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#the entire phone call was literally 1:09 LIKE!!!!!
vynegar · 2 months
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lost in translation (ch 11, part 1) + some misc observations
a (non-exhaustive) list of differences i noted down for the translation of chapter 11 (part 1) while watching the chn and eng versions side-by-side. previously i did the same thing for chapter 9 and chapter 10. this also includes random comments and observations i had during this chapter.
disclaimer: i am not fluent in chinese, so keep in mind that there will be mistakes. feel free to let me know if you have questions, concerns, or comments. any alternate translations are my own, and are often especially literal (to show the difference between eng/chn).
Overall: Still nothing I’d consider egregious (ruinous to plot or character). Some omission of noncritical phrases in Chinese, like before. One thing I noticed more of is that the phrasing in English sometimes makes a line ambiguous or confusing, while the intention of the sentence in Chinese was much clearer. I have a few examples of these below; usually you can understand it using context clues, but I’m curious to know if other people noticed the issues when just reading in English. There were also some word choices that just felt a little… awkward? (It’s not here, but a few times when the word “grunt” was used…)
11-01
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This may be a reference to Jerome's "preoccupation" with his age, like when he wanted to be called an older brother rather than an uncle (see my prev chapter translation comparisons). However, on second thought, this entire thing of his may be another nod to the idea of the pursuit of eternal youth and longevity? But honestly this is just a thought that crossed my mind, I don't really think that's the intention of the writers.
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Based on the Chinese, it seems like Reina is older and Matthew is the younger brother.
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The English could be interpreted as a hypothetical question, while the Chinese has Matthew directly saying that Vyn is unwanted. (Upon rereading, this is very minor and I would have left this entry out, but I already had the screenshot so I'll just put it here anyway.)
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The Underling refers to Matthew using the suffix for people like presidents of companies (as he is a businessman). (Nothing wrong with the translation here, just again pointing out extra info that can be gleaned from the Chinese text.)
11-02
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Marius refers to Matthew also with the same suffix.
This section also contains some references to Marius's previous stories:
Vyn was threatened with being locked dark space, which echoes one of Marius's childhood experiences (mentioned in his "In the Darkness" SSR and his blossom personal story, chapter 4)
Marius still can't hold his liquor, which we first saw in "Fabulous Feast" SSR
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Ideally, this fear can extend into another thing --
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"Of your own accord" gives the feeling of doing something of your own initiative, and voluntarily. The word used in the original text also implies that the thing was done secretly and/or without permission.
11-06
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That last sentence felt like a mild warning, in which I could hear several inexplicably complicated emotions.
So the "complicated emotions" are on Vyn's side, not on Rosa's.
11-08
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Rosa paints a very specific simile here but I'm honestly not quite sure what it's supposed to imply or if it's referencing something so I'm just going to put this here for reference. The literal translation says it's as if Marius "has hung a ring of keys at his waist and then forcibly drank 5 kg of puer tea".
11-09
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[...] Even from the other end of the call, you can feel the embarrassment quietly spreading.
Not necessarily wrong, but the English sentence could almost be interpreted as the embarrassment is spreading throughout the phone, which doesn’t make sense and could cause a moment of confusion.
11-11
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Dr. Richter, you haven’t chosen to believe anyone either, have you?
Note that in Chinese it’s not specified that Rosa is referring to “them” (the suspects in the case). It could usually be interpreted that way from context, but using “anyone” preserves ambiguity in Vyn’s response (i.e. it’s possible that Rosa or NXX are included in those that Vyn says he doesn’t trust).
(Sidenote: The beginning of the chapter emphasized the role of surveillance on NXX’s current actions. Therefore, Vyn might not trust anyone, or he might simply be saying what he wants other people to believe. It’s interesting to note that Marius, on the other hand, openly told Vincent in 11-08 that Rosa is the only one he trusts. Which, again, is likely influenced by the possibility of surveillance.)
11-13
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After all, there is no way to detect psychological damage. Sometimes the parties involved are themselves not even aware of it.
11-15
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By the time your mind has caught up with the situation, you had already placed yourself in his way without a moment’s hesitation.
I probably made more changes than necessary or literal, but it was to convey the feeling more. Then again, this may be one of those lines that seem fine to other people and I'm just stuck on my own knee-jerk impression of the English translation.
I think the English tries to convey "不暇思索地" with the phrase "you find yourself". However, this combined with the opening clause gave the impression that Rosa got caught up in the flurry of confusion, then just happened to find herself standing between Vyn and Darius. In Chinese, "不暇思索地" means something like “without thinking, without hesitation, without a second thought”. It adds a sense of instinctive protectiveness to Rosa’s action, which comes across in later lines of the English translation but I felt was lost in this line. This line was one of the most character-relevant issues I noticed in this chapter.
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He looks over at you with rather undisguised astonishment.
11-16
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Afterwards, he leaves them with a half-true threat.
Adds a little more playfulness to how he's threatening them with a lawsuit from Rosa.
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If she were truly just a perpetrator, they [people online] would have pixelated the photos to prevent anyone from coming after her.
Subject issue, since it wasn’t explicitly stated in the sentence and it’s implied from the previous line.
11-20
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Yeah, but I don’t want to answer that directly to your face just yet.
Probably nitpicky and most likely doesn't matter, but I’m going to point out the details since this seems like a foreshadow-y line.
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Then he releases his foot and smiles seemingly gently at the young man.
Most of the time the “seemingly” can be (and is) left out in translation, but I think it’s better to keep it here since Vyn probably isn’t actually being gentle.
11-21
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Look man, we didn’t do anything. We’re not gonna go asking for trouble.
Contributes to the idea that Luke’s best course of action is just not getting involved this whole incident and continuing with his work.
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…No, even names that haven’t been carefully considered can bear meaning.
Thoughtful = “having a lot of thought put into it” would be fine here, but I feel that the more colloquial interpretation of thoughtful (“kind, compassionate”) would be strange since giving Albie a name is itself said to be a kind action. In Chinese, the word used specifically means carefully considering, deliberating, etc.
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...you never directed your thoughts toward that direction.
Actually, I don’t think this would be considered an error in translation. I think the metaphorical phrasing is just almost opposite between eng and chn so it stood out to me. In chn it's more like thinking further in that direction; in eng, it’s more like finding a new position to position yourself, then view the situation and do your thinking from that angle.
I also have an analysis post about Albie's name which also involves comparison across eng/chn! Anyway, thanks for reading this far and feel free to let me know your thoughts ^^
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sunflowervolvimp3 · 3 years
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if anyone would like a good starbucks holiday drink hack: chai tea latte with no water and sub eggnog is so delicious and it tastes like christmas in a cup
#but pls do not reblog this because it’s ACTUALLY A VENT POST I JUST FELT WEIRD DOING THE LIL DOT AND NOTHING ELSE SO FEEL FREE TO IGNORE!!!!#anyways today has been A Day on top of A Week honestly like#i have so much fucking university shit to do like i have two essays due this week i haven’t started#i have to memorize two german pieces for my lesson on thursday#and to top it all off!! i got a phone call from my father :))#and i didn’t answer his call yesterday and i felt guilty because i hadn’t seen him in over a month because i was sick and busy#and so i answered and he asked me to come over tonight#did not even ask if i was feeling better!!! if i was still sick!! despite the fact that i got tested for covid because of my symptoms!#he just asked me to come over tonight and i said no because. essays!!#and he asked me to come over tomorrow and i said no again and i probably can’t for the next two weeks#and i thought it was because he wanted to see me but turns out :) he just fucked up something on his wife’s citizenship application :)#and needs me help figuring it out :)#and like pandemic regulations ASIDE!! WHICH STATE I CANNOT GO TO ANOTHER HOUSEHOLD!!#I HAVE FOUR ESSAYS DUE WITHIN A ONE WEEK PERIOD AND FINALS#so i said. i cannot come over for like three weeks because of school.#and then he just huffed and said ‘alright’ and then hung up a few seconds later#the entire phone call was literally 1:09 LIKE!!!!!#I AM SO!!!! DONE!!!!!!!#SO DONE!!!!!!!!!!#LIKE IGNORE THE FACT THAT U PUT SO MUCH PRESSURE ON ME TO BE ‘THE GOOD ONE’ AND CONSTANTLY COMPARE ME TO MY BROTHER#HE SAYS HES HAPPY IM GETTING A DEGREE BUT DOESNT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THE AMOUNT OF WORK I PUT INTO IT#AND WHY I CANT DROP EVERYTHING TO SEE HIM WHEN IT WORKS FOR HIM#AND FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS!!!!!! I HAVE BEEN SO TERRIFIED OF HIM KNOWING I LIKE GIRLS!!!!!#BECAUSE HE HAS STRAIGHT UP TOLD ME HE DOESNT BELIEVE IN BEING GAY!!!!#AND THAT IF MY BROTHER WAS GAY HE WOULDNT BE HIS SON ANYMORE!!!!#AND IVE BEEN SO SCARED OF BEING DISOWNED THAT IVE SAID NOTHING#and now. that the possibility of me dating a girl is here. i have been terrified to have that conversation with him#and have thought out all the ways i can avoid it#BUT LIKE!!!! WHY THOUGH!!!! BECAUSE WHATS GONNA HAPPEN!!!!#LIKE ALL IM LOSING IS HIS FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND I CAN FUCKING GO WITHOUT THAT IF HE DECIDED TO CHOOSE HIS SHITTY VIEW OVER HIS ONLY DAUGHTER
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joshuas · 3 years
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sue me
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♫ pairing: han jisung x gender neutral reader
♫ genre: college/university student!au, slice-of-life, crack, fluff, best friends to lovers
♫ word count: 3.9k
♫ warnings: nil of note!
♫ summary: just chaos and lawsuits?
♫ tagging: @fluffyskzclub​
♫ a/n: the seventh addition to my christmas drabbles! i don’t really know what i’m doing anymore ;-;
♫ skz christmas drabbles: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
The door jingled as three figures huddled through the store together,
“It’s so cold!” One of them — Jeongin, exclaimed, bringing your attention to them from your organising,
“Lucky it’s warm in here. Hey, guys!” You waved as they approached, looking at the display of records and CDs behind you.
“Y/N!” Jisung approached you first, pulling you in for your signature handshake.
The taller boy, Seungmin, scoffed, looking down on the two of you,
“I can’t believe the two of you still do that elaborate greeting.”
“You’re just salty that you haven’t been friends with someone since childhood and had the awesomeness to come up with something like this.” Jisung defended.
Bitterness bubbled in your stomach,
Right. Friends.
The two of you had established your friendship way back in daycare when you lent Jisung your crayons... reluctantly, at that. But you were kind of desperate to make friends, so you accepted his request. What you had underestimated though, were his motives. Jisung had no intention on actually giving your crayons back. Long story short, hair was pulled, paper was thrown, including scissors at one point, all resulting in Jisung eating your crayons so that you would never get them back. You had never been more shocked in your entire life... well you were two-years-old, so there wasn’t much that you had experienced. However, your parents, after hearing of this fight, insisted on taking you to visit Jisung in the hospital (he had just digested crayons, it’d be concerning if he didn’t at least get it checked out), giving him a CD of your favourite songs for him to listen to. How a two-year-old was supposed to appreciate that was beyond you, but when he came back to daycare with a set of colour pencils and drew pictures beside you, the two of you were inseparable since.
However, once you had gotten into university, the two of you had exchanged more than friendly comments, making you reconsider his place as your best friend after all. I mean, did he make your heart flutter? Yes. Did you miss him whenever he wasn’t around, even when he was being a pain? Yes. Was he incredibly talented, handsome and amazing that you couldn’t help but fall for him?... Yes! You had been trying to figure out ways to hint to him what you really thought of him, but he was about as clueless as Cher in the movie Clueless. And seeing as New Years was round the corner, you had resolved to yourself that you’d confess to him as one of your New Years resolutions... It was now just a question of how...
As Jisung pulled you in for the final part - a hug, you inhaled his familiar scent, interrupting your internal monologue, your mind calming from its racing, seconds before.
“How may I help you guys today?” You brushed your clothes, trying to maintain an air of professionalism.
“Jisung dragged us all the way here to get some of your famous ramen.” Jeongin explained, sighing.
“You came all the way to a music store... to try my ramen?” You asked confusedly.
“I don’t understand the logic behind it as well. But we did come all this way, in the snow as well.” Seungmin looked at you pointedly.
“...okay. Wait here, I’ll make it.”
“Oh my god, I love you Y/N,” Jisung called out as you went to the staff room, your heart skipping a beat at his comment.
Sighing, you turned on the kettle,
Why is he like this? How does crayon eating boy have this much power over me?
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“Be careful, it’s hot!” You passed the steaming bowls of ramen and chopsticks to each of the boys, as the four of you sat around the till.
Bowl dangerously balanced on his elevated leg as he tried to pull apart the wooden chopsticks, Jisung flashed you a grateful smile,
“You know, Y/N, one day you’re going to make someone extremely happy with—“ He yelped as he jolted from the force of taking the wooden chopsticks apart, the bowl tipping off his leg and onto the carpeted floor. The red ramen soup soaking into the light carpet, staining it.
“Oh no! Y/N, I’m so sorry!” Jisung exclaimed, frantically grabbing at tissues from the counter, dabbing them on the ground.
You bit back a smile,
Of course, it was Jisung. But ugh it’s going to be a pain to get that dry cleaned...
“I might just have to sue you for that!” You said sarcastically.
Jisung looked at you wide-eyed,
“Oh! I— isn’t there anything else I can do? I can help out at the store for the rest of the break!” Jisung said frantically.
“Ohhh, no I’ll have to have sue you. Company policy.” You hid a smile, deciding to tease him further.
“Oh. Um, okay.” He blinked, unaware, “Let me just get a lawyer to represent me— Seungmin! You’re a lawyer, right? You need to represent me for this case.” Jisung grabbed Seungmin’s arm, looking at him pleadingly,
“I’ve literally only had one class and isn’t this a jo—“ Seungmin broke off as you stared him down, imploring him to partake in the practical joke you were playing on the other boy.
You sighed, “Okay. Seems like it’s sorted. We’ll meet up in two weeks. Hopefully, you’ll have your money ready, because I’m going to win this.”
“It’s Opposite Day. So you won’t, and I will, okay?” Jisung gave you a quick smile, dragging Seungmin towards the door.
“But, my ramen!” Seungmin complained.
“No time, we need to win.” Jisung dragged Seungmin out of the store.
You shared a glance with Jeongin,
This is going to be interesting...
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“You aren’t a parent, nor a teacher, what are you doing here?” Jeongin warily watched you approach, narrowly avoiding the little kids running through your path.
“I need your help.” You said solemnly.
“How did you know I was doing work experience at the daycare?” Jeongin raised an eyebrow sceptically.
“Believe it or not, Seungmin can be extremely candid and direct when Jisung is harassing him on the other side of a phone call. Also, you’re working towards your teaching degree. It doesn’t seem too weird that you’re working at a daycare.” You noted, taking in your surroundings.
“Oh, alright. What can I help you with?” Jeongin said reluctantly.
“I need you to dress up like an old businessman and pretend to be my lawyer.” You said quickly, thrusting a back-rubbing cane into his hands before getting ready to bolt.
“Wait! Why?” Jeongin looked at you sceptically yet again.
You sighed,
“Look, I need Jisung to think it’s the real deal, otherwise...” You stopped, squinting at the two figures attempting to act casual outside the daycare.
“Oh my god, are they spying on us?”
“It was most definitely Jisung’s idea.” Jeongin joined you, staring as Jisung attempted to casually lean against a car, trying to converse with a stony-faced Seungmin, not long before setting off the car alarm and yelling at Seungmin to run.
You watched the two of them take off,
“Looks like we’ll need to up our game, Mr Yang. Or should I say... Prosecutor Yang?” You smiled pleadingly at him.
“Fine...”
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“Let me get this straight, we’re spying on them now even though this whole lawsuit thing isn’t actually going to happen?” Jeongin asked, bringing his jacket closer to him as he entered the University café.
“Well, it’s not like we can’t put any effort in because then we’d be admitting defeat to this... joke? Regardless, we need to win.” You pushed your cap further down after nodding at Chan in acknowledgment.
You sat down in a secluded area of the café, Chan approaching to greet you,
“Why is it always that chaos is brought to this café by this friendship group?” Chan looked pointedly at Jeongin as he shrugged.
“How do you know that shenanigans are to take place? Can’t we just enjoy our coffee in a secluded area of the cafe in our spy clothes without suspicion?” You asked, slightly defensive.
“...no. Anyway, what can I get for your spy mission?” Chan asked, eyes glinting with amusement.
“I’ll have an iced americano.” Jeongin.
“And I’ll have a—“ you broke off as Chan interrupted you,
“New York Cheesecake? I know. Jisung and you come here to get some like every Friday. Speaking of Jisung, why are you sitting over here instead of with them over there?” He pointed to the two boys huddled at the table, Seungmin slightly bored, checking his phone regularly, and Jisung talking animatedly to him. Jisung, noticing Seungmin’s disinterest, grabbed his phone, getting up and placing it in the trash can before heading back to a very much annoyed Seungmin.
“It’s... a long story. Very chaotic! You probably wouldn’t want to hear it.” You ushered Chan away, Jeongin looked at you smugly,
“You and Jisung, huh? It’s almost as if you were... soulmates. Now I think I know why you need my help.”
You scoffed,
“I don’t need your help.”
“Oh really? Then I guess I’ll get going—“ You pulled him back into his seat, the chair scraping as it was pulled erratically from both directions. The commotion caused Jisung and Seungmin to pause, looking at you two, eyes widening in recognition.
You looked at Jeongin, panicked, before throwing the money at a stunned Chan and rushing out of the cafe.
“Don’t give my cheesecake to Jisung! We both know that he’ll eat it instead of giving it to me.”
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[09:38] (Jeongin) Hey, make sure you come on time.
[09:40] (You) Why do we have to go to the shops for this?
[09:41] (Jeongin) sadly the courts were all booked out with proper criminal cases, so the shops will have to do to resolve this fake lawsuit. just get ready and come quickly!
[09:43] (You) fine, fine. I’ll get my finest attire on. See you soon.
You placed your phone on your bed before dressing up to the best of your ability, steeling yourself as you looked in the mirror,
I will tell him how I feel... no matter how complicated this lawsuit thing becomes.
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“Look who finally decided to show.” Jisung drawled, sipping at his soft drink. You looked him up and down appraisingly, ignoring your beating heart... he cleaned up more than nicely.
“Okay, shall we get started?” You clapped your hands, sitting opposite Seungmin and Jisung... and next to a very poorly disguised Jeongin.
“Interesting outfit choice, Jeongin.” Seungmin noted.
“What’s even more interesting is that Y/N selected Jeongin as her representative. He’s not even a lawyer!” Jisung looked at you triumphantly.
“Neither am—“ Seungmin interrupted, Jisung shushing him before he could complete his sentence.
“I thought you were going to dress up like a business man! Not some young mobster. This isn’t a fanfic. You’re not the main character.” You hissed under your breath, leaning slightly towards Jeongin so he could hear.
“And what? You are?” He scoffed, before smiling widely at the two in front of him.
“Right, so Jeongin and I have discussed the case beforehand.” Seungmin nodded at Jeongin.
“We’ve decided that we’ll put together a bunch of trials, and whoever wins those will win this lawsuit.” Seungmin proposed.
“I... feel like this isn’t how lawsuits work.” Jisung said doubtfully.
“This is what I was taught in law school!” Seungmin defended.
“Gotta trust the guy who attended law school.” You pointed out.
“What do you mean attended? He’s still at law—“ Jisung broke off as Seungmin cleared his throat, pointedly.
“The first challenge being, who can make the two of us the best milkshake.”
“Ready to lose, Y/N?” Jisung raised an eyebrow competitively at you.
“You wish, Han Jisung!” You sprinted to the other side of the food court, lining up as Jisung hurried after you, ending up directly behind you.
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[20 minutes later]
You sighed loudly,
This is taking too long.
You politely pushed in front of people to the front of the line,
“Hey, are you guys right or do you need help? Because I can help out if you want. It’ll help you get through this queue a lot faster.” You asked the worker at the register.
“I can too!” Jisung sidled up beside you as you narrowed your eyes at him.
The worker looked at you sceptically before sighing in defeat,
“You know what, you may as well help because we’re so swamped. Grab some gloves and a hairnet and get started.” The worker let you through.
That was easy enough.
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This is not easy.
“Chocolate ice cream thick shake for Sara!” You called out, frantically pushing the lid on the shake before handing it to the customer. Jisung rushed beside you,
“No-fat, non-skim, skinny latte with soy milk, one and a half sugars and a drizzle of vanilla for Jacques?” Jisung called out,
“Actually, can I change my—“ Jacques started.
“No.” Jisung deadpanned.
“Ready to admit defeat?” You smirked.
“Never. We’re yet to make the best milkshakes for Seungmin and Jeongin.” Jisung ran to the blender, chucking in as many ingredients as possible.
“Two can play at that game.” You said resolutely, approaching another blender, using as many ingredients as possible.
This is either going to be a disaster or a five star Michelin dish in the making.
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“Stop. Stealing. The. Caramel. Sauce.” You gave Jisung a death glare as you wrestled the sauce bottle, the manager of the store glaring at the both of you,
“Alright, that’s enough. The two of you need to leave. You basically ditched serving the customers and did this. I don’t even know what this is but you need to stop using our resources for it.”
“Wait but it’s the finishing touch!” Jisung pleaded as the manager shook his head resolutely.
You scoffed,
“Whatever. It’s not like we’re getting paid for this or anything. Which we should! In fact, I have a lawyer friend that could help me sue you. He’s very good and wins about... 100% of his clients’ cases.” You threatened.
The manager pinched the bridge of his nose,
“Half of the orders that you served came back with complaints so you really did nothing.”
“The people really don’t appreciate our talents.” Jisung gasped, offended.
“If you guys think you’re talents are in milkshake making, you really should reevaluate your...um...life choices.” The manager said sheepishly.
“Whatever, be prepared for a lawsuit! Let’s leave, Jisung.” You grabbed your milkshakes, grabbing Jisung’s arm and dragging him out of the store.
“100% track rate, you say? Have you admitted defeat already?” Jisung raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, shut up, Jisung. I was obviously talking about Jeongin.”
“Right...”
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“Um. What is this?” Seungmin scrunched his face in disgust, looking at the... mess of two drinks in front of him and Jeongin.
“Milkshakes!” Jisung said excitedly.
“I know that. But why did it take so long to make... you didn’t poison it, did you?” Seungmin looked at the two of you skeptically.
“Just drink it and tell us who wins.” You sighed as they picked up their drinks, tentatively sipping and then tasting the other,
“We need time to confer, so we’re going to give you the next challenge. You’re going to have to... pick out the best present for each other, and we’ll judge that once we see it.” Jeongin shooed the two of you away, winking at you as Jisung took the lead, striding towards a craft store.
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As you browsed around the store, closely following Jisung, you stopped at the crayons section, exhaling a small laugh.
Jisung turned around, confused, eyes wide, settling on the packet of crayons,
“I dibs getting that for you.”
“You can’t dibs getting a present for someone.” You said incredulously.
“Um, well if it’s a competition, yes I can.” Jisung retorted, hands on hips.
“So you’re telling me, that the best present you could ever get me is crayons? You wouldn’t get that for me normally?” You rolled your eyes, exasperated.
“Why should I?” Jisung said, confused.
“Let me remind you. Twenty or so years ago, a young Jisung eats my crayons in retaliation for getting told to give them back. Young Y/N visits young Jisung in hospital, giving him a free record as a gift. And Jisung never reimburses Y/N with another set of crayons. You know, with your track record, it’s not even accidental. It’s serial. Like serial killing but serial property damage. Honestly, I could extend that to this lawsuit, as well.” You defended.
“Okay one, it’s too late to do that... isn’t it? I don’t have enough money for both! And two, is all you’re saying that your ideal gift is a pack of crayons?!”
“Are you admitting defeat already?” You smirked.
“Pfft no! Give me— that—“ He grabbed the pack of crayons from you, heading to the counter to pay as you grabbed another pack, lining up behind him.
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“You both bought each other the same gift?” Seungmin raised an eyebrow at the two of you.
“Not intentionally! Please don’t disqualify us.” Jisung defended, apologetic.
“You literally went to the same store.” Jeongin deadpanned.
“That’s—“
“Whatever, I don’t have time for this. I need to go to the hospital in a bit. Okay, here’s what you can do. Explain to us why you bought the gift for said person, and we’ll judge based on your response.” Seungmin checked his watch, leaning back in his chair.
“Jisung, you go first.” Jeongin gestured for Jisung to start.
“Okay, well the short story is that Y/N told me that it was their ideal gift. The long story is that Y/N called me a serial property damager, and I really can’t afford that being added to my list of offences and be sued further.” Jisung said a matter-of-factly.
“Oookay... anyway, Y/N! What’s your reasoning?” Seungmin turned to you.
“Hmm... okay well when I was a child, Jisung stole my crayons and ate them, somehow we became friends, and he never bought me crayons to reimburse me, so I decided to be the bigger person and buy him crayons to share. Honestly, you’d think he’d know how to by now.” You tutted as a soft pink colouring flooded Jisung’s cheeks.
“...what?” Jeongin blurted out.
“It doesn’t matter! Jisung and Y/N are both... odd personalities. I mean, no wonder they’re best friends.” Seungmin dismissed.
There was that “f” word again...
“Anyway, I don’t have time for this. We’ll deliberate again as you do another challenge. You’re going to have to race each other around the entire shopping centre. Whoever comes first, wins... that round. Obviously. Otherwise, there would’ve been no point to these other challenges.” Seungmin dismissed the two of you, getting you to start at the same time.
Is this what my life has come to? Racing the literal love of my life to show that I’m serious about a fake lawsuit?... I really need to reconsider my lifestyle choices... and friends.
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You and Jisung were neck and neck, you huffed as you sprinted next to him,
“Why are you so caught up on this whole lawsuit thing? You and I both know that it’s fake.”
Jisung glanced at you through the corner of his eye, “Hff— I— hff— know that but fake lawsuit or not, it was one of my New Years resolutions to win it.”
You stopped,
“You can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious.” He stopped in front of you.
“Well— I... who am I to stop you from achieving your goals? I forfeit.” You stepped back, relieved to be out of it.
“You can’t be serious,” Jisung said, slightly shocked,
“I need you to finish this! I can’t just win by default. That defeats the whole purpose. Actually try.” He challenged.
“This is so stupid, though.” You grumbled.
“You’re the one that proposed it. Why did you, if you don’t want to do it?” Jisung raised an eyebrow expectantly.
“I— ugh. To be honest, it started out as a joke but then I saw how serious you got about it! So, I decided to play along so I wouldn’t let you down.” You sighed.
“You’re right, I paid Seungmin $100 to represent me.” He sighed in sync with you.
“...you really need to stop doing that. First Minho, now Seungmin? Are you going to pay the entirety of your friendship group for being your friend?” You looked at him disappointedly.
He rolled his eyes, “Speaking of friends... why did you play along?” He asked, curious.
You inhaled sharply,
Now or never. No more friend-zoning.
“Do you know what my New Years resolution was?” You asked.
He shook his head, clueless,
“It was to confess my feelings for you. I’m not as great with words as you are, but Han Jisung, I like you. A lot. Even if you do crazy things like eating my crayons.” You closed your eyes, unwilling to view his reaction... only for a slight pressure to meet your lips.
Your eyes fluttered open, only to meet Jisung’s as he kissed you softly.
He pulled back, bringing you into a hug,
“You’re always going to hold that against me, aren’t you?” He chuckled, whispering that to you.
“We just kissed and that’s what you’re concerned about?” You lightly smacked his chest.
“Well, what else am I supposed to say? I kissed you. I don’t think that best friends do that. Do I need to say it explicitly? Okay then, I like you too!” He said, confused.
You rolled your eyes,
“Whatever. We better get going if we want to finish this race, and help you achieve your life goals!”
“Oh my gosh, Y/N. You’re such a supportive... lover? We’ll figure it out.” He held out your hand, dodging past people as you both sprinted down the mall.
You slowed as you approached Seungmin and Jeongin, dropping your hand from his grasp. Jisung turned back to you, confused.
You ushered him forward, smiling encouragingly,
“Go! Finish first. Achieve your goals.”
He paused, before taking your hand again, dragging you over to Seungmin and Jeongin, they looked up, equally as confused as you.
“We both forfeit.” He said, in between catching his breath.
“What? Why?” Jeongin started, as Seungmin groaned,
“You’re telling me, that I spent the time that I could’ve been sleeping, only for you to forfeit. You know what? It’s fine. Neither of you won anyway because drinking your milkshakes was the worst thing we had to suffer through since the time you both made us cake!”
You reeled back in mock offence, Seungmin sighed,
“I’m sorry if that was harsh. I’m working nights at the hospital.”
“Wait. What does a lawyer have to do at a hospital?” Jisung questioned, confused.
“Do— do you guys even listen to the things I say? I quit law school after one lesson and went back to medical school.” Seungmin said, exasperated.
“And no! You can’t have your money back. We’re leaving now anyway, so bye!” He grabbed Jeongin, running away from the two of you as fast as possible.
“You know, I lied about my New Years resolution.” Jisung spun you around to face him, your hand meeting his bicep.
“Oh no! How could I ever trust you again?” You sighed dramatically.
“Y/N— I was trying to be sentimental and tell you that our resolutions were the same but you ruined the moment!” He pouted, annoyed.
You laughed, grabbing his cheeks (jeekies ahhhhhhhhh they’re so cute right—),
“I’ll sue you if you don’t stop being so cute!”
“Ha! I’d like to see you try.”
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➳ part eight?  |  masterlist!
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tsunfucker · 3 years
Text
The End of Evangelion [Theatrical Trailer]
(Screen text:  So, everybody just go and die...)
Staff (in Japanese alphabetical order)
Random women's voices: You don't really know if it's love until after the infatuation stops. Men just want a mother figure who'll spoil them. Men...You doit with them once and they think they own you. Ritsuko? Yeah, that's okay,too. You'll be sorry for that. That's not romantic in the least. Men are all scum... Don't think I'm going to forgive you!
----------------------------------------- TITLE SCREEN:  THE END OF EVANGELION Neon Genesis Evangelion Cinema Edition - Air/Sincerely Yours  (My Pure Heart For You) -----------------------------------------
(Screen text:  Then, why are you here?) (Screen text:  ...Is it okay for me to be here?) -----------------------------------------
Premiering July 19 (Sat.) Advance tickets including original poster on sale. General admission: 1500 yen     Students: 1200 yen Created by the EVA Production Committee (Project EVA) Distributed by Toei Studios, Inc. This film is animated. -----------------------------------------
TITLE SCREEN:  THE END OF EVANGELION Neon Genesis Evangelion Cinema Edition - Air/Sincerely Yours (My Pure Heart For You) Premiering July 19 (Sat.) Created by the EVA Production Committee (Project EVA) Distributed by Toei Studios, Inc. -----------------------------------------
Toei Studios, Inc. logo in triangle
Eirin (Eiga Rinri Kitei Kanri Iinkai = Motion Picture Code of Ethics Committee) registration in circle
(Vertical screen text:  Neon Genesis Evangelion Cinema Edition)
The End of Evangelion Episode 25: Air/Love is destructive. :Translated Script
OPENING SCENE Shinji stands silently before the lake created by the explosion of EVA-00, triggered by Rei in episode number 23, which also destroyed Tokyo-3.
SCENE:  Hospital - 1st Cranial Nerve Department Shinji in Asuka's hospital room (No. 303), Asuka lying in bed -----------------------------------
Background announcement: Sections 2 and 3 of the East Wing will close at 6 p.m. today. Staff are requested to finish all work by 4: 30 p.m.
Shinji: I... I'm scared of both Misato and Ayanami... Help me... Help me, Asuka. Hey... Wake up! Come on... Wake up! Come on... Hey... Asuka... Asuka... ASUKA!! Help me... Help me... Help me... Help me... Help me! Call me an idiot like usual! HEY!!
(Shinji shakes Asuka roughly so that she rolls onto her back... Her hospital gown opens to reveal her naked except for her underwear... Shinji locks the door to the sickroom and his breathing gradually becomes faster and heavier ending with a muffled grunt (off screen). He stares down at the ejaculated fluids covering his right hand.)
I... I'm scum...
----------------------------------- TITLE SCREEN:  Episode 25 - Air -----------------------------------
SCENE:  NERV Command Center- Makoto, Shigeru and Maya talk as they sit in the dark and drink coffee. -----------------------------------
Maya (off screen): What!?  Total prohibition of access to and from Headquarters!?
Makoto (off screen): I guess we're still at First Level Alert...
Maya (off screen): Why?  Wasn't Kaworu* the last angel?  (*Literally: "that boy")
Shigeru: That's right.  All the angels have been destroyed.
Makoto: Isn't there supposed to be peace now?
Maya: Then, what'll happen to NERV? and the Evas? I wish Dr. Akagi was here...
Shigeru: NERV will probably be disbanded, and who knows what'll happen to us.
Makoto (off screen): We'll just have to stick it out until the Instrumentality Project starts.
SCENE:  Misato in her car - turnout overlooking the new lake (Tokyo-3) -----------------------------------
Misato (to herself): Having reached its limit as a colony of flawed and separate entities, Humankind is to be artificially evolved into a perfect single being. The Instrumentality Project... An ideal world... And to achieve this the Committee plans to use not Adam or NERV, but Eva. Just like Kaji predicted.
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths - Gendo and Fuyutsuki -----------------------------------
SEELE 01 (Keel): The promised time has come. With the Lance of Longinus now lost, complementation using Lilith is impossible. Our only hope is to proceed with EVA-01, Lilith's sole clone.
Gendo: While different from SEELE's scenario...
Fuyutsuki: Humans have existed to create Eva.  (ambiguous)
Gendo: Humans should evolve into a new world.  That is the purpose of the Eva series.
SEELE 09: We have no intention of giving up our human forms simply to enter the Ark called Eva.
SEELE 12: It is merely a rite of passage... To bring about the rebirth in those who are imprisoned.
SEELE 05(?): The fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth.
SEELE 04(?): A sacrament to unite God, humans, and all other life forms in death.
Gendo: Death gives birth to nothing.
SEELE 01 (Keel): Then death is what you shall have.
(SEELE monoliths disappear)
Fuyutsuki: Humans exist because they have the will to live... And that is the reason she remained within Eva.
SCENE:  Rei lying in bed in her apartment.  She wakes up (looking surprisingly like Yui), looks out the window to see the full moon illuminating the night sky, and leaves.  Gendo's glasses lie twisted and broken on the floor behind her. -----------------------------------
SCENE:  Shinji lying awake in his room with his headphones on The tape counter reads 00:00:00 and the battery indicator flashes empty. -----------------------------------
SCENE:  The new lake (The ruins of Tokyo-3) -----------------------------------
SCENE:  NERV Computer Room Misato hacks into the system using a laptop computer. -----------------------------------
Misato: So, this is the truth behind Second Impact... (Screen flashes and alarm sounds) Have they noticed me!? No, that's not it! It's starting!
SCENE:  NERV Command Center Alarms sound... emergency indicators light... -----------------------------------
NERV operator (background - male): No. 6 net - audio communications severed! Goura ground circuit, inoperative!
Fuyutsuki (to phone): Switch the left side over to blue emergency communications! Use the satellites if you have to!  That's right! What's the situation on the right?
Person on Phone: Negative!  All outgoing network and data lines are being cut off!!
Fuyutsuki: Are they after MAGI?
Shigeru (off screen): Data entry from all external nodes. (on screen) They're hacking the MAGI system!
Fuyutsuki: Just as I thought.  Is it coming from MAGI-2 in Matsushiro (Tokyo-2)?
Shigeru: No, it's at least 5 MAGI type units. Hacking verified from Germany, China, the U.S....
Fuyutsuki: SEELE is mustering all of their forces.  5 to 1 odds... Not good.
Shigeru (off screen): No. 4 firewall breached!
Makoto: Locking the main database... Negative! We can't stop their invasion!
Maya (off screen): It's entering a deeper level! (on screen) Even the back-up circuit can't stop it!
Fuyutsuki (thinking): This is bad... Capture the MAGI system and you capture everything.
SCENE:  Ritsuko in her cell -----------------------------------
Background announcement: General Quarters: Second Level Alert!  Repeat - General Quarters: Second Level Alert!
(Cell door opens)
Background announcement(cont'd): All personnel report to designated posts at once.
Ritsuko: I know... MAGI's self-defense system.
Security staff at door: Yes.  Lt. Ibuki at the No. 2 Command Center has the details.
Ritsuko: Even an abandoned woman has her uses... How egotistical.
SCENE:  Misato approaching Command Center with phone -----------------------------------
Background announcement: Second Level Alert currently in effect!  All B-floor non-combat personnel evacuate at once.
Misato: Status report?
Makoto (on phone): Hyuga here.  Tokyo-2 has just issued Special Order A-801!
Misato: 801?
Makoto (on phone): That's right.  Abolishment of special legal protection for NERV and transfer of all command to the government of Japan.
(Elevator door closes)
(NERV Command Center - Maya and Makoto)
Makoto: It's an ultimatum... Yes, and MAGI is being hacked.  Things aren't looking good.
Maya: Ibuki here. Dr. Akagi has just begun protective countermeasures.
(Misato appears on elevator)
Misato: Ritsuko!?
(Ritsuko inside MAGI)
Ritsuko: (thinking) Am I acting foolish?  Men and women are so illogical... (speaking) Isn't that right?  (reaches up to Casper) Mother...
(NERV Command Center)
NERV operator (male): Goura ground circuit recovery rate up to 0.2%
Misato: How much longer?
NERV operator (female): No. 3 cable, Hakone back-up circuit still inoperative.
Makoto (off screen): We should just make it. Dr. Akagi is amazing, one more minute to the end of page 120... And only two-and-a-half more minutes until deployment of a primary firewall.
Misato (thinking): Just hacking MAGI? They're not going to let us off that easy... probably.
Fuyutsuki: MAGI is only the first skirmish. The bastards' objective is the direct take-over of headquarters and the two remaining Eva units.
Gendo: Yes.  With not only Lilith, but even Adam in our hands....
Fuyutsuki: No wonder the old men are so worried.
(MAGI displays turn green)
Maya: Hacking against MAGI has been stopped. (off screen) A Danang Type-B defense screen has been deployed. External access is impossible for the next 62 hours.
(Ritsuko emerges from MAGI)
Ritsuko: See you in a bit, mother.
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths -----------------------------------
SEELE 06: Ikari has executed a Type-666 protection program on the MAGI system. It won't be easy to breach.
SEELE 07: It appears that we will have to forego acquisition of MAGI.
SEELE 01: I had hoped to solve this peacefully, but that is not possible now. Take over the entire headquarters directly, at once!!
SCENE:  Road by the lake - JSSDF officer with military phone -----------------------------------
JSSDF officer: Commence operations as planned.
(Soldiers pop up... aircraft fly... tanks and missiles fire... all hell breaks loose)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center Alarms sound... Screens go blank... -----------------------------------
NERV operator (female): Radar sites 8 to 17 have gone dead!
Shigeru (off screen): JSSDF tech battalion advancing through Goura defense perimeter!
Makoto (off screen): Two battalions approaching from Gotemba!
NERV operators (background): Three air squadrons confirmed approaching from Mishima. Close down Futagoyama and Komagatake routes at once! Invasion through Goura 2nd defense perimeter point A...  Currently engaging enemy.
Fuyutsuki: It seems that man's ultimate enemy is also man.
Gendo: General quarters.  Go to First Level Battle Stations.
Maya: Battle Stations!? (whispered) But the enemy isn't an Angel... They're human like us.
Makoto (whispered): But they don't think that way.
SCENE:  Outside NERV War scenes... NERV guard stabbed in back... Gates open and alarm sounds -----------------------------------
NERV Soldier: Hey, what's going on? Hello!?
NERV Lieutenant: What's going on?
NERV Soldier: The south hub-station...
(Truck explodes... Black suited troops move in.)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center - More alarms... -----------------------------------
NERV operators (male): Daigatake tunnel cut off! Fire at West No. 5 freight entrance! Invading forces have entered Level 1! (female):  South hub station off-line!
Misato: The forces attacking the west side are a decoy! If their real target is the Evas, they'll be going after the pilots! Have Shinji stand by at EVA-01, quickly!
Makoto: Affirmative!
Misato: Where's Asuka?
Shigeru: In sickroom 303.
(Shot of Asuka lying in bed)
Misato (off screen): Put her into EVA-02 anyway.
Maya: But her synchronization with Eva hasn't recovered yet.
Misato: Yes, but she'll definitely be killed if she stays there. The best place to hide her is inside EVA-02.
Maya: Affirmative! (to headset) Stop medication to pilot.  Prepare for launch!
Misato: As soon as Asuka is inside EVA-02, hide it in the underground lake. It'll be found almost immediately, but it's better than leaving it in the cage. Where's Rei?
Shigeru: Whereabouts unknown...  Unable to locate!
Misato: She'll be killed. Find her, quickly!
(Rei floating in LCL tank)
(EVA-02 launch)
Makoto: EVA-02 launched via No. 8 route. Stabilize at a depth of 70 meters.
Misato: Launch EVA-01 next! Deploy it inside the Geofront!
Shigeru: Negative! The pilot hasn't arrived yet!
Misato: What!? (Shinji verified on monitor screen) Oh, no....!
Background announcement: Closing all Central Dogma barricades up to Level 2. All non-combat personnel, evacuate via route 87.
(Shots of gates and barricades closing throughout NERV)
(NERV Command Center)
Shigeru (off screen): No. 3 underground barricade destroyed!  Enemy Forces invading Level 2!
Fuyutsuki: The JSSDF have committed almost an entire division... It's only a matter of time before they take us over completely.
Gendo: Dr. Fuyutsuki, take care of things here.
Fuyutsuki: I understand.  Give my regards to Yui.
(Shots of fighting and mayhem)
(NERV Command Center)
NERV operators (male): No response from Group 2! Communication with No. 77 Computer Room negative.
Shigeru: No. 52 monorail destroyed!
Background announcement: Explosion confirmed at No. 3 hub-station.  Numerous dead.  Damage unknown.
Makoto: This is terrible.  Even Angels would be better.
Misato (thinking): It's no surprise... We're not used to killing other humans.
(More shots of death and destruction- female NERV officer drags the body of her comrade down a passage way, only to be struck down by a barrage of bullets from an invading JSSDF soldier)
JSSDF officer: Cut the cables starting with the red ones...
(NERV Command Center)
NERV operator (male): Level 3 Block B invaded!  Defense impossible!
Shigeru (off screen): Enemy also confirmed in Block F!  Main Bypass under crossfire!
Misato: Abandon Levels 1 to 3!  Combat teams, retreat! Release Bakelite into all passages and pipes up to Section 803!
Shigeru: Affirmative!
(Shot of Bakelite being released)
Background announcement: Commence Bakelite injection from Section 703.  30 seconds to completion. Commence Bakelite injection from Section 737.  30 seconds to completion... (continues)
Misato: This should slow them down a bit.
Makoto: Major Katsuragi!  No. 47 route has been cut off... Group 3 is unable to advance! If this continues Shinji will be...!
(Shot of Shinji hiding)
(NERV Command Center)
Misato (off screen): All non-combat personnel avoid close combat. (Misato takes out and loads her pistol) (on screen) The enemy are professionals... If you can't fall back to the Dogma, it's better to surrender. (whispered to Makoto) Sorry, take care of things here.
Makoto: Sure.
SCENE: Outside NERV -----------------------------------
Background: Mt. Futagoyama under control - Seal off Nagao Pass at once! *afirmitive* Visual confirmation of No. 1 Command Center explosion...
JSSDF Division Commander: This is more difficult than expected.
Sub Commander: We never get the easy jobs.
SCENE: NERV Command Center Makoto and Shigeru take out and ready small arms. -----------------------------------
Makoto: This is bad... We were never equipped with full-scale anti-personnel defense systems.
Shigeru: Yeah.  Only counter-terrorist measures at best.
Makoto: If the JSSDF mounts a serious attack, we don't stand a chance.
Shigeru: Come to think of it, the reductions in funding for anti-personnel defense measures probably had this in mind from the beginning.
Makoto: That's entirely possible...
(Explosion in Command Center... Attacking forces move in...)
Background: No. 2 Command Center - Invaders on lower left floor.
Shigeru: (Handing pistol to Maya) Release the safety.
Maya: I... I can't shoot.
Shigeru: Of course you can! Just pretend this is training!
Maya: But I wasn't shooting at people, then!
Shigeru: Idiot! Shoot, or we're going to die!
----------------------------------- TITLE SCREEN - THE END OF EVANGELION EPISODE 25' -  Love is destructive -----------------------------------
SCENE:  Rei, staring into the tank containing the remains of her destroyed counterparts -----------------------------------
Gendo (off screen): Rei... I thought you'd be here. (on screen) The promised time has come. Let's go.
SCENE:  Dead NERV personnel litter the passageway -----------------------------------
1st soldier (off screen): Level 2 completely secured, over.
2nd soldier (on radio): No. 2 Command Center - Still unable to secure original MAGI system. Currently engaging enemy on lower left floor.
JSSDF officer (on radio): Commence heat dissipation procedures on the fifth Malbolgia at once.
(NERV officer raises arms in surrender - JSSDF officer fires a round into his head, places his foot on the body, and fires two more shots.)
JSSDF officer (female): Eva pilots are to be terminated on sight. Unconditional execution of non-combat personnel authorized.
JSSDF officer (on radio): Yanagihara and Shinjo squads, enter lower levels immediately.
(Shinji hiding... and found by three JSSDF soldiers)
Soldier: 3rd pilot found - will proceed to eliminate. (Places barrel of gun against Shinji's forehead) Nothing personal, kid.
(Misato charges in firing to the rescue)
Misato (cynically): Nothing personal here either... (Shoots soldier) Come on...  Let's get to EVA-01.
SCENE:  Misato and Shinji in parking lot- Misato listening to enemy movements on a dead soldier's radio -----------------------------------
JSSDF radio: Yamagishi squad at No. 7 cage, report your status, over. Purple unit secured. No problems with Bakelite infusion. Red unit appears to have been launched... Currently searching for launch route used.
Misato: Damn!  They're trying to prevent physical contact between Shinji and EVA-01. There's no time to lose... Quick, Shinji... (pause)  Do you want to run away, or go to Eva? - Pick one! (Shinji says nothing) -If we stay here we'll die for nothing!
Shinji (whispering): Help me, Asuka... Help me...
Misato (exasperated): Hiding behind a girl at a time like this!? Running from reality... Lying to yourself!? Doing things half-assed is the worst thing you can do! So, stand up!  Stand up!!
Shinji (whispering): No... Let me die.  I don't want to do anything.
Misato (angry): Stop talking like a spoiled brat! You're still alive, aren't you? So, do all you can to keep yourself alive, and then die afterwards!
SCENE:  NERV Command Center The battle continues... -----------------------------------
Fuyutsuki: Forget about here!  Give top priority to isolating the Terminal Dogma!
Makoto: Everything else has been destroyed... Why don't they just blow up the Command Center, too?
Shigeru: I'm sure they'd like to take us out in a single blow, but the original MAGI system is right below us.
Makoto: They want the MAGI system intact, huh?
Shigeru: But we're defenseless against BC (biological and chemical) weaponry. If they use those, we're in trouble.
Makoto: N2 weapons, too...
(As if by coincidence, an N2 warhead drops, opening up the Geofront)
Shigeru: Speak of the devil!
Makoto: Isn't that a bit extreme!?
Fuyutsuki (smirking): Playing a bit rough, aren't we?
(Numerous missiles strike the Geofront directly)
Maya: Why do they want the Evas so badly!?
SCENE:  Misato and Shinji in Misato's car - Scrapped Eva prototypes. -----------------------------------
Misato: They plan to initiate Third Impact - not with Angels, but by using the Eva series. 15 years ago, Second Impact was caused by humans on purpose. (Flashed shot: Second Impact) But that was in order to minimize the damage by returning Adam (flashed image: Giant of Light) to an embryonic state (flashed image: Embryo in attache case)  before the other Angels awoke. (flashed image: graves) Shinji, we humans were born from a being called Lilith, who is the source of life just like Adam.  We are the 18th Angel. (flashed image: DNA) The other Angels are possibilities of what we might have become - humans that gave up human form. (flashed image: Kaworu - Rei) Sadly, we had to reject each other - even though we're all human... Listen, Shinji... You must destroy all of the Eva series.  It's the only way to stay alive.
SCENE:  Office of the Prime Minister of Japan (Sounds of construction in the background) -----------------------------------
Prime Minister: The phone lines have gone dead.
(Screen text:  Nagano Prefecture, New Tokyo-2 Prime Minister's Residence, No. 3 State Office)
Secretary: Yes, sir.  Ballistic warhead impact was confirmed three minutes ago.
Prime Minister: The Instrumentality Project that NERV was secretly researching... Initiating Third Impact to annihilate mankind... The mere thought sends shivers down my spine.
Secretary: Humans must be the only creatures able to despise their own kind.
Prime Minister: All that's left is to take care of the NERV headquarters facilities.
Secretary: Do you want Germany or China to undertake the re-development?
Prime Minister: No - We won't be taken advantage of. Seal it up for 20 years, just like old Tokyo.
SCENE:  Outside in the Geofront. -----------------------------------
1st soldier (on radio): Surface heat receding. High-pressure steam discharges have also subsided.
2nd soldier (on radio): Initial location of all units completed.
JSSDF Sub Commander:: Dogma Level 3 and the purple unit have been secured.
JSSDF Commander:: And the red unit?
Intelligence officer: Found in the underground lake at a depth of 70 meters.  The pilot's status is unknown.
SCENE:  Asuka curled up in the fetal position inside EVA-02 Entry Plug -----------------------------------
Asuka: ...I'm alive...
(Shots of depth charges firing and exploding around EVA-02)
Asuka: (Whispered at first then repeated growing louder and stronger) I don't want to die... I don't want to die... I don't want to die...
(Another voice mixes with Asuka's)
I don't want to die... (You're still alive) I don't want to die... (You mustn't die yet) I don't want to die... (You must live) I don't want to die... (I won't let you die) I don't want to die... (Don't kill me) I don't want to die... (You're still alive) I don't want to die... (I won't let you die yet) I don't want to die... (You must keep living) I don't want to die... (Die for me!) I don't want to die... (You mustn't die yet!) I don't want to die... (Die!) I don't want to die... (You're alive!) I don't want to die... I don't want to DIE!!
(Flashback to Asuka as a child with mother)
Child-Asuka: Mama... So this is where you've been?  Mama!
(Asuka clasps her mother's hand and EVA-02 awakens.)
SCENE:  Geofront lake -> Giant cross-shaped explosion -----------------------------------
1st soldier: What the!?
2nd soldier: Did we get it!?
(EVA-02 emerges and starts fighting)
Asuka (thinking): Mama... Mama! I understand now... The meaning of the AT Field. It's always protecting me!  Always watching over me! (speaking) Always... always together! Mama!
(Misato and Shinji in Misato's car)
Maya (on radio): EVA-02 has activated! Asuka's okay!  She's alive!
Misato: Asuka!?
(Asuka fighting)
JSSDF officer: The cable!  That thing's power cable! Concentrate all fire power on the cable!
(Cable is severed)
Asuka: Shit!! Even without the cable... I still have 12,000 plates of special armor... and my AT Field! I can't lose! Not against you!!
(JSSDF forces are easily beaten by Eva-02 and Asuka)
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths -----------------------------------
SEELE 01: The loathsome Evangelion... Do they stand in our way yet again? It seems that one must fight fire with fire.
SCENE: EVA-05 to -13 released -> Asuka -----------------------------------
Asuka: The Eva series!? They've been completed?
(NERV Command Center)
Fuyutsuki: Deployment of all nine units equipped with the S2 system!? Isn't that a bit excessive? Or, do they plan to initiate it here!!?
(Eva series land)
Misato (on phone): Listen Asuka. You must destroy all of the EVA series. I'll have Shinji there to help assist you soon.  Do your best. (changes lines - to Makoto) We can get to EVA-01 via emergency route No. 20, right?
Makoto (on phone): Affirmative.  We've secured three seperate power sources just in case. As long as you enter within three minutes, you can reach the No. 7 cage directly.
(Misato starts dragging Shinji)
(Asuka in EVA-02)
Asuka: I have to destroy them all? Is she forgetting she's talking to a convalescent? Nine units in three and a half minutes... That works out to only 20 seconds apiece!
(Asuka attacks)
Asuka: Erst! (German: "That's one!")
SCENE:  Misato and Shinji - Emergency Elevator R-10-20 -----------------------------------
Misato: Here it is.
(Shots fire... Misato is hit, but they enter the shaft and the door closes)
1st soldier: They got away...
2nd soldier (to radio): Unable to terminate target. Standing by for orders to pursue...
JSSDF officer (on radio): Negative.  That area is scheduled for demolition. Pull back immediately.
2nd soldier: Yes, sir.
(Misato and Shinji in passageway)
Misato (slumped against wall - labored breathing): Th... That should hold them off... for a while. I'm okay... It's not as serious... as it looks. (staggers to feet and opens gate) There's still power - We can make it.
(Misato pins Shinji against gate)
-Shinji... from here out you're on your own. You have to make the decisions by yourself - without anyone's help.
Shinji: I... I can't do it.  I just can't... I can't pilot Eva if it means I'm going to hurt or even kill other people. I have no right to do that. I thought that piloting Eva was my only choice... But I was just fooling myself. I don't understand anything - I'm not worthy to pilot Eva. There's nothing that I can do for other people! I've done terrible things to Asuka, and even killed Kaworu... There isn't a shred of kindness in me! Only dishonesty and cowardice... If I can only hurt people, then I'd rather not do anything at all!
Misato (angrily): I'm not going to feel sorry for you. If you don't want to be hurt, then just die without doing anything at all!
(Shinji starts crying)
-Crying won't help you now!
(Misato's tone becomes gentler)
-You hate yourself, right? That's why you hurt other people... Because you know that hurting other people is more painful than hurting yourself. But, no matter what happens, remember that it was your decision. And that makes it worthwhile, Shinji - Because you decided by yourself! So stop lying to yourself... Think about what you can do... And then live with your decisions.
Shinji: But you're... you're not me! You don't understand anything about ME!!
(Misato slams Shinji against the gate)
Misato (harshly): So what if I'm not you!? Are you just going to give up now!? If you stay here and do nothing, I won't forgive you! I'll NEVER forgive you!!
(Misato's tone changes to desperation)
-Nobody's perfect. You realize that you've made a mistake, and then regret it... That's all I've ever known. Nothing but empty happiness and hating myself. But... I feel like I always grew from the experience!
Misato (gently): Listen, Shinji. Pilot Eva once more and find yourself. Pilot Eva to face the questions "Why did you come here?" "Why are you here?" Find your own answers. And then... after finding yourself... come back to me.
(Misato places her cross in Shinji's hand)
Misato: It's a promise. Now, go.
(Misato kisses Shinji deeply)
Misato(sultry voice): That's a grownup kiss. We'll do the rest when you get back...
(Misato pushes the stunned Shinji into the elevator and then collapses)
Misato (weakly): If I knew it would end this way... I would've done like Asuka said... And changed the carpet... Right, Pen-pen? Kaji... did I do all right?
(A ghostly Rei stands above Misato, then an explosion -> Shinji crying in elevator.  Looking at Misato's blood spattered cross and tasting her blood in his mouth, Shinji slides into the corner, sobbing.)
SCENE:  Asuka fighting Eva series -----------------------------------
(Shinji standing in front of EVA-01 encased in solidified Bakelite)
Asuka (on speaker): Jeeez!  Don't they ever stop!? And I can't even count on that idiot Shinji!!
SCENE:  Terminal Dogma - Gendo, Rei and Lilith - Ritsuko sitting at edge of LCL pool -----------------------------------
Ritsuko: I've been waiting for you.
(Ritsuko stands and draws a gun... Asuka fighting... Back to Ritsuko)
Ritsuko: I'm sorry... I secretly altered MAGI's program earlier. A daughter's final request... Mother... die with me.
(Ritsuko presses something in her pocket, but nothing happens.)
Ritsuko: It didn't activate?  Why!? (Pulls portable terminal from pocket - Casper-3: Rejected)
(gasp) Betrayed by Casper! How could you, Mother?  Choosing your man over your own daughter...
(Gendo draws his gun)
Gendo: Ritsuko Akagi, I truly... (Gendo's lips move, but you can't hear him.)
Ritsuko (surprised, but then smiles): ... Liar....
(Gendo shoots Ritsuko, who falls back into the pool of LCL before a ghostly Rei.)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center The battle rages on - Maya monitors EVA-02 via laptop computer -----------------------------------
Makoto: What's happening outside?
Maya: Less than a minute before EVA-02 reaches its operational limit! At this rate, Asuka will...!
(Asuka fighting the Eva series)
Asuka: I can't lose!
(Shinji sitting in front of EVA-01)
Asuka (on speaker): Not with Mama watching me!
Shinji: Mama... Mother?
(Back to Asuka fighting)
Asuka: These are the last ones!
(As Asuka finishes off the last Evas, one of the Eva series' swords comes flying at her... She stops it with her AT Field, but it turns into the Lance of Longinus)
Asuka: The Lance of Longinus!?
(The Lance pierces the AT Field, then EVA-02's head... Asuka shrieks and EVA-02 powers down... Asuka clutches futilely at the controls)
(NERV Command Center)
Maya: Internal power source depleted... Operational limit reached.  EVA-02... down. What!?  The destroyed... Eva series!?
(Eva series reactivates)
Maya: The Eva series have reactivated!
Shigeru: Are they're going to finish her off!?
(Eva series flock over EVA-02  and rip it apart like carrion birds)
Makoto: What's happening?
Maya: (gagging)  I can't look!  I... I can't watch anymore!
(Maya's laptop shows EVA-02's body display blanking out piece by piece.)
Makoto: This is...?  EVA-02!?
(Geofront, where EVA-02 is being ripped apart)
Asuka (snarling): I'll kill you... Kill... kill... kill you... Kill... I'll kill you... I'll kill you all... (repeated)
(EVA-02 attempts to reactivate)
(NERV Command Center)
Makoto: Berserker?
Maya: Asuka!  Stop!!
Asuka: Kill you all... I'll kill you... I'll kill you all... (repeated)
(Asuka's arm splits in two as a Lance of Longinus splits EVA-02's arm - Eva series impale EVA-02 with their lances)
(Maya gasps - Shinji sitting in front of EVA-01)
Maya (on speaker - screaming): Shinji!!  EVA-02!  Asuka!  Asuka... she's...!
Shinji: But I can't pilot Eva...  There's nothing I can do...
(EVA-01 breaks free from the Bakelite and clutches at Shinji)
Shinji: Mother!?
(Terminal Dogma - Rei and Gendo)
Gendo: Has EVA-01 finally awakened?
(NERV headquarters pyramid explodes upwards in a giant cross which turns into wings - EVA-01  appears howling in the Geofront with a demon's face and a set of wings)
JSSDF Sub Commander: Evangelion Unit One?
JSSDF Commander: It's the devil himself!!
(Shinji subdued inside EVA-01 entry plug)
Shinji: Asuka...
(Shinji sees the mangled remains of EVA-02 and screams)
Shinji: AHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
(Screen text:  To be continued )
-Episode 25 End Credits spiraling in helix with end theme, Thanatos: If I Can't Be Yours)
The End of Evangelion Episode 26:  Sincerely Yours/I need you. :Translated Script
Screen text: I wish to express my deepest thanks to all the staff, cast, friends and especially the five young ladies who helped to bring this picture to its conclusion once again.
                                                                   Thank you,                                                                           Hideaki Anno
Red Cross w/ black text- THE END OF EVANGELION ----------------------------------- SCENE:  Terminal Dogma - Gendo and Rei before Lilith -----------------------------------
Gendo: Adam and I are now as one... For this is the only way to be with Yui again. The forbidden joining of Adam and Lilith.
(Rei's arm falls off)
There's no time... Your AT Field can no longer hold your shape. Let's begin, Rei. Release your AT Field, the barrier of your heart. Complement your imperfect heart, leave your useless body... Merge all souls into one. And then, take me to Yui's side.
(Gendo places his hand on Rei's left breast and begins to merge with her)
(Rei cringes as waves of pleasure course through her body, a small gasp escapes her lips.)
----------------------------------- TITLE SCREEN: Episode 26 - Sincerely Yours  (My Pure Heart For You) -----------------------------------
(EVA-01 in Geofront - Shinji subdued inside EVA-01 entry plug)
Shinji: Asuka...
(Shinji sees the mangled remains of EVA-02 and screams)
Shinji: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
(Terminal Dogma - Gendo and Rei)
Rei (startled = unspoken): Ikari...!
(EVA-01 bursts free of its restraining plates and its wings form into a cross)
(The Lance of Longinus pulls free of the moon and flies toward earth as if drawn by EVA-01)
JSSDF Intelligence Officer: Unidentified object approaching at high-speed from the outer atmosphere.
JSSDF Commander: What!?
(NERV Command Center)
Fuyutsuki: No!... Not the Lance of Longinus!?
(The Lance of Longinus stops just short of EVA-01's throat.)
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths -----------------------------------
SEELE 01: At long last our hopes are to be realized.
SEELE 04: The original Lance of Longinus has returned as well.
SEELE 09: While somewhat fewer than planned, it will have to do.
ALL (chanting): Return the Eva series to its rightful form. Evangelize humankind and restore us to our true form. With indiscriminate death and prayers, we return to our original state.
SEELE 01: And let all souls find peace. Now, let the sacrament begin!
(EVA-01 is crucified by the Eva series and lifted upwards)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center -----------------------------------
Makoto: EVA-01 has been captured!
Shigeru: Altitude 12,000 meters! ...and rising!
Fuyutsuki: SEELE bastards...  Do they plan to use EVA-01 as the well of souls!? ¹
(Eva series release EVA-01... Shinji in entry plug with marks on palms)
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths -----------------------------------
SEELE 09?: EVA-01 has been marked with the stigmata (sacred insignia).
All (chanting): To restore the Tree of Life!
SEELE 01: Our servants, the Eva series...
(Keel appears) Their existence has all been for this one moment.
(Eva series move to the positions of the Sephroticum and shine in circles around the cross of EVA-01)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center) -----------------------------------
Shigeru (off screen): The Eva series have opened up their S2 systems!
Makoto (off screen): Dimensional values inverting!  They're going negative! Measurement impossible... Numerical expression invalid!
Fuyutsuki: An anti-AT Field...
(Eva series form into the Sephiroticum (Tree of Life))
Maya: All the data are just like 15 years ago! Then... this really is... The prelude to Third Impact!
SCENE:  Outside NERV -----------------------------------
1st soldier: S2 system level critical!
Background: Abort operations!  All units pull back at once!
2nd soldier: We... We can't maintain molecular attraction any longer!
JSSDF Commander: Mission... failed...
(A massive explosion envelopes the Geofront)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center shaking from the force of the explosion -----------------------------------
Shigeru: Direct impact!  Surface layers melting!
Makoto: Second wave excavating the headquarters periphery!  It's exposing the outer hull!
Background: Main JSSDF force annihilated!
Fuyutsuki: They're just physical shock waves! Set the absorbers to maximum level - It should hold!
(The explosion expands outward from the Geofront, revealing the egg of Lilith: the Black Moon)
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths -----------------------------------
SEELE 08/09: With the Purification of the Red Earth... That bespeaks time eternal...
SEELE 11: First, return the Geofront...
Keel: To its true form.
(Pull-back shot of the Earth and Lilith's Egg)
Fuyutsuki (off screen): The egg of Lilith... the genesis of human life... the Black Moon... We have no desire to return to that empty shell, (on screen) But even that depends on the will of Lilith.
SCENE:  Terminal Dogma -----------------------------------
Gendo: It seems to have begun... Rei, take me to Yui's side.
(Rei's abdomen tightens around Gendo's hand)
Gendo: What!?
(Rei absorbs Adam's embryo along with Gendo's right arm, and rejects Gendo)
Rei: I'm not your doll.
Gendo: Why!?
Rei: Because I'm not you.
(Rei's arm reforms)
Gendo (strained): Rei...! Please! Wait... Rei!
Rei: No.  Ikari is calling me.
Gendo: Rei!
(Rei ascends to Lilith)
Rei: I'm home...
(Screen text:  Welcome back.)
(Rei is absorbed into Lilith... Lilith's heart starts beating... Her legs reform and she descends from the cross... The mask of SEELE falls off and Lillith takes Rei's form)
Gendo: Rei...
SCENE:  NERV Command Center -----------------------------------
Shigeru: Unidentified high-energy source approaching rapidly from Terminal Dogma!
Makoto: AT Field verified!  Analysis pattern blue!!
Maya: It's not... an Angel!?
Makoto: No!  It's... a person!?  It's human!
(Lilith-Rei rises through the Command Center... Lilith-Rei's hand passes through Maya, who shrieks in terror)
(Shinji inside the suspended EVA-01)
Shinji: Damn... Damn... Damn... Damn!
(Lilith-Rei appears)
Shinji: Ayanami...?  Rei...!?
(Shinji screams as Lilith-Rei focuses on EVA-01 and cups it in her hands)
Shinji: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHH!!!
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths -----------------------------------
All (chanting): Evangelion Unit 01's pilot... Complement humankind with your imperfect ego.
Keel: The moment of the Third Retribution has come.
(Eva series form into pattern)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center -----------------------------------
Shigeru: The Eva series' AT Fields are resonating!
Makoto: And amplifying further!
Fuyutsuki: Has the assimilation with Rei begun?
(Eva series take Rei's laughing faces... Shinji/EVA-01 scream and EVA-01's core is exposed... Shinji clutches futilely at the controls)
Shinji: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! ASUKA!!! AHHHHHH!!!
Shigeru: Psychograph signal down!
Makoto: Destrado² materializing!
Fuyutsuki: Surely the pilot's ego can't take much more...
SCENE:  Shinji, curled into a ball within Eva-01's entry plug -----------------------------------
Shinji (whimpering): No... No... No... No... No... No...!
Kaworu (off screen): Do you want it to stop?
(Lilith-Kaworu appears)
Shinji: Is that where you've been?  Kaworu?
(Shinji resigns himself to Kaworu's outstretched hands... The Lance of Longinus approaches EVA-01's core)
SCENE:  NERV Command Center -----------------------------------
Shigeru: Solenoid graph inverting!  ego barrier weakening!
Makoto: AT Field shifting to pattern red!
Fuyutsuki: The Fruit of Life possessed by Angels, And the Fruit of Wisdom possessed by humans...
(The Lance penetrates the core and merges with EVA-01 into the Tree of Life)
Fuyutsuki (off screen): Having obtained them both, EVA-01 has become like a God. And now it has been restored to the propagule of souls... the Tree of Life. Will it become the Ark to save humankind from the nothingness of Third Impact? Or the demon that destroys us all? Our future lies in the hands of Ikari's son.
Maya (clutching at Shigeru's sleeve): Did... Did we do the right thing?
Shigeru: How should I know!?
(Lilith-Kaworu transforms into Lilith-Rei with hands cupped around EVA-01)
Yui (voice): This Rei is your heart... Your very hopes and dreams...
Rei (voice): What do you wish for?
SCENE:  Inside Shinji's Mind (In a park - Shinji as a child) -----------------------------------
Shinji (voice): I see... It's just like when I started the cello. I thought that if I came here, I could find something...
Child A: Come on, Shinji!
Child B: Let's build a castle!
Child-Shinji (smiling): Okay.
Child A: Oh, here comes Mama!
Child B: We have to go home now!
Child A: Bye-bye!
Child A and B (laughing): Mama... Mama!
(Shinji builds a pyramid (NERV headquarters) alone, and then destroys it... Crying, he starts to build again)
(Random thought sequence - inside Shinji's mind)
Asuka: Jeeez!  I get so pissed off whenever I look at you!
Shinji: Because I'm like you...?
Child-Asuka (crying): Mama!
Asuka (sleep-talking): Ma... ma...
Shinji (staring at Misato's cross): Mama...?
Misato (voice): I wasn't able to become Shinji's mother after all...
(Kaji's and Misato's college apartment)
Misato: Mmmm, let's do it.
Kaji: Again?  Aren't you supposed to meet your friend at school today?
Misato: Hmm?  Oh yeah, Ritsuko.  It's okay, we still have time...
Kaji: We've been cooped up here for a week now...
Misato: Yeah, but I think I'm getting the hang of it... so come on...
(The lovemaking begins and continues in the background)
Misato: I probably just did this to prove that I existed.
Asuka: How idiotic!  It's just two lonely adults comforting each other.
Ritsuko (precisely): We want to feel needed, even if it's only physical.
Misato: I feel wanted, and that makes me happy.
Asuka: It's just an easy way for you feel that you're worth something.
Shinji (disgusted = thinking): This is Misato?  She does... this?
Misato: Yes, this is also me... The melting into one another's hearts... The me that Shinji doesn't know. Reality does involve pain, but you just have to accept it.
Asuka: Aaahh... I wonder if I'll act like Misato when I grow up?
(Shinji and Asuka in Misato's apartment)
Asuka: Say... wanna kiss?..
Misato: You mustn't!
Asuka: Or are you afraid?
Misato: It's not something kids should do.
Asuka: Okay, here goes...
Asuka: You don't understand anything!  Stay away from me!
Shinji: (Hand twitching) ... I do understand.
Asuka: No you don't, you IDIOT! (Asuka kicks Shinji - Shinji's hand convulses) You really think you understand me!?  You think that you can help me? That is so ARROGANT!  You couldn't possibly understand me!!
Shinji: How can I understand... If you don't say anything? You don't say anything... You don't talk to me... How can I understand you?  It's IMPOSSIBLE!!
Rei: Ikari, did you try to understand?
Shinji (sulking): I tried...
(blue image of Shinji in Asuka's sickroom from 'Air')
Asuka: Idiot!  I 'know' about your jerk-off fantasies of me. Do it again like usual...  I'll even stand here and watch.
(Rei, Asuka and Shinji inside an empty train - Asuka standing over Shinji)
Asuka: If you can't be all mine, then I don't need you!
Shinji: Then, be nice to me...
Asuka/Misato/Rei: We are nice to you.
Shinji: LIARS!!  You're all just hiding behind a smile! You just want to keep things ambiguous!
Rei: Because the truth hurts us all... Because it's very, very distressing.
Shinji: But ambiguity only makes me insecure.³
Rei: That's just an excuse...
Shinji: But it makes me afraid...  Afraid that I won't be needed again someday. It makes me uneasy!  It worries me!  Let me hear your voice! Interact with me!! Care about me!!!
(Shinji and Asuka in Misato's apartment - Asuka sitting dejectedly at table)
Shinji: I want to help you in some way... and to be with you forever.
Asuka: Then, don't do anything. Don't come near me anymore... Because all you ever do is hurt me.
Shinji: Asuka, help me!  You're... you're the only one that can!
Asuka: Liar... (Shinji cringes) To you, anybody will do! (Asuka gets up from table and backs Shinji up against the wall) You're afraid of Misato and the First... and of your mother and father, too!
Shinji: Asuka...
Asuka(cont'd): You're only using me as an escape - because that's the easiest way not to get hurt!
Shinji: Asuka, help me!
Asuka: Because that's the easiest way not to get hurt!
Shinji (desperately): Please, help me!
Asuka (angrily): You've never really liked anyone!
(Asuka shoves Shinji, who crumples to the floor, taking the coffee pot with him)
Asuka (angrily): You're all you have!  But you've never even learned to like yourself!! (staring disdainfully down at Shinji lying helplessly amidst the spilt coffee) How pathetic...
Shinji (weakly - getting to his feet): Help me... Somebody... Somebody help me... Help me... Help me... Me... Help ME!! (throws the table aside) Don't leave me alone!  Don't abandon me!  Don't kill me! (picks up a chair and throws it at Asuka's feet)
Asuka (coldly): ... No...
(Shinji strangles Asuka - Komm Susser Tod (Come Sweet Death) begins to play)
SCENE:  Third Impact (Psychological scene - Flashing, random shots: crayon drawings of death, fish in a bucket under the sun, a dog lying dead on a street, fish head in a jar...) (Flashing screen text: "Evangelism", "Dead Sea Scrolls", "Shito", Various episode titles from the TV series, etc.) -----------------------------------
Shinji: Nobody understands me.
Rei: You didn't understand anything.
Shinji: I thought it was supposed to be a world without unpleasantness... without uncertainity.
Rei: Because you thought that everyone else was like you.
Shinji: Betrayed!  You've betrayed my feelings!!
Rei: You've misunderstood from the start.  You simply assumed without asking.
Shinji: Nobody wants me.  So, everybody just die.
Rei: Then, what are those hands for?
Shinji: Nobody cares whether I exist or not... Nothing will change. So, everybody just die.
Rei: Then, what is that heart for?
Shinji: It'd be better if I wasn't here either.  So I should just die, too.
Rei: Then, why are you here?
(Shinji as a child, crying with a large travel bag next to him)
Shinji: Is it okay for me to be here?
(Screen text:  "Silence")
Shinji (screaming): NOOOOOOOOOOO!!
----------------------------------- SCENE:  NERV Command Center -----------------------------------
Makoto: Pilot's response has infinitely approached zero!
Shigeru: Eva series and Geofront passing through the E layer!  -And still rising!
(Shot of Black Moon rising)
MAGI announcement: Current altitude 220,000 km.  Entering F layer.
Makoto: All Eva units - still active!
Shigeru: The Anti-AT Field from Lilith... it's expanding further!  It's materializing!
(The earth's surface under the Black Moon turns white spreading outwards and Lilith-Rei emerges, cupping the Black Moon in her hands)
Makoto: Anti-AT Field critical limit exceeded!
Shigeru: No...!  If this continues, individual life-forms will be unable to maintain their separate entities!
(Lilith-Rei spreads her wings)
Fuyutsuki: The Chamber of Guf (Hall of Souls) has been unsealed... Has the door to the world's beginning and end finally opened?
(Souls begin to gather around the Black Moon)
(Countless Reis begin to turn people into LCL)
Rei(s): The world is overflowing with sadness. People are surrounded by emptiness... And loneliness has filled their hearts.
(In the Command Center, Makoto is dissolved into LCL by a smiling apparition of Misato... Shigeru dissolves while cowering under the console trying to escape from multiple Reis)
Fuyutsuki (smiling at Yui floating above him like an angel): Ikari, did you finally meet Yui, too?  (dissolves into LCL)
Maya (hands trembling over keyboard): AT Fields... Everyone's AT Fields are disappearing. Is this the answer?  Is this what I was searching for? (Ritsuko appears- quickly types on Maya's laptop) (gasp) Dr. Akagi...!?
Ritsuko: Maya...
Maya: Ritsuko!  Ritsuko!  Ritsuko!  Ritsuko!  Ahh!
(Maya dissolves into LCL - as her dismembered hand flies across the screen, the words "I need you." are visible on the PC display)
SCENE:  SEELE monoliths vanish one after another -----------------------------------
SEELE 01: The beginning and the end are as one. Good... Everything is as it should be...
(Keel appears... and then dissolves into LCL, leaving behind the mechanical remains of his lower body)
SCENE:  Gendo lying on floor in Terminal Dogma -----------------------------------
Gendo: I've been waiting for this moment for so long... To finally be with you again, Yui. When I'm with Shinji, I only hurt him.  So, it's better that I do nothing.
Yui: So, you were afraid of Shinji.
Gendo: I don't believe that I can be loved by others... I'm not worthy of love.
Kaworu: You're just running away.  You simply reject the world before you get hurt.
Yui: Afraid of the shapeless, invisible barriers that separate people...
Rei: You just closed your heart to others.
Gendo: So, this is my retribution.  Forgive me... Shinji.
(Demon-like EVA-01 bites Gendo in half... Rei II picks up Gendo's fallen glasses. The three clones of Rei stand together.)
(Eva series impale their cores on the Lance replicas with gasps of ecstasy... Countless crosses spring up as a red wave speeds across the earth's surface... Souls flow from the Earth to the Black Moon and then into Lilith-Rei's hands... An eye appears in Lilith-Rei's forehead into which the EVA-01/Lance cross plunges itself and disappears...)
SCENE:  Inside Lilith-Rei - Shinji hears laughing voices and sees countless spirit-Reis flowing towards a red core -----------------------------------
Shinji: (gasp)Ayanami... Rei?
(Inside Shinji's mind - Flashing psychological scenes)
Random voices (Asuka, Misato, etc.): I hate you.  I wouldn't be caught dead with you!  Don't get me wrong... Do you really think I could ever like you?  You have nothing to do with my life anymore.  Get away from me!  ... and don't call me anymore! Stubborn bastard...  Don't follow me around anymore.  Your type makes me sick!  I'm sorry...  (laughter)  We're nothing more than friends. Annoying bastard...  Why don't you learn to give up?  There's no way I'd ever go back to you.  I HATE YOU!  Go away!  (laughter)  It'd be better if you'd never been born.  Dammit, get away from me!  I hate you! You're a pain in the ass!  (laughter)
(Asuka's voice) Wimp...
(Shinji, lying on his back)
Misato (over Shinji): If it's that painful, you can stop.
Rei (over Shinji): If you really don't like it, you can run away.
Misato (voice): Do you want to be at ease?  To feel at peace? Do you want to become one with me? To have our bodies and souls... become one.
Asuka (voice): But, if I have to be with you, I'd rather die!
(Empty theater - Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude (Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring) begins to play... Real-life scenes of urban Tokyo)
Shinji (voice): Hey...
Misato (voice): What?
Shinji (voice): What are dreams?
Misato (voice): Dreams?
Rei: Yes, dreams.
(Packed theater)
(Screen text:  Do you feel good?)
(Three girls standing still in crowd)
Shinji (voice): I don't understand... I don't really understand reality.
Rei (voice): So, you can't understand the gap between other's reality and your own truth.
Shinji (voice): I don't know where to find happiness.
Rei (voice): So, you can only find happiness in your dreams.
(Crowded street- camera focuses on three individuals; dressed as Misato, Rei, and Asuka)
Shinji (voice): Then, this isn't reality... Because no one is here.
Rei (voice): Yes, it's a dream.
Shinji (voice): So, I'm not here either.
Rei (voice): You were trying to remake reality with convenient fantasies.
Shinji (voice): Is that wrong?
Rei (voice): You were using fabrications to escape from reality.
Shinji (voice): Can't I dream alone?
Rei (voice): That would not be a dream.  It would just be compensating for reality.
(Packed theater -> empty theater)
Shinji (voice): Then... where is my dream?
Rei (voice): It is the continuation of reality.
Shinji (voice): Where is... my reality?
Rei (voice): It is at the end of your dream.
(Flashing Japanese text and images)
SCENE:  Blood/LCL gushes from Lilith-Rei's neck as she leans backwards Shinji and Rei merged together in the sea of LCL -----------------------------------
Shinji: Ayanami... where are we?
Rei: This is the sea of LCL... The primordial soup of life. A world without AT Fields... without your own shape. An ambiguous world where it is impossible to tell where you end and other people start. A fragile world where you exist everywhere, and thus exist nowhere.
Shinji: Have I died?
Rei: No, everything has just been joined into one. This is the world you have been hoping for... your world.
Shinji (releasing Misato's cross from his left hand): But... this isn't right.  I don't think this is right.
Rei: If you wish once more for the existence of others, the barriers of the heart will separate everyone once more... And the fear of other people will begin again.
Shinji: That's all right... (disengages Rei from him and clasps her hand) Thank you.
(Shinji and Rei, Shinji's head lying in Rei's lap)
Shinji: I feel that there were only hateful things there. So I'm sure it was okay to run away. But there was nothing good in the place I ran to, either. After all, I didn't exist there... which is the same as no one existing.
Kaworu: Is it okay for AT Fields to hurt you and others once more?
Shinji: I don't mind.  But, what are you two within my heart?
Rei: Hope.  The hope that people might be able to understand one another.
Kaworu: And the words 'I love you'.
Shinji: But that's just pretending - a self-intoxicating belief... like a prayer. It can't possibly last forever. Sooner or later I'll be betrayed... And they'll leave me. Still... I want to meet them again, because I believe my feelings at that time were real.
SCENE:  Shinji rejects Human Instrumentality, Lilith-Rei collapses backwards and her wings vanish... EVA-01 breaks out from Lilith-Rei's eye and grows wings... The Black Moon divides into sections and explodes, showering Lilith-Rei with LCL which falls to Earth and spreads outward...) -----------------------------------
Kaworu: Reality is in an unfamiliar place, and dreams are within reality.
Rei: And the truth is within your heart.
(Lilith-Rei's body begins to fall apart)
Kaworu: For it is the hearts of people that create their appearance.
Rei: And new images will change peoples' hearts and appearances. Images... the power of imagination... The power to create your own future, and to make time flow.
Kaworu: But people must act of their own free will, or nothing will change at all.
Rei: So you must find your lost self on your own... Even if you lose your own words, or become lost in others' words.
(EVA-01 grasps and splits the Lance of Longinus... The Lances impaling the Eva series burst and disappear)
Rei: Anyone can return to human form as long as they can imagine themselves in their own heart.
(The Eva series go silent and fall to Earth... Crosses rise into the heavens)
Yui (voice): Don't worry. All living things have the ability to return to their original form... and the heart to go on living. Anywhere can be heaven as long as you have the will to live. After all, you're alive... and you can find the chance to achieve happiness anywhere.
(Rei appears before the now silent EVA-01... EVA-01, the Lance, and millions of crosses continue to ascend into space)
Yui (voice): As long as the Sun, the Moon and the Earth exist, everything will be all right.
SCENE:  Water drop- Yui caressing Shinji's cheek -----------------------------------
Yui: So, you'll be okay now?
Shinji: I still don't know where to find happiness... But I'll continue to think about whether it's good to be here... whether it was good to have been born. But in the end, it's just realizing the obvious over and over again. Because I am myself.
(Shinji emerges from the sea of LCL... Lilith-Rei's head splits)
Shinji: But mother... what will you do?
(Flashback to 13 years ago - Fuyutsuki, Yui and infant-Shinji)
Fuyutsuki: Humans create Evangelion to copy God... Is this our true goal?
Yui: Yes.  Humans can only live on this planet, but Evangelion can live forever... together with the human soul that dwells within it.
(EVA-01 and the Lance of Longinus float in space)
Even after 5 billion years, when the Earth, the Moon, and even the Sun have disappeared, it will still exist as long as even one person still lives. It will be very lonely, but as long as that one person still lives...
Fuyutsuki: It will be the eternal proof that humankind has existed...
Shinji: Good-bye, mother.
----------------------------------- TITLE SCREEN - THE END OF EVANGELION ONE MORE FINAL: I need you. -----------------------------------
SCENE:  Lilith-Rei's split head... Misato's cross nailed to post... Silent Eva series stand crucified in a LCL ocean... Waves of LCL gently lapping at the shore... Asuka and Shinji lie side by side on the beach... Shinji turns to see Rei standing over the LCL sea - then Rei vanishes... Shinji moves over Asuka begins to strangle her, but with a caress of his cheek, she stops him and he starts sobbing uncontrollably. -----------------------------------
Asuka: How disgusting.
(Screen text: Fin)
-blank screen-
Notes:
1- Literally, "as a medium"
2- Destrado:    According to the theory advocated by E.Weiss, the energy of the self-destructive impulse.    It is the antonym of Libido. Its meaning is different from the energy of "Instinct of Death",    advocated by P. Federn, the master of Moltedor-Weiss.
3- Literally, "pushes me into a corner"
'Ego': The barrier of another or one's self.
"blank screen": In the original Japanese release of the film, after the screen text, 'Fin.' is shown, the screen goes completely black and no ending credits are shown.  Audiences waited in the cinema for around 5 minutes to make sure the film was really over.
13 notes · View notes
kwanisms · 5 years
Text
English is My Favorite Subject - 1
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⤑ genre: smut, college au, enemies to lovers ⤑ pairing: Chan x Reader (female) ⤑ warning: *ahem* smut, S I N, soft dom!Chan, rough sex, phone sex, sexting,  slight degradation, mention of alcohol, foul language ⤑ summary: After taking the English tutoring position at your university, hell comes to you in the form of Lee Chan. He needs help passing his exams and tutoring is his only option. As your time with him passes, you come to realize that maybe he’s not the cocky and arrogant asshole you previously assumed. ⤑ word count: 19.2k (lmao I’M SORRY. This got out of hand)
⤑ {01} | 02 | 03
a/n: I’ve been sitting on this WIP for literally M O N T H S. So I’m finally posting it because Chan is hot asf (despite being 6 years his senior). And most importantly he’s legal What was supposed to be one part has morphed into something else entirely and it’s now going to be three parts (kill me lmao) so here, enjoy! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. IF YOU CAN, READ THIS ON DESKTOP. The tumblr app has been screwing up and getting rid of my read more lines. ~K♡
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You would have never taken this position if you knew beforehand that he needed a tutor. You would have been content not taking the job but unfortunately, you needed the money and it looked great on your resume. The moment he walked into the room provided by the university, your worst nightmare began; being stuck in a room with Lee Chan for two hours, twice a day every week.
You cursed whatever deity deemed it necessary to send this demon your way.
It wasn’t that you didn’t like Lee Chan; you hated him. Your disdained was mirrored when Chan entered the room and saw you sitting there and immediately swore under his breath. Or maybe it was because he hadn’t seen or spoken to you since the party where you threw a drink in his face and called him a tasteless asshat.
He leaned up against the wall, his backpack slung over one shoulder and narrowed his eyes at you. “Tell me this isn’t real,” he said, his voice deeper than you remembered. He’d grown over the few years since you’d last spoken. He wasn’t the baby faced freshman you remembered. You shook your head. 
“Unfortunately, it is. I’m your tutor, and seeing as you already paid for your lessons, we might as well get this over with. The sooner we finish, the sooner we don’t have to see each other,” you said as you straightened up your side of the table.
Chan sat across from you, dropping his bag on the floor with a desolate thud. “Alright, teach, what are we learning?” he asked dropping his previous demeanor for a pleasant one. The cheerful tone took you by surprise and you decided to shake it from your head. “Well, looking at your grades, we clearly-” you began before Chan interjected.
“Wait, you have my grades?!” he snapped and you stared at him. “Uh, yes? I’m your tutor. Your professor sent your grades over so I knew what exactly you needed help with?” you said in a harsh tone, making it painfully obvious. Chan clicked his tongue and looked away at the wall littered with flyers. “Fine,” he said, his jaw clenched before he turned back to you.
He was pissed. You could see it in his eyes and if you weren’t the same person you were now, you might have coward in fear, but luckily, you weren’t shy and intimidated easily. You stared back with as much ferocity as you could muster, staring him down as if you were an alpha wolf beating a lower one into submission with your gaze. Chan eventually gave in and looked down.
Pleased with your show of dominance you continued. “As per your grades, it seems as if you need the most help with grammar. Your professor noted that your comprehension of the language and vocabulary is excellent which is great. Less for us to work on. You just need to focus on the grammar section,” you said as you flipped through the file you had made.
“You sound awfully glad about that,” Chan said with a sneer and you sighed, rolling your eyes. “It means we have to spend less time together. If you needed help with everything, we would be meeting everyday from now until your exams. Instead, twice a week, two hours a day until the week before your exam is sufficient enough. The week of, however, we will have to up it to an hour everyday until the day before. This is the only reasonable schedule I see,” you said.
Chan huffed, crossing his arms. “So do I get to pick the days?” he asked and you nodded. “Yes. I know you have extracurricular activities, as do I, so we will have to work together to make the schedule work. I don’t like this any more than you do, but this is where we are and we better make the best of this until we can go back to our lives without seeing each other,” you said watching him as he clenched his jaw. After a few moments, he nodded silently.
“Alright, just because I have to pass this class. I need to, for baseball,” he said and you nodded. “Of course,” you said shifting in your seat and opening his folder to a page labeled “schedule” in all capital letters. “Let’s get this schedule figured out and then we can go. I won’t make you start today,” you said with a grimace. Chan nodded and leaned forward to look at the paper.
The two of you had agreed to meet on Wednesdays before dinner and Sundays around 9:30 in the morning. You jotted the schedule down as well as Chan’s number since you would need it in case something came up and you needed to contact him. After finalizing the schedule, Chan sat back in his chair. “Can I go now?” he asked and you nodded without looking up.
You heard the chair feet scrape against the tiled floor as he stood up and bent over to grab his bag. “So,” he said and you looked up. “See you Wednesday?” he asked and you nodded. “Yup, Wednesday,” you said and he turned without a word and opened the door, hesitating in the doorway. He turned to look at you and you waited for him to speak. Instead he shook his head and called out a, “later,” before leaving you in the small room alone.
You could tell this was going to be a rough six weeks.
The following Sunday, you woke up early, rolling out of bed to head for your bathroom and shower. After cleaning and drying off, you got ready for the day, dressing in some comfortable clothes as you would be spending two hours sitting at a table, helping the person you couldn’t stand the most learn the language he hated the most. After leaving the warmth and safety of your dorm, you braved the cool, dreary morning to head for the student center.
It had rained the night before, leaving behind little puddles on the streets and sidewalks. As you neared your destination, the promise of coffee and a muffin in your mind, you pulled open the door and stepped in. Your phone buzzed in your sweatpants pocket, alerting you to a new text. Pulling it out, you opened the texting app. It was from Chan.
[2019/09/29] L.Chan [09:20]: Hey, I’m gonna be like 10 minutes late.
Letting out a sigh, you typed in a quick response before getting in the nearly nonexistent line for your morning refreshments.
You [09:21]: K
With that taken care of, you turned your attention toward the barista behind the counter as he graced you with a warm smile, the dimples in his cheeks growing. “Hey (Y/N),” he greeted you cheerfully. You returned the smile and replied with a, “I don’t know how you’re so cheerful all the time, Namjoon. It’s so admirable.” He smiled wider, dropping his gaze before fixing his eyes on you again.
“What’s the point in being miserable and grumpy all the time? If I’m positive and upbeat, maybe I can pass that off to other students stopping by to get their coffee,” he said with a shrug. You didn’t need to peruse the menu on the chalkboard behind him. You always got the same thing.
“So, are you going to switch it up on me,” he asked pressing on the screen in front of him. “Or are you going to be as predictable as always and get your usual?” he asked and you placed your hand on your chest. “You wound me with your words. It’s not my fault you make the best caramel macchiato and serve the most delicious banana nut muffins. This is your doing,” you playfully accused him as he rang up your order with a chuckle. He gave you his employee discount, something he did occasionally.
“Your total is $5.32,” he said and you handed over the change. Namjoon cashed you out and started on your coffee. “I forgot to ask,” he said turning to you. “Did you want that iced or hot?” he asked and you smiled. “Make it iced today,” you said before pulling out your phone to check your texts. You had a couple from your best friend, Jeongguk, and another from Chan.
[2019/09/29] Kookie [09:24]: are you awake? Kookie [09:24]: I want to go get pancakes Kookie [09:24]: and you’re the only person who will go with me Kookie [09:25]: ): pls be awake. I really want pancakes. You laughed before typing in your reply. You [09:25]: Sorry Gguk. I have a tutor lesson this morning. Raincheck?
His reply was instant.
Kookie [09:25]: UUUGGGHHHHH U SUCK ):< Kookie [09:25]: I’ll just go alone and order your favorite pancakes and eat them all! Kookie [09:26]: that’ll show you! You [09:26]: well, you’ll be paying for them lol I would hope you eat them Kookie [09:27]: …i did not think this through. ): how long is the lesson? You [09:27]: two hours… kill me. Kookie [09:27]: …I hate you D:< I’ll just go with Tae and Jimin You [09:28]: D: but pancakes are our thing!! Kookie [09:28]: NOT ANYMORE ):< You [09:29]: y must u hurt me like this? 💔 Kookie [09:29]: because u won’t go get pancakes with me 😤 You [09:29]: I have a lesson! Kookie [09:29]: E X C U S E S You rolled your eyes and left him on read to open Chan’s message. L.Chan [09:24]: Are you already at the student center? You [09:29]: yes. I’m here.
Namjoon’s voice brought you out of your thoughts and you pocketed your cell phone before stepping forward to grab your order. “Have a good day, (Y/N),” he said with a pleasant smile, one you returned. “You too, Namjoon!” you said before heading for the tutor room. You unlocked it with the key you were given by administration and set up your space. You unpacked your bag that contained an english book, the accompanying workbook, Chan’s file, as well as a small array of pencils, pens,  highlighters, and whiteout. You opened your bag and pulled out the muffin before digging in.
Your phone buzzed on the table and you checked the notification. It was Chan.
[2019/09/29] L.Chan [09:30]: I don’t think I can make it.
You felt your blood boil and set your muffin down to type in your answer.
You [09:31]: and why not?
His reply came quickly.
L.Chan [09:31]: I’m not feeling well.
You narrowed your eyes before shooting a text to Jeongguk.
[2019/09/29] You [09:32]: hey, can I ask you something? Kookie [09:32]: that depends, are you going to cancel your lesson and come get pancakes with us? Kookie [09:32]: [image1279.jpg] You [09:32]: 1. Who tf took that picture?? You [09:33]: 2. 🙄 I’m serious, Gguk Kookie [09:33]: fiiiiine. what’s up? You [09:33]: was there a party last night? Kookie [09:34]: uhhh, not that I attended, why? You [09:34]: trying to catch someone in a lie Kookie [09:35]: ask Mingyu. I know you have his number and he’ll tell you anything. You [09:36]: ...shit u rite. Thanks. Kookie [09:36]: CANCEL YOUR LESSON AND COME GET PANCAKES. Tae misses you ): Kookie [09:36]: I MISS U (Y/N) - Tae You [09:37]: gimme a sex You [09:37]: SEC* gdi Kookie [09:37]: I’ll give you all the sex 😉 - Jimin You [09:38]: 
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Kookie [09:38]: D: - Jimin
You closed the thread with Jeongguk and opened Mingyu’s texts.
[2019/09/29] You [09:39]: Hey Gyu, are you awake?
Waiting for his response seemed to take forever but it was only a few minutes before he replied.
[2019/09/29] K.Mingyu [09:41]: yeah, what’s up? You [09:41]: was there a party last night? K.Mingyu [09:42]: yeah. It was at the Iota Nu Delta house. K.Mingyu [09:42]: The baseball team usually has their parties there after we win a game. You [09:42]: was the whole team there? K.Mingyu [09:43]: yeah! We all always go! We never miss an after game party! K.Mingyu [09:43]: why? You [09:43]: trying to catch someone in a lie. Thank you~ K.Mingyu [09:44]: …oh no. Am I in trouble? 😰 You [09:45]: not at all! ☺ you helped me. I’ll bring your fave to your next lesson~ K.Mingyu [09:46]: …ur the best tutor ever. ilysm 😍
You returned to Chan’s text.
[2019/09/29] You [09:47]: make sure to take some medicine for your hangover. I heard the party last night was a rager L.Chan [09:47]: i didn’t go to a party last night. You [09:48]: don’t lie to me. I expect to see you early on Wednesday or you can kiss your precious championship goodbye because i will not help you with your English course. L.Chan [09:48]: has anyone ever told you that you’re a vindictive bitch? You [09:49]: And make that three hours on Wednesday to make up for today. You [09:50]: have a good day~ 🤗
You closed his messages and got up, grabbing your things and packing them away before slinging your bag over your shoulder and sending a text to Jeongguk.
[2019/09/29] You [09:51]: wait for me. I’m coming for pancakes.
You got a notification for a new message and opened it.
[2019/09/29] [PANCAKE SQUAD] Kookie [09:52]: hello buttermilk bitches. Taehyungie [09:52]: ...don’t ever fucking call us that again. Minnie [09:53]: yeah that was weird. You [09:53]: G R O S S 🤢🤮 Minnie [09:53]: (Y/N)!! My baby~😍 Taehyungie [09:54]: she’s not ur baby Kookie [09:54]: N E WAY. Pancakes. Let’s get some. You [09:55]: I just gotta drop off my bag and I’ll be ready. Minnie [09:55]: cool, I’ll swing by on my way to pick the losers up. Taehyungie [09:56]: I live with you tho Kookie [09:56]: u better not pick (Y/N) up and forget us Jimin, istg Taehyungie [09:56]: I'm literally your roommate Minnie [09:56]: on my way (Y/N)~ Taehyungie [09:57]: JIMIN U ASS WAIT FOR ME You [09:57]: Okay!~
Your walk back to your dorm took no time at all and you were able to stash your bag and grab your wallet before heading back down to meet Jimin outside your building. Taehyung sat in the backseat with his arms crossed. He didn’t look happy. You made your way to Jimin’s car when he rolled the window down. “You’re up here with me, gorgeous!” he said and you opened the front passenger door to get in.
Jimin pulled out of the parking lot and made his way to Jeongguk’s building. “Why do you look like a mad owl, Tae?” you asked peering over your shoulder at him as he sulked. “He literally yelled at me when I tried to get in the front seat. ‘YOU CAN’T SIT THERE!’ ‘(Y/N) IS SITTING THERE!’ he was so mean. Like, I’m your roommate, does that mean nothing to you?” he asked looking at Jimin in the rear view mirror. Jimin laughed as he made the turn onto Jeongguk’s street.
“It does. But you aren’t a beautiful woman,” he said glancing up at the mirror. Taehyung huffed and sank lower in his seat. “You are a handsome man though,” you said looking back at Taehyung who smiled at you. “Thanks (Y/N),” he said as Jimin pulled to a stop and honked the horn. Jeongguk appeared moments later, running down the steps to the curb where the car waited.
He got in behind you and leaned forward to hug you against the seat. “I missed you,” he said, his face smashed against the back of your headrest muffling his voice. You laughed as you patted his arm. “You saw me two days ago,” you reminded him. “I know, but I’m used to seeing you everyday!” he said peering around the headrest at you.
The car ride was boisterous with the three of them yelling at each other and Jimin turning the music up on the stereo loud enough to drown out Taehyung and Jeongguk as they bickered. Jimin pulled into a space at the local breakfast cafe and the four of you hopped out. Jeongguk immediately rested his arm around your shoulder as he led the way into the cafe, Jimin and Taehyung brought up the rear.
This cafe had been your go to spot on Sunday mornings. It was a little off the beaten path so it was never hit with the post church crowd, especially when you went while services were going on. The hostess smiled at you as you entered. “Just four?” she asked and Jeongguk nodded while she grabbed four settings. “Booth, if possible!” Jimin added and she nodded, acknowledging his request.
She led the four of you through the cafe to the back corner to the only corner booth in the whole restaurant. You slid in, Jeongguk on the outside and Jimin next to you, Taehyung on the other side. The hostess set the menus down in front of you and told you that your server would be with you soon.
You looked over the menu, browsing the different pancake options. You usually got the same thing so you weren’t sure why you bothered looking at the menu. “What are you getting?” Jeongguk asked as you set your menu down. “The same thing I always get,” you said as the server arrived and asked for your drink orders. She left and returned moments later with an array of coffee, water, and juice.
You added sugar and cream to your coffee as she wrote down everyone’s orders and left to put them in. “So, who were you supposed to tutor this morning?” Jeongguk asked taking a sip of his banana milk. “Lee Chan,” you said taking a sip of your coffee. Jimin snorted into his own coffee. “On the baseball team?” he asked and you nodded. “He needs a tutor?” he asked stifling his laughter.
“As I recall, Jimin,” Jeongguk said glancing up at his friend. “You needed a tutor last year for math and had it not been for our very own (Y/N), you would have failed your exams. She didn’t even charge you for your lessons,” he added. Jimin’s ears turned red as he blushed and avoided his friends’ gazes. “Yeah, she charged me for my lessons!” Taehyung said leaning forward and glaring at you.
“She did charge me!” Jimin insisted and you agreed with a nod. “I did charge him for his lessons though. Not all of them, but I did that for you too,” you said looking at Taehyung. “I charged you for like 80 percent of them. Same with you,” you said as you looked over at Jeongguk. “So you charged us for only 80 percent of our lessons?” he asked and you nodded. “And it’s not even full price. Mingyu and Chan pay full price. I didn’t give a discount to anyone else,” you said taking another sip of coffee.
“That’s not true,” Taehyung said smirking at you and your heart sank. If he was about to call you out and reveal what you thought he was, you would never hear the end of it. “Who else did she give a discount to?” Jeongguk asked looking up at his friend. Taehyung’s smirk widened before he opened his mouth and said the two words that were certain to seal your fate and condemn you. “Kwon Soonyoung.”
“Really? Why Soonyoung?” Jeongguk asked looking at you. Taehyung chuckled before condemning you even further. “She has a crush on him.” Jimin whipped around to look at Taehyung before rounding on you. “Really?? Kwon Soonyoung?!” Jimin asked and you shushed him, peering anxiously around the cafe. “Yes. I had a crush on him. That was last semester!” you said quickly.
Taehyung snorted and shook his head. “Liar. I saw you fawning over him last week,” he said and you shot daggers at him with your eyes. If looks could kill. “Awww, our widdle (Y/N) is growing up so fast~!” Jeongguk said in a cooing voice as he pinched your cheek. You slapped his hand away and shot him a disgruntled look. He laughed and picked up his glass. “I’m just teasing, (Y/N),” he added.
Jimin took your hand and pressed it against his chest. “Feel that?” he asked and you looked from your hand against his shirt up to his face. The pained expression on his face present as he said dramatically, “that’s my heart breaking.” You scoffed and pulled your hand away. “Stop teasing me, guys,” you said and saw the server returning with your food. You had never been so happy to see a server in your life.
Once the food arrived, the boys couldn’t tease you anymore. You dug into your pancakes happily and ignored any questions hurled your way about Soonyoung and your obvious crush. “I just want to eat in peace,” you said looking at Jimin and Taehyung, the latter cackling softly as he cut up his pancakes into bite size pieces. The four of you continued to eat, speaking and joking occasionally.
When the bill came, the boys played Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who would pay for breakfast. Jeongguk lost and had to pay for everyone. After paying the bill, the four of you made your way out of the building and towards the car where something, rather someone, caught your eye.
Lee Chan was getting out of a black sedan a few spaces behind Jimin’s car and with him was a strikingly beautiful woman. She had long straight black hair, very round eyes, a slim figure, and long legs. She wore a cute light pink dress with long sleeves, her legs painted in the espresso color of her tights and ankle high boots on her feet, giving her a much taller appearance. Chan’s eyes locked with yours and you felt your blood boil. First he cancels his appointment because he’s hungover and now this?
A smirk made an appearance on his face as he passed, cocking an eyebrow as if to say, ‘what?’ You narrowed your eyes and turned sharply from him to press yourself against Jeongguk, who had his arm around your shoulders. “Let’s get out of here,” you said to your friends, opening the back passenger door and getting in with Jeongguk. Jimin got into the driver’s seat and looked back to pout at you.
“You don’t want to sit up here with me?” he asked as Taehyung got in and you smiled. “I already rode up front. It’s someone else’s turn,” you said and Jimin glared at Taehyung who in turn gave him his big boxy smile before the ignition started and Jimin drove out of the parking lot. He headed back toward your dorm. “You sure you don’t wanna watch us practice?” Taehyung asked and you shook your head.
“I should study. Pretty sure my calculus professor is planning a pop quiz next class, so I want to be prepared,” you said and Jimin sighed loudly. “I just want you to come to one practice!” he said and you laughed, shaking your head. “Sorry, Minnie. I’ll be at the game though. I wouldn’t miss that for anything,” you added and when the car pulled to a stop you unbuckled your seatbelt.
“I’ll see you guys later.” You got out and waved as your friends pulled away before heading back up to your room to wrap yourself in a blanket and study. Seeing Chan had made you pretty mad. He was so damn smug and it irked you to no end. Who gave him the right? You were definitely not looking forward to his lesson next Wednesday.
The following Monday, you had stopped by to get your usual coffee and muffin. “(Y/N)!” What a surprise! What brings you here?” Namjoon asked jokingly and you rolled your eyes. “I came to see my favorite barista, of course!” you said as you approached the counter and Namjoon put your order in. You paid him and stepped aside to let the next person order, bumping into someone behind you.
You spun around, apologizing profusely when the breath was stripped from your lungs. You had run into Kwon Soonyoung, the same crush your friends had teased you about on Sunday. He smiled down at you, stunning you. God he was so handsome. 
“Hey, (Y/N)!” he said and you saw Chan’s face appear from behind Soonyoung. Of course they were together, you thought. They’re best friends. Chan rolled his eyes and looked away uninterestedly. “Sorry, Soonyoung,” you said breathlessly and he waved his hand, dismissing your apology. “Don’t be. I’m fine,” he said with a wink.
A small nervous giggle escaped your lips but Soonyoung didn’t seem to notice. Chan, however, definitely noticed. His eyes turned upon you, his eyebrow raised and the corner of his lips twitched as your cheeks flushed light pink. He finally join in the conversation. “You know (Y/N)?” he asked his friend, feigning interest. Soonyoung nodded smiling at you.
“(Y/N) was my tutor last semester. She helped my pass my English exams. She’s amazing,” he said, his praise causing you to choke on your own saliva. “I’m n-not. I just wanted to help,” you stammered. Again, either he didn’t notice or didn’t care, Soonyoung just smiled at you. Chan knew. He could see it in your face and your body language. You were really dreading his next lesson.
Wednesday came and passed and soon it was 5:45 pm. You sat in the tutor room and the door opened. Chan entered and you were glad he was at least on time. He sat down across from you and dropped his bag on the desk, not looking up from his phone. “Let’s get this over with,” he said popping a piece of gum. “Put your phone down, then,” you said and his eyes snapped up to yours.
They had a darkness to them but he did as you said and set his phone face down on the table surface. “So, what are we learning?” he asked and you nodded pulling out the work book. You pushed it toward him. “Let’s get started,” you said and Chan sighed before opening the workbook while you went over the key grammar points of the language. You tested his vocabulary and were pleased when he did well.
An hour passed by quickly in this form and you stopped for a bathroom break. “So,” Chan said as you walked down the hall of the student center toward the restrooms. “Does Soonyoung know you have a huge crush on him?” he asked and you nearly stumbled. “W-what?” you asked incredulously. “I do not,” you insisted and Chan laughed loudly. “I may be failing English, but I’m not stupid. I saw you. You like him,” he said with a smirk and you shook your head. “No,” you said adamantly.
“You definitely do. I can tell that much,” he said and you ignored him, heading for the safety of the women’s bathroom. He laughed as you hurried away and into the confines of the tiled room, the door swung shut behind you. You were mad at yourself for slipping up in front of Soonyoung, but you were more mad at Chan for teasing you about it. How dare he?
You did your business and washed your hands. Outside the bathroom, Chan was waiting for you, leaning against the wall while he typed on his phone. You froze as you watched him. He had a smirk on his face, looking at the screen. What was he doing? Was he telling Soonyoung right now? You would never be able to face Soonyoung again if Chan told him.
You stormed up to him and stopped a few feet from him. Chan looked up and his expression shifted, his smirk dropping immediately. “What?” he asked and you glared at him. “Don’t tell him anything or I swear I will make your lessons hell,” you said and the smirk returned. “Oh? What makes you think I haven’t already told him?” he asked crossing his arms, tucking his phone close to him.
Your heart leapt into your throat at the idea that he may have. “D-did you?” you asked and Chan laughed standing up straight and opening his messages before showing you his texts with Soonyoung. “No, I haven’t. But maybe I will,” he said and your fingers curled, balling your hands into fists. “Do it and I will up your lessons to three times a week, four hours each,” you threatened and Chan’s smirk fell again.
“You wouldn’t,” he said softly and this time a smirk crossed your features as you leaned in, looking at him. “Try me,” you dared and he gulped. “Fine. I won’t say anything,” he said and put his phone in his pocket. You stood straight before nodding once and making your way back to the room, Chan in tow.
The rest of the lesson passed easily, Chan falling into line and doing as you asked. At the end, when you were packing up he turned toward you as he reached the door. “(Y/N)?” he asked and you looked up. “Yes?” you asked and he hesitated. “Nothing,” he said and shook his head. “See you Sunday,” he called as he left you sitting in the room, confused as hell. What the hell was that?
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“That’s so stupid! It makes no sense!” Chan shouted throwing his pencil down and you groaned, dropping your head into your hands. Two weeks has passed since these forsaken lessons began and at every instance, Chan was getting on your last nerve. He was either stubborn or just plain stupid if he had this much trouble grasping the concept.
“It’s how it’s supposed to be said!” you said, as equally frustrated. “Why?” he asked and you groaned. Not this again. “I don’t know! That’s just the rules!” you said angrily. “What rules?! English has no rules! It beats other languages up in dark alleys, then rifles through their pockets for loose grammar and spare vocabulary!” Chan shouted and you paused, staring at him.
“What?!” he yelled and before you could think, you burst into laughter. Chan stared at you bewildered. “What the hell is so funny?” he asked and you pointed at him. “What you just said!” you said in between laughs. His angry facade dropped as he broke into a smile and started laughing along with you. “Well it’s true!” he said and you wiped a tear from your eye. “I mean, yeah it is,” you agreed before looking down at the worksheet and then at your watch. “Let’s stop here,” you said looking up at him.
“What?” he asked. “Why?” he leaned forward. “We’ve been at his nearly two hours and I didn’t get to eat lunch earlier since I was running late,” you said as you began packing up your things. Chan watched as you stacked your papers and put them away. “Well, let’s go get something to eat,” he said beginning to pack his things up. You froze, staring at him. “Let’s?” you asked and Chan looked up from his bag.
“Yeah, I’ll buy,” he said as he zipped up his bag and got to his feet. You stuffed your things in your bag and slung the strap over your shoulder, standing up slowly. “You don’t have to do that,” you said softly. “I was just going to go back to my room to eat,” you admitted and Chan scoffed. 
“And what? Eat some instant ramen?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. You glared at him. “I’m offering to buy you real food, so come on,” he said and waved you to follow him. After a few minutes of hesitation, he poked his head around the door frame. “I’m not going to wait all day, come on,” he said and disappeared again.
You hurried out of the room after him. You followed him out of the student center and headed out to the parking lot. He led you over to a black sedan and you looked at him as he pulled the keys out and unlocked the doors. “Get in,” he said nodding at the car. You followed suit, opening the passenger door and sliding into the black interior of the car. 
Clicking your seatbelt into place, Chan started the car and pulled out of the parking space. He drove out of the lot, heading for a side street instead of the main road. “Where are we going?” you asked looking around at the residential area he drove through.
“I found this quiet little diner in this neighborhood while I was on a run one day. I decided to come back and check it out later that week and fell in love with it. It’s definitely off the beaten path but it’s well worth it,” he said as he made a right turn and a small strip of business nestled in between houses came into view. Chan pulled around back into one of the handful of parking spaces and cut the engine.
You got out, leaving your bag in the car. Chan led you to the door and pulled it open, letting you go in before him. Once inside the building, you could see why he liked the place so much. It was small and cozy. Like a little cafe. There were only five tables in the whole restaurant. 
Chan led you to one in the corner and the two of you took your seats. Moments later, a young waitress appeared, roughly about your age. She smiled at the two of you as she pulled a pad of paper and pen out of her apron.
“What can I get you two to drink?” she asked and you looked over the small menu in front of you. “Water,” Chan said smiling at her. You looked over the beverages before ordering the same. She walked away to get your drinks while you looked over the menu again. 
“I always get the same thing here,” he said and let you look over the menu. When the server returned with a glass pitcher full of ice water which she then set on the table before holding her pad ready to write down your orders. “What can I get for you?” she asked.
“I just want the Mac and cheese with chicken,” Chan said without touching the menu. The server nodded, scribbling that down before turning to you. “Uh, just the chicken Florentine,” you said setting the menu back on the table. She jotted that down and turned to put your orders in, leaving you in silence. Chan looked out the window across the room from your table.
You took the time to look around the room, taking in the decor. The walls were a medium to dark brown wood, matching the wood on the floor. The small round tables seated four people at most and were covered in white table cloths. Each table had a small arrangement in the center, a little collection of tealights and a slender vase with a couple white flowers sticking out of the top. Crystal goblets with silver rims sat upside down on the tables not in use.
The chairs were adorned with white gauze that tied into simple knots in the back before draping down toward the floor. Huge windows faced the street, letting in as much natural light as allowed, the rest of the light came from the strings of warm white lights that crisscrossed overhead across the restaurant. Sconces on the walls added more warm light to the room. Two large ceiling fans spun at a medium speed above the string lights keeping the room nice and cool.
Chan cleared his throat softly and snapped you out of your trance as you lowered your eyes from the ceiling down to him. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” he asked and you nodded, uncertain of what to say at this point. You hadn’t expected this to be such an intimate setting and you certainly hadn’t expected Chan to bring you to it of all people. He surprised you and you weren’t sure if you like it.
“Yeah,” you replied softly looking away from him. You felt the tension between you rise but it was broken when the server returned with your food. The two of you thanked her for the food but you were more grateful that you had something to keep you occupied. The food was definitely delicious and you were extremely surprised by the place. You would have to remember how to get here in the future.
When you had eaten as much as you could, you set your utensils down as Chan finished his bowl of mac and cheese. He looked at your plate and then up at you. “Do you want to take that with you?” he asked nodding at your leftovers as he pulled his wallet out. “Oh,” you said and looked down at the plate, nodding. “Yeah,” you said quietly as the server came to drop off the bill. “Could we get a to-go box?” he asked, handing her his card and she nodded.
You bit your bottom lip and looked out the window at the darkening street. You turned your head back and saw Chan watching you. Warmth grew in your cheeks and you looked away again. The server returned with Chan’s card and a box which she handed to you. Thanking her, you took the box and started to dump your leftovers in the box, shutting it and setting your plate down.
Chan signed the slip and put his card back in his wallet before pulling out a couple bills and setting them on the table. He turned to you. “Are you ready?” he asked and caught you off guard. It seemed like he was treating this like a date and you didn’t know how to proceed, so you just nodded and stood quickly, grabbing the box with your food in it. Chan led you out of the restaurant and out to the car parked in the back. You got in, setting your food in your lap and buckled your seatbelt quickly.
Without a word, Chan started the car and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, taking a familiar route back to the campus. Silence surrounded you, bathing you in it as a tension rose between you again. The air was thick with it as neither one of you said a word. Chan pulled onto a street on campus. “Where is your dorm?” he asked and you looked over at him. “Oh, I live in Ha Rin Hall,” you said looking over at him. “You live in Unicorn Hall?” he asked with a smirk.
“Hey, it has suites! I don’t have to share my room,” you snapped and Chan held up a hand. “I’m not judging!” he said and you rolled your eyes. “Whatever,” you said looking out your window. The drive took only a few minutes and before you knew it, he had pulled up outside your dorm hall entrance. “Here,” he said and you looked up before turning to him as you unbuckled your seatbelt. “Thanks, for dinner,” you said as you grabbed your things. He nodded. “Sure thing,” he said.
You got out of the car and shut the door. Chan rolled the window down. “See you Sunday!” he called and you turned back as you headed up the sidewalk. The look in his eyes caught you off guard and you stumbled over your words. 
“Y-yeah. S-Sunday!” you agreed before turning back toward your building and racing up to the door and punching in the code. You rushed inside and to the elevator, pressing the button several times. When the doors opened, you launched yourself inside and pressed the button for your floor.
Your heart hammered against your ribs and you weren’t sure if it was from running inside or the look Chan had given you when he called out to you from inside his car. You opted for the former, refusing to acknowledge the look. It didn’t happen, so forget it.
Once on your floor, you passed your common room and unlocked your door to your room, shutting and locking it behind you before depositing your things in your chair. You put your leftovers in the mini fridge and shook your head. It was nothing. Stop thinking about it!
You got ready for bed, determined to just pretend like the whole night was normal. You changed into your pj's, brushed your teeth and made sure your alarm was set. You climbed into your bed and pulled the covers up, sleep soon taking you over.
The next morning, you woke before your alarm did and decided to get up anyway, despite having 20 minutes left. You showered and dried off, getting ready for your first class of the day. After leaving your dorm, you stopped by the student center to grab a coffee and a muffin before your first lecture.
You had just reached the end of the line when you heard your name. Looking up, you saw Chan and Soonyoung standing near the pickup counter, Soonyoung waving at you. Chan eyed him suspiciously but ultimately looked away from his friend to nod at you. The two walked over after getting their coffee.
“Hey,” you said smiling at Soonyoung. “Chan told me how his lessons are going,” he said looking at his friend who immediately looked at him wide eyed. “Oh?” you asked nervously. Soonyoung nodded. “He told me I was right and that you are a good teacher,” Soonyoung said. You glanced at Chan to see his cheeks a soft pink. “Did he now?” you asked, slightly smug.
Soonyoung nodded. “Yeah,” he said patting his friend on the back. “Aren’t you also tutoring Jeon Jeongguk? He’s spoken quite highly of you,” Soonyoung said and you nodded. “Yeah. He’s my best friend, but I tutor him on Tuesdays and Fridays,” you said.
A feeling of uneasiness washed over you. The look Chan was giving you burned through your body. His expression was blank but it was unmistakable. He was livid. You didn’t know what his problem was. “Hey, aren’t you taking her lessons, too?” Soonyoung asked looking at his friend. Chan forced a smile and nodded. “Yeah, Sundays and Wednesdays,” he said.
“You’re a pretty popular tutor!” Soonyoung said winking. “Chan on Sundays and Wednesdays, Jeongguk on Tuesdays and Fridays, and Mingyu on Thursdays and Saturdays! You’re a pretty busy girl!” Soonyoung said with a laugh. You chuckled, still feeling unnerved by the look Chan was giving you.
“Well, we won’t keep you, see you around (Y/N)!” Soonyoung said before pulling Chan along, no doubt heading for an early morning practice for baseball. You sighed a breath of relief before approaching the counter to place your order. “Iced caramel macchiato and a banana nut muffin?” the blonde haired barista smiled. You chuckled and nodded. “Pretty predictable, huh?” you asked as you fished your wallet out. “It’s nice to have a semblance of continuity,” he said as he rang you up.
“I won’t charge you for the muffin,” he added. “Just don’t tell anyone,” he added in a whisper. “Your secret’s safe with me,” you replied in a whisper. “Thanks Namjoon,” you added. He smiled as you paid for your coffee and stepped aside to wait for it. Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you pulled it out. It was a text from Chan.
[2019/10/10] L.Chan [06:41]: how many students do you tutor? You [06:42]: like 4 or 5. Why? L.Chan [06:42]: … L.Chan [06:43]: why didn’t you say you were tutoring more students? You [06:44]: does it matter? L.Chan [06:44]: no L.Chan [06:45]: nvm. Forget i said anything. See you Sunday.
You stared at your phone in confusion before Namjoon’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts. He held out your coffee and a paper bag. “Thanks,” you said with a smile. “Have a good day, (Y/N). See you tomorrow!” You headed for your class and ate your muffin on the way.
Your first lecture passed quickly but your phone kept buzzing in your pocket so you turned the vibration off. Upon leaving you checked your phone. You had 10 missed texts. Two were from Mingyu explaining he couldn’t make his lesson for the day. You shot back a text that his workload would double on Saturday and he better not skip. He replied instantly.
[2019/10/10] K.Mingyu [08:03]: I’ll be there I promise! My mom has her follow up for her test today and I really wanted to be there for her. I’m sorry I had to cancel. You [08:03]: I’m only jesting, Gyu. Take care of your mom. I hope everything goes well. Let me know how she’s doing. I’ll see you next Thursday. Take Saturday off to be with her. K.Mingyu [08:05]: you are literally the best. Thank you so much, (Y/N)!
You turned your attention to the eight other missed texts. They were all from Chan.
[2019/10/10] L.Chan [07:21]: who else are you tutoring? L.Chan [07:23]: me, Mingyu, Jeongguk, who else? L.Chan [07:25]: Not that it matters. I’m just curious L.Chan [07:31]: Have any of them taken you to dinner?? L.Chan [07:32]: wait nvm don’t answer that. L.Chan [07:40]: … actually, answer that. L.Chan [07:44]: why the hell aren’t you answering me?? L.Chan [07:56]: shit. You’re in class. Duh. i’m stupid. Ignore me.
You stared in disbelief at your phone until the ellipsis at the bottom of the screen appeared indicating he was typing. You panicked and closed your texting app and locked your screen before shoving your phone deep in your bag. You didn’t want to know what he said.
Instead you headed for the student center to take advantage of the quiet room to finish going over your homework to make sure it was finished. You had just sat down when you heard footsteps approaching and you looked up to see it was Chan. He stopped right in front of you before he grabbed your bag and started rifling through it. “Hey!” you whisper yelled trying to take your bag back. He pulled your phone out and shoved it at you. You stared at him for a few moments. He nodded at your phone, indicating you to look at it. You rolled your eyes and opened it, checking his message.
[2019/10/10] L.Chan [08:07]: where are you? L.Chan [08:10]: I know you read my messages which means you’re out of class. I know you have a free period. I want to talk. L.Chan [08:12]: why are you ignoring me?
Chan snatched your phone out of your hand and look at the screen. You angrily snatched your phone back and grabbed your bag before pointing to the exit and led the way, Chan following closely behind you. Once exiting the quiet room, Chan grabbed your arm and led you away from the crowded court of the student center and away toward an empty classroom.
“What are you doing?” you hissed as he opened the door and shoved you in, shutting the door behind you. “I wanted to talk to you!” he said and leaned against the door, arms crossed in front of him. “Well, then talk!” you snapped and he narrowed his eyes.
“What is your problem?” he asked and you scoffed. “My problem? What is your problem? All those texts? Following me to the quiet room and looking through my bag? Taking my phone? Why are you acting like some jealous boyfriend?!” you snapped and Chan froze.
He regained his composure before slipping into a cool facade. “I am not. I just forgot that you were in a lecture, that’s all.” You crossed your arms. “Okay, then why are you asking me about my other tutor students like it’s somehow your business?” you asked and he shrugged. “I told you, I was curious,” he reiterated. You narrowed your eyes at him. “Right, sure,” you said.
“I’m not jealous. I just didn’t realize your schedule was so full,” he said and you nodded slowly. “So, can I go now? I need to finish going over my homework. It’s due my next class,” you said and Chan nodded but didn’t move. You waited patiently for him to stand up but he didn’t. You groaned and moved forward, determined to push him out of the way if you had to.
Upon reaching the door, Chan grabbed you by the arm and spun, pushing you against the door and pining you there. You let out a small yelp as he did. He stood there, his body pressing yours against the door, his hands pressed against the door on either side of your head. “What are you doing?” you whispered, your heart racing and finding it hard to breathe.
Chan stared at you, his head lowering until his lips were mere inches from yours. A loud crack of thunder sounded across the campus catching you, and thankfully, Chan off guard. He jumped and this allowed you enough of a window to open the door and race out of the room and as far away from him as possible. You took refuge in the ladies bathroom, ignoring the chime of the clock tower as eight thirty hit.
You were late for your class but you knew your professor would grant you a pass for turning in your assignment late. She loved having you in class. You hid in the bathrooms for nearly twenty minutes before braving the halls and heading back to your dorm, deciding to skip your classes and submit your homework from the safety of your room instead.
You made it back without instance and once you were locked in your room, you submitted the rest of your homework virtually and tucked yourself away in your bed. You were glad that Mingyu had decided to cancel his lessons for the day as you were a mess.
What the hell had gotten into Chan? What gave him the right to behave like that? What did he think you were to him? He took you to dinner one time and he thought you suddenly belonged to him? Bullshit. You wouldn’t stand for it. You would set him straight the next lesson.
You decided to order food instead of go out and interact with anyone. You sat in your room, eating your pizza when the first text came in.
[2019/10/10] L.Chan [18:22]: Look, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. L.Chan [18:23]: You’re my tutor and I shouldn’t have done that. Let’s just forget this and put it behind us. I’ll see you on Sunday? You [18:25]: Sunday. Consider it forgotten.
You threw your phone on your sheets and laid back, groaning when you felt the vibration near your foot. You reached down to grab the device and read the message.
L.Chan [18:26]: K
You threw your phone back down on the blanket and pulled the edge over your head and screamed into your pillow. He was a confusing asshole and you needed to put all of this out of your mind if you were going to get through the rest of his lessons without anymore incident.
Safe to say, you were dreading Chan’s Sunday lessons as they drew closer. Jeongguk noticed you seemed a little more tense that usual on Friday. “What’s wrong?” he asked, placing his hand on yours as you fiddled with your pencil. You shook your head. “Just class,” you lied and he squeezed your hand softly. Looking up, you were met with his warm eyes. You sighed, knowing he saw right through your lies.
“It’s these lessons with Chan. He’s such an asshole!” you said in a whisper yell. Jeongguk laughed as he sat back. “What’s new? He’s always been a brat,” he said and you glared at him. “Not helping,” you said and he shrugged. “What do you want me to say?” he asked and you shook your head.
“I just don’t get him. First he’s an asshole and teasing me about my crush on his best friend, and then he’s all sweet and takes me out to eat, and then-” you spilled out but Jeongguk held his hands up to stop you. “Whoa, wait a second. He did what?!” he asked and you covered your mouth when you realized you had forgotten to tell Jeongguk about Wednesday. “He took you out to eat?” he asked incredulously and you nodded slowly.
“When the hell were you gonna tell me this?” he demanded angrily and you shrugged. “Sorry,” you whispered. Jeongguk shook his head and gestured for you to continue your rant. You launched back into it. “And then,” you said and gulped, knowing the next part would set your best friend off again.
“And then, what?” he asked and you hesitated, looking at Jeongguk. His arms were crossed, his expression unreadable but his eyes told you all you needed to know. He was waiting patiently for you to continue. You took a deep breath and spoke again. “Then he found out I’m tutoring people other than him and he got… upset? He asked why I didn’t tell him I was tutoring other people. I told him it didn’t matter but he was still mad, so when I tried to leave, he pinned me against the wall and almost kissed me,” you finished and Jeongguk leaned forward. “What the fuck?” he hissed.
“You should have told me this! I would have knocked his lights out!” he added and you looked down at the table to avoid his gaze. The two of you were silent until he finally broke it. “I’m calling an emergency and cancelling this lesson,” he said and you looked up at him. “We’re going out. You need a night out,” he said and you shook your head. “You can’t cancel lessons,” you chuckled and he stuffed his things in his bag and started packing your things up.
“Jeongguk! Only I can cancel lessons!” you said before he grabbed your hand and pulled you up to your feet. You let out a little squeal and erupted into giggles as he dragged you to your dorm room from your floor’s common room. “You’re going in there and you’re going to change. It’s Friday night, you seem stressed so as your best friend, I’m taking you out tonight, we’re going to get drunk and then you can sleep in tomorrow since Mingyu cancelled!” he said as he pushed you toward your door.
“You can’t make that decision!” you laughed and Jeongguk shook his head. “I’m not listening until you change into something that gets the blood flowing!” he said over you. Rolling your eyes, you unlocked the door and stepped inside, Jeongguk following behind you. He sat on your bed as you entered your bathroom and shut the door. He was right. You needed a break and what better way than to drink and let loose. You started to pull stuff out of your closet, trying them on before showing him.
“That top, yes, those bottoms? No,” he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Don’t you have any clubbing dresses or something?” he asked and you shook your head. “I’m not wearing that again, I told you already!” you said and Jeongguk hopped up, pushing his way into your closet to search for the dress you were both talking about. He found it crumpled on the floor and picked it up, shaking it and holding it up.
"You’re wearing this,” he said and you shook your head. “No, the fuck I’m not!” you shouted and he raised an eyebrow. “Either you’re going to put this on yourself, or I will strip you and put it on you myself,” he threatened. You snatched the dress from him and shoved him out of your bathroom, shutting the door and locking it. You stripped down to your bra and panties and pulled the dress on.
“I need you to zip it up,” you called through the door. You unlocked it, letting Jeongguk in. He zipped the back of the dress up for you and whistled when you turned around. “Goddamn, if you weren’t like a sister to me, I’d totally take you home with me tonight,” he said with a wink. You pushed him out and gagged. “Disgusting. You’re disgusting!” Jeongguk laughed as you searched for a pair of shoes to go with the dress. Once dressed, your hair done, and makeup on, you looked at yourself in the mirror.
“I hate you so much,” you said as you fished your ID and debit card out of your bag and handed them to Jeongguk. He tucked them in his wallet for safekeeping before checking his watch. “Come on, Cinderella, or we’ll be late for the ball,” he said jokingly as you took one last glance in the mirror.
The dress was a stunning black velvet with an off the shoulder sweetheart neckline and sleeves the extended down just past your wrists. The tulip skirt stopped about mid-thigh, hugging your hips snugly. Under the dress you wore your favorite black lace bra and gray panties. The heels you chose were the same ones you had worn for a New Year’s party. Gold faded into black with red bottoms.
You grabbed your phone off the desk and followed Jeongguk out of your room. He led you to the elevator which you took down to the lobby and caught an Uber to the club Jeongguk frequented. “I can’t believe you haven’t gone out since that night,” Jeongguk said shaking his head. He was speaking, of course, about the same night you threw a drink in Chan’s face at a frat party.
“Oh, can it, Gguk,” you said as the car pulled to a stop at the curb. Jeongguk got out, helping you out after him. He took your hand and led you to the end of the line.  In no time, you reached the doors. While waiting, a particularly loud group of guys exited the club and you recognized them. It was Chan and his friends from the baseball team, Soonyoung, Jihoon, Jeonghan, and their captain, Seungcheol.
Your heart skipped a beat when you saw Soonyoung. A huge smile on his face as he and his friends left the club. He looked particularly stunning in the tight black jeans he was wearing with small rips on his upper thighs and again at his knees. The black bomber jacket he wore open showed off the plain white tee shirt underneath. Your breath stunted as he brought a hand up to brush his hair back, showing off his forehead. A simple gesture, but something that still made your knees weak. God he looks good.
As the group passed by, Soonyoung caught sight of you and called out. “Hey, (Y/N)!” he said and Chan’s attention snapped to you as the group stopped. He was wearing a bright red hoodie under a black jacket with black jeans. He looked surprised to see you. You said hello to the guys why Jeongguk handed the bouncer both your IDs. “Holy shit,” Soonyoung said as he looked you over. Your heart beat faster while your stomach did somersaults at his reaction.
“Damn, why the hell are we leaving?” he asked, turning to look at Seungcheol who laughed and waved at you. “Because we’re not even supposed to drink the night before a game,” he said with a smile. Chan’s eyes were glued to you as he looked you up and down. Jeongguk placed a hand on your lower back to get your attention.
“Let’s go,” he said softly and both Soonyoung and Chan looked at him, startled as if they hadn’t noticed him standing next to you the whole time.. “Oh! Jeon!” Soonyoung said smiling brightly at him. “You’re a lucky guy!” Jeonghan said nodding toward you with a wink. Jeongguk laughed and shook his head. “No, it’s not like that. We’re just friends. We have been for some time,” he said and you nodded, avoiding Chan’s gaze.
“It’s a damn shame we have to leave,” Jihoon said also giving you the once over and a smirk. Your cheeks burned pink with embarrassment. “I’m going to strangle you in your sleep,” you said to Jeongguk. “I made her wear this,” he said nodding at your ensemble. “Good choice,” Jeonghan said, nodding in approval. Your cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink and when your eyes met Chan’s you felt something stir deep in your stomach. The way he was looking at you was so… primal.
You looked away quickly as the group began to depart. “Have a good night!” Soonyoung called as he grabbed Chan and pulled the younger man away. When you peered over your shoulder, you saw Chan look back at you before Jeongguk led you into the club. Inside was loud, hot, and packed. Strobe lights blinded you as Jeongguk made his way through the crowd, pulling you along as he headed for the bar.
He ordered both of you two shots each and a drink for you. He was determined to get you drunk. Once you were three shots in, he pulled you onto the dance floor. “You’re going to have fun whether you like it or not!” he said in your ear over the bass as he pulled you into him and started moving to the beat. If he had been any other guy, you would have pushed him away, possibly even slapped him.
You had known Jeongguk for so long that you felt the most comfortable dancing with him because you knew he would never take it too far. The heat of the bodies around you mixed with the alcohol made your head swim and you leaned into Jeongguk, asking him to get you some water. He nodded and left the dance floor to get you some. A very bad move.
A few moments later, you felt two hands on your hips. Assuming it was Jeongguk you leaned into the frame behind you. “Did you get my water?” you asked over the music. You felt his lips near your ear but the voice that spoke wasn’t Jeongguk’s. “Are you thirsty?” 
You spun around and were met face to face with Chan. His hands held your hips in place. “What are you doing?” you asked and he smiled, pulling you into him. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked and you gulped. If you said no, things would progress and you knew they would go too far. If you said yes however he would leave and you didn’t want that.
Luckily, you didn’t have to answer. Jeongguk returned with your water and pulled you out of Chan’s grip. “Don’t you have a baseball game tomorrow you should be getting rest for?” he asked over the music. Chan shrugged. “It’s still pretty early and the game isn’t until tomorrow evening.” Jeongguk handed you the water, keeping a protective hold around your waist as you took a huge gulp of water.
“Regardless, I brought her here and I’m responsible for her,” he said. Chan laughed, rolling his eyes. “Do you honestly think I would do anything to hurt her? I’m not that kind of guy and you know it, Jeon!” Chan said over the bass. Jeongguk still didn’t release you. “Unless she tells me to buzz off, I’m not letting her out of my sight,” he said as you finished your water. “Jeongguk,” you said with your head a little clearer.
He looked down at you. “I think one dance is okay,” you said to him. Jeongguk looked from you to Chan. “Just one,” you added, pointing at Chan. He nodded in agreement and Jeongguk reluctantly let go of you. He slipped between the crowd, no doubt going to keep watch somewhere. Chan took your hand and pulled you into him. “Once dance, Chan, I mean it,” you said and he smirked at you.
“After once dance, you’ll want another, and then another,” he said and you rolled your eyes, lightly slapping him on the shoulder. “No I won’t,” you said as he held your hips and turned you so you were facing away from him. His lips brushed against your cheek before he whispered, “one dance and you’ll want to come home with me.” Your heart leapt in your chest as you tried to control your breathing. Get it together, (Y/N), you told yourself. This is Chan, not Soonyoung.
Without warning, Chan pulled your hips back against his and you nearly moaned at the feeling of his obvious erection pressing against your backside. His lips trailed up your neck before stopping by your ear, his breath hot against your skin. “Do you see what you do to me? Do you feel what you do to my body?” he breathed rolling his hips against you. A small moan left your lips and Chan wrapped an arm around your waist.
“Come back with me. You know you want to,” he hissed and you shook your head. “I can’t,” you whimpered. He chuckled lowly in your ear, one of his hands sliding down and around to grab your hip, his fingers sinking into the soft flesh. “Come on,” he said, pulling your hips back against his crotch again, causing another hot moan leaving your throat. “God you sound so good,” he whispered.
His hand on your hip slid to your stomach to hold you against him again. “Come back with me. Let me take care of you,” he said as you continued to sway to the music, your ass grinding against his hips. “Let me taste you, (Y/N). I’ll make you feel so good, baby,” he said, nipping at your neck. “Please, Chan. I can’t,” you breathed.
He stopped, turning you so you were facing him. “Can’t or won’t?” he asked and you shook your head. “I can’t, Chan,” you repeated. Chan scoffed, letting go of your hips as he backed away. You looked into his eyes hooded with lust before cocked his head. “One last chance,” he offered and when you hesitated, he turned and walked away leaving you on the dance floor and taking your breath with him.
Jeongguk must have seen because he was by your side in seconds. “Let’s get you home,” he said and led you off the dance floor and toward the door. “He’s such an L.Chan,” you hissed as Jeongguk led you out into the cool night air. “What?” Jeongguk asked as he pulled his phone out and requested an Uber pick up. You fell silent and when the car arrived, Jeongguk didn’t ask anymore questions.
He took you back to your dorm to drop you off, making sure you made it safely before he left and headed back to his building. You unzipped your dress and slid it off, replacing it with your pajamas. When you threw your dress in your hamper, you heard your phone go off. You walked over to check it. A text from Chan.
L.Chan [00:13]: why wouldn’t you just come back with me? Do you know how much I want you? You [00:14]: I couldn’t just leave Gguk L.Chan [00:14]: so you left with Jeon?? L.Chan [00:14]: Did you go back to his place? L.Chan [00:15]: Are you gonna fuck him?? You [00:15]: i told you, Jeongguk is my FRIEND. I’m not interested in him like that. L.Chan [00:16]: so are you in your room right now? You [00:16]: yes. L.Chan [00:17]: alone?? You [00:17]: yes, goddamn L.Chan [00:18]: prove it. Prove it to me.
You took a picture of you laying in your bed and sent that in the text with the caption, “would i send this if i wasn’t alone?”
L.Chan [00:19]:...are you teasing me?? You [0019]: and what if I am?
It was a moment before he responded and when he did, he sent an image. Upon opening it, you saw it was the outline of his erection through his boxers, his blanket pushed just below it.
L.Chan [00:19]: you did this, now come and fix it. You [00:20]: make me~ L.Chan [00:20]: I’m coming over, let me in You [00:20]: you have a game tomorrow L.Chan [00:21]: i don’t give a shit. I’m coming over and i’m gonna fuck you You [00:22]: no you’re not. L.Chan [00:23]: why the hell not? 😠 You [00:23]: because I said so. L.Chan [00:24]: then send me a picture. Help a guy out 😣
You scoffed and threw your phone on your bed. He has some nerve. You weren’t normally the kind of girl to send provocative pictures, but in your drunken state, it was tempting. Your thoughts were interrupted but a vibration on your mattress which caught your attention. Chan had sent you a picture.
You opened it much too quickly. In the picture, Chan had pulled himself out of his underwear and your jaw dropped. He was much larger than you thought. You felt your phone buzz again.
L.Chan [00:25]: you like the picture? 😉 L.Chan [00:25]: Come over and let me fuck you. L.Chan [00:25]: At least let me taste you. L.Chan [00:25]: Bury my face between those gorgeous thighs of yours and make you come all over my 👅
The temptation was there. You would be lying if you said you didn’t want to. Instead, you sat up, taking off your shirt before lying back and pushing your shorts off, throwing them on the floor. You took another picture in the semi darkness of your room. You sent it to Chan.
You [00:26]: I’m too drunk to come over. 🤪
He answered quicker than he had in the past.
L.Chan [00:27]: fuck you’re beautiful. I want to come all over that lace bra 💦 You [00:27]: keep saying that and I’ll up your lesson plan 🙅🏻‍♀️ L.Chan [00:28]: goddammit, i want to bend you over the table in that stupid room L.Chan [00:28]: fuck you until you can’t walk in the morning. You [00:30]: … you can’t do that. Not in there L.Chan [00:30]: why not? L.Chan [00:30]: don’t want everyone to know what a dirty slut you are? 😏 You [00:31]: i’m not the one sending dick pics to his tutor L.Chan [00:32]: pics of a dick you want to choke on 🍆 You [00:33]: bold of you to presume that L.Chan [00:33]: send me another picture. This time, no bra You [00:33]: so demanding 🙄 L.Chan [00:33]: shut up and just do it. I want to see you You [00:36]: what do i get in return? 🤷🏻‍♀️ L.Chan [00:36]: gimme a sex L.Chan [00:36]: sec* lol
A few moments later, a video clip appeared in the thread. You clicked on it. Chan’s hand was wrapped around the shaft of his cock, slowly moving up and down. You heard him hiss in the background. “I wish this was your mouth instead of my hand,” he whispered.
Your walls clenched around nothing and you immediately got up, walking over to your full length mirror, you wrapped an arm under your breasts, pushing them up and snapped a picture, the strap of your bra slipping down your shoulder. His reply was instantaneous.
L.Chan [00:39]: ugh stop teasing me baby 😫
A giggle escaped you as you slid your panties down your thighs before undoing your bra and slipping that off. You raised a finger out in front of you, covering your breasts and sex all at once before snapping another picture and sending it to Chan. Might as well make him suffer.
L.Chan [00:39]: fucking hell 😳😍 You [00:40]: are you still touching yourself? 👀 L.Chan [00:40]: yesss You [00:41]: you want to Facetime? 😘 L.Chan [00:42]: fuck. Yes. 😍
Your phone lit up with an incoming call. You hopped into your bed before answering it. Half expecting to be met with Chan’s dick, you were surprised to see his face instead. “I wish you would have just let me come over,” he said in a breathy voice. “Sorry~,” you said in a sweet voice. “Don’t lie to me,” he said, a small moan leaving his lips.
“I’m not. I am sorry. I’m being responsible, Chan. I’m your tutor,” you said and he groaned. “Only in that room. Outside of it, you’re my peer. Peers can fuck. So let me fuck you,” he said, his breath speeding up. “Are you close?” you asked and he nodded. “Keep going,” you said softly, watching the way his eyes fluttered shut and he bit his bottom lip to keep quiet.
“Do you have a roommate?” you asked and he shook his head. “Then don’t hold back. Let me hear you,” you said, your hand wandering to your already wet core. “Are you touching yourself to this?” Chan asked and you smiled before nodded. “I am,” you replied feeling the wetness seeping between your folds. “Let me see,” Chan said and you tapped to switch to rear facing camera where it was pointed at your hand disappearing between your thighs.
“Fuck that’s so hot,” Chan’s voice said and you returned to front facing camera. “I want to taste you so bad, (Y/N),” he whimpered. Your walls clenched when he let out a moan. Your fingers worked against your clit, teasing yourself as you brought yourself closer and closer to the edge. “Keep going, keep touching yourself,” he said when a small moan slipped between your lips. “Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to hear that in person.”
“Do you want my cock, baby?” he asked and you nodded, slipping a finger inside your wet heat. “God, I want you inside me so bad,” you whined. “Should have let me come over,” he said with a smirk. You groaned, curling your fingers to hit your sweet spot. “Fuck baby, do that again. Let me see what you’re doing,” he demanded. You turned the camera and continued to fuck yourself with your fingers.
“How many fingers are you using?” he asked. “Two,” you replied. “Add another, that’s how many I would use to get your ready to take me,” he said and you complied, adding a third finger, enjoying the slight sting as your stretched yourself. “I bet you’re nice and wet, perfect for me to slide right in. God I want to fuck you so bad. Pound into you. I want you to scream my name.”
You whimpered at his words, speeding up your pace. “Would you like that, baby? My hard cock in your tight hole?” he asked and you nodded. “Yes, I want your hard cock inside me, Chan,” you moaned. He chuckled lowly. “Such a good little slut for me. You’re a good girl, aren’t you?” he asked. “Yes,” you breathed feeling your orgasm draw closer. “Yes what?” he asked. “Yes, I’m a good girl,” you breathed.
“Are you close?” he asked, his breathing shallow as he neared his climax. You nodded with a whimper as you bit your lip. “Good, keep going baby. Come for me all over your fingers like a good slut,” he said as he sped up. “Only if you come all over yourself,” you breathed and Chan chuckled again. “Okay baby. I’ll do that. Now don’t stop until you come. Tell me how good you feel,” he said and you moaned.
Your orgasm approached rapidly, your toes curling in bliss as you continued to pleasure yourself at his words. “Does it feel good, babygirl?” Chan asked you. “Yes, yes,” you moaned. “I’m so close,” you whined. “Keep going, baby. Be a good girl and come for me,” Chan whispered, barely audible. Your high hit you and you came with a whimper and a moan of Chan’s name as you continued to ride out your climax.
“Fucking shit, baby,” Chan groaned as he released on his end with a low moan. He shuddered on camera, eyes shut as he came down from his orgasm. The two of you sat there in your beds silent as you both basked in the afterglow of your orgasms. “God damnit (Y/N). Next time just let me come over and fuck you,” Chan said, panting. You let out a shaky laugh. “Next time,” you murmured.
“Get some sleep, Chan. You have a game in the morning,” you said as you sat up. “What are you going to do?” he asked, his face squished against the pillows on his bed. “I’m taking a shower and then going to bed,” you answered. Chan smiled and nodded. “Okay. You do that. I’ll text you tomorrow,” he said and you shook your head. “You don’t have to do that,” you answered. He merely shrugged, with a smile and said, “I want to. Goodnight, (Y/N).” He hung up before you had a chance to answer. “Night, Chan.”
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The next morning you awoke to knocking on your door. You groaned as you opened your eyes and looked around. Your floor was littered with your clothing from the night before. You had fallen asleep naked. Your head throbbed as the knocking continued. A small whimper left your lips as you rolled over and wrapped the blankets around you. You slid off the bed, making sure you were covered before you unlocked and cracked the door. Jeongguk was on the other side.
“I come bearing gifts,” he said holding up a paper sack and a coffee. “I also brought Tylenol,” he added and you opened the door, hiding behind it so no one would see you wrapped in your blanket. Jeongguk entered the room and whistled when he looked around. You shut the door and padded over to your bed. “Who did you fuck last night?” he asked as he handed you the coffee and bag.
You shook your head and hid in your wrap as you opened the bag. Inside were two breakfast burritos and a small side of hash browns. You whispered a blessing upon Jeongguk as you unwrapped a burrito and dug in. Jeongguk looked at your clothes on the floor again. “If you didn’t fuck anyone last night, why are your clothes everywhere?” You looked up at him, mouth full of burrito.
“Cause I was drunk and too lazy to put my clothes away?” you answered and Jeongguk laughed. “Or to put clothes on I see,” he said nodding at your bare shoulders and collar. “Fuck off,” you said before taking another bite of burrito. Jeongguk stood up and made his way into your closet. “Jeongguk, get out of my closet you pervert!” you called in a groggy voice. You lifted the coffee to your lips and took a sip, sighing at the sweet taste of the sugar and creamer.
Jeongguk returned moments later with clean underwear, a tee shirt, sweatpants, and a hoodie. “Get dressed, loser. I’m taking you to the baseball game,” he said throwing your clothes on the bed. You glared at him, narrowing your eyes. Jeongguk laughed again and turned away so you could put your clothes on. You pulled on the sports bra and underwear before sliding off the bed and into your sweats. The shirt he had chosen was your the shirt you had gotten with your university acceptance package.
You rolled your eyes before pulling on your hoodie and taking a look in the mirror. You whistled and told Jeongguk to give you five minutes to make yourself presentable. Jeongguk grabbed the unopened burrito and sat on your bed. “I’ll just eat this,” he said and you pouted before going into the bathroom to wash your face and apply some sunscreen and BB cream. You weren’t focused on grabbing any attention, you just wanted to not look hungover or sick.
After that you pulled your hair up into a messy ponytail and returned to your bed to finish your burrito and hash browns. “Let’s go idiot,” you said to Jeongguk and he rolled out of your bed. The two of you made your way out of your room and down to the lobby. Jeongguk told you about his night after he dropped you off at your dorm. Apparently he had run into an old friend and they ended up hooking up.
“That wasn’t stupid, right? Cause she gives some really good head,” he said as you walked toward the baseball stadium. You rolled your eyes at him. “It’s not stupid, just so long as you are on the same page,” you said. You reached the field in no time and Jeongguk bought your tickets before leading you down toward the dugout. He liked to sit front row at the games since his basketball team always attended the baseball team’s games.
You sat down next to him in literally the front row, looking out at the field over the fence. The two teams were warming up, the visiting team on the other side of the field. You were talking to Jeongguk when you noticed Chan out on the field warming up with Seungcheol. “Hey, (Y/N)!” you heard and looked down to see Soonyoung had just emerged from the dugout with Jihoon. You smiled and waved back at them.
Soonyoung ran over and you scooted forward in your seat to rest your arms on the fence. “What are you doing here?” he asked smiling up at you. “Jeongguk brought me,” you said nodding back at your best friend. Soonyoung greeted Jeongguk with a nod. “So, what position are you?” you asked drawing Soonyoung’s attention. “Shortstop! Jihoon is catcher.”
Jihoon looked up at you, giving you a smile which you returned. “Seokmin,” Soonyoung said looking behind him and pointing to another member on the team, one with reddish curly hair. “He’s our pitcher. Minghao is first baseman,” Soonyoung pointed to tall and slender member with longer black hair and glasses who was practicing with another member with short blonde hair, “and he’s practicing with our second baseman, Junhui.”
Seungcheol is right field, Jeonghan is left field, and Joshua is center field,” Soonyoung added pointing out the three respectively. “Chan is our third baseman. In the dugout we have Wonwoo our relief pitcher, Seungkwan is one of our utility infielders along with Mingyu but he’s out today, and Vernon is our pinch runner.” Soonyoung continued, naming the rest of the team in the dugout.
“Then there’s also our closing pitcher Minhyuk, our LOOGY Changkyun, Hyunwoo is backup catcher, Mark is first baseman relief, Jinyoung is second baseman relief, and Kihyun is third baseman relief. Jooheon takes over for me if I need the break, Hoseok is our pinch hitter, Yugyeom is our Designated hitter for Seokmin, and Jackson is equipment manager. Bambam and Hyungwon are also utility outfielders while Youngjae and Jaebum are utility infielders.”
You nodded slowly and Jeongguk laughed leaning forward. “She has no idea what you just said,” he laughed. Jihoon chuckled and readjusted his hat. “I catch, Seokmin and Wonwoo throw, Minghao, Junhui, and Chan stay on the bases, Joshua, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol catch balls in the outfield, Soonyoung gets to run all over infield, and everyone else subs,” Jihoon explained.
“Yeah, that speaks more my level of baseball knowledge,” you said. Soonyoung laughed, the sound drawing Chan’s attention. He squinted and noticed you before tossing a ball back to Minghao. One of the coaches called Jihoon over and he excused himself. “So, what are you doing tonight?” Soonyoung asked when Jeongguk sat back in his seat.
You shrugged. “I have no idea. I was supposed to have a tutor lesson with Mingyu, but like you said, he’s out today and had to cancel,” you admitted. Soonyoung perked up. “So you have no plans?” he asked and you nodded. “Then, how about this? Whenever we win a game, there’s always a party at the Iota Nu Delta house. If we win today, be my date?” he asked and your cheeks turned pink.
“O-okay,” you said and Soonyoung broke into a huge grin. “Okay, I’ll be on the field all game, so cheer for me, okay?” he asked and you nodded before he took off when the coaches called him over. Chan looked from Soonyoung to you before turning back to his teammates.
The game would be starting soon. You sat back in your seat and looked at Jeongguk. “Did Soonyoung ask you on a date~?” he asked not looking up from his phone and you nodded. “Yeah, I guess he did,” you admitted. Jeongguk gave you a sly smirk and you slapped his shoulder. “Can it, Gguk!” you giggled before you heard someone call your name. You looked back at the field and saw Soonyoung wave at you. Your face turning red, you returned his wave and slid down in your seat.
You missed the way Chan glared at his friend in favor for the start of the game. The announcer came on the intercom and started the beginning of the game. He announced the teams and the players on each team, taking extra care to mention the key players on the home team. When each of their names were announced, the players stepped forward and waved and posed to a torrent of screams and cheers.
After announcing the players, the first pitch was thrown by the home team with Seokmin as starting pitcher. You watched the field as Jeongguk explained the mechanics of the game to you in between plays. The home team, your university’s team, was amazing. The guys were fast, catching hits and throwing them to the bases or back to Jihoon behind the home plate. They didn’t even let the visiting team score. When they were up to bat, you had never seen anything like it.
The fastest members were probably Minghao or Chan. They zoomed around the bases like little bees. They scored left and right, running the bases. Jeongguk explained how every time the teams swapped, the inning changed. Right now he said they were in the bottom of the fourth ending. “Bottom?” you asked and Jeongguk smiled and leaned forward.
“So when an inning starts, it’s called the top of the inning when one team is batting. When three outs are made, the teams switch so the fielding team will be up to bat, which will then be the bottom of the inning. The inning ends when the second batting team gets three outs.” You looked from Jeongguk to the field. “Okay! That makes sense!” you said nodding.
As the game progressed you noticed Chan watching you more and more from third base. You tried to ignore the look he gave you and focus on the game. By the top of the ninth inning, you were totally invested in the game cheering and encouraging the team. They were on the field with two outs. “I’ve never seen you get this much into sports,” Jeongguk laughed and you looked back at him with a wide grin. “I never realized I liked baseball so much!” you admitted. The home team caught the third out and the teams switched, signaling the start of the bottom of the ninth inning.
First up to bat was Changkyun. He was one of the only left handed batters on the team and also being the left handed pitcher. He hit the ball toward the bases and took off for first, making it before the opposing team even scooped the ball up. His teammates erupted into applause while he mocked bowing before taking his stance on the base.
Up next was Hyunwoo. He was a guy you’d seen around campus before usually with his best friends Hoseok and Kihyun. Hyunwoo was a particularly well built guy with broad shoulders, tall and muscular. He filled out his uniform well as he took his stance on home plate, swinging the bat a couple times before he stood ready to swing. The opposing team’s pitcher threw hard but Hyunwoo swung right, his aim true and he hit the ball into the outfield before the players had time to catch up. He made it to first, Changkyun on second.
Next to bat was Yugyeom stepped up to the plate. He was, as Soonyoung said earlier, designated hitter for the pitcher, Seokmin. Yugyeom also hit toward the bases and made it to first, the other two rotating around so each base had a member on it. The coach of the opposing team swapped out the pitcher for a new guy and Jeongguk sat closer to the edge of his seat. “They’re trying to switch it up, catch our guys with a new pitcher. They’re gonna try to get a triple play,” he said resting his arms on the fence.
You turned your attention to the practice section for the next batter and saw it was Jeonghan but the manager ran up to him and said something. Jeonghan looked over at the dugout as another member came out ready to bat. Jeonghan nodded and swapped places with the new guy. “Fuck yes,” Jeongguk exclaimed softly and you looked at him. “The pinch hitter,” he said and you looked back at the guy stepping up to the plate. It was Lee Hoseok. If Hyunwoo was built, then Hoseok was ripped.
They guy adjusted his gloves and tapped the bottom of his shoe with his bat before taking his stance and swinging the bat three times before holding it steady. He smirked at the new pitcher and waited. The first ball thrown was called foul, giving the opposing team one out. The second ball was also foul, giving for another out. You grabbed Jeongguk’s hand and he laughed. “You’re worried for nothing,” he said as the pitcher geared up to throw a third ball. Hoseok swung so fast and hard that all you heard was the crack of the ball making contact with his bat before he dropped it and took off.
Changkyun crossed the plate first, followed by Hyunwoo, then Yugyeom. Cheers erupted from around the stadium and the dugout as the ball crossed over the far barrier and Hoseok brought up the rear laughing as his teammates rushed out to jump on him. “What?” you looked at Jeongguk. “Told you not to worry,” he laughed. You looked over as the team celebrated their victory. You cheered along side the rest of the stadium before Jeongguk finally pulled you out of your seat. “Come on! They’re gonna celebrate with a party later, let’s go so you can get changed,” he said and you followed him and his basketball teammates up the steps.
It took some time to get out of the stadium and into the parking lot where the rest of Jeongguk’s friends piled into cars, you sitting in the front seat of Seokjin’s car. Jeongguk was squashed in the back with Jimin and Taehyung. Seokjin pulled up outside your building and you promised to be quick. You rushed up to your room to change and get ready to go to a house party. You hadn’t been to one in years so you decided to put a little effort into your appearance.
Once satisfied with your look, you headed out to the elevator. You pressed the button taking it down to the lobby. Your phone buzzed in your hand and you opened it to find two messages waiting. One from Soonyoung and the other from Chan.
[2019/10/12] Soonyoung [21:06]: you’re still coming to the party, right? (: You [21:06]: I’m on my way now!
You checked Chan’s text and froze, your heart pounding.
L.Chan [21:05]: So there’s a party at the Iota Nu Delta house, if you wanted to come. Hopefully I’ll see you there? You [21:08]: yeah, i’m heading there now actually. Soonyoung invited me L.Chan [21:08]: oh. cool. See you soon
Soonyoung had sent you another text and you opened it.
Soonyoung [21:08]: you are going to dance with me, aren’t you? ;) You [21:09]: we’ll see haha
You made it back out to the car and got in the front seat again. “Ah! We’re ready!” Seokjin announced before starting the car. He pulled out of your building’s parking lot and turned right, driving through the campus as he made his way toward the Iota Nu Delta house. Seokjin parked on the street behind Yoongi’s car and you followed the guys up the lawn toward the front door.
Upon entering, you saw that the party was fully underway and you grabbed Jeongguk’s arm. “Please don’t leave me alone!” you whispered at him and he nodded, following Taehyung and Jimin further into the house. Once entering the kitchen at the back of the house, you found a large group gathered around a pong table. Jeongguk led you past the group to get drinks and a familiar face caught your eye.
Soonyoung smiled at you from the crowd before pushing his way through to reach you. “Hey!” he said breathlessly as Jeongguk poured some soda into a cup and handed you a slice of pizza from one of the many boxes on the counter. “Eat, then drink!” he said and the nodded at Soonyoung. 
You took the slice and bit off a piece. Jeongguk handed you the cup with soda in it. “Drink that. Pizza and soda before you get alcohol!” You rolled your eyes and turned to Soonyoung who reached across the island to grab a slice of pizza.
Jeongguk smiled at a girl who passed him before turning to Jimin and Taehyung. He said something to them and then leaned toward you. “I gotta go do something, stay with Jimin and Taehyung. They’ll keep an eye on you. Well, Taehyung will,” he said and you nodded before he took off, handing a drink he made for you to Tae and pointed at you. Taehyung took his spot at the counter, standing behind you and keeping his eye on the crowd. He turned to Jimin to say something, nodding at the crowd.
“So, you going to come dance with me at least once?” Soonyoung asked as you finished your slice of pizza and downed the rest of your soda. You took the cup Taehyung held and took a sip. “Maybe, you gonna convince me?” you asked. Soonyoung laughed and bit his bottom lip. 
“I can always try,” he said with a wink. Your stomach did little flips but it wasn’t Soonyoung’s words. Instead it was Chan appearing in your line of vision. You turned to Taehyung. “I’m gonna go dance with Soonyoung,” you said over the loud music. Taehyung nodded and told you he would be right there when you got back.
You turned to Soonyoung, taking another gulp of your drink before handing it to Taehyung. Soonyoung took your hand and led you out of the kitchen and into the living area of the downstairs, right past Chan. You tried to ignore the way his eyes followed you as you passed him with his best friend. Or the way his jaw clenched as Soonyoung immediately pulled you into him, his hand on the small of your back. You moved your hips against Soonyoung’s to the beat of the music, not really caring about the people around you.
Soonyoung lowered his head, whispering in your ear, “I feel like the luckiest guy in the room.” You smiled, pink tinting your cheeks before you responded. “Why is that?” you asked. “Look at you. You’re stunning. I kind of regret not asking you out a lot sooner,” he whispered in your ear, his breath tickling your neck. You giggled, pressing a hand to his chest.
“Really? Well, what about now? Are you going to ask me out?” you asked and Soonyoung smiled against your cheek. “Didn’t I already, asking you to be my date tonight?” You sighed when his lips pressed softly against your cheek. “I’m not going to lie, (Y/N). You know that’s not really my style. But I’ve actually wanted to ask you out ever since I ran into you the other day.” His hands held your hips in place while he spoke.
“You have?” you asked breathlessly and Soonyoung smiled, nodding his head. “I have. I’ve just been too shy until now,” he muttered and you let out another sigh when his lips met your jawline. He would have continued had Jeongguk not interrupted. “Sorry, Soonyoung, I need to steal (Y/N) for a second,” he said over the music and grabbed you by the wrist, pulling you from Soonyoung’s grasp.
Jeongguk led you to the kitchen and towered over you. “I told you to stay with Taehyung!” he said and you groaned. “Gguk!! I like Soonyoung! He’s a really nice guy! And you heard him ask me out earlier!” you said exasperatedly. He was essentially cockblocking you. He shook his head. “I don’t like it. Something is off,” he said and you groaned. “What about Chan?” he asked and you shrugged. “What about him?” you asked. Jeongguk looked around before leaning in.
“Are you forgetting about last night?” You rolled your eyes. “That happened because we were both horny and intoxicated. It was nothing,” you said shrugging. Jeongguk eyed you suspiciously. “Does he feel the same way?” he asked and you nodded. You were sure that Chan felt that it meant nothing to him, too.
“I’m not so sure,” Jeongguk said and you shook your head. “It’s fine, Gguk!” you repeated. You waved him off and went back to Soonyoung who was waiting in the same spot as before. Once you were back in earshot, he asked, “what was that about?” You shook your head. “Just my best friend being cautious and protective as usual!” you said in his ear as his hands rested on your hips.
Soonyoung pulled you in closer as the song changed to something slower and more sensual. It wasn’t until you felt someone bump into you that you stopped moving to look around. Chan was making his way up the stairs, his eyes locking with yours when you looked up. He was leading a random girl up the steps. Your heart leapt in your throat and you turned your attention away from him.
You felt Soonyoung’s lips against your cheek before he whispered in your ear, “something wrong?” You shook your head and allowed him to direct your hips again. “No. Nothing,” you said. You felt him smile against your skin before his lips trailed down to your neck. 
A tiny gasp left your lips, eyes snapping open when you realized you were still in the living room, surrounded by a ton of your peers. You pulled back slightly and Soonyoung gave you a quizzical look before he looked around and understood.
He nodded his head, jerking it up toward the upper floor and you nodded, biting your bottom lip. Soonyoung took your hand and pulled you toward the base of the stairs and began leading you up, passing people who were standing there watching the crowd. Upstairs in the hallway, Soonyoung led you through the people waiting for the bathroom and those who hadn’t made it to a bedroom yet and were making out against the wall.
Soonyoung grabbed the handle of a door near the end of the hall and turned it. The unlocked door opened and inside a half naked girl with wavy short brown hair was straddling- “Oh shit! Sorry Chan!” Soonyoung laughed. Upon hearing his name, Chan looked up at the door and saw you standing there with his best friend, your hand in his.
You turned and stepped out of the room while Soonyoung backed out and shut the door before taking your hand again and leading you to another room which was thankfully empty. Soonyoung shut and locked the door behind him before pulling you into him, a smile on his face.
“Alone at last, he whispered, his free hand cupping your cheek before his lips brushed against yours, testing the waters before taking the plunge and pressing them against yours. You felt dizzy, like his kiss took your breath away. The hand that wasn’t cupping your cheek snaked around your waist, pulling you in closer. Your hands felt like putty against Soonyoung’s chest.
Without breaking the kiss, he walked you backwards until your legs hit something soft. A bed. Your heart began racing and your stomach twisted with what you assumed were nerves. Soonyoung broke the kiss and pulled away before studying your face, a lopsided grin on his face. “God you’re gorgeous,” he said brushing a few stray strands of hair out of your face. Pink tinted your cheeks and you looked down.
“If I’m moving too fast, tell me,” he said and put his finger under your chin, lifting your head so your eyes met his. “I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable,” he said and you nodded. He sat you down on the bed and as you scooted back toward the center, climbed on, hovering over you before dipping down to kiss you again. His lips parted yours, allowing his tongue to slip between.
One hand was on your hip while he used his elbow to keep from weighing down on you. A soft whimper left your lips when he pressed his hips against yours, pressing his erection into your core. “Ah, that was cute,” he whispered against your lips and repeated the action, earning a deeper moan from you. You felt him smile. Soonyoung moved from your lips to your neck, kissing down to the collar of your shirt before nipping at the skin. You moaned, arching into him.
He sat back up, kneeling between your thighs before pulling his sweater off over his head, leaving him in a white tee shirt. Soonyoung leaned back down, kissing you with more vigor, his hands roaming until they found the buttons of your blouse. He undid the first two buttons, lips leaving yours again to press against your now exposed collarbone. His hand continued to make quick work of your shirt.
He pushed the fabric aside before sitting up to admire your black lace bra. His fingers skimmed over the material before he smiled up at you. He laid between your thighs, leaving kisses along your collar and down your chest, passing between your breasts as he moved lower and lower until he reached the waistband of your jeans. He slowly undid the button and zipper before pulling them down your thighs and discarding them. 
Your heart was hammering in your chest, your breathing ragged and your head spinning still. Soonyoung placed soft, wet kisses along the inside of your thigh before your stomach twisted again and this time you knew it wasn’t nerves. It was nausea.
“Stop,” you said hoarsely. At first, Soonyoung didn’t hear you so you cleared your throat and repeated yourself. Soonyoung sat up quickly, looking at you as you sat up and began buttoning your shirt. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked and you shook your head. 
“No, I just feel nauseous,” you said in a low grumble. Your head was pounding. Soonyoung hopped up and retrieved your pants, helping you into them before kneeling by the bed and putting your shoes on for you. He helped you stand up, grabbing his sweater and pulling you toward the door.
He led you back down the stairs and into the kitchen where Jeongguk, Taehyung and Jimin stood. Taehyung noticed you first and nodded. Jeongguk spun around and immediately rushed to your side before rounding on Soonyoung. “What happened?” he demanded. “She said she feels nauseous so I brought her to you. She needs to go home and sleep this off,” he said. Jeongguk eyed him suspiciously.
“You didn’t do anything to her, did you?” he asked and Soonyoung shook his head. “Absolutely not. We were upstairs making out and then she said she wasn’t feeling well,” he said and Jeongguk relaxed as he took you from Soonyoung, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. 
“Thanks, we’ll take it from here,” he said. Soonyoung nodded before looked back at you. “Text me when you wake up, okay?” he asked and you nodded, getting wobblier by the minute. “I’ll text you when we get her back to her dorm,” Jeongguk promised and Soonyoung thanked him.
Jeongguk led you out onto the deck out back where you were met with the cold night air. “Seokjin!” Jeongguk called and his friend turned to look at him. “We need to take her home. She doesn’t feel good,” he said and Seokjin turned to say goodnight to his conversation partner. He led the way out of the house and to the car where Taehyung and Jeongguk helped you into the car.
Seokjin pulled out and took the familiar route back to your dorm building. “Did she take a drink from anyone?” Seokjin asked and Jeongguk shook his head. “Not that I saw, and I trust Soonyoung didn’t give her anything,” he said. “Maybe she just drank too much too fast?” Jimin asked from the front passenger seat. “Yeah, maybe,” Jeongguk said.
They reached your dorm with ease. It took Jeongguk and Taehyung to get you out of the car and up to your room. Jeongguk sent Taehyung out while he attended to you. “Do you need to throw up?” he asked and you shook your head. “I think being out of that house helped a lot,” you admitted. “I feel much better now,” you added. Jeongguk sat next to you on the bed and rubbed your back.
“Did Soonyoung do anything?” he asked and you shook your head. “No, he was a gentleman.” Jeongguk nodded, watching you sober up a little. “Well, do you need me to stay here?” he asked and you smiled. “I’ll be okay,” you admitted. “But go ahead and send up Jimin. I could use his cuddles,” you joked and Jeongguk scoffed. “I’m offended you think his cuddles are better than mine,” he said, pretending to be hurt. You giggled and leaned into him. “I’ll be fine, Gguk. Thank you.”
Jeongguk got to his feet and made his way to your door. “Anytime, (Y/N),” he said with a smile and left. You felt your phone buzz in your pocket and you pulled it out. It was from Soonyoung.
[2019/10/12] Soonyoung [23:05]: you make it home, alright? You [23:05]: yeah. Sorry i ran out like that :/ Soonyoung [23:06]: don’t be sorry! I’m just glad you’re home safe! Don’t worry about me. I would rather you be okay. We can always go get a cup of coffee some time. My treat of course (: You [23:07]: i would like that (: Soonyoung [23:07]: then it’s a date ;)
Another text came in while you were texting Soonyoung. You opened it to see it was from Chan.
[2019/10/12] L.Chan [23:08]: hope you have fun. You [23:08]: you too.
You weren’t sure when you fell asleep but you woke up to your alarm blaring at 8:45 am. You groggily pulled yourself out of bed, your head swimming before stripping and getting into the shower. After cleaning yourself up, you got dressed and headed out with your bag for Chan’s lesson.
Upon reaching the student center, you were greeted with a sign that informed you the center was closed for maintenance. You groaned, fishing your phone out of your bag to shoot Chan a text.
[2019/10/13] You [09:19]: the student center is closed so no lesson today. See you on Wednesday.
After sending the text you head back to your dorm, determined to go back to bed and get an extra hour to sleep off your pounding headache. You had just walked in your door when your phone buzzed and you checked it. Jeongguk had texted you.
[2019/10/13] Kookie [09:47]: good morning my little croissant~! How did you sleep?? You [09:47]: ugghhhhh i got up to go to Chan’s lesson and the student center is closed. Now i’m back in my room and i’m going back to bed. My head hurts 😫 Kookie [09:48]: Soonyoung texted me last night to make sure you got home safe. Please date him. He seems like a hella nice guy and actually seems to care about you. You [09:48]: we’ll see. For now, sleep~ 😴
You kicked off your shoes and got into your bed, pulling the covers over your head and shutting your eyes. A vibration made you open them to check your phone.
[2019/10/13] Soonyoung [09:50]: morning, beautiful. You’re probably still sleeping but I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were feeling okay. Text me later~
You smiled and set your phone aside, more determined than ever to get some sleep. It came to you quickly and you slipped into slumber, awakening hours later to a setting sun. It was nearly 5 pm. You sat up and stretched. Your head felt much better but you were really thirsty now.
You got up from your bed and opened your mini fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and chugging half of it before searching for your phone in the recesses of your blankets. Your fingers brushed the smooth screen of the device and your grabbed it before bringing it up to look at it.
You had two missed calls and several missed texts.
[2019/10/13] Kookie [10:08]: i know you said you were going to sleep but can you wake up? I’m bored 😞 Kookie [11:36]: pls? Jimin and Taehyung are still sleeping too ): Kookie [13:27]: ugh this sucks. I wanna talk~ Kookie [14:03]: Soonyoung asked me if you were okay. I told him the truth that you were hibernating because you’re a fucking bear, not a human girl. Kookie [16:32]: wake up grizzly 🐻
You shook your head, taking another sip of water before opening the next set of messages.
[2019/10/13] Soonyoung [11:09]: are you awake yet? Soonyoung [12:01]: you really sleep a long time, don’t you? Soonyoung [13:42]: i was hoping we could get coffee today but you must still be sleeping ☹ Soonyoung [14:06]: i texted Jeongguk. I just wanted to make sure you were okay Soonyoung [14:09]: he says you channel your inner grizzly and hibernate on the weekends 🐻🐻 Soonyoung [14:12]: ngl that’s really cute :3 Soonyoung [15:35]: I’m not gonna keep blowing up your phone so just message me when you wake up
[2019/10/13] L.Chan [13:05]: Sorry i didn’t answer earlier. I had a LONG night lol
You answered Jeongguk’s text first.
You [16:54]: grizzly 🐻 is awake. Winter is over ❄☃️
You sent Soonyoung a reply next.
You [16:55]: yeah haha i sleep a lot. It’s a bad habit and the reason why i usually miss things ):
Finally you answered Chan.
You [16:56]: Don’t worry about it.👍🏻
The first to respond was surprisingly Chan.
[2019/10/13] L.Chan [16:58]: i was up pretty late lol You [16:59]: ...okay L.Chan [16:59]: Did you have a good night? You [17:00]: it was good. L.Chan [17:00]: ...just good? Mine was great. I wonder why you didn’t have as good of a night? You [17:01]: … 😒 L.Chan [17:02]: well, I mean, did you see Mina? I think it’s pretty obvious why I had such a great night lol
You scoffed and tossed your phone as another text from him came in but you ignored it. When your phone buzzed again, you checked it. Soonyoung had replied. You opened his messages quickly.
[2019/10/13] Soonyoung [17:05]: THERE you are! I was getting worried ☺ You [17:06]: yeah haha here i am Soonyoung [17:07]: awwww you should have let me come over Soonyoung [17:07]: We could have napped together :3 You [17:07]: that actually sounds wonderful. Raincheck?
While you waited for Soonyoung to answer, you checked Jeongguk’s text that came in.
[2019/10/13] Kookie [17:01]: well goddamn it’s about time! You [17:08]: yeah, yeah I know. Grizzly 🐻 and all that 🙄 Kookie [17:09]: more importantly how are you feeling? You [17:09]: much better than last night Kookie [17:10]: good but go back to sleep now. Get plenty of rest for tomorrow (:
You returned to Soonyoung’s text, ignoring the other text that came in from Chan.
[2019/10/13] Soonyoung [17:09]: of course! (: maybe next week? You [17:11]: that sounds perfect (: Soonyoung [17:12]: your place or mine? ;) You [17:12]: we can iron out the details later (: Soonyoung [17:13]: sounds good to me (: look I gotta run. I have some errands to do, I’ll text you later (: You [17:13]: okay! Have fun and be safe~! Soonyoung [17:14]:
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Soonyoung [17:14]: ugh 😫 how are you so sweet? You [17:15]: 😚
After sending Soonyoung a text, you decided to open Chan’s messages as he kept sending them.
[2019/10/13] L.Chan [17:03]: she’s got these killer legs. I’m sure you saw L.Chan [17:03]: and her lips? God she could kill a man L.Chan [17:04]: she almost killed me 🍆👀 L.Chan [17:04]: she could make a guy fall in love 😍 L.Chan [17:05]: she knows exactly how to drive a guy crazy L.Chan [17:05]: and she’s such a tease lol L.Chan [17:07]: i’m meeting her again tonight. L.Chan [17:09]: should i bring her back to my room? L.Chan [17:11]: I think I will 😏 L.Chan [17:14]: what are you up to tonight? L.Chan [17:14]: staying in i bet? L.Chan [17:14]: why not invite Soonyoung over?? 😜 L.Chan [17:15]: I’m sure he’d love to see you again.
You turned his notifications off as your blood ran cold. Something about his wording wasn’t right. Like he was trying to make you jealous. What is his deal anyway??
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P.S: WOOOOOW That was long. This is only part one!! If I had left this one piece, it would have been a behemoth. I’m really glad I split it up. I hope you guys enjoyed this! Leave any comments, keyboard smashes, or send me some asks or messages! I love talking to you guys (: Thank you so much for reading! ~K♡
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okay-j-hannah · 5 years
Text
My Life is a Mess Without You
Smosh : Prompt
Damien x Reader
Word Count: 1968
Warnings: Just the most classic Damien Haas fic scenario... but I made it ENTIRELY in his point of view
Request: “20 with Damien Haas” - @caswinchester2000
Prompt:
20. “You are the least subtle person I know. Your ‘I have a secret’ vibe is literally visible from the moon.”
A/N: Damien just didn’t get it - what could he have done that would make you ignore him for so long?
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Damien sighed, moving his eyes from the TV to the phone in his hand, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.
He was completely disheveled – his hair unkempt and the blue streaks fading. He had reverted to only wearing old sweatshirts and faded jeans, his glasses worn more frequently as the task to order more contact lenses seemed daunting compared to other problems.
His house was incredibly untidy with plates stacked by the sink, movies and games littering the living room floor, and piles of miscellaneous garbage speckled every surface. 
Even his cats had noticed the decline in activity as Damien remained more sedentary, normally retreating to the couch upon return from work.
The Smosh Family helped with what they could, also noticing (Y/N)’s avoidance. Damien could hardly manage to keep up with filming and script reads when all his focus was residing on her.
(Y/N) wasn’t talking to him. And it was wrecking him.
Pushing his glasses back in place, he scrolled through his unanswered text messages, a pain in his chest. It had been weeks since their last sincere conversation, a moment he had replayed in his mind over and over.
It sat at the forefront of his mind as if it was yesterday. Something was definitely wrong with (Y/N), that much he was sure of.
With their daily carpool to work together, she didn’t say a single word that day. She normally was running on slight caffeine adrenaline or singing at the top of her lungs to the morning radio.
Today? Absolutely nothing.
She just stared out the window, her arms folded very tightly across her chest. It was apparent that she hadn’t been getting her caffeine; her eyes were dark and heavy from the possible lack of sleep.
Damien even attempted at a conversation, “No new ‘Ian did this’ or ‘Monica said that’ this morning?” He had a smile on his lips even if concern was consuming his gaze, flickering from the road to her turned head.
She vaguely muttered a dull response, “Haven’t seen them. Been very busy.”
“You’ve been busy? Is that why you look so tired?”
Something clicked in her brain and she finally faced him, “Hm? Oh, my coffee maker sparked a few days ago – haven’t been able to get my morning fix.” She attempted at a makeshift smile, but Damien saw right through it.
Why in Heaven’s Above would she try to hide something from him? He hated it when she felt like she had to hide from him.
As soon as they parked in the Smosh Office lot, Damien turned to give his full attention to one of his best friends.
“What’s wrong?”
She seemed taken aback, “Nothing.” She tried the handle of the door, finding it continuously locked.
“Something is obviously wrong, and I don’t think you should bottle it up.” He was leaning towards her, almost hovering over the seat compartment between them.
“I told you, I’m busy and stressed and tired,” she sneaked a half-way smile, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
Damien raised a suspicious eyebrow, “What kind of stuff?”
She seemed strained between answering and jumping out of the vehicle, “Sh-Shouldn’t we get inside? We still have work today, you know?”
He sighed at the humor she was forcing through her teeth, “You’re worrying me, (Y/N).”
“And I’m telling you there’s no reason to be.” She met his gaze but swallowed hard. Was that a blush creeping onto her face?
“And I’m telling you that I know you better than you think. And I know that something is bothering you! You can trust me – I’m your friend.”
Her gaze immediately dropped from his face at that statement. Her hands were starting to fidget in her lap, “Well… there – there might be something.”
Damien bit the inside of his cheek, anticipation consuming his worrying thoughts, “I told you I knew it.”
She let a small laugh escape, “How do you always know?”
“You are the least subtle person I know. Your ‘I have a secret’ vibe is literally visible from the moon.”
“I – I might… there’s th-this boy. And I can’t s-stop thinking about him.”
He tried to have a relaxed reaction, his focus on her continuously fidgeting hands, “A guy? You have a crush on a guy? Do I know this guy?”
She resisted a smile, “Maybe. He’s a friend.”
“Hm.” He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about this. Something pushed him to make a retort, that she didn’t need to like another boy because she already had one right there, “Is he a good guy?”
She nodded a little more enthusiastically than he liked, “He’s very sweet and very kind. He’s always a gentleman and always does whatever he can to make me smile.”
Damien found himself holding his breath, “Do you hang with him often? Like does he consider you guys friends?”
“Oh, yes,” she sighed, keeping her gaze away from Damien’s. “I see him every once in a while and we always have so much fun. We surprisingly have a lot in common – we both like filming, we both like reading and playing games, we even have similar views on less partying and more movie nights.”
“Sounds like a great guy,” Damien gave a close-lipped smile, he had to decide between this strange feeling of jealousy and his fierce friendship with (Y/N). “You should definitely go for it – I mean, if that’s what your dilemma is. If you can’t stop thinking about him maybe you should make your move.”
He chose to be her friend first.
“I don’t know,” she bit her bottom lip, “I don’t think it’d work out – I don’t think he sees me like that. I guess I make a better friend than anything else.”
Damien scoffed, catching his genuine reaction to her words. This caused her to whip her eyes to him, confused.
“What are you talking about? Any guy would be lucky to have you! The only reason he would ever turn you down is because he’s too blind to see the perfect package right in front of him. And if that ends up being true, then good riddance because you deserve someone who thinks about you just as much as you’re thinking about him.”
Damien found his hands flailing around slightly as his smooth conversation turned a little heated; but the expression on (Y/N)’s face softened him again.
“You really think that?”
He found her wide eyes staring at him with desperate confirmation, “Why would I ever think otherwise?”
But very quickly he realized that there was still something incredibly wrong. Ever since that conversation (Y/N) had made it a special mission of hers to completely dodge every advance Damien made.
Their usual friendly greeting with the crew? She was excusing herself for the bathroom.
The walk Damien made to see how her directing was going? Matt Raub said she asked to help with editing.
The spot he always saved for her in the meeting room? Neglected as she sat far from him.
Their frequent lunch breaks together? She was nowhere to be found.
The hours they spent recording Smosh Games? She ignored his smile, plastering on an expressionless face.
The special treat he got her to cheer her up? She found him coming towards her office, so she skidded off in the opposite direction.
It was a pattern that continued throughout the entire week, something Damien was fed up with. What could he have possibly done to drive one of his best friends away?
Now as he sat on the couch sulking and dismissively scratching behind Zelda’s ears, he kept his mind trained on (Y/N).
First a confession about a boy. Days of consistent avoidance. And now it was like she hadn’t ever existed.
Damien never realized how big of a part she played in his life, staring at these past text messages with more and more regret:
III AT&T LTE 5:58 PM 23% 🔋
Mon, Aug 5, 11:26 AM
“You felt like editing today?”
1:40 PM
“Hey, are you feeling okay?”
“Is it about that guy? 😉”
 Tue, Aug 6, 10:14 AM
“Has your coffee maker been fixed yet?”
3:52 PM
“I was thinking we could hangout this weekend, you down? 😊”
6:51 PM
3 Missed Calls
“Are you ignoring me?”
 Fri, Aug 9, 11:38 PM
“No, seriously, (Y/N). Are you ignoring me?”
“(Y/N), if Shayne and Mari put you up to a practical joke like this, it’s not funny anymore.”
12:22 PM
2 Missed Calls
“I couldn’t find you for lunch, so I left something on your desk. Your favorite. ❤”
Wed, Aug 14, 5:09 PM
“You seemed off in SG today. Did something happen?”
7:44 PM
“I applaud your efforts in pranking me, but can you please talk to me?”
Sat, Aug 17, 10:31 AM
2 Missed Calls
“(Y/N), where are you?”
1 Missed Call
2:15 PM
“I bought you a little something to cheer you up – I left it by your bag. Will you please tell me what’s wrong? I miss you.”
 There was a knock at his door – something not uncommon recently. Courtney would usually bring over some Chinese take out or Wes would drop off an early release of a game Smosh received.
So Damien thought nothing of it as he reluctantly shuffled to the door, opening it carelessly.
And there was (Y/N) – wringing her hands and cautiously looking into his shocked gaze.
“Damien,” she muttered, her face blotchy and obviously raw from crying.
He didn’t even let her a second to explain before he ran over to sweep her into a bone-crushing hug. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her easily off the ground and hiding his face into her shoulder.
“I thought… I didn’t think…”
She pulled away, heat rising to her face as she cast her eyes down, “I… I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. So I just ran. But I – I’m trying something here.”
“(Y/N),” he felt his tired eyes burn, his glasses askew. “What did I do? Where have you been? I feel like I haven’t seen…”
“I’m in love with you.”
She had whispered it so quietly that he was afraid his ears didn’t hear correctly, “What?”
She swallowed hard, “I am utterly and completely in love with you Damien. And I didn’t know how to tell my best friend that I wanted to be more than just that with him. So I avoided you in hopes I’d stop getting so flustered being around you, but that only made it worse. And honestly, running away sounded like a pretty good idea until about ten minutes ago when Joven gave me an awesome pep talk – and I just…”
They stood there in silence for a few seconds, (Y/N) wringing her hands and Damien’s limp at his sides.
“This might have been the most pointless mental breakdown I’ve ever hand,” Damien finally muttered, replacing his shocked expression with a slight smile. “Did I really neglect getting more contacts because of secret feelings we have for each other?”
She didn’t seem to process what he said, “You know I’ve always liked your glass… wait – did you say…?”
“I’m in love with you too, (Y/N).” He grinned, taking a few steps towards her, “Please don’t you ever try to hide something like that from me again. I thought I’d just lost the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”
She let out an unexpected giggle, wiping at her eyes, “Greatest thing that ever happened to you?” She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, bumping his glasses into place, “But you’re looking kinda rough.”
He reached up and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly in his, “Because there were four weeks and three days where I hadn’t talked to you once.”
“I had to bunk with Mari for a week just because I couldn’t stand not coming over here every other day,” she responded, laughing.
“We’re gonna have to change that.”
~~~
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f4liveblogarchives · 4 years
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Fantastic Four Vol 1 #222
Tues Apr 27 2020 [08:12 PM] Wack'd: HERE WE GO. AFTER LIKE EIGHT MONTHS. THE AUSPICIOUS RETURN. [08:12 PM] Wack'd: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 NO 222 [08:12 PM] maxwellelvis: Sound the music [08:13 PM] Umbramatic: huzzah! [08:15 PM] Wack'd: So! We are almost at the John Bryne era, but before we get there, Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz have like ten issues in 'em. [08:16 PM] Wack'd: We open with, uh. Sue Storm giving her increasingly preteen looking son a horsey ride while wearing a full pantsuit and pearls.
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[08:16 PM] Wack'd: It's a choice! [08:18 PM] Wack'd: It's weird seeing Reed being playful...
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[08:18 PM] maxwellelvis: Franklin shrank like two feet between cuts here. [08:18 PM] Wack'd: This, though. Weirder. Definitely weirder.
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[08:19 PM] maxwellelvis: If I were a gambling man I'd say Franklin got kidnapped by Skrulls or something in the night and hasn't yet realized it yet. [08:21 PM] Wack'd: Reed heads out to the library and Ben joins him since he's on his way to the movies. Reed is very insistent they take a train rather than a cab, because he's worried about finances, but also [08:21 PM] Wack'd: *cough* [08:21 PM] Wack'd: IT'S NINETEEN EIGHTY [08:24 PM] Bocaj: There are trains? [08:24 PM] Wack'd: So we cut directly from this talk of personal finances and energy shortages to
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[08:25 PM] Bocaj: I remember it going differently but go off I guess [08:25 PM] Wack'd: Nah she did that [08:26 PM] Bocaj: Dang [08:26 PM] Bocaj: Tough love [08:26 PM] Wack'd: In that annual where he nearly traumatized Franklin to death [08:27 PM] Wack'd: Meanwhile, Johnny's out in Jersey doing some racing! [08:28 PM] Wack'd: Johnny you've had like three love interests since then, also she cheated on you
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[08:28 PM] maxwellelvis: Damn you, Pavlov [08:29 PM] Bocaj: With Quicksilver [08:29 PM] Bocaj: Like fuck [08:30 PM] maxwellelvis: I've no idea what she saw in him. [08:30 PM] Bocaj: That’s just. That’s sad. And then she cheated on Quicksilver with a random real estate agent. It’s like a race to the bottom [08:30 PM] maxwellelvis: The only rungs left down from there are like, Blackheart and Irving Forbush. [08:31 PM] Wack'd: Okay Sue two things: 1. his powers aren't the only things he's suppressing, he watched you die like 20 issues ago, take this kid to a therapist
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[08:31 PM] Wack'd: 2. "So long as nothing traumatic happens" is just asking for it [08:32 PM] Umbramatic: yeeeeeeeeeeeep [08:33 PM] Wack'd: SPEAK OF A GUY WHOSE NAME IS LITERALLY NICK SCRATCH, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE DEVIL
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[08:34 PM] Wack'd: Gdi Sue and Reed, you just left to the door to the *Negative Zone open in a house with a child? Next you're going to tell me you leave guns lying around or put cleaning chemicals in easy-to-reach places or don't put plastic plugs over unused electrical outlets [08:35 PM] Bocaj: They’re bad parents [08:35 PM] Umbramatic: they leave guns in the cleaning chemicals with no plastic plugs over them [08:35 PM] Bocaj: You gotta keep your doors to the antimatter universe locked. That’s just common sense for raising a child [08:36 PM] Wack'd: ...HEY DOES THAT DRAWER HAVE A LOCK ON IT?! I WAS JOKING ABOUT THE GUN THING!!!
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[08:37 PM] maxwellelvis: It's 1980, Wack'd; childproofing doesn't exist yet. [08:37 PM] Bocaj: Its juuuuuust a flare gun [08:38 PM] Wack'd: Oh so Franklin can just shoot a ball of fire, cool [08:38 PM] Bocaj: When has a child ever killed anyone or burned down a library with a flare gun [08:38 PM] maxwellelvis: Yep. No seatbelts or booster seats in the Fantasticar either. [08:40 PM] maxwellelvis: Unsafe at Any Speed was published in 1965 and I think by 1980 people still had yet to take it seriously. By the Clinton administration, that changed somewhat... [08:40 PM] Wack'd: Lorrie, you're not missing anything, he was gonna spend the entire time imagining you as his ex
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[08:40 PM] maxwellelvis: Must be nice to not have to have a secret identity. [08:40 PM] Bocaj: Saves time [08:41 PM] Bocaj: Don’t have to think of excuses or find a phone booth [08:42 PM] maxwellelvis: What's not so nice is having a secret identity, but your enemies know who you are anyways. S'why Rita Repulsa would have been way more dangerous if it wasn't a kids show. [08:43 PM] Wack'd: 
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[08:43 PM] Bocaj: “Oh no, he’s become a teenager!” [08:44 PM] Wack'd: "Easy, Susie, you don't know what you're saying! It's entirely possible that is Franklin, he says weirder shit than this all the time" [08:44 PM] Bocaj: True [08:45 PM] Wack'd: Wow. Uh. Probably not a good sign when the murderous spirit of a dead witch is cheering on your behavior!
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[08:45 PM] Bocaj: I see the attempted ironic echo [08:45 PM] Wack'd: (Also, speaking of Franklin saying weirder shit than this, the "I like watching you and momm smooch--yeah [08:45 PM] Bocaj: But both situations were creepy so [08:45 PM] Wack'd: Yeah [08:46 PM] Wack'd: So Reed sends Johnny to fetch Dr. Strange as Franklin starts, uh
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[08:47 PM] Umbramatic: FLOATING GUNS [08:47 PM] Wack'd: I swear to good I didn't read this ahead of time. I literally had no idea when I said the gun thing that I was being ironic [08:48 PM] maxwellelvis: To be fair, all the locks in the world would probably have done no good with Franklin's power and Scratch's magic combined. [08:48 PM] Umbramatic: Okay, i believe you. [08:48 PM] Bocaj: Hey Dr Strange! Both he and Reed always think they’re right [08:48 PM] Bocaj: It’s gonna be a hoot [08:48 PM] Umbramatic: (i actually do belive you i just had to link that) [08:50 PM] Wack'd: "I could do it. I could leave him to die. I could let Franklin murder him. I would be blameless...and I would be...free..."
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[08:51 PM] Bocaj: HAH! [08:51 PM] Mousa The 14: Sue get possessed too? [08:51 PM] Wack'd: I think she's just in shock. [08:51 PM] maxwellelvis: No, I think Scratch just broke the Franklin Button [08:52 PM] maxwellelvis: He shouldn't'a did that. [08:52 PM] Mousa The 14: Tends to be poor form to possess a child right before his mother’s eyes. [08:53 PM] Wack'd: So Strange is out of town, naturally. But as Johnny leaves a redhaired lady named Desadia spies on him, and places a cryptic phone call to a Nick-Fury-looking guy called Gabriel. That will probably be important later. [08:53 PM] Umbramatic: probably. [08:53 PM] maxwellelvis: There's nothing ominous about those names at all. [08:54 PM] Mousa The 14: Desadia is definitely an uncommon one [08:55 PM] maxwellelvis: If her last name is Marcus, RUN [08:55 PM] Wack'd: Back at the Baxter, Reed snaps Sue out of her shock, which, like. I was honestly hoping she was mad at Reed for hitting her? Or something? [08:55 PM] Mousa The 14: Someone should be [08:55 PM] Bocaj: I’ll be [08:55 PM] Wack'd: I get that it's her kid but it's also Reed's and he's fine! Going into shock is not just a thing women do! [08:56 PM] Mousa The 14: How does Hank “has had some head issues” Pym never live it down but Reed “Man of Action” Richards just gets to do this whenever [08:56 PM] Wack'd: Marvel's First Family [08:56 PM] maxwellelvis: Grandfathering [08:57 PM] maxwellelvis: Nobody wants to be the one who broke them up for good. [08:57 PM] Wack'd: Johnny returns and he has a solution which is also the only solution he has to most problems [08:57 PM] Mousa The 14: Burning it? [08:57 PM] maxwellelvis: FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! [08:57 PM] Wack'd: He just...melts the entire fucking room to slag, yeah [08:57 PM] Wack'd: Because hey, no more weapons, right? [08:57 PM] Mousa The 14: God dammit, Johnny [08:57 PM] Mousa The 14: I mean yes that’s technically true but [08:58 PM] Mousa The 14: Other people are around [08:58 PM] Wack'd: Then they do what they only didn't do from the beginning because gotta make Sue look weak [08:58 PM] Wack'd: Shove Franklin in a force field and shoot him fulla sedatives
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[08:59 PM] Wack'd: Some exceptional faces on Franklin this issue, gotta say [08:59 PM] Wack'd: Though he kind of has a Little Lord Fauntleroy thing going on in that first panel [08:59 PM] Bocaj: Maybe reed should try lobotomizing him again [09:00 PM] Bocaj: Worked out fine the first time [09:00 PM] Umbramatic: reed's face there reminds me of seasons greasons [09:00 PM] Wack'd: We don't talk about Conway anymore. 😛 [09:01 PM] maxwellelvis: Has Scratch given any indication that he's the one possessing Franklin? [09:01 PM] Wack'd: Not really [09:01 PM] maxwellelvis: Like announced his presence? [09:01 PM] Wack'd: But they figure they should bring him to Agatha's anyway. [09:01 PM] maxwellelvis: So for all they know he just did this on his own. [09:01 PM] maxwellelvis: FINALLY [09:04 PM] Mousa The 14: It’s a possession even if it’s not old scratch they know they need a magical solution [09:04 PM] Wack'd: I love that Reed starts this page having a séance around a pentagram and ends it declaring that actually this is all highly scientific
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[09:04 PM] maxwellelvis: I just mean why's she second? [09:04 PM] maxwellelvis: "HAIL SCIENCE!" [09:04 PM] Wack'd: Also we're just going to trust this guy who none of you have ever met who just wandered in here out of nowhere, that's cool [09:05 PM] Mousa The 14: Yeah that’s weird. [09:05 PM] Mousa The 14: Like what are his credentials? A single eye and a white streak? [09:05 PM] Wack'd: In fairness that's more than Dr Strange has [09:06 PM] Mousa The 14: If he’s not blonde, in a trench coat, with a working class accent then this is not the man you’re looking for [09:06 PM] Mousa The 14: Good point, Wack’d [09:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, but Dr. Strange looks like Vincent Price [09:06 PM] Mousa The 14: However Dr. Strange has a doctorate [09:06 PM] Wack'd: A Doctorate Against the Dark Arts [09:06 PM] Mousa The 14: Hah! [09:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Daimon Hellstrom has a pentagram on his chest and goes around at all times without a shirt on, AND his hair goes up in devil points. [09:06 PM] maxwellelvis: 🥁 [09:08 PM] Bocaj: Look if you want to fight demons you gotta ditch the dead weight like shirts [09:08 PM] Wack'd: Why was this guy necessary? What was he doing that Agatha couldn't have? Just from a sheer plot construction point of view I don't understand what this man's utility is besides "someone besides a woman fixes this problem"
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[09:09 PM] maxwellelvis: I guess we'll find out next issue? [09:09 PM] Mousa The 14: Maybe this is his backdoor pilot for a comic that never took off [09:09 PM] Wack'd: You know what, that seems likely [09:09 PM] Wack'd: He's got kind of a Gary Seven energy to him [09:09 PM] Mousa The 14: They did that quite a bit with the FF if I recall [09:10 PM] maxwellelvis: Namor, the Black Panther, those are just the examples that worked. [09:10 PM] Mousa The 14: Using the some of the  2 in ones or whatever to help enhance whoever’s book was failing [09:10 PM] maxwellelvis: The Inhumans too. [09:10 PM] maxwellelvis: @Mousa The 14 Or to conclude a series that was cut short prematurely. [09:10 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, next issue: field trip to New Salem! [09:10 PM] Mousa The 14: Indeed [09:10 PM] Wack'd: Speaking of series cut prematurely short, it's letters page time! [09:11 PM] Wack'd: Our first letter is from Chris Wells of Brooklyn, who was apparently very concerned that we's never find out what happened to Dr. Sun from Nova! [09:11 PM] Wack'd: Because as we all know, Fantastic Four would never forget about a plot point involving an evil golden robot. [09:11 PM] Bocaj: Return of the revenge of new Salem [09:12 PM] Wack'd: He also was happy to see HERBIE go even though he didn't hate him as much as he thought he would. And wants Johnny and Dazzler to hang out more. [09:13 PM] Wack'd: The next letter is all praise for Bill Mantlo. Folks...really liked HERBIE's heroic death? Even though it was a relic of a plotline that really never went anywhere and only existed because of a crossover with a book no one seemed to like [09:14 PM] maxwellelvis: And involving a character I thought nobody liked, too. [09:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Guess it's all in the telling. [09:14 PM] Wack'd: Every letter on this page is just "I hated HERBIE, but his death made me cry!" [09:14 PM] Wack'd: No accounting for taste I guess [09:15 PM] Bocaj: That’s what happened with Cipher too [09:15 PM] Wack'd: Adric Syndrome [09:15 PM] Bocaj: Not bill, Doug [09:15 PM] maxwellelvis: Forced to kill him off, she made sure EVERYONE felt bad about wishing him dead. [09:16 PM] maxwellelvis: How DID Cipher die, anyway? [09:16 PM] Wack'd: Tragic sign language accident [09:19 PM] Bocaj: He got shot with a bullet from a gun [09:19 PM] Bocaj: Saving Wolfsbane I beleive
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theunluckiestchat · 4 years
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Remembrance 6
AO3 link Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 Summary: Marinette starts so remember some things.
Chapter 5
She watched Sabrina leave, reaching out and wanting to say something but not really knowing what. She also didn’t have time for this right now, she had a mission.
“Woah-ho!” suddenly and out of nowhere Chat Noir dropped down in front of her. “I thought I’d have to save you from this girl’s clawtches! Get it? Clawtches!” she was still stunned but wow, that was a terrible pun. “But I haven’t even introduced myself! I am… Chat Noir!” he knelt down and kissed her hand.
She quickly drew away her hand, just like always even though this situation was very different.
“Uh, yeah... I know! You kinda save the day all the time and stuff...I'm Marinette! So... What are you doing here?” she had to hand it to herself, she was very good at acting like a nervous fan.  
“I’m your knight for tonight’s ball, Princess” while he was talking Chat Noir started to flex. Always a show off. Of course, she just had to start making fun of him when he wasn’t watching, it was just too funny not to. “If anything goes wrong, I’ll watch over you!”
“That puts my mind at ease” back to acting like a fan.
He put his hand against the wall and leaned closer. “But I’ll need a little helping paw. You up for helping a superhero?”
She decided to turn around with her back towards him. “But where is Ladybug? Aren’t you a duo?” she was a little curious as to what he was going to say, but mostly she just wanted to keep making fun of him.
“She's busy with something tonight, so...You get to be my Ladybug”
That did not sound great.
“Me and Chat Noir? Fighting crime together? Amazing! What do I do?” but pretending to be an adoring fan excited to work with him was pretty great. At the very least, very funny.
“You just need to keep him away from his pen, Princess. The rest, I’ll take care of” he gave a salute and jumped away. As he did so, she giggled. This was hilarious.  
When Marinette woke up, she was confused. She had been hoping for sweet dreams full of Adrien’s kisses but instead she got… she wasn’t sure what. It wasn’t a dream, that much was obvious. Her dreams were never this coherent, they were always swirls of images that mostly confused her. This was more like a memory.
That made sense. It was a memory. She had remembered something. For the first time since the accident, something had come back to her. She supposed she understood that why her brain had reacted so much when Adrien talked about being a knight and calling her princess. It reminded so much of what Chat Noir had said in that memory. It all made a lot of sense now. She would have to thank Adrien for saying that later.
There were still a lot of things that confused her though. Like why she acted so familiar with Chat Noir. She couldn’t remember them really talking or being close. What if they had been? If so, she would have forgotten a whole friendship and that sounded more awful than she could believe. But Chat Noir hadn’t really acted like he knew her. They did both introduce themselves in that memory so they couldn’t have been friends before that, right? Maybe she acted like that because of Alya running the Ladyblog, and therefore Marinette knew a lot about Chat Noir? That didn’t really make any sense either but it was the only thing she could think of to explain it. If only she could remember more.
There wasn’t really any point staying in bed and thinking about it though and her stomach had started making sounds of distress. She needed breakfast. As she was getting up from her bed she reached out and grabbed her phone from the bedside table. A text was waiting for her, from Adrien.
[Adrien | 08:07] – Good morning princess!! I hope you slept well! Last night was so great, hopefully we can do it again soon? 😊
Marinette felt her heart flutter as she read it. He’d sent her a good morning text! And he wanted to go out with her again soon, which she definitely wanted too. It also seemed like the ‘Princess’ nickname from last night was sticking. It was sort of cheesy and dorky, but she had to admit she really liked it. She also felt a little guilty for not replying to him sooner but she couldn’t help she wasn’t a morning person.
[Marinette | 09:51] – Good morning, I did thank you!
[Marinette | 09:51] – and yes of course!!! I had a great time too!
She sent the two quick texts before getting dressed and going out to the kitchen. Alya was sitting by the small table they kept in there, typing away on her laptop. When Marinette entered, she immediately stopped but kept quiet. Marinette tried to ignore her piercing eyes as she started preparing her breakfast. Of course, that only made the smirk Alya wore grow and by the time she sat down to eat it was a full-on grin.
“Soooo…” Alya said.
“So?” Marinette repeated trying to stay indifferent but she already felt her cheeks heating up.
“How did it go last night?” Alya’s eyes were shining with curiosity and delight. “I heard you squeal in your room after you got home”
Marinette ducked her head to hide the big, dopey smile that appeared. Alya, of course, noticed anyway and laughed as she skootched her chair closer. She grabbed Marinette’s arm and started shaking it.
“Come on! Tell me, tell me, tell me!” she said and Marinette giggled loudly.
“Okay, okay! Give me my arm back!” she laughed and pulled her arm out of Alya’s grasp.
Alya obviously didn’t mind. She just propped her head up on her hands, looking like a child waiting for a fairy tale.
“Last night was amazing” Marinette began and Alya grinned while motioning for Marinette to continue. “He took me to this restaurant with this awful pun in the name” she giggled a little. “It was sort of awkward in the beginning but then we started talking and it was perfect” she sighed a little dreamily. “Alyaaaa, he really is the most amazing, kind, sweet, funny, gorgeous person I’ve ever met”
Alya chuckled a little. “So, 14-year-old Marinette is definitely back” she said and Marinette pouted a little, making them both laugh.
“Anyway” she gave Alya a pointed look. “Afterwards he walked me back home, and he held my hand and…” she started blushing. “We kissed”.
“You kissed?” Alya echoed loudly and Marinette nodded. “Holy crap! Girl! Finally!”
Marinette laughed and continued blushing when Alya hugged her tightly and started talking about how all her hard work finally paid off. She said something about needing to text the girls from collége and tell them that Adrinette was finally a thing. Marinette shook her head slightly at her friend’s antics, but she didn’t really mind. Alya had always been her number one wingwoman, she had the right to be excited too.
When the text was sent and all the responses read aloud, Marinette could finally get back to her breakfast. She gave a few more details about the date, but they quickly got distracted by their own things. Alya went back to what she was typing in her laptop and Marinette got caught up in her dream again. It still wildly confused her.
“Hey, Alya” she said and Alya hummed back. “Did I ever meet Chat Noir?”
The typing stopped and Alya closed the laptop. She looked at Marinette a little confused and even more concerned.
“Yeah, you did. Several times. Why do you ask?”
“I just… Don’t remember it” Marinette said. “Or I didn’t, until now”
For a few seconds the kitchen was entirely quiet, and then Alya gasped.
“Did you just remember something from before?” she asked and Marinette nodded. “Girl, that’s amazing! It’s the first time, right? This is so great, what did you remember?”
Marinette couldn’t help but smile fondly at Alya’s rection. She was always so supportive and her friendship was one of the best things in her life. She told her about the dream, excluding the things about how familiar Chat Noir felt. She didn’t feel like it was something she should talk about just yet, since she could barely understand it. When she finished Alya nodded.
“Yeah, that must have been during Evillustrator, when Nathainel was akumatized. Wait, I have the Ladyblog article here somewhere”
She opened her laptop and searched for a few seconds before pushing it over to Marinette with the article up. She read it quickly. It added up with the dream and there were even a few quotes from Marinette herself which she felt very weird reading since she couldn’t remember saying them.
“So, it really happened…” slipped out of her mouth.
‘Chat Noir was super cool’
She could almost hear herself saying it. It was so similar to the things she said in the dream. But then she was only pretending to be starstruck. What had she really thought about Chat Noir?
“It did” Alya said and Marinette’s head snapped up and looked at her. She smiled gently. “This is awesome, you know that, right? Maybe you’ll start remembering more things”
“Yeah, maybe” Marinette said as she looked at a photo of her at fourteen edited next to a photo of Chat Noir striking a hero pose. She hoped she would remember more. She wanted to figure it all out.
“Alright, girl. Stop hogging m laptop. I have an anniversary article to write” Alya said, effectively snapping Marinette out of her own thoughts. “If I could just figure out what to write. It’s literally just the same thing every year. They won the battle, they saved us all, they are heroes, bla bla bla”
Marinette giggled. “Just write something else then” she said.
“That’s what I’m trying to do! I just can’t come up with something good”.
Marinette hummed and drank from her tea. Alya went back typing at her laptop, even though she seemed to backspace more than actually write. Marinette once again thought about her dream, or well, memory. Chat Noir was a hero, but the one personal memory she now had of him wasn’t of him doing something particularly heroic. It was him being a person. A person that she apparently found dorky and funny.
“Why don’t you write about them as people instead?” she said and Alya looked up, questioning expression on her face. “I mean instead of writing about how they were heroes and saved everyone, you could write about what they were like. You did a lot of interviews with them, you probably know better than most” she said.
Alya looked thoughtful for a second, but then lit up. “That’s genius, Mari!” she said and closed her laptop before grabbing her notebook instead. “I could even interview others about them. Most of our class back them met them at least a few times” she said excitedly and started scribbling down names in the notebook. “I’ll still write about them being heroes, though” she said with a raised eyebrow and Marinette giggled in agreement.
Maybe she could help Alya with this project. Hearing other people talking about him might just solve her own Chat Noir mystery.
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jackscnfck · 4 years
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secret nuptials // jude and jackson
trigger warnings: none!
featuring: @judexhernandez
jacksonLast Friday at 8:23 PM
jackson was feeling a little stupid for actually staying awake and working the whole night before his impromptu wedding. he couldn't believe he was actually going to marry jude today. he decided to get ready at greyson and serenity's house before they met jude at the court house. he stole a suit from his twin because he wanted to actually look nice. he didn't want jude to blame him for their wedding pictures looking bad if he just showed up in his usual black jeans and leather jacket. he finished shaving his beard before he called jude, "good morning, almost husband. are we meeting at the courthouse or should we all drive in the same car?"
judeLast Friday at 9:00 PM
after jackson had asked him to get married that next day he had gotten very little sleep that night. jude had been waiting for this day for as long as he could remember. jack was the only man he ever loved and now it was going to stay like that for the rest of their lives. instead of sleeping he opted for watching their daughter sleep. he couldn’t wait to have the same name as her and the man he loved. when she woke up the next morning he explained to her what was going on. “but you can’t tell grandma and nana. we are still going to have a a wedding for them to see.” she nodded her head before picking out one of his suits and explaining, “cause it’s daddy’s favorite papa.” jude was about to start on his hair when his phone rang. “papa. papa. it’s daddy.” he rolled his eyes. “i know baby. hand it over.” the girl did so jumping up and down. “say that again. i can get used to that.” he whispered dreamily. “i wanna say meet there but i miss your face.”
jacksonLast Friday at 9:59 PM
jackson smiled brightly at the sound of jude's morning voice. he could picture exactly what he looked like and was a little sad he didn't get to see jude with his morning hair and stubble. "i know what you mean," he chuckled. he didn't want to wait to see his fiancee and their little monster. "i guess it would be more fuel efficient and better for the environment if we all went together."
judeLast Friday at 10:14 PM
jude was not usually a morning person and it would take him a few hours to fully wake up on his own. so he knew jack could hear it and it made him smile. he just wanted to see jack, kiss him, marry him. time could not speed up fast enough. “i think your daughter is more excited then i am.” jude turned slightly to see brooklyn jumping on the bed. “brooklyn penelope smith. stop. before you fall.” he cleared his throat before returning to their conversation. “tell your brother to hurry up.”
jacksonLast Friday at 10:18 PM
jackson wished he was there to be getting ready with jude. he knew it was unorthodox, but really everything in their relationship was. maybe it was a good thing to do something traditional. he smiled fondly when he heard jude talking to brooklyn, "she'll be fine, let her jump. it's a good day!" he exclaimed. "i actually think i'm the one running late. i couldn't help but stop to call you. i've still got to shave," he admitted.
judeLast Friday at 10:38 PM
jude knew their relationship was a little to clingy but he knew it was because they were in love. he also knew people were not going to understand that but he didn’t really care. the only thing that really matter is what they think. “if she falls and breaks her arm jackson. i’m blaming you.” he playfully joked only slightly. this was his wedding day and he didn’t really want to spend it in the emergency room. “don’t.” he said a little quickly and impulsively. but he wanted jackson here as soon as possible. he was better at doing the actor’s hair anyway.
jacksonLast Friday at 10:44 PM
"she's not going to break her arm, love," he laughed. though, he quickly leaned down to knock on the wood floor so he wouldn't be eating his words later. "hey, you're the one who told me i couldn't have a beard on our wedding day," he chuckled. "but if you really don't care, i'll leave it." he personally didn't give a shit what he looked like, he just wanted to be married. "oh, ariella painted my nails while we we're having breakfast, so i now have sparkly purple nails. kind of clashes with this suit, but i can't tell her no."
judeLast Friday at 11:20 PM
"i will hope not j because if i have to spend my wedding night in a hospital instead of being fucked by my husband you are not getting near my ass for a month." he ranted, thankfully that the girl did not hear him. she was currently distracting herself by trying to sing one of her daddy's songs. "i don't care what you look like or what your wearing right now. i just miss you and love you and wanna marry you so fucking bad." jude wanted to roll his eyes at himself. he didn't know how he was able to agree to wait two months when he couldn't even wait 24 hours. he growned loudly. "i need you to come do my hair. it's not going what you normally have it do!" jude was always the one more intuned with fashion so he would pick out everyone's clothes while jack did everyone's hair since he was awesome at it.
January 25, 2020
jacksonYesterday at 11:04 PM
"well, if she broke her arm now, we wouldn't even have a wedding night today," he replied a little snarkily. he was sure jude could picture the smirk that donned his features. "okay, okay, don't talk like that in front of her! but you and i both know you could never last a month," he chuckled. jackson smiled softly. he was so lucky to be in love with someone who loved him just as much a jackson loved him. "i know, baby, i know. i'll be there soon we have all day to do this," he tried to calm jude's nerves a bit. he could hear just how stressed he was. "babe, i literally just blow dry it and put some pomade in it. you don' need me for that. take a deep breath and calm down. this is a good day. a happy day. stop stressing."
judeYesterday at 11:25 PM
"you are soo lucky you aren't here right now, i'd slap the smirk clean off your face." he said with no vemon in his voice. at this point in their relationship they knew eachother so well it was like they always were facetiming without having to facetime. they knew every expression just by thesound or tone of the others voice. "chill out handsome. she can't even here me. dancing and singing her daddy's music." brooklyn really was the eptiome of a daddy's girl. "i have no idea what your talking about." jude shrugged, knowing very well jack was right. he tried to calm down but between brooklyn, his hair no cooperating and going on like sixteen hours without feeling jack's lips on his, jude gave up and sat on the bed. "i'm gonna wait for you." the actor knew he was pretty much the wife in their relationship but he loved when jack did things for him. he even had tricks he used to his advantage.
jacksonYesterday at 11:30 PM
jackson laughed loudly at jude's threat, "ooh, i'm so scared," he replied sarcastically. he loved the moments when they went back and forth at each other like this. "she's so cute, i can't handle it," he groaned. "was she good last night?" he knew that it could be a little difficult to handle brooklyn alone. she was really an energetic toddler. "yeah, i'm sure you don't," he shook his head. jackson laughed softly at jude giving into the defeat, "okay, but don't blame me if we're late. that's all on you now."
January 26, 2020
judeToday at 12:21 AM
jude rolled his eyes but did not say anything. he was so lucky to find someone who balanced him out perfectly at such an young age. “she’s totally you baby. she and ari are gonna continue the smith family legacy.” he smiled softly. “nothing i couldn’t handle.” jude had become a master at handling their daughter. he had to will jack being away a lot. they were still on the phone ten minutes later when he heard the door open. “that better be you or some asswhole is currently breaking into our house.”
jacksonToday at 12:54 AM
"i don't know how i feel about that," he hummed. he knew greyson had already told ariella that she could pursue music as a career when she was older, but jackson wasn't entirely sure he wanted his children to follow in his footsteps. the music business was lonely and harsh and it was hard for him to find people who were genuine. "that stresses me out to even think about, but i'm glad she wasn't too crazy for you," he laughed. he tried to be quiet while he got in the car and drove the short distance to their house, but of course the door gave him away. he hung up the phone when jude caught him, "damn, babe, i was trying to surprise you."
judeToday at 1:09 AM
“i know baby. i don’t know how i feel about it either but it’s a possibility she could want to be a singer or an actor.” their daughter wasn’t exactly normal. her daddy and uncle were very successful musicians and her papa played one of the most beloved characters of the past decade. they needed to get their minds around the possibility so it doesn’t catch them off guard when she is older. “she is a mini you mister. and i handle you just fine.” jude smiled as he heard jack’s voice. “it’s not my fault i have super good hearing.” he turned so he could see when his soon to be husband walked through the door of their bedroom. “now can you come kiss me?”  he pouted
jacksonToday at 2:00 AM
"i think we can discuss it when she's older," he really did not want to get into any fights on his wedding day. it was still weird to say that it was his wedding day. "i know she is and that's so sweet but i'm hoping she'll have other passions. like, maybe she will want to be a teacher when she's older. no matter what our kids do, they'll be taken care of financially," he shrugged. jackson laughed softly, "i can never be sneaky with you." he leaned down and kissed jude softly, "yes, always."
judeToday at 2:29 AM
“of course.” the second his lips touched jack’s he was trying to pull him down on top of him but he was stopped by brooklyn saying. “gross daddy.” he sighed lightly as he reluctantly let go of jack and let the blonde climb onto the bed to sit behind him to fix his hair. within a half hour they were standing in front of the door that lead to where they were getting married. “are you absolutely sure about this?” the brunette asked, suddenly insecure.
jacksonToday at 2:47 AM
"i love you," he smiled. he laughed softly at brooklyn and picked her up quickly and kissed all over her face, "you think it's gross now?" he laughed and tickled her before he put her down. jackson quickly got to work on jude's hair and made it like he liked it. it wasn't too hard to get it done. "i'm more sure about this than i've been about anything in my whole life."
judeToday at 3:00 AM
jude sighed softly as he pulled jackson into the room where they would begin the rest of their lives. he got nervous as the judge spoke. “how would you like to do this? You can do vows before you sign or you can just sign it.” jude looked at jack to see what he wanted to do. the young man did not know if he would be comfortable telling the judge all of their business. they could always say what’s on their mind when they are alone. he just wanted to be jack’s husband and make love as husbands for the first time.
jacksonToday at 7:26 PM
jackson held onto jude's hands tightly, "what if we just sign today and then do our vows at the ceremony? that way we have more time to think of what we want to say and it can be in front of all the people we love?" he liked the idea of just waiting and sharing their love with everyone. "i just want to be married to you right now."
judeToday at 7:41 PM
jude's eyes widened, slightly surprised even after all these years he could read his mind so well. "i think that's perfect." he bit his lip as the judge spoke. "just double checking. only one of you is gonna be changing your last name? no hyphenating?" jude nodded his head. "i'll be changing mine." soon their marriage licence was past in front of them. the actor looked down and his eyes watered. with one signature his name will be forever be jude smith. "i love you."
jacksonToday at 7:44 PM
jackson was glad that jude was on the same page with their vows. he wasn't entirely comfortable sharing something so intimate with a strange judge. "you can finally be done with that name, love," he smiled. he knew that jude had struggled with his family, namely his mother, so he could only imagine how it must have felt for him. "i love you so much. more than anything in this whole world." he signed his name quickly and leaned over to kiss jude softly. he would save the passion for a bit later.
judeToday at 7:57 PM
jude was not one to be so open with his feelings around our people, not because he was embarrassed or ashamed of his relationship but because it was extremely personal. "the only name i've ever wanted for as long as i can remember." he whispered, writing his new name for the very first time, he no longer was tied to his parents if he didn't wanna be and that was a weight off his shoulders. he smiled into the kiss. "you're my husband."
jacksonToday at 8:06 PM
"it's the only one you'll have for the rest of your life," he whispered back. a small part of jackson still couldn't believe that jude actually loved him and actually married him. he was so beyond happy he wasn't sure there was a word for what he was feeling. he smiled and kissed his forehead. "and you're my husband. forever and ever." he thanked the judge and held jude's hand before leading him out to the car. "grey and ren are taking b..we've got a flight to catch."
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pollylynn · 5 years
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“What should I do?” —Richard Castle, Little Girl Lost (1 x 09)
Title: Endeavor Rating: T WC: 1300
The entrance to her apartment building seems darker than it should. It’s unnerving enough that she squints upward, looking for burned out bulbs. There aren’t any, though. The night presses in from the street, but over the door, by the wall of mailboxes, in the lobby itself, things are as they should be. The gloom is just her.
She foregoes the elevator out of habit, but she takes the stairs slowly. It’s nothing like her usual, impatient gait. She tells herself she’s not stalling.  She practically has to say it out loud, which might mean that she is stalling, avoiding, running. The possibility launches her into her usual gait. She covers the last flight and a half two at a time.  
The heavy stairwell door is just about too much for her, though. Her breath drags in and out, heavier than it has any reason to be. She stands with her hands poised on the push bar, her forehead resting against the battleship grey metal and allows herself a moment to bend under the weight of everything: The awful particulars of the case, the shock of Will’s return, and the fact that she wouldn’t have known a damned thing about it for who knows how long if it weren’t for the case. She gives herself a moment to flare hot over that,  but the grim reality that the odds of Angela Candela’s coming home alive are shrinking with every tick of the clock.
She doesn’t time herself. Not quite, but she is nothing if not self-disciplined, and it might literally be sixty seconds on the nose when she pops the bar with the heel of one hand. She makes it three strides down the hallway before she sees the hunched shape in the shadows outside her front door. Her hand is on her hip. She’s swinging her gun up even as information filters in and she processes the scene.
“Castle?” Her voice is too loud for any time of day. It’s certainly too loud for this time of night. She holsters up and closes the gap until she’s looming over him. “What are you . . . ? I told you to go—”
“You didn’t say whose home,” he cuts in as he makes his way to his feet. He grimaces and dances from foot to foot as he tucks a pen and moleskine into the inner pocket of his jacket. “Ahhhhh, pins and needles!”
“Castle,” she sighs. She can’t even work her way up to exasperated. She’s too wrung out from everything. “I’m just here to change clothes—“ She bites down hard on the inside of her cheek. She is so not up for whatever innuendo is about to glide right off his tongue, but she needn’t be, it seems. The innuendo never comes.  
“I figured.” It’s all he says. He’s not even looking at her, let alone leering. He’s looking at his feet. “I didn’t want to call and bother you, but I thought . . . I just wanted to see if you were ok,” he finishes in a rush.
A long moment of silence follows. It stretches out, and she doesn’t know how it will end.
“Not really,” she says, surprising them both. She fishes in her coat pocket for her keys, weighing the moment. Not stalling, deciding. “You wanna come in for a minute?”
“Yes. Yeah. Yes,” he stutters. “For a minute.”
He’s silent as he follows her through the door. His gaze sweeps up, down, and over everything. He’s drinking it all in, but to his credit, he keeps his hands to himself. He doesn’t roam around, picking up every last thing and putting it back in the wrong place. He wants to. She sees the way he has to shove his hands in his pockets and root his feet to the floor.  
“I’m gonna go . . .” She gestures toward the bedroom, though he has no way of knowing  what’s where, other than what’s in front of him. “I’d say make yourself at home, but I don’t think there’s much of anything.”  
He tips his head toward her. She can almost see the joke forming on his lips—the tease, the taunt, the provocation. She can see him bite it back.
“Can I .  . . “ He searches for the word. His hands come out of his pockets.  “Scrounge? Just in the kitchen.”
“Yeah. Fine.” She starts down the hallway. He makes his way into the kitchen, his head tipping back to take in the glass curving overhead. She feels exposed. Awkward about leaving him there, but there’s a curious spark of something like gratitude for the company. “But I really don’t think there’s anything.”
“I’ll check,” he says. He takes in her body language—one arm crossed over her body, one hand on the threshold to the hallway—and rolls his eyes a little. He gives her a sly smile. “Just in here, I promise.”
She’s sore and sluggish as she pulls her sweater over her head, then steps out of her jeans. Her reflection is alien in the bathroom mirror. She feels like she’s aged a decade in the last ten hours or so. Behind her, the tub seems to call out, but there’s no time for that, of course. There’s no time to think or process or rest. She needs to get back to the Candelas’.  
She makes do with the sink. She splashes water on her face and ruthlessly scrubs her teeth. She strips to the skin and shoves her cast-off clothes deep in the hamper like she can close the lid on everything.
He’s as good as his word. When she emerges back into the kitchen in fresh clothes with her hair clinging to the damp nape of her neck, he’s at the table just pouring hot water from the kettle into two mugs.
“Well,” he says without looking up. His hands are busy arranging a pair of plates and a scattering of small bowls she doesn’t remember having. ”You weren’t kidding. You’re down to your last scrape of peanut butter, and I don’t even think the mustard in the fridge is good anymore.”
“Castle”—she curls her fingers around the door frame—“there’s no time for this.”
That halts his movements. He looks up, arrested in the act of sliding a mug beside the small plate at the head of the table. “There’s news?”
“No.” She pats the phone in her pocket, but it hasn’t beeped, dinged, or vibrated. “There’s no news. But I—“
“But you,” he repeats, a chiding imitation of her. “You have time for a cup of tea and some very dried blueberries and what I hope is granola.” He pulls out the chair. He fixes her with an expectant look, but he can’t maintain it. The gloom—the weight of everything—reduces his bossy, cheerful façade to nothing. “Beckett . . .”
“I should be doing something.”
It’s such a stupid thing to say, even to the floor. Even in a voice so low, she’s not sure how he hears it. But of course he does.
“You’re doing your best.” She’s startled to find him so close. Startled that his fingers are hovering at her elbow, her shoulder, her hip, and he’s herding her toward the table. He’s sitting her down and nudging the mug toward her hand. “Your best is great,” he says, with fierce conviction. “And it’s all you can do.”
“All I can do,” she echoes. Her fingers curl around the mug. The warmth passes through her skin and along her jangled nerves. The scent of bergamot rises up and curls around her and makes space for grief, for anxiety, for anger and loss and a bleak, protracted moment of hopelessness that blots everything out, then dissipates. Mostly. She nods down at the table. She looks up at him and nods again. “Okay.”
A/N: This was just supposed to be a brief alt for 1 x 09. I rejected it for Dialogic because a rule has emerged in my problematic head that those scenes should fit in canon (my fingers just typed “fit in conan”) for the episode, and this doesn’t. However, my problematic Brain ALSO notes that dialogue-wise, everything about their “about last night, what happened in the kitchen” is entirely compatible with that conversation being not about the gross kiss with SpongeWill SquareJaw, but about Castle going rogue and showing up at her apartment.
images via homeofthenutty
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rknak · 5 years
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                     *·—————   𝕄𝔾𝔸 SEASON 5 !!
                                                       ( CALLBACK AUDITION )                                                             ♡   토요일 밤에   ♡                                                         1:24 - 3:01 + 3:09 - 3:33
the notification gets to her phone and it sits staring at her for too long. the preview shows no sign of if she passed or not but she's pretty certain she's about to pass out, at the very least. ever since it arrived nakyung had pretty much just thrown it on top of the sofa and held onto her breath rather literally. her hands cover her mouth and the tip of her fingers go over her nose. if only her brother was there she was sure he would have mocked her before looking into it himself.
so it takes her a few minutes to get herself composed, but she eventually looks at it. it doesn't take too long before she's closing any airway into her system again. the nervousness she was feeling before of maybe not making is now transformed into the nervousness of actually making it and having to do well once again, except now on tv.
it's written right there on their email: recording of the first episode. whatever she did could actually air and this could also mean embarrassing herself in front of the entire nation and, possibly, the world. she was only a girl in chicago once watching the stages of previous seasons and next week she was actually going to be in one.
there's an immediate blank in her mind when it comes to choosing something to perform. she'd need to at least dance, but was she feeling confident to try and sing as well? would she be able to in the heat of the moment? maybe...
she goes through each chichi song she knows which is, virtually, all of them, but concludes it's better not to. this is her time to show everything she got to make her way into the show. they said it in the e-mail that so far nothing was decided and only if you passed this next challenge would you actually be considered a contestant on the show. she had to achieve that. her one true consideration was of 'genie'. she had mentioned it in her interview and its 10 year anniversary had gone by recently. sadly, she couldn't brush off the thought that her attempt of doing it could simply be seen as nothing more than a cover and going for something else would do her better. creativity should be just as important as charisma for these things, after all.
it takes her some time to find something she actually likes and it's not something she knows by heart. most of the lyrics can come to mind, but there's work to do. as it comes with nakyung, outfits always come as high priority in preparations, and this time it is no different.
the set is gorgeous to walk into. it's not something out-of-the-world, but it's as gorgeous as any other set she has ever been to, which is none. her real outfit - the shiny, gorgeous dress - is hidden under a coat which she made sure actually hid everything. her thing was the element of surprise and she didn't want to accidentally ruin it.
nakyung goes by herself exactly because she didn't tell anyone outside of her family. she wonders if jiwon will watch the first episode and maybe get some sort of reaction close to what she had felt when the other was on television, except more on the end of surprise than upset. she hopes everyone at home would get some dose of surprise at the very least.
the seat she takes is random, a seat away from the closest person. it's what you'd normally do anywhere you go to. nakyung pulls at her own fingers to get rid of any nerves that may be onto her before a voice comes from her side. the girl a seat away invites her to move closer and nakyung does as told. she'd rather not create an awkward air at the first chance she gets.
they introduce each other and that's when she finds out the girl is named choi yena. even if the other is older, they get along well. she's rather cute, even, and nakyung can't help but de-stress with a random conversation before recording starts.
"oh my god." it's her one true reaction when the ceos make their way into the set after being announced as the judges for the very first round of auditions. it's going to be a long recording and her eyes can't leave the sight of katie lee. people really are more beautiful live and it feels a bit unfair. it is like meeting anna that time in the coffee shop, or haknyeon one day on the streets. she wonders when her luck will run out. probably sometime on the show.
"lee nakyung." so jisub calls her name. something in the back of her head tells her it's because they know the lack of attention she's been showing for royal's latest girl group. she wonders if the moment she reaches the center of the stage he'll just laugh at her, but nakyung knows that's all her mind playing tricks. there's nothing to fear there except for failure and still her expression smiles at the judges before bowing to each of them. "hello! my name is lee nakyung, i am 18 years old and a final year in high school. thank you for having me here."
the man nods her way and tells her to start whenever she's ready. after she bows once again, nakyung starts to remove her coat, revealing the sparkly dress below it. the coat quickly sees itself out of the stage as the girl simply throws it towards the side of she had been sitting on and then turns her back to the judges, ready to start her performance.
her song of choice was released back in 2009 when she was only eight, and it was still the one she had chosen. it was all meant to add onto her surprise factor and nakyung hoped she was doing it well. the song starts strongly, she likes to believe, and so she points a finger up to the sky as strongly as she can, trying to match the energy. the first thing is a dance portion and if her first impression is good all the girl would really need to do was keep up with the energy and not mess up. they weren't notified how many would be eliminated, after all, so her focus was on doing well and trying to secure a spot on the next episode. there are 100 people there so she simply had to be better than some of them, not necessarily all of them.
when it's time to turn around, nakyung keeps her expression intense but with a bit of a smirk. the song was a dance tune about a saturday night, after all, so she wanted to stay some part mysterious, but another playful and fun. the dance leads straight into the chorus as they're told to cut their performances under two minutes and nakyung had made sure to make the best out of it. she has to sing now, but the girl believes it's not as demanding as another song could have been. it's more about charm than actual talent. make it half air, half singing, or something like that. as long as she didn't sound bad she was sure she could do it.
there's a bigger burst of energy when it comes to the iconic part of the song when it mentions the title and nakyung's wrist does a good job of delivering everything it's asked of it. she takes this moment to look at other people too, the ones sitting on the sides rather than only at the judges. she throws a random wink when she locks eyes with someone and then moves on as if it's only natural.
she manages to keep her voice consistent throughout the performance, even if most of her focus is set on making the movements as great as she can. this means she doesn't sound like the greatest singer, but at least it's consistent. it's better to keep going than to forget the lyrics, or maybe decide to stop singing to catch your breath. what's important is that her expressions also keep consistent in their aura, but change accordingly so she won't keep the same face throughout the song. this is her true area of expertise and she will make sure to show it.
as soon as the chorus is done she jumps into a dance break, and while the movements aren't hard at all to go through it's something different and she's having fun. when it's time to return to the chorus, there are new stops in the song and every new thing gives her more energy and a brand new expression. the final pose is the same as the one at the start and nakyung holds it for a few seconds before turning around with a bright smile and bowing at the judges once again. "thank you so much!"
the girl excitedly walks back to her session but needs to stop and crouch down on her way there to pick up her coat before going for her seat.
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