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statdaddyalien · 3 years

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The Alien and the Runaway (pt. 2)

Summary: Kris Statlander finds herself in a bit of a pickle. She needs to find a partner to ‘marry’ in AEW for storyline purposes. Enter the Runaway herself Ruby Soho, who is looking to make an impact. Can they learn to be a team? Will real feelings get involved? Is Kris actually an alien? Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Rating: T

Pairing: Kris Statlander/Ruby Soho (Pt. 1 )

"So is she an alien or not? Because I am seriously thinking that she is, she picked up two whole girls."

"No, she's not an alien. I mean I don't think so. She is freakishly strong but I mean then again so is Bianca and Charlotte." Ruby rolled her eyes. She was sitting in her car outside the AEW taping, talking to Liv on facetime. No matter what company they were in or how far apart they were, Liv was always going to be her best friend.

"Some people really do get the best genes don't they?" Liv let out a dramatic sigh, before raising a brow. "So you're starting a storyline with Statlander?'

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, we're supposed to fake being married at some point, we're going to start traveling together on the road loops I think. She's supposed to save me from a beatdown tonight, and that will be the set up to us starting the story."

Liv smirked a little bit. "I mean she does kind of seem your type. She has tattoos and piercings just like you."

Ruby did her best not to blush, she really didn't want to give Liv more ammunition to tease her with. "I don't have a type Liv." She muttered, trying to downplay it. "Anyways I need to get ready for my match tonight, you'll be watching?"

Liv chuckled. "Of course Rue-Rue, I'll be watching. I got to see if your new girlfriend is an alien or not."

"Goodbye Liv." Ruby muttered with a groan, hanging up the phone. She didn't know what she was going to do with the blonde delinquent. She turned her attention back to the storyline at hand. She wanted to build something believable with Kris, something that the fans would buy into.

Ruby walked into the backstage area to find Kris already waiting for her along with Orange Cassidy, Chuck and Trent. Ruby couldn’t be certain but for a moment she was almost certain that Kris lit up when she saw her.

“Hey how’s it going?” Ruby asked, looking between them.

Chuck flashed a friendly smile her way. “Kris here was telling us, you ladies might be teaming up.”

“Yeah, I talked to the writing staff and they actually seemed to like the idea of us teaming up.” Kris said, once more sucking on her lip ring.

Ruby noticed that it seemed to be a nervous habit for the younger superstar. It kind of made Ruby want try and get her to relax. “That’s great, maybe we should go over our segment?” Ruby asked, wanting to make sure that they nailed it perfectly. She was a bit of a perfectionist in that regard.

“Yeah, I have a little bit of time. I am supposed to go with Orange to his match so as long as I am back in time.” Kris said.

Orange Cassidy nodded and gave her a thumbs up, before going back to chilling. He really did seem to embody his character, just a really mellow dude which Ruby appreciated. She had seen his works on the indies and she enjoyed seeing all the impressive things that he could do.

Kris and Ruby walked down the hall, finding a quiet spot for them to talk. Ruby couldn't pinpoint why she was feeling so nervous, but Liv's teasing words from earlier kept playing through her mind. She tried to clear her mind, focusing on what she had came here to do. She wanted to tell compelling stories and be able to wrestle.

"So I think Britt agreed to the beat down angle. I'm going to come and make the save again and maybe pick you up and carry you to the back." Kris explained, trying to fill Ruby in on what she had worked out with the other competitor.

"Are you sure you're okay having to carry me back up the ramp?" Ruby didn't want to make Kris uncomfortable.

Kris stared at her for a long couple of seconds, that really felt like a life time to Ruby. "I think I can handle carrying you Soho." Kris finally said.

Truth be told Kris was just feeling lucky that Ruby had agreed to the segment. A compelling story that would drive fans to tune in was exactly what she wanted.

"Alright, well I guess I should get changed into my ring gear. Um also my friend Liv told me to tell you hi."

"Is she the one who had the questions about whether or not I'm an alien?" Kris asked, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

Ruby blushed but nodded. "I think Liv is just naturally curious. Anybody she thinks is hot or weird, she wants to know everything about them. I guess I don't blame her."

Kris looked amused. "Which one is it?" She asked.

Ruby blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Which one am I? Hot or weird?" Kris asked, finding it hilarious to put Ruby on the spot.

Ruby's blush only deepened and she seemed to shrink back a little, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times like a fish.

Statlander just laughed and winked at her. "I'll let you think on it. See you out there, Soho." Kris replied, before leaving Ruby, so she could go back and meet up with Orange and the rest of her friends.

---

"So you and Soho?"

"Don't ask Chuckie, I don't want to talk about it." Kris mused as they stood ringside, watching Orange Cassidy wrestle Matt Hardy. It was hard to hear over the roar of the crowd, which was good for Kris because she didn't really want to talk about it.

"She's not a bad pick for a tag partner. She looks like she's creative enough to bounce ideas off of." Chuck continued, not taking Kris' cue to drop it.

Kris ignored him, focusing on Orange as he managed to hit the Orange Punch. She wasn't sure she had really been flirting with Ruby, maybe messing with her a little bit about the alien thing. Relationships hadn't really gone well for her in the past and she didn't want to think about how a stupid little work crush could effect that. She highly doubted Ruby had come to AEW looking for anything other than opportunities to wrestle, and Kris wasn't going to get in the way of that.

She made her way backstage once Orange won, and found herself face to face with Britt Baker. Britt gave her a friendly smile, mainly since they were backstage and away from cameras and prying eyes.

"You excited for your new storyline?" Britt asked. She hadn't been filled in on everything, but she knew Kris was going to be making the save once she started beating down Ruby.

"Yeah, I think it'll be fun to mix it up." Kris said, trying not to sound to enthusiastic. "What about you, any chance you'll get to be in a storyline with Adam?" She knew how much Britt had missed her boyfriend when they were in separate promotions.

"It's good to have him here, good to be able to share the road with somebody I love. It's different going on road loops when it's you and your significant other." Britt replied, clearly excited for the prospect. "You'll be getting to travel with Soho now right? I know you usually travel with Orange and the boys."

Kris chuckled softly. "Maybe the car won't smell like feet for once. It'd be nice to get to the arena early for once. Trent always gets us lost." Kris really did love her boys, she was grateful for their friendship. She was excited however to be able to tell a story with Ruby outside of the ring though. To get to try and sell the audience on it, even when they weren't at tapings.

"I wish you luck." Britt said, before brushing past her as her music hit.

Ruby walked to the curtain, surprised to see Kris there already. "Were you waiting for me?"

Kris shook her head. "Nah, not exactly I was just talkin to Britt before the segment. Go kick some butt out there, I'll be watching." Kris said, noting that Ruby looked a little disappointed and crestfallen to find that Kris hadn't been waiting for her.

Ruby schooled her expression into a neutral one as her music hit. "See you out there."

The younger superstar watched the monitors intently as Ruby and Britt cut promos on each other. She had to give it to the two ladies, they were exceptionally talented mic workers. Kris listened as they roasted the ever living daylights out of each other. It was fascinating to watch, because it blended a fair share of personal shots but also wrestling shots as well.

It was so enthralling that Kris almost missed her cue as Britt's lackies, Rebel and Jamie Hayter began to beat down Ruby. Kris shook her head and grabbed a chair running down to rescue Ruby. She cleared the ring, smacking Rebel hard across the back with a chair.

"Thought you weren't coming." Ruby replied with a small laugh, as Kris helped her to her feet. She could see that one of Britt's kicks had actually busted Ruby's lip open.

Kris' eyes narrowed and she lifted her thumb, brushing it over Ruby's split lip. She noted the way Ruby seemed to flinch at the contact. Kris' gaze softened and she rolled out of the ring and then helped Ruby start limping towards the back. About half way up the ramp, Kris scooped Ruby up into her arms bridal style.

The roar of the crowd was almost instant, as if they didn't know what to make of the duo. Kris cracked a small smile and winked down at Ruby as the crowd started chanting for them. It was definitely the reaction they wanted for the beginning of their little arc.

"Hey Stat?"

Kris raised a brow. "Yeah?"

"About your question earlier, regarding which one? I'd say both. A little weird, but definitely hot" Ruby replied cheekily, taking great joy in the way Kris almost stumbled once they reached the top of the ramp.

Kris was thankful for the face paint hiding just how hot her cheeks felt suddenly. She could already tell that traveling with Soho was going to be an adventure.

#Kris Statlander #Ruby Soho #The Alien and the Runaway #Ruby Riott #My words #fanfiction #look a chapter two #maybe I'll cross post on my ao3 #please let me know what you think #aew #aew fanfiction

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rosaliepostsstuff · 4 years

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Chapter 8 - Of Neville’s sweetness, George’s charm and Dean’s bad luck

series masterlist

tags: @gloryekaterina ; @thatguppienamedbae ; @sagittarius-flowerchild ; @scoobiessnacks ; @pandaxnienke ; @harrysweasleys ; @ickle-ronniekins ; @hufflepuff5972 ; @izzyyy-1 ; @amourtentiaa ; @thisismynerdyself ; @hufflepuffalice ; @pxroxide-prinxcesss ; @lumos-barnes ; @slytherclawbitch ; @weasleygrapes

warnings: swearing, mentions of food and eating, mention of stalking

word count: 2995

—————⑧—————

“They’re essentially very similar in their properties and may look very alike in a greenhouse, but the upkeep is very different, you see, they’re native to completely different climates…” Neville explained.

You were sat opposite each other in a small, abandoned classroom on the sixth floor, your forehead resting on your palm as you stared at the illustrations in your Advanced Herbology textbook.

Neville Longbottom had approached you two days earlier while you sat in a similar position, trying to study, in the Gryffindor common room. You had told him multiple times that if he needed some extra practice with your help on top of the D.A. meetings, it would be no problem since it is much easier to practice magic unnoticed when it’s just the two people.

In return, Neville offered you to help with your Herbology – which he had no problem with, even if it was N.E.W.T. level, and you wouldn’t say no to some tutoring if it meant grasping the material faster. More free time is more free time to spend with George, after all.

“Yeah, I get it, but it’s still kind of hard to tell them apart in real life. But I guess I get it better now,” you said, quite unsure. You glanced at the watch on your wrist, “come on, your turn now,” you said, slamming the book, fully ready to forget about Herbology until your next class.

Neville glanced at you, uncertain initially, then nodded with determination. You packed your things and got up, then walked over to have a look through the window, giving Neville some time to warm up. It was still bright outside, you could see the plain training grounds where flying lessons usually took place.

You smiled to yourself at first – you saw a very familiar pair of gingers, though their hair hidden underneath their beanies, in the middle of a snow fight. The fight looked serious, there were proper teams on both sides, hidden behind defences made out of snow as well.

Your smile turned into a bit of a grimace once you saw the number of enthusiastic cheerleaders Fred and George had.

“Uhm,” Neville cleared his throat quietly, but not at all in a similar way to professor Umbridge. “Y/N..?” “Sorry, you ready?” you asked, turning your attention to him.

—————⑧—————

The next morning, you sat next to Dean, Neville, Ginny and a few other people during breakfast. You were in a heated discussion about Muggle basketball until Ginny got over your bickering and effectively shushed you all.

Dean got up from his seat and in the corner of your eye, you saw a piece of paper fall behind after him. “Hey, Dean..!” you called at once, “you dropped something.”

His face twisted a bit in confusion but he picked up, what turned out to be, an envelope. “That’s not mine,” he said, shrugging. “No, look,” you pointed a finger to the other side of it, “it’s got your name on it.”

He flipped the envelope in his hand and looked even more puzzled, glancing at you. You shrugged this time.

With everyone else already occupied with other things, he sat back down next to you, closer this time, silently inviting you to inspect the mysterious letter with him.

You felt a little bit more awake - this was highly unusual and you couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited, wondering what the letter could be. He opened it carefully, but it didn’t seem to contain anything dangerous, just a piece of parchment with a love letter from a secret admirer.

“Woow,” you clapped him on the shoulder after taking a moment to read it. “Do you recognise the handwriting?” he asked you straightaway, “I wonder who it’s from.” “No, I don’t…” you admitted, looking over the letters again, “though I think the beauty of having a secret admirer is not knowing who they are, so maybe don’t be so rash in your investigations.” “Rubbish,” he brushed you off, getting back up again, “I gotta run to class, but I’ll get back to you on that,” he waved the piece of parchment. “You’re officially in on the investigation!” he finger-gunned at you and tuned around finally, leaving you wondering what you had gotten yourself into.

—————⑧—————

Fred and George had always attracted female interest.

You could divide those girls into a few different groups, first of all – ones who couldn’t tell them apart and just gushed about them both or either one of them, or the ones who could. The latter naturally further divided into ones attracted to Fred and those into George – who recently turned out to be more numerous and pestering than you had always thought.

Always there whenever George and Fred were showing off, always doing those little waves and searching for stolen glances or smiles. They were driving you insane more than you’d like to admit.

Lying in your bed before falling asleep, it got to you the most.

You had no reason to be jealous. Or did you? You doubted George ever exchanged more than a few words with any of them. Of course, he had some female friends but you didn’t expect any of them to be romantically interested in him or vice versa.

You had nothing to worry about. After all, you were the one closest to a girlfriend, were you not? The one he confided in, the one he cared about profoundly, the one who knew him more than almost anybody else, the one who received his physical affection so often, who got to curl up to his side on the common room couch on chilly evenings.

But what if you were mistaken, so deeply that it was all purely friendly to him? What if he confided in you less than you thought, kept his romantic life separate - someone else was wrapping their fingers around his heart to steal it, just when you thought you were so close. To suddenly find him dating somebody else one day, and getting all your privileges taken away one by one, getting replaced by a girlfriend, because you were just a friend, after all – the thought brought tears to your eyes those evenings you allowed it to seep in.

Days were passing and keeping you up with the first few letters Dean received, (getting suspicious looks from George and Fred every time you were snatched for a secretive chat, which you weren’t complaining about,) he’s stopped updating you. You hadn’t noticed at first but then got curious.

You made your way to the lunch table with Ginny and saw Dean sitting alone, looking a bit distressed. You sat down next to him, saying a quick hello to which he replied quietly. He kept giving you glances, then pointing his eyes to Ginny. You didn’t find this very subtle, but frankly, didn’t want to shoo Ginny away either.

“Gin, can you keep a secret?” you asked, earning a glare from Dean. Her eyes lit up – “Secret? I love secrets,” she exaggerated, leaning an elbow on the table and wiggling her eyebrows. You smiled at her antics, “Serious,” you added, glancing at Dean once more. “You could help us, but you know I trust you,” you emphasized the last part, looking her straight in the eye. “Okay,” she noted a bit abashed, “I’m in, let’s take a blood oath. But what are we doing?” she asked, looking between you and the boy sitting opposite you now.

“Dean’s got a secret admirer,” you explained and Ginny’s expression was underwhelmed. “Actually,” he started, raising his eyebrows with an awkward smile, “we thought I had a secret admirer-“

You looked at him puzzled now.

“-yeah, the letters turned a bit nastier after a few days,” he added, making you and Ginny look at him in concern. You understood better, why he stopped updating you, now. “It really seems like whoever’s writing those letters, they’re watching me constantly,” he continued much quieter, leaning over the table – you and Ginny doing the same. “And it really isn’t like a cute crush, more like they’re obsessed,” he stated grimly.

You took a bit of a pause, processing this information. Dean continued, even more quietly, “and it seems as if they didn’t like me chatting to you one-on-one so often, Y/N.” He couldn’t look you in the eye, as if he were a bit ashamed.

“Shit,” you said, for the lack of a better word. “Hear, hear,” added Ginny.

—————⑧—————

Walking out of Alchemy, you already weren’t in the best mood. Your tired eyes were set on George who was apparently waiting for you, getting entertained by a group of girls trying to pass Dr Filibuster’s Fireworks between each other – Melissa Mccoy clearly putting herself out there. You had overheard her a week before while you were in a toilet cubicle, she had quite a lot to say about George to her girlfriends.

Upon noticing you, George excused himself and caught up.

“How was Alchemy?” he asked conversationally, in fake excitement. “Brilliant, as always. You had fun?” you tried your best not to sound accusatory but merely teasingly. George only shrugged with a smug expression and you had to suppress a groan.

You stared dead ahead, but the urge was stronger than you. “Why don’t you tell them to leave you alone?” “Huh?” he questioned, puzzled. “They’re breathing down your neck all the time. Some of those poor girls are hoping to actually get your attention and get a chance with you,” you explained and paused for a bit. George did not interrupt, merely let some air out of his nose in the tiniest chuckle.

“If I were you I’d just tell them they’re wasting their time and I’m not interested.”

George nodded slowly to himself and shrugging, said, “Who says I’m not?”

A cold chill ran over your body. You mumbled, “oh,” trying not to let your change of mood show. “Forget I said anything then.”

Looking down at your feet, you didn’t see his frown, and you walked in silence a bit further.

“I’m supposed to see Neville now, I’ll see you around,” you said quickly, not looking at him, and turned a corner into a corridor where Neville was already waiting, ready to go to your usual spot. If you weren’t so defeated, you’d pretend to sound more casual in fear of letting your feelings show.

“See you at dinner,” George called behind you hopefully, though it sounded a bit more like a question.

You had started your tutoring session with Neville’s practice. You weren’t in the mood to study venomous flesh-eating plants – the only thing on your mind being how you could use them to cause harm – purely hypothetically.

Neville was doing alright with his wandwork and your mind wasn’t fully there, he could clearly see that. He tried stopping his practice to say something multiple times but decided against it. Finally, he seemed to find acceptable words-

“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” he stated, giving you a weak smile. You looked up at him, pulled out of your thoughts, and returned his smile even though you weren’t sure what he was talking about yet.

“I know I’m not the best at… uhm- dating, stuff…” he continued, looking at the ground while your smile fell and your eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t have to tell me anything, but if you want to, I can listen to you- and I won’t judge,” he stated, smiling up at you again, worrying a bit upon seeing your facial expression.

“What are you-.. how do you-..?” you trailed off. He hasted to explain himself, “I just overheard you saying goodbye to George Weasley before we walked here and I know how- that you two- I mean…” he stuttered. “I just assumed you’re upset because of him, I’m sorry…”

Your mind was going wild. You were quiet for a bit, then said, “don’t be. But…” you took a deep breath and walked over to a nearby chair, sinking onto it. “… what do you mean by ‘I know how’ and ‘that you two’?”

“Well, it’s none of my business, but…” “Don’t worry, Neville,” you encouraged him. “If I were to guess, I’d say you were in love- with him…” he said quietly. “Oh,” you nodded, “that obvious, huh?” you chuckled humourlessly.

“Wouldn’t say ‘obvious’. Just an observation… and if what everyone says is right and the two of you aren’t dating, then I guess he’s oblivious,” he paused again. “Or you are.” “And what is that supposed to mean?” you asked, confused. “Dunno, Y/N.”

You parted ways quicker than usual, you weren’t in the right state of mind to study anyway. Walking to the great hall alone, you were approached by Ginny and together, you were going to go to dinner. First, however, you decided to stop by a lavatory. But before you could do that, you noticed Melissa Mccoy on her own with two of her closest friends, acting strangely. You just assumed you had a sixth sense for noticing her now an was about to shrug it off when Ginny spoke.

“Is it just me or is Mccoy acting sus? I don’t think she wants to be seen…”

You remained quiet and focused on what Melissa was doing. The three girls glanced around, clearly failing as they haven’t noticed you and Ginny. She seemed to hide a piece of parchment inside a book.

“We’re going after her,” you stated, matter-of-factly, to Ginny’s delight. “I was waiting for you to say that.”

Melissa and her friends made their way to the great hall as if nothing happened, then took the empty spots by the Gryffindor table, right next to-

“Dean..!” you whispered to Ginny.

Forgetting about everything else, you watched all throughout their meal, then the two of you followed them out. You didn’t know what you’d do, you just knew you had to confront her. An opportunity arose once you turned into an otherwise empty corridor.

“Oi, Mccoy!” Ginny called. The three girls turned around, Melissa seemed surprised at first, then as if she was glad to see you.

It felt as if you were possessed, looking into her eyes you just felt hatred.

Ginny was surprised you still hadn’t said anything, so she continued on her own, “we caught you red-handed, fess up.” “Don’t know what you’re talking about, little girl,” she giggled, her girlfriends following suit. “You know perfectly well. The letters,” Ginny replied and you noticed the hand in her pocket was clutched on her wand at the ready. “Aaah, that…” she elongated, “that was just a joke. Relax a bit, you’ll live longer,” she smiled viciously. “Why Dean, though?” you asked, finally speaking up. It just made no sense to you. “Thomas spilt his pumpkin juice onto me at dinner once, you see. In front of everyone- in front of someone,” she paused and looked you in the eye again, “very important. We were looking for a laugh anyway and Maya came up with this idea. Though when I saw him run to you with those little notes, I just knew I had to tweak the plan up a little bit. Give you something to do, you know,” she finished with a raise of an eyebrow.

You scoffed, speechless, and right at that moment, you saw professor Flitwick standing outside of the teacher’s room, listening intently. You nudged Ginny and couldn’t help bursting out laughing.

Melissa’s face upon noticing him was priceless indeed.

It was very late when you left Flitwick’s office after explaining everything. You, Ginny and Dean, made your way back together to a very much George-less common room. You said goodbye to them and made your way upstairs to your empty dorm room.

You were tired and you didn’t know what to do or feel anymore. Flopping down on your bed, you let your emotions take over and your eyes started watering a little bit.

Suddenly, the door busted open, startling you. You felt caught in the act and Angelina noticed your behaviour right away. She abandoned her previous reason for coming into the room, closed the door quietly and made her way over to sit by your side.

“What’s up, weirdo?” she asked in a soft voice, making you smile.

You took a deep breath and leaned your cheek on her shoulder, wrapping your arm around hers while she got comfortable on your bed. You realised even talking to Neville brought you some comfort so it was about time to finally talk to your friend about your feelings. So you told her everything. Exactly how it had all felt.

When you were done, you sat in comfortable silence for a bit, hearing only faint noises coming from downstairs in the common room or other dorm rooms.

“I don’t know what else I can tell you. I’ve always been telling you the two of you are perfect for each other, both equally deranged. I trust you when you say that you had no feelings for him then – that’s totally valid, but you do now – perfect!” she chuckled and shifted a bit to face you. “You’re finally in love with your guy, so go for it..!”

“Yeah, but how do I know-“ “-that he feels the same?” she interrupted you, finishing your question. “I dunno, open your eyes, maybe,” she said, smiling at you kindly.

You sighed. Angelina had this special gift of poking fun at you while showing you just how much she cares about you and loves you.

“I’ll-… I’ll talk to him in the morning…” you said, feeling as if those were somebody else’s words. “That’s the spirit!” Angie celebrated, then got up from your bed. “But first – sleep-sleep!!” she exclaimed, waving her arms in the air, making you laugh. “Sleep-sleep it is.”

And after blissful sleep took over you, your dreams were beautiful. You slept peacefully, perfectly unaware that at the same time, Arthur Weasley was being attacked at the Ministry of Magic.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley fanfiction #george weasley series #tw stalking

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letsperaltiago · 4 years

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i don’t wanna miss you like the other girls do

#12: I can't stop thinking about you, #22: Sometimes I just can't control myself when around you and #28: I have never felt this way about anyone

Jealous! Amy and brand new relationship-Peraltiago

Also: Do I need to make a statement saying that Amy obviously isn't the kind of person to think she owns anyone, but means it well and in an endearing way? There you go.

Enjoy!

Read here or on AO3

It had all gone down in a spur of the moment-kind of moment that no one, even less Amy, had seen coming and honestly would’ve preferred to be without. It wasn’t really her place to say or do what she did, nor even as much as react upon it, alas… she did; she was in so deep with Jake Peralta and so she did it anyways.

Said moment had gone down during a weekend spent in Hartford, Connecticut, where the squad had attended a two day-seminar hosted by their brothers and sisters in the HPD.

Since the drive to Hartford was one of two hours, plus the seminar took place Saturday through Sunday, the squad had huddled together in two cars and were spending the entire weekend, Friday through Sunday, north of their respective homes in Brooklyn.

Immediately from the moment they arrived at the the hotel slash conference venue where the seminar was to be held everything seemed to set the scene for a pretty smooth, perhaps even fun, weekend where the squad would get to be entertained by other things that the wondering of why they weren’t at home on a weekend.

No one on the squad had any kind of expectations for the unknown city, except Holt who mentioned The Mark Twain House and Museum as a highly ranked point on his to be done-list, which meant their collective surprise upon exploring the city after checking into their rooms Friday afternoon was indeed positive enough for them to not hate the fact they were spending their weekend away from home doing work-related activities.

The very second the clock obnoxiously signalled 7 AM the following day, because not being home wasn’t an excuse, Amy Santiago was up and out of bed leaving Jake to regret, just for a tiny second, that he shared a room with his brand new paramour. It’d only been two weeks since coming to terms about “screw light and breezy”, and so far everything was smooth sailing although that morning was clearly an example of the two still figuring out this new dynamic of theirs.

“Ugh, can you stop being a decent person and get back in bed,” Jake groaned in pain when Amy without hesitance pulled aside the curtain to let in the bleak east coast-sun. If they’d been away on vacation in Mexico, even just as far as California, then maybe Jake would’ve accepted this. But there sure as hell was nothing less motivating than a sad barely there-sun hiding behind puffy clouds but still shining brightly enough to rip him out of his comfortable sleep. Especially when all there was to “look forward to”, quote Amy, was seminars; learning and powerpoint presentations that would haunt him in his next sleep.

“Stop whining and get up! The seminar starts at 8!” Amy hurried carelessly at him used to his many complaints of this childish nature. She didn’t let it take up too much of her time and had already moved on to grab clean clothes from her duffle bag to put on after her routine shower.

From where he had indeed not moved an inch Jake could hear the shower being turned on, door to the bathroom still open, and if it wasn’t for the fact that he was exhausted from staying up just a bit too late watching stupid videos on his phone then he would’ve attempted to sneak into the steaming water with Amy because he could do that now… Insane.

On the other side of the shower curtain Amy had expected the same. There was very good reason why she’d added the little detail of leaving the door open and hoped would lure him out of bed. To her disappointment she quickly noticed her so-called sneaky plan was in vain leaving but one last attempt up her sleeve.

“Jake, the breakfast buffet closes at 7.30!” she called out momentarily turning off the shower to allow her to pick up on potential sounds which could indicate her victory.

Indeed the last attempt was the right one: seconds later she heard the sound of quick footsteps and the ruffling of what she guessed was clothing items before a messy-haired, baggy-eyed Jake stumbled into the bathroom stark naked and on the edge of out of breath. The way to a man’s heart really was through his stomach, Amy though to herself amused.

“Mind if I join in real quick?” he smiled sheepishly trying his best to hide exhaustion.

All complaints and opposing to her morning ritual went down the drain with shower water the moment Amy turned it back on and smiled through biting down on her bottom lip.

Santiago: 1 - Peralta: 0

—

Perhaps Amy had twisted the truth just a tiny bit to get him out of bed so early. Jake figured this out when they 20 minutes later walked downstairs and saw a sign announcing that the first part of the seminar wasn’t scheduled for 8, like Amy had said, but rather 9 and buffet as well only closed an hour later than Amy’s information had told him. Lucky for her he was so infatuated that he let her off the hook with a playful jab to her sides and a comment about how she probably didn’t even want to date him but was simply a double-agent sent to improve his habits and lifestyle. This in return earned him a very familiar by now laugh, roll of this eyes and smile-combo: a combo he’d never get tired of and already felt like getting an eternal subscription to.

The seminar was okay, he guessed; either that or watching Amy furiously yet impressively neatly take notes with the speed of light beside him was enough to make it feel so. He was convinced of the latter when she afterwards with the brightest smile on her face showed him all the knowledge she’d managed to boil down to a few neatly organised pages in her notebook. It felt dangerous so early on in whatever they would turn out to be, yet also so very natural that in his world nothing was greater than the sight of Amy Santiago smiling at him. A sight he’d quickly grown addicted to already years back although without coming to terms with it until some months prior.

“Are you sticking around for the Q & A?” Amy interrupted his wandering thoughts whilst getting a new page in her notebook ready as a few people started leaving their seats and the conference room.

“Nah,” Jake shook his head honestly knowing that it would be lying to both himself and her if he tried to act like he genuinely cared about sticking around for an additional 30 minutes of re-explaining what he’d already spent 2 hours zoning in and out of. “I think I’ll head to the lounge. I’m feeling snacky.”

“Of course,” Amy smiled shaking her head in an evident manner. “See you at lunch then?”

“Yup,” he got out of his seat before adding a “see you at lunch, nerd,” accompanied by one last teasing smile before joining Rosa on her walk towards the exit. The comment combined with his soft brown eyes and warm smile was enough to have Amy feeling like a puddle of mush in her seat. To know that said brown eyes and warm smile were… hers? It felt weird to say or even just think it since they hadn’t officially declared themselves boyfriend/girlfriend but definitely were something; something not light and breezy; perhaps solid was the appropriate antithesis to use?

No matter what - light, breezy, solid or whatever they could be defined as - when her eyes trained after Jake walking off for just tiny bit longer than intended, Amy definitely noticed how a group of four women, colleagues, she assumed, sitting on the other side of the middle isle between her and them where Jake was walking chatted and giggled as their eyes switched back and forth between each other and Amy’s favorite partner. In spite of the fact that she was en excellent lipreader Amy, to her curiosity’s dismay, couldn’t exactly tell what these women were saying or giggling about however two things were certain: one was that they were in one way or another very interested in Jake, even after he’d left the room, and two was that Amy didn’t like it. An uneasy tightness formed in her stomach telling her so and she for the following 30 minutes of a Q & A she had looked forward to couldn’t focus enough to take any actual notes. All she was left with post Q & A were mindless doodles on an otherwise blank page which was both a waste of paper and but even worse of no good use for her knowledge.

The second the seminar was officially completely over which was everyone’s cue to leave for lunch, Amy did her best, notebook and pencil case held tightly to her chest, in an attempt to get as close to the giggly group of women from before as the room’s population walked out of the room in one big stream. Completely forgetting that she was supposed to meet up with the Jake and the others for lunch she automatically followed the four women to the hotel bar where they settled down - and so of course so did Amy simply opting for a few seats further down in conjunction with ordering herself a soda as to not attract herself any suspicion or attention.

“Oh my gosh, Sydney, you have to figure out who that guy from the seminar was!”

This definitely caught Amy’s attention, both to her pleasing and bitterness: pleasing because she’d been right about her gut-feeling and bitterness because that guy was her guy. Not whoever this Sydney was.

“Yeah, he was pretty cute right?” Who Amy guessed was Sydney, a tall, beautiful blonde clad in a nice pantsuit, Amy had to admit, answered just as enthusiastically.

“Totally! And since he’s here, probably, also a cop,” the same friend who had started the conversation chimed in and Amy wished to God she’d just shut up rather than stuff her friend’s head with bad ideas like hitting on Amy’s own guy.

“I smell work place-romance, ladies,” a third friend giggled riling the other’s up along with her. To them it was all a joke, fun, some kind of competition of cat and mouse but Amy, at her respective end of the bar, was feeling herself starting to boil, more than she’d like to admit, at the thought of someone else taking away from her what she’d just struggled for so long to obtain. It was her cute cop-guy from the seminar; her work-place romance; her… whatever! And also what kind of dumb name was Sydney even? Jake and Sydney? So dumb.

“I mean we are here for another entire day so I’ll have to make sure to run into him at some point. Tonight…” the tone of Sydney’s voice took on a sultry undertone that had Amy shuffling uncomfortably in her seat. “… wouldn’t be a bad time to run into him.” The smug smile on the blonde’s face had Amy feeling like punching it right off of her.

As if on cue, like timing couldn’t have been any worse, friend number four made her presence be known and squealed with excitement while pointing which of course immediately earned herself the three other’s full attention. “Girls! There he comes! Right there!”

Within seconds all four girls heads snapped to the side with wide hungry eyes reminding Amy of what a flock of vultures looked like prior to ripping apart an animal cadaver in a documentary she’d watched a few days ago.

Vulture-like or not, Amy’s head was included in this collective redirecting of focus and followed the direction in which the friend had pointed to.

And there he was indeed: Jake Peralta, clad in his navy blue long-sleeved NYPD-shirt and freshly cut hair with the tiniest hint at a beginning forehead curl, was walking into the lounge that very moment seemingly looking around for someone and also completely unaware of the people watching him as his entrance seems to unfold in slow-motion. Amy almost couldn’t blame the girls for drooling because the cocky detective looked really good walking into the room completely oblivious to the attention he’d brought upon himself.

“Damn… He looks even cuter than what I remembered. I have to give it a try, don’t I?” Sydney questioned, obviously rhetorically already knowing what she wanted as she almost drooled like an agitated Doberman.

“I mean if you won’t, Sydney, then I will!” the friend who’d noticed Jake enter the room playfully challenged, and even though it was all fun and games to them, Amy felt like her seat was on fire making it almost impossible to stay passive and seated for much longer.

“Oh, hell no. Stay away from him. This one’s mine, Jasmin!”

There was no telling if the line had already been crossed multiple inappropriate remarks ago and she’d managed by the grace of God to stay seated or if this last comment was the one to exceed what Amy considered her very flexible limits. Either way, no matter what, the first one option or the other, this time Amy failed to bite her tongue. She threw a comment out into the open without thoroughly considering its consequences out in the open fora first thus letting the group, especially Sydney, know what was weighing on her mind.

“You've got a lot of nerve to call a complete stranger ‘yours’,” the borderline growl of a tone in which the words came out in had Amy feeling like another person: not one she specially liked. This person, or perhaps even primitive beast was a better way of describing this persona, rooted deep down in her apparently found it very necessary to protect what she already within two weeks had come to mark as her territory. Never before had she felt so green-eyed, so absolutely reckless. This being said her instincts were more vigilant than ever before and it virtually felt out of her hands.

In the meantime, while Amy was looking at her decision in retrospect yet not at all since she wasn’t doing anything to prevent any further complications, the women had turned in their seats to collectively shoot quizzical, annoyed looks resembling daggers with their eyes at Amy.

“Excuse me?” The blue-eyed blonde challenged Amy to take her statement back which roughly said only goaded her raven-haired opponent further down the warpath.

“I said: You've got a lot of nerve to call a complete stranger ‘yours’.”

Feeling herself so ice-cold, so sure about something partially dumb and actually really petty would normally have Amy back down right away but something deep inside of her, like a raging fire, had her stand her ground. Apparently that’s what Jake Peralta could bring out in certain people, both Amy and Sydney included, because the blonde was not backing down just, rather instead coolly took another shot at Amy in the hopes to have her back off.

“Why shouldn't I? It’s not like he’s everyone, right? I’m for sure not letting any of these girls run off with him,” she pointed to the her friends behind her, the switch from threatening Amy to mindlessly joking and giggling with her little girl-squad having Amy metaphorically slack-jawed. Luckily not physically: there was no way she was showing this bimbo any sign of weakness.

“Okay, well…” Amy had had it for good and all consideration of rationality was out the window. Crowded police seminar or not there was no way in hell this light haired pest with her greedy crystal blue eyes and three flippant followers were getting the last word.“…let me explain to you why how you shouldn't assume and make people your property. Especially when you don’t even know them.”

Yes, she was being a hypocrite saying this but she was actually Jake’s special someone and not just some stranger: she did have a say in this.

For a brief second Sydney seemed shocked and like she actually considered Amy’s bold statement, but it didn’t last and before long blondie was back in the game apparently not satisfied with the way things could be left off. They way things should be left off, if you asked Amy.

“Oh, so you’re his “girlfriend” or what?,” the tone of Sydney’s voice clearly implied she didn’t believe anything Amy said.

All the, not doubt per se since she knew she wanted to be with Jake and he with her, but perhaps the insecurities about what stage they were currently at melted and slipped away as water off a duck’s back. It didn’t matter what exactly they were when one thing, the most important fact, was sure: they liked each other and they were going… steady. They were each other’s, politically correct to say or not.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I am,” Amy’s voice and eyes drilled into Sydney’s with a kind of confidence she’d never felt before, perhaps something Jake had brought into her life along with himself.

In return it earned her a mocking scoff.

“Easy for you to say. He might as well be a random guy you’ve spotted in the crowd,” one of Sydney’s friends stepped in to help her friend in what Amy knew was a lost cause on their part.

“He could be a stranger,” Amy paused very briefly biting her lip as to refocus, hopefully managing to not say anything that could potentially make the pointless, stupid conversation even worse. This but also she still did want to make very clear that the random, cute cop walking into the lounge (who even knew where exactly he was at this point?) was hers.

“But he’s not: he’s my boyfriend.”

It was as Amy allowed herself a small halt to provide her lungs with fresh air, just in case Sydney felt like dragging out the discussion, when cute cop-guy very suddenly made his exact position known. He was walking straight up to the bar and them displaying smiley lips and eyes plastered on Amy. All the women’s eyes - Amy, Sydney and friends - immediately forgot about their opponent to focus on newly reappeared target who obviously had no clue about the fact that he was walking into the belly of the beast when he made it to his destination next to Amy.

“Hey, Ames.”

He nonchalantly stretched out his right arm to place a hand on the bar behind her crating a point of support for him to lean his weight onto.

“You catching up with some old friends?”

Oh, sweet naive Jake, Amy thought but also lowkey melted as he very credulously sent Sydney and her friend’s a warm, welcoming smile wanting to make a good impression on who he believed were part of Amy’s social circle.

“Eh,” Amy smiled culpably knowing telling Jake the truth about the situation would be the epitome of an embarrassment so early on in this new relationship of theirs. “I was just making small-talk, I guess. You know… meeting new people - yay.”

She couldn’t have sounded any less awkward and enthusiastic, even if she tried. Jake, on his part, was either really openminded or had figured out there was a good reason as to why she acted like she did and didn’t want to dig deeper into it, settling for an understanding nod.

“Well, anyhow… I don’t mean to interrupt anything but you never showed up for lunch and so I just popped in to try and find you.”

Even head turned to look at Jake who was slightly behind her meaning she could only see Sydney out of the corner of her eye, Amy could tell her smug, confident look from before was faltering with every exchange of words between Jake and Amy though they were far from flirty or telling about their relationship in any way. And, yes, she could’ve left it at that, as undramatic at it had all managed to turn out but Amy, well aware of how petty it was, she knew, couldn’t help but want to conclusively knock in the nail of victory.

“Aw,” Amy spun a quarter of a round on her barstool to face Jake behind her before affectionally placing a hand on his chest - both for the sake of the show but also because, wow, she could actually do that as she pleased now. Something she was still getting used to.

“That’s very sweet of you, babe,” the word in focus was always said in an affectionate tone but this specific context definitely had it over-enhanced and laced with extra sweetness to make her message very clear.

Then breaking her own no making out at work-rule, the only rule to have survived “screw light and breezy”, she couldn’t help herself and gave into the enraged possessiveness inside of her. She leaned in to place a soft, just a bit longer than a peck, kiss to Jake who automatically lightly bent his neck to eliminate the remaining space between their current height difference. The kiss was good, they always were with him, but it definitely had to send a signal that hopefully Sydney would pick up on: do not touch.

Amy, not wanting to break her own rule too much and give in to straight up inappropriate PDA, then pulled back to throw the women-squad a smirk over her shoulder as her hand never left the safety of Jake’s blue shirt.

“Anyways… I think we’re done here? Right, girls?”

To her immense pleasure Amy was met by a mixture of bitterness and surprise which had to mean she’d proven her point. Finally. Jake Peralta, officially boyfriend or not, was not to be considered anyone but hers - apart from being very much his own person as well.

In the meantime, slightly shocked but also far from displeased by Amy’s very out of blue-kiss, Jake stood passive by waiting for his partner’s upcoming directions. He didn’t have to wait for long because whoever these other women were, Amy was done with them and hopped off of her stool promptly grabbing his hand to walk away with. It took him a few feet of walking in silence before Jake could fully assemble and give meaning to everything that had just happened. He turned to question a still smug, also a bit guilty-looking, Amy.

“Okay, so are you going to tell me what all that was about?”

They kept walking out of the lounge and down one of the many halls of the hotel.

“Nothing.”

Jake was perhaps naive at times as he saw a lot of good in everything, which Amy loved, but he knew a guilty lip bite when he saw it and it was currently on full display on the raven haired beauty.

“Hey,” he pulled her aside into one of the many small wall pockets leading to individual hotel rooms as he wished to seclude them in hopes of it easing her into telling him the truth. “What’s up with you?” he smiled knowingly taking some intensity out of the moment. It’s not like he was angry or anything, curious being a better word for it.

“Nothing,” she smiled sheepishly trying to hurry out of the secluded area but quickly realising she’d failed once she felt his hand wrap around her upper arm to gently pull her back in. Her back gently fell back against the wall before him forcing her to face him.

He lightly tilted his head to the side much like a puppy would when feeling peculiar which was hard to resist when his eyes, soft and brown, had so much resemblance with a sweet puppy’s as well. She could tell he was teasing her, aware of the fact that he knew something she didn’t and it drew her insane in both the worst and best way - Jake Peralta summed up for you.

“Now I don’t believe that… girlfriend.”

In contrast to the playfulness controlling her body seconds ago Amy Santiago suddenly felt much more put on the spot, it clearly showing by the way her blood all at once seemed to fire up her cheeks. He’d overheard her talking to Sydney and the others; he’d heard her declare herself as his girlfriend when they hadn’t even agreed on calling each other that yet. The nervousness tricked her into making a loud swallow; yet another tell.

“Oh… y-you heard that?” She stuttered.

Jake nodded firmly almost encapsulating her against the wall when he took a step forwards, but made sure to leave just enough space for her to not feel straight up trapped against her will. A small smug smile on display. Why was he enjoying this? Didn’t he see that he was torturing her?

“I’m sorry - I really didn’t mean to. I know we’ve just barely begun seeing each other as more than friends, it’s just these girls were saying things about you and sometimes I just can't control myself when around you and then it just kind of-“

He cut off her rambling by pressing his lips to hers, much needed, gently pressing her up against the wall although. Only because they were hidden from the majority of the hotel’s population, Amy allowed and excused this - or so she told herself. The feeling of his welcoming lips made her forget the mess for a few seconds, just giving into how good of a kisser Jake Peralta was, and even for a few seconds after their lips parted again she was speechless and dumbfounded by how she’d gotten herself a guy this great.

“Stop apologising,” he chuckled quickly using his thumb to wipe the corner of his mouth which inevitably made him look that much hotter.

“I know we didn’t exactly “agree on it” and that it’s still all very new, like you said, but, Ames…” his eyes mellowed after looking just a tad too cocky and alluring before, during and right after the kiss. This was definitely a different shade of Jake looking into her eyes and talking: a very soft one. “… I don’t need a certain trial period or approval from anyone to know that I’m your boyfriend and you’re my girlfriend.”

Upon hearing these words coming from the one and only Jake Peralta with recipient being herself, Amy Santiago she felt her heart shoot through the roof, take a trip around the moon and fly straight back into her chest where it had her feeling like crying, smiling, screaming and laughing all at once: a very maniac-like but also wonderful feeling. The most wonderful as far as she could recall.

“And I’m not going to force you to tell me exactly what happened, but just based on the way your fists were basically clenched when I walked up to you, am I wrong to assume that they were, let’s say, treading on your territory…”

If she’d been blushing before then now her face was definitely on fire and looking down at her feet apparently didn’t help cover it at all. The silence was enough of an answer, one which he chuckled in reaction to.

“It’s okay, Ames. At least I came around before you could Jimmy Brogan them.”

At this sympathetic joke reminding her of a time that seemed to be so long ago she had to look back up. She couldn’t hold back a chuckle and it warmed her heart to share it with him just like when he shared his with her. All the previous insecurities: had she gone too far? Let her tongue run away with her? Given too much of herself too fast to something as brand new as her relationship with Jake? It had all been answered by a few simple words, caring eyes and a kiss that told her everything she needed to know.

“I just don’t want you to think I’m this crazy-jealous, possessive type. I’m normally not like this, I promise. I guess I have never felt this way about anyone before and maybe that’s why I’m acting up. Amy I crazy?” a tingling feeling of vulnerability made an encore.

“No, you’re not because I’m right here freaking out, in the best kind of way, because of what you just said. This is the first time I feel like this too, like I can’t stop thinking about you, and it’s scary and great all at once.” Jake was quick to wash away said vulnerability she was feeling and replaced it with a prickling affection and hope.

“So… no more feeling insecure about us?” he offered some kind of peace-offering, partly to her but mostly to their shared insecurities, trying to not come off as too gluttonous as he slid his hands onto her waist wanting to soak in a new feeling of belonging. A feeling he’d found in her.

“Deal,” Amy accepted the offering with a sheepish smile as her insides flipped upside down witch excitement. All she wanted was to be with this guy, fully and greatly, and this confrontation and mutual agreement would allow her to not give a damn about future external factors.

“Noice. Smart,” escaped him in optimistic relief but before she could roll her eyes at it he leaned in to softly kiss her again. Being held by him, hands gently tracing the front pockets of her pants while his lips took her to another world, was something she could never deny him or herself - screw the rules. Lips collided over and over again, one tug bringing on the next until they lost sense of anything and were full on making out like a pair of horny high schoolers in-between classes. This is what they brought out in each other: happiness, fire, want and so many more things they’d both spent the last two weeks wondering how they’d lived without before.

Unfortunately their movie-like moment had to be cut somewhat short as people coming back from lunch started flooding the hall passing by their little intimate pocket in the wall. Amy liked Jake but she also liked staying professional and this Jake respected. They jumped back, creating an exaggerated amount of space between them before sending passing strangers innocent smiles as if they hadn’t just spent the last few minutes declaring feelings and making out at an interstate police seminar.

“So, Detective Santiago…” his voice took on a brand new tone of gravity - a tone she also recognised as acting. “Shall we head over for lunch?”

“I’m sorry to come bearing such bad news, Detective Peralta, but people are flooding the hall as per consequence of the fact that lunch is over,” Amy played along taking on a serious tone and posture.

“Aw, man… Seriously?” he whined childishly, his recent serious persona from seconds before immediately forgotten.

“Sorry… boyfriend,” she smiled sheepishly in an attempt to cheer him up which she had to praise herself, as it obviously worked seeing his face instantly lit up.

“Whatever… It was worth losing lunch over, girlfriend.”

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localhorrornerd · 5 years

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31 Horror Movies for the Halloween Season

Well.. It’s a little bit over 31 bc of sequels and such but it’s a fun title for horror recs! For the record these are in no particular order in like what’s the best or anything! It’s just a list of horror movie recommendations that might get you in the Halloween mood. I tried not to have huge well-known movies on here, but I did throw in a few just because I love them and couldn’t resist. I did try to add small descriptions for each one, but given there’s like 31 movies on here, they are rather short. Either way, hopefully you’ll find one or a couple movies here that you’re interested in!

1. Trick ‘r Treat

A rather well-known one but is it really a list without Trick ‘r Treat? A fun horror anthology with four different stories that connect to each other in some way - including the fact they all take place on Halloween night! A fun one to actually watch on Halloween.

2. Hell House LLC

For the record there are two sequels (Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel & Hell House LLC 3: Lake of Fire), however I have not seen either of them so can’t include them here, but if you want to watch them I’d say go check them out! Basically it’s a documentary style type film that follows what happened up to the days a horrible tragedy took place on the opening night of a haunted house attraction. No one knows exactly what actually went down, so the reason for the documentary is to attempt to figure out what truly happened that night.

3. Repo! The Genetic Opera

A horror musical! It’s set in a future where organ failure is extremely common so naturally a huge company comes along and is like “Okay you can have an organ transplant, but you have a huge payment plan and if you can’t pay then we’re just gonna kill you and take your organs back.” Also it has so many good songs would highly recommend if you haven’t seen it (and you can stomach a bit of gore).

4. The Devil’s Carnival & Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival

Another horror musical! And done by the same people who did Repo! For the record The Devil’s Carnival is only about an hour long but the sequel is a full length movie! A short quick explanation is that it’s set in Hell (unsurprisingly) and follows the people who end up there - also during this the Devil is planning an attack - but I’ll let you find out the rest if you haven’t seen it yet.

5. Ju-On and/or The Grudge (Any Film)

It’s my favorite horror franchise, so of course Ju-On was gonna end up on here! Whether it be the original Japanese films or the American remakes, it follows vengeful spirits who were murdered in their home and are taking revenge on anyone who enters.

6. Sinister & Sinister 2

Okay I know Sinister 2 is one not very well liked, but since I have seen it I decided I might as well include it (though I don’t really remember my thoughts on it it’s been a while). Video tapes that contain children murdering their families and a mysterious being that may be at the center of it is the basic plot for these movies.

7. Tragedy Girls

Basically you got two best friends who capture a serial killer because they themselves want to become serial killers! Don’t wanna say too much outside of that, as that is the basic plot concept honestly, but it’s a really fun movie.

8. The Final Girls

A girl dealing with the anniversary of her mother’s death ends up, with a small group of others, stuck in a horror movie that her mother actually starred in. Okay as much fun as this one is it does pull on the heart strings a bit I gotta admit. But it’s truly great and naturally has a feel of an older slasher movie.

9. You Might be the Killer

Another one that’s got that older slasher movie vibe as it takes place at a camp. One where the counselors are getting picked off one by one by a masked killer. Comes in our protagonist, who is calling his friend, who isn’t at the camp and also is a huge horror enthusiast, for help to figure out what to do and maybe figure out what’s going on/who the killer is.

10. Danur (aka Danur: I Can See Ghosts)

A young girl who just wants friends finds them in the form of three potentially paranormal ones. Though it seemingly being just a childhood thing, it actually becomes of great importance as she gets older. This movie also has a sequel, Danur 2: Maddah.

11. Fright Night

For the record I am talking about the remake here, as I have not seen the original, but if you would prefer to watch that one - or maybe even both - go for it! Basically, teen starts to believe his new neighbor is a vampire after more and more people go missing. Also David Tennant is there if you go with the remake so that’s always fun!

12. Tales of Halloween

Admittedly I wasn’t too into this film, but I know a lot of people like it! Not too much to say, it’s a horror anthology with 10 different segments that take place on Halloween! So you’re bound to find something you enjoy within it, whether it be the paranormal, witches, or even just dumb fun horror comedy antics.

13. The Tag-Along

Based on an urban legend from Taiwan, “The Little Girl in Red”, it focuses on a man and his girlfriend. Of which the man’s grandmother suddenly goes missing one day - eventually leading to him discovering clues of a potential unknown little girl who had began following his grandmother around. There are two sequels to this movie as well that I have not seen yet, that being The Tag-Along 2 & The Tag-Along: The Devil Fish.

14. Three... Extremes

Another anthology film that contains three separate stories, each one coming from a different East Asian country. It also has a prequel, Three (or 3... Extremes II in the U.S.), and a full length film made from one of the stories within it, Dumplings.

15. The Hallow

Really feel like the point of this movie is like ‘Don’t fuck with the woods’. As it basically focuses on a couple and their baby, who seems to be the target for the odd things happening to them that seems rather connected to the woods nearby.

16. The Devil’s Candy

A man moves with his family into a new home, and slowly begins to feel as though something is possessing him in a sense. That and also the potential fact his family is being targeted by the previous resident of the home.

17. Wake Wood

Apparently FMA did not teach us not to fuck with the dead enough, so here’s a movie about a grieving couple that lost their daughter who move into a town that holds the power to bring someone back from the dead for only 3 days. Unfortunately like FMA, things go horribly wrong (just not... in the same way as FMA).

18. The Cabin in the Woods

College students go out to a cabin in the woods in which things quickly take a turn for the worst. Seems simple enough, but it’s so much more complicated than that - however I won’t be sharing any of those details for those who haven’t watched it yet.

19. Prevenge

A pregnant woman who’s husband has recently passed away, believes that her unborn child wants her to track down and kill everyone who was involved in the accident. An extremely wild but honestly rather fun time.

20. You’re Next

Home invasion, baby! In which everything goes to hell for a family and their partners when masked killers start trying to kill everyone there. Though things take a turn quick and you start to wonder who is really the ones being hunted down here. (A fairly well known one, but I had to recommend it given one of my favorite characters in horror is in this movie)

21. Kuronezumi (aka Black Rat)

Not too much to say here basic plot wise. Six students receive texts from their dead classmate, they follow as the texts ask and go to the school at night, and then start getting targeted by a killer wearing a rat mask.

22. Lights Out

A family potentially being haunted by a creature that only appears when the lights go out? Plus a whole lot of family drama? Always fun truly! It’s also somewhat based off a viral short film of the same name that the director had made before he got to make it a full length film.

23. Absentia

Absolutely had to put a Mike Flanagan movie on here. One that focuses on a pregnant woman who’s started towards attempting to move on with her life after her husband disappeared seven years ago. However, as she takes a huge step towards doing so, something rather odd happens - which I’ll let you find out for yourself if you choose to watch it.

24. Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Perhaps it’s because it’s the one Halloween movie without Michael Myers, or perhaps it’s because I was blanking out on movies I watched that aren’t extremely well-known, but I felt the need to add this one on here. It focuses on this man who is out to kill children on Halloween by using a line of Halloween masks. So basically another fun one to watch on Halloween!

25. The Barn

Teenagers go to a barn where there’s a supposed curse that can awaken Halloween-themed monsters on Halloween night. What could possibly go wrong? Honestly another one that would be a lot of fun to actually watch on Halloween.

26. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

A really fun documentary type film where it’s set in a world where iconic horror slashers are actually real! And a documentary crew are out to make a movie centered around Leslie Vernon, who wishes to go down in history as another one of the famous slashers. This one is really just *chef’s kiss* to me, very much recommend if you haven’t seen it.

27. Creep & Creep 2

Found footage type films in which we follow people who are hired by this rather concerning man to film him. That’s really all I can say unfortunately without trying to give away too much.

28. What We Do in the Shadows

Another documentary-style type movie! It tends to be more comedic than it is horror, but it follows a group of vampires that live together! Sort of documenting their lives and how they survive day by day. Honestly it’s so ridiculous and hilarious, and I know many people have seen it by now but I have to recommend it none the less as it’s one of my favorites. Plus, it also has an equally hilarious tv series now that you can also give a watch!

29. The Banana Splits Movie

Who doesn’t want to see the Banana Splits as animatronics that start randomly slaughtering people after the news that their show is going to be cancelled? Honestly it’s really just a fun, ridiculous movie that isn’t meant to be taken seriously. Perhaps something to watch with friends to get in the mood for Halloween.

30. The Last Exorcism

Another one that has a sequel I have not seen: The Last Exorcism Part II. Another documentary style film (Sorry I added so many of these whoops), that follows a reverend who goes around performing fake exorcisms. Things start getting a bit more complicated though when lines start beginning to blur between what is real and what is fake while doing his current “exorcism” he was asked to perform.

31. V/H/S & V/H/S 2

There is also a third film, V/H/S: Viral, however I have not seen that one. Not too much to say here, they’re basically just an anthology of short horror films that are supposedly being shown from VHS tapes.

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some-cookie-crumbz · 4 years

Note

Flower confession with Ochako and Bakugo?

The second I read this I knew exactly what I was going to write! Have Bakugo doing some serious Tsunning up in here! Also, light OchaBowl, kinda? IDK just mentioning it since it could be read that way if you so choose.

It started on a Monday morning as they all filed in. As Uraraka headed for her seat, walking backwards to continue animatedly chatting with Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki, she bumped right into someone else. "Oop, sorry, Tsu-Chan!" she squeaked as she turned around, a shy smile on her lips.

"Ochako-Chan, congratulations, kero!" the other girl said with an excited giggle. The brunette blinked once and tilted her head as she realized all the other girls and Aoyama crowded around her desk, eagerly bouncing.

"Huh?" she trailed.

"Oh, she hasn't seen yet!" Tooru gasped before pushing at Mina's back lightly. "Scoot, ladies and esteemed lad!"

When the small sea parted, she was greeted to the sight of a small bundle of flowers settled on the center of her desk. There were three or four of red flowers all tied together with a shimmery silver ribbon. She let out a small squeak as she tentatively reached out to pick it up. "O-Oh," she said quietly, gently stroking the petals with one finger.

A hand gently settled on her hand and squeezed. "Um, Uraraka, you're floating," Midoriya said with a little chuckle.

"Ah, sorry!" she yelped, taking a deep breath to calm herself back down. After that she looked back at the flowers and then upbat the other girls. "So, um, who left these?"

"No idea," Jirou shrugged.

"Yeah, me and Tooru were the first two here and they were already there!" Mina chirped eagerly. Then, grin turning impish, she hopped closer to lean into her friend's personal bubble. "So that means you've! Got! A secret admirer!"

Yaomomo giggled and cupped one of her cheeks with a wistful expression. "I must admit I'm a little jealous! They picked a flower with such a lovely meaning, too!" she gushed.

Uraraka tilted her head. "Wait, flowers have different meanings?" she asked in slight surprise.

"Uh, duh! Cha-Cha, my girl, have you never heard of the language of flowers? Or read a good Hanahaki Disease fanfic?" Mina prompted, placing one hand on her hip.

"Oh, come now Mina, mon chérie! No need to be so judgy!" Aoyama tutted before turning to Uraraka with a grandiose turn of his head. He held a hand out to indicate the flowers in her hands. "These, my pet, are red peonies and they are said to represent honor and respect! Whoever it is that is interested in you, they think most highly of you." he giggled happily.

She stared at him for a moment before glancing back down at the flowers thoughtfully. “Aoyama, you know the flower language?” Momo gasped quietly.

“Oui! My mother runs a flower shop, you see, and I always loved helping with it,” he chuckled as Aizawa-Sensei walked in, ushering them all to return to their seats. The blonde paused on his way to lean over into Uraraka’s personal space, his smile encouraging. “And, if I may be so bold, I don’t think this will be last we see of the flowers. I must applaud whoever gave them for a rather charming first choice. I will be more than happy to help decode their messages going forward.” He whispered before sauntering off to the front of their row.

A part of her wanted to wave it off, but there was a sense of curiosity. Over lunch, they discussed it, picking out individuals who it could or couldn’t be. Obviously it wasn’t any of the other girls, Aoyama, or any of Uraraka’s boys. Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki had been with her from the moment they left the dorms that morning. Aside from that, she knew that Midoriya and Todoroki both had interest in other people, and that Iida was currently focused on self-improvement and didn’t feel he was ready for a relationship. She didn’t think that it would be Kouda or Shouji, since her conversations with the pair of them was incredibly limited. She didn’t say it outloud, but she knew it was Tokoyami or Kaminari either, since they had their eyes on Tsu-Chan and Jirou-Chan respectively.

So, that left them with Sato, Kirishima, Ojirou and Sero. Mineta was a non-option since that implied he had a bone in his body to dedicate to actually wooing a woman, and the idea of Bakugo giving anyone flowers felt weird. She wouldn’t admit how disappointing that realization was, but she swallowed it down like a bitter pill to swallow. In their time following the sports festival, a begrudging sort of respect had blossomed between them. While she was open to sparring with any of her peers, Ochako tended to seek Bakugo out the most, since she knew he wouldn’t pull his punches or sugarcoat his criticism.

From the list they had, the most likely suspects were ruled to be Kirishima or Sero. She and Kirishima worked out together regularly, with him being her second most frequent sparring partner. She and Sero had started tutoring one another in their down time as well, since he was better with English and she was better at mathematics. It had given her some time to get to know the two of them a lot better. She stole a glance at the two in question, sitting across the room and heckling Bakugo as they ate, and determined that one of them was the only logical answer.

The next morning, she was greeted to another small bouquet on her desk. The flowers this time were a lovely little white one called a gardenia. What was particularly interesting about the ones in the bouquet, according to Aoyama, was the coloration of them. The base of the flowers was yellow, which he said changed the meaning entirely to mean purity as well as secret love.

“So, then, someone who has been hiding how they actually feel up until this point?” she asked. He nodded and she sighed. “That doesn’t really help clear things up, though. I mean, obviously they’ve been hiding their feelings! I didn’t think there was anyone with a crush on me until the flowers showed up on my desk!” she lamented, slumping over on her desk. She did make sure to carefully move the flowers first, though, so as to not damage them.

Mina giggled and peered around, grinning wider when she saw that neither of the prime suspects were present yet. “Yeah, but that’s part of the fun! Ah, I wonder who it is? I mean, Kiri and Sero haven’t let me in on anything, and they know how great I am at romance!” she pointed out.

“Which is probably exactly why they haven’t let you in on anything,” Jirou mumbled quietly.

The other girl huffed. “Excuse me, I’ll have you know that I have a phenomenal history as a matchmaker! My success to fail ratio is nothing to sneeze at!” she protested. While the other girls continued debating over what constituted as romance or not, she carefully placed the flowers in her bag.

They were interrupted by Bakugo shouting at them to shut up a few minutes later, their enthusiastic chatter clearly getting on his last nerve.

The next day, she was greeted by yet another bouquet. The flowers this time were yellow tulips, but came with a message separate from just romance; they bore the message of love, passion, but also jealousy. So had whoever given her the flowers overheard their discussion, and gotten jealous that there was still a question of who? It was all incredibly confusing but they did learn a new piece of information that day. Kirishima was allergic to the pollen of tulips, and spent most of the day in a sneezing fit when he stopped by her desk to verify their next workout meetup. So, that left Sero as the only logical conclusion, right? Well, yes, until Midoriya pointed out that there was always the chance it was someone in Class 1-B, since she had been getting along well with Shinsou, Tetsutetsu and even Monoma from there.

She loved Deku, really she did, but sometimes his analytical nature just made her life so much harder.

On Thursday and Friday, she received two more bouquets. Thursday’s flower of choice had been pink hydrangeas and meant heartfelt emotion. Clearly they were trying to affirm the certainty and conviction of their feelings. On Friday, they were followed up with blue- green dahlia flowers and the message that seemed to carry the most weight; fresh starts and big changes. “Big changes like a relationship status getting upgraded!” Tooru and Mina had squealed in unison. The others had all been thrilled for her and, while Uraraka tried her best to keep on a brave face, a part of her felt anxious.

Whoever her secret admirer was, they weren’t the person she was interested in. And if it really was someone she was friends with, rejecting them could ruin their entire friendship.

She dragged her feet to class on Saturday, grateful that it would only be a half session, but was baffled when there were no flowers this time around. The other had also seemed disappointed by the turn of events. Had the person just not had the time to bring them by? Had they gotten cold feet? Or, perhaps, had the flowers been some kind of approach to get over a hopeless romance?

After class, she got her answer.

“Hey, cheeks!” Bakugo snapped, stomping his way over. She lifted her head, preparing to ask him what he needed, only to be smacked in the face with something. She let out a little squeak, reaching up to grab the offending object, when she picked up on floral aromas. She glanced down and stared with wide eyes at the elaborate bouquet in her grasp, composed of all the flowers that had been on her desk prior as well as a few red and orange roses. She lifted her head to ask the blonde what this was about, but he was already making his way to the door, his ears as red as his eyes. “Can’t believe you thought Tape Arms or Shitty Hair would have the sense to get a girl flowers!” he shouted as he stormed out, either unaware or actively ignoring the gawks from their classmates.

She looked at the bouquet, fully decked out with reflective pastel paper and a golden bow, but noted a small card attached. In Bakugo’s neat scrawl, read the words “If you want a date, meet me in the front room of the dorms Sunday at noon. And don’t bother fucking showing if you’re even a minute late.”

She giggled and shook her head, leaning down to take a small sniff of the bouquet. Yup, that was the Bakugo she was used to.

#crumbles grumbles #KacChako #my fics #But for reals #I love Bakugo just Tsun-Tsun Dere-Dere-ing up the place #Boi wants to show love but doesn't know how without going Full Extra TM #Bakugo voice: It's not like I fucking like you or some shit b-baka!

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gothic-safari-clown · 4 years

Text

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

PART THREE: REMINISCENCE

Story Summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they’re reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they’ve both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan’s side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

TW for bullying & choking

Part One / Part Two

Word count: 4427

When her alarm went off the next morning, Elianna awoke with an inspiring vigor for the day, doing her makeup and getting dressed in record time. She was excited actually to start working in a place that needed her; the main reason she had decided to move her career to Gotham—besides Jonathan, of course—was the dire and consistent need of psychiatrists to treat and diagnose the high concentration of criminals with psychological disorders in the city. As crude as it sounded, abnormal psychology had always been her favorite field of study, and this city had the best chance of taking her career where she wanted it to be.

She greeted the parking guard with an excited grin, flashing her new badge, to which he gave an enthusiastic thumbs up and raised the gate to let her in. In a few short minutes, she entered into the lobby of the asylum, picked up her schedule from the friendly secretary, and as she moved toward the stairs, she did a quick scan of the lobby for her friend, and with no sign of him she headed up to her office.

A glance over her itinerary for the week told her that it would be filled with relatively low profile sessions brought to her office for her to speak with. Makes sense; I would probably ease in a new hire too, she thought to herself. However, there was one at the end of the week that caught her attention. A Victor Zsasz, who she would be speaking to in a secure room rather than in her office. A small note next to that slot further stated that there would be two guards accompanying her on the assignment rather than one; she couldn’t be sure if it was that note or something subconscious, but something about that name gave Elianna a sinking feeling of apprehension in her stomach that she found surprisingly liberating.

This sort of high profile patient had been exactly what she had secretly been hoping for in moving to the city. As satisfying as it was to help those in need, such as the people who had come to her office in California, this felt right, and she found herself both terrified and excited for that particular session.

In the meantime, she decided to prepare for the four appointments she had scheduled that day. They were all scheduled for that morning, leaving her afternoon free, presumably for paperwork. In the end, all four seem to go by very quickly, and Elianna easily built a rapport with all of them. Technically speaking, she didn’t truly believe that any of them needed to be in the facility. In this city, having a touch of anxiety was probably better than not. Of course, they wouldn’t have been admitted for illegitimate reasons, so she ultimately decided that she simply didn’t know them well enough to have reached the root of the problem yet.

Looking at the clock, Elianna saw that it was 1 PM and decided to take a break before filling out all of her paperwork to meet a few of her coworkers, and hopefully, finally, see Jonathan.

She found herself chatting with a Doctor Harleen Quinzel, a bubbly blonde with a Jersey accent who insisted that El call her “Harley.” The redhead quickly decided that she liked Doctor Quinzel, even if she seemed a bit quirky.

“I can’t believe they gave you that corner office with the window; it is to die for!” The blonde practically oozed with amicable jealously.

“I didn’t realize it was in such high demand.” El laughed and took a moment to admire her new friend’s good spirit, whose smile suddenly dropped a bit as she caught sight of something over El’s shoulder.

“Oh, act natural, don’t turn around,” Harley said in a hushed voice.

“What?” Elianna was confused and a little concerned. “What’s going on, why shouldn’t I—”

“Excuse me, I’m looking for a Doctor Montgomery?” A familiar voice said from behind the woman in question, and she gave a slow smile—finally—to which Harley quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t suppose either of you has seen her around.” El fought the urge to hug Jonathan when she turned around and finally saw his face.

“Jonathan, you jerk, the look on Harley’s face made me think it was someone important.” She teased, and then hugged him anyway, which he returned.

“Glad to see you still think of me as highly as you used to.” He said smugly as they separated; he seemed to have gotten better at handling physical contact, but she didn’t want to push it. Taking him in, she found herself slightly stunned. He looked…good.

“God, look at you, you’re not a stick anymore, you have color in your face and everything!” The redhead found herself smiling, so excited to see Jonathan—her Jonathan—for the first time in years. He returned her smile with a faint one of his own, telling her in its own way that he was also happy to see her, even if he wouldn’t say it out loud.

“Hold on, I’m sorry, you two know each other?” Harley chimed in from behind Elianna, bringing her back to reality.

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I’m sure you two already know each other, but we actually went to high school together; we were the only two that weren’t complete assholes.” She explained, still a little giddy from the belated reunion.

“I wouldn’t say that; we just had boundaries,” Jonathan teased under his breath and shook Harley’s hand. “Good to see you again, Doctor Quinzel.”

“Wait, I thought you just moved here?” The blonde inquired to Elianna after giving their colleague a courteous nod.

“I did, we actually come from this tiny hick town in Georgia. Not that you could tell, thank goodness.”

“Aw, that’s fun that you’re both here now! In that case, I’ll leave you to catch up; I have an appointment to get to anyway. You two have fun, I’ll see you later El,” Harley gave her new friend a tight hug and a peck on the cheek before sashaying off to where she needed to be.

“Affectionate girl,” Jonathan quipped amusedly.

“Yeah, she’s a sweetheart.” Elianna smiled. “By the way, what did you do to her? The look on her face when she saw you really had me nervous for a second.”

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that I have some antisocial tendencies. As it turns out, it makes people nervous.”

“Yeah, most people. By the way, should we get to the part where you admit that you missed me, or are we just going to skip that altogether?” El teased, and Jonathan stood for a moment just looking at her with the faintest hint of a smile before glancing at his feet, and for that split second, he was that scrawny, awkward kid that she had known before.

“I did miss you,” he admitted quietly and suddenly made direct eye contact, and Elianna’s knees almost went weak. What the hell? Had his eyes always been that blue? Of course, he had never necessarily been unattractive, but it had been so hard to see through all of his misery and standoffishness. Well, she thought to herself, he still seems a bit standoffish, but confidence looks good on him.

“I wasn’t sure if you even knew I was here. I wanted to surprise you, actually.”

“Of course, I knew you were here. Who do you think made Sharpe read that essay you submitted in the first place?” He fired back with a slight smirk, and goddamn where did he learn to do that?

“I don’t know. I just assumed that he would read every submission resume he received. Does he not?” Jonathan shook his head.

“I happened to notice your name on a stack of folders on his desk during a meeting, and I made sure he would read it.”

“Wh- you knew the whole time?” She asked incredulously. “And you didn’t even send me a text or anything, you little rat.” Elianna faked upset, but once she thought about it, it actually made quite a bit of sense. Arkham was rather famous after all, and there were bound to be plenty of doctors as crazy as her applying regularly. And, she hated to think it, but the warden had seemed less than interested in taking a chance on hiring people, given his remark about someone else having quit “luckily for her.”

“Aww, you really did miss me, didn’t you?” She winked at him and nudged him with her elbow.

“Don’t make me repeat it,” he replied in an almost joking tone. “You’re still the only person I can actually tolerate.” He seemed to avoid the rest of that conversation by checking his watch. “And as much as I’d love to catch up some more, I also have an appointment to get to soon. Why don’t you come to my apartment tonight and we can catch up? I’ll text you the address.”

“Oh, sure, that sounds great.” He sent her the information, and they exchanged quick goodbyes, and El went back up to her office to finish her paperwork so that she would be ready to leave on time.

.xXx.

Elianna was still somewhat reeling from her friend’s newfound confidence when she left for the day. The last time that she had seen him, she had come to the city to visit for three days during college, and he couldn’t even ask for help on a report, and now he was able to blurt out “come to my apartment tonight” like it was nothing. All things considered, she was proud of him.

On the way to her car, Elianna found herself wondering if Jonathan had really changed that much in such a short amount of time. When she first met him, she had almost thought he was a ghost; he was so reserved. In fact, if she really thought about it, she could recall every detail of that day.

It had been her first day at Arlen High since moving to the town with her mother. Her parents had just been divorced, and her mother had thought that a small town would be a good change to the chaos of the city they had lived in, and Elianna could hardly believe that the spit of road could be considered “civilization.” As much as she enjoyed the spacious old home they had been able to afford, she wasn’t looking forward to the surely boring life they would lead there.

She had walked to school, and the whole time she couldn’t stop looking forward to finally being able to drive herself places. ‘Only a few months away.’ She had been immediately pegged as the new girl—unsurprising given the small student body—and had been swooped up by the popular crowd, one Sherry Squires, to be exact. She seemed horribly dull and shallow, but Elianna decided that letting Squires have her way would be the easiest way to make friends and survive the next few years.

However, the skinny, quiet boy with whom she had shared several classes had somehow caught her attention. Very unusual, given that he didn’t seem to speak to anyone and quietly did his work the whole time. Maybe it was the bitterness rolling off of him, or maybe that the lack of socialization in a room full of obnoxious teenagers, but something about him was just…distinctly different.

During the last passing period of the day, while expressing idle interest in whatever the hell Sherry was jabbering about, she had noticed that same boy shuffling through the hall on his own. Before El could ask Squires what his deal was, Bo Griggs, your stereotypical dumb jock, had schlepped over to him and shoulder checked him into the wall, his books tumbling to the floor while Sherry snickered.

“Looks like Ichabod is in for a pounding,” she sounded maliciously gleeful of that fact, and her arms cattily crossed over her chest only highlighted that fact.

“Ichabod?” Like the Sleepy Hollow character? It was a weird name, but alright.

“Oh, his real name is Jonathan, but nobody cares about that,” Sherry had explained dismissively. “His last name is Crane, like the character from that book or whatever, but he’s just so scrawny and weird, we all just call him Ichabod or Scarecrow.” El had nodded in understanding and watched with conflicted emotions as Jonathan did his best to ignore the taunting and shoving directed at him. However, her mind was made up when a particularly nasty push sent the boy to the floor, hitting his head on the wall as he fell.

“Okay, no! That’s enough,” she had spoken up before she even realized what she was doing. Sherry and Bo both seemed equally shocked as they looked at her in confusion, Bo actually stepping away from his quarry. “What the hell is your problem?” Bo’s face had turned red.

“It’s about to be you, new bitch.” He had snarled and took a few steps toward her.

“Sure, I get that, you’re intimidated by my brain cell count, but seriously, is that what the big deal is? You couldn’t find anyone more stupid and pathetic than you, so you take out our insecurities on him? Grow up; I think more people here relate to that than you think.” She snapped with a pointed look at Sherry, who gaped at El as she brushed past Bo like it was nothing. Wasting no time, she gathered Jonathan’s books in a pile with her own and hauled him up by the arm, dragging him down the hall and away from the crowd. If this was to be the only class they didn’t share, she would be very embarrassed.

“Is your head alright?” She had asked the boy—'Jonathan, his name is Jonathan'—as she handed back his books.

“It’s fine.” Hm. Not talkative. Shocker.

“It looked like you hit pretty hard from where I was standing, are you sure?”

“I’ve had worse.”

“Yeah, not surprised, given that bunch.” She had turned to look at him as she spoke; he seemed to have been distancing himself as much as he could without being rude. “I’m Elianna, by the way.”

“I know. You and your mother moved into the house next to ours. And you just ruined any chance you had of fitting in here.” She had shrugged, already knowing the second part.

“So what, I’m used to that. Besides, why would I want to fit in with those guys?” The corner of Jonathan’s mouth had twitched up in some facsimile of a smile.

“Hell if I know.” He had muttered. “But either way, it’ll just get worse if you hang around me, you might want to keep your distance.” He added flatly, all traces of any kind of personality from a second before gone.

Look, I believe you, but I’d rather not. I doubt I can get any standing back now, and you seem much more interesting anyway.“ She had shrugged, to which Jonathan shook his head.

"I mean it. Keep your distance.” He had repeated and sped up, leaving her behind in the hallway with his much longer legs. It had been awkward that period when the teacher had assigned her to sit in the empty seat next to him.

Looking back, it hadn’t altogether been a bad day. She had quickly established herself as someone not to be taken lightly, which had subsequently gotten her into some tight spots with the “popular” crowd. Besides that, even if it took a few extra weeks after Jonathan had realized that she wasn’t going to leave him alone, she had finally gotten him to open up a bit to her. It was strange to think about how far they had come.

Even more so when she pulled up outside of Jonathan’s apartment building, from what she could tell on the outside, each unit was fairly spacious; it seemed that he had done well for himself, although he hadn’t been very picky about his living spaces for the most part. Unsurprising, given the conditions that his grandmother had kept him in. He had dragged himself out of the pits of hell into a (presumably) swanky apartment and a fairly prestigious job; she couldn’t help but be impressed.

It didn’t take her long to find a spot in guest parking, take the elevator up seven floors and knock on his door. When Jonathan answered the door, he was still in his work clothes minus the suit jacket, indicating that he had only barely gotten home himself.

“Hello, love,” El greeted him with a quick hug before stepping inside and slipping her shoes off. She took a moment to take in the living area. It was furnished with that type of sturdy yet elegant old furniture, which suited him well. She had been right; it was a good size on the inside, just enough room for him and his stacks of research books and papers to be somewhat scattered around. Altogether, it built that sort of rustic studious aesthetic that she had always associated with him. “Very nice,” she commented approvingly.

“It’s certainly a few steps up from granny’s,” He agreed as he closed the door behind her.

“Yeah, quite a few,” El agreed. She had only been inside of his childhood home once, and only for a minute or two at Jonathan’s behest; he had been afraid that the old woman would wake up and catch him speaking to someone. “I see you still never learned to clean up after yourself, though.” She teased with a passing glance at a sheet of notes on a patient with severe agoraphobia.

“Please, I was there when you rearranged your room, don’t try to pretend I’m any worse than you are.” He shot back good-naturedly as they sat on the couch.

“At least none of that stuff was important,” she protested, gesturing to the stack of notes and diagnoses she had just looked at. “And is my mind playing tricks on me, or did your handwriting somehow get worse?”

“You hush,” he said, settling into the cushion next to her, resting a hand on her knee when she leaned against the armrest and draped her legs over his lap, both of them acting as though it was the most natural thing in the world, and for them it was. “How was California? Did it meet your expectations?”

“Yeah, for a while, eventually, I just got bored. What about Gotham?”

“Fine. Better than Arlen anyway. A fresh start can be useful, I suppose.” El nodded understandingly. Georgia really had been horrible to him. She supposed that she could attribute Gotham to his success and growth. She laid her head back against the armrest, thinking. “How did we let it get this long since we’ve talked?” She asked and rolled her head to the side to look at him. He’d let his head fall on the back of the couch and was staring at the ceiling as he shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he replied quietly and turned his head to the side without lifting it to look back at her. El found herself rememorizing everything about his face. He had changed so much. Again, it wasn’t as though he had ever been bad to look at, she mused to herself. A little skinny, maybe, but now that his face had filled out to match his cheekbones and could afford to eat regularly, he looked healthier. Even his hair was thicker, and maybe even a little bit darker, which made the blue of his eyes stand out shockingly. She could easily see how his maintained eye contact would be unsettling to someone who didn’t know him as well as she did.

In fact, the only thing about him that had stayed entirely unchanged was the subtle darkness that sat just behind the surface of those piercing eyes, and she knew exactly why.

“Have you been able to keep him under control?” She couldn’t help the soft question that came out. Over the silence of the apartment, her quiet voice sounded like a sin.

“For the most part,” Jonathan replied equally quietly. “There have been some…incidents few and far between, but other than that fine.” He blinked, and after a beat, he confessed, “He wants to talk to you.”

Elianna’s heart sunk to the floor, and she shook her head. The man sitting before her was her friend, but the Scarecrow terrified her. He was unpredictable and sadistic, and he turned Jonathan into something disturbing. “You know I wouldn’t let him,” he reassured El. “I won’t let him slip around you again.” El shivered involuntarily as she remembered what he meant.

It had been during that time that she had visited him during college. She had only been in one class that semester, and the professor had given everyone a week off while the air conditioning duct in his classroom needed to be repaired. Jonathan had seemed stressed during their weekly phone call, and she had some money saved up, so she had taken advantage of this opportunity to fly to Gotham and visit Jonathan for a few days.

As a rule, he didn’t like surprises, but Elianna had been able to tell that he was relieved to see her. He had even hugged her as she arrived and seemed glad to have her staying with him in his campus apartment for a few days.

On her first night there, they had taken a walk around campus after dark, and her suspicion that something was wrong was confirmed when his usual silence was strained, as were his short replies to her questions.

“Maybe we should go back; you clearly aren’t doing alright.” She had suggested gently, laying her hand on his arm, to which he had nodded slowly and taken a shaky breath.

“He’s trying to get out,” El had immediately known who he was talking about, even if she had never technically seen Scarecrow before. “Classes are really taking a lot out of me, and I don’t know if I can-” There had been a brief moment of dissociation, and when Jonathan’s eyes came back into focus, it wasn’t him.

“I don’t think we’ve met yet,” Scarecrow had started. “But you know I’ve been here longer than you have.” He finished smugly. The voice was Jonathan’s but rougher, and his eyes were filled with a sudden life at the prospect of whatever Scarecrow had in mind for her.

“Where is Jonathan?” She had barely been able to ask the question; something about the way he was looking at her made her horribly uneasy.

“Aw, what? You don’t like me?” Scarecrow had asked mockingly, stepping closer when she didn’t answer. She was frozen to the spot. “Do I scare you?” He continued, and her continued silence was the exact answer he had been looking for. “Good.”

Without any warning, after a moment of stillness, he had lunged for her, and somehow Elianna had managed to duck out of the way just in time and took off in the other direction with Scarecrow in close pursuit. She was looking for a place she might be able to hide, but her unfamiliarity with the campus had betrayed her, and just as she thought that she had lost him, he suddenly rounded the corner in front of her.

Her scream had been cut short when he had pinned her against the nearby wall with his forearm across her throat. He looked like he was saying something to her, but she couldn’t focus on what it was over the rushing blood in her ears. However, she could see with her fading vision Scarecrow using Jonathan’s body to laugh at her. She was going fuzzy around the edges, and the only thought that she had been able to manage was that she would die there.

Just as the last of her vision was beginning to fade and her lungs were screaming for air, the horrible grin had vanished, and she could see the difference as Jonathan had regained control with a panicked look on his face. The next thing El knew, he was helping her off the ground; she must have fallen when he removed his arm from her neck. Despite the knowledge that Scarecrow was gone, she had pulled herself out of his grip, opting to use the wall for support instead. The back of her head ached, and she had coughed hard, still struggling for breath and rubbing the growing bruise on her neck.

She had never seen anyone look so terrified and apologetic as Jonathan’s mouth silently opened and closed, fumbling for words. It wasn’t until his eyes fell to her throat that he stilled, sucking in a deep breath. The traces of tears in his eyes told El everything that she needed to know, and without another second of hesitation, she had thrown her arms around him in a tight embrace. She could remember how he had squeezed her back, and they stood there like that for a few minutes, both trembling from the close call. Finally, they had walked back to his apartment in silence and hadn’t even mentioned it since.

Until now.

El took a deep breath before finally asking, “Can you promise me that you have him under control?” He nodded silently in response.

“Never again, El. I promise.” He added a few seconds later. His answer seemed to satisfy the redhead, and she let herself relax again.

They stayed like that for a few more hours, sometimes talking and sometimes sitting in comfortable silence. When she left, Elianna managed to coax another hug out of him on her way out the door and stretched up to kiss his cheek, not an unusual thing for her to do, but he blushed faintly just like he always did at the affection. She smiled to herself on her way back to her car. He really wasn’t that different from the timid boy she had taken under her wing all those years ago, a soothing thought to send her home.

#the mind's power over the body #jonathan crane #scarecrow #batman begins #nolanverse #elianna montgomery #jonathan crane x ofc #slight au #multi chapter fic #fanfiction #attraction to the insane #cillian murphy #cillian murphy scarecrow #tmpotb chapter 3

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smuttymess · 4 years

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bts astro soulmate reading | for ellen

sign: leo sun | aries moon | scorpio rising

lover: Park Jimin | soulmate: Kim Seokjin

This reading is for the beautiful, smart, lovely Ellen! I really had fun writing this one as I think this is truly a match made in heaven. Hope you enjoy too :)

Action-oriented, strong-willed and enthusiastic, Leo Suns are truly a force to behold. Add in a fiery Aries Moon and you've got yourself a powerhouse who will work tirelessly to achieve any goal they set their mind to - be it a seemingly impossible project at work or playing matchmaker to a notoriously picky bestie. A big-picture thinker, you live in the here and now, focusing less on fantasy and more on the expansive potential of your reality. Supported by your innate self-confidence that radiates from your soul, you are a naturally charming and strong leader, bringing people together and making beautiful things happen (see: events!) Scorpio is a curious sign as it has the intensity of fire, but all within the magnificent depths of water as its core element. While your Aries Moon and Leo Sun is a roaring fire that burns passionately and bright, your Scorpio rising - which dictates how you present yourself - often results in a cooler exterior, with an incredible emotional current flowing just beneath the surface. To those who first meet you, you are seemingly reserved and aloof - avoiding frivolity and small talk like the plague - preferring instead to simply listen, observe and absorb before revealing your true self. This is to your benefit, as your Leo/Aries combination often lends to bluntness, sharp words, and sometimes hurt feelings - the Scorpio rising dials that back a bit, making you more cautious with your language but also perhaps standoffish at times. Despite this occasionally ice exterior, you are very keen to connect with people on a deep, emotional level, and nobody knows this better than the people closest to you. While you have many friends and admirers, there are only a select few that get full access to your heart - and to them you are unfailingly loyal, warm, compassionate, reliable, and generous. Once your trust is earned, you are likely to give your all in your work, familial, and romantic relationships - your love is big, bold, and boundless. Unlike more passive, agreeable signs, you definitely expect equal love in return - Leo/Aries needs praise, recognition, and appreciation for all of your fabulousness, and like a true fire sign, you're not afraid to ask for it. A goal-setter, there is nothing you do in life that isn't deliberate or without meaning. Your desire is to leave an impact, making your mark on the world with your own fiery personal brand, and its likely that your influence already spans further than you realize.

A true connector and creator, you naturally seek ways of construction experiences that meet your expectations and exceptional taste levels - who better than you? Being a lover of fantasy and spectacle, nobody is surprised when you create a Studio 54-inspired pop-up party, wherein you show off your curves in your best 70s get up. Blissed out in a sea of glitter, sequins, and champagne, you are simply shining beneath the dazzling lights as disco floats through the air. The tone of the evening is simply fabulous, and surrounded by friends new and old you are truly in your element. You are unstoppable, the star of tonight's show, and the only thing that could make it better is a dance with the beautiful stranger sauntering around the club in his perfectly tailored bellbottoms and silky button down shirt like he owns the place. Wanting nothing but the best in your life, you are attuned to the fact that you want him, strategically positioning yourself in the middle of the dance floor as the music plays and meeting his eyes with an inviting stare. With ample confidence and mysterious aura in your arsenal, Park Jimin does not stand a chance once your sights are set, and it is not long before you two find yourselves immersed in each other's company under the flashing lights and the sheer electricity of the evening you've created. You tend to leave people wanting more, so you are not surprised to find the flirty Libra boy in your DMs the next morning. So, when is the next party?

Developing from a flirtatious friendship into something a bit more fun, Leo and Libra are an instant hit. This is a combination of fire and air, with Jimin acting as the wind beneath your sails as the easy, go-with-the-flow, partner in crime for all of your big schemes. Possessing an innate love of beauty, of fantasy, and romance, Jimin provides a level of optimism that your fantastical mind requires - he genuinely believes that there is nothing you cannot accomplish, helping your dreams along to become a reality. A Libra's extremely affable, adoring nature is like kryptonite to the romantic Leo who does not know the meaning of too much praise. It is no surprise when these two meet it is nothing short of a whirlwind relationship, with Jimin doting on your every wish without hesitation. The combination of Jimin's Libra Sun and Gemini Mercury makes him expertly aware of how to charm you, giving you exactly what you need at the right time. A true people-pleaser, you are delighted to find Jimin highly amenable to your emotions and desires, wanting nothing more than to ensure you are content. When you feel the genuine nature of this person that simply wants you to be happy - and unwavering loyalty of his Gemini moon - you are able to fully let down the walls posed by your more mysterious, reserved Scorpio rising that initially avoids vulnerability so soon. As Leo and Libra falls in love, there is an infinite level of romance and adoration. Suddenly, you find that you are in fact a hopeless romantic, loving being that sickening couple that sits next to each other in the corner of wine bars. He helps you slow down to access a more sensual side of your sign, your fingers intertwined underneath the table in a playful exchange while his hands graze your thigh despite. Jimin's Gemini Mercury allows for a bit of mystery and impulsivity, and there is something exciting to you about not knowing what you're going to get from him on any given day - while he can easily seduce you, is more than happy to let your more assertive Aries Moon take control when the mood strikes.

While Leo and Libra are typically quite compatible, there are some underlying issues presented by your charts. While you enjoy Jimin's free-flowing nature and desire to please, you become unsettled when this behavior is not just limited to you. His eagerness to please makes him quite susceptible to peer pressure, something that you simply cannot relate to with your heightened sense of independence. When he shows up late for date night, flushed and tipsy after a couple of extra rounds with the boys, you grow less amused by this side of his persona which you begin to see as inherently weak. Additionally, his moody, sensitive Moon in Gemini combined with a Venus in Scorpio makes him an especially possessive partner, not fully allowing you to be the social butterfly you are at your core and also requiring a level of affection and attention that you cannot always provide. When you feel that your needs are not being met to the level you expect, your Leo bluntness alongside the sting of your Scorpio rising are likely to hurt the softer Libra who is effectively allergic to criticism or discomfort in their personal and romantic lives, causing him to retreat. This only serves to exacerbate the problem, leading you to end the relationship on a swift and final note.

Always on the move and averse to any type of wallowing, Leo Sun/Aries Moons are constantly ideating, creating new ways to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest. You are truly the architect of your life, moving on your own terms which often leads you in the pursuit of food, travel, music or any other experience wherein you can connect on a sensory level with the world around you. Travel to another city for a concert? Consider tickets booked. Try a foreign cuisine completely unknown to you? Why not! Your friends are more than happy to go along for the ride, knowing that wherever you're going is where they want to be. You enjoy activities which showcase your profoundly adventurous, spirited nature. Independent and proud, you adore a challenge but not known for asking for help even when you need it say, during your first foray into rock climbing experience at a facility in the mountains. Despite your assuredness that you've got this (you don't!) it is when you're stuck midway through the advanced wall you insisted on climbing that a pair of big, strong hands are firmly grabbing the harness around your waist and steadily guiding you back down to earth. Before you can even process all that just occurred, your eyes widen at the sight of the gorgeous man in front of you shaking his head in disapproval. "You weren't listening to my instructions at all, were you?" His words are stern, but his eyes bright and lips pursed into a smile as he senses your competitiveness. In true Leo form you're soon able to charm your way out of what potentially could have been a lawsuit, enjoying taking to the smoke show who reintroduces himself as Kim Seokjin before explaining the basics you so diligently ignored. Impressed, you remain composed despite the incredible visual of Jin swiftly scaling the wall with ease. Like this, see? Our Sagittarius Jin is not always extroverted, but certainly has the confidence to ask for what he wants, and it's not long before he's proposing a 1:1 lesson in the very near future. Your Scorpio rising knows to play it cool but also when to seize an opportunity, and undoubtedly this one is too good to pass up.

This is a duo that may play a few games in the early phases of dating, but one ignited there is no extinguishing this spark. Jin's Sagittarius Sun is an ideal match for your Leo Sun as you share a warm, good-natured aura that you exude in every area of your life - its one of your signature qualities that you find most attractive in yourself and others. While there is a lot of ego in this pairing - both of you aware of your individual greatness but also in each others - you find a true partner matching your profound level of adventure, curiosity, and genuine experiences. This manifests itself in somewhat of a condensed dating phase, equipped with elaborate dates wherein the sky truly is the limit. Such a fiery countless hours together bonding over both new and shared interests - think skiing in Aspen, racing on a closed-course, a food tour of Rome - allowing them to show off their own skills while igniting their competitive fire while learning something new. Initially there is likely to be more of an investment in fun than an emotional commitment - a Sagittarius's specialty - and were it not for your other placements this could easily dissolve into a longstanding friends-with-benefits or fun summer fling. Luckily, your compatibility is deepened exponentially by several specific pairings that overlap and compliment each other. Two Moons in Aries are equally ambitious, fair, independent and honest, and you both take pride in this character trait that you are so appreciated for and allows you to be extremely successful in work and your social circles. Once you begin to explore the "why" behind your ambition - your desire for connection, improving humanity, making an impact - you are both able to open up into a deeper level of emotional understanding that few others get to access.

It is here that you find true romance, with his Venus in Capricorn appealing to your sensitive, dreamy, and romantic Pisces rising/Leo Sun. True to your Leo brand, you also need to be praised, worshipped and adored. You rule with your emotions, so acting up out of sheer passion is not unlike you. Not everyone can handle this wide range of emotions, but adaptable Jin is up for the task. He is perfectly able to navigate your moods, with the patience of a saint combined with a Mercury is in Scorpio which makes him extremely observant and strategic in terms of his communication. There is no staying mad with a Sagittarius (no matter how annoying he may be) as his need to move forward at a rapid clip makes it nearly impossible for problems to fester too long. With Venus in Capricorn there displays of grandiose affection you adore: two dozen roses at your door just because, renting out your favorite restaurant for a private meal on a random weeknight, a fully packed suitcase at the edge of your bed with an accompanying note. Madrid tomorrow morning? This is a couple that fucks like rabbits, often beginning the foreplay long before they reach the bedroom. He certainly enjoys watching you slink around the room at any party or event, entertaining the crowd with your charm and basking in the limelight, looking absolutely stunning in a dress he's gifted you. There is an air of excitement as the night goes on, knowing full well that he will be the one that has his hands all over you as soon as you get home. Its likely that the two of you get off on being the power couple that nobody can get enough of, and even more satisfying is that is just comes so naturally to you - there is no faking this level of chemistry! A mutually impulsive nature exists at the core of this dynamic, meaning you may not wait until you get home (why would you, when there's a car?)

Fiercely independent and fast-paced, more than anything you need someone who can both keep up with you and challenge you as well. Jin the Archer is notoriously hard to lock down, seeking someone who will let him be his fully adventurous, fun-loving self, and he successfully finds that in the equally on-the-go Leo. Your sensitive Leo thinks funny guy Jin may initially be a bit over-the-top in his playful teasing of you, enjoying pressing your buttons a little bit, but over time you learn that this is simply how a Sag shows love. It is this highly humorous element of his personality that opens you up to access a more playful and lighthearted side of yourself that embraces your humanity and flaws without taking them too personally. Together, Leo and Sag guide and drive each other in your respective careers, acting as partners and confidantes, while innately understanding the others need for space like few others can. At the core, this pairing has a strong foundation of friendship upon which everything else is built, creating a very open and respectful relationship which allows the other to stay true to their deeper selves without fear of judgement for being "too much". The life created between this pairing is one of fun, great wealth through your many successful enterprises, and the strongly rooted presence of family. Fiery, bold, passionate selves, this pair grows even stronger as they move through life together, inevitably making their mark on the world through charitable and culture contributions with their infectiously energetic personals and uniquely creative minds.

#bts #bts astrology #bts horoscope #leo #aries #scorpio #park jimin #kim seokjin #astrology #horoscope #creative writing #bangtan #bangtan astrology #bangtan fic #libra

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fyrapartnersearch · 4 years

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Rated -ℜ- for Roleplaying

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Come closer if you dare,

 Call me Imp, a multidimensional being who has made it her mission to travel through various dimensions in order to post her humble request on this website. Nah… just kidding, but you may still call me Imp ;) I am a lady in her twenties who has a penchant for roleplaying, writing, and drawing. You know, the Holy Trinity. I am a huge nerd and aesthetic lover boy - plain and simple. One of my main passions is video-games, illustrating, comics, live-action films, series and anime/cartoon shows, something I grew up and eventually fell in love with.   A friend recommended me to post an ad on this website and so I eventually figured, why not give it a shot? It couldn’t be any worse than receiving no messages at all. I’ve been roleplaying for a few years now and gradually gathered a good amount of experience throughout the years, but it's always fun to meet and learn something new. Name: Imp Age: 27 years Experience: 11 years Preferences: 1:1 Roleplaying Partner: Should be at least [18+], but I rather much prefer my counterpart to be 21 years or older EMAIL: [email protected] I am a very creative sort of individual with hundreds of ideas constantly swarming through in my head. And I am very spontaneous too, so I can always adjust to a new setting, depending on how good and compelling the concept is.  Inspirations come from various sources and origins, be it a fandom (an already existing universe) or an original storyline. Please read through these paragraphs before you decide to contact me! It's important to avoid any misunderstanding later! And I would less likely respond to a message with the title ‘Hey, wanna rp?’, since I hadn’t had any good experiences with these said messages. Thank you. °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° Communication: It’s certainly chill. You can talk to me about whatever occupies your mind since I am very open and always happy to listen to others. I also tend to be chatty, sharing a meme every now and to loosen up the mood. If you consider choosing me as your roleplaying partner, be sure to maintain a certain consistency. I have nothing against going on a longer break or even a hiatus, but the whole `ghosting stick´ is something I have no patience for. So if you’re unsure of upholding a stable, long term partnership, feel free to skim past this ad. Plotting: Also very important to note! I am fairly quick when it comes to building new characters, concepts, premises, storylines, backstories, etc… This means there is certain flexibility available which allows me to adjust more often than not. Even though this is a hobby, I am still extremely passionate about good storytelling and interesting character arcs. I hope to meet someone who is just as enthusiastic and willing to put in the same amount of effort as I am. If it’s only me who's pulling all the weight, I will lose interest fast, just to get it out there. Aside from that, I love going a little crazy with the possibilities and push things to their absolute limits. Of course within the boundaries of the given setting. Pairing & Romance: Okay, right off the bat, I am a hopeless romantic through and through. I enjoy good and strong chemistry between characters just as much as the next, and this will be no exception. I prefer the good ol’ MxF pairing because I have more experience with this. But I also like playing a FxF dynamic or MxM. Everyone is welcome! When it comes to pairing itself, I want to make sure our creations are compatible, for I hate forcing characters into a romantic relationship for the sake of progression. A natural flow is what I am aiming for. ;) Mature? Yes, very mature: Adult and taboo topics are absolute. There’s no way around it because, in my stories, it’s a running theme. The adult world is not easy to handle, but it’s interesting to explore. That includes violence, cursing, shocking content, and all that dark stuff. My limits are few, safe for a couple of minor pet peeves that I have, I am pretty much open to some experimentation. When it comes to action-heavy scenes (be it an intimate situation between two characters or something on a cataclysmic scale), I won’t fade to black since I am not a huge fan of censoring. However, I will not force or push my partner into something they are not comfortable with. If you want to know the extent to how far I am willing to go, what sort of content or how detailed my writing will be, you can ask me directly. As for smut or lemons, whatever you call it, it will never be the focus of any of my roleplays, but I enjoy a good erotic scene with a lot of tension (if they are good). Boundaries: Not a big fan of things like pedophilia, necrophilia, scat, bestiality, and those dreaded ‘futas’. Inspirations and interests: There’s a pretty broad spectrum that I deem interesting and inspirational. From fallen angels and demon/monster hunters, mages, criminal masterminds, cybernetically enhanced characters to futuristic dystopian settings, ancient kingdoms who have fallen against the test of time. All of it causes my heart to skip a beat. For original content, I’ll just give a brief list of bullet points of the general themes that fall in line with my interests. Writing: My texts are lengthy, detailed, and elaborate. Third-person is usually my preferred way of playing my character unless there’s a special case where an exception can be made. Word count usually fluctuates, though I have a standard form of 400-500+ words per response. It also highly depends on the given situation. I don’t want to set anything in stone… just to give you a basic idea of what you’re in for. I also expect my partner to have an at least adequate, if not decent grasp on basic grammar and punctuation. Doubling: Yes, absolutely! If you are prone to doubling, chances are I might accept you as my partner straight away! Although I have nothing against the simple form of roleplaying, doubling is something I’ve done since my first time joining. Characters: Very character-driven with the main focus being on interaction. I take my time writing characters and love nothing more than well-structured sheets that illustrate the vision of its creator. Of course, there’s no need to write 10-20 pages worth of character information, but I wouldn’t want to limit you either. As for the depiction of the given character, I won’t be as presumptuous as to tell you what sort of medium you can and cannot use. Face claims such as photos of real models, illustrations, 3D models, drawings or descriptions are all okay. As long as it gets its point across, I am happy. Aversions: A few minor things that irritate me, or let's say, aren’t really my style are one-liners, low effort responses and out of character behaviors in canon characters. We all have different takes on characters, which is totally fine by me since I basically do the same. Though if the character acts and behaves unlike their personality dictates, it will break the immersion. I hope to stay true to my own words when saying this. If it happens on my side, just let me know! Another pet peeve of mine is that one plot that has been done time and time again…. and I’ve grown quite jaded towards it, which is ‘supernaturals trying to fit into human society’ thing… I mean, I’m not opposed to borrowing from this idea, but for me, it grew old pretty fast. Speaking from experience. ;( Passione: My wish is to find a partner whom I can have a good time with and develop some chemistry. After all it is a fun hobby. We both should have fun with what we’re writing. Brainstorming among other things is one of my favorite things to do. To see how things unfold and how the characters react to the given situation is the highlight of any story. °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ☥ ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° FANDOM: I love roleplaying fandoms just as much as I have a blast with building something original universes. Worldbuilding is my preferred cup of tea… but if we opt for something more fandom inspired, I highly welcome in on expanding on the given universe and add some original lore too!

Hellsing: Haven’t done that one before and I am curious as to how things play out, especially in such a dark and mystifying universe like Hellsing. There’s a lot of subject matter that we can delve into, plus I am a big fan of powerful vampire characters!

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: I would love you for this. No, seriously, I would. This fandom has sucked me into a downward spiral and there’s no possible chance of escaping this inescapable void. The absolute insanity of this franchise had me hooked from the second I laid eyes on it and I would be forever ecstatic if you’d message me on behalf of roleplaying Jojo. I have plenty of ideas for this one, just you wait.

Full Metal Alchemist: One of my favorite mangas and animes ever made. Recently I’ve begun rewatching FMA Brotherhood and felt a small hint of nostalgia swelling inside my blackened heart. I’d be open to play it, though it is not one of my top cravings at the moment.

Justice League / Young Justice / Justice League Dark: Huge DC fan, though I much prefer the animations and comics over the live-action cinematic. Let's just say, I like the expansive and dynamic set of possibilities and deep, well-written cast. For instance Hellblazer Constantine or Raven.

Bayonetta: Need I say more? Let’s dance boys!

APH Hetalia: That includes the 2P version ;)

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Supernatural: From angels to demons, from gods to monsters, I’ve seen it all and I absolutely love it. There can be any sort of creature or being involved, ranging from vampires to sirens to elves, you have it. However, I’ve never done something quite relating to angelic beings and their offspring before. I’ve read up on Nephilim and angels and found it rather fascinating, and it’s a different approach from the usual vampire vs werewolf cliche.

Crime and intrigue: I never stray too far from the supernatural path, but hell, there’s nothing better than some good old gritty mafia inspired stories with a complex cast of characters and a solid storyline.

Sci-fi and urban fantasy: So this could be basically anything from genetically engineered superhuman (superheroes / - villains) with a dark take on the human psyche, dismantling the idea of heroism and villainy. Or a world where mankind began their interstellar journey to colonize neighboring planets, galaxies before transcending their own humanity by merging themselves with deadly technology. I have a few plans for this…

Historical and mysterious setting: So one of my favorite eras is the Victorian time period, 30s - 40s - 80s, Renaissance or Ancient times during the rise of the Egyptian / Roman / Sumerian Empire. During these times, a dark discovery was made by man, learning that they were not alone in this world. In fact, they weren’t even the supreme race that destined themselves to dominate the world, for another race of humanoids have lied dormant deep beneath the earth, slumbering through the millennia only to be re-awakened by a cataclysmic event. These ancient humanoids are gods among men, superior in every way imaginable, and they have made it their mission to reclaim their right to rule. But their nature is not what most people think it is…

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 If you’re still here and haven’t fallen asleep reading through my loooong paragraphs, then I would like to thank you for bearing with me this far. I am looking forward to your messages.   Have a wonderful day ;)

#indie rp #indie roleplay #independent roleplay #oc rp #multiple paragraph #para #semipara #long term #email #spn rp #smut rp #dc rp #aou rp #submission

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prettywordsyouleft · 5 years

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A Christmas Date

Summary: When Minhyuk finally convinced you to see his band play this Christmas, you were hesitant to allow your heart to be swayed any more than it already had been.

Pairing: Kang Minhyuk x reader (ft. CNBLUE)

Genre: Christmas au / fluff / co-workers to lovers au

A/N: Welcome to Christmas in July! This mini collab with @this-song-thats-only-for-you has been so much fun to create! Since Minhyuk’s birthday was the same day as Daehyun’s, I chose to write for him now. And I hope @noona-clock doesn’t mind, whenever I think of Jungshin/CNBLUE, I naturally think of her story Something’s Brewing and so a couple of details in this stem from that world. I highly recommend you go read that story if you haven’t some time!

Word count: 3754

“You’ll be there, right?”

Glancing up to meet Minhyuk’s expectant gaze, you smiled weakly. “Christmas in the Park? Listen, Minhyuk, I-”

“You’re not going to ditch me again, are you?” he intervened, shooting you a pout. Oh god, not the pout. He then grinned and your heart began to thump noisily in your chest.

You were doomed.

Working with Kang Minhyuk was a blessing and a curse. You hadn’t expected when the tall man walked into your florist one day with a resume under his arm that you would be struggling this much six months later. He was capable in every way, and whilst that meant you could trust him to ensure that business went well whenever you weren’t in the shop, it also made you aware of all his little mannerisms. How his smiles were able to make everyone who walked into the store feel a little weak at the knee, his arrangement skills impressing even the most sceptical of people that flowers could be more than just beautiful. He was polite yet playful, generous with his skills and his time, and incredibly thoughtful.

How such a man existed, you weren’t sure, and knowing that he had other talents in life seemed completely unfathomable. It was highly unfair that Minhyuk was able to do so much, remain humble and be utterly gorgeous on top of all of that.

And that was why you had a hard time accepting doing anything with him outside of work.

“Y/N,” he called, the slight whine in his voice making you wish for the ground to open up and swallow you whole, and yet you wanted to relish in the sound for the rest of your life as well. It was ridiculous the effect Minhyuk had over you, and as his boss, you struggled with maintaining the incredibly fine line between being professional and falling at his feet.

“I don’t do well in crowds,” you mumbled feebly and whilst it was the truth, it was an excuse and he knew it.

“You’ll have fun, I promise. I’ll make sure that you’re with Jungshin’s girlfriend, Becky, the whole time. She’ll look after you; she’s a seasoned pro at coming to our gigs and at avoiding being stuck in sticky crowd situations. Plus you promised me. This is a huge deal for me and I want you there!”

Staring up at Minhyuk, you could tell you were blushing at that last sentence. Why did he want you there? You knew if you went it would be game over for your heart. He was passionate about his music, that much you could already tell. And with how much you had already fallen for Minhyuk within this garden bed of roses, you knew if you stepped outside with him, away from what you knew, that it would be impossible to maintain your working relationship. Seeing Minhyuk out of this florist could make it harder for you to see him in it the next time. And with it being so close to Christmas, well, you needed him. Orders were only going peak over the next week, and he really did the best arrangements.

“It’s Christmas time, where’s your generous spirit, huh?” You huffed at his question and he chuckled, knowing he was getting under your skin. “I’m not going to let you get out of this, Y/N. You told me that you’d come to see us perform before the end of the year.”

“I have no choice?” you asked and Minhyuk nodded firmly. “What will you do if you make me come and I don’t enjoy your music?” He was genuinely surprised by your statement though he recovered quickly, laughing as he nudged you playfully. “What will you do if you love it?”

You would die, you were certain of it. But you couldn’t tell him that, smiling softly to yourself instead. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

“So you’ll come?!”

Ignoring the puppy-like excitement now filling his features, you nodded once, confirming your attendance.

Though you were truly worried about what you had gotten yourself into.

The day of the event, you had attempted to get out of going. Your bedroom looked like a riot had gone off within it; clothing was strewn across your bed from countless deliberation of what to wear. You didn’t know how to dress for such an outing and since this would be your first time appearing in Minhyuk’s world not as his boss and fellow colleague, you were conflicted further. What if you wore something that he would tease you about on Monday? You were so used to wearing blouses and dress pants or dresses in his company that you almost opted for one of your work attires just to ease some of your anxiety. Yet, Christmas in the Park was an outdoor music event, and you would be spending quite a number of hours out in the cool wintry air.

That left you with not a lot of fashionable pieces to extenuate and to opt for comfort over style. You still wanted to look good, however, scolding yourself for wanting to make a good impression on not only Minhyuk but his friends too. This wasn’t a date, and yet your brain was convincing you otherwise. Settling on your favourite pair of jeans, a woollen jumper, your dress coat and a pair of boots, you fumbled your way through your makeup, picking up your phone and writing multiple renditions of plausible excuses to Minhyuk along the way. You felt uneasy as you did your hair, worrying that you would look clearly older than him and his friends. What would they think of you as his boss? It was nerve-wracking and when your phone suddenly went off in your hand as you thought over how to word being sick in a believable way for the umpteenth time, you shrieked. Managing to only drop the device into your lap and not onto the floor, you retrieved it and opened up the message you had received.

1:13pm Minhyuk: You better not think of a single excuse to send me. I’ll see you at three!

Groaning at his innate ability to read you even this far apart, you sent him back a can’t wait response and stared at your reflection before letting out a big sigh.

You could do this.

Arriving at the park that the event was being held at, you were pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. It was your first time attending the event, normally opting to remain indoors when it was this cold. Despite the crowds that were already forming, it seemed more welcoming than you expected. Families were setting up their designated spots and fuelling their children with hot food and drinks from their packed bags, and wrapping blankets over their legs. Teens gathered together by the edge of the stage gossiping about the hottest bands that would be attending tonight. Adults like yourself seemed to be relieved for a break from the office and to socialise with ease among their peers, and even elders were set up in camping chairs, discussing how many years they had been attending the event. You eased somewhat until you heard your name being called.

You turned, Minhyuk jogging over to your side with a grin plastered over his face. You mirrored his expression, blinking a couple of times as you took in his attire. Without thinking too much about it, you reached out for his bare arms and chastised him. “Where’s your jacket, aren’t you cold?”

“Oh, I left it backstage, we just had rehearsal before and I got a little hot,” he explained, his gaze on your hand. You slipped it back and he dug his hands deep into his jeans pockets, his skin now flushed. You assumed it was due to the cold and his sudden approach toward you and wrapped your hand around your other wrist, rocking back on the small heel of your boot. Minhyuk cleared his throat and grinned again. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

“I was expecting some kind of excuse about being too sick to get out of bed,” he continued and you snapped your gaze up to his, shaking your head profusely, hoping you didn’t let on that was exactly what you had been attempting to do.

“Of course not, you told me to have some Christmas spirit, so here I am. Though, are you just performing Christmas songs tonight?”

Minhyuk chuckled, shaking his head. “There will be some groups that do, and at the end of the show there’s a big Christmas medley happening, but most people are just singing their own songs.”

“Oh, so I’ll get to hear what CNBLUE is all about?”

“You will,” Minhyuk assured, his smile ever-present. And then he seemed to process a thought, launching forward to grab your hand and pulled you towards backstage. Focusing on remaining upright and not on how warm his hand was on yours despite the low temperature outside, you were shuffled past various people and tasks going on in the bustling atmosphere backstage until you came to a stop in a waiting area that was for Minhyuk’s group. Immediately you were greeted by a great voice, your movement stilling as you listened to the way the man sang.

“Yonghwa, Y/N’s here,” Minhyuk mentioned and the man you had just been in awe over stopped singing, turning to see you there. He grinned, coming over to shake your hand enthusiastically. And that was how your greetings with Minhyuk’s friends went. Yonghwa was loud and vivacious, much like his voice was. Jonghyun greeted you with a smile and Jungshin teased Minhyuk for bringing his boss to his work for the night. It was then that you met Becky, who not only reminded her boyfriend of where they once met before dating and then came over to your side and shyly reached out to befriend you. Her reaction eased you immediately and you relaxed into the new company, soon forgetting all about your worries of coming tonight.

“We’ll go out and get a spot by the stage,” Becky announced and you waved the men off, following Becky back out and finding a spot that had a great view of the stage without being too close.

Becky then smiled at you and you returned the gesture. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

“It’s no problem. I remember the first gig I went to, though it was in a small bar. They’ve come a long way to do stages like this.”

“So they’re really good then?”

Becky blinked. “You haven’t heard their music yet? They have albums out.”

“Uh, no, this will be my first time.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat. They’re really talented,” Becky grinned. “Oh, and I’m not saying that even though I have the opportunity to be biased. All four members are amazing at what they do. Their music is the kind that gets right into your soul and makes you addicted.”

“Ah,” you said with a nod of your head, hopeful that you would be able to agree with her evaluation when the night was over.

Becky looked at you for a moment and then smiled again when you caught her eye. “You know, this is the first time Minhyuk’s invited anyone to see him play.”

“Really?”

“He talks about you too. You must be a really good friend to him.”

You contemplated her assumption, wrestling with disbelief. You eventually shook your head. “I’m just his boss.”

“I doubt that,” Becky refuted and then pointed to the stage. “Oh, here they come!”

Much like the attitude backstage, Yonghwa was vibrant and hooked the crowd immediately. And when Minhyuk held up his drumsticks before dropping them to start the beat, you were a goner.

Becky was right; you didn’t know who you were by the time the first song was over. Although you didn’t remember the names of the songs, you attempted to take in every detail, whilst your eyes frequently soaked in Minhyuk in his element. This was unlike in the florist. On stage, he seemed to shine brightly, his smiles as effortless as his skills were. You gasped when he started singing the backups as he continued to drum away and you glanced at Becky, her energetic nod telling you that she understood.

CNBLUE was definitely addictive.

When their set finished, you felt as if your body had become heavy. You were rooted to the spot, the ringing of the last part of the set replaying within your mind. It was Becky who nudged you out of your stupor, tugging you along with her to go find the members backstage. You needed more time, more air, maybe a drink of water to sober up, but before you knew it, you were in front of the four men, Becky leaving your side to hug Jungshin affectionately.

“So, what did you think?” Yonghwa asked and Jonghyun chuckled.

“Give her a chance to process it.”

“Why does she need time? Y/N either liked it or disliked it,” Yonghwa continued, turning back to face you. Smiling gently, you nodded a couple of times.

“I liked it.”

“Liked what, which part?” Yonghwa pulled you to sit down and eagerly waited for your response which was hard to formulate.

“Let her breathe,” Jungshin instructed and nudged Minhyuk pointedly.

You watched as the man you knew the most retreated. You had expected him to be like Yonghwa, after all these weeks of asking you to come see him play. It seemed surreal to see him hesitate, reserved with his approach. His usual smile was missing and you stared at him a little longer before turning back to Yonghwa and answering his questions as best as you could.

The night was still young, and yet you were wondering more about Minhyuk’s thoughts right up until the time you eventually crawled into bed.

You hoped he would share them with you when you next saw him.

Monday morning arrived and you were a mixture of emotions to see Minhyuk again. He had texted you the day before, thanking you for coming to the concert and spending your night with Becky and the members. It seemed odd that his reaction was so formal when you had been laughing and enjoying yourself within his friends’ company until you had gone home. And yesterday you had followed all their social media accounts, grinning when everyone followed you back. You had downloaded the content that you could purchase online, and spent the day cleaning your home and bopping along to CNBLUE. Even on your way to work, you were singing along to Between Us, having played the song so much you could almost sing it word for word.

But now that you were in your usual setting, your mood seemed to resolve, resuming back to the quiet and polite version of yourself. You greeted your supplier gently, carrying in boxes of fresh flowers one after the other until on your final run; they were taken out of your arms.

You blinked. “Minhyuk.”

“Good morning,” he greeted softly, carrying the carton into the back room and opening them up to see what needed to go in which floral cooler.

You stood at the edge of the bench, wondering what to say.

“What did you do yesterday?”

Minhyuk didn’t look up. “Mostly just relaxed.”

“I downloaded your music,” you blurted out and he paused in shifting a box of lilies into the cooler. You took it as a sign to continue. “I really like it.”

“I’m glad.”

“Are you?” you retorted, staring at him as he stood back to his full height. Neither of you spoke and yet you could tell he had a lot to say.

“Hello, is your store open yet?” a voice called out and broke the spell, Minhyuk stepping around you and going out to serve the customer.

It was like that for the rest of the morning, both edging around what happened on Saturday, yet neither coming out with anything productive to say. It was driving you mad and by the time Minhyuk had gone to take his lunch break, you were completely frustrated.

“Why invite me out if he’s going to be this awkward with me?” you scoffed, arranging a Christmas themed bouquet with a little more vigour than usual. “I should have made an excuse after all. Hanging out with his boss clearly was a bad choice on his behalf.”

You grumbled for a few more minutes, your frustration shifting towards despair. It was hard not to feel a sense of rejection. Although you had been invited out as a friend, you had hoped for some kind of reaction from Minhyuk to understand why he had asked you to come. Did he want to be more than just co-workers? Or was he just proud of his achievements and wanted to show you? None of it made sense and as you unravelled some ribbon, you thought of the worst.

“Did I embarrass him? Did I say something wrong to his friends?”

“You did nothing wrong.”

You squeaked at the sudden reappearance of Minhyuk, snipping the ribbon blindly and catching your finger in the process. Your hand was immediately within his and Minhyuk led you out the back, right over to the sink and ran the water over the wound.

“Keep it under the water whilst I prepare the band-aid.”

“It’s not that bad,” you mentioned but the look he gave you made you push your hand back under the flowing water. Minhyuk then reached for your hand and wrapped a towel around it to gently pat it dry.

As he dealt with the wound, you sighed. “Why did you invite me to the event if you were going to be like this with me?”

“I didn’t know I would struggle either.”

“You’re struggling?” you asked and the vulnerable emotion within his eyes was quickly removed much like the backing of the band-aid was. “With what?”

Focusing on his handiwork now that the band-aid was over your wound, Minhyuk continued to hold your hand. You went to pull away but he gripped on. “With how much I like you.”

“Me?” you echoed and Minhyuk nodded. “You like me? Me?”

A small smile played upon his lips. “Should I not?”

“No… well yes. I mean, why would you like me?” you babbled and Minhyuk laughed softly, capturing your attention. You stared up at him, your confusion softening. “You like me? Since when?”

“Since I first met you.”

“But wait, that was…”

“Seven months ago.”

You frowned. “I hired you six months ago.”

“I know but we met before then.” You didn’t respond and Minhyuk smiled. “I was a customer before I chose to try my luck and get a job here. I did need a new job. Working with Jungshin at the coffee shop wasn’t really working out for me when I would have to go to band practice after work too. And I genuinely do like working with flowers too.”

“You came here pointedly?” you breathed and Minhyuk nodded. “Because of me?”

He nodded again. “You mean, I’ve spent all this time trying to avoid how I felt when you’ve been here because of me?”

“To be fair, I wanted to get to know you first. Sure, I could have asked you out on a date as a customer,” Minhyuk mused and then grinned at your still startled expression. “But with how hard it’s been to actually get you to come out with me, I doubt you would have accepted my request from that position.”

“I’m still back at the part where you came here with the intention of getting to know me.”

Minhyuk finally let go of your hand and you blinked away from your reverie, a slight ache within your hand now that he wasn’t holding it.

Logically, that was probably due to the injury you had sustained.

“Seeing you out of the florist was overwhelming for me. And then how easily you fitted in with my friends, I could see this becoming something regular. I wasn’t prepared to cope with how much I felt on Saturday. That’s why I was quieter.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” he repeated and sighed. “Just oh?”

“You’re the one announcing you have feelings for me, how am I meant to react?”

Minhyuk was thoughtful for a moment and then leaned down into your face, smiling brightly. You blinked repeatedly, unsure if you should step back or grip onto him with how giddy you suddenly felt. “Will you come out with me again if I ask you, Y/N?”

“Where to? I thought that was the last performance you had scheduled for the year.”

He nodded.

“Then?”

“On a date, just you and me this time. They say that dating around Christmas time is much more magical than any other time of the year.”

You eyed him carefully, the smile on your lips forming slowly. “Really, why’s that?”

“Because it’s the season where dreams come true.”

“That’s really cheesy,” you told him with a giggle and Minhyuk pulled you into an embrace, your laughter startled into hiccups.

“I know, but you seem like the type to enjoy cliché romance like this.”

“Where the girl gets the really attractive guy that everyone fawns over?”

Minhyuk chuckled within the embrace. “Not everyone fawns over me.”

“Oh really? Have you seen how our clients react when you start smiling and pointing out flowers? I’m sure half of them would prefer to purchase you then the bouquets they walk out of here with!”

“Are you jealous?” he wondered with a smirk and you tried to slip out of the embrace Minhyuk held you within, your answer evident by your actions. “There’s only one person who I have eyes for, and it’s definitely not a client.”

“One date?” you surmised and Minhyuk gaped at you.

“I’m holding you in my arms; do you think we’re only going on one date?”

“Two dates?”

“If you’re trying to protect yourself from thinking I’ll suddenly change my mind, might I remind you I got this job because I liked you. I haven’t changed my mind since.”

“You’re blinded by the beauty of this place,” you complained and Minhyuk nodded softly.

“Because you’re here.”

You wondered if dating Minhyuk would be a blessing and a curse as well. But admittedly, you were hopeful that the Christmas spirit would help you out a little with that magic. Because you wanted this dream to remain a reality for a long time.

_________________

[Seasonal or Collabs Masterlist] | [CNBLUE Masterlist] | [Main Masterlist] | [Request Guidelines]

Christmas In July: New Traditions // A Christmas Date // Cliche Christmas // With A Bow On Top

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dontreadthistrashgarbage · 5 years

Text

G o t 7 au pt.1

(((((AU where Got7 never debuted. Each member took on other roles mostly still in the music world.)))))

Jackson had invited JB over to meet his new puppy. It was apparent just by viewing the apartment that Jackson had gone to so.e lengths to control the red heeler puppy that was currently occupied chewing on a bone. One wouldn't realize from this snapshot that Jackson was overwhelmed and had been largely unprepared for the terror that this dog had turned out to be. He had met s dog of the same breed when visiting his brother, rugby player in Australia and had fallen in love. Despite being cautioned he thought he could do it.

He was wrong.

JB was overwhelmed and while he liked MinNao well enough, she was quite a handful. Jackson had turned on the tv to one of the music programs airing.

"There's a group that uses a dog in their comebacks." Jackson said excitedly.

"Oh yeah?" JB asked, lounging comfortably on the couch next to his friend.

"Yeah, it's cool, I thought Min could be like that too." He continued, "Have you heard of HEET?"

"Yeah, that's Byoungjin's and Minhwan's group." JB said, squinting his eyes as he remembered the two young trainees that had previously been with JYPE before he stopped being a trainee.

"Yeah that's them. Their mascot is a samoyed and this famous trainer works with them. Oh look! Look! They're on now!" Jackson pointed and leaned forward enthusiastically.

JB sat up to see better, watching the performance. Sure enough a fluffy white dog, was part of the performance. Even her shirt style matched the concept of the rest of the group. She wasn't out with them the entire time but had a role in the chorus as well as the finale where she ran out, jumped off one members back into another members arms and posed with them.

JB grinned as Jackson clapped and laughed, "Isn't that cool!"

"Yeah that's really good. That must be really hard." JB was impressed, "That's a cute dog."

"I'm gonna hire that trainer." Jackson said matter of factly. JB raised his eyebrows, looking over at his friend questioningly, "I am! Minhwan is the leader of HEET. He put me in contact with her. Once this comeback wraps up she said she'd meet with me."

JB shrugged and leaned back, "You'll need all the help you can get with that monster."

Almost on cue Jackson looked over to see that Min had decided to switch from her bone to one of his shoes. "YA! What are you doing?" He jumped up and she immediately went into a play bow then took off running, Jackson hot on her heels. JB watched, his mouth stretched in a line and eyebrows raised before turning back to the TV to see the next act.

JB was awoken by his phone ringing early in the morning. Seeing it was Jackson he almost ignored it but given the odd hour he decided to answer.

"Hello."

"Hyung." JB blinked as Jackson whined out the word.

"What do you need." JB sighed as he struggled to wake up more fully.

"Hyung can you come over and watch MinNao for a couple days?" Jackson pleaded.

"Watch... Min." JB was speechless. He absolutely did not want to do this.

"Hyung please. Jinyoung and Mark and filming right now and Youngjae is out of town. My grandma is sick, I need to see her." Jackson sounded genuinely desperate.

"Ahh... just a few days?" JB clarified rubbing his face.

"Yes yes please!" Jackson now sounded hopeful.

"Yeah, I guess I can." JB sighed, flopping back onto the bed.

"Hyung thank you! I'll buy you something delicious when I get back! Whatever you want." Jackson promised.

"I'll make it worth my while." JB threatened lightly.

"Oh, the trainer is coming this week too, I dont want to cancel with her, can you meet with her for me?" Jackson added almost as an afterthought. JB hesitated then agreed as well. Talking to a trainer wouldn't be a problem. Maybe they knew some cat stuff too, Odd had developed an annoying habit of missing the litterbox.

"Hyung, you're the best! I'll text you instructions." Jackson said.

"Yeah okay. You can stop sucking up now. I'm going back to sleep." JB hung up and rolled over, certain he had heard Jackson start another sentence and not caring.

Guerin made her way to the apartment after getting through security. Jackson was a well known rapper and it was reflected in his choice of home. She had researched him when he first hired her so she could be as prepared as possible, and Minhwan had assured her he was a hard worker and dog lover. While she had worked for celebrities before, Jackson was probably one of the most famous that had reached out to her.

"Stay back, stay!" Said a voice on the other side of the door. She couldn't help but smile, sure that the offending animal was not staying even a little.

The door opened and a red blur leapt over the foot attempting to block the way out. Guerin's reflexes saved the day as she dropped down and snatched up the escapee, grinning at the rotund monster that now flailed in her arms.

What her research had not prepared her for was the stranger that had opened the door. Out of habit she bowed politely and greeted him, which he reciprocated, thanking her for catching the puppy and seeming embarrassed as he invited her inside. Once the door was closed she set the puppy down who took off after a toy. Guerin might not have recognized him but he was easily as handsome as Jackson, if not more so. He was dressed stylishly grungy with loose fitting clothes, the first two button on his shirt undone. She felt suddenly self conscious in her plain khakis and work polo with her company named embroidered on the left (Pounce! Animal Training). She didn't look dirty but he looked like he could be chilling at a club and she looked like she worked for Best Buy.

"Ah... is Jackson here?" She asked after a beat of silence.

JB looked surprised then somewhat embarrassed with a hint of annoyance, he sucked in air through his teeth before answering, "He must have forgotten to tell you. He had to leave town unexpectedly and asked me to look after things here."

"I see." She nodded, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Sorry! I'm Im Jaebeom, most people call me JB. I'm a friend of Jackson's." JB bowed again.

"Nice to meet you, I am Go Guerin." There was another awkward pause, "Would you introduce me to the puppy?" She asked.

"Sorry, of course. Yes." JB turned to find the troublemaker that had managed to disappear.

Guerin was rarely this uncomfortable meeting someone in a professional environment, but she had been thrown for a loop by the unexpected face, let alone such a strikingly attractive one. The twin moles above his left eye were especially charming she mused to herself before pushing the thoughts out of her head as he reappeared with the puppy, writhing unhappily in his arms.

Guerin went into work mode, suggesting he put a leash on the puppy to keep her in the area and started talking about treats. JB listened well, asking thoughtful questions as she discussed treats, reinforcement schedules and behaviors to look for all while covering the basics of how to get her attention and basic commands like Sit and Lay.

Before they knew it the hour had passed, with Min showing significant interest and improvement. "It'll take time. She's still a puppy, and a highly intelligent working breed. But if you keep at it and keep her busy she'll grow into a lovely dog."

JB had been surprised to see how focused and eager MinNao had been once they started working. He was impressed with how easily Guerin worked with the dog, and how much harder it felt when he tried it himself. She kept assuring him that it would get easier with time with genuine smiles and praise.

"Do you work with cats too?" JB asked curiously, stepping out of the x-pen that Guerin had set up around them as a designated play area for MinNao when when was unsupervised.

"Yes, I can work with any animal." Guerin responded with confidence.

"I had a question about one of my cats..." he trailed off, looking at her.

"Sure, what can I help with?"

They spent the time talking about Odd and his new habit, what could have caused it and tips to address it. Eventually the topic shifted to different animals Guerin had worked with and both exotic and the more famous dog of HEET (JB learned the dog was named Eneoji), which led into JB talking about music and his work. Before they knew it 45 more minutes had passed.

"I'm sorry to have kept you!" JB looked shocked, "I'll make sure to tell Jackson to pay you for it."

"Don't be silly. Most of that wasn't work anyway." She waved him off, having morphed into casual speech unintentionally as they had spoken, "You should probably let MinNao out to potty soon though. Here's my card if you have any more questions about your cats." She passed him her business card, then the two of them said their farewells and she headed out.

JB closed the door after her, leaning against it before looking down at the puppy, who was looking up at him while ripping the stuffing out of a plush toy. He sighed then went to get the leash and a plastic bag to take the puppy outside.

JB texted Guerin to schedule an appointment. She had an opening the next day so she agreed to assess the current set up with his cats and give suggestions. The first part of the appointment went normally enough as she offered pointers and praised how most of his set up was very cat friendly. She then introduced herself to the cats by sitting calmly and allowing them to approach her as the two chatted, straying naturally from the intended topic.

"What other animals have you worked with?" JB asked.

"All kinds. Back in the states I worked at a few different zoos, with everything from tigers to spider monkeys to vultures to insects. I love all kinds of animals." Guerin responded, giving Nora scratches behind the ear.

"Wow that's awesome." JB's eyes were wide, "What was your favorite?"

"I like working with birds the best. I have a parrot too, and I take her out flying a couple times a week. Free flight is so fun."

"You fly your parrot? Like on a leash?" JB's eyebrows were high into his hairline.

"No, no leash. She flies where she wants and comes back to me on a cue." Guerin couldn't help but grin a little in pride. She knew it was a cool behavior.

"How hard is it to train that?"

"It's a lot of work, and a lot of patience and relationship building. But it's seriously so much fun." Guerin answered.

"It must be amazing." JB looked impressed.

"Do you want to come sometime?" Guerin invited him, looking up from petting Nora.

"Really? Can I take pictures too?" JB asked, almost disbelievingly.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Guerin shrugged, secretly happy to show off but also somewhat thrilled to have an excuse to meet up with JB, and this time not in a professional setting. The two of them hashed out a time and JB talked about his photography and how he used it as inspiration for his music. Before they knew it time was up and Guerin had to leave for her next appointment. She felt a bit embarrassed that the subject hadn't stayed on topic and told him she would do the follow up appointment pro-bono. JB accepted, also looking forward to see her again. She had turned out to be interesting to talk to and he learned a lot. The two parted ways, both feeling it was a bit too soon.

Jinyoung and Mark were monitoring the last shot they had completed for the drama Jinyoung was starring in. Mark, usually a model, had been recommended by Jinyoung for the small supporting role that required some dancing. Both of them had a background as trainees and while a bit out of practice they had picked it up again surprisingly quickly.

"Charlie." Jinyoung had looked up to see the foreign producer walking past, and gestured for her to come over, "May I make a suggestion?" She hesitated a moment but came over, Mark moving slightly to make room for her.

"I think this move isn't filming well from this angle. Is there a chance we can do something else instead?" Jinyoung pointed out, Mark nodding in agreement.

Charlie looked thoughtful, "What did you have in mind?"

Jinyoung and Mark gave a few options and Charlie agreed that one of the choices would look better on camera, "I'll run it by the director. I think you're right."

"Thank you Charlie, you have a way with getting him to agree with you." Jinyoung smiled disarmingly at the pretty fair skinned woman.

"You're the best." Mark agreed with a small smile while maintaining eye contact.

She couldn't help a slight blush at the flattery from the handsome men, "Oh stop, it's nothing."

Jinyoung had enjoyed working with Charlie, she did her job well, she was likable and thoughtful. He had also learned that she had an unusual amount of pull with the crew as they seemed to trust her opinion. He and Mark had learned to come to her with their requests, since if she agreed it usually went their way.

"I'm serious, we should treat you to something delicious soon for all your good work." Jinyoung smiled coyly, gaining an unnoticed and unreadable glance from his model friend.

"I'm just doing my job." Charlie protested lightly.

"We just want to express our gratitude." Mark pouted cutely which caused her to melt.

"Oh my gosh you two are too much." She patted her warm cheeks self consciously, glancing back and forth between their eager, increasingly cutesy expressions, "Fine if it means you'll stop looking at me like that, you're embarrassing me!" She turned and hustled away to talk to the director about their suggested change before they could butter her up anymore.

Jinyoung watched her go with a satisfied expression before turning back to the monitor, feeling accomplished.

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crossroadsimagine · 5 years

Note

Hi my sister said you'd do a best friend match for me and we worked on it together! So here it is! Girl or boy is fine either way and from My Hero Academia! My personality is noisy and always happy and kind and a wee bit crazy sometimes and can get very sad easily. I cry when I get mad. Likes are: exploring the outside and coming inside when it's hot. I like exercising. And I like lizards and fish and small animals. I dont like spiders, spider webs, cockroaches, and jump scares. (1/?)

☰ Best friends with Eijiro Kirishima

Kirishima is very friendly and tries to getalong with everyone and make friends with everyone, which means he’s kind andfriendly to you from the first time the two of you meet, It’s most likely that thetwo of you will become good friends through a hobby and similar interests wherethe friendship will only grow stronger with time.

He’ll come to treat you almosthow he would if he had a sister which makes him quite protective over you,though he is protective over all of his friends he won’t let anything happen toyou while he’s around. Whether it’s physical or emotional from bullying orteasing he’s quick to defend you, even a little too quick at times but he canhave a bit of a short temper if he hears anyone criticizing you or talking badabout you.

He’ll also step in to defend you whether you are around and someoneis teasing you right to your face or if he hears someone making fun of youbehind your back. Being protective over you is just in his nature too it’s notbecause he thinks you are weak or need protecting, it’s more that he feels likehe has to do something or say something because he’ll get mad the second ithappens.

But if you stand up and defend yourself, he’ll let you take the leadand just have your back for whatever you want to say or do. But if you’re notso good at standing up for yourself he’s quick to do it for you, especially if youseem upset and you do have a tendency to cry when you get mad. Kirishima willnot like seeing you cry for any reason and can make him angry at whoever madeyou mad, no matter who it is, whether it’s a friend, stranger or family member.

He is also comforting and understanding so if you do get mad and need to ventabout what happened, or why you had a bad day, or even if something’s justbothering you he’ll listen and he can be a good listener to you, he’s alsorather sympathetic and his mood can change based on yours, like if you are mad hecan get mad because you are, or if you are happy he can become happy becauseyou are and can feed off your emotions.

Which you do generally have a noisy andalways happy attitude which often matches his own because he is very positive,upbeat and nearly always optimistic no matter the situation and can just aboutalways find the fun in every situation.

You are also very kind yet a tiny bitcrazy on occasion, and he will like how kind you can be and even likes yourcrazy side because he can have his wild moments. On the down side you can getvery sad pretty easily which can catch him off guard at times especially if youcan get sad out of nowhere, because he won’t know immediately what to do tohelp you.

But since he is comforting and a good listener he’ll just flat outask you if there’s anything he can do for you or what he can do to cheer youup, and even if you say no he won’t take that for an answer and will come upwith something to take your mind off things, suggesting a video game, a movie,going for ice cream or even just going for a walk.

The two of you do have similarinterests and hobbies, because you both enjoy the outdoors, exercising, videogames and being with friends, and even the things you like that he may not havean interest in before he can take an interest in because as your friend he’llwant to be able to talk with you about the things you like.

He will like videogames and playing games with you though he does tend to enjoy action orfighting games the most he’ll play just about any kind of game at least once,though like you he won’t like jump scares especially in video games.

He is veryoutgoing and will like trying newthings, new foods, drinks so trying new restaurants or going to festivals orfairs will be a lot of fun for him, not only because there’s a lot of actionand games but he will like trying new foods and won’t mind sharing foods withyou at all, especially different snack foods or appetizers, he’ll want you totry stuff because he’ll want to hear your thoughts.

He will be very supportiveand encouraging of your dream or any dreams you have throughout life, same withsmall goals you want to achieve like if you want to learn something new like aninstrument, language or how to make something. He’s even up for learning thingswith you even if he may not be very good at it, he will try, especially if ithelps to encourage you to try your best or keep going.

Because he genuinelywants to see you do well and succeed and achieve everything you put your mindto, no matter how big or small your dreams and goals are.

He compliments andpraises you pretty often any time you impress him with something, whether it’sbecause you know the answer to something or show how intelligent you can be indifferent situations, but also he’ll be impressed any time he sees how good youare at something like drawing well, putting a puzzle together quickly or comingup with a great idea or solution when there is a problem as well as when you givehim good and helpful advice.

Kirishima will also enjoy being outside whether it’sjust going for walks or hikes, or more extensive stuff like camping or fishing,he can be rather easily entertained doing simple things like watching theclouds, playing in the rain, watching the stars for shooting stars.

He willalways be himself when he’s around you which he is easy going and positivethough he can have his insecure moments and doubts about himself or his dreamsbut quick to bounce back with some encouragement.

He is very kind and caringtowards you and will stick by your side and stay best friends with you throughout the years who will always have your back, any time you need a friend he’sthere for you without question and always up for the next adventure orchallenge.

☰ Headcanons between you two

■Enjoys the outdoors and he is very adventurous though he can be a bit clumsy attimes, but he’s not afraid to get dirty, so playing outside, in creeks, thewoods, playing in mud or catching bugs or animals he’s rather fearless and upfor just about anything. He’s also not afraid of spiders or bugs you don’t likeand will get rid of them for you.

■Always encouraging of your dreams and goals whether big or small, or short termor long-term goals, he is even willing to help you the best he can withanything. Even if there’s nothing he can do to actually help you he is veryencouraging because he believes in you and cheers you on to accomplish whateveryou put your mind to.

■Can have a pretty competitive side but just for fun and will never take it tooseriously, but likes making light competition out of things like exercising orplaying video games. He can be very confident in himself but at the same timehe is very humble and if you beat him, he’ll admit defeat and even praise youfor being so good at a game or such.

■Likes exercising just like you though he may take it more seriously than youbecause he really wants to be tough and strong which can make him go a bit overboard at times but won’t push you to. But he will be happy any time you want toexercise or even go for a walk or jog because he will like the company andsomeone to talk to while exercising.

■Defensive when someone upsets you or makes you mad, especially if he sees youcrying. He’ll have your back and stand up for you no matter the circumstancesor who he has to stand up to. He won’t let anyone hurt you mentally,emotionally or physically, you or any of his friends for that matter, no matterif he gets hurt or what the consequences could be.

■Doesn’t get mad very easily and keeps a very optimistic and positive attitude,which means he is not one to argue with you about anything even if you get mad orfeeling grumpy and snap at him, he can show an understanding side, wanting toknow what happened or why you’re angry.

☰ Other Close Friends

◑ Tsuyu Asui is supportive, friendly andcaring but she can be a bit more reserved and has a harder to expressingherself or how she feels, which can also make it harder for her to stand up topeople. That doesn’t mean she won’t have your back when push comes to shove butshe can struggle with it a bit, because she can be afraid of confronting othersand it can make her very nervous or even cry depending on the situation.

Butshe will always intervene if someone is criticizing you or teasing you, becauseshe won’t let anyone give you a hard time. She is very supportive andcomforting if you are having a bad day and will do everything, she can to cheeryou up and make your day better, even if she may panic a little not knowingexactly what to say or do right away.

She absolutely loves being outdoorsespecially doing anything that involves water, so she will really enjoy goingto the beach, water parks or even just playing outside in a pond or creek. She doestend to prefer more relaxed and laid-back activities and isn’t very competitiveat all unless you try to spur on some friendly competition, just hanging out atyour house or hers she’s very happy with and will like playing games orwatching videos such as the try not to laugh videos.

She won’t like scarythings especially scary movies or games and like you she won’t like jumpscares, she highly prefers happy fantasy or adventure type games or shows. Shetries her best to be positive and optimistic but can have her doubts and lowself esteem at times, but always tries to do better and she is a very loyal friendwho will stick by you through all ups and downs.

◑ Mina Ashido is enthusiastic, positive andreally encourages you with everything you do, she is very outgoing and adventurousand likes trying new things. Trying new foods, restaurants, playing new boardgames or video games, she easily shares interests with you and can surprise youwith things she knows you like or are a hobby of yours.

Such as coming overwith a new video game or a new puzzle or even new art supplies she wants to tryout with you or thinks you’ll like. She does have a protective side and willjump in to protect or defend you from criticism or bullying, even though she canseem very brave when standing up to people she can be very nervous about doingit. And while she can have an easier time standing up for you or any of her friends,she can have a harder time standing up for herself and defending herself fromcriticism.

Even if she does get sad or upset, she tends to bounce back quicklyand will be back to her happy bubbly self in no time, especially if you canhelp cheer her up and make her laugh. She can have a habit of surprising or spoilingyou with stuff because she is very giving and caring, meaning if she goessomewhere without you, she’s likely to bring you back a present, anything froma stuffed animal, t-shirt, key-chain, hair ornament, bracelet, necklace orcandy.

She is also very thoughtful when it comes to holidays and especiallyyour birthday and will make a big ordeal over your birthday every year, if shemakes snacks, desserts or cookies or things like that she’ll always save somefor you, even making special ones for you. She will like spending time with youand just hanging out at each other’s houses and going on trips with you like tothe beach or to an amusement park, but she can genuinely be happy and enthusiasticwith nearly anything the two of you do.

#My Hero Academia #Boku no hero academia #MHA #BNHA #Match up #Kirishima #Eijiro Kirishima #Mina Ashido #Tsuyu Asui #Match ups #MHA Match up #headcanons

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bethkerring · 5 years

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11/11/11 Tag Game!

Thank you for the tag, @bookenders!! These are always a ton of fun - it just took a while to finish because your questions are very thought-provoking and I wanted to take some time to think of the best answers.

My Questions

1. What is your favorite and least favorite quality about your MC?

2. What is the worst possible thing that could happen to your characters?

3. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to your MC?

4. Your characters have all been turned into household objects (a la Beauty and the Beast). What objects are they?

5. What does your character’s search history look like (imaginary search history if you’re writing historical fiction or a character with no computer)?

6. Is there a price someone could pay your MC to do something truly horrendous, something completely against their moral views? What’s the price (can be money, fame, saving a loved one from a deadly illness, etc.), and what does your MC have to do?

7. What is your character most likely to splurge on, financially? Technology? Food? Experiences? Antiques? Collectable trading cards?

8. Your MC is informed that they have an incurable illness. It won’t kill them, but it will make the rest of their life very painful and challenging. How do they react, both initially and long-term?

9. If your MC was put in a situation like The Purge (all crime is legal for a short time period), what would they do? Hide? Steal? Kill someone? Fight to protect strangers?

10. Someone starts a conversation with your MC about a highly controversial topic, and it’s clear they hold the opposite view to your MC. How does your MC react?

11. What Starbucks beverage is most like each of your characters?

Tagging

@blueinkblot @leave-her-a-tome @tayluin @undinisms @writingwordsanddrawingpictures @mouwwie @emmathenovelist @toboldlywrite @bethanywritesbooks @teaandcakesattwo @marniebalboa

What would your WIP be called if it were a breakfast cereal? What does it taste like?

"First Moons.” Not because my WIP has anything to do with the moon, but because the moon is a familiar and comforting light in the darkness. It has hints of all the most common childhood favorites (including little marshmallow moons), the sort that make you feel warm and fuzzy on the first bite, but with a bitter aftertaste you don’t notice until you’re done with the bowl. You might even be able to tell yourself it wasn’t the cereal. It couldn’t be the cereal, right? The cereal is good, and you enjoyed it a lot, and you’re going to eat it tomorrow, and the aftertaste definitely won’t come back.

If your OCs were to be sponsored by any sort of product or item, what would it be?

Amy would be sponsored by an app that allows players to create very realistic digital companions. They come complete with extremely advanced AI which allows them to respond to you just like a real person would. If you happen to not have many real people to talk to, this app would be a good pastime - though it just might keep you from making real friends in the future.

Kayla would be sponsored by an app to match with people and find new friends. It allows people to insert rather obscure interests into their profiles and therefore find people who share those interests, who they might not be able to find with typical matching services.

Bibi would be sponsored by an app to keep track of someone you care about at all hours of the day (not with sexual intentions, but still just as creepy).

How do you take an idea from a concept to a story? What about an idea makes it story-worthy for you?

It tends to differ depending on the story, but often I start with a single idea - which might be a character, a relationship, a plot concept, etc. - and drop in other ideas that either stem from the first idea or just occur to me randomly and feel related. Eventually, I’ve got enough ideas to start sorting them into something coherent, and figuring out what I need to do to fill in the gaps.

More recently, I’ve started using the Three-Act Structure to sort my ideas. I’m not strict about it, but it’s a useful tool and helps me make sure that my ideas are an actual plot and not just slices in someone’s life.

As for judging whether an idea is story-worthy, for me, it’s a combination of writability and longevity. If I have a great beginning but have no idea how to find a satisfying ending, the story either isn’t good enough or just isn’t ready to write. Since both writing and editing a book take a while, I also have to have enough passion for the idea to want to stick with it over time, even if I take breaks. (For instance, I’ve been working on my current WIP on and off for more than three years, and I still love it.)

What’s the name of your OCs’ band? What kind of music do they play? Who plays what? Who’s the manager? What venues do they play? Are they any good?

Oh, geez, it would take so much pressuring - by someone she really respected - for Amy to agree to play in a band. She doesn’t hate music, by any means, but spending all that time on an instrument? Playing in front of people? No thank you.

But if she had to, she would start a rock-classical fusion band, probably named Striped Socks or something else random (she wouldn’t be particular about the name). She would probably play electric violin: she always liked the sound of it, even though she’s never learned. She would refuse to play in any large venues, and despite her lack of enthusiasm at first, her natural passion would probably catch on quick, and she would make sure every performance was stunning.

As for the other members ... she has no idea. She doesn’t really have any friends except for Bibi. Maybe Bibi could learn to play the piano and everyone who can’t see her would think it’s pre-programmed to play?

What would your WIP look like as a romantic comedy (with the same characters, of course)?

... It would take a ton of twisting and imagination to turn this story into a romantic comedy, especially considering there are no romantic subplots, and it would definitely be a dark comedy. I presume that Amy and Kayla would be the main couple, and their friendship could conceivably work as a romance with the right twists. Things would never get too serious between them, though, both because they’re quite young and new to dating and because of Amy’s reluctance to open herself up to anyone who isn’t Bibi. Actually, come to think of it, if you don’t mind a lot of serious parts, Amy’s snark would fit quite well in a romantic comedy.

What about your writing are you most proud of?

Hmm ... probably the times when my readers have screamed at me in fury and grief when I do something cruel to my characters, or seeing them cheer when the characters finally got what they needed/wanted after a long, long period of being deprived of it. Deeply emotional scenes and subplots are my favorite to write, and when I manage to pull them off, it means the world to see people’s reactions.

What, in your opinion, is the coolest thing about your WIP?

The whole thing that inspired my WIP was my love of relationships between so-called ordinary people, especially children and teens, who could interact with someone no one else could see. Someone who was dedicated to protecting them, kind of like a guardian angel, only ... not as nice. Even three years after this story’s conception, I still adore writing Amy and Bibi’s relationship, and I swear it gets more complicated (and with greyer morality) with each draft. I also adore exploring morally grey issues, which I get to do often thanks to Bibi’s rather over-enthusiastic protective nature toward Amy.

What excites you about writing?

Feeling a person that was once just a vague idea in my head become real, not just to me, but hopefully to everyone who reads my work.

Characters with brown hair gain the ability to pull chocolate bars out of their pockets at will. How does this change your WIP?

If very dark, almost black hair is included, then both Amy and Kayla would have this ability. It probably wouldn’t change the plot much, but Amy would probably use it as an excuse to occasionally skip lunch in the cafeteria and just eat chocolate bars in a bathroom stall, which could potentially keep her from meeting Kayla in the first place. Let’s just say a lot of the story wouldn’t progress in that case.

Kayla would use the chocolate bars as a peace/friendship offering to people she wanted to meet, including Amy, if she gets the chance to meet her. Honestly, everyone she considers a friend - or who she wants to befriend - would probably find a chocolate bar tied to their locker door every day.

How do you like to end your stories?

Often bittersweet, tipping slightly more toward sweet - though this greatly varies depending on the story. By the end of the story, my characters have often lost something very precious to them, and there’s a good chance they’ll never get it back, and have to deal with that tremendous grief - but they’ve also gained something new which they might find makes their lives better in the long run. But like I said, this depends - I grew up reading some stories with downright depressing endings, and I’m constantly tempted to do the same myself ...

What’s your favorite word? What’s your least favorite word?

This one was really tough, and I’ll probably change my answers tomorrow, but for now ... “lily” sounds beautiful (though I admit I’m tempted to say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”). And assuming we’re discounting words that shouldn’t be repeated in polite company, I honestly can’t think of a word I especially dislike. I find most words can sound good, at least in some way, if used in the right context.

#writing #tag game

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whopooh · 7 years

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Miss Fisher Unleashed – walls breaking down in the October trope challenge

Hey Jack, mind your leaning – you're breaking the fourth wall!

The October trope might have made one or two of the writers a little nervous. “Breaking the fourth wall” is a real challenge, and results in stories that are highly self-aware of their status as stories and constructions, and also often happily explore the lines between fantasy and reality. That sure does put some demands on the writer. Perhaps also on the reader, in order to get suck into a highly self-aware fictional world like that.

I am very fond of this kind of stories – they are often both amusing and food for thought. They make some kind of short-circuit between narrative levels in a story that usually are separated. There are different ways of doing this. The most elaborate one, where the story and our reality are either affecting each other or even becoming the same thing, can be a real jolt to the readers’ sensibilities, in a pleasurable way. The character may for example become aware that s/he is being written, or that things change in her/his surroundings because of words, or odd things may start to happen in the writer’s real world. Other possibilities keep more clearly within the story world, for example by allowing a story within the story to comment on it or interact with it. As we will see in this overview, many different techniques have been used this month. There is potential for both horror, sadness and existential crisis in this type of writing, but it’s very reasonable that the main strand is humour (here is the full collection).

Breaking the fourth wall has of course happened before in this fandom. One clever example is @221aubrina’s creation “The Library”, where specimens of Jack that have been damaged in fanfic are returned and fixed by the staff – a very fun comment on a tendency to put Jack through a lot in the stories. Another is QuailiTea’s crossover with the universe of Thursday Next, “The Next Adventure”, which to its very nature is super metafictive, commenting on the characters both as persons and as figures in a text at the same time. A third is @jackphryne4eva‘s “Cafe Blend”, the story of a reader sitting in a café reading Miss Fisher fic while perhaps meeting Jack.

For this overview, I will start with fics that don’t break the wall so radically, but keep the break logically inside the fictional universe, and then move on to fics that are more typically meta fictive and aware of being literary constructions, to stories where the writers/readers’ world somehow gets blended with the character’s world.

Hold on, is this story about me? And is that Jack... naked?

First, stories that keep the fictional world intact. I’ll start with @omgimsarahtoo, “Art Imitates Life”, where Phryne is hired to search for a young woman, Ophelia Ogilvy. Ophelia turns out to be obsessed with the famous lady detective and her inspector, and has collected newspaper pictures of them and also writes stories about them. Basically, she’s a writer of Real Person Fanfiction in 1920s Melbourne, and her fanart has striking similarities to tumblr posts. This is incredibly fun and gives us this wonderful feeling of how, even if the technology has changed, human nature has not. Of course, Phryne is surprised by this, but she is also the kind of woman to not lash out against it but to more cautiously advice the young girl; Ophelia is of course very embarrassed that Phryne found out. There are many wonderful comments that are possible to extend to the fic writers, like when Phryne has read through the scrapbook and Jack arrives:

“Jack’s voice always sent a shiver down Phryne’s spine, but right now, it affected her even more. She’d spent the afternoon reading through Ophelia Ogilvy’s scrapbook, and she was feeling rather… stimulated.”

Ophelia has, for example, written about Phryne’s and Jack’s first meeting, even if she has embellished it with emotions they perhaps didn’t really have. “All I felt for you that first day was annoyance,” as Jack mutters. To top it all up, Phryne even seduces Jack with tales from the scrapbook.

“Is it different from what we usually do?” Jack’s hands unfastened the button at her hip and then slid inside the back of her pajama trousers’ waistband, pushing them down her thighs. Phryne kicked her feet carefully to help him remove them, then promptly wound her legs around his again.

“Not as imaginative as we tend to be,” she said on a gasp as he pushed up her pajama top and covered her breast with his mouth.

And Phryne, realizing Ophelia Ogilvy finds Jack attractive, thinks -- rather cheekily directed to all the fans -- that “It was just too bad that Ophelia would never know just how weak her imaginings were compared to the real thing.”

In @whopooh, “The Lady in the Magazine”, the writer within the world is instead Dot, who is writing thinly veiled fanfiction about Phryne and Jack for a woman’s magazine. Phryne finds this out through one of their most enthusiastic readers, Aunt P, and subtly calls her out on it. Dot becomes more and more nervous, until she confesses she’s behind the stories. Dot is really “one of us”:

It had become her favourite thing to imagine what would finally make them break down and just kiss each other. Passionately and at length. She had imagined hundreds of scenarios, the one more fanciful than the other, and she loved them all. Dot might be innocent, but she had seen things and read things, and she had an excellent imagination to make up for the rest.

In @longlineoftvdetectives’s “Collingwood Noir” there is similarly an in-world writer, but here the relationship between the writer and the people he portrays is more hostile. Interestingly enough, this is also the only time the writer in all of the stories is a man. This is young Paddy, from “Blood and Money”, who has grown up, lived through the second world war and started writing stories that, Phryne notices on a reading event, seems to be about her. There will be a second chapter, so maybe not all will be what it seems, if I am understanding longline’s comments correctly – it will be very interesting to see where it goes.

EDIT: Okay, so a fic I forgot the first time around (because I didn’t think properly about the fic-in-fic making it part of this challenge too) is @scruggzi‘s & @whopooh‘s joint fic “Direct From the Source”, where Dot decides she needs to practice her teaching abilities, and manages to set up this with Phryne, Jack and Hugh. They all get as assignment to do “automatic writing” to a prompt, without thinking it throught too much. There is much banter and flirting around this, and it seems Phryne manages to cheat so the prompt is to her liking. The prompt consists of our October bonus prompt, the lines about the South Pole and skin to skin contact, and the three pupils start writing. We as readers are then given the opportunity to read their stories and see their reactions to each other -- and there is something to say here about writing as baring your soul. The stories within the story are all commenting on their characters and relationships. Phryne blatantly flirts in her story, and makes the thinly veiled Jack suggest the skin to skin contact; blushes arise around her (“That’s very good Miss, very… um… descriptive,” Dot says). Jack more or less capitulates to her in his rather cowboy inspired story, and makes the thinly veiled Phryne be the one to suggest the skin to skin contact. Hugh bumbles on and manages to make Dot very happy. Phryne keeps on flirting through the stories:

Phryne took up the sheet of paper on which she had written her story, folded it carefully and tucked it into the inside pocket of his jacket. “You know, I don’t think my story was quite finished. Perhaps you could provide me with a few suggestions as to how it should continue?” (...) “I’m sure I could come up with one or two ideas, Miss Fisher.”

All in all, the exercise is a great success, but Dot decides that teaching might not really be something for her after all.

@zannadubs23, “Uplifting Experience” has a very clever literal “almost breaking” of the fourth wall – or as the tag says, “Not breaking the fourth wall, just slamming hard into it “. Here, Phryne and Jack, who are rather angry at each other, get stuck in an elevator during a case. After a while the anger and tension turn into love-making. Here is literal touching of all four walls as the tryst is rather passionate, as well as upstanding, and when the elevator starts to work again there is also an extra urgency added. In the end, as a little wink, is also a proper very small break of the fourth wall. The fic has been vague about what the fight was about, and in the end Jack asks "Why were we fighting again?": ‘"Literary device," she responded to his query. / "Ah, I see." he claimed, but didn't.

A last story that doesn’t make the wall-breaking explicit is @scruggzi, “DRU-14/10/17-KS-1”. This is part of the writer’s series where Phryne and Jack meet Doctor Who, and they go to a foreign planet to meet a friend of the Doctor, an artificial life form that administrates everything, and that Phryne manages to flirt with in spite of him being a robot. This is a lovely and only thinly veiled homage to the Kickstarter for the Miss Fisher movie, and a celebration of the people that work hard but aren’t always paid tribute to: the administrators. It also includes the bonus trope challenge in a lovely way. The wall-breaking is thus never explicit, but heavily implied through the similarities between the story and real life, and the administrators name that can be read as Drew and the date for the end of the Kickstarter.

The homage ends with a cheer:

“To the Administrators. Without whom none of us would exist at all.” And the four of them raised their glasses in celebration of a difficult job done spectacularly well.

Is this moment gif worthy yet, Miss Fisher?

So, over to the fics that are very clearly aware of their status as fiction, and of being in a separate realm to reality.

First, @scruggzi, “Doing It On Purpose”, is a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek story where the characters are intensely aware of the fact that they are acting, and that they have an audience, and also what the audience wants. It’s extremely funny, make them be half in their world, and half seeing it as if from an outside perspective.

Jack thinks that it’s important he doesn’t smile, so a moment becomes more “gif worthy”, in one scene they check if they've been captioned yet, and there is absolutely golden commentary like: “She made sure to clip the k in a way which made bisexual women’s knees weak. She did enjoy the attention, and a little queering of characters never hurt anyone.” When he thinks about it, Jack is “fairly sure that he must do most of his job without her presence, but there was an important plot point coming up and she would never forgive him if he left her out”.

It turns out the characters are well aware of the fanfic and also rather likes to read the explicit ones. This is Jack’s take on them, complete with a perfectly placed “probably”: “They were a personal favourite, although he wasn’t sure he wanted Phryne to know just how many of them he’d read. He had, after all, been single and probably celibate for an ambiguous but undoubtedly lengthy period – and really, who could blame him?”

Also in @geenee27, “Rant”, the characters are aware of the fandom – they even get the news from the joint MFMM re-watches in the form of newspaper articles.

“But Jack, doesn't it bother you. They're casting aspersions on our work.” “I find them rather interesting, to tell you the truth. A little criticism never hurt anyone. And it keeps us on our toes.” “Well, I'd like to see your reaction to this one. It's @firesign23 again.” “Oh I like hers, there are quite articulate. I wish @foxspirit1928 would index them for future reference.”

Phryne then reads about new rants that have been made, particularly about the snog in “Murder in Montparnasse”, and teases Jack relentlessly about it, and his open-mindedness gets rather put to the test.

@earanie, “There’s a pink elephant in the cool pantry”, combines the two October challenges, placing Phryne and Jack – who haven’t managed to sort out their relationship – in a cool pantry so they finally need to talk to each other. Or rather, it’s Dot who does this. She has a very meta knowledgeable conversation with Hugh with a great punchline:

“I must say, I’m terribly glad we got this ‘extra scene’ between those two. Can you imagine going through the whole movie before they finally realised they indeed are in love with each other!”

“Oh God, Dot, you’re giving me terrible flashbacks of the last three seasons.”

@leafingthroughbooksandtea, “What the Hell Did I Drink?”, is another very fun take on this, set in “Death Defying Feats”. When Jack is hit on the head after having made his liberal man-speech, instead of waking up inside the story world he wakes up on the filmset. Everyone just assumes he is the actor, Nathan Page, but in reality he is a very confused Jack – who immediately realises that Essie Davis is not Phryne, but who is she?: “Despite the heavy makeup, she was as beautiful as his Miss Fisher, and dressed as Phryne would be, in a lovely green frock.”

Even though she doesn’t understand exactly what has happened, Essie takes care of him, and she has the most wonderful line when Jack calls her “Miss Fisher”: “I didn’t know you were so Method.” In the end, he comes back to the story world – that transition means he is at least as confused here, and that matches the episode’s Jack waking up in Phryne’s bed perfectly.

@rithebard, “Privateers” has a special take on the trope, as it creates a direct communication between the characters and the readers. In the first chapter, there is a set-up and then Mac turns to the reader:

Mac shook her head smiling then picked up her tea. She looked up and said, "So what do you think? Yes, you. I know you have many opinions. So I'll tell you what, what comes next will come from you. I will let Phryne and Jack know and we will follow your lead. You always wanted to write one of these didn't you?" She raised her tea cup and saluted. She is waiting for your response.

Here the wall break is for asking about reader suggestions – so far it has resulted in Phryne finding three kittens in her shower, which made her turn to the reader and say, “Really? Kittens?” There is only two chapters so far, so where this will go in the future, we’ll have to wait and see.

Are you talking to me, Disembodied Voice of a Writer?

Finally, we have the fics where the writer actually communicates directly with the characters – whether they meet in person (and the levels clash completely together) or the one is communicating directly into the other’s world.

It’s probably not a surprise that QuailiTea would do a very self-aware fic, considering she did the full Thursday Next-fic and is thus very well versed in everything metafictional. In “Having a Chat”, the writer starts to talk with Jack – like a disembodied voice in italics, not as a present person – and she’s changing his world by her words. It’s a wonderful story where the writer asks Jack if he’d be alright with one of those tropes we favour, in this case putting him in a closet with Miss Fisher. He is very reluctant. The way he talks back to the writer and at the same time understands what is happening and not is a complete delight, and then when Hugh is added in even more.

Would you mind terribly if she’s in the story as well?

Do I have a choice?

I’ll certainly take your opinions into account. I’d be a terrible writer otherwise. Nothing worse to my mind than watching two perfectly lovely characters contorted into ridiculous shapes just so somebody’s favorites can wind up kissing ad etc.

Kissing? What, you planning on following Miss Fisher around until she flirts me into kissing her? That might take a while.

Jack has his dry humour in droves, deadpanning things like “Readership, apparently", and questioning if the writer might actually be Miss Fisher: “So, incredibly powerful, ability to throw my entire life into chaos, and you really have no plan. Are you sure you’re not Miss Fisher?”

And in the end, Jack has taken a lesson from his encounter with the writer who has told him how the readers love him unbuttoned, and it is great fun: “Jack nodded, his mind slowly returning to work. But as he took the file folder from his constable, he spared a small smile towards the wall where the voice had been coming from, and loosened his tie just a hair.”

Miss Templeton in her “Playing Miss T”, gives us a scene where the writer and Phryne sit talking and having drinks. The writer is making her rather tipsy and they celebrate both tv-series, books, Kerry Greenwood and the Kickstarter in a short and sweet dialogue. @zannadubs23, “Out of Their Depths”, is tone-wise the opposite – this is a horror story, where Phryne is in a story of total domesticity and passivity, being pregnant with Jack and not being allowed to do practically anything. This state seems like what has become of her, but soon there are signs that something is very wrong, that this is a fake reality and she’s really held hostage. From a reality of...

“Why don’t you get some rest, darling?”

“Of course. You’re right. I am very tired,” Phryne’s brow bunched in concern for a moment, then she turned to Jack, “join me? Just for a little while?”

“I think it’s best given the excitement of today, that we not be too amorous yet,” Jack said carefully, but full of concern.

...Phryne instead wakes up in a cellar, being bound to a chair next to an unconscious Jack, needing to figure out what has happened. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but there are some sinister things going on and several fun plot twists. Phryne needs to get Jack to somehow understand that this is the real world and not be lulled into believing the domestic bliss – and to escape the repressive care of a new person in her life, her ever-present mother-in-law.

In @whopooh, “Stranger Than Fiction”, it is not the writer who seeks out Phryne, but the other way around. This fic is actually a direct result of me structuring this trope overview – I realized that no one had yet done that for this trope, starting in the writer’s world. In this story, a writer is sitting at home, starting a sad story where Jack is killed, when Phryne suddenly appears next to her on the sofa asking her not to do it. After Phryne has helped to re-write the story, the writer takes the opportunity to ask her about things, like her feeling of only having Jack as a lover in the fic and about her sexual preferences. Phryne reveals she now and then influences stories about herself to get happier endings.

When she talks about sex, she becomes a bit self-conscious:

The two women looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed. “It does sound more peculiar when you say it out loud. And about yourself,” Phryne said.

“I agree,” Mia said. “I’m sure I have written those exact words, and more than once.”

“Apologies,” I said, realising I was forcing them to say things aloud while I could just sit quietly and write them.

“Don’t worry,” Phryne said and flashed a quick smile my way. “I’m sure it’s a great benefit for us all to say these things aloud. Especially when it comes to women’s sexuality.” She tried the words on. “Wetness. Glistening cunt. She was hot and wet from desiring him. Et cetera.”

There is quite some talking over the narrative levels, both with Jack on the page of the fic and the writer who is writing about the encounter between Phryne and her fic writer.

A second fic that takes the writer’s situation as departure is 912luvjaxlean, “Reading Henry James” (this is her first fic in this fandom – welcome!). This is a fun story that captures many things: the fan’s “slight” obsession with Phryne and Jack, the characters’ reluctance to be spied upon, plus making a crack at traditional literature, in this case Henry James, for being rather highflown. The writer’s sister suggests she should read James, whereupon Phryne comments:

“Jack, you don't really enjoy reading Henry James, do you?” “Well, I admit his writing style suggests that he may have been paid by the word.” “Or, was it by prepositional phrase?” Miss Fisher asked wittily. “I believe it was by the comma,” added Jack with a light laugh. Really? I asked. “We weren't speaking to you, Miss Voyeur. We’re canoodling,” said Miss Fisher as she loosened Jack's tie.

The writer jokes extensively with everyone, and above all herself and her ability to postpone things: “I was now ready to read. But first I went online to post clever comments on fan sites, discover new fic, and search for pretty pics of Jack.”

Yes, we’ve all been there. Let’s just say that reading doesn’t completely go to plan.

Fic in pics.

@ollyjayonline and @solitarycyclistadventures, “Now We’re Talking”, is the first fic in a trope challenge with zero in wordcount! This is all in pictures, kind of like comics, very beautiful. It also has several levels of commentary – if I understand it correctly it’s two viewer, who also become writers here. They are talking to each other and “to the tv screen”, but also Jack is talking to them – first saying he doesn’t think Phryne and he would work as a couple, and then, after some turning points, he instead takes over and does it “his way”, which is more romantic. The struggle between writers and Jack is delightful.

In the last image, of Jack standing at the airfield watching Phryne fly away, one of the viewers says “What do we do now?” and Jack answers “Nothing. It’s the perfect ending”. That is a very interesting double view of the ending, calling into question if this is actually possible to solve. It is then followed by a protest and a “To be continued”, with an image of the coming movie – so it’s posing the question but not giving any answers. The format of this fic, and the slight uncertainty for me whom the speech bubbles belong to, kind of enhances the effect, I think.

As the final story of the trope challenge, to sum it all up, I had to put @firesign23, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. This is like the ultimate fourth wall breaking and commenting on the Kickstarter teasers – this fic really does it all. The headlines are from all the different things the Kickstarter promised as rewards, for example, as one of them was the promise of an extra storyboard, the fic includes a storyboard. It is a very fun one too where Aunt P in an enormous bow manages to tease Bert. All six short parts of the fic also include the snippet that formed the bonus challenge, put in many of the characters mouth in different parts.

When Phryne and Jack use the dialogue a second time, it continues:

"Do you ever feel, Miss Fisher, like we have been here before?" She shrugged. "I'm quite certain I'd remember that, Jack. Alas, I am forever unfulfilled."

In the last snippet, the whole family is back together and there is wonderful teasing of their dofferent personalities – Dot telling off Hugh, Jane stating one thing and then disappearing – and “When no answer was forthcoming they quickly forgot her again”. Finally, it’s time for “hot cocoa and rejoicing, because the author gave up on plot several sections ago.” I would never have guessed that it was possible to have so many references and jokes in one short fic.

That’s all for this month. The October fic challenge seemed so hard in the beginning of the month, but it still resulted in a large amount of fics -- lovely, varied, and very self-aware. The November challenge has been pronounced, to quite some delight of the fans. It’s “An (Un)expected Marriage”, and I am looking forward to the coming month!

#reading miss fisher #mfmm fanfic tidbits #mfmm year of tropes

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humanpursuits · 4 years

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Portraits, Dreams, and Me: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Film Photography

VANCOUVER, B.C. – In autumn 1975, Wendy Ewald embarked on a bold photographic experiment.

The Detroit native had recently relocated to rural Kentucky, renting a small house on Ingram’s Creek, in southeastern Letcher County. As Ewald tells it, in PBS’ great new documentary, Portraits and Dreams, she was the first outsider to ever move into the area. That didn’t stop her from quickly establishing ties to the community. Soon, she found herself teaching photography to the community's 4th graders.

Being the 1970’s, the children’s lessons focused solely on film photography. Ewald taught them how to compose and capture an image, but also how to develop and print it. A rare skill set for any 9-year-old, the lessons gave students a chance to express themselves in ways previously unthinkable. The resulting photographs present Ingram’s Creek with a sort of fantastical-realism. Dreams and imagination blend with everyday realities of rural living. Adult issues, such as poverty and substance use, are relegated beyond the frame, giving the students freedom to explore their own thoughts and feelings. As Ewald explains to the audience, “Having a camera gives anyone power, but especially children.”

That's certainly been my finding.

While I would never call myself a photographer, I’ve been shooting pictures on film for over 10 years. In 2009, I purchased my first film camera, the Diana Mini, using my Urban Outfitters staff discount. Essentially a toy, the Mini served as a low-fi, low budget introduction to photography, creating colourful, high contrast images in either a square or rectangle format. The camera’s cheap parts often over-complicated what was supposed to be a simple process. Photos would turn out blurry or muddy, and Edmonton developers would struggle to properly print the unusual square format photos. At times, it felt like I was throwing money into a mini incinerator.

It wasn’t all bad. For every two rolls that didn’t turn out, one would. The more photos I took, the more I came to understand Diana’s quirks. I learned that my best photos tended to be taken in the afternoon with plenty of light. I learned which developers were comfortable processing the camera’s unconventional format. Slowly but surely, the image in my mind’s eye started to appear in the finished product, albeit inconsistently.

In the decade since, film photography has undergone a resurgence, becoming the de facto hobby for society’s cool and cultured. Included in the film pantheon are celebrities like Frank Ocean and Kendall Jenner, the latter of whom single-handedly increased demand for the Contax T2 after showing it off to Jimmy Fallon. While their snaps have certainly helped to cultivate an air of mystique and authenticity, the true-believer in me likes to think that celebrities shoot film for the same reason anyone else would. Because it scratches their creative itch. Because it gives them a chance to make their perceptions permanent.

Ewald’s relationship with her students is at the centre of Portraits and Dreams, but so too is the group’s relationship with the medium. Though life led them in different directions, the former students all share one thing in common: they’re still taking pictures. “Pictures, to me, it helps you hold onto your memories.” says former pupil Delbert Shepard at one point. “You’re able to pull back the good memories and let go of the bad ones.”

With this in mind, here’s a complete beginner’s guide to film photography (with particular advice for people in Vancouver/Canada).

Tools of the Trade

Perhaps the biggest barrier to film photography is knowing which camera to use. Having grown from uninformed novice to imperfect amateur, I can tell you the unvarnished truth: it really doesn’t matter. I shot on a Diana Mini because it was the first film camera I saw that I could afford. Your first camera could (and probably should) be different from that, but don’t let gear distract you.

In his highly encouraging book, Steal Like an Artist, writer/artist Austin Kleon explains that it’s easy to feel like a phony or an imposter when setting out into a new creative field. Learning a new skill is sometimes awkward or uncomfortable. You know what’s not awkward or uncomfortable? Scouring YouTube or Reddit for camera recommendations. But while a good Google search can alleviate discomfort, it will do you a disservice in the long run. Don’t do it. If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: the best camera is one you want to use and is, ideally, right in front of you.

That said, I would encourage complete beginners to start shooting with a disposable camera. The reason for this is three-fold. First, disposable cameras are cheap–for $15 you get everything you need to shoot, including the flash. Second, disposables are idiot proof. You don’t need to worry about loading film, or setting the aperture, or even taking off the lens cap. It’s literally point and shoot. Third, disposable cameras can be given to most box store photo-processing centres for development with no-hiccups or special costs. This includes big box chains like Walmart, or my personal favourite, London Drugs.

If this sounds too easy, that’s because it’s supposed to be. At this point, your only goal should be to take photos. You don’t get bonus points for suffering, or for slamming your head against the wall. Seriously. If disposable cameras are good enough for Dua Lipa, they’re good enough for you. Shoot a couple rolls, then maybe look into buying your own rig (second-hand, of course).

Quality > quantity

Once your camera is locked and loaded, the real fun begins.

In an earlier draft of this essay, I wrote that a benefit of film is that it tends to inject photos with a certain degree of style. I still think that’s true. Film looks different from the majority of what we’re exposed to on a given day, meaning your images will have a natural allure. But with great power comes great responsibility. Film is finite, meaning even novice photographers need to make some tough decisions.

Most crucially, what do you want to photograph? In On Being a Photographer: A Practical Guide, David Hurn argues the best photographers are “enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their subject matter” and plan ahead of the actual shooting. This applies to professional photogs, sure. But Hurn’s advice also extends to novices. He gives the example of a mother photographing their child at the beach, writing: “Eighty-five percent of all the ingredients of photography are encompassed by this single act. The mother has an intimate knowledge of her subject… She is enthusiastic in her love of the subject… Her job is simply to record the moment.” In other words, stick to what you know. Take pictures of your friends and family. Maybe try your hand at a cheeky photo-dump. Just make sure whatever you’re shooting sparks genuine interest.

On the matter of composition, I again point to Hurn, who believes photography consists of two fundamental elements: where you stand and when you release the shutter. The former, Hurn writes, can be predetermined, but the latter is largely a matter of chance (e.g., you can stand in front of the ocean, but you can’t control when the wave crashes). Because of this, the complete beginner is better off prioritizing quality over quantity. Focus on a single subject for multiple frames, rather than trying to capture multiple scenes. If you’re really bold, try shooting everything from a single spot, and adjusting the angle of your lens as you go.

When your roll is spent, get it developed. For beginners, that means paying a visit to your local 1-hour photo, such as London Drugs (LD). When you drop off your disposable/film tell them you want to get it processed and scanned. This keeps LD from printing your photos right away. Instead, they’ll send you a link to the scans, which are Instagram-ready. Seems like a small thing, but it will keep your costs low, and get your Likes flowing sooner. You can always print any favourites from the roll using LD’s online software.

Horizon Lines

With your first set of scans back from the shop, it’s time for a cool down period. Start with some self-reflection. Divide your photos into two groups: ones that worked, and ones that didn’t. Focus on the ones that didn’t–what’s off about them? Sometimes the answer is something simple, like you needed to use the flash. In other cases, the issue isn’t immediately clear. No matter. Use this as a reference to improve your work.

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When you’re finished, try to find further sources of inspiration. In particular, bypass Instagram and invest in a high-quality photo book. Classics include Robert Frank’s The Americans, Annie Leibovitz’s Photographs, or Vancouverite Fred Herzog’s Modern Colours (photography, like most creative fields, suffers from a lack of diversity). Take heart that, at one point, these household names were complete beginners. Any notoriety occurred, because they took the first step. It’s like Delbert Shepard tells his former teacher in Portraits and Dreams: “[Photography] taught me the meaning of life and that there were no boundaries to what we could do and couldn’t do. It’s whatever we set our mind to.”

Watch Portraits and Dreams for FREE via PBS (VPN required)

Follow me on Twitter.

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