#I can now focus on the finals and portfolio “”peacefully“” ..

[xyl4-4444]

Here are all the artwork I made for my magazine project (4 graphic design class of course)

Bonus!!!

New oc ref sheet

[thotsforvillainrights]

~Job Hunting~

Au: Roommates

Part: Three

Theme: general

As usual the day started with a loud knock at your door before Magne burst inside. You groaned and fastened the blanket over your head, gripping it as tightly as possible in case she decided to yank it off. No, Magne was going to take the better approach to the situation. She moved to open your room curtains and light instantly flooded the room. It was ineffective against the forcefield of your blanket though. You had hoped she’d leave you be, but nooooo...

She just had to call in the big guns.

“Alright Toga, plan B! She/He/They won’t get up!” By the time she said that, it was too late to raise your white flag of surrender. “OOOF!” You huffed when the sudden slamming weight jumped on top of your body. “Jesus Toga, get the hell off me!!!” Himiko just giggled and began to tickle you until you jolted out of bed yourself. “Good job!” Magne praised her and she smiled widely. “Alright, now that you’re up Y/N, we gotta get our asses on top of this job hunting or else we’ll all be moving out faster than we moved in.” Magne spoke seriously and you nodded. She was right after all. You guys had your fun already. The moving process was over, you already had dinner at multiple places on this side of town, and you threw an absolute rager of a housewarming party last weekend. Now it was time to get serious and do adult stuff. You sighed and went to get ready for the day ahead. Once finished, both the girls were already in the car munching on toast. “We can stop somewhere and get lunch after a while if that’s okay.” Magne asked you and you nodded. “Alright! We’ve used all our connections and rounded up the places for our best possible options! First stop on the list is just a few blocks away!” Magne informed excitedly before pulling out of the parking spaces and heading towards the first destination:

The tattoo shop where Dabi worked as Assistant Manager.

The bell that hung above the door dinged as the three of you entered the shop (resume’s in hand) and approached the desk where Dabi sat. He sighed and placed the flash sheet away to look up at you 3. “Alright, you actually were being serious about the whole job thing?” He sighed in annoyance and Magne gasped. “Uhm yeah!? I wasn’t kidding around when I said that to you the other day!” Dabi pinched the skin on the bridge of his nose and looked back up at everyone. “I wanna first off start by saying, you need to have some sort of skill to do this. The art, AND the steadiness of your hands as well. Oh and you have to have a relationship with blood.” When he said this, Toga gasped excitedly. “Ugh, a GOOD relationship with it.” Dabi added and Toga frowned, turning to walk out of the shop in defeat. “How are the hours? Can I request a lot of days off in case I have to get a second job?” Magne asked curiously and Dabi just burst out into laughter. “You’re a fucking hilarious chick!!!” He laughed at her (even as she turned to walk out of the shop too). “Then I guess that just leaves you huh?” He smirked at you mischievously. “Do you wanna try for it?” He asked, quickly yanking your resume from your hands and giving it a look over. “Wow, you’re pretty impressive but I’ll be honest with you...” He handed your resume back. “We really don’t give a shit about what grade you graduated with in college algebra. Come back with a portfolio of your artwork and then you’ll be in business. If you think you’re interested in it of course.” Dabi winked and got back to work. “Oh okay, thank you.” You spoke quietly and quickly headed out the door. “So how is it for you? Did we land it?” Magne and Toga looked at you expectedly. “Honestly I probably did if I wanted to work there, but I don’t think I have enough time to put together an entire portfolio before our first rent is due. On top of that, I have to spend money on my own equipment and the apprentice thing doesn’t pay until I get my tattoo license. In all reality, this seems like a long term process. Let’s just check out the next spot please?” Magne nodded and drove off to the next place:

The Plus Ultra Tech Store where Spinner works.

The three of you entered the store and you smiled when you noticed Spinner behind the counter tinkering with an old keyboard. He looked up and directly at you as a blush started on his cheeks. “H-hey Y/N.” You smiled lightly and opened your mouth to greet him back but Toga spoke up first. “Spin Spin!!! I came to see if you had an open position or two orrrr three???” She approached the counter and excitedly slapped her palms down. “Okay whoa hey! First of all please quiet down, and second of all don’t call me Spin Spin. Anyway, gimme your Resumes.” Spinner took each of them and looked them over thoroughly (which took a bit so Toga and Magne went to look through the store). He sighed when he finished and looked over at you. “You guys have pretty darn good credentials but that’s not gonna play too much of a part here. Hey guys! Can you come over here real quick?” Spinner called out to them and the two of them made it to the desk fast af. “Okay, I really don’t wanna hurt you guys feelings but I’m gonna be frank here: Do any of you know how to fix technology?” Spinner was met with silence and confused expressions. “Uh...okay. Well do any of you have extensive knowledge on movies, tech, or video games slash consoles?” Spinner was once again met with silence. “DO ANY OF YOU KNOW HOW TO SET UP A CELL PHONE AND ARE YOU OKAY WITH DOING IT FOR MOST OF THE DAY?” 

“Oh I can!!!”

“Alright you’re hired then.” Spinner sighed and took Toga’s resume. “I can try to ask my manager to open up some more positions for you two if you want. I really don’t wanna leave you out and-” You gently placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sweetly at him. “It’s alright Shuichi, don’t worry! Just hiring Toga has helped us a ton. Now all we have to do is focus on Mags and I, and we’ll just be A-OK.” You winked at him and pat his shoulder, watching him look away quickly as he tried to hide that cute blush of his. You and Magne headed back to the car and waited for Toga to finish up the impromptu interview/hiring process. Finally she burst out of the store doorway and skipped back to the car happily with a folded uniform in her arms. “We did it!!!!” She shouted happily once she got into the back seat. You laughed and Magne playfully rolled her eyes. “No you did it, crazy. Me and Y/N still got at least 3 more places to head to. Next stop is:

The University Shigaraki attends.

Once you guys made it there, Magne texted real quick and Shigaraki approached the car car 5 minutes later. He knocked on the driver window and Magne rolled it down. “A Sorento...really? I honestly saw you driving a bug or a smart car.” Tomura played with the door interior and Magne slapped his hand away. “Excuse you, Mr. California Raisin but my Mom gave me this car and it’s fully payed off. AND it’s a 2018, so let’s see you do better hmm?”

“I drive a 2019 Prius.”

“A Prius and you???” Magne burst into laugher and Toga giggled from the back seat. “Get the fuck out of the stupid Sorento and let’s go. I don’t have time to waste. My next class is in like 40 minutes and I still gotta get some lunch to eat.” Tomura grumbled as your crew made it out of the car. You all trekked near Tomura across the campus while he pulled out his map and argued with Magne the quickest routes to places. “Listen here you ashy bitch, I’m telling you if we cross over in FRONT of the cafeteria then we can make it to the biology building faster than if we took that sidewalk by the financial aid office.” She tapped the paper furiously and Tomura growled. “No you listen Mop headed slut, I go to school here so it’s ME that knows where we’re supposed to be. I have TWO teachers to introduce to you and Y/N each and it’s gonna take me a bit to get there so let me do it my way.” He grumbled back at her and she snatched the map. Toga leaned over to whisper in your ear as you two continued to walk behind them. “Those two argue like a married couple. 20 bucks says they’ll be dating by Christmas of this year.” You quietly laughed and pushed her to the side. “Shut it Himiko, or they’ll both kill us!” Suddenly the whole group stopped walking as two familiar faces approached. “Hey, what are you guys doing on campus? I thought you all graduated college already last year or whatever.” Hari spoke with a welcoming smile as Kai stood next to him. “Good evening you three. Thank you for inviting us to that party last week. It was nice to not focus on schoolwork for a moment of two.” Kai added peacefully. “Oh not biggie really! And we’re here because me and Y/N have to go see two teachers here for a possible position as a secretary, or teachers assistant. Tomura’s dumbass is failing as our lead to them though.” Magne and Shigaraki glared at each other for a moment. 

“Well Kai just got out for the day and my next class isn’t till later tonight since I’m taking mainly night classes and all. Why don’t I take Magne to the first teacher, and Kai can take Y/N. That way you can go eat or whatever Tomura. Besides, I owe you after you helped me with the programming homework I had before I changed my major last semester.” Hari explained and Magne squealed. “Oh such a gentleman, say less!” She grabbed Hari’s arm and he laughed nervously before she pulled him along, following the map and chatting as if they’d known each other forever. Tomura explained where to find the other teacher and then he left eagerly towards the cafeteria with Toga tagging along (because she genuinely wanted to see what the food was like here). “Thanks again for leading me there. I know you’d probably have places you’d rather be huh.” You spoke up and Kai laughed slightly. “Oh no, think nothing of it. Any escape I get from having to focus on this work all the time is perfect for me. Besides, I feel like we should get to know each other since we only just met through Shigaraki’s invite to your housewarming. You seem like an interesting person with a charming personality and a stunning face...I mean as if that has anything to do with it.” He cleared his throat and looked forward. “Wow, that was a terrible save.” You teased him, hinting at his little compliment he threw in there. “Anyway Kai, what are you going to graduate in? Like your major and all.” 

“Biological Sciences and Pre-Med. After that, I gotta head to Med school 2 cities away from here.”

“Wow, off to do great things huh? I’m kinda sad knowing that now haha. Seems like we don’t have much time to get to know each other after the next few semesters and all.”

“Oh well I wouldn’t put it that way. After all, we still have phones. And when I’m passing through to visit family on holidays, I’ll be sure to drop in and see you...and everyone else haha.”

“Wow, another bad save.” You continued to tease him and he laughed it off. You guys seemed to make it to your destination in no time. Kai was kind enough to wait around outside while you chatted in the building with the English teacher. When you came out he looked at you with worry apparent on his face. “Did it go well?” You immediately shed your fake somber expression and smiled widely. “I don’t know, but you’ll just have to ask me that when I clock in next week!!!!” You jumped up and down excitedly. “Hey that’s great! Let’s go out to celebrate with coffee or something eventually.” You smiled and nodded. It didn’t take too much longer to get back home with Toga and Magne. Turns out Magne failed the interview pretty bad but luckily she made it into a pretty cushy job with Twice and Hawks at the store in the Mall she really loved (just think Spencers pls). “Well I’d say we achieved our goals for today so let’s go blow the rest of our cash on a crap ton of junk food and binge watch Netflix at the house!” Magne cheered on the way home as you and Toga joined her. Hopefully this job would last long, and hopefully it would bring you some peace at mind when it comes to financial stability because after all...

you still needed to save money for a car👀

(but that’s a story for another time)

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

Instagram: @pastelbattydraws & @pastelbattystore

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRNMJH7vHL7APNobUykhK4w?view_as=subscriber

[kygo-keigo]

• MDZS ONESHOT FANFICTION • MODERN X ANCIENT AU •

Two worlds apart, Xiao Zhan meets a mysterious man in his dream, Lan Wanji. Who is this man wearing an ancient costume?

Two worlds apart, Lan Wanji saw Wei Wuxian inside of a bizarre man's clothing. Is it Wei Ying? Why does he look exactly like Wei Ying?

Two souls separated from different eras, bonded by unknown incense burner.

Art by: 陆离-popo

https://m.weibo.cn/u/1974871217?uid=1974871217&luicode=10000011&lfid=1076037266317551

for wattpad link, visit: https://my.w.tt/qs7X83uah8

•••

Inside the Cloud Recess Pavilion, disciples of Gusu Lan Sect often hear Lan Wanji's inquiry. It is like a morning ritual for Lan Wanji to play his guqin, every day for 10 years, without skipping any day. Many of the disciples know the notes he's playing. It is a solemn melody full of agony and longingness. In Gusu Lan Sect, it is forbidden to talk about the person behind their back. But it is rumored that song is dedicated to his long lost lover. As to know whether it is true or not, no one dares to ask.

Today is a different day. It is Wei Wuxian's birthday. Lan Wangji places his guqin on the table and stares outside the window. It is autumn now, the Ginko trees outside fills the whole pathway with its yellow leaves. He strums the strings on his hands and plays the tune he composed years ago. When the one who heard it was still here, beside him in the cold and desolate cave, asking what's the title of the song.

Wangxian, he said. But that person can no longer hear it.

Lan Wangji turns his head up in the sky as he plucks the chords out of his guqin. Begging the heavens to answer his most ardent prayer.

"Wei Ying, where are you?"

Lan Sizhui turns his head towards the melody he's hearing. Although it is faintly heard, he notices a different melody from what Lan Wangji usually plays.

"Jingyi, have you heard that melody? It is different from what Hanguang-jun usually plays."

Lan Jingyi shook his head. He's struggling to reply as the long tips of his headband were on his lips while doing a handstand, copying all of the sect rules. "Focus on your work and stop distracting me. If we are caught loafing around, we won't be able to have our dinner."

---

"Zhanzhan, are you dizzy again?"

Xiao Zhan turned his head and shook it. "Just a simple headache." Xiao Zhan presses his temples and massage in between his eyebrows. He shakes his head the continues to rummage inside the garage sale.

Mei Hui grabs an incense burner and places it on top of the table. "I'll give this to you, you just need to buy some calming oil and place it inside. It will help you with your headache."

It is an old ceramic incense burner with intricate design holes where the smoke goes out. Using the tip of his finger, he touches the incense burner, he felt the electricity flow on his fingers and immediately remove his finger away.

Mei Hui laughs, "It has not been used for a while, why do you react as if you're scalded?" She immediately stuffs the incense burner in a paper bag and shoves it to Xiao Zhan. "Use it well."

It's almost midnight when Xiao Zhan finished his portfolio. He's a dedicated and hard-working student. It is his last semester in university, so he just needs to endure countless sleepless nights before he graduates. That's why he often caught a headache because of a lack of sleep.

He stretches his whole body to ease those tensed muscles from prolonged sitting, suddenly caught a glimpse of an incense burner from earlier. He already bought a lavender-scented incense oil to help him sleep tonight. It doesn't matter if he wakes up late tomorrow since it is the weekend.

After he lits up the incense burner, Xiao Zhan finally rewarded himself under the quilt as he snuggles his body into the soft mattress under him, ready to meet his deep slumber.

Bright noonday welcomes Xiao Zhan in his dream while walking in a pathway covered with yellow leaves. Although the sun is on its peak, he didn't feel any heat in the air. A sense of familiarity envelopes his body as he takes long strides in this place. Maybe he's already been here before?

At the end of the path, there is a small hut located in the middle. There is a man inside the hut, wearing a long white dress with clouds design on his lapels, a white headband on his forehead, and a guqin on his lap. Xiao Zhan feels like he's on an ancient drama, Who is this man wearing an ancient costume?

As soon as Lan Wanji sets his gaze on the man under the tree, his heart skips a beat.

Lan Wangji knows deep in his heart that this man is certainly Wei Wuxian. He exactly looks like Wei Wuxian, but his hair is short and wears bizarre clothes that he never saw in his life. Is it Wei Ying? Why does he look exactly like Wei Ying? His heart starts to waver, but it didn't stop him from going outside of the hut.

"Wei Ying?"

When Lan Wanji was a meter close to Wei Wuxian, he disappeared. A glimpse of Wei Wuxian vanished in thin air, all of a sudden Wangji wakes up from the dream. Tears start to fall from his eyes when he opened his eyes.

Xiao Zhan fell from his bed and wakes up. He turns his face to the large mirror in front of him, and tears start to roll down from his face. He didn't know why he is crying, maybe he dreamt of something sad but he can no longer remember.

—-

After that hellish exam, Xiao Zhan finally can rest peacefully on his bed. Just as he walks out, Mei Hui invites him for a couple of drinks with their friends as they successfully finished their final exams. Just a couple of requirements to make and they will graduate a few months from now. Although Xiao Zhan doesn't like to socialize, he agreed. He didn't know why but he's in a good mood and a couple of drinks won't be a bad idea.

They enjoy good hotpot meat and a couple of drinks. This place is full of students that also came from finishing their exams. From different departments, although they did not know each other, as they sang their alma mater's hymn, they unite as one. Some cried and some drank as they sang their final song. Eventually, someone plays a graduation song and everyone must state their name, age, and department after that take a one-shot of alcohol. They can also add witty remarks if they want to.

All of the students are on their high spirits with an alcohol-induced body, so everyone is willing to do this nonsense.

After their friends and Mei Hui introduced themselves, it is now Xiao Zhan's turn. Xiao Zhan is a bit tipsy now but can manage to stand up. "Hello everyone, my name is Xiao Zhan, 24 years old, from the modern international art design department. For the future of Chongqing university, Gānbēi!"

Everyone also raised their cups and drink. Xiao Zhan slightly slipped from the corner of his chair. Luckily, someone grabs his arms to find his balance.

"Thank you," Xiao Zhan didn't shot a glance at the person as he drops his head on the table. That last shot knocked him out.

He didn't know how he managed to go back to his bed. Xiao Zhan can hear Mei Hui's voice and some strange yet familiar voice of a man. He tries to open his eyes, but all he can see is their shadow. The last thing he saw is Mei Hui putting something on his incense burner then he passed out.

---

Lan Wanji strums his guqin inside the hut. He solemnly plays the notes while picturing Wei Wuxian in his mind.

Once again, Xiao Zhan goes back to the last scene on his dream, but this time he heard an ancient guqin plays. Like he was calling from the past. He followed the sound until he saw that man again playing his guqin while softly whispered the word, Wei Ying.

"Wei Ying?"

Lan Wangji suddenly stops playing. When he opened his eyes, he saw that bizarre man that looks like Wei Wuxian.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Wanji immediately stands up and reached his hand to the man.

Xiao Zhan panicked and raised his two hands, "So... Sorry. I.. I am not Wei Ying."

Lan Wangji stepped back.

"I'm afraid you recognized the wrong person."

Lan Wanji's eyebrows furrowed. He hides his face from the man with his hand, I am wrong.

Xiao Zhan saw the man's sorrowful face, he felt guilty. "That person... I mean Wei Ying, is he your friend?"

Lan Wanji pressed this thin lips, "He is..."

Lan Wanji didn't finish his sentence when Xiao Zhan interrupts him, "Oh, you also have that incense burner?"

Lan Wanji picks up the incense burner, "You also have the same kind?"

Xiao Zhan nods.

Now Lan Wanji finally understands the situation, "The incense burner brought you into my dreams, I was calling for his spirit and you came here. You don't belong in this world, that's why I don't recognize your clothing."

Xiao Zhan quickly lift the hem of his clothes, "In your dream? Is it kind of magic?"

Lan Wanji slightly smiles. He explained that incense burner they both use is an ancient treasure, maybe it was passed down for generations. Lan Wanji didn't know it is capable of meeting two souls from a different era, until now. What bothers him is that he met Wei Wuxian from the other world, is it really him or not?.

Lan Wangji, "What's your name?"

Xiao Zhan, "My name is Xiao Zhan, you?"

"Lan Zhan." Lan Wanji didn't know why he easily gave his birth name.

Xiao Zhan chuckled, "Lan Zhan? I'm Xiao Zhan, we're both Zhanzhan."

Lan Zhan saw Xiao Zhan's bright smile. In a split second, he looked like Wei Wuxian from where they were young. His sweet smile that can brighten up any gloomy day. A smile that completely conquered his heart. They stayed there for a couple of hours, asking about their world, how people live from Wanji's time, how different is Xiao Zhan's generation.

"Lan Zhan."

Lan Wangji's heart pounded so hard when he hears his name.

Xiao Zhan, "I'm glad to see you. Even if it's a dream, I can feel we're both knew each other. The next time we see each other, teach me how to play that some from earlier."

Lan Wanji, "Mn."

Xiao Zhan, "See you in my dreams."

---

It continues for three weeks. Xiao Zhan always meets Lan Wangji on his dream. He learned that Lan Zhan's real name is Lan Wanji. That he's a cultivator in Gusu Lan Sect and people call him Hanguang-jun. He also has a brother that looks like him. He also learned about Wei Ying called Wei Wuxian by his real name. Also a cultivator like him.

Even if there are so many things to comply with their graduation, Xiao Zhan manages to sleep whenever he can. That's why among their group, he's the only one who looks fresh while everyone carries a black bag underneath their eyes.

Mei Hui, on the other hand, noticed something unusual from Xiao Zhan. Unlike last month which he really looked like a dead fish, now he looks vibrant even his skin looks plumper than hers. Envy rose from her, he never saw Xiao Zhan this happy before. From the looks of it, people might see it as the excitement from the graduation, but in her eyes, it feels like he's in love.

Mei Hui, "Zhanzhan, you look so happy these past few days. Are you dating someone?"

Suddenly, Lan Wanji's face crossed his mind. Xiao Zhan slightly smiles in a fraction of second, but it did not escape from Mei Hui's eyes.

"Nope, I don't have time to date someone, " Xiao Zhan nonchalantly said.

Mei Hui didn't bother to dig deeper from his personal life and focused on other things. She just silently wished that when one day, when she falls for the other person too, she'll glow brighter too just like him.

Each day they're getting closer to his graduation, each day Xiao Zhan almost perfected Lan Wanji's melody score using a flute. Though he only plays on his dream, Xiao Zhan silently wished he could play it in real life too. So the next day, Xiao Zhan bought a Dizi (Chinese Flute) from a shop referred by Mei Hui. He wants to test his conjecture to play the flute just like what he plays in his dream. Although it wasn't as good as what he did on his dream, he's still happy that he remembered all of the notes.

Xiao Zhan wants to play the melody after his graduation.

—--

Lan Wanji waits for Xiao Zhan to appear in his dream. He noticed a man wearing a black coat and a hat. That man walks towards him while waving his hand. His heart nearly escapes from his chest. It is pounding so loud and hurts each time it pumps blood. He didn't know if he was hallucinating as he saw Wei Wuxian in front of him.

"Lan Zhan!"

Wei Wuxian smiled at him and began to press his mouth towards the flute that almost looks like Chengqing and plays Wangxian. Lan Wangji's world stopped right in front of him. His eyes only glare at the man in front of him. Maybe he's delusional but if he can only wish to live inside his dream, he's willing to give up everything just to be with him. Only with him.

"Lan Zhan, what is the name of the song?" Wei Wuxian asked.

Now, Lan Wanji can say the words that he wanted to say a long time ago, "Wangxian."

"Wangxian..."

Lan Wanji noticed some changes from Wei Wuxian's face and quickly turn his body away from him. He grabs his shoulder only to see Xiao Zhan's bloodshot eyes. Lan Wanji quickly retracts his hand that was resting on Xiao Zhan's shoulder. He just imagines him as Wei Wuxian.

Xiao Zhan, who wears graduation clothes just to play the melody he's been practicing for weeks in front of Lan Wangji as a surprise was defeated by Lan Wanji's past lover. He never knew that the song was named after their combined name.

He silently clenches his flute as he speaks, "Is this song... For that person, you called Wei Ying?"

"Yes."

"But you've been waiting for him for 13 years now. How can you sure you'll find him again?"

"I don't know."

Xiao Zhan swallowed the invisible lump he feels on his throat. He quickly suppresses his sour feeling and said, "Lan Zhan, I... I like you."

Lan Wangji remained stoic. He takes 3 steps away from Xiao Zhan and looks into the sky and closes his eyes. Xiao Zhan's personality is somehow the same as Wei Wuxian, but Xiao Zhan isn't Wei Wuxian.

"I've been waiting for him for more than a decade now, how much more if I wait another year for him?"

Xiao Zhan just received an indirect rejection from Lan Wanji's rhetorical question. He silently accepts it as he twists his feet against the ground.

"What you are wearing?"

"Oh this, I just graduated from the University."

Lan Wangji pats his head, "Congratulations."

Xiao Zhan paid him with a smile too, "I wished to receive that same kind of love like you have for Wei Wuxian."

Xiao Zhan, "I don't want anyone if it's not you."

Lan Zhan, "You're still young Xiao Zhan. I can't accompany you in your world nor you can in my world. I have my life in Cloud Recess, you also have your life in your world. Maybe he's waiting for me somewhere in the underworld and there are people waiting for you there. We can only move forward with our life. We can't be stuck in a dream no matter how much we wanted to. So this will be the last time we'll see each other."

Xiao Zhan finally broke down, tears came falling down from his face as his body slowly fades away.

Xiao Zhan, "I'll never get to see you again?"

Lan Wanji, "If you're Wei Wuxian's spirit from another world, maybe you'll meet me there too if fate allows."

After that, there is only an empty dream.

Maybe Lan Wangji was right, or maybe he's not. Maybe he is Wei Wuxian in his past life, or maybe not. In any case, whether he hopes for another Lan Wanji in his world or not, if fate allows it will happen.

Three years had passed, Xiao Zhan never saw Lan Wangji again. Being consumed by his work, he no longer thinks about him. After his encounter with the incense burner, he never used it again. He sometimes dreams about Lan Wangji until he can no longer remember his face. He even dreamt of himself wearing wuxia clothes but never really know what he did there.

One thing is for certain, he still plays Wangxian.

Xiao Zhan fiddled the flute in his hand, smiling at the thought of that dream under the ginkgo tree. That yellow leaves that are slowly covered the road. He didn't know why but he felt like playing the song in his flute.

As he blows his breath, the melody starts to play.

Whether if it's 16 years or hundred years, Lan Wangji still waits for Wei Wuxian. Until the day comes when he hears Wangxian in the air. It is played roughly but he can still recognize the notes. He quickly followed the melody and saw a ridiculous man playing his bamboo flute with makeup on his face. Now he certainly knows, he came back.

He grabs that man's wrist and stares directly at him.

Wei Ying, you came back. It is you. I found you.

Xiao Zhan stops playing his flute when he notices a man in front of him calling out his name, who looks exactly like a man he's familiar with.

'Maybe you'll meet me there too if fate allows.'

It is no longer a maybe. Lan Zhan, I found you.

"You're Xiao Zhan, right?"

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Wang Yibo..."

Whether in this life or your life, we are destined to belong to each other no matter where we are.

•••

NaverGirl

[ahollandy]

Oh, You Again - Tom Holland Imagine

Summary: A drunken night out leads to an awkward encounter on your first day as a photographer

Warning: Bit of swearing, mentions of sexy time, y’know the usual.

Masterlist

You were prepared to have a cozy night in the night before an early start. 6am you had your alarm set for. It wasn’t often people landed their dream job, but you had somehow landed the photography job of a lifetime.

You had worked so hard over the past 3 years to develop an outstanding portfolio, and somehow the editors of Brittish GQ got their hands on it.

The phone call was out of the blue and they asked to see more of your work, so you sent them some more recent photo shoot images you had taken, and they were blown away. They invited you to join them on their team of creative developers and begin working with them right away.

As you were just starting to get comfortable on your couch, your phone buzzed against the pillow beside you, and you answered after a few rings.

“Sooooo…..” your friend started. “You’re definitely coming out for a drink tonight”.

“No way in hell” you replied.

“Yes way in hell. It’s been forever!” your best friend pleaded. You rolled your eyes at their pathetic attempt to pry you from your cozy, warm apartment.

“What harm can one drink do? I’ll even buy you food” they said, in another attempt to convince you.

It was at that moment you heard a knock on the door. Whilst still arguing on the phone, you stood and walked over the door, surprised to see your best friend standing behind it.

You hung up the phone and looked at them with an are you serious? look.

It may have taken another 30 minutes, but sure enough you were coaxed into leaving the comfort of your home.

The bar down the road with your usual go-to, the comfy plush booths, good music and underground vibe was always something that picked up your mood a little. Although the bar was a little dark, you knew your way around pretty well by now so the two of you easily made your way to a table with some drinks.

You had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be just that one drink consumed tonight.

Three hours past, multiple empty glasses scattered around you, and your vision was so burry that you could barely make out the face of your best friend opposite you.

After that, you really don’t remember anything else that happened that night.

Somehow, with some luck, you woke up the next morning back in your bed.

Your head was thumping and your stomach was twisting at the cocktail of alcohol in it.

Curled up to one side, your eyes are still tightly squeezed shut as you try and will away the sickening feeling that is spreading through you. As you open your eyes, the brightness of the day seared your irises. As you try and ignore your burning eyes, you roll onto your back slowly, stretching your arms above your head.

As your head rolls onto the other side, your eyes slowly adjust to see a mound of sheets and pillows surrounding an unfamiliar shape.

As your eyes grow, you can start to make out the messy curls that fall over a strangers head, the muscles in their back as they lay facing away from you, leaving their back exposed to the air, the rest of their body hidden under the duvet.

Your heart begins to pound, racing as you begin to lift yourself to lean on your elbows.

Peaking over their shoulder, you see a content face, mouth slightly open as they breathe peacefully in their sleep.

You slump back down into your bed.

Holy shit.

‘What have I done?” you whisper to yourself, covering your face with your hands.

You look down at your body, only noticing now that our dressed in only a bra that’s twisted uncomfortably around you and your underwear from the night before.

But before you can start to string together the memory you have from the night before, you glace at your alarm clock, seeing a bright red 7:14am glaring at you.

HOLY SHIT

You throw the sheets off your body, disregarding the comfort of the stranger, as you scramble to the bathroom, snatching a pair of black denim jeans and a stripe shirt on your way.

You ready yourself in the bathroom, almost tripping 2 or 3 times from the room spinning so much, bumping things over and you clamber up to your feet again. You stopped in your tracks as you left the bathroom when you saw the stranger sitting upright in bed, chest bare and hair messily strewn across his head. He rubbed at one eye before throwing you a lazy, sleepy smirk.

“G’morning” he said, leaning back onto his hands, his British accent catching you a little off-guard.

“Uhh, good morning” you say, avoiding eye contact.

He lets out a little chuckle at how flustered you were, watching silently as you begin to gather your photography gear and put it into your work bag.

“You in a rush to get out of here love? You know this is your house, you don’t have to run from me,” He says.

“I’m going to be late for work” you say hastily pulling together your things and brushing the hair out of your face.

“You need to leave” you say to him, throwing what looked to be his pants over at him.

The stranger pulls themselves from your bed, standing as they began to pull their jeans on, and you cant help but let your eyes wander over the form of his body.

This guy was good looking, and boy could you tell that he worked out. The way his muscles rippled under his skin as he moved his arms, his chest more chiseled than a damn Greek god.

Your eyes snapped back to your feet when you see him peering up at you through his eyelashes, catching you looking at him. You avoided eye contact as you grasped a blazer in your hand, throwing your bag over your shoulder and began looking for your phone.

He slipped his shirt over his head and turned to face you, pushing his unruly disheveled curls away from his face. You watched as his nimble fingers combed over his locks, admiring how they shaped his sharp jaw line and brown comforting eyes.

Once again, he caught you ogling at him and you snapped your eyes away from him. You could hear him chuckle as he walked over to his shoes, slipping them on.

You glace at the clock once more, 7:30.

“Shit!” your hands pull at your hair. “I was supposed to be there by now!” You run to the door, hoping that you had everything you needed, before glaring at the stranger walking slowly to you.

When he finally walked past you, out of the apartment, you rushed behind him, closing and locking the door behind you.

At this point you didn’t care what that guy did, He was out of your home and you were late to your first shoot with your new job. So as you ran down the stairs away from the stranger, you couldn’t care less what they thought of you.

Running outside, you threw yourself into a cab, hoping that somehow they wouldn’t fire you on the spot.

 You pull up to the shoot location frazzled and sweaty. Nerves were building in your stomach as you walked briskly over to who you assumed was your boss.

“I’m so sorry I really am I didn’t mean to be late something just happened and I-“

“Calm down, its okay” an official looking man clad in a suit said to you. His colleague beside him smiled at you.

“The model for the shoot hasn’t even shown up yet” she said.

You wiped your brow and exhaled, before walking over to the set that was lit up by the industrial sized light boxes.

You smiled at the people around you, introducing yourself as one of the photographers and began to set up your equipment. Your camera somehow wasn’t damaged from your thrashing to get there and you thanked the lords for that. You needed this job more than ever and couldn’t afford to buy a new one right now.

You watched as set in front of you and admired how it was finalized to look like a tropical hotel getaway. There was a large pool outside with lounge chairs scattered around it; the room you were standing in had a large glass window and a comfy couch that sat pressed against the wall.

It wasn’t for another 30 minutes until you heard “He’s finally here! Lets get this show on the road” being called behind you.

You take a deep breath and turn to walk towards the scene, only to have the breath knocked straight out of you.

You stared at the ‘model’ for the shoot, as he stared back at you with those warm, familiar eyes, hair still a mess of unruly curls, and he was even wearing the same damn clothes he left your apartment in.

You swallowed the growing lump in your throat, sudden heaviness weighing down on your chest as you tried to think of something to say that didn’t sound totally ridiculous.

As the seconds ticked by, the stranger from your bed stared back at you wide-eyed, sharing the same unexpected shock, but they definitely played it off cooler than you did. He was suddenly ushered away from you, tugged on the arm by one of the stylists you had met earlier, in order to get ready for the first scene.

You stood frozen, still trying to register that he was the model for the shoot. The stranger that you woke up with in your bed; he was the one you needed to photograph.

It wasn’t long until he reemerged sporting a blue-silk outfit unbuttoned down his chest. He threw you a smug smile as he walked past you towards the couch for the fist shoot and you turned on your heels to follow him, shoving your nerves to the side knowing that there was no way around this.

As the first shoot began to warm up, the awkwardness was slowly subsiding as the two of you finally got to learn each other’s names.

Tom was a great model, there’s no denying that, but it was hard to focus on the task at hand when you kept on getting flashbacks of his mouth on yours every time you saw his tongue dart out and lick his lips.

Seeing as you were pressed for time, the stylists didn’t waste any time in changing between outfits, and Tom wasn’t shy about stripping from his first outfit in front of everyone.

His hands rose to grip the back of his designer shirt, tugging it off his shoulders with ease, and when he turned his back to you, you couldn’t help but let out a very audible gasp at the sight.

A sight you hadn’t noticed this morning, but there were red scratch marks clawed down his toned back, finger-sized bruises dug into his sides and what looked to be feint bite marks littered his hips.

You hand covered your mouth in an attempt to mask your gasp, but to no avail. As he turned to face you he twisted his arms through the sleeves of the next shirt, your eyesight moved over the red trails that continued down his chest, evidently caused by your very own fingernails the night before.

You could see more feint bite marks dotting his abdomen, bruises flushing against his abs.

Tom wasn’t looking at you, but instead he was looking down at his own body with a smirk plastered firmly on his face. He could see you from the corner of his eyes react to the marks you had left on his body.

You could see the disgruntled look on the stylists face as they overlooked the state of Tom’s body.

“I thought you were told to take care of yourself before the shoot, they wanted to do some shirtless scenes” the stylist grumbled as they fixed Tom’s hair.

“I mean, I took care of myself, it was someone else who didn’t” Tom remarked, throwing you a wink.

You rolled your eyes at an attempt to look dismissive but really you needed an excuse to walk away and hide the red flush of your face. As you walked over to switch out the batteries of your camera, you heard some grumbling behind you.

You hadn’t noticed that Tom had walked up behind you, making you jump as he spoke.

“Maybe you should take a little better care of me next time, darling,” he murmured under his breath, before turning and walking away to the next shoot site. As you look over your shoulder you see him turning around, throwing you a cheeky wink and then walking out the door.

“Next time, eh?” you said under a sigh, but you couldn’t help the smile spread across your lips, because there was no denying that you loved your job; now more than ever.

[billehrman]

Invest for an Economic and Profit Recovery

Market corrections force us to test our core beliefs. We still see an overly accommodative Fed providing excess liquidity; a government providing added stimulus eventually; vaccines, better therapeutics, and rapid response tests on the horizon; and improving growth overseas led by China. While there has not been a change in our overall optimistic view for the financial markets, we have made significant changes in our portfolio composition, adding great companies with more economic sensitivity looking for better days ahead in 2021 and 2022.  Each of these companies navigated the pandemic successfully and are coming out with enhanced competitive positions, leaner cost structures, and a stronger balance sheet that has increased free cash flow while still investing for the future.

We funded these purchases with partial sales of our new normal winners as they rose meteorically in August, fueled by tremendous option buying.  Was it Softbank? While we sold approximately 35% of the shares in many of these stocks, we maintained our total dollar exposure as we still see many years of fundamental outperformance ahead.  Just as Chuck Robbins, former head of Cisco for 30 years, said, “we are at the beginning of a major new technology cycle that will last at least a decade.”  If you don’t continue to stay at the cutting edge, your company will fall behind and maybe die. This has never been more evident than now during the pandemic, where we see clear-cut winners and losers differentiated by their online capability.  This is the reason why we will maintain significant exposure in this area.  

Notwithstanding, we see the market shifting over the next year to companies that have substantial operating leverage ahead as the economic recovery accelerates due to rapid response coronavirus testing. That’s the real near-term game changer as it will permit faster and safer opening of the global economy over the next year into 2022 when we expect vaccines to be available for all.  We are confident that these companies will report surprisingly strong, above consensus, earnings, and cash flow in 2021 and 2022. Each one of these investments is selling at a considerable discount to the market and well beneath intrinsic value-creating 30+% upside over the next year plus their 2 to 4% dividends. Not bad!

The two issues moving to the forefront are both tied to Washington: a stimulus bill and the upcoming Presidential elections. How often do we say that our politicians need to focus on the needs of the people rather than themselves? We are growing less confident that a follow-up stimulus bill can be passed by months end before monies supplied by Trump’s emergency orders run out. What are they thinking? Are they willing to hurt people to influence an election? It appears so, which is abhorrent. Throw them all out. Our country needs to move back to the center, representing the majority, rather than the fringes that dominate politics.  We are waiting to hear Biden respond to how his economic plan will promote growth, employment, investment, research, and higher standards of living. We continue to focus on law and order too. Regardless of who wins in November, we expect demand focused stimulus plans next year, including a significant infrastructure program with incentives for businesses to bring back manufacturing to America. We seriously doubt that the Dems would raise taxes until the economy is on the firm footing, which won’t be until 2022 at the earliest after we all can be vaccinated.  

The economy bottomed in the late spring, picked up steam in July, slowed down mid-July for a few weeks as cases/death rose but then re-accelerated in August as the number of cases/deaths peaked. Goldman recently boosted its third-quarter GNP growth forecast to 35%. Yes, 35%! Goldman also raised its fourth-quarter and 2021 economic forecasts. The unemployment rate is now expected to be under 8.5% by year-end, whereas earlier forecasts were slightly above 10%. As we mentioned last week, all the purchasing managers indices improved meaningfully in August, especially new orders. The most important stat of this week supporting our view that better days are ahead was the monthly sales and inventory statistics for July. Sales rose 4.5% from June while inventories continued to decline as production has not increased sufficiently to even meet current demand. The I/S ratio is at a multi-year low, which supports our view that an economic recovery will broaden out supported by rising production, hence our move to economically sensitive manufacturing companies. We are also watching rail car loading, which is improving week to week.

The winners will be the strong, well-financed global manufacturing companies who will gain market share at the expense of the smaller, medium, size companies who do not have the financial resources to spend enough on tech needed to compete today.  At the same time, we will maintain significant exposure to the new norm tech winners who are the web/internet dominators as their businesses are still in the early innings.

The key to our optimistic view that the economy will get sequentially stronger, both here and abroad, through 2021 into 2022 is rapid response antigen tests with results in less than 10 minutes. It will permit businesses to open sooner with some sense of safety. A great example of what is to come is JP Morgan asking its employees to return to their trading desks yesterday. Abbott and Roche are building production rapidly and will have billions of tests available early in 2021. Dr. Fauci is also hopeful that there will be an easy at-home rapid response test, like the pregnancy test, found by the end of the year with ample availability by mid-2021.

While we do expect that at least three vaccines will successfully conclude Phase 3 testing and be available on a limited basis by year-end, we still expect the best, most effective vaccines, to conclude testing and be available in sufficient quantity by the second half of 2021. We have not altered our view that the economy will not have an all-clear until mid- 2022 at the earliest. That means that the Fed will stay all in providing vast amounts of excess liquidity at least for the next several years, possibly five years if you believe what they have said.

We want to add that green shoots are appearing abroad too, besides China, who is well along in its post-pandemic recovery. ECB President Christine Lagarde sounded optimistic about the eurozone recovery Thursday following a meeting of the ECB governing council. As expected, she, like Powell, cautioned about further outbreaks of the coronavirus in the fall.         The ECB revised upwards its forecast of Eurozone economic activity and inflation for 2021 and 2022.

Investment Conclusion

We continue to shift the emphasis of our portfolios to benefit from a global economic recovery supported by vast amounts of excess liquidity created by all monetary bodies; stimulus programs both here and abroad to help bridge to the other side; and the roll-out of rapid response antigen tests which will permit businesses to accelerate opening in 2021 safely. Finally, we expect vaccines to be found and be distributed globally by the end of next year into 2022. We, too, are concerned about large outbreaks of the virus in the fall, which may dampen growth near term, but the trend of improving sequential growth over the next two years is our base case. Also, we expect production to outstrip demand as inventories are restored to normal levels. Finally, we expect surprisingly strong operating margins, profits, and cash flow as management keeps a lid on costs and capital spending.

The bottom line is that we find the market undervalued today with new leaders emerging. We will maintain exposure to the new normal winners at the core of our portfolio as we see only better days ahead for them in this new working at home environment. We would use corrections as opportunities to add as we have not altered our long-term positive view. We like industrial commodities and gold too. On the other hand, we continue to recommend the sale of all bonds.

We will listen intently to the Presidential debates before coming to a decision. We need economic growth in order to satisfy all the financial/social obligations that we see ahead. We also need law and order offering everyone the opportunity to protest peacefully but not riot. Respect!

Our investment webinar will be held on Monday, September 14th, at 8:30, am EST. You can join by entering https://zoom.us/j/9179217852 in your browser of dialing +646 558 8656 and entering the password 9179217852.

Review all the facts; pause, reflect, and consider mindset shifts; look at asset mix with risk controls; turn off your business news networks; do independent research and

Invest Accordingly!

Bill Ehrman

Paix et Prospérité LLC

917-951-4139