#this song is about how they could have sold out and been on the twilight soundtrack but they didn’t and made a song dissing them instead

[whatsnewalycat]

3,2,1, WE CAME TO FUCK, EVERYBODY PARTY ‘TIL THE GASMAN COMES

✨ SPARKLE LIKE BOWIE IN THE MORNIN’ SUN ✨ AND GET A PARKING VIOLATION ON LE BREA ‘TIL ITS DONE

#play it again #my chemical romance #vampire money #danger days #this song is about how they could have sold out and been on the twilight soundtrack but they didn’t and made a song dissing them instead #and I love that for them #Spotify

[yourlocaltreesimp]

Chain getting complimented by their crush!

PT: 1 Time, Twilight & Wild

PT: 2 Sky, Four & Legend

Inspired by a submission from @fandomsarefamily1966, Thank you so much lovely! Hope y’all didn’t miss this series (or forget about it lmfao)

۵♡۵

Sky

Look, we know our boy is love-struck. It doesn’t take a genius to find that out.

Immediately weak in the knees with how hard he’s swooning.

Know that one panel of him with all those hearts around his heads and that wobbly smile as his inner circuitry just melts?

You could walk away and he’s just so enthralled in you, beautiful, amazing, talented, stole his heart from his chest you.

“Mornin’ Sky!” He was certainly glad that the first thing he heard upon waking up was your chipper, sing-song voice.

It was secret to about no one that he was trying and failing to court you. He couldn’t help the way his heart raced and his lungs didn’t draw air. But he was more that ok to have you consume his every waking thought so long as- shitheprobablyshould’verespondedtoyoubynow

“Good morning” He smiled, perhaps a little too wide for someone he ‘held as a close friend’ But then again, how could he care when it was your hand that ruffled his hair with a stifled laugh.

“You’re cute when you wake up” Platonic love his ass- He was sold. Yours until the end of time and his spirit had been laid to rest at long last. He leaned further into your hands, sighing as your nails scratched his scalp.

He’s such a hopeless romantic.

But he’s fine if it’s for you.

Four

Utterly hopeless like Sky, but a different brand.

For him, all it takes is the slightest bit of conformation that he is, in fact, wanted and cared for by someone he cares for so that he crumbles.

And that’s a tough psyche to break, contrary to a lot of belief.

Under most circumstances and situations, he is calm and rational. The colors usually had their harmony, one carefully managed by each pushing and pulling at the consciousness to retain a personality.

But you? You make that fly out the fucking window.

Any sense of previously held sense gets abandoned in favor of you. Memorizing you, cherishing you, loving you— if you’d let him.

The second he found an empty clearing his mind had already unraveled. The loose strings of thought had already been unwoven, each voice loosing and sense of sensibility within a short few minutes.

“Hylia above-“ Blue immediately took to kicking the nearest rock, trying to rid himself of such a foreign feeling.

“No use calling on her” Green sprawled out across the grass, staring into the wide expanse of sky in an effort to coax his mind off the linger of your voice.

“Not now anyway. Not with our devotion spent elsewhere” Vio sat beside where Green had laid, trying to find some footing within this. Logic usually held no place within love. Yet why was it that you captured him to?

“Where we’re thanked so greatly and paid in kisses” Red, stood unmoving from exactly where he split.

“Forehead kisses” Blue mumbled in correction

“Bet you wish they were somewhere else, don’t you?” Violet quipped, looking over his shoulder as Blue had an epiphany… or an aneurysm. It was hard to tell.

“Guys.”

“I know I do.”

“We know.”

“Guys!”

“Among other things.”

“We know!”

“Guys!” Three heads swiveled to look at him.

“Are we going to do something about this or are we going to just…” He gestured vaguely to his surroundings.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

Legend

Would rather die that admit he caught feelings.

Not that he hates that he loves you. Quite the contrary. There’s a very soft, very precious part of him that loves you.

A part of him he used to bear freely.

The part of him he’s learned to hide away behind layers of prickly attitude and rude jabs.

But make no mistake, he holds you to a high degree.

He almost reverts in a sense, flipping back to that gentle loving before remembering who he’s learned to be.

“I love your rings” You whisper absentmindedly as you fiddle with his aching hands, massaging out his weary joints. It’s the most comfort he’s had in a long while, i’m multiple ways. His knuckles eased of their hollow sting, His hands warmed by the hold of another’s, his heart full and well tended to.

One day, he wishes he could give you one. Perhaps one with a protection charm…. The resistance cover…. one from the binded pair?

That thought makes him happy— a ring on your finger.

“Enjoying yourself there, Vet?” Twilight teased from behind him somewhere.

“Fuck off.”

#submission #linked universe #legend of zelda #linkeduniverse #link x reader #linked universe x reader #link x you #lu sky #lu sky x reader #lu four #lu four x reader #lu legend #lu legend x reader #fir’s library

[glapplebloom]

Whoa, whoa... I gotta go... Back to school, again!

We have a movie that’s canon to the main series! You know how often we’ve seen movies that don’t affect the series? Because after the events of the movie (which you really don’t need to see to get this episode), we find out the Map of Equestria expanded beyond the previous to include the Movie Specific locations (which we will not see except Mount Eris/Seaquestria). Seeing how much more their reach goes, Twilight thinks they need all the help they could get. So instead of going to places to teach Friendship, there should be a place where others can learn.

And thus Twilight decided to open a School of Friendship. She goes to Celestia for advice but the Princess of the Sun suggests that she should seek the Equestria Education Association (EEA) for guidance. Problem is, you can tell they are going to be difficult to work with. Even without knowing what is going to happen, Neighsay’s desire for Ponies to learn to defend themselves really contradicts the idea of Friendship you’ve seen throughout the series. And when the School opens, you see that there’s going to be conflict with the EEA.

Welcome our new cast members: Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, Sandbar, Gallus and Silverstream. They’re the main students we’ll be following when it is school related. It’s a shame not all of them get a stand out episode like Smolder, Yona and Gallus, but I still find them enjoyable and they’re good stand-ins to let us know how this School is running. They do it in song but I can do it in one sentence: when it’s their way of teaching it works, when it’s the EEA’s... Eeeeehhhh.....

Basically, it’s the difference between a Normal School and a Specialized School. A Normal School teaches you the basics and multiple subjects in a similar way. A Specialized School needs more hands-on experience to really get these lessons down. Like trying to learn to be creative by reading the mechanics of the craft and not experimentation. And the Students think so too because before the Friends and Family Day meet up, the six decide to ditch class. Gallus calls it a mental health break. 

Problem is, Chancellor Neighsay is here to see if the School is EEA qualified and students skipping class is a bad look for that. The idea of the school works, as we see them pretty quickly become friends since they shared the same experience loving, then not liking, the School Curriculum. And it’s not like any of them needed convincing to skip class. But because of the methods, they wanted to skip class so they can actually get better at friendship. Too well as their day of fun ruins the festivities.

Neighsay is upset about this. While he does point out how it doesn’t follow the EEA guidelines like not qualified teachers and students skipping school, he really makes it clear that he’s more upset that there are non-ponies in the School of Friendship. So he closes down the school. This upsets Twilight and she escapes into her pillow fort. Her friends tried to cheer her up but they didn't work. Luckily Starlight Glimmer is there to convince her to give it a try and not follow the EEA.

Now if Starlight wasn’t here, could this have been done by anyone? I don’t think so. The five were adamant prior to class that they wouldn’t be good teachers. And having to follow the guidelines definitely sold them on the fact they shouldn’t. Starlight on the other hand is a success story of Twilight. How Twilight’s teaching methods actually worked. She turned this former cult leader into a leader that saved Equestria and reformed the Changeling Nation. And Twilight didn’t follow any sort of guideline from Celestia to do this, she did it on her own. 

So seeing that this School of Friendship needs a different way to each Friendship, she is convinced that it can work as long as they do things their way. So they’re going to open it EEA Approved or not. They just need to get the students back. Too bad five of them (our Foreign Students) ran away to be together with each other. Positive, it shows the School of Friendship working. Negative, we may see World War Pony and I’m afraid considering how the movie portrayed an invasion it would just be a series of slap fights that makes Eric Vs Kyle look like Anakin Vs Obiwan. And I expect better from the Dragons at least.

The girls try to figure out where the five of them go just about the time Sandbar went to pick up a lot of cupcakes. Thanks to Pinkie Pie suggesting what she would do if she was told that they were never going to see their friends again, they put two and two together and figure out Sandbar is probably bringing supplies to the others since he’s friends with them too. And they were right as they are all hanging at the Castle of the Two Sisters. This will be a familiar location to them in the future.

They were having a great time until the Puckwudgies came in. Think the Critters only multicolored. Luckily for the Students our crew showed up to save the day. They apologize for how the school was and promise it would be better if they come back. They agree and the School is back open. Neighsay shows up saying this is still not EEA approved but Twilight tells him that while it may not be, it has to be something new. And I want to quote something said in this episode...

I promise you, Chancellor. My school will help protect Equestria.

And not only will it do it by Season’s end, it does so by Series end.

With another song celebrating the School’s return, we conclude the episode with the new status quo established. Overall, it is enjoyable. We get to set up the conflict of the series and introduce us to some new characters to follow. I do wish they get more chances to shine, but what can you do? Still, there’s a lot of fun to follow and I am looking forward to seeing more.

Fun Fact: notice how fast Gallus went for the hug in the last song? Like if he never experienced such kindness before. Not even in the Blue Moon Festival where it was the one day Griffons act as nicely as they can. Hint Hint for a future episode... Click here to see the original review and how it fits in GLAB canon. The TL:DL, Celestia opened the school.

#mlp revisit #mlp review #season 8 #green lantern apple bloom

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

309 of 2023

True or False Inspired by My Pinterest Boards

Created by joybucket

Section #1- Simple Abundance Where there is love, there is life. I would love to go on a lovely twilight stroll through an enchanted purple forest. The setting sun makes photos more beautiful. I have taken a photograph of flowers in a suitcase, because I thought it looked artsy and cool. I will rise when God calls my name. At the end of the day, all that matters is that you said yes to God's will. I enjoy spending time in nature. I take time to do what makes my soul happy. I believe it's important to take time to do what makes my soul happy. One thing that makes my soul happy is painting. 🖼️ 🖌️ I've been working on a new painting lately. 🎨 I love to dance in the rain. 🌧️ 💃 My faith is bigger than my fear. I hope to never lose my sense of wonder. I think Dove Cameron is beautiful. I seek Jesus first every morning. ☕️ I drink a mug of hot coffee or tea every morning. ☕️ I wish more people would be themselves. Today is a gift. 🎁 Time spent alone with God is never wasted. There are books sitting on my bed right now. I have gone hiking and camping in the mountains. 🏔️🌲 I have journaled while sitting outside in nature. I wear a ton of bracelets every day. I set my mind on things above, not on earthly things. 📖 I've read Song of Solomon. 📖 I enjoy wearing summer dresses. 👗 I never quench the Spirit of God. Snowflakes are enchanting and magical. ❄️ Jesus is my first love. 🌸 I love how the sun illuminates everything at twilight. I've felt encouraged by a Scripture, a quote, or a song recently. The last mug I drank out of was a dusty pink shade. I've seen the Eiffel Tower in person. I'm not waiting for the storm to pass in my life right now; I'm learning to dance in the rain! 💃 🌧️ Taylor Swift is beautiful. I've praised Jesus in the middle of an open field, under open skies. I've run across a grassy field with my arms lifted to the sky. In Christ alone my hope is found. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I believe I am God's masterpiece. I believe am worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:31) I am not worried about tomorrow. I like how dreadlocks look. ....and I've considered getting them. I own a lot of colorful pillows. Wherever I go, I go with all my heart. I've taken a photograph of the view out the window from an airplane. ✈️ My life is more full of adventures than material things. I want my life to be full of more adventures than material things. Sometimes you just need an adventure to cleanse the bitter taste of life from your soul. I like to imagine that I can afford to travel. ✈️ 🌎 I've worn striped tights on Halloween. I live near a cemetery. 🪦 I enjoy taking pictures of pretty flowers in the spring. Silence isn't empty. It's full of answers. I like foggy mornings. My mistakes don't define me. I love to meditate on Scripture. 📖 I love sweater weather. 🍁 I own a winter hat with a pom-pom on top. I want to learn how to make latte art. I own a pair of wool socks. 🧦 I love taking photos of nature.

Section #2- Fashion I own a shirt with a dreamcatcher on the front. I crochet. 🧶 I've ordered something off of Poshmark. I've sold something on Poshmark. I've tried to sell something on Poshmark, but I didn't have any luck. I own something with fringe on it. I own a pair of patterned leggings. I love Bohemian fashion. I like to wear infinity scarves in the fall. I own a blanket scarf. I've knit a scarf. 🧣 I've worn a tank top with jeans. I enjoy putting outfits together. I've gotten a ton of compliments on my style. I wish I could get a whole new wardrobe. I wear a lot of hand-me-downs. A lot of my clothes have come from Goodwill. I own way too many clothes. I own a lot of clothes that don't currently fit me. I like sweater dresses. I own a cowboy hat. 🤠 2014 was one of the best years fashion-wise. My hair is currently up in a bun. I often wear my hair up in a bun. I own a sweater cardigan. I've purchased something from ThredUp. I've sold clothes to ThredUp. I've purchased something from Plato's Closet. I've sold clothes to Plato's Closet. I own a tassel necklace. I've tie-dyed a pair of shorts. I want to tie-dye a pair of shorts. I've been called a fashion trendsetter. I own a shirt with an American flag on it. 🇺🇸

#survey #bolding survey #categorised survey

[what-am-i-outside-my-google-tabs]

Twilight here, 50 shades of grey there, but noone that talk about the REAL fanfiction fenomena:

LOVE ME LICIA.

And all the other three serie that followed it, more the four season spin-off, and the followup concerts and tournée.

Everyone not Italian, i know you are confused. But keep up with me. This is fun and also if you are interested about fandom mixed with capitalism you probably want to know more.

But you will probably need an explanation. And a whole essay.

Long time ago, in the dreadful year of 1985, an anime started airing in Italy:

Kiss me Licia.

You all probably know it with the international title “Love me knight” (Ai shite Naito), or the title was adapted with in your country.

It aired on Italia 1, the channel Berlusconi (yes, THAT Berlusconi) had recently bought, only in the 1993, and that would become the main channel of his media company Mediaset, part of his holding Fininvest.

It was a success. Everyone watched it. Kiss me Licia mania. And, when the episodes finished, everyone craved more, cause an ending without a wedding and with the male love interest away in the USA while the girl wait for him at home?

Unacceptable.

So mediaset went to Japan to ask if please they could release, FAST, a second season of the anime, cause they needed it, people NEEDED it, the population CRAVED more. Just to discover there was no second season programmed. The story was finished, and the anime was not that big of a hit in Japan, so it made no sense.

Now. I would have loved to be in the room were all of this happened, to know who was the first to think of the idea and how they convinced whoever necessary to have the rights. Did they bought it? Did they promised political favour? No idea. But history tell, somehow, Mediaset obtained the right to do a LIVE ACTION, FOLLOW UP, SERIE.

So Love me Licia was born.

The serie have no plot. The writing was probably done in 10 minutes before shooting. Nothing happened, no drama, no problem between the characters, only honey and molassa. If you think fluff post canon fanfiction are boring, you have never watched this. The actors were mostly dubbers the studio worked with, people probably taken from the street, and Cristina d’Avena, the singer of every children cartoon italian version opening, who was given the role of the protagonist. The names of the characters of course stayed the same of the italian dub adaptation.

Here an image to parallel the anime characters and the live action characters:

Yes, i know. Better than some netflix remake. Still.

Also, i assure you in italy we actually have surname, the serie probably just thought it would have been too much work and never told us about them.

Actors usually didn’t even red the script, and used to speak whatever, since they would have been dubbed anyway after, by the same dubbers of the anime.

I have no idea why they hated the cat at the point to choose that specific cat as an actor, but still he was a better actor and character than lot of others one. Here you can find some gif about his best quotes. Apparently in the original anime he did not actually talk, it was something added in the dub that than stayed in the live action.

The Beehive, a rock group in the original manga, now were more like a neomelodic group, thanks to all the new original songs wrote just for the show.

This is the more rocky one. I just love how Mirko (the blonde and red one) dance, and i also have an unheatly love for the guitarist.

This one is just for their so fake playing and cause Satomi actor had no motivation to sway his ass that way but HE DID. And we love him for this.

The disc with all the songs from the serie become platinum disc with more than 400k copies sold, and the band actually reunited in 2011 for an all sold out tournée.

It was one of the first italian serie to heavely advertise products into the episode, without even searching to hide it. One whole episode is dedicated to the children having to do back to school shopping, and they show and describe all the things were in that moment possible to shop. Mostly mediaset connected goods of course, but also other big sponsor partecipated in it.

They even advertised other mediaset programs, even with the Bee-Hive (the rock group of the serie) going to TV Sorrisi e Canzoni.

Cause yes, as written before, the original anime was set in Tokio. But the live action was set in Italy, and no, they never explain how and why this come to be. As their excuse, the anime adaptations of the time tended to cancel every reference of the real place were the anime is set and adapt it to the country were is aired (ahahah, impossible to think of it happening now, right? RIGHT?!?).

And it didn’t stop there. Not only they had the gaining of the ad placement, but there were also all the serie merchandising. There were card albums, cd, tapes, vynils, everything.

As told before, Berlusconi had only recently bought the television channel, and was in the way to make it a profitable television channel, as it had already done with Canale Cinque. This was one of the way the team tried, and it functioned. It was the next step of using cartoon to advertise products, as was done with Carosello, and the system was then adapted to plenty of other programs. It was not of course only this, even if it is fun to think, but it was part of this, and surely the most evident one. The quantity of ads would later become a symbol of the channel, and a meme.

Since all of this was clearly functioning, Fininvest also opened channels in other countries (“La cinq” in French, “Tele 5″ in Germany and “telecinco” in Spain), were they aired the same anime, with the same type of adaptations. In case you were wondering why these countries have a similar old anime culture.

There are different rumors about how the making of all these channels were made thanks to the recicling of mafia money, but, also thanks to Switzerland banks status, no proof ever appeared.

But is well known the succes of this television created new laws about media in Italy, thanks also to the old friendship between Berlusconi and Craxi, at the time at the government.

And is also know Berlusconi was a well know man, but being the face of a television (and a football team the same year) helped with him influencing politic and officially entering in it.

(Do not take this too seriously, the meme is fun but the live action serie was only a small part of all of this XD).

So, just to make it clear, an ANIME made so much success in Italy that a private television channel, in the 80's, decided to buy the right to do a LIVE ACTION SEQUEL, possibly with not so clean money, and made a shittone of money from it. And also it kinda helped to create a government. Kinda.

And after all of this, what stayed culturally of this serie?

The memes, of course.

Here the most iconic scene, the one and only, the fettine panate, nightmare of Italians, there are edit songs about this:

HERE with Eng sub (i SEARCHED AND TRIED AND INSULTED to embed it, but apparently you cannot embed tumblr videos on tumblr. I love this site).

And after all of this, still a better live action than Netflix Death Note.

#if we want to go in the complot theories #kiss me licia is also behind maneskin #listen #i searched #i cannot find how the idea of Manuel Agnelli to create afterhours come to be #and i mean #it happene a bit after kiss me licia aired in television #you know #the anime with a rock band in it #so he COULD have been inspired by beehive #and well #we all know how he was maneskin mentor at xfactor #of course this is total shitposting and i have no proof #STILL #please if someone know why manuel agnelli started the afterhouse tell me cause i am getting crazy #i even went in old dedicated blogs a bit from everywhere to find an answer but i could find nothing #love me licia #fanfiction kinda history #what people wanting to gain money from a fandom would do #Youtube #can we talk about the fact the CW cannot even tell destiel is gay when they could make so many money from it while mediaset just went #if fan want a sequel we will make a sequel #for the money

[peachy-apricot]

If I wrote the Twilight from the end of New Moon and on this is how it would go:

- Bella saves Edward but instead of having a romantic reunion she goes off on him for leaving her and breaking her heart so mercilessly. She listens to Edward’s reasoning— he’s always loved her and he did it for her own good. She understands and is willing to forgive but isn’t willing to forget just as easily. Edward pines for her good opinion and romantic reciprocation for the rest of the book which will ultimately bleed into Eclipse.

- Since Bella and Edward were not caught up and distracted in a lovers embrace Edward heard the Felix’s thoughts, took Bella and ran before they could bring them to the Volturi. Or Alice saw it coming and retrieved them before the Volturi caught wind of Bella and changed their mind to retrieve Edward again. Either way something cool happened and the Volturi and Bella never cross paths. The Volturi believe Edward somehow changed his mind but Aro, who saw into Edwards every thought and desire, isn’t convinced. He’s suspicious but it ends there… for now.

- Bella and the Cullens come back to Forks. The Cullens are indebted to Bella for saving Edward and thank her, she kindly tells them you’re welcome and contemplates addressing how hurtful it was for them to ghost her but gives them slack because in her mind they wouldn’t have had been loyal to an outsider over their son/brother of hundreds of years. They saved her life and she saved one of theirs so they’re even. No one discusses it but they look apologetic. Rosalie personally thanks her and apologizes for being cold to her. Bella does a little apologetic side smile and shrugs it off. She doesn’t know how she feels about it. Bella’s head is still reeling about Edward going to the Volturi because he loved her and not because he felt guilty.

-The only Cullen Bella is completely comfortable and back to normal again with is Alice. She just is.

- CHARLIE IS LIVID. Bella apologizes for up and leaving and explains to Charlie that Alice came to check on her because she missed her and to apologize for leaving without a word. Bella forced Alice to take her to Edward to set things straight for closure. Bella’s mood is visibly stormy but she has an air of pride and relief. Charlie sees that the closure did her some good but is still angry about her running off for 3 days. She’s grounded. Bella accepts without a fight but asks for an exception to go see Jacob and apologize to him for leaving without saying anything. Bella tells Charlie that he wasn’t the only one she left heart broken by running away without a word. She wanted to fix it. Charlie is all for this but acts like he begrudgingly agrees. Bella smirks.

- Jacob is torn, angry and heart broken until Bella shows up at his house to apologize for leaving him and things so messy. Jacob is surprised at a few things: the first being that she is alive and the second that she came back for him. He was fully prepared to give her the silent treatment for weeks. (*Wink) Jacob asks Bella if she is ok and apologizes for going off on her and mistaking Edward’s voice for Carlisle’s over the phone and being an added catalyst in the life or death situation. Bella accepts his apology, it wasn’t entirely his fault. Jacob is worried that Bella went after him because she still loves Edward but assures himself that their friendship and bond is stronger than her’s and Edward’s broken one as of right now. She doesn’t seem too sold on Edward at the moment. Jacob pushes the romantic issues aside and bear hugs Bella. He tells her he doesn’t care about anything else, he’s just glad she’s okay and she’s home. SNITCHING ON HER ABOUT THE MOTORCYCLES CROSSED HIS MIND BUT HE NEVER ADMITS IT.

- Bella comes back and finds all her Edward memorabilia in a box on her bed with a note from Edward explaining how and why he put it under her floorboards. She’s angry and considers throwing the note but goes through the box and is reminded of her feelings for him. She can’t fight the fact that she still has feelings for him but they’re not as strong and trusting as before. They’ve been severely wounded. She leaves all the contents in the box and puts it at the foot of her bed and leaves the problem for later. (The next book) She secures her dream catcher, which has “fallen” off her headboard onto her pillow back onto her headboard. Walks out of the room, walks back in and takes one sole item out of the box of Edward things. It’s the CD of songs he made for her. She puts it on her desk next to her CD player, and walks back out to wash up. Edward watches all of this on a tree from afar through her closed window.

- Edward knows he has a lot of work to do to earn her trust back. Alice mentions her new close friendship with Jacob the werewolf to him. Edward is not aware of how close they are or how Jacob was an integral part of Bella’s healing while he was gone. Edward still gets a sense of sadness and jealousy. Jacob simply doesn’t like Edward for breaking Bella’s heart and leaving her in the middle of the woods— and also because to Jacob he’s a manipulative vampire.

- Everyone sticks around and is wary of Victoria. (Next book)

Like for part 2/my take on Eclipse.

#midnight sun #twilight renaissance #new moon #breaking dawn #eclispe #bella swan #edward cullen #jacob black #carlisle cullen #team alice #alice cullen #the twilight saga

[sullustangin]

Fictober Prompt #14: “Your Information Was Wrong.”

Fandom: SWTOR

Characters: Darmas and Keeper (HA THE OTHER SPY!! Upending expectations here!)

Time:  Just after retrieving Nok Drayen’s treasure, between Chapters 1 and 2 of the Smug storyline.  Metric f-ton of spoilers for the smug storyline.  I wish we could have seen this end of that conspiracy.... 

**

“Your information was wrong.  Mine was right.”

“You don’t need to be so smug about it, Pollaran.”

Darmas tossed a look over his shoulder at the holo.  Keeper was, as ever, a killjoy.  “I could have told you from the start that Skavak was a non-starter for Nok Drayen’s treasure.  Too sloppy.  Too infamous already.”

Keeper raised a single finger.  “He was ambitious.  If the Drayen girl had chosen to get her claws into him, he could have been shaped.”

“You forgot to ask the Drayen girl for her services.”  Darmas finished mixing his drink of choice and turned around to face the only man he had to answer to.  “The young lady ... Corolastor.  I don’t think she needs much. Not an overhaul like Skavak, certainly.  Just... refinement.” 

Keeper arched a brow at Darmas.  “You’re rarely so kind about small-time spacers like her that associate with the filth of the galaxy.”

“You mean aliens?” Darmas cut right to the heart of Keeper’s dancing.  “She has a conscience.  If I can convince her she’s doing the right thing, the rest will be easy.  Help the Republic here and there, so you bigots don’t win.  Then..." Darmas shrugged and took a sip of his Death in the Afternoon.  Appropriate, when speaking to Keeper, he thought. 

“How old is this one, Darmas?” Keeper asked, equally blunt.  “You’ve never adhered to that adage -- what was it? Half your age, plus seven?”

Darmas’ green eyes snapped to life.  “Not even her fake chain code is that old.  And yes, it’s real, but it’s not hers.  Not sure how she procured it, but she’s been very, very clever so far.  Fake chain code, untraceable ship, no firm loyalty to the Republic except on the matter of alien rights -- “

Keeper held up a hand.  “You’ve sold me, Darmas.  That, and the fact she came up with Nok Drayen’s treasure, and survived Risha Drayen -- made her an ally, even ... yes, you have sold me on you using Corolastor as your young upstart that will challenge the Voidwolf.”

“Kirill is a human stain.  I don’t just speak of his class.”  Darmas took a long, deep sip of his drink.  “That said, he’s effective.  He does when others twiddle their thumbs.”  Darmas tipped the rim of his glass toward Keeper.  “One way or another, I do believe the Empire will win this war by uniting the underworld.  Whether it’s through the Voidwolf or through the girl, it matters not to me.”

Keeper looked down at a datapad from his desk.  “If this operation makes it that far, you’ll be free to come home...”

Darmas looked at the glass, and he decided to have one more bit of Death in the Afternoon.  “This operation is my swan song, Keeper.  My final gift to the Empire and the people in it.”

“And then what will you do for the rest of your life?”

Darmas smirked.  “Depends if Kirill survives or if Corolastor does.  If it’s the latter --  I deserve to be well-taken care of in my dotage.  Consorting with our self-made queen of the underworld would be my reward.”

”Are you so sure she’d have you, old man?”

Darmas saw a light at the end of his console.  “I have another appointment.  Pollaran out.”

Darmas killed the rest of his drink and cleared his throat.  He got rid of the aristocratic accent and let the alcohol loosen his limbs.  Then he picked up the holocomm to see his favorite brunette.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

**

“Life is like sabacc. The trick is to quit while you’re ahead and enjoy your winnings -- exactly how I’ll spend my twilight years.”

“I can’t imagine a handsome man like you living as a hermit.”

“Perish the thought. I simply have to convince the right woman to come with me.  If you have any recommendations, let me know.”

**

A/N -- in my head canon, Eva is 19 at the beginning of the smuggler storyline, though she’s running on a chain code of someone who’s 25.  Darmas is 47.

#fictober21 #swtor #swtor fan fiction #oc: eva corolastor #darmas pollaran #keeper #smuggler storyline spoilers

[jeongyunhoed]

You’re traveling to another dimension It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity It is the middle ground between light and shadow, Between science and superstition It ties between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge This is the dimension of imagination

An ATEEZ Twilight Zone!AU (masterlist here)

A/N: In time for Yuyu’s birthday. I actually kept putting this off because the episode this is based on creeped me out so much even the song in the episode creeped me out. 

Happy birthday to the tall care bear also known as the love of my life, Jeong Yunho!!!  

Listen to this song for the full effect. It’s the song from the episode. Trust me. It adds to the effect. 

T/W: Death. Enough said.

XV. Come Wander with Me (Yunho)

Noon. 

With a backpack and his recording device in hand, Jeong Yunho was walking through the forest. It was part of his so-called “soul-searching” trip before he had to get back to work. Yunho was a singer under an independent label, busking every now and then while landing televised gigs and online concerts. He was stuck in a rut, a songwriting rut, having been in creativity limbo for the past several months. Not a word, not a tune came into his head that he saw was good enough. He recalled the advice given to him by a nearby resident, which was to look for a man who owns a shop in the very forest he was traveling to, there would be his inspiration. 

Yunho was focused on getting an original song, in the hopes of coming back to the scene with a viral hit that would get him onto the more popular shows. It was always good to strive for more. He approached a clearing, finding a small shop. “Hongjoong’s Curio,” said the sign. It was an odd shop to look for a song in, but Yunho figured he’d take his chances. He had enough money to buy the rights. It looked like it hadn’t been renovated since the 1970s. Then again, Yunho knew better than to judge. Maybe the owner intended the shop to look that way. 

He stepped inside, the door ringing the bell above his head. Yunho saw that there was more to the shop than he thought. There were trinkets sold hanging from a papier-mache tree in one corner of the shop, vintage objects in another. “How may I help you?” A man with bright red hair stepped out from the backroom, his coveralls covered in small streaks of orange and white paint. 

Yunho blinked a few times as if to snap himself out of staring at his surroundings. “Oh, hi, I was told you sell a lot of things here, including songs?” He asked. 

“I do sell a lot of things here. Things that remind people of the past, things that say a lot about the present,” Hongjoong fiddled with the paintbrush in his hand. “...Things that could foretell the future…” 

“...Including songs, right?” 

“Oh yes, including songs,” Hongjoong nodded. 

“What kind of songs do you have?” 

“It depends on what you got in exchange.” 

Yunho took out a wad of bills from his pocket and set it down. “You can name your price, I’m sure I can pay for it.” 

Hongjoong stared at the bills and then at him, slowly shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t take your money.” 

“...Excuse me?” 

“I said I can’t take your money. You’ll have to look somewhere else. That’s all I can say,” He said, sliding the bills back to him. 

“But I’m offering you this much money for a song,” Yunho argued. 

“You can take your money elsewhere, as long as you’re here in my store, I can’t accept that. You’ve just wasted your time, I’m sorry,” Hongjoong said dismissively, returning to the backroom and closing the door. 

Yunho padded back outside, a slight gust of wind making him shiver. He turned on his heel to go back in the same direction he came from when he suddenly heard a humming. Yunho paused to listen, the humming became clearer until he realized it was someone singing from a distance, accompanied by a soft strumming of a guitar. He went in the other direction to find the voice, passing by a slab of rock close to the path in the woods, unaware that the slab of rock he passed by was a tombstone. 

Jeong Yunho, the Wandering Man. 

~

Yunho wandered through the forest, the voice becoming louder and clearer the more he traveled through. The voice was sweet-sounding, the song, a haunting masterpiece. If he managed to get the rights of the song, Yunho knew it would become a hit. 

“He said, come wander with me, love, come wander with me, away from this sad world, come wander with me,” the voice sang. 

Yunho nearly broke into a run as he looked for the singer, skidding to a halt when he approached the lake. He heard the same words again but this time, it was close by until he found who the voice belonged to. It was a young woman, sitting under a tree and playing the guitar, humming the same words as what he heard earlier. He carefully approached her. “Hello,” He said. 

The young woman looked up. She seemed to stare at him in familiarity until a small smile played across her features. “Hi,” she said quietly. 

“I could hear you singing from far away, that’s a beautiful voice you have,” Yunho said, taking another step forward. 

“Thank you,” She looked down at her guitar again. 

“It’s a beautiful song too.” 

The woman’s smile faded slightly. “...Thank you.” 

“Do you mind if I hear it again?” Yunho bent down. 

“...Okay,” She said, softly strumming the guitar. “He said, come wander with me, love, come wander with me, away from this sad world, come wander with me,” She sang. “He came from the sunset, he came from the sea, he came from my sorrow, and can love only me…” 

Yunho smiled as he listened to her sing and play. By the time she finished, she looked at him with that same look of familiarity again. “...Can-can I buy that song from you?” He said. “It’s a very beautiful song, everyone should hear it.” 

The woman shook her head. “The song isn’t for sale, I’m sorry,” She said. 

Yunho leaned over, tilting her chin up. “Are you sure it isn’t for sale?” He said, his tone honeyed. 

“Yes it’s not for sale,” She said softly. “It’s a song that needs to be earned,” She added, in an attempt to joke. 

He chuckled. “How can I earn it?” 

“You’ll have to love me,” She replied. He was quick to stifle his surprise. “Can you do that?” 

“I can, and you’ll have to love me too, can you do that?” Yunho nodded, and she did the same. “My name is Yunho, Jeong Yunho.” 

“Juhyun,” She replied, her cheeks heating up when he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. 

“What if you record just one part of the song for me?” He murmured against her lips. “So I can listen to it all the time if we’re apart? What do you think?” 

Juhyun smiled. “Okay,” She said. Yunho took out his recording device, keeping it close to her. “He said come wander with me, love, come wander with me, away from this sad world, come wander with me,” She sang. 

“He came from the sunset, he came from the sea, he came from my sorrow, and can love only me,” She continued. As Yunho sat beside her, recording the same lines and verses she sang, a woman in black was watching from the distance, having watched them all this time. 

“He sang of a sweet love, of dreams that would be, but I was sworn to another, and could never be free...” 

~ 

“The Choi men were brothers, four men strong and bold,” Juhyun hummed later that afternoon, Yunho resting his head on her lap. “And for one I was chosen, with my love still untold, they heard of the wanderer, they heard he loved me, they heard of…” 

“You really have a very beautiful voice,” He said, making her smile. 

“Hey!” 

Juhyun and Yunho looked up, a man appearing from the woods. Yunho noticed he was holding a rifle. “...San,” She said, looking petrified. 

“Word around here travels fast, this outsider is coming for my wife-to-be,” He said. “Wait ‘til my brothers hear about this.” 

Yunho got up. “Listen-” 

“Don’t you tell me to listen, you’re coming with me, my brothers will teach you a lesson-” The man pointed his rifle at him. 

“San! Please!” Juhyun cried out as Yunho resisted, the two men getting into a tussle, wrestling to get rid of the rifle until Yunho outmaneuvered him, sending the man known as San into the tree headfirst. 

San fell to the ground, and Juhyun bent down to check on him, staring in horror when she realized that he was dead. Yunho threw the rifle aside in horror, accidentally playing his recording device. “You killed Choi San, betrothed unto me, struck him down in his anger, under an old willow tree,” Juhyun’s voice could be heard, making the two of them exchange looks. The young woman looked shaken. “By the lake where our love dwelt, under the willow tree, you killed Choi San, under the old willow tree…” 

“What the-” Yunho stopped the recording, dropping the device. “Come on!” He took her hand, leading her out of the woods. 

“Yunho, please don’t leave! Please stay with me,” She said, almost pleading. 

“I can’t,” He stressed. “That guy is dead, it was an accident, I only meant to get rid of the rifle, he was going to shoot me, Juhyun…” 

“Still, please, please stay with me,” Juhyun pleaded. 

“I’m sorry Juhyun, I don’t think I can.” 

“They sought out their brother, and found him alone, they wept by the lakeside, for a boy hardly grown,” She broke into song, making him stare at her. “They wept by the lakeside, and vowed he must die, the wandering stranger…” 

Yunho broke away from her. “I have to leave. You can keep your song.” 

“Yunho, please don’t leave me!” Juhyun held onto him. “Things will be different this time, I know it, just please don’t leave me.” 

“This time? You mean this has happened to you before? You’ve lured other men with that song of yours, haven’t you?” 

“No!” She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “It’s always been you, Yunho, it has always been you.” 

“...No!” Yunho broke away from her, sprinting away. He needed to get away, he didn’t care about the song anymore. As he looked back, he nearly tripped and fell when he saw that Juhyun had changed. She was dressed in black, a black shawl over her head, face weathered and in tears. 

“Yunho! Yunho!” She cried out from the distance. “Yunho, it’s always been you!” 

Yunho kept going further back in the direction he remembered coming from. He could already hear the voices of San’s brothers from the distance as well. He stopped when he saw the shop once again and stepped inside. He needed to hide until they had gone. “I said your money’s not welcome here,” Hongjoong tried to send him back out. 

“No, no I’m not looking for a song, I just need to hide from the guys that were chasing me-” 

“You can’t hide here, get out!” Hongjoong tried to push him out of the store, only for Yunho to bash his head with the nearby saxophone. The shorter male fell to the floor, unconscious. 

The voices grew louder and Yunho squeezed through the array of musical instruments, hiding behind the drum set. His heart was pounding as he looked out at the entrance. They would be coming at any minute. 

Yunho tried to move but accidentally bumped a music box, making it play. The more he moved, it sent the other music boxes open and playing, the various tunes filling the shop. Yunho got up, stepping over the boxes in an attempt to move away, and before he knew it, three men that he knew were San’s brothers had arrived, all of them holding rifles. A gunshot later and Yunho fell to the floor.

#kdiner #ateez #ateez au #ateez scenarios #ateez timestamps #yunho #jeong yunho #ateez yunho #happy yuyu day

[talkfastromance4]

The Click-- Calum Hood (soulmate!au)

It’s here! I’ve never written soulmate stuff before so this is probably really different from what you’ve normally read, and it’s different from what I normally write but this really has a part of my heart in it.  Inspired by Lang Leav’s wonderful works (the poems up above) and some weird instances I’ve been having.

Word count: 5.6k

Warnings: none, no smut whatsoever (I know who am I?)

Son inspiration: Then I saw You by Tatiana Manois and Surrender by Natalie Taylor

donate to my ko-fi here :)

Masterlist

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. *copyright is listed at bottom*

• • • •

Two strangers both alike in mind have a book propped open with words inked in of love and heartbreak and other musings. They are alike because they mark their favorite poems by dog ears and highlights with little scrawls of their own thoughts scratched into the margins.

Late night for her, early morning for him as they’re on two different sides of the country, it’s not just miles that separate them, but the day and night. The moon comforts her and is her light as she reads of a love shared between two poets. The sun is his friend and a warm embrace as he delves deeper and deeper into the pages of the same love but tinged with an air of sophisticated provocativeness.

While on their Spotify playlists, the same artists and songs are shared between the two. Music and lyrics, words, and prose, two hearts longing for the same thing. 

A love to be written about, a love to be shared, an adventurous love that is unique because it is their own. In both their minds, that kind of love doesn’t seem tangible. To be added to their likeness, they’re both the only single ones amongst their friends and have been for a while. 

Calum showered his friends in love, giving his friends small gifts and helping in any way that he could. He was always down for a good time, sharing laughs and making memories. Rose was the same, she enjoyed being with her friends and family. 

In the daylight they appeared fine and well put together but going home to an empty house in a lonely bed is where they felt the weight of their ache. Sometimes it kept them both up, reading their poetry books or writing their own. His were songs while hers were just words but the premise was the same, dreaming of love. 

She received an opportunity of a lifetime to go to school for her writing. A quiet dream she’d held safe in the privacy of her own mind. It was thrilling yet terrifying moving to a whole new city, the city of angels. Her best friend stayed with her for a week helping her adjust in her new albeit small studio apartment.

It was a steal that was right above a coffee bookshop, a place where she’d also received a job. When she wouldn’t be in school, she’d be working to help pay for rent. While she unpacked and decorated her place, she kept pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. 

When her classes started, she was up by 4 a.m. because of her nerves and her excitement, it bundled up inside her. She ran through her schedule three times, checked her bag that she had the right textbooks and her small laptop.

She read her favorite poems until it was time for her first class. The owner of the shop already had her coffee made to her liking with a cranberry orange muffin already in a bag. 

“Thanks Teresa,” she smiles, taking the goodies.

“Have a great first day! Do you want a picture with your bag?” Teresa is a kind, thirty-something year old woman. She’s living her dream owning a coffee bookshop and has the kindest smile. 

“I’m okay, don’t need a reminder I’m starting with kids fresh outta high school.”

“You’re not that much older, twenty-five is still young, Rose,” Teresa smiles. “Enjoy it.”

“Thank you,” she smiles then waves with her pinky. 

Her first day of classes is just how she thought they’d be, the awkward introductions that she rehearsed in her head before speaking, going through the itinerary for the semester and then reading a few chapters and taking some notes. Rose loved every minute of it. 

During lunch and her breaks, she reread through each itinerary again and bookmarks the pages in her textbook she’ll be needing. In between that, she reads her poetry book and jots down a few of her own thoughts. 

Then, the day is done and she starts her four hour shift at the bookshop that would last until closing time at 9:30. Rose quickly discovered that this would be a very easy job because it didn’t get a rush of people for dinner. 

Some other students she passed on campus would stop in with a friend and share a cup of coffee or tea. By 7:30 there were only a couple of people scattered about the shop, books, or tablets in front of them as the soft indie music played throughout. 

Rose gathers her books into her bag behind the counter before she moves to the bookshelf wall to restock the books left on the small wooden tables. She finds herself humming along to a song she knows when there’s a commotion outside.

The other guests inside turn to look as well through the windows framed in the purple and blue twilight shade to see a couple. They’re the source of the noise as both their voices rise over the other and when he throws his arms in the air that’s when Rose turns back to her task.

Clearly whatever was happening outside was a private moment and Rose couldn’t help but smile at the irony of the saying ‘outside looking in’ while she’s inside but was just looking into their outside debacle. Her mind always thinks of outlandish things like that, she calls it her circle thinking because she can run with the same thought over and over. 

It doesn’t make sense to others, but it does to her.

After a few moments, she glanced outside, and the couple was gone. The streetlights had flickered on and she could see stars poking through the darkened sky. She hopes she’ll see the moon upstairs. 

After the last guest leaves, she locks the door and sweeps up the shop, wipes down tables and locks the cash drawer in the small vault in the back. She checks that the back door is locked after tossing the garbage out quickly and runs upstairs to her studio apartment. She makes a cup of hot cocoa before bed and reads and writes into her favorite poetry book, her journal next to her. 

The hot cocoa made her sleepy and she fell fast asleep with her book atop her chest. She dreamed of someone that held a powerful connection with her, he understood her and made her smile. By morning, the dream slipped away with the stars and she started her new routine over again. 

***

Calum’s fingers tap impatiently on the laminate surface of the table as he sat through this meeting. It was mundane but necessary that he be here because the band had decided to take a year off. The world is still in recovery from the pandemic and they agreed collectively to hold off on anything until there was some decent footing again. 

He’s been in a bit of a mood since he and Zoe fought a few weeks ago after having dinner. They weren’t exclusive, only seeing each other on occasion and that night she brought up soulmates. She was almost nagging at him that he wasn’t hers and that they were wasting their time when he reminded her, she was the one to call him. 

He hasn’t heard from her since. 

His mind wandered throughout, thinking of ways he can occupy the next 365 days when he wasn’t writing music. Music is his life; it’s always been a constant and has pulled him through some tough situations and has uplifted him in joyous ones. On the TV stuck to the wall there was a news report scanning at the bottom that the university not too far from his home has the highest enrollment rate.

That piques his interest. He reads the closed caption below the broadcaster as it says open enrollment has become the new norm, welcoming students from all ages to attend. This information strikes a chord within Calum and he’s found what he wants to do with his year off. 

When the meeting had finally finished, Calum decided to head over to the university and see if he could still enroll. The semester started only a few weeks ago but with this new window of free time, he’s sure he could catch up. 

Enrolling turned out to be easy. He had a meeting with a counselor to discuss what his intentions were and if there was any specific study he wanted to get into. He selected creative writing and psychology, bought his books, got his schedule and he was officially a college student. 

The night before his first class, Calum is restless. He tosses. He turns. He stares out the window of his room, the moon winking at him through the small opening of the curtain. Duke is snoring softly to his left and Calum’s mind is racing. 

Thoughts tumble over one another, scenarios flash across his mind and then he hears a random melody in his head that sounds too familiar and it helps him drift off to sleep. 

***

Calum is racing to get to his first class, he didn’t wake up to his alarm until thirty minutes after the intended time and he blamed it all on a dream. A dream that felt so real he thought the woman in his subconscious was still speaking to him in his ear. 

He threw on the first article of clothing his fingers touched, gargled with mouthwash, and shoved a beanie on his head. Regrettably, he didn’t have time to stop for coffee and he hoped there would be some sold on campus somewhere. 

Calum just got settled into his seat at the back of the lecture when the Professor stood at the front and began to speak. Thankfully, Calum retrieved notes from the three weeks he missed and read them all weekend, so he picked up easily with what the Professor is talking about. 

He smiles to himself, maybe he is cut out for school. 

Calum is surprised how drained he feels after his first day. His head is swimming with new knowledge and he’s anxious to get home and get to work. On his walk back to the parking structure where his car is parked, he sees the coffee bookshop he and Zoe fought in front of almost a month ago. 

The sign above the bay window reads ‘CBS’ and in smaller print below that it reads ‘coffee bookshop’ and he smiles at the simple cleverness. He remembers Ashton has gone in there a few times and said the coffee is great. Calum makes a promise to himself that he’ll stop there tomorrow morning before class to grab a cup.

His night is spent reading over the homework and answering a few of the discussion questions while Duke sat in his lap. Calum tried writing down the lyrics of the song he heard this morning, but he couldn’t distinguish what they were. To wind down, he had his favorite Michael Faudet book propped on his stomach as he read through each page.

He reads through his own writing; his words transport him to that point in time when the words flowed out of him effortlessly. One poem resonates in his mind as he reads about love being compared to that of a rose and the lilting melody from this morning trickled into his ears again and he instantly relaxed. His mind quieted and his eyelids felt heavy as he replayed the same simple notes over and over. 

A beautiful melody without any words.

The loud vibration of his phone woke him up before the actual song did, but he leapt out of bed immediately. The promise of a hot cup of coffee egged him on to take a shower and dress in something nicer than a wrinkled band shirt he had on yesterday. 

Traffic wasn’t that bad, and he parked his car on the first level of the structure and he still had forty-five minutes until his first class. Today is shaping up to be the start of a good one and just as he locks his phone so he can open the door of the CBS, he collides with a body. 

Books go flying. His phone clutters to the ground and he panics at the fatality that could be evident in the million cracks of his screen. Rushed ‘sorry’s’ are exchanged between him and the stranger as they scramble to gather their things. Their bodies twist away from each other as he shoves his books and pens back into his bag. 

When he stands to apologize again, she’s already bustling away, her red scarf blowing behind her in the morning breeze. He sighs then heads inside to examine his phone, but he looks back again to try and get a glimpse of her face. She’s already gone. While they were scrambling to get their belongings, he noted how the smell of coconuts, vanilla, and something else he couldn’t put his finger on, invaded his nostrils. It made him think of the ocean.

He examines his phone to find there isn’t a scratch on it and when he unlocks it there’s a picture of the poem he read last night. Roses. The girl he bumped into smelled of roses. 

***

Rose is having an off day. Her alarm didn’t even go off and she put in a generous amount of dry shampoo in her hair but resulted in putting on a hat. She didn’t even have time to get her coffee and muffin from Teresa for she rushed out the front door and collided with some guy. 

Without her coffee it was hard for her to focus and when she got called on in class, she had to ask the professor to repeat the question because she didn’t hear it. Then her laptop crashed, and she couldn’t work on an assignment that’s due by Friday. 

By the time she made it to CBS, she didn’t want to work her shift. Customers were being needy and rude and all she wanted to do was take a hot shower and read. After eating a quick microwave dinner, Rose took a hot shower then turned on her favorite playlist titled ‘Blue’ for moments like this. 

She opens her bag to grab her poetry book, ‘The Universe of Us’ but finds its exact counterpart of Lang Leav; Michael Faudet’s book ‘Cult of Two’ lays on her table. 

Did she put that in her bag by mistake? 

It was a rough morning so it is possible, but she could have sworn she grabbed the book from her bedside table. Sighing, Rose takes the book to place it back on her shelf then becomes more confused when she sees the same book in her hands, perched snugly on the shelf with her other poetry books. 

Rose knows she only has one copy, so where did this one come from and where is her book? She tosses the white paperback onto her bed and empties her whole bag, checking each book twice. How could she have lost it? It’s always buried safely in the bottom of her bag and she didn’t take it out all day except--

Rose gasps. This morning when she was leaving the shop she bumped into a guy and all their belongings went flying. She must have grabbed his book by mistake, and he grabbed hers. Panic sets in, she’s written down some of her innermost thoughts in that book, personal things.

Now this random stranger has her soul in his hands, and she might never see him again. With angry tears in her eyes she crawls into bed while Lewis Capaldi’s voice thrums around her walls. Needing comfort, she opens the strangers’ book then snaps it shut just as fast because there’s handwriting on the pages. 

Just like hers.

***

Calum is reading about the red string of fate. After that run in with the girl outside CBS a month ago, he read through her book and became transfixed with those words she wrote down. He knows he shouldn’t have read her thoughts, but once he started, he couldn’t stop. Clearly the poetry captivated her, but her words captivated him.

The red string of fate is a Japanese legend meant to tie soulmates together by their pinkies. No matter the circumstance, the time or place, the two will always find each other. It may stretch and it may tangle but it will never break. He’s never heard of it before now, but he’s become obsessed with the idea of it. 

Every morning he’s stopped by CBS to see if he’ll run into her again so he can return her book, but he’s never seen her. His classes are going well and he’s learning so much, his creativity is overflowing. Much of that is because of this girl’s book. 

Its spine is overly creased from endless love of reading, some words are highlighted and circled. Pages are dog eared on what he assumes are her favorite poems. Calum smiled the first time he paged through it all because he’s written in his book as well. He wonders if she’s read any of his musings yet. 

“Bro, I haven’t seen you without that book. Where’s yours?” Ashton asks while they’re out for lunch. 

“Um, I lost it actually. I bumped into this girl outside the CBS and our things scattered everywhere. We switched books,” Calum explains flipping the pages. “She writes it in like I do.”

“You read it? Mate,” Ashton sighs exasperatedly, “that’s an invasion of privacy.”

“I know, I know! But I can’t get enough of it. She’s smart and passionate in what she writes. I wish I got a better look at her when I bumped into her so I could return it.”

“There’s no name inside?”

“Nope. She could be in one of my classes for all I know,” Calum sighs then picks away at the corner of the cover. “What was it like when you and Ruby found each other?”

Ruby is Ashton’s soulmate and they’ve been together for almost two years now. Calum remembers the change in Ashton when she came into his life, he was lighter. 

“I heard her voice in my head.”

“What did she say?”

Ashton smiles, “My name.”

“Then how did you find her?”

“I don’t know, it’s hard to explain,” Ashton’s brows crease. “It was only a few days after I heard her voice that I knew her name. It came to me out of the blue. Do you remember anything about her?”

“She had on this red scarf and smelled like a rose.” Calum suddenly felt a wave of dizziness swim in his head and he held onto his temples.

“You okay?” Ashton reaches over as if to help but he’s not sure what’s happening to his friend. 

“Woah, that was weird, I got super dizzy,” Calum says blinking a few times until he can see straight again. He removes his fingers from his temples and Ashton is giving him a funny look. “What?”

“What did she smell like again?” he leans forward.

“A rose, why--fuck!” the wave of dizziness crashes into him again and it’s like his brain is spinning in his head. When his vision returns Ashton is smiling gleefully. “Glad to see you enjoy my pain.”

“Don’t you see?! You got vertigo as soon as you said rose. That must be her name.”

“Really? Is that what happened when you said Ruby’s name?”

“Yeah basically, but it wasn’t this strong. She must be close,” Ashton looks around him as if she’ll appear out of thin air. “I suggest going to CBS morning and night, she’s gotta be there at some point.”

***

Rose is flicking through the pages of the new poetry book she acquired. Curiosity killed the cat and she just had to dig her claws between the pages because she’s sure he’s already done the same or will soon enough. 

Some of his thoughts left her breathless and with an odd familiar feeling at the way it’s structured. Some of his sentences seem more like lyrics that she’s heard before but can never find the tune that goes with it.

She hadn’t been feeling well this morning, nausea and dizziness made her skip her classes and she laid in bed all day. It would come and go throughout the day and right before bed she drew herself a bubble bath with some candles. The flickering light created the perfect ambience while she read Faudet’s words and the mysterious stranger. 

Where her notes are written in paragraphs or stanzas, his are scattered about the page. Sometimes she has to turn the book to read it upside down. The curse words make her laugh and sometimes there’s a fun little drawing. 

It isn’t until she reaches the last few pages and she’s reading about a blue angel and knocking back a shot when she stumbles on a name that is not the author. It’s a name she’s heard before, a name she’s known of and has seen floating around her social media.

“Calum Hood,” she mumbles, and she instantly becomes dizzy again. It happens so fast it startles her, and she nearly drops the book into the bubbles. Somehow in her bewilderment she managed to let it flop onto the bathroom floor. 

The bathwater and bubbles slosh over the sides as she reaches for the book again. Did she read that right? Her fingers leave dark, pudgy circles on the pages as she goes to that page again. 

“Calum,” she breathes, and the room spins again causing her to drop the book once more. “Okay, okay, okay, okay. . .”

Rose gets out of the bath quickly, letting the water drain noisily as she dries off and puts on her pajamas. The spinning has stopped, and she sits cross legged in the middle of her bed, the poetry book open to the poem and her phone opened to Instagram and Twitter.

She’s been an avid fan for quite a few years now and to think if he was the one, she bumped into? With her thumbs hovering over the keyboard she closes her eyes trying to remember anything about him from that morning. 

All she can remember is the rush to gather her things and his soft husky voice as he said sorry. She didn’t look at him once and it’s very possible she bumped into Calum Hood. Her mind racing, she texts every one of her friends that have already found their soulmates asking what and how it happened. 

She needs answers because how odd is it that she’s felt dizzy and nauseous all day then sees his name, says it, and gets dizzy all over again? Is that what’s supposed to happen? Does this mean he’s been saying her name all this time as well? 

Her friends' responses were pretty much the same. In each instance they heard his or her voice in their head say their name. Why hadn’t she heard his voice? Could he hear hers? Rose unlocks her phone and searches his name, turns out he’s gone back to school. The same school she’s attending but it doesn’t say what he’s studying, which is good because it must be annoying having everyone know what’s going on in your life. 

Rose falls back onto her pillows burrowing under the covers and shuts off the light. 

“Please let me go to school tomorrow, Calum,” she huffs then turns over to hug her pillow. 

She swears she hears a ghostly laugh in her ear before sleep consumes her. 

***

“I bite back.”

Calum still hears the soft voice from his dream, he can still feel the soft brush of her lips against his ear as she said those words. He’s staring up at the ceiling replaying the dream of sitting next to a girl. In his subconscious it felt like he already knew her, and they carried a conversation well. He doesn’t remember exactly what he was saying but he can hear those three words as if she were laying right next to him. 

He greets Duke with quick kisses before letting him outside and Calum washes his face, brushes his teeth, and gets dressed. After he brings Duke in, Calum gathers his bags making sure The Universe of Us is right at the top. 

He’s been going to CBS early each morning so he can sit and try to watch for the girl he bumped into. He has one cup of coffee and reads through her pages until it’s time to go for class. A few times he thought he recognized her, but the girl in question always turned out to be just a fan and wanted a quick chat and photo. 

They never smelled like roses, so he knew it wasn’t her.

After his final sip of coffee, he flips to a page with the title ‘The One’ and he immediately goes to the girl’s handwritten words. 

‘And I want you to be the one for me. The one who brings out my storm but also calms the waves. I want you to be my perfect counterpart. Is my red string frayed?’

Calum smiles at the last sentence. He wishes he could tell her that no, it isn’t frayed and he’s trying his damndest to find her. He gathers his things and heads out the door because his first class is starting in fifteen minutes.

Just as he walked out the door, if he would have waited one more minute, Rose came by his table and cleaned up his dishes to help Teresa out before she went on her way to class. 

“How are you feeling today Rose?” Teresa asks, taking the dirty dishes from her. 

“A little better,” Rose shrugs, “I can’t miss two days. Are you sure it’s alright I can switch my shift from tonight to tomorrow?”

“Of course. You need to catch up on what you missed, Colbie will cover for you. Take it easy, you still look a little pale,” Teresa frowns. 

“I’ll be fine, but thank you,” Rose smiles then waves. “I’ll see you later.”

***

The day runs as normal for them both. Calum has felt this growing energy within him as if something is about to happen, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. He’s been looking at every woman he passes waiting to see if there’s a connection or a siren that will go off as if to say “that’s her! That’s her!” but he comes up short. 

Rose still feels a little queasy throughout the day and she’s distracted because all she wants to do is read Calum’s poetry book to try and find another connection. 

When the school day is over, she sets up her workspace at her favorite table by the bookshelf in a large, plush chair. Her own latte sits next to her while she quickly does her homework and opens the book. From the corner of her eye a tall figure sits in the chair on the other side of the table. She pays it no mind until there’s a loud crash.

The stranger knocked her cup to the floor, and it shattered, white foam and coffee filling up the grooves in the tile. 

“Shit, I’m sorry--”

“It’s okay,” she says automatically. 

They both reach for the largest fragment of broken cup; their pinkies touch and Rose feels something click inside her. Her skin is hot where he touches her, and with her heart pounding like a thousand horses running, she looks up. 

He knew who she was before he looked into her eyes, when they came in such proximity, he smelled the roses and the coconut and the vanilla. When their pinkies touched, he felt a spark shoot up his veins, that’s the siren he’s been waiting for and when he looked into her eyes? Everything clicked into place.

“Rose?”

“Calum?”

They both laugh nervously, their pinkies still touching. Rose feels her cheeks warm and Calum can’t stop smiling at her. After their small moment, they clean up the mess of the broken cup and sit back in their respective chairs. 

“I think this is yours,” she holds out his book that she was currently reading. 

“And I believe--” he pulls out her book from his bag holding it up “--this is yours.”

Having it in her possession again makes it feel like a lost limb has been returned home. Calum flips through his own book noticing the wrinkled pages. He knows she read it and he’s so glad she’s the one who did. He watches her rifle through the pages, soft fingers tracing over words that have been printed and words she’s inked in herself. 

“You’re a wonderful writer,” he comments, and her eyes flash up to him.

“You are too, but you’re a musician so that’s no surprise,” she giggles, and Calum loves the sound. 

Talking comes easily between Calum and Rose, but how could it not when they’re soulmates? As the night gets longer and the shop is about to close, Rose invites him up for some tea and he gladly accepts. 

While she’s setting up the kettle, he examines her bookshelf, some books he’s read, and others grab his attention that he wants to ask her about. Soft music fills the room and he smiles because this is on one of his playlists as well.

“How do you like your tea?” she asks, and Calum moves back to the kitchen area. 

“Little bit of milk and honey and some sugar,” he smiles, watching her add the ingredients.

Their fingers brush again when he accepts the cup from her, another spark ignites but it starts a different type of warmth. Calum becomes very aware of both their actions. He’s aware of how close she sits next to him on the couch, he’s aware of the way she licks her lips and how badly he wants to kiss them. 

“So, this is . . . a little crazy, right?” she laughs awkwardly, her finger circling the rim of the mug. “How did you find me? Did you hear my voice? Because I didn’t hear yours.”

“What did you experience then?” he asks, setting his mug on the small table in front of them. 

“I was home for a whole day because I just felt really dizzy and nauseous, then when I was taking a bath and reading your book, I saw your name, said it out loud and had another dizzy spell. I think I dreamed of you, too. . .” her brows furrowed in confusion.

Calum tries not to let her small tidbit of information that she was in the bath when she said his name get to him, but he knows exactly what she’s talking about. He was at home playing with Duke when he felt another wave of dizziness hit, it came upon him so fast that he practically fell onto the couch. It felt different then when he said her name, it was stronger. 

“I’m sorry, when I discovered your name, I kept saying it,” he admits fiddling with one of his rings. 

“How’d you find out my name?” 

“I was talking with my friend, Ashton and I told him about the day we collided and how you smelled like a rose. You know what’s funny? When we said each other’s name downstairs I didn’t feel dizzy, did you?”

“No, I didn’t,” she shakes her head then looks at him, “what does that mean?”

“I--” he stops short when the song shifts, and he gasps. “I’ve had this melody stuck in my head for weeks, is this you singing?”

“Absolutely not,” Rose laughs and rises from the couch to turn it up on her phone. “It calms me down, so I play it a lot. What was--oh!”

She spun around and Calum was standing right in front of her. She didn’t realize how tall he is until right now and the scent of his cologne and laundry detergent reminds her of a home she’s come back to. 

“I have an idea as to why we didn’t hear each other’s voices,” he says, stepping even closer. 

“What’s that?” Rose licks her lips.

“We feel things, and instead of vocalizing them, we write them down or listen to it in music,” he tucks her hair behind her ear. “Even the books we read the authors are in love.”

Rose chuckles at that. “Yeah, what are the odds they’re our favorites?”

“Pretty high, since we were made for each other,” he smiles. His fingers tickle her cheek as he tilts her head up, her eyes are shining, and the smell of roses invades his senses. He inches his mouth closer to hers, “I’m ready to surrender to this, Rose.”

She nods and closes the small space between their lips and it’s as if everything stops. The only thing she can feel are his soft, warm lips on hers, the calluses of his fingers on her cheek and the way his other hand wraps around her waist. He pulls her close and she grabs hold of his shirt, kissing him is like a breath of fresh air. 

He pulls her even closer, chest against chest and she gasps at the movement but welcomes his tongue excitedly. They kiss feverishly, as if this is the only time they have. But they have many more days and many more moments to make memories of. 

They’re breathing heavily when they break the kiss, she feels him smile against her lips and gives her two soft pecks. 

“Calum?”

“Hmm?” his thumb strokes her cheek affectionately.

“You made my world stop spinning.”

• • • •

Copyright talkfastromance4 © All works is intellectual property of the author. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction or any part or all contents in any form is prohibited. You may not, without written expression and consent from the author, distribute works amongst other social media platforms

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#calum hood writing #calum hood oneshot #calum hood angst #soulmate!calum #soulmate!au #calum angst #calum fluff #calum hood fanfiction #calum hood fic #5sos writing #5sos au #calum hood au

[massivedrickhead]

For the prompt thing and with hope you will feel better - Beca is dyslexic and is having trouble at the rehearsals, she won't say what is wrong even though girls keep asking or sth like that, then Chloe confronting her about it and a lot of fluff?

Hi, thank you for sending this prompt. I think this might be the third time I’ve received this prompt, so I’m assuming they’re all from you? I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get to it. I’ll be honest, the reason I haven’t done this prompt yet is because I don’t know too much about dyslexia, and I didn’t want to make anything that was insensitive or inaccurate. I hope I’ve been able to do this with sensitivity.

If I haven’t please tell me and I’ll take it down.

Anyway, thank you for the prompt. Enjoy.

This was a mistake, Beca thought, looking down at the sheet of paper Aubrey had just handed her. 

Her leg was vibrating and she got that familiar drop in her stomach as she tried to focus on the words on the page in front of her.

“Please make sure this gets filled out and handed back to me by the end of rehearsal,” Aubrey said. 

Beca cast her eyes around the room to see the other girls all writing, and her eyes turned back to her own paper. 

She tried to make herself focus, tried to make herself read each word so she could complete this form, but the words began swimming together as they so often did, and Beca felt herself getting frustrated. She felt the heat of embarrassment on the back of her neck, felt it spread to her face.

Focus, she told herself. 

But by the time her eyes had travelled to the bottom of the page, she realised she hadn’t taken in a word of it.

“Okay, break’s over!” Aubrey called, and Beca shoved the paper in to her bag. She could complete it tonight and bring it in on their next rehearsal.

The rehearsal went smoothly after that. Beca was grateful she already knew the words to the song they were signing, so she didn’t have to rely on the print-out Chloe had handed her.

“I’ll see you ladies tomorrow morning for our next rehearsal,” Aubrey said, after finally calling an end.

“Tomorrow?” Beca asked. “I have to work tomorrow.”

Aubrey sighed. “What does it say on the whiteboard Beca?” She gestured to the scribbled green ink which supposedly laid out the Bellas’ plans for victory.

Beca looked, and again felt that twist in her stomach. Her mouth went dry and her throat seemed to close up. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly.

“Well?” Aubrey snapped.

“It says a lot of stuff,” Beca replied, her temper getting the better of her. “Tell me which bit is supposed to be important.”

She heard a slow intake of breath coming from the other girls around her.

“You’re a braver woman than I am,” Cynthia Rose muttered.

“We rehearse every day,” Aubrey said, jabbing her finger against the board. 

“Okay,” Beca said. “I’m just saying, I have work tomorrow, could we rehearse after?”

“Sure,” Chloe said, preventing what she knew would be tirade of abuse from Aubrey. “What time do you finish?”

“12 pm,” Beca said.

“Perfect,” Chloe replied, grinning. “We’ll start rehearsals at one, if that’s okay with everyone else?”

Everyone else agreed, and they all began to file out of the auditorium.

“Beca,” Aubrey called, looking down at a stack of papers in her hand. “You didn’t give me your sheet.”

“Oh,” Beca said, wondering once again why she was putting herself through this. “I didn’t finish filling it out. I can bring it tomorrow.”

Aubrey raised her eyebrows. “I said I needed it today.”

“It’s fine, Beca,” Chloe said, cutting Aubrey off again. “Just bring it tomorrow.”

Beca shot Chloe a grateful smile, and headed out of the door.

Back in her dorm room, Beca pulled out the sheet of paper Aubrey had wanted her to fill out. She pulled a notebook out of her bag, and slipped the paper behind the sheet of transparent yellow plastic that was clipped into her notebook.

Slowly, the words began to make sense to her, and she filled out the sheet as best she could.

She filled out her name, date of birth, email address and phone number. She listed her allergies, dietary requirements, and gave her clothing sizes so they could order a Bellas uniform for her.

At the end there was a box asking if there was anything else the co-captains needed to be aware of. If there was any medical conditions or disabilities or even learning difficulties that would impact Beca’s ability to rehearse or perform, and if there were any special requirements that they could put in place to help her.

Beca had a suspicion this question had been put in by Chloe.

She tapped her pen against the page, chewing her bottom lip as she thought.

Then she folded the paper in half, and slipped it back into her bag, deciding they didn’t need to know. 

After, she spent some time listening to a lecture she’d recorded that morning. She opened up a word document, and made notes of time codes of when her professor talked about something she’d need later, so she’d be able to find it when studying.

By the time she was finished, her eyes were burning and her head was aching. She shut the screen of her laptop, lay back in bed, and found her thoughts landing on Chloe. She couldn’t help but smile.

The redhead had protected her against Aubrey’s wrath in rehearsal. She had looked out for her at the hood night party, making sure she was okay and that she wasn’t getting bothered by Trebles or frat boys.

She knew if there was anyone she could trust with her secret, it would be Chloe.

Without meaning to, her mind wandered to that night in the shower, and she felt her cheeks burn.

She put on some music, and tried to forget about how good Chloe had looked. How good she had sounded.

When that didn’t work, she sat back at her desk, and pulled up her mixing software.

This she knew how to do.

Where words made her feel frustrated and embarrassed, music made her feel free. She understood the waveforms of a sound better than the she would ever understand a written word.

As the two tracks began to blend together, she forgot about everything else.

Everything… except Chloe.

———

“Have you got your form?” Aubrey asked as Beca filed into rehearsal the next afternoon.

Beca pulled the folded sheet from her bag and handed it over.

“Thank you,” Aubrey said, her eyes scanning the page to make sure she hadn’t missed a question. “You were born in 1999?”

“’96,” Beca said.

“Ah ha,” Aubrey said, correcting the form with her pen. “And you’re allergic to ‘dees’?”

A rush of heat travelled up Beca’s back, across her neck and made its way to her face in seconds.

“Bees,” she muttered.

She waited for Aubrey’s snarky comment that she knew must be coming. Waited for that cruel laughter from the other girls that she had heard so often at school. 

No laughter came however, and after correcting the spelling error on her form, Aubrey dropped it onto the pile with the other girls’. 

Feeling rattled and on edge, Beca went the rest of rehearsal without drawing attention to herself.

She didn’t bite back at Aubrey when she made comments about Beca’s dance ability, or her ‘ear monstrosities’, and she didn’t complain about the outdated song or the lame choreography. When Fat Amy showed her a string of messages on her phone from some guy she was seeing, Beca just smiled and nodded rather than try and struggle through reading them, and she kept just as quiet when Jessica and Ashley started a heated debate about which Hogwarts house was the best.

“You’re quiet today Bec,” Cynthia Rose said as they started packing up to leave. “Everything good?”

“Yeah,” Beca said, surprised she had noticed. “It’s just, you know, a lot. Not used to being around this many people with such strong Harry Potter opinions.”

Cynthia Rose smiled, and nudged her. “Us Slytherins gotta stick together, right?” 

“Aren’t they the bad guys?”

Cynthia Rose laughed again and shook her head. “Only if you listen to JKR, and she doesn’t know shit.”

Beca smiled liked she’d understood, and Cynthia Rose left with a wave. She hadn’t read Harry Potter as a child, and had had no desire to read it as a teenager, or watch any of the movies.

She was aware she was missing a world wide phenomenon, but her disdain for popular culture had made it easy for her to pretend that she hadn’t read these books out of choice, and not out of a deep seated fear that she wouldn’t be able to.

It was how she avoided Twilight discussions in high school, when her friends had bombarded her with questions about Edward Vs Jacob. She’d simply replied that it was all lame, and they’d stopped asking for her opinions. 

Beca hadn’t realised she’d gotten lost in her own head again, and was simply staring into space, half-way through packing up to leave.

“Earth to Beca?” Chloe said, waving a hand in front of her.

“Sorry,” Beca said, shaking her head slightly.

“Did you go somewhere nice?” Chloe asked. Beca tilted her head in confusion. Chloe tapped her on the forehead. “When you disappeared up there.”

“Oh,” Beca said, laughing. “There’s nothing nice up there, trust me.” She slung her bag over her shoulder.

“You did good today,” Chloe said, walking with Beca as they left the auditorium,

“You’re a very sweet liar,” Beca scoffed.

“You did! I know Aubrey gave you a hard time, but she’s just really obsessive. She wants us to be perfect. She wants to redeem herself,” Chloe said.

“I guess I’d want that too,” Beca replied, remembering the video she’d watched of Aubrey’s last Bellas performance.

“What are you up to right now?” Chloe asked as they walked.

“Nothing,” Beca said. 

“You wanna grab dinner?”

“Sure,” Beca replied, trying to stop her grin from overtaking her face.

They arrived at a diner, and the waitress who seated them handed Beca a menu.

She gave it a cursory glance, recognised they sold burgers, and put the menu down.

Chloe studied it for a little longer, her bottom lip caught in her teeth as she read down the list. She glanced up at Beca. “Do I get cheese fries or sweet potato fries?”

“Is that even a question?”

“You’re right,” Chloe said, looking back down. “Cheese fries. Always cheese fries.”

Beca laughed.

“What are we having then?” The waitress asked, holding out a notepad.

“BLT with a side order of cheese fries, please,” Chloe said, still looking down at her menu. “Oh, and a strawberry milkshake.”

“Can I get a burger with fries and a coke please?” Beca asked.

“What kind of burger?”

“Sorry?”

“We have like five different kinds,” the waitress said, pointing to the burger section on the menu.

“Right,” Beca said, a nervous laugh escaping her as she looked at the menu, trying to make sense of the words that were now jumbling together.

“Can you give us another minute to decide?” Chloe asked, when enough time had elapsed for the waitress to begin to look impatient. 

Beca’s cheeks were burning when she felt Chloe tap her foot with her own. 

“You want me to tell you what kind they have?” Chloe asked.

“I can read them,” Beca said, her voice coming out harsher than she’d intended. “I’m not stupid.”

“I know that,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to help.”

Beca sighed. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.” She rubbed her hand against her forehead. 

“I didn’t mean to imply you were stupid, or that you couldn’t read,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry if I’m out of line here, but… You’re dyslexic, right?”

Beca’s head shot up. “How did you…”

“My brother is, and my dad,” Chloe said. “You mixed up your d’s and b’s and your 9’s and 6’s on your information sheet. You looked like you were struggling to fill it in during rehearsal, which is why I’m guessing you took it home? And when Aubrey asked you to read something from the whiteboard, you got kinda defensive.”

Beca ran a hand through her hair. “You’re pretty observant,” she said.

“You can call it like it is, I’m a bit of a creep,” Chloe said, smiling when she heard Beca laugh. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about it, it’s pretty common.”

“That didn’t stop me from getting teased in school when I couldn’t read aloud or when I failed every spelling test. The fact that it’s common didn’t stop my dad from calling me stupid every chance he got, or stop my teachers saying I needed to try harder or -” she swallowed, trying not to cry, “or saying I was slow.”

“They shouldn’t have said that,” Chloe said, her voice soft. “None of them should have said any of that.” She took Beca’s hand, and then saw the waitress making her way over. “What kind of burger do you want?”

“Cheese and bacon?”

“BBQ sauce?”

“No,” Beca said, pulling a face.

“She’ll have the classic with bacon, thanks,” Chloe said, before the waitress could ask.

“With fries?”

“Yeah,” Beca said. “Thank you,” she added, once the waitress had left.

“You shouldn’t feel ashamed about needing help, Beca. People need help with all kinds of things, nobody is born perfect,” Chloe said.

“Easy for you to say,” Beca said. “Look at you.”

Chloe cocked her head. “I had to wear headgear at school, because my teeth were overcrowded and my jaw was misaligned. I had to wear it for three years, can you imagine how often I got picked on for that? My lab partner Joe had scoliosis as a kid, so he had to wear a back brace. My sister had to wear a patch to correct a lazy eye. My brother, my dad, my uncle, my bio professor, all have dyslexia. Aubrey’s brother has ADHD. My mom had bi-polar,” Chloe said, her voice taking on a kind of fierceness as she listed these people off. “Everyone needs help with something, and receiving it isn’t a sign of weakness. It isn’t something you should feel embarrassed about.”

Beca looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know dyslexia is common. I know I shouldn’t feel embarrassed about it, but I do. I can just remember being a kid and having to stand in front of a class, trying to read out loud. The other kids would giggle and sometimes the teacher would too. They’d shove books at me, or write mean stuff on notes, and tell me to read them.” Beca wiped away a stray tear. “And my dad…” She shook her head. “Well… the less said about him the better.”

Chloe squeezed her hands again. “You don’t have to make life harder for yourself by refusing to let people help you. I’m sorry that you had to go through all that growing up, but the Bellas aren’t going to be like that. Aubrey will understand if you need lyrics sheets to be printed on different paper or with a different font. She’ll get it if you’d rather we told you information instead of writing it down for you to read it.” Beca scoffed again. “Beca, she knows. The second she saw your d’s and b’s mixed up, she understood. She can be a bit intense, but she isn’t a cruel person. Why do you think we put that question on the form?”

“I figured you put it there,” Beca mumbled.

Chloe shook her head. “It was her idea. I agreed, obviously, but she thought of it. Look, I won’t tell anyone about this. I won’t even confirm Aubrey’s suspicions. But I promise, only good things will come of you being open with us. Won’t it be easier to not have to hide this?”

“Yeah,” Beca said, still looking uncomfortable. “That’ll be good. But… I”m just not good at sharing. I’m not good at being open and vulnerable.”

“What if I told them?”

Beca met her eyes and nodded, ever so slightly, and the waitress brought over their food.

“Okay,” Chloe said. “I’ll take care of it. We don’t have to talk about this heavy stuff anymore.”

“Thank you,” Beca said, feeling like a weight had been lifted. “Oh, by the way, when I called you perfect earlier? I was trying to flirt with you.”

Chloe grinned. “I know you were.”

#bechloe #bechloe drabble #bechloe prompt #drabble #bechloe fanfiction #bechloe fanfic #fafiction #fanfic #pitch perfect #pitch perfect fanfic #pitch perfect fanfiction #beca #chloe #beca x chloe #beca mitchell #Chloe beale #bechloe friendship #bechloe fluff #fluff

[thekidultlife]

Through the Seasons | Seungcheol (COMPLETED)

Author’s Note: 

Please read this before continuing on to the fic! 😊 If you’ve read the first part of this story which I posted in a rush during my birthday, please. scrap. all. your. thoughts. about. it. Having completed it now, I truly regretted rushing to post it just to meet a deadline; that won’t happen again lol. 😂 I plan to write more slowly and carefully from now on because I want to be able to look back and read my stories without too much regret over how I could have written them better. I hope that you enjoy this one, and please look forward to this series! My plan is to alternate writing “The Return Of Superman”, “The And” and “Through The Seasons” during the coming weeks/months.

Birthday Greetings: This fic is one that I wrote as a gift, not only to our amazing SVT leader and my ultimate bias who deserves THE ENTIRE WORLD, Seungcheol (🥺❤), but also to my good friend, @peekabooseoksoon! Belated Happy Birthday! 🙆‍♀️ I hope you get to love this fic!!! 😄

Tags: I’d like to mention @coupsiekkuma, @minkwans, @eclvpe, @haven-cove​,  @nrhfzh, @iwalktheline97, @woozisnoots, @shoshishua, @toxicsocial, @elcie-chxn, @yslmingyux, @gostickywombat, @uglyratlmao, and @starlightshua!

Plot: Two people form memories, navigate through hardships and—most of all—learn to love each other more through the seasons of their relationship.

Warnings: Marked 18+ for suggestive content

Word Count: 10,386

1 | summer, as the night wind whispered

Bright lights flooded the town square through the colorful lanterns that hung in lines and swayed idly. The air was filled with the smell of mingling perfumes, food and beer. The cobbled streets were packed with people, of different ages, walking through the stalls that sold native handicrafts and trinkets. Tables that were laid out in the center of the square kept getting occupied as the twilight dissipated into a dark sky full of stars. Music from guitars, bagpipes and dulcimers wafted around, competing with the blare of jukeboxes playing songs from eras long past, classics that everyone still loved to sing and dance to.

One month ago, no one would have thought that this town would be celebrating like this.

A violent storm had hit and destroyed almost everything in its path, and a sense of despair had engulfed the people living there. The winds and the heavy rain had been bad, but the landslides really made things worse. Even at present, as the town held its celebration, helicopters could be seen hovering above the mountains that surrounded the town proper, their searchlights flashing here and there, aiding rescuers who made their way around the dark, slippery terrain, looking for missing people or houses that had vanished underneath mounds of trees, dark rock and soil.

Despite the tragedy and the uncertainty that hung in the air, however, the townspeople had been resilient. Pooling their resources, and seeking help from neighboring towns and cities, they managed to recover most of their losses and found cause to celebrate as houses, businesses and landmarks began to be restored.

Sitting on one of the tables, watching the merriment all around them, were three men, sipping on their beers, wearing jackets that identified them as university students hailing from a city five hours away. They, along with a group of other volunteer workers from their uni, had come to help and were now celebrating the last day of volunteer work. Just across the street, by the small parking lot of the town’s only hotel, vehicles were lined up, readied for the departure in the early morning. These three men expected to be on the first bus going home tomorrow.

The first two sitting across each other kept commenting idly about how hectic the day had been, but the third guy, nursing his drink close to his lips, was scanning the flow of people, his huge, sparkling eyes flitting to and fro. He could not process what his friends were talking about. He was too busy watching who came and went as the festivities rolled on.

“Choi Seungcheol, have you found her yet?” Yoon Jeonghan asked, lazily grinning. His dark brown hair fell down his eyes and he raked them back with his fingers. He glanced at his friend before turning back to the buoyant scenery. A crowd seated on the table next to them roared with laughter.

“I haven’t,” Seungcheol replied lightly, taking another swig. “But I will.”

Seungcheol’s seemingly dogged determination made the guy sitting across Jeonghan chuckle. “This will be a very interesting night,” Hong Jisoo said softly, smirking at Jeonghan’s direction. “Cheol won’t let up finding this mystery woman.”

“I, for one, think that we’ve had an interesting day already,” Jeonghan answered dryly, leaning back on his metal chair, “and an uncomfortable one at that. I didn’t like the fact that we had to follow someone for a whole day, all because some guy couldn’t just walk up to her and ask her out.”

At that, Seungcheol turned to Jeonghan and glared at him playfully. “Shut up.”

“Cheol is acting funny,” Jeonghan teased. “Isn’t he, Jisoo-ya?” Jisoo laughed and clinked bottles with Jeonghan in agreement.

“I have my reasons,” Seungcheol said defensively, turning back to the crowd. “I couldn’t find the right timing.”

“Oooh,” Jeonghan cooed. “The right timing.”

“I said shut your trap, Jeonghan. I think you’re drunk.”

“I will be if you still don’t find her.”

“You could dance with some of our other friends out there while we wait.”

“You know I’m too tired for that.”

Jisoo laughed again. “You could not find the right timing? After all the days you’ve spent here?”

“Complete bull.” Jeonghan grinned.

Suddenly Seungcheol stood, setting his beer bottle down so hard on the wooden table that Jisoo and Jeonghan could not help but complain in unison about the abrupt movement. However, they quieted down when they saw Seungcheol’s expression.

“That’s her.” Seungcheol pointed somewhere in the throng of people, his eyes wide, his countenance suddenly alight and stone-cold sober. The night breeze blew on his close-cropped hair as he looked on. 

His words were almost drowned out by the cacophony of voices and music all around them, but Jisoo and Jeonghan looked at each other knowingly, hearing his words perfectly.

`“Well?” Jisoo brought his drink to his lips, eyeing Seungcheol with a devious glint in his eyes.

A few moments passed, with Seungcheol simply standing there.

The right timing.

He broke off into a run.

He ran past tables and stalls and dancing couples, startling people along the way. His feet took him flying across the cobbled streets lined with lanterns, towards a spot by the exit of the square where stalls sold summer flowers. His heart pounded within his chest as he sprinted, his eyes never leaving what they had been watching for throughout the young night.

As he ran, he forgot how silly he had felt when, exactly five nights ago, he had hopped onto one of the buses leaving campus for the volunteer program. His only reason for joining had been his need for an adventure away from the city. He would have no other time for anything extracurricular in the months to come. The bar exam was looming over his mind, and before he poured himself solely to the task of preparing for it, he wanted to get away.

He remembered how you had stretched out a hand to greet him even before sitting down beside him.

Hi. You had smiled and he had felt like he was staring at the sun as you told him your name. Classical composition. You?

Non-music major, he had replied with a quick, albeit apologetic smile to return yours. I got on this bus by mistake.

Oh, that’s okay, you had said good-naturedly, winking at him, you don’t have to worry. We’re very good company. 

And you were.

As he ran, he forgot how tired he was. He had followed you and the other volunteers around all day, up and down the mountains, giving out boxes of food and clothing to the families that had been affected by the calamity. The first four days hadn’t been as grueling as this last one. But it had been worth it.

He forgot, too, how sorry he felt for his friends, who didn’t know what they had signed up for when they followed him to this town to check up on him.

All he could remember was the flush on his cheeks when he had watched as your fingers strummed at a guitar, and how he could not help but hang on to the sweet lilt of your voice when you opened your mouth to sing. 

"Deep breath and wipe those tears // Take heart and face those fears // We'll find a reason, // something to cling to; // We won't abandon // you. // There's hope in this season, // too."

All he could remember was the comfort that washed over the faces of the people who were listening, back at the orphanage in the mountains, where evacuees had taken up temporary residence.

He forgot about everything else and just ran, ran, and ran towards the only thing that mattered in his mind.

He had found you.

There you were—your hair rustling in the wind, wearing a billowing white dress that came down just beneath your knees and a knapsack that hung loosely on one shoulder, laughing with little children who were selling what looked like different sorts of flowers. You bent down to reach for a bouquet, and then lifted it to your nose, closing your eyes as you inhaled the scent.

Seungcheol drew to a stop as he neared you. His breaths slowed into pants, but his restless heart still fluttered faster than it would normally do.

Before he could lose his courage, he walked slowly to you.

He didn’t know what to say to you yet. After the bus ride, he only saw you every now and then, among the hundred volunteers that had joined. And all day long today, when he knew that he could not put off speaking to you anymore, he had been thinking about how he could approach you without scaring you off. There was one point this evening, after a little bit of beer, when he had felt like he could be brave enough to speak to you the moment he finds you.

But now, standing before you, he was tongue-tied, unable to say anything at all.

Sensing his presence, you turned, looking directly at him, still laughing, your hands holding a bouquet close to your face.

For precious brief seconds, the both of you just stood there, the night breeze beckoning as it made its sweeping touch upon both your clothes, trying to unchain you from where you both stood—whispering, it seemed, as it touched skin, Closer.

It was you who broke the ice.

“That was quite a run,” you commented humorously, your eyes filling with a gentle light. “Did I drop my wallet or something?”

Seungcheol laughed, blushing at the same time before scratching his head. He didn’t know that you had noticed him running. “Uh, no. Sorry. I must have startled you.”

“You told me during our bus ride that you came just to have some fun,” you said softly, your eyes taking in this handsome man before you and the jacket he wore. “But I saw how you worked hard, especially today. Thank you for coming with us.”

“And thank you for your songs,” Seungcheol replied, smiling. There was no flattery in his voice when he said this to you, only interest and admiration and another emotion that he himself could not clearly define at that moment.

Your eyes widened. “You listened?”

Seungcheol cocked his head to the side, hands in his pockets, still smiling. “All three songs, the whole afternoon.”

You grinned. “Ah. I didn’t know that I was in the presence of a fan. So…” one corner of your mouth turned up playfully, “…you ran all that way—” you motioned at the brilliant lights of the festival that was behind you both, “—not because I dropped my wallet somewhere around the bazaars and you picked it up by chance…but because—you loved my songs,” you grinned as you said this, “and you wanted my autograph. Was that it?”

He stifled a laugh, but it still bubbled out of his lips. “No. To be honest, I was going to ask you something else.” Seungcheol’s kind, hooded eyes smiled along with his lips. Courage surged inside him, just when he needed it. “Would you like to dance with me?”

Your slow smile answered his question before you even spoke.

“Yes.”

Closer, the wind whispered as you ran, laughing, with Seungcheol, back into the bright lights where the lanterns swayed, his hand not letting go of yours. And as Seungcheol pulled you close to him by the waist, your body arched up against him, and you threw your arms around his neck. You danced to the slow music, with Seungcheol’s eyes lighting up like the lanterns and his delighted laughter as melodious as the strings that strummed soulful tunes through the night.

Not far from where you danced, watching and making funny but adoring commentaries about how Seungcheol sucked at dancing, Jeonghan and Jisoo clinked bottles.

“It did become an interesting night.”

The town, in the morning, was greeted by blue skies and the young heat of summer. Business went back to normal, with the townsfolk reverting to their quiet, slow-paced lives in the fields and the mountains where their houses and livelihoods were nestled. The square held its usual number of regulars, some laying on the soft grass and others spreading colorful cloths around for picnics. Bicycles and occasional cars passed by.

There were no more buses that lined outside the tall, eighty-year-old hotel that was the pride of the town. No more guys wearing university jackets, no more stalls that lined the cobbled sidewalks.

Everything had gone back to how they were.

But traces of the festival night still popped up here and there in that sleepy old town.

High up the mountains, in the orphanage, children sang your songs and your words lingered on their lips. Some of them still had chocolates and candy from yesterday, leftovers from what their volunteer friends had given them as treats before heading back to the city. A plaque commemorating those who donated and came to help could be seen inside the town hall. And the gratitude people felt in their hearts as they watched their town being rebuilt made them remember their friends who had left in the early morning.

Some traces, too, weren’t just found in town. Some you brought home with you.

In that morning, you and Seungcheol were already five hours away, on a bus terminal, getting woken by the driver, who told you that you were now back in the city.

You had both missed the bus rides back to campus, but that was okay.

With your bags slung on your backs, you talked about Seungcheol’s upcoming bar exam, your major and getting breakfast somewhere. The impress of his touch on the small of your back as he gently guided you through the crowded streets reminded you of how you had felt when you danced with him all night. You blushed as he playfully protested about how his arms had gone numb when he woke up with you in his arms. Laughing with him as you both strolled along the hectic streets of the city, you found that you liked how Seungcheol’s voice sounded and how he would look you in the eyes intently whenever you would start to tell him something, no matter how interesting or uninteresting it would be. There was something intuitive and perceptive about him, something that you don’t normally see with guys that you had tried to get to know before. You liked that uniqueness in Seungcheol.

Sitting across him, eating your burger as you watched him type his number on your phone, you felt something new begin. And when he unconsciously reached out to take your hand while inside a cab that morning, you just knew, that you had both found in each other a memento from that summer night up in the mountains, in a town slowly recovering from a calamity, a town of cobbled streets and music and the wind that had teased and whispered, Closer.

2 | autumn, beneath the glowing streetlamps

Almost every sunset since the leaves started falling and the sky started to become painted in reddish-golden splendor, as people hurried along sidewalks or streets or in their bicycles and cars before rush hour set in, you would find yourself racing, racing and racing into Cheol’s waiting arms, warm and safe from the dropping temperatures and the cruel life of being an assistant producer for a crueler entertainment company.

There would be times when you would immediately look up from burying yourself in the warmth of Seungcheol’s embrace, smile sweetly up at his face and say in cute tones, “Hi, baby!”

There would be times when you would wrap your arms around his neck and stand on tiptoes to treat him with kisses as he laughed and whispered, “I missed you” in your ear.

And there would also be times when you would linger beneath his coat, shutting out all the bustling noises around you, eyes closed, and your words an almost unintelligible murmur on his chest. “Let’s stay like this for a while, please?” 

You would then feel him kiss your hair, nuzzle your face, replying softly, “Bad day?” before hugging you tighter and tilting your head up so he could give you one of his infamous pep talks. He would then be kissing you with a laugh when you would start to complain that he sounded like a lecturer you had back in your uni days.

It had been three years since you danced with the wind during that summer night, and your sunsets during this third autumn season with Seungcheol by your side usually consisted of these sweet embraces and small but meaningful whispers of affection.

But today, the sunset was different.

You are still racing through the streets, running, running and running, your coat and hair flying in the wind. But Choi Seungcheol—always standing out anywhere he went with his height and broad shoulders, huge coats and quick smiles—was nowhere among the crowd. And you now halted to a stop, catching your breath, eyes frantically searching for taxis as the dark blue and violet shades of the nighttime sky started to replace the golden sheen of the sunset.

Once you could get on one, you immediately gave out the address, telling the driver as nicely as possible to step on it. Then you leaned back on the plush leather seat, sighing loudly, looking through the car window as you sped past the city’s grey skyscrapers and its lights and the rush of commute. You listened to the noise of cars honking, of motorcycles zipping past your cab, and chatter from commuters as you sometimes halted at crosswalks. You observed these people rushing to and fro, eager to be where they needed to be. You engaged in pleasant talk with the driver, complimenting his choice of music, even confiding in him that you had helped make the second song that played.

Soon, you came to a place where the pulsing, white and yellow lights of the city softened into golden hue as the skyscrapers were replaced by townhouses and apartments, homey restaurants, little shops and an occasional clinic here and there. Passersby were not rushing in this part of the city. Rather, families were walking hand in hand, dads sometimes carrying their kids on their backs, laughing as they entered diners and restaurants. Old women in flowery dresses shuffled up the steps of their apartment, with their husbands or cats following closely. Lovers and students with their friends laughed softly as they quietly strolled down the sidewalks, amazed at the beauty of the coming night and the sighing of trees as their leaves fell. You smiled at a woman you knew as the cab slowed. And when it stopped, you got out, blinking as your eyes adjusted beneath the glowing light of the streetlamps, looking around.

This was your neighborhood. This was your world when five o'clock came and you were released from the pressure of work. This was your safety net when you felt like drowning. This was your home turf. 

And there he was, just as you knew he would be. He probably went straight home after court. He probably thought he could mask everything that had happened when he had rested enough. He probably didn’t want you to worry. 

Yes, there he was. Walking slowly to his car, shoulders slumped, his phone in his hand, probably going to shoot you a message that he was on his way to pick you up, he just ran a little late today. His head was bent down as he scrolled through his phone. His other hand was holding his briefcase, his most prized possession as a criminal lawyer. He didn’t see you coming towards him yet. But as he looked up from his phone to open the car door, his eye caught sight of you and he stopped, his hand on the door handle.

Immediately, Seungcheol’s despondent expression changed. His face lit up into a smile that almost didn’t look tired, his shoulders straightened up and he cocked his head to the side like he always does when he sees you looking at him, his now ash-blond hair touching his forehead. “Baby!” he called out endearingly, his free arm wide open.

There, beneath the glowing streetlamps, you ran up to him and wrapped him in a tight embrace, your feet on tiptoes, one of your hands raking through his hair, the other caressing his back, whispering his name over and over in relief. He’s here with me. Everything’s going to be alright.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, worried about you even at this time when you knew that he needed you more than you needed him now. “Did something happen at work?”

“No,” you whispered in his ear, still smoothing his hair, holding him close. “And let’s not talk about my work tonight.” You leaned back so you could look into his face. Your hands ran through the soft, ash-blond locks on his forehead. Now that you looked at him closely, you saw that he looked pale and drawn, utterly exhausted with his day. “Oh, baby.” You touched his face and he held your hand close to him like that, closing his eyes as he let out a huge breath.

Standing on tiptoes as the streetlamps glowed brighter and brighter in the night, as the trees shed red, gold and brown leaves and as people passed you by, each off to their respective evenings, you gave Choi Seungcheol a tender kiss.

He sighed shakily as your lips touched his. He trembled underneath your touch; it was as if all his carefully put-up defenses might fall apart in that moment.

And they did, right when you whispered against his lips, as gently as you could, “It’s not your fault.”

Tears fell from his closed eyes like the trees lining the sidewalk, weeping away their precious foliage. You felt his body heave into choking, unmanly sobs as he buried his face down your shoulder, his hold on you so tight that you felt just how much pain he was trying to release. The briefcase lay forgotten at your feet as his arms pulled you as close as he could to him.

Seungcheol couldn’t say anything, but you knew about everything already; the city may be vast and diverse, but news travels fast. There was no need for him to explain. You knew enough, and that was all you needed.

“Shhh,” you whispered, tears falling from your face as well, your chest aching at the sight of your man—this man who liked to look okay in front of you all the time—bent, broken, and crying. “You’ll be alright.” Your arms tightened around Seungcheol, and you closed your eyes. “You’ll be alright.”

There was a comforting lull as you both stayed that way for a while, not minding who saw you, not minding the time. Tonight, he needed you, and you wanted him to know that he could hold you for as long as he wanted. For as long as he needed. When you had felt like he had calmed a bit, you asked him, “Bad day?” Even though you already knew the answer, he wouldn’t be able to talk about it freely if you didn’t ask. 

You felt him smile sheepishly on your neck. “Yeah.” He sighed and buried his face onto your shoulder. “Bad day.” 

“Oh, baby.” You hugged him tighter.

“I’m sorry. I know that I’m not usually like this—”

“—I like it better when you lean on me, too.” You patted his back comfortingly, over and over. “I know that you don’t want to talk about it yet, at least, not right now, but I’ll always be ready to listen, okay?” 

“Okay.”

“No rush. But you can tell me everything when you feel ready.” You pulled away to stare into his puffy eyes. “I must say, though,” you commented with a bit of humor, “that red does not suit your eyes when it’s like that.” You smirked at him as his expression softened and his laughter came. You took out a handkerchief from your coat pocket and dabbed it underneath his eyes and his cheeks. “Doesn’t matter anyway,” you muttered lightly, knowing how much your nonsensical words would make him smile, “you still look good even when you cry.”

Seungcheol groaned. “Stop.” Then he kissed your forehead. “Thank you.” For making me feel better. You saw the words in his eyes, which began to sparkle again with a gentle light. He grinned at you, and a little bit of the sadness painted on his face seemed to dissipate. 

You grinned back at him, and you held out a hand. 

“Can we go home now?”

Seungcheol grasped your hand tightly and smiled. “Yes.”

The streetlamps glowed brighter as the dark ink of the night swallowed the brilliant colors of the dusk, and you both blended in with the people who were around you, walking towards whatever lay ahead for them in the coming night. 

Seungcheol didn’t tell you about what happened that day in court. He didn’t tell you about what had made him cry like that when you found him. He didn’t offer any explanation.

And you let it stay that way. You watched him from your perch on the duvet in your living room. He sat on the couch, poring over binders that held one-inch-thick documents and every now and then scribbling something on a legal pad. You watched him whisper to himself as he typed incessantly on his laptop. Paraphernalia from whatever he was working on was scattered on the floor in an order that only he could understand. You watched him for a time as he kept on working. This was how he was whenever something from his work would haunt him: he would meticulously go over where he went wrong (or where he thought he went wrong), and he would passionately redo that area until he was satisfied. He would anxiously (and sometimes even a bit obsessively) review each argument, each line, over and over again. 

Judging from his expression and from how he couldn't seem to stop doing this cycle of reading/writing/whispering, you knew that whatever piece of courtroom action he had brought home with him had truly gotten to him. 

You watched and watched, and then you gave up watching him. You hated seeing him become so immersed into a case because you've seen him like this before, and you hadn't liked how it affected him physically and mentally. 

You wondered about what you could do for him. Nothing came to mind. 

Sighing, you rose up from your seat, a bottle of beer in your hand. You padded softly towards the other side of the room, where an unvarnished upright piano was. 

You lifted the cover and you let your fingers run across the ivory keys. You sat down. As you stared down at the keys, a melody you’ve never sung before formed on your lips. You found the right key, and you began to play the melody that you hummed.

Slowly, scenery came to life in your mind, along with the words that painted its description beautifully.

“Autumn days of glory // autumn days of peace // red and golden splendor // in the sky and trees…”

You didn’t know where the words would lead, but you let your hands and your heart take flight. You let them come straight home where they needed to be. You let them express what you couldn't do in any other way.

“Fall is often like // a season of pure bliss // But fall is also when // change happens to things.”      

You remembered the moment you shared with Seungcheol a few hours ago, outside. You let your hands play on as more lines went out of your lips, giving voice to the emotions you had felt and painted the picture in your mind with.

“Let me touch your face // let me dry those tears // let me help you brace // for the colder winds…”

You heard footsteps behind you, but the song still flowed out of your lips as your heart poured out what it wanted to say through the music's timeless language.

“Autumn days of glory // autumn days of peace // let me stand on tiptoes // let me give you a kiss…”

You felt his arms around you, and you felt the touch of his lips on your neck. 

You found the last chord, and you leaned against him. 

You stayed like that for a long time.

Your hand caressed one of his arms as you sang softly, “I will hold you close // I will dry your tears // I will help you brace // for the colder winds…”

You felt him breathe deeply, and you felt his arms tighten around you. And when he turned your face to him to give you his most tender kiss, you knew that he had chosen to leave his books and legal pads and that case that haunted him. You knew that he had chosen, no matter how hard it was, to put the bad day behind him.

As he carried you up from that hard, unvarnished piano bench where you sat and onto the soft satin comfort of your bedroom sheets, you just knew. You just knew that no matter how bad days in the future might get, as long as you had each other, there would always be peace at the end. That both of you would always choose peace at the end.

That night, as the last of the leaves on the trees fell, and as Seungcheol's bare skin cleaved to yours, he bared his thoughts to you. You both stared at the naked truth of his anxiety, his worries. Hesitantly, at first, he let you in on his deepest fears.

That night was the beginning of honesty at its purest between you two. That night, you treated each other like the Bible where you had seen Seungcheol swear the truth and nothing but the truth countless times. That night, you both found safety in each other as you unmasked the pretenses that you both still put up for the sake of looking brave. 

That night, too, you both decided that there was no other way to overcome bad days, except to overcome it together.

When the streetlamps stopped burning brightly and another day came around, you both stepped out of the apartment, hand in hand, the warm glow on your faces obviously not coming from the sun, which had risen in a useless effort to bring warmth against the cold. 

You both went your separate ways, disappearing amongst the thousands of people who rushed about as the sleepless city burst with renewed life. 

Well, bad days, fire away, you thought to yourself as you tightened your scarf around your neck. After that night, the impending doom of a long day failed to break your spirit.

You had Seungcheol, and Seungcheol had you. Everything would be okay. You both just knew: everything would be okay.

Later that day, another golden dusk settled across the skyline. You raced down the busy sidewalks of the city again, looking out for a cab. The holiday season was almost upon you, and the air already had a festive spirit to it. As you glanced up and down the lanes of vehicles halting at the red light, your eye caught a figure to your left, among the crowds.

Waving his hand, his eyes alight, his smile as bright as it was during those first few days that leaves fell from trees, there was Seungcheol, wearing his huge coat, holding his briefcase and waiting, as he had always done, for you.

Smiling jubilantly, you ran to him, pushing against crowds of people, eager to become enveloped into his safe, warm embrace.

You were tired. It had been a very busy day: meetings, songwriting sessions, planning music video sets with other staff, and doing final checks on a concert stage took up most of your energy. But in Seungcheol’s arms, the fatigue you felt slowly washed away. 

"Baby," you whispered, closing your eyes as you leaned against his chest. You felt his kisses on your hair and you smiled. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but does that smile mean that you helped save the world today?"

At your words, you felt Seungcheol drew in a sharp breath. You felt his teeth sink into your shoulder playfully as his body reverberated with giggles.

"Please stop making me blush in public, babe!"

The forecast had said that temperatures would be at its lowest yet, but as you kept making jokes while basking in the music of Seungcheol’s laughter, you never felt the cold during that last sunset of autumn.

3 | winter, by the hearth

“And everything in time and under heaven finally falls asleep // Wrapped in blankets white, all creation shivers underneath.”

Like magic, the words you sang out perfectly described the hushed, dreamy landscape that unfurled before Seungcheol's eyes. Snowflakes in their different designs fell softly on the ground and on your nose as you walked, hand in hand, wrapped in your warmest, heaviest winter clothing. You were walking towards the huge family house that belonged to your maternal grandparents, and you were both enchanted by the frozen beauty of the vast garden you were walking through. And as if the sight of imposing life-sized statues and the creaking, barren trees lining the footpath wasn't enough, the series of mountains to the left of the property also peeked out from the stone walls, revealing their snow-covered peaks and adding a magical feeling to the scenery.

It was the first time that you would bring Seungcheol to a dinner with all of your extended family, and Seungcheol knew from the way that you smiled at him a lot that you were excited.

Excited, and something else. 

Despite the mixed expressions on your face that he could not quickly decipher to get a clear understanding of, Seungcheol returned your smiles. “How long has it been since you came here?” he asked, stepping over a mound of ice and snow that had formed along the pavement.

“Years." You looked up at him again, and you smiled wider. "It shows on my face that much, huh? How thrilled I am at having my whole family meet you?"

Seungcheol smirked. "I don't know how to get my family together like this. Do your grandparents hold gatherings like this often?"

"Not really. But they've been missing their children and us grandchildren, so…" you cleared your throat and paused. "Baby, do I look like Christmas lights are strung up on my face? Because my cousins tease me about my smile whenever I get excited.”

The brightness in your voice had dropped a notch, and Seungcheol examined your face again. “Well you do look excited, but I wouldn't worry about your face. You always look beautiful…"

You probably did not hear him, because you had let go of his hand to run ahead, towards the widespread arms of a very handsome old man who seemed to have the same light like yours in his eyes and the same humor on his smile like yours. 

Seungcheol hurried towards you and your grandfather, and he bowed respectfully. 

"So this is the lucky man," your grandfather commented humorously, shaking Seungcheol's hand heartily. "Come in, come in! Best to get out of the cold." Your grandfather shivered animatedly, and you laughed, leaning against him as you walked in. 

You seemed fine. Seungcheol smiled and entered the double doors after you.

The house was spacious and welcoming, designed with warm wood tones and bursting to life with patches of greenery here and there. The wooden beams and pillars that supported doorways were intricately carved with floral swirls and patterns, and the furniture style accentuated the vibrant yet homey tones. The smell of food and wine and the sound of logs being thrown into a fireplace filled Seungcheol's senses. Holiday music played in the background, and soft laughter from one of the rooms to the far right of the hall made Seungcheol guess that some family members have already arrived before you did. 

As he walked on, straightening his clothes, he ran smack-dab into a woman who looked a lot like you but was very much unlike you either. Seungcheol would never see you wearing a power suit in bold colors like this woman. The man behind her smiled at Seungcheol and offered a hand.

"Oooh, so this is my cousin Y/N's boyfriend!" The woman grinned. She held out a well-manicured hand. "I'm Sana, and this is my husband, Minhyuk. You’re Seungcheol, right?"

"Yes. Very nice to meet you," Seungcheol answered, his face lighting up when he saw you with a smile on your face, walking towards Sana. Sana is one of my favorite cousins, you had told him earlier. She's the loudest among all of us, but she's a really good person who took care of me a lot when I was younger.

Sana leaned close to Seungcheol, and he was once again struck by how her brown eyes looked a lot like yours. But hers, he observed, had a mischievous glint, while yours always had a gentle light in them. 

"You'd better be prepared for this family dinner," Sana whispered conspiratorially, "and don't let your guard down. Watch your manners--"

"--oh, come on, Sana," you groaned, pulling Seungcheol away, laughter in your voice. "It won't be that bad!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you! And sit beside me during dinner!" Sana's red-lipped smile made Seungcheol suddenly wonder what you both were talking about. You were both inside the parlor now, where drinks were being served and the people inside were more formal: quieter and older members of the family were either seated or standing around, wine glasses in their hands, conversing as they studied the portraits that hung around the room. A young man sat by one of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of the parlor, his fingers flying across the ivory keys of the grand piano. The fire crackled as a man added more logs. Your grandfather was nowhere in sight.

Seungcheol wondered why your smile did not reach your eyes once these people started to come and greet you with their hugs and kisses. He wanted to ask if you were okay because you had grown quieter. Occasionally glancing at you as he introduced himself to members of the family, he noticed that your whole countenance had changed. 

The smiles and the laughter coming from you still rang true in his ears, but as your hands clasped before you as you engaged in conversation with an aunt of yours, you showed him a side of you that he had never seen before: very composed, very somber, very careful. The only relief that seemed to show on your face was when your parents finally came in, and Seungcheol was glad for the respite from your strained expressions and gestures. Your smile at them as they embraced you warmly was the only smile that reached your eyes throughout the whole introductory phase of the gathering.

"I'm so glad you're here, Seungcheol!" your mother said cheerfully, adding a warmth that Seungcheol hadn't felt in the room since you had both walked in. In fact, of all the people he had greeted today, nobody he'd met in this side of your family eased the tension he had been feeling since your voice changed on the way in. "My family has been waiting to see you for ages!"

Seungcheol kissed your mother's cheek and shook your father's hand, engaging in pleasant small talk with them. He had spent a lot of holidays and vacations with your parents, and they had been very enjoyable ones. In this fifth year of your relationship, though, you had quietly asked him if he wanted to go see your grandparents with you. He had known from the expression on your face that seeing your grandparents was an important family affair; and he knew now, too, why you had looked so anxious. 

Everyone walked into the dining room once the clock in the parlor struck six o'clock. A long table heaped with food and beverages on glassware greeted all of you. Seating yourselves, Seungcheol held your hand underneath the table, squeezing it reassuringly. You squeezed his back.

Seungcheol's eyes caught Sana's on the far side of the room. She was sitting on the opposite end of the table with Minhyuk, and she cocked her head to the side, mouthing words that looked like, "Sit here, you two!", gesturing at a couple of seats beside them that soon got taken by another cousin and his parents. Sana made a face, and Seungcheol grinned. You were busy talking with another cousin, Samuel, who had also brought his partner with him. Seated at the far end of the table, near the empty seat of your grandfather, Seungcheol waited for dinner to begin.

Clinks of glasses and forks and knives slicing through meat and spoons ladling soup were the background music to the words that this huge family exchanged. Laughter rippled through the room, and slowly, the tension and formality that shaped conversations a while ago stopped.

"Is that Counselor Choi from the City Prosecutor’s Office?"

The matronly voice made everyone's heads turn, and all laughter died down.

Seungcheol saw your grandmother for the first time. 

Dinner had long since started, but the way she gracefully sat down and the way her shoulders were set back made everyone excuse her for being late. Your grandfather silently took his place beside you, and you exchanged sweet smiles with him. Seungcheol watched as your grandfather leaned towards you, and he heard words like, “…talk to her…” come from his lips. Nervous energy engulfed the dinner table, and Seungcheol's ears must have been fooling him, because every clink and scrape of knives, and even the music, seemed to stop. 

Your grandmother, beautiful despite her age, laid her eyes upon Seungcheol. Her eyes were neither kind nor cruel. The aloofness there could have thrown any stranger off, but the spark of interest that lit up her eyes compelled Seungcheol to return her gaze and to answer.

"Yes, ma'am." He could have called her something else, but this aura she exuded seemed to ask for something that formal. "Thank you for inviting me."

When she smiled, her expression was guarded as well. "My granddaughter is very fortunate to have met you. And you're welcome. Please, eat."

After greeting the other girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands and wives seated around, the rest of the conversation was directed at other members of the family. Seungcheol learned that this side of your family was involved in medical and tourism careers. You were the only one he knew that had a different path from the rest of them. This hadn’t been obvious when he spent time with your parents, but on this table, careers and what you are doing to succeed in that career seemed to be very important. Careers steered the conversation.

"Ahyoung is planning on setting up a pediatric practice, Mother,” one aunt said as she set down her spoon. “She wasn't able to come because she had to tie up some loose ends with the clinic renovation."

"Working through the holidays? Ahyoung must be wanting to surpass my record as a workaholic." Chuckles around the table could be heard at this amusing remark from Grandmother. "The president of the hospital in that town is a friend of mine who could help her establish her practice. Tell her to give me a call so I can help her get in touch with him. How about you, Jaemin? I saw you on TV a week ago. You announced the opening of a...what was that...a museum?"

"A shrine recreation, Grandmother. We're currently in the process of recreating an entire temple from the Silla era. My archaeology team hit a huge find down south when they found the remains of what we initially thought was a hidden metropolis in the mountains. Turns out that was this temple where priestesses tried to read the stars—”

“—if you need a priestess to make your shrine look more realistic, you can hire me." Sana broke in as she winked at Jaemin, who immediately looked flustered. Younger cousins of yours immediately began doing their best to hold back their laughter and Seungcheol felt you giggle quietly beside him, too, as you drank your glass of wine. 

"Sana, instead of ridiculing your older brother, why don't you tell us about the latest findings of your research? And congratulations, darling. My former colleagues in Gynecology have been telling me that your research will be of a huge benefit to their practice.”

"Well, we are still working on developing this fertility treatment, as you know already, and we have the goal of obtaining a much higher success rate than in vitro fertilization. So, for example, if the success rate of a thirty-five-year-old woman is only at thirty-nine-point-five per cent, we would try to raise that bar by giving her a fifty per cent threshold of success. It’s still at a very experimental stage at this point, Grandmother, but the labs have been working on it incessantly...” 

Seungcheol stopped listening at that point. He focused on his food and on not letting go of your hand. Their topics were interesting and he would occasionally get roped into the conversation, but Seungcheol couldn't help but despair about the fact that there wasn’t talk about anything else except work and their different professions and future plans for their businesses or companies. It was the holidays, for goodness’ sake. There weren't many other stories shared aside from work life. Everyone seemed to be comfortable with that kind of setting, but it cut through Seungcheol deeply. Especially when he noticed that the questions didn’t get to you. 

The dinner passed like that.

Grandmother rose from her seat, her height, willowy frame and white dress making her look even more imposing. Silence once again reigned, and she spoke.

“Y/N, may I speak to you in private for a moment?” It wasn’t a question. She spun on her heel and left.

Seungcheol knew that she expected you to follow. And you did, whispering, “I’ll be back” before rushing out of the dining room. When his eyes roamed around the table, he saw that everyone was looking at him, and he put his fork down. He didn’t know what to think of what just happened. Your mother followed you out soon after.

"Don't worry," Samuel said reassuringly. "Grandmother may look like a very hard woman, but she's actually soft on the inside--"

"--and she has the softest spot for Y/N." Sana smiled. "She would never admit to playing favorites, but we all know in this table that she loves Y/N the most."

At a later time, while relishing dessert, your history with your grandmother began to unfold from the table, where only your closest cousins remained, and Seungcheol listened to them intently.

They told him the story about a grandmother who wanted nothing but the best of life for her family. A grandmother who had done her best to live a life that she knew would become a good example to everyone who followed her. Despite her stern appearance, she wasn’t the rich and evil grandmother who forced everyone to do things her way. Surprisingly, she was one who encouraged her family members to pursue what they loved to do.

“You see, even though most of us work in the medical field, we didn’t get these jobs because someone told us to, or because the woman we look up to in this family. We became doctors and businessmen because we wanted these jobs. Our paths turned out this way, and we’re enjoying ourselves.” Sana paused, letting her words sink first. “All our parents and our grandparents asked of us was that we pursue our dreams intending to succeed. And that was where she and Y/N took a bad turn.”

“Everyone in this family had turned out to be exactly who they wanted to be.” The unspoken words after that sentence held weight. All except one: you.

“Grandmother just couldn’t understand why Y/N did not choose to become the singer that she wanted to be. And what made her more furious was the fact that she doesn’t see how good she could be.”

Music from the piano drifted into the dining hall. Someone was singing carols, and Seungcheol was jolted from his reverie when he heard soft laughter coming from the parlor as well. It was then that he realized that most of the family had gone back to the parlor, where it was evident that they all loved to spend time together.

“Only one person plays beautifully like that,” Jaemin remarked. Seungcheol noted the ring of envy and admiration on his voice as you all listened to the strains of a piano. “You’re a very lucky man. My cousin isn’t just someone you meet out there.”

“Which is why she’s the favorite,” Hyorin, another cousin of yours, commented. “In a family of doctors and business magnates, she stands out.” Hyorin stood up, bringing her glass of wine with her. “I’m going there to listen.”

Sitting on the piano, fingers making music in a way that spoke to the soul, was you. It was one thing to just play music. It was another thing when that music communicates with its listeners, making them feel something. People were humming the carols that you played, but you didn’t pay heed to them. Seungcheol knew that once you were seated on that bench, you were in another world entirely. You smiled at your relatives as they all sang out songs and gave her requests. Music tied you all together and brought out the beauty of the human inside. Work was forgotten as you sang together. From the corner of his eye, as he joined the men in belting out “Smile Flower” by a classic boy group from more than fifty years ago, Seungcheol saw your grandmother smiling—genuinely—and nodding with your parents, who were also looking at you.

A change of key quieted the room, and everyone tried to figure out what the song you were playing. But nobody could tell what it was, only that it was in A minor. They waited for you to sing.

And when you did, a song they’ve never heard before, a song Seungcheol had never heard before from you, rose from your lips.

“Tossing out the lines that were never truly mine // Throwing to the fire what was never truly fine // I am in a place where no doubt and fears can get me // I am safe tonight with lover and family // by the firelight // by the firelight // I could be me.”

Later, when you and Seungcheol had gone home and you were both staring into the hearth which served as the only light in the living room and warmed you both from the cold of the night, Seungcheol mustered the courage to ask you what your grandmother had told you when she pulled you aside right after dinner.

You smiled and said simply, “She doesn’t want me to become an assistant producer anymore.” Your hand laced with Seungcheol’s underneath the pale blue quilt wrapped around you both. “She wants me to get my music out there to the world. She said she wanted me to stop hesitating about my future.”

“And what do you think about her advice?”

You turned to him, and your eyes were moist, your lips trembling with emotion as you smiled. “Baby,” you said gently, leaning on his shoulder, “it’s not that simple.” You sighed. “And I know I might sound like such a coward to you, but I have a reason for not pursuing a singing career. Besides, I think I’m already too old for that kind of life.”

“Yeah,” Seungcheol playfully acknowledged, “twenty-seven is too old for that kind of life.”

You laughed, but your eyes remained sad. “Consider that a sub-reason as to why I don’t want to be a singer. I know that I’m breaking my family’s heart by choosing not to become one because they want to see me actually doing something that I love. But you see, I’m not really in that bad a position. I’m doing something close to what I truly love. And for me, that is enough.”

Seungcheol held you closer with his one arm. “But what is the reason why you don’t want to be a singer? I’ve always wondered why, too. I didn’t ask you before about this because I didn’t want you—”

“—I don’t want a life where my most beautiful escape—my music—will most likely end up being my darkest prison.” You weren’t looking at him, but Seungcheol knew from your voice that you meant your words, and you wanted him to understand. “I’ve seen it happen. Every day, I work with talented people who were brave enough to let the world see their lives and listen to their music. I help them shine like the stars they are, but I always witness them burn too brightly and die out too fast in the end. And I don’t want that kind of life for myself. I want my music to be mine alone and to whoever I want to give it to. I don’t want my art to be pressured by people’s expectations and desires. I don’t want that kind of life.”

“Tossing out the lines that were never truly mine,” he sang. “Throwing to the fire what was never truly fine. I am in a place where no doubt and fears can get me. I am safe tonight with lover and family. By the firelight, I could be me.” Seungcheol looked at you. “Is that why you sang this to your family? So that they won’t worry about you being miserable because you haven’t fulfilled your ultimate dream?”

You looked at him humorously. “My ultimate dream is to be your wife and the mother of your children, dummy.”

“Oh.” Seungcheol blushed. “I forgot about that part.”

You let out a huge breath. “But you’re right. I just wanted them to know that I’m okay with my life. At the same time, though, I can’t stop wondering if I am missing out on something that I know I want to try deep in my heart.”

“So try doing it.”

It was when you hesitated when he said those words that Seungcheol knew.

He kissed your temple gently. “Baby, I think you should at least try.” Seungcheol stared at you as you pondered what he said in your mind. He knew that a million thoughts, pros and cons and other factors were probably racing around in your head at this point, and he didn’t want you to do that. “Come on. On the count of three, answer my question: do you want to sing your songs out there in the world or not? One.” You didn’t budge. “Two.” You gripped his hand tighter. “Thr—”

“—yes.” You wrapped your arms around his neck and you looked at him, staring deeply into his eyes. “But I’m afraid of the cost it would ask of me.”

“The greater the risk, the greater the joy,” Seungcheol commented casually as he laid you down on the couch, smiling as he kissed you. “Try it.”

“Don’t you think I’m too old? Or that I look too—”

“—This is not about what I want. This is about what you want. Your life. Your future. Your dreams.” He gazed at you again, and he felt the same flush that had crept on his face when he first heard you sing, up in the mountains, in an orphanage. So many things had happened since then. And he pictured you in his head, living your dream, casting the same spell that you had enchanted him with on thousands of people.

A performer, not a producer. That’s who my granddaughter is. Your grandmother’s last words before you both went home lingered on his head as he kissed you. Making music and performing that music is what she does best, and what she has always wanted. Help her get to her dreams. Don’t let her give in to her fears.

By the hearth, as he made love to you—his hands planted on your hips, his painfully delicious rhythm bringing tears to your eyes—he could not get over the truth that, with or without the spotlight on you, you were an amazing woman already. And he knew that he would continue seeing you grow into someone he will always be proud to love and to be with. But in his mind, he could not shake off the image he saw of you, of who you could be if you just became brave enough to.

“What does your heart say?” he asked you, his hand running up and down your bare skin, your limbs tangled together. The fire in the hearth had gone down into sizzling embers and the quilt barely covered you both, but your skin pressed against each other was warm with the afterglow of your lovemaking. “What do you truly want to do?”

You looked up at him with no hesitation, his heart stopped to beat for a moment that felt like forever: because there, in the sparks of light that burst to life in your eyes, he could see the woman you are, and the woman you could be, evolving into one.

“Baby, I want to try.”                

 4 | spring, and through the seasons after

The train of your dress fanned around you in its lacy magnificence, and the sun could not help itself but touch the beautiful, delicate material with its glorious beams. The soft grass underneath your feet sighed as you passed, and bursts of color from the petals strewn by your nieces gave a beautiful contrast to the peaceful green of the grass and the muted white tones of your dress. You hear people’s voices as you pass them by, their whispers of congratulations and the flashes of cameras. You looked to the horizon, on the sleeping waters of the early morning ocean, which reflected the rosy blush of the first dawn of spring.

You heard the piano start its music, and you hear the viola and the cello in their sweet duet. You smiled at your friends and your family as you passed them by. The crown of flowers in your hair rustled as the wind blew, and your veil flowed along with your hair as that touch of breeze passed.

One more step until you reach him.

When your eyes locked with the man that you will vow to love and to cherish and to be with forevermore, flashes of seasons past appeared in your mind: summers where drops of sun would scorch your skin, and where the smell of petrichor would linger after brief showers of rain; the crunch of leaves beneath your boots, and the colder winds that you would brace against during autumn; the calming hush when everything falls asleep and shivers under blankets of ice and snow; and the first days of spring, like this one, wherein what was frozen through would turn back to healthy shades of green, awakening with a new purpose.

As more memories came to your mind, a song formed in your heart and became written on your mind as you took in Seungcheol’s smiling eyes, brimming with tears as your hand touched his.

“Hold me close, darling // never let go // make this feeling last forever and a day // let’s stay.” These words, for that one summer night, in an old town, where you slow-danced to guitar and dulcimer strings as lanterns swayed with the wind. “Run your fingers through my hair // say you won’t care // if this feeling lasts forever and a day // let’s stay...”

“I love you so much // that I couldn’t keep it in anymore. // I need you so // like the air I breathe to live one more day, so stay…” These words, for that time when you remembered yourself frantically running across sidewalks as the golden glow of streetlights blended with the colors of an autumn dusk, and crashing into the safe, strong arms that will continue to hold you for as long as this life lasts and after.

“You keep setting my soul on fire // you make everything worthwhile…” These words, for that winter night when you felt the blazing sparks of the fire by the hearth of your house, where you decided to take the risk of burning brightly like the stars with your music. “You’re the sun that made me shine like this, // you’re the love that I just can’t resist, so please stay…” These words, for all the moments that you had doubted and he had believed in you as you made your dreams come true. These words, because from the privacy of the firelight by the hearth to the adulation of thousands as you stood beneath spotlights, he had been there.

“Love, let’s stay…Stay this way.”

Each memory and each turn of the seasons that passed through your mind evoked a variety of emotions within you. And you know in your heart that the reason why you could recall them so vividly and feel them so profoundly is that you did not create them alone.

Your eyes take in the man whose companionship had completed the scenes in your head. Through the seasons, he had been with you. He had laughed with you. He had cried with you. He had grown with you. And unlike the seasons which come and go, he stayed.

And he never left.

As you said your vows and exchanged rings and as you sealed the promises made with a kiss, you knew: through the seasons, he had truly, and sincerely, loved you.

- Super-Late Leanne.  ⏰

#seventeen #svtcreations #caratwritersclub #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #svt fluff #svt angst #seventeen choi seungcheol #svt choi seungcheol #svt scoups #seventeen scoups #cheol #seventeen hong jisoo #seventeen yoon jeonghan #HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!

[thelatelockdownlist]

A Series on Series 04: Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy: A Discovery of Witches/Season 1

Hi! I’m Alex, a YouTube Newbie and this is The Late Lockdown List where I talk about the list of things I’ve got on my mind since the lockdown started. 

Today, on the fourth episode of A Series on Series, I’ll be talking about Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy, starting with the first book,  A Discovery of Witches

and the basis of the season 1 of the TV series. 

Let’s dive a little bit into it. 

Why is it called the ‘All Souls Trilogy’?

I could do research, but having read the entire series, I think it’s because the male lead, Matthew Clairmont or Matthew de Clermont, in the book belongs to the All Souls College at Oxford University.  

A bit of trivia: All Souls College does not have undergraduate members, and it’s unique in the sense that all members automatically become fellows -- full members of the college’s governing body. The examination for the fellowship has once been described as ‘the hardest exam in the world.” 

If you’re not familiar with the book or the TV series, just know that there are going to be a lot of spoilers. With that out of the way, first a primer:

The two main characters here are Diana Bishop 

-- a Yale historian, visiting scholar at Oxford (where she also got her PhD) and reluctant witch. 

She’s the daughter of two very powerful witches, 

but due to the tragic death of her parents she’s shied away from witchcraft and very seldom uses her power, if at all. After her parents’ death, she was raised by her maternal aunt Sarah and her partner Emily who are both witches. 

They tried to teach her, but Diana’s grief at her parents’ death caused her to all but reject magic. 

Then we have Matthew Clairmont (aka Matthew de Clermont of the powerful vampire de Clermont family, aka Matthew Roydon), a geneticist, All Souls College fellow and 1,500-year-old vampire.

There are creatures in this series: daemons, vampires and witches. They’re not HUMAN. That’s why they call themselves ‘creatures’ -- to differentiate themselves from us. Daemons 

are blessed with creativity and cursed with madness. 

Vampires

are -- well, the usual kind that we’re familiar with. Here, though, they mate for life, like wolves. 

Witches

have magic -- different kinds like time walking, precognition, flight, transmogrification, telekinesis, witchwind, witchfire, witchwater, and manipulation of the elements.

Basically, if you’re familiar with Harry Potter and Twilight, then you know what witches and vampires are. Speaking of the whole Harry Potter and Twilight thing, The New York Times calls this the ‘Harry Potter for grownups’ 

and NPR calls it ‘Twilight for the intellectually restless.’ 

Make of that what you will.

For me, I don’t compare this with the other two. I think it stands very separately from those. Since this is written by an historian, the approach is markedly different. It’s well-researched -- as are most historical romance novels -- because it does deal with a certain time period.  

What I love about this -- and you’ll be hearing this from me a lot -- is the world building. I judge a book by the world it creates for me. I have to be able to LIVE in that world. And in most cases, I have to WANT to live in that world.

This is a world inhabited by creatures I’ve been fascinated with my entire life -- except for daemons. I did my first thesis on vampires -- let’s not talk about why it didn’t get accepted. It’s still a sore point for me even after so many years later. And as for witches, well… family tradition has it that my maternal great grandmother was a witch. In fact, growing up, I’d heard

whispers of her supplementing her income by being a ‘healer.’ I’m not sure how much of that is true but I like to believe that it is.

So vampires and witches, I’m sold. I can tolerate the daemons.

Another thing I love about this are the well-written characters. While I can’t actually relate to Diana Bishop, I don’t have to for me to like her. She just needs to be alive for me in the book. And she is very much so. I envy her graduate degrees -- I wish I had the discipline to obtain a PhD. And spending time at the Bodleian. *sigh*

Anyway, I can understand her rejection of magic. After all, in a way it’s what took her parents away from her. But I like how she was able to adjust when she realizes that she’s got this power -- which is far stronger than anyone thought it would be. 

As for Matthew -- *sigh* -- I’m a sucker for vampires. Yes, I went there. I love him. He’s a scientist and he’s good with his hands. By that, I mean he used to be a stone mason so he can build things. What? I like a guy who’s handy.

I also like the love story. Matthew and Diana are equals -- in the sense that they are partners in the relationship. Of course, with Matthew having been alive for more than a millennia -- plus vampire, plus a guy, he has a tendency to be domineering, convinced that he’s doing all things to protect Diana. However, Diana is a POWERFUL witch. She’s a scholar, too. She can take care of herself. Matthew may be physically stronger, but Diana is a POWER. And as she grows into that, Matthew struggles to keep up as well curb his tendency to be overprotective. For the most part, they do keep this balance. 

On to the differences of the book from the show:

Overall, the TV series was faithful to the book. Most of the scenes in TV series are in the book. The show is gorgeous. I love the architecture and just the overall mood. I think Teresa Palmer makes a good Diana, but I love Matthew Goode. Period. But he is very, very good as Matthew Clairmont. 

I know Teresa Palmer is Australian and Diana Bishop is American so I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I do hear Teresa’s native accent here and there. It’s not distracting, but since I know that the one she uses for her character is not her original accent, I can’t help but hear the Australian one. Matthew Goode, on the other hand, is British, and Matthew Clairmont is as well. Well, for the last couple of centuries he is, but he’s originally French. But overall, I have no problem believing they’re really Diana and Matthew. 

As for Gillian Chamberlain,

the other witch at Oxford who in the TV series is sort of Diana’s friend… in the book, they’re merely acquaintances. She’s played by Louise Brealey aka Molly Hooper in Sherlock. 

I love the actress and I love that I found Gillian both slightly annoying and a bit pathetic. Because in the book, she is. So I love that that’s how she’s also played in the series.

Then we have Aunt Sarah. When I saw Alex Kingston, my first thought was, “River!” If you don’t know, Alex Kingston played ‘River Song’ in Doctor Who. 

And I loved her in that. So I knew I’d love her here, too. I do have the same ‘thing’ with her as with Teresa. Alex Kingston is British and here she plays an American. I can hear the accent. It’s not distracting, but it’s there.

And then there’s Peter Knox. 

In the book, I found him arrogant, condescending and just a generally irritating person. In the series, he is more so. And the actor who plays him played Ser Alliser Thorne in ‘Game of Thrones.’ 

He was one of the Night’s Watch who tormented and had a hand, literally, in killing Jon Snow. But he got his comeuppance when he was hanged with the rest of the traitors. He was very convincing as a conniving SOB in GOT. And he is here, as well. In fact, he’s equal parts menacing and irritating. Which is a terrifying combination because if he’s just irritating, you can swat him away like a gnat. But because he’s menacing, you know you have to watch your back.

Satu Jarvinen 

in the show is exactly how I thought she would look like when I read her in the book. In fact, the actress Malin Buska, infuses her with a somewhat edgy, emo attitude that really works. You can see why Satu and Peter work well because they seem to have something missing inside them that they think the other one has. It’s not a romantic connection -- more that of villains who don’t think they’re bad people.

And Ysabeau de Clermont. 

Lindsay Duncan plays her, who also played Lady Smallwood in Sherlock. 

She does have the whole ‘lady of the manor’ aura -- both regal and frightening. I really liked how she snobbishly said how modern day witches are so uneducated -- all because Diana even with her post graduate degrees didn’t speak Occitan.

FAVORITE SCENES:

The rowing scenes: 

This is very self-serving because I like rowing. I haven’t had a lot of chances to row in the water. I bought a rowing machine at the start of the pandemic and actually did a few months of rowing for 20 minutes three times a week. Then I stopped. I can’t remember why. But I love the scenes of Diana rowing -- which she does to rid herself of excess energy caused by her power -- because I imagine rowing along the Thames myself. 

Any time they’re in the Bodleian: I love libraries. I’ve loved them since I was a child. I loved them when I was in college. I was actually really excited that my university decided to extend the library hours on Fridays just so I could stay there and read to my heart’s content. Also, whenever I go to a foreign country, I always go to the national library.

This isn’t in the show, but in the book, but I love how everyone at the Bodleian scrambled to cater to Matthew when he went to the library. I liked how irritated Diana was that this guy took her spot… that they gave it to him solely on the basis of his being an All Souls fellow. In the TV series, they don’t really emphasize how much of a big shot Matthew is at Oxford. 

I like how Matthew, when he was talking to his daemon friend, Hamish Osborne, was self-aware enough not to immediately think that Diana had the same feelings for him as he did for her. Since he’s a 1,500-year-old vampire who knew Charles Darwin, of course he’s a great resource for a history of science researcher. 

I love that part when Diana was trying to guess how old Matthew was and she asked, “Survived the fall of Carthage?” and he says, “Which fall of Carthage?” It was a playful exchange, and you can see that he was showing off a bit.

Sept-Tours: 

literally ‘Seven Towers’ and is the current family home of the de Clermonts. It must be hell to heat, but as most of the residents are vampires, it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s beautiful and like Matthew, I would probably claim my own tower as well. 

While it’s not my favorite scene, I think they did the part of Satu torturing Diana 

-- in the pretext of trying to ‘open her up’ to see what her power is -- was done well. When I read that scene, I was wondering how much of it they were going to put in the book. So it was heartening to see that ‘horrifying’ scene there.

I’m not sure how I feel about the ‘instalove.’ You know that thing that sometimes happens where the leads just fall in love at first sight? In the series, it feels like it’s instalove. Diana and Matthew first meet at the Bodleian -- the day after Diana experiences the magic in Ashmole 782. It’s a book all creatures have been trying to find. Matthew, in particular, has been searching for it for more than a century. It’s thought to explain the origins of all creatures. Matthew is initially drawn to Diana because she is able to “call” the book. 

Anyway, going back to the idea of ‘instalove,’ I mean, sure there was chemistry… but...  In the books, their connection was fostered both by the time they spent with each other and their curiosity about Ashmole 782. I was more convinced in the book about that part than in the TV series. Or maybe it’s my deep-seated and sometimes difficult to conceal bias FOR the book versus its live action adaptation.

~

The Congregation: Secret island! 

It’s actually on an island in Venice, concealed from humans. It has nine members, 3 from each supernatural race. And since the de Clermont patriarch established it, one of the rules is to always have a de Clermont on the Congregation. It was created during the Crusades as a self-regulating body for the creatures. Because most of the creatures abused their powers and abilities to influence outcomes during the Crusades, they attracted unwanted attention from humans. Ostensibly to keep the creatures safe from humans, the congregation agreed to several covenants: the main ones being that they must not interfere in human politics and religion and for creatures not to mix together, especially in terms of romantic relationships. 

This is the covenant Diana and Matthew break. In fairness to Diana, she had no idea. She didn’t even know about the existence of The Congregation, much less the covenant. And so Matthew does this whole ‘noble idiot’ thing where he denies his feelings for her… but of course, in the end, they end up together.

Moving on, the first book ends with Diana and Matthew going back to New York to Aunt Sarah’s and Aunt Em’s house. The original plan was for Diana to learn more about her magic from her witch aunts. The problem is that Diana’s magic isn’t the same as theirs. And they need someone to teach her so she can call the book again -- this time intentionally.

They’re joined by married daemons, Sophie and Nathaniel; two vampires: Marcus, Matthew’s vampire son, and Miriam, an ally of the de Clermonts and Matthew’s  colleague at the lab, and Hamish. As there are now 3 witches (Sarah, Em and Diana), 3 vampires (including Matthew) and 3 demons, this is in effect a ‘coventicle’ -- this will be important later in the books.

They’re all gathered there for different reasons: Sophie, because she’s meant to give Diana something that has been passed down in her family for generations (and one that’s needed for the timewalk, the vampires to update Matthew regarding their research (and I guess for moral support as well), and Hamish both because he’s Matthew’s best friend and lawyer (real world legalities must be observed before one undertakes a timewalk). 

They leave for Sept Tour, which Matthew volunteered as their HQ of sorts, on Halloween. That night, Matthew and Diana are going to timewalk. And seconds before they could do so, Gerbert de Aurillac, Peter Knox and Satu Jarvinen arrive to stop them. 

Of course, they don’t and we see our couple land somewhat shakily in 1590 London…

And the season ends there, setting us up for the next one and The Book of Shadows.

FINAL NOTE:

I LOVE IT!

Like I said earlier, it’s faithful to the book in the sense that I didn’t find anything that was off.

If you loved the books, I’m sure you’ll love the TV adaptation as well.

I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t love it as much. I’d been burned before, you see. (I’m looking at you, American Gods. Even Ian McShane and Orlando Jones’ Mr. Nancy couldn’t keep me hooked.)

However, I wasn’t disappointed in this one. There’s a lot to love here and I’m glad that there’s a second season -- and now they’re even done filming the third.

So that’s it for the first book and Season 1. Catch you in the next episode for The Book of Shadows and Season 2. Bye!

#the late lockdown list #a series on series #a discovery of witches #review

[chaptersofnow]

First batch of next gen kids!

Splat pie and his siblings Raspberry Pie and Sleepy Pie!

they are the kids of Applejack, Pinkie pie and Rara!

Bios under the cut

Name: Splattella 'Apples n Cream' Pie Nickname(s): Splat Age: 21 Pronouns: She/Her He/Him Identity: Nonbinary Bisexual pony crush/reltionship: Parents: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rara Sibling: Raspberry Pie, Sleepy pie Special Talent: Comedian Occupation: performing in her families traveling act Chapter of now (element of harmony): Symbol of Hospitality Artifact: Splattella's bell Location: on the road, sweet apple acres during the winter, cantorlot for training Likes: snacks, decorating, stuffed animals, swarms of lizards Dislikes: lima beans, sour stuff, having nothing to do Bio: Oldest Kid of the apple pie sandwhich family, Spattella 'Apples n Cream' Pie, better put at Splat! a goofy round giant kid who loves to perform and goof off for others. She defiantly takes after her mothers Pinkie and Rara in Personality while getting her baking skills from Applejack and Pinkie. Splat was born on the road, her three mothers having eloped before splat was born and began there career as a traveling talent. Pinkie and Rara being exchanging and sometimes dou acts, from comedy skits to song nights with rara. sometimes pinkie can get Rara to do a sketch with her once in awhile. the act while applejack sold baked goods as a vendor that she gets help with from whichever of her girlfriends doesn't work the stage that night. They travel everywhere from Manehatten to Cantorlot performing in every town every week only to take a break to stay with family in the winter. They return to sweet apple acres to stay with Applejacks Sibling Big Mcintosh and his kids. When Splat isnt spending time with her many cousins she spent her childhood hanging out with Cloudleap and Majesty. Splats favorite place to hang out when she is on the road is Cantorlot, that short time in cantorlot is the highlight of her year. She gets to see her #1 bestie Princess Losers Weep, the only pony to keep up with Splats big personality. They run around town when Splat isnt on the clock and when she is you can defiantly bet that Loser has snuck away from princess studies to watch their new act. Splats has a younger sister Raspberry pie, their very close even if Splat was jealous of her being the baby of the house and taking the attention away and pretending the baby wasn't their baby for almost five months. When Splat was about 12 years old when she and Raspberry were sent away to stay with uncle Breaburn and Little strongheart. a scare in equestria occurred with Darkness returning in great mass to equestria. A hidden bit stored away out of eye sight and gaining power once again until it was strong enough for many years. Splat and her sister stayed with breaburns kids, her cousins from big mcintosh and applebloom, and aunt twilights kids. Splat was the life of the party making sure that even when it was stressful because of the scary fight their parents were taking on, or that they missed home. Splat wanted to make sure everyone felt better in a bad situation. She was defiantly a big help for breaburn and Little Strongheart who were watching over many children. Its been years since the final fight against darkness, the end of darkness as some called and the time when the elements of harmony stored themselves away once again as they were no long needed. This was proven wrong when Princess Ordomia, a strange young alicorn who had appeared out of no were in cantorlot and was taken in under the wings of the princesses had turned. Revealed to be a vessel for darkness, a small speck of darknesses that could never be registered would have never have been able to do anything but it hid away and grew in power. It took over the Youngest princess mind and corrupted, twisted her into Queen Erroria a being of manipulation and falsehood who used her powers to turn things wrong and bad. When the princesses vanished in Errorias wake and the Elements unable to be used by the previous wielders especially with Twilight missing, Happy Daze and her friends, including close friend and cousin Splat decided they couldn't stand by and watch this happened and took to action. their heroic attempt unlocked the magic within them, a new Element of Harmony blossom to life within them in the face of new danger. Splat, taking on the element of laughter now named The Element of Hospitality she  reminded Erroria of her old self and the good she once did for equestria, the happy times they had. Splat helped in the healing of Erroria back to Ordomia. Now after the resettling of new elements and the ex-corrupt princess, Splat was asked to stay in cantorlot with her moms so that her own mother pinkie pie would be able to train splat in the ways of the elements, to be a mentor. often times the two have goofed off or gotten distracted and someone has to help them back on track

🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧 

Name: Raspberry Pie Nickname(s): Age: 11 Pronouns: She/Her Identity: Cis Bis girl crush/reltionship: Parents: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rara Sibling: Splat, Sleepy pie Special Talent: Baking Occupation: helping bake and sell good with her mom Location: on the road, sweet apple acres during the winter, Cantorlot while her sister is studying to be an element Likes: fruit, sugar,ribbons, wrapping paper Dislikes: burnt food, creepy old stuff, hot days Bio: Younger of the two childs of the apple, pie, and coloratura family. beloved baby. She's a baking talent who's been 'helping' in the kitchen since she was old enough to hold a spoon. She has only gotten better from there and can well keep up with her moms baking skills. she loves to sell their treats at events and is a good salesman, very loud and friendly a good attention getter. She loves to travel and see all knew people, she loves going to popular restaurants and checking off her list of top places to eat. Her favorite places to try good and unique foods is always food truck parks. Now that her sister has been asked to stay in controlot to train for using her element of harmony Raspberry thought she'd be lonely without splat but able to deal. Until she realized that this was a whole family thing. Her mother pinkie pie would be training her sister splat and Applejack would be training another element. This meant their whole family would be stuck in cantorlot for who knows how long. Raspberry, while loving her mom Rara is getting sick of spending every waking moment with her because shes 'too young' to be by herself, and it seems whenever Raspberry pie wants to play with Rara she's busy with the newest baby Sleepy Pie. Raspberry has her eyes wide open for making cantorlot friends.

🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧

Name: Sleepélot pie Nickname(s): sleepy Age: under 1 year old Pronouns: they/them Identity: baby pony crush/reltionship: Parents: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rara Sibling: Splat, Raspberry Pie Special Talent: newborn Occupation: cute, napping Location: on the road, sweet apple acres during the winter, Cantorlot while her sister is studying to be an element Likes: napping, blankets, teddy bear Dislikes: loud noises, being woken up Bio: Newest born to the apple, pie, and rara family. barely a year old and just cute small baby that their older sisters adore

#mlp #applepie #pinkiejack #rarajack #rarapinkiejack #next gen #splat pie #Raspberry pie #sleepy pie

[i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle]

Chapter 17: The Royal Ball, Part 5 - The M.I.L.F. Club

Twilight returns to the table with most of her Canterlot friends, still without Moondancer as she’s probably going to be spending the rest of the night with her special somepony, Prince Theandri the 2nd. The ponies at the table notice Twilight has tears in her eyes, but also see she’s smiling.

Minuette: Welcome back, Twilight! You look like you might be in a mix of emotions, what went on over there?

Twilight: Nothing but liquid pride, Minuette. I am so proud of Moondancer right now…

Twinkleshine: So… what did they want to speak to you privately about? Moondancer did say you could tell us what it was, when you returned.

Twilight: Admittedly it was strange they even did that, but what basically happened was Moondancer confessed her feelings. Not for the Prince... since that was already known when he was at our table, but for me. It turns out Moondancer held a secret crush on me.

Lemon Hearts: I KNEW IT!

Lyra: Wha..? Lemon, you knew about this?

The rest of the group including Twilight also surprised that somepony else had known

Lemon Hearts: My name isn’t Lemon Hearts for nothing!

Twinkleshine: Heh, I thought it just meant that you loved lemons.

Lemon Hearts: Well that’s still true of course! 

But I always had that strange feeling that Moondancer wouldn’t have considered her courtyard party a bust and then become a house hermit, if she only wanted to see Twilight again platonically.

Lyra: I guess in hindsight that makes sense. If I had invited you all to a party, there’s really only one pony here that I would be upset if they didn’t go without saying why, and that’s Bon Bon. I’d understand if you all suddenly had other plans, but I’d want to know why my Bonny couldn’t make it.

Bon Bon: I would never abandon a party you hosted without telling you why, I promise.

Bon Bon gives Lyra a smooch, d’awww’s coming from the rest of the table.

Twilight: Does make me wish I was able to get telltale signs of romantic feelings easier. But I couldn’t quite help it, when I wasn’t even exactly into friendship back then either. It would of helped to have that even a little earlier, so I could of told the Prince I wasn’t interested, as I ended up just egging him on and probably added to his frustration on our “date”.

Twinkleshine: How did that confession go? And did Moondancer actually confess to you IN FRONT of her current date?

Twilight: She did, but that was actually what the Prince wanted her to do. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t betraying her true feelings, and if hypothetically I had decided I’d be open to give a relationship with Moondancer a try. Give her the decision to choose between us.

Lyra: Dang, he helped set that up... Even if that could of meant losing another chance at a special somepony?

Minuette: The Prince really is a nice guy!

Twilight: He sure is, he even said again in the hypothetical situation where me and Moondancer started a relationship here instead. He’d fully support us, Moondancer’s story really moved him to that point. But luckily for him I suppose, I never really felt the same way about Moondancer back then and I don’t really do so now either. The act of kindness he showed though makes me even happier Moondancer is ending up with him.

Lemon Hearts: Yeah, good for Moondancer. She absolutely has a keeper.

Twilight: Anyhow, thanks for the good, long chat all of you. I think I’m going to see my family’s table. Where my parents, my brother, Princess Cadence, and my niece Flurry Heart are.

Twinkleshine: No problem, Twilight. Always a nice time talking with ya.

Minuette: Seeya, Twilight!

Twilight and most of her old Canterlot friends wave off to eachother. And heads off to join her family, most of the rest of the Elements are also with their families tables while Twilight was with her Canterlot friends. Rainbow Dash for perhaps for the first time in a while had a nice chat with her parents, Rarity talked about gossip with her mother, Fluttershy sitting down with her parents and brother, and Pinkie had jokes aplenty to tell her sisters and parents. Spike’s immediate family is only Twilight, but he’s spending time with friends like Thorax, Ember, and Gabby. He’s just as much a part of Twilight’s family and would gladly join the table Twilight’s heading to, but he also wants some of his own individual time at the ball for himself.

As Twilight approaches her family’s table, it’s Flurry Heart who first notices she’s approaching.

Flurry Heart: Auntwi! Auntwi!

Princess Cadence: Yes that is Auntie Twilight, isn’t it Flurry! Hello Twilight!

Shining Armor: Hi Twily!

Velvet: Good to see you, at this lovely ball.

Night Light: Thank you so much for inviting us, we’re loving it here.

Twilight: Good to see you’re all enjoying the ball. I’ve been having a pretty great time myself.

On stage, the same Palace staffer from before comes up on stage

Velvet: Oh! Looks like you got here just in time for the next performance announcement.

Twilight: Sweet! I wonder who’s coming up next.

The crowd quiets down as the Palace Staffer reaches the mic in the middle of the stage.

Palace Staffer: Thank you all for remaining a wonderful audience, we are very proud to announce that our next performer is none other then the world renowned singer, Coloratura!

Big cheers are heard upon hearing Coloratura’s name, she’s super popular in Equestria of course. But even as far as Saddle Arabia her music seems to have touched many a heart. Particularly loud cheers coming from a certain apple farmer.

Applejack: WHOO! Let’s go, Rara!

Back at Twilight’s family table, they express excitement for this as well.

Velvet: Oh my gosh, I love Coloratura’s music. This is going to be awesome. I have all her records! Even... the ones that Coloratura has made public that she’s not proud of. She had a terrible manager during the release of those records, but she did have some pretty catchy tunes when she went by The Countess…

Twilight: Yeah, this should be pretty great

Some large palace guards move a huge piano onto the stage. In most cases, the Piano being brought out usually meant a particularly popular song was going to be performed.

Velvet: OOOOOH, Looks like she’s going to do The Magic Inside! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

((Story continues after the break))

Coloratura walks out on stage as the whole audience claps. And she begins playing.

((The Magic Inside))

Rara: I’m here to show you who I aaaaam…

Throw off the veil, it’s finally tiiiiiiimmmeeeeee…

There’s more to me then glitz and glam… oh whoa…

And now I feel my stars aliiiiggggggnnnnnnnn…

For I had believed what I was sold

I did all the things that I was told

But all that has changed, and now I’m bold

‘Cause I knooooooooooow

That I am just a pony!

I make mistakes from time to time!

But now I know, the real me!

And put my heart out on the liiiine!

And let the magic in my heart stay true-oo-ooo

Whoa-whoaaa-a-whoa-whoa!

And let the magic in my heart stay true-oo-ooo

Whoa-whoaaa-a-whoa-whoa!

Just like the magic inside of you

And now I see those colors!

Right before my eyyyyes!

I hear my voice so clearly!

And I know that it is riiiiiiight!

They thought I was weak, but I am strong!

They sold me the world, but they were wrong!

And now that I’m back, I still belong!

‘Cause I knooooooooooow

That I am just a pony!

I make mistakes from time to time!

But now I know, the real me!

And put my heart out on the liiiine!

And let the magic in my heart stay true-oo-ooo

Whoa-whoaaa-a-whoa-whoa!

And let the magic in my heart stay true-oo-ooo

Whoa-whoaaa-a-whoa-whoa!

Just like the magic inside of yooooooou-oo-ooo

Just like the magic inside of yoooooooooooooooou

Coloratura’s performance is over and loud cheers and applause heard throughout the entire ballroom. She steps out and takes her bows after another well-received performance before she speaks to the crowd.

Rara: Thank you, thank you! It’s alway nice to perform for an audience whether they’ve been to a show before or this is the first time you ever listened to my voice. I’d like to thank the Royal Family of Saddle Arabia and Princess Twilight for setting up this absolutely fantastic ball. Though most of all I want to thank my dear childhood friend, Applejack for personally inviting me here. I owe her a deep gratitude for many things lately, so please give a round of applause for Applejack!

A spotlight shines on the table Applejack’ sitting and applause is done for the well-known apple farmer. Applejack sheepishly grins, blushes, and puts a hoof behind her head. 

Applejack: Aw shucks, it was nothing. She’s the famous musician, Ah just invited her…

Coloratura walks off stage and following up is the Palace Staffer.

Palace Staffer: Thank you so much for a wonderful performance, Coloratura. Absolutely lovely, we’re once again in another intermission before we go the next one. There are now only 2 performances left before we soon move on to opening up the dance floor below everyone’s hooves or feet to end the night.

Back at Twi’s family’s table, Twilight herself is clapping while her eyes are closed happily for Coloratura.

Twilight: Now that was indeed a fantastic performance, huh Mom?

Twilight realizes Twilight’s mom isn’t even at the table. In fact, Cadence is gone too. Though Shining Armor, Flurry Heart (Now on Shining Armor’s back), and Night Light are left at the table

Twilight: Shining, where did Cadence and our Mom go?

Shining: They went off on their own to another table, I think Cadence recently joined some sort of club that our mother is also in. And they decided that after the 3rd performance they’d move to have said meeting somewhere here

Twilight: Hm, I guess I’ll see what this club is myself. I’ll see you later, Dad and Shining!

Night Light: Bye, Twilight!

Her father and brother wave off to Twilight as she heads off looking for her mother and Cadence’s table. Though as it turned out, many of the Moms of Equestria coincidentally went off right after Rara’s performance finished. Windy Whistles, Cookie Crumbles, Posey Shy, Cloudy Quartz, Twilight Velvet, Princess Cadence, Stellar Flare, and Mrs. Cake. All of them told their husbands they planned on doing this, or in the case of Stellar she just went herself since her husband is still far away.

Soon though, Twilight finds them all at one large-sized table off on their own. Twilight approaches the table, and her mother is the first to notice.

Velvet: Oh hey Twilight! I’m happy to see you here! You’re just in time for Cadence’s first meeting with our little club!

Twilight: About this club, what exactly is this?

Windy: We’ll give you a guess, what do we all have in common… besides the obvious that we’re all mares.

Twilight ponders for a moment looking at the ponies at the table. And it becomes increasingly obvious with each member.

Twilight: You’re… all mothers?

Windy: CORRECT! Princess Twilight, and daughter of our very own co-founding member Twilight Velvet… you are looking at the M.I.L.F. club!

Twilight: …M.I.L.F. club? Should I even ask what that means?

Windy: Gosh! Why does everypony assume it’s something questionable whenever we mention our club’s acronym?! M.I.L.F. stands for Mothers In Loving Families!

Twilight: OOOOOOOOOH, okay… though how did this club even get started.

Velvet: Me and Windy Whistles are the founding members. We first met on another of my barrel riding and bungee-jumping escapades! And when things settled down, I Iearned Windy was Rainbow Dash’s mother.

Windy: And I in turn learned Velvet was your mother!

Velvet: So we thought of possibly rounding up the rest of the Elements of Harmony’s mothers that are still around and some of a few friends of yours as well. That’s why Stellar Flare, Mrs. Cake, and our newest member Princess Cadence are here too.

Cadence: Thank you all for letting me join! I’m not sure if I can be there for every meeting with an entire empire to run, but I’m more then happy to be a member.

Twilight: Not that isn’t cool that you’re all meeting each other, but what exactly does this club do?

Velvet: Simple! We just gather around, talking about what happened with our families lately. Maybe a little gossip, and sometimes even have field trips to stuff like zoos, bowling alleys, and more! I’d get more then Windy to also join me on some of the escapades I get into if I could, buuuuut I understand the others aren’t quite adrenaline junkies *grins sheepishly*

Twilight: That sounds great, but this doesn’t sound much different from just being friends.

Windy: Let’s be honest, most clubs are basically a group of friends hanging out. There’s not really much of a huge difference other then clubs perhaps being more narrow in it’s scope on what we do. But really, we just wanted to have a fun thing to ourselves.

Velvet: Besides, some of our husbands sort of have their own club together, though they deny it. And that’s when a big sports game is happening! Some of us are also into sports like me, Windy, and Cookie

Cookie Crumbs: I even married a former hoofball star!

Velvet: But we want to be fair to every member if they’re not so much into the big game, and can make some of them feel a little less left out. Besides, with enough scope... maybe our club will kind of find a purpose other then simply being a group of friends who also happens to be moms like… maybe… hm… I’m trying to think what our group could accomplish… but I can’t quite put my hoof on it…

Twilight decides to try to think and help out her mom, and comes up with an idea.

Twilight: Well... what if you used your club to the full extent of the Loving Families part of your acronym. Promote good parenting, list the do and do nots for young mares looking to become mothers, tell your stories of what it was like to raise me and my friends… though try not to share foal pictures too often…

The whole table giggles madly at that last sentence.

Velvet: Regarding our many, many combined albums of our kids’ foal pictures. We make no promises… *winks*

Twilight: Oh no…

Windy: But you are right! That is something we could end up doing as our club gets older and reaches out more.

Stellar Flare: That does sound like a good plan for the future.

Posey Shy: Sounds wonderful!

Cloudy Quartz: I’m not sure everypony’s going to take much from my experiences raising a family on a Rock Farm as it’s... an acquired taste of a lifestyle. But I’d be more then welcome and do my part.

Cookie Crumbles: I’d absolutely love to do what I can

Mrs. Cake: I’ll do my part as well!

Velvet: Yes, thanks for the wonderful idea Twilight. Though you know, this reminds me…

Twilight’s mothers looks smugly at her daughter

Velvet: You’re a mother too, Twilight. How would you like to join us?

Twilight: Huh? Well, I could… but aren’t I kind of unusual? You all gave birth to your children, I hatched Spike out of his egg and only years later I would consider him my son and adopt them, and I’m also a lone parent. That won’t feel… out of place?

Windy: Of course not! An adopted mother is still a mother, and so are single mothers.

Velvet: And at least some of us personally know how close you are with Spike. You very much embody what we’re looking for, you have a loving family even if it’s just you and Spike.

Twilight smiles as she looks around at all the mothers on the table eagerly wanting her to join.

Twilight: Ok, I’ll join. Is there some kind of initiation thing?

Windy: Weelllll… we do have an oath of membership. Albeit it’s just kind of a silly semi-professional thing we tried out, and nothing that necessarily needs to be said for us to consider you a member.

Twilight: I’ll still say it, if this is going to be a longstanding club. We should absolutely have some official wording and rules when including members. So please, let me take the Oath.

The mothers huddle all together and whisper

Cookie: So… who’s going to hold the initiation book

Windy: I think it’s only appropriate that Velvet takes this one. Twilight is her daughter after all.

Velvet: Yes, I’d be more then happy to do it!

They’re out of the huddle and finally Twilight’s mother faces her daughter, levitates a book.

Velvet: Please put one front hoof on the cover of this book, and with the other keep it raised next to your head. And repeat after me… I solemnly swear…

Twilight: I solemnly swear…

Velvet: That I have and will continue to …

Twilight: That I have and will continue to…

Velvet: Raise and support my children through thick and thin…

Twilight: Raise and support my children through thick and thin…

Velvet: Maintain a happy home to the benefit of myself and my children…

Twilight: Maintain a happy home to the benefit of myself and my children…

Velvet: And will to the best of my ability…

Twilight: And will to the best of my ability…

Velvet: Love, support and defend my loving family.

Twilight: Love, support, and defend my loving family

Velvet: I promise I will help prepare them for the future, that they so choose.

Twilight: I promise I will help prepare them for the future, that they so choose.

Velvet: To motherhood!

Twilight: To motherhood!

The initiation is over, and the entire rest of the table claps for Twilight. Who is now an official member of the Mothers In Lovely Families.

Stellar Flare: Very nice! That’s two royals in a row, they’re even going to be the only remaining active Princesses come next year.

Windy Whistles gets a jokingly sinister face

Windy: Yesssssss… mua ha ha ha ha! Our club now penetrates the highest levels of office, we’re like a… secret society or cabal who’s ultimate goal is… 

Then she suddenly goes all cheery again

Windy: Raising happy families!

The entire club at the table laughs

Windy: But in all seriousness, welcome to the M.I.L.F. club Twilight, we’re glad you decided to join us. Come on everymother, let’s give our newest member a big, group hug!

They all rise out of the chairs and surround Twilight with one big hug. Twilight smiling getting some love from her mother along with many of her friends own loving mothers.

Twilight: I suppose while I’m a member now, I can point you all to another good choice for you to recruit that I just met at this ball.

Velvet: Oh? Who is it?

Twilight: Trixie’s mother, Dandy Lion! I met her after Trixie’s show ended, she’s an absolutely peppy mother that Trixie herself loves very much. She’d be perfect for the club. I suppose there’s also Sultana Elona, but I imagine there’s a reason you haven’t got her down here right now.

Windy: Yeah, we tried to access the Sultana but they have guards to the halls towards the balcony where she’s sitting and might be awkward asking a royal to come down. Maybe one day we’ll see if we can get the Sultana to join us. That just isn’t going to be today, but we’ll more then happy to have both you and Trixie’s mom added to our ranks! Do you think you could get Trixie’s mom over here yourself?

Twilight: Sure thing!

Twilight sits up and starts on heading to Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst’s table. Dandy Lion has been there the entire time getting to know Trixie’s friends and proving to them without a doubt that Trixie’s description of a cheery, supportive mother was accurate.

Twilight: Hey there!

Starlight: Oh hey Twilight, what brings you back to our table?

Twilight: Is it ok if I bring Trixie’s mom elsewhere for a little bit?

Trixie: Depends, where exactly are you taking her to and why?

Twilight: There’s a club of mothers of Equestria that includes my mother, and many of the other mothers of my friends. Including yours, Sunburst.

Sunburst: Ahhh right, the M.I.L.F. club. I recall my mother mentioning it to me.

Dandy: M.I.L.F. club… this isn’t some weird club that will want me to do provocative things will it?

Twilight: Don’t worry, Dandy. The acronym stands for Mothers In Lovely Families.

Starlight lowers her head and she looks away from the table and whispers to herself.

Starlight: In that acronym, is two things I don’t have right now…

Twilight: Did you say something, Starlight?

Starlight: No no no no, it’s nothing Twilight. Go ahead and go along with Trixie’s mom to that club’s table. Ahehheheh... (I will be seeing you tomorrow though, to help me out with this…)

Dandy: Alright, I’ll go! I’ll be back soon Trixie, dear!

Trixie: Ok mom! Seeya back soon!

Starlight watches Twilight lead Trixie’s mom to a table where other Moms are seated. She didn’t want to admit it, but even though she plans to get the situation with her Mom solved as soon as tomorrow, she still couldn’t help but feel a little envious of the members of the M.I.L.F. club and their children. Even if it turns out her Mom is around, and there was actually some misunderstanding of why she’s been gone for so long, and they have some happy reunion. She wouldn’t have had her mother for her entire childhood like most of the Elements of Harmony and Trixie have. She can’t redo her entire childhood, even if she does find her mother.

So as she watches the club’s table, and already she can see Trixie’s mom is laughing and probably already being set up to join this club. She just sighs and tries to look away, though suddenly she catches the sight of somepony who might at least be feeling similarly. She sees Applejack is on her lonesome, perhaps Big Mac and Sugar Belle left to have a little bit of a honeymoon by themselves at a different table. She too is looking at the club of mother’s table with a rather sad face. Starlight decides that maybe talking with a friend that feels similarly, even if not for the exact same reasons, since Applejack’s mother is known to be deceased.

Starlight: Sunburst and Trixie, I’m going to see Applejack for a little bit if that’s ok.

Sunburst: Sure, no problem Starlight.

Starlight walks on over and sits next to Applejack. Applejack still kind of staring at the M.I.L.F. club’s table doesn’t make her realize it until Starlight speaks up.

Starlight: Hey uh… Applejack…

Applejack yelps a bit in surprise

Applejack: Oh! Uh… Howdy… Starlight… Whatcha want from me?

Starlight: You feeling kind of left out, as the only one out of the elements that can’t have a mom over there?

Applejack: *sigh* ….Yeah, mah face made that pretty obvious didn’t it.

Starlight: I came over here… because I actually feel somewhat similar.

Applejack: Oh, is ya mother… deceased as well? Ah’ve never heard ah thing about her, come t’ think o’ it…

Starlight: I… actually don’t know… she disappeared 2 weeks after I was born. And there’s been no real hints or clues to where she is now. There is at least still a possibility she’s still around, but even if she is. I would of never had her around for my childhood like all the other mothers over there had been or at least will be.

Applejack: Oh gosh, Starlight. Ah’m so sorry t’ hear that… wait, ya’ll still have ya father right? Why hasn’t he told ya?

Starlight: To add to my frustration he refuses to tell me who she was. He finds every excuse in the book to get out of telling my mother’s name...

This makes Applejack angry.

Applejack: How dare ya father do that t’ you! He’s failing one o’ the most basic things ah good parent should be doing… Ah ought t’ go over t’ his table and buck him in the face right now…

Starlight: Exactly, that’s how I’ve felt for much of my life towards my father. Though please, don’t harm him. I don’t want my family drama to ruin a night like this.

Applejack: How many other ponies have ya told this t’?

Starlight: I’ve mostly held it secret for a long while. As I’ve had other things to focus on. But now that we’re finally in a place where we can get a bit of a breather. Perhaps it was time to finally take the time to tell more of my complicated past. 2 weeks ago, I told Trixie and Sunburst that I never knew my mother, and I then also told your little sister Apple Bloom and the other 2 Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Applejack: Ya’ll told Apple Bloom about this? That sounds like ah rather heavy subject t’ tell ah filly like her…

Starlight: AJ, you and her parents are dead. Kind of hard for her to avoid heavy subjects. Though I admit I would of spared telling her… If it didn’t turn out that my mom is likely connected to my Cutie Mark in some way.

Applejack: What do ya’ll mean by that?

Starlight: I told them how I got my Cutie Mark, and I knew that their group talent would perhaps help me at least understand things a little more. I could tell you too, but I think if I tell you it’d be better that the rest of the Elements, or at least just Twilight so she can share it with you later. And after the ball, so I don’t end up just dragging you all into hearing about my personal drama, while all of you are just here to have a good time.

Applejack: Gotcha, ah can wait t’ hear the story. But at least tell me what the CMC deduced afterward?

Starlight: Well… I suppose first I should just give the short version for proper context. Basically, I had a magic outburst in the basement of my home that was similar to Twilight’s during her entrance exam after trying a super powerful spell from a spell book only meant for top unicorns. 

Though unlike Twilight, I hadn’t been studying magic for hours upon hours as a filly, I just simply was born with raw power. And the CMC deduced that if I hadn’t worked for my raw power, then I had inherited my magic power from someone in my parents lines. My father’s line is however full of average unicorns, so that unfortunately points to it likely being connected to my missing Mother in some fashion.

Applejack: Oh well ain’t that one heck of ah summary… Starlight, Ah wish ya’ll had told me and mah friends this ah lot sooner. We would o’ absolutely been sympathetic… Ah bet Twilight would gladly do something with her genie magic t’ help ya’ll find ya Mother’s identity.

Starlight: I did actually finally think about that a little while ago, while talking with Sunburst and Trixie here at the ball. And I absolutely plan on getting Twilight to help me but again... I don’t want to force my family drama while she or anypony else here is having a good time. So, I plan to get her help tomorrow. The fact that I’ll have it solved one way or another has helped calm me down on this matter, though at the same time it means the day is moving more slowly. Because now I’m only just less then 24 hours from knowing the answer to a mystery that’s loomed over me my entire life. 

I may need a sleeping spell in order to even get some rest tonight, cause while I don’t know who my mother was. Whoever she is, I’ll get some actual solid answers about myself and the full context of my past.

Applejack: Yeah, that’ll be good. Ah hope ya’ll find ya mother, and ah also hope she’s ah good pony.

Starlight: I’m kinda scared about the latter if she is indeed still out there somewhere, but... Somehow or someway, I’m getting answers tomorrow... And I can’t wait.

Starlight and Applejack look on over to the M.I.L.F. club table one more time. Trixie’s mother by this point already having taken the same oath and received the same group hug Twilight received when she joined. Starlight looks over at Applejack, and proceeds to ask her a question.

Starlight: Applejack, what was your mother like?

Applejack just looks over to Starlight, tears welling up but also smiling

Applejack: Mah mother was the sweetest pony in all o’ Equestria…

Applejack would proceed to tell Starlight some stories about her childhood back when her mom Pear Butter was still alive to Starlight. If nothing else, being some of the few ponies there that couldn’t have their mom around for one reason or another. Starlight and Applejack gain a stronger appreciation between eachother, as they bond over similar circumstances.

UP NEXT: Chapter 18: The Royal Ball, Part 6 - Sweetie Belle’s Performance

#Secrets Of The Dragon's Tear #Minuette #Twilight Sparkle #Genie #Twinkleshine #Lemon Hearts #Lyra Heartstrings #Lyra #Bon Bon #Flurry Heart #Princess Cadence #Shining Armor #Twilight Velvet #Night Light #Coloratura #Rara #Windy Whistles #Cookie Crumbles #Stellar Flare #Posey Shy #Cloudy Quartz #Mrs. Cake #Starlight Glimmer #Trixie #The Great and Powerful Trixie #Dandy Lion #Sunburst #Applejack

[popliar]

Ateez in Seoul, 8 and 9 February 2020

Olympic Hall at Olympic Park

No one will believe this but I actually had my holiday with @flywithturtles planned before I knew the dates coincided with Ateez's Seoul concert dates. But it's true! I have the WhatsApp conversations to prove it!! Anyway I secured the tickets and all was well.

This is the first concert I've been to where they were handing out masks, making sure everyone had hand sanitizer and checking temperatures as you entered. Haha. Well they also checked our temperature going into the Line Friends store that day so, that's corona virus life. I was actually really worried the concerts would be cancelled, given so many other events have been, so it was a relief that it went ahead.

Structurally this is the same as the show I saw in August last year, after Wave/Illusion: starting hard with pirates, a lighter middle section, and a mythology-heavy last third. And then the encore which went for ages.

What's great to see is that the gaps and pacing downsides of the previous year have been corrected and improved. The pacing has been tightened up, the banter and ments flow much more smoothly and the show just feels very professional and well run.

Here's my post about last year's show: https://popliar.tumblr.com/post/187095347758/ateez-in-sydney-11-aug-2019

It's a shock to realise they've only been around one year four months but they were able to fill out a full 2.5 hour set, every song solid. And KQ spent proper money on this, the production was good - it's not like LAVISH but there were good stages and fancy screens and new VCRs and plenty of back up dancers, and it all worked well. There were maybe too many fireworks on the first night (I hate it when it obstructs the choreo) but they'd adjusted well on the second night.

Surprising but welcome - they had English subs for some of the ments. I don't think they were "live" subs because sometimes they'd get ahead of what the members were saying. But it was helpful. Even without them, body language and tone says a lot. Though I'm regretful that I don't understand Seonghwa's acrostic poems or all of their stupid jokes lol.

The show is called Fellowship and they leaned into it hard, asking Atiny to be part of their shared journey and to stick with them forever. It's a familiar refrain from other shows, but each time I find it both surprising and effective - this very overt, explicitly stated entreaty to be a fan, to enter into this imagined relationship, the appeal to reciprocity. "We've made you happy, make us happy too, be with us and we'll be with you."

But you can know a thing and it can still be effective. I did love the shows. I want them to be happy too!

A list of observations and random things:

Spoilers follow, I'd put it behind a cut but I can't figure out how on mobile haha

OK REALLY SPOILERS NOW

-first VCR to open the show expanded on the Treasure theme.

-Desire opens with blindfold choreo. Was this a gift for me? THANK U.

-for Lights, they had cute moments where they held up little speech bubbles over each others heads. They paired up with Hongjoong and Mingi, San and Wooyoung, Seonghwa and Yunho, and Yeosang and Jongho. Both nights, Woosan held hands. On the second night Yunho held Seonghwa's hand and Seonghwa was like a shy maiden. Mingi and Hongjoong had very strong flirty energy. Yeosang and Jongho are cute.

-the VCR in between part 1 pirates and part 2 fun boys showed what felt like a series of different dimensions? An ocean, a mountain, fields of flowers, cosmic surrealism, etc. As though each of them was alone somewhere in time and space.

-During If without you, they threw out balls to the crowd as gifts (mini riots ensued). Mingi put the empty basket on his head both nights, what a beautiful fool.

-Night 1 was the first time with the light stick! Hongjoong announced its official name: Lightiny (light of destiny) but also Tinybong lololol. The light stick is super pretty. I was tempted but didn't have time the first night. The second night it was sold out when I arrived!!!

-The VCR in between parts 2 and 3 is the really intriguing one. It paired them up into the Lights pairs again. Yeosang and Jongho searched for each other in a hall of billowing drapes. Mingi and Hongjoong were rockstars (with great lipstick). San and Wooyoung were mirrorverse versions of each other. Yunho and Seonghwa put together the pieces of a puzzle in a set that reminded me of both Treasure and Wonderland.

-In the intro to Say My Name on the first night, Hongjoong went halfway down the stairs then turned around, went back and grabbed his mic, then went down again lol. The second night he very firmly took his mic before descending the stairs lol.

-The final VCR before the encore showed them uncovering items on pedestals as though in a museum: a camera, a gramophone, a painting, a book of poetry by Yeats... Then they all created a painting together. When viewed through a red screen (like the puzzles in their albums) the pattern revealed a compass. They then all showed their wrists to reveal each had a compass tattoo.... WHAT IS THIS OT8 SOULMARK FIC!!!!!

-They said they had planned for every audience member to have this compass stamp (the Fellowship again) but it was cancelled due to health concerns. But we could see it with our true eyes, right???? On the second night, the 99s swarmed Seonghwa at this point to try to look down his shirt. I see. I see. (Later on Hongjoong also tried to peek into Mingi's shirt also fine just fine.)

-Early in the show Hongjoong said there would be clues through the show about the next steps in their concept/narrative. The hourglass and compass were very recurrent but these are not new. Hmm. I wonder.

-In one ment on night 1, Jongho spoke to all his hyungs informally and it was HILARIOUS. He did something similar on the second night, patting Yunho on the head and pinching Wooyoung's chin etc.

-During Star 1117 on the first night, Hongjoong and San started crying. Then in the following ment, they and Yunho and Wooyoung were crying, and Seonghwa and Jongho were teary. Yunho cried so hard (missing his grandfather!) that during Hongjoong's ment, Mingi quietly went over and gave him a towel. There were like five members in between that he passed to give him the towel, it was so sweet I'll cry. Night 2 felt more joyful and upbeat.

-Some ppl really left way too early like before the encore. The encore is half an hour long omg! You missed out on so many songs!!!!!

-On night 1 between main set and encore the crowd didn't quite know what to do. Huge kudos to the fans who led some cheers otherwise it would have been so quiet. Second night was better and also they kept the light sticks on while we were waiting which added to the atmosphere.

-They didn't sell a couple of sections in the hall at all, they were curtained off. It's interesting to think BTS had their first Muster here at around the same point in their careers. Like BTS, Ateez too are more popular globally than at home. They were beaten quite handily in voting on music shows by SF9 this comeback, who are more popular at home than internationally.

-It is great being in a huge fandom like BTS but also you know this is actually a great time to stan a group like Ateez. They're big enough to be exciting and have good shows, they are interesting and still developing, they're still playing intimate venues... They're good!!!!!

-A few of them had fake neck tattoos. San helpfully labeled himself "San" on the second night lol.

-Hongjoong briefly went off stage during sunrise On night 2. Hopefully just a technical issue.

-Treasure and Precious choreo start and end in the same place, echoing their musical connection.

-They had different encore outfits for Answer each night, before changing into hoodies. On night 2, Yeosang saw some of the others had scarves/banners tucked into their back pockets and was like "where's mine????" Instead of a banner, Yunho had a baseball cap. Seonghwa took his off and Hongjoong tied it around Seonghwa's wrist.

-For Star 1117, everyone held up their mobile phone lights. On night 2, San repeated the request in English too. Very pretty to see all the lights.

-On second night, Seonghwa and San got their mics and necklace tangled up during a ment lol.

Setlist:

(Intro)

Win

Horizon

Pirate King

(Introduction ment)

Medley: Twilight, Stay, My Way

Light

Mist

Desire

(VCR)

Illusion

Crescent

Wave

Sunrise

(Ment, lightstick announcement)

If without you

Aurora

Utopia

(VCR)

Say My Name

Dazzling Light

Hala Hala

Treasure

Precious

Wonderland

--

Encore:

(VCR)

Answer

(Ment)

Thank u

Star 1117

(Ment)

Promise

Dancing like butterfly wings

Setlist from: https://twitter.com/updateez/status/1226112679728812032?s=19

#ateez #ateez in seoul #200208 #200209 #concerts #actually using tumblr as a blog how strange #kpop

[thesuitelifeofjughead]

Riverdale Rewatch Review - Season One

Hey guys! So, as everyone knows, there’s like, this big thing happening in the world right now causing everyone to have to stay inside and a lot of people have way more free time on their hands than they know what to do with. I am one of those people. After I finish my schoolwork I find that barely even half a day has passed. What do I fill that time with? Animal Crossing. But also, watching Netflix. 

I’ve wanted to rewatch Riverdale for the longest time, and I figure that now is the best time to do it. 

So, the way this will work, I’ll give my overall thoughts and review of the season, my favorite episodes, and then I’m going to give you a play-by-play of my thoughts while rewatching each episode under the break. So, without further ado:

Overall Review

Looking at the bigger picture of everything I know Riverdale has come to be, I think the statement stands true that Season One is one of their strongest season, if not their actual strongest (Season Four has been climbing up there for me in fav seasons). 

Watching it all together, the drama seemed evenly paced, and everyone seemed to get the same amount of screen time, including characters we barely see anymore like Kevin and Reggie. There are some interesting shots, and I found myself jammin to some of the songs they had the characters sing as well as the background music. 

It was clear that they had a plan, and they knew where they were going. Hints of relationships happened WAY before they became official, and it seemed like everyone was on the same page, which is difficult to say for later seasons (which I will also be making reviews on shortly). 

For only having 13 episodes, Riverdale did an excellent job in it’s first season hooking everyone in to the drama and the mystery, including me. I believe it was after the second or third episode when this blog was created, and I’ve been here ever since. This season is responsible for why a lot of fans stuck around, and for why a lot of fans left. 

Overall, I would say it had amazing storytelling, character development, cinematic techniques, and everything else you could think of. My final rating would be a 10/10. Even if you don’t like later seasons, you can’t deny this one was really good, and had a lot of classic Riverdale moments -insert gif of Jughead saying “I’m a weirdo” here bc I tried to find it but couldn’t-. 

My personal favorite episodes: Episode 6, Episode 10, Episode 13

Rewatch Thoughts

Episode 1: 

It’s so clear right from the start that Veronica likes Archie oh my god

I love Betty Cooper dance parties and I want more of them

Wow I hate Alice from the very beginning

Fred Andrews was the best parent on Riverdale from the very beginning. Period.

Maybe the show is more consistent than I thought. Archie was dumb since season one episode one for lying to his dad. 

Veronica was so supportive of Betty and Archie we stan a supportive friend

Oh my god did we all collectively forget that Archie dated a freaking TEACHER?!

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS MY HEART I love and miss them 

Jughead was such a broody lil boy wasn’t he oh my gosh Betty really did change him for the better didn’t she

“Whatever happened with Betty, just talk to her. It’ll go a long way” We stan a king who wants open communication from the beginning yas Jughead

Episode Rating: 8/10

Episode 2: 

God, the teacher is so manipulative

Oh god i’m gonna have to relive the dark Betty arc aren’t I

This rewatch is just gonna further my love for Jughead. He was the smartest one since day one

WAIT i completely forgot they changed Reggie’s actor oh my goodness

Episode Rating: 5/10

Episode 3: 

there was a mention of Greendale in the VERY FIRST SEASON 

The only good thing Penelope Blossom ever did was punch Alice Cooper and that’s that on that

I love the early journalism relationship between Betty and Jughead

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 4:

Ya’ll I miss jughead narrating at the beginning and end of every episode

THE TWILIGHT DRIVE IN. I MADE SO MANY FANFICTIONS SET THERE AWH

Jug was so upset over the drive in my HEART. Jughead had a JOB. Am I the only one who forgot that? 

He called her Betts and she called him Juggy their already in a relationship let’s face it. 

“It’s like my home” AWH JUG IT WAS HIS HOME MY HEART

Ya’ll remember how INSANE the reveal of Jughead’s dad was?

Episode Rating: 10/10

Episode 5:

Why would he have to run away from mommy and daddy? BECAUSE DADDY DID IT JUG YOURE SO SMART

Everyone was so SHADY in season one 

THE FREAKING SNAKE IN THE BOX

This was the episode with Jughead’s stupid cute smile in his stupid cute hat and stupid cute tux my heart

Remember when Fred and Hermione had that thing? Yeah me neither I hate it

Episode Rating: 8/10

Episode 6:

Wow makes sense that Polly joined a cult, she’s so fragile from everything that’s happened to her 

I love the early music in this show

Betty straight up asks Hal if he killed Jason Blossom. OMG Alice goes “You think he has the stomach or that?” UHM hate to break it to ya but your dad is,,, oof

ITS THE HEY JULIET EPISODE AWH

WAIT THAT MEANS

The little “also” and his voice cracks I’m

FIRST BUGHEAD KISS FIRST BUGHEAD KISS

“In the middle of our moment” ICONIC

Episode Rating: 10/10

Episode 7:

the episode in which we find out Jughead is living in the school

“Don’t tell Betty” they’re already so in love I swear

Jughead walking Betty home is literally the softest thing

The farm was a part of the plot from SEASON ONE oh my god

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 8:

I’m p sure this is just a filler episode

Oh wait it’s the reveal to Archie and Fred that FP is a serpent

WAIT ITS THE BABY SHOWER SCENE

“It’s totally on my bucket list” we don’t deserve Jughead

the LOOKS Archie got when he walked into that baby shower

Can you believe how normal it became to be a part of the serpents? And in the beginning it was such a big deal? Like Arch, hate to break it to you, you become an honorary serpent one day

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 9:

Riverdale season one really be hitting different. It’s so,, innocent lol, and that’s sayin something 

The Blossoms are a cult all their own I’m just sayin

“That was a joke, you hobo” ICONIC

Otherwise known as the episode where Alice throws a rock at a window

The parents really do be acting like teenagers tho

ALSO known as the episode where Veronica rips of her pearls

YOOO remember when Cheryl kissed Archie? That was a moment

Episode Rating: 9/10

Episode 10:

oh my god this is the birthday episode isn’t it

OH NO

lmao Ronnie was Tik Tok dancing before it was cool huh

The movie part of the party was so pure awh

oh god the creepy birthday song

i hate it

I HATE ITTTT

Cheryl arrives to mess shit UP

We love that Bughead took this as a learning experience and Jughead has never had a birthday party since

“In CaSe YoU HaVeN’t NoTiCEd, I’m WeiRd. I’m A weiRDo. I DoN’t FiT iN aNd I DoN’t WaNnA FiT in. HAvE YoU eVeR SeeN mE WiThOuT ThiS HaT oN? THAT’S WEIRD.”

Jughead was so opposed to letting her in my heart

Just let her love you Jug

Dilton’s actor also changed and we just,, let it slide? oof my guys

THE PUNCH. he DEFENDS his WOMAN

the first sign of FP bein a good dad, telling Jughead not to run away from Betty. We stan a father who’s basically responsible for Bughead.

The reveal that Alice lived on the south side was also in this episode. 

THE FIRST TIME JUG TOOK OFF HIS BEANIE

their first heart to heart ya’ll I love them

This is the softest scene point blank period

When I said I hated it before? Yeah I lied I love this episode

The episode where Archie and Ronnie also officially got togther kinda?? Wow so much happened this episode

Episode Rating: 10/10

Episode 11:

Hail our fair RIVERDALLEEEE

YOOO you remember when FP literally was an accomplice to MURDER and then they let him become sheriff? Man, what a time

Ya’ll why did they hurt Jughead so much in the first season my heart

Yo THIS is why they have such good communication in later seasons

he’s being FRAMED

Episode Rating: 7/10

Episode 12:

oh my goodness the tollbooth scene 

OW

The second time his beanie is off

he looks so SAD ouch

He just stood there and TOOK Cheryl’s punches someone save my poor boy

THE REVEAL THAT THE BLOSSOMS AND COOPERS ARE RELATED AH

They watched the videooooo

Episode Rating: 9/10

Episode 13:

The camera work around this table is really interesting. It’s literally circling them at the lunch table. SPEAKING OF LUNCH TABLES, why haven’t we seen them eating lunch at school for like two seasons lol 

“I’m with Jughead now”

God Penelope Blossom is so melodramatic

Can i just say thank GOD Fred never sold Andrew’s Construction

Oh my god the locker scene. The way he cups her cheek and takes her away

Jughead going to South Side High without telling anyone I’m

Cheryl on the ice

Remember when KJ literally broke his arm bc of the dedication to this scene

BURN THE HOUSE TO THE GROUND

the I love you scene my hEART

His beanie is off and the way he says I love you I”M CRYING

Oh god this song

I made so many fanfictions about this freaking scene with the jacket I’m

We all thought it was so BAD to be a serpent and yet they all literally become one over the next two seasons I’m. the fandom had NO IDEA

“Juggy”

The looks they give each other I’m laughing

Cheryl starring into the FLAMES

OH MY GOD WAIT THIS CLIFFHANGER IS SO MUCH MORE SAD NOW NOOOOO. This didn’t age well I’m.

HE SHOOK HIS HEAD HE WAS PROTECTING ARCHIE

But also,, Black Hood Intro? Oof.

Episode Rating: 10/10

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If you got this far, thank you for reading my rambles! Season Two rewatch is up next!

#Riverdale #Jughead #Jughead Jones #Cole Sprouse #Betty #Betty Cooper #Season One #Bughead