#*puts this song directly into my Half Orange playlist* | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

snowdice · 4 years

Text

Finding the Time to Study Fic 2 [Day 10]

Here is my starting post for today’s study break stories session. See this post for more details and feel free to send me asks to keep me going! It’s been a lot of fun so far! I will reblog this post with the story as I write them today. I’ll be constantly looking for ideas of times and places for Janus to have missions, so feel free to send in any you can think of at any point!

If you are a new follower or just don’t want all of these posts clogging your dash, please feel free to block the tag “study break stories” as all posts and voting about it will go there. You can still see the finished product of the story even if you are blocking that tag as I will not tag the edited chapters with “study break stories” but with the tag “folds in paper.” See edited chapters below. Chapters 2, 3, 4, and what I have of Chapter 5 are under the cut.

My Masterpost Part 1

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted). It’s short, and not really for serious listening, but I had fun with it.

It’s going to be stop and go for most of the night because a lot of things will interrupt me, but I hope to do a good amount of this today.

Chapter 2

The morning was just as torturous as Janus had expected it would be. He chewed through another pop-tart, this time bothering to actually check and see that it was a cinnamon-sugar one and drank three cups of caffeinated orange juice. Then, he waved his hand through the air and selected the 1st saved location on his device. He popped up directly behind his desk where he’d been standing the night morning before.

Someone, probably Remus, had shut his integrator down. He swiped a finger across the power button, and it flickered back on, scrolling through its morning start up routine.

The machine scanned through all of the data in the three main system it was connected to and sorted all information into things that concerned him, could concern him, and did not before then sorting the first two categories into order of importance. As it did, he set up his screen reader so he would hopefully not start the day with more of a migraine than he already had. It took about 3 seconds for everything to turn on and settle.

Sitting down in his desk, he dismissed the notification that Remus had finished and submitted the report from their mission the day before.

A mission had been scheduled for him today, and the details were in his inbox. A piece time travel technology had been accidently dropped by an archology student in the 1890s during a trip. It was an earlier model of emergency time travel given to time travels that would dump them back into the Registration Office in the year they originated. It wasn’t extremely dangerous, but could pose some problems, especially if someone who didn’t know what it was activated it.

Surveillance agents had tracked it down and found that it had been picked up by a local and sold. Though no one from that time had known what it was, they had identified that it was made out of a precious metal and it had been crafted into an expensive necklace. Janus and Remus were supposed to retrieve it today. It had been pinpointed that the most opportune time for the extraction was 1923 during a masquerade ball held by those who had bought the necklace.

It was a fairly low stakes mission. He wasn’t set to leave for another couple of hours, so he clicked through the rest of the important notifications and then set off to meet his missions coordinator, Rhi, in her office.

Rhi and Janus got along fairly well. She was a well put together woman who took her job incredibly seriously. It was fair as her job was to organize all information and materials from every other department and make sure the agents she was assigned to got and understood all of it. A mistake from her could lead to an agent’s death or something far worse.

This, of course, made her relationship with Remus… interesting to say the least. Janus could never place whether they were nemesis, frenemies, or mortal enemies, and he doubted he would ever know.

“Okay, but it’s the 1920s America,” Remus was already in her office arguing when Janus arrived. “There were so many gangsters! I could be a gangster. I would make a fantastic gangster! Just give me a gun, a snazzy suit with a white hat, and a buttload of alcohol. I will be running Chicago with Al Capone in five minutes.”

“Al Capone didn’t become a crime boss until 1925 and you are going to 1923,” Rhi said, sounding bored, “you aren’t going to Chicago, and as I have already stated, your cover is already decided.”

“But-”

“It is nonnegotiable, Agent Clockson,” she said firmly. Remus pouted, but seemingly accepted his fate.

“May I come in?” Janus asked.

“Please do,” Rhi said. “You have been to the 1920s before, correct?” she asked Janus.

“Yes ma’am.”

She tapped the screen on her desk in response. “In the last two years?”

“About two months ago,” he responded. She tapped something else.

“Any blacks, reds, or yellows?” she asked.

“All green.”

“Great. Do you need a refresher course on basic cultural or linguistic procedures?”

“No.”

She pushed one more thing and then swiped the check-in document over to him. He glanced at the report stating he’d had no incidents of any level the last time he visited the 1920s and had opted out of the optional refresher course, and then pressed his finger against the screen to sign it with his fingerprint.

The document returned to her side of the desk automatically. “Okay,” she said swiping another document from her left over to be in front of her. She twisted her wrist to copy it and slide copies to Janus and Remus. “Here are exact details on the time, place, and event you are going to, as well as details about your cover.” Janus scrolled through his quickly. It wasn’t as detailed as some he’d had considering this was a brief in-and-out missing, but he still took care to memorize everything on the page.

As he and Remus read through their things, Rhi got to her feet and turned to the storage compartments behind her desk.

She grabbed out two packages and when they’d both signed that they’d read and understood the paperwork, she slid them across the desk to them. “These have everything you need,” she said. “Clothes, money, and an invitation to the party you’re off to attend. You are to get changed now, have a last check in with costuming to make sure everything is in order, and then report to decontamination in 23 minutes. Your set to leave in 38 minutes. Any questions?”

“How much-?” Remus started.

“None, agent,” Rhi said.

“But-”

“No alcohol,” Rhi said. “It is the prohibition era in the United States anyway.”

“Like there’s not going to be alcohol at the rich people party,” Remus said sullenly.

She pressed her lips together. “It is an in-and-out mission,” she said to both of them, and then turned to glare at Remus. “Do not get arrested.”

“I don’t know,” Remus said joyfully. “I think I still have room for a 1920s mug shot on my wall.”

“Behave,” she said, “or I’ll report you for the cat you smuggled in from the 1800s.”

“You’d never,” Remus said. “You enjoy the cute pictures of Diesel Fuel I send you every day too much, and you know it!”

“Just… don’t get arrested.” She turned to Janus. “Don’t let him get arrested.”

“I’ll do my best,” Janus promised, standing. “Now come on, Remus, we need to get changed.”

“You just want to see me naked,” Remus replied with a wink, but he did stand.

“If I see you naked one more time in my life Remus, my eyeballs will fall out of their sockets,” Janus said, waving to Rhi as he pulled Remus out of the door.

“Kinky.”

Janus’s eyeballs almost did fall out right then and there with how hard he rolled them.

They got changed quickly, Remus complaining and saying if he couldn’t dress like a gangster, he should at least be allowed to wear a flapper dress. Janus had long ago learned to ignore his ramblings. He did seem enthused about the included mask for the masquerade. It was a silver fox shaped mask with green accents that reminded Janus of the Egyptian God Anubis.

Janus’s own mask on the other hand, was only designed to take up the left half of his face. It was mostly golden with a black swirled design. Attached to the side there was a plume of golden tipped white feathers. He had to give it to the costuming department, they did have good taste.

Once they were both dressed, they were poked and prodded by one of the costumers to make sure everything was accurate, fit right, and had been put on correctly.

After that, they went to the decontamination area to have themselves and everything they were taking with them sterilized so they didn’t accidently take any pathogens to the 1920s. They also received an oral vaccination to be sure they didn’t pick up anything from the 1920s and bring it back.

Then they were ready to go. The correct time-space coordinates had already been sent to their timepieces. With a push of a button, they were off.

Inciting Incident

Chapter 3

Janus and Remus both appeared at the same moment a couple of feet apart in what looked like the inside of a garden shed. There was already a man waiting for them a few feet away. ��Sup babes,” Remy said, just like he always did. The T-Agent looked their costumes up and down and whistled. “Now that,” he said, “almost makes me want to be one of you time jockeys.”

“They wouldn’t let me have a gun or a canister of moonshine,” Remus pouted.

Remy snorted. “Sorry, babes, but that makes my job a lot easier. If I’ve gotta fish you outta the 1920s criminal justice system, I’d rather it not be because you shot someone on accident ‘cause you don’t know how to use the safety.”

Remus groaned dramatically. “Everyone is lame.”

Remy just shook his head. “Meet back here when you’ve got the necklace,” he said. “Don’t make a move until after 11:05pm and before 11:17. That’s your window.”

“We know,” Janus said. “See you then.”

“Have fun at the party boys,” Remy said and then lowered his shades to look at Remus, “but not too much fun.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Remus, already towing Janus out of the garden shed. The way had been specifically cleared for them, so they met no other people before they’d rounded the house the party was taking place and had gotten onto the driveway in front of the house.

Without missing a beat, they strolled up to the front of the house, just as a car pulled into the end of the driveway. Janus rang the doorbell, and a few moments later, a man who was clearly the butler answered the door. They handed over their invitation, and the man immediately let them in.

The party had already started when they slipped into the medium sized ballroom that had been decked out in streamers and other decorations. Janus’s nose immediately wanted to scrunch as the smell of sweat from all the dancing already going on as well as the too strong perfume meant to cover that stench wafted over him. It was by far not the worst smelling time period, but he was pretty sure some people still weren’t aware deodorant had been recently invented.

He checked his time piece which had been disguised as a fancy wristwatch for this trip. “Okay,” he said. “We have about two hours before we need to make our move. We should…”

Remus’s attention was already being dragged away by a young man who seemed to be providing guests with food. “I’m going to go ‘mingle’,” he said, winking.

“No!” Janus hissed. “Re- Richard! No!”

Yet, he was already disappearing into the horde of stinky bodies, likely to go scandalize a bunch of rich folks, and leaving Janus alone. Janus mumbled a curse under his breath that he was sure no one around him would understand even if they could make it out.

Unsure what to do with himself, he wandered over towards where the live musicians were playing jazz music, being sure to keep out of the way of the dancers. He was edging around the makeshift dancefloor, when one of said dancers must have misstepped and knocked into another one. The second man stumbled right towards Janus, arms pinwheeling. Janus reached out on instinct to catch the man as he fell.

There was a moment where the two of them just stared at each other, surprise evident on the other man’s face. He was wearing a mask that just covered the area around his eyes and the top of his nose, revealing a smattering of freckles across his cheeks that Janus imagined extended to his nose.

The mask was a light blue velvet with a flower stuck on the side near his right ear, and a trail of curled golden ribbon bobbed down around his chin. The party continued on around them, a blur of movement and sound.

“Are you alright?” Janus asked.

The man blinked up at him and then tilted his head slightly to the side as though confused, before a smile slowly grew on his face. “Oh, I’m fine Dove.”

“Dove?” Janus asked.

He giggled. “You have dove feathers on your mask,” he explained, reaching up a hand to touch one. His finger brushed the tip of Janus’s ear, “and I don’t know what else I am supposed to call you.”

“My name is Lee,” he automatically lied.

“Is it?” he asked, sounding amused. “Doesn’t seem to fit you well. I like Dove better.”

“Oh?” asked Janus. “And what’s your name so I can not call you that?”

The man chuckled. “Call me Pat.”

“Hello Pat,” Janus said.

“I thought you didn’t want to call me by my name.”

“I changed my mind.”

“Hmmm,” Pat said, finger tracing idly across Janus’s forearm which was when Janus realized with a start that he was still holding the man in his arms. He quickly went to release him, which Pat allowed with clear amusement.

Yet, instead of completely stepping away, Pat grabbed Janus’s arm. “What are you doing all the way over here by the way?” he asked. “Don’t you want to dance.”

“Oh,” Janus hesitated. “I don’t really dance.” Or at least not in the way the people around him were. He’d had basic training for this style, but it had been a while and he was a bit rusty.

“Everyone dances Dove,” Pat claimed. “At least if they know the steps and have the right partner.”

“But I don’t know the steps,” Janus said with an eyebrow raise.

He hummed. “Well, I know the dance pretty well by this point,” Pat said. “Why don’t I teach you how it goes.”

He was agreeing with the soft beseeching tone before he even realized it. Pat pulled him into the middle of the throng of people. He seemed to think, bopping his head to the music playing for a moment, before looking back at Janus. “Heard of James Johnson?”

Janus inclined his head.

“Well, have you heard his new song? Because there’s a dance that goes with it.”

He took a few steps away from Janus and started to dance. Despite his claim to know the steps, he wasn’t particularly good, but he made up for any loss of rhythm with pure enthusiasm.

Janus found himself smiling at the man, and after a few moments, joined in with the dance. Despite his lack of practice, he ended up having a better natural rhythm than Pat. Pat didn’t seem to mind that he was being outperformed, however. On the contrary, he giggled at himself the couple of times he stumbled.

When he fell into Janus’s arms for the second time that night, Janus decided he’d probably had enough dancing for the moment and pulled him off to the side to get something to drink and cool down a bit.

He watched the man take a snack and some punch from one of servers and thank him happily before turning back to Janus. Pat was easily able to keep Janus’s attention as they chatted. He was bubbly and soft, and Janus found himself enchanted as they talked.

He was explaining the steps of a different dance, a couples one. “Knowing how to perform the tango will entrance any girl you want,” Pat said, something mischievous sparkling in his eyes. “Assuming you’re that type of fella.”

“As opposed to what?” Janus asked.

Pat leaned in a bit closer. Not too much, but enough that he was definitely in Janus’s space. “A different type of fella,” he said simply, before smiling and leaning back.

Janus let out a shaky exhale and took a sip of punch. He glanced over at Pat. “Tell me about yourself, Pat,” he said.

Pat hummed in contemplation. “Well, I went to France recently.”

“You did?”

“Oui, c'était amusant, mais j'ai eu des ennuis”

“What kind of trouble?” Janus asked curiously.

“Oh, the kind with a pretty boy and crepes that were way too sweet. Anyway,” he continued. “Other than that, I mostly help out my friend. He’s an inventor.”

“And how do you help him.”

He shrugged, “Running errands mostly, and making sure he gets enough sleep, because otherwise he gets distracted and forgets. And you?”

“I’m a banker,” he said, remembering his cover, but felt compelled to add, “but I like to travel as well.”

“You do look the type?”

“And how is that?”

Pat shrugged. “I can always tell a wandering spirt from the masses, and you are easy to spot.” Pat looked at him then with a secret smile on his face, and Janus felt suddenly known, like the man in front of him had known him for years even though they’d only just met. Looking at him then, he wanted suddenly for that to be fact and not a flight of fancy.

He was brought firmly back to reality in the next moment. “Lee,” a pointed and familiar voice said. Janus’s head snapped up to see Remus, staring at him. He tapped his wrist. Janus glanced at his own wrist: 10:58pm. He just barely managed not to curse.

“I,” he said looking up at Pat. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“That’s okay,” Pat said easily. “It is getting rather late.”

“Yes,” Janus agreed. “Well… goodbye.”

Pat, titled his head, a half smile on his face. “I’ll be seeing you around.”

Janus nodded, and turned away from him towards Remus. He didn’t look back as they excited the ballroom. They snuck into a small side closet for coats that wasn’t being used as it was summer.

“So,” Remus said when the door closed behind them.

“Don’t,” warned Janus.

“I’m not one to judge,” Remus said.

“Shut up.” He glanced at his watch. It was 11:02. “We’ll go in 5.”

“I have to give it to you. He was very cute.”

“We’re not talking about it.”

Remus just laughed joyfully, and Janus did his best to halt the blood rushing to his cheeks.

At 11:07, well into their window, they slipped back out of the closet, and towards the stairs as the party raged on.

Despite how Remus usually never shut up, he was able to be quiet when it counted. They snuck to the master bedroom of the home’s owners in silence. The door was already wide open by the time they got there, and Janus didn’t think anything of it. At least, he didn’t until they entered the bedroom, and there was someone already there.

He turned from the dresser he’d been standing in front of to face them, sending Janus the same smile he had down in the ballroom. Janus and Remus both froze. “Sorry, sweetie,” Pat said. “Were you here for this too?” he held up the necklace they’d been sent for. He closed his fist around the charm made out of time travel tech.

“What?” Janus said.

Pat giggled and winked. “Unfortunately, I need it a bit more than you at the moment. So, I’m gonna have to go.” Janus stepped forward, not really sure what he was intending to do, but Pat just smiled. “See you some other time, my Turtle Dove.” With a snap of his fingers and loud crack, he disappeared. The mask he’d been wearing fluttered to the ground.

Arc I: Finding Cinderella

Chapter 4

Janus was frozen in surprise for a few long moments after Pat disappeared. Which had been, admittedly, his mistake, because, while their window had technically been until 11:17pm and it was only 11:10, the loud crack that whatever Pat had been using for time travel made, garnered the attention of someone else.

“Uh oh,” Remus said, likely hearing footsteps. “Hide.”

That snapped Janus into action, but instead of hiding immediately like a sensible human being, he chose to go for the only link to the man who’d just stolen time travel tech and waltzed away, the mask.

Which was why he ended up getting arrested.

Remy tsked the moment they were all alone in the police car having come to ‘transfer Lee to another facility.’ Remus was already waiting in the front seat, and flashed Janus a smug smile. If Janus wasn’t still handcuffed, he’d slap him.

“Well,” Remy said. “At least you didn’t shoot anybody like I asked. I was joking by the way. I didn’t really want to pick you up from a 1920s police station period.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“Mmm, nah, ‘cause Remus managed to not get arrested this time, so you defiantly screwed something up.”

“Oh, he defiantly wanted to screw something all right,” Remus said joyfully.

“Remus,” Janus hissed.

“What?” he asked. “I’m not the horny one for once. Well, no, that’s a lie, but it didn’t affect the job this time.”

Janus groaned and leaned his head back against the seat.

Remy pulled into a seemingly random garage around 20 minutes later. “Alright,” he said. “Here we are.” He got out of the car and then helped Janus out before uncuffing him. “Here’s your ‘watch,’” Remy handed him the timepiece that had been confiscated when he’d been arrested.

Janus put it on and activated it. “Shit,” he said.

“What?” Remus asked.

“An appointment with cultural outreach has already been downloaded to my calendar for once we get out of decon.”

“Oof. Going to baby jail,” Remy laughed. Remus was cackling.

“This,” Janus said, “was not a cultural faux pas. I did nothing that indicated that I was not from this time. I am not some rookie.”

“Don’t forget cell phones don’t exist in the 1920s,” Remus sang.

“The real question is whether or not my foot exists in your…” Remus disappeared before he could finish, a smirk on his face. Janus growled. “By Remy,” he gritted out. He selected the decontamination chamber from his queue, ignoring the appointment that came after it for now.

He knew exactly where Remus would be standing when he landed, which was why he stepped forward on reentry to ram into him.

He yelped in surprise. “Sorry,” Janus said pleasantly. “I must have also forgotten landing procedures.

Remus laughed good naturally. “Aw, come on Jay,” he said, bumping Janus back, albeit much gentler than Janus had been. “It’s not a big deal. You just go talk with some crusty old college professor who is far too interested in spoons and then everything’s fine.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” he growled. “They’re treating me like I’m an idiot who accidently invented disco in the 1920s when I was conned by some free agent time traveler.”

“‘Conned,’ Remus said. Is that what they’re calling it now?”

“I know where and when you live Remus,” Janus said.

Remus gave him a dopey smile as the decontamination cycle finished and the door unlocked. Janus’s wrist buzzed telling him that the coordinates to the cultural outreach office were now unlocked. Instead of pulling them up, Janus walked to the door.

“Um,” Remus said, following him. “Aren’t you supposed to be going to your appointment?” Janus just kept walking towards their office. “Uh… Jan?”

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that I have to go to cultural outreach,” Janus said. “In fact, no one can make me. If they want me to go have a discussion about the definition of ‘bushwa,’ they’re going to have to have me dragged there.”

“Mmm, I feel like The Boss won’t be too happy about that, and I have a feeling she’d be 100% down to dragging you there herself.”

“Well, then, let her,” Janus said, stalking through the door to his office. “I’m not going to…”

“Ah, Agent Picani,” the woman standing next to his desk, clearly waiting for him, said when he came through the door. “Dr. Picani was informed that there were complications with your last mission and wishes to have a conversation with you and asks that you meet him in his office at the AMO.”

“Oh, um,” Janus said, stumbling a bit before plastering on a regretful half smile. “Unfortunately, I actually have an appointment right now at Cultural Outreach. It’s mandatory and very important, and I have to go now. So, I’ll have to take a raincheck on that.”

“But-” she started, frowning.

“Remus, work on the report!” Janus said quickly as he waved his hand to bring up his timepiece display and jammed his finger at the glowing appointment card in his queue. A few moments later, Janus was at Cultural Outreach.

Cultural Outreach was not part of the TPI, though it often worked very closely with them. It was a collaboration between the government and multiple universities to help government workers, politicians, and other citizens understand and bridge cultural gaps. It had existed before time travel was invented but had expanded to also teach people who needed to time travel how to behave in unfamiliar times and cultures.

After it had to be expanded to provide for the TPI, it had been moved to Silver Mountains University. The building had once just been a museum, but it had been thoroughly renovated and there had been add-ons for office space and some classrooms. It was still a museum, however, its purpose had expanded greatly and there were many areas that were off limits to the general public.

One of these areas was the fourth floor, where Janus’s timepiece had dumped him. This was the floor that was almost exclusively for TPI agents and staff of Cultural Outreach who worked with them.

He immediately turned away from the reception area, hoping that he could escape and go sit on the university’s quad or something of the like for the next hour or so in hopes the woman his brother sent to fetch him would give up and go back to the AMO. Yet, the receptionist apparently saw him.

“Janus Picani?” he asked.

Janus grimaced and turned back towards him. “Yes,” he said.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “You’re 5 minutes late for your appointment and seem disoriented.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Is your timepiece malfunctioning?”

“No.”

“Uh… okay. Well, if you sign in here, I can take you to your appointment.”

“…Fine.”

He begrudgingly stepped forward and touched the screen he’d gestured to sign with his fingerprint, and then let the man lead him down the hall.

The door they stopped at was propped open slightly, but he still paused and knocked. “Professor Eran? Your 2:30 is here.”

Janus had just a moment upon hearing the name to think that maybe there was actually some sort of intelligent design of the universe and whatever being of ultimate power had crafted it was a dick.

The door opened and Virgil Eran’s eyes immediately narrowed on him. “Janus.”

“Virgil.”

“I see you’re still late for everything.”

“I see you’re still a bastard.”

Janus saw the receptionist slowly back away in the direction they’d come.

“Why don’t you come in?” Virgil said faux pleasantly.

Janus did, because he really didn’t have much of a choice at this point unless he wanted to jump out of a window… or push someone out of a window.

Virgil turned back into his office and took a seat behind his desk. Janus unhappily followed him in and sat across from him.

He took his time pulling up whatever the TPI sent him and reading it over. “So, I see you failed your recovery mission and were arrested in 1923.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Janus said. “I shouldn’t be here.”

Virgil gave him that same suspicious look he used to give Janus whenever Janus claimed to have not eaten his hot pockets out of the freezer in the middle of the night. He’d only been lying 80% of the time. Virgil had a tendency to forget what he’d eaten in a half-conscious state at 3 o’clock in the morning.

“I shouldn’t,” Janus snapped defensively. “Nothing went wrong with anyone from the time period. An illegal time traveler screwed up the mission details.”

“Well, it is still protocol to make sure nothing slipped when agents go off script. You weren’t prepared to be in a jail cell, and it is possible that you screwed something up.”

“I didn’t screw anything up,” Janus growled.

“Alright,” Virgil said pulling up a document on his desk. “The mission started on July 27th, 1923 at 9:58pm, correct?”

“Oh, god, we’re not really going to fill out a time sheet. I don’t have time for that today.”

“It is protocol and best that the information is documented when it is still fresh in your mind. Besides, your schedule has been cleared for the rest of the workday.” The bastard was enjoying this. He knew how much Janus hated this stuff.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Janus said, “it was the damned illicit time traveler.”

“And I will be the judge of that,” Virgil said. Janus should have just bit the bullet and had coffee with his brother. “If you truly did nothing wrong, your supervisor will see that when I send this to her.”

Yet, despite the fact that Virgil clearly relished in his suffering, he was charitable enough to do most of the actual filling out of the forms. He’d read out the questions and write down what Janus said instead of making him do it himself. Janus really only had to do a quick quality check and sign it at the end.

He still was an asshole about the details, but really he’d been like that about stupid thing like the settings for the dish washer and how the pantry was organized during their college days before they’d had their falling out, so Janus wasn’t particularly surprised. When they were finally done, Virgil sent it off to get filed by the TPI.

Then, they were left staring at each other with nothing between them but almost a decade of radio silence and a whole lot of awkwardness.

“I should go,” Janus finally said, standing up.

Virgil tilted his head slightly to the side and gave him a half smile. “Don’t lock the door behind you,” he said. “Not that I’d expect you too.”

Janus took it for the clear attempt at a joke it was intended to be and puffed out a breath of amusement with a head shake. “No risk of that,” he said. Then, he turned and walked out of the office.

Chapter 5

Janus stepped back into the reception area and booted up his time piece. Instinct said to go back to the office despite the fact that it was late enough that most people had gone home, but he hesitated. Surely Emile had given up by now, but considering he’d sent someone to ambush him in his office, Janus wasn’t sure if he should trust that. He could just go home, but he already knew his mind was racing too much to sleep tonight so he’d probably just end up staring at the lake for the next 6 hours. So, he decided on the only other legitimate option he had. He pulled up Remus’s home coordinates and selected.

The home that Remus had chosen (after his long line of rejected requests) managed to somehow make no and absolute sense simultaneously to anyone who knew him. It was a small farm in the United States just west of the Mississippi in 1842 in what would be ratified as the state of Iowa in a few years. When asked why he would choose that time and place, Remus always responded with “I thought it was funny,” whatever that meant.

Unlike most time agents who simply used the identities assigned to them by the AMO as a cover, Remus actually lived his part time.

Janus was… fairly certain he was cheating a bit to get everything done, but he maintained his small farm all on his own, growing most of his own food. The neighbors he had lived very far away, but he still spoke with them far more than Janus did his own.

Janus appeared inside the small home, his eyes already shut. “Are you hear and dressed?” Janus called. Something bumped lightly into his legs.

“I’m in the kitchen!”

Janus peaked his eyes open and squatted to pet the cat at his feet. “That doesn’t answer my question!” he called back to Remus.

“It’s a surprise!” Remus said.

“Remus.” Diesel Fuel the cat flopped to her side on the ground as Janus continued to pet her ears. He heard Remus’s footsteps, and saw cloth covering his legs, so risked looking up. He was currently not only dressed, but wearing an apron that Janus was fairly sure was not time appropriate judging by the fabric and cat pawprint design. He had a bit of flour on his hands, and it may have been a bit too white for the time and place, but Janus couldn’t be completely sure.

“What’re you doing here?” Remus asked.

“My day has been an endless series of frustrations,” Janus said. “So, I have come to see the only tolerable being in the history of the universe.”

Remus snorted. “Since I know that isn’t me, I’ll assume you’re talking about the cat.”

“I still don’t understand why you tolerate this creature,” Janus addressed Diesel Fuel. She blinked slowly up at him. “To be fair, he was assigned as my partner. I didn’t have much of a choice in it. You could go always run away and become feral in the woods if you’d like.”

“So could you, technically,” Remus pointed out.

“I’m thinking about it after today.”

“Would you like some bread?” Remus asked. “That’s all I’ve been making this afternoon. Some fresh should be coming out of the oven in a few minutes.”

“Do you have anything stronger made out of wheat?”

“Ew, no, but I do have vodka.”

“Vodka works.”

“Want me to mix it with something?”

“No.”

“One of those night then,” Remus said, easily. “Let me finish up the bread, so I don’t burn the kitchen down. You can go get the alcohol from the cellar while you wait if you want, or you can just flop down on the couch.”

He was going to just flop down on the couch.

#study break stories #not writing

26 notes · View notes

missnxthingg · 4 years

Text

𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 • 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕣

SUMMARY: (Y/N) gets offered to make her childhood dream come true, even though her mother keeps making her annoyed. Tom starts feeling some new things which he never felt before, and can’t even name it.

Based on my one-shot, Flawless.

PAIRING: Rich!Tom Holland x Rich!Reader (Best Friends to Lovers AU)

WORDS: 6.3K

WARNINGS: Swearing, underage drinking and FLUFF

A/N: I just wanted to say that’s it’s a short one, but it’s SO CUTE. I love it! AND ITALICS ARE TOM’S THOUGHTS.

main masterlist | series masterlist | taglist | main blog | playlist

⋘ previous chapter // next chapter ⋙

𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕣 • 𝕧𝕠𝕘𝕦𝕖

Josephine’s office on Midtown Manhattan had a great view of New York’s skyline, and it was beautiful during the afternoon when the sky was orange, almost like a golden glow covered the whole city. (Y/N)’s small office could barely fit two people at the same time, but it had the most incredible view of Central Park, glowing with the afternoon sun. Sometimes she would just pop up in her mother’s office to close her door, prepare some coffee, put on some soft music and sit there watching the park. When she had work to do, it wasn’t so bad with one of those views.

Fashion work was hard. (Y/N) would watch people go crazy every time they had a big event coming and this time it was Vogue’s cover and big interview with her mother’s brand. People were freaking out to put up with some looks, trying to contact models and makeup artists. Josephine even had her daughter back in the office to help her with reaching people and even sewing last-minute outfits. And right now she was leaning back on her chair, legs resting over the table as she sipped her coffee and tried to contact models for work.

“Everything is a disaster.” Josephine said as she came into her office, slamming the door behind her. “I just need a second of quietness.”

“Do you want some coffee? Maybe tea?”

“Chamomile, please.” Her mother breathed out, and she laughed, getting up to her small coffee station on the back of her office to prepare some tea for her mother. “Your outfit looks cute.”

“Thanks.” (Y/N) glanced down to her body and chuckled. Today she went for yellow plaid high waisted pants, a simple black shirt and heels. Josie always taught her how to dress up fancy but straightforward during office times. She approached her mother, who was now sitting on her chair, and gave her some tea.

“Thank you, sweetie. I just can’t be out there any longer. They’re driving me insane.”

For the past week, Josie was too busy to pick on everything her daughter was doing. That’s why their relationship wasn’t conflictual for the past days. She even came home for dinner more than one time, and maybe she was too tired of work to go to a restaurant and talk even more about fashion with some coworker or fashion journalist.

“I got Taylor Hill and Bella Hadid to model for us.”

“I got Naomi Campbell for cover.” She said, and (Y/N)’s eyes widened.

“Oh my God, are you serious?”

“And then she cancelled.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes and leaned back at her desk, watching her mother dramatically drink her tea. “We have a week to find someone else to cover the spot.”

“Go with Bella Hadid.” She suggested, and Josie groaned.

“If I get Bella for cover, I have to find another model to cover her spot.” She finished her tea and glanced up to her daughter. It was like something clicked on her head. (Y/N) frowned as she watched her mother get up her seat and smirk.

“What are you thinking?”

“You could model for me.” Josie said as she pointed her index finger to her daughter, and (Y/N) chuckled.

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious. You look gorgeous wearing the collection.” Josie unlocked her phone and showed her a picture where she was wearing one of Josie’s designs. “So, what do you think?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I want to do this. Vogue fucking Magazine.”

“Good, so I’ll need you here Friday after class so we can take pictures. Come without makeup and something simple to take off.”

“I’ll be here.”

Even though she said she wouldn’t involve herself with the fashion world, (Y/N) has been reading Vogue ever since she was a little girl. She always imagined herself as one of the girls looking all pretty and displaying beautiful clothes for the public. Now she has the opportunity to do it, and she wouldn’t let it go to waste. When she told Tom, he got very happy for her.

“It’s good to see you happy for the first time since I met you.” Tom said, and she jumped excitedly, making him chuckle.

“Vogue, let your body move to the music.” She sang as she danced awkwardly in excitement. She has catwalked to that song with her mother’s clothes for years, and now she could listen to it while modelling for the magazine she loved for years.

“Do you want me to drive you there?” Tom asked, and she shook her head.

“Mum will send me someone to pick me up, as always.”

Tom was happy to see her excited and getting along with her mother. The week that followed Noel’s party, she looked really down and she wanted more than anything to be alone. Tom didn’t let it happen though. He knew that she was upset about her father and now one of her friends was slut-shaming her for sleeping with Noel. As she said before, she permitted Stacie to be with Noel at that party but ended up with him instead, which resulted on Stacie screaming at her in front of the whole school and Courtney being quiet about the whole thing, deciding not to pick sides. The thing was that (Y/N) wasn’t upset about Stacie, only about the way she acted and exposed her, but she was upset with Courtney, because she meant a lot to her.

He tried to do everything to cheer her up after what happened, but it appeared that her home life was much better than before. Her father met her for dinner one night, her mother backed down and left her alone, even had dinner at home to be with her daughter. So all he did was be there for her. The day he headed back to the city with her was one of her lowest points, and he stood by her side the whole day, even went to brunch with her. Now he was glad that she had a big smile on her face.

When (Y/N) got to her mother’s office, makeup artists attacked her and started to produce her face. She didn’t even have the time to drink some water or do anything at all. It didn’t matter, because once they finished, she could see how gorgeous she looked. Soon she was wearing a mint green suit in front of a white background, waiting for the photographer, who seemed to be late.

“Where the fuck is he?” She whispered to herself as she rechecked her Instagram, meeting with the same pictures.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry I’m late.” A man said from behind her, probably the photographer. She turned around to meet the man she was going to spend the whole afternoon with, and her smile died when she saw who it was.

“Garold?”

“You can call me Gary, sweetheart.” She groaned and rolled her eyes as he smiled at her.

“You’re a photographer?”

“Yeah, I’ve been working for Vogue over a decade now.” Her eyes widened, and she ran out of the room, directly into her mother’s office. She was too busy writing something on a bunch of paper.

“You’re fucking kidding me, right? Garold, as my photographer?”

“I thought you might feel more comfortable with someone from the family.”

“Mom, for the thousandth time. Garold is not my family. He’s the guy you’re fucking with.” Josie rolled her eyes and stood up to sit in front of her daughter. “He’s not my dad, and you know that.”

“Just give him a chance. He’s a nice guy.”

“He literally flirted with me when I found him half-naked in our kitchen.” She groaned, a little disgusted to remember that situation. “Fuck this. I’m out of here. Call me when you get a new photographer.”

(...)

“Wow, that was really good.” Tom congratulated his father after he got his ball inside the hole on the floor, and he had a big smirk coming his son’s way. “I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, son. Better watch your back, because I’m coming for you.” Dom winked, and Tom chuckled.

His family finally found a good golf club in New York and decided to have a day off to hang out together. Nikki and Paddy were being taught by Harry, messing up their moves every time, getting Harry angry and Sam laughing in the background. Tom, Harrison and Dom were playing by themselves until Harrison got tired and went back to sit with Sam and eat something. The only thing they were missing was the beer. Being an 18-year-old British guy in America was hard, but at least the chips were good.

“Mom, you’re doing great.” Tom shouted and received a death glare from Harry, and a big smile from Nikki.

“Thank you, love. Harry doesn’t think so.” Nikki looked back to her son, and he rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just take a break. I need to calm down.” Harry rubbed his face and made everyone laugh. He sat next to Sam and tapped the back of his head so he could stop laughing.

“Totally worth it.” Sam laughed, and now all the boys were gathered together to watch Dom helping Nikki and Paddy since Harry was too pissed to do so.

“Short temper.” Harrison mocked.

“Dickhead.” Harry replied, making Harrison shrug. “So, you never told us about your party on Long Island.”

“Well, we both got very drunk. Oh, and (Y/N) set us both with some girls.” Harrison started. “Yeah, I got luckier than Tom, I spent the whole day after with the girl back in her room. Only headed back to the city at the end of the afternoon.”

“What happened Tom?”

“Uhm, mine went away when we woke up, and I headed back to the city with (Y/N).” He took a sip of his coke and shrugged. “She was, uhm…” He cleared his throat. ”Not okay, so I spent the whole day with her at Central Park.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely going to date.” Sam said, and all the boys agreed.

“Shut up, can I continue?” Tom asked, and all the boys nodded. “I was upset too. She slept with that idiot just because she was feeling lonely. She could’ve come to me so we could talk, but she prefered to run into his arms.”

“Have you talked to her about it?” Sam asked, and Tom shook his head no. “You need to talk about it.”

“We have nothing to talk about. Plus, we’re good. And she seems happy.” The twin glanced at Harrison, and the boy shrugged.

“She seems cool.” He shoved some chips in his mouth. “(Y/N) is cool, you know? I think we’re getting closer and I really like her.”

And there it was - the smallest, single tingle of jealousy inside Tom’s chest. He never felt it before, so he frowned when these feelings surfaced and took a grip of his heart. He clenched his jaw and looked down to hide his face. Was he jealous that Harrison was getting closer to (Y/N)? It couldn’t be. Why would he be jealous anyway, it’s not like he’s in love with her. Maybe he’s just jealous because he finally found someone so dear and close to his heart, that the thought of sharing it with someone else was too much for him.

“Yeah, but she is Tom’s girl. Right?” Harrison finished, and the boys started teasing Tom again.

“For fuck’s sake…” Tom groaned and quickly shot up to get away from them. Also, he didn’t want them to see the small smile that formed on his lips.

He couldn’t help but wonder how things would be if she joined them for a golf day. Would she know how to play, or would he have to teach her? Would she get along with his mother? Would she be so close to Harrison that it made his heart strangely tingle again? There were so many possibilities of what could have happened, but over everything, he wishes she was here. But he knew that she was very happy wherever she was right now because it was something she dreamed for a very long time.

It was strange because he never thought about any of those things before. He doesn’t stick around girls long enough to even feel anything. So why he was holding on to her like that and why the hell he couldn’t wait to see her again? Was it love? Tom wouldn’t know. The only kind of love he ever felt was towards his family and friends. But the romantic kind of love, he never even slightly felt it. No, that couldn’t be it - he thought, still not trusting his own words.

And just like magic, his phone rang. It was like his mind called for her and she only made the dial. ‘Maybe we’re more connected than I thought’. He walked away from his family to answer the phone privately. Why the hell was she calling him when she was supposed to be busy with the photo shoot?

“Hello?” Tom asked when he answered, and she sighed in relief.

“Tom. Thank God!” Her voice echoed through the phone.

“Are you okay?” He asked. Her breathing changed again like she was infuriated.

“I fucking hate my mother.” She admitted.

“Don’t say that.”

“Anyway, I’m at my apartment, packing to leave for my dad’s. But I was wondering if we could meet later; I need a drink.”

“Sure, you wanna go to Vertigo’s?” He asked and she groaned.

“I don’t wanna leave the apartment. Just come over, my dad will be out. And bring Harrison.” Why did he need to bring Harrison? Did you actually want to see Haz, using him only as an excuse to bring his best friend over? Would he be the third wheel? “I need as many people as possible to distract me. But I’m pissed at Courtney, so he will do.”

“Oh, okay.” A small smile crept on his lips, and he made sure it was unnoticed by anyone else. “I’ll be there. Text me the address.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

(...)

(Y/N) waited for her father in the lobby as she frenetically tapped her fingernails on her suitcase, ignoring the stares as people passed through her. After all, people on her building were very curious, especially about her family. She prayed that her dad would get there before her mother, so when she saw him coming through the front door, she sighed in relief.

“Sweetheart. You called me?”

“Dad. Oh, thank God.” (Y/N) rushed to his embrace, and he hugged her very tightly. “Mom’s crazy.”

“Oh, I know that.” He chuckled. She leaned back and he pressed a kiss on her forehead. “Let me take you home and you can tell me everything about it. Okay?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

(Y/N) told everything to her dad on their way home. She told him how loud her mother was on the first night she brought her new boyfriend home, how she was constantly pushing that strange man into her life and the boundaries they didn’t respect, like Garold standing half-naked on their kitchen. She finished with what happened earlier that day by the time they arrived at his building.

“Your mother makes me laugh until this very day.” He chuckled, making his daughter roll her eyes. “She’s really crazy. I’ll talk to her about it, tell her to back off.”

“I don’t think she’ll listen.” She admitted defeat and threw herself on the couch. “I’m just…” She sighed. “Tired of her bullshit. I don’t think she even cares about how I feel.”

“(Y/N/N), you know that’s not true.” He sat next to her, pulling her into a side hug, rubbing his hand on her arm. Vincent’s hugs always made her calm and feeling like she’s home. “You don’t remember that because you were too little, but I worked a lot, even more than I do now. Your mother was the one who was always home, even dropped work for a while, to take care of our little girl.”

“I thought she never wanted me. At least that’s what she says to me.”

“At first, she really did it because I wanted kids. But Josie couldn’t let go of her little girl. She loved you more than anything else and you were so precious. The first time you got sick, we had to take you to the hospital, she cried the whole time we were there and I needed to comfort her to stop crying. That night, you slept in her arms and she stayed up, holding you.”

“It’s hard to believe.” She chuckled, leaning back in her seat. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “I wonder what happened to Josephine (Y/L/N).”

“Well, she stopped being Josie Rhodes to become Josephine (Y/L/N). The spotlight, runaway and fashionista Josephine.” She nodded and cuddle into her dad.

“I just wish we could get along.”

“Me too, sweetie.” He pressed a kiss on her temple. “But your mother is trying. I know our divorce was tough for her because I went through the same thing. We loved each other very much when we were teenagers, we still do. But we grew apart with time and unfortunately, things end; things change. Doesn’t mean there’s no love involved. She loves you very much, I promise you.”

“I just wish she could act like a real mother sometimes. And I miss our family.”

“I know you do, sweetie. But you have to be strong.” She nodded. “Things will never get back to what they used to be. I found someone who makes me feel loved again, doesn’t your mother deserve that?”

“I just don’t see honesty in Garold. He looks like he’s taking advantage of her. I think that’s why I don’t like him. I just wanna protect what’s left of our family.”

“Just give him a chance. Maybe he turns to be a decent guy. And if you still don’t feel comfortable with him around, you can always come to me.”

“You’re never home, dad.” She glanced down to the rings on her fingers and sighed as she played with them. Vincent’s heart crumbled and he pressed her even tighter against him.

“I know, and I’m so sorry. I can try to stay here more often, but work is hard.” She nodded. “Hey, you know what might cheer you up? Hot cocoa and helping me find an outfit for my date.”

“Yeah, you know how to cheer me up. I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too, sweetie.”

(...)

Later that day, Tom headed to (Y/N)’s dad apartment in Tribeca, humming to a song on the radio with Harrison. They had a long day at the golfing club, went home to shower and were now driving to meet the girl who called earlier for them. Tom spent the whole day thinking about her because she seemed angry and upset. But them again, when wasn’t she like that? It was tiring him, but he cared too much about her, so here he was, rushing to her apartment.

Also, he was still wondering what was that tingle on his gut when Harrison started to talk about his friendship with her. And the fact that she also wanted to see Haz tonight, instead of him alone. But Tom would be a fucking great actor because no one even noticed him distance during the rest of the day. Although, there was a moment he was pretty sure his mom knew, considering she came to hug him out of nowhere. It eased him though; she always knew how to ease him.

(Y/N) said they didn’t need to dress up when she texted to tell them the address. Harrison decided to go with joggers and a t-shirt, pretty basic. And Tom got the first sweats he saw on his closet but remembered to apply perfume - just because she said he always smelled nice when he was wearing that perfume - and rushed to get out of that apartment.

When she opened the door, the boys have never seen her so… raw. No makeup, hair tied up, barefoot and wearing a pajama with little avocados on the bottom, and a shirt that said: “Let’s avo-cuddle”. Tom found it adorable and a genuine smile crept on his lips. She was holding her phone between her shoulders and ear, a glass of whiskey on her hands. She signed the boys to follow her inside while she wasn’t finished.

“Sorry, boys. I was ordering pizza. Just make yourself comfortable.” She signed the couch and went to the kitchen.

Vincent’s apartment was pretty impressive and well decorated, with big windows and a great view of Manhattan’s skyline. Maybe too big for a single man who only had his daughter over once in a while. It wasn’t bigger than his old apartment from back when he was married, but it was big enough for the number of people that lived there. The boys sat and (Y/N) sat between them, handing both glasses of whiskey.

“I’m driving darling. Sorry.” Tom said and she nodded, pouring the liquid into her glass. “Wow, don’t you think that’s too much?”

“Don’t care.” She gulped her drink down. “I had a horrible day…”

She filled them in with all the details, starting with Garold, and ending up with her father’s confession. For Tom, it was just the two of them there, like he was the only one supposed to know what was happened. Reality crashed whenever Harrison spoke up, but he would ease every time her drunk hands rested on his legs. He wanted her to just rest her head on his chest and - No, stop it! Keep it together, Tom.

“To be honest, I don’t know why you’re so mad. He’s a photographer, so what?” Harrison started once she finished. “I know you don’t like him, but don’t let this opportunity go because of him. Being in Vogue is everyone’s dream, even mine.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.” He smirked as he nodded.

“I always wanted to be a model, appear in a big magazine.” He shrugged. “Just don’t waste your turn, darling.”

“Do you wanna do it with me? I’ll tell my mom I’ll only do it with you.” And there it was again, the tingle on Tom’s gut, the clench on his jaw.

“Are you serious?” Harrison’s eyes lighted up, making him sit on the edge of the couch.

“Yeah, of course! We can do it together, it will be fun.” She sounded excited, which only made Tom want to groan.

“Okay. I’ll not complain about it.” He shrugged. They kept talking about it and Tom just remained silent, trying to calm down and understand what was happening to him. They only ended the talk when the pizza arrived. “I’ll go get it. My treat.”

“Sure you don’t need help?”

“I got it, darling.” He said before slamming the door closed.

(Y/N) turned to Tom and smirked. He spaced out and wasn’t paying attention to their conversation by now. She giggled and pulled him into a side hug, pressing a big kiss on his cheek, which only made him smile. He melted into her again, like he always did. She had him on the palm of her hand, and she knew how to make him cave.

“You’ve been strangely quiet today.” She said, and he shrugged. “What’s up with you?”

“I’m just tired, that’s all.” She smiled softly, leaning back to show him her shirt.

“Can you read it out loud for me?” She pointed out the shirt, and he giggled.

“Let’s avo-cuddle.” He said, making her hug his middle in seconds.

“I thought you’d never ask.” She rested her head on his chest, and there it was, what he wanted to happen all night. Just the two of them, together, silently. He learned to enjoy that ever since she slept on his embrace during their trip back to Manhattan. Sometimes he would think about her snoring on his chest to help him fall asleep. A different tingle appeared for him, like billions of little butterflies flying on his stomach, which only made him smile wider. As an instinct, he pressed a kiss on top of her head, making her shift and bury her head on the crook of his neck. “Feeling better?”

“Much better.” She looked up to him and smiled. She got what she wanted; to make him happy. And he looked so damn cute with a grin on his face. She could stare at it for the rest of her life and never get tired of it.

Only when Harrison came back, she let go of him so they could eat and watch a movie together. But Tom didn’t feel the strange tingle on his guts. (Y/N) sat far away from Harrison, closer to Tom, and eventually, she’d brush her feet on his. The only thing the could feel was the billions of butterflies. He didn’t know what they meant, but he was liking it.

By the end of the movie, Harrison was asleep on the couch. (Y/N) didn’t have the heart to wake him up and just covered him with a blanket and lowered the lights. Tom cleaned their mess and started to wash the dishes for her, trying not to care about how nicely she was treating Harrison right now. But when she came to him in the kitchen and tiredly smiled at him, he forgot everything.

“Thank you for helping out. It really meant a lot to me that you were here to distract me.”

“Whenever you want, darling.”

“Do you think I’m overreacting with this situation?” She asked as she started to dry the dishes and put them away.

“A little, but it’s okay.” He shrugged. “You should give Garold a chance. I know he doesn’t look good, but your mother is a grown woman and knows what she’s doing. You need to stop getting those small things in your way of happiness.”

“Tom, to be honest, you’re the only thing that brings me joy now.”

“Don’t say that…” He shook his head.

“But you are!”

“I shouldn’t be, (Y/N).” He stopped washing the dishes and sighed. “I’m really glad that I can bring you joy because you bring it to me too. But I can’t be your only source of happiness, and it makes me really upset when I see you upset.”

“I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“Well, I do. Now you know.” She pulled him into a tight hug, with her hands softly resting on his hair. It took him a couple of seconds to understand what was going on, but soon he melted into the hug, pulling her by the waist. “It’s getting late, (Y/N).”

“Stay.” She whispered in his ear.

“What?”

“Please, stay. I don’t want you gone yet.” He nodded and she pressed a kiss on his neck, making electricity curse through his whole body. “C’mere, I’ll show you my room.”

“What about Harrison?”

“He’s gonna be fine. My dad won’t be back home tonight and the couch is pretty comfortable. I don’t wanna wake him.”

He nodded and quickly texted his mom about staying over. She entwined their fingers and pulled him to the bedroom, which was surprisingly simple, but he imagined it would be since she doesn’t spend much time there. She prepared the bed and lied under the covers. Tom stood there, waiting for her to invite him.

“Why are you standing there? Come lie with me.”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You won’t. Only if you are uncomfortable.”

“N-no, I’m okay.” He sat in bed next to her and removed his shoes. Once he lied down, she found her way between his arms. His stomach pressed on her back and nose so close to her ears. The only thing he could hear was her soothing breathing while she was falling asleep in his arms again. He wishes he could hear her heart, though. Was it beating just as fast as his did? He couldn’t believe they were about to sleep in the same bed, especially in the position they were found right now.

“Good night, Tommy.”

“Good night, (Y/N).”

(...)

“Let me recap this. You’ll only do it if it’s with him?” Josephine pointed Harrison, who was standing next to Tom, right behind her.

(Y/N) knew her mother was desperate for new models. Ever since she gave up on the photoshoot, Josie had to spend full time at the office looking for new replacements and it’s been really hard for her to find last minute models to fill the blank. So it was the perfect opportunity to make her mother give in to her propose. That’s why they marched to her office to confront her after lunch on Saturday.

Tom had to say, he was fucking terrified of meeting her mother for the first time. He wanted her to like him, because his daughter was important to him, so it was a big deal. The night before that was amazing, especially the part after Harrison went to sleep and she involved him with her arms so they could sleep together. He spent the minutes before he fell asleep thinking how much he appreciated that single moment - and the girl holding him.

“Yes, mother. Take it or leave it.”

Josie stood up and marched her way to Harrison, who gulped loudly and started to shake, too nervous to have such an important person to the fashion world judging him. Whatever she would say next would define if he had even the slightest chance in the fashion world. With her glasses on the tip of her nose, she took a closer look at Harrison.

“You’re cute. Your eyes are pretty and we can actually work out with that.” She fixed her glasses and looked behind him. “Marcus, get him to make up and tell the dressing department to put him in the stripped leather jacket.” Her assistant nodded and (Y/N) encouraged Haz to follow the guy with a nod.

Josie watched him go away and glanced at Tom, who was quiet and wanting to throw up, only standing there to support his best friends. When her eyes fixated on him, he could just explode right there. Yeah, she’s judging me.

“And who are you?”

“I’m T-Tom. Tom Holland.” He replied, too nervous not to stutter.

“He’s my best friend, mom.” (Y/N) said and Josie nodded.

“And what are you doing here? Go get dressed, (Y/N/N)!” Josie said and her daughter nodded, disappearing through the door in the blink of an eye. Now he was alone with her mother. Great. “So, you’re my daughter’s best friend. You’re new in St. Jude?”

“Yes, ma’am. I just moved here from London and got an exchange scholarship.”

“Oh really?” She nodded, sitting back at her desk. “And you’re planning on using this opportunity to get into an Ivy League school, right? Or are you thinking about Cambridge and Oxford?”

“Actually, I want to be an actor. So I was thinking NYU or UCLA.” He said and her mouth fell agape.

“So, you think you can be friends with my daughter if you’re not planning to make something out of your life?”

“Excuse me?” Tom frowned, and Josie shrugged.

“I didn’t like your face from the moment you walked through that door. But I’m getting along with my daughter again, so I won’t say anything about it. Just be sure that I don’t approve your friendship.”

“I’m sorry, but are you only saying that because I don’t want to go to an Ivy League school and become a lawyer or something?”

“I’m only saying that because I don’t like your face.” She smiled, cynically. Tom rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“I can’t do anything about that. But I assure you that I’m a good person and I’ll always do whatever I can to make your daughter happy. I hope you realise that someday.” That was the last thing he said before waving goodbye and walking away from the office. “Fucking bitch.” He hissed. No wonder (Y/N) was getting into messed up fights with her mother.

He wanted to tell her everything, but when she walked out of the dressing room with a turtle neck red blouse, a leather jacket and light washed jeans, he got lost in his own words. She looked beautiful, even with that weird star make up they did on her. He blushed when she noticed him mesmerized by her.

“So, how do I look?”

“Flawless.” He replied, making her smile.

“Where’s Harrison?”

“I’m right here, darling.” Harrison was wearing almost the same outfit. The stripes on his leather jacket were the same colour as her makeup, her jeans were dark washed and he was wearing a simple white t-shirt. They looked like a couple matching outfits. Fucking great.

“Well, someone looks hot.” She winked at Harrison, making him chuckle.

“You think so?” He opened his jacket and turned around so they could have a full look. “I do look hot.”

“Come on, let’s kick some ass.”

(Y/N) went a few steps ahead and Harrison stood behind to talk to Tom for a little. His best friends said all the horrible things Josie said to him, making Haz curse the woman more than once. Tom asked him not to tell (Y/N) though, he didn’t want to ruin this opportunity again, which Harrison agreed. When they followed her into the studio, they found (Y/N) having a conversation with Garold.

“I know I was childish and selfish when I ran out of the studio that day. I’m gonna give you one chance Garold, that doesn’t mean you can cross the boundaries. So no naked walking around the apartment and try keeping it low in bed. Okay?” He gave her a nod. “I’m doing this for my mother, not because of you.”

“I know. Thank you, though.” He said and she nodded, getting into position for the photo shoot.

“Come on, Harrison. I’m gonna start without you.” She said as she fixed her hair for the camera. Harrison chuckled and joined her in front of the camera.

Tom sat in the back and watched his best mate take pictures with the girl. They seemed to be having a lot of fun and they had quite a way to modelling. They knew good positions and how to interact with the camera, and with each other. Tom couldn’t help but feel the tingles again. He didn’t want to feel it, he fought not to feel it, but they were there. When Harrison pulled her closer by the waist and she rested her head on the crook of his neck, he almost snapped.

This is stupid, he’s your best friend for fuck sake - Tom thought, and he wanted to cry for feeling that way. He shouldn’t feel it, there was nothing wrong going on. He was the one acting off and he needed to calm himself down. Luckily, someone served him some champagne and he had a couple of glasses, which did not help him. The only thing that helped was having the two models done with their photoshoot, after many changes of clothes and compromising pictures.

“And… we’re done.” Garold finished and (Y/N) groaned.

“Thank God! The heels are killing me.” She sat next to Tom and ripped them off in seconds. She was wearing the prettiest pink outfit, Tom’s favourite so far, which made him not want to tear his eyes away from her even for a second. Her heels were so big that her feet were screaming for freedom. “Uhm… I’m starving.”

“We can go get something to eat.”

“I was thinking Vertigo. They have burgers and booze.”

“Perfect.” He smiled and helped her get up to go change. She got back into her regular clothes and was waiting for Harrison to come back so they could all leave together when her mother called her from the end of the hall.

“Yes?” (Y/N) replied.

“I’ll see you back in the apartment tonight?” Josie asked, hope filling her chest.

“Tomorrow, I promise.” (Y/N) softly smiled at her, making Josie nod.

“We could have dinner together.”

“Can Tom come along?” (Y/N) asked, making both Josie and Tom stiffen. She still didn’t know what her mother thought about him. They shared looks and Tom silently waited for her response, which she only took a deep breath and forcedly smiled.

“Of course.” Josie practically vomited the words against her will. Tom was surprised but nodded in agreement. Maybe she was just trying to get along with her daughter.

“Thank you.” (Y/N) replied before pulling Tom to join Harrison at the lift. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

(...)

Harrison and Tom laughed at (Y/N)’s expression as she tried a Long Island Iced Tea for the first time. It was such a strong drink they all agreed to order and see if they liked it. The mixture of alcohol could be good or horrible for the one drinking it. Harrison liked it, Tom declined after two sips, but (Y/N) was having a hard time recovering from the small sip she took, her throat burning like hell.

“Yeah, fuck it!” She cursed. “Oliver, please bring me white wine. I’m done with this strong shit.”

“Weak.” Harrison mocked.

“You can finish it.” She passed it on to him, which he accepted.

“I’m gonna talk to the pretty girl over the bar. Don’t wait up.” Harrison winked and they waved him goodbye.

Tom was strangely quiet after the photoshoot, still thinking about her mother and what she said to him. Also, her proximity with Harrison was getting the best of him. He still hasn’t figured out why he was feeling that way, and it was wrong. (Y/N) noticed he was slightly off and nudged his shoulder before hugging his side. She gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek, which made him sincerely smile at the gesture, turning to kiss hers too.

“You’re very quiet. Something wrong?”

“Uhm, no… I’m just moody, I guess.”

“I know what can cheer you up.” She said and pulled his phone from over the table. “Let’s find you a pretty girl.”

“(Y/N)...”

“Shut up, I’m working.” She giggled as she went through his Instagram DMs. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re talking to Valentina Gonzales. We used to have play dates when our parents were close. She’s really pretty.”

“She’s not that into me, I guess.” Tom shrugged, and she chuckled.

“Liar. She even sent you sexy pictures.” She showed him some lingerie photos she sent him, making him laugh.

“Okay. Do your magic.”

She started to go through his DMs, talking to Valentina with her unique way to get people set up. As Tom glanced at her, he could only think that nothing else mattered. What her mother said, her proximity with Harrison, the fact that she’s setting him up with some random girl. The only thing that mattered was her, and she looked perfect under that light - or any light at all- and Tom couldn’t help but smile.

That week he discovered two feelings he had never felt before, not even once in his life. The first was jealousy, and he definitely didn’t enjoy what it felt like, but he couldn’t help it. The second one, well… He was still trying to figure out what it meant, maybe it was adoration or something similar. But one thing was sure, he only felt it when she was with him; like right now, when she leaned over to play with his fingers. Or the previous night when her soft hands held him to sleep. And this morning when she had a whole breakfast prepared for him. He wasn’t sure what it is, but he definitely likes it.

Fuck, what is happening to me?

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

⋙ADD YOURSELF TO THE TAGLIST!⋘

PERMANENT TAGLIST ➻ @missmulti @gurlwlthluv @cmon-peter-tingle @lifeisabitchandsoareyou @tinyplanet-explorers @spideyyypeter @princezzariel @pastyoverlord265 @dumandbass @lilgaga98 @chatnoirfangirl1624 @heartofholland @big-galaxy-chaos @quaksonhehe @hera-the-writer

TOM TAGLIST ➻ @tomshufflepuff @deathofthethrones @unicornslothfish @coonflix @itsjustahuman @legendsofwholock @emistrash @starlightfound @sandran04 @paaaam97 @pure-ghost @unconditional-love-and-support @janieavalos @seutarose @tomsppsleeve @cosmicholland @thewayilookatbacon @spiderbibby @alyssasanchezz14 @joyleenl @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh

FLAWLESS TAGLIST ➻ @primadonnasdream @seutarose @whatevsholland @chloecreatesfictions @fanfic-reblogger

MUTUALS ➻ @mayberosey

SOME PEOPLE THAT LIKED THE ONE-SHOT ➻ @readheadwriter @sarah-moss2015 @hllandstom (sorry if you didn’t want to be tagged, but please give it a chance and let me know if you don’t want to be tagged, don’t be ashamed)

#flawless - the series #flawless #flawless moodboards #tom holland fanfic #tom holland series #tom holland imagine #tom holland fluff #tom holland angst #tom holland series fluff #tom holland series angst #tom holland imagine fluff #tom holland imagine angst #tom holland fanfic fluff #tom holland fanfic angst #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x reader smut

26 notes · View notes

hes-writer · 5 years

Text

Break Up Playlist

Summary: Harry is a rockstar and Y/N is a law student

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1326 words

Based on: i watched a movie and got inspired

Law and music were two completely different things, yet Y/N strived to showcase her skills in both of them. Law was organized, set in stone, and rigid, but music is pliable and can mean anything you want it to. But for Y/N, it was these two that she was completely passionate about everything she did.

Y/N is book smart– that is, she knew a good amount of things just from reading about it and connecting ideas from book to the real world. She was an avid law student–albeit, struggling just a little bit–because of her parents pressuring their unaccomplished dream on her. Don’t get this wrong– Y/N definitely had some say in what she could be,–it’s just she would rather be doing something that she truly enjoyed instead of living off of fear from her family pressures and constraints.

—

A night out was something that was long overdue. For months, she had been studying night and day preparing herself for her LSAT exam. It paid off since she was now attending one of the most prestigious law schools in the country. Long days, she worked tirelessly at her job with a minimum wage paycheck to help out at home. At night, Y/N would be surrounded by heavy books and papers to memorize. But tonight, she was out with her friends–celebrating her accomplishment, passing with flying colors.

A band was on the stage performing a rock ballad. The beat of the drum was hypnotizing and the electric circuit of the guitar transmitted from the amp to the open air. Lights were dimmed to an almost orange hue, setting a warm atmosphere amongst the crowded area where everybody was joined together by four walls of red bricks decorated with picture frames of past performers and notable musicians.

One thing that caught Y/N’s attention the most was the lead singer with his soulful, raspy voice. He appeared to be engrossed in the music pumping through his earpiece. His eyes were closed in emotion, lashes fluttering ever so often from the twitching of his eyelids as he belted lyrics from his throat and which wisped past his pink lips. His mouth was touching the metal microphone, the feedback muttering some from the speakers yet Y/N couldn’t help but to let her eyes inspect the rest of him.

The instrument he carried on his back through a thick, black guitar strap was being strummed by his fingertips. She imagined the rough touch of his skin from excessive plucking and playing of the guitar, calluses littering the area from how hard he pressed on the caliber strings. His right hand weighted on a downbeat strum from the rings encompassing his fingers– the silver rose curved to a petal of perfection.

And maybe Y/N was too embarrassed to admit that she had been blatantly checking him out–although, she would pass it off more as an inspection–the curly haired boy who was practically making out with the mic was pointing directly at her with a nimble finger and she must’ve been focusing hard on trying to see the details of his rings that she did not notice his other hand lifting up to point at her.

Aurora, her friend, squealed in excitement, nudging at Y/N on her shoulder to gently push her body towards the stage. The crowd was supportive of the man, cheering Y/N on to the front and she couldn’t help but let the internal heat in her body make its way through her cheeks, causing a light blush to form on the apples.

“Go Y/N!” Aurora screamed with hands cupped around her mouth to project it even further. The drummer was pounding the bass and snare with a light beat while they waited for Y/N to join them.

Y/N searched the area behind her, craning her neck around to check if the finger was pointed at her or she was just crossed-eyed at the moment. When she confirmed that he was– indeed-signaling to her, she looked up at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

“Me?” Y/N mouthed quietly, not seeing the point in yelling as she was certain that he wouldn’t be able to hear her anyway. He nodded, his eyes gleaming brightly because of the golden spotlight bestowed on him. The lashes on his lids casting a shadow on his face.

The unknown man outstretched the whole of his arm, palm facing up to capture hers into his own. Y/N was right–his fingertips were rough on the edges, she felt it on the back of her hand as he used some of his strength to help pull her up on the raised stage.

“Good evening. I’m Harry,” Harry greeted, “Nice to meet you,” He beamed a polite grin, and from his side, Y/N saw the indentation of his dimple. Cute, she thought.

“Thanks for having us here tonight,” He continued, to which the crowd laughed with his slight chuckle. Harry was a regular performer here and the people who came to see him were almost the same ones every night. “And I have the lovely …”

It took Y/N half a second to realize that he had tilted his body towards her, mouth touching his tool of amplification with a raised brow. Y/N opened her mouth slightly when she was interrupted, “Uh, I’m–”

“Y/N! Her name is Y/N,” She could recognize the voice belonging to one of her friends. Harry looked to the crowd in surprise, hand placing itself above his brow bone in a search for the input. His eyes lit up in recognition when he found Aurora.

“You had to have your friend yell out your name,” Harry joked, crinkles appearing by his eyes and Y/N couldn’t help but giggle with the crowd. “Well, thanks for that.”

He whipped behind him to look at the drummer, “Ready, Eli?” There was no vocal response, except that of a countdown. The rest of the band followed through, playing the first notes of a song that Y/N recognized as one of her personal favorites.

“Sorry to be putting this bombshell on you, Miss Y/N,” Harry ‘apologized’, adjusting the strap on his shoulder to play. “But I couldn’t help wondering if a beautiful lady like yourself also has a pretty voice.”

His gaze stayed on her for a few seconds. The intensity of his stare waking a bubbly feeling in her stomach. Her throat went dry while she watched Harry conjure up indescribable feelings within her and all she knew about him was that his name is Harry and that he was a musician.

His focus went back on the stage where the people mutually reciprocated his attention. The sound that lingered through the air was deep and raw, and as always– Y/N noticed– he sang with the utmost emotion through every push of a syllable escaping his lips.

Harry was a performer, for sure. Y/N watched as he interacted with the people below him with little effort. They were attentive to his every move. He was magnetic and even Y/N couldn’t deny the attraction she was feeling for him. He gave a little nod to her after pulling away from the chorus, directing her a soft smile that made her heart flutter and a warmth in her chest to expand and impelled her to be more comfortable, despite the company.

“Just picture everybody naked,” He whispered inconspicuously where only she could hear him. The plump curvature of his mouth brushing delicately on the lobe of her ear.

He’s a cheeky one, Y/N concluded, especially after witnessing him drop a lid to a wink. It didn’t help Y/N’s attraction to him when he plucked his guitar pick between his teeth, showcasing a smug smirk when his dropped head caught sight of her thighs squeezing together in an effort for relief.

—–

new series :)))))

permanent taglist; @ynm1505 @kissme-hs @agoddamnmango @harrys-kingdom @calums-sugarbaby @queenbeestuffs @ashkuuuu @kettxo @send-me-styles @ofpeppermintbays @littledreamybeth @trustfulhaz @harrysfeastedflower @harrystxleslx @befourep @moonandstars-xo @babebenhardy @swayingnoodlelove @mendesromano @harrystylinsince1994 @juliassgem @miscll-fangirl @little-dragon-ate-my-heart @myfangirlworld @haroldssfedora @winchesterwife27 @w0wfxck

530 notes · View notes

whatimpunsexual · 4 years

Text

Animated character that was your gay awakening? - I’d have to say both Danny Phantom, and also Sam Manson.

Grilled cheese or PB&J? - PB&J but only with strawberry jelly

What show/YouTube video(s) do you put on in the background when you when you don’t have anything to watch but you want something on? - I usually let one of my various “Music Mix” playlists

Your go-to bar order, if you drink? - I am 20, I cannot legally drink or go into bars, but a rum and coke or a fireball is nice occasionally

What’s your favorite pair of shoes that you own? - The 5 inch heels i use to intimidate @paxonia

Top three cuisines? - Japanese, Mexican, Italian

What was your first word as a child (that wasn’t a variation of “Mom” or “Dad”)? - No idea, but i know that my first sentence was me quoting Shrek. Unfortunately, my dad doesn’t remember the sentence, but I’ve always felt a connection to “That is a nice boulder.”

What’s a job that you’ve had that people might be surprised to find out you’ve had? - I worked as a Manager at Mcdonalds for 3 and a half years, but that’s also like the only job I’ve had besides my current one

Look up. What’s directly across from you? - My fish tank with my Betta fish (Karma) in it

Do you own any signed books/memorabilia in general? - I have the Limited Edition Journal 3 signed and numbered by Alex Hirsch

Preferred way to spend a rainy day? - In bed, preferably watching movies

What do you get on your bagels? What WOULD you get if you had access to anything you wanted? - Butter on an everything bagel. If I had access to everything, I think I’d still go simple lmao

Brunch or midnight snacks? - Midnight snacks

Favorite mug you own - One that I got for Christmas a couple years back. It’s just a nice maroon color and it tapers out to be a bit wider at the top, and I Just Think It’s Neat

What coffee drink would you describe yourself as? - One of those Starbucks caramel iced coffees that you can get at gas stations

Pick a song lyric to describe your current mood (and drop the name and artist!) - “ the world might do me in / It's all right cause I'm with friends / Cause I'm giving up again / It doesn't matter” - Ghost / Mystery Skulls

Fruity or herbal teas? - Herbal

What’s that one TV show that you’re a little bit embarrassed to watch but you still like nonetheless? - Big Mouth

That book you were forced to read for class but actually ended up enjoying? - Oedipus was actually really good, and like all of the Shakespeare things we read in AP Lit

Do you match your socks? - Almost never

Have you ever been horseback riding? - Not by myself, but at September Fest one year, they had a person guiding kids around on horseback and that was fun

What was your “phase” when you were younger? (i.e., Mythology Nerd, Horse Girl, Space Geek, etc) - Mythology..

Have you ever been to jail? - Nope

What’s your opinion on Lazy Susan’s (the spinning tray in the middle of tables)? - They’re convenient

Puzzles? - Yes

You can only have one juice for the rest of your life, what is it? - Orange juice

What section do you immediately head for when you walk into a bookstore? - Manga/Graphic Novels

What’s one thing you’re trying to learn/relearn in your downtime right now? - Drawing hands and proper anatomy lmao

Who’s your go-to musical artist when you’re feeling upbeat? - Recently, Mariana’s Trench

Where could someone find you in a museum? - Greek and Roman Mythology, or the classical art

What’s that one outfit in your closet you never get the chance to wear but want to? - I keep wanting to wear my overall shorts but it’s too cold

Rainbows, stars, or sunset colored clouds? - The clouds are always so fun to look at

If you could own any non-traditional pet (dogs, cats, fish, rodents, etc), what would it be? - A little baby red fox

Do you have more art on your walls or more photographs? - Art/posters

You have to get one meme tattooed on your body, what meme is it and where does it go? - the Lenny Face, and on my ankle

Pick a superhero sidekick to hang out with - Dick Grayson

Lakes, rivers, or oceans? - Rivers

Favorite mid-2000s song - Dear Maria, Count Me In

How do you dress when you’re home alone? - Pajama pants and a sports bra

Where do you sit in the living room (we all have a preferred spot, and you know it)? - The right side of our couch, curled up in a comfy lean

Knives or swords? - Swords

A song you didn’t think you’d enjoy but ended up loving - Bang! by AJR, Idk why, I just didn’t expect it to hit as hard as it did lmao

Pick an old-school Disney Channel Original Movie - High School Musical 2

Are you a “Quote that relates to the photos” caption-er, an “explanation of where I took the photos” caption-er, or a no caption kinda person when you post pictures online? - It depends on the picture

Name a classic Vine - ROAD WORK AHEAD?? UH YEAH! I SURE HOPE IT DOES!

What’s the freezer food that you stock up on when you go to the grocery store? - Pizza Rolls

How do you top your ice cream? - Whipped cream

Do you like Jello? - Yes, but only certain flavors

What’s something that you don’t have a picture of that you wish you did? - When Pax and I got pretend married at our first Sadie Hawkins Dance

How are you at climbing trees? - Depends on the tree. Outside of my gma’s old house there was a Japanese Magnolia tree that was perfect for climbing, but I can’t climb straight up

You happy, @soliduslion ?

#ask #reply #personal

2 notes · View notes

scrawnydutchman · 3 years

Text

‘The Search for Gamora’ Chapter 1: Goodbye Again

The following fan fiction comes with a Spotify playlist with songs meant to reflect the feelings of any given scene (and every chapter is themed after one song). Here is a link to said playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2kgLy69wx87S4Csz09MrcN?si=4CoIvHX2Ra2kTS7nce-8DQ

This fan fiction takes place after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy 1&2, and directly after Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. There will be spoilers for those films throughout.

In the twinkling starry sky of no particular part of space, a ship solemnly floats through the cosmos, seemingly aimless. Any passerby with half a brain would instantly recognize this ship with it’s distinct orange color and it’s bulky yet slick shape. This is the Benatar, the ship piloted by the legendary intergalactic heroes-for-hire; the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was affectionately named “the Benatar” after a beloved singer from the planet Terra; where the Guardians’ captain known as Star Lord grew up. Star Lord, the dashing, handsome, good hearted but uneducated leader of the Guardians known for his reddish brown trench coat and his hair that was some mix of blonde and ginger. He is known by his crew for his particular taste in music; uplifting and catchy classics from a very specific era of his home planets’ history. But Peter Quill is not playing from his typically whimsical list of songs. This time he is playing something more somber and heartbreaking: John Denver’s ‘Goodbye Again’. The title alone is all he can think of at the moment, as it seems an apt description of his current predicament. As he half listens to this sad song for -- honestly he doesn’t know how many times anymore -- he stares at his ship’s monitor scanning for a familiar face throughout all the galaxy. His face is a cocktail of frustration, guilt and grief as the monitor blinks the words “searching” in bright red back at him. For every planet the search goes through, it has yet to produce any satisfying results.

“Quill, will you please play some other song already?? This depressing gunk is driving me nuts!” Says Rocket, the rough-edged, snarky raccoon-like creature who has been by Peter Quill’s side through thick and thin.

“I am Groot!” says Groot (obviously), the small tree like comrade-made-son to all the Guardians who can only speak in different inflections of the same phrase.

“Yeah, I thought it was okay the first time around, but it got REAL old REAL fast!” Says Rocket to Groot. For a long time, Rocket was the only one who could translate for Groot until the other Guardians learned his peculiar language.

Peter doesn’t even hear Rocket and Groot’s inquiries. He’s too sucked in to the blinking of the monitor . . . and the lovely green face accompanying it.

“Quill! Hey Quill! Listen to me, dammit!” Rocket insists more, but to no avail.

“Perhaps our captain has gone deaf.” Says Drax, the muscular green man known for his fighting prowess and his tenuous grasp on nuance in conversation. “I shall see.”

With that, Drax gets up from his seat below Quill’s, marches right up to him and, in what can only be described as a “very Drax move”, leans right into Quill’s left ear and shouts “QUIIIIIIIILL!!!” at the top of his lungs.

Quill jumps out of his seat, shouting and cursing as he falls down the little staircase next to him leading to the right hand side of Drax’s seat. At the sight of this, Drax lets out his unmistakable bellow of a laugh and Thor, the golden haired retired God of Thunder who is nearby on the ship, joins in his laughter.

“Well done, Drax! Now we know Quail is not deaf!” Thor says, wrapping his arm around Drax and shaking him in a brotherly manner. Groot laughs along with them as Rocket wears a wide grin on his face.

Quill gets up quickly, frustrated and in pain. “First of all, Goldilocks, it’s QUILL!! and Drax, what the hell is your problem???”

“Aw, c’mon Quill. That’s just Drax being Drax, you know that by now!” Says Rocket, still clearly entertained by Drax’s antics.

“Yeah, and like always, it’s REAL charming” said Quill as he twists his pinky in his left ear as if to try and soothe the pain.

“Thank you!” says Drax in response, predictably being completely oblivious to Quill’s sarcastic tone.

“You’re welcome” Quill says, not even bothering to point out his sarcasm to Drax because he knows by now it would achieve nothing. “Alright, assholes, you got my attention. What do you want?”

“We just want to turn the music off, Quill. You’ve been playing the same song over and over.” says Rocket, already making his way to the ship’s built in Jukebox (with it’s newly added Zune port) to turn it off.

“Has he? I did not notice. All of Peter’s music sounds the same to me.” says Mantis, the bug-like woman with large eyes and antennae peeking out from the seat across from Drax’s. Upon noticing where Mantis is sitting, Quill gets an angry look on his face.

“All of my music is the greatest in the galaxy and we play it because I’M THE CAPTAIN!” says Quill, momentarily giving the stink eye to Thor upon the emphasis of that last part, to which Thor responds by lifting his arms in the air as if to say “I didn’t do anything”

“And I told you, do NOT sit in that chair!” Quill continues, “That’s--”

“--Gamora’s chair”, everyone on the ship responds in unison, cutting Quill off. It’s clear they’ve had this conversation numerous times by now.

“--T-that’s right” Quill says, trying to maintain his composure even though saying Gamora’s name clearly upset him.

“We know you miss Gamora deeply, Quill” says Drax in an understanding voice. “We all miss her. And we will stop at nothing to get her back.”

“I am Groot!” Groot says in agreement. “You said it pal!” says Rocket in turn.

“Thank you, Drax” Quill says, sincerely showing appreciation for Drax’s reassuring words.

“I also support your quest to earn her love, even though you two do not make a good couple at all” says Drax, immediately undermining what nice things he had to say.

Quill looks at Drax quizzically. “You literally saw us kiss!”, he says, but then immediately shakes it off after remembering who he was talking to.

“Look, I appreciate your guys’ concern and everything . . and I’m sorry for playing John Denver over and over . . . but this whole thing is hopeless! We have no idea where the hell she went, and even if we did she’s not the same . . . her. She’s from a point in time in which she never met any of us -apparently- so even if we find her what are we supposed to do? Tie her up and drag her onto the ship?”

“Is that an option?” Chimes in Nebula, the menacing blue cyborg sister of Gamora who had been quietly skulking to herself in the corner up until now.

“We DO have a power cord and duct tape” Rocket adds. “Assuming we’re able to disarm her should she have any knives--”

“That was NOT a real suggestion!” Quill shouts, clearly losing his patience. After brushing his hands through his hair and letting out a frustrated sigh, he looks back at Nebula and points at her. “You know her better than anyone. You HAVE to have SOME idea of where she might go!”

Nebula thought for a moment, looking at the floor, and then her eyes meet Quill’s again.

“Zen Whoberi.” She responds

Quill squints in confusion. “Zen Who-what-now?”

Nebula gives her almost signature menacing glare. “You mean to tell me that for as much as you love my sister, you never bothered to learn what planet she’s from?”

“O-Oh! No no, we talked about it”, Quill said, sputtering “I mean she told me about what happened to her parents and stuff, but she never brought up the . . . or at least I don’t think--“

Nebula sighs. “When she was just a child, Thanos abducted Gamora from her home planet - - Zen Whoberi -- Where he slaughtered half of her kind, including her parents. But she is now free from Thanos, has no memory of you, and thus has nowhere in all the galaxy to go . . . except home.”

Quill thinks to himself for a moment and then looks to Rocket. “Hey, can you bring up Zen Whoberi on the search?”

“On it!” Rocket says assuredly, cracking his fingers as he walks over to Quill’s controls and types Zen Whoberi into the search. The image of a large green and yellow planet shows up on screen. It looks not too dissimilar from Terra; although the air seems a little thicker and there seems to be a lot more desert. Alongside the image of the planet one can see all sorts of information like wildlife, solar system rotation . . and the population of the world’s registered citizens, the Zehoberei. Tragically, however, the population hovers at roughly 6 billion, a shadow of it’s former standing at 10 billion . . . . thanks to Thanos.

“Run a scan on the planet” Quill says with just a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Rocket does a scan for Gamora accordingly and they wait patiently for results, Quill muttering “c’mon . . . c’mon . . . “ to himself as he eagerly awaits good news . . . . but by the time the scan is done, a message pops up saying “no results found”.

“Aw, you gotta be kidding me!!!” Quill shouts and clenches his fists as he sees it’s another dead end. Everyone else looks on in saddened disappointment and silence.

But then . . . Rocket realizes something.

“Hang on a second” Rocket begins, “Did you say that this Gamora is from a time where she never met us?”

Nebula nods.

Rocket throws his arms up at the revelation. “OF COURSE! THAT’S why the stinking scan isn’t working! It’s looking for OUR Gamora. As in it’s tracking the travel log of a Gamora that . . . well . . y’know . . . but it’s not tracking this past Gamora AT ALL!”

Quill looks at Rocket, impressed that Rocket managed to put this together. “Alright, so . . . what do we do to fix it?”

Rocket ponders. “We might be able to find her if we had some sort of old archive of that past Gamora’s travels. Something from that other timeline . . .”

“I have it.” Nebula chimes in. Everyone looks at her quizzically.

“During our travel through time I discovered that my cybernetic network was linked to that of the Nebula from the other timeline”, Nebula explained. “The same timeline that this Gamora is from. Which means I have access to all of the data that that Nebula had. And so I downloaded it to my system in case it would ever be useful. “

“Why would the other Nebula have Gamora’s travel records?” Quill asks, still sort of confused. Nebula looks down in embarrassment.

“. . . . I used to find and download Gamora’s travel logs so I always knew where she was . . .”, Nebula says with pregnant pauses between, “in case I ever wanted to go after her . . . for revenge.”

“Of course you did” Quill said, smirking.

“Alright, NOW we’re getting somewhere!” Rocket said, excitedly. “Okay, Freaky, get over here and help me with this. We got some hacking to do!”

Nebula walks over to Quill’s terminal and starts helping Rocket with the plan. She unplugs a drive-looking-device from the side of her head and hands it to Rocket, who then plugs it into the system and starts typing away. He stops to look back at the rest of the crew.

“This is gonna take some doing” Rocket explains “basically I’m gonna hack the intergalactic travel logs and overwrite Gamora’s data with this stuff from the other timeline. So now instead of tracking a lady that Thanos took off the grid and . . . well . . . y’know . . . . we’ll be tracking a lady that went unaccounted for for a few years and then suddenly popped back up. Once we plug all this in the search should have the right parameters to work with”

All this talk about hacking the travel logs and overwriting data . . . it confuses the hell out of Quill. It seems like nobody but Rocket really gets it. That’s probably the time travel stuff making things ultra confusing like it always does, Quill figures to himself. But frankly, he doesn’t care. If this cockamamie scheme means finding out where Gamora went, he’s all for it.

Still, Quill has some concerns. “Isn’t hacking the travel logs going to immediately draw some attention? Like . . .Nova Corp attention?” He says to Rocket.

“Aw c’mon, Quill! We’re the freakin’ Guardians of the Galaxy! The Nova Corp loves us!” Rocket says assuredly. “And even if tampering with their logging system DOES tick them off . . . eh . . . . we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“What bridge must we cross to evade the Nova Corp?” Drax asks ponderingly.

“Once again, that’s just an expression, big guy!” Quill says with the first bit of optimism he’s had in some time. He then claps his hands together. “Welp! Rocket and Nebula clearly need some time to figure this out, so how’s about the rest of us give them some space? Everybody else just go about your usual business.”

“Very well” Drax agrees. Drax then goes perfectly still, once again practicing becoming invisible to the naked eye with his stillness.

“Woah! Did anyone see where Drax went? I can’t see him anymore!” Thor shouts, clearly just trying to make Drax happy.

“What are you talking about, Thor?” Mantis asks, tilting her head quizzically. “Drax is right there!” She then points to Drax, and Thor looks at her annoyed for ruining the fun.

“Hey idiots! Can you go be stupid someplace else? We need to work in relative silence!” Rocket shouts in his typical rude tone of voice. With that, everyone disperses . . . except for Groot, who slowly walks up to Rocket.

“I am Groot?” Groot asks, wishfully looking at Rocket.

Rocket smirks. “Of course you can hang out with us, buddy. I missed you. I ever tell ya that?”

“I am Groot!” Groot says with an inflection as if to say “aw, c’mon”.

Soon it’s just Rocket, Nebula and Groot in the piloting section of the ship.

“Where did you learn to hack the travel logs?” Nebula asks, trying to hide how impressed she is by Rocket’s technological prowess.

“I didn’t learn anything” Rocket says, grinning. “I’ve ALWAYS had it. Ain’t the first time I’ve done this either. Overwriting your travel log comes in REAL handy when you gotta escape the Nova Corp!”

Stay tuned for Chapter 2: Sweet City Woman

#gotg #guardians of the galaxy #mcu #mcu spoilers #marvel #fanfic #fanfiction #sfw

1 note · View note

nathiuria · 8 years

Text

This guy DJ-id at a (artist fka) Prince party once...

"(...) At around 4:30 Prince gets up off the couch and walks floats right over to me. He looks me in the eye, starts shaking my hand and says in a deep Prince voice:

“Thank you. That was very enjoyable.”

“Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.”

In my mind it was that smooth but there’s no doubt I was speaking gibberish.

And just like that he left the room with his date. He didn’t put any moves on her in the bar, but I like to think I helped him out by setting the mood for whatever happened next. I stopped the music and the lights went on.

And that was the best night of DJing I ever had or ever will have."

Here's what was served that night and it's beautiful!

***Don't be lazy and read DJ @wallywaves's full crazy and amazing story here: "I was home watching TV and cutting up a steak when I got the call at 8PM. A friend of mine worked at a famous hotel in LA and one of the guests made a last minute request for a DJ to play the hotel bar. Someone that could get there and start playing in an hour. The bar frequently had live bands play, but never a DJ. So with little to no time, my wise and generous friend thought to throw a gig my way.

“Yeah, I can get there in an hour. Am I getting paid?”

“Yes, you’ll get paid.”

“What kind of party is it? What am I playing?”

“Someone’s renting out the bar for a private party. And that someone is… The Artist… formerly… known… as… Prince.”

That sentence was not real to me. Still not real. I had no time to really think or say anything but, “What? You serious? Yes. Be there as soon as I can.” Got off the phone and my stomach turned. Only a handful of people in the world have imprinted their music that much in my brain. And couldn’t he just call up any of the best DJ’s in LA to come play for him? Why’s he gonna trust someone who is by all means an unknown? I’d been DJing parties and bars for years but going from that to Prince is an Olympic leap.

The next half hour felt like a panic attack. I made a list of songs to play for Prince and his private Prince party. Ok, no Prince songs. He doesn’t want to hear himself. No MJ. I don’t want to insult him or anything. Didn’t they have beef in the 80’s? No hip hop. Can’t picture him rocking out to Kendrick. I thought of who he was influenced by and dragged some James Brown and Stevie songs into the playlist. Isley Brothers, Curtis. Great. 8:20PM. I still have to get ready even though I could spend the next month picking songs. I quickly close my laptop and get dressed. Pack up my turntables, mixer, cables and run them all to the car as I’m sweating through this black suit.

I get to the hotel with about five minutes to set up. The bar is completely empty aside from a couple of servers and my friend who made the call. And the room is almost lit exclusively by candlelight. I’m told to set up my turntables on the grand piano, which is also covered with candles, making me feel like hip hop Liberace. A waitress tells me there’s like an 80% chance Prince doesn’t show up. He just likes to rent out the bar in case he and his friends wander through the hotel and feel like stopping in. “But you should start playing music anyway in case he comes in. Who knows.” So I start playing songs to the very empty bar. The anticipation is a killer. My friend gives me a much needed glass of whiskey before taking off.

A giant spread of appetizers is covering the bar and getting sweaty. Spring rolls, cheese, orange juice. An hour goes by. Then another hour. A no-show. I’m kind of bummed out but also very relieved. I don’t know how I’m going to react if he walks in that door. So I’m just playing the set of my life to nobody. It’s like I’m getting paid to practice and listen to whatever I want on the bar’s sound system.

At 12AM the door opens and some guy walks over to me and without a greeting he says,

“Hey man. He’ll be here in 15 minutes. What are you gonna play when he walks in?”

“Oh I got some stuff lined up. Some older Stevie Wonder, the JB’s.”

“Yeah. Yeah, he likes that. Anything like that, Earth Wind & Fire, Chic.”

“Yeah I got Chic! I’ll play that.”

“And he wants to hear Janelle Monáe when he walks in. You got that?”

“Yup. Yup. Janelle Monáe.”

“Cool, he’ll be here in 15 minutes.”

I didn’t have any Janelle Monáe. I ran out to the concierge desk in the lobby to get the wifi password, ran back and started downloading a bunch of Janelle Monáe off of iTunes. Right on time as I cue up the track, the door opens and I catch a quick glimpse. Full on afro, turtleneck and a gold chain. I want to say he had a cane, but I was trying not to look directly at him. I didn’t want to throw him off or maybe infuriate him by making eye contact. Prince was in the room. I was just musical wallpaper. He and a friend sat down at a couch about fifteen feet away from me.

The grand entrance song blended straight into James Brown’s Talking Loud and Saying Nothing. I played Ike & Tina Turner, Charles Wright, Omar’s The Man, and Gust of Wind by Pharrell. My head was pretty much glued to the turntables, sticking to my no look philosophy, but I could hear bits of conversation. Hearing that Prince voice in person was something strange. It just belongs on record or on microphone. I start dishing out some other favorite tracks of mine, Think Twice by Jay Dee and Alicia Myers I Want to Thank You. There’s zero reaction to the songs I play. I’m still worried I’m not playing what he wants to hear. Is he gonna throw a spring roll at me?

A little later that guy from earlier comes back into the bar and walks straight over to me.

“Hey man. Just want to let you know, they love your music.”

“Oh really? Thanks. Do they want to hear anything in particular?”

“Nope. Just keep playing what your playing.”

Oh it’s on now. I can finally breathe and I’m getting props from the man himself, or from the middleman himself. And then it hits me. There’s only two people in there. Prince and a girl. I’m not there to DJ a private party. I’m there to DJ a date. Prince is on a date and I’m the entertainment.

I saved my set list from that night and I don’t remember playing half the songs on it. All I know is I was in deep concentration, mixing out of my mind. Messenger man came in one more time and said Prince might try to play the piano. When it was time, he would pop his head in the door and give me the cue to stop DJing. I had never seen Prince perform, so a private piano ballad to his woman and myself sounded alright. I stayed looking at that door for a while until Prince’s date walked over to me.

“Hey, so what’s the name of this song? He likes it and wants to know.”

“It’s a Smith’s cover. This Charming Man by Stars.”

She sat back down and relayed the info, to which he nodded his head. Now I’m stumping Prince with cool music. I play another track. She comes over to me again and asks, “What’s this one? He wants this on repeat.” Blacker 4 The Good Times by Ballistic Brothers. So I play that song a couple more times in a row. It’s now 4AM and I’m just a little delirious from being on my feet DJing for 7 hours. And I’m running out of music. My song selections are all over the map at this point. Esperanza Spalding, ESG, Broken Bells.

At around 4:30 Prince gets up off the couch and walks floats right over to me. He looks me in the eye, starts shaking my hand and says in a deep Prince voice,

“Thank you. That was very enjoyable.”

“Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.”

In my mind it was that smooth but there’s no doubt I was speaking gibberish.

And that was the best night of DJing I ever had or ever will have."

Source: Purple Tuesday

#prince #the artist formerly known as prince #dj #wally waves #npr #crazy #janelle monae #Ballistic Brothers #Esperanza Spalding #Pharrell #tina turner #playlist

5 notes · View notes

maiathebee · 8 years

Text

Comprehensive Bibliography Of BTS

This is just a list of material referenced, alluded to or related to BTS’s concepts, music, photobooks, albums and music videos. This is not a fan theory, or an attempt at one! Anyways here’s the precursor to my scholarly paper, lolllll (I’m not joking though). I’ll update it as we goooooo....

Also, I know almost nothing about the School trilogy, but it’s my understanding that there’s not a lot of outside source material. I could be wrong though. Does it reference mangas and stuff??? send me a msg if you know.

(just a reminder that while BTS is remarkably involved in the creative direction of the group, the formation of a kpop groups’ era/concept is made by a large team of people, and therefore the members probably haven’t even considered or explored upwards of half the material on this list).

(asterisks mean that these works are not directly referenced by BTS in their interviews, lyrics or imagery, etc, but which are still tangentially related)

BTS book club list is as follows:

Shim Cheong - a Korean Panseori tale (Dark and Wild)

Demian by Hermann Hesse (Wings)

Seven Sermons to the Dead by Carl Jung (Wings)*

The Collected Works of CG Jung by Carl Jung (Wings)*

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by F. Nietzsche (Wings)

Beyond Good and Evil by F. Nietzsche (Wings)*

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K Le Guin (YNWA)

The Moral Philosopher and The Moral Life by William James (YNWA)*

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (YNWA)*

Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob (YNWA)

Then here’s the film club list:

She and Her Cat (dir. Makoto Shinkai)(short film) (HYYH pt.2)(this is according to Bang PD)

Lost River (dir. Ryan Goslin) (Young Forever)

Big Fish (dir. Tim Burton) (reason here) (YNWA)

The Helpers/No Vacancy (dir. Chris Stokes) (YNWA)* (tbh this seems fairly coincidental to me, which is why it gets an asterisk.

Snowpiercer (dir. Bong Joon Ho) (YNWA)

BTS music playlist:

Wild For The Night by A$AP rocky (Dark & Wild)

Friday Night Lights by J.Cole (Dark & Wild)

2001 by Dr. Dre (Dark & Wild)

花樣的年華 - Zhou Xuan (HYYH pt.1/pt.2)*

Nevermind - Nirvana (HYYH pt.2)

Wasted Youth (HYYH pt.2)

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (Young Forever)

Passacaglia in D minor (BuxWV 161) - Buxtehude (Wings)

You’ll Never Walk Alone - Louis Armstrong (YNWA)* (100% this isn’t a purposeful reference, but it’s a good song, y’all should listen to it)

BTS’s art history class bibliography:

Julius Caesar on Gold by Basquiat (Young Forever)

Tricycle by Basquiat and Warhol (Young Forever)*

Orange Sports Figure by Basquiat (Young Forever)

The Fall of the Rebel Angels - Bruegel the Elder (Wings)

The Landscape with the Fall of Icarus - Bruegel the Elder (Wings)

The Lament for Icarus - Draper (Wings)

La Pieta by Michelangelo (Wings)

Personnes by Christian Boltanski (YNWA)*

Further Analysis (and more fan-theory type stuff) in chronological order, under this read more~~

I’m not sure there’s meant to be a single “correct” reading of the group’s narrative or story. Even in Wings, which drew its story fully from Demian, the ultimate narrative of the BST M/V is more vague. While there might be a complete and overarching narrative that Bighit is trying to create with Bangtan’s concepts/mvs, I think it’s more likely that there are a lot of narrative threads running through the story, and some are maintained longterm, some are relevant only to as specific chapter, while others are merely aesthetic/cosmetic. I have a feeling that even longterm narrative ideas are sometimes allowed to fade away for the benefit of moving the story forward at the pace they want.

Dark and Wild

Shim Cheong is just a throwaway simile on hip hop lover. I’m pretty sure it’s a reference to the idea that seeing Shim Cheong again allowed her blind father to gain the ability to see.

References like the one to Wild for the Night on hiphop lover (they also tweeted about the song back in 2013) don’t really do much except show that they genuinely like/listen to American rap and also it explains at least 66% of the dumb mistakes Rap Monster has made, probably, my poor problematic child. Hip Hop lover references a ton of artists, but I just included the ones that are mentioned by more than just name.

The Most Beautiful Moment In Life (pt.1/pt.2)

Zhou Xuan is the first media reference point for HYYH (花樣年華)(It’s what the Chinese title for In the Mood For Love is based on). The lyrics refer to forgotten dreams.

Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood For Love (花樣年華) is not listed, as RM mentioned in the interview that this was not associated with their album.

Notes of a Desolate Man by Tianwen Shu is excerpted in a Taiwanese literary anthology by the name of 花樣年華, and I though think it relates thematically, it’s merely my own personal association~ There’s no indication that BTS or Bighit even knows it exists. Tianwen Shu is greatly influenced by Lu Xun, who wrote the anti-confucian societal norms novel, A Madman’s Diary.

Nirvana t-shirts are a go to for BTS’s stylists, probably MOSTLY because they fit their preferred grunge image, but the word “Nirvana” fits well into the ideas of tragedy/death, utopia/dystopia and idealism that BTS plays with, while Nirvana the band is obviously a good reference point for realistic portrayals of youth culture and music which speaks to young people, particularly the crazy popular Nevermind (ahem Yoongi’s intro song) with Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come As You Are. (further fan theory here)

It’s crazy to me that Bang PD found inspiration in a five minute anime about a cat, but read the wiki summary and you’ll believe him: “When it's over She cries and becomes depressed. Chobi does not understand what the conversation was about or what happened but concludes that it was not her fault. He stands by her and comforts her. Time goes on and it becomes winter. She continues going to work and moves on with her life. In the end Chobi and She are happy with their life together and say in unison, 'This world, I think we like it.’”

Fire (Young Forever)

Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” thematically deals with youth/nostalgia (Shine On You Crazy Diamond: "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun"). It includes critiques of the music industry and the cliches that the group had to deal with. The narrative of Wish You Were Here is very much in line with Bangtan’s overall group narrative.

Lost River (a phrase you can see on a wall in the Fire M/V) is a film about a poor community, and specifically a mother and her two sons, going through crisis. The film includes a scene of a party in an abandoned high school and ends with both a house and a car on fire. The film has an open ending which leaves room for an improved future, but the film is primarily about the limited possibilities and opportunities

As far as I can tell, the “Basquiat” paintings in the fire M/V are just imitations rather than references to specific paintings. They’re probably being used just as an aesthetic choice - Basquiat’s art was a synthesis of street art, outsider art, social commentary and post-expressionism. However, his life is also relevant narratively: he died young at 27 and he first gained fame as a graffiti artist.

I’m not putting it above because the film is super inappropriate, but the phrase “enter the void” is used in the Run M/V, and could refer to the Gaspar Noe film of the same name. The title of that film is, in fact, a reference to The Tibetan Book of the Dead. However, the term “void” (and the images of the void in the M/V) could just be a reference to five elements in Japanese Buddhism (including fire), particularly the Book of Five Rings. But this is me getting uber fan theory, lol.

Another graffitied phrase in the Run M/V is “wasted youth.” This could be one of three things; a reference to the hardcore punk band, Wasted Youth, an allusion to Fast Times at Ridgemont High which also includes a scene featuring “wasted youth” graffitied on a wall, or the phrase isn’t an allusion, but merely a description of the M/V concept.

Wings

The relationship to Demian needs its own post, so I won’t even go into it itself, but the tangential references it spawned are as follows:

The paintings in the Wings video are all in reference to Demian but are also all biblical/mythological in nature, based on the book of revelations, Ovid’s The Art of Love, and the crucifixion. The religious references, however, are dulled down -- Jesus is not fully sculpted, leaving him to be a vaguely carved form and allowing the image to stand more as an allegory for the relationship between mother and “son” in Demian. (some further fan analysis of the art here)(and more specifically on the use of icarus).

The Passacaglia is also a piece which is referred to in Demian in the part of the book where the narrator begins to find spiritual fulfillment through music and art, something BTS talks about a lot.

Demian draws lot from Carl Jung, particularly his ideas about symbolism, archetypes and psychoanalysis. The book specifically alludes to Jung’s Seven Sermons, and the idea that Abraxas is the ultimate being, uniting both god and the devil. Thematically, through Demian, this deals with themes of forming ones’ own moral code, and ideas of will and strength of character, with good and evil being both at odds but also simultaneously part of everything. This theory/concept in largely influenced by Nietzsche, most especially his Beyond Good and Evil. Together these are all philosophies which pull away from the ideas of societal norms or strict social structures and place a premium on personal/creative expression.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra (quoted in the Wings photobook and BST M/V) also furthers this idea that good and evil are “a wheel.” It posits that Truth (not morality) is the highest virtue and that idealists flee from reality (SEE: Icarus). The novel also introduces the idea of the overman, which is a gross idea and super problematic, but I can it being applied thematically to BTS as the idea of a ‘fully realized self.’ Zarathustra is a figure Nietzsche borrowed from Zoroastrianism. (this writer has more ideas on some connections to Nietzsche).

You Never Walk Alone

“Omelas” and the theme of walking obviously references the Le Guin story, which is inspired by the William James essay, which in turn borrows ideas from Dostoyevsky.

Namjoon’s reference Snowpiercer plays into the video’s visual narrative (an inescapable cycle, the train, the cyclical nature of seasons, laundry is a cycle [2mjjk theory speaks to all these, lol]) as the story is about a train which circles the globe, in a world stuck in perpetual winter. Unlike the more environmentally-focused graphic novel, Snowpiercer the (korean-directed) film is intensely focused on class inequality, a theme which runs through BTS’s albums (see particularly Baepsae, but it’s a concern relevant to their School series, since most pressures put on students are related to social class) and which is of incredible concern to Korean people, and therefore is a common concern of a lot of Korean art. Bong Joon Ho’s other film works are all very heavy on social commentary (the host deals with the american military and politics/activism, sea fog also talks about social inequality... etc...), so referencing one of his films is a pretty clear statement that you are making a critical commentary on something. Like the Le Guin short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, the film is about a dystopia in which the upper class/middle class/general public is reliant on the continual suffering of another (in this class the lower class or last train) to survive. Trains provide a very easy metaphor for class given their class divisions into separate carriages. This was also applied in another Korean blockbuster from the last year, Train to Busan (dir Yeon Sang-ho), which included some pretty transparent commentary on the negative effect that an apathetic, self-serving, lazy (male) middle-aged, middle-class could have on the survival of families and younger generations.

Most fan theories agree that the clothes in the M/V are a reference to the sewol ferry disaster. Here is the fan explanation for how that connects to Boltanski’s Personnes.

#bts #bangtan #you never walk alone #who i am now #my thoughts #not that you care #bts in cultural context

6 notes · View notes

puchittothelimit · 8 years

Note

Can I request a Smite fan fic about Amaterasu and Izanami getting drunk in a bar one night and the two of them end up arguing and cursing at each other, and then when Susanoo and Raijin arrive to take them home, the two of the, are holding each other and crying at the bar counter?

Author’s Notes

Fandom:SMITE

Fan-fiction: The Last Straw

Summary: Izanami takes Amaterasu to one of her favourite bars to celebrate her birthday. After a little something to drink, both begin to feel a little confrontational. Amaterasu doesn’t appreciate her mother’s concern for her love-life but Izanami simply doesn’t want her daughter to be left with a broken heart.

Characters:Amaterasu, Izanami, Nox, Raijin & Susano

Warnings:Strong Language

Humanity, now 7 billion strong, seemed to occupy everycorner of the globe. Where the Gods were once were able to live away frommortal gaze had been overrun. But there were parts of the world that managed toremain untouched by man, until they found a way to bend reality, of course. TheGods needn’t be concerned about that for now. Mama Nyx’s Bar remained a safehaven, tucked away behind a tiny break in the fabric of the timeline. Only theimmortals knew where the crack was and should any decide to spill its location,Nox would simply darken the opening and make it as uninviting as possible andcreate another entrance elsewhere. She would not allow it to be comprised. Itwas a place where the Gods could unwind and forget about their cosmic dutiesand not have to answer to humanity.

Here, we find Amaterasu and her mother, Izanami, who had broughther daughter here so they could celebrate her birthday together. Izanami hadbeen coming here for many years, mainly out of spite as once she’d escaped herPantheon’s Underworld, she hoped she might see her ex-husband. The pleasantcompany she’d found with other Gods from all over the world had humbled her andchanged her intentions. She came here with friends to have a good time, and shehoped Amaterasu would also enjoy her time here.

A being of light, Amaterasu found the dim setting of MamaNyx’s a little overwhelming when she first entered. Once her eyes had adjusted,she could admire the charming, warehouse décor of the cave. It was huge and nota single space was left untouched or without a purpose. There were spiralledmetal staircases that led to the upper levels of the complex with a small candleon every step. Candles were the main source of light in the cave, though Noxwas happy to settle for fairy lights near the wooden tables and chairs, andlarge, rustic lamps above the bar. Though she could not see any medium forthis, Amaterasu swore she could hear music. There were no musicians and shecould not see any kind of speaker system. She wondered if Nox was eveninterested in modern day human culture but, then again, what was currentlyplaying was a mash-up of two recently released songs.

Izanami went on ahead towards the bar while Amaterasuadmired her surroundings. She was surprised to see many familiar faces thoughshe was wondering why she was never told about this place sooner, unless theythought that she already knew about it. Then again, the Gods that were herecurrently weren’t ones she usually associated herself with. There was Thoth ina corner, curled up with a book and a small drink. In another section, therewas Chronos and Thanatos, both looking very content in each other’s company. Itmade Amaterasu long for Bellona’s company and she would’ve invited her but hermother insisted it be just them. Susano wasn’t even invited but he’d beenbarred from drinking for a very long time by Izanami after she heard about hisatrocious behaviour at the Mayan gathering. It wasn’t just Susano that hadcompromised his dignity however. Many Gods had disgraced themselves that nightand were still trying to make amends: Anubis had just returned to a table wherehe and Ah Muzen Cab were sitting with a bottle of honey whiskey (with only oneglass) to replace the one he’d drank that belonged to the God of Bees; Hadesand Persephone seemed to be engaged in a serious conversation and Amaterasucould only imagine what it was about, although she didn’t expect them to bediscussing Hades’ one-night stand with Ah Puch so out in the open, unless hebrought her here so she wouldn’t go completely insane knowing everyone would bewatching.

Amaterasu took a seat next to her mother at the bar. She washesitant while placing her arms on the countertop, expecting it to be stickybut the surface was spotless. She was guilty about expecting anything less thanperfection from Nox.

“What are you having to drink, Ama’?” Izanami folded her fanand placed it on the bar.

Amaterasu smiled at her mother. She was grateful that shecalled her by her nickname as she found people saying her full name tedious andtiring, much like the writer typing this story. “What would you recommendMother? You’ve clearly been here a lot,” She meant nothing by her comment. Itwas just an assumption.

“More times than I care to admit, but it’s a nice place,with nice drinks and nice company,” Izanami turned to face Thanatos and gavehim a wave and a wink. He remained unmoved, but Chronos found it very amusing.

Nox suddenly rose from behind the bar, “Flattery isn’t goingto pay for your drinks Iza’ and I don’t see a man willing to pay for youeither.”

“Actually, your son has offered to buy me and my daughter apitcher for her birthday,” Izanami proclaimed loudly. Everyone at the bar gaveher a small round of applause for her motherly teasing.

Nox was also amused and played along, “Did he now?” Shenodded at him from across the room. Thanatos shrugged his shoulders, not amusedby the fact that he now had two mothers teasing him, “Don’t worry dear, I’lllend you some money. And happy birthday Ama’,” She smiled at her sweetly.

“Thank you Nox,” Amaterasu also bowed her head to showthanks.

“I’m going to make you wonderful birthday cocktail. You’lllove it. It’s-,” Nox paused, raising a brow (though no one could see it). She’dnoticed that the song that was playing had suddenly been paused. A new songbegan to play and the genre told Nox exactly who the culprit was, “Nemesis?”She turned to see her daughter at the end of the bar, fiddling with a devicethat was presumably connected to whatever sound system that played the music.Nemesis ignored her mother. Nox spoke again with the same tone of voice,“Nemesis, put my playlist back on.”

“Mom, nobody wants to listen to whatever mash-ups you’vefound recently. I’m putting some decent music on,” She replied, just as plainlyas her mother.

“Excuse me, young lady,” Izanami backed-up a fellow parent,“I’ve been coming here for a long time and I’ve never had a problem with yourmother’s taste in music.”

“Thank you Iza’, Nox nodded at Izanami, then turned to faceNemesis again, who still didn’t give her mother any eye contact (though neitherof them could), “It’s funny you should say that Nemesis because I’m pretty sureno one wants to listen to your I’m-going-through-what-I-call-and-emo-phase-but-I’m-really-a-scene-kidmusic.”

Nemesis groaned as she hauled herself away from the device,swinging her head back as if she’d rolled her eyes far too enthusiastically.She sat herself next to Thanatos and the two began talking about how much theirmother’s light-hearted banter irritated them. Chronos seemed somewhatdisenchanted that he was now the third-wheel.

When Nox had finally finished preparing Amaterasu’scocktail, she poured it into an enchanted chalice; in between the base and thebowl of the glass was a small, lit candle which acted as the stem, the heatkeeping the bowl suspended. She placed the glass in front of Amaterasu. How shemarvelled at just the glass alone greatly satisfied Nox.

Amaterasu was eager to try her drink, its orange glowalready putting the fruity taste in her mouth. However, she had no idea how topick up the glass. The wax had already begun to melt and she didn’t want to getburned, “Um, Nox?” She inquired nervously, not wanting to embarrass herself orseem rude. Nox handed Izanami her drink. A quick glance at Amaterasu and sheknew exactly what the problem was. She conjured up a straw and placed it in herglass, “Thank you,” She giggled. She took the straw between her lips and took asip. The liquid felt thicker than it was due to the intensity of the flavours.It was not bitter like most other alcoholic mixes that Amaterasu had tried,which was why she hated them. It also left a pleasant, fruity after taste. Shetook a larger sip, “Mm, it’s dazzling.”

Izanami put down her own drink, “Oh, can I try some?”

“No,” Nox scolded her, “You can have one when it’s yourbirthday.”

“I wish it could be my birthdayeveryday if it meant I could drink this. What’s in it?” Amaterasu had drunkalmost half of the cocktail.

“That’s on a need-to-knowbasis but there’s nothing in there I wouldn’t drink.”

“So there’s a drop ofeverything in there?” Izanami teased.

“I have actually made adrink with a little of everything, all that I had in the bar anyway. That wasthe first alcoholic drink I gave to Thanatos and Nemesis when they were oldenough.” Nox excused herself to go and serve Osiris and Isis who’d arrived atthe bar.

Amaterasu drank the lastfew sips of her cocktail but still continued to pry the glass with her straw inthe hopes of finding a bit more beneath the ice cubes. Izanami cooed at her adorablebehaviour, finding it all the more endearing because she was her daughter. Sheoften found herself in awe at her beauty. She considered it a compliment toherself that she’d created such a beautiful being (ignoring her husband’s rolein the process). It saddened her when she remembered how long Amaterasu hadspent hidden from the world and although it wasn’t because of insecurity, Izanamiwas still concerned for her child. She knew she wouldn’t be able to ask herabout her overall emotions directly as Amaterasu despised talking about herselfand her well-being, not wanting to burden people if she wasn’t feeling herself.Her mother knew she’d have to intricately set up a conversation like that, “Youshouldn’t wish your life away Ama’.”

Amaterasu frowned at her mother’s dreary sentiment, findingit even more irritating that she’d seemingly pulled it out of thin air. She didnot let it show. She had the utmost respect for her mother and would never sassher, “What do you mean?”

“You know? What you said before: about how you wish it wasyour birthday every day. I know we’re immortal but still…”

“It was just a joke Mother,” She spoke with a soft,reassuring tone and was trying as hard as she could not to roll her eyes.

“No, I know that but I just think it’s in bad tastes. You’vebeen stuck in that cave for so long, you need to make up for lost time and notwaste any more.”

Amaterasu couldn’t stop her eyes from widening. This hadtaken a drastic turn. She respected her mother but she didn’t feel comfortabletalking about her time in solitude in a place like this, knowing how other Godsmay feel about her absence, concerned with how she abandoned her people inpursuit of self-pity. That is why she no longer spoke of her feelings toanyone, nor let them show; she just carried on as normal, “Mother, can we not talk about thisnow please?” She politely requested.

“I’m just saying,” Izanami carried on briskly as she knewthat would be her daughter’s response, “You need to start doing the things thatyou’ve always wanted to do. It’s important for me to know that you’re happy.”

“I am happyMother. I’m back to serving my people and providing for them. My brother and Iare talking again. You’re back with us. Our pantheon isn’t collapsing underpetty feuds which I am truly grateful for, “She spoke with a hushed tone,knowing there were both Greek and Egyptian Gods in the room who might takeoffence (even if the shoe fit), “And, I’ve found love,” As she spoke, thefeeling manifested itself inside her and warmed her heart, “There’s still moreI want to do, of course. I’d love to travel to more places and talk with otherpantheons…”

Izanami saw her chance and cut in as soon as there was aslight pause in Amaterasu’s spiel, “If there’s so much you still want to do, isnow really the right time for a relationship?”

Amaterasu’s stomach dropped. She didn’t want to have tojustify her relationship with Bellona to her mother. She couldn’t withouttalking about how much they loved one another and she had a feeling thatwouldn’t satisfy her, not after how cold Izanagi had been towards her; Izanamino longer seemed to care for intense feelings of affection, finding it all aruse. In truth, without that, Amaterasu and Bellona’s relationship seemedhighly inappropriate. They were from different pantheons which wouldn’t comewithout disdain from somewhere. Also, because of that, they barely saw eachother, in person that is. They spoke very often however, taking it uponthemselves to sample mankind’s technology.

Of course, Izanami could simply not like her girlfriendbecause of her personality, and Amaterasu freely admitted that Bellona was ahard person to get along with. Her mother may not simply want her to be in arelationship at all, feeling she was too young. Amaterasu didn’t want to appearas if she was making assumptions about her mother’s true feelings, knowing thatwould anger her, “Is this about Bellona?” She asked, as naturally as she could.Her mother said nothing. Instead, she turned away from her daughter and tookanother sip of her drink, “Do you not like her?” Izanami just shrugged.Amaterasu couldn’t gather anything by her subtleties, becoming increasinglyfrustrated. She blurted out the first thing that came to her, though shecouldn’t quite understand why she thought of it, “Is it because she’s a girl?”

“Don’t be ridiculous Ama’, of course it isn’t,” Izanami wasquick to object, and took another sip of her drink.

She bit her lip. She knew that couldn’t have been it; hermother had never been openly homophobic. At least now she had something to followup on, “I’m being ridiculous? Who turned a jokey statement into a discussionabout whether or not I am truly happy with my life?” Her voice was onlyslightly raised but it still shook her, the way she’d spoken to her Mother.They both seemed shocked, as did nearby bar-goers.

Izanami slammed her glass down onto the bar, attracting evenmore attention, “Well, I’m sorry but I care about your well-being,” She saidsharply, glaring at her daughter, who was aware that other people werelistening in to their conversation.

“I know you do and I appreciate it, I really do,” She wastrying her best not to sound patronising with her hushed voice, also trying toensure that no one else could hear their conversation. She held her Mother’sshoulders and leaned towards her for good measure, “You needn’t worry is what Imean. Me and Bellona are perfectly happy together. We love each other. Eventhough we’re long-distance, we talk every day through messages,” She got herphone out as if she was going to show her mother the messages and prove herpoint. She offered her a glimpse before taking it back and then subtly textingher brother before her mother noticed, as she wasn’t fond of her children beingpermanently glued to their devices (even though that was an exaggeration). Shecontinued to speak to distract her mother from her twiddling thumbs, “We caneven call each other and see each other, so it doesn’t really feel thatlong-distance,” She blatantly lied; she did miss Bellona greatly and wishedthey saw each other in-person more often. Her mother didn’t pick up on this, “Iknow it might not seem like it’s the same thing, but it still works for us. Long-distancedoesn’t affect us greatly.” She locked her phone and looked up. The scowl onIzanami’s face told Amaterasu that she wasn’t quite pacified.

“I can tell you from experience that long-distancecomplicates things massively,” She took another sip of her drink, keeping hereyes locked onto her daughter’s.

Amaterasu scowled back. Her mother clearly hadn’t listenedwhen she’d told her that they were okay with long distance. She knew exactlywhat she was comparing their relationship to in trying to push her daughter toend hers. “Mom, you were dead. And besides, Dad came looking for you, remember?”Amaterasu hit back with the cold, dead truth, dissolving the relation betweenthe two.

“And then left as soon as he saw me,” Izanami still had herstance and persisted, “That’s what they do Ama’. When you’re not pretty enoughto fuck anymore, they move on.” She picked up her glass, only to find it lightwith emptiness. It pushed her over the edge. She dropped the glass as tearsbroke through.

After the way she’d acted, Amaterasu felt little remorse anddid nothing to comfort her mother, “Bellona isn’t like that,” She neverthought that she’d have to defend her girlfriend from the accusation that shehad such a shallow mind-set.

“How do you know? We may be immortal but you’ll stillchange. For fuck’s sake, you’ll still grow old Ama’! What will she think of youthen?” Izanami pried on her daughter’s naivety.

“Bellona isn’t like that,” Shespoke in short, sharp bursts. There was nothing more Amaterasu detested thanpeople not listening to her or acknowledging what she’d said. Her brother hadn’treplied to her message either which was also bringing her to breaking point.She only hoped she’d get a notification soon or he’d appear by the bar.

“Come on Susano, chop chop!” Raijin thundered, tapping hisfoot impatiently.

“Hang-on, I can’t tell if my Heartward Amulet is active ornot,” Susano adjusted the charm around his neck.

“I can help you test that out. I’ll fire an attack and if itdoesn’t hurt as much…”

Susano was suddenly perkier, “Hey. Hey! I said hang-on.”

Raijin sighed and lowered his drumsticks, “I’m pretty sureyou also said that you were really squishy and needed to work on your magicaldefence and I kindly agreed to help you.”

He ignored Raijin because he didn’t have a comeback. The gemat the centre of the amulet began to pulsate with a green glow. He wasconfident that it was working, “I’m never going to have a magic snake hit me inthe private’s ever again,” He cringed when he recalled how much pain he was inwhen Kukulkan had whipped him with his tail. He stopped his train of thoughtbefore he remembered everything else that happened that night, wanting to focuson the task at hand rather than how much he’d embarrassed himself. He turned toface Raijin, “Okay, hit me.” He spread his arms and beckoned him to attack bywiggling his fingers.

“Okay. I hope you’re not wearing anything wet,” Raijinprepared to attack.

Susano felt his side tingle. He leapt into the air,startled, assuming it was Raijin’s attack.

The God of Thunder held up his hands and dropped hisdrumsticks, “It wasn’t me.”

“I know it wasn’t,” Susano felt his hip and pulled his phonefrom a pocket in his shorts.

Raijin groaned, “You still had your phone on you, knowingyou were going to be dealing with electricity.”

“I guess I just forgot,” Susano just shrugged his shoulders.He unlocked his phone and began to read the message from his sister. Dismissinghis reckless behaviour was another one of Susano’s shortcomings which Raijinwas happy to help him correct.

“Unless you’d have had a tiny Heartward Amulet for yourmobile too, I don’t think it would’ve survived even my weakest attack!”

“And that would’ve been my fault, okay? I’d have admittedthat,” Susano held one hand up to signal Raijin to stop talking, and was typingwith the other.

Raijin ignored him, too angered by his disrespect, “You’retexting? You’re really texting when we’re supposed to be practising?”

“Yes, Raijin, I’m texting. I’m texting my sister because shewants us to come and get her.”

Raijin raised an eyebrow, “From Nyx’s? What’s the problem?”He ditched his drums and came closer to Susano, wanting to get a glimpse at themessage. He read them aloud, “Mom’s probing me, come and save me.”

“You know it’s bad because she didn’t use any punctuation,”Susano carried on texting his sister. He said his message as he typed, “On myway so sit tight.” He slipped his phone behind the sash around his waist, “Ama’snever felt so uncomfortable that she’s felt like she wanted to leave somewhere either.Mom must really be laying into her.”

“About the cave incident?”

“Damn, I hope not,” Susano groaned. Now that he and hissister were on good terms, he’d rather just forget about the whole affair, forAmaterasu’s sake, as she despised talking about her inner thoughts, and for hisown, in case their mother thought that he needed some kind of intervention. “Well,we don’t know until we get there. Big-Red, do the honours.” He held out hishands for Raijin’s to hold, that his teleportation ability might transfer tothe both of them and get them there as fast as possible.

Raijin frowned, “I’m pretty sure she just wanted you there,you are her brother after all.”

“You know she thinks of you as just the same. Besides,safety in numbers, especially with my mom involved.”

“And who says I want to get involved?”

“Oh come on! Do it for Ama’.”

There was a flash of blue light and then suddenly,everything was a little bit darker. When Susano had recovered, he’s noticedthey were in Nox’s bar, and everyone else had also noticed their arrival.

“Very subtle Raijin, I must say.”

“Don’t call me ‘Big-Red’ then,” The two noticed they werestill holding hands and simultaneously yanked them away.

They had expected to find Amaterasu and Izanami withrelative ease, trying to spot a blazing argument within an environment that wasusually pretty mellow. They did see them, and immediately went towards them.Their urgency disappeared when they’d finally comprehended what the two of themwere doing. Their demeanour was far from aggressive.

Amaterasu had one arm wrapped around her mother, who wasleaning against her chest, still awkwardly perched on her bar stool. Her eyeswere filled with pools of tears, but she was not sobbing. She was smiling infact. Amaterasu was scrolling through her phone with her free hand, showing hermother her messages to and from Bellona.

“Oh, she calls you drop-dead gorgeous, that’s so cute,” Izanamicooed, sluggishly pointing at the screen and scrolling at her own pace.Amaterasu helped to steady her finger, but she could also flip past anythingshe didn’t want her mother to see. She noticed a picture that was appropriate,for both her mother’s eyes and the occasion.

“She sent me a picture of all of the birthday presents she’sbought for me, all wrapped and ready,” She couldn’t help but shed a tear,overwhelmed by her generosity. So was Izanami.

“She bought you more than one and wrapped them in advance? She’s a keeper.”

Susano was relieved that they weren’t arguing and they wereshedding happy tears. Raijin couldn’t even pretend to be frustrated. They werein a bar; he was hardly inconvenienced by coming out here. He could still have adrink, and would thoroughly tease Susano because he knew he couldn’t. That didn’tseem to be keeping him at bay, even with his Mom right by him. He was stillsauntering towards the bar.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Raijin followed him, “I’mpretty sure you can’t drink.”

“My Mom’s so out of it that I can convince her it’s just anormal cola,” He gave Raijin a wink before settling his elbows on the counter.Nox glided over towards him, a sly smile on her face, “Ah, the ever non-radiantNox. Can I have a double vodka and cola please?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re barred,” Nox would never undermine afellow parent’s punishment. “Besides, you need to stay sober and keep an eye onyour mother and sister. They’ve had a rough night.”

Author’s Notes

Hope you enjoy! @heartlesskitty247

Please give this story a like and reblog if you enjoyed it! It really helps me out! Thanks for reading!

#smite #fanfiction #request #amaterasu #izanami #nox #raijin #susano #bellama #puch it fics

24 notes · View notes

emmyewesseyesee · 8 years

Photo

16 for ‘16 – the tracks

as if choosing the albums and the e.p.s wasn’t tricky enough, compiling the tracks has been a tough ask. again, as per my intro, i’ve certainly not listened to every single piece of new music this year, and there are some great tracks on others’ lists that might well eclipse my own, but these are the sixteen that i’ve enjoyed most and kept coming back to.

once again, i’ve hooked up a playlist with with each for you to enjoy, and like the e.p.s, there’s one missing (which hopefully may reappear at some point soon) in nicole dollanganger’s towering and terrifying “beautiful and bad”, which for now you can find here instead.

emmyewesseyesee’s 16 for ‘16 – the e.p.s playlist (courtesy of spotify)

again, these are in no particular order, but i think the playlist should hopefully take you on a suitably pleasant journey. i’ve already reviewed a number of these tracks in the day-blog, which means i can be a little more efficient in reviewing them here and link you up accordingly. i hope you enjoy the selection and the playlist, and am always humbled should you find time to read these words…

half waif – “turn me around”: the album probable depths rightly found its way onto the album list, and i adore the track “turn me around”. the opening multi-tracked harmony is a spiritually uplifting, lucidly exquisite clarion call, and the whole track tumbles on in an enticingly machine-like fashion via a metronomic rhythm of found sounds and clockwork clatter. this mix of hymn-like human and musical mechanism is beguiling, especially as they meld, interfere, entwine and distort. so lovely.

bon iver – “29 #strafford apts”: every song from this stunning album could’ve made this list, indeed ”cr∑∑ks” came very close, but "29 #strafford apts” is simply adorable, warm and tender, and manages to encapsulate the whole album with its glorious harmonies, delicious instrumentation and disruptive technology. the light-touch honky-tonk piano adds a lovely air of mellifluous lambchop, while the crackling vocal from 3:25 and deceptively wonderful bass-note at 3:39 always bring the tears.

ider – “sorry”: an impeccable debut that i originally reviewed here, “sorry” is delicate, moving, tender, heartfelt and beautiful. there’s a mature sensitivity to it as it wraps you up in its caring yet apologetic comfort, while simultaneously imagining a viable and newly empowered life ahead without you. the vocals and harmonies are a delight, with the production and laid-back keys playing their woozily immersive role quite superbly. hopefully 2017 will see a similarly exquisite ider debut album.

nicole dollanganger – “beautiful and bad”: sadly not available on the playlist platform, it will hopefully return at some point as it demands inclusion. it is probably the most epic and arresting piece of music i’ve heard this year, astonishing in its rising force, delicious in its demonic intent, astounding in the delicate yet destructive power that nicole dollanganger ultimately wields. i originally reviewed this here, and ten months later, it’s no less terrifyingly impressive.

elohim – “hallucinating”: gotta be track of the year, it’s just so poppy, playful, joyful, and guaranteed to put a smile upon your face with its lively party atmosphere. elohim retains her enticing mystique throughout, with a smartly unsettling ‘things ain’t maybe quite what they seem’ lyrical undercurrent even to this cheeriness. it’s a music box of delight, the production is fine, the instrumentation divine, and the lyrics just sublime, leading me to so favourably opine about both track and video previously.

essaie pas – “retox”: demain est une autre nuit made my 16 for ‘16 albums list, but "retox" was the chuggingly sinister and wonderfully insistent track that first unlocked that beauty. the multi-layered synths are relentlessly unforgiving in their pulsating probing and unwavering sequencing, and as an immersive tale of the city, marie davidson and pierre guerineau’s extended call-and-response duet was fascinatingly disconcerting and distant in its delivery, as previously reviewed here.

blood orange – “e.v.p.”: it’s all about the drums, the drums and the funk, the drums, the funk and the clavinet, the drums, the funk, the clavinet and the cello slides. but mostly the drums – with christopher egan’s wondrous breakdown from about 4:04 a sheer, unadulterated, chunky delight. meanwhile dev hynes’ baritone monologue and rising harmonics alongside both bea1991 and debbie harry are refreshingly relaxing. i defy you not to nod along approvingly.

savages – “adore”: the life-affirming, brooding centre-piece of savages’ adore life, “adore” serves to remind us all of the fleeting yet vital nature of life, and the importance of seizing every single moment of it. it’s anthemic, totemic, iconic, mesmeric, astounding, and just so incredibly moving, with the final minute’s assault on the senses an utterly overwhelming and cathartic experience. that it was the first proper review i ever wrote here still seems somehow both reassuring and apt.

weaves – “one more”: weaves were a breath of fresh air in 2016 with their lively, vivacious, kinetic indie-pop, and "one more" was my highlight – any tune that opens with such a gleeful whoop of joy deserves your eartime. jasmyn burke's carefree vocal is fascinating, her laid-back, compact, canadian drawl conveying an aloof ‘whatever’ sensibility that's skilfully honed and playfully performed, while her band is taut and tenacious in bringing an invigorating energy and enthusiasm to proceedings.

mitski – “your best american girl”: this made many people's lists this year and rightly so. taken from the similarly special my woman, "your best american girl" packs the most powerful and immediate of aural and emotional punches. indeed, despite its lovelorn melancholia, it unleashes a devastatingly impressive strength of sound and character ‎through its tumultuous guitars and resilient vocal to leave you thoroughly exhilarated and beautifully wrung out. simply wonderful.

abra – “crybaby”: definitely one of the best tunes this year, “crybaby” is a beguiling mix of abra’s magically angelic vocal talents and her trademark unapologetic 80s electronica production. seeing her perform behind her beatbox gives you a real sense of how she seems to plug directly into her own groove-mainframe and simply let go. vocally she truly sparkles, instrumentally she’s immediate and incisive, and together she’s a sheer delight. let’s hope 2017 brings yet more stunning sounds.

angel olsen – “shut up and kiss me”: one of the signature tunes of the year, "shut up and kiss me” is as catchy and hooky as it is bold and brazen. there’s a refreshing directness to olsen’s effervescent guitar and gutsy vocal, and she’s clearly a very talented pop composer. moreover her and justin raisen’s compact and compressed production delivers a rewardingly concentrated wall-of-sound with deft separation and brilliant clarity. fine fine work indeed.

tommy genesis – “art”: this was my initial introduction to the seductively sultry and sensual world of tommy genesis, and “art” literal drips with pent-up impatience and insatiable desire. its plucky guitar chords and military snare combine with wandering bass, oboe and glocks to create a luxurious yet menacing backdrop for genesis’s enticing, hypnotic vocal, each semitone, each syllable delivered with such carnal precision. i originally reviewed “art” here, let’s hope world vision ii arrives soon.

hannah diamond – “fade away”: with gfoty making album and e.p. lists, it felt right to share the love around, and “fade away” continued hannah diamond’s inexorable rise with a pristine perfect pop clarity. i described it as “one of the most deceptively addictive tracks this year” in my original review, and you get the sense diamond is growing gloriously into the brilliance of the hyper-real world she inhabits with every step. should 2017 bring her debut album, expect it to be one of the year’s best.

radiohead – “burn the witch”: admittedly, the video originally drew plenty of early attention, but the pizzicato strings and squelchy synth give “burn the witch” an essential opening verve and pizazz. thom yorke’s vocal offers calm if disconcerting narration, and the bass-led key changes that follow with their lush orchestration are full of awesome wonder. the final denouement with its evermore demanding and bow-frenzied strings is really quite something to behold.

massive attack – “the spoils” feat. hope sandoval: an utterly astonishing and moving way to close. when i first reviewed ritual spirit, i suggested the only thing lacking was “an extraordinary female lead vocal à la ‘unfinished sympathy’” and lo, this delicate and heartfelt sandoval-voxed song arrived to majestically fill said void. it ticks along with massive attack’s resolute reassurance and is wrapped up in the warming strings of dan jones’s delicious arrangement. “the spoils” is simply sublime.

there you go, the final, ever so slightly belated words to reflect on some of the goodness that 2016 has had to offer – if only the rest of it had been quite so generous and enriching.

what have we learned on this particular journey? well, probably that in 2016 i like canada, and i like female vocals, and i just love canadian female vocals. but perhaps more importantly, we’ve learned that, no matter how much shit the world might collectively throw at you, there is always a steady and wonderful supply of magical, moving music in which you can surely take solace.

enjoy the playlist, and let’s hope for more musical delights for 2017. take care out there, people.

#16 for ‘16 #the tracks #half waif #bon iver #ider #nicole dollanganger #elohim #essaie pas #blood orange #savages #weaves #mitski #abra #tommy genesis #hannah diamond #radiohead #massive attack #hope sandoval #singles

1 note · View note

snowdice · 4 years

Text

Finding the Time to Study Fic 2 [Day 8]

My Masterpost Part 1

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted). It’s short, and not really for serious listening, but I had fun with it.

My stomach decided to be mean to me for no reason, but I still want to try to get some stuff done. Might get suddenly distracted though so fair warning if I randomly stop posting/answering asks.