#anyways I hope you guys enjoy the intro!! next post coming whenever I have time to finish it

[storybookclan]

Intro

…

Once upon a time, there was a group of cats…

Lignin took care of the younger ones… she named them too when they were given stupid names

She was sad and scared

Page was the youngest… so sweet and kind. He took care of Lignin because she couldn’t take care of herself

He was too pure for the world

Then there was Quill. He was troublesome and fun. Always made everyone smile, even when he was the most annoying thing alive

There seemed to be no end to his energy

And… Ink… he stepped in for Page when she couldn’t do everything… which was almost always…

The others joked that there were hearts on his pelt because he had too much love to contain it all inside him

There was also a cat named Story

…

He was a jerk

[stay-dazed]

stray kids as your older brother

notes: female reader, and you're their adopted sister. this is my first time making a post like this, so i'm sorry if it's repetitive or anything. i hope everyone enjoys!

chan: chan's always loved being an older brother, and not just to his biological siblings, but to anyone who may need a brotherly figure. so when his parents made the decision to adopt another child back when he was still a trainee, he was ecstatic. nervous as hell since he wasn't sure if he'd be a good enough big brother to a new sibling while being all the way in korea, but excited nonetheless.

the day you came home his parents set up facetime so you both could meet and of course you both clicked pretty quickly thanks to how patient he was and how calmly he spoke. and now, six years later, you're happily close with all of your siblings. of course you're closest with lucas since you see him everyday, but hannah and chan are still amazing big siblings.

chan's a pretty busy guy but he takes every opportunity he can to either facetime you and lucas, or at least text you both to see how you've been doing. he also gives the best advice he possibly can whenever you need it. and as it may seem, tonight is a particularly difficult night for you.

as you lay in bed mindlessly scrolling on your phone after a quiet dinner with the family, your thoughts begin to feel almost suffocating. your eyes begin to tear up and a lump forms in your throat. quickly you check the time - 7:30pm. well... korea is only an hour ahead, and chan never really sleeps anyway. he wouldn't mind if you called really quick, right?

with a shaky hand you go to his contact, press call, and hold the phone to your ear. your lips are pressed tightly together as the phone rings once, twice-

"hey (y/n), what's up?"

his cheery voice alone brings the tears to slip down your cheeks despite your best efforts not to cry. "channie-hyung? are you busy right now?"

your shaky voice immediately worries chan and he's set intro protective mode. "no, no i'm not busy," he says despite all the talking going on in the background," what's up, hon? did something happen?"

you spend the next hour and a half just venting about how awful things have been recently. how you may not pass your government history course despite how hard you try to understand everything and how the new manager at your workplace treats you like you're an idiot. and as to be expected, by the end of it, you feel so much better. you're even giggling at the silly things chan says to try and cheer you up.

"an idiot? nah if anyone's an idiot, it's me. i share exactly one braincell with all the boys and half the time it isn't even working. you're doing great, okay hon?"

minho: admittedly, minho isn't exactly excited when his parents first announce their plan of adopting a teenager. it's not that he wouldn't love his new little sister or anything but he grew up an only child, so he isn't familiar with the duties a big brother has. during the seven months it takes to go through the whole adoption process, minho spends as much time with his parents as he can, helping set up what used to be his room as your new room and getting reassurance from his parents that he'll be a great big brother.

gradually minho gets used to the idea of having a little sibling. in fact he's actually kinda excited now. he's just so curious to see what you're like and how you two will get along. the day you come home is a little bit awkward as to be expected, but it's full of smiles and small talk anyway. minho shows you to your room and talks about how it used to be his before he moved out at a young age. that leads to an interesting conversation about his past job as a waiter, his uni experience, and how he became a kpop trainee.

the conversations continue into the evening, all through the hearty meal made by your parents. you're already beginning to feel comfy here. the only thing left to do to truly become a part of the family is meet the fluffy trio - soonie, doongie, and dori. you had seen them earlier but they were hiding in their cat tower, anxious about this newcomer in their home. after helping with clean up, you carefully head towards the cat tower where you kneel down to hopefully appear less big and intimidating. you first meet eyes with soonie, and you're instantly drawn to the way his little nose twitches curiously in your direction. with a big smile, you speak to him in a gentle voice," hi baby. look at you, you're so cute."

you hold your hand out to him so he can get more of your scent but he doesn't seem to like it as he cowers further into the tower. "oh no, i'm sorry baby. i didn't mean to scare you. i promise i won't hurt you!"

minho comes up behind you and watches for a moment as you continue to try coaxing soonie out, with no success. "why don't we go sit on the couch? eventually they'll get curious and come out to see what's going on," he suggests.

you nod and follow him to the living room where you both sit on the couch and just spend time talking about different things. it takes a little while, maybe twenty minutes, but finally doongie builds up courage to come out first and see what his papa's up to. he jumps onto minho's lap and sniffs in your direction but ultimately curls up where he is. soonie comes out next after a few more minutes, and just curls up on one of the couch pillows that fell on the floor where he proceeds to doze off. well it's good he trusts you enough to nap around you.

and the last to come out is dori. after he sniffs in your direction just like the others, you expect him to go find another spot to settle in like the others did. but much to your and minho's surprise, he instead climbs on your lap where he sniffs at your nose a couple times, then lays down and begins licking one of his paws.

"i've never seen him get comfortable around a new person so quickly before. you must be really special!"

changbin: changbin is so excited to learn he's getting a new baby sister. well not an actual baby, but a baby to him. he's always been bullied (playfully) by his older sister and now it's finally his turn to do it to someone younger than him. changbin has always been highly observant and good at memorizing how to specifically help the different people around him, so he knows he'd be a good big brother for sure.

the evening you come home is very busy. your parents, big sister, changbin, as well as seungmin who has the day off, all take you out to eat at a nice restaurant for a sort of first gotcha day celebration. you're incredibly nervous and soft spoken which is understandable considering it's your first day with your new family, and thankfully they're all very patient with you. they try their best to be as cheerful as possible but at the same time not too overwhelming.

and despite being so nervous, seeing the family (and seungmin) be so happy and playful with each other helps you calm down little by little. by the end of the night you're giggling and feeling much more relaxed. you haven't said much most of the evening besides answering questions they've asked you, but they don't seem to mind. when dessert comes - specifically bungeoppang for you - changbin asks," oh you like red bean paste too? (y/s/n) doesn't. she says it's too sweet for her."

you smile and respond timidly," yeah it's one of my favorites." changbin smiles back and nods. he's sure to remember that for future reference.

as him and your sister start poking fun at each other again with seungmin egging them on, a sudden playful jab at changbin slips out of your mouth. you're not sure where that little spark of confidence came from, but that playful jab leaves him in shock and the rest of the table in laughter.

seungmin says while slinging an arm over changbin's shoulder," she fits right in, huh?" you can't help but laugh louder than you have this entire evening.

"i'm supposed to be the one who teases now! how could this possibly have backfired on me??"

hyunjin: hyunjin's visiting his parents on his week off of work when they open up about their decision to adopt. he's not particularly happy nor upset about the idea, he's really just shocked more than anything. he calls up chan and felix in a group call to ask them what it's like to have a little sister, and as the news really sets in throughout the duration of the phone call, hyunjin begins to really worry. just like minho, he's only ever been an only child. what if he sucks at being a big brother? chan and felix remind him that he has at least some experience being a brotherly figure with the younger members so he'll be just fine. hyunjin, being as dramatic as he is, takes a bit longer to fully calm down and get used to the idea.

but once he does, he's just fine. he even takes a day off work to join his parents when they go to pick you up and bring you home. all on the way home hyunjin gives you an idea of what the apartment - especially your room - is like and how it'll be to meet kkami. thankfully everything he tells you helps you feel more calm and like you know what to expect in this situation. once you arrive at home hyunjin is more than excited to show you to your room, and also take a moment to introduce you to kkami.

kkami mostly just barks and growls at you while hiding behind the kitchen table legs. it takes a bit of coaxing from hyunjin, your mom, and some treats they gave you to offer him, but kkami eventually comes out from underneath the table and carefully makes his way to you. and after a good amount of treats you're finally able to scratch under his chin for a few seconds before he hurries off to his dog bed next to the couch. that's okay, it's a start.

you and hyunjin decide to head back to your room to get the rest of your things unpacked while your parents work on dinner. to keep a conversation going hyunjin asks while handing you more hangers for your clothes," so (y/n), what do you like to do for fun? do you have anything you're passionate about?"

you're so glad he asked. you respond with a smile," well i'm pretty passionate about art. especially collage art. i have a few journals with me that i've already finished. i hope to get a new one soon to start in."

hyunjin looks at you with bright eyes and a smile matching your own," you like art too? i've been painting for a few years now myself. it's my favorite form of selfcare."

you stop your clothes-hanging process and ask," really? would you mind showing me some of your work? i could show you some of mine too if you'd like."

"yeah of course!" hyunjin says before hurrying off to his room to get one of his many sketchbooks. you can tell already that this is something you'll both be bonding over for a long time.

"oh yeah this is a sketch of my bandmate felix. i'm sure you'll meet him sometime soon- oh no wait! don't look at that part, i messed it up!!"

jisung: jisung is actually told about his parents adoption decision through his older brother during a call meant to catch up with each other. he's pretty shocked and decides to take the weekend off to go back home and talk about it with the whole family. once it's all talked through though, he's actually excited and not at all as nervous as he'd expect. he's really just excited to have a little sibling for the first time, especially a sister since he's only ever been around other boys. he counts down the days until you get here.

and the day you finally come home is full of excitement. luckily you match the energy and click with your brothers pretty quickly so the conversations and jokes keep flowing. you're particularly curious about jisung and his career as an idol though, so you end up asking him lots of questions about it. you listen curiously as he explains and the family jumps in now and again. it's pretty touching seeing how proud and supportive they are of him. you're already grateful to be a part of a family that seems so caring.

time goes by so fast and before you know it, you've been here for two years. you're happy to see jisung and the rest of stray kids grow in this time, especially in person whenever you get the chance. like tonight. well technically today since it's 1:12am.

you aren't feeling the best today because you just cannot fall asleep no matter how hard you try, and your bed just seems to get more uncomfortable with each toss. it's so frustrating you could cry. so you do the first thing you think of that would help: you call up jisung to see if you can head over to the studio. you've been told a number of times that you're always welcome there, after all.

"jisung-hyung? is it okay if i come over to the studio? i can't sleep, i feel like crying, and i just need to get out of the house right now. please?"

"yeah of course," jisung responds immediately," chan-hyung went out for snacks so he can pick you up on his way back. when you get here you can just relax on the couch."

"okay, thank you so much hyung."

thanks to him, once you're settled in the studio you eventually doze off on the couch to the sound of keyboard clicking and jisung talking about something regarding how they put music together.

"just listen to me talk about our process for a while. it'll probably bore you to sleep."

felix: felix has always had a great relationship with his sisters because he genuinely appreciates his role as a brother. so when he learns through rachael that his parents are in the process of adopting another little sister, he's so excited. not an ounce of anxiety in his body. as it'll likely take about a year to finish the entire process including bringing you to australia from another country, felix takes that time to save up money and plan out vacation time for the trip to australia he'll be taking the day you come home.

when that day finally comes felix flies over to australia, planning on staying for a full week. and when he arrives at the house he goes to you first and gives you a big, safe hug where you both sway side to side a little bit. you can't believe just how comforting his hug is and how similar it is to how your sisters hugged you when you arrived this morning around 2am.

"hi! it's so nice to finally meet you! it was so hard waiting an entire year for this day", felix says excitedly as he takes a step back to look at you.

you laugh happily and respond," it's nice to meet you too! thank you for coming all the way over here just to meet me."

"of course! i wouldn't have missed it for the world. are you already settled in?"

"actually, no. we were all so tired after i got here that we just headed to bed. i still have a lot of unpacking to do." you laugh again.

"oh yeah, that's understandable. well should we go do it now then?"

with the help of the entire family getting everything unpacked in your new room goes by pretty quickly. it's around lunchtime when you're all finished, so the family decides to head out for a celebratory lunch at their favorite diner. the drive is about twenty minutes long so to make it go by faster felix, rachael, and olivia take turns telling you different memories associated with the diner. for example, the time they went there after felix won two medals at a taekwando competition when he was 12. or the time they went there to celebrate rachael getting into college to study psychology.

now this is just another fond memory to add to the list.

"do you remember crying, rach? yes you absolutely did! i cried too! i'm not afraid to admit it!!"

seungmin: seungmin is surprised and ultimately confused when his parents call him up and tell him about their adoption plans. he thought him and his sister were trouble enough for them. but if it's what his parents want, he'll fully support them. he's not exactly nervous or excited. he's mostly just a little sad that his old room will be switched out for someone else.

the day you come home is just a little bit awkward. well to seungmin anyway. his parents and sister welcome you home warmly, telling you just how happy they are you're finally here. all the while he stands to the side watching everything unfold. once it's his turn to greet you however, he tries his best to smile wide and give you a hug. it's an odd middle ground of a side hug and full hug, but you don't mind it. despite how unsure he is of himself he seems very sweet.

after your sister shows you to your room and helps you put some of your things away, seungmin comes in and tries again to be as welcoming as he can by telling you a bit about how your room used to be his room. he then offers to show you his huge collection of old baseball cards. baseball isn't really your thing, but you can tell how hard he's trying to make you feel at home with something he's obviously passionate about, so you listen closely as you look at the cards he shows you.

"how long have you been collecting these?"

"um.. probably since i was about eight? a lot of these were my grandpa- oh! i mean, our grandpa's. yeah he likes baseball a lot too. we even pitched a ball together at a game once."

"oh really?! that's so cool. it must've been a lot of fun."

"yeah it was! it really inspired me to be a baseball player. well before becoming an idol, obviously."

"how did you go from baseball player to idol anyway?" you giggle.

and from there the conversation on the bedroom floor amongst all the litter of baseball cards went on for a couple of hours until your parents called you both for dinner. baseball still isn't your thing but it's definitely more interesting than you had initially thought.

"yeah there's a picture of it somewhere online. please don't, i look so awkward in it. it's when i still had to wear my glasses.. no don't!!"

jeongin: jeongin is pretty content (and honestly overwhelmed at times) having his two brothers. they may not show it publicly but they're all very close, and they try to spend as much time together as they can with jeongin's busy schedule and the eldest being in the army. so when they find out their parents are planning on adopting a girl, they're all shocked.

"she's not gonna get my room, is she?" asks yoon. "give her jeongin's! he's barely here anyway!"

it was a bit hard getting used to the idea initially but eventually they all come around to it. and the day you come home they're acting like their usual selves despite your parents warning them to act normal for once. they're teasing and playfully punching each other hard enough it could be heard from the room over. in that moment you realize it's gonna be really, really hectic having three older brothers.

and now, a year and a half later, it's still just as hectic if not more so now that you join in on the teasing. tonight your eldest brother isn't able to visit but jeongin is. so now you, jeongin, and yoon are all sitting on the couch playing mario kart. the living room is filled with the sound of mario kart music and pointless little jabs like "why do you always play as peach? that's so boring" and "have you ever actually picked up a controller before?"

"come on girls," you say without taking your eyes off the screen," stop fighting or we'll never finish the game." yoon lands a punch directly to your left shoulder.

jeongin pipes in," speak for yourself. i'm gonna win this game just like i've won all the others."

by the end of the evening, after multiple rounds and a meal on the couch that your very patient mother made for all of you, yoon actually comes out the victor much to jeongin's despair. and so starts another round of teasing and arguing.

"mom!!!! (y/n) called me a mama's boy!!"

[sardonic-sprite]

I'm Back!

Wow, so Lent is over now, so my tumblr fast is also over and I'm still a little in shock, lol. I had hoped the past six weeks? I don't know, Time is weird, would be more productive but at least I got SOME stuff written/posted. Anyway, I have one more month of school and then fucking FINALS so expect sporadic updates at idiot-o-clock hours of the night, and maybe yell at me to sleep, eat, study, or drink water whenever i do post 😅

I am up to SO EFFING MANY wips rn on so many different fronts you guys have no freaking idea 😭 so here's a status report for EVERYTHING on or going on sardonic_sprite. (Its gonna be a monster post, y'all, bear with me)

in absolutely no particular order:

Wayne4Ham: We have a LONG way to go with this one, so just be patient and I'll slowly but steadily plug on through. Aaron Burr, Sir, should theoretically take me no longer than end of april

Wayne-Crazy: there's like 4 specific requests on it, plus a few 'series' i started, but after those, say 6-7, i'll probably mark as complete and only re-open if someone offers me an idea

Batman Beginners: i'll tell y'all up front, this one will take me forever. i don't even know what all I intend to cover, but know that i'm halfway done with the DITF arc, and it'll probably come out in the next two months

Just A Kid: this was my shits-and-giggles fic that got like 3000 notes in a weekend lmao. it's something i do intend to continue bc its so fun and i enjoy the concepts in it, but i don't have plans to actively write more of it in the immediate future.

Rev Wayne: just gave y'all Jason's fic, so the next probably won't come until late in summer, extrapolating from my few data points. if anyone has ideas for timmy's intro, let me know, i'd love some inspiration

Celeb Batwaynes: reported separate from wayne-crazy for reasons. i think theres like 12 specific requests plus 2 ideas of my own. i may put out a poll for the next one to write, but not until after school's out, because these fics are HUGE time-eaters for me. speaking of, are non-tumblr-users able to vote on polls?

Welcome to Gotham U: this was again, me doing shit bc why not. will probably add more in the style that i first posted, but i doubt i will write any prose for it. if you would like to give it a try, please reach out, i'd love to see what you write!

One Diamond: every time i touch this i make the cliffhanger worse lmao. i finally do have a direction, but execution is gonna have to wait a while.

The Young, Innocent, and Righteous: this is mostly just for me anyway, but i'm just gonna say that i'm waiting until i finish watching miraculous season 5 before i go any further

AS you wish: i have 5 more requests to do and i am so sorry to everyone waiting you do not deserve this lmao. i promise im trying, i love your ideas, it just takes me a really long time to fill in the rest and then actually write it. the next one on my list is particularly hard to pin down and so it's halting the ones behind it to. if not before, then after finals i will sit and bang my head on the keyboard until something good comes out

Light Isn't Fadin': soooooo many people have asked me about this one oof. SOMEDAY, i swear. right now its a huge, nebulous, hulking monster and im sorry it's just not happening yet.

A christmas carol: wait until december. please

Father's Day: june.

A Little Problem: over the summer, i will watch marvel movies until they once again hijack my brain and fuel this to completion. maybe.

easter eggs: how the fuck did i forget this lmao. i'm doing as much as i can in april, but when the month is done, i'm sorry, we'll all be waiting until next lenten season. hopefully it won't come to that.

aaaaand i THINK that's finally it. there's also a bunch of random paragraphs in word and google docs that may appear, not to mention ideas that kidnap me in dark alleys. but i also have like a good half dozen other wips for other places that im trying to attend to, so please be forgiving if it seems like its taking a while to post something as sprite.

as always, i love questions, comments, concerns, even some complaints, so feel free to interact.

See ya when I see ya!

sprite

[nickmaghighlights]

Nick Mag Highlights - #1 Summer 1993

Hello! Welcome to the very first edition of Nick Mag Highlights! What better place to start than with the very beginning, Issue #1 from Summer of 1993? 

(Well, not counting the two editions of Nickelodeon Magazine exclusive to Pizza Hut that came out before this first issue, although I’m sure we’ll get to those at some point.)

But before we begin, I should probably quickly explain what Nick Mag Highlights is and answer some questions first.

A Nick Mag Highlights post will mainly be composed of screenshots of pages from a specific Nickelodeon Magazine issue alongside my thoughts, whether they be commentary or little factoids. In a way these posts are a way to transcribe my thoughts on each issue as I’m reading it.

All images are not mine unless stated otherwise, scans of these issues come from the fantastic folks at archive.org. Special shout-out to The Nick Mag Project on Twitter and their awesome Google Spreadsheet outlining what issues have and have not been archived yet.

I’ll always include a link to a specific issue’s archive.org page when I cover it on a Nick Mag Highlights post. Read along if you’d like!

I don’t plan on covering Nick Magazine chronologically. Hopefully this will allow for more variety, plus I can cash in on all that budding 2000’s nostalgia way quicker!

I’m just a fan of these magazines who wants to share them with whoever is interested. 

No, not every post will have such a long-winded intro. I hope you enjoy this retrospective!

And without further ado, let’s dive in to issue #1! You can find this issue on archive.org here.

Surprise surprise, the issue’s cover opens right up to a lovely smattering of Nickelodeon merchandise AVAILABLE NOW*! 

Side note, I hope you like Ren & Stimpy, ‘cause they’re all over this book. Not a big surprise since it was one of the biggest cable television shows of the early ‘90’s, but seriously, not a single Rugrat in the whole first issue?

*whenever 1993 was considered “NOW!”

Y’know I never read the table of contents in these things when I was younger. I think it was because I didn’t want to spoil what was inside. 

Also, newcomers should take a good note on that wiggly R symbol in the bottom right, which the appearance of such denotes any article’s inarguable truthfulness. That's an element of these books that made its way into every single issue, and it must have made stomping-out misinformation on the elementary school playground at least a little easier. My writing isn't so beginner friendly, I don’t include R’s. So you’ll just have to believe me all the time.

Anyway, speaking of stuff that made its way into every issue…

Zelda. Van. Gutters. Good lord. 

I truthfully believe if there’s any iconography that will incite memories of Nick Magazine for anyone who’s in-the-know, it’s the image of a small Lakeland Terrier spouting a snarky non sequitur (that, or an image of Spongebob, I guess). She's certainly not as chatty in this as she will be in later issues, but feel free to say "Hi" if you see her.

For those unfamiliar, here’s a good example of your average Nickelodeon Magazine page: a couple of gags or a puzzle usually centered around an issue’s main theme. Since this issue doesn’t have a theme, expect a lot of flack thrown at unsuspecting teachers. Nerds need not apply.

I'm not sure lunch ladies will be able to come back from this one!

They must have been serious about this gag, usually they save pull-out cards solely for mail-order forms for Nick Mag subscriptions.

And the very first feature in Nickelodeon Magazine’s very first issue is all about… State fairs? I love a fair as much as the next guy, but surely there were better options, like interviewing someone who drives a big truck or something. Big trucks are pretty cool.

Never give a breakfast fan the aux they’ll just put on the honeycomb rap.

Alright time for things to get serious. Even as the type of kid who usually liked the mag's interviews and other features, it's hard to deny that The Comic Book was the real star player of Nick Magazine. This section made it into every issue, and pretty quickly built up a roster of regularly updating series. Not to mention comics based Nickelodeon shows featuring stories you couldn’t find on television. Their popularity even got to the point that Nickelodeon started selling versions of the magazine that were just compilations of the comics! So yeah, these were popular.

Of course with The Comic Book, there comes even more ads.

Also, if anyone reading wants to get into the Niche Youtube Video Essay market, may I recommend tackling the rise and fall of temporary tattoos? I hardly see these anymore. A shame, too, cause these ones seem pretty cool, and they even have the Bubby seal of approval.

This was a section The Comic Book had which seemed to fade out pretty quickly into the magazine’s run: The Cartoon Calendar. A shame too, cause I actually find these pretty funny.

Here’s my favorite section from the two calendars in this issue.

Alright, so no actual Ren & Stimpy comic, instead we get a small journal writeup from Stimpy about him and Ren becoming models. Interestingly I can't help but feel this section of The Comic Book could've used a couple more pictures. Hm, wonder why…

But alas, it's all just set dressing anyway for a cutout activity, DARING you to sacrifice the eventual resale value of your rare first issue magazine in exchange for limitless dress-up fun in the short term. A worthy trade? You decide...

And here’s another section of The Comic Book Nickelodeon stopped doing fairly quickly (to my knowledge, anyway): the reprinting of old comics from the 40’s and 50’s. This issue has two reprints. There’s two reasons I could think of why they did this. One would be that the staff behind the magazine read these comics when they were kids and wanted to share them with a new audience, which is a cause I can obviously sympathize with. The more cynical reason is that Nickelodeon had the rights to some old comics and they used them to fluff up their page count. Regardless, once they stopped doing this it made more room for original content. Content like…

Bill Beak! Yeah I’m figuring this guy did not last long. He definitely wasn’t around when I started reading Nick Magazine. I’m not surprised! He sucks! Deeply unpleasant.

But you know what doesn’t suck and was still around when I started reading Nick Magazine? 

Scene But Not Heard (which interestingly doesn’t seem to have its name yet) was definitely an iconic part of Nickelodeon Magazine. If it wasn’t in every single issue, then it certainly must have been in most of them. These were done by cartoonist Sam Henderson, who went on to work on Season 3 of Spongebob Squarepants, and that ended up landing him an Emmy nomination. Pretty cool stuff, and these comics were always worth a smile.

Embarrassing display from Nickelodeon Magazine’s local toy store… Really glad Nick saved a page in their magazine to expose those guys.

And to promote the release of the 1993 movie Super Mario Bros., Nick got Luigi’s actor John Leguizamo to say a few words straight from the Nickelodeon “Movie Couch”.

He sure does seem thrilled to be here.

Here’s his stats in case you ever must battle him.

After that there’s some insane article about chewing gum that has nothing to do with anything. And then there’s this article about a fictional professor studying the history of troll dolls. Hey, I think this magazine might be a little wacky!

OOZE News… Y’know, come to think of it, this magazine has been pretty lacking in slime, slop, and ooze. Especially for something created by Nickelodeon in the 90’s. Even here this just seems to be giving the low-down on new episodes and happenings related to Nickelodeon shows. Hardly anything I’d call slimy!

Oh, nevermind.

I’m shocked by the amount of apparently recurring features this magazine had phased out by the time I started reading in the 2000's. Had to make more room for IPHONEs and JAVASCRIPTs, I guess, so kids never got to see a lady eating not-nice things. Thanks Web 2.0!

Lots of fond memories here! I’m pretty sure most of the rides in this list aren't around anymore, which is a shame. And even if the E.T. ride was responsible for inspiring my crippling fear of that little beef-jerky-looking alien bastard, that didn’t change how awesome the park was.

Okay first off: TV Table, obviously. Second off: QZ is a little creep and I don’t like that he was given the opportunity to give children advice. He’s 500 years old and “observes Earth and knows everything about the personal lives of its inhabitants, including its letter writers”? This guy is bad news. THIRD off: How did he already get a letter addressed to him if this is his first ever appearance, hm? All very suspicious.

Rounding off our journey is one last recurring segment: Say What?. Kids from across America were urged to muster up the funniest set-up and payoff they could make with a given photo, usually either of politicians or a stock photo of some kids. I don’t mean to spoil, but as far as I can remember, most of the answers had to do with farts. You probably could have guessed that yourself, but hey, I could be wrong!

And that’s Issue #1 of Nickelodeon Magazine! Well, most of it anyway. What a humble start to a publication so near and dear to so many people.

Anyone actually reading along may have noticed I skipped over some stuff, including a Clarissa Explains It All-themed section with a quiz on driving etiquette. I know that show was popular with a lot of people but I personally know nothing about it, and I’m not gonna bring something up if I have nothing to say on it. I did get a B on the quiz though, if you’re curious.

Thanks for joining me on this trip down memory lane. If you liked it, feel free to stick around for more!

Until next time, keep reading!

[ehbunnehsblog]

Hello hello peeps today I will be talking about childhood trauma now before anyone thinks "wait what does Bunneh mean childhood trauma" no I am not talking about the serious childhood trauma today although if anyone has ever went through any childhood trauma I just want you to know I see you, hear you and feel you but today I am actually going to be talking about shows and such that were traumatizing to me as a child. A few years or so back Youtubers I watched were making videos on things that scared them as a kid so I got the idea from there and thought it was neat since as a kid I had plenty of things I was scared of and with that said let's get into the post. Also TW: If you are triggered by toys that move, make noise and just look creepy don't read this also I use the f word in this post so if you don't like swearing whether it be one word or multiple this post isn't for you with that said read on!

1. The THX sound

This one doesn't even need an intro if any of you have watched VHS tapes as a kid you all know what I am talking about. That annoying sound that would start movies up to show you how good the sound quality was and to kinda just get your attention to know when a movie would start. The sound did kill two birds with one stone but at what cost? I mean this scared a lotta kids lol but really I just absolutely hated this sound it always just made me so uncomfortable and creeped out.

2. Gemmy Singing Hamsters

If it sang or danced get it the hell away from me far, far away from me. This will be something you see A LOT on the list really just anything that sang and moved made me scared I think a part of it was due to the fact it sounded loud and the other part was just because of how I was afraid someone would scare me with it at night. Now I think these toys are absolutely cool but as a kid toys like this were new to me and made me creeped out I also don't remember the sound quality being amazing but It really wasn't all that bad. The toys had charm it just did vibe with me as a kid.

3. This damn singing Christmas Tree

Pardon my french I apologize but I still fucking hate it. Omg this is absolutely terrifying I am so sorry y'all had to see this. I remember one year this was downstairs I believe its eyes moved and shit and I cried! I was absolutely petrified of this damn thing no joke my dad had to take it away I think. You should see it on its side it looks creepier! Who thought this was okay? Dude I can't. I can't. I also heard this is also gemmy? Gemmy guys what's going on? Why were you guys out to get me as a wee tot? Anyways when I searched this up I was honestly still surprised this still creeped me tf out.

4. Those damn Wiggle Puppets

Like most kids growing up I loved the Wiggles, they had some awesome music and I enjoyed the colors but one day they decided these puppets were okay.

I am positively sure that everyone was creeped out and scared by these puppets. I love puppets I they are cool but these were just very creepy and unsettling I remember everytime these things came up on my screen when I was watching the wiggles VHS tapes in my bedroom I would get up get behind my bedroom door and wait until it was over. I was terrified of these things I really was its because of the eyes not that if it changed it wouldn't be creepy but because the eyes are so big and so are the mouths even though these were meant to look friendly they just didn't.

5. Robo baby

Hasbro why? Please Hasbro just, just tell me why? I don't who let this pass but I hope you make better choices now. Now lemme say this not that this isn't a good idea it's just the execution alright. This toy just creeped me out a lot because of the eyes if they came out now I think what Furby did a few years ago could work for this and make this a whole less creepier. One time I was in my older sisters bedroom and idk who or what happened but this toy was making noise and moving I think and I hoped up on the bed which btw was a bunk bed and I held onto the railing on the top bunk until my mom turned off the toy and took me out of the room. I am positively sure this toy got hidden away because it scared me badly.

6. VHS tape coming out of VCR

Sometimes late at night I wouldn't take a VHS out and so the VHS would come out and as dumb as it sounds the noise would scare me because it was just pretty loud and annoying but that's me being a dummy because I could have just took the VHS out of the VCR in the first place.

7. The puppets from Allegra's Window

Now don't get me wrong I bet Allegra's Window was a lovely series but when I was a kid I saw a video just talking about old shows and this pic unsettled me. I never watched this show but it was mostly the cat and Allegra that spooped me in this photo. Maybe one day I will actually try checking it out who knows.

8. Mrs. Goodbee Dollhouse

I just had to save the best for last. So how did this dollhouse scare me? Well as a kid I stumbled on a YouTube video that made this dollhouse look absolutely terrifying and than I thought I dreamt it to find out that this dollhouse is real but really not as creepy as the video made it seem still creepy though. I do think this dollhouse is cute but I still probably would never get it for my kids if or whenever I have kids.

I apologize if this post is short or a tad cringey I was a kid weird things scared me but there is probably a lot more things that scared me as a kid but that will be for next time. And if you have read all of this well now you can see how much I was scared of toys that moved and talked lol idk where I got it from really I just always got creeped out by them but anyways

☆with all that said if you liked this post please give me a like and a follow I post a lot about nostalgic things and I will see ya later☆

[smooshjames]

forget you not (iii)

uh-oh, uh-oh, here i go again (or: interviews and old friends)

word count: just under 4k

a/n: part 3 of forget you not! i was gonna post this yesterday and then i totally forgot, but it’s here now! once again, the band in this story is based on little mix and i didn’t write any of the songs referenced (this chapter’s songs can be found here, here, here, and here). at the risk of sounding annoying, i have a ko-fi if you’d like to donate, but don’t feel obligated to do so!! if you can’t or don’t want to that’s totally fine, thank you for taking the time to read my work regardless of if you can spend money on it or not. i hope you enjoy!!

warnings: angst (again)

previous parts: one, two

Sunday morning brought with it more Twitter notifications than you’d gotten in a long time. Your alarm went off obscenely early yet again; you had a full day ahead of you. The band was recording a new single which would be released sometime later in the year (the date was still up in the air) and you had decided to do it while you were in LA since you could work with a few producers that you’d never met before.

So, at five o’clock in the morning, you rolled over in your hotel bed and groped around on your nightstand for your phone. You shot upright when you saw how many notifications you had, a bolt of panic going through you at first. What the hell could’ve happened to result in so much activity?

You scrolled through a couple of your mentions before you got to a tweet from some gossip site. There was a photo of you from the concert the night before, probably taken by a fan if the quality was anything to go by. You were mid-note, your mouth open around a word, and it was pretty obvious that you were crying. The tweet read: “‘You never brought me flowers’! Y/N Y/L/N tears up while singing her band’s hit song Towers. Could there be a mystery man that caused her to get so emotional on stage…?”

Carly mumbled a good morning from the bed next to yours. You didn’t reply. You barely even noticed her leaving the main area of the room and heading into the bathroom; you were too busy looking through the replies to the tweet. They were all pretty tame, but you still felt a pit opening up in your stomach. You didn’t have any press that day since you were recording the new single, but the next day was chock-full of interviews and other promotional shit. Your Twitter feed was showing no signs of slowing down, and you really didn't want to have to explain to some random interviewer that you'd been crying because you still weren't over a breakup from five years ago.

“Everything okay?” Carly asked. You looked up, startled, and realized that she had come back from the bathroom. “You seem… distraught.”

You beckoned her over to your bed and showed her the original tweet from the gossip site. Carly gasped and took your phone from you, beginning to scroll through the replies. “Jesus,” she said. “This’ll be a shitstorm.”

“I know,” you replied. You glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and sighed; you needed to get up and ready for the day. Carly gave your phone back to you.

You muted your Twitter notifications for the time being, not wanting to be distracted while you were recording the new single. If an interviewer brought it up you’d just find a way to gloss over it.

You shuffled into the bathroom and did your usual morning routine. You decided to forego makeup for the day since you’d just be sitting around a studio all day, anyway. You dressed in comfortable clothes for the same reason. You figured it would be a little bit hard to focus on recording if you were in heels or tight jeans or something similarly uncomfortable, and you wanted to save your remaining nice clothes for the following day, anyway. Sweatpants and an old t-shirt it was.

Once you were dressed and somewhat ready to face the world, you and Carly grabbed your bags and went out into the hallway. Alexis and Piper were still in their room next door, but they let you and Carly in so that you could all sit and talk while they finished getting ready. Once you were all good to go, you met up with Michelle in the lobby and got into the car that would take you to the studio.

It was a pretty cool space; chill, with couches and chairs spread out around the mixing board where the producers would work their magic. You met the audio engineers as you were walking in, and everyone shook hands and went in to get to work. They seemed nice, and they definitely had a lot of cool ideas for what might enhance the song’s sound. You and the rest of the band had already worked out the lyrics and a basic melody, but the recording technicians had some ideas to really make the song pop.

The day passed in a blur of singing and listening and revising, and then repeating the process all over again. By the time you left, the sun was touching the western horizon and the song was almost finished; just a few final edits before it would be perfect and ready for release. “We’ll get it to Michelle in the next couple of days,” one of the producers said.

You were exhausted as you collapsed back into your hotel bed, but it was a good sort of exhaustion; the kind of sated tiredness that comes with a good day’s work.

You were flying so high, in fact, that you’d almost forgotten about all the Shayne drama. You fell asleep with a slight smile on your face, and your sleep was peaceful and dreamless.

***

That pleasant warmth of a job well done was ripped from you almost as soon as the next day began. Your first interview was with a local radio station, and it went alright for about five minutes; you exchanged pleasantries with the hosts, Joe and Maggie, and sat down between Carly and Alexis for your interview.

The hosts did their intro, introduced the band, and explained that you were currently in LA on the west coast branch of your current tour. Once that was done and the band had all said hello, Maggie turned to you, and the smile she flashed you was… strangely apologetic.

And then you remembered. Shayne, Towers, crying onstage. That apologetic smile hit you so fast it practically gave you whiplash.

“So, ladies,” Maggie said. “There was some interesting news about your concert on Saturday. You guys sang your song Towers -- beautiful song, by the way -- and Y/N… there were a couple of tears there, huh? Anything you can tell us about that? Is everything okay?”

From beside you, Carly opened her mouth, probably to say that you didn’t want to talk about it, but you stopped her with a hand on her arm. Her willingness to defend you meant a lot, but if you didn’t address it, it would just keep getting brought up. At least if you answered this you could do some damage control. “Yeah,” you said. “Um, I actually lived in LA for a while before meeting these lovely ladies and starting up the band with them. And while I was here, I was in a pretty serious relationship with a guy -- I won’t say his name for privacy’s sake -- and we broke up. I guess being back in LA and singing that song just… brought back some memories. But that was all; no new mystery man or anything like that, I’m afraid.”

There, that was a good enough answer. It held enough of the truth that you felt confident they wouldn’t press you for any more information, but you hadn’t told them the exact real reason. They didn’t know he was in the room, and they didn’t know who he was.

Maggie smiled and nodded, and Joe asked another question about the band that was unrelated to your love life, which brought a wave of relief sweeping over you. You smiled and laughed through the rest of the interview, chiming in with answers whenever it felt appropriate, and then said your goodbyes as the hosts transitioned into the next song

All things considered, that hadn’t been so bad.

Once you were out of the radio station headquarters and into your car, Michelle got back to business. “Alright, next up… another interview which won’t be broadcasted live. You guys are performing Think About Us while you’re there. Then we have an hour for lunch. After lunch, you’ll film a video with Smosh, and then another radio interview after that, and then you’re free for the day. Assuming everything goes to plan.”

You nodded and settled into easy conversation with the girls during the car ride to your next venue. You were pretty excited to film with Smosh; you hadn’t seen any of their recent stuff, but you were familiar with them in that you had heard of them and you knew they primarily made comedic content. You figured that would probably mean it would be a fun time to film there.

The next interview went just fine, and the performance went even better. For lunch, you and the rest of the team got food at a cute little bistro near Smosh’s offices.

When you arrived after your lunch break you were greeted by Ian Hecox, the president of the company. He was super friendly, greeting you all with handshakes and a warm smile. Once you’d all been introduced he began to lead you through the office space, explaining that you’d be recording an episode of their ongoing Try Not to Laugh series. As he launched into an explanation of the rules, a hand on your shoulder made you tense and whip around, surprised. This brought you face to face with…

“Damien?”

Your eyes widened almost comically as you saw the man standing before you. He looked a little different since you’d seen him last; his hair was longer and streaked with blue, and he carried himself a little taller, a little prouder. But he still had that same boyish smile, those same brown eyes. He was still Damien, and he was here.

“Hey, Y/N,” he said.

You laughed, shocked and joyful, and threw your arms around his shoulders, practically launching yourself onto him. He hugged you back tightly. When you pulled back, you punched him jovially on the arm.

“It’s so good to see you!” you said, a little breathless. “What are you doing here?

“I work here. I’ll actually be filming with you guys this afternoon,” he replied

“No way, that’s crazy!” You leaned back and perched your hands on his hips, surveying him, half disbelieving.

He nodded and opened his mouth to speak again, but Ian’s voice interrupted your reunion. “You two, uh… you two know each other?”

“Yeah,” you said, glancing over your shoulder. “I knew Damien… God, ages ago. We were really good friends.”

Carly’s eyes now widened in recognition. She smiled at Damien and raised her hand in greeting to him.

“Hey, Carly,” he said. He put his hand on your forearm and you turned back to face him again. The look on his face made your smile fade a little bit; he seemed nervous and a little sad. “Y/N, I should warn you --”

“Holy shit!” another voice interrupted you two, this one distinctively female. And also… strangely familiar. You turned toward the source and what you saw felt like two consecutive throat punches.

Courtney, Shayne’s new girlfriend, was standing across the room. She seemed to have just entered, and judging from the wide-eyed look on her face, she was just as surprised as you were. Standing directly next to her, staring at the floor by your feet… was Shayne himself.

You heard Damien mutter something under his breath, but your brain didn’t fully process what he said. You were too busy looking at Courtney and Shayne and wondering why the hell they were here. Before you could say anything, though, Ian stepped forward.

“Sweet, we’re all here,” he said. “Y/N, Alexis, Piper, Carly, this is Shayne and Courtney. Shayne’s gonna be filming with you guys this afternoon --” of course he was “-- and Courtney is --”

“Your biggest fan!” the girl interrupted him, and even despite the resentment you couldn't help feeling toward her, you had to admit that she was really sweet. She seemed like someone you might be really good friends with were it not for the fact that she was dating your ex, which made you feel even worse; she hadn’t done anything to deserve your hatred, but here you were hating her anyway. “You probably don’t remember, but I was at the concert on Saturday. It was super good, you guys crushed it.”

“I remember,” you said, because you didn’t know when to shut up. Courtney’s jaw dropped onto the floor. “Yeah, I remember. You guys came together, didn’t you?”

The accusation was clear, at least to those in the know; Carly went pale, Piper inhaled sharply, Alexis started coughing, Damien shuffled his feet nervously, and Shayne opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say whatever he wanted to, though, he seemed to think better of it and closed his mouth again.

Courtney didn’t seem to pick up on anything unusual, though, because she just nodded happily and went on talking.

“Yeah, we did!” she said, slinging her arm around Shayne’s shoulders. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve said that he stiffened as she pulled him into her side. His face tightened into a grimace, but you couldn't possibly imagine why. It was obvious that they were together. He didn’t need to hide that for your sake. “I was so fucking pumped when you guys sang Towers, you don’t even understand. That’s one of my favorite songs by you guys and you crushed it, especially you Y/N. Your part always hits a little different for me.”

Yeah, you and me both, you thought. But you smiled and nodded happily. “I’m glad you liked it!” you said. You turned back to the band and made eye contact with Michelle. She raised an eyebrow. You inclined your head just slightly toward Ian. She nodded; she knew what you needed.

“I hate to interrupt,” she said, “but we should probably get this show on the road. The girls have got a packed schedule today.”

“Of course!” Ian said. “Courtney, maybe you can harass them more if they have time when we’re done filming. But for now, Shayne, Damien, ladies, follow me.”

You hurried to catch up to the rest of the band. Carly and Alexis fell into step with you while Piper started walking behind you, obviously trying to shield you from Shayne’s gaze. You had another moment of profound gratitude for these girls; they took care of you when no one else would, they loved you when you couldn’t love yourself, and they always seemed to know what you needed without having to ask. That shared strength and love was one of the reasons the band had stayed together for so long.

Impressively enough, you managed to keep your shit together until you got to Carly’s. You didn’t bother texting her to let her know that you were coming. She’d let you in if she was home, and if she wasn't home, you knew her building code and where she kept her spare key.

Luckily, she was home; she let you up to her apartment without question.

Only once you’d crossed the threshold of your best friend’s apartment did you allow yourself to cry. You crumpled like a piece of paper against her and let out a sob so loud it bordered on a scream. Carly maneuvered you back onto her couch, sat down with you, and held you until you could talk. You were still crying when you pulled away from her, but you’d gotten out the full-body sobs.

“Honey, what happened?” Carly asked. You could hear the concern in her voice; it was rare that you showed up at her place unannounced, and even rarer that you started the visit by scream-crying into her shirt. She probably thought somebody was dead.

“Shayne got home from work and ended things,” you said. “Just… no warning, no ceremony, nothing. Three days ago he asked me my fucking ring size and today he told me that we aren’t working anymore. And I don’t understand because I thought he was happy! I thought we were good! I thought that we’d be fucking picking a date for our wedding, not for when I’m gonna come move out the rest of my shit!”

Before Carly could respond, your phone vibrated. You took it out and couldn’t help your tearful, almost-manic laugh at what you saw there; a text from Shayne, apologizing, asking if you would come home and talk. You went to reply, but Carly grabbed your phone and held it away from you before you could.

“Hey!” you exclaimed, lunging for your phone. She was an expert at keep-away, though, and you couldn’t even get close. You cursed yourself for all the nights out where you asked her to keep your phone away from you if you got too drunk. “Carly, give me my phone!”

“Promise me you won’t text him back and you can have it,” she said.

“That’s ridiculous! Of course I’m gonna text him back!”

“Is that a good idea?” she asked. She cocked an eyebrow. “If you can honestly tell me that you think it’s a good idea for you to say anything to him right now, I’ll give you your phone back.”

That knocked some sense into you. Immediately, the fight left your body and you sat back on the couch. She studied you for a moment and then leaned forward to set the phone on the coffee table. When you didn’t go for it, she relaxed and leaned back.

“Sorry,” you said. “I’m all over the place.”

“I know. It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for, right? Now, walk me through what happened.”

“He came home and he was being weird, and he was like ‘hey can we talk’ and then he basically just said that it isn’t working anymore and that he can’t be with me. He didn’t give me a reason besides that and I didn’t ask him for one. I just packed a bag and came here.”

Carly nodded, considering. “That’s really fucking weird.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long,” you said. At her shocked expression, you shrugged. “I’ve always said that he’s out of my league, right? It was only a matter of time before he got tired of me and realized he could do better. He probably realized that if we got married, he’d have a hell of a harder time getting away from me.”

“Were it not for the state of emotional peril you’re in right now, I would slap you,” Carly said. You let out a startled laugh; of all the things she could've said, you weren't expecting that. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say, and I’ve known you for a long time. If that was true -- which it isn’t, by the way, you’re the sexiest, most beautiful, smartest, funniest, greatest person I know -- it wouldn’t have taken him three years to ‘get bored.’ This is one of the dumber stunts he’s pulled, which is saying something. But this isn’t your fault. He’s the asshole here, regardless of his reasoning. If you want to talk to him and try to work things out, that’s your business. But whether or not things work out, this will always be on him. And I’ll be here every step of the way, buttercup.”

You nodded gratefully, even though you didn't believe her. You’d never been good enough for Shayne. This was always inevitable. Still, you put on a brave face for Carly. Better she didn’t know what you were really thinking. “You’re right,” you said. “Thanks, Carly.”

You could tell from the look on her face that she didn’t completely believe you, which wasn’t surprising. Carly always knew when you were lying. But she also knew when to let an issue lie. “Good,” she said. “Now, Bridesmaids or Legally Blonde?”

Ian led the group to a colorful sound stage. To the right was a partition, and behind it a bunch of strange props and costume pieces. To the left was a single stool, a piano, and some bongos.

The room was swarming with activity as crew people moved around getting everything set up and ready to go. Shayne and Damien led you over to the set. “Y/N, why don’t you sit in the stool for the intro?” Shayne said, the first words he’d said to you since you had broken up. His voice was professional and upbeat, betraying almost no emotion. “And then I’ll stand to your right, Damien will be behind me, and the rest of the band can be to your left.”

“Sounds fine to me,” you said, and you hoped your voice sounded less forced to him than it did to you. You sat on the stool, glad to be off your feet; your balance was suddenly fucked now that Shayne was next to you, and you were afraid you wouldn’t be able to keep yourself upright if you tried to stand for much longer.

Shayne went to go check something with a cameraperson, and the girls formed another huddle around you. Carly stood right in front of you, Piper to your immediate left, and Alexis just behind you. “Are you alright?” Carly asked.

“I’m sorry,” Damien said, cutting into the conversation before you could even think about how to answer Carly’s question. He was standing to your right, though he was a little farther away than your bandmates were. “I wanted to let you know before you saw him. I thought maybe it would be easier that way.”

“It’s okay, Dames. It’s not your fault,” you said. You reached over to squeeze his bicep, hoping to ease his mind a little bit, but the guilt didn’t leave his face.

“How did you know we would be here today?” Carly asked. You gave her a stern look, but she either didn’t see it or just didn’t care.

Damien fidgeted, nervous. You didn’t blame him; Carly was a force of nature when she wanted to be. “Um,” he said, “what do you mean?

“I mean that you had enough foresight to know that you could surprise Y/N and warn her about Shayne. So you knew we would be here.”

“We get a filming schedule at the beginning of the week,” Damien said. You looked at Carly as if to say There, see? A perfectly good reason. Now back off and let the poor boy breathe. But then Damien continued: “and Shayne told me about seeing Y/N on Saturday, so --”

He cut himself off, clamping his mouth shut as he seemed to realize what he’d said. Your gaze flew from Carly to Damien. For a moment, you felt thoroughly like a middle schooler; the he-said-she-said was something you thought would get left in sixth grade, but here you were nonetheless. Still, you couldn’t help the way your heart rate accelerated at Damien’s words. If Shayne had mentioned you specifically…

“What?” you asked.

You didn’t want to get your hopes up. You couldn’t get your hopes up. Shayne mentioning you didn’t mean anything. Besides, he had a new girlfriend now, anyway. He’d probably just done it since you and Damien were friends before shit hit the fan.

Damien didn’t get the chance to answer your question before Shayne returned from his conversation with the cameraperson. You were pretty sure he knew that you guys had been talking about him; it was pretty obvious by the way the conversation stopped short as soon as he got within earshot. But if he knew, he didn’t comment on it. He just walked over and took his place next to you.

Carly flashed him a look colder than the south pole and moved to stand on your other side, and then she plastered the brightest smile you’d ever seen on her face. You did the same.

“Alright, everybody ready?” one of the crew people asked. You nodded your assent. “Three, two, and… action!”

[today-only-happens-once]

Acoustic

Title: Acoustic

Word count: 2129

Summary: Pop star sensation Roman Prince drops by a familiar coffee shop on amateur night, doing his best to avoid being recognized. He certainly didn’t expect the stranger in a hoodie with an acoustic guitar to capture his attention. Musician and Coffeeshop AU rolled into one. Romantic Prinxiety.

Warnings: cursing, singing, duets, crowds. Mostly its just kinda sweet/fluffy. 

A/N:  If you saw my post earlier today about writing a lot of words about a nonsense idea out of nowhere when sometimes I struggle to write 100 words of carefully planned, in-progress chapters, well. This is that nonsense idea. I wrote this in one sitting. Just kind of a fun idea that popped in my head. Hope you enjoy this quick little diddy! ^u^ 

Tags: @creativenostalgiastuff​, @helloisthisusernametaken​, @ren-allen​, @quoth-the-sparrow​, @princelogical​, @random-pianist​, @ravenclawicecream​, @erlenmeyertrash​, @milomeepit​, @at-least-seven-pretty-potatoes​, @rileyfirstname​, @pinkeasteregg​, @sassy-in-glasses​, @vigilantvirgil​, @generalfandomfabulousness​, @lacrimosathedark​, @thepoolofthedead​, @monikastec​, @heir-of-the-founders​, @yourworstnightmare999​, @artistictaurean​, @kanejandkruge​, @cdragontogacotar​, @candiukas, @damienswifeolicitydallysgirl​, @angst-patton, @savingshae​, @noneed4thistbh, @awesomelissawho, @unikornavenger, @bopthesnoz, @spiralofsilencetheory, @finger-gunsss, @crownswriter123, @swlotakulady34

…

Roman Prince tucks his nose into his thick scarf as he ducks into the coffee shop, the small bell above the door signaling the pop star’s appearance. His white beanie is pulled low over his messy flop of brown hair, and he keeps half of his face tucked into the scarf in an attempt to avoid being recognized. In many ways, he feels like Thomas’s Coffeeshop is the last safe haven he really has in this city. He’d been coming here for years, and though he knew his manager Remy would probably ream him out for sneaking out so much… Roman wouldn’t give it up for anything. He felt like a normal person here.

The far corner of the shop already has speakers set up. Thursday nights were Roman’s favorite, because it was amateur night. People of all ages would sign up during the week to come in and perform for around 15 minutes, just to get exposure and practice. When he was in high school—before he caught his big break thanks largely to a viral video—he used to come and play once in a while.

At the moment, a guy looking around Roman’s age is sitting on a stool in front of the speakers and the piano in the corner. He’s working on tuning an acoustic guitar. The guy’s purple-plaid-patched hoodie fits with his sweep of fading purple bangs. Roman eyes him as he steps up to the counter, tugging the scarf down from his mouth.

“Hey, welcome to Thomas’s! What can I get for ya?” says a warm, familiar voice that makes Roman smile. Patton Foster looks up at him, a spark of recognition in his eyes. Patton is about a year older than Roman, and had started working at the coffeeshop as a teenager around the time Roman started performing here. Patton knows better than to say anything, but the sincerity of his grin reminds Roman why this shop always felt a little bit like coming home.

“Large mocha with an extra pump of chocolate,” Roman replies with a smile of his own as he digs his wallet out. “The usual.”

Patton shakes his head slightly. “I don’t know why I still ask,” he says, still smiling. “Logan’ll get that for ya in a minute.”

Roman pays and steps out of the way for the person behind him, sliding onto a stool by the counter. He checks his phone for the time, hearing the stranger on the stool strum a few chords before adjusting the strings again. It’s almost ten o’clock.

Roman looks at the stranger about to perform. He’s got dark eyeshadow smudged under eyes and there’s something unexpected at seeing him holding an acoustic guitar when it seems like everything about his whole aesthetic would hint at hard rock or punk music. The light brown wooden instrument softens the look slightly. Logan calls out his order and hands it to him over the glass barrier and Roman takes a sip of it. He sighs softly, relaxing a bit at the familiar taste.

“He’s good,” Patton says, startling him. The barista is wiping the counter down, and he nods in the direction of the stranger who was now adjusting the mike.

Roman hums. “Yeah?”

Patton tosses the towel onto his shoulder. “Yeah. But don’t take my word for it,” he says before the stranger speaks into the mike.

“Hey, guys,” he says. His voice is low with a little bit of gravel to it. “I’m, uh, Virgil Shea. I thought I’d do a cover or two before trying out a new song I finished Tuesday. Sound good?”

Patton cheers from behind the counter along with a few patrons. Virgil glances at Patton, the corner of his mouth quirking slightly before he ducks his head. He starts strumming, and Roman swivels around on the stool to face him, tugging the scarf back up over his nose as he watches. Virgil seems to take a deep breath as he plays the intro. It’s not until he starts to sing, his eyes drifting closed for a moment, that Roman recognizes the song.

“Some days, things just take way too much of my energy. I look up and the whole room’s spinning…”

As he sings and plays, Roman can’t help but feel entranced by him. Virgil doesn’t have a large stage presence—he stays on the stool the entire time—but his melodic voice floats through the coffeeshop and he fills the space around him anyway. Roman watches, impressed and a little moved by the way he seems to put all of himself into the song without making a show of it. There’s a vulnerability to Virgil in this moment, and Roman can’t look away.

And his riffs. Damn, Roman thinks as he listens to Virgil sing. Virgil’s gaze drifts around the room, but Roman swears it settles squarely on him as he riffs on the last note. A beautiful, crystal clear high note.

Holy shit, I think I’m in love a little bit.

The song ends and Virgil’s mouth curls up into a small smile as the coffeeshop erupts into applause and a couple of cheers. It’s a small room, but it’s certainly packed. Virgil nods his head in thanks, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

“Thank you,” he says into the mic as he adjusts the guitar strap around his shoulders. “Next, I… well, are there any requests?”

There’s a brief moment before someone towards the back calls out, “Falling Slowly!” Roman raises his eyebrows at the suggestion, even as it’s followed with a few other people repeating it in enthusiasm.

Virgil laughs slightly and rubs the back of his neck. “You mean from Once? Isn’t that a duet? And it kind of needs piano, right?” He glances at the piano behind him, then looks back out at the crowded room. “Any of you want to join in?”

“He does,” says a familiar voice and Roman feels a hand close over his wrist and pull his hand into the air. Roman whirls with wide eyes to see Patton looking back at him. His eyes are wide with an innocence that Roman doesn’t buy for one second.

What are you doing? Roman mouths. Patton gives him an encouraging nudge and small grin. Roman looks back at Virgil, his eyes still wide. This was not what he had intended to happen.

“It’s up to you, dude,” Virgil tells him, and Roman breathes a faint breath of relief that nobody seems to have recognized him yet. Roman did tend to wear a lot of stage make-up and costumes when he performed, which made it easier to blend in when he was out and about in the general public.

And singing a duet with a voice like that…

Roman sighs a little and shrugs. “I can’t resist a good showtune,” he answers finally. A few people cheer enthusiastically. He slides off the stool and sets his mocha down on the counter behind him. He looks back at Virgil. “You sure you don’t mind?”

Virgil shrugs a shoulder and jerks his head towards the piano. “It’s chill, man.”

Roman doesn’t know for sure why he feels suddenly nervous. He’s performed in front of stadiums full of people before. He’s even sung duets before. But something about this small, enclosed space… something about Virgil… sets Roman’s heart racing like it did the first night he performed on this very make-shift stage.

Roman tries not to flush slightly as brushes past Virgil who gives him a small, encouraging smile. He takes a seat on the piano bench brushes his fingers over the keys, adjusts the mic slightly, and then looks at Virgil. For the briefest moment, when they lock eyes, Roman thinks that the entire coffeeshop melts away.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Virgil tells him, pulling his mic stand back towards the piano and slightly to the side so that they can look at one another. He adjusts the strap of his guitar.

Roman takes a breath, places his fingers on the keys, and begins to play. The careful arpeggiated chords drift softly through the coffee shop, and the few patrons who’d been chatting quietly to one another fall silent.

Virgil leans into the mic a bit. “I don’t know you, but I want you all the more for that.”

Roman finds himself smiling softly at he continues to play and joins in with the harmony. “Words fall through me and always fool me and I can’t react.”  

Roman swears he sees Virgil smile a little as he comes in with the guitar. “And games that never amount to more than they’re meant will play themselves out.”

He can feel butterflies in his stomach and he can’t help the way his lips curl up in a smile as he lets the piano swell with the guitar a bit as they both enter the chorus. “Take this sinking boat and point it home. We’ve still got time. Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice. You’ve made it now.”

As the song progresses, Roman realizes that he’s only ever looking at either his hands on the piano or at Virgil. He’s almost forgotten that they have an audience, the faces blending into the background in favor of the person with the guitar standing a few feet in front of him. His messy hair falls into his dark eyes, but every time he looks back at Roman as they sing the pop star swears there’s a spark of something in them. A curiosity, but also something else. He just can’t be sure of what.

Roman hopes Virgil doesn’t mind too much when he steals Virgil’s part and sing, “You have suffered enough and warred with yourself. It’s time that you won.” From the look in his eyes and the faint smile he offers, Roman’s pretty sure he didn’t mind.

“Falling slowly, sing your melody,” they both sing as they lock eyes and Roman swears his heart does a little flip. “I’ll sing it now.”

They layer over one another with soft melodic riffs. Roman lets his eyes drift closed for a moment as they play and improv off one another a little bit. He feels his lips tug into a smile as the song starts to slow.

Virgil counts the beats quietly into the mic as they both hold a chord. They circle back to the ways the song had begun, with the gentle arpeggiated chords. Roman holds the other musicians gaze as it slows before they hold the final chord.

Roman gives him a soft smile. Thank you, he mouths. Virgil still has that look in his eyes that is both soft and curious. The coffeehouse erupts into applause again, several cheers and a few whistles.

And then everything comes to a screeching halt as someone shouts over the cheers, “Wait, are you Roman Prince?!” Before Roman can even try to play it off, someone else chimes in, “I knew that voice sounded familiar!”

As questions and shouting rise up, Roman fishes a business card out of his pocket, grabs a pencil sitting on the piano, and scribbles down his phone number. He can hear Patton trying to shout over the crowd but he doesn’t try to follow the conversation. He needs to get out of here ASAP. He can already see people pulling up their phones. Flashes of light indicate pictures getting taken. Remy’s gonna kill him…

Roman is mentally cursing himself. Virgil probably hates him now. He hadn’t wanted to upstage him, steal his spotlight… Roman is afraid of what the expression Virgil’s face might be. In his peripheral, he can see Patton pushing out from behind the counter and making his way towards the stage, probably to use a mic.

Roman stands up and crosses over towards Virgil. His eyes are wide, but Roman can’t quite read the expression in them with all the flashing lights, movement of people pressing closer towards them, his racing heart clouding his thoughts. Roman presses the card with his cellphone number on it into Virgil’s hands.

“I’m so sorry,” Roman is telling him quickly, straining to be heard over the sudden pandemonium of people asking for selfies, autographs, taking videos… “But that—”

“Roman,” comes Logan’s urgent voice right beside him. “You gotta go.”

“I know, I know,” Roman tells him, then looks back at Virgil earnestly. “Look, Virgil, you’re—”

“Now,” Logan insists, grabbing his arm and pulling him through the crowd. The last thing Roman sees before he ducks out the door and into the cold night air is Virgil standing on the stage, glancing down at the card in his hand and meeting Roman’s eyes one last time before the door swings shut and Roman makes a run for his car.

…

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama: Shinsengumi Oni-tan Track 1 Translation

Well im more or less back so I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/V7V2W0HO), or through paypal (paypal.me/KumoriYami ) …. also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i don’t have the audio for those…..

I’ve also gotten around to getting my patreon account in order (https://www.patreon.com/KumoriYami) while deleting all blog post tls here. My patreon will really only for blog post tls, of which I will be putting out at least 3 each month, and for early access to my next planned post. Right now, I can only do early access for one post since I have nothing stockpiled and since Chinese New Year is this month....I’ll be busy with stuff so I probably won’t be getting around to doing a lot for the foreseeable future.... though I intend to bump that up to 2 posts when I’m no longer as busy....

I hope everyone had a good new year’s day.... cuz im feeling exhausted and my mind feels all waaaaaugh rn cuz of beating Psychedelia of the Ashen Hawk which i keep spelling as Hawke because of Dragon Age.... especially with those endings (i surprisingly couldn’t find anything for it in Chinese but oh well)..... 

Anyway, since this drama is roughly an hour and eight minutes long... it is going to take an extended amount of time to be completely translated since this translation was taken off not exactly great quality/sized images (though i’ll be aided by JP mtl since it’s available for me) which has been a real pain given how condensed some of the Chinese words are... and because im probably going to look at doing this on an on-off basis cuz my mind doesn’t work well focusing on one thing to translate for long periods of time (you have to pay me to do that since i equate that to mental torture lol xD).

enjoy this tl~

Hakuoki Shinsengumi Oni-tan Track 1 “A certain male oni and the Shinsengumi”

Translation by KumoriYami

Kazama: Oni. In this country of Japan, since ancient times, there have been a race known as the oni living here. Holding power that transcended that of ordinary people, no, it should be said that because of this power which transcends that of ordinary humans, they are depicted as evil creatures/beings in folklore and legends.

Sometimes, they are killed, and other times they are used by humans. (the translation of 驱逐 is "expelled" which doesn't seem right so i changed to "killed"]

For this reason we oni have chosen to sever our ties with humans and live in secluded/ hidden villages. However due to the scarcity of oni, marriage with humans has increased, and some oni have chosen to live like/as humans.

And then, there are oni who live unaware of their heritage because of their weak bloodlines.

Yes, for example, the day I met that man.

(intro music)

Flower petals scatter and leaves wither as they fall. The season has already changed to winter. The city was loud despite how cold it was [Despite how cold it was, the city was bustling with activity/ was loud].

When nightfall arrived, it became quite cold. Alright, it's done. Leave/head back before it gets any darker. If [I] return too late, Amagiri will begin preaching again, which will indeed be unbearable. [rephrase later...?]

(sound of running footsteps) But, what's that sound? It sounded like there was a disturbance from a back-alley.

Roshi: che, damn it, the shinsengumi is here!

???: Ronin, there's no escape! Stay where you are!

Roshi: Damn it---  since it's like this let's break this jar, give me some good entertainment! [take a break and get ready? check later.]

(sound of sword being drawn)

Kazama:  hn, that's the light blue haori of the shinsengumi. the bakufu's dog is fighting a wild/stray dog, really what a horrible showing/senseless game/trick.

(blades crossing)

Roshi: Heh heh.... it seems like you're out of tricks. what's wrong shinsengumi, (you're?) all talk! /you seem to be all talk!

???: Che.... Don't... get too... cocky bastard!

Kazama: Nn?

Roshi: Why, why has this guy's eye colour changed....!

(sounds of blades hitting each other again)

Roshi: Uoaaaaah!

???: (heavy breaths) finally caught, caught, caught [my] breath, i just need to wait for the captains to come over.

Kazama: Oi. you. For someone of an oni clan, what are you doing in a place like this?

???: Hm? who are you?

Kazama: Leader of the western clans, the Kazama family head, Chikage.

???: For this first meeting, I am called Sasanami Kurō. Although you speak as though you know me, however(/perhaps) you have the wrong person. [rephrase later]

kazama: it turned out to be the case. i do not recognize that name. However, as a member of an oni clan, why are you wearing the the haori(/uniform) of the shogun[ate's?]'s dog?

Sasanami: Oni clan?

Kazama: Exactly. in my eyes, there is no doubt that you are my compatriot/kin/clansman, that is to say---

heisuke: hey new guy - really , where did you [assuming *he?*] go?

Harada: I can understand how people want to show off a bit because of the team's examination, but to go off chasing someone alone is dangerous/puts one in a really dangerous situation [im assuming its to join the Shinsengumi based on the summary on the drama info page].

Heisuke: although having enthusiasm/being enthusiastic is a good thing, those guys tend to die faster.

Harada: Anyway, pray/hope that he wasn't killed due to his carelessness. Heisuke, check over there, I'll look over here.

(more footsteps)

Sasanami:  oh, Captain Toudou, Captain Harada! I'm [over] here! The roshi has already been captured/arrested.

Harada: oh, over there. It looks like there's nothing wrong...

heisuke: although being popular/recognition is good, it can cause problems...

Kazama: Che, those troublesome guys are around/nearby. No choice then, it's time to go/retreat. The reason for your position, I will listen to it in two days.

Sasanami: Wait, At the end [who are] you----- [rephrase later?]

(sound of Kazama walking away)

Kazama: That/this person, although his lineage is quite weak, there is no doubt of his bloodline. But/However why is there there an oni aside from my wife in the Shinsengumi?

----

final edits will be done when video is posted since im feeling lazy rn.... also i decided that i’d post this drama track by track for text. not sure bout videos yet since i wanna double check the context for what i think is the recruitment examination vs team examination. once that’s done... i think i’ll start making the videos to publish though im going to leave everything unlisted on youtube all 9 tracks of this drama are done.

on a side note, is there something about a location guide in the Hakuoki 3ds game or the ds yuugiroku english patch game (never tried it so iuno how well that worked or if that was even finished but that was one of my first google search bar suggestions)? Asking because I found a Chinese translation/summary of the Zuisouroku ds travel guide (commentary/exchange of certain locations. ex - saito’s room, hanaguri gate, fushimi magistrate)... and well, i just wanna make sure im not looking at game content that was already translated since I know Hakuoki tends to recycle a lot of their stuff before considering to translate it....

also.... this is the only drama where i might translate the interview with the cast (its 4 qs to the VAs sans roshi in text format)... though that would be after i finish this.... whenever the hell that is.

[asouthernprincessupnorth]

Sweetener Tour, 19 September 2019, Sheffield

Hi guys! You can guess from the title what this post is about: Ariana Grande’s Sweetener Tour! I went to her concert with a very dear friend, Nabil, and let me tell you that it was amazing.

So, we bought the tickets way back in December 2018, if I’m not mistaken. When I found out that Ariana was coming to the UK, I thought I just had to see her at least once. Me and Nabil looked at her schedule and when I found out she was coming to f-ing Sheffield, I just knew that there is no way I could possibly miss out on it. I mean, Sheffield, of all places!

I got up as early as I could on the day of the ticket sales and within a minute that the tickets were being sold, I couldn’t get any. I kept on refreshing the page until it showed I could get two tickets on the f-ing Gold Circle, which is basically the most expensive ticket category (but not as expensive as VIP-Meet & Greet). After hastily agreeing with Nabil, I clicked on the purchase. Yep, I bought a very, very expensive concert ticket.

Me and Nabil went to the venue as soon as queuing was allowed by the Arena and we spent at least three-and-a-half to four hours in the queue. Was it worth it? It was. We got into the Standing area but I just knew that our Gold Circle tickets should’ve gotten us closer to the stage so I basically ran to the edge of the Standing area, showed our Gold wristbands to the security guards, and got ourselves into the f-ing Gold Circle. I ran and managed to stand on the second-to-front row. Let me tell you this: it felt awesome. Me and Nabil got slightly separated because he went to buy us some water (which each cost f-ing £2.50) and when he returned, two girls and a mother already stood behind me. But it’s okay. He was still very close to me and we managed to chat a bit during the concert. Also, so many young girls (preteens and even a child barely five years old) going there with their mummies and daddies. Wow.

Social House and Ella Mai opened the concert. I honestly loved Social House! I’d never heard their music apart from their collaboration with Ariana on Boyfriend but they had such positive, great energy and were very engaging with the audience. I might’ve not known any of their songs but when they left the stage, I knew that they made me want to listen to their EP. Ella Mai had a very beautiful voice but, sadly, I felt she wasn’t very engaging. The stage was rather circular/oval-shaped, with the central void being filled with VIP audience and the outer parts of the circle surrounded by Gold Circle (yes, I’m terrible at describing visual stuff in English). However, Ella stayed only on the main stage with the musicians and did not go around on the circular part, which made things less engaging (at least in my opinion).

Warning: The part about Ariana is very much all over the place.

Now. Now. Ariana. The songstress herself. Good God. She opened with the intro raindrops (an angel cried), and the crowds just went mad, including yours truly. We basically screamed and sang along and I saw that the stage was still empty but the visuals were starting. Oh. The visuals were very much all about the sun and stars and moon. When she started raindrops, it looked as though there was an eclipse or something.

And then, she rose up from the ground with her dancers in a very, very familiar setting: God is a woman as seen on the MTV VMAs 2018. Spread across a dining table, as though it was a reinterpretation of The Last Supper. And she sang. She had a very beautiful, very clear voice. I noticed, however, that the mic might not have been super clear because whenever she said anything that wasn’t her song lyrics (like when she greeted the audience or said something about the song no tears left to cry several songs after God is a woman), I couldn’t really hear what she said. Either that or she wasn’t very good in her pronunciation (this is actually one of the quite valid critiques of her vocal/singing. Yes, I love and adore Ariana but I also agree that sometimes she doesn’t enunciate well).

Anyway. I had a very, very magical 90 minutes listening and watching Ariana’s performance. She was generally energetic, fun, and engaging. She was appreciative of her band and her backup dancers, whom I think she genuinely sees as her friends. Ariana’s vocals, though, are the star of the show. Of course, what else do you expect from her? Every time she hit a high note it made me feel like I was being choked because how did she do it???? And she killed it. I’m pretty sure at some point I heard a whistle note from her, though it wasn’t as flexible as Mariah Carey’s had been in her prime. This isn’t a bad thing, though. It’s great that Ariana can do whistle notes, doesn’t mean she has to do it in the most vocally-acrobatic style because God knows stretching it too far can affect your other vocal abilities.

I loved every part of it, of course, but I really loved her performance of NASA. I guess that’s because it’s my favourite song off thank u, next. To be honest, lots of the songs were kind of a blur to me but in a good way: I couldn’t remember exactly how she did it because I was just so happy with singing and screaming at the top of my lungs. I hope that’s a good sign, though. Anyway. NASA was such a great performance and I honestly remember not being able to properly record a video of it because my phone’s camera is absolute crap and Ariana’s position onstage wasn’t strategic to mine. Still, I was like, f it I’ll sing my lungs out because that is what I want to do. I screamed so loud when she sang: “I’mma need space, I’mma need space”.

And also needy. I loved, loved, loved that song. needy is such a mood and I know it was a song of vulnerability but damn, I sang and screamed. It felt like pouring my heart out. I guess that’s exactly why thank u, next is my favourite Ariana album: it speaks to me. And when she sang, I know that she was singing what my heart felt, too. And it’s an amazing feeling.

Of course, no Ariana show would be complete without some sexy choreography, like in Side to Side and Into You. I sang and screamed but... mostly it was a blur. Again. I feel like because those songs are, so sorry to say this, generic provocative songs, it did not make me feel super connected or anything. It was fun to sing them and dance to them but wasn’t the most wow this is amazing OMG feeling. I did, however, enjoy break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored. Her vocals in that are amazing, oddly enough for that kind of song.

I also fell so much in love with R.E.M. I later found out it was at first a Beyonce song but Ariana made it a very, very lovely song. It’s actually very much like a lullaby and it’s such a sweet, sweet love song that sways your heart.

This has gone way, way too long (just like the intro of in my head, which wasn’t sung at the concert but used during an interval). Now. The grande finale: thank u, next. I recorded the whole performance and it actually made me feel rather emotional. I can’t possibly imagine singing the names of my exes every night for a year of touring, one of whom died of drug overdose and the other you thought you were going to marry. But Ariana sang it well. And again, I felt very connected to how she sang it. It’s not about whether you have as many exes as she does or anything: it’s about connecting on the understanding that you could take a lesson from the people in your past. And she closed the show with dances of love and pride.

So. I loved every second of it. It was worth every penny that I spent on it (though I would’ve loved if she’d sung for an extra 30 minutes lolz). It’s definitely something that I’ll remember for as long as I live, and I’m just ever so grateful that of all the places, I chose Sheffield and so did she, both in 2018. She delivered a beautiful, fun, entertaining performance and it was such an amazing way to close my postgraduate studies (sort of). It’s incredibly strong of her to embrace her vulnerability and create something that connects with others.

[undinefin]

Love Post (fuck you guys)

ok! SO! since some people decided to show me up and do extra long paragraphs and make me a friggin playlist, obviously I had to do something too!!!  this is going to be a long post, so there is heavy scrolling involved. I'm sorry.

also, i'd like to apologize to the people that i wasn't able to write stories for, be it I haven't known you enough, or im just a horrible friend (im sorry ood i will write u all the sanic fanfic) im really really sorry!!! 

tbh you dont even have to read the stories if you dont want to??

PLEASE READ THIS: this is the authors note where i essentially justify the mess (or messes if you decide to read all of them) that you are about to lay ya eyes on. i wrote most of these in a non-lucid state, fuelled only by anger and lack of sleep. they aren't the most amazing things. akire, you have another note before yours bc reasons. also im on the computer there will be no emojis sorry im lazy

the story order goes!: Boo CP Fath Nom Kiki Akire ^^ roughly based on story length. 

first however, i'm gonna get other mutuals their love posts!!!

@fooderaser​ : Ch!! The gc misses you so much aahhh i haven't talked to you in so long :(((( i'm sorry i didn't write you a story, and honestly the whole "haven't talked to you enough" is a poor excuse but really, if and when you're available i'll write you all the stories!!! you are so kind, and whenever we are blessed by your presence in the gc it's so nice! you bring this energy in that's so refreshing, and i've seen that post!! You're so beautiful!! I hope to be able to talk to you more! <3 

@sambashua​: Mir, I haven't known you for a long time, but you seem really nice!! I'm glad i have another friend to yell about Haikyuu!! with. SEEAASON FOUR BETTER COME OUT AND WHEN IT DOES WE SHALL Y E L L. im also glad to be a fellow cheermander, and will continue to work on the fy-charmander blog! hope we can talk more!!

@coralinfluencershark​: AUD MY DOD WHO HAS A GREAT BOD (i just thought of that today are you proud) i love you sosososoossoososos much words cant even describe it. again, i'm sorry i didnt write you the sanic x peach x dobby fanfic that i know you are dying to read. YOU ARE SO SWEET AND NICE AND CARE ABOUT ISSUES AND ITS GREAT and you are a lil strange (please, if you have to, BUY a verbal filter) but you are very loved. i love spending time with you, and you never fail to make me laugh. you'RE SO COOL ADN YOU CAN SKATE and are so much smarter than you think you are. im excited for bnha season 3, so on that note, i leave you with this (i sent it to u but idk if u watched it)

@juliaplatinumerr: JU CHAAAAN !!! i love you a lot a lot we have known each other for so long and thANK YOU for still keeping in contact with me it's honestly so magical. IM SORRY I DIDNT WRITE YOU ANYTHING I HAVE NO GOOD EXCUSE i can only offer my presence (aka we should hang out sometime??) and i might go back to japan so if u want anything hmu!! really you're so nice, and reliable, and i love that i can still talk to you and help you!! really really, I love you a lot!!

alrighty now we can move onto the stories!!! i'm so sorry this is a mess. love you all. btw the love paragraphs are arguably gonna be shorter...maybe.

Truthfully, I had no idea where I was going with any of these, and the writing is mediocre at best (because I know I can do better but…haahhhh) so yeah. If anything think of them as like….random little scenarios that I wrote up in which I am not-so-discreetly complimenting y’all in about 1000-2000 words. I don’t think there’s any romance??? Like if there is its like pure n shit but im still not the most comfortable with writing self insert also age! Anyways, apologies in advance. I wasn’t lucid during the making of any of these.

paragraphs look so fugly in tumblr oml.

@caramelmacch1ato​: BOOOOOOO!!! I actually love you sosos much i cant even start to describe it. You're so sweet and so smart wtf please teach me. i love reading your goodnight posts that i think you've sent nearly every night??? thats impressive damn. YOU ARE IMPRESSIVE I AM IMPRESSED BY YOU. i hope you enjoy the story i have no idea whats happening. love youuu <333

Remember

Boo had been to tons of concerts before, she’d been lucky enough to even get Meet n’ Greet tickets for Day6, where she met her bias Jae. He was funny, and strange, but also beautiful and amazing. There were still so many groups she wanted to see live, like Seventeen and Astro, but when Day6 was hosting their second live in America, she was definitely going.

Getting tickets was always a hassle, and even if Day6 didn’t have 4 billion followers (though they deserved it) you had to be clicking ‘check out’ the second the tickets were released to get Fansign tickers. Though, Boo always managed to pull through.

Fast forward about three weeks and Boo was once again lining up with a large poster board outside of the Day6 concert venue. It was a little chilly, as they were performing in February, but it was a birthday gift for Boo, so the cold didn’t bother her too much.

The anticipation killed her, “I Wait,” yeah, she sure as hell did. It took another fifteen minutes for the venue to dim, and the five members of Day6 ran onstage. Screams filled the theatre, and they didn’t stop for the next two hours. Boo’s Korean had improved since the last concert, and during the times where they would MC, she was able to pick up some words. 

Her poster was a light-up one, with nine pictures of the Day6 members, and a neon title spelling out “According to this mood board, how are you feeling today?” During one of their songs, she could have sworn Jae pointed at it and laughed. 

Jae had easily captured her heart, and he played a large part as to why Day6 was her bias group. He was funny, attractive, and had a beautiful voice. The fact that he spoke English was also helpful, in that she could sometimes understand him (“sometimes” because let’s face it, half of what he said was meme garbage).

The boys were doing a game section, in which they had to name their songs by the intro music as fast as they could. Whoever got the most right would draw from a lottery, and the lucky person would come up on stage to receive a prize. YoungK was winning, with Jae at a close second. Dowoon was surprisingly third, and Wonpil and Sungjin were tied for last place.

Familiar music filled the room, and the fans were shouting out the answers arguably faster than any of the boys. Jae hit his buzzer. “그렇더라고요!” he shouted eagerly. With this he was tied with Younghyun. “Or, When You Love Someone,” he followed up, remembering that the audience was English.

“I LOVE YOU JAE,” Boo screamed, her voice was hoarse from the fanchants, and general shouting, but she wasn’t fazed. Some other fans in the audience added on, and Jae bore a proud look. YoungK rolled his eyes but laughed, and Dowoon mumbled something about how he should’ve guessed that, since those were his drums.

Boo, able to pick up his worry due to her knowledge and proximity to the stage followed up with a, “YOU’RE PERFECT DOWOON.” Dowoon perked up, and others also shouted words of encouragement to him, as well as the other members.

The concert slipped away all too soon, and many were upset that their time with Day6 was over. The Hi-touch ticket holders went to give the members a quick high-five before leaving, practically worshipping their hands.

Boo got in line for the Jae Meet n’ Greet, which was very long. She was one of the last people to join, and the other lines were beginning to fill up as well. Boo watched the other people meet the members, some cried, others laughed, and a few even gave them gifts! The MyDays were very respectful though, and Boo was proud to be a part of them.

The minutes ticked by, and her poster felt heavier by the second. Boo checked her makeup to ensure she didn’t look like a total wreck. Jumping up and down, and singing along to songs was a lot more work than it seemed. Her makeup looked clean though, and there was one zit that she couldn’t cover up, but she could hide it with her hair.

“Hi there!” Jae smiled. Boo smiled back shyly, as always, he was even more beautiful in person! His smile was radiant, and despite how tired he was from performing, his face still looked energetic, like a puppy. “I’m number eight by the way,” he mentioned.

“Number eight?” Boo repeated, confused. 

Jae pointed to her poster, “Yeah on your mood board! Feeling totally pumped today, I also look especially fabulous in that photo! But number two, Sungjin eating…. that’s a close one.”

Boo laughed, “I think I’m also eight. Seeing you guys really gets me excited, I love your music a lot.”

Jae grinned, “That’s good, but I’m the main reason, right? My looks are so attractive that it compelled you to buy a ticket! 

“Of course,” Boo agreed jokingly.

“That laugh…you’re the ‘Okie Dokie Artichokie’ girl, aren’t you? I say it all the time to piss off Brian, he says I say it stupidly.”

Jae remembered her laugh, Jae remembered her.

“That’s because you do!” YoungK hissed. The girl that was meeting with him laughed as well.

Jae pulled his face into a strange expression, with his eyes looking upwards and a frown upon his lips. “OkIE doKiE, ArticHOkie,” he jested. His voice sounded like Goofy from Mickey Mouse, and Jae couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the end. He added finger guns that pointed at Boo.

“I’m proud,” Boo wiped an invisible tear from her eye.

“You should be, how have I never known this before?” Jae agreed seriously.

“Such ignorance for a wonderful phrase, I’m glad I was at least able to teach it to you, even though it was late.”

“As your follower in the religion of mood boards, and random phrases, I appreciate the important lesson.” The two of them continued back and forth, as their scenario grew more and more outrageous. It was when aliens were brought into the conversation that the two broke out into laughter.

 “That was fun, you’re fun,” Jae exclaimed. “You’re funny too, and nice! An ideal Myday, but most importantly, you stan me! Which makes you the most ideal Kpop fan of all!”

“Well…you are my ultimate bias,” Boo admitted.

“ULTIMATE!?” Jae guffawed. He turned to Younghyun, “Hear that? I’m her ultimate bias.” Jae bore a proud look on his face. He turned back to Boo, “Well, I’m just so handsome and talented that it’d be hard not to have me as an ultimate bias! Though everyone is starting to appreciate the other members’ individual looks, which is nice. Your looks could rival even mine!”

Boo blushed at that. As much as Jae joked(?) about how godly his face was, no one could actually deny it. He was very attractive after all, and being compared to that by the man himself, Boo was half certain she was dreaming.

“Thank you, I tried hard for you tonight,” Boo smiled.

“Ah see, that’s a killer smile right there. The makings of an idol! All you have to do now is learn some Korean and it’ll be smooth sailing from there. With all your charisma and caring-ness, the companies will be fighting over you!” Jae gleamed at her.

Jae noticed the time was ticking by, and the other girls in line were still waiting. “Alright Ms. Artichokie, is there a better name I can call you?”

“Boo.”

Jae grinned and held out his hand. “Alright Boo, I hope you come to lots of concerts, and if you DO sign under a label be sure to tell me,” he winked at her, “Till then, I’ll remember you, Boo.”

@howcaniwait: CP overlord, you are truly the glue that sticks this mess of a gc together. i love you so much its actually so overwhelming for ma lil heart. you are so sweet, and you have evolved so much!! to love kpop!!!!! you're so beautiful thoSE EYEBROWS MAN and you're so easy to talk to and get along with and wE LIKE P!ATD YAAY. really you're actually one of the smartest people i know and i know sometimes it gets overwhelming but you're so smart i know you are!! again, i hope the story does some justice??? its kinda lame but whATEVER

Five Minutes 

The chances that you’d meet someone famous were quite slim, and it seemed that if you were a fan of said celebrity, the chances would be even slimmer. Taken that CP didn’t live in a largely visited country for artists, to even perform in, her chances were slimmer.

But CP loved the artists that she did nonetheless. Maybe a year ago she was wary of them, and she even made fun of the people that liked them! But slowly, very slowly, she began to have a change of heart. Day6 was something different compared to the other ones she had heard of at the time. Their music was magic, and the people who made that music were beyond skilled. She fell in love with them fast, and the one who caught her eye was none other than Kang Younghyun.

He had remained her ultimate bias for a year of Kpop adventures, which involved spending a lot of time online staring at pretty boys singing, dancing, and talking. Despite all the amazing idols she had seen, nothing could top her love for YoungK of Day6.

“You hear that CP?” A hand waved in front of her face. Kiki and L were sitting in front of her, at a restaurant in Korea Town. “They don’t have any more Bibimbap,” Kiki recapped. After tons and tons of pestering from her friends, and saving up, as well as a generous Christmas gift, CP was able to meet her friends in the place where YoungK had studied, Toronto.

“Ah, then I’ll have the….” CP quickly looked at the menu, “Tteok-bokki.” It was the cheapest option.

The three had energetic conversations about Kpop stars, as all avid fans of the music. It ranged from trying to discern the song that was playing in the restaurant, to showing Kiki various images in hopes that her alter ego would come out.

“Stop!” Kiki whined, the last picture of Bambam was starting to push her off the edge.

L nodded, “Yeah, please stop we don’t need that in this nice restaurant.”

“I can’t help it! You guys are the ones showing me the images!” Kiki argued.

“In this Good Christian Restaurant?” CP ignored her friend. “Control yourself,” she gave Kiki a stern look, despite being the one showing her the images. Kiki mumbled something under her breath.

The food in the restaurant was good, and CP thought that the Tteok-bokki was actually pretty delicious. Half way through the meal L sighed loudly.

“The damn subways are closed, I have to take the bus home. I hate taking the bus,” she informed the others. Kiki laughed, she could walk home from their location. CP was getting picked up by her parents, so it wasn’t a big deal for her too. “I’m probably going to have to leave early.”

The plan was that they’d eat, then go to a Kpop store with a good stock of albums. After another fifteen minutes, L apologized before setting down some money for her portion of the meal and then leaving to catch the bus. 

“That sucks,” Kiki sighed. “We can still go though, that’s fine, right?” CP nodded. They finished paying and then left for the store. The remaining snow on the ground was mostly slush, and even though the sun was out, a chill still remained in the air. CP was glad she wore her boots.

The store clerks greeted them nicely, and Kiki showed her to the Day6 section of the store, before going to buy another album to add to her collection. With the remaining $25, CP decided to buy Daydream.

“Maybe I should buy a BTR album in Toronto too…” CP wondered aloud, purposely saying it so that Kiki could hear 

Kiki’s enraged expression was hardly fake, “Don’t you dare mention that name within my sanctuary of Kpop albums!”

CP laughed, “It was a joke, a joke.” Kiki grumbled, unconvinced. The two of them left the store, that they admittedly spent far too long in. Kiki managed to find a poster of an Astro member, and the searching alone took around ten minutes.

“You want me to wait with you?” Kiki asked.

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” she assured her friend. Kiki lingered for a bit, before the cold air started getting to her. She said her goodbye, and promised to meet again.

CP had around five minutes until her parents would pick her up, those five minutes would possibly be the most fantastical five minutes of her life thus far. It started with her taking out her new Day6 album, because damnit they didn’t put their music on any platforms. CP quickly cracked it open, curious to see her photo card. She wouldn’t risk opening it anymore, lest she drop it in the slush. A picture of Wonpil staring into the camera at the beach was inside. She took it out to admire the photo. Even if he wasn’t her bias, CP was a good Kpop stan who appreciated all the members.

CP looked up for the briefest moment. She noticed someone rather tall, asking various people for something. Though, through the bustle of the streets no one seemed to stop and reply to him. CP looked closer, there was something so painfully familiar about him, and maybe it was the shock, or the sunglasses, but CP couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Excuse me, miss?” the man had come up to her. He had a slight accent, but his words were still clear. 

“Oh! Yes?” CP responded, somewhat startled.

The man sighed, “Finally. Do you have any toonies, or tokens? The subway is closed down, and I need to take the bus. It’s been a while…I’m still not completely familiar with this section of Toronto. 

CP didn’t say anything, but rummaged through a bag she had brought. She was still racking her brain, trying to think of who it was. But…it couldn’t be him. There was no way, this would have to be some shitty story that was written to the ideals of mere humans.

She handed him a token that her mother had given her just in case. “Thank you, you’re very kind,” he smiled at her.

CP knew that smile, almost as much as she knew the music that it went with. “You…you’re YoungK, right?”

Younghyun hummed. Normally he’d deny it, not cause a fuss, because even if people didn’t know you, they’d still try to take pictures just so they could say ‘I met YoungK.’ But something felt different, maybe it was her kindness, or the Wonpil picture she held between her fingers, or just a feeling, but something was different.

“I am,” he smiled again. He saw her face light up. Contrasting to all the dreary slush, and grey air, her smile and eyes were shining brightly. Her eyes were soft, but still looking at him in awe, and her smile was beautiful, big, and loving. “Would you like a signature?” Younghyun offered.

CP opened her mouth, though nothing audible came out. Instead she nodded, and held out the new album. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had before. Thousands of thoughts, questions, and horrible conversation starters were floundering around her head, but none of them were spoken. 

“Thank you,” she finally said. “Thank you so much. You…your music, your voice, everything is so amazing! You know I wasn’t a huge fan of Kpop, but I listened to you guys, and it was like a whole new sky had opened up for me.” Her voice was filled with amazement, as if she was singing praises, she practically was. CP was thoroughly grateful.

YoungK handed back the album. “Thank you,” his voice was firm. “Thank you for supporting us. Day6 would be nothing without our fans. I would just be a guy with a nice voice. You’ve given us something amazing, more than any of us could comprehend.” His eyes focused on her. “I’m glad that our fans are kind ones like you, and I’m glad I was able to change your heart. Can I call you something?”

CP was still in shock that the Kang Younghyun was talking to her, was complimenting her! “Uh…I’m known as Charlie by my friends…” she mumbled.

“Okay, Charlie, maybe we’ll meet again. Thank you so much!” he began to back away.

CP quickly sprung to action. “Wait!” she called. “Could I…could I get a picture? Is that okay? 

YoungK laughed, “Sure. Really, you’re so considerate, even just asking for a picture.”

Five minutes. It had been five minutes, and her parents pulled up. CP was still going through the scenario in her head over and over again. She had met YoungK.

Just as Younghyun had met Charlie.

@lollipopp3725: FATTHHHH!!!!!! oh gods when you were added to the chat and i found out we couLD YELL ABOUT UTAITE AND HAIKYUU you saw me i was literally having a breakdown i was so happy. so thank you for putting up with all my rants about them! you're so sweet!! i loved the story you wrote, jesus that angst man. you're so nice, and so energetic aND YOUR PUNS ARE TOP QUALITY. good puns, you could call them...aJUN nice. i know you had like a few other people that you heavily biased but here's jun!

Hugs 

Fath was growing a little impatient.

Weeks ago, somehow, miraculously, she had been able to buy a Seventeen album from a store and her parents were not aware of exactly what she had purchased. Fath knew that Seventeen was in Singapore for a tour, but when she opened her album to find a ballot to the fansign, she almost had a heart attack.

Fath knew that having one ballot was nothing, and there was nearly no chance of her getting into the event, but she couldn’t risk buying the album again. Even so, Fath filled out the ballot, because “nearly no chance” was better than no chance at all. Despite that, she still had little faith in the ballot. People would buy ten albums, twenty, or even fifty just to get into the fansign. It was a groundless dream.

So, when Fath received the news that she was accepted into the fansign, she went into shock for a good few minutes before muffling her cries into a pillow. Fath’s heart wouldn’t calm down – she swore it was working harder than when she did physical activity – and she kicked at the air, trying to contain her excitement.

There was only one problem now. Her parents.

They weren’t fans of music to begin with, finding it distracting, especially what they classified as “teenager music.” Kpop was worse. They disregarded anything Kpop, and Fath had remained a closeted fan in the presence of her parents.

The most Fath could do was tell them she was going out with a friend, and hope they wouldn’t question her too much. If they asked why there was a strange bulk in her bag, maybe she could say it was a book and hope they weren’t suspicious. Fath thought herself an okay liar, so she could get by. The fansign shouldn’t take more than an hour after all.

Fath only got a few, “When will you be back” and “Tell us if anything changes” before getting the approval to go out. She texted a friend to tell them about the plan, just in case her parents asked about it later.

The location of the fansign was a little far out, but it would only be a half our train ride, then a short walk. There were only a few delays on the train, which in turn resulted in an extra ten minute ride, but Fath still had around fifteen minutes before the fansign started. The air was crisp, and the sky was especially clear. Fath quickened her pace.

The building was one of the smaller ones on the block, only going up to about three stories high. The e-mail said to go downstairs, and the staff members would help guide you to the fansign location.

Fath luckily only took one wrong turn, and was quickly redirected into the proper room. About a hundred other girls were there, all bustling with excitement. It was loud, and everyone seemed to be talking to everyone. Before Fath could join into any conversation of “who’s your bias,” or “which album do you like best,” a middle-aged man stood at the front to gather everyone’s attention.

“Alright everyone, please listen carefully,” the feedback from the microphone whined, sending out a sound a little too high for humans to comprehend, but low enough just to pierce their eardrums. The man apologized, and proceeded to explain how the fansign would work.

Essentially, after Seventeen answered questions from the post-it notes, everyone would line up under who they had slotted, and they’d have a short time to chat, only about a minute. The members would sign a poster, and you could give gifts. The fansign wasn’t too strict, despite the band being Seventeen.

And that brought Fath to the present, where she was getting impatient. She had the Jun fansign slot, and was currently waiting in line to meet him. She was fine with that; the waiting was fine. What was annoying her was that she had been waiting for nearly forty minutes, and Fath was finally at the front of the line, but the girl in front of her was taking a long time. They were only supposed to have a minute when the fansign part started, but Fath was certain this girl had been clinging to Jun for nearly two minutes now. She was the last person in line, and a lot of the other lines were almost done too.

There was a sudden cry. Fath turned to see a burst of water sailing through the air. A pipe had sprung loose in the building, and the girls near it, as well as Dino were getting sprayed with water.

Chaos ensued. The water was getting more intense, as other breaks in the pipes were slowly forming. Both the fans, staff members, and Seventeen hastily ran away from the scene. After a few moments of ensuring no one was hurt, the middle-aged man stood up again.

“The fansign is now closed. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but this is both the allocated time of closing, and considering the problem, we have to close it down anyways. If you were unable to receive the posters, please pick them up at the front,” he announced.

Most of the girls didn’t mind, they had already met with one of the members. Fath however, did mind. She didn’t care about the posters (well she did but not as much as) she cared about meeting Jun. In the crowd, she couldn’t even see him. Like the other members, he was probably already being escorted away.

Fath felt like screaming, or crying. Either were fine. She thought that maybe, just maybe she’d be able to meet her bias. She’d be able to talk to them. But it was ruined because what? A broken pipe and some insensitive girl who took too long. It was unfair. Fath was the last girl in line to talk to Jun. It was frustrating if anything, but a small part of her said “What do you expect?” All that risk with her parents for nothing.

Most of the girls had already left the room, trying to avoid the growing puddle of water. Fath followed, trudging along, when someone tapped her shoulder.

Truthfully, Fath wasn’t in the mood to talk to someone. She wanted to grab her poster and go, but the voice that spoke certainly wasn’t a fan.

“You are…l…last?” 

The voice was too deep to be a girl’s, and the accent and broken English was all Fath needed to turn around to see who was talking to her.

It was Jun. He turned around to face Vernon, who mouthed him something else. “I am…sorry,” he said robotically. Fath felt like crying again, but for another reason. Jun was talking to her, Jun wanted to speak to her.

“Thank you,” she breathed.

Jun smiled at the recognizable words, “You’re welcome.” He stared a while, seeming to be thinking before opening his mouth again. “You like…something? Hand?” Jun held out his hand low enough to be a handshake, but high enough to go for a high five.

Fath noticed the other members walking out another exit. “Thank you so much! You probably have to go but…can I have a hug?”

“Hug?”

Fath felt awkward, he wasn’t too clear on what a hug was. “You…you know…arms around each other,” she lifted her arms as if pretending to go into the hug. Jun nodded and made a sound before raising his arm and hugging Fath.

It was a good hug. Jun was warm, which made Fath feel warm, and protected too. Jun lingred in the position, staying as they were for just a bit longer. Fath lightly rested her head against him, mumbling another thank you. The idol looked at her and smiled. His smile was cute, beautiful. Fath could’ve melted right then and there.

Jun pulled away, giving Fath one last smile before leaving. Maybe she didn’t officially have her fansign, but who cares because she just got to hug Jun.

@achuu-nice: nomiTH NOM NOOMMOFSNDK! i love you. you are the bestest mom i could think of anD YOU ARE SO SO SWEET!!! MUCH CARE!!! thank you for also suffering through the haikyuu angst fic, come to me and yell when you are done. no but seriously you are so nice and kind and even though i am the hype woman u give me lots of hype. so nice. I HOPE YOU ENJOY JEONGHAN. i loveeee you!!!

I’m sorry, this got out of hand

~A magical world in which nom and hannie can understand each other~

Angel

Nom was always the mother of the group. She was responsible, and always cared for her friends, regardless of whether they were actually younger than her or not. It fit, Nom the mom, Mom, and she truly loved all those dubbed as her children. But other than her name, what was it exactly that attracted people to her mom-ness? As well, would Nom ever know how it feels to be mommed? Truly, such questions were ones that could hardly ever be answered.

It was one fateful day, Nom was innocently listening to Teen, Age as she walked to buy more bird feed. Flower was booming in her earbuds, and when Jeonghan’s voice came on at exactly 2:42, she completely forgot her surroundings.

The bike came out of nowhere. She could hardly hear the bike bell over the sound of the music. She looked up to see the bike speeding towards her, and the person riding it screaming something. 

It happened in an instant. Nom’s vision went fuzzy, and an incessant ringing was going off in her ears. There was a bright light, and then a warm voice.

Nom…

The voice was soft, and Nom could have sworn there was a slight echo to it. The voice was not clear, was she unconscious?

Nom…wake up…

It sounded very familiar…but something was different. If it was really that voice, then there would be an accent, and that was even assuming he could speak English. But this voice…it spoke in perfect English with practically no accent. The white light was still there, and Nom was fairly certain she was still awake.

Open your eyes…child…

Child? Did the voice call her child? When was she ever the child? Nom tried to “open her eyes,” but nothing changed. Her eyes were definitely open, and for whatever reason nothing actually hurt, despite being hit by the bike. Speaking of which, was not there. Where was the bike? Nom looked down, where was the road? She was in some strange white plane, with mist floating around everywhere. 

Nom opened her mouth, seeing if she could at least talk, “My…my eyes are open. Maybe you could turn down the brightness?” Her suggestion was earnest. A soft Oh could be heard and slowly the bright light disappeared, leaving what Nom could only describe as an angel.

He had beautiful feathers, they were sleek but still fluffy that were folded to covered his body. Some of them protruded from the main structure of the wings, and others had fallen to his feet. The wings encircled his body, and a halo of light rested lightly above his long, light brown hair.

With a flurry of feathers, the angel unfurled his wings to reveal his full body. The hair was pulled into a loose braid that ended just past his shoulders. His skin was smooth, so perfect that Nom was nearly convinced what she was seeing was an actual angel. He was clad in a loose white button-up shirt, with the last two buttons not done up, and fitted black jeans. He wore white running shoes of a brand that Nom didn’t recognize, and a silver bracelet.

“Jeonghan?” Nom said hesitantly.

‘Jeonghan’ smiled at her, “So you know my name, I’m glad.” His smile seemed to literally glow.

Gathering her thoughts and courage, Nom began to ask her questions, “Are you really him? There’s no way, right? Hannie speaks Korean, he lives in Korea, in fact, if you are him you should be in Korea now.” 

“Well…I suppose I am him? But not at the same time, it can be complicated. Simply put, think of me as like an astral projection of your Jeonghan, though you aren’t physically meeting, this plane and circumstance has allowed our minds to connect. Should you ever meet for real, both of you would remember this meeting and each other,” the angel Jeonghan replied.

Nom cocked her head to the side, “Circumstance? Oh…Oh yeah! Wasn’t I like, hit by a bike? Am I unconscious? Aren’t you just a figment of my imagination?” Though, if he was, Nom gave her imagination a large pat on the back, because Angel Jeonghan was masterfully thought up.

A bittersweet expression crossed Jeonghan’s face, “I’m sure you’re wondering about the wings.”

“I am.” 

“Well…like I said, this plane that is invisible to normal humans is what is allowing us to meet. The wings and halo are uh…part of the job I suppose,” Jeonghan started. “Do you believe in guardian angels, Nom?”

Nom thought, “I suppose they’d be nice, but I don’t really pray to my guardian angel or anything like that." 

“Well, I’m your guardian angel!” Jeonghan exclaimed. He seemed very excited, and his wings flapped, emulating his emotions. A few feathers around his feet flew up from the sudden wind.

Nom could only stare, gaping. A small laugh escaped her, though she quickly apologized.

“I suppose that’s hard to believe, after all, there are many other instances in which I could have saved you,” Jeonghan reached out to ruffle her hair. “The truth is, certain qualifications have to be met, if everyone was being saved by their guardian angel, the world would be thrown off balance, would it not?”

“Sorry, I’m still trying to wrap my head around that fact that Jeonghan is my guardian angel. I mean…I suppose him being an angel isn’t that far off but…my angel?” Nom felt truly blessed, and if this was her imagination, it was both the best and cruelest scenario it could think up.

“I really am! And you…you far exceed the qualifications needed. I’m actually the guardian angel for many people, I represent…well aside from all the major religious stuff, generally caring about others, and being a good person,” Jeonghan finished. Nom could believe that. Jeonghan was certainly caring, and he loved his members a lot. He enjoyed helping them and listening to their problems.

“So I had to be…a good mom?” Nom asked.

Jeonghan laughed, maybe it was the whole angelic thing, but it truly sounded like a bell. “You could call it that. Nom you are more than kind. You care so much for your friends, and take the time to talk to them.”

“Wait you can see the stuff I do!?” Nom’s voice was anxious.

Jeonghan grinned, “Only the stuff relevant to the whole angel thing.” Nom let out a sigh of relief. “You’re sweet, and are so nice to your friends, and try to stay mature when needed. And speaking from Jeonghan the Kpop Star, you’re a wonderful fan! You appreciate the members, and respect other fans. Truly, it’s your acts of kindness and being so sweet that allowed me to help you!”

“Oh! So you brought me to this plane because…I wouldn’t be hurt by the bike?” 

“Exactly!” Jeonghan reached out to pat her on the head. “Would you like a hug? I’m very good at hugging people.”

Nom nodded, and leaned into the angel. It was warm, and a loose feather tickled her nose. Jeonghan hummed happily. “I think our time is up. I’ll do my best to watch over you, as your angel.”

@maetaamong: oghetjdfkv kiki i actually love you so much there aren't any words. gahh you picked me up at swim and was the one that allowed me to meet everyone here, and for that i am so grateful. you're so fun to be around and you cARE so much and i love you for that. thank you for putting up with my idiocy, and thank you for teaching me all~~ about kpop. i'll work hard!! i believe in your situations and i really love you sososo much !!! FIGHTING!!!

Urs are the only universe in which you personally know the idol bc u are a spoiled brat love u also somehow u can understand each other??? You probably learned Korean or smt. U like…can choose if ya in a relationship or just friends idc man there’s no kissy kissy so . also u are older

Loud

“Kiki! Look! Look at this one!” The tall boy happily bounced towards the blonde, with a book in hand. The cover was two shades of blue, and obnoxious text that looked like it was an early 2007 meme. The title was Does God Ever Speak Through Cats? and Minhyuk seemed very excited about this question.

“I know it sounds stupid, but! He brings up some really good points? Don’t you think Bay acts strangely sometimes? It has to be the work of God!” he declared, which earned a few nasty stares from other patrons.

Kiki sighed and apologized to the startled customers, “Min, you do realize we are at a public library, and you’re being very loud?”

Minhyuk’s face fell, and he pouted innocently, “Sorry…should we go somewhere else?” His voice sounded remorseful, and even though he was taller than Kiki, she resisted the urge to pat him on the head. She could practically see the dog ears flapping over in guilt.

“It’s fine, you just have to be quiet. I just want to find a good book,” Kiki said softly.

“Okay, sorry, I know how much you like to read. Whatever you buy, I’ll pay,” he offered.

Kiki turned to him, with an incredulous look on her face, “Min, this is the public library. I have a library card, there’s no need for you to pay.”

Minhyuk, slightly annoyed by this fact, just mumbled in response and went back to browse the shelves for another strange book. He wasn’t a huge fan of reading, finding that he definitely didn’t have enough patience for it, and that reading words off a page simply weren’t exciting enough for him 

Though, the boy’s moodiness disappeared almost completely when he wordlessly handed Kiki another book. Teach Your Wife to be a Widow was a rather old looking book.

Kiki couldn’t hold back her laughter, “Is…is this supposed to be romantic or threatening? Calling me your wife…that’s sweet but this certainly isn’t how I thought it would go.”

Minhyuk giggled in response, “It’s both!” Another “shhh” was directed at him, to which he hastily apologized and trailed after Kiki, who disappeared into the ‘Fantasy’ section. She skimmed through the books, thumbing the spines of the ones that interested her from purely the title and art.

She had read a few of them, some didn’t catch her interest, while others had storylines far too similar to books already done. A book caught her eye. It had a bright blue cover, with the words Shatter Me written in blue and white font. Kiki pulled it out of the shelf. The cover had an eye on it. That was a good sign. Books with eyes on them usually had some cool theme going on. A quick skim of the summery told her that it was indeed a dystopian novel – her favourite genre – and that people had powers.

“What’s that? You gonna get it?” Minhyuk appeared out of nowhere. Kiki decided not to mention that even without him literally shouting out a stupid statement, his voice was still loud.

“Might,” she replied. Minhyuk sighed loudly, and finally one of the workers came up to him and asked him politely to “shut up or get out.” Minhyuk placed a hand over his mouth and actually kept this there as Kiki signed out the book. The pair could’ve sworn that people breathed a sigh of relief as they left the library.

As soon as they stepped out Minhyuk’s loud voice returned, “When we get to your room, I can be as loud as I want, right?”

“Of course,” Kiki laughed. Her apartment was a few blocks away from the library, both of which were on a beautiful promenade. They arrived at her apartment, which was a simple red brick building with white highlights around the windows, and a black roof. They climbed up three flights of stairs and walked to her room. 

Kiki set down her keys and took off her shoes. “Want anything to drink?”

Minhyuk didn’t skip a beat, “Green tea please. I’ll put on the water.” He filled up the kettle with water and waited for it to heat up. Kiki decided to drink some too, and took out a tea pot. 

“Are we really gonna read? On my precious day off?” Minhyuk whined. Kiki wanted to say that it was him just poking fun at her, but she knew very well that he wasn’t too excited.

“Only a bit, then we can do something more interesting. Maybe you’ll like the story.”

“Unlikely.”

“Aww c’mon it won’t be that bad. Just the first few pages. Really, thank you for spending your ‘precious day off’ with me– geez that expression, you’re so cute. I promise reading isn’t the only thing we’ll do.”

Minhyuk couldn’t hold back a smile, “Thanks for letting me spend it with you. You’re nice, and fun, and caring. But I wish you would stop calling me cute. I’m not cute!”

Kiki stared at his flustered face, “I beg to differ.” The kettle began to whistle and they each poured themselves a cup of tea.

They spent the first twenty pages just sitting next to each other on Kiki’s bed. “You’re going too fast,” Minhyuk would say. Kiki would wait after finishing a page for Minhyuk to nod. After a while Minhyuk started to complain about how the position hurt his neck, and his posture was bad.

“Well, how should we sit?” Kiki asked. Minhyuk had a devilish grin on his face, and grabbed Kiki by her waist. She shrieked from the sudden contact, and Minhyuk pulled her into him. He bended his legs and Kiki was now sitting in front of him, between his legs. Minhyuk’s back was warm, and his arms were unconsciously-consciously wrapped around the girl.

“Won’t this hurt your neck more?”

“I’m taller than you so it’s fine.” Kiki decided to let him do what he wanted.

Another few minutes passed before Minhyuk spoke up again, “This girl is stupid.”

“Annoying,” Kiki agreed. “And this guy they’ve brought in…he’s just supposed to be the guard. I mean it’s kind of cute?”

“He’s too moody, too stiff,” Minhyuk said into Kiki’s ear. “He should be more like me." 

“Well they are in a prison,” Kiki pointed out. Minhyuk only clicked his tongue in response. Bored, he reached over to turn on her fairy lights.

Another thirty pages passed, and the love triangle of the story finally started to show up. Though the second contestant seemed a lot less desirable. “You know…” Minhyuk said for the first time in a while. “Even though we’re reading, it’s kind of fun I guess.”

“See, I knew you’d like it!" 

“No, it’s not the book. The book kinda sucks.” Kiki’s face slightly fell, but she had to agree. “Your presence is nice. It’s calming. We could be doing anything and I think I’d still like it,” Minhyuk mumbled. Kiki noticed his cheeks flushing and his head was turned away. 

Minhyuk finally met Kiki’s eye, “Cuz it’s you.”

Cuddle

Kiki was lonely. Cuddle-horny as she called it. Desperate for some attention, she relayed this feeling to her group chat, though they responded predictably.

GO AWAY KIEr

YOU'VE HAD MORE BOYFRIENDS THAN I WILL IN MY ENTIRE LIFE

awww kiki if I could id comfort youuuuu

S I N G L E C L U B

Sighing, her hand hovered over another contact, but Kiki quickly dismissed the idea. Hoon would be busy with his work. She couldn’t trouble him just because she wanted a good hug. Letting out a long sigh, Kiki threw herself against her bed.

Ten minutes went by, to the girl, ten long minutes of no human comfort. Damn French Guy. Her phone buzzed, a part of her thought it was the group chat, lamenting over their forever-single state but the name ‘Hoon’ was on the notification.

Want to come over? Got the afternoon off bc yoon got sick and now we can’t focus on learning the new song.

Kiki didn’t waste a second replying, throwing on a jacket, and booting it to Hoon’s house. She arrived soon enough and was greeted by an enthusiastic Haute. Kiki gladly gave him all the belly rubs, and Hoon soon appeared. He wore a loose white shirt with a random logo on it, and black sweatpants.

“Glad you could make it,” he walked closer to pick up Haute.

“Me too,” Kiki mumbled under her breath. “Got…any plans?”

Hoon scratched the back of his neck, “Ah not really. I was just thinking we could hang out, catch up. I’ve been busy, we haven’t seen each other in a while.”

Kiki grinned, “That’s perfectly fine.” She could use the conversation, the human contact. “Can we just sit on the couch or something?”

Hoon grabbed some drinks and Kiki sat on the couch, putting the TV to a random channel that they wouldn’t watch anyways. Hoon sat next to her.

“Is Yoon okay? What happened?” Kiki asked.

Hoon took a sip of his drink before answering. “He got laryngitis. We tried to go over the music, but he really wasn’t feeling well so he went home for the rest of the day. We got let off too because none of us could focus.”

“Is he resting here?”

“Nope, I meant home, home. He’s with his parents. They got pretty worried and asked if he could come home for a bit. I think they also didn’t want me to catch it too,” Hoon replied.

Kiki nodded, “That makes sense. It would be super unfortunate if you both got it.”

The two found themselves inching closer until Kiki was leaning into Hoon’s broad chest, and Hoon had nearly all of his limbs wrapped around her. Kiki found that they were breathing in sync and even though no words were said, it was still so engaging.

They conversed through contact, and a few hums here and there. Hoon was warm, and his hold on Kiki was tight. Kiki buried her face into the crook of his neck, feeling as if she could fall asleep. Haute came to join them, wedging into a space between their stomachs.

Cuddling with Hoon really felt nice, his limbs, while lanky, were perfect for wrapping around Kiki. He was considerate if something felt uncomfortable, and every so often they’d whisper about something, and he’d laugh. His laugh lit up his entire face, and his smile was permanently stuck. It was a quiet laugh, but somehow his entire body would jerk with every little sound.

Hoon felt the same way, because Kiki became really happy when they cuddled. She’d snuggle close and trace little patterns on the nearest available surface. In all of her beauty she seemed so at peace, and so graceful just in his arms like this. 

“Thank you.”  

@red-dyed-sarumane: A K IR E SENPAI! im sorry if this is sudden, but! i couldn't leave you out, and i definitely didn't live vicariously through your story and that ISNT the reason why it's the longest nope haahhaahhhaha. really, thank you for putting up with me and my rants or whatever, and letting me talk to you a ton! i'm glad i was also able to meet so many new utaites. ageyuki hell here i comeeee. you're so kind and explain lots of things in detail which i appreciate. i hope we're able to talk even more in the new year! thank you so much. 

If u don't understand some of the jap (tho u are vv smort so I bet u will) or if I made mistakes (bc I definitely did fuCK particles man) pls tell me. Also I used ur mom sorrrryyyyy. AGAIN I HAD NO IDEA WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THIS JUST RELISH IN THE FACT THAT U SAW MAFFU

Concert 

It was agreed upon the international Utaite fans that they suffered. Just barely grasping onto the blessed, but few, translators of their twitters, videos, and songs. Paying more for shipping than the actual product, and looking desperately into screens, unable to see their true face. Concerts were a dream, because going to Japan at the right time, and even buying a ticket would be difficult. Few people had the money, time, or permission to do it. Livestreams were almost never when they were awake, and even if they were, it’s not like there were subs to explain anything.

The salvation were the compilations the singers did of their concerts, with blurred out faces and some clips of them singing on stage as the audience held out their light sticks. Many tried to learn at least a little bit of Japanese, but they talked quite fast, and a few (*coughs* mafu) didn’t annunciate properly.

They were fighters really, being a fan for a long time, willing to burn holes through their pocket just to get an album, and loving the Utaites, even if they didn’t understand most of what was going on.

“You don’t know what they’re saying!”

“You’ve never seen their face!”

The fans heard those kinds of phrases far too often. It irked them, because music was so much more than the words, and pretty faces didn’t mean you couldn’t appreciate their abilities.

Akire was one such fan. She was smart, and worked hard to understand even a little bit of what the Utaite’s were saying. And, if there was anything worse than being a fan of an Utaite, it was being a fan of multiple Utaite. It was album after album being released, and live and live happening, and all the international fans could do was watch and wish.

It was one fateful day, when her mother, and told Akire the news.

“Well, it’s been a while since we’ve traveled, and I’ve been wanting to see the cherry blossoms in bloom for a while now!” she said through the phone. “So, we’re going to Japan! You like those Jpop guys, right?” Akire resisted the urge to correct her. “If there’s any concerts that are cheap, why not try to get tickets?”

Akire thought her heart would stop right there. They were going to Japan. She’d be surrounded by the culture of which so many things she treasured came from. Her mom would let her go to a concert. SHE COULD GO TO A CONCERT. Akire hastily opened Twitter and checked for any news of a concert over the spring break.

Yukimi and @gain were still relatively new and low key, so there was no word of a concert from them. Sou was working on an album, though no lives were being planned during the time. XYZ was having concerts, but they were just after Akire would be in Japan.

Akire would feel so unfulfilled if she didn’t go to a single Utaite concert when she had the opportunity. She scrolled mindlessly through Twitter, hoping that maybe someone would be hosting something she could attend.

A notification popped up. Akire clicked on it, half expecting the stupid ‘in case you missed it’ thing that Twitter did. It was from Mafumafu, and Akire didn’t even have to open the tweet fully to see the mass of exclamation marks.

It only took a quick skim to realize that Mafumafu was hosting a live. Akire quickly opened up the picture to check the dates. The 2nd of March, and the 7th, 12th, and 15th.

Fumbling to open her phone, Akire quickly texted her mother, When do we get to Japan?

Six painful minutes went by before her phone buzzed. She checked it the instant the screen lit up. Night of the 12th.

Akire checked the information again, she could make the last show! Crap, when did the tickets go on sale. She combed through the characters of Mafu’s tweet, trying to pick out the relevant ones, though there were still some she didn’t know. A quick Google Translate confirmed that tickets indeed went on sale at 8 o’clock a.m. Japan time. Which was, with the help of Google once again, in twelve minutes.  

Practically throwing her laptop across her room, Akire went to fetch her wallet which was left in a coat pocket. She sent a text explaining the tickets to her mom, and hopped she could read through the typos.

Dashing back upstairs, Akire clicked on the link provided. It took her to a website in complete Japanese. Akire just barely navigated through it, and occasionally had to look up various details, because business kanji was definitely not her forte. She was old enough to go alone (and she hopped her parents agreed with her because she was going to this live) and the tickets were at a mere 4500¥, which was around $40 US.

Praying to the Wifi Gods, Akire paid as fast as she could, she didn't even have time to check where the seats were, other information could be researched later. All that mattered was getting the tickets before they sold out or something.

And then Akire breathed, because she was going to see Mafumafu live.

~~~

In the previous month Akire had practiced Japanese much more intensely. Though the show would likely consist of mostly music, he would still MC a lot, and she wanted to understand as much as possible.

The venue wasn’t the biggest (it seemed they saved big venues for AtR concerts) but it still held around 2,000 seats and from what Akire could see, it was full. Her seat was relatively close to the stage, maybe six or so rows back.

Akire was excited; seeing Mafumafu live, she would see his face! The entire experience seemed surreal, and her appearance stood out a lot compared to the other fans. But her appearance didn’t matter when the lights went down and vibrant music started to play. Akire knew this song like the back of her hand, of course he’d sing すーぱーぬこになりたいfirst.

Some of the people had actually memorized his little spiel at the beginning, and said it to speed, which Akire found very impressive. Some artists sounded strange live, because their voice in a microphone was different compared to a studio, with mixing done. Though Mafumafu certainly couldn’t replicate any of the heavily engineered parts of his songs, somehow his voice sounded better live. It was clear, and there was raw emotion within his voice. The high notes were so much more intense, and just seeing the music come out of his mouth was amazing. 

He wore white cat ears, but simple black jeans and a loose sweater. After the song ended, Mafu quickly introduced himself, “はあいまふまふですー！じゃみんなさん！楽しみにして？” The crowd cheered in response. “みんなさんも歌ってよ！僕が嬉しいになって！”

ドラマツルギー began to play, and Mafu said something a little too fast for Akire to pick up. She got the feeling it was something about “wanting to sing this song, but never recorded it.”

The night felt like a blur, the light sticks that bounced in front of her, with the stage lights going crazy especially during 罰ゲーム and ゴーストルール. The show was only two hours, but it felt like a long, blissful eternity. The music that always remained through the screen, orin her ears was finally live. It was finally there.

Akire could see his face, his full face. Even with all the live-action videos, or the strange DVD’s he released, seeing him like this felt it was the definite proof that Mafumafu wasn’t just some singer on the internet. He was real, and he was talented. His voice shook the theatre, even when covering the softer songs on an acoustic guitar, like いかないで or 水彩銀河のクロニクル somehow his voice just enveloped the theatre.

It felt like a dream. Mafu bounced around the stage, and answered a few questions from Twitter. Akire could make out most of the details.

“What inspired you to start singing?”

“At the time, there were just so many talented people online. They were singing and people really liked them. Soraru-san and many others were uploading at the time, and I enjoyed music. I guess I wanted to be a part of that.”

“What time do you wake up in the morning?”

“Well it depends, sometimes it's a good time like 8:00, but sometimes it’s super early like 6:00 – I THINK 6:00 IS EARLY, YOU GUYS ARE WEIRD – or sometimes it’s late like 12:00.”

“Where do you live?”

“Within my dreams.”

“What do you think about love?” 

“This question is kind of deep…don’t you think? I mean, there’s familial love, and I love my family a lot. To think they’d support me having this kind of job, it’s really amazing. And I love my friends, Amatsuki-kun, and Soraru-san, and Luz-kun, Urata-san, and Sakatan too. They’re precious. Of course, I love you guys as well! There would be no Mafumafu without you guys. Thank you so much for being here, for liking my voice and music enough to see me live! Please continue to support me!”

A staff member off to the side laughed, and encouraged the audience to ask about romantic love. Akire joined in the chant of “恋！教えて！恋！” in which Mafu only replied with a finger over his lips and cuing the next song.

Mafumafu ran through a few more songs before announcing the next one would be the final one. The music to ねこがまるくなったcame on, and it was undoubtedly the most energetic performance of the night. Mafumafu starting and ending with a cat song, how classic. Akire sang along, knowing every word, maybe not hitting every note perfectly but still doing her best.

The confetti at the end showered the audience, and Akire found that she was smack in the center of its trajectory. Accepting that she’d be pulling pieces of paper out of her hair later on, she cheered as Mafumafu thanked everyone for coming, and exited the stage. Akire thought she was dreaming, that this was something her mind had made up because she so desperately wanted to see this singer in real life. Though, the free pin that she was given on the way out, signed by Mafumafu himself, seemed to solidify the experience.

She had seen Mafumafu live.

alllright~~ this motherload of a post is FINALLY done i should've worked on school projects during this time but fuck that who carES (i care) 

honestly, thank you guys so much! i cant believe that I was able to meet all of you, it's really been a ride. i hope you found the story/stories amusing!! i'm sorry for any typos, incorrect facts or anything seemingly out of character(?? u guys arent characters) but hopefully no hard feeling are taken. 

I hope next year will be even better!

with love,

L 

P.S. honestly fuck you guys i cant believe i actually wrote all of this

[marrishzone]

Series: Cross My Heart

Chapter: Intro

Words: 1576

Tag notifications: @machinasolidaria and @buttheadjakeperalta - the other 2 finished installments will be automatically posting later. (sorry if this series sucks lol I’m so out of practice and couldn’t figure out if it needed to be fixed)

Natalie Martin didn’t make a habit of dropping by unannounced, so when Lydia found her mother waiting for her arrival she knew it must have been important. Lydia didn’t say a word. She just sat on the couch parallel to the one her mother sat on. Lydia didn’t want to be the one to speak first. She’d rather have context to rely on.

“What are you doing?” Natalie finally sighed. “I can’t even begin to understand what’s going on with you.”

“Thanks mom,” Lydia crossed her arms. “Look, I think I know why you’re here. You don’t see me enough.”

“No, honey.” Natalie’s lips curved up into a small smile. “I mean yes, but no. That’s not why I’m here.” She hoped Lydia would chime in, but she never did. “Do you remember that trip we took a couple years back? Your father had business in Hawaii, so we turned it into a family vacation.”

“Of course,” Lydia grinned thinking of the perfect weather and countless hours on the beach. “That was my favorite trip. I mean, it was just the two of us most of the time but it was fun.”

“And do you remember the deal you made with your father while we were there?”

“Oh, I… Um…” Lydia cleared her throat. “Mom, what are you getting at?”

Lydia knew what was happening, but she had to hear the words herself.

“Your dad wanted you to go to law school and join the family firm. You refused, so you promised if you weren’t successful in whatever career you chose for yourself in the next five years, you’d settle down. Get married. Have a family of your own in order to gain access to your trust.”

“Mom?” Her eyes widened. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure the words would help her come to terms with what was going on.

“Sweetie,” Natalie sighed. “Your dad says that your time is up. How’s your relationship with Tommy going?”

Lydia didn’t respond. They both knew the answer to that. Tommy and Lydia never planned on having a serious relationship. They were just having fun until they got tired of being together. As of two weeks prior, Lydia was tired of Tommy.

“I’m sorry, Lydia. I tried to change his mind, but he won’t budge.” Natalie glanced down at her hands for a couple of seconds before sitting next to her daughter. 

“Your dad wants you to set the date of your wedding. But seeing as how you don’t have a boyfriend and are therefore nowhere close to being engaged, I think his next idea is going to be an arranged marriage.”

“Mom…” The shock still hadn’t settled. Lydia’s mind was racing. The few times she imagined herself getting married, she never imagined an arranged marriage. If she was going to sacrifice her life as she knew it, she wanted it to be out of love, not duty.

“Oh, sweetie. I know this is hard.” Natalie gently rested her hand atop her daughter’s. “But you’re 25 years old now. It’s time to think about settling down like you promised. You know your father. He doesn’t want to be your financial crutch for the rest of his life.”

“I refuse to marry some guy I don’t know!”

“I know. Find a loophole, sweetheart. Or make a new deal.”

With that, Natalie hugged Lydia and let herself out. Lydia knew her father well enough to know that he wouldn’t agree to a new deal. She had to find a way out of her predicament. There was no way she would pass up her trust fund. Her only option was to trick her father into thinking she was in a serious relationship. Surely they didn’t actually have to go through with the wedding. It would be easy to get out of it. Lydia finally breathed. It was a solid plan, but she still needed someone to agree to play along with her. Luckily, she knew just the guy she should ask.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Kyle! Sorry I’m late.” Lydia’s hair swayed as she took her seat in the booth he’d reserved for them at their favorite pizzeria. She was only five minutes late, but Lydia was always the type of person who valued punctuality. She sipped her strawberry soda already on the table.

“It’s alright.” Kyle grinned. “What’s up? Your message sounded urgent.”

“It is!” Lydia paused, considering the typical definition of ‘urgent’ and realized this might not qualify. “Kind of. It’s my dad.”

“Ah, now I see.” Kyle buried his head in his hands. Lydia’s relationship with her father was rather strained. They had never quite seen eye to eye. “What did he do now?”

“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend!” She forced the words out before she could even think about alternative methods to asking this favor.

“What?” He crossed his arms tightly. His smile was fading. “Why?”

“My inheritance. Long story.”

“Lydia…” Kyle didn’t know what to say, but he knew he couldn’t help her. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Kyle?”

“You know how I feel about you!” Kyle whisper-shouted, careful not to be too loud in the middle of the restaurant. He cleared his throat, quickly glancing around at the tables surrounding theirs. “I can’t do it. I’ve finally accepted that we’re never going to be anything more than friends. But now you want me to pretend that’s not the case? I won’t.”

Without another word, Kyle got up and left. Lydia didn’t try to stop him, though she wanted to. She would have apologized, promised not to ask another favor like this one again. The reality of it, however, was that she knew it wouldn’t do any good. He wouldn’t believe Lydia meant it. She never realized his feelings for her could run so deep. The one thing she regretted was letting it get so far out of control. She felt horrible, especially having forgotten about his crush on her in the first place.

“Excuse me?” An unfamiliar voice called from next to her. Lydia looked up at him. He wore a blue t-shirt, black jeans, and a black leather jacket. His green eyes fixed onto Lydia’s. “May I?” His hand gestured to the seat Kyle had just been sitting in.

“Uh, sure.” Lydia nodded, uncertain of what to expect. “Go for it.”

“Thanks.” The man smiled as he sat right across from Lydia. “I’m Jordan. Jordan Parrish.”

“Lydia.” She paused. She was suspicious of him, but he seemed harmless enough. What could possibly go wrong? “Martin.”

“Listen, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation.”

He stopped talking as Lydia’s usual server placed a large pizza on their table. Half cheese, half pepperoni. Lydia never had to place her order anymore. She and Kyle always got the same thing whenever they visited Donatello’s.

“Thanks Maria,” Lydia beamed.

“Yeah,” Maria nodded, looking between Lydia and Jordan with an eyebrow raised. She was positive she saw a spark between the two. “Enjoy.”

She winked before slipping away. Jordan didn’t seem to notice, but Lydia did.

“Please, continue.” Lydia prompted, attempting not to laugh at Maria’s assumption.

“Okay um…” Jordan hesitated. Suddenly it felt like a terrible idea. He was regretting ever having decided to go through with approaching Lydia. “I think um… I think I can help you out. Pretend to be your boyfriend. Whatever you wanted your friend to do, I’m your guy.”

“What do you want, Jordan?” Lydia narrowed her eyes. “A cut of the money, perhaps?”

“What? No.” He absentmindedly began brushing his hand along the length of his arm.

“You don’t know me. I don’t know you either, but I’m pretty sure you’re not doing this solely out of the goodness of your heart.” Lydia examined his perfect face, crossing her arms. “What’s in it for you?”

“Honestly?” Jordan waited for Lydia’s nod. “I just got out of a relationship that ended badly. It’s been a few weeks and I could use a change of pace. If helping you out of a jam can also help me out of mine, why not give it a shot?”

“So we help each other? A mutually beneficial arrangement.” Lydia bit her lip. This seemed like one of those things they would warn you about in the movies, but Lydia had never turned her back on a crazy adventure. She wasn’t about to start now. “Okay. If we’re going to do this, we’ll need to have our stories straight.”

Lydia pulled a cheese slice from the pie and waited for Jordan to do the same. He chose pepperoni. They ate in silence. For the first time all night, Lydia finally felt like her scheme was under control. All she needed was a fake boyfriend, right? Nothing could possibly go wrong.

“Tomorrow.” Lydia expected him to know what she was referring to. He didn’t. “Tomorrow I prep you.”

She could only hope that nothing would go wrong, because next week would have to be the best performance of their lives if Lydia would have any chance at keeping her inheritance.

“Oh, and Jordan?” She hesitated. “Promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Just…” She bit down on her bottom lip. Lydia knew it would sound kind of silly, but she needed his assurance that this scheme wouldn’t get out of control. “Swear to me right now that you won’t fall in love with me.”

He was confused, but nodded in agreement anyway.

“Promise me.”

“Yeah, of course.” Jordan grinned. “Cross my heart.”

[boisentertainment]

Dark Lane Demo Tapes HD Review

Cover Art To “Dark Lane Demo Tapes”

“I’m losing enough sleep

dealing with envy and the news that they send for me 

got the block in a frenzy”

–Deep Pockets

Drake starts off Dark Lane Demo Tapes doing what he does best, effortlessly floating on the intro “Deep Pockets“, another collaboration accompanied by producer Noah “40” Shebib. Self-reflecting and reminiscing on adolescent aspirations before the transition of becoming one of the greatest artists of all time.

Drake breaking the record for Most Wins in one night at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards

Drake has been navigating through uncharted territory flawlessly. Proving this point yet again with his release of “Toosie Slide”. Drake’s 3rd single to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart making him the first male in history to achieve this milestone.

“500 mill and I’ll fall back in the six, 

finally give you n**** the space you need to exist”

-When To Say When

*Talk To em Drizzy* 

Drake follows up with two pre-released tracks, “When To Say When” & “Chicago Freestyle”. Jam packed with bars, a sample from “Song Cry” by Jay-Z (one of my all time favorite Hov songs) on “When To Say When”, and a nostalgic Eminem cadence reference on “Chicago Freestyle”.

You really love to see Drizzy remind everyone on “When To Say When” that his pen still outmatches all who oppose. Re-asserting his dominance as if it was ever in question. Subtle reminders like the bars above are what keep Drake and his competition completely separated. 

“Two-thirty, baby, won’t you meet me by The Bean?

Too early, maybe later you can show me things

You know what it is whenever I visit

Windy city, she blowin’ me kisses, no

Thirty degrees, way too cold, so hold me tight

Will I see you at the show tonight?”

Will I see you at the show tonight?”

-Chicago Freestyle

Giveon, a California native sings of the windy city as Drake gets ready to paint a picture of a night through his perception. From scrolling through his contacts of women’s names that are seemingly categorized by area code, to eventually just letting his boi Chubbs pick a girl out for him as if picking up women is as easy as shopping! Drake brilliantly segways into a memory that you forgot you had by referencing a cadence used in Eminem’s “Superman” released in 2002.

Eminem and Drake. Picture: Instagram

Don’t be fooled by the feature credit of Chris Brown….we didn’t get another “No Guidance” summer anthem….

Just a few background vocals from the R&B legend were enough to get his name on the project tracklist. Meanwhile Burna Boy is still waiting for his credits since More Life but that’s a conversation for another day. “Not You Too” Featuring Chris Brown is the first song on the project that I really don’t care for. It’s disappointing when you see a Drake and Chris Brown collaboration and it doesn’t slap..

What A Time To Be Alive is in my Top 3 favorite duo albums of all time. Whenever I see a Drake and Future collab I automatically get excited. Previously leaked, “Desires” is everything you want in a slower more laid back vibe from these two. The hook is addicting. Future’s verse is versatile with flows. His energy matches perfectly and his lyrics have SUBSTANCE. Listen to it carefully.

Photo From Future Featuring Drake “Life Is Good”

Drake has this ability to be able to sing 90% of the song, take the other 10%, completely spazz, and musically still have it make sense. These are the moments in songs like “Desires” and “Redemption” that turn slow R&B type vibe songs into a completely different entity within itself. Now all of a sudden you’re turning up and talking your sh*t instead of staring at the ceiling crying yourself to sleep. 

When I hear “Time Flies” I automatically think of Tik Tok. I don’t know why but if it blows up on Tik Tok you heard it here first! Honestly for me this, is another skip it and forget it type of song, I really hope it doesn’t go viral.

The first forty-five seconds is the only part of the song that kept my attention. Otherwise the rest is forgettable or just too similar to music that he’s already done thus not really elevating his ability here. During a full listen to the song I’m 100% paying attention during the first forty-five seconds. After that my attention doesn’t come back until he starts saying “Im Sorry”.

Don’t worry Drizzy I forgive you. 

“If he talkin’ out his head, then it’s off with it, yeah

Boardin’ Air Drake, then we takin’ off in it, yeah”

-Landed

Luckily, “Time Flies” is followed by a HEATER. Three hooks and three verses of aggressive, yet relaxed, reckless bars knowing there isn’t a consequence for you when you’re at the top. “Landed” is a slick talk, mean face, making breakfast with the speaker on 10 with the neighbors calling the cops while you’re trying to get hype for the day joint.

I wanna stop writing this review, get in my car, windows down, put this song on max volume and mean mug old people walking their dog in the suburbs for the rest of the day.

At first listen I was super excited about “D4L”. The production from Southside is out of this world. I do feel like it’s lacking a certain element. It’s easy to fall in love with a song featuring Drake, Future, and Young Thug, with this type of production. To me it just doesn’t sound organic. It sounds like it was thrown together rather than collectively created.

Honestly, I wish Drake and Future left Young Thug out of it, sat down together and created a dope record. Kind of wasted a great instrumental. 

To be blunt, I’m just not impressed with “Pain 1993”. It could be the fact that I’m not the biggest Playboi Carti fan, or it could be just because the song’s just not that interesting. I’ve replayed “Pain 1993” numerous times searching for something with depth or meaning because that, accompanied with creative cadences and complex bars, is the reason why I love Drake’s music. This didn’t do it for me. 

The intro to “Losses” is amazing. The song starts with a clip of Drake’s father Dennis Graham previewing a song Dennis had been working on recently. It ends with Dennis saying something like, “This songs about family, if anyone feel anyway about it I don’t give a f***”, classic.

It’s funny how you can listen to any Drake project and stumble upon a song that you personally aren’t really feeling. The next song is the exact song you’re looking for. Self-reflection is my favorite type of Drake song because the untouchable becomes relatable and humbled.

The second verse of “Losses” touches on Drake’s motivation on why he does what he does, “I do it for the Grahams not the Gram”. Then goes into depth about his sacrifices and choices that he’s made over the years and defends his reasoning behind them. 

“I did it by being myself with no dramatic acting

I couldn’t sit around and wait, I had to have it happen

Lost you to the game, I gotta face that

Really think I lost you like a ways back”

-Losses

Drakes starts off “From Florida With Love” paying homage to the late Static Major who was well known for his appearance on Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop”. Otherwise the song is a dope story about Wayne showing Drake “Lollipop” back in 2008 on a tour bus with Kobe Bryant. (RIP) Then the story continues with Drake getting robbed for his chain and how that lesson stuck with him for life. Further justifying his reasoning for his mentality and how he handles certain situations. 

“From that day I never touched the road without a (Plugg)

Ayy, from that day I never saw the point in talkin’ tough (Nah)

Hasn’t happened since, I guess you n***** know what’s up (Yup)

Yeah, haven’t seen the 6ix in like a month (6ix)

F*** that, I’m back, baby, where the love? (Love)”

– From Florida With Love

“VIRAL. MOVIE.”

Love to see Drake on some, what I define as, “murder music”. Type of music that just makes you wanna fight anybody, anytime… Drake absolutely BODIES the first verse but it’s a mere alley oop to Fivio Foriegn.

Fivio Foriegn sounds like he’s right at home on this one. His delivery is in your face, lyrics are gritty, his aggression is on another level. My only take back is Sosa Geek’s verse just feels, unnecessary. Or maybe I just really wish Pop Smoke was alive to clean this one up RIP. 

The final song on the project “War” was released around Christmas time 2019. The best part of this being the outro to the project is only that we can stream this song now. Despite being released months in advance it only became available on streaming services with this release.

War is a song that is being recognized as “UK Drill” which, obviously, was created in the United Kingdom. This is just another example of how Drake can travel in and out of different genres and subgenres immaculately.  

Conclusion

Overall the project is supposed to be perceived as a “mixtape” rather than an “album”. Drake is set to release a brand new studio album later this year. As a whole I enjoy the project, I’m trying to shy away from relating it to other albums because it technically isn’t an album. Dark Lane Demo Tape isn’t game changing, but it will hold the world over until the real album drops.

What was your favorite song on “Dark Lane Demo Tape”?

Tell me what you guys think in the comments below! 

Thank you for reading my “Dark Lane Demo Mixtape”  HD review. If you enjoyed this post check out boisandbartalk.com for more content from the bois! 

Love, 

Kev Clark HD