#his role was small but it was nice to see him on a big screen again | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

okaylikesmomo · 9 months

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Photographer Part 1

“You’re welcome.”

“For what?” you asked, barely even glancing at the folder your coworker and friend just dropped on your desk as you focused on your screen. “Another session you need me to cover for?”

“No, this one is a gift.”

“A gift?” you asked, picking up the folder and taking a look. “So you’re telling me you could take this appointment if you wanted to?”

“Well, not exactly,” your coworker replied while leaning against your desk.

“Of course,” you sighed, putting the folder back down. “I’d love to help you again, but I’m already booked this time around.”

“Hold up, hear me out,” he protested, picking the folder up and holding it out to you again. “You’re right, I can’t make it, but I fought pretty hard to get you this gig.”

“And why did you feel the need to do that?” you asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Because I owe you for last time, take a look at who it is.”

Even though you were still suspicious of his motives, he had your interest. You accepted the folder again and looked more thoroughly.

“Lee Ji-eun, actress?” you read out. “I’ve told you before, I don’t watch Kdramas.”

“Yeah, but you listen to Kpop.”

“So what? Get me a photoshoot with Eunbi then.”

He looked at you in shock.

“Wait, you really don’t know?” he asked, his mouth agape.

“Don’t know what?” you asked, getting tired of his games.

“You’re really in for a surprise,” he laughed while turning around. “Get there at least an hour early, just in case.”

“I told you, I’m already booked,” you replied infuriatingly.

“I’ve already covered your schedule,” he said while walking away. “Thank me later, and make sure you don’t tell anyone else about this one.”

What made this appointment so special that he would go through the effort to clear your schedule? You shook your head, deciding you’d worry about it later, before turning back to your screen.

—

Are you there yet?

Even though you weren’t sure why this appointment was such a big deal, you made sure to be an hour early just like he suggested, and you also dressed up nicely to give a nice first impression. You sent him a quick test saying you just arrived before putting your phone away and walking into the building.

There was so much work to be done, you never got around to checking out who this Lee Ji-Eun girl was. Typically, you’d like to do a bit of research about your clients, but you were on track for a promotion and spent all night working on a project that you were certain would get you there.

“You must be the photographer.”

“That’s me,” you replied, handing the lady at the front desk your ID. “Beautiful building by the way.”

“Are you surprised?” the lady laughed while handing the ID back. “Are you a fan?”

“Um, sorta,” you said awkwardly, feeling extra embarrassed that you didn’t do any research. She likely played a role in some new drama that had everyone hooked.

“Just follow the hallway and take a right. The whole third floor is hers.”

It wasn’t unheard of for someone to request an outcall for their shoot, but booking an entire floor for the studio was a bit of a flex. You racked your brain, trying to figure out if you had seen the name before - it did sound a bit familiar.

“You must be the new photographer? I need to see some ID, please,” a security guard approached you as soon as the elevator arrived on the third floor.

“Oh, uh, one second,” you said while stumbling with your bag. “Here you go.”

He accepted the ID and looked you up and down before handing it back to you.

“I see you’ve heard the rumors based on how you dressed,” the guard said while gesturing for you to follow him. “She doesn’t care and just does whatever she feels like, but if she’s going to play her games then I like seeing a bit of effort on your end. Some of the other’s barely try, showing up in sweats and a hoodie.”

“Thank you, sir, we try our best to be very professional.”

He burst out laughing while holding the door to a small room open for you.

“Professional? That’s one way you can describe it,” he said. “Non-disclosure is on the table, give it a sign before anything happens.”

Slightly confused by the comment, you bowed respectfully before walking in and placing your bag down. The room was far more comfortable than most waiting rooms, in fact it didn’t even look like a waiting room - it was more like an office.

There was a luxurious desk with a huge window behind it, bookshelves along both walls, and a large couch on either side of an oversized coffee table. It was a bit strange, usually you’d just be given a little room with a coffee machine and some refreshments.

After admiring the room, you quickly signed the document. Not every shoot required you to sign one, it was somewhat odd now that you think about it, but it would make sense for an actress to require it. You decided it would be a good time to look more into who this girl was, but just as you opened your laptop, there was a gentle knock on the door.

“Hello, I’m-” you began while opening the door before suddenly your heart stopped.

“You are?” she said while chuckling at your reaction with her eyebrows raised.

“You’re IU.”

“Yes, I am,” she said casually while watching your mind go blank. “But I think you were saying who you are, not who I am.”

“B-B-But, you’re IU!”

“We’ve already established that,” she laughed while entering the room and picking up the NDA you had signed earlier. “Perfect, am I safe to assume this is you?”

Speaking wasn’t an option while you stood there like an idiot, barely managing to nod in response to her question. She put the paper back down and walked forward, closing the door from behind you before taking you by your hand towards the empty couch. Her delicate fingers barely touched your hand as she pulled.

“You seem quite shocked to meet me,” she laughed while guiding you to take a seat. “Shouldn’t you have expected it? After all, you’re going to be doing a photoshoot with me aren’t you?”

I’m such an idiot you thought to yourself. Lee Ji-Eun, that was her real name. You had only ever called her by her stage name, but it just now clicked as to why that name sounded familiar.

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea. I am a huge fan - am I supposed to say that? I bet you get this all the time, I’m-”

“Relax,” IU cut you off while smiling softly.

She took a seat on the couch next to you, her perfect posture leading your eyes to her body. For the first time since meeting her, you properly took notice of what she was wearing. You took a deep breath, in awe at how pretty she was up close.

Her salmon-colored dress fell beautifully down her body, the sheer sleeves giving just enough visibility to keep you intrigued - intoxicated. The little black buttons gave just enough contrast to break the steady hue down to her thighs, where the dress opened up to showcase those slender legs of hers. On the other end, her intricate butterfly necklace framed that unrealistically pretty face beautifully.

“It is an honor to meet you,” you said respectfully, finally finding your voice again.

“Likewise,” IU responded, still smiling in the most comforting and endearing way. “I assume, especially after that reaction, this is your first photoshoot with me? I generally don’t forget my photographers.”

“Yes ma’am, my first time.”

“I know we make you sign an NDA, but have you heard any rumors?” she asked while playing with her hair. “Do you know what usually happens next?”

“My guess is that I’m here to take your pictures,” you replied awkwardly.

“That’s right,” IU giggled, flipping her hair around. “You’re quite adorable.”

IU just called you adorable.

“T-Thank you,” you stammered.

“Before that,” she said softly while placing a gentle hand on your thigh. “I like to give all of my photographers a bit of a thank you.”

“Before the shoot? But I haven’t done anything,” you said, confused by her words. “Surely you mean after?”

She leaned back and tilted her head slightly, as if she was analyzing you in a lab.

“If you did a good job, I planned to thank you afterwards as well,” she said softly, still examining you. “This is so interesting, you’re the first person who has come here without knowing. Assuming you’re not just playing along.”

“With all due respect, without knowing what?” you asked innocently. “Not playing any games, I truly just don’t know.”

She ignored your question and stood up, walking over to the desk and looking out the big window behind it. After a few moments of silence between the two of you, she turned around and spoke firmly.

“Take my picture.”

“Right now?” you clarified, your heart rate elevated by her gaze. “Sure, just give me one second.”

After fumbling around with your shaky hands until you pulled out one of your cameras, you walked up towards IU to get a good angle.

“The lighting is a bit odd because of where the window is, but I think I can make this work.”

She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again and smiling.

“Whatever you think works best,” she said kindly while posing for you.

She was unbelievably pretty. Despite the unoptimized setting, your camera loved her; It felt like every picture was a masterpiece - she was born to be a model. You had her pose in a couple of different ways before giving her full freedom to pose however her heart desired.

“That’s gorgeous,” you muttered, looking at her through your lens. She was showing off her side profile with one leg slightly raised on the desk. “You’re amazing at this.”

“I have some experience,” she commented casually while you took your last few shots. “There, now you took some photos, can I thank you?”

“You’re very welcome,” you said while bowing deeply out of respect. “But I still have many more to take.”

She looked like she was in shock with her mouth slightly opened, her lips curled up in a little smile.

“You’re really not playing games,” she said softly before walking past you. “We’ll start in fifteen minutes, I can’t wait,” she added over her shoulder before leaving the room.

—

“So, do you pitch for the other team?”

“What? No, why would you ask?” you replied, astonished at the forwardness of the security guard.

“I don’t mean any offense, many photographers are,” he said while squinting his eyes at you. “But if you’re not, then you are the first one I’ve seen who…”

“Who what?”

“Nevermind, it’s none of my business. Come this way, she’s ready.”

This whole situation has been an odd one. Despite being confused out of your mind, you followed the guard across the room, carrying your camera with you. When you arrived at the set, you realized that this whole floor was probably being used to record a scene for a music video or something.

IU smiled politely at you before you got started. Luckily, the rest of the staff seemed to be acting normal, and the shoot went quite smoothly. Working with such an expert of the industry made it incredibly easy - the most difficult part was controlling the inner fanboy inside you.

“You’re doing great,” you said while snapping pictures constantly. “Try to look a bit more pensive.”

“Pensive? Okay,” IU replied before adjusting her expression.

“Perfect! Just turn a little bit more to your left,” you instructed, trying to stay as professional as possible while your heart was beating out of your chest. “Absolutely beautiful, I can feel the melancholy flowing through me.”

She giggled softly before quickly focusing again, controlling her laughter.

“Wait,” you said while looking up from your lens. “I need to see that again.”

“What? A giggle?” IU asked as her lips curled upwards slightly, clearly amused by you.

“That smile is far too pretty to skip.”

“I didn’t realize that was part of this photoshoot,” IU replied, smiling fully with her head tilted slightly.

“When you’re this beautiful, you just have to act naturally,” you said calmly while resuming your barrage of pictures. “It’s my job to try and capture it.”

She laughed openly, allowing you to catch a few stunning shots before she quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“Sorry!”

“Don’t apologize, you have a gorgeous laugh,” you mumbled, keeping your eyes locked on her through the eyepiece of your camera. She truly was stunning, especially when she smiled. “Let’s take a quick five minute break, please.”

While a group of stylists quickly ran up to touch up her makeup and hair, you walked over to a table on the side and poured yourself a glass of water.

“She really likes you.”

As you turned towards the voice, you saw the security guard from earlier next to you.

“I’m sure she’s just being respectful,” you said after taking a sip.

“Trust me, I’ve been working with her for a while, she tells me basically everything,” the guard said while pouring himself a glass as well. “She likes you.”

Well, I’m glad. She’s great to work with, I see why this is such a sought after position.”

He gave you a look of pure confusion before setting down his glass.

“Such a sought after position, yeah,” he said knowingly. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly happened in that room earlier?”

“Before the shoot? She came in and we just talked for a bit,” you answered while refilling your glass. “Oh, and then I took a few pictures.”

“What kind of pictures?”

“Just some casual ones, I think she wanted to see what I could do before the actual shoot started.”

The guard gave you one more bewildered glance before another staff member from across the room called you back over to finish the shoot. The rest of the session went by quickly, there was only one outfit change. Afterwards, you quickly thanked all of the staff and IU personally before heading back to the waiting room to collect your things.

After taking apart your camera, putting on the covers, and packing each lens individually, you were ready to go. You took one last look around the room, thinking about IU leaning against that desk earlier.

“Mind if I come in?” a sweet voice called out to you from behind.

“Oh, of c-course,” you stammered, turning around to observe IU leaning against the open door. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you have a few minutes?” she asked while closing the door behind her, slowly.

Truthfully, you were desperate to get back to the office and finish this report, but there was no chance in hell you would deny IU right now.

“I do,” you lied as IU sat down on the couch.

“Please, join me.”

Your heart could be felt throughout your entire body, each pulse of blood coursing through your vessels. Taking pictures of her for hours didn’t change how nervous you were sitting right next to her, nor did it prepare you for how unbelievably pretty she was in this instant.

The two of you stared at each other for a few moments. Despite it being painfully difficult for you, she kept her gaze locked on you with ease - she was remarkably seductive. It was unclear if she was waiting for you to say something, and you began to sweat slightly as she stared at you. Luckily, she eventually broke the silence.

“You did a great job,” she said softly while keeping her eyes locked on you. “I wanted to personally thank you, again.”

“You’re very welcome, if there’s anything else I can do for you-”

“There is one thing,” she said, finally lowering her gaze. “It’s a very strange request, but could you help me take off my shoes?”

“Your… shoes…?”

“Yes,” she winced while reaching down to her feet. “I’m not trying to be a princess, the buckle is just too tight for me to take off myself.”

“Oh, of course,” you quickly dropped down to your knees in front of her and began working on the straps. She wasn’t lying, they were incredibly tight.

“Thanks,” she sighed, leaning back on the couch while you fiddled with the strap.

Eventually you got both open and slipped the shoes off before gasping in shock.

“Oh my God, are you alright?”

“Much better now,” she said while inhaling sharply as you began to rub the red marks on her feet.

“I can’t believe they made you wear these,” you commented while massaging her feet.

“Life of a celebrity,” she responded with a laugh before moaning out loudly. “Oh that feels so good.”

That sound she made immediately filled your insides with warmth, and you started to get slightly embarrassed. Without thinking, you looked up to see IU leaning her head back in pleasure - but by doing so you also happened to catch a glimpse up her short dress. Your face began to burn up as you quickly looked back down with the vision of IU’s underwear ingrained in your mind.

“You didn’t have to do that,” IU moaned softly while wiggling her feet before standing up. “I really appreciate it, though.”

“I know, it was just my instinct,” you said while trying to avoid eye contact. “I hope it didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Her single finger was placed on your chin as she knelt down next to you and gently turned your face. You started to truly notice how beautiful her eyes were now that you had to gaze right into them. No colorful contacts, just dark and rounded with a faint brown tint. All you could do was wait and pray that she didn't notice how anxious you were at the moment.

“I wasn’t uncomfortable,” she whispered into your face, faintly hitting you with her warm breath, while putting a hand on your shoulder. You had no idea what was going on right now as she delicately pressed into your body with her slender fingers. “Were you uncomfortable?”

“No!” you answered a bit too enthusiastically.

She blessed you with another smile before patting the seat of the couch in front of you. Slowly, you got up off the ground and took a seat, facing IU who was now standing in front of you.

“Your shoulders are quite stiff,” she commented while leaning forward over you and pressing her fingers into your skin again. “You must be under a lot of stress.”

“Oh, yeah, work has been…” you trailed off, trying to find some distraction as this position made it impossible for you to not look down the neck of her dress. “Please, miss-”

“Just call me IU, if you’d like,” she whispered before standing up straight. “Do you mind if I massage your shoulders properly, just a bit?”

“I’ll be fine, you don’t have to do that for me,” you spluttered awkwardly. “I appreciate the offer.”

“I insist,” she said sternly, reviving that deep gaze of hers. “I’ve been learning how to find knots.”

You nodded, almost as a sign of submission, and then gulped, giving her the okay.

“I promise I’m good at this,” she said before casually straddling your lap. “It must be difficult carrying such heavy equipment around all day.”

Part of you wanted to scream. You assumed she would massage you normally, from behind, never in a thousand years would you have predicted her to position herself like this. Slowly, with her hands on your shoulders, she sat down on your lap; it was incredibly embarrassing because you knew she could feel the anticipation in your pants right now.

Not that it was your fault, surely anyone in your situation would be feeling the same way. A massage, a pretty girl on your lap, and your eyes situated perfectly to look down her neckline, these three facts combined meant you had no chance.

Even though she could most likely feel your erection, she ignored it entirely and focused on pressing your shoulders. It just now dawned on you how terrible this would look if someone walked in right now to see IU straddling you. Despite the nervousness coursing through your skin, it actually felt phenomenal.

Not only was IU sitting on your lap a dream come true, she didn’t lie when she said she was good at this. Frankly, she could have been completely useless at giving massages and it wouldn’t have mattered in this situation. Her whole body began to move up and down slightly as she really got into it, her crotch repeatedly bouncing on your lap did not help with the situation in your pants.

“Does that feel good,” she asked with her sultry voice in response to an involuntary moan you had let escape your lips.

“Mhmm,” you moaned again while she pressed all your pains away. “Why are you so good at this?”

“I told you, I’ve been practicing,” she said proudly before hopping off your lap. “I’m glad it’s paying off.”

“It really is,” you commented shyly while placing both your hands on your crotch.

“Is there anywhere else where you feel some tension?” she asked with extra emphasis on that last word, her eyes darting towards your lap. “I’d love to help relieve it.”

“Oh, thank you so much, but I’m alright,” you said shyly, trying your best to cover up.

For a second she looked disappointed, but quickly her beautiful smile returned.

“You are very cute,” she said tenderly before standing up and walking towards the door. “Have a lovely evening.”

After she left the room, your mind began doing backflips. Everything suddenly hit you at once as you sat there on the ground. You just massaged IU’s feet and she moaned. Not to mention that sight which you could not stop thinking about, that sight that would be living in your head for the foreseeable future.

On top of all that, she just called you cute.

—

“How did it go?!”

“I just finished the report,” you announced proudly, leaning back in your chair and grabbing your mug.

“Fuck the report,” your coworker shouted while slamming his hands down on your desk. “How did you get IU to personally ask for you again?”

“She did?!” you asked in shock, almost spitting out your coffee.

“I can’t believe this,” your coworker sighed heavily.

“Hey, you’re the one who gave me the shoot knowing it was IU of all people.”

“Well I owed you, and I figured in the off chance the rumors are true, you’d enjoy it more than I would,” he laughed while sitting down. “Also, it was my sister’s wedding last night, I couldn't exactly miss that.”

“What rumors?”

“Holy shit you actually don’t know?”

“Man, I feel like everyone knows something that I don’t,” you sighed. “What rumors?”

“Nothing’s confirmed, apparently she makes every photographer sign an NDA-”

“Yeah, I had to sign one, too,” you interjected.

His eyes shot wide open.

“If that part is true… word is that IU likes to personally ‘thank’ her photographers.”

“Yeah, she came in and privately thanked me,” you said, the view of her underwear flashing into your mind again.

“It’s true?!” he shouted before quickly looking around in a panic and whispering. “Sorry, but you have to tell me everything. Hands? Mouth? Some people say she goes all the way, but I don’t believe them for a second.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Bitch stop holding out on me,” your coworker replied angrily. “I might be gay, but I still wanna know.”

“Wait,” you mumbled, everything clicking in your head all of a sudden. “I’m so fucking stupid.”

“Hold on, did you or did you not-”

“I didn’t.”

“Hand?”

“No.”

“Mouth.”

“No.”

He flashed you an expectant look without saying anything.

“No, definitely didn’t do that either,” you answered his unasked question, making him stand up in disbelief. “All I did was massage her feet a bit.”

“Alright wait, that’s something,” he said, immediately sitting back down and leaning over your desk in excitement. “How the hell did you get your hands on her feet?”

“She was very…” you thought about how to word it. “Comfortable?”

“Yeah, clearly, if she let you suck on her toes.”

“I didn’t suck on her toes.”

“It sounds like she wanted you to!” he snapped back. “In what world does a girl casually let you massage her feet?”

“She said her feet hurt,” you mumbled quietly.

“She said her feet hurt,” he mocked you. “Did she also say her pussy hurts and ask for you to massage it too?”

“She also massaged my shoulders,” you muttered under your breath.

“She what?” your friend gasped. “She massaged you as well and you still didn’t get the hint?”

“I thought she was being friendly!”

“Saying ‘thank you' is friendly,” he said angrily. “Putting her hands all over you is three steps past friendly.”

“But she-”

“I can’t believe this,” your friend started pacing back and forth. “The rumors were true, the rumors were true.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before I went?” you sighed while slumping back into your chair.

“Don’t blame me for your stupidity!”

He had a point.

“Wait, we're ignoring something very important,” he continued.

“I’m an idiot who can’t read the most obvious signs ever?”

“Well, that, and also she asked for you again.”

“You’re right!” you gasped, sitting back up in your chair with your eyes wide open. “But what if she’s only asking for me because I didn’t do anything?”

“I guess you’ll find out in two days,” he said while walking towards the door. “I have to get back to work, but I swear if she asks you to lick her foot you better swallow it whole.”

—

This time around you were far more nervous than when you didn’t know who she was. With extra care taken regarding your presentation, you walked into the building for today’s photoshoot. The man at the front desk directed you to where the shoot would be taking place and you made your way there. As you entered the photoshoot area, the same security guard from the last shoot approached you.

“Wow, two photoshoots in one week, and you didn’t believe me when I said she liked you,” he laughed while guiding you to a little room.

“Maybe she just liked the photos I took,” you suggested awkwardly while playing with the strap of your bag as you walked through the room, seeing IU on the far side surrounded by stylists. There were fewer staff this time around, and the room was considerably smaller.

“We haven’t even seen them yet,” the guard said while opening the door for you, his eyebrows raised in confusion. “Hey buddy, drink some water. It’ll help with your nerves.”

The waiting room was more typical than the last one, but it was still extremely luxurious with plenty of comfortable sitting room. There was a big table on the side and a small window overlooking the neighboring buildings.

“Nothing to sign this time, the one from last session is still valid.”

“Thank you, I’m ready to start whenever,” you said while putting your bag down.

Even though you had plenty of time before the shoot, you couldn’t focus on doing any other work. All you could think about was if IU was going to walk through that door personally again. Time ticked by, and you were starting to lose hope when suddenly the door flung open without a knock.

“Miss, sorry, I mean IU - may I still call you that?”

“Yes, you can call me IU still,” she said while attempting to stifle her cute giggles. “Why are you so flustered? We’ve already become acquainted, haven’t we?” she asked while closing the door behind her.

“Yeah that’s true, we’re basically friends at this point,” you said awkwardly, trying to suppress the urge to confess your love for her.

She gave you a long, thoughtful look as her lips curled into a smile and her adorable dimples were on display. It might have been your mind playing tricks on you, but you could have sworn she licked her lips as she eyed you up and down. Your face began to get warm under her gaze.

“I like you, you’re very cute,” she chuckled before walking up to you and unwrapping the blanket she was wearing off her body. “Since we’re friends, I wanted your opinion on my outfit for today’s shoot.”

“It’s… it’s… wow,” you mumbled while gawking at her beauty.

The outfit was simple, yet so charming. A white shirt with a white skirt, her midriff just peeking out ever so slightly, almost like she was teasing you with her body. The main attraction, however, were her beautiful legs. The skirt was short enough to where you could see her slender legs in their entirety. To top it all off, she had her hair tied up in an adorable ponytail with a purple hair tie.

“You look so beautiful,” you whispered under your breath with your mouth left hanging open afterwards.

“You’re so sweet!” she cheered happily while lunging forward and hugging you. “Thank you for coming again!”

“Any time,” you responded while your senses got overwhelmed by her divine aroma. As if you weren’t already in love with her, she smelled so delectable. “I loved working with you last time.”

“Me as well,” she said kindly with a bright smile after moving back. She glanced down at your lap before giggling softly. “I’ll be waiting for you, come out whenever you’re… ready.”

—

The photoshoot felt like it only lasted minutes, as the entire time that you were taking her photos all you could think about was how badly you were lusting for her. All that flirting, surely she meant for more to happen. Then again, would a celebrity as big as IU really be willing to do something like that with a random photographer that she just met? But why would she even flirt to begin with?

The internal battle raged in your head throughout the shoot. What did she really want? Maybe she just liked teasing - but all of those rumors, what if they’re true. Was there a chance IU would actually touch you? She already touched you, that hug wasn’t any normal hug; Unless you’re being delusional, in that case she really was just being friendly.

“Can you turn, put your legs on the other side please,” you instructed IU.

She nodded before tossing her legs across her body. In doing so, she very clearly gave you a view up her short skirt, flashing her light pink panties in your direction. You froze, being reminded of the last time you got a glimpse of her underwear.

“Is this not what you wanted?”

“Oh no, it’s perfect,” you answered, snapping out of your trance.

The photoshoot went on for a bit longer, and you had IU keep switching up the positions. Almost as if to confirm your suspicions, she put on a whole show each time - making sure to flash those pink panties into your view each and every time.

“We’re five minutes overtime, but if you need to continue it’s no issue,” one of her staff members informed you.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry, lost track of time,” you responded before quickly putting the camera down. “I believe I have what I need, thank you again.”

Casual chatter filled the area as you made your way back to the little room. You began to pack your bag, as slowly as possible in the hopes that there would be a knock on the door. You were willing to accept any excuse - any delay - as you began to wipe your lenses with a microfiber cloth. Then it happened: That knock you craved so badly.

“Please come in.”

“I’m not disturbing you, am I?” IU peeked her head through the door.

“No! Please, I was just waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?” she smirked, this time locking the door behind her.

It took her only two lines to get you all flustered, forcing your next slurry of words to become an incoherent mess.

“I just don’t… thank you… I was leaving soon.” you stammered, having the sense to put your camera down before you dropped it.

She walked right up in front of you, wearing a kind expression, and grabbed your hands.

“Is everything okay? Your hands are shaking,” she noted, rubbing your fingers up and down.

“Oh no I’m great, how are you?”

She chuckled softly, giving your hands a quick squeeze before letting go.

“Would you like to just chat for a bit? Unless you’re in a rush, of course.”

“No rush at all!”

“Mind if I get a bit more comfortable then?” she chuckled softly, knowing that she had full control over you right now.

“By all means, do you need help with your shoes again?”

“I think I’ll be fine this time, thank you,” she laughed openly.

She turned around before she began to very slowly bend over at her hips. Slowly, lower and lower she went - this time there was literally zero chance you’d miss this hint. Especially when she made it all the way down and started taking her shoes off, as this was the best angle up her skirt.

Those light pink panties she flashed at you earlier were gone - replaced by nothing. Even though you could barely see, you were completely hard now; hiding your excitement would be impossible. The pressure kept building up as IU faked a struggle with her shoes, grunting and moaning until they finally slipped off.

“Oh that feels good,” she moaned as she stood back up straight and turned to face you. “I enjoy dressing up for photoshoots, but taking it all off feels so good.”

“Yeah, I bet,” you stuttered as she began walking towards you.

“Being a celebrity can be so… hard,” she whispered right in front of you, pausing to look down for that last word. “Mind if I show you something?”

Before you could answer, she put one foot up on the couch next to you. Her skirt rode up her thigh, giving you the most jaw-dropping view. It was straight out of a dream, you could literally see IU’s pussy right now - and she knew it, too.

“Look at this bruise I got,” she said casually, pointing at her knee. She knew very well that you could clearly see her private bits, there was no chance that she didn’t know, but she pretended not to notice. “I don’t even know where it came from, I find random bruises all over my legs after busy schedules.”

“Yeah, that must… that must be… really… painful…” you faltered, attempted to make coherent sentences while absolutely failing to avoid staring.

“Can I ask another favor, since you’re my friend?” IU asked sweetly while putting one of her hands on the back of your head. “Could you kiss it better?”

You licked your lips carelessly and leaned in to place your mouth against her knee. As soon as your lips contacted her skin, she began to moan softly. Thanks to her lovely voice, even her moans sounded like music to your ears. While your eyes remained fixed up her skirt, you continued to kiss her, essentially making out with her leg.

“Oh yeah that feels so much better,” she moaned softly. “If you don’t mind, the inside of my thigh….”

This was unreal. IU was giving you permission to lick her legs freely: You knew there were no bruises. You got straight to work, kissing the insides of her leg - daring to go higher and higher with each kiss. She was squeezing your hair, but she never pulled back as you got closer and closer. At this point, it would only take a short plunge and you would have found yourself with your mouth against IU’s pussy.

You paused, your face close enough to notice the faint shine of her wetness. Your mind was begging for you to get closer, but you lacked the audacity to physically comply. For now, at least, you were satisfied with rubbing your tongue all over her inner thigh.

“Ah!” she cried out. “I’m sorry!”

It happened so fast, you were left in shock. One second you were admiring her thighs, the next second she had fallen forward - pressing her pussy directly onto your face. There was no doubt this was intentional, this had to be her way of giving you consent. You opened your mouth wide, accepting the sudden change of events as she began to grind on your mouth for a brief moment before backing up.

“I lost my balance,” she joked, quickly fixing her skirt, pretending to be flustered.

It took some time to get over the shock of having IU press her pussy to your tongue. She was so soft, just a bit wet, and driving you insane. You only made contact for a few seconds, yet your mind was starved for more - you needed more.

“Please, lose it again.”

She burst out laughing, dropping the act temporarily before recovering.

“Thanks for that, I feel so much better now,” she whispered, her eyes locked on your crotch. “Allow me to repay you?”

This time there would be no hesitation, no politeness; If IU wanted to touch your body, she had an all-access pass. You slid your hips forward slightly, slumping down into the couch. When she saw your enthusiasm, the corners of her lips curled up in delight.

“Finally you’re done making this difficult,” she whispered under her breath while dropping to her knees before you.

“I just wanted to give you some more massage practice,” you replied casually, trying to control your heartbeat. “Free of charge.”

“Well aren’t you a gentlemen,” she smirked up at you while fiddling with your buckle before turning her full attention to your crotch. Inch by inch, she lowered your pants all the way down to your ankles, leaving you with the bulge in your underwear staring IU in the face.

“Look at all this tension,” she moaned softly, bringing up fingers up to your underwear and outlining your cock with two fingers. “You’re all swollen.”

Despite wanting to flirt back, play her game, you found yourself incapable. With just two of those delicate fingers of hers, she began stroking you through the thin fabric. While toying with your cock, she leaned forward and puckered her lips before gently pressing them against your tip - this was when you truly realized this was happening.

“Please,” you begged, reaching for your waistband.

“Tsk tsk,” IU slapped your hand away. “Your job is to relax, let me do the work.”

She ran one finger up the underside of your shaft, pressing down firmly. Just the single finger, she moved it up and down, toying with you. When the teasing was starting to become too much, she reached up and hooked the top of your underwear with her finger. She pulled the fabric back, just far enough to expose your stiff cock, before letting it snap back to your skin.

Her eyes were taunting you, smirking while she watched your squirm. Your attention wouldn’t leave her lips. Those pretty, delectable lips, you needed them on your cock. Ideas flashed through your mind as you watched IU lick her lips, but you couldn’t act on any of them - yet.

“Can I remove your underwear?” IU teased, knowing it was the only thing you wanted right now.

After your enthusiastic nods, she took hold of the garment. In one very swift motion, she yanked the underwear down to your ankles, flinging your cock up straight towards the roof. As much as you wanted to make some cheeky comment, something to lighten the mood, IU gave you no opportunity as she immediately leaned forward and put your cock into that beautiful mouth of hers.

“Oh!” you gasped, briefly closing your eyes before realizing that missing this view was not an option.

Evidently, there was no more time to be spent because IU immediately started working your cock. Her lips moved up and down on your shaft while creating a tight seal. As her lips rubbed against each nerve in your shaft, her cheeks became completely hollow. It felt amazing.

She was unrealistically beautiful with a cock in her mouth. All of those pictures you took had absolutely nothing on this - the perfect face for sucking dick. Her expertise was clear as she started to look up at you, maintaining eye contact while your length repeatedly disappeared through her lips. You could feel your climax rapidly approaching when she released your cock.

“Does that feel good?” she asked casually as her hand temporarily replaced her lips.

“Good is…” you moaned softly, “an understatement.”

Her bright smile combined with the gentle strokes of her hand were making your cock twitch, but you weren’t read to cum just yet. This whole situation had made you more daring, more willing to push your limits, yet coherent sentences were still sometimes a struggle.

“Can I…” you groaned, her hand never giving your cock a break. “Please?”

“Can you what?” she chuckled, planting a quick kiss on your cock before smiling up at you with a confused expression.

Instead of attempting to speak again, you reached forward with both hands and pulled IU up. She followed your lead, still looking somewhat confused, when you pulled her onto your lap.

“The confidence,” she gasped before slowly grinding her hips on your crotch. Her wet pussy making direct contact with your saliva-coated cock. “I’ve never gone this far, what makes you special?”

“You tell me,” you whispered into her face while bringing your hands up the back of her skirt, planting them on her ass. “You’re the one who called me back.”

“That’s true,” she whispered back. Then she leant forward, right up in front of your face, and playfully bit your lower lip. “If you really want it, then take it.”

Ignoring the metallic taste in your mouth, you quickly moved one of your hands off her ass. You snaked it between her legs, feeling for your cock. With the base in your hand, you began to rub your tip against her folds.

“Put it in before I change my mind,” she begged softly into your face, her eyes angry yet compassionate.

You aligned your cock with her entrance while keeping your eyes fixed on each other. She slowly lowered herself upon you as her mouth gaped in delight. Your other hand squeezed down on her ass as she descended deeper down your cock, her pussy gripping even harder than her mouth was only moments ago.

Her pussy held your cock so tightly that it was initially challenging to move - arguably impossible. You gave IU some time to adjust before giving your hips a little pump to gauge her response; She gasped sharply, before taking control of her own movement. Slowly and delicately, she began to move up and down - relishing every inch of your cock inside her.

Now that she was really into it, she started to sweat. Her face screwed up in pleasure as your cock penetrated her deeply, and that seductive gaze she wore so expertly was no longer present. Your enthusiasm mirrored hers, and as she glided down, you softly pushed your hips deeper into her tight pussy.

“I’m getting…” you panted before leaning forward closer to her body, pulling your hands out of her skirt and embracing her back.

“On my face,” she whispered, her fingers running through your hair, pressing your face harder against her chest. “Tell me when,” she added with a soft moan.

You were straining to hold on while utterly out of breath from the panting and grunting. With how tight her pussy was, it was clear that you wouldn't last for much longer. While holding IU in your arms, you mustered your remaining strength and started pushing your hips up as quickly and forcefully as you could.

“Now!” you cried out into her chest when the pressure was too much.

She quickly leaped from your lap, leaving your cock twitching and poised to blow at the slightest touch. She was too swift for you when you attempted to grab it on your own, using her soft fingers to stroke you as she dropped into position. Your cock started spraying white lines before her knees even managed to make contact with the floor.

“Ah!” she squealed as she got onto the floor, her hand gently pumping your cock as it blasted your cum onto her.

There was a lot. IU’s entire forehead was painted white, the enthusiasm in your crotch launching your cum harder than you could have ever imagined. Ignoring the first couple that missed completely, each splatter on her face made her recoil just slightly, her eyes shut tight.

“Wow,” she mumbled, using her pinky finger to wipe the corners of her eyes before opening them.

Even though you wanted to say something, you were too winded to even attempt. You settled with watching as she walked over to grab some tissues off the desk, first wiping her hand and then bringing the entire box over to the couch where she sat next to you.

“That was a lot of cum,” she said casually while starting to wipe it from her face.

“Sorry,” you panted, starting to slowly recover.

“Don’t apologize,” she laughed, handing you a tissue as well. “It just means you liked the massage.”

“Why did you…?” you asked as you sat up straight and began wiping yourself off.

“Just as a thank you for the amazing shoot,” she answered.

“But you asked for me specially.”

She turned to face you, cum still all over her face.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “You’re cute.”

Her comment made you shy, and also made you very aware of your pants still being around your ankles. You awkwardly bent forward and pulled them up before reaching for your bag and pulling out a wet wipe which you gave to IU.

“Always the sweetheart,” she said kindly while accepting the wipe. “Maybe that’s why I like you.”

“Oh, well, since you like me and all that, maybe I can become your regular photographer?” you suggested hopefully. “We’re still friends, right?”

She leaned towards you and kissed your cheek.

“Sure, but next time maybe I’ll just let you finish inside,” she giggled. “This was way too messy.”

---

A/N:

I wonder how many people could have predicted an IU fic. I'll admit, even I wouldn't have predicted this a week ago, yet here we are with a random 8k words release. Please pardon any mistakes!

Hopefully you guys like it, I wrote it fairly quickly. Special thanks to @capslocked for doing a preread, and @turtleturbulence for helping me pick a cover picture (also for elevating my IU mood lately)!

At this point I have a few more idols I want to write short little one-shots for, but I also have a lot of motivation to work on my Dating Seraphs series. Expect updates soon, I have a lot of writing inspiration at the moment!

#kpop smut #smut #iu smut #fanfiction #kpop fanfic #iu

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twisted-tales-of-all · 7 months

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Stray Kids Reacts to their Partner's Death Scene

Plot: You're an actor, and you've landed a role where your character ends up dying - a first in your career. You watch the movie with your boyfriend and gauge their reaction. Pairing: Stray Kids x gender-ambiguous!actor!Reader Total Word Count: 1.4K Tropes: idol!AU, actor!AU, established relationship, reactions Contains: death of reader's character, various shows of anger, pouting, hurt/comfort(?), cuddles and/or implication of cuddles, teasing A/N: Follow up to the ATEEZ version, which you can find here. Special thanks to connected storyteller Haru (@umbralhelwolf) for suggesting/requesting these ideas a while back.

Bangchan - Head over heels for his lover, he'd ask so many questions about the film as soon as you get the role. But, no matter how much he knows, he'll sit with you and watch intently. He's likely to make small comments on design and direction if he likes it, even if only slightly. Oh boy, when you're on screen, though. Heart-eyes, that bright twinkle, an ear-to-ear smile - man is in love with everything about you. And that's exactly why you didn't tell him that your character gets killed towards the end. Even if you're the main character's best friend and all of the audience is attached to you, you don't have the plot armor to live through the movie. When your boyfriend figures this out, he jumps to his feet with his head on a swivel between you and the screen. Laughing at his reaction, you pause the movie and let him rant about the betrayal of killing off the most loved side character, with small interjections about how believable your acting has become.

Lee Know - Mostly just enjoying a new slasher movie, he forgets that you're in it until he sees your first on-screen appearance around midway through the film. Suddenly, you watch his interest pique, like a dog hearing the word 'treat' or a cat hearing the can opener. Although he doesn't speak much during the movie, you know him well enough to read his body language. Seeing how much he clings to your character, you almost feel guilty as their death nears. In a dramatic chase, your character accidentally falls into a trap set for the killer, giving the killer a perfect opportunity to kill them off. Even if the death happens off-screen, Minho's reaction to your desperate screams for help hurts you. He tenses, knuckles white as he balls his hands into fists. You rub his back to keep him calm, and he resists reacting until the ending credits roll. He pouts about killing off his favorite character, especially making it someone else's fault entirely. He'll insist on rewriting it and doing it the "right" way, but you both know he's only joking around as an excuse to compliment your skills.

Changbin - Excited that you asked him to come with you to the premiere in theatres, Changbin dons a nice outfit that matches yours and follows your lead. It's the first big-name movie you star in, so he's excited to experience it with you, especially since you have a bigger role in a satirical horror film. He has no idea what to expect, so he has big reactions all night. By your death, he caught onto the theme of killing off the main characters - in stark contrast to normally killing off the side characters in other horror films - so he expected the death and chose to zone in on your acting. The death, however, isn't where his reactions are best; the ending, where everyone revives after the curse breaks, gets a strong reaction out of him. He finds your zombified acting adorable and lovingly teases you about it for days.

Hyunjin - Jumpy baby only agreed to watch your film in the safety of a blanket burrito, armed with snacks that wouldn't cause a mess when jumpscares inevitably startle him. Although there are plenty of classicly-timed scares in your slasher, he never adjusts. Half the time, he doesn't even know when you're on screen since he's hiding his eyes so often, but when he sees you, he calms down a bit. It's funny since you're a villain, but it's nice to know that your presence calms him - no matter the situation. Teaming up with the killer gets you through most of the film, but the others eventually figure out your stance and bait the killer into getting you. Hyunjin, only loosely following the plot, feels betrayed by the group and insists that they could've approached your character better than simply presenting them with death. He also picks apart the killer's lack of loyalty - as if the character isn't a total psychopath. After the movie, he urges you to choose a softer script next time, as he wants to enjoy your acting more without the threat of your character's death.

Han - As a fan of horror movies, he predicts your death from the moment he figures out that you play the main character's love interest. Although you pout about him analyzing your film, he insists that he'll still love seeing the movie, even if he knows what happens. As you continue watching, you find Jisung leaning forward whenever you're on screen. This is especially true during your death scene, as he interlaces his fingers and uses them to cover his face, leaving room for his eyes regardless. He doesn't want to watch you die but admits that your acting is too good to look away. After you're erased from the remainder of the movie, he chooses to talk about your acting instead of watching the movie as closely as before. Through his compliments, he admits that you might be made for roles involving death, as he found that scene to be one of his favorites.

Felix - Although he's excited, the jumpscares require cuddles. He encouraged you to try a new genre when you felt a bit off about work, so he's glad that you had fun filming horror, but his excitement and anxiety melt together as he sits down to watch. Luckily, the film doesn't play with too many jumpscares, so he can watch in your arms without much issue. When your death scene approaches, you feel his grip around your arm tighten. He uses your arms as a barrier, shielding his eyes from the scene. Reaching for the remote to pause, he pouts about not warning him about the plot point.

"Your acting is too realistic for me to watch something like that!"

He'll scold and ask whether the plan was to make him cry. If you bring up his sadder parts in music videos, he'll insist that his acting isn't as good as yours so it isn't the same. His reaction will wordlessly beg for cuddles for the remainder of the night - which, of course, you easily comply with.

Seungmin - As he sits down, he jokes about how it can't be too scary if you have the second lead - poking fun at you like normal. Brushing him off with a quick response, you play the movie and ensure subtitles are on. As the movie progresses, you find your boyfriend holding your hand in his lap, squeezing during scares or intense moments. You can't help but smirk at how scared he seems after his claim before the movie started. When you're backed into a corner by the killer, the suspense has Seungmin on edge; it almost feels like he'll crush your hand with his. He doesn't react much outwardly, but after the movie, he talks about having to join you in movies next time, saying that you'll be a lead couple in a romance film. He never says it outright, but all of his comments are his roundabout admission that he loves your acting - especially when he comments on how he would've thought you really died if you weren't there with him. You make sure to comment on the fact that you nearly lost a hand watching with him, making him more dangerous than the movie's filming.

I.N. - He's seen your acting plenty of times, and he always compares you to big-name actors. He is your biggest fan, so of course you bring him to the opening night of the first film where you play the main character. You didn't tell him anything about it and even hid the trailer away from him, so he didn't know he'd be walking into a paranormal thriller. However, he expected to be okay - you're the main character, after all, so you have plot armor. So he thought. After a dozen or so close calls, the end of the movie nears. In the final scene, the creature drives everyone insane, resulting in the main character driving themselves into a ravine. Although uncertain of the outcome, he turns to you with wide eyes, clearly asking for an explanation. When you leave the theatre, he rants about how they can kill off the main character, wondering how they plan to make a sequel or anything related to the film. You assure him that you might not have died, but he continues ranting about them killing you off, not stopping until you interrupt him and distract him with a kiss.

#cultofdionysusnet #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop reactions #stray kids #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids reactions #skz #skz scenarios #skz imagines #skz reactions

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bonzos-number-1-fan · 1 month

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TMAGP 10 Thoughts: History Lessons

What an episode. I'd love to do a bit of preamble up front but there is a load to talk about. No one needs me to ramble before the ramble. This will be a long one so buckle in, kids.

Spoilers for episode 10 below the cut.

Another episode that jumps straight into the incident. I really enjoyed this one. Both for its novel format and also for the way it lays the foundations of what's to come. It's also nice to see an incident that is mostly mundane. There was very little in this, outside of an allusion to something more sinister, that was out of the ordinary. A fairly British dude telling a unique British story. However, I don't think there is an awful lot to say here that isn't quickly expanded upon later in the episode or that won't be best served talking about elsewhere.

So let's get to the more interesting bit of this case. For those of you not from here, or a little too young to remember, the reason it's all so authentically British is because Mr. Bonzo is TMP's version of Mr. Blobby. A very real TV show mascot from the 90's. A lot of what was just discussed in that interview is lifted from Mr. Blobby's real history. He first appeared on a Saturday night variety show called Noel's House Party in its "Gotcha" segment. He was first introduced as a children's TV character to prank unsuspecting celebrities. He got very popular and became a mainstay of the series, became a huge icon at the time, launched a fairly massive range of merchandise, plans to create a Mr. Blobby theme park happened, and he even had a chart topping single. Blobby was a big deal and still pops up a fair amount. He didn't do any murders that we know of, and no one dressed as him to kill either. There is also this which I think everyone should watch to better prepare themselves for Mr. Bonzo, or to soothe the horrors he's already inflicted.

Colin's back! He's still weird! Not much to say here but it's nice to see him and Celia interact.

Next up were hear Alice and Sam, via Sam's phone, exploring the damp ruins of the Magnus Institute. There isn't a whole lot to say in this portion of their exploration but it's nice to see them outside of work again.

Gwen's section of this episode was really the standout IMO. Anusia is killing it and continues to kill it more and more each episode. I think Gwen is now my #2 blorbo. Colin had an early lead with a great email but is more of a background character at the moment. I am really excited to see how Gwen is going to react to this down the line. Whether the abject terror of meeting Bonzo is going dissuade her from pursuing Lena's job or further stoke that fire. I also wonder if she's going to assume what a lot of us are assuming. That the more recent Bonzo related murders are perpetrated by Bonzo, and that the envelope she gave him was his next target, which further plays into the golem references. Can't wait to hear more about what his role is in regards to the OIAR.

But no one could possibly replace Mr. Bonzo as #1 and I'm sure we can all see why this episode. Just everything about how he's being handled is perfect. A lot of history to ground him, incredibly ambiguous origins, his teeth are not soft, topped off with one of the most impactful "screen presence" of the entire TMA cast. Everything I was hoping for.

For those not a part of the ARG, and not a part of the Statement Remains discord server for it, Mr. Bonzo quickly became a massive fixture of basically everything that happened on that server. It's where my blog's name is from. Which is to say Mr. Bonzo has been a HEAVILY anticipated character and has had no small amount of hype built up around him. RQ have managed to deliver on that and then some. It's really pretty amazing he's managed to show up and not be a disappointment if you were part of that crowd, but they really pulled it off.

Bonzo Fact: Did you know that Mr. Bonzo is entirely unique in all of TMA? He's the only character to have a canonical design. He's the only character we can truly behold, and his visage is glorious and awe-inspiring. He is, quite literally, more real than any other character in the show. (Ignoring historical characters we never met)

I'm sure lots of you will have seen what Mr. Bonzo looks like but for those who haven't and have missed it on my posts, it's this.

If you checked out the links earlier, which you should have, you'll see that he's very close to Mr. Blobby. And, yes, he is kinda creepy if you're grossed out by weird mascots but he's not "Oh my god!" levels of horrifying. That's the original Mr. Bonzo, Mr. Bonzo the suit, not Mr. Bonzo the monster. This is who Gwen met.

Which really raises a rather interesting question; when did the suit stop being just a suit? Which in turn raises a more interesting one; why did the suit stop being just a suit? It's pretty clear that Mr. Bonzo really did start off as something mundane but whatever he is now very clearly isn't.

After all that excitement we return to Alice and Sam fumbling about in a ruin. Interestingly we're no longer listening through their phone, but a tape recorder. Which is actually a fairly big deal. Not because it's a TMA thing but because it's an analogue format that's not being digitised. So far that's not been something we've been able to listen through. Which means "Freddy" has some tricks up its sleeves, or "Freddy" isn't the one listening. The actual contents of this part isn't terribly important for the most part. Archivist's office, worms and trapdoors for an allusion to TMA, mystical symbols maybe, lots of books, etc. The real revelation here is "why they chose us… why they didn’t choose me". Likely confirming that the contents of CHDB (see masterdoc) was mostly the first step. Sam "failed" and wasn't chosen for whatever came next. It also likely confirms that Gerry wasn't chosen either as the two had remarkably similar test scores. Anyway, after that they call it quits and head on home.

Now, if you weren't reading the transcript's you'll have missed the introduction to a new character, [Error] played by Beth Eyre who voiced Lucia Wright from MAG 130: Meat. As Alice and Sam leave a padlock rattles on a trapdoor before a key twists and the lock pops open. The trapdoor opens and [Error] emerges. Very very little to really say here. Imprisonment below the Institute probably isn't a good sign, and they're the likely immortal overarching villain of either this season, or the show in general. But combined with strange PoV on those events, what was likely a mystical prison, and it being under the Institute that was burned down for a reason it's not good news. Unless it was burned down to free them, then who knows.

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Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet (I added the Magnus Institute's child psych eval. sheet to it)

Somewhat notably here CAT1RB2275 is also very close to the trailer's case number of CATIRB2275.

DPHW Theory: 2275 is actually a pretty interesting number. For clarity this refers to only the initial recording that Celia heard, not anything related to Mr. Bonzo beyond that. 2 in Death is pretty reasonable as the statement brings the subject of murders up but doesn't dwell on them much. 2 in Pain falls under the same explanation. The 7 in Helplessness tracks well too because not only was the format of the interview a bit of a gotcha, but the content dealt heavily with imprisonment. Both in context to the show's premise and the legacy's impact upon his life. It was also eerie and weird and mascot-centric which is good Weird fodder.

The reason this is all so interesting is because it's possible this is an entirely mundane incident that still happens to line up well with the DPHW of Mascot (Kids). What occurred in the interview didn't seem supernatural, what was described in it also seemed mundane. It's only really the last couple of lines that hint towards something supernatural occurring but notably none of that happens in this recording itself, the details of it discussed, nor are any of the people on the recording first hand witnesses to those events and retelling them. But despite all of that the mundane occurrences of the interview still heavily reflect the supernatural ratings of the section (subsection).

CAT# Theory: CAT1. [Insert your favourite screaming reaction GIF here.] I've got no clue what to make of CAT#'s at this stage. This one wasn't particularly elucidating. Gonna be a long few weeks.

There are a couple of theories floating about that I'll briefly mention because someone will do it if I don't. The Subject/Agent/Catalyst theory presumes a lot of stuff about the OIAR I don't think holds up, and assumes they're happy to throw away information which I don't think they are. See here for more. The Person/Place/Object theory overlooks that Dolls (Watching) is CAT2, and not a place, and that Agglomeration (Miscellany) is about a collection of objects despite it taking place at Hilltop. A location only important to us listeners. If you do like those theories by all means keep liking them. I'm just not convinced by them and it seems prudent to mention that I have seen them.

R# Theory: B is right in line with what I outlined last week. Bonzo-themed murders are not overtly supernatural but they are something that definitely happened. The Klaus doc also have a few incidents with the note "Mr. B", including the only known S rank. With Gwen's reaction being so strong I think it's a good indicator that S rank's follow the pattern.

Header talk: Mascot (kids) -/- murder is just another header that seems pretty weird. The section (subsection) bit is all pretty normal but that crosslink again shows that crosslinks have very little structure to them. I'm starting to wonder if they're actually relevant at all, or pre-assigned like other elements are. They're starting to seem more and more like vibes than anything.

#the magnus protocol #tmagp theory #tmagp #klaus = kl4-u5

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xoxomoonlightxoxo · 4 months

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P&C | Ch. 16: Peaches and Cream

➪ Playlist (Spotify) l Series Masterlist

December 7

There it was, written in bright red letters with small hearts and doodles surrounding it, the special date. Jungkook's birthday. See, he is only a few months older than me, but apparently, that's enough of a motive for him to never shut up about it. Sure, he might be bigger, stronger and faster than me but at the end of the day, I got the brains and the beauty (not up for a debate, my mental health won't be able to handle it please). Back to what's important, see, Jungkook is not much of a surprise enthusiast, but sucks to suck because I am. So, naturally, I took it upon myself to plan a little party in celebration of his birth. Putting my acting skills to use, I tried to be as nonchalant about it as possible the whole of last week. Anytime someone mentioned something even remotely close to birthdays, the subject of the conversation would diverge immediately by my sympathetic nervous system. It's nothing too big, just our friend group and a few of his Kinesiology friends. Still, I want this to be special. For him.

Jungkook: I think you should come over ;)

Mira: A dick appointment already?

Jungkook: I don’t know, can you handle it?

Mira: I mean, 3 inches should be fine, right?

Jungkook: … ha ha … very funny. I’ll remember this when I finally get to have you.

Mira: Who said, you’ll ever have me?

I can’t help but smile at my screen, I mean it’s pathetic, really. The butterflies in my stomach are not helping the flush rising up my cheeks, as I play the video he sends. Oh God … I knew alcohol and I didn’t go well together but now that idea is solidified as a fact. Looking back at my dumbfounded face is none other than my drunk self from the Winter Formal. The clip is only 5 seconds, but the second-hand embarrassment is enough for me to essentially drink bleach and just cease to exist.

Jungkook: You did. See. “Jungkook, I want youuu”

Mira: Ok, so now I’m a victim of blackmail. Good to know.

Jungkook: I’ll be expecting your cute self at my door in about an hour.

Mira: Ok dad :(

Finishing up my makeup I quickly grab my keys and make my way out the door before packing some snacks to go. The bus ride there is only 20 minutes but I fear that the noise my stomach makes from hunger might not be a crowd favourite. Unfortunately, though, I play the role of a broke college student just a bit too well, as two mandarins and some salt crackers end up being my only options.

For it being December, the weather is surprisingly nice. Global warming is in its full effect, I guess. While the glaciers melt away, I get to wear cute fall outfits for another month. So, I stunt my leather knee-high boots, as I finally reach Jungkook’s apartment building. Jimin and him are roommates but both come from pretty financially comfortable families, so this isn’t your usual college student apartment but more like a bachelor studio. Fixing my curls, I tuck the striped sweater into my skirt before knocking on the door. Which opens almost immediately, as Jungkook’s eyes divert down to the boots.

“Mira …” he says slowly, leaning on the door frame, as a small smirk forms.

“What?” I snap back confused, nibbling on my lips.

“You know this wasn't an actual dick appointment right?” he giggles, pulling me inside.

“YAH, of course, I did,” I yelp, stumbling on my feet as Jungkook’s grip tightens on my waist.

“Well, you’re looking a bit too good,” he whispers, our lips inches apart as his form moves closer, my back now pressed against the door.

“Can’t handle it, pretty boy?” I whisper back, looking up at his darkened orbs.

“Don’t do that,”

“Do what?”

“Don’t tease me,” Jungkook’s words slow and breathless as his forehead rests on mine, giving it a soft kiss. The gesture is sweet, but the heat between us is almost suffocating. That is until a familiar voice echoes in the background as the doorknob begins to open.

“Oh my god!” I yelp, hiding behind Jungkook who was just as dumbfounded.

“Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?” Jimin chuckles, placing his bag on the table.

“I thought you had practice?” Jungkook says abruptly, fixing his dishevelled hair. My face, now red, is virtually buried in his shirt as I try to regain my cool before Jimin calls my name.

“Yeah, but it ended earlier. Mira? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I …” I stutter, replying with more of an expression than words. Jimin is not a threat but he also isn’t aware of whatever Jungkook and I are, so the truth would not be the most suitable answer just yet. Trying to pull something out of thin air, my distressed self is saved by the bell as Jungkook buds in.

“She was going to help me study,” he says reassuringly before leading us both to the kitchen. I can feel Jungkook's hand on my back as Jimin lets out a big gasp.

“Wow, so now you're a chef? Mira, I don't know what you're doing to him but please don't stop,” Jimin laughs, shaking his head at the plethora of dishes covering the dining table before diving right in. Sneaking a quick peek at Jungkook sitting across from me, his eyes patiently waiting for my reaction. I can't help but smile as I take a bite out of the steaming shrimp dumplings. My childhood favourite, might I add.

“Do you like it?” he gently asks, doe eyes sparkling under the kitchen lights. His full attention was on me, so much so that he barely even flinched when Jimin choked on a shrimp tail.

“I love it,” I reply with a soft smile, giving him a flying chef's kiss. He giggles, finally allowing his body to relax before leaning back on the chair with a proud smile.

After cleaning up the table, Jungkook and I decided to go on a walk as Jimin passed out from a food coma with the TV on. Covering him with a blanket, Jungkook turns the system on before wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we head out. It seems that everyone is taking advantage of the warm weather as the beach is more populated than usual. Playing tag with their dad, children's laughter fills up the ambience as their mom takes pictures of the beautiful memories.

“Do you want kids?” Jungkook suddenly asks, turning his gaze towards my unfazed self who was busy digging for seashells. To be honest, I didn't hear him properly and thought he was asking if I had fears. A miscommunication fiasco fueled by the playful laughter in the background and the fact that I'm half-deaf in my right ear.

“Yeah, a lot,” I reply with a soft smile, eyes still glued on the mission below me.

“A lot? Really?” he lets out a chuckle, hands now in his pockets as his body stands still. Feeling the intensity of his stare on me I look up confused, raising an eyebrow.

“What? Don't tell me you don't,”

“I mean yeah, but ultimately it would be my wife’s decision,” Jungkook replies softly, looking back at the peaceful beach horizon.

“Huh? Your wife’s decision?” I repeat, the confusion forcing my attention back to him. What does he mean by his wife’s decision? Trying my hardest to decipher his answer, I begin reading between the lines, hoping to connect the dots between the undertones. Maybe, there’s some kind of metaphor tied into this?

“Yeah, I mean it’s not my body. I’m happy with anything as long as she is healthy and happy,”

“Jungkook, what are you on?” I snap back, unable to hold back the laughter any longer.

“What do you mean? You’re the one that wants a lot of kids,” he scoffs, poking the side of his cheek with his tongue.

“PARDON?? When did I say that?” I yelp, arms now folded in disbelief.

“I asked you if you wanted kids and you said yeah, a lot”

“YAH, no I didn't. I thought you said, do you have a lot of fears!” I scoff back before slapping his forearm as his head jerks back from the laughter.

“Thank God, I really thought you were planning on raising a little army,” he smirks before pulling me into his embrace, hands tightening on my waist. As his gaze lowers to my lips, I can feel my cheeks getting red before my hands glide up to his neck.

“I think I want 3, two boys and one girl,” I say softly, looking up at his darkened orbs.

“A little princess,” he whispers, before placing a soft kiss on my forehead as I rest my head on his chest. Enjoying each other's warmth we stay like this for a bit longer, looking out at the beautiful sunset. It's times like these that I can't help but give in to my desires, wanting to mute that fear in the back of my head. Jungkook feels safe, I don't know how to explain it, but it's as if our souls mould into one. When I'm with him, everything just makes sense.

As Tae lights up the last candle on the cake, everyone scatters to find a hiding spot per Jimin's command. Jungkook’s footsteps becoming more and more evident, there is a rising sense of suspense. No one dares to breathe until the doorknob is finally turned and the door swings open.

“Surprise!!!”

“FUCK! What the heck!” he shouts, stumbling back as his eyes widen in shock. Feeling everyone's attention on him, his ears begin to redden as Tae and I make our way towards him with the birthday cake.

“Happy birthday Kookie, now please stop growing,” Tae teases with a boxy smile, putting the Birthday Boy hat on Jungkook who was still in disbelief. Patting his chest, Tae pulls him into a warm hug, as Jungkook’s attention diverts to me. Although no words were exchanged, one look at his furrowed eyebrows was enough for me to understand that he genuinely did not expect any of this. Mission accomplished! To be honest, I felt so bad for making it seem like his birthday was forgotten all these days leading up to the big surprise, that I’m simply relieved it's all over. Unable to hold back a smile, I wait by Jungkook’s side trying to keep the candles from going out, until his attention was back on me.

“Make a wish, Birthday Boy,” I say softly, looking up at his sparkling eyes. Pulling me closer, Jungkook leans down, scrunching his nose before blowing out the candles as the crowd goes wild. Laughter fills the room once everyone joins in the living room decorated in everything Jungkook-related. From a life-size statue of Iron Man to an entire wall filled with special Polaroids of him and his friends, the Birthday Boy can't help but smile at the wholesome feeling. Holding back his tears as Jimin ushers him towards the couch, Jungkook gasps at the table full of gifts.

“You guys, this is really too much. You didn’t have to …” he says before his speech was cut short by Jimin, who was already eyeing the bag placed on Jungkook's lap. Both he and Tae, who plopped himself front and center, seemed more curious about this whole unwrapping than Jungkook himself. Nonetheless, reaching his hand into the sparkly green bag, he pulls out a small box.

“What is it?” Tae asks, moving closer to get a better look. Shaking his head Jungkook opens it, as both of them gasp at the silver Rolex watch staring back at them.

“YAH, Jimin that’s not fair,” Tae whines, leaning his head back on the couch as Jungkook’s mouth drops.

“Don’t say anything, you’re worth it,” Jimin winks, patting Jungkook’s head before leaning in for a hug. Despite Jungkook being the youngest in his friend group, it’s rare to see him act like one, so the sight is refreshing and heartwarming, to say the least.

Making sure everyone was in the frame, I press the timer on the camera before running back to my spot which naturally was beside Jungkook. Looking up at him, his gaze was soft as I wrap my arm around his shoulders, feeling his hand on my waist as Jimin commands everyone to say ‘cheese’ before the flash went off.

–

“You know, today might have been my favorite day of the whole year,” Jungkook says softly before melting into the duvet. After saying goodbye to everyone, we cleaned up the place before helping Jimin pack for his camping trip with his teammates. He planned to depart right after the party in hopes of making it there early in the morning, and although I tried to change his mind he was determined.

“Ok, I’m leaving now,” Jimin says, knocking on Jungkook’s bedroom door. Nodding, we walk him towards the entrance, as I pass him a bag of some leftovers.

“Please be careful, it’s dark,” I say, as Jungkook leans on the door frame, eyes focused on my worried face.

“I’ll be fine, it’s only 6 hours. I’ll be back by Tuesday. Jungkook please don’t break anything,” Jimin exclaims, giving him a teasing smile as Jungkook rolls his eyes, nibbling on his lip ring.

“Ha … ha.. call me when you get there,” he says, waving goodbye as he locks the door before turning towards me.

“It’s late, do you want to stay over or do you want me to drop you off?”

“One more surprise,” I wink, pulling him towards the bedroom. As I place a red bag on his lap, Jungkook can’t help but bite down his lip, trying to suppress the evident excitement.

“Miraya, you’ve already done so much,” he says softly, looking up at my focused expression before pulling out a film camera with an envelope attached to it. Fidgeting with the seal, Jungkook’s curiosity is on full blast as he moves the three polaroids closer to get a better look under the dim lights.

“Oh my god …” he whispers, choking on his spit from the disbelief. Recognizing the red lingerie, he glances up for clarification until a gasp escapes his mouth at the sight before him.

“Happy Birthday, Pretty boy,” I whisper, before moving closer to his dumbfounded self. Although still in shock, his body responds immediately, caressing the soft skin on my thighs before pulling me on his lap.

“Mira …” he whispers, our lips inches away. Looking at his darkened orbs, I caress the side of his cheek before leaving a soft kiss.

“You’ve been so patient, baby,” I say, straddling his thighs as he hisses at the sensitivity. Melting in my embrace, he is unable to hold back any longer, flipping us over, as his chains now dangle over my face.

“Peaches, please let me have you,” he whispers into my ear, voice now breathless. Sucking on my neck, he leaves soft marks of desperate need and desire before looking back at my eyes.

“Jungkook, I want you,”

“Mira, I need you,”

As our bodies become one, Jungkook leaves a trail of soft kisses down my neck before reaching the soft material.

“Wait here,” he says, almost sprinting towards the kitchen before coming back with a can of whipped cream that I used for his birthday cake.

“Thank you for the meal,” he bows his head, before shaking the can. Unclasping my bra, he tosses it on the floor, taking a moment to fully appreciate the sight in front of him.

“Stop staring,” I snap, hiding my face under the duvet, feeling the flush in my cheeks.

“Hard not to when you look this good, Peaches”

Inches away from my breasts, Jungkook draws small circles with the cream, as I hiss at the cold sensation. Arching my back, he sucks on the sweet taste of my nipples, as his hands caress the soft skin, before leaving a long trace of cream on my stomach. Each taste is followed by a sinful kiss, as purple hues paint my body.

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#bts #bangtan #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook x yn #bts x yn #jungkook fanfic #fanfic #jungkook smut #romance #young love #college love #slow burn #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook x female reader #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook imagine

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dedicatednotobsessed · 1 year

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alright, I was wondering if could maybe do an ewan x fem!reader where reader is a fairly new actress but some of her roles have garnered massive attention. she and ewan star in a movie together and soon fall for eachother on set. it's really sweet and nice and they just absolutely adore eachother. please?

(side note: loving the tom glynn carney fic so far, so good!)

Of course you may! 🥰🥰 I hope you enjoy!! 💚💚 If you ever have any future requests, my inbox is always open 😌

Star Crossed Lovers [Ewan Mitchell x Fem!Reader One shot]

Other HOTD stories [requests open]

Summary: You are an up and coming actress, already becoming popular through some major roles. You have gained a recent role in an upcoming movie, your costar being Ewan Mitchell, another up and coming English actor. Throughout your time filming, the two of you becoming closer and possibly something more….

You pushed your sunglasses on the top of your head while walking onto the set of your latest project, a romance film. You may have been a little late because you slept in and you also decided coffee was more of a priority than showing up on time. It was only about ten minutes so you believed it wasn’t a big deal.

You were a big and upcoming actress in England, already having a few roles under your belt that caused your stardom to rise. You were young and beautiful, your manager stating that those two features combined with your talent, you were going places.

“There you are!”

You turned hearing a voice and smiled wide seeing the director. “Hey, Robert!” You greeted, waving.

As he walked closer, a chuckle leaving his lips seeing the coffee in your other hand. “Was the traffic bad?”

“Oh, so bad,” You joked walking closer with a smile. “But I am sorry, I will be on time tomorrow.”

“You better be,” Robert said chuckling and began to walk with you. “At least your costar was nice enough to be on time.”

“Oh, you mean Ewan?”

“The only other costar you have.”

You giggled at the attitude he gave as he led you to a building where you would be doing a quick table read. Your costar was another up and coming young actor by the name of Ewan Mitchell. He was mainly known right now for his big role on the show, The Last Kingdom. You watched it and thought his character, Osferth was the sweetest one ever.

You walked in and smiled seeing the brunette boy turn to you. “It’s about time,” He teased laughing. “Where’s my coffee?”

You smirked and shrugged. “You didn’t ask,” You replied with a small smirk and walked closer, setting your cup down before giving him a tight hug. “It is so good to see you again.”

Ewan smiled, returning your hug. “You too, love.”

Robert clapped his hands together when you released the hug. “So, as the two of you know this is supposed to be a six month long project. Possibly seven.”

You nodded as Robert continued to explain what he wanted the next six months to entail, taking a sip of your coffee.

“Now, your chemistry test was the best, but the best way to be a convincing couple is to get closer,” Robert began to explain. “How about you take a pretty lady out to dinner, Ewan?”

Ewan chuckled a bit and smiled. “I mean, I would love to, but my mum isn’t here.”

You gasped and smiled up at Ewan when he gave you a cheeky smile. “Does seven work for you?” You asked softly.

Ewan nodded a bit. “Seven works perfect, love.”

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You looked in the mirror, fixing your hair a bit. Ewan had texted you to wear something casual and that is exactly what you were planning on doing. You only really dressed up for premieres and interviews. For your original screen test, you wore a plain t-shirt and yoga pants with minimal makeup.

You hummed lightly to the music blasting through your phone, fixing your eye makeup quickly before walking out. You lived in a small two bedroom apartment with one and a half beds. It wasn’t too big but it was perfect for you. You did imagine having a family soon enough, but first you needed a boyfriend. Your mother always said you should get married before having a child, but you needed a boyfriend in order to get married.

You looked down, hearing your phone go off and smiled seeing Ewan’s name come on the screen.

“I can’t really find your flat,” Ewan spoke on the other side.

“First off,” You began with furrowed brows sitting on the couch after grabbing your favorite pair of boots. “Are you on the phone while driving? That is dangerous, sir.”

“No,” Ewan replied laughing. “I’m pulled off to the side, but I’m wondering where your flat is.”

“How can you not find it? I sent you the address.”

“So hostile,” Ewan said jokingly.

“How about we just meet at the restaurant?” You suggested giggling, putting your phone on speaker so you could put your shoes on.

“Now that is not very gentleman like,” Ewan replied with a smirk. He glanced at his phone looking over his maps and furrowed his brows. “Wait, I think I found it. I’ll be there soon.”

You rolled your eyes, but the smile stayed on your lips. “Okay, Ewan.”

About fifteen minutes have passed since Ewan’s phone call before you heard a knock at your door. You opened it and smiled wide at the sight of your costar.

“It really took you that long to find my place?” You questioned with a raised brow.

“Yes!” Ewan exclaimed. “It was so damn confusing,” He said chuckling while running a hand through his hair.

“Well,” You began lightly punching his arm. “I give you a bronze star.”

“What?” He asked, shocked. “Not even a silver?”

“Nope,” You replied with a small smirk while grabbing your purse.

“Rude,” Ewan mumbled but he chuckled, leading you down after you locked the door and opened the passenger door for you.

“Awe such a gentleman,” You said while smiling lightly as you got in. “But you’re still not getting a silver star,” You added with a wink.

The two of you went to a diner not far from your house, sitting across from Ewan. You twirled the straw of your tea, smiling lightly as the two of you just talked.

“So, what made you want to get this role?” He asked after a moment.

You looked up at his blue eyes, smiling softly. “I was interested by the story,” You admitted with a nod. “Something different too from what I normally do,” You added. “What about you?”

“Same for me,” Ewan replied with a nod and a small smile. He took a sip of his water. “I just wanted to try and get more projects, get out there.”

“Well, you are on that show. I love your character by the way,” You said with a wide smile. “Osferth is just the sweetest character ever.”

Ewan laughed a bit. “Well, thank you.” He glanced over you a bit, a small smile on his lips. “I have seen a couple of your projects as well. You’re a wonderful actress.”

“Thank you,” You said with a small smile looking down noticing the way he was looking you over, a small blush creeping onto your cheeks. “It means a lot to me.”

You glanced up when you saw the waitress coming over, setting your cheeseburger and fries down in front of you. You thanked her, watching her leave after a moment and lightly picked at your fries.

“How do you feel about the bedroom scenes?” You asked after a moment.

Ewan shrugged a bit. “I think I’m going to be okay with it,” He replied with a small smile. “It’s easy to do those scenes when your costar is gorgeous,” He said casually.

You laughed at that, your face turning a darker red. “Thank you,” You replied, tilting your head. “I agree with you on that though.”

Ewan chuckled, glancing down at his own food as the two of you went silent while you ate. You noticed the little glances he was giving you causing your heart to flutter a bit. He was really handsome, but you knew he was only flirting with you to get closer, as Robert’s instructions.

Within a month of filming, you and Ewan seemed to have grown extremely close. Other costars have teased the two of you about the little flirting you had going on, yet you still denied any feelings you had for him.

You yawned being on set early, running a hand through your hair. You were there earlier than normal, having promised that you would try to show up on time since you have still showed up late quite a few times.

“Wow, you actually showed up on time,” Ewan teased walking over to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

You rolled your eyes and giggled. “I did sacrifice my coffee of course,” You said with a slight pout.

Ewan snickered at that. “Well, if you go into your trailer, you’d see that someone has gifted you a coffee from your favorite place.”

You furrowed your brows at Ewan. “How did you know—“

“I pay attention,” He replied with a shrug. “I noticed you always got the same coffee from the same shop every day so, I found it and brought you a coffee.”

“Awe, Ewan!” You gushed, walking into your trailer and there sitting on the table was an iced caramel macchiato from your favorite coffee shop in London. “You really are the best fake boyfriend ever.”

Ewan laughed at that. “I try my best,” He said with a smirk, kissing your cheek before letting you go as you headed inside.

You smiled, taking a sip of your coffee while Ewan leaned against the doorway. He had a small smile on his lips as he looked over you, turning away when you caught him.

“You know,” You began, crossing your arms as you fully turned towards your costar. “You’re pretty adorable when you’re nervous,” You teased.

Ewan’s cheeks heated up, chuckling a bit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Y/N.”

“Mmm-hmm.” You set your coffee down and walked over, wrapping your arms around his neck, smiling when you met his blue eyes. “You are still adorable, Mr. Mitchell.”

Ewan placed his hands on your waist, looking over you once more. “Well if you insist on me being adorable, I think I know someone who’s more adorable.”

“Oh really now?”

“Yep,” He replied, rubbing your side lightly.

“And who is that?”

Ewan smirked lightly. “I don’t feel like telling you right now.”

You audibly groaned. “I take back my compliment.”

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You blew out a breath, having a plush white robe wrapped around you. You stood beside Ewan, who was wearing a matching robe, while an intimacy instructor went over the scene for the day. There weren’t many intimate scenes, but they still made you nervous.

You nibbled on your lip lightly, a nervous habit you have had since you were a child. You didn’t even realize you were bleeding until you felt something lightly run down your chin.

“Are you alright?” Ewan asked you softly.

You looked up at him, giving him a small smile while furrowing your brows. “Y-yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Ewan reached over, lightly wiping the blood off of your chin. “You gave yourself a bloody lip, love.”

You turned away while wiping at your bottom lip, making sure it was okay. You looked down with a small smile and shook your head. “I’m okay, Ewan. I promise.”

“We can use body doubles if you’re more comfortable with that,” Robert spoke up.

You shook your head, smiling softly. “I’ll be okay.”

“Me too,” Ewan replied, nodding a bit.

Robert nodded a bit before he began instructing how he wanted the scene to start. You reached over, your hand lightly touching Ewan’s before he intertwined his fingers with yours. When he squeezed your hand, it gave you comfort, even when Robert instructed the two of you to take your robes off.

You kept your eyes on Ewan as you slowly untied your robe, him doing the same. The two of you were wearing padding in your most intimate parts for some of your modesty. You could feel the butterflies in your stomach as you began to run through the scene, leaning up and kissing him lightly on the lips.

You never really rehearsed the scene with Ewan, Robert having wanting to make it as real as possible between you and your costar. You felt Ewan push you back onto the bed, the camera following every one of your movements, your lips never leaving his.

The scene got heated rather quickly, a small laugh passing your lips when Robert called cut. You quickly covered yourself with the sheet, looking over at Ewan seeing his cheeks heated red.

“What did I say, you guys?” Robert laughed. “The two of you have some real chemistry.”

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“You know, I think you’re supposed to dine a woman out before you decide to fuck her.”

Ewan laughed, his cheeks never really fading from the red color since the bedroom scene. “Well, I never said I was a full on gentleman,” He joked with a wink.

You laughed, looking over him with a soft smile on your face. You tilted your head while furrowing your brows a bit. You were about halfway done with the project and every day, it seemed to be something new between the two of you. The glances and the way he wraps his arms around you to keep you warm. It always made your stomach do somersaults and you were slowly understanding why.

“Is everything okay, love?”

You blinked a bit, Ewan’s voice pulling you back into reality. You looked at him and nodded, laughing a bit. “Sorry, I get lost in my own world sometimes.”

Ewan chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. “You are truly more adorable than me,” He said, smiling more.

You giggled a bit. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious,” You said jokingly.

When Ewan looked at you though, he wasn’t laughing with you. “You remember when I told you there was someone more adorable than me?”

You nodded a bit, furrowing your brows. “Are you saying I’m more adorable than you? I thought we just discussed this,” You said, laughing a bit.

Ewan laughed a bit. “That’s not what I’m saying, Y/N,” He began, reaching over and taking your hand gently. “In the short amount of time that I’ve known you, I have fallen so much for you.”

You smiled lightly. “Where are you going with this?”

“Where I’m going with this is….” Ewan took a deep breath before he continued. “I wanted to know if you would be willing to go on a proper date with me.”

You stared at your friend, a bit shocked. You never expected this from him. You looked down, nodding a bit with a soft smile on your lips. “I would love to go on a date with you, Ewan.”

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The first date turned into two dates which turned into four quickly. By the time filming was over, you and Ewan became an official couple. It was the last day on set and you had your arms wrapped around Ewan’s neck as he carried you around on his back.

“You know, I’m going to miss working with you,” You said with a pout.

“You act like I’m never going to see you again,” Ewan stated with furrowed brows while chuckling. “We have literally been dating for four months now.”

“Yeah, but,” You whined and laughed when he whined with you.

“We’re still going to see each other every day, love,” He said kissing your cheek lightly when you jumped off his back and wrapped an arm around you.

You looked up at Ewan, wrapping your arms around his waist. “Until we have to go off to do our own projects.”

Ewan laughed and smiled lovingly down at you. “Guess, you’ll just have to come in my suitcase when I’m off filming,” He said with a wink.

You smiled and leaned up, kissing him gently on the lips. You never expected to fall for your costar, but you were head over heels for Ewan and it seemed as though he was the same way. You couldn’t ask for anyone better though or anyone sweeter. It was as though it was meant to be that you were to do this project with Ewan and you were to meet him.

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inkblackorchid · 3 months

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What the hell happened with Crow: an autopsy (Part 2)

Hope you didn't think I'd forgotten about this post yet. Lads, ladies, and other lovely people, here we go. I have more yelling about bird boy to do.

But first, a few disclaimers. For people who may have missed part one, yes, as the title implies, this post is part two of an attempt to analyse Crow's character throughout 5Ds' whole run. You can find part one here. Now, both for people who may not have the time/energy to read my first, huge post about this right now, let me explain what I'm about here before we start again: My analysis is not meant to deter people who like Crow from liking him. It's also not meant to convince Crow haters otherwise, even if I admittedly personally like Crow. All of this stuff is just my personal attempt at dissecting how his character was handled in the show and why that might have been. And because this is part two, and I covered the Fortune Cup and Dark Signers arc in the first post, I'll start with the pre-WRGP arc, then dig into the backstory Crow was given directly before the WRGP begins properly. Also, mind the length of this post. I'm physically incapable of writing short things.

I also feel the need to reiterate another thing before I really get into the meat of things again: If you were hoping to see any old rumours about 5Ds confirmed, this is the wrong post. In fact, thanks to the very thorough work of someone over on Reddit (another shoutout to @mbg159 here, who's the author of those posts), I know for a fact that literally all the big rumours surrounding Crow are one big pile of logistically impossible horseshit, and I think after so, so many years of people citing this nonsense, the fandom as a whole finally deserves to let these go:

No, Crow was not meant to be a dark signer, least of all the final boss of season one, and Blackwings were not the reason he got more screentime later.

No, Aki being sidelined was not the result of her irl voice actress' pregnancy.

Yes, I know these two posts are both a long read each, but I cannot begin to tell you how tired I am of these rumours. So even if you don't have time to read the stuff above, please take away this: The big 5Ds production conspiracy theories are. all. bullshit. Because, to put it in as simple terms as possible, none of them work out logistically. The events people have pretended affected the show's production in a major way all don't line up with the actual production timeline. So just can the rumours already. Please let them die. And no pitting Aki and Crow against each other on his post or because of this post, yes? I beg you, I am so tired. Ok? Ok.

All right, now we can get to the good part. In my previous post, I left off at the end of the DS arc. So, in what position is Crow at the end of the DS arc? He helped save the world by defeating Goodwin and got his very own signer mark after Rudger/Roman Goodwin's death.

And now, where is Crow at the start of the pre-WRGP arc?

(Bam. Delivery bird boy be upon ye.)

This time, Crow wastes absolutely no time coming back on screen. We see him again within the first episode of the second half of the show, and wouldn't you know it! He moved in with Yusei and Jack and the three of them have a funny, brotherly, bickering dynamic between them. Also, as a fun little add-on that is very much in line with his deeply Satellite, down to earth characterisation from the first half, Crow now works as a delivery driver to earn money for the household. That's all very nice and good.

But what is his role in the plot from here on out? Well.

First, a small note about the pre-WRGP arc. Though this arc is fun to watch because it gives us a lot of silly character interactions the show no longer found the time for once the WRGP started, the pre-WRGP arc really can't be said to bother with actual plot much. It's the known filler arc of 5Ds, and as such, Crow is not the only character who gets pretty much nothing plot-related to do during this arc. Thus, I'll only give a quick run-down of what he does get up to, just in case any of these tidbits end up showcasing a relevant aspect of Crow's character I might come back to later.

Furthermore, another thing that's pretty much obvious to everyone who's ever watched the show in its entirety but still bears mentioning: Crow gets a lot more screentime from this point on out. Technically. Why do I say "technically"? I'll get back to that further below. For now, just keep it in mind.

So, how does Bird Boy spend his time during the arc where the plot's on the back burner? To be honest, on the sidelines, mostly. Don't get me wrong, Crow's there. Most of the time. But he gets pretty much only two episodes where he's the focus, and both of those aren't exactly known for being 5Ds' most memorable episodes (even though I still like them both tbh, but I digress): For one, in episode 68, he gets to convince Bashford to move in with Martha so the depressed old man isn't spending his entire retirement living in a scrapyard.

(This episode's comedic moments are actually fairly solid. But those are just my two cents.)

And for two, in episode 85, Crow gets to bond with the boys' somewhat cranky landlady, Zora, by duelling some sense into her son, Lyndon. (Which also introduces us to a duelling tactic only Crow uses that we will later see again: Losing on purpose.)

(And here we can see Crow showing off his skills at dealing with petulant children.)

Now, do these two episodes where he gets to be relevant actually do anything for Crow? As a character? Debatable. If nothing else, they strongly reaffirm the values Crow represents which we were introduced to in the first half of the show, though. They reintroduce us to his stubbornness, to his (in comparison to Jack and Yusei) more playful nature, to his very Yusei-ish dedication to doing the right thing, to his penchant for spite, and to his strong sense of family and community and his belief that these two things shouldn't be abandoned unless you have a damned good reason for it.

You may notice that there's a sizeable gap between these two episodes. That's because those episodes are where we get the only smidgens of plot in this arc. Among them, highlights like Sherry's introduction, the first reveal of accel synchro, Aki's turbo duelling license exam, three separate story beats hinting at the machinations of the emperors of Iliaster (Luciano's little stunt with Rua and Ruka, Placido getting started on building a killer robot army, and the Jack double being unleashed onto NDC), and Bruno's introduction. So, here's the thing: Crow is technically present during most of those episodes, too, but he doesn't actually get to meaningfully interact with the plot-relevant elements. (Which is not to say he doesn't have nice moments here and there. He does get to bounce off the other characters, and, just as one example, helps Yusei and Jack upgrade Aki's duel runner, as well as help Yusei build Rua's duel board. Crucially, he doesn't get to do anything that later becomes plot-relevant, though.) Moreover, not one, but two characters who end up becoming major players in the series' finale are introduced here, which is relevant insofar as that Bruno and Sherry both end up needing a good amount of development before they can impactfully take their later roles. Now, I say this with nothing but genuine appreciation for both these characters, because I do like them, but I feel the need to point out what this means not just for Crow, but for pretty much everyone who isn't Jack or Yusei: Every minute of screentime that was dedicated to Bruno and/or Sherry was one minute less the writers could spend on the rest of the cast. This is not to say that time shouldn't have been spent on them, they needed it, especially because they were introduced so late, but it's something I do want people to keep in mind when talking about who got how much screentime and whether or not that time was well spent. (I also have a larger gripe with the definition of "screentime" in general, but more on that later.)

So when does Crow get to be relevant to the plot again, now that he's even a signer and all? Well, not until episode 94, when the WRGP arc has already started. (Note that I'm using the 5Ds episode list on wikipedia as a general guide for which arc and which season starts where. You can find it here.)

*Deep breath*

So. Episode 94.

(Pictured: One very scruffy dragon. Bird? Dragon-bird. Bird-dragon. You figure this shit out.)

That episode. The episode where Crow, who was awarded with the status of a signer during the finale of the DS arc, finally gets a dragon to match his mark. And the episode where we finally, finally, get some actual backstory for Crow that goes beyond his involvement with the Enforcers and childhood with Jack and Yusei. A backstory that's only Crow's own. Except. How do I put this politely...

This shit doesn't make a lick of sense. Neither the events in the duel between Crow and Bolger in the present resulting in Black-Winged Dragon's appearance, nor the Pearson backstory.

Now, I'm not saying this to step on anyone's toes. From a writing standpoint, I can even make a fairly reasonable guess as to why this episode/mini-arc is here, I think: As I mentioned in part one of this analysis, Crow was not only introduced very late, but also got very little backstory of his own, which set him apart from the other signers. Don't get me wrong, he did get some backstory—we know of his strong connection to Duel Monsters because he learned to read from cards, and we know of his involvement with the Enforcers/Team Satisfaction. Crucially, though, Crow doesn't really get a backstory segment that feels as unique to him as the others. Aki gets her tragic past with her parents and her powers, Jack gets his betrayal of Yusei, which also doubles as part of Yusei's backstory, who as the protagonist understandably gets the most backstory, and even the twins, though they are as always treated as one unit, get their very own segment about the time when Ruka was essentially in a coma. Meanwhile, Crow only has that one-off tear-jerker moment about learning to read from his cards and his being a part of the boys' duel gang, which, and I cannot stress this enough, is treated as more of a Yusei and Kalin/Kiryu backstory by canon than a Crow backstory. Thus, it makes perfect sense from a writing standpoint that the Pearson/Black-Winged Dragon mini-arc would be here. Crow, up until this point, has neither a backstory segment dedicated solely to him, nor a signer dragon to call his own. So, how do we solve this? Give him both in a strategic double-whammy! The math checks out. Unfortunately, the writing of said mini-arc... doesn't.

Now, look. The juicy question of whether Crow would have worked better as a non-signer or not, which I already discussed in part one aside, I personally don't hate what this backstory is trying to do. It's just that the whole Pearson-drama has some very notable, logical holes which I'll get into below. Furthermore, this is not the first time something related to Crow has some unfortunate, logical and/or chronological issues. I already brought up the infamous fridge and Rex Goodwin's rather confusing backstory in part one, both of which raise some serious questions. However, Pearson and everything surrounding him arguably blow that clean out of the water. Let's examine this more closely, shall we.

The long-overdue backstory we get for Crow begins with a mystery: Mikage and Trudge, for a reason that is never given to us, are investigating the death of Robert Pearson (whose death would have been several years ago at this point), whom Crow knew very well, and they're doing it because they found a hint that the person who killed Pearson used an illegal card, Crimson Mefist, to do it.

(Post redemption-arc Trudge actually doing his job instead of bullying random Satellite citizens. Who would have thunk.)

Thing is, here, we already encounter our first, minor problem: Pearson has never been mentioned up until this point, not even as an aside. And this issue is compounded by the fact that not only Crow seems to know him, but Trudge claims to as well, because "Satellite used to be his jurisdiction". So, a named character who's familiar to both one of our protagonists and a notable side character, and we've never seen hide nor hair of him. If we pull our heads out of the story for a second, the irl reason for how this came to be is probably pretty obvious: Pearson was never mentioned before because the writers had nowhere near as solid of a plan for Crow as they did for the other characters, which leads to him being introduced out of nowhere here because we need a backstory and a dragon for Crow and we need those now. Moving on.

The mention of Pearson having been not simply killed in a fire, like Crow previously assumed, but having been murdered through a special, illegal card immediately makes him suspicious. So, he goes to consult Bolger/Bolton, another never-before-seen character who gets introduced in service of this backstory, and who knew Pearson well. And while this guy certainly acts amiable towards Crow at first, implying that the two have a good rapport, at least, he quickly starts acting suspicious when Pearson's murder comes up. Moreover, we as the audience at this point already know Bolger's looking for Black-Winged Dragon so he can use the card essentially as collateral to save his company. And the name "Black-Winged Dragon" already leaves very little to the imagination as to whose deck this monster is supposed to fit into. But, in a small twist, we learn from Crow that this was apparently Pearson's card, and supposedly lost in the fire where said man died, to boot. Then Bolger challenges Crow to a duel, too, offering to tell the truth about Pearson's death if he loses, but demanding Black-Winged Dragon, which he believes Crow to be in possession of, if he wins. So far, so good. We've got a mystery here, and canon is not contradicting itself just yet. Until we get to the actual backstory, which shows us the time Crow spent with Pearson, that is. Before we get into that, I'd like to highlight one theme this mini-arc introduces that actually feels like it fits Crow: Legacy. Over the course of meeting Bolger again and being reminded of his time with Pearson, Crow starts thinking about whether he's taking over his former mentor's/father figure's legacy well enough.

(Crow having some Deep Thoughts TM, featuring one of Yusei's most relaxed, easygoing smiles in the entire show, probably.)

This theme, I would argue, is one of the major things this backstory introduces that really meshes well with the Crow we already had until this point. He's a community-focussed guy and absolutely a family person, if him taking care of Satellite orphans is anything to go by, so leaving behind a good legacy for the people after him (read: the kids he took care of) would absolutely be something he cares about. We see this element of legacy again in his cards during this episode, too, which canon implies he inherited from Pearson. (I'll get to THAT can of worms below.) And on paper, with the themes he's already got going, Crow being the only one to inherit his deck rather than build it all by himself would actually make sense!

However. This is where we have to get into the meat of the backstory. I'll start by listing the barebones information Crow's backstory with Pearson gives us, then going into why several aspects of it are either logistical or chronological nonsense.

So, as canon tells us, Crow met Pearson after Kiryu/Kalin was arrested, when the Enforcers/Team Satisfaction all went their separate ways. During this period, Crow had already set up shop near the original Daedalus Bridge and started out taking care of orphans, but it wasn't all smooth sailing. He was, by his own admission, "living aimlessly". Then, during a pinch, Pearson and Bolger show up, take care of some bad guys for Crow and the kids, and Crow sees a new role model in Pearson. Pearson, who rides the Blackbird, plays a Blackwing deck and owns Black-Winged Dragon. So, he joins up with Pearson, presumably learns how to work on duel runners from him, and also befriends Bolger. Then, one day, a fire breaks out at Pearson's workshop and the man in question dies, but leaves Crow his runner and his duel disk before he does so. End flashback. Because I want to tie this together nicely, we also learn later that Pearson technically left him Black-Winged Dragon, too, by sealing it in his runner. And, of course, that dragon later becomes Crow's very own signer dragon.

Several points to be dissected here. And funnily enough, Bolger's duel with Crow isn't relevant for any of them. Let's start with the big one: The timeline. I want you to remember that as far as canon is concerned, Crow is 17 during the DS arc. Moreover, it's canonically stated that Jack stole Yusei's first duel runner two years before the show's start, at which time Crow would have been 15. And their time together as the Enforcers must have been even before that, because Kiryu/Kalin was already in prison for a while at that point and Crow and Yusei don't reunite until the DS arc is basically in full swing. So, I'll make a vague estimate here and say that during the time of the Enforcers, Crow would have probably been 13-14. (Which is hilarious when you think about the fact that this gang of angry teenagers essentially took over the entire duelling underground of Satellite, but I digress.) Now we add the idea that Crow met Pearson after the Enforcers, but that he died before canon starts into the mix. That means Crow first ran into Pearson sometime around age 15, and that he then died presumably before Crow turned 17. So far, so good, that still slots into canon, even if it makes Crow pretty damn young for some things. He's even missing the personalised Blackbird duel disk he later wears during the Enforcer days, I went back to check. What he is not missing, however, are his Blackwings. And this is where canon may or may not have made an implication that, if intentional, breaks this timeline. See, during the scene where Pearson's workshop is burning down and he's already trapped under debris and has embraced death, he tosses Crow his duel disk and leaves him his runner.

(Two important screenshots, in sequence. One, Pearson with his duel disk still strapped to his arm. His deck is very obviously still in there. Two, Crow with that same duel disk, as made obvious by its distinct shape.)

What this implies is that Pearson also left Crow his deck. Which, yeah, fair enough, if I were dying in a fire I'd probably also think "fuck it, not like I'll need my cards in the afterlife". What this (and Crow's look the first time he sees Pearson's monsters) implies, though, is that Crow didn't start playing Blackwings until Pearson left him his deck. Which is factually untrue, because there is literal evidence in the show that Crow already had Blackwings during his time as part of the duel gang, before ever meeting Pearson. (The exact episode, if you want to check for yourself, is 33, where Crow summons both Bora the Spear and Blackwing Armor Master during a flashback.) However, I will concede that the show never actually states this is the case, it's just implied by what we see on screen, so perhaps the idea here was that Crow already played Blackwings before Pearson, but grew to love them even more through his mentor/father figure, and so later happily integrated the deck he inherited into his own. Crucially, canon never states this outright, either, though, so the option remains on the table. But, to give the benefit of the doubt here, the possibility that this could still slot in with canon and that it was just handled poorly is there. The same cannot be said for the Blackbird, however.

(Uh oh. So much for canon continuity.)

The above two screenshots directly contradict each other. First we have Yusei, upon reuniting with Crow in Satellite during the DS arc, casually remarking that Crow finished his duel runner. Which means that canon at this point suggests to the audience that one, Crow built this duel runner by himself, for himself, and two, that Yusei knew about it for a while already. Then there's the second screenshot, from the Pearson backstory episode, where Crow outright claims the Blackbird was left to him when Pearson died. I don't think I need to tell anyone that these two things can't be true at the same time. And again, I think this is where Crow fell victim to the writers not having a clear outline for him. At first, he was supposed to be this scrappy guy who also built a duel runner for himself, just like Yusei. But now, he's a signer, needs a backstory and a dragon, and because a theme of legacy is introduced alongside Pearson, the runner suddenly needs to be inherited, as well as (possibly) Crow's cards. Now, a crafty fanfic writer could probably reconcile the above contradiction somehow, and I know some stories that accomplished that. But the point isn't that we, as the audience/fandom could make this work, the point is that canon didn't make it work. What canon, sadly, also didn't get to work was Black-Winged Dragon.

(We meet again, bird-dragon.)

Here comes the next elephant in the room: Everyone and their mother who has watched 5Ds knows that Black-Winged Dragon was never implied to be a signer dragon up until the duel where Crow acquires it. In fact, an entirely different dragon is teased so heavily long before BWD ever shows up that it to this day is one of many people's major gripes with the show's writing.

(Why, hello, Life Stream Dragon! Fancy seeing you here.)

And yet, Black-Winged Dragon is turned into a signer dragon before Life Stream Dragon, who was teased more than sixty (!!!) episodes before BWD was ever even mentioned. Why? Simple: Because Crow became a signer and Rua/Leo didn't, because the signers all need dragons (or else the "5Ds" part kind of doesn't work), and because Life Stream Dragon thematically doesn't fit Crow.

Now, I've seen people post theories to reconcile this weird hitch in canon, hell, I've even posted an idea for how it could be reconciled myself. But, again, that isn't the point here. The point is that as far as good old, barebones canon is concerned, it isn't reconciled. Canon at first states there are five signers, suggesting that there are also five dragons. But then, the fifth dragon never shows up, and one of the signers dies, to boot. Only for canon to then teach us, oh, no, look, the signer marks can wander from one person to the next. And to add insult to injury (at least where the show's writing and internal consistency is concerned), the signer mark that was "freed up" by Roman/Rudger's death doesn't wander to Rua/Leo, who any attentive watcher would have expected to become a signer because it was heavily teased during the DS arc, but to Crow. Frankly, I'm not surprised many people were angry about this, but in case my disclaimer didn't make it clear, I don't think it's productive to pin this on Crow by claiming his cards became super popular irl. There was definitely an out-of-left-field writing choice made here, but the only answers as to "why" were left in the 5Ds' writer's room, I believe. At a guess, if you want me to throw out a non-sugarcoated theory as to why, though? They probably thought Crow would be a more interesting character for their target audience. He's a scrappy guy who sticks it to authority, he's brave, he's funny, he plays a cool deck, and most of all, unlike Rua, he never embarrasses himself in a duel on screen. Why am I highlighting that last part? Because I feel like people sometimes forget that the target audience for this show, at the time of its creation, were about twelve year-old boys. And you can feel free to contradict me on this, but most twelve year-old boys I've known and know don't want to project themselves onto a chracter who loses and gets his butt kicked a lot, and who's a bit awkward and steps in it sometimes, which is much closer to how actual twelve year-olds are—but that's exactly why they prefer the cooler characters. And Crow is the cooler character, by average twelve year-old boy logic, regardless of what the grownups of this fandom think.

So Crow gets a dragon and the writing doesn't bother explaining the how or why of it, let alone tackles any of the implications made by Black-Winged Dragon's existence as a signer dragon. (Like what does this mean for the larger worldbuilding? Does the Crimson Dragon actually have more than five servants, but chooses to only ever bestow five marks at a time? Can any "dragon" the Crimson Dragon chooses be a signer dragon, and it just so happens that the constellation of signer dragons is nearly the same as the original one in present-time 5Ds canon? Did the Crimson Dragon specifically elevate BWD to a signer dragon because it felt like it? Was BWD always supposed to be a signer dragon? Was Pearson supposed to be a signer, but died too early before the dark signer prophecy was set into motion? Am I overthinking this? (Yes.)) He also obtains his dragon in what feels like the weirdest way possible to me, because it suddenly??? Just decides to appear in his runner????? Out of nowhere??????

(Why is that here. How did it get there. Why did Pearson even put it in there. And HOW. Is it just wedged between the machinery or what???? And how on earth did Yusei, Bruno, and/or Crow never find it before this point considering how often someone tinkered on the Blackbird on screen???)

(This scenario, of course, also raises the question how the other signers even got their dragons. But like many other, interesting questions, this episode chooses not to interact with that one whatsoever.)

In short, this backstory is a bit of a mess, to say the least. For as much good as it tries to do by contextualising Crow's character and giving him something that sets him apart from the rest of the protag group, it feels like a rough draft of an episode was given the green light to be produced without any editing, judging by the contradictions and weird implications. As such, it harms Crow's character as much as it builds it, as evidenced by how much fandom backlash he still receives years later for the things that were bungled in this backstory and also in different aspects of his character writing.

Now, you may notice this post has gotten stupidly long due to just how convoluted the specific hangups of Crow's backstory are. I originally meant to cover the WRGP and even the Ark Cradle arc for Crow in this post, too, but due to how much there was to say about canon's attempt to finally make Crow a "proper" signer, I've decided that trying to force another two whole arcs in here would be a disservice to the analysis and the character, and also make this agonisingly long, so I'll close this part out here and write a part three, perhaps even a part four depending on how much material the WRGP gives me to work with.

There's one more thing I need to get back to before I finish up this part, though: The "screentime" discussion. I mentioned far above that I take issue with how some people seem to be using the word screentime, and now I can explain why. First, I want you to take a look back at the episodes I covered here, those being 65-95, essentially. Now, as anyone who usually dislikes Crow will tell you, Crow is present in most, if not all of these episodes. He's on screen. He's getting screentime, and, according to many people, hogging it, even. Okay. Now, I want you to look back up at the analysis. How many episodes did I cover where Crow actually gets something to do? As in, where he's either the focus of the plot or gets to contribute to it in a significant way? There's the old man Bashford episode. There's the Poppo Time clock episode. There's his two backstory episodes. That's four. Four episodes. If you're generous, you might add in the episode where he gets to narrate Yusei's backstory alongside Jack and the two fake Jack episodes where he gets to have an emotional moment or two with his foster-brother. If you're less generous, you'll note that none of these episodes have Crow actually interacting with the main antagonists in a meaningful way or set up anything important that pays off later. (Hell, he doesn't even get any, and I really mean, any meaningful setup interactions with Sherry, who ends up being his final-boss-level opponent during the final episodes! Aki gets more meaningful interactions with Sherry than him, not that this ever gets a payoff.) And this is why I take an issue with people claiming Crow gets so much "screentime" post DS arc. Because to me, "screentime" should be time spent letting a character act meaningfully within the story, which most of the pre-WRGP episodes aren't for Crow. He's on screen, yes, but in many episodes, it wouldn't matter one whit whether you replaced him with a nameless side character, which isn't exactly a great look for a supposed third of a protagonist trifecta. Perhaps I'm being too strict with my definition of "screentime" here, fair enough! But the claim that Crow hogs screentime already rubs the wrong way during this comparably unimportant arc, so I can't leave it alone. It feels very decidedly malicious to claim a character who during some episodes seems to only be there to provide exposition or make whatever jokes Yusei and Jack's personalities aren't suited to is stealing screentime from other characters. As for the WRGP duels and whether he's "hogging" anyone's screentime there, I'll dig into that nonsense in the next part, please be patient with me.

...Phew. Okay.

Now, before I leave you to wonder whether I'm every finishing my Crow analysis in full again, I want to attempt to do the same thing I did in part one—propose some changes that could have been made to the writing for Crow's character in order to make things slot in better with the rest of canon. With a small disclaimer, of course: These are just my suggestions as to how Crow's character could have fit into canon more smoothly and been done less of a disservice by his own backstory.

So. First, a quick-fire thing about the pre-WRGP, to get that out of the way: Crow, alongside Aki, is the only signer who didn't get his own confrontation with either Iliaster or their minions. (Yusei had Ghost, Jack had fake Jack, Rua and Ruka had Luciano.) Instead of having him confront a cranky old man in a scrapyard or Zora's son, they could have easily given him a very short side-story where he gets to experience the threat of Iliaster up close and personal, too. Hell, they could have very nicely cut the recap episode where Crow and Jack lie in the mess of Jack's terribly built coffee table and philosophise about Yusei's backstory for this, too. (As funny as their interaction about the coffee table and Jack lying on the floor with a perfectly intact coffee cup are.)

(Pictured: Two idiots (affectionate) contemplating life among the scraps of a shitty, broken coffee table.)

Then, there's the Pearson backstory, of course. So, here's the thing, I think two very different kinds of "fixes" could have worked here. Crucially, they both depend on Crow's status as a signer. I argued in part one that Crow might have worked better as a character if he hadn't actually become a signer, so I'll give both versions here. Let's go.

Option A: We try not to touch canon too much and Crow stays a signer.

How to do this? Frankly, I think what Crow's mark and Black-Winged Dragon were majorly missing was setup. The mark is the smaller offence here, since, fair enough, the idea that signer marks can wander from person to person isn't too out there for 5Ds canon. However, the lack of a dragon despite the alleged 5Ds stands out, and Life Stream Dragon's wasted setup only makes it worse. Thus, making Black-Winged Dragon make sense would have required giving him the same amount of foreshadowing as Life Stream Dragon, at the very least. And you know who could have been great for that? Sweet, ever-forgotten-by-canon Ruka. She was already shown having flashback dreams to the signer dragons' first battle against the dark signers, so who's to say she couldn't have gotten dreams about a shadowy, new dragon she's never seen before? Perhaps even dreams where she's not sure if the dragon is good or bad at first! It could have provided intrigue, it could have made the audience curious. To strengthen that, canon could have also bothered taking the question "hey why are there only four dragons now" seriously. No character in canon ever questions why there are five marks, but only four dragons. Even Rua, who was previously hopeful that he might secretly be a signer, never brings it up. If canon had bothered to actually point this mystery out, they could have used it not only to foreshadow Black-Winged Dragon, but to aid Life Stream Dragon's setup, too. What the fuck am I talking about, I hear you ask. Hear me out: Life Stream Dragon is shown way, way later down the line, long after the audience probably already accepted that it was simply never going to show up, literally bursting out of Power Tool Dragon's armour. We are not provided with an explanation as to why. Imagine if they had sprinkled in another dream Ruka could have had about the ancient past here. Imagine if they had used the opportunity to show something like, oh, during the battle, Life Stream Dragon got injured so badly they had to protect its wounded body with a suit of armour, in the hopes that it would heal. And with one original signer dragon out of commission, the Crimson Dragon sadly had to choose a replacement in between, because the Earthbound Immortals were sure to return. Bam. Black-Winged Dragon. Two signer dragons, set up simultaneously, without forcing the canon lore to do somersaults. Furthermore, to actually explain why Pearson had the dragon but wasn't a signer, they could have easily sprinkled in a flashback between him and Crow. Maybe Pearson could have mentioned how the dragon always feels like it's never really his, as a joking aside. It would have been enough for me to suspend my disbelief, you know? And then the rest of canon could have played out exactly as we know it. Crow could have confronted Bolger, could have obtained Black-Winged Dragon because maybe the dragon finally decided he was worth throwing its weight behind. The mystery behind the missing fifth dragon could have been solved, and it would have made for satisfying payoff without kneecapping Life Stream Dragon's setup or conjuring an extra dragon out of thin air. And really, stuff like the runner thing could have so easily been solved by simply picking one version (did he build it himself or inherit it?) and sticking with it. All it took was a little more care.

Option B: We assume Crow didn't actually become a signer, but try to keep his backstory intact.

Okay, this version works under the assumption that Crow, despite partaking in the final battle against Goodwin during the DS arc, didn't receive a signer mark. To make this work, I would, bluntly put, simply make it so that Black-Winged Dragon doesn't exist. Pearson can still play a powerful Blackwing monster during his flashback that Bolger wants to find and sell later, but it simply isn't that dragon. Really, Blackwings have enough to choose from there. If the backstory episodes had been placed a little later, say, during the pause in the middle of the WRGP, he could have even received something like Blackwing Full Armor Master here. (Yes, I know that card didn't exist at the time, but my point is that he could have simply received a powerup like Yusei and Jack did, instead of a completely new monster.) With this setup, they could have still added the intrigue of taking the question why there are only four signers now seriously. They could have still set up a mystery about why no one ever saw the fifth dragon outside of dreams. And it could have made Rua becoming a signer later, and in this version getting the tail mark instead of a completely new one, that much more satisfying. And Crow could have kept his "fuck destiny, I'm trying to save the world here"-attitude from the DS arc, providing a nice, amusing counterweight to our heroes chosen by an ancient Incan dragon deity. All it would have taken would have been not giving him a mark and switching out Black-Winged Dragon for something else.

So, take your pick, I guess. In the meantime, I'll try my best to work on part three faster than I did part two, lmao.

See you next time!

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storiesforallfandoms · 10 months

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history repeats itself ~ gwilym lee

word count: 2836

request?: yes!

“hey, i saw you wrote for Ben Hardy so I was wondering if you would write for Gwilym Lee? If not ignore this lol. I was thinking something like he meets the reader on set and they immediately hit it off, and the resemblance of her to Brian May’s wife is uncanny (let’s pretend he’s had just the one) and it’s kinda like a history repeats itself thing? idk if that made since. maybe Brian and Roger noticing and just being so amazed seeing that happening in front of them? thank you, and obviously since i have no explanation skills take complete control!”

description: when she gets cast to play the wife of a rock legend, everyone realizes how similar she and her on screen husband look to the originals

pairing: gwilym lee x female!reader

warnings: swearing, rpf

masterlist (one, two, three)

It was such a small role, one that didn’t even have any lines. But to me, it was huge. It was a small role in a massive blockbuster movie: the Freddie Mercury biopic. It would be the biggest job of my career. Up until that point, I had only been an extra in a few sitcoms. Having a small, silent role as Brian May’s wife in a Freddie Mercury biopic may seem like a small step up from what I’m used to, but the scale of the movie made it a massive deal for me.

I wasn’t sure if I’d get the role. There were hundreds of other actresses just like me - desperate for even the smallest roles in such a big film - were lined up to meet the director and casting director. It was such a small chance of getting it I thought. Until I walked into the room and both of their eyes widened when they landed on me.

“Holy shit,” the casting director breathed. “She looks just like her.”

I was cast on the spot. I nearly sobbed in happiness. I managed to keep the tears in until I got to my car and could call my parents to give them the news.

A few months later, I was preparing for my day on set. It was a party scene that was taking place at Freddie’s mansion at the height of their career. The other band members - Brian, Roger, and John - were there with their wives/girlfriends. The scene mostly required us to sit by our assigned on-screen husbands while they conversed. It was an easy day, and it was only going to take one day of filming, but I was still nervous. I had already met up with the director and some of the cast involved in the scene, but today I was going to be meeting the main four actors and two members of Queen.

I was just finished with wardrobe and was on my way to hair and makeup when I came across one of the main actors, Gwilym. I had been told about him after being cast, since he was the one playing Brian May, but I hadn’t met him yet. I suddenly felt nervous as I approached the hair and makeup trailer, where Gwilym was stood outside the door also waiting. He looked up as he heard me approach and smiled.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” I said back. “I’m (Y/N).”

“Gwilym. Nice to meet you.” He reached out and shook my hand. I hoped he couldn’t feel how my hands were shaking. “You’re playing Brian’s wife, right? Well, my wife I guess.”

I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m getting all dolled up for my one day on set to film my one, dialogue-less scene.”

“Hey, there’s no such thing as small parts remember.”

I made a face at him. “You sound like my old theater teachers.”

Gwilym cringed. “That’s the last thing I’d ever want.”

I laughed. The door to the hair and makeup trailer opened and two other extras came out. The stylist greeted us and told us to come in. I sat in one chair while Gwilym sat in the one next to me. I watched the stylist grab a long, brunette wig and place it next to Gwilym.

“I’m gonna have to do Gwilym’s wig firs since that’ll take the longest,” she told me. “So, sit tight, and try not to mess up your wardrobe too much.”

I nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

I watched the process of applying Gwilym’s wig. It really did take a long time. First, a bald cap had to be applied to Gwilym’s head. Then, the wig was placed on his head in a few different ways to figure out the best placement. Once that was figured out, the wig had to be pinned down in a way that made it look natural on his head, and not like a wig.

“So,” Gwilym said, trying his best not to move his head. “Since we’re going to be here a while, and since we’re playing a married couple, I suppose we should get to know one another.”

“Sure,” I said with a laugh. “What do you want to know?”

“Is this your first movie?”

“It is. Until now I was just an extra in a few sitcoms. I had one line once, that’s the extent of my career.”

“Well, extras are important. Without them, a scene would look so stupid if it was just the main characters.”

I shrugged. “I know that, and I know every actor has to start somewhere, but I’ve been doing this for roughly five years. Performing Arts schools are expensive and I sometimes worry I made a mistake persuing acting.”

I saw Gwilym’s eyes quickly look over at me before looking back at the mirror in front of him. “It’s never a mistake to chase your dreams. It just takes time. You have to play the small parts in order to get experience for the big ones.”

“You’re right. It’s just taking so long. But I’m here now, so that’s a step up.” I shook my head. “Anyways, away from my career insecurities. Tell me a bit about you.”

We talked throughout his wig applying process. We exchanged embarrassing childhood stories, talked about how we got into acting, general details about one another. I had forgotten about the fact that I was waiting to have my own hair and makeup done by the time Gwilym stood from his chair.

He looked at himself in the mirror before turning to me. “How do I look?”

I tilted my head as I looked up at him. “Scarily like Brian May.”

He chuckled. “That’s good, then. They won’t fire me anytime soon. I’ll see you on set?”

I nodded and watched him go. I felt a little disappointed by the fact that he was leaving. I had really enjoyed talking to him. The next time I’d see him would be on set for the scene, where we wouldn’t be able to talk, and then once that ended I’d never see him again.

The stylist started going my hair and makeup. She showed me a picture of Brian and his wife in the early 80s, which was when the scene was set, as the inspiration for my look in the scene. It was subtle, but it was clearly 80s. It didn’t take as long as Gwilym’s had, and soon enough, I was on my way again.

I stepped out of the trailer just as Gwilym was walking up again. He was now in his costume, looking so much like a young Brian May that it was scary.

“Right on time,” he said. “I was coming back to walk you to set.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” I said, but I was touched by the offer.

“I didn’t have to, but I wanted to, so I am.” He offered an arm to me, like a gentleman. I took it and we started walking to set. “Besides, it’s a big scene with a lot of people. It might be nerve wracking to walk on set by yourself with all those people.”

“It is. Especially with meeting the rest of the main cast at the same time.”

“Oh, they’re all a bunch of wankers, you don’t have to worry about meeting them.”

I giggled. “You can’t say that about Brian May and Roger Taylor, though. And they’re going to be on set, too.”

“No, you’re right. But they are very kind. You don’t have to worry about meeting them. I’m sure everyone will like you. Even if they didn’t, who cares? You won’t have to see them again after today.”

He had a point, but it was still sad to hear out loud. I had been preparing for this day for so long, excited for my first big project. And now, within a matter of hours, it would all be over. I’d be sent back home, waiting for the next role to come up, hoping that maybe this movie could help with that role being a bigger one than just an extra. Back to my normal, boring life.

Saying goodbye to Gwilym.

I had managed to shock myself with that thought. I had only known Gwilym for maybe an hour and a half, but the thought of only having this day with him brought on a bit of sadness. He was so kind, and he seemed so genuine. I had never been on a set where the main actors even acknowledged that the extras existed, let alone be nice enough to walk one to set after talking to her for some time.

Not to mention he was extremely handsome. Especially when he smiled, like he was smiling at me now.

God, don’t develop a crush on the guy you’ll never see again after today.

My heart rate jumped the second we walked on to set. Gwilym wasn’t lying when he said there was going to be a lot of people in the scene. The mansion set was packed with people, so full that there was just barely enough room to move around. I was hoping this was the only amount of extras that were set to be in the scene, or else I think my nerves would go into over drive.

The director spotted Gwilym and I almost immediately and led us over to where we were set to be for the scene. Rami, Joseph, and Ben were already sat around having a laugh as we walked up. They happily greeted Gwilym, and he then introduced me to the lot of them. They were very nice and welcomed me in almost immediately, but it was still pretty surreal to be there with them. Especially Joseph, who I had seen in Jurassic Park when I was just a kid. I almost felt out of place there, but I could tell I wasn’t alone. I introduced myself to the other girls who were playing Ben and Joseph’s on screen love interests, who also looked just as out of place as I felt.

We were all sat around together when the buzz in the room suddenly turned into a hush. It wasn’t hard to know what had just happened: they had arrived.

Brian May and Roger Taylor themselves.

Rock and roll royalty.

I looked over and my heart leapt into my throat at the sight of them. It was hard to believe that they were actually real. I had been listening to Queen’s music all my life, but it wasn’t until this moment that I truly realized that these legends were actual real people.

Actual real people who were walking towards us.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over to see that it was Gwilym’s hand. When I looked at him, he smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back, the nervousness in my stomach being replaced with butterflies. His hand moved down my arm and squeezed my own. I squeezed his hand back.

“My God.”

I looked up to see Brian and Roger stood over us. I tried to put on my best smile, hoping it wasn’t as obvious as I felt it was that I was shaking. Brian was looking between Gwilym and I, a look in his eye that I couldn’t quite place. Reminiscent, maybe?

“They did a spot on job casting for this movie,” Brian commented. “It feels like I’m looking into a mirror with you two.”

“If there mirror were about 50 years younger,” Roger teased.

“You speak from experience, don’t you old man?” Brian retorted. I couldn’t help but chuckle at their banter. Years of friendship and knowing one another, and they were still cracking jokes and poking fun. I hoped to be like them with my friends when I got older. “What’s your name, love?”

It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. In fact, there was nothing going on in my head at all. It was like I had completely forgotten every little thing I had ever learned in my life. How does one continue to function after Brian May calls them “love”?

“This is (Y/N),” Gwilym said, saving me from my colossal choke.

“Yes,” I finally managed. “Sorry, my name is (Y/N). I’m a little nervous.”

“Nothing to be nervous about, darling,” Brian said. “You already have the look of my wife down. And it seems you and young Gwilym here have already gotten quite acquainted.”

I didn’t realize that Gwilym and I were still holding hands. I expected him to let go at that moment, as if he were just realizing as well, but he didn’t. Instead, he kept hold of my hand, giving it another reassuring squeeze. I wondered if the blush on my face was noticeable under the makeup.

The director called for places, so Brian and Roger took their places off set. I let out a sigh of relief after they were gone and moved into place with Gwilym.

“See?” he whispered to me as we were passed glasses of fake champagne. “They’re not that bad.”

“Their presence alone is a little terrifying,” I whispered back.

“But you got through it. Seems Brian’s taken a liking to you. Although, that’s not surprisingly considering how lovely you are.”

I was convinced this was all some sort of very long, very detailed dream. I was going to wake up at any given moment.

The scene went by very smoothly. It wasn’t hard to just look between the boys as they spoke, smiling when I was supposed to smile, offering a sour look when Rami arrived, acting as a rather rude Freddie. It felt like Gwilym was moving closer to me with each take that we did. First we started off sitting in separate chairs, until the director asked if we would switch and sit in the couch that Joseph and his lady friend had been sat in. Gwilym had moved towards me at the start of that take, and by the final take of the day our bodies were touching and his arm was around me. I was glad I didn’t have any lines, or else I would’ve likely forgotten every single one of them.

When the director called cut and said it was a wrap on the scene, I tried not to let my sadness show. The extras started to file out of the room, going to get read for a different scene that they were filling for. Not me, though. I was going to wardrobe to get my outfit taken back, and then I was going home. If I was lucky, I would be invited to the premiere, otherwise I would never see any of these people again.

I wouldn’t see Gwilym again.

Ben, Joseph, and Rami were kind enough to give me a hug and tell me they were happy to have met me. I told them likewise and started my way back to the wardrobe trailer.

“(Y/N)! Wait!”

I turned to see Gwilym rushing up towards me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for your next scene?” I asked him.

“Yes, but I wanted to talk to you before you left,” he said. “Look, I know this is a bit presumptive to ask because we only really spoke to one another for that time in hair and makeup, and I have no idea if you’re even single so maybe I’m about to make an ass out of myself, but I wanted to ask you if you’d like to go out this evening once I’ve finished on set.”

Everything in my brain? Gone.

Every last bit of it.

Gone.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. It had to be a dream, right? There was no way it was real. I would’ve pinched myself if it wouldn’t have made me look like a total idiot in front of Gwilym.

“Yes,” I said. “ I mean, yeah, sure, I - I would love that.”

His face lit up. “Yeah? Okay. Here, let me give you my number.”

We both realized we didn’t have our phones, so we had to do it the old fashioned way - Gwilym found a pen and paper, and wrote down his number for me. I took the paper and shoved it into my pocket.

“I’ll text you once I’m no longer part of the 80s,” I said, gesturing towards my outfit.

He chuckled. “And I’ll do the same.”

We both stood, just looking at each other for a moment. It wasn’t until Gwilym was called back to set that we finally, reluctantly, broke away to go out separate ways. I put my hand in my pocket and closed it around the piece of paper containing Gwilym’s number. I smiled to myself, having to restrain myself from skipping happily towards wardrobe.

I guess history really does repeat itself, I thought with a laugh.

#gwilym lee #gwilym lee imagine #gwilym lee x reader #imagine #one shot #request #bohemian rhapsody #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom

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thegettingbyp2 · 9 months

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Also continuing the last request of Musiccal theatre actress reader! Going to phantom, Austin and the cast of Elvis being invited to the final dress rehearsal! (Also maybe a special appearence of Ramin Karimloo playing the phantom. You don't have to add that my lovely!)

You Did This!

You spent your closing night in Les Mis with tears clouding your vision. It had been a dream come true that your first ever professional West End job had been your dream role in your dream show, so it was bitter sweet that you were leaving but you were leaving for a job you’d never thought you’d get; Christine in The Phantom of the Opera.

There wasn’t anyone prouder of you than your boyfriend, Austin; he spent the entire time you were having celebratory drinks with his arm around your waist, bragging to anyone and everyone about how you were moving from one big West End show to another West End show and that him and his cast mates from Elvis had been invited to watch your final dress rehearsal tomorrow before taking to the stage.

The next day you found yourself performing in front of the small crowd, knowing that this was going to be your last chance to get anything wrong before your run as Christine started. It seemed to be going well, you hadn’t messed up, but you were acutely aware of the excited smile that Austin was trying to keep down and it took everything you had to focus on what you were doing and not wonder what was going on with Austin.

It was going so well.

Until it wasn’t your co-star that came on for the title song.

Your breath caught in your throat as you heard an all-too familiar voice as the screen onstage drew back to reveal one of your Broadway heroes dressed as the Phanton; Ramin Karimloo. The song went by in a blur and the moment the song was over, the house lights came up to reveal your small audience on their feet applauding and you looked to the side to see Ramin applauding also.

‘What’s going on?’ you asked, a confused laugh coming from your lips as Austin made his way up onto the stage, wrapping his arms around you and pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Ramin stepped forward, and pressed a kiss to the back of your hand, ‘Austin’s told me great things.’

‘You did this?!’ You gasped, spinning back around to face Austin who was currently sporting a smug grin.

‘(Y/N), you watch the 25th Anniversary recording of the show at any possible opportunity, I think we’re almost in triple digits for how many times we’ve watched it,’ he teased, quickly stepping backwards when you lightly smacked his stomach, your cheeks turning bright red.

‘Austin messaged me a few weeks ago and told me you were going to be coming into the show so I thought that I’d come by and wish you luck.’

‘Yeah! And then I’ve got to go and do a couple of bits of press with this lot,’ Austin said, gesturing behind him to where his cast mates were talking amongst themselves, ‘so, Ramin had the idea that the two of you could go for coffee and you can pick his brain about anything you need before opening night and I can meet you guys at the coffee shop later?’

You looked between Austin and Ramin, in shock and awe of what was going on right now. You looked to Ramin to see him nodding along with what Austin said and you found yourself agreeing right away, still not quite believing that it was happening.

‘Yeah, that would be great! Thank you so much!’ you said before turning back to Austin, wrapping your arms around his waist and balancing your him on his chest, looking up at him. ‘And thank you for doing this, I love you,’ you said quietly, reaching up to press a gentle kiss to his lips, making Austin hum happily.

‘I love you too,’ he said quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, ‘now, go,’ he said, pushing you away slightly, ‘I can’t wait to hear all about it.’ He pressed an over exaggerated kiss to your lips, pulling away with a loud smack, making you laugh as he watched you walk back offstage to get changed.

#austin butler #austin butler imagine #austin butler x reader

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natlacentral · 2 months

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Daniel Dae Kim on that pivotal fight scene in Avatar: The Last Airbender: “There was guilt, there was conflict, there was pain”

Over the last 30 years, Daniel Dae Kim has been a recurring presence on our big and small screens alike, from the culture-shifting Lost to the Oscar-winning Crash. He's played dads (wholesome) and daddies (less wholesome), and sometimes those roles have converged, as in Netflix's live-action reboot of the beloved cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender – a series about a fantasy kingdom separated into four elemental nations that have been ravaged by war – where he takes on the villainous Fire Lord Ozai.

“Very often in my career, I've played good guys,” Kim tells GQ over video call from Seoul. Not so much in Avatar – Ozai is about as far away from a good guy as you can get. He’s callous and deranged, with domineering sheets of metal and leather armour, and a long pointed beard that’s only marginally less sharp than his cheekbones. He's the Big Bad of the series (albeit one that's so ripped it's caused some people to question their allegiance to the show's hero).

As the king, he looms over the Fire Nation, which has imperialist ambitions to rule the rest of the kingdom, as well as his own children, Zuko (Dallas Liu) and Azula (Elizabeth Yu), who he pits against each other and hardens with physical and psychological punishment. He's not exactly in the running for Father of the Year. “I like to think that he's trying in his own way to guide his children,” he says. “He doesn't necessarily listen very well to his kids, but he is trying to solidify his legacy and make this family a dynasty.”

Here, Daniel Dae Kim talks to GQ about the challenges of adapting a much-loved property, his shirtless fight scene and the likelihood of a season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

GQ: Mark Hamill voiced Ozai in the cartoon. Have you had a chance to meet him?

Daniel Dae Kim: We've never met but we actually had a nice little Instagram exchange because he saw an interview answer that I gave regarding him. He saw a clip and said thank you, so I responded and said it was all true. I have a lot of respect for him, not just as Luke Skywalker, of course, but he's one of our greatest voice actors.

One of the most pivotal scenes in the series is the fight Ozai has with his son Zuko where he gives him his facial scar and then later banishes him. What preparation went into that scene?

The physical preparation was intense. In the animated series, he's shirtless, so I thought ‘Uh oh’. I wasn't sure how authentic they wanted to be, and sure enough, the showrunner was like, 'Oh, yeah, we're gonna do that'. So I started to work out and I started to diet. I'm not immune to vanity, so I thought, well, at least I should try and look pretty good. But I did not want to look like someone who was unreasonably fit, if that makes sense. He's not meant to be a WWE wrestler, he's meant to be someone who has great skill and power that comes from his [fire] bending. You might find this disingenuous, but hand on my heart it's true – some actors enjoy the vanity of being shirtless and welcome it and I've worked with those actors. I am not [one of them]. If that's my last shirtless scene, I won't be sad.

That scene is probably the most vulnerable we see Ozai, where he maybe feels bad about what he's doing to his son. Is that how you interpreted it?

I was trying to add in a little nuance there so that it wasn't just full-on hatred, anger and frustration. There was guilt, there was conflict, there was pain. That's what I was trying to communicate.

What are the challenges of performing fights that have been adapted from a cartoon?

Our stunt team did a great job in helping us imagine what the supernatural elements of the fight would be. We have the physical hand-to-hand combat, but then with the addition of the firebending and the special effects, it required a certain specificity and suspension of disbelief on our parts. [Imagining] a huge beam of fire going 30 feet across and believing the effect that it would have. I give a lot of credit to the stunt team for being so specific about it and saying 'If you want to create this kind of blast, it's this kind of a movement’. That imagination became part of the choreography.

In the original cartoon, Ozai is shrouded in secrecy until he's finally revealed. But in this, you're shown almost immediately. Why was that a necessary change when bringing it to live-action?

I think it was a dramaturgical function. There was an effort made to deepen all of the primary characters earlier on. If you look at Sokka's story and Katara's story, certain elements got pushed up. I think the reason they pushed up my story was in service of Zuko because we wanted to feel what his motivations were and why he was relentlessly chasing Aang. I personally applaud the decision, because I think you care so much more about the primary four than you would otherwise. It's the right decision.

In the finale, we see Ozai has even more deranged plans for world domination. Everything about him is about legacy. What did you try and tap into there?

I kept thinking, like, what happened to Ozai when he was a child that he would think that this is the way to show your kid his destiny? I did look at his line to succession… the fact that he is a second child, and how that's not the natural lineage for a king. So what kind of ambition does it take to supersede the rightful heir to the throne? There's that phrase that I think of – ‘hurt people hurt people’ – and I wonder ‘What was Ozai’s trauma as a child?’ because he's clearly passing it down.

The finale massively sets up a season 2 with a cliffhanger. In the cartoon, Ozai descends further into madness. If season 2 happens, is that something you'd look forward to exploring?

A descent into madness sounds like juicy territory for an actor, and it's not something I've explored before on screen. Should we be lucky enough to get a season 2, I look forward to those conversations. Nothing is inevitable in this business and in this industry climate, but there seems to be a lot of excitement about it.

#natla #atla #netflix avatar #netflix atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar netflix #atla netflix #daniel dae kim #interview #gq

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userholland · 2 years

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getaway town | one (t. holland)

genre: summer love, strangers to lovers, domestic/fluff, mutual pining, light smut

pairing: actor!tom holland x female!reader

series summary: tom needs time away from the city and a break from acting so, he travels to a nice lake house in upstate new york for the rest of the summer (without having his cover blown). he finds the peace and quiet refreshing, along with his trips to the local market where he’s met with a beautiful smile from the girl behind the register.

warnings: drinking alcohol, the brits naturally swearing, cocky!tom (?), celebrity relationship drama mention, reader being very domestic!

word count: 4.3k

songs inspired: this love & i know places by taylor swift

a/n: i hope this first chapter hits. to start, i usually do loaded word counts but im gonna pace myself and do smaller word counts and more chapters! so, four chapters isn't the max. but, it's a bit sad in the beginning, but it's just to establish tom's life and then compare it to what happens later. thought a summer fic could be a little nice for the little content happening rn. always appreciate the love ♡

series masterlist | main masterlist | wips

Tom was burnt out.

His loss of inspiration and motivation in his acting had dimmed the spark that once shined in his presence, on and off screen. Once he dreamed of a full-on, Hollywood life, but now that he’s gotten a taste of it, Tom wanted to take a few steps back.

He missed home, but people knew his neighborhood. He missed his friends, but that was at the cost of being photographed as soon as he touched down in LA or any big city. He missed having days to himself where he didn’t worry about what he was seeing or who he was seen with.

“You need to go on a vacation, mate.” His friend, Harrison, insisted.

Tom scoffed, “I can’t. Anywhere I go, I have someone ask me for a picture. Then, saying ‘no’ makes me the dickhead and if I say ‘yes’ that means people know where I am.”

“A famous person’s Catch-22.” Harrison jeered.

A small smirk painted on Tom’s thin lips. He twisted the dented beer cap on the glass top of the kitchen table, his bright brown eyes admiring the paintings and abstract artwork hung on the walls of the house rented for him while filming. Production ended a week ago, but the rental was nice enough to stay a few days without having to wake up at the crack of dawn for shooting or working out.

At least the neighbor’s tried to mind their business, but it was hard to when a gigantic, black SUV pulled up in front of the house for almost two months– Tom out there long enough for them to snap a picture through their drapes of their front windows.

Tom took another sip of his beer (fourth beer of the night), “I’m just in a slump. Maybe, I’m homesick and that’s it. I need to go home and I’ll stay for as long as I can then, I’ll be back and ready to work, I guess.”

He said it with such false hope, almost wishing he sounded this good when met with angsty roles he portrayed in his movies.

“Alright, well. I hate to hear you so down, mate. But, once you’re here, we’ll go out somewhere. A calm, cool night with the boys.”

“I doubt that.” Tom muttered, taking a long chug.

Tom tilted his head back as he finished his fourth beer, already contemplating another just to get through another night. These days, he would only toss and turn in unfamiliar guest sheets only to finally take a peak through his dry eyes open to painfully see the sun peaking over the horizon.

He never could burden anyone with how he truly felt, not even his family. He feared all he would get is, “You need to take a break”. While that may have been reassuring to others, Tom wanted to keep going. He didn’t want to give in on these feelings that sometimes got him through his long days on set.

“I’ll see you in a few days.” Harrison told him.

Tom nodded, “Looking forward to it.” He trailed before hanging up.

Another long sigh left his lips. He put his phone on the charge before grabbing another beer from the fridge. Without hesitation, Tom popped the cap off the ale as he moved back to his same, comfortable spot on the huge couch.

He placed the bottle cap on the table in exchange of taking the remote and turning on some mindless TV show that he could doze off to. His homesickness sunk into his body just as he starting sinking into the soft couch.

♡ ♡ ♡

A week later, Tom was back in London and his presence was more than known since he touched down at Heathrow. It was expected of him to think that no matter where he went that people would know him, but he tried to not let it go to his head at the same time. The gray line between humble and egotistical.

Tom was met with hugs from his whole family, luckily all in the same place at one time, and even bigger, bear hugs from his friends he hadn’t seen in a few months. Even if the occasional phone accidently flashed a picture, Tom thoroughly enjoyed going out and tried to soak it up while he could.

“When do you head back?” Harrison asked, sat facing Tom in the booth of the small pub.

“Two days. But, it’s been nice.” Tom replied, but his eyes connected to Tessa, who was laying against his lap and licking at his hand for more pets on her head, “You were right, I needed to get out of my head, be somewhere familiar… especially with my Tess.” Tom cooed at the gray dog nuzzling her face against his hand.

“Hmm.” Harrison mumbled, the brightness of his photo screen lighting up his eyes.

“Are you even listening to me?” Tom trailed.

“I am… and look.” Harrison turned his phone toward Tom’s face.

On the screen were rental houses, many colors, shapes and sizes, all in the upstate New York area– far enough from the city to call it a different place in the same state.

“Your getaway. Well, sort of getaway. I’m sure your manager can figure out something because you don’t have to film your other movie until the end of the year.” Harrison suggested.

The more Tom scrolled down, the bigger the picture he painted for himself of relaxing at a lakehouse with only birds to wake up to and a calm front with ducks to stare at through whatever window. A smile grew on his face without even knowing. This was a great idea (but he wasn’t going to admit that to Harrison just yet).

“It’s nice.” Tom shrugged, reverting back to a straight face, “But, I’ll see.”

Harrison still smiled, “You know you want to. Just a month, even two weeks. Bring Tess, throw a ball. I don’t know, I’m rambling now, but you get what I mean.” He said as he took his phone back.

As Tom twisted his lips in contemplation, his heart was set on a definite ‘yes’. It almost baffled him that he didn’t come up with the idea, but he only realized that he hadn’t taken a well-deserved back in almost two years.

“‘I’ll see’ or ‘Harrison, you’re right, and you are the best friend anyone could have’?” The dirty-blonde mocked, teasing his tired friend.

Tom chuckled, “I’ll see, you dickhead.”

When Tom left the comfort of the local bar, with Tessa on her leash, he couldn’t help but be anxious once he was alone. It’s not because the streets weren’t well-lit or the neighborhood was bad, but he would take a second glance if a car passed with tinted windows.

He could have called a cab, a van, even ask for his chauffeur for his safety, but Tom wanted to feel normal and not the superstar actor persona his fans romanticized and admired. Anyone would say he’s ungrateful for his own fame and not understand who wouldn’t want to be famous, so Tom closed himself off from venting about it. Especially his manager, Georgina.

Once he walked into her office, she gave him a big, cheeky smile, “What’re you doing here so late?”

Tessa walked up to Georgina’s legs, sitting before getting pet on her soft head.

“I wanted to talk to you.” Tom trailed, coiling the leash around his hand out of nervousness.

“About?” She cocked her eyebrow.

“A vacation… possibly.”

She glanced back up at the curly-haired brunette, “Now? You’ve just shot an entire movie and now you want to Spain or Italy?”

“I was thinking something more secluded and private. I saw some places and I can pay the expenses is all, now I need the okay from you… and the rest of the team.” Tom trailed, sitting in one of the two lounge chairs in front of her desk.

“Tommy,” She sighed, “You know I’d love to, but we’re on a schedule with your movie in post-production. The PR team and I have spoken and we have dates, destinations, interviews. It’s all a lot. Even you sat in those meetings.” She carefully explained, “Plus we booked earlier interviews since your breakup with Tate and-”

“I understand, but…” Tom interrupted from the sting in his heart, “I work… everyday. I’ve never taken a long break before and honestly, those meetings about me and my whole life bore me to death. I want at least a month to think for myself and not transition from whatever character I’m playing or what diet I have to adjust to.” He huffed.

Georgina saw the glassiness in Tom’s brown eyes, keeping a genuine tone and maintaining eye contact. Sometimes she was never sure when Tom was in a dramatic mood to get what he wanted, but she’s never doubted him and his gut.

“It comes with the title of being a superstar. What else do you want me to say?” She sighed, but feeling for him, “Especially right now when you’re under a microscope because of what happened with you and-”

“Three weeks at least?” Tom cut her off before she could barely speak her name again, “I’ll arrange anything I need to, but no telling the press I’m leaving. Please…”

She didn’t want to admit Tom had been acting different lately. Snobby but tired was the words she thought of, but would never say out loud. That bright and shiny 21-year-old seemed more than ages ago– he was just worn down.

“Let’s talk in the morning while I figure out how to move your schedule tonight. Consider it a favor.” Georgina sat up in her office chair, and already swiping open her iPad to see what is possible.

Tom cracked a cheeky smile, “You’re the best, Georgina.”

“You didn’t have to tell me that.” She waved at him as he began to exit with Tessa.

♡ ♡ ♡

Flashing lights and consistent, actually annoying, cameras clicking from every which way. Tom kept is dark sunglasses on, tilting his worn Yankees cap down to avoid the blinding view. He could barely see where he was going if his two security guards weren’t leading by each side of him, safely taking him to his rental SUV in the front of the airport terminal.

Tessa was taken by someone else, guiding her from the back to avoid the crowd hovering over her or possibly stepping on one of her paws. Tom kept looking over his shoulder ot see if she was there, but frankly, he wanted to keep going the more this crowd was closing in on him.

I’m not gonna miss this, Tom thought.

Once he was escorted to the driver’s seat, Tessa crawled up to the passenger’s seat as two or three men put his luggage in the back. The reporters and cameramen hoarded on the right side of the car, pushing their lenses and microphones against the window and continued asking their nosey & directed questions.

After all the car doors were closed and locked, Tom carefully drove off without another glance and merged into the airport exit lane. Suddenly, the noise around the car was quiet and the low volume of the radio was clear.

“Alright, Tess. Next stop, Lake Moonlit.” He sighed, rubbing the top of Tessa’s head then tapping the address on the large touch screen.

The GPS calculated that Tom (and Tessa) would be at his rental in four and a half hours. He sighed, but figured he could listen to those ‘mind-blowing’ podcasts and audiobooks his friends recommended. If anything, he was more worried about backing out by the time he got halfway there.

Tom couldn’t deal with his thoughts, so he reached out and turned the knob to increase the volume of whatever song his phone left off on from the plane. As the clouds moved from the sun, he grabbed his sunglasses in the side of his backpack then adjusted his cap low. The further from the city, the better.

Bright-green foliage swayed in the wind and birds flew past the blue skies an hour into the drive. The day was almost perfect to be on a lake, away from the loud noises of the city, and white-lights of paparazzis.

As Tom felt his troubles already pass him by the higher he drove on the land, his ears popping the more hills he curved until seeing only gravel roads. The sunroof was wide open, letting the fresh air flow through the car and sun warm Tom’s skin. Tom turned to see Tessa panting with her head out the window, making him genuinely smile (in a while).

There were some sharp slopes until the woods cleared and there was a beautiful lake with the winding road around the outside. The lake houses had some distance between them, so Tom wasn’t worried about any neighbors from an earshot away. Nice, and private. As he kept driving, there were docks where people fished and floating houses that were probably owned by locals.

The cars tires ran over dirt and gravel, creating a small dust trail behind Tom before he pulled into the driveway of his rental house. Tall, voluminous trees surrounded the sides of the quaint, dark-green house along with a clear view of the lake behind the back. Tessa barked a few times before the car came to a stop and Tom put the car into park, letting out a long breath after a long drive.

Tom unpacked the car, one piece of luggage at a time, including his cased guitar. The wrap around porch had rocking chairs and log stumps as small tables, giving it the forestry aesthetic to compliment the lakehouse.

Tessa ran in the house first, Tom placing the bags by the front door but his eyes immediately met with the huge glass window that viewed Lake Moonlit. The backyard had a nice firepit with four red adirondack chairs around it and a shiny grill a few feet away. It was pointed in the direction of the lake, a glorious reflection that had the illusion of going for miles.

The kayaks and paddleboards by the dock were dry as bone, a bit faint to show that they were commonly used for anyone who rented this house. It was obvious this was a family-like rental, probably for summer holidays or even a wedding weekend, but here Tom stood, content with being with himself and his pup. Surely, the house wasn’t too big to consume his thoughts.

“Tess, I think we’re gonna be okay here.” He grinned at the gray staffy by his leg. His eyes shifted to a stick next to his foot, reaching down and throwing it a few feet away. Tessa took off in an energetic sprint to get the small branch, running right back to Tom and dropping it by his foot. He couldn’t help but smile so big, enough to hurt his cheeks.

♡ ♡ ♡

As the evening sun was setting, Tom’s stomach growled for the fifth time for him to know he was actually hungry. Stopping by a grocery store would have been smart, but he was too focused on getting to the house for it to cross his mind earlier.

Like anyone would, he searched up ‘places to eat’ on his Google Maps. It takes a while with the slow service in the wooded area, but finally it shows up with miraculously three places– two of them being more than fifteen miles away.

“Shit.” He scrunched his nose, leaning forward in the adirondack chair.

He zoomed in on the closest place, seeing it was only less than a mile away, but had no reviews or even pictures. All the location said was ‘Lila’s Shack’ and the address.

Hopefully it’s not some fishing shack, He worried. But, it couldn’t hurt to drive around the area he would staying in for at least a month.

Just as Tom was going to put in the directions to the shack, Harrison’s name popped up from the top of his phone. It was a link to an article then a text bubble saying, “They’re already on your ass. Hope you’re enjoying it out there.”

Tom hesitantly pressed the article, and he immediately clenched his jaw at the title: Tom Holland Burnt Out? 26-year-old takes a break from acting, hiatus or forever?!

He breezed through the first two or three background-filled paragraphs before seeing the one that stuck out. There were mentions and photos of Tom with alcohol beverages in hand, taken to make it look like he was more drunk than he actual was in them. Then, the photos that followed were of his previous relationship that ended up in a public fight, all captured in high definition.

The words underneath said: “The heated break-up with singer, Tate Leon, in France last September. While it was not confirmed or denied who ended the relationship, Holland could still be upset about it. You can totally tell from this picture of them arguing outside a private restaurant.”

Tom cringed at the photo of himself, his arms spread out and the vein poking from his neck. The anger he felt was real, but he wish he didn’t have to be reminded of the breakup that was still an open wound. This article was purely more salt rubbing deep into it.

“Tate Leon, famous Australian pop-singer, was seen alone back in Queensland last week. Is that where Holland is heading to on his ‘hiatus’?” The last line read.

When he didn’t think the article was bad, the anonymous comments were worse.

Wow, I used to like Tom’s Spider-man. Sounds like a real jerk to me.

Attention seeker!

Such a drama king lol will never think highly of him again…

Tom exited the page before his blood boiled hotter, remembering that this trip was for him to unwind and forget about the tabloids about what people thought of his life.

“C’mhere, Tess.” Tom sighed, closing his phone before leashing Tessa. She guided him to the door, making him smile once more before they got to the car. Although this market was a quick jog, Tom wanted to make sure he wasn’t going somewhere sketchy.

A beautiful, orange tint reflected against the lake as Tom drove down the road. Tessa curled up in the passenger seat and Tom ran his hand over his head with his other on the steering wheel. With the windows opened, all Tom felt was the wind through his hair and the chirps of grasshoppers– pure bliss.

Just around the corner was the shack, and it wasn’t the shack he pictured at all. This was a small house converted into a small market. There were colorful potted flowers by the double doors of the entrance and light-gray stones covering, what is assumed to be, the parking lot.

Only one small car was parked and the lake behind it showed the small sailboats and canoes going by, mostly little kids cheering in the distance. Tom watched them race each other, hearing their belly laughs echo throughout the area.

“Stay here, Tess. I’ll be a minute.” He said to the adorable pup with her window down.

He lowered his ballcap when he stepped out of his car, obviously a lavish vehicle that stuck out compared to the setting. When Tom walked to the open doors, he could hear the rocks smove under his sneakers. The sign before entering was homemade, but obviously drawn by a child. It was bright colors by crayon that said in sloppy writing: Lake Moonlit! Population: 126”

“Shit…” Tom said under his breath. He knew he was definitely laying low.

A small bell rings above him when he opens the door, but no one greeted him immediately. Tom began walking around the small three aisles there were in the small store. The shelves were lower than his shoulders, seeing the view of the lake through the back doors to an outdoor, floating porch.

First, he grabbed chocolate. A sweet he rarely had, but the occasion seemed necessary. Then, he reached the two big bags of chips, one kettle and the other barbeque. Then, he remembered why he was here: to actually have dinner. As he looked through the shelves of ingredients, none of them stuck out to him until there was a variety of instant noodles in one section.

“Come in for snacks, sailors!” A voice shouted outside.

Tom lifted his head, but still didn’t see anyone around him. He continued to browse, grabbing a hand-held shopping cart by the end of the shelf and filling it with noodles.

Suddenly, at least ten kids ran into the store and headed to the one refrigerator in the back of the store. Tom’s head slowly turned at them, watching all the kids grab sodas and fruit from the basket by the door.

“Everyone has a ride home, right?”

“Yes, Y/N.” They all simultaneously responded to the soft voice.

“Good, now. Get home before it gets dark.”

Tom chuckled as he watched the kids, all different sizes and heights, leave out the door and they grab their bikes from the side of the store. As they ride away, Tom slowly walked up to the counter and he couldn’t help but gawk a bit at the girl behind the counter.

“Hi! Sorry, I’m the store owner but also part-time babysitter. Not many jobs to find in this town.” You giggled, pressing some buttons on the register to make sure it was in tact.

“No worries. Seems like fun.” Tom grinned as he put the food on the counter.

“Ah, I assume you’re visiting. Judging the stack of ramen.” You nodded.

Tom sighed, “You would be correct.”

You scanned one of them before looking up, “What’s your name, stranger?” You asked with bright eyes.

Tom almost took the question as a joke. Did you know who he was and were you pulling at his strings purposefully? Was this some kind of test at his ego?

He smiled, “Uh, I’m Tom.”

“Hmm. Nice to meet you, Tom. I’m Y/N.” You put your hand out.

Tom nodded, gently shaking your hand before you scanned the rest of his items. Although you were looking down at the barcodes, Tom’s eyes were on you and still wondering if you were testing him.

“You know, there’s a good restaurant. It’s a bit higher on the mountain, but best seafood you can get around here. Honestly, imagining you going back to your house with just noodles and chips worries me.” You sighed, humoring him a bit.

“Well, I could use a bit of a guide around here. Unless there’s a guy for that.”

“Oddly enough, we don’t have a guy for that since everyone in this town is born here and you learn where everything is from your parents or grandparents.”

“So, it really is a small town?” Tom asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Very. Like those ones on TV shows where they’re small enough that weird things start happening in them.” You grinned as you put his food in the plastic bags.

“Like Twin Peaks.” Tom commented, showing a small sile.

“What?” You furrowed your eyebrows.

“You… you don’t know twin peaks?” He nervously asked.

You giggled, “Messing with you. I watched it growing up with my grandpa. But, don’t ask me about all this media now. I don’t like keeping up with those things. Seems all dramatic.” You shrugged, totaling the cost of his purchases.

“Tell me about it.”

He hoped he didn’t sound smug, so he smiled it of again.

The tourists you were used to were mostly older couples, or people who were fresh from a wedding and on their honeymoon. Not many handsome strangers walked through those doors, so it felt like a chance to flirt and have a quick fling– but you didn’t want to set the expectations that high.

After Tom gave you the money, you gave him change then the two of you walked out with bags in your arms. He gulped before asking, “So… this restaurant. Is it popular? Are there a lot of people?”

“Not really when you have less than two-hundred people here. It’s not really our tourist season so, as peaceful as the lake.” You assured him, smiling at his dog with her head out the window, “Aw! Is this your dog?”

“Tessa.” Tom smiled as he put the bags in the backseat. You placed them down too as Tom opened the passenger door, letting Tessa meet you and lick your hand and arm. Tessa’s tail wagged so quickly, panting and giving small barks to you.

“Nice to meet you, Tess.” You giggled, rubbing your hands over her soft fur.

“Are dogs allowed to this place?” Tom hissed, putting his hands in his pockets.

You nodded, “Of course. Encouraged, probably.” You kneeled down to pet Tessa some more, “Do you need an address or you think you want to be adventurous?” You jeered.

Tom sighed, “Well, better idea, you can show me where it is and I can treat you to a meal.”

Although it would blow his cover, it was nice to be able to talk to someone who treated him like he was any other guy. There was a warmness about you that instantly attracted him, even before you striked a conversation, he watched you walk through the doors with the sunset behind your profile.

“I’d love to, Tom the Tourist.”

He chuckled, “Clever. How’d you come up with that?”

For once, Tom didn’t feel like he was acting. This was who he was. Even at the cost of stripping his own identity. It seemed worth it right now.

#tom holland #tom holland series #tom holland x you #tom holland x female!reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland angst #tom holland imagine #tom holland blurb

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drama--universe · 2 years

Text

Misunderstandings

Pairing: K x female!reader (enemies to lovers trope)

Word Count: 2503 words

Warnings: nonce

K was known for his quick and precise gameplay during the camp tournaments. He was the only one who adapted so quickly to a new gaming style. Not many would beat him in a one on one game, even though many tried, and he was proud of that. That was his role at game camp and it made him valuable.

Until you came along.

You waltzed into the camping zone, one of newer members that joined. One of the only girls as well, there were only 10 after all, and that gained you some fame at the camp.

And then you're up against him. He didn't expect much from you, you had never played against someone in the 5 days that you had been there. He underestimated you and that was a big mistake on his part.

You were able to beat him in under 10 minutes, smirking while doing so. But what irked him more is that you did it while playing as his usual character. You tried to humiliate him and you succeeded to do so.

He remembered challenging you again a few days later and losing once again, this time even more horrible as before. And that happened for the full month of camp, every time you found a new way to humiliate him.

You didn't view it like that though. You were just happy that he kept asking to play with you, but you never played nice to him even when he was your crush. It was also nice to not be excluded from the gaming part of the camp just because you were a girl.

But the next your, neither of you went to the camp. You had both been recruited, at different companies of course, and trained at the companies instead.

5 years passed since then, but neither of you ever forgot the interactions. He wanted to know where you were now and more importantly beat you at the game. You wanted to meet him again instead, just to catch up with what you considered to be a somewhat friend.

The first time you saw each other again was in competition. You weren't playing against each other, but your team captain wanted to watch his team play to prepare for when you had to play against them. You were not really paying attention, reading some stuff on your phone until it was ripped away from you by your captain. So you started to watch the screen and then immediately realized who was playing. Your eyes were glued on the screen from that point on, smiling as K came on screen a few times. He had definitely improved from 5 years ago, but so had you and now you were just excited to play against him.

"When do we compete with them?" You looked at your captain gleefully, almost bouncing in your seat when you asked. Your captain could only smile brightly at your excitement.

"They're pretty good, so maybe in the semi-finals or finals?" He replied and you pouted, attaching yourself on his arm with a loud whine.

"That's too long!" Your captain only chuckled in response. "Well, then you need to finish those matches quickly then, don't we?" He replied and you rolled your eyes.

"15 minutes..." You mumbled back and he held out his hand, pinky raised and you quickly linked your pinky to his.

"So confident, aren't you?" One of your teammates, Shaotian, said and you turned, sticking out your tongue teasingly before getting up.

"I'm going out before the rush." You declared before walking out, quickly in search for a vending machine for a drinks and food. You found one in the main hall quickly, getting your wallet out and paying for the stuff. Once it fell out, you heard some commotion and turned around to see groups exiting the stadium. The first was the group, who had lost quite badly to team ZGDX, and all were clearly angry and upset. Next was ZGDX, some smiling brightly and others had no reaction at all. You smiled to yourself, quickly grabbing your stuff before racing to the group. You passed the first group, giving a small smile and bowing your head to them before walking to the next.

"Hello, K!" You greeted happily, making said man look up from his phone. He looked at you for a few seconds before he realized who you were, slight smile dropping in an instant.

"What?" That earned him a jab in the ribs from his teammate, making you chuckle slightly.

"I look forward to playing against you again." You smiled before looking at the rest of the team.

"Sorry, I want to play against you guys too, don't get me wrong. I just know him." You quickly said after and K scoffed.

"Unfortunately." He grumbled before he walked past you, back on his phone. His group members gave you a smile before they followed him quickly, one attaching himself on K immediatley and whispering in K's ear.

But avoiding you would've been easy, if it wasn't for the competition of course. You managed to find him, even when he didn't want to see you. And then you were against each other in the semi-finals. You were both playing in the match and you were once again bouncing in your seat.

The game started and you and K shared the same character, not a coincidence of course. The game was only 5 minutes in when you met K in the game, smiling brightly as you glanced at K. He noticed your stare and rolled his eyes. Then you heard the losing sound, seeing that your character die on screen.

"Pay attention, will you!" Shaotian said and you nodded, pouting as you revived and ran back to the original spot. You hid from him before attacking him, making him die and you moved on to Si-Cheng's character.

The match took half an hour with you and K dying 3 times each, because of each other of course, and lots of cam moments during the show. A lot of fans had noticed the two of you glancing at each other during the battle, not aware that it was actually glaring from his side. And thus started the fan pages dedicated to you two, declaring that you knew each other (true) and might be dating as well (false).

You didn't mind, but it frustrated K to the core.

Just for fun, you decided to go and watch the finals. You wore a beanie to hide your hair, a mask to hide your face and some baggy clothes before you went in. Luckily, you didn't get recognized by the fans, but K did. Just as he came on stage, you waved at him with glee. He rolled his eyes as he sat down, annoyed that you were here and this was visible to the audience as he couldn't concentrate on the game for the first 2 minutes. After that, his concentration went to the game and it was like everything else around him had disappeared.

In the end, they did loose to the other team (which was expected since the other team had a year of experience ahead). They walked off with annoyed and disappointed looks on their faces, stalking off to their green room while the other team accepted the award with joy; You exited before everyone else, not wanting to walk out with the crowd.

"(y/n)!" Someone exclaimed loudly, just as you exited the hall and you turned your head to the side to see K walking towards you. He looked angry, although you couldn't phantom why he would be until you realized that his anger was towards you, just as he grabbed your arm and pulled you to the stairwell.

"Why are you here?" He asked and you pulled your arm free from his grip before shrugging.

"I wanted to watch you play. You beat me last time as well, so I needed to take notes." You said in a teasing voice, smiling at him before your smile dropped as you saw the seriousness in his face.

"There's no other reason..." You mumbled and he rolled his eyes at you.

"Yeah, right. You love to humiliate me, you always have. You expected me to lose, so you could laugh to me." "Humiliate you? How on earth do you get that conclusion?" You asked and he frowned, stepping back a bit.

"Are you saying you don't?" He asked and you shook your head.

"Why would I want that?" "You seemed pretty adamant during our camp years." He growled, mumbling some things to himself. You laughed to yourself, shaking your head.

"I played against you because you were willing to." He paused his mumbling, glancing at you with confusion.

"You were the only person there who took me seriously. Others thought I couldn't play, because I'm a girl. Yet you did, multiple times. You might not have taken me seriously at first, but you did after." You continued to speak, voice getting louder with the second.

"If I humiliated you, then I am sorry." You continued before sighing loudly, facing away from him.

"I even considered you some kind of friend. Someone who respected me enough to see me as an equal. Someone who respected me as much as much as I respected you." You stopped talking, your voice hoarse from how loud you were speaking. The look in K's eyes had changed, almost like he was ashamed of what he had said or thought before. You didn't wait for it though, instead opting to walk out and leave the arena. You didn't feel like talking to him anymore, nor did you want the excuses for it. He might not have been wrong, but you did feel wronged for some reason.

He did try to message and call you after that, getting your number and private game account from your nosy teammate. You ignored the calls, but you read the messages he sent and you were fully aware that he knew. You took a few days before answering, staring at your phone for minutes as you tried to answer to him asking to meet you. You then just answered with a 'when and where?' before waiting for an answer. You didn't have to wait for long, your phone beeping seconds later. You smiled to yourself as you checked the response.

'Are you free now?'

You answered with a sure and asked if you should go to his dorm, which he refused quickly and said that he'd come to your dorm in 30 minutes.

And so you prepared, dressing nicely and putting on a bit of make-up to hide your fatigue. After that, you checked the time and you still had 10 minutes. You decided to just wait outside and put on some shoes before walking outside, only to see him standing outside already.

"Sure you're not too early?" You asked in a teasing voice and he turned around to face you quickly, seemingly surprised that you were out already. He awkwardly coughed before looking away.

"So, what are we doing?" You asked and he pulled out two tickets, showing them to you.

"Shaotian told me you liked amusement parks..." He said and you smiled brightly, grabbing the tickets and reading where you were going.

"Isn't this that new fairytale amusement park?" You asked and K couldn't help but notice the sparkle in your eyes as you talked, smiling to himself.

"Let's go then!" You said, pocketing the tickets and grabbing his arm to drag him to the bus stop.

Soon, you arrived at the freshly opened theme park and you couldn't help but smile at the medieval and fairy like music that played. Once you entered, you were surrounded by a medieval looking town, cast members dressed as mages, fairies and all other kinds of mystical creatures. You let go off K's hand as you looked around before looking at the map for the attractions and food stands, happily pointing at some rides. K couldn't help but smile again as he watched you run around while dragging him around, not that he minded that.

You went on several attractions, some where he came off of while looking green, and ate at several food stands. You stayed until the stars appeared and then you waited for the fireworks, both of you sitting on a bench with some candy in between the 2 of you.

"Thank you for bringing me here." You broke the silence and turned to him with a smile.

"I felt like I needed to apologize to you. I assumed the worst and only judged you on that." "Well, come to think of it, I do realize how you could see that... I was proud to beat you, but I it might have come of as arrogance instead." You argued, chuckling to yourself as you grabbed some of the candy.

"I'm glad we resolved it though. Now we can play again. I lost to you, so now I need to win again." You teased, looking at him with a big smile which he returned.

Just then, you saw a light in the corner of your eye and looked in front of you, catching the firework just as it banged loudly. Your eyes lit up again and K glanced at you, his eyes remaining on your figure as you stood up to watch. You didn't notice his staring until you turned around at the end of the fireworks show.

"What?" You asked and he shook his head, getting up and grabbing the empty box from the bench. He threw it away before joining you as you walked to the exit of the park and to the bus stop. You were silent as you waited and even when you got on the bus.

The bus was full, so both of you had to stand and quite close to each other. Your back was against his chest and his arm was holding the same bar as you, which meant that his arm was crossing over your shoulder. The whole way, you felt your heart hammering in your chest and you were fully unaware that K was in the same situation.

Minutes later, you arrived at your station, getting off and shivering at the cold air before you continued your way to your dorm with K. You arrived at your place not much later and turned to face K.

"Thank you for taking me out." You said and he nodded, smiling to himself. You pondered for a few seconds before you leaned forward and kissed his cheek before opening the door, smiling brightly.

"I hope we can do something like this again." You smiled and he smiled back, nodding.

"Definitely!" He beamed and you gave one last smile before entering your dorm, closing the door behind you. You then remembered something and quickly looked back outside, only to see K happily fist-bumping the air. You chuckled and he froze, glancing at you awkwardly.

"Going on dates, doesn't mean I'm not beating you in competition." You said teasingly, grinning at his confusion before you entered your dorm again. You smiled happily to yourself and K went back to his own dorm with a smile painted on his face as well.

This was a relationship that would blossom beautifully.

#falling into your smile #falling into your smile x reader #K #K x reader #fiys #fiys x reader #fiys k x reader #fiys k #falling into your smile K #falling into your smile k x reader #x reader #reader insert

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