pocophone. From September 2016 to its discontinuation in September 2018, iPhone SE was never a top-selling iPhones. Also at its peak, iPhone SE under no circumstances accounted for more than 11 percent of iPhone product sales as the third-best-selling iPhone, and just by a slim margin. Meanwhile, both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus nearly tripled the sales of iPhone SE during that period, accounting for 28.5 percent and 29.5 percent of iPhone sales, respectively. After September 2017, iPhone SE sales dropped substantially, remaining somewhere between 5.5 percent and 8 percent until the device was pulled in fall 2018. Imagine that you’re Tim Cook looking at these amounts. Everybody has been requesting a second-generation budget iPhone, but sales numbers present that when a lower-cost option is available, nearly all customers keep buying the more costly iPhones. If customers are willing to pay even more for high-end iPhones, does it make sense to produce a cheaper gadget that, at best, only about one in ten consumers would be interested in buying? With some context, positioning the iPhone more as a luxury item starts to make sense. Like voting on a ballot, Apple’s customers have already been casting their votes on higher-end iPhones, therefore we can’t actually blame Apple for moving away from budget smartphones that do not sell well. If you’re miffed about the loss of life of iPhone SE 2, there are, actually, cheaper iPhones available for people on a spending budget. But you’re not going to see them in retail stores. Current Market Conditions Apple gave customers the lower-cost iPhone they’d long been asking for, but most of them decided not to buy it. So if you’re Apple, do you produce a second generation knowing the first era didn’t sell well, or perform you ditch the budget-iPhone idea altogether? It seems Apple chose the latter. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take away from the actual fact that spending budget iPhones already are available, not forgetting plentiful. Specifically, I’m discussing used iPhones on the market. The gray market refers to the buying and selling of used iPhones on the secondhand marketplace. It’s comprised of the many people selling their utilized products after upgrading, which essentially produces an unofficial market of budget iPhones. Therefore those listings for iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, and iPhone 8 on eBay, the Amazon Marketplace, services like Swappa, and yard-sale applications like LetGo will be the gray market for iPhones. Apple doesn’t need to invest in R&D, sourcing parts, production, and distribution for a budget iPhone because we curently have access to all the discounted iPhones we could ever want in the secondhand market. And every year when fresh iPhones are released, millions even more iPhones will revitalize the secondhand market as users who upgrade to new iPhones sell their older ones. Plus, any post-2016 iPhone models about the gray market could have better specs than iPhone SE, and a few of these used iPhones would be cheaper than investing in a new iPhone SE from Apple for $349. In other words, Apple doesn’t need to sell a budget iPhone since the current-generation iPhones purchased at complete retail cost today become budget iPhones as consumers utilize them and finally sell them to on the gray market when they upgrade. And more devices are shown on the gray market every day, so as long as Apple is selling smartphones, the gray marketplace is a renewable supply for budget iPhones. Of program, the gray marketplace isn’t the only way to get an iPhone on the inexpensive. Depending about how you consider it, Apple actually offers new budget iPhone options every year. With the official unveiling of new iPhones each year, the MSRP of each preceding generation still in creation is decreased. For instance, when iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X had been announced in the fall of 2017, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus became previous-generation products, which warranted cost cuts. The iPhone SE was still in production when iPhone 7 got its lessen price, if you wanted a fresh iPhone but didn’t want to invest $699 or even more for iPhone 8 or iPhone X, you could choose iPhone SE from $349, iPhone 6S from $449, or iPhone 7 from $549. Though $349 isn’t specifically chump transformation, it’s certainly more palatable than iPhone X’s thousand-dollar starting price. With iPhone SE discontinued, the cheapest iPhone available is iPhone 7 for $449, meaning the least expensive iPhone on the market is $100 a lot more than last year. To be fair, iPhone 7 was a great device at release, and it’s still a compelling option today, especially for the price. Though it had been divisive as Apple’s 1st iPhone without the seemingly requisite 3.5mm headphone jack, iPhone 7 is in any other case a full-presented flagship. But if you’re searching for a fresh iPhone on a budget, which would you rather purchase: a 2016 iPhone for $449 or an iPhone SE 2 with the latest A12 Bionic processor chip for $100 less? Regarding iPhone SE 2 not materializing, maybe understanding what could’ve been can be what makes this so disappointing for a few. Even though the data suggests a restricted audience for budget iPhones, there will always be situations in which a low-cost iPhone with current-generation overall performance hits the sweet spot. Where Should Apple Go From Here? It’s a great time to become a lover of tech, particularly portable tech as budget and mid-range flagships are slaying in the Android smartphone market. Though priced higher than a $349 iPhone, the OnePlus 6T is certainly a primary example of how to offer flagship-level specifications, design, and performance at a lower life expectancy cost. For better or worse, Apple appears to have evacuated the budget smartphone sector after just one single attempt. Granted, Apple has never really catered to budget-minded consumers with almost all the company’s hardware starting at $1,000 or more and a shrinking number of gadgets, like iPods and iPads, priced lower than that. This is why it was so unusual for Apple to create a budget iPhone in the first place. The problem is that it seems Apple is currently trying to close a door that maybe the company never should’ve opened in the first place. After all, when you’re offering this inexpensive iPhone on the lineup, all of the flagship iPhones seem that a lot more expensive by comparison. Whether or not there’s a fresh iPhone SE in the future, the prices mounted on Apple’s items are climbing. In many markets, Apple is coming dangerously close to pricing the iPhone along with most of Apple’s other products out of reach. For customers who can’t (or don’t wish to) pay such exorbitant prices, the fact that Apple offered inexpensive options in the past but no longer offers those options now will undoubtedly leave a bad flavor in people’s mouths, almost like biting into a rotten apple. Honestly, I hope I’m wrong concerning this, but if Apple really wants to curb the decline in iPhone demand and for product sales to resume an upward trajectory, 1 of 2 things will have to happen, and sooner rather than later. Apple needs to either lower the margins on iPhones to make them less expensive (or even just less costly), or there must be a fresh budget option so consumers in least have the illusion of preference. Because as the numbers show, most buyers choose the premium iPhones anyway, but if Apple puts a spending budget model on the table, at least they won’t feel just like they’re being forced to pay the ever-growing Apple tax. Apple’s current pricing structure gives consumers just high- and higher-priced models to choose from. But it seems buyers are needs to realize there’s still an added option, which can be to save themselves the difficulty, and potentially some buyer’s remorse, by not buying brand-new iPhones at all.

#cellphone

[fantranslatorbychoice]

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Intermission 2 - Akatsuki, and a Letter from Utsushiyo

T/N: Heck yeah it's time for the two spider siblings to shine lol we haven't heard from Suzuran for a while now, well, spoiler alert she has left Kakuriyo and hasn't appeared yet since Volume 1 ended, or in the anime when she chose to live on someone's grave. *cough, Shirou, cough* Well, I guess that’s just that. I hope you enjoy reading this short one.

Also if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.You can rave about this, rant about this, but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff.

OK Here we go-- P148 "Thank you for coming to Tenjin-ya, we look forward to seeing you again." I am an earth spider, a Tsuchigumo named Akatsuki. I am Tenjin-ya's head receptionist. The waitresses and the Gesokuban** has sent off the final guest for today with a smile, and my work as the head receptionist has ended. The moment that the last guest gets sent off, I always breathe a sigh of relief. The front desk's work ended before evening, and the day before the entire inn is closed on a break, we all soak in the feeling of liberation. The young Ogre bellboys were shouting "It's rest day! It's rest day!" and were running around the front desk. The Bake-Tanuki Gesokuban Chiaki-san gathered the ogre bellboys together and assembled in the lobby, and called them one by one in sequential order. Many of the ogre children were orphans, and not only does Tenjin-ya go beyond in providing them work, but also the day before the inn closes for a break, apart from their salaries they also receive a bit of pocket money, and the very first in the line gets freed off from work. "Alright you lot, return to your dormitories like adults, so you won't cause any trouble during work." "OK-- Gesokubanchou**-sama!" As the ogre kids were lining up one by one, Chiaki-san encouraged them to return to their dormitories quietly. "If you run your pocket money gets forfeited. Oh, and greet the head receptionist too." T/N: Gesokuban= doornan, in charge of the guests' footwear. Sorta like bellboys too. Gesokubanchou=head of the doormen P149 "OK--. Goodbye, Bantou-sama!" "Ohhhh..." It's impossible for me to take care of those brats... It must be difficult to be in charge of the footwear. It's better to be a receptionist. "Whew, it's finally over. Ah, Akatsuki, after this, won't  you come with me to Gintengai to have some drinks?" After sending off the ogre children back to their dorms, Chiaki-san called up. He always has this soft smile and voice with a subservient attitude, but he is my sempai as he started a bit earlier than me in working for Tenjin-ya. Among the management staff he is the most recent to join, and considerably has a lot of assigned duties and tasks. "Oh, but tonight you're also going to Aoi-san's place to have dinner, don't you?" "No. Apparently today only the girls got together, they seemed to be having a weird meeting or something." "That's also what Kasuga said. She says that Aoi-san is very friendly to everyone in Tenjin-ya. Ah, Waka-danna sama, are you free tonight? If it's fine with you, would you like to go out and have a drink with me?" "Oh, that sounds nice, Chiaki." Chiaki-san also called up Waka-danna sama. It's weird that he's up for it. Chiaki-san, he seems to have an air of softness and limpness that I don't have, and sometimes I don't think he's appropriate for the reception desk. But the person in question is, among the management staff is said to be the number one outlier with having the position of Gesokubanchou, as he said previously that he likes his job. T/N: Bantou=head receptionist P150 "Ah, uhm... Akatsuki-sama, Chiaki-sama, Ginji-sama.." "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" "If it's fine with you, would you want to go out and have fun with us?" There were three waitresses, they seem to choose at their own discretion when to talk to us. Lately, I have been invited to go out a lot. But for me, I want to get some rest on a rest day. "That sounds nice. But tomorrow I'm called to go back home to my parents' house. I hope you can invite me next time." Chiaki-san rubbed the back of his head, he seemed to be used to it by now and was resolute. Waka-danna sama seemed to be puzzled by the invitation, and flatly refused by saying "I too, have other scheduled appointments." I just decided and told them "That's a no-go" because it's too much of a hassle. "Oh, I see..." It's easy to understand that the waitresses got disappointed as their shoulders went down. "If that's so, then are you free the next time the inn closes for a break?" "Uhm...." The waitresses weren't discouraged. Why did Chiaki-san and Waka-danna sama looked at me over here? At most, you're always free and going out during resting days, it seems. Are you pranking the kouhai? "Hey, wait a minute you lot. Tomorrow the famous Kabuki lead actor named Yukinojou from Youto is coming to the Kabuki Troupe in Kimon**. T/N: Apparently this is what 鬼門 reads so I apologize if I wrote it as Onimon before, I was too much of a dumbass to correct everything oh well at least I learned it before finishing this volume lol P151 You're going out with those guys? You'll just keep screeching and screaming out." Suddenly, O-ryo appeared behind us. The waitresses seemed to lap up what O-ryo brought about, and went "Really?--" "You're kidding, is that true O-ryo?" "I have to check the bulletin board!" "Yukinojou-sama--!" Just a while ago they were disheartened and now they went off somewhere. The girls' high-pitched voices were ringing out, and they didn't even look back as they left us. "As expected of you, O-ryo san. You saved us." Waka-danna sama gratefully spoke to O-ryo, but she just raised an eyebrow and laughed at us. "You three, you were targetted by the waitresses. Among the management staff, you had the lowest difficulty levels. You got cornered, weren't you?" "Is that praise or is that disdain?" "Akatsuki, I saved you, you could at least thank me for it." O-ryo pointed her finger at me, and forced me to say thank you to her. She's surely shameless, an impatient and distasteful woman. P152 "O-ryo sama!" It's the Bake-Tanuki waitress, Kasuga has come and pulled the bottom of O-ryo's kimono. "Let's go now to Yugao. Aoi-chan's waiting." "OK, OK. Those group of single guys seem to be going out for drinks, but aren't we going to a glitzy girls' night-out? Awww, what a pity, you can't go with us--, you have no means to--" "O-ryo sama. They're also having that in secret. It's the same level as ours." As expected of Kasuga to point that out. She's merely a waitress, but her wit and cleverness is effective, and she is a hard-working Tanuki girl. I also unintentionally asked her to do errands and what not here and there. "Ah..." Kasuga turned her head towards us again, but stopped whatever she was about to say.. No, not really, but when she looked at us, it seemed that she looked at Chiaki-san who was beside us. Chiaki-san didn't seem to move a bit, but he just lazily smiled.

Inside Gintengai, the riverside were lined up with food carts, and it was the busiest corner. It was the place were middle-aged men gathered after work before returning home. The fowl grilling place had three open seats, and we each ordered our favorite liquor and had them heated and poured for us**. "Ahh, it's nice to have some barbecued fowl every now and then in these food carts." T/N: Yeah I know it's weird but sake or rice liquor is actually drunk either warmed up or at room temperature, I don't know why though, maybe to help the alcohol evaporate IDK because normally beers and wines are chilled then served, but hey, it is what it is lol. Also I just translated the fowl, or poultry from the generic term 鳥=tori because it can range from chicken to duck to turkey to exotic birds like guinea fowls and peahens. Like the offal hot pot, we can only guess what they were grilling here. I'd call duck and chicken lol P153 "Yeah, I agree. Waka-danna sama, whenever you're free you always go to Yugao, don't you? Every now and then let's get together, please?" "Yes, well, I'm here now, am I?" After seeing that the Waka-danna sama seems to be in good spirits, Chiaki-san requested to the Oyaji** "Ah, I'll have the chicken wings and scallion skewers. Everything plain salted." "I'll... Have the gizzards with scallions, plain salted, as well as some liver with dipping sauce, please." "I'll have the parson's nose** and some chicken meatloaf, with the skin. With dipping sauce." While the liquor bottles were being heated, we had a chat. The barbecued chicken that they were cooking soon gave off a delicious smell. "To be honest, it was a good thing that Waka-danna sama has returned to Tenjin-ya. During the time that Waka-danna sama was away, Tenjin-ya was in trouble. Akatsuki, somehow everyday acts like a little girlfriend running around saying 'We need you Waka-danna sama, please come hooome--'. That image has been burned inside my head." "What?" "Wait, Chiaki-san!" Well, the Waka-danna sama's usual workload isn't run of the mill, it's like it left a void. However suprised the Waka-danna sama looked, his blank face looked at mine. "Uhm.. That is..Somehow, the front desk's work is sustained by the Waka-danna sama, and I happened to experience that personally." T/N: Oyaji=usually the dude who owns the establishment, they normally cook and grill and stuff. Their waifus handle the cashiers. Also srsly these dudes know their fowl well, especially Akatsuki. I mean, chicken butt/parson's nose is full of that fatty cholesterol-filled goodness, as well as the skin wahhh now I want some of these too T__T P154 I was muttering my embarassing thoughts as my greasy sweat overflowed. That busy time has been pardoned already... speaking of, when the grilled skewers were done, I ate them hungrily. Ah, even the cartilage tastes good. "Akatsuki... It's unfortunate to have experienced those troubles, wasn't it?" "Ehrmm.. yeah." Waka-danna sama seemed to have gotten quiet, and I was so embarassed I couldn't say anything. I drank the sake bit by bit. "Well, anyways.. Waka-danna sama is awesome though. It's because while planning activities and managing Tenjin-ya, you were also said to be assigned to the internal affairs of Kimon. You were also looking after anything that troubles the Odanna-sama's fiancee. If it was me I couldn't handle it. I already find it hard just taking care of the ogre kids." While Chiaki-san was talking, the topic shifted to Aoi. "Ah, ahahaha. I wasn't looking after Aoi-san, I just let her do what she wanted, I think that's the right thing to do.. And because Aoi-san is a dependable person, it came to the extent that she helped me. Even now, with the souvenir products that Tenjin-ya asked Dr. Saraku to make, she's still doing her best to help with it, it seems... She's really awesome." Waka-danna seemed to have remembered something, and silently laughed, before ordering another bottle of sake. That guy, isn't he a bit harsh... P155 "I don't normally work with Aoi-san so I don't understand but, she's somewhat special, that granddaughter of Shirou's." "Yes, that is, Aoi-san is an amazing person. Aoi-san's cooking. Say Akatsuki. Somehow in the beginning Akatsuki was harsh with Aoi-san, but now you're part of the Yugao gang, aren't you?" "Eh? No, uhm...." "Oh, you're pausing with your words, you're hesitating. You weren't objecting that time, Akatsuki.." "..." Someday, when you make fun of me again, I'll be prepared. But, I need to think how can I deal with this now... When these guys bring up that topic again after a while, I'll change to make quick and sleek comebacks. "Certainly I go eat Aoi's cooking since it's a great way to end the working day, but compared to me, O-ryo goes there to a greater extent, doesn't she? To think that she tried killing Aoi before!" "Ah, ahaha. For sure, O-ryo san has now become less snappy and harsh... She goes to Yugao and pesters Aoi-san a lot. After that Kasuga-san also goes a lot to Yugao too." After that, instantly, it seems that Waka-danna sama remembered a lot of things about O-ryo and Kasuga. "Speaking of Kasuga-san, until now she still calls O-ryo as O-ryo sama? Even though she has already lost the position of Waka-Okami she still calls her as such." P156 "It's because Kasuga likes O-ryo. It's because ever since Kasuga started working in Tenjin-ya, she always bothered O-ryo san to look after her because she doesn't know anything." "Really, is that so? Isn't Kasuga-san and Chiaki relatives?" "Uhm, yes, yes we are..." Good, the topic has changed smoothly. Being tipsy, Waka-danna sama and Chiaki-san started talking about Kasuga and O-ryo. I was relieved, and added an order of thighs and chicken meatloaf from Oyaji. I really love meatloaf... "Oh, right, Chiaki-san, aren't you about to say something about that Kasuga?" When I asked him about it, Chiaki-san's face got all stiff for a moment. It was weird, for that person to have that face. But immediately after that, his usual sloppy face went back. "Ah, it's probably due to tomorrow's stuff." "Tomorrow?" "Tomorrow, we have to go back home. Also, it's something important." Oh, it's true, because they were going back home, he didn't lie to the girls when he was invited. But it's weird how he said it. Could it be that he doesn't want to go back home? P157 "Isn't Waka-danna sama going back to Orio-ya?" "What, why?" "But that's what going home means, right? When you don't have a village to go back to. Don't you have an older brother?" Waka-danna sama only waved his hands in front of him, with regards to Chiaki-san's unsophisticated question.

“No, no, that, uhm.. Right now it's a bother to go home. Right, Akatsuki?" "Why is the conversation swayed to me?" When it comes to a home, I have no such place. I have been born and raised in Utsushiyo, my only living relative is in there right now, my younger sister... "That much- How is my nose stupid?" In an instant, the drunk and wasted middle-aged Tengu nearby started making a racket, and he hit me with a hot sake bottle by mistake. "..." What the heck is this? As I was staring fixatedly, I got lost in time. While looking at the Tengu who got caught in the moment, my former boss Hatori-san, the current head receptionist of our rival inn, and previously when the Tengus became violent in the front desk I recalled the memories, and I got angry. I wanted to tear out all of the feathers of the middle-aged Tengu, but Waka-danna sama and Chiaki-san P158 pacified me "Woah, woah there, Akatsuki", and nevertheless I peacefully settled down. I went back to drinking in desperation. When the other sempai noticed it they just start talking. It’s mainly due to Hatori-san. A lot of things happened, and the night grew late.

"Tch, I drank too much. Waka-danna sama is too tough..." Upon returning to the males' dorms, while my drunk head was spinning around, I entered the men's baths. I splashed on water to wash off the liquor smell, then opened the sliding doors to my room and burst inside, and collapsed on the futon that I kept lying around. My room is at the top floor of the males' dorms. As the head receptionist I was given my own flat, and I wasn't roommates with anyone. Ah, the cool breeze feels great. I went and opened the veranda's door, and I looked at Kakuriyo's faintly darkened evening sky. "Hoo-hoo. It's the hoot of the underworld's night owl." "Hmm.. what?" From the veranda a single owl feather flew inside, and somehow plopped down, and I went inside the room again. "What is this.. A letter for me?" It was a momiji-patterned stationery. I haven't received a letter for a long time. P159 A red stamp was attached, this was exclusively used by the underworld's postal service that goes between Utsushiyo and Kakuriyo. The sender is... "Suzuran" In one breath, I got sobered up. This was my younger sister, Suzuran's letter. I stood up and pulled out a pair of scissors, and cut the seal.

"Akatsuki-niisan, it has been a long time. Are you busy everyday? I'm worried about niisan, don't work too hard and neglect taking care of your health. Are you eating nutritious food? Are you sleeping enough?"

What the, her opening was only about her worries. Don't worry Suzuran, about your brother. That detestable Shirou's granddaughter's food, I eat those everyday and get healthier. It's full of nutrients as well as delicious. I'm not miserable.

"Akatsuki-niisan may be blunt and crude, but he's really very sweet, are you on good terms with Aoi-san right now? Did I guess that right?" P160 "What the heck." That woman Suzuran. I don't understand why she's on good terms with Aoi, but for sure, she's saying nice things about her because they bonded during the time she stayed here. My sister by blood, she forsees just about everything.

"While I was taking care of Shirou-san's tombstone, I was also looking after the businesses of the people in Utsushiyo. When the Ayakashi living here come and wreck Shirou-san's tombstone, I grow into a larger body, you know? Everybody flees, when they see my Jorougumo** form."

"Oh, goodness, so that's it..." Even I was, when she powerfully threw me out of Tenjin-ya, her powers were quite strong...

"I love niisan, who works his best as a receptionist at Tenjin-ya. But please, don't be too excessive. Take some time to rest. Because niisan dislikes taking a break. You also dislike having fun with girls every now and then."

"Stop it. Leave me alone." T/N: So while Akatsuki is a spider demon- a tsuchigumo=土蜘蛛 that burrows underground like a tarantula, his sister Suzuran is an orb weaver spider demon, a jorougumo=女郎蜘蛛 that hangs on trees. No wonder Akatsuki's mini-form looks so pudgy and cute gwahahaha especially the cute skull on his abdomen. Try searching for that image, when Suzuran beat the crap out of him and he got weak AF wahahaha poor bean P161 "Suzuran always thinks of niisan during the dawn**. Please take care."

After reading the letter, I suddenly laughed at my younger sister's noisy wordings. The letter you sent had composure, as such, from where you are, you're also in good health. While protecting the tombstone of Shirou, whom you love. "..." Instantly, from the edges I saw a reddish ray of light, and as I opened the sliding screen, I looked at the early morning sky. Oh, I get it... The wonderful early morning sky. She said dawn, as it was my name. "Today... That's it. I'll write back Suzuran a very casual letter." Since she has left Kakuriyo, I'll write up everything that has happened in here since then. Also, while by tired body already had its rest, it's fine to do my best at work again. T/N: Akatsuki's name is literally "daybreak", not like them Orochimaru peeps lol

End of Intermission 2, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 4. Next - Chapter 5

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations  and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 intermission 2 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel english fan translation #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 intermission 2 fan translation #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 english translation

[freebooter4ever]

Here is the request, a beautiful heartwarming rendition of Eugene Sledge losing his virginity to Snafu, but set in the AU where Snaf and Sledge met before the war in Mobile while Snaf was working on the docks. Now, two years later they meet again on Pavuvu with Snaf a war-torn experienced marine and new replacement Sledge still very adorable and naive, and after after some brief hostility due to Snaf being an emotionally constipated dumbass, they work out their issues and have some fun. Thanks to @lieblinggs who really wanted to see them meet during the war in this AU and encouraged me.

Apologies in advance, I tried, I’m not sexy, my specialty is fluff and humor you guys....this is the last time anyone’s gonna ask me to write smut ever again lol. The secondhand embarrassment might be Hard with this one.

 Snafu is a ghost after Gloucester. The rain washed away all traces of his personality entirely and left him with very little to work with. He spends his days on Pavuvu avoiding doing anything, and he watches the slow progress of the healing sores on his skin like it's the final lap of the Indy 500.

He doesn't think about the future, all he knows at camp is warmth, his soft pillow, and the food he gets three times a day. After weeks of exhaustion, aches, and cold, he is finally comfortable. There's nothing much else on his mind besides that. 

Then Eugene Sledge walks into his tent.

Eugene Sledge arrives on a ship, and with the ship comes the daily mail bags, and in the mail comes a newspaper clipping from Snafu's home town. As if one helping of guilt wasn't enough and he needs another to balance it. The article from home, delivered minutes before Eugene walked back into his life, only brings half-guilt though. It says nothing of Mairzy, who is probably still safe in Mobile. And instead says everything about Snafu. And his heroism on Gloucester.

That brings a little bit of pride which eases the sting of the guilt over leaving his sister behind.

He tries to focus on the letter and the newspaper clipping instead of the boy standing in his tent, with his crooked helmet hanging off his ginger hair. After Gloucester, Snafu can barely focus on anything at all. The five minutes when Eugene tries to claim a bunk in their tent is an outlier. Snafu's entire reason for being narrows in focus, and it becomes imperative that Eugene not live in the same space. He needs to convince Burgie of this, though Burgie unquestioningly plays along with the disdain Snafu started easily enough.

It's been two years since he saw Eugene Sledge. They did not part well. Snafu isn't so good with goodbyes.

"Understatement," Sledge mutters in the chow line behind Snafu later that day.

Snafu had just got done explaining all this history to Burgie while they waited for their flood, and Snafu hadn't even noticed Eugene was there, eavesdropping on them. Snafu's constant state of physical awareness must be slipping within the relative safety of Pavuvu.

Burgie takes one look at Sledge, and one look at Snafu. "I don't know what this is about and I don't care, but please make sure I still have an entire squad standing and in fighting fit by the end of it," he warns. And with that he collects his food and makes a run for it, leaving Snafu to face the music on his own.

Snafu turns around, and meets Eugene's eyes, and sees blank emptiness. Eugene isn't even angry. Snafu had hoped Eugene would be angry. That he would hate Snafu to the ends of the earth. 

Neither of them say anything. They just engage in a silent stare down until someone behind them in line asks what's the hold up. Eugene turns around to apologize and Snafu ducks underneath the serving table and disappears behind the mess tent.

Snafu is in danger of saying something stupid. He can sense it, bubbling up in him like alka-seltzer in coke. One look in Eugene's damn eyes and he's falling in love all over again.

In retaliation for Eugene sneaking up on him, Snafu finds the skipper who always invents the worst work duties. Sure enough all it takes is some idle chitchat to convince the skipper that now is the time to clean out the oil barrels. Snafu offers to oversee the work, and suggests a couple new Boots to assign the task to, and the rest is history.

Eugene gets angry at him then. He glares prettily at Snafu from underneath his elbow while scrubbing drums. There's something else burning beneath that anger. Snafu can sense it in the way Eugene's gaze lingers on the movement of Snafu's hips - in how sometimes Snafu turns around only to catch Eugene looking away.

Otherwise Snafu avoids Sledge like the plague.

He does a pretty good job of it. Until the day Sledge disappears.

As Snafu walks by a tent he overhears one of the officers complaining that Sledge hasn't been seen since lunch. Apparently the boy skipped out on dinner and coconut detail. Which is an understandable thing to skip - nobody willingly subjects themselves to the smell and texture of rotten coconuts. Sledge's disappearance makes sense. Unless one knows Sledge, and knows he would never shirk duty no matter how unpleasant.

Snafu also knows something else the officer didn't consider and maybe Sledge didn't even know - certain members of How company were scheduled to rotate home this morning. As far as Snafu knew, their ship already left dock. So it doesn't take much to guess where Eugene might be.

He finds Eugene sitting on an empty cot in Phillip's old tent. Eugene is holding a book in his hands but he isn't reading it. His head hangs between his shoulders in defeat. He doesn't acknowledge Snafu when Snafu steps into the tent, even though Snafu's shadow falls over him with the harsh evening light so low in the sky.

Snafu hesitates to enter so he hovers in the doorway. There is a second cot across the room. But there is also a little sliver of space next to Eugene on the first cot that Snafu knows he could squeeze his butt onto if he tried.

"Left alone again?" Snafu asks. He tries to sound sympathetic.

Eugene looks up. He clearly did not expect the person in the doorway to be Snafu. And - oh! - Eugene's eyes are full of hope. Snafu makes his decision. He crosses the room and sits next to Eugene. They're so close there isn't an inch of space between them.

Snafu turns his head and rests his nose on Eugene's shoulder. He closes his eyes, and breathes.

He missed how Eugene smelled

"You'd think I'd be used to being the type to be left behind by now," Eugene gripes.

Snafu snorts. "It ain't you," he mumbles into Eugene's shoulder, "It's us. We're just dicks."

"Sidney is not a dick."

"But I am?"

"Jury's still out on that one"

Snafu grins. He turns his hips in towards Eugene so he can wrap his arms around his waist and press closer in a sort of half hug. "Guess it's a good thing you're fond of my dick, then." He kisses Eugene's neck, "You certainly felt me up enough times. Remember the day under the bridge by your house?"

Eugene sighs in exasperation and tilts his head back, "God, Merriell."

"Jury out on that one too? Cause if you need me to jog your memory…"

"Why didn't you say goodbye?" Eugene interrupts, "Why did I wake up one morning to find your house empty and Mairzy alone?"

Snafu holds Eugene and thinks about that one for a bit. He finally surmises, "You would have asked why I was enlisting."

"Why were you enlisting?" Eugene asks.

"For you," Snafu admits. He turns his face in towards Eugene's neck. Takes another deep breath. If he doesn't face Eugene, Snafu can pretend the man next to him is still the same boy who skipped class every day to bicycle down to the docks where Snafu worked, and kiss him behind the pilings.

"I would have stopped you," Eugene says.

"I know."

They sit in silence for another beat, and then Eugene asks a second question, "You fought in the same battle on Gloucester, you must have some insight. Why didn't Sid tell me goodbye?"

Snafu takes a deep breath and debates giving Eugene the real answer. 

He doesn't think you're going to live. Keeping attachments is a hazard here.

"If you were at those same battles," Snafu concludes quietly, "You'd realize there's no room for thought, and no insight to be had."

Eugene nods, "Guess I'll learn." He sounds scared.

Snafu tightens his hold around Eugene's waist.

During another long silence Snafu works up the courage to ask a question he's been wondering for two years.

"Did you love him?"

The question seems to genuinely startle Eugene. And then the dots connect. "Sid?" Eugene asks, "Of course I loved him. He's my best and oldest friend in the whole world."

It's Snafu's turn to nod, resigned. He rests his forehead on Eugene's back.

"But also…" Eugene says quietly, "No. I didn't love him like I loved you. God Mer, I never loved anyone like I loved you."

Snafu sits up so he can look Eugene in the eye, "You loved me?"

"Yes," Eugene says, smiling back, "Not that you gave me much chance to."

Snafu grins.

"What about you?" Eugene asks, "Still carrying a torch for me or did you find some girl in Melbourne too?"

Snafu leans back, his smile widens, "Who said anything about girls?"

"Sid slept with some woman in Australia," Eugene says.

"You jealous?" Snafu asks.

Eugene ignores him. "Sid claims war is the opposite of that...the opposite of sex, he means. I guess. I wouldn't know anything about either," Eugene says. He sounds grumpy.

Snafu laughs, "Sex ain't all it's cracked up to be."

"You're saying it should be closer on the scale to war?"

"No, I'm saying some parts are great but there's a lot of bullshit that goes with it," Snafu explains, "I wouldn't use it as a benchmark."

"Did you sleep with someone in Melbourne?" 

"I'm not a virgin, Eugene. Not now; not in melbourne; nor was I two years ago when I met you."

Eugene abruptly stands up from the cot. He wipes his hands on his pants. His palms are red and Snafu bets if he touches them, they'd be hot.

Snafu leans back on the cot and surveys Eugene.

"So what part's the bullshit, then?" Eugene demands, "In sex?"

Snafu shrugs nonchalantly, "You try growing up queer in New Orleans where the only men who'll fuck you are the older ones who insist you keep silent about it. Who treat you like the dirt you live in."

"Men who were ashamed of you?" Eugene asks, "Like you accused me of being?"

"Ashamed of me and of themselves," Snafu replies, "Don't care about anyone's pleasure except their own. Can make sex real unpleasant sometimes. And once it gets associated with pain, real hard to seperate it."

"Mer, why would you…?"

"Better than nothing. When you're alone," Snafu kicks his legs onto the cot and lies down with his hands behind his head, "Don't deserve better anyway. I can take the bullshit." He looks at the tent canvas and listens to the sound of the rainstorm pounding hard on the roof.

He can't see Eugene but Eugene doesn't stop watching him.

"So what's at your other end then?" Eugene asks, "For you, what is opposite war on the spectrum of human experience?"

Snafu contemplates quietly for a few minutes and then says, "Do you remember that night I got so drunk that you hunted me down, found me, took me home, and let me sleep in your bed? And you went to school and I stayed under your covers all day? And I didn't have to get up for nothing except to have food served at my door. Just laid in bed for hours and read all your journals."

"You read my journals?" Eugene says incredulously.

"They were enlightening," Snafu turns his head and lifts his chin to smirk at him.

"They were at least ninety percent about botany," Eugene protests, "Completely boring."

"And the other ten percent provided detailed descriptions of every handsome man who ever walked into your life," Snafu claims.

"Sometimes it's easier to describe what I see with words than draw," Eugene says defensively.

"Anyway," Snafu continues and looks back at the ceiling, "I laid around reading your horny thorny journals till you came home. And you crawled into bed with me. And you held me and kissed me. And introduced me to your parents. And they liked me, though I think they liked Mairzy better." He sighs and closes his eyes. He can still smell Eugene's room from that day. "That memory is what's on the other end," Snafu tells him.

"Mer…"

"Ain't ever loved anybody like I loved you," Snafu throws Eugene's own words back at him and smiles.

In a rush, Eugene bends down, grabs the lapels of Snafu's shirt, and kisses him passionately. Snafu barely has time to react. 

"Shit, I forgot. " Too soon Eugene switches gears, wrenches his face away, and drops Snafu like a live grenade. Eugene lunges towards the tent door and knocks it shut. He peers through the mosquito netting before covering it with the canvas flap.

Snafu laughs. "Nobody's gonna be out in this storm. Nothing to be worried about," he says. He lolls his head back and resists rolling his eyes.

"Yeah and who knows how long the rain's gonna last," Eugene says as he unrolls the canvas covers of all the tent windows.

"It's gonna get hot in here if you do that," Snafu points out.

"Do you want to be court martialed?" Eugene asks.

"Depends," Snafu says, "What exactly will we be getting up to in here to merit it? Will it be worth my while?" He waggles his eyebrows.

Eugene finishes the last tent flap, steps over the debris and trash on the floor, and makes his way back to the cot to stand in front of Snafu.

"Before I go to war, I want to know what the other end of the spectrum is like," Eugene announces. He carefully places his hands on Snafu's shoulders, and then straddles his lap.

Snafu sits up, slides his hands over Eugene's hips and along his back.

"Besides, you've been teasing me since the minute I got here," Eugene accuses, "Time to follow through."

Snafu huffs.

"Are you telling me the oil barrels wasn't your idea?" Eugene asks, "And staying to watch me sweat? That was all on you."

"Ain't denying it," Snafu says, leaning in close, his eyes on Eugene's lips.

"So shut up and kiss me, then," Eugene says.

Every single bit of Snafu wants to. He runs his hands around to feel the flat of Eugene's stomach, no longer soft after all that bootcamp training. Slowly Snafu rucks Eugene's shirt up over his head. It gets tossed to the extra cot behind them.

Snafu keeps Eugene in his lap with a steadying hand on the small of his back. With his free hand he lifts the dog tags hanging around Eugene's neck.

"You got what you wanted," Snafu says. He runs his fingers over the name. First Marines. Bondurant.

Eugene smiles thinly and shakes his head, "You're a little behind on your intel." His hand closes around Snafu's hand holding the dog tags. He gently takes them away and swings the chain over his shoulder. "This is what I wanted," Eugene whispers right before he cradles Snafu's face and kisses him.

Snafu kisses back. He kisses back hard enough to drown out all his conflicted thoughts. If Eugene wants this, he can give it to him. And it feels good. He can add this to his list of comfort - warmth, sleep, food, and the feel of Eugene moving in his lap, Eugene's lips on his neck, Eugene's hands in his hair.

Oddly enough it's Eugene who breaks the kiss. Snafu moans as Eugene pulls away and climbs off Snafu's lap. Snafu tries to follow but he doesn't get far. Eugene gently places a hand on his shoulder to stop him. And then steps back.

Snafu watches as Eugene's hands undo his own belt and then the button of his dungarees. Eugene drops the pants to the ground and steps on them to pull them off his feet. He dips his fingers into the waistband of his underwear and slides them along the hem, looking nervous.

"We can stop," Snafu reassures him, "Or you can keep those on and go right back to kissing me. Don't gotta go any further than that."

Eugene silently thumbs the waistband and in one swoop, shoves them to the ground. When he tries to get his feet out of his clothes this time, he stumbles, and Snafu has to catch him before he falls over.

It's the first time Snafu touches Eugene's bare butt. And he can't help but giggle a little.

Eugene smiles too. He stands in front of Snafu and fidgets shyly. Snafu grabs Eugene's bouncing hand and tugs him closer. Closer till Snafu's nose bumps against Eugene's stomach.

"This ok?" Snafu asks. He tilts his head back to look at Eugene while he runs his hand up the inside of Eugene's thigh.

Eugene nods enthusiastically and mutters something under his breath.

"Sorry, couldn't hear that?" Snafu grins. He switches to touching Eugene's other leg - up the thigh and around his butt. Eugene's still got a death grip going on Snafu's right hand.

"Yes, Mer, it's more than okay. I thought you were old hat at this, do I have to spell it out for you or…? Oh!" Eugene shudders into silence.

Snafu's throat is unusually dry whether from anticipation or - dare he say it - nerves. Snafu has to swallow and lick his lips a few times to get everything to go smooth. He's never been nervous going down on someone before, but Eugene is...Eugene. Snafu wants this first time to be as perfect as Gene himself. 

Eugene, for his part, is watching Snafu with heavy lidded awe and looking as if he's about to faint. He groans and starts to sag where he stands.

Snafu pulls off. He gets up and puts his arms around Eugene to stabilize him. "Why don't you lie down?" he suggests.

Instead Eugene kisses him. He grips Snafu's hips, brings them both together, and kisses him desperately until neither of them can breathe.

"Gene…" Snafu smiles, "Gene, lie down. I'll take care of you."

Eugene doesn't listen. He tugs Snafu's shirt off and makes quick work of the button on Snafu's dungarees. Snafu stumbles with his pants around his ankles and Eugene actually fucking lifts Snafu off the ground by his waist so he can kick his legs free.

"Eugene…!" Snafu almost laughs.

"I won't drop you," Eugene promises, still holding him tight. He gets an arm underneath Snafu's ass and hefts him higher.

They kiss again, with Snafu suspended in the air, naked against Gene's body like some dramatic movie ending where the music swells and everything fades to black. 

If this was a movie, they could skip all the ugly parts and he and Gene could go home.

"Lie down, let me take care of you," Snafu repeats. He pulls away from their kiss and stares into Gene's pretty dark eyes and waits for him to listen. Eugene has a habit of giving way to Snafu's expertise.

Sure enough, Eugene reluctantly releases his hold on Snafu and stretches out on the cot. His hands immediately reattach themselves to Snafu's hips when Snafu straddles him. Eugene looks calm and his unfaltering trust is a lot of responsibility laid on Snafu's narrow shoulders.

It takes a minute to line everything up properly. When Snafu sinks down onto Eugene's lap, he screws his eyes shut from the pain, but he hears Gene moan in pleasure. Snafu breathes through it, and keeps going. Till Gene's warm hands interrupt by sliding gently around his waist. Eugene sits up and refuses to let Snafu sink down on him again, holding his body still.

"Mer, are you alright?" Eugene asks.

"'M fine," Snafu mumbles, "Just takes a bit to loosen up. Not a lot to work with here on Pavuvu. Let me go."

"You looked like you were in pain."

"A good kind.."

"No! Merriell...just...stop…I refuse to hurt you" Eugene kisses him tenderly.

Snafu squirms. "Hold on…" Snafu crawls off Gene's lap and staggers to his feet, feeling a little off balance, "You said this was How Company's bunk right?"

"Yeah?" Eugene says, confused.

"Had a buddy in here," Snafu says. He wanders around the tent, kicking at trash and opening boxes, "He might'a left something…"

"A buddy?" Eugene sounds unimpressed.

"Do you want to fuck me or not?" Snafu asks, lifting a small container triumphantly. He tosses it to Eugene who unscrews the lid and looks inside.

"I do," Eugene says.

"Then don't ask about buddys," Snafu replies, "None of them matter. Haven't been with anybody since Gloucester anyway."

"I guess I should be grateful you know what you're doing," Eugene says, handing him the container.

The container is mostly empty, but there's enough to make things slide easy. This time Eugene rolls Snafu over onto his back and settles between his legs. He fucks Snafu slowly, watching his face for the first long while, as if making sure Snafu isn't hiding pain from him again. And oh boy does it feel good now, in a leisurely, drawn out, intense kinda way. Snafu enjoys every minute of it. 

To his surprise. 

It used to be the opposite. With the other guys it was usually quick. The faster he gets this part over, the faster he can jerk himself off and be done with it. But Eugene keeps hitting parts inside him that Snafu did not even know existed. Fuck reading journals, Snafu wants to do this for hours in Eugene's bed instead. Luckily Eugene is in no rush. 

He seems more focused on kissing Snafu than getting off. At one point Gene slips out and he hardly notices, too busy sucking on his face. It's up to Snafu, grinning stupidly, to break the kiss briefly and line him up again.

Snafu hasn't been this sensitive around his ass for ages. All it takes is for Eugene to push up against him even lightly and Snafu is goddamn writhing underneath him. It's ridiculous. Normally he keeps a safe disconnect between that general area and his brain.

But - oh!

Fuck.

Eugene is turning that disconnect into a thing of the past.

Snafu thinks he must have moaned or something because Eugene pauses briefly and holds himself over Snafu, smiling goofily.

"Why'd you stop?" Snafu pants.

"Wanted to watch you," Eugene grins back.

"Fuck, Eugene," Snafu complains, drawing Eugene's name out in a groan, his legs still moving even though Eugene is doing nothing but lying there like a hard slippery dense rock between them.

"I think Sid might be right," Eugene says.

"You are not talking about Sidney Fucking Philips right now…"

"This is the most amazing experience of my life," Eugene brags, leaning in to kiss Snafu's neck and running his hand down Snafu's side as Snafu arches up into the touch.

"Shut the fuck up, Sledge," Snafu gripes.

"Mmm, no, I won't," Eugene hums against Snafu's collarbone, "You love it. I've seen you now. I know."

"Fuck, Gene! Please."

Eugene's hand slides between their bodies and strokes Snafu's cock - fucking adoringly - if a hand job could even be adoring - and, fuck all it takes is one second before Snafu loses total control, and much to everyone's surprise, cum squirts high and shoots far enough to hit Gene in the chin.

Snafu stares at Eugene, wide eyed with shock, and maybe a little embarrassment.

Eugene laughs. He gathers Snafu up even tighter in his arms, buries his face in his hair, and whispers, "I love you," his voice full of delight.

Snafu is slowly drifting back to earth, though he can feel his mouth still gaping like a fish. "You ain't done yet."

"I got too distracted by you," Gene replies. He slowly starts rolling his hips into Snafu again.

Snafu rolls his eyes at the sentiment.

Eugene pistons into him erratically, like he's chasing a high he doesn't quite understand how to reach. Feeling a sudden burst of inspiration, Snafu maneuvers Eugene to where he can hold Gene's face in his hands, wipe off the cum dripping down his neck, and then asks, in a serious voice, "Sledge?"

"Yeah?" Eugene responds.

"Hammer me."

Eugene bites his lip to keep from laughing and he presses his forehead to Snafu's but he starts to go at it a little more rhythmically. Snafu keeps his eyes open to watch it happen. He sees when Sledge hits the tipping point and starts pounding into him desperately. And sees when Eugene finally climaxes in a series of moans and breathy whispers of Snafu's name.

They collapse together in a slippery mess.

As could be predicted, Eugene is a snuggler and he clings to Snafu like a long-limbed sloth. He even falls asleep. And snores. Snafu curls around him and wiggles his fingers through Gene's hair to smooth all the knots out. That takes him a good long while. Eventually the rain stops. Gene sleeps on.

Burgie accidentally steps into the tent for a brief second. After the initial moment of shocked staring, he pivots to face the wall and casts his eyes to the ceiling.

Snafu's fight or flight instinct kicks in because Burgie is not leaving. Despite Sledge's bare ass being on display between Snafu's very naked legs.

"Well, that's a relief," Burgie comments idly, "I take it this means we won't be having any more personal problems among our mortar squad?"

"Right as rain, Burgie," Snafu drawls.

"Good," Burgie nods at the wall, his tone is friendly, "I'll tell the skipper you're both indisposed tonight. See you in the morning, Snaf." And then he leaves, shutting the door tight behind him.

The sound wakes Eugene up, finally.

Gene squints, and looks around himself like he's lost. His eyes finally settle on Snafu and his whole expression goes soft. He melts over Snafu's body languidly and props his chin on Snafu's chest.

"Yeah, after this I'm gonna have to move my benchmark. Take this into consideration as the most amazing indescribable experience ever," Eugene says.

He's looking so full of himself and smiley that Snafu would be tempted to take him down a peg or two if Gene wasn't also so irresistible.

"You can journal about it," Snafu suggests.

Gene snorts a laugh. He kisses Snafu's sternum gently.

Snafu stretches, his body starting to ache from lying around so long. He tickles Eugene's neck till he rolls off him in a fit of giggles. "Gonna have to change my nickname," Snafu says, "SNAFO. Situation Normal All Fucked Out."

"That will never catch on," Eugene argues. His hand starts exploring Snafu's body and is awfully close to reaching between his thighs again.

"Gene!" Snafu laughs. He flexes his hips and hums when Eugege's delicate fingers rub him lightly. He's still soft, but honestly, with Eugene, it probably wouldn't take much. "That wasn't a challenge."

"You sure about that?" Eugene asks impishly, "Cause I'm prepared to take it as one."

Snafu rolls on top of him and sits up. He pins Eugene's arms over his head playfully.

"Least we got a new nickname for you outta this," Snafu points out.

'What's that?" Gene asks.

"Sledgehammer."

"If you dare…" Eugene starts in a mock serious tone, "...to call me that in front of any of the men...I'll...I'll…"

"You'll what?" Snafu taunts.

"I'll kiss you in public," Eugene says, "In full view of everybody."

"You won't," Snafu calls his bluff.

"Maybe not, but I'll want to," Eugene says, "Every time you call me that I'll want to."

"Sledgehammer," Snafu drawls, taunting.

Eugene smiles, pulls him into a kiss, and Eugene's 'first time' quickly transitions into his 'second time'.

Snafu doesn't push the boundaries of the nickname. He only uses it in private, when he can whisper in Eugene's ear and Eugene can bend down to kiss him silly.

They search out places they can be alone. It isn't too difficult to do but the farther they wander from civilization, the less hospitable the environment is. After a few days of discovering how uncomfortable sand can be in sensitive areas of the body, and a few 'times' of almost getting caught by fellow Marines less friendly than Burgin, Snafu comes up with the bright idea to borrow old tent material and use it as a blanket. They hike through the jungle to an isolated beach cove and stretch the stained canvas over the sand.

"Does it keep getting better every time?" Eugene asks Snafu afterwards.

They're lying on top of each other, still naked and sweaty. Snafu is itching for a smoke. He reaches for his pants, but Eugene, knowing exactly what he is going for, places a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him.

Snafu grunts and shifts so he's nestled more snugly between Eugene's legs. He works out his craving on Eugene's neck, and takes great pleasure in sucking a hickey in a place Eugene can't possibly hide.

"I'm wondering how often I'll need to move that benchmark," Eugene continues.

"As if I'm the expert?" Snafu asks.

"You are the one with more experience here…" Eugene says.

"Not like this," Snafu lifts his head to stare into Gene's eyes, "Never had nothing like this, Sledgehammer."

There's a fire in Snafu and it's not lust. Or maybe partially, but another part, a deeply buried protective streak, desperately wants Eugene to keep this. This warm happy glow around sex. Cause Snafu's benchmark is moving too, in a direction he thought impossible, and the changes make him so dizzy he can barely keep up. Sometimes he forgets there was anything before this. That love and pleasure is as uncomplicated and joyous as Eugene believes it to be - completely unassociated with physical pain, with hatred. A total opposite to the carnage and destructive hell of war. 

The thought of losing Eugene to war makes Snafu nauseous, and yet it's a constant awareness in the back of his mind, coloring everything they do. Eugene, meanwhile, remains blissfully unaware.

And fuck, that's gonna change, and Snafu is powerless to stop it.

They're going into battle tomorrow. This is the last chance he'll get to lay around and relish in the feel of Eugene's bare unblemished skin against his.

Possibly the last chance ever, if Eugene joins ranks with one of the many many statistics.

So he forgoes smoking and pours all his attention into making Eugene moan every chance he gets. Let Eugene have this. Let him hold onto this.

"Sledgehammer," Snafu says when he finds Eugene standing alone on the deck of the ship carrying them into battle. The sun is setting, and Eugene is beautiful.

Gene responds with a kiss intense enough to be worthy of their last kiss. Snafu promises to stick by Eugene's side during the entire campaign. They don't talk about any other possibility.

As it turns out, the first time Snafu uses Eugene's nickname in front of K Company happens after Eugene saves Snafu's life. The minute Snafu says "Sledgehammer" out loud, Eugene looks at him slyly. And in that single glance, Snafu knows they both understand.

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#sledgefu #bad germs