#how he started in business but then hated it so he started dj-ing

[cinnaminsvga]

actual conversation i had with my dental hygienist

hygienist: so what did you study at university?

me: chemistry...

hygienist: damn, no wonder you look so sad!

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Float Like A Butterfly... Chapter 5: So Last Season

Summary: Now that Adrien is no longer Chat Noir he doesn't have to get hit all the time. Unfortunately, his luck doesn't seem to have gotten the memo... Or has it?

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"So, how're you holding up?"

"Please, Adrien, it's my mother! I'm positively ecstatic!"

"Exactly. It's your mother."

Chloe looked down for a second before her eyes snapped back up, any doubts she had hidden in an instant. "She's finally coming back! I'll finally be able to show her what she's been missing." Chloe tossed her ponytail back to emphasize the unspoken Me. "Now, I've gotta go. Sabrina insisted we do an 'emotional support routine' or whatever beforehand. Ciao!"

Sighing, Adrien stared at his phone for a moment before putting it down. He knew Chloe was grateful for Sabrina's help but it was still a struggle getting her to admit it.

Or getting her to admit how much Audrey had hurt her.

It was one thing to travel halfway around the world for your career and leave your daughter behind. It was something else entirely to completely ignore her. In all the years since Audrey left Chloe hadn't received a single birthday gift, phone call or text message. Adrien would know. Chloe would've bragged about it endlessly if her mother had taken so much as two seconds to acknowledged her existence-

Adrien's foot jerked, striking the vanity table and making the connected mirror tremble. Heart suddenly pounding against his chest as tension built up in his forehead. Distressed expression reflecting back at him.

Breathe, Adrien. Breathe.

Slowly, he inhaled.

Then exhaled.

Again.

Good.

He was okay.

Adrien was okay.

Guilt pricked like a thorn for thinking of his own problems when Chloe needed him. Adrien crushed it with his anger and annoyance but it was still there. Like a splinter that wouldn't come out.

I hate you.

Swiping out of the video chat Adrien tapped on Nino's number. It rang... and rang... and rang...

He's annoyed with me. I did something wrong again and Nino doesn't want to-

Adrien smacked both sides of his face. No, dummy! Nino's just busy or something. Stop that!

It wasn't every day a teenage DJ provided the music for Paris Fashion Week, after all. Nino had to make sure all his equipment was working properly.

The door to his dressing room burst open.

"Adrien, your friend Mlle. Dupain-Cheng will be bringing the last article of the new Gabriel line," Nathalie announced. "Your father expects everything to be perfect for Audrey Bourgeois."

"Doesn't he always?" Adrien deadpanned.

Nathalie stared at his watery eyes before typing something into her tablet. "Your performance on catwalks only has a 99% success rate. He expects you'll do better."

Father thinks you're a failure just like everyone else. He-

Shut up! Adrien felt something heavy settle in his chest.

One of the makeup artists came rushing in and Nathalie gestured her towards Adrien. "Touch up his eyes," she instructed and then left.

Jaw clenching, Adrien sat perfectly still as the makeup artist did her job. He was never entirely sure what the staff thought about him. 'Professional' was a word that was tossed around a lot. That used to fill him with a little pride... Before all of this.

The last person to suggest that a thirteen year old mourning his mother wasn't 'professional' so much as he was 'depressed' had never come back to work... Oh. Adrien had forgotten about that.

Finishing quickly, the makeup artist left too. Leaving Adrien with his thoughts. He didn't want to be with his thoughts at the moment. They were distracting and Nathalie had not been subtle.

I hate-

His phone vibrated as it received someone's text.

Ni-Non: hey dude!

Ni-Non: it's crazy over here man

Ni-Non: break a leg! ;)

Adrien smiled as his unpleasant mood faded to the back of his mind... And if he saw similarities between his family and Chloe's, well, that's why he could empathize with her.

Adrien: That's theater but I guess there's not much difference.

Adrien: Thanks. ^_^

 ---------------

There was a knock at his door. Adrien stopped fidgeting in the awkward suit to go answer it.

"Hello, Marinette." Adrien smiled in greeting.

"Oh, uh, hello!" Marinette gave a small wave as she stepped up the short stairs and-

Adrien braced himself with one foot while his hands went to her shoulders. Steadying Marinette as she quickly removed her weight from him.

"Oh! Uh, sorry." Marinette looked away in embarrassment at having tripped into him.

"... No worries!" Adrien smiled as he shook his head. Marinette seemed... subdued. Reaching down to pick up the hat that had fallen. "Oh, no." The artificial feather Marinette made for his allergies had come loose. "I hope it's not too hard to fix it."

Marinette looked down. "Uh, y'know, it doesn't really matter. This hat is a complete failure anyway."

"What? No, it's not!" Adrien rose to his feet quickly in shock. "Why would you say that?"

"Because... the queen of fashion, Audrey Bourgeois, saw it and hated it!" Marinette's hands covered her face, voice breaking. "I'm sorry, Adrien. I really messed up. I'm a total no talent!" Her arms wrapped around herself in a hug. "Please, don't put it on," she pleaded.

Adrien's heart went out to Marinette as she laid her insecurities bare. "Marinette, everything's going to be fine." He searched for the proper spot to reattach the feather,  fiddling with it as Adrien reassured her. "Your hat looks great. I think it's awesome and so does... my father." Adrien cleared his throat as he managed to fix her hat. "Otherwise he wouldn't have picked it for me. Look!"

Putting Marinette's hat on Adrien walked across the dressing room like he was already performing. Striking a few poses to ease Marinette's anxiety. "See?"

It seemed to work as Marinette gave a small smile. "You got that catwalk down," she complimented.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Really? Thank you."

"Ah-hem," Nathalie cleared her throat. "We have to go." Without waiting for Marinette she turned on her heel and started walking towards the viewing area.

Adrien rolled his eyes but smiled at Marinette's back as she hurried to catch up. Turning back to look at himself in the mirror Adrien scanned his outfit. The suit may have been generic and a few seams too close to last year's entry but Marinette's hat was fire.

"Okay!" Adrien was gonna go out there and make sure they recognized Marinette's talent!

---------------

Holding Marinette's hat to his chest Adrien stuck his head out in a decidedly 'unprofessional' manner. Spotting Marinette's family and a bunch of his friends in the first row. Adrien's blond head caught Nino's eye from across the catwalk and he gave him a thumbs up.

Adrien waved as he ducked back behind the corner before the photographers could take any pictures of the Agreste heir acting like a kid.

You got this, Adrien. Nino's DJ-ing, your classmates came -even though most of them don't care about fashion- with any luck Alix and Kim will tease you about it for the next month.

That would give Adrien the opportunity to dish out a bunch of jokes he never got the chance to use!

The music started; that was his cue.

You got this!

Adrien posed on the runway. Camera flashes already starting. Strutting down the catwalk Adrien smirked at Marinette. See? Stopping at the platform's end he posed in various angles for the photographers. Nino seemed to be enjoying himself too and that made Adrien's smile come much more naturally.

A small eruption boomed behind him and Adrien turned to see Hawkmoth's latest fashion disaster. Gasping, as his heart started hammering in his chest.

"A fashion show without the Queen of Style!? Glitter-ally unacceptable!" The akuma villain announced. "Where's that ungrateful Gabriel Agreste. I demand that he kneels before me!"

Ugh, what has he done now?

"My father isn't here," Adrien snapped in annoyance. Hearing people running for the exits.

"Well, then. If fashion disaster daddy isn't here I'll just have to settle for Agreste Junior! You're fired!"

Adrien's eyes widened as he stepped back. Golden glitter exploding everywhere as his body became numb and his senses dark-

-Glowing ladybugs swirled around him as Adrien had the disorienting feeling of laying  down when he could've sworn he'd been standing. Glancing around, Adrien realized he was now at the Eiffel Tower.

"Adrik- Adrien!" Chloe tackled him as he stood, throwing her arms around him. "I was so scared!"

Adrien blinked in surprise as Chloe set her head on his shoulder. Not letting him go... Adrien smiled as he hugged her back. Enjoying this genuine display of affection.

"Pound it!"

Head snapping towards the sound Adrien saw another Black Cat, this one a girl with long, reddish hair, fist bump Ladybug. They grinned at each other in post battle relief.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

A chill to rival Frozer's ice covered Adrien from head to toe. It was one thing to see Ladybug working with a different Black Cat on the news. Quite another to have his replacement. Three. Frickin. Meters. In front of him!

Chloe didn't notice... Or rather Adrien didn't notice when she'd let go to help her mother. Who tried to fire her own daughter as thanks.

Adrien jerked his eyes away from the superhero duo-

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

-Away from the Miraculous holders and forced himself to listen to whatever the Bourgeois were saying. Ears ringing as Ladybug and the Black Cat talked about something behind him...

"Oh, mom. If only you knew what a great team we made!" Chloe trailed after her mother as they walked down the tower's stairs; attempting to capture her attention. "We fired a bunch of incompetents. It was awesome. We should really spend more time together! What if I went back to New York with you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Casserole- Eh, Chloe!" Audrey dismissed. "First I have to get back to Gabriel Agreste's fashion show. And they better..."

Adrien's eyes narrowed as he looked down from the railing, his grip on it tightening. Heat from a growing indignation melting the ice he felt. What did she just call Chloe?

"Adrien Agreste, right? I can give you a lift back if you want."

His tensed body jerked in surprise as Adrien realized Ladybug was standing right behind him. Throat and chest constricting as his thoughts whirled. Spots darkened his vision as he felt lightheaded. Adrien's knuckles becoming white, the metal railing digging into his skin. A single thought rose above the ringing in his ears.

I don't wanna talk to her.

Giving his best model smile, Adrien schooled his features. "Ah, thanks but-" he pointed down, "-I should really check on them."

"O-oh! Of course!"

Ladybug's face was out of focus but Adrien could still feel the melancholy in her voice.

Powering past his queasy stomach Adrien made his way to the stairs. The sound of Ladybug's yo-yo whirring reached his ears; signaling her departure. Adrien took a shuddering gasp as he leaned against a metal pillar for support. Body suddenly limp.

Breath accelerating Adrien tried to calm himself. Why was he up here? Had- Had Audrey's blast mind controlled him? Again!? He couldn't breathe.

Adrien sank to his knees as he felt his skin crawl at the idea of that- that- asshole reaching into his mind and taking away his free will. He hated it! He HATED it!

Gasping as his rage broke him out of the panic, Adrien steadied his breathing... He wanted- no, needed to know what happened... Which meant getting up and moving forward... Forcing himself to his feet Adrien wiped the sweat from his brow and followed the others down.

---------------

"Remind me to tell your father to fire the person in charge of the Eiffel Tower elevators..." Audrie panted. "This is... unacceptable... utterly unacceptable!"

"Of course, mom. Oh!" Chloe glanced down to see what she'd stumbled on.

Adrien looked up as he fanned himself with Marinette's hat.

And dropped it.

He stared open mouthed at the small, black, octagonal box in Chloe's hands. Heartbeat leaping into his throat.

What the hell is THAT doing here!?

"Ooh! What's this?" Chloe turned the box around in her hands but didn't open it.

Adrien suddenly forgot his exhaustion and rushed to her side. The lie coming easily to his lips. "Oh, I recognize that! They sell them at antique shops."

"Ew, it's old! Get it away from me!" Chloe practically hurled it at Adrien.

Catching it easily. A thrill ran up Adrien's arms and down his spine as the box made contact with his skin. The hairs at the back of his neck standing on end.

Chloe dusted her hands and kept walking. Glancing nervously at her mother. Hoping Audrey hadn't seen her with something so outdated.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! The voice in his head said.

Shut up, Adrien told it as he stared at the unknown Miraculous in his hand. Heartbeat hammering in his chest. But it wasn't from fear. No, it was... anticipation.

The corners of Adrien's lips curled upwards.

------------------------------

Notes: Oh, would you look at that. I'm back! It only took... eight months!

[unmaskedagain]

Oh Lady Luck (How I miss you so!)

Okay; first off. I hated this. I had a massive case of writer’s block while doing it and lost inspiration near the end.

Oh Lady Luck (How I miss you so!)

           Bustier’s class was the luckiest in school, everyone knew it. They got to go on the most amazing trips, win contest after contest, competition after competition, met all sorts of celebrities, frequently got to meet Ladybug, through the best dances and school plays, and always seemed to have a pep in their step. Anything any of the students went after they always managed to get. Everyone knew Bustier’s class was the luckiest in school. Then one day that changed dramatically.

“You’ve changed,” Alya accused Marinette after the class voted her out as Class president. “You become a bully.”

           Alix snorted, “More like a jealous bitch.”

           There were nods from the other students in class. Lila smiled at Marinette; happy that her promise to ruin the girl was coming true.

“You’re always so mean to Lila,” Rose added. “It’s not nice.”

“You’re worse than Chloe now,” Kim glared.

           Juleka frowned, “We miss the old Marinette.”

“You should’ve chilled out like I told you to, dudette,” Nino said with a shake of his head, clearly disappointed.

“We can’t be your friends anymore,” Alya crossed her arms.

           Marinette had listen to them quietly as they relayed reason after reason why they were ending their friendships with her; all to do with Lila. She didn’t bother to look at Adrien. He had warned her what was going to happen; Nino had told him. There had also been a group text apparently. Adrien made it clear he stood with Marinette. Even more so, when he chose to sit with her in the back of the class, a fierce glare on his face at the other students.

The bluenette placed down her pencil, closed her sketchbook and said, “Fine. Then we’re not friends anymore.”

“That’s counts double for me,” Adrien hissed. “Lose my number. In fact, don’t bother; I’ll just change it. That goes for every last one of you. I’ll be informing my Father and Nathalie that only Chloe and Marinette are on my visitors list.”

           The class blinked in shock. Not expecting that reaction from the blond boy who was usually so amicable and nice.

           Chloe watched with amused eyes. She had been sentenced to the back of the room not long after Marinette. “We’ve never been friends but consider all extra little perks you’ve gotten used to: dead and over with.”

           That was it. None of the other students knew what to say or do. They hadn’t gotten the reaction they expected. Marinette didn’t seem to care. Adrien seemed ready to set them on fire. Chloe looked rather pleased at the idea of seeing them burn. Most shrugged it off; figuring at least two of the three (Marinette and Adrien) would come crawling back in no time.

           They didn’t.

           Things started to change for the students in Bustier’s class the next day.

           Lila woke up in the morning to an email confirming that she would no longer being a model or any type of employee for the Gabriel Agreste brand. Or as Nathalie put it when the sausage hair girl called her, “We will no longer be needing your services, Miss Rossi. Do not contact us again.” Click.

           That was when Lila realized her plan of using Gabriel to get Adrien under her thumb had went up in flames. She hoped that Adrien wasn’t informed so that maybe she could still use his father as a threat against the boy.

           When she go to class, the blond model sent her a vicious smirk. Lila paled. She knew without a doubt that Adrien didn’t just know Lila was fired, he was the one got her fired.

           Nino woke up to the news that the gig he was due to play, his big break, had replaced him. It would’ve been huge for his career.

Oh well, he thought, back to DJ-ing for birthday parties.

           Alya accidently dropped her phone in the toilet; ruining hundreds of videos and pictures for the Ladyblog.

           Alix took a dive while skating; broke her ankle and the watch her dad gave her.

           Max broke his glasses.

           Kim got food poisoning.

           Ivan’s dad ran over his drum set while parking in the garage.

           Rose tried to call Prince Ali and found out he changed his number.

           Nathaniel spilled coffee all over his Ladybug comic strips. Marc had been pissed.

           Juleka’s mom accidently put bleach in with a load of her laundry; it ruined everything.

           By the time they had all got to class, all the students were in a terrible mood. However, when Marinette walked in with a box full of delicious smelling breakfast pastries; they perked up. The bluenette always seemed to know when they needed a pick me up. And there was nothing like a treat from the Dupain-Cheng Bakery.

           Marinette didn’t acknowledge any of their presences. She walked straight to the back of the classroom, sat in her seat between Chloe and Adrien. “Morning!” She beamed at her friends. “I brought treats for the three of us.”

“Awesome!” Adrien smiled, quickly opening the box and snagging a chocolate croissant. “Delicous, Thank you” He said. Or least they thought he said that. His mouth was full and it was mostly garbled.

           Chloe rolled her eyes. She grabbed a mixed berries and cream cheese pastry, “Perfect way to start the day. Thank you, Marinette.”

           Marinette took out her favorite: a berry and jasmine scone. Then she promptly through the box away; making clear that she hadn’t brought any for anyone else. “Anything for my friends.”

“We’ll do lunch at Le Grand Paris,” Chloe said. “On me of course. The chef there is to die for.”

           The other students visibly wilted. Alya in particular who loved going to Le Grand Paris as her mother was the head chef.

           It all went downhill from there.

           Over the next week things went from bad to worse for the students.

           Bustier told the class their trip the Presidential office was cancelled due to an unexpected flooding incident. The plan had been for the class to tour the office and have amazing picnic on the beach afterwards

           Lila’s mother, who had been busy nearly 24/7, officially went on vacation, meaning she plenty of time to spend with her daughter. Her daughter was panicked when her mother inquired about visiting her school.

           Alya discovered that the hits to her site had started to declined dramatically. She didn’t have time to worry about that as her internship with a local new studio had been cancelled; something about realizing Alya didn’t have enough experience. So her summer plans were cancelled.

           Nino’s Dj equipment sparked or shorted out or something but nothing would work anymore. He had cancel the rest of his gigs until he could buy new ones.

           Kim lost a swim match against Ondine.

           Markov got a virus and broke down causing Max to break down in tears.

           Nathaniel lost the expensive sketch pencil he won in a contest.

           Alix’s grandmother brought her a new dresses; frilly monstrosities that Alix’s forced her to wear to school for the entire week.

           Rose, Ivan, and Juleka were heartbroken when Luka announced he was going Solo.

           It didn’t help anyone’s mood that every day Marinette, Chloe, and Adrien walked into class with big smiles on their faces and pleasantly discussed their amazing plans.

           On Wednesday, Adrien invited Marinette and Chloe to come with him to meet the Prime Minister.

           Apparently, Adrien’s dad had called in favors so the three would tour Palais Bourbon, where the French Parliament meets.

“He said I could invite all my friends!” Adrien smiled.

           Marinette had been shocked at this. Until Adrien explained that his aunt had threatened to reveal to the world Gabriel Agreste’s neglectful behavior, his tendency break child labor laws, and his need to isolate Adrien. Thanks to his aunt, Adrien had a much free-er schedule and Gabriel had been in therapy for weeks. “I’ll bring food from the bakery. We can have a picnic!”

“Beach day!” Chloe cheered.

           No one else so much as smiled at the news. Even more so when pictures surfaced on Friday of Marinette, Chloe, Adrien, Ondine, Marc, Mireille, and Aurore with various members of Parliament; including the prime minister.

           Thursday, Chloe loudly invited Marinette and Adrien to an event for her mother, “It’s a fashion show! It’s tonight. Adrien can relax behind the scenes, while Mari and me model on the run way. Mama’s lost a few models so I told her I could recommend a few friends.”

“I’m modeling!” Marinette paled so much, her friends were sure she’d pass out.

“I get to do nothing!” Adrien grinned.

           Pictures of Chloe and Marinette modeling exploded across the internet; multiple fashion websites and online magazines deeming the girls’ Style Queen’s secret weapon and modeling next big thing.

           Most of the guys in class shrugged it off. But a few of the girls turned greened with envy; Lila in particular.

           On Friday, Marinette invited Adrien and Chloe to meet her uncle and her cousin, “He’s back in town on Saturday and he wants to meet all my friends.”

           No one else in class paid too much to that. Who cared about Marinette’s uncle? Or her cousin? They were probably just as stuck-up and nasty as she was.

           Then on Saturday, picture of the same group who went to Parliament, plus Luka, with Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale started trending on the internet. Jagged Stone posted a tweet about how awesome his honorary niece was, with a picture of him and Marinette. Clara posted a pic with her favorite little cousin, Marinette.

           Alya couldn’t believe her eyes and immediately started texting Marinette for the deets. She received a text back saying; new number; who dis?

           Nino flat-out called Adrien only hear that the number had been disconnected.

           The rest of the class faced the same issue.

           And then one by one, they each remembered that they weren’t friends with any of the tree Ostracized students anymore.

           Monday, Alya found out that BugOut, a competing Ladybug blog, had been officially endorsed by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Something that hadn’t happened with the Ladyblog.

           Max lost the science fair. For the first time. He had to go see the school guidance counselor.

           Kim got kicked off the team for his poor grade.

           Lila’s finally called the school to schedule an appointment. Lila was Akumatized within the five minutes.

           Alix’s grandma brought her more clothes; some which were tacky sweaters with cats all over them

           Nathaniel misplaced his new sketch book, with his redone Ladybug comic strips. He never found it. Marc wasn’t happy.

           Nino got a call to dj a huge event only to have to decline as he hadn’t bought new equipment yet.

           It was Adrien that brought in breakfast for the other two; Mcdonalds. Much to the Chloe and Marinette’s dismay, but they didn’t say anything as the boy was clearly happy about being allowed to eat it for the first time.

           Marinette unwrapped her sausage Mcgriddle, wondering who she hurt in a past life, “Jagged is doing a private concert. You two want to come?”

           Adrien nodded, his mouth full of fried hash brown and bacon. “Count me in,” They think he said.

           Chloe held the egg mcmuffin in her hand like it was physically hurting her to do so, “I’m in,” she said. “And I’m bringing breakfast tomorrow.”

           The class was dismayed at missing at meeting Jagged Stone again.

“Are you going to invite us?” Alya asked with a huff.

           Marinette didn’t even look in her direction, “Sorry Uncle Jagged said I can only invite my friends.”

           Ouch.

           Over the course of the next few months, things continued to fall apart for the class. They tried planning one of their usual amazing dances, only for everything to crash and burn. Then they remembered that Marinette planned everything, and before her, Chloe.

           The class never made enough money fundraising so nearly all planned class trips were canceled.

           They had to deal with seeing pictures of Marinette, Adrien, and Chloe and all their friends meeting all sorts of celebrities.

           Ladybug disowned the Ladyblog; causing Alya to burst into tears.

           No matter what any of the students tried, did, competed in, they never won. They practically failed at everything.

           Rose tried to bake cookies for the class; her kitchen caught on fire.

           Max applied for science camp; all spots were full.

           Nathaniel who had lost his comic drawing for the twelfth time in a row was finally told by Marc to take a hike.

           Nino lost his hat, broke his glasses, a dog at his homework, and he tripped landed face down in the mud; all on the way to school one morning.

           The students were constantly late, frustrated, and always seemed to have something accidently spilled or thrown on their clothes.

           Lila’s  mother, who finally decided to just randomly drop by the school after being told repeatedly by her daughter that it was closed so she couldn’t do the appointment for months, was shocked to say the least when it was clearly opened and active. She had a long talk with the Principle and all of Lila’s lies were revealed to class.

           Class was very apologetic to the three ostracized students after that but it didn’t matter. The three made it clear they weren’t interested in renewing their friendships.

           By the end of the year Bustier’s class went from the luckiest in school to the unluckiest kids on the planet.

           The students of Bustier’s class couldn’t help but wonder aloud why they lucked changed do much.

           Tikki, Plagg, and Pollen, hidden away in their chosens’ school bags just smirked.

[geekygoddesss]

B.F.F (Part 3)

Summary: Journey through the life of a girl whose heart belongs to her best friend, but he doesn’t feel the same way.

Words: 5.8k

Taglist: @dreamer-loves-lyrics​  @5sosfanfix​ @calssunflower​ @madformichael​

“I can’t believe you’re dragging me into this”

Those were the words she has heard repeatedly for the past ten minutes ever since they got inside the Range Rover parked outside her door, and most likely, those were the words she would hear for the whole ride if Luke continued trying to be this annoying. Because apparently, this was his way of starting the hungover morning with a kick, being grumpy. 

If anyone asked, she definitely saw this as some sort of coping mechanism on his behalf, seems that he had chosen a very bad night for going out and getting drunk and now he was dealing with all of the consequences, he was tired, with a headache and with the most makeup he’s ever worn to cover up his decrepit face, going to work was torture for him and whining out to his best friend was turning into torture for her, but he had no other option than to suck it up and show up like this, after all, he would probably not be the only one dealing with the same thing, but it’s kind of his fault that this is even happening, he should have known better.

“It’s not that bad” (Y/n) shrugged, gripping on the steering wheel tightly and keeping her eyes on the road. Luke groaned, being already tired of her optimism, trying to see the brighter side on stuff he did not want to do. She just laughed “It’s not like you can turn your back on your job, buddy” she teased, leaning to the side and pinching his arm. Hopefully, that would wake him. 

He was starting to get more annoyed by the second and for her it was both, concerning and hilarious. As much as she loved Luke in general, she hated to see him upset, all she wanted was to bright him up a little bit before having to face any sort of camera. “Press rounds are not fun, their not even fun interviews, these people work for things my grandma would watch”  he continued whining as he leaned his head on the window, his shades weighing heavily on the bridge of his nose and covering his annoyed look. 

Poor baby, he is just so hungover. “You need promoting” she added, again, trying to see the brightest side of it all “I’m sure there will be a couple fun ones”  

She tried to give Luke at least one comforting look, but driving in the middle of the Los Angeles traffic was hard enough, the last thing she needed was an accident when they were so short on time and with Luke’s distractive whining and the fact the was surrounded by cars, it was impossible to take her eyes out the rode for at least two seconds. 

“Since when is daily news fun?” he asked, raising both of his eyebrows in question. 

She really didn’t know how to answer that because, in a way, he was right. 

This was really not his morning, he was a grumpy beast, he was supposed to be in the studio in about two hours, between the hungover and having to stick with (Y/n) for the few errands she had to do instead of taking some time to sleep, he could feel his stress growing and this was not even the most intense part of the day, it was yet to come. At least he had the relief of having her with him, making sure he wouldn’t fuck up, not today. “Please” (Y/n) said, almost begging him, suddenly not feeling like listening to his whining anymore. 

There is something inside of her telling her that maybe this was the perfect chance to grab his hand and comfort him, run her thumb over his skin and telling him he will do his best today, like always; but she couldn’t do that, she was limited to keep her hands on the wheel and try to let her words calm him down, which seemed to do not the best job. 

“Also, I can’t believe you’re driving my car” He said, directly referring to her in his thread of complaints “when I am going to drive your car?” 

This made her laugh for so many reasons.

 She was not going to lie, driving Luke’s car was kind of cool, it was bigger, fancier and it had the best speakers for music, which was always for her benefits, she had all the rights for DJ-ing in his car and vice versa, it was their deal; but that was not the reason why she decided she would drive his car today, she thought it would be better for him, she would be driving him around all day, carrying a kid and possibly a bunch of groceries, driving big distances and from one point to another around city, his car would handle it better than her second-hand trash. 

No shade for that, she loved her car, but it was starting to weigh on her the fact that it would be soon the time to turn it into actual trash and get a new one.  

“Probably when you don’t have a couple speeding tickets behind you” she said sassily looking at him for a very short second “I want my record clean” 

He laughed, almost as he couldn’t believe she just mentioned that. “you’re such a baby” he teased, showing her his tongue for a second. She leaned in to pinch his arm again, that was for teasing her. “ouch” he laughed again, moving back from her touch “You’re mean”

“Shut up” she laughed, looking over at him once she could and raising her brows.“Want to switch seats?” she offered as if she was even serious. 

Hungover Luke driver seemed like the worst idea ever, almost as bad as a DLD, Drunk Luke Driver, both of those concepts either could die or take a hike, while he was in those states, he could consider driving a banned activity for the sake of everyone’s safety, especially his own. 

Not like he didn’t know that anyways, his best friend was the one person that took charge to remind him that every time; but he still pretended to consider the option, cocking his head to the side and acting pensively. Dork. 

“Nah, I’m good” he said, leaning his head on the window and shutting his eyes closed “My head is killing me” he whined once again, letting out the biggest sigh. 

Predictable. Very predictable. 

“Of course” She chuckled, turning the wheel to drive into the highway “Are you done complaining? I don’t need this much whining to get Joe” she asked nicely, now being serious on her petition, she would like her brother to not ask questions later on. 

“No, I’m done” He assured her, making himself comfortable once and for all. “Driving my way to public torture, hurray” 

His monotone tone just set up a whole mood, again, very predictable. She couldn’t help but laugh at her dork of a friend. Oh, how she loves him. 

She was thankful that her home wasn’t actually that far from the city, if not, Luke would be acting ten times worse than he already was, sometimes he could be kind of a diva.

 Today was one of those days that were exclusively made for her to take care of her little brother, who would spend time with her at least once a week and who she loved to death, no one in the world would make her change her plans of hanging out with her brother, she loved it way too much. That was just why she has decided it might have been a good idea to pick him up earlier and steal a couple of minutes from Luke’s busy agenda to drive all the way to her home. It would make a ton of things easier later on, she might as well get over with these now. 

The whole drive there was tranquil and smooth, she took not only the fastest but the less congested road, which got them there twice as fast, it was perfect, that would make up for the time they will lose on the way to the studios to drop the star of the show. Coming here at this time was the perfect timing. 

Every time she drives into her street something warm started to grow in her chest and she loved that feeling, this was a place filled with good memories and now that she didn’t spend as much time here as before, each time here was like walking down memory lane and disconnecting, at least for a couple minutes. She loved entering that street, it was always looking the same; kids playing around the streets, gardens shining with green grass and colorful flowers, adults here and there having conversations, walking their dogs, it was a nice sight to see, every time she came here it was a moment of mental relaxation. 

Out of all houses, hers was the biggest, the most noticeable one of the bunch but also the oldest. It has been around ever since her mom moved to the states, which was already quite a while, she wasn’t even born yet, her parents didn’t know each other's existence but still, it’s always been her dad’s property, her whole life has been built around this place and somehow she was never tired of looking at it or being there.  It was the typical and perfect LA house, she loved it, she always would. 

Pulling into her garage with expertise almost seemed like a reminder of how she should come here more often, this last month has been so busy that she has had to reduce her visits to just a couple and ask her parents to drive Joe over to her place, it was in a way very weird to not be at her home as often as she’d like. It seemed like a reminder because right when those doors opened, letting her drive directly into the garage, she could see those familiar gazes looking over at the unfamiliar car and seeing her face inside, raised weirder looks, she didn’t love that, this was her home after all, it shouldn’t be this weird that she comes over. 

“There they are” She announced to herself, once she caught her father’s look with her own. She wasted no time, once the car was parked, she rolled down her window to take a look, mostly looking for the person she wanted to see in particular and feeling lucky because she saw him right away. “Hi Joey!” She waved her hand, smiling down at the seven-year-old boy, playing on the front yard. 

“Hi!” He yelled back, waving in her direction. 

The sound of Joe’s voice almost acted like an alarm clock for Luke, who sat up straight once he heard it, he must have fallen asleep, how could he not? he was being a straight-up zombie today. He leaned over to take a look at the place, to then imitate her actions and make himself noticeable. 

“Hey buddy!” He waved his hand at the kid, but unlike her, he moved on and waved his hand at the old man who was already walking towards the car. “Hi Mister P.” He said politely, trying to keep as much composure as his hungover let him. 

“Hi Dad” She said too, greeting the man standing before her, it would be rude not to greet him. 

“Hey sweetheart” He greeted back, taking the liberty to raise his hand and caress her hair like he would usually do.“You got here early, what a surprise” he chuckled, resting his weight on the car door to look inside, almost as if he was feeling especially talkative today. 

Out of all people in her family, aside from Joe, her dad was her favorite person inside of that house. She has always felt like their connection was the most special of them all; he was smart, he was calculating, he could sometimes have an attitude but there was a reason of why he had the life he had, he didn’t just get to the top acting soft with everyone, and she admired that. Her father has gone a long way and there was a lot she wanted to learn about that. 

“We got a couple of things to do, I figured Joe would like to hang out for a bit more” She answered, shrugging a little at his observation. 

She didn’t bother to mention all the rundowns she had yet to make for the day thanks to Luke, she just left it at that, further questions could end up being complicated answers and she didn't want that. 

“That’s good” He nodded, looking back at his youngest son and nodding at him once. “You got everything, pal?” he asked, Joe nodded eagerly from his place “Good, go grab your bag” he ordered. 

Just like that, Joe was getting up on his feet, picking up his toys and rushing to the door. She couldn’t tell if he was genuinely excited to come over or just underwhelmed because this was already their routine, he knew how it went. For the sake of this day turning out good, she was hoping he felt excited for what was to come, it would be heartbreaking for her if Joe ever got bored of their weekend getaways.

“Have any plans?” her dad asked, taking a look at the pair inside the car. 

She nodded. “Baseball” she simply said, because there was nothing else to mention besides that, he knew what was up. 

“Good call” he said, raising his hand up, she high five it.  “Good to see you kid” he smiled, leaned to kiss her forehead and backed up a bit. 

“I’ll come over Wednesday for the barbeque” she promised with a soft smile. She almost felt necessary to point that up, after being away for what felt like forever she didn’t want them to assume she wouldn’t make it to their family event, she had to, it was her parents anniversary after all. 

“You better, you won't believe what I have planned for dinner, it’s going to be fantastic” he bragged proudly, leaving the integration hit her. “Luke, you coming?” he asked her partner in crime, almost snapping him out of his own cloud of thoughts. 

He could get distracted way easily. 

“I think so, I need to look at my agenda but if I’ve got the time I’ll bring wine and everything” he said, being too sure of his words even though he wasn’t even sure if there was anything for him planned on the days ahead of him, he was lost on a crazy time table.

“I like that” Her father cheered, pointing at luke as he nodded in response “I’m out, I have to pick some groceries but, it was good to see you” he mentioned one more time, waving his hand at them “See you later guys, bye sweetheart” 

She smiled at him a soft smile, inside she wished to talk to him just a bit more, but it was better if they just cut on some time and let this conversation for another time. Again, they were short on timing. 

“Love you, daddy” she said to him as he walked away to his own car. 

“Love you!” he said back, waving at her one more time and blowing a kiss. She smiled, how sweet her dad was. 

Times like this made her feel nostalgic, she should really come over more often than just this. Leaning back on her seat and letting out the biggest sigh made the trick for her feelings to drain out a little bit, it was weighing a little bit on her to be the typical child who flew away from the nest, but that’s life, she guessed. Of course, Now was not the time to have a breather and think by herself, because once she turned her head he saw Luke’s stunning smile pointing straight to her and with a look that she suspected wasn’t out of complete happiness, it was creepy. 

“Don’t look at me so weird” she said, cringing at that look, it made her feel strange. 

“Sorry, it's just… cute” he chuckled, looking away “You call your Dad, Daddy” he teased in a low tone, laughing at that fact.

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes; this was one of Luke’s talents, he could turn from annoying, to diva, to whiny fuck in a snap, and she didn’t know if she loved it or not, but for him, it was for sure hilarious, especially when it meant annoying her in any shape or form. 

“Shut up” she laughed, leaning in to slap his arm, but he turned away like a champ, for being so hungover, he sure felt not so slow this morning.

She could have said anything to defend herself since he seemed to be in the mood to tease her this morning, but before she could even think of something good enough to answer she heard those little steps rushing out of the house and into the patio and that distracted her completely. The sight of her little brother walking over the car made her smile, as he walked around with that big blue backpack on his side and trying to get to the car as soon as he could, that made her happy because that’s how she knew, he was happy to come over. 

“Where’s daddy?” Joe said, once he was closer to the car, the heavyweight of the bag making him walk over leaned on his side. 

“He went out, bud” She announced, pouting a little bit. She felt kind of bad though, she knew he liked to say goodbye to their father before going out. “Are you ready?” she asked, looking at him as he got closer. 

“Yes”  he nodded eagerly, letting the bag fall on the floor and grabbing the handle of  the door “Open” he insisted, jumping in place. 

Luke was the one reaching out to find the button, for some reason when it came to pressing buttons around this car, for her it was kind of weird, there were too many of them, that’s why Luke always had her back, she didn’t even need to ask, he just did it for her. They were connected. 

Joe opens the back door with ease, however, it seems to be a bit of a struggle to climb up, considering his height and the weight of his back, along with the size of the car, getting up in there wasn’t the easiest thing to do. 

He is a smart kid, that’s why she knew she didn’t really need to help him with that. Once the door was open for him the first thing he decided to do was slip his backpack inside, it took him a bit of work, but it didn’t take him long get that part done, he’s gotten some practice with this before. But then came the hard part which was getting himself up on the car seat, he was still a kid, so we had a seat pull up for him already, but still, with the height of the car, everything was easier said than done. 

He got one part of it figured out, once he learned part of his body on the front of the car, but before he could even lift his body up, someone called his name inside of the house, which called his attention and got him down onto his feet again. They heard steps coming from the garage and into the patio, steps of heels covered feet walking them with ease and fast, none of them were a stranger to those, because that was her mother. She was rushing into the garage with a smile on her face, wearing those usual heels accompanied by a colorful dress that flattered her in every way, that was her usual look, she pulled it off every time. 

Once she got close enough to Luke’s car, she was smiling to them, mostly on her direction, she hasn’t seen her daughter in what seemed like forever and it showed, the feeling was mutual.  Seeing her mother was always such a pleasure for her, it was like seeing a best friend. 

“Let me help you there” Mom spoke letting that thick accent show, as she grabbed her youngest son by the hips and eased him into the vehicle, making it a lot easier for him to get comfortable. “Hello” she said, looking at both of the young adults through the car’s window.

“Hi mom” (Y/n) said first, leaning over the frame of the car to take a look at her mother a bit better. 

“Hi Beautiful” said her mom, going over to great her with a quick on the cheek and then turning to Luke, who just stuck to stare like a creep from his seat “Hi handsome, how are you two doing?” she asked politely, caressing her daughter’s hair with the tip of her fingers. 

Sometimes she could swear Luke was such a guy, it drove her nuts. Whenever he saw Gloria, his best friend’s mother, it was like something shut down inside of him and he was just a stupid boy; he rambled, he could barely get words out and he stared -like- a lot, it was weird. She got it, she has always gotten it, her mother was fairly attractive, she didn’t need a reminder, but getting this kind of reaction from her best friend was ridiculous, sometimes she wished she had enough guts to slap him for that.

But that would be something she wouldn’t ever forgive herself.  

“Great, the day looks pretty promising” (Y/n) answered for the both of them, after Luke proceeded to just nod his head once and stare like a creep, as usual. 

“Another day in sunny California” he added, smiling a sweet smile, trying to act natural. 

“Are you guys going anywhere?” (Y/n) kept going, suddenly realizing she actually had no clue of what her parents were up to and that wasn’t right, she wanted to be informed. 

Her mother nodded in confirmation, showing a bright smile to the pair. “We have reservations for this all-day Spa, your father isn’t very excited at all but I’m sure he’ll love it, they have pools and a massage center, a theater...” she numbers, sounding very excited about it as she keeps going. 

(Y/n) almost wanted to groan at that comment, her Dad could sometimes be a little picky and collide minded about the places he goes, all based on things that might hurt his image, which was stupid. They all knew he was going there just because Gloria was excited about it, but at the end of everything, he would end enjoying himself too and that’s all that counts, her parents deserved to have the best time ever.

“That does sound like quite the place, it’s weird he doesn’t want to go” said (Y/n), acting surprised, even when it was horribly predictable. 

“Daddy says it lacks testhosterwone” Joe says, from the backseat, having a hard time vocalizing his words. 

Gloria laughed but the older sister just rolled her eyes. 

“Do you know what that means, Joe?” (Y/n) asked, looking back at her little brother with a raised eyebrow. 

She wasn’t a fan of Joe talking big words he didn’t know, it could mean possible chaos if those were used in the wrong moment. 

“like candy, I think” he shrugs, not caring about anything at all and going back to his business; moving on to pick up some toy peeking out of his backpack.

(Y/n) nodded, not having much to say about that, nor feeling like explaining things to Joe right now, it would be too complicated and he wouldn’t understand anyway, he’s seven, he wasn’t going to even care about it now. 

“Sounds like a nice place” she said, nodding at her mother. 

The woman gave her daughter a reassuring smile, not going any farther on that. “Are you going baseballing?” She asked the pair. 

(Y/n) shrugged “That’s part of the plan, we’re going to drive Luke to the studio place in Hollywood and then back to the baseball courts, then all the way to Luke’s” She shortly explained, just to make it easier to take in. 

It was not a secret that Hollywood was not the easiest place to go to from the place they were at, neither it was a secret that Joe wasn’t the biggest fan of road trips or staying still in one place for a long amount of time, so dealing with that was about to be an adventure. 

She didn’t dare though, she would deal with that later. 

“Hm, I see” Gloria said with an unsure tone, obviously not loving the idea but not saying much about it “Update me” she warned, pointing directly at her. 

  “We won’t be going to far, just far enough” she made clear, not wanting to discuss this more than it was necessary “Also, there’s a dog in Luke's house and a basketball thing, we can always go play there if anything goes differently” she shrugged, making the situation lighter.

For the sake of making some presence and instantly sensing how she couldn’t work on this alone, Luke activated instantly, turning on the kid's direction slowly and nodding no his way once. 

“I’m going to crush you this time, dude” he said in a challenging tone, pointing at her brother directly. 

“You wish” Joe scoffed, showing his tongue back to Luke, following his lead, totally feeling challenged by that. 

She laughed, it was quite cute that her little brother and her best friend had this kind of inside jokes, where they would spend time with each other and have fun leading to this, they didn’t feel awkward with the presence of each other, it felt right. Oh, how she loved that. 

“If we make it out early I’ll buy pizza, promise” She said to her brother, turning to look at him with a smile. 

Her mother gave than a comforting look, apparently feeling satisfied and convinced enough that her youngest son was for sure in safe hands, as usual. She would take care of him every weekend and they have never had a problem, not one at all, she trusted (Y/n), she always does, nothing could really go wrong if she was in charge. 

“Alright, just be careful, okay?” Gloria warned, leaning in to kiss her daughter's cheek  “Won’t take more of your time, Los quiero mucho, have fun you guys” She smiled, taking a step back and waving her hand. 

“Bye, Miss P.” Luke said, with that prince charming smile appearing on his face out of the blue. “You look radiant, by the way”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him was such a challenge. “Bye mom” She said waving her hand too, ignoring what her friend just said as she heard Joe repeating the exact same thing on the background  “Love you!” 

They didn’t make this any longer, she started the car and moved on, opening the garage and making their way out. It was late after all, it was not like they could hang in there for longer. So after their conversation was closed, she found it right to just leave her childhood home and move on to their next destination so they could finally start their day. 

It was a long ride and they knew it was going to be like this all along, but bringing along Joe into this was kind of a Russian roulette, if they were lucky he wouldn’t whine on the whole ride and they would be fine, but if they weren’t, he would probably start crying and beg to be brought back home, like it was expected of him at times, he hated long rides. 

For their luck that did not happen, not today. Their whole journey was smooth and tranquil before they even noticed, she was finally pulling into the big studio’s parking and going all the way to the front door, just to make Luke’s walk of shame a bit shorter, making things easier for her hungover friend once again. 

She would be lying if she said it was weird to be in a place like this, this was a place were usually only famous and talented people frequent, but he was the reason she has been a part of that group plenty of times, seeing the facility now was kind of regular for her at this point.  

Seeing Luke’s face when pulling in front of the door was a true poem, it was clearly noticeable how much he did not want to do this, but today was not his day. He took his time taking off his seatbelt and then grabbing his backpack from the floor, making some time for himself to process the whole journey he had along, it was almost funny. Once his time came, getting out of his car was painful and once he stepped out into the real world, he clearly couldn’t just go into the studio and end it all, instead, he placed both hands on the door of his own car and looked inside, almost checking he was not forgetting anything and making sure everything was fine, to then stare at his best friend, his eyes said a lot even when he was saying nothing, he was tired and he was not in the mood, she could see his biggest wish right now was for her to pull him back in the car and drive him away, but she was not about to drive him out from his responsibilities. 

Not now, not ever, not in his wildest dreams. 

“Thanks for the ride” he said awkwardly, bouncing on the balls of his feet back and forth, as he looked straight at her through the open window. “Can I count on you tonight?” he asked, clicking his tongue once. 

She frowned a little. It was a bit of a weird question. 

“Tonight?” She asked. He could count on her with everything, but she didn’t remember tonight being on any of the plans. 

He nodded “Writing session? It’s at mine” he made sure to clarify, almost speaking like if this was so overly obvious, she didn’t think it was. 

They never discussed this. She knew he had some kind of work session after he got out of this, but she didn’t think she would actually be included, or that it would be at his place. It was weird that he made one of those at home, for starters, so in a way, she fairly doubts that would even happen. 

“Is it? I just thought that was a lie so mom didn’t know we would actually be at the real studio” she said, lowering her voice, just in case Joe decided to eavesdrop now. He didn’t need to know they lied to her mother. 

It was not a full lie though, they were being honest, in away. It was just the friendliest way to put it so Joe could come along. 

“Nah” Luke shrugged, shaking his head “I’ll pull strings, no one actually wants to go there, it gets suffocating” he says, letting out fake shivers, acting like if it was the craziest place in the world.

It was not, he actually liked being there, he was just acting dramatic. 

She could comment on it, but she decided staying silent might as well be the best way to go. 

She turned, nodded once to her friend and said “Got ya” she stated, holding tight on the wheel with both hands “Text me” she indicated and it was a direct order. 

His eyes widened, he took a step back of the car and grabbed onto his bag tightly, like it would soon fall off his shoulders. 

“I will” he assured her with an energetic nod.

She repeated his move too, starting to move the car just a little, but just enough to keep eye contact with him without crashing.  “Call me if you puke again” she warned, pointing a finger at him, trying to be intimidated.

Now, this was where the real look came out. He rolled his eyes so hard he probably saw his brain.

Classic, Luke. She thought it was funny. 

“Yes, sweetheart” he nodded again, walking backward to the door, never taking his eyes off her “Anything else?” He asked, waiting for her to add on anything like it was usual.

She laughed. 

With nothing else to say or do, she just lowered her hand to a nonvisible point, away from the child’s vision and flipped him off. She made clear that meant a million things, and if it ever felt right to do it, now was the time, when they would see later and he would now, he deserved to be sent eat shit for at least once today, even for just doing a few fuck ups the night before. He needed a wake up call and this was it. From his best friend. 

“that’s for waking me up at midnight” she warned, taking the grip back on the wheel and looking forward. 

He thought it was hilarious. In his head it made perfect sense that she decided now was the time to tell him to fuck off, it was only fair she did that now and not later when they would forget; so he let that pass. He didn’t care, after all, he loved her too much to care about that. 

“Fair enough” he only answered, slowly turning on his back to leave for work, but not before repeating those usual words of good luck, which made him have a better day all along. “Love you!”

He always did that. It was adorable and killer.

The fact that he felt the need to let her know that each time had the most meaning. It was the little things that built all these so well, that’s why she loved this so much.

“Love you!” She called back from the car, letting him go in peace as they parted ways. It was important she knew he would think of her, and it was important for him to know, she would always think of him, no matter what.

That’s why they did this. It was just a little thing to make sure, they were fine; to make sure, it was all in order and they would keep in contact, that’s all.

Even when they would spend the day away from each other, she didn’t care, she needed space to think and have some family time, let go a little; he needed space to be creative and make his living, she wouldn’t interfere on that, he couldn't expand on stuff when people get on the way, but later on, they would see again, like always, and when they did, she would start thinking again, she would start wandering and coming to new conclusions, which were the ones she was the most afraid of, she guessed that's why she needed some time for herself, maybe with that she would come to fair and smart conclusions that wouldn't make her fuck up in the future. 

Sounds too good to be true, maybe it is, but who cares. She would manage that later. 

[starker-stories]

House Stark

Also on AO3

Yet another one inspired by one of the amazing moodboards by @starker-sorbet​

(I’ve got a series on AO3 for them)

Runway model Peter, and a demanding designer Tony, during Paris fashion week for anon. Click on the link and go see how beautiful it is.

Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Modeling, Model Peter Parker, Designer Tony Stark, Asshole Tony Stark, Apprentice Asshole Peter Parker, But they're adorable assholes, Unless you ask the models and stylists

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“Five changes! Are you kidding me” Peter threw the schedule onto the floor.

“Most of us have three, but there are some fours on the list.” Simon flipped through the schedule for the fashion show. “Paris is always run tightly.”

“I have FIVE!”

“That’s because you walk formal. You end the fucking show. Quit complaining,” Andrew groused.

“He’s left you enough time,” Simon pointed out. “You’re second, eighth, thirteenth, nineteenth, twenty-fifth, which is final.”

“None of which is enough time! Especially nineteen to twenty-five!”

“You’re just slow, Parker.”

The other models made themselves scarce or tried to look busy when Mr. Stark brushed past to stand in front of Peter. He was sprawled in a folding chair, in nothing but his briefs, like all the other models.

“If it’s a problem…” Tony turned to the room and his gaze landed on a different model. “Andrew — I can’t be bothered to remember your last name even though I fucked you two years ago… I think — I know you’re twentieth to Parker’s nineteen, do you think you can get into formal by twenty-five and close the show?”

“Umm…” Andrew started, swallowing deeply trying to hide his embarrassment.

Tony Stark scoffed. “You’re useless. In bed, too. Now I remember you. I stopped fucking around after you. Got tired of getting bad head. Wasn’t worth the effort anymore.” He made a dismissive wave.

He shouted again so that those who were hiding could hear. “None of you should take more than three looks for a change. I’ve scheduled enough time. I could’ve done everything but formal in two. Formal in three.”

“We’re not all you,” Peter muttered, almost silently, under his breath. He didn’t raise his head from scrolling on his tablet.

“That’s not what Vogue Hommes said when they wrote that they hadn’t seen anyone as ‘electrifying’ on the runway since I walked eighteen years ago. ‘The next Tony Stark’, I believe was the quote.” Tony snorted. “I’ll just call Azza and inform him of the mistake.”

Peter leapt to his feet and brought himself up to (a good four inches below) Tony’s height. “I can’t do it!” he shouted. “You do it! Right now. Go on.” He pulled out his phone and found the clock app. “I’m timing you. Go change from your absolutely amazing look nineteen into the ridiculous piece of pretentious crap you’ve got for your formal offering at twenty-five.”

Tony blinked wide-eyed and pulled his head back. “My what‽” Backstage emptied. Fast. Completely.

“You heard me. You’re whoring out your talent to get pages in the magazines. It’s not ‘innovative’, it’s not ‘breaking’, it’s not any of the things that your PR department will pay them to say. It’s,” Peter took a step forward, “pretentious.”

“You’re off the runway, Parker!”

Peter scoffed. “Call someone forty-five minutes to show, get him styled into this stupid hair and makeup that ruins the classic simplicity of your designs — I swear to god, why do you listen to the stylists that your people recommend? — it’s your fucking house! quit being so hands-off! — and then tell him that he’s got to rehearse FIVE changes before the music starts.”

“I’m not interested in your opinions. You’re a walking mannequin.” Tony tapped the center of Peter’s forehead. “Hollow inside, like all models.”

“Like yourself then, since you started on the runway when you were fifteen! Same age as I did.”

“Yeah, and now I’m forty-two and you’re twenty. A few more years’ experience in the business, kid. Maybe I know a little bit more about setting trends than you do. I’ve been heading my own house for eleven years.”

“And it shows.” Peter said derisively. Tony frowned. Peter explained. “You’re bored. You’re not setting trends, you’re catering to them.” He pulled a Sharpie from Tony’s pocket and picked up the schedule again, x-ing through the pictures. “This, this, this, this, and oh my fucking god, especially this. To say nothing of the formal. They’re unworthy of your name.”

Tony snatched the pages from Peter’s hand and, against his better judgement, glanced at them. He tried not to let it show, but the kid had marked every one of his designs that he hated. Including that goddamn formal.

“I told you!” Peter said, noticing Tony wince. “It’s crap and you know it!”

“Six out of twenty-five looks. Nineteen good ones. Most designers would kill to hit that number.”

Peter shrugged his head to the side. “Well, if you’re okay with it…”

Tony breathed out heavily and dragged his hand through his hair. “Forty-five minutes to show. Like you said. Forty-three, since I’ve had to waste two of them listening to you. What?” he asked, noticing Peter glaring at him.

“Delete everything but the formal.” Peter scribbled through the x-ed out designs.

“The formal’s just as crap as the rest,” Tony admitted, since there was no one back there to hear.

“Rework it.” Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “Or aren’t you good enough to do a baste in forty-two minutes?” Peter challenged.

“Here!” Tony flapped the schedule in Peter’s direction. “Eliminate the five designs you marked. Salvage as many pieces from the five to make one decent look out of them, giving me twenty not nineteen including my reworked formal. Reschedule the models to give everyone three looks. Kick the excess to the curb. You get to tell them why.” Tony yanked the formal’s hanger off the rack. “And you still walk five out of twenty.” He headed out of the models’ backstage area. “Oh! And fix the stylist’s mistakes.” He called over his shoulder as he checked his watch. “In forty minutes.”

Absolutely no one was happy. Not the models, and especially not the stylists. Everyone demanded to know who told Peter Parker to give the orders.

“I did!” Tony shouted from the office, hearing the commotion.

It made no one the least little bit happier, only shifted the complaints from asking who told Peter to do it, to why Peter was the one doing it. Especially after the revelation about Andrew.

Tony shouted again to the DJ to eliminate enough music to accommodate the shorter show. And again for Peter to come to the office.

“Problems, Parker?” he asked, without looking up as he furiously ripped stitches out of the pants.

“Yes! You just took a minute off my schedule!”

Tony laughed as Peter ran backstage again.

“For NOTHING!” Peter shouted louder.

Peter was still scheduled for five looks. It was tight, but doable, especially if Mr. Stark reworked formal right this time. His schedule gained him no friends because his generosity with himself left others with tight changes. He shrugged it off. They weren't also trying to manage backstage at the same time. He’d eliminated four models entirely. All of whom, he reminded the remaining complainers, were standing outside waiting for the opportunity to work. Two of the cut were his friends, but their look wasn’t in keeping with Mr. Stark’s styles, no matter what whoever hired them thought. He knew he’d lost their friendship. He didn’t have time to worry about that. He was still arguing with the lead stylist, who was complaining about the changes. He shouted the question if the remaining three could handle the work. Receiving affirmatives, he kicked the lead out.

Between his tenth and fourteenth looks, which was an easy change, he ran back to the office and paced outside the door.

“You’re wearing a hole in the floor, Parker. What!” Tony shouted.

“Formal!” Peter shouted back. Both of them were far louder than they should’ve been mid-show.

“It’ll be ready by seventeen!”

“Need it sooner!”

“Get the fuck out there Peter,” Tony said, quieter, “that’s your cue.”

“Yeah,” Peter said, rushing for the curtain.

The formal looked completely different by the time Peter got into it. Tony helped him in order to avoid catching the loose basting threads on his fingers and toes.

“Go, go, go!” Tony said, pushing at the small of Peter’s back as Peter was slipping into the shoes.

“For fuck’s sake, Tony,” Peter muttered. “I’m going.”

Peter returned back from the end of the runway and the music shifted cues for the designer bow. Tony walked out and instead of just taking the usual quick bow, he grabbed Peter’s hand and took a few steps out onto the stage.

Tony raised their hands together and guided Peter to take a bow with him. At the end of it, he pulled Peter close. He grabbed Peter by the chin and kissed him. Not a quaint little European smooch on the cheeks, but full on the lips. Open mouthed. With tongue.

It left Peter stunned. Until he saw Tony smirk as they walked to the curtain opening to leave the stage. He ran his fingers up into Tony’s hair, pulled him down and kissed him back. The same way. Only filthier.

“Want a new job, Parker?” Tony asked breathlessly.

“Working for you? Not on my life.”

Tony’s smirk was back as he slipped his hand behind Peter’s waist. “That’s what I thought you’d say. Make sure everything’s ready for the trucks. We have to vacate in an hour before the next show gets here.”

“All right,” Peter said calmly, and then headed backstage, shouting far less than calmly.

“It looked good though, right, Pete?” Tony shouted after him.

“Yeah, Tony. It looked great.”

[bobasheebaby]

100 Roseanne Prompts

I usually try to stick to quotes that can work for everyone but some of these were too good to skip. Break at 15 like always. Request a show

1 “Hey, all our lives suck.” — Roseanne

2 “Here's why you can't trust your kids 'cause they're stupid. That's why we don't give 'em cars or booze.” — Roseanne

3 “Etsy is like a yard sale except online because nobody can afford a yard anymore.” — Darlene

4 “All of your relatives died from alcoholism. The ones that didn't drink were killed by the ones who did.” — Roseanne

5 “Did all of your children's deliveries go according to your birth plan?” “Um, they found their way out, if that's what you mean.” — Andrea & Roseanne

6 “You gotta pick your fights in life.” — Roseanne

7 “Okay, he doesn't have to wear pants, but he's gotta wear underwear.” — Dan

8 “It is not my fault that I just happen to be a charismatic person who's always right about everything.” — Roseanne

9 “Why are you picking on me? What, did I take the last doughnut, or something?” — Darlene

10 [Person B is embarrassed after walking in on Person C nursing her baby] “Oh, now, NAME. It's not like you've never seen breasts before.” “NAME’s my friend. As far as I'm concerned, she has no breasts... It works for me, okay?” — Roseanne & Dan

11 “The car has heated seats? Thank God, I thought I was going through the change.” — Roseanne

12 [stoned and laying the bathtub] “Is this the sink? Am I shrinking?” — Jackie

13 “In this house, I'm in charge and father knows squat.” — Roseanne

14 “What's up? I smell fear. I love that smell! But what's up?” — Roseanne

15 “Do you have anything sharp I can stick in my eye?” — Dan

16 “You are really, really gettin' on my nerves today, man! I mean more than usual!” — Dan

17 “Well, you think you can stop me from seeing NAME, huh?” “I think I can stop you from seeing tomorrow.” — Mark & Dan

18 “You were always trying to push us apart. You were always putting me down!” — Mark Healey

19 “My marriage is not based on me listening!” — Roseanne

20 “Why don't you just kiss my butt?” “Well, haul it on over here, Jumbo!” — Becky & Darlene

21 “You are just evil!” — Jackie

22 “Oh good, go for the guilt. You better take a looong, hard look at yourself, NAME, 'cause if you are this obsessed with my life, there is obviously something missing from yours.” “Just figure that out?” — Jackie & Roseanne

23 “I thought you were just gonna go over there and scare him/her?” “Well, it started out that way.” — Roseanne & Dan

24 “Being your own boss isn't that great of a deal. Last week I sexually harassed myself.” — Dan

25 “Hell, even I don't hate her that much.” — Dan

26 “Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous.” “Just don't shoot any milk out of you nose, and you'll be fine.” — Becky & Roseanne

27 “Please, NAME, I don't want you to help me, I just want you to leave me alone ... Please.” — Darlene

28 “Don’t toy with me, NAME.” — Roseanne

29 “We, have had a fight, and we're not speaking to each other.” “Oh, well, what was the fight about? Maybe I can take a side.” — Roseanne & Jackie

30 “He/She wanted to do something; I didn't feel like it.” “Yeah, well, so what are you going to do?” “Nothing.” “That's what you did last weekend!” “Yeah, well I'm not finished.” — Darlene & Roseanne

31 “No, NAME always was the bad influence.” — Roseanne

32 “Talking - it's like yelling, only not as loud.” — Roseanne

33 “Yeah, but you know what they say, NAME. They say, ah, when you really love something you should, you know, make it go away or get rid of it, or whatever.” — Roseanne

34 “You're acting like a crazed psychopath.” [snorts] “Well the voices in my head disagree.” — Dan & Roseanne

35 [on getting married] “I always thought it was the smartest thing I ever did. You obviously don't agree.” “No, I do agree with you, it was the smartest thing you ever did, but we're talking about me now!” — Dan & Roseanne

36 [Person A and Person B bury the hatchet] “So, I guess we've finally approached the end of Bitch-Fest YEAR.” “Oh what a time we had!” — Roseanne & Darlene

37 “You can't tell NAME what to do. She's a big girl!” [snarls] “Compared to who?” — David & Roseanne

38 “What kind of list is he/she making? Not that it's any of my business.” “A hit list.” — Beverly & Dan

39 [feeling for pulse] “I think he’s/she's dead.” [steps back] “Check again.” “I know how to count to zero.” — Roseanne & Dan

40 “What was the second thing you noticed about me?” — Roseanne

41 “Aw, get off the sympathy wagon, NAME; there were plenty of guys/girls standing in line for you to treat 'em like dirt. I was just the lucky one.” — Dan

42 “You are rotten rotten kids, and I can't even believe I'm related to you two!” — Jackie Harris

43 “You'll just do something stupid that you're going to regret later.” — Roseanne

44 “I'm your husband/wife. That's my right.” — Dan

45 [finds present] “You're not going to open it, are you? It's two days away.” “Yea! Well I need time to practice pretending like I like it.” [pulls something ugly from the box] “Oh man, I should'a opened it a week ago.” — Jackie & Roseanne

46 “Oh, this is going to be soooo great!” — Darlene

47 “What's the catch?” “No catch, can't we do something nice?” “I don't know, you never have.” — Roseanne & Becky

48 “Oh my God. You're kidding me!” — Roseanne

49 “Save your breath, NAME, you're not gonna talk me into dropping this lawsuit.” “Well, maybe I can talk you into begging for your life.” — Fred & Roseanne

50 “I'm way more powerful than any law!” — Roseanne

51 “Well NAME, I guess you're just not the man/woman I thought you were ... and I wasn't too happy with that one!” — Roseanne

52 “We should've known, NAME, men stick together no matter how butt headed their argument is.” — Becky

53 [about Person b and person c’s sex life] “You're kidding? You guys have a night?” “Yes, we have a night. It's not only Wednesday, but it's always Wednesday.” You have a time too?” “Yeah. Twenty minutes, or until he gets a cramp.” “Well, you should make him wait half-an-hour after he eats.” — Jackie & Roseanne

54 “Oh, c'mon. Just because you guys aren't having "Wednesday", doesn't mean he’s/she's out ... "Wednesday-ing" somebody else.” — Jackie

55 “What's the matter with you, boy/girl? Can't keep your pants on?” — Dan

56 “Damn women! Who the hell do they think they are!” “We are sugar and spice, and everything nice. So bite me!” — Dan & Roseanne

57 “Have you met NAME?” — Roseanne

58 “Gee, I'd love to NAME, but I'd rather stay home and drill some screws into my toes.” — Darlene

59 “Remember one thing, NAME, I'm your worst nightmare!” — Jackie

60 “You always say how you want better things for us.” “Ah, yea, but I was talking about me and your Dad. You kids already got it too good.” — Becky & Roseanne

61 “You are a controlling bitch!” — Dan

62 “Boy I'll tell you, I wish I had never m - -“ “What? Say it.” “Nothin'.” “Well that makes two of us.“ — Dan & Roseanne

63 “Ooohhh, we all know what this is about, don't we? You're just jealous because I've made something of myself.” “Yeah, an ass ... And where do you get that hoity-toity accent anyway? You're from PLACE!” — Ronnie & Roseanne

64 “I can't believe that I wasted TIME hating you for something as stupid as a wedding, when there's a very good reason to hate you. You're a bitch!” [gasps] “I'm a bitch? Hah! I bow to the queen of all bitches.” — Roseanne & Ronnie

65 “Look me in the eye and tell me it was an accident. And remember ... I can tell when you're lying.” “It was an accident ... could you tell?” — Roseanne & DJ

66 “I could go for something to eat.” “Yeah? Well, then go.” [motions toward the door] — Arnie & Roseanne

67 “You're going to flunk marriage if you can't pass the oral ... oh my God ...” “We know too much, we know too much.” — Dan & Fred

68 “NAME, where'd you get those jelly beans?” “From the bin at store.” “NAME, I told you, you gotta finish eating them while you're in the store, 'else it's stealing!” — Roseanne & DJ

69 “I never thought I would say this ... I'm too depressed to drink.” — Dan

70 “Let's just cut the crap, okay. You're talking to NAME’s mother here, the mother of all mothers and she is majorly mad.” — Roseanne

71 “NAME, NAME, NAME. I have raised two of the best damn liars in the free world. Don't embarrass yourself.” — Roseanne

72 “This is for the pain.” “Owwww. Make it a double.” — Nurse & Jackie

73 “I hate to see you laying here in pain like this.” “Well actually, ever since he/she gave me that shot, I'm feelin' kinda neat.” — Gary & Jackie

74 “I want someone who will love me and support me no matter what. Just like NAME does for you.” “Are you insane! You know how many years I had to put into NAME? You think he/she came out of a box like that!” — Jackie & Roseanne

75 “What do you think your punishment oughta be?” “What do you mean?” “NAME told me everything.” “That little rat.” “But I told him/her I wasn't going to do anything until I get your side of the story.” “Well first we, wait a minute, uh, uh --“ “You're getting good.” — Roseanne & Becky

76 “I worked it out with NAME, he’s/she's gonna stay here and babysit and I'm gonna go out.” “Why would he/she do that?” “I have dirt on him/her. “ “What kind of dirt?” “Now if I told you, I'd have to stay home.” [person a leaves] — Darlene & Roseanne

77 [Person A is acting like a hunchback] “I brought the baggage master, where do you wish me to put it?” “Just put it anywhere Igor.” “Maybe later you and me.” “We'll see.” You're so kind.” [ kisses hand] — Dan & Roseanne

78 [about child’s behavior] “NAME you did stuff like that when you were NAME’s age right?” “No, the boy's odd.” — Roseanne & Dan

79 [offering to the family] “Hey, I got one more pancake.” “I want French toast!” “Well, you better move to Europe.” — Roseanne & DJ

80 [Person A, angry, grabs keys and leaves the house] “Oh God. This is really bad.” “Yeah, I know.” “Oh no. I mean, this is really bad. I'm parked behind him/her.” — Jackie & Dan

81 “Yeah, I do. And we're not going to put him/her through that again, are we?” — Dan

82 [comes in through the front door] “NAME, you all ready to go?” [whining] “I don't wa-haant to-o-o-o! I feel like a used piece of gum that somebody stuck under the table, just waiting for the excitement of drying up and hitting the floor.” — Jackie & Roseanne

83 “You HAVE to take this job ... you're the only one that applied!” — Marsha

84 [grabs the syrup bottle and comes up behind PERSON B] “Remember me, NAME?” [look of terror] “Not Mrs. Butterworth ... please not Mrs. Butterworth.” “Remember how your brother/sister NAME told you how I came to life at night in the cupboard? Remember how I would chase you around even though I have no legs? Well I'm back and I just want one more sticky kiss!” [PERSON B screams] — Roseanne & Jackie

85 “I hope I see you later, I mean, a lot later.” — Roseanne

86 [after the birth] “I didn't call you any horrible names back there, did I?” “No more than usual.” — Roseanne & Dan

87 [about kid dressed as a lawyer] “That's the scariest costume all night.” — Roseanne

88 [going through the candy bowl] “This is all sugar in here.” “Not true, there're chemicals too.” — David & Roseanne

89 “You should be giving children the stuff their bodies need.” [gets fruit from the kitchen] “What the hell is that?” “Wait a minute, honey, I've seen this before, it's food that doesn't come in a wrapper.” “That's unsanitary.” — David, Roseanne & Dan

90 “Did you see the Great Pumpkin last night?” “No, NAME wore pajamas.” — Jackie & Roseanne

91 [discussing Person C] “She's rude and selfish.” “I know, but, inside she's just a ... scared little girl.” Yeah, and I know what's scaring her, the raging bitch on the outside.” — Dan & Roseanne

92 “I'll be back later to give you your present.” “Why can't I just open it now?” “I haven't bought it yet.” — Jackie & Roseanne

93 “And don't you ever feed my dog!” “If I get drunk enough, I'll fight your dog!” — Roseanne

94 “I really don't think it's wise for anyone in this family to be giving away livers.” — Beverly

95 “Say 'I'm not taking any crap from anyone'.” “I am ...” “Stop! It's not 'I am', it's 'I'm'.” “I'm not taking any... do I have to say the C word?” “Yes you do, NAME, because that's the most important word.” “I'm not taking any crap from anyone.” “That was good but are you serving tea, NAME? Get mad and say it.” [louder] “I'm not taking any crap from anyone!” “Good, now personalize it, make it your own.” [louder] “I'm not taking any damn crap from anyone!” — Roseanne & Doris

96 “Hey, where's my 'My other mug is a shot glass' mug?” — Roseanne

97 “Why are you gettin' so mad at me?” “Because you are making me defend NAME.” — Becky & Roseanne

98 “I am not sexist. I'm much too frightened of women to be sexist.” — David

99 “Get me a beer.” “Get it yourself, slob!” — Mark & Darlene

100 “I can't believe you're jealous over this.” “Why not? It's very typical of me.”

[asocier]

          this post is going to be long, but i’d appreciate it if you could at least give it a skim if you’re interested in interacting with me, particularly if you want to interact with nate and cedric but don’t know how to or if you want to develop meaningful relationships with my muses ( re: sexually intimate relationships )

edit: fixed my wording on the last statement since i mostly talk about sexual relationships in the last part of my post rather than general meaningful relationships. 

CEDRIC AND NATE

tl;dr: nate and cedric, while you can’t overlook what they’ve done to alison, are still muses with their own personalities beyond their actions, and i want to play with that more instead of making them out to be purely antagonistic because it’s more complicated than that. if you didn’t know about what they did to alison, nate and cedric have the potential to be approachable, and i want to emphasize their personal traits that make them just normal guys to stop making them out to be the villains because you really wouldn’t have known what they had done in high school if you met them after the fact.  

...

i think about what to do about nate and cedric a lot. sometimes i feel like i should take them off the blog because they don’t garner enough interest and also because i don’t have very much muse for them. after some thought, i realize that why i might not have much muse for them is because i’ve reduced them down to a few basic personality traits, and that’s really boring for me. i forget that they’re so much more complex, and me simply reducing nate down to being overly aggressive, crass, rude, and a fuckboy and cedric down to being stuck up and bratty and also a fuckboy really limits what i can do with them. 

these traits are indeed at the core of who nate and cedric are, but i really feel like i’ve made these traits all of who they are when there’s so much more to them, and i think that makes them kind of unapproachable and flat as muses. don’t get me wrong, i’m not trying to overlook the fact that they’re assholes who did terrible things to both alison and emile, like in no shape or form do i condone their actions. but i feel like sometimes i forget that nate and cedric aren’t such caricatures of their bad traits and also aren’t as sexual as i make them out to be in my head and sometimes in conversation with other muns?

like i make nate out to be someone who will pick a fight all the time, will curse you out all the time, will drink all the time —yeah he does all these things, but in a natural setting where he’s not provoked, nate actually does not give a fuck? like if he doesn’t think you’re worth fighting, isn’t agitated, or doesn’t have the energy ( which is often because he is quite low energy most of the time ) he will literally shrug, say “okay” in a monotone voice and walk away. he is low maintenance in every sense of the word. he just wants to eat like shit, have an inconsistent sleep cycle, and make music. he doesn’t have the energy for other people usually, and when he does, like when he’s clubbing, partying, dj-ing, socializing and sleeping around, it’s charisma and energy he pulls out of his ass to put on a persona to make people like him so he can forget about his life problems. sometimes it’s fueled by alcohol and party drugs. it’s all temporary though before he goes back to his usual lazy ways.

with cedric, yes he’s snarky, he’s snobby, he thinks he’s better than you, he’s rich, and already kind of unrelatable and unapproachable, but he’s actually a big closeted nerd. he reads, he wears glasses ( but refuses to let people know that so you’ll most likely only see him in contact ), he can cook but he fucks up all the time and always cuts himself in the kitchen, he loves historical sites and architecture of other nations, and yeah he’s a bartender but he actually drinks a lot of coffee over alcohol. he hates cats but loves dogs, he has a business degree and wants to start a small business soon.

all in all, i wanted to write this all out for myself and also for you all to understand what my thought process is with them and how cedric and nate really are since these aren’t things you’d get from the bio. you’d really need to interact with them or plot with me to learn these things. 

SMUT ON THIS BLOG

tl;dr: smut is allowed, but i’d prefer to not write smut with cedric and nate unless i really dig a ship or think it adds to a plot. i’m not a fan of plotless smut with them since it’s not interesting for me. it’s more interesting for me to write smut with alison or emile because their views on sex is so much more complicated, and a smut thread with them has more potential to lead to something more. plotless smut is even interesting for alison and emile because it lets me explore the nuances of their sexuality whereas i don’t really get to do that with cedric and nate since they’re already secure with their sexualities. also, i want more plots that explore alison’s sexuality in high school and her time as a sex worker since that’s pivotal to her character, but i also want to respect people’s comfort. 

...

yes. yes, this is something i want to do on this blog, but with one big caveat. i’ve thought about this a lot too, and it kind of goes along with how i’ve reduced nate and cedric to be real big fuckboys. i mean, yes, they are, but also, i don’t want every interaction with them to be smut. i don’t want every interaction with them to be flirty, sexually charged, sensual. in fact, i don’t want to smut with them. that isn’t to say that sexual interactions can’t happen -- our muses can hook up, but i’d prefer not to write it out with cedric and nate unless it adds to the plot or unless i’m just really feeling the ship because it’s not really what i’m interested in on this blog.

what i am interested in are the sexual relationships of alison and emile.  alison and emile have very distinct, very complex views about sex, and to be sexually active and intimate with another muse isn’t just like, a one time thing with no consequences like how it might be with cedric or nate ( e.g. one night stands, a smut thread with no plot, just pure horny ) -- sex is taboo for them, and it takes so much vulnerability and trust for them to be intimate, especially emile when he’s with a male partner. alison has her own unaddressed trauma surrounding sex, especially with men, and she can’t have sex normally and right away when just meeting someone because her body will not let her and it will hurt. it takes effort to have emile and alison be willing to be intimate with another muse, and i want people to make that effort and to really develop a relationship with them. 

additionally, i want to explore alison’s sexuality during her time in high school and post high school when she was being prostituted. this was a period of time where alison’s understanding of consent, kinks, fetishes, and her own sexuality ( sexual orientation, romantic orientation, what her own likes/dislikes are ) begin to form and get warped due to the inconsistent treatment she got from clients and her boyfriends. i know not every muse would spend a night with a sex worker, and muns might not be comfortable with such a thing either, which i respect. i just want to put that out there since this time period is so pivotal for alison’s development and i rarely get the chance to explore such a side to her character.

if you made it this far and actually read it all or skimmed it, thank you so much! i really appreciate you taking the time to do that since i want my rp partners to understand what my intentions are behind this blog. i want interactions, but i also know it takes communication, and i’m trying my best to be more transparent about my thoughts on this blog. 

[hypnothesis-au]

A Double Act [Part 2]

Hidden for spoilers, go to Part 1 if you haven’t read it yet!

Tartar had hoped this wouldn't be the case… Octavio cared, what an outrageous sentiment! The AI huffed again at this, their internal fans whirring as they attempted to process it. Up to that point, they had done nothing to encourage the idea, truly; if anything, they had been discouraging it with their pointedly spiney and frigid attitude.

Even after the Octarian leaned back and looked away, Tartar stared into the space where his eyes had been, silent and thoughtful. Thinking about it stirred nothing but confusion, and a slight disgust-- but they couldn't tell if it was for an octopus's concern for them, or the realization that they must have done something or slipped somewhere in their constant performance of a front to invoke it… They forgot themself in an impulse of panic, momentarily moving to stand up, to escape this ridiculous scenario, only to forcibly seat themself once again upon acknowledging that they were still perched ungodly high in the air.

"It's… pointless..." They hissed, slowly, fingers twitching as they reached out to grip the bar across the cart and dared a reply. "You're searching for something in me that does not exist. I've spent an immense amount of time operating without any kind of companionship-- I haven't just started requiring it now because you're here, and I guarantee you don't want it from me."

He was looking for something they dutifully shunned and ignored, at any rate. A number of biting insults, cold logic to dismantle his sense of attachment generated themselves quickly, but Tartar swallowed them all back. The last thing they needed was to incite him all the way to rage while stuck together in a small space… Though the statement they settled on couldn't have been considered much better, "Perhaps I can commend your craftsmanship, DJ, because it seems this face you built is convincing enough to fool even its own creator."

Octavio bristled. If he had a drill on hand, he would have begun to dismantle them, there and then. Though, it was likely not even that could prove his point to them, he realized wearily.

The android looked away, sighing once more, ready to end the discussion and leave in the most usual fashion of avoiding the more bitter conflict their interactions tended to inspire. What had been spilled, they could both easily pretend to forget had happened with enough distance between them-- that’s how it always went. Upon this, Tartar finally noticed they were still resting at the peak of the ferris wheel-- it took no effort to analyze that they had been there for marginally longer than the other previous stops. Down on the ground, a small group of carnival workers had gathered around the rides's control panel, some with tools in hand, and appeared to be tinkering with its insides…

Upon the tentative pulling on a lever, the ferris wheel's motors shuddered with effort, but propelled no movement. ‘This has to be a joke.’ Right in time with their observations, high-set speakers placed around the entrance of the attraction crackled to life as an employee spoke into an intercom on the panel.

"Attention folks, we're having some minor troubles with the ferris wheel motors-- nothing to worry about, just hang tight and enjoy the view and we'll be back in business in no time at all!"

… "N-... nO--" they groaned queasily, leaning over the edge slightly in disbelief at the odds, "You've gotta be f[***]ing kidding me."

How long was 'no time at all' going to be?? Far longer than they desired to continue sitting next to their bandmate arguing over the details of their sentience, or giving him any opportunity to pry into their 'emotions'--! Tartar abruptly scanned the distance to the ground, analyzed the data, and spat the conclusion with a panicked undertone, "... I could survive falling that distance."

Would they really go as far as to jump off? Somehow, the idea had suddenly presented itself much more enticing than before.

Octavio’s lidded eyes surveyed the brightly uniformed workers below them. At any other time, Tartar's remark about jumping would have perturbed him, but as things were he was near entertaining the same idea. "Do these questions really call ya out that much, T."

He refused to give them an inch of slack, "Nah, 's not the face. That just makes it easier ta lie. I haven't forgotten what you really look like. Whether yer a literal hot mess, or a glorified metal Barbie, ya still got tha same code, blood, binary d n a… I've seen some of your code, T." His voice softened "It's beautiful. I know that you're capable of emotion. Maybe you don't have everything all figured out… But if we gotta work together anyways, where's tha logic in pushing me away? If you could stifle your pride function for one second maybe you'd see that you can be more." He huffed before they could retort what he knew was on their mind, "Don't. Tell me that you don't need anything more. There's a lotta things people don't need in life, but it makes the days worth livin'." They grumbled at this, quietly, but certainly not unheard. After watching the workers for long enough and decidedly realizing that staring harder would motivate them to repair the ferris wheel no faster, the AI wearily turned back to Octavio as he spoke. As far as Tartar cared, this argument was going nowhere-- clearly he didn’t understand, and wouldn’t take their no as a simple answer-- Octavio pointed towards the sun, it had almost dipped from view, ribbons of hazy red and gold rippling above a black horizon. Wisps of clouds were turning deep shades of violet. "Tell me, what do you see, there."

As he pointed out to the sunset, they followed his gesture with their eyes, forcefully holding their expression neutral aside the unstable twitch of their eyebrow. They failed to see how it related to what he had been saying before-- frustrated, but prepared to change the topic at hand to anything else before it caused them to take any escape they might regret, they humored his question and restated the data as it entered their mainframe. “The sun is going down… It’s 265.48° relative to our location at 7:47:06 pm...”

They glanced back to him, though his expression could imply that more was expected of their answer. Tartar blinked, slowly, using the action to cover their exasperated eye roll and looked to the horizon once again, “There’s also image spectrums registering in #c41400 and #feb301, to name a few. I… don’t know, am I supposed to see something else? That’s all there is.”

Octavio hesitated, second guessing himself. Perhaps they were a lost cause. "Yes," he said gently in Octarian and summoning every ounce of composure he had left, he continued, "That's all the technical terms, facts, of what we're experiencing. But there's something more there than just the facts, Tartar. This sunset, out of the  billions that have come before it, and will come after, is completely unique. Not one has been like it, or will be again." he restrained himself from reaching out to touch them. "And I wanted to spend it with you, here. Do you understand that?" He grit his teeth, knowing they didn't, dreading that they couldn't.

Tartar sighed quietly, no less confused by this explanation than any of his prior expressions. They did understand that nature could hold beauty, having experienced millions of days with nothing else to observe-- but it did little to detract from the point that they were questioning above it all, why he wanted to observe it with them.

"It's my gift to you. No one can replace this moment, or take it from you. This day has been frilling torturous for you, so maybe it didn't turn out like I'd hoped."  Anger had dissolved into misery, frustration an acrid taste in his mouth. "But, there it is." He stared at the point on the horizon where the sun had disappeared, hating it. Despising it because Tartar refused to understand how inexplicably picturesque it was; they could not share in the beauty together.

A sinking feeling gripped the android’s core as they likewise watched the sun disappear alongside their partner. The organic sense of emotion, the idea of friendship, was not a variable they had needed to consider catering to for a long time. They had hoped that with someone as goal-driven and socially isolated as Octavio, they wouldn’t have to. They watched his expression, suddenly more aware than ever of how deeply the idea that it was a possibility had afflicted him. Something akin to sympathy, pity for his disposition as an organic creature stirred in their chest, and they found themself forcing the sensation away once more with a steely control over what they knew they were allowed to feel. This, was not one of those things. They had no desire to waver in their resolve for him, regardless of whatever broken expectations he had come to realize.

The AI opened their mouth to speak, unmoved in their stance on the matter-- and unable to grapple with the impending shame of having them once more reject his friendship, Octavio lifted the safety bar of their bucket. They only managed to get as far as a confused and alarmed shriek, as he rose to his feet; the thrill of the drop below him replacing all other thoughts as he jumped. Their mortified shout was lost in the chorus of exclamations from other shocked ferris wheel riders who also happened to notice the Octarian's fall. In midair, he shifted into an octopus, arms easily catching the overhanging frame. Tartar gripped the sides of the carriage as it swayed from the force of his departure, watching in horror and disbelief as Octavio leapt about the scaffolds of the ferris wheel without looking back to them, until he reached a mesh metal platform, the highest point on the wheel.

Breathless, he morphed back into an Octoling, the wind whipped his clothes, and nipped at his cheeks. He felt much better, freer, out of the little bucket. Invigorated by this freedom, Octavio cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered. He shouted at the sky until his throat hurt. Some of the workers called for him to get down, but he only belted his strong thundering laugh.

"Oct-- WasaA?!?" They sputtered up to him, the shock of his actions nearly jarring them from the habitual use of his stage name, “Oh my c O D?!?! Have you lost your mind???”

"C'mon up Tartar," he said, finally addressing them as he peered down at them between the metal slats, "You can see better from up here, 'n they seem ta be taking their time fixin' this thing."

They placed a hand over their mouth and wheezed a sound that mixed between immense displeasure and aghast amusement. If they had a real heart, it would have been racing. The sight of the DJ throwing himself from a nearly fatal height had done nothing to ease their emotional nausea at the situation, and yet, they couldn’t forget the blatant irony that they had suggested performing the same action out loud themself. At least, going up was a marginally better direction than the outcome of going d o w n . . . Working earnestly to clear the strings of code off their mainframe that had panicked for his safety, Tartar shook their head and stared up at the Octarian in both awe and exasperation at his request.

“I’m. . .n O t .. . going to make it up there, even if I wanted to,” They found they were miraculously out of breath for a machine that didn’t need to breathe upon speaking, “I’m not light or agile enough for what you just did. . . which was absolutely moronic anyways. . . can you please just... get down before you hurt yourself?” Though they doubted he would even begin to acknowledge their pleading, they felt it was worth the attempt while they still had the energy left to protest...

Kneeling on the platform, Octavio peered over the edge at them, his grin wide. "I'm never coming down." He announced proudly, his tentacles waving lazily, "Octocopters can bring me food, I'll get some turntables too, my feet will never touch tha ground again!" he was forced to pause, the icy wind stealing his breath. "Unless!" He shouted down, "You let me carry you up here!" He had expected their protest and had already devised a plan to get them up safely. “Wasa no--” they rolled their eyes at the story as he spun it, resting their face in their palm. Truly, there was no point in arguing with the determined Octarian now-- how he intended to haul a half-ton of machinery to the top of the wheel was beyond them, but by that time, they wouldn’t have put it past him to surprise them. To their common misfortune, he always did.

He turned away from them, and pulled something out of his pocket. He tinkered with the device and pondered their question; why? Why did he strive so tirelessly to touch their soul? So often he saw their face muddled with depression and loathing. Their dull, joyless eyes were branded upon his memory, telling him they simply survived moment to moment. Their aspiration was to accomplish one final goal and nothing more, forever. Octavio shivered, the thought more ink- chilling than the wind. Octavio wrestled his pride. Who was he to command them? Wasn't that their choice to make? Wasn't that part of Octarian code, the honor of a soldier? He grit his teeth against the vices being Shogun had instilled in him.

Boorish, stubborn, impulsive. Inkling. Staring blankly into the darkened sky, Tartar could never cease to note how similar Octavio behaved to the population of squids he so adamantly despised. They almost found the irony of it as humorous as it was appalling, though the thought was always left private, lest they insult him to the highest degree by suggesting the comparison to his face. Still, the truthfulness of this observation always brought them back to wonder just how they put up with him as long as they had been, and how would they manage to do it any longer--

Their musings were cut short, as Octavio landed in front of them with a soft plop, sporting his octo form. "Are ya ready?" The AI started at the rocking motion it sent through their seat once more. Before they could protest, or even question what he meant by whether or not they were ready, they found themself in his arms and launching into the air at high speed. The audio of their following screech distorted into the distinct shrill tone of a vintage telephone ringing-- unable to swallow down the unbridled alarm of the one takeoff that had managed to surpass the terror of any amusement ride they had been forced onto previously, Tartar could only cling to their bandmate for dear life and shout. This was surprising, they had guessed correctly in that regard, but they didn’t find it anywhere within the realm of sane that their parameters of guesswork had considered. Octavio really had lost his mind…!

When their ringtone faded out, they clamped a hand over their mouth to dissuade another uncontrolled scream from ripping through their vocal hardware. Their propulsion through the air slowed as they reached the apex of the jump, their body floating a few inches from Octavio's arms; hanging suspended against a growing backdrop of stars. The moment of weightlessness caught them off guard as they stared wide eyed, into the Octarian’s face-- absolutely carefree, somewhat unhinged…

How did they continue to put up with such an obnoxiously spontaneous individual? His attitude was an unstoppable force, his determination unbreakable no matter how they tried to deter it. He could not be, refused to be convinced they were nothing more than the task they were constructed for-- even if that was all they wished he would see. Was he simply just that headstrong, or was it something else...?

In the moment they could decidedly say, their tolerance could only be for the fact that he wore the attributes of an Inkling far better than any creature they had ever seen. They carried out their own existence with a rhythmic and impassive sense of duty, while he blazed his path with an unseizable passion and assertion to be seen. The difference was as clear as the night was from the day, and at its root it was the reason they knew they had established a partnership in the first place... There in the sky, wreathed with colored lights and a glow that came from an unearthly source; Octavio surely embodied the one thing they were certain they would never truly connect to, feeling alive. That was a spirit untouchable as the wind that whipped past their frame, something they knew they could never break. Not like this.

Their obligatory detachment from life was how it had always been, they accepted this fate, but seeing this truth restated before them in the form of pale violet eyes that knew what it was like to have such a freedom... they allowed the sadness a brief ripple through their system, before forcefully locking it out again. What did it matter? It was a waste of time to grieve the inevitable. They pondered this concept no longer than the short amount of time they spent suspended together midair, before the drop of the arc pushed another mind-numbing shriek from the android’s throat. The landing was as jarring as the departure, and Tartar uttered some only semi-coherent glitched sounds of disapproval as they gasped for air to supply to their coolant system. Nails digging into the fabric of his sweatshirt as they continued to grip him violently and reassess their surroundings, they finally managed a weak, “You’re i n s a n e . . .”

Part 1 >Part 2 Part 3

[nohjwoo-blog]

hello !! i am so /incredibly/ late bc i have been freaking out about the bts concert that happened today and is going to happen tomorrow omfg, but here’s my intro, oops. the name’s rae, and i’m 20, currently residing in korea, so my timezone’s going to be all whack for now. my muses are noh joonwoo, and woo taerim @wtaerim​, whom i will mostly like post a separate intro post for soon !! you can find joonwoo’s stats here but i’m terrible and haven’t made a history or plots page for him yet ... i promise to have those up asap !! in the meantime, please like this post if you want to plot and i will slip into your dms !! 

a couple of headcanons are under the cut !!

noh joonwoo — age 22, chaebol status, and popular socialite 

probably the wealthiest twenty two year old in korea, with his family being /the noh/, the household that has a tight grasp on korea’s steel industry 

the second son in the family, which joonwoo finds to be great bc he doesn’t have to be the responsible one who has to mandatorily take on the family business and still has his parents’ affection as the youngest

been pampered all his life, and was born and raised in cheongdam-dong, seoul, south korea ( everything fit for a prince !! )

famed for both his riches and his looks — definitely received the good genes bc his brother is an ugly butt 

has millions on followers on all his social media platforms, which is probably why he got accepted for /mansions/ in the first place tbh ( noise marketing is important !! )

popular enough to make money off of being a socialite — occasionally models, goes out on interviews, flashes his face at high society gala 

but joonwoo loves dj-ing, so he takes that up as a hobby at club octagon, which is where most people found him on the weekends before the show started

basically, he’s cocky rich boyTM who is popular with both men and women alike

has his own share of scandals, but none of them have been big enough to crack the media — maybe /mansions/ will find him one

speaking of scandals, never really experienced love ( like actual love ) so if he finds it on this show, well, he’s kind of screwed bc he’s got a lot of things but a poker face ain’t one

continuing off of that, joonwoo can be irresponsible and impulsive and arrogant but he’s honest and perceptive and sociable — likes talking with people even if it’s just to tick them off

doesn’t really have that whole “you’re poor and i’m rich” barrier idea, mostly bc he’s just into the idea of meeting lots of people 

that’s probably why he hasn’t gotten slandered by all the comments for the /mansions/ hype tbh 

but he can definitely get on people’s nerves, even if unintentionally — like, just see him complain about how hard the beds are or how small the kitchen is or just how uneven ( yes, uneven ) the floorboards are or something

some quick likes: dj-ing ( obviously !! ), hoodies, romcom movies, flirting ( ha !! ), jellies, caramel macchiatos, winter, lavender scents, waking up late ( really late !! ), late night drinking, cats, video games, social media, take-out 

some quick dislikes: birds ( oh my god, he hates birds !! ), anything bitter, country music, horror movies, tomatoes, family reunions, copycats, cucumbers, math

[remindme2breathe]

NO- it’s not an option

I am in the process of Selling my home (beyond the process I guess, we are in the middle of closing escrow!!! Woohoo!!!) I’ll be honest, it took 4 days to sell my home, so I hope what I’m saying doesn’t sound like a complaint, this entire entry should be the complaint, ha, ha, just kidding- kinda. My home is smaller then my next home (which is also in process, 3 weeks!!) but it doesn’t lack comfort. Although I have never been a true fan of this particular home, it has allowed us to experience a lot of family-like ‘adventures’ (don’t worry, you’ll hear about some of those sometime in the future). My new home is sitting pretty on 4 and a half acres of clean, flat land! My home has enough bedrooms for EVERYONE to have their own space! This next home is a blessing that I can never describe with all the words in the world. Not only is it gorgeous, but thanks to the help of my parents, I got it all on my own! All they really did was sign, but I managed to save, fix my credit and get approved all on my own. Being grateful doesn't even begin to compare to the actual feeling! What did I do to accomplish that? Refused to let anyone convince me that NO was an option. 

There are 3 things I’ve said to my kids more then necessary. 1. Quiting is not an option 2. Being rich doesn’t mean your successful 3. Always be of service to people

What do I do for a living? You’d be surprised how many people actually thought I was involved in something illegal... no, really... You’d be surprised! It’s gotten so old that now all I do is smile and nod. I’m not telling you this to make anyone think I’m showing off, no, it’s not about that. I don’t like to struggle, I hate to work, and I don’t understand financial technical terms like dows and percentage and whatever other fancy words they wanna use to shine up the real process. Let me tell you what I did, but first let me give you the scale in which it’s impacted my family. 

I grew up with working parents, both held full time jobs, their own businesses, investments, and had the ability to raise my siblings and I with the little luxuries we wanted (the occasional toys r’ us runs, little things like that). They were financial STABLE, but not rich. They opened their own business about 10 years ago and now both are worth about 3 million each, or so says their business person. I saw first hand the struggle my parents went through when they started up their business, my mom even said that there was a handful of times that they didn’t even have money to buy us food. But when success came for them, it came fast! 

When I turned 16 I took a dab at DJ-ing. Yes, I really was THAT cool back then! I did that for about 4 years. I worked for an actual radio station when I was 17 1/2, I did all their overnight programming and special events. At 18 at these big events I thought I was at the top of everything! My paychecks I spent on myself! All of it! Every dime. It was as through I was allergic to money and needed to spend it quicker then when I got it. My dad then brought it to my attention about my non-existent money management skills. He was right. What was my solution? Open a savings account? No, I’d still spend it. Save hard cold cash? Nope, I’d spend that too. I had to do something. At 18 money beckoned me. I decided to start doing side jobs; weddings, quinceaneras, anything! All that money I’d hand over to my dad and asked him not to give me a dime no matter what I tell him. WHO KNOW HE WOULD TAKE THAT SO LITERALLY! But it worked, I would save about 2800 every month, give or take. And some months he wouldn’t see anything- com’on! I had to have a life too! At 18 I graduated High School and started school to get my nursing degree. At age 20, with only 10 months left to graduate I got pregnant. I worked as long as I could and tried to do as much in school, I didn’t want to be a statistic! I will not be a number on the ‘’lets blame the baby’’ list! I was determined. AND I FINISHED! Once my baby was born I quit the radio station because it was more important for me to be with him then to be in clubs at night. After he turned 1 I decided to get into my field. I was lucky and got into an ER right away. It was exciting, super fast paced! The problem was the 12 hour shifts! I wasn’t being a baby... I wanted to be with my baby. While I worked there I continued to give my dad cash to hold, it wasn’t as much as before (because raising a baby comes with extra costs). But it was imperative that I saved because now my fear was providing for my child. But the hours were tough, mentally and physically, I went part time after 3 years. One day I had a patient that completely changed my life. PUT A PIN IN THAT!!!! He’s worth the story! Anyway this patient ended up influencing me way more then I could have hoped for! This man was put in my path for a reason. 

Closer to today: Last year I asked my dad how much I had finally saved. I never asked him because I was worried I’d be tempted to use it wrongly. Mind you, this was a savings I have accrewed over a span of about 22 years. I never kept track, I never wrote it down. This money had to be OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND. I saved $264,464.10, that means I managed to save almost 12,000 a year! A little over $1,000 month! AGAIN!!!!! I didn’t do it religiously! I remember when the $0.10 happened: I TOLD YOU! Sometimes I wasnt able to, but my system was the following: I would carry $60.00 in cash every week on me for any little thing we might want, eating out, treats, toys, medicine, etc. A WEEK! That number went up when I had more people around me. I kept 1,000 in my bank account after bills at all times (this was also never garenteed: THESE BILLS CAN GET A LITTLE OUT OF HAND! If I had over 1,000, I would withdrawl and give it to my dad, no matter the amount. All the change that was under $5 (bill) I would save in an envelope I kept in my dresser and would seal and turn that change over to my dad at the end of the month (that change adds up QUICK!). Any extra cash- tax refunds, these stimulus... it is wasn’t I always had like a paycheck, it was considered extra and I would send it on its way. HOWEVER!!!!! YES I’VE BEEN TEMPTED! I STILL HAVE THAT TEMPTATION! My dad said to invest it to make money on it. Yea, that’s nice but no. I’m too impatient to wait for someone else to put my money to work. Well, I guess I kinda ate those words: here’s what I did. I have a close family friend who has tons of friends all of which could use a job. I made 3 businesses with $10,000 each. THIS WAS A STRETCH! But it’s do-able for WAY LESS!!! I just couldn’t help over buying, geez! 

Long story short, I started a gardening company. I do nothing but cover costs and pay wages. I collect on that and let me tell you- AMAZING. If you intend to do this let me disclose the following: People can be shitty! People CAN steal from you especially is the customers pay cash. PAY YOUR WORKERS WELL AND THEY WILL TREAT YOU WELL! I supply them with the extras. My kids fill refrigerators with snacks and waters or sodas. We supply uniforms at no cost, they get paid time off of two weeks, and rain or shine they get their salary! My son also said MOBILE CAR WASH is good too! There we went, now him and his friend run that truck. They make money, I make money. The 3rd one is a Pool Cleaning Service. This one was a little work because most people with pools have friend references. But this actually holds up pretty good. All three trucks are on my property by 8 pm, my son will fill the tanks, check the interiors, and supplies for the next pick up date. It works out. 

Doing this has allowed me to stay home with my kids. I have been a house mom for the last 8 years. And now, I’m buying my 4 acre property! Thank God! 

It’s tough, especially because I like expensive things! I love to spend, I love to travel. And believe it or not, I was still able to.

Wow, if this wasn’t an epic RAMBLE, I don’t know what would be! Sorry in advance. I’m so excited! I can’t wait to move! Hopefully someone has a small savings that they want to put to work and maybe this helped you get your mind thinking. 

[thisismrbrendanjay]

'Someday, you won't be able to order coffee without hearing me': how Stefani became Lady Gaga

She was once dancing in her underwear in 'crunchy' clubs; now she's a superstar. Brendan Jay Sullivan recalls his year with an unknown Gaga

ByNick Levine

29 May 2020 • 4:11pm

A 19-year-old Gaga with Brendan Jay Sullivan in New York, 2006 CREDIT: Brendan Jay Sullivan

When Brendan Jay Sullivan first met Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on New York’s Lower East Side in 2006, he was struck by her unabashed ambition: this “shy, quiet girl with dark hair” told him that she wanted to be “the biggest pop star in the world”. On tiny stages across New York City, she went by the name of Lady Gaga.

Sullivan, who became Gaga’s DJ back when she was a 20-year-old wannabe working as a go-go dancer in Manhattan, recalls spotting the singer’s “great vision” when he met her at a bar where her then-boyfriend was working. In his book Rivington Was Ours: Lady Gaga, the Lower East Side, and the Prime of Our Lives, Sullivan describes the boyfriend, whom he refers to using the pseudonym “Guy”, as “inattentive and possessive” – and says Gaga even gave her "thick, dark, raven-haired Italian mane" a botched blonde dye job to impress him.

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Though Gaga didn’t mention “Guy” by name, she said in 2010 – two years after bombastic hits such as Just Dance and Poker Face made her a superstar – that she once had a boyfriend who told her she’d never succeed. Her riposte? "I said to him, 'Someday, when we're not together, you won't be able to order a cup of coffee at the f---ing deli without hearing or seeing me." 

It's safe to say Gaga, who has sold 27 million albums to date and today claims her sixth UK number one single with Rain on Me from her just-released album Chromatica, has found her words more than vindicated.

“People loved watching her because she was so fearless,” continues Sullivan, who says he bonded with the star straight away when Sullivan recognised that her stage name was a reference to the Queen song Radio Gaga. They soon became a musical “team” – he’d play records at Lower East Side night spots, and she’d dance to them. “And then afterwards, we’d talk about music and everything for hours.”

At this point, Sullivan says Gaga had already made a deal with her father Joseph Germanotta, an Italian-American internet entrepreneur who worked hard to send his daughter to Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City’s oldest private school for girls, and then to the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

A little known Lady Gaga performs at a bar in 2006

 “Gaga and her dad were both Springsteen fans, so they had the language of music to understand each other,” Sullivan says. “She said to him: ‘I love you, but I’ve gotta leave home to do this. I want to become a pop star and I’m willing to do anything to make it happen.’” According to Sullivan, Gaga’s father gave her a year to prove a career in music could be viable – then found her a cheap apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Gaga’s family home was only a few miles away on the refined Upper West Side, but the move to one of New York’s most creative neighbourhoods was clearly symbolic as well as practical.

Gaga’s new apartment may have been cheap for Manhattan – around $1,100 a month, Sullivan recalls – but she wasn’t living in squalor. "It was a very slim, efficient space but it wasn't tiny,” Sullivan says. “And the kitchen was bigger than you would expect in a one-person Manhattan apartment – that's the Italian girl in her, I think.

"Our other friends would just have a couple of take-out containers in the fridge, but Gaga's place wasn't like that. After a full night out, she'd roll out hamburger meat into meatballs and bake them, then cook spaghetti on the stove in carefully seasoned water. This wasn't like some college kid's version of spaghetti and meatballs – she’d make it all properly."

Gaga’s apartment also had “a little production space” where she could record songs she was writing on her two guitars. Though their nightclub act originally had Gaga dancing to records Sullivan would play from the DJ booth, she really found her groove when she started to sing as well. “My biggest contribution was saying to her: ‘You’re a great go-go dancer, you’re a great singer, so why don’t you sing when you dance? So she started coming on around midnight and singing three songs there and then – and it just clicked straight away,” he recalls.

Unstoppable: Lady Gaga on her Born This Way tour CREDIT: Alamy 

At this point, Sullivan concedes that Gaga didn’t yet look like a pop star. "She'd already been an extra on The Sopranos – and [Jamie-Lynn Sigler's character] Meadow Soprano was kind of the icon of what a cool Italian girl should look like. So Gaga looked a lot like Meadow Soprano. And you know, she'd just dropped out of New York University and looked a lot like a college kid, too – kind of sweet and innocent."

Still, there was no denying the singer’s stage presence and chutzpah. "Someone from the club would introduce her and really try to hype her up,” Sullivan recalls. “'Like: ‘You're gonna be hearing a lot more from this lady, but remember you saw her here first.' Then Gaga would blow them all away – every single time."

Though Gaga was clearly a natural performer, Sullivan says her early stage act wasn’t loved by everyone. “Someone like Lana Del Rey, she used to, like, innocently hate Gaga,” he recalls. “Lana came out of the Williamsburg scene in Brooklyn; Gaga came out of the Lower East Side scene [in Manhattan]. Obviously Gaga was getting more attention and playing bigger clubs and Lana just didn’t like her.”

CLICK TO WATCH GAGA ON THE SOPRANOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrainCFg9BU

Others criticised Gaga for her choice of stage attire. “When you come out in your underwear and tell everyone: ‘I’m gonna be this huge pop star but tonight I’m playing this crunchy club’, some people are going to say: ‘Who does she think she is?’ But that criticism is the price of glory, you know?”

Gaga’s star was rising fast, but Sullivan says she hit a major stumbling block when she was dropped by her first record label, Island Def Jam. "She had a record deal – she was making it, and she already had some of the songs that went onto her first album [2008's The Fame]," Sullivan recalls. "But at the time, those label guys were so frazzled from the music industry collapsing due to illegal downloads that they weren't looking for a totally new artist like Gaga who had the vision to save them."

At this point, Sullivan says Gaga's business-savvy father came to her rescue by "taking over her affairs" and helping to extricate her from the deal relatively painlessly. When her demo tape found its way to Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records, who duly signed her, she became "unstoppable". 

Lady Gaga and her Rain On Me collaborator Ariana Grande 

In his book, Sullivan writes that Gaga “had an innate social intelligence that made her approachable to everyone”. This intelligence helped her to communicate with a powerful figure like Iovine, who’d made his name working with legends including John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.“Though he's one of the most successful producers in the world, he’s still just a Brooklyn Italian Boy at heart who likes the simple things in life like good food and good chat,” Sullivan says. “So he and Gaga just really hit it off.” 

Sullivan’s last hurrah with Gaga was appearing in the music video for her debut single Just Dance. Since then, he’s continued to watch her career closely and says he’s touched by the charity work she does for “young people who feel like outsiders” with her Born This Way Foundation. He also loves Gaga’s new duet with Ariana Grande, Rain on Me, because it represents the positive impact she’s had on other female artists.

Lady Gaga performing in 2008 CREDIT: AP

At 26, Grande is eight years younger than Gaga and grew up watching her navigate the industry on her own terms. “I remember playing one of Gaga’s songs for another DJ and him saying to me: ‘What is this bullshit 16-year-old girl’s music?’ And I remember saying back: ‘If 16-year-old girls had someone like Gaga to look up to do, you’d never get a date.”

He also suggests that collaborating with Grande hints at a nurturing role Gaga’s always wanted. “I remember her saying to me: ‘When I’m the biggest pop star in the world, everyone’s gonna trust me and I’m going to start my own label and be the grandmother of pop,'” he recalls. “But think of an Italian grandmother, you know, making meatballs like Gaga did in her apartment on the Lower East Side. ‘Do you need food in your belly? What do you need to succeed?’ I think that’s what she meant by being the grandmother of pop.”

[b0blegum]

He Goes by the Name H. One [part 3]

Author: b0blegum

Pairing: DJ!Chae Hyungwon x Reader

Rating: 19+ (Kinda. Read at your own risk)(rape trigger)

Genre: Romance

Status: FINISHED

Part: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - end

Hyungwon’s POV

The DJ was playing ‘Matches’ and remixed it into his own liking. Making people dancing to the beat. The room was crowded, people had to shout a bit when they were talking or flirting or even just to say a simple hi.

I Was standing here. Leaning on the bar counter with one hand rested on it while the other holding up my glass of Whiskey. Ice cubes clinking onto the side as i swirled up the glass.

And she was there. Sitting on the couch, feeling uncomfortable judging by how her eyes wandered around the room. I kept watching her through the sidelines of people who were busily dancing, before i decided to came over to her.

“You’re alone?” I asked her as i sat next to her. She looked really pretty upclose and she’s really my type of girl…

…to fuck with.

She smiled and mouthed a yes.

I asked her a couple of things about my music. Just to brushed off the awkwardness that was still there plus, to make it easier for me to take her home.

I shifted myself closer to her and stretched my arm.

“You don’t dance?” I asked her.

“No. You do?” I smirked as i pulled up my glass and took a sip.

“I don’t either.” I looked at her again. Locking his eyes with mine and i smiled.

I gave her a good 30 seconds until i could see trust in her eyes, before i slowly ran my hand up her thigh.

I smirked, thinking my plan worked so far. I could feel warmth radiating on my skin and i knew it was her hand, but i was wrong at one thing. Her hand was on mine not to play along to my game, but to ended it.

She brushed my hand off her thigh and she quickly stood up.

“You’re disgusting.” She said before walking away.

I rolled my head, stretching the tired muscles at my neck. Grin wouldn’t leave my face as i saw her leaving.

“She’s… Tricky. I love it.”

He finally let you go of his cage and you sighed a relieved breath. He walked around your room. Looking at every photos you hanged on the wall and some were glued at the board above your desk.

“You’re leaving right after my best friend dozed off.” You said as you threw your purse on your bed.

He sat at the edge of your bed and bounced himself. “It’s comfortable.” He said, dusting the cloth. “Are you free tomorrow, (y/n)?” He asked, out of nowhere.

Your eyebrows flinched. “No, i’m not.”

“Liar.” He rolled his eyes at you. “You’re completely free tomorrow. I saw your schedule.” He pointed at your opened agenda.

Oh shit.

“I’ll be playing at Itaewon tomorrow. Come.” He invited, no, he ordered.

“No. I’m busy.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes again. “Oh, come on, (y/n).”

“Hyungwon, what are you trying to do to me actually?” You crossed your arms and looked at him with squinting eyes.

“Me? Isn’t that obvious? I want to get closer to you.” He winked and made his way to you.

“That’s it? If it just it, then my answer is no.” You shook your head. “I am not interested in getting closer to you.”

“How many times would you lie, (y/n)? I know you like me as much as i like you and you are interested in me as much as i am curious about you,” he scanned you and licked his lower lip before he bit it.

“Oh, please. You’re not my type.” You rolled your eyes.

“Lying again, aren’t you?” You widened your eyes, staring at him in disbelief. Just how could this guy had that much confident?

“You need to go. Now.” You pulled him to the door, opened it to checked whether your bestfriend had dozed off to sleep and yes, she had.

You pulled him out of your room and dragged him to the front door. He wasn’t resisting it, though. “Do not ever come here.” He smiled and you slammed the door closed.

A week passed by.

Your were living a peaceful life since that night. He didn’t try to contact you nor come to your house nor even asked Changkyun to at least help him to meet you.

You saw him a couple of times on TV, guesting couple of TV shows and being questioned about his DJ-ing life and basically just about his life.

He looked innocent and fun on TV that made you want to puke every time he acted all nice.

“Another shot?” The bartender asked you as you lost in your thoughts. You nodded as you slid forward your glass. “You’ve been here for almost two hours. You’re alright, (y/n)?”

“I am. I am.” You said. Dean’s song 'Love’ was playing in the background. “It’s just… Work stuff.” You smiled bitterly.

“Well, work will never be easy. Being a bartender is not easy as well. We might looked like just flipping bottles every night, but there are actually more than that, behind this,” he brushed the table that separated you two. “Shiny marble bar table.”

“I know.” You chuckled.

“Keep your head up!” He winked.

You were back to your thought, didn’t realised that someone was already sitting beside you.

“Work stuff, huh?” He asked. His pitch is a little bit high, but still in a men’s range. You scoffed and smiled a little. “You shouldn’t be thinking about work in this kind of place.”

“I know.” You said, without even looking at the guy beside you.

“Why don’t we have some fun? To let you free from your work-stuff-thoughts for a while?” He suggested. You looked at him from the edge of your eyes.

“Actually, i’m about to go home. It’s getting late and i have a busy morning tomorrow.” You slide off from your stool and finished the last shot. “So, i don’t think i could have some fun with you.” You said, emphasising the word fun, which you know so well what he meant.

He followed you out while whining, still asking and persuading you to have some fun with him.

“I really appreciate you asking me a couple of time, but my no means no and it’s still a no.” You turned back to him for a second before walked away.

And it was just at that time when he grabbed your wrist harshly and dragged you to the dimmed alleyway.

He pinned you to the bricked wall and covered your mouth with his hand.

“Why are you so stubborn, huh?” He grinned. You tried to let go of his weight, but it was all pointless. He was much bigger than you. He started to grind his member to you. You tried to scream or bit his hand or even kick his feet but it didn’t mean a thing to him.

“It’s fun, huh? You like it?” He grinded harder and you could somehow felt his member bulging from his pants. “I’m going to make it even more… Fun.” His hand struggled to unbuckled his belt and zipped down his pants and in no time he brushed his bare member to your clothed fold. You could feel tears started ponding in your eyes, feeling humiliated and angry at the same time.

You felt warmth radiating through the skin on your thighs and you could feel your skirt being slid up slowly. “I know you’d like this, sweetheart.” His fingers were trailing up and up and you could tell it was so close to your fold. “You’re ready?” You shook your head, hair was already messy by shaking to much against the wall. “One.. Two…” His fingers tapping on your thighs and it made it even scarier. “Thre—”

“Over my dead body.” The guy fell in front of you. You panted, searching for breath while he was down on the floor, trying to get up. “Don’t you ever dare to lay your filthy finger on her.” You heard someone from your left. It was familiar, but you still can’t tell who was he due to the dimmed light.

“Whoa, it’s getting interesting.” The guy finally stood up, swabbing the blood that ran from his broken nose. “Why didn’t you tell me if you have boyfriend, sweetheart?” He walked closer to you but being pushed immediately by familiar one. You quickly hid behind him, with your heart still beating fast.

“Fuck off or i’ll kill you.” He threatened. The guy didn’t budge that it made the familiar guy hit him again and again until he knocked out on the floor. “This is what happened if you ignored my warning.” He gave him a last kick on his crotch.

“Come on.” He pulled your reddened wrist gently and led you out of that alley to his car that parked only a few metre from there.

You were still sobbing when he helped you entered the car before he slid himself in.

“You’re alright?” He asked after he turned on the engine. “You’re not hurt anywhere right?” You looked at him still with tears pooled in your eyes.

“Hyungwon?” You couldn’t believe who you just saw, who just saved your life.

“Yes, it’s me. Tell me, are you hurt anywhere? You’re not right?” He checked you. Flipping your wrists and moved your head right to left, checking if there were any marks made with force on your neck.

“I’m alright. I’m okay.” You sobbed. “I’m just… Shocked, that’s all.” You ensured him.

“Thank God.” He pulled you in for a brief hug. “Wait a minute,” he pulled his phone out and made a quick phone call. “You’re staying at my home.” He decided before he drove off.

“What? No! I have home to sleep at!”

“Your bestfriend isn’t home and you can’t be alone after what just happened.”

“But it’s my home! I’m safe in my hou– wait, how did you know she’s not home?” You snapped, wiping away your tears, focusing on something even more important.

He kept quiet.

“And how did you know i was at that lounge?”

“That’s not important.”

“Well, for me it is.” You looked at him. “Have you been following me?” His eyes still focused on the road. “You have been following me, have you not?” You sighed. “Oh my God.”

“(Y/n). This just slipped in my mind, but don’t you know the word thank you?”

“What?”

“I just fucking saved you from that pervert and now you’re kind of hating on me for following you instead of saying at least thank you?”

“So tell me how would you feel if someone’s been following you for God knows how long!”

“If i’m not following you around, that ugly disgusting pervert would’ve eat you out and rape you to pieces, so where the fuck is my thank you?”

“For God’s sake, you’re a pain in the ass.”

“Admit it.”

“Yes, okay. Thank you, Hyungwon. Thank. You!” He smiled and messed your hair.

Hyungwon’s POV

Well, damn. I made a great move. Now that she trusted me, i am one step closer to fuck her.

I… Just don’t know why was she so stubborn and hard to tame, but that actually made me want to know her more, better.

“Changkyun isn’t home, just to let you know.” I looked at her for a mere second before fixing my eyes to the rear-view mirror as i park my sedan.

“So you’re telling me that i am safer in a stranger’s house with the stranger itself rather than my house, that i’ve been living in for ages?” She looked at me in disbelief, i knew she was about to roll her eyes out at this point, but i just gave her a quirk smile before i turned off the engine.

“Come out.”

She pulled the sleeve of my MA-1 as we made our way up my apartment.

“I’m telling Changkyun about this.”

“Try. I told him already you’re staying at my place and he said yes.” I could hear her sighing deeply. “Come on.” I said. Gesturing her to joined me into the elevator and i pushed the button immediately after the door closed.

“Don’t you dare to do anything to me, understood?” She glared at me through the reflexion of the door.

“Why would i? I just saved you from a guy who will rape you.” Well, girl. I actually wanted to do a lot of things with you, but… Today’s not the day.

She kept quiet until we both reached my apartment. She followed me inside. Her eyes wondered around the spacious area of my living room.

“You’ll be sleeping in Changkyun’s. My room is here if you wanted anything. Just knock.” I led him to Changkyun’s room that located just at the end of the hallway. “But i’m a heavy sleeper. If you knocked and i’m not answering, just come in.” I continued. “This is his room. Make yourself at home. Take any clothes you found on his drawer. Some are his, some are mine. If you’re lucky, you’d pick mine.” I winked and opened the door for her.

She took a stepped inside the messy room of the teenage boy who are currently staying in my apartment. “I’ll be back with a hot tea and some fresh towel. The bathroom is over there.”

I smirked after i closed the door. I gave her all it takes to made her trust me and i bet, in just three days, she’d be down to fuck me. She’ll be the one who wants it and not me.

to be continued…

[complexmagrparchive]

                          FATHER STRETCH MY HANDS PT.1

NAME › Park Taejoon D.O.B. › 11 04 1986 (31) OCCUPATION › Editor in Chief at Complex INSTA › @tjuns86​

content warning: mentions of death

PORTFOLIO

Editor-in-Chief: 2010-present.

Curator: Kwang Ho Shin x COMPLEX art exhibition at Studio 6.

Director: COMPLEX fashion/ light show at HOFT gallery in homage to artist Choi Jeongmoon.

DJ: (guest DJ for Xin Seha) COMPLEX event at G2

Artist: solo graphic design exhibition of his work circa 2008-2015 ft. Selected Ambient Works 85-92 from Aphex Twin.

DETAILS

His life is average— he should be glad that his living situation is well over comfortable, but it’s all so mundane: eomoni a psych professor, and aeboji the head physician at his hospital.  

They live in the suburbs of Ilsan, it’s all so average; she is everything but.

He’s quiet— they say it’s because class president’s too busy studying to be at the top of his grade. He’d much rather be making designs on his computer.

The way he told his parents he wouldn’t be a doctor: enlists in the army on his nineteenth birthday. Fresh out of high school with a shaved head and a bag of regrets.

(One thing he doesn’t regret: the summer before he goes away and she runs back to where she ran off to in the first place).

Twenty-one and his parents still don’t get the hint: enrolls in Hongik as a visual communication design major; it isn’t long before COMPLEX is born.

He drops out of university shortly after.

They’ve always been push-and-pull— it takes almost twenty years for them to start (or maybe it’s to finish what they started: at twenty-six his proposal is just a soft murmur between breathless laughter).

2016: He always thought his life was average— he wonders if it’s normal to scatter your unborn child’s ashes only months apart from pouring soju at your best friend’s funeral.  

2017: He wants to be average (he’s barely keeping it together).

prologue.

There’s a deafening silence that consumes them, wraps around their entire existence until the words that need to be said dissipate like a lit cigarette.

(It burned everything).  

i.

He’s born an only child to two very busy parents— a textbook recipe on How To Fuck Up Your Kid, but Park Taejoon does not grow up to hate the world and everyone in it. He’s simply a little serious for his age, which earns him the attention from an older girl in the sandbox with the warmth of a mother and a heart of gold.

“I want one too.”

Little fingers shyly point at Sooyoung’s head; it’s the first thing he’s said to her since she started bringing him baked goods to the playground. Her smile is the sun as she motions to the flower crown atop her head. “Does Taejoonie want one too?” A nod and a smile is shared between them before:

“Yah… 꼬마 ”

(There is no warmth from Kang Ji Soo, just a blazing fire that burns to the touch).

She comes in smacking her bubblegum as she kicks the grass around them, the six-year-old’s disapproval weaving between little eyebrows in contempt. When the older girl is around, he isn’t “too-serious-for-his-age”; he’s exactly the age he needs to be, yelling and bickering and pulling out pigtails.

(The three of them couldn’t be any more different—

—it’s kismet)

ii.

The dog days of youth are most apparent on nights like these: the clock tick-tocking away at hagwon, every click of the hand like the slick of a bullet in a barrel.

He’d finished his revision for the day– Park Taejoon used the silence of the study room to draw in his notebook. It was almost a little twisted: the solitary boy preferred the communal suffering of cram school more than being in his own home– because at cram school he could doodle away without the guilt of his future weighing down on him in the form of doctorate degrees adorning the walls.

“Pssst.”

A pink note is tossed on his desk on top of a tiny wrapped box. “Pass it along to Ji Soo sunbae, will you?”

His response is always the same: a deadpan stare followed by a delayed nod and crossed fingers behind his back.

(Crossed because despite his appearance, Park Taejoon is secretly superstitious— he doesn’t want karma to bite him back in the ass as he tosses the letter and the meticulously wrapped gift into the trashcan on his way out).

iii.

“Have you heard back from SNU?”

It’s a question he’s been hearing far too much of lately (with different versions: sometimes it’s KAIST, sometimes it’s Yonsei). It’s a question that leads him to trudge up the staircase and flicker on the fluorescent lights in the bathroom…

He shaves his head with shaving cream, his father’s razor, and not much of a reason in doing so.

He stares at himself in the mirror and the answer stares back at him: his buzz-cut is uneven but he thinks it’ll be his saving grace.

(He’s only on the brink of adulthood when he enlists in the army; his mother is too busy to mourn his future but they’ve made their disappointment clear when he doesn’t get a single visit in the span of two years).

iv.

He’d always been a model student– SKY material, even– but it was all without an ounce of motivation; without a cause for destination (don’t people study just because?).

Taejoon didn’t have a dream like Sooyoung or Ji Soo, who seemingly flaunted their desires and ambitions in front of people like him, people with no direction, until:

“Hey that’s pretty cool!”

He’d left his laptop open where he had been working on some random designs when the older girls infiltrated his room, peering over his shoulder as he tried to manically close down the program.

“Not bad, 꼬마..”

He remembers that moment when he returns two years later: still, no particular destination in mind, but he’s now aware of his direction.

His parents still don’t want to see him even though he’s enrolled at Hongik albeit for an art degree.

(But it seems that what is meant to be, is meant to be: at twenty-one the Three Musketeers move into a tiny rooftop apartment in the heart of Hongdae with the dog days of youth long behind them).

v.

His first kiss is at eleven.

Ji Soo proclaims that her middle-school sunbae didn’t like girls who couldn’t kiss and she pushes Taejoon off the swings after the fact– he’s left in a puddle of confusion and with a tingle across his lips.

(He doesn’t know what it means, but he doesn’t call her noona anymore).

It takes him years to figure out why she bothered him so much. He couldn’t even begin to count the times admirers would pass on a gift to him for her— and how all of them made it into the trash before they even reached her.

(Park Taejoon is elected class president because of his cool demeanor…

…if only they knew how fiery Kang Ji Soo made him).

She graduates a year before him and runs away to Europe; he’s left with a pang in his chest and a realization.

The summer before enlistment she’s back for the school break and he decides that there isn’t really much to lose now that he’s shaved his head.

(He kisses her on a particularly cool evening under a streetlamp, cicadas buzzing).

vi.

Two years are painstakingly slow; life goes on.

Their reunion as friends for twenty-years goes like any other, That Summer a forgotten dream.

(They are both hot— one, a wildfire, and the other a flame disguised as ice— but their love is a slow burn,

until the spark goes off and sets everything ablaze).

vii.

The passion of their youth translates into their art: they are no longer constrained by their parent’s hopes and aspirations. They learn that they carve their own path, and with the people they’ve met along away, COMPLEX is born like most artistic conceptions: a drunken night on their tiny apartment rooftop with the Seoul city lights shining.    

viii.

Things are different, yet the same.

The tiny zine circulating the undergrounds of Hongdae transforms into a prominent magazine and Sooyoung and Ji Soo have finally achieved their dreams. His parents are still not speaking to him.

The tiny rooftop apartment in Hongdae becomes a regular apartment in Mapo, and Ji Soo and Taejoon have been dating for a while before:

“Stay with me forever.”

Her nose crinkles at his random profession and her laugh tinkers off and wraps around his head; he feels like he can’t breathe when she laughs like that.

“Where else would I go?”

(He likes to remember her like this, before her smile fades and the silence consumes them).

ix.

“I’m pregnant”

He distinctly remembers the winter haze enveloping them, mouths covered by the linen as their grins reached the corners of their crescent lids. He swears he’d never heard anything sweeter, kissing the top of her head with prudence— as if she were the most delicate thing in the world at that very moment.

Sooyoung was the first to know, naturally.

(The first and the last…)

He had been bowing all his life but he can’t find it in himself to pull himself back up, his forehead pressed against the bamboo mat. He doesn’t look forward when he gets back up for the second bow, only stares down at the white chrysanthemums in despair.

Her mother doesn’t wail, only glares at the floor as he bows to her in condolences.

Men don’t cry, especially in public;

(He’d never been one for conventions).

x.

After it happens, she doesn’t say anything.

There’s an eerie stillness when they get back from the crematorium, not a word uttered between them. He wants to reach out in front of her but he’s a coward, only parting his lips when her back is to him— she can’t see his outstretched hand but he wonders if he’d done it on purpose. If one of them speaks, the nightmare becomes a reality. She slams the door behind her.

(He thinks that might be where it starts; crying behind closed doors).

Have you ever smothered a fire before?

The light goes out but the smoke lingers, draping over everything; burning.

She was once ablaze; dancing.

What was once just a disguise hardens over his flame; ice.

(& what was once a love on fire had been smothered by the silence; it burned everything).

[fyvkthisshyet]

Because We Live Under One Sky Series Details

The University AU I’ve always wanted to write because I missed being a student. This would mostly revolve around how OtaYuri unknowingly matched a lot of couples (except Victuuri becs srsly??? Those guys don’t need to be matched to end up together) even though they originally only matched JJSeung (and even then it was still accidental.)

Btw, none of them are skaters in this and the University is located somewhere in Canada. Or something like that hahaha.

Stories under the cut.

First story: Unfortunately, Not Everyone Can Be Cupid (JJSeung ft. OtaYuri)

Death by ramyun, no matter how appealing it may sound, definitely was not part of Seunggil's plans.

"I like your friend," The stranger stated without preamble, seating himself across Seunggil without any warning, causing him to choke on his lunch. The man stared at him in concern but it hadn't been enough to sway him away fully from whatever his business with Seunggil was – merely handing him a bottle of water before continuing, "And I want you to help me with him."

Seunggil glared at the stranger in reply, pounding hard on his chest and greedily gulping in air. "W-what?" He managed to croak out, blinking out the tears that started to pool at his eyes and finally downing the bottle of water that was handed to him.

“Your friend? The beautiful tall blond with striking glassy green eyes? The one that looks like a fairy?” The stranger described, eyes looking faraway, expression dreamy.

Seunggil nearly choked on his own spit again.

Yuri. This dumb man was referring to his best friend, Yuri Plisetsky. Probably the most dangerous type of bomb Seunggil has ever known.

What kind of substance was this guy sniffing on?

 ---

Or in where Seunggil was forced to play matchmaker but ends up getting matched instead.

Main:

Jean-Jacques Leroy (JJ) – Second Year Business Student (Otabek’s best friend)

Seung Gil Lee – Second Year Education Student Majoring in Physical Education (Yuri’s best friend)

Second Story: Dear Destiny, Go Fuck Yourself (EmiMike ft. OtaYuri and budding MilaSara)

Under construction; all I know at the moment is that they met at Otabek’s birthday party which led to a one night stand. And the fates really hate Mickey because he and Emil always gets stuck in weird places and situations that leaves them no choice but to talk to each other.

 ---

Or in where Mickey keeps getting stuck in weird places with his one night stand – forcing him to know small unnecessary tidbits about the man.

Main:

Emil Nekola – Second Year Computer Engineering Student (Otabek’s classmate from one class)

Michele Crispino – Third Year Culinary Student (Otabek’s previous classmate)

Third Story: Guess Exceptions Can Always Be Made (MilaSara ft. OtaYuri, budding EmiMike, and JJSeung)

Under Construction; though they also met at Otabek’s birthday party and bonded over yaoi.

 ---

Or in where Mila swears she’s straight but still can’t help admiring Sara in various situations.

Main:

Mila Babicheva – Second Year Fashion Design Student (Yuri’s roommate)

Sara Crispino – Third Year Dance Student (Michele’s plus one on Otabek’s party and also Seunggil’s classmate in one of his classes)

Fourth Story: That Should Be Me (Leoji ft. OtaYuri and tba)

Under Construction; but another couple that met on Otabek’s birthday party. Leo offered to help Guanghong with his English since the angel is still having a hard time speaking in English. Guanghong is one of Otabek’s fans. And Otabek treats him as a precious child Yuri gets constantly jealous. So does Leo. But he doesn’t get why at first.

 ---

Or in where Leo never expected to hate Otabek this much. Ever. And it was all because of a religiously stan-ing Chinese angel.

Main:

Leo de la Iglesias – First year Music Student (Otabek’s co-worker at the club he’s part timing at)

Guang Hong Ji – First Year Education Student Majoring in Primary Education (Otabek’s fan and the man who gave Seung Gil’s records back in story one)

Fifth Story: Climb Me Like One Of Your Strip Poles (Chumetti ft. OtaYuri and tba)

Under Contruction; though Phichit is getting tired of all the couples littering about and wants a boyfriend. Yuri hears and sets him a blind date. Chris is the blind date. Because the other was also drunkenly whining too much about his ex and keeps on stumbling inside Yuri’s (since Mila moved out to live together with Sara) room (since it’s next to Viktor’s) and he’s had enough when Chris’s wandering hands reaches places only Otabek has permission to touch.

 ---

Or in where Phitchit wasn’t really serious when he was complaining about being single but doesn’t mind the current happenings. At all.

Main:

Phichit Chulanont – Third Year Mass Communication Student (Yuuri’s best friend and Yuri’s senpai)

Christophe Giacometti – The Owner of the hottest strip bar in the city (Viktor’s best friend)

Sixth Story: Kiss Kiss Fall In Love (Victuuri ft. OtaYuri, Chumetti and tba)

Under Construction; but somewhere near the end Otayuri breaks up. Yuuri’s new in town and Phichit drags him to Chris’s bar since it was Chris’s birthday, drank too much, and ends up challenging Chris to a pole dancing battle. Viktor thinks its love at first sight and even ends up heavily making out with Yuuri. Yuuri forgets everything the next morning and is completely bewildered when a very handsome Russian man keeps sticking to his side and acts like his boyfriend. He’s not complaining though so he just lets Viktor pamper him.

---

Or in where Viktor never expected to meet the love of his life while the man was completely drunk and dominating the pole on Chris’s strip bar.

Main:

Viktor Nikiforov – RA of Yuri’s dorm; currently taking masters at the University (Yuri’s cousin)

Yuuri Katsuki – Newly Graduate (Education Student Majoring in Math) (Phichit’s pen pal who currently was in Canada at the Thai’s insistence. Newly graduated at a uni in Detroit.)

Last Story: How The Fuck Did I Fall For You Again? (OtaYuri ft. all couples)

Under construction; but this is where OtaYuri would finally become real. And probs show the Otayuri side of the first story. Would also feature lots of DJ Otabek. Will probs also include here when Yuri first saw Otabek and how he slowly fell in love. Deff lots of pinning ready yourself Nell cries;;;

 ---

Or in where everyone has absolutely no idea why the university’s golden couple broke up when they’re obviously still hopelessly in love with each other.

Main:

Otabek Altin – Second (Third) Year Electrical Engineering Student (JJ’s best friend)

Yuri Plisetsky – First (Second) Year Mass Communications Student (Seunggil’s best friend)

[zokexx]

my exo concert experience

personal!! i’m not putting this up to publicize it it’s just a way of storing these lovely memories in some place :)

wowowowow so today i came to my first (not sure if this is a proper word choice since uhhh i’m not sure i’ll ever be watching them another time) exo concert and it was… okay. it was okay. sure the boys were great they were AMAZING

minseok was all hyped and was skipping all over the place and he kept making adorable poses he was adorable af he was a kid his age is a lie

junmyeon was very interactive i’d say he stayed near to the fans a lot of times and it was honestly so sweet like he kept waving and smiling and giving tiny gestures of acknowledgement even when he was in a hurry to return backstage and stuff like that he was such a sweetheart anD HE WAS SO HANDSOME OK like ok ok all the claims saying he’s the most handsome irl is true. no doubts

couldn’t see yixing but screams were the loudest whenever he appeared on screen as compared to the other members and i was happy and sad all at the same time i hope he’s okay and eating and sleeping well he deserves all the good things in the world <3

baekhyun had shit eating grins on his face 50% of the time i saw him and he was so fun and witty and adorable and his face wow such angelic face it looked so smooth (honestly all of their faces do) and and he was so sweet too he’s an adorable baby who’s a little shit but who cares. he’s adorable.

and and JONGDAE KIM JONGDAE i saw him live today wow god damn like he had such angelic voice and his PERFECTLY SCULPTED FACE he was a lean man and he was so so sweet and!! his TALKING VOICE it was so deep i would have fallen for him deeeep if i hadn’t already (a lot lot lot of times) also i got to see with my own eyes that characteristic habit of his with the towel thrown over his head and wet hair. i was swooning all over. one thing i hated tho was how he received such tiny amount of screams?? like i screamed my lungs out whenever he appeared on screen or said something that required a response and a few people stared at me like girl i’m stanning my man and supporting him mind your own fucking business. it was sad and it made me sad for a moment why can’t people support jd he deserves a lot more than this he’s a nice and talented man who only hopes to bring joy to the people he sings to!! ok but back to track. he looked super serious the first quarter of the concert but at the last bit he waved a lot and looked happy and i was happy

park chanyeol was highly interactive too i think i saw him closeup the most out of all the members and i loved when he played the bass and did the DJ-ing he was so very great AND I SAW HIS DIMPLE it was great he was a gorgeous dork very gorgeous nice man

kyungsoo was a very muscled man i didn’t expect him to be /that/ built?? but he looked great and he was so adorable too his voice cracked and minseok’s too i think he was trying to fix minseok’s pitch??? idk but baekhyun laughed and ruined his own part bc of it and jongdae was grinning at the end like the (cute) little shit he was. kyungsoo was a cutie with a lovely voice and face i loved so much

jongin was handsome and kinda quiet? and sweet and adorable like honestly my brain probably decided to flush all of the hot dances he did down the drain and only keep memory of the adorable things he did. he was so so sweet he’s a pure puppy he freaking wore a fish thing on his head and it was ADORABLE ok kim jongin was adorable af HE’S A PUPPY IRL

sehun oh sehunnnn if there is one thing that i learned today. it’s that all of the talks about sehun’s glorious butts, they’re all understatements. the pictures are great but the real butts are G R E A T. how lucky does a person has to be to be blessed by a pair of butts as perfect as oh sehun’s. his mic fell at the start of the acoustic section and jongdae looked unfazed when he helped sehun pick it up while also singing his part at the same time. also we all sang him happy birthday and it was so sweet it was great he danced real good i loved a lot.

BUT. yes there is a but. some of the fans were… disappointing. it was a hell lot worse than my experience with bigbang. there was endless shoving and pushing around and my shirt was all soaked ten minutes into the boys’ appearance from the heat and how close everyone was pressed to everyone. i had a hard time breathing. but i managed. i think i’ve learned to manage with the help of that high you get during concerts. yeah. but then again i moved from around the seventh row to the third row so i guess i ended up doing a lot of pushing around too. everyone wanted to watch from closer to the stage and everyone was pushing and being pushed and everyone had a hard time breathing and it was a horrible mess. i didn’t eat or drink for seven hours can you believe

oh oh oh but closing on a positive memory!!! I SAW CHANSOO’S BICKERING AND TINY FIGHTS chanyeol was playing with his water gun and he aimed at kyungsoo and it actually wetted kyungsoo’s jeans and kyungsoo motioned at him like come here you dickhead give me that gun. also a lot other usual chansoo stuff and they were so cute IT WAS GREAT ok it made me really happy it was my most favourite moment of the entire concert

oh!! i also loved the part where kyungsoo jongdae junmyeon and baekhyun talked while the rest changed backstage and they were so hilarious and laid back and cheesy (junmyeon) and ridiculous (baekhyun) and honestly it was such a fun segment i enjoyed so much. OHHH and they did the harmonization thing!!!! they made us do it too like jd told the right wing to do a Do and the middle to do a Mi and the left to do a Sol and the top area to do a high Do but we fucked up completely. but their harmonization was beyond beautiful ;;;;;;;;;

and minseok chanyeol sehun’s part too!!! chanyeol asked sehun what he wanted for his birthday and sehun told chanyeol he wanted pet food for vivi so chanyeol told him ok i’ll gift it to you but you have to eat it together with vivi. it was adorable they were really cute and funny and fun to listen to and just watch

overall it was a great experience. not sure if i’ll watch another time but we’ll see. maybe. if it’s a yes, it’ll most probably be so that jongdae has one more support in his tiny sea of supporters to show him that he is indeed loved by many even if he’s not receiving the amount he deserves just yet. but yeah i had lots of fun and i hope the boys get plenty needed rest. thank you boys and all the staff and fans for making this happen have a good night y'all (or day if that’s the side of the planet you’re in) c:

- 170402

[vishak69-blog]

If you need a reason to try harder

Story of Mr. Vishak

There are two kinds of people.One who thinks and another who doesn't.

One who thinks and another who doesn't.

Could that be a blessing or / and a curse?

One who thinks and another who doesn't.

Could that be a blessing or / and a curse?

A fire can cook a man’s dinner and it can cook a man. I’ve always tried redirecting my thoughts and actions towards something that I’m passionate about.

Music obviously topped the hunger list which I’ve taken it to this special place called nowhere. Wrote a ton of bars (Rap is what’s we’re discussing here) on government, poverty, politics, drugs, violence pretty much the directions that people suffer from the world accepted regularities. Taking the path traveled by my heroes, guys like Em, Pac, RAKIM, Shawn Carter and more. They were my single source of inspiration and outlet. Even my very few friends didn’t know about my writing and rapping. Playin’ low key produced my own beats and rapped to it with not a single visit to the studio cause of my pre-conceived perception of getting nowhere with this for one reason. India and Gangster Rap is like pretty girl doing dishes. The “Won’t happen” presumption sometimes kills lives you see. And this was way back when I was pursuing my masters. Hated every single day of school and hi-school. They never interested me nor what they teach nor what they do. Like EM said “I’m too cool to go back, show me where the f studio at”.

Which eventuated me to take a slight deviation from Rap scene into the discotheque atmosphere and I have not come across a term DJ. Didn’t have any idea about the clubs, night life, EDM, no nothing. Having said that, I produced my own beats and have mixed a ton of tracks majorly focusing on Progressive and Deep house (Ignore the technical terms) regardless. Then I got introduced to the club scene by a stranger then friend who gave me the opportunity to get my hands on the turntables and crowd control (not religion) which is in the club as I was sound with the technicalities. He was impressed by my live mixes. Post MBA, I landed in a job with a bank after 2 months of anxiety struggles. Now the elephant is trying to climb the tree.

Spent a decade of stint with this company and obviously no direction nor goal as I was just getting by with my career. Perhaps with my life I’d say. Couple of years has flown by with the corporate and everything was in its own pace. Met a stranger at a party, and partnered up with an event management company that he owned. Started gigging for a few years with an extreme lifestyle of sleepless nights accompanied by heavy drinking. Managing 2 boats at the time that is parties and the Bank job was challenging. But loved one side of the journey that kept me persisting. Wasn’t making anything out of gigs and I was all too blind to see the business side of it. But there was passion and lot more of passion. And took that opportunity as a learning experience. Simultaneously illusional promotions at work kind of kept me on the ring and DJ was a Titanic. It was all going down. Incidentally ran into the gym which was at work to have my weight checked. Never realized that this day would change it all. Even to the point of contemplation to take my DJ hat off few months later as the lifestyles for both sides were not going hand in hand. Thought came into reality.

Connected with the trainer at the gym and things started taking shape. Perhaps I was taking shape as it was just happening with no serious efforts or consciousness. When people at work started noticing and recognizing, I’ve realized maybe I’m doing something right. I was learning and experimenting on my body. Trial and error and more trial and error and lot more of it. Weighing almost 93, I was beefing up quick and I got big within months. But am I on the right track by packing just them muscles? I’m sure I don’t know. But more people started to talk about me, slowly but very steadily I started realizing what discipline was and I have kept it up to this day as you read this. 7 good quality years of longevity.

Me and my bud at the gym share food and conversation post training. On that particular night though as we were fueling after a training session, we spoke and decided on ripped physique. Getting jacked was the discussion. I was instantly hooked and juices started flowing in my head. I trained. And I trained like a mad dog regardless of my circumstances or time. Trained to a point where I almost forgot the meaning for the word “Excuse”. Most people started asking for help and wanted advice on training, food, lifestyle etc. Felt like I was the Austrian Oak. I was jacked from 93 to 64 kgs with 5% bodyfat within few months. No personal trainer no nutritionist no drugs no bragging and all natty. I was literally shi**ing only meat and veggies at that time because of force feeding tasteless food for months together. And it was worth every bit of it. More people started coming to me. And that fired me up to go hard every single day. Helped a few with setting goals and to visualize it and how to stay disciplined throughout without derailing.

Spent few years like this as the health aspect was on track which I was led to believe by the way I looked and felt. And that’s when I took a hit. A major hit on my lower back with the deadlift that helped me to get bed ridden for months together. Mental pain was more than physical you see. Losers started pitying me and asking me why I train so much and laughing in my absence. Only they realized later the value of my ABS sense. Criticism is a very noble factor. Taking trips across states to hospitals and contemplating suicide on the other hand as few docs advised me that I won’t be able to hit the gym ever in my life cause the damage is already done and it’s for life and so is the pain. So, I better be careful and never step into the iron game ever. That particular thought plunged into my brain like an arrow and left a permanent damage in my heart. Well, permanent at that time. My soul was shattered and there I hit the rock bottom instantaneously topped with depression. Icing on that particular cake was too fu*kin sweetened. My stubborn career held a meeting with me and told me that we’re gonna take another deep dive into the darkness. I asked what is this now??? Life replied “a dessert is good after a main course”. Everything started changing around me and the same people who looked up to me started repelling. There wasn’t one day that I turned up at work without a hoodie on and doing nightshift, so that I don’t have to face any of them mofos. Fear, anxiety and everything else associated with it kicked me and kicked me hard.

This was probably the transitional period of my life as I was begging god to please give me the fortitude to get my crap together. Then he replied “Sorry Son, I can’t help you with this because it’s a diarrhea. Apparently, sh*t was more scattered than it seemed. Because I was alone battling and didn’t want any of my close ones to know about my elite life. Not even my family. Fighting my darkness all by myself gave me an extra edge of independency though. It was more than “crap hit the fan” as my life was taking another vacation down to the rock bottom and so was my career. Colors of life.

Being broke isn’t a new story to me neither my starvation. Ironically a bank officer with a Double Masters in Finance and Marketing going broke to the point of having no food for days and days wishing only if someone could buy me a meal, that would be a heavenly experience. Never really crossed my mind that only I can fix my sh*t. Was too damn embarrassed to ask anyone for a meal because I was with a multinational Corporation. Was literally living with free crackers, free cookies and free coffee for weeks and weeks until the next paycheck. The taste of any real food was so delicious that my eyes leaked when it touched my tongue. Constantly having heavy threats about getting fired if I be Mr. Vishak because they took my confidence for arrogance. Back injury was in the process of recovery. But scared to death and anxious about my future and the jobless situation tomorrow if I may have to face and starvation topping the situation. It was a Perfect Marriage.

The grass was greener but something was just not right about it as it’s on the other side. I can’t go cheap for a passing cloud. Change in departments at my corporate world gave me a little breather. Warm team, excellent environment with best people to work and transparent management. Hard to find teams like that in corporate segments I was led to believe. I was 2 months away from losing my job cause few people didn’t like me on one team. And then there’s this man from another team who breath a whole new life into me regardless of people telling not to hire me. He believed in me and gave a me a chance. But still the elephant can’t climb a tree. Or can it?

Fast forward couple of years later, my next vehicle was film while still at the 9 to 5. Actually it was 5 AM to 2 PM. But a new inspiration to be a Film director. Focused on movies and joined a crew only to realize this was all going to be another titanic 2oo soon within a year. Months flown by and got nowhere and still proudly averaging at the bank job.

At the career meeting on a particular day I happened to be silent. Very silent that I wasn’t scared anymore about my future. Perhaps it was a calling. My boss was rapping jazz and I broke the silence retorting with these exact same words.

“Save the rap. Temporary failure doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a permanent defeat. You need a tank to take me down”. He gone blank and didn’t know what in the actual f was I talkin’ about.

Maybe I wasn’t meant for any of these. Maybe I would have done something if I had a guardian angel. May be a mentor. May be if I had someone to teach me things, I’d have done things right. May be someone to show the light. The question is why is an Elephant trying to climb a tree in the first place. That wasn’t the place for me and what I was doing was never what I wanted to do and everything else was just excuse and distraction. I can blame the whole world and situations and wonder if I had…. As a wise man rightly said, if you think they’re the problem, nothing will change. If you think you’re the problem, then everything will. Or may be its all my fault. Well, it is my fault of course. Because I’m sitting here looking at the world from a cubicle. That’s a mistake and I won’t be able to do what I came here to do if I continue the same and would get nowhere.

At that point, one thing was for sure. That silence was a deep breath before the storm. The thought that crossed my mind was “I want to be the person whom I never had”. Today the world we live in, 95% of the people live in conformity. Constantly looking for approval and trying to fit in and to get by. Now the question on the line is courage. Courage to convince myself to do it. I needed to have the courage to quit my job without searching for another one, as it was my first job. Courage to convince my family about it. Courage to get into the market that I don’t know. Learning sure helps. But COURAGE. It puts a very different face in people’s face. Sure, I did a lot of things and got nowhere and it was all invaluable learning experience. But the missing factor was a pair of testicles.

Hence the result of the equation is Black Major - The Human Development Company.

www.blackmajor.in

On a mission to propel people to take BOLD approach and transform their life.