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shellyb04 · 3 years

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And here we are, all caught up. You'll notice I fell into a bit of a Chinese drama and historical hole for these last ones! I will try to post as I finish shows so I can give a bit more of a review. Enjoy!

A love so romantic (Cdrama)-Girl pretends to be a long lost granddaughter of the Gu family and falls for the Gu family heir. 8/10 Very funny. The last ten episodes get a bit annoying with dumb amnesia and such, but overall really funny main couple.

The Greatest Love (Kdrama)-An A-list movie star with a heart condition meets former girl group member and now most disliked celebrity. Against all odds, he falls for her. 9/10 This is extremely funny and a bit tropey, but it gets major bonus points for the ending. There's no crazy amnesia or unreasonable misunderstandings. Their dilemma at the end makes sense and wasn't dragged out for too long. There was a bit in the middle where she was trying to reject him that dragged for me and I didn't like the other girl group members very much. But overall, really fun.

The Rebel Princess (Cdrama)-A princess is forced to marry a general turned prince instead of her childhood sweetheart prince. They ultimately fall for each other and endure war, kidnapping, betrayal, and every other kind of misfortune that can happen in a historical drama. 9/10 This drama was refreshing because the couple was so amazing together. They were kind as well as cunning. They were the only characters not seeking power and I just loved the way they worked. It does get a little draggy during some of the palace politics. I also think some of the villians didn't think through their plans. But overall, the leads made the show. Although there are some genuinely heartbreaking moments and too many women committing suicide.

Love Script (Cdrama)- A CEO gets into an accident and believes he's a Prince from the Ming Dynasty. A psychologist is hired and she becomes part of the palace staff in order to treat him. But she begins to fall for him. 8/10 I liked all the characters. It's a really light show and there's a couple of plot twists that ultimately made the lead romance work for me. There were a few too many flashbacks and I found myself skipping through them a lot.

A Girl Like Me (Cdrama)- Ban Hua has three failed engagements, partially because of her blunt manner and explosive temper. She begins getting visions of the future and uses them to save her family from trouble, along with Rong Xia who has his own agenda...but will he be distracted by Ban Hua!? 8.5/10 I really liked this one. The story moved along rather quickly. I love that the Ban family are perfectly happy in their little sphere of life. They adore each other and simply want their family to be happy. The only real negatives are that I don't think some of the villain plots made sense especially toward the end and I thought the last two episodes should have wrapped up the story not made more characters power hungry and foolish. Overall, I really liked it, especially Ban Hua and Rong Xia's banter and courtship.

My little happiness (Cdrama)-An intern lawyer and a successful neurosurgeon who were childhood sweethearts meet again as adults only she never knew his name. Watch the duo fall in love. 8/10 This is a pleasant little ditty with no big problems. The relationship between the main girl and her best friend feels super real to me. I love both main couples. It's a simple sweet sappy love story. There's never any doubt how it will end so just enjoy the sweetness.

Oh! My Sweet Liar! (Cdrama)-Historical- A female painter infiltrates the home of a noble family to paint a copy of a precious item. When her escape goes wrong, she fakes a pregnancy by the family heir to save her life. They make a contract marriage so he can escape an arranged marriage he doesn't want. But there are secrets and plotting people throughout the family home. 8.5/10 I really liked the majority of the show. It was a bit slow the second arc of the show and really the last three eps could have been a bit more streamlined, but I loved the Li family. It was so nice to see the love between the family.

Shopaholic Louis (Kdrama)- A wealthy heir gets amnesia and is found by a poor country girl newly arrived in Seoul to look for her brother. The two fall for each other while searching together. 8.5/10 Super cute. I loved the main couple the whole way through. The side characters grew on me as well. It was a nice sweet story overall.

Love in Time-Cdrama- Writer and a CEO were friends in Jr high but had a falling out. Present day they enter a contract marriage. 8/10 A point bump for 30 minute episodes. The story was sweet and simple with a few pleasant turns. The last episode is a bit dumb. I would've rather just had more epilogue than a faked amnesia plot. I liked the side friendships, but wish the "villain" had a better motivation. Just " I loved him and worked hard for him so he should be mine" obsession got old. The tropes were in full display so avoid if you hate those.

Love and Destiny-Cdrama- A young immortal wanders into the wrong place and awakens the God of War. He discovers a secret about her even she doesn't know. The two fall in love, but bad things happen. Can they overcome destiny with love? 7/10- This one seemed to be a bit long at 60 episodes and it took WAY too long to get started. But by episode 14 or 15 I was completely into the love story and most of the side characters. The two "villains" were annoying but ultimately I understood their choices even if I felt they were immature. Overall, it's good, but a little too slow in some places and the last ten episodes could have given me some more couple moments.

Divorce lawyer in love (Kdrama)- She's a tough as nails divorce lawyer and he's her office manager until she goes to far in a case and her license is suspended. Three years later she's the office manager and he's the lawyer and he sees his chance for some payback.. Enemies to friends to lovers. 8/10 It has its funny moments. I enjoy most of the "case of the week" stories. I thought the resolution to the main antagonist was a bit hand wavy, but overall, solid and enjoyable with mostly fun side characters.

The Sword and the Brocade (Cdrama)- A concubine's daughter marries a Marquis in an arranged marriage. She has to deal with conniving concubines, controlling mother and mother-in-law, as well as a family that doesn't want her around, and a rival family all while trying to continue her embroidery career. 7.5/10 Started out fairly strong but toward the end it felt really drawn out. I feel like the last two plots should have been more combined cause it really dragged the pace of the show down. The characters were good. I liked most of the characters a lot, but a few began to make weird decisions toward the end.

The Eternal Love (Cdrama)- Modern woman sucked to alternate past where she has to share her doppelganger's body. The two with the help of their maid try to figure out what's going on. But things are complicated as each soul is in love with a different prince.,-6/10 The story is okay, although the last four episodes are weird. Chemistry with the leads is fabulous. Really not great production quality. I couldn't get through Season 2.

Eternal Love/Ten Miles of Peach Blossom (Cdrama)- Bai Qian and Ye Hua are star crossed immortals who fall in love in three different but intertwined lives. 9.5/10 Started off slow, then got wonderful about ep 10, then pain and misery for a few eps before back to joy and falling in love and back to pain. But one of the best revenge scenes by Bai Qian! I sort of hated that basically every other couple seems doomed. I tried to watch the pillow book before this and just got bored. I may go back to it someday as I love that couple.

General's Lady (Cdrama)- independent noble sent to marry the "demon" general at the border only to fall in love with him. However there are factions trying to harm them. 9/10 Super light and sweet with lots of kisses. I got a bit bored a little past the middle of the drama when they went back to the capital. But the last several episodes brought me back around and I laughed out loud multiple times. Love all the couples throughout and how it showed there were multiple ways to be a strong woman.

#kdrama #cdrama #A love so romantic #The greatest love #the rebel princess #Love script #A girl like me #My little happiness #Oh! My sweet Liar!#shopaholic louis #love in time #love and destiny #divorce lawyer in love #the sword and the brocade #the eternal love #tmopb #eternal love #General's Lady

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odanurr87 · 3 years

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My thoughts on... Hotel del Luna

From left to right: Pyo Ji-hoon as Ji Hyun-joong; Yeo Jin-goo as Gu Chan-sung; Lee Ji-eun (IU) as Jang Man-wol; Bae Hae-seon as Choi Seo-hee; and Shin Jung-keun as Kim Sun-bi.

Released in 2019, Hotel del Luna was my introduction to the works of the Hong sisters as well as actors Yeo Jin-goo and Lee Ji-eun (IU), and what an introduction it was! The first episode of the show was excellent, giving us a hint of Man-wol’s tragic past that left me wanting to know more, then moving forwards in time to reenact that scene from Beauty and the Beast where Belle’s father is caught trying to steal a rose from Beast’s garden to give to Belle, and finally reaching present day as Man-wol tries to recruit Chan-sung and introduces him, and us, to this world of gods, ghosts, and souls with lingering grudges, that reminded me of the wondrous world of Harry Potter. Everything clicked for me in this episode, from the beautiful cinematography and music to the strong performances, particularly IU’s as Man-wol who knocked it out of the park and, incidentally, has a most impressive wardrobe and an uncanny ability to look amazing in every single one of her outfits. This was a highly promising start for my next modern fantasy show after Goblin and I couldn’t wait for the next episode. But what is this show about and why should you watch it?

Plot synopsis

21 years ago, Gu Chang-sung’s father cut a deal with the beautiful and mysterious owner of Hotel del Luna, Jang Man-wol, so that she would save his life in exchange for his son. Regretting the deal afterwards, the father left the country with his son hoping to spare him his fate. Believing himself to be safe, Gu Chan-sung has returned to work as assistant manager in one of Korea’s top hotels but Jang Man-wol is intent on collecting on the old debt by having him work in her hotel instead. However, Hotel del Luna is not your typical establishment, as Gu Chan-sung soon finds out, providing a service for souls who need healing or have grudges left to settle before moving on. While initially afraid of the prospect of becoming assistant manager at a hotel that serves ghosts, Gu Chan-sung finds himself intrigued by the challenge and curious about the story of the beautiful owner who runs it.

A magical atmosphere

Stepping into the world of Hotel del Luna feels like taking the train at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and attending Hogwarts. In fact, our intrepid hero, Gu Chan-sung, also receives a magical letter welcoming him as Hotel del Luna’s new manager, and while there’s nothing magical about the subway that takes him there Jang Man-wol does use a little magic to ensure their first encounter goes undisturbed. The hotel itself reminded me of Hogwarts, not because it is filled with ghosts and can only be found by them (and the very much alive and fearful human manager), but because of the feeling of perpetual wonder knowing that behind every door lies a new magical mystery waiting to be discovered, be it a room only people who are alive can enter but not exit, the sky lounge, a swimming pool that is actually a beach in some undetermined plane of existence, or a beautiful garden with a magical tree that holds one of the hotel’s biggest secrets. Of course, one should not forget CEO Jang Man-wol (if one wishes to live) who, while certainly a very different character from Albus Dumbledore in terms of personality, always knows more than she’s letting on and is usually in control of any situation, even if the outcome isn’t always the one she anticipates. There is also the wonderful supporting cast in the form of the different incarnations of the deity Ma Go-sin (played by Seo Yi-sook, who looks like she’s having a blast playing the different sides of the goddess), a reserved but diligent Grim Reaper (played by Kang Hong-suk), and the welcoming staff of the hotel, represented by the trio of Kim Sum-bi (the bartender), Choi Seo-hee (the room manager), and Ji Hyun-joong (the hotel receptionist).

In the same way we cannot divorce Harry Potter from its music, given its distinct signature by that legend that is John Williams, I cannot forego mentioning Hotel del Luna’s mysterious, magical, and ethereal, instrumental soundtrack. Let me take you on a brief musical tour, shall I? Let’s start by taking subway line 4 and going to Hotel del Luna. The receptionist seems to be asleep so why don’t we let ourselves in? Wow, looks like the hotel’s throwing a party, apparently they’re welcoming human guests for the first time in years and the staff is particularly excited about it. That explains how we managed to get in (remember, this is not really a hotel for living, breathing, people). I can see that the bartender is busy receiving food orders and members of the staff are decorating the hall with real flowers. Hey, where’s that kid sneaking off to? Let’s follow him. Oh, that’s the Samdocheon Tunnel, which marks the boundary between this life and the afterlife. The Grim Reaper and the manager are there to bid farewell to one of the hotel’s guests. Apparently, there’s a bridge beyond the tunnel that takes 49 days to cross! I’m not eager to cross it just yet so let’s return to the hotel. Wait, why is there water everywhere? Looks like a water god managed to get past the receptionist (not that difficult when he’s asleep) and the CEO isn’t very happy about it. Yup, she definitely doesn’t look happy. We’d better make our exit before she figures out we shouldn’t be here.

To complement this excellent instrumental soundtrack, my favourite among all the kdramas I’ve watched to date, there’s an amazing selection of songs by artists like Red Velvet, TAEYEON, Heize, Punch, Chung Ha, and Paul Kim, among many others. IU herself sings an absolutely beautiful song that plays in one of the most highly-anticipated scenes of the show but which, sadly, has not been released. However, just as important as having a great soundtrack is using it well. If you’ve read my reviews of Angel’s Last Mission: Love or Strong Woman Do-Bong Soon, you should have an idea of how much I value using the right music at the right time to convey or accentuate the proper emotions during dramatic, comedic, or romantic scenes. Correct music usage can lead to your soundtrack being memorable, whereas incorrect music usage will surely render it forgettable. Fortunately for us, Hotel del Luna knows precisely when to use its music and how. It knows when levity is called for and when it’s not, when to highlight the wondrous side of magic and when to show its darker side, when to use Heize’s “Can You See My Heart” or Punch’s “Done For Me.” I believe it was John Williams, when talking about the music of the original Star Wars trilogy, who said that he wanted the score to tell the story of what was going on in the screen. I believe Hotel del Luna’s score achieves this feat.

Another aspect that contributes to the magical atmosphere of the show is, without a doubt, its incredible cinematography (from camera angles, through its beautiful use of lighting and colours) which, combined with its excellent score, can create scenes that are best defined as poetry in motion. I particularly liked how it favoured studio sets for shooting many of its scenes, giving the sensation that we’re watching a superb play that encourages us to send our imagination into overdrive. Even some of the more noticeable VFX work, like the city view from the hotel’s sky lounge plays into the notion that one cannot always tell what’s real and what’s fake in Hotel del Luna, as Man-wol warns Chan-sung that the view from the sky lounge is not from this world, but the fall will kill him just the same (Man-wol being Man-wol). Because I’m not knowledgeable enough to explain the show’s cinematography in technical terms, I’ll leave you with a trailer that captures some aspects of it and, luckily, also showcases Jang Man-wol’s incredible selection of dresses.

youtube

A part of a greater whole

In my review of Bring it on, Ghost I mentioned the show followed a certain formula that is often poorly executed in Western shows. There is a main story-arc that encompasses the whole of the show and there are side stories where our protagonists confront the “ghost of the week.” One of the strengths of Bring it on, Ghost lied in how these side stories would sometimes tie into the main story or would be used to expand on a character’s backstory so that they rarely came across as filler. Hotel del Luna executes the same formula with a lot more thought and care, often laying out the groundwork for events later down the episode, what is expected, or even later down the show, what is a bit more impressive. The Hong sisters remain true to their initially-stated intention throughout the show and reinforce this with the aid of these side stories, preparing both Gu Chan-sung and us for the inevitable dénouement of the show. Let me try to illustrate my point by way of an example. I don’t want to give more for fear of completely spoiling the show for you.

Episode 5 tells the story of a ghost bride whose parents want to give a soul wedding so she will be able to peacefully pass into the afterlife. Unfortunately, the chosen partner for this soul wedding ends up being Gu Chan-sung’s best friend, Sanchez, so while Man-wol goes shopping as Audrey Hepburn with the parents’ black card (our girl has very expensive tastes), Gu Chan-sung tries to figure out a way to spare his terrified friend. After some twists and turns, what is often the case with this show as the truth is not always what it seems, it is revealed that it is actually the groom’s parents who want to marry off the bride so she’ll let go of their son, who’s in a coma. For those who’ve watched Bring it on, Ghost, the parallels with the ghost side story from Episode 10 are fairly evident, as the ghost bride needs to find the strength to let go of the person she loves and she ultimately does so in one of the most beautifully composed scenes of the show. This is one of those “poetry in motion” scenes I was talking about. As the groom runs away in shock and fear, the bride gathers the courage to cut the red string of fate tying them together, under the intent gazes of Gu Chan-sung, dressed as the groom, and Jan Man-wol, dressed as a bride (in red).

You need a stronger will to let go than to hold on.

This scene is a portent of events yet to come, when the day finally arrives where Chan-sung and Man-wol will also have to part ways. Indeed, several episodes later, the room manager will remind Gu Chan-sung of the words Goddess Ma Go-sin then told the ghost bride, “You need a stronger will to let go than to hold on.” The bride’s selfless act of letting go of the person she loves, breaking free from her earthly tether of her own volition, can be seen as a challenge to Man-wol, whose hatred for the man who betrayed her has been her sole drive for the past 1,300 years but also a curse that has bounded her to the hotel and prevented her from dying. Could she, like the bride, unburden herself by letting go of her hatred? Is it possible for someone with such a long and deep resentment to simply let go? This is a recurring question throughout the show and one that puts her at odds with her increasing desire to protect Gu Chan-sung, as she fears her actions, born of her hatred for the people who wronged her, might end up harming the man she loves.

Side stories such as this one often give us further insight into Man-wol, whether it be a glimpse of her past or challenging her beliefs, making her question herself and her actions, however briefly.

A fairy tale romance

Man-wol is a tsundere character, both a Beauty and a Beast, who has been nursing a thousand-year-old grudge against the people who betrayed her and consequently filters every human interaction through a lens of cold cynicism, expecting the worst from people. Chan-sung on the other hand, is a proper gentleman, a type of character we don’t often see in kdramas and a natural consequence of his training as a hotel manager. He’s friendly, cultured, well-mannered, kind, clever, and someone who's very much in control of his emotions most of the time. The evolution of the relationship between these two characters is the centrepiece of Hotel del Luna, a breath of fresh air in a landscape that often feels the need to use love triangles, or other polygons, as a shortcut to properly fleshing out the relationship between two characters. While there are elements of a love triangle present, such as expressions of jealousy for the sake of comedy, Hotel del Luna chooses to forego this trope and commit fully to the main characters’ fairy tale-like romance.

When you tell her you’ve been dreaming about her.

Another trope the Hong sisters mostly dispense with is that of misunderstandings, which are kept to a bare minimum, as Man-wol and Chan-sung are very open with each other regarding their thoughts and feelings, although Man-wol is, understandably, less transparent about her feelings in the beginning. It was incredibly refreshing to witness two characters that could guess each other’s thoughts and were willing to have an open and honest conversation about it rather than to hold back for the sake of drama. Of course, this did become somewhat frustrating for Man-wol (and fun for us) when Chan-sung started gaining more confidence, feeling at ease with Man-wol, and rebuking her selfish or materialistic actions. Their playful banter and bickering throughout the show is, to my mind, a clear indication that they’re comfortable with each other, as strong a sign of the chemistry in their relationship as half a dozen kisses, if not a better one, what is a good thing because those are few and far between. On the other hand, it makes those moments much more valuable and meaningful. The love between Man-wol and Chan-sung comes across in the gestures they make, in their facial expressions, in the words spoken and left unsaid. When Man-wol tries to comfort Chan-sung but doesn’t know how (Video), when she confesses she wants him to stay with her till the end and they share an intimate hug (Video), when Chan-sung breaks down and cries at the thought of not being able to see Man-wol ever again (Video), when the two have a conversation on the balcony under the moonlight (Video)... These are a precious few examples of the beauty, strength, and depth of feeling, of their relationship.

When the adult catches you in a lie.

While Man-wol is not the same ruthless person she was at the beginning of the show as she is at the end, she still retains some elements or traits of her personality throughout the show (there’s still a little tsun in her dere), as it should be. In one episode Chan-sung is remarking upon how much nicer she has become and she replies, “Gu Chan-sung, you’ve made leaves and flowers grow and have changed me a lot. But you won’t be able to change my core personality. Don’t even expect that.” Even as she says this you can see her looking a little uneasy about something, a little girl about to be caught in a lie by the adult who’s trying to keep her out of trouble. It is thanks to Gu Chan-sung’s patient and enduring love, that protected her from the worst aspects of her own self, that Man-wol is able to let go of her anger, both literally and metaphorically. But Man-wol also deserves praise, as she reciprocates Chan-sung’s love and equally tries to protect him from the dangers of this new world he has entered but most of all from herself, to the point she is willing to renounce her revenge and extinguish her existence to ensure she can never harm the man she loves.

Conclusion

It should be evident by now that I absolutely love this show and it is, without a doubt, my favourite out of all I’ve watched thus far, including Goblin. This is not to say the show is without flaws. Its almost single-minded focus on the story of Man-wol and Chan-sung has some collateral damage, most notably in the form of a character’s loved one, an event used as a means to highlight the pain experienced by those left behind, anticipating the day when our main protagonists will be forced to part ways. In another case, a poignant encounter for Chan-sung is not properly fleshed out, perhaps intentionally so but it seems like a wasted opportunity. Additionally, the introduction and development of the secondary villain’s arc (Man-wol is both the love interest and the main antagonist) felt a little weak, but is still a functional plot device that leads to some of the show’s best scenes. Finally, there is also the way the Hong sisters handled the riddle of Chan-sung’s dreams, which I may address in a separate post because it has too many spoilers.

If you’re a fan of fantasy dramas like Goblin, there’s simply no reason for me not to recommend this show and, hopefully, I’ve given you a few to persuade you as to why this is such a standout drama and, to my mind, the Hong sisters’ best work to date. It’s even on r/KDRAMA’s banner as one of those must-watch shows. If you do decide to watch it, I advise you to pace yourself so you don’t have to say goodbye to Hotel del Luna’s wonderful family too soon.

#kdrama #hotel del luna #jang man wol #lee ji eun #iu #gu chan seong #yeo jin goo #review #kdramas

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thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

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17 chosen and 20 lunar for Indruck, nsfw, please!

Here you go!

Lieutenants Log, stardate 10015, Joseph Stern recording

We’ve finally arrived at an agreement with the Aquariads, the species who control this moon. They will allow our research team unfettered access to the planet, but at an odd price. They requested one of our crew agree to be married off to a high ranking member of their governing council.

I suspect, but cannot prove, that this is not a desirable being to be married to. He’s a revered seer, and yet they’re willing to couple him to a human and not one of their own? Suspicious.

Myself and the other single members of the crew were all given extensive questionnaires on everything from our sexual preferences to our daily habits. It took me a good hour and a half to finish it.

After a full earth day of waiting, we received word that chief astrobotanist Duck Newton was the chosen human. I have no idea how this happened, as Duck has little tolerance for what he views as “woo-woo” things like precognition. But he was chosen all the same.

Because this is Duck, he grumbled a bit, but cheered up when he learned he would only be required to stay with his new husband for three weeks before joining us on our field word, and that we can send him specimens for identification and research. If we decide Aquaria is the planet we’ve been looking for and establish more permanent research stations here, Duck will be expected to spend at least a few days a month with the seer. Mama made it clear that if the idea was truly not something he could agree to, she would call the deal off and we could try another approach. Duck said that wouldn’t be necessary, and that he could think of far worse things they could have asked of us.

We deposit him at the seers home tomorrow. After that, we begin our exploration of Aquaria, fourth moon of the plant Oceana and (hopefully) the home of the antidote we’ve been searching for.

Joseph Stern, Lieutenant on the spaceship Amnesty, signing off.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duck waves to the skiff as it pulls away, his planetside bag slung over his shoulder. There’s only one way to go; down the single stone levee, decorated with beautiful tiles, to the massive mansion at the end.

It reminds him of the photos of Venice he’s seen in old National Geographics, beautiful buildings floating atop a planet of water. He knows Aquaria has islands, but the majority of it’s cities are on or near the water because most of its residents live beneath the waves. They remind Duck of mermaids, with scaled tails and fins giving way to humanoid upper bodies and faces. As far as creatures to get politically married off to, he could be staring down worse.

There’s still the problem of not knowing why this mer is off by himself and without a partner. Or, as becomes obvious once Duck is inside, any company at all. The other high-ranking aquariads they’ve met come with miles of attendants; here there’s only the high, curved ceilings and rippling water. Maybe the guy is shy? Or maybe he’s a dick? Or just real fucking scary to look at?

As he walks further into the house, he notices the tiled walls are covered in striking murals that, when coupled with the odd half-light allowed in by the green glass windows, makes him feel as though he’s wandering through a dream. The pools and canals criss-cross the floor, and really the ground is more water than concrete, the fact he’s able to walk at all is a concession to the fact some aquariads evolved to be land dwelling.

A splash makes him turn, and in the pool to his right a black fin cuts the water. He steels himself to not insult the alien he’s now legally attached to. The figure rises from the water, setting his arms on the edge of the stony floor and Duck steps back as a wide, toothy smile appears in an angular face.

“Hello, Duck Newton.” His tail is the same black as his fin, and his silver hair is tucked behind ears of the same color, which Duck has learned can fan out as a way of communicating.

“Uh, hi. You must be-”

“Indrid Cold, yes. Apologies, a peril of my profession is that I will always be a little bit ahead.”

“Right. So, uh, guess we’re gonna be seein a lot of each other the next couple of weeks.” He aims for a joking, nonchalant tone.

“Yes, as we’re married.” He cocks his head, confused, then grins brighter, “Oh, oh I see, you are attempting levity because this is all very awkward. I, ah, I appreciate that. Here, let me show you where you’ll be staying” Indrid pushes off the wall, swimming gracefully on his back as Duck follows him down the hall. The center of the house has more skylights, allowing him to see that his host’s fins aren’t pure black; small silver and white dots are scattered across it. He wonders if he could find constellations in them.

“Here we are.” Indrid gestures to a room, one where the only water is in the form of two deep blue half-circles on the left and right walls. The center of the room is a large bed, linens gleaming whites and pale greens, and the skylight nestles against a chandelier of finely detailed rosey glass.

“Holy shit.” Duck sets his bag down on a trunk near the door.

“Do you like it?” A flash of yellow up Indrid’s fin, echoed in the dots on his tail.

“I mean, anythin looks ritzy after months on a spaceship but” he turns, smiles, “yeah, I do. Thanks for giving me such nice digs.”

“You are most welcome. Now, this room is designed to give guests privacy. See that red panel on the wall? If you press it, it opens the pool on that side up to the rest of the house, allowing myself or servants to come in and help you.”

“So you do have staff.”

“They’re, ah, more like errand folk. None live here.” Indrid clears his throat, “I can show you the rest of the house, although if you need to sleep I can let you be. I am, ah, not entirely clear on where your internal clock sits now.”

“Aquaria’s days are about four days longer than earth’s, so I ain’t too thrown off. Happy to see more of the place.”

Indrid nods, and Duck follows him out of the bedroom. Most of the other rooms they pass are sparse squares of walkways and still water, under which lies the parts of the house Indrid uses. When they reach Indrid’s quarters, he spots what looks to be an artists’ studio under the clear blue water.

“You paint?” He kneels and peers down for a better look, Indrid bobbing nearby.

“Indeed. Art helps me make sense of my visions, and I enjoy it besides. In fact, all the murals you see in this house are my doing. There are even more under water.”

“Damn, that’s fuckin incredible. If I get my SCUBA gear rigged up, maybe I can get a tour?”

“Scu--oh, yes, an underwater breathing apparatus. We have a much smaller device that can help you breathe and sea down here” he dips his head at the pool, “unfortunately, the one I commissioned for you will not arrive until close to the end of your stay. They, ah, did not give me much time to prepare. Hence the lack of many comforts I might otherwise give, as well as places for you to and I to talk, eat or do, ah, other activities together.” The yellow intermittently flashing up his fin gives way to a burst of pink.

Oh, right. Duck pulls up his infopad (given a generous waterproofing treatment prior to his leaving Amnesty) and opens the contract he signed.

“Yeah. About that. Says here they expect us to, uh, ‘consummate’ the marriage.”

“I’m aware” Indrid’s voice creeps up.

“Do you...wanna do that now?” He spins a finger in the water.

“I, ah, I beg your pardon?”

“I mean, seems like we could just get it outta the way, rather than have the fact we gotta fuck someone we didn’t pick hangin over our heads?”

“This...this is not at all how I wanted this to go.”

Duck looks up and immediately wishes he could reverse time; Indrid looks genuinely hurt, ears flicked back like a scolded dog.

“Duck I, ah, well, you did not choose me, that is true. But I chose you.”

“Well, fuck.” He sits down with a heavy sigh, “figured some big wigs used those surveys to pick me out. Guess what they say about assumin things is true.”

“.....”

“It makes an ass outta you and me?”

Indrid blinks, then snickers, “Your humor is part of why I chose you. It is very bad, but also extremely good.”

“Glad you think so. Pretty sure Mama was ready to blow me out the airlock for some of the ones I made on the way here.” He knows he’s dodging the conversation they should be having, but how the fuck is he supposed to respond when an alien mermaid tells him he picked him to be his husband?

Indrid swims over so he can rest his arms and chin on the stone, glancing shyly up at Duck as he says, “I suppose I also made an ass of myself, as you would say, by assuming you would not see this as an obligation.”

“I mean, even if you chose me, don’t this feel like an obligation to you?”

“No. For me, it is a reminder that most of my kind are too afraid of me to even give me a chance to court them. And that the council thinks I will get into too much trouble without someone to distract me now and then, and decides the company I am worthy of is an alien explorer with no interest in me.”

“I mean, the only reason we agreed to this is because there might be a plant on Aquaria that can treat the illness runnin rampant back home. So at least it’s for a good cause?”

Indrid flicks his ears, red running up his fin, “What you are doing is noble. What I am doing is being used as a way to keep your exploration team in line.”

Duck winces, “Fuck, I’m, uh, I’m just gonna stop talkin now.”

For an agonizing five minutes they sit there in silence, contemplating their situation and stealing glances at each other. Duck always tried to do the right thing, tried to live an honest life and treat the people in it with respect. He’s been kind and polite to beings up and down the galaxy. He can extend some of that to his own husband, can’t he?

“Indrid?”

The alien raises his head.

“Can we start over?”

“Yes. But I do not see how-”

Duck holds out his hand, “Name’s Duck. Thanks for invitin me in and lookin after me the few weeks.”

Indrid’s smile widens as he understands the game, and he takes the human’s hand, “A pleasure to meet you. I am Indrid, seer to the court of Aquaria, and your anxious husband in spite of the now-changing, much more pleasant futures.”

They finish their tour, the humid air less stifling in the wake of their confessions. Indrid shows him the kitchen, the sitting room, and the gardens which, to Duck’s delight, are as much above the water as below.

After that, Indrid excuses himself to attend to seer duties and Duck goes back to his room to unpack. As he’s putting away his toothbrush and razor near a large, elaborate tub carved from golden stone, one of Indrid’s admissions from earlier floats through his mind, bobbing there like a buoy until he gets a chance to ask it.

When they’re in the gardens, Duck taking notes as Indrid dives and surfaces with new things to show him, the human slips his feet into the water and says, “Indrid? You said my offerin to fuck you wasn’t what you wanted. What, uh, what did you want?”

The alien blinks, slowly, pink and teal flashing in his tail, “It is a bit silly in retrospect, but since I knew we would not have time for a proper human marriage courtship, I thought I could mimic the process leading to a one night stand; that way you would be romanced in a manner that made you both comfortable with me and the concept of sex with a relative stranger.”

Duck chuckles, “Always wild to find out how human stuff gets interpreted by the rest of the galaxy. How’d you even come up with what you were gonna do?”

Indrid crosses his arms, mock affronted, “I will have you know I have seen a great deal of human media, courtesy of our minister of defense.”

“Oh yeah?” Duck shifts onto his stomach, sends a small splash Indrid’s way, “what was this night gonna involve, then?”

“Food, dim and therefore, apparently, romantic lighting, dancing to sensual music, and then hopefully some kissing.” The pink in his tail intensifies, “and then working out exactly how to have sex human.”

The mixture of enthusiasm and being utterly out of his element charms Duck to no end; not to mention it’s the most thought someone’s put into a hook-up with him in the last three years.

“Seems to me you got the gist of it. Though I really wanna know what you picked out for ‘sensual music.’”

A playful glint enters Indrid’s glowing eyes, “I will show you, but we must go through the whole evening, otherwise it will seem like a disjointed choice. With, ah, with the understanding that you are not obligated to kiss me at the end.

“You got a deal.”

“Wonderful” Indrid claps his hands together, “wait right here.”

Indrid disappears in a whoosh of black and silver. When he returns, he hoists six opaque domes onto the floor in front of Duck, “I initially planned to eat in the sitting room, but you like this room much better, so we can have dinner here.” With that, he double-taps the top of each dome, revealing a confusing buffet.

“Uh, are those french fries?”

“Yes. You are from the United States of America, and so I chose foods that would make you feel at home.” Indrid points to each plate in turn, “french fries, steak, a turkey with cranberries, lobster, macaroni with cheese, and an apple pie.”

The pie is covered with an odd, yellow meringue, the turkey is the size of a quail, and the black shell suggests this is not a kind of lobster he’s eaten before, but Duck can’t stop smiling.

“Also I took care to be sure none of the necessary substitutions were poisonous to you.”

“Thanks, Indrid.” He means it; in their travels they’ve learned it’s not only humans who think everyone lives and eats exactly the way they do.

Everything except the french fries tastes strange but he finds the meal, like it’s orchestrator, intriguing in it’s oddity. Indrid brings two cool, white bottles from below, offers Duck tastes of each. One is like the celery soda he drank on a dare, the other like root beer if it wasn’t gross. He keeps the second one next to him as the meal progresses, Indrid asking him all kinds of questions about botany and himself. When dinner is over, Indrid guides him two rooms over, grinning excitedly.

“I will start the music; one moment.”

A few seconds after he dives, a chrome cylinder descends from the ceiling and music fills the air.

Ninety-nine red balloons

Floating in the summer sky

Panic bells, it's red alert!

There's something here from somewhere else!

He giggles, sits down so it’s easier to call, “Indrid? Not sure you got the right song bud.”

A silver-haired head pops up, “Not romantic?”

“Nope.”

“Hmmmm” He lifts a small, white rectangle and the song changes.

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way

He had a boogie style that no one else could play

He was the top man at his craft

But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft

He's in the army now, a blowin' reveille

He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B

“N-not quite” The laugh is stronger now.

“Drat. How about….”

I threw a wish in the well, don't ask me, I'll never tell

I looked to you as it fell and now you're in my way

Indrid looks hopefully at him.

“Ain’t what I’d call sensual, but you’d hear it at the kind of place you’d pick up a date.”

The alien beams, starts shifting back and forth to the beat, “shall we dance?”

Duck blushes, pretends he doesn’t know why, “Uh, probably should have said this earlier, but I ain’t much of a dancer.”

Indrid swims to him, stopping close enough that Duck can see the lines on his face that reveal they’re close in age, “That’s alright. Sometimes conversing while having a drink is acceptable behavior, correct?”

“Yeah.” Duck doesn’t bother to hide how intently he’s watching as Indrid dives, his form elegant and ethereal beneath the water.

They sit sipping a hard cider that tastes of papaya and flowers instead of apples until the three other moons glow bright in the skylight. Duck yawns, and excuses himself for the night.

“Thanks for a great evenin, Indrid.”

“You are most welcome. A pity I could not make the music work.”

He’s here for another three weeks at least. And Indrid is floating through the darkening water like a dream he’s tempted to chase.

“Guess you’ll just have to try again.” Duck winks.

Indrid’s ears frill slightly and he flashes bright purple, “Yes, my dear husband, I suppose I will.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Duck’s routine is not the one he usually has while docked on a planet. Every day for the last week, he wakes up, joins Indrid for a leisurely swim, works on his research, and then spends his evening with a weirdly cute alien trying to accurately recreate the earth dating experience for him.

The second night, he asked if Indrid would bring him some of his favorites for their next meal. The steamed coconut crab was a hit. The mantis-squid served still swimming, less so. From then on, when Indrid put in his food orders to the cooks at the main court, it was for a mixture of earth and Aquariad dishes, each one leading him or Indrid to share an anecdote from their time on their home planet.

For the last two nights, he’s lifted the partitions on the pools in his room so Indrid can talk with him until neither of them can keep their eyes open. He wonders if it would be rude to ask him to stay, to sleep in such a small space just so he could be the first thing Duck sees when he wakes up.

There must be floating beds he could put in Indrid’s room, or maybe a hammock he could hang in the garden.

Duck now understands that Indrid’s powers make him politically valuable, but also mean his fellow residents of the lunar city see him as dangerous, as knowing things they’d rather keep secret. Duck understands, especially if their only time encountering the seer is when he glides his formidable, dark body from the depths of his inner sanctum. But all he can see is his Indrid, awkward and well-meaning, whose fear of Duck disliking him has given way to genuine affection. His Indrid, who now pulls himself up onto the stones so they can sit shoulder to shoulder after breakfast or before dinner, whose tail Duck’s fingers beg to caress.

His Indrid who is, at this moment, continuing his losing battle with earth music.

“How about this?”

Danke schoen, darling, danke schoen

Thank you for all the joy and pain

“Oh fuck no” Duck guffaws, “anything but him, ‘Drid, he’s a boner killer if there ever was one.”

“I don’t think he’s that bad, but I will be speaking to Vincent about his human music suggestions.”

“For the love of god, turn it off.” Duck flails for the remote.

Indrid sticks out his tongue, “Very well, but I am this close to pulling you down here and seeing if you can do any better.”

“You wouldn’t dare” Duck is still laughing, eyes closing as he does, which means he gets only a splash of warning before he’s yanked into the pool. He comes up giggling and spluttering, “now, is that any way to treat your husband?”

Indrid’s laugh is a siren song, “No, I suppose not.” The music clicks off as Indrid steadies him by curving his tail behind his legs, “how should I treat you instead?”

Duck drapes his arms over Indrid’s shoulders, “You been treatin me pretty damn well, dunkin me aside.”

A flicker of pink and yellow as Indrid rubs their cheeks together, “And if I wanted to be even better?”

“I, uh, I mean if you wanted to we could tryYYYYohfuck” he hunches forward as Indrid’s tail drags across his dick. The clothing on Aquaria is thin, so he can feel the cool scales tease his skin.

“Oh, oh dear, apologies, I was only trying to embrace you further, I forgot yours do not stay concealed until they’re needed.”

“You, you keep doin that and it’s gonna be needed real quick.”

“Oh?” red eyes narrow wickedly, “does my sweet husband need attending to?” Another drag of his tail, much more deliberate, and Duck grinds his hips in reply.

“Only if you want to.”

“I do, so very badly.” Indrid nuzzles his nose, “may I take a little while to acquaint myself with your wonderful body?”

“Uh huh.” Duck tugs his shirt off, throwing it onto the land and then giving his shorts the same treatment.

“Ohhhhhhyes.” Indrid purrs, fins and tails shimmering purple and gold. Then he sinks down, swimming in a slow, tight circle around the human. Pleased chirps and trills bubble up to Duck’s ears. Cool fingers play along his legs and belly, eventually finding his dick and offering an experimental stroke.

“Fuck” he groans, and Indrid does it again, kissing his navel as both hands rub and tease his dick and folds. Indrid is clearly experimenting, maybe even using his visions to guide him, and Duck eagerness to get off succumbs to just how fucking hot it is to have a partner this enrapt by his body, to have them explore it like some awe-inspiring landscape.

He spreads his hands out and runs them along Indrid’s torso and tail; the scales are just as wonderful under his fingers as he hoped, and he can feel Indrid sigh happily as he pets him.

Then lips close around his dick and he makes a series of undignified noises, digging one hand into Indrid’s hair to encourage him.

“Ohmyfuckinchrist, Indrid, yes, fuck please keep suckin like that.”

Indrid wiggles his whole body in response, happy trill underscored by a firmer suck. Duck can’t get enough of his body beneath his hands, of his mouth on Duck’s skin, and he wonders if someone can black out from how good a blowjob feels.

Indrid’s fin breaks the water and Duck runs an appreciative thumb along the top. Funny, there’s a little depression between it and the membrane of the fin. Curious, he drags his pinky along it.

The alien bursts upwards with a loud chirp of joy, “Ohgoodness, yes, oh that feels nice please do it again.”

“Yeah? My cute, needy husband need me to play with his fins to get off.”

“Not, not technically by my gods does he want you to.”

“Don’t worry darlin, I will--uh, ‘Drid? Is, is that your dick?”

Indrid follows his gaze to the thick, bumpy shaft emerging from his tail, it’s tip crowned with short, searching tendrils.

“Yes. Also an ovipositor, hence those lumps.”

“Holyfuck. Uh, I, I ain’t sure I’m ready for that yet.”

“That’s perfectly alright. Though it does mean my cock is not going into you tonight; I’m not sure I can control my bodily responses enough to avoid ovipositing accidentally.”

“Lots of others things we can do.” Duck bites the tip of one ear, making the other flare out.

“Indeed. I say we start with this.” Indrid’s tail encircles his waist just as Indrid shoves his cock between his thighs.

“Like, like the way you think sugar. Fuuuck, fuck that’s good.” The bumps from the eggs have just the right amount of give as he humps them, Indrid matching his tempo with his thrusts. He keeps his arms around his husbands neck, kissing him furiously. Indrid kisses back with a chirp, gold flashing in his scales, and Duck knows he won’t want to kiss anyone else for a long, long time.

The tip of Indrid’s cock bumps his ass and he groans at what that suggests about it’s size.

“I’m, I’m takin this fuckin perfect thing all the way before I go.” He bucks his hips harder to make his point, “gonna let you fuck me open on it, fill me up, wanna know what it’s like to cum with you inside me.”

“Oh gods” Indrid whimpers, hiding his face in Ducks neck as he squeezes his thighs together.

“And, and you’re gonna be a dutiful fuckin husband and fill me however I say, ain’t you?”

“Yes, yesofcourse, goodness Duck I, I’m-”

“Heh, you like that, mr high and mighty seer likes bein bossed around. Well, lucky you, because now that I know just how fuckin good you are at fuckin me, gonna have you doin it ever, fuckin, day.” He jerks his hips hard, three times, and Indric cums with a cry, cock pulsing as he sinks his teeth into Ducks shoulder. Duck doesn’t let up, chases his orgasm over the bumps and ridges until he nearly whites out with pleasure, clinging to Indrid tighter as his body gives up on supporting him.

After his cock retracts Indrid, still holding Duck up with ease, swims to the button that orders a cleaning cycle on the pool and deposits the human back on the stone.

“I dearly hope your team finds what you need on this planet so that I may see you beyond these few weeks.”

“Sex was that good?” Duck teases, petting Indrid’s hair as he lays his head in his lap.

“No. Or, well, yes, but more than that you are so, so very wonderful. I wish to get to know you more, to show you even more of my world and my skill in bed.”

Duck kisses the top of his head, “I hope so too.”

-----------------------------------------

Communication log between leader of Amnesty Mission at Astrobotanist Duck Newton.

Mama: Got some promising leads. Will be back to pick you up in three days.

Duck: Glad to hear it. But take your time, no need to rush only my account.

#Indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #mermay fills #alien au #terato

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deans-haunted-baby · 4 years

Text

The Ones Left Behind

Alrighty time for some truth bombs. I’ve had almost a week to absorb the end of Supernatural and season 15 as a whole. And I think this is the moment where I need to throw in my two cents. For all intents and purposes I won’t go in-depth into 15x20 seeing as that conversation will just open up a whole other can of worms and I don’t need that headache. I have my reasons for being less than indifferent with how the Winchesters’ story concluded. So I won’t go there.

Instead I’ll be focusing all my energies on the unsatisfying conclusions of 4 particular characters. Two of which were main cast members (one that was on the show 12 years and one 4 years) while the other two (played by the same dude) were brought back after a decade long hiatus for a much-anticipated comeback only to be wasted and mangled unfairly by Dabb and his hack horde of a writing staff. Call this a follow up to my last post. If I sound bitter I am because these people don’t have a single clue on how to helm these characters, their relationships or their storylines 😠 Nor do they deserve them.

And yes I’m well aware of Kevin Tran, Rowena, Ketch and several others who got the shaft on this show. Those could be future posts for another time.

But I cannot stress this enough; ADAM MILLIGAN, JACK KLINE, MICHAEL AND CASTIEL ALL DESERVED FUCKING BETTER. There is no arguing these facts, none whatsoever. Not one of these characters deserved that exit to be the final chapter in their story. I won’t do an entire analysis of each character’s arc and role in the show as I’ve already done that in my rant about 15x19. But I will highlight how much season 15 royally screwed over these characters and tossed them aside like trash; as if none of them were ever part of/contributed anything to Sam and Dean’s history/world building of Supernatural’s universe.

*WARNING* This is going to get heated.

Before I dive into the heart of these issues I want to state this is not a “shipping post”. I don’t ship anyone on Supernatural, hopefully this blog has been pretty self-explanatory. So I have no arguments/opinions in those areas. I’ve been a fan of this series for 15 years because of the characters, the familial bonds and relationships formed between characters throughout its run. And I’m well-aware that the Winchesters are the lead protagonists of the show, no need to remind me. These are purely my own thoughts based what I’ve obtained from show canon. Let me just say I can’t get over just how much these writers contradicted and ignored what they put forth in the journeys of these four individuals. its a real headscratcher.

You mean to tell me that after TWELVE DAMN YEARS of Castiel being a rebellious warrior angel, searching for his own identity and meaning in life; making that promise to Kelly Kline about raising Jack as his own/risking his life for him. After sacrificing himself for his son a year ago, acknowledging he was satisfied with his role as a father which restored his faith; that it was all because of/for Dean Winchester?

You mean to tell me that after Michael, THE PRINCE OF HEAVEN and PROTECTOR OF HUMANITY, was locked away in a cage with a human whom he emotionally bonded with for thousands of years (10 years our time); who was abandoned, betrayed and manipulated by his neglectful/abusive father. After choosing free will and aligning himself with TFW for humanity’s sake, just sided with the Earth’s destruction because his little brother called him names?

You mean to tell me that Jack, A THREE YEAR OLD CHILD, who’s barely just beginning his life and spent his entire duration on the show wanting to be normal and not wanting to be special. Connecting and being integrated with humans; a child who’s biggest fear was outliving everyone he ever loved. Is suddenly ready to walk away from his family, his home and his teddy bear; to give up being a kid forever and run the universe?

You mean to tell me that Adam, SUPERNATURAL’S MOST INNOCENT CHARACTER and FORGOTTEN THIRD-WINCHESTER BROTHER, after being eaten by ghouls; pulled away from his mother out of Heaven, manipulated by angels, trapped in Hell for thousands of years because Sam and Dean left him there to rot. After coming back and helping his neglectful siblings save the world only to be ripped away from his best friend and THE ONLY OTHER PERSON who gave a damn about him; is sentenced to a life of loneliness, homelessness and turmoil until he dies and ends up in Hell where he’ll mostly be tortured and turned into a demon?

NO. I DO NOT AND WILL NEVER ACCEPT THIS BULLSHIT!

Season 15 not only manages to contradict itself where these characters are concerned (while assassinating them before the final curtain). But the writers deliberately discarded them before giving us that *sarcasm inserted* epic solo-Winchester conclusion. Regardless of how you feel about Adam, Castiel, Jack or Michael, ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS are connected Sam and Dean’s story and part of Supernatural. And when you throw them away like they mean nothing, you’re essentially throwing away a part of the show’s history. You’re ignoring 15 years worth of story building.

As I said I’m not going to go into 15x20 for reasons, it doesn’t offend me as much as what was done before that finale. Because I think those other show exits really affect 15x20 even worse than people realize. You want to know why, I’ll explain.

Lets start off with Castiel and Jack, OH BOY! We know where they end up; running Heaven and the Earth together which is all fine and dandy. I love my Dadstiel father/son duo being an endgame family unit. But here in lies the problem, we never saw it. Not even a cameo. And technically their onscreen storyline ends at 15x18 and 15x19 which is an ugly, anti-climatic bookend to an incredibly deep relationship that had 4 years of development. First you have Castiel who completely forgets why he made that deal with the Empty to begin with. HIS FUCKING SON. Not to mention it wasn’t about true happiness it was about giving himself permission to be happy; there is a difference. And then you have Jack wandering around next episode, vacuuming up power cause suddenly he’s a machine now, acting like he doesn’t give a shit over losing his dad to an entity HE’S BEEN DREADING ABOUT FOR A FUCKING YEAR.

Towards the end of season 15 I noticed neither of these characters were acting like themselves. Their motivations, their personalities and strong ties to one another had mysteriously dissolved. Castiel became less concerned about the danger his son was facing after 15x15 (what the hell was that in 15x17?) and more about speaking when spoken to by either Sam or Dean. Does he know how Dean truly feels about Jack; proclaiming the child is “not family”? I doubt the in-character version of him would let Jack leave with Dean after that insult. Castiel’s not even worried whether or not his son is alive or safe before he makes the big confession later. And for some reason Jack (who’d become heavily suicidal) was more concerned with clinging to the Winchesters, willing to die for them, instead focusing on himself and the one person who’s shown him nothing but unconditional love and given him strength since birth. Both of these characters are canonically depressed and suffer from low self-esteem that was never resolved which makes me furious.

When Chuck killed Jack at the end of season 14, this devastated Castiel in the first half of season 15. He actually got to grieve that loss throughout the episodes and deal with his anger over it, allowing the audience to anticipate the day they’d be reunited one last time. This part of Castiel’s S15 arc also ironically mirrors Jack’s S13 arc of mourning Castiel’s death until resurrecting him. And when this son finally returned to his father, who got to rescue him, it was such a poignant moment between the two. It was a cathartic payoff after witnessing Castiel in so much pain over Jack. There was so much building up between that Dadstiel reunion in 15x11 and the Empty’s pact in 14x08; this was suppose to be a tragic yet pivotal plot-point in both Jack and Castiel’s stories. And with SPN wrapping up we all expected something BIG. Yet somehow the writers retconned the whole thing by making it all about Dean, which is such a gross disservice to these characters and 4 years of storytelling.

For instance, since 15x18 was Castiel’s exit episode, why wasn’t he allowed to hug his son or Sam goodbye one last time? Why didn’t he have more of a focal role instead of standing around majority of the episode with barely any dialogue as so much precious air time was wasted on frivolous things? Why didn’t he get one last badass fight scene with someone like Death instead of being choked out and tossed around like a powerless mortal? Why did the group need to be split up to begin with when it served no purpose either than that *ugh* moment? Why wasn’t Jack allowed to call Castiel “dad” once before the show ended? He deserved to hear his son address him as dad!

AND WHY THE HELL COULDN’T JACK FEEL CASTIEL’S DEATH THE MOMENT IT HAPPENED?

The show already established to the audience the significant cosmic bond these two characters shared since before Jack was even born. It was so powerful it boosted Castiel’s grace. Jack could remember who Castiel was from the womb and that he’d protected his mother. Not to mention HE FUCKING RESURRECTED CASTIEL OUT OF THE EMPTY ONCE WITHOUT GOD’S POWER. You’re telling me Jack couldn’t feel his dad being taken away forever despite how far apart they were? No, he’d feel it in his heart. Had we’d been given a scene like that at the end of 15x18 (something of substance) with actual grief shown in 15x19 maybe the episode would’ve faired better for them.

That said it wasn’t, because Jack was treated the exact same way in his final exit. Hardly any lines and just a bunch of scenes of him standing/walking around until that pathetic reveal at the lake. HE DOESN’T EVEN GET TO INTERACT WITH JAKE ABEL’S MICHAEL/ADAM which would’ve been a great follow-up to the AU!Michael storyline in seasons 13 and 14. I swear these directors didn’t give Alex and Misha any motivation during their last three episodes and it’s evident in their hollow performances. But why would they when the scripts are basically telling their characters to quickly fuck off so the brothers can have their final outing. Jack doesn’t even behave like himself after he becomes the new God. His personality is apathetic, cold, alien, stiff and way too mature for the 3 year old child so closely connected to his family/the human world. In that moment I saw Alex Calvert not Jack Kline. It’s bad enough he doesn’t get a meaningful farewell but again Castiel, HIS DAD, is a complete afterthought to this kid 🥶

And that’s what we’re left with. Forever. A frigid, hollow ending to one of Supernatural’s most healthy, touching, family dynamics. It makes you wonder what was even the point. I can’t even fully enjoy the fact that its canon Jack and Castiel are together fixing Heaven because of what the show presented onscreen as their last hurrah. It’s not sitting right and it makes 15x20 even less appealing to me.

Moving onto Michael and Adam. Get ready for this. I could rant forever about how dirty my boys were done by this show. How they were discarded in the SPN series finale recap etc. just as they were FOR THE LAST TEN FUCKING YEARS. Was there even a plan going on here or was this just everyone making things up as it went? Their ending is the most unsatisfying and cruel thing because its INCOMPLETE. There is no real closure or resolution with them thanks to the monstrosity that was 15x19. AND NO ONE CARES ENOUGH ABOUT THEM TO GIVE A SHIT.

Much as I’ve enjoyed this show for many years, it NEVER deserved Jake Abel, his talent or his time. I keep seeing so many anti posts about Dean Winchester’s final fate in Supernatural and all I can think about is “try being an Adam Milligan fan for the last decade”. I’ve had to watch this boy go through hell with nothing to show for it either than years of memes. ridicule and the show’s mockery in forgetting him. Actually he’s the ONLY CHARACTER in this series you’re encouraged not to remember 😡 Also quick question: why give us this really interesting and healthy relationship between an archangel and its vessel if nothing was ever going to become of it?

At this point I don’t know why Adam or the idea of him was even introduced way back in season 4 let alone revisited in season 5. Because the only thing I see when I look at this character now is SAD WASTED POTENTIAL. Storylines never explored. Relationships that never got off the ground. Backstory we never got to see (like for instance his past with John Winchester and his time in the cage). A character’s birthright (Men of Letters) that was never actualized. AND the unexplained factor that Adam could look directly at Michael’s true form without his eyes burning out (making him a special case). And the thing is he could’ve been a really great character, both him and Michael. They could’ve easily reached popular status just like Castiel given the chance since Jake is a freaking acting-powerhouse. We were given a taste in 15x08 just how awesome these characters could be and how they could’ve contributed so much to the story and its core group. But unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.

Michael will never redeem himself after years of scrutiny and being made out to be some kind of unhinged monster. This show constantly enjoyed pounding into our brains how fearsome Michael was. Warned us via Lucifer (LUCIFER, PEOPLE!) that he wasn’t rational, compassionate and didn’t care about anything except war, death and destruction. And that he was incapable of feelings and emotions. This is how Supernatural saw Heaven’s Prince and guardian of the Earth. Christ, they actually did a two-year storyline about an evil Michael from the AU world who enjoyed torturing and killing while trying to destroy the universe. I want to know WHAT THE HELL THIS SHOW’S WRITERS HAD AGINST THESE CHARACTERS? Why they felt the need to bring back Jake Abel, AFTER A DECADE OF FANS WANTING THIS, if it was simply to piss all over his characters one last time before the show wrapped. This is absolutely unprofessional and childish; the fact that Jake is taking this bullshit in stride makes it all the more shameful 😡

We could’ve learned so much more about Michael’s past and his present relationship with Adam. These characters didn’t need to sit in the cage for a decade they could’ve easily been incorporated back into the show as far as season 8 or 10! And been an asset to the Darkness storyline in season 11.There were characters and storylines introduced that served no purpose. Why did we need to keep seeing characters like Charlie Bradbury or (as much as I like him) Crowley or Garth (love him too) or Lucifer or Abaddon or the Wayward sisters? I would’ve much preferred having Adam and Michael around and got to know them instead; especially after 15x08. I would’ve wanted to see what their dynamic with TFW could’ve become had they been long-time allies. Did John ever tell Mary about Adam’s existence? I’d like to see what her reaction would’ve been like had the Winchesters remembered him during that damn 300th episode. I guess that’s another loose end untied.

But because of what Supernatural did to these two characters, it forever taints Sam and Dean. I don’t think Dabb or purist fans realize this. But when new viewers come into this show about two brothers preaching important things like “saving people”, “family first” or “family don’t end in blood” they’re going to see how badly the main protagonists treated their innocent half brother. How Castiel and Jack were treated. They’re going to see the heroes of the story abandoning this kid in Hell forever with no intention of EVER rescuing him. And that’s why their final appearance leaves such a bad taste going into 15x20. Cause as much as Dabb and co didn’t give a shit about Adam and Michael they also didn’t give a rat’s ass about protecting Sam and Dean’s integrity. That’ll be a stain they can’t undo.

So through all of it, we’re stuck with the abomination that is 15x19 aka the eye-soar to an unfinished/unpolished story of two horribly disregarded characters. Michael gets the pleasure of being character assassinated right before he’s stupidly killed off instead of going out a hero or becoming the next God (as it was his birthright and the setup was there in the narrative). And Adam gets killed off-screen, OUT OF HIS OWN DAMN BODY, then brought back by Jack only to live a miserable, isolated existence since his brothers have nothing to do with him (the dog and car are more important); his best friend is dead, he has no job or money or a fucking home and he’s legally dead! Really what is there left for him besides the brutal fate awaiting in Hell when he dies?

SERIOUSLY THEY COULDN’T GIVE US ONE SCENE WHERE THE WINCHESTERS CHECKED IN ON ADAM TO MAKE SURE HE WAS SAFE?! 🤬 His last scene pretty much sums up this shit for what it is. Tragic. I feel like crying for this poor sweet boy.

Congratulations Dabb, BL and co for giving us these much deserved broken story arcs of characters you destroyed and made OOC before leaving the airways. You did your show’s protagonists justice by doing this *sarcasm inserted* after 15 years of being onscreen. I doubt these idiotic decisions are going to age well in the long run. They certainly don’t look good on the Winchesters. Anyway that’s my hot take for the day.

ALL THESE ACTORS AND THEIR CHARACTERS DESERVED BETTER.

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80scartoonfan · 3 years

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My Review of Masters of the Universe Revelation - Better late then Never...

It has been two months now, and wow... Not, not many fans of the entire franchise like the Kevin Smith Masters of the Universe series do they? As an aspiring writer myself I can't say I blame them.

I know this comes literally on the heels of the LATEST series being released (obligations to projects, work, family and other things got in the way) and I have to say I wasn't all that impressed with it. If anything, compared to the dumpster fire that was Season 8 of Voltron Legendary Defender that season was more enjoyable than this first part of the mini-series.

And if I am being honest from the first leaks of Skele-God, to the drama with YouTubers like Clownfish-TV and others, to the "race swapping" of Andra and King Greyskull, to spoilers Kevin Smith himself even made, I would give Part-1 a GENEROUS D-Minus. This is a shame because I really wanted this series to exceed all expectations and be equal to the original like 2012s TMNT is or 2011s ThunderCats. But there is too much against it.

First, let’s talk about the animation. It was absolutely breathtaking! It was crisp, the world-building in just the scenery was a masterpiece. Out of what I saw of all of part 1, spotted one goof - dealing in episode 1 with Evil-Lyn's staff, which shows that their animators care of what they produce. I loved the animation so much that if the rights to my favorite anime were purchased by a studio to do a continuation from 2005 or a second reboot, I'd gladly give Powerhouse Animation my salary for the next 5 years!

The music, the music was gorgeous! But then I am biased towards Bear McCreary. Even though He-Man seems a bit knew to compose music to, he immediately got my vote of confidence when it was announced he was attached. Reason being, his work for the movie Godzilla King of the Monsters! His music made me actually tear up during that movie. Something I didn't do since another Godzilla movie.

With the exception of Mark Hamill - as shocking as it comes and Sarah Michelle Gellar, the voice acting was phenomenal! I loved Kevin Michael Richards as Beastman, Tony Todd as ScareGlow, even Liam Cunningham as Duncan! Chris Wood was spectacular as Prince Adam/He-Man for just being introduced to him. But the one who really stole the show for me was Lena Headdy. She killed it as Evil-Lyn, so much that if the Eternity War Saga or 2 part crossover event ThunderCats and He-Man/Injustice vs Masters of the Universe were made into live-action or animated movies, I'd pay whatever she wanted just to have her return.

I also want to applaud the effort of getting a diverse group of voice actors. Something which I noticed few if ANY have. Actors who are both known for their VA resumes and those who are new to voice acting. But also the actors themselves, besides the white and black VAs there were if I am not mistaken a Native American and I think 2 Mixed-Race voice actors. I don't remember if there were any Asian or Middle Eastern VAs, but it is always Part-2!

As for Mark Hamill, at first, I was excited that he was going to do the voice of Skeletor. But upon hearing him as Skeletor, I'm not sure anymore. Granted this is just the first part of the mini-series, but it didn't feel like Skeletor if that makes sense? To me, it felt like he was trying to mix Joker/Alvin the Treacherous/and Firelord Orzi all into one character.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is another one I wasn't sure about. I admit I found it hard going in unbiased because I never liked Sarah. Not as Gwendy Doll, or Andromeda, Daphne and certainly not as Buffy - mainly because I preferred Kristy Swanson as Buffy, but that is beside the point. She had some nice emotional spots, but for the majority of her performance as Teela, it just wasn't there for me. If the writing and script had been better than what it was, she could have won me over for Teela, but as I write this I am more excited for Kimberly Brooks to voice Teela.

Now let’s talk about the things I hated. This will involve anything from Characters including designs to the writing and other things. If you don't want to be triggered I advise you to stop reading this and move on. If you are still here and get triggered, like one person who always seems to be, don't say I didn't warn you. I am always open to engaging others civilly in talking and debate. But if you can't even do that, don't bother engaging. These are my opinions and MY THOUGHTS, and I will hold nothing back regardless of the topic. You have been warned!

The story, the story absolutely sucked! You can tell the writers, if you can call them that, just didn’t care about what they were doing. I’ll go into this shortly. But those writers should be ashamed to even call themselves that. Sure it was catered to be modernized and appealing to potential new fans, but they should have been more aware of what they were doing. Just in this first part, there are so many plotholes and questions I was asking myself that I filled 4 whole pages of paper asking questions and thoughts - which to the fanfic writers I will put in at the end of this if you want to explore them.

I watched the mini-series five times now, trying to be as objective as I possibly could as an aspiring writer and not as a MotU fan, and each time got even more painful. Let’s be clear on one thing, I wanted this series to succeed. But too many things brought it down, and like with Ghost in the Shell 2045, I’m not sure I want Netflix to release part 2 or that I would watch it if they did.

Let’s start with how it was advertised as a “direct sequel to the original.” It was not a direct sequel to the original. I have seen someone bring this up and I have to agree with him. This mini-series is more in line with Nickelodeon’s Voltron-Force from 2011. I remember watching that series when it premiered and then had to hunt down my VHS tapes that had them to get a feel for the series again.

Both played off their respective originals as direct sequels, but both are in fact pseudo-sequels/soft reboots. They have the characters we grew up with and we can identify these characters because they are close to their original counterparts, but that is as far as the “sequel” goes. They bring in newer characters who we know nothing about or characters who have maybe been unimportant to the main characters, but we have to accept them now. It was like that with Mona Lisa in the 2012 TMNT who I enjoyed WHEN they used her, Larmina of Voltron-Force being Allura’s niece, and Andra of Revelation who had maybe 2 or 3 appearances in the entire run of the Masters of the Universe franchise.

Like Voltron-Force, Revelation, had no real ties to the original. There were no mentions of battles, events, and characters who played critical roles in the original. Instead, it starts off with a narrative deposition to set the series up (not matching how the original ended) and just starts in with new adventures. For it to be a direct sequel to an original, you need to have more than just characters we can identify as He-Man/Skeletor/Keith/Lotor/Allura/or Teela.

Next, let’s talk about the length of this mini-series. This is still a bitter subject amongst Voltron fans because so much Netflix could have done more with it if they didn’t do four seasons that were 6/7 episodes. We can all agree that with the “story telling” they wanted to do, just five episodes just were not enough for the first part and potentially the second part. The amount of time needed to portray the journey from Adam’s death to Skeletor taking the power sword and becoming Skelegod could have easily been an entire season. Even 9-10 episodes would have been acceptable with the proper writing that wasn’t going for deliberate shock value goals or “shipping.”

With a 9-10 episode first part, they could have given everyone what they wanted. They could have had He-Man solidly in the first 3 episodes killing him off in the 3rd in such an emotional way it would leave us old-timers not only devastated but eager for more. Use episode 4 to transition into a dying magical world trying to survive with the loss of He-Man and Skeletor and set up the following episode where we see Teela and Andra meet, rather than “next episode we meet Teela and her ‘friend’ Andra on a practically dead world.” Hell, if this was supposed to be a series which wanted to emotionally cripple old timers like me, I’d have been fine if were three season 13 episode series where He-Man dies at the very end of season 1, season 2 picks up with the aftermath of his death, and season 3 is He-Man’s return to defeat Skeletor.

Let’s now talk about the plotholes in this series which tie together with the amount of episodes. These are the biggest things that damage the series the most! The biggest plothole and the most important one is “SPAN OF TIME!” How long has it been since Prince Adam’s death and we see Teela with Andra - days/weeks/months/years - WHAT?! When did they meet? Where did they meet? What happened to Eternos? Did King Randor go all Mad-King Targarian or was Eternos get sacked and destroyed now that He-Man was no longer there to protect its people? Did King Randor put a bounty on Teela’s head for leaving? Remember she was a sworn member of the guard to the King. I doubt he would have just let her leave unless he had a good reason not to go after her. What happened to all the other Masters - Clamp Champ/Ram-Man/Stratos/Buzzoff/Tusk Man and many others in the aftermath of Adam’s death? These are questions and things fans should have been focusing on rather than “will Teela and Andra be together?” Kevin Smith said this series had what others didn’t... STAKES. What are those stakes?

Speaking of Teela and Andra and I know this will be a touchy one for most. I feel that their dynamic is directly done to “queerbait” people. Now I am not saying we can’t have LGBT couples in series, it’s just that writers either need to commit to establishing these couples or not at all. Only doing glimpses or hints at, is for a lack of a better term a Kobayashi Maru - (a No Win Scenario for the Non-Star Trek fans) like it was with Shiro in Voltron Legendary Defender. And if and when this blows up in their faces, like it did the Voltron writers, they have no one to blame but themselves.

Star Trek Lower Decks like every other Star Trek since “The Next Generation” have no qualms in establishing certain characters as LGBT. It is how you do it, and many of these shows need to follow the example from Star Treks TNG/DS9/VOY/LD. This series are a clear testament that you can have Straight/Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual relationships without “queer-baiting” or overtly shoving it in people’s faces.

The writers have made it clear that there is something between Teela and Andra but while also making it clear there is still something between her and Adam. Which regardless of how part 2 ends is liable to upset the fans they “catered” this series to. Who do you make happy and who do you ostracize? And with today’s social media are you going to handle the backlash of giving one and not the other? I personally would prefer Teela and Adam to be what kids today call “Endgame,” but ever since the Keith & Allura tradition was soundly destroyed in Season 2 of Netflix’s Voltron, that when it comes to Netflix series I just simply don’t care anymore who ends up with who, I want a well thought-well developed story.

The character designs of Teela/Andra/Evil-Lyn I understand they wanted a more “modern” realistic feel to them, which I am neither for nor against. Because let’s face it spandex-clad or barely covered barbarian fantasy women with chainmail is a product of the 70s/80s/90s. It is alright to have modern designs for characters but not too modern. Especially when we have shows like Game of Thrones and others to draw references from.

I do admit, I am not a fan of Teela’s design. I understand the reasoning is to make her a “Strong Female Character” but there is more to being a strong female character than looking strong. Strength is also one’s character, how they grow and develop. Teela’s stubbornness, fear, and anger at her “past life” are preventing her growth. If this is the way they portray a strong female character then they have no business doing so.

Kimberly Brooks’ Allura is a far stronger woman than this Teela ever will be. The burdens she shouldered, admitting she was wrong and not gloating when she was correct, the forgiveness of a race responsible for the genocide of her’s, being a diplomat while also being a warrior, sacrificing her well being for others all contributed to her growth from “Princess who just woke up” to Strong Female Character by the end of Season 6.

Teela understandably was hurt by the lies that filled her life. Sure she built a life away from those lies, but she was running away from them. Rather than confront the reason why she became bitter and ran away essentially. She was only forced to confront those lies to save Eternia and the universe and even then there really wasn’t any humility about it. Instead, it is all about her. Not once in this series have I seen growth for Teela’s character like Legendary Defender’s Allura, and let me be perfectly blunt - I had no love for Allura after Season 2. Not once did she admit she was wrong or apologize. Not once was she willing to sacrifice her life for the greater good - instead she was willing to let the whole universe die because of the lies she was fed her life.

Now let me address the whole Race-Bending “controversy.” As with the new designs, I am neither for nor against them. I understand the arguments on both sides when it comes to Andra and King Greyskull. One side argues it appeals to young black girls and boys while the other argues they are being tired of being handed “Hand-Me-Down” characters. Both sides have valid arguments. But honestly, as an old Masters of the Universe fan, it took the so-called “race-swapping” of Andra for me to even remember her because she was never that important and even betrayed Teela for Faker in the Injustice vs Masters of the Universe comics and even then she appeared in maybe 5 panels at most.

Now King Greyskull, at first I was against, I’ll admit it but then I changed my tone looking at myself and my family. See I am Bi-Racial, my mother is white and my father is black. My father’s sister married a white guy and had 6 bi-racial kids. Two who in turn gave birth to white-skinned blond-haired blue-eyed kids. Had they gone the “bloodline” path Prince Adam could have been a representation of not just blacks, whites, but bi-racial and mixed-blood peoples.

I realize this is coming out on the eve of that new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, which as a He-Man fan since 1984 (when I was potty training) I will give it a shot, maybe even write a review of it. But I still have my reviews of Godzilla: Singular Point, Pacific Rim: The Black, Star Trek Lower Decks, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2045, and other series to write on top of work and my family life.

-------------------------------~ Question and Thoughts Time ~---------------------------

As I mentioned above, had many thoughts and questions which I believe were pivotal in the development of this series. Questions and thoughts should have been vocalized during the writing stage rather than fans asking them. These are of the first 3 episodes and some of episode 4. If you are a fanfiction writer who wants to explore these feel free to do so, I will be more than happy to read if they answer these questions and make the mini-series more enjoyable.

Keep in mind these are questions and thoughts I had because I am also an aspiring writer of my own fiction - that I am keeping close to my chest until I feel ready to release it.

Any true He-Man fan would question why is He-Man on a mechanical horse when he would be using battle cat

I do like the celebration happening at the same time quote-unquote He-Man is approaching Castle Grayskull it makes you think Adam is missing out on an important event

In the original series, Castle Grayskull had defenses that the Sorceress could call upon to confuse and combat an enemy who breached its walls how did Skeletor learn about the true secrets of Castle Grayskull when it should only be the Sorceress that knows of such secrets

If the Sorceress is so powerful and so smart why was she tricked by the faker He-Man he doesn't have the power sword?

I love that Orko is still a bumbling magician in Eternia’s realm. Shows how different realities have an effect on others

Adams entrance to “I have the power” let alone his playful jab at who “He is” should have been a hint to Teela

I do like the scene between Adam and Teela in the hall. It really makes you think that they actually are friends from childhood that grew up together and possibly have a future together.

My knowledge of the 38 years of the canon may be a bit shady now, but hasn’t Skeletor always needed the Power sword to get into Castle Grayskull like he always needed it in the comics?

They hinted that his mother knows he's He-Man and that she does reveal that he is He-Man after the battle. I know a mother knows these things about her child. But how did she learn Adam was He-Man and how did she not tell King Randor

Again how did Marlena know He-Man was her son and not tell her husband?

King Randor’s response is feasible but Teela’s response, because everyone lied to her is understandable - but she's a warrior. She is also a sworn captain of the royal guard, sworn to the King. She can’t just quit like that, can she?

How much time has passed between the death of Adam and when we see Teela with Andra

What has happened to the Royal Family in this time? What about Eternos? Has King Randor and Marlena revealed that he-man was their son Prince Adam? With He-Man out of the picture Has Eternos Fallen? Did Randor go all Mad-King Targaryen and become a ruthless tyrant?

What has happened to all of the other Masters? Ram-Man/Buzzoff/Clamp Champ/Fisto/Stratos/ and so many others? Were they killed off? Did they disband? Or were they exiled, WHAT?!

What about Snake-Mountain? What happened in the aftermath of Skeletor’s apparent death? Did Triclops and Beastman betray Evil-Lyn?

How did Teela meet Andra? What is the “When, where, and how” behind their meeting? What did she do to gain Teela’s trust when she felt betrayed by the world?

What is Andra’s background or history in this series besides being an engineer?

When old hag gives Teela and Andra their mission you can obviously tell it's evil-lyn

He-Man flashbacks are kind of nice but it would have been nice to have a build-up for such flashback or have a series season before his demise with such flashbacks that way it could be more poignant

I do like the idea of Triclops and Trap-jaw building a technical but what put them on the path for this techno cult

The cult kind of feels like the Borg as much as I like the idea of Trap-jaw and Triclops making a cult I don't know how I feel about it being Borg-like

This may be controversial but Andra feels like the stereotypical POC Rooky sidekick you see join the main character on their quest.

Like Grace Randolph said this whole Teela/Andra angle may come up and bite everyone in the ass later on if they don’t follow through which will piss off all the old-time fans and if they don’t follow through with the Teela/Andra angle and make Prince Adam/Teela are a couple then all the LGBTQ fans will be pissed off about that

I can already foresee it happening just like it did with Voltron Legendary Defender with Shiro being gay and his ex-partner Adam being killed in combat

We do get a hint of what the king did after the final battle but still what happened in that time after Prince Adam was killed? Did king Randor go off the deep end and become a dictator, what? These are questions that needed to be asked and answered during the writing stage

When did Evil-Lyn, Cringer, and the Sorceress make an alliance to save what little magic is left and in essence the entire universe?

I have the suspicion that was the Sorceress finally trying to tell Teela she's her mother Ford Shadows that the Sorceress is going to die and Teela is going to take her place

Did Teela really name Cringer, or was it something to boost her up in this mini-series?

Did cringer really tell Tela the Adam loved her?

Thus Begins the quest to reforge the sword to go to heaven and hell to get the parts and rebuild the Power sword thus queue Duncan

How much time has passed between the end of the previous episode and the beginning of this new one?

How is time measured on Eternia?

If Skeletor truly wanted to kill He-Man why didn't you take his power sword when he was shackled up?

Kevin Conroy is ma as Mermaid Man if he gets more roles as mermaid man he might grow on me

Instead of gloating, why didn’t they take He-Man’s sword if it was their prize all along?

Typical 80s cartoon ponds very nice

If Evil-Lyn preached that Man-at-Arms was the most dangerous man in Eternia why didn't they act like it why did they act like He-Man was the most dangerous one?

I do love the jobs both Teela and Evil-Lyn take at each other because they are pretty much the same. Evil-Lyn is Skeletor’s version of the Sorceress and Teela is practically He-Man sorceress when she accepts her destiny.

Teela has seen her father fight hundreds of times how could you not recognize his fighting style?

I like how beast man's loyalty never swayed from evil when I also like Kevin Michael Richardson parentheses? As Beastman I thought I would like him as King Grayskull but I I do like him as beast man

Orko like Castle Grayskull does provide a little hint as to King Randor’s reaction to Prince Adam’s death. I feel this is something they should have put into the series

I feel that all of Orko's scenes in episode 3 and my Following episode 4 are tainted because of Kevin Smith revealing he gets killed and why he decided to have Oracle killed

Why should Beastman show a little fear to Andra who is she to him?

I like that you can still see that Man at Arms still loves the Sorceress and I also find it funny that when it comes to that one huge secret something always gets in the way

Again I hate how they portrayed the span of time in this?

How did they go from a Forest Village so halfway across the world?

Something's been nagging me lately could Evil-Lyn be related to both Teela and the Sorceress somehow?

It could be a reference to how similar the Figures were in the 80s but in some scenes, Teela and Evil-Lyn’s facial structures look almost identical could you be separated sisters?

The further this point it's funny how Evil-lyn and Kela can just cut through the bullshit between their infatuation with He-Man and Skeletor

Again what time something happened between evil-lyn and Merman we don't know what just that he seems bitter that she didn't take over the land while he took a while he tried to take over the seat

It seems that there are undertones to a massive war and the wake of Prince Adam’s death.

I kind of like how even evil-lyn kind of shows that she may be afraid of subterranean

With half of part 1 ended could Skeletor have them influencing her? Why did she have to retrieve the Havoc staff head?

How does Evil-Lyn know so much about the Subterranea?

Teela facing a false He-Man could be a hint of her feelings for Adam. But I think it would be more of a visceral scene if it was Prince Adam and not He-Man.

Was that a hint of Teela becoming the new sorceress?

Scenes between Orko and Lyn were a nice touch. Maybe a better connection between Orko and Lyn than Teela, He-Man, and the others?

Orko’s sacrifice could be the beginning of the Dark-Orko storyline?

Was that the Sorceress’ most recent ancestor, Teela’s Grandmother or GREAT-Grandmother?

Why didn’t Adam finish the chant? If Kevin Smith borrowed aspects from everything relating to He-Man, then why didn’t Adam finish the chant? A few times Adam has been run through in which he could finish the chant to become He-Man.

If Teela is such a badass, why didn’t she attempt to stop a reconstituting Skeletor from stabbing Adam?

Really Andra? You are going to sass Skeletor? He doesn’t know you and would sleep like a baby dispersing you. You are nothing to him, you are lucky he didn’t decide to run you through with the power sword.

And really Skeletor? Because no woman could love a face like your’s? Thats your motivation?

#masters of the universe revelation #motu #he-man #teela #skeletor

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wildcardwriting · 4 years

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How Social Media Infected the Glory Pro Circle #3

(or Conversations Most of the Glory Pro Community Would Like to Forget Existed)

[King’s Avatar /全职高手 - 蝴蝶蓝 | Quánzhí Gāoshǒu - Húdié Lán ]

Next Chapter | Previous Chapter

Read on AO3

Summary: Or Ye Xiu is forced to deal with his fans. No one saw what was coming next.Because the alliance wants more exposure (i.e. fame) for the pro gamers, all pros are mandated to respond to questions from the fans.Naturally, this leads to some…strange conversations and some stranger answers. Likely will lead into AU TKA UniversePart Story, and TKA fun. Will include some social media.

XXxxxxxXX

Chapter #3: When Ye Qiu (The Real One) Reads

XXxxxxxXX

The familiar cadence of Glory keyboard inputs echoed throughout the room. There was a lull in activity as everyone waited for the next scheduled dungeon raid to happen or for a wild boss to appear. Some members were doing light exercises, some were napping, while others were just surfing the net, and others were eating some snacks. There were quite a few members of the guild gathered in the room, but most of them were around one computer. They had odd looks on their faces as they glanced back and forth between the screen and Ye Xiu but none of them said a word to the person in question.

While most in Excellent Era knew about Ye Xiu's AMA, few beyond the core team had spoken to him about it. To most members of Excellent Era, Ye Xiu was an existence that was beyond all of them. Seasoned and renowned as the current champion, few dared to interact with him feeling themselves unworthy of his presence. Normal staff in the building had rarely even spoken a word to him, and although no one had said they needed to read his AMA on Reddit many of them found themselves drawn to the page wondering perhaps if they might finally be able to glimpse something of their resident god.

To their collective shock and laughter, Ye Qiu was so completely different then many of them had imagined. Where they had once seen cold arrogance, and disregard, many of them began to realize that Ye Qiu was simply very blunt and perhaps somewhat out of touch of social interactions. Yes, he was blunter then many of them were accustomed to but that didn't mean he wasn't kind. Little by little stories were being shared of deeds he had done for others, either secretly or directly for other people. There had been rumors before, but because no one had come out and said anything. People were coming out and telling stories about Ye Qiu reaching out and helping people. Former pros had even chimed in, telling stories of him lending them money to get back on their feet, stories of him cleaning up training rooms, and buying food for some of the poorer trainees.

Ye Qiu was becoming more real and human in a way many of the staff had forgotten. Ye Qiu was no longer some untouchable god and to many that comforted them. Ye Qiu may have won championships, but that didn't mean he thought himself better than them. He cared about the people of Excellent Era beyond winning trophies.

(When Ye Qiu asked to play Glory with the janitor of Excellent Era a few days later, no one said anything, but it was clear from the atmosphere in the room that the tone of Excellent Era had shifted.)

XXxxxxXX

SMS

[🍁 Autumn Chat 🍁]

[🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃 and 🍂Ye Xiu 🍂 online.]

🍂Ye Xiu 🍂: Change your username on all your accounts dìdì

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃 : Why? What did you do?

🍂Ye Xiu 🍂: Nothing important. Just change them.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Why?

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Stupid brother you better not still be using my name.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Brother! Answer me!

User 🍂Ye Xiu 🍂 is writing....

🍂Ye Xiu 🍂: Bye. 😎😎😎

User 🍂Ye Xiu 🍂 has signed out.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Brother.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Fine. I'll look into myself if you won't tell me anything.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Don't think I won't.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Stupid unfamil brother, what did you do?

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Why are so many people still bothering me? Link

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: And why are they calling me Old Ye? I'm not old.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Brother!

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Reply already.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Stupid brother what does PK even mean?

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: What is apm, and why is this important?

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Nevermind. I figured it out. Somewhat.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Though why this is important is beyond me. Of course, you can move your fingers fast. You played the piano for years under Madam Le. She would never have tolerated anything less than the best.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Regardless, call me brother. I need to talk to you.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Its been two days brother.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Call me.

🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃: Brother!

XXxxxxXX

YQ Thread Reactions Annual Forever Fall News #7

Posted by u/LeafTreeFan

[Comment is Pinned.] LeafTreeFan: I expected so many things when I first started reading the response on YQ’s AMA and I have to say that every single word out of his mouth computer boils down to two reactions, shock or laughter. I feel like I missed so much before this became a reality. So Much potential wasted. Upvoted 29.4k

Lumasamear: So much potential wasted. 😧😧😧😧😧 Upvoted 3.9k

SunCoasting: I just let myself bask in his ‘Glory’. 😎 And that sass. Upvoted 3.8k

Inaweofautumn: Don't you mean that ass? Upvoted 1.2k

SunCoasting: No @Inaweofautumn. At least not until we know what he looks like. Upvoted 2k / Downvoted 5k

CounterClock: So much sass in one…(looks up YQ height) 178 cm person. Upvoted 5.1k

Excellent Era (Qin Tianran): We know this well. Upvoted 7.5k

CrypticBask: !!!! Upvoted 6.7k

NeatHosts: !!!! Upvoted 6.4k

CounterClock: !!!! I've been noticed! Upvoted 1.2k

SnowDancer: Congrats on being noticed! Upvoted 9.0k

Hyper_Battery: [Fanning self] Upvoted 12.0k

LandonFELL: And then there’s the random pro’s constantly chiming in so much that I was like this 😃😃😃😃😃😃 almost all the time. Like I figured that other pros knew each other, but some of the interactions just killed me. Upvoted 16.4k

EatsWilder: The line "It wasn't until the pro alliance started up that I realized so many played the game I loved. And then I met the other captains of the other teams. I wondered if I was in the wrong place. Wu Xuefeng assured me otherwise. He must have been lying. " will be permanently imprinted upon my brain for its sheer amount of sass.

GiveYouCandyandKisses: hey you forgot the rest of that quote!

EatswWilder: Sorry, can't type fast enough. Here, "His honest face is a trap."

AftertheFire: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 That line!

NewMapsDrawn: If that makes you laugh, you should pay for the premium edition where all of EE comments in the margins. Its 1000% gold.

BeginningNew: There's a premium edition? Since When? How much?

StormbyStorm: Here's the link. It cost around 520 (RMB) but I've heard there's going to be a few given out with some special event that is taking place later on.

AcrosstheUniverse: Details?

StormbyStorm: None so far. 🤔

[rest of comments hidden click here to see more]

BreakingChainsandBills: Back on topic. Have you heard about the expansions to his thread? Upvoted 2.2k

CosmosDivide: Who hasn't. 😮😮😮😮 A full walkthrough complete with class guides, dungeon guides, raid guides, and possibly video streaming! Cue the screaming. Upvoted 13.6k

tykebarriers: What a time we are living in. I thought we'd never get anything from YQ beyond his presence at matches, and never have I been so happy to be proven wrong. ✨✨✨✨✨✨ Upvoted 23.5k

blindunnoticed: praise be Upvoted 2.4k

cattailsforever: praise be +1 Upvoted 1.5k

See all comments Show 27+ Pro Replies Show 15.0k+ Comments Share Save Hide Report

XXxxxxXX

Yin Ming was an up and coming hire to Excellent Era's Research and Development Department yet despite being new she was well connected. Hiding a smirk, she glanced around the office beside her, and at some of her coworkers, thankfully there was no one else in the room. Yet even from her position at the back of the room, she could see that most of her coworkers were all looking at the same page. She did not doubt that they were reading on the latest newsletter but just to be sure she sure that no one could see her computer screen she moved her desk a few inches to the right. At the current angle, she was at it was impossible to see her computer screen from the door but just in case she made sure that Guan Rongfei was still working in front of the room so even if someone from administration tried to entered they'd only the disaster that was Guan Rongfei and retreat.

Smiling, Yin Ming took a seat at her desk and switched on her computer. She clicked into her email and looking over her inbox she searched through her mail. After a tense five minutes of searching and wondering if perhaps she hadn’t been sent the most recent copy, she finally stumbled upon what she was looking for. Clicking on it, she got comfortable in her chair to read the current gossip.

XXxxxxXX

Annual Forever Fall Newsletter #7

[Section is viewable by link access only]

[Rules are Pinned.] All users are to remain anonymous. This section is for gossip, information and other bits of useful information about working, interacting, interning or training at EE. All departments are allowed. Usernames must be in the following format [Alias/Department] Note: If you are working in a department with fewer than five members, or would like to have extra security the following format can be used [usernameEE]. Thank you, everyone, for keeping this space for us. Remember this thread is a secret to everyone! :)

[Topic is Pinned.] ModlogEE submitted topic: YQ is the reason we no longer have to deal with Yao Wang. 🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟🎉🌟

📎1 attachment

Praise me, everyone, on the internet, for I have the news!

Check it out! ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Ye Qiu is at it again.

Last week he brought little Mucheng some breakfast and nearly all the trainees had a heart attack. It was glorious.

I know most of the readers are like, “Why is this important?" Well, to all my readers here’s the reason why. He stayed for a few hours teaching all the trainees and no one knew who he was. Because no one has seen him without his mask on but still. He smiled and was like “I’m a little good at this game” as if the captain of a three times winning team is only a little good. Anyways he then proceeded to defeat everyone once and then spent like twenty minutes going over their matches to help them improve.

That's when Yao Wang appeared (late as always!) and he was not pleased about Ye Qiu's presence, but not for the right reasons. He started going off on Ye Qiu about how he was going to ruin the trainees’ careers with his careless advice and Ye Qiu just stood there blinking. It was like he blue screened out of pure confusion.[1] And then guess who walks into the room but Wu Xuefeng himself.

Wu Xuefeng takes one look at the situation and at Yao Wang trying and failing to tear to Ye Qiu to bits before he calmly steps in between the pair and says quite calmly that “Ye Qiu would never give bad advice to anyone playing Glory” and the entire room goes silent. Because if the vice-captain of Excellent Era says that the young teen behind him is indeed Ye Qiu, no one is going to says he's wrong. And that just makes it worse because it's Ye Qiu the resident God of Excellent Era.

Yao Wang looks like he swallowed a lemon (good, that man deserves it. He's so sexist that everyone, including the guys, hates him anyway) and walks out of the room runs away and Wu Xuefeng makes a couple calls before manager Shaolin Tao appears and apologizes for the trouble because obviously someone messed up if no one knows what their resident god looks like.

But the most surprising part has yet to be revealed!

As Ye Qiu walked out of the room, he turns to tell Shaolin Tao that the AC would get fixed later that day. (I don't think I need to remind everyone about that damn AC in the lower half of the building that hasn’t gotten fixed in so long and that upper management refused to believe that it needed to be repaired.) Shaolin Tao nearly looked like he wanted to vanish into the floor. Because it was just so embarrassing and the old man had just resigned himself to the fact that the AC might not get fixed in time for summer, and here comes Ye Qiu and he's all like "this is a problem" and does something about it.

But it gets even juicer.

Ye Qiu paid for the repairs himself like it was no big deal.

I've attached the receipt as proof (the same one that was submitted to Tao Xuan later as evidence) in case there are doubters. (I've blocked out all the sensitive information but the signature is no lie.)

Comments:

KumoCloudEE: Boss Tao did reimburse YQ for the repairs if I'm not mistaken. But he was pretty upset that it was an issue for some reason. 😕😕😕😕😕 Whatever the rest of this was cool.

FanningCameraRD: This is the kind of content I needed in my life. YQ being all "baam this going to change" is like the best thing ever.

SquareDukeEE: I will admit I used to think YQ was some kind of an arrogant jerk, but I can't help but think he's just an awkward turtle. But his gameplay is completely fox-like though.

ChalkydeclareRD: YQ being a fox is something I could totally see. How dare you do this to me upstairs.

CandycreamSeekerEE: Hey, PR department got an idea I think you should hear. ⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️

HawkStarryTrainee: Um, so just how did this whole thing lead to Yao Wang being fired??? I wasn't present for that part.

TiktokDropEE:⭐ Well, here's the general outline. I heard it from one of the building maintenance dudes. Apparently, after the mess that went down in the Training Camp Room #1, Wu Xuefeng paid a visit to Tao Xuan and had a rather pointed conversation. It was serious enough to get a bunch of pencil pushers to gather up some paperwork because immediately after that a group of secretaries and IT people were called into the room. Something about misfiled paperwork???? I don't know. But afterward, Yao Wang left with his stuff and he was sooooo angry. ⭐ [Comment has been starred.]

CranberryCookieSD: The paperwork in question was trainee results. I think it was wrong somehow? I'm not sure. I don't play Glory enough to understand what apm and so on means.

PersonaClueEE: It was trainee paperwork. Normally it was always signed off by Yao Wang and then submitted to Shaolin Tao for record-keeping. So if it was wrong in any way it affects Excellent Era's team placement, advancement, and contracts. If I had to guess Yao Wang may have been either inflating or deflating results, perhaps even going so far as completely lying on the forms. It's hard to tell.

EvaTreeTeaEE: Then that explains it.

BohrPieEE: Someone please connect the dots because I am so lost.

EvaTreeTeaEE: 🌟 Alright, so here's the full story near as I can tell. YQ goes to Training Room #1 for whatever reason, and Yao Wang appears and starts yelling at him. Then WXF enters and stops the yelling making Yao Wang leave. Then either because of this or in addition to this WXF goes to Boss Tao and tries to figure out how such a huge mistake happened i.e. Yao Wang not recognize YQ and the AC was broken and somehow no one knew. So paperwork is brought out to figure out who messed up and throughout this, it is discovered that Yao Wang was slanting all the trainees in some form. I'm assuming he was downplaying female players (considering his attitude) or was maybe inflating the performance of the male trainees, either way, it comes out and now everything needs to re-evaluated and its a huge mess. So quite a few people probably got in trouble because they were supposed to be checking on this sort of thing, and the fact that nothing was done probably has made upper management SUPER angry. I don't know if this will lead to other people being fired but so far Yao Wang was the only person fired, and as far as most of us care that makes the workplace 3000% better. He was a total sexist jerk. Whatever, this is as near as I can guess but there was probably more we don't know because of privacy/reputation reasons. 🌟 [Comment has been super starred.]

DaybreakFrontlineEE: Wow nice analysis! 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

DDDLeeEE: Can confirm that no one else is going to get fired, but a few people were demoted/paycheck cut.

satisfactionstirringEE: Wow what a mess.

variedkioskEE: +1

XXxxxxXX

To say that Ye Qiu, brother of Ye Xiu knew nothing of games, would be a lie but unlike his brother who was a professional gamer, but Ye Qiu himself knew little.

When the brothers were younger and still living together, they often played together huddled around a small Gameboy from one of their trips to Japan. They didn't have many games for it even then, but it was one of the rare times they did anything together before the demands of their parents were too heavy. So Ye Qiu while not an expert in gaming knew a little bit about the world his brother worked in.

Typing in the name 'Glory' into the search bar, Ye Qiu was a little shocked to see how many results came up. Thinking for a second, he typed in his name and the word 'Glory' to the search bar and sat in to read. As his day off there was little to interrupt him, and considering he had given his secretary the day off, he was a little reluctant to bother her.

At least not yet.

Though depending on what he found out he may change his mind.

Scrolling down on some Wikipedia pages for his brother (because it had to be his stupid brother considering the characters used for the name) Ye Qiu read carefully about his brother. While he knew that his brother was famous he had little idea what being a professional gamer meant. He had had no idea that game could generate income and considering his brother was considered the top player there was little reason he shouldn't be earning top dollar.

Reading to the bottom of the page, Ye Qiu was surprised to see several new links attached to the page.

Clicking into them Ye Qiu was quiet for several minutes before his face went red and he moved passed some of the utter nonsense his brother had written. He just couldn't believe how ridiculous his brother was. As it was, Ye Qiu was seeing quite a few references to himself and their family however vague they might be to everyone else in the world.

Any other stranger might not be able to understand what his brother was getting at, but seeing some of his brother's response was a little embarrassing, Ye Qiu clicked off to the side inadvertently clicking open a comments section before he froze.

There were some usernames he recognized in the comments section and knowing the rest of his family, Ye Qiu was almost afraid to connect the dots on what he was thinking.

Reaching for his phone, Ye Qiu moved off of the chat between him and his brother and moved into the general family chat and typed in a single question. While he waited impatiently for the reply, Ye Qiu could help but think he was wrong and his suspicions were just the result of an overactive imagination, but at he stared at the letters in black and white he couldn't convince himself otherwise.

And then the reply came, and Ye Qiu groaned.

Of course, he was right.

Moving back into the chat with his brother Ye Qiu typed out eight words. His face moving through different emotions before he reached for his laptop and typed out a rather long email to his secretary.

What a mess.

Their parents were not going to be happy when this finally came out.

XXxxxxXX

While thousands of kilometers away from Beijing a single message appeared on Ye Xiu screen.

SMS

[🍁 Autumn Chat 🍁]

[🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃 and 🍂Ye Xiu 🍂 online.]

[🍃 Ye Qiu 🍃 ]: Grandfather and Grandmother know where you are brother.

XXxxxxXX

Welcome to Ye Qiu's Glory Walkthrough!

Unlike the first walkthrough that was completed and posted on Ye Qiu’s private account almost four years ago, and has remained untouched even through numerous patches, this walkthrough will be updated as more patches, attacks, rotations, tactics and so on evolve/created. This guide will seek to assist you through the main story adventure in Glory’s Main Quest and Side Quest mode, from your character’s creation to the final boss fight.

Currently, there are a few guides up, but more will be coming in the following weeks. So look back often!

Character Creation for Beginners

Tanks

Healers

Melee DPS

Ranged DPS

Magical DPS

Main Quest Walkthrough

Chapter 1 – Beginning Towns (Level 0-10)

Chapter 2 – Exploring and Basic Mat Mining

Chapter 3 – Cosmo Trial

Chapter 4 - Spider's Cave (Dungeon)

To be continued….

Arena for Beginners

Classic

Fixed Field

Betting Field

Group Match Classic

Group Betting Match

Comments [show]

LastManStanding4all: This makes me want to play Glory all over from the beginning just so I can see what I've messed.

AllergictoSecrets: This feeling I know well.

OneSnowFlake: you and everyone else

SodaOne: Ye Qiu's perspective on everything is just so interesting! And so detailed!

BugLane: YQ does things like this and my mind is just so...blown. He's just so sfjsdlandalskdn. Like, read the end of page one and just that level of sass. "If you hate dying or are not escaping your rivals then don’t jump off the bridge. There is nothing to be found in the mountain's shadow. I've checked personally. Multiple times."

SkynnyFriend: Adding another for your viewing pleasure "The game's gravity mechanics are still a work in progress in this area so if you are a witch or warlock, do not fly. If you want to know specifics ask Wei Chen."

VulpinThief: my favorite "Create a character you like and are not embarrassed to be known by. You don't want to be 'Naked SuMu'."

See all 10k+ replies Comments Share Save Hide Report

XXxxxxXX

SMS

[Team Chat]

[All users online.]

🌑Woven Shadow 🌑: Question Vice-Captain 1:10pm

👓 Qi Breaker 👓: Yes? 1:11pm

🌑 Woven Shadow 🌑: I get how Xia Ming and the rest knew about pairings but how did you know about it? 1:12pm

👓 Qi Breaker 👓 is typing…

👓 Qi Breaker 👓: There are just some things better left unknown. 1:25pm

🌑 Woven Shadow 🌑: ?????? 1:25pm

XXxxxxXX

Author’s Notes:

General EE Staff @ Current is a mix of the following: YQ is sassy and a lot more down to earth then we thought. He is funny/awkward/and asdfdgdfgfdfg. Thank you for existing YQ our lives are better because Yao Wang is gone.

EE Team @ Current: The captain is very clueless about social things like fanfiction and we must never tell him about the depravity of fans or else we will all suffer. Also, dodge practice sucks, and WXF may have a shit list of rival players he may want to have a talk to and we know nothing.

1:YX really didn't know who Yao Wang was because he had never seen him before, so he was trying to figure out who he was.

So not a whole lot of YX stuff, but lots of information about things changing among the people of EE. I read over what I could of the wiki and the light novel but there's nothing about when the training camps got started or anything so much of this was just head cannon because I don't know.

Strangely enough, I had most of this chapter written since the middle of January but it still didn't feel right and finally after countless editing and so on I am just throwing in the towel. I'll come back to this particular chapter and probably edit it some more. Maybe.

Next Chapter | Previous Chapter

Read on AO3

#king's avatar #quan zhi gao shou #ye qiu #ye xiu #Excellent era #fanfiction #ao3 #How Social Media Infected the Glory Pro Circle

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roses-of-rutherglen · 5 years

Text

Uniquely Normal- Chapter 1

-Dean-

Uniquely normal was how Dean's family described him. To his mother, three sisters, stepfather and possible little brother or sister on the way. He was always there, reliable cheery and seemingly completely normal. But as his mum and the only dad he'd known relied on him as the oldest there was something in the way he carried himself that was just so Dean, that no one could describe but everyone was incredibly grateful for. When he was five, just after his little sister Scout was born, his mum was amazed at how little things just seemed to be getting done around the house, the baby being hushed calmed and rocked to sleep among many other things when no one had been in all day. Dean would fess up but his parents could never quite figure out how he did it.

Like most other boys his age, he and his Dad shared a love of soccer and were loud and proud supporters of the West Ham Football Team. Every spare minute was spent in their back yard playing kick to kick to get out of the girl's hair. Somehow they always managed to get the best seats at any game they went to and even meet some of the players, who turns out were friends of Dean's friends. While confused at how all these wonderful things happened to them, Hernando, Dean's dad took it all in his stride and joked about his "uniqueness" that his wife kept harping on about. It became a family joke from that point on.

It came to his eleventh birthday and the family was gathered on a picnic blanket in their back garden, surrounded by the new life of spring. He had gotten several pieces of West Ham merch as well as some Doctor Who merchandise as the family had taken up the British tradition of watching through the series from the beginning on Saturday evenings. All of the gifts had been opened and Dean and his little sisters were just about to start a game of hide and seek with Scout, Teagan and Emily running around in the soft grass looking for a place to hide before Dean went to find them. Just as his count down finished a beautiful tawny owl flew out of the air towards the family and landed on Lauren's head "Dear, I do believe there is an owl on your head." Hernando managed to choke out after getting over his initial surprise "You think I wouldn't notice? Can you get it off me please!" The owl sat there contently hooting as the girls came running and started laughing and pointing at the "funny bird on mummy's head" after shaking her head and trying to find some way to unseat the bird Lauren gave up. "Dean can you help me here as your father appears to be struck dumb" Brough out of his staring at the gorgeous bird he slowly lifted his arm in front of him and the owl hopped straight onto it attempting to rub its head in his hand and nearly falling upside down in the process, this set the girls off giggling again. "I like the funny birdy can we keep it?" Tea asked as innocently as only a three-year-old could. Hernando and Lauren laughed but Dean was staring at the envelope he had removed from the owl's leg it was made of heavy parchment and addressed in emerald green ink

'Mr. Dean Thomas Only upstairs bedroom with a window 5 The Cherry Orchard Staverton Gloucestershire England' It was his address right down to his bedroom! He quickly opened the top as the owl hopped over to investigate Em and Tea’s fingers while Scout was looking through Dean's presents. His parents moved closer as he slid the letters out of the envelope 'Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) Dear Mr. Thomas, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find an enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September first, we await your owl no later than thirty-first of July. A member of the Hogwarts staff will arrive sometime within the next week to help introduce you and your family to the magical world. Also, the owl's name is Amanita we have been trying to rehome her for a while so if you want to keep her you may. I am sure your little sisters will love her. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall Deputy headmistress'

The next page was a list of school supplies such as books, a cauldron, potion ingredients, robes and the thing that made Dean's heart jump a wand. "Mummy?" He questioned looking towards his two clearly befuddles parents "is this a birthday joke?" Both of his parents looked at each other slowly shaking their heads. It seemed that their little boy had magic.

A week later the family was spread out around the house Dean, Tea and Emily were playing Princess' and dragon in the back yard while Scout was working on her crayon masterpiece which was actually quite impressive considering her age and her choice of utensil but it looked like art ran through the family as her older brother was an amazing artist as well. Hernando and Lauren were sitting on opposite ends of the couch legs tangled together with books in their hands and everyone was content and relaxed on a Sunday afternoon. Then there was a complicated knock on the door, Scout leaped up from her spot on the floor scattering crayons everywhere in her rush to let the visitor in.

Professor Aurora Sinistra arrived at number five The Cherry Orchard at around midday on the Sunday after the letter had been sent. The house was set at the end of a culdesac and was half-hidden by a rather large hydrangea bush she walked up the concrete drive to the wooden front door and knocked several times. A high pitched cry of "I'll get it!" Came from within and the door was flung open by a smiling curly-haired six years old who looked her up and down before shouting over her shoulder "Mum some woman who kinda looks like Auntie Joan is here!" Then pausing before turning back towards the professor on the doorstep and in the most polite voice she'd heard out of anyone that age graciously invited her inside the house. It was cozy and homely, it felt well lived in. The little girl who had now introduced herself as Scout had taken her by the hand and led her into the living room where the curtains and windows were open letting in the rare spring sunshine and filling the house with light.

The two adults were sitting on the couch books hastily placed on the side table suggested that they had been reading just before she came in and seeing the crayons scattered over the floor she guessed Scout was the one responsible for the colourful night sky crayon drawing on the chair opposite. "Good afternoon ma'am, how may we help you this fine day." Started the man pushing his glasses up his nose "my name is Hernando and this is my wife Lauren, I see you've already met Scout who has just gone to get her other siblings." Aurora smiled at the couple who still seemed slightly uneasy. "No need to worry too much and thank you for allowing me to visit you on this fine day. I am professor Aurora Sinistra, I teach Astronomy at Hogwarts and I'm here to talk to you about your eldest son Dean's recent acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I know this may come as a bit of a shock, knowing that our world co-exists with yours but let me tell you we are not very different to one another and nothing about your son is going to change because of this."

At this point in time, Scout came trotting back into the room leading Tea, Emily, and dean at the back. Lauren seemed to snap out of her silence "Aurora, I hope it's okay to call you that" she paused trying to gauge the witches' reaction before noticing her nod visibly relaxing and continuing on. "This is Scout whom you've already met she's six then this" pointing to a little girl who looked around four years old "is Emily and this little ragamuffin here is Teagan or Tea as we all call her." They all smiled at the professor and she smiled back. There was a moment of silence just as Hernando was about to offer to make tea there was a slight thud and an indignant hoot. Dean chuckled "she never sees the glass door even though there is an open window right next to it she always tries the door" he shook his head in a joking fashion before turning to open the door the tawny owl fluffed her feathers indignantly before seeming to glare at the glass door and settling on Dean's shoulder. Aurora smiled "I'm glad Amanita has found a good home, she never really fitted in with the other postage owls at Hogwarts." Dean looked at her, 'its real?' He thought 'this isn't some kind of elaborate joke?' He shook himself out of his thoughts just as his mum asked the girls to go and play in Em and Tea's shared bedroom. They trooped out of the room and Dean turned back in as his dad came in with a tray of tea. "So this isn't a joke planned by one of my friends?" He questioned and the professor chuckled shaking her head and taking a sip of her tea before starting to explain.

All in all the visit took over three hours and Aurora ended up staying for dinner much to the delight of the three younger girls who seemed to have fallen in love with her and her stick that was holstered to her belt. They were given the address for the shops in London and told to ask the bartender how to get in, as well as being given a ticket for the Hogwarts Express on platform 9 and 3/4 which made Dean's parents laugh saying they had been there many times and never seen such a platform. But a weekend was planned so the shopping could be done as slowly as needed and Dean went to be that night more excited than he had ever been in his life.

Chapter 2 here!!

#writing #my writing #harry potter #harry potter fic #deamus #deamus fic #writeblr #fanfiction #fanfic

26 notes · View notes

honeymoonjin · 5 years

Text

A/N - IMPORTANT NOTICE::: for all fans of LiT, this series is going to have seasons, and each season is ten chapters. This is because there is a lot of story to tell, and while I don’t want to rush it, I also want to have time to work on other things in between chunks of story. So next chapter will be the season finale!

LOST IN TRANSLATION

↳What do you do when you have no qualifications but want to see the world? You help teach English in a Korean primary school, apparently. ↳Principal!Jin, math teacher!Yoongi, PE teacher!Hoseok, English teacher!Namjoon, school nurse!Jimin, art teacher!Taehyung, and science teacher!Jungkook.

CHAPTER NINE ↳The news that the school might shut down is putting a lot of pressure on the staff, and with parent teacher interviews coming up, it seems to be taking its toll.

“Have fun?”

You jump at the sudden voice, sending a small dribble of tea sloshing out of the mug and down your sleeve. “Hm?”

It’s Coach Jung, collapsing noisily onto the couch next to you. The two of you are in the staffroom, him arriving a little later since he had to return the sports gear first. Apparently, on mornings where he had early practice, Principal Kim would give the coach the first period off to chill for a bit, and as temporary assistant to Hoseok, you were extended that same courtesy.

As it was, you had barely spoken ten words since leaving the house. Hoseok let you sit in the passenger seat in silence the whole way to the school, and since you were mostly helping out with equipment and getting used to the way Hoseok ran these sessions this morning, you didn’t have to say all that much to the kids either. He gives you a bright smile now, propping his arm up over the back of the couch so that he can turn and face you head-on. “I asked if you had fun. Did you?”

“Oh.” You pause to actually consider that. “Yeah, I did. I haven’t done soccer for many times.”

Like usual, your mistakes don’t ruffle him at all. “It’s been a while, huh? Well, if it makes you feel better, you were pretty great out there today. Looked like a real professional.”

You can’t help but snort. “Oh, really? That’s right. I am professional of sitting orange cones in straight line and blowing whistle.”

He grins and shakes his head fondly. “You’re trouble, you know that? But I think you’re just what this school needs right now.” He turns somewhat somber, and his voice flattens out in a way you hate hearing from the normally sunny guy. “I can’t stop thinking about it. What if we don’t make nationals? If my team fails, I’ll be responsible for the whole school shutting down. I-” he breaks off with a bitter laugh, “Seokjin and I, the principal, that is, we haven’t been sleeping so well. Not that I think any of the staff here are, but… We’ll stay up until the break of dawn texting each other, trying to imagine a scenario in which all of this isn’t taken away from us. If there’s an easy solution out there, we can’t think of it.”

You take a sip of your tea as you let his words sink in. It’s gone cold. “Maybe if parents of children know, they can help. They want their kids being happy. And the kids… they are so happy here. This afterno- ah, no, this morning, this morning Jae-ah has told me morning is the best time of her week always.”

Hoseok’s eyes crinkle a little at the thought of that pig-tailed girl with ruddy cheeks. “Jae-ah said that? She always seems so shy during the games, I thought maybe her parents were just making her do sports as an extra-curricular.”

You shake your head adamantly. “No, she loves it. She is telling me, Y/n, every night time I put my clothes on bed for tomorrow because I am so excited. I say wow. I think children here is happier than other schools’ children.”

He hums in thought, then brings his hand down to ruffle playfully at your hair with a warm smile. “Your Korean is getting better, you know that?”

Your cheeks heat a little, but you just shrug. “I make many mistakes still.”

He shrugs back in return. “So what? You seem much more confident, and your pronunciation sounds very native! The teachers and Seokjin have all noticed how much effort you’re making. Not just with Korean, but you know… We appreciate it. We appreciate you.”

You give him a small pleased grin and slip out of his hold, getting up to dump the lukewarm tea in the sink and put your mug away in the dishwasher. “I appreciate you all too. A few days ago, I searched on internet how many schools in South Korea. I am not so good with saying big numbers, but it is very many. I think, wow! How lucky I am that, uh, so many…” you trail off, realizing you have no idea to finish your sentence.

Thankfully, Hoseok, who still lounges on the staffroom couch in his grass-stained basketball shorts and polo shirt, helps you out. “So many schools out there, and you managed to get this one?” You nod happily, mentally taking note of the grammar structure in case you want to say the same thing again. “It wasn’t luck, Y/n. It’s all thanks to Principal Kim.”

You turn around as he speaks, those words seemingly strangely familiar to you.

“out of all the applicants we were sent, I’m glad Principal Kim picked you.” Jimin had said that to you this morning, although it already felt like the distant past. You were told, way back last year when applying, that applicants were randomly assigned to schools, but somehow at least two staff members were under the impression that you had been hand-picked. What had made the principal specifically ask for you? You could barely even remember what you had put on your application.

Before you can ponder it further, a whiny ring sounds through the staffroom and Hoseok sighs, pushing off on the couch to heave himself up. “Well, then, break’s over. Let’s see how good seven-year-olds are at dodgeball.”

After a couple of hours of helping Namjoon out, interspersed with a lunch of beef stew and rice, you find yourself in Principal Kim’s office. However, instead of being there to ask him about your application, you’re surrounded by the rest of the staff as the bespectacled principal hands out some information booklets to each of you.

“Parent-teacher interviews,” he announces dramatically, quirking his wrist as he pushes his glasses back up his nose. “As most of you know, tonight we have three hours in the evening for parents to come and speak with you about their children’s development. Like normal, there are a few things I want you to keep in mind. Number one: no matter how poorly or well their child is performing, give at least one compliment and at least one area for growth. Number two: please try and stick to the schedules I’ve given you; we want to make sure everyone gets seen. And finally, please don’t mention the private matters of the school. If the parents find out about this whole shutting-down situation, it’ll make its way to the kids, and stressed kids perform worse. That’s something we can’t afford right now. Questions?”

Glancing around to make sure nobody else is going to speak up, you raise your hand awkwardly, waiting for him to give you an inciting nod. “Uh, Principal Kim, am I going to this event? I didn’t know.”

His eyebrows crease and his bottom lip sticks out slightly. “Of course you’re going. Namjoon, I told you to tell her the other day!”

The teacher in question ducks his head in a short bow, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. “I’m sorry, principal, I forgot. Won’t happen again.”

Kim sighs and glances towards the ceiling in thinly veiled frustration. “I… I need you, that goes for all of you, to make a real effort to be organized, okay? Life is stressful enough for us right now, so just try your best to stay on top of things.”

The mood falls somber, before the science teacher shuffles forward cheekily. “I know what would cheer the mood up, sir. We haven’t had a good, old-fashioned challenge in a while. We could put Jimin in the sexy nurse dress again.” Jimin reaches forward and smacks Jungkook upside the head but doesn’t otherwise protest the suggestion.

The eldest pinches the bridge of his nose. “We don’t have the money for a raise for anyone right now. But… I was given some vouchers for that Chinese restaurant down the road for my birthday and I haven’t used them yet. How about that? Winner gets the voucher.”

After a resounding cheer of agreement from at least three of the teachers, one of those remaining silent speaks up. “All of your challenges are either public humiliation or things that benefit you personally, Kim. Can we for once have a challenge that requires actual skills?”

You smile at the math teacher, who is trying to use his complaints as a way to hide the fact that he seriously wants that food voucher, eyes bright with determination under a scrunched-up brow.

“Fine, then,” the principal allows, wrinkling his nose in thought, “I’ll come up with something and tell you all later. You’re dismissed for the day.”

As the teachers clear out, shuffling their feet in disappointment, you pause at the mumbling of your name and turn around. Principal Kim’s waving for you to come over, where he has the art teacher by the back of the neck. You haven’t spoken to Taehyung since the incident, and for a moment a bolt of shock runs through you, that feeling you get when you think you’re in trouble. But Taehyung seems to be completely bored and unbothered by the hold on his shirt collar, so you let yourself relax and wander over, the door falling shut behind you.

“Y/n,” the principal repeats, “I lied. I said I’d come up with something later so that they weren’t suspicious, but the real mission is now. I want one of you two to win the voucher, so I’ll give you a secret challenge to complete if you’re up for it. Y/n, you’ve been so amazing this past week, especially with everything that’s going on. I admire your work ethic and your willingness to help, and so this is my chance to reward you for your efforts. Art Kim-” the principal breaks off with a sigh. “Art Kim, you were standing closest to me when I reached out for somebody. So, it’s between you two. It’s going to be legendary. Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” Taehyung scoffs at the dramatic tone, but Principal Kim ignores him, “is to get one Min Yoongi to give you a hug. If you manage to prove that our resident grouch has a heart, you win a one hundred thousand won voucher to the Green Dragon restaurant. Are you in?”

You glance at the art teacher. Sure, he’s sweet, and he can put on the disposition of a kicked puppy when he needs to, but there’s no way he’ll get a hug quicker than you. “Yes, I’m in,” you state confidently.

Taehyung sighs slowly, and for a moment you think he’s going to give in and give you the voucher by default, but then he turns to you and gives you a mischievous grin. “I’m in.”

TAGLIST Message me or send an ask if you wish to be notified every time I post a new chapter of Lost in Translation.

For some reason I can’t tag some people, I’m so sorry if the tag isn’t working!

#bts x reader #bts fic #bts fanfic #bts au #jin fic #yoongi fic #hoseok fic #namjoon fic #jimin fic #taehyung fic #jungkook fic

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dreammutual-remade · 6 years

Text

idol!you and lucas

request: please do a bullet scenario about lucas and his gf both being sm idols - anon

word count: 2.6k

a/n: first of all,,,, this gif hurts me badly, seCOND OF ALL im so sorry for the inactivity !! I have finals this week and I graduate really soon n ive just been v busy !!! also I had hella writers block trying to finish this ish up but I hope u like it anon !!!!its a lil hard for me to write as an idol just because thats such a Wildt lifestyle but I did my best ily

warnings: cursing n also some crying because god knows all of our boys prolly have during their idol days :(((((((

what’s up butter cup

let’s dive tf in

as a pre-warning thingy i’m making you a singer so i’m very sorry if you can’t sing i can’t either bby

alright so this story begins when you’re not even 16 years old and you audition for a bunch of companies

tbh you didn’t think you were /that/ good at singing or dancing but ???

all the companies wanted you??? you got offers from JYP and SM and Pledis ????? go off queen

we stan

anyways

you decide to go with SM since they produced leGENDS SHINEE

FUCK I LOVE THOSE GUYS

(binch if u went to JYP u literally could have been in TWICE ?!?/&.&. ABSOLUTE LEGENDS UR LOSS THOT)

also because you just think that’ll be best for you ?? idk we don’t judge here (i already did though i’m So Sorry)

on your first day as a trainee you’re in search of the female dorms and you just can’t find them

eventually you run into this,,,, Gang Of Adolescent Boys

they’re wearing dorky ass muscle tees and keep saying shit about “foreign swaggers”

(.... y’all already know who it is sjdkdkd)

and you’re Meek and New and Small so you’re like um, hellowherearethegirlsdormsplease

okay there’s four of them and they’re all fckin huge except for one

the Biggest One with the american accent points you in the right direction and you try to scurry away but end up smacking into the Second Biggest One’s arm because he moved in your way on accident ouchie

“god lucas why don’t you just run the poor girl over”

“hYUNG PLEASE”

“hehehhehe i’m just kiddin”

and you just kind of mumble that it’s fine and go on your way

okay so you train for three yEARS before your debut

and you def come out of your shell alright like you’re Extroverted and whatnot

you still see those boys and even make friends with mark and donghyuck and the Foreign Members

but the entirety of the group you met has debuted except Lucas

you’re not close but you wave and say hi when you see each other

you turn pink everytime from Emotions and also Holding Your Breathe Due To Anxiety

and he was cute years ago but he’s only gotten prettier with age dude

they recently dyed his hair to give him some Blonde Stuff and he looks reaLLY GOOD

LIKE TO THE POINT WHERE U HAVE TROUBLE LOOKING HIM IN THE EYE

but eventually you’re like hey now i’m a grown woman i can handle this giant childish man !!! quit that @ emotions

alright so you debut like, days before him no lie

you’re a solo artist bc idk

red velvet was full 😔🤟

anyways you’ve been filming the video for the past couple weeks and the concept is sort of filmy and shimmery like old sparkly anime water u kno ?

and you’re wearing similar stuff to what ten was wearing in the new heroes mv (BIG OOF) except less warm toned ?

like swishy sort of see through white shirts and spandex underneath

you’re a Beautiful and Skilled dancer so they have u all over the place with this choreo

on the FLOOR on the WALL in the AIR

no joke they had you in a harness doing cool swirly shit in the air this is the stuff of legends my g

but like the inside of SM ? is very cold

if you’re not filming you’re bundled up in a blanket and trying to rub the goosebumps out of your arms and legs

because you have to look all smooth and flawless for filming and those are two things goosies are not

luckily the song wasn’t a huge ballad because it’s rather hard to belt out long ass notes when you’re upside down lmao

anyways, the song is a bop and the mv is beautiful and you are wearing minimal clothing and although these are all nice things but also

RECIPE FOR DISASTER

the filming is almost done thank GOD

you’re taking a break from filming and you go out in the hall in your costume to go get another water bottle because ain’t nobody around to give a pre debut thot a water bottle 🤧🤧

your arms are wrapped around yourself when lucas jogs up behind you and throws his jacket around you??

literally throws it like you made an oof noise

“um ,? thank you that was aggressive”

“i knOw i’m sorry it’s just you are practically naked and it’s Cold in here and also walking behind you i noticed you were Very Exposed sO”

you turn bright red because that means everyone has seen your ass prolly and you duck your head and pull the jacket tighter around yourself

“oh! i’m sorry i mean you look uhh? really good ?? yeah you look good nOT that i was looking super hard or anything or that i uH saw aNything BUt if i did it would look good i’m sure nOT THAT I thInK about that ?$/&/“

and now you’re both blushing very hard but you feel a little better when you see he’s just as flustered as you

you brush your fingers on his forearm to get him to stop staring at the floor and tell him thanks and ask about when he’s debuting

he tells you the mv filming is done since they had to go Real Far Away to do it and get it done ahead of time and that the teasers will be out in three weeks and then the mv release and then its Show Time Baby

you’re excited for him and he’s excited and you debut really soon as well and he’s excited for you and !!!!!

there’s excitement all over the place

he’s smiling so big and his eyes are cute and crinkly and :(((((

you still got a crush on him /sigh/

one of the staff literally yells your name down the hall and you’re like aw shit that’s my cue lol

you leave him with with a lil squeeze of his bicep and you’re BOTH shook

him because ?? was that fLIRTING

you because ?? THAT WAS FLIRTING

also because his biceps are thicc i’m gonna cry

big baby stands there for like 3 mins just shook and with uwus oozing from his pores

you skrt very quickly to avoid the consequences of your actions and get back to filming

okay TIME SKIP

your mv was released and did GOOD AS FUCK

you didn’t hear it from me but lucas + nct boys were seen on vlive jamming the fuck out to your song

you’re backstage like 10 mins from going on and having an absolute panic attack

what if you trip ??? or your voice breaks !!:&::

what if all the reviews say you’re Trash live and that the mv was better since they edited

what if you FLOP AND HAVE NO FANS

NO ONE DOES THE FANCHANTS

FUCK FUXKFUCKFUXKCUDJ

so you do call the king of debuts

mark lee

and you’re like mARK FUCK IM GOING TO CRASH AND BURN PLEAS LLSSE DHELPD ME

he tells you to Calm The Fuck Down and assures you it’ll be fine but it’s not working and mark is but a young boy he don’t know how to deal with FEMALES

you hear some deep ass voice on the other side ask who’s on the phone and mark says your name and then the voice is closer and deMANDING to be given the phone

u already kno it’s our boy yukhei

he can hear you gasping through the phone and having a mental breakdown and immediately makes his voice all low and soft

wow i’m , affected writing this shit

“hey, y/n, listen to me, you’re okay, you’re fine. i promise it’ll be okay.”

“bUT WHAT IF I-“

“you won’t. you’ve worked too hard and practiced too much. i know you i saw you do it. do NOT let all of that go down the drain. you can do this. now get your cute ass out there and take NO SHIT”

“i know but i am, scared”

“don’t be! this is what you love isnt it?”

“i mean,,,, yeah”

“and you want to do this more than anything don’t you?”

“well , yeah”

“then for gods sake don’t be a wimp and do it”

“hey i miss the part of this conversation where you were being nice to me”

“that part’s over babe you need some TOUGH LOVE now please for me and for yourSELF get out there”

“okay.. thanks lucas”

“anything for you, angel”

yOU HANG UP SO QUICK

how dare he

you were all Comforted but then he went on with that angel bullshit

okay long story short you ended the industry dude

all solo artists BOW BEFORE YOU

VOCAL QUEEN

DANCE QUEEN

lucas: shaking because His Angel did so well and you were wearing white and actually looked like an angel

but you don’t see him for the next like twO MONTHS because he’s promoting boss and you’re promoting your single and neither of you are home ever

when you do get a second to yourself you try to send him an encouraging text but

you seldom get a second to yourself :(((

he does the same thing and they’re so sweet :(

“good morning i hope u slept well !!”

“princess don’t forget 2 hydrate”

“i saw ur mnet performance u looked beautiful <333”

this man is practically begging you to wife him up i mean

he’s cute

he’s BIG and WARM

very sweet to you :(

talented and lovely

absolute dweeb

supportive of you even from great distances

BEST BOY UWU

you try to be just as encouraging back because he deserves it UGH

“bub don’t forget to eat i know ur hungry rn”

“!!!!!! you came foR MY LUNGS WITH THAT CENTER DANCE AT THE END BOI”

“why are u sending me messages u need to rest bby :((“

when things calm down though you,, see each other

he doesn’t formally ask you out and you don’t say anything but, youre dating sort of kind of

as idols you’re both still so so busy and you JUST debuted so neither of you are really allowed to date anyways

you settle for little bits of cuddling and secret touches as you pass each other in the hall

you both stand outside of your respective dorms at night to facetime without waking your dorm mates

he desperately wants to go on dates and do Normal Couple things but there’s no time :(

the most affectionate you’ve ever been is when the girl group who shares a dorm with you was out promoting and you had him over and you took a nap together :((((

he Insisted upon being the big spoon and basically wrapped your whole body up with his limbs

pressed a few lil kisses to the back of your neck and your shoulder when he thought you were asleep

you weren’t though and you turned around to kiss him on the cheek and then tuck your face into his neck and pass tf out

he has to leave though because mark texts him and is like YO I KNO UR WITH Y/N AND HER ROOMMATES ARE ON THE WAY HOME

ABORT MISSION DUDE

and that’s pretty much it :(

months pass without much between you even though you’re trying your best

and even though you live in dorms you’re still so lonely especially when you’re traveling because you don’t have any group members

you don’t want to annoy or worry lucas though so you don’t complain

he notices though and late at night he’ll call you while you’re in bed and talk about his day and how he misses you and wishes you were there

and when you get all emo he says he’ll be waiting for you at the airport

(he really does he goes and hides in the bathroom and texts you so you can go in there and TACKLE HIM)

he still calls you angel all the time :((((

god that’s another weakness of mine ??? IM SUCH A WUSS

but it has specifically changed to “my angel”

uwu

your first kiss and first Real Confession happens on the Worst Day Of Your Life

you’re about to go on stage (you’ve released an album since your debut so this is new stuff) when you get a call from your mom ??

she’s crying and tells you your grandma is sick and in the hospital and it’s really bad

immediately you’re barely holding yourself together because that woman half raised you and was the reason you stayed in dance and worked so hard to become who you are today

there are tears streaming down your face already and the makeup team is fluttering around you trying to fix what you’re messing up and it’s bad

you still have to go on though so you go and perform with tears in your eyes and your manager yells at you after for not pulling it together

you go home in tears and then you’re not looking where you’re going and ran straight into a staff who yells at you some more for being some entitled idol brat

originally you weren’t gonna say anything to lucas but, the staff pushed you over the edge and you call him in tears and are incoherent and can barely tell him where you are before you hang up

our boy BURSTS into your room and sees you sitting on the floor with your face buried in your knees and 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 !!

he gathers you in his arms and sits on the bed with you curled up on his lap

he holds you close and rubs a comforting hand up and down your back at the same time as he frantically tries to figure out what’s wrong

“y/n?? baby what’s wrong? angel, please you gotta tell me or i cant help”

“i jjJJUST Got a cALL and my grandMA IS SICK AND THEN I DI D BAD AND DISAPPOINTED EVERYONE AND My mManageR yeYELLED at me and theN I RAN iNtO a staffF meMbEr and he yELled at me too and I JSUT .$:&:&;& i’m sO SORRY u doNT need to deAL WIYH ME you have problems of YouR own and-“

“shhh listen to me i always care about you okay? angel, i want to help you no matter what you know that. also, if you weren’t so distraught i would go beat some SM ass you didn’t deserve to be yelled at :(((( how about we call your mom and check for updates with your grandma and i’ll stay here with you for the night?”

you nod and then reach for your phone while keeping as much physical contact with lucas as possible

he’s the only reason you haven’t reached the Depression Point Of No Return so

we stayin close

you put your mom on speaker and set your phone down before squishing yourself back into his chest and sniffling while the phone rings

your mom answers and you shakily ask for any updates and she tells you not much but your grandma has improved and they think that within a couple weeks she’ll be better

you cry some more and tell her you love them both and you’re so relieved and lucas kisses the crown of your head and is just There For Comforting

once you hang up and you’ve calmed down a little more you back up a little and turn to face him

“hey thank you so much, you didn’t have to come and help me so much but you’ve always been there to make me stop Freaking Out and laugh and i just, love you. yeah that’s what it is. I LOVE YOU I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU, WONG YUKHE-“

he cuts you off by snatching your face in his big warm hands and kissing you right on the lips

he then kisses your nose and your forehead and pulls you back into his lap to tuck you under his chin

“it’s all for you, angel ;)))) i love you more”

#me: a connoisseur of shitty endings #uwu im so soft someone call me their angel right now immediately #lucas #wong lucas #wong yukhei #wong xuxi #nct #nct u #nct 2018 #nct scenarios #nct scenario #nct fluff #nct u scenarios #nct u fluff #nct 2018 scenarios #yukhei scenarios #yukhei fluff #Lucas scenarios #Lucas fluff

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edsbrak · 6 years

Text

sixteen weeks (chapter 6)

pairing: reddie, side eddie/omc chapters: 6/? rating: explicit tags: college AU, FWB

read on Ao3

Summary: Eddie and Richie are roommates in college, and after the events of one drunken confession they both agree it wouldn’t hurt to start casually hooking-up. Things go about as well as expected.

warnings: still none, lmao, just Richie being Richie

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

In the week following their first date, Eddie had been texting Jacob back and forth a good handful of times a day. It turns out he was as easy to talk to both in person and over text. In past experiences, Eddie had dated guys who tended to be either or, and there was nothing more off putting than someone who couldn't hold a conversation, no matter how hot they were.

On day four of their flirt-texting, Eddie had arranged for them to meet up for date number two. For lack of better planning, Eddie suggested the movies, but he'd also wanted to see the movie Get Out for a while now, so he figured, why not kill two birds with one stone? (These days he tries to never use that analogy around Stan).

Jacob looked as handsome as ever as he waited outside the cinema for him. He'd given Eddie another light kiss to his cheek in greeting, to which Eddie flushed greatly and pushed them both inside to reach the air-con and escape the blistering heat of outside, obviously.

And once again, Jacob insisted on paying for their tickets and also for snacks, but Eddie had stopped him part-way to the candy bar with a lip-biting smile.

“I actually bring my own food,” he merely stage whispers, because everyone knows people sneak stuff into the movies regardless of the rules and most staff members couldn’t care less. He opens up his satchel and shows Jacob a hoard of food, ranging from an apple to liquorice to Pringles. Jacob quirks a brow at him before smiling. “What?”

“You are so damn cute,” Jacob laughs kindly. Eddie looks down bashfully before taking it in stride.

“Which would you like? Take your pick.”

Jacob reaches for the apple and throws it up in the air before catching it. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” he winks. Eddie thinks he might be a little bit in love already.

The theatre isn't too packed and they find a nice spot up the back, and Eddie isn't even concerned with back row make-outs because he becomes so damn engrossed in the movie to even remember that sometimes happens on dates. Jacob doesn't seem bothered though, and is content with just resting his arm over the back of Eddie's chair. Eddie does lean into his body more at some point, and the contact is enough to have him smiling in the dark like a love-struck teenager.

The sun was setting in a beautiful orange when they leave the cinema, and Jacob suggests they take a walk down buy the torrens. Eddie fills up a lot of the conversation about the movie and how incredible it was. Jacob barely gets a word in, but appears to enjoy Eddie's ramblings nonetheless.

“Ah, sorry, shit. I'm talking too much,” Eddie stops to apologise.

“No, no,” Jacob assures him with a raised hand. “I love it when people are passionate about things. Makes for interesting conversations.”

Eddie holds onto his satchel strap and proudly smiles head-on. A ping echoes from one of the smaller pockets of his bag, and Eddie makes an apologetic gesture to Jacob before retrieving his phone and swiping it open.

hows it go with mr perfect??

Eddie debates just saving his answer for when he'll see Richie later, but a bigger part of his wants to gush, badly. He begins to type without another thought.

Really good. I swear, it's like the God's heard my plea and sent him down from heaven just for me.

He watches it send off with a woosh and is about to put it away so as not to appear rude in front of Jacob, but Richie replies almost immediately.

if hes ur angel, I can be ur devil, baby

Eddie scowls at his phone, hoping by pure wavelengths alone Richie will be able to feel it. He texts a final See you later, weirdo before returning his full attention back to a patiently waiting Jacob. At some point on the walk, Jacob's hand finds his under the now darkening sky, and Eddie couldn't be happier than where he is right now.

He and Jacob continue to text daily after their second (and successful, Eddie would add) date flew by. Finals were now over, and Eddie felt as though he could breathe properly again. It was a weight off his shoulders he was glad to be rid of, and with that knowledge, he could undoubtedly put more energy into seeing Jacob more now that he didn’t have to be married to his textbooks.

Because he and Jacob had yet to actually kiss, on the mouth, and Eddie wasn’t sure what to make of that.

He figured it was normal. Not everyone had to rush into these things, right? They’d only been on two dates so far, and Jacob still appeared very interested, so Eddie had no real reason to worry, right? Right. But that still didn’t stop him from imagining quite frequently what Jacob’s lips would feel like against his own. Would they be rough, insistent? Would he cradle Eddie’s face as he did it? Would he gently nip at Eddie’s lips before slowly dipping his tongue inside—

“Hey, Spaghetti Man.”

And of course, the illusion is shattered by none other than Richie Tozier.

“What?” Eddie almost snaps, coming down off the high that was his imagination at its best.

“Damn,” Richie grins. “Jacob still hasn’t given you any, huh? He’s got you all tense.” he says this as he pokes Eddie’s side, fingernail sharp.

“Are you always this interested in the sex lives of people you’re not a part of?” Eddie asks the ceiling.

“Absolutely, it’s what keeps me going,” Richie says as he rummages through some drawers to find something. Eventually he retrieves a new lighter and pockets it. “Nah, I’m just kidding, sort of. Have you at least swapped spit yet?”

Richie, for all he appears to be on the surface, sometimes displays a keen sense into what people are thinking. It scares Eddie, just a little bit. Should he even tell Richie the truth? Or would he simply bug Eddie more on the lack of sexual prowess in his dating life? With a small sigh he finally concedes, mostly from the need to just tell someone about his minor and most likely pointless worries.

“No, we haven’t…” Eddie starts as he exhales air louder than usual. “I know everyone is different, maybe he’s just shy…”

“Wait, wait,” Richie interrupts. He picks up Eddie’s phone and tosses it to him. “I need to see a pic.”

Eddie eyes him. “Really? You’re not just gonna stalk him after?”

“You really need to chill,” Richie laughs and jerks his head towards Eddie’s phone again. “C’mon, if I see his eyes, I can tell you exactly what he’s thinking.”

“I can’t believe this…” Eddie mumbles but complies to Richie’s less-than-ideal demands anyway. He had added Jacob to Facebook right after their second date, for whenever Eddie hated to use up all of his talk and text data. He pulls up Jacob’s profile and hesitantly shows it to Richie.

Richie whistles lowly. “Damn, he looks tall. Is he tall? Taller than me?”

“Maybe slightly,” Eddie smirks marginally, knowing it will probably irk Richie to an extent. He watches him closely, waiting for what, exactly? He didn’t know, but perhaps he was slightly on edge about what Richie might say. He’s swiping through more photos from the looks of it, and Eddie swallows the urge to ask for his phone back.

“Do you think it’s me? Am I putting something out there that somehow conveys I don’t want him to kiss me?” Eddie asks when Richie is quiet for too long.

“Maybe you’ve got bad breath,” Richie offers. Eddie kicks at his shin lightly. “Alright, alright. I’m sure it’s nothing, Eds. Maybe he’s got a three date rule or something.”

“What if it’s some Barney Stinson level ploy?” Eddie throws in, mostly joking.

“Nah,” Richie says with a shake of his head. “I went out with a guy once who didn’t wanna do anything until a few hangs. Sometimes people need intimacy before they can get off. It’s normal.”

“Huh…” Eddie pauses, thinking that option over. He knew all of that well and good, that sometimes a relationship needs to grow before anything else can happen. The guy didn’t seem to have a problem with showing affection, but maybe Jacob was just as apprehensive about putting himself out there, just like Eddie. Maybe this was a good thing. “I guess that might be possible…”

“I mean, don’t take my word for it. Unless I’m right, then I will take full credit,” Richie says and finally hands him back his phone. “You’re hot, Eds. It’d be weird if he weren’t attracted to you.”

Eddie can’t deny the hot flush to his cheeks from Richie’s blatancy. Ever since they’ve stopped sleeping together, Eddie has noticed how increasingly vocal Richie is about his physical appearance. To any outsider, Richie’s crass personality was a lot to endure when first encountered, but as it turned out, once you slept with him and actually started to get to know him, those traits tended to gradually become white noise. It was just who Richie was, so Eddie has begrudgingly accepted his fate.

“It’s strange when you’re actually helpful sometimes,” Eddie says teasingly.

“Well, I was due,” Richie shrugs. “I mean, who knows, maybe the guy’s got a tiny dick and he’s just pampering you up so the reveal isn’t as disappointing.”

“Aaand there it is,” Eddie drawls. “Y’know, after removing the sex portion of this friendship, it’s really quite a burden being around you.” Eddie hopes it’s not too mean, but Richie was the king of trash talk. God, he was definitely rubbing off on Eddie.

“Hey, I’ll have you know it’s totally possible to be friends with me without having sex involved.”

Eddie raises both brows in surprise. He’s not sure whether to make a comment on that little claim, or to save it for another time. Or maybe he was simply reading into it and Richie was joking.

“Also, you just admitted to being my friend,” Richie grins manically after some moments pass. Eddie feels his face twist up, not knowing if he should quickly correct himself. But then Richie steps over so he can pull Eddie into a bone-crushing bear hug. “Hello, my friend whom I used to dick into unadulterated ecstasy.”

Eddie grumbles under his breath as he waits for Richie to be done. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“No?” Richie pulls back on a pout. “Damn, I gotta work on some new material. Clearly my performances aren’t up to scratch, then.”

Eddie refuses to tell Richie that he is, in fact, very good at what he does. The guy didn’t need any more ego boosting.

“Can you write up a review for me, and don’t skimp on the details, okay? Richie Jr always has room to improve.”

Eddie sighs like he’s suffering multiple stab wounds. “I miss Jacob.”

So he and Jacob decide to meet up again later in the week.

Eddie would have liked to meet up sooner, but Jacob says he had to help his friend move out of their apartment that week, so it would be best to leave date number three for the beginning of the weekend. Eddie can’t help but fidget from the possibility of Richie being right. A whole weekend to themselves, in Jacob’s now empty apartment? Oh boy, yeah. He was definitely getting some soon and that fact was not lost on him at all.

But he really had no reason to complain. He’d been regularly getting some since his and Richie’s agreement all those weeks ago. It’s not like Eddie was starved for physical affection. But he was starved for affection from someone who actually liked him romantically. That was a whole other ballgame entirely.

He’s almost forgotten what that’s like – to share a bed with someone you might be able to picture seeing yourself with further down the line. The thought has him smiling.

“What’s got you all smiley over there, huh?” Bev asks and throws a chip towards Eddie’s head.

They were all sprawled out across Bev and Ben’s shared dorm room on Wednesday night. It had been dubbed a ‘cool down’ hang by Ben, mostly consisting of eating whatever shit they felt like as movie after movie played unnoticed on their small TV. Everyone was mostly too tired to care, with the events of the past school year finally catching up and rendering them into mindless zombies. Eddie has his legs thrown atop Richie’s lap, while Richie had his head back as he released a cloud of smoke into the air from his cig. Don’t worry; they had windows open and several cans of Febreze at the ready.

“He’s gay – he’s thinking about dick, duh,” says Richie helpfully. And he’s not wrong, Eddie muses.

“Are you?” Stan asks. He’s the only one still with books out as he sits on the ground next to the coffee table. Eddie doesn’t know if Stan is even human.

“Hmm, yeah, I am,” Eddie says. He’s gotten abnormally comfortable with these people faster than he thought he would. “Also love, too. Love makes the world go around, right?”

“Oh, love?” Bev says. She sits up straight from where she was leaning against Ben, a gleam in her eyes.

“Please, don’t start that again,” Richie says.

Bev grins. “All you need is love.”

“But a girl has got to eat,” Richie says, clearly now imitating someone.

“All you need is love,” Bev sings, getting louder as she stands up on the couch.

“She’ll end up on the street!” Richie says back, and Eddie is very confused at this point. None of the others appear to be, though, as Stan and Ben ignore them.

“All you need is love,” Bev sings again, drawing out each word in an intoxicating melody.

“Love is just a game, toots,” Richie blows her a kiss.

“Um, what?” Eddie asks them both.

“Moulin Rouge?” Bev says to him, not really a question. Eddie shrugs his shoulders. Bev and Richie share a look and then just like that Bev is jumping down from the couch and rushing into her room.

“Oh, now you’ve done it,” Stan says, completely monotone.

“What?” Eddie looks around him before landing on Richie. “What have I done?”

And before Richie can answer, Bev is back and carrying a DVD case with her. “We’re going to watch Moulin Rouge, baby, for you are uneducated and we need to rectify that, immediately.” She says all of this while pointing at Eddie and putting in the DVD without so much as looking at the buttons.

There are still many questions going unanswered here. “Oh, okay. So we’re doing this? Alright then,” Eddie says to no one in particular.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this,” Richie whispers as the opening shots of Paris fill up the screen.

“So?” Eddie settles back down to get more comfy. Richie ends up using Eddie’s legs to rest his arms on. The room is kind of hot but Eddie figures he’ll just power through it. “There are heaps of movies I’ve never seen. Casa-bla-bla-whatever, never seen it. Pulp Fiction? Nada. Avatar, the highest grossing film ever, and I will never care to see what Pandora actually looks like.”

Richie appears to bite his lip, either holding back a scolding or a smile, Eddie doesn’t know. “How are you real?” he eventually says, and again, Eddie isn’t sure if it’s an endearment or an insult.

“Alright, shush everyone. Eddie, this is one of the greatest soundtracks ever and I need the sweet sound of Ewan to blow your mind away, okay?” Bev says and turns the volume up.

“Okay,” Eddie agrees, because he seems to have no other choice.

When the movie is over, Eddie finds himself with unshed tears in his eyes, staring blankly at the screen before it returns to the menu.

“That…” Eddie sniffles, somewhat dramatically. “That was amazing. Oh my god, it’s not fair. Their love toppled Titanic’s by a mile.”

“Hey, don’t let Leo hear you say that,” Richie teases as he lifts Eddie so he’s half in his lap like a baby to coddle. Eddie goes somewhat willingly, still reeling from the love that could never be.

“See? I knew you’d love it,” Bev gushes. Ben and Stan had moved around a lot during the film, and Eddie figures they’ve both been forced to watch it multiple times before and now have free reign to skip it.

“Yeah, it was… good,” Eddie says lamely. Richie snickers into his hair. Eddie suddenly wants that – that all encompassing love to share with someone. God, wouldn’t that be nice.

“He has been converted. My job here is done,” Bev nods.

Eddie smiles at her. And then he remembers- “Hey, you guys?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you all like to meet my other friends, Bill and Mike? Maybe sometime next week, maybe? Before everyone officially leaves for summer break…” Eddie ventures, subconsciously settling back into Richie and feeling him pinch Eddie’s leg.

“Hey, yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Bev says, and Ben and Stan announce their agreements from across the room where they’re currently playing Chinese checkers, it seems.

“Oh, cool,” Eddie says. “They have their own place, so we could all go there? Mike is of age so he can actually buy us drinks.”

“Hell yeah, I like him already,” Richie says.

Eddie retrieves his phone from his pocket and pulls up his conversation with Mike. “I’ll let them know. Just a heads up, they’ll probably want to adopt you all and feed you kale smoothies or something.”

“That’s the opposite of a problem,” Bev says before patting her stomach. “Lord knows I need some green in me.”

“Why is it the first thing I think of is the Grinch giving it to you doggy style?” Richie says.

“What the fuck?” Eddie sputters.

“Richie, you’re such a turd, oh my god,” Ben calls over. “Also, stop picturing my girlfriend having sex, thank you. If you’re gonna do that then at least include me in the background handing out mints or something.”

Bev is uncontrollably laughing at this point, and soon enough Eddie finds it’s hard not to catch the giggles too. Stan says something about needing new friends.

Now that finals were over, Eddie has been dreading the day for when his mother will make her scheduled call to ask him when he’s coming home.

There’s really no where else for him to go, unless Mike and Bill don’t care for him to crash at their place for months on end. Although, Eddie would rather not have to suffer through hearing their loud as shit sex through the walls anymore. Speaking of sex, he hasn’t responded to Jacob’s last text, since he was ducking into the shower earlier when it came through.

Hey, would you want to go out tomorrow night? I figure since it’s the weekend now..

Before he gets a chance to chicken out, he sends it and locks his phone like it was on fire. Now bored, he looks over at Richie reading a volume of One Piece on his bed. Eddie bites his lip in contemplation.

“So… I asked Jacob out tomorrow…”

Richie turns a page. “Yeah, and?”

Eddie narrows his eyes. He knows Richie is fucking with him. “And… I need your help… again.”

Richie raises the book higher, probably to hide his grin. Eddie makes a frustrated sound and Richie finally acknowledges him.

“Eds,” he leans forward and cock his head. “Just be yourself, yeah? Or, you could just do what you did with me.”

“Huh?”

“Y’know,” Richie waves a hand around flippantly. “Get totally shitfaced before asking me to put my dick in ya. People appreciate bluntness.”

Eddie laughs despite himself. Suddenly, his ringtone echoes throughout the room, and simultaneously both boys turn to look at it. Eddie draws in a breath before flipping it over to see the caller. It’s just his mum. Dammit.

“Hi, ma,” Eddie says quietly.

“Eddie,” his mother replies curtly. She’s never one for small talk. “When are you coming home?”

Eddie closes his eyes. “Soon. In a week. I just have a few shifts left at work to cover. I’ll be done by Wednesday.”

“Okay,” Sonia says. If there’s one thing Sonia will not protest to it’s Eddie’s job. “I will drive down and pick you up. Have all of your stuff ready, okay?”

“Yes ma,” Eddie says, nodding despite her not seeing.

“Okay. Kisses.”

And then she was gone.

Eddie releases a deep sigh and shakes it out. Richie is watching him closely.

“Overbearing mum?” he asks.

“Kind of,” Eddie says lowly. “Also detached mum. Judgmental mum. Doesn’t really understand me mum and doesn’t want to.”

“Hmm,” Richie looks at his lap. Eddie’s phone pings.

Hey! I’d love to see you tomorrow! What time?

And the text should have Eddie feeling good; should have him feeling excited. But like a lingering slap she won’t leave his mind, and suddenly scenarios of Jacob meeting his mother manifest and he can’t help but feel remnants of his mother’s shame crawl up his throat and sink their claws into him. There’s a hand on his shoulder, and he looks up to see Richie giving him a small smile. He doesn’t say anything, but Eddie understands. He begins to type.

How about 7? Maybe at your place, actually? We can just hang? :)

Eddie holds his breath as he waits for Jacob’s response.

Good idea! Having a quiet night in sounds pretty good right now. X

Eddie laughs, feeling tingly all over. “He added a fucking ‘x’. Oh man.”

Richie punches his shoulder lightly. “See? Honesty is key.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie mumbles. It was Thursday now, so he just had to make it through one more day.

Jacob’s place really was quite sparse now that his roommate has moved out.

Eddie leaves his bag near the front door, its contents including his toothbrush and a spare pair of boxers. Just in case, obviously.

“What would you like to do?” Jacob asks. It sounds casual enough at this point in time, so Eddie figures maybe later things will get a chance to heat up. “Luckily the TV is mine, and the couch, or else we’d be left with just Spongebob Monopoly.”

Eddie laughs. “I love Monopoly. We could play that?”

Jacob grins. “Really? I hear it tears families apart; marriages have ended.”

“Well, good thing we’re not married then, huh?” Eddie asks. It wasn’t meant to sound suggestive, but it sure comes out that way. A spark flashes across Jacob’s eyes.

So Jacob leaves to get the game while Eddie grabs himself a glass of water after Jacob tells him where the cups have moved to. He downs the entire glass before smoothing out his pants, and walks back into the living area to help Jacob set it all up. Eddie insists on being banker, claiming it’s his birth right. Jacob makes no protests and chooses the thimble as his piece, but then places the hat on top of it.

“It’s Thimblana Jones,” he explains. “I did it all the time when I was a kid.”

“You dork,” Eddie snorts. “But, fair. Harrison Ford was a looking back then.”

“Definitely,” Jacob says, not taking his eyes off Eddie. Eddie feels his heart rate getting louder.

So they play the game, mostly goofing off with it at first, only as more and more properties were being bought Eddie can’t help it when his competitive side shows through. He hoards all of the cheaper sets, so he can get hotels on the board quicker. An hour passes by and things were already heating up. Playing with just two people was a lot better than, say, five, since he never has to wait long to make his strike.

“Ha!” Eddie yells triumphantly when Jacob lands on a hotel for the second time in a row. “Pay up, sucker.”

“Oh man,” Jacob groans as he goes through his rapidly disappearing money pile. “Are you sure there isn’t some…” he pauses for effect as he looks at Eddie. “… other way I can pay it off?”

Eddie flushes, hard. Why was flirting so fucking great?

“Perhaps…” he says with purpose. There was something buzzing between them, something palpable. It was sending shivers down Eddie’s spine. “What were you thinking, exactly…?”

Jacob pretends to think it over, now looking down at the board. He ends up flicking one of Eddie’s hotels and it clatters away on the floor like the final pin dropping.

“How dare you,” Eddie says, not even caring.

Jacob smiles, his eyes landing on Eddie’s lips. “Yeah? What are you going to do about it?”

Eddie can feel his insides quaking. This was it – this was the moment.

So with determination he slides the game out of his way, and with a shallow breath he slowly begins to crawl forward until he’s in Jacob’s space. Jacob’s hand finds its way into Eddie’s curls, their noses almost touching, and Eddie hasn’t felt this scared and excited for something in a while.

“Pay up,” he whispers between them.

“With pleasure,” is all Jacob says before he’s lifting Eddie into his lap and slotting their mouths together.

Eddie moans instantly, his hands shaking and pulse racing as the feeling of being wanted envelops him like a warm greeting.

They part long enough to begin removing clothes as they walk the short walk to Jacob’s bedroom, and Eddie grins with the resolute closing of the door behind them.

Who’d have thought all it took was a game of Monopoly?

tag list: (message me if you wanna be added) xx

@sleepykaspbrak @richietoaster @reddietofall @michiyo-onosaka @hufflepuffkaspbrak @babybyelers @alrightbluer @wintersember @lolahood @r-richie @s-s-georgie @multishippinghoe @richie-kaspbrakk @colorful-dodie @not-reddie @80sdenbrough @jem-carstairs-is-perfection @musicalsaftermusicals @lonewolfhard @edstozler @nintxndos @loverboykaspbrak @s-s-stutteringbill @tozier-boy @its-stranger-than-you-think @welctothelosersclub @hemmotional–wreck @eddierichietozier @theemilyxx @spacedouthomo @burymestanding @youvegotdirtonyournosebytheway @im-reddie @hoteltozier @angeleddie @reddie-brasil @harringrovesucks @claryvoyantfray @aaliyahkiyomi @thehungpermaze-divergments @sugarpiehunnybitch @richie-kaspbrakk @frustratedstozier

#reddie #fwb #sixteen weeks #reddie fic #my fics

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downstairsdreamersamantha-blog · 6 years

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Samantha glanced around carefully before slipping into the library, shielding the candle in her hand to hide its glow from anyone who might be there. She had finished Romeo and Juliet, and now she needed to pick up something else. Maybe John Milton. The last guest had spent a solid two hours waxing poetic over his Paradise Lost, which did sound interesting. But his defense of free press also intrigued her. Maybe she would be lucky and they would be printed in the same book, otherwise she would have to wait on that defense. She only ever risked taking a single book at a time. Just in case.

To say that Samantha had secrets would be a touch overdramatic in her opinion. It was more she had plenty she didn’t see the point of sharing, and she had perfectly good reasons to keep it to herself. Added to the fact that if any of those aspects of herself did become common knowledge, it might adversely affect her chances in this household and the rest of her life.

All right, when it was phrased that way, it did sound uncomfortably like a secret. But it wasn’t the same.

It was just that the daughter of a Scottish thatcher and laundress wasn’t supposed to be able to become a maid in an English household, let alone dream any larger than that for herself. The first time she had mentioned to her older sister Amelia that she wanted to learn more books than just the Bible, leave the village, and maybe become a governess, Amelia had scoffed. ‘Don’t be daft Sammy, how are you supposed to do that? We don’t have the money for any of those fancy books, and no one is going to want to learn from someone who talks like us. You’ve seen their looks. Now help finish the chores so we can eat tonight.’

So in a way, that became the first secret. She pretended to her sister that she had given up on that idea and become focused on the same thing the people around her could imagine as a future. Then after everyone else had gone to bed, the tasks she set herself began. Three nights a week, she read from the family Bible until even the most unfamiliar words sounded easy in her mouth and mind. Three nights a week she stayed up going over the family account books to understand at least rudimentary maths and finances. The remaining night was spent scraping together every bit of spare wool and scrap of thread that could theoretically be spared to add whatever style she could to the one outfit she was saving for the day she left.

The hardest work she had to do came from that comment Amelia had made – no one wanted to learn from someone who sounded like her. The Scots had been part of the empire in name for hundreds of years, but even now, the Mckays were looked down on in their village for their clear heritage. She knew people considered Scots nothing but stupid, hot tempered, unreliable, drunk fighters, despite the fact that her family was built of hard working God-fearing folk. They were tolerated, but not respected in town. If Samantha wanted more than that, well, that meant no one else needed to know she was Scottish.

She told herself that she could use any position she earned to start to correct the dark perception of her people, but that was mostly to assuage any guilt she was feeling over what she was trying to do. Which was erase her accent. Countless hours of eavesdropping and practice went into erasing the most outlandish elements of her speech and polishing it into something like what her neighbors sounded like. By the time she arrived at Hudson Hall, she could easily pass as a lowborn English girl. Which she knew was one of the only reasons they had allowed her to gain the increasing responsibility she did instead of keeping her locked in the kitchen where she couldn’t interact with any of the guests.

Even now, after all these years, there are still times Samantha has to be careful not to let her accent betray her. When she becomes exceptionally angry or upset, her control begins to slip and the Scottish burr starts to become more pronounced. Usually, just hearing that is enough to have her calming down and gaining a better control over herself. But there’s a small part of her that can’t help wondering if someday she’ll be forced to end this charade because she slipped in front of the wrong person.

But the beauty of being here was that she finally had access to the books her heart craved. Working as a maid, she had slowly eased herself into being in the position of taking on most of the library duties. Which meant she had the time to look at the books, and she could reasonably justify being there if anyone asked. At first, it had been hard to know where to start because the sheer volume of them had been overwhelming. But time and persistence had taught her why they were organized the way they were, and where best to start.

Before long, she was sneaking books back to her room and hiding them under the mattress in order to read them at her leisure. Carefully, she took notes in a journal she had acquired for that purpose, keeping track of unfamiliar words, thoughts about the material, and any connections she could make to the real world. Occasionally she would be nearby when an intellectual came to visit, and she drank in everything they said and took notes, using that to shape what she paid attention to the next time she read. Someday she was going to be able to converse on their level. Then other people would sneak around, hoping to be able to listen to her.

Actually, she had heard of Lord Hudson allowing some of the staff to use his library, but every person she’d heard about was a man. Not a woman. So for Samantha, it was far better to keep her borrowing and her study a secret, because as long as it was, no one was able to tell her she wasn’t allowed or would think of firing her. It was also possible that what she was doing was completely fine, but she wouldn’t take the chances.

It was the opening of Bedford College that shifted her dream and solidified what she wanted out of life. A university. A women’s university with female teachers and female students, learning and engaging in the arts and sciences. A woman’s place where she wouldn’t have to be in service, and no one would expect her to marry and be satisfied with that. Before, a governess had been the highest she’d been able to dream, but that was just because she hadn’t been exposed to more. Now that she had, her dreams had gotten so much bigger.

All she needed was to find some way to earn the tuition for herself so she could become a student. From there, the world was bound to open up to her in the way she craved, and she could prove herself enough to be accepted as a member of the faculty. Then she wouldn’t ever need to be subject to the whims of the aristocracy again. She would be intelligent, respected, accountable to no one but herself and the other educated women she worked with. Maybe she could even publish her own work and start to expand the bounds of knowledge, truly leaving her mark on the world. No one was going to forget the name of Samantha Mckay. And no one would connect her back to that poor Scottish thatcher’s daughter. She would have finally, truly, remade herself.

The slamming of a distant door brought her back to herself with a start. She had no idea how long she had been standing there, hand on the spine of Paradise Lost as she dreamed of the future she wanted so desperately. Quickly, she snatched the book and hid it under her shawl, shifting the other books around it just enough to hide the space that was left by it. Of course, with so many guests in the house it would be assumed that one of them had it if anyone noticed it was gone. But you could never be too careful. After all, the best kept secrets were the ones no one could even imagine were there.

#task001:secrets #hc #self #once again this got long #but sam is just so fun

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godaddywebsitebuilder285 · 4 years

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Connecting the Dots

Two plans: one for design, one for culture.

What I’ve found is that the DNA between both dynamics must be inextricable from one another. Creating with compassion in an environment fueled by compassion means we never lose sight of what it’s all about: people. Beyond functioning in this manner because “it’s the right thing to do,” quality of work, loyalty internally (team) and externally (users), and product innovation are all benefits to reap.

Earlier we talked through the concept of “simplicity” and its application to creation and environment. Now, let’s revisit a few other examples of healthy benchmarks from a creative culture as we’ve discussed in this book:

Slowing down / pausing with intent

Everyone has a seat at the table

The New Day One

In taking a focused look at these facets, their correlation to HCD is readily apparent:

Culture: Slowing down / pausing with intent Design: Discovery / observation

The Swedish concept of fika transcends a mere “coffee break.” It’s about slowing down, the act of pausing during a typical day and making time to have a dialogue with someone (though a good cup of coffee is a vital part). I ensure this time is not only a known quantity within my team’s creative culture, but that it’s protected and actively utilized.

Instead of getting a product manager’s Powerpoint wireframe in your inbox with a request to “make it look nice” or a client’s request to crank out a design for their approval by EOD, we must slow down to understand the people who will be interacting with our design (and the design’s potential impact on others, the environment and community in which it will be used, and so on). Rushing to get something done to tick an account manager’s client-appeasement box at the expense of the human experience is to sacrifice empathy, quality, and any prospect of innovation.

Culture: Everyone has a seat at the table Design: Inclusion

As the very definition of cultural transparency, Nick Sarillo’s pizza parlors tack their full financial statements to a wall, daily, for all employees to see. Everyone’s hourly wage is listed on a nearby whiteboard, with the means to make more money articulated in tandem (training in more areas of business = increased hourly wage). Many managers have worked their way up in this manner, and offer training to other employees who wish to advance by taking on more responsibility. This is about collaboration yielding success to both the employee and the business, the sharing of information, and access for all; key dynamics of an inclusive culture.

Inclusion in the design process enables us, as creators, to recognize our own personal biases. By identifying the exclusion in our work, we humbly set aside our assumptions; connecting with people from diverse communities, building empathy, will expand our product’s reach (access). Via engaging humans throughout our design process, listening to them, and usability testing iteratively, objective solutions that yield innovation follow suit.

Culture: The New Day One Design: Ethnography

The New Day One concept evolves an employee’s first day from formulaic and sterile into directly personal and custom. Via the “Inspiration” portion of the day and venturing away from the office, we gain insight into a new team member as an individual that transcends what folio work can yield. What physical aspects of their selected location have impacted who they are? How did it inspire their way of creating, or approaching problems? Understanding the impact of spatial dynamics on an individual is vital toward an individualistic, yet ultimately holistic, view.

Ethnographic research provides an environmental context to human interaction that a video-conference interview could never yield. Through direct observation, ethnography is the qualitative study of human beings in their native environment. Is the individual sitting in a high-traffic area in an office, causing frequent distraction from their work? Are they a field worker primarily utilizing a mobile device in direct sunlight, yielding paramountcolor contrast needs? By making research truly human, we gain an understanding of how those we observe see the world and how they ultimately engage with it.

For the Greater Good

Greater Good Studio (GGS) is a social impact-focused human- centered design firm co-founded by Sara Cantor Aye and George Aye. Their business is located within the Logan Share, a co- working space they also founded in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.

I reached out to the Studio to ask if I could stop by their space and observe a “morning in the life” view of their process: culture and design, organically, as both unfolded. Without hesitation, Sara (a former Northwestern University instructor) extended me an offer to join the team for observation. After signing a non- disclosure agreement, we agreed on a date for my visit.

When I arrived on a Monday morning, George (formerly of IDEO) greeted me with a cup of coffee and walked me up the stairs into the naturally well-lit Logan Share space. I noticed the open seating in the co-working section was already nearly full, as he gave me a tour of the “configuration by human need and intent”-based layout and active-project areas. On long single sheets of cardboard suspended by custom-built fasteners, entire lifecycles of project- centric human-centered design artifacts were on display. Once a project is deployed, George explained, the cardboard is detached and saved for forthcoming iteration, with fresh sheets re-fastened to form the partitions of a new project space thereafter.

The six core steps of the Studio’s HCD process manifest themselves in the following way:

Framing Defining questions to answer and people to engage

Research Learning from people about their needs and values

Synthesis Finding patterns of behavior and areas of opportunity

Concepting Creating a high volume of new ideas

Prototyping Making tangible mock-ups and gathering feedback

Piloting Testing solutions in real time with real people

As a team, GGS functions via a working method called ROWE (Results Only Work Environment), a concept leveraged from Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson’s book Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: The Results-Only Revolution. Taken from an article on the Studio’s blog, they describe the practice within GGS like this:

“The basic principle behind ROWE is that staff doesn’t need to be supervised, when given the tools, clear expectations, and deadlines people will not only do their work, but do it better than if they were trying to fit into a mold. Within GGS, this practice is exercised by very diligent calendar management, clear deadlines, expectations on deliverables, and Cookie Rewards (little treats we give each other if we have to move something on the calendar).”

Once a month the entire team pauses for a five-hour, non-client project block of time called “internal day.” This time is reserved for studio-centric things: team members sharing learnings from conferences they’ve attended, how to improve internal practices, past project debriefs, etc. It’s the act of pausing with intent, in full effect.

Sara arrived a few minutes into my tour of the space, and the GGS team’s “BD charrette” was the first employee gathering (remote and in-person) of the morning. “BD” stands for “business development,” and in a cozy seating area, everyone had a seat at the table in all senses of the phrase. Sara and George ran through the status of a current request for proposal, then each team member had the opportunity to voice their opinion about whether the RFP should be pursued based on how it aligned with GGS’s (and their employees’) personal, values. Everyone was heard; every voice was respected.

The dialogue eventually shifted to another potential new client, this time with GGS at the presentation stage. Again, everyone at the table gave their feedback on Sara and George’s presentation plan of attack and, again, every team member’s voice carried equal value and weight. The studio-wide inclusion in the business owners’ decision making was genuine, effortless, and natural.

Forty-five minutes later, the group made a physical transition to a few nearby couches; less than a three-foot walk, as I eyed it. I inquired about the very minor spatial change for this next leg of the meeting and was told, “There’s a difference in purpose, so we transition to a different space.” Each member of the team then took their turn describing their weekend in three words:

“Sunshine, beach, baking.”

I got my turn as well. Changing the energy on those couches, from new business to being focused on the individual, made for a palpable climate change. In a few words everyone had a sense of what their teammates got up to over the weekend, eliciting smiles and planting the seeds for future dialogues throughout the pauses- with-intent over the rest of the day.

Next: “validations.” In this final portion of the meeting (pre- project status), anyone who wanted to articulate their appreciation for a team member over the previous week did so. One person recognized their co-worker for their selfless collaboration, taking time from their own project work to help theirs get client-ready on time. Similar-but-unique “thanks” emerged from varied people; no one was required to speak up, but everyone did.

After project updates I sat with Sara for a one-on-one to chat over coffee. I asked her about the synergies between their HCD process and how she interacts with her team in the office:

“I think where it’s actually become more intentional and obvious has been with our staff who are not trained designers. Operations folks, or our community manager, etc. I’ve had to say, ‘I want you to be a designer about this’ (whatever ‘this’ is). ‘We are your users, you’re trying to get us to do our timesheets, or clean up the kitchen, etc. Observe. Talk to people. Figure out our motivations. Summarize everything you’ve learned, and then have ideas.’

As a designer, I am constantly designing at every level. I’m designing deliverables in many cases for clients, or coaching our teams to design deliverables. I’m also designing process by which we work by writing proposals, scoping, etc. And at the highest level, I’m designing our company. I’m designing our culture based on our customs and traditions and policies (the hard and the soft) every day. My users are not hypothetical, they’re actual people.”

When All is Not Good

Sara went on to cite how her previous work experience shaped the leader she is today:

“I think a lot of my design choices are based in (unhealthy dynamics) with prior employers. Where decisions were not made transparently, everything financial was completely opaque. Lots of lack of trust with other employees. It’s been so critical that I’ve had bad experiences so I can now clearly say: let’s not do that.”

The tactics, mindsets, organizational shifts, and operational flexibility discussed in this book are predicated upon a simple truth: a company presently supports and operates as a creative culture, or it’s genuinely willing to evolve to become one. Along the way, I’ve been primarily speaking to those who are in a position to help implement change; even at a small scale. But what about when you’re not in a position to be heard, or the position to help facilitate change?

Reality isn’t always unicorns and rainbows. Bad experiences can impact us all. For example, the fabric of a company’s creative culture can become irreparably frayed thanks to management changes, acquisition, or it can lack sustainability. Whether these circumstances reveal themselves over years or overnight, your passion and evolution should never be their casualty.

Sometimes, creating within an environment that’s the best fit for your growth and passions means finding a new opportunity.

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yeoldontknow · 7 years

Text

It Was The Night: 2

Author’s Note: welcome to part 2! again, please note this is not meant to be historically accurate lmao i cant seem to stress this enough Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader (oc; female) Genre: drama; historical au; romance; suspense Rating (this chapter): PG Word Count: 1,722

II.

It has never escaped my attention that Monsieur Park had, from the time I was child, better perceptions of my future and interests than I have ever been able to decipher. From the moment he saw me, singing to God and to the mass, he seemed to know me, seemed to see inside my soul, or, perhaps, heard my soul, and divined my needs before I could voice them.

My arrival at the Opera seemed, for all intents and purposes, a very long overdue homecoming. At long last I had found men and women, boys and girls, whose knowledge and passions so greatly matched mine. Their continual and profound sense of humour, wit, and imagination provided me with the endless hours of the entertainment I had so been craving.

Within weeks I had made a home of my new chambers, secret imaginary friends replaced with boys as talented as I, and girls with pink, smirking lips, glimmers of possibility contained in the bat of an eye or the flick of a skirt. In the seamstress, I had found the mother figure I had been lacking; in the various stagehands, teachers and playmates, limitless in their knowledge and boundless in their energy, their playfulness.

My first night, the older girls in the room, wickedness and mischief dancing in their rises, pushed our six beds together. As we clambered onto our thin mattresses, they began to tell us, the three new choral members, the story of the Opera Ghost. We sat cross legged, our night dresses tucked beneath our knees to keep out the draft, with a slight forward lean to our spine as we clutched desperately to every word Clara, the eldest in our room, spoke.

Keeping her voice low, she told of music in the recital hall from a grand piano without its player, of footsteps in the rafters of the chapel, dark shadows lurking in mirrors. Always the same shape yet existing wholly without a true form, a paradox of malintent that left a chill wherever it passed.

I drank every detail, eyes wide with curiosity. I imagined a gruesome hanging in the chapel, a suicide in the throes of the black death, and, perhaps most surprising of all, I did not blush for my indiscretion. In truth, I was titillated by the drama of these thoughts, giggled to myself, excited by the thought of what Father Ezekiel would think of me now so soon after my departure. Had I already succumbed to a Godless city? Given over to the temptation of the scarlet warmth of bloodshed? Excessive, theatrical, melodramatic, and turning from the watchful eyes of angels?

‘How did he die?’ asked a young, quiet tongued girl named Jacqueline, with whom I had shared my carriage ride.

I was so pleased she had asked the question begging release from my lips. Yes, I mentally pleaded, tell me if it was bloody, if it was silent, if his guilt is spread throughout the mortar of the stones.

‘That’s the thing,’ Clara whispered, forcing all of us to lean centimetres closer. ‘He is very much alive!’

The moment she said “alive,” Elisabet, Clara’s partner in crime, shouted with a howl so terrible, all the girls screamed. Clara laughed in the candlelight, her jaw seeming to detach with the force of her cackle as her cheeks and eyes suddenly became sunken, hollow. Our cries and their laughter only subsided when Madame Catherine, the caretaker of the grounds, opened our chamber door and demanded we turn out our candles with a draconian glare.

I stayed awake that night beneath the itchy cotton of my bedding, until the birth of the sun in our picture window, imagining a man draped in shadows and living without light. Would his skin feel like wax? Did he move along the river of plumbing, with the tide of the Seine and amongst the bones of fallen stone masons? His hands dominated my mind, the fingers of a pianist with the bones of a skeleton, strong, cold, and lethal.

But as wild as all these thoughts may have been, as scandalous and fascinating they were, I decided just before dawn that his existence was impossible, a fabrication in the minds of girls hoping to exert their authority.

Such a thing could not be real, I told myself pragmatically. Surely such a famous institution would know of a man living within its walls, either to hide from Parisian police inspectors or the slow starvation of poverty. No, such a thing would not be tolerated.

I lived, rather joyously, for three years with this notion, and I watched, yearly, as Clara, and eventually Elisabet told the story of the infamous Opera Ghost. Such experiences had never once happened to me, nor to any of the members of staff I had bravely asked on a December night when the wind held a particular musical howl in its blusters.

‘Your stitches are becoming messy, child,’ scolded the seamstress as I mended a torn frock.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then, tried furiously to ease their dryness and bring forth the sound of blood rushing into my ears. These things, I hoped, would distract mind from the sound of the wind.

‘Apologies, Madame,’ I said, attempting hastily to re-thread my needle. ‘It’s just...the wind…’

All further words died on my tongue before I could voice them, suddenly feeling terribly foolish for these worries, but still, in my childish mind, the possibility of an opera ghost felt terribly real, if only for this brief moment.

The seamstress scoffed, drumming her fingers on the mess of my table. ‘Fear not the wind,’ she stated, though there was some compassion in her tone. ‘It will bring you no harm.’

Still, though, these platitudes did not appease me. For it was not the wind that bothered me, it was the humming within, the pattern and its wistful qualities that brought a chill to my spine. My fingers fumbled with my needle for several moments, caught between the desire to speak and the desire to align myself with the adults around me, wanting to sound mature and ladylike in my beliefs. In the end, my fear won over, wanting confirmation or, perhaps, affirmation, that my suspicions were correct.

‘But the opera ghost, Madam. Does he not live in the wind? In the walls?’

Even as I said the words, I regretted them, wanted to slip beneath the stones of the floor because even such a statement sounded implausible, foolish in its sentiments. And, for this, I was reprimanded.

The seamstress laughed, although the sound was hollow, pressing a hand at the bodice of her corset to ease her breath before she spoke. ‘Ignorant child,’ she said as her laughter calmed, ‘that is simply a story. A story that has been told even when I was a girl in this opera. Don’t believe such tales. Head down and focus your energies on your stitches.’

These words silenced the conversation, made my back curl over as I diligently returned to my work. A sense of pride settled into my bones, glad for the assurance that this was impossible, unlikely, and that I, of course, had been correct in my suspicions. My stitches, then, became straighter, more taught, and no longer did the wind carry a hymn.

Like this, I lived in jovial contentment until the eve of my seventeenth birthday, when I was the last to bed as it was my turn to assist the maids in costume redressing for Les Abencérages. Under the cover of twilight and with one crooked candle as my guide, I made my way to the basins for my nightly wash. The halls had grown dark, shadowed high with the contrast of dark stones and the flicker of firelight. Alone, my footsteps fell in hurried patterns, carrying my body on the balls of my feet so as not to disturb the silence.

Sometimes, as I turned sharp corners, I felt myself being followed, heard scratches in the walls that felt animalistic or in human. As I walked, I reminded myself the building was old, that the foundation of the architecture had settled into the ground like bones. I imagined the building growing, a great maw behind the walls opening to shift around the stones, the structure of the opera house constantly expanding as though it were alive.

In the bath salon, I grimaced as I set my candle on the stand by the mirror to undress, the thought of bathing in the left over, cold water infinitely less than ideal. There was no rush in my motions, choosing instead to delay the chill of the dull water over my skin for as long as possible. My mind raced with music and lessons from the day, fingers still store from my grip on the needle, joints aching. Distracted, perhaps, is the best way to describe my mind, eyes sore and tired, and I think that is why I felt the truth of this evening was muddled in the mire of exhaustion. To this day, I sometimes wonder if I saw it at all, if the vision had been a truth, even though I have every confirmation that it was.

For as the light flickered, I noticed a shadow in the corner of the mirror. It appeared first out of the corner of my eye until I offered it my full focus, my full attention. I waited in stillness for the vision to fade and, when it did not, I became entranced.

I did not yell, I did not gasp. Instead I remained, still, trembling fingers poised on the drawstring of my bloomers as I studied it. It held the shape of a man, tall, and slim, distracted and paying no attention to me. I could only see the outline of his profile as he spoke, quite vigorously, with an unseen conversation partner. Finally, with a flick of his hand, he turned to face me and, in the dim light and the grit of the mirror, I could only just see full lips and a strong jaw before he slipped away through a corridor that did not exist behind me.

I left the bath salon, then, choosing instead to wash the following evening.

#chanyeol x reader #kpoptrashtag #kwriterskollection #noonanet #chanyeol au #chanyeol fanfiction #chanyeol scenario #chanyeol fanfic #exo fanfic #exo au #exo scenario #exo fanfiction #park chanyeol

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flowerconcept-blog · 7 years

Note

Hi! Can I request a thug/gang Jung Taekwoon AU? Thank you 💓

here u go angel!!! hope this is ok!!! i also incorporated @mamamochi‘s req for secret flowers, it is a really small part of this but i hope that’s alright! 🌸💐🌹🌺🌷

gang!leo

taekwoon is the right hand man in the gang, but honestly he’s even more scary than the leader hakyeon. because at least hakyeon smiles……….. taekwoon does not smile. ever. at least not in public

when the gang started out it was really about money because they needed money but once it picked up taekwoon kinda fell into the role and became a lot stonier whereas hakyeon and jaehwan (the other main man) stayed mostly the same

he’s only ever seen wearing black and usually wears a white face mask and has dark circles from not sleeping well everyone (who isn’t vixx) in the gang is petrified of him, it’s been said that once a rival gang member heard the name “jung taekwoon” and that was all it took to get info out of them

hyuk is still sort of scared of him. he pretends that he’s over it but one time taekwoon tapped hyuk’s shoulder and he shrieked

his role in the gang is a lot of planning w/ hakyeon but he’s also really strong and tall and yknow terrifying so he’s been known to interrogate rivals and also sometimes do some physical damage to them

but you don’t know any of this!!! you only know the jung taekwoon who comes into your bakery with his niece and sister once every couple of weeks

because taekwoon may be a big scary gang member but he loves his family and he especially loves his little niece minyul, so he and his sister and niece spend a lot of time together and it just so happens that you run a bakery right by his sister’s apartment and minyul loves it

and he doesn’t talk to you other than ordering their food but you’ve sort of been entranced by this mysterious man since he first came in

because at first….. he looks scary, in his steel toed boots and heavy black wool coat and dark eyes, but when he talks to minyul (you know her and her mom because they’re regulars) his face gets soft and it’s like his whole persona shifts

and you can’t help but think that it would be nice to be on the receiving end of that sweet stare, plus it doesn’t help that he’s so handsome and has such a nice voice and carries himself like a prince

you feel silly, but whenever he comes in your heart picks up a little….. you tell yourself that it’s not like he knows so who cares

but he knows!!! because he has to notice when people are staring at him he can’t miss that sort of thing, it might get him killed

at first taekwoon is pretty sure that you’re a rival spy and are undercover to kill him because why else would you be staring like that??? but when he tells hakyeon about it hakyeon is like, “idk why they must be crazy but it sounds like they think you’re cute”

taekwoon is like: sounds fake but ok

but over time he picks up on things, like you always fumble with the plates when you clean them up from one of the tables and your hair usually has a bit of flour in it and either you’re really good at pretending to be a klutz or you’re actually a klutz, and a klutz would not make a good spy

it’s not like he’s watching u though……. he just…….. has to make sure you aren’t trying to kill him (hakyeon somewhere is laughing at this dummy)

one night you’re walking home from work and you hear footsteps behind you and at first you don’t think anything of it, but it’s been three blocks and the footsteps keep getting closer and you’re starting to get nervous

it happens in a split second but suddenly a hand is around your mouth and pulling you into an alley and at the same time you see taekwoon coming out of an apartment building from across the street(he was visiting his sister) and before the creep who pulled you into the alley could even take a breath ……..

u thought taekwoon was gonna be ur knight in shining armor???? sike, you took self defense classes for a reason!!!!! you bite down hard on the creep’s hand and bash the back of your head into his face as hard as you can

by the time taekwoon arrives the dude is cradling his bloody nose and looks like he’s about to grab you before you can pull pepper spray out of your bag

but then taekwoon steps in and decks him in the face and he literally

knocks him out with one hit???? and you’re like ???????????? before he looks at you and instinctively you’re like “i could’ve taken him”

and taekwoon is looking at you like you’ve grown a second head, here he thought you were just a klutz but it turns out you’re a klutz who can break a man’s nose?????

before he can say something you stumble a little bit and ur like hey should the world be spinning???????????can i sleep here?????

taekwoon’s like……….. no you probably have a concussion

hakyeon had told him he had to go pick up jaehwan but looking at you he knows that there’s no way he’s willing to leave you like this (because you remind him of a drugged puppy or something…. not because he thinks you’re cute and wants to take care of you…….)

so he mumbles “come on” and takes your hand (if you weren’t yknow just concussed you would pull away immediately but as is….. it’s happening) and brings you to where his car is and fastens your seat belt and is like. ok please stay awake i’m taking you to the hospital

but you already look like you’re dozing off so taekwoon has to fr*cking talk to you the whole 20 minute drive to the hospital to keep you awake, and if it was anyone else it would be the worst but your sweet little “mhms” to his stories about minyul make it slightly okay

but he would rather DIE than admit that

so you get to the ER and for some reason he gives the staff a fake name and waits by your bed until the doctor comes and runs some tests and is like “looks like it’s a very minor concussion, your s/o will be fine!!!!” and taekwoon is like … they’re not…… but the doctor has already dipped

he tries to get your address out of you but you’re practically asleep at this point and since the doctor said it was okay for you to sleep taekwoon is like fml guess i’ll take them home

when taekwoon walks into the big fancy apartment he shares with hakyeon with you clinging to his back (you refused to wake up and he had to CARRY you inside) hakyeon’s like …… literally wtf

taekwoon just sighs and puts you on the couch then brings out a blanket for you

because like…….. ur cute but ur not cute enough to get his bed……….

you do this thing …. where he tucks you in and is going to leave but your hand curls into taekwoon’s shirt trying to pull him closer and his heart STOPS and he blushes but he just gently gets you off of him and heads to bed because its like 1am at this point

he explains the deal to hakyeon first tho because otherwise he would get murdered

hakyeon is not amused ™ at first but when you wake up in the morning confused as hell he offers you breakfast

and honestly he finds it sorta cute because he’s never seen taekwoon blush before and it’d probably be good for the guy to date, maybe people will stop thinking he’s a psychopath

anyways when taekwoon wakes up and ur like um thank you so much for everything but also i gotta go home i called an uber he’s like…… give me ur phone

and u do because why not and he puts his number in and is like. text me when you get home and has to resist the urge to kiss you when you stammer and duck your head to hide your blush

it takes taekwoon like a whole month to work up the nerve to ask you on a real date (when it takes him .0001 seconds to get info out of a rival???) but during that month he like….. secretly sends you roses at your work labelled “from your admirer” and texts you every day asking if you’ve eaten and how you’re feeling and you’re practically head over heels by the time he asks you out to dinner

he takes you to a super fancy restaurant and when u see him in his fancy outfit (black blazer black fitted shirt tie black slacks) u……. gape and he’s like “what?????” and ur like “NOTHING”

he kisses you after seeing you to your apartment and you highkey invite him in but he just smirks and goes “next time”

(next time he does take you up on the offer)

there’s a month of honeymoon bliss and taekwoon is literally the perfect boyfriend except he has to leave at weird hours and sometimes he picks up your calls and is extremely cryptic and also what is his job???? and also why had he given a fake name at the hospital?????? and part of you knows something is up but you aren’t about to ask because you’ve fallen in love with him and as long as he isn’t getting hurt that’s okay

until one day he comes to your apartment with a black eye and split lip and you’re like. ok i have ignored weird things so far but That’s Enough What the Hell is Going On

taekwoon’s first instinct is to get angry but he’s also in love with you so he swallows that down and runs a hand through his hair and is like……………………… i’m in a gang…….

a long long long argument/conversation ensues and it ends with both of you tearfully confessing your love and he kisses you so so so softly and keeps murmuring he’s sorry until you finally fall asleep all tangled up in his arms

after you find out your dynamic is much different, you insist that he tells you what he’s doing when he’s able to and that he’s honest with you and you also insist that he does his best to avoid being hurt and to avoid hurting others

when he does come home hurt you kiss his bruises and bandage him up and he softly sings you to sleep so you don’t get upset

he pretty naturally starts to stay over at your place rather than his because you don’t have a roommate and also that way he gets to sleep with you engulfed in his arms

all of his closest friends know you and hakyeon likes to tease taekwoon for the way he goes soft for you but they’re all really grateful because you bring out the kind side of him that they worried was going to disappear

taekwoon in all black and you in a breezy white sundress at the beach: aesthetic

minyul calls you auntie!!! and whenever taekwoon sees the two of you interacting he thinks of raising a child with you and when he tells you that the first time you cry

he doesn’t pda much but he likes to hold your hand to remind himself that you’re there, and in private he always wants to have some contact with you, even if it’s just his hand in your hair, to know that you’re real and haven’t left him

eventually, a couple years after you meet, he leaves the gang and proposes to you and the two of you settle down to start a family and are incredibly domestic and love each other with your whole hearts

#vixx scenarios #vixx imagines #leo scenario #leo scenarios #leo imagines #taekwoon scenarios #jung!taek!woon!#i think im gonna reply to asks w/ the scenario to make things cleaner!!! hope u guys like it #💌

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thethirstynoona · 7 years

Text

Monster - Chapter 13

That damned tie. An item reminiscent of your grandmother’s curtains - taupe with cascades of lavender and gold kaleidoscope patterns - was now wrapped around your neck as you struggled for breath while this shadow of a once-charming man rode you into submission.

Category: Drama | Plot Twist | Angst Word Count: 2,930 Group/Members: EXO | Baekhyun A/N: A brief teaser before the next chapter...which won’t be the last. ;)

Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

Five weeks had passed since you’d last heard from him, from her – from anyone remotely connected to your former lover, Baekhyun. You were sure it was a lost cause, but you decided to dial his number again before Kai woke from his sleep.

“I’m sorry, but the number you dialed is no longer in service. Please –“

A frustrated sigh managed to escape your lips. Had it not been for the summer storm, you would have tossed your phone over the balcony of your getaway suite. Kai had surprised you with a weekend trip to Jeju, and you half-heartedly agreed. This was probably the last weekend you were going to allow him to continue courting you. Nothing against him as a person, but you had really cozied up to him originally because you needed a replacement for Kay – or at least a way to get back in touch with her. Once she obtained a job in Hong Kong you knew she was serious about ending the friendship, which put the reality of the situation in front of you.

You loved Baekhyun – not Kai. You thought back to that day – the one that seemed to go on forever – and wondered where you could have changed things.

(five weeks prior) The interior glow of the coffee shop put a pit in your stomach. Despite its welcoming light, you knew only heartache was there to greet you. With the dark clouds rolling in, you rubbed your shoulders and headed inside. There wasn’t a wait in the order line, and the staff didn’t seem to recognize you either – you felt a wave of relief in that fact, since the morning crew had misjudged you so crassly.

“Hi, I’ll take an–“

“Earl Grey,” a seductive voice finished for you. A meek smile broke your anxious expression when you saw Sehun staring down at you. His gaze gave you confidence that you were going to get the answers you sought.

“Make that three,” Heechul added, poking his head out from behind Sehun. Upon seeing Baekhyun’s elder brother, the knot in your stomach grew tenfold. You were surprised at his silence for the short trip to the table. Heechul seemed the type to be rather gabby. The stillness between you and the Byun brothers continued until it was broken by the barista bringing the three teas to the table.

“Thank you, miss,” Sehun politely thanked the young girl before redirecting his attention to you, “So, where would you like us to begin?”

You slumped back into your chair and wondered the best way to proceed. Heechul’s formerly animated and friendly eyes had turned sinister and brooding, which made you wonder what secrets he was dying to divulge. The shift in his energy made you uncomfortable, and you regretted inviting him to the meeting.

“Tell me about Baekhyun as a child,” you finally decided, watching closely the reactions of each brother. Heechul seemed perplexed, while Sehun remained stoic.

“Why do you want to know that?” Heechul inquired, attempting to read your next move like a precocious game of chess.

“I want to know if Baekhyun was just as goofy then as he can be now; if he acted super cute or if he was introverted and shy – I just want to know really if his personality changed at all,” you rationalized, truly hoping some light would be shed on this alternate persona he’d manifested.

“Baekhyun has always been Baekhyun, if that’s what you’re asking. He’s always been a little awkward and cheesy, but to answer your question, Baekhyun has been the same person from childhood until now,” Sehun answered before Heechul could say anything. That didn’t manage to stop him from adding a comment of his own.

“Well of course he’s still the same – we all are. I’m surprised he didn’t change when he saw our dear mother fucking the family chef. Hm, then again, maybe he did…” Heechul trailed off, goading you to respond with the questions he wanted. As curious as the comment made you, he would have to bait you with more than that to get you to bite.

“Good to know,” you firmly stated, moving away from the mother issue, “How old was he when he started dating?” Heechul looked quite perturbed, since you weren’t playing his game, and Sehun’s poker face broke only slightly as he smirked at his older brother.

“Baekhyun was a late bloomer, despite his charming nature. It wasn’t until he got into college and started hanging around Chanyeol that he began his experimentation with women,” Sehun informed, raising an eyebrow when your face winced at the sound of Chanyeol’s name.

“Oh I heard all about you and Chanyeol,” Heechul dug, hoping then he could finally rile you. “In fact, everyone in the family has!” He chuckled to himself and took a sip of his tea. You tried your hardest not to react, but with the offensive way your eyes rolled at him, Heechul knew he was getting to you.

“Aside from…Taeyeon, had Baekhyun ever loved any of the women he dated?” you continued, stumbling over your adversary’s name. Both gentlemen noticed the anguish in your body language the moment her name escaped your lips.

“Yes,” they simultaneously responded, though each seemed surprised at the other’s answer. Sehun paused, allowing his hyung to explain his answer first.

“Her name is Hayeon. She’s Tae—“

“How do you know about Hayeon?!” Sehun interrupted, shouting loud enough for the entire coffeehouse to hear. He instantly stood and apologized for his eruption, sat down, and cleared his throat before continuing. “Hyung, how long have you known about Hayeon?”

“Who’s Hayeon?” you quietly asked, intrigued to know the other woman whom Baekhyun loved.

“Well that’s a complicated question to answer. You know Hayeon, too…though you probably know her better as Taeyeon,” Heechul said with a disturbing grin. “Taeyeon and Hayeon are twin sisters – well, they were.”

“Were?” you gulped, unable to avoid Heechul’s game any longer.

“Taeyeon started dating Baekhyun right as he graduated college. The two fell head over heels for each other, but little did he know that Hayeon had fallen for him years before – he just never noticed her. Jealousy can be real monster, and Taeyeon was not immune to the depravity of her twin. Hayeon has been masquerading as Taeyeon for years, warping the mind of your beloved Baekhyun.”

“What happened to the real Taeyeon?”

“No one knows for certain, but rumor has it Hayeon murdered her own sister in cold blood,” he said before pausing. Heechul scoffed and continued, “And to think, you’re trying to go toe-to-toe with her! What a farce!” Sehun had his face in his hands as he listened to his elder brother unveil the mystery behind one of the two evils in your life – which turned out to be just one person pulling the strings.

“Does Baekhyun know?” you pondered, praying that he was just as much a victim.

“He doesn’t,” Sehun quickly interjected, “Y/N, what happened today? I need to know.”

“So many things…Baekhyun…Taeyeon…” you muttered as you tried to remember the day’s events. You had finished another round of torture from Baekhyun in the morning, lost your best friend by lunchtime, trudged through the mystifying afternoon tea adventure with Taeyeon, and fooled around with your ex-best friend’s brother. Thinking back, you were just as mad as Taeyeon – or rather, Hayeon – and Baekhyun. How were you even still coherent after a day like that?

“Y/N? It’s important – for your own safety – did Hayeon say anything about Jeju?” Sehun repeated his queue, waving his hand in front of your face to snap you back to reality.

“Jeju?” you instinctually responded. After a moment, you remembered what they’d mentioned at Suho’s birthday – Baekhyun had supposedly killed Taeyeon in Jeju. Her odd behavior when reliving the experience finally made sense – that was when he ‘snapped’. “No…she said she made him a monster and said she was trying to save me from him.”

You had the information you needed, despite learning a dark, tragic secret about Baekhyun’s past. Your aim was to save him – the man you loved – from the vile manipulation of the woman he believed he had once loved. If she had contacted you, you were sure she was already working her way back into Baekhyun’s heart.

“Did she say what she was planning to do?” Sehun pressed, his indifference a distant memory. It was clear he cared deeply for his brother, though why he hadn’t told Baekhyun the truth was still unknown. You needed to find a way to end the conversation and get to Baekhyun’s side.

“No, I left before she could say anything. I’m sure she’ll contact me again, and when she does I’ll let you know,” you hurriedly said as you got up from the table.

“Before you go,” Heechul spoke just before you could turn to leave, “They’re engaged. Baekhyun and Taeyeon – oh excuse me, Hayeon. I’d be careful in what you do.”

It was almost as though Heechul had read your mind – your plan fluttered away as the tears welled up in your eyes. Anxiously pulling at your sleeves to cover your hands, you brought them up to your face to hide your dejection. You fought with all your might to detain the sounds of agony from your unstoppable sobs. You didn’t want to believe that Baekhyun would simply run back to the imposter woman, but if he’d given her the power to warp his very being, it didn’t seem a far cry from the truth.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. We should have told you,” Sehun apologized, clutching your shoulder for support. Abandoning all need to be around the affluent family, you pulled out your phone and called an Uber. Without a word, you removed yourself from their presence and waited for the cab under the awning of the building outside. Not a minute before your ride arrived, Kai texted you.

Kai: “Just checking in. Everything okay?”

The black car pulled up and motioned for you to get in. Upon entering the vehicle, your change in plans finally found an alternate route.

You: “What’s your address?”

Kai sent you his location immediately and without hesitation, you headed to his place.

Thinking about that night made your heart swell with all sorts of emotions. The last month had been free of any discourse, and your life had seemed to heal and get back to normal. The last text from Baekhyun haunted your dreams like a plague, and the longer you went without contact, the worse you began to feel.

Unknown: “I’m sorry. For everything.”

You wondered if Baekhyun was happy. They say ignorance is bliss, and with the amount of secrecy in his family, you wondered if that statement held any truth. Leaving the hotel room, you wandered the resort and couldn’t help but think about his relationship with Taeyeon and Hayeon – how was he unable to tell the difference between them? How did a sweet relationship turn into a poisonous one? What happened between them on this island? Consumed with the thoughts of the cryptic nature of their relationship, you didn’t realize you’d meandered directly into a private party.

“Excuse me, young miss but this is an exclusive event for invitees only,” a boisterous woman crudely stated, ushering you out of the room with a gesture of her hand.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I was lost in thought, my apologies,” you contritely replied, backing out of the conservatory. Once you looked up, you noticed a substantial amount of prestigious-looking women, all of whom began whispering at the sight of your face. Slowly backing out of the room, you made eye contact with the one who excused you, feeling an odd familiarity. When you made it to the door, you darted away from the judgmental glances.

“Wait!” the same voice called to you. The pristine woman had followed you out the door and stopped you in the garden, eyeing you up and down in a curious manner. “Is your name ‘Y/N’?”

“Y-yes…” you meekly replied, wondering just who she was and how she knew you.

“You dated my Baekhyun and broke his heart,” she curtly said, staring you down with a stern vengeance.

“W-what? What are you talking about?” you blindsidedly refuted as you began to question your consciousness. Of all places to be, it didn’t seem possible to run into Baekhyun’s mother while on vacation with another man. You had to be dreaming.

“My dear Baekhyun has been wallowing in a spiral of bourbon and whores since you left him – ignoring his calls like the evil wench you are,” she disparaged, spitting venom at you like a viper.

“I didn’t break his heart – he stopped communication with me! He blocked me!” you brashly defended, whipping out your phone to show your innocence.

“A likely story – my son was better off when he was betrothed to Taeyeon. At least then he wouldn’t have muddied the bloodline with some poor beggar girl!” she callously rebuked, swatting your phone out of your hand. The mention of Taeyeon’s name brought back the sour memories of that fateful day once more. You were done taking abuse from the women of high society.

“Is that all you care about? Reputation and image? Baekhyun was right about you – it’s not like you ever loved him. You’re just out to make yourself look good to societal standards,” you begrudged, grabbing your phone and readying yourself to walk away from this pitiful excuse for a mother. Before you could move an inch, she cornered you against the hedges, leering over you like a cobra ready to strike.

“A mother always loves her child, regardless of how they feel about her. I’m not the best mother, I’ll admit, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that you have shattered Baekhyun’s heart,” she reproached.

“Like I said, he stopped talking to me – he blocked me!” you yelled back, pushing her away from you. You unlocked your phone and dialed Baekhyun’s number, putting it on speaker. The same auto-attendant voice sounded from the device. “See? So unless my phone is broken, then it’s all on him.”

“It has to be your phone,” she bluntly said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and grabbing it from your clutches. Pulling out her own device, she dialed a number and stared at yours waiting for a ring – nothing. “Hm. Just as I thought.”

“Wait, what are you talking about? What did you just do?” you stuttered as she tossed the phone back to you.

“Is this not your phone number?” she instigated, holding the screen to your face. Your number as you knew it was there in black and white. Without hesitating, you grabbed her phone and dialed it again…and again…and again, only to hear the same auto-attendant like you’d heard for months when calling Baekhyun. It didn’t make sense – how did your phone number not work?

Baekhyun’s mother’s phone rang with a loud tone, startling you. It was a number you didn’t recognize, and as you looked up to hand her the phone, you saw her holding yours to her ear, looking at you with a condemnatory expression. Pieces were starting to come together – your phone number was no longer what you had thought. Upon seeing your epiphany, Baekhyun’s mother hung up the phone.

“You should really look after your things – especially if you plan to be a part of Baekhyun’s world. Someone changed your phone number without your knowledge, and I’d start the list of suspects with the people who call you,” she monotonously explained, handing you back your phone and taking hers in the process. “This wasn’t the best first impression, Y/N, but I expect you’ll make up for it the next time we meet!”

Within seconds, Baekhyun’s mother had disappeared back into the conservatory. You wracked your brain for who could have possibly been the culprit – your phone never left your side. Months had passed since you’d had any contact with Taeyeon/Hayeon or Baekhyun – you’d really only spent time with…

Kai. Thinking back to the night you first slept with him, your phone had died just after reading Baekhyun’s final text. Kai only had his laptop available with a USB cord to charge your phone. You didn’t want to think Kai was capable of doing something like that; he was too pure – he was Kay’s little brother. The thought of Kai damaging your relationship with Kay filled your head, and your survival instincts began to kick into gear. You had to get off the island – alone.

“There you are!” Kai’s cheerful voice sounded from behind you. His tenor sent chills up your spine, but you knew you had to act normal if you were to find a way back to Baekhyun.

“Hey babe, I’m sorry! I got distracted by the rain and didn’t want to wake you, so I decided to take a walk,” you lied, grinning ear-to-ear as you beamed up at him. His smile matched yours and offered brunch at your resort, to which you agreed. Upon reaching the restaurant, your phone buzzed in your back pocket – a sensation you hadn’t felt in too long.

“Grab us a table, I need to use the restroom real quick!” you falsely said as you excused yourself to the nearby ladies room. Running into the stall, locking it, and pulling out your phone to read the new message happened in one fluid movement. Seeing the words laid out on your screen, you had never been so happy to have run into such an impolite woman as Baekhyun’s mother.

BaeBae: “Jaaaaagiiiii…I found you. ;)”

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