#we skipped out on saturday and went to the mall instead -.-

[mintyyyjades]

oh hi, i was at megacon this weekend btw! c: well sort of lol

#jjba part 5 #leone abbacchio #sdr2 #chiaki nanami #sonia nevermind #cosplay #my face #megacon 2022 #we skipped out on saturday and went to the mall instead -.- #it was mostly fun for getting to dress up again #gonna be happier to get back to cons that cater more to anime fans again #met a lot of sweet people though ❤️

[raaorqtpbpdy]

I Hate Mondays

Based on the Phic Phight prompt: Danny gets caught in a time loop on the day he was supposed to die in the portal and become Danny Phantom but for some reason never entered it. He has to relive that day over and over again until he finally steps into the portal and dies. (from @ghostboidanny)

AO3 Link

[Warnings for character death (he gets better though because time loop), and descriptions of death/pain]

The life of a student was already so boring and monotonous that it was hours before Danny realized what was going on. His parents were still sulking about their portal not working. Sam and Tucker met up with him before school, and they made the same idle small talk they always did. School was the same, boring drivel it always was. Mister Lancer even gave the same exact assignment he gave them yesterday.

"Uh... Mr. Lancer?" Danny raised his hand, confused. "Isn't this the same assignment you gave us yesterday?"

"No, I only just printed these worksheets this morning," Mr. Lancer said. "I know High School must seem dreadfully repetitive, but I assure you if you actually pay attention, it's more more tolerable."

Danny shrugged and filled out the worksheet, but he could swear it was exactly the same as the day before. He was looking forward to lunch though. It was Tuesday, and on Tuesdays, the cafeteria had pizza. It was school pizza, but still. However, when he got to the cafeteria, there was no pizza in sight. Instead, there were sloppy joes again, even though that was the Monday menu.

"Hey, how come there's no pizza?" Danny asked the lunch lady when he got to the front of the line.

"Today is Monday, and on Monday, we serve sloppy joes."

"No, yesterday was Monday," Danny disagreed, but she just urged him to take his food and go through the line. When he sat down at his usual table with Sam and Tucker he asked them about it, but they confirmed that it was definitely Monday. Perhaps yesterday had just been a dream. He'd never had a dream so realistic and mundane before, but he'd heard of things like that happening.

He and his friends went to hang out at his house after school, and just like in his dream, they ended up in the lab, next to the non-functioning portal.

"Hey Danny, you should go inside and check it out," Sam suggested, and Danny was getting some serious Déjà vu. He told her the same thing he did in his dream.

"No way! That thing is unstable and unsafe. You see all those exposed wires, I could get electrocuted," he said. "Besides, it doesn't work, anyway. What would be the point in going into a big metal murder tube?"

"Boo!" Sam heckled, but she didn't push him further. Technically, they weren't even supposed to be down in the lab, but as long as they adhered to proper lab safety, his parents wouldn't get mad at them.

The next day, Danny woke up, and everything was the same once again. For the third time, Lancer handed him the same grammar worksheet, and the cafeteria was serving sloppy joes, and Sam tried to get him to go into the non-functioning portal, and he refused. The next day was the same, and the next day as well. The day after that, Danny skipped school and went to the movies. It was supposed to be Saturday anyway, and one day of cutting school wouldn't kill him, even if time moved on the next day.

Another week later, Danny had seen all the movies showing at the local theater, even the stupid animated movie for little kids about a talking frog. It was okay. No matter how many times he skipped school, he never got in trouble because it was still Monday, and no time had passed. He went to the mall, to the museum, to the skate park.

He'd stopped paying too much attention to his surroundings. No matter who he talked to, none of them seemed to be stuck in the same loop of Mondays that he was. The first time he died was on the way home from the skate park. He got hit by a school bus.

At first, he felt pressure, then nothing, too numb with shock. In a haze of disorientation and probably brain damage, all he could see was a splatter of red on the yellow paint, blood pooling beneath him. The the sensations flooded him, like a fire through his bones and needles in his lungs as he choked on his own blood. He heard yelling, then only the ringing in his ears. He smelled metal, then nothing. Everything went black.

Then he woke up in his bed, and it was still Monday morning. His parents were still moping about their portal not working. His sister was still telling them that obsessing over ghosts wasn't healthy and they should find some more realistic interests. Dying had shaken him to his core. For the first time in weeks, he went to school. It was good to really hang out with Sam and Tucker again. They never wanted to skip with him, so the three of them hadn't done all that much together in a while.

It was another few Mondays before Danny stopped being rattled by his death, and was once more overwhelmed by the monotony of his life. He hadn't showered in a month, but he still smelled fresh, because he'd taken one Sunday night, ages ago. He didn't have to clean his clothes, or do dishes.

He'd started teaching himself to draw. He wasn't good at it yet, but he had nothing but time. He'd spent probably thousands of hours on the online NASA space shuttle flight simulator. Anything he could think to do to fill the time, he did. He lost track of how many Mondays it had been.

After so many months of the same damn Monday, Danny started to lose it. He already knew that dying wouldn't break the loop, so he started trying dangerous stunts, just to see what they would feel like. Falling fifty stories actually felt really cool, up until he went splat on the sidewalk, but at least that had been a quick death. Drinking Windex just to see if it tasted like Powerade had totally not been worth it.

Every once in a while, when life got too crazy, like when he'd made himself a bazooka out of scraps from his parents lab, then held up a bank for an hour before being gunned down by police, he would go back to school. He would eat a sloppy joe, and spend time with Sam and Tucker, and after school, they would go hang out at his house, and they'd go to his basement to see the portal his parents had made that never worked, no matter how many Mondays passed by.

"Hey Danny, you should go inside and check it out," Sam suggested for maybe they fiftieth time.

Danny remembered all the times he'd called it a murder tube in the past. Somehow, after over a year of Mondays, he found he didn't care if it was. He could go inside and die of electrocution, and he'd still wake up in his bed, and it would be Monday morning again. "Yeah, alright," he agreed, and changed into his jumpsuit.

Sam stopped him before he went inside to peel the Jack Fenton decal off his chest. He went a few steps in and let Sam take her picture, even though it was pointless, and it would be gone by morning, never having been taken in the first place. He went deeper in, stepping over the wires on the floor. There was a button inside the portal, and Danny, not thinking or caring about the consequences, pushed it.

Danny had experiences dozens of deaths by this point, but none of them had been anywhere near as painful as the one he experienced when the portal activated with him inside. Millions of volts shot through him as an inconceivably huge energy surge tore open a hole between one dimension and the next, right through Danny. He could feel his atoms ionizing, his molecules getting scrambled, his blood evaporating in his veins. He had no idea how long it was before the pain suddenly vanished.

Danny kept his eyes squeezed shut. He was in his bed again, and his parents were downstairs moping because their portal didn't work, and his sister was telling them to grow up and abandon their fanciful notions of ghosts. And no matter how many times he lived today, he would never, ever go into that portal again.

"Danny?" That was Sam's voice. Sam had never been in his room before. His bed was hard. Where... what? "Danny, holy shit, are you... okay?" Finally, Danny opened his eyes, but he wasn't in his room. He was still in the lab. The lights had one out, but everything was cast in a strange, eerie glow.

"What's... going on?" Danny asked, putting a hand to his head. His eyes strayed to his reflection in the glass windows of a cabinet. "Is that... me?" His hair had turned white, and his eyes glowed green. The black and white of his jumpsuit had been inverted.

"Don't freak out, but... we think you might be a ghost," Tucker told him.

"I can't be a ghost," Danny said. "I... there's...." He wanted to say there was no such thing as ghosts but, he was floating. He clearly wasn't human anymore. "It's okay," he said. "This is new, but I'm sure everything will be fine. Tomorrow morning, I'll wake up in bed, and it'll be Monday again, and I'll be human again, and neither of you will even remember this."

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Sam asked. "This isn't the time for jokes, we have to figure out what's going on." Danny turned to look at her, and caught sight of the portal behind her.

"The portal... it's working," he observed, shocked.

"Yeah," Tucker said. "It turned on while you were inside and then you came out looking like that." Danny didn't notice he was hovering toward it until Tucker told him, "Hey, don't go back in!"

"Oh! Sorry, I just... it feel like it's drawing me in or something," Danny said. He tried to stop, but couldn't. The portal pulled him closer and closer. He heard his friends calling his name, but he ignored them as the toxic green portal swallowed him.

On the other side was a citadel, full of floating gears and other clock pieces.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," said an unfamiliar voice behind him. He turned to see a very old man with blue skin and a purple cloak, holding a staff. "I wish that things could be different, but you had to die."

"I died plenty of times," Danny pointed out. "What do you mean? Who are you?"

"You had to go into that portal. You had to die there. I'm sorry, but the world needs you like this."

"Sucks for the world, then, because I'm just gonna be back to normal next time I wake up," Danny said. The old ghost sighed, and waved his staff, and Danny was back in his parents' lab. "Come on," he turned to Sam and Tucker, "Let's get out of here. That portal is giving me the creeps."

Danny couldn't sleep, now that he was a ghost, but he'd tried staying up before. At the stroke of midnight, the loop would restart, and he'd be back in bed, waking up on Monday morning. Midnight came and went, and time moved on, moved forward. It didn't reset. Danny didn't reset. He was still there, still dead, still a ghost. There was no turning back.

#phic phight #phic phight 2023 #fic #things i wrote #dp #danny phantom #full ghost au #danny fenton #time loop

[lake-archive]

Track 9 - Going Out

Content Warning!

Gender Dysphoria

If this makes you uncomfortable, I advise you to skip this one.

AO3 Link

Fandom: Hypnosis Mic

Character: Ann Wolff (OC), Ichijiku Kadenokoji

Synposis: A small trip, Ann had been invited by Ichijiku. Things seem normal, Ann plays along at first. Until she breaks down...

Track 8 - Track List - Track 10

It had caught her completely off guard at the time. “ You! I have a task for you this weekend! Meet me here on Saturday, usual work time! We have something to discuss! ” Kadenokoji had said this literally out of nowhere and she seemed to have been beyond serious. Thus Ann had no choice but to agree. Yet working on a Saturday… Working… On a Saturday… That… Had been the expectation. After all, why else would her boss and instructor request her to come to the building!? Either that or an extra training session. And yet that only meant for her to have been in for a surprise. A surprise she had not expected at that point.

Because shortly after having met up in front of the main building Kadenokoji had dragged Ann away, no questions asked. It had already been a little suspicious that the older woman had been in casual clothes – A pink shoulder free shirt with a v–neck, light blue colored jeans and walking on white heels. Her hair had been in the same style as always however, bound into a long ponytail. Her body was visible, Kadnokoji seemed to be able to present it so proudly. She had no shame in it, just as it should be. 

And yet, Ann did not understand. As it should be, yes, as it is supposed to be. And yet, even with the outfit she wore before having planned to change into her uniform… It was impossible. Compared to this confidence Ann just wanted to hide herself, put on a jacket or hide her own face, so no one could see that it was her own body, that this clump of meat belonged to her. And yet, everyone will know. Everyone has known and will keep knowing…

Regardless, she had to endure it for the day. It’s not the first thing nor the first time, given that she was busy going out with her own friends at her own time. This was no big deal… Yeah, none at all. And yet… With all of that, yet… Something just felt off, more and more as time went on. Was it because technically Ann was hanging out with her boss? She had first assumed that this had been the case. After all, never ever did she think she would be dragged to a mall by her and both would go shopping instead of doing their work. Wasn’t there so much to do? Ann had assumed so and she had been prepared to tackle it. And honestly, maybe that would have been a little less taxing than… This. Especially since Ann did not want to mess this up. One wrong move and word and she was just scared that Kadenokoji was going to chop the employee’s head off… Maybe even literally if not careful enough. She could be that scary.

And yet, it was almost a bit of a contradiction on that day. First the getup but especially when the two had entered the third clothing shop and were browsing the part for women’s clothing, one by one. Colorful clothes for the most part. Pink, purple, blue, yellow, red and even green. All in different shades of said colors as well. Usually soft and bright but sometimes there were darker tones as well. And yet, to Ann’s own eyes it was all the same color. There was no difference. At least the area didn’t look dull. 

Not to mention the variation of fabrics, some being soft while others were wooly and yet others had some leather on them. Some were thinner than others. Shirts, sweaters, jeans, skirts, dresses – It was all there. All what a woman should love wearing. So Ann should desire trying things on, all on her own… Picking out clothes and changing into them. It should be fun. And she had fun… Or so she made it look like. Because she has to do it. Yeah… She has to.

And yet, she hesitated. Her hand approached one of the dresses slowly, shaking before grabbing it. A black one, long sleeves and hiding most of the body if she had put it on. Maybe one could only see the outlines of her body at most. But it would still show her body, wouldn’t it? Everyone would be able to see it. And the thought made her swallow when eyeing it… Her body… Seen by everyone, eyed by everyone. In a dress… That—

“Hm? Did you find something you like?” The brunette was shoved out of her thoughts by the voice which would usually activate fear when just hearing it. And yet, it had been so soft today, it was almost surreal. Not even she had imagined that Kadenokoji could sound so soft, so calm. But that was reality and it was… A switch. It was almost adding to the atmosphere and made Ann shake even further. What if she was found out for not having a fun time? What consequences would it bring? Ah, she can’t… She has to… To— “Ah, another interesting pick. But are you sure you can afford hiding so much?”

This made the brunette all ears, flinching even if trying not to. She didn’t dare to turn around however, not wanting her boss seeing the expression she was currently making. “H… Hiding so much? What do you mean?”

“Haha, you don’t have to be shy, you know. You can pick something cuter than that if you want.”

“Cuter?” Something cuter huh… 

"Yeah. Or something showing off your physique more. You don’t have to hide it, you know.” The tone was calm yet encouraging, as if saying something positive. Maybe it was the intention but honestly… It was the last thing Ann wanted to hear right now. 

“It’s… Ok. I like it.”

“Really? It looks similar to the last pieces of clothing you wanted to try. Let me help you out by finding something else.” Something else? 

“It’s… Ok. Don’t worry about me.” No… No. 

“Hey, we are here together! So I insist!” No.

“Please, enjoy yourself. I’ll be fine.” No! 

“Hah, I’ve been doing it enough already. It’s your turn now.” No no!

“It’s really ok.” No no no!

“Don’t be shy. Here, I think—” 

“ NO! ”

It had been sudden, very sudden. A loud shriek, the voice becoming very high pitched. It had even pierced Ann’s own ears, almost thinking she would deafen them herself. And by the time she had screamed it she noticed how silent everything went. Even the music within the shop had stopped. No one was speaking. They all seemed to have had her eyes on her, in silence. Right? Was that what was going on?

She wasn’t sure. She felt dizzy, her legs shaking. She was close to collapsing. Hearing it all in her ears, it was just… Just… No more! Just no more! She didn’t want to! She can’t take this anymore! She can’t look at these clothes anymore! She can’t listen to Kadenokoji’s voice anymore! She can’t stand being in this tight space! It’s too much! She just wanted to break down in tears and collapse already, all so she no longer had to endure it! It was already hard enough to breathe like this… Make it stop… Just make it all stop!

But she dared not to say it, no. However, she had to be alone one way or another. “I… Uhm… Have to use the bathroom.” Was the excuse, a classic one. With all of that said Ann threw the dress onto the floor and dashed out of the store, not even looking back. Perhaps, maybe, just maybe, Kadenokoji had called out for the young woman. But that didn’t matter. She had to calm down.

This was all too much… Please, just make it stop. Why does she have to feel this way!? Why does she have to be so… Weird!?

Track 8 - Track List - Track 10

#Deep Waters #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #hypnosis mic #hypmic #hypnosis microphone #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic oc #original character #ichijiku kadenokouji #kadenokouji ichijiku #hypmic ichijiku #tw gender dysphoria #cw gender dysphoria

[lifewithoutmeds]

January 21, 2023

hellooooo tumblr.

things are going ok. spent most of the day with lorena, and it was great! last tuesday i got word that there was a dog at the burbank shelter that they thought would benefit from fostering, so after work i went with lorena, and picked up Kiwi, a 5-year old siberian husky, from the burbank animal shelter.

so far she’s been pretty great. she snapped at me once when i got near her food/bed, she lunges at small dogs, and had one pee accident, but other than that, she’s been great. it’s been kinda nice having another presence in the condo, and also nice to think that this is a better environment for her than the shelter, so it’s been good. lorena also is great with kiwi and loves having her around and is doing more than her share of taking her out, and training her.

quick recap of the last week or so.

last weekend: mirna’s baby’s bday BCD tofu house with anjali pho and kimchi pancakes with lana and friends scandinavian exhibit at LACMA and lunch with rhiannon

it was a solid weekend and i was exhausted afterward, and i think i either napped for a few hours or slept that night for like 12 hours, but i recall thinking i must’ve been rather exhausted from the weekend.

it felt nice i guess to change up the scenery and see new/different parts of town and new/different people. 

tuesday - thursday i worked, and wednesday i came home a bit earlier to WFH because i was anxious about kiwi being home alone without supervision (lorena had been watching her/walking her but went to her aunt’s house at 1) and so instead of getting off at 5ish, i got off at 3ish so i could be around/observe her.

since then i’ve gotten a doggy cam and have observed that she mostly just lies around or chews her rawhide/bone when she’s not out and about on her walks with us.

wednesday i also got randomly and suddenly sick, though with what it’s still hard to tell. it felt like a suddenly onset cold, but taking allertec has made most if not all of the symptoms subside, so it could just be a random case of severe allergies (hopefully not to kiwi).

this weekend has been pretty great.

friday i had a doctor’s appointment in the morning, and then i got an oil change, then came home and checked up on lorena and kiwi, then went out again at lunch to ozawa with lana and jenny unni for lana’s promotion celebration. afterward i drove jenny unni back to koreatown and then stopped by pac city bank to sign my new CD account thing, then stopped at the local korean bakery for snacks before heading back. was able to hang out with kiwi and lorena for a bit before she headed out to work.

saturday (today) has been good so far. took kiwi out on a 50 minute hike in the morning while lorena slept, then came back, read a bit, napped, and then we had breakfast together and decided to try kiwi out at the atwater flea market, but upon seeing her overstimulated and lunging at small dogs and realizing that there were too many small dogs at the market for us to reasonably deal with, just took her on a walk around the neighborhood before heading back. i dropped lorena off at the mall so she could buy some work basics from Zara and i came back home and made some coffee, then picked her up and introduced her to King Taco, where we had tacos and sopes. she expressed a few times how much she was enjoying the day and we joked that as her friend, i’d love for her to skip out on work and hang out all day, but that as her financial advisor, i must advise her to keep working. she’s currently taking a nap while kiwi is tearing up her bone, and i feel fairly calm and at peace. it’s been a good day.

it kind of makes me wonder though. i’m not in a relationship, but i wonder if this is all i want. occasional companionship, a person to walk the dog with, a person to go to the flea market with, a person to bring a pastry home to. am i settling? or do i just get comfortable when there’s no chase? i don’t feel as if i’m playing second fiddle, in fact i know i’m not first, and i probably only hung out with her today because i saw via ig stories that reyna is at disneyland with her mom, but that doesn’t make me feel less than, or secondary, if anything, it makes me feel almost ... comforted knowing how little i need. i feel less anxious, less needy, less attached. i’m ok with this, and i’m ok with that. 

today was a good day. i was out with a good friend, had good walks with a good dog, ate some good food, and even had time to read and journal. i could see how some might think this was boring, but it was one of those “nothing days” that i’ve grown to appreciate, because i know that these are days that might be easy to forget, but nice to remember.

[cutethingstolove]

Skip Day

Photos and Inspiration From @little-stephanies-diary​ and @babiechristy​, Part 18

When the alarm went off at 630 Tuesday morning, the girls were still wrapped in each other’s arms. Stephanie, not wanting to stop cuddling, reached over and hit the snooze button so she and Courtney could spend another five minutes together before waking up for the day. The alarm woke Courtney up as well, but she was extremely happy that Steph had turned it off and kept holding her. Courtney was still thinking about last night when she received her first spanking since she was five years old, and loved that Stephanie was still holding her making her feel safe and loved. Sadly, it didn’t seem like too long before the alarm went off for the second time and the girls knew they had to wake up for the day.

“Hey Steph,” Courtney whispered, “We need to get up. I really wish we didn’t have to though.”

“Í know,” Stephanie said a little groggy, “But my dad will worry if we aren’t up soon, and we do have to get ready for school still.”

“Yeah,” Courtney said a bit dejected, “And I really don’t want to get in trouble again. That spanking last night was super humiliating, and I don’t want to deal with that again.”

“I thought the same thing the first time he spanked me last week,” Stephanie responded, “But you have to admit that he was pretty kind about the whole thing.’

“You mean last night wasn’t the first time he spanked you!”, Courtney said in shock.

“Just once last week,” Stephanie said sheepishly, “I lied to him about having an accident in school, but he caught me. It was a bit embarrassing, but since no one else knew, I didn’t want to say anything about it.”

“Well I guess we have another secret to keep,” Courtney giggled, “But I’m not sure if I want to go to school today after that. It might not have been so bad if you were the one who spanked me instead of him.”

Stephanie smiled a little hearing this, and understood why Courtney didn’t want to go to school. She wouldn’t mind taking the day off too as she wouldn’t have to spend all day worrying about one of her other classmates finding out about her diaper. Stephanie started to hatch a plan to talk her dad into letting them have the day off from school without being punished. She was still thinking when Courtney suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of bed.

The girls walked downstairs for breakfast, both still in just their diapers and the shirts they had worn to bed. When they reached the kitchen, they grabbed some cereal and joined Steph’s dad at the table where he was sitting with his morning cup of coffee. They both took their seats, pouring the cereal and milk into their bowls. Just before they had a chance to grab their spoons and start eating, they heard Steph’s dad’s deep voice interrupt the silence.

“Morning girls,” he said in his baritone voice, “Did you both manage to stay dry last night?”

“I did daddy!,” Stephanie exclaimed proudly.

“So did I,” Courtney said a little perturbed.

“Well I’m proud of both of you,” Steph’s dad with a hint of pride, “Are you two going to be good at school today?”

“Actually daddy,” Steph said meekly, “I was kinda hoping we could skip school today. I think last night was a bit hard on Court, and it might be good for us to have some girl time.”

“Yes please!”, Courtney piped up, “I could really use a day to wrap my head around getting a spanking.”

“That’s fair,” Steph’s dad feeling a little bad, “I guess I can call the school and let them know you two won’t be in today.”

Elated at this, the girls both looked at each other and smiled as big as they could. They started chattering incessantly about what they were going to do with their day off. After a couple of minutes, they decided that they could go shopping at the mall again which would be more fun on a slow Tuesday. Steph’s dad reminded them that they were still potty training, and mentioned that they should wear their bigger diapers since they wouldn’t have anyone to help change them if they had an accident. Stephanie was a little worried about this as she wasn’t able to try on any of the cute jeans she had found on Saturday with the big diaper on. Thankfully for her, Courtney spoke up with a great idea of how they could avoid this.

“What if we bring a couple extra pairs of Goodnites with us just in case?,” Courtney asked stoically.

“I guess that could work,” he said, “But you each have to take two with and I’ll check when I get home to see if you had to use them. And be honest with me because I don’t want to have to spank either one of you again.”

“Of course daddy!,” Steph blurted out with excitement.

“Thank you dadd-,” Courtney caught herself, “I mean sir.”

“Oh Courtney,” Steph’s dad said softly, “If you want to call me daddy like Steph does, that’s ok with me. You’ve spent so much time  over here during the years that I’m almost like a second dad to you.”

A grin spread across Courtney’s face when she heard this, and even Stephanie was happy since it made them feel more like sisters instead of just friends. The girls finished their breakfast rather quickly as they wanted to start their day off, and as soon as they were done they bounded upstairs to change for the day. Courtney went into the bathroom to change out of her nighttime diaper, but Stephanie just changed in her room tossing her diaper in the trash before pulling on a pair of Goodnites. Just as Stephanie finished pulling them on, Courtney came bursting through the door in a fresh pair of pullups and her hoodie.

The girls started looking through Stephanie’s clothes to find stuff to wear for the day. Stephanie picked out a pair of black jeans and a yellow t-shirt while Courtney found a pair of black leggings and a fuzzy white sweater. They  both quickly threw their clothes on, grabbed extra Goodnites out of Stephanie’s dresser, and hurried back downstairs to start their day. Steph’s dad stopped the girls before they left and checked to make sure they were both wearing their pullups and had their extras with them before releasing them for their day of fun.

The drive to the mall went quickly because there was so little traffic, but by the time they arrived in the parking lot Stephanie had already wet her pullup. She had been so excited to start the day that she didn’t bother going to the bathroom before they left so she told Courtney that they would need to stop by the mall bathroom first so she could change into a dry Goodnite. Courtney giggled a little, but made sure to put their spare pullups in her purse before they went inside. Courtney needed to go to the bathroom anyway, but didn’t want to wait until they made it inside, so she paused for a moment before closing the car door and flooded her Goodnite. Looking at Stephanie, Courtney smirked before saying, “You’re not the only one who needs a change.”

After their stop by the mall bathroom, the girls walked into the nearly empty mall talking about where they wanted to shop. Stephanie shyly mentioned that she wanted to go visit the new store where she had found Vincent on Saturday, but Courtney thought it was a great idea! Courtney had secretly wanted to spend more time looking there the last time they were shopping, but didn’t want Stephanie to think she was childish. She was a bit shocked when Stephanie told her that she was just pretending to not want to stay there either! The two quickly made their way to the new store and started browsing.

The store was empty, save for the cashier, when they arrived. They were also both rather excited that none of their classmates would be there on a school day to see them, and both went to quick work picking out their favorite things. It wasn’t long before their arms were loaded with adult sized onesies, cartoonish night shirts, and super colorful fuzzy socks. As they made their way to the dressing room they passed through a part of the store neither had seen before; it was shelves full of bigger diapers in a ton of cute patterns. They stopped to look at the variety when Courtney pointed out that one of them called ‘Lil Bella’ had a cotton candy scent! They decided that they were going to buy a pack of those before heading into their dressing rooms to try on their spoils.

As they tried on different things, they would step out into the hallway to show things off to each other. Ironically, they both stepped out one time wearing the exact same thing, a light blue hooded onesie with a white heat and cloud on the stomach! They complimented each other on how cute they each looked in it, and decided they would both buy one so they could match. After each picking out a couple other items, the girls started heading towards the checkout, making sure to grab a bag of the diapers they had saw earlier. The cashier smiled a little bit when she saw the girls placed their thing on the counter. Even though the girls were both well over 18, they were giggling with each other like they did when they were much younger.

Not really interested in going to any other shops, and wanting to try on their new clothes, the girls decided to head back to Steph’s house and just spend the rest of the day being lazy. As they pulled into the driveway, the girls bolted from the car grabbing their bags, and went inside nearly racing each other. The second they were inside and the door was closed, they both started taking off their clothes as fast as they could and quickly threw on the matching onesies they had bought. They took a moment to admire how cute they both looked before Courtney went to the living room to start a movie while Steph grabbed some snacks from the kitchen joining Courtney on the couch less than a minute later.

The girl spent the rest of the day watching Disney movies, poking fun at each other, and even took a nap together on the couch. They were both happy they had their Goodnites on when they woke up though as they had both had accidents while they were asleep. Knowing they would probably be caught lying if they tried to hide it, Courtney grabbed the last two spare pullups from her bag and they both went upstairs to change and use the bathroom. Just as they were finishing up, they heard the garage door open meaning that Steph’s dad was home. They both bounced downstairs and hopped back on the couch just a couple seconds before he cam into the house. Before heading upstairs to change himself, Steph’s dad looked at the girls in their matching outfits and a pleasant grin crossed his face.

To Be Continued…

#ab/dl #ab/dl girl #ab/dl girls #diapered #diapered girl #diapered friends #ab/dl caption #ab/dl story

[spideyanakin]

Dead Poets Society (Chapter 2)

Tom Holland x Reader

Synopsis - 1959, your grandfather being the headmaster of Welton Academy - an all boys Boarding School, wanted you close to him after your parents death. Forcing you to join beyond any rules to be a student there. Despite strict rules you still fell in love with one. But Tom seems to be loosing the will to live when his strict family forces their wishes on him. Can one amazing teacher change your lives forever?

Series Masterlist 🍓

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Chapter 2 - Carpe Diem

September 15

The year wasn’t so boring after all.

“What do you mean you went to see her at her school?” You stopped Sam as he darted from Tom’s room to his.

“An angel.” He grinned as he planted himself in front of you with a dreamy look in his eyes. “Love of my life.” He mumbled making you smile.

“Well, what did she say?” You bounced on your heels in anticipation.

“I don’t know.” He looked away and then back to you. “I didn’t talk to her.”

“What do you mean you didn’t talk to her!?” you punched his chest with the back of your hand, hating the ending of his story. “Why!?”

“Her boyfriend...” He slumped his shoulder and walked back to his dorm, lightly slamming the door behind him. As if on cue your own boyfriend arrived in a fury running in the hallway like a mad man.

“I found what I truly want to do!” He looked into your eyes before shoving a piece of paper into your hands.

“A Midsummer night's dream?” You raised an eyebrow as you watched him jump up and down on his bed. You shared a concerning look with Harrison. “What does it have to do with you?” You fought back a smile.

“They’re putting it on a Kingston Hall.” He replied/scream earning raised eyebrows. “Open Tryouts! OPEN TRYOUTS!” He shouted turning to you and moving his hands towards you like he wanted to just grab your face and kiss you but couldn’t. He huffed in frustration and made a full circle.

“I’m going to act!” He smiled with a dreamy look in his eyes. “YES! YES! I’m gonna be an actor!” You watched your boyfriend as his eyes filled with sparks. “I wanted to try this forever but my father wouldn’t let me!”

“Yeah, I remember when you wanted to try for the summer play last year.” You smiled in admiration, leaning on his doorway.

He looked at you like the world couldn’t get any better “For the first time in my whole life, I know what I wanna do. AND IM GOING TO DO IT! CAARRPEE DIEEEEEAM!” He screamed with a chuckle.

“Tom, hold on. What if your father finds out?” Harrison broke in.

“To hell with him!” You giggled, happy to see Tom happy.

“Yes.” He turned to you and huffed a laugh. “He won’t. First I need to get the part and then I can worry about him finding out.” He looked at you and smiled again. “If I don’t ask him, at least I won’t be disobeying him.”

“I’m happy for you.” you reached for him and squeezed his shoulder, the contact being short but sending shivers down both your bodies.

“No touching!” Harrison joked imitating your grandfather’s voice. You scrunched up your nose.

“Ew. Don’t do that again, Haz.”

September 28

“When are you getting the audition results?” You asked Tom as Sam took Harry's place in the middle of the circle.

“Next week.” He whispered back.

“My actor.” You ruffled his hair before pressing a kiss to his lips.

Sam cleared his throat when the kiss wouldn't stop. You both blushed with a light chuckle, resting your head on his shoulder to look at Sam who was ready to say his poem.

“Now" He stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. "In honor of my love for Chris.”

"Who I still haven't met by the way?" You raised an eyebrow. "I need to check if she's worthy of you."

"You'll meet her soon enough." He chuckled. "Anyways, I have prepared a poem.”

“Like the one you wrote for class?” Harry grinned.

“No.” Sam deadpanned before clearing his throat again, straightening himself, and opening the book of verse. “This one is from Romeo and Juliet.” He gave Harry a death glare.

“Well, c’mon do your poem.” You grinned, Tom wrapping his hand a little tighter around your waist.

“But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Chris is the sun.” Everyone laughed at the name change, the vibration of Tom’s laughter making your heart skip a beat. “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she:”

You thought for a second as you heard Sam’s words. You lifted your stare to look at Tom. You couldn’t help but stare at him as the words of love escaped your friend's mouth. You loved Tom more than anything in the whole wide world, and nothing could alter that.

Right here, at that moment, you knew he was the one you were meant to spend the rest of your life with. The one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.

“Wait a minute.” Harry broke Sam’s speech as he watched you look at Tom with a love-struck expression. “Didn’t Romeo and Juliet get married like the second they met?” His lips broke into a grin.

“Yeah. They fell in love and got married right away. Why?” you replied.

“You two should get married.”

“What?” Both you and Tom turned your full attention to Harry who couldn’t stop smiling at the idea.

“It would be just the poets. There’s a village far enough they won’t know who we are, but close enough we can go by bike right now and come back before curfew. It's Saturday who cares if we leave campus? They have this beautiful little chapel. You guys should do it! Carpe Diem right?”

You blinked as his words soaked it.

“Make this Romeo and Juliet but without the death! Write your own story! Seize the goddamn day! Carpe Diem for Christ sakes” He continued. “The two of you love each other so much you would get married someday anyway!” You cheeks flushed at that comment. “Why not do it now!?” He aggressively banged his hands together to make his point.

You turned to look at Tom, he met your eyes for a slight second before turning towards Sam. “Give me the book.” He waved his hand and Sam handed it to him.

“What’s your favorite poem again? Some with the sea?” You didn’t understand what he was doing but you replied anyway.

“Yeah, Out of the rolling ocean the crow by Whitman. Why?” You looked at him while he flipped through the pages. “I think it’s page 289.”

Tom took your word and went to page 289 - indeed seeing the poem.

“Does anyone have a quill?” Everyone’s stare was glued to Tom who looked in a hurry. Harrison handed him his and Tom scribbled something on the neighboring page before ripping out the one with your poem on it.

“Tom, what the heck?” Instead of answering you, he stood up and walked to the other corner of the cave turning his back to everyone.

“Sam, will you help me with this?” Sam awkwardly nodded before trotting towards Tom.

Harry took the book from the floor and read what was scribbled. ‘Sorry if this page is missing, I needed something to propose the love of my life with.’ Harry shook his head and smiled.

“You son of a bitch” He chuckled and you looked at Harry in confusion. Before you could even grab the book and read it for yourself Tom turned around and stared down at you.

“Stand up.” He asked and you followed orders, dusting some dirt off your pants when you did. You looked at him up and down and noticed he was hiding the paper behind his back. “Y/n?” His soft tone echoed through the cave. All the boys stayed silent as they carefully listened.

“Yeah?” He took one of your hands in his free one, still locking eyes with you. He slowly got down on one knee and that’s when you realized what he was doing. The page was folded into a ring. 

He looked up to you with hope-filled eyes and started speaking again.

“To the one who took my heart,

I have loved you ever since I saw you,

as my love for you is as boundless as is It true.

Heaven is where you and I kiss each other,

So will you marry me?

And if you do agree,

I will be yours forever,

Dead Poet’s Honor.”

He squeezed your hand as he waited for your answer.

You took a second to really look at him. Taking in the sight of the love of your life. He looked gorgeous in the light of the moon. His messy hair and brown eyes sparkling. You thought about how literally 2 minutes ago you thought about the answer to that question and a huge smile painted your lips. You nodded as happy tears started coming to your eyes.

“Yes.” You blurt out jumping into his arms. “Yes, yes, yes, yes.” You cried as you attacked him with kisses. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you did, taking in every second of happiness that this moment was bringing him.

“I love you so much.” He smiled before you crashed your lips to his again, smiling into the kiss.

He suddenly pulled away and grabbed your left hand, placing the poem ring on your finger. The whole cave echoed in claps and cheers worst than the time you had told Tom you loved him back, and the whole group started patting your backs.

Harry looked at his watch. "C'mon guys let's go!" He yawped with joy.

Tom locked your lips with his before picking you up bridal style. The cave still rang with chants and claps, and they didn't die out as you made your way back towards the campus.

He dropped you once you were back, and you all sprinted towards your bikes.

You all took random ones, Paddy almost tripping on one as the hurry got to him. You all started heading towards the road until an idea popped into your mind.

"Wait." you were almost out of the school's territory before you dropped your bike and sprinted towards the headmaster's house that was just near the perimeter.

They all watched you as you disappeared in between the trees, getting a glimpse of you when you climbed your window and stepped into your room.

You caught your breath before walking towards your closet, grabbing a chair on the way. You couldn’t remove the smile off your lips as you climbed on it and pushed out of the top shelf the huge Louis Vuitton Malle where all your mother's best belongings had been stored.

You opened it, taking in your mother's scent. It brought a sudden wave of nostalgia towards you as you sat on the floor and removed old photos that rested on top. You laid them on the floor of your room as you searched for the piece of clothing you wanted. You smiled when you saw the picture of your parents’ wedding that sat on a beautiful soft silk fabric.

You removed the picture, smiling when you saw it. The smile on your mother’s and father's face brought a feeling of pure happiness inside you. A sudden thought passed through you - you were going to get to live that happiness right now, with Tom.

That’s when you realized. Pictures. You at least needed someone to take pictures.

You jumped up and walked back towards your closet, fumbling with a few things before finally getting your hands on a camera. You dusted the lens and tried a picture, smiling when it got out in perfect condition. You got all your recharges and put them in your duffle bag along with the camera itself.

You walked back to the suitcase. Removed a few pouches, opening them to reveal the most beautiful pieces of jewelry. You’d just have to pick your favorite.

Finally, your hand landed on what you wanted.

The silky dress that was under the wedding picture. Your mother’s wedding dress. It was a simple dress but it was still the most beautiful one you had seen. You unfolded it and admired the hand-sewn details.

You didn't care if it fitted, but you packed it. You played around with all your jewelry collection until you made the perfect match. A necklace, pearl earrings, a beautiful shiny bracelet, and pretty hair clips. You even grabbed a bracelet that use to be your father’s for Tom.

You placed everything back in the Malle, and that’s when you realized there was something glued to the back of the wedding picture.

A transparent bag with two wedding rings. You didn’t think twice before taking them.

Your heart pounded with anticipation, a shiver of excitement passing through you when you jumped with the duffle bag on your shoulder, landing on the soft grass and running back towards the waiting boys.

“What's that future Mrs. Holland?” Tom wondered when he saw the bag over your shoulder, stealing you a kiss before you mounted your bike again.  

"Something - A surprise." He liked the sparkle in your eyes when you said it.

"And where's Harry?"

"He left too - said he needed to grab something."

“I can’t believe the two of you are getting married” Harrison grinned. "What would his parents and your grandpa said if they knew?” He let out a chuckle of disbelief.

“They won't” You bit your lip fighting back a smile. “We’ll make sure of that.” You nodded and looked left to see Tom staring back.

"I'm here!" Harry screamed sprinting towards you with his bag going up and down.

"What's this?" Paddy raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see."

An hour later and you all parked your bikes behind a beautiful little white stone Chapelle. You smiled, gripping the handle of your bag a little tighter.

“Wait, before we go in!” You zipped your bag open and fished out your camera. Waving it towards the boys.

“You’re a genius.” Harry’s face lit up.

“I brought enough recharges to make at least 60 photos.” You grinned as you showed them some picture paper packets.

Harry took the camera from you. “C’mon guys.” He waved for you to come into a group, Tom didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around your waist as you did. Harry clicked a few selfie-like pictures, one with you and Tom kissing as they all made disgusted faces, another one where you all did funny faces, and a more serious one with a few smiles.

You took a second to look at the Chapelle. It was a beautiful place. It was very small like it could host a max of 20 people and the outside walls were full of flowers and leaves that had climbed all the way up the roof.

“Shall we?” You wondered, sharing a smile with Tom that made your cheeks warm up. You walked inside, and the calmness of the place brought a certain feeling of peace inside, easing all your nerves at once.

A priest was standing at the other end, fumbling with something.

“How can I help you?” He wondered when he lifted his head to see a group of 6 teens staring at him.

“Yes.” You took a step forward. “We’d like to have a wedding. Right now if it’s possible.”

“A wedding?” He looked at you for a second, his stare shifting to yours and Tom's intertwined hands “I assume it’s the two of you?” You nodded. 

“Aren’t you a little too young?” He wondered at loud and quickly realized with the look in everyone's eyes that there was no arguing. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes.” You squeezed Tom’s hand.

“Alright.” He shrugged and turned to his altar. “Do you guys at least have better clothes? Or will you get married in those school uniforms?” He wondered with a chuckle.

"I do." You unshoulder your bag.

"And I got this for you." Harry gave his bag to Tom. "I couldn't let you get married in these ugly, lives threatening clothes now could I?"

~

“Harry?” You opened the back door of the chappel only to reveal your head.

Tom was changing behind a screen and the priest was starting some preparations around the altar.

There was no one but trees for kilometers away, so you weren't scared to get changed outside.

“Yeah?” He wondered as he met your eyes

“Could you come here for a second?” you asked and Harry looked around, confusion written all over his eyes. When you didn’t get a response you continued. “I promise I’m decent.” You chuckled. “I just need to ask you something.”

Harry shuffled with his Welton tie as he trotted towards you. You opened the door, staying behind it until you closed it. He moved his head up to see you - freezing when he took in your appearance.

You had untied and brushed your hair, it fell perfectly around your face, making you look like a goddess. You were personally surprised the dress fitted so well. It hugged every part of your body perfectly. The skirt was loose but the top part hugged your stomach and chest. The short sleeves fitted perfectly and the way it looked on you made you smile. It was meant to be.

Harry continued scanning your beautiful figure as the jewels perfectly reflected on your skin. He had never seen you like this - he felt his jaw drop.

“First, will you help with the buttons?” You wondered as you turned around taking your hair in your hands, making sure it wouldn’t get in the way. Harry nodded, feeling every word stuck in the back of his throat. You chuckled at his silence.

“You- you look beautiful.” He mumbled when you turned around.

“Thank you. Now I have something to ask you.” You looked into his eyes, a pause falling as he waited for your question. “Will you give me away?”

“Oh wow." His eyes lit up when he realized what you were asking. "I would love to!”

“Thank you.” You brought him into a tight hug. “This means a lot.” You let out a wobbly sigh into his arms.

“Don’t worry it’s normal.” He smiled awkwardly patting your shoulder. “You’re my best friend Y/n/n - I’m not going to let you walk down the aisle alone.” He scoffed like it would be an insult to let you do that.

“Also.” You pulled away from the hug and got something from your bag. “I found this in my mother's things. If you could give it to the priest.” Harry’s face lit up when he saw the rings.

“I knew we were missing something” He clicked his tongue with a smirk. “This is going to be amazing.” He shook his head.

“Tell me about it.”

~

“Nervous?” Harry wondered as you blew an agitated breath, holding on tight to a small bouquet of wildflowers.

“A little.” You smiled. “Excited nervous.” You looked at the Chapelle doors.

You were all ready and Tom was on the other end of the aisle, waiting for you - with all the boys sitting on the edge of their seats in the front row.

Sam had the camera lens locked on Tom’s face eagerly waiting to capture his face when you entered.

“Alright.” You smiled and Harry folded his arm so you could hold it. “Let’s do this.”

The air got sucked out of your lungs right there. You looked down the aisle to meet Tom’s eyes. He did indeed clean himself up as Harry asked.

He looked beautiful, in a suit you had probably never seen him wear before. His hair might have still been ruffled from the bike ride but that didn’t make him look any less godly. Candles reflected in his eyes making them look like pretty pools of honey.

You could just stare at him all day - and it took everything in you to remember how to walk.

Tom could say the same thing. All the sudden he forgot how to breathe. He had never seen you in a dress before and you looked like the way people say Aphrodite look like.

All the boys were starstruck by you - envying Tom but without an ounce of jealousy in them. 

Harry gave you a quick kiss on the cheek as you let go of his arm. You stepped up and met Tom’s eyes from close. You could bet he was on the edge of tearing up - and so were you.

You reached for Tom’s hand you felt sparks fly when they met. As if it was the very first time you had ever held him. His skin felt warm on yours and you never wanted to let go.

The priests said a bunch of random words but you were too focused on looking at Tom to hear them - so was Tom. He couldn’t stop staring and you and both of you blushed under each other's glances.

“Does anybody oppose?” Sam stood up and you and Tom’s heart went at lightning speed. All the boys looked at him like he was a mad man.

He cleared his throat. “I don’t actually oppose.” He gave a sheepish smile when he saw the weird look everyone was giving him. Everyone blew a thankful breath.

“I just- I wanted to say that I’ve never seen any two people who love each other the way these two do, Dead Poets Honor.” He put a hand over his heart “Even my parents don’t have the same look in their eyes. I love you both of you so much and I'm so happy you found each other. And I hope that someday Chris will look at me the way you look at Tom.” You puffed out a teary chuckle.

You wiped your eyes at his words and so did Harry and Paddy who nodded along - emotions catching up with everyone. You mumbled a thank you before bringing your stare back to your fiance.

“Well, thank you for that gentlemen. Now,” He turned his stare back to you and your husband to be. “Tom Holland, do you take-”

“Yes.” Everyone chuckled.

“Sorry.” He grinned when the priest looked at him with playful anger.

“I’ll repeat.” He cleared his throat. “Tom Holland, do you take Y/n-”

“Yes.” Everyone giggled at Tom.

“Will you please let me finish?” This time he seemed almost angry and Tom looked at him with a cheeky smile. “Alright, I know we all know the answer to this but formalities." He shrugged. "Tom Holland, do you take Y/n L/n to be your wife?”

“Yes.” Tom took a step closer to you as he placed the ring that was once your mother's on your finger. "Dead poets honor." He smile.

“Y/n L/n” He turned to you. “Do you take Tom Holland to be your husband?”

“Yes.” You nodded fighting back a tear when you placed your father’s wedding ring on Tom’s finger. "Dead poets honor"

“Congratulations. You are now husband and wife... You may kiss the bride.” The priest smiled when he saw the way you and Tom and looked up from your hands to each other’s eyes.

Tom took a second to step closer to you, placing his hand on your cheek to wipe a falling tear. He took your appearance in and you did the same.

For a second you felt like the only two people in the world and nothing else mattered. You brought your hand to his chest as he suddenly leaned in kissing you like it was the last time your lips would ever touch.

He held your waist as the kiss deepened, and you smiled when you were brought back to earth with the numerous cheers and claps that echoed in the small Chappell. The boys cheered and sang like this place wasn’t sacred, or was suppose to stay quiet. It was the best moment of your life.

In this moment, you knew life was never going to be boring again. 

~

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#Tom Holland x reader #Tom Holland x you #Tom Holland x y/n #Tom Holland #Tom Holland imagine #Peter Parker x reader #Peter Parker x you #Peter Parker x y/n #Peter Parker imagine #Peter Parker #spider man x reader #dead poets society #dead poets society au #dps

[cotton-myeon]

Been Through [06 - The Initiation]

Genre: non-idol!AU, chaebol!AU, angst, drama, slice of life, friendship

Characters: OC (Choi Seoyeon), Oh Sehun, and many others.

Word count: 2.4k words

Initiation [/iˌniSHēˈāSH(ə)n/] : the action of beginning something

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Another month had passed since that night, it was now the middle of April. I was already half-way through the semester, which meant that I only had three months left for both my thesis submission deadline, and the end of my internship. It was seriously stressing me out too, so I went back home for the weekend, after making an appointment with my other best friend, Bae Joohyun, to catch up and go shopping on Saturday. We planned to have lunch first, then go shopping at Lotte World Mall.

I was heating up my car and about to give Joohyun a call to tell her that I was on my way when someone else called me. The name Oh Sehun blinked on my phone. “Seoyeon-ah,” he greeted once I have answered his call.

“Hey, what’s up Hun?” I leaned back on my car’s door.

“Are you home now?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Get ready, I’ll go to your house in a while, let’s go out for lunch,” he asked- no, he demanded me.

“Woah, hold it, Hun,” I blinked my eyes at his... enthusiasm?

“Sorry, I can’t go with you today, I already promised Joohyun to meet up with her,” I told him.

“Oh,” was that disappointment that I hear in his voice?

“Sorry, we can go tomorrow, if you want?” I asked. He hummed for a bit, seemingly to think whether he was available or not for the next day.

“Is it Bae Joohyun of CJ Group? The same Bae Joohyun from IBM department in our campus?” he questioned instead. I found his question weird, but I answered nonetheless. “Yes, that Bae Joohyun.”

“Oh, perfect!” I raised my eyebrow at that. “I am actually planning to invite you for lunch along with Kim Jongin too- you know, the one that is in the same dancing club as me, and Joohyun’s cousin,” he continued. And of course I knew Kim Jongin, he was Kim Heechul’s younger brother. “How about the four of us go out for lunch instead?”

Honestly, I wanted to say no so bad. Within the past month after that party, and that night, you could say that I have been unsuccessful in not letting my feelings grow. I even tried to ignore his lunch invitations, but then again Jongdae had been busy with Samsung and his upcoming deadline for his thesis and preparation for the defense, so I did not have any valid reason to not have lunch with him. I mean, I was caught lying once- I did not want to go out with him that day and reasoned that I have promised Jongdae to have lunch with him. However, Jongdae was having an emergency meeting with some Samsung executives, so I had no one to go out with. In the end I opted for a food delivery, of course, so I did not skip my lunch; but it turned out that Sehun went to the very same restaurant where Jongdae was having his lunch meeting at- and since then, Sehun always double checked my lunch schedule with Jongdae. It was safe to say that basically, I could not escape from lunches with Oh Sehun, at all. And it did not do any good to my heart.

I was also planning to tell everything to Joohyun today- I had not told her a thing about this at all because I was honestly confused myself too, but I needed to rant to a girl, Jongdae could not be my ear all the time. That was why I did not want to have lunch with Sehun, but I could not tell him the truth, right? And why could he not just have lunch together with Jongin only anyway?

“Joohyun and I planned to go shopping after, though,” I tried to reason.

“Well lucky you, you will have two people to bring your shopping bags today,” he teased me. Well, that reason definitely did not work.

I tried another one, “I have to call Joohyun first, see if she minds or not.”

“She doesn’t mind- I am with Jongin right now, and he is on the phone with Joohyun,” he told me. And there went my plan to tell Joohyun everything. I have no other reason, especially when Joohyun did not mind having two people to help with our shopping bags later on.

“Okay then,” I sighed inwardly.

“I’ll pick you up, okay?”

“No need to trouble yourself Hun, I am about to drive now,” I told him- I was actually still leaning on my car’s door.

“Turn the engine off, I’m picking you up and that’s final, see you in five minutes,” he hung up before I could reply anything. And knowing how stubborn he was, he would definitely throw a tantrum if I ignored his words. Scrunching up my nose, I turned my car’s engine off, and went back inside the house to wait for him.

“Hey, I thought you left already,” my sister greeted when I returned to the living room. I plopped down next to her on the couch, “Sehun’s picking me up.” She raised her brow at that, “I thought you’re going out with Joohyun?” she wondered. “Sehun and Kim Jongin decided to join us, and he insisted to pick me up,” I shrugged at her. Silence ensued around us as we watched the show on TV.

“You know,” my sister started after a while, “I think I agree with Jongdae.” I looked at her questioningly, “What do you mean?” She chewed on her lips, wondering on how to tell me what was on her mind. “How one of you is bound to get hurt- especially seeing how you were resolute on not falling for him,” she said slowly. I sighed at that, of course, Jongdae would have told her- what did I expect really, when the male was dating my sister.

“Why are you so resolute on not falling for him anyway? I mean, honestly, both of you already look like you’re dating now,” she commented. “He has no feelings like that to me, Eonni,” I answered her after a while. “But you do, don’t you?” I kept my silence and pursed my lips, not exactly knowing how to answer that. My sister sighed and moved closer to envelop me in a hug. “You’ll never know until you try,” she told me gently. “I’m sure of it, Eonni,” I sighed and just enjoyed the moment of peace between us. “And I can’t do this to Aeri,” I added.

“They’re already in the past,” she commented. “Still, I just knew that I would lose Aeri if I do that- she’s one of my close friends too, I can’t do this to her,” I leaned my head back on the couch. “And I definitely can’t bear to lose Sehun, if things were ever to go the wrong way,” I added. “But you won’t lose him if he likes you too.” I heaved another deep sigh; my thoughts were running around this complicated matter.

Just then, my phone rang, indicating an incoming call. I took my phone out of my purse, and the name of the guy we just talked about flashed on my screen. “He’s here,” I ignored his call and put my phone back inside the purse. My sister tightened her hug for a second before finally releasing me. “I can’t tell you what to do, nor do I know how it feels to be in your place, but do know that I’m always here, okay?” she patted my head. I gave out a small smile and hugged her briefly, “Thank’s Eonni, I’ll be going first.” Before opening the front door, I took a deep breath to calm myself down; I did not want Sehun to see me in that kind of condition- his protective side would definitely come out.

“Why are you not answering my call?” he whined the moment I went into the passenger seat of his car. “Why hello to you too,” I rolled my eyes. “You’re only going to tell me that you’ve out here anyway, so why bother,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I hate you,” he scrunched his nose and started driving to Lotte World Mall. I snickered at his claim.

“Where’s Jongin, by the way? Didn’t you say you were with him?” I asked when I notice the said guy was not even following us from behind. “He’s picking Joohyun up from her house, and we’ll meet there,” he answered me. “Oh,” I hummed, “I thought he’s hitching with you, or the other way round.” Sehun shook his head, “Nah, he slept over at my place last night, so it’s more convenient for him to drive his own car, instead of going back to my house first.” I nodded my head, “I see.”

“Right, your internship is only one month left, right?” I started a new conversation. “Yup!” he grinned, definitely excited about it. “And you?” he asked back. “Ugh, I still have three months,” I groaned. “I suppose I’ll be alone after you return back to Seoul then,” I grumbled. “Poor you,” he mocked me and attempted to pat my head. I slapped his hand away and gave him a stink eye, and he laughed at my reaction. “Don’t worry,” he grasped my hand and squeezed it for a bit before releasing it- my heart skipped a beat at his gesture. “Suwon isn’t too far from Seoul, we can still have our lunches together,” he smiled. And now, I swore my heart just jumped up to my throat.

I gulped to make sure my voice did not come out shaky. “Don’t trouble yourself Hun,” I shook my head, “You’ll still be busy anyway with your thesis, I’ll be fine.” From the corner of my eye, I saw him glanced at me and pursed his lips. “But I want to, though,” he muttered under his breath. I was not sure whether he wanted me to hear that or not, but I pretended not to and threw my head away from him and looked out the window. I did not want him to see my quivering lips, nor how my resolution almost broke down right then and there.

No more words were exchanged between us for the rest of our trip except for the song that was playing from my music playlist that was connected to his car’s speaker through Bluetooth connection, and my occasional humming to the song in an attempt to act normal. It was an agonizing and borderline awkward for me, but I could not come up with other topic for a new conversation with him. I was not sure whether he sensed the thick tension in the air between us or not, but he did not try to strike up another conversation too anyway, at least, not until we had arrived and he had parked the car thirty minutes later.

“So, where are we having lunch?” he questioned when we got down from the car. “Joohyun and I haven’t decided on a place actually, we thought of just going around and see which restaurant caught our attention,” I shrugged and took out my vibrating phone. Speak of the devil, Joohyun was calling me. “Hey, where are you?” I picked up the call.

“Still on the way, we’ll probably arrive in ten,” she answered me. “Have you arrived?”

“Yeah, we just got out of the car,” I told her.

“Great! Then why don’t you choose the restaurant with Sehun? It might take too long if you wait for us first, and this big baby beside me is already hungry.” I chuckled when I heard a faint “Ya! Bae Joohyun!” from the other line. I could feel Sehun’s eyes on me.

“Okay,” I complied. “Is there anything that you or Jongin are craving for?” I wondered. By now, Sehun and I were already in the elevator, heading up to the third floor where most restaurants were located at. “Anything will do- but I want patbingsoo for dessert later!” she exclaimed- well, I should have predicted that one. Bae Joohyun and her love for patbingsoo.

“Got it, see you in a bit Hyun,” I hummed. “See you!” she ended the call.

“Is that Bae Joohyun?” Sehun asked after I put my phone back in my purse. “Yeah, she and Jongin will arrive in ten minutes or so,” I told him. “What do you want to eat, by the way? They’re fine with whatever we choose.”

“Nothing in particular,” he hummed after we got out of the elevator. “And you? Anything you’re craving for?” he looked at me. “Fish and chips,” I answered in a heartbeat. “I have probably tried almost all fish and chips restaurants in Seoul, and the one’s here is the only one comparable with UK,” I told him seriously. He snorted at that, definitely did not expect me to give out the details. We started walking to the direction of the said restaurant.

“Is this going to be your first time meeting Joohyun?” I wondered. I had noticed that he had always mention her full name, instead of her first name only. “Informally, that is,” he clarified. “I’ve only met her before in business settings,” he licked his lips, a gesture which did not get passed by me. “What, you’re getting nervous for meeting a pretty girl like her?” I teased him. “Maybe? I mean, she’s the Bae Joohyun of CJ Group,” he shrugged casually, not noticing of how the smile was wiped off from my face. I regretted asking him that question. “And she was scary, to be honest,” he added as an afterthought with a shudder.

“Well,” I started after taking a silent deep breath. “I think you’ll get along just fine with her, I mean, both of you are not my best friends for no reason,” I told him in an attempt to ease his unnecessary nervousness. “And now that I think about it, your attitudes are somehow similar with each other,” I pursed my lips. “Why do I have two idiots as my best friends?” I said loud enough on purpose for him to hear. He scrunched his face and gave me a stink eye, “Should I thank you for the compliment or be offended?” I snickered at him. “Just relax, Hun,” I told him again, “Trust me, you’ll get along just fine.”

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[granills]

Careless Whisper {B.H.}

Check out the first chapter here or on my wattpad (nigarrmtvseries) 💙🌅

2. Ice Creams, Dreams.

The day after was Saturday, the first day of Mars's weekend. Surprisingly enough, she didn't have to work this time. After going home the previous night, Joyce had called Mars and told her to enjoy the weekend pointing that she needed some free time to gain more energy and that she herself could've managed everything at the store.

Not knowing how to spend her day yet, Mars pulled a shirt over her head and went to the kitchen. Her father, John Crawford, was sitting at the table near the window, a daily paper and coffee in front of him, as per usual. John would remind you one of those men who could catch everyone's attention in the room by talking about his adventures so passionately, making other men and women sit closer and listen to him with great interest. This factor also helped him to become a history teacher at Mars's school. Luckily for her, he started teaching there after she graduated.

Her mother, Mary Crawford, was standing at the counter, she spread the butter over the toast and covered it with one layer of cottage cheese. There was a joy in how she did it, the smell of warm toasts filling the kitchen. Mary didn't like when Mars skipped the breakfasts, and always made sure to accidentally drop something in her bag for her to eat later at work.

"Morning." Mars didn't have an appetite early in the morning and decided that one glass of water would be enough. For now.

"Oh, how nice of you, young lady, to finally join our breakfast." Mr. Crawford spoke with a hint of sarcasm, moving his newspaper aside. "Mary, I didn't know our kids live with us after all."

Mars smiled turning around and putting the glass on the counter.

Mary put the toasts on the table and sat down. "I think she just took the wrong keys." She played along.

"Today is just my day off." Mars approached her parents, standing between them and crouching to give them both a kiss. "See, now I even want to eat." She said and sat down checking if the teapot was hot before pouring herself a cup of tea.

Her mother sent her a surprised glance and leaned back a bit to share glances with John.

"So, how's the school, dad?" Mars asked, taking a slice of toast and putting some raspberry jam on it.

John continued reading his newspaper, drinking his coffee from time to time.

"The semester is about to end and I feel like I'm talking to myself at the class about the historical discoveries. I have some boys who participated in discussions, but these days they are distracted by the new girl."

"The new girl? By the end of the semester?" She asked.

"Yes. Maxine Mayfield, from California. Her stepbrother picks her up after school. Unpleasant guy." He grimaced at the last sentence.

Mars hummed putting down her cup. "I'm sure there are other kids who would like to participate in your discussions, they are just shy."

"Well, the only historical facts kids want to know about these days are UFO and that is not exactly my cup of tea." He answered not taking his eyes from the paper.

"Mr. Clarke could help them with that." Mars said, taking a bite of the toast and enjoying the sweet taste that filled her mouth.

"Exactly. And that is why they love him more." Her dad answered, she noticed a faint note of sadness in his voice.

Mars looked up, feeling the tiniest bit guilty. She wanted to remember when was the last time she actually talked to him and the first thought that came to her mind was when she'd had a fight with some kids at the primary school, instead of scolding her, he praised her that she'd kicked their asses. Not in front of mom for sure. 

She walked up to him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, dad, I love you." John smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gently rubbing her arm. "And that is enough."

"I know, I know. As long as you, young lady, show up often at home." He laughed and winked at Mary.

/ / /

After the breakfast Mars finally decided that she has to get out of the house so things wouldn't get more emotional. Having agreed to meet with Rose outside the arcade, Mars pinned her hair up and went on to choose an outfit.

She wanted to put on the jeans that she'd left on the chair the day before after work, but her eyes stopped on jean shorts. She loved wearing too many clothes, but with the heat from outside it was impossible.

That is why autumn remained her favourite season. She grabbed the shorts and picked a shirt, of a dusky grey colour with blue "Queen Tour '80" writings on it.

Mars put on her colorful socks and white nikes, and finally left the room, noticing on the way that the house was empty.

She saw Rose at the entrance of The Palace. Rose was in a pink dress with green leafs on it that always reminded Mars about the one she had in childhood. Rose was the only one who would play with Mars at the playground when they were six. And throughout her life they spent more time together, went to the same school and eventually met Nancy. Ever since they have been hanging out together.

However, Nancy was working as an intern now at the Hawkins Post with her boyfriend, Jonathan, and that often restricted them from seeing each other.

"Wow, Ms. Alwaysbusy showed up!" Rose waved with an ice cream in one hand and hugged Mars.

"Shut up, Rose." She hugged her tightly. Rose was lucky, she has been accepted to the university and was going to move to another state by the end of summer.

"Spare me and get me out of this playground." Rose said looking back at the arcade which was already filled with kids. With the arrival of summer, the arcade opened from the early morning. Mars was sure, at this rate they would have to change working hours to 24/7.

Mars walked towards, suddenly stopping in her tracks when she noticed her little sister and some of her classmates among other kids. They gathered around a familiar girl who was playing Dig Dug. And apparently, she was good at it. Redhead. She felt even more confused than before and looked away.

"Okay, let's go to Starcourt. At least, I'll have Steve and Robin's ice cream, and not this." Mars pointed at the ice cream Rose was holding.

"Ugh, Steve and his stupid ego are too much for me to handle." Rose took her by the elbow and they walked along the streets laughing.

Once they arrived, they enjoyed some sweets and more ice creams, Mars clearly enjoyed Steve's attempts to joke, i.e. flirt with Rose.

"Now what's on the menu?" Rose asked.

"Me 'n u." Steve put the ice cream bowl on the table and sat down next to Mars and Robin.

"Harrington, I'll throw up if you keep making these jokes."

When the evening came, Rose suddenly suggested going to Nancy's, supposing she'd already be back from work. They spent the whole day shopping and just fooling around, and Nancy's house was closer, about 30 minutes by foot.

"Are you sure about that? We usually planned these things before meeting." Mars furrowed her eyebrows, she wasn't sure if it would be right to go there when Nancy's parents were at home.

Rose shrugged. "I am. Karen Wheeler adores us." If Rose had thought of something, then she was going to do that no matter what, there was nothing in the world that could stop her.

At half past seven they were standing in front of Wheelers' house, but before that they made sure to buy some sweets and beverages for a small sleepover. Mars and Rose stood at the threshold and Mars rang the bell.

Nancy was the one to open the door and though they saw each other recently, Mars noticed some colour brought back to her cheeks, Nancy looked better and it made her happy. After all, it wasn't for everyone to endure what had happened last year. Everything seemed to get back to normal.

"Girls?!" Nancy exclaimed.

"I bet you didn't expect us." Rose casually walked in and hugged her.

"But luckily we brought some food!" Mars showed the bag and joined them.

The rest of the evening went surprisingly fast. They changed into pyjamas that Mars and Rose had bought earlier at the mall and it seemed that they discussed everything that night. Mars missed these sleepovers, mostly because it made her feel a soft joy as it brought back the memories.

Nancy's father was probably sleeping on the couch when Mars went downstairs to get a glass of water. She heard his snoring while walking down the stairs. Nancy and Rose were already sleeping and Mars too was sleepy, but she would have been fully satisfied if she had the glass of water.

She suddenly felt a coldness reaching her bones, making her take a deep breath. Goosebumps ran all over exposed body as she looked up and discovered that the front door was wide open. She blinked a few times, guessing it was all a dream, she pinched her arm realising the door was indeed open and the house was silent.

Mars took a deep breath and stepped forward to close the door. Why was it even open? Did Mrs. Wheeler go for a walk? If not, then she distinctly remembered having closed the door as she'd came in after Rose.

Slowly approaching, she jumped up when she saw the silhouette of a man standing outside the Wheelers' threshold.

He was still wearing his blue jeans and black boots, the only thing that differed from the day before, was his red shirt unbuttoned almost till the last button and dark brown jacket on top of it.

"Hi," he looked her up, a wide smile plastered on his face, "...Mars."

She widened her eyes, staring at his unbothered physiognomy. "William?" She automatically uttered.

"Call me Billy." His gaze didn't hesitate when she met his eyes, and they stared at each other for a few seconds, until she took a step back all of a sudden. She wondered wouldn't have she survived if she didn't come for the damn water.

"What are you doing here?" She asked looking around, trying not to show her hesitation.

"Oh, I'm looking for my sister, Max. Mrs. Wheeler agreed to help me." He told her, his tone sounding completely nonchalant.

"Max? Max Mayfield?" She asked, suddenly all traces of sleepiness leaving her.

"I guess, I just found her then."

"No, no, she's not here. I'm just-" She quickly said, but immediately felt agitated when she noticed she couldn't finish the sentence. Luckily, she was interrupted by Karen's voice coming behind her.

"Oh, darling, aren't you cold? It's chilly here." She put her arm around Mars's shoulders.

"Um, yeah, I just came down for a glass of water." She mumbled, not knowing why she felt like explaining herself. "Goodnight." 

She turned around and quickly ran upstairs before they could say anything. Only she heard Billy's faint "Bye" and as she reached the second floor he was thanking Mrs. Wheeler for giving the address of Byers.

When Mars entered the room and closed the door behind her, she approached the window looking at the empty streets, and feeling odd. Somehow she was glad that the conversation with the stranger got interrupted, as she couldn't feel calm near him. After all, the conversation wouldn't have gotten any more interesting and he wouldn't have thought about her anyway, and although she was disappointed a bit for a reason that she didn't get to know more about him, she too wouldn't have thought about him.

After thinking a bit she realised it was too late and it was time for her to try to sleep. Meanwhile, after getting the address and smoking his red Marlboro leaning against his car, in the dim light of streets, Billy Hargrove was looking at her.

]]

tags: @gehrzilla @infinitelycharmed23​ @itsjusttaralove​ @tenderhornynihilist​

Tagging people who commented on the first chapter, if you want to be removed/added under next chapters, please let me know! Comment/reblog if you enjoyed. :) mmuah

#billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove #stranger things #billy stranger things #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove imagine #max mayfield #nancy wheeler #karen wheeler #steve harrington #careless whisper #billy hargrove x oc #steve harrington imagine #dacre montgomery imagine #dacre montgomery

[ziaxkawaii]

I need a Hero (Kaminari X Reader)

Paring: Denki Kaminari x Reader

Warnings: Depressive thoughts, Attempted suicide, Bad language?

Other: Characters are aged up and most working as pro heroes.

Summary: One step in any direction might seem like such a small distance, but for you, it's just enough to find out what's on the other side. In honesty, you were looking forward to it, but then a certain hero makes you think differently.

~When it came to Denki Kaminaris love life, it was basically none existent.

~As much as he was a carefree, goofy, and fun person to be around, Kaminari didn't really attract anyone's interest romantically.

~When he isn't working, he's most of the time hanging out with friends or meeting new people, be it in a baseball game or at the local park or mall.

~Even when he was at work, he would still meet a bunch of new people on the streets if they stop him and ask him to take a picture with them. He might not have as many fans as his previous classmates, but he still gets recognized here and there and he couldn't be prouder.

~He was happy that he had friends and people that cared about his well being. But there was a voice in the back of his mind, telling him he longed for something more. Someone special to care for, fight for, and love unconditionally.

~Yes, he needed to find a partner. Someone to share his life with.

~Seeing his friends with their girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, and wives made him feel a bit jealous. Of course, he was happy for his buddies and friends, but he too wanted to jump on the train of relationships and he was afraid that he never would. He dreaded the thought.

~Lately Kaminari had been busy with his hero duties. From morning till evening, he spends his time at the hero agency he worked at. Mostly doing paperwork.

~It made Kaminari curious and kind of saddened, how rarely he went on missions lately. For the last three weeks, the only "missions" he did, were patrols. Mainly night patrols because if he did end up fighting a villain on the street, there was a less of a chance of harming any civilians with his quirk.

~He was glad he at least had patrols, otherwise, he would die from boredom.

~At 0.24 AM, Kaminari along with his coworker and buddy, Hanta Sero, are on a night patrol together. The weather was nice and the city seemed pretty calm for a Saturday night. Maybe it was because the night was still young, and the ruckus is yet to start but it didn't bother either of the males to have a little breather. Currently, they were having a quick break on a rooftop.

~Sero inhaled deeply as he closed his eyes. "Man, you really start to appreciate the fresh air when you stay cooped up in an office every day." He commented. Kaminari nodded in agreement as he looked at the bright and beautiful city lights while the chilly cold air tickled his face.

~"Can't say it any better. It feels awesomely great to do something. It has been way too quiet in the office for my liking." He said as he stretched, feeling relief once he heard a satisfying 'pop' from his back.

~"That's right, you haven't been out of the office much, have you."

~"Yeah... it sucks. I kinda wish there was more action going on, it's kind of weird that nothing has been happening lately, it's somehow making me feel nervous." Kaminari admitted as he scratched the back of his head.

~"I feel ya, it is kind of unsettling. For all we know, some villain is planning something dangerous right under our noses and we wouldn't know a thing." Sero jokingly said and then both men heard a short 'ding' from their pockets. Both of them confusingly pulled out their phones to see who had texted them. One look at the text, both males groaned.

~"No way! He seriously can't dump this on us tonight!"

~The one texting them was one of their coworkers, explaining that they had "an emergency" at home and "needed" to leave work early, meaning someone would have to cover their patrol area. Guess who?

~"This is the third time he has done this!" Kaminari complained as he was ready to give the dude a piece of his mind but instead pocketed his phone before he could say something he would regret.

~"We gotta find a way to expose him." Sero nodded. This guy was known for skipping work for the most ridiculous reasons and the other coworkers suffered from it. Not many liked him for this very reason. "Not very manly." As Kirishima once put it when he heard about him.

~"Hopefully in the near future, but for now, we have to go patrol his area too. We heroes can't give the villains an idea that there are parts of the city that they don't patrol." Sero reasoned.

~"I agree, but that's gonna take way more time than what we were scheduled for." Kaminari reminded. "I don't know about you, but I want to sleep tonight." Sero thought for a moment.

~"What if we split up? That way we can get the work done and don't have to spend more time than we have to." He proposed.

~"That's a good idea, but we're supposed to patrol in pairs..." Kaminari muttered.

~"I'm sure it's fine, the city has been quiet the whole evening." It wasn't uncommon for heroes to do solo patrols, but it was always advised to have two-person teams during a night patrol. It was safer that way.

~Kaminari nodded. It was decided that Kaminari would finish their own route while Sero covered the extra. They also agreed that if either of them suddenly needed back up, they would send their location from their watch to the other person, and they would come help.

~It made Kaminari feel more secure. Nothing bad was probably not gonna happen. But if something were to happen, help was only one button press away.

~~~

~Kaminari roamed around the area checking alleyways that seemed shady enough to make sure it was empty, walking past closed shops and businesses and checking the occasional rooftop.

~By now, it has been an hour since Kaminari and Sero split up. It might sound like such a short time to be alone, but for Kaminari, it quickly grew boring. It was almost unreal that nothing was happening on a Saturday night. Or should he say Sunday morning?

~Kaminari walked into another alleyway. Nothing more than dumpsters, trash bags, and mice that ran over his shoes.

~"Ah, damn it!" He exclaimed in a whispering tone as he began shooing the pests away. As he did so, he heard soft humming. He stopped what he was doing and looked around. There was no one there.

~The faint humming kept on going and Kaminari found himself listening to the beautiful tune. He didn't recognize what song it was, but it was beautiful none the less. He spotted a ladder to the building rooftop next to him and he started silently climbing, hearing the humming louder and louder each storey he climbed.

~As he made it to the top, he was expecting to find someone mindlessly humming while they sat on a stool while maybe drinking a warm beverage in the cold outdoor wind. But what he saw made his blood turn to ice and his eyes widen.

~There, on the very edge of the rooftop, stood a young woman, barefoot and wearing a pale yellow cardigan. Their hair fluttered wildly in the wind while they looked all the way down to the street, but they didn't seem to mind as they kept on humming the song Kaminari didn't know, sounding now loud and clear in his ears.

~He didn't know what to do.

~Is that woman about to jump? If so, then how in the world is he supposed to prevent it from even happening? A case like this was a first for him, he has never been in a situation like this and somewhat hoped that he never would.

~But here he was, about to witness death from the front row seat if he didn't do anything.

~The (h/c) haired woman lifted their feet, as though they were going to step over the edge. Out of reflex, Kaminari abandoned his spot on the ladder and dashed onto the rooftop shouting the first sentence that came to mind.

~"DON'T!!!" He stood good five meters away from the girl, but he shouted so loud he might as well been standing next to her.

~The person stopped and lowered their foot back next to the other one. They didn't even flinch when Kaminari shouted. They absentmindedly turned around halfway and looked Kaminari in the eyes.

~Kaminari gulped when the person didn't show any emotion. None at all. They just stood there on the edge like a beautiful porcelain doll.

~"Why are you here?" The woman asked, not blinking once. Kaminari was at a loss for words. What should he say? Should he even say anything? Would that even do anything? The girl waited for his answer patiently.

~"I... I w-was p..passing by and... heard your humming..." Was he making the right move?

~"I see... I hope I didn't bother you." She said nonchalantly. Kaminari immediately shook his head.

~"N-no! I-I thought it was very beautiful. That's why I climbed up the ladder to see who it was..." No... he was making the right move. As long as he's talking to them, they hopefully won't do anything rash. He just needs to keep going.

~"I've heard that plenty of times." She looked back at the city. Shit... What should he say now?

~"H-has someone hurt you? What happened to you? If you want to talk about it, I-I'm here to listen." He dared to take one step forward but not anymore. The woman remained unmoving, this could be a positive sign.

~"How is my personal life any of your concern?... Hero.." Sweat started to drip from Kaminari's forehead. Now he was more than nervous. Was she one of those people who didn't like heroes? Can he handle this by himself?

~Kaminari remembered his watch. He could get Sero here at best in 10 minutes. He would just need to keep her busy. Kaminari was about to push the button on his watch when the woman suddenly spoke again.

~"Actually... Tell me something, Mr. Hero..." Kaminari paused his movements. "Is life worth living, when you are successful in your field of work you love but feel miserable and depressed every single day?" Kaminari lowered his hands, forgetting about the watch completely.

~What did she mean? If you love your work then how can you feel miserable? The stress of success?

~"I guess I can't really answer... I'm happy to work as a hero even when I have a bad day... But, if I would feel I'm unhappy in my agency, I would try another agency to see if I would be happier there." He truthfully explained. The woman nodded softly.

~"That is one way to say it. "Keep trying until you're truly happy." is one of the sentences I've heard a lot. But unfortunately, I can't just do what you would do Mr, hero, that just isn't how it works." She explained in return and then began lightly hopping on the edge as if she was playing a childhood game, which made Kaminari sweat bullets and take more steps closer to you.

~""Three steps forward, smile, come back, lift your hands to your face, and pose." That's how it usually goes. No freedom to choose what you want to do or say in your own damn craft. You just get ordered around and you don't get to decide anything, but they'll still use your name as though you did." 

~She looked at Kaminari in the eyes again. Now that he was closer he could kind of distinguish what color her eyes were. A nice (e/c) that now seemed to burn into his own eyes, the same yellow as the woman's cardigan.

~"Are you now going to say that I'm overreacting? That I just had a particularly bad day today? That I just need to go to sleep, and it will be a better day tomorrow?" It felt like she was taunting him. Daring him to say what the others have said.

~His mind was going in all the directions, trying to figure out how to save someone that doesn't want to be saved. He could easily say that you were just having a bad day because of the short story you told him. But he possibly couldn't. He hasn't seen the whole picture yet. In the heat of the moment he blurted out:

~"No..." For the first time, the woman's eyes widened slightly. She wasn't expecting that.

~"I... I'm in no position to say any of that. I can't possibly judge how much pain you're in if I haven't heard the whole story." He looked down at his feet.

~"I might not know who you are or what you are going through... But all I ask is for you to give yourself more time to maybe talk to someone, one last time. If it doesn't work, then decide what to do." He spoke. He wondered, from where exactly he heard the things he was talking about. He didn't care at the moment, all he wanted right now was for the woman to step down, and away from the roof's edge.

~The woman's demeanor changed. Instead of the blank look on her face, her expression looked... shocked?

~"You... You don't know who I am?..." She questioned, already 80% sure she knew the answer but still wanted a clear confirmation. Kaminari lifted his head from to face the surprised woman and looked at her dumbfounded. 

~"I'm sorry, but I don't. Were you expecting me to?" He asked, trying to figure out if he has seen the woman somewhere before but came up with nothing. 

~"Kind of..." She admitted while she still stared at him, looking like she didn't believe what she was hearing.

~'Is she a girl I met in High school and forgot? Or even in middle school? Why can't I remember?!!'

~'Or is she a...'

~"I'm not a villain if that's what you're thinking, I assure you. Nor have we ever met talked face to face." Like magic, she read his mind, but he was still on the edge a bit which she seemed to sense.

~"If you think I'm a villain, Mr hero, then you can just arrest me now." She lifted her hands in front of her, half-expecting him to actually put her in handcuffs. 

~"No no, there's no need for that! I believe you." Kaminari waved his arms in front of him and stopped once the woman lowered their own hands. "Also, you don't need to call me, Mr hero." He scratched the back of his head embarrassed.

~"What should I call you then? What's your hero name?" He thought deeply for a moment.

~"No... You can call me Kaminari even Denki is fine." He replied confidently and the woman cracked a small smile. It made Kaminari, in turn, to smile lightly, it felt relieving that he managed to make her smile while she was still in a dark place.

~"Alright." She said and hopped off the roof's edge, walking towards a door that held stairs behind it. "It was nice meeting you, Kaminari-kun." Kaminari turned his body to face the departing woman as he slightly panicked.

~"Wha-? W-W-Wait! What's your name?" He asked in a hurried tone. She turned to him.

~"I kind of don't want to tell you." She admitted. 

~"I want to have someone who sees me as for who I am, and not as someone who I was presented as." She finished and left the rooftop, leaving behind a confused Kaminari.

~'What was she talking about?'

~~~

1 Week later...

~Even after a week, the (h/c) haired woman was still in his mind, repeating the last sentence she said to him before leaving the rooftop like a broken record.

~Kaminari didn't tell anyone about the incident. Somehow Kaminari felt like he wanted to give the poor girl a chance to figure things out before involving more people. Then again, even if he did tell someone, what good would it have done?

~He didn't know the victim's name nor her exact address. Plus, no one could force the woman to therapy unless she was breaking the law or causing a disturbance, which she wasn't so his hands were tied either way. 

~Speaking of names, Kaminari was driving himself mad over who she was. In the beginning, she assumed that he knew her but he didn't. She also confessed that they have not met each other in real life, and the way she asked for his name indicated that she really didn't know him. So she wasn't someone who he might've known at one point.

~He also believed that she wasn't a villain, so his options were very limited. How come he can't think of anything?

~"Hellooo...., earth to Denki." Someone spoke from beside him and the said male jumped in his seat. He turned to the owner of the voice and sighed.

~"Wow, for a minute there I thought I won't be able to get you to your senses." Sero joked while chuckling. Kaminari shook his head and turned to his friend again.

~"So what brings you here Hanta?" He asked, trying to get his mind off his previous thoughts.

~"Uhhh... We have patrol remember?" Sero reminded him, already wearing his hero costume and ready to go.

~Oh damn it, he was an idiot.

~"Oh yeah, I remember now! Just give me a sec." Kaminari said as he headed towards the changing rooms. Sero following him.

~"Did you already hear? He got fired this morning...." Kaminaris brain turned on autopilot for the rest of the conversation.

~Before he even realized it, he was already walking down the familiar streets. Alone. What he could remember from Seros explanation was: Since the guy was fired so suddenly, there was no one to do his patrol. So Kaminari and Sero split up again and Sero went to the other route while Kaminari took care of the same one he handled last Saturday night a week ago.

~Last Saturday night...

~Would she be on that rooftop again?

~Kaminari's curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to stop by the apartment building when he got to that part of the area. Just to make himself feel more relaxed when he goes to bed for the night.

~Part of him hoped that the rooftop would be empty and that the person was doing something more mentally healthy, but there was also a 5% part of him that wanted to see the person again. Definitely, not the 'standing on the edge of the roof' way he saw them a week ago, but more like 'they just wanted a breath of fresh air and nothing more' way.

~Kaminari found himself moving faster through the area, while still making sure there was no suspicious activity going on in the middle of the night. Soon enough, he came to the familiar alley and started to climb up the ladder. He peeked from the edge and sure enough, the woman was standing there with the same yellow cardigan. This time, however, she wasn't standing barefoot at the very edge at least.

~She was wearing shoes which was a good sign.

~He made his presence know to the other person by stepping his foot on the roof with stone pebbles crunching under his boots. The person slowly turned around to face him once he walked a bit closer.

~"I wondered if you would show up." She spoke in a half teasing manner, not sounding as hollow as a week ago. Did something happen during this week?

~"Something told me to come and check on you." He told truthfully, not knowing what to else to say.

~"I figured. It must be hard for a hero to accept someone dying so they at least do an effort to see how the person's life is going if they're alive." She mused.

~"Saving and protecting civilians is what we heroes do, we like to see if our actions have made a difference in people."

~"Well, some heroes could surely do a better job if that's what it's about." She commented. Before Kaminari could ask what makes her say such a fact, she changes the subject.

~"But enough about that, instead tell me about your week, Kaminari." She addressed him by his name as she casually sat on the roof's edge, making Kaminari a tad nervous again.

~'Why must she sit so close to the edge?' He grimaced in his mind.

~"You want to know about my day?" He questioned a bit confused.

~"My everyday-life isn't something I much enjoy nowadays, so I'd like to hear someone else's day instead." She looked at him. "Perhaps that would make me feel better." Kaminari hesitantly nodded his head in agreement and started to talk about his day and the past week.

~It wasn't really anything that interesting to talk about to someone, but the look on the woman's face told him differently. They were actually listening to his non-sense rambling and asking questions here and there.

~Maybe working as a hero who likes to joke around and help people with common problems, was by itself more interesting for some, than some other career. But it even surprised him how intrigued the woman was from all the things he had done that week.

~'Maybe she hasn't done things what I have in a long time...'

~After minutes and minutes of talking, Kaminari checked the time from his watch and almost screamed out loud when he read the numbers on the smartwatch.

~"Oh dude! I've been rambling on and on for half an hour! I still haven't patrolled the area!" He exclaimed, already thinking how Sero or his other friends were going to question hat took him so long.

~"Then you should get going, I'm not going to hold you any longer." The female said and stood up. Already walking towards the door.

~"Thank you for chatting with me Kaminari, now I feel less lonely." Kaminari looked at the (h/c) haired girl, now seeing a bit more happiness in her eyes. Seeing it made Kaminari feel better and glad that he decided to stop by.

~"It was nothing, it was fun talking with you." He assured her.

~"Well ain't that nice to hear, have a good night." She lightly bowed her head.

~"Same to you." He responded.

~~~

~Week after another, it became a routine for Kaminari to visit the person who he still didn't know the name of. Both grew quite close during those visits and by now they were very good friends. 

~ After meeting two more times after the second meet up, the (h/c) haired female had proposed that they could see each other perhaps at different times, rather than during Kaminari's patrols at 1 AM. Kaminari agreed and she gave him her phone number so they could text or call each other when they would meet again.

~Since Kaminari didn't know her name, he gave her the nickname Sunflower, due to the yellow cardigan she wears every time they see each other.

~And each time they met, Kaminari started noticing that every day she was happier than the previous day. In the beginning, she only nodded to his jokes, but as time passed, she began to smile more. Fixing her smile from stoic to a small smile and then to a genuine grin was a huge achievement for Kaminari.

~He was proud that he was able to change someone's life for the better. Surely his job's not over, and he doesn't like to refer it as a 'job' since he was doing it because he wanted to, not because he was a hero.

~He mentally made a promise to himself that he'd fix her even if it was the last thing he would do because it would be worth it in the end.

~~~

4 months later...

~"Hey, have you guys heard?" Mina's voice grabbed the attention of all her companions at the table. 

~Her, Kaminari, Sero, Kirishima, and even Bakugou (Convinced to come by Kirishima) were enjoying a cup of coffee at a cafe. It was pretty rare for the old 'Bakusquad' to have a hung out together with all five of them there, but by some miracle, they all either had a day off from work or they had a night shift.

~"Heard about what?" Kirishima asked with his usual happy tone.

~"About the latest celebrity rumor, silly!" Mina exclaimed as she fished out her phone to open the news app, showing it to everyone. There on the screen were countless of articles of the same matter but with different theories.

~'(y/n) (l/n), a well-known song artist is sending love messages to someone with her music videos and interviews!!?'  Read more...

~'Hidden love messages!!? To whom!?'   Read more here...

~'The newest music video by (y/n) (l/n)!!'   Read more...

~"Oh, you're talking about that one singer. Yea, I watch and listen to her music videos, but I haven't really seen anything that would stand out." Sero commented while taking a sip of his coffee. Kaminari raised an eyebrow, as he was confused by what was going on.

~"What are you guys on about?" He asked.

~"Are you joking? It's so obvious that even I realized it after a while. Here let me show you." Mina opened up one of the news articles and started to explain.

~"Before, her music videos were normal and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary for her, but then two months ago the same things kept appearing in her videos, magazine covers, and interviews." She tapped the screen and started playing the most recent music videos published by the artist titled: I need a hero.

~She tapped play and the video started, showing a young woman with (h/c) hair wearing a sparkly black dress and a black blindfold. Though what caught most of Kaminari's attention was the sunflower shaped jewelry/pin on the right side of her chest.

~As the woman sang and moved around, Kaminari saw the same pin also on the woman's hair.

~"She has been either wearing sunflower themed clothing slash jewelry, or she holds an actual sunflower! There isn't a single picture of her without it from the last two months!" She giggled as if she was still in high school. Kaminari continued to stare at the phone as the video continued on playing.

~It was as if his brain had stopped working. 'This has to be a coincidence.' 'There's no way.' Kaminari kept on saying to himself, but it was hard to deny the evidence that lay in front of his eyes.

~The singer looked a lot like the woman he has been seeing for the past four months and even a middle schooler could link the nickname he gave her and the sunflowers together, not to mention her voice. But he still could not believe it.

~Then came the final confirmation. The video shifted from the singing woman to a scene where a man wearing a cape ran and jumped on rooftops, presenting a hero running to the rescue. Then it cuts to the woman standing on another rooftop, singing, and dancing awfully close to the edge.

~"I need a hero!!!         I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light.       He's gotta be sure, and he's gotta be soon, and he's gotta be larger than life."

~Then the singer jumps on the very edge, reminding Kaminari how the woman wearing a yellow cardigan jumped on the edge the same way. And no matter how high of a building she seemed to be standing on, she showed no fear while dancing.

~"I need a hero!!!     I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night.     And he's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast, and he's gotta be fresh from a fight!"

~"I need a hero!..."

~At the final line, the woman leaned back on the edge as though to fall to her demise, but a hand grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her against them to safety. The woman and the hero looked at each other for a moment before they embraced each other in a loving hug. Then the video faded into blackness with a caption:

~"Only one hero can save this sunflower."

~That was all that Kaminari needed to confirm once and for all that, his sunflower, is (y/n) (l/n).

~"Why are you looking so much into shit that might not be even true?" Bakugou commented gruffly and Mina gasped.

~"Because it's romantic and the last video just basically proves all the rumors! There's no doubt in my mind that she has someone she cares about but just doesn't know how to express it! It's basically a love story!" She argued with the ash blond. The blond 'tch'ed and went back to drinking his latte.

~"I admit that your theory isn't completely ridiculous, but aren't things like confessions supposed to be done with only the person they're confessing to?" Kirishima pointed out, kind of surprised that he himself was actually this interested about it. 

~"Who cares!? It's cute!" Mina squealed but her momentum stopped when Kaminari abruptly stood up from his seat and started to gather his things.

~"Whoa, What's the rush Denki?" Sero inquired as he watched as the blond grabbed his phone from the table and started to exit the cafe.

~"I suddenly realized that I have something to take care of!" He called behind him and bolted out of the store to the street. While running, he sent a quick text to his sunflower that he wanted to meet her at their usual spot. He pocketed the device and ran faster.

~He needed to see you. He needed to ask why you didn't tell him the truth. Why you would think that he would see you differently if he found out.

~Honestly at this point he didn't even care if you were actually a villain or a mafia boss, he just wanted answers to his questions.

~Did you like him back?

~Kaminari ran into the alleyway and jumped on the ladder to begin climbing at record speed. Just as he made it to the top, the handle on the rooftop door turned and from behind the door, out stepped you, wearing the same color cardigan as his eyes. You looked semi-happy as you stepped outside, but as you got a glimpse of his own slightly out of breath expression, yours turned into a one of concern.

~"What happened Denki? Is everything alright?" You asked him as you stepped closer to him, ready to hear him out. The said male panted and looked at her.

~"Why... Why didn't you... tell me?" He said between short pants.

~"What are you talking about?" You inquired. Kaminari breathed in deeply and looked into her eyes again.

~"(y/n) (l/n). Your name is (y/n) (l/n)."

~In a half a second, your caring demeanor changed and you looked at the ground with the stoic face you used to wear before meeting Denki. But despite your blank expression, you were shaking as if you were standing on top of a windy mountain while gripping your fists tightly.

~This was it... Now, he is either going to begin geeking out on how much big of a fan he was of your music, or he's going to leave you because he doesn't want the pressure of hanging out with someone who's known by almost every other person in Japan.

~You were surprised how long it took for Denki to finally realize who you really were. In all your videos you wore a blindfold because that's what your manager and producer want you to do. In their mind it makes you look mysterious and "Limited", referring to a limited object that not anyone can get.

~Because of that blindfold, he might've not realized it before. Now that he did, everything's going to go back to your depressing reality that he light up with his goofiness...

~"When did you notice?" You asked him.

~"Just 15 minutes ago, I was at a cafe with my friends and they started talking about this popular song artist." As Kaminari said the last words, he could visibly see you tense up. "I didn't know what they were talking about even after they said her name. Only when I saw her in a music video did I know who the person was." He stepped closer to you.

~"At first I didn't believe my eyes and ears when I saw their (h/c) and heard their voice. I was fully convinced when I saw the ending of the video, where you almost fell from the rooftop you stood on. But a hero came to your rescue and in the very ending, you quoted yourself as a sunflower." He explained and you looked at him in slight confusion. Before you could say anything he speaks again.

~"Why didn't you tell me? Did you think I would leave or treat you differently now that I know your name?" He asked stepping even more closer.

~"I-I... I Don't-" You stuttered while tearing up. "What was I supposed to expect? That's how it always has been..." You shifted your gaze downcast once again.

~"Every person I know or knew, they didn't care about me, they only cared about my fame and how it was going to benefit them if we were a couple or my small crush would leave me once they realized my identity because they could not handle being in the spotlight."

~"The last relationship I was in went just like the first scenario, he trash-talked me and made me feel unimportant. He even said that he didn't care if I took the final step from the rooftop. I was only an art-piece whats sole purpose was to make money, anything I did wasn't about the art anymore, just income." Kaminari slowly began to piece the puzzle pieces together.

~"I somehow managed to make him leave, but things mostly stayed the same about me still being a puppet. That's all I ever am to them, an object. A doll that they can make sing and dance to make a profit, disguising it as "a modern business" or "That's how things go these days." I'm amazed how much bullshit they can spit out from their mouths every day."

~"You are not a doll! You are a human! A person, a living being! Why did you stay in that toxic environment!?" Denki gathered up all his confidence and gently gripped your forearms and exclaimed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. You were suffering and almost ended your life because of it, but yet, you stayed...

~"Every time I thought of leaving and quitting, I knew my manager and everybody I work with would make my life even more of living hell if I did quit. And after every day, I thought things would get better one day. That's why I kept going, doing my best at being positive that one-day things would change."

~"And comically enough, it somewhat did after meeting you." You confessed. Denki was taken aback by it.

~"W-What do you mean?"

~"Everybody in my life didn't care about my feelings or what I wanted! You were the first person in years who treated me like a friend, a human with problems that CAN be fixed. After meeting you, I felt more confident to speak up and say no to things I didn't want. Two months ago, I even managed to change what I can do or wear in my interviews or videos."

~"You mean the sunflowers?"

~"Y-Yes... You gave me so much confidence that I wanted to have a reminder of you with me everywhere, like a form of comfort." You admitted now leaning on his shoulder while Denki shifted a bit to hug you. 

~"You did that because of me?" He felt like he was now only asking questions and not saying things he probably should be saying, but this was new to him and he didn't know how to deal with it.

~"Yeah..." You nodded. "I felt happy again whenever I thought about you, and I wanted to be truly happy again while I sang. So I fought back against my producers and demanded change. Over time, I actually started to have more power over what I wanted to wear or how I wanted to do my music again. Of course, I had to still do many things the way they wanted, but it was one step forward." Then Kaminari remembered.

"So this was what you meant by what you said back then... You love singing and acting but you felt miserable because you were basically forced to do it how other people liked it rather than how you wanted to do it." You nodded.

"I felt so powerless so I didn't fight back. But then you opened my eyes and told me I can try again!" You looked into his eyes and he could have cried out of happiness when he saw the beautiful and bright smile on your face.

~"I'm so proud of you." Kaminari hugged you tightly and you two laughed together as he lightly spun you around.

~"I'm so happy I managed to save you..." Kaminari mumbled to your shoulder a single tear staining your cardigan.

~"So am I..." You mumbled in return to his shoulder, instead if one tear, you had many flowing down your face as you felt overly emotional and couldn't stop them from coming.

~"Are the news articles true?" Kaminari suddenly asked and you pulled apart.

~"New's articles? I don't really read them." You admitted as you dried your tears with your cardigan sleeve.

~"My friends were talking about the rumor of you hiding love messages in each of your videos." He explained. "And apparently your quote: "Only one hero can save this sunflower." has caused quite the ruckus." He chuckled nervously but found his confidence once again when you smiled at him gently.

~"So, are they?" He asked hopefully.

~"Heh... Looks like I wasn't sneaky enough." You chuckled. "I made that quote to see if you would notice, and in some way you did. Now I am curious, did you like it?" You questioned.

~"Of course I did."

~"Then... Will you love this sunflower?" You questioned again.

~"I'd love nothing more."

~He abandoned all his doubts and went in for the kiss. You happily kissed him back as you hugged his neck tightly while he did the same on your waist and back. 

~The moment felt like time had stopped ticking and in the moment was just the two of you. You, a Sunflower and him, a hero. Both of you wished it would've lasted longer, but the need for air was no longer unnoticeable as you pulled apart.

~"I don't care if you're a popular singer or an ordinary office worker. I want to help you to be happy, and help you forget your dark thoughts." Kaminari confessed. "Let me be there for you when you need me." He practically pleaded, not wanting to let go of the person who he had grown to care deeply about.

~"Only if I can do the same for you." You answered.

~"I love you, my sunflower."

~"I love you too, my hero."

#kaminari #denki #denki kaminari #kaminari x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #mha #mha x reader #my hero academia #fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #fanfic #xreader #x reader #boku no hero academia

[jyunshiim]

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬; 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 *✬★*’☽* ✬ ⤷𝘒𝘪𝘩𝘺𝘶𝘯 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘶 | 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑

Genre → romance | angst | friends to acquaintances | friends to lovers | college!au |

Contains → fluff | angst 

Listen to →  Compass

Word count → 4975

TW → drinking & alcohol, implied assault (not explicit but implied)

Chapters → Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

The airport was bustling with people from all over the world. People with hoods up, a neck pillows around their neck, sweatshirts on and power banks at hand. Your arms wrap around you, tightening around you as you walk alongside Changkyun and Kihyun. Changkyun rolls his suitcases along side him, his hood looming over his head and his airpods in his ears ready for his departure. The atmosphere was tense but you knew what you heart was feeling. Kihyun tried to initiate conversation and Changkyun tried to keep his composure too since his mind was hectic enough after what happened a month or so ago. He stood still and turned around ready to say goodbye to his two best friends. You coudnt be mad at him, he was following his dream, something you encouraged so you took a deep breath and gave him once last hug. Who knew when he’d come back, today was the last day. “Hey, I’ll message you and talk to you and we can still play you know?” his hand rests at the back of your head and you felt serenity when he did so. You nod your head, feeling your eyes pool with tears already; “I value our friendship and trust me, it will never change!” he forces a smile knowing how much it pained him to formulate what came out of his mouth. Kihyun gently patted your back as you stepped away from Changkyun, your cheeks wet from your tears. “Your hoodies wet, sorry.” You sniffle as Changkyun just smiles at you reassuringly. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” He looks down in despair. Changkyun hugs Kihyun however this time it felt apologetic and empathetic; “I’m sorry if I caused you any pain Kihyun, take care of her well, I’ll see you again sometime soon,” His lips stretch into a smile before he grabs his suitcase to make his journey to the States. Who knew when the trio would meet again.

“Hey, are you okay?” Kihyun asks you. He could tell from the empty stare that you were hurt but you turn to him smiling as you’d always do, “yeah, I’m okay just… wouldn’t have expected him to leave you know?” you shrug before linking your arm with Kihyun’s. Changkyun pondered in the aircraft, his head leaning against the interior of the plane, staring to the nothingness outside. He was off to the states with his parents to start a new life, to experience new things. You and Kihyun took the bus home but instead Kihyun stopped off at the mall. “why did you stop here?” you ask looking at yourself in your compact mirror. “Maybe get you something to eat since you didn’t eat anything?” He grabs your hand and looks back up at your again and stops for a moment. Maybe that wasn’t a good idea? He gently takes his hand away from yours and waits for you to get off before he followed. Kihyun tried his best on this occasion to make you happy, paying for food and also buying some ice cream. The sky was progressively getting darker as you both walked home together the sweetness of the ice cream setting on your tastebuds. “are you feeling slightly better now?” he asks you as he holds the empty ice cream cup in his left hand leaving his right hand unoccupied. “a little bit, I guess I just have to accept it right?” you smile at him, “besides I’m moving onto campus in a couple days so it’s just the matter of getting on with it.” You clear you throat before a downpour spewed from the darkened sky. Instinctively, you latch onto Kihyun’s arm but that was when he’d have an umbrella on him. “it didn’t say it’d rain today?” Kihyun looks over at you shivering from the rain. He takes his long bomber jacket off from his body and drapes it over your shoulders to keep you as warm as possible. “What are you doing Kihyun?” the exclamation in your voice startling him. “You’re cold and I gave you my jacket,” Kihyun’s head tilts, stating what he was doing. “I mean, thank you I do appreciate it,” you smile, “if you had other ideas in your head, don’t..” Kihyun panicked. You smiled at his light-hearted teasing but Kihyun looked ahead whilst walking. You approached your house first and gave Kihyun a hug; “thank you for walking me home and comforting me this evening,” You say as your head was leaning into his shoulder, his arms were around your waist respectively. “I’ll be here for you and Changkyun will be there for you to regardless of time zones,” he speaks softly as you part from the embrace, “I know, I hope we can still keep in touch when we move to university.” You say as you make eye contact with Kihyun’s . You remove the jacket from the shoulders and hand it to Kihyun; “please get home safely, message me when you’re home,” You smile at Kihyun. It was like old times, where you used to prove you cared for me…“I will, I promise,” Kihyun puts his hand on your shoulder before he turns around and leaves through the gates and disappears around the corner. My heart never skipped beats like this before, get a hold of yourself. He puts his jacket back on and makes the rest of the journey home with the bus.

“Are you home yet?” you type in then delete the message. Your phone rests in your hand and you think what to write. You didn’t want to sound obsessive or too protective but you wanted to sound protective enough. “hey, are you home safe and sound?”

Kihyun looks down at his phone, taking it out of his pocket as he takes his shoes off and hangs his wet jacket to dry. “Yeah, just walked in,” Kihyun types, it felt weird how you’d message him only when you didn’t have Changkyun’s attention but he shook his head to forget the absurd thoughts since his mind was making things up to mess with him. “you okay?” he messages back.

“Yeah especially after this evening, thank you so much Kihyun,” you reply to him as you sit at your dining table with your family for dinner; “do you wanna maybe help out with me moving out?” you type then delete it again because he must be doing the same. “when will you be moving to your uni campus?” You ask him since you didn’t know where he was going but assumed it wasn’t to yours. “I’m packing on Thursday for Saturday.” Kihyun replies,

The blinking line in the text box blinks to the rhythm of your heart. You felt stupid for asking but you were curious. Your evening was spent with your family, enjoying and celebrating your acceptance to Seoul University; you wondered how these wondrous dorms looked like and if you were going to have a room mate, you thought about making new friends and going to university events and having unlimited access to the library that was radiating knowledge. It was all so new and it was exciting to you. You messaged Changkyun just so he knew you were thinking about him and you waited for his response although you knew he wouldn’t reply until tomorrow. You had to begin packing so you went to scavenge for some boxes which were in the attic. Your father helped bring the ladder down and you both went up to grab some boxes and to your surprise you found a few things that your forgot about. There were some photo albums and multiple boxes of trinkets and items which you went through. They were photos of you and Kihyun from your preschool days, some toys and presents that were made by Kihyun and a his glove that he left at your house when he was 6 years old. It brought a smile to you face. “hey, are these all you need?” your father asks holding up some flat boxes; “huh? Oh, yeah those are it!” you leave the stuff in the box and put it back into its place and going back down to pack your items. During the process, it felt nauseating to leave your family and voyage on this journey alone. How would you cope without your mother and father there to help you when you needed them, your mothers cooking, your puppy? It should be fine right? Your desk was almost all cleared away and you grabbed the final two things; the photo of you Changkyun and Kihyun and the stuffed bunny. You couldn’t leave them behind you had to take them with you.

Moving out day arrived shortly and you sat in the car with your father going to your campus to move in. “did you check your accommodation?” your father asks. “I did and it looked good!” you smile confidently. Little did you know photos and real life are two different things. You arrived to your accommodation; it was a tall building looming over on the street that had other accommodation complexes; the prices were astronomical and almost unaffordable so you stayed safe with the cheaper option. You fiddle with the keycard between your sweaty palms, why were you so nervous? You got to your dorm and you swiped the card to let you in although, despite the technology, the interior was cold and almost damp. “oh god, why is it like this in here?” your father asks as he takes a look around. The gas pipes trailed along the skirting of the walls, the paint was chipped and had minor stains on them which you didn’t want to question, not to mention the tattered curtains and dark carpets. “these carpets were supposed to be a light brown,” your father gulped “I have a carpet cleaner at home, we can clean this place up a bit before you settle?” he suggests and you just nod to him, not feeling very satisfied with what you have witnessed. You check the bathroom; the tiles were a rusty brown and there was limescale covering the shower head, taps and sink. God… you thought to yourself, you had a lot of cleaning to do. You didn’t have a private kitchen so the communal kitchen was something you had to get used to as well as sharing a fridge and cupboards. From this day on, you began to get your dorm into shape, cleaning and restoring the dorm as much as you could and investing in some slippers just to be extra clean! You set up your computer at your desk and brought in your items to move in peacefully. The windows were large and opened wide enough to let out the aroma of bleach and chemicals waft out as you spray some air freshener so you could respirate in your own living space. After your father left, you tried to get used to your dorm before there was a knock just as you sat down. You didn’t know if you should open the door so you just yelled: “ I didn’t order anything, I just moved in!”

“We’re not here for delivery!” one of the voices called out. It was a cheerful, higher pitched voice. She sounded cute and friendly so you stood up and took the risk to open the door. The girl had a blue hair that was looking seafoam green in the hallway lighting. He eyes were rounder and her dark almost like a puppy. “Hello floor mate, I’m Gowon!” she is the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my life – you thought to yourself. “ I moved in a couple weeks ago and I thought we could get to know each other!” She smiles, her pink tinted lips turn into a wholesome smile. You nervously chuckle, “ahah yeah! That’d be nice. I’m trying to get used to me dorm right now,” your hand rests on the back of your neck. “ you’ll get used to it in no time!” she smiles at you, “what are you going to major in?” she asks. God, I’m a Business and Management major, does that make me boring? “Business and Management..” your tone lowers, embarrassed at what you were saying. “Oh my god really! My friend does that, I’m super interested in fashion so fashion designing was quite interesting!” who was her friend? “do you have anyone from your school here?” Gowon asks and you shake your head. “what can you do,” you let your lips curl into a smile, “ one of my friends moved to the states because he wanted to go to university there and my other friend is staying here but I don’t know where he’s going, he hasn’t told me and I don’t wanna ask him because what if he did tell me and I wasn’t listening, I’d feel bad.” Your thoughts where going hectic. Gowon puts her hand on your shoulder, “hey! It’s okay if you keep in contact that’s all that matters and besides you can meet new people here!”

Gowon was so sweet and you could see yourself become really close friends with her. You text Kihyun; “hey! I moved in.” you type and add a smile emoticon to make it seem less dry than looked. You notice the bubble with the three dots appear – he was typing- and you sat on your bed waiting for his reply. “that’s cool! How is it?” he replied. He wanted to know what conditions you were living in hoping it was too bad. “it’s okay, there were a few problems but it’s okay, it’s all sorted out… kinda.”

You spoke to Kihyun for a few minutes before he had to go offline since he was busy. You first university day starts in a couple weeks so you had time to get used to your environment and make some friends while you were at it but it wasn’t easy since everyone was in their rooms most the time. Only Gowon was out on walks or getting some coffee or going for a small food shop. You thought it’d be a good opportunity to hang out with her for a while to get comfortable and become closer friends.

[a couple weeks later]

Your alarm buzzed at 6am. You haven’t heard that for a while and it was infuriating to hear the annoying sound at your ears when it was still dark outside. You grab your phone and sit up in your bed, tossing aside your phone which decided it would like it better on the floor. You groaned tiredly and slip on you slippers and grab a hoodie to make your way to the bathroom to freshen up. You look around for the toothbrush and toothpaste wondering where they were. Of course, you didn’t turn the light on, so your pushed the light switch to find them on your sink. Your tiredness was getting the best of you. You got dressed and decided today wasn’t the day for breakfast, grabbed your bad, phone, purse and key card to make your way to campus. It was cold but it was refreshing to walk in. Usually you’d walk with Kihyun but of course, he wasn’t here to walk with you every morning.

Gowon runs up behind you; “bOO!” she yells which startles you. “oh my-” you raise your voice only to realise it was Gowon. “did I scare you?” he nudged. Your connection to her felt familiar, like you knew her for a long time and it was comforting. You see behind her there was another person; His hair was blond and wavey, stopping just under is brows, lips tinted a light pink and his smooth, glass like skin illuminated by the winter sun. “This is Minhyuk, he helped me out when we both moved on the same day!” Gowon introduces and Minhyuk waves at you, smiling at you charmingly. You raise your hand and introduce yourself before you all go to campus. Who knew how easy it was to make new friends? Two already? 

You think how Kihyun was doing but to your little knowledge, he was already in his first class getting to know everyone. He looked at his phone, swiping up to unlock it then pressing the green speech bubble to message you. “Hey, you in uni yet?” he asks you. “hey Kihyun, I am. Why are you messaging me?” you sounded a little passive aggressive you you send the ‘x’ kiss. “you do know I got to the same university as you but someonewas too excited to even ask me :/” you gasped and held the screen closer to your face. “have you seen a ghost?” Gowon asks “or did someone send you an early morning naughty photo” Minhyuk snickers behind her looking over her should just to see a series of texts. “boyfriend?” he asks. You shake your head; “no no, it’s just my best friend apparently he goes here too but-” you were interrupted by Gowon’s gas, “you didn’t ask him! Girl, were you dating someone and forgot about him?” you stood there silently biting your lip. “I take that as a yes, tell us about him, what does he do, where does he go, introduce us to him plea-” Gowon paused after seeing how dismal it made you feel talking about him. “he left to the states and I guess I have to move on,” you force a smile, “lets go shall we?”

Why did Kihyun make it hard for you. Now they think you’re in a love triangle, you hope they didn’t at least. Your introductory day went well and you met a lot of people who are doing the same degree as you. “Hey,” Kihyun waves with a smile whislt walking over to you. “Wow how have you not fallen for him?” Gowon asks you and you don’t respond. “what’s up man, your bestie here has said a lot about you!” Lies. Absolute lies. I don’t hate him but you don’t want people to get the wrong idea. “oh really? I must be the centre of your conversations then.” He looks down at you and ruffles your hair and you smile back. “well me and Kihyun have know each other since we were born pretty much,” you giggle before someone interrupted yet again, “hey, you four coming to the freshers party?” he asks. You all look at each other. “oh um, sure why not!” Minhyuk smiles from ear to ear. Freshers parties are for the new students to interact and get to know each other often organised by the senior students. “when is it?” Kihyun and Gowon ask simultaneously. “it’s actually going to be next month since the uni team are free then, it’ll be at a share house just a few minutes away from the campus, but I hope you guys can come!” the guy smiles and waves. “OI wait, what time?” Minhyuk hollers. “Probably 7pm and you can leave by the early hours of the morning, see ya!”

“damn so much freedom and responsibility, how does it feel to be so free?” Gowon asks. “My parents allowed me to do things reasonably, but this is a lot of responsibility,” you twiddled your thumbs, “she never got drunk, a good little bunny she is.” Kihyun smiles and chuckles teasing you. “you guys seem like a couple” Gowon giggles, “what a shame girly, I quite liked the look of your best friend Kihyun.” Gowon pouted. You felt a bit sick; “ew, this guy? Did you know he-” Kihyun’s hand covers your mouth, “now now, I am a man of many mysteries,” he raises a brow. You scoff.

Later that evening you hung out with the three friends you have, and you were invited to Minhyuk’s dorm. “Damn you have everything sorted here, your lights are cool!” Kihyun points out, “and a games console, alright turn it on let’s play!”

You and Gowon sit on Minhyuk’s bed and talk to each other. You glance at the boys and your heart does flips. No stop it don’t do that. You tell yourself, Gowon’s voice muffling until you were shaken out of it – quite literally. You try to divert the attention and soon after you decide to go back to your dorm. The trio seemed disheartened that you had to leave first but you just had to go.

You lay in your bed staring at the leak stain on your ceiling before turning away to the side, watching the screen of your phone glow blue. You gasped; “Hey, how are you?” it was Changkyun and he finally messaged you since he left. “I’m okay-” you think to type ‘I miss you’ but you didn’t want to sound .. well you know. “I’m okay, I made a couple friends!”

You and Changkyun spoke for a little bit until he stopped replying. It seems like he fell asleep; you knew he was enjoying his time there, Changkyun never turns down a party. You sigh loudly in your room before the heating stops and your room temperature drops rapidly. “no no no-“ you go to your heating dial trying to fix it. There was no hope; why is it your dorm room with all these problems? You let it be and tried to go to sleep with layers of blankets to keep you warm.

-

“Hey, are you excited for the party?” Gowon asks. “so excited,” you smile and look at Minhyuk and Kihyun talking about something, “how about you guys?” You ask. “awh yeah, I think it’d be so cool!” Minhyuk smiled; his soft puppy like features not matching up with his ‘rebellious bad boy’ vibes was something that entranced you, just how? “Yeah, It’s a new experience so that’s cool,” Kihyun added.

Throughout the day you and Gowon and Minhyuk became closer as did Kihyun. “yo, so where does your girlfriend go?” Minhyuk asks assuming Kihyun had one. Kihyub smiles and sighs, “I never dated anyone..” Gowon gasped at his remark. “I mean I tried to set him up with my friend Irene but he just refused,” you shrug “what a shame, she was a nice girl.” You say as you stand beside him. “she actually refused me, did she tell you otherwise?” he asks you, his voice low. What’s gotten in to him? “I mean, no I just assumed that-“ you were interrupted by him, “heres a life lesson, assuming things isn’t very safe it can lead to many problems,” He patted your head and smiled “she refused me politely so now you know.”

Gowon stared at him in disbelief. “have you ever had feeling for anyone?” she was interested to know. He shook his head; it was a blatant lie. “Woow…” she looked away in disbelief. Kihyun laughed already predicting their reactions but he brushed it off it was no big deal, sometimes it was best to move on, right? [later that evening] The room was cramped with students new and old dancing and drinking with their friends in the kitchen, standing in the hallways and sitting on stairs. The music was blaring out so loud that you could barely even hear your thoughts which was a good thing. You approached a small group of people who seemed to be a year older; “hey! You’re a new student here right, first year?” one of the guys spoke out to you from the other end of the room and he seemed to be approaching you at a quick pace with a drink in his hand. “want some help getting to know some people?” he seemed super friendly and draped an arm around you and escorted you around the place. You already lost the others, usually Kihyun would be beside you regardless but he left with Minhyuk somewhere. You took a sip of the liquid which gave your tongue a burning sensation; “new to drinking I see, you’ll get used to it,” he smiles at you his arm tightening around your shoulder. “so out here are all the kids who were a part of some drama and they’re quite daring too, I must say I am a part of that group,” he chuckles “no worries though because in the kitchen are the 2nd year business and management lot.. they’re a bit boring but there’s that,” he tuts and passes them as your heart sank since you saw Minhyuk and Kihyun together with Gowon and someone else they befriended whilst you were being taken around by some random student. You felt a little dizzy as he was showing you around until you asked to sit down to which you were sat down on a couch with that guy. Voices began to muffle slowly, your world a haze; what was that drink? Or what was IN that drink?

You open your eyes, gasping for air finding yourself still on the couch although your head was in someone’s lap. You look up to see it was Kihyun and you gulped, nervous to even ask what happened. He looked rather angry and out of character, Minhyuk sitting with his hands in his hands and Gowon sitting on the arm of the seat. “she’s up guys there really was no reason to act up like that was it?” She looked at the boys. What even happened?

–      Minhyuk and Kihyun both saw you passed out on the couch with the older boys surrounding you with cameras out facing the ‘nice guy’ trying to do something that wasn’t right. They were both furious but they were confused as to why each other reacted the way they did. Charging in absolute anger, Minhyuk threw the guy off you and Kihyun lifted your head up to check up on you. “Leave her alone!” Minhyuk grunted as the guy held him by the collar throwing a punch and leaving him on the floor. Kihyun checked if you were hurt and luckily you weren’t but he thought why Minhyuk go so angry so quick. It reminded him of how protective Changkyun was of you and it made his stomach churn. –

“let’s take you home..” Kihyun sighs “ I don’t think right now is the best time to come to parties..” he knew something would happen if he left you alone. “taking advantage of people is so shit,” Minhyuk scoffs as Gowon pats his back. “Let’s all just go and make sure she’s okay,” Gowon picks up your stuff. Only 3 hours in and this is what happens, what a vibe killer.

Your dorm has a leaking ceiling so when you opened your door your bed was wet. “you must be joking..” you whisper. “are you okay?” Kihyun asks. “yeah I’m fine thanks, you can go now, sorry for the trouble,” you look down in disappointment. “no problem, I’m here for you whenever you need me okay, my apartment is a few minutes away from your dorm,” he writes down his address on a text message and sends it to you. You nod and thank him before shutting the door and looking at the leak and open your door heading out again. “oh hey, you alright?” Minhyuk comes back with a plastic bag of things he bought from the convenience store; “why are you outside?” he asks “leak in my ceiling again…” you respond. “ahh, wanna hang at mine before you decide what to do?” you think for a moment. Maybe going to Kihyun’s was a good idea. “I think I might visit Kihyun now,” you nod.

You felt awful. You created such a scene yet Kihyun was still there for you. You get to his apartment and knock at the door and he opens knowing it was you. “welcome, good thing I’m making food” he smiles grabbing your hand to pull your inside “come here it’s cold out there”

“I’m sorry for what I did today,” you gulp and avoid eye contact. “sorry for what? Being an idiot and taking a drink from someone else? Yeah don’t worry you didn’t know but next time don’t get lost you have a phone for a reason,” he says laying a bowl of ramen in front of you, “anyway eat up,” he says going for it as soon as he sat down. “why are you here?” he asks. You stare at him, there was genuine concern in his eyes. “I have a leak in my dorm and my bed is wet,” Kihyun laughs, “what a lame excuse to hang out with me AND stay with me,” he jokes “I’m joking of course.” He hands you one of his hoodies since you seemed cold. “well you can stay here until someone fixes that leak in your dorm,” he smiles softly. I want to tell her right here right now… he opens his mouth then stops. “what were you going to say?”

“it doesn’t matter don’t worry…” he held back, no matter how hard it was. He tucked a bit of hair that dangled down the side of your face back. “don’t eat your hair too?” he jokes and laughs. “since when were you so cocky Kihyun?” you asked him since you noticed a shift in behaviour. I have no competition… “Oh I guess new school new me?” he shrugs. “right,” you nod.

You and Kihyun sit on his bed watching something on youtube, laughing at a show you both like until he drifted off leaning back on his headboard. You thought it was an uncomfortable position, so you moved his head to your shoulder and threw a blanket over him. This felt like the good old days. Your eyes also began to get heavy, so you thought to close your eyes for only a few seconds. Although, seconds turned to minutes and minutes to hours, by the time you knew it you were both asleep. Fast asleep.

- Chapter 4

#minhyuk #kihyun #kpop fanfic #monsta x au #monsta x fanfic #kpop angst #kpop #slowburn #angst #kihyunxreader #minhyukxreader #gowonloona #loona #gowon #kpoploona #kpopmonstax #monbebe #orbitloona #readerxmonstax #monstaxfanfic #fem reader #friends to lovers #slow burn #changkyun #im changkyun

[purplesurveys]

1161

 survey by pichu4850

What color do you think of when I say...

Anger? Red, or a really bright red-orange.

Confusion? Gray.

Inspiration? Sky blue. Both word and color give off calming vibes to me.

Shy? Something like an off-white shade, and maybe even pastel pink.

Agony? Olive green was the first color to come to mind, though I have no idea why.

Sleep? Dark blue, like the night sky.

Chipper? Yellow.

Beautiful? Red, the way roses are.

Morning? Light blue or yellow.

Would you rather be named...

Andrea or Aimee? Andrea.

Emily or Erica? Emily. I know an Erycka that I’m not too fond of, so this is an easy pass.

Kelsey or Casey? Casey, though I’d mix up my name a bit and have it be pronounced and spelled as Cassie.

Madeleine or Marina? Eh, not really a fan of either but I’d mos likely go for Madeleine.

Alec or Aaron? Alec.

Ryan or Ross? Not a fan of both names as well though I’d probably go with Ryan, but only as a feminine name.

Dylan or Daniel? Dylan.

Jack or Jordan? I guess Jack, if I have to pick.

Gabriel or Gavin? Gabriel.

How often do you...

Brush your teeth? Once or twice a day.

Eat breakfast? Twice a week, during weekends; though sometimes I’ll end up skipping it for an entire week altogether.

Check your email? I literally never check my personal email anymore after having gotten hired, but I know I should quit that habit and check it every once in a while just in case an intriguing opportunity might come my way. My work email is a different story; I have to use it everyday. I open my emails even during weekends so that when I report to my shift on Monday, my Gmail won’t look as clogged.

Go to the mall? When quarantine protocols loosened up a bit I used to go either on Saturdays or Sundays for some me time as well as some much-needed time away from the house, for the sake of my mental health and sanity. But now that we’re going through another surge in cases, no one’s allowed to go out again and malls are back to just keeping the essential stores open.

Go to the beach? A few times a year, at least before the pandemic. I haven’t been to the beach since 2019.

Play card games? Only happens once in a blue moon, when I get together with friends and someone happens to bring a deck of cards. This isn’t a usual occurrence with any of my friend groups, though.

Have at least 20 minute phone calls? Never. I have 20-minute Google Meet and Zoom calls instead.

Paint your nails? They are never painted.

Wish you were happier? Every now and then.

Did you ever want to be...

A veterinarian? Yes, when I was younger. I once stumbled upon an interview with a horse vet on one of my kid’s almanacs and thought what they did was so cool.

An astronaut? Yup, definitely became a big obsession of mine at one point in my childhood. I still think it would be cool to go to outer space and should the opportunity ever become accessible in my lifetime, I wouldn’t want to miss out on it.

An artist? Not really. I knew from the get go I wasn’t meant to be one.

A school teacher? I would guess yes, but I definitely wasn’t as interested in teaching compared to being an astronaut or like a firefighter.

A housewife? Lmfao yeah. This was the answer I would give when I was like 8 up until I was probably 10 and I knew it stressed out my Asian mother big time. My grandpa got a kick out of it, though.

A firefighter? Yes. This was up there with astronaut.

A princess? Not so much.

A lawyer? I definitely considered law for a brief period, but it was already during my latter college years. There wasn’t enough time to mull over it. But hearing all the law school horror stories from my friends kind of made me relieved I didn’t push through with it; I knew I wasn’t passionate enough about law to want to go through all the hardships that come with law school, so I was fine letting that dream go, and still am.

A doctor? This was never a dream of mine.

Would you consider yourself...

Materialistic? Yes.

Pessimistic? It comes out occasionally, but I don’t think it’s a main trait of mine that people would generally see me as.

Avoidant? Not so much. I can be shy and anxious sometimes but I get over it at some point.

Sarcastic? Only occasionally. I wouldn’t say I speak the language.

Talkative? Definitely not. I hate being in the spotlight, and whenever it’s my turn to share a story or talk in a group I usually have the tendency to rush through it or make it as short as possible so as to return the spotlight on someone else. I’ve always been more of a listener.

Strange? Maybe not strange but weird to an extent?

Intelligent? I guess in some ways.

Lucky? In some ways I am, but I also got handed the short end of the stick in other contexts.

In the next twenty-four hours, will you...

Talk to someone you care about? Probably. I talk to at least one friend a day.

Go to work? Yep, I’ll finally be going back to work since the Holy Week break is over. My workaholic self felt kinda unsettled with all the free time, so I’m actually kinda relieved.

Go to school? I’m not in school anymore.

Be in a different city? Nope, it’ll be working from home for me like usual. We were initially allowed to book visits to the office if we really needed to go there to pack some goodies and stuff, but because of re-heightened Covid protocols our admin has once again prohibited anyone to go there for the meantime.

Read a book? I highly doubt it. I haven’t read any in months.

Watch a movie? Nope. It’ll be a Monday coming from a 4-day break, so it will be incredibly busy tomorrow as there would be a lot to catch up on.

Go to a dentist/orthodontist appointment? No, I won’t.

Do your laundry? My parents probably will seeing as our hamper was nearly full the last time I checked.

True or False: Family...

I have two brothers or more. I only have one brother.

My mom lives with me. This is technically true but isn’t phrased right in my case. I’m currently living with my parents.

My grandparent(s) live with me. No, we moved out of our duplex (where I did use to live with my grandparents) well over a decade ago.

I have half-siblings. Don’t have any.

I am the oldest in my family. Eldest child, that is.

I am an only child. I have two other siblings.

I have 15 cousins I can name off the top of my head. Easily. My first cousins are less than 15 in total, but I know a good number of my second and third cousins as well so this is a cakewalk.

The nearest Aunt or Uncle lives less than an hour away from me. The aforementioned duplex we moved out of is just at the next village; we didn’t move too far so that we can continue visiting them.

True or False: Food...

I am allergic to chocolate. I’m not, fortunately. I’m not crazy about chocolate but I’d be pretty miserable if I could never have it either.

I like vegetables more than fruit. Infinitely more, hahaha. I hate fruits.

I have tried pizza dipped in ranch sauce. Ranch isn’t a very common dressing where I’m from, so it’s not usually offered in restaurants. Given the chance, though, I’d definitely try my pizza with ranch at least once.

I've never eaten kiwi fruit. True, but then again I’ve never eaten most fruits and don’t plan to.

I love junk food.

I love to try new food.

Ketchup goes best with fries (chips). I don’t like ketchup and barely put it on anything.

I like fried rice. I haven’t met an Asian who doesn’t like fried rice.

I can prepare dinner for myself (using a stove or oven).

I hate sushi.

How many...

Pairs of shoes do you have? A little over 10, maybe? I don’t feel like counting in my head rn.

Songs do you have on your music player? I don’t have a music player anymore.

Hours of sleep did you get last night? Around 4.

Times have you had alcohol? Like, ever since I started drinking when I was 18? I never kept track lmao but if I would guess, maybe around 50-60 times? I’m not a regular drinker; I drink probably once or twice a month at most.

Books have you read/started reading in the past month? None.

Windows in your house/apartment are open? I know my parents and sister have their windows open at the moment, so that’s 2. Mine are usually open as well, but I’ve turned on my aircon so I’ve closed them for the night.

Pets do you have? 2.

Kids do you have/want to have? I’d cut it off a a maximum of 3 kids, but having just 1 would already be so nice.

Minutes does it take to get from your home to school or work? I work from home, but in the two times I went to the actual office it took anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour.

Have you ever...

Spilled a cup of grape juice on the carpet? I don’t think I’ve ever even encountered grape juice in my entire life.

Played spin the bottle? I don’t think I’ve ever played this. My friends and I usually resort to truth or dare.

Played Twister? Yes, and there are many fond memories that come with it as well. So when I was 7 years old I befriended Katreen, and her mom and mine hit it off instantly so they started this arrangement where every Friday, her mom picked me and my sister up from school along with Katreen and her sisters, and we’d stay for several hours at their place until my mom would pick us up. Her mom was an amazing host and every week we’d play Twister, watch Pokemon, read books together, etc; anything to keep us comfortable and entertained.

Been caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing? It’s bound to happen every now and then.

Walked out of a movie because it was horrible? I’ve gotten this feeling a few times but I always stayed in my seat because I paid for the damn ticket.

Given the finger to someone on the street? Oh most definitely, as well as drivers passing by. And it’s always been towards men that are being disgusting pigs.

Been so sad/angry that you started laughing? Sure.

Been in a wedding? Yes, but I only got invited as a kid since I was usually picked to be one of the flower girls. I haven’t been to a family wedding since 2007.

Been in a situation where you almost died? Probably not died but almost substantially injured, sure.

Misc...

Are you stressing out about anything right now? Just worried about the deluge of tasks that will inevitably come at me tomorrow but knowing how easygoing my bosses are, I know I’ll be able to ease up soon enough.

Do you think before acting or act before thinking? I used to be the latter but I now see the importance of first considering possible consequences of or how others would be affected by my actions.

Do you act upon your emotions and instinct, or logic and reasoning? Again, I used to be one of these, this time the former. Now that I’m at a much more stable and peaceful place in my life I try not to let my emotions get the best of me.

What are some personality traits you find appealing in a potential partner? I had a number of negative experiences in my last relationship so forgive me for scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to my expectations lmaaaao – I’d love for someone to be sensitive to my needs and feelings, and for them to be able to own up to their mistakes or hurtful habits and know how to apologize and be open to changing if it’s for their self-improvement.

How have you changed as a person in the last 5 years? I tolerate less bullshit now. I think I’ve also grown to be happier and a lot more stable, emotionally. I also have a better sense of what I want out of life and where I want to be, and I’ve also learned to be more sociable and open up to people.

If you could do anything you wanted right this moment, what would it be? Order sushi :(

Is there anyone you can totally relax and be yourself around? Yes, that’s what my friends are for. If I can’t feel comfortable around my friends, I’d view that as a problem.

Did you ever wanted to say something to someone, didn't, and regretted it? No.

Are you scared about the future? I’m scared of the idea of not meeting some of my goals, like having a family; but I’m also excited about what the future could bring me.

#survey #surveys

[rickyxginaa]

Skate Park

a/n: hello everyone !! it’s currently 3:04 a.m. but i had this idea for a while and i just had to write it out. tbh this was planned to be a one shot but i think maybe it could be a 2-3 part kind of thing??? but if this flops, im going to pretend i never posted it

*****

“He’s not going to come.”

Gina just finished putting her beanie onto her curly hair as she looked over at EJ in the driver’s seat. “What are you talking about?” She knew exactly what he was talking about but chose to play dumb instead. EJ rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the guy who you’ve been not so secretly crushing on for the past couple of months. You know, the one who plays guitar and only wears Vans. Ringing any bells?”

Of course EJ knew about Gina’s love for Ricky, even if she didn’t quite realize it herself. After she moved in with his cousin Ashlyn, the two have become very close friends, which was a surprise to everyone. Ever since he’s learned from his past self that the world doesn’t revolve around him, EJ has become much more observant.

For instance, Seb and Carlos finally met each other’s families and are doing better than ever, Kourtney’s joined choir and preparing to take on Stephanie for class president and lastly, Ricky and Nini’s relationship which seems to be falling apart by the seams.

“I am not here for Ricky, EJ. We rarely ever talk to each other.” Gina’s heart ached knowing that her and Ricky went from talking everyday to a simple head nod while passing each other in the hallways. She knows he’s with Nini now, but did that mean they had to cut each other off entirely? She missed the way he used to sing to her, the inside jokes, the way they just got each other. The teenage girl assumed that whatever they had was completely over, she sometimes worried if they ever had anything to begin with.

“Oh, so you’re not making me take you to the skate park almost every Saturday night to rekindle your friendship with Ricky?” Unfortunately, EJ knew Gina more than she could handle. So naturally, she avoided his question.

“You don’t have to drive me here, I can literally walk from Ashlyn’s.”

“I don’t want you walking alone at night, it’s not safe.”

“EJ, we live in Salt Lake City. The only thing unsafe around here is your singing.” The two started to laugh as EJ gently pushed her.

“Besides, I’m a big girl. I’m pretty sure I can handle myself.”

“Yeah, make sure to remember that the next time you ask me to kill a spider for you.”

“Whatever asshole, I’ll see you in a few hours.” Gina hopped out of the car with her black and purple skateboard, ignoring whatever EJ called out to her as she walked away. Their conversation lingered in her mind as she pulled her helmet out of her bag. She may be better than your average skateboarder but she wasn’t quite fond of cracking her skull open anytime soon.

“Not so secretly crushing on” ... was she that obvious? She’d been putting an immense amount of effort in trying to suppress her feelings for Ricky as soon as she found out he got back together with Nini. Whether that meant skipping out on group hangouts in Big Red’s basement knowing the curly haired boy would be there or sitting with EJ and his senior friends at lunch because she couldn’t stand the sight of Ricky’s arm around Nini at their table. 

Gina shook her head. No wonder he started distancing himself from her, she’s been doing the exact same thing to him.

Luckily, she still has the rest of her friends to lean on. She lives with Ashlyn and EJ is pretty much always at the house, so one thing led to another and an automatic power trio they were. After learning Big Red beautifully tap dances, she convinced him to take classes with her at her dance studio. Carlos and her share a passion for theater so it was only inevitable for them to reach BFF status. She even visits Seb’s farm from time to time and if that doesn’t show how much she’s grown then ask the multiple pairs of shoes she’s voluntarily ruined by stepping in mud and dirt.

“Gina?” A familiar voice interrupted her train of thought. She looked up and locked eyes with the boy whose name stayed on her mind day and night.

“H-Hey Ricky. What are you doing here?” He chuckled, making Gina’s heart skip a beat.

“I should be asking you the same thing. I thought I was the skateboarder in this friendship.” Although surprised, Ricky couldn’t be more glad to see the girl in front of him. He can’t even recall the last time they spoke more than two sentences to each other so he hoped that this was the chance for them to catch up.

“Well you were, but then you stopped showing up. So now, l’m king of the skate park.” Gina grinned from ear to ear feeling proud of herself. Her bright smile made the butterflies erupt in his stomach, a feeling he had long forgotten. Him and Nini have been arguing for weeks now and everything between them has changed.

The daily phone calls stopped, every time they do talk it somehow ends up in a disagreement , and even when they kiss or hold hands, it doesn’t compare to the feeling he just experienced. It’s like they don’t fit anymore, the passion has disappeared. Was it his fault? Should he just give up? The whole childhood best friends to lovers fantasy felt like a huge joke to him now. Nonetheless, he knew having these thoughts were wrong considering he was still in fact, dating the girl he’s known since kindergarten.

“Um, yeah. I’ve been busy with school and all the musicals and stuff. I actually only came here tonight because Nini and I just got into a big fight.” He nervously said while rubbing the back of his neck, one of his many habits.

“Oh my gosh, Ricky. I’m so sorry, do you want to talk about it?” Gina took a step towards him, allowing Ricky to catch a whiff of her jasmine-scented perfume. Some things never change, Ricky thought as he reminisced of one particular weekend where Gina dragged him to their local mall to shop for clothes and stock up on any and everything that Bath & Body Works sold that was jasmine-scented. The only downside was that she thought it would be funny to spray perfume on his sweatshirt multiple times. Ricky didn’t mind but he ended up giving her his hoodie since the fragrance was a little bit too strong for his liking. He wondered if she still had it...

“Don’t be, its not your fault. But actually I’d rather not think about it. Kinda need a distraction.”

Gina nodded in understanding and an awkward silence fell among them. The urge to reach out and wrap her arms around him was so intense she had to clasp her hands together for restraint. She knew it wasn’t her place to comfort him, especially after weeks of no communication whatsoever. But that doesn’t make it any less harder for her to ignore the absolute pain in his eyes. If it was a distraction he wanted, then it’s a distraction he’ll get. She picked up her skateboard.

“Then you came to the right place my friend. Come on, let’s go see if you still live up to your reputation. Unless, of course, you’re scared of being shown up the one and only Gina Porter.” 

Ricky’s mood began to change, feeling lighter than he did moments before. That’s what Gina did best, she always managed to make him feel better no matter the circumstances.

“Nah, you’re not that scary.”

#ricky x gina #rina #sofia wylie #gina porter #ej caswell #ashlyn x big red #seb x carlos #rina fic #rina fanfiction

[detective-anon]

gift of the jinmo

a gift for elle @minflix! I hope you will accept this humble offering as a sign of my friendship. c is the oc from tip143 (it was too challenging to write around her name).

--

The juicery was unusually quiet today. It was Sunday morning on a long weekend, which in a college town meant that everyone was either travelling and having fun or sleeping in and lazing around. Only sad, broke college students like Momo and her coworkers were stuck here working at seven-thirty in the morning. They’d had a handful of the regulars come in since opening—some of the athletes, a couple of the frazzled grad students who were mid-dissertation—but otherwise the shop had been mostly empty. Momo rested her chin on her folded arms, slumping over the counter where she sat next to the cash register. Even Jin, who usually took shifts with her, was off today.

Speaking of Jin…she sighed deeply.

“What’s wrong, honey?” C collapsed into a chair, dragging the mop she had been halfheartedly swiping across the floor with her. A faint wet spot began to form underneath it.

“My 100-day anniversary with Jin is coming up, and I don’t know what to get him,” she replied, forlorn. “How do you usually find gifts for Hoseok?”

C sniffed. “Well, you know Hoseok. He’s a closet hypebeast, so whenever there’s a Supreme drop I’ll try to get something for him and just save it for the next time I need to give him a gift.”

“That’s true. You always find the best-quality knockoffs. No one would ever be able to tell they’re not the real deal. I don’t know how you do it.” Both C and her boyfriend Hoseok were great at finding counterfeit luxury goods. Just last week, C had given her and Doyeon matching friendship keychains that were exact Burberry replicas. (She’d gotten really good tips the week before, she’d explained. Momo was happy for her friend but also sad that she hadn’t taken those shifts with her—those keychains had to have cost at least $20 apiece!)

“Ri-ight.” C laughed nervously. “Knockoffs…”

“Anyway,” Momo continued sadly, “I don’t think Jin really cares very much about brands. Even if he did, I don’t think I could afford any luxury items…I just paid rent and my bank account is crying.”

A sudden screech filled the air. They looked over at Jungkook, who had slipped on the puddle left by C’s mop. His eyes were wide as he scrambled upright and looked left and right to see if anyone had seen. C stifled a giggle as she went to help. “Are you alright, Kookie? Maybe you should put some ice on that.”

They disappeared into the kitchen to get ice. Momo sighed again. “I’m a bad girlfriend.”

“You’re not a bad girlfriend.”

Momo jumped, startled. Taehyung had come in from the back, where he had been washing spinach. He’d been uncharacteristically serious and quiet recently, and Momo was worried about him. Even though they bickered often, he was still one of her closest friends, and she didn’t know why he had suddenly started acting so strange.

“You’re a really good girlfriend,” he stated, jaw set. “You’re always taking care of Jin and worrying about him. I’ve never seen him so happy before.”

She paused. “I think Jin takes care of me more. He’s so thoughtful—he even takes shifts on Wednesdays so that he can bring me a smoothie when he picks me up from class on my long days. And I can’t even think of a good gift to get him for our anniversary.”

He blew out a breath and smiled wanly. “You two bring out the best in each other. I don’t think that the gift thing makes you a bad girlfriend. It just means you care enough to want to get him something meaningful.”

“Thanks, Tae. You always know how to make me feel better.” She smiled at him.

He rubbed absentmindedly at his chest. “Don’t you two have that vlog channel together? Why don’t you make him a video?”

“Hmm…that’s actually a great idea!” She gasped. “He spends so much time filming and editing for our videos, so maybe if I learn how to do it I can help him out in the future. But…he also has all the equipment. I don’t even have a camera…”

“I have a camera.” C reemerged from the back, a blank look on her face. “You can borrow it.”

Momo furrowed her brows. “I think I’d need a DSLR or something…”

“Yup, I have one.” She remained expressionless. “I needed it for…a video project. But I can borrow Hoseok’s in the meantime. Since he also…had a…video project.”

“Oh, great!” Momo replied brightly. “Do you think you could show me how to use it, too?”

“Of course,” C replied. “Did you hear that noise? I should go…check on Jungkook in the back!”

She disappeared, leaving Momo alone with Taehyung again.

Momo hesitated. “Tae, are you okay? It seems like something has been bothering you lately. You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?”

An indecipherable look came over his face before he softened. “Everything is fine. I just realized that I did something stupid with the girl I liked, and I’m trying to get over the regret.”

“With Sooyoung? Are you sure it’s not fixable?” She fretted. “It’s not like you haven’t done, er, questionably embarrassing things in front of her before. Maybe Hoseok could talk to her for you.”

He smiled. “It’s okay. I think things worked out the way they were supposed to.”

--

“Hi everyone! Welcome to the jinmo channel,” Momo said brightly. She and Jin both paused to wave to the camera. “Today is Saturday and we just got off of work.”

There was a loud whoop! from behind them and Jin turned the camera to get C and Hoseok in the frame. Hoseok flashed an easy grin, fiddling with the camera in his hands as C playfully punched his arm, telling him that he was too loud.

“We’re going to go on a double date with these two. Hoseok is helping us film B roll today—thanks, man!” Jin reached a fist backward and Hoseok bumped it with his own. “I didn’t know this until today, but he’s actually done some camera work before!”

Hoseok wiggled his brows. “You might say I have intimate knowledge of amateur videography.”

C made a choking sound. He turned toward her and stepped into her space, tugging her into his chest with one arm and patting her on the back with the other, laughing. She blushed after he whispered something in her ear, melting into him as he leaned down for a quick kiss.

Momo leaned closer to the camera and stuck out her tongue. “They’d be gross if they weren’t so cute together.”

“You say that like you and Jin weren’t cuddling on the streetcar on the way here!” C retorted.

“Guilty.” Jin smiled, raising their intertwined hands into frame for a few seconds. “Anyway, we’re here at the mall,” he turned the camera toward the building façade, “because Momo and I wanted to pick up a few things at MaiDo after lunch.”

“We’re getting sushi!” Momo beamed as they made their way inside.

Hoseok went to put their names on the waiting list. C linked arms with Momo, tugging her away from Jin. “Jin, can you take our OOTD photos?”

Jin let out a dramatic sigh. “Again, I don’t know why you’re always wearing couple outfits with my girlfriend.”

The girls were wearing matching fuzzy cardigans today, and despite his protests, even Jin had to admit that the two of them looked extra soft and cute. His girlfriend looked like a teddy bear, and he had to resist the urge to hug her and not let go.

“You stole her from me!” C whined, clinging closer to Momo.

Jin grumbled, but obligingly put down the camera on a nearby bench in favor of C’s phone, crouching down to take photos as they tried out various poses. C inspected the shots over Jin’s shoulder as Momo walked over to the camera and whispered, “Get you an Instagram boyfriend like that,” holding finger hearts over her eyes.

By the time C had finished editing the chosen photo, their table was ready. Momo set the camera on the ledge next to her, checking the alignment before turning her attention to the menu.

“Should we get a spicy salmon roll to share?” Jin asked.

“Wasn’t your stomach feeling weird a few days ago? Maybe we should skip the spicy…and also the raw fish.” Momo frowned. “We should get one of the baked rolls instead.”

“They’re your favorite, though,” Jin murmured back.

She shrugged, shoulder gently nudging his. “We can always get it another time.”

“Why don’t you just order separate things?” Hoseok asked, confusion evident in his tone.

“Jin always steals bites of my food anyway,” Momo explained.

“Hey! I resemble that remark.” Jin chuckled at his own joke and Momo couldn’t help but join him.

They put in their orders and made silly faces at the camera while waiting for their food to arrive. The rest of lunch passed in fun conversation and laughter, fast-forwarded in the video as an instrumental track played in the background.

After they paid the bill and left the restaurant, the four of them headed to the stationery store. Inside, they checked to make sure no one was looking before Momo skipped down the washi aisle, arms outstretched as she spun in a circle, giggling. When Jin caught up to her, they explained their mission for the day.

“When we posted my desk tour, a couple of people asked about some of the items I showed. The painting above my desk was actually a gift from C!” Momo turned to blow a kiss at C, who was trailing behind them with Hoseok. C caught it in her hand with an exaggerated motion and put it in her pocket. “Her friend Sana painted it, and I love it so much! We’ll put a link to her Instagram in the description so you can check out more of her work and support independent artists.”

“Some people also asked about the star jar on my floating shelf. That actually belongs to Jin! Whenever he has something important coming up, like a presentation or an interview, I fold some stars and add them to the jar for good luck. He had a shoot that week so I took it to fill it up.”

Jin kissed her cheek, the look on his face unbearably fond. “It went well because of you.”

Momo blushed, stammering, “I-it went well because you’re talented! Anyway, since there were a few requests for it, I’ll be making a tutorial on how to fold the stars into a rose shape like the ones in the jar, so today we’re going to buy paper for the video.”

She picked up a sheaf of letter-size patterned stationery and showed it to the camera. “For Jin’s stars, I actually use letter paper so that I can write longer messages inside before cutting them into strips. But for the tutorial, we’ll be using regular star paper. A little wider is better, because we’ll be folding them in half lengthwise.”

“You write messages inside the stars?” Jin asked. “What do they say?”

“Oh, just little things. Good luck wishes, reminders, things like that. Sometimes I write ‘remember to eat’ or ‘don’t drink too much coffee.’” She shrugged, then giggled. “I think last time I wrote one that said, ‘starfish pose: you are the most powerful person in the room.’”

Jin set the camera on a shelf facing away from them, not wanting to record the next moment.

“Thank you,” he whispered, gently pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, humming as she laid her ear against his chest.

Filming picked up again with Momo holding two packs of star paper in her hands, brow furrowed as she contemplated them. Jin zoomed in to focus on each of them.

“Which one do you think is prettier?” she asked him.

“Hmm…maybe the one on the left.”

“I was thinking that, too. Okay, let’s get this one.” She held it up and waved it toward the camera, putting the other pack back on its hook. “You can buy a cute jar if you want, but I recommend reusing any glass jar you have—it’s environmentally friendly and good for your wallet! For this project, we’ll be using one of our limited edition mason jars from the juicery. We’ll be randomly selecting one of our viewers to send these stars to, so please stay tuned for the tutorial video for info on how to sign up!”

“Before we check out,” Jin said, “I want to go take a look at some pens.”

The camera zoomed in and out at the wide range of pens on display in the next aisle.

“I have a lot of trouble with writer’s block, and there seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to dealing with it: write through it or wait for it to go away. I don’t think either approach is exclusive of the other. I’ve started thinking about it like a muscle that you’ve pulled—you’ve just got to feel it out and see if you can stretch it or if you need to let it rest. And like any other muscle, when it feels fine, you should exercise it so it gets stronger.” He waved his hand dismissively. “All of that to say, I’ve taken up daily journaling recently, and I want to get some new pens.”

He wandered down the aisle, examining his choices carefully.

“Ah-ha!” He exclaimed triumphantly, holding up a package of ink refills. “This is what I wanted. Momo got me a Jigglypuff gel ink pen from Japan that I think takes this refill size. I really like the ink quality from this brand because it comes out smoothly and dries quickly. I usually write in black ink, so I’m going to get this pack instead of the assorted blue and black one.”

They window shopped for a little while longer, looking at puffy stickers, magnets, stuffed animals, and small desk planters. Momo and C squealed over the Gudetama display and pouted at the prices. Hoseok silently picked up the Gudetama plushie that C had been hugging and added it to their basket.

As they stood in line to check out, someone tapped C on the shoulder. “C-cherry? And J-Hope?”

All four of them turned around to see a tall, bashful looking guy in line behind them.

“Lucas!” C’s eyes were wide. “Uhh…how are you?”

“Oh, hey, bigho—oof!” Hoseok winced as C’s elbow made contact with his stomach. “Big guy. Good to see you again.”

“This is so cool! Sorry for last time, I didn’t realize that you two were—wow, and Jin and Momo, too! I’m such a huge fan.” He beamed.

Jin reached over to shake his hand. “You look familiar—didn’t you apply to work at Greenhouse Juicery before?”

“Ah, yeah, but the owner said she wasn’t hiring at the time.” Lucas looked at Jin’s hand in awe, holding on for a bit longer than was perhaps socially acceptable.

“Bummer, man.” Hoseok shook his head. “But I’m sure Boss Juice is also doing well.”

“Oh, you work at Boss Juice?” Momo smiled brightly at him. “That means you’re our number one competition!”

Lucas’s brain was malfunctioning. “C-cute. Yeah, uh, I work there. You should, uh, come check it out sometime. Um…can I get a photo with you all?”

“Sure!” They all huddled together and smiled as the woman behind Lucas helped them take a photo.

“Next!”

“I think that’s us.” Jin said, giving Lucas another smile. “It was nice meeting you.”

“L-likewise!” Lucas replied. “Bye!”

Once they’d gone through the checkout and stood outside, Jin remarked, “It really is weird that you’ve got this famous doppelganger couple out there. Even your names are kind of similar, I mean, J-Hope and Jung Hoseok, and Cherry and—”

“HAH-ha-ha-ha,” C’s stilted laughter interrupts his thought. “I know, right? And since we’ve been appearing on your channel, I wonder if they’re getting mistaken for us, too.”

Realization dawned, and her eyes widened with panic as she grabbed Hoseok’s sleeve. “What if people online think we’re the same people??”

“Oh my gosh!” Momo gasped. “I read a story online just like this! Someone had an evil doppelganger who went around being mean to people and running out on restaurant bills, and she had to pay their bill and got blacklisted from her favorite restaurant!”

“I’m sure we don’t look that alike.” Hoseok said, his relaxed demeanor completely at odds with his girlfriend and Momo’s growing agitation. “What are the odds? Plus, no one’s as pretty as C. Sorry, Momo.”

C blushed, and Momo grinned at her slyly. “I’ll forgive you for that only because you two are so insufferably cute.”

Jin nudged Momo. “I think you’re prettier,” he whispered.

--

Jin’s phone buzzed three times in rapid succession from its place on the bathroom counter as he pushed his bangs up and back, working hair wax into his roots. He examined his work with a critical eye, giving it one last swipe before turning his attention to the texts that had come in.

Momo <3: Sorry, give me 30 more minutes! I forgot to press cook on the rice cooker. >///<

Momo <3: Looking forward to dinner!! :)

Momo <3: A gift for the best boyfriend ever: https://youtu.be/5tXJDTBbYf4

Curious, he clicked on the link. It loaded an unlisted video on the jinmo channel titled “reasons to stan kim seokjin.”

Chatter filled the air as students headed out of the lecture hall. Momo stopped behind a pillar, lens aimed at the breezeway, where Jin leaned against the wall, scrolling through his phone with one hand and holding Momo’s favorite tumbler in the other.

“How dare he…” she whispered to the camera, “How dare he be so perfect? It makes me want to punch him…in the mouth…softly…with my mouth.”

She giggled. “Doyeon taught me that.”

Onscreen, Momo launched herself at him, and the scene cut to the library.

Jin was journaling, the sleeves of his sweater folded up. The camera panned to Momo’s notebook, where she had written, alongside several doodles of his name, “So handsome when he’s concentrating :(”

When the camera panned back up, the light was dimmer and Jin was asleep, resting his arm and head on top of a stack of books.

“Thank you for keeping me company even when you had a paper due yesterday,” Momo whispered. “I promise I’m actually studying.”

She moved the camera to show her neatly color-coded notes in front of her.

The cheerful interior of the juicery came next.

Momo positioned the camera on the table in front of her as she took her break. There was a long line of customers, but Jin had a smile on his face as he listened patiently to the old woman in front of him, who was having trouble reading the menu. He carefully explained all the options to her, pausing after each one to give her time to think. Namjoon came out of the back office and patted him on the back, opening up a second register.

you are so considerate TT__TT, the caption read.

Next were clips from Hoseok’s “B-roll” from their stationery date: Momo, nestled into Jin’s side on the cable car as he played with her fingers. Jin hugging Momo close at the stationery store. Their intertwined hands swinging back and forth as they walked to the train station. Momo asleep on Jin’s shoulder as he gently covered her with his jacket. Jin lifting Momo onto his back to piggyback her to her apartment.

It cut to an afternoon in Jin’s apartment.

Momo carefully hid the camera on a shelf, angling it to face the tiny kitchenette before stepping back and putting on the apron that Jin had left for her. Jin came out of the bathroom wearing the same apron. She was his sous chef today, peeling potatoes and cutting vegetables as Jin boiled chicken in a stock pot. There wasn’t enough space for both of them at the stove, so once she had finished with her tasks, she sat at the tiny kitchen table, watching as he chopped and stirred and tossed.

“Taste,” he requested softly, blowing on a spoonful of soup before extending it to her. She sipped obligingly and nodded.

“It’s really good.” She kissed his cheek. “Thank you for making lunch.”

Doyeon must have filmed the next segment with her GoPro while they were at the beach.

The three of them were longboarding on the boardwalk, heading toward the ocean. They stopped at the surf shop to rent boards and a locker. The angle shifted as the camera changed hands. Doyeon and Jin were looking out at the water, watching waves break. Jin nodded at something Doyeon said, then reached back to pull his t-shirt up and over his head.

Behind the camera, Momo sighed dreamily. “Wow…I totally have a crush on him.”

She trudged over to them and Doyeon took the camera back, hanging it around her neck.

“Ready to try this out?” Jin grinned.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Momo said.

Doyeon filmed them as they went out on the water together, Momo on Jin’s board. Once they had paddled out far enough, Jin crouched, holding his hands out for Momo’s. Shakily, she stood up with him. They managed to balance as they rode a small wave, but fell right after, laughing and sputtering as they came back up. From where she sat on her own surfboard, Doyeon yelled encouragements at them. They tried a few more times until Momo felt brave enough to try it on her own. Jin stood chest-deep in water next to her as she attempted to balance, holding the board steady when she wobbled. After some small thrills and small spills, she declared that she was ready for a break, heading back to shore. On the water, Jin and Doyeon had paddled farther out and were starting to catch bigger waves.

After a few shots of Jin doing tricks, the video cut to a view of the sun setting over the ocean.

happy 100-day anniversary!

Jin smiled, an almost unbearable warmth in his chest. He tapped back to his text thread with Momo.

On Momo’s kitchen table, her phone vibrated, playing the familiar tune of Jin’s ringtone. She wiped her hands on a dishcloth and answered the phone.

“Hey,” she said breathlessly.

“Thank you for the video. I loved it.” His voice was tender. “There’s something else I want to say to you, but I want to say it in person.”

“Me, too,” she replied quietly. The unspoken words hung warm in the air between them.

--

After they ate dinner and washed the dishes, Momo settled on the couch, queueing up a movie on her laptop. Beside her, Jin reached for his coat, rummaging through his pocket for something.

“I have a gift for you, too,” he said, handing her a small box.

She lifted the lid to find a folded letter (“Read that later, when I’m not in the room,” Jin requested shyly) and a delicate silver bracelet with a single envelope charm attached.

“Wow, Jin, this is so beautiful.” She breathed, tracing a careful finger across the charm. “Thank you.”

He helped her fasten it before pressing a kiss to the inside of her wrist. Tugging back his sleeve, he showed her the matching bracelet that he was wearing. “It’s not fair that C is the only one who gets to match with you all the time.”

She giggled. “She complains about Hoseok’s style, but the other day I saw her wearing those paint-splattered jeans of his that she hates so much. They’re definitely rubbing off on each other.”

Jin entwined her fingers with his. “What I wanted to say to you on the phone…I know it might be a little early in our relationship…but it feels like the right time to say it.”

He took a steadying breath in. “I love you.”

She blushed. “I love you, too.”

He pressed his smile to hers.

[zen3to5]

J/H 3-22: Eric’s Drunken Tattoo

Another episode, another all-new "B" story, this time following up on the new material from the last ep and pushing the Zen along.

(NOTE: While I said from the outset that I wasn't out to "correct" anything in the show as it is, I did decide here that, in this rewrite, the show stays in 1977 until somewhere in Season 5. It doesn't really make anything about T7S's timeline make more sense, but it does at least correspond to when junior/sophomore year for the gang should've ended and senior/junior year begun.)

FF.Net AO3

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SHOW TITLE   INT. DONNA’S ROOM - DAY   The afternoon sun shines in through the window. DONNA lies across her bed, writing in her JOURNAL. “Freak Out” by Chic plays on the radio. The door opens, and ERIC enters.   Eric: Hi.   DONNA: Hey.   ERIC: Whatcha doing?   Donna sits up.   DONNA: Oh, just writing in my journal.   ERIC: Like in Star Trek?   He jumps onto the bed and holds his hand up to his mouth as though it were a microphone.   ERIC (cont’d): (doing Shatner) “Captain’s log – star date 1977. God, I’m so hot. My beautiful red hair and giant jugs seem to drive all life forms wild.”   DONNA: Oh, my God, Eric. That’s exactly what I was writing.   Eric pulls a wowed face. Donna laughs and stands, setting her journal down on her writing desk.   DONNA (cont’d): I’m gonna go make some popcorn and get some sodas.   She moves toward the door. Eric watches her, still miming his microphone.   ERIC: (doing Shatner) “My beautifully sculpted hindquarters flounce downstairs to procure nourishment.”   DONNA: Shut up.   ERIC: (doing Shatner) “Okay.”   Donna exits. Eric stays on the bed and looks around the room. His eyes pass over Donna’s journal.   MYSTERIOUS VOICE (v.o.): Eric... Eric...   Eric looks down at Donna’s journal. It’s clear now that the voice is his own imagination at work.   ERIC: Yes, Donna’s journal?   JOURNAL (v.o.): I am the book of secrets, Eric. Don’t you want to know what she really thinks about you? Read me... read me...   ERIC: You know, I really shouldn’t.   JOURNAL (v.o.): Suit yourself.   The voice of the journal sings nonsense lyrics innocently. Eric considers for a second, then climbs off the bed and steps toward the writing desk.   JOURNAL (v.o., cont’d): But beware: what you learn here cannot be unlearned.   ERIC: Okay, do you want me to read you or not?   JOURNAL (v.o.): Sorry.   Eric picks up the journal and opens it. We hear Donna’s voice reciting each passage that Eric reads.   DONNA (v.o.): Eric and I went to second base tonight. He was hilarious... The prom is gonna be magical. I think tonight I’m finally gonna sleep with Eric... Which is like Woodstock, but for vans. Anyway, I think I’m finally gonna sleep with Eric... I love him so much. Tonight, I’m finally gonna sleep with Eric...   ERIC: Okay, let’s just skip to the last page...   He flips ahead.   DONNA (v.o.): I had the weirdest dream about Eric last night. He was Eric, but he was also Steven Tyler from Aerosmith, and he looked really wicked and dangerous...   Eric looks up from the journal, very pleased.   ERIC: Yeah! “Wicked dangerous!”   He looks back down to continue reading.   DONNA (v.o.): Which is so not Eric. Sometimes I wish he were like that.   All the pride in Eric’s face falls away.   Footsteps sound off-screen.   JOURNAL (v.o.): Quick! Put me down! Someone’s coming!   Eric sets the journal back down just as Donna returns with Jiffy Pop and two soda bottles. Eric snaps upright in attention.   ERIC: Hi! Hello. How are you? I didn’t do anything. You look pretty.   Donna looks around, confused. Eric takes one of the sodas from her hand and takes a big gulp.   ERIC (cont’d): (burps) I have to go now.   He hurries past her and out the door. Donna looks from the doorway to her journal and back. Her eyes narrow.

MAIN CREDITS   BUMPER   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - DAY   It’s almost a normal afternoon in the basement; HYDE’s there. But instead of sitting in his chair, he lies face-down on the couch, his head buried under his arm. Soda cans and chip bags litter the floor nearby. He snores softly, deep in sleep.   JACKIE sits in Hyde’s chair and watches him with a long face. KELSO paces up and down behind the couch. FEZ sits in the lawn chair, reading a comic. He has on a ridiculous pair of X-RAY GLASSES.   KELSO: All right. No one’s gonna say it, I’ll say it. (to Fez) Fez, what is with the glasses?   FEZ: (looks up) Well, the ad in the Richie Rich comic said they would let me see through a lady’s clothes. (beat) I have been swindled again.   Jackie shakes her head, but not at their stupidity.   JACKIE: Poor Steven. Abandoned again. See, this is why Daddy doesn’t believe in giving money to poor people. Because they don’t know how to handle it, and then stuff like this happens.   Kelso nods sagely, while Fez turns back to his comic.   JACKIE (cont’d): I wish there was something we could do for him.   Kelso thinks for a second, then snaps his fingers.   KELSO: I got it. We need some whipped cream and a feather. We put the whipped cream on Hyde’s hands, and tickle his nose with the feather, so when he goes to scratch it, he gets a face full of whipped cream.   He and Fez giggle silently.   JACKIE: How would that make Steven feel better?   KELSO: (beat) Well, he’ll have fun beating Fez up if we tell him he did it.   Fez glares up at Kelso, incredulous. Jackie shakes her head and stands, crossing to Kelso.   JACKIE: No, Michael. Look, this is a horrible thing Steven’s going through. We should... we should get him a present or something, to cheer him up. Something thoughtful and personal. And I know just where to find it. Let’s get down to the mall!   She hurries out the door, Kelso in tow. He pulls the door shut hard behind him, which wakes Hyde up. His sunglasses are missing. He looks around, sees Fez looking at him with the X-Ray glasses.   HYDE: Get a good look there, Richie?   Fez slowly sinks down in his chair and raises his comic up to cover the glasses.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN - DAY   Also an almost normal afternoon. KITTY works on a salad bowl on the stovetop. RED enters through the patio door, holding his right thumb.   RED: Kitty, where’s the Band-Aids? I cut my thumb with a hacksaw.   Kitty tuts and retrieves a Band-Aid from a cabinet drawer.   KITTY: Oh, Red, you know those things are dangerous.   RED: Well, I tried cutting the metal pipe with a flower, but it was real slow going.   Kitty frowns at him and starts applying the Band-Aid.   KITTY: Well, seeing as how you’re being all snarky anyway, I may as well tell you: Pastor Dave is coming to dinner tonight.   Red moans and pulls away.   RED: Not tonight! There’s a Packer report on tonight. They’re doing a tribute to Vince Lombardi.   KITTY: Red, you know I’m trying to get more involved in the church, so he is coming.   RED: Kitty, if Pastor Dave comes over, we’ll never get rid of him. He’ll just go on and on about how great God is.   Kitty gives him a long look.   KITTY: Well, He is.   What can Red say to that? He sighs and shakes his head.   CUT TO:   INT. MALL - DAY   The Point Place mall, not terribly busy for a Saturday. Jackie and Donna stroll through the courtyard side by side.   DONNA: And then he says “I have to go now” and runs off with that guilty look he gets whenever he does something stupid. I’m telling you, Jackie, I think Eric read my private journal.   JACKIE: Oh... is this about the dream where you wished Eric was Steven Tyler?   Donna glares at Jackie. She looks back, not seeing the problem. Donna pinches her arm, hard. Jackie shrieks and slaps Donna’s hand down.   JACKIE: Don’t pinch me, you lumberjack!   Kelso runs up to them, his arms full of hair products.   KELSO: Check it out! The salon’s having a sale on everything. Look at this! Shampoo, conditioner – they’ve even got the Remington Mist-Air Hot Comb!   He holds up the comb box. Jackie beams and claps.   JACKIE: Oh, my God, Michael, that’s perfect! Steven would look fabulous with straight hair.   KELSO: (beat) Right! Hyde’s present...   He chuckles nervously, then cradles his collection of items more tightly, as if loathe to part with them.   Donna shakes her head and leans over Jackie’s shoulder.   DONNA: You do remember you’re here for Hyde, right? I’m pretty sure he’s not gonna use a hot comb. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure he uses a comb. Or shampoo.   Jackie looks disgusted and shudders.   JACKIE: Eww!   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN DINING ROOM – EVENING   Kitty got her way: PASTOR DAVE is over for dinner. He sits between the Formans as they all work on their salad.   DAVE: Hey, do you know who I love?   RED: Jesus.   DAVE: (beat) Well, yes. But I was going to say Vince Lombardi.   Red looks up.   RED: You’re a Packer man?   DAVE: Are you kidding? I bleed cheese.   Red grins. Suddenly, he’s enjoying this dinner.   RED: Well, I’m not sure, but I think there may be a Packer report on tonight.   DAVE: Red, I think you may be right. And I think it could start in eight-and-a-half minutes.   RED: Then what do you say we choke our dinners down, get our asses on the couch?   DAVE: Amen!   They go to work on the salads. Kitty, not amused, stands.   KITTY: Red, can you help me in the kitchen, please?   He doesn’t get up.   KITTY (cont’d): Right now, please?   She goes into the kitchen. Red follows, patting Dave on the back as he passes into:   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – EVENING   Kitty is at the stovetop, spooning the main course onto plates. Red hurries over to her.   KITTY: Red, this night is not about football. This night is about company.   RED:  And our company wants to watch the Packer report. He spends his life doing the Lord’s work, and if you would deny this holy little man that simple pleasure... well, God have mercy on your soul.   KITTY:  Just can it, Red.   She pushes a plate into Red’s hands.   KITTY (cont’d): Bring him his food.   Red takes the plate and hurries back to the:   INT. FORMAN DINING ROOM – EVENING   Red drops the plate in front of Dave and takes the salad plate.   RED: You got six minutes.   DAVE: (mouth full) I’m eating.   Red returns to:   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – EVENING   Red brings Kitty the empty salad plate. She looks down and notices his thumb is bare.   KITTY: Red, where is your Band-Aid?   RED: Oh, I don’t know. I had it on a second ago. Must’ve come off while I was serving the -   It hits him and Kitty at the same time. They share a look of shock, then race back into:   INT. FORMAN DINING ROOM – EVENING   Pastor Dave is scarfing down dinner as fast as he can. By the time Red and Kitty reach him, it’s too late; he finishes his last bite and throws his hands up in the touchdown signal.   DAVE: Done!   Red and Kitty shift on their feet, neither prepared to say anything.   BUMPER   INT. LEO’S HOUSE – EVENING   A modestly-sized apartment, somewhat shabby but tastefully decorated in a Japanese style. “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon plays on the radio. Hyde (sunglasses back), LEO, Eric, and Fez (still wearing his X-Ray glasses) all sit around a low table. LEO has a sake set laid out.   ERIC: Hey, Leo, thanks for letting us hang out here. I just – I didn’t want to see Donna after what she wrote.   HYDE: Forman, no one cares.   LEO:  (to Eric) That’s true, man. (to everyone) Listen, you guys know I don’t allow alcohol in my house, so you’re just gonna have to drink sake instead.   The guys look amongst themselves; they all know the score on sake.   FEZ: “Sake” it to me, Leo. (laughs)   HYDE: Don’t start with the sake jokes, Fez.   FEZ: Oh, put a “sake” in it. (laughs)   Leo pours and passes out the cups. Eric takes his and holds it near his mouth.   ERIC: Well, this would be fun if I wasn’t so miserable.   HYDE: Look, Forman, we’re willing to sit here and drink these tiny, allegedly alcoholic drinks, but we don’t wanna hear you bitch about Donna all night.   ERIC: Oh, don’t worry, Hyde. I don’t feel like talking about Donna.   He downs his sake and sets the glass upside down on the table.   CUT TO:   Moments later. Eric has a pyramid of cups stacked, and he’s well into drunk.   ERIC: You see, the thing about Donna is...   HYDE: Here we go.   ERIC: She acts like everything’s all cool, okay? And then, all of a sudden I’m no Steven Tyler. (scoffs)   FEZ: Oh, Eric, give it up, for heaven’s “sake.”   He laughs at his own pun again, and this time Leo joins in.   LEO: (to Fez) You’re still the king, man.   ERIC: Man, I thought were past the phase where we had to impress each other.   HYDE: You are. Now you’re in the “she dumps you for a biker with a wicked tattoo” phase. The most entertaining of all phases.   Eric stands, almost gracefully.   ERIC: Oh, my God... oh, my God, Hyde, that’s it! A tattoo’s dangerous! There’s a place next to the liquor store. I could go get one right now!   Leo stands, and we cut to:   ERIC’S POV. Sake has him seeing three of Leo, overlapping and waving against the wall, and each of them talk.   LEO: No way, man! We’re not gonna let you go to some sleazy tattoo parlor and spend money for something you’ll regret for the rest of your life. I’ll tattoo you for free, man. I’m pretty sure I used to do this for a living.   FADE TO BLACK   COMMERCIAL   BUMPER   INT. LEO’S HOUSE – EVENING   A short time later. Eric, still drunk, leans on a cabinet, his pants pulled down. Hyde and Fez hold his hands while Leo sits on a stool in the back, working on a tattoo on Eric’s ass.   ERIC: How cool am I? A tattoo of my girlfriend’s name – how’s that for dangerous?   LEO: Yeah, I think Debbie’s really gonna like this.   ERIC: (beat) Wait. Debbie? No, Donna.   LEO: (beat) Right. Okay, no problem. I can fix it.   ERIC: Fix what?   LEO: Relax. Debbie will never notice it.   Eric looks back toward Leo.   ERIC: It’s Donna.   LEO: See, now you moved, man! It’s okay. I can make that into a flower.   He goes back to work, and Eric looks forward, much less sure about this.   FEZ: (to Eric) Oh, you know what you should get? Boobs. Big boobs on your butt.   HYDE: That’s classy.   LEO: Hey, I can turn the “Bs” into boobs.   ERIC: (beat) Wait, what “Bs?”   LEO: Like in “Debbie,” your girlfriend?   ERIC: It’s “Donna!”   LEO: Oh, right. (beat) Oh, I can fix that.   CUT TO:   INT. MALL - EVENING   The shopping continues. A promotional table for WFPP is set up against the wall, a phone and microphone set up. Donna chats with the ATTENDANT while Jackie looks around at the different stores.   DONNA: (to attendant) So has the call-in contest started yet?   ATTENDANT: No, but we start taking calls any minute. Hey, did you ask Max about tickets for you and your boyfriend?   DONNA: No, he said he needed me to work that night. And I think Eric read my journal, so not getting him in to see Zeppelin seems like a good punishment.   The attendant shrugs and nods.   Something in a shop window catches Jackie’s eye, and she tugs on Donna’s sleeve as she points with the other hand.   JACKIE: Donna, look! Baby blue bell bottoms. See, if Steven wore things like that, no one would know he was poor.   Donna smiles in pity.   DONNA: Yeah, um... no.   Jackie groans and stomps her foot.   JACKIE: Donna, you haven’t liked any of my ideas. The mall’s closing soon and we haven’t found anything for Steven.   DONNA: Look, Jackie, it’s nice that you want to do something for Hyde, but shopping is not that thing. Hyde doesn’t care about bell bottoms or leisure suits or hair, and I’m pretty sure the only thing he’d do with a Pet Rock is break a window with it.   Jackie sighs and throws up her hands.   JACKIE: Steven’s just so complicated. I’ve never had this much trouble finding a gift for Michael.   Kelso runs up to them. His hair care products from before are stuffed in a large salon bag worn on one arm, a white sport jacket is draped over the other, two clothing boxes are balanced between both arms, and the box for Sorry! is balanced on top. He’s grinning ear to ear.   KELSO: Is everything in this mall on sale or what? This is awesome!   Donna shakes her head and Jackie scowls at Kelso.   JACKIE: Michael, you’re supposed to be helping us find something to cheer Steven up.   KELSO: Jackie, Hyde’s not a “cheer up” kind of guy. That’s not how he gets over stuff. He gets over stuff by punching people, rockin’ out to bitchin’ tunes, and dipping into his stash.   DONNA: Wow, Kelso, that was actually pretty insightful.   KELSO: Yeah, well...   (beat, to Jackie) I can still get all this stuff, right? I mean, just ‘cause we didn’t find anything for Hyde, that’s no reason to waste all these sweet deals.   Donna puts a hand to her forehead. Jackie steps up to the radio table and starts chatting with the attendant as we fade to:   INT. FORMAN LIVING ROOM – EVENING   Now it’s Red turn to have his way: he, Kitty, and Dave are on the couch, the Packer report playing on TV. Kitty is clearly unhappy. Not that the men notice; Red has a diagram worked out on the coffee table with peanuts.   RED: And then Bart Starr fakes a hand-off to Anderson and finds Dowler in the endzone for the winning touchdown!   DAVE: Wow! On TV it seemed confusing, but with peanuts, it’s all so clear!   Kitty taps Red on the arm.   KITTY: Red, um, can I see you in the kitchen for a minute, please?   RED: Yeah, just one second.   He and Kitty stand. Red pats Dave on the back.   RED (cont’d): You go ahead and set ‘em up again, and I’ll show you how the Packers won the Ice Bowl.   DAVE: All right!   He eagerly starts rearranging the peanuts as Red and Kitty step into:   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – EVENING   Red and Kitty stand by the stove. Red looks happy; Kitty is decidedly not.   KITTY: Okay, Red, don’t you think it’s time your little friend went home?   RED: Kitty, I’m just being sociable, like you asked. Just being a good host.   KITTY: Oh, sure. All good hosts feed their guests Band-Aids.   RED: Band-Aid, Kitty. Don’t exaggerate.   From the living room, Dave lets out a pained moan. Red and Kitty move back into:   INT. FORMAN LIVING ROOM – EVENING   Dave is curled up on the couch in a fetal position, clutching at his stomach as he moans. Kitty’s jaw drops as she looks up at Red.   KITTY: Oh, my God!   Dave looks up piteously at his hosts.   DAVE: Hospital, please.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT   Much later, probably near 2 or 3 in the morning. Hyde is in his chair, his feet propped up on the coffee table as he sleeps. Eric is also asleep, on the couch. He has no pants, and his shorts are pulled down just enough for the ice pack on his ass to cover his tattoo. We slowly zoom in on his face as we cut to:   INT. DONNA’S ROOM – DAY   DREAM SEQUENCE. Donna lies on her bed, writing away in her journal. She pauses and chews her pen in thought.   Her door is kicked open. With a burst of smoke, Eric dances into the room as Steven Tyler, with a microphone at the ready.   ERIC (lip-sync): Walk this way! Walk this way! Walk this way! Walk this way! Just give me a kiss...   He performs some of Tyler’s finest moves as he sings. On “give me a kiss,” he leans in close to Donna, only to pull back just before their lips meet.   ERIC (lip-sync): Like this!   He wraps up his routine with a burst of pyrotechnics. Donna leaps off the bed and starts making out with him. She pulls back, breathless, and looks him over hungrily.   DONNA: Eric, how did you get so hot?   ERIC: (proudly) I got a tattoo.   Beaming, Donna rips out the last page of her journal and scribbles in a new entry.   DONNA: “Eric’s perfect.”   She looks back up at Eric as he makes Steven Tyler lips.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT – NIGHT   Back to reality. Eric grins in his sleep. His eyes slowly open.   ERIC: Oh, yeah.   His smile slips, and he puts a hand to his head.   ERIC (cont’d): Ow.   He adjusts the ice pack on his ass.   ERIC (cont’d): Ow.   He looks down toward the ice pack and remembers why it’s there. The grin returns.   ERIC (cont’d): Oh, yeah.   He adjusts his arm under his head and drifts back to sleep.   BUMPER   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – DAY   The next morning. Pastor Dave, looking the worse for wear, sits between an uncomfortable Red and Kitty at the kitchen table.   DAVE: So, are you telling me that you fed me a Band-Aid?   KITTY: Well... um, to be honest – Red fed you the Band-Aid.   Dave looks to Red, who rolls his eyes.   DAVE: How did this happen?   KITTY: Red, why don’t you diagram it for him with peanuts?   Red frowns at Kitty, then turns toward Dave.   RED: Look, Dave, I’m real sorry. I didn’t realize how sick a Band-Aid would make you.   DAVE: Well, thank you for your belated honesty, but the doctor said I had food poisoning from an undercooked sausage.   RED: Food poisoning? That’s Kitty’s department.   Dave looks to a stunned Kitty.   KITTY: I have never undercooked a sausage in my life. I have a system. It’s foolproof.   RED: Hey, Kitty – it’s okay. We all make mistakes.   Kitty glares at both men.   KITTY: I... Vince Lombardi is overrated. That’s right. He is overrated!   Red and Dave recoil in horror. Red puts a bracing hand on Dave’s arm.   RED: Ignore her. She’s hysterical!   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - DAY   Hyde is still in his chair, still asleep. He hasn’t moved since last night. Not until the door bursting open stirs him awake. A beaming Jackie hurries to stand over him. Her hand is clasped tight around a small, thin envelope.   JACKIE: Good, Steven, you’re up! Your hair’s clean, right?   Hyde gives her a funny look. Jackie shakes off any unpleasant thoughts of unwashed hair and presents the envelope.   JACKIE (cont’d): Surprise!   With a skeptical look, Hyde takes the envelope and starts to open it.   HYDE: Jackie, if you’re trying to get me to roller disco again, you can just – HOLY HELL!   Hyde leaps to his feet. Even through his sunglasses, his eyes bug out as he stares at the two slips from the envelope in his hand.   HYDE (cont’d): Zeppelin? You scored Zeppelin tickets, center row, tonight?   JACKIE: Yeah! Donna’s radio station was giving them away. They were supposed to go to the seventh caller or something, but I’m rich and cute, so they’re mine now!   Hyde looks up at her, his eyes still wide.   HYDE: And you’re just giving them to me?   Jackie nods. Hyde looks down at the tickets, then back to her.   HYDE: Jackie... I don’t know what to say, man. Why’d you do this?   Jackie wrinkles her nose up; she’s confused by the question.   JACKIE: For you. Steven, you don’t deserve what your parents did to you again. You’re a really great guy. (Hyde scoffs) Yes, you are! I know, okay? I mean, everything you’ve done for me, even when we didn’t get along – taking me to the prom, helping me stand up to Laurie, going to jail...   HYDE: That reminds me, I think I slept past my probation meeting this week.   JACKIE: And, when you and Donna told me I should take some time to be alone, I didn’t want you to be right. But I feel like I’ve really grown a lot with that time, and I was finally able to forgive Michael, which I wouldn’t have. So you were right. And that was a nice way to make sure I didn’t slip back into that crazy crush I had on you.   Hyde’s face starts to slip. Jackie doesn’t notice.   JACKIE (cont’d): Remember how I got so worked up, I really thought you were the one who felt something after that kiss?   She giggles. Hyde gives a very small, guarded smile.   JACKIE (cont’d): So I wanted to say “thank you,” for being such a good friend. And I wanted you to have something nice... something where no one got punched and you wouldn’t forget once you came down.   HYDE: Jackie...   He gives her a long look. There’s something he wants to say, but it won’t come. Jackie leans in, attentive.   HYDE (cont’d): (beat) Thank you.   Jackie holds her arms open. Hyde shrugs, lets her give him a big hug; he settles for wrapping one arm loose around her shoulders. When they break, he looks back down at the tickets.   HYDE (cont’d): So, what time should we head out?   JACKIE: Oh, no, Steven, I can’t go. Michael asked me to help him set up his new hot comb and... well, let’s just say after the last time he tried using one, I don’t think he should be left alone with it.   HYDE: Then what do I do with the other ticket?   Fez enters through the basement door, still wearing X-Ray glasses.   Hyde lets out a long sigh and holds up the tickets.   HYDE (cont’d): Fez, man, Zeppelin! You in?   Fez beams and clasps his hands together. He hurries over to them.   FEZ: Oh, Hyde, that would be wonderful. Just you and me – for old times’ “sake.”   He and Jackie both laugh at the pun while Hyde frowns.   CUT TO:   INT. HALLWAY – DAY   The upstairs hall of the Pinciotti house. Eric strolls confidently up to Donna’s door. He tries to kick it open, but instead pushes himself back against the far wall and falls flat on his ass, leaving a giant footprint on the door.   Donna opens the door, sees Eric sprawled out.   DONNA: Eric, what the hell? Did you just kick my door?   ERIC: (beat) No.   He stands, and they both enter:   INT. DONNA’S BEDROOM - DAY   Eric, regaining some of his mojo after the fall, loosens his belt.   ERIC: But I got a surprise. I got a tattoo. Guess where? On my butt!   DONNA: (beat) Why?   ERIC: Why? Because I’m dangerous, lady!   Donna frowns at Eric. She passes him and retrieves her journal from her bed, holding it between them.   DONNA: Eric, I want you to be honest with me, and I promise I won’t get mad. Did you read my journal?   ERIC: Um... yeah.   DONNA: You sneaky little dillhole!   She whacks him in the arm with her journal. Eric recoils and juts a finger out at her.   ERIC: No! You know who’s sneaky? People who go around writing their feelings in their journals and not telling their boyfriends what they feel. So, you know what? I’m not sorry. (beat) I’m so sorry.   DONNA: You want to know how I feel? Fine. I’ll tell you how I feel!   She opens her journal and flips to the last page.   DONNA (cont’d): (reading) “Today at lunch I was looking at Eric when he didn’t know it, and I just couldn’t believe how much I love him and how lucky I am to be with him.” (looks up) Why couldn’t you read that page?   ERIC: Because you came back. (beat) Look, Donna – look, I’m really sorry, but... you know, it’s just sometimes I get worried, you know?   DONNA: Well, you know what? Suck it up.   She puts her journal away in her writing desk.   DONNA (cont’d): Eric, these are my private thoughts, and I’m allowed to have them. You have to stop trying to be what you think I want you to be and just, like, be yourself.   ERIC: Okay. I think I’m gonna go.   He turns to leave.   DONNA: Well, wait. Take off your pants.   Eric’s eyes light up.   ERIC: Really? All right!   Donna laughs.   DONNA: No. To show me your tattoo.   ERIC: I knew that, yeah. I knew that. I think you’re really gonna like it. Just... don’t be mad if it says “Debbie.”   Eric turns around, drops his pants, and lifts his shirt up to expose his ass. Donna takes a look and chokes down a laugh.   DONNA: Woodstock.   ERIC: It says “Woodstock?”   DONNA: No, it’s a picture of Snoopy’s friend Woodstock. You have a little yellow bird on your ass!   She finally cracks as Eric considers all the regrets now tied into this tattoo.   FADE TO BLACK   CREDITS   INT. DONNA’S BEDROOM - NIGHT   DREAM SEQUENCE. Donna and Jackie sit on the bed, rocking out, while the boys perform “Walk this Way” – Eric as Steven Tyler, Hyde as Joe Perry, Kelso as Tom Hamilton, Fez (still wearing the X-Ray glasses) as Brad Whitford, and Leo as Joey Kramer. Eric flirts with Donna as they perform, while Hyde and Kelso do the same with Jackie.   ERIC (lip-sync): So I took a big chance at the high school dance With a missy who was ready to play Was it me she was foolin’? ‘Cause she knew what she was doin’ Taught me how to walk this way She told me to   ERIC & HYDE (lip-sync): Walk this way! Walk this way! Walk this way! Walk this way!   END.

#z's fics #that 70s show #zenmasters #jackie x hyde #zen3to5 #fan fiction #fan script

[gray-anxiety]

No Sympathy → Levi Ackerman Chapter 6  → Shopping

Read the rest of the chapters here!

This is a FILLER chapter — it isn’t necessary for the story, but gives a better look at the relationship blooming between the characters. I have other fillers planned in the future as well just to explain some background, etc. This has happened AFTER the last chapter and BEFORE the next.

   Aella couldn’t care less about skipping school — she already had managed to talk to the teachers via email about a ‘family emergency’ that had come up and had to skip school for a day. Levi, on the other hand, couldn’t have given any shits about making up any excuses about skipping a whole school day — he just flat out skipped. The flaking duo woke up that Thursday morning without leaving for school like normal; even Aella slept in until 7 instead of waking up at 5 like normal — giving Levi all the time he wanted to clean the apartment. Aella’s eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the light that was pouring in from the window over her head — enjoying sleeping in like it was a Saturday. Aella rolled out of bed and strolled to her closet to change — while she adored lounging around in whatever she wore to bed the previous night, she had to change to go shopping with Levi at 10. Aella grabbed her phone off the charger and walked out of her room to see Levi already making breakfast — he insisted on always making it since Aella would always ignore directions and create dishes with her own twist. Levi nodded his head at Aella and grabbed the toasted waffles out of the old toaster and threw them on their separate plates. Aella tasked herself with making tea as she was extremely possessive of her tea cabinet — yes, tea cabinet. Surprisingly enough, the roommates figured out a morning routine fairly quickly and forced the other to do it even if they didn’t want to. Levi set down the plates the same time Aella set down the tea and glared at each other; knowing that their little race resulted in a damned tie.

   “So, we need outfits for the party, and I was thinking that we could get lunch and shop around? Is that alright with you?” Aella asked, trying to make their shopping trip somewhat organized and planned. Levi nodded and sipped some of his tea.

   “Yeah, that’s fine. I need to get a new bandana; I can’t stitch this one anymore.” Aella nodded. She was still nervous about the party — she hadn’t been to one since before she was left to rot. She didn’t have any friends anymore, well, except for Levi that is, and to top it all off, she couldn’t even get drunk or high at the party!  Aella sighed through her nose — this was going to be a pain in her ass. Eventually, the two headed out, Levi begrudgingly agreeing to taking the train to the shopping district in Maria, but only if he wore his bandana. Aella and Levi both knew he looked unbelievably shady — leaving Aella to come up with an idea to protect Levi’s identity without looking shady.

   “Hey. Levi?” Levi’s eyes slid over to where Aella was walking next to him. He grunted in response, letting Aella know she had his attention.

   “Why don’t we get you something like a scarf or a cravat? Maybe one of those fabric versions of those masks that people wear when they’re sick? If I wasn’t here with you right now, you’d be looking so shady that people would kick you out. You don’t want to blow your cover, no?” Levi nodded his head in acknowledgment knowing Aella was right. Even though Maria was the shadiest place to be in all of the triune cities, there was an unspoken rule between the gangsters here that you never covered your face unless you wanted to commit a crime — which, yes, most did, but the guards in the shopping district were from the city of Rose itself — the lowest crime-ridden city in the country with one of the highest police and military activity ever. To summarize it, the crime rate in Maria’s shopping district was the lowest of them all. Low crime rate leads to spending more money on making the shopping centers and malls seem pristine and clean versus the dirty grimy streets in the rest of Maria. The two passed by numerous shops, but stopped at a popular store for all customers — Terra Pine; a clothes store with low priced current trending clothing even inspired by the clothes in Sina itself. Aella dragged Levi to the scarf section and made him pick out a scarf that could easily be pulled over his mouth and nose, but functioned as a lightweight loose scarf that could easily pass as a necklace if folded correctly. Levi pulled Aella to the men’s section to help him pick out a hoodie and any accessories that could help him stay hidden; Levi had to remain as hidden as possible at that party if there truly were going to be mafia members in attendance — they might recognize him from numerous mafia dealings. Aella quickly bolted to the genderfluid section to pick out any outfit that stood out to her and eventually landed on a casual skater outfit.

   “Let’s go,” Aella mumbled to Levi so he could pay for everything since he insisted he actually had money to waste (he was a damned mafia boss, of course he had money to waste!). Levi handed Aella the bag full of her stuff and walked to the nearest pretzel maker popup shop and ordered pretzel bites.

   “Lunch; which is better than school lunch,” Levi mumbled, handing Aella a cup of pretzel bites. Aella nodded in agreement and walked to the nearest table in the mall — sitting down so she didn’t piss off Levi by making any mess whatsoever. Levi looked over at the art supply store and back to Aella.

   “I noticed you were almost out of every single art supply you owned.” Aella looked up and nodded, swallowing her last pretzel bite before replying:

   “Yeah, I’ve been saving up for almost two months for new ones, but they were so expensive I eventually gave up on trying to buy anything aside from paper.” Aella sighed — even paper was expensive these days. The economy, though while very successful, kept jacking up prices the more money paid to employees; making it extremely difficult for those in poverty to get back up again. Levi handed Aella two hundred dollar bills and tilted his head in the direction of the store.

   “I know your life for the past two years was just focused on work and trying not to fail school. Go buy some shit and actually use it since you don’t have to voluntarily work overtime all weekend now.” Aella knew Levi saw all of her art in his room — he must’ve known it was her only escape since she couldn’t even afford any booze or drugs either. Aella whispered out a ‘thank you’ and walked over to the store — buying everything from paper, pencils, and paints to erasers, brushes, and markers. Levi stood by the entrance as soon as Aella walked out with two paper bags full of art supplies — Aella was actually grinning from glee for once. Levi was determined to give Aella an escape for when things were too much — just like what Farlan did for Levi when they lived in the slums. Farlan went out of his way to steal cleaning supplies for an unknowing Levi after seeing Levi only sleep, eat, kill, and try to clean with only a rag. Levi was pulled out of his trance when Aella grabbed his arm and pulled him to the exit of the mall.

   “Come on, we need to get on the next train. This place is unnerving.” Levi nodded in agreement, but his storm eyes looked over to a knife shop and looked back to Aella.

   “We need more weapons, Aella.” Aella’s eyebrows raised and gave Levi the look like he was crazy.

   “Levi! We won’t be able to leave if we have fucking knives on us!”

   “I entered the district just fine, thank you for your concern.” Aella’s jaw dropped.

    “Are you serious, Levi?” Levi nodded plainly and dragged an increasingly worried Aella to the knife shop. The shop itself was dark and smelled like smoke versus all the other shops that were white and clean. Levi walked further in until he was face to face with the manager in the middle of the shop — leaning against the checkout desk with glass encased blades up for sale.

   “What do you want?” The manager asked, smoking a cigarette while looking at the two other customers checking out blades. Levi huffed and slammed down one of his best blades at the checkout desk the manager manned.

   “You have exactly 5 of these knives in stock right now — I want all of them.” The manager’s brow raised in a silent question and brought his mouth closer to Levi’s ear.

     “Do you want throwing knives with those, Blade?” Levi nodded and slid the manager a 50 to keep quiet. Farlan would pay the actual expense with the rest of Levi’s money. The manager pulled the five blades out in individual flat boxes that barely encased each blade. The boxes were meant for hiding a purchase without taking the newly purchased blade out. The manager then slid Levi 7 throwing blades so thin they were see through. Levi nodded and put the purchase in Aella’s brown bags from the art supply store — walking out like nothing had just happened. Aella kept quiet and just kept carrying her stuff like normal; she didn’t mind blades — she only minded jail time if she was busted by Rose. Levi had gotten in the district without being checked like other civilians thanks to Farlan — even Aella wasn’t checked when she entered before Levi. When the two arrived at the train station, they walked past the lines of angry civilians begrudgingly being checked one by one for anything illegal by Rose security itself. Yes, Levi and Aella both received glares from checked civilians for the duo not having to go through the shit they just went through, but Levi couldn’t have given any shits whatsoever — life was unfair. Levi walked to the train behind Aella — allowing Aella to board before him. Just as he started to walk on the metal vehicle, a man walked past getting off the train — bumping into Levi’s shoulder harshly. Levi growled and turned around.

   “Watch it you fucking dumbass!” The other man turned around and flipped Levi off —  ‘wait a minute…’ Levi recognized the man. Green-blue eyes, messy brown hair, and a death wish of a will to fight anyone? Levi knew him alright. He was also a well-known ‘bad boy’ in Karanese High — Eren fucking Jaeger. Levi never knew the man aside from nods of hello down the halls whenever they saw each other out of respect for one another’s gang-affiliated past, but from what he heard of the man, he was worth recruiting when the time came.

   “Levi, come on, the train is about to leave.” Aella put her hand on Levi’s shoulder and lead him to two isolated seats. The party was in two days — Levi was finally going to get some answers.

#AoT #levi aot #aot x reader #attack on titan #levi ackerman x reader #LEVI ACKERMAN #Mikasa Ackerman #ackerman #attack on titan x reader #snk #levi snk #snk x reader #snk mikasa #snk hcs #fanfiction #anime #mafia anime #anime x reader #mafia! levi #mafia! levi ackerman #mafia! aot #mafia au #levi imagine #levi #modern levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader hcs #levi ackerman x reader drabble #Eren Jaeger #eren yeager #eren yaeger

[asterinjapan]

Walks through history and caves

Hello again!

Today was a hot and sunny day, so of course I spent most of it inside, haha. That’s not as much of a shame as you might think, because I saw some lovely things and I didn’t melt. That’s always a plus.

Follow me behind the link for today’s report on Okinawa World and the Okinawa prefectural museum!

 So, yeah, two things today again. I have a bunch of things I want to do or visit, but not all of them can be combined due to bus lines being very inconvenient. In general they’re pretty great, but sometimes two things are like 5 kilometers apart and yet the fastest way by bus is going to the other side of the island first… So I stayed up late last night and scrambled up my list to see what came up. As it turns out, the Prefectural museum is on the other side than anything else I’d like to visit, and would thus always require a trip back to Naha. That would be the plan for the afternoon then!

In the morning, I went to Okinawa World. It’s a theme park of sorts about, well, Okinawa, and frankly the majority of it is… well. I mostly came here for the cave, which we will get to later, because upon entering, I learnt that there would be a performance in ten minutes, so I went there first. It turned out to be a traditional Eisa-style drum and dance performance and boy, did that group pack a punch! Near the end they rolled in an absolutely massive drum as well, those were some intense vibrations, haha. Despite the heat (it was open-air, although underneath a tent cover), time flew and I had a good time during the performance. I however can’t say it’s music I’d very quickly buy a CD of, because I feel this is something you have to experience.

After that, I made my way to the limestone cave, Gyokusendo, the second biggest in Japan. It was formed over the past 300,000 years and measures 15 kilometers in length, although only a little less than 1 kilometer is accessible to the public. And accessible it is: there’s a metal walkway with guardrails and at the end there’s an escalator, so you don’t have to climb stairs all the way up again.

The most impressive part is right at the beginning: once you descend the first flight of stairs, you face an absolutely massive room full of stalactites and stalagmites. It’s pretty dark in here, but there are enough lights to find your way and take pictures without needing excessive flash. And although mankind has carved itself a path through the cave, it’s definitely still a natural beauty. The cave narrows the further you get, and at one point they’ve had to carve a pathway through the stalactites since they had gotten too dense. The big dangers here are tripping as the ceiling drips incessantly, and hitting your head against a stalactite, haha.

Here and there, special places were marked and occasionally got special lights, like a blue pool of water and a waterfall.

Overall, I really enjoyed this walk, especially since it was only 21 C down here, haha. That was quite the clash once I got back outside, with 30 C and sun. The cave exit leads you into the Kingdom Village, which is full of work shops that all require additional fees, and a bunch of souvenir shops. Uh, yeah, it’s a bit overly commercial here, haha, but I was prepared for that and thus didn’t really mind. Outside the cave they were selling commemorative pictures which they had taken before entering the actual cave, so I uh, caved and got that one. I should be able to download it tomorrow too, so that’s nice! I still look very jetlagged on that picture, but hey, not a lot of full-body shots of me here otherwise, haha. It’s all selfies or nothing.

 I walked through Kingdom Village fairly quickly, although it looked very nice. Scents of all kinds of food were mingling, and that didn’t exactly do wonders to my stomach along with the heat. I most definitely skipped out on the snake show (thankfully you can opt out of paying for that in the first place) and looked up my bus times. Still plenty of time left, and thus I crossed the street to find a café.

Not just any café, however – the Cave Café! Across the street lies the Gangala valley. You can only take a tour if you make reservations, and I’d juuuust come out of a cave, but you can still take a seat and have a drink at the café. Which was really cool, because it is indeed inside a cave, with stalactites dripping above you. They served soft drinks with flavored ice blocks, so I asked for the most popular combination (lemon and – something) and took a seat.

 After soaking in the cool air and the pretty views for a while, I went out to find the bus stop. The bus took me back to my starting point, about 9 minutes away from my hotel, but I wasn’t done yet for today! No, I boarded the next bus which brought me to the Okinawa Prefectural Museum. Although I must confess I rushed into the nearest shopping center first to find a bathroom and a water tap, haha.

After that, I walked to the museum and got myself a ticket for the general exhibition in the historic museum, skipping out of the art museum and special exhibitions as it was already close to 4 PM. I didn’t have to rush, though, since the museum is open until 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.

And I’m happy I didn’t have to rush, because whoa, this museum is packed! I got a free audio guide, which came with 50 (!) audio spots, and consisted of a map with a digital pen. You set the pen to your preferred language and then tapped the audio spot on the map. To be fair, if you listen to all audio clips, it takes much longer to make your way through, haha, but it definitely added to the experience.

The museum has a very impressive opening with a glass floor looking down into the coral life that surrounds the islands of Okinawa prefecture. Right in the first hall, there’s a relief map on the floor of the islands, and with light projections, they show how the islands were formed over the ages. The history museum really lived up to its name and covered the entire history of the Ryukyu islands right from the earliest human being discovered there, to the kings and culture, until the eventual 17th century invasion by Satsuma (currently Kagoshima in the south of Japan) and eventually annexed by Japan in 1879 as the Okinawa prefecture, only to be briefly under USA command following the horrific and devastating Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Okinawa was returned to Japan in the 70s, but the relationship remains difficult as many Ryukyuans feel independent of Japan. Sure enough, Ryukyu culture is a mix of Japanese, Chinese and other influences and yet has its own character, and even managed to remain a kingdom under Satsuma and Japan, be it with adjustments to become a vassal state. Current concerns are the loss of Ryukyu identity due to mixing with Japan and Japanese attempts to push their language and culture onto Okinawa.

So yeah, pretty difficult topics presented in a mostly neutral manner, but there was still more to discover. The natural history part went into length about the unique eco systems of Okinawa’s different islands, with very specific species of insects, birds and so on that got cut off from the rest of the world early on and now only exist here. They went the extra mile and replicated the environments here, trees and all, with animals hiding in between the trees for you to find (not live ones, of course).

Other parts of the museum discussed all aspects of life, including funerals, and this is where I truly learnt why the urns at the Tamaudun Mausoleum were surprisingly big. They do not contain ashes, since cremation wasn’t par of the course back then. Instead, once the body had decomposed, there was a bone washing ceremony and then the bones were deposited into the urn, their actual final resting place. Apparently the urns are now sought after because they’re pretty and there have already been instances or grave robbing… Geesh.

Aside from that slightly disturbing note, there were more folklore exhibits, such as the dressing up as the gods, which was on tv the other day and confused me completely, haha. The person dressed up as god, Miruku, supposedly comes from across the sea (which is something akin to heaven for people living on an island) and brings good fortune. Other gods must be appeased as they might bring bad omens. And unlike mainland Japan, it’s the women here who are spiritually superior and communicate with the deities as priestesses. I think I could have watched an entire museum on that topic alone, haha, but they did a good job covering the basics here considering how broad their scope is.

There are also a couple of traditional buildings outside, but I didn’t stay there for long since well, I just visited the Nakamura house already, haha. And I was getting really, really tired – although I had a great time at the museum, I was secretly kind of glad to be through. It made for an interesting contrast with Okinawa world, although I can’t say the latter felt super ingenuine or something. Just – commercially inclined. But I’m not sure in how far Okinawan/Ryukyu culture is actually oppressed and in how far it is akin to what I’ve heard the Ainu people on Hokkaido say: that they feel they had to put on a costume to even show their culture at all.  I don’t think that’s the case here, but I’m way too uninformed still to say something sensible about that on Okinawa, so I’ll leave that to your discretion. Maybe I’m just spouting sleep-deprived nonsense here, who knows, haha.

 After that contemplation, I had a (slightly too big, but still) delicious dinner in the mall, which hosts several traditionally Japanese food stands, and then walked to the bus stop on the other side of the road. Technically the wait for the bus meant that I could just walk back to my hotel and arrive there at the same time, but it had been a long day and it was past 7 PM, which means it’s dark here, so uh, the bus it is, haha.

 And now I’m back in my hotel! Longest day so far, so I don’t know what I’m up to for tomorrow. I have enough to choose from, that’s for sure! Photos will be up soon, and thank you for reading all of that. See you tomorrow!

#report #japan 2019 #report: japan 2019