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starlight-time-machine · 11 months

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Week in Review

10/29/2023 – 11/04/2023

Sunday

Started the day off rewatching Starry Diamond, which Revue Starlight put on their YouTube channel to promote the Starry Session Band Live. I first watched this live when I wasn’t fully into my Starlight phase, so watching it back is really fun… Maho always brings the drama, and Mimorin showing up during Fly Me to the Star is so sweet… Fancy You was really emotional too…

Handsome Must Die’s ending was, as expected, bombastic. It was surprising that Yuri never revealed who she really was, I personally would’ve loved that moment of connection (and because I ship Yuri with Go), but I guess there wasn’t any time. In the end, I’m just glad to see Yuri, Go, Inukai, and Ban live their best handsome idol lives. Overall I’d say Handsome Must Die is a 6/10 for me.

Undead Unluck was pretty amazing, I don’t even have any insightful things to say other than that. The reverse roundtable is an insane reveal, and I’m really looking forward to learning more about it.

As soon as I saw all of them in that goddamn van again I knew they were going to get into another accident LMAO (Ichinose). Things were wrapping up pretty neatly beforehand, with the parents just being like we’re sowwy Sota and the family taking their long-promised trip together, but of course something went wrong because Taizan 5 reserves the last page of every single chapter for a twist. I’ll reserve my final thoughts for when the manga finishes, but overall I’m just relieved that it’s almost over. I’m pretty sure this accident is just a fake out to have an ironic cliffhanger moment, but if they genuinely have amnesia in the next chapter then lol. Lmao, even.

The Oshi no Ko chapter was pretty solid, it’s great to see things from Memcho’s perspective. I’ve always enjoyed how mature and coolheaded she is under that :3 streamer shell. Considering how pretty much all of the past characters and even whatever that little girl is are being brought into this production, I wonder if this is going to be the final arc…or perhaps the lead up to Aqua (and Ruby?)’s final confrontation with their father…

Dandadan 126: C’MON RIN!!! FULFIL YOUR IDOL DESTINY AND SING!!!

Magilumiere 89: I liked that little detail of Niko raising his hand to his face like the classic ojou-sama ohoho laugh. AND LMAO HIM BEING HANDED THE NON-ALCOHOLIC CIDER… But other than that, there are some dark rumblings happening at this party… I’m excited for next week.

Hmmm I’m a little tempted to drop Akane-banashi and check back in once it’s ended, but I do want to keep seeing Karashi…but it just feels like they keep introducing new characters with new gimmicks and I can’t keep any of them straight anymore.

One Piece 1096: Woah…younger Garp looks good…woah we got a lot of young designs…and little Kuma is so cute…and it’s so bittersweet to see Kuma and Ginny enjoy their freedom…

I’m intrigued by this new Chloe character in the SpyFam chapter. It’s great that she imparted some truth to Yuri, but of course he takes the wrong lesson from it lol. It’s interesting to see that he seemingly has a single moment of realization that Yor would be sad if Loid was arrested (before he denies it in a cognitive dissonance sort of way), but I can imagine this dynamic coming into play when the inevitable final conflict finally rears its head. In general, I’m kind of itching for some shift in the status quo of SpyFam…I know we just had a close call between Loid and Yuri, but that’s all it was, a close call, and now we’re back to none of them knowing anything about each other… but I imagine the mangaka would want to stretch this series out as far as they can, so we still have a ways to go.

Cipher Academy 46: YAY ANON-CHAN APPEARS! And I love that her fake name card also got slashed lol AND YOSAIMURA??? OH MY GODDDDDDD YESSS I LOVE WHEN GIRLS ARE SCARY AND THREATENING WOOOOO AND WOW I think this is the first time we’ve truly seen a crack in Kogoe’s cool demeanor…and Yosaimura’s hand on Kogoe’s cheek is so sjdkfjgsjhdfkl her ikemen vibes are absolutely insane. I’m also curious about this air graveyard Kogoe mentioned? And I wonder why she’s worried about Kyora (and Iroha) to the point of stacking the deck in their favour…is it just because of their friendship? Or is there a genuine threat in this metaverse? LMAO ANON LEARNING HER LESSON FROM THE TRILEMMA AND JUST THANKING YOSAIMURA we love to see growth. Aw she’s so cute with a flower in her hair…and this duo is really interesting. And the next chapter is looking to be really fun! God I love Cipher Academy!!!

Monday

I had already started reading volume 2 of the Kusuriya light novels a while ago, but I continued today on account of feeling the itch for more Kusuriya. I feel ambivalent about this Outer Palace arc though – I like the ambiance and the characters and the politics of the Rear Palace too much to really enjoy this new setting, and it feels like the some of the mysteries are just plopped onto Maomao’s lap without her really having stakes in them. From reading the manga, I know that these seemingly disconnected occurrences are indeed building up to something, but I’m looking forward to getting that over with and returning to the Rear Palace.

I also continued watching the Starry Diamond live – finally the other schools make their appearance! (It’s really funny seeing the bottle of ponzu just chilling on the stage…foreshadowing for later). Oni Kurenai was so fun, as was Chou ni Natte, but of course my oshi school is Siegfeld. It’s so sad that Yume couldn’t make it though… but Platinum Forte was great, Nossan’s head voice in the “higeki to kigeki” line was great, and Rose Poems WAS INSANEEEEEEEEEEE AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Nossan and Tonopii’s voices go so well together and their harmonizing is so beautiful and the DANCE and the HAND HOLDING and the WISTFUL GAZES this brought me back to my AkiShio era so hard.

After Rose Poems, we started getting into the Starry Diamond songs, and I remember the lead up to this album/live so fondly…listening to the previews on loop…trying to predict the groups/who would win the revues…I even bought the album off of Japanese iTunes so I could get my hands on the full Zeus no Chuusai as quickly as possible…yeah, the story elements of these songs kind of went nowhere, but the songs and performances themselves are still a blast. FutaKao’s bickering/flirting is so cute…also this is a cool chance to see the other schools’ weapons in use. It’s also interesting to see the beginnings of this FutaKao TamaRui square dynamic when they were still working out the writing before Arcana Arcadia completely changed the landscape.

OHHHHHH MY GOD FUMI AND SHIORI DOING THEIR LAST REVUE INTRO LINE TOGETHER IS SO AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AND FUMI AND SHIORI FIGHTING!!! AND MINNA DE LET’S PONZU!!!! AND FUMI SHIORI DANCING TOGETHER!!! Zeus no Chuusai will always be a banger. Oh my god Aiai looked so stunning when she claimed Position Zero… also it’s so funny how this became like the first of five times where Fumi and Shiori reconcile with each other…sisters are just like that huh. Also it’s really interesting to see how the non-Seisho costumes are so rudimentary at this stage, they really improved things for the stage play versions.

Aghhhh I’m so so so sad that Yume couldn’t make it to this live, Gyoshite literally has a bunch of my favourite girls in it and she would’ve slayed the performance so hard… YESSSSSSSSSS SATOHINA WITH THE BARSSSSSSSSS Agh Yume would’ve been so good at this choreo… I like how when Lalafin hits the ground with her hammer, Junna and Yuyuko jump to avoid the shockwave like she’s a Mario boss…

WOAGH the way Maya and Nana combined their last revue intro lines was so cool… MIKORON SPINNING HER SCYTHE AROUND LIKE A…LIKE A WHIP OR A LASSO OR SOMETHING JSDFKLSJDF Okay my Nana oshi friend is going to kill me for this but I can’t help loving Maho in this song SHE IS GIVING 1000%!!!!! SHE IS SADISTICALLY DELIGHTING IN DISARMING BANANA AND HER MANIACAL EVIL SMILE IS SOOOOOOOOOO AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH This really was a Betrayal at Crete…

And then the emotional whiplash of going from Betrayal to Procyon, which is just a bunch of puppies running around lmao. But it’s cute, and Haruki just nails that baton toss. I have similarly little to say about the final song, but Nossan’s voice harmonizes so well with Momoyo and Mimorin’s. In hindsight, it was probably a little silly of us to theorize about who’d win each revue when there was absolutely no way they were going to let Kukugumi, the ones that like 80% of the audience were there to see, lose to some random girls from the mobile game. But hopefully that’ll change for the Arcana Arcadia live (I’m still holding onto hope)…

God Mimorin’s solo lines in Star Divine give me the chills every time… AGHH MIMORIN CRYING IN HER CLOSING REMARKS AND EVERYONE HUGGING HER AND TEARING UP… I REALLY DO LOVE KUKUGUMI… Revue Starlight is just a magical franchise because it really feels like everyone involved with it loves it wholeheartedly and is in awe of its brilliance… I’m really glad that I’m alive to experience this franchise. Now I’m super super super hype for Starry Session, the first real Kukugumi live in like four years…

Read a bit more Kusuriya before I fell asleep, and felt so relieved when we were finally plopped back into the Rear Palace.

Tuesday

Finished reading Kusuriya volume 2. Despite the somewhat rocky road it took to get to the end, it’s satisfying to learn about Maomao’s family and give her parents a happy ending. Also, I didn’t think too much of Basen’s introduction in the manga, but seeing him being explicitly described as being close to Maomao’s age and disposition makes me wonder if he’ll be involved in a love triangle with Maomao and Jinshi in the future…obviously Maomao and Jinshi are endgame, but I wouldn’t mind some more romantic drama since Maomao is so fun in her obliviousness in this sphere.

The new Chainsaw Man chapter was fun, it’s great to see Quanxi back in action again.

I got started on Kusuriya volume 3 because I couldn’t help myself, and I love being back in the Rear Palace again. Maomao navigating the social climate in regards to Gyokuyou’s pregnancy is already super compelling, with her paying attention to the details of her clothing and any substances that have suspiciously made their way in…this is the level of drama I’m down for.

Wednesday

I read like two more pages of Kusuriya volume 3 but I was mostly just busy today.

Thursday

The same thing happened today OTL

Friday

I think I’ll always be itching for my Undead Unluck anime fix every Friday, and here we are. It’s a more lowkey episode both in story and in animation, but after last week’s episode I genuinely don’t mind. I’m all for productions taking a break on some episodes to focus their energy on other, bigger episodes…like next week’s, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Andy shooting his fingers at the Round Table only for everyone to parry it is such a cool intro…and it’s fun to get a glimpse into what everyone’s deal is. I love how chill Billy is, it’s very funny :) And surely he’ll be a chill guy for the whole show right haha. And Juiz is sooooooo cool aghhhhhh and the reveal that this is all in the name of killing God is so fun hehe and I love the slick typography they did when they were explaining the quests… AND SEAN MENTION WOOO Also I liked seeing some of the Shaftisms creep in in the episode’s direction lol I feel like I lose my vocabulary so badly when I talk about the Undead Unluck anime, like all I can say is it’s cool or fun etc. but it is!!!! I’m having so much fun!!!! I haven’t had this much fun with a shounen battle series since One Piece or Hunter x Hunter!!! I once saw a tweet about how a lot of modern shounen try to imitate Naruto or Bleach, but Undead Unluck is one of the only ones that set out to imitate One Piece and I think that’s so accurate… It really feels like there’s a whole world to explore, with so many different characters and abilities… I was a One Piece kid growing up so I’m definitely in this camp of shounen philosophy, and I’m having such a great time with Undead Unluck’s modern take on it. I’m so excited for next week!!! I hope I can see my boy Shen be unsettling!!!!!

Saturday

Kusuriya also had a pretty lowkey episode this week, but I enjoyed Maomao doing her little mushroom hunts and handiwork projects, as well as the Jinshi/Maomao moments. But next week’s Garden Party is what I’m really looking forward to.

SpyFam’s cruise ship arc is starting off strong! It’s fun to see Loid being the comic relief while Yor gets an emotional arc where she re-examines her feelings to this constructed family of hers and her career. I also love this arc for its structure, where a bunch of people converge onto one point or location. As Anya would say, it’s all very waku waku.

#week in review #2023

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topconfessions · 11 months

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We need to talk about the guts that BigBang as a group have, personally I don’t stan them but Jesus Christ the little things they let out are so big for me if u take the fact that they were the group who helped to pave the way for what K-pop is today. Bc for me TOP speaking about being treated as a slave for his company is such a dangerous thing… out of the top three I think YG is the most dangerous one to be involved with bc if u do ur research u KNOW that the CEO is a big fish in Korea… I would be shaking in my boots every time I slipped something out.

Tbh, I get where you're coming from 100% but TOP only said that cause he had the luxury to say it because he's old now, nobody on a grand scale is or was ever particularly checking for him, and the times have changed where it's more apparent now than ever that youth runs everything. It's a social media game now and the industry works differently than how it did when he was BTS age working and coming up. Once you age out of your field and your career slows past its peak (icon or a regular artist with no hits) you can pretty much whatever the heck you wanna say. I believe people only extend this grace to and expect it from has been or people who fell off and lost a lot.

Let's pretend TOP was in Parasite or a top Oscar nominated movie and was sweeping awards in career as well as America, I don't believe he would have 100% been so gutsy to say it. He may have still said it cause America eats that up and America is open as well as encouraging of stars saying controversial things with no filter whether its true or not. I believe top said that freely cause he has been personally scorned in some ways (although he isn't lying) and he internalized it a lot back then i.e it affected on an emotional level as opposed to a lot of stars who probably felt the same way but let it go or don't speak on it cause they've lived their lives in ways where it's not hindering them on any level professionally or personally.

I just think he said it cause he could afford to say it, he feels some type of way about it, he's already been through scandals and is from a company rife with them so it's not gonna immediately blow up if he says that and cause he's not in a peak phase of his career anymore and under a contract where he has to watch what he says.

I still follow her but although I don't really like HyunA anymore, to me she's the real ballsy idol cause she had major balls to undermine her agency heads and dispute the statement they put out about her dating then pull a younger talent out of the company to go join her for dating, on top of having her group disband and most of that ending cause she had too many solo responsibilities on top of prioritizing dawn over them in the end.

He told the truth though but I feel while it healthy and I'm so glad he exposed how trash the industry can be, only delusionals and young people or saesang/ Otaku fans are oblivious to what the truth of the industry is. Like how I mentioned hyuna for example, she too shed a lot of her peak image and everything she said she wasn't is what she is now.

You don't have to shake in your boots when your career has concluded. He's not an idol anymore. His fanbase is grown now or parents and he has to focus on mature markets or core old head fans who still pay attention. If he drops an album he won't be on music bank or any of those music shows promoting it then doing the whole press run like younger acts or older acts who care. It's like memoir speak at this point.

Love top down and I'm glad he told the truth but aside from liking the rest of that interview, he played into that toxicity and didn't speak against it when he was still active plus he reaped major benefits from it. He's not really saying anything we don't know. It's brutal hell but you get a makeover, plastic surgery access, connections access, money (if you make it and chart) and other things that you can't get without being an idol.

So it's like the pot calling the kettle black.

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ritiktvt · 2 years

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accio-victuuri · 3 years

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Wang Yibo’s Watch List. 📼📽

Movies & Dramas he enjoyed and mentioned for the past years. Check out his picks and see if you have similar tastes in films.✌🏼

Movies:

1. Spiderman - let’s start with the obvious. The boy dressed up as Spidey. He answered “Spiderman” as a favorite movie in one of his first interview as an Idol. So yeah. Everyone loves Spidey!

2. Big Hero 6 - Baymax!

Robotics prodigy Hiro (Ryan Potter) lives in the city of San Fransokyo. Next to his older brother, Tadashi, Hiro's closest companion is Baymax (Scott Adsit), a robot whose sole purpose is to take care of people. When a devastating turn of events throws Hiro into the middle of a dangerous plot, he transforms Baymax and his other friends, Go Go Tamago (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and Fred (T.J. Miller) into a band of high-tech heroes.

3. Minions- He went through a Minion phase so it’s not a secret that he watched the film. and tbh, it was really popular when it came out— and the franchise still is.

youtube

3. Fast & Furious - fast cars? Totally his type of movie. He answered this in an interview when he started with UNIQ.

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) enjoys the adrenaline of street car racing and his fans treat him like a rock star. After a blazing encounter with the ruthless Johnny Tran, Dom decides to take Brian (Paul Walker), a newcomer to street racing, under his wing. Dom's sister Mia sees something she likes in Brian, too. Trouble is, neither of them realize he's an undercover cop, and Dominic and his rival Johnny Tran are both the prime suspects in a case involving dirty money and big-rig hijacking.

4. 比悲伤更悲伤的故事/ More Than Blue - This is what he said is a movie that made him cry.

youtube

K was abandoned by his mother after the death of his father, while Cream lost her entire family in a traffic accident. Sharing similar circumstances, the two become best friends and come to share a home.

5. Kimi No Nawa - He uses a scene from the film as his phone wallpaper. So...

Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.

youtube

6. Lost in Russia - he sang the OST for this, “My Mom”

The full movie is available on YT if anyone is interested

youtube

Ivan plans to go to America for work purposes. However, his plans are foiled when he decides to follow his mother on a train to Moscow.

7. The Meg - Another one I’m adding here since he sang the OST.

Previously thought to be extinct, a massive creature attacks a deep-sea submersible, leaving it disabled and trapping the crew at the bottom of the Pacific. With time running out, a visionary oceanographer recruits rescue diver Jonas Taylor to save the crew and the sea itself from an unimaginable threat -- a 75-foot-long prehistoric shark known as the Megalodon.

8. Joker - He loves this character and it’s natural that he watched Joaquin Phoenix’s version of it. He also mentioned it as a movie he recently enjoyed in a 2020 interview.

youtube

9. Dark Knight - Okay so let me just list some things of why he loves this movie and in particular, Heath Ledger’s ( RIP ) portrayal of it.

- he was saying his lines “why so serious” during Untamed behind the scenes.

- he performed as the Joker. Hello?

- his Wechat pfp (2021) is Heath/Joker photo edit

- Yixing wrote a song for him called ‘Joker’

So. Yes. It is clearly a favorite.

With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism.

sidenote: this movie is a masterpiece!!!

The next 3 films are the most recent ones we know of and that he mentioned in his Bazaar 2021 interview.

10. The Pianist” [2002] - He said he wants to play a role like this.>> “Looking at a character like this, i desire to act in such a role in my heart.”

In this adaptation of the autobiography "The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945," Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins. Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, but is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. From this time until the concentration camp prisoners are released, Szpilman hides in various locations among the ruins of Warsaw.

11. Amadeus

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) is a remarkably talented young Viennese composer who unwittingly finds a fierce rival in the disciplined and determined Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). Resenting Mozart for both his hedonistic lifestyle and his undeniable talent, the highly religious Salieri is gradually consumed by his jealousy and becomes obsessed with Mozart's downfall, leading to a devious scheme that has dire consequences for both men.

12. Pulp Fiction

Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) are hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions. In this ultra-hip, multi-strand crime movie, their storyline is interwoven with those of their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) ; his actress wife, Mia (Uma Thurman) ; struggling boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) ; master fixer Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) and a nervous pair of armed robbers, "Pumpkin" (Tim Roth) and "Honey Bunny" (Amanda Plummer).

13. Gonjiam Haunted Asylum - he hates horror films but he watched this with the cast of Untamed.

The crew of a horror web series travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast. It soon encounters much more than expected as it moves deeper inside the nightmarish old building

14. 300 - all because his sparta thing in the Happy Camp Episode (2020) 🤣🤣

In 480 B.C. a state of war exists between Persia, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), and Greece. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas (Gerard Butler), king of the Greek city state of Sparta, leads his badly outnumbered warriors against the massive Persian army. Though certain death awaits the Spartans, their sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against their common enemy.

15. Crow’s Zero - he even mentioned that he wants to play a role like that. 🙂

A transfer student attempts to take over the most violent high school in the country, whose students form factions and battle each other for power. Mentored by a yakuza, he strives for what has never been achieved: unification of the school.

16. Black Panther - aside from him being a black panther ( SDC!!! ), one clue we got is him doing the “Wakanda Forever” in a behind the scene clip from GYH.

After the death of his father, T'Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.

17. Crystal Sky of Yesterday - an Animated film where Yibo dubbed a character in.

Tu Xiaoyi, Yao Zhetian and Qi Jingxuan are high school students in a small town, Lanxi, in southern China. This is a story about dreams, friendship, family and first love in their youthful days.

18. Rurouni Kenshin - live action. He even posted about it.

19. Brokeback Mountain - based on that joke he made. Thanks @rainbowsky for the tip!

Anime/TV show:

1. One Piece - He loves Roronoa Zoro. He mentioned this in an interview and he also “transformed” as the character in one of his Douyin videos.

2. Spongebob - another obvious one.

3. Goblin ( Korean Drama ) - because he was caught singing part of the OST in a BTS for Gank Your Heart. and since then, we’ve all been dreaming for a full version of it 🥲

In his quest for a bride to break his immortal curse, Dokkaebi, a 939-year-old guardian of souls, encounters a grim reaper and a student with a tragic past

4. My Own Swordsman (2006)

is set during the Ming Dynasty (明代 míngdài) in a fictional town called Qixia Town (七侠镇 qī xiá zhèn). The series focuses on a group of six people, all with different personalities who meet in an inn called “Tongfu Inn”.

5. Samurai X - he was seen imitating Kenshin’s move as well as Sojiro Seta.

This is a short list and I wish we had more. I think it’s partly because he doesn’t often get asked about these. Yibo has alot of other hobbies/interests ( skateboarding, legos, street dance and moto racing ) that people prompt him to talk about in interviews. ✌🏼

#wang yibo #Youtube #i swear i forgot some pieces here but anyway..

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krysphycookiez · 4 years

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stray kids | you as the female maknae

synopsis: you’re the female maknae of the infamous k-pop group stray kids! let’s see how you get along with these eight chaotic boys

genre: fluff, platonic, imagines

pairing: stray kids x maknae!reader

a/n: wowza another female maknae au post- yes i have an obsession with these types of writings and i have no regrets. expect a lot of these extra member au’s for boy groups and girl groups

❦

you’re his smol baby child and nothing will change his mind

chan just wants you to be happy and he’s really good at showing that, whether he makes sure you’re always healthy or just doing daily check ups on you

if you don’t end up taking care of yourself he’ll get really upset and probably give you a long lecture

one time you actually cried because of his scolding because you felt really bad and he started crying too

if he feels like there’s something up with you and you don’t open up, he usually plans with the other members to do little things to cheer you up

and those plans work all the time

he knows how much you struggle with the idol life because of his own past struggles so he empathizes with you very well

if you’re an english speaking foreigner, he’d be very chaotic with you and felix

but then it eventually just turns into chan being done with you and felix’s bullshit

nags you sometimes but he just wants you to be careful- so for the most part he just lets you be

when your time of the month comes he’s usually the best at handling the situation (jisung i’m looking at you)

he also let’s you mess around with his tracks, but he makes sure you don’t do anything stupid. as you once almost deleted a whole new track

hugs you from behind a lot to remind you that you’re loved and a precious cinnamon roll

he’s a soft leader for you and it’s just downright wholesome

ngl you had a crush on minho during trainee days, i mean- just look at him for crying out loud

that silly crush soon disappeared and now you see him as a best friend

though hyunjin knew about this past crush and obviously tattled to minho. now you’re his main target for flirting

speaking of flirting, he always tries to make you as flustered as he can cause he just loves your reactions

he also initiates a lot of skinship with you cause you’re like a small teddy bear to him, also he just likes cuddling with you in general

if you’re part of the danceracha, you and him would start a lot of weird shit with hyunjin and felix

hell even if you aren’t part of that sub-unit you still find a way to cause chaos with minho

also you ask about his cats all the time cause you love them a lot, and that just boosts his cocky attitude even more

he gets very possessive of you when it comes to your guy’s friendship

cause he’s the type to say “no one outside of stray kids is allowed to talk or even look at you”

ofc he’s joking though lmao

you two are like an old married couple. a lot of bickering goes on between the two of you and that just becomes the butt of stray kids inside jokes

and both of you are very petty with each other too. like- you know when your little sibling hits you so you hit them back? yeah that’s the two of you

overall both of you have a really strong friendship, and other people get jealous of it pretty easily, even stray kids themselves

you took felix’s spot as changbin’s favorite member overtime

he’s your number one hype boi, he always gets pumped up whenever you do something like singing or rapping cause he’s amazed by your talent

probably let’s you toy with side soundtracks so he can see your production skills

overtime you have gotten better because of him, and you’re very grateful for that

he does a lot of aegyo with you cause he just loves you so much, and he also hugs you a lot too

you tease him about this height but he reminds you that you’re shorter and this leads to bickering

also since he’s not the shortest he probably rests his elbow on your head to tick you off or to get a reaction out of you

most of the time he gets a fist to the stomach but it’s still worth it

he also makes sure you aren’t overworking yourself, even if he’s one of the more busy members

if you’re feeling down the drain he buys you some of your favorite food and snacks to cheer you up, and it works for the most part

because of the attention he gives you, felix sometimes starts petty fights with you and the other members get easily amused by this. especially changbin himself

you also just find a lot of comfort within him cause he’s really gentle with you

and because he smells good all the time too lol

changbin is an equivalent to an emotional support dog. loving and very energetic

the two of you are l o u d asf

hence why you and hyunjin aren’t allowed to share a room together anymore. you had a laptop in your shared room and you guys would watch horror movies that would scare the living shit out of y’all

hyunjin likes to take you on shopping dates so both of you can either eat something together or go on a shopping spree

and mini fashion shows start too lmao, he probably gives you like a million clothes to put on

if you’re one of the main dancers, he’s the reason why you are able to dance as well as you can today. cause you felt close to giving up but then he came in and encouraged you to keep going

during his trainee days, his fights with jisung would scare you. one day it got so bad you started crying cause you didn’t want them to hurt each other

they then realized what they did and hyunjin was the first to apologize, even buying you your favorite drink to make up for it

he tries to steal your attention from minho and that almost results in his deathbed

no one’s stopping this boy from doing anything to get your love and attention tho

whenever you guys aren’t together you text a lot, and you guys send each other cute memes in the process

you guys are just like north and south you can’t stand to be away from each other

he also loves to cuddle with you. whenever you get a nightmare you usually turn to him to sleep with so you can feel the comfort of his loving arms

the other members know about this and they get jealous of that sometimes

hyunjin sees you as the little sister he never knew he needed, and he just wants you to have the best possible life he can offer you

let’s be real here, jisung probably didn’t know how to talk to you during trainee days cause he thought you were really pretty

he’s never basked in the beauty of someone so elegant before

the only time you guys really started talking to each other was in the skz survival show, and in that span of time you two grew extremely close (and if you ended up getting eliminated he’d get really sad)

he’s scared to let you into his production studio cause he’s scared that your clumsy ass would do something, but you never really do anything

if you speak english you two probably have weird conversations in english. quoting vines and inside jokes

on break days he takes you out to get boba and just chat, and usually in the morning when it’s less busy and more peaceful

he lets you take his hoodies cause he thinks you look adorable in them, and also when you give them back to him they smell like daisies

if you get hurt in any way, shape or form he gets very upset cause he really doesn’t like seeing you in pain

one time he caught you crying to yourself because of hate comments directed towards you and his heart shattered

he actually ended up tearing up himself and offered to buy you something to make you feel better

if you’re one of the main vocalists you and him probably have high note competitions, since the two of you probably had iconic high note parts

you also pinch his cheeks a lot cause you like how he just looks like a cute squirrel

which results in him pinching you back

jisung would cherish you like treasure since you’re so valuable to him, and you’re one of the reasons he’s able to keep going in his harsh idol life

a few simple words to sum up your friendship; a cacophony of chaos and screaming

you and felix just have the weirdest but at the same time also one of the strongest friendships in stray kids

if you’re a foreigner the friendship is even stronger, cause you two can relate more easily, and ESPECIALLY if you’re an english speaking one

also if you’re australian like him, the chaos is just even worse. a bunch of australian slangs here and there as well as saying inside jokes

he definitely texts you at 3am to talk about something he thought of or just to send you stupid memes

also probably infected you with his dabbing and fortnite phase

you also probably tease him about his sexy moments on stage, like when he lifted up his shirt. which also made you want to see his abs again

to get back at you he lifted your shirt on stage in front of STAYs to show your own abs and everyone went crazy, and he ended up getting his ass kicked

you two are also like emotional support for each other

since you guys are some of the youngest and had some of the hardest times you know when somethings up, so you two just go and hug/cuddle with each other to let the other one know it’s okay

and you’ve also come up with a way to communicate with each other without the other members knowing to talk about personal things, like a secret language

and if you didn’t have supportive parents in the idol life, felix would automatically connect with you cause he went through something similar

this guy just also wants you to feel safe and loved cause he knows what it’s like to feel so alone

overall you and felix are like two peas in a pod, very alike in many ways but will turn to each other for emotional support or just to feel better

dandy boy seungmin is such a little shit around you

he always teases you and always finds a way to tick you off to see your reactions, such as playing with your hair or stealing your clothes

so you being the petty little bitch you are, you do some things that will trigger his pet peeves, like make a room dirty or not doing chores

and that’s how you developed your evil maknae side, all because of this devil puppy

but even then the bickering isn’t always that bad, that’s just how you two show your love for each other since you guys literally don’t know how to be nice to each other

unless it’s about food or games, then there’s civil acts going on

seungmin actually likes to hug you because you’re like a smol baby chick, but it never really goes further than that

INSULT BATTLES ALL THE DAMN TIME

and it’s usually seungmin who wins them, but when you do win them it’s always a very witty victory

seungmin also knows when something’s up with you. if you suddenly stop acting like a savage around him he knows something is up

so he then investigates, comforts you and caves in to take you out to the mall to make you feel better

he doesn’t think he’s helping that much when those times come to you but he actually helps a lot, cause he gives of this comforting aura that makes you feel safe

also he smells like roses too lmao

seungmin is your pretty and bitchy best friend, but at the end of the day he will always be there for you

the two of you are the; done with everyone’s shit duo, at least when the two of you aren’t causing chaos

you and jeongin are very close in age, so naturally all of the members baby you and while the attention is endearing, it can get out of hand sometimes

so the two of you team up to pull the ultimate pranks on all of the members to get back at them and record all of their reactions

of course this results in scoldings and getting chased by an angry hyunjin holding a broom but it’s still worth it

both of you also compete for who can get more attention if you aren’t getting tired of it

and this can also lead to petty bickering that the other members watch in amusement (and they probably fucking grabbed popcorn too)

jeongin has a good sense of judgement, so he knows when the mood is feeling down

and he usually drags you to the side to plan a way to cheer up the members or bring up a lighthearted mood, since he knows the two of you would make a good plan

he doesn’t really like skinship but he finds it cute when you hug him or hold his arm

and the other members get pressed about this cause you’re allowed to hold his arm but they can’t even touch him with their fingernails

both of you have definitely tried to cook together

and fail miserably, which resulted in MORE scoldings and a temporary banishment from the kitchen, but the way you guys cooked was very funny

you made him a smoothie to make up for the fact that you got him banned from the kitchen cause it was mainly your fault

jeongin would be a more chill and laid-back friend, but he’s still very caring for you and will protect you at all costs

❦

a/n: waeeeee another one done! i had a lot of fun writing this and i hope you guys enjoy it as much as i had fun writing it.

also lee felix get your sexy ass off of my twitter feed i don’t feel like simping

this is @/krysphycookiez logging off... ♡︎

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gemstone-gynoid · 3 years

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vtubers i know and at least occassionally watch-

all of hololive english, indonesia, most of japan. nuff said, theyre all great peeps. they all feel like mainstays just weeks after debut, even the newest members. so it really is shocking whenever someone leaves.

nijisanji en , the first two waves of girls. starting to watch nina and millie more. should check out the guys more. i know theres tons of other nijipeeps but i dont really see many clips floating around of them.

VOMs, pikamee i can watch streams. she’s a streamer for sure with how she interacts with chat. the other 3 in the group seem great, not a lot of translations though.

vshojo, definitely respect all of them. mostly watch nyanners and ironmouse though.

smaller names i know:

Athena Bambina- rather christian deergirl who has sick belches often. is a good streamer. doesnt get a lot of views yet. i think she’s someone who trawls 4chan a lot with her humor sometimes though. english.

Alchemilla Menace - CyberLive group- i like slimegirls

Artemis of the Blue- this shark girl is no idol (as if other vtuber sharkgirls are idols) but she does her own things its nice.

Courtney (ProjectSNT) - big sonic fan, vtuber model is usually her sonic oc.

demily pyro - its @demilypyro go follow her! great demon gal from the minecraft realm of netherlands.

FalseEyeD- a vtuber who does vtuber news, and id say he is pretty objective in an area that can easily be some idiotic drama channel. i like his robot avatar more than his anime boy self.

FeFe- vshojo adjacent content, i respect the existence of unabashedly horny vtubers.

kson onair- this independent vtuber has such a powerful personality. nuff said.

omotea- i actually followed this channel before i realized what vtubers are and before i found hololive. vr and is into music or rhythm games like beat saber. dances too.

smudgebap- i personally know this person, has a simple bunny pngtuber model. been streaming for about a year it seems, i predict theyll pop off in time.

Fujikura Uruka - phase connect group - purple beargirl that is a pretty good musician. edgy vibes, like selen tatsuki.

Virtual Hero V-Ranger- @virtualherovranger a tumblr alumni too. need to catch her streams more.

woohoolad- the world needs more shitposters. certified atrocious small balls streamer.

yogurt cap- VR dancer but in a shitpost way.

Usui Clear - rocket vtuber who’s model is heavily astronomy inspired, does streams whenever a rocket launch is happening to talk about it. also does like regular vtuber among us streams too.

juniper actias- that moth vtuber with amazing rigging of a regular, chibi, and monstrous form.

vinesauce Lime, Revscarecrow and Jabroni Mike have vtuber models its great. though i havent watched those in this group in a while. everyone knows vinny and joel. i watched rev the most though.

#random thinking #i think thats all the streamers i know

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nori-the-cat · 4 months

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Hong Seunghan's Energy Check

Remember to take this tarot reading with a grain of salt! Tarot reading is a tool and does not illustrate Seunghan's life. Energy can change because situations do change. So, this is not a fixed illustration of Seunghan's life, but a glimpse of it.

I did this reading today. The date is Sunday, June 2, 2024.

How is Seunghan feeling right now?

Card(s): Ace of Cups

The cup card in a tarot reading is often associated with the water sign elements: Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio. I also consider the cup card in a tarot reading as fulfilling our cups.

Note: I forgot to add he’s particularly feeling happy and excited about something. But I don’t know what it is. (I’m not bothered to check)

Since the position of the Ace of Cups was in the upright position, I am assuming Seunghan is feeling particularly positive right now. He might be trying to get himself out of feeling stuck and going towards something that fulfils him. He might also be going through a spiritual or emotional awakening. The card could also be about romance, but I don't see romance in this tarot reading. Hence, I took another card.

Is this also (Ace of Cups) about romance?

Card(s): three of swords

The 3oS to me is about heartbreak, betrayal, drama, conflict, grief and suffering. So, no. It's not about romance.

I guess that's enough to answer whether the Ace of Cups indicates romance or not. It's not about romance.

So let's refrain ourself from going further into this energy as I would not want to cause any rumours.

Continue...

Though I did sense this card also illustrates his love life, it may not be about romance but he might be meeting new people who inspire him and making new connections (Ace of Cups). He's also going through a phase of learning to love and accept himself. But, he might be yearning for that feeling of love and acceptance from his fans.

In terms of his work or career, Seunghan might be enjoying his time at his "workplace". I'm also guessing something is heading or coming to him soon. I'm not sure what it is. (Honestly, I'm too lazy to look into it.)

Maybe he's working with a new set of team? A staff maybe? Producers? Dancers? People that inspires him, I guess? (Again, I'm not bothered to look into it.)

Is Seunghan still in SM Entertainment?

Card(s): Seven of pentacles rx

The 7oP was in a reversed position. So, yes, he's still in SM Entertainment.

I'm assuming he's still in SM Entertainment because of his contract or something and so far I'm not getting any "leaving the company" energy from this card. However, a further analysis of his energy is needed and I do need to pull more cards. But I didn't. I want to keep this reading simple. (I'm too lazy to look into it.)

Is he still a part of RIIZE?

Card(s): Eight of pentacles and the hierophant both was in reversed

Both cards are telling yes he is still a part of RIIZE.

Continue...

Now, the Ace of Cups. Seunghan's job is in the creative (entertainment industry). If he's been afraid of taking on more responsibilities, now is the right moment to push aside his past and fears. So, right now he could be finding joy in his work and job as an idol even if it means it's happening behind the scenes.

Overall, he's finding joy in the mundane. He's learning to love himself, and his work, finding creativity, and perhaps, yearning for love and support from his fans?

That's all for me. This is supposed to be a short reading anyway.

#nori tarot #kpop #riize #kpop tarot #riize tarot #riize seunghan #hong seunghan #seunghan riize #riize x reader

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famedroleplayarchive · 3 years

Photo

There won’t be an activity check today and you can count it as a free week because I have some big but hopefully not too big news. Famed is going to undergo a restructuring, and this is going to involve me asking everyone who would like to remain in the group to resubmit an application to keep their muse(s).

To be clear, this is not a complete revamp. Most of the major processes of how the roleplay work will not change and claims and development on muses will be able to be kept unless you put them in a majorly different position (in which case, claims that will no longer work can be refunded!), but the the size of the roleplay will be cut down over half from 135 spots to 65 spots. Many of the groups will be merged and all will be changed to some extent so that we have a total of thirteen groups, all with four to six members instead of the over twenty groups, many of which are rather large, we have now.

I want to disclaim that I know there will be members who connect less with the roleplay after the restructuring. I also want to apologize to anyone who is inconvenienced by the changes made, but please know I am only making these changes because I feel it is absolutely critical to the long-term life of the roleplay. A restructuring of some sort is something I’ve been thinking about for probably over a year or so now and I’ve been trying to avoid it for the sake of disrupting everyone as little as possible, but it’s become apparent to me that it’s necessary to keep the roleplay going, not because of member activity but because of my own ability to handle everything as an admin. I created Famed over four years ago when I was in a much different place in my life and had very little experience with idol roleplays and no experience at all running an idol roleplay, so I haven’t always been totally happy with how everything is set up. While I always did my best to make sure I was confident I could handle things before adding anything else onto my plate, naturally, several major life events have occurred over the past four years, especially the last one, that have altered the amount of time and energy I can commit to roleplaying, often making it draining and difficult to manage the group at its current scale.

Taking on another admin or mods would ultimately mean quite a bit more being required of me for at several months in order to evaluate any options presented to me and to help introduce a new person to all of the intricacies of the roleplay at a speed we’d both we comfortable with. It would also require me to be able to find someone I would be confident placing that responsibility on since I wouldn’t want to do it by half measures, which isn’t a guarantee. With all of that considered, I feel that this restructuring is the best course of action to keep the roleplay alive for the foreseeable future instead of risking my own discontent and stress leading to a fizzling out of the roleplay. The changes being made are all ultimately being made in hopes of making a more enjoyable and sustainable roleplaying experience in the long term for everyone involved, including me on the admin side and hopefully members as well!

Speaking of which, this will also be a chance for members to look at their own experience in the roleplay and muses and make their own changes to their muses as they find appropriate for improving their roleplay experience. I’ll be asking everyone to send in an updated application for the new changes since some details will probably have to change for every muse to some extent. Members are welcome to change what they feel necessary (or might be required by nature of the changes), from the muse’s group, to their position, faceclaim, age, background, etc. This means you’ll be able to pick new past claims made on your application too and a new past claims system is being put in place that will actually allow muses to have a more established career in their backstory! You’ll also be able to potentially refund points claims made that no longer fit changes you have to make to your muse, but that will be handled once the re-application process has been completed.

New main blogs have been created for the purpose of having a fresh start void of any old information that might still be lingering around blogs that will no longer be accurate. The new structure of the groups and companies can be found here on the new main (the URL will be changed to famedroleplay tomorrow!). On August 15 at noon EDT, exactly forty-eight hours after this post, I will be opening up for reserves to keep muses. You may only reserve spots for existing muses at this time, not for new muses, and muns will unfortunately now have to be limited to a maximum of three muses due to the decreased size of the roleplay.

Currently in-use faceclaims will be held for the muses they are used for unless the mun chooses to reserve a different faceclaim for the muse or until the period of accepting applications for keeping muses is up. Since groups, positions, and model groups have been moved around so much, I decided not to assume the assignment of positions to any muse, so it will be up to muns to reserve the spot they feel best suits their muse. Everyone will get a couple of days to look positions over before reserves are accepted to make the reserving of positions as fair as possible. I plan to do three acceptances on August 18, 22, and 25 that will be reserved solely for those applying to keep their muses, and the August 29 acceptances will be the first time we open for new muses again. Activity will start up as normal on August 22!

Members planning on keeping their muse may continue to write during this time if they’d like and work out that they’ll be keeping those plots, but points can’t be collected for anything that wasn’t already in progress since you might end up retconning it anyway.

Thank you all in advance for your understanding and I hope you’re able to find this exciting in some way! I know I’m hopeful for what I see as a fresh phase of Famed. Famed version 1.2, if you will. I’m aware this will likely be the end of the road for some who aren’t as interested in the new structure or can’t find muse within it or just don’t agree with my decisions, and to anyone who finds this to be your parting of ways with Famed, thank you for the time you did dedicate to the group! I do request to please avoid sending rude messages for the sake of being rude if the restructuring isn’t your cup of tea, but I will be sad to see anyone go who does leave. The alternative was me most likely, at best, having to put the roleplay on hiatus by the end of the year to take time to deal with real life, so this choice has been made so that I don’t have to do that and I can keep this home for so many wonderful muses running as long as possible!

A post with more information about the process of re-applying has already been posted to the new main by the time this post goes up. Check out the updated FAQ on that blog as well since it highlights a few of the more major changes already!

#fmdadmin #queued post

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jisungffs · 4 years

Text

coffee breath - felix.

words: 5.1k

reader: gender-neutral

genre: fluff

tags: best friend!felix x aromantic!reader, coffeeshop au, non idol! au, implied lgbtq!felix, minho is a minor character, minsung is mentioned. this whole thing is strictly platonic, none of this is meant to be romantic. just a cute fluffy fic honestly. the end has a little tension but not a lot.

warnings: THIS WHOLE THING IS PLATONIC, DON’T READ IF YOU WANT ROMANCE, swearing, multiple descriptions of food.

requested by @aritodla, check her out, she’s an amazing artist and a really sweet person overall.

Lee Felix was a sweet boy. He had kind eyes, freckled cheeks, and an air of infectious happiness around him. He always tipped generously, he never got angry at the staff, and he always cleaned up after himself. Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And it was a shame all you knew about him was his first name and his coffee order.

Even though Felix only started visiting your coffee shop a few weeks ago, you could tell he was a genuinely nice person. Everything about him was lovable.

Like the way he always said thank you after you took his order.

Or like the way he gripped his coffee cup with both his hands when the weather was cold.

Or the way he had a billion stickers on his laptop, adding a new one every week.

Or the way his eyebrows furrowed when he wrote something down..

Or the way he nodded along when he heard music he liked.

Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And even though you didn’t know much about him, you really wanted to. Because Lee Felix was sunshine. And you were in need of warmth.

It was a sunny day — one where it was warm enough to find solace in cafes and under the awnings of fashion stores, but not warm enough to make you want to curse out everything around you. The perfect weather, really. It was on this day that Lee Felix decided to wear his Twice t-shirt. It was barely noticeable — just a little white logo on the breast. It looked like a regular black tee from a distance. But you noticed. Because not only did you want to get to know Felix, you were also a huge fan of Twice.

Felix gave you his usual order of a cappuccino and a chocolate scone and went back to his seat. Felix liked Twice! You wondered who his bias was. Or what his favourite song was. It was really cool that Felix liked Twice right? You finally had something in common.

You drew a little Twice logo on the coffee foam. You didn’t even realize it. It was pretty usual for you to draw about what’s on your mind, and your cafe didn’t exactly have strict rules about foam art.

Felix was once again on his laptop today. You could recognize the colourful sticker-covered laptop from a mile away. His brows furrowed as he typed away, only getting up to collect his order. He was back in his seat and was about to continue whatever he was doing when he noticed the logo on his coffee, drawn on foam. His eyes widened slightly, his mouth broke into a grin. You noticed him getting his phone out and taking a picture before you had to attend to other customers.

It was a windy night. Felix was already in the cafe by the time your shift started, and was peacefully nibbling on a muffin while doing something on his laptop. His eyes never left the laptop screen. He checked his phone from time to time, but never spent more than a few seconds on it. From the looks of it, he was unaware of everything outside his screen and his table.

The closing shift never had a lot of customers. It was just Felix, you, and a couple of regulars in the little cafe.

And the regulars had already left by the time you were done cleaning up. It was five minutes until closing time, and Felix was still there, probably not knowing he was the last one there. You knew you had to tell him he had to leave soon, but you didn’t know exactly what to say. You weren’t the best at the closing shift.

You approached his seat awkwardly. “Excuse me…? Sir…?”, you said tentatively before gently tapping on the table.

Felix jumped slightly at the interruption. He quickly looked around the cafe. “Oh”, he said smally, “Am I the last one here?”

“Yes, and the cafe’s closing soon”, you said with a patient customer service smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t even realise”, he laughed. “I was working on some music and I guess I got carried away”

“Well,”, you struggled to find something to say,” If you like to sing, we have live music on Fridays”

What was that??? Who says that??

“I’ll keep that in mind”, he laughed, shutting the tabs on his laptop.

His phone screen played the Fancy MV, connected to headphones lying on the table. He was probably streaming it, and your mind raced at the conversation starter.

“You’re streaming Fancy!”, you said without thinking. You immediately cursed yourself for not spending more time thinking about what to say. He barely knows you, for god’s sake.

Felix didn’t seem to mind. “You like Twice?” Felix said with raised eyebrows and a goofy grin.

“I do”, you replied, mirroring his grin, “Chaeyoung’s my bias.”

Felix's eyes widened. “Wait a second!”, he said, “Were you the barista who drew the logo on my coffee yesterday?”

“That was me!”, you said laughing.

---

It was a sunny day - the kind where you technically could go out, but it was just a lot more comfortable staying inside. You started mixing Felix's drink as soon as he came to the counter. Felix looked pleasantly surprised. “Guess I don’t have to order anymore”

“I mean,” you said with your eyebrows raised, “You do have to try other drinks at some point, you know? You’ve ordered the a cappuccino and a chocolate scone everytime you came here, and they’re not even that good”

“Hey!” he cry-laughed. “Don’t you dare say that about my cappuccino.”

“By the way,” you added, “I think you’ll like the music today”

Felix raised his eyebrows. His lips quirked up when he realised a lo-fi playlist of Twice songs played through the speakers.

It was an average day -- the awkward phase between afternoon and evening, the weather so ordinary there was nothing to comment about it. Felix shaked his head as he reached the counter and saw you start to make his drink. “Oh I’m not having that today”

You raised your eyebrows, “Oh?”

“Yeah”, Felix said, fixing his posture and smirking. “I’ll have a black coffee, please”, he said in an over dramatic voice.

“Brave today, are we?”

“Yes, and” he said like a child boasting about his most recent tag game, “I won’t add any sugar to it”

“Oh boy”, you sighed, shaking your head.

Five minutes later, Felix’s (black) coffee was ready. Five and a half minutes later, Felix’s black coffee was at his table. You watched as he took his first sip. His entire face scrunched up at the bitter taste. He noticed you looking at him. He gave you a thumbs-up, still wearing the most pained expression known to man. Felix should not drink black coffee.

It was a windy day, the thick grey clouds above threatening to spill over during the night. Felix apparently wanted to prove a point, seeing as he once again ordered a black coffee (no sugar).

“But you hated it yesterday!”

“Clearly you didn’t see the thumbs up”

“Yeah, I was too busy looking at the agony on your face”

He pouted, “But I want a black coffee~”

You sighed. “This will be your villain origin story”.

Not surprisingly, Felix had the same expression of disgust as soon as the black coffee touched his lips. Still not surprisingly, he kept up the cool-edgy-guy-who-drinks-black-coffee schtick.

It was a cool yet humid day - the most polarising weather possible. It was a lonely afternoon with hardly any customers in the coffee shop. It was a weekday afternoon, after all. Felix came into the store wearing a black hoodie and a smug grin.

“Please don't tell me you want a black coffee”, you said even before he fully got to the counter. The boy clearly hated the bitterness, but wanted to prove a point anyway.

“Hey, this was your idea!”, he laughed.

“We have more than cappuccinos and black coffee, buddy. We don’t have to go into the extremes right away”

“Well I’m hoping that if I keep drinking the black coffee, I’ll get used to the disgustingness.”

You shook your head and laughed. “Tell you what,” you clapped your hands together, an idea hitting you. “I’ll play around with some ingredients and make you something I think you’ll like.”

“Ohhhh”, Felix said. "That sounds fun"

"Yes and maybe it'll help me add drinks to the menu too", you grinned.

"I shall not show you mercy, O worthy opponent". Felix spoke with a British accent, bowing to add some flair.

You played around with steamed milk, vanilla syrup, espresso, chocolate powder, and sugar. Plus whipped cream for good measure. A few minutes later, the drink was ready. Felix came up to the counter and looked at the drink in mock apprehension.

"I call it the Felixir", you said, . "Get it? Like Elixir?"

Felix let out a laugh.

“I know. It’s dumb. But!”, you said, "I played around with a bunch of stuff I know you like. It has chocolate, espresso, whipped cream and some other stuff. I have no idea how it tastes, but my barista senses told me this would be nice".

"I trust your barista senses". Felix took a sip of the Felixir. Whipped cream made a button on his nose. Felix's lips curved into a smile. His half-moon smile shined through. "Your barista senses rock", he said, punching the air.

"Do you like it?"

"I LOVE it. I don't know how you got my favourite ingredients so spot on."

You laughed. "Barista instincts, my friend".

Felix took another sip, holding the cup with both hands.

"Anyway," you continued, "this one's on the house. You deserve it for enduring the black coffee".

"This is so much better than black coffee", he babbled. "Black coffee has so much caffeine in it?? I was practically vibrating all of yesterday".

"Black coffee is for people with a lot of shit to do and not enough energy to do them", you agreed. "This one has espresso too, and also a shit-ton of sugar, so you might still vibrate today, just letting you know."

"I'll take being a popular kid's iPhone if it means I can have whipped cream and caramel and the other stuff".

It was a sunny day. Ladies in sundresses waited for their dates outside the cafe.

“Not a lot of people here, huh?” Felix commented.

“It’s a weekday afternoon, what do you expect? Only teenagers on their lunch breaks come here. And you, for some reason”

“How could I stay away from my favourite barista?”

You rolled your eyes. “Since you’re here anyway, let’s talk. I’m bored.” Was that too blunt?

“Cool, what do you wanna talk about?”

“The meaning of life, God, or Twice. You pick”

“Trick question, Twice is God and the meaning of life”

“You’re too smart”

Felix stroked his hair back, “I know”

You roll your eyes. “What are your favourite songs by them?”

“Literally their entire discography, but Fancy or TT if I had to choose”

“Fuck yeah. Those songs are queens”

Felix looks at you approvingly. “We should hang out sometime”

It was a clear day. Trees danced around in the wind. Another afternoon where there was hardly anyone in the little coffee shop. Felix ordered his Felixir once again with a cheery tone. You spent some time cleaning up the kitchen and rearranging the items on display. Felix was waiting near the counter once you got done, absent-mindedly checking his phone. He put down his phone and gave you a bright smile when he noticed you coming back.

You smiled back. “What’s the occasion, bub?”

“Nothing, I’m just a little bored and I wanted to hang out with you”

“Well, there aren’t a lot of customers so I guess that works out perfectly”

“How’s your day going so far?”

“It’s pretty boring, to be honest. Maybe I’ll watch a movie when I get home. My shift ends in like half an hour.”

“Whaaat? I was planning to watch a movie too! I live right upstairs, actually”

“Really? That explains why you’re always here”, you laughed.

Felix laughed back. “I have nothing to do today”. Felix gave you an expectant look.

Oh.

“Me neither”, you said casually. “Do you think we should watch something together?”

“Yes!” He giggled. “I know I’m not the best with invites, but I’m glad you picked that up”

“Honestly, I’m surprised I got that. I’m really awkward with invites too”

“More reasons to be friends, then”

“We live closer than I thought, by the way. I live across the street. It’s a five-minute walk.”

That afternoon was a pleasant one. Breeze played with the little children on the street. Felix and you were sprawled on the couch, mindlessly watching the trashy movie on TV. An orange cat ㅡ his roommate’s apparently ㅡ decided to laze around on Felix’s lap, his hand absentmindedly stroking its soft fur.

“Why are early 2000s movies so much more dramatic than they need to be?” Felix commented.

“Right? I remember watching this as a kid and it wasn’t half as bad”, you replied

“So it’s true then. Adulthood only makes things go downhill”

“Hey now you’re the one being dramatic”

“Wrong, I’m always dramatic”

“Your apartment is pretty nice, by the way.”

“Thank you. You’re free to come over whenever”

“Won’t your roommate mind?”

“Not really. Minho’s out most of the time and he brings over his friends all the time too.”

You smiled. “Hey also,”, you said. “Since we live pretty close by, we can hang out at my place some time too!”

“That sounds great”, he smiled widely.

It was a cool day. Most of your patrons huddled themselves in hoodies and cardigans. Felix ordered his drink before giving you a curious look. “Did you come to the cafe yesterday?”

“No, I didn’t have a shift. why?” you asked, slightly thrown off.

“Oh that explains it”, he said, “I came in yesterday and you weren’t there. The other barista didn’t know how to make my drink. Or even what it was, actually. And," he paused, "I missed talking to you”

An embarrassing smile crept up your face. “That’s so sweet”, you said, barely audible.

Felix was about to walk back to his table when you said “Hey actually,”

Felix turned around.

“I downloaded a really awful movie yesterday. Wanna make fun of it together at my place?” you said, just a little hint of nervousness in your voice. “My shift ends soon. But like, you don’t have to if you’re busy or something, we can always-”

“I’d love to,” he smiled.

The evening was breezy as you and Felix laughed over the hilariously, excruciatingly bad movie. Felix and you bonded very fast, apparently. Felix was resting his head on your shoulder. It felt so… natural. It was effortless. And comfortable. It was as though your bodies just did what felt familiar to them. You felt Felix’s body shake every time he laughed. You added sarcastic retorts every now and then, Felix joining too. The movie was terrible. But this moment with Felix was beautiful.

It was a breezy summer day, about a month after Felix came over.

Loving Felix was easy. It was second nature. Felix just clicked with you. The line between friends and best friends blurred quickly. And based on how much he spammed you with messages and how much he visited the cafe and how diligently he memorized your schedule and how many times you hung out, he loved you too.

Your phone buzzed.

felix:

are we doing anything today?

maybe

im in the mood for hot dogs i think

oooooo should we go to the park then?

yes !!

after my shift sounds good?

yesss

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

You used to find those emoticons cringey until Felix started using them. Now, it was just fucking adorable.

(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

The park was a few streets away. It was a big one. Preteens ran around and played frisbee with their friends or their dogs or their parents. But the two of you luckily found a park bench ever-so-slightly away from the noise and the chaos.

As you sat there talking about nothing and everything, you quietly took in Felix's features. His skin was radiant in the setting sun. His freckles, darker from the sunlight, looked like little flecks of chocolate. His eyes lit up whenever he talked about music. Or cooking. Or you. His cheeks rose and fell with his words, his eyes crinkling up when he smiled.

It was a beautiful moment. You lay your head on Felix's shoulder, half lost in thought. The sun painted the park in a subtle shade or orange. The kids around the park laughed and jumped, being loud and being kids. Felix had stopped talking by then, too busy taking in the sunset. His head rested on yours, your hands almost touching. It was a beautiful moment. But moments with Felix were always beautiful.

It was a cold night. You snuggled into your blankets, intently watching something on your phone.

Your phone buzzed. Felix sent you a meme.

you:

???????? why are you awake

it's 2am

go to sleep

why are YOU awake ????????

im watching something 👉👈

im just reading fics and stuff akdkkdj

what kind of fics 👀

they're fluffy stop making everything dirty

i can't stop me (by twice)

sjskksksjjd

oh also

do you make the brownies and stuff?

or is that someone else

in the cafe i mean

that's me babeyyyy

why tho

i like them :D

:"D

baking w you would be fun 🥺

🥺🥺🥺

im good at baking

and so are you

but maybe we should yeet away the recipes and do whatever

baking is supposed to be precise tho :(

if it fails we eat the cookie dough and erase the whole thing from our memory

nice

i mean

im supposed to be precise with the cafe stuff too but the Felixir wouldn't exist if i followed the rules

now you're getting it

when are we doing this?

buddy

we live five minutes from each other

just come over whenever

fuck planning

im *this* close to straight up giving you my keys

me too tf

hell yeah

also this isn't distracting me from the fact that you need to sleep soon

i feel kinda sleepy actually ngl

sleep.

okay 👉👈

gn !! ily

and please sleep soon aksndn

ily2

okay :]

It was a clear, pleasant afternoon, your curtains swaying in the breeze. The smell of freshly made cookies wafted through your apartment. Felix sat on top of your counter, his legs swinging. Felix took one of the newly-made cookies into his hand and regarded it intently. “Looks pretty good so far. It’s a little bit hard but that’s obvious, we added a lot of ingredients and didn’t adjust the flour properly”

“So much for experimentation”

“We did add a lot of fun stuff though, so my money’s on it tasting good”.

You both bit into a cookie. It was… alright. It wasn’t bad, but you expected it to taste a lot better or a lot worse. You both gave each other disappointed smiles. “Underwhelming.”

“But hey! It wasn’t bad!” Felix added.

“True. Still thought the cookies would be more… more. You know?”

“I know. But who cares about that?” Felix put his arm on your shoulder, “Making this with you was the most fun I had in a while and I couldn't care less what they ended up tasting like.”

You let out a small smile. “I love you”

“And I love you”

You looked up at him. His soft brown eyes were warm with affection.

“Now,” Felix continued, “The cookie dough’s gotta be better right?”

You laughed. “The cookie dough is chocolate sludge at this point”

“Yeah, maybe using M&Ms as chocolate chips was a bit much”

“Probably. But let’s race. Whoever finds the most M&Ms in the dough wins.”

“I already know I’m winning”.

It was a drizzly night. Streetlights reflected on the wet asphalt outside Felix’s apartment. Felix and you had decided to have an impromptu sleepover. It was almost 3am, both of you slightly delirious from the caffeine and the staying up. You were yelling at the TV, desperately trying to get your character to do something, damn it. Felix just smirked beside you, his character easily attacking yours. He was choosing not to kill you quickly, which was almost more annoying than dying straight away. It wasn’t long before Felix won the game. You pouted in annoyance.

“Maybe I should start killing you quickly so you won’t be loud and Minho won’t yell at us for making noise”

“This game sucks”, you pouted.

“You’re just new to it. Did you know you can do twice as much damage if you press B after you attack?”

“Really?”

“Yeah! And do you know how to dodge?”

“No” you said like a kid admitting to breaking something.

“Why did you make me skip the tutorial?”, Felix laughed.

“The past is in the past, Felix. How do I dodge?”

Felix spent a few minutes teaching you which buttons do what and which attacks are effective when. It only took a few slightly frustrating runs before you almost came close to beating him. Maybe he was going easy on you, but that didn’t matter. It was fun.

“You are learning, my protégé”, he said approvingly.

It was a chilly evening. Old white sheets lay spread out on your bedroom floor, your furniture haphazardly moved to the living room. Felix had texted you earlier that day, promising to help you paint your room. You were almost done painting half a wall when you heard his familiar deep voice. “Hey! Missed you.”

“Missed you more”, you smiled.

“What do you need me to do? How may I be of assistance?” he curtsied.

You rolled your eyes. “Just grab a paint brush and do that wall over there. Just make sure it's even and don’t get any on your clothes.”

“You say that with a million paint splatters on you”, he laughed.

Felix got to work. Neither of you really talked. It seemed that Felix was lost in thought, letting his hands do the painting. But it was fine. Because moments with Felix were always beautiful, even the silences.

You were finished with your first wall when you decided to play calm music on your phone. Soothing guitar chords filled the silence.

It was hard to keep track of time. Five songs? Six songs? Maybe an hour? Both of you had made a lot of progress with the walls. It didn’t matter. What did matter was Felix. Halfway through the third or fourth song, you noticed Felix singing to himself.

It was barely audible, he probably wasn’t even aware of it. But his voice was soothing. And soft.

You had never heard him sing before. You wished you did. You could listen to it forever. Felix’s singing voice felt like sweaters and cozy winter days.

You didn’t say anything. You knew he’d be embarrassed if he knew you noticed. But the rest of the painting session gave you butterflies, to say the least.

It was a chilly day. Felix was hunched over his stovetop making ramen while you dramatically read out a fanfic to him from the table. You just finished the kissing scene when Felix let out a disappointed sigh.

“I know right?” You commented.

“I don’t get it. Don’t you think they’d make way more sense as just friends?”

“Waaaay more sense. I feel like the kiss scene is just so unnecessary.”

“I don’t get why writers think everything should have romance in it. I mean, love is friendship right? I mean, for me, it is.”

Your heart stopped. A smile crept up your face. You continued reading out the fanfic, but you didn’t focus on it at all. Because Felix said love is friendship. Love is friendship. Love is friendship!

It was a cold night. You were all bundled up in bed with a hoodie and a blanket. Felix was on the phone with you, refusing to hang up despite being half-asleep.

“Seriously Felix, you can’t even keep your eyes open”

“Mm. But I want to talk to you”, he yawned. His half-asleep voice was deeper than usual and very quiet.

“Alright bub. What do you want to talk about?” You started to feel sleepy too.

“I don’t know. Maybe how amazing you are?”

You laughed. “Fuck off”

“No but… your hair is so soft. And your coffee is really good. And you’re awesome. What the heck. I love you.” he said. He spoke slowly. You could tell he was almost asleep.

“I love you too you beautiful bastard”

You were met with the sounds of soft breathing.

Felix was very endearing when he was half-asleep.

It was a rainy day, rain knocking against Felix’s living room windows. Felix shared a blanket with you atop the couch. You leaned on Felix, your head on his chest. His heartbeat synced with the rain on the window. Felix’s arm draped your side. Both of you focused on the movie in front of you. It was a good one so far. The plot was well written, and the actors were doing a good job.

A door creaked open behind you. Felix and you turned to look at the source.

Felix's roommate, Minho entered the living room. He looked well dressed in a leather jacket and chunky black boots. "Do you think Jisung will like the jacket?", he asked Felix.

"He's gonna love it", Felix replied, smirking.

“Alright, I gotta go”, Minho said, picking up his umbrella and walking to the door. He looked at you. “Sorry we couldn’t talk today, y/n, but have fun with your boyfriend”.

He was already out the door before either of you could protest. Felix looked at you awkwardly before turning back to the TV. Felix was not your boyfriend. And clearly he wasn’t very comfortable being called that. To be fair, neither were you.

“I’m sorry about him”, he sighed. Both of you looked everywhere but each other.

“Don’t be," you said, “ I know people think we’re dating because we’re comfortable with each other and stuff.”

“Right. But hey, you’re my best friend and you always will be.”

You smiled. “You too”.

It was nice being best friends with Felix. Everytime you’ve been this close with someone, they all seemed to expect more. They all seemed to expect romance. But that just didn’t work for you. Romance was weird.

You’re my best friend and you always will be.

Felix wouldn’t mind, would he? Probably not. But what if he’s mad you didn’t tell him yet? What if he thinks you don’t trust him? Or maybe his whole view on you will change and maybe he won’t like you after that. What if that happens?

You’re my best friend and you always will be.

You’re his best friend and you always will be. It’ll be alright. It’ll be harder the longer you wait right?

What if he really will be mad at you though? He’s your best friend, why haven’t you told him yet?

A mere few seconds passed before you shifted off his chest. Felix sat up, sensing your tension. He paused the movie. "Y/N?"

Fuck it. It’s too late to ignore this now. You looked into his eyes before turning away. “I’ve been holding off on telling you something.”

Felix’s voice filled with concern. “Tell me.”

You took a breath, trying to keep yourself from panicking. You were too nervous to look at him. “Minho joked about us being together and I know neither of us see each other in a romantic way, but I just… I don’t know why I haven’t told you this yet. But… it’s not just you. I don’t feel romantic attraction to anyone. I’m aromantic.”

Felix put his hand on your shoulder and moved closer to you. Your thoughts were still racing, your heart rate still high, your breath still shaky. You were still too nervous to look at him.

You kept going, “I haven’t told you this. I know. And I’m sorry. But you’re still my best friend and I hope you don’t think I don’t trust you or something. I love you, okay? I just… I guess I just don’t like coming out. But I just had to today for some reason. I’m sorry if this makes you view me differently.” You thoughts were still racing after you said what you wanted to say. Your hands shook slightly.

And Felix noticed all of that.

He put his hand on top of yours. “Y/N”, he said gently.

You hesitated, then looked at him. His eyes were warm. His smile was understanding - the smile of someone who’s done this before. The smile of someone who’s already dealt with the emotions you were having. He gently pushed your head back onto his chest. “Breathe with me.”

His chest raised as he took a breath. You closed your eyes and took a breath too. He let it out in a few seconds. So did you. He took in another breath.

Felix spoke softly. “Coming out is hard. Even if it’s to someone you love. What you just did there takes so much courage. And I’m so, so proud of you. I love you so much. And our love doesn’t have to be romantic for it to be deep. I love you. And nothing will change that.”

You buried yourself in his chest.

His chest rose and fell with every breath he took. You breathed with him. His heartbeat was calming.

I love you. And nothing will change that.

“Thank you.” you said. “For everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Felix?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it weird?”, you said quietly, “That we’re always so close together? I really like being with you. And hugging you. And cuddling you. But I won’t do it if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“No. It’s not weird. Not to me. I love this. And we can do this all day long without it meaning anything more than friendship.” Felix gave you a forehead kiss. “Besides,” he said, “What good are best friends if they don’t give you hugs?”

You hugged him tighter. “I love you so much”

“I love you so much too.” His voice was warm and kind and understanding. You didn’t bother holding back the tears.

Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And Lee Felix was the sun, giving you warmth and love and reasons to wake up. Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And the universe was a thing of beauty to let your love shine through.

a/n: this took a really long time to write bc of personal stuff im sorry, but this req made me realize i was aromantic skaskdlkdlk :’D. remember my requests are open so feel free to request stuff from me and i’ll try not to take eight years to do it. take care yall

#felix #felix x reader #felix x male #felix x gender neutral reader #skz x reader #skz x male #skz fics #best friend!felix #best friend fic #felix fluff #aromantic #coming out #coffeeshop au #skz #stray kids #skz fluff

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crazyyanderefangirlfan · 4 years

Text

Bring on the Mania! Pt 4

After escaping from the mermafia, they managed to make it to professor Crewel. But ever after since encountering the twins, Amane was surprisingly well behaved, sure he would flirt with a student from time to time. But when they left the classroom, he would look behind his shoulder every so often.

"Uhhh, are you okay? You've been acting paranoid ever since we ran into Azul and the twins." Concern etched her features. It grew when she watched him flinched at the mention of the latter.

"Ha-hahaha! What are you talking about, Sugar tits? I'm just peachy!" His smile didn't convince her. She could see the corners of his mouth twitched. She glanced at Grim and Lisha; the former furrowed his brows in suspicion, while the latter had a worried look in her eyes.

School ended for the day. Valerie and Amane made it to the entrance of the school where the rest of her first-year squad was. Tomorrow was the weekend, and she texted them for a sleepover, and they all agreed. Though they were still wary of him, they were able to hold a conversation with him better.

"Wait." Ace started. "You guys ran into Azul and the twins."

"And he's been jumpy ever since?" Deuce ended, glancing at the man, who was busy chatting with Epel about Lisha, the said strix nestled herself on Epel's fluffy head.

"Yeah, I don't know what they said to him, but whatever those two said really did a number on him." Valerie carefully cradled a sleeping Grim in her arms.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they have blackmail on him, considering that his family has a strong influence on Twisted Wonderland, and Azul will use that for his benefit." Jack added, huffing at the thought of it.

"But, they just met him. How could they obtain that information in less than a day?" Deuce thought.

"With how he paraded himself, it wouldn't be hard for him to the object of discussion for the whole school, even more so his family name." Sebek nodded.

The sound of music and praise filled the air when they neared the sports field. Valerie paused to see the commotion; the others did too, curious about what took the girl's attention.

There was a crowd of people, and they all surrounded whoever they were cheering for. Deciding to go nearer, Valerie politely excused herself from her friends, much to their confusion, and carefully waded her way through the crowd.

"Excuse me. Sorry, coming through." She repeatedly apologized before finally made her way to the source.

In the center of it all were Jamil and another student in the middle of a heated breakdance competition. By the look of it, no one was sure who was winning. She spotted Kalim in the far corner, holding a large 'Go Jamil!' sign over his sign.

"You're doing amazing, Jamil!" The garnet-eyed male cheered with a brilliant smile on his face.

Valerie felt her friend's presence. Hearing some of them catch their breaths confirms it.

"Damn it, Princess, and you said me and Deuce give you a headache." She heard Ace complain. She felt him lean to her side, his hand resting on her head.

"Do you think Jamil is winning?" Deuce asked as he watched in awe as the two students kept on pulling advance moves.

"I sure hope so." She replied, having full faith in her senior's abilities.

Amane stood behind her, pursing his, and folded his arms over his chest. He had a contemplative look on his face as he watched them dance. A loud cheer caught his attention, he glanced in the direction of it, and a flash of realization came to his fate when he saw Kalim.

Jamil delivered the finishing move that ended the battle and claimed his victory. The crowd cheered for his win, congratulated him, even his opponent, who wasn't even phased by his defeat, and admitted that he was the better dancer. Kalim happily ran over and tackled him for a hug. Jamil staggered from the impact but recovered quickly and tried to get him off.

"Oi! Get off!" Jamil demanded, trying to push his dorm leader away.

"Jamil, I'm so happy for you! You were incredible!" The energetic male praised. Jamil stopped when it appeared that he wasn't going to move from his position and reluctantly let Kalim hug him. Around them, the students had already dispersed and went back to the dorms. Well almost...

"Jamil, you were on fire." A feminine voice complimented. The Scarabia duo turned their heads and saw the school's only girl in front of them, as well as her friends.

"Hello, Valerie!" Kalim cheerfully greeted, Jamil just gave a nod of acknowledgment. An idea popped into Kalim's head.

"Hey Jamil, maybe you can teach Valerie that dance just now. She already proved herself to be a fast learner under your tutelage." Kalim suggested. Jamil hummed at the thought.

"That may be so, but it's still advance for her." He reasoned. Jamil jumped a bit when he found her face so close to his, he fought down the blush rising on his cheeks.

"I promise to put all my effort into it! I won't disappoint you!" She affirmed, the sincerity evident in her voice, and her determined face was too adorable for him.

"I-If that's how you feel, then fine. I won't go easy on you." The dark-haired male declared with a smirk. The girl just happily grinned up at him.

"Sup, Al-Asim." Amane casually greeted. He strolled up to the group with his arms behind his head.

"Mm, oh hey, Amane." Kalim waved at the man.

It that time, Grim woke up. The monster blinked blearily and let out a large yawn. He looked around and saw everyone's surprised faces; he turned his head to Amane and Kalim in the middle of a pleasant conversation. The first years blinked, watching in silence as Kalim and Amane converse like old friends.

"Do you know each other?" Epel queried.

"Oh yeah, I met this ball of sunshine when I was ten. His father brought him over so we can get acquainted; for future business relations." Amane waved his hand dismissively.

"Our meetings became less frequent as time went on, and then we stopped seeing each other." Kalim admitted. Though there was an underlying sadness in his tone, he covered it up with a bright smile.

"But I heard rumors that a man was hanging around with Valerie. I didn't expect it was you."

"Amane, you already graduated. What are you doing here?" Jamil questioned. He narrowed his eyes towards the older male.

"I decided to hang with this girl for two days." The hetero eye male replied, wrapping one arm around Valerie for emphasis.

"Since we made the blood pact, I wanted to get to know her better and check out this school more." He added.

"You could have just visited her during the weekend." Jamil countered, crossing his arms.

"Oh, snake daddy, do you have any idea how hectic my schedule is? It's probably worse than yours." Amane remarked, using the girl as an armrest.

"Anyway, we got someplace to be. Catch you two later." He removed his arm, walking ahead from the rest of them.

"Oh, bye, Amane!" Kalim smiled at the back of his friend's retreating form.

"He could have at least wait, how rude." Sebek cast a disapproving look at Amane.

"Might as well catch up with him. See you, guys." Valerie waved at the Scarabia duo; before jogging after Amane. The rest of the first years followed.

"It's good to see Amane again, huh, Jamil?" There was a fond look in his eyes as he watched the first years catching up with the demon.

"It is surprising to see him here and making a pact with Valerie no less." Jamil commented.

"I hope we can re-connect, considering what father told me what happened to him." He turned to Jamil with downcast eyes; his smile lacked the joy he had earlier.

"Let's head back too. I'm sure some of the residents need something from us." Kalim went ahead, acting like nothing was wrong. Jamil stood there, watching Kalim's figure before catching up with him.

____________________________

The sun was already setting, and everyone was currently in the living room, having already eaten dinner made by the ghosts. The boys were already in their pajamas, so they were just waiting for Valerie to come down.

"Wait. You're friends with Lorelei Arachne?" Deuce asked incredulously. He wore a simple white shirt and dark blue pajama shorts. He was lying on his sleeping bag with the rest of the first years.

"Childhood friends, to be exact, honey." Amane corrected. He wore silk maroon pajamas with gold accents, lying on his side, taking most of the space on the couch.

"Pfft, now way. You expect us to believe that crap." Ace scoffed. Like Deuce, he wore a white shirt and red pajama shorts. "Probably a ploy to get in our pants."

Amane reached to the coffee table and grabbed his phone. He swiped it a few times before showing them a picture.

It was him, and his arm was wrapped around a young woman. She had an alluring heart-shaped face, long wavy blood-red hair that reaches to her thighs. Her eyes had black sclera, amber iris and black slits , and porcelain skin. Both were smiling and dressed in winter clothes, and what seemed to be a resort in the background.

"So hot stuff, you believe me now?" Amane smirked smugly on watching the first year's gawk at the photo.

"I-I-I..." Ace had no words for what he was seeing.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing." Jack muttered, scratching the back of his neck. He wore a white tank top and black pajama pants.

"That's amazing, Amane!" Deuce exclaimed as he stared at the picture.

"Where are you?" Sebek questioned. He wore a dark green pajama set with white accents.

"It's in the northern part of the land of pyroxene. She wanted to take a break from idol life, so I suggested this place; it wasn't that popular, but it had potential. I'm glad I did; it was like she got a few years of her life back." He took back his phone to stare at it; a small smile formed on his face as he recalled the memory.

"Is her life that hard?" Epel asked. He wore a black shirt with purple flannel pattern pajamas.

"Hell yeah, it is." He started to count each one with his fingers.

"Following a strict regime. A special diet to maintain her figure. Always acting happy in front of the camera. Walking around with weights on her body to make her dancing more fluid. Constantly performing and going to meet-n-greets no matter how tired she is. No love life. Ohh, and don't get me started with those bitchy fans of hers."

Amane seethed at the last one; he curled his lips with icy contempt and held his phone so tight, cracks were forming. His eyes flashed, not only in anger but something else. His eyes glowed dangerously bright as if a wildfire lit up, ready to burn down everything on its path.

But what concerned them the most is what was happening to his body. Like a technical glitch, they could see horns and a pair of wings on his back, flickering in and out of existence.

The first years' froze from their spot on the floor. Unaccustomed to seeing this side of him, they glanced at each other, unable to say that might trigger the hetero-eyed male. Fear tingled their backs as Amane's eyes glow brighter and becoming more demonic.

When Amane finally looked up, he found the frightened and wary faces of Valerie's friends staring at him. Their bodies were tense; they were either ready to run from him or pin him to the ground. Confused, he glanced at the dark screen of his phone and understood their caution. Amane closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counting up to twenty in his head, and let it all out. He looked at his phone; no glowing eyes or horns and wings.

He turned back to the first-year squad. They were still on high alert, albeit calm themselves considerably; there was an awkward silence in the air, with neither party saying a word. In the end, Amane spoke up.

"So, is Sugar tits done yet?"

"I'm right here, Amane." Her voice rang out.

She came into the room wearing a pink shirt that exposed her midriff and matching shorts. Grim was lying on her head, with Lisha on top of his. In her arms were various board games. Valerie's cheerful smile was replaced by a concerned frown; the tension in the air was thick, and from her friends' body language, they were on the verge of tackling him.

"Is everything alright?" She asked worriedly, sitting down and placing the boxes on the coffee table.

"Yeah, we-" Deuce started before Ace abruptly cut him off.

"THIS GUY NEARLY WENT DEMON MODE ON US!" Ace screamed, pointing accusingly at the midnight haired male. Valerie blinked and turned to Amane, who bowed his head.

"Uhh, w-what happened?"

"Amane was just telling us he was friends with Lorelei Arachne." Jack answered. "But Ace didn't believe him, so he showed us a picture of them on his phone. Amane began to list off how hard her life was, to the point of angering him."

I-I didn't mean to lose control." The incubi tried to defend. "It's just the way they treat her makes my blood boil."

Amane bit his lower lip. Eyes darting everywhere, unwilling to look at them. Simmering in silent rage.

"But, at least she had you, didn't she?" Grim, surprisingly offered. Amane stopped biting his lip and loosen his muscles.

"Yeah, that bitch and I had each other backs ever since I could remember. Whenever the world decided to throw shit at us, we always managed to come on top."

A small smile etched his face, his eyes grew soft and nostalgic. Valerie placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. The hetero-eyed gave her a thankful smile.

"So, what do you have in store, Sugar tits?"

25 notes · View notes

karajaynetoday · 4 years

Text

everybody's got their demons, even wide awake or dreaming | part one

Photo credit: Jess Gleeson

Hello friends! Hope you’re having a lovely day wherever you are in the world. Thank you to everyone who voted in my little Google form thing on what they’d like to see me write next. Here’s Part One of my 5SOS x music journalist story. It’s a little angsty, and as the first chapter this is a lot of introduction to the OC and her story, but I hope you like it! It’s the first time I’ve written an OC into a fic, so I’d love to know your thoughts and if you’re interested in reading more about Lizzie and her adventures interviewing 5SOS.

Shout outs to @wheniminouterspace and @calumrose for helping me sense-check this concept, and @spicycal for giving me feedback on it in its draft stages. You’re all gems!

Word count: 5.1k

Warnings: Fem!OC, minor swearing

More writing here | send thoughts/feedback/suggestions here | if you’d like to be on my taglist go here

Lizzie Lawson was having a bit of a day. Her train had been late, she dropped her coffee moments after receiving it from the cute barista downstairs (and broke her favourite keep cup in the process), and her work computer had decided to run updates the moment she sat down at her desk. Maybe she shouldn’t have bothered to get out of bed this morning.

Her colleagues were tapping away at their keyboards, answering phone calls, and discussing upcoming story ideas with each other - the usual tasks, especially for a Monday morning. Lizzie, computerless and caffeine deprived, had to settle for a cup of instant coffee from the kitchenette, and had taken to tidying up her desk while her computer was restarting over and over again but still somehow not ready for use. She was on the floor, sorting through the snacks in her bottom desk drawer (crackers that were two months’ past their expiry date, some gummy worms, and what seemed like hundreds of cans of tuna) when James, the music editor, stuck his head out of his office and called for her.

“Lawson! Where are you?” James sounded confused. He could’ve sworn he’d seen Lizzie at her desk moments ago, and then suddenly she popped her head up like a meerkat.

“Jimbo! Here. What’s crack-a-lackin?” Lizzie responded, standing up and brushing herself off as she headed towards where James was standing in his office doorway.

“Got a pitch for ya. Step into my office, if you’re finished with your spring clean.” James chuckled as he stepped back inside and sat down on the couch opposite his desk.

A number of journalism awards were displayed on the shelf above the couch, and the floor to ceiling window overlooked Sydney’s CBD and its tall, grey buildings, with a glimpse of the harbour ocean in the distance. Lizzie had to admit she’d imagined herself in James’ desk chair more than a few times; the music editor of one of Australia’s leading youth and pop culture publishing companies, regularly travelling the world to interview award-winning artists, and assigning and guiding well-crafted investigative pieces on the entertainment industry and those within in.

But, in reality, Lizzie had only recently worked her way up to being in the music department, after a couple of years on the news desk and a series of casual internships at different publications around the place. But music journalism, and the passion she had for live performances and watching artists grow and develop their sounds and aesthetics over their careers, was where Lizzie had always wanted her career to go. She was grateful to James for having her on the team, but she also knew that he didn’t recruit just anyone - so her writing must’ve been strong enough to get her here. James was a good boss, salt of the earth, always had his team’s back, but he was also a little mysterious, and this morning’s meeting was one of those where his face was giving absolutely nothing away as Lizzie joined him on the couch in the office.

“So, what’s up?” Lizzie said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

“Well, Lawson. You’ve only been on deck for a few months, but turns out my gut instinct about you has paid off. That profile you did on the 1975 last month has gotten some good feedback and traction out and about.” James spoke in a measured tone, pulling his laptop off the coffee table and opening it.

“Oh! Well, that’s… good, right?” Lizzie still couldn’t figure out exactly why she was in James’ office. Or why she was so nervous.

“Correct, it is good. It’s been great to see you come into your own a little bit, and develop your interview style. I also really appreciated you stepping in to cover the Matt Corby interview for Hannah the other day, when she had that stomach bug.” James continued, seemingly searching for an email or something on his laptop as he spoke.

“No worries! Hannah’s notes were really thorough, plus I definitely had a Matt Corby phase when he was on Australian Idol back in 2006! Oof, that fringe, you know?” Lizzie cringed internally when she heard herself starting to babble.

James snorted, before clearing his throat. “I’m sure Matt was glad the 2006 hairstyle didn’t take up too many words in the final profile piece. He was pretty happy with it though, and his management were too, according to the label. So happy, in fact, that they’re requested you to profile another one of their artists.”

James had Lizzie’s full attention now, and she still couldn’t read his expression. “Really? Me? Who’s the artist?” She asked, trying not to get too excited too soon.

“Yes, indeed, you. 5 Seconds of Summer, or 5SOS. They’ve got a new album due out in a month or so, and their publicist is keen to fly you out to LA for a few weeks to follow them around while they wrap things up in the studio, and do a profile piece on their journey to date. Are you familiar with their stuff? They’re offering us an exclusive, something about the album being linked to their homeland or something, so they wanted to go with an Australian media outlet first.” James set his laptop back down on the coffee table and angled it so Lizzie could see an email on the screen that had a few lines of text and a photo of a band onstage.

5SOS. Was Lizzie familiar? Oh yes, she was familiar. Lizzie Lawson hailed from the western suburbs, and 5SOS was the area’s biggest success story. Aussie boys made good, with millions of albums sold, billions of song streams, thousands of concerts played all around the world, that was their career to date. But for Lizzie, 5SOS were always a bit closer to home. She’d attended the same high school as three of the band members, and Michael Clifford was someone she called her best friend, once upon a time. Ashton had also befriended Lizzie’s older brother Lachlan when they’d worked together at KFC. That was years ago now, and they’d all fallen out of touch, because sometimes that’s just the way the universe works. You grow up and you move on and you don’t keep the same friends, because sometimes they move to the other side of the world and get super famous as successful musicians. Or something like that. Even if they know your deepest secrets, or biggest fears, or hopes and dreams, or you trust them more than anything, sometimes they still leave you.

Lizzie’s previous state of intrigue quickly became panic, because what if she wasn’t actually being chosen based on the merit of her work? What if the 5SOS team knew about her connection to the band, and were going to use it to manipulate her writing in some way? What if it was all a ploy to get her and Michael in the same room so he could finally call her out on what had gone down between them all those years ago? What if -

“Lawson! You on planet earth still, or wait?” James snapped his fingers in front of Lizzie’s face to get her attention. She shook her head to clear it, and wrung her hands together in her lap.

“Yep, I’m familiar with their work. A little fuzzy on the most recent work, but I have a bit of knowledge on a lot of their early stuff. And Youngblood, of course. Everyone knows Youngblood. ARIA song of the year, a billion streams, etc etc.” Lizzie spoke, meeting James’ gaze as he cocked his head at her curiously. He knew Lizzie had a tendency to get a little nervous when she was put on the spot, but there was something about her right now that was a little more unsettled than usual that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Good. Well, if you’re down, the label will cover three weeks accommodation in Los Angeles. Labels don’t usually do that kind of thing, but their manager is super keen for you to get enough quality time with the band to build up a solid profile piece. We’ll cover your daily expenses, I’ll send you instructions for the claiming app, and then we just need your passport to get the flights booked. Sound okay?”

“Y-yep. Yes. Okay. Right. When would I be leaving?” Lizzie pinched her thigh through her jeans to double check that she wasn’t dreaming, and that yes, this was actually happening.

“Friday midday. We’ll put some feelers out in LA, and see if there’s any other interviews you can do while you’re there, but your focus will be on 5SOS because they’re picking up the bill for your stay. But that being said, don’t let that sway what you write. They’ve requested you because they like your deep, detailed, open style of profiling, so don’t be afraid to ask some curly questions to get the answers that will craft the right piece, you know?” James spoke firmly, looking pointedly at Lizzie who quickly nodded in response.

“Right, well, I’ll cc you into this email chain with their publicist and manager, and we’ll go from there. You can hand over your other pieces to Hannah, you’ll need to spend the next few days prepping for LA and doing whatever research you need to feel ready. You’ve got this, Lizzie. I know you can do a great job.” James was trying to be encouraging, as he stood up and opened the door to his office, but Lizzie’s heart was pounding with nerves and she barely hear his words.

She walked back to her desk in a daze, and Hannah had to literally poke Lizzie in her side to get her attention and ask what James had said in the meeting. A few excited squeals and a bear hug later, Hannah was off and running talking about lists of things Lizzie needed to organise before her international adventure was due to begin in a few days’ time. Lizzie, on the other hand, still couldn’t believe it. What the fuck was happening?

The next few days flew by in a haze of emails, life admin, last minute shopping trips and a lot of deep breathing on Lizzie’s part, and before she knew it, she was wrangling her suitcase out of an Uber and into the international terminal at Sydney Airport. Lizzie, as a generally anxious person, had arrived the full three hours early for her flight, but her parents had treated her to a flight lounge guest pass (because they wanted her to know they were proud), so she was able to deal with her nerves by eating far too many complimentary croissants and hash browns.

Soon enough, the time to board the plane arrived, and Lizzie was grateful that she ended up in an empty row of seats, by some miracle. Praise be to the airline gods, or whichever higher power had decided she’d be able to at least try and get some sleep in the next fourteen hours. She’d set her phone and watch forward to Los Angeles time, so she could try and adjust her body clock accordingly, which meant that she’d have to stay up for a few hours at least.

Lizzie tried to be productive, and tapped away at her research notes on her laptop for a little while, before she found herself opening up the band’s instagram page in her browser. The four men staring back at Lizzie through the screen seemed a million miles away from the gangly, excitable teenagers she’d known all those years ago. There was an interesting intensity about them in the photograph, steely gazes and defined bodies under carefully selected clothing, but there was also a peacefulness in their poses beside one another. Like being together, in this moment captured minutes before heading onstage, was the most natural thing in the world. Lizzie found her eyes drawn towards Michael; his dirty blonde hair swept across his forehead (not dissimilar to the style he’d had in their high school days, to be honest), and it was accompanied by some scruffy facial hair and a dangly cross earring in one ear. His grey-green eyes seemed to peer right into her soul, and Lizzie involuntarily shivered at the thought of seeing him again in person in a day or so.

She was still anxious about whether or not this entire thing was a scam, but nonetheless, she was going to try her darndest to be a consummate professional, and write the best profile story of her life. In her research, Lizzie had reviewed some previous 5SOS interviews, and she’d cringed her way through their Rolling Stone interview from many years prior. She remembered reading it at the time it was published, unable to believe some of the words attributed to the boys she’d once called her friends, and the intense aftermath that followed. Understandably, they’d avoided in-depth profile interviews since, so Lizzie was incredibly curious as to why they’d changed their mind. Why now? Why her? She closed her laptop and drifted into sleep, curled up across three airplane seats and tucked under a thin blanket.

Lizzie’s shoulders and neck were stiff when she awoke, an hour or so before her flight was due to land. She used the in-flight wifi to check her emails quickly, and noted a new one from 5SOS’s publicist Danielle, which welcomed Lizzie to Los Angeles and explained that she should catch a taxi to her accommodation at the address listed, and that she should give her a call once she was checked in. Right. That seemed straight forward enough.

LAX customs were intimidating as ever (god, Lizzie was so nervous), but Lizzie made it through without incident and was able to quickly make her way into a cab with a driver who seemed familiar with her accommodation address. They drove her to a boutique-looking hotel, and when Lizzie checked in and made her way up to her room, she was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. A queen-sized bed, a good desk for working at, a nice view from her balcony of the Hollywood Hills, a small kitchenette with a fridge and microwave, and a glorious bathroom that had a very enticing bath tub in it (Lizzie’s shoulders and neck were already thankful for the idea of being able to soak in some nice hot water for a while).

After checking the room for serial killers (better to be safe than sorry, right?) Lizzie had a quick shower and changed out of her travel trackies and oversized hoodie into a pair of jeans, a clean shirt and a blazer, before opening up her phone and scrolling down to Danielle’s contact. A few deep breaths were required before Lizzie built up the courage to press “call”.

“This is Danielle!” A cheery American accent answered on the other end of the line.

“H-hi Danielle, this is Lizzie, from Junkee Australia. You said in my email I should give you a call once I was all checked in, and I am, so…” Lizzie found herself giggling nervously and facepalmed.

“Lizzie, of course! How was your flight? Long and boring?”

“Yep, that about sums it up!” Danielle’s enthusiasm made Lizzie feel like she had to perk herself up a bit in conversation.

“Well, I’m sure you’re gagging for a nap, but we’ve got to get you adjusted to the timezone so we can make the most of your time here. I’m just finishing up something in the office, but I can swing by your hotel in about 45 minutes, and we can go over your story pitch and the band schedule for the next few weeks, and figure out your interview time slots and other things you can go along to observe, if that works for you?” Lizzie could hear Danielle’s keyboard clacking as she spoke.

“Sure, well, you have my number now, so just text me when you get here. I’ll try my best not to nap in the meantime.” Lizzie’s somewhat dry response got a laugh out of Danielle, who agreed and bid her farewell, ending the call.

Placing her phone down on the bedside table, Lizzie looked around the hotel room that was set to be her home away from home for the better part of the next month, and spotted a coffee machine on top of the mini fridge. If she was really going to keep her no-nap promise, caffeine was definitely in order.

True to her word, Danielle arrived at the hotel within the hour, and soon Lizzie found herself sat beside Danielle on a fancy couch tucked in a corner of the hotel lobby. Danielle had opened up her laptop, and also pulled a plastic folder of documents out of her tote bag.

“Okay, so… I’m sure you’ve done your own research, but here’s a few hard copies of the band bio, album press release, and a few other tidbits from the label, along with a hard copy of the band schedule. It’s all confidential and coded, the electronic version I’ve emailed you will have the proper locations for everything, but I thought a print out might be handy anyway. The boys are recording some stuff at the studio Calum has at his house tomorrow, so I figured we could introduce you there and then after that figure out what else you’d like to get done. There’s an industry showcase for some of the new songs at the end of the week, and then they’re doing various promo and album prep things, finalising mixes, photoshoots, etc, so there’s a bit of variety for you. Any initial thoughts on how you want to do the interviews for your profile?” Danielle rattled off, gazing at Lizzie expectantly when she finished speaking.

Lizzie blinked at her a few times before collecting herself. “In my research, I found it really interesting to hear the band and some of the fans talking about how 5SOS has evolved into the collective effort of four individual artists, not just the band as one artistic music entity, so I was hoping, if possible, to interview them individually, as well as observing them as a group. Would.. Would that be okay, do you think?”

Danielle pursed her lips, before breaking out into a smile.

“I think that sounds exactly like something the band would be willing to do. Damn, Matt Emsell was right - you do know your stuff.” She chuckled, handing the folder of documents over to Lizzie and pulling out the schedule that was on top.

“So studio at Calum’s tomorrow from 10am, I’ll swing by and collect you so we can do introductions, I’ll stick around for a bit just to make sure you’re all good but otherwise I’m just going to let you do your thing. The band have been doing this for long enough now, they don’t need their publicist hovering.”

The curiosity was killing Lizzie. She couldn’t not ask.

“Danielle, I’ve got to ask this, sorry. Do the band… know me? Know that I’m the one coming to interview them?” Lizzie managed to get out, avoiding eye contact.

“What do you mean?” Danielle cocked her head to one side, clearly confused at the question. “I sent them the Matt Corby piece you did, and they liked that, so that was one of the reasons we asked you out here. So they’re familiar with your work, if that’s what you’re asking?”

“No, um… oh god, I’ve made this super awkward now.” Lizzie laughed dryly, wringing her hands together. “I mean, I know them. Personally. Or at least I used to. I’m from Sydney, and I went to school with Luke, and Calum, and… Michael. So I was just wondering, um, if they realised that it was me and that was part of why I was asked to come to LA for this…Not really sure why that would make them choose me, but I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page before tomorrow.” Lizzie finally dared to look up at Danielle, whose expression was unreadable.

“Hmm, well, that is interesting. As far as I know, that wasn’t a factor at all. We all genuinely liked your writing style, so whether or not the boys made the connection, I have no idea. They’re not super keen on any irrelevant personal life stuff making it into this piece though, so if this is going to be a problem for you, we should deal with it now.” Her tone was slightly less warm than before, and Lizzie could sense the protective publicist side of Danielle kicking in.

“Definitely not a problem. I entirely intend to be fully professional, and like you said, my writing will speak for itself. Just wanted to put it all out there. Not a problem for me.” Lizzie spoke up, willing herself to sound more confident than she felt.

“Good. We have no problems here then. I’ve got to run, but text me with any questions, otherwise I’ll see you at 9.30am tomorrow for the drive to Calum’s!” Danielle’s tone was nice and bright again, as she shut her laptop and gathered her belongings, patting Lizzie’s shoulder in what she assumed was some sort of attempt at calming her nerves.

It didn’t work though. Not a problem for Lizzie? Bullshit. Not a problem for 5SOS, and Michael in particular? Seemed unlikely.

Lizzie was worried she’d have a restless night’s sleep because of her overwhelming anxiety about the next day’s reunion, but the exhaustion from her travelling overtook her and she almost slept through her alarm. A quick shower and a shot of espresso later and Lizzie was downstairs waiting for Danielle to pick her up to head over to meet the band.

“Morning! How’d you sleep?” Danielle chirped as she rolled into the car park, her car window down.

“Very deeply, thank you! The room is really comfortable. Thanks again for organising.” Lizzie mentally urged herself to keep up the small talk as a way of hiding her nerves.

The car ride over was mostly quiet, but when they pulled up outside of what Lizzie assumed was Calum’s house, she definitely felt like she was about to vomit.

“Just so you know, I flagged our conversation last night with the band. About your pitch around the individual interviews, and also about your little… connection to them. Ashton didn’t seem to think it was a problem, so it should all be fine.” Danielle mused, as she opened her car door and hopped out. All Lizzie could do was nod, because her throat was dry and she was starting to panic. She blindly followed Danielle through the front gate and around the side of the house to a building in the backyard, Lizzie strained to hear what sounded like raised, male voices floating towards them as they approached. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it didn’t entirely sound positive.

Danielle knocked loudly on the door and shot Lizzie a reassuring smile, before the shouting subsided and it swung open. Calum Hood stood in the doorway, and Lizzie sucked in a breath. It’d been eight years, maybe more since she’d last seen Calum, and even then, had they spoken? She couldn’t remember.

Calum smiled at Danielle, and then his eyes flickered over to Lizzie, not quite carrying the same happiness, but not entirely losing it either.

“Morning, ladies. Welcome to casa di Calum, come on in.” He spoke with that scratchy, deep voice of his that Lizzie had reacquainted herself with when watching hours of interviews during her research.

Danielle stepped passed Calum into the room, and she indicated for Lizzie to follow, which she did. Lizzie could feel Calum’s gaze on her as she brushed past him, but the minute she stepped inside, any sense of warmth or welcome she’d felt before vanished.

Luke and Ashton were standing over by the sound recording panel, turning to look at Lizzie and Danielle as they entered. Lizzie thought she saw a hint of a smile on Luke’s face (they had survived Year 8 Maths together, after all… that had to count for something, right?), but Ashton was unreadable.

Entirely obvious, though, was the look of bitter disdain on Michael Clifford’s face when Lizzie finally spotted him hunched over on the couch along the wall. Those grey-green eyes were staring her down with a harsh glare. It had familiarity about it, Lizzie realised, but not in a good way.

Danielle cleared her throat in the silence, and turned to Lizzie.

“Well, I believe introductions might not be required, but in the interest of professionalism and courtesy - “ Lizzie didn’t miss Danielle’s pointed glance towards Michael, who was still scowling silently towards everyone - “Lizzie Lawson from Junkee, I would like you to meet Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford, also collectively known as 5 Seconds of Summer or 5SOS.”

Lizzie waved, and then immediately cursed herself for being so goddamn awkward. She received a nod of recognition from Ashton, and small smiles from Luke and Calum. From Michael, more scowling. This was going to be a long three weeks.

“So, Lizzie, why don’t you go through the pitch for the profile that we discussed yesterday? The boys already have a bit of an idea, but I’m sure they’d love to hear it from you.” Danielle was being overly encouraging, but it worked, and Lizzie took a deep breath before speaking.

“Thanks, Danielle. And thank you to you guys, honestly. I know this is a little strange for all of us -”

“Fucking oath it is.” Lizzie heard Michael mutter under his breath, but she continued, undeterred.

“But, I’m really excited to have the opportunity to interview you and pull together this story. Especially on behalf of the Australian music media. I know they haven’t always given you the recognition you deserve, but I think this piece is a chance to overcome that. Anyway, the specific pitch I’d love to go with is reflective of you as individual artists, as well as the collective band group. If it’s suitable, it’d be great to have the chance to speak to each of you one-on-one as well as a group, to give a holistic view of your journeys as people and as musicians and what you’re trying to achieve with this album. So… yeah…” Lizzie trailed off nervously, clenching her hands at her sides.

“I love it. We’re happy you’re here, Lizzie. I really loved the Matt Corby piece Danielle sent us, and like you said, it was really important for us to have the perspective of an Australian journalist for this story and where we’re at right now.” Ashton’s calm voice broke the silence, as he nodded at Lizzie in agreeance. Luke and Calum nodded too, and Lizzie tried not to look towards Michael because no doubt he was still glaring at her.

“Great! Everyone’s on the same page. I have to dash off to a meeting, but Lizzie has my number if she needs it, otherwise all of you please behave and don’t scare her off, nor say anything that means I’ll have to destroy her tape recorder. Sound good? Good!” Danielle rattled off quickly, moving out the door and shutting it behind her.

The tension in the air was thick, and it was all seething from Michael’s direction towards Lizzie. She closed her eyes for a moment, before reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone, notebook and pen. She spotted a chair behind her, and turned back towards Luke and Ashton.

“Well, where do you want to start? A group sit down, some general thoughts on the journey so far and what the album experience has been like?” Lizzie offered, trying to make herself sound enthusiastic, but also in control and like she knew what she was doing.

Luke, Calum and Ashton all murmured in agreeance, and moved themselves over to sit by Michael on the couch, while Lizzie dragged the chair she’d spotted over to sit facing them.

“Right. All good if I audio record this?” She asked, hitting record on her voicenotes app after three heads nodded at her.

“So, the album. Where did it begin? Did anyone or anything influence or kick off the sonic direction or the start of the exploratory process?”

The conversation was flowing quite well, Lizzie though. Ashton dominated most of the responses to her questions, but Luke and Calum chipped in their perspectives throughout. Michael didn’t say a word, even when Calum poked him in the side, and instead of glaring at Lizzie he was now staring blankly at the wall over her shoulder. An improvement, sort of, but still not ideal from a journalist and interviewee perspective, let alone when the interviewee was someone who used to be Lizzie’s best friend.

Before she knew it, an hour had past, and Ashton stood, remembering a meeting they had scheduled with the label and their management team, and bringing the interview to a close.

As Lizzie was packing up her equipment, she cautiously brought up the topic of the one on one interviews.

“So, does anyone in particular have free time in the next few days, so I can start on the individual profiling part of the story?” Lizzie asked, her tone hopeful.

Michael’s response was to push straight past her and walk out of the studio, muttering to himself and slamming the door as he went. The loud noise made Lizzie flinch, and she realised her heart was racing and her hands were a little shaky.

“I’ve got time, LL Cool J. I’ll meet you at Joan’s on Third for lunch, say 1pm?” Lizzie smiled at the pld nickname Calum slipped into his quiet response to her question.

“Works for me, C Dizzle Swizzle. Thanks again for your time today, I really appreciate it. Not to sound like a broken record, but I’m really excited for this piece and the chance to tell your story.” Lizzie found herself grinning like an idiot as she met Calum’s warm gaze, and noted that Ashton and Luke were also smiling at her.

“We’re excited too, Lizzie. Even if… some of us might not quite be as enthusiastic as they should be. But, don’t worry. He’ll come round.” It was Luke that spoke this time, his striking blue eyes somehow staring straight into Lizzie’s soul as he looked at her.

“Here’s hoping.” Lizzie tried not to sound too dull in her response, but it was a challenge.

Because honestly, how the fuck was she going to do a profile on all four members of 5 Seconds of Summer, if one of them could barely stand being in the same room as her?

Time will tell, Lizzie thought to herself as she walked out of the door to Calum’s studio and into the warm California sunlight. Time will tell.

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