#i share my playlists once they hit 30+ songs so…. it’s time for him to see the world | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hxnmantii · 4 years

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Class 1-A and their car habits

tw: crack/fluff, cursing

People: Bakugo, Shoto, Izuku, Sero, Kiri, iida, Mina x mostly gn!reader (Mina is the only one that’s implied female!reader)

Ratings: PG

A/n: yuuhh get into💋 I personally would like to ride with Shoto. I just wanna hold his hand👉🏾👈🏾 but not on no simp shit. Originally, this was going to be just boys but who would I be if my gay self didn’t add the queen herself? Anyways, Who would you like to ride with?

Bakugo~

Bakugo does that sexy ass thing where he drives with one hand on the wheel and one hand on your thigh and when you don’t pay him enough attention he’ll lightly squeeze your thigh. This man does NOT share the aux....his stingy ass. He says he doesn’t wanna listen “to your trash music” but will play bxmb threat and NBA Youngboy at full capacity with the windows down. If you beg enough maybe he’ll play 1 Nicki song. But he will throw a fit and act like he doesn’t like Nicki even though he knows all of the lyrics. Altough he’s really uptight about his car, he enjoys driving and picking up the Bakusquad in it because he likes to feel useful and needed. No doubt about it, this man has road rage. He’s screaming outside the window and in the car about how someone cut him off and when someone screams back him, he’s like “Pull over right now cuz those sound like fighting words to me.” Now y’all in the back of a cop car and 30 minutes late to your dinner date. You are not, I repeat, you are NOT allowed to even think about eating in his car unless he’s got that plastic wrapping on his car. He treats his car so good (at some point you think he likes the care better than you) her name is Bethany. I-

Shoto~

Shoto has one hand on the wheel and one hand in your hand, stroking your hand from time to time and kissing the back of it. He had a sleek gray sliver car with a sunroom (he never actually uses) that goes fast and he likes going real fast because what they gon do, give him a ticket??? When his dad the number one hero??? Try again. He’s also the type to flick off the cops as he driving by because ACAB. He’s always wearing a gold Rolex and you got your nails done so when you hold his, the acrylics compliment his hand and watch.(like the pictures from Pinterest) You guys ride in comfortable silence. It’s so calming riding with him because although you’re slightly anxious with how fast he’s going, you’re at somewhat ease because he’s doing it so smoothly and you trust him. His windows are tinted because once again he’s the son of a pro hero and people are nosy, neither you or him like that. Although you don’t really need the assistance with Shoto being a living AC and heater in one, his seats have buttons for each seat and you can warm your bum. His car had the clean car smell...it just smells really clean. He’s got a bunch of condiments and napkins in his glove department. He doesn’t know where they came from. His whole vibe in his car is rich and elegant. He gets his car professional wash every Tuesday and you are required to come.

Kirishima

Kiri’s got a big ass red GMC truck and he gave the truck these monster wheels so it’s a force to be reckoned with. Her name is Sophie and like Bakugo, he loves her dearly but makes it clear to you that he’s love you more than her. He does the sexy ass thing where he’s got one hand on the wheel and one hand tightly holding on to your head rest so his arms flexing and he’s backing up with a concentrated look. that is so hot to me. He’s got a sticker on the back that says “honk if you’re manly” . He definitely would let you take the aux because you guys made a playlist of songs you chose together. He would be the type to start dancing when a good song came on, almost hitting someone in the process because he took both hands off the steering wheel out of excitement. He’s got road rage but not enough to actually start shouting or flicking someone off. In the trunk of Kirishima’s car, he’s got at least 5 different protein bottles as well a case of water and some jump rope. He says “You never know when I’ll need it to work out” but he has his personal gym?? Anyways, he has a specific section in his closet for red button ups because he likes to match Sophie when he drives her😭 I hate to say it but Kiri looks like a hill billy especially since he’s got those shoulder cut out button ups. He’s cute with it and he’s happy so you somewhat tolerate it

Midoriya

Izuku has more of a family car like a soccer mom car or a dark green Ford explore because he likes to pick everybody up to hang out and he needs space since he’s got a lot of them. Not to mention, he also likes to cruise and enjoy his time with you no matter where y’all go because we all know this man is a simppp. At every stop light, he’s gently grabbing your face and either kissing you on your cheek or forehead. He tried giving you a kiss on the lips once but he got so caught on the feeling that he ended up holding up the line and everybody was honking and made at him. He was so embarrassed that he now waits til you guys get to your destination to do all that extraness. Being the big fan he is, naturally he has some All might themed seatbelts and has all might stickers all over his steering wheel. He also has little all Might figurine on his dashboard that he prays to get him out of car trouble. Genuinely think it’s works too. Izuku in his trunk has a bunch of workout gear and gaze cuz he’s sexy like that. He does not have road rage at all....maybe a little. He might flick someone off but that’s as far as it goes. He definitely gives you the aux because he loves watching how lively you get it. (Y/n) “Do you know your Megan baby?”🥰 (ZuZu) “Y-yes?”

Iida

Now hear me out...Iida has a motorcycle. He’s got a need for speed that cars can’t really fufill because you can’t weave through other cars like a motorcycle can. His motorcycle has the highest tech on it naturally. It’s all black but has lights underneath it so he can change it by phone and ofc it’s always blue. You guys also have matching helmets that are Bluetooth so you’re able to talk to one another without having to yell very much. When you guise stop, he rubbing your arms to make sure that you’re okay and/if you need to pull over. Now when he’s not riding the motorcycle he’s got a Tesla. He preaches about the law and following the rules but when he get in the car, that’s a different story. With him you better either hold on tight to him or you better get double seat belt buckles for extra protection because he’s about to try and race the flash. (And you thought Shoto was bad) You get out thanking the universe for letting you touch ground again. Iida got the type of car that if you even breathe incorrectly around it, it’s going off and waking up the whole damn neighborhood. When iida first got his car, he read everything up on it so he would be fully able to use the car to its full potiential meaning that he’s got Siri set up, he can lock the door from his car, and watch the cameras on his house through the screen of his car. The Bluetooth is automatically connected to his phone so no you will not be getting the aux but you can play some tunes form his phone. He’ll even make you a playlist on Apple Music with his rich self.

Sero

Sero’s got a red convertible with tan seats and the weather allows it, his top is always down. His car always smells so good because he uses the wild cherry air freshener in his car. He blasts bad bunny and daddy Yankee as y’all are cruising slightly over the speed light. He also likes blasting Ski Mask. He’s the type to sing you the words while gently holding your face and singing to you with a lovey dovey smile on his face. He’s very respectful and turns down his music when entering neighborhoods because he doesn’t wanna mess with the vibes. You two have matching glasses that says queen/ king on yours and king on his. He definitely has some throw dice hanging from his mirror along with a picture of you and him taped to his dashboard cuz he’s also a simp. He’s always has a packet of Extra gum in his middle console along with warm water bottles. If police pulls him over, he definitely the type to start flirting with him so the officer just to make him uncomfortable enough to let him off with a warning. For a fact, he has the Puerto Rican flag on the antenna of his car. He has Led lights and likes them to be colorful rather than on one color. Sero definitely jogs around the front to open the door for you because he’s a jester and a gentleman in one. His part of his car is that the top can go down solely for the fact that the sun always highlights your skins so well.

Mina

Do I even need to say anything about the Pink queen herself?? She has a cute pink steering wheel case with matching pink seats and ofc she has a bedazzled stick shift. She has a Jeep. She the type of person to has matching glasses with her interior and when you get in the car, she’s putting her music on shuffle: a dangerous move because you go from Brent Faiyaz to Jhene Aiki to fucking Cardi B, Flo Mili, and etc. When you unbuckle your seat to start twerking in the seat, she’s automatically going to start hyping you up. She’s got one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on your ass smacking it as you fuck it up in the passenger seat. Y’all are literally swerving from side to side and let’s be honest here, Mina is not that good of a driver so you have almost gotten in an accident multiple times. She’s the type to pull over to take cute selfies or videos with you and post them all at once captioning it with “Late nights w/bae”. Underneath seat she an emergency packet filled with makeup, clothes, hair and first aid kit supplies. Although she’s not the best driver, she takes the rules really serious because she would hate to have an accident with you in the car. Like Sero, She has led lights in her car but they only flash pink. Mina is the queen of putting falsies on so she would mostly definitely put yours on (without tweezers) once you park as well as do your edges if you ask. She just has that talent. *chefs kiss* amazing

Reblogs are appreciated!

A/n: I’m lyin I definitely would be riding with Bakugo because I have major passenger rod rage lol and you definitely don’t wanna get your ass beat TWICE

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the-bau-quinjet · 4 years

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Walk Me Home

Chapter 3 of In Breakable Heaven! I don’t love this chapter, but it felt necessary. idk. Everything picks up in the next one!

Summary: It’s pretty much all in the title!

Warnings: confronting a cheating ex

Word Count: ~2200

“You really didn’t need to walk me home. I didn’t mean to make you leave earlier than you wanted.” You said as you walked next to Spencer.

“Trust me. I’m normally home by now anyway.” He replied easily. You shifted closer as you thought about the buildings surrounding your apartment complex.

“Where do you live?” You blurted out, unable to think of anything else to say.

“Oh, I live in Langham Apartments.” He replied. You thought about the name, recognizing it as you had toured there when you first moved to DC.

“Isn’t that North of Penelope’s though?” You said, double checking you were walking south toward your own apartment.

He sighed. “Yes… I know what you’re thinking. Your place is definitely not on the way to mine, but I didn’t want you to walk by yourself and I didn’t think you would let me walk with you unless you thought it was convenient for me. More than 70% of violent crimes happen at night, and midnight to 1:00 AM is the busiest hour for many of those crimes.” You stopped walking, turning him to look at you by grabbing his hands. “Thank you.” You said it with as much sincerity as possible, wanting him to know how much you really appreciate the action.

You dropped one hand so he could turn back around, but held the other as you walked down the street in a comfortable silence. You were still drunk enough to not think anything of the innocent act. A cat ran out in front of you, scaring you in your still tipsy state. You jumped into Spencer, with your hands grabbing his arm, and you pulled yourself closer to him. He laughed as he saw the source of your sudden fear. Shuffling past the feline, you didn’t make any effort to distance yourself from him. If anything, you leaned on him more as you grew tired throughout the walk.

You didn’t want to say goodbye as you arrived home. Spencer, being the incredibly intelligent and observant person he is, felt you tense beside him as you turned the corner and your building came into view. “Are you okay?” He asked as your grip on his arm tightened.

“Yeah, I just… it was a lot easier to think I would be able to get rid of all his stuff before actually having to look at it.” You replied.

You saw something flash across Spencer’s face before he stuttered “I, uh, I guess, I could, um, go up with you, uh, if you think it’ll help.” You turned to him, a small grin slowly spreading across your face.

“That would be amazing. I just don’t think I can be alone right now.” You were entering the elevator, pressing the button for the fourth floor before returning to cling to his arm.

Nothing could have prepared you for the sight in front of you as the elevator doors opened. You held tighter to Spencer’s arm as you realized it was Drew standing in front of your apartment door. He looked almost sad, but quickly shifted to anger as he glanced down at your hands around Spencer’s arm. “Drew, I don’t want you here. I want to move on from my life and pretend like you were never in it.” You could feel the tears pooling in your eyes, threatening to escape as you confronted Drew.

“I came to apologize, but obviously you already found someone to move on with. You were probably already sleeping with him.” Drew’s words felt like a whip hitting you in the face.

“How. Dare. You.” You spit back at him, the tears giving away to pure hatred. “You are not even the least bit sorry. God. You don’t get to yell at me for having a friend- that’s right A FRIEND, help me through the complete bullshit you’ve put me through. You are the one who cheated on me. On our fucking anniversary. You don’t get to spin this around and act like I’m a bad person for trying to forget you. Get the hell out of my apartment building or so help me god I will…” You trailed off, not knowing what you could possibly say that would intimidate him.

“You’ll what? You can’t do anything to me Y/N.” Drew’s eyes were cold and careless as he laughed at your rage.

“She actually can. She can file a restraining order.” Spencer started. “You see, I work for the FBI in a unit that specializes in catching the world’s worst criminals. We’ve handled our fair share of stalking cases. I will not hesitate to see you prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if you so much as think about contacting her again.” Spencer’s eyes were hard. He was staring down at Drew as if he were invincible. You clung to him as Drew muttered “Yeah, whatever. Like I’d waste my time on her anyway” before leaving.

You forced a smile on your face as you walked into your apartment and looked at Spencer. You wanted to be happy that he’s gone, completely out of your life, but you just felt empty. You have experienced way too many emotions for one night and you know exactly what you need right now. Rushing over to your speaker, you turn it on and pull up your Taylor Swift playlist for when you are feeling everything all at once. What can you say, the woman really knows how to write emotions. As you hear the soft music of this is me trying begin to play, you sink into the couch and start crying.

Spencer shuffles over from where you left him by the door. As he sits next to you, unsure of what to do next. He’s not really sure why you put on this song. It sounds like it will only play into your upset state. You know you just need to flush yourself of the emotions before ridding your life of him entirely. Instead of asking about the music, he surprises both of you by pulling you into his lap and rubbing circles on your back. The small gesture is so kind that you start crying even harder, remembering how nice you thought Drew was. You aren’t sure how long you cry for before you eventually fall asleep.

Reid’s POV

Spencer wasn’t sure why he was so set on walking you home, but upon seeing your reaction to Drew standing outside your door, he’s very glad he did. He’s never really been an intimidating person, but there was some instinctual feeling in him to protect you. Not that he thinks you need protection. He just knows you are in an emotionally fragile state and the man who put you there just accused you of the exact thing he had done hours before. It was pretty messed up. Maybe that is why he threw all his rules out the window for you.

He really doesn’t understand the choice of music. Although, it does cover a range of emotions. The only thing he is completely sure about is that he never wants to see you this sad ever again. Maybe that is why he pulls you into his lap. You clearly need comfort right now, and it would be worse if he just awkwardly left. His barrier to touch has never been broken down so easily. It takes a lot of getting to know someone before Spencer would ever even consider shaking their hand.

The songs shift from gut-wrenchingly sad to sweetly reminiscent to seductive before he’s sure you’ve fallen asleep. Every time he tries to stop rubbing your back, the softest whimper leaves your lips. At least, that’s what he tells himself as he drifts off, dreaming about meeting you under happier circumstances.

Y/N POV

In typical fashion after a night of drinking, you wake up around 6:30 wide awake. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you notice you are still on the couch, but now laying down, with Spencer’s arms still wrapped around you. He looks so adorable sleeping. You slowly untangle yourself from him, so as not to wake him up, before walking into the kitchen for some water. It’s always good to hydrate, even if you don’t ever feel the hangover.

You began thinking about what you could do to thank Spencer for everything he did last night. Not to mention you forced him to sleep on the couch. You settled on breakfast, but you knew if you started cooking you would wake him up. After finally deciding on a plan, you quickly get dressed. You grabbed your keys and left a post it on the door saying you would be right back, just in case he woke up before you returned.

You quickly ran across the street to your favorite diner. Not knowing what Spencer would like, you order pancakes, French toast, an omelet, two different breakfast skillets, a sandwich, and sides of bacon, sausage, and toast. While you’re waiting for the order, you walk farther down the street to the small coffee shop you frequent. Again, you could only guess how Spencer liked his coffee so you ordered your usual mocha with extra sugar, a cold brew, and a hot black coffee. After collecting your drinks, you make your way back to the diner to pick up the food.

It is a struggle to re-enter your apartment with all the food you just bought in your hands. When you finally push the door open, you see a confused Spencer sitting up on the couch glancing in your direction. He glances at the bags in your hands and his confusion only grows. With his help, you finally manage to set everything down on the counter. “Coffee?” You ask, gesturing to the cups.

“Which one is for me?” he chuckles. “Oh! Right, I got a few different kinds since I didn’t know what you’d like. You can just take your pick and I’ll grab one after.” You begin to unpack the food choices as he tries the first coffee. Almost instantly he gags.

“That one must be mine.” You say sheepishly as you take the cup from him. “That’s the usual response when people try my drink of choice.” He looks at you funny as he settles on a cup.

“Really? I thought that was a normal order. I just like my coffee different than pretty much everyone.”

You look at him as you take a sip of the drink, instantly spitting it into the sink that was behind you. “ew ew ew, that is black coffee. That is disgusting. Oh my god how can anyone drink that.” You chug some water to rinse the taste from your mouth. “Which coffee did you pick?” you ask as you grab the creamer and sugar to fix the monstrosity in front of you.

“The sweetest one…” Spencer looks almost shy as he admits how sweet he likes his coffee.

“Ahh, the mocha with extra sugar. That’s my go to.” You say as you dump the sixth spoonful of sugar into your dup. He stares at you in amazement as you finish stirring the now creamy looking beverage. “Much better” you exclaim after taking a sip.

“I have never met anyone who likes their coffee as sweet as I do.” Spencer has a dopey grin on his face as he looks at your cup. “It’s refreshing not to be judged for something so minute.”

“I know exactly what you mean! It’s so weird how people can think they are superior for some reason just because their taste buds don’t automatically reject the disgusting bitterness of unsweetened coffee. I mean, I’m still a perfectly capable adult even though I like sugary things. You don’t have to fit into some mold…” Your rant fades from your mind as you meet Spencer’s gaze. “Sorry, I tend to ramble.” You look sheepishly at the floor, immediately jumping into describing the foods you bought. “Now, as for breakfast. I wanted to say thank you for last night, but I wanted to make sure I got something you liked.”

You scan the array of food you’ve placed in front of you. “You can even feel free to have some of each if you want!” You say as Spencer just stares at you with a look on his face that you can’t quite place.

“You are incredible,” he says as he takes a seat and gets some food. You don’t really know how to respond to that, so you just grab some food for yourself as you sit down across from him.

Talking with Spencer during breakfast is so easy. It’s almost as if you didn’t have a major break-up less than 24 hours ago. All too soon, breakfast had come to an end and there are no more dishes to do or leftovers to clean up to stall anymore. Spencer grabs his bag and says “I should probably get going, I have a few errands to run.”

You let out a small sigh before responding “oh, yeah, of course. I wouldn’t want to keep you. Thank you again for everything yesterday. It was really nice of you.” Spencer shrugs before responding, “I just wanted to help,” turning and walking out of your apartment.

After locking the door behind him, you sink to the floor fully letting your strange mix of emotions take over. You just might need to listen to that playlist again, only now you’re feeling a range of emotions instead of just a range of sadness.

tag list:

@mac99martin @eevee0722 @l0ve-0f-my-life @haylaansmi @dinonuggets15 @laurakirsten0502 @green-intervention @burnin-passion

#spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x reader #Criminal Minds #criminal minds x reader

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fatiguing-thoughts · 4 years

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“Natural” - Chapter Two - Embry Call x Reader

Day of Normalcy

I went home a little more awake then when I left. I helped my dad unpack some more stuff while I had some energy. We talked about my day with the guys as we set up the house.

“I’m glad that you’re so happy again. It’s like the real (Y/N) is back.” He smiled at me.

“It feels like it, too. I’m so happy to be back. It almost feels like we never left.” I smile back at him.

“It looks to be that way.”

I look over at the clock, it’s a little past three in the morning.

“I think we should call it quits for tonight. It’s pretty much done, because the movers doing a lot of the work.” I yawn.

“Of course. Goodnight, hun.”

We both retreated to our rooms.

I plopped down on my bed, looking at the ceiling, wondering about tomorrow.

What’s it going to be like to see Embry for the first time in person in years?

My mind races for a few minutes, thinking of every possibility. I look at my phone, I got a message from Embry a few hours ago.

I open the message, it was a link to a new song he wanted me to listen to. I smiled to myself, pressing play. As the song played, I fell into a deep slumber.

I woke up to the smell of pancakes coming from downstairs. I followed the aroma into the kitchen.

“Thanks, dad.” I grab a plate and sit down at the table next to him. “You got it, kid.” He looks up from the newspaper.

“What’s your plan for the day?” I ask.

“Well, I’m going to see Billy and Harry today. I think we might go fishing.”

“Oh, nice. That’s fun.”

“What about you?” He sips his coffee.

“I’m going to surprise Embry. Probably hang out with all the guys.”

“Oh, Embry, huh?” He looks at me with a knowing face.

“Dad, please.” I beg.

“Fine, fine. I’ll stop teasing you about your crush.” He says, putting his hands up in the air, false surrendering.

“Dad!” I exclaim, blushing like a maniac.

He smiles before putting his dishes in the dishwasher, walking upstairs to go get ready for his guys day.

I followed suit, I had to get ready to see everyone.

I walked upstairs to find a missed call from Jake. I called him back as I started looking for something to wear.

“Hey, (Y/N). You should come to my house at 11:30. We’re gonna be playing video games. Just walk into the house.” He says over the phone.

“Alright, sounds like a plan.” I hang up the phone.

It was daunting to figure out what to wear, I worried about seeing Embry. I dug through all my clothes.

By the end of it, I decided on some jeans, a pair of vans, and a moderately flattering black t-shirt.

Yeah, I knew this would happen. Searching through clothes to only pick out the most casual and boring outfit ever. I grab a hoodie, just in case I stay out later with them and it gets cold.

I look at the clock, it’s only 11. I had a few more minutes to kill before the twenty minute drive so I decided to stop at a little convenience store and grab some of our favorite snacks.

I pull into the lot and walk into the little store. I grab a few bags of chips, including two bags of blue doritos as they reign supreme, and regular potato chips for Quil-- because he’s weird.

I put the bags into my passenger seat and begin the exciting, yet agonizing drive. I decided to listen to Embry and I’s shared playlist, hoping it would calm my nerves.

I pull in front of Jake’s house once again, nerves returning into my stomach. I approach the front door and hear a few screaming boys. I easily recognized Embry’s from the last time we spoke on the phone, and it was even better in person.

I push the door open, walking in casually and putting the bags of chips on the table.

Only Jacob tore his eyes from the screen, smiling at me.

“Wow, you guys are pretty distracted, huh?” I joke.

Quil and Embry’s heads snap up in my direction. Quil was smiling at me, looking back to Embry to see a reaction.

Embry’s face flashed through so many emotions. Confusion, surprise, happiness, and then what I could only describe as a state of shock. His mouth slightly agape, eyebrows slightly raised. Our eyes refused to break away from each other. He dropped the controller in his hands. I felt a force pushing all around me, almost suffocating me. Though, I felt no pain. I felt serene, this was a positive feeling. I dropped the bags of chips that were once in my arms.

“We called it.” Quil says aloud, snapping me out of it.

“Hey.” I smile to Embry.

“(Y/N). Hi.” Embry says, getting up from his spot to hug me.

He hugs me, and it felt so different than any other hug I’ve ever received. While it felt to reunite and hug Jake and Quil, it didn’t compare to how hugging Embry felt. Though, he too felt like he was burning hot.

I guess my feelings weren’t gone, nor were they planning to leave any time soon. I was overwhelmed with my feelings towards Embry, I could only hope he had felt at least a fraction of what I felt.

After what felt like forever, he let me go after hearing Quil and Jake mumbling about something back on the couch.

“What?” I ask them, looking behind Embry.

“Nothing.” Jake winks at me, the blushing returned to my cheeks.

“How are you?” Embry asks me.

“I’m really happy to be back. How are you?” I ask him, looking into his deep, chocolate brown eyes.

“I’m great. I’m so happy you’re back. You’re back for good, right?” He asks, eyes pleading with mine.

“Yes, I’m back for good.” I smile at him.

“You got really tall, too. What the hell did I miss?” I ask, wondering how everyone I knew suddenly turned into giants.

“I did get tall. It seems like you’re the only one who missed the memo, bean.” Embry lightly laughs at me.

I blushed at the nickname. The one he gave me years ago, when he hit his first growth spurt at 15, making fun of me who didn’t grow past 5’2”, when he hit 5’10.

Now the kid’s gotta be 6’4”. Quil was a few inches shorter than Embry, but Jacob still had some inches on Embry. Embry looked way more muscular than the last time I had seen him, but still more of a lean build than Jake and Quil. It would take some time to swallow how different they all look, now. They weren’t the scrawny kids I remember.

“So, can I have some of those chips?” Quil asks, breaking the tension in the air.

“Oh shit, sorry. Yeah.” I bend down, picking up the bags of chips off the floor.

Embry looked at Quil, eyes narrowing at him. Quil smiles back at him, like a kid who stole candy from a baby.

I walk his plain old potato chips over to him, earning a thank you and appreciative fist bump.

“You wanna get destroyed in smash bros?” Jacob offers me a controller.

“I’d love to destroy you all in smash bros, yes.” I smirk, taking the controller from his hands. Embry puts the bags of blue doritos on the table, taking one for himself.

Jake and I start playing, I glance over at the bag of doritos, before turning my attention back to the screen-- determined to beat Jacob.

“You want a chip?” Embry offers.

“Yes please.” I smile.

“Okay, open.” He puts the chip into my mouth, causing me to blush from shyness.

I see him smirking at my blushing out of the corner of my eye.

I focus my attention on the game once more, killing Jacob’s character for the third time-- winning the game.

“Hah!” I exclaim, jumping out of my seat in excitement.

“Cheater.” He grumbles.

“You wish, Jake.” I laugh.

Jake’s phone begins to ring on the table. Bella’s name flashing on the screen.

I begin to wonder if he still had his crush on her, or if they were together now. Though, I think that he would have mentioned it.

“Oh shit. What time is it?” He asks, getting ready to pick up his phone.

“Only like noon.” I tell him.

“Hello? Yeah I’m still good for one. That works. I’ll see you soon.” He hangs up the phone.

“Gonna torture yourself some more, bud?” Quil teases.

Ouch. That’s gotta hurt.

“Shut up, Quil.” Jacob snaps.

“What’s going on with her? You still have a crush on her, right?” I ask him with comforting eyes.

“You could also call it, hopelessly head over heels in love with Bella, actually.” Quil snarkily remarks.

“Shut it.” Jacob snaps.

I look at Jake, hoping for him to talk to me.

“Uh yeah, things are complicated.” His voice lingering with sorrow and disappointment, his eyes moving from mine to his feet.

I looked over to Embry, who wore the same sad, empathetic face as me. Our eyes connected in grief for our friend suffering with the girl he loves.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Jake. You always do. What’s going on?” I ask, placing my hand on his shoulder.

“She’s dating Edward Cullen. That’s the issue here. He’s got his cold hands wrapped so tight around her.” He says angrily.

“I don’t know who that is, but I am sure he’s not like you. Maybe she’ll come around one day, if he’s so bad she’ll probably see that eventually.” I try supporting him.

“No, believe me. If she hasn’t left yet, she never will. There’s a lot going on there.” Quil says.

Jacob’s face growing more upset by the minute made me sick. I hated to see someone I considered my best friend to be so upset. A pit in my stomach began to form.

“Well, then there’s someone better for you out there. Don’t hold out on someone who doesn’t appreciate your true value.” I rub his back a bit, trying to ease him.

I see Embry grow a bit uncomfortable for a second, until I look at him and he smiles at me.

“I know, it’s just easier said than done.” He says, still not looking up from the ground.

“I know, I understand. You deserve more than this. You’re so young, you have so much time to find someone. You’re sweet, handsome, caring, tall, and one of the funniest guys I know. Anyone would be lucky to have you, Jake. Don’t let one girl kill your self-esteem.” I wrap my arm around his shoulder now, as I watch a single tear fall from his face.

“It just hurts.” He says, leaning into me. His large head almost feels like it’s bruising my shoulder, but if it helps him, it helps.

“I know, bud. I know.” I tell him.

He rubs his face with his hands, standing up and walking to the door.

“Wanna go throw the football?” He invites us all.

“Yeah.” We all respond in unison.

I get up, Embry following close behind me; seemingly watching my every move.

I could get used to this.

Quil comes out last, shutting the door. Jacob grabs the football and throws it to Embry, very hard. I make a mental note to not let Jacob throw me the ball.

Embry turns to me, throwing it swiftly, seemingly softer than Jacob’s throw but still enough to make me wince.

A look of guilt and apologeticness flooded his facial features.

“Sorry!” He yells, running over to me.

“It’s ok, I’m fine.” I throw the ball to Quil as hard as I can, not even getting a fraction of the force the boys had with their throws. How did they throw like that?

“Are you sure? Are you okay, bean?” He asks me, almost frantic.

I blushed at the nickname once again, as it brought chills to my spine.

“Yeah, Em. I’ll be okay.” I smile at him.

“Bean, you’re already bruising.” He said, looking sadly at the new spot forming on your arm, holding it delicately in his hands.

“Em, I have always bruised like a peach. I’m sure it could have happened from anything.” I look up into his pleading eyes, watching his worries melt away.

What was going on? Does he feel the same way? I wonder.

“Okay sap fest, we were trying to throw around the football to have fun. Not to make me sick!” Quil interrupts, making fake puking noises.

Jacob smiles slightly, almost laughing. It made me happy to see him feeling a little better after how he was in the house not too long ago.

They continued to throw the ball around, throwing it way more intense than I thought possible. I decided to sit out after noticing how rough they all were, more how they don’t seem to notice how rough they got with each other-- how it doesn’t seem to even hurt them at all.

We all talked about stupid nonsense, like debating on which cartoon characters would win in a fight, cars, and other time eating subjects.

Soon after, I heard an old truck pulling up to Jacob’s house. Bella Swan got out of the driver’s seat, walking over to us.

“Hey everyone.” She says shyly, hands in her pockets.

All the guys gave her a hello in unison.

“Hey Bella, how’ve you been?” I ask her.

“Oh wow, (Y/N). You’re back? No way. I’m good, how are you?” She asks, walking over to give me a hug.

I hug her back for a few seconds before pulling away.

“I’m doing great, I’m happy to be back. It’s nice to see you again, it’s been like what, almost ten years?” I ask, trying to make polite conversation as the guys would not do that simple notion out of awkward feelings.

“Yeah, that’s nuts. I can’t believe that.” She says shaking her head in disbelief.

“Are you ready to go?” Jake asks her, smiling at the both of us.

“Yeah, sure.” She looked over at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Great. I’ll see you guys soon.” He waves back at us.

“Bye everyone. It was good to see you, (Y/N).” She smiles softly at me.

“You too.” I smile before turning and walking back over to Quil and Embry.

“So what now?” I ask them, ready for almost anything.

“Well, we could go cliff diving.” Quil suggests.

“No we can’t.” Embry said quickly.

“Why not?” Quil exclaims.

“She can’t do that. She’ll get hurt. Or drown. And she’s afraid of heights, remember?” Embry looked at Quil like he had five heads.

“Oh shit, yeah. Almost forgot.” Quil had a look of realization on his face.

He remembers I’m afraid of heights.

“Where do you guys go cliff diving?” I ask.

“We can show you, but we’re not doing it.” Embry tells me.

“Well, that works I guess. We can include that in our day.” I shrug.

“Oh, that reminds me. I should go help Sam.” Quil says.

“You guys still didn’t fix that pipe?” I ask him.

“Pipe?” Embry asks.

“Yeah, Embry. The pipe that was leaking yesterday. You and Paul tried to fix it, but couldn’t. Then Jacob and I went and fixed it after last night.” He looks at him with stern eyes.

“Oh yeah. That pipe. It’s been a long week for me.” Embry laughs.

I look between the both of them, wondering what was wrong with them.

“Yeah. So Paul came and got you. Did you guys fix it or is it still leaking?” I ask again.

“No we fixed it. I just told him I would help him clean and fix everything else up from the leak.” Quil said.

“Ah I see.” I raise my eyebrows at him.

“You saw Paul last night?” Embry questions.

“Yeah after you guys left Sam’s.” I tell him.

He nods his head, seemingly like the gears are starting to turn in his head.

“Okay, well when you guys are done lying to me about all of this, let me know what’s actually going on.” I snicker.

“I gotta go.” Quil runs away into the treeline of the woods, assumingly off to Sam’s house.

I watch him go, before turning my attention to Embry, who is seemingly looking at anything except for me. He keeps looking around between the trees, the ground, and the clouds.

“Em?” I ask.

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on?”

“Please, not yet.”

“Not yet?”

“Just, please. Trust that I will tell you soon. When the time is right. You just got back and I don’t wanna lose you.”

“Em, why would you lose me? You could never lose me.” I say, walking closer to him.

“I don’t know, it’s… it’s a lot. I’m really happy to have you back. Let’s just hang out, spend some time together. Maybe later, please?”

His eyes were begging me to just agree, and I couldn’t say no.

“Okay, yeah. That’s fine. Just please, don’t leave me in the dark too long. I already feel like I was for two years. Now that I’m back I want it all to be transparent with everyone again. I don’t wanna feel like I’m left in the dark again, Em.” I look up to his chocolate brown eyes, feeling like I could see his soul.

“I won’t, I promise. I just… I want to see you, bean. I want the way you see me now to stay, I don’t want to see you lose the light in your eyes when you look at me.

“Embry, I don’t think that’s even possible. You have such a special place in my heart, you have a soul like no other.” I smile up at him.

He pulled me into another rib-crushing hug, as comforting as it was painful.

“Em, you’re kinda hurting me.” I whimper out.

“Shit, sorry. I’ll be better with that.” He looks at me apologetically.

“It’s okay. But we should probably leave Jake’s backyard and find something to do, or somewhere else to go.” I suggest, realizing how we’re just standing in the yard alone.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go to the cliff. And then I wanna bring you somewhere else, but that’s a surprise.” His smile gleamed vibrantly.

“Okay, sounds like a plan.” I blush at the thought of a surprise.

We begin walking to my car before he speaks up again.

“It almost feels like we were never apart. I know we talked a lot on the phone, but it feels like you never left. Ya know, being with you feels just as comfortable; just the same.” He smiles at me, as he opens my car door for me.

“I know, it’s a nice feeling. It feels… right.” I look at his beautiful face, beaming with happiness.

He directed me to the cliff where they would jump from. As we walked out onto it, my jaw almost hit the floor.

“Embry, you jump from up here?” I ask, almost dying of shock.

“Yeah. Most others jump from the lower level. We dive from up here, though.” He looks at me, smiling awkwardly.

“How do you not… die? I see what you meant now. I probably would die.” I say, cautiously peeking over the edge of the cliff.

Embry grabs ahold of my waist gently, steadying both my balance and my nerves.

“It’ll all make sense soon. You wouldn’t die going down with one of us though. If we went down together, you’d be fine, bean.” He smiled sweetly at me.

“How? I’m going to need an explanation sooner rather than later because nothing makes sense anymore.” I chuckled, looking down at my feet.

“Well, I’d be able to swim against the rough water, I can get us back up to the surface quickly, and most of all-- I’m just that great.” He said with his cheeky grin.

“Oh I keep forgetting about how great you are.” I mock lightly.

“(Y/N), I promise I’ll explain to you tonight. I just want a day of normalcy with you. Then I’ll answer any question you have.” His eyes looked deep into mine, digging into my soul.

“Okay, Em. Let’s have some fun. Let’s go to your surprise place.” I smiled at him.

“Okay.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me to the car. The way his massive hands held mine, felt like two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together. I never wanted him to let go, Embry’s touch was intoxicating.

__________________________________

Word Count: 3459

I hope you guys enjoy this series I’m doing. It happened after I spun off of something else I was writing. I hope you enjoy, please give some feedback!

I II III IV V VI VII VIII VIIII X XIR XIE XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIIII

#embry call #embry call x reader #embry call fanfiction #jacob black #Quil Ateara #jared cameron #paul lahote #sam uley #leah clearwater #seth clearwater #twilight #twilight fanfiction #twilight x reader #wolf pack x reader #wolf pack #embry call imagine

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stray-kids-react · 4 years

Text

Polaroid

Han x Fem. Reader Soulmate au

Warnings - Swearing, mentions of sex, and Fluff that'll make you cry.

Masterlist

...

Y/n's pov, November 27 2020

My mother once told me that I will know when I'm in love, she never specified what hints will cross my path... She just said I'll know.

As a young adult now, sharing an apartment with my close friend Yeji. I'm starting to become impatient with this whole game of love, why can't I just get told who is my perfect match. I'm so tired of having my hopes risen up and then crashed down onto my heart... Breaking it each time.

"Any plans today?" Yeji asked from the kitchen, making me cringe at the word plans.

I just was still recovering from a terrible break up, where I caught the supposedly love of my life slurping the life out of his assistants pussy. I won't forget the feeling of my heart completely stopping for a few seconds, as my mind told me to run and not look back.

"Yes actually, I have a date with Netflix and the leftovers in the fridge." I replied, slyly smirking as she stared at me like a worried mother.

"Well Netflix isn't going to have to wait for his turn. Because I have this guy who is really interested you and is a total sweetheart." She sighed, showing me a photo of the guy she was trying to set me up with.

"Yeah... No." I replied, beginning to retreat back to my room.

"Y/n! JISUNG TOLD ME!" Yeji announced, catching my attention from the front of my bedroom door.

"I-it's still a no Yeji." I whimpered, shutting the door harshly behind me as she sighed in defeat.

Yeji's pov

She needs to get out of this place, it's been two weeks now. All over a guy she barely even knew, I know the true reason she is hiding and she will never admit it.

Y/n is scared to see his face again, our best friend Han Jisung. The best friend that she happened to fall in love with, and moved away from after she got accepted into the university of her dreams.

They were never just best friends in anyone's eyes, not even there own. Yet they both tried to fill in the whole in their heart with other people, never realizing that all they had to do was just say three difficult words.

Y/n was in a hurry to find her perfect partner after I found mine, the man next door with the matching tattoo on his wrist. Your tattoo shows up when you are over the age of 19 and are near your soulmate, it shows up on your wrist, neck, or shoulder blade.

She didn't want to see Jisung in case that tattoo never came, they both wouldn't be able to handle the realization. But it is a part of life, and I'm not going to let my best friends live alone when they could have a chance to be in love and happy.

Han wanted to see us both while he was visiting the city, even though he knew the risk of utter devastation. That fake profile was just a set up so that she would finally meet up with Han, and she probably already knew about my plans.

I walked up to her door cautiously, gently brushing my knuckles against her door.

"Y/n... I know why you are actually upset."

Y/n pov

"Because of Han Jisung." I answered, brushing past the old childhood photos saved on my phone.

"I know that's what you were going to say Yeji, and you're right. I know I won't be able to take it if the guy I love isn't the one for me, and that all of those nights alone with him that are coded into my brain are worthless. I'm scared Yeji, I'm scared that I won't be able to think of most of my life without tearing up." I explained, as she plopped down on my bed next to me.

"You're fear will just get worse until you find out, you'll never know the result until you actually try." She replied, placing my head on her shoulder for comfort.

I let out a shaky breath as a couple tears streamed down my cheeks, she was right as usual. But I still needed at least one day to prepare myself.

"Fine, but let me rest today. I'm not going to fancy restraint with puffy eyes and bed head." I remarked, watching as a sly smile spread across her lips.

She slowly began to exit my bedroom, delighted that she finally got her way with me. Not even explaining who that fake date even was, probably just a random guy from Google. It was 11:30 at night, and all of my crying really wore the energy out of my body and mind.

So eventually sleep crossed paths with my mind and hooked up, completely losing consciousness as my memories flashed like a polaroid camera.

December 15th 2018

"I can't believe we're graduating this year, seems like we only started high school yesterday." Jisung sighed, carrying both of our bags while walking home together.

"Don't worry quokka, you'll still carry my bags for me even after high school." I teased, pinching the reddened skin of his cheeks.

"Oh very funny, and you'll still put crackers in your mouth and pretend to be a walrus." He remarked dodging the snowball that came his way.

He set my bags down on my front yard as he gathered his own army of cold fluff balls. I tackled him to the ground as we both drowned the silence in laughter, I traced my frosted mittens across his face. Gently crossing his lips as he brushed the snow chunks from my hair.

The close warmth of his breath against my face sent my heart into a frenzy, I secretly craved the closeness of him... But I never wanted to admit it in case I'd lose him.

His now glossed lips looked so kiss able, the way they pouted as he focused on my hair. And how they stretched into a warm smile that left a fuzzy feeling in my heart for years, made it only harder to stop myself from interlocking them with mine.

"I better get going bun bun. I'll see you tomorrow at school though." Jisung reassured, lightly booping my nose as he left his trail from my snowy front yard. Waving one last time to catch my attention as I was at the front door.

"Farewell loser!" He shouted, showing off that bright smile of his.

"Farewell to you as well, asshole!" I retorted, giggling as I walked into my empty house all alone.

November 28th 2020

Y/n pov

"Wake up! Time for bubble tea!" Yeji screamed, jumping on top of me as she consistently hit me with my own pillows.

"I thought we were meeting Jisung later." I sighed, looking at the red numbers of my alarm clock reading 7:30am.

"Yes we are, but I want bubble tea and to talk with you about some stuff I found out." Yeji replied, pulling me out of bed to soon push me into the washroom.

I complied to her excited energy, understanding it is pretty exciting for her.

The steaming water swallowed every inch of my skin, blocking out all of the noises outside. Only leaving me and the blank wall to stare at, droplets of water racing against each other. A flash of the mirror and sunlight clashing, sending the flash of a polaroid to my memories.

August 16th 2018

Yeji squealed as her boyfriend threw her into the pool, soon joining her in a large cannonball jump. All of his friends danced around with liquor drenching their breath, as their bodies clashed together in ways they didn't fully understand.

It wasn't my style of fun, it instead gave me a wave of fear and stress. Not recognizing any of these people, while they danced around half naked. Yeji's boyfriend decided that she had enough fun for one night, and took her home to rest.

I hurriedly gathered my belongings and rushed out the door, just as excited and horny shouts came from the pool. I was okay to walk home alone, it felt nice to be surrounded my silence for once. Even if my conscious tortured me about every bad possibility.

"Need a drive home party animal?" a familiar voice called from across the road, that voice of the man who has always had my back.

"I'd actually really like that." I replied, feeling a wave of comfort when I entered the car.

"I can tell your a bit freaked out." He sighed, throwing his bad into the backseat.

"That party was just... A lot. A lot more than I expected." I whimpered, still a bit overwhelmed from the experience.

"How about you stay at my place for the night. We'll even watch some American horror story..." Jisung suggested, even though he was shit terrified of anything remotely scary.

"I'm holding you to it quokka." I giggled, slapping his thigh teasingly.

We drove to his home as the car filled with a random playlist of songs, one landing on my favorite 'Turning Page'.

"I didn't know you liked this song." I commented, blushing softly at the tone of the song.

"I want this to be the song that represents me and my soulmate. It sounds cheesy, but it's true." He revealed, glancing my way as the car stopped in the from of his home.

The whole topic of soulmates use to be humorous to me, remembering when me and Han drew matching docks on our palms as 'our' symbol. Even taking a polaroid photo of the amazing art we drew, I still have it in my phone case.

Then it hit me, how much it would hurt to see him destined with someone other then me. That moment when he glanced back into my eyes with a shy smile, is when I admitted to myself for falling madly in love with my best friend.

November 28th 2020

I walked along the streets of our home town, hanging my mask off my chin when sipping my bubble tea.

"You know what's crazy." Yeji started, catching my focus immediately.

"I remember the moment you started crushing on Jisung. You didn't even have to tell me, I already knew." She admitted, gazing at me with only a soft warmth in her eyes.

"It was obvious by how many photos you had of him and you on your wall, and the way you looked at him as if he were your dream person." She continued, texting something on her phone that I couldn't quite see.

"Or how when he caught you staring he'd reply with 'take a picture it'll last longer'... And you always did to get revenge. I will never forget the day I saw you two as more then best friends, that was the same day when I bought you that polaroid camera for Christmas. " She replied, taking a short break as her hands nervously fidgeted with her skirt.

"That's why I want a 'thank you' later on." She mumbled, before running off and leaving me completely stunned on the bench.

"Y/n..."

September 14th 2018

"It's crazy that this is your last day here." I sighed, trying my best not to cry.

He nodded trying to smile the pain away like me, but soon caving in once his arms met my body. I nuzzled into the crook of his neck, hoping I could capture his scent one last time.

"I'll still visit. I can't cope without seeing your face, asshole." He chuckled lightly, sniffling quietly when he retracted his arms away.

He stared at my features for a few long seconds, as if he was contemplating on doing something. Jisung shook his head, smiling brightly once more as he pulled me into one last hug.

As he put his palm on the door knob, I shouted his name one last time. Running across the room towards him, he turned around immediately dropping his bangs on the ground.

He instantly knew what I was going to do, since his lips molded with mine without one ounce of hesitation. His hands lost in my hair, pulling me closer and closer until there was no space between us. Jisung's lips were so much sweeter and softer then any other kiss I've had.

The sweetness was sprinkled with the salty taste of our mixed tears. Only creating more as the kiss began to end, both of us realizing we should've told each other so much sooner.

"I love you." We both sighed at the same time, smiling sadly at the bittersweet sting in our hearts.

November 28th 2020

"Jisung..." I gasped, turning around quickly to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"W-wow... You've really. Wow." He stuttered, cautiously inching closer towards me.

"You too." I chuckled airily, swallowing back my tears. I missed him so much, but it hurt too much to see him at the same time.

"Y/n... I know it's been a while. But I honestly came here because I needed to see you. I still love you, and I don't care if we're soul mates or not. I'll sharpie our own symbol on us everyday if I have to." He revealed, grasping my hands between his own.

"I'm sorry that I was being so selfish." I sighed, caving into my own tears. Regretting my fears of seeing him again, feeling terrible for torturing him just as much as I tortured myself.

"We are both scared. It's not our fault, but I just want us to accept that things may not go our way. But that won't stop us from being together." He reassured, lightly brushing frosted his mitten across my features. Glossing over my lips gently, his eyes warm and gentle as they fluttered shut.

I molded into his kiss immediately, lacing my fingers through his silky hair. Soon pulling him closer to my so there was no space between us, making sure no one could try and ruin this moment for us.

His lips still were as sweet as the first time they molded into mine, and his fingertips could still make my legs give out by how gentle they were against my skin. Every emotion flashed through my mind, all my regrets, confidence, love, lust... It all flashed just like a...

"Polaroid." He gasped, tugging my palm next to his as the ink slowly traced the same picture into my palm. The picture of the camera that captured all the moments I treasured with my soulmate, the soulmate that was everything I could've asked for.

#stray kids #kpop #skz scenarios #stray kids reactions #han jisung #han jisung x you #han jisung x reader #jisung oneshots #skz jisung #skz oneshots #han jisung icons #han jisung imagines #han jisung oneshot #skz imagines

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333dolans · 4 years

Text

Light Within The Darkness // G.D

Hey loves! This is my first attempt at writing anything for either of the twins so any constructive criticism is welcomed and very much appreciated. I love you!🤍

Summary: After a heated fight with Grayson leads to a cold night alone, an unEXpected and unwelcomed visitor arrives.

Warnings: Mentions of Abuse and Anxiety. ANGSTY with a lil fluff at the end.

“Are you actually taking the piss Y/N?!” Grayson growled, slamming the door to your small, but cozy apartment. You two had been leaving a small cafè in downtown LA when you had ran into an ‘old school friend’, or atleast that’s what you had told Grayson. He didn’t buy it at all of course, he had a talent of always seeing straight through you anytime you lied. He could read you like a book, he had your body language memorised like his favourite tame song and he knew this wasn’t simply an acquaintance from your early teenage years. When he tried to ask simple questions about him, you became very tense and he could see you had began grinding your jaw at the very mention of his existence and the encounter you had just had. you’d began cracking your fingers, a tell tale sign that you were rapidly becoming more and more on edge. He didn’t want to cause an argument from his tendency to always want to know what is going on, his need for control, so he let it slide. Well that was until you crossed paths with mystery man once again. “Two years with no interaction and we see each other twice within a half a hour period? It’s a sign from the universe Y/N, we should get back together haha!” The man joked. You smiled awkwardly, feeling the heat rising within Grayson. You couldn’t tell if it was due to the mans comment, or the fact that you had lied about this man being your most recent ex. It was probably a mixture, you thought to yourself. Grayson turned on his heel and was started off towards the Porsche just a few metres away. You rushed a quick farewell and dashed after your boyfriend.

“Gray can you just let me-” “Y/N. Don’t.” He interrupted. You didn’t dare speak another word until you made it back to your apartment. The car ride was a silent one, something you wasn’t used to in your entire relationship with Grayson. You two were always jamming out to a throwback playlist and singing your hearts out. When you arrived, He made his way across to where you were standing in the living room. “Gray, I’m sorry ok? I didn’t want to make things awkward for you. He’s my ex- boyfriend, it was uncomfortable and I just wanted to diffuse the situation as soon as I possibly could.” You tried to reason. “Don’t you think I was just as uncomfortable probably even more so when I found out he was your ex?! You should of just told me but instead you lied to me.” He argued back. “How could it possibly have been worse for you G? I have so much history with him and things didn’t end well between us. Why are you making this about you? You’re not even considering how I felt, it’s always about you isn’t it?” You whispered the last part, defeatedly. “If it’s ‘always about me’ then maybe I should leave, Wouldn’t want you to be stuck with someone so selfish!” He screamed. You could feel the tears building behind your eyes, he knew as well as everyone else in your life that if there was one thing you couldn’t take, it was someone shouting at you. It always sent your anxiety sky rocketing and left you spiralling. “Leave Gray. Now please.” You whispered, holding back the desperate urge to breakdown in front of him. “With pleasure, Bitch.” He spat before leaving your apartment the same way he entered. Those words, although simple ones, held so much more meaning to you when they fell from his lips, lingering in the air and consuming your mind. The tears instantly began to stream, letting out a choked sob. “If only you knew.” You thought out loud.

You were jolted awake by an increasingly louder banging on your door. You glance over at your clock, 2:39AM. Grayson. He had came to apologise for acting like such a dick. You slipped out of bed and wrapped your blanket around you tightly. The relentless torture your front door was under not once letting up. You peaked through the peep hole, you weren’t a complete idiot, you had to be sure it was Gray. But who else would turn up at your door at this time right? Crack. You felt your heart shatter and swore you could hear the broken pieces hit the hard floor of your hallway. There, stood your ex boyfriend, Riley. You could of sworn you were frozen to that very spot, but your brain took control and carried you off towards the bedroom, rapidly grabbing for your phone and gripping it tightly to your chest. You creeped back towards the door cautiously, not wanting to make too much noise. “Riley you need to leave. Now please.” You spoke politely, which was beyond what he deserved. “Y/N! Open the door please. I need you. I’m a mess without you. Seeing you today reminded me off that!” He pleaded. “You’ve survived 2 years, keep going. I have a boyfriend Riley. Please leave.” You responded, heart non stop pounding against your chest, taking your breath away with every thump. “Y/N! YOU STUPID BITCH! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” He growled through the door, repeatedly kicking at it now. “JUST LEAVE RILEY!!!!” You retreated into your bedroom, then into the bathroom and locked both doors. You violently sobbed into the blanket that had been wrapped around your body as you reached for your phone.

To Babe💘: Gray, please.

Read at 2:45am

3 missed calls from Babe💘

To Babe💘: Hello?

Read at 2:52am

You sobbed even more, realising that he was ignoring you at a time when you needed him the most. You don’t remember when, but you must have eventually passed out on the cold bathroom tiles. You didn’t have the energy to get up, so you sat up against the side of your bath. You reached for your phone, only to see not one single sign of contact from Grayson. You felt the all too familiar feeling rising in your chest and taking control of your breathing. Another panic attack. You hadn’t had one in months due to the calmness Grayson provided, he was your light within the darkness, but he wasn’t here to save you this time. You texted him once more before you fully broke down.

To Babe💘: Grayson please, I need you. Now.

You knew this would work. His full name over text was only ever used in an emergency. You shut your phone off to try and focus on your breathing rather than how shitty your boyfriend was being right now. You had completely forgotten about the text and 30 minutes later you heard the front door swing open. “Y/N!? Where are you?!” Seconds later he enters the bathroom and finds your small form, tear stained cheeks and violently shaking from your cold night alone. “No no no, baby I’m so so sorry. Y/N look at me yeah? Focus on my voice. Deep breaths for me.”

He tried to scoop you into his arms but you cowered away. In that moment he swore he could feel his heart shatter. He had become the man he’d promised you he’d never be. Grayson knew you had and still struggle with your mental health, although he didn’t know much about the causes of it all. He let his anger get the best of him once again and he hurt you in the process. “Angel, I cant express how sorry I am. I didn’t mean to snap at you and I certainly didn’t mean what I called you.”

There it was again. His words began to replay in your head for the 100th time. “With pleasure, Bitch.” “STOP! Please make it stop Gray. I don’t wanna be back there anymore, I can’t be back there.” You begged him, clinging to his shirt now. He cautiously began to rub his hands along your back, palms sore from the strength he used to grip the steering wheel on the way over to your apartment. “Back where love? Talk to me please, I want to help you.” The feeling of Grays hand on your body, knowing he was close to you, knowing you were safe now, your breathing slowly began to regulate. You finally lifted your head and looked up to meet his eyes. Teary and bloodshot, a mirror image of yourself. You could see, scrap that, you could feel that he was sharing your pain. He didn’t know why you was feeling it, but he could feel it all nonetheless. You took in a shakey breath as you began.

“Riley seriously, they’re a pair of shoes? I bought them as a treat for myself for getting promoted.” You tried to explain to him, annoyance growing every passing minute. You were always smart with your money, never splurging out on fancy items. You’d never really felt like you’d needed them. However, earlier this month you’d been called into your bosses office and offered a better paying position at your work, which you gladly accepted. You’d decided that you would finally buy the shoes you’d been eyeing up for months now but had never talked yourself into buying. They were $300 but you decided you deserved them, your boyfriend clearly didn’t feel the same way. “I don’t care Y/N, you cant just start spending our money so carelessly, especially not this close to when rent is due and for something so minor as a promotion.” He countered, words laced with resentment. You couldn’t help but let out a snort. “Our money? It wasn’t ‘our money’ when you went out and bought that watch.” You pointed to the, in all honesty, hideous watch that was strapped around his wrist with pride. “I spent my hard earned money on those shoes because I deserved them, I worked for them.” You spoke, calmly and with confidence. “I seriously don’t understand your problem, please explain? Like I know it may be hard for your fragile masculinity to accept that not only a woman but your own girlfriend earns more than you, but that doesn’t give your misogyny a free pass to belittle my achievements”. You knew the second you said that, you would come to regret it. “You want me to explain? With pleasure, Bitch.”

The tears were once again streaming down your face once you finally stopped to breath again. “It was abusive and toxic, I knew I had to leave him, I had to get out of there so I did. I never looked back after I left but I guess life has a way of not letting you forget your past, no matter how hard you try to.” You sighed, so tired from the nights previous events. You’d explained to Grayson about what had happened with Riley turning up at your door, you’re grateful he’d left before Gray got there otherwise you may of been spending your night bailing his ass out of prison right now instead of in his arms. You’d explained about your past with him and why things had ended. You knew Gray had many more questions but it was clear you were not ready to answer them right now and you were extremely thankful he left the topic alone. You quite frankly didn’t want to entertain your memories of Riley anymore and Grayson knew that. He planted a kiss on your forehead before scooping you up, “wanna watch a film and cuddle? You can choose the movie.” He wiggles his eyebrows and gave you his signature smirk. “Yes please, only if you bring me the ice cream though!” You giggled, letting the last 3 hours fade to the back of your mind.

You were out like a light after 30 minutes, head in Grayson’s lap as he carelessly traced shapes along your arms, watching your chest rise and fall and lips slightly parted. “I will never let this happen to you again, you have my word. I love you more than I love myself angel.” He spoke gently, watching in awe as your lips curled to form a faint smile. “Mine” he thought to himself, “All mine.”

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fabulaee · 3 years

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COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE

// A 🐺 fic based on my Stay journey’s aesthetics which was a coffee shop au bc they remind me of those times when I used to go to the café to draw and would see fellow regulars but unlike y/n and Chan, I never interact with them. We all just share a table 😂😂😂

Monday. Wednesday. Friday

That was the set schedule for your coffee run. MWF from 9 am to 10, then coming back with your study supplies from 1 to 4 in the afternoon. It was routine; the small college café a safe haven from the slight messy floor of your dorm and the formal vibe of the library. Here you were focused and at peace of mind. The aroma of the coffee beans and soft sounds of the coffeeshop’s playlist serving as background noise.

There wasn’t much students at this time of the day compared to the much later prime of the evenings. The café then filled with college youths grabbing a drink after a long day’s worth of lectures and test reminders or staying to cram a night’s worth of information. There was something about cafés that seemed inviting and less suffocating yet at the same time a place where you can find the nursing students with their big thick books opened with streaks of neon yellow running across them.

“Vanilla Bean Cold Brew for y/n!”

Standing up, you went to grab your drink leaving behind the pastel rainbow set of highlighters and gel pens on top of your notes. You quickly thanked the barista as he handed you a straw before plopping back down on your seat continuing where you last went off. Something about the history of impressionistic art. You sighed as you lifted your eyes across the room, it was currently 2:30 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. A good time to take a break before your mind starts to commit brain fart.

Chris Bang. Affectionally called Bang Chan by his friends. Music major with golden hands, a good candidate for the honor roll, member of the varsity swim team, and resident social butterfly. An all rounder any college is proud to have.

You heard about him once or twice from your common friend, Yang Hongseok. They met at the gym apparently and became quick friends through the Japanese exchange student, Adachi Yuto, and their shared love for fitness.

You see him sit at the same spot everyday since the middle of sophomore year. His laptop with the cute decal of Deadpool open and his AirPods snugly tucked in his ears. He's always has his blonde head bopping to a song he's playing on either his phone or his laptop. Always seemed so engrossed in this little world he made for himself across the room, ignorant to the bustling crowd of students that come and go.

He looks up catching you off guard. His lips curled slightly upwards, chuckling to himself as he watches your cheeks turn pink in embarrassment. Great, he must think I'm a weirdo!

With a quick exchange of nods you both went back to doing your own thing. Just a regular day at the coffee shop.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

It's the Friday following Monday's slightly embarrassing incident. You looked up to find the same Chris Bang, laptop in hand, smiling at you like a friendly yet lost puppy. Warm brown orbs looking back at yours.

“My laptop's about to die and this is the only table with an outlet.” He explains himself, a tiny awkward giggle making up as the period.

“O-oh, of course!” You stuttered, hastily making room for him despite the large space as you swiped for the stray pastel highlighters and napkins closer. “No one's sitting here so go ahead.”

He whispered a small thanks before setting down his laptop to grab his bag from his usual spot while you went back to your notes. It was silent for awhile, only the sounds of pen against paper and the soft tick tack of the keys. At some point you hit a mind block, eyes glazing in boredom as you stared at the blank space of your notebook. You felt your table mate leave his stationary position too. he stretched in his seat before turning his attention to you.

Sensing his sudden gaze on you, you flashed him a small smile. You were never one to start a conversation, often keeping to yourself and minding your own business. A bit of a complete opposite towards the friendly Australian who somehow knows at least three students from each program.

He smiles back at you showing off his cute dimples and an outstretched hand. “Hey, I'm Chan. I never caught your name.”

Again with the cute giggle. It seems to be like a signature to him but it's cute still the same. You grasped his hand giving it a soft shake. “Y/n,” you answered curtly.

The following days you find yourself hanging around Chan more. Afternoon study sessions were no longer a date between you and the textbook or the small watercolor set you laid out on the table. Chan was there to fill the space making the long table that was a party of one to a party of two and maybe some on certain busy hours but mostly it was the both of you in your own tiny world.

You got to know him, his likes and dislikes. His major and passion for music, sometimes slipping in a few complaints about certain homework here and there; What else he likes to do. Apparently mr. Chris Bang was gifted in so many areas you often wondered what good he must've done in his previous life to be this gifted. Not only was he a jack of all trades, he's also the master of all.

You even had a small debate between Deadpool and Spider-Man. God, he's such a nerd it's adorable!

In return he knew these things about you. How you're taking up art as your major hoping to make it out as an illustrator one day—

“it would be so cool if you drew a variant cover for Deadpool!”

“Ha! We'll see about that, Chris Reynolds.”

He knows how you like to collect stickers and are quite passionate about making sure your notes are beautiful. He knows how you loved your drinks iced despite it being the middle of winter.

“Isn’t the weather too cold for that?” He’d ask with a quirk of his brow, amused brown eyes glancing at the iced hazelnut latte you have in your hands.

“Nope!” you replied, taking a sip as you did so. “It’s always the perfect weather for an iced coffee, Bang.”

He only chuckled at that.

It hit you like a freight train. You didn’t mean to fall for him. It wasn’t supposed to happen. You and Chan? No way, it was just supposed to be just friends. The kind where you hang out and have fun, no feelings attached. He was just supposed to be that regular from the café, right?

That was the plan, right?

But you can’t deny the small flutters from your heart much like those newly emerged butterflies. How you can feel that giddy feeling of excitement when you spot his mop of chocolate curly locks outside the café’s window. How you mirror his smile when you get together to talk about anything and everything under the sun. Bang Chan in all his cute dimpled glory, soft curls and hearty giggles was just too much to adore.

Yet it wasn’t that what pulled you in to the Music major. You felt love blossom when you both stayed up late, when the café was quiet after a busy day. The only people around being a couple medical students, some late night goers, and the employees. You felt the tiny flower buds start to bloom when he stayed with you then; keeping you company under the dimly warm fluorescent lights, laptop tucked away and a hand playing with yours.

You felt it bloom when you cuddled on the booth’s sofa one rainy November day. He scoots over next to you when he saw you shiver from the corner of his eyes. He’s naturally warm —you’d often tease him how he made the room hot. Why? well it’s because he’s from Australia! which earned the loud chorus of laughter from his friends and Chan’s ears turning into the color of the fire hydrant.

“Babygirl, you’re shivering.” He mutters as he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you gently towards him. You accepted the subtle invitation, sides sticking together as you both went through forgotten notes and half finished coffees.

You felt it when you caught yourself staring at him a little longer than intended. Eyes drifting from Jisung’s expressive face to glance at the older one. You watched him look at the former with such adoration in his eyes; how he looked like a proud dad. You watched him nod along and laugh to Jisung’s animated story about how he and Hyunjin would fight back in the day, a fact that still seemed to shock you seeing how they are the best of friends.

Your eyes would linger on him while he worked on his music; focused and determined, hiding the exhaustion and sleepless nights prominent on the dark circles under his eyes. He was handsome even if he looked like shit. Hell, he was handsome even when he sported the infamous broccoli colored hair. You’d find yourself in a trance, like it was a dream. The world didn’t matter as much anymore when it was only you and Chan in the small dimly table, surrounded by the aroma of coffee beans at the small quaint cafe at the corner of the street.

You loved him. You loved him in the most beautiful of ways; you loved him in the most perfect highs and in all those crevices full of flaws.

You loved him in those bright moments, when the lights were shining on him during a 3RACHA gig. How they made him more beautiful, how they made him stand out from the 2 younger members. You loved watching him do what he loves; how he immersed himself in a world that was different from yours. How his version of colors and dried paint were beats and melodies, rhythm and tempos.

You loved him in the lowest moments; when the tide was high enough to cover you. You loved how you fit perfectly in his arms, how he became a shoulder to lean on when you felt the world was against you and you to him. When he would open up to you about his worst fears and his grandiose ambitions; when he spilled his heart out at the underlaying insecurity that’s been biting him due to his perfectionist attitude. You became his confidante; the one he can trust his heart to.

You loved him in the times he was vulnerable. You loved him when he would bask in glory and shining lights. You loved him like those cheesy lines in love songs. You loved him like how the tides would look at the moon in awe and yearning; gravitating with every push and pull.

You loved him in ways words can never describe. How the seeds he planted in your heart bloomed to the most beautiful bouquet of flowers.

You love him simply because he’s Chan.

You promised yourself you’d be just friends. It was safer that way but then again, what is love when she’s not one without twists and turns?

What is love when she comes to you, sneaky and sly like a weed disguised as a flower, whispering into your ear that it’s him.

It’s him, it’s him, it’s him.

It was always him, it just took you some time to figure that out.

When you first met Chan, he was simply a friend of a friend. Someone you knew because your brothers are his friends. He was the guy you’d hear about in passing, the popular cool guy with a heart bigger than a massive sized teddy bear and a smile that could cure the most depressing of days. Someone who, in probability, would just be an acquaintance to you.

He was that guy you regularly saw at the coffee shop you visited every week. He was just some guy from the music department who would flash you a friendly smile because you were a familiar face.

Funny how fate made him more than what you originally expected him to be.

#Feels like love #🐺97 #amg no idk what happened in thw middle of writing #but I’ll tag if I ever write the letter version which will probably have more #bc it was a bit hard to write in 2nd person #I haven’t written since 2019 😭😭😭 yall will habw to #forgive me #my skills be rusty af #also this wisnt proofread so if there’s any mistakes that’s the work of my sleep deprived braincell #BUHU PLS BE GENTLE WITH ME THIS IS MY FIRST TIME AND IM SHY AF 😭😭😭#but u know what Im not shy of???#MY INTENSE LOVE FOR CHRISTOPHER BANG #amg ok shall hide now ú///ú

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kumkaniudaku · 5 years

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Hey, Neighbor

Summary: You’ve got a noisy neighbor next door to meet.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

“My love is like woah! My kiss is like woah! My touch is like…”

Rolling your eyes, you quietly danced in front of the stove as you sauteed vegetables for dinner. Mya was a new entry into the almost nightly DJ session that took place in the apartment beside your two bedroom unit. Without fail, the once quiet atmosphere was electrified at 6:30 pm sharp, letting you know what kind of day your next door neighbor was having.

Some days, you’d sit and listen, trying to block out the Goodie Mob or Marvin Gaye passing through the paper thin walls while you completed work that had seeped into your home life. Then came the rare moments of playfulness when you would follow each of his songs with a track that served as an answer to the overall theme.

He didn’t seem to notice your attempts to spark a non-verbal conversation. You weren’t even completely sure he knew who you were. Brief meetings in the parking garage or the lobby elevator put you in close proximity, but he never took time to say hello or even acknowledge your dog, Leche when she would climb his long legs for attention. Still, doing so helped you pass the time until he closed up shop and presumably went to bed.

Working on your second glass of Rosé on a rainy Friday evening, you bopped your head along to song after song until the buzz tingling in your bones convinced you to connect your phone to the nearby Bluetooth speaker.

“If your love is like whoa, then you should let me love you. That’s corny,” you muttered to yourself. “Just play the damn song.”

Your timing was perfect as the tail end of Mya met the smooth tone of Mario’s signature crooning.

“Baby, I just don’t get it. Do you enjoy being hurt?”

As quick as you pressed play, you returned your attention to the stove to reduce the heat on your honey glaze. Mario’s vocals quickly became white noise in your brain and you hadn’t noticed that the song was nearing the end until a familiar guitar line interrupted the remaining thirty seconds.

“The time has come for us to stop messing around…”

Your body reacted before you could completely understand what was happening. Was he responding? And if he was, did that mean he had purposely ignored you during the previous unofficial battles? Shaking the thought, you rushed to your phone to find the perfect follow-up to The Gap Band’s ‘Yearning For Your Love.’

Four minutes felt like four hours while you waited for your turn to hit play and answer the coded message.

“In the middle of the day now baby, I seem to think of only you. Never thinking for a moment, baby, that you’ve been thinking of me too.”

“It’s Total and Biggie. Everybody loves Total and Biggie, right? Right?”

Judging from his never ending playlists, he was hard to pin to a genre. Old school funk and soul could be replaced with 90s hip-hop and then soft rock in a 30 minute time span without missing a beat. So, it was only natural that he would find some common ground with a moment from your Bad Boy playlist.

You were at his mercy while the song played and wondered how he was reacting. In your mind, he was just as excited as you were as he scrolled through his phone or computer looking for the perfect rebuttal. In reality, he was probably searching for the perfect set of lyrics that said “Please, leave me alone,” in the nicest way possible.

A long and uncomfortable bout of silence followed the son, making you scrunch your face.

“Oh-kay. Did I win, Leche?” Your favorite Corgi in the world yawned in response before splooting in the center of the living room. “You’re right. He is totally calling the front desk to have me fined for a noise disturbance. Can I borrow $75?”

Mentioning money earned a bark from Leche, making you laugh as you joined her on the floor. The only sound between the two apartments was the start of the newest Real Housewives of Atlanta episode until the Bluetooth speaker next door started up again and Tevin Campbell’s voice began signing.

“Can we talk for a minute? Girl I wanna know your name.”

That was it. The chorus played once through before silence took over.

“Did he do that on purpose,” you thought to yourself.

After a few seconds of gambling with your rational self on what to do next, you scrambled to your Lemme Holla playlist and pressed play on your response.

“Come and talk to me. I really wanna meet you. Can I talk to you? I really wanna know you.”

A loud laugh, one you’d never heard before but knew you wanted to hear again, rang out, making you smile. You listened for movement and found your answer as a door in the hallway opened and closed. Soon, knuckles rapped at your door.

You calmed your giddy dance moves before tip toeing toward the mirror next to the entrance. Luckily you were still in your work attire from the day, sporting a simple olive jumpsuit. Taking a deep breath, you gave yourself a mental countdown from three and opened the door.

“Oh…”You immediately felt like an idiot for your outburst but it was certainly justified.

He stood with undeniable confidence and the brightest smile you’d seen in a while. The material of his maroon turtleneck stretched across the broad span of his shoulders, rippling at his arms and chest. You could smell a little of his cologne when he shifted his weight to move from his leaning position against the doorframe. He was damn near perfect and you were almost regretting playing games with a gorgeous stranger.

“I brought wine. I could smell whatever you got going on from the balcony and figured I should bring gifts,” he said smiling as he extended the bottle of white wine in your direction. You reached out with a blank stare,prompting him to nervously continue. “I’m Yahya, by the way. From next door. The one with the music.”

“Yahya…,” you repeated. Snapping back into your body, you could see confusion brewing behind his expressive eyes. Shaking your head, you began to smile. “Looks like the Sixth Floor DJ has decided to grace 6F with his presence.”

“Well, you know, I like to put on a show. You’re my favorite audience member if that counts for anything.” Both of you laughed at his pseudo compliment before sharing brief looks that carried deeper meaning. “I gotta say, this is a nice place. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all. Just me and Leche about to settle down and watch some Housewives. You caught up with the season?”

“I never miss an episode.”

You returned his wide grin with one of your own and stepped aside to give Yahya room to enter. He strolled in like he was in familiar territory, even bending down to greet Leche who eagerly stood to place her front paws on his leg.

Dinner for one had just found a second party. It was the neighborly thing to do, right?

I’m not sure if anyone wants to be tagged in Yahya stuff. I don’t even know if this will become a regular thing. But, if you’re interested in either, let me know!

#yahya abdul mateen ii #yahya abdul mateen ii fic

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woodzwrites · 4 years

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good to me | song mingi

► genre: enemies to lovers!au, high school!au; angst, fluff

► pairing: reader x mingi

► word count: 8.8k

► warnings: explicit language, underage drinking/alcohol

everyone has had their fair share of first times. but for you, this surely wasn’t your first time attempting to get half-wasted: drunk enough to have fun with your friends who aren’t as half as giddy and energized as they are during the school day, but to also be able to drive back home safely before midnight and fall sound asleep in your room as if nothing happened. and it’s not your first time at mingi’s high-scale hilltop pad. everyone knows that he probably came from a line of old money, but he was never treated like the new kid. miraculously, he immediately fit in when he transferred to your high school in the first year.

you stood on the side of the ping pong table, which had turned into an impromptu beer pong table for the sake of mingi and his friends’ constant gaming bets on each other. your close friend was up against mingi, who was standing on a wooden stool as if he wasn’t already a tree himself. he just had to make sure that everyone knew that this was his house. “y/n! help me out here huh?” she smirks from cheek to cheek and raises her cup too high with a little too much power that a couple of drops of beer spill out. “what am i gonna gain from this?” you shouted at her over the loud trap music. “a chaance!” she shouts even louder than you as she tilts off the side of the table, tipsy. she falls back onto the couch behind you. “jesus....” only she knew about your slight, perhaps very minor, attraction to mingi since... sadly, freshman year. it had gone on and off, but it got worse as you got closer and closer to his friend circle and he started to (at least) acknowledge your presence. you still felt like a nobody to a lot of people but tonight, you wanted mingi to remember your name in the worst way possible. “hey mingi!” you screamed as you raised a solo cup filled with the beer you were still iffy about. he laughs with that stupid smile he’s had for years and squints to see that your friend isn’t there anymore. “y/n, who you tryna fight?” he takes a step down from his stool as he continues laughing. “you, headass.” his friends around the table all boo in unison towards mingi at the outlash from a girl like you. “oh, MY bad. let me put a fight with you, and we’ll see.” “wanna bet?” mingi’s head freezes and turns at you as he realizes, even over the entire commotion of his party, that you stole his line. his iconic line. “you win, you leave. cause i know you wanna leave. you lose, you’re stuck at my house until the crack of dawn until you make this house crystal clean,” he smirks and takes a larger sip of his beer as he gains a little more confidence from talking big with you. he always has. “damn......” almost the entire group around him echoes. “deal.” you smile even brighter at him and toss the first ping pong ball without his cue and immediately make it in. after countless rounds and the commotion around the game room getting louder and rowdier, it’s finished when mingi tosses the last ping pong ball. “KOBE!” splash. an instant win as the ball floats on top of the solo cup, ever so gently on the cheap store-bought beer. everyone around mingi starts crowding around him as if he’s made the nba playoffs of the season, and you flip him off. your friends all laugh it off as you take your last shot of beer, and of course, you join in on the laughter. you text your mom that your friend is taking you and the “girls” out for boba, and that you’ll be home by midnight. yes, you were expected to be home by 10 because you sleep extremely early for a high school upperclassman. instead, you’re stuck with mingi and his dog cleaning up his house—which seems to have no end to it, from what you’ve been sweeping after for almost 30 minutes now—and being the slight gentleman he can at least be, he offers to take you home. “no, it’s fine,” you say from across the humongous kitchen with a swiffer in your hand. “my car’s parked down the street. i’m sober now, so i can drive.” “what, did you sneak out here?” mingi looks up with a questioning look. “maybe, maybe not,” you shrug and continue sweeping. “i didn’t expect the party to end that early,” he sighs and takes a nice, cold glass of water from his (take this) third samsung fridge in the house. “maybe because it’s the middle of summer and people are actually tired? the best parts of summer are when it starts and ends. in the middle, you’re kinda scraping to make plans and do something,” you say from experience. “damn facts,” he laughs and places his elbows on the side of the acrylic island as he gazes at you. you pretend not to notice, but walk farther away from the kitchen. “i’m gonna turn on some music, it’s too quiet.” “aren’t you already sick of being at your own party with the music ten times louder than it should be?” you turn around before you can maneuver away from the living space. “what? can’t hear you!” mingi had already planted his body into the silky soft couch by the fireplace as the spotify sound rang through the room. you dropped the swiffer and called it a night. whatever, his cleaning ladies would come over whenever he would need them. before you could put on your lanyard attached with your car keys, mingi called you. “yo wait.” you didn’t look back. “you never look like you’re having fun at my parties. these are so exhausting for me to try and sneak all of these when my parents are out!” mingi whines. you don’t feel like replying so you flip him off again, signaling to him that every time you get caught up in his summer parties, you always end the night feeling ticked off. “just dance a little.” you roll your eyes at him. “you’re literally one of the best dancers at school, i’ve never seen you dance normally at a party.” the compliment he sneaks in between the conversation makes the heat rise up to your cheeks a little, but somehow, you still find yourself walking back to the living room. “cause maybe,” you step harshly. “i don’t. want to.” “tuff,” he stands up and changes the song to goldlink crew. “how the hell do you want me to dance to this, this is like our chill song.” “damn you listen to my playlists?” you immediately object. “what? no- no, no. i mean like, everyone knows this song but i’m not gonna dance to it.” little did he know that you always listened to his playlists. you guys had similar music taste but you never fully admitted it to him and always said to people that you were open to all genres. in complete and terrible pitch, mingi throws himself around the countertop to face you. “she see money all around me, i look like i’m the man” you roll your eyes at how obnoxious he’s being because it feels as if the party never ended. and yet somehow, you end up cracking up at him as he continuously becomes more and more drunk as the song continues. you tiredly give into singing along. “you came out of hiding, girl don’t act like i’m your man” you point at each other as mingi uses the crushed red solo cups left on the floor and you use the beer cans accidentally thrown into the sink as mics. now you know he’s completely drunk when he decides to stand on the counter top, his 6’1 looking ass nearly touching the ceiling. you try to pull him off by tugging on his arm, but end up losing balance yourself. you almost fall back when mingi comes down in an instant and catches you before you hit your head on the fridge as crew still plays in the background. you’re in this position for what feels like forever, but what hurts more is the fact that mingi has never looked at you like this for more than 3 seconds. you’ve been nothing but an acquaintance to him, maybe even a vision. barely a friend until tonight. from the constant bickering in your friend group, to the multiple plans that both of you have flaked on for being “busy,” many of your friends thought you guys genuinely hated each other. truth is, it’s just that you’ve never had these moments like these with him. the feeling of him getting comfortable with you made you uneasy, but to him, it doesn’t feel foreign. but you thought, hey, seize the moment before the moment seizes you. and everything after that happens in a blur. you grab his wrist to pull him closer and immediately crash into him, eyes already closed. it doesn’t feel foreign at all. it’s almost as if this has already happened in a past life, a deja vu with the same feelings. mingi doesn’t believe what’s happening. the girl he’s always thought of as one of the boys is kissing him right now as if nothing else mattered. and it wasn’t just a normal kiss. it felt like the climax of a kdrama, when the main lead couple finally confesses to one another. a person in the couple is shocked and keeps their eyes open as the kiss unravels, until they finally melt. but mingi didn’t fall so easily. his eyes were indeed open, but the way your hand effortlessly grabbed and fit into his, and the way that everything that just happened in the past 5 minutes seems rehearsed is insane. you’re insane. you know that this doing this would immediately fuck up any kind of friendship or relationship you guys had going on, but you knew that this was the only way to have mingi remember you that summer once and for all. you pull away from the kiss and can barely look him in the eye. he’s looking at you even deeper now, almost as if they’re screaming at you “what the hell just happened.” you brush off his wrist and remind yourself where you’re supposed to be going. fuck, it was probably already midnight. “i.. i. i’m going now,” you shape your left hand like the figure of a prospector’s hand pointing towards a river full of gold. “u-uh. yeah.” “going.” you put on your sneakers and throw around your keys, feeling more conscious than ever now. “b-bye,” you wave and bow to mingi besides the fact that him and you only have a small age difference. “yyeah. bye.” he waves with no emotion. and the first thing mingi does when you close the front door is touch his lips with his fingers to feel that same weird, burning feeling. and though he doesn’t put his hands up against his chest, he can hear his heartbeat beating so loudly and fast in his ears. and the first world that he can spew is: “fuck.” — “you’re off.” “off? who’s off?” mingi smiles at his childhood friend, hongjoong. out of the entire friend group, hongjoong had been the one who had matured greatly and could easily tell whenever his hyungs didn’t feel like themselves. their crazy group has been through a lot, and hongjoong knows he’s spent his high school days well. “i don’t know man, who do YOU think?” he stuffs a french fry in his mouth as mingi, hongjoong, yunho, and wooyoung huddle around a carls jr. table after a summer class lecture. yunho, being the scholar he is, recommended all of his friends to take the early summer classes since they had more space and it generally felt better. but everyone knew he used that as an excuse to sleep in for the rest of the day until he would get wasted at mingi’s house again. “you’re not saying much,” wooyoung shakes his head. “yeah... cause i’m hungry, i don’t know. today’s lecture was boring,” you try to change the topic. “this is the first lecture this summer that you didn’t manage to fall asleep in the first five minutes of. something on your mind, man?” yunho noticed. “no. you guys are so dramatic!” “and this is how he changes the subject. go ahead mingi, tell them you’re having another party tonight for pete’s sake,” hongjoong remarks. “i’m not having a party tonight.” “WHAT?” all the guys go googly-eyed towards mingi. “wh.. why? my dad is coming home tonight,” mingi insists. “you said BOTH your parents were gonna be out all week. yeah, something’s definitely up,” wooyoung immediately directs his attention to his phone to look up nearby cafes because he couldn’t stand eating this cheap fast food anymore. “you stopped texting me at like 1. AND you were drunk, so how did you knock out so easily? you weren’t even on league...” yunho tries to recall all the little details he knew from last night. “i don’t know. it’s kinda foggy but after the party, i remember drinking a little more and then knocking out on my bed.” “that’s... that’s never happened. ever,” wooyoung almost laughs at the statement. silence fills up space on the fast food joint’s table until hongjoong looks up from his phone after scrolling a good amount on instagram. “oh shit. did you...?” “did i...?” yunho catches onto what hongjoong is suggesting immediately. “bro. y/n.” “well like, no. kinda yes but no.” mingi sighs and knows he’s gonna immediately get grilled for this. he doesn’t worry too much, though, he knows that you have probably told at least 5 of your close friends at this point. “when we were cleaning because of that bet, i accidentally tripped, she caught me, and we kissed,” mingi said it so effortlessly, the fact that he said it with no worry in his tone scared the guys even more. “DUDE!!!!!!” chaos amongst almost-grown men in a fast food joint after your third lecture of the month feels unsettling. it feels like he’s in a mirage. ”what the hell are you gonna do now? er i don’t know, maybe cause you have someone named yerin on your dick right now?” yunho’s eyes dilated at the way he said yerin. if yerin ever knew... “apologize or something. we were both drunk, so we just gotta acknowledge that whatever happened in the past is already over.” and you’ve had your fair share of meltdowns. this time around, you haven’t left the house since the party and you still haven’t told your closest friends. and so what? you were busy with summer classes and you didn’t feel the need to hang out or text them. you distracted yourself as much as you could at home, and every time you would have go on campus, you ignored him. you knew damn well that he was there living his best life acting like the kiss probably never happened. because of her. because of the stunning, mysterious yerin. yerin, in short, could probably be the love of mingi’s life. when you first barely befriended him, you only heard and saw bits and pieces of conversation of how much he loved her and how she didn’t reciprocate that love back. and that’s got you thinking. would mingi ever tell yerin about this? it seemed like they “like” each other, but you couldn’t imagine all the tea she would be able to stir up if she ever found out mingi kissed you when first of all, she wasn’t even officially dating mingi. mingi would always hold her hand and look at her like a little puppy, but it was almost as if she was slightly embarrassed by him. you’ve seen the pictures and videos they’ve had together, but it seems like there always had to be a friend there too. it had never been just the two of them. the most unsettling part of their so-called relationship is that every time a dance would come around, yerin had to confirm that they were going out as friends. even when mingi kissed her multiple times when asking her out to prom. confusing, isn’t it? so you’ve been doing well by dwelling at home and attempting to distract yourself in all ways possible and going out with family more. until he texts you. mingi: hey mingi: you free rn? we should talk y/n: uh why mingi: typing... mingi: wdym why mingi: you good mingi: i haven’t seen you at class for a while y/n: yeah y/n: mingi just get straight to the point and don’t waste my time “yikes, she’s fierce. this the same y/n who was the big nerd in first year?” yunho sat next to mingi as he sent these texts as he was the one who convinced him to send them. mingi: have you told anyone about ... y/n: no y/n: i’m being fr mingi cringed before he could finish his thought. “dude, why do i have to say this!” mingi groans as his head falls back on his sofa. “because your ass won’t stop thinking about it. so it’s better if she just lets go of everything right now, and it’ll be good on both of your sides. don’t you have a date with yerin tonight?” yunho asks. “no, she cancelled. she keeps cancelling but she still nods and says hi to me on campus,” mingi wonders. mingi: why did you mingi: er do it y/n: typing... y/n: cause i was drunk headass y/n: i have pretty vague memory past that party but i do remember having to stay longer at your house y/n: i knocked out p badly.. i think i slept in my clothes you held your knees so tightly in bed and bit your fingernails after making up that lame excuse. you were completely sober when that happened, so you’re just gonna act like you knew nothing. y/n: we didn’t...? mingi: oh god nonono “DUDE WHY ARE YOU AVOIDING IT!” yunho groans louder. “because she genuinely doesn’t remember! if she doesn’t remember, it never happened,” mingi justifies his awkward texting. “or maybe, she’s just saying that because she doesn’t wanna get into the talk about yerin. or worse, get this. her feelings for you.” mingi is on the verge of screaming and losing his mind. “since when has she liked me, jesus christ!” “ooo...........” yunho whistles and turns his eyes into the other direction. it was his way of showing through actions to mingi “you absolute complete moron.” mingi: so you good then? mingi: you’re not sick or anything from my party right? y/n: nope y/n: nice talk mingi: uh yeah mingi: nice and that was the last message. “god, that was so exhausting,” you fall back onto your bed before you can scream even louder into your pillow. “dude, you’re fucked,” yunho smirks. “but hey, no date tonight? looks like we’re going to wooyoung’s pad tonight.” he stands up and pulls mingi up from the sofa. “wooyoung? what, are we watching movies tonight?” “no, party tonight. have you completely lost your sense of time?” “oh,” mingi voluntarily nods. he kind of forgot wooyoung still held parties during the summer, but he was more focused at the fact that it’s almost been a week since the kiss. and going to this party became one of the worst decisions if not his life, then this summer. “truth or dare, mingi!” hongjoong, slightly tipsy, shouts amongst the crowd in the outside pool area. “aight, truth,” he raises his cup towards hongjoong. “do you think yerin really fucks with you in that kind of way?” hongjoong laughs and his friends around him echo that same laugh. mingi knows hongjoong wouldn’t pull those type of questions in front of his friends, but it geniunely made him think a little bit. yerin cancelled almost every date this summer, and many of them are without excuses. mingi, being the gentleman he is, lets her and doesn’t ask why. but now, it’s reaching july, and the last time mingi talked to her one-on-one was at an awkward encounter at hongjoong’s place with all of her girl friends. “i mean, yeah, why wouldn’t she?” mingi shrugs and smiles with the side of his mouth. and that question lingered until later that night. mingi has been childhood friends with wooyoung. though they weren’t the closest of the bunch, their families were friends and they always ended up going on vacations together. it wasn’t until high school when wooyoung finally moved to mingi’s school and he immediately fit into his friend group as if he was the missing puzzle piece. he was sure the crowd-pleaser, but mingi knew he was an ambivert, and enjoyed a lot of his time alone, reading a book too. maybe that was why mingi thought he was so eccentric back when they were kids. mingi was exhausted, but it was merely eleven. maybe thursday wasn’t his best party day? mingi: yo woo i’m coming up to your room mingi: i’m gonna play smash on your switch ok he ran upstairs and made a beeline to wooyoung’s room, clearly identified with a poster of the smiths taped up on the front of the white door. he rattled the doorknob and realized it was locked. “silly wooyoung,” mingi knew the trick since they were little. he shook the knob three times and then turned the knob counterclockwise completely until he heard some sort of cracking noise. what he didn’t expect to hear was a moan coming from inside the room. and he doesn’t wanna believe what he sees when he opens the door. “m-mingi.” wooyoung looks up from the bed with disgruntled hair. and there lays yerin, literally fucking him on the bed mingi and wooyoung grew up on. “what the fuck.” “it’s not what it looks like.” “yeah, i’m pretty damn sure it’s not what it looks like when both of you look like you’ve been fucking each other for the past hour.” yerin and wooyoung look at each other after realizing that he’s right. “min-“ wooyoung calls him louder this time. “fuck off.” mingi storms out of the house and goes out the back way so no one can see him leave. he’s always gone this way when he and wooyoung would go on late night skating trips back in middle school, but never in his life would he expect yerin and him together in that situation. angrily, he holds his driving wheel even harder with his fists hardening with each turn. before he gets home, he decides to drive around town, maybe grab a cup of boba before he heads home. anything to distract himself. he heads to the asian strip mall a couple miles away from his neighborhood and parks upfront to the boba shop. and there, he sees you. he doesn’t know whether or not he should be surprised, but it was extremely late and he wanted to ask why you were working this late during the summer. you notice him. and you notice how much longer his face had become since the last time you saw him. something must have happened. you knew that he didn’t even like boba that much! why was he here? “oh, hi mingi,” you gather the last ounce of respect you have for him and wave to him as if everything’s splendid. “hey y/n. could i just, uh, get a wintermelon milk tea. with boba.” “y-yeah. what’s good man? you never come here,” you refuse to make eye contact with him. “yeah uh. rough night. why do you work here?” “summer job. late-night shifts pay more so i thought, hey, why not?” you smile. he hated the fact that you smiled like nothing was wrong all the time. except all the times you’ve smiled like that, there was always something wrong. “can... c-can we talk? are you free?” mingi hands you his money. “oh! uh.. yeah, we can. i can’t take breaks during night shifts but whatever. there’s like 2 dudes in the back, we’ll be fine,” you grin. he never noticed how free-spirited you were until now, and it kinda makes sense from the way that you hated parties but you would much rather be down for cliff diving or late night drives to the city. “so uh, what’s good?” you try to make the atmosphere not awkward. especially the fact that you were still in your boba shop uniform and your hair was completely down, a violation if your boss ever caught you. “uh... god how do i even say this.” “no, take your time,” you smile. you were incredibly nervous. there’s no doubt he was gonna talk about the kiss again. why else would he look so down? “i kinda uh. caught wooyoung and yerin fucking in his bedroom during his party tonight.” fuck. “oh, shit...” “god, this doesn’t even feel right, i feel sick.” “how’d you even end up there?” “i texted wooyoung that i was gonna go play smash in his room during the party.” “and instead, you ending up seeing him literally smashing your girlfriend.” “oh my god, if you put it that way,” mingi wanted to scream. you were laughing so hard and he was wondering how you could take situations like these so not seriously. “yeah uh... i don’t even know what to say about this. my childhood friend and the girl i was in love with... literally hooking up.” “was?” “i hate to say this, but i think i’m falling out of love with yerin.” “that’s crazy. it can’t just be because of this,” and you’re hoping he still forgot the kiss. “yeah, you’re right. she’s been canceling every date, literally acting all embarrassed whenever i come hang out with her and her friends, and she just doesn’t feel the same.” “as in?” you hope that they hadn’t hooked up before. you knew mingi had strict parents from whenever you came over and did projects with him, and it probably took his parents a while to adjust to the fact that he was dating her in the first place. “i think i was just so over my head back then and i kept thinking that she was the one even though she didn’t do anything to me. hasn’t mina already told you this?” he seemed slightly annoyed that he has to say this to you, but you were more. “mina doesn’t have to tell me everything. i can get to know a person however way i want them to. but i guess we’re doing this in a boba shop,” you laugh it off. mingi liked that about you. you didn’t need anyone to tell you what to do and you gave zero fucks. “hey, come with me,” you guide your hands to the fire exit. “what?” “don’t ask. just come.“ you ran through the fire exit door (which surprisingly didn’t beep this time) and ran up the stairs, causing mingi to run up against you at the same pace. “and welcome to my secret haven.” it was the roof of the three-story strip mall and you could nearly see the entire city from here. “god whatever, i’m over this,” you take off your brown visor and apron with the boba shop’s logos on it and threw it into the direction of your backpack, which was already up on the roof. he somehow found it 10 times more attractive when you fixed your hair and laughed over your stupid boba shop uniform. “i go up here almost every night when i get breaks to myself, and i don’t really talk to myself, but no one can hear you up here. so i SHOUT LIKE THIS!” mingi’s startled and you laugh even harder. “WHY LIKE THIS?” “BECAUSE I CAN TELL PEOPLE TO FUCK OFF AND THEY WON’T KNOW!” then mingi starts cracking up and you see that classic eye smile. if only he knew how hard your heart was beating. she was living her kdrama cliche right now. the dude that she’s given up on is suddenly giving interest to her and it feels so out of place. “whenever i got fed up at home with my parents, i would go to work then come up here. i would just scream these long strings of curse words until i got exhausted.” “it’s really pretty up here though,” he looks around the entire rooftop, then back to you. “yeah... a lot of my emotions were just spilled out here and i’m glad they did.” “what about the night i kissed you?” and there it was. “the night i- what?” “don’t lie to me, y/n. i know you weren’t drunk.” mingi didn’t look at you. it was silent for a moment. “i lied because i was so fed up over the fact that i probably made you so uncomfortable...” your voice faded into the night air. “why?” “because you were literally dating the love of your life, what the hell was i supposed to say to justify an entire kiss?” mingi almost laughs. “can’t wait to hear what yerin has to say about her and wooyoung hooking up. she would fuck anything with a pulse except me.” “listen, i’m sorry if i kind of left you hanging. we don’t even talk much, so it felt so out of place after that.” “we used to. so let’s make that change,” mingi suggested. “dude, if you want her to feel ok after what just happened, treat her well. take her to the mall or something and just make her feel like a good friend. she’s not your good old mina, but she’s done something that i know it would take a long time for her to forget. make her forget,” yunho tells mingi after he counsels him about the kiss. “what?” “we should just... talk more. maybe it wouldn’t have felt so weird and out of place if we actually talked. i’m sorry if i made you uncomfortable before,” mingi adds on to his long overdue apology. “no.. no it’s fine. don’t apologize,” you wave him off. “so we’re starting fresh? something like that?” “starting fresh.” you reach your hand out to signal him to shake hands with you, and he gives you a big, genuine smile. — two weeks later “oh my god, you’re joking.” “i’m not, look at this order!” a postmates order pops up on the kitchen ipad as you come running in. 20 whole orders of boba that have to be done by 8 pm. “an entire fucking fraternity just pulled up,” mingi laughs. “how are we gonna finish this?” you read over the entire order just to completely sure that there are twenty, two zero, orders of boba. “leave the newbies to do it and we run back up?” mingi smirks. you hate him. “mingi, you’re literally a newbie.” he shrugs and laughs as he rings up his last order of the night, that is, if he doesn’t take care of that fraternity order. “i’m just saying...” mingi opens up one of the cabinets atop the kitchen exit with his backpack and his nintendo switch peeking out of it. you grunt, but you seriously want to leave too. “hey newbies?” two sophomores in high school turn around from behind the tea jugs. “do you mind if we take our break for a little bit? it’s been a while. one of you take the cashier and one of you take care of the online orders. is that alright?” “yes miss!” you snicker at the “miss”. “no need for formalities. just call me y/n,” you grin and flip your hair back unintentionally as you take off your uniform visor. so fucking flawless. mingi thought to himself as he stared at you from the door. why were you so good at everything? and why were you so incredibly nice to everyone? except him, of course. it had been a week since mingi had called it off with yerin. it wasn’t really official, it was more like a breakup text that wasn’t really a breakup. it was essentially yunho and hongjoong giving emotional support to mingi as he wrote lame replies to explain to yerin that he wasn’t in love with her. it took a lot of manpower, but the job was done. what job wasn’t done was you working at your part time job at the boba shop. and what you didn’t expect was a day after being exposed by mingi about the kiss, the man himself walking in with a resume in his hand once he was accepted, he wanted to have as many shifts with you as possible even though you hadn’t been working there for long so you weren’t considered a senior. you also wondered why he wanted to have a summer job, out of all things, to spend one of his last summers as a teenager. “imagine this. huge letters on a newspaper. local asian fuckboy works at boba shop instead of having parties at his parents’ rich place because quote, he’s tired of it,” you sit back on the beach chairs you two set up on the roof a couple weeks ago. “i am! why don’t you believe me?” “you’re not me, mingi. you’re party animal mingi, the cool basketball player every girl looks up to both figuratively and literally because you’re a living tree.” “i mean... so?? it’s nice to have a break since i’m done with my exams and i can get extra money. and free boba, of course,” he still felt kind of flattered after you said every girl looked up to him. it was a stretch. “imagine needing extra money when your parents already have that much money...” you sighed. he threw a piece of popcorn chicken at you. “shh. watch the movie.” you guys decided on “the interview” tonight. every night shift, you guys alternate on choosing movies on netflix to watch on your laptop up on the roof. things have changed for the better or worse. it’s only been a couple of weeks into summer now, and your life has been surrounded by mingi. same goes for mingi. all his parties have been cut down to night shifts with you, shopping for his dog and his own wardrobe with his personal stylist (you), and even driving to summer classes with you. just when you thought you could finally get rid of him, he becomes your honorary annoying best friend. though yunho and hongjoong were rooting him on, they didn’t expect him to be so involved in it. when he forcibly apologized to wooyoung and he did the same, things with yerin were still uncomfortable. to make things easier, mingi announced to everyone that he would never date her ever again. and although wooyoung doesn’t want to lose mingi’s trust, he knows. mingi knows that they’ve been secretly going on dates ever since the apology and not much as changed. so much for a girl and his childhood best friend, huh? mingi meanders over to check his phone and sees that some of his group chats have blown up. “yo, fourth of july is tomorrow. i think wooyoung wants a party,” mingi nudges. “sure. i mean, not at his house. ptsd for you,” and then mingi remembers the situation all over again. “god, yeah. my place then?” “sure. haven’t been there in a while,” you laugh. the shift ends in less than 30 minutes and the two of you have missed nearly the entire shift. you take the back entrance and wave him goodbye as he’s assigned to lock up for the night. you drive back to your house to see your older brother already asleep, the rest of your parents out of the house to visit family up in the city. the lame excuse of “college preparations” was how you escaped a week-long trip upstate to do nothing but babysit your cousins. mina 🤢 is calling... you take a beeline to the almost entirely dark living room and fall on the couch to pick up your friend’s call. mina? Y/N WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ? I’VE BEEN CALLING YOU ALL NIGHT what? girl i- you open up your phone app during the call to see 8 missed calls from the devil herself, mina. oh shiiit. sorry dude, i was at work. work? this late? i thought the shop closed at 10. nope. closes at 12, mingi locked up for me so i’m home a little earlier. well. mina seemed fazed by you and mingi and more concerned about her “issues.” anyways, i was TRYING to call you because i had a little emergency. you worried a little bit since she had been in quite a serious of a relationship with her boyfriend. oh, what’s wrong? well nothing’s wrong. actually, i know this is something you’ve wanted to do for a while since we’ve made our freshman bucket lists. remember that? you laugh softly into the phone and nod, forgetting that mina can’t see you. anyways, my boyfriend wanted to take me down on the coast highway after the 4th of july party that wooyoung? i think, is holding. you know him right? man, do you. we wanted to watch the sunrise together and bring a couple of friends. mina, that sounds fun. you’re right it’s been on my bucket list for a while. great! oh, not great. right. your ass took 70 years to reply so my boyfriend already left town and his sister doesn’t want to take us. no hard feelings of course, but it’s kinda awkward when this was meant to be a romantic thing and with you of course. oh. mina! why’d you tell me?? i don’t know, maybe we should keep this on a tab. don’t forget about it, and you should definitely have someone to go with next time besides me, if you know what i mean. i don’t, mina. i wanna go with you! these were my teenage plans with you back then. sis, you might wanna check your notes. you got up and turned on the kitchen lights — not the living room lights because they were way too bright and you were planning to knock out on the couch immediately after this call — to open up your notes and read better. you scrolled through the long checklist that had been updated constantly throughout your high school years, to find “drive up the highway and watch the sunrise with my s/o <3” in bright orange text, somewhere embedded in the even longer bucket list. oh god. how do you even remember me writing this? you’ve been wanting this ever since you’ve been wanting a solid relationship with someone. and when you did have a boyfriend, this never worked out so... mina! sorry sorry! i’m just saying... keep it in mind. mina, i’d still love to take you tomorrow after the party because yes i’m dying to see this sunrise but. you have someone, i don’t. we’ll save this one for next summer, ok? before you can let mina finish, you say goodnight. wait, y/n! you cut her off and turn off your phone. sweet dreams, you whisper to yourself as you delve deeper into your couch. then the annoying marimba ringtone of your generic iphone rings once again. mina- mingee the frog is calling... mingi? yo, can you take the shop keys for tonight? i feel like i’m gonna misplace this with the party being tomorrow. oh, oh yeah, sure. you straighten yourself up and (finally) turn on the living room lights. you can come over now, i’ll be at the door. actually, i’m already in front. WHAT? you run to your front door to see mingi in (not but maybe) your favorite black hoodie and keys in his right hand in front of. no. you unlock the door and jog out in the freezing midnight mist. “SONG MINGI! the ROVER?” “what’d you think, huh? thought it would be good revenge against wooyoung. gotta take her for a ride one of these days before i leave,” he laughs. mingi spins the lanyard of keys in his fist in resemblance to a teenage girl who just got her license and you immediately recognize that he’s only carrying wooyoung’s lanyard and not the lanyard with the shop keys. “where are the shop keys?” you tilt your head. “gave them to the sophomore who took care of the frat orders. now, the range rover. isn’t she a beaut,” he steps away from the huge car and shows it off like a golden trophy. you facepalm and know that he only brought you out of your house to show you that he had balls to steal from his own (also rich) cousin. “ok and... what about it? it’s cold mingi, go home,” you yawned and waved him off even though you weren’t that tired. you exaggerated because you just wanted to be in the safety and comfort of your own home. “come with me.” “what?” you turned around. “come with me. i’m still super awake because i put like, 4 shots of monster in that last cup of boba i had,” mingi points to the empty boba cup in the white range rover’s cupholders. “mingi, very funny. now drive yourself back to wooyoung’s house before he beats your ass and go to sleep. you have a party to plan tomorrow, don’t you?” “i don’t plan parties, babe, i just let them happen,” your heart skips over the slight pet name mention. you don’t wanna reply and hope your speed walk back to your door will make him go away. “oh and... your bluetooth is still connected to wooyoung’s car from last time he gave you a ride. not sure when.” “oh, sorry. disconnect me, would you? good night, mingi,” you bow and wrap your hands around the silver knob of your door. “i might have heard you and mina talking.” you stop. “and... i might have heard about you wanting to watch the sunrise. with someone. preferably someone who could drive you up there who isn’t mina or her boyfriend.” you want to smile, but also kind of scared that he heard everything you said to mina. you still don’t look back at mingi. “so here i am. making an excuse to be at your house at 1 am to drive you to the beach until sunrise using wooyoung’s car, in which i’m gonna get killed for anyways.” “mingi, just go home.” your sudden sternness as you look into his eyes comes out of nowhere, maybe out of anger. held back feelings. it comes off as rude. “see you at the party tomorrow,” you finally step into the house with the door unlocked. “i’ll let you listen to my playlists because i know you secretly like them. i’ll let you wear my hoodie. i’ll let you lie down next to me watching the stars because i don’t wanna be anywhere else when i’m near you.” you close the door. “song mingi, is this how you asked out yerin? am i just your emotional fill-in for yerin?” the way you said his full name shocked him. you’ve called him everything for the past month except his full name. but everything he just said about you made your heart race faster than it did in years. the atmosphere was stiff despite the sudden one-sided confession. “i-“ “i’m kidding with you, jesus christ, kid. you should have seen the look on your face. and thank you, i’ll be taking your hoodie, it’s getting cold,” you lock the door behind you and run up to mingi. mingi’s left breathless. y/n is nothing but trouble for him. you run into the shotgun seat and grabs the black screen printed hoodie on the seat. it’s from a j cole concert he went a couple years back and it still smells like good old mingi. you don’t want to say it, but you want to keep it forever. you also don’t wanna say much in general, because mingi may or may have not just confessed to you. “sunrise is at 5 am. you ready?” he jumps into the driver's seat with nothing but a smile on his face as he sees you already in his hoodie. “born ready.” he starts the car and backs up from your driveaway, and puts his arm on the back of your head cushion to see behind him. “oh-“ and your horny ass thought he was about to pull you in for a kiss because of the vicinity his body was to you. “what?” he turns around, knowing exactly what he just did and smirks at your flustered face. “nothing. just hope my sister doesn’t kick me out for coming back at home at literally 7 am.” “don’t worry, just sleep over at my house after and say you accidentally knocked out after work,” he shrugs as he leaves your neighborhood and enters the junction into the larger highway towards the city. “i feel like she already heard me coming home...” “so? i’m sure she wouldn’t mind you coming home from a guy as good looking as me,” you wanted to throw up but still had the urge to keep looking at the way he drove the range rover like a master. this was only his second time driving it, but you didn’t need to know. you spent the rest of the half hour drive listening to his night playlists (undoubtedly some of the best songs that you both know and like) and stop by a 7/11 and a couple of gas stations for some snacks and soda to take to the beach. by the time you two reach the coastal highway, it’s almost 3 am (oddly) and the highways are almost completely empty. when mingi sees you rapping along and holding his hoodie tighter, he wants to say something but he can’t. it’s the wrong timing. he’ll have to wait just a little, but he hopes you still want to return the half-lived confession. “couple more hours. what are we gonna do?” mingi asks over the music. “i don’t know. talk. walk around the coastline. push you into the water.” “if you do, i’m gonna make sure you do bathroom duty next shift,” mingi threatens with zero intention because he knows he really wouldn’t. the kindness he felt towards you had also occurred out of nowhere and it felt way too foreign. “i’ve never done this before so... enlighten me, lover boy.” “who said i’ve done this? only i would take your lanky ass to the beach at 3 am because, wait-“ he rolls down the windows and turns down the music. “smell the air.” you both take deep breaths in of the cold, salty air and grin. you’re so grateful to be alive right now. mingi turns and stops by the side of the cove to drive down to an empty parking lot. the beach is closed so mingi will manage to park in front of the huge beach mansions on the side of the streets. rich people won’t care about another rich person trying to park in front of their house now, will they? it’s almost 4 and it’s beyond freezing now. as you both exit the rover, mingi grabs his keys but notices you slowly walking out of the car without saying anything. “still cold?” “... uh... just a little bit,” you say slowly, hoping that mingi won’t even be able to comprehend you. he walks to the back of the car and opens the trunk with a button on his keys. there inside the trunk is a stack of blankets, food from the convenience stores, and his backpack. on top of the blanket stack is your favorite blanket that you left on the boba shop roof since it was your favorite. “song mingi. have you been planning this ahead of time?” you laugh at the sight. he rolls his eyes cutely and shrugs while mouthing i dunno. you walked down the side of the street while still looking at him. he could feel your gaze as you walk down towards the beach, but at this point, both of you were too nervous to say anything. you find a spot mid-way to the coast and the fencing off the cliff of the beach and set down all your stuff. it was nearing 5 am and you noticed the sky getting lighter. you were also extremely exhausted, but you let it pass. as you yawned and put down all the blankets, your first move was to lay down and close your eyes. “hey don’t sleep yet!” mingi threw a pillow at your head. “i’m tired as fuck, leave me alone,” you groaned as you pulled his hoodie tighter and turned your body to the side. mingi sat down and made the area around you comfier, then pulled out another blanket to put around himself. he checked his phone for the time, then looked towards the horizon. “ya... ya! it’s almost sunrise!” you were still facing the other way. “oh my god...” he said in the worst accent possible as he tried pushing you off the blanket. “y/n!” at this point, you knew you were just teasing him. but instead, he pulled your arm closest to him, hoisting you up, but all too fast that your entire body was within 1 cm of his, too close for comfort. “u-uh, i,” you said as his face was a little too close to yours, all while you attempted to look away at the sun that was beginning to rise up the horizon. mingi knew it was now or never. and he wasn’t gonna let you have the chance of initiating it again. “y/n.” you looked back at him dumbfoundedly. he had been staring at you this entire time, right until he pulled the side of your face closer and crashed. his lips meeting yours wasn’t foreign at all. despite the spontaneity of the last instance, both of you still remembered the taste of it. and both of you secretly wanted it again, so badly. you were still shocked at how fast he managed to do that, but you regathered your senses and wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him closer. shocked at the movement, mingi pulled away from the kiss and looked at you. “wait wait wait, hold on. do you even..?” your arms still hung around his neck as you gazed at him. “yes. a lot. for a long time. having to act like i didn’t care about you for the longest time was so exhausting. glad we’re on the same page now,” you winked and smiled. “oh my god,” he gazed at you with all the euphoria in his chest. how were you so perfect? and how was he so oblivious to how perfect you were for him this entire time? this time, he couldn’t hold back. he pulled you in even closer by holding your hoodie ties and deepened the kiss from last time. you closed your eyes immediately, and held one of your hands on his neck. his chest was bursting and although he couldn’t feel it, both of your hearts were beating erratically. you still couldn’t believe that the song mingi, the boy who you crushed on from the opposite side of your math class-then-turned somewhat enemies, is the reason for your happiness right now. mingi grabbed your hand and tightened it as he felt the cold within your palm. he pulled away again, but just to look at you and smile. he then turned towards the sunrise that had been going on the entirety of the confession, and the reflection of the warm hues that had been painted on of you. you were so beautiful in this light, and you never wanted this moment to end. “so...” “so...” “wanna head back to my place and sleep over?” and you knew that that meant an entirely new definition of going back to his place now that you both have basically spilled your feelings to each other. “hmm... maybe.” you wanted to keep him guessing, just for fun. he stood up and picked up his blanket. “alright then, i’m leaving,” he started turning away. “okok, i’m joking, take a joke,” you giggled and stood up. you ran over and tippie toed so that your arms could reach around his neck. you placed a kiss on his cheek and smiled even more brightly than before. he smiled back. he was so lucky to have you, and you wanted to know every single part of him as you fall deeper and deeper into him.

—

a/n: hi ! my name’s chae and this is my first writing published on tumblr. because this is my first work, please excuse any grammatical mistakes and writing errors!! ive been reading fics and au’s for a while on tumblr for a number of kpop groups, but i hope that i can debut some of my blurbs on here in the future.

please like and reblog if you enjoyed reading this, it’s gonna help me a lot in the long run : ,,)

also my requests are open!! i don’t have any restrictions on what prompts/pairings/groups are allowed right now, but i mainly write reader x, and my ult groups are ateez, skz, and x1/produce male trainees (see header).

#mingi #song mingi #mingi ateez #mingi x reader #mingi au #mingi fanfic #mingi imagine #mingi fluff #ateez #ateez imagine #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #fluff #kpop imagine #kpop au #blurbs #ateez blurb

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hermionemonica · 4 years

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Cause I knew I was in love with you (when we sat in silence): Marichat May 2020 - Day 29

AO3 | For the @marichatmay

Collab with @lalunaoscura

DAY 1 | <-28 | 29 | 30->

Day 29 — Pajamas (Chapter by @lalunaoscura)

His hands on her back froze.

“W-what?”

“I want to know who you are.”

“My lady…” his voice came out strangled. “Do you- I mean, are you-” he stopped and she could hear him taking a deep breath. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I want to.”

“O-Okay. Yeah, that’s okay.”

She reached out to turn the lamp on, but Chat grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Why don't we let the sun raise?” he said, his nose sliding down her neck until he reached her collarbone where he left a kiss.

“And what are we going to do until then?”

“We could listen to some music…” one kiss on her collarbone. “Or talk…” another on her shoulder. “Or kiss…” this time, on her neck. “Or…”

She moaned and he stopped, all blushing and embarrassed.

“I- We- I mean, I-”

She kissed him to stop his babbling.

“I like the kissing part. Besides, you don’t have to show me if you don’t want to. I can give you a good good-bye kiss and let you go.”

“I want the kiss but I also want to show you who I am, so please, help me choose?”

She laughed and grabbed his chin, kissing him slowly. She was feeling a little bold, so she licked and bit his bottom lip gently, shivering, when he moaned against her mouth.

“Too much?”

“No. Try again.” he said and she laughed, kissing him again.

Chat threw himself back on the bed, lying down with Marinette sitting on his lap. His girlfriend bent over and kissed the corner of his mouth before spreading kisses along his jawline and finally on his neck.

When she kissed his neck, his hands slid down and he grabbed the back of her thighs, squeezing them. She stopped and he froze.

“I-I’m sorry.” he stammered

“Hm, I really don’t mind,” she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself up. “But I think it’s better if we behave for now, right?”

“What a shame,” he said, his hand caressing the exposed skin of her legs that her pajama shorts weren’t covering. “But you’re right. We have a big thing happening soon.”

She lay down next to him and they moved so they were facing each other. They shared the earphones, listening to his playlist. They were so close, his arms around her, her hands caressing his face, especially where his mask would be.

“It’s almost time. One last chance to give up,” he whispered.

She replied with a long kiss, closing her eyes.

His heart was beating like crazy, full of excitement and a little fear. What if she freaks out? What if she wants to break up with him because he was Adrien? She said she was moving on from him, and then she fell in love with him, and when he reveals himself she would hate him and they would break up and-

“Chat,” she whispered against his mouth and he opened his eyes, seeing her with hers still closed. “I can practically hear you thinking. Do you want to reveal yourself? You don’t need to do it if you don’t want to.”

“I want to, my lady. It’s just… I’m a little nervous, you know?”

“I know. I’m nervous too. Here,” she grabbed his hand and put against her chest so he could feel how fast her heart was beating. “See? I am as nervous as you.”

“You… promise me you won’t freak out when you see me without the mask.”

“Chat, I told you before. I’ll love you no matter who is under the mask.” she kissed him.

“I’m not saying anything about love because I know you will, but” he said, brushing her hair to the side. “I just think you will freak out a little when you see who I am.”

“Yeah? Because underneath that mask you’re a fugitive psycho?”

He smirked, putting his hand around her neck and squeezing a little, moving to the side so he could kiss her ear.

“And you let me sleep in the same bed as you.”

“Maybe I like the danger.”

He laughed as he ran his nose down her neck, getting intoxicated by her sweet lavender smell. She sighed happily, putting her arm on his hip and looking at him. They stayed quiet, looking at each other, listening to their songs, with him playing with her hair and she caressing his chin with her fingertips.

Little by little, the sunbeams started to enter her room, illuminating the place that once was dark. Little by little, he saw her expression changing: first recognition, then shock, and in the end a delightful smile, her eyes full of love and tears as she drew the details of his face with her fingertips.

“So…” he said, so nervous that his voice cracked. “What do you think?”

She said nothing first, just looking at him like he was the most precious thing she had ever saw. Gently, she moved in bed, approaching him until she was laying down, face to face. She kissed his cheeks. His nose. His eyes. His forehead. His mouth.

“You’re not surprised.” he said.

“It’s you,” she whispered against his mouth, staring at him. “How could it be anyone but you?”

“Mari-”

“How couldn’t it be you? Of course it is you!” She was smiling, her thumb brushing his tears away. “Of course you’re mine.”

“Yes. I am yours,” he picked her hand and kissed. “I’m your chaton.”

“Yes. You are,” she started crying for some reason and hugged him hard. He hugged her back, kissing her head.

“Shhh, it’s okay, my lady. It’s okay.”

“I know now how you found out about my identity. How could I be so stupid to think that Adrien would tell people who I was in Chat Blanc’s universe?” she mumbled and he kissed her forehead to calm her down. “Of course you wouldn’t. I should trust you way more than I did. Oh, my God, how could I think that-”

He kissed her to stop her ranting.

“That place doesn’t exist anymore. It is in the past. You saved me, my lady. You saved me and we promised each other that our love will be stronger than Hawkmoth. And we will be because I trust us. Trust us, my lady. Trust that we can be stronger.”

She grabbed his face and kissed him senseless. He chuckled when she started peppering kisses on his face, and he wrapped his arms around her waist to turn them. She gasped when her back hit the mattress and he put his elbows on it, her face between them.

“Hi, Marinette.” he whispered.

“Hello, Adrien.”

Her saying his name with all her love and affection did things to his heart. Good things. Things able to make his brain not work properly and his thoughts similar to a keysmash. His insides twisted like he was on a rollercoaster and he didn’t know if he was hot because it was hot, or because she made him hot.

Both, probably.

He grabbed her face and kissed her hungrily.

“I love you.” he whispered against her mouth.

“I love you too.”

They shared another kiss and then he lay down next to her, bringing her into his arms to steal a few more minutes with her before going back to his room.

“You know, it all makes sense now,” she whispered.

“What?”

“You being a blushing mess everytime Alya and I talked about Chat. Or when you snapped at me because I went on that date with Luka.”

“I thought it wasn’t a date?” he said suspiciously, as he lowered his head to look at her. His girlfriend was smirking.

“Gotcha.” she flicked his nose and he rolled his eyes. “Did you- did you just roll your eyes at me?”

“Yeah, I did, what are you going to do about it?”

Marinette smirked before tickling him. Adrien tried to run away, but she locked him with her legs and he whined, begging for mercy while she laughed and tickled him.

When he was almost dying from laughing, he grabbed her arms and pinned her to the bed. She gasped and looked at him with a huge smile.

“Is that Ladybug themed pajamas?”

He smiled as he let her go and put both of his hands on his hips, cocking them to the side.

“Do you think it makes me fabulous?”

“So hot.” she laughed and he pouted. “I loved your pajamas.”

“It’s to match your Chat Noir one.”

“Oh, so you bought it recently?”

“Yes.”

“That’s funny because I went with Alya last year to the shop to buy some clothes and they were selling a pair of pajamas that were identical to yours.”

He blushed and she giggled.

“Well, you can’t judge me. I’ve been your fan since we were 13. Do you want to talk about embarrassing things? You tried to kiss me when I was a statue!”

“Hey! That’s it, leave my room, I don’t want you here anymore!”

“Damn, if I could go back in time, I would punch my face. Why didn’t I let you kiss me? It would have saved us so much time.”

She rolled her eyes, opening her arms. Adrien cuddled up into her embrace.

“Damn, you’re such a dork,” she whispered “why do I love you so much?”

“I don’t know, but I can say this… you’re really something.”

“What?”

He moved to kiss her.

“I love you so much too.”

“Okay, I confess, I’m really happy for them,” Plagg commented, watching the two teens teasing each other, whispering love confessions and kissing. “But I don’t miss this part.”

Tikki laughed, looking at their holders.

“It’s always beautiful when they finally are together.”

“When they can be together, you mean,” Plagg said, eating a piece of camembert. “We had a lot to deal with all those years. And we need to be careful with them.”

Tikki sighed.

“Do you think that Chat Blanc happened because of their love?”

“I don’t know, sugarcube. But I don’t want to test the theory.”

Tikki agreed.

“So, we need to keep eyes on them.”

“Like we already do.” Plagg shrugged. “But it’s worth it, right?”

Tikki looked at the happy couple.

“Yeah, it is.”

#miraculous ladybug #marichatmay2020 #day 29: pajamas #cause i knew i was in love with you (when we sat in silence)#lalunaoscura #collaboration #my fic #ml fanfic

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Oz the Originator Steps Into the Spotlight

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

When Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts was released in January 2020, many viewers quickly became fans of not only the show but the music contained within, particularly that of in-show producer Oz the Originator. The tracks of Oz were especially loved because they brought main character Benson and his crush Troy together, a rare example of queer characters in kids animation. The two bonded over their favorite old world MC, with Benson in possession of several of his albums.

Only small snippets of the songs were heard in the series but it was enough to make the audience seek out the voice behind the songs. What they found was the multi talented Andra Gunter, a rapper, music producer, writer, and skate boarder who called the response from fans “unbelievable.”

In a previous interview with Den of Geek, Kipo creator Rad Sechrist sang Gunter’s praises, particularly for his scriptwriting. Co-showruner Bill Wolkoff echoed that sentiment, adding, “Andra is this amazing talent. Keep your eye out for him. He’s a great writer and great musician.”

But you don’t go from relative obscurity to being on a show and getting the praise of showrunners just like that. I was interested in learning not just about Gunter’s work on Kipo but everything that got him to that point as well. From his 2009 start in making music to his influences and even how his ADHD affects his work, Gunter let me into his thought process and how all that (and skateboarding) lead him to working on Kipo. We also discussed the Oz the Originator character, his new ‘Brave War’ album, and his screenplay work.

Gunter had a lot to say and I was delighted to sit back and listen as he shared both his and Oz the Orginator’s story, the two of which are more connected than you might realize.

DEN OF GEEK: Tell me a little of your story. I mean, this is a huge question, but how did you get to where you are today in terms of music?

ANDRA GUNTER: Well, definitely started music after seeing my brother make music. I always rapped and made music. I have heard numerous stories from my family of me trying to make music on radios and tape decks and stuff like that. But me remembering that I really wanted to do this, it was probably 2009.

What sort of music were you making then? Is it similar to what you’re doing now? What were some of your first big compositions then?

Well, at first, I was just starting off just probably a newb at it. Obviously, that’s how it starts off for everybody; you’re not that good at it. Eventually over time I started just concentrating on it every day by myself. I made my first real song, probably, 2010. I was making just pretty much all types of music, just anything that I could find the beat to and I could rhyme to it, I was pretty much doing it. I just wanted to make music, that was just the point, like, “Yo, whatever they got on the internet, whatever I can learn, then I’m going to do.”

What sort of things were you putting in your lyrics at the time? Was it just anything goes, or was there any specific themes that were coming out?

Well, I mean, 2010 was a really funny era for music. I feel like that time was Wiz Khalifa and Joey Badass, and that was the beginning of Tyler, the Creator. So it was a really expressive form at that time. Anything went. If you knew who Tyler, the Creator was in 2010, man, you knew what the rules were in rapping at that time.

There’s a long span of time between 2010 and now, how did your music evolve over that time? Obviously, it got better, as it does for any creative person, right? But what sort of things did you find yourself zeroing in on, a style that you liked or different themes that you wanted to use?

Well, I can say, in 2011 I was introduced to this type of music called jerk music, It was this really crazed dance called jerking in the black community, and I feel like all over the world. It was everywhere you could possibly think people wanted to dance. I got into making that music for my brother and his little cousin, and that music opened up my ear to just kind of everything, because at that time it was almost like dubstep music or like rave music in a different sense. Definitely doesn’t sound the same. It has the same point of sampling a lot of music, ranging from Anita Baker all the way down to System of a Down.

Samples were everywhere at that time, because it was a lot of new producers just going on the internet, finding something and trying to create their own sound. So that’s what gave me my style of just being all over the board and not really staying in one box. Even though jerk music was definitely one box, I feel like everybody that was doing jerk music had a range of a lot of different things.

And in that, did you find yourself sampling other people, and if so, what kind of samples were you using, or was it just anything goes?

Yeah, pretty much anything went. I mean, in those early days, I wasn’t really sampling because I was still really new to producing. So I didn’t really understand that part of it yet, but once I got a hang of it and I understood, then I was sampling like crazy. I definitely range all over the board too. The first thing I’ve ever sampled was a Earth, Wind & Fire song. Nowadays it’s more of listening to really weird that I’ve been finding through playlists and things like that. All the way from alternative, to deep soul, to punk rock, I sample everything now.

This is the music nerd question, what programs do you use to make your music?

Oh, yes. My favorite question of all. My first time ever using a program was FL Studio. It was FL Studio 9. My brother threw the USB at me, and was like, “Download this on the computer and learn how to use it.” After that, and he introduced me to that program, I never really turned back or tried to really go into a new program. I do know how to use programs because, I mean, they’re all kind of the same, but if I had to choose a program to use, it’s definitely FL Studio.

How did you eventually end up working on Kipo?

I want to say 2014 or ’15, I met Rad Sechrist, the creator of Kipo, through skateboarding. All my life I’ve been skateboarding, and at one point I got really good. I had a group of friends, and one of my friends in that group by the name of Isaiah, he was like, ” Yo, I got this friend. He works in animation, and he does this and he does that.” And mind you, Isaiah’s sort of that friend that you just don’t believe. You’re looking at him like, “Dude, what the fuck are you talking about? Who is this guy?” So this dude pulls up, and we’re 17, 18 years old at this time. It’s Isaiah’s 16th or 17th birthday, and this old white dude pulls up. I’m like, “Who’s this guy?”

So didn’t pay too much attention to Rad at first, but I guess from my personality and the way I talked to people that day, he just hit me up one day, was like, “Yo, I was really fucking with you, just your vibe in the car. So come through and check out some of the stuff I’m doing.” And I was like, “All right.” And then that’s when I believed that he was an animator and storyboard artist, because he brought me to one of his offices where he was working on this movie about a dragon, and it was fucking crazy. I’m in this place and I’m watching him draw on a Cintiq for the first time with all this crazy artwork on the wall, and I’m just amazed.

At this time, there was a company he was running, it was a skateboard company called Plastic Walrus. He was like, “Yeah, I want you to ride for my company and stuff like that,” and I’m like, “Bro, I will do anything you want me to do. Look at the office here.” At that point I just started hanging out with Rad a little bit more. I was going out to Silver Lake, because I live in Watts, California. I was going all the way out to Silver Lake, catching three trains just to go meet up with him and get boards and stuff.

Then, eventually, I checked into college, Los Angeles Trade Tech College. And then that’s when I got into pretty much being a writer because at first I was really uncertain on what I wanted to do, in general. But I got into writing, I got in this English class in college and started writing. I was writing these poems and writing these short stories for class and sending them around, and Brad’s like, “Yo, you’re a writer, dude. You should try to write.” I was like, “I don’t really want to write. I got this music for you though,” and I sent him a whole bunch of music. And then that’s how I got considered for Kipo, him pretty much introducing writing to me and me telling him, “I am already a writer. I write music,” and then sending him my music.

I spoke with Rad before this interview and he mentioned that originally he was just hoping you’d temp on the tracks but then the higher ups at DreamWorks loved it so much they put it into the show. When did you find out about that?

That shit just happened random, dude. Obviously, you don’t know what’s really going on in the office. You just send in an email and you hope for an email back. I sent maybe 30 songs and there was a whole bunch of different years I did these songs. One era it’s from 2012 to 2014, and the others continue to 2015 to now. I wasn’t sure they were even going to consider it. So I’m texting Rad, and I’m like, “Dude, I need to find something else to do.” At this time, I didn’t have a job. I had just checked into college. They weren’t trying to give me financial aid. So I was like, “I need something to do, dude, to get money.” He’s like, “Dude, I got you. I know they have something for you. You can be a writer if you start writing.”

He’s telling me all the things I need in order to get a writing job over at DreamWorks, and I’m not listening to that. I’m just like, “Dude, just send them my music, just please, that’s what I do. There’s nothing else I can do but make music.” So after a hop, skip, and a shove I get an email from the music department over at DreamWorks, and then they tell me they’re considering a couple of songs. I’m pretty sure that shit just happened random. Rad probably was in their ear so much that they’re like, “All right, we’re just going to hit this kid up.”

So was it just that they took what you had existing, or did they ask you to adapt it to fit the show more?

(Of the) 30 songs I sent in maybe two of them were considered. In episode ten when Benson finds Troy, that part where the tape deck falls out of his backpack, that song is an original song I did probably when I first met Rad. It was before he even knew I did music. That song was definitely not altered to fit the show.

There’s another episode where (the characters are) eating breakfast. That song is also an original song that I made in my room, and they didn’t make me alter it, they didn’t make me re-edit it or anything. It was perfect enough to just go inside the show.

I know you were listed as vocal contributor on the credits, did you end up recording more music specifically for the show?

Rad was hitting me up like, “Yeah, dude. They’re loving the shit you sent, and we’re pushing towards putting that in the show, for sure.” He was telling me every step of the way about my original songs. He’s like, “But there’s more.” I was like, “What’s more?” And he’s like, “Well, they’re trying to record original songs because the Kipo script is pretty much musically based. It’s almost like a musical.” So he’s like, “I got this guy that we’re hiring, his name’s Daniel Rojas.” He gives me the whole rundown on this dude, and I’m already kind of fan crazed, because he brings up Hans Zimmer. He told me Daniel used to work with Hans Zimmerman, and I’m like, “Dude, what the… Do you know who Hans Zimmerman is in the music world?” You know what I mean? So instantly, right there, I’m like, “Yo, set me up with this guy. I got to see who this is.” So we set up a meeting with Daniel, and I go to his studio.

You know how Jonah Hill looks like he’s fricking 21, but he’s almost 40 years old? That’s what Daniel looked like. He’s this really young looking older dude. So already I was really intrigued by this guy. I’m like, “Yo, you look like a baby man.” He’s like, “Yeah, we get real cool. We chop it up. I got a couple of songs that I produced for the show, and I want you to rap over these beats.” So that’s when we got to the point where they were trying to get me to make songs for the show.

When you were rapping over it, did they give you lyrics, or were they just like, “Just freestyle over it.”

Oh, no. If they would’ve gave me the verse, I don’t think I would’ve got credit. So, (I) definitely wrote the verses. I was so excited, I wrote those verses in like five minutes.

Oh, wow. Did they give you any directives about what they needed to be about, or was it just like, “go for it”?

At first it was like, “Go for it so we can get a feel,” but once I started showing them and rapping it out loud, Rad’s like, “There’s certain things you can’t say in the song.” During the song they were telling me what I could say and what I couldn’t say, and what I could make it about and what I couldn’t make it about. They didn’t coach me through it. They let me do my thing, but, ultimately, told me there was an outline of what I needed to be talking about.

I was comparing the songs from Kipo to the ones on your recent Brave War album. The Kipo songs feel a little bit lighter. Your own music feels heavier. Can you talk a little bit more about those differences?

I definitely had to tone it down a bit for the DreamWorks songs. Obviously, DreamWorks is not going to let me go talk about what’s going on in my mental health. Kipo a kids’ show. The songs I had originally made; I was younger and my head space was in a way different space from what I’m making now.

Talk to me about the Oz the Originator character that your songs are attributed to in the show. Did they give you an outline of who he was?

His story and his outlook of who he is, (his) songs are supposed to speak for him. Those songs are pretty much saying exactly what he’s going through in those times of whatever he’s going through in his miscellaneous life. Oz is like Tyler, the Creator in an alternative universe. That’s the way I would like to see it.

So then, let’s talk about your album ‘The Brave War.’ You’ve said it’s an introduction to who Oz the Originator is. Tell me a little bit about the kind of songs that you want to have under that name, especially, because I know that you changed your name from what you originally had, right?

I’m Andra, at the end of the day, I’m Andra Gunter, but I definitely have different characters I portray, like Oz the Originator and Tim Lynch and that’s probably it right now. I’ve portrayed so many characters over the years, but those are the two main ones right now that are for sure people.

What would you say is the difference between the Lynch character and then Oz the Originator, in regards to the sound or how you’re going through the music? What are the differences?

Tim Lynch just doesn’t give a fuck about anything. That guy is more of the hard core hijinks that we all love and miss from the early ’90s. I feel like that’s what Tim Lynch is all about, just the hijinks era, and just being free and being able to express yourself the way you want to express yourself. I

Oz is, I want to say, the 2.0 version of Lynch. He’s what Lynch was supposed to be. They’re brothers. Oz and Tim Lynch are brothers, because The Brave War comes from a script, my first script I ever wrote, and technically, The Brave War album that I dropped is the soundtrack to the script. So Tim Lynch and Oz are definitely brothers, and Oz is supposed to be carrying the torch for Tim Lynch, because Tim Lynch is a era that rose and died recently. I let go of trying to pursue the Tim Lynch name early 2020, just because I wanted to concentrate more on writing and stuff. I’ve been Tim Lynch since 2009, dude. So, I was ready to give him his proper burial.

What made you want to switch?

Well, I write screenplays. Right now I’m working on a feature film, but Oz was just… He was just a really cool idea, at the time, and he developed into what he is now. I don’t really think Oz was supposed to go this far, but obviously some things you just can’t stop. The Oz the Originator character is a really dope character, in my opinion. He’s one of the tightest people I’ve ever seen on the mic. The way I see it is, it’s real, but it’s not. Oz is an illusion.

In terms of ‘The Brave War’ album, I love that you said that it was the soundtrack for a script you wrote. Tell me more about either the making of the album or the feeling behind it. What are you trying to put out to the world with that album?

I just wanted you to see the brave war that you would have to go through, inside of yourself. That whole album is pretty much me going through the brave war. As of a year and a half ago, I lost my mom due to cancer, stage four liver cancer. My whole life, obviously, did a complete 360. So what Oz is, is like my afterbirth after my mom passed. Tim Lynch is when my mom’s around, and then Oz is after, to express the original feelings.

Oz is an expressor. That’s what that whole album is about. It’s about expression, me getting people to understand what my mental health state is, and what Oz is going through. The script is definitely based on my life, but it’s not. It’s obviously altered. It’s pretty much me going through my emotions as I get through my life in the script. So it’s just the emotions of the script, just everything you could possibly feel as a skateboarder, as an up-and-coming rapper, skater that just lost a parent and has to be on their own now.

Going forward career-wise are you more focused music, the writing, or skating? Is it all three?

Well, I don’t really want to compare myself to nobody, but I’m going to be one of those guys who does it all. I definitely am inspired and look up to Donald Glover, who is also Childish Gambino. He writes movies, he writes TV shows, he acts in TV shows, he makes music, he’s one of the greatest artists on the planet. So pretty much just the Donald Glover outlook. It’s a little bit of everything.

Is there anything else that you are working on right now that you can talk about, or the stuff that you want to be writing? What’s the big writing stuff for you?

I can say I am going to be dropping some new music on SoundCloud when July comes and the summer starts. Obviously, everyone needs some new tunes to cook some barbecue to. So I’m definitely going to be dropping some new songs as Tim Lynch and some new Andra Gunter songs. I kind of want to retire Oz, but I won’t say I retire him yet. We’re going to throw Oz in the air and say, “We don’t know what’s going to happen with him right now,” but there’s definitely going to be new music.

You said you had retired Lynch before. Are you going to bring him back in now?

Well, the idea of Lynch is that he went off to the Navy. Now he’s coming back, and Oz is… he’s taking a hiatus right now. We have some legal issues going on with the album, so we’re trying to settle those out right now.

What’s the reaction you’ve gotten from Kipo fans? What’s it been like to get that attention?

Oh, man. I’ve been making music for a long time, like I keep saying. This year alone has showed me that there are people who actually like me. As a artist, you go through the motions of everything, who likes me, this and that, and you don’t really know where you are until people tell you in music. For a long time didn’t know my musical worth and where it was going to go. I did know that I was definitely going to have my song in a TV show, just because of personal reasons. I have an uncle, by the way, who was in Afro Samurai. He did the same thing I’m doing, he did a couple of original songs for the show.

I already had a outlook of what I wanted to do in my life, so when this came about, I definitely took the opportunity and I ran with it. The response of all the people showing me love is just… it’s kind of unbelievable. I have actual fans now and people who ask me questions and people who want to actually know what’s up with me, which is a new feeling. This definitely doesn’t feel like it did before, so it’s pretty crazy.

What’s it like knowing that your music is the favorite of a fictional cartoon character that unites this fictional cartoon boy with another boy?

I think that’s just dope, dude. This is some of the craziest things to be involved with. I told a lot of people that this is making history. This show is doing so many things that have never been done in the history of animation. When I found out Benson liked Oz the Originator, I was pretty ecstatic. I was like, “Yo, that kind of changes my life, in a way, because now I have to live up to Benson’s expectations. What are his expectations now?”

What other messages do you have for the people out there?

I am an advocate of kids with ADHD. So, for anyone who’s out there questioning their worth or not knowing how they’re going to get through the mental breakdowns we go through every 20 minutes, I want them to know that our minds are important. Our fast-paced moving minds are very important. We’re important. That’s what I just want to say.

Can you talk a little more about working with ADHD when you’re writing scripts or music?

Working with ADHD definitely is a fucking uphill battle, dude. I struggle, still, every day with a lot of things but I feel like it helps me. My uphill battle is a fun uphill battle. It’s not completely just digging into the dirt. I get to go here and get to go there because my mind has this thing where it hyper-focuses on certain things I want to do. I think working with ADHD is a good thing and a bad thing, all at the same time. I feel like my mind is a couple steps ahead of a lot of people’s at some times, because I’m hyperly thinking at all times. I feel like my ADHD has gotten me to where I am today.

If wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would be in the show. I don’t think I would be able to write a script. There’s a lot of things I don’t think I would be able to do had I not had ADHD, but I’m not going to glorify it. So, it’s a good and bad thing.

Any other messages you want to throw out there?

Yeah. Go check out my music, please.

You can check out Gunter’s music and all his other work here, where you can stream all of his music and more!

The post Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Oz the Originator Steps Into the Spotlight appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2EtS1sU

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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dailytomlinson · 5 years

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I meet Louis Tomlinson at Simon Cowell's London office: a huge, two-room space befitting of a Bond villain at Sony Music’s HQ in High Street Kensington, on the floor occupied by his label, Syco. Cowell, to be clear, isn’t here, but he definitely feels present. A ten-foot portrait of the music mogul smirks down on all those who enter from the minimalist living room wall. Tomlinson, his publicist and I go straight through the frosted glass doors into the office-proper to do our interview, but before we can start the 27-year-old One Direction member turned solo artist needs a cigarette.

Within 30 seconds someone has brought Tomlinson a heavy orb-shaped black ashtray and a cup of tea. He lights up – smoking two more over the next half an hour – and visibly relaxes, leaning back in his chair. Tomlinson has the air of a comedic TV personality: warm, funny and self-effacing, he makes regular references to his hometown of Doncaster (“Donny”), has a loud, theatrical voice and swears like a trooper. “Simon won’t mind,” he says – and mind Cowell shouldn’t. One Direction, one of the most successful boy bands of all time, were Cowell’s cash cow after he brought them together on the X Factor in 2010. Since going on “hiatus” in 2016, all five boys (now men in their mid-twenties) launched solo careers, but only Tomlinson stuck with Syco. Now, Cowell's last vestige of the One Direction big bucks is gearing up to release a debut album, which, as anyone who knows anything about the fervour of the band's fans will be well aware, is already a guaranteed hit.

Tomlinson has, however, taken a big risk. Dressed in a vintage red football shirt, black tracksuit bottoms and black trainers, hair still styled into sweeping boy band perfection, he explains that this new music is “a statement of intent”. Gone are the saccharine, dance-tinged pop beats heard on his 2017 and 2018 collaborations with Bebe Rexha and Steve Aoki. Instead, his latest single “Kill My Mind” is a nineties rock-inspired anthem that sounds like an ode to Oasis. “I spent a long time treading water working out where I fit in the industry,“ he says. “I had to work out what it is I can actually get away with, and just how much I have to play for radio,” explaining that he did the aforementioned collaborations “because I felt like I had Tomlinson says that, unlike former bandmates Zayn Malik and Liam Payne, both of who have released music obviously influenced by hip-hop and R&B, “I can’t really relate to the urban-leaning sounds you hear on American radio”. Instead, he cites Catfish And The Bottlemen as an influence (“Lyrically, it’s conversational and honest”) and spends his time listening to Apple Music playlist “Kebab On The Night Bus”, which features bands such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Stone Roses, The Who and Idles . The result is a solo output that, finally, makes him feel “really excited and really proud. This is where I want to be.

Tomlinson says that, unlike former bandmates Zayn Malik and Liam Payne, both of who have released music obviously influenced by hip-hop and R&B, “I can’t really relate to the urban-leaning sounds you hear on American radio”. Instead, he cites Catfish And The Bottlemen as an influence (“Lyrically, it’s conversational and honest”) and spends his time listening to Apple Music playlist “Kebab On The Night Bus”, which features bands such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Stone Roses, The Who and Idles . The result is a solo output that, finally, makes him feel “really excited and really proud. This is where I want to be.”

So what does he want this new music to say about him, other than he likes guitar music? “I want people to look at me as a good and credible songwriter.” Overall, what I want from my lyrics is honesty,” he elaborates. “I want it to be real. I don’t want them to feel Hollywood or contrived.” Most of the album is “very autobiographical”, but he’s also taken care to keep it “exciting”, after listening to the earliest version of it and feeling that “A lot of it sounded quite sad.” Tomlinson, who lost his younger sister earlier this year, references the single before “Kill My Mind”, “Two Of Us”, which is about his late mother, Johannah Deakin, who passed away in 2016 after a battle with leukaemia. “That’s a very, very honest song, but it was also very emotionally heavy. I don’t want to be known as that guy.” What, the stereotypical mope with a guitar? “Yeah, exactly, I don’t want people feeling sorry for me. I want people to feel good when they listen to my music. That’s one of the amazing things we had with One Direction.”

Together with Liam Payne, Tomlinson did a lot of the writing for One Direction, which, on reflection, he thinks he was driven to do so that he might find his role in the band. “This isn’t a relatable statement,” he acknowledges, “but I imagine that anyone who’s been in a band or boyband will understand this feeling. There were definitely times in the band that I felt like I could do more or sing more, which is why I actively tried to get better as a writer, because I thought that would be my outlet.”

Now Tomlinson feels like he's found his writing groove, but is he worried the One Direction fans might not like his new music? “Yeah and that’s what creates a bit of a conundrum actually, because that’s very relevant for me,” he says. “I feel like, to a certain degree, we all owe them something. We are where we are because of them, it’s as simple as that.” As my colleagues here at GQ can attest – this 2013 interview with the band got us death threats – upsetting fervent One Direction fans is not an action to be taken lightly. He says that he’s “deliberately included songs on the album that feel a little bit transitional, so it won’t be too alienating towards the fans”. Lyrically, however, he feels like he still “writes what they want to hear, because it’s honest and it’s real and it’s me pouring my heart out”.

But with a ready-made audience come anxiety-inducing benchmarks. “Having the experience of being in 1D was incredible and it’s given me so much to work with, but it’s also hard in terms of expectation, because that was the pinnacle of what we were,” he says sombrely, referring back to the time spent mulling over how to balance making music that’s authentic with finding his place in the mainstream. “If I’d done this interview two years ago, I’d have said to you that if my album doesn’t get to No1 I’ll feel like I’ve failed. It embarrasses me saying that shit out loud now, but it took some real maturity to understand that One Direction wasn’t real life... Everything I’d been shaping my experiences around was something that wasn’t real life, even in the music industry.”

We laugh about those heady days, when he was 18-24, fresh out of Doncaster and making the kind of money 99.9 per cent of us can only ever dream about. “There was a solid time when I spent a long time looking at the most stupid, ridiculous things to spend money on,” he says when I ask him about his own crazy popstar purchases, having read that Liam Payne once bought the Ford Anglia from Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. “I’ve got a long list of random movie props that starts with the great opener of the leg braces that Tom Hanks wears in Forest Gump. Have I ever got them out? No. I looked at them when I bought them like, ‘Oh, this is amazing,’ but really, I’m not a showy person, I’m not going to have them on display in my house.” Also stored away (“I’ve got Hard Rock Cafe in one cupboard”) are the swords from Kill Bill.

Still three years shy of 30 and living between London and LA (where he shares a home with his best friend from Doncaster, Olly), Tomlinson seems to have finally found some balance.

Has he ever considered retiring out of the public eye? “I’ve thought about that loads of times. It’s only the fans, and the fact I have a point to prove to myself, that keep me getting up every day and getting on to do it,” he says. “When I’m 50, I’m going to go off and get my coaching badges and I’m going to manage some youth team and win the FA Youth Cup with them.” So with all the intense media scrutiny, the feeling that you owe millions of people around the world well, something, and a hugely successful stint as a musician already under his belt, what’s he’s still trying to prove with his solo career? “People and the press love to say, ‘Oh, A and B will do well, but the rest of the lads, they’re not going to do anything.’ So my point I’m trying to prove is that I’m still going to be here in ten years, I hope”.

#gq magazine #190919 #kmm press #stunt mention #press #louis tomlinson

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some-stars · 4 years

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For the ask game: 8, 18, 30

8. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, share a song that’s been inspiring you lately.

I can’t listen to anything while I write unless it’s this stuff (or possibly this stuff). Can’t do anything with words or complex rhythms, bc then I’ll just focus on that and not on writing. I do maintain a character/fandom playlist that I listen to before writing sometimes, which is here. “Orpheus” pumped me up for a lot of the kidfic sequel, and “Stray Italian Greyhound” reliably gives me Yennskier feels. I have a lot of other songs on there for various characters and relationships but none that are connected to specific fics.

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

oh boy, this is gonna take some thinking. hmm. I’m gonna keep it in Witcher fandom, since that is what my followers care about, so: the part in “some good mistakes” where Geralt takes Jaskier up on his offer to go to the coast, and then goes and sleeps with Yennefer, and feels for a brief moment feels like he’s got this polyamory thing figured OUT, he can HAVE this, he can be HAPPY and make them both happy--and of course it shatters almost instantly. But I love that scene--

"Do what pleases you," Jaskier says. "While you can." It sounds like a verse.

"Writing your next song?"

"Just trying to work out what pleases me," he replies. There's a different tone underneath the words. When Geralt turns to look at him, he's looking away toward the valley, his face sad but otherwise enigmatic. He feels distant, and Geralt feels a pang of alarm.

He finds himself speaking. "Maybe...maybe after all this is done, we can go to the coast."

He doesn't know why he says it. He's not sure if he means it. But it would be nice--to go somewhere purely for the pleasure of it, to follow Jaskier for once instead of the other way around. To take a break from death, and killing, and failure. He's not sure if he ever has before.

"Really?" Jaskier looks taken aback, but delighted. It makes up Geralt's mind for him.

"Yeah. It's not a bad idea."

"Of course it's not a bad idea. It's a great idea."

"I wouldn't go that far," Geralt says, but when Jaskier's hand squeezes his, he doesn't protest.

When he goes to Yennefer's tent that night, he feels hopeful. He wakes up next to her and thinks maybe he can have this. Have everything, for once.

Geralt is trying so hard and also fucking up so bad (I mean, it is the title of the story). He won’t admit that he loves Jaskier because he’s afraid of what that would mean, afraid of losing him, afraid of asking too much, afraid of not giving enough. He can just barely admit that he loves Yennefer because she’s not nearly such a foundational part of his life. And he tells himself, if I can give them both what they want--give myself to Yennefer when she’s here, give myself to Jaskier when she’s not--maybe I can keep them both, without having to face anything or change anything in possibly dangerous ways. But when he’s hit with the sudden pain of Yennefer rejecting him--after he showed her so much during their pillow talk--he shuts down and can’t allow the possibility of Jaskier hurting him the same way, or even far worse, so he shoves him away, in a way/at a time that he doesn’t realize will be particularly cruel to Jaskier considering he already sees his position in Geralt’s affections as inferior to Yennefer’s. (Geralt, of course, has no idea about that.)

30. Tell us an idea for a longfic you want to write in the future.

I don’t want to write longfic--like, much over 20k--I just can’t sustain something that long, at least so far. And I honestly rarely get ideas that would benefit from being stretched out over 40-50k, because I’m absolutely terrible at plot. I have an idea for a somewhat longer fic--the pre-series Geralt/OMC tragic romance that I ramble about fairly often--but it would basically be a collection of medium vignettes spanning a decade, tracing the growth of their relationship and then its end when the OMC dies tragically. So I can’t really answer this bc I have no longfic ideas, just....longer-than-I’d-like ideas.

#meme #icedragondreams

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smolbeandrabbles · 5 years

Text

Charity: Most People Are Good - Emmett Dutton x Reader (Australia)

Author’s Note: I HOPE YOU BROUGHT YOUR INSULIN!!! What have I done-!? This is ridiculous! I just really love writing him like this, he’s the perfect Mendo for it. I’m really surprised that I’ve only written him once before this! So Thank You for requesting him! Because he deserves a lot of love 💕 And the other was your idea too... sooo...

Disclaimer: Characters from Australia not mine / Requested Plot Not Mine / If you don’t have a Luke Bryan song in your playlist what kind of Mendo are you-!? AKA: Lyrics not mine

Premise: As Requested by @3134045126 😘 After the bombing everyone is leaving. A whole bunch of boys have been rescued - who's going to watch after them? Cue Reader! They make it to Adelaide; cue Reader who takes on the job of watching over the rescued boys who have no family, other than Brother Frank- Reader is sweet, and kind. Basically mothers all the boys. Giving up all her time, energy and resources to make sure the boys are well taken care of. Enter the Captain who notices her and all she's doing for the boys and decides to be as helpful as possible. Cue a gentle, sweet romance started from these two taking care of the children.

Words: 4490

Warnings: N/A... But I meant it about the insulin...

I believe kids oughta stay kids as long as they can ...Go climb a tree, get dirt on their hands I believe we gotta forgive and make amends 'Cause nobody gets a second chance to make new old friends I believe in working hard for what you've got Even if it don't add up to a hell of a lot I believe them streets of gold are worth the work But I still wanna go even if they were paved in dirt I believe that youth is spent well on the young 'Cause wisdom in your teens would be a lot less fun I believe if you just go by the nightly news Your faith in all mankind would be the first thing you lose I believe most people are good And most mama's oughta qualify for sainthood I believe you love who you love Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks I believe most people are good

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noun

an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.

the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.

Adelaide. Dutton didn’t think he’d ever seen something so beautiful in his entire life. Having said that it could have been anything. After Darwin. But, they were due to meet the main convoy here. So… Adelaide was the place he decided was the most beautiful. It's been a long hard journey. 30+ hours would be had enough if he only had his troops to think about. But Emmett Dutton now had a group of Mission Children to think of also. And any time he could he would have the convoy break to let the children be children. Even if that only lasted 10 minutes at a time. He was plenty glad for Brother Frank at all times. Because Emmett couldn’t look after all these kids alone. Much as he would like to try. It surprised him even more how much he found himself caring for these kids. He wasn’t never a kids person. He just wasn’t at all sure he was good at it. Frank was nearly 100% sure that he was. And even other members of his troop took time for the children. They didn’t have much considering all that had happened in Darwin, but… Everyone shared everything. It was on one such break that Emmett contemplated the future of the children. Usually if he wasn’t amongst the children himself he would stand watching them with a smile. There was still innocence at a time of war. Or he would just be happy… that there were good things. He had to continue to remind himself that there were still good things. However today Emmett Dutton looked worried. And Frank noticed this, wandering over; “Penny for your thoughts, Captain.” Emmett chewed his lip thoughtfully “…Brother Frank… tell me, when we get to Adelaide… what happens to the children?” Dutton already knew it was likely he would have to move his troops on. The convoy was not about to just end in Adelaide. It was likely Australia would play a bigger part in the war now. Would he have to travel to Europe to fight? To the USA? He shook that thought away as quickly as he could and turned to his companion for answers. “Well… Adelaide is a big place. It will have a Church.” “Surely the church cannot look after so many…?” It wasn’t Emmett didn’t think it possible. But the money, the people, the resource? …The fact the children were Aboriginal?... He’d seen so much injustice already done due to that. And adoption was so hard he didn’t expect anything to happen there of any consequence either. He’d explained that to Sarah many times. (And watched her fight it, though… He had to admit as much to himself). It certainly hadn’t deterred her, hopefully they would find more such people in the city… What Emmett thought they needed was another woman like her. “Well. God works in mysterious ways…” Emmett raised an eyebrow; “Indeed he may, but… Don’t these boys need a mother as well?” Frank’s face suddenly beamed; “I’m sure they will get one Captain. It’s only a shame I am not able to call ahead!” *** So now he was here in Adelaide, Emmett hoped that Brother Frank’s promise would pay off. Dutton wasn’t worried. But, now it was like these children were his. And he wanted to make sure they were well looked after and taken care of. The majority of the main army convoy was already here; but he was told that those from Darwin were allowed respite. Thank God. And rightly so after what they had been through. This gave Emmett precious time. And now he was tailing Brother Frank through the streets. “…So… Will they go here? Not the Church?” “If she can take them all. I’m sure she can! She has… the room, and the monetary resource at least.” “How do you know all this!?” “She does a great deal for the Church that is well documented. I’m sure she will be up for this too…” They continued on walking, and ended up a little way out of Adelaide… And Emmett couldn’t help but stop dead. Frank continued on; happy disposition as always, through the front gate and down the path. Emmett thought Faraway Downs was big; but it had nothing on this. In fact this was like taking Faraway Downs and planting it in the middle of a city… Maybe it was even bigger than the Administrators property in Darwin. “W-Wait… She lives here!?” “That’s right!” “Alone!?” How could one person manage an estate like this all by herself? “Yes.” Then Frank corrected himself; “Well, she probably wouldn’t by choice!!! But does, by circumstance.” They weren’t even all the way down the path before you were outside. And Emmett discovered the second most beautiful thing he had seen today. Your eyes flicked between them, amused. “You gentlemen look like you could be here for completely different reasons… And that you’ve seen better days. Should I invite you in, or are you simply too busy…?” You walked down the steps to join them on the path, addressing them correctly “Brother, Captain… How may I be of assistance?” You looked between them again. Okay, fine. He was cute by the clergyman was off limits, but the Captain... Well, someone that easy on the eye couldn’t have been single. “Actually we are…” There was a second pause, before the sentence was clarified “Here for the same reason, I mean!” “Oh!” You smiled, what could the Church and the army have in common? If the Captain was about to ask you to host troops that would make sense. But what did the Church have to do with something like that? “We have come from Darwin.” Your eyes widened, and you placed a hand over your mouth as you gasped; “Oh my goodness! I heard-! We all did! Oh-! Wow, my goodness… I’m… I’m so sorry… Are you all, okay?” “Those of us that made it… But, there were some children sent to mission island. It was hit, but, the majority survived.” Your expression instantly softened, and Emmett took instant note of this as Frank continued; “I heard you might be the person to talk to…” “You want me to foster…. Children?” You tilted your head, but you were suddenly beaming; turning back to the Captain. “But what is the Army’s stake in this?” “Personal only… Ma’m.” You smiled; “Y/N. Call me Y/N… Please.” Then you realised “OH! I didn’t ask-!” “Oh!” He held out his hand instantly, manners maketh man, Emmett!! “Dutton. Captain Emmett Dutton… And this is Brother Frank.” “Emmett…” You liked that, and showed it by saying his name with a sweet smile; you took his hand “Thank you, for your service.” ***

It surprised you that he was still around, so you certainly hadn't expected to run into him in the middle of town; "Oh! Captain Dutton! I expected you to be long gone by now..." "No no, not yet at any rate. Just waiting for the next posting... And please... Call me Emmett..." "Emmett..." you agreed, "I like that, it's a nice name..." You weren't sure if you were really complimenting him or it was just inane babble, but he seemed to turn a faint shade of pink anyway. "Thank you... But I shall not be taking the credit there..." he smiled "Can I be of any assistance...? You must have a lot to do, all things considered...?" "Oh... That’s sweet of you, thank you..." you let him walk in step with you, smile on your face "I'm just letting them settle right now. Brother Frank is a good help too... But... You have done so much for them already Captain, bringing them here... That’s very heroic..." you looked to his face for a minute; his hesitation. Probably to correct you on his name again. "Emmett! Sorry!" "That's okay... And I don't know about heroic... But they certainly needed to be far from mission island and Darwin..." "Mission Island... Oh. I see." you shook your head "They should be allowed to return home, don't you think?" "Well, maybe we can do that together..." You weren't sure if he was being truthful, but by the look in his eyes you would believe anything Emmett said, and that intensity. That belief as you had that that would be the right thing to do, took your breath away. "Y-yes... When all this is over..." Dutton nodded; “Well, hopefully that won’t be too long… I would hope humanity would have the decency to put a stop to this…” He shook his head “Maybe I shouldn’t go on believing it, but…” Emmett shrugged almost helplessly “When that’s all we have…” You smiled despite this; “You’ve not given up your faith in us all yet… Even with what you must have seen in Darwin?” “If anything it’s only made me more defiant. The world will get through this… They said the last war was ‘the war to end all wars.’ Maybe this one will actually do it.” You tipped your head “…Will we win?” “If it was all so black and white…” but he laughed “…I would think, in the end, the people who are meant to prevail will… But our most immediate problems… The things we can change…” He paused his walk, and turned to you – inspired “…Are right here!”

Emmett and you continued to wander around town together as he helped you run errands and shop for groceries. You hated to admit how much you enjoyed his company. Not because you wanted to come off standoffish, but because you knew that one day he would have to leave. And it would be soon. He wouldn't have reason to be here, in reality if they stationed him back up north... If he was so used to Darwin, he'd be so far away from you. You didn't want to start something just to see it all end. But you couldn't help falling for him. He was charming and sweet. How could you not?

"Emmett, come in for a little while, I'm sure they'd like to see you..." "well, I suppose I have time. Are you sure you don't mind?" "i just invited you didn't I...!?" you quirked your eyebrow - "Of course, also its only polite that seen as you helped me with all of this." "Oh no! That's nothing, any time..." You folded your arms with a subtle shake of your head; "That's not nothing... Anyway, please, just accept my gratitude and come inside!?" He laughed; "okay, you won't need to tell me twice..." Of course as soon as you got him through the door and the children realised, they were all over him. "Woah-! Woah-! Okay...boys!!" Emmett was laughing again, which you loved; it made you smile. So much it started to hurt to smile for much longer. "Just let me help Y/N alright then I will come and see you..." When he finally got some of the younger children to let him go, with a little encouragement from you - you both slipped into the kitchen: "I suppose you get that a lot?" he straightened out his shirt, looking curiously back into the corridor where several of them were watching you both "Less than you would think... But you? Oh, they talk about you all the time..." "Really!?" "Mmm, oh, Captain I know all your stories second hand. Granted there's some variations on what actually happened, and I certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to hear them first hand, But! Yes, they certainly like you a lot. And you obviously care for them deeply..." He turned back to you, and that look on your face he hoped he might be reading correctly. But also made him bashful: admiration? Why? Hadn’t he done what any decent human would do? He felt he'd done far less than you... “Oh I…” he struggled with what was best to say, so he opted for a simple “Thank you…” instead. “No… Thank you.” Emmett set about helping you put things away, but you realised pretty quickly that you had gathered a small audience, laughing with him like this. That was understandable, they were equally curious on what was making you so happy (not that you weren’t always) and Emmett himself. Eventually you pushed him gently towards the door “Go on…” “We aren’t even finished-!” You waved away his protests “Go on, they want to listen to you… I’ll come through when I’m finished…” He hesitated “Y/N… I… Are you sure?” “They want to see you! Go on, I mean, how much time may you really get with them?” “I suppose you’re right… But I…” “Emmett…” You pushed him gently again; “Please, go!” He looked like he didn’t want to leave you, so even when he walked from the room, he did it slowly – almost pleading with you to pull him back. You couldn’t help your cheeky wink; “I won’t make you wait long!” He had to laugh again; and turned back to the children once again clambering all over him to pull him through into your extensive living room. “Okay! Okay! It’s alright! I’m here…” You tidied away and then wandered through. Each and every one of them was engrossed in every single word. And you sat yourself on the arm of one of the sofas with some of the younger children to listen too. You barely heard a word that Emmett said, and he barely registered that you’d even walked in, but the way he told it… The way he wasn’t even that animated, but his passion, the way he spoke… everything had everyone in that room hanging on his every word. You weren’t surprised that when you finally had the inclination to look at the clock it was late; But you still waited until the appropriate time to interrupt his story; “OH! Boys… Dinner…” Several of them leapt up immediately to eagerly assist you. Emmett stood “I suppose I better get going…” “Nonsense, Captain… Would you please join us? It’s only fair, considering all your help in town and telling us such wonderful stories… Also, you can finish them over dinner… What do you say boys?” “Yes! Please! Please stay…!” The clamour of voices all politely asked the same thing. And Dutton wasn’t about to resist them or you; “Oh… Then, I suppose I better stay… Thank you…” You grinned; “I better ask now if you can cook!” “Oh I---” he laughed nervously “I… Suppose I can… You do tend to pick up a few things, here and there…” You nodded, that would do, all you really needed was another pair of (firm but fair) hands to help you out. “Well, Captain, I suppose it’s time for you to put those skills to the test…” “Oh. If I’d have known there was a test… I’m not sure I would have accepted the invitation!” ***

Turned out that his ‘you pick up a few things’ was neither wrong, nor exactly truthful. "Why don't you stop acting so humble?!" you giggled slightly, "At this rate its gonna turn out you cook better than me!” He laughed, but blush swept his face “No! Oh gosh! I wouldn't want to show you up..!" "Too late captain!" but you were both laughing. You had some of the boys help you with the easier things and then sent them on their way again before returning to cooking. Emmett let himself just watch you for a minute, how you made 10 things at once look easy.

He couldn't help it; "You're amazing, you know?" it was quiet, like a thought he hadn't meant to slip out and yet he wanted to You turned to him "Me!? No... I'm... Doing what anyone would do..." "No, no... This... Is amazing. Those boys deserve a mother and... For sure you are one... They couldn't have done better than this. But you must have helped so many people... Brother Frank alluded to it but... You are nothing short of incredible." "Captain, please..." you pressed your hands to your face, feeling it heat up, you'd never been very good at taking compliments. You didn't do this to be noticed after all, but so that other people could live a better life, or pick themselves up. He crossed to you for a minute "All you're doing, people should just thank you more often." "Well, they think I'm crazy for doing it..." His voice was quiet again "Well, I don't..." You looked back into his eyes, still blushing. Well I don't was possibly the most significant thing he'd yet said. And he'd said a lot that meant something to you. He still had that ever so sweet smile of admiration on his face. And he was getting to you. You were close enough to feel the heat from his body; and something within you was pining for that closeness – for his touch… or his love. But it couldn’t have been just you, you couldn’t have just been imagining that he was leaning closer to you. That made you instinctively lean into him. And this could happen, you could kiss, and it could be like some kind of fairy tale. And all this went through your head very quickly. Of course, reality had something to say about that – as the timer in the corner of the kitchen went off. SERIOUSLY!? He pulled away from you and took a polite step back as if he was forgetting himself; “Oh… I… I’m sorry…” You wanted to tell him not to apologise; you wanted to grab him and tell him to kiss me, dammit! But you couldn’t. Your face was still flushed and what you did do was say “It’s okay… don’t worry…” NO! DAMMIT! Y/N! IT’S NOT OKAY! IT COULD HAVE BEEN A PERFECT KISS!!! No time to dwell on that, with dinner ready, but both of you did. Standing looking at each other, hesitant for just a few more moments… Until one of the older boys cleared his throat; “Should I tell everyone it’s ready, Miss Y/N?” You didn’t want to tear your eyes from Emmett, but you had to; “Yes! Thank you!” *** Dinner passed quickly, but Emmett continued his anecdotes to the boys. Every so often one of them would pick up on a story thread of his and begin sharing a story of their own; and Emmett liked watching how you gave it your undivided attention. You reacted appropriately, and asked relevant questions. You made every boy around that table feel special. And when you caught Emmett’s eye and smiled like that, that number included him. He stayed long after dinner was over, and helped you both tidy away and put the boys to bed. Which he found was not an easy task. “Drink?” You couldn’t help giggle at his slightly bedraggled exhausted look as he tried to neaten his appearance; “Please… I don’t know how you do it! You’re a Saint.” “Oh-! Sometimes I don’t think they’d think so-!” You gave a wink, “Can be the total opposite if they won’t behave!” He shook his head, mocking shock; “I don’t believe a word of it!” You sat him outside and handed him a glass as a night cap. The air was still warm even though the sun had long since set, and it made for a pleasant evening. There was comfortable silence as you both admired the scene of your garden, lit every so often by the glow of fireflies, and you could think about the evening in a little detail. Eventually you broke the silence with a hesitant question; “Do you have kids?” He turned those inquisitive blue eyes back on you, “NO. No… Single…” You wondered why he’d added that statement, because that wasn’t what you had asked. Single wasn’t a qualifier for if he’d ever had kids. And unless he meant always been single which you couldn’t believe for a moment, it certainly had no relevance. “You’re good with kids…” You mused, finishing your glass and setting it down “That’s worth something?” You smiled back at him, gently “I think it is…” His next smile was significant as he fielded your compliment back; “You’re a good mother.” You opened your mouth to respond, but it was like it suddenly all hit you, and you took a noticeable deep breath out “I learned from a good mother…” “So you aren’t one?” “No… I had a lot of younger siblings who moved out… They are all around Australia and Europe now… some of them…” You looked back to the house “…I stayed to help look after my parents… and when they both passed on… I thought what better to do with their house than look after people…” “You really are a Saint.” You turned back to him; how he seemed to voice some kind of clarity that hit you again, full force. And your heart yearned for him. To have him here to tell you things you so desperately wanted to hear… “Maybe…” Your voice was quiet, and when you looked away from him again he reached for your hand; “Not a maybe… you have compassion and generosity that you can’t show gratitude for with mere words… And yet you do this all without shouting it from rooftops.” “I don’t do it to be noticed, I do it because, like you, I want to believe there can still be good in the world – even if I have to do it all by myself…” He set his glass down; and took your other hand in his; “Y/N… Believe me, you are not alone.” And in that moment, what you knew he meant was you have me. *** It was a few days later when Dutton found the time to wander back to your house to see you and the children again. You were out in the back garden when he arrived; still expertly keeping the attention of all the children. Engrossed in some story or other you were telling. Acting out scenes here and there with the help of some of the older boys. Emmett couldn't help but laugh to himself as he watched from your porch, relaxing himself by leaning against it. From here he was in the shade from the hot afternoon sunlight but it didn't seem to bother you or them in the slightest.

Eventually your eyes caught his, and you turned to the older boys to keep the game going whilst you took a breather; "Captain! You're still here!" The way you were beaming and the sunshine hit your hair and eyes and made you literally glow, was the reason that just this once he didn't bother correcting you; "You always sound so surprised!" He turned his full attention from the children to you as you joined him. "Well, I just don't want to get my hopes up that you'll stay..." Emmett tried and failed not to read too much into that, and his smile was gracious "Well... You never know, perhaps you should..." He nodded to the children in order to swiftly change the subject, "they all seem to be getting on well." "Yes, thanks to you." "Me!? You-!" "Emmett you rescued them!" "Not I... A good friend of mine... I simply delivered them into your care... You have saved these children... You have given them a far better life that they would have received on mission island I can tell you that..." You shook your head, placing your hand on his to turn him back to you; “But as I say, they always ask after you... Emmett... When you're coming around next, if you’re going to spend the day here... Every time they see you... I wish you would stay..."

He watched the way that your eyes nervously left his, how you bit your lip and stared at his chest instead. From nowhere he gained a moment of courage, and instead of the nervous laugh he felt, Emmett spoke up, this time entwining your fingers properly with his. "Is that the only reason you wish I would stay?" This time you did blush; those soft blue eyes and that sweet smile became too much and you could feel the heat from his face at your almost kiss again. “Maybe not… But it shouldn’t always be about me…” He couldn’t help his chuckle, you were probably the most charitable, unselfish person he’d ever known. How could anything you did ever always be about you? “Then tell me…” Tell me what I want to hear; that’s what he was pleading with you to say… But you weren’t hearing that, because you didn’t want to believe it could be true. “You told me I was a good mother…” He tilted his head, “I did. And meant it…” You decided there was no time to be bolder and looked back into his eyes with confidence; “Well… I figure those boys need a good father figure too…” “Heh…” he bit his lip gently, but smiled through it “That’d require me to stay.” “No… Just be there when you can be…” “Well what about you?” “What about me…?” He tried again, this time more obvious “Maybe I would hope you weren’t just saying that… for them…” “…Why are you asking me to say it?” Emmett gave a little shrug; “Because maybe if I hear you say it I will know it’s true. What you really want.” You took a breath; “I don’t know what I want…” You shook your head “I want you to stay, if you can stay… of course I do. But if you must leave, then I want you to come back… But what I know for sure, is that what I wanted the other night…” You hesitated a moment and swallowed “I just wish…” You shook your head “I should have kissed you.”

For a moment he couldn’t believe that you would be that forward, but he liked it. He loved it. “Well, I feel we should rectify that situation… If you would allow me to kiss you?” Your eyes widened slightly, you knew it! You’d known it… You should have done something then… But he was doing something now. So your smile was confident as you looked back into his eyes “You may.” He kept your hands respectfully in his, and leaned in slow and gentle, you closed your eyes. Hardly daring to believe that this was real; that it was really a dream that you were about to wake up from. But as his lips touched yours you held his hands a little tighter; and pulled him in closer. No dream would compare to this. The kiss was just as soft and sweet as he was, and you kept your eyes closed as he broke it and placed his forehead gently to yours. You realised that you didn’t need to ask him to stay, that that kiss was a promise. No matter what the future held, he would return to you.

--- 🙈 Was that too sweet?! Ah! Sorry babe! But thank you for requesting him! As ever 😘💙💜 Eeeeek! 4 Virtues Down!

#MendoTagSquad! @dennismitchell @krnncsbtch @happyskywhale

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