#did this way back in winter but i never got round to uploading it

[calextheneko]

Mario Maker 2 Self Promotion: Super World and Sky Tower Saga

So getting back into Mario Maker 2 and for those who don't know I freaking love Mario Maker. I currently have 80 levels uploaded in the second and forgot how many I have uploaded in the first. Never as many cause I never got enough likes to expand my upload pool in that one. Glad 2 through that mechanic in the trash.

Anyway, this post is just to blow my horn and talk about some of my favorite levels I've made. I'm far from the best or most popular level designer but I do put my heart into them! If any strike your fancy it means the world to me if you play them! So let's go on.

First off if you want to find me and pull up all my levels

Creator ID: GKP-1RT-HNG

Can use that to pull up my profile. If you see the name Calex and my little guy wearing the cat suit you got the right one!

So first up, my Super World found on my profile.

This follows basic 8 world progression, made in the Super Mario world style. I did my best to make it feel like a Mario game while adding in some unique twists. Worlds 1-6 have four stages including a boss stage, and world 7 and 8 have 5 levels including boss stages. I try to stay true to form with fighting the Koopalings and progressing but giving them unique mechanics or battlefields to fight on to freshen the fights up.

The levels start on the super easy side as I've attempted to scale the difficulty up as you progress through the worlds. I'd say world 7 is where you notice a big bump up.

I recently redid the final level of it 8-5: Seat of the King. Mainly, while I liked the original version the boss fight with Bowser took way too long. I wish they had a way to adjust his HP. So I updated it so Bowser will get damaged much, MUCH more quickly, as well as adding in a couple secrets that can let you skip round 1 with him. It's not nearly as hard, but I'll take fun over difficult any day of the week.

Most of the levels I'm proud of are later in the games as I made them more complex as part of turning the difficulty up. 7-1: Blast Off! might be my favorite of the set. As for hardest, for me personally I think 8-4: The Koopaling's Last Dance! As it contains rematches with each Koopaling that you fought throughout the game and then a fight with Bowser Jr. I put two checkpoint flags right on either side of a pipe for this one so you can reactivate them any time you want to save your progress in this level.

I could gush about each level but there are 40 of them total in the Superworld so going to move on so we're not here all day.

Sky Tower Saga

Sky Tower Saga is a series of levels I made back before the game had Super Worlds using the Mario 3 layout. Sky Tower Saga contains much more and often difficult twists on its boss fights and each of the levels has its own boss.

Sky Tower Saga is a five level collection that basically tells the story of Mario's journey to Sky Tower after it mysteriously appears in well, the sky, and his effort to stop Bowser from seizing the tower's strange powers for himself.

Sky Tower Saga Part 1: Journey

Course ID: 402-DQ9-LSG

Journey has you start in a winter themed level, as you platform your way along before reaching the Tower's entrance. Once inside you climb the first few floors before facing Boom Boom. This level is the only completely normal boss fight in the series, as it serves as a warmup level before you enter the tower proper. So Boom Boom has no mechanics. There is sadly a Soft Lock in it, there's an area you can go down under after hitting a P Switch and find a 1-up. But if you don't have the Super Leaf then it's not possible to get back up and eventually you die once the P-Switch runs out.

Sky Tower Saga Part 2: Ascent

Course ID: 1DT-J87-6RF

Ascent where the series starts using vertical levels as you climb higher and higher into the Tower. This level also has far more secrets in it than the first, including eight key coins that if you gather you can unlock a special bonus door right before the boss fight. You can also use the key to skip the boss fight if you want, but kind of ruins the fun. Up to you if you want to get through faster or if you want to fight it! Whatever you feel like! But the fact the boss can be skipped is why I later stopped using red coins in boss stages to prevent that. I just like putting in secrets for people to find. XD I feel it makes things more fun.

Anyway, this time the boss fight is against a Flying Boom Boom but now we start to have new mechanics introduced. This fight has a time limit beyond the actual course timer. As the fight continues one of the walls will closely close in giving you less and less room to move around in. You need to defeat Boom Boom and unlock the exit door before the wall closes in completely and squashes you flat. I left the timer very generous.

I designed it by using a Bill Blaster as the wall. It doesn't shoot anything, but I put it on a conveyor belt that tries to carry it right. However there are switch blocks in the way blocking its progress. Below it is a shell that is fired onto a conveyor belt that tries to carry it right but the shell is shot left making it travel very slowly. At the end of it is a Switch Block. So each time it hits the block the Bill Blaster is released from a switch block and moves right. Meanwhile the shell is quickly delivered back to where it started before bouncing and slowly moving towards the switch again. During the fight you can see it moving so you can see exactly how much time you have before the wall moves again.

Sky Tower Saga Part 3 Secret

Course ID: K47-5M0-5RG

Sky Tower stretches so high into the sky you start to leave the atmosphere. As a result any time you are physically climbing the outside of the tower there will be less gravity. Thankfully it seems the Mushroom Kingdom invented artificial gravity so inside you're fine.

Once again we have red coins to unlock a secret room as you travel up. And once again it can be used to skip the boss fight if wanted. But surprise twist! There are two boss fights! More on that in a second.

Secret introduces something important in the form of the three Fire Orbs with wings that will be seen again. These are used to represent an entity called Tower Soul who will be a problem in a later stage, but for this one you just get a glimpse of them. Meanwhile, the challenge takes in the form of scaling the place while managing the lowered gravity. There is also a snake block to ride, but don't worry there's a two-way pipe right before it so you can exit and re-enter if you fall off and need to respawn it.

As for the fights. It's Bowser Jr with a round 1 and a round 2 against him. The first round is simple, some Throwmps slam down activating an on and off switch which drops Bowser Jr and two red Bill Blasters into the room. You have to hit Bowser three times while dodging homing Bullet Bills and you're done. But round 2 things kick up a bit. Bowser Jr is now protected in the safety of the Tower and you must fight him while dealing with the Tower's defenses. Your only platform is a seesaw that goes up and down but this is to your benefit once you realize what you need to do. You need to jump on Koopa Troopas and then shoot their shell into a small hole where they'll travel down and hit Bowser Jr. If you stand on the left side of the seesaw it will form a perfect ramp that you can slide the shell along right into the hole instead of having to jump into the air and fire it. While you continue to fight the tower will release other defenses including buzz saws so watch yourself as you take it down. This fight is good training for a future fight that's a much bigger problem.

Sky Tower Part 4: Apex

Course ID: W7B-R7W-XKG

Finally you reach the apex of the tower. But as you reach the top, you will find none other waiting for you than Bowser! Charged up with the Tower Soul the entire Tower is now at his command as he attempts to destroy you!

Once again, up in space so low gravity when climbing the exterior of the tower, but most of the platforming takes place in the interior as you climb up the last few floors. Beware of Bullet Bills as they'll be a constant threat when you climb. When you have to charge forward towards a Bill Blaster remember to look for holes in the area you can jump or duck in to dodge the bullets. Also, as you navigate flying beetles and other surprises there might be a chance to grab an unintended upgrade along the way.

Apex is where the red coins stop as I realized I was undermining the levels, as well as this is where you face a much bigger threat for the boss. Bowser himself is the boss fight this time. When you finally make your way up to him, the arena will look familiar. You fight Bowser in the same was as you did in Mario 3, but with a slightly simplified arena. Naturally a you can guess from the previous fight this is just a warmup for the real fight.

Grab the Fire Flower after round 1, it will make your life much easier, I promise. For fight 2, you'll be facing Bowser in a Fire Car, but you have a Fire Car of your own. If you grabbed the Fire Flower you shoot three fireballs instead of one which will make things much easier. Dodge Bowser's attacks and take him out with your own fireballs to proceed forward! However, Bowser is probably the smallest worry you'll have at the moment. The Tower Soul will be seen flying around the map damaging you if it impacts you, as well as there are tons of cannon balls being fired. Navigate the maze of obstacles carefully as you fight Bowser and finally finish off the fight... Except, not quite. At the end of the level you'll see though Bowser is gone, Tower Soul remains.

Sky Tower Saga Finale: Soul

Course ID: 5S2-81B-XGF

It's the final level. With Bowser defeated Tower Soul has gone berserk. If the tower is left unchecked its destruction power will spread to the Mushroom Kingdom. Are you ready to fight an entire freaking tower? Cause you're fighting an entire tower. Or at least the heart of it.

This is a boss stage, no platforming to get here. Instead, you get some power ups and then are instantly thrown into a battle with Tower Soul. That's right, the final boss is a completely original thing instead of being Bowser again! I know it turns out I am capable of originality at times!

Now then...This is what the Bowser Jr fight earlier was practice for. You will see the Tower Soul inside a huge contraptions once you step into the heart of the tower. The ticket is once again to kick shells into a small opening so that it can damage the tower. But it's going to be much harder this time. There's no ramp you can shoot it up through. Now you'll need to either throw the shells from the air, jump up to the hole or time it perfectly off a moving platform to get a hit in. Each time you land a successful hit you'll see the tower start to fall apart as bricks fall from overheard.

This fight took a long time to design and went through a lot of versions. First I had to get it to actually work so that you could get a key for defeating a thing the game doesn't regard as an actual entity. I hit an enemy that's never visible on screen but is killed right after you land your final hit on Tower Soul. That enemy holds the key so that's how I made it look like defeating Tower Soul gives you the key. After I got this working though the fight was too insanely hard. So believe it or not this is the tuned down version of it. Keep aware of the threats around you and practice your timing with shells until you earn victory.

But the level isn't over yet. The Tower Soul flees as the entire tower begins to collapse. It's time for a Metroid this place is gonna explode escape sequence with some fun music. But, how do you escape Sky Tower? Well... You'll see when you get there. Defeating Tower Soul is the hard part the rest of the level is super easy and I don't want to spoil the fun of what's happening.

Anyway that's stuff about my Super World and Sky Tower. I may post more of these with other levels I worked on and their course IDs as it goes on. We'll see how it goes. Will also be trying to come up with some new level ideas cause the itch to make levels is bugging me like crazy now. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me rant, and super special thanks to anyone who plays any of the levels too!

[itsrottenwork]

Hi mj!! Secret Santa here!! Happy Friday!! May your weekend be a long and restful one, at that!!✨

Oooooo politics and communication!! Sending you all the luck for the rest of your college years!! Just based on that alone, I totally understand the hardships of it all!! Being in college is hard enough, but when it’s a major with a lot of complexities and nuance that can be brought to the table, I can only imagine lol!! What made you want to go into politics and communications, if you don’t mind me asking?

Awe, I’d love to see a picture of your succulents!! I bet they look great!! I’d send a picture of my cacti, but I can’t while on anon!! After we properly introduce ourselves, I can!! If you were able to, where would you like to travel next, given the opportunity? When I was in Italy, my friends and I were supposed to travel to the UK for spring break, but because of COVID spreading as fast as it did, our abroad program pulled us out, so we never got to go!! I’d love to go back to Europe and explore the places I never got to see!! I’d probably also go down to South America!!

The jingling reindeer ears? That’s so cute!! 🥺 I feel you about the whole crowded spaces at concerts!! Ever since the pandemic hit, it’s never really gotten back to normal in terms of the concert space!! Since the start of this year, I’ve been to so many concerts, yet, I’ve always tried to do my part in being as careful as I can when in those spaces!! Hopefully someone you enjoy tours in your city so you can attend!!

Love that!! I’ve been so behind on YouTube content!! Sometimes, I just have to be in the mood to watch them so I tend to fall behind when it comes to certain uploads rather quickly!! Ooooo cinnamon!! Anything apple cinnamon is so comforting, especially as a candle scent anytime of the year!!

More speed round questions!! What are three things you know you can’t live without?! Do you have a collection of any kind? Any cool knickknacks lol? If you can meet anyone in the world (dead or alive), who would it be and what would you ask them?🎄✨

this is my last year actually!! I'm in a one-year master's program, so it's only this year, but this is my last year of any sort of schooling, after this I'll be done done. I've always been interested in politics, bit of an idealist I am, and I also enjoy the more creative side, the writing and branding and whatnot, so yeah comms is the route that I see myself best able to contribute :)

here they are!! and also the little cat rock I painted a year or two ago. there's also some really little ones underneath the big one in the back but I couldn't get everyone in the one photo hehe

I always like to have travel plans set, even if they're way in the future, so I do have a few things planned already. my family is going to austria during winter break, and for spring break my friends and I are looking at doing a road trip around a whole bunch of different cities, but we're still working out the details. I'd love to travel somewhere outside of europe, but as I am currently in europe it's easiest to travel close by

what concerts have you seen this year? or if you've seen too many to list, what ones were your favorites? I don't think I've been to a concert since 2019 tbh, it's fun and I kinda miss the vibe but it's not something I ever really did a lot, so I don't mind not going too

speed round answers!! although I feel like I'm not very speedy when I answer them lol

three things: probably really basic answers but phone (for obvious reasons), water bottle (hydrate or die-drate baby), and keys (I really like having a physical totem of This Is Where I Live, one of the best gifts I ever got was when my friend gave me a key to her apartment when I moved in with her)

collections: I don't really collect anything I think? I take a lot of photos though, so I've got those hanging on my wall, and every year my friends from high school all get together in the exact same way and we take the same polaroid every summer, so I guess I have a collection of those haha

cool knickknacks: coolest knickknack on my shelf at the minute is the boomerang I painted when I was in australia, though my shelves here at uni are a bit sparse

meet anyone: I wish I could talk to my great grandfather, I never met him but the way my mom and grandparents talk about him, I'd want to be able to sit down with him and hear like, his whole life story basically

[restlessfandoming]

“family holiday” (pt. 1) (chilumi fic)

[SPOILERS FROM 1.1 STORY QUESTS]

Lumine finally arrives in Snezhnaya and takes Childe’s offer of visiting his home (mansion). 

(some domestic fluff uwu) 

lots of ppl have been asking for more and i love that! tysm for the encouragement and support <3 sorry this took so long to upload, i am trying very hard for all you lovelies ;__; 

also this is being split into two parts bc it is a bit longer than my other fics...but i swear im writing part 2 as fast as i can!! i just wanted to post this now so i wouldn’t keep you lovelies waiting <3

[Fic Masterlist]

“family holiday” (pt 1)

“Lumineeeeee!” Teucer shouted as she walked through the door of Childe’s home. He tackled her into a hug. 

“Well hello to you too, Teucer,” Lumine greeted back. Just as energetic as I remembered… 

“Hey! Paimon’s here too!” Paimon crossed her arms. 

Teucer broke his hug and waved energetically at Paimon. “Hi, Lumine’s toy!”

Paimon’s jaw dropped, ready to go on a rant, but Teucer already turned his attention away. 

“Big brother!” he cheered, tackling Childe into a hug as well. 

“Teucer!” Childe said enthusiastically, picking him up and slinging the little boy over his shoulder before swinging him around. Teucer erupted into gleeful giggles. 

“Big brother? Is that you?” a soft voice called. Coming down the grand stairs was a little girl who looked exactly like Childe and Teucer, her long brown hair tied in a half-up crown braid, her large blue eyes like innocent doe eyes. She looked about eight. Behind her, another sibling came trudging down the stairs, scowling, his hair appearing more ginger than the rest of the family; his face had a splattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks, more prominent than Teucer’s. He was a bit older, around 11. 

Childe set Teucer down, and smiled. “Tonia,” he greeted her, gentler. He got down on one knee, and Tonia ran down the steps—her white dress flowing behind her—and jumped into his open arms. 

“It’s been too long!” she said, her voice muffled by Childe’s shoulder. 

He laughed. “It certainly has, princess.” He looked to the last sibling still standing by the stairs. “Come on, Anthon. Come here.”

Anthon let out an exasperate huff, but still made his way to his older brother, and joined Tonia in their embrace. “We don’t have to make such a big deal out of this,” he grumbled, though his arms tightening around his brother betrayed his attitude. 

“Looks like we’ve been sidelined,” Paimon muttered. 

Lumine tilted her head. “It’s kind of nice to see though…” 

Anthon’s eyes flickered to her. “Who are you?”

Tonia broke from the hug, ducking under Childe’s arms to look at Lumine, while still gripping tightly to his jacket. 

Teucer bounced over to the traveler, and placed his hands proudly on his hips. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Lumine!”

Tonia gasped and skipped over to her, her eyes bright. “Lumine?! Like from the letters?” Teucer nodded enthusiastically. 

Childe stood and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yup, the one and only. This is her first time in Snezhnaya, so everyone be on your best behavior.” He gave Anthon a look, to which Anthon crossed his arms. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Tonia and Anthon,” Lumine said. “Your brothers have told me a lot about you two.”

Tonia smiled shyly and peered at Lumine’s face. “Woooow,” she whispered in wonderment. “You really are just as pretty as he said!” 

Lumine felt a shock to her system. Childe told them I was pretty?

Childe let out a nervous laugh, quickly scooping Tonia off the ground and ruffling her hair. “Very funny, Tonia! Why don’t we decide on dinner plans, hmm?” 

Paimon, after grumbling in the corner about being ignored, perked straight up. “Food?”

“Let’s celebrate brother and Lumine coming home! We should go to the bestest restaurant in the city!” Teucer suggested. 

“You don’t want to eat brother’s cooking?” Tonia asked, a bit of sadness tinged in her voice. 

“I think that’s a great idea, Teucer,” Childe said. He patted Tonia’s head. “How about we eat dinner at the restaurant, then we can come home and I’ll make you your favorite cake?” 

“Yay!” Tonia cheered, jumping from Childe’s arms, and joining Teucer in celebration. 

“Anthon? What would you like to do?” Childe asked. 

He shrugged. “Whatever sounds good to me.” 

“Then it’s settled! Let’s all go get ready then, okay?” Childe said. The children all ran up the stairs, and soon the foyer was quiet once more. The Harbinger let out a heavy sigh. 

“Whew! They’re a handful!” Paimon said. 

Lumine nodded. “How do they even survive while you’re away?”

Childe chuckled. “Year round I have a dedicated staff of servants and maids to look after them and the house.” (Mansion, Lumine thought.) “I gave them the weekend off while I’m back.”

“You can handle all three of them?” Lumine asked. 

“Oh? You don’t think I’m capable?” 

“I just can’t imagine you as a child raising type,” she said, recalling their various battles together. How bloodthirsty he could get. 

“The battlefield is different,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. He glanced at the stairs. “I’ve been raising my siblings since we were little.” 

No parents? She thought of her and Aether. On their own for as long as she could remember, having to explore and learn alone. Except she and Aether were twins; she never had to look after a younger sibling—let alone three. 

“Ready!” Teucer announced, bouncing down the stairs. 

Childe crossed his arms. “Just your hat? Where are your gloves? Coat? Boots?” 

Teucer giggled. “Oops! I forgot!” He raced back up the stairs. 

“And you?” he asked, turning to Lumine. “You don’t look ready either.”

“I was okay on the journey here,” she answered. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head. “It’s almost dark now. Snezhnayan nights are freezing, even more so during this time.”

“Ahh...well...we didn’t really pack...anything…,” Paimon said sheepishly. 

“Paimon I expected, but you, Lumine?” 

The traveler crossed her arms. “I’ve been a bit busy.” 

He scoffed. “Right, right. Well, we can’t have you freezing to death in the street. I’m sure there’s extra coats around here,” he said, heading up the stairs. “Come with me.”

“Oooo, Lumine, they’re probably super expensive and fluffy! Let’s go!” Paimon said, flying after Childe. Lumine rolled her eyes and followed. 

The three passed by the children’s rooms, all clothes being thrown around and excited chatter, before coming to a large door at the end of the hall. Childe’s room. He opened the door and they entered. 

It was a grand room—octangular in shape with huge windows and a tall ceiling—large, spacious, and empty save for a large bed, standing wardrobe, and side tables. There was a fine film of dusting covering all the surfaces, and the bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in for a long time. The colors were sparse, only grays, whites, blacks, and the occasional red accent. 

Childe opened the doors to the wardrobe, revealing an assortment of heavy winter coats. He pulled one out and held it out for Lumine. “I think this coat is a little older—probably the smallest one I have.” 

She put it on, the sleeves running a bit long to her fingertips, the feathered hood obscuring her face up to her nose. Childe laughed, and she stuck her tongue out at him after pulling the hood down. Despite it being old, she could still pick up a faint scent of Childe: a smell remnant of ocean waves and sandy beaches. Unexpectedly pleasant...

“If that’s too big, she can have one of my coats!” Tonia said from the doorway.  

“That is very nice of you to offer, Tonia,” Childe said. “But I think your coats might be too small.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, we’re all ready now, brother!”

The family—plus Lumine and Paimon—gathered back in the foyer with everyone bundled in their coats, hats, and gloves. And then they were on the way to the restaurant. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Lumine, look!” Teucer said, pointing at a large pond. “There are so many fishes!”

They were waiting to be seated in the restaurant lobby. A large, grandiose building, with marbled floors, vaulted ceilings, and gold furniture. There was a large pond in the middle—a miniature waterfall flowed into it. 

Too extravagant, Lumine thought. And I thought Liyue was expensive...

“Do you think we could take some fish home to eat?” Paimon asked, peering into the pond. 

Lumine gave her a deadpan expression. “Go ahead. I’ve always wanted to see how Snezhnayans deal out punishment.”

“On second thought, nevermind…”

Tonia pulled on Childe’s jacket. “Can we go to the toy store after this?”

“Toy store! Toy store! Toy store!” Teucer chanted. 

“Yes, yes, of course,” Childe said. The two children cheered. 

“They’re always so loud,” Anthon grumbled from his seat next to Lumine. 

“They’re just excited your brother is back,” Lumine said. “Aren’t you excited also?”

“I guess…” He looked at her. “Why are you here anyways?”

How do I explain that I’m on a quest to find my brother after we were banished from our journeys by an unknown god? “I want to meet all the gods of Teyvat.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, right. That’s impossible.”

“Actually I’ve been quite successful,” she told him. “I’ve already met a few.”

“Really?” His brows were furrowed. “What’re they like?”

Venti: drunk. Zhongli: broke. “They’re...interesting. Very powerful.”

Childe walked over to them. “Is he bothering you?” he asked Lumine. 

“She was just telling me she’s met some of the gods of Teyvat. Is that true?” he asked, scrutinizing. 

“Very much so. She’s quite strong, so don’t get on her bad side.” He gave Anthon a wink. 

“Strong enough to beat you, brother?” 

“Of course,” Lumine said, standing up. “I’ve beat your brother before.” 

“Paimon can confirm that! We kicked his butt!” 

For the first time, Anthon’s eyes seemed to light up. “You did? How?”

Childe chuckled through gritted teeth, disguised as a strained smile. “Now, now, Anthon; you seem like you want me to be beaten.”

Anthon frowned. “No, I didn’t mean that.”

“Sir? Your table is ready,” a waiter said, approaching the family. 

As Childe went to wrangle up the younger kids, Lumine stayed behind and tapped on Anthon’s shoulder. 

“Hey,” she whispered. “Why do you want to beat your brother so bad?”

Anthon shook his head. “You guys have it wrong. I don’t want to beat my brother…” His pale face flushed a bit red. “I just...I want to be stronger than him. So he doesn’t have to work so hard to protect us…” He stopped and watched his siblings sit around the table in the distance. “He shouldn’t be the only one protecting us. I can see it’s really hard work for just him. I want to be strong enough to protect him, Tonia, and Teucer also.”

Lumine’s heart warmed at Anthon’s love for his family. She missed Aether a little more. “I’ll help you.” She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I know what it’s like, wanting to protect a sibling.” She then gave him a teasing smile. “Plus, I’ve already beaten your brother, right?” 

“Right!” He had a little smile as well. “And he’s the strongest person I know! Well...I guess that person would be you now, right?”

Tonia came marching up to the two. “Come onnnnn, let’s go eat!” She grabbed both Lumine and Anthon’s hands and dragged them to the table. 

Afterwards, the family enjoyed an exquisite meal, and were all stuffed full of expensive foods and cheerful laughter. (The children were amazed at how much both Lumine and Paimon could scarf down.) 

The children, very quickly after finishing their meal, practically teleported to the toy store. As the children ran through the store, Lumine and Childe took the moment of rest, silently watching over them. (Paimon had retreated back into her world to recover from the feast.)

“I don’t know how you do it,” Lumine said. “I had a hard enough time with just Teucer in Liyue.”

“It’s not easy,” Childe confessed. He looked at his siblings softly. “But when I see them smiling and happy...despite everything bad in the world? I think it’s all worth it.”

How nice… His love for his family definitely matched her love for Aether. Something we have in common. She found herself enjoying this time with Childe, and his family, more enjoyable than any time she had been adventuring. It was almost like...she was...back home…

Soon enough, everyone was lined up, toys all selected and ready for purchase. Teucer tiredly tugged on Lumine’s coat, then silently held his hands up. At first, Lumine blinked, not understanding. 

“Teucer, just ask her to pick you up,” Anthon said. 

“That’s okay,” she said, pulling Teucer up off the ground—now understanding—and placing him on her hip. I think this is how you carry a kid? She didn’t have much experience with kids, save for the few she had met while in Teyvat. And those kids are far from normal... She let out a little sigh of relief when Teucer relaxed, laying his head on her shoulder. 

“Are you tired too, Tonia?” Childe asked. She shook her head, tightening her grip on his hand, clutching a doll in the other. Teucer was hugging a hilichurl stuffed animal, and Anthon held an action figure of a Lawachurl.

Upon reaching the toy seller, the old woman at the counter smiled at Childe and Lumine. “You two have such beautiful children,” she said. 

Lumine almost dropped Teucer. What?! 

“Though I have to say, they do take after their father quite a bit,” she remarked. “A shame, seeing as the mother is so beautiful.” 

Before Lumine could explain, Childe spoke. “Yes, what a shame indeed—I completely agree,” he said while smiling. 

...WHAT?!

[part two]

[angelkurenai]

Imagine being part of the Black Widow movie with a character who is Bucky’s wife in the comics. Only you and Sebastian have a crush on each other so your costars try to set you up.

“Natasha, my sister. What brings you home?” Yelena only tilted her head when Nat rounded the corner with her gun raised. She frowned when she saw the blonde was only smiling at her, no gun of her own raised. And that was even more suspicious, or even scary and dangerous, than her having one pointed at her.

“We've unfi-” she started, the words having been on her mind from the very beginning and ready to be spoken after thinking about them too much. She stopped herself though, frowning deeply “Wait a second. Aren't you... going to fight back?” she put a smirk on her lips “Where's my welcome back party?”

“Oh there will be one. There will be.” the smile on Yelena's lips was even more worrying as the seconds ticked by, especially when Natasha watched her grab a chair and slowly move it to the side before taking a seat on it. And when she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back casually, it all clicked in her mind.

Natasha's eyes widened and a breath left her lips as she muttered “Well, fuck.”

She barely had time to let it all register before she swirled around and was met with very certainly a kick in the face. It wasn't strong only because the attacker was holding back but it managed to do the job of disorienting her, making her grasp on her gun loosen up. An arm quickly appeared, ready to take it from her but she quickly grasped it, pulling back only for the attacker to swing with to knocked on her hand while an elbow met her face. Taking advantage of the hand with a gun close to her, and after just having lost hers, she took hold of the arm and twisting forced it to drop it. Both parties jumped after the fallen guns, with a roll and twist, soon on their feet to face each other and point the swapped guns at each other.

Only two seconds of silence before “S'up sis.” you said with a wide smile that made Natasha laugh and shake her head a bit.

Glancing at Yelena from the corner of her eyes to notice the blonde had taken and poped a beer open, watching the show with interest. She looked back at you, gun still pointed and smiled even more “Figures you'd be here. Since she didn't even attempt to make a move.”

“I'd rather watch the show, thank you very much.” Yelena shrugged “It's been a long time. Oh and while we're on that-” she raised a finger “Twenty bucks on Red. Sorry, Natasha.”

“Only twenty? Come on, you drink like there's no tomorrow. How is Nat gonna buy for drinks later? That won't be enough. Unless Natasha has more on her?” you complained, looking at Yelena who pouted.

“But I only have twenty with me?” she raised the money in her hand, looking a bit more though her pockets but unable to find anything else.

“Fine.” you huffed “But you two keep it down on those damn drinks. I, as the winner, won't.”

“You two are literally the worst.” Natasha tried to say a bit more seriously but she only scoffed a laugh “Already so sure you'll win this, (Y/c/n)?”

“When have I not? Wait-” your shoulders relaxed a bit “Yelena, have I ever?”

“Absolutely not. I've kept count.” the blonde shook her head “And I doubt this will be an exception.”

“Thanks for the vote of faith you guys.” Natasha muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“Hey, I'm technically your opponent right here. Don't expect my vote of faith. Especially after so long. I'm kinda looking forward to see what new tricks those Avengers taught you.” you smirked, the both of you circling around each other. All Yelena did was lean forward in her seat to watch you both.

“It's been a long while. I'm pretty sure you've got a couple new ones yourself. Speaking of which-” her smiled turned into more of a teasing one and you prepared yourself for the worst “What has the great Red Widow been up to lately? Still saving, what was it, ah Red Sparrows from their fate?”

“Hardly. The new ones seem even less willing to be saved. I'm keeping my tabs on them but, you see, the world is a big place for only a handful of heroes. Never enough of them. Even more, ones willing to use all means necessary. You know how that is. So-” you shrugged “I've expanded my horizons.”

“Ah one would wonder why that is.” her smirk only grew, especially as she shared a look with Yelena, and you cursed at both yourself for your not careful words and your sisters “I suppose, there aren't any more Winter Soldiers to save from HYDRA anymore, are there? Oh it feels just like it was yesterday. There is that one in particular-”

“Alright-” you huffed, giving her and Yelena who was trying to stifle her laugh a glare “Is that how you're planning on winning this? That's a low move, Romanoff. And you- you stop laughing. That's not fair play.”

“Oh you've hit a spot there, Natasha. I might even have to reconsider my bet.” Yelena smirked and you shot her another glare.

“I mean, I kinda remember you always fell for the ones with the blue eyes, didn't you (Y/c/n)?” she insisted of course and you hated yourself for how easily you let it affect you, not that you really had any control over it “I've got a location, in case you're still interested.”

“Oh she is. I assure you of that. I've got enough proof.” Yelena smirked, taking a sip of her beer casually.

Natasha chuckled. You glared as hard as you could at her though you knew, you could practically feel it, that the heat had started traveling up your face “I hate you both so much right now. One more word and I give up on this.”

“Then, maybe, I shouldn't mention how he's asked me several times about you ever since he found out I knew you? Oh the questions he had and the times he brought you up.” the smirk clearly didn't leave her lips and you didn't even try to keep yourself from rolling your eyes.

“I'm never telling either of you a single thing again.” you sighed.

“Wow! What a scene!” the video cuts to Scarlett who is holding the phone – his phone Sebastian notes and he hardly can keep himself from wincing, preparing himself to do that later because nothing good could come out of this. And given how the woman uploaded the video in his own account and it has been up there for a good few hours now – because, let's hide his phone away that would be great too is what she must have thought of – there is no taking it back because far too many people have seen it. Now it's his turn. And, once more, given how he's aware of how well his friends know about his crush on you, based on all the endles teasing, he is prepared for the video to be the most embarrassing one of those moments.

“Red Widow, finally in the MCU, who's excited about that? I know I am! It's going to be amazing on the big screen, especially with such a wonderful actress as (Y/n)! I can't believe how I had managed to keep it a secret for so long. I know everyone is excited, I've been getting texts and calls from friends all these days, though the one that really has been more thrilled than anyone has kept quiet about it. As some would say. What I would say is-” he smirk was full of mischief “Has kept shy about it. Because trust me, if there is one reason I'm making this video for, it's Sebastian Stan. So this goes to Marvel... and possibly (Y/n) who is not sadly away these days filming but I have no doubt will see this.”

Oh no. Oh no. Goodness, he hoped not. He didn't dare take a look at the comments but he feared, after the countless notifications, that with all the attention this was getting you'd see it one way or another.

“And since I know you follow him and will be attentively watching everything he posts, I expect comments down below or like, definitely, a dm. You two either start texting each other or else I'm gonna smack you in the head because there is only so much mutual pining I can take.” she let out a small breath before grinning even more widely.

Mutual... what? Sebastian blinked twice or three or four times. He didn't know. He'd have to watch the video again and listen to that part just to make sure it was not his own wishful thinking. And definitely ask Scarlett about it. However, he had to watch the entire thing first to see for himself just how bad it was.

“Oh and don't think you're off the hook, Sebastian. This video is also about you, if not mainly about you. I'm doing you a favor, buddy, you'll thank me for this later. After, like, you dare come out of your house when you're done dying of embarrassment.”

So, actually never, if it was all going as bad as he imagined.

“See, as I've made very obvious, he's a great fan of hers. We all are, let's not kid ourselves. However, when he doesn't let his vast admiration for that great talent and possibly small- who am I kidding, big crush on her, take his mind away he has these brilliant ideas that I can't help but agree to. And even if he might be a bit too shy to admit it out loud, I'll go ahead and say this: Hey Marvel, give Bucky Barnes his wife in the MCU...” well, maybe not as bad as he feared. The crushing part had been mentioned more than plenty of times by the rest of his friends.

“Because Sebastian would totally love to share a kiss or two with (Y/n). And we want to see the most badass couple of the Marvel comics on the big screen too.”

Well, no, it was even worse apparently.

“As would her, but that's not the point here. I've been trying to figure out a way to get two idiots together and with all this distance and work, this is the best I could think of. Well-” Scarlett shrugged and it was then he noticed the laughing behind the camera “Chris Evans' really, but if it works, hey fine by me! He said something about being subtle but I ain't got enough patience for that anymore. So, there's that. Hopefully, Marvel and Kevin will listen, even more hopefully (Y/n) you'll see this and then even more hopefully as if by a miracle I won't have to listen to you two talk about each other, non-stop, ever again!”

[master-sass-blast]

Winter Stay-cation.

*insert pithy quip here*

Summary: A massive squall hits New York City. The snow, combined with a deep freeze, brings the city that never sleeps to a standstill once the police issue travel bans. Fortunately, you and Piotr know how to keep yourselves entertained during your impromptu stay-cation.

Pairing(s): Piotr Rasputin x Reader, Nathan Summers x Wade Wilson, and Ellie Phimister x Yukio.

Rating: G for fluff.

Word Count: 3.4k.

Set after “It’s Truly Magical.”

A/N: The movie quote from Day Five is from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window.”

Taglist:  @marvel-is-perfection, @chromecutie, @girl-obsessed-with-things, @super-darkcloudstudent, @dandyqueen, @leo-writer

“—continuing into the middle of next week, if not longer. Expect heavy snowfall and temperatures below freezing, with windchill taking things below zero over the weekend.”

“Good grief.” You shake your head as you watch the weather report on the morning news. “It doesn’t get that cold when I fly full speed.”

Piotr, your husband, hands you a cup of coffee and shrugs. “January is ugly month.”

You smirk into your mug. “Bet this doesn’t compare to Siberian winters.”

“Not really,” he admits with a chuckle.

“The Chief of New York City’s Fire Department has issued a statement reminding residents to be careful when using their fireplaces and to monitor children and pets.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you quip, “Don’t use fireworks as kindling, we got it.”

Piotr snorts.

“In addition, the Police Department has issued a travel advisory in light of the predicted precipitation and sub-zero temperatures. All none-essential travel is restricted until the cold snap passes.”

“Groovy. Tell that to half the city.”

Piotr grins, shakes his head again, then turns the TV off. “Looks like we will have to keep ourselves occupied here this week.”

You cast a disparaging glance outside –where the snow is already up to Piotr’s knees—then say, “Like we were going anywhere else.”

 ***

 Day One

 There’s an upside to when the “deep freeze” hits. It’s already winter break, meaning there’s no coordinating classes, figuring out how to pick up students that don’t live at the mansion, or having to get up at the balls-ugly hours of the early morning in the stupid, frigid cold.

The two of you wake up at your leisure, around nine o’clock. You laze around in bed for a bit, snuggling and chatting and smooching, then head downstairs for breakfast. You wind up setting up shop at the dining room table, catching up on grading and filling out end of the semester report cards.

“Can you check these for me?” Piotr asks, handing you a stack of essays from his art classes. “I already made content-based marks; I am just not sure about English grammar.”

“Fun fact: most native English speakers aren’t sure about their grammar, either,” you joke with a smirk.

Piotr snorts, then checks his computer clock before standing. “Is about lunchtime. I was thinking soup and sandwiches?”

You nod. “Sounds tasty.”

“Would you like anything in particular?”

“Surprise me.” You make a contented hum when Piotr leans over the table to kiss you, then smile as you watch him head to the kitchen.

You really are the world’s luckiest woman (a sentiment you feel even more keenly when he comes back with a fresh cup of hot cider for you).

 ***

 Day Two

 “We should clean.”

The two of you are sitting on the couch. Your laptops sit on the coffee table, displaying the completed efforts of uploading grades to the online gradebook that the school uses. Two mugs that once contained coffee sit next to either laptop.

You look up at Piotr. You’re tucked against his side, head leaning on his shoulder while his fingers trace designs on the sleeve of your sweater (which is technically his sweater, but that’s neither here nor there). “Huh?”

“We should clean,” he repeats as he scrubs at his face with his free hand. “House could use it.”

You crane your neck to look over his shoulder. “We don’t really have that many dirty dishes.”

Piotr snorts, then raises an eyebrow at you. “When was last time we vacuumed? Or deep cleaned bathrooms? Or washed windows?”

“We can see out the windows just fine!”

Piotr grins and shakes his head. He stands, holding his hand out to you. “Come on, myshka. Clean home, clean mind.”

“I’ll have you know that my mind is nothing but dirty, and I’m offended that you would dare insinuate otherwise.”

Piotr laughs and helps you up. “We can start upstairs and work our way down.”

 ***

 Cleaning with Piotr isn’t so bad. He carries his fair share of the workload, does things to their proper doneness, and is a firm supporter of blasting tunes while cleaning.

“Take! Me! On!” You bounce up and down in time with the beat while you clean the sliding glass doors in your bedroom that lead out to the balcony. “I’ll… be… gone! In a day or two!”

Behind you, Piotr laughs. He’s hauling out a trashbag from the bathroom –no doubt filled with the sheer amount of crumpled paper towels it takes to get the place sanitary again. “I see you are enjoying yourself.”

“Absolutely not. I’m suffering endlessly. I’m going to die any minute now.” And then, to prove you point, you flop to the floor dramatically (taking care to use your powers to cushion your landing).

Piotr lets out a choked gasp, then clutches at his chest. “You keep scared me!”

You look up at him and laugh. “You know I can catch myself! You’ve seen me do that before!”

“Changes nothing!” He lets out a ragged breath, hand still pressed over his heart. “I could have heart attack.”

You giggle, then lift yourself off the floor with a swirl of wind. You land nimbly on your toes before him and wrap your arms around his waist. “Aw, now who’s being dramatic?”

“I fail to see how concern for your well-being is dramatic!”

You suppress a grin, opting to pop up on the balls of your feet and kiss him instead. “I’m very sorry I scared you, baby.”

“Is okay.” He kisses you gently, then gazes down at you with a rueful smile on his lips. “What am I going to do with you, myshka?”

“Dance with me?” You flash him an impish smile, then start bouncing in time to the music again.

Piotr chuckles, then takes your hands in his and bops along with you.

The two of you dance around the room –well, as much as what you’re doing can be called dancing. You sing the lyrics of the song to each other, not sticking to any particular key or tempo.

You laugh when Piotr lifts you into his arms, bridal style, then squeal in delight when he spins the two of you around.

It’s perfect.

 ***

 Day Three

 You wake up to the sound of Piotr’s phone chirping –because, even on vacation, he still keeps a daily morning alarm.

He groans as he comes to, then laughs when you roll over him and shut off his alarm for him. “Well, good morning to you, too.”

You set his phone back on his nightstand, then straddle his hips and plant your hands against his brawny chest. “You’re not making me clean today.”

Piotr smirks up at you, bushy eyebrow raising in challenge. “Oh?”

“We’re spending today in this bed,” you continue. “Just you” –you tap his chest—“and me, and as few clothes as possible. Sound good?”

He pretends to mull it over, even has he takes off the shirt he’d been sleeping in. “Are we allowed bathroom and meal breaks?”

“I’ll allow it.”

“Ah, very generous. Thank you, benevolent myshka.”

“You’re very welcome.” You giggle when he grins –then let out a delighted yelp when he rolls suddenly, pinning you between him and the bed. You sigh as he kisses you, eyes fluttering shut. You arms wind around his neck, holding him against you while his hands smooth down your body.

 ***

 Day Four

 Cabin fever starts setting in between the third and fourth day. There’s only so many chores you can do, only so many papers you can grade (and you’re out of papers to grade, which doesn’t help your case), only so much sex you can have before you’re gonna start losing your mind.

Fortunately, Piotr is well-attuned to you and your mental states –meaning he notices that you’re getting twitchy before you dip into pyromania to keep yourself entertained.

“We should do something fun today,” he says during breakfast. He spreads some sour cream over his plate of blinis, then adds cottage cheese and sausage meat. “Perhaps play some video games. Ellie has been pestering me to play some multi-people games with her and Yukio.”

“Could be fun,” you say before stuffing your mouth full with Nutella-covered blini. You swallow, then ask, “What did she want to play?”

“Ah… she had two. I think… Falling Guys and Among Us?”

A slow, wicked grin stretches across your place. Fuck yeah. “Let her know we’re in.”

 ***

 Piotr, unfortunately, turns out to be none too good at Fall Guys.

“No!” He wails, then flops back against the couch when he gets thrown off a platform and into the slime. “I could not run away!”

“You have to anticipate the enemy’s movements,” Ellie says over Discord. She’s already qualified and is spectating you and Yukio. “Predict their strategy, then counter.”

“I think it is less strategy and more ‘giant hands do not play nice with tiny controller,’” Piotr grumbles good-naturedly.

“Or maybe you got your butt kicked like a scrub,” Ellie fires back.

“I never contested that,” Piotr chuckles.

“Alright,” you say, eyes glued on your pink and yellow striped player. “I’m almost there, there’s plenty of slots left –no, you fucking pigeon! Let me go!”

“Language,” Piotr murmurs between bouts of laughter.

“It’s always a pigeon!” Ellie groans. “Fucking skyrats.”

“Language, NTW.”

You qualify for the next round (no thanks to the damn pigeon, who qualifies, too). Egg Scramble is next, and you wind up facing off against Ellie and Yukio for the win.

“Damn it!” There’s the sound of something hitting the floor –most likely Ellie throwing her controller—when she and Yukio get booted out. “Yellow always loses!”

“Is that it?” you ask while the loading screen plays. “Are we at the final round yet?”

“There’ll be one more,” Yukio says. “To finish whittling down the competitors.”

Sure enough, there’s a round of Tip-Toe –which you get through by the skin of your teeth—and then you and eight other players are sent to the finale.

“Okay, Hex-A-Gone. You’ll want to just hop from tile to tile,” Ellie advises you while the level loads. “It makes the tiles last longer.”

“Don’t be afraid to drop a couple levels at first,” Yukio adds. “You can carve out one of the lower levels, meaning anyone that falls above you will have further to go and will be more likely to get out.”

“I appreciate it, but don’t expect any miracles,” you say, laughing self-deprecatingly.

Piotr kisses the top of your head. “You can do this, myshka.”

You follow the girls’ advice; you let yourself drop down two levels, then start hopping from tile to tile to start carving out the platform.

“One guy’s already out!” Ellie announces. “You’ve got this!”

“Shit! I fell!”

“That’s okay,” Yukio reassures you. “Find a decent mass of tiles and hop, don’t run. Make them last.”

“The pigeon grabbed another player,” Piotr marvels, shaking his head.

“Yeah, well, they both died, so fat lot of good it did them,” Ellie mutters.

You keep going, bounce from brightly colored hexagon to brightly colored hexagon.

“Only four left!” Ellie lets out a whoop. “Holy shit, you’re gonna make it!”

“Don’t jinx me!” you laugh as you dodge another player’s attempt to grab you. “Don’t jinx me!”

“Three left –two! It’s just you and one other guy!”

“You’ve got this, Y/N!” Yukio cheers.

You dive for a clump of tiles –and miss. “No!” You groan, then laugh as your character plummets into the pink slime. “Damn. I’m never going to do that good ever again.”

Piotr wraps an arm around your shoulders in a conciliatory hug. “You did wonderful job, myshka.”

“He’s right. That was really good. The winner fell a few seconds after you, so it was basically a coin toss as to who was gonna get the crown,” Ellie says while the winner’s animation plays on screen.

“Yeah! Great job!” Yukio congratulates you.

“Wanna do another round?” Ellie asks as she flicks between skins and accessories for her avatar.

Yukio laughs lightly. “Baby, we were going to get lunch.”

“Oh, right.”

“Perhaps we can try other game after lunch,” Piotr suggests. “‘Fall Guys’ is okay, but makes me too dizzy.”

“Yeah, sure. Text me when you guys are done eating.”

***

 Among Us doesn’t go much better for Piotr, if only because he doesn’t adhere to the strategy of the game. He does his tasks without fail –which usually leaves him alone, and thus a prime target for killing or pinning a murder on. He’s also a terrible liar, which makes it easy to tell when he is the impostor.

You laugh as Piotr’s little red spaceman goes floating into space. “I honestly feel bad.”

“I don’t,” Wade says (he and Nate hopped on the Discord call when Yukio sent them an invite). “Pay for some acting classes, Chrome Dome! Give us a challenge, at least.”

Piotr starts grumbling in Russian, but it gets cut off when the round starts up again.

(You all still wind up losing because Nate’s the other impostor and racks up bodies like nobody’s business.)

“I’m still waiting for when Ellie and Dad get the impostor role together,” you comment as the defeat screen flashes on your laptop screen.

“What, so we all die in five minutes?” Wade grumbles. “So we can suffer the agony of betrayal and not honoring trust again?”

“It’s just a game, Wade,” Nate sighs. “And I apologized already.”

“Is our relationship ‘just a game’ to you, Natey? I gave you an alibi –and then you shanked me in the shower like rejected prison bitch!”

“Language, Wade,” your husband pipes up, voice world-weary. “Please.”

You all start another round once Wade calms down –which, admittedly, takes a while and a great deal of coaxing from Nathan. You grin when you see that you’re an impostor alongside Yukio –then giggle to yourself when a plan pops into your mind.

You start stalking Piotr around the map. You fake doing tasks alongside him, acting as his shadow as he treks around the map. On the corner of your screen, you watch your kill timer wind down, then wait for the right moment once it runs out, and—

Downstairs, in his art studio, your husband lets out an indignant scream when your character murders his.

You fall back onto the bed and cackle.

 ***

 Day Five

 The squall rages on outside. The world is practically buried in snow. It’s a sea of white outside your bedroom windows, blinding and sterile.

You peer at the swaths of snow blanketing every inch of ground, every tree branch, and every shrub, then nestle further under the blankets. “Ugh. I don’t even want to get out of bed today.”

Piotr chuckles, then wraps an arm around your waist. “How come?”

“Have you seen what it’s like outside? It’s disgusting!”

“I thought you liked snow.”

“I do. That’s how you know it’s bad.” You sigh as you eye the fat, fluffy flakes falling from the sky. “I wish I could, like, go outside. Go to a store or something. Leave the house.”

“Is not safe to drive yet.”

“I know, I know.” You sigh. “Is it bad that I miss the color green?”

“Nyet. Is normal.”

You smile, just a little, when Piotr kisses the back of your head. You roll over to face him. “Can we build a blanket fort today?”

He raises an eyebrow. “What… here? In bedroom?”

“Yeah. We can make it look all pretty, and snuggle in bed, and watch movies, and have sex…”

“Bozhe ty moi.” Piotr snorts, then takes a moment to study your face, your eyes. “You really want blanket fort?”

“Kind of, yeah. I just… I want something new to look at.”

The corner of his mouth turns up in a soft smile. He presses his lips against your forehead. “Alright, myshka. Let’s make fort.”

***

 “When a man and a woman see each other and like each other, they ought to come together. Wham. Like a couple of taxis on Broadway.”

You let out a content, relaxed sigh, then wriggle closer to Piotr.

The fort, admittedly, is simple –but you don’t mind. While you were taking a shower, Piotr assembled the whole thing, just to give you a little surprise.

He’d brought up a couple floor lamps from the main floor, then clipped some fairy lights to them before draping the largest quilt in the house over top to make the room. He’d pinned some throw blankets to either side of the quilt to make the sides, then made the bed and assembled the pillows so the two of you could have a nice, cozy, comfy den to watch movies in.

The recurring, delighted thought of ‘he made it for me; he made it for me because he knew I wanted one’ loops around in your brain like a bumblebee drunk on fermented crab apples. You grin, then loop your arms around Piotr’s neck and kiss his cheek.

He grins, cheeks flushing ever so slightly. “What was that for?”

“You made me a blanket fort.”

“You asked for one.”

“Yeah, but you made it for me. You could’ve just waited until we could both work on it.”

He shrugs, lips curving into a soft, pleased smile. “I wanted to see look on face. You were very happy.”

“Correction: I am very happy.” You kiss the tip of his nose, then his lips. “I love you, Piotr.”

“And I love you, Y/N.”

 ***

 Day Six

 You know it’s bad when you wake up before Piotr.

You look over at your husband, who’s still slumbering away next to you –and sawing some logs, no less—then out at the winter hellscape outside, and decide there’s only one thing for it.

You’re channeling your inner Great British Bake Off contestant and demolishing the kitchen.

***

 Piotr comes downstairs around ten in the morning –which is a miraculous amount of sleep in time for him—but by then, the damage has already been done.

There’s a cake cooling on the counter (you’d found a box of cake mix in the back of the pantry and decided to use it as a warm-up. The mixer is working overtime on a double batch of sugar cookies –plus there’s already chocolate chip cookie dough chilling in the fridge.

You look up from the cookbook you’d been perusing –you were thinking pie next—and flash your husband a slightly sheepish grin as he gapes at the kitchen. “Uh… good morning?”

“Myshka…”

“I made cake.”

“I can see that.” Piotr drops his heads into his hands and makes a noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh. “Why?”

“Because being trapped inside is stressing me out and I want to cope by eating my weight in desserts.”

Piotr sighs, then lifts his head. He eyes the mixer, then the increasingly sheepish expression on your face. “How much is that?”

“In the bowl or in the fridge?”

“Bozhe ty moi.”

“Look, the way I see it, we can share—”

“You have that much correct. We do not need five million cookies.”

“Excuse you, I’m only making three million. Also, do you know where the lard is?”

Piotr’s face scrunches up. “Lard? Why—”

“I wanna make pie.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose. “We already have cake. And goodness knows how many kinds of cookies.”

“But those aren’t pie.” You smile impishly at him. “Plus, like, pie has fruit, so it’s good for you. You like fruit. Think about how good it’ll be to eat something with fruit after all the cake, and the cookies…”

“Or I could just eat fruit.” He sighs, resigned and slightly frustrated, when you bat your eyelashes at him. “I will check pantry.”

***

 Day Seven

 “—as of today, authorities are lifting the ban on nonessential travel—”

“Yes!” You launch yourself into the air, twirling around and pumping your fists before landing lightly on the couch once more. “Finally!”

Piotr laughs and shakes his head. “What, is staying inside with me so terrible?”

“Absolutely not.” You crawl across the couch and into his lap, then give him a loud smooch. “I have enjoyed every single day of your company. However, you’ve got about fifteen minutes before I start repainting the walls out of sheer boredom.”

Piotr bursts into raucous guffaws. He puts a hand over his eyes, shoulders and stomach shaking with each laugh. He sighs, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes as minute giggles slip past his lips. “Well, we do need to restock on food. And flour and butter, since someone decided to open bakery yesterday.”

You pointedly ignore the pies and full cookie jar sitting on the kitchen counter. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He snorts, then pats your thigh. “Get dressed, myshka. We will go shopping.”

“Fuck yeah!” You zip up the stairs.

Downstairs, you can hear Piotr start laughing again.

[palettepainter]

Can we know more/see some stuff with Ecto’s parents? How did they react when they found out they where going to be parents?

Their designs are still just sketches right now and as I mentioned in a past ask, I won’t be uploading for a while but when I’m ready to post I’ll share them (and hopefully the story of how Higari first reacted to meeting them) also don’t have names for his parents yet so they’ll be referred to as Ecto’s dad/mum

Here are some notes on their story though and when Ecto was little!

-Ecto’s dad was a singer with a light based quirk. He could absorb light and then shoot it out in light beams from his palms or eyes - if he absorbs natural light he’ll be happy and peppy, if he absorbs artificial light he’ll be more serious and will often tend to fake his feelings, and if he can’t absorb a lot of light (during winter or something) then he’ll be grumpy. He takes Vitamin D supplements to help when touring and in winter. He was never interested in family at the start of his music career, he got into the music industry at a young age so the fame went to his head, for many years he was purely focused on being in the lime light and preforming. Ecto’s mother was head worker in backstage and special affects and possed the quirk  Anthropomorph, she could make human like clones from any human sized object and control them at will. Being the head of backstage and special affects she worked closely with Ecto’s dad when his singing began to gain a lot more popularity. At first he viewed her as just a member of his stage team, nothing more, and it took years before their co worker relationship developed into genuine friends

-Being on a stage and preforming for so long took a toll on Ecto’s dad, being around all the artificial light thanks to the affects of his quirk left him most days feeling drained once he was behind the safety of his private tour bus. He’s a natural at hiding his feelings so after preforming he tended to be bitter towards co workers, faking feelings could be exhausting, especially when you had to sing also. One day after a tour of America Ecto’s mum comes into the tour bus with her bosses ordered food, only to find the man laying down face first on his sofa in a sad heap. He’s whining and fussing, all the artifical light from stage having turned him into a drama queen, insisting that he’s loosing his touch, the tour was a disaster, and how his career might as well be over. Ecto’s mother, still calm, places down his food and insists that though one day yes his career will come to an end, it won’t be today. She sits there to offer him company while he eats, and once he’s finished and has taken some Vitamin D supplements she takes her leave, wishing him a goodnight on the way out. 

-When they arrive back in Japan Ecto’s dad is more then a little embarrassed at the incident on the tour bus involving his immature behavior and Ecto’s mum. At first he tries his best to avoid her, not wanting her to bring up the topic, but in the end the embarrassment and worry she may tell someone becomes too much, and so he pulls her aside to sheepishly ask she keeps the incident to herself. Ecto’s mum reassures she hasn’t told anyone of what happened, but is prompted to ask why it was he had gotten himself in such a state, when he seemed perfectly fine minutes before he got onto the bus. Ecto’s dad doesn’t want to explain the functions of his quirk and how it affects his personality around other staff members, but he does feel like he at the very least owes her an explanation (he didn’t want her thinking he was acting like a child just for the sake of it). After work he takes her into his office and shyly explains how his quirk works, how all the artificial light on stage makes him cranky, and how he always has to keep vitamin D supplements handy preforming, and how he doesn’t host any performances during the winter time because of this. Opening up such a vulnerable part of him to someone he hardly knew was hard. and in the following weeks kept a close eye on Ecto’s mum to make sure she didn’t gossip. To make sure she doesn’t he promotes her to his personal manager, where the two are forced to spend more time together. Ecto’s mum has her suspicions that he was keeping her in line by keeping her close, and so once again, is prompted to ask why it was he chose a music career if he didn’t want people to know of the drawbacks to his quirk. He answers sincerely that he loves to sing, and from a young age has always wanted to preform. In school talent shows, to his family, in the theater production, he did it all. Singing was his talent, and he loved to do it, even if that meant some days of preforming on stage where harder then others. Yet again he opened up another vulnerable part of himself (he didn’t really get to talk about all this personal stuff much, so a small tiny part of him was glad she asked because then he could get it off his chest). Ecto’s mum however, smiles at him, and before he can ask, she promises she won’t tell anyone.

-This was where the friendship began to turn into something real. Ecto’s dad felt as though he could expose the vulnerable and more negative sides to his personality in her presence, and Ecto’s mum offered an ear or just company for him to be with. With Ecto’s dad being a singer it was hard for the two to go on dates/spend time together after his shows, so most days they’d spend their time together in his private estate. The first thing Ecto’s mum was surprised about was how big and well kept his garden was, Ecto’s dad having a light based quirk wanted to have a house with a BIG garden, gardening is one of his more personal hobbies outside of singing. When they spend time at his home, Ecto’s mum gets to see his more positive side, the side of him that comes out around natural light. He’s funny, he’s charming, he’s...surprisingly eccentric and funny, and is a huge dork. Now when he’s preforming she can’t wait to see the dorky side of him when he’s back at home, this is where the two become something more as best friends then boss and worker. Years into their friendship on his birthday Ecto’s mother plans a special surprise in his schedule - Ecto’s dad’s birthday comes just after winter, when he’s the most miserable. Ecto’s mum basically became his babysitter in this time because he hardly left his bed. Ecto’s mum wanted to give him something special for his birthday by organizing a week’s vacation for him off in the country. Ecto’s dad is so ecstatic that he pulls her into a giant hug and spins her round the room, and then - after his mother got over her shock - eagerly invites her to join him on his holiday. The two spent many lazy afternoons laying in giant fields, doing all the typical country holiday things - packing picnics, star gazing, sleeping in till gone ten. To this day that holiday is one of their fondest memories together

-Their first kiss happened when the two went out into a big field to have a picnic, Ecto’s dad was goofing around to try and get Ecto’s mum to put down her silly book and come have fun with him instead. She rolls her eyes, pretending to ignore him, but cracks up laughing when he trips on a stick and ends up toppling down the hill. She rushes down after him, still laughing away, to find him face first in the dirt. For about two seconds she’s concerned, before he rolls over also howling with laughter. The two spend the rest of the day rolling down hills, blowing grass in the others face, sun bathing and enjoying their picnic, where they then have a tender moment together and have their first kiss, both are blushing idiots afterwards and are equally giddy. When dating came into the picture Ecto’s dad was pretty upfront about it, being a singer who was pretty famous he wanted Ecto’s mum to understand that dating him would also mean she’d be the eye of attention too - of course she agrees to date him because she’s in love with this dork. They keep dating as private as they can, though it’s often hard as the two have this sort of silent flirting thing going on at work. Sometimes he’ll randomly pull a stupid face that’ll make her snort when she’s trying to be serious. and sometimes she’ll give him a quick kiss on the cheek before he goes up onto stage - they’re a very lovey dovey couple. Ecto’s mum was the one to bring up the topic of kids and a family, and though initially nervous about the idea, Ecto’s dad agrees and lil Ecto is born. Parenting is hard, especially with their careers thrown into the mix. They took a leave from singing and preforming when Ecto was very young, and would often have him babysat by someone close when his dad was preforming. The day his quirk kicked in, which was earlier then most quirks, was when the two had a proper talk about the future and what they had to do - they couldn’t constantly be working and parenting at the same time. It’s heartbreaking for his dad, but he quits the singing career, as much as he loved music he loved his kid more, and he didn’t want his selfish behavior to backfire and mess Ecto up in the future.

-They move into his estate with the big garden where Ecto grows up, his parents are a bit sheltering off him with his dad still being a well known singer for his past career. He’s sent to a private primary school for gifted children and then later on UA, his dad ends up loving lil Ecto even more then he did his singing, spoiled him a lot when he was little and still does, even though he’s an adult. Later down the line when Ecto is in his early teen years his dad is able to pick up music again, only this time he does his singing from home - he and his wife where able to make their own singing studio out at the back of their garden, run fully on natural light and the light he absorbs, he’s much happier recording from home then he ever was on tour, even if he’s not as popular as he once was.

Small side notes;

-Whereas Higari’s mum and dad called him and his siblings sweetpea, Ecto’s parents called him angel when he was little. Sometimes they’ll still call him angel to tease him

-His dad cried when Ecto showed interest in singing, proud dad moment. He was over the moon about it. When Ecto came home from UA the two would sometimes go to his singing studio to sing together. They also went to karaoke 

-Ecto’s quirk caused the two a lot of stress. In the beginning Ecto didn’t have a lot of control over his quirk, so sometimes would accidentally make a duplicate of himself without realizing, mostly when he was yawning. Imagine the shock his parents had when they where out in the garden, lil Ecto would trip on a stone and just, sploosh, he turns to goo. It gave them a heart attack every time

-His dad sung him lullaby's when he was little

-They where ecstatic when they found out Ectoplasm had kids of his own. Finally Ecto you got them some grand kids took you long enough. They love Haiya and Riley so so much, Ecto tells his dad not to spoil them, but jokes on him he’s going to spoil them rotten and theres nothing Ecto can do to stop him

-Higari was terrified about meeting Ecto’s parents for the first time, since they where previously famous singers back in the day he was worried they wouldn’t approve of some dirty looking engineer dating their son. Ecto’s parents actually love Higari very much, heck Ecto’s dad actually very much enjoys listening to his stories from his time in the country. With Ecto’s dad being a fan of gardening he likes to hear all the stories Higari has of how he and his siblings would mess around in their garden when he was little 

[nutty1005]

Xiao Zhan: It’s Your Turn

Translator’s Note: This article comes from VogueMe Magazine 2020 Feb Issue.

Currently, the trend in the entertainment business is to get famous overnight, the statistics dictate everything – a drama, a variety show, a song… all of which could give birth to a super idol, fame, commercial value and opportunities that come along with it. In 2019, the drama “The Untamed”, adapted from an internet novel, became this window of opportunity. This is the story of a young man who received the opportunity. And like other idols created by their era, his fanbase grew immensely, radiating throughout the youth, his name etched in time. All of these simply points to this – it’s now Xiao Zhan’s turn.

1

The summer of 2015, Xiao Zhan had not yet realized that he was going to job switch from the design firm opened by his teacher. The teacher did not feel so as well – as Xiao Zhan left for the talent search variety show, he told him, “Go play, come back to work once you’ve been eliminated.”

The show was called “X-FIRE”, and positions itself as a large scaled youth talent development inspirational show. During broadcast, the description says “16 secretly trained youths painstakingly selected from a few thousand 16-24 year olds”. At that time, Xiao Zhan was 23 years old – nearing the upper age limit.

Xiao Zhan just wanted to “play around a bit”. He felt that he would be just touring for a round, and he would be back after a week. As the former class Cultural Committee Member in his university, Xiao Zhan loved singing, won quite a few inter-school cultural activities awards, but never trained in dance-singing. Xiao Zhan, who graduated in graphic design, learnt drawing since young, but never thought of becoming an artist, because “it is hard to survive as an artist, you still need to earn a living”. He was willing to lead a simple life and go to work everyday, with a direct and clear life plan – as a graphic designer, do his work well, then open his own firm.

The summer 4 years later, the name “Xiao Zhan” meant a lot of different things – a member of a pop group, the lead actor of one of the most popular drama, the owner of a Weibo account with more than 22million followers, or as what Chinese entertainment business puts it – a “top traffic”. The topics and imagery surrounding him includes – Xiao Zhan’s looks, Xiao Zhan’s design talent, Xiao Zhan’s professionalism, Xiao Zhan’s role as Wei Wuxian…

And like the other idols who broke out in this era, he has his own set of records – moderators of Bilibili (a video hosting site in China) nagged that his drama fans uploaded so much of his videos that they “almost see him 800 times a day”, Xiao Zhan was jokingly proclaimed as “The Man who caused the Bloodbath of Bilibili”; he became the cover person of a magazine, and the two mobile sales platform app broke down consecutively on the day of the sales; his popularity in 2020 only got higher – on 9 Jan, according to Tian Mao statistics (TN: Taobao eShopping Mall), the Portrait magazine, where he was the cover person, sold out 100,000 copies in 3 seconds, overall sales exceeding 13million Chinese yuan, a poster was spread all around the internet with the accompanying text “a fandom that brought paper media back from its grave” – this is the Xiao Zhan statistics.

But different from the breakout idols, Xiao Zhan did not encounter major controversies (TN: This was published early Feb), and his career did not seem to go through much fluctuations. He never thought that he would be at this point – “Sometimes you’re not ready, but life has already pushed you to ahead. What you can do is to quickly keep up with the pace.” He is now at the stage where any of his actions are “studied under a magnifying glass”, but he feels that his stress levels are not as high as his previous few years, “the past few years, I had the drive but nowhere to use that, now I know how to work hard.”

2

During the initial auditions, Xiao Zhan still continued to work as per normal, go onstage – sing – leave, which was quite fun. After the selection down to 32 persons, he did not think much of it, and left his work to go to Beijing to practice the dance for the variety show. After the selection down to 16 persons, he practiced everything – dancing, vocals and flexibility training.

He did not think much of what would happen later. The winter in Beijing was especially cold, after the show recording, it would be around 3am or 4am, and there would be fans waiting for him outside of the studio – Xiao Zhan felt quite sorry for them, “All are young girls, it’s so cold and so dark.” He felt surreal having fans. When the 16 of them went to Zhejiang TV “Running 2016” New Year Eve performance, he saw the stage and felt that it was especially big and he was especially happy, and kept making sure he remembered the moves so as not to make any mistakes. After the final battle, Xiao Zhan’s team lost, but he and a few of his teammates were rescued by fan votes.

In 2016, Xiao Zhan debuted as part of X-Nine. During the signing of the contract, Xiao Zhan finally realized that he was going to make a career switch. “When you look at it now, 23 year old is also still a child, but no one took me as a child then.” – Xiao Zhan was the oldest in the group, he made his own decision to sign the contract, he thought that if it did not work out, he could go back to work, there was no need for him to paint himself into a corner.

3½ years after his debut, Artist Xiao Zhan still had to explain to interviewers his obsession with going to work. That day, he had a pimple on the left side of his face, and the makeup artist was applying essences on his face. The makeup room was simply a curtained area in the basement of the Art Gallery, full of passing staff, the editor was discussing the shooting schedule with his manager, the stylist was here delivering clothes, and he sat there with his eyes closed, allowing others to apply whatever it is on his face.

Xiao Zhan’s eyes are long, and also wide, he is very fair and his side profile is graceful and beautiful. With his looks, one would imagine that his personality would be cooler, more introvert, with mild melancholy, like those prince-like male leads in romantic dramas. But his personality does not really match his looks – he is serious, disciplined, he does not talk much initially, but overall he is a relaxed person, and quite funny occasionally.

“A lot of art students do not want to go to work,” the interviewer said. Xiao Zhan learnt drawing since young, some of his happiest moments in his childhood would be to win drawing awards or to have his works praised by his teachers, other unimportant happy moments includes had a good lunch, went to an amusement park, or had a liking for a girl in high school.

“They never went through the society school of hard knocks,” Xiao Zhan said. He described himself as someone who went through “quite a fair bit of knocking”. Since young, his father thought him to be independent, taught him budgeting, and told him stories about Bill Gates’s children… “I wanted to say, god, you’re not Bill Gates.” Despite all these, Xiao Zhan stopped using his parents’ money ever since his university graduation.

Xiao Zhan not only learnt drawing, he also learnt violin, go and Chinese calligraphy… pushed him to study in “National Key” middle school, “National Key” high school (TN: National Key refers to the top range of schools in China). He was an obedient child, but as a standard art student, Xiao Zhan was better in humanity subjects, and his math was not good, hence all the while he had always been the mid-bottom of the pack, which worried his family of 3 quite a fair bit.

Studying graphic design in university, Xiao Zhan felt that his university life was quite comfortable – everyday before class he would adjust himself a bit, although in the end it seemed like it did not work well after all, but at least his results were decent. Xiao Zhan emphasized that he was “definitely not the school hottie”. He was a good student. After he had learnt what the teachers taught, he started a studio on the side. The design studio would take on poster and logo design work; the photography studio only have 3 persons, Xiao Zhan did the photo taking, the other 2 did lighting. Before graduation he went to intern in a design firm, hence it was easy for him to find a job. Within a year of working, his monthly salary was around 4,000 to 5,000 Chinese Yuan, which would quite alright for Chongqing at that point in time.

Being part of a boy group releasing albums, shooting web dramas. The way to do things right was quite different from his previous job – his characterization in the group is a warm guy, although Xiao Zhan did not like characterization, he seriously fulfilled his role, and he was obedient. When someone in the variety show suggested that he lose some weight, he replied “I’m quite thin already I still have to lose weight”. As a commoner, Xiao Zhan was 183cm and 150lbs, his mother would always say he was too thin, and he felt so himself as well. That person showed him the film, “the camera lens is a really scary thing, I literally looked like a ball”. It was not easy for Xiao Zhan to lose weight, so he did it brutally. He was so hungry that he dreamed that he was eating. Xiao Zhan is now 127lbs, but this was not his thinnest.

“How was it like after debut?” “Unoccupied.” (TN: Xiao Zhan used the Chinese phrase “picking at his feet” to describe the state of emptiness.) Xiao Zhan’s words were paced and gentle, most were caught unawares by the sudden switch to casual humor, he might not be laughing, after others laughed he would continue his conversation seriously.

After his debut, he felt that he was freer than the times when he was still an intern. But he did not allow himself to stay free, he took vocal and dancing lessons, making sure that he could do sing-dancing to the best of his abilities. But he was still a bit lost – when he was still a designer, his future was clear and straight, but after his debut he had no clue where his future led to.

3

“I could count the number of dramas I’ve acted in with my fingers,” Xiao Zhan said. After which, he started counting them – “Battle through the Heavens”, “The Wolf”, “Oh! My Emperor”, “The Untamed”, “Joy of Life”, “Jade Dynasty”, “The Oath of Love”… the earliest work “Super Star Academy” was not counted – It was shot with his boy group, he was still fat, and he had no clue what he was doing.

Acting was his own idea. When he started auditioning he had not even attended any performance classes, he saw the director, took a piece of paper that indicated the scene and lines, and just went for it. Xiao Zhan did not feel that it was awkward, it was something he wanted to do, so he would do so without any inhibitions, and grasp every opportunity to do so. Singing was something that he always liked, his first single after debut was a song voted by his fans. With the stage and his fans, with attention, he would always want to do it better. Acting was something totally foreign to him.

The first turning point was “The Wolf”. When auditioning, within 2 hours, Xiao Zhan had tried many roles – the bounty hunter who was threatening someone, the prince whose brother was about to be executed… Xiao Zhan won the role of the bounty hunter – the 4th character on the character roll, Ji Chong. During the pre-shoot training he was still acting in “Battle through the Heavens”, daytime he would be shooting, nighttime he would be having performance classes. He did not feel it was tough then, as long as he had time to sleep. “Work is something I am willing to do, I will only feel very motivated, tomorrow must be done better than today.” Xiao Zhan liked Wei Wuxian, felt that he was vivid. When acting, during the first month he would be second guessing himself everyday, is the portrayal accurate? Would the audience accept it? Xiao Zhan checked with the director everyday. After a month, he stopped asking, he felt that he was Wei Wuxian. Dramas adapted from web novels are rarely positively received, his hopes for Wei Wuxian was that “I hope people would not dislike the character because of my acting”.

The summer of 2019, the drama aired, and the real turning point arrived.

Billions of fans, frequent trending topics on Weibo, appearing on multiple magazine covers and even causing the sales platform app to crash…

He is one of the few artists in Weibo that sets his account as “only posts in the past 6 months are viewable”, but it did not affect his popularity. His interaction with his fans are witty, the statistics are more than enough to attract attention. Last year on the Chinese Valentine’s Day (TN: 7th of the 7th Lunar month), he posted a photo informing his fans that he had put on weight, his pants folded up, legs in the swimming pool. One of his fans replied, “Fine, good to know that your leg hairs are doing fine.” This reply was boosted to the top with 190,000 likes.

“After watching ‘The Untamed’ and ‘Joy of Life’ and then meeting you, I feel like you are very similar to your performance method, calm. You are like an AI, whatever you do you’re especially precise.” “You’re highly professional.” The interviewer concluded.

At the start of the conversation, Xiao Zhan just finished an exterior photo shoot, we were both seated, leaning forward and warming hands above the radiator. He said, “Artist is just a job, I don’t like artists to place themselves on a pedestal, just like today you are the reporter who is interviewing me, today I am someone being interviewed. Cooperation, is just so that we can complete our jobs, coming in for the photo shoot is my job today, every single staff is also executing this job, it’s just the role is different.” Because he went through the society “school of hard knocks”, he respected and understood the truth behind teamwork.

As someone who once had to face clients, he knew how it felt as someone at the receiving end of endless unreasonable requests, and therefore he did not want to be someone like that. His standards for work is consistent – high efficiency, good results, everyone is happy, no one has to serve another person. Also “once I am done I will knock off, after I knock off no one should come find me, let me be alone.”

“Everyone works to fulfill their needs, they have entertainment after they knock off, they have freedom and privacy. As a public figure, artist, the product is yourself, the works are also yourself. You have to output materials, contribute works, and then gain the opportunity to grow, for higher social status, value and better lifestyle. For some people, besides their career, they also included their dreams,” the interviewer said.

“The understanding is very thorough. You win some, you lose some, after becoming a public figure it meant that there are multiple pairs of eyes staring at you, anything you do would be judged. Whether it is positive or misguided. Truth and falsehoods, isn’t this circle just like this? Whether the rumors or the gossip is true or false, who knows?” Xiao Zhan said.

4

On 5 Jan 2020, Xiao Zhan was working in a sculpture garden in Shanghai Songjiang, shooting a series of photographs to be the cover of VogueMe. It was cold, the gallery’s doors were open, and the wind blew from the first floor to the basement. Everyone was wearing winter jackets.

In the morning, beside the metal sculpture on the first floor, Xiao Zhan and model Chen Yu faced the camera separately. As the shutters rolled, they did not exchange glances or touch each other. As the photographer requested the model to sit on the ground, Xiao Zhan said his only sentence to her, “Careful your head.” and used his hands to shield her head from the protruding portion of the sculpture.

That day’s Weibo opening advertisement was also Xiao Zhan. As per the photographer’s request, he tilted his head up slightly and gave a cold gaze, or side glancing a faraway place, but also at the same time, he was smiling sweetly on mobile phone screens, promoting a series of instant food products.

In the afternoon, the team went to the exterior, to a concrete sculpture beside the gallery entrance, where he and the model stood in front of, facing the camera. The arm was on the model’s shoulders, and the two of them looked at the camera – he was even thinner than the model. In yet another set, the staff erected a ladder to one of the rooftop grass patches on the gallery buildings. An ice cold rock slab was selected, which the assistant padded using a jacket, and tested the light levels. After which, it was Xiao Zhan’s turn. He was wearing a red jacket with blue shirt, wearing a baseball cap, lying on his side on the rock slab, supporting his head with his arm. In between shoots, the assisted would hand him a long wool top, with deep blue diamond checks, quite thin. The top was flipped over, he slipped his hands into the sleeves to protect the front of his body, his assistant handed over another water bottle that contained warm mineral water to warm his hands. Xiao Zhan basically did not speak, he placed the bottle on his neck to gain some warmth.

An artist’s job, the profession included losing weight, staying hungry, freezing and staying up overnight, wearing winter clothes in summer is the norm, not drinking water prior to any shoots to prevent water bloating on screen… people who do those well may become famous, if they look good or are lucky they may become even more famous. Now Xiao Zhan has an opportunity, and like his previous job, he chose to be down-to-earth and do it well.

In the evening, the green screens were setup in basement 2 of the gallery. 17:44, Xiao Zhan was in position, his manager reminded the stylist to take note of the clothes’ proportion – “The sweater is too long.” Hence, the sweater was folded up. After the camera assistant brought down the Apple machines, the cameraman adjusted his machines, and started shooting the video. Quite a few scenes were done in one take, in the middle there was a break, the manager and the camera crew were discussing camera positions. This was the 10th hour of the shoot, Xiao Zhan sat behind the table, laid his head on a prop gift box and waited quietly – we could not see if he was tired or not.

The shoot ended, and the sky was already dark. Xiao Zhan has not yet knocked off. The media had ended their work, the manager was darting around, arranging for Xiao Zhan to change out and get on his car, to rush to his rehearsal that night – they were already behind schedule. Both teams bid their farewell, Xiao Zhan warm and gentle, still unclear whether he was tired. After less than an hour’s journey, he would need to go onstage to sing, and thereafter, his work would be to complete the costume testing of 20 different sets of clothes.

The Initial Cold

The time set for the shoot was 9am, Xiao Zhan arrived at the rural set at 8.30am. His overnight flight arrived only the day before, meeting Xiao Zhan on the cold morning of a deep southern winter, his spirits looked great, his face having the same kindness as usual. The endless job schedules taught him how to conserve his energy – no casual conversation, not even to his staff; take every opportunity to eat or rest; absolutely no procrastination, ensure efficiency, do his best to accommodate and complete every job. He is a highly disciplined and professional artist.

In this shoot, the warm, gentle smiles have been replaced by cold, sharp glares, the metal and concrete sculptures gave him a few minutes of inner emotions and narrative, his scenes with the model was almost like he was acting in the set of “Last Year at Marienbad”. Xiao Zhan displayed emotions and charm very different from usual self – this is the power of an actor. The darker filters and monochrome imagery restored the caution that the youth of his age would have, it was the concealed feelings of a sunny boy. With such an idol, not only he can warm your hearts, there are still much to expect from him.

[lilaswaterfalls]

Lavender Fields, Baratheon Dreams, a Gendrya Cottagecore AU

So...I wrote something that I couldn’t really get out of my head. It’s essentially the Gendrya cottage core fantasy of my dreams and it’s the first fic I’ve published in years. There may be more parts, but really, just let me know your thoughts. cool thnx. :)

UPDATE: Thank you so much for the reblogs and likes and comments. I genuinely thought I’d be posting this into an unknown void. I am currently working on Part 2, but I’ve decided to upload it onto AO3 as well. I’ll be adding a second part soon!

AO3 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Rating: T (may go up?)

SUMMARY

Gendry Baratheon finds himself the owner of a failing lavender farm, but with the help of his cousin Shireen, a family friend Davos, and his long-departed friend Arya, maybe this season will bring more than just sweet-smelling fields. 

Gendry loved the first day of spring, and his cousin Shireen was the second person who knew that. The first had left the country a long time ago, he hadn’t seen the girl who knew he loved spring since they were both kids. But that hardly mattered. He needed to get dressed for the day full of celebrations on the Baratheon farm today, not think about the girl with black hair.

He usually tried to hide his excitement for the equinox, but his younger cousin always saw right through him. Shireen often caught him feeling the ground for warmth in the days before, she saw him checking the amount of time the sun spent in the sky, she saw him planting some seeds early in the greenhouse on the far side of their land. And when she questioned him about it, all he said was that he hated the cold, that if it were up to him, he’d live in a place where he’d never have to see snow. When she told him he could leave anytime he wanted, he told her that he couldn’t leave his family after he had been searching for it for so long. They never talked about it again, but they still celebrated together.

The sun was barely peeking out of the sky when Gendry came downstairs to meet his cousin. The rest of the house was quiet, they weren’t expecting any visitors until the evening when the Baratheon house would come alive for its first celebration of the year.

“You’re late.” Shireen said, handing him a cup of tea, her hair was in one long braid that went down her back and she wore a white dress.

“Barely.” Gendry said taking a long sip and closing his eyes, he really wasn’t late, it was just Shireen who felt like spring could be rushed if they started their ceremony sooner. Gendry wished she were right, but every year, the Earth took its time waking up, not really paying attention to the two of them.

“Well, come on then, we should get started.” She grabbed the cup he was holding, set it down and went to put on a red sweater over her dress, it was still cold, but as soon as Shireen dragged him outside and towards their glass greenhouse, he knew that winter was over. There was fog, and although some trees were still dormant, others had begun to sprout buds, pretty soon, the air would be fragrant and warm. Today, though, the air felt sleepy, only some green present.

After some time, they came to the greenhouse, the air muggier and much warmer, but not as hot as it would get in a few months. There were some germinating herbs, especially lavender, one of Shireen’s favorites, that they’d plant in a few days. But they walked from through the rows of the plants to the empty pots they had painted the night before, there was already soil in them.

Gendry had painted his grey, with a bull wrapped around it. Shireen had painted a boat on hers. They looked at each other and smiled, “I’ll get the candles, you put on the music.” He said, walking towards the cabinet with the pillar candles. Shireen put on the songs that reminded her of spring.

They made their way to a table in the corner of the greenhouse, and Gendry took some seeds from his pocket. He handed two of them to Shireen but she refused. “You always plant cilantro, I’m trying lemon this year.”

Gendry laughed. “If you think you’re going to be able to grow lemons this year, I think you may be a little too optimistic.”

“That’s the whole point of this.” He rolled his eyes and they sat down. He placed a gold candle in the center of the table. Later that evening, the whole Baratheon clan would plant seeds for intentions, but the two of them had been doing these smaller ceremonies for the past five years. She was the first person of the family who made Gendry feel welcomed, and though the whole family loved him now as one of his own, he always liked spending time with Shireen, she was the only one who really knew about Gendry’s life before he had come to the Baratheon farm, an heir out of nowhere to the fortune and lands. Or��really…just the lands, his late father Robert had spent most of the Baratheon fortune, leaving Gendry, Shireen, and their advisor Davos to rebuild it.

“What do you wish for?” He asked her.

“If I told you, the surprise would be ruined, wouldn’t it?” She said, rubbing the seed in between her palms and placing it gently into the soil. He nodded and did the same, closing his eyes and making his wish. He wasn’t much for believing that it would come true, especially after he had spent all this time wishing for the same thing. For the same girl to come back, the girl who knew he loved spring, who had every reason to hate him after he left her alone. It was ridiculous. He knew that, but he wished he could explain how ridiculous he was, he wished to see her again, to hold her hand.

He planted the seeds and sprayed them with rose water. Shireen had told him the rose water would help them grow faster. And once they were done, he grabbed his pot and placed it under the grow lights. If the plants grew, their wishes would come true, if not, he could always try again next spring. All of his previous seeds with that wish had died after a few weeks. Shireen’s always grew into full, healthy plants. Maybe he was just not cut out for this whole planting seeds thing. Shireen always told him that he needed to care for them for longer than just two weeks, he would change the subject. This year, he’d really try to keep his cilantro alive, maybe he’d even make something with his newly grown herb. This year he was going to try.

“Even if it doesn’t work, this year we’re going to have busy growing season, I can feel it.” She said, placing her pot next to his under the light. “We may not be the icons of lavender just yet, but give us a few more seasons, we will be.” He smiled and they grabbed spray bottles. They began to spray the growing lavender that had been germinating since February.

“I really hope you’re right.”

“And, once it’s all planted, we’ll be able to get visitors to come too. We’ve got the plans Gendry, this year will be great. I know it.” They finished their round in silence, and before they left, he blew out the candle, he’d be back the next morning to light it again for a little while.

“We should get back. Davos will be up, and we still have to finish cleaning out the barn.” He said, and the two of them walked back. Farm hands were making their way around the fields, looking for signs of growth.

The sun was in the sky, the morning energized, the fog had mostly cleared and the doors to the Baratheon mansion were open, receiving food for the evening’s celebration. Life was flowing through the house, the lights on, music playing, people coming in and out. Shireen went to the back house to feed the animals while Gendry walked back to the house to see if he could look over some of the financial plans he had made the night before.

Davos was standing in at the entry way, a clipboard in his hand, he looked up to greet Gendry. “Good morning.” He said back to the old man. “Anything burning down?”

“Not yet. But if you’ll excuse me, I think they brought too many tables, and you know how Shireen doesn’t like empty tables.” He rushed out of the house, before turning around, remembering something. “Oh,, you have a visitor. I don’t recognize her, but she said you knew her as a kid. She’s in the kitchen.”

Davos left the house, and Gendry walked to the kitchen.

He really couldn’t be it when he saw her, as if she heard his thoughts this morning and decided to appear to trick him. Her black hair was longer and she looked…good. She was holding the abandoned teacup he had left this morning, half full when she looked at him.

“Arya.”

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

two years too late, chapter t h r e e 

You were sitting at your desk on Monday morning when the message came through. Alyssa’s name lit up your screen, the house emoji sat beside the small letters as your hand jerked forward to grab it out of habit. 

Alyssa (10:21am): THERE’S A PHOTO OF US AND HARRY

Alyssa (10:21am): Can’t see our faces tho don’t worry

Alyssa (10:22am): Just the back of your head and my ear, really

Shit, shit, shit. 

She’d attached the picture and sent it: your arm, your hand, your hair. Alyssa’s ear and jaw, Erica’s leather jacket and unmistakably, Harry’s shoulders and back. You looked it over again, studying the image as you pinched it to zoom in. 

You couldn’t tell that was you. No way. Unless your mother or sister was looking, Jessie and Bryn might not even be able to tell. It was dark and the quality of the picture was poor but you could definitely see that you had a drink in your hand. You could also see that you were stood remarkably close to Harry. 

Fuck. 

You took a deep breath, hoping to steady your pulse and ignore the way your vision was blurry in the corners. 

“Question!” 

“Jesus!” You exclaimed, looking up quickly to see a startled Whitney with her hand on her chest--just as alarmed by your reaction as you’d been by her presence. “Sorry, hi.” You dropped your phone quickly, letting it crash down to your desk. 

“Sorry, oh my god,” she let out a big breath, rebounding from the adrenaline as a laugh escaped her lips. “I was just hoping we could meet later. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“No, m’sorry--you just--proper scared me,” you said, leaning back in your chair and blinking a few times--your heart still catching up with your brain.

“Your performance review is overdue,” she said. “We were supposed to do it at the six month mark, but you know how things are,” she waved a hand to dismiss the timeline. 

“Sure, yeah. After lunch?”

“Two-thirty? We can meet in my office.”

“I’ll come to you,” you nodded, offering confirmation before she turned to walk away. 

You picked up your phone again quickly, new messages from Alyssa coming in faster than you could read them. 

Alyssa (10:24am): OKAY just kidding there’s one of your face. Blurry though!!!!

Alyssa (10:24am): From down below. Someone must have taken it looking up to the balcony where we were?

Alyssa (10:25am): You would never know that was you

She was trying to reassure you, trying to keep your heart from beating out of your chest as all of the thoughts flooded through your brain like a tsunami, waves quick and forceful. 

Okay, so it wasn’t like knowing Harry was the end of the world. You’d been doing that for nearly 13 years and you’d managed fine enough. The problem, as you saw it, was more along the lines that your employer and coworkers had no clue that someone your website wrote about frequently was recently spending his nights on your couch with a glass of wine in hand. 

Something about that sounded weird, and you were sure that Whitney wouldn’t go for it. 

You pulled up the new photo, holding the screen uncomfortably close to your face to study the grainy pixels. Of course--the one moment that he slung his arm around your shoulders was the one this person had chosen to capture. 

Y/N L/N (10:26am): Where are these? Can we get the person to take them down?

Alyssa (10:26am): They came up on my instagram explore tab. Random fan accounts. 

Y/N L/N (10:27am): Fuck. 

Alyssa (10:27am): I don’t think you should worry. They’re so blurry you can’t even tell if you’re a man or woman. 

Y/N L/N (10:28am): Great even better!

You dropped your phone into your desk drawer after telling Alyssa to keep an eye on the photos. She was right: they were blurry. You were hoping with everything in your soul that Carly was too busy to even check the internet today (unlikely, seeing as your job relied on that), or if she did, that she’d be too excited about the new gossip to even pause and consider the fact that the hair in the photo looked an awful lot like yours.

So you waited. You contemplated sneaking out to meet Alyssa for lunch, taking a look for yourself at the accounts that had uploaded the photos. You decided against it, though, when you realized that your absence might make you look even more suspicious. Flying under the radar as much as possible seemed like a good option. 

You kept your head in your work: a list about the funniest memes about Christmas, a quick round up of the weekend’s best celebrity tweets. You heated up your lunch and ate at your desk, hoping to avoid Carly at all costs.

You were successful up until you slipped into the kitchen on your floor to fill up your water bottle, hoping to blend in to the late-lunch crowd. Carly stood with her back to you, but soon turned around, her festive red sweater made her hard to miss. Upon meeting eyes with her, you looked down to your watch, pretending as if you’d suddenly remembered a meeting you were late for. 

You weren’t one to shy away from confrontation, but this one didn’t feel totally work appropriate. 

“Haven’t seen you all day,” she said, pulling her lunch from the microwave before offering a smile. “Busy or what?”

“Swamped,” you lied, pushing your water bottle up to the cooler in defeat, the bracelets on your wrist clinking together. “Ate at my desk, been pretty productive, so s’all good.”

“Feels busy around here in general. Christmas and shit,” she shrugged. “There was breaking news this morning that Harry went out on a date this weekend. I don’t know if you saw it--pictures and everything,” she wiggled her eyebrows as if you’d bite at the bait. 

You licked at your dry lips, a heat rising to your cheeks. “Really?”

She nodded, grabbing a napkin from the counter. “Can’t even tell who it is, probably some random model or something. I doubt it’s hard to find someone to sleep with when you’re Harry Styles, though, so--” she turned to head back towards her desk, calling over her shoulder. “Come find me later, we’ll grab a coffee and do edits together!”

You promised you would, thankful for the fact that she was an hour behind her target for the day and still hadn’t eaten. It gave you time to gain composure as you wove through cubes and conversations to make your way to Whitney’s corner office with sweeping city views. 

A sunny and cold day on the other side of the glass windows reminded you that winter was here--the small amount of snow left reflected sunlight like a broken mirror on the ground. Whitney had a folder on her desk and waved you in when you knocked, cell phone up to her ear.

She ended the call and thanked you for making the time, telling you to shut the door behind you, affording privacy to your conversation about your numbers and pay and overall transition into The Scoop. 

You told Whitney that you thought it was going well--you felt up to speed with the platform the website used, felt like you were staying on top of your category (even if it wasn’t your favorite). She complimented you on your ability to use humor in your stories and on social media platforms to enhance the mission of the website, she even said you’d been the second top writer for this quarter. 

“Rarely happens with someone so new,” she smiled, leaning back in her chair as she crossed her legs. “But be real with me--are you liking it? What do you wish was different? Any big fears?”

You bit at your lip, contemplating whether or not to disclose your desire to cover more news. You didn’t want to seem ungrateful or entitled, but you also trusted Whitney to handle any feedback you threw her way. “I mean, I guess I’d be interested in doing some more long form stories. Editorials or something.”

She nodded, waiting to see if you had more to say. When you let your lips press back together in a thin line, she offered a small smile. “I’ll certainly keep that in mind,” she told you, her tone made it sound like she was letting you down easy. “Gabrielle does most of the editorial pieces and Carly handles a lot of the pop culture news stuff that comes up for the entertainment department.”

You nodded--you knew the hierarchy. Gabrielle had been here longer than both you and Carly combined. She was only a step or two below Whitney and she seemed to sniff out good stories like it was second nature. She almost never wrote a flop. 

“Yeah, no, sorry, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” you said, already regretting the words that you’d let slip.

“You’re not ungrateful,” Whitney said. “You’re looking for more growth. I like that. I’ll certainly keep it in mind, Y/N.”

“I do have a random question,” you said suddenly, the four walls of Whitney’s office feeling like a safe enough place to play out a scenario of what ifs. 

“Yeah?”

Whitney--as hip as she was--likely wasn’t paying attention to every waking detail of Harry’s life. You doubted she saw the photos and you figured you could be vague enough in your question. 

“Has anyone here ever had a conflict of interest issue?”

“Conflict of interest?” Whitney spoke the phrase like she didn’t know what it meant. You knew she did, so you gave an example. 

“Yeah, like, has anyone ever used their own tweets in a story or promoted a friend’s band or--I dunno, been friends with a celebrity that we cover?”

She let out a laugh, as if all of the examples were far fetched and unlikely. “I mean,” she shrugged. “Candace from beauty one time got in trouble downstairs for doing a whole write up on a makeup brand her sister was COO of,” she clenched her jaw and grimaced. “But no one up here--you’re all smarter than that.”                    

Right. Okay. So there was that.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Oh, just curious,” you waved a hand in the air, letting a forced laugh out as you looked out the window. “Sounds like a shit show.”

“Yeah--I mean, she got in trouble, but they figured it out. Anything else? I’ve got all of your stuff to proof before I head out early for yoga.”

“Nope, all good on this end.” You stood and gathered your water bottle and notebook. 

Whitney reopened her laptop and checked her phone. “Thanks for meeting with me, Y/N. We love you here and you’ve been a rockstar.”

You offered her a smile, appreciative of the praise and encouragement. Once she let her eyes fall back to her computer, you hurried over to your desk, reaching for your phone and praying that the photo hadn’t traveled any father. 

You composed a quick message to Harry. 

Y/N (3:17pm): Coming to yours when I’m out of work. We need to talk. 

**

The one problem about going to Harry’s after work was that he wasn’t home. So instead of storming into his apartment like you’d imagined, you had to wait patiently in a strange hallway in a big office building in Midtown. 

You checked your watch obsessively. You’d only been there for seven minutes so far, but it still felt like too long. You were rehearsing the words in your head, tiny fragments of an argument playing out before you even had the chance to tell him about the photos or the anxiety that came with them. 

You had no clue where you were. He’d sent another pin of his location and told you to text him when you arrived. A man at the front desk swiped a card for you to enter and instructed you to head to the 49th floor. So here, in another indistinguishable hallway (this time without a neon green wall), you waited. 

“Hi, hey,” his voice sounded from a doorway behind you, your body instinctively moving in the direction of his voice before you even locked eyes. “Everything okay, what’s wrong?”

His arms tried to envelope you, but before they could, you put a hand up to his chest. “We have to talk.”

“Okay,” he drew the syllables out, his head dipping to the side as he looked past your shoulder. “Come with me,” he took your hand and pulled you back towards where he came. Through a doorway, past a few people. A fitting, you realized. He was at some sort of wardrobe fitting. 

People stirred at tables beside you, yellow measuring tapes draped around their necks and white chalk stained their fingertips. He offered a smile to one woman in particular, one who seemed to be more interested in your presence than the others. He pulled you towards the other side of the room, your palm sweaty from the touch of his skin and the swirling desire in your head--the kind you tried (but failed) to ignore. 

Eventually you were in a back stairwell--one that was similar to the hiding spot you’d found last week at work. The door shut behind you, and Harry leaned his head out to ensure that no one was around to eavesdrop, he turned to offer you his full attention. “Alright, go.”

“Did you see the pictures of us?”

“Pictures?”

“Pictures.”

“No.”

You rolled your eyes and reached for your phone in your pocket, pulling up Alyssa’s message and opening the two attachments she’d sent. “These.” You flipped it around to let his eyes scan over them.

He hummed and took the phone in his hand, the other reaching to rub the back of his neck. “I take it you’re not happy about it.”

His eyes raised to meet yours, your voice faltering as you spoke. “I--no, I just--I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to work where I work and be photographed with you.”

“Because of your friend?”

Carly--he meant Carly.

“No, not because of Carly. Because of me. It’s a conflict of interest, Harry. I can’t be your friend and potentially have to write a list about the ten funniest things you’ve ever said in interviews!”

He cracked a smile at this, but it faded altogether when you squinted up at him. 

“Alright,” he cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s blurry,” he brought your phone back to his face and inspected it more. “You can barely tell that’s you. If I didn’t know what you look like, I wouldn’t even guess.”

You swallowed, wondering if he ever studied your features like you did his. The dip in his top lip, the way his eyes crinkled at the sides when he laughed. 

“What’s the big deal, anyway? We’ve been friends forever, a lot of people do know that, you know.”

You couldn’t help but pull a face at his words. Friends forever? You corrected him. “Friends who haven’t had regular contact for the last, like, six years. Haven’t spoken at all in the last two.”

He let a breath out, one that told you he was bothered or angry or something. “Because I thought that’s what you wanted!”

You took a step back from him, suddenly overwhelmed as a thousand questions burrowed their way into your mind. “Whatever--I don’t even want to,” you cut yourself off. You weren’t ready to dig up the details of December 29th or launch into a conversation regarding the untethering of your friend group. “I just--I can’t fuck this job up, it’s a really good job.” 

“You’re not going to fuck it up, Smalls!” His words were harsh now despite the use of your nickname, his eyes wider than before as he tried to reassure you. “It’s just a photo. No one will know that’s you. We’ll just be careful.”

It didn’t feel that easy. 

“I mean, it might get you more reads, y’know.” A laugh tumbled out of his mouth with ease, a complete lack of awareness of the weight his words held. You pulled your eyes up to look at him, a heat in your chest present that he hadn’t ever ignited before. At least, not in the angry sense. 

“Are you implying that being friends with you will further my career and that I should be thankful for that?”

“No, I didn’t--I just mean that people love to read your stuff anyway. S’hilarious. If people knew that we were friends, that would make people really interested in you--more than they already are,” he tried to soften his words, flatten out the intention as if he hadn’t meant what he said. 

You shook your head, your gaze on the cement floor as you wondered why you even answered his text four days prior. Now, as the sun tried to peek through the dirty sliver of a window in the stairwell, answering felt like it was a bad choice. 

“I--okay, Harry--I’ll see you around,” you turned on one foot, hand on the doorknob before he could get in front of you. 

**

Monday, December 11th

Harry S (11:34pm): I’m sorry about today. I wasn’t trying to be a dick. 

Harry S (11:46pm): Sleep well

Tuesday, December 12th

Harry S (10:19am): What are you up to after work?

Friday, December 15th

Harry S (1:15pm): Alright. You’re mad. I get it. I was a dick.

Harry S (1:15pm): Can we please talk?

You always wished you were strong willed. You could be, in a lot of ways. Like the time you and Jessie took a painting class and you were complete shit. You spent hours researching the right brushes for the right types of paint and eventually, you figured it out. The summer heat back home turned sticky as you’d paint in your bedroom at night, a fan blowing sweet relief until you’d climb into cool sheets. 

Or even the time you’d decided to stand up to Holly McAdams in Year 3 when she told everyone that you had cooties. The playground went silent when you called her a liar and told her to put her energy towards good instead of evil. 

But when it came to Harry--you’d never been so lucky. He always had a charm about him that seemed to seep into your brain and turn it all to mush, tiny roots that wrapped around your neurons and seemed to rewire you entirely. Which is why, on Friday afternoon, you finally broke and called him on your commute home.

“Hi,” you said into the phone, holding onto the handrail in your subway car as it rounded a corner. The reception was shitty underground, but you committed yourself to the phone call and would recognize a dropped signal as a sign from the universe that it wasn’t meant to be. 

“Hi,” he said. 

You waited, unsure if he’d launch into an apology or let you take the first step. Silence.

“Sorry I’ve been ignoring you. I was busy at work and I fucked up a list and Whitney has been out sick--” you realized you were doing it. You were apologizing when you hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d been the one to fuck up and now you were apologizing? You back tracked. “And yeah, I mean, you were a dick, so.”

He laughed, the sound immediately easing some of the tension between you. “I get that. I’m sorry--I should have known that you’re not,” he paused. A woman beside you sneezed into her elbow, you inched away from her to avoid contamination, sandwiched between strangers. “You’re not impressed by the fame,” he spoke dramatically, your lips involuntarily twitching towards the sky--or, in your current situation, the ground above.

“I’m sure not. Never have been, never will be.”

“Are you out of work now?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

You let out a sigh, you’d been dreaming about it all day. “Nothing--I’m going to sit on my couch and eat a bowl of cereal and pray that I don’t catch whatever is going around the office. I already kind of have a sore throat and I’m not trying to be sick for Christmas.”

“Well,” he laughed. “I wish you the best with that, then.”

A tangle of disappointment in your gut when he didn’t ask you to hang out. 

“Thanks. I’ll--uh--talk to you later?”

“Yeah, Smalls, talk to you later.”

You hung up, sliding your phone back into your pocket and shrinking into your coat for the remainder of the ride. When you climbed the twenty three steps to ground level at your stop, the sun had already sunk below the skyline, traces of light sneaking between the buildings on your block. 

Alyssa had worked from home for the day, turning the living room into an office as she sat sprawled out on the couch. She’d also been coming down with something--her nose red and dry from all of her tissue use. 

“Hi,” she greeted, pulling out her headphones and looking up at you when you came through the door, the room once again lit with the glow of Christmas lights. “How was work?”

“Fine, long, T-G-I-F,” you laughed. “How do you feel?”

“Somewhat better. Still crappy, though. How’s your throat?”

You dropped your purse to the floor and hung up your coat. “Worse than this morning. I talked to Harry though.”

She pulled her earbuds out and grinned up at you. “Was he so apologetic? I feel like he’d feel so guilty knowing he upset you--”

You shot her one of those looks: the kind that told her she was getting too wrapped up in his charm and fame and good looks. 

She cleared her throat. “But he was a dick so he should feel guilty.”

You kicked your shoes off, the leather of your boots falling against the wood floor before you settled into the couch. “He was apologetic--but it was quick. Who knows when I’ll see him next, maybe when we’re home.”

Alyssa bit her tongue--you could see that she had something to say but you didn’t press it, unsure if you had the emotional energy for a conversation about why being friends with Harry again wasn’t the smartest idea. 

She looked back to her screen, finishing up a few emails as you sunk into the couch, your eyes glued to your phone as you read through comments on the picture of you and Harry. 

I bet she’s just a friend--they look totally platonic. 

HE’S TOTALLY DATING SOMEONE! 

Skjdhfkjdshfkjdhk!!!!

The picture is way too fucking grainy how are we supposed to sleuth this one out?!

Alyssa sighed and closed her laptop. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Ugh,” you let out a groan, exiting out of instagram quickly to avoid showing her the things people were saying. If you had to guess, you’d say that Alyssa had a similar nightly ritual over the past few days. Wash her face, brush her teeth, climb into bed and read what strangers were saying about you online. 

The only good thing, really, was that people didn’t know it was you. 

“I’m not in the mood to cook,” you said.

As soon as the words left your mouth, your phone buzzed on the coffee table, the same obnoxious picture of Harry in an apron lighting up the screen as you both brought yours eyes down to the buzzing technology, then back up to each other. 

“Answer it,” she said excitedly, her lips curling towards the ceiling. 

You shot her a look as you reached for it. “Not on the first ring--can’t seem too eager.”

“As if you’re not eager,” she teased, returned the eye roll pleasantry, pulling a laugh from you as you answered the call. 

“Hi,” you said quickly, pressing the speaker phone button and holding it in the air between the two of you on the couch. 

“Hey--I’m following protocol and giving you a warning that I’ll be over in like--eh--four minutes.”

“What?” You asked. “Why?”

Alyssa looked around the room nervously, taking an inventory of the items that were hers. She sprung into action quickly, trying to declutter her home-office--notebooks, sharpies, her glasses and tissues were spread out around the living room space. 

“I’ve got food. Figured you wouldn’t want to cook if you weren’t feeling well.”

Alyssa stopped dead in her tracks, turning to you with her hands over her heart and lips in a lovestruck frown, completely enchanted by his words. You lifted your middle finger in her direction before turning towards the back of the sofa. Alyssa headed into her bedroom.

“You don’t have to do that, I mean--thank you, obviously, but, I totally get it if you’re busy.”

“M’not,” he said simply. “Stuff is dying down now anyway since we’re leaving soon.” You noticed his pronoun choice, casually dropped into the sentence as he kept talking. “I’ll wait until the coast is clear, alright? Just buzz me in when I text you.”

“Yeah,” you said. “Alright.”

Alyssa popped back into the room when she heard you hang up, her brows raised suggestively.

“What?” You asked, your tone slightly defensive as she pulled her head through the neck of her sweatshirt. 

“Just, interesting, is all. Awfully sweet of him.”

You stood from the couch, watching as she bent over once more to gather more of her belongings from the area rug below. “Oh come off it,” you said.

She pulled a face, confused by your slang as she reached for a pen that had wandered beneath the coffee table. 

“S’not a big deal,” you edited your words so she’d understand. “We’re friends.”

She hummed in disagreement, you trailed behind her towards her bedroom, socked feet gliding along the hard wood. Alyssa’s room was dark, the beige walls covered in posters of bands and movies. Her bed was unmade and the floor was littered in clothing of days past. 

You leaned against the doorframe. “How could you think we’re anything more than that after hearing the full story of what happened that night?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, giving you a dismissive look. “S’been a while, things change. You don’t just bring food to your sick friend.”

“Sure you do,” you narrowed your eyes at her. “That’s exactly what friends do, Lyss.”

She picked up a shirt from the floor and folded it into quarters. “Just seems like there’s always been chemistry. One shitty night--as embarrassing as it was--doesn’t mean there’s not chemistry.”

You thought on her words, careful to not let them settle too deep in your heart. They floated in the air in front of you, vanishing altogether when an electric buzz leaked through the intercom by the door.

You ran over--quick to make sure he could sneak in undetected--and held a thumb to the button to grant him entrance. 

Seventy-three seconds until there was a knock on the door, a pizza in his hand, and a bottle of wine pulled from the shelf in the kitchen. Alyssa--who was never one to turn down some Pinot Noir--had chosen the nicest bottle you had. A gift from her mother when she got a promotion. 

Eventually, the three of you were sat around the coffee table, throw pillows serving as seats as you reached for second slices. Music drifted from the small speaker on the bookshelf, the scene similar to that of last weekend, except this time Alyssa was here. It was funny how things with Harry could feel exactly the same as they’d once been, yet entirely different in the same breath.

“Did she ever tell you about the time that we stayed up all night at Jessie’s house when we were fourteen because of some stupid internet challenge?”

Alyssa pulled a smile, her eyes darting over to me quickly. “Of course she didn’t.”

“S’cause it was stupid. You’re the one who barely made it. Everyone else was fine but when five AM came you were seriously dragging.”

He contorted his face into one of mock-offense. “Excuse me for having good sleep hygiene and a healthy need for some shut-eye.”

“You guys were allowed to have co-ed sleepovers at fourteen?” Alyssa asked, holding a hand up in student fashion. She folded her pizza in half, a boat of cheese and grease and pepperoni. 

You let out a laugh, knowing that Harry’d want to explain the mastermind plan that he and Adam had come up with nearly ten years ago. 

“So we did this thing, where the girls would tell their mums that they were at someone’s house. So they’d say they were at Bryn’s, but Bryn would say she was at Y/N’s,” he smiled in your direction--the adrenaline of lying to your parents came back as a small wave, less exciting than in times past but still enough to keep a grin plastered to your face. 

“And the guys would do the same. We always said we were at Adam’s though--and I dunno what Adam would say cause his parents never asked any questions. So then we’d go to Jessie’s because her parents were always away for work, and--yeah, madness would ensue.”

“S’where we first drank, pretty sure that’s where Adam finally called Sophie Kneeland and asked her out over the phone.”

“S’also where Smalls blacked out the first time when we were fifteen or sixteen,” he let out a laugh and turned to Alyssa. 

Her eyes went wide as she folded her legs beneath her. Your stomach dropped though, seeing as now didn’t feel like a good time to recount all the times you’d done stupid things when you were drunk. You could probably spend hours on that topic alone. 

“Okay--alright, anyway,” you said, clearing your throat quickly. A car horn beeped outside, momentarily shattering the safety of the cozy room. 

“Hey, also,” Harry wiped at his mouth with a napkin and pointed a finger at your roommate. “Did you appreciate my warning--a whole five minutes!”

“Four,” you said, his eyes rolling in response to your correction. 

“Better than zero,” Alyssa nodded, taking a sip of wine. “Maybe we can work you all the way up to asking before you show up,” she teased.

Harry frowned at this. A dimple appeared in his cheek and he looked over to you quickly. “I brought food--” his gaze drifted back to Alyssa. “And enough for you, if you forgot.”

“You should have seen her cleaning up all her shit in here,” you laughed. “Notebooks every where, like a bomb went off.”

“I was working,” she defended. “What did you do today, Harry?”

“Hmm,” he thought aloud. “Woke up at eight--went to the gym. Showered and finalized the set list for the next leg of tour. Had a meeting with my manager and PR team about what’s coming up after the holidays. Lunch, then I had to go back to a fitting for more wardrobe stuff. Talked with Erica about the flight home, side note,” he looked to you. “Then I got your call and decided to come here.”

You were both quiet for a second--Alyssa had been challenging him, her assumption that he’d had a quiet day that couldn’t have nearly been as busy as hers. He took a deep breath and took a swig of wine. 

You knew that he was busy--you’d always assumed that being famous came with plenty of downfalls and responsibilities, but hearing them all listed out in succession without a breath in between made induced a wave of guilt to pass through your veins. 

Of course it was hard for him to keep in touch, if even his slower days looked like that. 

“But about the flight,” he pointed a finger at you and then set his wine glass down. “Two tickets on the red eye for the 20th. I’d say we could charter something but first class on the big planes is always really nice. They give you a free eye patch.”

“Eye patch?” Alyssa asked, her tone drifting up in confusion. 

“The ones you sleep with.”

“Eye mask,” you nodded.

“Oh whatever, you knew what I meant,” Harry squinted his eyes and reached for the bottle for a refill. 

“What do you mean a big plane, though? How big are we talking?”

“The double deckers--they have little cubbies in first class. Little doors and everything--super private, which is nice.”

“You fly on public planes?” Another question from Alyssa--your personal peanut gallery--as you watched Harry take the stopper out of the bottle before pouring more into his glass. 

“Yeah--s’better for the environment.”

Alyssa’s eyes went wide and she got that same look when he’d said he was bringing food--her brain and heart melting inside her, almost spilling out onto the oriental rug.

“Alyssa,” you said her name quickly as you stood from your orange and yellow throw pillow seat. “Want to help me with something in the kitchen?”

“What? What do you need help with?”

“Uh,” you looked around the room, trying to think on your feet. “The leftovers--the pizza.”

Harry, sat on the floor between the two of you, looked up. “I can help.”

“No.” You said quickly. “You stay. Pick a new playlist,” you instructed, hoping that a responsibility would keep him occupied. You gave Alyssa a prompting look, causing her to reluctantly stand and follow you around the corner to the kitchen.

“Can you not with the faces?” You asked, turning around once you were shielded by the wall between the two rooms. “Any time he says something relatively endearing you look like you’re about to combust or orgasm or something.”

“If I was about to orgasm, you’d know it,” she smirked, her voice low and sultry as you rolled your eyes. You’d grabbed the pizza on your way, so you reached into a drawer for aluminum foil and then tossed the box into the garbage.

“You get my point.”

“I do--but come on, Y/N! He’s literally acting like your boyfriend! Buying you a plane ticket even though you already have one? Bringing you dinner because you mentioned in passing that you weren’t feeling well? And now he’s climate conscious, too?!”

You passed her the foil-wrapped pizza and she put it into the fridge. A shrug of your shoulders, as if to dilute the air around you. 

“He’s alright,” you said, the words an act of self-defense, an antidote for the love potion Alyssa was verbally concocting. 

She rolled her eyes when she turned around to face you. “Relax, will you? It’s alright to be into him.”

“No it’s not, Alyssa,” you said, your voice more firm now. “You don’t know him, okay? You don’t know what happened back then and the way our friendship was and--just, leave it alone, alright?”

She paused, her eyes scanning your face, both of you staring at each other in silence. The kitchen clock ticked on the wall, seconds scattered through the room. 

Harry’s voice floated above the music from the other room, “some classic Christmas tunes, yeah?”

So you left it at that. There was no need to defend yourself more than you already had, the reasons stacking high as to why shouldn’t go down this road. Harry was on two feet in the living room, swaying back and forth to the music as Alyssa followed you back to the couch. 

You poured yourself another glass of wine, watching as he playfully took Alyssa’s hand, spinning her into his side as they waltzed in circles around the coffee table. 

**

You pulled your carryon closer to your body, wishing you could absorb it into your being as you forced your way past people already in line. Sorry, excuse me, sorry, thanks, gotta get by. 

The airport was busier than you expected. Your mum had told you on the phone that the afternoon would be the worst time of day, a wave of relief washing over you when you confirmed that Harry had booked the red eye. That relief vanished altogether when you stepped foot into the bustling airport, children running, intercoms beeping. 

Your passport was in your hand, the ticket slipped between pages filled with colorful stamps. An elbow into your stomach, you hiked the bag up your shoulder more. 

“I’m so sorry, hi, name is Y/N L/N, I was supposed to board already, uh--my friend is already seated I think.” 

The woman at the desk looked at you with an unimpressed stare, her fingers clicking on the keyboard as she held a hand out. You assumed she wanted your ticket, so you thumbed it out of the booklet and slapped it down. 

Her eyes scanned the paper before the computer did, when it beeped, the expression on her face changed. “Oh, Miss L/N,” she smiled up at you. “No worries, we can take you to your seat right now.”

“Oh, I can, I’ll just take myself,” you said awkwardly, looking around to see who else she was referring to. Other gate workers were nearby, clad in the traditional British Airways uniforms as the airport continued to buzz with Christmas cheer. Apparently flying first class had its perks.

And you would have already been seated if you’d just agreed to travel to the airport with Harry, but you had plenty of things to tie up at work before heading out for a whopping 12 days. It wasn’t typical to take so much time off in a role like yours, but Whitney was feeling generous and you’d agreed to work a few days remotely. 

So instead of sitting in the back of the same black Chevy Suburban with Roger narrating the drive, you’d crammed your suitcase into the trunk of an Uber and hoped that the traffic out to Long Island wasn’t impossible. 

It was. 

A man with a friendly smile took your bag from your shoulder, leading you around the counter and on to the jet way, veering left at the fork. The temperature shifted as you moved farther from the structure of the airport--the winter New York night seeping in through the cracks of the beige tunnel walls. Posters of happy travelers and airport workers smiled down on you, to fly, to serve. Their eyes watched you pad down the dull gray carpet towards the plane.

Smiles from flight attendants when you crossed the threshold, greeting you by name as your companion put an arm out, urging you in before him. 

The interior of the plane was dimly lit a calming blue--the windows shaded electronically, making them appear to be black eyes into the night. You passed a galley stocked with coffee, tea, British Airways water bottles, heading down an aisle past cushioned seats--ones much nicer than the economy class you were used to flying. You’d assumed this was your section--each seat had armrests big enough for giants--but you passed through a curtain to find a section of small cubicles, not much different than your office. 

One on each side, two in the middle. 

“Had to give up the window for you,” you heard a voice sound from two rows ahead. A dimpled smile looked your way, when you met his gaze, you shook your head. 

“This is incredible,” you looked around, taking in the sight of other suited men and bejeweled women settling in for the trip. “I didn’t even know shit like this existed.”

The man set the bag down on your seat, disappearing without a trace as Harry handed you something wrapped in plastic. “Your eye mask,” he delivered it with two hands, bowing his head to pull a giggle from your lips. 

“Seriously,” you took it from him and let out a huff as you pushed the bag to the floor, slumping into the extra-roomy chair. “This is absurd. The traffic was terrible and I almost thought they wouldn’t let me on.”

“Shoulda come with me,” he said simply, his tone almost melodic. “The club they let you wait in is even better.”

You looked around again, surprised that Harry was able to exist in peace in front of so many strangers. “I can’t believe you fly on these--you don’t get mobbed?”

He handed you a packaged piece of chocolate from a small cubby in the wall in front of your chairs. A flat screen stared back at you, your fingers tugging at the wrapper before plopping the candy into your mouth automatically.

“Not really--these people are all too busy with their own shit,” he motioned around the room, both of your eyes landing on a man who was animatedly speaking into his cell phone. “A few pictures, maybe. If we’re lucky we’ll sleep.”

You nodded, content for a moment to just catch your breath, take in the surroundings of first class, and just be. Harry reminded you of the plans you’d set with your friends: a reunion at the Red Lion on the 23rd. It’d be the six of you for sure, but there’d likely be others who you’d all invite--running into other classmates at Sainsbury’s or Costa wasn’t unheard of. 

You’d done the same thing in years past--your entire class heading for drinks and catch up conversations when everyone was back in town. The only difference was that this time, Harry would be tagging along. 

If anything, you were more nervous about the six of you being back together than you were about seeing people like Maddie Winslow or even Kenny Tilley. None of them knew about that night. Luckily--as obnoxious and outlandish as they could be--Jessie, Adam, Jake, and Bryn had managed to keep their mouths shut despite knowing the ins and outs of what had happened. 

Which, when you thought about it, meant Harry had, too. He hadn’t told anyone about the things you’d said or done. He didn’t rub it in your face or try to embarrass you in front of anyone else. The details of December 29th, 2015, would hopefully stay between the six of you for a long time to come.

After a good fifteen minutes on the runway, the plane was airborne. Estimated flight time six hours and thirty-five minutes, if we’re lucky, the captain said. You told Harry about your week and the things you’d rushed through this afternoon to leave work before 4pm. He laughed about the traffic and poked you in the shoulder when you rolled your eyes at him. 

Thirty minutes later he turned to look at you, a strand of hair dipping down to his forehead. 

“Smalls,” he said quietly. 

“Hmm?” You turned to look at him, mid-chapstick application. 

“I’m glad we’re hanging out.”

You stared at him for a second, your face tingly and hot when his lips twitched up into a smile. You nodded, broke eye contact, and capped your chapstick. “Mhm, yeah, me too.”

“Smalls,” he said it again, this time you looked at him more seriously. 

“What?”

“Can we talk about it?”

You could have sworn the world went silent--the hum of the plane’s four engines suddenly muted as he stared back at you with emerald eyes. 

Somewhere in the world there were ocean waves so high they could knock a boat off course. There were rainforests and mountains and deserts so dry they made the airplane cabin feel humid. You wished, as you sat next to him, miles of space between your feet and the ground, that you could be anywhere but here. 

You opened your mouth to speak, words escaping you. You shook your head. 

“Y/N, I just--”

“No,” you said. “Forget it. We both said we would forget it.”

He licked his lips, quiet for a second as he dropped his gaze to the carpeted floor. You stood up quickly, hoping an escape to the bathroom would place air and time between the two of you. You were stuck, though. You pushed the button twice that was meant to open the sliding door out of your tiny space--a human height shield from the other passengers. 

You pressed it again, more frustrated each time your finger met the hard plastic.

“Here,” he said behind you, reaching past you to press the button right beside it. “You were pressing close.”

“Right.”

The door slid open, a flight attendant offered you a smile as she waited for you to exit in front of her. Down the hall, into the bathroom--much bigger than economy. A full length mirror, a toilet that actually resembled a toilet. 

The door shut and latched behind you. Silence. You couldn’t talk about it with him. That would be more embarrassing than the night itself. What were you supposed to say? I’m sorry? I didn’t mean it? I did mean it? You’d said all of those things before--in quick succession and with a heartbeat so fast you could have passed out. 

A knock on the door. One second, you called out, turning the water on for a moment as if to make it sound like you were doing something other than panicking. You brushed past the stranger on the outside, offering an apologetic smile before heading back to your seat. When you got back, Harry had headphones in and a movie on the screen in front of him. 

Thank god. 

He smiled at you subtly, leaning forward to offer you a glass of champagne--someone must had dropped them off while you were losing your shit in the bathroom. You took it from him without a word, taking a sip as he took one earbud out of his ear and offered it to you. You pushed it into place and leaned back in the chair, still trying to catch your breath, grateful for the fact that he dropped it. 

You didn’t need the whole plane ride to be awkward. If there was ever to be a moment for the two of you to talk about the ghosts of Christmas past, literally, it wasn’t right now. The trip would be nice with a movie and a nap--free chocolates and eye masks, too.

And besides, champagne tasted better at thirty thousand feet.

here’s what first class looks like for Harry and Y/N

read the other parts here

AN: big thanks to those of you reading big thanks for all of the messages!!! be sure to let me know what you think? Anyone want to take a guess as to what happened on 12/29/15?

tag list: @clorenafila​ @ainsleesolareclipse @castawaycths @harryspirate @wanderlustiing @ursamajor603 @thurhomish @omgsharry @jdcharliewhiskey @stepping-into-the-light @rachkon​ @jdcharliewhiskey @sad-little-asshole @ainsleesolareclipse @clorenafila​ @shawnsblue​  @gendryia​ @g0bl1nqueen​  @laula843​ @pinkpolaroidgirl @4592222 @flooome​ @craic-head-horan @a-woman-without-a-plan @awomanindeniall​  @shaw-nm​ @staceystoleyourheart​

[17suggestion]

Paper Rings

Jeonghan x Reader AU!

Summary: Jeonghan has had a crush on you for a year now. He’s just too coward to do something about it. He never thought paper rings were a thing.

-loosely based on paper rings by Taylor Swift.

For: @luvhannie

Here’s another gift for you. I hope you like it. This wasn’t planned but this morning I had this idea after uploading the video edit. I haven’t write in months so I hope this didn’t turned out so bad. Merry Christmas Anna!

~🎄🎄🎄

Jeonghan knew this was stupid. He knew the rest of his friends were going to blackmail him about this for god knows how long. It was Soonyoung’s idea and Jeonghan should’ve known better about following Soonyoung’s idea but desperate times required desperate measures. He need to do something about it and he had to do it soon or he was going to lose his chance.

Jeonghan remembers the first time he met you. The rooftop of his old building never looked so vivid. A high moon was shining and the Christmas lights decorations were still printed on his eyelids just like the ridiculous Christmas Carols remixes were still ringing in his ears. He still wonders where Hansol managed to get that music from but it was better never asking when it came to Hansol. The smell of dubious substances was his doing too. It’s been a year, he has had a crush on you for a whole year.

It’s embarrasing, in a way.

He knows it’s not something bad, but he is Yoon Jeonghan and having a Joshua Hong teasing him for a whole year because he hasn’t made a move yet wasn’t something he was proud of.

Joshua often says he was being stupid from the beginning, that he should have come forward as a normal person instead of going home and checking all your social media in a lame attempt to get information about you. As if that was easier than asking Seungcheol directly about you, one of his closest friends. No, Jeonghan thought that ignoring you when you were in close proximity was better than talking to you as a normal person.

And it worked for a while. Until it was too much for him and he did what he never thought he could do: he became your friend.

It was the best and worst thing to ever happened to him.

He had to go through all the stages of friendship, from casual hangouts to late night conversations, to sleepovers to binge watch your favorite show to you getting drunk and crying because your relationships didn’t work.

He knows he loves all the time you both spend together, the weird adventures you both made from time to time (his body still shivers when he remembers the time you thought it was a good idea to jump into a pool in winter). He loves (you) being your friend.

But it’s been a year and he doesn’t know if he can keep with it.

So as stupid as it sounded he agreed to Soonyoung’s idea. Now he was at the mall with a stupid Santa costume with stupid reindeer antlers on Christmas Eve selling Christmas hats to children just because the booth was right in front of the shop you were currently working in.

Jeonghan had made a compromise at the beginning of December. He was going to confess to you before the end of the year. It was December 24 and Jeonghan hasn’t made any progress.

“Well that was the last! We can close now!” Soonyoung’s cheerful voice got Jeonghan out of his daydreaming.

“Finally!” He exhaled. It has been a long day. He looked in the direction of the store where you were currently showing a red bag to an old lady.

“Well I guess we can go home now.” Soonyoung’s said, already taking his things. “Unless you have some plans already” he moved his eyebrows in a gesture that should be suggestive, but Soonyoung just looked plain weird.

“Shut up.”

“Oh, c’mon dude, December is almost over. Are you going to spend another year crushing on your best friend or are you going to actually do something about it?”

“Shut up, I’m not-“

“Guys! Are you already closing?!” Jeonghan recognized your voice in a second and he blushed, Soonyoung was trying to contain his laugh.

“Yes. Are you closing soon too?” Said Soonyoung once he put on his serious facade.

“I still have about half an hour before we can close. Well I guess I’d let you guys go home now. Merry Christmas Eve!” With that you turned your back and went inside. Soonyoung glared at Jeonghan.

“What?”

“For someone who’s as bold as you, you’re really being a coward about this.”

“I’m not-“

“Listen, I don’t know if you’re dumb or just blind but if you don’t do something about this soon you’re gonna miss your chance and you’re gonna regret it for a long time.” Jeonghan didn’t say anything else, Soonyoung was right even if he wasn’t going to admit that out loud. “Now let’s go, we have to get ready for tonight’s party and you know how Jihoon gets when people is late.”

He sighed looking at your direction again, you were paying attention to what your coworker was saying.

Jeonghan took his bag, taking off the reindeer’s antlers. The worst part of this job was walking home with the ridiculous Santa costume. Soonyoung enjoyed it because Soonyoung enjoyed everything that was ridiculous.

~~

The party was in full blast when he arrived. The rooftop was more decorated than ever. At least the music was better this year. The red solo cup found his hand quickly and he got distracted for a while talking to a few of people. When he spotted you on a bench away from the noise he made his way towards you. You looked up, smiling when you saw him and he felt melting at the sight.

“Hey” you greeted him making space for him to sit next to you.

“Hey” he said back, “what are you doing here all by yourself?”

“Just thinking.”

“That sounds very sad.” He chuckled. He didn’t want you overthinking on Christmas Eve.

“Nothing sad, just thinking. Remember that time we painted your sister’s wall but you got confused about the color and instead of soft sky blue we gave her a full sapphire blue wall?”

Jeonghan laughed out loud. His sister was mad at him for days until his father fixed the paint disaster.

“Yeah, I remember that day. You’re just reminiscing our times together?”

“Yes I am.” He didn’t expected such an answer. He could feel his heart speeding up. “That day I realized you are one of my best friends. It was very fun.”

Friends. Jeonghan didn’t know if he wanted to smile or cry.

You opened a tiny paper bag Jeonghan didn’t realize you were holding. Two small pieces felt in your palm.

“What are those?”

“These are paper rings. An old lady gave them to me today at the shop. She was very nice.” You took one and put it carefully on your finger. It was just round paper and Jeonghan didn’t doubted it was going to fall as soon as you closed your hand. “She told me to give the other to the person I want to spend a long time with, so I’m giving it to the person I like.”

Jeonghan heard something breaking, it was his heart.

“Oh.” He didn’t know forming words could be this difficult so he stayed silent. It was too late.

“Jeonghan,” he felt you taking his hand but he was too far gone now to register anything around him. He should’ve heard Joshua, and Seungcheol and Soonyoung. He spent hours in an horrible Santa costume with horrible reindeer antlers trying to make a move and he didn’t. He chances disappeared. “This is for you.” You said as you placed the small paper ring on his opened hand.

Jeonghan looked at the small piece of paper on his palm, as if it was mocking him. His brain couldn’t connected any coherent thought.

“Oh.” It was everything he managed to say, still trying to realize what was happening. He was waiting for his alarm to wake him up because there was no way this could have been happening in real life. Right?

You looked at him, panic slowly showing in your features.

“I am so sorry, I don’t want anything to change between us, I just had to tell you. Let’s just forget about it.”

What?

No.

“No!” He yelled, startling you. “I mean no,” he said softer this time. “Why would I want that?” He couldn’t contain his smile, feeling as if he could breath again. His brain was completely gone at this time. “I love the ring, I’m never taking it off.” He took delicately the paper and put in on his finger. It looked even more childish than he thought. He loved it.

“So you..”

“I like you too and I also want to be with you for a long time.” He looked at his feet, he was sure he was a blushing mess.

“Oh my god,” you hide your face in your hands.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier. If I knew you felt the same I would have talked ages ago.”

“We’re so dumb.” You finally looked at him again, he felt his heart so full at the sight of your sparkly eyes.

“Yeah, we are.” He could hear Soonyoung laughing in his head. He kicked out the thought not wanting anything to interrupt this moment.

“What do we do now?” You asked, it was your turn to avoid his gaze.

“Let’s go find a mistletoe.” He said smiling widely, he took your hand, interlacing your fingers, everything falling into right places.

“Let’s find three, cause I’ve waited for a long time”.

[cyberdva]

Could you write something about spending new years with colby please?

2020 - Colby Brock X Reader ☆

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Request: Could you write something about spending new years with colby please?

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Main Masterlist

Colby Brock Masterlist

Word Count: 2k

Date Uploaded: 1/5/20

Warnings: None!

A/N: Thank you for all the Colby requests! I can’t wait to write all of them 🥺

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

“Hurry up Y/N! I don’t want you to sleep through the day.” Colby yelled up the stairs, his friends were throwing a New Years Eve party at a huge mansion they rented out. It outshined everyone’s plans and was sure to be the perfect start of 2020. Misfortune had already captured the two of them, unfortunately. Colby’s hairdryer sparked up and broke down while Y/N’s car kept sputtering constantly. This day was a pain every year, it didn’t help that Colby occasionally whines about not staying home today, but the party was too tempting.

The day started out as any other, some lame jokes from Colby, most of them about his 2020 vision. Y/N didn’t find it humorous. The day dragged on with chain events, Colby attempted to make lunch, he ended up burning Mac and Cheese. Mac and Cheese. The one food that shouldn’t be able to burn. It set off smoke detectors and everything. Y/N had fallen asleep for a nap and to wake up to high pitch anomalies wasn’t on her to-do list. Not to mention cleaning it up afterwards. They couldn’t stay mad when Colby apologized more than once, he was irresistible like that. After a quick phone call he ordered some sort of Chinese food.

“I still don’t understand how you did that.” Y/N’s manners slipped as she talked with a stray noodle dangling from her mouth. She couldn’t contain her laughter. “Mac and Cheese? Seriously!”

Colby blushed with embarrassment, he wouldn’t be hearing the end of this for awhile, “Shut up….” While they ate Colby finally brought up the festivities he planned to do later that day. Y/N nodded along in agreement, this was her single handedly least and favorite day of the year. Seeing everyone so excited, spending time with Colby, and the countdown to midnight. Today had a plentiful amount of cons, so much work was put into preparation and appearance. Don’t forget putting a whole year behind you, it wasn’t the biggest conflict. Yet it stung the most. All of the memories shared will be dissolved with bright, new ones.

The next couple of hours nothing much happened, the couple took a nap together. As the time ticked down to 12 AM Colby became more and more ansty. He didn’t know why, he assumed a cold shower would shake his nerves, maybe film a quick video. He didn’t have any clue what for, Colby’s mind was filled with jumbled thoughts, not helping with what he wanted to achieve.

On the other hand, Y/N was having the time of her life. Scrolling through various social media apps and forming fragments of a useless resolution. It was amusing to her that she never was really able to keep the promise to herself year-round. By the time it was around five PM Colby wasn’t back from his shower. Two long hours went by and Y/N was sure that he was dumb enough to drown himself standing up, especially after the lunch incident. She stretched out her arms and rolled her ankles. There was no way she was getting up to look for him.

“Colby!” Her voice left no echo, it was scarily quiet for the moment, it never really was anymore.

“What?” After a few seconds, a reply came from not the bathroom, but from the kitchen. Y/N sat up. Colby could burn water if he wanted to, at least he was trying.

“What are you doing?” The arms of her robe slinked down on her soft skin. She begged that he wasn’t fixing up another ‘meal’.

He walked right into their bedroom with two glasses of water, “Nothing, chill out!” He flashed his perky smile and sat by his small, wooden desk. He decided against making a video, just making ideas. Maybe a themed haunted location for Valentine’s Day. Possibly taking his girlfriend along?

Y/N sipped her water slowly, “What time do we have to be at the party you were telling me about?” Whirring of Colby’s laptop blurred the conversation.

“Three hours from now? You can head back to sleep for now, we’re probably not getting much tonight anyways.”

She shrugged, “You’re right. Wake me up then?”

“You got it.” He got right to clacking away on a new document, right after sharing it with Sam. Speaking about Sam, Colby didn’t know if him and Kat were doing anything tonight. He shot a quick text message his way just in case. Time began to blur and Y/N woke up four hours later. Colby had completely forgotten about his promise and went to play a random game on his phone. She would reprimand him later, but found a pair of jeans and a sweater to wear. New from some of the winter gifts Colby splurged on.

“Thanks for waking me up.” She opened the door that gave audible access to her boyfriend, “Now get ready.” With an hour drive ahead of them, the couple was already late. Colby threw on a jacket and snatched his keys from the kitchen table. His eyes drooped and he began to regret not sleeping much longer.

The ride was quicker than they thought, but by the time they had arrived the place was packed. Young adults from all over the state drove up for the night of their lives. The two sat by some barstools and chatted for what seemed like days on end. A small television played the live celebration and countdown. Before the two knew midnight was almost here.

“Hey Y/N, I just wanted to thank you for putting up with me.” On the TV screen the countdown begun.

“What do you mean?” The drink in her hand sloshed back and forth when she spun around, met by her boyfriend’s face literally right in front of her.

“Twenty!”

He scratched the back of his head, “Well, I mean with all of the things I dragged him like weird ghost things and listening to me. Oh, and Sam. You know? That kind of stuff.”

“Fifteen!”

She smiled back at him

“Ten!”

“Nine!”

“Eight!”

“Seven!”

“Six!”

“I love you, Colby.”

“Five!

“Four!

“Three!”

“Two!”

“Love you too Y/N.” He smiled.

“Happy New Year!”

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

[bngtanah]

I’m (not) With The Band. | o3

summary: Adrienne is an indie producer who is hired to help co-produce BTS’ next album alongside their resident producer; Suga. Despite the initial opposition on both ends, the pair spend time together, share a few stories, dreams and aspirations and begin to hit it off really well. Wrapped up in the whirlwind of late nights and heated disagreements and reconciliations, Min Yoongi and Adrienne Rolle find themselves growing closer and closer. One night they decide to cross the barrier between personal and professional and do their best make a relationship work against all odds.

pairing: Min Yoongi  x Named OC

word count: 2.6k genre: drama, romance, smut(eventually)

chapters: prologue| o1| o2| o3| o4| o5| o6| o7| o8| o9| 10| 11|

warning: light angst, smut, fluff, workplace relationship, slow burn, sexual themes, ambw, enemies to friends to lovers, developing relationship

a/n: still a fool. still re-uploading.

"I already know the direction we should take, we have to continue the theme of youthfulness from our last album but I don't want to repeat the same kind of songs again because that would be boring. We still have to talk about youth but we can do it differently than our last album was hopeful in a way even though some of the songs seemed sad on the surface, underneath that there was still a feeling of hope and finding happiness in the sad parts of your youth. I think we should focus on the dichotomy of feeling sadness in moments that should seem happy, right?"

There were very few things Adrienne knew about Suga at this point; he was 23 years old; he had about four inches of height on her; he was from a place called Daegu and though he was mostly quiet, when he found a subject that he was interested in he talked about it.

A lot.

Adrienne slowly nodded once he finished his speech, feigning agreement but the blank look in her eyes made it clear that she did not understand any of what he'd just said. Well, that was an exaggeration; there were a few words she knew but there was no way to connect the dots and decipher what he meant when he moved on to the next sentence so quickly.

Yoongi exhaled deeply and buried his face in both of his hands, his latest fear happening right before his eyes. They had only been in the studio working (attempting to) for about four hours but the haggard look on both of their faces made it seem like they hadn't left the room in weeks.  

"You don't understand?" Yoongi asked through his hands.

"I don't understand," she repeated, "You talk a lot."

"How do you expect to make music with me if you can't under-" He stopped himself before he said something harsh and dropped his hands to his lap. Tired eyes looked over at the girl seated across from him and Yoongi honestly wondered how they would make it through the next few months without verbally attacking each other let alone creating a body of work that he could be proud of.

"Maybe you could play me something?" Adrienne asked in an attempt to get them on the same page.

"Fine," Yoongi agreed flatly as he swiveled in his chair and hit play on a song he had already started working on.

"I started working on this a few months ago,"

When the song started Adrienne's eyes closed like they always did when she wanted to immerse herself in a song. It was a simple melody, still in the early stages as far as she could tell and even though it was sweet to listen to Adrienne couldn't help but feel that an enormous part of it was missing. When the melody finished playing Yoongi looked at her expectedly, like Adrienne often looked at her sister when she required an outside opinion.

Adrienne's thoughts on the piece were a lot more complex than her limited Korean vocabulary allowed her to communicate and she knew saying it in English would get them nowhere since Namjoon wasn't around to translate for her. So instead of struggling through the painful process of trying to explain herself Adrienne replied with the only sentence she could think of that could succinctly express how she felt.

"I don't like it."

"... What?"

"I'm sorry, Suga. It's cute, but it's.... boring?" Adrienne nibbled on her bottom lip before speaking again "It's too heavy."

"It's not finished-" Yoongi argued.

"I get that but- um...." Adrienne's mind went blank as she completely forgot how to continue her thought in Korean.

She wanted to say that if the base melody is too simple and heavy, then it will make it harder to build something more complex and gentle around it in the long run. She wanted to say that but Andy only heard herself groan with annoyance and lean back deeper in the office chair.

She knew that trying to collaborate with someone she didn't share a language with would be hard but Adrienne never expected problems so early. 

Yoongi rested his elbows on the edge of the console, pressing his thumb against the center of his forehead and closed his eyes together tightly to keep himself together. He always preferred working alone for reasons just like this, there was no one around to judge his work before he was done with it.

He huffed and gave Adrienne a sideways glance then shrugged his shoulders and scooted forward, "What do you know, anyway?"

"I'm sorry?" Adrienne asked incredulously.

"You can't be any older than I am and I've never heard of you before this so why should I care if you don't like my music?"

Yoongi spoke slowly and with no energy, he wasn't even looking in Adrienne's direction by the time he was done insulting her. Which seemed to be a foolish idea because he may have stopped himself once he saw the agitated expression on Adrienne's face.

"I may not be someone famous but I wouldn't be here if I didn't know anything," She replied and pushed herself backward from the desk.

"Okay but-"

"Don't interrupt me," Andy said swiftly, holding her index finger out to her co-producer as she stood up.

"I have been making music since I've known what music is and I’ve worked with people who have more talent in their right butt cheek than you so if I say I don't like something, take that into consideration instead of becoming defensive like a child."  

She was speaking in a mixture of English and Korean at this point but Adrienne really didn't care if he understood her or not. All she wanted right now was to be away from Yoongi who was red in the face and looked like he wanted to respond with a few choice words of his own. Before he got the chance to Adrienne spun on her heels and headed for the door, keeping her neck stiff as she heard it slam behind her.

Adrienne was halfway down the hall and still fuming when she heard a screeching voice call her name from behind.

It was Namjoon; he was sweating and nearly out of breath for reasons Adrienne didn't really care to ask about, but he still smiled and asked if she was all right after jogging closer to her.

"I'm fine, I just... needed to take a walk," She sighed and glanced at the ground.

"Oh. I was just about to go to the convenience store for water, I can walk with you."

Adrienne nodded, and they began making their way out of the BigHit building.

"So how are you enjoying Korea? Homesick yet?" Namjoon asked once they were outside, and he began walking toward the nearest convenience store.

"It's okay," Adrienne smiled "I miss my sister, but I didn't really have much else to miss. My apartment here is bigger than the room I had back home, even though the language is so difficult I'm enjoying the challenge. The only I'm not looking forward to is winter, I don't think I own any winter clothing."

"It doesn't get cold in your country?"

"Not really, the lowest it might go is like 52 but that's not enough to snow. Other than that it's pretty much summer year round."

"Really....Where are you from? If you don't mind me asking because your English sounds a little..."

"Weird?" Adrienne finished his sentence for him and they both laughed while Namjoon nodded and buried his head into his palm.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Adrienne answered with a smile "It's a country made up of islands that are actually pretty close to America. I still have an accent so that's probably why my English sounds so weird to you." Adrienne stressed the word weird and Namjoon croaked with embarrassment again.

"I didn't want to say weird!" He cried with his head thrown back and eyes closed.

"I'm only kidding," Adrienne grinned and tapped him on the arm "Now I have a question for you."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you so sweaty?"

"Dance Practice, we already have our title track and the choreographer is making us run through a possible routine for it."

"Have y'all been practicing since we got here?"

Namjoon nodded and ran his hand through the front of his hair, still damp with sweat "It's only been a few hours, we usually practice for longer but the routine isn't finished, and we can't do much without Yoongi-hyung in the formation."

Adrienne grumbled at the mention of Yoongi's name and the weird noise made Namjoon look down at her and raise an eyebrow. She was shorter than he was so it was difficult to see her entire face from this angle but he could tell there was something bugging her even if she said she was 'fine'. He chose not to bring any attention to it, though and allowed her to continue talking and asking questions about their practice hours and schedule while they milled around the convenience store and ended up buying a lot more than just water for the group. It wasn't until Yoongi's name came up again on the walk back and Namjoon could clearly see Adrienne roll her eyes that he decided to ask about it.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Adrienne paused and nodded quickly but soon stopped nodding and sighed. 

"I'm not okay," Andy answered and paused for a second to collect her thoughts "What's wrong with your bandmate?"

"Who? Yoongi-hyung?"

"Yes, I don't want to be dramatic but I feel like he doesn't like me. Which is weird because I'm very likable?"

Namjoon snickered at her blunt answer and looked forward.

“Well, Yoongi is a little... difficult to get close to if you don't know him. He's blunt and direct and sometimes that can seem cold but he's not nearly as mean as he pretends to be.” He chuckled softly and shook his head, looking over at Adrienne. “Just be patient with him, he usually works alone and I don't think he's happy having to share half of his work with someone else.”

Adrienne nodded, genuinely taking to heart Namjoon's advice. He knew Suga much better than she did so it only made sense that he would know how to get along with him. Perhaps if she took his advice they might even become friends? Adrienne may have been getting ahead of herself but it couldn't hurt to dream.

By the time they returned to the studio Yoongi was no longer stationed at the computer desk pressing keys, instead he had joined the rest of his members in the dance studio while they waited for Namjoon to return. All six heads swiveled towards the door when it swung open and Andy and Namjoon began walking in with both of their arms full of snacks and bottles of water. The younger members and Jin smiled with affection when they saw Andy trailing behind their leader but Yoongi's lips fell into a flat line and his attention returned to his laptop on his lap.

"Are you guys hungry?" Adrienne asked sweetly once she was close enough and immediately regretted her choice of words. The group swarmed her and Namjoon in an instant and a flurry of hands appeared from every direction to grab the items out of their arms while they (mostly Namjoon) yelled for everyone to calm down. 

Adrienne laughed as they all eventually just pooled the snacks and drinks between them and sat down in a circle in the middle of the practice room. She thought about joining them, the comradery and pleasant conversation appealed to her but the sight of Yoongi sitting against the mirror made her do something else. Silently Adrienne prayed for patience, blindly grabbed a few bags and bottles from the pile and headed over to where Yoongi sat.

"Can we talk?" She asked, not bothering to start with awkward small talk.

Yoongi looked up for a moment then went back to his laptop.

"Why?"

"Because I have something I want to say to you," Adrienne answered through gritted teeth.

"You can't say it here?"

"Oh my god, will you stop being so stubborn and come with me?"

Adrienne's voice was strained and firm but she managed not to yell and make it too obvious that there was tension between them. 

Yoongi sighed and closed his laptop, groaning as he got up and motioned for Adrienne to lead the way; which she did. Silently they left the noise of the practice room and made their way back to the studio they were previously sitting in. Once inside Adrienne closed the door behind them and Yoongi took a seat on the couch and placed his laptop on his knees. He eyed Adrienne with a questionable gaze when she grabbed one of the office chairs, set it in front of him and sat down with her legs crossed underneath her.

"I have snacks," She said after they shared a short staring contest, each one daring the other to speak first, and tossed him one of the plastic bags which he allowed to land on his stomach and gently fall to his lap, still silent.

“Okay, look I will not apologize for what I said because I don't think I was wrong but I will apologize for saying that you weren’t talented... I didn’t mean that.” Her words were timid and careful as she spoke and attempted to relay all of her thoughts. “I've been told that you might not be used to having to work with a partner which I can understand. I've never worked with anyone like this before either but, at least, I like people. You and I don't seem to share that trait.”

Yoongi raised and eyebrow with her last sentence, his curiosity piqued, "Who told you that?"

"Doesn't matter just listen."

Adrienne wanted to get all the words out before she no longer knew what to say. "I don't think we have to be best friends to make music but we will get nowhere if we don't, at the very least, understand each other. The language thing will be a problem for a while but we don't have to speak the same language to get along. This might be my fault, I get overly familiar with people and treat them like we're already friends so I think we should start over."

Yoongi tilted his head to the side and pouted his lips just slightly, clearly confused and Adrienne kept her comment about how puppy-like he looked doing that to herself.

"Like this," She said before clearing her throat. "Hello! My name is Andy Rolle I'm going to be your new co-producer. I hope we can make wonderful music together, I feel like we can learn a lot together!"

Adrienne followed her words with a playful bow by inclining her upper body forward and then extended her right hand towards Yoongi who looked at her like she was mental.

This was silly, and Yoongi knew that but he couldn't help but admire her for making an effort, even if that effort was lame and cringe-worthy it was moderately charming. 

"Nice to meet you," he replied after a moment of contemplation, the faintest hint of a smile hiding on his lips, "I am a rapper for Bangtan Sonyeondan, producer, genius. Min Yoongi."

Adrienne smiled and stifled a giggle that bubbled up in her chest.

"Nice to finally meet you, Yoongi."

"Hm. I think you should call me Yoongi-oppa, don't start off being disrespectful."

"You don't know how old I am!"

[fandomfic-galore]

Stop waking me up in the middle of the night.

Warnings: swearing, PTSD, smut, Bucky being Bucky. Unprofessional relationship. If I have forgotten anything, please let me know. 

Word count: 1886

A/N I have been away for so long, this is a way that I want to apologise. Have a Bucky Oneshot. I hope you enjoy it. I will be uploading a lot more regularly now. I promise also thank you @geekandbooknerd for the inspo. This is dedicated to you. Gif is not mine. Credit to the owner. 

Darkness engulfed over your room as you heard a slightly vibrating sound come from your dresser next to you. Blinking slowly you lifted your body and looked at your phone. The bright white screen read the Bucky. You sighed, knowing this could not be good at this hour. Holding the phone to your ear. 

“What is it bucky?” you answered sleepily, yawning halfway through the sentence.  

“I need to see you now!” you rolled your eyes, this was not good at all. Looking over your shoulder, you saw your clock read the time. Your body was substantial, you knew that if you left Bucky to fend for himself, it would end badly. For everyone, especially the avengers.  

“Its three am, can’t it wait until like a normal hour” You wanted to see if it could wait, knowing deep down it wouldn’t, but it did seem that Bucky may have gotten an unfaithful attachment to you. “ I’m trying to sleep, and this is very unprofessional Bucky.” You knew deep down that this was wrong, and you knew you shouldn’t have given Bucky your personal number, but you had a soft spot for Bucky, feelings that you shouldn’t have of your patient, but you couldn’t help it. He was a very handsome man. His long, dark hair, his arms, even his metal arm, was a massive turn on for you.  You would be lying if you said, you hadn’t touched yourself thinking of him. On top of you, pumping into you, holding you done, moaning your name. 

“I need you y/n. I need to talk to you.” You could hear in his voice how desperate he was to see you. You gulped pushing down the previous thoughts that had swept your mind.  

“You’re the only one who calms me down.” You smiled at yourself, knowing that this was true.  

“Are you in immediate danger Bucky.” 

“No” You sighed a happy sound, being thankful that he wasn’t a harm to himself or others.  

“Fine meet me at the diner opposite my office in an hour, this is the last time Bucky that I can do this.” 

Your phone clicked, and you knew that he had hung up. Placing the phone in your lap and throwing yourself back on your bed, you didn’t want to move, but you knew this was an emergency.  Getting up from your bed, you made your way to your closet, looking for something warm and comfy, as it was late November in New York and three am. 

After getting dressed, you grabbed a banana and a sip of water before heading out. Calling for a cab, you only had to wait twenty seconds standing at the sidewalk before a yellow cab pulled up. You gave the driver your work address and sat in the back in silence. 

Looking out of the window, you were thinking about how to approach Bucky, the best way to calm him down. 

Biting your bottom lip, you saw your office building approaching. Paying the driver and stepping out, you looked out across the road to the diner. Bucky was already there sitting down by a window seat. His gaze was deep in something on the table. 

“Morning Bucky” You greeted him as you sat down and waved to a waitress. 

“Coffee please.” The waitress smiled sweetly at you and grabbed the coffee pot. Placing a mug in front of you. Bucky and yourself were in complete silence until the waitress disappeared.   

“It’s the nightmares Dr. y/l/n, they won't leave me alone. I can't seem to…”

“Bucky its fine, breath,” You reached for his hand on the table and gave him a light squeeze. Rubbing your thumb on the back of his hand, he looked up at you. Giving you a smile, which was false, you could tell. He was your patient, after all. 

“Will they ever stop?” He looked into your eyes. Asking, no begging for the answer he wanted to hear. His free hand laid on top of yours. He needed to be reassurance. 

“Maybe, maybe not, its how you deal with Bucky that will help and that is why Steve hired me to remember, to help you.” His face dropped. “I know it’s not the answer you want Bucky, but nothing like this is easy; it takes time and hard work. He nodded. He knew you were right, but he did not want to accept that fact. 

“How about we go to my office and find out what's been bothering you Bucky?” You went to stand and left a ten-dollar bill on the table. You never did get to the drink the coffee that you craved to keep you awake. Bucky lifted his head, and his face lit up. He was happy, and you knew he was calming down, slowly. 

Stepping into your office, you ushered Bucky in. He instantly went to the chair that he sat in every session you had with him. It was routine. Taking the seat opposite him, you noticed his right leg had to start to bounce. This was a bad sign. A sign you had not seen for almost eight months. Something had triggered him to lose it again, triggered him to blackout. He was watching you instantly.

“When did the nightmares start this time?” You knew him better than another patient you had. His tells, the way he smiled to cover up his anger. How his knuckle would turn white when he made a fist and wanted to punch a hydra agent. 

‘A few days ago’ he gulped. 

“Did anything happen that could have triggered them this time.” you leaned forward, making him aware you were listening to him.  

‘I...wa...no” He lowered his head and tapped his right index finger on his leg. A tell that you knew he was lying. 

“Bucky, don’t lie to me.” You looked at him, sternly, but in a friendly manner. “I can tell when you’re lying, you have been my patient for over a year now. Spill it” You both chuckled at the end. Bucky told you that you were the only person who could read him like a book. It was your job, after all, to do it. He straightened his back and stopped his tapping and bouncing. 

“I was fucking this woman,  on top of her, my dick was inside of her.” He always went into details and woman when he was with you. You didn’t need or want to know the details, it turned you on, and your core grew hotter when he spoke about fucking other people. “but...and...she... grabbed my neck. I don’t mind that, I like it rough” He winked at you, and you rolled your eyes. “I was on top of her, and her mouth moved to my ear, she moaned and then…..” 

“What happened next?” 

“That is the problem I don’t know, my vision went black, and I don’t know what happened next.” his eyes started to water. This was hard for him, he hated it when he blacked out. 

“Do you remember what she said?” you asked in a reassuring tone, trying to convey to him that it wasn’t his fault. 

“No, it was weird, but when I came to, that’s when I released what had happened” He gulped again, straightened his back and rolled his shoulders back. “I know I slammed my fist into a wall, there is a hole where it happened. My walls are made of brick though” He chuckled to himself. “ My dresser was on the other side of the room. I found a smashed mirror. A lamp on the floor.” 

“So you blacked out? Which has happened before.” 

“Yes,” he nodded. 

“Does she know” you raised your eyebrows. 

“Know what?” he looked at you confused, like a lost little puppy. 

“The sequences of words Bucky, I won't same them don’t worry... but could she know what they are” The words always sent him in a frenzy, it was a way that Hydra could control him. They conditioned Bucky to the point that if anyone said a specific sequence of words, he would return to being the Winter Soldier, no question. However, he never remembered what happened, the only way to bring him back to normal

‘No, she wouldn’t, would she... how would she.. What..” He was getting confused and angry. Only a handful of people knew the words, and you were one of them. “How could she kn...was she….HYDRA!”  

“Bucky, Buck, look at me.” You pleaded you had seen Bucky blackout before.  But you had never seen him this pure anger that was raging through his body, it scared you. You tried to recall what Steve had told you how to calm him down when this happened. It was harder to reach through to him because he was Bucky at this point, not the Winter Solider. He started to pace up and down your office. 

Grabbing your phone slyly, you sent a text to Steve. 

Help, Bucky needs to calm down. 

Make him cum, 

What? 

Make him calm, it will calm him down, we usually have a sex worker on call for this. 

You looked over the texts again. How, why, no? Could it actually help? 

You got up from your desk and headed towards him. Reaching up to his neck, you pulled him towards your lips. You kissed him deeply. At first, he was taken back, then you felt him relax and kiss you again. Breaking the kiss you smirked up at him. 

“What are you doing y/n? Get away from me, I don't want to hurt you. “

“I’m trying to calm you down Bucky let me help you...Steve said this could help.” 

His lip curled up a little bit, 

“You don’t have to tell me twice” as soon as the last word left his lips, his hands grabbed your ass and lifted you up. Pushing you into the nearest wall. He ground his crotch into your core. 

His lips attached to your neck. His hands started to explore your body. You could feel your core tighten around nothing. You needed him. 

“Bucky, I need you” You moaned. 

Smirking, he dropped you gently to let your feet hit the floor. He pulled your pants and panties down in one swift motion. Doing the same to his clothes. He gripped your shoulder and turned you round harshly. Placing a hand on your back, he made you arch your back. 

Trying to look over your shoulder, his hand pushed your face into the wall. 

His other hand went into your legs. 

“Dripping already for me, doll.” Fuck you thought the way he said doll, could send you over the edge. Gripping your hips, he thrust into you with one swift motion. Both of you moaned. He stilled, letting you adjust to the size of him. Nodding, he took your cue and started to pump into you. 

Moans filled the air. The sound of skin slapping together made you reach your climax a lot quicker than you wanted. 

“BUCKY” Screaming as he drilled into you. 

“Doc. Fuck,” Stopping his actions you could feel the hot liquid spill into you. 

Gasping for air, neither of you moved. 

“So maybe next session we can try a different position,” Bucky said as he kissed your neck.

Taglist @heartislubbingdubbing

[lunaris-laments]

Finnzra x Hunter - Winter Prompt 20

Request from anon: 20 of the winter prompts with finnzra and (f) reader?

Prompt 20: “I don’t need any presents or a big fancy celebration when I’ve got you.”

It’s still Christmas where I am, sorry for the late upload!! Whether you celebrate it or not, I hope all of you have a great holiday. Some Finnzra x Hunter fluff for all you lovely people :>

Sorry if it’s not explicitly fem reader!! This is also my first time writing a poly relationship so I hope it’s okay uwu

**

Lights of all different hues shone from Ezra’s shop and illuminated the street beyond it, enticing and tempting civilians to peek through the windows to marvel at his decorations. The shop was closed for the day, and the moon hung low in the sky as the last slivers of amber faded within the clouds, coating the buzzing town in darkness. However, spirits were bright in this festive season for all, the usual domestic thrum of the city dampened by bands performing music native to Lunaris and parties that led into the early hours of the morning.

This was no different for Ezra, Finn, and the Hunter. The vampire was nowhere to be seen, but they assumed he had gone to the Catacombs to visit his clan - they may have lived through decades of celebrations, witnessed all kinds of traditions - Finn insisted that he give them well wishes and a good hug.

You knelt on the counter, reaching to the farthest and highest corner of the kitchen to pin up some decorations, sweet little paper figures and animals strung along a glittering ribbon, the other end already pinned to the opposite wall. You felt bad for Ezra when you glanced over to him, such a powerful witch and yet using his magic only to enchant small lanterns which were hung around the shop. Small shimmering flames emerged as he swept his hands over the bulbs, rainbows shifting and reflecting onto his face, painting his russet skin a plethora of beautiful colours and complementing the slight flush on his cheekbones.

His lips pull taut in a dreamy grin when you hop down from the countertop and slide your arms around his waist from behind, resting your chin on his shoulder.

“They look beautiful.” You whisper and plant a kiss on the apple of his cheek. Ezra giggles quietly and turns to face you. “Thank you, love, but you did just as much as me,” he says and gestures to the streamers and strings of decorations fastened to the walls. Your hands bunched up in his sweater, turquoise with lighter accents and the words “Meow-y Christmas” sewn into the front. It was cheesy and punny - exactly what you all loved.

He is about to take a step closer when Coco winds in-between the two of you, mewing and padding at your fuzzy sock-clad feet. She crosses the room and settles underneath the pine tree in the corner; it looks bare compared to the rest of your home. It didn’t matter if you had a religion or even celebrated anything, Ezra begged to have a tree - he just loved having something else to hang colourful ornaments on.

Ezra hauled another worn box of baubles, tinsel, and bulbs onto the table and rummaged through them, handing you some and telling you where to place them. Always the perfectionist; he tutted and rearranged the hand-crafted trinkets until he was satisfied.

You both startled when three distinct knocks came from the hatch in the floorboards. Pulling the carpet aside, Ezra unhooked the latch and you waited for your lover to emerge from the darkness. First you saw his golden eyes, glistening within the shadows, then he pushed the hatch open further to climb up. All sharing grins, he pecked both yours and Ezra’s lips and scrutinised the shop.

“I love you, but you have a tendency to… go a little overboard.” The smile on face as he gazed down at both of you betrays his words, but still, he attempts to sound miffed.

Each grabbing one of his hands, you pulled him into the other room. “We just finished decorating the tree - it looks beautiful, Finnegan, come see…” Without waiting for a response, Ezra tugs him to stand in front of the tree. The tinsel wound through the twigs and baubles hanging from them catch the light of the twinkling bulbs, reflecting in his eyes, a kaleidoscope of colours swirling in his irises.

Only when he turns to you, do you see the sweater that adorns his body. He has the same taste as Ezra - black with the word “Hoe” in bold golden lettering, dotted across his chest. Rolling your eyes, you bite back a smirk and snicker. “Do you both have to wear such tacky sweaters?”

You hear a gasp and turn to see the witch glaring playfully at you.

“Well, excuuuuuuse me.” Although Ezra speaks sternly, he moves towards you to take your hand, dragging you to the sofa with Finn following closely behind.

You’re pushed into the plush cushions and sandwiched between your lovers; the stark contrast of hot and cold, life and death, proves to be oddly comfortable. Finn’s legs swing onto the sofa and cage you in from behind, resting his hands on your stomach and his cheek to your shoulder. His icy breath fans across your neck and you feel his lips curl into a smirk on your skin. Ezra presses his face to your chest, arms around your waist and fingers finding purchase in your clothes. Fangs brush against you when Finn grins, hearing your heartbeat accelerate and feeling warmth crawl from your cheeks to your neck. 

Suddenly, Ezra lifts his head and gapes at you, raising his voice. “I almost forgot about presents!”

Exchanging a sharp look with Finn, you then watch as the witch untangles himself from you, the breeze that replaced presence making you shiver. He crouches and peers under the tree, searching for a moment then pulling out two small boxes, neatly-wrapped with patterned paper. You flush as he hands you one of the presents, kneeling beside the sofa, beaming at you.

“I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t do gifts this year?” Finn spoke slowly, accepting the present and sitting up slightly. You tug at Ezra’s sweater and lean down to press your lips to his, smiling against him. “Thank you, either way… But however will we repay you?” You ask, playful, mischievous.

Finn eyes him up. “I think we can find a way…” Although he has lived through hundreds of these traditions, he still looks at you with the same excitement and adoration as if it was his first. He clutches the box to his chest and pulls you close, and you know that parties and gifts can never bring the same joy as spending time with his lovers. It was as if he read your mind, and what he says next makes your heart soar.

“Seriously - next year we can just decorate the house and have a few friends round. I don’t need any presents or a big fancy celebration when I’ve got you.”

[pamy92]

Asato Yuya Birthday Event 2019

14 December 2019 

I attended all 3 sessions of Asato Yuya’s 2019 Birthday Event last Saturday. The venue was held at a hotel ballroom lasted the whole day! 

I tried my best to capture as many information I could remember (it was a very long day and I couldn’t sleep the night before due to nerves)! We couldn’t take any pictures so all images used are from Asaty’s uploads! ^_^

At all 3 sessions, the programme flow is largely the same with minor tweaks in the content and surprise changes as many fans attended multiple sessions.

Introduction by Emcee from Presence Tours and Kazuma

Entrance of Asaty/ Birthday Surprise

Segment 1: History of Yuya (childhood photo exhibition)

Segment 2: Yuya Talk-Time (Fans Q&A session)

Segment 3: O / X Game (aka True-False quiz game)

Thank you Speech by Asaty

One-to-One Photo & Handshake Session

I attended the 1st session with @beansproutsong​, and the 2nd and 3rd session alone! We had to queue up according to our assigned number, get an ID check before being allowed into the ballroom. It was free seating so we tried to get seats closest to the stage! In the 2nd session, I managed to get 2nd row seats in the middle and in the 3rd session, I got 4th row seats in the middle. 

The emcee from Presence Tours (organiser) and Kazuma did a brief introduction and the usual no-nos, and we were reminded quietly about the secret surprise for Asaty (except for session 3).

:: Birthday Surprise: Session 1, 2 & 3 ::

The same birthday surprise instructions were also printed and left on every seat for us to read. 

[Brief summary: Thank you for attending the Asato Chanpuru birthday event this time - 1st session. During the event, we will be giving Asato Yuya a surprise. When the words [Happy Birthday] are flashed on the stage screen, everyone sing the Happy Birthday song after being prompted ‘Ready go!’. Please sing ‘Dear Yuya’ in a big voice! We seek your cooperation!]  

In [Session 1], the surprise was almost accidentally ruined! When the emcee tried to move on to the next slide, he accidentally back-tracked and it was a slide about the surprise briefing. The audience members screamed, and Asaty was like ‘Wait? What? What’s going on?’ It was so funny!!! 

During the surprise, a cake was wheeled to the stage and Asaty blew out the candles after we sang Happy Birthday! The chef that made the cake was standing at the back of the room, and Asaty took a bite of the strawberry shortcake that was prepared separately for him. He was like ‘UMAI~!!’ at the first taste, and kept thanking the chef! 

In [Session 2], the cake was still left on the stage (I suspect it is just a dummy cake for wedding ceremonies) when I entered the ballroom. 

But this time round, the instructions on my seat are different and we received a light stick! 

[Brief summary: Thank you for attending the Asato Chanpuru birthday event this time - 2nd session. During the event, we will be giving Asato Yuya a surprise. The lights will dim at the start of the event, please activate your lightsticks.  Everyone sing the Happy Birthday song after being prompted ‘Ready go!’. Please sing ‘Dear Yuya’ in a big voice! We seek your cooperation!]  

When the doors opened for Asaty to enter, everyone’s light sticks were a beautiful purple and Asaty was like ‘SUGOOOOOOI’ when he headed to the stage. The birthday song was played and we sang Happy Birthday. The candles were not lit so he motioned to Kazuma to light it for him. Because the song was ending, he tried to blow it as Kazuma struggled to light all of them haha! 

In [Session 3], there was no paper printed on our seats. But the instructions were shown in the slides which basically told us to sing a birthday song when prompted on the screen during the O/X Quiz game. BUT, the true surprise was actually...RIN RIN! 

So after Asaty gave his thank you speech, the emcee said they have received a sudden message from Wada Masanari, which they played back. Asaty was laughing and talking over the recording, so I could not hear Rin Rin’s message clearly. But basically, Rin Rin was congratulating Asaty on his birthday and that sorry he could not be here to celebrate with him. 

Then suddenly, Rin Rin said ‘Actually, I am backstage. I’m coming inside now.” And everyone started screaming in shock, even Asaty froze for a second. Then Rin Rin said “Please don’t get too excited when I enter the hall.” And then RIN RIN CAME THROUGH THE DOORS!!!! Everyone was screaming! Even I myself am screaming ‘OMG!’. My first live Rin Rin! I have never seen him in person before! Asaty was also shouting ‘RIN RIN!!!” and jumping excitedly! 

Rin Rin was filming on his phone throughout the whole thing, so he panned his camera at us and then went straight to Asaty for a photo! It was so precious! Asaty was so HAPPY and gave him a big high-5! 

Then Rin Rin whipped out a present he was hiding behind his pocket, and it was a new Nintendo switch Pokemon Go game cartridge! Rin Rin said his rehearsal was cancelled so he quickly asked his agency (which is the same as Asaty’s) if he could crash the party. It was very last minute but Asaty was so so so happy! I have never seen him so excited before! The video that Rin Rin took will be uploaded on New Year’s Day! I can’t wait! No idea where it will be released though - hopefully on the Asapuru Channel! 

:: Segment 1: History of Yuya ::

In this segment, we were shown various pictures of Asaty in his childhood! Asaty had asked his mom to send over some childhood photos a few days before the event & she shipped 10 albums over.  It was raining when the box arrived & it got a little wet too, to Asaty’s horror. 

Whenever the emcee flashed a chubby baby picture, Asaty kept gushing over how cute his chubby baby pictures are and cooing “This guy is cute! I’m so cute!” And he kept poking his fat baby arms on the screen!  Also, a lot of toddler-Asaty photos are of him smiling brightly with his papa because he rarely sees him. Then we saw shots of him crying when his papa has to go away. 

Here are some memorable things he shared: 

[Picture of baby Asaty grinning with only two bottom teeth] Asaty pointed at his baby face, laughed and said “I finally grew teeth!!” 

[Picture of toddler Asaty at an amusement park] Asaty hates the spinning tea cup ride even till now. When he was young, his uncle spun him around so hard, Asaty vomited and it flew everywhere.

[Picture of 7 yrs old annoyed-looking Asaty with a pig mascot] Asaty was at Disneyland and trying to take a picture with one of the 3 Little Pigs. Unfortunately, his bro got in his way and he was trying to shove him away. He confused it with the 7 dwarves & said the pig was from Snow White

[Picture of toddler Asaty and his infant younger bro cuddled up in bed] Asaty had a finger on his lips and an annoyed “Shhh, my brother is sleeping!” expression on his face as the photo was taken.

[Picture of 4 year old Asaty riding a shisa statue at a shrine visit] He laughed when he saw the picture and said “I have a pervertic look on my face!” When asked by Kazuma if it was okay that he was sitting on it, he quickly answered “It depends on the shisa.”

[Picture of bro and him with yukata waist ties around their heads, both look drunk and bored] Kazuma: “What are you guys looking at?” Asaty: “I dunno... maybe horse-race betting.”

[Picture of Elementary Sch Asaty] He said he wasn’t considered handsome because there were other boys better looking than him. He had no girlfriend nor any valentine memories. But he had a girlfriend in Preschool. LOL

[Photo of High Sch Asaty at his graduation] During his High School graduation, he said that he promised a Junior that he will give his bottom blazer button (his blazer only has 2 buttons) to her. But when another student asked for it first, he forgot and gave it to her. When his junior found out, she got really angry at him. Asaty then said didn’t understand why girls wanted his bottom blazer button when the top-most is closest to his heart. “...Maybe...” His hand then strayed to his crotch which Kazuma told him to stop. LOL

:: Segment 2: Yuya Talk-Time ::

Question: If tomorrow is the end of the world, what would you eat? 

Asaty: I want to eat a lot! (when prompted by emcee to list the first food) Unagi! And then Macdonalds! Then curry! (In your last 30 seconds of living?) Unagi once again! 

Question: What recently made you cry? Asaty said he was watched Joker recently and because the character had a lot of depth & character development, he was so moved that he cried. 

Question: What is the one thing you wish to have? Asaty said he really wants an iPad Pro, so he can play Call of Duty better (he plays it on his iPhone currently) and he kept bugging Ono Kento & wanted to use his.

Question: What was the most touching moment you had experienced this year? Asaty said it was when Seirin won the Winter Cup. It was so touching that the main cast cried when they did the table-reading. The cast still keep in contact on LINE.

Question: When #和田のお顔が綺麗 trended on Twitter. Asaty didn’t know it will go viral. He said that Rin Rin was happy when he used the hashtag for the first time & subsequently started a series. Too bad Izawa & Kento’s hashtag didn’t go viral.

Question: What’s a routine thing you do before a big event? Asaty says he’ll take a shower and give his chest a punch with his fist to settle his nerves & get himself ready.

Question: Do you get nervous before performing as F6. Yes. He messes up his lines when he gets nervous. During OsoSute, Asaty once had a slip of tongue & accidentally said “Mysterious Oni. Purple Cool.” It was supposed to be “Mysterious Cool. Oni Purple.” 

Question: Unagi. Asaty likes Unagi ever since he is aware of how much he liked the taste of it when he was in Elementary school. 

Question: What is your Kanji of this year? Asaty said 忙/急(busy), due to the consecutive KuroSute & HeineMyu performances. It was not normal for this to happen.

Question: Please talk about F6 Costumes. Asaty said their costumes were inspired by the circus! Osomatsu -  Ringmaster (Greatest Showman), Karamatsu -  Beast Tamer, Ichimatsu - Knife Thrower, Choromatsu and Jyuushimatsu are Clowns. Asaty doesn’t know what the heck Todomatsu’s costume is lol (his own words). 

:: Segment 3: O / X Game (aka True-False quiz) ::

In this segment, all the audience members had to stand and answer O or X with their arms. Only those who got the answers right can continue standing and play the game. Winners got his autographed board and a solo-polaroid of him. I lost all three sessions lol. The questions are HARD! 

Question: When Asaty takes a shower, the first thing he washes is his neck. (Answer: True, all the girls were shocked.)

Question: Asaty likes chocolate cake the best out of all the cake flavours. (Answer: True!)

Question: Yuya was not the name his parents originally wanted. (Answer: True. Asaty’s parents did consider naming him Tokiya, but decided to stick with Yuya instead!) 

Question: Winter is Asaty’s favourite season. (Answer: True! He really loves winter and snow! He however does not do winter sports because in 2011, he suffered from a really bad winter-sports injury which he got scolded by his agency for not taking care of his body. )

Question Even though Asaty is 32, he is forever 17 in his heart. (Answer: True)

:: One-to-One Photo & Handshake Session ::

At the end of the event, all of us will line up according to the rows we were seated at to meet Asaty one by one at the partition outside the ballroom. It was well-organised and flows very smoothly. My only gripe is that compared to last year’s 30-seconds talk, we only had about 10 to 15 seconds to chat to Asaty! 

Session 1: I was so nervous the very first time I met him after a whole year, and I was a little worried that he wouldn’t remember me at all (I mean he has a lot of fans and I don’t expect him to remember everyone) but my fears were unfounded. When I walked over and waved my hands, saying I was from Singapore, his eyes immediately lit up in recognition.  I bought him a merlion face mask and a durian pouch as his present, and he suddenly asked me if I liked durian which threw me off and I got tongue-tied. 

After receiving the polaroid, I did not realise he left my present with the merlion mask facing the camera on his lap. When the picture developed, I saw it and started laughing non-stop! Such a troll picture. I thought I was the one trolling Asaty with lame presents but looks like he trolled me back. Whoops

Session 2: The emcee told us we will not be given time to talk about our presents because it took too much time in the earlier session, he told us to pass it to him and the staff will take it away immediately. It was really a shame because I wanted to tell him about the concept of the fan book this year! So while waiting for my turn, I rehearsed what I wanted to say to him so my mind won’t freeze! I’m so glad the words came out and Asaty was able to oblige to my unofficial interview request without his agency staff coming in to stop us! 

I really liked it when he concentrated hard to think before looking at me to say those words to his overseas fans. His sincerity is radiating off and he was really not taking it lightly (aka saying it in a flippant manner). 

I think that was about this time when I realised that I really really want to continue promoting him overseas. TBH, with my day-job taking up so much time in my personal life, sometimes I feel like stopping...  Then I realised that he is also trying really hard on his end and he is honestly very grateful and down-to-earth for all the local and overseas support. Even though many overseas fans have already moved on, I’ll continue supporting and helping you Asaty! 

Session 3: With this being the last session that I will meet Asaty till late 2020, I thought I could just fool around and tease him a little - by making him speak in English! I remembered in his live-stream that he said ‘I can’t speak English!’ after coming back from the USA, which contradicts what his relatives in Okinawa told me - Asaty has been studying English via English music, dramas and movies, so he could communicate with his American relatives and nieces/nephews. 

When it was my turn, I waved to him crazily again and asked him to speak English which he laughed and said ‘Okay’ After we took our picture and he took both my hands and then suddenly said ‘I’m very happy!” which I totally was not expecting at all and my mind went blank! It was probably the cutest thing he said EVER and in English too! 

I wanted to tell him to do his best next year, come visit Singapore and I hope to see him again soon. But I got tongue-tied and all I could say was ‘See you next year!’ GAH I AM SO MAD AT MYSELF!!!! I only rehearsed the first line and didn’t think about what other things to say in English to him LOL. #fail 

------

All in all, I really really had fun meeting him again! His hands were gentle and warm and his brilliant smile is just like the sun itself. 

Thank you Asato Yuya! I really hope to see him again in 2020! This time I’ll bring more lame Singapore presents to make you laugh! 

[narwhallove]

Behind the Curtain: Interview with Romy Writer Ludi-Ling

House of Cards actually started out as a random smut scene that burgeoned into something far, far more.

@ludi-ling goes meta in our final interview about her writing process; how the Romy fandom’s changed over the years; alternate universes (AU); and the role of smut for Romy fans. (Spoiler alert, our heroes are hot.)

No surprise that it’s a pleasure interviewing Ludi. I kept sending her more questions (25 total!) because her responses fascinated me and inspired me to ask more. It’s a rare person who writes visceral, startling prose and can also talk about her work with clarity, intelligence, and an affection for her characters that doesn’t occlude good writerly judgment.

The superlatives don’t end there. Anyone who knows the community knows that Ludi is a friend to her readers and to her fellow writers. As we all enter a heady 2019, reading Mr. and Mrs. X together, Ludi is someone to cherish.

If you haven’t read our other interviews, please check out: Part 1 of interviews: X-men Origins Part 2 of interviews: Going Dark

As a scholar of fan studies, do you believe Romy fanfiction fulfills needs that Marvel never can? What needs might those be, for Romy fans?

Certainly I think that fanfic is built on the premise of filling in the gaps, scribbling in the margins (to quote the seminal fan studies scholar, Henry Jenkins!) and fixing perceived wrongs. Comics are unique in that regard because the characters and stories within them continue for years and even decades. Comics continuities are convoluted and complicated, and there is a constant churn of writers working on them. Many fans have followed characters for far longer than the writers, and may know the characters more intimately than the professionals. Comics are full of retcons and contradictory takes on the characters. And I think fanfic is an important medium for allowing fans to “fix” that, to negotiate it. Because of the ongoing nature of comics, and because the futures of the characters are always going to be nebulous and subject to the whims of Marvel and the writers indefinitely, I think it’s going to continue to be important. Romy may be married in the comics, but there will still be plenty to write about—kids, divorce, a reconciliation . . . who knows? ;) 

What do you think Romy readers seek out when they read fanfiction? If it’s wish fulfillment, what kinds of wishes are being fulfilled? If it’s looking for “gaps” that the comics skip over, what have you found to be the most common sorts of gaps?

I think Romy is a very interesting example of the “wish fulfillment” function of fanfiction. Because part of the mystique of that ship (no pun intended) is that they can’t touch, they can’t consummate their relationship . . . And fanfic is a way that fans can get them to touch, to work out that angst. I think that one of the staples of Romy fic is the sexual tension between the two, and how they resolve that; the push and pull between them. Sometimes these take place in epic, superheroic backdrops, sometimes in AUs, where they have no mutant powers and where the tension between them is born from other factors (such as already having significant others, or being enemies, or in illicit lines of work).

What draws you to AUs? Your stories aren’t a case of fanfiction filling what’s “between panels”; you tend to shift characters and relationships to entirely different settings, whether it’s a Strange Days–like world or another genre, like a Southern gothic procedural. Can you talk about AUs and how they play out in your imagination?

What I’ve always liked is world-building. One of my first large-scale writing projects was a fantasy trilogy called The Legend of Elu. Most of the fun I got from that was actually building the world, the kingdoms, the mythology, the theology, the languages, the history of that story. That definitely bled into my fanfic.

Now I tend to write canon stuff as one-shots, and novel-length stuff as AUs, because they give me more space to play with world-building. That was something I realised I enjoyed more when I wrote Threads. Writing all those little worlds in a series of one-shots felt too “small.” HoC was originally an expansion of the Threads tale Touch and Go, but it grew into something else, and since then, I’ve preferred to go the AU route for the longer-form stories. :)

We’re living in peak Romy times—I think we’re still reeling from the wedding! Let’s say you had the power to go back in time and drop a pin into an earlier moment in the Romy timeline that you felt truly represents what Romy means to you (which isn’t the same as when they’re happiest!). When and in what universe? Why this choice?

There are so many iconic moments from Romy’s past, but, for me personally, I always go back to their time in Valle Soleada (in X-Treme X-Men). That’s not because they’re happy per se, but because I think that that period was the perfect example of how great they worked together on every level, and was proof positive that they were a good match. I often say it, but I will say it again here, because it’s the truth, and y’all can fight me to the death over it—if there was a time they would’ve got married and I would’ve bought it 100%, it would’ve been in Valle Soleada.

On Tumblr, it seems a large contingent of Romy fans are women in their 30s who discovered Romy at a tender age, thanks to the animated series. This includes you and me! There are exceptions, of course. What’s it like for you to have been in the fandom from the early aughts? What changes in the fandom have you noticed between 2003 and 2018?

I really joined the fandom at an exciting time for Romy—they’d just got back together properly after all the turmoil of the Trial of Gambit. X-Treme X-Men was a treat for Romy fans, and Claremont wrote such a great dynamic between them. As fans we were all excited and happy and well-fed on all that Romy goodness.

So it was weird (not to mention disappointing) when the 2004 reboot happened, and Marvel did everything they could to tank Romy. Which is one thing, and I can stomach it if [it were] logically and well written, but it was just so terribly done that I think many of us just tapped out of the fandom completely. I’d say 2005–2018 were fallow years for the Romy fandom. Most (if not all) of the fan friends I made at that time completely left the fandom. For myself, as someone who enjoys writing AUs, it was the perfect time to branch out from writing in canon and fitting Romy into my own world.

Who are your influences? What writers do you feel a particular affinity for? Are there writers whom we might be surprised to discover informed your work, but you feel have, despite appearances?

I was heavily influenced by the dark, modern fairytales of Angela Carter about the time that I was writing Queen of Diamonds and Threads. She had a really magical way with words—her prose was lyrical, sensual, and unbelievably rich. She was a huge inspiration, but later I moved away from her tone, firstly because I felt I was doing a poor imitation of her, secondly because it wasn’t really appropriate for the direction I wanted to move my fics in, and lastly because I was becoming self-conscious of my insane verbosity and wanted to pare down my prose. That’s something I’m still working on!

At some point during the writing of House of Cards, I finally got round to reading Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and I think it was Douglas Adams who convinced me to move away from Carter’s beautiful but too-flowery prose. I loved the way his narrative just sizzled. I’m bad at capturing that energy—but I do think that from HoC onwards, I’ve tried to learn to be more economical with my words—which is hard for a florid soul like mine. 

Threads—structurally at least—was influenced by Italo Calvino’s If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller, and later, by David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. 

Let’s say you can pair your fiction with other works of art—of all forms, films, paintings, music, etc.—as if you were pairing wines to foods. What other pieces of art might you say go along with yours?

Wow! OK—that’s hard. Threads I’d probably pair with Cloud Atlas (the book, not the film, which I haven’t yet watched). HoC—I don’t know that there’s any one thing I would pair it with, but you can bet a load of post-apocalyptic stuff was thrown into that stew, along with a bit of The Matrix and probably some Inception.

52 Pickup was influenced a lot by Asmus’s Gambit run, cos I really wanted to write a heist fic with Remy and Rogue rather than Remy and Joelle (who I freely admit kicked ass). But if I had to pair it with a piece of media, it’d be with the video game Remember Me, which dealt a lot with themes of how memories inform our identities, and the ethical concerns of having memories essentially become “documents” that are uploaded and shared digitally through the cloud.

This is a good segue to talk about high-low culture. We may not want to believe in a hierarchy of culture, but we can certainly talk about the differences between fanfiction and “regular fiction.” When you read fanfiction, do you approach it differently than you would regular fiction? Are your expectations for form, reading pleasure, or anything else different? If so, how so?

Interesting question! I don’t know whether I approach it differently per se, but I think that readers have different expectations of fanfic. Hopefully we all read “regular fiction” for the same reason we read fanfic—for pleasure. But I don’t think there’s really a binary between regular and fanfiction. I think both exist on a continuum. There is a lot of “regular fiction” (I prefer to call it “profic” or “professional fiction,” because I think that’s where the binary between the two exists) that is actually very close to fanfic, and vice versa. By that I mean that there is plenty of fanfic that is epic in scope, deals with serious themes, and might be considered “classics” if they weren’t fanfiction.

And there is also profic, like romance, that is more similar to fanfic in terms of the kind of functions that it serves. There is an illicit pleasure to reading romance—for example, it’s not the kind of thing you’d openly read in public! There’s a similarity between that and fanfic, and I think, as readers of fanfic, we anticipate some level of illicitness when we approach it—even if the illicitness is only in the format (i.e., it’s fanfiction!), not in the content.

Fun question: What role do you think explicit smut functions in a fic? How do you deal with smut in your work? There’s an interesting moment that’s not in HoC, in which you write about Gambit and Rogue’s first time having sex in his point of view. It’s a separate chapter that exists as its own entity on your fanfiction.net page. Notably, it is much more explicit than the scene in Rogue’s perspective. Can you talk a little bit about this decision?

Well, I do think that fanfic is a safe space for writers to explore their sexuality (and I think that’s a huge part of the reason why fic is looked down upon), and smut plays a significant role in that. And smut certainly plays a part in my own fics. HoC actually started out as a random smut scene that burgeoned into something far, far more. Generally, I do try to make the sex scenes have a purpose in the plot (’cos I’m kind of anal about plot structure!), but in the particular case of Slow Burn and the other HoC vignettes, those are more self-contained one-shots where I could explore things that I couldn’t explore in the main story. So I could indulge in the smut a bit more! And let’s be honest—Gambit’s dark sexuality makes it thrilling to write smut from his perspective—of course his “thoughts” are going to be more explicit! ;)

But I also think that it’s interesting to write their individual perspectives on their sexual encounters, because of that tension between their characters. Rogue is the quintessential virginal Southern Baptist gal who’s inexperienced; whereas Gambit is the sexually aggressive alpha male who’s probably never had a woman turn him down in his life. That makes for a very combustive love affair between the two, and makes it fun to write that love affair (and all the smut in-between) from both their points of view.