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#FightOn! (04) | OT7

Summary: The University of Southern California is a prestigious school - only the best or the richest can attend. That means there will be a lot of spoiled brats. Two groups start colliding and the entire college shift alongside them. What will happen when sparks starts to flow between them? Drama will certainly be there.

Pairing: BTS with -eventually- female characters

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut (in the future), CollegeAU!

Word Count: 16k UNEDITED

A/N: Thank you all so much for waiting. This chapter was taking his time to take form in my head. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and thank you so so much to all the girls that joined our family and to the ones that are with us everyday! Also, a big thanks to @bunnybubkook for being our editor of this chapter (she’s helping us improve our writing since our first language isn’t English). I made so many mistakes, it’s a shame ooofff I’ll be waiting for your feedback on the asks ❤ Love you all

The Characters • Day 3 • Day 4 • Day 5

The air at USC was electrifying, and it affected everyone. At the Flour Tower, Hyori’s alarm had just rang. To her surprise, her roommate was already awake. Deo was sitting on her bed, hair all over her face. Honestly, if there wasn’t light peeking through the blinds, Hyori would almost swear it was Samara sitting there instead of her best friend.

“Are you ok?” Hyori’s voice came out hoarse from having just woken up a couple of seconds ago. All she got from her roommate was a grunting sound and a nod. “What is going on? Did something happen?”

She jumped out of her bed and into the other, cupping Deo’s face in her tiny hands. The girl looked pale and her lips were more of a red-ish, compared to her usual lip color. It was either because of a cold, because she had been crying, or because she was on her period.

“Did you turn into a vampire or something?” Hyori joked, making Deo laugh.

“I’m on my period.” Deo finally spoke, letting her body fall backwards and into her soft mattress. “It feels like I’m dying.” She grabbed Hyori’s wrist dramatically.

“Do you know what’s good for cramps?”

“If you say exercise, I’m going to kill you.”

“C’mon, come run with me.” Hyori said excitedly. It was rare, but the times it did happen she had the best time running with Deo. The two of them were super competitive, so they would always end up racing each other to see who would win.

As the girls were getting ready for their morning run, everyone was still very much sound asleep.Hyori was used to mornings being quiet, only seeing one or two people on her way to the track field. Today, however, with her roommate tagging along, she could barely hear the birds chipper because they were talking and laughing too loudly.

“Ok, are you ready?” Hyori said, getting into her lane and kneeling into position.

“What? Wait! We have to make a bet!” Deo said. She’s picked up this habit with Jungkook of betting on everything and anything. ‘Bet you I can finish my drink faster than you’, ‘bet you I can take a better picture than you’, ‘bet you’ll be hungover the next morning’. Because of this, she would always try to make bets with her friends, just for fun.

“Fine!” Hyori said, straightening herself. “What about... whoever loses has to make the other breakfast?”

“Good enough for me.” Deo shrugged, and both kneeled down on their respective lanes.

“Ready...”

“Set...”

“GO!” They screamed at the same time and started sprinting.

For the sake of their breakfast, Deo lost. Or, being truthful, she quit midway because her cramps were bugging her too much, so instead of running, Deo just sat down on the track and Hyori returned to her normal pace.

Once they got back to their dorms, they took a quick shower before heading to the common kitchen where they usually ate breakfast. Deo ended up making enough pancakes to feed two girls that were their floor’s neighbors.

Not too far away, in apartment 203, everyone was awake except for Yoongi. He had stayed up until sunrise adding last-minute details to one of his songs. Today was a big day for him, which also made it a big day for his friends. They were their friends' number one supporters and if there was anyone who deserved love and support, it was Yoongi.

“Hey man.” Namjoon spoke to Jungkook, making him jump in his seat. He was too focused typing on his phone.

“Oh hey, good morning!”

“You’re up early. Going somewhere?” Namjoon asked as he took a bite of his apple.

“Yeah. I gotta help my friend set up a runaway for this fashion show they’re having.”

“Oh yeah, I think I saw a flyer around campus about that. You’re going to model?”

“Nah, I’m going to help backstage.” Jungkook said nonchalantly. Namjoon only nodded. “You’re going to the library?”

“I have an essay to finish, so, yeah. I’m gonna go now since everyone is still asleep, and once they wake up I know I won’t be able to focus.” Namjoon laughed lightly, grabbing his books and standing up. “I’ll see you later.”

“See ya man.”

Jungkook continued to stay glued to his phone. Ever since the volleyball party he had been talking to this girl he met there, Aashna. Usually, he would only open his social media to check on the million things his friends would post but recently he found himself excited to see the questions Aashna would send him. Their conversations were based on games like 21 questions or would you rather and he had a good time doing it. It stopped him from being bored. Right now, he was trying to decide if he would rather fly like Superman or travel like Spiderman. To him, this one was actually pretty easy. He liked Spiderman so much, it was an obvious choice.

Namjoon, was already in the library. Luckily for him, the crazy old lady didn’t hear him heading out today, so he didn’t have to waste two hours talking to her. It would take him a while to get in the mood to do his work but there was something that always worked. Scanning the books shelves. Namjoon’s love for books was a big one and just reading the books covers would make him ease into the state of mind he needed to focus and do his work.

He had assembled quite the pile of books. In fact, it was so big that it created a wall, such that he was barely visible behind. After 45 minutes, Namjoon realized one book was missing, so he walked quietly to the front desk where a pretty girl was sitting. Her hair caught his attention due to how bulky it was. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Sorry to bother but I need a book on lobbying. I couldn’t find it back there.” He said quietly, to not disturb the people that were reading close by.

“Yeah, give me a second.” She said and started typing on the computer she had in front of her. “If you want you can sit down and I'll bring it to your table?” She suggested.

“Thank you!”

Namjoon headed back to his table as Silvia, the pretty girl at the front desk, was waiting for the computer to respond. Considering USC installations, the computer in the library was a dump. Specially from Silvia’s point of view. Her close friend Tessa was majoring in Graphic Design, so she was used to the best computers the school had to offer. They basically only took one second to open an adobe program. This computer however, took five whole minutes just to search for a book, but thankfully, she had the patient of a saint. Once the computer finally managed to load the book Namjoon was looking for, she headed for the correct aisle and scanned it until she identified the book Namjoon needed. As she approached, she couldn’t help but hear Namjoon mumbling to himself. Curiosity hit her, and she stopped in her tracks.

“It’s just so hard, Celi...” He sighed hard, talking into his phone. “I don’t even remember who that was at the party. I remember that she was pretty, and tiny, and had this dark brown hair that was kinda wavy. It suited her so well... I was too drunk to remember her name though. This is so unlike me! And I thought I liked Najma, but if I slept with someone else, maybe I don’t?” He continued rambling. “Anyway, I'll see you at lunch. We can talk about all of this then, yeah?”

As Namjoon placed his phone down, Silvia was afraid that he would look back and catch her red-handed. So, she clumsily moved towards his table.

“I have your book right here.” She smiled kindly to him.

“Thanks! I’m sorry I had to bother you, but I really didn’t find it.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem. To be honest, I was almost falling asleep back there.” She said cutely, making him laugh lightly.

“Well, anyway, thank you!”

“If you don’t mind me asking... what’s your work about?”

“It’s about Interest Group Perspectives. It’s for one of my Philosophy classes.” He nodded his head.

“Oh, I won’t keep you any longer then. Good luck on that, and if you need anything you know where to find me.”

Silvia started walking back to her post but she couldn’t resist on looking back. Namjoon was scanning the book, a serious expression on his face. For the first time ever since she started working at the library, she thought her role was being a mere spectator only, of other’s lives. She was done being the reader. She was going to become the narrator of Namjoon’s story and help him find someone he deserved. How? She didn’t have her plan all figured out quite yet, but what she did have was time. She was going to come up with something.

Somewhere around campus, Jimin was already rushing to meet Deo and Hyori. They had to go help Hobi arrange the space for his sister’s fashion show but Jimin fell asleep and so, the girls had been waiting for him for the last 15 minutes. He finally laid eyes on the two tiny girls and jogged to them.

“Hey babies! Sorry I’m late!” Jimin smiled big, so big his eyes seemed to shut.

“I hope you don’t keep all your girlfriends waiting like this every time you get a date.” Deo sassily said, hugging the boy.

“It’s part of his charm.” Hyori teased back, but also gave a quick hug to the boy.

“Let’s just go!” Jimin whined. “They’re waiting for us!” The girls gagged in disbelief to the boy’s audacity but decided it was best to ignore him and just walk.

Back in Jimin’s dorm, Taehyung was tossing and turning in his bed. His roommate had gotten up in such a hurry, that it almost felt like their dorm was under attack. He usually had a quick and deep sleep, but today it wasn’t cooperating with his laziness. He rolled around one more time, this time turning to his bedside table to reach for his phone and check the time. It marked 10:47, so he decided he might as well enjoy the day. He quickly got dressed, put his usual drawing notebook in his bag, and headed out. The sun was bright outside, so he decided to stop by the campus café to get something to help his inspiration run a little. His brain was still in sleep mode.

Once he got to the café, as he was waiting in line, already knowing what to order, he decided to take a look around to see if there were any familiar faces he could greet. He did find one. She was sitting on one of the furthest booths of the café, looking at something on her tablet. Once he got his order, he walked up to her.

“Hey! I think I recognize you?” He asked, not feeling so sure now that he remembered how drunk he was at the party. “Sana, right?”

“That’s me!” She smiled kindly to him. “You wanna sit with me?”

“Yes!” As he answered, the girl scootched to the side to give him space to sit on the booth. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m actually waiting for my friends. They should be here pretty soon.”

“Oh, you’re doing something fun?” He asked, excited and curious.

“We’re gonna have breakfast here, and then we’re going to buy tickets for an exhibition. I don’t know if you know the artist. It’s Benjamin Verhoven.”

“Oh? Benjamin...” Taehyung let his thoughts slip through his lips. “His name sounds familiar, but I can’t remember any of his works.”

“Well... you can join us if you want?” She offered with a sweet smile on her lips.

“I can’t say no to an invitation like that. I’m a sucker for art.” He smiled sheepishly. “Would it be ok if I invite some of my friends to join us?”

“Of course! The more the merrier!”

“Cool!” Taehyung let out a big smile. “I’ll talk to you later then?”

“Of course! I’ll dm you the details!” Sana said in a goodbye tone.

They had begun to talk a lot ever since the party about things like art, music, books – pretty much everything. Their tastes were very similar, so they always had a good time speaking to one another. Taehyung left the café looking like a little kid on a sugar high.

“NO NO NO! SUPPORT ME!” Jin screamed into his microphone. He had been playing LOL for the past 45 minutes, and to say that the game wasn’t going his way was an understatement. “Fucking noobs!”

AlpacaTower: wtf dude!! Support!! Noob

Otakupandasworld: omw!

AlpacaTower: no! You're a jungler!!

Otakupandasworld: we can still win this!

Jin couldn’t even care about his team chatting, as soon as the surrender popped up, he clicked on ‘YES’ and immediately left his computer. He was too upset to stay and see his screen light up with the word ‘DEFEAT’. He walked into the kitchen and straight to the fridge, and before opening it, he took a quick look at the kink list. Weirdly enough, it hadn't been updated this week. As he was about to open the fridge, the power was cut out. He immediately regretted not turning off his computer earlier and putting the garlic bread in the oven. Jin took his phone from his back pocket and turned on the flashlight. He walked out of his apartment and into the hall where the electric board was.

“Oh shit! You scared me!” Esme, the girl that lived front door said, her hands covering her chest from the scare.

“Sorry about that.” Jin scratched the back of his neck, trying not to laugh. “And sorry about the power too.”

“It just went out out of nowhere!” She laughed, still a little spooked.

“Yeah, I had too many things on!” Jin laughed and made some space so that he could reach the electric board. “You just have to flip this switch up and it should be back on right...” He stopped, flipping the big red switch on the power board “now!” As he spoke, the corridor was filled with light.

“Wow, I almost got goosebumps.” She teased, making him laugh. “I’m Esme by the way!”

“Jin!” He let out his hand for her to shake, and she did. As he was about to turn his back on her, he stopped by his door, turning over. “Quick question, if two vegetarians have a fight, is it still called beef?” He said with an amused look on his face.

“It depends on what’s at steak.” She responded back quickly, making Jin laugh.

“I carrot believe you thought of that so quickly.”

“Lettuce rejoice over our puns, neighbor.” They both laughed.

Jin went back inside to eat his garlic bread, amused with the slight pun exchange he had just had with his neighbor.

Not so far away, Namjoon was finally leaving the library. One of his close friends from his first year in college had hit him up to have lunch with her, and he missed her so much there was no way he was going to say no. Once he got to their usual café, he noticed Cecilia was already there.

“Sorry, I had to walk all the way from the library.” He apologized with a sweet smile that she couldn’t resist.

“It’s ok. I already ordered for us. I ordered a large pizza, so we can share!” She told him excitedly.

“Pizza’s here are delicious!” He complimented. They used to go to that café all the time last year. “How are you? You said you wanted to talk to me?” He changed his expression from relaxed to concerned in a matter of seconds.

“Oh...” She was a little lost for words, not knowing how to explain her feelings. “It’s Mark. He keeps asking me for a second chance but... it doesn't feel right, you know? I get this sick feeling in my stomach.”

“He made you go through so much... You should think it through before putting yourself in a sticky situation again.”

“I know... it’s just hard.” Cecilia sighed, looking lost. “But enough about me, tell me about you. And that party!”

Namjoon let out a big sigh. “I don’t even know what to tell you. I was supposed to be on Taehyung duty. I don’t know how I got that drunk.”

“But what about the girl? Tell me who she is!” She pushed, excited to hear the gossip.

“So... you see...” He scratched the back of his head, kind of embarrassed. “I don’t remember.”

“Joonpiter!” She let out his nickname, shocked and excited. “That is so not like you!”

“I know!” He sighed. “Plus there’s Najma.”

“What about her?”

“I can’t get her out of my mind, even though she doesn’t seem to care that I exist?”

“Oh of course she cares!”

“Am I just wasting my time with her?”

“Of course not! You can’t just give up like that!” Cecilia tried her best to encourage her best friend, but his head was already hanging low. “What about your poetry?”

“What about it?”

“Have you been writing?”

“A little, here and there. I’ve been trying something new actually.” He said, his morale going up a little.

“What is it?”

“I can’t say yet!”

“Pretty please?” She bat her eyelashes.

“I can read you one of my poems?”

She pout at his recommendation but realized it wouldn’t get better than that, so she agreed. “Three poems.”

“Fine!” He finally caves in, making her smile big.

As they wait for their food, he gives her his little notebook where he usually writes down his feelings and poems. Cecilia reads them intently and with care. Namjoon can’t contain himself and asks what is her favorite.

Some days, we laugh so much that we end up crying It’s like the blooming flowers. Today I crave those moments The sun rays and the calming breeze I feel lost and insecure I don’t like it. The gentle sea can turn into an unforgiving tangle of tears I wish I could turn back to those happy moments The orange sun in the horizon Slowly setting down Gently accepting it’s errors Skies turning shades of pink and pastel blue Suddenly the realization I changed and will change Just like everything going in the wind Where cherry blossoms bloomed and I... I was happy. And I will be again.

- RM

“No, no, no!” Hoseok’s sister’s voice echoed through the room, and everyone stopped what they were doing.

“What now?” Hobi asked, everyone could feel the attitude in his tone.

“The banner is all wrong!” She whined. “Who did that?”

“Jazzy you need to relax. You’re freaking everyone out.”

Hoseok sat down on the floor, tired from all the moving they had been doing in the store. They had been working for 3 hours straight. Jazmine had asked his brother to come and help with the store. At this moment, with all the damage of having hired a company to help finish all her clothes in time for the big opening, Jazmine couldn’t afford to hire a cleaning team to help put everything together. Instead, her loyal brother found a couple of kind souls that were more than ready to help. The only problem was that in those 3 hours, all that the stylist did was complain and order them around, instead of helping.

“She totally doesn’t know how to handle the pressure.” Jungkook whispered to Jimin.

“Right? I hope she doesn’t go this hard later because I won’t model for Hitler.” Jimin whispered back, cleaning the sweat off his forehead as he placed a chair down.

“What time is it anyway? I’m starving.” Jungkook said, and as if his belly had ears, it growled.

“It’s almost 12:30.” Hyori appeared out of nowhere. “Where are we eating?”

“I’m gonna eat with Tae. You can come if you want?” Jimin offered.

“Hard pass.” Jungkook said. He turned to Hyori. “Where are we eating?”

“Hmm... I was thinking about burgers?” Hyori suggested.

“I'm gonna grab my stuff and we can go. I still have to run by my apartment to grab my cameras to take photos later.”

“Bring me my jacket please!” Hyori shouted to Jungkook who was already midway. “You’re taking her with you?” Hyori said to Jimin. nudging her head towards Deo who was trying her best to tie her hair with a hair band that was too tight for the amount of hair she had.

“I want to, but you know how she acts around Taehyung.” Jimin sighed. His only wish was to see his two best friends become friends as well.

“You should make her go anyway. She’s the youngest of our group, so she has little to no say in things.”

“Then why is it always the other way around?” Jimin couldn’t help but laugh.

“Because~~ she has good ideas!” Hyori articulated more with her hands.

“Ok let’s go!” Jungkook finally appeared, Hyori's jacket on his shoulder.

“Hey where are you guys going?” Deo shouted after the two.

“For lunch!” They screamed at the same time.

“Wha- wait for me!” The girl started running around to grab everything. “Where’s my phone?”

“Why are you running?” Jimin asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Because I’m hungry and- and they already left!”

“Then we can eat together yeah?” Jimin side hugged the tiny girl. “What do you wanna eat?”

“Grilled cheese?” The girl suggested after a long pause.

“Grilled cheese it is.” Jimin smiled sweetly to her. “Let’s go!” He made a weird cheering sound that made the girl laugh, and they both left.

Taehyung couldn't help his excitement, and that's probably why he ran as fast as he could to Carolina's cinematic department. Their buildings were pretty close, he could've just walked there, no need to hurry, but that was Taehyung, the happiness preacher... always planning new gatherings and being excited about it!

He barged through the doors and thanked mentally no one was around there on that Saturday morning, only the girl since she offered to help Yoongi with his art presentation for his mini show that same night.

"CAROLINA~~" Taehyung called while walking his way around the artsy corridors and looking frantically for her "Carolina where are you???"

"HERE!" he heard her voice once a door opened in the end of the corridor, loud music playing, and her head peeking through it, displaying a tired smile.

"For a second I thought you weren't here!" he chuckled while running towards her.

He entered the 'lab room' that was basically just a bunch of computers and mixing tables displayed all over the place. Carolina had returned to her chair and was now glancing at him doing an excited little dance while closing the door.

"May I ask why you're dancing like a weird penguin?"

"Hey- this is the pingu dance, I'm offended!" he said with a fake hurt look.

"Sorry Mr. pingu" she chuckled, always amused by his carefree nature "But why are you so excited on a Saturday morning?"

"I got tickets!!!!"

"Please say Oasis got back together, and you got tickets" she prayed with closed eyes and hands pressed together, mocking him "Please God!"

"I'm going to throw this weird hairy hobbit on you if you don't stop," he said, taking in his hand a little troll doll with purple hair.

"Hey! Not Mr. Junky!"

"He looks so ugly that it's cute" Taehyung laughed while he marveled the doll.

"And it's a troll by the way... Hobbit-" Carolina snorted, making fun of Taehyung, and turning around to focus on what she was making again.

"It doesn't matter! I'm sure Mr. Junky isn't offended- Now can you please pay attention!!!"

"I am" she said, not taking her eyes off the screen in front of her.

"I'm serious-" he went towards her chair and pulled it backwards, the little wheels of it making it easier for him to drag her back "I got us tickets for this new exhibition- I'm sure you'll like it, and I really want to go, so... What do you say? Isn't it 'yay'??"

"I'm in for sure!! What exhibition?" she asked, turning around much more interested.

"That Benjamin Verhoven one!"

"Let me google him, wait." she turned around again to open the web. Taehyung went right after her, leaning on the back of her chair.

"Woah~" he said, once a bunch of photos of the exhibition appeared "That looks so cool"

"Wow! Look at this installation!"

"It seems really cool right?" he said, poking her cheek "You can thank me now"

"Thank you, sir~" she mocked "The tickets are already with you? Or do we have to print them?" she looked up to meet his glance, and at that moment he smiled embarrassed.

"So... about that" he started "We... hum.. we have to buy them first" he quickly looked at Carolina, and she was blinking slowly, her mouth in a line.

"Do you wanna run now, or do you wanna meet Mr. Junky from a close point of view?" she asked with a poker face.

"WAIT! NO!" he said protecting himself with his hands "I was the one finding the exhibition!!!! CAROLINA"

"You clown!!!" she said loudly while tickling him all over.

"Wait- Wait I beg you!" He was kneeling on the floor, laughing with teary eyes "I BEG YOU!!!"

"This is the shock treatment for liars." She got up, sitting on her chair once again.

"I... I'm exhausted," he said while taking a deep breath and sitting on the floor.

"I'm buying the tickets on my credit card then - is Nam going too? Or just the two of us?" Carolina asked, ignoring the almost passed out boy on the floor by her legs.

"Buy for him too! I'm sure he will like to go!"

"Nice! Three it is..."

"Actually, we are going with a friend of mine too, so we're four - maybe more since she will probably be with her friends too," he explained.

"Wait - What? Who's she? Who are the friends?" Carolina looked down with intrigued eyes.

"No need to worry, she's nice, you'll like her! Her friends, I don't know... But she is nice!! Trust me"

"Still, do I know anyone?"

"I don't think so...? She helped me out at the volley party... When I disappeared" he remembered.

"Ugh, that party" Carolina rolled her eyes "Fine. Do I have to buy her tickets as well? Like - I don't even know the people and I'm already buying stuff for them, I'm such a nice person, wow."

"Of course not!" Taehyung laughed "Just buy for the three of us, she already bought hers"

"I like her already" she said and then looked at him "I'm kidding, I need to talk to her first to know that" and they both laughed at her honesty.

"Print them already! We always forget to do that-"

"True! I'm printing" she said looking at the screen focused and then pointing towards her left "Go get them there for me please"

"Yes, captain!" he got up and went towards the printer "Also, do we give it to Namjoon now?"

"No way, he always loses his tickets! I'm keeping his."

"Keep mine too?" he asked while returning to her side.

"You're supposed to be the older one!!!"

"I am! But you're better at keeping stuff," he admitted.

"Not really though... I always lose stuff."

"You're better at keeping things you like," Taehyung reformulated, putting emphasis on the 'like', making the girl point at him.

"On that you're right!" she said, making him laugh.

"I'll go have lunch with Jimin now, wanna come?"

"Ugh..." she rolled her eyes once he mentioned Jimin's name "I'd rather die here from work exhaustion"

"You know, you have to get over that hate you have towards him someday," he said, giving her a forehead kiss.

"Never is a nice day to do that," she answered making him chuckle.

"Where are you eating then?"

"At Ben's" she said simply, making him choke on air "Oh get over it!"

"See you later then! Don't forget to tell Namjoon about the exhibit!" he said, already hurriedly walking towards the door, wanting to hear nothing about that subject.

"I will! See you! Don't be late! You know it's important for Yoongs!"

"I won't! Now say 'I love you' so I can say it back and go!" He already had the door open, ready to leave.

"You're unbearable..."

"Say it"

"I love you, Teetee"

"Love you too! Stop fucking my teacher~ Thanks~ Bye~" and he left Carolina behind, laughing lightly about his awkwardness to accept she was a grown up now.

Yoongi was a nervous wreck. He already checked on his songs at least 5 times, and he had nothing to do but wait. It was a big night for him. It would be the first time he would be performing live, and, as far as he knew, it was going to be a full house.

He got the gig thanks to a friend. He wouldn’t be the only one performing, but he was supposed to be the big star of the night. He felt a little better knowing all his friends were going to be there, and this was an opportunity of a lifetime. However, this sickening feeling in his stomach wouldn’t leave him alone, so he thought it would be best to try distracting his mind with something else.

He opened his laptop one more time and entered his social media. He scrolled through the feed and saw some posts, but, still, his mind wouldn’t let him be. So he decided to dm someone he’d been getting to know for a couple of weeks now.

As Deo and Jimin walked their way to the café they were supposed to eat at, they kept on chatting about everything that came to their minds. Jimin had been telling her about this new friend he made online. He had no idea who she was, but she signed her messages as Cara, and he was intrigued by the strange connection he felt with her.

“What about Sarah?” Deo asked, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

“She’s like a ghost,” Jimin sighed. “I saw her maybe twice or three times, and then never again. How am I supposed to even start talking to her if I can’t even find her on social media?”

“Wish I knew baby. I'm sure she’ll appear when you least expect it.”

“Does that mean I have to be ready at all time?”

“What?” Deo chuckled. “You always look good, so you’re always ready.”

“Ah~ I don’t know what I would do without you.” Jimin’s arm wrapped Deo into a tight hug.

“Wait- is that? Jimin!”

“Sorry?” He smiled apologetically.

“Dude! Did Hyori know about this?” Deo frowned. “I swear to god, this stupid plan of yours is impossible to handle.”

“What plan?” Jimin quickly blushed. He was a horrible liar.

“Don’t you dare lying to me Jimin!”

“Just come eat with us.” Jimin did his best puppy eyes. “He’s a lot of fun.”

“I’m not upset about him, I'm upset you didn’t tell me.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Sorry.” He gave a side smile, but it was too late for his charms to work.

“Let’s just go.” She started walking in front of Jimin, but he grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t be mad at me.” He pouted.

“I could punch you right now. You know that, right?” She tried to contain a smile from appearing on her lips.

“You never can.” He teased, launching his arm around her shoulders and squeezing her tightly against him.

The two got to the table, still bickering, but shut up once Taehyung lifted his head up from his phone and smiled brightly. Deo immediately tensed up. She was never very fond of the dude, and with her friends’ crazy scheme, it made it worse. She wanted to be as far away from him as she could, and in some weird way, Taehyung knew that. That made it fun.

“Hey guys! Oh you brought a friend Jiminie~” Taehyung said happily as he noticed Deo giving him a smile and a small wave.

“Yeah, you don’t mind, do you?” Jimin said nonchalantly while sitting down.

“Of course not!”

“You’ve been here for long?” Jimin asked.

“Not really. How’s it going?” He was referring to the fashion show.

“Good. Everything’s done, so all we gotta do is makeup and parade.” Jimin said excitedly.

“You’re participating too?” Taehyung asked Deo.

“Me? Oh, no. I’m staying backstage to help.” She said simply.

“Oh that’s nice of you!”

Before they would say anything else, the waitress appeared at their table, menus in hand. They discussed their orders for a couple of seconds, and then were ready to order. They all agreed on going for the same thing.

“Three grilled cheese and three cokes,” Jimin said nicely to the waitress once she got to the table.

“Is Pepsi ok?” The lady smiled politely.

“Can I have a Fanta instead? Orange please.” Taehyung asked.

“Sure thing Hun, and for the two of you?”

“Pepsi.” Jimin and Deo said at the same time, fist bumping right after with grins on their faces.

“So...” Jimin trailed off once the table got silent. “Did you finish your video?” He asked to Deo.

“No, I still have the last theory to see,” she said nonchalant.

“What is it about?” Taehyung asked, curious.

“Van Gogh!” Jimin said excitedly, knowing it was one of his friend's favorite artists.

“It's a conspiracy theory that says he was murdered and didn't commit suicide.” She completed.

“What? Really? By whom?” Taehyung asked, confused.

“His brother, or some kid that used to bully him? I’m not very sure, I didn’t watch the entire video yet.” Deo said.

“Theo?? No way! That’s like impossible!” Taehyung said, upset at such an accusation.

“I didn’t buy it either, but I also don’t think it was suicide. They explained that the place where he was shot was too low for a typical suicide attempt, and that it was most likely that he was shot from afar. The wound would’ve been much bigger if it was self-inflicted.” Deo made her point.

“Still... I don’t know... Where’s that video again?”

“Buzzfeed unsolved. You ever heard of it?”

“Yes! Namjoon watches it all the time.” Taehyung smiled. “I’ll check it out... Can’t believe he was murdered.” He said the last part more like a whisper.

“They also said that he used to say that suicide was a coward’s way to go. I guess it wouldn’t make much sense?” Deo continued, intrigued with the situation.

“I believe he had some mental problems... To be incoherent is normal in that case, so I don’t know.”

“Hmm maybe? I just think it is so weird that they never found the gun and his painting stuff out in that field,” Deo countered. She just couldn’t make up her mind about it. To be honest, she had been watching too many conspiracy theories lately.

“For the time period, it was normal to steal things, so that was probably the case,” Taehyung assured her.

“Maybe.” She wasn’t too convinced though.

“It’s probably that, trust me,” Taehyung insisted, feeling very sure of his answer.

Deo made a face, not wanting to start a whole debate with the boy. “Imagine a Gogh painting no one got to see because it was stolen. That sucks.”

“Right?! I bet it was a masterpiece!” Taehyung said, overly excited. “It’s a little sad,” he concluded and received a nod in agreement from the girl.

“So Taetae, what are your plans?” Jimin asked.

“For today?”

“Yes!”

“It’s Yoongi’s show tonight! Wanna come?” He looked happily between the two. “The more the better! He’ll be happy if he sees the place crowded.”

“I’m going to a fair later tonight, but I think we can go! Right?” Jimin looked excitedly at Deo

“Hmm, I think so! We’ll have to talk to the others though, but worst case scenario, we go just the two of us.” Deo smiled to Jimin.

“Please go! It’s going to be fun. Yoongi is really talented,” Taehyung spoke with pride in his eyes.

“What kind of music does he do?” Deo asked, intrigued. Yoongi was a mystery to basically the entire school. He was very reserved, and the only thing she knew about him was that he was the radio guy. That and some gossip Hyori would hear while tutoring, but some things sounded too crazy for her to believe.

“Rap mostly.”

“Oh~~ we’ll try,” Deo said excitedly. Rap was one of her favorite forms of music, and she was excited to see a new side of the mysterious boy. She was sure her friends would be excited as well.

“Sure, invite your boyfriend too,” Taehyung said with a wink, catching her off guard.

“Oh yes, Jack is going with us to the fair!” Jimin intervened as he noticed Deo’s expression, but he was entirely ignored.

“Oh yeah, we’ll be there.” Deo smiled sarcastically to Taehyung.

“So...” Jimin started, trying to lighten the mood. “Look! The food is coming!”

As those three started eating, Carolina was far from her meal. She didn’t mind it though. She was working her ass off to help her friend, and if there was someone who deserved all her effort it was Yoongi. To outsiders, their relationship would seem a little bit odd. They loved each other and would do anything for the other. They were family.

“Maybe we could add some holograms on the colab song?” Carolina suggested, not taking her eyes from the screen.

“I guess. All we have for that one is the background, so that would make it better.” Tessa, one girl Carolina could consider a friend, commented. They would spend most of their time together at the movies. What better way to bond than over that? Movie tastes say a lot about a person.

“A full moon would be nice...” Carolina adds. “And we can shine them with that white and blue-ish light from the stage. What do you think?”

“We can’t put too much white, but I like it.” Tessa smiled, satisfied with the results they were showing. “You never get bad ideas huh?” She teased, making Carolina smile.

“I can say the same about you, you know- and I agree, just a little bit of white.”

“And about time – We need to wrap this up so you can take it to Yoongi. What time is the event?”

“Eleven sharp! He’s probably dying with anxiety right now, my phone just beeped for the fourth time in a row, and trust me - that's a lot of texts for Yoongi, a record even.” The girl laughed dryly.

“Oh~ poor guy. You should tell him we’re almost done here!”

“I’ll send him an audio messing with him first.” Carolina let out her best impression of a villain's laugh.

“Don’t!” Tessa whined, but, also, laughed. “He’s gonna have a heart attack.”

“Poor Yoongs...” Carolina laughs as well. “I’m not doing that to him... at least not today! He’s too nervous already, and I want everything to go perfect.”

“It will, don’t worry!”

“Thanks for helping by the way, really.” Carolina turned serious. One thing she really appreciated was when friends supported one another.

“It was my pleasure, but if you ever wanna pay me back there’s this movie I really wanna see as soon as it comes out.” Tessa grinned.

“Say no more!” A week without going to the movies was a week badly spent. “What’s the title?”

“Send in the clown~~” Tessa sang the song. “Joker!”

“Bro!” Carolina chuckled. “Call me crazy but that’s like my childhood hero- villain- whatever!”

“I’d go with hero honestly. So you’re in?”

“Of course I’m in! I would be crazy if I wasn’t!”

“Alright!” Tessa said, excited. “I saw in the theater that it’s realizing a little after Halloween.”

“It is! I saw it too! It’s a deal.” Carolina pointed her finger at the girl with that ‘this is serious’ look.

“But... if you had to choose, who would be the best Joker so far?” Tessa asked, intrigued. This was something the two had never discussed before.

"Heath Ledger is forever my soulmate, and forever my favorite joker, but I have big expectations for Joaquin Phoenix! And Jared Leto is a fabulous actor, but the Joker he was attributed, the Gang Joker, is like the worst of them all, my least favorite so..."

"Oh thank god you exist. I'm so sick of hearing people say that Jared Leto's joker is the best one just because he's super-hot. I had such huge expectations for Suicide Squad, and it was a big flop."

“Same! I was so excited and well... Bleh.” Carolina did her best poker face. “Oh, and Jack Nicholson was pretty awesome as well! I used to watch him as a kid.”

“Yes!” Tessa said, overly excited with the conversation. “I don’t know if you saw Gotham, but they cast Cameron Monaghan to play young/teen joker and he was pretty good too.”

“I did, he’s pretty good as well.” Carolina nodded.

The two continued discussing their movie tastes and working hard to finish Yoongi’s concert effects as soon as they could. The boy was a pile of nerves, and everyone knew it.

Someone who was also on the verge of having a nervous attack was Hoseok. His sister was driving him crazy, and he was trying his best not to lose it too.

Everyone was back at Jazmine’s store, and the last details were being made. Some people were getting their makeup done, some were curling or straightening their hair, and all were listening to the lecture of what clothes they had to change into.

“You look so so good! You’re making me regret not signing up too,” Deo sighed as Tori did a little spin to show her the outfit she was wearing.

“I told you!” The girl grinned. “You’re always like that. You need to stop that shy act of yours.”

“It’s not an act. I’m more of a potato than a supermodel,” Deo said, making the other sigh.

“You are not! Stop!” Tori said. She knew her friend was kidding, but still.

“You’re staying for the after party, right?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Good, you know I need my drinking buddy with me.”

“It’s just you and me, against the buzz,” The girl sassily said, making the other laugh.

Not very far away, Hoseok noticed his new friend, a girl that had recently joined USC.

“Hey Amber, I’m so glad you came! How are you?”

“Hey Hobi! I’m good. I’m excited, but also nervous. I'm sure I'll be ok though! How are you?” The girl asked, turning a little in the makeup chair to give him her full attention.

“I’m a nervous pill, there’s so much to do! But don’t be nervous, you look really pretty!” Hobi smiled gently. He was proud of his sister’s clothes and happy so many people came to help show them off.

“You’ve got this! The show will go super well.” The blonde cheered. “But, I’m clumsy so I’ll need to really concentrate, and thank you! I don’t usually wear this much makeup. I've never been good enough.”

A frown quickly appeared on Hoseok’s face. He hated to see people sad. “What?! Don’t say that! You shouldn’t think so poorly about yourself!” His mind raced for the right thing to say. “My sister is really picky, so if she chose you it was because she saw something in you! Believe in yourself!” He gave her a gentle smile, and squeezed her shoulder lightly.

“I just get nervous around certain people, and then I get clumsy.” Amber hinted. “But I know it’ll be ok. I’m glad she picked me, all the things from her shop are so nice! You look so good today. You know... In the makeup and stuff.”

“You think so?” Hoseok was used in being the one giving compliments, but he couldn’t deny that receiving them felt good. “This isn't really my vibe, but I can’t deny these clothes look sick. Do you have plans after this?”

“I do! You should wear more clothes like that. I’m not doing anything after this. Yourself? Did you want to do something after?”

“We have some champagne and cake hidden for my sister. You wanna stay to celebrate with us?” He offered.

“Of course! I would love to. It sounds fun. She definitely deserves it after putting this show together,” Amber complimented, looking around the room to see all the beautiful outfits.

“She does. She went a little Godzilla this morning, but she’s the best.” Hoseok’s gaze turned soft as he spoke of his sister.

“She is! She’s put in so much work, and it’s been so worth it. I can already tell this show will be amazing.”

“I hope so! I’m grateful for everyone joining, and that includes you! Oh - Duty calls! You’re gonna nail that ok?!” Hoseok encouraged one more time before turning away.

“I’m grateful for being invited! Thank you so much, I'll see you later. Good luck, you got this!”

Amber continued getting her makeup fixed. Meanwhile, Hoseok ran to his sister. They peeked through the made-up curtain that led to the runway.

“Look little bro, we have a full house!” Jazmine squealed excitedly.

“Of course we do!” He hugged her tightly. “You worked so hard, everything will go as planned!”

“Thank you!”

Lights started flashing and music starting playing loudly through the speakers. Everyone was amazed with the final results. It almost looked like a professional show. As soon as the first model left backstage and stepped into the runway, flashes hit her eyes from all different directions. Jazmine felt proud. Hoseok felt proud. Everything was taking form.

“What’s up nerd?” Jungkook’s head peeked in front of Jae’s lenses.

“Jesus Christ! I almost died. That angle does not suit you,” the girl teased, and Jungkook pretended to be offended by her snarky remark.

“What do you mean? All angles suit me,” Jungkook said cockily, but he quickly let out a laugh.

“Sure.” Jae rolled her eyes. “Are you taking any good shots, or are you just joking around?”

“I bet you my shots look way better than yours,” he teased.

“Pfff, you wish virgin boy.”

“Oh please.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’m just joking.” Jae loved to see how annoyed he would get at the sound of the nickname.

“Yeah, whatever nerd.” Jungkook chuckled.

“So I was thinking... we could pair up for the project for photography club.”

“Sure, the nerd and the virgin boy. Sounds like a bad superhero movie,” he said, making the girl laugh out loud.

“It sounds pretty rad.” She laughed. “What would be your superpower?”

“I would kick their asses and then hang the bad guys by their underwear. Yours?” Jungkook said after a little while of thinking.

“I’d probably throw them math books because everyone hates math,” she explained with a playful smile on her face, “and I'd have glasses, and they would shoot some deadly rays that’d turn them into dust.”

“Sounds like you’ve this all figured out,” Jungkook chuckled.

“So should you. We’re a team now.” Jae pointed her finger at his face, dead serious. “Or are you not worthy?”

The public was mesmerized by the incredible organization. The models looked stunning, and the clothes were a hit from the start. Sadly, that organization the people were seeing wasn’t happening backstage. Everyone was running around and trying to change into their outfits on time for their turn on the runway, where they give life to Jazmine’s pieces.

“Coming up I need Jimin and Alissa. Be ready because you’ll go in 2 minutes.” At the mention of his name, Jimin got up but immediately sat down.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” The pretty brunette girl almost screamed in Jimin’s face when they bumped into each other.

“Are you ok?” Jimin asked, filled with concern.

“Yeah! And you?” She examined him from top to bottom.

“I am.” Jimin smiled. “I didn’t see you around ever since the party, Laura” He gave her a quick hug. They were from the same dance crew, but they weren't that close.

“I’ve been kinda busy” she chuckled.

“Hey can I-” Jimin’s sentence was cut off by a scream.

“Next model c’mon! C’mon!”

“I guess that’s your cue.” Laura said, tucking the hair that had fallen in front of her face behind her ears.

“It is, but I'll see you around Delgado?”

“Sure- yes, you will!”

The runway continued, and after a couple of hours, all the outfits were shown. Jazmine walked down the runway with all her models as the last song played, and she even did a little speech to everyone there. She was very grateful, and it was getting hard for her to hold her tears in.

“Everyone!” She let her fork click into her champagne glass, already backstage. “I am so thankful to all of you. I appreciate you joining me in this little crazy adventure as well as all of you that woke up super early today to come help set everything up! To my lovely brother who always stays by my side... cheers!”

“Cheers!” Everyone held their glasses up and drank.

“So... did you have fun?” Hoseok sneaked behind Amber making her jump slightly.

“I did!” She smiled big. “You should feel proud of yourself!”

“I am!” Hoseok gave her a sheepish smile. “Thank you, again.”

“Anything you need, you can count on me ok?” The girl said with a sweet look in her eyes.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Hoseok gave her a wink.

“BANG BANG INTO THE ROOM!” Tori and Deo sang out loud to the song that came out of the speakers, drinks in hand

“WAIT A MINUTE LET ME TAKE YOU THERE!” Jimin joined.

“Go away, this is girl’s fun only.” Tori jokingly pushed him.

“How dare you!” Jimin tried his best to sound offended, but he couldn’t help but laugh. Through Deo, he and Tori had become friends, and he liked teasing her a lot.

“Fight me Jiminie!” Tori teased back.

“I’m a gentleman. Excuse you.” Jimin laughed as he walked away from the two girls.

“Oh~~ Jiminie~~” Deo teased.

“Shut it! Dork!” Tori laughed out loud to Deo’s impression of herself. “Go see Jack!”

While everyone continued partying, the Y group had to leave the party. Jimin’s classmate and friend Jean, had invited them to some local market and they had to shower before going. They were tired from all the running around at the show.

Carolina, on the other hand, had just finished her job and was at her home, taking a shower. Jin was there too. After his pause earlier, he decided to go back to his games and when he noticed, it was almost 6 in the afternoon when his housemate peeked her head into his room.

"Is Dracula home?"

"Ha ha ha very funny" he said while stretching his arms, still sat on his gamer chair.

"Please tell me you ate something" she entered his room still wrapped in a towel, some droplets of water falling to the floor because of her wet hair.

"I ate some snacks while play-"

"Jin!!! For fucks sake, snacking isn't eating properly"

"Ya, you tell that as if I already didn't know!" he got up "I'll eat something before going"

"You better! If you drink on an empty stomach, I swear to my whole vinyl collection, I will leave you there" she threatened with a sharp look making him sigh.

"I will eat something, we both are. And stop treating me like a child"

"The fault isn't mine, you're the one that play games the whole afternoon like one" she said while turning around to leave his room making him follow closely.

"You game too you- you pillock!"

"Pillock?" she turned around and snorted with a smile "You're watching too much Sherlock Holmes for your own good"

"I'm afraid that's your british influence on me, my dear" he joked making her roll her eyes but chuckle nevertheless.

"And yes, I game too but I only like things like assassin's creed or god of war"

"You love Mortal Kombat too, don't lie"

"True, I do love it" she looked up too caught in her own head.

"We should play it sometime, there's a while since-"

"No time for that now! Go to your shower otherwise you're going to be late! I'll leave you something to eat here, go go!" she started pushing him towards the bathroom.

"It's still early!!"

"We both know you take ages in the shower Seokjin" she looked at him with that 'let's get real' eyes they always shared in moments like this, making him sigh again.

"Fine. I do." he mumbled going by himself to the bathroom now "You're being way too harsh today"

"No I'm not-"

"Yes you are~~ You're like Yoongi's manager" he said laughing.

"Yeah yeah"

"Is it because you want a song??" he wiggled his eyebrows before closing the door.

"TAKE YOUR SHOWER!!!!" she shouted making him fall in laughter inside the room.

Carolina texted her group in their usual chat after getting ready, wondering where everyone was and when she noticed that Yoongi was probably home alone, she decided it was time to go to the bottom floor and see how the boy was doing.

“So how did it go?” Yoongi sat down on his chair and as soon as he did, his nail immediately returned to his mouth. It was his coping mechanism. In his mind, he was looking cool but on the outside... that was a whole different thing.

“Oh so you’re pulling the chill vibe on me huh? That’s new.” Carolina let out a sympathetic smile.

“I tried but I guess it’s no use with you.” He let out a sigh. “But seriously, the effects... are they cool?”

“Relax! You know damn well I wouldn’t just do anything for you.” Carolina raised her eyebrow. “They turned out great, all of them in sync with the songs and matching the concept of them.”

“If there’s someone I can trust is you. But I was thinking of going in a little bit early so we could try them out and see how they look onstage?” Yoongi suggested. The more he thought, the more excited he was getting.

“Sure! I think the boys are already coming, I showered first to come here while Jin gets ready and Tae called saying he was on the way.”

“Good, that way we go together- any news on Namjoon?”

“He texted a while back saying he was waiting in the lobby- you know, because of the crazy neighbor.” Both couldn’t help but laugh. “He’s probably just waiting for her to leave so he can come up in peace.”

“Maybe we should invite her, so he can have a little fun tonight.” Yoongi teased, making Carolina laugh.

“He would be so disoriented that he most probably would ruin your show and when I say ruin I mean breaking the speakers, tripping on the cables etc.” Carolina said with a straight face but two seconds later was laughing out loud.

“Oh shit.” Yoongi couldn’t contain himself just picturing the situation. “Maybe next time.”

“Less nervous now?” Carolina said, a soft smile occupying her features.

“Yeah, I'm getting excited now.” Yoongi also smiled. He felt so lucky to have a friend like her.

“You’ll do great as always, Yoongs. And besides, we both know you’re the most talented musician in this place.”

“I know... But I just heard the place will be packed and I only ‘performed’ for you guys so that doesn’t count.”

“Once you step on that stage remember your dreams. And if you can’t, just look at us.” Carolina pulled him into a hug. “We’ll make sure you don’t forget how talented you are.”

“You’re making me all sappy. I need to channel Eminem to look bad ass.” Yoongi dorks around, showing his cute gummy smile. “But thanks.”

“Thank me one day with a song made specially for me.”

But before Yoongi could answer Carolina’s sassiness, there was a knock on the door and a head peeked into the room.

“Sorry to bother man but Taehyung is out in the living room. He said he was knocking on the door for the past 10 minutes so I let him in.” Jungkook said and right after that the door was fully open by a bored looking Taehyung.

“Jeez, I was starting to think no one was home.” Taehyung let himself fall onto Yoongi’s bed.

“It’s impossible that you’ve been there for 10 minutes. I've been here for 10 minutes.” Carolina arched her eyebrow and Taehyung showed a guilty smile.

“You know I'm dramatic.”

“Seriously.” Carolina sighed but laughed right after.

“Where is everyone?” Taehyung asked noticing they were hanging out at Yoongi’s room and no one else was there.

“They should be on their way.” Carolina shrugged simply.

“You guys want something? I have beer in the fridge. I need one.”

“I’ll join you.” Carolina answered, getting up from the bed and going to the kitchen.

Jungkook went back into his room to get ready. Meanwhile, Deo and Hyori were almost ready too. As Deo was still tieing her all stars, Jack called and Hyori took the moment to take some shots of the sky. It was almost that golden hour and she couldn’t resist to take them, even though her camera roll had maybe 300 photos of that already.

“Hey Hyori!” A girl called out from behind.

“Oh~ hey Emma! How are you?” Hyori said sweetly when she saw the girl that had called her.

“I'm good. I see we had the same idea.” Emma joked, pointing to Hyori’s phone.

“I’m a sucker for the sky, especially when it gets all pretty.” The girl confessed.

“Me too.” The two took a moment to watch the pretty sky one more time. “I was actually meaning to text you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I feel like the only time we get together is for school stuff. And that being said, it’s me asking for your help with bio.” Emma confessed, a little embarrassed.

“But I don’t mind helping you at all!” Hyori said kindly.

“I know! But I was thinking that we could do something fun one of these days? To relax a little for the class’s stress.”

“Oh sure!” Hyori smiled to the girl. “I’m going out with my friends now but I'll text you later so we can set something up!”

“I’ll be waiting!” Emma said, waving the girl goodbye.

“So are you ready?” Hyori asked, when Deo came to her.

“Yup, Jack will meet us there.”

“Why did you decided to invite him all of the sudden?” Hyori asked.

“What? Because he’s my boyfriend?”

“Uhu, I see.” Hyori gave her a lopsided smile.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” Deo teased.

“I don’t have to. I know you too well.”

“Whatever floats your boat.” Deo shrugghed. “Where’s JK meeting us?”

“Don’t know, I'm going to call him.”

As the phone rang, the two girls walked to the fountain where they had agreed to meet with Hoseok and Jimin. After the third try, Jungkook finally answered.

“Thank God!” Hyori’s voice sounded as soon as Jungkook answered.

“I was in the shower.” Jungkook said simply.

“How did me and Deo get ready before you did? You’re the worst I swear.”

“He’s still in the shower?” Deo’s voice could be hear through the line. “Put him on speaker.”

“I need to smell good.” He said simply and could almost feel Deo’s rolling her eyes. “Unlike some of you!”

“Shut up 5-year-old.” Deo laughed.

“Where are you?” Hyori asked.

“Still at home, I’m almost ready and I’ll be there soon.”

“Well you better hurry!”

“Yes mom!”

Jungkook hang up the phone and finished getting ready. Once he step foot out of his room, his living room was filled by the typical crowd.

“Is Namjoon coming up or what?” Yoongi asked.

“He’s probably waiting downstairs.”

“I bet he’s with that sweet lady.” Jin joked.

“Don’t tell him that.” Carolina laughed.

“Hey Jungkook.” Jin noticed the boy.

“What’s up?” Jungkook greeted. “Good luck later man!”

“Don’t you know it’s bad luck to just say it like that?” Carolina teasingly said.

“Thanks.” Yoongi intervened before the two could get into their usual arguments.

“You should drop by!” Jin said, with a grin in his face.

“Yes, I invited Jiminie later!” Taehyung added.

“Sounds like fun, I will!” Jungkook said excited.

“Hey if you see Namjoon downstairs tell him to come up?” Yoongi asked.

“Sure.” Jungkook replied, walking to the door. “See you guys later.” He said, winking to Carolina and seeing her reaction before closing the door, satisfied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night fell pretty quickly and both groups were having the time of their lives. The Y group was already with Jean at the 626 Market and the X group was already at Yoongi’s show. Before it was his turn, there was going to be other artists and that made him relax a little.

Once they got to the market, they didn’t expect it to be that big. The streets were filled with light and music echoed from all around the places. There was a little map at the entrance and everyone was mesmerized to see how big the space was. The food area was composed of 100 different chains and the variety of food and insane. But what really caught their eyes was how big the rides section was. It was a whole another world for them.

“So what do you guys wanna eat?” Jean asked when they made it to the food trucks.

“I think I wanna try that churro ice cream you suggested.” Jimin said, excited.

“That’s for dessert.” The girl laughed.

“Look! Corn dogs!” Jungkook pointed and rushed to the truck.

“What do you wanna eat babe?” Jack whispered behind Deo as he back hugged her.

“I don’t know. Hyo?”

“Maybe a burger? Those look good.” The girl pointed to a truck near them and took some steps towards it.

“I want a corn dog with JK.” Hoseok said excited, following the boy.

“You?” Deo asked, turning around to be facing her boyfriend.

“I’ll have what you’re having.”

“Wow, that helped so much.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “Burgers then?” The petit girl turned to Hyori.

“Burgers it is.” Deo managed to set free from Jack’s embrace and intertwined her arm with her roommate, ignoring his protests.

“What about you guys?” Jack turned to Jimin and Jean that were still looking around.

“I’m thinking of a kebab? Maybe?” Jimin asked, looking between the two.

“Why not? I’m in.” Jack said with a shrug.

“Me too.” Jean smiled widely to the both boys.

As everyone waited in line for their food, Yoongi and his friends had just arrived at his venue. It was a local club/bar that the locals and mostly college students would go to. They weren’t very strict with whom they would let in but when it came to serving alcohol, they always asked for ID’s.

“Ok, it's not empty but-” Yoongi started looking around.

“Yoongi relax, it's still early.” Namjoon pointed out.

“Yeah and we all invited some people as well, they will probably arrive a little later” Taehyung smiled sweetly.

“Thanks.”

“Nobody arrives early nowadays...” Jin commented while looking around “But I'm sure Jungkook will show with his friends, and I invited some people from my department-”

“Should we go to the front already?” Carolina asked impatient pointing towards the spot, not empty but still not crowded.

“Yeah, you guys should stay there, front sits are always the best” Yoongi chuckled.

“There's no sits...” Taehyung looked confused to the spot.

“It's just a saying, dumbass.”

“Oh...” he said only, making everyone laugh.

“Anyways guys, I think I'll head to the backstage-”

“Are you sure?” Namjoon asked.

“I'm sure you still have time...” Carolina tried.

“I'm sure. I'll prepare myself better inside.”

“We'll be waiting for you then! You'll be great, bro!” Taehyung cheered making Yoongi smile.

“I'll go check on you in a few.” Carolina assured him.

“I'll be waiting. Tell them you're a friend of mine, I'll let the guy know you're with me.” Yoongi said already leaving.

“Oh yeah, that's my friend!” Jin said to a guy who was passing by him “I'm friends with the singer!”

“Come, let's buy some beer.” Namjoon pulled him towards the bar “You two stay here guarding the spot.”

“Sure thing!” Taehyung said loudly.

“Sure thing.” Carolina mimicked Taehyung in a mocking manner.

“And may I know why are you so mad now?”

“Couldn't we just be in peace in Yoongi's thing???” she said furious.

“But we are-”

“No, you are! And everyone else! Stupid asshole- I don't even know where the friendship came from like-” she ranted.

“You won't even see Jimin, he'll probably be over the back with-” Taehyung tried.

“Who cares about Jimin, dude?” she looked at him with a confused expression.

“What...?”

Everyone had mostly finished eating and were just waiting for the slow eaters like Deo and Hyori and for the one who ate like he were three people in one, like Jungkook.

“Is it really a good idea to be eating before going on the rides?” Deo asked. She loved to go on roller coasters and crazy rides.

“I’m not bringing any sick people back into my car.” Jack laughed.

“Even if it’s me?” Deo did her best puppy eyes and the boy immediately soften.

“Don’t make my life harder baby.” Jack retorqued, making Deo make a funny face and give him a kiss right after.

“So Jean, how do you know Jimin?” Hyori asked.

“Oh you didn’t tell them?” She asked quietly to Jimin. “We have some classes together.”

“We’re friends.” Jimin smiled big.

“Yes!” Jean smiled back to him. It was hard for her to have social interactions like this and his answer made her relax a lot.

“So what do you wanna do next?” Jimin asked her.

“Oh whatever you want, is fine with me.”

“C’mon, you were the one inviting so we gotta do something you like!” Hoseok supported, making Jimin nod.

“Well, what about those churros ice cream?” She suggested.

“We better save that for after the rides.” Jungkook jumped into the convo. His eyes finally left his food and that was when he noticed the girl from the party coming towards his table. “I’ll be right back.”

“Hey Jungkook! I thought it was you!” the girl smiled as they were only a feet apart.

“Hey Aashna! How are you?” He smiled, stuffing his hands in his jean’s pockets.

“I’m good. You’re with your friends?” She asked, peeking through his shoulder.

“Yeah, you?”

“Too! We should go on a ride together!” The girl said excited.

“Yeah, what about the bumper cars? We’re lacking one person so I was just going alone.” He suggested.

“Sounds fun!” Aashna smiled excited.

“See you there Aashna?”

“Yes, and call me Ashi!”

“See you Ashi.” He chuckled, going back to his table.

Before Jungkook could even sit down, his friends were already teasing and he just shrugged them off with his hand, stuffing his last corn dog in his mouth.

The second artist of the night was up and the club was getting more and more crowded. This one had a bit of a more chilled vibe than Yoongi but he wasn’t as good. Still, he entertained the public quite well. In Carolina’s opinion, he would be a better host than a singer, although his lyrics weren’t that bad.

"This song is super good!" Namjoon said loudly "You think I can hear it online?"

"Probably? Maybe the guy has SoundCloud?" Carolina answered.

"MY FRIEND IS AFTER! SUGA!" Jin continued to look like a manager; he had a cup on his hands.

"Woah~ Look at that!" Taehyung pointed to the screen behind the musician.

"What I did for Yoongi is much better, trust me."

"You did him the art presentation?" Namjoon asked surprised.

"Yeap" her eyes were still on the stage.

"Should I record him once he performs?" Taehyung asked.

"Of course you should!" Jin answered "We have to keep some memories for him."

"I'll take some photos, you do the videos, you're taller anyways and that helps." Carolina added making Taehyung nodd "Be sure to record everything from Far Away, the holograms are amazing on that one."

"Holograms???" Namjoon exclaimed.

"I'm very proud of my kid." Jin back hugged Carolina peppering her with kisses, just to mock her.

"I swear to God, Seokjin!" she threatened but he was too hyper to let go, the other two just kept laughing.

As they had agreed, Aashna was waiting for Jungkook and his friends to ride the bumper cars. She rode with Jungkook, Jimin with Jean, Jack with Deo and Hyori with Hoseok. Useless to say the first ones of which team were the ones driving. Mostly, Deo kept screaming at Jack to hit everyone and he barely even had time to react because he was laughing too hard. On the second round, they decided to change the drivers. Jungkook had to hold himself to not get thrown out his car because Aashna was crazy for blood and wanted to hit every single person that would hit them.

“Shit, I’m all sore.” Jungkook complained. “You’re a terrible driver.” He said, making Aashna laugh.

“Hardly as bad as you are.” She teased, hitting his arm playfully.

“Pfff as if.” He said, before his arm being pulled. “Anyway, I had fun.”

“Me too, thanks for riding with me.” She smiled sweetly to him.

“I’ll see around campus yeah?” Jungkook said before waving Aashna goodbye.

“Where are we going now?” Hoseok asked, excited.

“We could go on the roller coaster?!” Deo almost pleaded excited.

“Yes!” Almost everyone said at the same time.

“I was thinking of maybe going on the ferries wheel?” Jean asked, tucking Jimin’s shirt, not wanting to be a party killer.

“I’d prefer it too. We can go together if you’d like?” He suggested.

“I’d like that!”

Once the third singer climbs up on stage, Carolina decides it’s time to check on Yoongi backstage. She wanted to go right away the moment he left but decided it was best to give him some space.

"Pssst, Agust D!" Carolina said in a whispery manner while peeking cautiously her head inside the backstage room.

"Nobody ever called me that." He chuckled.

"Well, soon enough everyone will know him." She closed the door "Still, I like Suga way better."

"Because he's not that angsty?" he joked. The girl crossed the room and sat right next to him before answering. His attentive eyes on her.

"No, Suga is angsty as well... But that's the thing... Agust D is only Agust D, Suga on the other hand is you and him. That's why I like him better." Her head now leaned on the back of the couch, waiting for his response, a small smile creeped on his face.

"I don't think I ever saw you getting this emotional." He looked down. "Is the british air doing you good?" Yoongi met her eyes now.

"Is this you thanking me for appeasing your mind?" Carolina chuckled amused. "And no, it has nothing to do with him... I'm cold but you're like- really important to me so... That's how I truly feel."

"Shit, I'll have to work on that song for you now." He smiled awkwardly. None of them were very open about feelings but they understood each other pretty well.

"Remember to look at us when you're up there!" She smiled back and got up to leave, not before he pulled her hand making her look back at him.

"Is it empty out there?" he asked, his front was confident but his eyes never lied, he was nervous, Carolina could tell.

"Yoongs... Trust yourself. We are right in the front, don't forget." She winked and he let go of her hand. Carolina crossed the room again, her hand on the door, ready to leave but not before looking at him again "It's crowded by the way." She left right before seeing his smile go wide.

Now at the top of the wheel, Jean and Jimin were sitting quietly, watching the full moon and the stars upon them.

“We got lucky it stopped here.” Jean commented after a while, referring to being on the highest point of the fair.

“We did! Everything looks so pretty down there.” He smiled big and took his phone out to capture the moment. “Wanna take a selfie?”

“Oh sure!” They posed with a smile and then a silly face before he placed his phone back in his pocket. “Make sure to send me those later.”

“I will! Are you having fun?” He asked, turning to face her.

“I am, thank you for coming with me.”

“Thank you~ for inviting me.” Jimin said sweetly.

“Oh stop it! It was my pleasure. You are a great friend.”

“So are you Jean, so are you.”

Back at the show, Carolina was back with her friends. The artist that had gotten up when she entered backstage was now saying his thanks and goodbyes.

"Is he ok??" Taehyung asked once he saw Carolina returning with a beer in hands.

"He was a little nervous, but everything will be ok."

"Who bought you that?" Jin asked coming close to her because of the loud music.

"Myself...?" she answered "I'm a strong, independent woman after all."

"The beauty of equal rights! Cheers!" Namjoon said clinking his bottle with hers overly excited.

"You forgot to add underage in that sentence." Taehyung said.

"It's fine, if anything the beer is mine." Namjoon added with an accomplice look at the girl who side hugged him.

"I just wanna know who's driving my car tonight because I'm a little busy with the vodka." Jin said loudly while dancing, as if he was in another world.

"I can't drive so..." Taehyung answered.

"Don't look at me, I myself don't trust me with a car." Namjoon shrugged.

"I don't have a license but I know how to drive-" Carolina was saying but got interrupted.

"NO!"

"You take the car then." Jin said not worrying too much.

"NOT-"

"Really?" she asked with a funny face.

"Oh boy...." Namjoon took a large gulp of his beer.

"What about Yoongi?!" Taehyung said loudly.

"He's fine I told you already." Carolina answered "I assured him we would be here waiting and-"

"Ya" Jin laughed "I think he was talking about driving?" Taehyung nodded agreeing.

"Oh..."

"Guys, let's decide that later... Let's enjoy first!" Namjoon pondered.

"Anyways I highly doubt anyone will get drunk, we're all here to see Yoongi." Carolina said.

"Agree!"

"I don't know about you guys, but as soon as Yoongi finishes off I'll start celebrating." Jin said still dancing "HEY! DO YOU KNOW SUGA? I'TS MY FRIEND!" he shouted to a bunch of people standing next to them.

Yoongi stepped on stage, a couple of people cheered but his friends were the loudest. They were screaming at the top of their lungs and Yoongi couldn’t help but smile. He presented himself as Suga. He started off with a song entitled “Agust D”. As the song started playing, everyone started jumping and moving their bodies to the sound of it.

Next up was “Give It To Me” and when that was already over, Jungkook and his friends arrived. After that, “The Last” started playing and then “So Far Away”, a collaboration he did with a girl he met online that used to do some covers. By that time, everyone had their phones out with their flashlights to fit the mood of the song and arms in the air swinging.

“He’s really good!” Deo shouted in Jungkook’s ear so that he could hear her.

He only nodded in response. He didn’t know this side of him. He knew he liked music and that he like to produce some things but it never crossed his mind that he’d have things this level, this good. He stayed glued to the words until the very last one and once it was over, everyone cheered.

"Ahhhhh!" Carolina exclaimed once she saw Yoongi coming in their direction, she went straight to a tight hug "I'm so proud of you!!!! You were so good, Yoongs!!!"

"Thank you!" he hugged back "Everyone's talking about the art work" he chuckled excited.

"Bro it was amazing!! Woah~" Taehyung came by excited as well "The songs were BAM! grrr" Taehyung let out a bunch of noises and expressions.

"Thanks!" Yoongi chuckled.

"And of course they're talking, I told you to trust me!" Carolina added.

"I wish I could see it as well but I was on stage so-"

"Oh we recorded it for you!!!" Taehyung said.

"YOU DID AMAZING BRO!" Jin came by with Namjoon, greeting Yoongi with his always playful manner.

"You did good, Yoongi!" Namjoon tapped on his shoulder congratulating him. "The lyrics were- Wow, really powerful!"

"Thanks guys!" He chuckled feeling proud of himself. "I see you all had a good time then."

"Of course we did! We'd be crazy not to!" Carolina added.

“Hey man, you were great! Congrats!” Jungkook appeared in the middle of the group giving Yoongi a quick hug.

“Thanks JK! Glad you showed up!” Yoongi showed a genuine smile.

“Of course! How did you feel up there?” Jungkook asked excited.

“Pretty great I must say.” Yoongi chuckled.

“JK MY MAN!” Jin screamed and immediately came in for a hug.

“JIN!” Jungkook screams back, laughing.

“Jimin came as well?” Taehyung asked.

“Yeah-” Jungkook said but before he could say anything, Jin spoke again.

“Wanna hang? Bring your friends, we’re celebrating here!”

“Yeah man, come hang!” Namjoon said, beer in hand, cheerful.

“I can go call them?” Jungkook kinda asked, he wasn’t really used to these hang outs between his group and his housemates but he couldn’t deny he was excited for it.

“He’s probably busy with his friends guys, let him be.” Carolina spoke but everyone ignored her.

“Yeah go grab them!” Jin repeated himself, probably because of the drinks he had already had.

“Oh really?? Bring Jiminie!” Taehyung spoke with a big smile.

“I’m gonna call them and I’ll try to find you!” Jungkook said before turning away to where his friends were.

“Jungkook left?” Yoongi finally looked back to the group, he had been talking to some people that were congratulating him.

“He went to get his friends.” Namjoon spoke from beside him.

“I’ll be right back.” Yoongi said. “You came.” He said in the girl’s ear.

“Yoongi! You were great! Of course I did! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

“Thanks Linzi.” He let out a chuckle. “You’re alone?”

“No, I’m with some friends. I was just about to leave actually, but I was trying to find you first.”

“Well, thanks for coming!” He let out a smile.

“We’ll talk later yeah? Let me know if you got home safe.”

“I will!”

“FRIENDS! WELCOME!” Jin shouted when Jungkook came back with his friends.

“Welcome where?” Carolina said, sarcastically.

“Oh! The stargazing girl!” Namjoon let out once he noticed Hyori.

“Hey guys!” Hoseok spoke to everyone in general.

“Oh~ hi!” Hyori said shyly.

“Let’s go grab some drinks!” Jungkook said, sliding his arm around Jin’s shoulders.

“I’ll go too!” Deo said. The whole situation was freaking her out. They were friends but they were hanging out and it was weird and awkward.

“Sure! Anything you guys want?” Jin asked, looking back at everyone.

“I’m good thanks!” Taehyung said, looking away from Jimin.

“Whiskey if you can.” Yoongi said.

“No thanks, I'll go there later.” Carolina said before wandering off to the dance floor.

“Bring me anything.” Jimin winked.

“Whatever you’re having ok?” Hyori said looking to Deo.

“I’m already served.” Namjoon showed his beer bottle. ”But thanks.”

“Want me to come with?” Jack asked Deo.

“No, you’re not allowed to drink today mr. Driver.” Deo snorted, pinching his cheek.

“Let’s go!” Jungkook said.

“I’ll be going with you guys! You won’t be able to bring everything back, I’ll help!” Taehyung said cheerfully.

“Nice!” Jin said before turning their backs and going.

Deo had her hands around Jungkook’s arm to not get lost and he was following Jin to the bar. Taehyung was hanging in the back. They had to walk in line because the place was so crowded. Once they managed to get to the bar, they did a little circle.

“What was it that they wanted?” Jungkook asked.

“Not a clue, everything is fine!” JIn laughed.

“Yoongi wanted whiskey and Jimin was anything...” Taehyung said right after.

“What are you having?” Deo asked, turning her attention from the shelves and to the boys.

“Maybe a shot... Can’t decide, I’ll ask the bartender for suggestions.” Jin answered.

“Nothing for me.” Taehyung said.

“For me and Hyori... hmm... can be two vodkas with coke.”

“I don’t know either. I’ll go with Jin’s.” Jungkook added.

“I like this friend very much!” Jin said to Taehyung while pointing to Jungkook.

“You have to order for us, they’ll think I’m 16.” Deo chuckled, talking to Jin.

“They do have a point.” Jin laughed, amused.

“I’ll help ordering because it’s pretty crowded.” Taehyung said, jumping to the bar. “Stay close.” He looked at Deo but she just shrugged him off.

“Swear to God!” Deo said in Jungkook’s ear making him laugh.

“Go away underaged kid.” Jungkook laugh, defendind himself from a punch she threw to his arm.

“So are you!”

“Leave it to us kids!” Jin laughed, looking back.

Once they manage to get all the drinks, they walked back to where their groups last were. Yoongi, Hoseok and Jack were chatting while leaning against the wall about music. Something in Hoseok sparked when he saw Yoongi perform and he was excited to explore that part of himself. Everyone gave them their drink and followed to the next group where Hyori was talking to Namjoon and Jimin was just flirting with some girl.

“Did you find your friend? From the party?” Hyori asked Namjoon. They were still on the topic of the party.

“I did, yes. It’s that blue haired one that went to grab drinks.” Namjoon pointed once he saw Taehyung.

“He seems quite hard to miss.” Hyori teased, letting a laugh fall out of her lips right after.

“Well you might find it surprising how many times we already did.” Namjoon laughed too, a little embarrassed.

“I get it. It was a super big house!”

“It doesn’t help that he’s a little unpredictable.” He laughed. “I never asked you thought but, what were you doing on that room?”

“Watching the stars mostly. That party was too loud for a second and I needed some air.” She said simply.

“I can relate to that.” He confessed, feeling a little shy.

“If you ever need, I know some points around campus where you can see the sky perfectly. Even some rooftops.” She suggested with a grin in her face.

“That would be nice! Thanks, star girl!”

“You having fun?” Deo creeped behind Hyori, handing her the drink she choose for her.

“I am thank you.” Hyori gave her a death glare.

“Hey do you know where Carolina is?” Deo asked, showing him the drink she had for her.

“Uh... She was just here?” Namjoon said confused. He wasn’t paying much attention.

“Jimin!” Deo tapped on his shoulder. “Did you saw Carolina?”

“Ye-” before he could say anything, Taehyung was already going off.

“We lost her???”

“She’s there.” Jimin chuckled while pointing to the dance floor.

“Oh~~ thank God!” Taehyung let out a sigh.

“Hey!” Deo tapped Carolina lightly on the shoulder. “Got you a drink.”

“Oh thanks! You didn’t nee-” Carolina finally looked at the girl, eyes widden. “-eed to...”

“It’s nothing! But you’re ok? You’re a little pale.”

“Uh... Yeah! Totally! Thanks!” She took a sip of her drink, confused with a million things running through her mind.

“Imma go back to the group but if you need to catch some air or go to the bathroom you can call me!” Deo said. She was 100% sure now that Carolina was the bathroom girl from the party, all she had to do now was figure out about which boy she was talking.

“Mhmm, sure thanks!”

The time flew by and the party wasn’t over yet. Once Yoongi ended his performance, the manager of the club announced that he was the last one but that everyone was invited to stay and have fun. With the regular radio music playing, everyone kept on drinking and dancing and laughing. The smoke from the cigars and dim light made the entire mood. It was going to be a good night. That was until...

“Take your hands off my girlfriend you piece of shit!” A guy yelled over the music and threw a punch.

“Fuck you man!” The other guy quickly stood up and threw another punch.

“What the hell is going on?” Jack called over, catching the group’s attention.

“Someone doesn’t know how to handle their drinks.” Jimin shrugged it off.

Soon the manager came in between the two guys and kicked them out. As it was usual policy, he would give a warning but if they didn’t stop, he’d have to call the cops. It was a bad image for the club to have drunks fighting right at their door. One of the man that was involved in the fight was a regular. Every once or twice, he would come to the club and would make a scene. The only reason the manager would still let him in was because he spent more in a night than most of his clients in a week. But of course, that would lead to fights.

“Knock it off!” One of the bouncers yelled but it was no use.

“Want me to step in?” The other one asked.

“No need, the police is already on their way.”

It took them a while, but once they heard the sirens, the two men stopped fighting and ran in different directions. One ran down the street to get away as fast as he could and the other managed to get inside the club.

“The cops are here! Run! RUN!”

Maybe it was the alcohol in their systems or maybe the fact that half of the people there didn’t have the legal age to drink but chaos installed quickly. Everyone was running out through the front door, some decided to use the emergency exit but it was already too late, cops were already covering both exits.

Carolina quickly exchanged looks with her group. She was underaged and there was no way she was going to get caught. She quickly grabbed Deo’s wrist and ran to the backstage area where she had been just hours ago with Yoongi. Hyori and Jungkook followed right after.

“Ok listen up, there’s no way I’m getting caught. We have to jump out of this window.” She peeked her head outside to see if there were cops there. “The coast is clear, let’s go.”

Carolina jumped first. “C’mon, hurry up!”

“There’s no way I’m jumping out of that.” Deo said.

“Would you rather get caught?” Jungkook glared his eyes to the both of them. He was a pile of nerves.

“That’s too high!” Hyori panicked.

“I’ll go first and I’ll help you get down yeah?” Jungkook sugested.

“Ok, but be careful!” Deo said.

“Ok c’mon!” Jungkook whispered.

“You wanna go first? If they get to us we’re dead Hyo, we have to jump.”

“AH FUCK!” Hyori flipped, climbing up the window.

“Ok Deo... keep your shit together, you’re a cheerleader. You’re thrown in the air higher than this fucking shit!” Deo talked mostly to herself. “Can I go?” She peeked her head out.

“Yes, I get you.” Jungkook told her.

Outside the backstage, the boys were trying to create a distraction to make the policeman that was looking for the agressor inside the club.

“We gotta do something!” Hoseok said, panicking.

“Chill Hope, let’s talk to them and keep them up.” Jack suggested.

“NO! Namjoon pretend to faint!!” Jin almost screamed.

“Me?! I can’t act for shit!” Namjoon said, panicking as well.

“Guys keep it down, you’re making it worse.” Yoongi glared at all of them.

“HERE I GO!” Taehyung embraced himself for a fall, closing his eyes as soon as he hit the floor and giving it a special touch my pulling his arm over his forehead. It was a 5-star acting.

“HELP! MY FRIEND FAINTED!” Jimin screamed, getting the attention of the policeman.

“What is going on here?!” The cop asked.

“OUR FRIEND FAINTED!” Jin said overly dramatic.

“What happened?” The cop asked, an eyebrow arched.

“The bad guy!” Namjoon started but felt flustered, not knowing what to say after.

“He pushed him and he fell!” Hoseok said, covering for Namjoon.

“That’s why he fainted!” Jimin added.

“Did you saw where he went? Which direction?” The cop said anxious.

“Into the bathroom.” Yoongi pointed in the opposite direction of the backstage.

“HEY! What about our friend!” Jin said, too excited with everything going on but thankfully the cop was long gone.

“Dude!” Everyone said at the same time.

“Oh yeah.” Jin said nonchalant.

“C’mon, we gotta get out of here to see if they need help.” Yoongi said.

“Everyone has their ID’s?” Jack asked, while him and Jimin pulled Taehyung up.

As the boys waited to leave – the line was super long because the police was checking ID’s at the front door. Deo finally managed to jump and they were hiding behind a dumpster, checking to see if they could move.

“Ok I think there’s a car there.” Carolina pointed to the side of the bar.

“Why the fuck they need so many cops for a fight?” Deo said frustrated.

“That doesn’t matter now!” Jungkook said, his palms were already sweating. He was tense and Carolina had to hold a laugh.

“Ok, be prepared to run if you have to.” The older girl told them.

“How are you so calm?!” Hyori said, freaked out.

“You don’t wanna know.” Carolina laughed dryly. “Ok, on the count of 3.”

The girl started counting. 1... 2... 3! They all started running and as soon as they hit the end of alley, it was exactly what Carolina suspected, there was a car and the two cops that were leaning against the wall noticed them immediately and started chasing after them.

“C’mon!” Jungkook grabbed Deo’s wrist so that she wouldn’t stay behind while Hyori and Carolina ran in front of them.

“HOLY FUCK!” Deo screamed, overwhelmed with the situation.

They could hear the footsteps of both cops chasing after them and they various attempts of telling them to stop were ignored. Quickly they got to a crossroad and Carolina took the left road and Hyori followed suit. Jungkook was ready to turn too but Deo pulled him to the other way.

“It’ll be easier like this! Hyori is fine with her.” She assured him.

“Keep up just a little longer ok?” He asked, seeing how tired she was already.

“We gotta find somewhere to hide.”

Once Carolina and Hyori noticed they were alone and they couldn’t see the cops, they decided to slow down their pace. They sat down on a bench. They noticed they were on a park but at this time of the night they weren’t recognizing it.

“That was close.” Hyori started, trying to normalize her breath.

“Yea-” Carolina stopped mid-sentence. “Do you hear that?”

“Wha-”

“We gotta hide.” Carolina quickly looked around, eyes scanning the place. “Are you good at holding your breath?”

“What?!”

“YES OR NO?!”

“I guess!!”

Carolina grabbed Hyori’s arm and pulled her with her to the fountain. She kept peeking a little but when she saw the light of the cop’s flashlight, she dove in, pulling Hyori along with her.

Deo and Jungkook continued running for what felt hours but really was 10 minutes since they got separated from the two girls. That was until they saw a convenience store.

“Let’s go there!” Deo pulled Jungkook.

“Wait, we need to control our breaths before we go in.”

“We don’t have time for that! Just smile to the cashier and then you can breathe normally!”

“Fuck, let’s go then.”

They immediately walk to the drinks area. Jungkook grabbed a power drink and Deo a water. They heard the doors slide and their hearts clutched a little. They tried to peek but didn’t see anything.

“Let’s grab some Doritos.” Deo suggested, telling Jungkook to calm down with her hands.

“I want pringles.” He said nonchalant.

“What? You always want Doritos.”

“And you always want Pringles.”

“Your point?” She laughed lightly.

“Hey kids.” They heard a voice from behind them and turned.

“Yes?” Deo spoke, afraid Jungkook’s voice was going to tremble.

“What are you doing here at this time?” The cop walked closer to them.

“We came to buy some snacks.” Deo said, showing the chips in her hands. “Is there a problem?”

“Where did you came from?” The cop pushed again.

“From campus.” Deo answered immediately with an eyebrow arched. “Why?”

The cop looked at them for a couple of seconds before relaxing his posture a little. “Make sure to make it there safe. Have a good night.”

As soon as he turned his back, Deo couldn’t contain the big smile on her face. “Let’s grab some gum too.”

“I swear, one of these days I die because of you.” Jungkook whispered to her.

“What did I do?!”

“You were giving him an attitude!”

“I was no- he was interrogating us for no reason!” She said teasingly.

“I- what?!”

“Relax Gguk. This will be the first of many times.” She winked to him and turned on her heels, heading to the cashier. The only thing she could hear was his sigh.

Back at the fountain, Carolina decided to be brave and peek her head out of the water. She couldn’t hold her breath anymore so between drowning and getting caught, it was a close call. Everything was quiet. She couldn’t hear the cop’s radio anymore so she decided it was now or never. They jumped out of the fountain, fully wet and trembling to the breeze of the night.

“Let’s agree to never speak of this again.” Carolina said, frustrated.

“Agree.”

DAY 5 [COMING SOON]

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tessatechaitea · 4 years

Text

The Ray #1

In 1994, I had no idea who Christopher Priest and Howard Porter were so I have no idea why I purchased this comic book.

Although (continuing the thought from the caption which is just me saying, "Fuck the format! I can do what I want!") I was in my early 20s in 1994 so I was probably into that edgy fascination with freaks and body deformity. I hadn't seen Tod Browning's Freaks yet but I'm sure I would have jumped at the chance if I'd known about it. It's the only reason I can figure why I bought a comic book about a character I knew nothing about. Because it looks like he's a hero with a deformed baby leg. I probably picked it up off the shelf and yelled, "Fuckin' A, dude! Look at this ganky bastich!" It was 1994 so obviously I was emulating Lobo in my every day life. Some of you might be thinking, "Ugh! You're so gross and problematic!" But I'm just being honest! I was a young man, masking like crazy in order to hide my vulnerabilities so I wouldn't be crushed by social interactions and existential threats to my psyche. I had to act tough to survive the crazy streets of Santa Clara, California! Back then, Silicon Valley wasn't like it is now! In 1994, hulking techno-nerds were roaming the streets with razor sharp circuit boards looking to cut the genitals off of anybody who criticized the Neo-Geo CD home gaming console. If you looked at them funny, they'd challenge you to a game of Cyberball and you'd better hope you won because they were also obsessed with Mortal Combat and if you lost, the last thing you'd hear would be a bunch of techno-nerds screaming "Finish him!" before you found yourself upside down gagging on the filthy water of an unflushed public toilet. The early nineties were some rough years! Especially when you were into heavy metal! People think grunge and rap killed metal but think about what people thought was "rock and roll" during the early 90s: Warrant's "Cherry Pie" and Extreme's "More Than Words." I mean, Feetal's Gizz! Metal was dead long before grunge and rap came by to fill its grave. Anyway, you could totally be into freaks in the early 90s because the Internet didn't exist so your opinions weren't reaching anybody outside your small circle of friends. All the other people of the world who didn't know you at all didn't have a way to tell you you were a piece of shit because of one single thing that comprised the myriad facts of who you were. Fuck you, Internet! No, no! I'm sorry! Don't be mad at me, Internet! I can't live without you! Also, maybe I just bought this comic book because the cover was shiny and embossed and growing up in Santa Clara was so boring that it made this comic book looked exciting. The issue begins with The Ray battling Brimstone. Remember him from Legends?

Brimstone is as big as Godzilla and he's already killed hundreds of people, judging by the apartment buildings he's smashed.

I don't know who The Ray is or where he's from. What part of the United States of America uses slang like "gaffle," "put my serve on," "zoom this buster," "bone out," "feebs," and "rot." Is this just Christopher Priest trying to mimic youth speak? I would expect this kind of thing from an aging comic book writer like current Neal Adams but Priest was in his early thirties when he wrote this. Maybe The Ray is from another Earth and Priest's theory was that slang words would obviously differ between Earths. But not so much that you couldn't get the gist of what he's saying. Except for "gaffle." I don't know what the fuck he wants to do to Brimstone when he says he's going to gaffle him. I know what I would mean by it but that doesn't seem appropriate in this situation.

Oh wait. The Ray was just writing fan-fiction about himself.

So the Brimstone fight didn't really happen. Or it did happen but The Ray is using it as fodder to write comic books about himself. So he's like Clark Kent writing articles about Superman? At least writing comic book stories about your own adventures isn't unethical. Fucking Clark Kent. What kind of a journalist uses his soap box to simply promote himself? No wait. Journalists fucking suck. I despise journalists for the same reason I despise police officers. If you're just letting your profession go to shit because a bunch of people are abusing their positions of power and not actually doing the public service they're supposed to be doing, you're just as bad as the worst apple in the barrel. There's a reason that whole apple/barrel thing is still a saying even though nobody really associates apples with barrels anymore. Maybe The Ray isn't writing comic books although it seems like the super edgy postmodern take a writer in the 90s would think was fucking mind blowing. We got Kyle Rayner, comic book artist, as the new Green Lantern. Why shouldn't we also get a comic book writer in there as well? Or The Ray might just be writing stories for his college paper which would mean he's just as unethical and terrible as Clark Kent, I suppose. But in an amateurish way. The Ray (whose name is Ray Terrill so it was lucky he got light-based powers) stops trying to write and decides to tell the readers about the last few days. He's a young guy who works at a fast food chicken joint and has just leased his first apartment. It's a piece of shit with some garbage and/or artistic sculpture in the middle of the room but he doesn't have any credit or money so he's stuck with it. I bet there are corpses under the floor boards as well as other things too boring to mention (but which I'll mention anyway) like rats and cockroaches and dried semen stains.

This is Ray's narration of the place which I read after I wrote the previous paragraph. Was I writing comics and named Christopher Priest in 1994?

The Ray spends all day handing out flyers to Clucky Chicken while standing right outside Clucky Chicken. Is that what flyers are for? To remind people about the thing they can totally see right in front of them? I guess they could be coupons. While he's handing out flyers, his super cool cousin Hank stops by to gaffle some swang all up in through him.

This must be Earth-15 where they say things like "Yo trip dat frum, golderboots!" and "Swank on into my PQs, Flub Daddy!"

The Ray is disappointed that he's a man now because responsibility sucks. Kids can't stand curfews and rules but man is it sweet to be able to come and go as you please (within curfew, of course!) while doing whatever the fuck you want and not worrying about money for food or rent. The Ray can't even fuck his girlfriend because she saw him in the chicken suit and is all, "Oh, um, I just came by to say I can't come by! Bye!" The Ray can travel at the speed of light anywhere he wants while carrying other people. That makes sense because comic books. He takes his cousin Hank Fonzerelli to see a volcano shaped like a hand in Hawaii only to discover that it's another Brimstone. It's activated by a henchman of Darkseid while The Ray and Hank are checking out a surf competition or a luau. It's at this point when The Ray gets back to the beginning of the story where he was failing to stop Brimstone from destroying a city. As he picks the story back up, Superboy arrives to save the day. Not the boring Superboy who used to be Superman and learned a terrible secret about himself on his sixteenth birthday about an extra candle. The new Superboy who arrived on the scene after Superman died. He might also be boring but I wouldn't know having never read any comic books about him. The new Superboy is an arrogant dick and The Ray hates him. That's probably why The Ray winds up killing him. Or he thinks he killed him. Everybody reading the comic book probably thought The Ray killed him too (because we were all dumb-dumbs who actually believed DC Comics had killed Superman off for good. Why wouldn't they?! He was a big boring boy scout whose powers kept fluctuating because editors and writers thought the problem with writing Superman stories was that he was too powerful. But the real problem with writing Superman stories was that those same writers and editors were unimaginative assholes who didn't actually understand Superman. Why else would Superman have died from a fist fight?! Seriously, Dan Jurgens. What were you thinking?! Superman should never have been killed because he encountered something more powerful that could just beat the shit out of him. Superman should have been killed because of a philosophical or ethical dilemma where he realized the only way to save the world was to allow himself to die. He should have been Jesus but instead he was just Apollo Creed. Who I think was a metaphor for John the Baptist? The issue ends with the narrator letting the readers know that Superboy isn't actually dead and why would the idiots think he'd be killed in The Ray when he was currently starring in his own popular monthly comic book? Stupid dumb comic book readers! But the narrator also mentions that The Ray is out of power (I didn't know he had to recharge) and Brimstone is kind of mad. Then he's all, "If we were you," (I don't think a proper editor in 1994 would have allowed a writer to use the plural pronoun "we" as a non-specific gender singular pronoun so now I'm picturing the narrator as a small group of old people), "We'd be back here in 30 days!" And I guess 22 year old me agreed with them because I purchased Issue #2. The Ray #1 Rating: C. C is average, right? I didn't find anything I particularly loved about this issue but I also didn't find anything I absolutely hated. Except for Superboy but I think I was supposed to hate him so that's a positive critique. I probably purchased the next issue because I wanted to find out what happens to Hank Fonzerelli. What a cool dude! The letters pages don't have any letters but it does have a story by Brian Augustyn about how Christopher Priest changed his name from Jim Owsley. It also explains that Priest's idea for The Ray was to have a teenager suddenly have to deal with god-like powers while still being a teenager. I think before this that was called "Spider-man". Except for the god-like powers! Those were more spider-like powers.

#The Ray #Christopher Priest #Howard Porter #Robert Jones #DC Comics #DC

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buzzdixonwriter · 5 years

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Influencers

I seriously started writing when I was 13, “serious” in this case meaning I submitted carefully typed reviews and articles to fanzines and short stories to magazines.

My father toyed with the idea of being a writer at some point in his life, and we had a stack of old Writer’s Digests and Jack Woodford’s How To Write For Money in the house.*

I can’t recall how many stories I wrote and mailed out, but none of them sold (my first short story sale was “Smuggler” in the November 1983 issues of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, but of course by that time I was already well established as an animation writer; I had placed a few articles and reviews in fanzines by that time).

Recently I had reason to re-read some of my own stories, and I got to wondering who my key literary influencers were.

Here, in rough chronological order, they are:

Ray Bradbury was the sci-fi writer that school boards felt comfortable with, and as a result stories like “The Pedestrian” turned up in lots of grammar school and junior high English textbooks. Well, that was like Hartz Mountain heroin to 10 year old Buzzy Boy. I voraciously read everything by Bradbury in every library I had access to. Somewhere I read his short story “Pillar Of Fire” which includes a virtual laundry list of writers of the phantasmagorical, and of course that sent me off in search of each and every one of ‘em, and that led me straight to…

H.P. Lovecraft took one look at my Southern Baptist Sunday school theology, said “How cute” and proceeded to sweep everything off the table. I have come to realize Lovecraft was a racist and a terribly, terribly flawed human being, but his cosmic horror stories (retconned by August Derleth as “The Cthulhu Mythos”) made me realize “Holy #&%@ -- I’m not even asking the right questions!”, and while Alfred Bester and Philip K. Dick and A.E. van Vogt would later expand my imagination even more, he’s the guy who shot the lock off the door.

When I started writing seriously (i.e., for actual submission of material, not just to fulfill a school assignment), I found myself typically bouncing between Bradbury and Lovecraft’s styles (the occasional Robert E. Howard and Ian Fleming pastiches excluded). Luckily for all concerned, I landed closer to the Bradbury camp than the insanely verbose and grandiloquent Lovecraft…

Ernest Hemingway cropped up on my radar through osmosis: I heard adults talking about him, read his name on gag book titles in Warner Brothers cartoons, saw the TV news report his suicide. I saw The Old Man And The Sea and For Whom The Bell Tolls on TV when I was ten or eleven, and since both were touted as based on his works, I looked them up. For Whom The Bell Tolls was the first one I read, and for a pre-adolescent boy that’s probably the perfect introduction to Hemingway. By the time I started reading voraciously, Hemingway’s modern style of writing pretty much became the norm for everyone, but he mastered that spare lean style better than anyone else.

Mark Twain first hopped into view with Boy’s Life reprinting “The Celebrated Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County” even though I’d seen movies based on Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn before that. That short story led me to his novels, and oddly his novels led me back to his short stories and essays. Twain’s somewhat old fashioned yet naturalistic style flows so effortlessly and easily and handles asides and digressions so seamlessly that I found myself re-reading his works again and again to see how he did it.

H. Allen Smith is an unjustly forgotten American humorist from the 1930s-40s-50s. I picked up a coverless copy of his anthology Poor H. Allen Smith’s Almanac in a remainder bin in a Dollar General Store in Athens, Tennessee more out of curiosity than anything else and was delighted to find a soul mate. Smith, like Twain, was the literary equivalent of MAD Magazine, puncturing pretentious stuffed shirt shirts with pleasure. Like Twain, Smith employs a seemingly effortless style to conceal a sharp cynical sting.

Harlan Ellison came to my attention as I started reading more and more science fiction digest and fanzines in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Always controversial, deliberately provocative, and relentlessly entertaining on the page or in person, Harlan demonstrated more than any other writer I encountered the fire in the belly that represents The Work. (The Work is one of those things that can’t be described, can’t be defined; as Louis Armstrong once said of jazz “If you’ve got to ask, you’ll never know.” Writers know what I’m talking about, authors think they know, but most people just go “…wha…?” when the topic comes up, which is why writers rarely talk about it in front of civilians.) Harlan’s style and élan could never be duplicated, much less equaled, but damn, he left a lot of good inspirations and insights behind, and I find myself applying them -- filtered through my own style and experience, of course. His best insight was that no matter how fantastic the story, it had to be about human emotions, or else it was just shit.

Thomas Heggen is another unjustly forgotten American writer, remembered (if at all) as the original author of the novel that became the movie Mister Roberts. The novel began life as a series of vignettes and short stories Heggen wrote and sold to New Yorker magazine during World War II and based on is actual experiences as an officer aboard U.S. Navy cargo ships. After the war he assembled, re-edited, re-wrote, and added new connecting material to turn these stories into a novel, and from there worked on the Broadway play adaptation. He died a tragic early death (accident or suicidal despair over crippling writer’s block, take your pick). Again, I was introduced to his writing through the movie based on his work, finding a reprint of the book sometime after I discovered H. Allen Smith. In contrast to Twain and Smith, Heggen’s laconic style underplayed his humor, actually heightening the absurdity of his situations by treating them so matter of factly.

Richard E. Geis is better known as the editor of Science Fiction Review in all its various permutations (originally Psychotic then Science Fiction Review then The Alien Critic then back to Science Fiction Review then Richard E. Geis then Science Fiction Review again then Taboo) and as such one of the key influencers in the legendary New Wave vs Old Stuff feud that consumed sci-fi fandom back in the 1960s and early 1970s (which is to say just at the time when I was becoming active in fandom). Geis wrote fiction -- a handful of self-published sci-fi novels and stories in an era long before self-publishing was a viable norm, and over 100 porn novels at about $500 a pop – and I must be brutally honest, none of them were good. But his genius and ability lay in his editorial and critical skills, and in his editorial writing for Science Fiction Review he demonstrated a lively and entertaining style that managed to meld coolly analytical criticism with engaging and often sly personal observations (Geis frequently employed Alter, his name for his darker, more sardonic alter ego, in a back and forth dialog to use dialectics to exposes the strengths and weaknesses of any work or proposition).

William Goldman’s screenplay of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid was published as a paperback by Bantam Books. When I saw it on the spinner rack in a small drug store in Madisonville, Tennessee, I thought it would be a novelization of an upcoming movie, but when I flipped it open I realized I was looking at an actual bona fide screenplay, and of course, I had to have it. (The kneeslapper is that Goldman never wrote in conventional screenplay format, and while his works are excellent examples of how to tell a story cinematically, they sure aren’t industry standard.) I followed his work after that, both on screen and off, and when he wrote Adventures In The Screen Trade I devoured its lessons hungrily. While I see a certain stylistic influence in my writing from Goldman, what I really learned from his was structure and form and style.

Walter Hill and David Giler took Dan O’Bannon’s already legendary unproduced script for Alien and -- no slam against O’Bannon -- transformed it from a really, really good B-monster movie story into a work of poetry. Compare and contrast the two screenplays; everything’s there in O’Bannon’s work, but Hill and Giler blew it through the roof. Their writing style -- seemingly minimalistic but in reality forcing the reader to see the movie exactly as they envisioned it -- was a revelation, and while I don’t try to ape it directly, I have used it to free me from conventional descriptions of characters, scenes, and actions to good effect.

Charles Bukowski was introduced to me by the late Gordon Kent, a friend and co-writer at Ruby-Spears Studios. I quickly became enamored of his unadorned, almost journalistic style of fiction, but his poetry is what resonated the deepest. After reading Hill and Giler’s Alien script, I looked at Bukowski’s poems with new eyes, seeing how he used a similar technique in many of his poems that they used in their screenplay. This in turn led to a greater interest and appreciation in poetry as a whole on my part, and to start applying more poetic styles in describing characters and situations, again paring verbiage to a minimum while conjuring up more vivid mental images.

Like every writer, I’ve been influenced to some degree or another by every story I’ve read, every movie I’ve seen, every song I’ve heard.

Some may complain there are too many old white guys in this grouping, and that’s a fair cop – if I was drawing up a list of writers to recommend.

But I’m not doing that. I’m telling you what influenced me, how and why.

Take it or leave it.

* If you can find any Woodford book on writing GET IT!!! He’s not the best of the best when it comes to analyzing the writer’s craft but sunuvagun he’s damn good and he lays it out flat in a take-no-prisoners style. You may not like what he has to say but man, does he ever cut through the BS.

#writing #influences #influencers #Ray Bradbury #H P Lovecraft #Ernest Hemingway #H Allen Smith #Harlan Ellison #Thomas Heggen #Richard E. Geis #William Goldman #Walter Hill #David Giler #Charles Bukowski

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shewhowantsmouseears · 6 years

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The Son Of Scheherazade, 23

Notes: As always, big thanks to my amazing editors Drucilla and BlueShifted!

Originally, the plan was for Mickey to wake up, but as I've been writing this story I realized I've been veering dangerously close to the "Happiness In Slavery" trope, and wanted to get that nonsense outta there. Hope you enjoyed the Cave of Wants arc - coming up, we finish the map with the Wish arc! It might be shorter than the others, we'll see.

Summary: Are your greatest desires that far away from your greatest fears? Panchito and Jose struggle to help their friends, and the clock is ticking! Can anyone fight the things they've tried to hide?

Daisy had always expected herself to die alone, perhaps in some vast wasteland where she had wandered off and couldn't find anymore people to con. Suffice to say, this was merely one of the shocks she was going through as Donald's iron fingers gripped her throat, piercing her skin, and crushing her voice-box. Screaming was impossible, and she gagged while frantically trying to pull him off, finding no strength in her hands. “S-stop...stop! Stop it! Donald, please!”

“This is what you wanted, RIIIIIIIIGHT?!” Donald's quacky voice was now demonic and dark, his beak curved into a twisted grin with fangs sticking out in bizarre angles. “All you ever do is hurt people, and you hate yourself for it! You can't trust anyone, because no one has ever trusted you! That Eye wasn't a gift, it was a curse! Your whole tribe deserved to be wiped out!”

Now the other crew-members popped up alongside Donald, but they were hideous creatures with deformed faces and maniacal grins, reaching out with their own hands to join in strangling her. Daisy could feel hot tears flowing from her bulging eyes. “That's... not... true!” But even this was a lie, and she knew it, she hated herself, hated the Eye, hated her family for having this cursed blood, hated so deep and maliciously that it eradicated all goodness she ever had.

“You've always been able to see other people's secrets, and when everyone learned that, you were chased out of every village!”

“You do nothing but cause pain to everyone! You've always known it! You want to stop, but you can't, because you don't have a real heart!”

“SO YOU JUST SHOULD JUST GIVE UP AND DIE, AND THAT WILL HELP EVERYONE!”

“GIVE UP AND DIE!

“GIVE UP AND DIE!”

“GIVE! UP! AND! DIE!”

The voices continued shouting the horrible mantra, and Daisy was finding it harder to disagree. She was a monster, and in all of Scheherazade's stories, the evil monsters were killed. Maybe everyone would be better off if she was gone for good. She'd said such a terrible thing to Donald about his family, and there was nothing she could ever do or say to make up for it. Had she been looking for a way out of the crew the entire time – or a way out of the world? She was always alone, and had always accepted it, and so in turn pushed away anyone who could dare change that. She just wanted to stop hurting people. She just wanted to stop hurting herself.

In the end... she just wanted everything to stop -

~*~

“Stop, Daisy!” Jose immediately jettisoned the plan he and Panchito had silently made, kneeling by Daisy's side and trying to pry her hands away from her throat. “Wake up! Daisy, wake up! Come on!” He slapped her hard across the cheek, but even that wouldn't stop her, as her once peaceful smile was now open in a silent cry for help.

Lotus Blossom whipped around, startled by the noise. “What the... why aren't you two asleep?!”

Panchito jumped ahead, aiming his pistols at her pretty face. “Undo your magic, thief! Free my friends right now!”

The booming, evil voice from the dark orb was now even more furious. “You damned woman, you were supposed to make them all look at the glass!”

“Hey, this is NOT on me!” Lotus began to fish for the same piece of glass from before in her sleeve. “You said once they all looked at, they're down for the count! You tell me why these two aren't in dreamland!” She found what she was looking for, and suddenly held out her hand, revealing a small piece of glass that was held in a golden frame, shutting her eyes for a brief moment.

Nothing happened.

Panchito blinked. “This is an improper time to show off your new monocle!” Jose, meanwhile, had managed to rip Daisy's hands off her neck, and had to pin them down at her sides to keep her from trying again.

Lotus paused, then shook the glass, even tapping it with her finger, all while making sure not to look directly at it. “This isn't a monocle, it's glass from the cave! You're supposed to be trapped within your greatest desires and worst fears about yourself! Everyone has them, so... get to collapsing, already!”

Panchito gave this some thought. “Worst fears? Hey, Jose, do I have a worst fear?”

“Panchito, my one and only, surely you would have told me such a thing!”

“Ah, yes, very true. I know I can always count on you, my loyal compadre!”

The orb began to shake in anger, which Lotus ignored, too stupefied by what she was hearing. “Come on! Everyone has doubts about themselves! Don't either of you have any tragic backstories? Any character arcs to develop? There has to be something about yourself you hate! Something that eats at you morning, noon, and night! There isn't a single person in the world who is content with themselves!”

Again, Panchito took a moment to consider things, and then shrugged. “Nah. I'm pretty okay with myself.”

“And I am also having little to no problems with my life, aside from my dear friend trying to join the afterlife,” said Jose while trying to peel Daisy's hands from her neck.

Lotus dropped her arm in disbelief. Perhaps this was where some flowery elaborate sentence about Panchito and Jose's mindset would go, but the truth of the matter was that they were not terribly complicated birds. Sure, they had their desires, as all do, but there was no great driving need behind them. They were just happy chappies with snappy serapes. Lotus, on the other hand, didn't believe that at all, and decided they were merely too stupid to have any fears. “Well, I'm blaming this on you.” She waved a hand toward the orb. “Can't pull off a successful heist without the right intel.”

“SILENCE, ALL OF YOU!” the voice roared, now sounding so beastly that even Lotus was quick to back up. “If you two fools won't die by the hand of the cave, I'll take care of you myself! And you, servant, you WILL bring the boy and the genie to me!” Lotus was about to take issue with being called “servant”, but that seemed very inconsequential when a different snarl came from the portal. Panchito recognized it as one of the shadow monsters that had been sent after them before. This one stomped with hard, heavy feet, taking the shape of an elephant as warped by the darkest of magics.

Panchito cocked his guns, ready to fight to free his friends. “Jose, we can take on this over-grown pachyderm!”

“Panchito, while I am both impressed by your valor and vocabulary, we have another problem!” Jose's usually calm demeanor began to unravel further, because now Donald was moving his arms, and it was a good guess where his hands were going!

~*~

How many members of his family had Donald met by now? He had lost track, but it wasn't important. He'd get to see them again, sure enough. His sister happily trailed alongside him, rattling off names and titles and pieces of history. Donald nodded along, shaking hands and exchanging hugs, but as he continued to meet and greet, he found he could hardly get a word in otherwise. Didn't they want to know what happened to him? The life he led before meeting him? How he was finally freed from his prison of false princehood by... by...?

He'd been about to shake the hand of yet another cousin, but suddenly yanked his hand, catching his breath. The blonde-haired man tilted his head, and Donald felt hundreds of eyes on him. “I-I'm sorry!” Donald sputtered out, feeling a little silly. “It's just... I don't know why, but, somehow, I forgot... my friends!” He let out a relieved laugh, glad he could remember those dear to him. “You'll want to meet them too! They're the ones who've helped me through so much! They're going to love you guys.” At first, he didn't notice the water under his feet, or that it began to rise to his ankles. “You could... you could kind of say they're my other family!”

“What a stupid thing to say,” his sister said, before suddenly shoving him hard into the water.

Donald fell face first, sputtering about and trying to sit up. “HEY! What's the big...” But as he looked around at his family, their formerly cherubic smiles were now gone, replaced with wretched scowls. “... idea...?”

“This is your family,” his sister now loomed over him, tall and imposing. “Not those misfits who took pity on a pathetic soul.”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, you're misunderstanding things!” Donald tried to back up, but now the family members were forming a tighter circle like a white cage. “I don't love you any less than I love them!”

“Love?” She repeated, tilting her head at an unnatural angle, and Donald suddenly found the water rising higher and higher. “What in the world does someone like you know about love? You were raised by a man who only cared about money! You're no better than an insipid child, but even children are braver than you are! You never even wanted to find us!”

Donald felt the now cold hands of his uncles and cousins start trying to pin him down under the water, and he screamed, trying to keep his head above water. “Th-that's-that's not true! I always wanted to find my family! But – But Mickey – he needs help, he-”

“He's nothing more than an excuse!” Now she was on her knees in front of him, grabbing him by the collar of his robes. “You cling to him to make sure you never have to look reality in the face! You're a monster, a freak! You don't know how to love, so you stick to anyone who even looks at you kindly! YOU WERE BETTER OFF UNDER GLOMGOLD'S THUMB! YOU WERE BETTER OFF NEVER BEING BORN!”

Donald gasped for air, but he was forced underwater, his lungs filling up. Even with his head submerged, he could hear all of their cruel taunts, and all the cruel truth behind them. He was scared, so scared, of the life he would lead once Mickey found his parents and left the crew behind. How could Donald understand the concept of love and family when he had been denied both since birth? Was his family better off never finding him? Was the entire world better off if he never existed?

Maybe... Maybe he should just stop fighting -

~*~

“Fight it off, Donald!” Jose pleaded, needing to use all of his strength to keep Donald's arms pinned down. “You can do this, my friend, I know it! You have to hear me!”

Everyone else was having difficulty hearing Jose, as Panchito and the monster he was fighting were making plenty of noise. Panchito had tamed many a wild horse in his younger days, but trying to wrangle a phantom elephant was a new one. He had used up all of his bullets trying to make the thing back away, before grabbing the massively long trunk and climbing atop its head. Now it was a fierce battle to steer the monster away from his sleeping friends, which was proving more and more challenging by the second. It rammed itself into the walls of the caves, causing the rocks above to come tumbling below.

Lotus was pressed to one wall, a few bored glowworms falling into her hair. “If that keeps up, the entire cave will collapse!”

“Grab the prince and the genie!” the dark voice bellowed, unconcerned with anything else. “If you want your promised fortune, then you will do as I have commanded! You won't see a single coin unless you bring forth what you promised!”

“You better triple the price, boss!” Lotus narrowly dodged a hard swing of the elephant's trunk. “Make it quadruple! Risking my life was never part of the deal! Some things are worth more than money!”

“I'll pay you ten times the agreed amount if you JUST DO WHAT I DEMAND!”

Well, some things were worth more than money, but that was a lot of money. Lotus pried herself off the wall and managed to slide over to the bodies, but her eyes widened when she saw the state Mickey was in. “And I'm guessing the deal's broken if Big Ears is also broken!” She reached down to try and stop Mickey's moving arms...

~*~

It was a great and glorious celebration! A banquet that would never end! Mickey led his friends and family in song again, with the entire palace full of people and the world full of joy. His father and mother, safe and sound, and Mickey without a title that had been unwillingly attached to him all his life. When the chorus finished, Mickey plopped into his seat, exhausted from fun and full of his favorite foods. As he tried to catch his breath, his father let out another merry laugh. “So, son of ours, have you thought what you wish to be known as?”

Mickey blinked, and then scratched his head. “Huh... I hadn't really thought that part out yet. I guess I should be known as something, if I'm not going to be the Son of Scheherazade anymore.”

“Maybe something like, Hero of the Desert?” Goofy offered.

“Legendary Pursuer of the Lost?” Daisy suggested.

Minnie sat comfortably in Mickey's lap, snuggling up. “How about, Husband of Minnie?”

Mickey felt his cheeks grow warm, and he chuckled nervously. “Aw, shucks... Those are all pretty good ones, I guess!”

“I have the perfect idea,” Scheherazade rose from her seat, approaching Mickey's side and fitting something in his hand. He assumed it was another goblet of drink. “From henceforth, you shall be known as Mickey... the Murderer.”

Mickey jerked upright in his seat. “What?!” It was then what he saw what had been placed in his hand – his sword, soaked in blood. He tried to throw it out of his hand, but his fingers wouldn't release the handle. He felt Minnie drop from his lap and onto the floor, and when he turned his head, he saw her lying motionless, a horrific cut on her neck. Mickey screamed, and screamed more as he saw everyone in the palace dead, save for his parents – Goofy, the crew, his servants, even Pete, their bodies strewn about with the same wounds, the banquet food rotting and drawing flies and the stench of blood inescapable. Mickey fumbled out of his seat, hitting the stained rug, eyes hot with tears. “Th-This isn't real! I didn't do this! I DIDN'T DO THIS!”

“It's inevitable, isn't it?” His mother asked, her pleasant voice now dripping with disdain. Droplets of blood began to dribble from her neck. “You may try to stop being my child, but you will always be your father's son. You carry his anger, and there's no denying your destiny.”

“No! I'm not like him! Pa, he, he changed! I just – I have to control my anger! I will, I swear it!” No matter how hard he tried to pull the sword from his hand, it wouldn't leave. Why did he want a sword so badly in the first place? Because, deep down, he wanted to fight? To hurt? To kill? “No! No, I just wanted to defend myself! I just wanted to be my own person!”

“And what good is being just you?” His father was behind Mickey now, his shadow dark and dangerous. “You who hurt others time and time again? What good is controlling your anger after it's already happened? You're a lost cause, you never should have left the palace. If you aren't the Son of Scheherazade, the life you are isn't worth living! ”

Mickey's arm trembled, and he found his own sword being pressed into his neck – in the exact place where the servant had tried so many years ago -

“IT'S YOUR FAULT THE PHANTOM PRINCE TOOK US, SO YOU COULD BE USED AS A PAWN!”

“IT'S YOUR FAULT MINNIE IS SUFFERING AND NO ONE CAN GO HOME!”

“IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT YOUR ANGER WILL DESTROY EVERYONE!”

“EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT!”

Mickey's tears rolled down his face, and he had never been more afraid in his life – what was he without the title he loathed? A murderous madman who couldn't be stopped? A stupid fool who kept trying to save everyone without seeing if they wanted to be saved? Had the grief-stricken servant been right to end things when he was a child? Why had he even been born?

Why did he think he had a right to live, why -

~*~

“Why is this happening?!” Jose at this point knew full well why, but stress often causes people to ask silly questions. Right now he was very stressed, as he was trying to use every limb to prevent his friends from strangling themselves, which now included Goofy, who was tormented by a wife and son who didn't know him because he loved adventure more than them, and Horace with Clarabelle, whose beloved Master berated them about their idiocy and who were only using him as a distraction to avoid facing their real problems. The parrot was being stretched thin, and it was a losing battle. “I can't keep this up! Lotus Blossom, you have to break them out of their trance! I beg of you!”

“I don't know how!” Lotus was amazed how strong little Mickey was, as it was a real struggle to keep him pinned down. “I didn't ask for details when I got into this plot! Listen, once I broke out prison, this stupid orb found me, and told me what to do and where to go! He offered me more money than I'd ever steal in my life! All the big guy said was not to look at the glass and I'd be fine!”

“Only I have the spells to break them free,” the dark voice sneered, “And I will only use them once I have the prince and the genie! Do you fools have any idea what you're up against? No one has the willpower to break through the Cave of Wants! It's taken thousands of lives, and they will be next!”

“That can't be true!” But even as Jose said it, he was getting a sick feeling that it could be true. He wanted desperately to believe in his companions, but every ticking second was showing that the voice was right. Right at that moment, the monster bucked hard enough to send Panchito flying, and he landed hard on his back near Jose. “Panchito!” He jumped off his allies to rush to his fallen friend, trying to help him sit up. “Panchito, you can't keep fighting that thing, you're out of ammo! It's going to kill you!”

“It's going to kill all of us if we don't do something!” Panchito said after wincing, his body aching with pain. “I refuse to believe they can't fight this! I know at least one of them can pull through! They are warriors!” He staggered to his feet, his chest heaving with pained breath. “They've gone through so much, and I've been honored to fight alongside them! If need be, I'll be honored to die defending them! I will never stop believing in my friends!” He looked down at Jose, and offered his hand with a tired smile. “What say you, Jose Carioca?”

Jose shook his head, but smiled all the same. “Common sense has never been your good friend, Panchito Pistoles... but I've always been yours.” He took Panchito's hand and rose to his feet, holding out his umbrella. “We are the Three Caballeros! No matter where he goes-”

“The one, two, and three goes!” Panchito squeezed Jose's hand tightly, and when they broke their tender embrace, they charged for the monster, ready to battle with every last ounce of strength they had. Their hearts burned, knowing that surely in one of their friends, they were fighting too!

~*~

Cave? What cave? There was no cave to speak of here. The sun was shining down softly on a pair of lovers atop a flowery hill, the breeze calm and the world quiet. Minnie was safe in Mickey's arms, sighing in contentment, not wanting to leave this embrace for anything. Her eyes stayed closed, her back resting on his chest, and every so often, she'd say, “Please say it again.”

And he would comply each time, “I love you.”

It was amazing what true happiness three simple words brought. Minnie smiled, nuzzling her cheek affectionately to his. They didn't need anything but each other, and so she thought of nothing but him. She couldn't remember anything but him. She lifted her head, touching his soft cheek. “I want to be like this forever,” she murmured, even if she did sort of miss the way he'd blush so hard it'd touch his ears, or his stammering as if his words had fallen down the stairs. But... maybe it was better this way. Better for him to be confident in all he said and did.

“Don't worry,” Mickey chuckled sweetly, “it will be. It'll always be like this, forever and ever. I'll never let you go.”

Minnie pulled back, ready to place yet another dear kiss on his lips, when she saw that the golden mark on his neck was gone. She blinked, blinked twice, her mind fuzzy. “Where... where did the scar go?”

“Oh, that?” Mickey shrugged one shoulder, dismissive. He raised his hand to link with her fingers. “I didn't really need it anymore. After all, it's just as I said, I'll never let you go... so I'll never wish you free.”

Did she – did she hear right? Minnie tried to pull her hand back – and saw that the cuff on her wrist, usually golden and baring her and her Master's names, were now gray and dirty, with a long, unending chain attached. “What...?” She looked at her other wrist, and it was exactly the same here. “What are...”

“You don't ever have to worry about being useless again,” Mickey's charming smile grew pointed and devilish. “Because I'll bind you to me until the day I die! Isn't that the purpose of a genie?”

“You-” Minnie scrambled to get out of his lap, and when she did, she saw her ankles also chained. “Y-You're not my Master! Let me go!” She pulled at the chains, but they wouldn't budge, the grass and flowers dying.

“Of course I'm your Master, you refuse to call me anything else!” Mickey stood up, endless chains flowing from his empty hands. “Because you know you can't be anything more than a genie! You've been doing this for thousands of years! You think you could ever survive being a mortal? You can't even say my name!”

“That's – that's not...” Minnie tried to crawl on her hands and knees away from Mickey – Master – whatever this was – but the sun was being blocked out by prison bars now as high as the heavens. “I'm just... I'm just scared! It's all I've ever known!”

“So why should anything change? You can't do anything else! Can you cook? Can you clean? Can you even care about another person? HOW CAN YOU EVEN SAY YOU'RE REAL? DO YOU HAVE A HEART? DO YOU HAVE A SOUL?” Now the beast with her beloved's form threw a chain at her neck, and it wrapped around like a deadly snake. “JUST STAY A SLAVE FOREVER! IT'S WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED!”

Mickey held the chain in both hands, squeezing it around Minnie's throat. She tried to yell, tried to cry, and the weight of his words weighed heavier than all the chains now wrapping around every part of her body. Every step they got closer to saving Mickey's parents was a step towards her being a mortal, and facing all the consequences of it. How could a normal woman be of help to a prince? She wasn't like other people, she wasn't even a person. Wouldn't it be best for Mickey, best for everyone, if she just stayed in slavery?

Her Master – Mickey, Mortimer, all the ones she had served in her long life – pulled tighter and tighter, mockingly chanting the same words over and over.

“THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED! THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED! THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED!”

It would be best for everyone, best for the crew, best for all who rode that flying ship, that strange ship that didn't belong in the sea...

… And... somehow... that stayed with her. Because, in all the long, long, long years of torment and servitude...

“I've... never... seen... the... ocean...” Minnie breathed each word, opening her eyes.

“THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED!”

“I've... never seen the ocean...” Minnie repeated, her words stronger.

“THIS IS WHAT YOU -

“I want to see the ocean!” Minnie screamed, screamed as loudly as her lungs would allow, screamed with every century, every year, every day she ever had to give up her dreams to serve someone else. “YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT I WANT!” Her fingers found the strength to move, and they tried to slide under the chain on her neck, pulling and yanking. “It's been so hard... it's been so lonely... this isn't a life anyone should have! No one deserves to be a slave!” Inch by inch, the chains began to loosen. “But if I really thought I was better off this way... I wouldn't keep waking up! I wouldn't keep living! Even if I never understood before... a part of me has always... always... always been dreaming of freedom!”

The beast of her fears tried to tighten her prison again, but she slammed her forehead into his, throwing him off her body. “I don't deserve this life! Even if I am scared... even if I don't know what I'll do without my powers... Even if I can't help the person who means the most to me...” She would always be scared, but her love, her hope, her will, would triumph. If she didn't know the answers now, it didn't mean they'd never be found. “I won't run away! Whatever comes next, I'll face it! This is my life! Not for the crew, not even for him... but for myself! I WANT MY FREEDOM!”

“I WANT TO BE FREE!”

And with a huge, gulping gasp, she was – her body thrusting upward, she bolted upright, panting hard for air. Minnie was back in the cave, surrounded by her suffering friends. She touched her neck, and felt no chain. “What the...” But there was clearly no time to question much of anything. A shadowy monster was thundering towards Panchito, who couldn't get up in time, Jose having fallen some feet away. Minnie sprang up, running as fast as she could, and tackled Panchito away just in time to avoid being stomped.

Panchito landed on his back, and stared up at his heroine. “... Minnie? Oh, Minnie, you're not trying to off yourself! I am so relieved!”

“And I am so confused!” Minnie said right back, now seeing Lotus trying in vain to save Mickey, and the orb spewing smoke. “Okay, I know she had something to do with this, but what else?!”

Panchito managed to get into a sitting position, using his empty pistol as a cane. “That orb must belong to the Phantom Prince! That's what kidnapped Mickey's poor parents before! And now they're trying to take him and you! And if we don't find a way to wake everyone up, they're all going to die! The Phantom Prince said he'd only wake you and Mickey up, once he got his hands on you! And the cave might be collapsing! … But it's still nice to see you.”

That was a lot of information to get in fifteen seconds, and time was running out for everyone. They couldn't afford to wait and see if the others would find similar revelations Minnie had. “Mickey... he must need Mickey to force Lady Scheherazade to work for him!” And it didn't take a genius to know why anyone would want a genie.

“Hey, you're saying his name now! Good for you!”

Ignoring Panchito's ill-timed compliment, Minnie stood up, thinking fast. She had only one chance, and one idea, but it was time to put actual trust in herself. She was going to be free someday – not because she earned it, but because she deserved it, as all living things deserve to be. The Phantom Prince wouldn't stop what was rightfully hers – a life! “This ends here and now!” She bolted off, running around the monster's legs, running faster than it could, jumping around the falling rocks and debris. With her accumulated speed, she took a leap of faith, figuratively and literally, kicking Lotus right off her Master's body. “That's for so many things, I've lost count!”

Lotus fell on her side, the glass bit rolling out of her sleeve. “Oof... that's fair.”

Minnie pulled Mickey's sword out of his scabbard, and slammed it down hard on the glass piece, breaking it into dust. It didn't wake everyone, but now it couldn't be used to hurt anyone else. She could hear the monster approaching, and she stood in front of her friends, brandishing the sword. “Hear me, Phantom Prince! I am Lady Minerva of the Lamp, Minnie to those who love me! You need Mickey alive for your plan to work, but I'm not going to let you have him! He'd rather die than be used as a weapon against his parents, and that's exactly what's going to happen if you don't undo the spell right now on everyone!” She thrust her sword in the direction of the rampaging monster. “Either your whole plan falls apart right now, or you do something right for once and set them free!”

The monster continued to stampede forward – Jose covered his eyes, as did Panchito albeit letting his fingers slip a bit – but just as it would have stomped Minnie – it stopped. Abruptly. It looked down at her, its presence dwarfing her already small stature. “You lie,” the Phantom Prince said, the quietest he'd ever been. “I've seen your trials, I've seen your bond. Your words are bold, but your heart is weak.” There was odd assurance in his words, Panchito and Jose both noted, as if this was something he was very sure of. As if this was not the first time they'd met. The monster raised one large foot, ready to stomp, ready to force her back and make her beg for mercy.

Minnie did lower the sword, but not out of submission. No, now the sword was turned toward her Master as he lay in his haunted dreams, his eyes wide with untold horrors and his fingers secure around his throat. Minnie couldn't imagine the torture he was enduring, her own still fresh in her memories. Of course she wasn't going to kill him – of course this was a bluff – of course, of course, of course, she told herself, in order to drown a thought that was more terrifying than the prison she recently escaped. She had fought so hard, against the mirror dream and herself, to be free and independent – and here she was, making a choice all on her own, and what if – what if – what if her love for Mickey wasn't strong enough to stay her hand? This felt like an eternity, but only seconds passed, each one making the decision more difficult. But she grit her teeth. She wouldn't give in to tears.

“Can you really afford the time to test me?” Minnie didn't move, didn't shake, didn't blink. The sword was pointed above Mickey's chest, above his beating heart.“Wake.” Jose tried to get to his feet, surely she wouldn't - “Them.” Panchito was making the same scramble, was she out of her mind - “Up.” The sword was raised high - “Now.” And then thrust down -

And then the orb began to float in the air, the smog beginning to swirl back inside, the portal vanishing. Minnie yanked the sword back, holding it close as she caught her breath. The monster dissolved into black ash, and a hidden wind blew it across the fallen heroes – who all began to jump into life. There were many startled cries, rubbing of throats, Horace and Clarabelle held each other while nearly crying with Goofy joining in a group hug. Jose and Panchito flew to Donald, tackling him back down with hugs and kisses and shouts of celebration, Daisy was struggling to process what was real and what wasn't, and Mickey threw himself at Minnie's back, holding her tight. “Minnie! You're alive! Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness, you're all alive! I could just kiss you!” A swift, hard pause. “I mean, not like – you know – not that I wouldn't want - why are you holding my sword?”

While Minnie was grateful to hear Mickey's charmingly embarrassing misdirection, the day was not yet over. “Because this isn't done.”

“Huh?” Mickey lifted his head, and saw the floating orb – the smog it had collected was now rearranging itself to take on a solid form, a young man with a thin mustache, now holding the orb in his left hand, a hood over his head, his body continuously moving and shifting with the smoke. Mickey's eyes widened as he understood, letting go of Minnie so he could stand by her side. “You're... the Phantom Prince.”

“In the flesh, so to speak.” The Phantom Prince snorted at his own joke. “You surprise me, genie... to think you've changed after all these years. But you will learn your place.”

“Give me back my parents!” Mickey demanded, and soon he was joined at all his sides with his friends, each one willing to bring a brand new fight. “Your plan will never work! Your kingdom is dead, and my mother will never help you revive it! And we'll never stop fighting you! No matter what you throw at us, we'll never give up!”

“Even if you don't know where the final piece of the map lies?” The Phantom Prince asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Admittedly, that did knock the wind out of Mickey's sails briefly. “... Was kind of hoping you didn't know about that...” He shook his head, trying to restart the heroic speech. “We'll never stop looking for it, even if we have to go all around the world!”

“That won't be necessary,” The Phantom Prince waved a hand around the orb, turning it momentarily into a globe. “It's located in the fishing town of Alnihayat. It should only take you a few days to fly there.”

Now the sails, anchor, and entire boat of Mickey had the wind soundly knocked out of them. “Uh. Isn't... part of the whole 'evil villain' bit that you're not supposed to help us?”

The Phantom Prince snorted. “By helping you, I am helping myself. Why bother continuing to drag you to me if you're coming to me already?”

“This couldn't be a more obvious trap if he held up a big sign that said TRAP,” Horace whispered.

“No,” Minnie said, taking a step forward, sword still in hand. “I think he's telling the truth... he doesn't have a choice.”

Daisy leaned in closer to the group. “Did someone replace Minnie while I was out?”

“I've been thinking a lot about your plan, Phantom Prince,” Minnie continued, her sword pointed at his chest. “There's been so much of it that doesn't make sense... unless you look at things a certain way. But this entire scheme today proved it once and for all. You've had your monsters, your minions, and some bimbo thief-”

“Okay, harsh.”

“- Do all your work for you, and now you're practically giving the map on a silver platter. You waited all this time to kidnap Lady Scheherazade, her stories were legendary before Mickey was born. I don't think it was just good timing – I think it's the opposite... you're running out of time!”

Mickey was floored at the bravery Minnie was displaying, and it was only ignored once the pieces began to connect in his own mind. “Hey, I think I know what she's getting at! You're getting weaker! Whatever magic you've done to yourself, it's taken its toll! You're not the Phantom Prince because no one knows who you are... you're literally becoming a phantom yourself! And soon you'll be nothing but smoke and ash, just like your dead monsters!”

The Phantom Prince said nothing at first, his fingers curling around the orb. But even with his body slightly translucent, it was coming clear he was trembling with rage. Dark red eyes shone out from under the hood, and his voice began to thunder. “Such clever boys and girls you think you are... But in the end, I still have the Sultan and Sultana. Even at my weakest, I am still more powerful than you can ever dare to dream! I will have my kingdom restored, and I will be the rightful ruler! I AM THE PHANTOM PRINCE, AND YOU ARE NOTHING BUT THE STEPPING STONES TO MY ETERNAL GLORY!”

With this last blasphemous boast, the orb split open, and powerful dark magic struck out into the caves, slamming hard into the stone surrounding them – the walls began to crack, dust began to fall, the ground underneath their feet trembled, and there was a dull roar beginning to echo throughout the caverns.

“The cave's coming down on us!” Mickey declared, grabbing Minnie by the wrist. “Everybody out, NOW!” Goofy scooped up Lotus into his arms, and the entire crew headed back towards the entrance, the sunlight now free from the clouds. Daisy thought she heard Donald say something, or make a noise, perhaps he tripped, but there was no chance to see if he was all right. The cave was collapsing right behind them, and with one last, final, earth-shattering blow, it toppled down and sent out a harsh wind of dust and debris. Outside, the group fell over, the earth underneath them having moved due to how large the once mighty cave had been. Once the noise had stopped, Mickey dared to lift his head. “Maybe... next time... we call the magic bad guy weak... when we're outside.”

Goofy sat up, trying to do a mental count. “Everyone make it out okay?” One, two, three, four... wait...

Jose knocked some dirt off his hat. “Donald? Where is Donald?” Heads turned, but indeed, there was no sign of the bird.

Daisy sighed, getting on her feet. “Okay, before we all lose our heads, he's fine. Guy is way too dumb to die. Just give me a second to find him with my Eye, all right?” With a flourish of her hands, she closed her eyes...

… and saw darkness. Nothing.

Daisy slowly opened her eyes. “I... I didn't see anything,” she said slowly, unable to hear the words she was saying.

“What do you mean, you didn't see anything?!” Mickey demanded. “It's all the All-Seeing-Eye, it's supposed to be All-Seeing!”

“Shut up, I know what it's called!” Daisy hissed, before closing her eyes and trying again. Darkness. Nothing. Darkness Nothing. “No, no, no no no no...” If there was nothing to see, then that could only mean - “Noooo, no no no NO!” That the person she was trying to find was - “NO! NO NO NO NOOOOO!” Gods damn it all, her last words to him couldn't have been a mockery of his family! To rip his heart in two! “DONALD!” She threw herself at the remaining pile of rubble, trying to shove away the rocks. “DONALD, YOU CAN'T DO THIS! YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO BE THERE FOR ME, SO YOU CAN'T DO THIS!” He wasn't allowed to leave her! He wasn't allowed to be gone without a goodbye, a proper goodbye, she was crying and sobbing and this was worse than any stupid glass dream! “DONALD!”

The other members of the crew, save Goofy, began to pale and gasp in terrible understanding. Of course, Goofy paid attention to things no one else did, like moving sand. As the rest of the crew joined in on the desperate digging, Goofy gently set Lotus aside, stood up, brushed down his pants, and headed to a strange lump in the sand.

“DONALD!” Daisy screamed again, her fingers becoming dirty and bloody as she dug through the remains, even digging through the dirt even if that was a mad place to search. “DONALD, PLEASE! Please ... I want to wake up! The dream has to be over now! Everything's supposed to be okay now!”

Goofy stuck his hand in the lump, grabbed the softness within, and yanked it out. He then returned to the group, setting it down, dusted it off, and began tapping everyone on the shoulders one by one.

Daisy made a retching noise, unable to see anything anymore, Eye or not, with how hard she was crying. “I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it... I didn't mean any of those things... Please, don't... don't go... I'm sorry...”

“Apology accepted.”

Daisy stopped, and then whipped her head back so hard the snake in her hair flew a few inches off into a rock, sitting up dizzily. There stood Donald, looking quite amused, his entire body covered in mud and dirt. He wiggled his fingers. “Hello.”

Daisy's relief was muted by her anger and humiliation. “... WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU?!” She grabbed a fistful of pebbles, ready to throw them.

“I tripped,” Donald said, “And I knew if I got up I wouldn't make it out in time. So,” he held up one finger, letting lightning swirl around it. “I used my powers like a shield and let it fall on me. Neat, eh?” He managed to dodge the pebbles.

“NEAT?!” Daisy shrieked, ready to strangle Donald herself in place of the glass replicas. “My Eye couldn't see you!”

“Well, yeah, I got dirt in my eye.” Donald pointed at his eyes, “And it hurt, so I shut them. You probably just saw the insides of my eyelids. But!” he finished with a clap. “More importantly! Sooomebody caaares~!”

Daisy froze, now acutely aware of all the knowing eyes on her, each one more gleeful than the last. “... No, I don't. Nooo, I don't. Stop looking at me like that!”

“Daisy's got a heee-aaart!” Clarabelle sang, and Horace joined in, the two of them swaying and singing. “Daisy's got a heee-aaart!”

“SHUT UP! I do not!” Daisy huffed, stomping her heels into the ground. “I am an unfeeling monster! I lie and trick and use people for tools! I don't like anybody! QUIT SINGING THAT STUPID SONG!”

“Aw, what nice little lies,” Donald teased, pulling Daisy into a hug and patting her head. “There, there. Welcome to the world of caring.”

“You guys suck,” Daisy mumbled into Donald's chest, lying again.

Mickey rolled his eyes, taking his sword back from Minnie. “As exciting as the last couple of minutes have been, we do have another problem on our hands... with the cave like this now, how are we supposed to find the map piece? It'll take forever to dig it out!”

Lotus stretched her arms as she stood up, reaching for one last thing in her sleeve. “About that... any good thief always has a back-up plan.” She pulled out a familiar piece of paper. “And I am a very good thief.”

Minnie's jaw hit the ground, all her newfound dignity and respect gone. “You... had that piece of the map with you... the entire time?!” She hated this woman! She hated this woman so much!!!

“I found it in there, and didn't tell the big guy,” Lotus said as she handed over the piece to a stunned Mickey. “He offered me a fortune to trade you guys, but I always make it a habit to keep secrets from my employers. If you're working for a bad guy, you have to expect bad things might happen to you too. This make us even, Big Ears?”

Mickey slowly took the piece from her fingers. “You... are a horrible person. You have to know that.”

Lotus shrugged, not really caring. “The world's not always so black and white. Being gray can be the most fun. But before you guys head out on the next leg of your journey, I got one last question... why doesn't that Phantom guy just tell you where his lost kingdom is, instead of telling you where the next piece of the map is? Won't it take longer to find the kingdom itself?”

Mickey held up the third piece of the map in the sunlight. Like the other two, the words were difficult to read, the lines didn't make sense, and it didn't seem to fit in any direction with the others. He needed to think like clever Minnie. Flip it around... If the Phantom wasn't taking them to the kingdom, but to the map, it was because...

“It's because... this map isn't a map at all! We're not looking for pieces of a map – we're looking for pieces of a spell!”

#disney #fanfic #the son of scheherazade #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #donald duck #daisy duck #jose carioca #panchito pistoles

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allfandomxreader · 6 years

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Living the Dream

Pairings: Joe Keery x Fem!Reader Words: 2,808 Summary: You’re an assistant to John Pelzer, editor-in-chief for one of the biggest magazines in New York: Pastiche. You just so happen to run into Joe Keery who’s apart of Pastiche’s next issue. Warnings: Language A/N: Here’s the beginnin of my new series! I hope you all enjoy it. I would love any feedback you guys have for me to make this and all my other writings better. Part: 1/6

Masterlist

Aromas of coffee float through the air, instantly calming your wild brain. You ran through today’s agenda step by step for the third time, just to make sure you don’t forget anything. Your foot taps against the hardwood impatiently as you scroll absentmindedly through a few emails. Your eyes glance to the barista very few seconds who’s taking forever to prepare the simple drinks you ordered.

Normally, you wouldn’t mind the wait. Being in the calm atmosphere would usually ease the abundance of tasks you needed to get done, it would bring you quiet, clarity even. Today, however, the sluggish movement from all sides makes you want to jump from your skin. The schedule was far to busy for your time to be wasted, waiting for coffee.

When she finally calls your name, you’re quick to make it to the counter mumbling a ‘thank you’ before spinning around. You can’t even make a step before someone crashes into you, spewing hot coffee onto your blouse. The world around you moves slowly as the hot liquid stings your skin, you don’t dare to open your eyes knowing you’d most likely flip your shit on whoever ran into you. “Shit!” You and the stranger hiss at the same time. A man shoves napkins into your hands, profusely apologizing for the mishap.

“Please, let me buy you another.” He proposes as you dab the flimsy paper against the white cloth. You quickly flick your wrist to expose the dainty leather watch, groaning at the little time you had left before Mr. Pelzer’s meeting began.

“There’s no time!” You grumble not bothering to look at the man as you shove past him and into the busy streets of Manhattan. You trudge through crowds of people fuming with as the stress consumes you. It feels as if the whole world collapsing around you and you need to fix all before noon.

Like every morning, you’re greeted with interns rushing around the large office building. Some flick through paperwork, others sit with phones pressed between their shoulder and ear, but most tap away on their desktops at each of their desks. Whether they’re writing their columns, editing, or designing layout options, you’ll never know. You just hope they're doing it correctly so you don’t have to fix it later.

“Y/N, thank god you’re here!” A familiar voice calls after you just when you reach the elevator, “Whoa, what happened to you?” Naomi eyeballs your coffee covered blouse with wide eyes as the doors open.

“Good morning to you too,” You chuckle stepping into the small space with your best friend right on your heels. “I was meaning to grab coffee for Mr. Pelzer but as you can see,” You gesture to your stained clothes.

“Well, it’s the thought that counts,” She smiles, “Mr. Pelzer’s meeting already started, he gave me your assignments, I put them on your desk,” Naomi explains before rummaging through her large book bag, pulling out a floral blouse before shoving it into your hands.

“Have I ever told you you’re my favorite intern?” You beam at her before taking the fabric.

“Eh,” She shrugs with a smile, “Once or twice,” The two of you exchange a few giggles before parting ways. Your heels click against the tiled floor all the way to your office. Being John Pelzer’s beloved assistant had a lot of perks, one of them being a gorgeous office overlooking the city.

The space around you looks the same as it did the night prior. Your desk remains tidy, each object having a permanent home. A few Magazine’s from Pastiche’s previous years lay scattered along the glass coffee table. You often find yourself flipping through the colorful pages, reminiscing in the success from the company you’re apart of.

You adore your job, even if your title was ‘Assistant’ you know you’re so much more. John always jokes that you’re the backbone of his magazine, which isn’t far from the truth. Working alongside him shouldn’t give you as much power as you have, however, John created the company and he could do anything. He won’t publish anything without passing it by you or asking your opinion. He values everything you bring to the company, so much he sees you more as a partner than an assistant.

You don’t mind, being thrown into New York to follow your dreams was intimidating, especially when the opportunity for working for one of the biggest magazines in the nation arisen. John gave you a sense of family, he taught you almost everything you know. He loved watching you grow over the years as you became more comfortable with the role you had. Without you, John believed the company would be in shambles.

Ringing echoes around the space, pulling you out of your trance and back to reality. You stride over to your desk, quickly pressing the cold phone to your ear. “Y/N Y/L/N speaking.” Your voice is monotonous as you talk into the phone.

“Conference room. Now.” Before you can even get another word in, the line goes dead. You quickly throw on Naomi’s shirt, buttoning the shirt as you make your way out the door, following John’s orders.

“Ah, there she is,” John’s voice booms throughout conference room as you quietly enter. Your approach to going in unnoticed was thrown out the window as all eyes land on you. You awkwardly flash a smile to the expressionless professionals. “Joe, allow me to introduce my assistant, Y/N Y/L/N who put all of this together, Y/N, meet Joe Keery.” John introduces you to the handsome man, he smiles ushering you to shake his hand.

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Keery. Pastiche is glad to have you here,” You reach forward to shake his hand.

“It’s you,” Joe mutters in awe as he looks over your whole body, gently taking your hand in his.

“Excuse me?” Murmurs came from the seated strangers as they listen to the two of you, just as confused as you were.

“From this morning, I spilled coffee all over you,” Your eyes widen in horror as the pieces fall into place.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” You gush, remembering the events of the morning.

“For what?” He chuckles, “It was definitely my fault,” Awkward silence fills the room, you realize your hand is still placed in his. You gently pull away from his grasp, fiddling with your fingers as Joe keeps his eyes locked on you. “Let me make it up to you somehow, when’s your lunch break? I saw a pizza parlor down the street,” Joe rambles, his words float through the air faster than his mind could process them.

“I appreciate the offer, Mr. Keery, but I have a lot of assignments to finish today-” You begin but are promptly interrupted by your boss.

“She’d love to go,” Your heads snap towards the older man, a smile is plastered on his face as he looks between you and Joe, “Naomi will finish the assignments,” He continues, “You’re always here, go have a little fun.”

You find yourself walking through the streets lost in conversation. You’ve only known Joe for a matter of minutes and you already feel like you’ve known him forever. Your laugh bellows over the city’s chaos as he tells a childhood story, he pulls a restaurant door open for you casually following you into the booth of a pizza joint. “And then -shit you not- it jumped out of the tank and into my mouth!” He laughs as you pretend to gag.

“That’s disgusting, I hope you don’t tell everyone that,” You shake your head, laughing at the revolting story.

“Not everyone, only the people I like,” Joe looks over you, trying to read your reaction. Your eyes drop from his, your cheeks grow warm as you laugh to yourself.

“You don’t even know me,” Joe cocks his head to the side, pursing his lips together.

“So, tell me about yourself then.” He leans his elbows on the table, ready to listen to anything you throw his way.

You walked through the streets of Manhattan following the GPS to Pastiche’s building. Nerves make your whole body tremble, you tried your best to hide your shaking hands as you talked to Susan, the kind receptionist, right when you enter the grand building.

You follow her through what seems like a maze just to make it to John Pelzer’s office. The man typed furiously on his keyboard, his face was pulled into a snarl as he looked over whatever he was typing.

“Mr. Pelzer, an assistant is here to begin her two weeks.” Pelzer huffed in response, he didn’t even look up to greet you. Susan bows her head taking her cue to leave, she offers an apologetic smile before exiting his luxurious office.

“Hello, sir, my name is-”

“I didn’t ask for you to speak.” He barked, holding up his hand, still not giving you the decency of eye contact. Tears sprang to your eyes, not used to the treatment he was giving you. “Coffee, now.” He demanded as he clicked with the mouse, suddenly done with typing.

“Sir, I don’t know where the break room is at,” Your voice was meek, scared to get yelled at.

“Well,” He dramatically gasps, “That seems like a you problem. Go!” He screamed as you scurried out of his presence.

The following week was horrid, every conversation left you in tears. Pelzer didn’t seem to have a kind bone in his body, not just towards you but to everyone that worked for him. He always barked orders and demanded absurd things. But you wanted this job more than anything in the world, so if you had to get yelled at just for him to like you, so be it.

You placed his coffee on the corner of his desk, spinning on your heel to leave. “I need these assignments done by tomorrow morning.” He said, smoothy, just as you reached for the door handle. When you turned to look, a stack of papers was being held out to you, thick enough to have Stephen King trembling in fear.

“There’s no way I could get that done.” Your voice was harsher than you intended, at that point, you were so fed up you didn’t even care.

“A shame,” He grunted, dropping the papers back down to his desk with a thud. “You’re dismissed, tell Susan to notify the next assistant, maybe they’ll know how to do what’s asked of them.” You stared at the man, rage boiled inside you, ready to burst.

“No.” This got his attention, his eyes snapped to you, obviously not used to hearing such a simple word. “I know how to do what’s asked of me, I’ve done every task you’ve dropped at my feet. Every. single. one. I knew working here would be busy, but you are asking the impossible. I’m not going to finish those assignments tonight, and if I did, it would be the shittiest quality and I know that you would rather be dead than have shitty content in your magazine. Mr. Pelzer, I have such a high respect for you, I came to New York to learn from you and the only thing I’ve learned is how you like your coffee. I know I’m beyond qualified for this job, and if you don’t realize that someone else will.” You were eerily calm for the amount of anger you possessed.

John slowly removed his glasses and stood from his desk. He calmly walks forward, it felt like ages before he towered in front of you. Finally, a smile formed on his face, he gleefully shook your hand congratulating you on “passing”.

“It was a total cliche, but that’s how it all started,” Joe nods along smiling at your story, lazily munching on his pizza.

“He seems like a tough man. Interns practically ran away from him when we walked through the building.” He chuckles, taking another bite.

“Yeah, he’s terrifying,” You admit, “He’s been through more than people would guess. His son died when he was seven, leukemia.” Joe’s eyes soften as you reveal parts of your boss’ past, “A short while later his wife left him for some rich businessman. Out of spite, he created Pastiche and it became one of America’s most-read magazines.” You chuckle to yourself, “Pastiche is like his child, he wants everything to be perfect, he wants all the right people working for him -the best of the best -I mean hello I work there,” Joe’s face breaks out into a grin, he can’t help but laugh. “Anyways, I see him more as a father or a mentor than a boss, I think he sees me as his child too -although he’d never admit that. He’s a very nice man once you get to know him.”

“I can tell you mean a lot to him,” A smile tugs at your lips just with those simple words.

When the two of you had finished your meal, Joe calmly pays for the food and the two of you set out into the city once again. You take him to all your secret spots, you show him the best tree to sit under in the park and even your favorite cafe that has the best pastries. The two of you don’t disperse until long after the sun dips below the skyscrapers. You exchange farewells before jumping into separate taxis, bound to never see one another again.

You sink into the chair flicking through the assignments Naomi finished while you were away. You scour the printed paper searching for any errors only to find none. You smile at the young interns work, you taught her well through the years she’s been working with the company.

As if on cue, Naomi barges through the door, grinning ear to ear. “Tell me everything!” Her shrill voice disrupts the tranquility as she plops into the small couch, she grabs a magazine out of habit from the coffee table. You eyeball her suspiciously, not understanding her new found excitement --or what you had to do with it. “You went on a date with Joe!” She screeches, clapping her hands together in amusement. She leans her chin onto her hand, awaiting you to reveal the magical day, “Spill!”

“Okay, okay!” You giggle, leaning against the front of your desk, smiling as you remember the feeling of being in his presence. You start from when John ordered you into the conference room and end at the lingering hug he gave you before you stepped into your taxi, you leave out no details as you spill the secrets to the bubbly girl. “But, I doubt I’ll ever see him again. I mean it’s Joe fucking Keery, why would he want to be associated with an assistant?” Naomi shakes her head at your pessimism.

You push yourself away from the table at the sound of the phone, you calmly press the speaker button, signaling the caller to begin talking. “Ms. Y/L/N, you have a call,” Susan’s voice comes out muffled as she informs you.

“Thank you, Susan, put them through please,” You grab a pen from the top drawer, preparing to scribble meetings for John or other contact information. “Y/N Y/L/N speaking,” You say after a quiet beep.

“Y/N, hi! It’s Joe,” Your eyes snap to Naomi, she slaps her palm over her lips in efforts to contain her squeals.

“Mr. Keery!” As much as you try to hold in your excitement, your voice betrays you.

“Please, call me Joe,” He sighs, annoyed that after the third time he’s said this you still call him by his surname. “I had a lot of fun with you yesterday, I was wondering if you’d like to go out again sometime?” You can tell he’s nervous, even through the shitty quality of the phone’s speakers. Naomi frantically waves her arms, her mouth is agape silently screaming. Blonde hair bounces around her head as she tries to answer for you, despite the fact Joe was oblivious to her joy.

“Yes, yes I’d like that,” It takes all you can not to break out and cheer with your best friend, he speaks before you even get the chance.

“Great! I’ll leave you my number and we’ll figure out when we’re both free,” You scribble down the number onto your notepad, promising to call him once you’ve gotten off work to work out the details.

Your eyes are wide when you set the phone back on the receiver, Naomi cocks her eyebrow, a small smirk tugging at her lips. She flips her hair over her shoulder as she stands from the couch, “You were saying?” Was the last thing she said before slipping out of your office.

Tags: @superfrankie111 @empathetic-vibrations

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artificialqueens · 7 years

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Do For Love (Shalaska) - Ch. 1 - Pink Sugar

summary: alaska is the editor in chief of a major magazine that she runs with her best friends, willam and courtney. sharon is the editor in chief of their top competitor in the industry and they hate each other. until they don’t anymore.

a/n: this is going to be a multi-chapter (depending on how well this first chapter goes down with you). i’ve had this idea in my head for a while and have finally got around to writing it. shalaska with a side of witney, just how i like it. let me know what you guys think! kisses!!!

The sultry sound of her stilettos cracking against the marble floors echoed throughout the hall as she walked confidently through the lobby of the 26-story building. “Good morning Mrs. Davis,” she smiled sweetly to the receptionist as she walked past, gracefully making her way toward and stepping into the elevator that was being held open for her. “25th floor, Miss Thunderfuck?” The elevator worker asked, to which Alaska nodded. She thanked him as she exited half a minute later, heels clicking as she took the few necessary steps to the grand and glittering glass doors that pushed open to reveal the chaotic swirl that was Visage Magazine headquarters.

Alaska strutted calmly but purposefully through the beautifully designed studio that comprised the majority of 25th floor of the Royal Carrera Center, one of the tallest buildings in the city. Endlessly stylish and impeccably dressed individuals were scattered across the space, some making coffee at the bar in the corner, others sitting at desks, many on the phone and some analyzing and sketching on the large drawing boards that stood tall along the length of one of the far back walls. It was always busy towards the end of the month before the release of a new issue.

Monday morning sunlight streamed through the elegant floor length windows lining the right-side wall of the studio, displaying New York City outside like a framed piece of art. It was a view Alaska was certain she’d never be tired of; it was a daily reminder of how she’d made it. Big time.

“Good morning, Miss Thunderfuck,” a petite and pristinely put together brunette spoke suddenly, darting from behind one of the many beautiful designer tables lining the wall of rustic brick and windows, to walk alongside Alaska as she continued unflinchingly toward her personal office on the other side of the floor.

“Miss Belli and Miss Act are waiting for you in your office,” Violet informed her as they walked, handing the older woman a large coffee that she had already prepared in a glossy black company mug in anticipation for her boss’s arrival, as well as a heavy, white leather binder, open to a page filled with tall, otherworldly sketches of women bathed in fabrics and colors. “Shea from “Velour & Coulee” sent over these designs this morning, she said she wants to leak them in next months issue before their upcoming Spring 2018 show before Christmas, but seeing as it’s past deadline I suggested we wait until the December issue because-“

Alaska froze quickly, stopping in her tracks in the swarm of the busy office, her star-presence had ushered people out of the center of the room, leaving a sort of catwalk for the lean woman to bless as she traveled to her office.

Sliding her designer sunglasses down her nose to reveal soft, sparkly blue eyes Alaska considered the designs Violet had handed her for a moment, her long and immaculately manicured fingers still curled around the handle of the coffee in her other hand. “Hmm, yeah. Okay.” Alaska said in a low, murmured voice as she pondered the sketches. Suddenly walking again she continued to speak to Violet, who had followed her as though she were being pulled by some kind of magnetic force to her boss. “I really love those. I want them in next month’s issue. Tell Shea it’s done. I don’t want her and Sasha to think we aren’t prioritizing them. They’re one of the biggest designers in the country at the moment and we really have to keep them happy.” The words poured like honey from Alaska’s mouth as she spoke to the nodding girl on her left, the voice of a woman who knew exactly what she was doing, a tone of complete confidence that had everyone so captivated by her. Violet looked her in the eyes thoughtfully and admirably as the woman instructed her. There were only a select number of people in the office who dared be so in Alaska’s company, but that’s why Alaska respected the girl, and Violet knew it.

“There’s still enough time to give them a spread in October, call Trixie and have her arrange it. Only Trixie though,” She said pointedly as she waved a finger at Violet, “She’s had a great vision for this issue, she’ll know how to map it.” As they reached the end of the hallway, Violet offered Alaska a sharp nod, waiting frozen still in her tight, plunging black velvet dress, to see if the ethereal blonde before her would ask her of anything else before she turned to return to her desk. The chandelier hanging above cast a gold glow over them both as Alaska handed Violet back the folder and drawled a soft but genuine thank you as she reached for the handle of her office and disappeared inside without addressing Violet further.

“Good morning babes,” Alaska smiled as she walked into the sophisticated, sunlit space that was her office. “Hey girl,” Willam smiled, sat obnoxiously on her phone in the large, throne-like red leather chair behind Alaska’s glass desk, her pink stiletto clad feet on her coworker and best friends’ table. Alaska walked over to the other woman, placing her coffee on the black coaster on the desk before shrugging out of her knee-length; tan trench coat and walking to hang it up along with her handbag on the coat stand on other-side of the room. She turned around again to reveal a red dress, it was a short-sleeved number with puffed, structured shoulders, it was tight around her enviously tiny waist and snug at her hips, giving her a flawless hourglass figure before ending about mid-thigh. “Bitch! What the fuck is that? Is that new?” William exclaimed loudly, gagging over the dress like Alaska had known she would. “Hey,” Alaska folded her arms across her chest, “I’ll tell you where I got it if you get the fuck out of my chair,” she said in mock-seriousness, making her way to reclaim her territory as the older woman behind her desk jumped up, mussed, dirty blonde hair falling around her perfectly structured face as her Louboutin’s hit the floor.

Alaska gave the girl a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting before she dropped into her comfy seat; reaching for the coffee she’d placed on her desk moments before, then regarded her friend again. “Where’s Court?” Alaska drawled, blowing lightly into the hot, golden liquid steaming in her mug, “Violet said she was waiting in here for me with you.”

Willam looked confused for a moment, glitter-painted eyes creasing in thought as she did so, Alaska laughed; “Violet’s the pretty one.” When recognition failed to register on Willam’s face, Alaska continued, “The little, young one. The one who wears black and does the blue eye shadow and red lipstick.” Realization glazed over Willam’s eyes as she took a seat across from Alaska in one of the two white guest chairs. “Oooooh, the hot one.” She breathed, raising an eyebrow at her friend, who chuckled into her drink, “I can’t believe you know everyone’s names.” Willam said, relaxing back in her chair, “There are like a million people working in this office nowadays, I barely even know you and Courtney’s names anymore, Alabama.”

Alaska choked slightly on her coffee at her friends joke. Willam wasn’t entirely wrong, when Alaska had started Visage magazine ten years ago, it had only been her, then shortly afterwards it was Courtney and Willam too, and then all of a sudden there were a hundred people at her feet, ready to do whatever she said just for a tiny word of praise from the editor in chief herself. Nevertheless, Alaska knew every single one of their names and knew exactly what they did; this was her company; it was her job to know everything in and about it.

“Seriously though,” Alaska broke the short silence that had followed Willam’s comedic moment, “Where’s Courtney? I wanna start going through the final details of the upcoming Valentina deal. It’s stressing me out, we’ve got to close this before anyone else gets to it.” Willam sat upright at Alaska’s question, the way she always does when they talk business, adjusting the collar of her silk, couture white blouse as she replied, “Yeah, about that.” Willam started, her concerned tone prompting Alaska to place her coffee back down on the table and give her friend her full attention. “Court’s assistant,” Willam flailed her hand, obviously trying to think up the name of their colleague’s assistant, “Aja,” Alaska offered, helping Willam. “Right, well, Aja got a call from that little friend of hers that works for Valentina, saying that another magazine had a meeting scheduled with Valentina herself for this afternoon regarding the 2018 deal. So Courtney got Aja to tell her friend to meet the two of them for brunch this morning to try and squeeze whatever other intel from her that we can get.” Willam explained quickly, her voice thick with the seriousness of the gossip she was spilling.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Alaska closed her eyes and massaged her temples in exasperation. “Did she say who the other magazine was?” She asked, opening her eyes to look at her friend, “Yeah. And you aren’t gonna like it, sis.”

“Oh for fucks sake.” Alaska whined, “Fucking Sharon.” She sighed heavily, Willam nodding and raising her eyebrows knowingly in response.

Sharon Needles was the editor in chief of Lepore magazine, Visage magazines’ top competitor. The two magazines were pretty similar conceptually; both headed by young entrepreneurs, popular globally, similar customer demographic. The only difference was that Lepore magazine was headquartered in Chicago and thus had a different feel to it; it was a little edgier and darker in aesthetic. There had been rumours that Lepore had been planning on moving a to Manhattan in the coming year, but Alaska didn’t think they’d really go through with it, however them reaching out to Valentina was proof they were hunting down some New York-based designers for deals, which meant they really were expanding. As for the company’s editor in chief, Sharon was a nightmare. She was driven, intelligent, stubborn, artistic, and a little bit of a genius, which made her a fucking pain in the ass. Willam and Courtney always joked that the reason Sharon and Alaska couldn’t stand one another so much was because they were essentially the same person, except Sharon wore berry-purple lipsticks and all black while Alaska was nude lipsticks and wore delicate pinks and reds. Either way, they were both wildly successful women from Pennsylvania with burning passions for what they do and more often than not, the other person got in the way of that.

“Why does Sharon even want the Valentina deal? Isn’t Val’s stuff a little too polished for Lepore? They always go on about how they’re avant-garde and outlandish in their aesthetic.” Alaska whined to her friend, who was smiling at her slyly, “What?” Alaska snapped in frustration, “Nothing, girl, chill out. It’s just funny how nothing gets you worked up like Lepore. If it was any other magazine you wouldn’t panic like this.”

“Yeah, well, not every other magazine is run by a psychopathic egomaniac in a dress.” Alaska fired back, irritated. “Come on, let’s go meet Courtney and Aja,” Willam reasoned, getting up and reaching for both of their jackets on the coatrack, handing Alaska her Burberry trench-coat and wrapping her own dark-grey fur coat around herself. “You can tell them and Val’s girl all about how you wanna slice Needles’ throat with the heel of a stiletto pump while I eat my avocado toast and drink my mimosa.”

“Bill, ‘Laska,” Courtney called from across the crowded room, standing up from the table where she was seated in the fancy Plaza Hotel Café, a huge crystal glass filled with water and lemon resting on the white tablecloth. Willam’s face broke into a wide smile at the sight of their dear friend and Alaska pointed out to the tuxedo-clad waiter that they didn’t need a table because their friend already had one for them.

“Hey Court,” Alaska greeted her friend, pressing her plump lips to her cheek fleetingly. “Where’s your little pet and her friend?” Willam asked, sitting down at the table, “Aja,” Courtney corrected, “and Valentina’s girl Farrah left already,” the Australian explained, “We were done so I dismissed them, they didn’t need to be here for me to fill you guys in.”

Alaska took a sip of Courtney’s cool drink, “Well, what did you find out?”

“Right, so, turns out that, according to Farrah, Valentina is looking to make the deal bigger; she basically wants a magazine to announce and cover her seasonal lines for 2018 and 2019, it’s a two-year deal and apparently she’s willing to pay a fuck load for the spreads. Farrah says she reckons it’s gonna be between us and Lepore. Apparently they’ve flown Sharon in from Chicago for a meeting this afternoon at her office, and apparently Valentina’s going to approach us for an interview too in the coming week. I’ve already emailed Katya, Trixie and Fame and have them drafting a pitch, we should be ready.”

“Look at you, all organized!” Willam exclaimed, “Piss off,” Courtney snapped jokingly, “and hey, gimme back my drink, I paid for that.” She said, reaching over the table for her lemon water that Willam and Alaska were now sharing on the other side of the table. “It’s fucking water you cheap bitch,” Willam replied incredulously, smiling at Courtney as she snatched the glass back.

Their lives were full of these moments. The three of them had met at Columbia University in 2007 when they were 19. Alaska had been getting a joint degree in visual art and journalism and had created the magazine for a project during her first year. Somehow, her professor Michelle Visage, who had been working in publishing at the time, had recognized its potential and convinced Alaska to print it as a school paper. Willam had been Alaska’s roommate at the time and was a business major, Courtney was a communications major, Willam knew her from high school, and recruited her to join in on the work, the three of them writing, designing and editing the magazine for the three years they were in school until they graduated. They then received a grant from benefactors who loved their work, and used the money to establish themselves as a company, under the name Visage, in honour of the professor who had given them the opportunity in the first place. Within two years they had acclaimed global success, with their magazine being sold everywhere from New York to Paris.

It had been far from easy, but the three of them had become a family in the process. From the sleepless nights editing, drinking cheap white wine and eating takeout pizza on dorm-bedroom carpets scattered with sketches to taking first-class flights to Milan and having meetings and casting deals with top designers. Courtney always argued that they were still the same kids they had been when they started, that she was proud of how money hadn’t changed them. Willam would shake her head in response and argue that that wasn’t true at all, their lips were way fuller and their hair was far nicer now that they weren’t broke.

“So, ‘Laska, what do you think?” Courtney spoke, flipping her soft blonde waves behind her shoulder, Willam’s eyes momentarily flashing to the flesh of her chest revealed by the strapless black number the Australian was wearing.

“I think we should get on this right fucking now. I want us to be ready for our pitch when they call us, can you tell Katya and the girls that I want that pitch finished by Thursday so that the three of us can go through it and make any necessary changes before the weekend?”

Courtney quickly typed out a text in her phone as Alaska finished talking, “Done.”

Alaska protested that they ought to leave for the office and get back to work, but Willam and Courtney convinced her to stay, have some breakfast and relax for an hour. Keeping one another sane was 75% of their job.

The rest of the brunch proceeded the way things always did when they hung out together; laughing at the fancily named foods, sipping cold mimosas, Willam teasing Courtney, Alaska holding Willam’s hand in silent reassurance under the table as Courtney tells them about the cute date she had this weekend.

It wasn’t until they got back to the office that shit really started to kick off.

The three of them slid elegantly from the cool leather seats of the private company car to stand outside the Royal Carrera Center, the chilly autumnal air blowing their blonde hair behind them as they walked with the badass class of some kind of girl group toward the entrance.

The moment they stepped out from the revolving doors and into the lobby of the building, Alaska and Willam’s assistants, Adore and Naomi respectively, were on them like STDs at an orgy.

“Alaska!” Adore yelled, standing up from the bench and running from where she and Naomi had been anxiously awaiting the return of their bosses. “Jesus Christ,” Willam said, the three older women stopping in their tracks to face the panicked looking girls before them. “What is it? What’s wrong?” Alaska asked, concerned for Adore, the 22 year-old looking like she was about explode. After stumbling over words for a few seconds but failing to actually say anything in her state of panic, Willam turned to Naomi. Naomi had been working for Willam for a little over a year now, the longest any assistant of hers had ever managed to stick around, the two had an odd bond, Willam saw herself in the tall, younger girl. “Smalls,” Willam demanded, “Talk.”

“Sharon Needles is here. She’s in Alaska’s office.”

Alaska didn’t even pause to ask further questions, like how the fuck did she get in there? Who let her in? Why is she here? And the typical demand that came with a stressful situation, can someone get me a fucking bottle of tequila?

Alaska made a beeline for that elevator with so much fire and fury in her step that the other four girls could do nothing but run behind her and jump in the elevator with her.

“Did she say what she wanted?” Courtney asked Adore as the four of them stood in the lift. Adore shook her head, “She walked right into the office and literally just like, announced that she’d be in your office,” Adore gestured to Alaska, who was stood tapping her foot and biting her glossy, pink bottom lip in irritation. “I ran to Trixie and Katya’s office and told them, and they said you had texted them saying you were on your way back already. So, I got Naomi and we ran down to warn you.”

The elevator doors open with a soft “ding” and the five women exited, Alaska leading with Willam and Courtney at her heels, Naomi and Adore a few steps behind, unsure of what was about to happen next.

The whole department turned their heads at the dramatic entrance the three girls made as they marched through the studio toward Alaska’s office, one of the four private office rooms in the company. The other three being Courtney’s, Willam’s and a joint one for Katya, Trixie and Fame, the three executives just below them in the chain of command.

Right before Alaska turned the handle to enter her room, Willam stopped her. “Dude.“ She breathed steadily, resting her hand over Alaska’s on the door. “Be cool. Let’s just find out what she wants and kick her ass out. We got this.” Courtney nodded, her eyes wide but calm.

“Please,” Alaska scoffed, her voice oddly gentle, “I’m always cool.”

She opened the door and stepped inside. Courtney and Willam shared a knowing look before following in behind her.

A smooth, richly feminine voice spoke the moment they entered.

“Thunderfuck.”

“Needles.”

#au #shalaska #witney #pink sugar #badass business bitches being boujee #slow burn #rpdr fanfiction #submission #do for love #lesbian au

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mysticdragon3md3 · 4 years

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reactions to Haikyuu season 4 “To the Top” ep1-5

6:18 PM 3/9/2020 HAIKYU‼ TO THE TOP Episode 1 – Introductions I was reluctant to watch this right now, because this series was a big deal to me, and I just wanted to watch something light, that I didn't have to pay attention to, while i eat... But my watchlists are outdated and I had been meaning to watch this FOR A WHILE NOW. Whenever I watch something intense or important to me, I feel like I have to set aside all this time and focus, and carefully document every reaction I have, so I can look back at my fandom in later years for this precious milestone of nostalgia,... Bu treally, it's just making me postpone a series that I love. I can't keep doing that. Acchan. New side character, huh? I'm so glad to hear Burnout Syndromes again. In Haikyuu. They were great in Dr. Stone. I'll admit, I wasn't looking forward to season 4 when I found out the director changed and they changed the character designs to more closely emulate the manga-ka. Because...I actually preferred the anime character designs from season 1-3..! I have a habit of this. Atsuko Nakajima's anime character designs for Get Backers were better than the manga-ka. I preferred Sengoku Basara's anime character designer, over the original videogames' designs... It's just a thing with me. Please don't kill me. I'm so glad Yachi Hitoka's poster turned out so cool! *o* I like how this series can relax intos ridiculousness like making a big deal out of measuring their heights. lol "I order you to shrink, Tsukishima!" Tanaka...! LOL I missed your sudden outbursts after your sudden coolenss, Noya-san! I love how this once scene at the end of season 3 is being stretched out to have so much weight. ^-^ So many handstands, Noya-san. lol Yup, Tsukishima. Everyone reviewing season 3 kept saying Tsukishima really shined. Also, Ukai said at the end of the match that Tsukishima was the MVP. Evil Kageyama grin! LOL I was going to enjoy the humor in it, but then that somber music kicked in. o_o So they're still having practice matches against other schools in that montage? Oh no...Kageyama can't read all the kanji?? lol Waiat a sec. Shiratorizawa, Aoba Josai, Date-tech...? Oh, it's the first year special camp. Cute! They finally brought the little chibi crows into the anime! ^o^ Good idea to use them for the commerical break bumpers. LOL Tsukishima is suddenly filling in Kageyama's "yelling 'BAKA!' at Hinata" role1 LOL Well, I do want to see all these different schools students interact with Hinata in training camp settings. I like that NOya is praising Hinata's crazy infiltration. ^^; OMG Takeda-sensei angry...! O~O! Bowed right into the desk! LOL Well, I guess if the host school's coach says it's ok, then Hinata is ok to hang around?? "Wakatoshi-kun"? Why "-kun"? Are they rivals? Friends? Well, that got me fired up. Nothing without Kageyama? Don't make me laugh. This is what I was excited about the different school mixing interactions for. I want to see Hinata meet this challenge. Actually, this reminds me of Shokugeki No Soma when Tadokoro Megumi was just relegated to washing dishes during the stagiaire, but even from that position, she could make valuable observations and give invaluable input. I suspect that even if Hinata is technically just the "ball boy", he'll learn an amazing amount. And frankly, if he jumps to retrieve the balls, especially with his running speed, that'll probably hype up the players to want to challenge him. But I've actually wanted to see Hinata work with Oikawa, and see how Oikawa would use Hinata's athleticism. Sounds like an important thesis statement. "Skills and talents arne't meant ot be had. They're meant to be shown." I love how proud Hinata is, even of being ball boy, like he's unfettered by doubts. 7:03 PM 3/9/2020 End of ep. I can relax. Maybe I should re-watch without taking reaction notes? ===================================================================== 7:05 PM 3/9/2020 HAIKYU‼ TO THE TOP Episode 2 – Lost I really dislike all this talk of just praising how tall all the players are. All the one's the dialogue has picked out so far, are the ones with the least skill. There are already impressive players, who just aren't as tall. Are these coaches in the back from the other schools. I like that one of them is saying it's be a waste to ignore Hinata because he's short and not turn him into a wing spiker. I love how Hinata is just staring and absorbing everything. Oh, yeah. Hinata's serves are the thing he needs to work on the most. I like how Hinata hitting the ball against the wall by himself calls back to when he had to practice by himself all during jr. high. I'm pretty sure Hinata is apologizing because he's going to ask Tsukishima to practice with him. That's the type of audacious, crazy thing I'd expect from Hinata. lol Chubby bird! ^o^ Glad it seems like Ukai understand there's something Hinata can learn even from being a ball boy. Is thatt the vice principal? He's afraid of angry-Takeda-sensei too??? LOL!!! I love how instead of getting angry, Hinata is just impressed by everyone. Even when Goshiki clearly tried to insult him by stealing the ball before Hinta. This is strange. Why is Hinata shaken by Ushijima asking why he's even there? I thought Hinata already figured out he could get good practice, even as just the ball boy, and even just by observing? Well, he "fell"? And then Goshiki walks by...~.~;;;;; That's the Hinata focused face! 7:41 PM 3/9/2020 Aw, man! I want to keep watching! Noooooooooo~! I have stuff to doooooooooo! ;o;!! What else is Production I.G. animating this season? Because this ending theme is almost ALL stills, like they had no budget for it. Whereas, most of the ending themes for the other seasons were animated. Maybe they realized how much better the episodes are when they pour the money from the ending theme budget, into the episodes instead? Forgot to note i lvoe the joke about NOya crashing into Tanaka. lol ======================================================== 7:43 PM 3/9/2020 HAIKYU‼ TO THE TOP Episode 3 – Perspective Go get that Growth, Hinata! Evne if you have to scrape on your hands and knees! ...Oh, now I get the first image in the new opening theme. Hey, if I have to rewind to read a subtitle that got interrupted by the commercial break, and it crashes again, I'm going to start to get annoyed that the commercial breaks keep coming in the middle of dialogue. HINATA! ---Oh! He caught it! ^O^ OMG LOL Does Goshiki really not know how to deal with Hinata's compliments?! LOL!!!! Oh, I see...He's starved for compliments at Shiratorizawa... LOL Commercial. So of course I browse Tumblr. I forgot how little I'm on social media, while I'm engrossed in an anime. I need to watch more of my watchlist. I lvoe that this show has gone on long enough for little callbacks to mean a lot. 6-6 Almost didn't recognize Tanaka's body language. He's almost never jsut standing straight. Oh, right! Tokonami is where Daichi's old friend plays now. FINALLY. A solidly rendered close-up. Hinata's face. I know they changed character designs this season and it does seem to be more flexible to accomodate more motion and expressiveness in the animation...But it's just not as cool as these soldily rendered shots, that used to be almost all the fames in seasons 1-3. OMG Is Kageyama keeping up with the All-Japan group?? I thought I saw a spoiler from this part a long time ago, and he was having trouble keeping up? I'd like it if he was keeping up though. I do like how eveyrone's afraid of Hinata. His intensity. ^o^ Oh no... Damn. Distracted by a compliment/comraderie somehow makes getitng hit in the balls worse... "I keep telling you to keep your damn eyes open"? Wait...Is the Shiratorizawa coach starting to *coach* Hinata now??? 8:29 PM 3/9/2020 Damn it. I want to see (if) Tsukishima actually ask Hinata to practice with him. I can't keep watching the NEXT episode! I have stuff to do!! ================================================= 8:31 PM 3/9/2020 HAIKYU‼ TO THE TOP Episode 4 – Take It Easy I feel like this part is where the editor of the manga came in and was like, "We can't go this many chapters without Hinata actually playing". lol Oh, so Sakusa isn't sick. He's just a germaphobe. I like how oblivious Kageyama is to normal human interaction. ^-^ That's relatable to me. I love that Date-tech's freshman is being all genki in the same frame as Hinata. Double genki!!! ^O^ They all want to block Hinata? I think this is what I wanted to see, when Hinata crashed the training camp, but I forgot about when he got into training as ball boy. So Hinata is the best practice you could get vs a spiker because he can read blockers better than anyone else? I'm glad Kageyama is having a good time. He doesn't intimidated; he gets excited. Omg This kid *wants* Kageyama to get intimidated? Ladies and gentlemen, we have our running gag comedy relief. Commercial. I should probably watch In/Specter. I used to always say I like yokai series. ...Do I really? Maybe it was just that some manga I used to read had all these tropes I liked attached to yokai. Anime goes in so many different directions, you can't expect the same. So this Miya guy is finally being the antagonist they've been hinting at. "Goody 2 shoes"? I like we're getting scenes of Hinata and Koganegawa talking. They have similar wavelengths. "The heck are you talking about?! I"m chewing him out!" "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're cheering him up." lol "What good does it do you to cheer me up?" "Lots! I mean... I wanna beat you." I love how encouraging and warm Hinata's face is. But why is everyone else so angry looking? They don't want Hyakuzawa to get strong and have to face him or something? ^^; This is the 3rd time there's been a longer monologue and I don't quite understand it. What's happening to my braiiiiiiiiin???????????????????????? I really hope there's just a better translation that makes more sense to how I udnerstand things. Oh, this is Kunimi's technique, right? Hinata taught Hyakuzawa, Kunimi's pacing control? ...Yeah, it's Kunimi's technique. Hinata is soo nice!!!!! ^-^ Hinta is the best cheerleader! ;U; And coaching better than Washijo! ^o^ Give Hinata all the high fives! ;U; Wait. Why is Koganegawa watching from the sidelines too? Doesn't he have to play in a 2 vs 2? lol Oh, no. What's with Kageyama. Well, I'm actually not as intrigued with what's going on with Kageyama, compared to how much I want to see more of Hinata having an effect in his training camp. I guess if I could stop marathoning anywhere, it'd be here. 9:09 PM 3/9/2020

. 12:22 PM 3/10/2020 HAIKYU‼ TO THE TOP Episode 5 – Hunger Yeah, what's up with Kageyama? Is there some other translation of Goody 2 Shoes that actually sounds more insulting? Or is that just foreshadowing somethign we're not supposed to understand yet until a flashback explains things? So is everyone watching Kunimi on the sidelines now? lol omg Did those oysters give him food poisoning, after all? Yuck... I wonder if it's asking too much to hope Hinata ends up in this practice match? Koganegawa pestering Kunimi...lol Poor Goshiki...Doesn't he know he's in a series all about learning from and even collaborating with your rival? ^^; I'm so glad Sugawara taught Kageyama how to high five! ;u; He'd be totally lost right now without it! ;u; "Taking your time" to enjoy stuff, huh? Advice of the episode, I guess. Or this whole training camp story arc? I was wondering why Miya Atsumu portrayals were getting all this horror genre framing, but it's because he's a reflection of Kageyama's old "King of the Court", right? "Anyone who can't hit my tosses just sucks." And wait. Miya is voiced by Mamoru Miyano??? *_* Yeah, what DOES he mean by "Goody 2 Shoes"??? "Serious, honest, and an all around good kid"? But why such comments getting this ominous direction????? @~@?????????? Foreboding!!!!!!! I'm so glad Kageyama 1:07 PM 3/10/2020is such an oblivious, blank slate that he doesn't have any malicious reactions to anyone weirdness. "But fighting is normal. Not being able to back down and fighting is totally normal." Hiiiiiiinataaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~!!! ;u; Making people feel better without realizing how profound his words are! ;U; What? No crow flying by? Please don't eat those oysters... Race upstairs? Looks like. lol These guys are so funny! ^o^ I know the shippers like to take KageHina's interactions as couple flirtations, but I always thought they annoyed each other too much. (That's just my personal preferences.) Funny comrades though. ^-^ "You can fly even higher." 1:07 PM 3/10/2020

#md3 watches haikyuu #reactions

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bulletinedsolitude · 6 years

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You’re just right at my skull. Great!

A Huge Trouble

A huge trouble, I reckon Walking with a doubt upon Looking from the cowls, the masks the rocks, the so deadly mocks

So kid, daring and dreamer Walk, reason than chin taller For the assertive you lend, and for the terrors, do bend

For as the time calls for you, you may not hustle for clues of where the compass points to Just gaze at your stars, and you

Shall highly know what to do.

More or less an hour before that piece existed, I had a painful blank page in front of me. That is a story of my trouble trying to start working on how to introduce myself “creatively.” It is a way of convincing and finding my momentum of writing genuinely, because that’s how I naturally like it—my pen must always spit out raw thoughts, like the ones running in my head in a state of solitude, otherwise the things that come out of my mind will sound foreign to myself, and someone told me non-genuine literature is trash.

Speaking of solitude, to officially start introducing myself, I will explain why I went with the name of my blog, “Bulletined Solitude.”

The Story behind Bulletined Solitude (that sounds like a so sad, so lonely feature story :()

First thought when I heard about making a blog, I wanted everything to be real, because it’s easier to write that way, and from there, the words would come out of me naturally. Writing is one of the things that I have resorted to when I felt something, because I’m not the kind of person who’s easy to get comfortable speaking about things that are very personal about me, so I would end up channeling all the emotions through my pen and paper. But for that to happen, my environment must have the sense of peace and loneliness.

So, I thought having a blog that features my honest insights, would be like bringing my solitude into publication, and bulletined solitude means something like that to me, so I chose it. And you thought it was deep.

So, yes, genuine yada yada, tell us about yourself then!!!

One thing that comes with writing, is reading. So that means I read, apparently. I started reading (literary-wise) when I was 13. I remember it was Bob Ong’s Kapitan Sino that I ever read first. And that basically influenced what I have read after that, and what I will be reading in the future probably. It is a fine chop of fantasy, dystopia, and heroic fiction. And we’re not snubbing the little touch of romance there, of course. Up to this date, my favorite books so far are Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen Series, Veronica Roth’s Divergent Series, and The Eye of Minds by James Dashner.

While I think reading have shaped my mind better, I don’t take it seriously, so maybe it only does happen subconsciously. I jump into a book only with the aim to escape and be entertained, anything that comes with it is a subconscious blessing.

I really want to talk about my favorite book characters as well, because I’m an introvert learning only from book characters instead of going out and learning by myself. Kidding (jokes are half meant). But here they are:

Beatrice “Tris” Prior from Divergent. I love her basically because she’s brave and witty at the same time. I know the movies made her two-dimensional by portraying her as a stiff girl turned fighter and then she’s just that. But that’s expected for mainstream movie adaptations, always fails at shaping a character. In the book though, she was more than just that. Every choice she made meant so much more because her thoughts justified it, including the part where she sacrificed herself to stop the spread of serum that makes everybody lose their memories, which was sadly not featured in the adaptation. The movie series lost me there; I don’t deny that the first installment is still okay though.

Anika Dragomir from Anatomy of a Misfit. This girl gave me good laughs, but more than anything, I related to her because of her flaws—from her thoughts and her deeds. She’s a character who tried to be shallow by being one of the cliché high school perfectionists, but always knew she wasn’t. She made wrong choices and did regret, which makes the whole story much more close to heart. Also, #NoToGuns.

Logan McDonough from Anatomy of a Misfit. He is an adorable, loving, selfless person. He’s one of those few characters that you think were so easy and predictable, but at the end of the story, an act he did is revealed, so full of impact and so inspiring that it makes all your past impressions of him fade away immediately. His family is basically abused by his father who is a gun owner/enthusiast (he has a collection, if I remember correctly) and Logan’s the person who has been protecting his siblings from his father’s violence until that night when it all had to end with the loss of life.

Tiberias Calore “Cal” VII from Red Queen. He is not gonna be the last character I will list here from the same story so I’ll have to explain a little bit. Basically, their world is the Kingdom of Norta, a dystopian country divided by classes of two: Silver and Red bloods (except in the later installments, there will be Newbloods), with the former being the powerful ones for having supernatural abilities and the red bloods who are ordinary people. I listed him here for his bravery of breaking boundaries by connecting to a red blooded person, which is supposed to be forbidden as a silver blood, that may be easy-sounding, believe me, in his case, it takes a lot of guts. He is also just enough of confident and self-assured, which is deserved because he’s the first prince. And he embodies that strong and fearless but bending warrior. And he bears the ability of manipulating fire, so what’s not to like?

“I am your rightful king, Silver-born for centuries. The only reason you're still breathing is because I can't burn the oxygen from this room.” — Cal

Killed. It.

Mare Barrow from Red Queen. She made everybody’s jaw drop to the ground when she, a red blood girl, turned out to have the ability to create/control electricity. But her character is more important and she is here because of three things: she’s a fighter, she’s strong, and she’s a dreamer.

“I have lived that life already, in the mud, in the shadows, in a cell, in a silk dress. I will never submit again. I will never stop fighting.” — Mare

I am gagged.

Maven Calore from Red Queen. Spoilers first: her mother turned him an evil. But I will never forget how true he was at the beginning and how dreamy he was as a character. He was so good and so kind, I wanted to be his friend. And for him to be caged in his mother’s influence, I am weeping inside.

“The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.”

I have not lost hope for him. But…

#MareCal since the beginning.

If it’s not enough evidence, I am obsessed with Red Queen; I need May 15th to happen because the fourth and final installment is released that day. War Storm, wait for me.

Moving on.

When it comes to television, I’m not denying my Super Inggo obsession back in the day. I craved so hard for a kwek-kwek every day. But recently, I’ve come to love English and Korean series/dramas also, most of them being anything fantasy or medical. Favorites are probably D-Day, Grey’s Anatomy, The Flash, Westworld and Stranger Things.

Power Rangers is on another level. It’s an interest I share with my brother (probably the only one). Now, I did not watch so much of it as a kid, I think I only watched two/three seasons, but lately I have been watching more because of him. And the 2017 movie deserves 5 stars, it was fantastic, it made me nostalgic.

I AM THE BLUE RANGER. Do not steal it.

I was a website layout enthusiast once; I don’t know how currently rusty I am at it because I’ve never tried it since Grade 10. My teacher made me attend this competition, Technolympics and I won it (surprisingly) when I was in Grade 8, but that was just a simple static HTML website, if I may be honest it’s the neat layout that made me win it, but it’s nothing special with the coding.

I was also a campus journalist; I jumped quite from different roles every time though: broadcasting team technician, to reporter, to paper layout artist, to news editor. It’s all over the place, so I really never got to develop one skill.

When it comes to my behavior, I am slightly that kid who stutters at first meeting, hard to open up, and just straight up awkward. I am very wary of what I say at first meeting, I kind of have trouble forming the perfect topic to throw out there to a person I just met. Even to people I’ve been with long enough, I always find a way to make up something funny just so we won’t go to the serious side. I also get crazy though, like laugh to the end of Earth kind of crazy.

And…I watch ASMR (a term for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos in YouTube. They are used to trigger a static/tingling sensation which you may feel from the top of your head down your spine. I do it to enhance my napping though. Try some:

youtube

Category is: Slam book Realness

I never had a slam book, neither did my classmates (because we’re all boring; okay maybe at least one did or it’s just me who didn’t have). But I’ll be trying to be cool once in my life so here is me trying to answer slam book template questions:

PERSONAL INFO Real Name: Judd Vander Rondares Birth Month: May Zodiac Sign: Gemini Gender: M Age: 17 Romantic Status: Single (since birth and not ever regretting hehe)

FAVORITES Color: Blue Song: I Don’t Know My Name by Grace Vanderwaal Singer: Grace Vanderwaal Movies: Love You to the Stars and Back and Big Hero 6 Actors/Actresses: Winona Ryder, Joshua Garcia, Katherine Langford, Eddie Redmayne, Models: Kris Grikaite, Kit Butler, Jordan Barrett, Jhona Burjack, Julian Schneyder, Mayowa Nicholas

OTHERS Motto: Outdo yourself. What is Love (this can’t be not done): God is love. :D

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING

Where do I see myself 10 years from now? Was my learning in SPUP vital to where I’m leading to? I see myself a fully realized professional, independent, responsible, self-sustaining, and helpful citizen of the Philippines. hehe Back in Grade 10, there was a career planning program, and for the activities, I would always not know what to write for my future plans because there were not a lot of people who gave me inspiration of what insights I should have for my future aside from my parents, and one of the things that I liked about going in SPUP is that I was surrounded by people whose aspirations boosted what I already had in mind, but not very sure of. But aside from that, of course SPUP was a good school to go for SHS, and to be honest, any school would have been okay, because I’m going for a four-year college anyway and I didn’t need a school that would make me ready for literal work/job already, I just needed something to give me background for my future course, and SPUP did okay in that department, I believe.

Was STEM the best choice after all? Yes, because now that I know the path that I’m taking (will be further discussed in the next question), it is very apparent that STEM was the best choice for me.

What course will you take in college and why? My answer to this is like a continuation for my answer in the previous question. I recently just decided to take Medical Technology, and it was after a few talks with my mother, I didn’t know it was what I needed to make up my mind. I don’t mean that I was persuaded to take the course, I just didn’t have the confidence to take it, doubting that I may not be that passionate about it so I wanted some advice. I’ve long decided that I will not take a course that I’m not passionate about, I didn’t have to hear it from anybody—I just knew it. So, when I learned that she does think my plan is worth investing and especially knowing my cousin has graduated from it, made me motivated to truly pursue it.

What topic would you like to learn more in this subject? I already have taken Microsoft Office lessons and some HTML, so naturally, I would like something that I have never taken before. Since we already took Photoshop (I wouldn’t be mad for more though), maybe Illustrator, or anything for video editing. It would be also nice to revisit HTML since I’ve forgotten lots of tags already, or JavaScript.

Ask Me Anything. Sir, masyado bang maikli tong introduction ko? Sorry po sa grammatical errors, ang dami kasi, mahirap mag-spot. Haha

Along your way, you’ll see the deepest secrets of my brain, never be terrified.

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shewhowantsmouseears · 6 years

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The Son Of Scheherazade, 14

Notes: As always, big thanks to my amazing editors Drucilla and BlueShifted!

Originally I planned to have the priest and the enemies of this chapter played by Mickey-world villains, but, after being unable to think of them, decided to have some fun with short-lived hits Wander Over Yonder and The 7D. Hope I got them right, or as right as they would be in the roles they need to play.

This chapter's ridiculous plot was thought of years in advance because I am so easily influenced by gag-romance tropes in manga and I have a silly sense of humor. "Madeline" Mouse is the name of Mickey's cousin in a comic from long ago.

When I was younger I was told my name means Honeybee in Greek, or something. IDK if that's true, but there you have it.

Summary: In order to get the first piece of the map, Mickey and his friends must enter a contest... but not win? Can they survive Daisy's tricks, or will a darker force steal more than just a victory?

It took several days to reach the borders of Rumansy, and their arrival was a great relief to everyone. No matter how hard Mickey and the others begged and pleaded to Daisy for further information about the task before them, she refused to speak of it “too early”, because what fun would that be? On this particular day, full of bright sunshine and hot winds, Mickey was standing in the crow's nest, the area littered with maps and pens. Ever since Daisy had revealed the truth behind his parents' kidnapping, he had devoted all of his free time to studying every inch of every map the ship had. If they couldn't find the fourth piece of the mysterious map they were searching for, they had an entire world to look through but not enough time to do so. Often he stayed up late at night to study, trying to memorize layouts of towns and deciding which maps filled in the holes the others were missing.

During those nights, Minnie would stay in her lamp, hearing nothing but the gentle scratching of pen against paper. It was soothing and frustrating at the same time – she couldn't help him at all. Or rather the only way she could help him, her wishes, he refused to use.. It made her question her place on the ship, since everyone had their own roles. Mickey had done so much for her and for everyone he met, and no doubt he would continue to put the needs of others before his own. The night before they arrived at the city's edge, Minnie heard a quiet “thunk” outside of her lamp, and poofed out to see what it was.

Mickey had been bent over his work table, studying long into the night until exhaustion finally took over, and he passed out. His head lay on the table, snoring loudly and drooling slightly. Pluto, who had been sleeping around his master's chair, jerked his head up at the noise, and whined to see what had happened. Minnie sighed, and began to tug the blanket from his bed. She knew if she tried to move him to the bed, he would wake up and insist on resuming his work. As she draped the blanket over his shoulders, she silently made a vow – she would find a way to help him in Rumansy, no matter what it took or what indignities she suffered. She would be useful in one form or another, to him and to the others. She would help him sleep peacefully again.

Now in the day's light, she had those same thoughts as she stood on deck, gazing up at the crow's nest where Mickey was standing. Minnie would not let him work alone and suffer for her sake. It was her turn to work for his freedom and happiness. Though he was very high up, she could make out his features, and watched him as if he was the most fascinating subject the world had ever created. What kind of life did he have to make him this way? So kind and caring and smart and clever and handsome and -

“If you start singing a mushy song, I am gunna hurl.”

Minnie felt she jumped a foot up in the air when she heard Daisy's mocking voice behind her. “Why can't you ever do anything normally?!” To her growing mortification, the rest of the crew was with Daisy, wall of them now looking in different directions, whistling, pretending they hadn't noticed Minnie's lovesick staring.

Daisy waved the question away. “It's time to start planning for the next part of the quest. But I'm going to need his help, and yours, and Donald's!”

“Me?” Donald asked, confused but happy to participate.

Minnie wanted to be happy about this, but given Daisy's nature, she was wary about what this would entail. Mickey, for his part, noticed the crowd below and began to climb down as fast as he could. “I can see the city!” he called out as he raced downwards. “Daisy, will you finally tell us how to get the first part of the map? Where is it in Rumansy?”

Once Mickey was on solid ground, Daisy flipped her hair and twirled her pipe, ready to go into another storytelling spiel. Her snake rested comfortably on her head, hissing out a hello. “The city of Rumansy began as a small town without anything to really notice about it. As a result, they were poor as dirt and lacked any tourists. But one day, a runaway couple entered the city, begging for help. They were from warring tribes, yet they were desperately in love and refused to part. The town was touched by their passion and allowed them to stay. The story became so famous that the town suddenly became known as a romantic destination for honeymooners!”

“I've got a bad feeling about this,” Horace groaned.

“In honor of this couple, the elders of Rumansy decided they would make their city the most romantic in all the land! And the best way to do it was to hold a contest every year to choose the most romantic couple in all the land! The prizes change each time, and people come from across the globe to prove they are the best couple to have ever...coupled! And one of those prizes is a piece of the map! They have no idea about its real origins. They just figure it's a collector's item.” She then held her pipe like a conductor's baton, getting into the final segments of the plan. “But we have to be precise! That prize only goes to the Runner-Up! Third place is a thousand gold pieces, second place is a paid vacation to the land of your choice, and first place is to star in a romance novel written by famed author Honeybee!”

Goofy raised his hand. “Who?”

“Eh, some hack author. Her editors do all the work, honestly. Bless them.”

Mickey was getting Horace's bad intuition. “Wait a minute...can't we just ask them for the piece of the map? You're not actually saying we have to enter this ridiculous contest?”

“They take this contest very seriously!” Daisy wagged a finger. “They won't hand it over just because you say 'pretty please'. No, the only way to get it is to enter and win! That's why you, Minnie, Donald and I are going to sign up and pretend to be couples.”

“What?” said Donald.

“What?” said Minnie.

“WHAT?!” said Mickey.

“Told you,” Horace added.

Clarabelle pushed her husband aside to get up front. “Now hold on a minute! Doesn't it make much more sense for me and Horace to enter? We're actually married!”

“Noooooooo, you and the others should stay behind in case we need help. Besides, the way you two argue so much, I doubt they'd even know you were a real couple in the first place.” But anyone looking at Daisy's face could see she was lying through her teeth. No doubt the real answer was, “This is much funnier.”

“Well, I guess we do kind of argue a lot,” Horace began to agree.

“Horace! We do NOT argue a lot!” Clarabelle disagreed very loudly.

“Yes we do, woman, why won't you listen to me?!”

“I'M TELLING YOU WE NEVER ARGUE!”

“Daisy!” Mickey barked, interrupting Clarabelle and Horace, already losing his patience. “This is nuts! We're not going to lie to these people and pretend to be something we're not! There has to be another way to get the map!”

Minnie crossed her arms, sticking her nose up. “I concur with my Master, I won't do it.”

Donald nervously tugged at his collar. “I gotta say, if we're pirates, why don't we just steal the thing?”

Daisy evenly looked at her three pawns, seeing all the resistance, and then dramatically exhaled, pressing the back of her head to her forehead and turning away. “I see how it is...Well, if that's how you really feel about it, I guess it can't be helped. What was I thinking? I mean, I can see how dreadfully uncomfortable it would be for you guys to be together...Having to cuddle and coo, whisper sweet nothings, exchange long, passionate, really deep kisses...”

If one person could be played like a fiddle, Daisy played the trio like an orchestra.

“HANG ON,” Mickey interjected loudly and abruptly, his cheeks burning as he thought about the possibility of cuddling Minnie in his arms like a loving husband, “I mean, if it's for the sake of my parents, we should pull out the stops, r-right?”

“I AGREE,” Minnie added on just as loudly, blushing as she thought about the idea of having tender words whispered into Mickey's ear, “That is, if it's what my Master wishes, I have to go along with it, d-don't I?”

“I WANNA DO IT,” Donald finished, determined not to faint this time if Daisy kissed him again and again and again and again. “All for one and one for all! AHAHAHA!”

The rest of the crew stared at Daisy in awe at how easily she wrapped the others around her figure – well, not so much awe as it was fear. Yikes.

“Aw, I'm so glad we're all in agreement!” Daisy chirped, clasping her hands together. “Once we lay anchor, I'll go on ahead and sign us up while you three pack! The contest takes about three days, so make sure to get everything you need! Remember, we have to be good, but not too good.”

“You are a devil woman,” Clarabelle muttered under her breath.

“Gotta go pack!” Mickey repeated, practically skipping with glee at this plan which was to absolutely to save his parents and had nothing to do with the fact that he could hold Minnie's hands and not feel guilty about it. Minnie flounced after him, pleased that she could be of use to the crew and not that she could be in Mickey's arms without any repercussions. Donald, still lost in kissing thoughts, had to be dragged away by Panchito and Jose since he couldn't find the strength in his feet.

Goofy glanced down at Daisy, scratching his noggin under his bandanna. “Daisy...you're not planning something this time, are you? We really do need that piece of the map.”

Daisy put one hand over her heart and raised the other. “I give you my word, I plan for the four of us to pretend to be two couples. Nothing more, nothing less. Why, if we didn't win the map, I'd stop having fun.”

“That is exactly the opposite of reassuring,” Horace rolled his eyes. “We'll stick around town and learn what we can about this contest...but you gotta keep an eye on them! Keep Donald's powers under check, and don't let anyone find out what Minnie really is and who Mickey really is! The less headaches we get, the better!”

Daisy just smiled, working her pipe into her ponytail. “Fiddle-de-dee, such faith you have in me.”

Horace, Clarabelle, and Goofy had no choice but to go along with whatever Daisy was cooking, laying the anchor down so she could climb off and sign the foursome up. Clarabelle insisted with her husband they should still try to enter to watch over the young ones, but of course Horace argued against this, and they continued fighting over it well long after the chosen ones had left. Goofy, at least, tried to be optimistic about the whole thing. On its surface, the plan was relatively simple – given the way Mickey and Minnie felt about each other, “pretending” to be a couple would be amazingly easy. So how could Daisy possibly use that as a trick for her own entertainment?

~*~

An hour later, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald walked into the city of Rumansy with their heads held high and songs in their hearts. Their excitement was diminished a smidgen when they realized how overboard the city went with its theme – the buildings were heart shaped, guitars were being played at every corner, and the streets had carvings of very sappy poetry. Everyone wore shades of reds and pinks, with men carrying bouquets and women spraying perfume from the windows.

“Everyone here needs to seriously take it down a notch,” Donald stated when the trio had to wait to cross a street due to several couples tango-ing at once.

“Daisy wasn't kidding about the romance deal,” Mickey mused, scratching his cheek. Here was an entire city that was just as embarrassing as his parents. “I mean, I don't really know much about it myself...”

“Same here,” Donald admitted. “Shoot, what with the way Uncle...” he winced, still in the habit of calling the cruel old man his relative, “...Flintheart raised me, I never thought any woman would want me. So I never bothered learning how to get a girl. But maybe if we just act natural, we should be okay?”

“Donald is right,” Minnie said, walking closer to Mickey than normal. “We can't think too hard about this, or it'll be obvious we're faking. We should just do... whatever...feels right.” She met Mickey's eyes, and the two held the gaze for a second before shyly breaking away.

“I don't think you two have much to worry about.” Donald held back a snicker. For him, he wasn't sure what his feelings about Daisy were – the woman could be graceful and intelligent one moment, devious and underhanded the next. But he was in this to help his friend – more importantly, he was in this to get another amazing kiss. Homina homina homina.

The trio found Daisy on the steps of a church so massive it could rival many a royal palace. It was covered in white lace, but instead of hideous gargoyles it was adorned with smooching couples and winged cherubs, the stained glass windows depicting previous winners of the contest. On the steps of the church, Daisy was talking to a short man who was covered in orange hair from head to foot – although he did it keep it smooth and trim. He was nodding along to whatever Daisy was saying, occasionally wiping a tear from his eye and adjusting the long green hat on his head. It was an easy guess that this man worked for the contest.

Mickey stopped, feeling his heart racing. He swallowed, and made himself look at Minnie. “B-Before we do this, I... um... well... I don't want to do... anything you're not... you know... comfortable with...” He began to fidget, the pack on his shoulders shifting back and forth – Donald had packed light, with Minnie not packing anything, as her magic kept her clothes springtime fresh, but Mickey wanted to continue his studies, so his pack was bursting with maps. “That is... you can always tell me to stop, or... The map is important, but, you, you're important too, and I want you to, to, to remember what I said about... being unable to tell what's real, and what you're doing because of what you are...”

With each stammer and stutter, Mickey accidentally wormed his way further into Minnie's heart. She smiled without realizing it, playing with the rings on her fingers. “I know, I remember. But, perhaps... I might be more... comfortable... with some things than you might realize...”

“There he is!” Daisy suddenly called out, jarring their attention. “My beloved husband, my one and only! I can't believe we were apart for so long!” Donald's face flushed, and he could feel Mickey lightly nudging his chest with an elbow. Daisy began to run down the stairs, arms out. “My sweetie, my darling, my...”

But instead of jumping into Donald's open arms, she latched onto Mickey. “Myyy Mortimer~!”

Donald froze where he was, arms still out, trying to comprehend what just happened. Minnie's jaw dropped, her body shaking like a thousand rattle-snake tails. Mickey slowly, rigidly, dug his fingers into Daisy's shoulders and pulled her off. “What... Did... You... Do?”

“I signed us up, hubby-wubby-boo~!” Daisy bopped Mickey on the nose, enjoying each dose of horror she got from her so-called friends. “I told Father Wander here all about us! And when he heard our story, he knew we would be surefire winners!”

“Of course I know it!” The orange-colored man felt ready to sob all over again. “To think that a pair of forbidden couples would show up at our door... It's like destiny!” It was a good thing he began to pantomime the story himself, so he could miss the murderous glares being bestowed upon Daisy, and the delighted raspberry she blew back. “You, Mortimer, were arranged to be married but on the day of the wedding, you fell for the bride's sister, Donna! And not only that, but your servants, Madeline and Gladstone, also fell for each other! How amazing is that?”

Donald wasn't sure which he found more offensive – being called a servant or being given such a stupid name. That's when the actual point of the story hit him, and he shakily pointed to Minnie. “So... me and her...?” He liked Minnie, yes, but as a sister! Minnie was equally distraught, but could not summon words, only gaping in dread as Daisy continued to snuggle up to Mickey.

Father Wander clapped. “You guys are all shoe-ins, and as our last entrants, we can finally begin the opening ceremony! Come on in!” He threw open the doors, revealing that within loud operatic music was being played, and headed inside.

Mickey spoke hotly through gritted teeth. “Daisy...Did you plan this from the start?”

“I said we'd be couples, I never said who'd be with who.” Daisy waggled her eyebrows, never losing the appearance of a venomous snake. “Why... is there someone you guys would rather be with?” She looked at them all, grinning.

Minnie made a choked noise in her throat, but that was all the answer Daisy would get. Mickey and Minnie were still way too emotionally compromised to actually admit what they felt, especially in front of the object of their desire, and Donald could feel his mortification rising at the thought of saying out loud, “Yes, I wanted you to kiss me again!” As such, no one said a word. “That's what I thought.” Daisy giggled, walking up the stairs with Mickey. “Cheer up, Mortimer! We're all happily in love!”

Mickey could feel his head throbbing. “And why, out of all names-”

“Oh, relax, the guy's still on the run from all those magical thefts, he's not going in public anytime soon. No way we'll get get any kind of mix-up.” It was difficult to tell if she knew this for a fact, given her All Seeing Eyes, or she was making an excuse for poking a hornet's nest. “Smiles, everyone!”

The only way Mickey could manage something close to a smile was imagining tying Daisy up and leaving her in the city while the crew made a getaway. As a result his smile was more demonic than charming. “I love you so much,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “I don't think I've ever loved someone as much as I love you right now.” It was obvious what actual emotion Mickey was emphasizing.

With a sad exhale, Donald offered his hand to Minnie, unable to look at her for the moment due to embarrassment, which she did not find offensive. She weakly held his hand and followed their friends into the chapel, trying to put on struggling happy faces.

The interior of the entrance was filled to the brim with couples of all kinds. Some couldn't keep their hands off of each other, others were bickering loudly, and it occurred to Mickey then that perhaps some others would also be faking their romance. A thousand coins or a paid vacation were tempting prizes, after all. The inside of the church contained more silly statues of smooching and banners full of hearts. Father Wander's servants were prancing about, offering flower necklaces and singing poetry about each of the contestants. Mickey was finding it more difficult to keep on his smile, his anger still throbbing, and now growing into frustration. He had sworn to Minnie that he'd put his affections for her on hold until she was free, and he was going to keep his word. It had been the right thing to do, but also incredibly difficult – he wanted to treat her like a lover should be treated, to give life to the words in his head, to make her happy for every sad say she'd ever experienced. But now being in this place was like a belittling reminder of the lines he swore he wouldn't cross, no matter how much he wanted to.

Yet as he looked around at all the kissy faces and hearing silly pet names – this seemed almost to be more a mockery of romance than an actual celebration. As if these people knew what people in love were supposed to “look like”, but never bothered to try anything else. Mickey's parents were mushy, yes, but they didn't spend every waking moment babbling about each other. Sometimes their love could be felt with a simple smile when their spouse was having a bad day, or asking the chef to prepare their favorite food when one of them was ill.

Mickey's mind began to reel, somewhat cooling his anger without getting rid of it entirely – did he really know anything about love? He was certain about his feelings towards Minnie, but he'd been proven wrong about his instincts before. What a fine time to have doubts! Maybe if he hadn't been so busy daydreaming before he came to the chapel, he could've asked an actual expert on the subject, like Goofy or Horace. But in the end, did any of it matter?

Father Wander began clapping his hands, which stopped his servants so he could be heard. “Welcome, one and all, to the Annual Rumansy Romance Contest! It is such an honor to be here among so many loving people! Now that our last minute contestants have been signed up, we can finally get things rolling!” he then gestured to the foursome at the door, applauding wildly. “Give 'em a hand, everyone! Two pairs of forbidden lovers for the price of one! Aren't they just adorable?”

Daisy squeezed Mickey tightly, giggling like a shy schoolgirl. “Aw, honey, aren't they saying the nicest things about us?”

Mickey awkwardly patted Daisy on the head, trying to keep the real goal in mind. “Uh, yeah. Thanks.” He swallowed, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He could feel his insides trying to physically force down his anger, and ignore his worries, although both were proving to be difficult. Donald and Minnie were wearing a matching pair of nervous smiles, awkwardly waving. “I, uh... well! It's nice to meet all of you, sorta.” There was no reason to bad sport to his fellow contestants. Maybe some of them had been duped as well. “I hope we can all get along, and may the best couple win.”

“AND THAT WILL BE US!”

One of the small, wooden pews was knocked over, allowing the shouting enemies to use it as a makeshift pedestal for their greatness. A pair of humans stood side by side, copying each other's pose of a hand to their face. “There is simply no couple who love each other more than I, Hildy Gloom, and my fantastic husband, Grimwold Gloom, love each other!” She cackled and flipped her short, purple and pink hair around. The long-frilled dress around her neck and legs made her seem taller than she really was, like a violet lizard standing on its haunches.

“So the rest of you would be better off giving up and leaving here and now!” Her husband's laugh was no less devilish, though his contained a few extra honks, given his very large nose. His bright blue hair was nearly blinding, save for the white streak like a lightning bolt. He also dressed a bit more conservatively choosing a simple trench-coat with a pattern of stars in the corner. “We not only deserve first place, but second, third, and runner-up! You might as well save us all some time and hand them over now!”

The various couples uneasily looked at each other, unsure if they wanted to fight against a pair that was so downright rude. Father Wander held up his hands, chuckling nervously. “Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves...There's three days to prove who's the best, starting now! We have two assigned chambers, one for the men, and one for the women, so if you could all just-”

“Why should I have to share my room with a bunch of losers?” Hildy marched forward, leaning over Father Wander and making him back up. “I'll have all of these pathetic wanna-bes dropped out before you can say 'boo'! So hand over those prizes! I want them, I want them, I want them!”

Daisy whispered behind her hand, “See, there are people more annoying than I am.” This did not reassure Mickey about anything.

The murmur didn't go unnoticed, as Grimwold stomped his foot down. “You got something to say to us?” He then advanced toward Mickey and Daisy, sneering down at them. “You two think you could be more in love than we are? Get lost! The only ones winning are me and my Hildy-honey!”

Mickey's temper was reaching its limits for the day, fighting off the lid he'd so carefully placed on it minutes ago. “Look, we don't want any trouble. We all deserve a fair shot at winning the prizes, and it's not fair for you to push Father Wander around! We're not going anywhere, and you can't make us!”

“Who says I can't, pipsqueak?” Grim grabbed Mickey by the collar – Mickey felt a strange little pinch. “Do you even know who we are?”

“You literally just told us,” Daisy said under her breath, making no movement to help Mickey. But she didn't have to – a sudden, hard bolt of lightning struck the outside of the chapel, causing everyone to jump. After all, it'd been clear and sunny, so where did the lightning come from? Mickey glanced behind him, and saw Donald give a sheepish smile. He hadn't meant to summon it, but seeing his friend needlessly bullied had set him off. Minnie squeezed his hand in gratitude.

Grateful for the distraction, Father Wander tried to pick things up again. “As I was saying...we have rooms for men and women, so you can unpack and get yourselves psyched for the first part of the contest! Anyone who fails any part of the contest will kindly be asked to leave.” The “kindly” part was up to debate, seeing how his servants were holding up chains behind his back. If Mickey had to guess, the losers would be dragged away in them, which seemed extremely excessive. “We'll continue eliminating couples until we have our winners on day three! On that day, we have a super secret and super amazing way to tell who is the best couple in the whole wide world! Hurray for love!” He applauded, and this time everyone joined in, save for the sneering Glooms.

The frolicking servants began to lead the men and women away into separate, long red hallways. With the intense drama now over, Mickey put a hand to his chest, taking deep breaths. Now he could calm down, and get rid of that vicious temper. In, out, in, out, there was no reason to lose his cool. They would just play the game and try their best. As each pair began to be separated, Mickey shook Donald's hand. “Thanks for the save, pal.”

“You got it, Mickey,” he whispered, happy to have helped. “We're all in this together, all four of us. And don't you worry, Minnie and I have got this covered. We'll help you and each other.”

Minnie bowed her head respectfully. “I'll be in your hands, Donald, so I know I will be all right.”

“But right now, she's in my hands!” Daisy yanked Minnie away by the wrist, happy to ruin the tender moment. “See you boys later! You better prepare the sappiest lines you can imagine! I want to see maple syrup pouring out of your mouths!” With a harpy-like little laugh, she flounced away with a very reluctant Minnie.

“I'm afraid to say it can't get worse.” Mickey shook his head, following Donald to the men's chambers. He wondered what the first stage of the contest was, and how hard it would be to pass it. But until then, he could always study his maps.

The last couple to be separated were the Glooms, who had now taken to a corner and were watching their enemies disperse. Before they parted, Hildy held out her hand to her husband, smirking. “Did you get it, Grimmy-goo?”

“Easy as pie, Hildy-hoo.” He slipped it into her hand – a single black hair taken from Mickey's fur. “If what the Phantom Prince told us is right, this is our ticket to easy street. Work your magic. Literally.”

“Can do, babe.” She slid the hair into her neckline, hiding it underneath her clothes. “I'll need a day to perfect it, but before this contest is over, we'll know if he's the one we've been looking for. Then not only will we win, but we'll obtain ultimate power!”

“You are so pretty when you're evil.”

“You say the nicest things, sweetie!”

They exchanged a happy kiss before leaving their separate ways, determined to win in every sense of the word. No one suspected that this sappy yet bothersome pair was there for far more than coins and prizes. The Phantom Prince hadn't stopped with Pete in his search for suitable pawns. They wouldn't be the last obstacles in Mickey's way, but they were going to show him that there were things he could never hide no matter how hard he tried.

Grimwold stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked on with the rest of the men, his eyes staying on Mickey's back. He hadn't exactly been given all the details of the big plot at hand, but felt he didn't need them. What he had was enough. He was going to get his hands on the Son Of Scheherazade.

Or, as others called him, those who felt his mother was no hero and that his father was a monster... The Child Born Of Blood.

#disney #fanfic #the son of scheherazade #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #donald duck #daisy duck #horace horsecollar #clarabelle cow

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