#winter activities winter tours winter things to do

[sharkcrew68]

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[interlakenactivities]

Winter Activities Interlaken - Interlaken Activities

Is Interlaken worth visiting in winter?

Yes, Interlaken is definitely worth visiting in winter. While it may be most famous for its outdoor activities in the warmer months, the winter season offers its own unique charm and attractions:

Winter Sports: Interlaken and the surrounding region offer excellent opportunities for winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and tobogganing. There are several ski resorts nearby, including Grindelwald, Wengen, and Mürren, which offer diverse terrain for all skill levels.

Scenic Beauty: The Swiss Alps are stunning year-round, and winter transforms the landscape into a winter wonderland. The snow-capped mountains, frozen lakes, and picturesque villages create a magical atmosphere that's perfect for winter photography and sightseeing.

Jungfraujoch: The Jungfraujoch, often called the "Top of Europe," is accessible year-round via the Jungfrau Railway. In winter, the journey on this cogwheel train through snow-covered landscapes is particularly enchanting. At the top, visitors can enjoy panoramic views, visit the Ice Palace, and experience the thrill of walking on the glacier.

Christmas Markets: If you visit during the holiday season, you can enjoy the festive atmosphere of Christmas markets in Interlaken and nearby towns. These markets offer traditional Swiss crafts, delicious food and drinks, and seasonal entertainment, adding to the winter charm of the region.

Indoor Activities: Interlaken also offers plenty of indoor activities to enjoy during the winter months. You can visit museums, art galleries, and cultural attractions to learn about the region's history and heritage. Additionally, there are cozy cafes, restaurants, and spas where you can relax and warm up after a day of outdoor adventures.

Overall, Interlaken is a delightful destination to visit in winter, offering a wide range of activities and attractions amidst the stunning winter scenery of the Swiss Alps. Whether you're a winter sports enthusiast or simply want to experience the magic of a Swiss winter, Interlaken has something to offer for everyone.

[writingsfromhome]

Dos and Don’ts III

A/N: firstly apologies for the wait and secondly I absolutely did not want to cut this into another part but here we are 😢 I think this will change some ppls opinions oops dont hate me

Part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

——————————————————

I couldn’t put my finger on it but something was off in my life; I felt disconnected from myself, my friends, and most importantly from Gray. But getting Gray to communicate when he didn’t want to could feel like pulling teeth. And I was no dentist.

I figured the solution was to stubbornly throw myself into work. After all, with Harry’s European tour starting March there was always a lot to do.

“Nice of you to get here so early,” Harry says as I step off the elevators just before 9–an hour later than I usually do.

“I had dry cleaning to pick up,” I ignore his sarcasm. “Your tour fits aren’t going to magically appear in the penthouse as nice as that would be for me.”

I keep my tone light, joking, but it’s passive just as he is. And he can’t call passive out.

That’s what working for Harry has been like since December. It was winter outside these walls and inside.

I had originally decided to let it all go after sitting with the party’s events that weekend but upon arriving to work Harry had been particular asshole-ish and I decided two could play at the game. It was like the holiday party never happened. And I was okay with that.

“If they did, I wouldn’t need you would I?” Harry takes on the same tone I do.

Asshole, “yeah, how nice would that be.”

I walk away to his closet to hang up the garment bags.

“You still have two fits that need final fitting. For today, you’ve got a 2pm for your ear plugs and monitors,” I say as I walk back into the main living space. I take in Harry in his bathrobe and bedhead and realize he must be hungover. Which meant extra grumpy. “Also a meeting before noon with Jeff—he’s sick so he’ll do a Zoom. And rehearsals start tomorrow at 8am.”

The long-awaited tour he was rehearsing for was 2 months long and with his tour manager joining him I’d be kind of redundant. We agreed I’d start the tour with him, and then end it as he came back to the UK but I’d take a break in between.

“Good,” Harry sits on a barstool and as the robe parts I hoped he was wearing something underneath. “Are you joining rehearsals?”

“Tomorrow yeah,” I instinctively start tidying the coffee table littered with Harry’s activities from last night. There’s empty bottles and unused rolling papers, takeout containers and unopened bottles.

“Can you stop that,” Harry snaps. He’s wincing when I look up. “The clinking—it’s too loud.”

His second statement comes out softer but it doesn’t make him any less irritating.

“I’ll just toss these ones,” I take the ones I’d gathered in my hand.

“So,” he carries on with the earlier conversation. “Just tomorrow yeah?”

“Yep, to make sure everyone’s there, forms are signed, and all that. Jeff will drop by too. Otherwise I’ll just be there once a week or so since I have other things to complete.”

“So you’ll enjoy the full glory of the show once it’s live on stage?”

“I guess.”

“Please y/n reign in the excitement, it’s just too much.” Harry flexes his sarcasm again.

I look up from the other side of the island and lock eyes with him. With one bottle still in my hand I don’t put it in gently, instead letting it drop onto the others in the bin. His face twists in pain and I get my hit of satisfaction.

“I am excited,” I continue. “I’ll be more excited when you get on tour but right now I’m buried under an insane amount of logistics and stuff. So I’m just pacing myself.”

“Glad you got that out of your system,” he slides off the stool. “Are you sure you want to join tour? It takes a toll.”

“What? Am I taking up the space you reserved for groupies?” I goad.

He pretends to think, “No…we’ve got a whole other bus for that.”

“Great,” I smile. “Then I’ll definitely be there for the start of your tour, cheering you on.”

“Not too hard though,” Harry grabs a water from the fridge and heads towards the bedrooms. “Can’t have all of y/n’s enthusiasm overshadowing my fans.”

I roll my eyes behind his back and choose not to respond, as tempting as it was.

By the end of the week I’ve met everyone that’ll be joining the tour, taken copies of a million contracts and filed a billion papers.

It’s Saturday night and we’re heading home from the studio. Harry, in a twist of kindness, offers to drop me home.

“You don’t live too far,” he comments as we get closer to my building.

“Yeah, I was surprised with that.” It was a stroke of luck having a short commute.

“How does Mr. Duran feel about you coming on tour?”

I throw him a look but he sits there smug, waiting. “Well he’s not keen on me being away from home for so long but otherwise he’s fine.”

“Is he?” Harry extends his knee to nudge mine, irritating me. Just a few more minutes.

“Yes.” I turn to look out the window, no longer interested in the conversation. In reality Gray had been pretty upset that I’d be travelling the continent with womanizer Harry Styles. I’d soothed his fears but he was hard-headed about it.

Originally I’d saved the conversation to be had after New Year’s to not ruin the holidays but Josie had brought up tickets for the tour during Christmas dinner and although I played it off then, he’d been in a mood since.

“You’re an awful liar,” Harry says. I don’t respond. Luckily I’m home.

I figured Sunday, on my day off, Gray and I could catch up and spend quality time together. Maybe iron out some of our kinks. But he tells me he had a few sessions and I’m left alone for most of the day, convinced Gray booked them on purpose but not wanting to admit what that meant.

The following Thursday night, Gray and I finally collide after I’d spent the week stewing in my anger and anxieties.

“Why won’t you just talk to me? I feel like I’m living with a stranger these days.” The conversation starts out semi-tamed as we wash up for dinner.

“You feel that way? Well I’ve seen my fiancée for less than 48 hours a week this last year. Talk about being a stranger.”

“I’ve been taking more time off,” I wonder when he decided to count the number of hours. But it was true—I’d started doing a half-days on most Saturdays and coming home earlier on week nights. Like tonight, I’d been home by half past 6. “I’ve been trying to spend more time at home.”

“Too little too late,” Gray mutters.

“What?”

“I just mean,” he sighs. “I…y/n, we barely get time together. We’re like flatmates these days aren’t we? We haven’t-“

“Don’t you dare Gray,” I wasn’t having this. I refused to hear what he was trying to get at.

“Y/n don’t be difficult-“

“Difficult!? You can’t go radio silent on me and then decide 3 years can just go down the drain.”

“I’m not saying that-“

“Then what are you saying!?”

The silence rings to the corners of our kitchen. The dishes are long forgotten, suds drip down my elbow and onto the floor, and Gray’s towel hangs like a white flag beside him.

“You knew what this job meant—you work with the same clientele, and you encouraged me to go for it. I’m trying to be better I don’t get it.” I finally say.

“I’m saying something needs to change.”

What takes me back the most is the even—even apathetic, tone. It’s the fact that he must have been thinking on this for long enough to be so level-headed about it.

Who has he talked to, I wonder. His sister? Our friends? Who’s advised him to go in this direction because the Grayson I know wouldn’t do me like this. Couldn’t.

Are you even the y/n Grayson knows, a small voice asks in my head.

“We’ve changed, I get it.” My tone takes a pleading ring to it and I hate it. “But you can’t just decide this isn’t worth fighting for Gray-“

“I’m not Y/n,” he puts the towel to the side and grabs my arms. “I’m not throwing anything away but we need to bloody figure something out because…I’m unhappy. And can you really say our relationship is the same? Can you call what we’re in a relationship?”

“Why not?” I whisper, tears choking me. “I thought we love each other and we support each other and-and we see each other through thick and thin.”

“I love you,” Gray squeezes. “And I know we’ve seen each other through thick and thin but…I don’t know if I can keep supporting you at the expense of us.”

“Well what do you want?” I look up into his brown eyes. They’re steady like they usually were.

“I want you, selfishly. I want all of you.”

He had what he wanted, didn’t he get that? He had me. I don’t know what more of me I could give him. And that thought tears me right through.

“What happened to setting a date?” Gray steps back and takes his steady grip with him. I sink into the countertop behind me. “What happened to planning for our future? Marriage and kids and buying a home and doing something more?”

His voice raises as he talks.

“I feel like I’ve been living in limbo for the last year! Just waiting around for you. I don’t know how much longer I can wait-“

“We can set a date,” I say. “We can do all that! You-you haven’t brought up any of it either! If it’s been weighing on your mind why don’t you ever just say something!?”

“I shouldn’t have to!”

I’d hit a nerve. We’d had this conversation a dozen times.

“Of course you do! Like, I’m not a mind reader you’ve been stewing in these feelings for god knows how long and now you’re telling me you’re thinking of-of-of ending things!?”

There, I’d said it.

His face contorts into a flurry of emotions. My body feels ragged just saying these things out loud.

“When I spoke to Stewart and Bex they said-“

“Stewart and…” I was right he’s been talking. “You were talking to Stew and Bex!? Since when did you spend time with Bex?”

“Since I had a lot of time alone at home.”

Fuck, he managed to get the upper hand all the time with that one valid point he had.

“They both agreed with me that this isn’t right. I’m allowed to be upset and ask you for something to change-“

“But why didn’t you talk to me!” The switch to anger is quick when he admits he was talking to our friends. I think about the last few times we saw them—had they been judging me? Had Gray told them by then?

Gray tries to brush past and tell me more about his validated feelings, about how things had changed. I can’t hear anymore.

“This decision you seem to want to make for both of us should involve me too and yet you make it the talk of the town before consulting me. I’m so goddamn tired of the way you shut down Gray I-“

“I’m tired!” He butts in. “I’m tired of watching things change and being forced to move past it.”

I stare at him. He’s not bending whatsoever. He’s not even understanding the frustration at being the last to know his feelings on our fucking relationship. Didn’t he understand how iced out that made me feel? When I’ve been trying to be as mindful as I can?

“You know what Gray,” I sneer. “You talk about us changing but did you ever think that we’ve been changing since we first met!? The only thing that’s different now is we stopped talking!”

I throw the rest of the dishes into the soapy water and storm out to the only safe haven I had right now—our bed.

Everyone wanted parts of me I couldn’t give and I felt torn to shreds! I hardly recognized the girl in the mirror, I hardly remembered what it felt like to be me.

The only time I felt centered, a bit of calm, was here. With Gray.

And now I knew the feelings weren’t mutual. He’d been thinking of ending things while I had curled in his arms. While I had kissed him goodnight and hello. While we had dinner or drinks. While we hung out with friends who were privy to all the cracks in our relationship. Who knows how long it had been a one-sided feeling.

I bury my head into my pillow wanting to scream and cry at the same time. My head hurts but mostly my heart hurts. I feel betrayed by my bestest friend and the person I love the most.

You’re no better, the ugly voice in my head shows up again. You’ve done things you should be ashamed of.

I block the voice out. I block it all out until all I feel is numb.

Gray doesn’t come to bed at all that night. I drag myself out of the nest I’d created some time around midnight, thinking he fell asleep on the sofa. To tell him to come to bed since I knew our sofa wasn’t long enough for him to even fit on.

I sway in the middle of the empty living room. There’s nobody here. Definitely not Gray. He’d left altogether, to wherever he’s been finding refuge recently.

It hits me; I think I’ve done this to myself. I was alone. Really alone.

***

The scowl is permanently etched onto my face as I go about my Friday morning. I feel Harry’s eyes on me a few times but even he doesn’t broach the subject. We silently maneuver around each other until he leaves for rehearsal.

I think about calling my friends to talk about this but I realize all my friends who were up to date on my life had become interwoven with Gray’s. And I already know Gray complained about my job to them based on a few parties last year. So they definitely wouldn’t be unbiased listening to anything I said.

I regret then, not staying in touch more with my friends back home. For the first time in years I feel a bit homesick.

I decide busying myself with work would be the only thing to keep me sane so I throw on headphones and get down to business.

As the day starts to come to an end I put on Harry’s stereo with the mournful songs that had been comforting me today and grab a seltzer from the fridge. He wouldn’t be home until 8 tonight and he’s always been open about using whatever was in the general living spaces.

So I nearly have a heart attack when I see a shadow from the corner of my eyes around 6.

I give a shout when it comes with a voice and once my senses return I realize it’s just a sweaty Harry back early from rehearsal.

“What? Are you doing here!?” I press on my pounding heart. “Alexa music off.”

He’s grinning at the way I reacted and now he laughs, it’s a bending-over laugh and I chuckle myself as I replay how dramatic it all was.

“Wow.” He says when he finally catches his breath. “I wish I had that on video.”

“Jesus,” I swear. “I thought you’d be home a lot later.”

“So this is what happens when I’m not home,” he teases.

“Only on Fridays,” I collapse into the closest chair and tilt my head back. “God, I thought there was like, an intruder or something. Or a ghost.”

He laughs again, moving to the kitchen for a water. “Good thing ghosts don’t exist.”

“They so do.” I reply.

“There’s no proof that’s ever convinced me they exist.”

“You live a sad skeptical life Mr. Styles.” My breathing is finally regulated and I sit up to look at him. “I’ve seen one myself when I was a teen. I wish I could be a disbeliever like you.”

“You’ll have to tell me the story,” he leans on the island looking very amused.

“I will,” I accept his challenge.

“I cut rehearsals short,” he continues. “I’m knackered from this week. I just want to be one with my couch and get drunk and not worry about what moves to do and what song to sing.”

“Yeah,” he looked tired and his hair was getting a bit shaggy. He runs his hand through the damp curls. “I need a shower and I think I should do a trim.”

“Consider it booked,” I pull the phone towards me and text his usual stylist. I hear him move around the space and pause before he disappears down the hall.

“Are you heading home soon?” He asks.

“Hm?” I kill time responding, acting like I didn’t hear his response. I didn’t want to go home at all. I didn’t even know if Gray was home or not and I didn’t want to find out. Harry repeats his question. “No. I wanted to wrap up some things. I can move to the office if you wanted the space to chill out?”

He shrugs and tells me I could go where I want.

I wanted to be out of the way, and not home. So I move to the office. The same office where weeks ago I’d teetered on the edge of a fatal decision and now was faced with the possibility of that decision made for me.

I slump in the seat and take a moment to just decompress. A headache creeps around my eyes and I just feel lost and hurt and alone.

When I break the laptop open again I move like a slug, scraping the barrel of effort and coming up with nil.

“Uh y/n?” Harry’s head pops into the door a while later.

“Yeah?” I blink up at him, still in slug mode.

He stares at me a second, “Do you have plans tonight? You could…join me in doing nothing?”

When was the last time I did nothing? I couldn’t remember. And it sounded like a distraction—not a good one, but one that helped me avoid home for longer.

“Sure?” I respond.

Harry blinks. “Oh. Brilliant. Finish what you’re doing if you’d like or you can join me now. Oh. Could you also order us some pizza or something that’s greasy and bad for us?”

I liked the direction of this. I feel my sluggish feeling slide away. “I can do that.”

“Good. Great. This is going to be a good night.”

He moves away as he talks and his last sentence is shouted from down the hall. I smile, relieved to do something like this.

I consider texting Gray, but decide against it. He left last night without a word, making me worried and today there’s been radio silence. I wasn’t in the mood to take the high road.

I do as Harry asks. Meanwhile Harry had put on some peppier music and brought out a six-pack from the fridge. His head is buried in the pantry rummaging through.

“What do you need?” I come up behind him.

“Oh,” he pops out. “Looking for some sweets. I’m sure I have some somewhere.”

“Oh yeah!” I close the doors he’s looking in and open the top cabinet. His eyes light up when he spots the options. “Food’s on its way by the way.”

He rubs his hands and starts pulling things off the pantry. It’s a different energy than any before, he’s not picking on me or ordering me around. He’s just inviting me to be on the ins with him. My instinct is to stay quiet and see where it goes but I shake it off.

“Are we just playing with beer tonight or is wine on the menu?” I ask. I hated the taste of beer.

“It could?” He unloads the pile in his arms onto the island and starts rummaging through the wines. “How about this one?”

A white. I take it from him and head for some glasses.

We end up making a buffet for ourselves on the coffee table and when the pizza comes we settle in, chatting occasionally about the things around us.

“So what does doing nothing involve?” I ask when we’re situated on the couch. Harry’s left a few feet of space between us which is very appreciated. I pull my feet up. “Because I have to say it’s been a while and I don’t know how to do nothing.”

He laughs, throwing his head back. I find myself grinning in response.

“Touché mon amie.”

“Okay I actually got that,” I nod.

“Do you speak french?” He asks as he opens the wine and pours us both a glass, mine’s a lot more full than his.

“No but I spent a month in Paris when I was in uni,” I savour the sour flavours of the wine as it coats my mouth and settles me down. “So I learned the bare minimum. Now all I can say is bonjour, ca beigne? And also un verre du vin s’il vous plait?”

“So you cut right to the chase—hey are you alright? A glass of wine thanks. Now leave me alone.”

We laugh and I hold up my glass, “I was hoping you’d get the hint. Why is mine so full anyway?”

“I’m just drinking some so you don’t have to drink it alone. Then I’m gonna crack on with the beer.”

“Oh!” There he had to go and be thoughtful again. “Forget it, I will happily drink the bottle. Drink whatever you want.”

“Yeah?” He leans forward to put his glass down.

I lean over and pour his measly amount into mine. “There, you’ve done the sharing part.”

“So y/n,” he asks after we’ve grabbed our respective snacks of choice. “Can I ask why you were listening to all those ballads before I came in?”

“I need to get a bit more drunk before I do that,” I down some more wine, already feeling the buzz of it. Obviously this was not the cheap wine I generally had.

“Alright we’ll get you there,” he promises. His eyes flicker from his phone to me and back to his phone. “Uhh could I show you something?”

“Like what?”

“We’re releasing the MV for one of my songs a week before I go on tour right.”

“Right,” I name the single that’s been thrown around countless times this week.

“I got back the deck for what it’ll look like. I’m excited can I show it to you?”

It’s endearing, in a way, how eager he is to show it. His cheeks even have spots of pink.

“Uh yeah! Let’s see it!”

“Cool,” he grins. He turns on the TV and casts whatever video is on his phone to the screen. He gives me some background on how it was setting up a whole storyline and how they’ve already started filming some of the scenes.

“The shooting starts the week after this one right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be in Scotland for a few days. You’re joining me right?”

“Yes! I’m excited to see all the action myself.” I had signed up for the 4-day trip with zero hesitation. As someone who’s always been making up stories and concepts to most music I listened to, getting to see the bts for an MV was a dream come true.

“Really?” He asks.

“Yeah, it’s real excitement I promise.”

“You’re interested in it?”

“Yeah! I love music videos, it creates a whole new experience for a song we’ve probably listened to on repeat. It’s cool!”

“So this is y/n really enthusiastic,” he leans back in the cushions to get me in full. “Now I really know you couldn’t give a rat’s arse about tour.”

“Stop saying that!” I laugh. “I was just stressed. I am excited about all of it okay?”

“So you say,” with a final glance he presses play and I’m entranced as the narration takes us through the plan.

“Umm all I can say is wow.” I turn to him when it’s done. My wine glass had been emptied and my brain had been itched with the most beautiful location and storytelling I’ve seen in a while. “That’s like a mini movie.”

“That’s what I said!” He exclaims. “It’s going to blow everything out of the water.”

“Look at us, doing nothing.” I realize we’d turned around and talked about work.

“Bollocks we’re no good at this.” Harry slides a hand down his face and I laugh at the dramatics. “Let me refill you at least.”

I happily oblige.

We talk about the mv some more, and move onto the tour. Harry asks me about the concerts I’ve been to and we get the kind of excited when you’re tipsy once we find out we were both at a Coldplay concert four years ago in London.

“That would’ve been before the success so I would have been just another bloke to you,” he notes.

“Yeah, imagine we crossed paths then? That would be crazy.”

“If we did, we might still be doing this tonight, just as mates,” he points to between us. “Or you would have fallen in love with me and I would have sacrificed my music to raise our kids.”

“What!?” It’s so absurdly ridiculous that I nearly snort my wine. “Where did that comes from!?”

“Admit it,” he puffs out his chest. “That would have happened. And I’d be so committed-“

“Well you’re assuming that in a 4 year time-span we would get to the point of having kids. So firstly no, secondly who said you had to sacrifice your career?”

“I-“ he stops mid-sentence, looking into the distance.

“Exactly!” I shout. “You’ve got nothing. You’ve just made up a story that makes you sounds good and noble!”

“Fine,” he settles down. “Fine! We never meet and you end up with your Duran bloke and I end up a musician.”

“Is that all I’m reduced to?” I raise my brow. “Who I’m with?”

“No!” He leans between us to pat my leg. It tingles. “No I didn’t mean it like that. You’ll do great things. I just mean the person you end up with isn’t superstar Harry Styles.”

I roll my eyes, “I need more wine if I’m gonna be subjected to any more of this bullshit.”

“Bullshit?!”

“Mhm,” I pop a gummy into my mouth and ignore the look of shock on his face.

“Fine. Then tell me about your bullshit,” he raises his can. “What’s happening to make you so ferocious this morning.”

Oh god. I hold up a finger and shimmy forward for some more wine. I’d drank 2/3 of the bottle and I was definitely tipsy. Maybe I’ll just sip this one.

“Fine. If you want to hear it.”

“I do.”

“I got into a fight with Gray.”

He raises a brow, I continue.

“He’s upset with me and complaining that I work a lot and that he feels like I’m his flatmate!”

“Flatmate with benefits.”

“Shut up!” I groan. “Not the point.”

“Sorry!” He holds his hands up.

“I don’t think he realizes how much of my head is just Gray like, I’m always thinking about him, about what I could do for him and say to him just to make sure he feels seen and reassured and loved! You know I’ve asked you for half-days on Saturdays when you don’t have a lot going on-“

“Mhm,” he nods along.

“I’m like, making sure I’m being a good partner. And apparently he’s been upset and not saying anything.”

“The old silent on the home front.”

“Yes!” I nearly drip wine as I pump my hand. “Yes, on the home front he’s bloody broody and quiet. I knew something was on his mind but like always he’s tight lipped. Even when I asked him a week ago he said he’s just been working a lot. What a liar!”

I complain about how it felt to be iced out of my partner’s emotions and having to guess all the time.

“Then I find out he’s been talking to all our friends to get advice.” Harry raises his brows in judgement and leans back into the sofa, and the small gesture makes me feel so validated. I didn’t realize how much I needed a third-party to just listen to my side of things. Until now, I’d literally not had anyone to talk to about this especially since I avoided talking about work with Gray. I get misty eyed.

“And when we’re talking he’s like so-and-so said this as if I want to know. And!” Now I was on a roll. I put my glass down in fear of spilling it on the pristine sofa and get on my knees to emphasize my frustration. “And the girl he quoted? Get this, I met her—Rebecca—at a job I did like a year ago? And we got along fabulously and I invited her to this party we threw right because she was new to the city and all that. She met my other friends and she fit in so well they invited her the next event. I got her into the group and now she’s talking shit about me with my fiancé behind my back!”

“She’s probably got a thing for your man,” Harry suggests.

“Oh she definitely does!” I’m animated as I continue. “She so does! I’ve caught her making eyes at him before, and laughing a lot whenever he makes a joke. I even mentioned it to him once but he said he didn’t notice.”

“He probably didn’t,” Harry shrugs.

“I know, the male species is a wonder. You get big flirts like you and then otherwise they’re completely oblivious.”

“I’ll have you know when I was a teen, a girl literally gave me a valentine cupcake and I just thought—well I knew she liked to bake, so I thought she just had extras. I didn’t understand why she didn’t speak to me the rest of the year.”

“No way,” I laugh—a lot because the wine was definitely sloshing around in my head, but also I couldn’t imagine Harry being that aloof. “I guess it comes with the ego territory. Were you less of a jerk as a kid?”

His jaw drops. “You just called me a jerk right now. To my face.”

“I did,” I say with glee. I stand to get the full picture of an offended Harry. “And I don’t regret it. So? Were you nicer as a kid?”

“No I’m not answering until you take that back.”

“What! You are a jerk…sometimes! I’m not taking it back!”

“You have to take it back otherwise I will cut you off on the wine.”

I take a step back and stumble as he speaks. Which makes me laugh more. “I think I should cut back. I am a hot mess.”

“At least you’re laughing,” Harry stands too. “It’s world’s different from this morning.”

Just like telling someone not to think of an elephant, I think of the elephant.

“Noo no don’t do that!” Harry rushes towards me and bends down to look me in the eye. “I liked it when you were smiling just now c’mon.”

“Well you reminded me why I was so upset-“

“Can’t stay grumpy, just give me another smile. One smile! Small teeny tiny smile—there it is!”

I can’t help it with his face in mine and the way he’s putting on a voice to get me to smile my face splits in a grin.

“You’re soooo annoying!” I push him but unstable and drunk I fall backwards.

I don’t know what happens next but I’m on the floor looking up into Harry’s concerned face.

“Y/n? Y/n!?”

“Yeah,” my head pounds as I try to make sense of where I am.

“Fuck,” I hear Harry say. He moves away and the overhead light attacks my eyes so I squeeze them shut.

I hear him, panicked, on the phone.

“No!” I try to call out. “M’fine! Don’t even worry-“

“Stay down Y/N,” he’s back by my side. I try to prove to him that I’m okay and sit up but a few inches off the ground and my head feels like it’s full of bees.

“So many bees,” I murmur as I go back down, now a pillow behind my head.

A few minutes later Harry’s helping me up gently. I tell him I wanted to throw up and he helps me to the toilet where I do. Gah. Why did I drink so much.

“I think I’ll head home now,” I hear myself saying to Harry like I was miles away.

“No,” his hands are around my shoulder and holding me upright as we walk out. The lift increases my nausea but I keep my eyes shut.

“I’m going home now,” I tell Harry when we get outside.

“No you’re getting checked out.”

“No!” I shove him away and nearly topple over myself. Why did he have to boss me around all the time? “Stop telling me what to do! My head hurts I’m going home!”

He tries to grab my hand but I yank it off. “Stop! Just stop!”

“Y/n,” Harry’s voice is low and comforting as he gets down in my ear. He smells nice too. “You passed out and you have a headache we have to get you checked out.”

“You’re no fun,” I cross my arms but follow him, only because my headache is so bad. As we get in the car I close my eyes shut as the lights assault them. Harry doesn’t let me sleep on the ride home even though his body is warm and steady beside me. I barely know where I am.

Harry’s POV:

I keep telling myself she would most likely be fine, just like the doctor reassured me but it’s hard not to beat myself up.

I shouldn’t have let her get that drunk, especially upset. I shouldn’t have gotten in her space and caused her to tumble back. I should have done something else.

The guilt is added to when I think of how I spoke to the doctor, demanding they do every scan and not to skip any. I hated who I became sometimes, when I pulled the famous card, but I thought it was necessary right now. Even y/n would give me a pass for using it.

I can’t stop replaying the thud as her head hit the hardwood floor, her eyelids fluttering as I rushed to her, her slack face when she lost consciousness for a moment.

It’s been hours since we came in. The doctor finally heads my way.

“Mr. Styles, your girlfriend is alright,” he holds up his hands before I’m fully standing.

I may have had to say she was my girlfriend after they wouldn’t let me have any say tonight…

“She’ll be alright, you did the right thing getting her here right away.”

“But?”

“No but,” he smiles. “Obviously it’s serious she has a moderate concussion but if she doesn’t exasperate any symptoms—takes it easy the next couple weeks, she’ll be right as rain. We can discharge her once the neurologist confirms. She’s just finishing with another patient right now-“

“She should stay overnight,” I cut him off. His cheeriness was starting to irritate me I felt like he wasn’t taking this seriously enough.

“Oh well,” he laughs but I know I’m irritating him right back. “She will be alright. I can provide you and her with a followup plan-“

“Doctor,” I say. “She’s staying overnight. If I need to rent a bed I’ll do that, tell me what I need to do, but she should stay under observation. Get the care she deserves.”

He pursues his lips, and I wait for him to agree.

“Yep,” he sighs. “I’ll tell the nurse. Just follow me and we can sort the details.”

We do that, I even take a selfie for the nurse’s daughter which grates on the doctor’s nerves even more. He leaves shortly after.

I get y/n’s room and walk there slowly, wondering how to apologize. Ever since December we’ve been playing a game of tennis with words and tonight I felt both of us relax onto the same note. Then this.

She’s sleeping when I get to her. My watch says 1am. She looks peaceful and it hurts even more.

The truth was despite acting like I didn’t, I did like Y/N but she was complicated, and the more I tried to untangle her web the more sticky things became for both of us. I didn’t want to make more mistakes than I have in the past so I’d kept my distance. Even if it hurt both of us.

Tonight was good though. Until it wasn’t. This was why I shouldn’t blur lines. You would think I’d have learned that by now.

I step by her bed, hesitating. Someone has wiped the remains of her makeup off and she looks so much younger. Like a sleeping cherub. My heart gives a squeeze.

I push back a strand of her hair, my hand wanting to do something. I settle for taking her hand in mine, it’s not the first time I’ve held it but like it always does, a flood of warmth rushes through me.

I never understood Victorian romances until her; just touching her hand got my blood pumping.

With a stroke of my thumb over her knuckles, she stirs. I freeze.

Her eyes flicker open, “Hey?”

My voice disappears. There’s too much that I want to say and nothing I’m allowed to say. Maybe a sorry. I open my mouth but she squeezes my hand. I forgot I was still holding hers.

“So much for doing nothing huh?” She cracks a smile and it breaks the marble I’d become encased in. I laugh and collapse onto the sliver of the bed.

“We should never do nothing again.”

“Nope,” she smiles, closing her eyes again.

“Y/N I’m really sorry for tonight. I feel awful-“

Her mouth parts. She was asleep.

I want to sit here with her until she wakes again, until the doctors kick us out. Something about seeing her so vulnerable here makes me want to confess the thing that’s been lodged in my chest for a long time.

I release her hand and move away from the bed. This was dangerous. Maybe I could wait in the waiting room until she’s released. Then take her home.

Something vibrates. It’s not my phone, and then I notice the purse I’d brought with us. Y/N’s.

I peek inside for the phone and her fiancé’s face takes up the screen. He looks younger. And then I remember, it’s like stepping out of the fog this night had put me in and into reality.

I pick up.

“Y/N it’s nearly 2 in the morning just tell me you’re alright? You haven’t been answering your texts I-“

“Hi,” I clear my throat and the line goes dead silent. I decide to continue. “Hey uh this is Harry. Styles. Uhm, don’t panic or anything because she is okay but she’s in hospital and-“

“What?” He comes back with a boom. “Why is she there what happened? Which hospital?”

I tell him which one, explain she bumped her head and I had to take her here. That the doctors said she would recover and be herself again soon. He simply swears and tells me he’d be there soon.

This was Y/N’s life. This was the right thing to do. Still, I stay in the room with my head in my hands and think about the whole evening again and again.

“Just tell me the bloody room…I don’t care about the time…”

The voice travels through as doors open and close in the hall and I look out. Grayson. Like a pitbull. I can see him through the rectangular window demanding to see Y/N.

I open the swinging doors and his nostrils flare as he spots me.

“Why the hell is he allowed in and not me?” He continues his tirade. “Does hospital policy not matter when it comes to the rich and famous now? I want to see her doctor and-“

The nurse turns to me, annoyed but before she can ask the question the doctor is out.

“What’s all this? Do you know the time sir, please follow me and we can talk-“

“I don’t want to fucking follow you. I want him gone and I want to see my fiancee.”

Looks are exchanged between the doctor and the nurse, finally landing on me. I imagine what they’re thinking—just another homewrecking famous rockstar, do we tell the fiancé or act cool?

“He should be able to see her,” I say in an even tone. I can feel the eyes on me, especially the laser beams from Gray.

“I thought-“

“Okay. Visitor pass him and let him in,” the doctor cuts his nurse off as she stares at me. Maybe her daughter wouldn’t get that photo tonight after all, and instead be told to pick better role models. It doesn’t matter to me. Not tonight.

I watch Gray get sorted, watch him walk down and to Y/N’s room. To his fiancée’s room.

I wonder how he feels, fighting with her last night just for y/n to end up here tonight. I wonder if that’s why he was so vocal tonight—the guilt.

But I suspected he was the kind of man that called himself easy-going and only got this raucous when another man was threatening his public image. It was pretty clear the hospital staff thought we had some pseudo-relationship arrangement. I don’t think Duran was daft enough to miss that.

Plus, I’d been the one to bring her here not him.

With a big sigh I take my phone out to call a taxi. It was my turn to go home.

I text Y/N from the car, tell her to rest over the weekend and let me know how she feels Monday morning. She could take the whole week off if she wanted but I also knew her and knew she would try to come back asap.

I try to piece back the marble armour I wore before tonight, it’s ill-fitting and hurts to get on but I do it anyway. This was why I couldn’t be the person Y/N wanted me to be; I tried to mix parts of my life together and it would only end with shite.

Y/N’s POV:

I don’t know who this man in front of me was. Or actually, I hadn’t seen him a long time.

I’d been discharged from the hospital on Saturday morning with odd looks all around. Maybe because Harry brought me in? And ever since, Grayson has been doting on me. Doting.

“Did you want anything specific?” Gray stands at the foot of the bed, asking me what he should make me for breakfast. The last time he made me a special breakfast was…last summer?

“I wouldn’t say no to pancakes?” I reply. “I looove your chocolate chip pancakes.”

“I’ll get it started,” he walks over to kiss my temple and leaves.

The weirdest part is that I feel weird; I don’t know why but Gray doting on me like this made me feel claustrophobic and…weird!

I look out the window to the overcast sky. Same, I think. At least for a Sunday, it felt fitting.

I pick up my phone and check the last response from Harry. Since I got discharged he’d been texting me to see how I was feeling. I think he was feeling guilty even though I told him it wasn’t his fault.

I tried not to drink when I was upset because back in uni it led to some shitty situations but the other night I’d overstepped my rule and done this anyway. And paid for it. I should have known better. And after the absolute misery of yesterday’s aftermath—the migraine and the vertigo and the completely lack of appetite, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. Ever.

Today I feel a lot better. I still have a headache and I’m looking forward to breakfast with my painkiller, but the light doesn’t hurt as much and the nausea only comes back when I do too much.

You: I’ll be back in no time. Feeling better

Harry: I want you to feel the best so I’m banning you from working until Wed. And that’s conditional on you feeling better

Y: Doc said I can resume a lowkey version of my life after 48hrs

H: I didn’t like that doc. take my advice instead

Y: when did you get your md

H: same time you got yours

Y: I have an md?

H: being stubborn 101

Y: your jokes are a lot better when you text

H: cuz you’re not distracted by my face

Y: ooookay I’m no longer giving you the platform byeee

He was sassy, apparently. I never got this side of him before.

I read through the convo again and smile. But it hits me that it sounded like flirting. And that would be incredibly inappropriate. So I shove my phone in my bedside drawer and inch out of bed to join Gray.

We spend the day talking about a lot, but not about what we should talk about. Which, with the way I was feeling, was fine by me. At the same time it felt like we were both politely playing a role neither of us could put our hearts into. It felt shitty.

Gray has a session around 4 and I crawl back into bed, putting on a romcom I’ve watched a million times for comfort.

My body feels heavy and it has nothing to do with the concussion. The last couple days and my current relationship with Gray casts a shadow over my thoughts. I felt like making any decision was like wading through quicksand and running away just sounded better.

I rub my temples, hoping like a genie’s lamp, I could get an omnipotent spirit cast out and grant me easy wishes. I’d wish for things to go back to normal, for my heart not to be such a wretched thing. For clarity.

I pick up my phone and scroll to the one person I had run away from and have missed since. I didn’t talk to her very often but I thought I could use her no-nonsense approach.

My mom frets when I tell her what had happened. She goes quiet as I tell her I’d gotten drunk to forget about the troubles in my relationship.

“Relationships go through a lot of phases. It’s like going through those cave tunnels all made of rock and you gotta squeeze really tight sometimes just to fit through and continue on.”

“That is an amazing comparison mom, but I don’t know if this is one of those times. It feels like Gray’s already given up on us.”

“Well it’s been a long time he’s waited.”

“But he never said. He never talked to me.”

She sighs. “Your Grayson sure is a contemplative son of a bitch isn’t he?”

I laugh a little too hard and feel a pulse in my head. “I know. But then today he was so dang sweet—since I got home. He was so overprotective. And he made me breakfast mom and it made me realize I haven’t had that Gray in a long time.”

She’s silent on the other end. She knew there was more. How did I ever think, as a teen, my mom didn’t understand me? I think I just never understood her.

“But it felt weird.” I continue. “I feel horrible for saying it but I felt weird!”

“Was there heart?” She asks gently.

There wasn’t.

That’s what it was. And my heart weeps. All those actions without feelings.

“Have you thought about coming home?” Mom asks when the silence stretches. She always asked and I was the worst daughter in the world for never going back. The last time was when I graduated, for 2 weeks in which my family drove me crazy and I had been crazy in love with Gray and eager to get back to him.

“Maybe,” I close my eyes and slide down into bed.

“Your brother’s new girlfriend reminds me of that friend you had where she came on our camping trip and cried the whole time? What was her name?”

“Deanna? Mom I stayed friends with her all through high school! She was just very anxious.”

“I know! His girlfriend’s always darting about, jumping at tiny things. Reminds me of her.”

“Well Jace better be treating her right.”

“He does,” mom’s voice raises. “You should see them together. It’s cute but they’re still teenaged loves so I try not to break his bubble too much.”

Mom had definitely relaxed a lot since I was a teen. She had practically chased my first boyfriend away.

“Remember your first boyfriend?” She asks and I shout how I was remembering that too. We end up talking about old memories, and I feel a little more known and a little less lonely when I hang up.

Gray and I order takeout and I try to watch a movie with him but the strain on my eyes gets too much. I tell him I was going to bed and insist that he stays and finishes. I didn’t feel like watching him play boyfriend.

I’m eager to get back to work, for next week when I can go to Scotland for the MV. The eagerness comes from guilt but I carry both as I fall asleep.

***

I feel like a kid at Disneyland. Or maybe a Disney adult. Either way, I’m blown away getting to watch this MV come to life.

It’s long hours, a lot of waiting, and some shouting. But everything else is magic.

I came back to work last Thursday and other than an ear-splitting headache on the flight and a low-grade one when I stared at a screen too long, I was on my way to normal. When I got back to work Harry kept making excuses for me so I could work from the office but I refused to be treated differently and eventually he relented.

“It’s so freaking cold!” I jump up and down beside Harry by the cliffside. He’s just wrapped up a scene and the crew was taking a look at the footage to see if they needed anything more in this spot.

“Why don’t you put on more layers? Do you want an extra coat the crew might have-“

“No!” I continue wriggling around. “I’m heading back to the car in a few. This is an amazing view.”

“Isn’t it,” Harry turns to the sea that’s churning away much like my own heart these days. It feels calming to see it physically somewhere else.

We stand in silence except for my occasional teeth chattering and stare out to the view.

“Have you seen more of it?” Harry motions to the cameras. “What do you think?”

On this trip I’ve been giving my honest opinion, and I know I’ve offended Harry at least once but I didn’t come all the way here for my dream experience only to stroke his ego.

I tell him my take. We talk about the overall storyline about belonging and sacrifice until we’re interrupted with two hands holding out hot teas.

“You both looked cold,” the woman says. She was another assistant on set and I’m not sure what to do being waited on as a PA myself.

“Oh, thank you!” I make sure she knows I appreciate it. “That’s…that’s super kind thanks!”

She throws us both a smile and I stare at my cup, the heat tingling on my cold fingertips.

“Friendship and belonging yeah,” Harry starts up again.

“Yeah but also I like how you—your character, whatever, knows when it’s time to leave for his better growth. Sacrifice with his friend and sacrifice with the only home he’s known. Plus that’s a comfortable outfit.”

I tap a button on Harry’s jumpsuit. He grins. “You can have it.”

“I would be drowning in that you’re a lot taller.”

“We can have it altered,” he says. A shiver runs through me at we. I blame it on the cold.

I sip the tea now that it’s not scalding and find it’s a lot cooler. The open air, I guess.

“So you really love all this,” Harry says. “You weren’t joking about that excitement.”

“No I told you!” I flash to the night we did “nothing” which feels long ago. “I have a vivid imagination when it comes to music and I spent any spare courses on film so now I can interpret the heck out of any song and music video like my life depends on it.”

“We should get you back there,” he motions to the crew. “Get you on board.”

“Would I get the little clipboard and clapper?”

“Yeah!”

“Goals,” I sigh.

Little did I know, by Saturday as we’re filming our final scene one of the crew members hands me the clapper. He tells me I’m supposed to cut the final scene. I stare at him, thinking I misheard.

The clapboard hangs between us. He shakes it a little and I take it. It’s heavier than I thought.

“Harry asked if you can cut for the final scene, see the man behind the camera? He’ll look to you and give you the nod. Then you step in front and just do the thing.”

“Oh…” I’m still staring at the thing in my hand. My palms feel sweaty like it’s going to crash to the ground and break in two but that thought gets me to hold it closer. “Thanks.”

“Yep,” the guy walks away and I stare at the scene being filmed. Slowly I walk closer to the cameraman and he glances at me, notices the clapper, and smiles holding up two fingers.

He whispers something to someone beside him and they change the lighting. Harry walks off “screen” and I try to catch his eye to show him what I had. We catch it briefly and he winks before walking back onto the screen.

Oh my god! My heart is racing as I hold it in my hands. I had to chill. Or I’m gonna make a mess of things. It’s just a clapperboard and you’re saying one word!

Two minutes. I manage to calm down enough and when I get the signal I step in front of the camera and, as I see it later on, with the biggest grin on my face I clap down and yell “cut!”

Harry lets out a whoop and the crew cheers as the filming wraps up. I’m sure my eyes are wide as saucers as I go to Harry. He puts an arm around me and pulls me in, laughing because I tell him my heart is racing and how does he do tours when just that made me shaky.

“It gets easier,” we walk now with his arm around my shoulder. “One day you’ll be behind the camera shouting at me to move places.”

“Oooh getting to boss you around and get paid for it?” I look up at him and my breath catches because he’s handsome at every bloody angle. “Sign me up.”

He let me go and gives me a few tsks. Then he gets his phone and tells me to pose with the clapper and I do it happily. The picture shows a grinning girl with pure delight on her face.

“I’ll put that as your contact photo right,” Harry says as he gets into a jacket. “And that way at least when you call me with bad news I get to see a smile beforehand.”

“Har har,” I roll my eyes but I don’t hate the idea.

A lot of the crew decide to go out for drinks and dinner and Harry passes but I decide to go. I’d met some friendly faces and I would miss working with them, miss the overall energy, when we got back to London.

As I fall asleep that night, full and content, I realize I hadn’t texted Gray all day. I wake to check my phone and see he’d sent a text a few hours ago.

Sorry I was out for lunch with the crew. Babe it was sooooo fun I can’t wait to show you pictures when I get home.

I read the rest of his message asking how I was. I tell him my headache was gone and ask him about his week but I’ve fallen asleep before he can respond.

***

The morning I have to leave for tour I wake up way too early. Too much nervous excitement. I’d already brushed and checked my luggage was packed before crawling back into bed waiting for Gray to wake.

I watch him sleep, my eyes following the familiar contours of his face. We’d been making an effort at rebuilding the relationship since we agreed we at least had to give it a try after I got home from Scotland a month ago. On one hand it feels like starting a new relationship and also breathing easier because we were both on the same page. On the other, we’d finally started planning the wedding!

I would miss him, nearly 3 weeks away which is the longest we’ve been apart since we got together. Then I’d be home for 2 weeks, and away for the last week before Harry finishes with a couple shows in London. It was going to be epic and crazy as exhausted as I’ve been.

I huddle close to Gray and he stirs slightly but I kiss his neck to wake him.

“Hey,” he mumbles in his sleep.

“Morning,” I press another kiss to his face.

“What time?” He moves his head to kiss me back.

“Hmmm half past 7?”

He grumbles about it being so early but it stops shortly after with both of my legs on either side of him and my hair curtaining our faces.

“M’gonna miss your snooty face,” I say with another kiss. He finally opens his eyes and his hand comes up to hold my chin.

“I’ll be the one here missing you.”

“I’ll call every chance I get.”

“You’ll get to see so many new cities,” he says.

“Barely but I’m gonna try to make the most of it,” the travel schedule was hectic but I know there were a couple slower days I could use to explore cities. If I wasn’t completely exhausted.

“You’ll have a lot of fun,” he pushes my hair behind my ear.

“Remember Josie’s coming this weekend to stay the week.” Gray’s sister had taken the opportunity of a semi-empty flat to stay here while she studied for mid-terms. I had encouraged it so Gray felt less lonely.

“She’s gonna drive me crazy,” he huffs.

“Just behave,” I warn him.

“I don’t know how,” he smiles, rolling us around so he’s on top and showing me what misbehaving means. I don’t mind it a bit.

After a quick shower together we head out to the airport, Harry offered to pick me up on his way but I wanted to make sure I spent as much time with Gray as possible so he doesn’t feel like I was leaving him like before. I hoped he knew, at least, the effort I was making.

***

Stockholm, Hamburg, Oslo, and Copenhagen in one week. It was exhilarating and exhausting and hectic and so fulfilling.

I had seen Harry at small shows before but on the big stage he has a presence with a capital P. It’s amazing watching him perform and dance and be charming all over. He could be cheeky yet command the crowd at the same time. And despite all these sides he’s never inauthentic.

For the first time I’m able to take somewhat of a backseat. He already had his manager, tour manager, stylist, and tour chef with him to manage most aspects I would regularly. I became sort of an extra hand when I wasn’t having sit-down hours. That’s what I called the times I was sitting on the laptop sorting out future timelines for Harry’s life (and my wedding).

But I loved it. I’d pick a cafe close to our hotel and spend a few hours working. I’d call Gray during these times and if he was free we’d catch up on all I saw and he’d share stories with me until Josie crashed the conversation with stories of her own.

My eye bags require more concealer than usual and my body begs for nutrition but otherwise I love every second.

I’m back from my sit-down hours and get off the lift. Harry and his team were placed in the same hotel just down the hall from each other. As I approach my own door one of Harry’s band mates rushes out of his door looking stressed.

“He’s in a mood,” she huffs. “Don’t go in there.”

“Did something happen?” I ask.

She shrugs, “he gets this way. Usually at the start of tour I don’t know why. Kinda snappy just…give him space.”

I do as she says but the next morning as we wait to board our early flight to Paris he continues to be a dick to everyone.

“Maybe take a nap on the flight Haz,” one of his bandmates suggest. “We’re all bloody tired don’t be such a grump.”

“I don’t need a bloody nap stop treating me like a child.”

“What to do when you act like one.”

“You know what-“

“Woah hey c’mon.”

I startle at the commotion, I was starting to doze off but Harry rushing out of his seat and someone else stepping between him and Mitch wakes me entirely.

“Let’s stand there get some space.” Niji recommends.

Everyone follows the group away and it’s Harry, myself, and my bag left.

He glances at me, “Don’t you start too.”

“I wasn’t…”

“I could see it in your face.”

“What the hell? I was just napping I don’t even know what’s going on except that you really are being a dick.”

“There you go!” He points. “I knew you wanted to say it.”

“Guess I’m joining the others…” I pick up my bag and walk to everyone else. They’re all venting their frustrations for Harry and comfort me that he was an asshole to everyone.

It gets worse on the flight when our pilot announces we couldn’t land in Paris.

“What’s going on?” I ask our hostess.

“The weather, we apologize for the inconvenience folks but there is high winds and a lot of fog so it’s not safe to fly.”

“I have a show tonight,” Harry stands and starts to advance on the poor woman. “I need to be in Paris before 4 where are we landing?!”

“Sir we’ll be landing in the Lille airport. This is good because we’re only a few hours from the city-“

“For fuck’s sake,” Harry runs his hand through his hair.

“I understand,” the woman looks back at me and I nod, letting her know I got it.

“Harry we’ll only be delayed by a few hours-“

“I don’t have time for a few hours. We need to set up and run tests in Paris! We were supposed to be there yesterday but somebody booked the wrong shit!”

It was true, his tour manager had booked us for Monday morning rather than Sunday morning but at the time it hadn’t been a big deal since the show was 7 on Monday and we got an extra day to relax. Now it made things more stressful.

“Fuck this,” Harry mutters. The other members on the plane roll their eyes and put on headphones, sighing and looking out the window. It was obvious to everyone but Harry that this was just a minor setback.

I decide to be the idiot who enters the lion’s cage. Harry sits in the back of the plane jiggling his leg and trying to connect his phone to service.

“Are you trying to call Morgan?” I ask.

“No I’m trying to call the pope.”

“He might be sleeping.”

He looks up at me and if I wasn’t aware of how stressed he was I would laugh. Confused doesn’t even cover his expression.

“I don’t have time for this right now, I need to get to the show-“

“We have like a five hour wiggle room it’s just a minor-“

“I can’t perform thrown off like this!”

“There’s no reason to be thrown off!” I try to keep my volume contained but I can feel eyes on my back.

“I don’t need you right now just go.”

“So I guess the one week rule is true.” I mutter.

“What’s that?” He asks with an i-dare-you expression.

“I said the one week rule of you being an asshole on tour, I guess that was true. I wish someone told me I would have skipped it.”

“Well you could have skipped the whole thing and nobody would notice.”

His comeback is muttered but cuts like a machete and I feel like the words were physically slung at me. I stand there stunned, my heart sinking as he continues to fiddle with his phone until the call connects.

The shock wears off quickly leaving me with the familiar heat of anger. This was how I reacted to Harry and his dickish ways. How dare he? Why the fuck does he think it’s okay to treat me like this when he wanted? I clench my fist as his voice rises with Morgan.

But beneath the anger is a raw hurt, his words struck a nerve. The same one Gray had struck once. I was replaceable, and all the efforts I’ve put into my career were unimportant and unappreciated.

I snatch the phone from Harry, annoyed at hearing him talk at Morgan.

“Hey Morgan it’s Y/N, yeah it’s a minor inconvenience but if you can get a bus or something to the airport it should be…”

I look to the hostess and she flashes me two fingers and a shake of her hand.

“About 2 hours to get into the city.” I finish. I nod along to Morgan’s questions and repeat details back. “Yeah just text me on my phone, not Harry’s. We’ll sort this out.”

“Thank you y/n. I’m really glad you’re there today.”

The words are a feather on a pile of nails, it’s nice to hear but Harry’s cruel words still ring in my ear.

I hand the phone back to him, expecting a thank you or an apology, but he just takes it and slinks down in his seat.

“It’s her isn’t it?” Sarah gets up on her seat on her knees to look back at Harry. I pause as I walk up the aisle. Is was who?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Harry mutters with his eyes glued to his screen.

“It is,” someone else says.

“Who?” Claire asks.

“Don’t take his mood personally,” Sarah says to me. “Paris is a touchy city for him.”

“Do you guys ever shut up?” Harry asks.

“No that’s why we’re your crew,” Mitch responds.

“We understand,” Sarah continues. Who was she talking about!? “Just don’t take it out on us. It’s not nice.”

Harry doesn’t respond but I sense a deflating happening on his side. Sarah’s words had gotten through to him but they’d just made me super curious.

I get filled in as we wait at the airport for our bus—Morgan had saved the day.

I hear about Harry’s french lover and how he got his heart broken a couple years ago. How the last time they were in France he had disappeared for a day and they’re all sure he visited her. How he can’t go to Paris without getting in a mood, either because he doesn’t get to see her or he’s anxious about seeing her.

“That’s like a city-specific booty-call.”

“Kinda,” Sarah laughs. “But I think he grew really attached to her so it’s a bit—he’s coming back.”

Harry stomps back to where we are, a tray of coffee in his hands. His team accepts it without a word. The world’s most famous non-verbal apology.

I watch him wearily. I still wanted a verbal apology from him, was that crazy? What he said was deeply hurtful. And hearing about his French lover makes me feel a way that I don’t like so I shut it out. I stick to the anger instead. It was easier.

He starts to warm up as we board the bus, cracking jokes with his band. I pick a seat near the front and stay there with my headphones. Aside from answering Morgan’s texts I pretend to be asleep. Eventually I do.

Someone flicks my hat, “C’mon sleepyhead! We’re in the city of love.”

“Wha?” There’s a crick in my neck and I feel rusty. But Harry’s right, we’d landed in Paris. He hovers above my seat with a jovial smile but it dies the longer I don’t return it. Serves him right. He doesn’t get to be cruel and wipe it away with coffee and a joke.

He gets the hint and boards off. I grab the last of the bags and join the group in the lobby where Morgan greets Harry like his long lost son.

“The trials aren’t over just yet,” he cringes. “I don’t know why Paris keeps fucking with me but we’re booked tight for rooms.”

“What does that mean?” Harry asks.

“Uhm well,” Morgan clears his throat. “The hotel overbooked. We have 3 rooms between the 8 of us. Luckily I have a mate who lives in town so I’ll crash at his. The rest of you need to share.”

“Morgan you’re fucking with me,” someone groans.

“No I’m sorry. I booked 5 with an en-suite but they screwed up. They’re refunding us half—I fought for that at least. I can use that to put others in another hotel if you’d like but so far I’ve only managed one room with two doubles.”

“Claire and I can share,” Sarah says.

“Good, Mitch you good with the boys?”

“I’ve slept in worse places.”

“Uh y/n…would you like me to book you an extra room somewhere? I don’t want you to be far from the team-“

“She’ll stay with me.” Harry says. “I’m performing tonight and then we’re moving to Amsterdam tomorrow afternoon so…”

I squirm a little as all eyes fall to me. Cool. Casual. “Sure.”

“Sorted! Let’s get these bags up and out of the way. I’ll have a car waiting down here in a half hour so you can all freshen up and meet me again.”

We trudge along and get off on our respective floors.

“The truth is,” Harry says as we scan ourselves into our room. “I’m probably not even gonna use the bed for the night so it’s all yours.”

“Oh,” I look around the room. It’s got a french touch and a lush queen in the middle. I could deal with not having to share it. I’m sure my fiancé back home would be happier too. Even though I want to ask why I don’t. “Okay.”

We settle our things in silence and a part of me wants to break it and start talking about the ride and Paris but I’m still not over his earlier behaviour so I continue giving the bare minimum. He doesn’t seem to care.

We head off for tests and I end up falling asleep in one of the booths. The tiredness was really creeping up. I could sleep through all the noise the band was making.

A particularly loud screeching from feedback wakes me up. I look down to the group, everyone’s mostly broken up while tech crew tapes down some wires and connects equipment. Harry sits on the edge of the stage, swinging his feet and texting away at his phone. He’s different from the grump this morning. He’s lighter.

Charlie catches me looking and waves, I wave back. There’s a pit in my stomach that grows heavier as the day passes into night.

Paris is not the loudest but super engaged. Everyone has some reference to Harry adorned on their clothing or their face and I can tell Harry has a special connection to the group.

“And finally,” Harry says into the mic. “This is a special song for my French friends. Tonight has been a blessing and I want to merci beaucoup for showing up!”

The crowd cheers as the intro to his song comes on. I listen to the lyrics for the first time since hearing the song last year and connect the dots to what Sarah said earlier. Maybe this was the girl. Maybe this was why he wasn’t sleeping at the hotel tonight.

As we’re leaving the venue and I’m going through a mental list of everything we could have forgotten, we spot a familiar face around back.

“Riley?” Mitch spots him first. “Is that you mate?”

“Hey,” Riley like, Harry’s old assistant Riley is standing with a couple other people who are having a smoke. He squashes his and greets the band who apparently still feel fondly when it comes to him. He looks the exact same but my feelings towards him are curdled after knowing what he’s like and how he left us high and dry.

That leaves Harry and I still hovering by the entrance alone, staring at the reunion by the time Riley comes up to us. I guess the band knew his friends because they get to chatting. I remember then, Riley ditched Harry to work for one of his friends. Must be a small world.

“Why the long face you two, c’mon still not holding a grudge are we?”

“Riley,” Harry addresses him. I stay silent, watching Riley from where I stand behind Harry.

“Nice to see Y/N’s still sticking around. How are you liking tour life?”

“Did you come to the show?” I find my voice.

“Yeah,” he nods all friendly like this was casual and he’s done nothing wrong ever. “I might be biased because I worked for the guy but Harry Styles is one of my top artist. And I’m in Paris until the Fall so why not come support him.”

“Well,” Harry says in the same deadpan voice. “Thanks for the support Riley.”

Riley glances over at him, smug. He knows he’s annoying Harry. So maybe I wasn’t the only one who got enjoyment out of doing that.

“Oh c’mon you’re still upset with me jumping ship? It’s been months! Y/N we’re cool right-“

Riley moves to walk past Harry and to me but Harry side-steps to stay in his way. I look at Harry. So does Riley, confusion sliding away to amusement.

“Oh I see,” he steps back, arms crossed. “Harry you sly dog you did it again.”

“We’re going now,” Harry says. “Try not to show up at any other shows.”

Harry tried to leave and I take the few steps to follow but Riley starts again.

“So y/n you fell for his trick too? I’m disappointed I thought you were immune.” Riley continues. “How’d he get you to the bedroom? Lots of booze? Or did you not even make it to the bedroom? Was it being treated like shit that did it for you?”

“What?” Now in the middle, I look between the two, wondering how this conversation took such a bizarre turn.

“You have some obsession with me Riley?” Harry steps back towards us. “Because you sure enjoy making up stories in your head with me starring in it. Don’t rope y/n into them either.”

“Not all stories,” Riley stays smug. “Some of them I’ve seen with my own eyes.”

They had to be talking about the last PA. The story Riley told me. Which means he thinks I…

“You really should watch what you talk about,” Harry reminds him.

Riley turns his attention to me, “Y/N I thought I warned you good enough. But I guess you put out as easily as the last one.”

“Riley whatever drama you’re trying to-“

“Mate,” Harry gets in Riley’s face so he can’t even look at me. I go quiet. “Get the fuck out of my sight before I get security to kick you out permanently.”

“Being the knight in shining armour doesn’t really suit you Haz,” Riley says. With one final judgemental look thrown my way he walks away. I have to lay a hand on Harry’s arm just to keep him from lunging at him but as soon as my hand makes contact he brushes me away.

This whole interaction was ego-bruising. “Why did he think-“

“Ignore him.” Harry cuts me off, his back still to me. His band, having watched the final scene unfold, now awkwardly shuffles back to us. “You okay?”

“Yeah but why-“

“Good.”

He cuts me off from asking anything and I don’t get to push because the group tries to defuse the situation by changing the subject. That includes the girls inviting me for drinks at their favourite parisian place. Harry disappears and so do those answers.

I try to poke whether the girls at dinner knew anything about his last PA but they barely met her. So I’m forced to eat oysters when they find out I’d never had them and the subject changes quickly to new and other things.

“So oysters thumbs up or down?” I’m asked as I slowly eat another.

“Weird texture…ehh?” I hover my thumb in the middle.

“Well too bad your partner—what’s his name again?” They ask. I tell her. “Ooh good name. Too bad Grayson isn’t here to cash in on all these oysters.”

They laugh and I think I’m not drunk enough to laugh as much with.

It’s the wee hours of the morning by the time we get back to the hotel. I crash alone as soon as my head hits the pillow.

***

After three weeks of tour I’m ecstatic to get back home. I wanted to sleep in the same bed for more than a day, I wanted a shower with even temperature, and I wanted a home-cooked meal.

And I wanted Gray.

I even catch an earlier flight—the night before rather than the next morning. I build up surprising Gray so much that I end up being the one who’s surprised when I come home to an empty flat.

I double check I’d set my phone back to the right time but it’s nearly 11. He must be out with friends, not a client.

I want to call him but still hold the idea of a surprise so I take a shower instead, put a load of laundry in, and make myself a sandwich. I crawl into bed at 1, still no Gray.

I end up tapping through our friends’ stories and find him in one. At least I knew where he was. But 2/3 photos I can find of him, Bex is standing too close for comfort.

I can tell by the photos there’s nothing going on. From his end. The most contact they have is his arm around her shoulder but for some reason all of this makes me mad. I’d broken it down to him that he couldn’t talk with people who had a thing for him because they would only give biased advice. But he didn’t listen. He said I was reading into it too much. And here she was, gazing up at him in every damn photo.

I hate that I wasn’t even home for a couple hours and already found something to annoy me.

I must have fallen asleep shortly after because I wake to poking on my side.

“Y/n? Is that really you? Y/n? Y/n?”

Gray.

“Hi,” I turn in bed. “I’m home early.”

“Shit!” He stands and sways back slightly. Wow, he was pissed. I hadn’t seen him this inebriated in a hot minute. “You didn’t say!”

“I know I-“

“I thought I imagined you.”

“Nope all here,” I grit my teeth. Why was I annoyed at my boyfriend for having a life, I scold myself.

Why is he so drunk and is this a new thing or did he only get this way cuz I’m not around?

“You finally came back to me,” he slurs. He smells like a brewery as he climbs into bed and I wish I could force a shower on him but I get swept up in his arms. “Hey you were right by the way.”

“About?”

“About.”

“Gray! What was I right about?”

“I’m getting to it! You. Were right. About Bex.”

“H-how do you know?” Weird coincidence. Or not?

“Sheshe she tried to kiss me!” He falls back laughing in bed. “I said nooo cuz I have a fiancée. Y/N. Oops. She was maaad.”

My heart drops. I knew it. That little bitch! And she had to go and try to kiss my man when he’s drunk! I officially didn’t like her. And the story itself adds to my irritation.

“Wow. Crazy. I’m tired as hell so I’m going to bed.”

I turn and leave my back to Gray. I didn’t want to see him this drunk, this chill about someone I warned him about trying to kiss him.

He splays on the bed where he is, draping an arm over me and pretty soon I hear his even breathing. That annoys me too, that he could fall asleep so quick. His arm is a weight over my body and I feel like I’m sinking into the bed and out of view.

***

It’s like Grayson and I have forgotten how to live with each other.

What starts out as minor annoyances turn into bickering pretty quickly. Our 1 bedroom flat begins to feel cramped and I desperately try to cling onto the idea of us because I can’t fathom us fizzling out like this but my fingernails are raw from scraping threads.

Work is the easiest it’s been in a while. With no set working hours I just spend a few hours everyday doing admin and running errands. Otherwise, unless somebody calls me I’m free.

I thought it would be great. So much free time with Gray, we could continue planning the wedding and catch up again. But he busies himself with work, and when we go on dates he doesn’t make much of an effort to talk. It’s like getting to know him all over again except he’s a broodier version of himself. It makes me mad and I end up picking fights.

I book brunch with some of the girls on the last Saturday I’m home, thinking it might help to have space from Gray and see other people. I thought everything would be fine. And it is, on a surface level—they treat me perfectly normal.

Except the only time they gave me space to talk about myself went something like this,

“So Y/N how are you? Busy touring how is that?”

“Oh yeah it was great! Really taxing but fulfilling too. I went to so many cities I haven’t visited even though I’ve been in London for like 7 years? Copenhagen was one of my fave-

“Ooh. Yeah I really want to visit Copenhagen this summer.”

“Oh I love Copenhagen…”

And I was officially asked out of sharing my own life. The rest of brunch was me reacting to everyone else’s stories and having the subject change quickly after I brought up anything about myself. When I mentioned Gray casually, I could feel the judgement. It’s like they were waiting on me to complain about him so they could pounce. It’s a weird and tiring energy.

As we all say our goodbyes I manage to catch Rebecca alone.

“Hey Bex,” I stop her on the edge of the group. “I know we haven’t talked much lately but I just want to say I don’t appreciate the moves you’re making on Gray.”

She raises a brow, “moves?”

“He told me you tried to kiss him. Those kinds of moves.”

Her face pinches. “Well someone has to make some.”

“Excuse me?” She tries to walk away but I rush to step in front of her.

“It’s no secret you and Gray are on the road to a breakup,” she has the audacity to look judgey in that moment and I want to slap the look off her face.

“What the fuck do you know about me and Gray? Back. Off.”

“Hey what’s going on?” One of our other friends drifts towards us and I notice they’re all looking our way.

“Just a friendly chat,” I say with sarcasm you can’t miss. At the same time Bex responds, “Y/n’s being delusional.”

I was going to get physical, I step back towards her but our friends get between us. I think they knew uni me, and knew I wasn’t afraid of confrontation.

“What the fuck y/n?” I was so tired of the look on their faces, like I was crazy.

“She tried to kiss Gray!” I reveal. “Last week! I’m just telling her to back off and I have every right to!”

It’s news to them. They turn to Bex who’s fidgeting with her sweater as a flush creeps up her neck.

“I-I he did! He tried to kiss me!”

I snort, “I don’t have time for your bullshit Rebecca. I’ve gotta go.”

“Oh yeah we all know you don’t have time y/n, you’re so busy these days.”

“Bex!” Someone scolds her.

“Somebody better teach her hand to keep her hand over her mouth because I will get through all of you if it means getting to her. You know you guys don’t know shit about my life. And you don’t even care to these days! Just because Gray told his sob side you guys treat me like-like shit!”

“That’s not true-“

“It is! You don’t even know my side! And I don’t care to explain because you lot are supposed to be our friends, not the judge and jury of my relationship.”

They stare blankly at me and nobody denies it so I continue: “I try so hard to stay involved in your lives knowing I can’t make it to half of our parties, I’m always messaging you guys and trying to stay on top of your socials to know what’s going on in your lives. I feel like I make all the effort and I’m just made the pariah.”

It feels good getting it off my chest. It feels amazing. I feel like I’m breathing an actual lungful of air now.

“We’re sorry if we made you feel that way.” I look at who’s said this. One of my oldest friends from uni. I scoff.

“You’re sorry if you made me feel that way?! I just said you did!”

“Sorry,” she says, quieter.

“Y’know it’s…it’s disappointing. I thought, when we became best friends first year of uni nothing could shake the bond we had. Apparently a man you met 3 years ago who vented to you about your best friend was just the thing.” All their faces are small and nobody makes eye contact with me. “Anyway, I do have to go. I have an appointment. Let’s not do this again.”

I walk away, proud of myself for saying what I had to and getting it off my chest. For sticking up for myself.

But the farther away I get, the more the adrenaline crashes through me and I end up walking onto the tube on shaky legs and collapsing in my seat. The reality of what’s happened falls into my lap and I see a bunch of burned bridges.

I spend a couple extra hours out after my appointment. I’m not going anywhere in particular, I let my feet carry me through the city as my mind continues to whir.

Harry texts me, asking me to stop by his place before I fly back for tour tomorrow evening. Apparently the concierge needed all his mail picked up and he needed a few of the items. It annoys me that he waited last minute to ask.

When I get home at 4, Gray’s vacuuming the flat. He stops it when I come in.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“How was brunch?”

It’s the way he asks. I know he knows. Which means a group chat exists with our friends and him without me. It feels like another betrayal. Who keeps their partner out deliberately? Who opens up their relationship like a hockey net, open for anyone to take shots at?

“Why’re you asking?” I feel another fight coming.

“I can’t ask you how brunch went?”

“Did you hear something? Let me guess, did Bex snitch?”

“No, chill out why would Bex snitch?”

“Grayson,” I look at him deadpan. “Don’t bullshit me. If you have any respect for me, which I know now is not a lot, don’t bullshit me.”

He sighs but doesn’t say anything more. Doesn’t lie and doesn’t tell the truth.

“So?” I ask. “Is there like a group chat or something?”

“Let’s just drop it-“

“No! I’m not dropping this when you brought it up. So is there? Did you disrespect me in front of all our friends by talking shit, and then do it even more by allowing them to ice me out in a group chat you knew I wasn’t part of?”

He doesn’t respond. My temper flares.

“The hurtful part isn’t even not being part of the chat, it’s that you didn’t tell me.”

It makes sense now. I was always initiating birthday messages there or privately, thinking everyone was forgetting to wish each other. Now I know I was public fool number one keeping that convo alive when they were probably all wishing each other elsewhere. God. I was an idiot!

“Look I’m sorry y/n, after you stopped showing up to things they just made a new one so they don’t bother you.”

“Oh is that why? Because that was active up until a few months ago. So according to the timeline it was probably when you fucked up and talked shit about me to all our friends and they decided I was a bitch and they should all cancel me! Well I hope you’re happy Gray!”

“I’m not! I’m sorry I didn’t realize-“

“Stop!” I slam my hand into the wall and it hurts harder than I anticipated but I bite back the pain. “Just admit it! You want to paint me as the bad guy so fucking hard, and I am in some ways I know I’m far from perfect Gray! But instead of talking to me like normal fucking people do, you just iced me out and then isolated me from the only friends I’ve ever made in this stupid fucking city!”

I can’t help the tears now even though I don’t want to cry. I want to rage and scream and throw things about but the hurt is bigger and it bubbles over the pot and sears my heart.

I leave my shopping bags where I’ve dropped them and walk back out of the door before he can come up with a response. I couldn’t stand to look at his face. He’s betrayed me over and over and the whole time I was desperately trying to show him I hadn’t changed and I loved him.

I walk the 40 minute to Harry’s and the early evening air helps me learn how to breathe again. I take in gulps of it and try not to cry. I didn’t want to waste tears on Gray and my stupid friends. I didn’t want to do any of this! I just wanted to press pause on my whole damn life and take a nap.

Outside his building I pull out my phone and make sure I don’t look crazed. My hand is killing me and I ignore the bruising blooming fresh.

The concierge spots me just as I enter, and we make small talk about Harry on tour and his last few shows that would happen in London. I make a note to mention to Harry to send him tickets—apparently his niece listened to him.

He helps me load a cart with Harry’s mail and take it upstairs.

It had been over a month since I’d been in here and it’s weird that it feels comforting. Or maybe that was just after two weeks of feeling like a stranger at home.

Harry’s words on the plane echo back to me. Not that I was appreciated here either.

If there was ever a time to go back home to the States, it would be now. But that felt like running away. I had to sort my life out here before I made any rash decisions.

With a sigh I dump the paper onto the coffee table. After sorting what looked like bills from letters from miscellaneous I spot the two envelopes Harry wanted and put it to the side. I open the boxes next and locate his custom orthopaedic inserts he asked me to grab too.

I take the extra mail to my office to sort out. In the familiar closed quarters where I’d spent too much time in the last year rolling through a hundred phases, my feelings edge out of me. I try to wipe the tears and continue on but I end up pathetically sat over on the chair crying until I can barely breathe.

It’s pathetic because this is the first space I’ve felt I had the space to cry. And it was where I worked. Where, apparently, I wouldn’t even be missed.

New tears. Less breaths.

“Get it the fuck together,” I say between gasps. “That’s. Enough.”

Through my own self-talk I manage to calm down enough to finish the work. It’s half past 8 by the time I get back to the main living area. I get water to rehydrate myself and stay sitting on the couch staring into space for another ten minutes. I don’t think I had any more tears to cry. Just a rock in place of my heart and another bigger one attached to my ankle.

“Okay,” I finally get the courage to head home.

The end isn’t big and explosive. It’s a simple statement: I think we both know what needs to be done now.

I don’t fight him this time. I have no fight left in me. I just nod.

“I’ll sleep on the couch and still drop you off tomorrow,” he reassures me.

“Just sleep in bed,” I couldn’t even muster enough energy for expression. My flat tone is how I felt. “You don’t fit on the couch. And I’ll get myself to the airport.”

“No I’ll take you. I’ve already made the arrangements-“

“You don’t have to worry about me anymore Gray,” I say. He looks crestfallen and it irks me that he does. I didn’t want him to be sad, it was ridiculous but it was.

“Well I’ll take you anyway.” He says then turns back to the TV.

I wash the day off and make sure everything is packed for my early flight tomorrow. As I lay in bed alone I realize this might be the last time I ever sleep here. Like this. I would have to move all my shit out. Oh god, the wedding. I’d have to cancel my dress shopping dates and the cake testing, the invites we were still designing.

We’d only told our friends it was going to be a winter wedding, I’m glad we never gave them a date. Nobody had marked their calendars. Nothing about us would been permanent.

I look down at the simple ring on my hand. Everything but that.

I keep it on.

I’m still awake when Gray comes to bed but I pretend to sleep. My mind can’t stop making lists to answer: what now.

I’m in a fugue state all night and the only thing that clears the fog is the rays of sunshine peeking through the blinds in the morning. I hadn’t slept a wink.

Quiet, so I don’t wake Gray, I get up and dressed. I order a taxi and try not to linger on the hurt of doing this alone. Of Gray waking up to an empty bed.

The flight to Madrid is a couple hours and I miraculously nap through it. Everyone is happy to see me when I get back, especially when I present them with snacks they’d all said they missed from home while we were on tour. With them in hand, I’m an angel in their eyes.

I hand Harry his mail and he stops me. His eyes don’t stop examining my face.

“What happened to your hand?” He asks.

I’d picked up a bandaging kit and ice pack at the airport and with the help of Youtube, wrapped it up. It had started to bruise even worse but I couldn’t be arsed to deal with it even though it hurt. Nothing a few painkillers couldn’t fix.

“I accidentally got it caught in a door,” I lie easily. I had practiced. “It’s nothing.”

“Did you get it checked?”

“No.”

“Make sure you do, tonight’s show.”

“Sure. It’s really nothing though.”

“You sure?” He asks. His gaze is unnerving.

“Mhm,” I nod.

He’s silent, eyes scanning my face. Right as I decide I couldn’t take the scrutiny he asks, “Why were you crying last night?”

I stare, unsure what kind of trick he was playing.

“Sorry.” He laughs to himself. “I have one of those uh, motion sensor cameras in the entryway. I turn it on while I’m away so it sends like, automatic clips if there’s movement. I saw you come in and leave.”

“Oh.” Shit. Think fast. Think fast. “I uhm, got into it with some friends I had a meal with. Y’know…they were being a bit icy cuz of what they’ve heard. I’m over it though.”

“Yeah?” His eyes flicker down to my hand.

“Yeah.” I hold his green eyes for a moment, to reassure him I’m okay. I don’t know why he cares, maybe because I looked like a right mess last night as I left. How embarrassing. But I do my best acting job ever.

Satisfied, he lets me go. I return to the group asking for updates and any stories they wanted to share. Before long I’m laughing along and creeping out of my depressed mood. But something heavier still lingers.

***

TAGLIST: @boomitsallie1 @indierockgirrl @ndunad @jerseygirlinca @sunshinemoonsposts @ninasw0rld @love-letters-to-uranus @mayamonroem @sassamanda77

[nalyra-dreaming]

Holy shit?!

src

“Louis is still fighting to get to something, to unlock the memories that have curiously evaded him. "The pursuit of memory and truth is the driving force this season. It motivates Louis to get to where we're going to get to by the end of it," said Zaman. "Season 1 proved that his memory's completely shot in lots of ways, but who, or what, did that — that's the question I think we're going to have to answer."…

“It all begins with Louis, a textbook unreliable narrator, though Jones and Anderson both bristle a bit at the term. "One self delusion knits itself to the rest of your life," Jones said. He argued that Louis' memory might be "80-90 percent" correct, though it only takes one mistaken detail to muddle a timeline and cancel someone out entirely. "To unwind that, you call into question all this stuff. It doesn't mean that all this stuff isn't right. It's just this thing has altered it a little bit."

…

To Anderson, Louis' unreliability matters less than the vivid reality of his feelings. "It's not necessarily that Louis is a quote-unquote unreliable narrator," he said. "He is, because what he's saying is completely subjective. But I think it has just as much to do with how something felt, the feeling of a person or the feeling of an experience, than it is him actively trying to deceive anybody." That comes out most strongly in Dubai, particularly in the second season. "He's really, genuinely trying to find the closest thing to an objective recalling of events that he possibly can."…

“I like writing for Sam Reid, and I think in terms of how this thing is structured and what's going on in this headspace, it wasn't a big leap to go, 'Oh, he's haunting. He's inside Louis,'" Jones said. When we see Lestat at the beginning of the season, he manifests as what Anderson and Reid referred to as "dream Lestat" — not quite himself, not quite a ghost, not quite a memory, but some blend of all three, filtered through Louis' guilt and grief.

…

"Who is Louis remembering, and how is Louis remembering [Lestat] is always on my mind," said Reid when we first spoke at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in February. "I'm always thinking about it, and I'm always talking about it, much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone." (From across the table we were crowded around, Anderson heckled, "I can vouch for that.") Later, when we met one on one over Zoom, Reid elaborated, "Louis is speaking to himself, so he speaks like Louis. But he's also speaking to Lestat, and he's choosing to speak to Lestat when he's speaking to himself." The first time we see Lestat in Season 2, he materializes before Louis as a gory vision during a moment of mental deterioration, vengeful and overbearingly loving all at once. What was already a blurry line between the ex-lovers has now become indistinguishable.“…

“With dream Lestat assuming a number of dispositions, all dictated by Louis' headspace, separating dream Lestat from the real Lestat was crucial to Reid. "It's clear that Louis is putting the words into his mouth," Reid said. "Who's the guy that he's forced to see looking back at him, saying the words that he thinks he should be saying?" The presence of dream Lestat means that the state of the real Lestat is unclear when the season opens, but becoming this slightly unreal version of his character built on the groundwork Reid had already been laying. Going back to the first season, he often rejected Anderson's impulse to play their scenes together as if they were true. "I know this is not how this happened," he said of Louis' version of events, "which allowed me to kind of lean into the more sow's ear version of Lestat in specific moments, because I knew that we might be revisiting them."…

“For Claudia, Lestat's influence will always linger. "That's his daughter," Hayles said simply. "He doesn't need to be a ghost. He's in her." Louis and Claudia know each other inside and out, and Louis' love for Claudia is all-encompassing, but she sees the writing on the wall the moment he meets Armand: What happened with Lestat will happen again as Louis chooses another man over her.“

(much more behind the link!!)

UPDATE: link to the author’s tweet, Allison Picurro

[beautifulfuckup99]

May you please write a Yoongi imagine, doesn’t matter what the premise is, I just want a fluffy husband Yoongi<3!!!🫶🏼

Sure Thing!

Title: I've Got It From Here

Rating: G

Warning(s): Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Yoongi's Accident, Talks of PTSD, Anxiety, and yes there will be FLUFF.

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy! Keep the requests comin!

************************************

He doesn't know what triggered it, really. Maybe it was sleeping on it wrong? Maybe it was the cold weather of Seattle, where he was touring currently? Maybe it was performing so hard every night?

No matter the real cause, this morning Yoongi woke with a stiff shoulder and a tightness in his chest like he usually got when experiencing this pain. It's like with the pain came the memories, came the flashbacks of the tire...

Yoongi shuts his eyes, wanting to push the image away. Days like this convinced him that he, indeed, was not over the past. But he had to be. For the fans, for the sake of the tour, and more importantly, for you.

You had finally gotten a free schedule to come visit your husband on tour and Yoongi would be damned if this trip was ruined by his damn shoulder. Damnit.

And so, with a deep breath, and slight wince, Yoongi got out of bed and proceeded to get ready to meet you at the airport.

********************************

It's all a rush of cameras and screaming fans and the flash, God the flash. It was broad daylight, why the hell did they need the flash on?!

And then as quickly as it's all too much for him, it becomes background noise the second your arms wrap around him. And he bears the pain so he can hold you back as you laugh in pure delight at being back in your husband's arms.

"God, this feels good..." You laugh happily as you snuggle more into his chest, kissing his shoulder softly as usually, and Yoongi bites back a soft hiss.

"Tell me about it..." He sighs softly as he puts his face in your hair, breathing in your scent with a deep and full whiff. You'd never know how much he needed this. Needed you. He felt calmer already.

"Let's go! I've been looking forward to this for weeks!" You laugh as you hold his arm while bouncing towards baggage claim. Yoongi stiffens and shuts his eyes. You pause instantly. "Baby?" You ask in concern.

"I-I'm good." He says fast. "Didn't get enough sleep last night." He says. You'd been hard at work these past few months while he's been gone. This was your vacation. And he was not going to ruin that. He could take it. He could endure. The smile on your face would be worth it.

********************************

As soon as you're settled in the hotel room, you're dragging Yoongi around the hotel and find a display of activity brochures. You gush over the different restaurants, museums, and live concerts they have this week. You playfully hold up a 'Folklore Concert in the Park' pamphlet. "Maybe you'll get inspiration for the next album..." You joke and he smiles a thin lipped smile.

"Maybe. Do a whole country folklore album. Hat, boots, and horse." He teases along and you giggle as you nudge him. He holds his arm when you're not looking and when you gasp, he straightens up.

"Festival! Winter Festival! Happening tonight. We can go, right? It's ok?" You ask hopefully as you look up at your husband with the same big eyes that always get him.

He looks you in the eyes. Getting lost in them was better than any coping mechanism. You were the best distraction and anxiety reducer. How could you not know how much those eyes meant to him? He finally hums. "I think we can stop by, look around..." He gives in softly.

"This is gonna be the best vacation ever!" You giggle and hug him tightly. He squeezes his eyes to stop the tears. "I love you!" You giggle and he lets out a soft sigh. "I love you..." He whispers.

****************************

Later that evening, you're led into the Winter Festival that was taking place at some park by a river. Families, couples, and groups of friends of all ages are running around. Christmas lights adorned the trees, and the freshly laid snow on the ground looked like something out of a movie.

You're wearing a casual outfit with your sweater and one of Yoongi's leather jackets with fur inside of it on top. Layers were the most important thing in the winter, so you didn't mind the wool hat and scarf you were nuzzled in. Yoongi holds your hand to the best of his ability, but the cold weather and the heavy winter coat was not helping. And the scarf around his neck felt like a noose.

And, oh my god, was he breathing? When was his last breath? This coat was so damn heavy. He couldn't focus on what you were sayin-wait. You were speaking?

He finally blinks, trying to focus on you as you joke about the huge inflatable decorations. "They'd look good in front of our place. Of course, I think if we ever posted our house looking like this, Taehyung would be the first to mock us for it." You giggle as you enjoy the 'Winter Wonderland' aesthetic.

Yoongi hums and you eye him a bit. Something was wrong with your husband. You could feel it in your heart. He'd been quiet the whole day. Barely eating, barely laughing. He was deep in his own thoughts. Something that only happened when he was either thinking of a new song, or when his anxiety got really bad.

You grip his hand a bit firmer to try and ground him, but he barely reacts. You finally move in front of him and stop, causing him to bump into you. He curses at the suddenness, and you watch him in concern.

"Yoongi..." You try as you make him look at you. "I'm fine." He says fast. "You want... Decorations." He says to prove he's been paying attention, but his voice comes out in soft pants. His skin is pale, his lips are trembling, his eyes show the panic in his head.

"Baby. Stay here, I'm gonna get you something to drink." You say fast before you walk off, pulling out your phone to check the time and to see if you could text the driver to come around for you two.

You're busy on your phone and Yoongi watches you walk away but is thrown further into his panic when he sees a black car swerve around the corner to enter the parking lot. The same parking lot you were about to cross to get to the refreshments table.

Flashes of that day runs through his mind as he takes off after you. "Y/N!" He screams in horror. You stop in your tracks and turn fast to face him with wide eyes. He grabs your arm and yanks you out of the street as the car full of teenagers speeds past.

"What is the matter with you?! You didn't see that car?! It could have-" You cut Yoongi off as you try and get him to focus, but he continues his panicked rambles. "I won't lose you. I won't lose you." He repeats fast, over and over again as you grab his face hard.

"Baby!" You say finally and his bottom lip begins to quiver a bit as he looks at you. His walls, his prideful stubbornness, his 'don't worry about me' attitude... it all crumbles down right in front of your eyes. You stroke his cheeks gently. "What's wrong, baby?" You whisper as tears slowly slide down his puffy cheeks that are pink from the cold.

"It hurts." He finally admits and your heart breaks as the realization dawns on you.

"I've got you, baby..." You sigh and carefully pull in his 5-foot 9 frame like he's the smallest thing. "I've got you..." You sigh as you nod at security to lead you two away.

****************************

"Ah... Ah... Ow!" Yoongi groans as you focus on putting some muscle relaxer cream on his shoulder and then wrapping it, so the lidocaine cream doesn't get anywhere else.

"Why didn't you tell me? You could've really made the pain worse..." You whisper as you carefully lay him back on a pile of pillows to hopefully help him rest.

"This was supposed to be your vacation..." He whispers and you sigh deeply. "If you weren't already hurt, I'd hurt you for being so dumb. This was our vacation. And it's not a good one if you're in pain. Marriage is a give and take game, Yoongi." You say.

"Yeah, 50/50..." He mutters and you roll your eyes. "No. Not 50/50. Sometimes it's 70/30. Sometimes it's 40/60. But the whole point of this arrangement is we take turns. You're always all in. Give me a chance to show I can be the 80 in this relationship and go down to 20." You say as you stroke his hair out of his face. He shuts his eyes at that.

"I don't want you getting tired of carrying me around..." He whispers and you stroke his soft skin before leaning in. "These shoulders can carry whatever your shoulders can't. Gladly. Any day of the week..." You whisper as you gently nudge your nose with his.

He looks into your eyes, his eyes teary. "You're not there anymore..." You whisper, knowing where his mind was. He closes his eyes, saying nothing, but nodding along.

You play with his hair a bit more and watch as he slowly starts to relax. "Rest, baby. I've got it from here..." You promise gently as he drifts off to sleep.

*****************************************

Hope you liked it!

[kimbap-r0ll]

What would the dorm leaders want to do in the summer with their s/o

It's wayy too hot this summer haha

Riddle

He hates the summer, he's more of a fall or spring person because he likes seeing the colors and the slight coolness of each season. However, he does like the fact that he can spend more time with you because of the school holiday

he loves reading with you while sitting in a cool cafe (loves air conditioners haha) but he also likes walking along the seashore on a sunset. He won't say anything about why, but it's really because he's lowkey a romantic (just emotionally constipated)

Riddle won't be super into going to a waterpark or doing some more extreme activities, but if you want to it will take a lot of convincing before he agrees. Let his inner childhood be happy and take him to a waterpark haha

Overall, he prefers cooler and slower activities but he doesn't mind the occasional wild side of the summer. He enjoys sitting with you and eating fresh fruits too!

Leona

Would've just stayed napping all the time during the summer because he just loves the warmth. The sunlight and the slight haze that it brings just makes him sleepy. What would make this better would be napping with you!

He actually loves the summer! He doesn't like the cold that much, and it's a long holiday so he'll take that as an excuse to do other things than sit in front of a desk. He may be interested in studying but he also enjoys exploring different interests he has

If you enjoy more wilder activities than napping, I feel like he would be down for it. At first he might grumble, saying he's not interested and that it's too far away. However, after you show him some of the waterpark's photos he'll be like "pack your things we're going"

If you guys go to a waterpark or the beachside, you'll have to convince Cheka not to tag along with you two or you will have a third wheeler by-choice on all of your trips. Cheka's cute, you love him being with you two, but Leona doesn't like getting embarrassed by his nephew haha

Azul

"Darling it's better down where it's better take it from meee" — Azul at some point during the summer. He will convince you to go to Coral Sea with him, even if he himself won't transform into his merform he thinks the summer is better without the sweltering sun

Azul feels more like a fall/winter person. He likes sitting in front of a fireplace, a warm drink in hand, while reading his favorite books or being an academic weapon haha. However, if the summer means he can spend more time with you, he'll choose the summer season any day!

He honestly would love for you two to just swim around in the sea together, he might give you a tour of his hometown. But if you don't want to go into the water, you two will find yourselves on the shoreline probably building the most intricate sandcastle together (potentially making a child jealous on the beach haha).

Azul might not agree to waterparks because he's scared of heights and he doesn't want to burst your eardrums with him screaming his head off. However, his inner child may be interested in the waterslides that you show him and may give into your begging haha

Kalim

He was the one that asked you to go on a waterpark trip. He loves thrills and what better way to cool off than with the coolest slides plus nice pools?

Kalim loves the summer even though back at his home the sun can be blazing. The summer is the time for a long break, for fireworks, etc. It's just nice to see all of his friends and family again, and to spend more time with you!

If you prefer slower, more relaxed activities however, he'll be down for that too. He might give up on the book he picked up and just sit with you while leaning his head on your shoulder but it's nice to just be with you. He's super flexible and open-minded, so you won't find anything he won't do

Overall he's totally the best person to spend the summer with because of the energy he brings during the season. Also if you need water, he does have his unique ability haha

Vil

He honestly has a love-hate relationship with the season. He loves the sunlight and the summer fashion items that he can look through. But he HATES the hot, humid, sweltering weather. Loves the winter or fall because of that

He doesn't love waterparks but he would rather find a concert or film festival to attend. He likes to stay cool but also is an arts enjoyer. If you happen to be interested in concerts or other festivals, he'll definitely get vip tickets for the two of you haha

You could convince him to go to a waterpark with you, but it might take you a lot of begging. He doesn't like waterparks because of how crowded they get but also because it feels like a lot of work for him. However, it does look like fun, and his inner child may want to get on a really big waterslide

He will be wary of fans that might try to get paparazzi photos of the two of you while doing your summer activities. However, they won't really bother you two since you guys are good at hiding from them haha. Expect aesthetic photos from him too

Idia

He doesn't really like the summer because it's so hot and he doesn't like getting sunburnt, but at the same time if he's able to be cooped up in his room (that has a full powered ac) and watch summer animes with you then he loves it. I feel like he's a winter, spring person. He likes the colors of the spring and the winter makes him feel cozy

He doesn't enjoy the sun but will want to do a bonfire with you if you insist on visiting the beach. He likes toasting marshmallows with you and listening to what video game lore you are interested in this year.

If you ask him about waterslides or a waterpark, he might be a bit hesitant. He's not the best with large slides, but at the same time they sound like a blast. Ortho on the other hand will be begging with you to go to a really big waterpark. It's a 2vs1 match so Idia will have to go haha

Overall he likes the summer because it means he can spend time with you. Perhaps you two can have your romance-anime-summer-episode this year too and watch the fireworks!

Malleus

He doesn't like the summer because it's so hot, but at the same time he doesn't like freezing weather because it reminds him of his home where it's a bit lonely. He does like spring because of the flowers, but the summer is about to become his favorite because he likes spending time with you

The two of you might go traveling to a new location together and seeing museums, different restaurants, etc. He likes to learn about people and just everything around him, so it might be fun to have a trip somewhere new!

He likes to see the sunrise or sunset on the beach with you too. He likes listening to you while watching the glow of the sun turn pink, you also look beautiful in the golden hour. He might get lost staring at you because of that haha (it's really cute)

He's never really been to waterparks, so he would be totally down to trying it out. He chooses the wildest rides too, since he thinks it won't be as bad as flying. He has an absolute blast there but he might get badly sunburnt haha

[sheepiemc]

your touch (a craving)

part 5: mouth (first | prev)

The time had come. 

All the hard work of his students and staff finally paid off as the winter festival commenced. After the opening ceremony, Diavolo toured all the booths and activities with Barbados, making sure everything ran smoothly and in perfect order. Along the way, he caught a few glimpses of you enjoying the festivities with the seven brothers, but even that was enough to make his heart swell and burst with affection, pride, and envy. 

Diavolo didn’t get to participate for himself, but that was par for the course. Everything he did was for the Devildom; the Devildom always came first - even before himself. This truth never bothered him before, he always understood the indelible responsibility that he would shoulder one day. Recently, however, something started to change, something shifted. He started to wonder if things had to be like this, and that shift could be traced all the way back to that fateful day when you fell out of the Devildom sky. 

The Winter Ball was held at The Demon Lord's Castle - Diavolo loved hosting events at the castle. All walks of life from across the Devildom got to experience the luxury he lived in every day and he got to fill the mostly empty halls with life, even if it was only for a few short hours. If it were up to him, he’d have the doors open to the public all the time but "tradition dictates", and "do you know what kind of safety risk", blah, blah, blah. It was the same speech from his butler every time so eventually, he stopped bringing it up. 

He stood now, on the landing above all the dancing revelers, dressed in his true demonic form. Seeing everyone enjoying themselves was usually enough to make the smile on Diavolo’s face feel genuine, but there was a deep ache inside of him that was getting impossible to ignore. 

He gripped the banister so tightly his knuckles turned white when you entered the ballroom, looking even more enchanting than normal, surrounded on all sides by the Avatars of Sin. You scanned the crowd, clearly looking for something, and when you couldn’t find whatever it was, the crease between your eyebrows deepened. Something called your attention to the stairs and when your eyes connected with Diavolo’s, he could swear they were filled with relief. Your smile pinned him to the spot he was standing. You waved subtly to him before your attention was dragged away to the antics of the brothers beside you. It looked like they were fighting over who would dance with you first and Mammon stole you away before a consensus was decided. 

“Lovely party, isn’t it?” Diavolo jumped at the cool, smooth voice that suddenly appeared beside him. Not many people could sneak up on the prince, but his butler was one of the few. 

“Yes,” Diavolo said, recovering quickly, “it certainly is. Everyone did such a fantastic job.” His line of sight reverted to the crowd, finding you instinctually. You were dancing with Satan now. A long beat of silence stretched between the two demons, standing high above the rest of the Devildom. 

“I’ve known you,” Barbados said, “for a very long time, My Lord.” 

“Yes, you have.” It wasn’t a question but Diavolo felt compelled to answer. Asmodeus took over next, with his hands very low on your waist, so unselfconscious. Diavolo could feel hairline fractures start to form in the marble banister under his vice grip. 

“You are very careful of the power that you wield. The last time I remember you doing something purely for yourself was when you asked me to be your butler. Your selflessness often makes me wonder if you truly are a demon.” He chuckled to himself as if he told the funniest joke in the world. Below, Mammon tried to steal you away for a second dance but the others caught him immediately. 

“Everyone else,” Barbados continued, “may see something like this - this festival, this ball - and think that it is a reflection of a whimsical prince who doesn’t take anything seriously.” In the commotion, you broke away from the group, coaxing Leviathan off the wall to join you on the dancefloor. You spun the red-faced demon around a few times before he retreated out of the crowd, back to the safety of the sidelines. 

“But I know that everything you do is for the good of your people. You care about them, all of them, more than any demon would expect you to. What I’m trying to get at, my lord,” he continued, turning to look at the prince, making sure he fully understood his meaning, “it’s okay for you to indulge yourself now and then, especially since you so rarely do. You are a demon and a prince. You can want things just for yourself.” 

You were currently squished between the twins, with both you and Belphegor trying to balance on Beelzebub’s feet. Diavolo tore his gaze away from your laughing face and looked Barbados in the eyes. Right now, he wasn’t speaking as a butler - someone who was paid to care for a young prince - but as a true friend and the closest thing to family that Diavolo had. 

Diavolo smiled down at him, and Barbados mirrored the emotion, his usual enigmatic smile replaced by something warm and genuine. “Brilliant, as always, Barbados.” 

He looked back to see you dancing with Lucifer now. You both looked so elegant on the dancefloor, gliding through the crowd effortlessly. He watched you and, before long, your eyes met again like magnets. You smiled at him, a silent question in your eyes. 

Mind made up, Diavolo pushed away from the banister and looked at Barbados again. They nodded at each other once before Diavolo was practically flying down the stairs. Approaching the crowd, he could feel the eyes and whispers of his subjects. A few actually approached the prince, congratulating and complimenting him on the party as he passed. He acknowledged them, sure, but he was more focused on finding you. 

“Hey.” A clear voice rose above the din and it made Diavolo turn on his heel. There you were, leaning against the wall near the outskirts of the crowd, perspiration glistening on your skin and chest heavily rising and falling with your breath. “I needed to take a break from the dancefloor for a minute. Keep me company?” 

He smiled at the easy way you spoke to him, even in front of all these people. “It would be my pleasure, MC.” 

He leaned against the wall next to you, with only a cocktail table between you. Just then, a Little D. flitted by with a serving tray of sparkling demonus and Diavolo plucked two glasses off easily. He handed one flute to you, your fingers brushing his ever so lightly, but the tingling spark shooting up his arm almost made him drop the glass. 

“Thank you,” you nodded, bringing the glass to your lips. Diavolo watched you close your eyes, as the cool, refreshing liquid made its way down the smooth column of your throat. As you finished, Diavolo pried his eyes away from you to flag down another Little D. so he could replenish you. He put it down on the table between you, not risking another shock, and took the opportunity to nurse his own flute. It was all he could do to not take a bite out of you right there. 

“I really needed that,” you said after a deep, satisfied breath, swapping your empty glass for the full one, and taking one last sip from it. “Ballroom dancing can take a lot out of you. You do this every weekend?” 

That made him laugh. “If I had a party like this every weekend,” he said, “the royal coffers would be empty before my next birthday. That wouldn't be very responsible for a future King, now would it?” He looked down into his flute, watching the bubbles pop at the top. You sensed the mood shift, studying his profile as his dark eyebrows furrowed in thought. 

You put your drink down. “Well, this isn't exactly what I was picturing when I suggested a winter formal but,” you paused to admire the scenery, “it's alright.” 

Your joke settled the worry on Diavolo’s face. He looked at you, then looked around at all the people in their fanciest formalwear and intricate winter-themed decorations. 

“I mean,” you continued, “where's the watered-down punch and the terrible DJ?” 

“I may have taken some creative liberties based on the source material,” he said, putting his drink down next to yours. 

“Yeah, I wouldn't exactly call this an accurate human high school experience. But,” you said, finally giving up the bit, genuine awe in your voice, “that's honestly a good thing. This is seriously incredible, Diavolo.” 

“Well, I have to thank you, MC,” he said, holding your gaze even as heat bloomed across his face. “If it were not for your idea, we wouldn't be here now. I hope our guests from all three realms are enjoying themselves.” 

“I know I am.” With intense eye contact maintained, you picked up a glass from the table, holding it out for a toast. Diavolo did the same and clinked it with yours, his eyes never leaving your own. 

After taking a sip, you examined your drink. “Wasn't this fuller a second ago?” 

The sparkling demonus washed over his tongue. His head started swimming from the buzz of the drink taking effect at the same moment he realized you both must've reached for the wrong flute. He jerked it away from his mouth quickly before covering his lips with his hand. 

“Oh,” you gasped, “I'm so sorry, I should've paid attention to which glass I was grabbing.” 

He was all but hearing you, his mind was too fixated on the idea that his lips were touching something yours touched just a moment ago. 

You were nervous, rambling, laughing, “Do you guys call it an indirect kiss here, like we do in the human world? It's kinda silly, I mean it’s not like you’re really kissing, and it really was an accident, I promise…” 

Diavolo’s silence terrified you. He was breathing heavier and his face was completely red. Was he mad at you? Nearly panicking, you searched for an excuse to give him space (and save yourself from embarrassment). “I think I hear Lucifer calling me, so I'm just gonna-” 

You turned to leave but before you could make your escape, a strong hand snatched your wrist, desperate but not too hard. 

“MC, please,” he rasped, his voice taking on a quality you never heard before, “please don't walk away from me.”

[willowworkswithwords]

Simple Acts

1999 saw a lot. The imminent coming of a new century and millennium all at once was thrilling and moving and terrifying. But 1999 saw Eddie and the band reaching a new level, touring and writing and performing in a way they had never really hit until then. They weren’t Madison Square Garden material, but they never really wanted to be anyway, so the cross-country road trips suited them more than fine. Signing onto a new record label that allowed them to really explore their sound was probably one of the best moves they’d made together. It was no dud year for Steve, either. Working at a summer camp was probably the last thing sophomore-Steve would have expected himself to do (besides being gay and knowing it, accepting it, being it). But Steve was outside, he was with kids, he was active all day. And the other counselors were understanding of his migraines, his aches and pains, the days he couldn’t be out on the lake because sometimes it was a trigger to things he really didn’t want the kids witnessing.

But the good had been outweighing the bad for a long time by then. Eddie and Steve had taken some time getting used to each other, way back in 1986, but by ‘88, Steve started to realize the way he saw Eddie was through-and-through different than how he’d ever felt about anyone. He was in love, and in the rain one night, he’d told Eddie.

They were each other’s from that moment onwards.

The house they’d bought together in ‘94 (after sharing an apartment with Robin for five wonderful years in Indy) was a quaint and quirky little two-bedroom down in Kentucky, not three hours from Hawkins, from Wayne and Hopper and Joyce, and the kids’ who’d settled there after all, after everything. (El and Mike, though they’d broken up in ‘87 and stayed platonic since then, to the relief of everyone but especially Hopper.) It wasn’t too far outside Louisville, if they ever wanted to get into the city for some fun. But with Eddie touring as much as he did, when the winter months came and gigs got less abundant, and Steve wasn’t out at the camp nearly as much, they mostly stayed around their town, around their little home, and were happy to be near each other.

Like now. Steve was standing behind Eddie with cheap hair scissors they’d gotten at the Dollar General years ago, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth just enough to make Eddie laugh. The sunlight glinted off the gold band on his ring finger as he compared the left and right halves of Eddie’s (still) long locks. Long hair wasn’t really in fashion anymore, even singers, but Eddie held fast to it. He’d played around with all sorts of variations in the early 90’s, but in the end, the old reliable came right back around.

So every few months they were found like that, sitting out back in their yard, on the deck Wayne and Hopper had helped them build, and trimmed each other’s hair. It was never a bother, never a chore, but a simple bit of life they chose, over and over, to do together.

-

From this prompt list. Open for requests!! I really like that prompt list, and this just felt right for them.

[jokeroutsubs]

Joker Out in Metropolitan magazine: "Another step forward"

An interview with Bojan Cvjetićanin and Kris Guštin in the autumn/winter 2023 issue of Metropolitan magazine (published 27.10.2023). They talk about their plans for next year (recording in London, touring, and the new album), the way they approach making music, and how they've changed after Eurovision.

Another step forward

The highly successful group Joker Out, consisting of Bojan Cvjetićanin, Kris Guštin, Nace Jordan, Jan Peteh and Jure Maček, is already well-known and warmly received here. The biggest night of their career - sold-out Stožice - is behind them. 12 thousand listeners (including me) gathered in Ljubljana's arena, where we enjoyed hit after hit for two whole hours. Even though they're still young and at a relatively early stage of their journey, Joker Out are already an accepted constant on the Slovenian, and now also international, music scene. They're so omnipresent and so high-profile that it feels like they've been active for decades already, even though we've only really started listening to them. So we are definitely interested to see what else they will get up to in the future.

M: At the end of September, you released your first song in English. Was that foreshadowing for the album?

Bojan: One song on the album is ticked off, and you can expect the whole album next year, around this time.

Kris: After the New Year, we'll start recording it abroad.

Bojan: We've decided to take our time and work through the things that have happened to us so that our feelings can settle down and we can allow ourselves both a creative break and a break from performing. We will start afresh in the new year and go abroad for the first time. We won't approach the new album the same way we did Demoni, where we set ourselves a four-month timeframe to make it; rather, the creative process will last from January until somewhere around mid-summer. We will also probably be in different locations.

M: You said that you were going abroad. Did you mean that in terms of recording, or that you are heading onto their scene? In recent months, you've already stepped onto international stages, where everyone received you with open arms.

Bojan: Yes, in a sense we're already present on the foreign scene, but while recording the album, we will move to London for a few months to create there as well. We have a European tour coming up in March and the first week of April, then we will return to London, and over the summer we'll perform at festivals and return home to our base. After releasing the album at the end of September or in October, we will do another tour or two.

M: You mention London a lot. Have you grown really attached to it?

Bojan: London filled us with inspiration and captivated us the most. It's true that the new song is called Sunny Side of London, but it doesn't actually have any connection to London other than me having to pick a location. The idea was born when we were driving around England in a bus that you sleep in overnight while it's driving from one location to another. When we were driving from Glasgow to London, I woke up in the morning, just happened to open the window, and we were just driving past the Palace of Westminster, which was bathed in sunshine. And that is how the song title came to be! (laughter) But the song is about our fans, our concerts, our connection with the fans - it actually describes the experiences from past concerts.

M: Given that you've spent quite some time in London, do you each have your own favourite corner of it?

Kris: I liked Camden a lot.

Bojan and Kris (in an English accent): Camden town!

Bojan: A part of London that I love a lot is Richmond. It seemed like a fairy tale to me.

M: What kind of response did you get when you released your first song in English?

Kris: To be honest, the response was a lot better than I expected. We weren't afraid, but we did expect some negativity from the Slovenian public who is used to the Slovenian language, but I think that we got good support from the Slovenian and Balkan audiences. It seems that we all understand that this is something that's necessary for wider commercial success abroad, to allow us to build a career there. On the other hand, I also want to say that we didn't force ourselves to make a song in English, it happened completely naturally. As we were working on it, Bojan started singing the lyrics to Sunny Side of London over the music.

Bojan: In the studio, we followed Žare's [Pak, their producer] rule that the language you're drawn to at the start should be the one you finish in. We made a few demos while we were in the studio, Sunny Side of London was the one we liked the most, and I started writing it in English and it stayed that way. We've learned that that's the only way to go, because at some point we had planned to translate our songs from Slovenian to English, but then we saw that there was no point in doing that. When a song is made in one language, it should stay that way. A translation is really just an adaptation of sorts. I think that our listeners could feel that it [SSOL] was an original work.

M: You two are the ones who usually write the lyrics you perform. How about for Sunny Side of London?

Bojan: I wrote the lyrics.

Kris: Bojan wrote the lyrics and we padded it with chords. (laughter)

M: Has your dynamic changed recently, in terms of making music?

Kris: We are changing more and more. Sunny Side of London is actually a good example of how our music-making has evolved. It's true that in the past, Bojči would bring a song to rehearsals, every now and then I would bring one as well, and then we made something from that idea. Now we approach things differently. First we do something with the instruments, you could say that we're 'jamming', then we find some sort of a draft or a moment we all liked, and then we develop our idea based on that, and Bojan has the opportunity to write lyrics for it. Sometimes we have ideas that we can realise later on. For example, Bojan had been thinking about us screaming in a song for a while, but he didn't know how to incorporate that. Well, we found an opportunity to use that. We've got to the point where we feel that it's a natural creative process, and we don't come to rehearsals with a ready-made idea anymore.

M: Would you say that you prefer this way of creating?

Bojan: Actually this natural way is much more freeing, because we are completely carefree in making our musical ideas happen. I am generally a big proponent of the idea that if I can manage to make a song the way I imagined it, I absolutely like that. It results in some slightly different songs as well, but I think that 'jamming' is really healthy for the band.

Kris: It's also true that Bojan has less and less time to write songs at home. It's better to come to rehearsals when we have two days off between tours, because that's where we shatter ourselves with music. That's how we express the feelings that have built up in us during a tour.

Bojan: We can truly refresh our minds and express what we feel. In the week we spent in the studio, we got a lot of top quality material. Completely spontaneously and naturally. I'm not worried about the new album, because we already know that we have some top quality drafts that we keep thinking of and we can't wait to get to them. On the other hand, we still have four months of living in a new environment coming up, which will definitely give us new wings in that regard.

M: So it suits you that you'll be going out of your comfort zone?

Bojan: Absolutely.

Kris: Like you said before - we are present on the international scene, but to truly be present means to be in a cultural centre like London, where alongside music, you can also create a team as well as a strategy going forwards, for how you're going to efficiently break into that market.

M: Given that you already have ideas for the album, I'd like to know if there's a message that you want to include in it?

Bojan: Honestly, no. I believe that we will approach our creative work the same way we've approached it before. If we like it, then it's good. We truly haven't adapted any songs in a way that we thought would work if it didn't work for us. We're lucky to have Žare, who is an excellent "filter". He will also come with us abroad, wherever the road takes us. We remain faithful to our base.

Kris: With the new song, we also started working with Sebastian Krys, a nearly 20-time Grammy winner, in the post-production phase. He also put a lot of himself into this song and I believe that he will give a lot to the new album as well. We have another "filter" who is well-established on the international scene.

M: How do you maintain your unique sound on the music scene?

Bojan: Between playing concerts, creating, and growing up, each member of the band has developed a persona behind his instrument. It's fascinating to see how important the person behind the instrument is. Kris, Jan, Nace and Jure have developed a style of playing that really belongs to them and is a kind of indescribable mark that you can recognise, and it is becoming more and more obvious. My character has also been built, as a singer and a musician standing on stage. When we combine all five of us, we get the Joker Out sound. Just yesterday I was having coffee with Žare and he asked me why people respond so strongly to what we're doing. With many musicians, when you're at their concerts, you feel that they are on the stage and you are under the stage. There's no personal connection. People like that seem very inaccessible. We feel that we have managed to keep a playfulness on stage and a relationship with the audience where each individual feels like they're at their own concert, and everyone else just came along. If we look at the ultra-successful stars, they also make you feel like they're singing only to you at their concerts. If we don't lose that, we're good. If we do lose it, then we're f*****! (laughter)

M: How did your life change after Eurovision?

Bojan: We're suddenly able to have concerts all around Europe, which is truly unbelievable. Next year we might be able to go even further, because we really travel a lot. Suddenly there are a lot of things on the line that we haven't had to deal with until now. We faced two big challenges as a band in a short time. After all, this is a group of people who were used to working in their home environment, and then it suddenly changed. If the dynamic changes in a negative way, there can quickly be friction. I'm glad that we had a few "baptisms by fire" where we had to act as one and build stronger bonds to be able to handle all that. I think that we've grown as a band and as individuals.

Kris: Just the fact that we went on holiday together immediately after Stožice says a lot.

Bojan: Yes, the only holiday we have.

M: You're good!

Bojan: Or stupid. (laughter)

Kris: We did have a week when we were each on our own.

Bojan: But we were sick in that time, so we were forced to be apart. That was when we realised how much we missed each other. We're not a group of coworkers anymore, we spend more time together than with any relative or best friend. I feel like I don't know how to live without these four dudes. (laughter)

M: Do you see music differently after Eurovision?

Bojan: Yes! We never want to play with playback again. At Eurovision, only the vocals are live, which is hard for musicians.

Kris: It was an interesting experience, but I really wouldn't do it again.

Bojan: Can you imagine someone telling you once again that you have to spend half a year just emptily plucking your strings?

Kris: And only one song over and over…

M: Is there a song that you're always excited to perform on stage?

Kris: Most of them, but a good example would be Ona.

Bojan: That's true. Ona is a good example, collectively. Or Tokio?

Kris: Nace is the biggest fan of Tokio, but I think we all vibe to it. (laughter) For me it's Plastika.

Bojan: Oooh, yes! And Ne bi smel.

Kris: Oooh, yes! All the songs from the second album. (laughter) Carpe Diem is nice too. Everyone is waiting for that song!

Bojan: I think Novi val is also a very special, really powerful song. Especially now that we've performed it abroad. You realise how many obstacles we have in our heads that can actually be bridged with one click. And when you see an entire hall of people, who had never even thought of getting to know your language before, holding up a light and singing as if they understand what's happening in the song. It's really fascinating.

-----

We watched Joker Out at the biggest performance of their lives and caught their feelings backstage immediately after the show.

Bojan Cvjetićanin: "I imagined that I'd be feeling a lot in the time after the concert, but honestly, I don’t have a single feeling right now. (laughter) I honestly don't know what's going on." (smile)

Jan Peteh: "I feel as if I've been climbing a hill for a year and now I've come down."

Jure Maček: "I feel like we're going on a tour of these kinds of venues."

Nace Jordan: "No feelings, my head's empty." (laughter)

Kris Guštin: "I've got a feeling we're going to enjoy these next three weeks, as we're going on holiday."

(This blurb is from their post-Stožice press conference; you can watch a part of it with English subs on our channel here: Joker Out First Impressions After Stožice Concert)

[rotting-ink]

Soooo, which of our lovely LIs have a breeding kink? And who woupd be happy with having a kid with you later down the line, either biological or adopted?

L. Rawlins- They have a huge breeding kink, regardless if you can even get pregnant or can impregnate them. They do want more kids, so adopt or fuck away.

S Della Rovere- They're unable to have kids but they're down to adopt. Especially since they know they're going to be the fun parent no matter what.

Z Chambers- Nope nope nope. They're dead, even if you adopt, they don't feel great about the parameters about being able to see an undead. Nope.

V De Winters- They seem a bit squeamish about it. Don't think that they'll be a good parent at all. Would have to persuade them a lot but would end up being a kind parent. But jesus christ, it would also fuck them up a bit and they'd have to get therapy.

Seir- Please please please please please please its time for demon spawn in you, they can impregnate or get pregnant, no matter either of you two's gender. Please, please, let them have little spawnlings around, my GOD.

Saleos- Does muse that they would need some sort of heir. Then a spare. Then a pair. Then many more to bear :> Same deal as Seir, regardless of your or their gender, they're able to get you or themselves pregnant.

Starling Knight- Drops everything when you bring it up. Mentions that they would be too busy at all to help. That's a lie. Best parent on the list probably. Also, free doctor trips. They might not like kids, but they'll like their own.

A Lancaster-Would eagerly agree, but only when time with the Hunters wind down. Easily best parent right after Starling. Active, happy, dependable but also stern.

E Rawlins- They'd be doubtful. They enjoy the act of making kids, but unsure about how they'd deal with it, sharing you with someone else, even if it's their own kid. Hit them with a rolled up newspaper. They're a good parent, even if reckless and uncaring about things like... Making your kid be a nice person. They always say to bite your problems.

Quincy Beaumont- .... Yeah, probably not. They don't really like kids, and they get hung up on the thought of parenting a toddler even if you point out that part doesn't last forever. Also, darling, they're a star! They wouldn't want to give up touring and singing in the opera! Would need to be a long, hard discussion.

D Woolf- Has a melt down. Firmly doesn't believe that they'll be able to be a good parent at all. Please hold them. Would need a long talk about it and many affirmations but would be a gentle parent.

[oc-challenges]

WELCOME TO THE OC NEW YEARS CHALLENGE!

Since the winter challenges struck out, we're crawling home. Luckily, the new years oc event is here and hopefully it will be the toast of the town. So before we all have to clean the glitter off the floor after the party, we're going to hold onto the memories of 2023 and looking forward to 2024. This event comes from @aliverse (me) and @elmunson with suggestions and feedback from the OC Challenges & Potluck discord, and it spans from the 26th of December 2023 to the 1st of January 2024. With the hope that you may never become a stranger to the oc community, let's go over the rules and then get to the challenges!

Rules

DO NOT copy others edits, if you feel someone has stolen your edits, follow these guidelines!

If you are doing crossovers, PLEASE make sure that the creator of the other oc is okay with crossovers.

If you want your post to be reblogged onto this blog, it must contain the hashtag onyc23.

Feel free to ask any questions, I promise I'll stay even when your scared, and I'm lost, and you're running away.

Everything is up to the creators interpretation, although I have tried to include some examples for help!

Have fun!

Day One: What A Tangled Web We Weave

On the first day, let's take part in one of my favorite trends this year—web weaving! Weave a captivating web incorporating quotes, images, screencaps, and more for your OC. If you're not familiar with the concept of web weaving, here's an account with a lot of examples.

Day Two: I Polish Up Real Nice

Sometimes we get tired or bored of an oc or an edit, but there still things we love about them. To reignite our love for these things, we're going to revise and revamp. Choose an oc, a story, or an edit to to refine and enhance to its fullest potential.

Day Three: In My ＿ Era

On the third day, let's reflect on the defining periods that have shaped either us or our original characters. Despite the initial impression, and my well known obsession, this is inspired by The Eras Tour but doesn't have anything to do with her.. We delve into the various eras within our OCs' lives, whether categorized by tv show season, movie, age, or any other criteria you can think of. Alternatively, share insights about the current era your in as a creator, like "in my hunger games oc era" or "in my gifset era".

Day Four: Everything New

Now that the studios have stopped being bitches, we can acknowledge all the remarkable releases of 2023 (a special shoutout to the talented individuals who contributed to their excellence). On day four, craft something inspired by a creation that emerged this year, whether it's an entirely new series or just a fresh installment in an existing one.

Day Five: Don't You Forget About Me

Though 365 days sounds like a long time, it doesn't always feel that way. In the midst of our activities this year, some things may have been unintentionally overlooked. Fortunately, there's still time to make up for it. Take this opportunity to craft something for an OC that took a backseat this year, bring to life that edit you've been yearning to create all along, or share that chapter you've been gradually working on throughout the year.

Day Six: In With The New

Let's not do out with the old, but we could certainly do in with the new. For day six, introduce a brand new oc or story you hope to be your newest muse for 2024.

Day Seven: Exchange The Experience

Tidings, tinsel, and a year of beginnings. It's start of a new chapter of our lives, especially for our original characters. Be sure to celebrate this new chapter by signing up for the OC Potluck New Years exchange and spreading joy.

[parkminijiminie]

What is going on with Jimin, Jungkook and Jikook?

Warning: long post

I've been a BTS fan since early 2017. Back in the day, I ran this blog here, analyzing a lot of Jikook moments, but life sort of took over, and I stopped having the time for it. However, I never stopped being a fan and observing BTS and Jikook through the years. There's a lot said and written already about the supposed video of JK, but here are my two cents.

To me, the most logical explanation for that video is that this really is Jungkook. The layout of the apartment matches (yes, even the position of the security system, if you have ever watched JKs lives, you'd know that it actually is at his shoulder height, just like in the video), the dog looks like Bam, the couch is the same and this definitely looks like JK. There's also another video of the man in this apartment, alone, shirtless, and having a whole tattoo sleeve on his right arm just like JK. Obviously, we don't know for sure, but it looks like it's him. People say it was filmed in late Feb, early March, and I agree. JK had the same hair then, the outfits look warm, like winter clothes and not to forget, that when JK was stalked in his gym (late of February) there were a lot of fuss about a girl being there with him, so it all checks out in my book.

Now, what the video shows isn't that scandalous. A boy hugging a girl from behind and them playfighting/tickling each other or whatever. It isn't overly explicit. It could mean a lot of things, but it's clear the people are at the very least physically comfortable with each other. It's a short video. We don't know if they're even alone, but it looks like it. There are a number of possibilities for whom this person is to JK: a long-time girlfriend, a casual hook-up, a one night stand, or just a friend.

We'll probably never know for sure. What we do know is that this is an unacceptable invasion of privacy, and the person who took those videos should be sued for all they are worth. I hope we all agree on that, yes?

Now, if this girl is someone JK is dating/has dated/has slept with, where does that leave his and JM's relationship?

In my eyes, as someone who's observed them for literal years now, there's no way JM and JK have always had a strictly platonic relationship. Too much just doesn't add up. Sure, technically, they could be bestest friends with great chemistry, but as someone who is now 30 years old, I don't think I've seen this type of chemistry between people ever be just platonic. At times, it looked too much like sexual tension for it to easily be dubbed as "friendly".

My theory is this (keep in mind these are still just assumptions):

In 2017-2020, pre-Covid era, JM and JK spent A LOT of time together, basically all of it. BTS were super active, they didn't have any breaks. They were always working. Always on tour and doing smth else. JM and JK were pretty young back then (20-24) and this is typically the time when someone discovers their sexuality and starts experimenting, and I believe that at some point they did this together. They were best friends but also had this weird tension and air around them and I think they could've started a physical relationship back then. The members teasing them hear and there about being a couple, also kind of supports this, though of course, it doesn't prove anything.

Contrary to other people, I don't belive they only just fucked. It's very hard to have sex with someone who you are very close to otherwise, who you love and admire as a person, and not catch romantic feelings for them, so I think they did more than fucking. Whether they had a serious relationship or decided not to label it much, due to MS coming up, the group being in jeopardy or other reasons, I tend to think that other than sex, they also had feelings.

Side note: In any case, they were figuring thinks out about themselves as individuals, as well as a pair. I think maybe this is the time JM realized he is definitely bisexual (which he proudly expressed in his photobook of last year in my opinion). Idk what Jk figured out for himself, if anything.

Anyhow, by 2020‐2021 it seemed they had some sort of agreement about what/who they were to each other. At times they could have been on and off. There might have been other people/partners in-between, but I think they were mainly together by this point. It even looked like they lived together for some time. The fact they always took the same car and they were together on JKs birthday night when they first had number 1 on hot 100 sort of proves it. JM's birthday live in 2021 was also sus af (the way he was blushing while mentioning JK and their whole convos, very sus).

I think before Covid they had smth somewhat stable but then Covid hit. Their schedules changed, it was a tough period overall. Suddenly, they were not working and traveling so much, they were staying in SK. I think this was the time things started getting much more real and different. MS was also in the near horizon. Maybe one of them wanted a more committed relationship, and the other wasn't ready. Maybe they were both afraid. Maybe they tried and it didn't really work out. Maybe one finally realized his sexuality and the other had doubs. Whatever it was, the feelings of affection were still there. Chemistry as well. Proof: JM bday live in 2021 was just crazy, the way he blushed when JK was mentioned and the way the spoke to each other... man. Also, the way the were at PTD L.A. The way JK answered questions about JM etc.

So , all that connected them as people was still there, but I think their relationship come late 2021-early 2022 was definitely more unstable. Who knows what happened then. Personally, I don't believe in the theory that they opened their relationship, rather I believe by the second half of 2022, due to whatever reasons, things were simple mostly off between them. I believe they stayed this way all through the second half of the year and at least the first 4 months of 2023. They were friends, their families still loved and supported each other (JK's mom made seaweed soup for JM's bday, which one does for family) but that's about it. They weren't living together anymore, as well.

The beginning of 2023 we saw a very busy JM and a very not busy JK. Sure, they still commented on their welives but it seemed they didn't meet each other that often. Jm was working, JK was at home and occasionally with Tae. Yeah, JK watched a lot of JM content and often invited him over, but he also didn't know when his promotions will be over and it seemed they haven't seen each other for some time and JK was missing JM. I think if they truly were a serious couple back then, they would still have found the time to meet each other no matter how busy one or the other was, especially considering they live in the same city, and it wasnt the case. I don't think JK would have to resort to watching hours of JM's content just to satisfy his need-for-JM thirst, if they were a couple back then.

So, yeah, I think they were not more than friends by this point, for sure, which also ties up pretty well with the timing of the recent leaked video (February-March). To me it seems that JK and JM probably saw other people in that period, at least JK, JM was pretty damn busy then. Maybe they had some serious partners even, maybe just hook-ups here and there. Maybe this was JK's time to explore more of his heterosexual side, who knows. I don't think he stopped caring for JM in some capacity. In fact it kind of looked like he longed for his company but for one reason or another, they were simply not that much in each other's lives in the first quarter of 2023.

But then something weird happened around June-July. First JM is all scratched up from something (presumably Bam) indicating he saw JK and spent time with him. Then Seven came out and JM flew to NY. There they spend a long, fun weekend amid promotions. It wasn't a secret but they seemed to want to keep private and didn't really want to talk about it , judging by the way JK answered the question about JM being in NY as well. JM was practically silent. Then they returned and that welive happened. The one where they openly flirted, JM said he could handle JK naked, JK blushed like a school girl and tried everything in his power to get to JM but JM said "I'm not that easy". That welive. Idk about you, but that welive didn't seem platonic to me at all and if I had been JK's partner at the time, I would definitely be very angry with his behaviour. I don't think JK is disrespectful and a cheater, and neither is JM for that matter, so I believe there's no way any of them had a partner when that welive happened. I simply refuse to belive they are that type of people.

So, my conclusion is they were both single then and something definitely happend in July and NY. They returned somewhat different and they still kind of are. Jk posted pics of NY to Twitter for the first time. Jm shared a pic from then for JKs bday (shirtless, as we all know) and then recently another pic from a boat that could have been from back then, as well. The whole way they're acting offline and online strangely reminds me a lot of the time after their trip to Tokyo, actually. The way JM has been posting about JK very much give me nostalgia about the way he used to post Jikook often in 2017-2018 before he withdrew from social media. But maybe that's just me 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, to finish this long post I will say this. I don't know what Jikook were and are to each other and unless, it is explicitly denied the person in the video is JK, I will believe that it's him. But also, unless it is confirmed he currently has a girlfriend, I will have my doubts. The video is old and in any case, it doesn't prove much other than the fact JK is maybe into women (solely or also into them). This video though doesn't automatically negate everything I've seen between Jikook through the years. In some ways, it confirms what I've been thinking for a long time now. Unless JM and JK personally shut down any rumors about them and deny any romantic connection or confirm a relationship with someone else , I still believe that at some point in their lived their relationship crossed the platonic line.

Whether that was in the past or is currently true, I only can guess, but to me there's no way these two were always, all these years, just only friends.

For now, I will observe how JK, JM and Hybe are acting after the leaked videos and go from there. It will also be indicative.

Peace.

[celestiall0tus]

Tales of Bloody Bug and Chat Noir - Chapter 21 - Team Building

Beginning || Previous || Next

            Bloody Bug and Chat Noir landed on a nearby rooftop after defeating an Akuma. They looked back as the media swarmed around them.

            “Damn vultures. Were they always this bad?” Bloody Bug asked.

            “I don’t think so. Did we do something?”

            “Hell if I should know. I don’t watch the news or check anything like that. Anyway, let’s get going before your babysitter begins looking for you and can’t find you.”

            “Oh, right. I mean, she should pretty preoccupied, hopefully. Why don’t we see if Andre’s ice cream cart is anywhere?”

            “Dude, it’s like, the middle of November. December and winter are literally around the corner.”

            “That doesn’t mean we can’t get ice cream.”

            Bloody Bug rolled her eyes, but indulged Chat Noir. They searched the city until they found his cart at the Eiffel Tower. He ran up to order ice cream when Andre cheered.

            “Bloody Bug and Chat Noir! Hello! I’m so glad you would grace my little ice cream cart.”

            “Uh, yeah, we usually do,” Bloody Bug pointed out.

            “Yes, but not since you two became celebrities.”

            “I’m sorry, what? When did this happen?” Bloody Bug demanded.

            “Oh, that’s cute. Acting like you don’t know.”

            “Uh, we don’t,” Chat Noir said.

            “What? How can that be? The whole city is talking about it.”

            “Uh, since when?” Bloody Bug asked.

            “You have been living under a rock these past couple of weeks,” Chat Noir remarked.

            “Hey! I’ve been busy. What’s your excuse?”

            Chat Noir paused. “Anyway, what’s this big news?”

            “Jagged Stone is starting his new tour in Paris to celebrate his new album and the heroes that had saved him from Darkblade,” Andre announced.

            Bloody Bug snorted. “I forget he was turned into a knight.”

            “Yeah, I did too. When is this concert anyway?”

            Andre opened his mouth but was interrupted by Kagami.

            “Bloody Bug! Chat Noir! Have either of you seen Adrien Agreste? We were here when that villain was akumatized and now he’s just gone.”

            Bloody Bug sighed and scooped up Kagami. “Rain check on the ice cream, Cat. Come along, person. We’ll look for Adrien together.”

            “Wait!”

            Bloody Bug ignored Kagami and swung up onto the rooftops. She glanced back to see Chat Noir was gone. She sighed and ran around until she heard Adrien call out. She leapt and landed near him, letting Kagami down.

            “There you are! Where were you?” Kagami demanded.

            “I-.”

            “We set up strict guidelines for an Akuma attack. Why can’t you follow them? Why do I have to run around searching for you every time?”

            “Well, you see-.”

            “Enough. I’m taking you home.”

            Kagami grabbed Adrien’s hand and dragged him away. Adrien turned and mouthed “help me,” to Bloody Bug. She sighed and ran to de-transform when a news crew surrounded her.

            “Bloody Bug, a moment of your time, please,” Nadja Chamack asked.

            “Uh, I guess, but make it quick.”

            “Of course! Bloody Bug, as you surely know, Jagged Stone is hosting the start of his tour here in honor of you and Chat Noir. Will you be there?”

            “Uh, I guess? I mean, his music is ok for his age.”

            “And word is XY will be premiering there as well. What are your thoughts on that?”

            Bloody Bug wrinkled her nose. “XY? Ew. Scratch that. If that loser is going to be playing his trash ass music, I ain’t going. I have more important things to do instead of letting my ears bleed from that shit.”

            “But-!”

            “Nope. We’re done.”

            Bloody Bug tapped her boots against the ground and activated her hover shoes. She flipped off the news crew before she skated away. She swung by the street to see if Adrien and Kagami were around, but they were gone. She cursed and headed to the Seine. She skated on the water until she saw Chat Noir. She whistled and got his attention as he landed on a nearby walkway.

            “Hey, sorry about not being to help you. Got bamboozled by the media.”

            Chat Noir waved his hand dismissingly. “It’s fine. At least now I don’t have to worry about my babysitter. I need to do something about her.”

            “Good luck with that.”

            Chat Noir sighed and sat on the ground. “What do I do? What can I even do? She’s glued to me wherever I go. I mean, I’m grateful because Lila and Marinette don’t come near me. Neither does Chloe, but she seems… I dunno. Is different a good word to use?”

            “She does feel, well, not herself. Anyway, Kagami though.”

            “Right, right. I’ve tried to reason with her, but she won’t listen. She always shuts down the conversation saying that her mother and my father want us together. I get why Father wants her with me. She’s strong and capable, but also able to follow me into school and keep a closer eye on me there that Gorilla can’t. I just don’t get why her mother wants her with me.”

            “I don’t pretend to understand your high-class world, Cat.”

            “That makes two of us. Regardless, I need something to maybe get her to ease up. Oh! What if I told her?”

            “Are you insane? How can we trust her? It’s clear she’s just doing all this because she was told to.”

            “I know, but we need to build a team and-.”

            Bloody Bug covered Chat Noir’s mouth. “Not here. Meet me at the old man’s shop.”

            Chat Noir nodded. They split up and headed to Wang Fu’s massage shop. They moved past his massage room and into an empty spare room.

            “Alright. I think it’s time we seriously talked about this. We’ve had enough time, we should be able to figure out who we want on this team,” Bloody Bug started.

            Chat Noir nodded. He looked around and grabbed a paper and pen. “Let’s make a list of people we trust.”

            “Fine. Might be best if we stick to our classmates. For better or for worse.”

            “Agreed. Let’s see. Why don’t we start with Nino?”

            “Eh, I could trust Nino. He hasn’t personally offended me, plus he’s your bro.”

            Chat Noir wrote down Nino’s name. “Let’s see, Chloe?”

            “I… I feel we can trust her. I believe she proved herself able against Volpina. I won’t deny she needs a little more direction, but it might be better if we took a more hands on approach in helping her become more of a hero.”

            “So, if we trust Chloe, what about Sabrina?”

            “I would trust Sabrina. You look at that girl and tell me she has the ability to betray anyone.”

            Chat Noir considered. “Yeah, I don’t see that happening. I mean, she hasn’t betrayed Chloe and if Chloe is on our side, we can count on Sabrina.”

            “Exactly. Let’s see, perhaps, maybe, Luka?”

            “Really? You think he’d want to be a hero?”

            “Maybe not an active one like us, but he has Fluff, just not the pocket watch. If the old man allows it, maybe Luka can be a fail save.”

            “That should work. How about Nathaniel?”

            “I really don’t want to deal with Tomato outside of school, but I can trust him enough. Uh, what do you think of Max and Kim?”

            “Um, I don’t know. Kim is loud and a little annoying with his dares, but he seems ok? Max is cool, but sometimes he gives me a headache. Other than that, I would trust them if no one else was available. What about Ivan?”

            Bloody Bug considered as she touched her nose ring. “I’ve considered Ivan. I would say I trust him. He was the first to truly take a chance to become my friend and has proven I can call him just that. I was gonna pass along Stompp to him, eventually.”

            “Oh, and if you do, do you think you’d get a new miraculous to fuse with?”

            “I can hope. But what about you? Don’t you want to unify?”

            “I mean, I do, but it hasn’t been a month yet. Master Fu said after a month of me not purposely causing akumaizations, then he’ll consider giving me an elixir.”

            “Ok, that’s fair.”

            “I would hope, especially with what I did to Luka, I’m fine with this. Besides, if I’m lucky, just another couple of weeks.”

            “If you can’t keep out of trouble that long, all hope is lost.”

            Chat Noir smiled and rolled his eyes. “Let’s tackle the big ones. The girls. Marinette, Alya, Juleka, Rose, and Mylene.”

            “Well, I think we can both agree Marinette is a hell no.”

            Chat Noir nodded.

            “I personally don’t trust Alya, but I know she won’t betray Bloody Bug.”

            “Eh, maybe wait a little before bringing Alya back.”

            “I can agree to that. Juleka I’m on the fence about. I want to trust her, but I don’t think I can just yet. I need more time. You?”

            “I don’t know. I sorta betrayed her trust as Adrien, so maybe best not to test those waters just yet.”

            “Agreed. Rose and Mylene are different. I know I can trust Mylene since she’s not necessarily in the girls’ group. Rose is difficult though. I can trust her, but it’s her connections with the other three that worry me, particularly Juleka. I never cared to ask, but I’m sure they’re dating, so-.”

            “They are? Aw! That’s amazing. They’re perfect for each other,” Chat Noir purred.

            “Focus.”

            “Huh? Oh, right. So, wait on Rose, yeah?”

            “I’d say so.”

            “Right, ok. Gotcha. Um, there’s one thing I want to mention now that we’re discussing this.”

            “What’s that?”

            “Well, my cousin mentioned that he was looking for a peacock brooch. One that his father had mentioned in passing. I’m pretty sure he’s looking for a miraculous. Maybe if we find it, he’ll be on our team.”

            “Keyword is ‘if.’”

            “I know, but just food for thought. Speaking of food for thought, Kagami.”

            Bloody Bug sighed. “Alright, look, I’m severely on the fence regarding your babysitter. I get it’ll make things easier for you if she knows, but I don’t know. I feel if we let her in, she’ll go running to her mother or your father.”

            “That… that’s a fair point. So, wait on Kagami too. Alright, well, that gives us Nino, Mylene, Ivan, Nathaniel, Chloe, and Sabrina. Kim and Max too, but as last resorts, and Luka on the backburner.”

            “Ok. So, what are we thinking?”

            “I want Nino.”

            Bloody Bug nodded. “I can agree to that. Nino hasn’t done anything wrong, and he proved himself able enough as Carapace.”

            Chat Noir’s eyes widened. “Wait! He was Carapace? I knew it! I knew he was familiar!”

            “Yup, that was it. I also think we should have Chloe on the team.”

            “Should we have Sabrina too? Maybe Sabrina could help keep her in line?”

            “That would be for the old man to decided. He gets a choice in this.”

            “Yes, I do,” Wang Fu said.

            Bloody Bug and Chat Noir looked over as Wang Fu entered with a tray of tea and biscuits.

            “So, the day has come, has it? What have we decided on?” Wang Fu asked.

            “I would like to have Carapace,” Chat Noir announced.

            Wang Fu’s eyes widened, then he bowed his head. “Very well.”

            Wang Fu took off his bracelet and handed it to Chat Noir.

            “And I’ll be giving Gallic Chick the rooster rings again,” Bloody Bug declared.

            “Are you sure about that one?”

            “She has a lot of room to grow, but if I’m terribly flawed and one of your two big heroes, I don’t see why she can’t be given another chance. Besides, she hasn’t given me reason like Bomb Bee and Lady Tigress.”

            Chat Noir winced. “Yeah, I’d rather not Lady Tigress on the team just yet.”

            “Yeah, plus we kinda figured we could have Gallic Chick’s bestie have a miraculous to help sorta keep Gallic Chick in line,” Bloody Bug added.

            Wang Fu raised a brow.

            “Look, I have Cat, what’s wrong with her having someone too? C’mon, we can’t do all this shit alone. I know there are those that can, but we aren’t them. We need that support system. I need it, so will Gallic Chick.”

            Wang Fu sighed. “Very well. I’ll trust that this is the right call. However, I will set in new ground rules. Since we’ve seen a mix of teens and adults akumatized, I want extra precautions taken. If any members of the team, you two included, succumb to an Akuma, you’ll be benched. Third time it happens, you’re done for good. Understood?”

            “Understood,” Bloody Bug remarked.

            “Yes,” Chat Noir whispered.

            “Good. Now, sit tight. I’ll get the other miraculous.”

            Bloody Bug and Chat Noir watched Wang Fu leave, then Chat Noir sighed.

            “You don’t think either of us will be akumatized, do you?” Chat Noir asked.

            “That’s hard to say. He seems to target those he can use, that are easily manipulated. I mean, Marinette and Lila folded if it meant getting you, Alya to find out who I am, Rose to get to Prince Ali, Juleka to be seen, Luka to get rid of all of you, and the list goes one. They all wanted something, something that Hawkmoth could give them. I believe so long as our desires are out of his reach, he cannot manipulate us as easily.”

            “Well, what is it you want?”

            Bloody Bug blinked. She stared down at her reflection in the tea before she looked up at Chat Noir. She snorted and smiled.

            “I think I already have it.”

            Chat Noir’s eyes widened as he pointed to himself. Bloody Bug nodded and Chat Noir’s eyes misted over. He lunged over the table and ensnared her in an embrace. She half-heartedly struggled as he purred and nuzzled her.

            “Alright, fine, you get five minutes,” Bloody Bug remarked.

            “Thank you, Bug, for everything.”

            Bloody Bug let out a small gasp, then smiled. She turned and hugged Chat Noir back. “Right back at ya, Cat.”

            Wang Fu cleared his throat. Bloody Bug and Chat Noir didn’t move but lifted their heads. Wang Fu handed Bloody Bug the rooster miraculous and a pink anklet.

            “What’s the anklet?” Bloody Bug asked.

            “That is the pig miraculous of jubilation. Its power will allow the holder to show their target whatever it is they want most, putting them in a dreamlike trance.”

            “Well, that’ll be handy for Sabrina,” Chat Noir remarked.

            “It will. Well, let’s get this over with. You got Nino?”

            “Always. You got Chloe and Sabrina?”

            Bloody Bug took a deep breath. “I sure hope so.”

            Chat Noir smiled. “You got this, sis.”

            Bloody Bug paused and smiled. “Thanks, bro. I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you later.”

            Bloody Bug ran out. Wang Fu smiled and looked at Chat Noir.

            “Thank you for being there for each other,” Wang Fu whispered.

            “Thank you for picking us.”

            “I admit I was worried, but as long as you two are together, I believe in you both. Now, run along. You have a friend you need to introduce to your team.”

            “Right! Thank you again, Master!”

~~

            Bloody Bug landed on Chloe’s balcony at Le Grand Paris. She took a deep breath and knocked on the window. She saw Sabrina first before Chloe bolted over and threw open the door.

            “Bloody Bug! I see you got my message. It’s about time you wanted to hang out with me,” Chloe boasted.

            “Right, but before we do, I have something to do.”

            “What? You aren’t leaving already then, are you?” Chloe asked.

            “Quite the opposite. May I come in?”

            Chloe nodded and stepped aside. Bloody Bug entered and shut the balcony door. Bloody Bug took out the miraculous jewels from her yo-yo and held them out for Chloe and Sabrina. Chloe’s eyes widened and sparkled while Sabrina tilted her head in confusion.

            “What are these?” Sabrina asked.

            “These are known as Miraculous. With them, we can be superheroes!” Chloe cheered.

            “You mean like Bloody Bug and Chat Noir?” Sabrina asked.

            “That’s right. Oh, and me now. Check it out. Orikko, sunrise.”

            Orikko disappeared into the rings and transformed Chloe into Gallic Chick.

            Sabrina’s jaw dropped. “You’re the rooster hero?”

            “Surprised? You should be.”

            “And I can be one too?” Sabrina asked.

            “Yes. Your power will be that of jubilation. The power to show others what they desire most.”

            Sabrina’s eyes widened as she put on the anklet. An orb shot out that morphed into a pig kwami.

            “Hi ya! I’m Daizzi!”

            “Hi, Daizzi. I’m Sabrina.”

            Daizzi squealed. “Delighted to meet you, Sabrina! Are you to be my holder?”

            “She is, but I have to lay down some ground rules,” Bloody Bug interrupted.

            “Then we can hang out?” Gallic Chick asked.

            Bloody Bug chuckled softly. “Yes, then we can hang out, but you need to listen.”

            Gallic Chick and Sabrina closed their mouths.

            “Alright. Now, we are going to be a team. It’ll be us, Chat Noir, and Carapace. I expect you both to make an effort to get along with each other, even as you may discover who we really are.”

            “Wait, I have a question,” Sabrina said as she raised her hand.

            “Go ahead.”

            “Don’t you want us to keep our identities a secret?”

            “It is preferred that you keep them secret from the city. However, you may not be able to keep them secret from each other. Evidence is clear enough with me and Chat Noir. That doesn’t mean you go out of your way to share it. Try to keep it hidden as much as you can.”

            “And if we do figure it out?” Chloe asked.

            “Well, then you figure it out. There’s no punishment, but you need to be cautious. Otherwise, I don’t see an issue personally unless you are at risk of being turned into a monster by our enemy, which leads me to the next point.”

            “What’s that?” Sabrina asked.

            “Alright. Chloe, I know you’ve been akumatized, but, Sabrina, you haven’t. Basically, our enemy, Hawkmoth, targets people that are vulnerable and that he can easily manipulate. Think Juleka wanting revenge on Chloe, Nino wanting to throw a party for Adrien, or even you, Chloe, for whatever the reason was. They all felt helpless and powerless in those cases, making them easy prey. So long as you don’t fall that far and remind yourself that there are other solutions to your problems, you should be safe.”

            “And if we fall prey?” Chloe asked.

            “In those cases, your jewel will be revoked. You get three chances to prove yourself able to resist the villain. After the third time, you will be kicked off the team and your jewel taken away. This rule applies to Chat Noir and myself as well, so we need to all be careful.”

            “What if akumas are caused, say, by accident?” Sabrina asked.

            “That’s… where there’s a line. Chat Noir intentionally caused one, which resulted in a different punishment. If it’s by accident, then it doesn’t really fall on your shoulders. The fault would really fall on the person for falling victim and allowing this to happen. Assuming that’s how it really works. Chloe?”

            “I think? I sorta remember a man asking me if I wanted to get rid of Chat Noir and that he’d give me powers of my own if I agreed to help him. I… accepted.”

            Bloody Bug hummed. “I see. So, there has to be some level of agreement on the victim’s end? That makes things interesting. Well, taking that in mind, if it is by accident, I would put more blame on the person for accepting still. Now, any other questions?”

            Chloe and Sabrina shook their heads.

            “Do we understand the conditions?”

            Chloe and Sabrina nodded.

            “Alright. Suit up, Sabrina. We’re going to go hang out. Consider this our first team-building exercise.”

            Daizzi cheered. “Just say, ‘Daizzi, rejoice!’”

            Sabrina beamed. “Daizzi, rejoice!”

~~

            Chat Noir slipped down along the side of Nino’s apartment building to Nino’s bedroom window. He perched himself and knocked on the window. He waited a moment before Nino pulled back the curtain and his jaw dropped. Nino fussed with the lock before he opened the window.

            “Chat Noir, dude. What’s hanging, aside from you?”

            “I got something for you.”

            Nino tilted his head as Chat Noir held out the turtle miraculous.

            “Do you guys need me to fight a villain?”

            “Better. We want you on our team.”

            “Woah! Me? Really?”

            “That’s right, meow dude. Bug and I talked it over. You may only taken to the field once, we feel that we can trust you.”

            Nino beamed and put on the bracelet. Chat Noir smiled when his staff rang. He pulled it out and pressed on the pawprint button, answering Bloody Bug’s call.

            “Yo, Cat, you got Carapace yet?”

            “You bet. Just gave him his miraculous again.”

            “Cool. Meet us at the Eiffel Tower. We’re having a day on the city. Team building and all that jazz.”

            Chat Noir’s ears perked up. “What do you say, Carapace? You down for it?”

            “Of course, my dude! Let’s do it. Wayzz, shell on.”

            Chat Noir and Carapace headed towards the Eiffel Tower where they met up with Bloody Bug, Gallic Chick, and a girl with big ginger pigtails in a white and pink magic girl uniform.

            “What’s up, dudes? I don’t think we met. I’m Carapace.”

            “We haven’t. I’m Gallic Chick.”

            “And I’m Porcelet! Pleasure to meet you, Carapace.”

            “Likewise. So, almighty Bug, what’s the plan?” Carapace asked.

            “Well, first I owe Chat Noir an ice cream. We were interrupted when his babysitter showed up,” Bloody Bug teased.

            Chat Noir’s ears flicked. “Please don’t remind me.”

            “Oh, but I will. After that, we’ll go on patrol. Give you all a better chance to adjust to your new abilities and what not. Sound good?”

            Everyone nodded.

            “Excellent. Alright, team, let’s go!”

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[eroguron0nsense]

Straw Hats Pokemon League AU

I don't think I'm the first to do this by any means but here we go! I started thinking of how I'd make a One Piece AU in a Pokemon game format. I tend to play fairly fast and loose with the way the teams are structured; I like the thing they did in Gen 9 where gym leaders get a Pokemon not from their assigned type to terastallize but I would also like to see more gym leaders oriented around certain themes or gimmicks than just mono typing. These are not even remotely balanced and the few that have some strategy like Nami's can go wrong super easily; they're very very vibes-based. The region’s an archipelago, and all the crew members are friends who live and work on separate islands. I’ve always liked regions in Pokemon with lots of islands and water and I just feel like One Piece settings could translate well to that. 

Grass Gym Leader Usopp– The Usopp pirates are his gym trainers/pupils, and you fight him after going through a puzzle full of funny carnivorous plants like those on the Boin Archipelago (ideally there's a quiz format involved and if you get an answer wrong you get attacked by, like, a low level wild bellsprout or carnivine). This one could honestly have been more strategically developed although Shiftree and Sudowoodo were absolutely necessary because a long-nosed creature based on a tengu and a fake tree with an identity crisis are perfect for Usopp. He loves his status conditions and is generally very annoying to go up against Initial team: Lotad, Bonsly, Nuzleaf Rematch Team: Shiftree, Sudowoodo, Amoongus, Ludicolo, Tangrowth, Vileplume Normal/Doctor?? Gym Leader Chopper–This was a difficult choice honestly! I thought about making him a fighting specialist for the kung fu point, but ended up choosing this instead. He's a very young GP and gym leader on a winter island, and he has to split his time between doing house calls with Kureha and his League obligations and the poor boy is *stressed*. Marowak is there because Chopper and his backstory give me Cubone/Marowak vibes. The Sawsbuck is actually not there because of its deer associations; it’s a springtime/cherry blossom Sawsbuck because of Hiriluk’s cherry blossoms, I thought of giving him a Stantler but I think one deer is probably enough for him Initial Team: Spring Deerling, Stufful, Marowak Rematch Team: Mega Audino, Spring Sawsbuck, Blissey, Bewear, Marowak, Alomomola Weather (??) Gym Leader Nami–specializes in double battles with her cast form. Lives on an island kind of similar to Cocoyasi, and she's got her own lighthouse and meteorology lab up on a hill surrounded by tangerine trees. This is extremely strategically fucky and near impossible to program into something functional but I wanted to give her every kind of weather power and Pokemon that could adapt to every field change and hack weather balls at people. Nojiko and Genzo hang around. Currently training a Hippopotas gifted to her by Vivi and working on Sandstorm strategies Initial Team: Castform (Sun), Snover, Ninetales, Castform (Snow) Rematch Team: Castform (rain), Pelipper (drizzle), Ninetales (Drought), Abombasnow (snow warning), Castform (sun), Castform (snow) Ghost Gym Leader Brook–Brook is a touring rock star whose gym is on a barge with a kinda spooky ambiance; the Rumbar pirates work there as live musicians and there's a bar and a big stage set up for concerts. They pull up around the twin capes looking for Laboon around the same time as the player reaches there and are very distressed when he can't find him at first. I kinda debated giving him a toxtricity like Rhyme in SV but that's been done before and Frosslass kinda plays into his ice attacks, so I'm kind of leaving it open ended. His gym's located near the twin capes, and he's a former rock star who's slowed down a bit and taken some time off his career to look more actively for Laboon, who went missing in this world instead of being left behind. Laboon is a Wailmer Brook met years ago that later joins his team after they reunite, by which point he's evolved into a Wailord. Initial Team: Duoblade, Dusclops, Houndstone Rematch Team: Aegislash, Dusknoir, Wailord (Laboon), Polteageist, Frosslass or Toxtricity, Houndstone

Steel Gym Leader Franky– Franky's gym is also on board a ship he built, and he's docked outside a kinda high tech water seven sort of crazy artificial floating island structure. It's very much like water seven–Iceberg and Paulie run the show–and the Franky Family are his gym trainers. I threw in Alolan dugtrio because of the hairstyles and revavroom for the Kurosai FR-U. Metagross is there because I like him having a psychic type to link him to Robin (they're married and live together on Franky's custom houseboat). I thought of giving him a Magnezone but Franky with a Tinkaton just seems very funny and weirdly well-suited to his character Initial Team: Alolan Dugtrio, Excadrill, Revavroom Rematch Team: Alolan Dugtrio, Excadrill, Revavroom, Metagross, Probopass, Tinkaton

Psychic Gym Leader Robin–I tried to give Robin a few Pokemon that were more weird lore/ancient ruin themed without being actual legendaries to fit with her being an archaeologist. She spends a lot of time doing field work (Clover is the region's Pokemon Professor and her mentor; it even plays into the plant naming scheme) on a protected island full of ruins that looks kind of like Skypeia. I'd love for this world to have some ancient lore for her to research and make regular story appearances without the kind of tragedy we get in canon. Initial Team: Medicham, Duosion, Sigilyph, Claydoll Rematch Team: Bronzong, Medicham, Beeheyem, Reuniclus, Sigilyph, Claydoll

Water Gym Leader Jinbei–Honestly it was a bit hard making this one feel uniquely suited to Jinbei? Palafin suits his character best imho, but it was difficult choosing fish that ween’t tied in some other way to other existing fishmen characters. There's no whale sharks yet either :p That being said, Jinbei is a ship captain who works with both the Pokemon League and the Sun Pirates, and brings the player to a Fishman Island equivalent underwater town, giving you either a dive TM or something equivalent to navigate underwater and opening up a whole bunch of new areas for the player to explore. Initial Team: Wishiwashi, Palafin, Swampert, Omastar Rematch Team: Wishiwashi, Palafin, Swampert, Omastar, Dondozo, Tatsugiri

Fire/Kicking??/Culinary-themed Gym Leader Sanji–I feel a bit bad I gave Sanji so many starters when I generally try to avoid that for gym leaders but there's just not that many Pokemon with blaze kick and it's a necessity for him! You meet as he's soft-opening his restaurant in the All Blue equivalent, and going through some growing pains striking out on his own from Zeff (who’s very supportive of his boy's dreams but bad at expressing it). I threw a Clawitzer in because I thought I should give him a seafood item, and Siebold (one of the few Pokemon chefs) has one as his ace in X/Y. His team can kinda be split into kicking pokemon (Cinderace, Blaziken, Tsareena) and food Pokemon (Arboliva, Clawitzer, Garganacl). Zeff has a Stoutland, and the only reason I gave him one is because it more or less has his facial hair. Initial Team: Cinderace, Blaziken, Garganacl, Tsareena Rematch Team: Cinderace, Blaziken, Garganacl, Tsareena, Arboliva, Clawitzer

Zoro is the Champion and Luffy is the final boss, but I'll save them and my chosen Elite 4 members for another time. I'm not going to try and build an evil team, but suffice to say since I'm trying to make this AU a bit more lighthearted, everyone lives and they're all doing good

Edit: Link to Part 2–Elite 4, Champion, Final Boss Teams

[jules-has-notes]

2018 VoicePlay fall activities — maintenance, music, and merriment

Heading into the end of the year, VoicePlay gradually ramped up their schedule until they were running at a decent clip for the holiday season.

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Say cheese!

It had been nearly two years since they'd taken their previous set of promo photos, and enough had changed — Earl's lush beard, Geoff's longer hair — that the boys decided it was time for some new ones.

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On the following Saturday, J.None and his Paradigm pals teamed up with the Push Love Productions folks (including a future familiar face) for a "Come Out with Pride" event at Lake Eola Park. They performed both before and after the parade.

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The next week the SoJam A Cappella Festival released a promo video for their upcoming event featuring VoicePlay.

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A post shared by SoJam A Cappella Festival (@sojamfestival)

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Over the weekend, J.None performed at a "night of spoken word and comedy" for the Pipol Angels Foundation, which provides funding for arts and education both locally and overseas. (Previous projects had provided new backpacks and school uniforms to students in the Orlando area, and helped a school in Trinidad build an additional classroom for its growing student population.)

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A post shared by Pipiol Angels Foundation Inc. (@pipiolangelsfoundation)

J.None rehearsing "No Role Modelz" by J. Cole with the band a few days before the fundraiser

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Ready for their close-ups

A few days after that, VoicePlay convened at a local studio to film their laid back video for "Thinkin Bout You".

When you show up for book club, but a slow jam breaks out.

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As the end of the month approached, Layne and Tony gathered a cadre of lovely ladies for the first episode of their new Princess Academy series.

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Sing for me!

The first weekend of November took VoicePlay to North Carolina for the SoJam A Cappella Festival. The attendees consisted of high school and collegiate groups, including two young groups from Winter Park, and three groups from the University of Central Florida (Layne and Eli's alma mater) who swept the top spots in the competition portion.

The guys spent Saturday afternoon leading a workshop on the business of singing for a living, and a masterclass for some of the competitors. Then they headlined the evening concert, with local openers Transit Vocal Band.

In addition to performing and doing educational outreach, VoicePlay also got to see some old friends. Alfredo Austin from The Exchange was doing coaching sessions. Max Herskovitz, who had subbed for Layne several times, was leading workshops for the kids. Singer and sound engineer Tony Huerta was running the show in his role as CASA president.

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When they got back home, the boys headed to the studio for their next music video, a dramatic medley of Queen songs.

Then they spent a couple weeks finishing off projects in progress, working on upcoming ones, and polishing their setlist for their Warm Up holiday tour.

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Holiday ro-o-o-o-oad

Since the Disney World residency for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party had passed to their pals in The Edge Effect, VoicePlay was free to embark on a slightly more relaxed holiday tour for the final month of the year. They traded a location close to home and four sets per night for just nine longer shows at a variety of venues across the country.

The first leg of their travels was a jaunt out west to Alto, New Mexico (via El Paso, Texas). As the name of the town suggests, it's quite high in the mountains, which can present a challenge when your job involves moving lots of air in and out of your lungs. Earl noted on Twitter that "7200ft above sea level was a real thing!"

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When they got home, they continued the holiday spirit by filming their video for "This Christmas". It was the last remaining track on the "Warm Up" EP to get the visual treatment.

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The next weekend the tour continued with a loop through the Midwest. The boys started in Findlay, Ohio, scooted up to Traverse City, Michigan, then hopped over to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Back at home, they got into a bit of a pickle for a festive Mission Impossible tie-in video. (Luckily, they didn't get blown up this time.)

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The following week's tour dates were slightly more spread out. Saturday took the guys to Kilmarnock, Virginia. The next day, they scooted down to Newnan, Georgia, where they got to see their artist pal Leon King, who had drawn their adorable avatars for the pre-show spiel.

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meet and greet in Newnan, GA — photos by Dawn Ortiz

Then they took a leisurely drive up to Waleska, Georgia before heading home. (Eli made some similarly hatted friends on the flight.)

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Once they were back in Florida, they headed over to Kissimmee for a show at the Gaylord Palms resort. Because they were so close to home, some of their families came along.

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They capped off their travels with a quick trip to a suburb of Chicago.

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And to all a good night

Once they were finished spreading holiday cheer to others, the guys took some time at home with their own loved ones.

Then Earl got a head start on his New Year's resolutions by hitting the gym for a leg day workout.

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With a couple weeks to rest, the guys prepared to hit the ground running in the new year. But that's a tale for another post.

[ayakamizu]

FFXIV Write 2024 Day 6 - Halcyon

Halcyon: Adjective. Happy; blissful; carefree. Characters: Alisaie Leveilleur, Lyse Hext, Ayaka Mizushima (WoL) Expansion: Stormblood Rating: G Notes: Taking a stab at Alisaie's POV for this one! A relaxing dip in Kugane's hot springs after touring the city for a few hours. No explicit Stormblood spoilers.

“By the Twelve, you weren’t exaggerating,” Alisaie breathed out, sinking further into the water. Her eyes slipped closed in bliss. “A trip to the hot springs was needed!”

Ayaka’s chuckle echoed in the space. “We could hardly visit Kugane without enjoying the hot springs here.” Alisaie picked up on the sound of her slipping into the water, and felt the way it rippled in her wake. It was far more graceful of an entrance than either Alisaie or Lyse’s own dips into the pool. “And after a day of touring the city, this was the best way to end it off.”

“Agreed,” Lyse groaned, throwing her head back and resting it against one of the large rocks. Subtly, Alisaie peeked over at Ayaka and resisted the urge to smirk at the way the Auri woman swallowed heavily. “After all the walking we did today, my legs are killing me!”

“Aren’t you a fighter?” Alisaie teased, reaching over to poke Lyse in the shoulder. She gave an indigent “hey!” in response, trying to move away. “How are your legs more tired than mine?”

“She was running around more,” Ayaka defended, no doubt recalling the way Lyse would take off in the direction of whatever caught her eye. “I did warn you the staircases in Kugane were steep.”

“I know,” Lyse sighed, drawing one of her knees up until it peeked out of the water. From her view, she could see the way the woman was massaging her calves. “And you took those steps everyday when you lived here?”

“At a much slower pace,” Ayaka reminded her, laughing a bit. “Unless I was late for school. Though, that usually involved running down the stairs instead.”

That seemed to launch Lyse into a series of questions about what Ayaka’s school years were like. What was school like in Kugane? What did she do? Study? How long had she been in school? All the questions were taken with that characteristic Warrior of Light patience they all knew the Auri woman possessed. 

Alisaie listened as Ayaka explained the school system in Kugane (they started school in spring and ended in the following spring, but they had breaks in summer and winter), what subjects they were required to learn, the fact that Ayaka’s duties to the shrine meant she didn’t participate in the same activities as her classmates (“Perhaps I would’ve tried my hand at kendo. Archery would’ve been more expected though.”), and that Ayaka had graduated five years ago.

(None of them try to think of what happened five years ago. The question was on the tip of her tongue—had Dalamud’s fall been visible from Kugane? What had that been like to witness?)

“My friend and I would regularly visit the hot springs though,” Ayaka recalled, smiling at the memory. She nodded to the large, wooden divide between the two sides of the building. “Some of our male classmates would be there. They were bigger gossips than expected!”

Alisaie snorted. If they were anything like Alphinaud—the wannabe flirt in their school days—then she could only imagine some of the things they whispered to each other.

“They tried daring each other to take a peek on the women’s side,” Ayaka continued, shaking her head. “Keiko—my friend—shouted at them to try and see what would happen. At that moment it had been mortifying, but now it’s funny to recall how badly they all startled.”

“It sounds like you have some fond memories of Kugane,” Lyse commented, a soft smile gracing her lips. It was one of those times that Alisaie understood Ayaka’s budding crush on the blonde.

“I do,” Ayaka agreed, slumping further into the water. “I didn’t realize how badly I missed it until we were forced to come here.”

Alisaie can’t recall—in the short amount of time she’s spent with Ayaka—having seen the woman look as relaxed and happy as she did when they stepped off the boat. She knows, through Alphinaud and Urianger mainly, that Ayaka’s time in Eorzea hasn’t been the easiest. Some of it she threw herself head first into, but some of the other things almost felt like the universe was playing with her.

So it was… nice. Seeing her like this. Not exactly carefree (“She doesn’t tend to let her guard down anymore,” Alphinaud warned, frowning.), but as close to it as she could in this moment. If that meant having an unobstructed view of the entrance to the women’s changing room, then they could understand that. At that moment, Ayaka still looked happy and that was all Alisaie could ask for.