#Although the epilogue felt a bit unnecessary

[greenerteacups]

That reminds me of why I really dislike that the epilogue exists.... other than the fact that it's totally unnecessary and adds nothing of importance to the story, it actually portrays, in my opinion, a strangely stagnant and therefore bitter (imo) ending for these characters I truly loved through my childhood and teens... Like, the fact that they just...stayed the same... married the person they started dating in school (regardless of actual compatibility)...the same friendships and enmities.... I just remember reading that epilogue and immediately rejecting it cause I found it weirdly depressing and it also kinda felt like the author was kinda forcing the characters into a certain destiny beyond what was necessary, which sounds really weird but I do think there's a point where, as a writer, you have to let the story go and leave 'what happens next' to the readers' imaginations.

there's a reason for this, i think. i actually happen to like a lot of the endgame couples — i think that harry and ginny being straight-out-of-school/married-young-in-wartime sweethearts is cute, and makes sense for their characters. i like the idea of them naming the kids after harry's parents, Sirius, and Luna (Obvious Exception Notwithstanding!!!) because it ties in with the themes of family/love transcending death and also happens to be a real-life phenomenon that young couples do to commemorate the wartime dead! i think it's great that neville's a herbology professor — it's an ultimate triumph over Snape to become the exact opposite kind of teacher, one who offers support and understanding to slow-learning children — and although i hate what happened to Lupin and Tonks, the idea of Harry raising Teddy as his own son/nephew/younger brother/Unidentified But Beloved Family Member in the same way Sirius probably would have raised Harry, if he had the chance. it ties in very well with "healing past wrongs" as an underlying motif for the next generation.

and you know what, fuck it, i'm not ashamed to say it: I like the Third Gen kids. they are good character concepts and they have hints of interesting story arcs! I like the idea of harry's oldest son being this ridiculously high-energy, sociable, nosy-ass Fred Weasley type popular kid, because — yeah, that's what both of your parents are! of course you're like that! and I really like the idea of [REDACTED MIDDLE CHILD NAME] being a Slytherin with strong moral values, because that's an arc that frankly should have happened in the original books, and it reads like a graceful acknowledgement of how the author mishandled Slytherin House (even if it's kind of dissonant with their behavior in the Battle of Hogwarts, but whatever). Lily we don't have much to go on, but she reads a bit like a young Ginny if she were less shy. but none of that quality changes the fact that these characters shouldn't exist.

authors coming to the end of their first work have trouble letting go of it, especially when that work is long. (even though it was her seventh book, Deathly Hallows was the first time JKR ever had to actually end a "story" as such). they're scared of leaving something out, and I think these long-range time jumps are a reaction to the desire to hold onto these characters as long as possible — to delay the inevitable goodbye, and claim authorship of as much of their characters' lives as possible. the problem is that you don't want to undo the happy ending they've just earned, so you can't realistically portray the tensions and breakups and conflicts that would happen if the characters were left to develop naturally for nineteen years. which is why the epilogue feels false to me.

and the funny thing is, for fans of the "canon" epilogue ships, ending it after the Battle of Hogwarts wouldn't change anything! it's ironic, because in theory you'd want an author to confirm that your pairing gets a big happy wedding, but when a ship is endgame, it's assumed that they have a "happy ever after" anyways. we don't read Percy Jackson and assume that he and Annabeth have an acrimonious divorce in their 40's. we don't wonder (at least, not as serious analysts of the text) if Arwen and Aragorn need to get couples counseling. maybe they do, and maybe they would, but that's not relevant to the story that's being told, and the way the narrative frames it, the "ending" of their story is itself the end of the line for their pairing. the moment you stop writing, they exist in perpetuity as a loving relationship, and you don't need to tell us they get married! they have been immortalized as lovers! harry and ginny would be THE endgame couple of the series whether or not we knew their children's names. they are each others' destiny.

and the end of the day, the problem with the epilogue boils down to this: either their story ends at the battle of hogwarts, or it didn't. if it didn't, then it looks like you have another book to write. and if it did, then it's time to take your hands off the wheel.

#greenteacup asks

[dalmascan-requiem]

Dalmascan Requiem: Confessions (Chapter 3)

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It's about time the two Viera talk about their feelings.

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Read on AO3 or keep reading after the jump

content warnings: mention of drinking

< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >

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It's finally happening~ Also I originally said this was three chapters, but I decided I wanted to do a short epilogue at the end, too :)

Laurent glares at the door to the apartment. I wonder if Eir is home--does that even matter, though? It had been a few weeks since that strange night and the morning after, and things had been fine.

Fine on the surface, that is. Laurent had noticed Gale had been acting a bit more distant--as if he was on a job instead of being himself. It put him on edge, though Gemna said to simply be patient and 'let Gale sort out his feelings'.

Feelings on what, though? What changed? What if his feelings don't want me around anymore? Laurent was originally fine with Gale just simply being alive and well when he thought the other Viera was still in the jungle. But, now…

The dark-haired Viera lets out a frustrated sigh as he reaches for the door handle. I'll just need to talk to him, this can't go on--wait, what is that noise? He stops, hand resting on the handle, as he listens closely.

It sounds like a harp, and a voice… singing? Is that Eir? Laurent opens the door slowly, silently, in case his guess was wrong. As the sound of music became more clear, however, he simply smiled. Of course, how could I have forgotten…

Laurent makes his way through the apartment, stopping to lean against the doorframe to Gale's bedroom and listen. He had always enjoyed the other Viera's singing--although Gale practicing the harp and music was generally frowned upon by the elders. Such a frivolous activity was seen as unnecessary for a Wood Warder.

So instead, Gale would only sing when it was the two of them, whenever the Green Word (or Eir's impulsiveness) brought them together. It felt like a secret shared between them--something that Laurent always treasured.

"You're home earlier than I expected, Reyna."

Laurent is drawn out of his thoughts by Gale's remark, who had finished his song and was now looking at him with a small smile. "Ah, yes… My apologies, I didn't wish to interrupt you." Laurent returns Gale's smile with one of his own. "I had forgotten…"--how beautiful your voice was--"...t-that you sang."

"Oh? I suppose it has been a while since I last did so in your company. Singing helps me to… clear my mind." Gale's expression does not change, and he gestures to the foot of his bed. "You're free to stay and listen, if you'd like."

Laurent nods slightly. "If I am not intruding…"

"Never."

~~~

Gale always found singing calming. Being able to set everything aside for a few moments and just focus on the music helps him to sort his thoughts after--usually. 

The elders and Wood Warders always frowned upon this, thinking that the supposed 'racket' would attract trouble and that singing ever be useful in battle. He still continued to do so in secret, however… and of course, it didn't hurt that Laurent seemed to enjoy it when he sang, too.

But much had changed since their time in Golmore Jungle, and Gale found himself with less time to indulge in this hobby. There was always work to do or something to occupy his mind so he never really thought of it much--until recently.

Gale's rather abrupt realization that night left him feeling confused and on edge, and he's sure the change in mood didn't go unnoticed. Gemna had remarked on more than one occasion that he 'needed to figure it out already', as if it were all as easy as walking up to his friend and telling him he loved him.

While he wished for nothing more than to do just that, but questions plagued him whenever Gale thought of confessing. What if it pushed Laurent away, or made everything worse? He really wished that everything could go back to the way it was--or if nothing else, be able to sing forever so he'd never have to think about it.

But eventually, Gale finishes his song.

As Gale opened his eyes, his gaze fell on the other Viera, who has a wistful look on his face. After a moment, he turns to Gale, offering him a small, soft smile. "You've always had such a beautiful voice, Eir."

"O-oh, thank you…" Gale breaks away from Laurent's gaze, looking down at the harp as his face turns red. Oh, this is ridiculous, I can't keep acting like this… The befreckled Viera takes a deep breath. "Reyna, I must… apologize for the last few weeks."

Laurent knits his brow in confusion. "...I'm not sure what you mean."

"I-I mean…"--Gods why is this so hard!?--"...I realize that perhaps I've been acting different than usual, and that I might have seemed upset. I simply wanted to apologize for it."

"Ah. You don't need to apologize for your feelings, Eir." Laurent looks away from Gale to stare at the ceiling. "That said, I cannot help to notice this all started the night I was drinking."

"Reyna, you did nothing wrong. Truly." Gale wrings his hands as he struggles to put words to his thoughts. "The night simply gave me much to think about, and it has taken me a bit to gather my feelings…"

"Feelings on what?"

"...Feelings on, well…"--oh come on already--"...that is, I…"

"I love you, Eir."

Gale stops talking and snaps his head up to look at Laurent, who was still staring at the ceiling with an unreadable expression. "I should be the one to apologize, I was never… truthful about my feelings. I've loved you for a long time, but I worried that saying something would push you away. I still don't remember what happened that night, but it was clear that it upset you, and then I was worried that not saying something would… lead to regrets."

Laurent finishes talking, and Gale once again looks down at his hands. I'm not sure why I'm surprised… That night implied as such. I guess I was just concerned that I misread… Or that maybe even he didn't know--

Gale's thoughts are interrupted by the other Viera clearing his throat, and he realizes he took far too long to respond. "...I'll go."

"Wait, stay." Gale quickly grabs Laurent's wrist, stopping him from getting up from the bed. When fuchsia eyes look back at him, Gale can't help but to smile. "I… love you too."

"...You do?" Laurent makes no attempt to remove his wrist from Gale's grasp but looks at him with slight confusion. "Why didn't you say anything, then?"

"Well, why didn't you?"

"No, I meant just now--" Laurent lets out a small huff before continuing. "...I was worried it would change things."

"Hmm." Gale readjusts his grip so he's holding Laurent's hand before looking back up at him. "I felt the same… and maybe things have changed, now." Gale leans in a bit while using his free hand to brush some bangs out of Laurent's face. "I suppose… that isn't so bad, though."

Laurent leans in and kisses Gale--softly, tenderly--before pulling back with a bashful smile on his face.

"...No, I suppose it's not."

~~~

Gods, it's bright. Laurent groans as he turns away from the window as the sunlight streams in. It's the first thing in the morning… How does Eir even sleep?

A small chuckle comes from next to him as Gale wraps his arms around his waist. "I usually close the curtains, Reyna. It seems it… slipped my mind last night."

Laurent gives a small hum in response and idly runs his hand through Gale's hair. This is nice… I suppose we'll have to get up eventually, but for now… A question springs to the Viera's mind, however. "Eir, what even happened that night?"

"Hmm? Oh." Gale looks at Laurent with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You're a clingy drunk, Reyna."

"...What?"

"You're a clingy drunk. You kept hugging me and saying cute things." Gale chuckles. "When I finally managed to get you home--which I had to carry you, by the way--you asked me to lay down with you."

"Oh, I did?" Laurent turns red at the thought of being so forward, but Gale either doesn't notice or decides to not mention it.

"Yes. I didn't lay down, but I suppose it made me think… think of what was likely obvious, that is."

"I see. Well, it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"That it did." Gale gives Laurent a long, lingering kiss, then sits up. "But we won't hear the end of it if we're late to help Gemna around the bar. Let's get going."

Laurent grabs Gale by his waist, lightly pulling him back down. "There's no need to rush. Let's just… stay like this. A little longer."

The lighter-haired Viera flashes a wide smile, and settles back in next to Laurent. "Sure, let's relax for a bit longer."

#ffxiv fanfiction #ffxiv fic #ffxiv oc #my oc #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy xiv #ff14 #ao3 #dalmascan requiem

[subbyenbywitch]

[book review] star trek: discovery: drastic measures by dayton ward (2018)

this novel places both of star trek: discovery’s[1] first two captains (georgiou and lorca) as up-and-coming lieutenant commanders in the thick of the tarsus iv massacre referred to in the tos episode “the conscience of the king.” lorca is in charge of a federation outpost on tarsus iv, and georgiou is in charge of field operations for the first wave of relief efforts to the beleaguered colony world.

i kind of didn’t need this backstory, and i’m not really sure anyone else did? was anyone really hoping for more on this when they saw that tos episode?[2] and having so many principle players from discovery as well as captain april’s enterprise involved conspired to make the universe feel way smaller, which is pretty much always a pet peeve of mine.

one interesting thing to wrap my head around, though, is that this is probably the only depiction we’ve ever gotten of prime universe gabriel lorca? like, i was ready to say that i kind of didn’t buy lorca as a guy who had served planetside for any length of time, but then i realized that at the end of the day i actually don’t know anything about prime universe lorca, so i had no basis to say that. kind of a head trip.

given that, it feels a bit weird that the book kind of brings lorca to a place where he has a reason to be disenchanted about the federation’s ideals and misanthropic in general. and there wasn’t a lot done to depict him as substantially different than his mirror universe counterpart. he even has the weird quirk about fortune cookies.

my original, unresearched guess was that the author didn’t know lorca was going to be revealed to be from the mirror universe until he had already finished the book and he tacked on the epilogue to account for that but didn’t change anything in the main body of the text.[3] but after doing some digging[4] i’m actually pretty convinced that isn’t the case. so at the end of the day i’m not too sure what happened there, actually.[5]

although i didn’t really necessarily feel like this story super needed to be told, i did like the overall structure of the book with the excerpts from one of the survivors’ books about the massacre interspersed among the narrative. the excerpts tend to be interviews with a character that’s just been introduced or done something important in the story, and it’s a nice way to get exposition dumps about those characters in a form that feels more natural and memorable than just having it forced in awkwardly in narration or dialogue.

georgiou being in charge of the relief effort doesn’t feel like it was super necessary and didn’t really give us any new insights into her or anything, but it did give us a few good character moments that reinforced things i already liked about her. we get to see her maintaining her faith in people and the federation’s ideals in the face of unspeakable tragedy, which really squares with the kind of dedication she displays to those ideals in “the vulcan hello.” she also gets great character moments with a young jim kirk[6] and the little girl who grows up to write the aforementioned in-universe nonfiction book

i think my biggest issue with the book, aside from it feeling like a somewhat unnecessary prequel, is that it at times it reads like a first draft. either that or it was edited very sloppily? there are just several moments where dialogue and narration seem redundantly similar to something that was said a paragraph or two ago, sometimes in extremely similar words. most egregiously, there were even one or two instances of the exact same sentence being repeated a few sentences later? just really sloppy stuff, imo.

basically, the main thing saving this is that there’s a pretty stable floor of “i will enjoy it at least this much” with star trek books unless they are truly atrociously written, and this one wasn’t. aside from the sloppy editing, it was fine. like, it didn’t put me to sleep or get hard to follow or anything, it just felt kind of meandering and like it was happening just because.

c-rank

notes

1. before you get ready to type that “well, actually” comment–i mean the show, not the ship!

2. for that matter, how many people even remember that tos episode?

3. the structure of the book also seemed suggestive to me because the epilogue actually comes after the acknowledgements and about the author sections, by the way, which i don’t think i’ve ever seen in another book before? it almost makes it feel like a “post-credits” scene. also this book was published in february of 2018 and lorca was revealed to be from the mirror universe in a january 2018 episode, so at first glance the timing would seem to line up, too.

4. my understanding after looking into it a bit is that the discovery writer’s room is actually unusually involved in the production of the tertiary materials like comics and novels, so that would seem to discount this explanation.

5. another possibility that probably occurs to some people here is that lorca being from the mirror universe was decided late in the show’s run, and i kind of wondered that too given the production chaos and high turnover of top-level show creatives, but, again, nope! jason isaacs has confirmed in multiple interviews that this was always the intention for the character.

6. this cameo was basically mandatory, so it’s not one of the “making the universe feel smaller” deals i was complaining about earlier.

#star trek #star trek discovery #star trek: discovery: drastic measures #dayton ward #star trek books #books #book review #reviews

[missingpants]

#The Unhoneymooners #Christina Lauren #book cover #I binge-listened to this in February to get into the romance mood of the month #It was fine #I appreciated the accuracy of the Spanish used #Man that romantic interest was emotionally round as hell #Although the epilogue felt a bit unnecessary #I'm no longer a romantic novel virgin but I don't think it's going to become a thing

[be11atrixthestrange]

The Luckiest (19 Years Later)

I wrote this as an epilogue to my multichapter fic, Completely Mental, but it works as a standalone drabble too. So here it is! I just love these boys (men!), and I love their friendship.  #HarryAndRonBrotp

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19 Years Later

The soft autumn sun smiled down on the Burrow’s grounds, its reflection illuminating the windows like a lighthouse. A crisp breeze whistled through the garden, bringing with it a hint of cooler days to come. Inside, the smell of dinner sizzling on the stove, butterbeer bottles clinking, children playing, and adults laughing filled the room, but it was still too quiet for Harry’s liking.

Harry always loved September. Growing up, September marked the transition from 4 Privet Drive to Hogwarts, and it came with a sweeping feeling of relief knowing he’d finally be able to see his friends again. Every year, his anticipation for September would grow stronger and start sooner, until summer eventually became something to endure rather than enjoy.

His love of autumn — and by extension, his distaste for summer — persisted into adulthood, even when life moved on after the war. Although there were no more shopping trips to Diagon Alley, journeys on the Hogwarts Express, or sorting hat ceremonies reinforcing Harry’s eagerness for the fall, his feelings remained. Harry would wake up on September 1st giddy and eager, like a child on Christmas Eve, and then proceed to make breakfast for the kids and floo to the Ministry for an Auror meeting, just like any other day. There was no longer anything particularly exciting about September, but he kept a tight grip on his memories of the scarlet steam engine, trolley snacks, and welcome feasts.

That all changed two years ago when James began his first year at Hogwarts. That year, September 1st brought a change that he wasn’t ready for — watching his son board the Hogwarts Express. James’ eyes sparkled with excitement, but Harry shared none of the enthusiasm. Instead, Harry’s stomach felt heavy with dread as he watched the train roll away, smiling and waving at James’ anxious face in the window while holding back tears and desperately wishing it was still August.

The following year wasn’t any easier, and today was even worse. When Albus joined James on the train, it took all of Harry’s effort to reassure him that everything would be okay because, for Harry, it probably wouldn’t. It was funny how Harry could defeat Voldemort at seventeen, but he was still convinced that saying goodbye to his kids on platform nine and three-quarters was the most difficult thing he’d ever do.

Harry was half-listening to the hustle and bustle of the Burrow and trying not to get too comfy in the extra spaciousness in the living room, made possible only by the absence of the older children when he spotted a flash of red outside in the garden. Ron was sitting alone on a bench, cradling a butterbeer, his hair a stark contrast to the muted green of the overgrown lawn.

Without a second thought, Harry moved toward the Burrow’s exit, following the narrow stone pathway that curved into the garden. It didn’t cross his mind whether or not Ron wanted to be alone, and even if he did, there was an unspoken agreement between them that ‘alone’ didn’t exclude being with each other.

Ron smiled ruefully when he spotted Harry approaching, but it only lasted a second before his shoulders slumped and his smile vanished. “Hey, mate.”

“Hey,” said Harry, plopping down beside Ron on the bench. Ron shifted sideways to make room for him. “You okay?”

“Dunno,” said Ron, before bringing his butterbeer to his lips and taking in a long gulp.

“Thinking about Rosie?” asked Harry.

Ron nodded and coughed, clearing his throat from his oversized sip. “Bloody hate that she’s gone.”

“I know the feeling,” said Harry. “Was even worse this year with Al going too.”

“I bet. Sorry, mate.”

A few comfortable moments of silence passed, as both men knew perfectly well that there was nothing to say to make the other feel better.

Ron gulped down the rest of his butterbeer before speaking again. “I just hope she’s okay.”

Harry smiled, remembering how he said that about James his first year. When James turned out fine, better than fine, Harry had to admit his concern was for his own loneliness rather than James’ safety. “She’s probably fine, but you know that,” he says, earning a moment of confused eye contact from Ron. “It’s us you should worry about.”

“We almost died at Hogwarts. So many times,” said Ron, a wistful smile forming on his lips.

“And thanks to us,” said Harry, “they have it better than we did. Either way, she’s a tough girl. Smart. You raised a good one.”

“Thank Merlin she takes after her mum.”

Harry laughed. Hermione always said that Rose took after Ron, not her. Harry thought it was both. They probably saw the best traits in their daughter and assumed they were from the other parent. “Rosie takes after you a lot more than you think.”

“That’s what Hermione says. But thanks, now I’m even more worried,” laughed Ron. “Think Rosie and Albus’ll be in Gryffindor together?”

“No doubt about Rosie,” said Harry, as the memory of Rosie’s first time on a broomstick resurfaced. Rosie’s face was scarlet-red with excitement as she took a nosedive toward the ground, followed by a frenzied and panicked Ron. The cushioning charm he just barely cast in time turned out to be unnecessary, as she swerved at the last second to avoid a collision, but Harry was pretty sure Ron’s blood pressure had never returned to a normal level.

“Yeah, stupid question,” laughed Ron. He smiled, and Harry wondered if he was recalling the same memory or one of the many other times Rosie demonstrated Gryffindor courage, even if it meant disregarding her own safety. “What about Albus?”

“Honestly, no clue. I could see him being in Gryffindor or Slytherin,” he said, noticing Ron wince at ‘Slytherin.’ Ron’s reaction filled Harry with a parental defensiveness he wasn’t expecting, and he added pointedly, “I’ll be proud of him either way.”

Ron nodded in agreement, maybe a bit too eagerly, but it momentarily settled the passing fear that Albus would be sorted into a different house than his siblings and cousins. It wasn’t that Harry didn’t want him to be in Slytherin, he just didn’t want him to be alone.

But maybe Albus wanted to be in a different house than his family, and Harry was just projecting.

“I wonder who they’re sitting with on the train,” said Ron as if reading Harry’s mind. Then he flashed his lopsided grin, still goofy and youthful even at the ripe age of thirty-seven. “You know those unfortunate souls will have to be their friends for the rest of time.”

Unfortunate souls. Harry smiled at the insinuation that becoming Ron’s best friend was determined as soon as they found that empty compartment together on the Hogwarts Express. Maybe Neville was meant to lose his toad, and Hermione’s subsequent intrusion was no accident. As far as Harry was concerned, prophecies had only caused him trouble, but maybe he owed destiny a token of gratitude, too. “Whatever souls they’re sitting next to are extremely lucky.”

“The luckiest,” added Ron with a nostalgic smile.

It was unclear if Ron was still referring to the kids at this point, but it didn’t matter. It was all the same to Harry. They were the luckiest.

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For more moments like this, read Completely Mental on Ao3 or FFN. Now complete! <3

#brOTP #harry and ron brotp #Ron Weasley #Harry Potter #hp ficlet #ROMIONE #hinny #ron x hermione #Ron and Hermione #next gen harry potter #canon compliant

[skiyoosmi]

– caramel frappucino ch. 27

marga’s notes. AHHH hello my loveliest readers; i cannot believe we have finally reached this end (well, not really the last chap ‘cause we still have two epilogue-like chaps coming up but yeah)… i hope you enjoy this part!! PLUS LISTEN TO THE SONGS CAUSE AHHHHH THE. MOOD. FITS.

♪ CHAPTER THEME ♪

on the train ride home by the paper kites | quiet eyes by axel flóvent

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 “Do I look okay?” you asked, head turning to your cousin who was casually lounging around your room. For the umpteenth time of the day, Tetsurou released an exasperated sigh, looking away from the game he was playing on his mobile phone and glaring at you while lying on your neatly-folded bed.

“That’s what you’ve been asking for the past hour and I keep telling you yes,” he grumbled as he adjusted his body so he now laid on his stomach, continuing to scroll through his phone and at the same time, muttering some stuff about how he hopes you miss the fireworks show. Seconds later, he let out a loud yelp as he felt something hit him right on the back of his head. He scowled in your direction upon noticing the missing pink hairbrush that was previously in your hand, now on the floor.

“You brought me into this situation so don’t curse on me now. This… is your ship sailing,” you gestured to your face that was fancily styled for the night out. You only rolled your eyes when he childishly stuck his tongue out as a reply, going back to fixing whatever still needs to be fixed.

A few more minutes of doing unnecessary things passed before a knock resonated through your apartment’s front door. Tetsurou immediately jumped up from his position on your bed, giggling when he passed by your form before skipping his way downstairs to open the door for your guest.

To say that your heart was beating loud is an understatement – hell, you could almost swear it’s about to burst out of your chest from its pounding. Stop sweating, doofus! You’ll ruin your makeup, you silently screamed at yourself, feeling the dampness slowly beginning to form around your forehead and neck out of extreme anxiety.

“Y/N! Get your butt downstairs. Your date’s already here,” the teasing and boisterous voice of your cousin echoed throughout the apartment, followed by another giggle after a few seconds, probably because Sakusa replied to his rather embarassing comment. Despite not seeing the two, you felt your face flush; it wasn’t like you’re denying that it was a date… it was just unusual to hear especially when your date was someone like Sakusa.

After gathering enough nerves to face them, you took a deep breath and looked at your vanity mirror for the last time, hands smoothing down your red floral yukata for any crease that formed. Soon, you found yourself bashfully standing in front of the two tall men as Sakusa’s eyes shamelessly scanned your figure. Although he himself was wearing a simple navy yukata, you couldn’t fathom what he was thinking seeing as his face was adorned with his usual mask that was, for some reason, black this time.

“You look nice,” he nodded at your direction while you smiled, returning the compliment you have surprisingly received from him; you knew that your face was red as hell right now based on how your cousin was biting his lips to keep himself from laughing.

“Now, go! Enjoy yourselves and remember to make the wish,” he winked, pushing you both out of the door with his hands on your lower backs. You both gave him a glare that he only ignored, waving goodbye as you went on your way.

“I hope he understood what I said about making the wish though.”

“I’m sorry, he really didn’t mean to,” you profusely bowed your head at the man almost twice your age who was glowering at your companion who, in return, remained unbothered. On the ends of the said man’s feet were his spilled strawberry and milk kakigōri which Sakusa, coming from the old man’s words, knocked over when he bumped into him while walking beside the food stalls.

“Young miss, instead of apologizing when it’s not your fault, you should teach your companion how to be respectful to his elders,” he shook his head from side to side in a mocking disappointment, as if to annoy Sakusa further.

“Are you implying that I am disrespectful?” Sakusa countered, hands clenching a little bit as he tried to calm himself down. He doesn’t need a nameless man almost ruining both of your nights right now. Still, his pride didn’t let him let this one go; he couldn’t give this man the satisfaction when he clearly knows to himself that he didn’t bump into him a while ago. If anything, it was the older man who purposely bump into the two of you – probably cause you kind of looked a little too beautiful tonight.

Sure, he won’t deny that he found you pretty right from the moment he met you, one of the main reasons he decided to keep on talking to you and befriending you instead of loathing you for spilling the caramel frappucino on him. For some reason however, the way you styled yourself tonight made you even more gorgeous in his eyes, if that was still possible.

“Just drop it, ‘Omi,” you harshly whispered, fingers grabbing a fold of his yukata and tugging on it to stop him from engaging into an unnecessary fight. In addition to that, you were pretty sure the fireworks show will go off any moment now; you had to find yourselves a decent place where you can watch the much-anticipated event or else you will seriously sulk into a corner until next year’s festival.

“Apologize,” the man ordered but to no avail, Sakusa still stood his ground; even going as far as grabbing your hands with his and pulling you into the opposite direction. From behind you, you could hear a noise of protest and a ‘you little s–‘ before it was cut off. He kept on pulling you despite your arguments about how he should’ve just lowered his pride and said he’s sorry.

“Why would I say sorry when I didn’t do anything? It’s clear as a day that he’s just trying to prolong the conversation so he could take more look of you.”

“W-what…” you stuttered, not really being able to understand what he was trying to say. As if he was able to read your mind, he let out a frustrated sigh after removing his black mask.

“He had this disgusting look that screams he wants to take you out despite him being older by so much. I’m saying it’s because you look too pretty tonight,” the last sentence he told you immediately caused your face to flush a deep red; you were just so thankful it was nighttime or else you wouldn’t be able to live off the embarrassment of being so flustered from a simple compliment.

A few seconds later, it dawned upon you that he brought you to a rather secluded place by the top of the small hill where you still had a good view of what was about to come. Observing the area, you began to think Sakusa also watches the yearly event, judging by how he knew that this kind of secret place existed. People usually crowded by the bridge since it has the widest space and the clearest view which also meant that on this hill, you two were alone together.

He then took out a large piece of clothing that he laid on the ground, sitting cross-legged and patting the space next to him as he gestured for you to sit as well. Following his request, you gently sat down and looked ahead the reflection of the moon by the river.

“Are you feeling alright these days?” you only hummed in reply, too entranced by the night’s beauty. Ten minutes from now, the fireworks will make it even more beautiful.

“I’ve never pestered you about your… situation with Iwaizumi-san, but I felt like I needed to ask how you are,” he explained upon catching your eyes that were filled with wonder and curiosity due to his sudden question. Your mouth formed a small ‘o’ before giving him a small smile.

“I’m really okay, don’t worry. I just feel guilty sometimes, you know? In my mind, there are just some thoughts that pass by… things like I wish I’ve known so I didn’t hurt him that long,” you let out a quiet sigh, folding your arms over your knee and placing your chin on it. The quiet cricket of the night bugs adding more solemnity in the air as you both talked.

“Do you wish to go back to that time? And maybe be in a relationship with him?” you immediately shook your head ‘no.’

“No, no… not that kind of regret. I wouldn’t have agreed to be in a relationship either way. I was too young and too dumb; I know it won’t work out between us. I mean… I just get that feeling that we won’t.”

“Then why do you feel sad?” you mulled over his question, trying to form the right words that will truly explain how you really felt with everything that has happened.

“It’s something like… I wish I’d known so I could’ve rejected him right away? Is that cruel? I mean, maybe if I did that, we wouldn’t have gone through such pain for such a long time, get rid of the false hopes we had for each other. Hell, I don’t even remember anymore what it feels like to be really happy without thinking of such thoughts,” you sadly chuckled before shrugging and leaning back as you saw the people from faraway beginning to take their phones out, signaling that the fireworks show was almost beginning.

You felt Sakusa scoot closer to you; something you didn’t expect since you knew he never liked getting close to another person. You were sure as hell by now that all throughout the night, he was acting really weird; something different compared to his usual demeanor – not that it freaked you out though. If anything, you liked his slight clinginess too much… but you didn’t need him being weirded out so you opted to not saying anything.

“Is that your wish?” he quietly asked, making you jump out of surprise for his sudden closeness. His nimble fingers were on your chin, turning your head so you could look at his eyes that screamed a thousand feelings.

“W-what?” you breathed out, internally cursing because you didn’t even know how many times you’ve stuttered tonight.

“I’ve read somewhere that if you make a wish and… give the person beside you a kiss, it will come true so I’m asking you, is that your wish? To be truly happy,” he whispered, eyes flickering from your eyes to your lips. If this was any other person, you were pretty sure you would’ve slapped the wits out of him due to his statement’s ridiculousness but for some reason, you couldn’t move away from him.

“I… I think so,” you meekly nodded, gulping as he seemed to have no plan on moving at all. You think you can hear the fireworks crackling as it began to light up the sky, booming over the night sky as it tried to get your attention 

“I’ll try my best to make you happy then.”

… but the feeling of soft lips crashing into yours as soon as he said what he wanted to say was enough to leave you distracted. It wasn’t like anything you have imagined before; this – this was full of love, magic and adoration, something you have missed when you often wondered what it felt like to have a kiss. Heartbeats powering the sound of the explosions and sparks as he intertwined his fingers into yours, panting for breath when he released himself from you.

“Y-you.... kissed me... you hate germs... and I missed the fireworks,” you mumbled, feeling rather lightheaded from kissing him too long. He lightly chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, leaning over to give you another peck.

“I think we can let those slide just this once.”

#haikyuu smau #haikyuu x reader #sakusa smau #sakusa x reader #haikyuuwritersnet #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu social media au #haikyuu headcanons #sakusa imagines #sakusa scenarios #sakusa social media au #sakusa headcanons #sakusa kiyoomi #haikyuu

[seymour-butz-stuff]

As a lefty liberal in a conservative Northeast Wisconsin redoubt, I took a far less knee-jerk approach to 9/11 than some of my neighbors. I experienced the pain, horror, and fear of that day like anyone else. Still, my instinct was always to reject half-baked, jingoistic calls for “nation-building” (to resurrect a term George W. Bush had derisively used himself during the 2000 presidential campaign) and for using military action as a first—rather than rarely tapped and last—resort.

The publication I was writing for doesn’t exist anymore (it’s hard to overstate how unpopular antiwar sentiment was back in the early 2000s), and I don’t have any copies of those old, dusty opinion pieces, but I do distinctly recall my conclusion about our foray into the infamous “graveyard of empires.” I wrote something along the lines of “it’s hard to imagine a thriving Western-style democracy coming out of all this.”

Given the cultural and political challenges inherent in creating the kind of free and open “nation” that Bush was then proposing we “build,” it looked, to some extent, like a lost cause from the beginning. An operation to locate and capture Osama bin Laden? Sure, I was on board for that, and as Daily Kos’ Mark Sumner writes in this important retrospective, we had more than one opportunity to nab bin Laden without turning Afghanistan into a perpetual graveyard.

So why were we invading? Good question. Was it because they wanted to run an oil pipeline through the country? Was it to boost the fortunes of military contractors, who would waste no time scurrying up to the money spigot the U.S. government was preparing to put on blast? Or was it simply that our leaders at the time had big, feral war boners for any nation populated by brown-skinned Muslims? Or maybe it was a, b, c, and then some.

Whatever the reason, I smelled a rat. It was similar to my reaction roughly a year and a half later when Bush and his war machine started agitating for an invasion of Iraq while furiously misleading a great nation about Saddam Hussein’s (nonexistent) connections to bin Laden. By that time, I was smelling several rats and maybe a sewer-dwelling capybara or two. Just as the war party had less-destructive options early on in Afghanistan (as Sumner notes, the Bush administration rejected a surrender offer from the Taliban as well as overtures that could have led to the capture of bin Laden himself), the invasion of Iraq seemed, at least to me, completely unnecessary given that the UN had inspectors on the ground in Iraq looking for WMD even as Bush champed at the bit to invade. They were so sure the WMD were there, and they were spectacularly wrong.

Now, with the collapse of the Afghan government, which we spent nearly 20 years propping up with considerable blood and treasure, it’s clear that I—and the vocal minority of antiwar protesters at the time—were right. Bush and his enablers, including many of today’s anti-Biden armchair quarterbacks, such as Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly, were disastrously wrong. And, not for nothing, those pro-war cheerleaders cost us plenty in terms of lives, resources, and lost credibility.

There’s a lot that’s galling about conservatives’ reaction to the chaos we’ve seen in Afghanistan over the past several days. First and foremost, this was their hero Donald Trump’s plan all along, only he wanted to leave by Christmas and had established a May 1 deadline for the wholesale removal of our troops. The situation would have likely been worse under a second Trump regime, and even if things had somehow appeared less chaotic (given Trump’s allergy to planning and his affinity for chaos, this seems unlikely), it’s a preposterous fantasy to think the result—a complete Taliban takeover of the country—could have been avoided.

https://twitter.com/thetonymichaels/status/1427282625543217153

I assume President Biden received some bad intelligence concerning the Afghan military’s ability and willingness to confront the Taliban (this December 2019 Washington Post story about the clusterfuck that is was the U.S.-trained Afghan army should have given the Pentagon and our intelligence agencies pause, of course), but being the mensch he is, he’s taking full responsibility for this sad, disturbing denouement.

But blaming Biden—who, as Barack Obama’s vice president, wanted to get us out of Afghanistan in 2009—for 20 years of terrible decisions made by others seems a stretch.

Obviously, the pullout has not gone well, and Biden will, and perhaps should, receive criticism for that. But the idea that we were on the verge of turning things around in Afghanistan (like we supposedly were every year for the past 20) is nonsense.

Although I’ve become a big Biden fanboy over the past year, I initially second-guessed his decision to withdraw our troops completely. But if the past week has shown us anything, it’s that the Afghanistan project was always a pipe dream and an illusion. Yesterday, while I thought about the human rights repercussions of Biden’s decision, I felt like I needed a reality check. In his nationally televised speech to the nation, Biden provided it for me:

American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves. We spent over a trillion dollars. We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong — incredibly well equipped — a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our NATO allies. We gave them every tool they could need. We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force — something the Taliban doesn’t have. Taliban does not have an air force.  We provided close air support. We gave them every chance to determine their own future. What we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future.

I don’t have children, but I do have nieces and nephews, and I can’t imagine encouraging them to risk their lives and limbs for a mission that is and always was vaporware. Nor would I lay down my own life for such a venture. So how could I quibble with a commander in chief’s decision to prevent other Americans’ kids from dying or being maimed in a lost cause?

I couldn’t, and Joe Biden, whose own son may have died because of his deployment to Iraq, couldn’t either.

It was the same reason I couldn’t justify the invasion of Afghanistan 20 years ago and why our Iraq adventure seemed particularly noxious. Old men with no stake in these wars other than their own reputations and political fortunes were making life-and-death decisions on poor and middle-class kids’ behalf.

Anti-war activists were right then, and we’re right now. And no amount of Biden-bashing from the warmongers on the right will ever change that.

As satisfying as it might be to say “I told you so,” what we and the sometime doves in the GOP really need to say is “never again.” Biden deserves ample credit for finally getting us out of George W. Bush’s mess, and his hypocritical right-wing critics need to finally and forever STFU.

It made comedian Sarah Silverman say, “THIS IS FUCKING BRILLIANT,” and prompted author Stephen King to shout “Pulitzer Prize!!!” (on Twitter, that is). What is it? The viral letter that launched four hilarious Trump-trolling books. Get them all, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Just $12.96 for the pack of 4! Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Yuugiroku 2 - Toshizou Sakura Epilogue

This is my first post of the month, so I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can through my ko-fi, and paypal or patreon which provides access to my hakuoki blog translations and early access to my postings. Also, please let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my Lookout List since i either do not have audio for those cds or do not have audio that I can share.... and if you are able to remove watermarks from a video, please contact me.... 

originally translated this on account of me wanting to ignore Kyoka-Roku, which will be pushed back yet another year. unfortunately (or fortunately? hahaha) i can’t discount the possibility of that happening again since im now shifting most of my focus onto yuugiroku because of the English patch... though im not sure what I’ll be translating next since im still in the middle of moving what ive already done onto the spreadsheet from my scheduled posts, and that is going to take quite a while im since editing them as i go. 

anyway, this is my translation of Toshizou’s sakura epilogue 『 恋染めし日』  from the 2nd yuugiroku game. the timing for these are all over the place given what I know of the games... and this one definitely happens after the last Tsukikage no Shou chapter for Hijikata since Chizuru’s name in that is “Yukimura Chizuru” while this has her with a change in surname... whereas the one for Kazama happens some time after Reimeiroku’s ending since it occurs while they’re still in Edo, while Saito’s is definitely before his last Ginsei no Shou chapter, and Harada’s is likely sometime before his last Edo Blossom chapter. Not sure about Souji’s aside from how it’s after they’re married (though im assuming it’s before his last tsukikage chapter given my vague recollection of it), and I have no idea about Heisuke’s since I don’t have tl for it.

images used in this post are my snips of my vita capture.

ALSO I FINALLY GOT MY FIRST VACCINE (i’m in a low priority age group, don’t live in a hot spot, and 2 of the appointments i made were cancelled by the pharmacies i booked them at so it took a while)!!!!!! 

Hakuoki Yuugiroku 2 - Toshizou Epilogue

Translation by KumoriYami

Regardless if it was my responding to Toshizou-san. Or if it was Toshizou-san's voice responding to me. As our conversation unfolded, our voices gradually became quieter.

After a while, our words stopped as they became unnecessary/were no longer necessary.......

Without even realizing it, we were sitting against the sakura tree.

Hijikata:.......

Chizuru:......

A relaxing and serene silence.

As if to fill in the empty gap left by our conversation, a gentle wind blew the sakura.

We sat under the rain of sakura that was falling like snow, and the first to break the silence/open his mouth was Toshizou-san.

Hijikata: We were talking for a while/ We've talked for a while.

Chizuru: Yes, quite some time has passed......

Compared to when we started talking, I noticed that the shadow of the sakura tree had become longer and that the sun’s position had changed. 

Perhaps because the direction of the wind had changed, the smell of the sakura became more refreshing.

Chizuru: The wind's gotten colder, so should we be going home soon?

I brushed my sleeves and stood up. Then, I gently smiled as I extended my hand to Toshizou-san, who was still sitting against the tree.

A moment later, Toshizou-san grabbed my hand——

Hijikata:.......Don't go.

Chizuru: Eh? Kyaa!?

As if to show the depth of his feelings, he strongly pulled me, causing me to fall into Toshizou-san's embrace.

Toshizou-san caught me as I fell, and let out a small sigh.

Chizuru: To-Toshizou-san!?

Hijikata: Don't go yet...... Can you stay here for a bit longer?

Toshizou-san's sigh and his words in my ear were full of affection and a bit of loneliness.

Chizuru: Wh-What's wrong, Toshizou-san?

Hijikata: Nothing in particular. It's just when I saw this sakura tree....... I felt as if you'd be going far away.

Chizuru: I, I see.

In this sort of position, I wasn't able to remain calm.

Feeling the sturdy chest of the man behind me, I felt a bit restless, though Toshizou-san surprisingly began to speak into my ear.

Hijikata:......Last night. I had a dream.

Chizuru: Was it perhaps/Could it be, a dream about the Shinsengumi/that it was a dream about the Shinsengumi......?

Hijikata: Yeah. It was different that the usual one. This one.......didn’t have you in it, Chizuru. Ikedya, the Hamaguri Incident, and also Toba-Fushimi. A Shinsengumi where you didn't exist/without you...... It was that sort of dream.

Chizuru:.......

Hijikata: That's why I was thinking. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here today.

As if to say that he didn't want to lose anything, his arms grasp on me became tighter.

From how painful his embrace was, I could feel Hijikata-san’s anxiety.

Hijikata: It's quite embarrassing. To think that the Shinsengumi's Demon Vice-Commander would become this upset over a single dream.

Chizuru:......Toshizou-san is no longer that Demon Vice-Commander. Rather, he’s my most important person, and Hijikata Chizuru's beloved husband.

Although I didn't know if he could see my face, I still smiled to assure him, and waited for Toshizou-san to react/-san's reaction.

Eventuallly, Toshizou-san sighed deeply, and blankly stared at the sakura.

Hijikata: Although I really like sakura, whenever I see them, I always end up thinking about what I've lost.

Chizuru:......I do too/ I have the same/similar thoughts.

Hijikata: But, there were things I received in return. 

——Before coming to this place, we lost a lot/many things.

This included our comrades, our home, and everything else that we had before.

One by one, each item of importance was lost.

As if to confirm what we were all that we had left in our hands, we tightened our hold on the other’s arms.

I looked up and was greeted by the sight of sakura in full bloom and Toshizou-san smiling.

Out bodies that were touching each felt as warm as the current season, when the snow began to melt.

Perhaps by feeling each other's warmth, doing so would be able to bring/would bring our hearts closer.

Hijikata:......I'm sorry to have said something so selfish/wilful. Let's hurry back now/We should go back now..

When we finally separated from each other, Toshizou-san bitterly smiled as he muttered.

So I said——

Continue chatting Bring this to an end <-

Chizuru: Y-Yes. Let's go home.

Seeing how I didn’t resist his words, Toshizou-san showed a mischievous smile.

Hijikata: Are you not able to stand up? Or do you want me to carry you on my back?

Chizuru: It, it’s fine......!

Driven by my urge to take his outstretched hand, I leaned on the sakura tree to stand up.

——Suddenly, my hair was fluttering in the wind.

The strong wind swept through the tree branches, and their petals instantly enveloped Hijikata-san's back while he began walking.

It looked as if Hijikata-san was going to be taken away by the sakura, so I hurriedly followed Hijikata-san.

In order to not lose sight of his back in the blizzard-like sakura, I walked towards him——.

----End---

...it snowed last friday so i was pretty happy watching it as it fell.

also im planning on reuploading a diff version of saito’s version of this later.

#hakuoki #hakuouki #hakuoki yuugiroku 2 #Hakuoki Game Translation #Hijikata Toshizou #Yukimura Chizuru

[hear-me-growl]

Ambrosia | Ksj | Chapter VI (final)

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴏɴ Aᴏ3 || Dɪᴏɴʏsᴜs ·ᴘᴜʙ· ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀᴘᴏsᴛ || ↻ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ

> ɢᴇɴʀᴇ: smut, humor, fluff, angst | s2l > ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: millionaire!Seokjin x bartender!, nyotaimori model!Reader > ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: mature [+18]; strong language and explicit sex > ᴡᴏʀᴅᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 5.9k

sᴇʀɪᴇs ɪɴᴅᴇx ||  ⟵ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴠ

💙 ᴀ/ɴ: can’t believe this beast is finally done (though I might post a bonus epilogue, we’ll see 😉). Thank you so, so much for reading and leaving likes. Not gonna lie, it’s been a hard one to write, but also extremely fun. As my first story in English (and also my first BTS fic), it holds a special place in my heart. Also I may or may not be a sucker for this Jin. Now that it’s over, don’t be shy to let me know your thoughts. It’s important for creators that you give feedback, even if just a few words or a keyboard smash. You can make someone (not only me) very happy.

Ambrosia brought a lot of people to my blog and I’m super thankful for you all and very excited to write many more stories you’ll enjoy too. Once again, thank you for all the love and support. 

Psst! Keep an eye out for the next update on the Dionysus ·pub· series. Did someone say Hobi?

“Thanks, you fuckers! We love you!”

The growl in the frontman’s voice raised screams and whistles that rumbled through Dionysus. Sweaty, ethereal and devilishly handsome, Taehyung bowed for the crowd chanting his band’s name. Everytime their signature purple bunny posters covered the beaten bricks of the pub, a mass of people flooded the establishment. V’s Moon Rabbits caused a frenzy wherever they played, waking the masses with their sound like a rockslide. The rock, jazzy melodies paired with the singer’s looks skyrocketed their popularity in underground Seoul.

However, no matter how many concerts and jam sessions were scheduled, they always came back to Dionysus —the pub that gave them a chance when nobody did.

After the performance, they usually hung out at the bar until they found a fan desperate for a chance to share the night with their idols. Doe eyes and sultry smiles in every corner, the boys never went home alone.

Tonight you didn’t work behind the bar, though. You just sat on a barstool, keeping your best friend entertained on her shift, ready to jump to her rescue if she felt overwhelmed. Not that she needed it, she handled the crowd with a big smile on her face. Beer in hand, you chatted animatedly with the blonde singer and Namjoon, the drummer, since the others had already found someone to drag to the bathrooms for an intimate rendezvous.

“You broke your drumstick. Again. You owe me 30.000.”

“I distinctly remember you mentioning both of them, so I’m not paying a single won.”

“C’mon, man. Don’t be a pussy,” Taehyung nudged his bandmate’s side as he took a sip of his beer. “Next time don’t make it so easy for her to win.”

“Yeah, pay up, Joon,” you chimed, a taunting tone lingering on your lips.

“Sorry, love. The rules were clear.” 

The tall man leaned back on the bar and gave his signature jaw-dropping smile, flanked by two cute dimples. Who would’ve thought underneath all that there was the lady-killer of the century? You bent forward towards him, sniffing before wrinkling your nose.

“Does it smell like chicken over here?”

A snort came from your other side, Taehyung trying to conceal his laughter and you snickered along. Namjoon’s tattooed hands ran over his chin as he watched the both of you in amusement too before speaking.

“Tell you what it doesn’t smell like: money in your pocket. Now, if you excuse me,” he said, eyes fixed on a juicy target. His self-satisfied smirk turned sultry as his gaze darkened, “there’s a pretty doll over there not sucking my cock and I’d like to change that.”  

In a flash, the drummer finished the rest of his drink, attention solely on the woman at the other side of the bar. Still perched on the counter, he looked at you with a raised brow. “Unless you want to join her?”

“Go get your dick wet already,” you nudged with a groan, fully aware that he wasn’t entirely joking.

Like a panther, he stalked towards his newfound prey, mixing with the crowd. Taehyung and you chatted for a little while. He differed from his charismatic persona on stage. V’s goal was to attract people with mysterious looks and alluring smiles, but Taehyung was much more reserved, rude even, except around his close ones. At some point, you noticed the cute girl behind him. You recognised her immediately and smiled warmly, inviting her to talk to the singer.

“Hi, Tae,” she greeted quietly.

Hearing his name, he turned around to face his number one fan. Her face brightened up with the attention.

“Hey, baby girl. Just arrived?”

“Err— yeah, I’m sorry I missed the show.”

“You’ve been to all of them for the past two years, I think you can skip one, ” he sneered. After that an awkward silence settled between the two. When he started to turn back to you, ending the conversation, she was quick to keep his attention.

“Do you… umm… wanna dance with me?”

“Not now, I’m talking.”

“Oh, of course! I’m sorry I interrupted,” she apologized, looking at you with doe eyes.

“No worries, sweetie,” you intervened as you shot a murderous glare to the man, the second-hand embarrassment urging you to help the poor girl out. “Stay and chat with us. What do you drink?”

Her eyes jumped from you to Taehyung nervously, a flash of pain through them when he lazily checked his phone, clearly indiferent. She swallowed a sigh, shrinking in defeat.

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’m going to… my friend should be here somewhere,” she grimaced at her own excuse, but bit her lips and cocked her head before speaking again. “See you later, Tae?”

“I don’t know my plans yet, baby girl.”

“Right,” she whispered, looking at his side like he’d shot just her. After a beat, she cleared her throat, eyes on the floor. “Bye, then.”

She walked away, hand on her face to hide from the overflowing crowd and ponytail shaking. The singer took a sip from his beer, still on the phone. He didn’t even bother to look her in the eye to reject her.

“One: that was actually painful to experience, and two: you are a major asshole. That poor girl follows you like a puppy with heart eyes and you know it. Do you have to be so rude?”

“Hey, she knows what she’s getting into,” he answered with a shrug.

That naive fool. What a terrible mistake she made falling for Taehyung. To him there was no point in lying, so he proudly waved the “I’ll never be your boyfriend ” flag before anything happened and then jumped to the next roll in the hay without sparing a glance. Never settling, never making false promises. He was upfront about his intentions, so it never bothered you before, despite how tactless he was. Tonight, however, you felt pity at the heartbroken look in her eyes. Love brought more pain than happiness, she’d learn sooner or later.

Suddenly, something bumped into the barstool and you stumbled forward. Taehyung catched you before you could hit your head on the counter. With a snarl on display, you turned and yelled at the culprit, who zigzagged towards the exit, probably to smoke or take a piss. You scoffed. He probably didn’t even hear you, given his unsteady walk. Just as the door opened, a tall, neatly dressed figure entered the bar, stepping aside just in time to dodge the tripping drunk. 

It took a second for you to register the tingle travelling across your skin like wildfire brought by the newcomer. You had felt it before, that twisted warm fuzzy feeling, a disease that spread and ruined people. All too familiar and foreign at the same time, like rewatching an old movie with new eyes. 

‘You felt something that night and you feel it still’. 

The words echoed in your memory, taking you a couple of weeks back. That night after the event was your last conversation with him and you thought you’d finally rid yourself of unnecessary trouble. Quite the opposite. You found yourself craving for something, no matter how much instant ramen you ate or how long you stayed at work to keep yourself busy. His silence was directly proportional to your uneasiness, but you refused to connect the dots.

Until tonight.

Faster than light, your head snapped back at the singer to avoid being seen. Reason overlapped panic as you assessed the damage. That mind-reading snake was right, you felt something beyond physical for him. At least now, fully aware of the issue, you could fix it. Keeping a cool head, you devised a plan of action. It was imperative to eliminate those thoughts before they infected your brain any further, to show both him and yourself that your interest was merely a passing malaise, like a cold or an indigestion. You just needed to find the right medicine for it.

“You okay there? You look like you either had an epiphany or smoked the worst weed in Seoul.”

Taehyung’s voice was low in your ear and you realised the lack of distance between the two. Feeling him chuckle, you looked up at him. You’d forgotten he was even there, hands still low on your waist. In a feeble attempt to regain some control over yourself, you grabbed the shirt over his taut stomach and swallowed hard. Half-lidded, he tongued the corner of his mouth revealing a smug smile. No wonder people lost their shit about him. He looked bewitching and fun, but most importantly, uncomplicated. The perfect remedy for your stupid, stupid heart.

“Kiss me,” you blurted, eyes locked on the mark at the edge of his lower lip.

“What?”

A quick glance back at the door and you frowned before closing the distance to press your mouth roughly on his. For a second, he seemed confused, but then responded eagerly to the kiss. When you pulled back, panting and determined, he tongued the corner of his mouth in amusement.

“Not complaining, but where did all that ‘I don’t make out with my buddies’ philosophy go?”

“As far as buddies go, you’re the shittiest one I have. Not much of a loss there,” you joked, shifting your weight impatiently. Now of all times, Tae had to grow friendship ethics. Although you should’ve praised his character development, right now was a rather inconvenient moment to be a gentleman. What you needed was a distraction in the form of an unapologetic fuckboy. Fast.

Luck on your side, Taehyung just grinned cheekily, happy to indulge your sudden neediness, and tipped his head towards the crowd. He let you guide him through Dionysus, to a dark spot where you’d fuse with the stench of sweat and bad ideas.

“Gimme a minute, ok? Don’t move!” Shortie greeted with a warm smile, waving above intoxicated laughs and the strings of an old song’s bass. 

Seokjin nodded and leaned on the counter, avoiding the alcohol spilt all over it. Dionysus was especially crowded that night, which only made scanning the multitude in hopes to find you harder. 

After your last conversation, he gave you some space, a chance to miss him. On paper, it was a good strategy. What he didn’t expect was his plan backfiring. After a couple of weeks of self-restraint, his will power ran out. He missed you. Instead of working on his next project as he should’ve, his car brought him across Seoul to you —his personal bittersweet pill. He couldn't help but smile, even when the air reeked of sweat and the sticky floor threatened to peel off the red of his soles. What wouldn’t one of those sensationalists that defamed him give to publicly gut him for his new-found addiction. Those ever-changing eyes that begged him to keep trying despite your constant rejection made quitting you impossible. Only if you would see it too.

“Now, I’m all yours. Sorry to make you wait,” said the petite bartender, already pouring his usual drink. “I’m happy to see you, it’s been a while.”

“Work has been busy lately. No help tonight?”

 “If you mean it in a ‘ is my hot-ass crush here? ’ kind of way, she is,” your friend said, catching his intentions easily. Not that he put any effort in masking them, constantly looking around the place for you. “I don’t know where she went, though. She was sitting over there just a moment a— what the...?”

Seokjin followed her gaze, fixed intently somewhere behind him. Your body pressed against someone’s, fingers buried in blonde hair. Unable to look away, he watched a mouth clash against yours before traveling down your neck.

“Oh, Jin, I’m sorry. This dumbhead, I don’t know what’s gotten into her. Taehyung? Really? He’s like her little brother.”

I’m pretty sure “little brothers” don’t stick their tongues down your throat . Shortie kept talking in the background, probably making excuses for you. To his surprise, the first thing he felt wasn’t anger or jealousy, but something close to satisfaction. An odd sense of pride filled his chest every time the blonde touched you where he had before, when he kissed over the skin he had marked as his already. 

The man turned the two of you around, giving Seokjin a perfect view of your backside. Long fingers travelled down your spine, cupping your delicious ass with a rough squeeze. The same ass he remembered perking back for more despite the leftover sting his palm left behind. He couldn’t shake the vibrant shade of red he created that night, nor the soft whines you sang for him. Pretty eyes clouded with lust as you came on top of him, now etched in his memory forever —along with the iciness you left behind on his sheets the morning after.

With a fist full of his leather jacket, you laughed. Seokjin could tell it didn’t quite reach your eyes. In fact, it seemed like the attention on the man in front of you was only half-hearted. 

Yes, he noticed the pink tint on your cheeks, the hips grinding on a thigh clad in ripped jeans and shortened breaths. But he was also aware of your eyes bouncing around the pub distractedly as your companion nipped your jaw. A smirk tugged on Seokjin’s lips. He’d seen withdrawal before, when his mother quit smoking. Gum could not replace a cigarette and a toyboy could not replace him.

Meanwhile, you kept trying to redirect your wandering thoughts to Taehyung, who locked lips once again, sucking on your lower one. Closing your eyes, you attempted to concentrate solely on his tongue on your mouth. The air was humid, too many bodies in one room. It stuck to your skin the same way it did at the club with Seokjin, but somehow thicker. Tae smelled rich and exotic, nothing like the subtle sweetness of his surely expensive cologne. You remember because it lingered on your skin the morning after, along with the marks he imprinted all over your body. You weren’t as excited for Taehyung to leave his.

Catching your train of thought, you emptied your mind and only allowed pleasure to invade it. You left out a sigh at the hot pressure running through your veins as his thigh flexed against your core just right. It was all you needed at that moment, a nice body against yours to fight the infection of Kim Seokjin. Large hands roamed your body, brushing your breasts on their way up to your hair and tangled there to deepen the kiss. Just when you had achieved the perfect balance between numbing everything around you and enjoying the feeling, the blonde whispered hotly in your ear. His low grumble shook you out of your blissed state, crumbling any prospect of eluding reality.

All of the sudden you found the spicy kisses bland. A light frown etched between your eyebrows when you studied his profile. It dawned on you that it was Taehyung who just told you to come all over his jeans. Taehyung. The same guy who sent you stupid memes while taking a shit because “he was bored”. Fuck, you even came close to orgasming in front of him. Because of him. You winced at the thought. What a genius idea, 15-minutes-ago you. Way to go.

About to detangle from his hold to apologise for the impromptu makeout session —a damn good one, true, but probably scarring for life— he beat you to it. Hands still around you, he arched an eyebrow over your shoulder. 

“Hey, man. Want something?” he rasped out.

“The lady and I need to talk.”

Great . Just fucking peachy. You took a steady breath before turning around, putting a bit of space between you and your friend. The first thing you noticed was Seokjin’s piercing gaze, squinting slightly from how intently he looked at you. 

“Do we now?” you questioned acidly, wearing your best unfazed visage.

Seokjin looked damn fine tonight. Hands casually in his pockets and the gleam of his silver watch just showing. In that position his shoulders squared further. The urge to bite along the curves leading up to his neck rose out of nowhere. You really needed a cold shower.

He smirked at your response, as if he knew your deepest, dirtiest secrets.

“Yes, we do,” a command more than anything else. Still, you recognised the glint of playfulness in the black coffee of his eyes. The one you foolishly claimed for yourself, even though he probably used it on other girls. “Leave the puppy behind and let’s go outside. It’s too loud in here.”

“Who the hell is this jerk again?” Tae enquired dryly, offended by the nickname. He placed a hand on your hip, squeezing slightly to regain your attention.

You jumped slightly at the contact. Seokjin’s eyes snapped up, acknowledging his presence behind you, still too close. The sharp edge of his jaw rolled in annoyance, almost imperceptibly, but he was quick to smooth it with light-hearted indifference.

“The only reason she’s making out with you, kid.”

Amidst the deafening ambiance, you heard a pin drop. There was a beat of silence, tension so high it took you both a moment to register. Then, Taehyung stepped forward, moving you aside. He was not a fighter, despite what one may think with that foul mouth and attitude of his, but he had no problem in punching a douchebag.

“The fuck did you say?”

“Tae,” you stopped, catching his arm. Seokjin remained unaffected, holding the younger’s glare with neutral expression. “Please, don’t. Just go, I’ll deal with the asshole.”

Brows still furrowed, he studied you for a moment with scepticism. “You sure?” 

“Yeah, look I—” You pulled him closer, so you could talk to him more privately. No need for Seokjin to hear anything that could be used against you later. “I’m sorry. About all of this, I mean. I shouldn’t have kissed you tonight when there’s other, um, stuff on my mind. I needed something to help me unwind and you were here so... ”

“Five more minutes and you might’ve ‘unwound’ all the way.”

Your face burned immediately, aware of his lingering taste and the stickiness between your thighs. Pure joy bloomed on his lips at your reaction.

“Back to the whole friend thing?”

“Sure,” he shrugged, “but you owe me a beer for the semi.” 

With that, he nodded at Seokjin in some sort of solemn bro code and the older reciprocated. Men’s short grudge-holding span was always fascinating to witness. He waved both of you goodbye, as if the awkward situation had never happened. Trust Taehyung not to really give a fuck. He was the best at it.

You eyed Seokjin up and down and snaked through the crowd towards the back exit without a word. He followed closely the trail you opened, people too distracted to care if their drinks spilled when you shoulder them. Not sure if you felt angry, relieved, mortified, confused,  scared shitless or all of the above, you avoided looking back to check if Seokjin was still there. How did a fun night out with your friends end up like this? You were at home and ready to order a nutritionist’s worst nightmare. You coming to Dio, right? The boys perform tonight. Pretty pleeeease?🥺 That cursed text was to blame. Whoever invented best friends should be sued.

The difference in temperature made you shiver when you stepped out of the pub. A single bulb illuminated the alley, rain puddles and broken glass reflecting its dim light. The night was calm. Not a single siren wailed, like they usually did. Only the constant boom of the bass drum could be heard now, noise muffled underwater, as the door closed behind Seokjin. Your own pulse followed the rhythm, feeling the vibrations deep in your chest.

“Why are you here?” you finally asked. “Just to ruin my night or did you make a sport of being a jerk?”

“Doing you a favour. It didn’t look like you were having a good time,” he answered, amused. You could almost see the ‘I know when you are’ itching to follow. 

“That’s not for you to decide. Go home.”

“Not without you.”

His wolfish smirk stretched as he threw a wink. A bit late to try to lift the mood, in your opinion. He seemed to forget that the world didn’t revolve around his stupid, handsome face. It happened at the nyotaimori event, and it happened tonight. Even if you would’ve ended up alone anyway, he had no right to come all the way to Dionysus to mess with your head and ruin your plans —said plans being to drink the embarrassment of almost fucking Taehyung away. Still, he shouldn’t have interfered. You shouldn’t have tried to relax your emotional cramp with Tae either, but it was his mistakes you wanted to focus on, not yours.

“I missed that frown of yours, sushi girl.”

Unaware that you’d been scowling, your arms crossed in self-defense.

“Listen, you can’t just barge in on my life every time you’re bored,” you chided. “Get a hobby, plant a tree or whatever. Didn’t you like fishing? Go do that. Just don’t bother me.”

His features softened slightly. “You remember.”

How could you forget the half an hour rant at the burger joint? Truth be told, you did disconnect half-way, but you recall his somewhat boyish excitement as he gave you a whole monograph on baits. Also the fish puns, those you recall with painful accuracy.

“Just because you are full of yourself enough to have your ears clogged doesn't mean that mine are.”

He shook his head and laughed at your comment. When he stood in front of you to brush a stray strand out of your face, you froze for a second. The tenderness of the gesture was suffocating, his gaze on yours too. No matter how hard you tried to keep distance, Seokjin always found a way to close it. You wanted to run.

His eyes fell on your lips for a moment, intense and wanting. Suddenly that sliver of fondness evaporated from them as something else caught his attention. A hand slid down to your neck and his thumb wiped there repeatedly as if he wanted to clean the spot. Once again, his jaw tensed and his stare grew jet black. Swallowing hard, you felt your cheeks reddening both at his touch and the admonishing tut he gave. He was glaring at what you assumed was a hickey left there by Taehyung. Irrefutable proof of your useless attempt to escape the itch that was Seokjin. Because he was exactly that —a maddening, unreachable itch that one cannot assuage. 

“Don’t you think it’s cruel to toy with that Kurt Cobain wannabe?” The tone remained teasing, but his hard, steel stare gave away his mood. He’d never felt jealousy before, and it tasted dry and sour. “He might get the idea that you’re interested.”

You held his gaze, puffing with cockiness to disguise any sign of guilt. “I wouldn’t worry about him, he gets what casual means. Ask him for pointers on that.”

“You think I don’t?” he chuckled airly, brow raising. “I’ve had plenty of that, believe me. But this? Us ? Nothing casual about it, sweet cheeks. I told you already: I like you. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Perfect teeth on display, he smiled at you. Selfish bastard, airing those words so carelessly. He gave the impression of a teacher explaining the slowest student how to do simple math, not a man admitting his feelings. Yet, the confession sounded brutally sweet in the quiet back alley. Perhaps the beer still buzzing was to blame or the opiate smell of his cologne coating your senses, but you wondered if it would be that bad to believe him. Then reality poured on you like tar. Even if he did feel like he said, it wasn’t worth the risk. He’d grow tired eventually and leave, like everyone else. He’d ask why couldn’t you be sweet and shy like his exes. He’d tell you that he would never introduce someone like you to his parents. He’d text saying that he would come home late after work, night after night. He’d call you a slut because ‘don’t lie to me, I saw you flirting’ with someone’s panties in his back pocket still. Every time you were naive enough to catch feelings, you’d paid for your stupidity tenfold and ended up hurt and broken. You wouldn’t go through it all again.

“There’s no us ,” you reminded both him and you.

“We should change that, then,” he offered with a shrug. “I want us.”

The fucker knew how to play the strings of your heart, a master puppeteer with the cruelest intentions. Every word was a shiver of excitement that pooled in your uneasy stomach. It felt a lot like love and it was terrifying. Love always faded into ugly crying, ice-cream and vodka. Cornered against your own crumbling walls, you transformed your mixed feelings into bitterness.

“I don’t know what kind of spoiled-prince fantasy you live in, but in the real world people don’t always get what they want. Shocking, I know. Get a whisky to swallow that crazy fact and leave me alone.”

You shoved him away and walked back towards the door, desperate for Seokjin-less air. The pressure in your lungs was suffocating. 

“Don’t run away, let’s talk about this.”

“There’s nothing left to say, rich boy. I told you I don’t play couples anymore.” Seokjin snorted, surely about to make a quick retort, but you cut him. “Find someone else for your little rom-com attempt. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going back in to find a man who can fuck me and not catch feelings after the first kiss like a Disney princess.”

“I’m not sure if your goal is to hurt me or make me lose interest, sweet cheeks, but it’s not working,” he stated, low grit in his tone. “Push me away all you want, I’m not letting my perfect woman slip through my fingers. Not when I know you feel the same way I do.”

You should’ve left and forgotten about him, but you took the bait.

“Oh, please, enlighten me. How’s that exactly?”

“Restless. Every fucking second of the day. Wondering if I’d laugh at the joke I just told or if I’d enjoy the new restaurant you’re at. Tired and grumpy, because you want me lying next to you so bad that you can’t sleep at night. Frustrated, because the moment we kissed, I ruined everyone else for you.”

You snorted, amused both at the accuracy of his words and how much they irritated you. Hopefully he’d assume you were mocking him. It had to be some sort of superpower, there was no other way he could read you so effortlessly. With every layer of sarcasm he peeled you felt more naked, more vulnerable to his sharp sweet nothings. Falling for him felt inevitable and you were afraid of crash-landing.

“Maybe you didn’t see me making out with a guy literally 5 minutes ago.”

“Oh, I did, sweet cheeks,” he said slowly, taking a step towards you. His lips curled upwards and you swallowed hard at the sight. He was hypnotic, expensive clothes fitting like a second skin. What an awful moment for your legs to become butter. “I saw his sloppy tongue on your mouth and you not smiling at him like you do with me. I saw how you kissed him just to take me out of your head.”

Your retreat ended quickly when your back bumped into the door you had been so determined to walk through. Emergency exit now blocked, the only strategy left was to hold your ground. And you would’ve, but the beating of your heart drowned any coherent thought. He stopped when the tips of his shoes kissed yours. Lifting your chin up, you tried to swallow the sand in your throat to no avail. Seokjin propped his hands on each side of your head, the slow tempo of his movements almost theatrical. Spikes of anticipation raised all over your skin. As he caged you, his eyes leveled with yours. You saw a glimmer of triumph in them, lips stretched in a self-satisfied grin. Maybe you could bite it off, kiss him hard enough to erase it.

“Careful, your ego is showing.” 

“Your bluff too,” he countered.

The poorly lit alley stayed silent for hours in the little bubble your words created. Stray raindrops that slid from the rooftops hit the ground uncomfortably loud. Perhaps it was just your percepcion. Seokjin held your glare with blazing determination. It was useless, you couldn’t convince him to leave. Around him you felt made out of glass, he saw through every lie and every rejection. You were love-sick and you both knew. There was no miracle remedy, no snake oil to cure this heart infection —it spread too deep already. The further away you tried to stay out of love, the deeper you got in it. The poetic irony might just as well slap an ‘I was here’ sticker on your forehead. 

With a heavy sigh you accepted defeat. 

“What do you want from me, Jin?”

Your whisper came out as a plea. Arms went limp on your sides, exhausted. ‘ Please, be gentle ,’ you wanted to say. Even if the words never came out, Seokjin understood. Your features stiffened as you braced yourself for the blow, ready to take the hit. You looked too fragile, too beaten. He hated it. Seokjin felt the need to hold you and make all the promises he intended to keep. He’d be there to lull you to sleep if you cried, to share your smiles, to lift you when you fell, to say ‘sorry’ every time he’d fuck up and ‘it’s ok’ when you did. A four-letter word burned his throat like alcohol, but he wouldn’t voice it —he didn’t want to scare you away.

“Right now? I want to kiss you. I want to take you home and take my time eating you out to get whatever doubt you might have about me, about us, out of your system. I want to make you come while you scream my name and forget that stupid idiot and any other idiot before him. I want to fuck you slow to make you understand how much you want me and then hard to show you how much I need you.” He inched even closer, trapping your eyes with his so you could read his heart in them. “I want to find you beside me in the morning and make a routine out of it. I want you to laugh at my naked butt in an apron while I make breakfast and fuck you again and again in the kitchen until you to beg me to never let go.” 

He paused, lifting a hand to cup your cheek. His eyes fleeted down as his lips ghosted yours, tickling the skin with his breath, and then back up for his next words. 

“I want everything with you.”

You were desperate to close the distance in a kiss, drown in his words. Techno beat pounded in your chest so loud that you thought something might explode. Everything . You wanted that too.

“Jin, I…” as you talked, your lips graced his. He looked at you intently, pupils completely blown and a choked gasp escaped him at the brief contact. The hand on your face tensed, showing you his neediness. It only spurred yours. “I’ve tried this before and it never turns out well.” 

“Not with me, sweet cheeks.” 

“I’m scared. What if—?” 

“Don’t be,” he cut with a smile and a wink. “You’re stuck with me. I promise.”

Tired of fighting a lost battle, you gave in. Your body moved on its own and you closed the barely-existing space between you, sealing your mouth and his with a kiss. There was urgency in his response, as his tongue immediately asked for permission. He kissed you with a starved need that you were quickly to match. His kisses were ardent, numbing you from anything outside Seokjin. Every doubt and heartbreak died where he started. Eager to taste you, he bit your lips until they puffed. Although neither of you couldn’t get enough of it, there was something gentle in your passion. His arms encased you and brought you close enough to fuse with him. Muscle memory laced your fingers to his dark hair, disheveling its perfect shape into whatever you wanted, and your hips grounded his. You molded together in a frenzy of desire. It was satisfying to see every limb and kiss back in place, exactly where they were meant to be. Like one of those compilation videos, it was addicting. The only thing missing was his bare skin on yours to make the moment perfect.

As you got lost in him, his words filled your head, triggering a moan that Seokjin drank with devotion. Perhaps it was foolish, but you let yourself believe him. No flowers, no romantic music in the background, just sincerity in his eyes as he said them. He didn’t paint a movie-like romance where every day would be perfect. He didn’t swear a life of never-ending happiness or vowed to never hurt you. No, he made one promise: that he’d be there. The effortless conviction in that one promise told you that he’d stay and try, that he’d fight for you. He was stubborn and persistent enough for you to trust him. Besides, he always kept his promises before. 

Now that you allowed what you felt for him to flow freely, you couldn’t cointan it. He flipped your world upside down. You wanted to tell him what an irritating, fun, conceited, irresistible prick he was, that sometimes you would choke him and others you would kiss him until your lips drew blood, that with him you felt the barest you’ve ever been, but also the safest. Words weren’t enough to express all that, so you kissed him fervently and urged him closer, your heartbeat reverberating in his chest, to show him instead. He grunted, immersed in you and those words you didn’t speak. No need for it, he heard them in the way you moaned and pressed against his hardened cock, seeking desperately some kind of friction. Your hands roamed his shoulders, crinkling the material of his shirt. He felt so yearned for that he forgot to breathe. When his lungs couldn’t take it anymore, Seokjin broke the kiss, missing it the moment cold air hit his wet lips. You whined at the loss, but allowed yourself a moment to recover. Panting heavily, you both stared at each other. At that moment, he looked perfect. Dishevelled and void of that cold mask he wore most of the time, it was the final shot you could take —you were recklessly and catastrophically in love, with no hope of recovery. All that fight you put up, just to lose anyway. What a poor soldier you’d make. With a breathy laugh you rested your forehead on his chin, which brought a bright smile. Still trying to get some air, he kissed your hairline tenderly as he brushed back flyaway strands. Your fingers mimicked the intimate gesture, drawing circles on the nape of his long neck.

“By the way, I don’t beg,” you quipped suddenly, lifting your head so he could see the arch on your brow and a half bitten smirk. The moment was getting too soppy already.

“You look like you enjoy new experiences.”

A wink and a kiss and then you were in his arms again, hidden in your newfound shelter as it started to drizzle in the back alley of Dionysus.

ᴛᴀɢʟɪsᴛ: @aretha170

ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏsᴛ, ᴇᴅɪᴛ ᴏʀ ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ © hear-me-growl, October 2020 

#bts fic #bts smut #bts humor #bts fluff #s2l #e2l #jin #hearmegrowl #mystories #dionysuspub #fic:ambrosia #bts #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #jin fanfiction #jin fanfic #jin fic #jin fluff #jin smut #jin x reader #seokjin #seokjin x reader

[argylemnwrites]

Change of Plans - Part 1

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (An It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment universe AU, set nearly 3 years after that epilogue)

Word Count: ~3000

Rating: PG-13 (just some adult language)

Summary: Living in NYC in March 2020 is redefining normal for Drake and Riley. Life doesn’t always go according to plan during a pandemic, after all.

Author’s Note: Ummmm, I tried to avoid writing this. I really did. But as I was sitting down to do some detailed outlines for the It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment sequel, all my brain kept wanting to explore was COVID-19 content in that universe. At first, I just bullet pointed some head canons, hoping that would be enough to scratch the itch. But it wasn’t. The fact of the matter is if you’ve read anything I’ve written, you know I’m all about grounding the Choices characters and stories in the real world to a certain degree. So to write an AU where Drake and Riley live in New York City and not address the horrible crisis that city is facing just didn’t feel true to me as a writer.

That being said, I understand fanfic is often an escape from the real world. I understand that addressing the current pandemic at all might not be your thing, even though I don’t take it to any truly sad or tragic places. So, no worries, this is an AU inside my AU. This will not be an “official” part of the sequel. It’s its own little two-part piece that inches a bit more firmly into the real world than the actual sequel, Why Are We Still Waiting?.

So, tagging all my usual It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment taglists, but no hard feelings if this is just a little too real. I will mention that this does hint at or reference some events from the prologue and the first couple of chapters of Why Are We Still Waiting?, but it does not spoil the core content of the story. Plus, to be fair, it’s not like I write things with big plot twists really. Much like It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment was essentially a Drake character study, Why Are We Still Waiting? is a Riley Liu character study, and I’m not really sure you even can spoil those.

Alright, I’ve rambled in this AN for far too long already. In case you skimmed and missed it, Trigger warning for coronavirus discussions.

Drake glanced up from his laptop as he heard the locks click on the apartment door, Riley and Anderson walking through a few seconds later. Riley unclasped Anderson’s leash and hung it on the hooks Drake had installed, followed by her coat and her keys, before sliding off her shoes and going straight into the kitchen to wash her hands. The space next to their door had become their “dirty zone.” For now, they weren’t changing all their clothing when they got back inside, but Drake was thinking that doing so should probably be their next step.

Taking Anderson out was now basically the only time either one of them left the apartment. With Riley being furloughed from her PR firm on Friday and Drake working from home for all of last week, there really wasn’t any other reason to do so. At the moment, they were doing okay for food and whatnot, but Drake was not looking forward to having to deal with that in the upcoming weeks. He wasn’t sure whether they should switch to just getting delivery that they could safely reheat, but exposing themselves to a new driver every couple of days, or if they should risk making a trip to Foodtown and stocking up for a few weeks just once. Deep down, he knew the latter was the better option, but neither of them had been to a bodega or grocery store in the past week, and he was kind of dreading it now that more people were starting to take this seriously since the schools were closed. Maybe he could pull out the box of five masks he’d bought when he was sanding down and repainting the dresser and see if he had one left for each of them.

For the past four days, with both of them with nowhere to be, they’d alternated who was leaving the relative safety of their apartment to get a little fresh air with the dog. Even before that, Riley was just going to work and coming straight home, and she’d been riding an old bicycle she bought from a coworker to avoid the subway. But now, she had nowhere to be and neither did he. On her first day at home, Drake had been reluctant to have Riley go out at all now that she didn’t need to do so. He’d seen the news stories about the hate crimes popping up against Asian Americans, and it seemed like an unnecessary risk. But he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to convince her to essentially become a shut in while he left the apartment a couple of times every day to walk Anderson. Plus, as she had pointed out, she was still in her 20s and wasn’t a former smoker, so by all accounts, she was medically a lower risk than him. Still, he got nervous every time she left and always felt a little better when she came back.

Overall, Drake knew things could be a lot worse for the two of them. Because of his conversations with Liam, he’d been slowly stocking up on nonperishables for the past month or so. He had not only a permanent job, but one with a law firm that allowed him to work from home. They had a one bedroom, not a studio, so Riley didn’t have to stay silent during his Zoom meetings with his boss or team. But losing Riley’s salary was certainly not great for them. They’d be okay for at least the next month, but going forward, things might get a little tight. Not only that, but Riley was clearly going stir crazy already, with no one to see and nothing to do. Well, nothing to do except send emails and make calls to Texas to postpone their wedding.

In the grand scheme of things, Drake knew that postponing a wedding was a minor loss. In fact, if that was the worst loss that they suffered at the end of all this, they would be very fortunate. And now that the president had banned travel from Europe, there was little chance of the majority of their already small guest list being able to make it. But it still sucked, particularly since they’d already had to postpone last year. 

He and Riley had talked about it last week, after the travel ban came down. Even though the wedding was seven weeks away, it had just seemed like the smart call to start cancelling things now instead of waiting until the last minute. The original plan had been for him to make the needed calls and whatnot since he was working from home, but since Riley now had infinite free time, she’d contacted everyone except his mother and aunt, who he had called over the weekend. His mother had been confused at first, saying she didn’t understand why they needed to postpone already and that she was sure it will have all “blown over” by May. Aunt Leona, on the other hand, had seemed pleased by the decision, telling him she was glad he wasn’t bringing that “Chinese virus” down to them from New York. Drake wasn’t sure whose response was more infuriating.

As Riley flopped down on the couch next to him, she let out a loud sigh. When he’d been working out of their apartment and she’d still been going into the office, they’d tried to maintain some distance at home. It had been pretty difficult, though. Although this place was way bigger than her old studio, they still just had the one bathroom, and obviously they were still sleeping in the same bed. Drake had known it had probably been smart of them to spread out as best they could, but he was kind of relieved when Riley had just curled up next to him on the couch this weekend, saying that it was stupid to try and pretend that they were even coming close to effectively socially distancing from one another. Plus, now that she wasn’t going into work, they basically carried the same risk of exposure. 

Although she was sitting next to him now, she didn’t make any move to actually touch him. Sensing she wanted to talk about something, he moved his laptop from his knees to the coffee table in front of them. Sure enough, her head landed in his lap not even a full minute later. This had become her habit over the years, to lay down on the couch and put her head across his lap whenever there was something she wanted to talk to him about, usually something serious that she didn’t want to deal with but knew they needed to deal with together.

“So, everything’s pushed back to November 7th,” she said after a couple of moments of silence, “We had to put down another deposit with the florist who was a real asshole about it, but the band, the photographer, and the caterers were really accommodating.” Her fingers traced random patterns across his forearm as she spoke, but her eyes remained closed, almost as if she couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye and see their shared disappointment reflected there.

“Thanks, Liu. I’ll call Mom tomorrow and let her know.” 

“I did try for October, but the caterers and the florist didn’t have any availability.”

“November’s fine. If the weather’s shitty, we can just have the ceremony inside the barn and the reception in the house. Our guest list is tiny, anyway.”

His statement hung there in the air. There was kind of this unspoken agreement between the two of them to just be matter of fact about postponing. It was a global pandemic. It had to happen. Being upset about it wasn’t going to make things any better. But sometimes, it just hurt, thinking about all their planning and excitement that was just on hold again. The scattered pieces of wedding favors and leftover invitations and the planning binder that Hana had started for them that were visible in every corner of the apartment didn’t help either. They were now mixed in with stacks of dog food, rice, and paper towels, a grim blend of the future they wanted with their new reality.

They didn’t even have any place to tuck the wedding crap out of sight at this point, as their closets and cupboards were filled to the brim with extra supplies. But without a car, Drake had just wanted to make sure they could minimize trips out if… no, when shit really hit the fan. And it’s not like they had that much storage space in their apartment anyway. But now they would have to live with constant reminders that they couldn’t get married and their lives were essentially on hold. 

He at least still had work to distract himself with. Now that Riley had cancelled everything, she really didn’t have anything she could focus on to distract herself. He just felt bad for her. “I’m sorry, Liu.”

“For what? None of this is your fault,” Riley said, her eyes popping open and gazing up at him, her hand continuing to trace patterns across the skin of his arm.

Drake sighed, dropping his head to the back of the couch and staring up at the ceiling. “I guess I feel guilty that I didn’t get us to Cordonia when I could.” He had been contemplating calling Savannah or Maxwell and seeing if they could come stay with them for a while. Leave the crazy population density that was New York City. Staying at the palace would mean bad optics for Liam, but he figured at least two of the three adults at Ramsford would probably be okay with hosting him and Riley and Anderson. But while he’d been weighing their options with Riley, Liam had closed all flights into Cordonia except for citizens returning home. Since Riley had never become a Cordonian citizen, they were out of luck. Drake knew that if he asked Liam, he would grant Riley some sort of royal exception, but he wasn’t going to put Liam in that position. The last thing Liam needed on his plate was making an accommodation for Riley.

Drake felt Riley’s head leave his lap, and soon her hands were on his shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Drake, we both were unsure if it was the right call.” 

He just shook his head. She could have had Maxwell to spend time with while he worked. Anderson could have gone on walks safely across the grounds and vineyards. But he hadn’t been decisive enough and now it was too late. “I should have seen the writing on the wall.”

“Look at me.” Her voice was firm and carried enough of an edge that Drake complied, tipping his head back to find Riley kneeling next to him on their couch, staring at him with eyes that were somehow intense and sympathetic simultaneously. “We both were concerned about flying right now. We both were unsure about being in a house with both a baby and a toddler and possibly bringing the infection to them. We both wanted to wait to see what would happen. I don’t know why you insist on taking the blame here when we both weren’t sure if heading to Cordonia was the right call.”

“I just wish there was a way to protect you from this.”

She shook her head, “You think I don’t want that, too?”

“I know, Liu. I just feel like…” he trailed off, unable to finish his thoughts. He could have never imagined a situation where he couldn’t take care of her. Keep her safe. But there was nothing he could do about any of this. It just made him feel so powerless.

“Me too, Drake,” she said, tilting her head and sliding her hand down his arm and twining their fingers together. “But nothing else to do but ride this out. Well, that and hope we don’t drive each other too crazy over the upcoming weeks,” she added with a little chuckle. “What time do you think you’ll finish up today?”

“I dunno,” Drake said with a shrug. Since he was a naturally early riser, he’d been getting up and started on his files for the day hours before Riley was waking up, trying to get his work done by mid afternoon most days so that she didn’t feel banished to the bedroom too much. He knew she felt like a distraction to him when he was working, and though he didn’t want to admit it, she kind of was. “By 3:30, I’d guess.”

“Okay,” she replied, letting go of his hand and bouncing off the couch. “I guess it’s time for me to read up on my insurance options. I’ve been putting this off, but it’s probably better to sign up sooner rather than later.”

Drake frowned as she rounded the corner and went down the little hallway to their bedroom. He’d not thought about the fact that her being furloughed might impact her health insurance. He probably should have. Getting way better health insurance when he’d gotten hired as a permanent employee had been a big deal, after all. This employment-connected health insurance thing still just felt strange to him, though.

A thought occurred to him. He minimized the folder of digital files he was reviewing and cataloguing, pulling up instead a search engine. He landed on the city clerk’s website a couple of minutes later, scanning over the requirements, then checking the time. This could work.

“Hey, Liu!” he called out, striding over to the bedroom. Her laptop was in front of her as she lounged on her stomach, Anderson curled up right next to her. She glanced up as he reached the doorway.

“What’s up?”

“Let’s get married.”

She blinked a couple of times and pulled her head back slightly as she cocked it to the side, “Uhh, sounds good, but that was kind of already the plan.” She waved her left hand in the air, his grandmother’s ring catching the light intermittently. “I mean, I’m glad you still want to and everything, but seeing as I did just spend the whole morning rescheduling our entire wedding, I would have been pretty pissed at you if you changed your mind.”

Drake shook his head and rolled his eyes. “No, let’s get married tomorrow.”

Riley’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. We can go down to the city clerk’s office now and get our marriage license so we can get married tomorrow.”

“Where is this coming from?”

Drake walked over and sat down on the bed next to her, pointing toward her laptop. “You were going to go on my health insurance after the wedding anyway, right? So let’s do that now instead of having to pay for shitty coverage for you.”

She gave him a gentle little smile, closing her laptop and sliding up onto her knees next to him. She placed one hand between his shoulder blades, rubbing gentle circles before she spoke.

“You are a very sweet marshmallow of a man, you really are. But I know you. And I don’t want you to feel like we have to rush to do this now. We’ll be fine if we wait for the lovely wedding we planned down on the ranch with all of our friends there.”

He shook his head, “I want to do this. The question is, do you?”

“You don’t actually want to do this.”

“Of course I want to do this! You think I give a shit about who’s there or what we wear or if we have the right flowers or what we have for dinner?”

“Yeah, I do. Drake, you may not be much for pomp and glitz, but this wedding that we’ve been planning for years now? I think it matters to you. I think you want Liam and Maxwell and Hana and your mother and sister and niece and nephew there. I think you want to hear our friends toast us and to see Maxwell make a fool of himself on the dance floor and to have Bartie be the ring bearer and that’s okay. It’s okay to want to celebrate with everyone. We can wait until we can do that. This doesn’t have to just be a... logistical arrangement.”

Drake paused for a moment. She wasn’t wrong, exactly. Those were things he wanted. But right now, they seemed like little, insignificant details. 

“Look, Liu. You’re right. The thing that prompted me to think about marrying you right now was the practical reasons. But as everything becomes a total shit show, I just feel like the only protection I can offer you is this one. And in an ideal world - sure, I would want the nice little wedding we planned in Texas. But the world has changed a whole fucking lot in the past couple weeks, and nothing is exactly ideal anymore. And if my choices are waiting almost eight months to have the wedding we planned or to marry you tomorrow, I pick marrying you tomorrow. Because, yeah a wedding down on the ranch with our friends sounds great, but the whole point of that wedding is that I get to be your husband. And that’s all I really want.”

She gave him a warm smile and kissed him deeply, sliding her hand up his back and threading her fingers through his hair as his hands fell to her hips. After a few moments, she pulled back.

“So, you aren’t going to look back with regret and feel like we rushed things?”

“I’ve been ready to marry you for years. This doesn’t feel like we’re rushing. It feels like it’s about damn time. At least for me.”

Riley nodded, glancing down. Drake followed her gaze to her left hand, resting gently on her knees.

“It’s not a rush for me either.”

“So, what are you thinking? Should we get married tomorrow?” Drake asked, grabbing her hand in his, staring at her downturned face for a few seconds before she looked up and met his gaze.

“Yeah,” she said, a wide grin sliding onto her face, “Let’s fucking do this.”

Permatag: @ravenpuff02 @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5 @speedyoperarascalparty @mfackenthal @lilyofchoices @thequeenofcronuts @jamesashtonisbae

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC only: @jovialyouthmusic @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @riley--walker @notoriouscs @butindeed @addictedtodrakefanfic @drakesensworld  

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment: @wickedgypsymoon @thesumofmychoices @cosigottahavefaith @thequeenchoices @katedrakeohd @feartheendlesssummer @ao719 @ooo-barff-ooo @sunnyxdazed​  

#drake walker #drake x mc #trr fanfic #trr au #trr au fanfic #tw: coronavirus

[theheightofdishonor]

Final thoughts. 

I liked this movie. It’s hard to pull off an ensemble movie and to his credit, Snyder does a great job. Each hero gets their due, their moment in the spotlight and a reason they’re there. It’s not like the Avengers where you’re left wondering what a guy with a bow and arrow is doing next to gods. 

Flash was so much better than in the theatrical version. Less annoying, more fleshed out, and the scene where he’s talking to his dad in the Speed force had me tearing up. Unfortunately, that was immediately cured listening to that cheesy line about past and future and whatnot. Less is more, tone down the melodrama just a smidge. 

Aquaman too, was improved in that his character and back story were far more fleshed out. 

Diana is Diana. Amazing. Brilliant. Wonder Woman, baby. Although, like I mentioned, sometimes less is more and the amount of times the WW theme played was bordering on criminal.

Victor Stone was *chef’s kiss*. Truly, the emotional heart of this movie and the definite highlight. I don’t understand how Whedon saw this footage and decided to make Vic nothing more than a footnote in the theatrical version because he’s so important in this version of the film. 

The group dynamics were great. I loved all their interactions with each other. Like the scene where they discuss bringing Superman back. Every time they helped each other out in a fight scene. All things Barry and Vic related. Bruce and Diana, who i lowkey ship again. The tea scene with Alfred and Diana.  I live and breathe for found family and strangers-to-friends and Snyder delivered on that front. 

The Bat Signal! Commissioner Gordon! 

I loved the extended backstory about the first golden age of heroes and the fact there was more time spent on Stepphenwolf trying to get the cubes. 

.For as long as it is, the movie barely drags. 

For the Not-So-Great

Superman, as always, is one of my least favourite things about Snyder’s films. I hate his interpretation of the character and the more he pushes towards dark!Superman, the more vehemently I reject it. 

Bruce had almost nothing to do in the finale. I wish we got to see more of him fighting. Ditto for Aquaman, who despite my earlier praises, was the tiniest bit useless. 

The epilogue. Yes, this whole release is about revealing Snyder’s unchanged vision for the film but this was so unnecessary. Especially the nightmare sequence with the Joker. Which, talking about, I can’t tell if it’s Leto’s horrible acting or the comments about a dead Robin (that Snyder insists was Dick) that makes me want to murder him. Maybe both. And you can tell that the actors didn’t film the scene together which made it even more cringy. Hard pass from me. 

Martian Manhunter showing up randomly in the film and then disappearing til the end. It’s the same format BvS used to introduce the JL- clumsily bringing them in in the middle of the film and it works just as horridly here. 

The Darkseid thing felt a bit too much like MCU Thanos. 

And obvi, the usual Snyder criticisms that he’s excessive with everything - the slow-mo, the melodrama, cheesy lines, the overuse of WW’s theme (that’s admittedly a new one) 

Overall, I’m happy his vision got to see the light of day and that I saw it. Other ensemble movies could take a note from Snyder’s book

#zack snyder #the snyder cut #dceu #dc cinematic universe #the justice league #justice league #it's a good fucking movie #i'm kinda sad i'm done with the snyder films'

[cocastyle]

The In-Between Chapter 4

Stranger Things x It Crossover

with some Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 5,710

Warning - cursing (if some people don’t like that kind of stuff)

A/N- ahhh chapter four is here!! so I got a little carried away with this chapter and had to cut it down (this only means that chapter 5 is already partially written so yay). this is a pretty action packed chapter, but I hope you guys like it! we are so close to the Party and the Losers’ Club meeting��I’m super excited!! thank you for all the love and support!

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

T H E I N - B E T W E E N

Intro The Losers’ Club The Party Prolouge 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue

As much as it pained the Losers to have to wait another day to save Mike, they knew it would be no use if they went into the whole situation more tired than they already were. So after getting the few hours of sleep that they could and having to go through another dreadful day of school, you could say they were a little impatient by the time there was only a minute of the school day left.

Y/N bounced her knee up and down, her toes being the only thing touching the ground as she violently shook her leg. Her eyes were trained on the clock at the front of the room and she was biting her lip nervously, the only thoughts she could think of being that she wanted nothing more than for the school day to be over.

Bill watched the girl silently from his assigned seat across the class. Back when the teacher had allowed them to sit anywhere, the two had sat side by side. However one pair of girls had ruined it for everyone the day they kept talking during class which meant the teacher could think of nothing more to do than create a seating chart.

Y/N was placed at the front of the room while Bill was in the back, but Bill didn't complain. He would've liked to sit next to the girl, but luckily for him, his spot in the back gave him the perfect side view of the girl's face, allowing him to admire her from afar without her even noticing.

In that moment, his eyes kept flickering between the clock and Y/N who he hesitated on a little bit longer each time. It was only when the bell rang that Bill seemed to snap out of his thoughts and he was quick to get up from his seat and race over to Y/N, grabbing onto her hand and dragging her out of the room as the teens raced to find their friends.

Neither of them had to go to their lockers and it seemed the other Losers didn't either because Beverly, Richie, Eddie, Ben and Stan were already waiting by their bikes when the two made it.

"Finally! You two just couldn't save your make out session for later, could you?" Richie asked causing both teens to simultaneously blush and glare at the boy.

"Shut up, Richie," Y/N muttered as she reluctantly let go of Bill's hand and got onto her bike. "Come on. We can go to my house."

The others nodded and not even fifteen minutes later they were at Y/N's house, locked away in her basement with papers and pencils on a huge table in front of them.

"The portal you guys saw," Y/N began as she took a piece of paper and drew a long line across the middle of it, "it goes to a place called the Upside Down. I know I've mentioned it before, but I don't think I've ever really explained it. One of my past teachers once explained alternate dimensions like this. Think of this line as a tightrope and the tightrope represents our dimension."

Y/N drew a little stick figure on top of the tightrope before saying, "For an acrobat, they can only go backwards or forwards along the rope since the rope is flat. They can't turn upside down or they will fall off."

She then drew a tiny dot on the rope. "This is a flea. Now the flea is different than the acrobat. It can go forwards and backwards, but it can also go up and down meaning that it can get into the other dimension. The portal is like what makes us fleas, allowing us to cross over into this other dimension if that makes sense," Y/N explained.

"I'm confused," Stan muttered. "How does something like that even exist?"

"We don't know. It's just kind of been there and we don't exactly know why it's all decay either," Y/N replied.

"Why do we have to be fleas to go into the Upside Down?" Richie asked gaining everyone's attention. "I don't want to be a fucking flea!"

"What? Richie-" Y/N began as she shook her head.

"I don't want to be a flea, Y/N!" Richie exclaimed while Eddie shook his head at the boy.

Before Richie knew what was happening, Eddie had whacked him on the back of the head. "You idiot, we aren't going to turn into fleas. It's just a metaphor, dumbass," Eddie said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh," Richie said as his eyes lit up in realization. The others just shook their heads in disbelief.

"So what's the game plan then?" Beverly asked.

"Yeah, how are we going to save Mike? We can't all go to the Upside Down, right? What if the portal closes?" Ben asked although Y/N knew he only asked because he didn't want to be the one to go into the portal.

"That's where my experience with the Upside Down comes into play. Now I've only been in there once, but I know enough to make my way around and stay safe. We don't need everyone going, so I'll just go and have a rope tied to myself so that you guys can pull me back if I yank hard enough," Y/N explained.

"I-I-I'm going w-w-with," Bill declared causing the young girl to look at him with raised eyebrows.

Y/N let out a small laugh before shaking her head as she smiled at the boy, "No, you aren't."

Bill furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. "I-I-I'm going, Y/N," he insisted.

The girl shook her head. "You don't get it. I am the only one who knows what this place is like. I'm not about to bring any of you, especially you, into that place. It's just not happening," Y/N told him.

"I-I-I will be fine b-b-because I'm with y-y-you, but I w-w-will not let y-y-you go in there a-a-alone even if you d-d-do have experience w-w-with this thing," Bill said, crossing his arms as he gave the girl a serious look that told her he wouldn't back down.

Y/N frowned, obviously not pleased with Bill's decision, but nodded. "Fine, but you aren't allowed to leave my side even for a second, got it?" she asked.

Bill smiled and let his arms fall back down to his side. "W-W-Wouldn't want to be a-a-anywhere else," he said. Y/N felt her face heat up at that and she quickly looked away while the others all looked at her in amusement.

"So what do we need to do now?" Eddie asked.

"Well we can't exactly just waltz right into the Well House," Y/N explained. "We're going to need supplies like weapons of any kind, flashlights, masks and rope."

"Lots and lots of rope."

- - -

"I can't believe you're doing this," Eddie muttered, his face pale as he stared at the pulsing goo in front of him that lined the basement wall of the Well House. He looked as if he might puke or pass out. Maybe even both. "That thing looks like an infection just waiting to happen."

"Oh, hush. They'll be fine. It's just decay anyways," Beverly noted from where she was tying the rope around Y/N's waist, remembering what Y/N had said about the Upside Down being a world of decay. She finished tightening the rope before standing back and looking at the girl who grinned at her.

"Be careful and go kick some demogorgon and It ass while you're at it," Beverly told the girl. Y/N smiled and the two girls high fived before Beverly gave her a quick hug just in case something were to happen.

"Remember, we are just trying to figure out what is going on in there and hopefully you guys will find Mike while you're at it. No unnecessary fighting if you can help it," Stan said.

Y/N nodded and the two did a small fist bump before Y/N turned to see Bill talking to Richie, Eddie, and Ben. Her eyes locked with Bill's and she gave him a small nod. "Ready?" she asked.

Bill nodded and pulled his bandana up and over his mouth and nose, a technique Y/N had advised him to use to keep the decay out of his lungs. "Ready," he nodded.

Y/N nodded back and put the bandana over her mouth and nose as well before looking over at Richie, Eddie, and Ben and saluting then. Eddie chuckled and waved to the girls while Ben quickly saluted her back. Richie tried to hide his small smile as he rolled his eyes at the girl, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling at her goofiness and looked to the ground.

Bill lightly grabbed onto Y/N's hand, instantly gaining her attention for a moment. Their eyes locked and he squeezed her hand slightly before she squeezed back. The two then looked before them and took a deep breath before pushing their way through the goo portal, the ropes attached to their waists staying on the other side with the Losers where a huge pile of rope they had managed to find from town laid by their feet.

It took about a minute for the two to break out of the other side of the portal and about fifteen seconds for their eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness around them. Y/N shuddered at the sight before her, the familiar sight of decay in front of her bringing back too many memories.

Bill let out a small gasp, his eyes wide as he looked around and muttered, "What the hell. . ."

Y/N ignored the boy and was quick to flip on her flashlight. "Let's go," she said, her hand still tightly holding onto Bill's as she took a step forward.

She held onto him so tight that Bill thought his hand might break, but he knew she was just afraid and thinking of her many experiences with the world they were in so he held her back just as tight and rubbed a thumb along the top of her hand.

Bill followed at her side and pulled his flashlight out as well as the two began to walk deeper and deeper into the Upside Down. Bill didn't know what to think as he looked around, still shocked at the place that was before him.

They seemed to be in the Well House still, or at least a version of the Well House. Bill had thought the house was already broken down, but this just proved how much worse it could be where half of the building was practically crumbling to ashes while everything was covered in a grayish green decay.

The teens quietly made their way up the stairs of the basement and began to make their way towards the front door, making sure to be quiet enough not to let It or the Demogorgons know they were there.

"We should check outside first. Mike's bike was left outside, so maybe we could find clues," Y/N told him in a whisper and Bill nodded in response.

Luckily the door was already open so all the two had to do was step over some of the broken wood from the door before they were outside. Bill almost gasped louder at the sight of the outside world.

Just like Y/N had said, the scenery around him reminded him of Derry. There were buildings and streets identical to the ones he was used to seeing every day. The only difference was that this landscape was covered in decay and a green and gray tint to everything.

Bill could only stare in shock, so Y/N gently tugged on his hand as she pulled him forward. They couldn't afford to get distracted or separated. Not in a place like this.

The two walked down the front stairs and Y/N dragged Bill over to the same bush that Mike's bike had been in, only the bush was nothing but a bunch of broken twigs while all that was left of a bike was the rusty handles broken in pieces on the ground.

Y/N frowned and bent down to pick a metal piece up. She stood up and studied it for a minute before looking up and around at the scenery in front of her. She was quiet as she looked around, her eyes scanning the area as if she were waiting for something to happen or looking for clues to anything alive having walked through these parts.

Her questioning gaze was soon answered when a small almost screeching noise came from the house behind them. . .the same house they had just walked out of.

Y/N's eyes widened while Bill stilled beside her. "W-W-What was th-th-that?" Bill asked as he looked to the girl beside him confused.

Y/N shook her head and turned to look at the house, but as soon as she heard what sounded like claws scrapping across the ground as something started running through the house, she immediately burst into action.

Her grip tightened on Bill's hand and she bolted, yanking the boy forward as she yelled, "Run!"

All she could hear was her own heart beating in her chest and the cries of a demogorgon as she ran. She knew Bill was yelling at her, possibly trying to figure out what was chasing them and what they were going to do, but she wasn't able to function or process his words so all she heard was a muffled voice yelling from behind her.

Y/N didn't know where she was running as they rushed forward, but she knew that she had to find somewhere to hide, someone where the demogorgon would have trouble finding her. Why she thought the creepy woods was a good idea, she had no idea. But then again, everything in the Upside Down was creepy so how could the woods be any different?

"This way!" Y/N yelled as she pulled Bill into the forest with her. All the trees were bare of leaves, some of them even having branches and twigs broken in odd angles, but there were so many of them bundled together that it was easy for the girl to find them a hiding spot between two large trees towards the middle of the woods.

Y/N had to remind herself to keep her breathing low, that it didn't matter how scared she was. If the demogorgon heard her breathing, then it would be able to find her. It took a second but she finally managed to get her breathing to almost inaudible.

The only problem was Bill who was holding onto her hand with a deathly grip as his other hand held onto his chest. His eyes were looking around frantically and his breathing was almost so rapid that his body shook with every breath.

Y/N frowned sadly before quickly turning her body so that she was in front of the boy. Her hand was quick to go over his mouth, instantly making his breathing ten times quieter. Bill stared at her with wide eyes and she tried to remain calm as she looked at him.

Sweat was dripping down both of their faces and fear was evident in their eyes. Bill shook below her touch and Y/N gave him a sympathetic look before letting go of his hand so that she could brush her hand through his hair, a small gesture she always did when she needed to calm him down.

It seemed to help a little bit and he just blinked and watched her silently as she kept her hand over his mouth. Once she knew he was calm enough for her to look away, Y/N peaked her head out and around the tree so that she could look back in the direction they had just come from.

A snap of a twig had her pulling back and practically launching herself at Bill, the two huddling together as Y/N kept her hand over his mouth and bit her lip to keep herself quiet. Both teens were shaking as they heard the crunching sound of dead twigs and leaves and Bill squeezed his eyes shut before leaning into the girl more, never having felt this scared except for three years ago when they had fought Pennywise.

He hadn't even seen the thing, but it didn't take much for him to realize why Y/N was so freaked out and the sound it made only added to his own fear.

The two were so quiet that the crunching of the leaves and twigs was the only sound that filled the air. So when the sound suddenly paused before starting back up again and growing distant as it did, the two knew they were safe. Y/N waited a moment after the sound had disappeared before pulling away from Bill and looking around the tree.

She let out a small sigh of relief once she saw that the coast was clear and she turned back to Bill before pulling her hand away. Their noses were touching from how close they were, their rapid breaths mingling together as they stared at each other.

"W-W-What was th-th-that?" Bill asked, his eyes frantically searching Y/N's as if they held the answer to his question.

"A demogorgon. Something you do not want to meet," Y/N breathed out. She let her eyes flicker over Bill's face before she looked at him worriedly and used a hand to cup his cheek, her thumb rubbing his skin as he leaned into her touch. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Bill instantly nodded. "Y-Y-Yeah, I'm okay," he told her before he reached up and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. "Are you okay?"

He knew how much the Upside Down and the creatures inhabiting it had affected her. There had been countless nights where she had showed up knocking on his window with tears in her eyes and where he had held her in his arms as she cried and shook in his hold from how frightened and upset she was. Bill had never minded much especially since Y/N returned the favor whenever he had nightmares of Georgie and It.

Y/N let out a shaky breath and nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm-"

Her sentence fell on deaf ears as an ear piercing scream filled the air. Y/N instantly tensed while Bill looked at her confused. Y/N ignored the boy as she quickly pulled away, her eyes wide as she looked around. "That scream. . ." She muttered making Bill furrow his eyebrows.

"W-W-What scr-" Bill didn't get to finish because Y/N's wars were suddenly filled with another scream that made her eyes widen.

"It's Mike!" she cried out. "This way!" Before Bill could even get up, the girl had bolted and by the time he was up, she was already gone.

"Sh-Sh-Shit," Bill muttered as he realized him and Y/N were now separated. "Y/N!" he cried out, but there was no response. Knowing there was no way in hell he would be leaving without her, Bill took a deep breath before running in the direction she had went, silently wondering to himself what screaming she had been talking about.

The screaming may have not been real for Bill, but for Y/N it was very real. So real in fact that she didn't even think twice about running off to find Mike. She knew about the horrors that came with the Upside Down so she could only imagine what was happening to him at that moment.

However, it wasn't until she reached a small clearing where Mike was standing with a blank expression on his face that she realized she had been tricked.

"Mike?" Y/N called out, confusion laced in her voice. Upon realizing it was him, she let out a sigh of relief and ran over to the boy, a smile on her face. She reached the boy in a matter of seconds and was quick to wrap her arms around him in a hug. "Thank goodness you are okay! I don't know what I would've done if I-"

The girl fell short as she realized Mike wasn't hugging her back. Confused, Y/N pulled way to see that Mike was staring at her with a blank look on his face, his eyes wide as he just stared at her in silence.

"Mike?" Y/N questioned, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. "Come on. We don't have time for games. We have to get out of here."

Y/N turned to leave but before she could even take a step, Mike's hand was suddenly grabbing onto her wrist before he let out an eerie laugh.

"Oh, but games are so much fun, Y/N," a voice that didn't belong to Mike told her. The girl tensed at that and slowly looked behind her to see that Mike had disappeared and been replaced by It.

The clown grinned at her, his sharp teeth shining as his eyes stared at her. "We can play a game," It suggested while Y/N shook her head and began to pull against It's iron grip. Tears were in her eyes as she struggle, but It didn't seem to notice. "The other kids love my games. You can float too, you know. You'll float too. You'll float too. You'll float too! You'll float too!"

It's voice was so loud that Y/N's ears hurt. Letting out a strangled cry as tears began to stream down her face, the seventeen year old tried deservedly to escape his iron grip. It just laughed and Y/N's eyes widened when the clown's mouth opened up to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

Just when It was about to clamp it's teeth into her arm, Y/N remembered the rope around her waist and yanked on it before using her leg to sweep It out from under his feet.

On the other side of the portal to the Upside Down stood the Losers' Club who were all staring at the portal ahead of them with frowns on their faces. "You think they're okay?" Stan asked quietly, his voice just above a whisper.

As if having heard his voice, the rope that belonged to Y/N suddenly began to move forward faster than any of them had seen. Beverly's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed ahold of the rope, only then realizing that Y/N was tugging against it to signal that she needed them to get her out.

"She's pulling on the rope! Y/N needs help!" Beverly exclaimed, the others' eyes all widening as they hurried over to the girl and began to pull on the rope.

Y/N let out a small sigh of relief as she began to run, the rope pulling back against her not only helping her run faster but also telling her that her friends were trying to help her.

She had lost It a little ways back, but Y/N was no fool and knew that he was not far behind. Stumbling through the woods, Y/N was barely paying attention and accidentally slipped onto the ground.

The girl let out a groan as she sat up, but it was only then that she realized the tugging on the rope had stopped. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, a small panic rising in her chest as she hesitantly reached out for the rope and began pulling on it. It was as if the rope was as loose as could be and before she knew it, Y/N came face to face with the frayed end of a rope.

The rope, her way back home and the connection to her friends, had been cut.

"No," Y/N muttered as she felt the bubble of panic rising in her chest. "No. No. No. No."

"Y/N, please don't run! We can all be friends down here!" It's voice sang from a little ways away causing the girl to drop the rope in her hand and scramble to her feet.

Y/N didn't know where she was going at this point, the rope not being of any help anymore. Everything in the woods looked the same and the longer she ran through it, the more scared and upset she got. She just knew that she had to get away from It.

She hadn't even realized she was crying before her vision got so blurry that she was literally just stumbling around. Her breathing was heavy as she ran forward, her eyes flickering all around her.

Hadn't she passed that tree a minute ago? Why did everything look so familiar? Wasn't that the place her and Bill had hid from the demogorgon?

Y/N froze at that. Her eyes wide as she realized Bill was no longer with her. When had that happened? She didn't know whether to be relieved since he didn't have to deal with It or scared because she didn't know what was happening to him.

"Bill!" Y/N cried out frantically, tears streaming down her face even more as she suddenly became frightened for Bill's life. "Bill!"

A loud screech from behind her made her jump as she realized both the demogorgons and It were now after her. Knowing she had to find Bill, Y/N took a deep breath before running back into the thicker parts of the woods, making sure to still run away from the creatures that were following her.

"Bill!" Y/N yelled as the branches on the trees scratched her face and pulled at her hair. "Bill!"

She ran through the thick trees for a second longer before she suddenly came stumbling out into a small clearing. No sooner had her feet touched the ground that something came barreling into her side causing her to hit the ground as she let out a scream of terror.

Y/N squeezed her eyes shut as she began to cry, knowing that this was it. A fucking demogorgon had gotten her and she was about to die. She really hoped Bill had found his way out, that he had made it back to the others and that they would work with her friends from Hawkins to kill these motherfuckers.

"Y/N?"

The girl's thoughts were hushed at the sound of her name and she slowly blinked her eyes open to see Bill propped up above her. "B-B-Bill?" she questioned, still leaning back slightly and shaking because she wasn't quite sure if this was actually the boy that had stolen her heart or some sick hallucination caused by the clown.

But then she saw the rope attached to his hip and the concern in his eyes as he gently reached up and cradled her face in disbelief before hugging her tightly. "F-F-Fuck. Don't sc-sc-scare me like th-th-that," he muttered as he held her close to his body, stroking her hair and pressing a kiss to her temple as he did so.

And she knew it was him.

A loud sob left her lips as she clung onto the boy, a feeling of relief washing over her at the fact that he was okay. However, the two didn't get long to comfort each other before a loud almost howl like screech filled the air.

Y/N perked up at that, instantly remembering why she had been running in the first place. "We have to go," she told him before she grabbed onto the rope around his waist and began to yank on it. Within a couple of seconds, the rope was starting to pull Bill up onto his feet and through the woods. Bill was quick to grasp onto Y/N's hand and the two began to run as fast as they possibly could in the direction the rope was pulling them.

It didn't take long for them to exit the woods, the Well House coming back into sight. Y/N silently wondered if the house had been that close all along and if the woods had just been a trick of her mind.

A red flash of lightning came from behind them and Y/N felt the hairs in the back of her neck stand up. She hesitantly looked behind her before gasping at the sight of the Mind Flayer, a creature from the Upside Down that she hadn't seen in two years. She had thought he was dead.

"We got to go!" Y/N exclaimed, pulling Bill along faster towards the house. A howling screech filled the air before it was followed by another one and then another. It didn't take much for Y/N to realize that the Mind Flayer had sent a herd of demodogs after them.

"Shit," she muttered as she pushed Bill into the house, glancing back to see a herd of demodogs and demogorgons running out from the woods they had just come from with the Mind Flayer right behind them.

Bill looked outside as well and his eyes widened before he quickly grabbed Y/N's hand and began to pull her towards the basement. The two could hear the creatures that were hot on their trail and for a second they both even swore they heard the sound of Pennywise laughing from behind them.

But then they saw the flashing portal and didn't even think twice before lunging inside, the two flying through and onto the floor of their world causing the Losers to all jump back in surprise.

"Holy shit! You guys okay?" Beverly asked as she hurried over to help them up, but neither of them made a move to get up. Y/N had started to cry while Bill held her close to his body, his eyes trained on the portal in front of them as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

"Guys? Why aren't you talking? What's wrong?" Ben asked worriedly.

"Yeah, what the fuck happened in there? And why the hell was Y/N's rope cut?" Richie questioned in anger as he held up the frayed end of the rope that had been on their side.

"What about Mike? Did you see Mike?" Eddie asked.

The questions all came barreling at the two, but neither were able to process just what their friends were asking. Y/N was shaking as she held onto Bill, the boy shakily holding her back as both of them stared at the portal in front of them.

Just then, the lights above the group began to flicker causing everyone to look up confused.

"Oh no."

The Losers all froze and turned to look at Y/N, their faces paling slightly at the look of sheer fright and panic on her face. "What's wrong?" Stan asked, not knowing if he actually wanted to hear the answer.

However, he got his answer sooner than he expected when a slimy looking hand pushed its way through the goo portal on the wall. Before any of them could blink, the face of a demogorgon appeared, it's whole face opening up like a flower to reveal rows of teeth as it screeched at them.

Everyone let out a scream while Richie yelled out, "What the fuck! What the fuck!"

The next few seconds were a blur as everyone scrambled towards the stairs, tripping over each other as they did. The demogorgon chased after them, but somehow the teens were able to be just a step ahead of the creature.

They ran towards the front door and Y/N quickly pushed her friends outside before they all stumbled across the front yard. The demogorgon was right behind them and Y/N pushed her friends across the street only to trip and land just on the other side of the road.

"Y/N!" Bill cried out once he saw that the girl had fallen behind. He went to run back, but it was too late, the demogorgon was already standing above the girl with its mouth opening up even wider if that was even possible. Y/N whimpered and tried to crawl away but the demogorgon's hand was suddenly latching onto her ankle.

But its hold on her disappeared almost as quickly as it had happened. The hold was suddenly ripped away as a car came barreling past the group, the front of it hitting the demogorgon so hard that the creature went flying back.

The Losers all blinked in surprise before looking to the car that had stopped in front of them. Y/N was breathing heavily as she pushed the strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face.

Her lungs and ankle were on fire as she looked up at the car and she was shaking out of fright, but she still managed to smile as the window rolled down to reveal that face of Steve Harrington. The boy ran a hand through his hair before glancing down at Y/N who was lying on the ground still.

"L/N, still don't know how to stay out of trouble I see," he mused, the corners of his lips twitching up slightly as he looked at the girl.

Y/N let out a laugh of relief that had the Losers all looking at her with wide eyes, wondering how the hell she was able to laugh after what had just happened.

Then they saw the smile on her face and the way she looked at the boy as if she couldn't believe her eyes and they knew this person was obviously important to her and she was relieved to see him. This all together made them look to the boy confused, wondering just who the hell this guy was.

"Harrington, still don't know how to drive I see."

* * *

Tag List

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#stranger things/it crossover #it x stranger things #stranger things x it #stranger things imagine #stranger things x reader #stranger things #it imagine #it x reader #it chapter one #it movie #steve harrington #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #will byers #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #eleven hopper #bill denbrough x reader #bill denbrough #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #ben hanscom #mike hanlon #beverly marsh #stanley uris #x reader #crossover #pennywise #upside down #reader insert

[the-stew-review]

Zach Snyder's Justice League

With a studio that has made mistakes in the past and have struggled to control the vision of a director who was tasked with telling the story of one of the most famous super heroes ever, you would think that studio would have learned something. They did not.

I am speaking of course of Warner Bos. Studios influencing the direction of Superman II with director Richard Donner which they fired and replaced and then many years later release a separate cut of Superman II the Richard Donner cut in 2006. Well history/people repeat themselves with Justice League. Warner Bros. thought they would create something profitable with Justice League but all they could manage was a flop. In comes the Zach Snyder cut of Justice League with added visual and some reshoots to save this movie. Did it work, short answer is yes; long answer is hell yes. It becomes very apparent early in the movie that Snyder definitely wanted to make this version understandable and emphasize that it is different than what came out earlier. All of the character's motivations seem clear especially the villain Stepponwolf which is a common complaint given to the first version of Justice League. Now is a good time to mention that I personally have not seen the original Justice League to give a good comparison between the two. But this allows me to give a description with a fresh set of eyes and an unbiased opinion. This is a bit unorthodox to go into these details but this isn't just another movie.

Justice League is broken into 6 parts and an epilogue and with it being a 4 hour long movie it's a nice way to break up the story and keep the audience interested. It keeps your attention well and the slower moments are mainly detail explaining questions set up earlier in the movie. The other lengthy moments are all character development which really gives the audience an idea of why these characters act the way they do towards one another and why the must work together to save Earth. How it is shot, in particular with the character Cyborg, it takes its time. Sometimes lingering on character's showing the audience contemplation and emotion.

The fights don't get lost with camera work, it seems clear what is happening, although dark sometimes but this movie is intended to be viewed in a dark room such as a theater and not just a phone. Every character has their fighting style and differences highlighted through the movie with the villain Stepponwolf taking them on individually. This enhances the reasons for the heros to ban together and to drive further plot points to keep our heroes moving. Conversation between our heroes never felt forced because of this constant urge to decipher what the villain wants or how he is going to achieve his goal. This is all very sharp.

The ugliness in this movie comes in two forms. The first being some effects which I will detail in a moment and the second being all interactions with non hero characters. The special effects are deceiving in this movie. Snyder's style derives from very gritty looks making the images and characters seem surreal. This in my opinion is acceptable and gives a comic book feel to scenes, however certain effects stand out where it just looks like cgi and it sticks out. Snyder's style does disguise this and make it more pallettable when viewing from beginning to end. The scenes interacting with non hero characters is questionable throughout the movie, mainly due to them not being a part of the main plot line but adding to sub plot. It just felt half cooked in some scenes and sometimes feeling unnecessary but it doesn't break the entirety of the movie.

The epilogue is a mixed bag for me. Justice League builds itself to a climactic battle in the end and it delivers and it felt intense and fulfilling. This is great, but the epilogue showing what happened after the movie is okay for the most part. I like the idea of an epilogue but I couldn't find myself satisfied with their approach. Some caps of characters felt good but it is the persistence of the idea of Superman not being trusted and possibly being the cause of Earth's destruction that throws me off. Like I said I don't disagree with the idea but their approach felt gimmicky and it did not convince me as something possible.

This review was very long for a very long movie. If there are any errors or missed key points I will add later. Zach Snyder finally showed his version of Justice League he had intended audiences to see and it delivered. Does it have problems? Yes, but the positives out weigh most negatives including the epilogue. I would recommend this movie to any fan of Justice League characters or any fan of super hero movies with a bit of grit on the side. I give Zach Snyder's Justice League a 3.8 out of 5 stars.

P.S. It helps to have seen Batman vs. Superman before this movie simply because it picks up right after that movie. Also this was filmed in 4:3 ratio for Imax which means on common televisions it will have black bars on the either side. This is okay because of the original intention and your eyes will adjust during the movie. I also recommend viewing this in a very dark room to pick up on individual details in the scenes.

#justice league #zach snyder's justice league #movie review

[triangulumlights]

Kizuna Thoughts

All below spoiler cut! (Also if you’re having trouble finding the leaked sub release, send me a message and I’ll point you the right direction!)

OKAY from what I’d heard about this movie I expected worse, although I do get why people didn’t like it. Overall, I enjoyed a lot about it, while some of the other stuff I’m seriously meh about. So I think likes and dislikes bullet points is the way to go!

LIKES • I love the coordination between the main ‘teams’; Taichi, Yamato, and Koushirou working as a group with Takeru and Hikari as their own related team, and the 02 kids staying coordinated as a group with communication back and forth with the main team. I love that! I love the relationships and the strategy. • Taichi and Yamato’s character arcs were good in this; I didn’t feel like they were rehashing too much of Tri, but just the next step of it. I also love that they were very much on the same side together instead of fighting the whole time. Them being bros commiserating at the restaurant was great. • Yamato in general was just badass this movie; tailing the agent, coming through with the burner phones, coordinating the 02 group, putting the pieces together about as fast as Koushirou, etc. Super good Yamato character stuff. • Koushirou was glorious as always and I like that some of his Tri development was touched on again, especially in refusing to give up just because he’s told one situation inevitable (the real-world reboot in Tri, and the partnership end in Kizuna.) Also enjoyed the secret, behind the back text to Taichi; that was pretty awesome. • Parts of this movie were genuinely tense, like the scene with Kou and Menoa in Kou’s office, or when Yamato’s trying to find Takeru and runs into the agent (I’ve forgotten his name and it’s fake anyway who cares) sitting on the staircase with a gun. • The fight scenes, especially the last one, were absolutely gorgeous. • THE WHISTLE OMG • So many fun cameos! Meiko, Catherine, Wallace, and others were either briefly shown or mentioned in Kou’s list of chosen, and those callbacks were nice. Although honestly until they showed Meiko I wasn’t actually sure if Kizuna was Tri-compliant or not. • The tech upgrades (their communication devices, the phones working as digivices, Taichi’s prototype googles he and Kou bicker about in the opening) were really cool.

I’m sure there’s plenty more I’m missing and will come back to on a rewatch, but for now onto the dislikes.

DISLIKES • Okay, I’ll admit it, I like the Taichi, Yamato, and Koushirou show. But still WHERE WAS EVERYONE ELSE??? Maybe not the 02 kids (including Hikari and Takeru) because they did get some time, but Mimi and Jyou were seriously underused, and I legit forgot Sora was a character for awhile. WTF. • In that vein, aside from Hikari briefly in the beginning, Miyako was the only one of the girls to get to really do anything. She was great, but... Come on... • Did they REALLY make the dark haired agent the good guy and the red haired woman the villain AGAIN? And not just that, but the red haired woman villain LOST HER DIGIMON? No one went ‘wow this plot feels familiar’? I was honestly hoping that the red herring villain agent was ACTUALLY the real threat this time and Menoa was genuinely good because that would’ve been a way bigger shock. • I mentioned this already but it deserves its own bullet: WHERE WAS SORA? I saw the little short where she talked about not fighting, but I figured it would be something touched on a little more as some sort of mini character arc in Kizuna and not just her sitting out the whole movie. What was the point of that? It was just a strange choice. • I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. I’d heard it was ambiguous, and so honestly I expected it to end when we saw the two butterflies fly away, but then there was more and it felt... Unnecessary, I guess? I dunno. I mean, if this is epilogue compliant we know we see Agumon and Gabumon again, so it just seems kind of pointless to end it as a cliffhanger. Maybe they’re just setting up for another movie? • Related to the first point, but this movie felt pretty imbalanced not just for character screen time but for their roles. I mean, Tri just put all that effort into getting everyone on the same level, and now Yamato and Taichi have a new evolution and it’s just weird. Like I get that the plot was primarily focused on them this movie, but I guess I don’t quite get why it was so heavily focused on them. Even Tri balanced it out a bit better, although I know to be fair Kizuna was only one movie.

Okay I think those are my main thoughts for now; I’m gonna go read other posts and see what people say and also I think there’s a novelization I’ll try and track down.

Overall good movie with some genuinely interesting character dynamics, plots, and scenes, but could’ve been very much improved with more balanced focuses and not reusing the exact same overall villain/villain motivations from Tri.

#digimon adventure kizuna #kizuna spoilers #digimon spoilers #digimon adventure kizuna spoilers #my posts

[aseriesofvariousevents]

The Legend Series

The Legend Series is yet another series I received for Christmas years ago and never finished. This break, though, I finished it in what quite possibly could be a PR for time it took me to read a series. I started the books on a Friday evening and was done with the series by Sunday afternoon. Marie Lu wrote a riveting saga of strength with characters wholly unafraid to stand for what they believe in. 

*SPOILERS*

The first book in the series, Legend, is a strong start, though not perfect. I’ve technically read this book twice before, once as a physical book and the other as an audiobook during a long car ride, so I may be overly critical of my reading this time around, since I don’t typically re-read books, but I found parts of the story to be unnecessary. This may just be coming from my perspective as an “older reader” instead of a young teen, but I found Marie Lu did the characters a disservice by making them 15. The age itself is fine hypothetically, but the emphasis on the romance at times, especially toward the end, felt forced between the two characters and I think, at this point in the series, it would’ve made more sense for them to be just friends. I thought the author wrote June’s loss of innocence surrounding the world she grew up in very well and I truly felt for the girl who had to watch her world crumble around her, bit by bit. I did appreciate the Les Miserables analogy throughout the story, with the June realizing that there may be more to Day than she thought. I also enjoyed Tess’s characters and, briefly, Metias’s, though I found Tess to be a bit one-dimensional at times. Overall, I found the book enjoyable and thought it was a good start to an interesting series. 

Favorite Quote: Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time.

I found Prodigy to be an improvement overall from the first book (not that the first book was inherently bad in any way), but I still had some gripes with some of the plots Lu chose to explore. I really enjoyed the politics aspect of this book, with Anden’s utter desperateness to succeed as a ruler and the double crossing of the Patriots by Razor, lying about who is funding this assassination. I had a feeling Razor was not the character he was believed to be for a while, but I never put two and two together that it was the Republic behind the scheme, but when Kaede explained everything, it all made sense, which I found to be a really cool plot point. Once again, the romance in this book frustrated me to no end. The romance between the deceased Metias and Thomas seemed more like a throwaway gay couple than anything of significance, especially since Lu did not explore their relationship as anything other than friendship in the first book, with Thomas even flirting with June (though it was implied that that was all a ruse to keep her safe, but I found that a feeble excuse). It was intended to make us feel worse for Thomas and the “sacrifice” he made for duty, but it instead just made me more sad for Metias. Tess’s sudden love for Day seemed super random as well, especially since they were basically surrogate siblings for each other for years, and, at the end, June’s and Day’s break-up of sorts seemed overly formal for being fifteen-year-olds who had only known each other for a month or so. Prodigy was definitely a page turner, but aspects were still frustrating to get through as a reader.

Favorite Quote: My heart is ripped open, shredded, leaking blood. I can't let him leave like this. We've been through to much to turn into strangers.

Champion was a satisfying conclusion to the series (though I haven’t read Rebel yet, the newest book in the series). Eden’s character was sweet and it was exciting to see him as an actual character for the first time, and not just a sick child that Day constantly thought about. I appreciated that the Tess romance thing got resolved in this book, but Anden’s love of June was creepy to me, considering the age difference, and in the epilogue, I found it weird, but not unexpected, that the two of them dated, though I was glad they broke it off. Day’s illness throughout this story seemed out of place as a plot point for me, especially since it took five years for it to really develop, but I was glad he wasn’t “perfectly cured”, after getting shot. I’m not sure if Lu meant one of those last few chapters as an homage to Les Miserables, but June’s repeated pleads of “let him live” are in the song “Bring Him Home”, which I found to be a nice Easter egg in the story, whether intended or not. June being the cure made sense in a way, but I don’t understand how she got better completely. It’s implied that the colonies gave her some sort of cure and took the virus to spread, but how they got hold of a cure seems fishy to me. In the epilogue, when June sees Metias’s grave and says that they’re finally the same age, I teared up a bit. I can’t imagine having to come to terms with effectively outgrowing someone lost far too young, and I thought the author described her grief really beautifully here.

Favorite Quote: That's why I'm sorry. I'm sorry because you shouldn't have to be everything to me. I had you, but I'd forgotten that I had myself too. It's a new feeling, something I'm getting used to.

Okay, I know this is an unpopular opinion but this was my favorite book in the series. Although I found June and Day more compelling characters than Eden and Day in this book, I thought this story was so much more poignant and had a much more complicated and interesting villain. Ross City was fascinating and the class divide present there held such poignant implications about technology and so much more that I thought it was a much more interesting and complex setting than the original trilogy. Eden and Daniel's (still weird to refer to him by that name) bickering was tiring at times, but their relationship as siblings was really touching and I thought it brought out an interesting perspective of both of the characters. I didn't love Pressa at the beginning, but toward the end, she was such an interesting character and I loved her and Eden's dynamic. The very ending of the book was so so so good and definitely made me tear up a bit. I was wary coming into the book that I would just find it a totally unnecessary addition to the series but I actually really enjoyed it and I thought it added to the overall story (though I did miss June's narrations).

Favorite Quote: There is nothing to figure out, there is no how or why. Sometimes things just happen.

*END OF SPOILERS*

The Legend Series started out as an interesting, updated take on Les Miserables, but quickly evolved into something much more. Though not my favorite series in the whole world, there was never a dull moment and I’m really looking forward to reading some of Lu’s other works, hopefully finding them as immersive as the world of the Republic!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Books in Series: Legend; Prodigy; Champion; Rebel

Author: Marie Lu

BONUS REVIEWS

Life Before Legend is a duology of two short stories surrounding June and Day prior to the events in the Legend series. I much preferred June’s story to Day’s and found that her story had more heart to me and was more interesting. It was cute, but I found largely unnecessary, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Fun for lovers of the series!

Favorite Quote: Someday, someone out there will see you for the girl you really are. Someday, you’ll find someone who understands you.

Fun to see the epilogue of Champion from Day's perspective. Not a ton of new info but definitely a cute little story that fans of Legend will enjoy.

Favorite Quote: I loved you. I love you still. I want to be with you.

Really short but sweet nonetheless! It's nice to see June and Day together again with his memory mostly intact. Like the other Life After Legend story, didn't offer really any new info but it was exciting to see the duo interact once more, however briefly.

Favorite Quote: Your past is forever part of you, just as it is a part of me. And I loved that person, just as I love you.

Bonus Books: Life Before Legend; Life After Legend; Life After Legend II

#legend #prodigy #champion #marie lu #the legend series #certified nora review #four stars #life before legend #life after legend #life after legend ii #rebel

[mymoodwriting]

Kindness Goes A Long Way

F!Reader x Sicheng

Genre: Post Apocalypse AU

Warning: Mind Control, Manipulation, Illness, Aggression

Words: 2.4K

Chapters:

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Epilogue

Prompt: The end of the world is hard to accept as it is, but it’s even harder to be alone. It seems fate had brought you to Sicheng, someone who can definitely survive in the abandoned waste land that had become of Earth. You then find yourself with a group of others, and you might just have a chance at survival. The only problem is there’s something off about the group, something they’re not telling you, and it might mean the difference between life and death.

“What happened!”

    Sicheng entered the medbay after being informed you ended up there last night. Of course he knew, he was the one who caused the incident, but he had to admit he was curious what the humans would come up with. Although before he could get his answer he glared at the boy sitting by your bed.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Her friend.” Haechan got up. “Any you?”

“Y/n, doesn’t have any friends.”

“I knew her before the war.”

“Sure you did.” Sicheng focused on Johnny. “What happened?”

“She fainted.” Haechan answered. “You never said who you were or how you know y/n?”

“None of your business.”

“It is my business. If you were with her out there then she could be hurt cause of you!”

“Enough!” Johnny shouted. “Both of you calm down alright. Y/n’s fine, but she probably fainted from seeing you, Haechan.”

“What?”

“She hasn’t had the best time out there in the wasteland that was Earth.”

“What does that mean?”

“She-”

“Johnny.” Sicheng hissed. “I appreciate it if you don’t blab about her situation. If she wants to tell him she can, later.”

“Right. I just mean seeing a familiar face, she probably didn’t expect to see an old friend again, and the emotions probably overwhelmed her and cause her to faint. Like I said, she’s fine, and she should be waking up soon.”

“I agree.”

    Kun had been listening in to the conversation from the start, also knowing what Sicheng had done last night.

“No.”

“Sicheng, I will wake her up myself.”

“I said no.”

“The longer she’s under, the more suspicious they’ll get.”

“Fine, fine whatever.”

    Sicheng gently pet your head, you were peaceful, and at least you got enough sleep too. He leaned down and kissed your head, stepping back. He couldn’t see but behind him Haechan was glaring. A moment later you groaned and slowly opened your eyes. You looked around, taking in your surroundings and recognizing the medbay.

“What happened…”

“I don’t know.” Sicheng laughed. “You tell us.”

“I… I don’t remember…”

“What do you remember?” Johnny asked. “The last thing?”

“I went to bed… at least I thought I went to bed…”

“Okay, well, I needed to run some tests anyway.”

“Alright…” You looked at Sicheng, worried. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, you’ll be fine y/n.” He kissed your head. “I have to get going, so just take it easy today.”

“I’ll stay then.” Haechan volunteered. “For support.”

“Yeah, no.” Johnny said. “Both of you leave. I do take doctor patient confidentiality seriously, so out.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    Haechan and Sicheng already didn’t seem to like each other, but that was a problem for another time. Later on Haechan returned to the infirmary, but you were already gone. Nothing bad had come up from the tests, so there wasn’t anything to worry about.

“Can I ask…” Haechan mumbled. “What happened… to her…”

“I suppose I can tell you since I doubt she’d want to speak of it.”

    Johnny told Haechan about the incident you had been through, how you didn’t really trust people anymore, except for maybe Sicheng and his group. Knowing that, it would make more sense why you passed out, Haechan wasn’t just people, but an old friend, so those two memories would most likely clash.

“I guess that makes sense but…”

“But what?”

“Look… we need to keep this a secret, just between us.”

“Okay? What is it?”

“Last night, while I was talking with y/n, before she passed out, she told me to help her.”

“And?”

“Then she passed out.”

“I don’t get it.”

“She was trying to tell me something.”

“Or maybe she knew she was going to faint and asked you for help so she didn’t hit the ground.”

“I don’t know though, it was very weird… and she doesn’t remember what happened.”

“It might come back to her or not, she seems fine either way.”

“Stil…”

“Well she works in the kitchen, all the way in the back, if you’re curious.”

“Really? Thanks, hyung.”

“Whatever, but hey, I know you guys knew each other before, but you can’t forget the world has changed, she has, and so have you. Take things slow.”

“Yeah… yeah I got it.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    At lunch time Haechan made his way into the kitchen, looking around for you. It wasn’t that hard to find you given how isolated and quiet you were. He manages to convince you to join him for lunch, out in the cafeteria. You certainly were nervous but at least you were with Haechan, someone you knew, so you felt like you’d be okay.

    Of course the issue was that people knew Haechan so they would greet him, and some probably would have sat down if not for some look they were given. Besides eating you guys used the time to catch up. You didn’t want to talk about your situation, and he knew it, so he mostly just told you how he ended up there, and what he did, he worked on the farms.

“Ah, so you provided all the vegetables.”

“I help with that, yeah.”

“I’m glad… I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.”

    You wanted to take things slow, but at the same time you didn’t want to be close to him. Things weren’t going to end well, and you didn’t know if you could handle it. If you could tell Haechan the truth you would, but no matter how bad you wanted to, you knew you couldn’t. After a shower you were ready for bed, but Sicheng was waiting for you. Before you could say anything he grabbed your head and started looking through your memories from last time. He could have done it before, but it was easier to do when you were much closer.

    Of course the memory of that kiss came up, and you weren’t expecting Sicheng to take it well. When his eyes opened they kept that blue glow, and for once it was menacing. Worst of all he didn’t just see the kiss, he knew how you felt about it, and that little call for help. He was upset, angry, something you didn’t know he’d ever feel. You couldn’t help but start tearing up, afraid of what was going to happen next.

“So that’s why your heart beat suddenly rose? You kissed him?”

“I-”

“Did you like it? Do you like him? You don’t have to answer that cause I know.”

“Please… please don’t kill him…”

“That’s not up to either of us.”

“Sicheng-”

“Shut up. No more late night walks. You’re causing unnecessary trouble, and seeing him is messing with your head.”

“But I-”

“Have you forgotten what happened to you out there? Who saved you? Humans can’t be trusted, you just turn on each other and hurt on another. We’re trying to help your kind, and all I need you to do right now is lay low and behave.”

“Not like I have a choice…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing…”

“I’m just doing what’s best for you, all of you. Trust me, and behave.”

“I don’t want him to die… Sicheng, ple-”

    You passed out in his arms, having been put to sleep. Sicheng sighed, his eyes finally losing their glow, and put you into bed. He sat on the edge, annoyed with himself as well for these feelings of jealousy. If anything, he was the one causing unnecessary trouble.

“I don’t get it.” Hendery said. “I thought the memory change would make it so she wouldn’t trust any humans.”

“Yeah, but she knew Haechan before that.” Ten said. “Those feelings of mistrust wouldn’t really apply to him given their past.”

“Guess Sicheng didn’t think of that.”

“The likeliness of someone from y/n’s past being here was very low.” Xiaojun added. “Although still very possible. So, what are you gonna do?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with it.”

    Sicheng sighed and laid down, putting a chip on your head and pulling you into his arms. As much as he wanted to avoid the subject he needed to know more. While you slept he took the time to look through your memories of Haechan, see who he was and what he meant to you. He hated it, seeing how happy he made you, the history between you two. He wanted his chance as well, but he was on mission right now, so he couldn’t do that, although he could do something else for his own benefit.

    You started squirming in Sicheng’s arms, whimpering and wanting to wake up, but couldn’t. Sicheng had brought up his fabricated memories of the massacre you witnessed, and kept you under, in a way forcing you to relive it. You were sobbing in his arms, and even if you weren’t awake, you felt better being so close to him. He knew that of course, and it was the point, should keep you away from Haechan for a while.

♥♥♥♥♥

    In the morning you seemed pretty shaken up, quiet and reserved. You didn’t want to leave the room, the memories of that day fresh in your mind. Of course that wasn’t really an option, you had to earn your keep there.

“Bad dream?”

“Something like that…”

“Maybe you should stay in today.”

“I can’t… I’m fine…”

“You sure?”

“Yeah… yeah I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then.”

    Sicheng got you on your feet, seeing how sad you were. He regretted his actions a bit but it was necessary. He watched you for a bit then slowly leaned over to kiss you. It caught you off guard a bit, given how soft and slow he was being. You kissed back, wondering what his lips taste like. He wasn’t cold, in fact he felt human, he felt real, but you knew he wasn’t. In the moment though you could pretend a bit. He pulled away, looking at you, seeing how you had closed your eyes. You looked at him, not sure what to say. He seemed content with your reaction, brushing some hair behind your ear.

“Take it easy today okay.”

“Yeah.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    Knowing you were around added something more to Haechan’s everyday life. When he had free time during the day he’d like to go find you, although things didn’t always go his way. He went to the back, hoping to share a meal with you again.

“Um… no thanks… maybe some other time.”

“Oh, are you alright?”

“Fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah… just… bad dream. I’d like to be left alone.”

“Ah… yeah, yeah sure…”

    It was weird, but at least Haechan could understand your situation a bit. He wanted to help you feel better, thinking maybe if he could get some sweets from the vault might help. Of course he had to beg Mark for access since things like sweets were rare and mostly for kids. Although as he made his way to the kitchen when he knew it was the end of your shift he froze.

    He could see you in Sicheng’s arms, dry tears on your face. It made sense, as much as he would want to comfort you, Sicheng was the hero of that nightmare. He had to admit he was weary of that guy, or maybe his suspicions was just jealousy, either way he should look into it. Since he wasn’t going to be seeing you for the rest of the day he went to his usual hangout place.

“You know, you’re here so often, you might as well apply to transfer to the medbay.” Johnny said. “I could use an assistant.”

“You think they’d let me?”

“Sure, especially if I ask.”

“What is there to do here anyway?”

“Organize, keep record of medicine expiration, do check ups on residents. Basic stuff, I could teach you.”

“I’ll consider it, although can I ask you for a favor?”

“What’s up.”

“Y/n had a nightmare. She was pretty distant today, you think you can check in on her.”

“A nightmare?”

“Yeah, probably about what happened.”

“Ah, gotcha. I’ll check up on her then. See if you were my assistant I could have you do that.”

“I’ll consider switching jobs then.”

“Not a bad idea, promise.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    Johnny and Haechan had come into the safe haven together, so they were pretty close. So when his friend asked him to check in on you over a nightmare he would keep his word. Before the usual curfew time came to pass Johnny went over to your room. He knocked, opening the door and peeking in a bit after not getting an answer. He saw your figure in bed and let himself in, going over. He knew you shared a room with Sicheng, but for the most part that boy stayed up pretty late on the daily.

“Hey, y/n.” He whispered. “Y/n…”

    As he approached he could see that you were sleeping, laying on your side. At least you weren’t tossing around so it wasn’t a bad dream, yet. He reached over and shaked you but got no response. He tried again, this time rolling you on your back and jumping back, hand over his mouth. Now that he could see your face he could see the chip on your head, and he knew what that meant.

    He was panicking to say the least, and he knew he had to leave. You rolled back on your side, making it so no one coming in would notice it. Johnny quietly rushed out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind him.

“What are you doing?”

    Sicheng’s sudden voice and appearance startled Johnny, but he quickly composed himself. He forced a smile to his face, since he was your roommate, he was very suspicious.

“You scared me there.” Johnny laughed. “I was just coming to check on y/n, make sure she’s okay. I thought she might still be awake but I could see she was sleeping and backed out. I promise I didn’t creep in there. Can you tell her to come by to see me tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll let her know.”

“Thanks. See you around.”

    Sicheng watched him leave, thinking it was a bit strange to see him, but doctors do make house calls so he shrugged it off. He went into the room, seeing that you were still asleep exactly how he left you. If everything kept going to plan, this would all be over soon enough.

#wayv #nct #winwin #kun #ten #lucas #hendery #xiaojun #yangyang #haechan #johnny #mark #dong sicheng #qian kun #chittaphon leechaiyapornkul #wong yukhei #wong kunhang #xiao de jun #liu yangyang #lee donghyuck #seo youngho #mark lee #nct 127 #nct u #wayv scenarios #wayv au