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anxiouslyfred · 2 years

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Janus’s Cafe

Here’s my gift for @threecrowsinatrenchcoat as part of the @sanderssidesgiftxchange

Summary: Janus didn't expect to make friends through the cafe when he opened it, but then again he never expected the regulars to be as wildly different as they are either. Now he's got employees he never intended to hire, and a first aid kit ever within grabbing reach.

Word Count: 3359 Also posted on AO3

Warnings: Injuries, Blood mention,

/\/\

The cafe had been something of a passion project as Janus got it running and profitable. He'd studied business alongside the psychology of self-care and set about making his cafe the perfect retreat for people to relax in.

He'd never expected to make friends by running it, or have two of them basically decide to be employees, almost without actually asking. Still the jumble of characters that not only made themselves regulars but also friends was a group Janus was loath to lose now he'd gotten to know them all.

“I know I stepped away to serve a customer but I doubt even you can be interested by tax returns, Logan.” Janus remarked, coming back to the table he always claimed near the counter if paperwork needed doing. Instead of empty as he'd left it, one of his regular customers was now sat by his laptop checking the form Janus had been filling out.

Logan glanced up at him before returning to the form. “I'm more interested in correcting the errors you've made while distracted. I seldom find cafes such an ideal location to work and would prefer you don't have to lose it due to incorrect taxes. Why don't you focus on serving and the other aspects of running your cafe while I get these forms ready for you to file?” His tone made the suggestion basically an order.

Mildly affronted and fairly disbelieving of what was being done, Janus challenged it, “Because I know you well enough to expect there'll be a discussion of payment as soon as a quiet period arrives and I'd prefer not to have an unexpected outlay to amend those for.”

“Here are the normal rates I charge for freelance work and as I took the task on rather than being requested to aid, you can have a 15% discount on them.” Logan pulled up a page on screen, opened from his own email account before turning it for Janus to see. “If it's preferable to you, I'll include that while going through these and that will be the rate you are charged for any future assistance too.”

“Most accountants don't just take on clients without being sought out, you know.” He had to state, eyebrow raised challengingly as Logan finally met his gaze.

Logan just smirked and nodded, “And most people who preach about the importance of self-care know the importance of asking for help and accepting it when offered.”

“Touche. Tell me when you're done as I believe there are people for me to serve now.” He turned back to the counter, but kept an eye over on the table for the afternoon, occasionally bringing over drink refills. Since Logan was technically doing work for him it was the least he could do.

Honestly, it was doubtful that Janus wouldn't have asked Logan for assistance at some point while balancing the taxes and costs of running his cafe, but having his customer and friend basically decide to have him as a client was mildly surprising.

The cafe had grown very busy as people came in for their lunches. Janus had just had to go and put a few things on to cook for orders people had made before serving the next customer. “Who's ne- … Patton, why are you behind the counter?” He broke off calling for the next customer at the realisation there was already somebody stood there.

“There was a queue building up and you've been really stressed today so I decided to help out Kiddo.” Patton cheerfully replied, while making the drink that had just been ordered.

Janus swatted at Patton's hands to take over making the drink, hissing, “I'm not letting you work behind the counter unless you're actually employed.”

That didn't have the impact he'd hoped for when Patton chuckled, turning back to ask for the next order with the comment, “Well if you're offering me the job then I'm more than happy to take it.”

“That's not – Okay you're staying after the cafe is closed tonight so we can actually discuss this. Deciding to help out is not the right way to get a job and Please tell me that's not how you got employed as the veterinary receptionist?” Janus tried arguing again but didn't want to have a full argument while there was a queue of customers. With a sigh he gave in and decided to at least try getting Patton to talk about this properly later.

“Of course not, Jan, I applied and got interviewed for that.” Patton passed the next drink order to him as he spoke only to get properly shooed away from the counter finally.

“Good to know, now go back to your coffee and let me serve the customers. You aren't an employee yet.”

Janus had been resolute when opening the cafe that he didn't need to employ anyone and could fit in taking time for himself around running the cafe. He had definitely been overruled in regards to that, but at least his regulars turned employees seemed to be taking care of themselves the best out of his friends. Looking after his regulars was more important than the costs despite what a couple of them believed. That had been why he refused to let anyone out of his employ work in the shop usually.

“Potions maker! Energy brew please!” There had been a lull in customers that Janus had used to have a coffee for himself when Remus barged in, coming to lean almost the entire way over the counter. There was a cut over his cheek and his eye definitely looked like it would be showing a black eye in a matter of hours.

“You're bleeding and are more interested in getting coffee than first aid?” Janus tried to sound scolding but really was already too used to Remus's antics for this new development to really surprise him. He bent to find the first aid kit he'd placed under the counter in case of emergencies.

Remus however just waved off the concern, “It's just a scratch. Now give me bean juice!”

“I've got the first aid kit and you're gonna sit still while I tend that wound or you'll be on decaf for the next month.” He rounded the counter, kit in hand, and pushed Remus over to the comfier chairs with his free hand.

Patton had come in a while earlier to have a drink and read but now jumped up, moving to the counter. “Kiddo, want me to tend the counter while you help Remus?”

“Thank you Patton.” Janus nodded, but focused on pushing Remus into a seat and getting a better look at the wounds.

“But Duke Coffington, I wanna drink the energy juice! The bleeding's almost stopped.” Remus protested, constantly trying to stand although it didn't take any effort beyond a hand on his shoulder to get him down again.

Janus rolled his eyes, pulling out an antiseptic wipe to clean the cut, “I don't care. You will look after yourself or wait for your drink while I look after you instead. Also you're the one that tries to be a duke, pick some other singer to get nickname inspiration from.” He could only assume Remus was trying to make a play on the name of the jazz artist Duke Ellington since there was no other reason to connect that title to him.

It was rare for Janus to bend the rules on paying for items, but especially with his friends he was ever ready to waver them in favour of them taking a freaking break. It seemed none of his regular customers understood how to take care of themselves or take proper breaks from the things they stressed over.

“Virgil, everyday this week your eyeshadow has seemed more and more to be just part of your skin, have you perchance heard of this wonderful activity called sleeping?” Janus had heard the order that had been placed but made no move to make it or input it into the till. Instead he scrutinised Virgil's face, expression carefully neutral.

His reply was a groan and a shrug. “No time to sleep. I've got 4 major projects that have to be finished this week and nothing is going right on them.”

“Probably because you're too tired to properly work on them. Come now, take a nap on one of the sofas and I'll bring your order over when you wake up.” Previous attempts to make Virgil take his health seriously was all that stopped Janus from trying to coax him into a nap. Only Patton seemed to be able to manage that, but suggesting it and trying to withhold coffee sometimes worked.

The tired glare thrown at him showed that wasn't enough today. “Just give me a coffee so I can get at least one of them finished before getting screamed at by another client.” Virgil growled out.

Pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes slightly Janus decided that Virgil's health was more important than the minimal profit to the cafe. “One time offer, I'll give you a chamomile tea and cranberry jam scone for free if you only work while eating them and take a nap immediately after finishing them. I will be watching and ready to confiscate your laptop if you lie.”

“Unless I get lucky and Remus comes in to distract you before then.” The counter was immediately thrown back, somehow most of the regulars were convinced Janus liked Remus more than the rest of them.

“Bold of you to believe I can't focus on multiple things at once. I do run this cafe after all.” He stated, moving to get the scone set on a plate.

Virgil groaned again at that, flinging his hands a little, accepting the deal in the grumpiest way Janus had ever seen. “Ugh, Fine! I'll take the free treats and then have a nap! Happy now?”

“Spectacularly.”

There had never been an intention for any themed evenings, or poetry readings to be arranged in Janus's cafe. He'd barely considered occasionally having live music, only deciding to because he enjoyed listening to it and relished in the excuse to do it. That never meant that Roman wasn't a law unto himself, just like his twin was and had quickly found the best corner for performances to be done in the cafe to recite from.

Once Roman had decided on that it became an unfortunately frequent occurrence for someone to approach Janus at the counter frowning as the current lady approaching was. “Sir, I admire that you're giving amateurs the chance to practise performing in your cafe, but can you request they at least perform solo scenes or have a friend take the other role? This guy reciting half the lines to a scene leaving the others a complete blank is really distracting when I just want to have a warm drink.”

Janus closed his eyes and took a deep breath before replying, pasting on a calming smile. “Thank you for pointing out that Roman's arrived. We've had a rush of customers so I hadn't noticed. I'll speak to him.”

He sighed as he stepped away from the counter, gesturing he'll only be a minute to the next customer. There Roman stood in his corner, a script in hand.

“You're walking a lonely road,

Not something many would goad.

Are you going to your abode?”

He paused, tilting his head and moving as if listening to the reply.

“You'll know how?

By sign or street or cow?

Why aren't you there now?”

Janus waited for a moment after the line was finished, expecting some action to interrupt before he could stop the scene. When none came he stepped close enough to pull the script away, “Wonderful to see you again Roman, but as I've said before, this is not your rehearsal space.”

“Janus, my delightful barista, I'm sure you can't fault me for wanting to introduce the people to such wonderful works of artistry as this!” Roman greeted him with open arms, before turning to present his corner for rehearsing.

“I can when nobody has a clue what conversation you're meant to be performing is given you're skipping half the lines.” He chided, crossing his arms over the confiscated script.

Roman's hand came to cover his heart in affront. “They aren't for me to perform and I've not seen Patton or Logan to ask for help. Perhaps you, my dear, could-”

Janus cut off the suggestion before it could be finished, waving to the front of the cafe. “If it hasn't escaped your attention, I am running a cafe and need to serve my customers. Find some poetry to recite if you must remain performing, otherwise sit and take a break.”

“But I need to be prepared for my audition.” Roman pouted at him, trying to take his script back.

“From what I've just seen, you already are, Darling. Now place your behind on a seat and stop making people wonder what your lines are from.” Compliments always were the easiest way to convince Roman to conclude a performance and it was true that he'd been barely looking at the script before Janus came over.

“I'll come and order my treats for the day first. My apologies for any disturbance, Janus.” He was mollified but still pouting slightly. He cheered up a bit when Janus added whipped cream to the top without asking.

Yes, Janus had an unusual mix of regular customers turned into friends, and he was likely to indulge them to some degree in their eccentricities. He was really just thankful that with the exception of Remus they'd all learnt the basics of serving for the instances he had to drop everything to perform first aid. Also that Virgil and Roman refused every time he'd offered to include them as part time employees, pointing out the most they ever covered for was an hour or two a month.

“Janus! Our Hero! The only one who can get the Duke to accept help! I'm taking over the counter!” Roman storming into the cafe like a tornado didn't usually include leaping the counter, nor pushing Janus to leave it.

The lack of the mentioned friend in the cafe did only get a confused reaction, and a worried look around the cafe. “Roman, what? He's not even here.”

“Outside, beside my car. He was staggering when I passed him. I've got a kit prepared for bigger injuries than yours in my car so here's my keys. Just get my brother to listen.” Roman just continued shooing him away, pulling keys from a pocket and pushing them at Janus as well.

There wasn't a moment to think when Roman came barging in saying things like that only to shove Janus towards the door of the cafe. He could only grab his own first aid kit and pray this wouldn't be the day he had to insist on calling an ambulance.

Thankfully Remus was still sitting where Roman had said when Janus got there, although it looked like more of his shirt was tied around his legs than still part of the original garment. “I'm not sure if I should be grateful that your injury has kept you sat there or concerned that it's serious enough to do so.”

“There's my favourite pair of eyes. Your brown eye looks like a volcano's lava today. Look at me so I can see if you've got lightning happening in your grey one.” Remus's words slurred and one of his hands tried to make Janus meet his gaze.

It was too easy to pull the hand away as he knelt to look at the legs still profusely bleeding. “No, Currently you can close your eyes and brace yourself while I clean this cut. What the hell did you do to get your legs sliced so much?” He took a moment to get the first aid kit from Roman's car, now understanding why a bigger kit would be useful and grabbing a water bottle at the same time.

“Climbing railings. I wanted to torment those bullies Logan's working with. Give them nightmares.” The pride in describing the mischief he'd been trying to do wasn't missed, but Janus was mostly focused for the moment on using his handkerchief to clean the cuts, rinsing it with water often. He'd already untied the scraps of Remus's shirt from his left leg and cut away the fabric of his jeans that was trying to fall over them.

“Well I'm sure the blood trail coming away from there has probably done that. When did you destroy your shirt to tie around these?” Janus had to ask, wondering if Remus could have lost too much blood and needed a transfusion. The wounds had begun bleeding more heavily the instant he'd removed the shirt scraps that had been tied around them.

There was a pause as Remus tried to remember the detail and Janus got bandages wrapped around his left leg and moved to start tending to the injuries on the right. “After I'd rounded to the front of the building. I didn't want you to get suspected of murder or something because I needed your loving touch for my pains.”

Janus let out a heavy breath, frowning up at him before refocusing on tending the injuries. “As thrilled as I am to hear you actually are seeking out first aid now, I must ask that in the future you avoid getting so injured. It really isn't good for you.” It wasn't a surprise that Janus was the one Remus sought first aid from. The first time Janus had tried using soap to clean Remus's wounds he'd seen how badly Remus took just the suggestion and found alternatives to use from then on. He was well aware that most people wouldn't do that, even among their friends after Logan's lecture on injury care one afternoon.

“But it's fun, and you ignore it when I say I could drown in your voice but give me attention if I'm walking wounded.” Remus huffed, pouting and fidgeting so Janus couldn't properly clean his wounds.

“Legs still.” He instructed, gripping lightly to ensure that was followed, and humming a little as he cleaned the next scratch. “So if I took you on a date would that get you to stop treating your life as expendable?” He wondered. It wasn't something he'd have suggested usually but Remus was an infinite adventure to know and oddly sweet in his gestures . Aside from that the other had been flirting basically from the first time he'd joined Roman in visiting the cafe so what attraction Janus had ignored given the man was a customer was definitely reciprocated, if masochistically so.

“Yes! Tomorrow night we can have dinner together! What gardens should I break into to steal you flowers?” All movement in Remus's body seemed to get diverted to his head with how still he went while nodding wildly.

Janus leaned back for a moment, reaching for more bandages and looking up at him consideringly. “I don't trust you not to get into a fight doing that. Why not Roman's neighbours and we'll ask him to keep an eye that you don't make your injuries worse overnight?” The neighbours had been mentioned a couple of times by either twin as aggravating at best, homophobes two steps from assaulting someone at worst, so losing some flowers or having a destroyed garden wasn't really something Janus minded scheduling for them.

“I get to destroy the pretentious git's gardens? Of fucking course we can do that!” With the way Remus moved then Janus was fairly sure Remus had been about to jump up to declare his brother an accomplice needing to help plan their attack before remembering the half finished bandages on his legs.

Deciding to remain seated, Remus rambled on about how their date would be and other things they could do together as Janus finished bandaging the wounds. He'd have to wait and see if his worry over Remus turning up with injuries could actually be reduced, but dating him was guaranteed to be an adventure, even more than running his cafe was.

#sandersxchange21 #dukeceit #platonic drlamp #Janus Sanders #remus sanders #cafe au #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #cw injuries

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zmediaoutlet · 3 years

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Do you think Dean is Bi or Gay?

lol, there’s a leading question with an agenda behind it if I’ve ever seen one. (And how many people was this sent to? I’m on here in a super scattered way anymore [sidenote, every time I get on I run into a massive wall of 900 chinese-boys-in-love-posts, friends, please learn to either queue or tag] and I saw this exact thing sent to someone else.) But -- why not, I’ve got fifteen minutes before a meeting and I’ll engage with it generously.

So first thing: there’s a difference between canon and fanon. Fandom seems to be having some trouble with that, lately. Meta posts are not the same thing as proof and the fact that all of your girlfriends hang out and get super duper excited about something doesn’t mean it’s related to canon at all, or right for whatever story you’re talking about.

Second thing: Word of God is important but it isn’t the be-all. end-all of interpretation. I’m a big fan of ‘the author is dead’ and text-as-text interpretation and a lot of times just because someone said they intended to put something into the text doesn’t mean they actually did.

VERY FUCKING IMPORTANT CAVEAT TO THE SECOND THING: you should still take the text seriously for what it’s intending to show you and not wildly invent things that you decide are ‘really, honestly actually canon because the author is dead let’s have a party wooooooo’. This is part of why so many English classes (and English majors) suck. Interpretation should be a mostly-logical exercise where you engage with the text seriously for what it is. Anyway.

Third thing, for what you’re getting at: Dean in canon is pretty much a straight dude. That’s what we see on screen. We can gesture at ‘clues’ (although a lot of the clues are iffy at best) for times he might not have been one hundred percent into pussy, but be honest: he’s basically straight, cis, etc. Even with the panties. Even with whatever flirting or fluster you think you might see. He likes the ladies. That’s fine.

What I think is a potentially canonical read, but it’s happening very very very under the surface of the text and is therefore just interesting at a speculation level: Dean may have had sex with men. Does that make him gay? Probably not. Jensen Ackles says he’s straight and so does, uh, everyone else involved with production, so we can probably take Word of God seriously on this one. If you’re really really honest with yourself, do you really think Dean’s harboring some secret queer imaginings of slowdancing with a guy? I hope not. The idea that Dean may have had sex with men isn’t contravened by canon representations, I don’t think, but canon doesn’t do much to support the idea that he’s looking for male handholding love. Like, at all. (Except, arguably, with Sam, but that’s still a platonic love even if you think it might shade toward romantic. However, Sam and Dean’s relationship is so outsized and strange that it’s more appropriate to consider it as an exception to any other identities they might hold.)

Fourth: for what I write, which is separate-from-but-informed-by-canon, I do... pretty much whatever I want for what the story needs. With that said, I still want it to feel like Dean from canon, because that character is the one that I value. Fanon Dean can fuck off, he’s... bizarre. My preferred way to write him, I think, is as ostensibly bi but preferring men--call it bisexual but mostly homoromantic. (As opposed to Sam, who I like writing as mostly straight and, honestly, pretty aromantic, but with a Dean exception.) ((Sidenote, to the bud who wrote in asking me to expand on the ace/aro divide with Sam and Dean, I see you but that’s a longer thought process so I’ll get to it later.))

All of which is to say, for point 5: idk why you care what I think, bud. It doesn’t have much to do with the character Dean Winchester on the show that is now over. Regardless of how many ultra-cringey fandom ‘events’ twitter has to pretend otherwise. Dean was cool and now we get to play with him in our fic -- his fictional sexuality doesn’t really have much to do with that.

#spn #dean winchester #spn meta #sorta #hope you have a good day anon #and hope your survey or whatever isn't too harsh #Anonymous

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artificialqueens · 3 years

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Just Below the Surface (Taywhora) - Phryne

A/N: Hello all and welcome to the shark fic, an absolute labor of stupidity, a half-processed thought come to live in the middle of the night. This fic is inspired by @incorrectdruk’s post. Please comment and like if you’ve enjoyed; it means the world! Also a shout out to my wonderful girlfriend, @scarletenvy, who reviewed and supported me throughout this fic. All my love to you.

Tayce tries to get Aurora out of a design funk by taking her to the aquarium for some inspiration. Aurora has never actually seen a tiger shark in real life—she gets a rude awakening about sharks, and imminent failure.

When her drab little apartment is getting her down, with its peeling pre-war paint and hard water stains; when the rain no longer feels soothing and mesmerizing and sleek; when Aurora finds herself tapping her pencil against her face instead of against her sketch pad, Tayce insists on a change of scenery, even when sheets of rain are splattering against their windows.

She comes up behind Aurora, spreading her fingers over her shoulder. It’s a risk, knowing that Aurora might startle and throw her head back into Tayce’s nose, but she kisses the crown of her head anyway. “Not going good, is it?”

Aurora groans, but nonetheless leans into the touch. “Looks that way, doesn’t it?” She holds up her sketch pad with nothing more than the model on the page.

“Reckon you can’t send nudity down the runway, love?” Tayce laughs, digging her thumbs into the base of Aurora’s neck. “Though I’d call off work to model that one for you.”

Ignoring the quip, but for quirking a brow, Aurora shrugs out of the touch and continues. “I’ve got nothing. No inspiration. No real idea. No thoughts about structures or colors or fabric I’d like to work with.” She slams the pencil down. “I’ve started from every square one I can think of and I’ve still got nothing. I’m supposed to put more of myself into these designs but myself is giving me nothing useful.”

As much as Tayce understood the classic Aurora ‘I’m not amounting to anything, everything I do is dull and boring and meaningless, but, insert forced laugh here, if I give up now I can still be your sugar baby, right?’ speech was coming, and would typically be chased by a reminder that she was only a couple years younger, exceedingly talented, and a retail worker’s salary could never sustain both of their tastes, Tayce decides to cut off the monologue before it even starts.

“Let’s go.” Tayce says, releasing Aurora’s shoulders and giving a hearty clap. “Grab your slicker, we’re going to the aquarium.”

Aurora hums before letting the request fully sink in. “Why are we going to see a bunch of scum covered fish?” She pauses, pushes her hair out of her face and tries again. “It’s a lovely idea, but I don’t have much time for a date right now. I need sketches and fabric samples by Monday.”

But Tayce ignores her, taking the pencil and pad from Aurora’s hands and stuffing them into her purse. She continues absently, “There’s a new tiger shark exhibit that I think—”

“A fucking tiger shark?” Aurora turns around, resting her arms on the back of her chair, glancing up at Tayce and speaking through that Cheshire Cat smile of hers. “You’re telling me we’ve got a tiger shark now?”

Tayce feels herself brighten along with her. “It looks rather interesting, world’s greatest predator and all—”

“Of course it is, it’s a tiger shark. Like, just try to think of something more fierce than that.” Aurora punctuates every word as she hauls her purse into her lap and sweeps the contents of her desk inside, zipping the top even as her fuchsia and forest green pencils stick out from the corners, muttering on about the world’s greatest predator, how it’s an absolute destroyer.

Tayce takes Aurora’s sudden disinterest in organizing her pencils into their case—by most to least used—as her cue to leave and slip on her boots, already wearing a pleased little smile.

They settle into the tube, Aurora securing her umbrella before sitting down next to Tayce. It’s easy to find a seat, the car less crowded than usual, likely thanks to the weather. Aurora thinks she’d like to stay inside with the rest of London, put the kettle on, and work in the living room where she can see the damp landscape before her and Tayce on the couch beside her, but that wasn’t working before. So here she is, wet blonde hair plastered to her forehead, the thought of seeing the tiger shark still coursing through her, lighting her like neon.

“Concept: a tiger shark suit,” Aurora poses, just as Tayce holds her hand out for Aurora’s purse. She obliges and continues. “A little shift on the color forecast. Instead of yellow and grey—so bloody industrial, I’m thinking orange and grey. Would need a poly to get that wet-look of vinyl though…”

Aurora tends to work like this, rambling off her ideas in a whirlwind, usually tearing apart the flat for the nearest pad of paper to get it all down before the idea’s lost forever and she’s left pouting while Tayce is trying to work as well. She’s become used to the smattering of Post-It pads around the house, reminding Aurora to dig the pens out of her pockets before running the wash, cheeky grins as she pulls pencils out from Aurora’s frantically done bun before properly lying down for bed. It’s endearing though, the chaos Aurora works in, the way Tayce’s chaos stabilizes Aurora’s.

So Tayce digs around in the tote until she pulls out a little baggie with her croissant, and Aurora’s notebook, pleased at how she’s taken to the leather bound folio Tayce gifted her for their last anniversary. She hands it over before picking at the almonds atop her croissant, adding, “bitch to make though, isn’t it?”

Aurora knows what Tayce is referencing and almost shudders at the thought of more vinyl after her Spring/Summer 19’ collection. She spent hours on end cursing the fabric, trying not to tear the tissue between, which she used to help the panels float smoothly under the presser foot as she sewed them. On an industrial machine, no less, which was a bitch to haul up into their flat. It was a disaster to get an invisible zipper into the gown, the damn thing ripping itself out with every try-on. And at the end of it all, she had to sew Tayce into the finale catsuit not fifteen minutes before the show, which meant she had to cut her right out of the garment at the end of the show, with her girlfriend’s reassurance that it was “bloody sexy” and “what’s a little bit of scissoring between two lesbians?” doing little to sage her qualms about ruining hours of work in a snip.

“Maybe some treated leather.” Aurora nods solemnly and writes notes wildly, not sure she’ll even be able to read anything besides the “SS19” with an angry cross over it when she reviews them later. “Either way, I’m thinking it’s going to be fierce, especially if I can figure out the movement; move like the tiger shark, no? To get that floating through water feeling.”

Aurora doesn’t expect an answer, seeing that Tayce is occupied with picking almonds off of the pastry. She holds her hand out for them, throwing them back in one shot before taking half the pastry as well. “Why get the one with almonds if you just got to pick them off?”

“The taste, the flavor,” Tayce says through a bite. “And I know you prefer them, so…”

Aurora gives her a light shove before pulling her back in by the crook of her arm. “You’re soft,” she taunts, capping her pen and sticking it in her hair.

“We can’t all be tiger shark ladies, babe.” She gives her pastry a deep bite, raising her brows at Aurora as she does so, if for nothing but to catch a chuckle from her, from what was a miserable day.

Aurora shakes her head, but nonetheless shifts closer, taking a bite and swallowing quickly. “Stupid, absolutely dense—”

“—The idiocy, the dullness, dimwittedness, superficiality of it all,” Tayce continues, brushing the crumbs off of her black trench jacket, picking a couple tricky ones out of the red stitching with her nail. Head resting against Aurora’s still damp shoulder, she adds between a cheeky grin, “We gotta finish up; Waterloo’s in just a bit.”

By the time Aurora gets her things gathered and finds the umbrella, Tayce is taking her hand and leading them to the exit. They schlep along to County Hall, Tayce holding the umbrella high above them, Aurora wrapped around Tayce’s arm, bundled up against her, pressing her bag flush against her side. She’s practically buzzing by the time they reach the aquarium, her childish enthusiasm endearing, and Tayce feels it bubble up in her as well. It’s contagious really, Aurora’s joy. It practically travels through the air, filling the room.

“Here, let me,” Aurora says, fishing for her wallet as they approach the ticket counter. “Since I’m spending our date looking at a shark.”

“Tell me what you really think of me, why don’t you,” Tayce quips back, laying on as much annoyance as she can while still holding a grin, studying the exhibit poster in front of them.

Aurora takes her card back, muttering as she stuffs it back into its slot. “It’s the world’s fiercest predator, babe. I don’t know what to tell you.” She hands Tayce her ticket before taking her hand, dragging her to the queue. “It’s me in animal form, though I wouldn’t typically pair black and orange, especially for spring.”

Tayce breathes out a laugh. “Then what am I?”

“Dunno. Maybe a squid.”

This time, Tayce fully cackles. “A squid?” she asks, and she feels the rest of the queue turn to look at them. She shakes her head playfully as Aurora eyes her long legs and arms before she shrugs, already moving on, focused on a poster next to the queue.

“Or maybe an absolute hound.” Aurora pokes Tayce’s side before wrapping herself around Tayce’s arm, tugging them forward.

“Shark fact,” Aurora continues, reading off the line-marker. “Tiger sharks have a near completely undiscerning palate. Some tiger sharks have eaten sting rays, birds, squids, old tires—even other sharks.”

“Sounds like you, A’Whora,” Tayce teases, pulling her in closer, draping an arm around her shoulder.

Aurora rolls her eyes and pats Tayce’s forearm. “I obviously only go for the finest of squids,” she says, before glancing up and giving a pronounced chomp.

“Babe, please don’t bite my pussy.”

Aurora doesn’t get to respond, finding herself right in front of the ticket scanner, who’s shifting around a bit in his uniform, unable to look at the two women in front of him. Not that Tayce or Aurora particularly care about offending some greasy twenty year-old boy at an aquarium with the concept of pussy. He scans their tickets and gives them a nod, so they walk off toward the exhibit, breaking into laughter once they clear the lobby.

The hallways are lined with fish, of all different colors and sizes, flitting in and out of coral and anemones and grasses. There’s a reception class gathered around a circular tank, trying to find the Nemo, but to no avail. Tayce knows that usually, Aurora would stop by the tank and help the kids out, wholeheartedly join this hunt for the orange and white fish. She’d remind the kids that the little clownfish might be taking a break in his anemone, just like he did in the movie, but that he’ll surely come out, especially if they’re kind and patient. And usually, Tayce would stand back a few feet and watch the scene play out, heart swelling in the process.

Today, however, Tayce’s heart is going double-time as Aurora takes her hand and pulls her through the crowd. Aurora’s on a mission, weaving in between strollers and other couples, skirting behind tour guides as they explained how algae grows, following the signs pointing toward the tiger shark exhibit with a cutting precision Tayce hadn’t seen since last year’s Arlington sample sale.

Aurora breaks free when she sees the tank, running up to it and practically smashing herself up against the glass, with no care for the second years or the family of four next to her.

Tayce catches up. “Love, you don’t gotta press your tits up against the glass, he knows you got them,” she breathes out, wrapping an arm around Aurora’s waist, pulling her back in the process.

“What the fuck,” Aurora whispers. The look of wonder she once carried is replaced with shock, her face fallen, a dangerous pout forming. “That’s not a tiger shark.” She trains her eyes to the tank and speaks quietly, pointedly, like she’s jabbing the shark with each syllable. “That’s just a shark.”

Tayce gives her a moment, her own lips pursed as she studies Aurora, then the shark, then Aurora again, searching for the disconnect but unable to find it. She was so excited to see it, but in a moment, something had gone exceptionally wrong.

She gives up, drumming her fingers against Aurora’s waist, before pointing to the sign. “We went to the right place, babe. The sign says it’s Oliver the tiger shark and he’s 17 years old…today.” Tayce turns Aurora toward the sign, but her feet stay firmly planted, her eyes trained on the shark. Nonetheless, she continues. “It’s his birthday, love.”

“Fuck his birthday,” Aurora grumbles, head following the shark as it passes by them. “He doesn’t look like a bloody tiger shark to me. Why’s he gray? Where’s the stripes?”

“Aww, he’s old. That’s why he doesn’t have any stripes.”

Aurora shakes her head like Tayce doesn’t get it, and frankly, she doesn’t. As far as Tayce sees, it’s a perfectly good shark, swimming about, living his life, being as inspirational as any shark can be. But Aurora’s miffed, her mood as clouded and dreary as the weather outside.

She hikes her purse up her shoulder and leans forward again, her nose and two fists pressed right against the glass. “You’re a filthy liar, Oliver.”

“Babe, it’s a shark—”

“I’ll still fight an old bastard like you. You’ll pay for your lies.”

Tayce takes her by the shoulders and spins her around, marching them out of the exhibit. “Ok, you can’t fight a shark so it’s time to leave him alone. Time to find some other inspiration in the…” Tayce looks up at the next exhibit’s sign as they walk. “…sea spiders.” She shakes her head. “Christ.”

As they walk away, Aurora softens, though she’s still dreary and listless. The spiders, of course, aren’t helping—they’re disgusting little heathens, what with their spindling legs and radioactive green backlight. Even Tayce has to admit that. But as she pulls Aurora in for pictures, she finds her limply pressed against her side, disinterested in the pursuit, even though in one of the pictures, it looks like the spider’s balanced on Aurora just so, like it’s woven itself into her waves, made a nest atop her head. Tayce quickly sets this as a new background; Aurora only gives a hum in response.

They continue with the deep sea creatures, with their dark tanks and neon blue tint, stopping at the octopus and its inky purple light, all spread out against the wall of its tank, its orange tentacles sticking and peeling periodically. Tayce again insists on a picture, “for memory’s sake, even though he looks like a bollock, all pruned from the bath.” Reluctantly, Aurora lets out a breathy laugh and gives in. Tayce counts this as a win, even though her pouting resumes once they move on.

At the next tank, Tayce is amused by the little round fish that dips in and out of its hole, its mouth forming an “O” as they approach it. Aurora cracks a smile, but for a moment, when Tayce pulls her in by the shoulder and makes the same face, jaw slack and nude-painted lips rounded like the fish’s. Aurora claims she’s not going to kiss “fish lips over here,” and yet she does, giving Tayce a peck. Tayce snaps a picture of her now smiling girlfriend, the red light from deep within the fish’s hole haloing her.

Aurora needs a bit less prodding in the stingray exhibit, sticking her hand in the open tank as soon as she’s given the go-ahead. “He’s a velvet pancake,” Aurora comments, petting the flat beast, its mouth flap opening and closing as it moves through the tank. Tayce reaches for Aurora’s folio prematurely.

“Velvet is super 2018. I’m bored of it,” Aurora explains, drying her hands before taking Tayce’s. “Thank you though.” She says it quietly, but Tayce knows she’s appreciative from the way she tightens her grip, by the way her thumb lays on top of Tayce’s as they walk into the next exhibit.

“Look at all these fucking sharks.” Tayce glances upward, dragging Aurora’s hand with her as she points, full of awe, glued to the shark gliding above her, cutting through the water seamlessly. “Look at them go. Absolute beasts they are.”

Aurora sees it’s clearly Tayce’s turn to be struck with wonder, and at the sharks no less. So, she tries to wipe the pout off of her face, smooth out her furrow, and take in the moment. Take in Tayce, arms spread before her. How the blue light reflects off of her cheekbones. Her still rain-slick hair and jacket. And the sharks passing above her are beautiful, with their milky white bellies and steel body, their rounded faces and sharp fins. There has to be something inspiring about them, she’s sure. Maybe in the shapes, or the colors? She could play with the sharp and round structure, surely. Or work in grayscale. Imitate the leather-y touch of their skin. She rests against the wall, pulling out her folio, clicking her pen aimlessly.

Tayce continues with the sharks, pointing at them one by one, asking each, “let’s be having you? And you? And you?” with a silly point. She takes pictures with a few.

But when Tayce returns, suggesting they head out and have lunch while the weather’s clear, Aurora finds her paper blank yet again, more and more sure that she has nothing left to give.

The cafe Tayce picks out is splendid and quaint, though Aurora wouldn’t expect anything less. The server wipes down their seats and the metal table before they take a seat, hands over the menus, and gives them a moment to look them over. Aurora doesn’t even bother looking, knowing she’s too upset to eat much at all, instead laying her head against the cool metal, trying to focus. Or, rather, pull her focus away from her imminent failure and toward Tayce’s new story in the saga about the lady who orders all these clothes online, and every single week, comes into the store, three shipping bags in hand, demanding that everything be returned.

“They’re not even nice clothes.” Tayce adds, dipping a chip. “We sell some nice shit, but she keeps buying garbage and complaining that it’s garbage.”

Aurora hums, ripping at the bits of lettuce hanging out of her sandwich.

“So she comes on in, throws her shipping bag onto the counter, whips out this polyester blouse, and sticks her hand through it and starts ranting on about how see-through the top is.” Tayce sticks her hand up, wiggling her fingers around.

“She shouldn’t have bothered with a polyester Zara shirt to begin with.”

“Shouldn’t have bothered buying a top labeled “sheer” to begin with,” Tayce threw back. “I thought she’d stop her nonsense after I took her around the store, pointing out everything that was good, would look good on her, would fit her enviable work-life-balance, but she still comes back, every Thursday with more shit.” Tayce takes the now ketchup-soggy chip out of the ramekin and sticks it in her mouth. “Even if we didn’t go to the aquarium, I would have called out today. Like I just couldn’t look at those shirts anymore without frying my mind.”

“Couldn’t have that, could we?” Aurora tries at a laugh, finding it coming up faint.

Tayce tilts her head, analyzing the situation in front of her. She opens her mouth, like she’s got something to say, before stealing one of Aurora’s chips.

Pointing the chip at Aurora, she doesn’t ask if Aurora’s okay, or if she’s still disappointed by the aquarium, or if she’s still racking her brain for a sliver of a design idea. Instead, she asks “Well, Whora, what did you think a tiger shark was?”

Tayce always cuts down to the bone, even when she’s not meaning to.

Aurora throws her head into her hands, speaking through her fingers. “Fuck if I know, something fantastic and inspiring and shiny and fierce and—”

“Orange?” Tayce laughs before popping the chip into her mouth.

“Fuck off,” Aurora mutters, raking her fingers through her hair. “I thought it’d all just hit me, babe, and now I’ve got no idea what to do.”

Aurora looks up, blinking rapidly. Her nose starts feeling peppery, and she knows soon her face will become red, blotchy, and streaked with tears.

But Tayce reaches over and takes her hand between both of hers. Aurora dares a glance at Tayce, before resting her gaze on their hands.

“Look, I know you’re not going to tell yourself this, but you’re brilliant and talented, and your brain is, like, dancing so fast, even when your feet aren’t moving.” She gives Aurora’s hand a squeeze. “You’ve got so many ideas up there, and I’m sure you’ll have the work to show for it soon. And those ideas are surely better than a tiger shark pantsuit, promise.”

Wiping a stray tear, Aurora breaks into a chuckle. “It was like, my dumbest idea.”

“Not your dumbest, no.” Tayce says. “But a dumb one.”

When they get home, Tayce all about shoves Aurora into her office, throws a can of Fanta in behind her, and tells her to look through the pictures from today, get inspired by nature, sort it out, and come back when she’s got a design.

“Can I at least get a kiss for good luck?” Aurora shouts through the door.

“How about one for good work?” Tayce quips. And before Aurora can fire back, she hears the faint sounds of the Mortal Kombat theme through the crack in the door, and thinks better of disturbing Tayce when she’s in the zone, getting out the stress of Polyester Blouse Lady on Johnny Cage.

So, Aurora picks the Fanta off of the floor, sets it on her desk to rest, and settles into her chair. She moves around in her seat, trying at least a dozen positions before taking a deep breath, flipping to a fresh page.

She pulls out her phone, scrolling through the pictures Tayce sent her today. There’s a few of the two of them on the tube, Tayce resting on Aurora’s shoulder. Anyone who didn’t know Tayce better would think she looked ready for a nap, with her closed eyes and relaxed lips, but Tayce wasn’t one to rest in the middle of an adventure.

There’s another of Aurora, taken from behind, stood in line, bouncing on her heels, a neon wave floating above her head, as though she were under the water herself.

There’s Aurora, plastered against the tiger shark tank, her face blue tinted by the water and the lights in the tank, her gaze steely as she watches that shark—who is an arsehole, she might add.

And then the next series of pictures—the two of them again. Painted in neon green, a sea spider nesting in Aurora’s hair. Then in purple, shocking purple, the octopus behind them looking ready to strangle them both, it’s tentacles plinking off of the glass like pennies into a well. Then they’re kissing in front of the little fish that kept opening and shutting its mouth, forming a perfect “o,” bathing them in a bloody red tint. She’s not sure how, but Tayce managed to miss all of the miserable faces Aurora knew she had on throughout the aquarium. But when she thinks a bit deeper, she’s not sure when she’s ever looked truly miserable around Tayce.

She nearly puts her phone down when she comes across the next picture. She couldn’t even remember the moment; Tayce must have asked someone else to take it.

It’s Tayce, resting against the far wall of the shark exhibit—the tunnel-style tank, with the sharks swimming all around them—glancing off to the side with a lazy grin, eyes vigilant, wild. And the neon blue all around her, bouncing off the shine of her slicker, hitting her cheekbones and her collarbones just-so, filtering through her hair.

Tayce cackles from the other room, the metallic clash of swords following.

Absolutely radiant. Aurora chews at her pencil, studying the picture further, the way the light bounces off of the wet jacket…

And Aurora’s scribbling, the model she sketches nothing more than a handful of lines, led by memory, as she’s working desperately to draft the design. The pencil sweeps, once, twice, three times, as she sees the fabric floating. But it’s floating over something tight, sleek, but still soft and shiny. And there has to be a shimmering quality to it, or course. It’s not opaque either, no, much more sheer. She’s going to have to work with chiffon, damn it to bits, but it’ll give her the look she’s after, the wet shine she needs. And in a moment’s time, she’s flipped over to another page for another design, one that drapes lightly. She glances once more at the picture, before following the tempo of her pencil, this time switching it out for a light blue.

In a blink, she’s filled four pages.

So she grabs her folio and runs out into the living room, knowing from the sound of the TV that Tayce is still there, and still ripping Polyester Shirt Lady a new one, mentally.

“I’m here for my kiss,” Aurora announces smuggly, throwing her folio into Tayce’s lap.

She’s smart enough to pause the game right as Aurora makes her presence known, surely anticipating her dramatics after all this time.

Tayce flips it open, staring Aurora down like she’s about to rip her designs apart, though she knows Tayce would never, or really, wouldn’t have the reason to do so. It’s that serious look Tayce has, though Aurora knows it only shows up because she’s serious about Aurora’s designs. “And I’m here for some good fashion, love.”

Aurora falls beside her on the couch, pulling her legs up on the seat and curling in against Tayce. She’s warm. It’s comforting.

“So I’ve got this one, like the octopus tank. And it’s got this iridescent purple that just flows off of the pantsuit, like it flows right off of it,” Aurora explains, leaning in further, pointing out the details. “I’m thinking Bim for this one.”

“I can definitely see that. Definitely. With all that movement, ugh.” Tayce runs a finger over the design, outlining where the fabric would trail off steaming behind the model, like the wind’s carrying it, like it’s suspended in mid-air.

“Okay flip,” Aurora instructs, pressing her cheek against Tayce’s arm. Aurora continues, answering questions about fabric, structures underneath the garnments, styling. Tayce slips the pencil out of Aurora’s hand at some point, jotting down answers as she rambles on and on, far too excited to manage writing it on her own. So Tayce scribbles down her directive to add wirey jewelry around the wrists, heels with lacings up the calf, everything looking like it’s floating just below the surface. At some point, the Xbox powers off, until all that’s lighting the room is the standby logo.

Tayce reaches over the couch, turning the lamp on.

“So, which one are you thinking of for me?” Tayce pokes at Aurora’s side, her voice trailing into a whine.

Aurora takes back her book, flipping through the pages aimlessly. “Oh, you know, the first one. From this morning…”

“You didn’t even have—”

“…Absolute nudity.” Aurora curls in closer, a devious smile forming. “Or maybe full vinyl?”

“I thought no more after last time?” Tayce begins flipping through the book. “I guess I’ll just have to find it on my own, now won’t I?”

“Gimmie that,” Aurora takes it from her hands and flips to the page easily, holding the design close against her chest. “And you look good in the vinyl, is all I’m saying.”

She plops it down in Tayce’s lap. “You’re obviously getting the finale gown, moron.”

Tayce scans over the page, over and over, tracing along the outline with her finger, as though she can feel the slip of the iridescent blue chifon layered over black organza, how it gathers at one hip, falling down in crashing waves, with the other side draped cleanly, softly.

“It’s supposed to be murky, like you’re coming out of the depths of the ocean where all the weird spindly things live, that have, like five eyes and spikes and stuff.” Aurora bristles for a moment. “At least that’s what I was thinking. But really, you could wear any of them if you wanted, it’s all inspired by you,” she says, soft, feather-light, like she’s letting the words float on down from the surface.

They continue on in silence, Aurora watching as Tayce scans over the design, mouth agape. Tayce swallows and mutters, “lil ol’ me, the finale?” She turns to Aurora. “It’s just gorgeous. So, absolutely gorgeous.”

And Aurora smiles, closing her eyes, breathing in the moment, the relief, the momentum of the collection. She places the folio on the coffee table and sets her sights on Tayce.

“So, did I earn my kiss?”

Tayce rolls her eyes playfully. “If you insist,” she says, not leaving Aurora much time to think before pulling her in closer, thumb stroking along her cheek. Their lips meet comfortably, knowingly, in a way that would seem commonplace if not for love.

They break apart, Aurora resting in the crook of Tayce’s neck.

“You did an amazing job, love,” Tayce says, quietly this time, as though the moment deserves quiet. And the two hold the silence, open palmed, soaking in the golden, still light of the lamp.

“Oi, you!” Aurora taps on the glass, sure she’s the subject of a few wandering eyes, and the reason why the aquarium security tests the receiver of their walkie a few times. But she doesn’t care. She has some unfinished business, business that’s been keeping her up at night, making her toss and turn right into Tayce’s spread-out, sleeping form, ever since she began production on her collection.

So she’s returned to Oliver the tiger shark. This time, she’s bearing gifts.

Aurora points at the shark as it passes, hoping in vain it’ll stop for her, just as she’s stopped for him. She tries again, snapping at him as he passes by once more, before giving up, feeling lucky Tayce wasn’t around to mock her attempts. Aurora continues on regardless.

“We’ve had our differences, but I must thank you for the inspiration…” Aurora trails off, spotting the shark stopped on the other side of the tank. She scurries over, hoping she can get a good view of him, maybe take a reprieve from looking like a lunatic, talking to nothing.

“But thank you, Oliver the shark,” she says to him, before he swims off again, practically to the spot Aurora was just standing.

She huffs and hauls herself back to the other side of the tank.

“You’re a right dick, you are.” Aurora breathes in deeply before digging into her bag, pulling out her phone, pressing it against the tank, as though he’ll look at the picture and have any idea who she is. “It was really her, my girlfriend here who did the heavy lifting, and she got more than a thank you for it all.”

Aurora bites at her lip a bit, locking her phone, muttering, “sex, obviously, but you don’t get it, you’re a dumb, heterosexual shark, so…” into her purse as she plops her phone in.

“But I figured giving you some thanks would earn me back some ocean karma points—” The shark swims to the back of the tank, facing entirely away from Aurora, and she has to remind herself not to stomp like a petulant child.

She settles for muttering a “fucks sake” under her breath.

“Anyway,” she hikes up her purse. “Have a good one, Oliver the tiger shark.”

She gives a half-hearted wave before walking away, dividing to give that funny, little, perpetually surprised fish a visit, hoping he’ll appreciate her company more.

#rpdr fanfiction #rpdr uk #uk2 #phryne #just below the surface #tayce #a'whora #taywhora #lesbian au #aquarium au #shark fic #established relationship #fluff #concrit welcome #submission

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cheri-translates · 3 years

Text

[CN] Fireworks Event - Kiro

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for an event which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

Previous section: here

3rd Anniversary Masterlist: here

Prior to the Carnival, there were questions posed in the Go See You feature which affects which scenario the player sees during the Fireworks Event:

Question 1: Without thinking of any external reasons, if you were to visit the amusement park again, which attraction would Miss Chips want to experience the most?

Option A: Rollercoaster! I think this attraction really alleviates stress.

Option B: Hehehe, the haunted house should be given a name.

Option C: The dessert store! There are so many delicious foods in the amusement park.

Question 2:

Question: To Miss Chips, what is an essential element in a “perfect day”?

Option A: For you to be as romantic as in a fairytale.

Option B: For people to witness the most romantic moment. [no footage found]

[ PART ONE PROLOGUE ]

Time truly passes when one is having fun. In a blink of an eye, the night has already overtaken the sky.

I look at the guide map in my hands, thinking about which attraction should end our itinerary for today’s carnival.

Suddenly, Kiro grabs my hand.

Kiro: Let’s go!

MC: Have you thought of what we’re going to do last?

Kiro: Haven’t we already decided this since a long time ago~

[ Option A: Rollercoaster! I think this attraction really alleviates stress. ]

At night, the tracks of the rollercoaster are full of coloured lights. From afar, it looks like a dream-like track hanging in the sky.

It suddenly occurs to me that the seemingly insignificant question he asked a few days ago actually had a reason behind it.

Kiro: This time, we can enjoy the pleasures of the rollercoaster to our heart’s content!

He offers his hand to me, eyes sparkling despite being in the curtain of darkness.

MC: It’s the first time I’m riding a rollercoaster at night!

We’re seated in the last row, gradually climbing towards the peak. Our entire field of vision consists of the night and neon.

Kiro: MC, do you know about the legend related to rollercoasters?

MC: Do you create stories that quickly? We just sat on it.

Kiro: Nonsense, I was already thinking about it when we were in the queue!

MC: ...

Kiro: ...

Kiro suddenly clears his throat, his fingers making twirls in the air in a counterclockwise direction. Then, he lets out a soft “ding” sound.

Kiro: Miss Chips, do you know about the legend related to rollercoasters?

MC: Pfft.

Cooperating with him, I pretend to look contemplative.

MC: There are sayings related to rollercoasters?

Kiro: Hmph. Not everyone knows about this legend, because it’s only used for rollercoasters at night, and when you’re seated at the last row.

MC: Ah! What else?

Kiro: The rollercoaster will take 55 seconds from the moment it leaves the peak. If you have any wishes you’d like fulfilled, say it silently in your heart, then hold your breath. As long as you can press on till the end, this wish will be fulfilled.

MC: Isn’t the original setting in an elevator?

Kiro: Any similarities are mere coincidences. We’re reaching the peak soon. So? Want to give it a try?

MC: This legend has yet to be put to the test.

Looking at his sparkling eyes, I can’t help but want to tease him.

Kiro: You don’t trust me! But that’s okay, I can prove its success rate to you first.

With this, he closes his eyes, and I have no idea what wish he’s making.

Neon colours fall on his eyelashes, making his side profile look especially handsome.

Kiro: Done.

We’re about to reach the peak. Kiro grips my hand, his face filled with anticipation and eagerness.

Kiro: Let’s go!

MC: Ahh--!

Kiro: Haa... haa...

Kiro is breathing in as much fresh air as he can, and I can’t help but laugh while looking at his flushed face.

MC: You’ve worked hard. From the bottom of my heart, I hope your wish can be fulfilled.

Kiro: Are you secretly laughing at me? Don’t be envious when my wish comes true.

MC: What did you wish for just now?

Kiro: What I wished for...

He turns his eyes to me, then leans downwards slightly such that his face is in front of mine. He closes his eyes gently.

Kiro: I wonder if the intelligent MC can guess what it is.

MC: You’re just being unreasonable!

Kiro: I’m not. Maybe this is the result of my hard work from earlier?

Looking at the person before me who’s pretending to be innocent, I find it quite ticklish.

With a flushed face, I give the corner of his lips a light peck. He seems to have waited for a very long time. Just as I plan to flee, he pulls me back, once again locking me in a trance.

Kiro: Look - I said the legend was effective. You believe it now, don't you?

[ Option B: Hehehe, the haunted house should be given a name. ]

At night, the haunted house looks even more terrifying than usual. The gloomy and cold lights seem to be waiting for challengers to arrive.

Looking at the slightly tense Kiro beside me, it suddenly occurs to me that the seemingly insignificant question he asked a few days ago actually had a reason behind it.

Kiro: Miss Chips, let’s go!

MC: Actually, it’s okay even if we don’t go for this...

Kiro: It’s all right.

He pats his chest confidently, pushing his sunglasses down with one hand.

Kiro: This time, I came prepared.

In the narrow, strange and long corridor, Kiro and I walk unhurriedly, following the directions of the arrows.

Kiro: This is the third time we’ve come to a haunted house, isn’t it?

MC: Yup. It seems like we always have memories of running wildly in haunted houses.

Kiro: In that case, let’s walk slowly this time, and slowly enjoy the delights of the haunted house.

Just as he finishes speaking, a bloodied handprint appears on the paper door at the side with a thud.

MC: !

Before I can rally my emotions, continuous streams of ghost-like cries drift from the paper door beside us.

Kiro holds my hand, scanning the surroundings “coldly”---

From an unknown place, Kiro takes out a gigantic white sheet, covering it over us.

Kiro: If we can’t beat then, let’s join them!!

MC: Pfft!

Kiro wraps me in his arms. His breath is at my ear, which gives me an especially ticklish sensation in my heart.

Kiro: See? It’s no longer scary, isn’t it? When we hear sounds, we’ll simply return fire!

Passerby couple: Erm...

Kiro: [ghostly] Mmm...?

Kiro and I turn around at the same time.

Passerby couple: Ahhhh----!!!!!!

After a short silence, I lift up my head, and just so happen to meet Kiro’s lowered gaze.

Kiro: [chuckles] Even though I feel a little bad, but...

We burst into laughter at the same time. The white sheet seems to be a small protective screen, making us the only two people in the entire world, becoming our secret accomplice.

Kiro: I’ve finally found a way to decode the haunted house!

MC: Next time, why don’t we...

Kiro: Be the ghosts!

We complete each others’ sentences as always.

Kiro: This way, it doesn’t feel scary at all.

MC: You’ve got a good method~

Kiro: The method is one aspect of it. The other aspect is because you’re with me. Frightening things will always be frightening, and courage isn’t something that can be added or subtracted.

MC: But won’t you become braver after going through it more often and having more experience?

Kiro: That’s called getting used to it and growing up. It doesn’t mean you’re no longer scared. It’s because there are other things which triumph over the fear.

His voice is very soft, and his eyes turn from the view outside the sheet to me.

Kiro: For example, right now.

MC: It’s all right even if you’re scared. I’m here, and you aren’t alone!

Kiro: In that case, could I come nearer to you?

As he says this, he takes a step closer.

MC: [blushing] The staff would laugh at us if they see this...

Kiro: That’s fine.

His lips are at my ear, bringing with them a smile of someone who has gotten his way.

Kiro: No one will see us.

[ Option C: The dessert store! There are so many delicious foods in the amusement park. ]

At night, the dessert store looks even more well-lit. The adorable decor, together with the colourful neon lights, are reminiscent of the sweetest kiss of a couple.

It suddenly occurs to me that the seemingly insignificant question he asked a few days ago actually had a reason behind it.

MC: Doesn't this place require a reservation?

He smiles while talking out two reservation coupons from his pocket, a satisfied look on his face.

Kiro: Hehe. It’s been a long wait, my Miss Chips.

I scan the various limited edition couple desserts on the menu, each one of them looking utterly delicious, as though I can smell their sweet fragrance just from the pictures.

In the end, I decide to pick the dessert which Kiro is recommending whole-heartedly and with great force--

The double lava layer chocolate brownie.

Kiro: Trust me, this is the one. I’ve done a recon before, and found the most premium product from these premium products.

Under his solemn gaze, the double lava layer chocolate brownie is brought to our table.

It looks like a chocolate brownie with some frosting sprinkled on it, and seems to be pretty normal.

Kiro: Give it a try! I haven’t forgotten its taste even till now.

I cut it open gently, and discover that underneath the chocolate exterior, there’s a soft chocolate cake. Chocolate sauce in the centre flows out slowly.

Cutting a small piece carefully, I place it into my mouth.

In a mere instant, my throat, nose, and even the air I inhale, are all sweet.

The strong sweetness sweeps through all my senses. My tongue goes haywire, and it’s as though I'm biting into a hundred macarons at the same time.

Kiro sits opposite me, his eyebrows arching slightly, an insuppressible anticipation and teasing look in his eyes.

He has also prepared a guilty and apologetic look.

I see through it immediately.

MC: Not bad. As expected of your recommendation!

Kiro: Hm?

MC: It’s really delicious.

While saying this, I lift up the fork again, preparing to get another piece.

Kiro: Wait wait wait!

He immediately grabs my hand, his face filled with disbelief. Looking at me, he lowers his head and stares at the “scheme”.

Kiro: The taste is just right?

MC: Yeah, it is. Weren't you the one who recommended it?

Kiro: Well... you’re not wrong.

He looks at the brownie on the table hesitantly. He’s probably guessing that the store had changed its method of preparation, resulting in a different effect.

At this moment, it’s a showdown between Kiro the glutton and reason.

Slowly, he picks up the fork, and brings a small piece into his mouth.

Kiro: [groans] !!!

I immediately grab the lemon water at the side, flushing my ruined taste buds.

Kiro: You...!

His features are scrunched, and I can't help but laugh when I see this.

Kiro: Although I did it somewhat on purpose, you really endured it too well!

MC: Seeing this image before me is worth it hahaha.

Kiro: I’m letting you experience the wrong path I once walked on.

Saying this, he comes over to my side.

Kiro: If I’m at fault, you should have punished me by using the law! Not by killing me with this sickeningly sweet dessert!

MC: If you went down the wrong path, you shouldn’t have let others experience it either!

Kiro: But you’re special. I’ve suffered twice the harm and need treatment.

MC: Mr Kiro, you’re insatiable.

Despite saying this, I don't stop him when he slowly draws closer to me.

Kiro: [chuckles] All I need is a little normal sweetness.

[ PART TWO ]

By the time we return to the vicinity of the castle in the plaza, the fireworks display is about to begin.

Considering Kiro’s special situation, his wig and props have more or less finished serving their function. I decide to find a location with fewer people.

But suddenly...

I realise that Kiro is gone.

Scanning my surroundings, I just can’t find any trace of him.

??: Beautiful Miss Princess, what are you looking at?

I freeze.

As the fireworks from the castle continuously scuttle to the skies, I see a figure at the end of the light.

At the top of the castle, he’s wearing a white coloured suit. His white cape is flying in the night, and an exquisite white mask conceals his entire face.

Just like the phantom thief under the moonlight.

Passerby: Is that a performance?

MC: Ki-!

Akin to magic, he soars downwards, stepping through the night, his cape kneading the moonlight as it flaps up and down, descending before me.

Wearing a pair of white gloves, he reaches out and places his forefinger on my lips.

Kiro: Shh.

The entire world seems to have become silent in an instant, leaving behind only the sound of my violently beating heart.

He takes half a step back, his left hand behind him, giving me a slight bow while offering his right hand to me.

Kiro: Beautiful Miss Princess, are you willing to come with me?

A pair of sapphire-like eyes hide behind the mask, leaving me unable to see his expression.

Seeing the arm he’s holding out in mid-air, I grip his hand without hesitation.

MC: It would be my honour!

Once the words leave my lips, he wraps an arm around my waist and carries me up, bringing me into the deep blue ocean.

Kiro: Hold me tight.

He presses a special mechanism, and strings pull the both of us upwards, as though we’re treading on moonlight.

When we reach the roof of the castle, he lets me step onto the bricks steadily, then removes the mask from his face.

Kiro: The performance has begun.

He snaps his fingers. At the same time, all the fireworks in the night sky bloom.

[ FIREWORKS ]

The colour I had selected is especially brilliant, and it blooms under Kiro’s command.

It’s as though he's standing in the middle of the stage, and every firework is a musical instrument under his control. With his guidance, they become the most beautiful musical composition in the night sky.

I think about that question related to a perfect day, and a him who is as romantic as in a fairytale.

As the fireworks come to an end, he once again gives me a bow, and walks towards me.

Kiro: I wish to ask my princess if the me of right now has the qualifications to steal your heart?

MC: [blushing] Haven’t you already stolen it since a long time ago?

Kiro: Is that so?

Under the moonlight of this winter day, his fringe is damp with sweat, and his eyes are filled with surprise.

Kiro: In that case, I won’t be returning it. Anyway, my heart happens to be with you too. Happy third anniversary, my Miss Chips.

Even the most precious day has to come to an end.

But the meaning residing in the future, which is the time we have next, will definitely be even more wonderful, and even more precious.

Until the end of life.

MC: Let’s go home!

Kiro: Mm! Let’s go home.

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc kiro

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baphomet-media · 3 years

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Getting Psyched - A The World Ends With You Retro Review

Genre: Adventure Subgenre: JRPG Developer: Square Enix, Jupiter Publisher: Square Enix Platform(s): DS Release Date: July 27th, 2007 Hours Played: 42 hours this playthrough

You’ve almost certainly heard of this game, especially if you’re into JRPGs. When a game advertises itself as being “from the team that made Kingdom Hearts,” I was sold instantly as a kid. One look at the game’s box art confirms that Tetsuya Nomura had a hand at this game with his distinctive bold art style. But the game itself was something that nobody at the time had predicted. The game has an urban fantasy story unlike much that had been told at the time. Furthermore, the game was made to push the DS to its limits and create a battle system that could only work on the DS’s two screens. Does this cult classic live up to the hype, or is it just a janky mess? Let’s find out.

Story

TWEWY opens by introducing our protagonist, an antisocial teen named Neku Sakuraba. Neku unexpectedly awakens in the iconic scramble crossing of Shibuya, Tokyo. To his surprise, the crowds seem to walk right through him, and a strange pin appears in his hand that allows him to read the thoughts of passersby. Neku quickly learns that he has been thrust into the Reapers’ Game, a seven-day death game where the Players are the recently deceased that must partner up to fight the Noise, hostile part-animal-part-tribal-graffiti creatures that seek to erase the Players. What’s more, each day Players must complete missions given to them by the Reapers within strict time limits while avoiding the reapers themselves. If they can make it to the end of the week, they might just be able to return to life.

Along the way, Neku will meet a chaotic cast of characters including Shiki, the headstrong seamstress who is eventually able to get Neku out of his angsty shell, Beat and Rhyme, a pair of street-smart siblings with heavy 2000’s skater vibes, Joshua, an abrasive, sarcastic, literal Christ figure who’s somehow a good guy? Or maybe he’s a bad guy? Or… maybe he’s a good guy again? On top of that, the Reapers themselves vary wildly from the contrasting duo of the laid-back Kariya and the high-strung Uzuki to the lone radical Minamimoto. The game does a good job of having a full roster of characters without overloading the player. Furthermore, while most characters seem wacky at first, they all have motivations and layers behind them that become clearer as you progress through the story.

Without spoiling anything, nothing is as it seems in the Reaper’s game, and multiple parties are vying for control for different reasons, meaning the whole thing feels like one big political intrigue story on top of an urban JRPG. Even on my most recent replay after having played the game countless times over the years, I was hungry to put the pieces together. While the main storyline mostly follows Neku’s perspective and doesn’t explain a lot of the behind-the-scenes interactions and motivations of the secondary characters, the game fortunately has a Secret Reports feature, which are written by a certain character who seems to know way more than they let on. These Secret Reports are near essential to understanding the game’s true story, and reveal whole layers to the plot and world that the main story doesn’t even touch on.

Needless to say, I loved the story of TWEWY. Everything feels perfectly crafted, leaving no loose ends, while still leaving the player wanting more. If anything I wanted to see more of Neku and his friends after the game’s conclusion just hanging out in real life.

Gameplay

TWEWY is a JRPG, but in the loosest sense possible. In the overworld, the player controls Neku, guiding him around the various streets of Shibuya on the touch screen or with the face buttons. Unlike in traditional RPGs, outside of story events the player must deliberately initiate combat with the Noise. By scanning their environment they can read the surface thoughts of passersby, but also reveal noise symbols in the environment. By tapping on these symbols, the player can queue up battles with the noise, and can even chain multiple battles together for back-to-back fights that multiply your drop rate.

In battle, Neku and his partner are sent to separate Zones, with Neku on the touch screen and his partner on the top screen. Neku fights the noise by activating the abilities of pins he has equipped, called Psychs. Each psych has its own activation method, from swiping on an enemy to tapping empty space, to scratching on the screen, to shouting into the microphone, and more. It’s up to the player to equip Neku with the best pins, though pins level up as they are used, becoming more powerful and sometimes evolving into even stronger pins.

On the top screen, Neku’s partner fights the noise by using the DS’s face buttons to move through a combo map and select certain finishers. By selecting the right finishers, you can charge your Sync gauge to perform a powerful special attack. Both characters share an HP gauge, damage to each character subtracting from each side. If you’re following along, that means the game expects you to control both Neku and his partner at the same time. This can be tricky for new players, but you quickly get used to it. Additionally, you can have your partner auto-fight with a customizable delay, meaning you technically don’t have to control your partner at all. However, if you really want to deal major damage and wipe the floor with the Noise on higher difficulties, you’ll want to master battling with both characters at once. When I first played the game in 2007, I found the parner battling to be too difficult to keep up with, but now that I’m older and more experienced, I find the combat to be incredibly deep and rewarding. Additionally, the game rewards back-and-forth control of Neku and his partner with the Light Puck mechanic. Essentially, when one character performs a combo finisher, the light puck is passed to the other character, and passed back when that character does a finisher. In this way, you can build up a damage multiplier based on how quickly you rally the light puck. This creates a natural back-and-forth flow of using Neku until his psychs discharge, then getting a few hits in with his partner, and so on.

My only complaint about battles is that in later fights on higher difficulty the Noise will attack so frequently on the partner’s zone that it’s difficult to get attacks off with them at all. Your partner has a limited block/dodge, but it only does so much and there’s often tons of Noise attacking at once. It’s not insurmountable, but it can be frustrating at times.

Outside of battle, the player must constantly keep up with a few things, food, swag, and difficulty. Both Neku and his partner can eat food and wear clothing purchased from many shops around Shibuya. Food offers an up-front bonus as well as a permanent stat increase once the food is digested by completing battles. However, you can only digest so many times per real-time day, meaning you have to prioritize high-calorie foods before smaller snacks. I found the digestion limit to be a bit too limiting. It can be removed in the post-game, but it still makes food hard to deal with for someone that is effectively bingeing the game.

Swag are articles of clothing that offer flat stat increases, but also have abilities that are unlocked by showing it to the right store clerk. Each clerk can unlock the abilities of specific clothing, and you can unlock more by buying enough stuff from them to fill up their Friendship Gauge. I thought it was fun to slowly make friends with each store clerk, and I felt bad that I couldn’t hang out with them or reciprocate some of their obvious advances, though I’m sure it’s assumed that Neku cherishes his friendships with them after the game’s conclusion. However, you can’t just equip any old piece of clothing to any character. Neku can’t just pull off a dress and cargo shorts right off the bat. Each piece of clothing has a Bravery rating, with characters whose bravery is below that rating being unable to wear the clothing. Fortunately, bravery increases as you level up, and can also be increased by eating food. By the end of the game, you’ll be able to have Neku and company wearing whatever clothing you want.

Lastly there’s Difficulty. The game has four main difficulty levels, being Easy, Normal, Hard, and Ultimate. You begin the game in Normal, but once you unlock a difficulty, you can change it on the fly from the pause menu. On easier difficulty enemies have less HP and deal less damage, but you get fewer XP and worse pins. The reverse is true on higher difficulties, with some of the best pins in the game being available exclusively as drops on Ultimate difficulty. To aid you in this, you can also change your level at any time. Unlike in a standard RPG where your level is immutable to the player aside from leveling up, in TWEWY you can freely choose your level from one to the highest level you have achieved. For each level below your max that you set your level, you get a multiplier for drops. This can be combined with the battle chaining multiplier to get ultra rare drops, some of which have less than 1% and even less than 0.1% drop chances normally. This gives the player an incentive to level up aside from just stat bonuses, and rewards players who go out of their way to engage in battles. As above, battles are largely optional, but it heavily behooves the player to battle as much as they can, not only because you get drops and experience, but increasing your level gives you more wiggle room for harder fights such as bosses.

There are tons more smaller features, but these are the main ones. I thoroughly enjoyed the vast depths of the game’s mechanics and found the difficulty settings to be really engaging and a novel approach to RPG player advancement while still affording accessibility. I was enthralled for multiple hours as I struggled to get the best gear, feed my team the best food, and equip the best pins to get as strong as possible. Until the very end of the postgame, it never felt like mindless grinding, as you can just breeze through the story on Easy if you really want to, but where would be the fun in that?

Presentation

TWEWY is probably best known for its vibrant and bold incredibly urban street-art-themed style, which shows in not only the art, but the UI, music, and writing. The character art is that hard-outlined and overdressed Nomura art style that fans of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts have come to love, and the backgrounds are all vibrant and stylized to fit. The pixel art of the character sprites and Noise are all incredibly expressive, with Neku’s idle animation as he jams out to tunes on his headphones being one of my favorites.

The game’s music is unabashedly lyrical, covering a vast array of genres including JPop, Punk, and Hip-Hop, with many different styles of each. I loved almost every song in the game, though I found one of the overworld themes to be a bit grating at times. Other than that, the music is pretty great, and what’s even better is you can buy CDs of each of the game’s songs in the game to have your own personal sound test right from the menu, even going as far as to allow you to set the background music on the menu itself.

The game even has voice acting, though it’s limited mostly to battle quips and wordless expressions for cutscenes. I actually really enjoyed the voice acting and thought they nailed each character. I was honestly surprised at the audio quality the developers were able to pack into this game. The music was a very slight bit tinny through the DS’s audio chip as is to be expected, but barring that the vocals and voice overs were super clear and the instrumentation of the songs were well mixed.

Overall, the game’s presentation is about as good as it gets on the DS, giving even home console games a huge run for their money.

Conclusion

Honestly it’s hard to say anything bad at all about TWEWY. The game was a bit hard to approach at the time, but it’s aged magnificently. These days, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s the best (at least non-Pokémon) game on the DS. Honestly though some might be turned off by the game’s quirks, I think TWEWY is a masterpiece that everyone with a DS should pick up and play. I can’t wait to see how the newly-released sequel stands up, but honestly the original is a tough act to follow.

Score: 10 / 10

#gaming #article #review #retro review #twewy #the world ends with you #square enix #jupiter

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hyaciiintho · 3 years

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HOW I RUN MY BLOG

❀°◌̊ SPEED ◌̊°❀ I am not fast... But that doesn’t mean I’m any less eager to interact with people !! My attention is constantly split between my art (be it personal art or commissions), gaming, and general mental health debilitations when they become their hardest to deal with. So in general? I am a very slow roleplayer, especially since I like having my blog run on a queue to spread out what little activity I do have across a number of days, as opposed to a mini hour spurt.

❀°◌̊ REPLIES ◌̊°❀ As stated before, this blog runs on a queue, and so replies may come out throughout the week despite having worked on them days prior. Again, I’m a slow roleplayer, and since my attention flits about so wildly without any strong anchor, I like to give my blog, at the very least, the appearance of consistent activity /)///v///(\ I’m sorry... but I do like seeing people’s replies, and often it gets me motivated to reply as quickly as I can, even if it’s queued rather than immediately posted!

❀°◌̊ STARTERS ◌̊°❀ I don’t often make starter calls, since not many new people tend to like them ?? I’m not opposed to having multiple threads with the same people, but it grows a bit samey over time after a while, y’know? Especially if there’s been little development within the thread... I’d rather have one thicc development thread than 10 mini interaction threads that consist of nothing but idle chit chat. As for liking starter calls, I try to like any I see on the dash when I haven’t had a thread with the person yet, or we don’t currently have a thread together.

And yet again... I am not fast, so when I do post a starter call, I’m very sorry for the slowness of me getting to them dfhskjhkfd

❀°◌̊ INBOX ◌̊°❀ I tend to be a bit quicker to answer inbox stuff, but I think that’s a common thing in the RPC ?? They just feel easier, I guess? But my inbox is basically open to anyone who wants to poke the muse. I know a lot of people don’t want personals or non-mutuals to interact with them in any way, shape, or form, but my inbox is open to all. I just find that easier to manage and just also opens up the chance for interactions where you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get in a thread. I also tend to take my time with inbox stuff, as I do anything, so... again... please be patient with me haha~ I’m trying my best ♡

❀°◌̊ SELECTIVITY ◌̊°❀ It would be a lie to say that I’m not particularly selective. I do have standards when it comes to writing partners, and unfortunately, not everyone falls into those standards. This is just like how I, myself, wouldn’t fall into someone else’s standards for whatever reason. It’s just a personal preference. If I feel like my writing and your writing won’t flow, or I find myself having difficulties coming up with a way to reply to your style or muse, then I’m afraid writing together just isn’t going to work out.

Aside from writing styles/muses, there’s also fandoms that I’m not particularly interested in or have little to no idea as to who or what they are. I like staying in a specific level of comfort and familiarity for my blogs, and so if I’m unfamiliar with your fandom or I just don’t see any interactions between our muses to be beneficial in development or story telling, then I tend to stay away. We all have our preferences, and that’s okay ♡

❀°◌̊ WISHLIST ◌̊°❀ Gosh, I never really put much thought into wishlists ?? Though I guess I could say I would love love love some crossovers with Shadow of the Colossus or Bloodborne? AU’s even haha~ Especially if we can develop them together and like... change the flow of canon into our own specially told story c: I’m also a horror game junkie, so honestly, Silent Hill, Eternal Darkness, Haunting Ground, Clock Tower, The Evil Within, Resident Evil, Fatal Frame All the horror game AU’s/Crossovers. I could talk for days about potential AU’s and story shifts that could happen. I just think they’re lots of fun !!

❀°◌̊ HONEST NOTE ◌̊°❀ Not sure what to say here? I’ve been pretty honest in everything I’ve answered... But I guess I’ll say here that... Somedays (weeks/months lmao) are harder than others for me when it comes to keeping up with the RPC. A lot of us suffer from mental health issues, and a lot of us use rolelplay to cope, but as someone who suffers from RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria), I tend to do the opposite in order to cope with those symptoms. I shy away from social situations in an effort to shield myself from it, and while isolation isn’t the greatest technique to use when you’re feeling ignored/rejected (as untrue as it may be !!) it’s still the thing I fall back onto all the time.

My social battery is also garbage haha~ and so often if anyone becomes friends with me, I will 110% at some point, completely ghost you until I’m feeling better. As someone who’s usually the person people come to for their issues and venting, it becomes hard for me to flourish and thrive when I’ve given all of myself to others who need a little bit of light. I don’t like talking about my issues to others, so ‘you can talk to me about it!!’ isn’t going to change my aversion to socializing with you, and I am very sorry about that. It’s just how I am, and it’s nothing to do with your own personal worth. I am just mentally and emotionally incapable of handling things sometimes, so I’m sorry !!

Tagged by: Myself~ ♡ Tagging: Anyone who wants to do it, you can say I tagged ya

#✿• ᴵ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵗʰᵒᵘᵍʰᵗ ᴵ'ᵈ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵃ ˡⁱᵗᵗˡᵉ ᶠᵘⁿ ʷⁱᵗʰ ʸᵒᵘ! (M E M E S)#✿• ʸᵒᵘ ᵖˡᵃʸᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ᵒᶠ ᵀⁱᵐᵉ! (Q U E U E)#long post;;#long post

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spacehologramcollection · 4 years

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Kombat Krew and Animal Crossing.

It should come as no surprise that I’ve been playing Animal Crossing a lot recently. I’ve got real life debt in terms of my student loans. And also, debt in the game too! What a life I have and what a world we live in. So, here’s a crossover that no one asked for. Kombat Krew reacting to it/ playing it with their S/O and what kind of villager they’d be! I didn’t do everyone, mainly the ones that I think would/could play the game! And This is such a pure post. Wow. No warnings what so ever. But just because of length of post I’ve popped a cut in, just because it’s a little long!

· Cassie Cage; She’s reluctant to play it at first. When you’re both chatting about it and hyping it up, she’s sipping her smoothie raising an eyebrow. But because she’s a supportive partner, she will watch all the trailers in the hype run. She has to admit it does look cute. She’ll buy you it and can’t help but keep peering up and watching as you run around your island, catching bugs and fish. Smiling at the occasional scream as you try and run from a tarantula. “So, you owe the Racoon money? Wait, why are you paying for more extensions on your house?!” Doesn’t understand till she finally bites the bullet and plays it when you’re not in… within an hour she’s bought it and is playing it. Then it’s on. You find her awake at 3 AM, she’s sat crossed legged on the sofa, playing it intently. Cute dates where you go out to a café and local play. Visiting each other’s islands, planting flowers and taking cute aesthetic photos. Her house is full of bright colours and random assortments of bits and pieces she found cute. Johnny takes the piss out of you both. The fact you’re both sat next to each other on the sofa, playing the same game, and speaking gibberish. Cassie is also slightly competitive; she doesn’t know where she gets it from Johnny and Sonya. So, it’s no wonder that she wins the tourneys, does all of the events and completes the nook mile challenges efficiently.

If she was a Villager: A squirrel. Kind of like Blaire. Normal personality.

· Smoke (Tomas Vrbada): If ever there was a game that fit Smokes aesthetic and general vibe it would be Animal Crossing. How he got introduced to the series was that he was reading peacefully. Until your squeal of excitement disrupted him. Honestly, at first, he thought some shit had happened. Queue him evaporating and appearing mid living room. Only to see you’re happy because there was a leaked trailer for a game. His mouth starts out agape, as if questioning, why you would make such a noise over a game. That expression changes when he watches it with you. He loves it so much… is actually excited for the prospect of living a quiet life on his own Island. Pre-orders with you so you both can play it. Smoke also definitely owns a grey switch. He. Loves. This. Game. Stays up late with you playing it the first days it’s released. His islands name will be something fantasy based. His character has great hair too. Loves planting flowers and tending your joint garden on his island. His house is so neat, and each room has a theme. Everything is in place and organised too. He loves also going to the museum with you and having a look at everything. He loves that there’s a museum. He’s pretty much the Lin Kuei Blathers at this point. And you guys can go on virtual dates to the museum and each other’s towns when he’s away on a mission. Loves playing it whilst you’re both snuggled up in bed together. When he finds out that the different hemispheres have different bugs and fish, he begs Bi-Han and Kuai to get it. Because he wants to flesh that museum out! “So, there’s this racoon that you have to pay your debt off too. But it’s addictive and it’s a great distraction…” “TOMAS IT’S 3AM GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP” – Bi-Han. If he was a villager: There’s a hipster bear in it. So yeah. He’s a hipster bear, he’s basically Beardo. If there were owl villagers, I’d have made him an owl! Smug personality on AC is more polite, gentleman like, so it’s actually not a bad personality.

· Kabal: He’s sure he should be doing work right now. But who gives a fuck when he needs to tend to his garden. Virtual chibi Kabal is living his best life right now. Not having to put up with Kano. His boots are on his desk whilst he plays. He honestly remembers playing the original on GameCube. A friend from school had it and he wanted it so badly, but his mom could never afford it. But now he’s an adult, he can literally buy whatever the fuck he wants. When he finds out you love the series too, he cannot help but smile. He tries to let on that he’s not obsessed, but he is. He preloads it and keeps checking to see if you can play it. Queue him staying up till midnight and waking you up to let you know it’s on. By the time you get up properly he’s filling out the museum, has paid off his first loan and is ready for more. He loves playing it with you, will be a bit of a dick at times, and will totally hit you with net or snipe the bug you’re trying to get. Only for him to gift you it. He’s strategically planned this hit. He’s chosen the Southern Hemisphere and has got oranges. He needs everything. It’s cute how obsessed he is with it. When he’s away, he loves playing it with you, visiting each other’s towns, leaving cute notes on the Notice Board and sending letters. Virtual you and him are so cute. “Hey Kabal, what you playin’?” “None of your fucking business.”

If he was a villager: Definitely an Alligator. Just going off the fact he has a tooth. I’m going with Jock personality. Just because he’s a hyper up and can be intense at times. So probably like Sly.

· Frost: She like Cassie pretends not to care about it. Who has time for games? She sure as hell doesn’t… even though it does look cute, and she does miss having a garden. She finds it therapeutic. Not that the temple has a garden because ahaha it’s fucking freezing and always snowing. Frost is literally acts like an ice sculpture, hard and frozen inside and out. In reality, she’s more like a snowman. Soft and squishy. She does have a soft spot for the game… especially when she watches you planting flowers and making a little garden. If you have a full switch and can create multiple characters, she may get a little emotional that you made her and made her a little garden. Okay. Maybe she’ll play it for a few minutes… *Four hours later* She’s giggling wildly as she catches bugs and plants and waters more flowers. At first, she’s content with just playing the character you made her… but then she finds out from Cassie you can play together. And that’s it. She wants to do cute couple shit on it. Buys the game and surprises you when she sits next to you and reluctantly asks what to call her Island. You’ll both lay next to each other playing it together. She’s hyper competitive as well, so she ends up doing all of the tourneys and winning. As well as helping you out if you’re struggling with a certain part. If she was a Villager: She’s definitely a cat villager. Probably like Katt, quirky looking and a bit mean looking. But on the inside really caring and sweet.

· Kuai Liang (Sub Zero): Why is he playing this again? You said you had a great distraction in mind for him. What he did not expect was for him to be sat on your sofa on a rainy day. Holding you switch and staring from it to the TV in mild confusement. He knew that a new game had come out and it had, in a word, consumed every fibre of your being for the past few days. He loved how happy it made you and would often smile fondly watching you play it… but he didn’t expect himself to be playing it. You made him, pretty accurately, on the game and he’s kind of impressed. You do have to walk him through it, because him and technology do not mix. He does get the hang of it and he has the patience of a saint and the accuracy of a pro angler when it comes to catching fish. You’re pretty damn impressed. He hates to admit how much he loves the game. And it’s kind of cute that you’re sort of playing it together. He may round the corner a few times when you’re playing to ask if you’re advancing the island, because he knows he can’t do it… and he would like to visit the museum and add to it. Secretly loves it. Not enough for him to actually play it himself, but he does find himself playing it in a morning before you wake up. Don’t tell Smoke or Bi-Han he won’t hear the end of it. ‘I don’t have time for pop culture’ BULLSHIT KUAI!

If he was a villager: A Penguin. fucking fight, me on this. He’d probably look like Roald but with a smug personality. Remember Smug is good in this game, I know mind fuck.

· Bi-Han: Okay so the colours hurt his head. They are so bright. Why is that eagle wearing a blazer? What the fuck is going on. If you thought Kuai was confused Bi-Han is next level confused… but he also wants a go. He really wants to play it. He likes to get involved with what you like, and if playing this Mutli-coloured game about living on an island makes you happy, then so be it! Will start off with a character on your save. Before progressing to him eventually getting it himself and ‘borrowing’ the hidden Switch that Smoke has. The one he hides at the bottom of his sock draw, next to his diary, to the left of embarrassing photos of him. You’ll find him playing in between meditation and training. He secretly loves it. He gets a system going and soon has overtaken you on it. Invites you around to show off his pad. Which is a mess, just like his actual room. But it’s got the Bi-Han charm. Totally moves his house to a ledge so no one can visit him. Will play it secretly, pretending to be busy but actually just vibing on a tree stump catching bugs. He loves visiting your island. He’ll change your flowers around, and plant fruit trees for you. He’ll also leave you small presents in your house. He gets into it, but he just likes been able to share a bit of your world. He didn’t have videogames growing up, so it’s nice to finally be exposed to a bit of pop culture.

If he was a villager: He’d be a bear with a jock personality. Would probably look something similar to either Curt or Groucho.

· Jacqui: She’s excited to play this. She remembers playing it when she was younger. Confused the fuck out of her dad. They had a real farm, but she wanted to virtually take care of her plants and trees. Confused him. But when she finds out you love the game too, she’s over the fucking moon. She’s got Cassie to play it with her, but the fact you, her darling S/O love it too makes her so happy! She’s had the same aesthetic and favourite villagers since she was a kid. But she loves all the villagers, she thinks there all quirky and cute in there own way! Her Island is also so organised. She also saved your butt a few times, catching the tarantulas as you ran around madly trying to avoid them. She event split the profit from her trip to tarantula island with you! I’ve always had the HC that Jacqui is artistic, so she makes cute custom designs that look 110% amazing. And has totally made you both matching outfits to wear and take cute photos with. She tried her hardest to make her house into your shared apartment, and to be fair, she did a really great job at it! You and her both lay on the sofa playing it together, laughing and chilling together over takeaway, with a comfy movie on in the background. She loves that you can share this interest and that you can still virtually be together when she’s far away. Will send you letters in game too when she’s away. With stuff she’s picked up and thinks you’ll like or will ok cute in her house. She owns all the shell stuff because it’s so pretty and costal looking. Her house is totally near the beach. She’s always secretly wanted to live near the coast. Jax can’t get his head around that your in her game, and she’s in yours.

If she was a villager: I’d say a wolf villager. Kind of like Audie who’s really peppy and happy go-lucky. Most of her intros are upbeat and can-do attitude like! So, I think it matches her personality really well!

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astyle-alex · 3 years

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April Wrap-Up & May 2021 Goals

Guess who let this semester's Finals period sneak up on her? THIS CHICK.

So while this month was in some ways WILDLY productive, it was also extremely limited in what was produced and what I was producing took a lot more time for a lot less objective output in the easily visible stats... (I'm actually not even done yet, I've still got one more paper left to finish up by the end of the week).

Therefore, I did not quite make it to may usual monthly goal of 50k in new words written, but considering most of what I wrote was short-hand notes, but since if I'd written the bullet points out into full sentences (or even actual words in many cases), I would definitely be solidly into the 75k range, I'm actually pretty chill with that outcome. I wound up at ~47k and averaging ~1,600 per day.

Again, my forward progress on the day to day was actually quite steady, so I have no real complaints, only wistful regret that one cannot magically manage to focus on pleasure projects & side hustles while also devoting due time to irl school / work obligations...

The project labeled "Gatewatch" is really just a pile of plot bunny notes on my phone that I needed to get out of my brain so that I could concentrate on school. It's a stand-alone original fiction project that I think could turn into a really cool novel, but for the moment, I don't think it'll be able to get off the ground.

I still need to finish my last essay and then I am getting upsettingly close to running out my queue for Sun & Stars... so I'll be trying to put my focus into that this month.

Speaking of goals, I didn't even look at what I'd hoped I'd get done for April, so let's see how I ended u doing:

I did not query anyone for anything... I did not write anything new at all but I did post 3 new chapters of Sun & Stars, here & on Ao3, and I posted 4 chapters of Multiverse Mishap, with 2 new going up for both the Bat Version and the SPN version... I definitely got my 4 media reviews up... and I got 6 job apps in, though one of them was to be a zoo keeper (which I'm not really qualified for, but it might be kinda cool and was listed as 'entry level' with no experience requirement), so at least that one probably shouldn't count as a legitimate job app, but still... And, including the Duchess post, I technically did post 3 'other' types of post, so I'mma roll with that as a minor victory!

Over all, that's not nearly as bad as I feared it might be.

Which means I can head into May feeling almost confident!

So, May 2021 Goals:

- Query 3 Lit Agents

- Post 3 Chapters of Sun & Stars, here & on Ao3.

- Draft 3 full chapters of Sun & Stars.

- Post 4 Chapters of Multiverse Mishap.

- Post 8 Media Reviews

- Make 3 other kinds of Post (special release, culture crit, write life, etc)

- Submit 12 Job Applications

And May 2021 Schedule:

Monday: Post new chapter of Multiverse Mishap. (Biweekly)

Tuesday: Post new chapter of Sun & Stars.

Wednesday: Post Media Review.

Thursday: Special Access, Write Life, or Culture Crit posts.

Friday: Post Media Review.

Saturday: Post new chapter of Multiverse Mishap. (Biweekly)

Sunday: No Post.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get reorient myself this month, and (best case scenario) finish up Sun & Stars well enough to be confident in wrapping up it entirely by the end of summer. I have no idea if I'll continue with Gatewatch, but you'll be the first to get any updates on it!

We have the Kentucky Derby coming up this afternoon and I literally have no idea who is running or what the odds are, so I'm not betting (tragically), but I will definitely be watching and looking forward to marking the semi-official start of SUMMERTIME!

I hope you guys have a wonderful May!

GOOD LUCK!

#goals #yay schedules #writer problems #write life

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fantasyjoon · 4 years

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holly and ivy ; min yoongi.

since when was your definition of a perfect christmas a cosy night in with your cute neighbour and his dog?

↬ pairing ┇ neighbor!yoongi x gender neutral reader

↬ genre ┇ fluff, LOTS of min holly, not that much romance? they’re shy cuties, but lots of warMth

↬ warnings + rating ┇ a constantly distressed but very cute dog, totally g

↬ avalyn’s notes ┇ happy holidays ! i hope you && your loved ones had a lovely christmas<3 here’s a very late little festive oneshot drabbly thing that i couldn’t manage to post on time bc i’m busy and unorganised && don’t trust my queue to post fics xx enjoy !

↬ word count ┇ just over 2k does this still count as a drabble?? is it a oneshot ?? uhh

[ masterlist ] — ♡

You shuffle inside, warmth engulfing you completely as you tap the front door closed with your feet, the impact shifting the snow off your boots and onto the doormat. Heaving your shopping bags onto the kitchen floor with a huff, you switch on the kettle and allow the blissful bubbling to invade the silence. The winter air no longer bit at your fingers from within the confines of your apartment, but you still refused to remove your scarf and gloves from your shivering body.

You start shoving away the groceries into the cupboards until pausing when you realise that you had, once again, forgotten to buy your beloved coffee grinds. With a groan of annoyance that mildly depresses your festive mood, you sullenly make your cup of hot chocolate (you do the best with what you can, right?) and move to the living area. This, plus a Christmas movie and the lights of the Christmas tree twinkling in the corner — minus your minor inconvenience, sounded like the perfect way to spend your Christmas Eve eve. You sip at your drink, your legs folded underneath you on the sofa and the soft velvet blanket Namjoon had bought you last Christmas sprawled over you in an extra attempt to conserve heat. Your thoughts and the background noise of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York playing on your TV are blissfully accompanied by the endless snowfall outside your window that seemed tamer now you were indoors, and the calming ambience of your warm abode.

After a couple of minutes, a crash sounds through the opposing wall, followed by incessant yapping, what sounded like intense scampering over vinyl floor, a possible yelp? (you’re unsure from which party) and some excessive cursing.

Guess your Christmas wish wasn’t coming true.

With his sleekly, black locks and brooding gaze, Min Yoongi was more often than not a noisy neighbour — though usually due to his inability to hear below the annoyingly loud decibels he played his music at, and not at all because of his adorable dog.

Holly was an absolute gem; a beautifully brown toy poodle with soft curls that tickled your skin when he came to visit. Though, his owner was not of many words — he came across as pretty introverted, pretty kind, and pretty quiet. You’ve always wondered why a man so quiet owned a dog so loud (and played his music even louder).

It was not out of the ordinary for Holly to patter across the shallow, gated balcony that connected your apartment to Yoongi’s and tap at the glass door with his nose, whining solemnly until you let him in for cuddles and a dog biscuit, his sheepish owner slowly trailing behind after some time passes.

“Hey,” he’d mutter after you let him in from the balcony, wringing his fingers together anxiously. Soft yapping from behind you both catches his attention momentarily. “Sorry about Holly.”

You trot back over to the sofa, the dog immediately hopping onto your legs. The toy poodle adored human affection, often residing to snuggle at any given limb whenever you see him. “It’s all good, Yoongi. Make yourself at home.” He gives you a court nod, walking past the both of you and disappears into the kitchen for a while, appearing five minutes later with a hot chocolate mug that he places into your hold, a coffee for himself, and a warm smile.

Yoongi settles next to you after you pat the empty space, carefully watching his dog fall asleep on you under the pretence of watching the movie. You chat idly with updates of your conversations from the last time he was here. He likes the way your eyes widen in disbelief when he tells you that your mutual friend, Jimin, dumped his long-term boyfriend, and you enjoy the way a smile spreads over his lips when you tell him about Seokjin’s latest cooking disaster.

After he sips the last of his drink, he’s quick to steal Holly away from your grip, silently thanking you for the company before sneaking back out the balcony. They’re only gone a mere few seconds before you miss them both.

You sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of your nose. Following the commotion and the increase in volume in both Yoongi’s ignored commands and Holly’s barks of retaliation, you’re almost tempted to go see what the racket is.

Holly scrambles across the balcony, haphazardly sprawling on the ice and slipping around, barking madly at you in hopes to open the door. You slide open the glass, watching him scuttle in towards the heater, closing it immediately behind his tail as a few snowflakes drift in to your once cosy home.

The cute dog darts around erratically, his ears flapping wildly in tandem with his tail; you can’t tell if he’s stunned from being out in the snow or happy from the warmth of his new environment.

Holly then dives for your feet, his caramel curls tickling the skin exposed by your fuzzy socks. You pick him up with ease, taking both of you back to the couch and pulling the blanket over you.

“Hey, what’s up, buddy?” He stops yapping, nuzzling into your hold and you’re guessing he’s fatigued. After a couple of minutes, he’s out like a log and you lay him on the sofa, covering him with some of your blanket and petting him softly.

At the glass door is Yoongi, and luckily you’ve managed to open it just before he knocks. He catches your eyes with surprise, but then looks past you with relief as he spots his dog asleep. You pad over quietly, sliding open the partition whilst trying as hard as possible not to make any sound.

“Thank goodness,” Yoongi mumbles, walking over to Holly.

“You’re welcome,” you whisper, inviting him silently. “What happened?”

Your neighbour sits himself on the edge of the couch, gently running his fingers through Holly’s softness. “He pushed over some of the presents I had wrapped and they smashed, so he got scared. I shooed him to one corner but then he left.” You nod, “I would’ve come earlier but I wanted to clean up before I brought him back.”

Threading your fingers through the dog’s luscious coat, you hum, “It’s no trouble, Yoongi.”

Yoongi swears his name has never been his name until you say it. He’d listen to nothing else in the world except you saying his name if he had to.

“We should go, though. Don’t want to impose on your Christmas Eve eve.” His weight shifts awkwardly between his feet, though he’s trying as hard as possible not to come across as awkward. You stifle a giggle at the sight that somewhat resembles a five year old with a small bladder.

“I’ve no plans, you’re welcome to stay if you’d like to.” You watch his inner turmoil, his decision making put into full drive as he considers giving up his plans to spend time with you. “Or maybe drop by tomorrow?” His childish mannerisms continue; his eyes light up as if he’s seen Santa. You’d never tell him, but you heard him on the balcony earlier hastily co-ordinating a night out tonight with his friends over the phone.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’ll do that.” Yoongi scoops Holly up into his grasp, the dog huffing gently in his slumber. “See you tomorrow, Y/N. Thanks.”

“Oh, and Yoongi?” He’s halfway out the balcony door when he turns to meet your gaze, “Bring your dog.” He chuckles, sends you a gummy smile that melts your heart before stepping out into the winter winds.

As the snow continues to fall outside, and a young Macaulay Culkin smiles up at the pigeon lady you still have doubts on, you grow hungrier and lazier; craving food but honing an inability to obtain said food.

Your neighbour couldn't have had better timing. There's a soft knock on the glass door that you almost mistake as the heavy patter of snow on a frosty Christmas Eve. Behind it stands Yoongi, his teeth chattering, with a box of mince pies in one hand and Holly held in the other. A grin plasters itself on his lips and you swear there’s no better sight than this.

The door threatens to suck out all warm air when you slide it shut after you usher in a shivering neighbour plus equally cold dog. Snow from their clothing that falls off onto the vinyl melts on touch as they inch further into your warm home. Holly’s long been set down, his paws clicking with every leap he makes away from the pair of you.

“I brought some food, I figured you had like movies or something,” It’s this moment where you realise how high school-esque this is of you, blushing at the boy next door’s attempt to make small talk. You nod through your shyness and direct the both of you to the kitchen.

“Hot chocolate?” Yoongi turns his nose up sourly at the offer. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“You don’t have coffee?” You mentally scowl as he reminds you of your incompetence.

You still your movements, almost pouting at the empty mug in front of you. “Forgot to get some,” you mumble lowly. Yoongi hides his smirk from you by looking at the artwork you have pinned to the fridge.

“It’s fine,” he says, “I’ll just have a mince pie.”

You can hear next door’s Christmas carols that Yoongi hums along to under his breath. It’s when you’re watching the back of his head bob to the beat that you realise how much you know about him but how much you don’t know him. You know what he studies, you know about his friends. But you don’t know his favourite album or how he even likes his coffee. When the kettle clicks off, your thoughts are switched off, and you let out a relieved sigh.

There’s an air of awkwardness that you were trying so hard to avoid, but you’re incredibly thankful Yoongi fills in the gap, “Sometimes I think you only talk to me for my dog.”

His assumption teases a snort out of you as you stir the drink, “Psh, of course that’s the case.”

“Yea— wait, what?” He turns to watch you toss the spoon into the sink, shrugging.

“It is what it is.”

Yoongi’s munching on his mince pie following you into the living area when you both see Holly swiping at your beloved and you squeal, immediately settling down your hot chocolate to swoop her up into your arms.

“What is that?!” Yoongi bellows, Holly bounding to be at his feet. “Is that a giant rat?!”

“No! It’s my sister’s cat!” The feline purrs loudly, still not happy with her newest company. Yoongi’s eyes narrow to see the white fluffball curled in your arms. He steps forward cautiously — much to Holly’s dismal, who whines defeatedly. His gaze flits up to meet your momentarily, though you don’t catch it, before settling on the cat’s beautiful ivory coat. Yoongi’s hand warily comes up to pet her, and once she doesn’t flinch, he runs it through her silky hair, her purrs of bliss ringing as music to his ears.

“She’s a sweetheart. What’s her name?”

“Ivy.” Said cat takes the call to jump precariously onto Yoongi, landing into his arms elegantly before using him as a step to drop onto the floor. Your neighbour’s somewhat startled at the impact, but laughs it off sheepishly.

You both watches as Ivy strides towards Holly, who cowers into a nearby pillow, before she pauses in thought, giving the dog an approving look as to say, ‘You and your owner are actually okay, I guess’, before springing onto the sofa, turning a few times and sitting down delicately as if she hadn’t just made a scene.

Yoongi scoffs, picking up a neglected Holly and sitting on the other end of the couch, leaving you to perch in between them and the graceful cat that now purrs quietly with pride. With the remote in your hand, you change the TV to Netflix on an already-decided Christmas movie.

As the opening credits music fills the room, Ivy bounces into your lap, Holly eagerly shuffling his way in between you and Yoongi.

“Holly…”

“Ivy!”

Yoongi splutters, “Holly and Ivy?”

You grin at him, “Yeah, I guess!”

He admires the way your eyes crinkle when you smile with glee, “Cute,” he says to himself.

Many shy whispers later, you're left to bask in the warmth of the twinkly golden Christmas lights that gently illuminate the bleak evening and the beautiful face of the man beside you. With the leftover cream and marshmallows sat at the bottom of your mug, Holly and Ivy curled up by your feet, Yoongi cuddled into your side, and Home Alone 3 progressing through its denouement: you couldn’t have possibly asked for a better way to spend your Christmas Eve.

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