HAPPY BIRTHDAY @comeonlight~ I hope it’s as awesome as you <3333 thank you for being so great and such a light in my life ily so here is some OTP <333
Hope’s job had only one major rule:
Do not approach talk to the talent. Ever. Under any circumstances.
That was just fine with him. He’d been at this gig long enough to realize that most of the ‘talent’ that came through needed personality lessons. One model had actually refused to look at anyone’s face, which had dragged on the shoot for much longer than really needed.
Then again, it wasn’t like he’d get much chance to talk to the ‘talent’ even if he’d wanted to. Hope was a mere lighting assistant, which was just a fancy title for someone who held up lights and flicked some switches according to someone’s ‘vision.’ It was fairly boring most of the time. The only reason he was still working the job was because it actually paid far better than most places in town – and his boss was actually pretty good about working around his school schedule.
Plus, he had to admit, it was pretty interesting to see celebrities up close, even if he didn’t really follow much of pop culture at all. It wasn’t like he could tell people or talk about it outside of work, but he figured that once he’d finally gotten his degree, it’d be an interesting tidbit of information that he’d been within twenty feet of some supermodels.
Because of the general hush-hush environment concerning the celebrities – he’d had to sign a non-disclosure agreement on more than one occasion – they didn’t really get new staff all too often. Sometimes staff from other locations would come to theirs and he knew most of them.
Therefore, it was a complete surprise when he showed up to work early one morning and saw a stunning rose-haired woman pouring coffee.
She was dressed in a simple pair of leggings and an oversized shirt – usually the uniform of choice for makeup artists. A new one, maybe? Or an apprentice?
Whoever she was, Hope knew he was embarrassing himself by just staring. There was something very vaguely familiar about her, but that wasn’t why he couldn’t look away. It wasn’t even her incredible beauty either, although that didn’t hurt.
There was just something about her that drew him in. He’d never felt anything like it. People at school often told him that he had charisma, but that wasn’t quite the vibe he got from this woman.
No, he just felt that somehow, someway, they were meant to be standing here in this exact moment.
In the next instant, Hope realized how ridiculous he sounded in his own mind. He shook his head and walked towards the coffee. Who cared he usually drank tea in the mornings? Everyone needed a change now and then.
The woman dumped some sugar into her coffee, then glanced around before putting in some more. He smiled before he could stop himself and reached for the coffee pot.
She whipped her head around at the gesture, like she’d just noticed someone was right behind her. At the sight of him, her guarded expression visibly relaxed and she nodded. “Sugar?”
The word sounded so foreign that Hope momentarily froze, almost overflowing his coffee in the process. As it was, he filled it right to the top of his cup before fumbling with the pot and setting it down. “Uh, um – apparently not.”
Piercing blue eyes flicked towards his nearly-overflowing cup. She smirked. “And it’s still so early. Hard to imagine that we still have the whole day to go.”
Hope relaxed slightly. So she was a staff member. “Yeah, but that’s what the coffee’s for, I guess.”
“Tell me about it. I don’t know how I’m upright half the time without it.”
“Oh, yeah.” He tried to pretend that he totally drank coffee on a regular basis, yep. He totally wasn’t the only college student in existence who actually got a decent amount of sleep every night. “Kind of amazed I made it here without it.”
She eyeballed him again before another smirked formed on her lips. It was like she could see right through him, somehow. But that was completely ridiculous. “I know what you mean.”
They both chuckled in that sort of awkward way that Hope had only experienced a handful of times – when you knew there was somewhere else you had to be, but you didn’t want to leave the company of the other person and were trying to figure out if you could find a way to see them again.
At least that was easily done. “So, uh, are you here from one of the other studios?”
For some reason, the question caused her to grow quiet. She took a step back and stared – really stared at him, her head slightly tilted to one side. A thousand emotions flickered in those eyes of hers – surprise, amazement, appreciation, intrigue.
Before either of them could say anything, a woman with wild black hair he’d never seen before came out of the makeup studio and spotted the two of them. “Oi!” She tapped her wrist where a watch would’ve been if people wore them anymore. “Coffee break’s over! Get your ass over here!”
The rose-haired woman rolled her eyes in a spectacular fashion. “Sorry. Duty calls.” She turned away and took a sip of her coffee, but then glanced back over at Hope. “I’ll...see you later, I’m sure. Maybe we could talk more.”
“Oh. Uh.” Hope blinked a couple of times, wondering if there was anything that could have possibly warranted further conversation. Was coffee really that fascinating?
Apparently so, because he nodded a second later. “Yes. Absolutely.”
She quirked a bit of a smile before heading into the makeup studio, shaking her head at something the black-haired woman was saying. Maybe his hunch was right and she was a makeup artist. They tended to stick around during shoots in case there were any touch-ups needed or a new look.
Would he really see her later?
Why did he want to so badly?
Hope thought about this the whole time he slugged down his coffee. He thought about it as the rest of the staff arrived and his job got started. It distracted him so much that he couldn’t even concentrate on the whispers of who they were all supposed to be working with today.
“She’s already here?!” one of the photographers shrieked. “Her call time was at nine!”
“Well, you’ve heard the other studios,” one of the wardrobe people said. “She’s, like, notoriously punctual.”
“Punctual is one thing – being nearly an hour early is a whole different level!” the photographer continued, sounding dramatic. But this was typical for him, so Hope didn’t pay it any mind.
Instead, his mind continued to wander – and he kept his eyes peeled.
One of the worst parts of this job was the long, long stretches of time where everyone just needed to hurry up and wait. They had to get everything ready as quickly as possible, but then it was just a matter of sitting around and waiting for everyone’s jobs to finally finish. Hair and makeup, wardrobe, set design...not to mention that some of the celebrities that came through were ridiculously demanding and wouldn’t do anything until those demands had been met. He still had nightmares about the one model-who-shall-not-be-named that had put everyone behind schedule for three hours because she hadn’t had any vegan cannolis in her room.
And she hadn’t even eaten them.
Today though, things seemed to be moving at a faster pace than usual. Hope gladly threw himself into his work, which for now, involved standing on a step-stool and rearranging one of the lights to his boss’s specifications. Everyone was buzzing around with an energy he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Hope glanced at the other lighting assistant. “Hey, Noel.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know who the talent’s supposed to be today?”
Noel paused and glanced at him, looking both bewildered and amused. “What, were you not paying attention earlier?”
“I guess not.”
“Man, even I know about her.” Noel shared the same interest in celebrity culture as Hope did – that was, basically none – so this was especially intriguing. “She’s all over the place lately – I think she was on the cover of, like, six different magazines in the past month. She’s the face of a bunch of different charities and stuff, too. Yeul loves her work,” he added, referencing his girlfriend.
“Oh.” Hope tried to imagine the newsstands. Something itched in the back of mind. “Who is - ”
“All right everyone, look alive!” The black-haired woman suddenly sauntered out and clapped her hands. “You’re lookin’ at the new face of Louis Vuitton right here, so you’d damn well better be makin’ her look good!”
“Shut up Fang,” a familiar voice muttered.
Very familiar.
He nearly dropped the light when out came the rose-haired woman, dressed in an extremely fancy outfit with a sheer black top with frilly designs on the back.
She wasn’t a makeup artist.
Not at all.
“Lightning Farron!” The photographer walked up and shook her head. “What an honor it is to have you here today!”
Of course, he said that to everybody, but it actually sounded sincere this time. And why wouldn’t it?
Hope couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. Lightning Farron! The Lightning Farron!
Of course he knew of her – the woman who had appeared in magazines seemingly from nowhere, who was famous for being discovered in a kickboxing class. Earlier in the year, she’d worn a holster on her evening gown while modeling on the runway to bring awareness for gun control. She used her fame to start numerous charities and was, as he’d heard, notoriously punctual.
Lightning Farron, quite possibly one of the most famous models in the world.
That’s who he’d talked to.
That’s who he’d felt an instant connection with.
Oh, god. He was done for. There was no possible way anything could ever come from this.
But a few minutes later, when Lightning was directed into her first test shot, she glanced up and met his eyes, clearing recognizing him. Her lips, lined in a neutral expression, curled up ever-so-slightly at the corners.
“There!” the photographer cried. “That smize! Just like that!”
Somehow, Hope managed not to drop any of the lights or do anything stupid. Instead, he simply smiled back.
After all, he wasn’t supposed to interact with the talent.
But there were no rules if the talent came to him...
#41, Sazh and any number of his problematic kids :3c
41. “What are you doing in my house?”
When Sazh heard weird noises downstairs one morning, he assumed it was Dajh moving things around, so he wasn’t particularly concerned as he stumbled into the room shortly after waking up all bleary-eyed.
However, instead of Dajh, he saw a very familiar flash of red hair.
“Vanille?” he blurted out. “What are you doing in my house?”
“Sazh!” Vanille jumped up from where she’d been reorganizing one of the bookshelves. Huh, none of those cookbooks looked familiar. “There you are! I guess an old man needs his sleep~”
“I ain’ that old,” he said. “How the heck did you…?”
“Dajh let me in! He’s cleaning up the kitchen. He’s a good kid, you know?”
“I do know.” Sazh was still trying to make sense of the conversation, considering he hadn’t even had his coffee yet. “Seriously, why are you here?”
“Oh, no reason~”
“Uh huh.”
“She had a fight with Fang, Daddy!” Dajh’s voice called out as he raced from the kitchen to greet his father.
Sazh immediately smiled and scooped up his son. “Oh, did she, now?”
“Yeah! She came over here to - ”
“Just to clear my head,” Vanille interrupted, though the bright smile that’d been on her face faded somewhat. “Fang and I hardly ever argue, you know, but when we do…”
“Sure wouldn’t want to feel her wrath,” Sazh agreed. “You did good by wanting to give her space. I’m bettin’ it’ll be easier to talk once she’s calmed down.”
“You think so?”
“Kiddo, I was married for years. I know so.”
This time, Vanille managed a giggle. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Damn right I am. Now c’mon, let’s go make some breakfast while you gather your thoughts.”
“Yay!”
–
A few weeks later, Sazh wasn’t as alarmed when he heard more noises downstairs, though this time, it sounded like typing. Had Vanille managed to hack into his computer…?
Nope, he quickly found out as he headed downstairs all bleary-eyed. This time, Hope was sitting on his couch, a laptop set on the coffee table as his fingers rapidly moved across the keys.
“The hell?!”
Hope jumped a bit, but his startled expression immediately turned to relief. “Oh, Sazh. I’m sorry if I woke you up. Dajh let me in.”
Sazh made a mental note to give Dajh a little talk. “Yeah, yeah. What’re you doin’ here?”
“I, um…” Hope’s shoulders sagged. “I…had an argument with Lightning. I decided it would be best for us to have some space for awhile.”
“Huh.” That was honestly surprising, considering that those two had practically been joined at the hip since they’d gotten together (which only made sense, since it’d taken them so damn long, but at least he’d won the betting pool). “Probably a good idea. I’ve seen Soldier Girl mad, and it sure ain’t pretty.”
“I mean, she’s always pretty.” Hope’s ears turned red. “But I understand what you mean.”
Sazh hid a smirk. “You want some coffee, kid?”
–
When Dajh let someone else into the house - seriously, he needed to have a talk with his son - Sazh immediately knew who was there and groaned, flopping a pillow over his face. Maybe this time, he shouldn’t get up…
“Yo, old man! You getting up or what?”
“Damn kids so impatient these days,” Sazh muttered, obeying the voice for some reason. He opened his door to see Snow with a sheepish grin on his face.
“Uh, hey. Sorry if I woke you up.”
“Impossible for you not to, since you’re walkin’ around like you own the place.” He looked up, taking in the guy’s disheveled hair and the slight look of fear in his eyes. “…Lemme guess. Fight with Serah?”
“How’d you guess?!”
Sazh sighed heavily and went to go put on the coffee. “Practice.”
–
When Noel showed up, Sazh wasn’t even surprised. Okay, he sort of was, but only because he didn’t know Yeul that well and was shocked a girl that tiny was capable of getting so angry.
Apparently she was very capable of getting pissed off, if the wild look in Noel’s eyes was any indication.
This time, Sazh didn’t even both with the coffee and went right for the tea, if just because Noel didn’t need to be any more jittery.
–
“This looks very promising, Mr. Katzroy.” The hiring director nodded and looked over Sazh’s resume. “Your piloting license is up to date, correct?”
“Yes, sir. And now that my kid’s gone back to school, it’ll be easier settin’ up other arrangements for him.”
“Good, good. I did have one question about your job history, though…”
“Yes?”
“You’ve spent most of your time working similarly to this, except for this one.” The hiring director squinted at the paper, like he was trying to make sense of the words. “How on earth did you become a relationship counselor for awhile there?”
Sazh chuckled. “Let’s just say it’s a role I was forced into. Kids these days, y’know?”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Have Mercy by comeonlight
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F
Fandom: Final Fantasy XVI
Relationship: Jote/Tarja (Final Fantasy XVI)
Characters: Tarja (Final Fantasy XVI), Jote (Final Fantasy XVI)
Additional Tags: Girls Exchanging Compliments, Jote Being Unaware of Her Rizz, endgame spoilers, Practice Kissing, Sharing a Bed, Confessions, unprotected handholding, First Dates, Tarja's Cataclysmically Gay Internal Monologue
Words: 7,599
Chapters: 5/?
Summary:
Desk drawer of Tarja/Jote (Tarjote?) flashfic to be updated sporadically because I am, predictably, falling into the rarepair pit once more.
Chapters unrelated unless otherwise noted. Rating subject to change.
8 and 27 for Aiden, Shian and/or the rest of your 2000 children for character development thingy
first of all, absolutely bless ye moon, lovb u, thank ye, heart <3second of all, no. i mean i could ramble bout erry single one but that'd take a while -thonk-
8. Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?
fortunately neither aiden or shian has to deal w/ guns. i'd cry. only shootin here would happen in videogames, and for aiden, not even that. he ain't got time for dat. busy boye.
27. How does your character normally deal with confrontation?
aiden is really, really bad w/ confrontation. lackin self-confidence and not havin the best experiences w/ people gettin angry at them, he usually just takes it and doesn't do much to stop it. even if there's someone important to em gettin involved, he still has trouble standin up for em, as he's just.. scared. and afterwards he feels bad he didn't do anythin. poor bean. but that, again, is only if there's someone else involved. if he's alone, he'll likely think he deserved to be put into that situation.
shian on the other hand, while generally more shy than aiden, he's easier to get into trouble like that. to put it simply he ain't got time for bs. if it's a situation he can't just leave from, he'll just.. pout and not listen. throw things back at the other person. other than that, he'd just.. leave.. like.. bye. on the more extreme cases he'll surely be capable of punchin a guy. he's done that before. not the best way of dealin w/ things.
aka neither of em have good healthy ways of gettin emselves out of an unfortunate situation but \o/ they'll learn
Who’s the first to wake up in the morning: Deuce. And then she kicks Jack out of bed because he likes to sleep in.
Who’s the one to make breakfast: Obviously Deuce. You wouldn’t want Jack near the kitchen.
Who’s the one to serve the other breakfast in bed: Jack tried once (special occasion thing, it’s romantic and stuff). Didn’t go well.
Who would suggest a quickie in the morning before work: .............Jack, I guess?
Who suggests they both ditch work to lay around all day: Believe in Jack’s power to slack off whenever and wherever.
Who chooses the movies: They do it together~
Who initiates kissing during the moving, thus distracting the other from the movie altogether: Jack :D
Who orders lunch: They don’t order if Deuce can cook it c:
Who steals food from the other’s plate without asking: Jack. There’s never enough food for this boy.
Who curls up next to the other and falls asleep due to a full tummy: Also Jack. But she finds it cute :’>
Who distracts the other from trying to work at home: Jack is the ultimate distraction c:
Who asks to go get ice cream like a five-year-old: Jack, an actual five-year-old.
Who takes pictures of their partner eating ice cream: Probably neither, but Jack might ask Cater or Sice to take pictures of them.
Who makes a sexual joke about the dripping ice cream on their partner’s face: If Jack ever did, he’d get ice cream shoved in his face :D
Who cooks dinner: Deuce cooks everything~
Who cleans up the kitchen afterwards: Deuce, but she gets Jack to help.
Who stays up until 2 reading: Neither. Jack doesn’t read much, and Deuce usually goes to bed early.
Who stares at their partner while they’re sleeping: Deuce. Jack ends up in the most adorable sleeping positions, and she can’t help but stare (and stroke his hair occasionally).
Who kisses their partner while they sleep: Both do, depending on who gets to wake up with the other still asleep (for Jack it’s usually in the middle of the night).
