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rhoorl · 2 months

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Working Title | Chapter 20

Pairing: Dieter Bravo/OFC Series Rating: Mature, 18+ Word Count: 5.4k Series Masterlist | AO3 Chapter 20 Chapter Summary: The girls head to LA for the audition. Chapter Warnings: Brief alcohol mention. Swearing. Alternating POVs. Some angst, Body image issues. People being mean online. Allusions to Dieter's past. A/N: I can’t believe we’ve made it to the penultimate chapter of this series. This has been my first foray into fanfic writing and these two mean so much to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading and spending some time in this little world!

“Cheers,” Sam smiled clinking the neck of his beer with Dieter’s glass.

The two made some small talk, mostly about the show and whether or not they thought it was actually going to be picked up or not.

“Do you have anything lined up after this is done?” He studied Dieter, who sat absentmindedly swirling his Old Fashioned in one hand.

“Nah, I haven’t come across anything that interests me. Might take some time off.”

“Must be nice,” Sam scoffed, wincing as he ran his hand through his hair. He hated it when his mouth worked faster than his brain. “Sorry, that probably sounded worse than I meant it. I just…I’m not in a position to take a lot of time off you know?”

Although he had been working for a while, Sam still hadn’t gotten his “big break” so every project felt really important to him.

“No man, it’s all good. I get it, I’ve been there. Hell…five years ago no one wanted to hire me. I’m just now starting to get people to somewhat take me seriously, again,” he chuckled to himself as his mind wandered to a dark place before quickly returning to the present.

“Well, they can’t take your Oscar away huh?” Sam offered a small smile and cleared his throat to change the subject. “You thinking of going out to see the girls sometime in Toronto? I’m trying to plan a trip.”

“Yeah, I was …ah…actually thinking of maybe renting a house out there. You know, since I’ll have the time,” Dieter scratched the back of his head.

“No way! That’s an awesome idea! Belle must be so excited about it…” he scrunched his face and Dieter took a sip of his drink. “She knows right?”

“I haven’t told her yet, I kinda wanted it to be a surprise,” Dieter smiled softly.

“Oh well, I’m sure she’ll feel a whole lot better taking the job knowing you’ll be there,” Sam offered, taking a swig of his beer.

��She say anything to you?”

“Not in so many words. But based on what Indy and I were talking about…you know…with she and I…I can only imagine the same applies to the two of you,” he set his beer down and looked Dieter in the eyes. “She’s fallen really hard, you know that right?”

Dieter chuckled, “Well however hard she’s fallen I’m like 10 times worse.”

Both of their phones buzzed at the same time as they both quickly lunged for their respective devices.

“Ah, well looks like they made it on the plane,” Sam smiled, tapping away.

Belle: Made it on the plane!

Dieter: I hope you have a safe flight. Try and sleep. You’ll be there when you wake up.

Belle: I wish I could sleep on planes. I’m checking what movies they have

Dieter: Do they have any of my stuff? That will make you fall asleep. 😜

Belle: No silly watching it would make me miss you too much.

Dieter: 💗

Belle: gotta go - they’re telling us to turn off the phones. I love you 😘

Dieter: Wait! Since I can’t hear you say goodnight, can I get a picture?

Belle smirked, feeling the warmth in her cheeks as she snapped a quick selfie.

Dieter: Good night beautiful. Tell me when you land. xo

Indy sported the biggest smile as she switched her phone to airplane mode. Glancing over she caught you staring at your lock screen — a selfie of you and Dieter from your hike around Waimea Canyon.

“Thanks for coming with me B,” she nudged your arm with her elbow, pulling you out of your daydream.

“Of course, this is exciting. Are you getting nervous?”

“Nah, I got this,” she winked.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah babe, of course,” she turned her body towards you. “What’s up?”

“Have you and Sam talked about things? Like what’s going to happen next?”

Indy looked down, playing with the hem of her shirt with a small smile. “Yeah…we’ve talked about it. Truthfully it makes me a little scared. I really like him B and I…I don’t know what’s next for us. Sure he can come out and visit, but he needs to work too.”

“For what it’s worth, he really likes you too,” you covered her hand with yours, rubbing circles with your thumb. “And I think he’s a great guy so I’m rooting for you.”

She rested her head on your shoulder, “Thanks B. At first I thought this was going to be just some on-set fling or whatever but I can see this going somewhere,” she smirked as you looked at her with a silent squeal.

“I knew it,” you winked.

“Try and get some sleep, ok? I know how you get,” she smirked as she rummaged through her bag to find the novelty sleeping mask you got her years ago. The “Sleeping Beauty” stitching, a nod to her Disney Princess past, was starting to fade. She put on her noise-canceling headphones and was asleep before the wheels left the tarmac, leaving you to sort out how to entertain yourself for the next five and a half hours.

You aimlessly scrolled through the various television shows and documentaries given as in-flight entertainment options, unable to find something that grabbed your interest. Once the flight attendant delivered your ginger ale and pretzels, you decided to get serious about finding a movie. Doing some quick math, you figured you could probably watch at least two.

When you reached the “C’s” in the menu, your stomach did a little flip seeing the thumbnail for Cliff Beasts 6. You remember when the movie came out and how you had to drag Indy to go see it, tolerating all of the teasing because you just had to see the latest Dieter flick. You’ve endured so many different films and TV shows just to get a chance to watch him; Cliff Beasts 6 was no exception. His over-the-top, cartoonish accent made you laugh despite the absolute trainwreck of a plot.

Seeing Dieter on the little screen mounted in the seatback in front of you gave you butterflies. The last couple of weeks were such a whirlwind. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d ever meet him in person let alone everything else that’s transpired. You felt like you were living in an alternate reality.

With a smile now permanently affixed to your face, you watched and focused less on the movie and more on how quickly you’ve grown to love this man. His nervous energy, his smile, his laugh, his hair, of course. The way he knew how to strike that balance of gentle and comforting with a little edge that made you want to give him anything and everything. By this point, you were about halfway through the movie and your eyelids were starting to feel heavy.

The guys decided to call it a night after a couple of drinks due to Sam’s early call time (and the fact that he hadn’t read through his scenes yet). Dieter’s call time got pushed back, but he was desperate to return to his room to wallow and track Belle’s flight.

Once in his suite, he made a beeline for the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water along with a box of cookies, and went to his room. Instead of sitting on his side, he settled into Belle’s side of the bed, traces of her perfume and shampoo still on the pillow. He searched for her flight on his phone and studied the route while eating a cookie, the crumbs falling on his shirt and onto the bed.

The girls had a few couple hours until they were to land in Los Angeles and his mind was abuzz, flipping through various thoughts like a Rolodex. He hoped it was a smooth flight and wondered what Belle was doing, wishing she was able to get some sleep. He was curious about how the audition would go for Indy. He knew she was a lock for the role so he needed to stop thinking of “ifs” and start thinking of “whens.”

Sleep was a lost cause so he grabbed the remote. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep until he knew she was safe on the ground. Flipping through the channels, he came across Alien and decided to stop and keep it on as background noise as he continued to do some research on his tablet. He found a couple of places in Toronto and fired off emails to Liz so she could investigate further.

Time crawled by. Something else was on TV but Dieter didn’t pay it any mind. He was scrolling through photos on his phone, landing on a candid he took of Belle one morning. She looked so peaceful, a hint of a smile on her face as she lay on her side facing him, the sheet just barely covering her.

He closed his eyes wishing she was next to him. He ran his hand over his face, his breath hitched just a bit smelling the smallest trace of her musk still on his fingers. It sent an electric pulse down his body, remembering how just a few hours ago her mouth was where his hand had drifted to. His slow strokes picked up as he replayed some of their more intimate moments in his head. It didn’t take long before he found his release, left panting as he reached for his phone.

One more hour.

He cleaned himself up and stepped outside smiling as he looked across at the adjacent balcony, remembering that morning. He stared out into the darkness, hearing the rhythmic sounds of the waves crashing onto the beach below. It was lulling him to sleep, but before he closed his eyes he set an alarm on his phone.

You were woken up when the flight attendants made one last pass through the cabin before taking their seats for the approach to LAX. “Psst,” you gently shook Indy.

She groaned, pulling off her sleeping mask with a pout. “I need the largest, most obnoxious coffee concoction when we land.”

“You got it,” you giggled.

You reached for your phone, itching to be able to turn it off airplane mode so you could text Dieter. The moment the tires made contact with the tarmac, both you and Indy were furiously tapping away at your phones. You felt butterflies when a message came through before you could send one.

Dieter: My bed felt empty 😞 Hope you were able to get some sleep. I miss you.

You grinned like an absolute idiot at your phone at the selfie he sent complete with his signature arched eyebrow and pursed lips. He was in bed underneath the covers. His broad shoulders took up the whole frame and his hair was as unruly as ever, but what stood out to you most was his sweet smile and gentle, but tired, eyes.

Belle: Just landed 🙂 You’re still up?!

Dieter: I took a little power nap 😉

Dieter: I wanted to make sure you got there ok.

Beside you, Indy whispered into her phone to Sam using a baby voice. Normally this would have made you cringe, but seeing her this happy was actually really sweet.

Belle: All good. Safe and sound 🙂 You should get some rest.

Dieter: For later tonight? 😏

Belle: lol whatever gets you to sleep a little

Dieter: Yes ma’am

Dieter: Keep me updated. Even if I fall back asleep it will be nice to wake up to your name on my phone.

Belle: 😘

Belle: I’ll try not to bother you too much

Dieter: You’re never a bother sweetheart

Dieter breathed a sigh of relief knowing the girls made it safely. The anxiety of the last several hours coupled with the lack of sleep finally caught up to him and before he knew it, his eyes fluttered closed as his phone slipped from his hand and onto the carpet.

Getting off the plane through the airport and to the car service was a bit of a blur thanks to the small gaggle of paparazzi armed with cameras, cellphones, and ring lights. Seeing the paps at a place like LAX was pretty standard given all of the celebrities, but what was uncommon was for you and Indy to be the targets of their attention. Once they spotted you, they descended, shouting both of your names as Rhys tried his best to shield you while ushering you to the waiting car. They yelled all at once and you could only make out a phrase or two from each.

“Are you dating Dieter Bravo?”

“Did you and Dieter break up?”

“Belle, can you give us a smile?”

“What the fuck?” Indy huffed as she scooted into the back of the SUV behind you.

“How’d they know my name?” Your face scrunched up as you looked out the back window.

“Someone must have tipped them off, I swear I didn’t set that up!” Rhys looked back from the front seat before turning around to furiously type on his phone.

You and Indy exchanged a confused look. “I can see them knowing you Ind, but me?”

“Well, you are dating Dieter fucking Bravo…” she smirked, before switching to a more serious tone. “I’m sorry B, it sucks. It’s one thing if he were here with you; I know how unnerving this whole thing can be. But you rocked it! Your first paparazzi swarm!” She gave an encouraging smile, trying to make you laugh to get your mind off the path it would inevitably go down.

You sat a bit dumbfounded, trying to process. You are dating Dieter fucking Bravo. You are in love with him and he’s in love with you. But all of this kind of attention wasn't something you wanted. Your mind started to spiral thinking about what life would be like with Dieter outside of your little bubble. Whether going out on a date or taking a trip to the grocery store, he was recognizable and your life would always be on display for others to judge and scrutinize.

Deep in thought, you didn’t even register the SUV pulling up to Indy’s apartment. She quickly unlocked the door and ushered you all in, knowing there was limited time for her to take a quick shower and freshen up. Rhys stepped out to make a couple of phone calls while you laid out your kit on the vanity in her bedroom. Once you were all set up, you plopped on the bed and pulled out your phone. Even though you figured (and hoped) he was asleep, you decided to fire off a message to Dieter.

Belle: Sorry it’s been a bit chaotic but we’re at Indy’s now. Audition is at 9 so I’ll be kinda MIA - Rhys says I have some meetings today too. Hope you're getting some sleep 💕

A notification for Instagram popped up which you ignored, opting instead to clear out some emails. But then another notification came through, followed by another and another, and soon your phone started buzzing with texts and other alerts. As you opened Instagram Rhys sprinted into the room.

“Have you seen them?” He asked in a huff, rushing over to you.

“What? What happened? Is everything ok?”

“Y-yeah, it’s just….the photos of you and Indy are starting to circulate.” He looked a bit worried and you weren’t quite sure why.

“Circulate?” You scoffed, trying to put on a calm exterior despite the anxiety brewing in your chest. You fidgeted with the sleeve of Dieter's sweatshirt you were still wearing.

“Just the typical accounts but some…others picked it up too,” his mouth twitched as he averted his eyes.

You furrowed your brows and Rhys opened his mouth to say more as the en suite bathroom door opened.

“I’m ready!” A bathrobe-clad Indy announced before her face dropped seeing Rhys stressed and you confused. “Wait. What happened? Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, walking over to put his hands on Indy’s arms. “It’s just that the photos from the airport are starting to make their rounds.”

You can’t see the look on Rhys’ face but something in his voice tells you he’s trying to tell Indy something without tipping you off.

“Have you seen anything?” Indy looked past Rhys, her eyes boring into you.

You shook your head, “No, what the fuck guys?! I literally just sat down. Is there something I should know?”

Rhys and Indy exchanged a look before she walked past him, coming to sit next to you on the bed. “Here let me take a look.” She unlocked her phone and started going through her tagged posts.

Indy had the best poker face but you knew her tells. To the untrained eye, they wouldn’t know the difference but decades of friendship made you all too aware of her microexpressions. The slight purse of her lips, an eyebrow twitch, or a shift in her posture – she was uneasy about something.

“You’re making me nervous, Ind.” Your mind started to race through all of the possibilities but had a sneaking suspicion that the reason both she and Rhys were acting weird was because your appearance was being scrutinized. And if that was the case it was honestly so unfair. You had just come off a red-eye and weren’t expecting to have a bunch of cameras shoved in your face. You tugged awkwardly at the hem of Dieter's sweatshirt as Indy kept scrolling.

Indy let out a frustrated sigh as she put down the phone. “I seriously don’t know what gets into people. They act like they know us, know our lives, and they don’t…” She rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes.

“What’re they saying Ind?” You say with a bit more bite than you intended. You appreciated her trying to shield and protect you from the online fodder but it was completely unrealistic to think you wouldn’t read stuff.

“Look for yourself,” she turned her body toward you, her eyes watching as you unlocked your phone and started scrolling. There was one thread of comments and replies that grabbed your attention.

>>Omg they look like a hot mess

>>They look pissed off

>>It’s early in the morning they’re probably not awake. Jeez give them a break.

>>How do you look in the morning?

>>They look kinda sad

>>Oh that’s the girl Dieter is dating huh?

>>Do you think Dieter broke up with her? Is that why they’re back in LA?

>>They haven’t posted anything together ever at least Indy and Sam kinda soft launched

>>It’s probably not serious then. Remember his last chick? Dude wouldn’t shut up about her

>>He’s definitely still shooting. I saw a photo of him at a bar in Hawaii last night

>>The guy was probably hammered huh?

>>Oh no that was probably bad news

>>Wait is THAT who Dieter is dating now? Woof

>>Guy must be desperate

>>How do you go from a Victoria’s Secret model to that?

You skimmed through the rest of it as you felt your blood pressure spiking. People were throwing out wild, unfounded speculation and there was a small contingent doing a deep dive about you and your family and friends. Your mind goes into a tailspin as you read through more. You couldn’t make out the words, but you heard Indy next to you on the phone trying to get in touch with Sam, frustrated when she got his PA instead.

Meanwhile, you felt that all-too-familiar pang in your gut. You experienced a taste of this when you and Dieter were first spotted in public, knowing that it wasn’t going to be the first or last time people would make comments about you. But something about this felt so unsettling and so invasive. You were a normal person trying to support her friend on what was essentially a job interview. It also made you uncomfortable that the focus was on you and not Indy – she’s the star of the show here not you. Why aren’t people coming up with theories about why she’s in LA when she should be on set in Hawaii too?

The conversations around Dieter were also surprising and a bit confusing. You were on what you thought was a Dieter fan account yet people were speculating about everything from the two of you breaking up to him cheating on you to you both getting secretly married. It hurt to see so many quick to paint him in a bad light – assuming that he had done something wrong.

Indy hung up the phone and you could feel her eyeballs on you but you just kept scrolling.

“What are you thinking B?”

You shook your head, “This is all so confusing. How does us at the airport turn into all of this,” you waved your phone around.

“It, unfortunately, comes with the territor-”

“Can it Rhys!” Indy snapped. “That’s not helpful right now. Look, apparently Sam and Dee went to the hotel bar after we left, had a couple of drinks, and then went back to their rooms.”

“Wait, you don’t think he actually….”

“No, no not at all,” she squeezed your leg. “No. And it’s ridiculous the way these people spiral off the smallest thing…have you tried calling him?”

You shook your head, “I’m pretty sure he’s asleep. He had a later call time than Sam and sounded like he was up most of the night.” Your mind drifted to a negative place briefly before shutting down that train of thought.

“Well, just try, I’m sure Liz is lighting up his phone too.”

“She is. We’ve been texting,” Rhys chimed in.

You called Dieter a couple of times and it went to voicemail. After the third failed attempt to reach him, you took a deep breath, took off the sweatshirt, and looked at Indy, resolved to not let this derail an important day for her. “We need to get you ready.”

“O-ok, yeah, c’mon let’s go.”

Since it was part audition/part screen test, you were thankful to just have to do minimal makeup and a simple blowout, allowing you to go on autopilot and think. You suddenly felt like you were back in your apartment after you found out Ryan left. The thoughts of unworthiness were quick to make themselves known after they’d been dormant for weeks – the weeks you’ve known Dieter. You were happier, and stronger with him, and being apart only made you see how weak and fragile you were.

You were annoyed at yourself that comments from people you didn’t know could affect you so much. But words hurt. And it doesn’t help that so many of them keyed in on parts of your body you were self-conscious about. But then there was another voice trying to push through to remind you that all of those things they called out were the things Dieter loved. He celebrated your body, eager to show you his appreciation as you became more comfortable with him.

Thoughts then traveled to Dieter, wondering what his state of mind would be like when he finally woke up and Liz brought him up to speed. You smiled a bit to yourself knowing that his first thoughts would probably be about you and wanting to check if you were ok. But you knew his next instinct would be to turn inward. He hadn’t shared everything, but there were demons from his past he still had to contend with every day. And you couldn’t help but think that seeing people attack you because of your relationship with him was going to send him down a self-loathing spiral.

For a brief moment, your mind wandered to a territory that scared you – whether all of this was worth it. You continued to work in silence, catching Indy’s eyes in the mirror every so often. She acted like she was rereading her lines but you knew she was trying to gauge your feelings and meet you where you were.

“Ok, ready.” You set down the can of finishing spray and fluffed up her hair in the mirror.

“Wanna talk about it?” She grabbed your hand, stopping you from quickly packing everything up.

“There’s nothing to talk about. C’mon, we’re going to be late.”

“Of course there’s stuff to talk about.”

“I’m. Fine.” You snapped, instantly regretting losing your temper. “Sorry Indy, I…it’s just the same old shit when it comes to,” you motioned up and down your body. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not a productive conversation.”

She didn’t push it and just hugged you, figuring an embrace would tell you more than she could with words. Rhys interrupted your quiet moment urging you both to get a move on so you weren't late. Indy did one last sweep of her apartment, hoping it would be a long while before she saw it again.

Dieter tossed and turned all morning, his hands seeking Belle only to find an empty, cold space next to him in the bed. He was about to close his eyes again and will himself to sleep when the hotel phone came to life with a shrill ring. Covering his face with a pillow he reached for the phone and brought the receiver to his ear.

“Yeah?”

“Well thank fuck you’re alive. Goddamit I’ve been calling you and texting you all morning. I was about to go get them to open the door if you didn’t pick up. Where have you been? Are you ok?”

This wasn’t the first time Liz had woken Dieter up and berated him, but something about her tone this time caught his attention.

“Lizzie,” he cleared his throat, starting to sit up. “What’s wrong?”

“Were you asleep? You know you’re due on set in like half an hour, right?”

“I forgot to set an alarm…didn’t get much sleep last night. I wanted to make sure the girls got there ok. Are they ok? Did something happen?”

“Where’s your phone?” A slight hesitation in her voice.

“Uh, I thought it was right here…” Dieter felt around the bed before peeking over and seeing the phone face down on the floor. “Ah there it is, must have fallen….holy shit, what the hell happened?”

Dieter turned over his phone and was pretty sure he had a notification from every app. He saw a bunch of missed phone calls from Liz and Belle, hell even Sam and Meredith had rung him. His list of missed texts was from the same bunch with the addition of Danny, Indy, and even Rhys.

“Goddamit Liz. Gimme the rundown. Are they ok?” Dieter swung his legs around, feeling dizzy as the adrenaline coursed through his veins.

“She’s fine Dee, they’re ok. The damn paps swarmed the girls as soon as they left the airport. Couple of the blogs caught it and it’s what you expect – people talking about her, how she looks, and trying to find out more about her and Indy. Luckily she’s a smart girl and has a lot of her shit locked down so there’s not a ton for people to find. But it’s only a matter of time before someone comes out of the woodwork wanting their 15 minutes.”

Dieter scoffed, knowing that all too well. When he was at rock bottom it felt like every person he’d ever met was willing to go to a gossip rag to talk about him. It was the usual suspects - jilted lovers, disgruntled past co-stars or assistants, all the way to his old dog’s vet. Anyone and everyone who wanted to give their two cents about Dieter found a way to get their story out.

His annoyance turned into a feeling of helplessness. He knew how these comments would hurt Belle and with her so far away he couldn’t be there to comfort her. Hell, she wasn’t even gone for 12 hours. It was unfair that he couldn’t protect her from a life he’d unfortunately grown accustomed to. He worked a lot on himself to build back a fraction of the confidence he used to have. It still stung to see things written about him, so he could only imagine the negative headspace she was in because of this all.

“I need to call her.”

“That’s not it Dee,” Liz cut him off before taking a deep inhale. “They’re also talking about you. People have no idea that she’s there for Indy’s audition. They’re assuming both girls left set early due to an incident.”

“What incident?”

“Well, no theory has stuck yet, but it’s the greatest hits.”

Liz didn’t have to spell it out for Dieter to know that once again his past was coming around. He ran his free hand through his hair and then down his face as he tried to quell the frustration. It felt like no matter how much progress he made, people only thought of him as that womanizing, drug-fueled party animal from years ago.

“I need to call Belle.”

“They’re in meetings right now. I’ve kept in close contact with Rhys. He was there when they saw the photos and started reading through the comments.”

“How’d she take it?”

“As best as you can imagine. Rhys said she kind of shut down on the drive over but turned it on once they got there and started meeting with everyone.”

Dieter’s heart sank, imagining the spiral she must be on as she tried to keep it together for Indy. All the studio execs probably had Google Alerts set for both of the girls as a precaution and as a means to suss out any potential liabilities and issues, so they no doubt knew about Belle and Dieter’s rumored, but very real, relationship. It pained him that he couldn’t be there to comfort her; maybe if he was with her the focus could have been on him instead.

The smallest hint of a smile came across his face. He felt a combination of pride and awe in her strength – that she could compartmentalize all of these feelings and seemingly put on a brave face for Indy’s audition. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

“I need to talk to her….do you know how much longer they’ll be?” Dieter tried to sound even keel but he knew Liz could see right through it.

“I mean, they should probably be done soon. They have to get back to the airport, their flight leaves in a couple of hours.”

Dieter took a deep breath, trying to quell his anxiety. “Well, I’ll have my phone on me. Maybe if I can get downstairs Mere can get me ready and I can - ”

“Dee,” Liz cut him off. “Listen, I know your first instinct is to try and fix this, but she’s a big girl. Being with you isn’t going to be a cakewalk, you can’t shield her from this kind of stuff forever.” He stayed quiet for a moment, rubbing his temples. “What’s bothering you champ?”

“I…I just don’t want all of this to scare her off…like it’s going to be too much. That I'm too much. She didn’t ask for any of this, you know? What if she ends up deciding she’d rather not deal with it?”

“Dieter,” Liz paused, knowing she needed to be a bit more delicate than her normal tough love. “You love her right? And she loves you? Shit is going to be hard. I know it’s scary, but you have to just trust in each other. What do you want from her?”

“I don’t want anything from her. I…I just want everything with her.”

“Well, she’ll be back in…” Liz checked her watch, “eight hours. You can profess your ever-dying love then.”

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Thanks. Hey, did you see those emails I sent you?”

“Yup, we’re checking them out – I’ll make sure we check out potential security issues to see if anything is an immediate no.”

“Thanks, Lizzie. I should probably get downstairs. Hey, I’ll have my phone on me. Anything else happens…anything…you call me. I don’t give a shit if we’re filming, you call me.”

“You got it champ….it’s all going to be ok, Dee.”

Previous chapter / Final chapter

A/N: So I know I haven’t always been the best with updating, but the last chapter is written and it will come out on Feb. 26!

Tag list: @musings-of-a-rose / @legendary-pink-dot / @bitchwitch1981 / @mysterious-moonstruck-musings / @gracie7209 / @amneris21 / @pastelnap / @maryfanson / @sunnywithachanceofjavi / @sin-djarin / @winchestergypsy90 / @for-a-longlongtime /@harriedandharassed / @titlee78 / @midnightraain / @poodlebae / @partyofone3413 / @guelyury / @weho2kcmo / @missladym1981 / @soapjay / @darkheartgatita

#dieter bravo fanfic #dieter bravo #dieter bravo x ofc #dieter bravo fanfiction #dieter bravo fic #working title

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geonppangi · 1 year

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zb1 as ontario universities + programs

yes this is an incredibly niche topic but this has now become my chosen coping mechanism for uni decisions

sung hanbin - queens health science

such a pretty campus

a lot of historic buildings and freshly manicured lawns that i think would fit hanbin perfectly

and like imagine him with soft academia

it’s just a really nice school and its health sci program is one of the best in ontario

like it’s very neutral good

and he feels like he would make a really good doctor, like pov sung hanbin is your family doctor LMFAO

and like i think he’d do a great job, probably has the prettiest notes and always does his part during group projects

zhang hao - queens commerce

ofc i had to keep haobin together

but dw neither is sacrificing their education for the other person (remember kids the only person who can get you your degree is you)

queens commerce is also one of the best business schools in ontario

ik that zhang hao is a music kid but that felt like cheating so this is an alternative!

out of all of zb1 he feels like the most business type person?

like he’s so smart and always plans ahead

so i feel like he could be successful in anything he tried but especially business because it’s so lucrative and opens the door to so many paths

like hanbin i think he suits the clean and historic school vibes

they both have a very curated?? for lack of better word image and i think they’d look like they were in a photoshoot every time they step out on campus

park gunwook - uoft criminology, law and society

university of toronto!!

i’m just saying, debate is literally the gateway to law

and i’d be willing to bet that he has done or considered mock trial so i think this would fit super well

he knows a lot about history and philosophy, so i can see him being interested in studying a humanity

in canada, you need to get a bachelors before going to law school, so a lot of people do something related

this is basically as good as you can get

i also think gunwook would do well in uoft

it can be a kind of isolating experience because the school is so big and a lot of people commute so there isn’t much of a social scene

but as the resident social butterfly, i feel like gunwook would be able to establish a good circle

and also i think he would like the energy of the city

there’s always something to do and both city hall and parliament are literally right next to the campus

alternatively, i considered university of ottawa, which is good for its social science since you know, it’s literally in the capital city of canada so its law program is really good

but honestly there’s not much undergrad wise

i could see him going for graduate school though

i don’t know lawyer gunwook just feels right

he’s good at making decisions, works well under pressure, has the fundamentals down, and is a hard worker so i can definitely see him making it into law school

kim taerae - waterloo computer science

listen

i know that taerae isn’t that genre of nerd

but the glasses

him being losercore

like you can’t tell me he wouldn’t go to the most loser of all loser schools in ontario

(btw waterloo is not bad, it’s actually really good for engineering and comp sci but also everybody there has no life hence the loser allegations)

(also because if you do eng or comp sci you are inherently a loser i’m so sorry pls continue to run tumblr though)

but yeah i can definitely see him doing comp sci maybe like ui ux stuff

actually the more i think about it the more it makes sense for me

he’s also the only thinking (mbti) in zb1 and his fashion sense would fit in perfectly with the rest of the department

seok matthew - mcmaster nursing

like hanbin, i really do see him doing something healthcare related

mcmaster is second for nursing, after uoft, but i don’t think matthew would like toronto as much

from what i’ve heard, vancouver is a lot greener, more laid back, and hiking culture is big there

toronto kind of offers none of that, with the addition of pretty bad air quality comparatively (still pretty good though because canada’s pretty sparsely populated)

mcmaster though is in a smaller town that’s essentially just a university town and also has a trail literally right on campus

it’s a smaller, more tight knit community and nursing is a pretty small program so it’d be even closer

i think he would have a really good time with mcmaster’s social scene

it’s also right by lake ontario and has pretty decent weather

ricky shen - uoft rotman

another business student, are we surprised?

i also considered art but our only really good art school is ocad and as far as i know it doesn’t focus on traditional art as much

so anyways mr young and rich tall and handsome is going to go the business route

uoft is really international student friendly, mostly because they accept a lot of international students and because toronto is also pretty diverse

like you can truly get any type of cuisine here and we have a really big asian population too

so as a person who also immigrated here, i’d say it’s not a terrible transition

definitely the most diverse of any of the ontario schools

once again, the social life at uoft is not great but usually the business schools are better

han yujin - still in high school

han yujin - university of guelph kinesiology

since yujin’s currently studying dance at his school, i thought that kinesiology would be a good fit

for those who don’t know, it’s essentially like sports science?? or studying the way people move and so forth

he also plays soccer and just gives off like sporty vibes?

like the quiet kid who is surprisingly the fastest on the team

once again, uoft is technically the best for this, but it’s kind of a scary place to go into alone so i can see yujin choosing a quieter school

i’d say guelph is even more closely knit than mcmaster by virtue of it being a smaller city and a smaller school

they have a solid health science program though and good student support too, which i think he’d benefit from

kim jiwoong - uoft english literature

i know that he is an actor

and i considered having him go the performing arts route

however, i know nothing about those schools and once again i think it’d be too easy

so to make my life harder, instead of having jiwoong perform shakespeare plays, i’m making him read and analyze them instead

he gives off like that one english teacher you had who changed your life and helped you rekindle your love of reading after your gifted burnout yknow

but yeah i see him going into english lit to go be a teacher

and uoft would be perfect for that because it not only has i believe one of the largest libraries in north america, but also a really big teachers college once he’s done getting his bachelors

he also seems like he would be able to fit in in any environment, so i don’t see uoft’s size or atmosphere being a problem for him

kim gyuvin - toronto metropolitan university performance: acting

i saved the best for last

ik i literally just said that i wasn’t going to do performing arts for jiwoong but this is different

something about his performance during the musical segment of boys planet changed the way i viewed him forever

like??????? how is he that good for like the most random challenge ever

i think he’d be really good at acting seriously so anyways!

also tmu (formerly known as ryerson) is just a very fun vibe

it’s in the more downtown area of toronto compared to uoft and right by the entertainment district

the nightlife is so good and gyuvin would probably be the life of the party

tmu’s also like uoft’s funkier younger cousin so i think that fits his vibe well

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anniekoh · 7 months

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Constructing the Patriarchal City: Gender and the Built Environments of London, Dublin, Toronto, and Chicago, 1870s into the 1940s (link)

Maureen A. Flanagan (2018)

Constructing the Patriarchal City compares the ideas and activities of men and women in four English-speaking cities that shared similar ideological, professional, and political contexts. Historian Maureen Flanagan investigates how ideas about gender shaped the patriarchal city as men used their expertise in architecture, engineering, and planning to fashion a built environment for male economic enterprise and to confine women in the private home. Women consistently challenged men to produce a more equitable social infrastructure that included housing that would keep people inside the city, public toilets for women as well as men, housing for single, working women, and public spaces that were open and safe for all residents.

Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World

Leslie Kern (2019)

We live in the city of men. Our public spaces are not designed for female bodies. There is little consideration for women as mothers, workers or carers. The urban streets often are a place of threats rather than community. Gentrification has made the everyday lives of women even more difficult. What would a metropolis for working women look like? A city of friendships beyond Sex and the City. A transit system that accommodates mothers with strollers on the school run. A public space with enough toilets. A place where women can walk without harassment. In Feminist City, through history, personal experience, and popular culture, Leslie Kern exposes what is hidden in plain sight: the social inequalities built into our cities, homes, and neighborhoods. Kern offers an alternative vision of the feminist city. Taking on fear, motherhood, friendship, activism, and the joys and perils of being alone, Kern maps the city from new vantage points, laying out an intersectional feminist approach to urban histories and proposes that the city is perhaps also our best hope for shaping a new urban future. It is time to dismantle what we take for granted about cities and to ask how we can build more just, sustainable, and woman-friendly cities together.

#to read #feminism #urban studies

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fakedtales · 3 months

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It’s Monday, so get in the time hole and listen to Casual Trek’s new episode!

Star Trek: The Animated Series’ “Yesteryear” shows how cavalier Starfleet is when they’ve got a time hole to play around in, and Spock has to save himself as a child. We get to see some weird kid’s fashion and a guest appearance from the voice of Godzilla!

Star Trek: Voyager goes back only a single day, but that makes all the difference if the world’s ended in the last 24 hours. “Time and Again” pushes Janeway and Paris to a place with some dubious clothing and an impending apocalypse. Will they break their own rules and mess with the timestream? It’s Janeway so the odds are ‘yes’.

Finally with Strange New Worlds we watch “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” where La’an and an alternate reality Kirk are trapped in 21st century Toronto and if one person’s future is saved the others’ will be destroyed. There’s also some shoplifting and hustling chess groups.

You can find Casual Trek on all podcatchers in all timelines, and here: https://anchor.fm/casual-trek/episodes/Playing-in-the-Time-Hole-e2eohl7

Next week we’ve got a special guest star with Celeste from Celeste is Best and Nerd & Tie will join us to talk about Trills!

#podcast #star trek #star trek voyager #star trek strange new worlds #star trek the animated series #yesteryear #time and again #tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow #la’an noonien singh #star trek the next generation #james kirk #Spock #Vulcan #captain janeway #tom paris #casual trek #time travel #grandfather paradox

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magicalgirlmascot · 2 years

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Fancuries FYC: Yo-Ho-Ho! Pirate Pretty Cure

[All image descriptions will be in alt text.]

Hello all! I'm Rags, relatively new to the fancure community, and this past year or so I've been working hard on a fanseries of my own called Yo-Ho-Ho! Pirate Pretty Cure. I haven't posted the actual story yet since it's very much still a work in progress, but here's what I have posted for it so far!

Yo-Ho-Ho! is about four girls, Merry, Leah, Anna, and Laci, who become the Pirate PreCure to help save the Infinite Sea, an alternate world where pirates do battle against the insidious Phantom Storm Company. Brought together by Polly, a parrot pirate who can take a human form, they have to gather the pieces of the Ultimate Treasure Map and solve the riddle of legendary pirate Calamity Jax before the Phantom Storm Company uses it to take over the Infinite Sea forever.

The girls transform using the Treasure Pacts and Golden Keys pictured above. By inserting the key into the lock on the front of the Pact and spinning the ship's wheel inside, the four of them can transform into the Pirate PreCure! Polly brings the Pacts with her when she arrives from the Infinite Sea, and the Golden Keys are found in Merry's grandparents' attic.

Meredith "Merry" Read/Cure Captain: Merry is a grade 8 student originally from Toronto who moves to Dovern's Landing, Newfoundland right at the start of the story. She's normally friendly and passionate, but grief has made her grouchier and angrier, and it's difficult for her to make connections with others. However, she also can't take an injustice lying down, and through her willingness to stand up for herself and others, she can inspire people to do the same. Merry likes horror movies and math puzzles, and since moving to Newfoundland she's developed a fascination with the ocean.

Leah Drake/Cure Lookout: Leah is a grade 8 student who has lived in Dovern's Landing her whole life. She's a great athlete who loves sports, especially soccer, but her quiet worrywart personality make her a prime target for bullies. She's well-liked by her teachers and teammates, but struggles to make connections with people her own age. Aside from sports, Leah also likes cooking, and often winds up doing a lot of the cooking for her busy household.

Anna Rivvers/Cure Buccaneer: Anna is a grade 7 student who moved to Dovern's Landing from Halifax, Nova Scotia about 2 years ago. She's full of energy and somewhat childish, easily distracted and lacking focus. She often inspires others to get up and go, and she tries to bring out the best in people. However, she can also sometimes be clingy and shallow. Anna loves dancing, music, fashion, and shopping, and frequently begs her stepmom for shopping trips in St. John's.

Laci Drake/Cure Corsair: Laci is grade 9 student and Leah's older sister. In contrast to her younger sister, Laci can be loud and brash, but prefers quiet solo hobbies like drawing and reading. She's the secretary for their local public library's Teen Advisory Board and she takes her position very seriously. She worries constantly about Leah, especially since this is the first time the two of them aren't going to the same school. She's very protective, sometimes overly so, and extraordinarily stubborn. Laci spends most of her time drawing, reading, and playing an MMORPG called Fantasy Skies Online.

Polly Layton: Polly is a hot-tempered pirate from the Infinite Sea. She escaped to the Mainland (our world) with the Treasure Pacts on orders from her captain, Locke Prescott, in order to find the Pirate PreCure and stop the Phantom Storm Company once and for all. She alternates between two forms: a red parrot and a redheaded woman, both wearing an eyepatch over their left eye. Has a tendency to scream insults in the same style as Captain Haddock.

Calamity Jax: Jax is a legendary pirate from the Infinite Sea who also shows up in Mainland folklore. They were responsible for establishing the Pirate Code, creating the Treasure Pacts, and scattering the pieces of the Ultimate Treasure Map on the Mainland.

The Phantom Storm Company: A fleet of mercenary ships who have made it their sworn mission to stamp out piracy for good. Led by Admiral Zora Revenant, a strict, conniving shark of a woman with a personal grudge against pirates, and her personal ship, the Sea Ghost. Charges obscene amounts of money to chase down pirates for private clients and won't help those who can't or won't pay for their services.

Commodore Trio: The three best commodores in the Phantom Storm Company: Avery Wraith, Marcie Haunt, and Lindsey Shade. Wraith's ship is the Wild Wind, Haunt's is the Night Hurricane, and Shade's is the Crooked Star. Haunt and Polly are Extremely Divorced.

Bonnie: Bonnie is the left hand of Admiral Revenant. She is sent to the Mainland after several failed attempts by the Commodore Trio to judge their progress and report back to Revenant. To say anything else about her would be major spoilers.

Thank you for reading this far and I hope you consider nominating Yo-Ho-Ho! Pirate PreCure for the Fancuries! Even if you don't, though, thank you for looking at them I always love showing off my OCs lol.

#fancuries #fancuries fyc #fancuries 2022 fyc #precure #precure fanseries #fancure #this is my first fancuries i'm excited #tbh idc if i get nominated. i just want you all to look at them

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the-gloomth · 11 months

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Creepy Kawaii Tea Party

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#alt fashion #bloody cake #creepy kawaii tea party #doll parts #dolly momoiro #pastel #setting doll on fire #toronto alternative fashion photographer #toronto fashion

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hellcatazura · 2 months

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Lovely promise and quick ruin

Dress: @the-gloomth

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burningdiplomatdeanwombat · 1 year

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It's about my new video

Hello. Friends. I like Alternative fashions. I do respect who dresses as Lolita fashion, I will support who dress a Lolita fashion. I won't any names at all who dress a Lolita fashion. My Alternative fashions are #Victoriangoth & #romanticgoth , so I will be working on long video of my Victorian Goth fashions right now. I am Emmanuel Skywalkers. I been part of Gothic subculture since early 90s in Toronto. I do shop at #borderlineplus , @killstar many more Alternative Gothic stores. I will get more of #gothicjewelry , Victorian Goth fashions, #gothiccorset . My long video there is going to be so many parts, so many chapters, I am having lots of fun doing this video a lot. I enjoy listening to @manasama music like @moidixmois , @malicemizer . I listen to @noxarcana , #classicalmusic , #mozart , #Opera with Darkness twist, #Gothmetal , I will say in my video I am working on right now.

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cavalier-consciousness · 4 months

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#my photography #style #alternative #pale #stickers #city #urban #graffiti #album art #fashion #artwork #designer #art #toronto #cityscape

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animehouse-moe · 1 year

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Buying Manga In Canada

So, any Canadian knows the woes of not having a RightStufAnime up here, or a Kinokuniya or any real specialty animanga stores (unless you live in a major metropolitan area). We also know that Indigo has currently been out of commission online for nearing a week at this point (and has a whole host of other issues currently), and that even then it's hit and miss for orders shipping on time, not having damaged items, and any number of other thing. And Amazon, well it's Amazon. Sure it'll get there in 2 days, but in one piece is an entirely other conversation.

So what can we do? Where we can we shop?

Quite a few places, it turns out. Though each with a caveat.

I'll be blunt. For pre-ordered items, you're not going to beat Indigo or Amazon for delivery. If you have a store near you there's no concerns, but for people ordering predominantly online you'll most likely be stuck with a bigger retailer if you want your items in a (typically) timely fashion.

Anyways, let's get started, what are our alternatives?

The C&L Internet Club

The C&L Internet Club, also referred to as The CNL, is an online retail website for a warehouse located in Burnaby, BC. They sell a whole lot of stuff, including DVDs and Blu-Rays. Anyways, to the point, Manga. It's good, they have pretty common sales that align overall with sale periods (so just don't expect sales outside of regular windows). The shipping time frame is pretty solid, packaging is well done and they process very quick. The only thing is that they might not carry that niche title you're looking to get into.

Where The CNL makes up for that though is in two areas. The first is free shipping no matter the order size. Sure, it might mean you end up with a dozen packages because they split it up into lettermail, but it means free shipping anywhere in Canada. It's a pretty great deal. The second aspect though is rare stuff. I just recently purchased about half of the total volumes currently printed for D-Frag! through them. The latter half mostly, but still, they had quite a few volumes that are OOS with other retailers, and even had crazy stuff like the last 5 volumes of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei.

So at the end of the day, they might not have as much stock as the bigger retailers, but free shipping regardless, fast processing times, good packaging, and (from personal experience) great customer service, it's pretty easy to recommend for in stock orders at retail price.

The Beguiling

The Beguiling (subtitled Books & Art) is a comic and manga bookstore in the heart of Toronto, Ontario. They're a relatively small store for sure, so pre-orders and great shipping times aren't a guarantee, but this is another retailer I've bought from (both in store and online). I haven't paid enough attention to see if The Beguiling does any sales, but their retail prices are pretty reasonable. They follow The CNL pretty well in most areas but are just a smaller retailer overall so things can be a bit slower. One thing they're behind on is available stock. It's a small location so they don't have a lot of space for lots of extra volumes, so some orders might take longer.

The Beguiling makes up for it in an interesting and one-of-a-kind manner though: range. The Beguiling could also have some rarities like The CNL, but this is in a different fashion. This bookstore is one of two bookstores in all of Canada that carry Glacier Bay Book titles. Alongside that, they have a lot of other unique publishers, another example being Hollow Press. And if that wasn't enough, they've got plenty of interesting and uncommon art books, old ones too. I got my Yoshitoshi art book via The Beguiling.

If you're going for an "in stock" order, I'd probably sooner pick The CNL, but that's because I have more experience with them. The packaging, customer service, and overall experience with The Beguiling is really solid for sure, and for orders over 100CAD it's free shipping (unlike The CNL which has no minimum), anything under it though they cite a 9 dollar charge for it, so there's no need for expensive orders.

Imaginaire

Imaginaire is the start of the retailers that I haven't purchased from. It's a Quebec based retailer with several locations, and has a bit of an interesting side to it. There's free shipping, but at several tiers. Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick see free shipping at over 59CAD, while other areas see it over 119, though paid shipping is pretty reasonable as it's as cheap as 8CAD.

Imaginaire is somewhat similar to The CNL in that it carries much more than just manga, but it's also similar to The Beguiling because it does not carry a great amount of stock. Instead, there are items you have to "special order", which essentially means extra processing time before they can be shipped. Overall, I'd say it's the most limiting of the list currently, its catalogue is rather narrow overall despite carrying both French and English titles.

I think if there's something you're looking for, and you're really far from BC Imaginaire probably isn't too bad, but it doesn't have a lot of the volume that the prior two have in terms of offering. Really, this is an online retailer for French, and by extension French Special Editions. If you collect them, this is one of the few alternatives to Indigo for fancy French stuff.

OtakuLounge

OtakuLounge is probably the most interesting on the list because it's effectively a Manga Cafe, located in Montreal, Quebec. It's got a massive library of French manga, a good amount of English, and even some Japanese volumes available to read.

Their catalogue is better than Imaginaire, but they have quite a few items that aren't sold online, making for a bit of a back and forth game on figuring out what you can and can't order online. In addition to that, OtakuLounge has no information that indicates that there is a free shipping minimum, and shipping costs start at 8CAD, and increase for a dollar with each volume. With all of that, it's even less likely to be a hit for online purchases, but the very idea of it is interesting enough to warrant attention.

In opposition though, their French Catalogue is fairly massive, and they seem to have more French Collectors editions. Though again, both retailers are somewhat hit or miss for older titles. In stock ones they're both fine, so Imaginaire has the edge due to free shipping.

Other Options

Manga Canada - Low stocked, but free shipping at 79CAD Bookoutlet - Almost zero stock, but free shipping and great prices BookDepository - Owned by Amazon, free shipping and sometimes good prices (use VPN and access from UK for best prices) And probably a few others, but a lot operate as brick & Mortar only.

At the end of the day, do we have a RightStuf or Kinokuniya in Canada? No.

But, there are options.

Personally, I would recommend The CNL or The Beguiling pretty strongly, depending on what it might be that you're after. Outside of that, the other retailers are conditional and specific to your personal circumstances and preferences. It's not an amazing solution, but it's certainly better than putting up with the constant issues and headaches of Indigo and Amazon.

#anime and manga #manga #Manga in Canada #Canada Manga #Manga buyers guide #manga buying guide

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