#And people started calling her “the cherry bomb bomber”

[moonagedaydreamsofrhiannon]

Marlene McKinnon’s nickname was 100% cherry bomb and you can literally fight me on this I’m right

#In second year she set off a “cherry bomb” firecracker in the great hall #And people started calling her “the cherry bomb bomber” #And that nickname was cemented later that year during a quidditch game #When she hit a guy in the face with a bludger so hard she broke his nose and knocked him off his broom #Then the runaways (her favorite band ever) came out with the hit song “cherry bomb” #Which become her anthem and theme song #She drunkenly belted along to the song at a party while standing on a table #And then fell off the table #And from then on she was forever known as “cherry bomb” #I’m right #fight me #marlene mckinnon #marauders #the marauders #marauders era #dead gay wizards

[wiltingpierrot]

Gem Glow: Part 1

Welcome! Well, this isn’t really made to entertain. I’m just doing this to recover from trauma and get a good grasp of the show’s lore while having my girls react with me. Feel free to tag along.

We’ll be watching four episodes a day and react only to the major events as tackling all of them is a toughie.

 Sharpie: “I want to see real tears, Wilt.”

Wilt: “Tears? At the very first episode?”

Sharpie: “Yes. Otherwise I’ll make you cry by some other means.”

Wilt: “I have these tear marks. Those count, yes?”

Sharpie: “Real tears, I said.”

Wilt: “Ahh, how iconic.”

Spinel: “The area around the lighthouse is lacking a lot of flowers. That’ll change someday!”

Sharpie: “Yes, after a lot of blood, ink and tears had been shed first.”

Spinel: “Here we have a shot of the show’s hero, lamenting the discontinuation of a certain ice cream snack brand.”

Sharpie: “Is this triggering your PTSD yet?”

Wilt: “Not really. I thought it would but surprisingly I’m still okay.”

Lars: “Well, if you miss your wimpy ice cream so much, why don’t you make some with your MAGIC BELLY BUTTON?”

Spinel: “Hey Sharpie, let’s make foodstuff with just the energy in our gem.”

Sharpie: “And you still owe me 86 years’ worth of happiness.”

Wilt: “What is this civil conversation you’re having? That’s not how I wrote you two.”

Sadie: “Uhh Steven? Do you want to take the freezer with you?”

Spinel: “Think what would’ve happened if Sadie didn’t let him take that freezer home.”

Sharpie: “Does… does the cat’s face looked different to you?”

Spinel: “I love the lighthouse. The view up the top is always so breathtaking.”

Sharpie: “I’m not so happy with our roommate though.”

Wilt: “…I might have to draw this someday.”

Spinel: “Don’t you just love it when your pets greet you as you enter your house? I wish you would greet me whenever I fall asleep.”

Sharpie: “You’re just my nightmare.”

Amethyst: “’Sup, Steven.”

Spinel: “AME!!!!”

Spinel: “I AM IN LOVE.”

Sharpie: “You can stop replaying this 5 seconds worth of Pearl now.”

Spinel: “It’s 4 seconds worth of Pearl, you heathen.”

Spinel: “HOOO MAMA. Remember when Garnet kicked our ass?”

Sharpie: “She kicked your ass. She kicked your ass so much I had to start a switch to intervene. Now that I think of it, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Sharpie: “Being sliced open is one thing. Being pulled apart is another.”

Spinel: “It’s good that we’re stretchy.”

Sharpie: “I can disable that function and tear you apart like that, actually. Ever wondered why it doesn’t hurt when others pull at you like taffy but I can?”

Spinel: “I can do the same and prevent you from escaping my hugs.”

Sharpie: “*sigh*… I hate you.”

Spinel: “Ahaha! Pearl is so cute!”

Sharpie: “Ahaha! I love this technique.”

Wilt: “It’s good for breaking a hole through walls in maximum security prisons, yeah.”

Amethyst: “Uhh you guys, these things don’t have gems.”

Garnet: “That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby.”

Sharpie: “That’s a fascinating thought.”

Wilt: “It’s similar to how Pearl can project figures that can maintain itself while independent of the source. In this case, the main centipeedle can project independent but smaller versions of itself.”

Sharpie: “How come 2nd Projections aren’t like that, I wonder. Like we can’t have separate bodies or anything…”

Wilt: “Probably because the 2nd Projection has a personality of its own and it stems from the original gem, while Pearl Projections and mini-centipeedles are pre-programmed projections that would act accordingly to the original’s commands. Like, if Spinel makes a projection separate from her, it wouldn’t be you.”

Sharpie: “Fair enough.”

Spinel: “Speaking of Pearl Projections…”

Sharpie: “No.”

Pearl: “Steven, until you learned to control the powers in your gem, we’ll take care of protecting humanity. Okay?”

Spinel: “I want Pearl to snap my neck like that.”

Sharpie: “As if impaling you wasn’t enough.”

Spinel: “PFFFTT-“

Amethyst: “We went out and stole a bunch!”

Spinel: “That’s my Ame.”

Pearl: “I went back and paid for that.”

Sharpie: “That’s…. that’s very Pearl of her.”

Steven: “He left his family behind!”

Spinel: “AHAHAHAHAHA”

Sharpie: “What’s so funny about that?”

Sharpie: “Oh my stars. I hope we don’t have to bear another one of those.”

Wilt: “It’s catchy. I like it.”

Sharpie: “What a happy little family. It’s a shame that they’re doomed to a life of madness onwards.”

Amethyst: “Quick! Try and summon your weapon!”

“Awww, no weapon.”

Wilt: “He’s struggling. A sign of a well-rounded character. The progress is dramatic if we compare this episode to the last ones. And it only took him a few Earth years.”

Sharpie: “And it took us like what, 86 years to get this far and we’re still inferior to most we meet in our travels.”

Spinel: “God I love Pearl.”

Sharpie: “Can you even pay attention to anything that isn’t Pearl?”

Spinel: “I’m capable of paying attention to a lot of things and to nothing at the same time, Sharpie. Be amazed.”

Steven: “Can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon?”

Pearl: “Oh! I’ll go first.”

Wilt: “I love Pearl.”

Spinel: “I love Pearl.”

Sharpie: “…”

Spinel: “AUUGH! Pearl is so beautiful.”

Wilt: “This is so anime.”

Spinel: “This scene makes me wanna stand underneath a cherry blossom tree with her in a Friday afternoon and confess my love.”

Sharpie: “God both of you disgust me.”

Pearl: “Pay attention to these petals, Steven.”

Pearl: “The petal’s dance seems improvised, but it is being calculated in real-time based on the physical properties of this planet.”

Wilt: “HELL YEAH, I LOVE PEARL.”

Pearl: “With hard work and dedication, you can master the magical properties of your gem, and perform your own dance.”

Pearl: “Like so.”

Spinel: “HELL YEAH, I LOVE PEARL”

Sharpie: “So… Pearl’s approach is tuning into the technical reality of the universe to tap into her gem’s energy,”

Amethyst: “Listen Steven. All that practice stuff is no fun. Whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens.”

Sharpie: “And Amethyst’s approach is just winging it. Considering Ame is a gem made for war, of course summoning a weapon is natural instinct. Pearl however… She had to learn serious fighting, something most Pearls aren’t made for.”

Spinel: “We’re the same, ain’t we? Spinels ain’t made for violence but we can whoop butt just fine.”

Sharpie: “We just got lucky… and incredibly unfortunate at the same time.”

Sharpie: “Gems are such nuisances. So much that in other places of the world, a group of humans actually built little Distortion Bombs capable of disorienting corrupted gems to a point of repelling them away. Unfortunately those things are powered by tiny bits of gem shards, which is obviously not an easily obtainable source of power. The project was discontinued.”

Spinel: “The invention worked on us, too, which is kind of impressive!”

Sharpie: “The best those little bombs done to us were to irritate us, or temporarily disable our senses. Corrupted gems have warped sentience I think, so they would rely more on instincts and run away from the source of irritation as much as possible.”

Sharpie: “They say if enough energy is given into the device, it’ll have high enough amplitude to potentially dissipate a gem’s physical form. But this is just a fever dream. There’s no way they have access to that amount of energy without slaughtering a Diamond first. Still, props to the engineer who thought that was a good idea.”

Spinel: “So instead of using gem shards, he decided to use us by writing the function into Springy. If we poof, we can give bad gems nearby a head ache and make them go away. We can protect people even if we die in battle! He basically turned us into heroic suicide bombers against corrupted gems.”

Sharpie: “Necessary, considering every time we poof we somehow cause part of a building to catch on fire, killing the people we’re supposed to protect in the process.”

Spinel: “Uh huh… yeaaahh….. I mean, where else is the excess energy supposed to go?”

Sharpie: “I dunno. Some other harmless form of energy apart from heat? The sparkly dust clouds were already perfect and you just had to change it into something deadlier. Thanks to you, seven people that stood close to us turned into soup.”

Spinel: “Well, there was that one time where the fire storm actually saved us from a meanie who wanted to crush us. We can’t just ignore that.”

Sharpie: “Seven people died, Spinel. Seven people that happened to be our allies.”

 Wilt: “Please stop. We have to finish this episode.”

Steven: “So I’m supposed to work really hard and not try at all at the same time?”

Garnet: “Yes.”

Garnet: “Or…”

Garnet: “You can link your mind with the energy of all existing matter, channeling the collective power of the universe through your gem.”

Garnet: “At least that’s my way of doing it.

Spinel: “C’mon, kiddo. It’s not that hard to understand. It’s how Springy lived for the past 40 years. If she can do it, so can you.”

Sharpie: “I bet this makes the most sense to you, huh Wilt?”

Wilt: “It does. Considering we are all just ripples of energy on the surface of the large lasagna we call the observable universe.”

Sharpie: “What a nerd. Also we’re half-way through the episode. You better cry, Wilt.”

Wilt: “I’m saving this shot for reference.”

[theladylikesfics]

After The Storm Chpt 6

Lying as flat as possibly on the floor you heard the footsteps approaching, silently you commando slid on your bell across the dark cherry wood floor; stopping on when you heard the foot steps stop moving. You could hear him pause and watched as he circled around searching for you. Suddenly you popped up from behind Jin’s large desk in his office and shot him on the ass with your Nerf gun; squealing running away as he gave chase firing back. “AHH! Oh! You’re so getting it for that butt shot!” Jin called out after you as you two ran around the downstairs of your home playing with Nerf guns. “You gotta be quicker than that to catch me!” You yelled back laughing as you ran circles around the couch in the living room. The last month and two weeks of your life had been come a chaotic shell game. On the one hand it worked perfectly, you were able to work in peace without fear, you were slightly tired of knowing this was your life out of need not out of want. Wanting to lighten the mood Jin had left two Nerf Blasters along with a two hundred dart refills and a note ‘be prepared to battle!’; it felt as though the two of you hadn’t honestly played and had fun in forever and this was just the thing needed to relax and bring some true smiles and fun back into both of your lives. The two of you ran from room to room firing and laughing dodging and hiding behind all surfaces until Jin lost his balance running in his socks and slipped. “Oh shit! Jinni honey are you okay?” Jin groaned. “Babe come here quick I’m hurt!”  you dropped your guns and rushed over to him as fast as you could; dropping to your knees to assess, he quickly pulled you in to his arms holding you in place with one arm while beginning to tickle you with the other. “Gotcha!” “No Fair! You cheater!” You squirmed and giggled writhing against him. “You never said I couldn’t cheat and just because I am a cheater I’m doing this.” Jin pressed his lips on the sweet spot of your neck and began blowing raspberries, causing you to shriek, and shrill in a high pitch whining for him to stop. “Jinni noooo stop I’m gonna get the hi-hiccups! Da-damnit Jin.” Hiccups having set in, Jin couldn’t contain his laughter or his grip on you. “Hmmph!” you got up off the floor haughtily ignoring Jin’s out stretched hand to help him up off the floor. “Yo-you got down there by yourself, you can get up by yourself. Hmmph!” “Ouch Babe. Ice Princess is in the house.” Jin said, his long strides quickly catching up to you, he pulled you close into him by your waist and planted kisses on the side of your face, ear and the top of your head. “I love you, you know.” He said, turning you around his arms looking down into your face. You tiptoed to kiss him, securing your arms around his neck pulling him down further kissing him deeply. A knock on the door interrupted you. Jin threw his head back in a half growl half groan. “This had better be important, I was about to get lucky.” “Oh. You think so huh?” You said with a smirk. “I know so.” Jin replied swatting you on the ass and following you to the door.

On the other side of the door was Seo, Song, Detective Park and Lee Hoon-So; you motioned for the four men to come inside. After offering and serving beverages you got down to the reason of the visit. “To what do we owe the pleasure gentlemen?” You asked; Detective Park spoke first. “We have some news and some good news.” “You caught this sick bastard and my fiancé is once again safe?” Jin asked “Not that good unfortunately but still good. We got the DNA results back on the blood that was used for the card and the pictures. We talked to each of those individuals and we’ve ruled them out as suspects.” “How!?” Both you and Jin practically yelled at the same time. “When we talked to them and examined the blood, we that the one thing they all had in common is that they had recently donated blood. The woman who is A+ is a sixty-year-old grandmother who’s only familiar with the band because of her grand children. We did a thorough sweep of her home and electronic devices as well as her whereabouts for the times and date you and your staff were able to give as. The gentlemen who is AB- donated is a forty-eight-year old businessman. A day later went to Busan to visit family before flying out to Singapore, where he’s still currently located. Again, full sweep of his home and whereabouts there’s no immediate connection to any of this. The young man who is O is a twenty-five-year-old intern at Asan Medical Center. He’s very familiar with BTS and the engagement; however, he loves your diversity initiative, thinks you’re absolutely beautiful and that Jin is a very lucky man.” You breathed a half sigh of relief; part of you felt better knowing there wasn’t three people plotting and conspiring against you, but still frustrated that no real information as to who was behind these attacks was known. “So, you’ve eliminated three suspects but still don’t know who’s terrorizing us?” Jin said tightly “We don’t have confirmation on a suspect but here’s the additional news. Being that all the blood seemed to have the connection of being a donation we asked if they had been a recent blood drive done; there was, so we went out to talk to the staff running the drive that day. They said that and the end of the drive there was twelve bags of A+, ten bags of AB-, and four bags of O, these are the bags that were already processed and ready to use; at the end of night when they were moving the bags to cold storage there were only eleven bags of A+, nine bags of AB- and three bags of O. They thought initially that the original count was just off; but as you know they collect the names of the individual and assign them a name and number for their donation. When they ran the names of the three individuals their numbers were there, but their donation was missing.” Your grasp on Jin’s arm tighten and you could swear you felt your pupils dilate. “Does this mean, you honestly have a suspect?” You asked, heart beat kicking up substantially as the thought of this nightmare finally coming to and end began to set in. “We are still tracking down every employee that worked the drive and had access to the donations after it was over, but this just might be it.” Relief flooded through you like a drug. You clutched your chest, dropping your head breathing deeply wrapping Detective Park’s words around you like a cloak. “Its really almost over Jin, its honestly almost fucking over.” You were near weeping, fragilely holding on to your composure; Jin wrapping his arms around you kissing the top of your head. “But that’s not all we found, and this is most solid and most definite.” Detective Park began, but I’ll let officer Lee explain. “The letter bomb that you received is very specific. Every bomber has a signature, something unique and special just to them; and in the event this isn’t the first time they’ve done it, it makes it that much easier to match up the signature for comparison. The bomb that you received is almost identical to bombs that were sent out in the year 1988. The bomber in that case was caught and convicted; but he was found guilty with a mental defect he was sent to the prison ward of a mental clinic where he served his time. He was released five years ago. This man, Jeong Hyung Soo, is the man we are one hundred percent looking.” Officer Lee slid a picture attached to a file across the table to you and Jin. Your skin ran cold as if all the blood in your body had suddenly frozen; a violent shiver wracked your body as you clutched into Jin’s side seeking his warmth. The image on the outside of a man balding, severely chapped lips, teeth broken and missing, face covered in a thick layer of black and white stubble. The flat black matte of his eyes reminded you of a great white shark, just shiny pebbles void of any emotion or empathy; a long crescent shaped scar accented the top of his head. “This is what he looked like when he was released five years ago, have either of you ever seen this man?” Both you and Jin shook your heads no. Opening the file, you could see what he looked like when he was first convicted. Smooth tanned face with a square jawline, thick full head of jet black hair, full pouty lips that may have even rivaled Jin’s, teeth perfect, no visible scar. Eyes still matte, lifeless and cold. “What happened, how did this man become this?” You asked, trying to fathom this level of decline. Detective Park began. “It started with an office dispute; something meaningless, casual office ribbing. Then apparently at an office party at a BBQ den the first victim Dong Ha, got drunk and started telling Jeong Hyung Soo just what he truly thought of him; two days later he received a letter bomb in the mail. Luckily for him he was looking away when he was opening the letter, his sister had called his name and he turn to answer as he was tearing it open. It cost him a portion of his left side of his face and his ear, but it saved his life. The second victim Ahn Jin-joo was a neighbor. They had apparently had on going disputes about everything. She was an older woman, but her home was known as a party house. From what police were able to piece together at the time she had thrown a party that had ran late into the night, Jeong had come over furious about it pounding on her door with a cigarette in her mouth; she immediately blew the smoke in his face then threw a cup of beer in his eyes in front of all the guest; including a few neighbors who were attending. Two days later a package arrived and sadly she did not survive. The third and fourth victims were a nurse and boyfriend. Jo Min Ja and Yoo Ji Tae, we believe this is a classic case of unrequited love. Jeong and Jo Min Ja had met a few times and had a few drinks, according to friends and family that knew her she made it clear that she was dating around looking for her right fit. Jeong had declared that he was her match. Yoo Ji Tae was a new doctor who was interning at the hospital Jo Min Ja worked in and according to co-workers said it was love at first sight for both of them. Jo Min Ja broke off seeing everyone, including Jeong; told him that she in fact had a boyfriend now. He couldn’t accept it, he would continue to come by the hospital where she worked bring gifts, flowers, food, he would stand outside of her home yelling her name; police were called several times. The night of the engagement party a gift was placed in the couple’s car. As they were driving it exploded. From what the coroner was able to determine at the time they didn’t initially die from the blast, but they lost control of the car crashing and dying. Their deaths were the ultimate connection between Jeong and the other two victims; also, the bomb he placed in the couples car somehow malfunctioned, detonating on its own, a portion of it stayed intact, they were able to match that up with pieces from the bombs and the familiar connections he was arrested.” You sat saddened and flabbergasted at Officer Lee’s report. “This man is definitely our bomber. I put my entire reputation that this is who we are looking for.” “You sure you’ve never seen this man before? I know you have a degree in psychology, did you spend any time at the Seobu Hospital?” Detective Park asked. “No not at all. I did all my interning with Seoul International University Hospital and the Lu Han youth services; I’ve never come across this man directly as far back as I can think.” “What happens now?” Jin asked, the visible tension still holding in his shoulders. “We’re currently looking for him. Since his release was just that a release and not a parole there was no need to keep tabs on him afterwards. It was recommended that he still see a therapist at the hospital at least once a week, but he declined and legally he couldn’t be forced to see one. We have a team now following up with the hospital, trying to track down any family members. The place he listed would be his place of residents after release was a flophouse and got shut down roughly seven months after he was released. Finding him is at the top of our list, we’ve got just about every available personnel combing the streets of where known felons are known to frequent post release.” “In the meantime, we will continue with protocol Ms. (Y/L/N)” Song added in. Taking a deep breath and sighing you nodded; trying to understand just how you felt about the situation. 

Getting up from the table you flopped down on the couch as Jin walked the visitors out. Sitting down next to you he took your hands staring in your eyes. “Tell me what you’re thinking sweetheart?” He asked, thumbs tracing back and forth over your knuckles. “Honestly, I don’t know Jin. On the one hand I’m like great! We know something; on the other it’s like great I’ve got the attention of a serial bomber who’s maimed one and killed three. I still feel sick about it; for all that we’ve just found out I still feel like we don’t know anything Jin. I almost wish that they had waited for more information before they came here to talk to us. I’m just so fucking frustrated!” Your voice escalating; holding your head down clutching it, taking a deep heavy sigh. Jin took his hand and steadily ran it up and down your back. “I know baby, I feel the same way right now, I know how frustrating this is; I’m right here with you. I want nothing more for this whole ordeal to be over. I hate living in fear, I hate seeing you live in fear and the fact that this asshole wants to hurt you!” Jin’s voice broke, the emotions he’d been pushing down trying to bubble their way out to the surface. “I just want you carefree and happy again babe.  I just want you relaxed and stressing out over clients or wedding planning with me. We haven’t even gotten to talk about what we would like to do for a wedding because of this bullshit. What should legitimately be one of the most mutually happiest times in our life with each other is fucking ruined right now. My girl should be able to look back at her engagement with the happiest of memories, not ones that make the bile rise up her stomach and make her want to vomit. Your joy is being stolen from you and I’m fucking furious there utterly nothing I can do about it.” The barrier that had been pushing down his emotions continue to crack break and wear down as he spoke. Big fat tears beginning to fall and run down his cheeks as his voice continue to escalate and crack “I only wanted to give you the world; give you every fucking thing that you deserve but instead I’ve given you creepy messages, photos of you covered in blood lastly almost your death. I almost killed you because I’m selfish and told you to stay. Every fucking minute that this goes on I’m reminded I almost got you killed.” Your eyes went wide and wild while your mouth hung open hearing Jin break down and seeing him sob. You had no idea that Jin was feeling guilty and responsible for the stalker; you knew of course that he was upset thinking it was the over all situation; but to hear that he personally felt responsible hurt you in a way you couldn’t adequately express in words. He sat there sobbing on the couch, hands on either side of his head crying, letting them fall freely on the hardwood floor. “Oh God, no, no no, Jin! Sweetheart no! Look at me.” You began, cupping his face wiping his tears ignoring your own that were starting and your nose that was already becoming damp. “Don’t you fucking dare feel responsible for this. You are so beautiful; do you know that? I’ve spent the last three and a half years with the most incredible soul. One that picked up a complete stranger in the middle of a storm, brought her to your home, took care of her and even put her to sleep in your bed. When she snuck out like a thief in the night the next morning, you went as far as to track her down and return her clothing that you personally laundered. You have loved me in a way that I was convinced only existed in the movies or dramas. You are a walking talking real life prince and you choose to love me. Plain ordinary me. You have made every single day of this relationship a pure pleasure. I think back to the night of our engagement and I’m still utterly speechless Jin. That night and that gorgeous scene that you created is embedded in me; I will forever remember that night as one of the most magical experiences ever. I’m so angry at you for thinking that this bastard has taken that from me, because I promise you he hasn’t. Nothing ever will. And I’m even more mad at you that you’ve been carrying around this guilt that you feel responsible. Jin, I know what I said about leaving and that wasn’t about us or even me, that was me thinking about keeping you safe, I don’t want anything to happen to you, I’m terrified that you’ll get hurt. That’s the only reason I suggested that maybe I should go. This was just me trying to keep you safe. You are not responsible for this at all Kim Seokjin do you understand me, and if I get any idea that you’re thinking or feeling this away again I’m going to kick your ass to hear me.” You finished with a laugh and sniffle, wiping his tears and then your own. Jin embraced you as tight as he could drawing you into his lap. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry sweetheart. I know that I’m not responsible, but I can’t help but feel that maybe its my fault and-” “Stop It!” You said cutting him off immediately. “This isn’t on me and it damn sure as hell is hot isn’t on you. That bastard probably  shouldn’t have never been let out, but the police know who he is now, and they are going to stop at nothing to find him. This is truly almost over Jin.” Jin kissed you on your forehead, before resting his own against your shoulder holding you tight trying to gather himself. “I get to spend my life, with the most unbelievably amazing person. A man who every day makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the entire world. A man who goes out of his way to make me smile, take care of me, wipes my tears, and makes me orgasm to the point where I’m blissfully numb and feeling lighter than a feather. It is my absolute pleasure to be by your side Jin. No one or nothing could ever change that. Not some in their feelings ARMY, Antis, and damn sure not some insane dickhead. You and I sir, are a team; and together we are getting through this.” Jin held on tightly to her, her gentle scent of Moonstone and citrus soothing him and enbibed her strength. Jin honestly thought that he could feel her resolve flowing into him, fortifying his fragile nerves, erasing all the guilt he’d been harbouring, and easing his fears. She truly was a balm for his soul. Jin knew without a shadow of doubt that he could never be in love with anyone else the way that he was in love with her. She honestly made him a better man. “I love you.” Jin said meekly, feeling lighter than he had in over a month. “You sir, look as though you could use a bath, let’s go.” You slid off his lap extending your hand to him, accepting your offer; Jin happily let you lead him upstairs. 

After leaving the condo of Kim Seokjin and (Y/W/N), Detective Park headed over to the hospital where the blood drive was held and went up to the floor designated for blood services. “Dr. Choi, thank you so much for meeting today on such short notice.” Detective Park began. “I’m here about the blood drive that you held a few weeks ago and resulted in some blood being missing.” “Yes, is this normally the type of thing the police investigates, missing blood?” Dr. Choi asked casually. “When there’s a theft involved most like, when the blood has been used in a wave of ongoing crimes and stalking, absolutely.” Dr. Choi dropped his pen as his mouth flew open. “Let me explain to you how serious this situation has become. The blood missing from your donations was identify in a crime. A young woman is being stalked and photos of her with messages written in that same missing blood delivered to her office. Now that same young woman’s life was threatened even further by having a letter bomb sent to her office that could have killed her and her staff. Now we are going to talk about each one of your staff members that were involved with the drive.” “Sorry Detective Park, I wasn’t aware at the severity of the situation, please excuse my earlier attitude. There were a total of ten people working the drive not including me. Three nurses, six phlebotomist and another doctor, Dr. Manning.” “Of those individuals you just stated did anyone seem preoccupied, or sketchy in any way, or anything seem out of the ordinary since the time after the drive?” Dr. Choi twisted his lips as if he were chewing on rather to speak his mind or not. “Dr. Choi, I assure you even if its just gossip or rumor mill you let me sort that out, but I need to know if anything is coming to mind.” Detective Park said with an added measure of sternness to his voice. “One of our nurses Min Ji Ho, she’s been a little erratic lately; she’s always been a little bit of an off girl but lately its intensified.” “What do you mean by that?” “She’s the type that keeps to herself. As nurse part of having good bedside manner is being able to talk to patience and their families and put them at ease. She’s the sort that’s very abrupt, comes off a little cool. But then there are moments where she just erupts with giggles and laughs and smiles and wants to talk to everyone; its just strange.” Detective Park nodded as he absorbed and jotted down all the information. “Also, she has been missing work more frequently lately, currently she hasn’t been to work in the last two days.” “One last thing before I go, and this may seem strange. Out of all the names you mentioned before does anyone seem really familiar with the group BTS, you know the K-Pop group?” With that, Dr. Choi took a deep breathe and stood up. “Could you come with me please Detective Park?” He said. Dr Choi led Detective Park to the nursing station and pointed at a desk. “Does this qualify Detective Park? Dr. Choi said gesturing to the desk. Detective Park’s eyes brows met his hairlines as the hair on his arms stood on end and his blood ran cold. On the desk was covered in photos of BTS members, but one in particular Kim Seokjin. “Excuse me Yuna, you share a locker with Ji Ho right?” Dr. Choi asked, stopping a nurse. Yuna shuddered involuntarily before speaking. “Yes, doctor I do, I wish I didn’t though.” “Do you mind showing this Detective the locker please?” Walking behind the wall of the nurses station to where the lockers were located Yuna opened up the locker, posted to the inside of it was a full-length picture of Seokjin with messages written on sticky notes stuck to it ‘my handsome prince’ ‘my one true love’ ‘only I can love you’ ‘you deserve only the best Mr. Worldwide Handsome’ ‘Mr. Worldwide Handsome is not for the world, Only for me’. Detective Park had never experienced a chill like the one he got standing before that locker seeing the images and messages in a handwriting that he’d burned on the inside of his eye lids. “I’ve got to go! Thank You for all your help Dr. Choi.” “Wait Detective, one more thing before you go. If it is Ji Ho you’re looking for good luck finding her.” “What do you mean by that?” “She’s a master make-up artist. She can literally make herself look like anyone or anything for that matter.” Yuna said. “She never really felt like a pretty girl, so she started doing her make-up to look like pretty girls. She’s gotten so good at it that she didn’t look like her I.D. badge and had trouble getting into the building. She had to create a password with the desk for the days that she didn’t look like herself. She’s really good, its not just make up, but she uses putty to change the shape of her forehead, nose, cheekbones and chin. She really could look like anyone.” Yuna finished. “Thank you. Both of you have been a major help today.” Detective Park rushed out of the hospital, into his car and raced back to Seoul Police Station. “Chief Tuan, I need a search warrant and arrest warrant now for one Min Ji Ho. She’s definitely our stalker. She had access to the blood, her behavior as of late has been erratic and most importantly her work station and locker are filled with images and personally hand-written messages to Kim Seokjin. I don’t know how she connected with Jeong, but I’m convinced this is who we’re looking sir.” “Park get a full team together, I’ll call for a warrant.” A little under an hour later a full team had been gathered led by Detective Park it included another Detective Lee Michael, Sergeants Yin and Yoon affectionate called YingYang and several officers, the full Emergency Response Team and the Bomb Squad were also assembled. “Listen up everyone. We are dealing with two very dangerous individuals. One we know for certain is a convicted murderer and bomber. The second more than likely is a mentally disturbed woman who from those around her has stated she can look like anyone. Going into this home we are bringing in all occupants. If they are in the home they are to be immediately secured, thoroughly searched and brought in for questioning until we figure out exactly who is who. I don’t need to tell you to be careful, but I will tell you be vigilant. We are dealing with a bomber and who knows what kinds of traps could be set up at this location. Everyone be safe.” Detective Park tighten his Kevlar vest before pulling on his double shoulder holster and leading his team out.            

                                          Several Hours Earlier

You looked over at Jin utterly bored out of your mind. Jin sat next to you on the couch all long limbs and broad shoulders, legs casually crossed watching an old episode of one of his favorite shows, giving off that full chuckle that always made you smile. “Jiiiinniiii” you began to whine flopping over his lap staring up at him. Jin reached down and trailed his fingertips over your face. “Yes Love, what can I do for you?” Broad full smile accented by pouty lips shined down on you. “Jinni, I’m so bored babe. So unbelievably bored. I feel like we’ve done everything these past couple of days, watched moves, listen to music, played games, and yet I’m still just meh” You said blowing a raspberry and giving a thumb down sign. Jin sighed softly, he knew that you were feeling cooped up. It was part of your own duality that he loved; for as much as you were a homebody, you loved to go out, see a show, catch a movie, dinner followed by dancing, or a nightcap afterwards. The weekends since the bombing it had been work, home and grocery shopping. The one exception was your weekly dance class. Jin hated keeping you in away from the social life that you loved but he feared you being attacked. “I Got It!” You shot up from his lap, drawing one leg under the other, turning fully to face him on the couch. “We’re having a kiki! I Can’t go out, So I shall bring them in!” Jin gave you a surprise quizzical look, you could see his rebuttal already forming. “Before you object, we’ll keep it small. We’ll invite the boys, Jackie, oooh! I can finally use this as an opportunity to introduce Tammy and Yoongi. Oh Babe it will be perfect!” You squealed with happiness clasping your hands under your chin giving a wiggle of joy. Jin saw the look of pure delight on your face and he knew he couldn’t deny you. He hadn’t really seen you look this happy in a while and he knew you deserved it. “What about food?” “Umm.. We can do homemade pizza and wings! The boys love it when I do that, plus they love making their own pizzas and my wing sauces.” “You had me at homemade.” Jin said standing up from the couch. “Come on sweetheart lets go shopping.”

Later on, the two of you stood in the kitchen elbows deep in ingredients. “After tonight, I don’t think I want to prep or clean another chicken wing in my life.” Jin said looking at you over his shoulder. “How the hell did I get stuck on the wings anyway?” “Well that because 1) I have to make the dough. 2) I have to prepare all the ingredients for the pizza, including making the three base sauces for it. 3) I have to make the sauces for the wings. 4) Last and certainly not least, I hate touching poultry skin, you know I hate touching poultry skin and you do it because you love me.” You blew him a kiss and wink making him giggle. Jin sighed. “You’re lucky you’re so cute and you’re right I do love you.” Jin winked at you and your stomach became full of butterflies. “Three years later and you still have that affect on me Mr. Kim.” “I better still have that affect on you.” Jin said with a full laugh.

Hours later the two of you were all set for the party to begin. With Bangtan living next door it didn’t take long for the guest to arrive. “Okay let me make sure I have everything,” you began looking over all the toppings and sauces. “pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, black olives, ground beef, bell peppers, jalles, grilled chicken, grilled pork chops, grilled steak, six different types of cheese, olive oil, classic pizza sauce, white sauce, BBQ, stuff so Tae can make his weird kimchi pizza.” You shuddered at the thought of the kimchi pizza. “Various seafood so Jin can have his seafood pizza. Maybe I should make fries…” Jin came sliding into the kitchen bumping into before placing a kiss on the crown of your head. “Babe we’ve got more than enough food, you don’t need to make fries.” “Yeah but what’s more classic than fries, pizza and wings.” You replied wiggling your eyebrows and giving him a huge cheesey smile. Jin sighed. “I’ll start peeling” “YAY!” Thirty minutes later all of Bangtan arrived along with Namjoon’s girlfriend Jackie. “Hey Guys! I’m so excited to see everyone.” You said, greeting them all with hugs and kisses. You grabbed Yoongi by the hand and led him to the couch. “Yoongi, let me talk to you for a second. I’ll be honest with you; I’m trying to set you up tonight. I have friend coming over, she’s cutes, cynical, sarcastic but really sweet. She’s kinda like a female you but with severely less rapping skills. Her name is Tammy and she’s the head of P.R for my firm. I think you two would be amazing together.” “Oh No, (Y/N) I don’t know if-” just then the doorbell rang, and you shot up to answer. “That must be her!” “Hey Bitch!” “Ugh hi, with your raggedy ass.” Tammy answered back. “Okay everyone, except Jin and Jackie, this is Tammy. Tammy in order that is Namjoon, Jungkook, Taehyung, Jimin, Hoseok, and last but certainly not least this is Yoongi.” You gave Jin the signal and he gave Yoongi a little shove closer to Tammy. “Hi.” Yoongi gave Tammy a full gummy smile and you practically floated away. “Okay who’s ready to make their own pizza!?” You cheered. Leading everyone into the kitchen you pointed out all the toppings and sauces for the pizza. “Tae, I even got all the fixings for your weird kimchi pizza you like making.” Everyone in the kitchen who’d experience the horror of the kimchi pizza gave a collective shudder. “Hey! Its not that bad, its delicious.” Tae protested, offended everyone would mock his creation. “Who am I kidding though, I know why you’re all here, my homemade wing sauces.” A cheer erupted from the kitchen. “Okay, so here we go, the classic BBQ, spicy bbq, mustard sauce, honey mustard, buffalo, and everyone’s favorite, The Sweet Heat my famous sweet buffalo red pepper garlic sauce! The wings are already cooked with salt, pepper, sake, and mirin. So, all you have to do is pop a few in the air fryer to warm them up that way they stay nice and crispy then toss them in the sauce of your choice. The pizzas will only take five to ten minutes to cook depending on how thick you make your crust and I’ve got batches of freshly made crispy fries. Oh and of course we’ve got bottles and bottles and bottles of soju to wash it all down, along with beer and as always, a full bar! Let’s party y’all!”

“Everyone get into position and on my count. Detective Lee and I will knock on the door first see if anyone is home or answers the door. On my count rush the door and not a second before. Just in case it’s trapped on the other side of that door.” Detective Park gave his final set of orders before leaving the surveillance area near the home of Min Ji Ho. Casually approaching the front gate Detectives Park and Lee rang the door bell and waited; a static filled voice echoed out from the other side of the intercom “Hello, Ms. Min this is Detective Park and Detective Lee from Seoul Police Department we need to talk to you.” Static once again came from the intercom. On Detective Park’s signal members of the Emergency Response Team breached the gate and went charging for the front door flanking either side of the two lead detectives. Once more Detective Park made his presence known by pounding on the front door. “Min Ji Ho! This is the Seoul Police Department, we have a warrant to search the premises” They were greeted with silence; on his command the ERT team rammed in the front door and waited before entering. They cautiously entered the home looking down measuring each step taken, nervous to set off a potential trap; just then the back door slammed shut, members of the ERT charged forward making their way towards the back down. An explosion rocked the back of the house coming from the kitchen. Detective Park, Detective Lee and Sergeant Yin were flung against the side wall. The house was soon flooded with the remaining members of the ERT team coming in to check on those inside the house. Detective Lee tried his best to shake off the cobwebs from the blast, his vision blurry, ears ringing, he saw Detective Park’s mouth moving unable to make out what was being said he simply shook his head and closed his eyes, he just need to rest for a minute. Detective Park picked up Detective Lee and rushed him outside as quickly as possible to waiting EMS. “Detective Park are you alright, what the fuck happened in there?” Chief Tuan asked Detective Park quelled down the wave of nausea that threaten to disrupt his life at the moment, his head was pounding and wanted nothing more than to vomit and curl up on the cool tile of a bathroom floor, but he knew how important he needed to be at this scene; to be the one to catalogue whatever was inside that home to bring a young couple that reminded him so much of him and his wife peace. “I’m not sure Sir, we went in carefully, concerns about traps. Some one was definitely inside the house. We heard a door in the back bang shut, twenty seconds later the explosion.” At that moment a communication came over the radio “Suspects fleeing in an old brown conversion van, partial I.D. on the plates 2764 please be advise and on the look out” Anger overriding his bodily discomfort, Detective Park roared and kicked a trash can sending it flying. After the bomb squad had made a full sweep of the home, Detective Park, a slightly concussed Detective Lee, and Chief Tuan entered the home. “Chief, Detectives, you’re going to want to see upstairs” Officer Lee Hoon-So motioned for the men to him. Upstairs in a bare backroom, wall to wall images of Kim Seokjin and his fiancé. Photos of Jin from concert promotions, magazines, images taking from videos online and printed. One of the more disturbing images, a photo printed from the Dispatch interview the couple did, addressing their stalker, the fiancé’s skin painted over so that she appeared white in appearance, a picture of Min Ji Ho taped over her beautiful smile. On the wall incoherent ramblings confessions of love, need, want, bitterness and hate for Jin’s fiancé. “I want everything in this room photographed, documented, fingerprinted and collected.” “Chief Tuan, Detectives you’re needed downstairs, there’s something you need to see.” Sergeant Yan advise, standing in the doorway of the bedroom. In the basement of the home they found what can only be described as a make shift cell. A lonely dingy cot against a bare wall, a separated food tray, a sink and toilet against the opposite wall, a make shift metal door. On the opposite wall of the sink and toilet photos of Min Ji Ho, more plastered on the ceiling above the cot. In the middle of the room a large table filled with various bits of metal, wires, watch pieces, batteries and various powders. “This is a bomb making station if I’ve ever seen one.” Sergeant Nam of the bomb squad stated. “If you look here, this bomb was in the middle of being made, its not quite finished yet, but I can tell from the amount of powder weighted out and the number of connectors in place, this was meant to be huge.” “FUCK! We fucking had them and now they’re gone” Detective Park yelled again. “I want every available body on the streets looking for that damn van, Jeong Hyung Soo and Min Ji Ho! Anyone who’s not pertinent to the collection of evidence, ERT or the bomb squad I want them on the street and looking for those two now.” 

  The pop-up pizza and wings party was the best idea you could have had. Everyone had missed being together having fun and being carefree; the potential romance between Yoongi and Tammy made it that much more epic for you If this works out this heffa is going to owe me so big! You thought to yourself gleefully watching the pair help make each other’s pizza and sample their wing creations. Several hours into the party you all had just wrapped up an epic VLive episode of Eat Jin, in which Jin hosted a pizza contest. A prize was to be awarded for the best-looking pizza and the best tasting pizza. The pizza tasting was a blind testing and Jin choose you to be the taste tester. After nearly gagging to death on Tae’s bizarre sausage kimchi pizza, you had no choice but to declare Jin the winner for best tasting, after all he did use your favorite toppings for his creation. A knock on the door interrupted an epic game of Uno. “I’ll get it babe, don’t let Jungkook win!” Jin said getting up, kissing you on the forehead before answering the door. “Detective Park” Jin said wearily. “come in please.” Detective Park entered with two men unfamiliar to him. “(Y/N), can you come here babe?” You looked at your guests surprised. “Ahh, yeah be right there. Excuse me guys.” “Sorry to interrupt you two and you have company, is there somewhere we can talk more privately, this is important?” “Yes of course, Jin’s office is just behind us, I’ll go let our guests know.” You said walking back to where you group of friends still gathered playing cards. “Hey guys, the police are here for Jin and I, please stay keep having fun, we just need to find out what’s going on.” Rejoining the men in the room you sat down next to Jin opposite the visitors. “Sweetheart, this is Chief Tuan and Sergeant Nam of the bomb squad.” You nodded in agreement. “Okay, so what brings the Chief of Police, a member of the bomb squad and Detective Park to our home at nearly 10 p.m.?” You asked tersely. You didn’t mean to sound so short and rude, but your emotions couldn’t help it. It felt like you were finally having a night where you were able to forget about your troubles and have fun as a couple the way you once did and suddenly the killjoys arrived, popping your balloon of happiness and remind you what a depressing fearful state you actually where in. “We know who’s responsible for all of this.” Detective Park said, you sucked in a deep breathe, the air somehow feeling trapped in your throat. “What? Are you serious? Does this mean its over you caught the bastard?” Detective Park took a deep sigh and sadly shook his head no. The hope that was beginning to build in you quickly deflated as the you had on Jin’s arm got tighter. “Earlier today I met with a Dr. Choi, he was the physician heading up the blood drive. After interviewing him in depth he spoke to me about a nurse, Min Ji Ho, whose behavior lately has been erratic and unreliable. When we looked at her desk and locker it was evident she was well versed in BTS and that you Mr. Kim are her favorite. It was enough to get a search warrant for her home. When we got there someone was definitely in the home, once we entered there was an explosion and some one fled the scene in a vehicle. We do believe that Min Ji Ho and Jeong Hyung Soo are working together.” Somehow hearing those two names together gave you some sort of relief. They were no longer anonymous, they were no longer nameless, faceless terrorizers to you and Jin. “So, they got away.” Jin said bitterly. “Mr. Kim, we know how frustrating this situation still is for you and your fiancé, but we know who they are, we know what they are driving, and I’ve got every available police officer in Seoul looking for them.” Chief Tuan said. “What’s the connection between the two, is he a family member of hers?” You asked. “That’s not clear as of this time, we do believe he was staying there. There was this odd room in the basement of her home that looked like a makeshift cell, there was a table in the middle of the room filled with bomb making materials, the signature identical to Jeong’s.” Detective Park stated and confirmed by Sergeant Nam. “I’d like you two to be extremely cautious. This woman is more than just dangerous; she’s a master of disguise. According to her co-workers she never felt very attractive and as a result she became a master make-up artist including the use of putty to alter the appearance of her cheeks, nose, forehead and chin. The pictures we collected from her home look nothing like the picture on her work I.D. Be extra vigilant.” Detective Park stated. “Jin the premiere party is this weekend. If she could honestly look like anyone she could easily be there.” You said worried. Jin nodded, face tight, lips pursed together in deep thought. “We are currently working on a plan for that.” Chief Tuan said, “I’ve got my gadget guys working on something special just as a precaution.” “A precaution for what?”  Jin asked. “I’m confident that they are plotting something the night of the premiere. I’m working on a tracking device just in case you two get separated.” “That won’t even be an issue, she’s not leaving my side at all that night.” Jin said flatly. “I’m confident that you would do everything to keep her close Mr. Kim but I agree with Detective Park when he says we need to be on the highest of alerts and awareness.” Chief Tuan said.  You and Jin exchanged glances; and unspoken understanding of things changing, hopefully for the better. By the time the conversation with Detective Park, Chief Tuan and Sergeant Nam was over, your friends had already taken the liberty to clean up the extra food in the kitchen, wiping down the island and the kitchen table, everyone had a roll in the clean you noticed Yoongi and Tammy rinsing off the dishes and placing them in the dishwasher.

A scream of pure raged echoed and bounced around filling the van as it sped through the streets of Seoul, Min Ji Ho was enraged. Thrashing her body back, kicking her feet, flailing her arms and screaming. Pure rage filled, angry from the depths of her core screaming. “HOW! HOW! HOW DID THEY FIND ME!!!” She bellowed. Jeong Hyun Soo nervously tightened and released his grip on the steering wheel as he drove into the industrial area of Seoul, driving down a back alley towards the bay door of a warehouse; quickly he got out opening the door, driving inside and closing the door behind them. Min Ji Ho continued to rage, throwing things, kicking over a makeshift shelf that held various paints cans, cleaner, bottles, old magazines and old scraps of cloth. She couldn’t understand how she had been discovered, she turned her fury and raged to Jeong Hyun Soo who had been standing silent watching flinching every time a new item went clattering to the ground. “You Promised ME!” Min Ji Ho screeched. “You said that you would get rid of that thing for me! You said that you would do everything for me! You said you would fix it! That bitch is still there and now, NOW the police are looking for me and we had to blow up my house!” She ran up to him, tears streaming down her face, mewing and whining to Jeong. “You promised me you would make it all better…”  she cooed, her lip and chin quivered as she looked up at him, resting her face in the palm of his large hands. “I promise Min Ji Ho, I’ll make you happy again.” The first time they had met, Jeong Hyun Soo barely noticed Min Ji Ho; but then she came as she had ever so often with the resident physician and he saw her, his lost love, Jo Min Ja. Looking at her, he confessed to her immediately; how much he loved her, how much he missed her, how sorry he was that he had hurt her, he never meant to hurt her only that man that claimed he could love her more than he did. He blurted out everything to her. Min Ji Ho simply smiled at him and patted him on the cheek. Jeong knew in that moment he would do any and everything to be with her. Five years later after being released he was assigned to a group home that was too much. It was too loud, too dirty, and he wasn’t used to having to share his space with another person. He thought about killing the men he shared the room with everyday. Fortunately for them a small electrical fire in the kitchen area resulted in the fire department being called and the group home being unfit. He wandered around the streets of Seoul for weeks lost, and then if by some miracle he found her. She was sitting at an outside table of a café eating, he slowly approached her, mumbling unsure of what to say really hoping she would recognize him. She gasped at his appearance, startled, clutching her purse ready to bolt. “Jo Min Ja…” He mumbled, he saw the flash of recognition in her eyes as she motioned for him to sit, she remembered him, he smiled his broken teeth smile and sat down across from her. “You look hungry, here eat the rest of my gimbap, I’ll order more.” Her voice was sweeter than honey water, he knew he would be forever in her service.

You laid in Jin’s arms, one of your R&B playlists drifting around in the background, neither one of you were tired or wanted to focus on the tv, you just laid in bed listening to music; every so often Jin would place tender gentle kisses to your temple, gently rubbing his hand up and down your arm. “Jin?” “Yes Sweetheart?” “I’m really not sure how I’m suppose to feel now. I know before when we had a name I was upset wishing we had known more when the police first told us about Jeong, but now knowing that its not just him but some deranged woman, who may I add, can look like anyone is involved, I’m just not sure if I should be feeling some sort of relief or what right now.” You slipped out of the security in his arms, bringing your knees to your chest, wrapping your arms around them. Jin sighed heavily, everything you’d just expressed he was also feeling. He wasn’t sure if he should be feeling happy that the police knew who was responsible for upsetting his life, threatening his woman, and worst of all attempting to kill her. He wanted to feel better knowing that names and faces responsible for all his turmoil would be caught soon, but for now he couldn’t; they were still on the loose, still a credible threat to his family and their wellbeing. Jin took a long look at her, her lower face tucked behind her arms, everything from the nose up being visible, her eyes a little sad; he sat up in bed, turning his body to fully face her. He gently untucked her limbs from the human ball she curled herself into and lifted her chin to meet her eyes before leaning in to give her a kiss. “Hey, listen,” Jin paused, weighting out exactly what he wanted to say to her, knowing she needed comfort more than anything in these moments. “I understand how you feel right now. I’m relieved that we know who’s responsible. They are no longer anonymous, we don’t have to jump at unknown shadows anymore, instead we know the face of one of them; the other might be a little harder but she’ll be caught too. For now, I don’t want you to worry about it.” He said smiling fondly at you. “All I want is for you to think about what we will be wearing this weekend. I have a confession to make; I plan on matching you. Whatever color dress you choose I’ll have on a suit or a shirt that matches your dress. We will be the most gorgeous couple on the red carpet, naturally, and I know that it may take some time for you to make a dress decision and I probably should have told you this a few weeks ago to give you more time to plan but…” “Kim Seokjin! You would wait until four days before a red-carpet event to tell me you planned on matching me. I’m not even sure I’m wearing which is why I planned in being in the streets all day tomorrow…” Jin smiled contentedly watching you rant, hands flailing to and fro, his plan to distract you working as he intended. Truth be told he’d already ordered your dress as well as his tuxedo to match it over a month ago, it was to be delivered tomorrow. Jin gently tackled you laughing, rolling his body on top of yours, he slid his lips across yours gently, your mouth opening as your tongue flicked out and licked his lips inviting him in. Pressing his full lips against yours, he caressed the inside of your mouth before sucking on your tongue. You moaned in his mouth and Jin’s cock twitched; he was well aware that just about everything about you turned him on, but there was something about you moaning that just drove him crazy. Your moan was the ultimate praise kink to Jin, you sounding like you were having the ultimate pleasurable experience because of the things that he was doing to you, made everything hard, his nipples, his cock, even his balls tighten. “I need you, I need to please you.” Jin hungrily took your mouth pulling you up in the middle of the bed, he kissed the outline of your jaw down to your collar bone as he took his time sliding up the tank top you were wearing. Kissing the area of your cleavage and along the inside of your breast, “Tell me how to please you tonight, please.” You moaned. This was needy Jin. Every so often Jin would get in these moods where he would become a total submissive in the bedroom; he wanted you to completely control him, he going above and beyond to please you not achieving his own physical pleasure until you commanded him to. You raked your nails through his hair before grabbing the back of it pulling it exposing his neck. “Mmm. Does Mr. Kim need me to tell him how to make me cum tonight?” A deep shiver of pure anticipation ran through Jin. “Please.” His pupils were fully dilated, his cock hard and pulsing pressed against his thigh. “Undress me Jin.” You gave your first command and heard the sigh of pleasure come from him; quickly he finished removing your tank top and silk shorts. “On the floor, kneeling back against the bed, tilt your head back.” He licked his lips slowly, getting into position a look of pure wonderment spreading across his face. “Now I’m going to straddle your face. If you do a good job and make me cum, I might just reward you.” “Yes Miss.” You got into position on the bed, squatting over his face you saw him lick his lips greedily before lowering yourself on to them. You’d done this before and you both knew no matter how much he wanted to taste you, he would wait fully until you gave him the command. Deciding to tease him, you undulated your hips, rubbing your womanhood over his lips, his nose bumping against your clit a gentle moan slipping from your lips. You felt Jin’s body tremble underneath you, all of his restraint being tested as you used him to your pleasure. Spreading your hips farther apart, you continued to bump your clit against Jin’s nose, you gripped the bedsheets tighter as you felt your pleasure building and building; a sharper deeper moan escaped from your lips; you felt Jin’s body complete tense under you. Your orgasm was so close you felt the familiar wave and clench in your lower stomach as you continued to grind on Jin’s face. “Jiiiin. Lick!” You whined out, your thighs beginning to tremble, Jin’s hands immediately flew to your hips, his thumbs finding their familiar placemarks as his tongue dove into your wetness. “Oh, Fuck Jin!” You came instantly, his hands squeezing your hips, the stimulation to your clit, the swirl of his tongue inside your hole. Your body bucked against the assault to your wet heat, Jin’s tongue was relentless probing every inch of your cavern, lick, curling, swirling his tongue deep into, through your orgasm and after it was finish. You were bordering on overstimulation, Jin wouldn’t stop until you told him to, but you couldn’t form words. Jin was a fucking carnal animal. His face was engulfed with the feel, and scent of your wet lust and he was aching to be apart of your pleasure, he loved being used as your dildo, it was the most sinful, hedonistic, filthy, dirty sexual thing that you would do to him and he absolutely craved it. The smell of you was driving him insane, his arms were twitching by his side, as the soft crescents of his fingernails were digging into his palms. Then your essence actually dripped out of you and landed on his lips, his entire body stiffened with need, he wanted nothing more and to take a full lick of his lips and taste the gift you gave him, but he couldn’t risk it. He knew protocol when you were in control and he needed you too much tonight to risk being punished and getting denied. When you finally allowed him to taste you he was pure savage beast. He couldn’t get enough of you in his mouth, gripping your hips pulling your dripping wetness into his mouth, he plunged his tongue, maneuvering it in every possible way he could imagined. He sucked on your lips gathering up every sip of your ambrosia, he pulled you down further on his mouth so that he could wrap his full plump lips on your pearl. Your body bucked and shuddered in his arm as your chorus of ‘fuck’ became his favorite song. Jin growled in your pussy and you screamed. You were on your third orgasm and you didn’t know how much more you could actually take. His arms were wrapped tightly around your waist holding you firmly to his face and he just would not stop his attack. He was completely enthralled with the taste of you and he was determined to drink every drop. “Jin Stop.” You whined out breathlessly body still quivering and convulsing in his arms, the aftershock from your third orgasm still singing through you. You felt his chest rise and fall underneath you, his hot breath on your lower lips making you shiver. Jin felt the pre-cum flowing freely from the head of his cock, he couldn’t remember ever being this hard and this worked up, the realization of his heavy swollen cock making him groan hard. “Jin fuck me and take your reward.” You barely manage to speak out, you were still trying to catch your breath when he spoke. “Permission to speak Miss?” “Yes Jinni?” you replied breathlessly, hands still clutching the bedding. “May my reward be tasting you some more?” “You felt him smile against your lips.” “Oh Hell No!” You scrambled out of his grasps and towards the opposite edge of the bed, still naked and quivering. Oh, he’s trying to fucking kill me, he’s not going to fucking eating me and orgasming me to death. He’s bussing that nut that he has and I’m putting me to sleep I’m tired! Fuck his mouth though… A shiver ran through you. “Matter of fact, clean me up, take me to the shower.” Jin stood up, his full erection peeking up through the top of his boxers, walking over to your side of your bed, he collected you his arms, before turning around and walking you into the bathroom. Jin carefully placed you down on the bathroom counter and turned on the shower. “Strip.” Your mouth water watching the fullness of his erection bob up and down as he stood there in front of you. “Now take us inside.” Following orders, Jin carefully picked you up from the counter and walked the two of you in the shower and watched you. You licked your lips before bending down and taking him in your mouth, relishing the taste of him before the water rinsed it away. Fastening your lips around the full mushroom of his tip, you swirled your tongue around the contours of his head and slid the length of your tongue over his slit. A keening whimper slipped from Jin’s lip and you felt him tense afraid his reward would be taken from him. Standing up you smiled at him. “Now, I do believe that I said, ‘fuck me and take your reward’” Jin looked down at your smirking before lifting you up pressing you against the shower wall and sliding deep inside of you. The moan that sang from your core sounded through the bathroom. Jin had already set a steady pace, pounding into you; the feeling of him sliding in and out of your tight pulsing wetness, the hot water drumming on your skin, Jin tweaking your left nipple, the overstimulation was too much. You came quick and hard, jerking in his arms, your body sliding up and down the tile as Jin continued to thrust deeply inside you, his own pace quickening as his moments lost some of their fluidity. “Hold on tight to me.” Jin growled out as you tried your best wrap your arms around his neck. You leaned in and bit gently on the lobe of his ear; you felt the sharp intake of air from him as hot jets of cum painted the inside of your walls. After Jin thoroughly emptied himself inside of you, he took his time washing you from head to toe, as you leaned against the shower wall, eyes fluttering, barely able to stay awake. “Come on baby, let’s put you to bed.” Jin said with full smile and gentle chuckle before kissing you and taking you back in his arms to carry you to bed. He sat you down on the ottoman as he made the bed, you smiled curling up to watch him; you were asleep before he was done putting on the fresh sheets.

#AMBW #AMBW Smut #AMBW KPop #AMBW Fluff #AMBW Angst #BTS Smut #BTS Fluff #BTS Angst #BTS Original AU #Kim Seokjin #Kim Seokjin Fluff #Kim Seokjin Smut #Kim Seokjin Angst #Kim Seokjin Scenarios #Kim Seokjin Chapters #BTS Jin #BTS Jin Smut #BTS Jin Fluff #BTS Jin Angst #Black Girl Kpop #Black Girls Kpop too #Black Woman Writer #Moodboards #Story Moodboards #Romance #Angst #Fluff #Drama #Thriller #Interracial Dating

[3rdgymbros]

this love was damned from the start ( part 3 )

Summary: Aya grows up without a father, and only a smidgen of memories of him to keep her company – warm and dry hands that are curved to fit her face, a fluttering of white bandages, whisky-brown eyes and a smile that’s so kind and so sad.

Pairing: Dazai Osamu x Nakahara Chuuya ( Bungou Stray Dogs )

Author’s notes: For those of you who wanted a happy ending . . . Ahahaha not today. Because I’m a sadistic hoe who likes to see people suffer and cry and curse at me for ruining their day. This concludes the story, but I will be posting more ‘aya as soukoku’s love child’ stories! In the mean time, please, please review. Seriously. Your comments are like crack for me. Thank you to everyone who’s supported this story – I hope that you’ll continue to support my future works!!

Read it on AO3!!

Aya grows up without a father, and only a smidgen of memories of him to keep her company – warm and dry hands that are curved to fit her face, a fluttering of white bandages, whisky-brown eyes and a smile that’s so kind and so sad.

( She wonders if they are figments of her imagination. If she’s imagined him so many times that he is now a memory. )

Aya grows up with a mother, who is broken and strong and loving all at once. She remembers all the crying and the screaming why, the long string of muffled curses she’d heard through her bedroom door one night – the night – all the light had been wiped out from Maman’s eyes in one fell swoop. He’s regained some of his light and life now, but there’s a new addition to Maman’s nightstand now: a picture of a dark-haired man, swathed in delicate bandages, that Maman touches and looks at with the uttermost reverence.

( Maman still doesn’t talk about her father, but at least now Aya gets a simple, “When you’re older”, instead of an outright rejection. )

Aya meets the man that her father would have burned the entire universe for at the tender age of twelve. She’s escaped death by a hair’s breadth, she knows that she could have died if that bomb had detonated even just one second earlier, but she’s nothing if not persistent, and this is one battle that she is not going to lose. She’s standing straight and her hair is pulled back from her face with bunny rabbit hairclips and her eyes are glittering as she demands that he take her with him. She’s going to be a warrior of justice, and she tells this man as much, along with her name – Aya Koda – in one short breath.

And she waits.

( Odasaku takes one look at her and is transported to another time, another place, a bar where an eccentric, almost whimsical young man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders had stopped to chat. He can see shadows of the former boss of the Port Mafia reflected in this young girl’s face.

It’s like seeing a ghost.

He knows that Dazai Osamu is dead – a suicide, everyone whispered, how tragic. But there had been an undercurrent of relief in their words, that the demon prodigy of the Port Mafia had passed, the organization now in the hands of Dazai’s right-hand man Chuuya Nakahara.

The girl standing in front of him is loud and demanding, a bright tropical flower in a pink and yellow dress. But he sees beyond all that – sees the hazel eyes shifting from bright green to a familiar shade of whiskey-brown, the high cheek bones, the pale skin, almost translucent, with the spider web of blue veins under her skin. Her cheeks are flushed, cherry blossoms giving colour to an otherwise white face, and her curls are a dark shade of auburn, a perfect blend of mahogany and crimson.

All the breath leaves his body in a rush. It feels like he’s been punched in the stomach.

Now that he sees it, the resemblance between this girl and Dazai Osamu is unnerving.

“I have a daughter,” Dazai had said, tracing the rim of his glass with the tip of a finger. He was dry-eyed and casual, but the undercurrent of melancholy in his voice suggested that if he could cry, he would. No one could miss the way his voice softened when he said the word ‘daughter’, how a small, sad smile was playing on his lips, vanishing in a second as quick as it had come. “She wants to become a warrior of justice. Don’t you find it ironic?”

He’d assumed it was a trick of some kind. A ploy that no one would fall for. How could someone like him possibly have a child?

But now, gazing at this young girl, he isn’t so sure. )

Somehow, as if it is the most natural thing in the world, Aya muscles her way into tagging along with this man as he searches for the bomber. He’s reluctant to let her come along with him, but with a wisdom beyond her age – everyone’s always said that she’s a smart girl – Aya reasons that she’ll be able to help him identify the culprit, since she’s the only one who’s seen his face.

He gives in with a heavy sigh, and leads the way down into the subway tunnels. Aya beams.

The man fumbles in his pocket for a cigarette and lights up, a thin ribbon of smoke and flame licking the air. “Oda Sakunosuke.”

That’s too long, Aya thinks, her lips twisting up in a thoughtful pout. “Then I’ll call you Odasaku!”

( That sense of déjà-vu. The same conversation, but with a different person.

“Don’t call me Odasaku,” He said, with a sharpness even he was surprised by. “There’s no reason for an enemy to address me in that way.”

How anguished Osamu Dazai had looked, as if someone had wrapped a hand around his throat and squeezed tight. )

Odasaku’s mouth tightens into a thin line, and his eyes go cloudy, like he’s putting up a wall. “ . . . Is that supposed to be a nickname?”

“Yeah!” Aya’s always generous with her smiles, and she gives Odasaku one, warm and radiant and alive, like a big beam of sunshine. “Haven’t you ever been called that before?”

“Once.”

( There’s no doubt about it. They’re definitely related, somehow. )

Odasaku’s staring at her, really staring now, like he’s seeing in and through and beyond her, and Aya stares back, puzzled and a little unnerved by the intensity of his gaze. “Did you know your father?”

Aya’s been asked this question before, enough that the hurt it brings has faded away into a small, dull point, the red-hot acute sting of grief now made insignificant with the passing of time.

“Nuh-uh,” Aya shakes her head, her hair a riot of red as it flies out in a cloud around her face. But there’s a small part of her, in the deepest recesses of her body that thinks of love – a cloud of brown curls, eyes so dark and full, a warm body holding and rocking her – whenever she thinks of her father. “But I think he loved me.”

#dazai osamu #nakahara chuuya #bsd fanfiction #bsd fanfic #soukoku #ＴＥＬＬ ＵＳ Ａ ＳＴＯＲＹ ＯＦ ＷＨＡＴ ＷＥ ＯＮＣＥ ＫＮＥＷ | my fanfiction #( please review!! ) #( and give me validation!! ) #( give me more motivation to write!! )

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior January 31, 2020 – THE TRAITOR, THE RHYTHM SECTION, GRETEL AND HANSEL, OSCAR-NOMINATED SHORTS

Last week was fairly pitiful, relly, but that doesn’t mean this weekend is gonna be much better. At least Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen exceeded my original expectations despite its fairly moderate theater count, and Universal’s The Turning is the studio’s latest horror film to bomb as 1917 continues to do well-deserved big business, crossing the $100 million mark. Actually, most of the movies this past weekend got a nice bump on Saturday, possibly due to the crappy weather across the country. This weekend won’t be so lucky.

Before I get to the wide releases, only one of which I’ll have seen by the time you read this, I want to instead draw attention to one of this week’s limited releases. Marco Bellochio’s THE TRAITOR (Sony Pictures Classics) was Italy’s selection for the Oscars and deservedly so, but it wasn’t even shortlisted in the new “International Film” category, which is a real shame. It stars Pierfrancesco Favino as Tomassso Buscetta, part of the notorious Palermo-based Casa Nostra crime family, responsible for much of the heroin trade in the early ‘80s. After Buscetta flees to Brazil with his wife (Maria Fernanda Candido) and large family in 1981, he’s eventually arrested by the Brazilian authorities and deported back to Palermo where he turns informer and works with Judge Giovanni Falcone (Fausto Alessi) to try to take out the Sicilian mob family.

I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this film is, even if you go in cynically believing you already know everything about the so-called “MAFIA” from watching Goodfellas or “The Godfather” movies. You can tell that Bellochio really did his research into the life of Buscetta, and then had the wise move of hiring Favino (who I met on the set of Disney’s Prince Caspian, of all things!). Favino embodies Buscetta in a way similar to Edgar Rodriguez in Olivier Assayas’ Carlos, as the film covers almost three decades of his life, much of it in paranoia for turning on his criminal brothers.

The movie has a few lulls, most notably during the lengthy courtroom/trial scenes that are unlike anything you’ll ever have seen before or after – they’re complete madhouses – but the movie also delivers in quieter dialogue scenes, particularly those between Favino and Alesi. It’s amazing to think that someone responsible for so many deaths, both by his own hand and by heroin addiction, could be turned into a bonafide hero, but it’s hard to deny how brave Buscetta must have been for being involved with the takedown of the Casa Nostra for over a decade.

Bellachio has made a film that’s on par and sometimes even better than Scorsese’s The Irishman, and he does that in an hour less, too!  Seriously, if you’re into crime films and want to know more about the reality of how the authorities deal with it, The Traitor is a must-see. It opens at the Film Forum and Lincoln Center in New York on Friday as well as The Landmark in L.A.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled program…

This week’s wide offerings don’t seem particularly strong with Blake Lively starring in the political thriller THE RHYTHM SECTION (Paramount), along with Jude Law. Directed by Reed Morano, I wasn’t able to figure out what the movie was about from the trailer, but apparently, Lively plays a woman trying to get revenge on those who caused the plane crash that killed her family. Really, I don’t know much more about this movie except that it was supposed to come out last year sometime before being moved to this weekend in January, which may end up being a better slot for it, that is, if anyone cares to see Lively in this kind of role. But since I have seen it, here’s my review…

Mini-Review: I’ve never really been a huge Blake Lively fan, but it’s impossible to deny her talents as you watch her playing a glammed-down junkie-hooker who transforms herself into a hired assassin. I’m not sure there are many other actors in Hollywood who could pull off such a role in what’s a pretty decent “Bourne”-inspired revenge thriller. (The irony is that the movie is produced by EON, the producers behind the Bond movies, something that could be credited for achieving ssthe movie’s world-spanning storytelling.)

Lively plays Stephanie Patrick, a woman whose parents and siblings died in a plane explosion. There years later, she still feels responsible since she didn’t get on the plane with them, and she’s hit rock bottom until a journalist (Raza Jeffrey) finds her to tell her that the crash wasn’t an accident, instead a target of a terrorist bomber. Stephanie believes him enough to go with him but when he ends up dead, she goes looking for his mysterious source in Scotland, who turns out to be Jude Law, an ex-MI6 who trains her to kill, giving her information about the responsible terrorist ring, “U-17.”

It’s a fairly simple story, adapted by Mark Burnell from his own novel, but it’s also the type of story that could go horribly wrong – see Jennifer Garner’s Peppermint for proof. A lot of credit has to be given to filmmaker Reed Morano, who gives The Rhythm Section such a distinctive look and tone without ever losing sight of the tension needed for a movie like this to work.

The movie does start out a bit slow, so it requires a bit of patience until Law shows up, and there’s some fun interaction there, but it’s definitely more of a drama than it is an action movie, so you should go in with that in mind. After being trained, the film starts following Stephanie, as she takes the guise of a dead assassin and dons different looks to go on her deadly missions. Sterling K. Brown also brings a lot to the film as another one of Stephanie’s contacts.

Ultimately, The Rhythm Section is a better movie than many will be expecting, a solid political thriller that isn’t the thing we normally get from a wide studio release in January. The pacing and some of the artier choices by Morano might not make it the most accessible film to everyone, but there’s no denying how it effectively pulls you in with the story and Lively’s performance.

Rating: 7/10

If that isn’t your cup of tea, there’s also the horror-fantasy GRETEL AND HANSEL (U.A. Releasing), directed by Oz Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter) and starring It’s Sophia Lillis in a decidedly different horror role, but obviously, she gets the top billing in this take on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, which I’m not 100% sure will be screened for critics. (At least I wasn’t invited to see it, so what else is new?) I can see how this might interest people more than last week’s The Turning, but it just doesn’t feel like that many people will feel the need to go to the movies.

Oh, it’s also Super Bowl weekend. I literally have no idea who is playing and I’ve made other plans Sunday night, but it always tends to affect box office business on Sunday due to the Super Bowl parties and the fact that people might want to sit at home and watch TV commercials and movie trailers rather than go to the actual movies. (Shrug emoji.) Either way, Sony lucks out with a third weekend at #1 for Bad Boys for Life, something that certainly wouldn’t happen in any other time of the year.

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $17 million -50%

2. 1917 (Universal) - $9.5 million -40% (up .2 million and one place)*

3. The Rhythm Section  (Paramount) - $9.3 million N/A (down .7 million and one place)*

4. Gretel and Hansel  (U.A. Releasing) - $7.6 million N/A (up .4 million)*

5. Dolittle  (Universal) - $6.7 million -45% (down .3 million)*

6. The Gentlemen (STXfilms) - $5.9 million -45% (up .3 million)*

7. Jumanji: The Next Level  (Sony) - $4.6 million -37% (down .2 million)*

8. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Lucasfilm/Disney) - $3 million -48%

9. The Turning  (Universal) - $2.8 million -60%

10. Little Women (Sony) - $2.5 million -45%

* UPDATE:  A few updated prediction based on actual theater counts including 1917 getting more theater this weekend that should help it retain second place over Black Lively’s The Rhythm Section. Also, Orion Pictures is pushing Gretel and Hansel into almost 3,000 theaters, so it should be good for fourth place unless Rhythm Section doesn’t click or connect with Lively’s fans.

LIMITED RELEASES

It’s always exciting (at least to me) when the annual OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS (ShortsTV) are released theatrically, since it gives everyone (at least in select cities) a chance to see all the shorts that were nominated,  and it gives you a little more chance to do well at your office Oscar poll.  This year’s selection has a much shorter run than usual, since the Oscars will be held on February 9, about ten days after the short films are made available, so don’t drag your feet on these. I rarely get to watch many shorts over the course of the year, unless I’ve been called to be a juror at a film festival, so it’s nice to at least get to see 15 shorts every year that are considered the best of the best.

I tend to be most interested in the animated shorts, and besides the five nominees, this section will include a few “highly commended” films.  I’m pretty sure everyone who sees Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver’s Hair Love is gonna love it, as it follows a young African-American girl’s attempts to tame her unruly afro with the help of her father. It’s such a wonderful short with a beautiful ending, and in my opinion, it’s also the best-looking of the nominees, maybe since it uses a more traditional animation style than the other films. I would be shocked if this doesn’t win the Oscar.

Kitbull, one of Disney’s Sparks Shorts involves the relationship between a cute black kitten and a pitbull, a nice wordless film in the Pixar vein. It’s too adorable not to be considered as a possible spoiler in this category. sThe French animated short Memorable from Bruno Collet deals with a painter suffering from dementia, and it uses a fairly unique stop-motion look and style.  On the other hand, I found the style used in the Czech film Daughter from Daria Kashcheeva to be rather jarring as it deals with the relationship between a father and daughter trying to heal, while the Chinese animated short Sister by Siqi Song actually deals with a similar topic as the fantastic short-listed docOne Child Nation, although it also uses a somewhat strange style. (Actually, I didn’t realize that Sister was stop motion, but I went to a dinner where I got to meet Ms. Song’s “actors.”)

The doc shorts tend to be the longest of the three groups with shorts ranging from 20 to 40 minutes, so these will often be broken up into two programs for viewing.

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a Girl) clearly has the most self-explanatory title of the doc shorts, and it’s also the most likely to win, not only due to its memorable title but also the adorable little girls in bright-colored dresses who attend “Skateistan,” a school for girls who aren’t allowed to be outside due to Afghanistasn’s strict Muslim rules. (This is shown as part of Program A along with Life Overtakes Me.)

MTV’s St. Louis Superman, directed by Smriti Mundra and Sami Khan, is probably the most likely as a spoiler in this category, as it follows Ferguson activist and state rep Bruce Franks Jr. as he tries to fight back against gun violence both on the political floor and as a battle rapper.

The Korean doc In the Absence documents a horrifying ferry accident that kills hundreds while the proper authorities drag their heels in saving people, while the Swedish doc Life Overtakes Me, directed by John Haptas and Kristein Samuelsons, deals with refugee children in Sweden who, in the grips of trauma, get an illness called Resignation Syndrome, so it’s also quite timely.

Lastly and definitely not least is Walk, Run, Cha-Cha, the New York Times doc short directed by Laura Nix (Inventing Tomorrow), that’s a beautiful story of a couple who were separated by the Vietnam War but reunited years later and are now dancing together in California. It’s a beautiful film and story that might not be as groundbreaking as some of the others but is still quite wonderful and romantic.

At least the live actions shorts are more consistent in their timing with movies between 15 and 25 minutes, but they also offer equally international offerings.

The Neighbor’s Window is three-time Oscar-nominated documentarian Marshall Curry’s first narrative effort, and it deals with a Brooklyn couple with two kids who get neighbors across the street who seem to enjoy a bit of exhibitionist sex, making them feel older. It’s a nice dramatic short that allows Curry to use The National’s music once again. (As I learned when I interviewed himin 2010, he’s friends with singer Matt Beringer.) The film takes a sad turn towards the end, but it’s a fine foray into narrative filmmaking and also, a strong PSA about buying drapes.

Bryan Buckley’s Saria takes place at a Guatemalan orphanage for girls where the title character wants to escape with her older sister to America. It’s actually based on the true story of a fire at the Virgen de La Asuncion Safe Home in Guatemala that took 41 lives in 2017 but from the viewpoint of these young teenagers. The movie is not necessarily about the fire as that happens at its very end, though this is definitely my favorite short of this group, dealing with a lot of tough (but extremely timely) issues, so I honestly think it might win the Oscar in this category.

Oddly, there are two shorts that take place in Tunisia and involve shepherds (sort of) with Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood involving a father whose son Malik returns home from Syria with a new wife. I found this one to be pretty dull and not particularly worthwhile. Slightly better is Yves Piat’s Nefta Football Club, whichfollows two boys who find a mule carrying drugs. (That is, an actual mule, not a person acting as a mule.) It’s a decent short with a fairly comedic ending, but I don’t think it has much of a chance of winning either.

The Belgian short Une souer (translated as “A Sister,” not to be confused with the animated short Sister) by Delphine Girard involves a kidnapped who makes a phone call to an emergency service and tries to make her whereabouts known without giving it away to her assailant. It’s a pretty decent thriller that does a lot in a short amount of time (about 16 minutes), but I don’t see this as something that might win the Oscar.

You can catch the Oscar-Nominated Shorts in select cities starting today and then slightly wider starting Friday, and then they’ll be available via streaming next week on Tuesday, Feb. 4

Julia Garner from “Ozark” stars in Kitty Green’s THE ASSISTANT (Bleecker Street), a movie about a young woman named Jane, who is working as an assistant at a busy New York distributor/production house based in the Tribeca area that couldn’t possibly be referring to the Weinstein Company, could it? I had pretty high expectations for this film, having heard about it as far back as last year’s Sundance where it premiered, and yes, while it is extremely timely, the cinema verité method that Green uses to tell the story of Garner’s character doesn’t make for a particularly interesting movie other than a few interactions, like one with Matthew Macfadyen as the company’s HR person when Jane reports her worries about the boss’ actions (nothing done to her, mind you). I do like Garner as an actor though, and I can’t wait to see what else she does post-“Ozark.”

At least the next film put up by its country for the Oscars’ “International Film” category was shortlisted, but it’s nowhere near as good as The Traitor (in my opinion). The Russian Oscar selection, Kantemir Balagov’s BEANPOLE (Kino Lorber), starring Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina as nurses Iya and Masha, working at a veteran’s hospital in Leningrad shortly after World War II. Iya is an extremely tall, lanky blonde woman referred to as “Beanpole” (hence the title) who also has a condition where she’ll freeze up at the most ill-opportune times. She’s taking care of a young child, who most presume to be her son but is actually Masha’s illegitimate son.  The problem with this movie is that 20 minutes into it, something absolutely horrifying happens, and it just goes downhill from there. It’s not a bad movie but it’s one that’s really hard to watch, especially as Iya decides to do something to help her friend Masha, for reasons I don’t really want to spoil. Anyway, if you thought the sex scenes in the Brazilian offering Invisible Life were awkward and uncomfortable to watch, you haven’t seen a thing!

Hitting the Quad Cinema on Friday, the Laemle in L.A. on Feb 7 and other cities to follow is the Guatemalan film José (Outsider Pictures), directed by Li Cheng, and starring newcomer Enrique Salanic as the title character, a closeted gay man who lives with his mother in Guatemala City, surviving on selling sandwiches at bus stops. Unfortunately, Salanic was denied an entry visa, so he won’t be able to attend the film’s New York premiere, but Li Cheng will be doing QnAs at the Quad all weekend.

Also, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is getting a “black and white” release this weekend, because… well, who knows why anyone does anything anymore?

STREAMING AND CABLE

If you weren’t at Sundance, you can sit back, chillax and watch the Taylor Swift doc Miss Americana on Netflix (as well as in select theaters but who would want people to know that they’re a Taylor Swift fan? So just stay at home and watch it since Netflix won’t report its box office either way.) There’s also the new Norwegian superhero series Ragnarok, which launches its first season this Friday and that might be more my speed.

Hitting Disney+ this week is Jon Favreau’s The Lion King, which I still haven’t seen, as well as a few other movies. Also, Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel will debut on HBO this Saturday night, and “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci’s new series “Avenue 5” will premiere its pilot on HBO’s streaming platforms starting Friday.

REPERTORY

Before we get to the usual theaters, I’m thinking of adding a few new ones (well, not that new as they’ve been around for ages), for instance, the Anthology Film Archives, which is pretty much in my neck of the woods are having a series called “The Devil Probably: A Century of Satanic Panic” starting on Friday night, complete with an appearance by Lucien Greaves, spokesperson and co-founder of the Satanic Temple, who will hold a black mass ritual and give a lecture before showings of Benjamin Christensen’s Häxan and Penny Lane’s 2018 doc, Hail Satan? (which is about Greaves.)  Other movies in the series include The Black Cat (1934), The Seventh Victim (1943) and classic thrillers Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Race with the Devil (1975), as well as Terrence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out (1968). (This week, the AFA is also showing late founder Jonas Mekas’ 1962 film Guns of the Trees with other Mekas works at least through Thursday!)

NITEHAWK CINEMA  (NYC):

Okay, we might as well initiate another new addition, the Brooklyn theater with two locations, one in Williamsburg and the other in Prospect Park. The Williamsburg will be showing David Slade’s excellent 2005 film Hard Candy, starring Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page on Friday night as well as L.A. Story, starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah on Saturday and Sunday. On Thursday night, Prospect Park will screen Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining(1980) but mostly will be focused on new films.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled rep theaters, including my personal fave…

METROGRAPH (NYC):

The Metrograph is beginning a theatrical run of a 35mm print of Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film New York, New York, starring Bobby De Niro and Liza Minelli, and while it’s the closest thing to a musical Scorsese has directed, it acts more as a biopic for the writing of the classic song, “New York, New York”… kinda. This was not my favorite movie when I first saw it in theaters as a kid, and it hasn’t improved that much with age although this is a great era for Minelli, just a few short years after she won the Oscar for Cabaret. (That was one of the main reasons I saw it when it first hit theaters.) It also should be of interest to those who want to see De Niro when he was young enough to look like his de-aged self in his latest collaboration with Scorsese in The Irishman. But if you thought that movie was long then this movie’s 2 ½ hour run-time is also a killer.

I was pretty thrilled this last weekend to see so many young people enjoying the movies of Hal Hartleyat the Metrograph’s retrospective, and this weekend, it will continue with Hartley’s best-known trilogy starting in 1997 with Henry Fool, which was followed up with Fay Grim (2006)(which I wasn’t a big fan of) and 2014’s Ned Rifle(which I never saw). This weekend will also see Hartley’s The Girl from Monday (2005) and a number of shorter films.

Another series starting Friday is To Hong Kong with Love, for the theater’s continued Lunar New Year, celebration, which runs through the month of February. This weekend we get Peter Chan’s Comrades: Almost a Love Story from 1996 and Christopher Doyle’s Hong Kong Trilogy from 2015.Welcome To Metrograph: Reduxcontinues on Thursday with another screening of Edward Yang’s 1991 film A Brighter Summer Day.  On Saturday night, the Safdies are presenting a screening of Adam Sandler’s The Wedding Singer from 1998.

This week’s Late Nites at Metrographis Brian de Palma’s Scarface (1983), starring the one and only Al Pacino! Also, THIS WEEKEND, Playtime: Family Matinees  is showing Taika Waititi’s excellent 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople on Saturday and Sunday morning, so I expect to see you all there, at least on Saturday, which is when I’m attendings.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

As mentioned last week, tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is something called Killer Nun, and there’s also a sold-out Big Lebowski Movie Party. Next Tuesday, the Alamo is showing Michael Haneke’s 2002 film The Piano Teacher, starring Isabelle Huppert, and then “Terror Tuesday” is the 1977 horror film, The Sentinel. (Apparently, the Anthology isn’t the only New York theater on a satanic kick.) Next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is the “Lone Wolf and Cub” classic Shogun Assassin from 1980. (There will be two showings… one at 7pm and another at 9:30!) Also, on Monday, you’ll have another chance to see Takashi Miike’s Audition (1999), although that’s also almost sold out.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds’ afternoon classic is Sidney Lumet’s 1976 classic Network, and then Weds and Thurs. nights, you can see a triple feature of Orca (1977), Nightwing (1979) and the horror film Prophecy (1979),which is a pretty amazing trilogy. Friday’s “Afternoon Classics” is Friday the 13thPart V: A New Beginningfrom 1985. Friday night’s Midnight offering is Tarantino’s Django Unchainedwhile the weekend Kiddee Matinee is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from 2001. Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdomwill screen as a matinee on Monday.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

The Forum’s “Black Women” series continues this week with a number of movies including Dorothy Dandridge in Island in the Sun  (1957) on Friday, Tarantino’s Jackie Brown on Saturday, along with Pam Grier’s classic Foxy Brown, which inspired it. Sunday is The Color Purple and more through the weekend, including Hal Ashby’s 1970 film The Landlord screening on Sunday and Monday night. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr is The Incredible Shrinking Man from 1957 in a 4k restoration.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

The Egyptian has been busy screening Oscar movies, trying to get some Academy members in to see them before voting next week. Cinematic Void 2020 continues this weekend with the Giallo film Strange Shadows in an Empty Room (1977) on Friday, then Joe Dante’s 16mm spotlight screens This Is Not a Test (1962) on Saturday, and then the Marx Brothers comedy Horse Feathers shows on Sunday in 35mm, and then that afternoon, they’ll screen Putney Swope, the 1969 film directed by Robert Downey Sr. and My Dinner with André (1981).

AERO  (LA):

Thursdays “Films of Marty and Bob” matinee is Mean Streets (free to Cinematique members), and then on Friday, it’s “Ford vs. Capra” as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Young Mr. Lincoln (both from 1939) screen as a double feature. Saturday is a “Ford vs. Spielberg Double Feature” of The Searchers (1956) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Sunday is a suitably-timed “Super Dust Bowl Double Feature” of Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath (1940) with 1942’s The Ox-Bow Incident.

MOMA  (NYC):

This week’s Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmonare Glengarry Glenn Ross (1992) on Weds, Costa-Gravas’ Missing (1982) on Thursday and the 1995 film The Grass Harp. MOMA is also doing an “American Indies, 1980 – 1989” series  that will screen Charles Burnett’s My Brother’s Wedding (1983) and Steven Soderbergh’s sex, lies and videotape (1989) on Weds, John Waters’ Polyester (1981) and Bette Gordon’s Variety (1983) on Thursday, Jarmusch’s Stranger than Paradise (1984) and Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) on Friday, as well as the Coens’ Blood Simple, Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing and Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames over the weekend.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Milos Foreman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) will screen on Thursday as part of FilmLinc’s New Wave event for new members in their 20s and 30s. Oh, you young people get all the good stuff and yet, you still complain about everything. What’s up with that?

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s is James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day yet oddly, the other two ongoing series are taking off this weekend. I wonder why. Or maybe they’re just showing some of the same-old-same-old like The Shining, Suspiriaand  reshow of Cuaron’s Children of Men. (Plus they’re showing the Oscar-nominated shorts and other Oscar nominees in many theaters.)

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

In conjunction with its 2001: A Space Odysseyexhibition, MOMI has a series called “Influencing the Odyssey: Films that Inspired Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke,” this weekend showing Metropolis (1927), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Ikarie XB1 (1963). 2001: A Space Odyssey will also screen again on Saturday.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

This week’s Nicolas Cage offering on Weds is 2002’s Windtalkers, which I remember liking even though it’s probably not good. They’re also showing Cage’s Gone in 50 Seconds remake (co-starring Angelina Jolie) on Thursday.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Ooo… this Friday night’s midnight screening is a good one, one of my favorite movies of the last decade,Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), starring Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who is also in next week’s wide release)!

Next week, Margot Robbie stars in Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, and honestly, that might be one of only two or maybe three times I type out that annoyingly-long impossible-to-remember title!

#TheWeekendWarrior TheRhythmSection TheTraitor OscarNominatedShorts Movies Reviews GretelAndHansel

[artsychica2012]

(via Birmingham Church Bombing - Black History - HISTORY.com)

On September 15, a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama–a church with a predominantly black congregation that served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders. Four young girls were killed and many other people injured; outrage over the incident and the violent clash between protesters and police that followed helped draw national attention to the hard-fought, often dangerous struggle for civil rights for African Americans.

At 10:22 a.m. on the morning of September 15, 1963, some 200 church members were in the building–many attending Sunday school classes before the start of the 11 am service–when the bomb detonated on the church’s east side, spraying mortar and bricks from the front of the church and caving in its interior walls. Most parishioners were able to evacuate the building as it filled with smoke, but the bodies of four young girls (14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson and 11-year-old Denise McNair) were found beneath the rubble in a basement restroom. Ten-year-old Sarah Collins, who was also in the restroom at the time of the explosion, lost her right eye, and more than 20 other people were injured in the blast.

AFTERMATH OF THE BIRMINGHAM CHURCH BOMBING

The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15 was the third bombing in 11 days, after a federal court order had come down mandating the integration of Alabama’s school system. In the aftermath of the bombing, thousands of angry black protesters gathered at the scene of the bombing. When Governor Wallace sent police and state troopers to break the protests up, violence broke out across the city; a number of protesters were arrested, and two young African American men were killed (one by police) before the National Guard was called in to restore order. King later spoke before 8,000 people at the funeral for three of the girls (the family of the fourth girl held a smaller private service), fueling the public outrage now mounting across the country.

Though Birmingham’s white supremacists (and even certain individuals) were immediately suspected in the bombing, repeated calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice went unanswered for more than a decade. It was later revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had information concerning the identity of the bombers by 1965 and did nothing. (J. Edgar Hoover, then-head of the FBI, disapproved of the civil rights movement; he died in 1972.) In 1977, Alabama Attorney General Bob Baxley reopened the investigation and Klan leader Robert E. Chambliss was brought to trial for the bombings and convicted of murder. Continuing to maintain his innocence, Chambliss died in prison in 1985. The case was again reopened in 1980, 1988 and 1997, when two other former Klan members, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry, were finally brought to trial; Blanton was convicted in 2001 and Cherry in 2002. (A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be brought to trial.)

LASTING IMPACT OF THE BIRMINGHAM CHURCH BOMBING

Even though the legal system was slow to provide justice, the effect of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was immediate and significant. Outrage over the death of the four innocent girls helped build increased support behind the continuing struggle to end segregation–support that would help lead to the passage of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In that important sense, the bombing’s impact was exactly the opposite of what its perpetrators had intended.

#civil rights #race #birmingham church bombing #this day Sept 15 in history

[tokyototokyo]

Day 5, 31st March, Imabari

Wonderful day today in and around Hiroshima. Breakfast was first with the sun rising over the water.

Our hotel was on the harbour so lovely to be able to walk along the foreshore.

Hiroshima, like a lot of Japanese cities, was fairly non descript for the most part. Not a lot of colour or trees in among the buildings.

Golf driving range.

There are a lot of water ways throughout the city.

Cherry blossoms along the waterfront.

Rain was predicted today so when the Japanese want the day to be fine they make paper boys and as many as they can for good weather.

We were catching a ferry to the island of Miyajimacho. Next to the ferry terminal was a boat racing  course. Gambling is illegal in Japan but there are four types of gambling the Japanese government allows. Horse racing, cycling, motor cycles and boat racing.

Boat racing is fairly popular but mostly for the men. The boats are only small. A bit like a go cart size.

The Japanese queue to get on transport so we were being good lining up for the ferry.

Kymie buying the ferry tickets.

Leaving port.

The Ferries leave often and it takes about 15 minutes to get to Miyajima Island which has a World Heritage listing.

From the ferry we walked along the foreshore. We had caught the ferry early to beat the crowds which certainly increased as the day progressed.

Looking back across the harbour to a fairly new All Religion Church. There are a number of these in Japan and encompass Buddhism, Islam, Christianity etc.

The sun had come out so a lovely sight looking towards the O-Tori’s Gate. Miyajima has been worshipped as a divine island since ancient times. This is why the shrine was built on the seashore where the tide ebbs and flows. The contrast of the blue sea, green hills and vivid vermilion-lacquered shrine is breathtakingly beautiful.

In front the gate to the Shrine. A female and male temple dog guarded the entrance. The female is the one with her mouth open as the guys pointed out it was because females talk so much.

The O- Tori’s Gate

The Itsukushima Shrine was first built in 593, then rebuilt in 1168 on the same scale as today. The Shrine has never been affected by earthquakes or typhoons.

A corridor of some 280 metres spans more than twenty buildings

People giving thanks.

Looking out to the O-Tori’s Gate.

Three lovely ladies.

Sake barrels

This bridge is so steep humans couldn’t walk over it. It’s designed for the Gods to use.

Shopping street

Beautiful couple

Elaborate detail of back of the kimono.

Cherry blossom

Daiganji Temple

Cherry blossoms and me. There were deers in the canal.

You can never get enough of the cherry blossoms.

Five storied pagoda

Rickshaw

Blossom tree

Another shopping street

There were a lot of stalls selling oysters.

This was a pastry in the shape of a maple leaf filled with custard, apple or choclate. Very yummy.

Heading back on the ferry. The ferry was virtually empty going back but big lines waiting on the other side.

This building is now known as the A bomb Dome but was orginally the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall which was a distinctive landmark with its green dome. It was built in 1915. 

At 8.15am on Aug 6 th 1945 an American B29 bomber carried out the world’s first atomic bombing. The bomb explosed approx 600 m above the building ripping through and killing everyone instantly. Because the blast was almost directly above the building some of the centre walls remained.

Initially opinion was divided about the dome but when other affected buildings were demolished it was decided to leave this building as a memorial to the bombing.

This is the children’s memorial which is also at the Hypocentre of the bombing. The city was hit by heat rays of 3,000 to 4,000 degree C along with a blast wind and radiation. 

Near this area are shopping streets which are covered. We all enjoyed a wander and some lunch.

Eating Okonomiyaki a local dish.

Looking across to the Hiroshima Peace Park

It was a Sunday so lots of people out enjoying a picnic.

A young girl called Sadako was exposed to the radiation from the atomic bomb. Ten years later she developed leukaemia and died. Her classmates called for a monument to all children to be built. With donations from 3,200 schools and nine countries the Children’s Peace Monument was unveiled in 1958.

The story goes that Sadako wanted to make 1000 cranes to help her get well. Her classmates and family helped her. However she only got to make 620 cranes before she past away. The paper crane is now found at many memorials in all colours with some forming pictures. Behind the monument are glass boxes full of the cranes.

A Japanese family enjoying the day out. Even though the events that lead to the park being made are very somber its such a lovely area that on a beautiful day people are out to enjoy themselves. Except for a few westerners you don’t see many other nationalities around. Japan doesn’t really allow immigration and takes only a handful of refugees.

The 

Peace Memorial Park. The park was started in 1950 and completed in 1954  it was built to comfort the souls of the victims and to pray for everlasting world peace. 145,000 people lost their lives in the bombing. Many instantly.

Looking towards the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum collects and displays belongings left by the victims, photos and other material that conveys the horror of the event.

Looking back to the A dome. President Obama visited Japan in 2016, layed a wreath here and gave a speech after visiting the museum.

When the bomb landed. 

Ruins. 

Map of the bombed area.

A poignant poem about the desperate need for water by the survivors.

This bicycle was buried, after the bomb, with the owners and discovered recently when the family were doing some building work. The skeletons of the children were found and they were holding hands. It’s usual for bodies to be cremated in Japan so the skeletons were cremated and the bicycle donated to the museum.

Survivors

Leaving Hiroshima we travelled on a 60 km long toll road that connects Japan’s main island of Honshu to the island of Shikoku passing over six small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. It is also known as the Nishiseto Expressway. The road was opened in 1999.

Each bridge has a different design.

Lots of lovely scenery along the way.

Each bridge was very impressive.

There was a lot of evidence of ship building in many settlements.

The bridges are all big structures.

Settlement along the coast.

The bus wound up the mountain to the Kirosan Panorama Park. It was a pity it was getting late in the day. Below was the last bridge we had to cross.

The guys taking the girls photo.

All the girls minus two.

Looking south.

Hotel foyer, very nice. The Japanese are so efficient with check in. Our keys are waiting for us so we can walk-in and go straight to our rooms.

Lovely lounge

Looking down on the city of Imabari. The last bridge can just be seem in the distance.

Sunset from our 19th floor hotel room. This was probably the nicest hotel so far but they do all blend into each other.

Another interesting meal. So many different pretty dishes. Washing up would be a nightmare.

Sukiyaki The meat was cooked at the table. It was very nice.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum made me slightly angry. You can’t get away from the horrific destruction and huge loss of life and the continuing after affects but you look at the mostly Japanese people in the museum and wonder what they think. There was about six lines describing the start of the war and then the rest basically made no mention of Japan’s part In the war.

We have asked Kymie about what is taught in the school and the whole period of World War Two is not taught at all so people really don’t understand why the bombs were dropped. Children wonder why American would do this to them. Apparently, even today, the Japanese government doesn’t want to take any responsibility for what happened. Kymie has said on a number of occasions Japan got into the war because of one bad general and that’s the full story. Access to the internet has allowed the Japanese to know more.

[mediastations-blog]

وبسایت روییترز امسال نیز به مانند هر ساله 100 تصویر برتر خبری و زیبای سال 2017 که توسط خبرنگاران و عکاسان روییترز گرفته شده است را منتشر کرد

همراه نا این صد تصویر را برای علاقمندان گرداوری کرده است .

برای مشاهده با سایز بزرگتر روی آن کلیک کنید.

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Pigs are herded off a platform into water by breeders during a daily exercise at a pig farm in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China, August 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

A woman gestures as she mourns the death of a protester in Mathare, in Nairobi, Kenya, August 9. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Revellers take part in a traditional event marking the last day of the carnival season called “Kusaki”, a folk party and a re-enactment showing the “defeat of Death” where all roles are played by males, which takes place on Shrove Tuesday in the village of Jedlinsk near Radom, Poland, February 28. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

A man who was set on fire by people accusing him of stealing during a rally against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro runs amidst opposition supporters in Caracas, Venezuela, May 20. REUTERS/Marco Bello

Carmen De Jesus uses a flashlight at the Moradas Las Teresas Elderly House, where about two hundred elderly people live without electricity following damages caused by Hurricane Maria in Carolina, Puerto Rico, September 30. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

A worker, known as a “Tecchiaiolo”, examines marble at the Cervaiole quarry on Monte Altissimo in the Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy, July 18. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Hamida, a Rohingya refugee woman, cries as she holds her 40-day-old son, who died as a boat capsized in the shore of Shah Porir Dwip, in Teknaf, Bangladesh, September 14. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

People react as they watch a sesion of the Catalonian regional parliament on a giant screen at a pro-independence rally in Barcelona, Spain, October 10. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Damaged houses, buildings and a mosque are seen inside Marawi city, Philippines, October 25. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Model Elsa Hosk poses on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Opposition supporters clash with riot security forces while rallying against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, May 18. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Soldiers and rescue workers search in the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Mexico City, Mexico September 20. REUTERS/Henry Romero

Police officers stand guard during a fire at Kandawgyi Palace hotel in Yangon, Myanmar October 19. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

A medic holds the body of a girl recovered from under the rubble of a house destroyed by a Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, August 25. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Burning forest is seen during “Operation Green Wave” conducted by agents of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, or Ibama, to combat illegal logging in Apui, in the southern region of the state of Amazonas, Brazil, August 4. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly

A migrant arrives at a naval base after he was rescued by Libyan coastal guards in Tripoli, Libya, November 6. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

New York Police Department officers arrest a woman who was taking part in a ‘Day Without a Woman’ march on International Women’s Day in New York, March 8. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Iraqi Special Operations Forces arrest a person suspected of belonging to Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq, February 26. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

A long time exposure shows molten lava which flows from the Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world’s most active volcanoes on the French Indian Ocean Reunion Island, February 3. REUTERS/Gilles Adt

Skyscrapers Shanghai Tower (L), Jin Mao Tower (Top) and Shanghai World Financial Center are seen during a hazy day at the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, China, March 20. REUTERS/Aly Song

A shrine is seen after a forest fire near the village of Serta, Portugal, September 9. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

A woman pushes a pram as she walks over a frozen lake during sun down at the Pajulahti sports center near Lahti, Finland, February 21. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Salah Skaff, 25, reacts over the body of his daughter Amira Skaff, 1.5 years old, after an airstrike on the rebel held besieged city of Douma, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria April 7. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

Abu Malek, one of the survivors of a chemical attack in the Ghouta region of Damascus that took place in 2013, uses his crutches to walk along a street in the Ghouta town of Ain Tarma, Syria, April 7. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

Members of the Saudi delegation wait for the arrival of China’s President Xi Jinping and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud before a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 16. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

People connect to the internet at a hotspot in Havana, Cuba, January 19. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

North Korean soldiers march during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country’s founding father Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 15. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Qi Guangpu of China performs an aerial as he trains during the Snowboarding and Freestyle Skiing World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain, March 9. REUTERS/Paul Hanna

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protestors are sprayed with water by Israeli police as they block a street during a demonstration against members of their community serving in the Israeli army, part of ongoing demonstrations recently seen throughout Israel, in Jerusalem, February 9. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

An exhausted Rohingya refugee woman touches the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, September 11. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Opposition lawmaker Luis Stefanelli gestures next to fellow opposition lawmaker Leonardo Regnault after a group of government supporters burst into Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly during a session, in Caracas, Venezuela July 5. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Scarlet ibis fly near the banks of a mangrove swamp located at the mouth of the Calcoene River on the coast of Amapa state, northern Brazil, April 6. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Detainees exercise in a recreation area at the Adelanto immigration detention center, which is run by the Geo Group Inc (GEO.N), in Adelanto, California, April 13. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Marin Honda of Japan in action at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Beijing. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes 11-years-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House in Washington, September 15. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the White House lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Displaced Iraqi women who just fled their home,rest in the desert as they wait to be transported while Iraqi forces battle with Islamic State militants in western Mosul, February 27. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Flood victims work on the Jute plant at the flood affected area at Saptari District, Nepal, August 14. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

100 تصویر برتر سال 2017 به انتخاب روییترز وبسایت روییترز امسال نیز به مانند هر ساله 100 تصویر برتر خبری و زیبای سال 2017 که توسط خبرنگاران و عکاسان روییترز گرفته شده است را منتشر کرد همراه نا این صد تصویر را برای علاقمندان گرداوری کرده است . برای مشاهده با سایز بزرگتر روی آن کلیک کنید.

[1upmushrooms]

Fear and Loathing in Pac Land (1up Dead Fic)

AM: Hey, do you like me when I’m being weird and writing cult classic like crap? No? Well...why the hell are you even on this tumblr? XD 

Anyway, this is another dead fic I wrote, back when I was trying to write more weird, stream of concious style stories. Did I succeed with this chapter of a story I never finished? You be the judge!

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Prologue: Preparing for the Trip. I am often a forgetful person. I’ve forgotten many things, my birthday, my dog, my homework, my girlfriend’s birthday, all that stuff has escaped my mind. I even forget sometimes that I live in a dull and violent city named “Pleasure City”. But this, this I couldn’t forget, not in a million years. It’s too crazy, too psychotic, too weird a tale to be forgotten, and that’s saying a lot since I live in a world where videogame characters are real! I’ve tried for hours and I still can’t believe any of this happened! But as a friend said, “In order to keep your sanity about certain events, you must acknowledge that they happened.” And, since I think this is the best form of acknowledgement, I might as well explain what happened. What’s amazing is that these events were so powerful that I was able to remember every…single…solitary…thing that happened so this’ll be a breeze. Anyway, it all started with a legend, a drink, and two people willing to prove that certain legend as fact. This as you guessed, is that story. It all began in the 1up bar, a place where videogame characters and regular people often met to drink all their worries down the drain. However many people often went there to watch the videogame characters beat the living crap out of each other. Yeah it was one of those places, a Slum-shroom as I like to call it…yeah I know I’m not funny. Anyway, today was an unusually peaceful day there. I had just entered the bar; looking as confident as I could muster while trying to not look like a poser. I didn’t succeed, after cruising through a bunch of ladies who scoffed at my appearance I made it to the stools and sat down. I looked at the bartender, who merely gave me my usual drink as I handed him the money. The drink was ice cold as was the glass that held it. My eyes barely stayed open as I laid my head on my hand. It was there that everything in my life would change. Normally I’d just sleep, go back to the office, go home, try to get my girlfriend back for 45th time, go to sleep, and then wake up to start the cycle all over again. However, that all changed when someone sat on a stool right next to me. I looked up and my eyes widened. The man was a short person with a circle like appearance. His eyes were completely black, his skin was light yellow, and his gloves and boots were cherry red. Before I could utter a word he talked very sincerely, ‘’What’s with you?” I sighed and raised my head, “Oh nothing, just had a drink that’s all.” “Must be a strong drink.” “Yeah, so uh, how are you Mr. Pac-Man?” Pac-Man sighed and slipped 4 gold coins to the bartender. “Not good,” he said, “I’ve been trying to get some heavy cash.” “Why?” Pac-Man got his drink and sipped it. “I’m going on a trip.” “Trip, what trip?” He sipped some more and looked at me. “Do you like Pleasure City?” I was caught off guard by this, I looked at the cold glass. “Eh, it’s ok.” “Well, to be honest, I don’t like it much.” “Why?” “It’s too gloom and doom for my taste. For a while I’ve been tolerant of this city, always walking down the muddy streets, looking at all the thieves and scammers, but by now I’ve had enough. I’m leaving here no matter what! Unfortunately where I’m going is a long way away. I need a vehicle, I need food, I need clothes, but most of all I need money! I have food, clothes, and a vehicle, but without money I may as well walk on foot.” “Why?” “The vehicles almost out of fuel and I only have about 13 coins left.” Pac-Man then sipped more of the drink and looked at me again. “So, what about you, Are you going anywhere?” I then sat up straight and proudly said, “I’m going to the next annual Mario Kart race!” Pac-Man nodded, “Hmm, that’s not a cheap event, I wish I could see it.” Then, I stopped and looked at Pac-Man. For some reason I thought he was trying to scam me into buying him a ticket for the race. “For some reason, I think you’re scamming me into buying you to a ticket for the race.” Pac-Man raised an eyebrow, I then blushed and tried to drink from an empty glass. “Listen buddy,” he said, “I don’t scam people into buying me a ticket.” “I’m sorry I just get paranoid sometimes.” “Why shouldn’t you? Not a lot of people are honest around here.” I looked at my watch, 15 minutes until lunch break is over. “You know,’’ I said, “You never told me where it is you’re going.” “That’s mostly because it may not even exist anymore.” Oh great, I thought, he’s on a wild goose chase. “Uh, what is this supposedly fake place?” Pac-Man finished his drink and looked at me, “Pac-Land, that’s what.” My eyes widened, “You’re going there?” “Yep, but like I said, it may not exist and even then I need money.” I then thought about the money I had planned for that ticket. I was single at the time, and I really had nothing in Pleasure City to leave behind. “Hey Pac-Man” I said, “Would you mind making this a trip for two?” Pac-Man looked at me in amazement, “You want to come with me? But what about your ticket?” “I haven’t bought it yet, and besides you could use about 678 coins.” Pac-Man then sighed and seemed to be in thought. “Hmm, I don’t know. I don’t feel like endangering someone else if this turns out to be all for not.” “Listen Pac-Man, I’m a nobody. No one cares about me now, and they won’t care about me when I die so I might as well go out with a bang.” Pac-Man sighed, “Well, at least think about it will you?” Pac-Man then got up and left the 1up bar, while looking at a scrap between Mega Man and Bomber Man. I merely walked to the scrap and observed. It was pretty intense as body parts soon started coming off. Bomber Man then shoved a bomb in Mega Man’s mouth. The explosion was mild as Bomber Man raised his arms in victory. I found 7 coins on the floor all alone. I picked them up and stuffed them in my pocket. I left the bar approached the motorcycle mother got me. She said it was a chick magnet but it was actually a chick repellent. The cycle was rusted beyond belief, there were constant stickers that said stuff like: “Crack is WHACK!!!”, plus the cycle felt uncomfortable while riding. This was obviously given to me so I wouldn’t pick up a “dirty girl” as mom called them. I started it up and in 13 minutes was back at the office. The office was gray and dull, with people coming in and out looking sad and soulless. I sighed; this obviously wasn’t my idea of fun. That Pac-Land trip was looking good about now so I said “Screw it,” walked in, walked to the boss’s office, took a pen, drew on a piece of paper saying “I QUIT”, took my payday check and left, leaving my job behind. Well, that’s one less thing I had at Pleasure City, but I still had my ex-girlfriend. I phoned her up and spoke to her, “So, you came crawling back to me again?” She said. “I just wanted to say I’m going on a trip and that I’ll probably never talk to you again, bye.” I hung up on her and walked to my motorcycle. She called me and said “DID YOU HANG UP ON ME?!” I said, “I don’t know did it sound like this?” I hung up on her again and got on my motorcycle. While riding around I looked around and could see what Pac-Man was talking about. There were lots of gloom and doom here. No one smiled at anything and thousands of messages claiming “the end of the world” were everywhere. It was very depressing, and then I saw people like Donkey Kong throwing barrels at windows and Boo ghosts scaring children. It was insane here. Now I definitely knew I was getting out of here. At my house, which was basically a 2 room apartment, I got out the phone book and found Pac-Man’s phone number. After a quick dial up, I had Pac-Man. “Yes?” Pac-Man said, “Pac-Man, I’m the guy from the 1up bar and I made my decision. I’m going with you to Pac-Land if you want me.” “You sure?” “I’ve never been more sure!” “Uh, alright, how many coins do you have in total though?” “I just collected 3,000 an hour ago so that would make…7,000 coins.” “Amazing, I think that’s more than enough for the budget.” “So when do we go?” “I’d say tomorrow at the 1up bar and hey-” “What?” “What’s your name kid?” I stood proudly even though he didn’t see me. “You can call me……………ClassicLuigiFan!” There was a long pause, “Uh, you sure you want to go by that name?” “Yes, it’s my nickname.” “Ok, ClassicLuigiFan it is.”

#1up Dead Fics