#but combined with the other three its almost even more stereotypical

[shitpostingkats]

As someone who works with dogs, I feel compelled to tell you that Kristen’s comment of “What are you, four dogs?” upon hearing Kipperlily Copperkettle’s name is SO REAL.

#I’ve been making linguistics trees because every dog name is just SO SIMILAR #Lily is an offshoot of the ‘consonant-vowel-consonant-ee’ structure #while both Kipper and Copper while not actually being the names of dogs I’ve worked with. #follows the pattern of ‘consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant’ #kettle would actually be a unique name for a dog due to its unusual structure and non-traditionalism #but combined with the other three its almost even more stereotypical #the AMOUNT of dog families that have a few basic names and one ‘quirky’ name #the ‘a white family’s herd of yorkies’ is just. so real. #dimesnion 20 #d20 #dimension 20 fantasy high #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #d20 fhjy #dimension 20 fhjy #fhjy spoilers #kristen applebees

[driftwood-fireflies]

any billy hcs?

OKAY I'm finly tackling this. lightning round.

I know that the general fandom perception of billy (in a few different circles anyway) is that he's trans, and I DO understand this. however it's not my personal headcanon. if you want to know why it's simply because the idea of him being a chaser is like insanely funny to me so. stu is trans and billy is weird about it. this is my dynamic.

as for sexuality, I've described this to people before, but to me he's bisexual on a technicality. what's that technicality? he REALLY thinks he likes women. like he's convinced himself he does. (he does not.) so like, if anything, he'd consider himself bisexual and so I call him bisexual. but. he's gay. dykwim.

anyway yes billy is a bi chaser and he is down horrible for stu though he can't really show it. I don't know if I even brought this up in my stu headcanons post but I do think they are BOTH autistic and bpd so they're really failmaxxing as a romantic duo

billyboy loomis is the undisputed mommy issues king, I think him and his mom were very close when he was a kid, like almost to the point where she was smothering him, but he loved her and became codependent with her. I think that's a theme for billy - codependency. he grew to be that way with his mom, and since I personally believe that him and stu have been friends since childhood, he also grew a little fascination with him at around the same time. he's always been Weird about stu in a myriad of ways, but the moment his mom abandoned him it was almost guaranteed that his closeness with him would turn into its own codependency. and it did.

I think his family has moved around a lot, only settling in woodsboro when he was maybe eleven or so. that's when he met stu.

I think they were both independently weird freaks of their own nature, as in, billy has always had his horror movie and psychology fascinations, but stu really amped up the crazy for him. like many people, I hc that stu is a big hunter and likely showed billy how to hunt and gut animals, and I even think he introduced him to the more gorey, less plot-centric horror movies that he loves. I also think the buck that they share was stu's initially, who then gave it to billy sometime after his mom left.

as for current day (read: 1996) stuff. a lot of people tend to stereotype stu as The horny one in their dynamic, but idk. they're both teenage boys and if anything, billy was the one trying the hardest to get laid in the movie lmfao. (I know there was an actual reason behind it but I do also think he just wanted to fuck lol) I think they're both raging horndogs and they rile each other up all the time.

we never see anyone but randy with an actual job, but I think billy's done some under the table type work around town. he strikes me as a guy who'd do good at a mechanic shop, or something. nothing too serious, just whenever he needed some pocket change he couldn't swipe from his dad.

as for horror movies... oh man.

billy is a real pretentious guy. he likes horror, he likes thrillers, but he's not as much of a gorehound as stu. that's not to say he doesn't like it - but it usually only interests him when it's the real deal. in terms of movies, he's actually your pretty generic film bro type, in that I think his top three are psycho, silence of the lambs, and the original house of wax. were he alive today, he'd be BIG into the 'elevated horror' genre, I think. think jordan peele and ari aster. overall he's a real snob about it, he can only get into a horror movie if the killer is someone he can idolize and get into the mind of. he's not a fan of monster movies, thinks it's scarier when the monster is just a regular guy. psychological horror is right up his alley, and I think he'd also love candyman for the way it combines artful and intriguing psychology into a more typically 'slasher' narrative.

I could talk about how billy watches horror movies forever but I'll move onto music so this post doesn't become a novel. I think he's big into rock, pretty similar to stu's taste in that regard. I think he'd really love green day, for sure. I also think he'd like the cure and REM, maybe soundgarden, too. he's really into anything moody or brooding in some way. besides rock though, I also think he enjoys older, more classical stuff. I could see him buying a film score cd and listening to it to sleep, or something.

SO. YEAH those are some of my billy hcs.. like I said w stu I have like a million thoughts about both of them that I couldn't possibly include in a single post so if you have any specific questions about stuff I didn't cover .. lmk ^_^

#i am so normal . #asks #headcanon asks #scream #scream movie #scream 1996 #billy loomis

[lazulian-devil]

Are y'all ready for Book 3? No? Well, I dont care, do I now. You're already reading, its too late for you to leave now.

The Villains of Skulduggery Pleasant 3 - Batu

We arrive in the third book, The Faceless Ones, which seamlessly incorporates the consequences of everyones actions into even worse mayhem.

Following Vengous almost succesful attempt at opening the rift, a mysterious man named Batu (who is also the guy dealing with Sanguine at the end of Book 2 being all ominous) is behind the kidnapping (and murder, lest I forget) of all remaining Teleporters. Because he needs someone to teleport something through a portal in a different dimension.

(Tangent: Im sure Shunters didnt exist yet in Book 3. I feel like this should have been a Shunter thing and I can neither remember nor bother to find proof why the Anchor needs a Teleporter instead of a Shunter. In Book 8, Crayfon Signate quite literally does something similar with the Sceptre of the Ancients, looking for a Signature and then finding the correct dimension. Im pretty sure its about it all being a gateway instead of a direct transferal. If anyone knows, do tell.)

Alright, so. We have Batu/Paddy as our main villain and he is a brilliant and excellent one. But lets get the honorable mentions out of the way, so no villains feel ignored.

Our boy Billy-Ray Sanguine is of course part of Batus Squad, but so are the remains of the the Diablerie with Jaron Gallow, Murder Rose and Gruesome Krav. I honestly admit that I feel they are caricatures and the screentime they have is sufficient not to make them boring. They all die in the end anyways and its a shame that it reflects in the way they are so very one note and almost ridiculously "evil". On top of that, we also have a Seahag (in a lake. With corpses. I do love how dumb that is). Then theres Scapegrace and the second buildup for Thurid Guild.

I will be honest with you: Batu is an exceptional villain in terms of motivation, speech and arc. His surrounding villains are sadly one note caricatures, besides those that get to live into the next book (mainly Guild, Scapegrace and Sanguine). The others are often played for jokes or just to make a point on how cruel, wicked and horrendous the Diablerie and the worshippers of the Faceless Ones truly are. Which, yeah. Thats fair. But I always love myself some three dimensional side characters, so let me be a little sad.

Now, lets think about why Batu actually works:

Hes mortal. Evil, yes. But mortal. But he could have been magic. Technically, its his birthright.

And thats all, really. Its man grasping for something he could have never had and that he could have never been gifted. Its another case of fanaticism. Fruitless, sad and deadly.

Now, the SPU has a long history of ignoring of belittling mortals in the way that they are and who they are. This becomes more apparent in later books (the xenophobia/eugenics in Phase 2 for example) but its also pretty evident here:

Batu uses his mortality, his frailness and his visual weakness as a shield. If, for example, Batu was young and fit, it wouldnt quite work the same way. His age and behaviour is a smokescreen.

Funnily enough, he even points it out in his first interaction with Skulduggery and Valkyrie:

"Reach a certain age and suddenly, you're a nobody, suddenly you're not even worth counting." - Book 3, Chapter 13

That combined with his somewhat senile mannerisms, the whole old-man schtick is so very stereotypical. Because of course it is. Both readers and heroes alike are blinded by how much of a an old man™ Paddy really is.

Contrast this with Batus first appearance in Chapter 7 and 14. The way he speaks ist fundamentally different.

"You failed me, Mr Sanguine. I paid you to do a job and you failed me. [...] You will have a chance to redeem yourself."

Paddy doesnt hold power in conversation, hes a silly little man. Its on purpose, of course. Authenticity breeds trust and everyone can relate to an old cynical man, stuck in his ways. Batu on the other hand commands a room. Speaks with a high tongue, with precision. Short and accurate, no breath wasted. Naturally.

When you read the books and you are aware of the twist, there are a lot of things, behaviours and sentences that could make you raise an eyebrow. But our heroes dont have the time to question anything, so they dont. They willingly accept that this man owns the land with the rift, that he doesnt panic at the explanation of magic, that his questions are a little suspicious. Because then they would need to stop. And neither Skulduggery nor Valkyrie do such a thing. They are cocksure of themselves, remember? And Batu knows. Batu even bets on that, as all sorcerers he has met have been equally cocksure. And all his henchmen are too. He's playing all of them, simply because he knows how they work. He has weaseled his way into their homes, has fed their cats (s. Chapter 36), has seen their arrogance and sadly his cynicism proves right at every turn. He really is invisible to them. A mortal obstacle, to be dealt with to safe the world. Always the roadstop, never the destination.

In Chapter 20, Paddys reaction to magic is a smile, not fear. He knows magic exists. It entices him. The shock he displays is - of course - an act, but a very believable one. Sure, yeah, the old man doesnt mind anymore. Hes too old, he has seen too much. Magic might as well exist to him. And he was horribly stubborn this whole time, so it makes sense that he would have an equally spiteful response to magic.

We even come full circle: Paddy asks Valkyrie if she despises mortals for what they are.

"Someone who can run fast dismisses the people slower than he is. What if its someone who can run really fast? Then the slower people become little more than an annoyance, and then an irritation. Superiority breeds contempt." - Book 3, Chapter 20

(Quick sidenote: Its like he wants to be caught when you start looking for it? He himself is the one who runs fast. He himself sees the others as annoyance, as irritation. What a beautifully wretched thing to say.)

Essentially, Paddy is justifying himself here, but, again, reader and heroes are caught up in this very relevant question that plagues Valkyrie: Being detached from Humanity, from Family. Once again, Batu is using his understanding of the magical world against them. He is one step ahead. He recognises Valkyries youth and asks her specifically. Not Skulduggery, who would dismiss it. Her. Even further, he points out the massive flaws in the systems to her, as one of the first in the whole bookseries:

"So magic people view themselves as mages and everyone else as mortals. And that doesnt sound like a group of people elevating themselves to godhood to you?" [...] "... They have the power of gods, dont they? They have magic at their fingertips. Their affairs affect the world. [...] You hold the fate of the world in your hands. If thats not godlike, I dont know what is."

Now the avid reader might have noticed that once Paddy speaks about sorcerers and magic users, his whole old man™ act falls away. His speech becomes more like Batus, because he is Batu in this moment. He isnt acting here.

And why does no one recognise it? Because its a justified question. Again and again, Batus line of logic proves true: All sorcerers are playing god to an extend. A theme that will be picked up far more heavily between Book 7-9 and the entirety of Phase 2. So, as readers, its enticing to see someone challenge the presented Status Quo and as Valkyrie, this direct confrontation helps settle her own views as a growing Teenager into this magical world of god-pretenders. Batu fulfills both the role of a mentor and a villain, pointing out the straw that will break the camels back again and again and again in the following books.

He himself fights like a mortal: There are no fancy gadgets in the big fight. There are machine guns and grenades, painfully mortal weapons. Painful is literal in this sense. Batu chooses reliable weapons of war and not unpredictable gods. At least, in the beginning. There are also the Hollow Men, a whole artifical army of them. Which, broken down, is hilarious. The sorcerers, capable of destructive magic and definitely murder, are using the mortal weapons against the heroes. The army that is there to support them is one of magical stupidity, literal child friendly canon fodder. His army of magic men is one without mind, without question. And his Diablerie, despite actually having a brain, never question him either. They're all hollow men, one way or another. Some of them by power of creation and some of them simply because they are blinded by their own fanaticism, blinded by Batu and the true fight. So, he doesnt fight like a mortal at all. He fights like a mortal that knows the sorcerers. Using the best of both worlds, the most potent startegies each side has to offer. Additionally, there is also the implication of him commanding a massive army without even being there, which does underline his godlike aspirations as well.

Finally, when its revealed that he is indeed Batu, he declares himself "not a mindless drone" and "someone with a vision" (Chapter 36). But what is the root of all his evil?

"Magic." He said. "My father was a sorcerer. So was my brother. But not me. I just didnt have the spark, you know? But now, its finally my turn."

Batu feels robbed of godhood. And that is precisely why he is summoning gods to overtake the world. If he cant reach for divinity, everyone else who can needs to suffer for it.

[Val] "You're going to let a Faceless One take you over."

[Batu] "And then I'll be brimming with magic that ordinary sorcerers would never even dream about. They're not gods, Valkyrie. They're as pathetic as the people you left behind in your old life. But me? I'll be a true god."

But that isnt everything. Despite how much his mortality annoys him, he sees it as the one defining strength that seperates him from sorcerers. His mortality makes him powerful.

[...] "I was born without magic. Ive had to be strong. My will is iron. Im not going to be simply erased - not like the others."

His mortality makes him so powerful that he will rise above the mortals, above the godlike sorcerers and be able to Neon Genesis Evangelion Pilot his way through the world as a Faceless Ones vessel.

So now everyone can agree that Batu is another insane man in a series of insane villains, right? I dont need to spell that out. But before I go and give you a nice little ribbonbow for the ending, lets look at Batus death and how its described.

"Batu turned, spread his arms and raised his eyes to his god, and as it rushed to fill him, he screamed with terror and exultation. And then Batu was gone." - Chapter 42

The Faceless One described here is the one that is responsible for all the mayhem at the end of the book. Its by far the strongest from the bunch. So maybe some part of Batus willpower speech is true. But the written text makes it very clear that this is not the case. Batu is an excellent vessel for the strongest Faceless One. But nothing more than that.

Which is horribly ironic. The man that gained the trust of dozens of sorcerers, has perfected being a non-threat to anyone but believes himself to be worthy of the power of a literal god vanishes instantly. Just like everyone else.

But I love Batu as a villain. Waving all the weirdness aside. He is compelling because in the few moments that he is actually authentic, he is terrifying.

Not to mention he actually achieved what The Diablerie and Baron Vengous couldnt. He manipulated Skulduggery into revealing where the gate was. He used the ressources of the enemy to his own gain. The saddest thing about Batu is, that if he had put his mind to anything but godhood, he would have ascended anyway. He has all the ressources: smarts, wit, the ability to plan longterm, not to mention charisma and leadership skills.

He would have made a magnificent sorcerer. And thats just... incredibly compelling. Batu isnt strong with magic. He doesnt throw flames around, he isnt a walking skeleton. He is a cynical, old man that despises the hand he has been dealt and instead of accepting what is, he cuts from the world the pieces he thinks he deserves. And in this incredible determination blossoms a man that could have been anything. That had the skills, the mind, the speech to become something wonderful, something progressive, a change bringer.

Instead of recognising the talents he possesed, he focused merely on what he didnt have. Turned to evil, to spite. To bitterness and cynicism. He almost became the downfall of the entire world in his quest to prove that he was, indeed, as godlike as the rest of them.

9/10. Go Paddy.

Wanna read more of my breakdowns?

Here is Part 1: Nefarian Serpine and Part 2: Baron Vengous for you!

#skulduggery pleasant #skulduggery pleasant analysis #sp villains #character analysis #literary analysis

[rhineposting]

POSSIBLY TRIGGERING CONTENT AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

THE SCENARIO DISCUSSED IS IN RELATION TO A CANON DIVERGENT INTERPRETATION OF A CHARACTER.

THE DISCUSSED AND DESCRIBED THEMES AND HEADCANONS APPLY ONLY TO THIS PARTICULAR VERSION OF THE CHARACTER, AND NOT THE CANON AND OFFICIAL VERSION OF THE CHARACTER THAT IS DEPICTED IN MY OTHER, LIGHTER WORKS.

I DO NOT CONDONE BEHAVIOURS DESCRIBED IN THE FOLLOWING WORK. THE WORK'S MAIN PURPOSE IS FIRST AND FOREMOST A STUDY OF TWO CHARACTERS' MINDSET FOLLOWING TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES.

It had been two months since the Day of Unity, and they hadn’t made any progress in unstucking themselves from the Human Realm and, in turn, Camila’s home - which was pretty obvious, considering they were technically illegal immigrants with no papers or anything. Interdimensional immigrants, but immigrants nonetheless, and according to Luz, those weren’t taken so kindly. Which was… absurd, frankly. Their world was much vaster than the Boiling Isles, with so many more places to see and be in, and yet, for some reason, people just insisted on banning each other from doing that. And the worst part? Well, it was that apparently, that  wasn’t even the worst part of living in the Human Realm . They didn’t dare ask what actually was, though. They'd seen and heard enough.

However, they couldn’t deny that some things were objectively better in the Human Realm - like the houses. Doorbells didn’t eat people alive and no one had a house demon. No one had a Hooty. Who… they kinda missed. But, most importantly, they had so many more options in terms of entertainment! Circuses with actual safety measures, or cinemas - basically crystal balls but bigger and with better sound and even special, cinema-exclusive snacks! Malls, too - like city markets, but stuck in buildings with nice smelling air and brain-numbing white lights, along with fancy water fountains and exotic plants strewn here and there, like in a garden. A very strange, synthetic and shiny garden.

Most most importantly, though, they had… the internet, which was basically all of those things combined. It was available on everyone’s devices, and was even out there for free, sometimes, in some places outside. And there was everything on it.

Everything.

Gus had almost died of overdosing on arcane knowledge, in fact, but that was a tale for another time. 

‘She likes girls? So you’re saying I actually have a chance?’

Despite its dangers, it still held many good things - one of them being Net-flickers, or however that went. Luz didn’t agree on it being that good, but at that very moment, Hunter had no choice but to disagree.

It was raining outside, and while the others were sleeping through it, he and Luz had decided to hook her laptop to the TV to watch some old movie. So, here they were, huddled under a blanket on opposite ends of the couch, their eyes transfixed on the pale screen, blank as they simply and silently took in everything happening on it.

‘Dude, Mrs. Ember has a wife and three kids,’ a fake teenager on the screen snorted. ‘What are you even thinkinggggg?’

‘Dude, come onnnnnnnnnnnn!'

The fake teenagers laughed some more as they patted each other on the back before skateboarding off to the mall, where they would inevitably bump into some stereotypical bullies. Though that was for later. At that very moment, Luz quietly laughed too, which  was nice. She didn’t smile very often anymore. Most of the time, when she wasn’t sulking, she just… stared at nothing. Almost as if she wasn't there in the present with them.

“... Hey, Luz?” Hunter suddenly found himself interrupting their comfortable silence, and the girl's head turned to face him. “... Can I ask you something real quick?”

“Of course,” she replied, resting her chin on her palm. “Hit me.”

… Hunter wasn’t sure why on Earth she thought he'd want to hit her, but he guessed that was a yes.

Despite being given the green light, though, he still found himself at a loss for words - opening his mouth only to close it again. Moving his hand in some vague and meaningless gesture before pulling it back to himself. Turning to Luz with furrowed brows, only to immediately look away and down at his hands. The longer this went on, the more puzzled Luz appeared. Even though he'd literally seen her doing the same whenever she happened to dance around a question.

Fortunately for the both of them, he eventually sighed and went with it - after all, what was the worst she could say?

“... So, uh…” he stammered, avoiding her gaze as he fiddled with the edge of his blanket, “... is it like… normal… for people our age to… um, like adults…?”

Much to his surprise, instead of immediately electrocuting him for even asking that, she… laughed. 

Again.

“Pfff, of course, dummy. Everyone had a crush on an adult as a kid, it’s like. A rite of passage.”

“... Wait, really?”

“Well, duh!” Luz nodded, now fully smiling. Was she actually happy to be having this talk with him, or was she ridiculing him? Titan help him, he had no idea. “Trust me, I've been there - I had crushes on allllll the teachers that were even slightly nice to me. Like… my PE teacher, my art teacher in fourth grade, that one music teacher I had for three months before she moved, my english teacher…”

The longer she went on, the more bewildered Hunter appeared.

“And… okay, but you gotta keep this between us.” Even more so after she suddenly scooted towards him, cupping a hand next to her mouth as she looked around, as if she were about to confess to a murder. And was she? Wait no, they weren’t even talking about death, dying or killing. “Can you promise me to never, ever tell anyone? If you do, I’m killing you, myself, AND I'm burying us in one grave!”

His face turned one shade paler as he nodded, uncertain whether she was being serious or not under that weird, half-embarrassed smirk. Did he have any other choice than to agree, though?

At least it made Luz happy.

“Alright, so…” the girl lowered her voice to a murmur, still keeping her hand hovering in mid-air, throwing suspicious looks at the empty living room, “I… used to have a small, very teeny tiny crush on Eda when I first came to the Boiling Isles. But that was before I, y’know, got closer to her and before she… kinda became my second mom.”

There it was again : a glimpse of that searingly dull pain that seemed to always persist behind her eyes, where she kept it hidden, all to herself. Though, before Hunter could even think of saying anything, she continued talking, as she was certainly well aware of the opening she'd just left. She needed a distraction. Quickly.

“I mean, she has it all! The glorious hair, the fashion and all that coolness she puts into everything she does. Y’know? Even Willow saw all that! Willow! That surely means something, no?”

… As odd as it was to imagine someone like Willow yearning for the constantly-on-fire hairball in high heels that was Eda, he was… relieved to hear it. Enough so that he sighed and went back to resting against the couch, since, for the last five minutes, he'd been hunched over. For some reason.

“Whew, haha, good to know.” He smiled at Luz, who in turn smiled even wider. “Thanks, Luz. I knew you’d be the right person to ask.”

Yeah.

But before he could savor the peace and relief, he was proven wrong as her smile suddenly turned into a devilish, mischievous grin.

“Buuut, my wisdom does come at a price! And now you gotta pay! With YOUR wisdom!”

The smile on Hunter’s face fell. He looked away.

Then, just like a little kid about to be told a fairytale, she turned her whole body towards him and crossed her legs, her hands now holding both her cheeks as she stared at him expectantly :

“Who was your adult crush, huh? You wouldn’t ask if you didn't have one! Come on, spill it!”

“... Hunter?”

He wouldn’t look at her anymore.

“... Hunter, who was it?”

Precisely because of that, she still chose to listen to him as he finally came up with something more to say.

There was no answer from Hunter, and that alone was enough of an answer to Luz - now deeply disturbed, her eyebrows furrowed and almost at a loss for words.

Almost.

“...Hunter that’s…That’s not right,” she eventually spoke - her voice cracking, “That kind of crush is not right, okay or anything of the sort!”

She couldn’t see his face anymore, but she still saw his ears twitch downwards. Enough of an indicator of the slowly creeping in shame.

“...Didn’t you just say you used to think that way about Eda?”

“W-Well, yes! But that was a long time ago, I was still dumb and-” the girl found herself stammering over her words, struggling to not sound like a hypocrite, even though she knew it was not the same. “And she’s not actually my mom, we’re not related or anything, y’know?”

Yet, none of those words seemed to convince Hunter, as he still sat with his knees held to himself, fully turned away. Had they known each other any shorter, and Luz would think he was being difficult on purpose, but both to her fortune and misfortune, she could tell from a mile away when the boy was not with them anymore - instead back between white gold banners, kneeling below a mold-green giant heart and a pair of unforgiving blue eyes hiding behind brass. This too, was one of those situations.

“...You said you liked Eda because she’s cool, among other things,” he murmured, nearly burying his nose between his knees by then. “...For me, it was how…He was nice to me when I did good, unlike everyone else. They’d treat my every success as something obvious. Like…”

He interrupted himself with a huff, rubbing at the back of his neck - once again struggling to find the right words, the right comparison that would make Luz understand - while she simply waited. Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do right now, even though a part of her wanted to tell Hunter to stop talking and reminding her of just how horrible his life was. It was too much, being constantly reminded that one of her best friends never got the same opportunities she and her other friends had, and that there was nothing she could do to fix it, besides carrying the burden of knowing and offering advice - which she wasn’t even remotely equipped to give. As much as she loathed to think about it, a part of her somewhat resented him for putting her in this position. It was an awful, selfish thing to feel.

“...Humans don’t reward their devices for finding things they need on the Internet, right?”

To that, Luz nodded. Already understanding where he was going with this.

“...But they do get mad when they don’t. They lash out and yell,” he continued. “That’s how it was with the Covenheads or senior Scouts.”

For a moment, Luz wondered if Raine or Darius were included in that statement, and she didn’t really want to know. Especially in the bard’s case.

Hunter sighed again, now rubbing at his scarred cheek.

“...He did too, but,” he added, Luz’s thoughts momentarily going back to the dusty hall of gold framed memories, color briefly fading from her face as she recalled some of them. To this day, she was glad they didn’t see all of it. “He’d smile at me. He’d tell me he was satisfied with my work, and that he hoped he wouldn’t have to replace me anytime soon.”

He paused again, but this time to let out a bitter, pained chuckle.

“...I mean, now I know he was lying about all of those things, but back then…Hearing that was the best thing in the world.”

Oh no. Please no. Please don’t tell me it’s not what I think it is, please. I can’t deal with this alone. Why do I have to deal with this at all? I’m his friend, not a therapist! I don’t even know how to help! Please, stay quiet! Just- Just don’t say anything-

Just as Luz started to think her heart couldn’t break any more for him, she was proven wrong once again. Of course he wouldn’t have a crush on a teacher or anything like what she had. It was just like how her mother told her - if a dog is regularly mistreated by ten people and one of those people occasionally gives treats and pats, the dog is going to love that person to death despite the abuse. Wait, no, she didn’t mean to compare Hunter to a dog, that was even worse than simply considering him an extension of the Emperor and nothing else. Okay, maybe she should have started thinking about something else before she eventually blurts something awful out.

After hearing him out, the girl sighed and leaned back against the couch like a deflated balloon, her gold-brown eyes now full of sadness and understanding alike, her gaze trailing off to the side.

“...Still,” Luz added in a murmur, “Crushes on family members aren’t normal. Generally anything romance related between relatives is…Bad.” Especially if the family is an older caretaker. Especially if the family was Belos, “But hey, at least now you know that it was-”

From the corner of her vision, she saw Hunter’s head abruptly snap in her direction - his magenta eyes wide open and face pale, just as she finished her sentence.

“...Wrong.”

Hunter didn’t say anything.

The look of horror, of realization in his wide open eyes said everything for him. Dropped all the burden on her again for him. Right then and there, she should have excused herself, maybe under the excuse of going to the bathroom - only to run to…She didn’t know. Her mom. Amity. Or even Willow. They’d know how to help, they’d know the right thing to say, the right thing to do, right? But wouldn’t it be selfish? Wouldn’t that just make Hunter feel like she cared about her own comfort more than him? Of course it would.

So, there she stayed again, but instead of following her own internal yelling, she did the opposite of not saying anything.

“...Hunter,” against her better judgment, she spoke up again. “...Your crush was the only thing between you and him, right?”

A part of her hoped it wasn’t, in retrospect, it was the dumbest, most naive part of her that always believed things couldn’t get any worse. And it just so happened that almost everything regarding Hunter’s life seemed to get worse and worse the more she learned about it. It almost felt comically grotesque, as if he had been carved through life for someone’s entertainment. with each wound simply being another point on the program - and Luz didn’t dare wonder what the finale would look like, should this feeling turn out to be true.

In the end, Hunter almost turned sheet white in the face. He looked like his heart went ahead and turned itself off.

“...I…I thought it’s a normal thing between people that trust each other when they’re old enough,” Hunter said, his voice blank. “...He didn’t lie about that one thing, right?”

Luz was going to be sick.

Words, feelings, everything she had eaten all day had suddenly made a line to come out her throat all at once. Seeing it coming minutes later did nothing to prepare her for what felt like a stab directly through her stomach, and if that wasn’t enough…Her brain just had to fill in the gaps with images of something she desperately didn’t want to see in any way, shape or form.

She imagined Hunter, right about his current age. Lonely and clueless, lost in his feelings that he had to tend to alone. Then, she saw the blue eyed man that haunted her nightmares and thoughts. He would play with his faded brown-blonde hair, his gaze lazily narrowed like that of a serpent’s. A smug smile present across his face marred with blue scars and blemishes as he would have assured him that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, since after all he didn’t see Hunter as his actual nephew or anything else besides a pawn. Then, he would have probably made that annoyingly arrogant hand gesture to get him to come closer and—

Too much. It was too much, and it was her own fault. If she could have pried her skull open and set her brain on fire, she would have. Why would it do that to her? Hunter needed her right then and there. And now, she couldn’t even stay to actually try to help, even if she hadn’t had the slightest idea how to.

“...Sorry Hunter, I’ll-” She gagged, only slightly managing to conceal it. “...I’ll be right back. Pee break, haha.”

In the end, she just barely made it to the toilet bowl.

Hunter heard everything. Gagging. Coughing. Retching. Wheezing. As he unwillingly listened to the direct result of him trying to seek shelter in Luz, he stared wide-eyed at the TV screen until his eyes hurt from drying out - no longer paying any attention to the plot of the movie.

It felt like the more his friends knew about him, the more he wounded them in the process. Almost as if every time he opened his mouth, the venom constantly bubbling inside his guts poured out on them, slowly rotting them on the inside like him. And they didn’t deserve it. They didn’t deserve to keep putting up with a burden like him.

Never again, he decided, and by the time Luz came back, he was gone.

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

For the record, I did not write this for the sake of entertainment. While I do not owe anyone the history of my trauma for the sake of avoiding backlash, I would like to mention that the thought processes and actions of both Luz and Hunter are things I have done and experienced personally in the past- as both the listener and the one realizing that their world-view is skewed and based on twisted half truths and incomplete information on top of emotional immaturity.

Hence, this work takes neither Hunter's nor Luz's side, as they are both victims in this scenario, with Luz being a child suddenly faced with things she's not equipped to handle alone, and with Hunter also being a child who had been left to his own devices for most of his life when it came to his feelings and mental health. Neither of them possess the maturity and knowledge to act rationally in this situation - as, I cannot stress this enough, they are both children who had gone through emotionally stunting traumatic events. Neither of them are to blame, except the perpetrator who had put them through said events in the first place.

And again, I am not a licensed or educated professional in psychology. All the conclusions above come from my personal experience and knowledge which may be subjective and faulty at times.

With that said, if you still come screaming into my ask-box or notes about how I'm apparently a p*do or that I support SA, I'm going to spray a lemon in your eyes and sell your brain since you're clearly not using it for anything anyway.

And to those who read this far without thinking of doing that, thank you.

#long post #tw csa mention #tw child grooming #tw trauma talk #tw abuse mention #tw child abuse #toh #the owl house #toh hunter #luz noceda #storyboard belos #dead dove belos #rhine writing

[chinchillasinunison]

The Bullefute Starters!

For those of you who don't know, I decided to conceptualize a Danganronpa-inspired Fakémon region. The starters are inspired by the three protagonists of the mainline games, but a lot of other places as well. This is going under a cut because it's, uh, pretty long. Let's get to it!

Clovunny: The Clover Pokémon (Grass)

Clovunnies are docile, unassuming Pokémon that can get along with basically anyone. The small twig sprouting from its head can detect subtle changes in heartbeat and breathing, making it quite attuned to feelings others may try to hide. The blossom it has for a tail is sometimes plucked by humans to be used as a good luck charm.

First off, naturally, we have Makoto! Both rabbits (well, at least their feet) and clovers are lucky charms, so it makes sense to represent the Ultimate Lucky Student with them. Plus, rabbits and Makoto have a sort of stereotypical innocence about them. The twig picking up heartbeats is a reference to the Trigger Happy Heart minigame in School Mode, where Makoto can hear his classmates' innermost thoughts.

Jackahope: The Hopeful Pokémon (Grass)

On evolution, Jackahope's small twig grows into a twin set of branches. This increases their sensitivity greatly, making it aware of even minute changes in its environment. It is said that when one looks into your eyes, it can see your hopes and dreams.

I hope you sorta see where I'm going with this. Something normal and mundane becoming decidedly less so— from regular bunny to jackalope. Now, the sensitivity of its branches pertains even more to the Trigger Happy Heart minigame, but also to the investigation segments of the game proper. I imagine that they're arranged to look somewhat like a broken-up set of crosshairs, which is how your cursor interacts with the environment. This shape plants some seeds (hehe) for its final form...

Cherabbit: The Cherubic Pokémon (Grass/Flying)

Its head branches have grown into a massive, thorny halo, and the patch of clovers on its back has sprouted into wings. Now, it can feel vibrations across great distances, both on the ground and in the air. This makes Cherabbits great barometers for natural disasters and thus the saviors of many people and Pokémon alike. Some groups view them as sacred beings and manifestations of the idea of hope itself.

Now we go from the jackalope to the wolpertinger, combined with traits of a standard pop cultural angel. This progression is to symbolize where Makoto ended up after the first game— the true Ultimate Hope and the face of the Future Foundation, a figure of triumph in the face despair and desolation. I almost wanted to make it Grass/Normal to reference the Normal type's affinity for sound-based moves, but I couldn't NOT make it part Flying, man. Not when the wings are, like, one of the main features...

Tadcoal: The Spark Pokémon (Fire)

To many, a Tadcoal is considered an ideal Pokémon for first-time trainers. It is extremely eager to foster its talents, which makes it quick to rush into battle and evolve. Its craggy skin resembles unrefined coal, making it look fairly unremarkable, but the single spouting flame upon its head reveals its hidden ambition. When not training, it can be found admiring higher-leveled Pokémon from afar.

Next is Hajime, who is the basis for our Fire starter. The first stage is based on the pre-HPA Hajime, a guy so eager to develop talent that he signed himself up for a bunch of stupidly unethical experiments. I don't know how a tadpole starter would work in terms of design since it's literally just a head and tail, so its proportions would probably be all kinds of weird, but we're not gonna worry about that right now.

Phlogiwog: The Phlogistic Pokémon (Fire)

The internal fire of this Pokémon has been lit, making it even more reckless and determined to persevere in its fight for recognition, to the point of growing legs with naturally cleated feet in order to run into the fray more quickly. Its skin is now white-hot to the touch. There is an ancient proverb that comes to mind with this particular Pokémon: “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”

This one isn't very deep. It's mostly just a natural progression from the first stage, the idea of combustion (which is why it takes after Awakened Hajime visually), and the manifestation of the above quote. Note the cleated feet, though...

Amphibguish: The Extinguishing Pokémon (Fire/Dark)

After reaching its evolutionary limits, Amphibguish has grown despondent and bored with the world around it. It no longer views other Pokémon as aspirational figures or challenges, merely as obstacles to be far-too-easily overcome. When confronted, it uses its scythe-like claws to snuff out its opponent without fuss. The wispy smoke that trails after it strikes fear into the hearts of even the bravest Pokémon champions.

Now this is a fun one! Amphibguish is, of course, based on Izuru Kamukura— but! It's also based on the hairy frog, also known as the horror frog. @anonymouslyangsty gave me the idea of the Hajime line being frog-based because of his stark metamorphosis, but I didn't know how Izuru's main distinctive physical feature (his long hair) would translate to the notably bare amphibians. Then, I remembered the horror frog and the hair-like structures on its body— turning that into smoke was a natural next move. You might notice that each stage is based on steps in the life of a flame: the initial spark, its burning, and lastly, its death. Because of its connection with death, Amphibguish also takes after the Grim Reaper, using another odd trait of the horror frog— it has retractable claws it makes by breaking its own toe bones. The indifference of death is akin to the indifference of Izuru Kamukura, and his indifference is, itself, rooted in the death of passion.

And finally, the Water starter!

Puplet: The Droplet Pokémon (Water)

Puplets are very shy Pokémon, unable to look most people or Pokémon in the eye. However, they are also very inquisitive, and holding their heads down low helps their moist noses pick up more scents. They often need a guiding hand and gentle encouragement to lead them down the right path.

And lastly, we have the Shuichi Pokémon. His sensitivity suits a Water type well to me, very Sobble-core. A dog Pokémon is a natural fit for a detective as well. I think it would be based on a toy longhaired breed in appearance, like a shih tzu. I like to imagine it having a big waterdrop as an ahoge, maybe based on the little ponytails that dogs like that often sport to keep hair out of their eyes.

Floodhound: The Surging Pokémon (Water)

Gaining more confidence upon evolution, Floodhounds will thoroughly investigate any new area they find themselves in. The seafoam that crests their long ears traps odors and microscopic samples of dirt within its bubbles, giving it a detailed reference to draw upon later. Due to this, they are often given as presents to very messy children.

Despite the name coming from bloodhound, I imagine it takes after another hound— the Afghan hound— in appearance. Long, literally flowing-like-water hair is a theme here. I'll expand on that in the notes on the final evolution.

Tsudoggi: The Torrential Pokémon (Water/Rock)

A Floodhound is said to become a Tsudoggi when it pursues the truth too eagerly, the sights it has seen driving it mad. The sediment it picks up along the way builds up and hardens into sturdy stone paws, and its fur grows out into massive, frothing waves. It will not back down from where it stands, no matter who or what may batter it.

This final form is based on the ketos, a fearsome sea monster from Greek and Etruscan mythology. Usually, it's depicted as just a plain old sea serpent, but there are some descriptions of it that say it has a greyhound head on a whale or dolphin-like body, so we're drawing from that. The addition of the Rock type is inspired by how it was defeated by Perseus in myth (at least, one version of the myth): he uses the head of Medusa to turn it to stone. Sometimes, in (particularly nihilistic) literature, Medusa is used as a symbol for painful truths of our reality that we avert our gazes from to avoid our existential dread (mental petrification, if you will). I think that interpretation works well with the whole "truth vs. lies" theme V3 had.

Feelings of pointlessness are pertinent to the line's overall inspiration as well: the concept of a shaggy-dog story. A shaggy-dog story is a type of joke that preys on an audience's expectations of narrative. The teller will ramble a long-winded, tangent-riddled anecdote, only to end it with a complete anticlimax. The archetypal shaggy-dog story is about a man seeing an advertisement for a missing shaggy dog who happens to find one of a similar description and sets out to reunite it with its owner for the reward money. All sorts of things are supposed to happen on the journey— I remember a version I heard had the guy somehow get caught up in some gang business and get shot and bleed out on the owner's doorstep with the dog. No matter those details, the story always ends the same: the owner opens the door, takes one look at the dog, and says, "Oh, my dog is shaggy, but not THAT shaggy." and shuts the door in the man's face (or his corpse, I guess, if you heard the version I did). This structure is echoed in Tsudoggi's subversion of the typical "shy first stage to confident final stage" Pokémon evolutionary line narrative, wherein it becomes more confident only to immediately regress into another, even worse off sad sack. And... I feel like I don't need to explain how this all relates to V3, do I?

There's also one more aspect of Tsudoggi's design that I want to highlight, and that's its relation to the starter theme. The theme for this starter trio is psychopomps, spirits that escort recently deceased souls to the afterlife. I thought it would be morbidly appropriate for Pokémon based on the characters who guide their respective groups to the truth of the deaths around them (before handing one over for a death sentence). The relationship of an angel and the Grim Reaper to such a concept doesn't need explanation, but the ketos might. In Etruscan mythology, since the trip to the Underworld was believed to be a sea voyage, sea creatures (including ketos) were thought of as gaurdians for the departed on their journey.

#danganronpa #makoto naegi #hajime hinata #shuichi saihara #pokémon

[shallowseeker]

I'm sorry to be dumb, but did I miss something? Who is Hokmah?

That was just a little detour Jack-rambling with a friend. :-)

For the little girl that appears in the Occultum garden in 15x13 Destiny's Child, I was trying to think of a cosmic force she could represent that isn't Eve, and I landed on a personification of Hokhmah/Hokmah/Chokmah, "Lady Wisdom."

You didn't miss anything. She's not called that in the show! @13x02 and I were just playing with the idea over here. :D

You'll get a decent condensed Western overview here on Cengage that I like pretty well, but "she's" a complicated theological point of interest if you wanna crawl through more academic scholarly sources.

I think you can shape her in a very positive way. Jack saw Wisdom! He regained his Soul!

////

But on a darker note, I think a negative view of Lady Wisdom has enormously evil implications for the destruction of the Cas-Dean-Jack family unit in the finale, leaving only Sam's "pure, idealized, almost Noah-esque" family in its wake.

In terms of poetry, Lady Wisdom can signify the idea of a perfect woman and ideal mate. As a point of contrast, the non-ideal mate is depicted as "the path of the Strange Woman," who carries you into Folly."

Both the wife and Wisdom protect their mates from the dangerous "strange woman," who lures the unsuspecting man into sexual misadventure (Prv. 5:20–23, 7:5–23, cf. 2:26–19). Social commentary regarding proper family bonds finds expression here...

I think that's echoed in 15x17 Unity's horrific depiction of Seraphina and Adam, who make out incessantly, are stoned out of their minds, and obsessed with Revenge and Fate. Adam even gives birth to an unnatural "revenge-baby" whose intent is Destruction. It's God who's supposed to yank out ribs and do Divine Fatherhood, not angels.

Now, in actuality, there's noting wrong with a little PDA or getting high, but Adam and Seraphina's sudden intrusion into the story combined with Chuck's apparent knowledge of the rib-bomb ("Have fun watching him [Jack] die.") seems ominous.

I think the grotesque caricatures of Seraphina-Adam reveal what Chuck truly thinks about the Dean-Cas partnership. (Of course, Chuck takes no responsibility for driving Seraphina and Adam to their desperation either...)

Anyway, Seraphina is Folly. So is Cas. It's true that Cas and Dean are in a pretty negative feedback loop at this point in the story, but Chuck, as usual, is painting it in rip-roarin' 2D. With a dash of disrespectful disdain.

Other poems use the female imagery to constitute competing superhuman forces. The path of the strange woman, who appears as personified Folly in the concluding poem of Proverbs 1–9, leads to death: "her guests are in the depths of Sheol" (Prv. 9:18, cf. 2:18–19, 5:5–6, 5:23, 7:27). Wisdom, in contrast, offers life, an offer whose credibility is enhanced by the remarkable poem in Proverbs 8. 

So, here is Chuck's judgment, perhaps. Cas is a rival superhuman force that is unnaturally taking Dean away from Him. (Early in season 15, Lilith tells us that Chuck has "a pervy obsession" with Dean, so it's a very unsettling tug-of-war here.) Cas might even be aware of it, as he uses the alias Clarence Worley in 15x06, post-Chuck confrontation (and Cas has become pretty pop-culture savvy).

It's a power struggle. Chuck paints his rival-God sons as the "Strange Women" to His Own Divine Ultimate Fatherhood, the same way he brands Michael as "cuck." Chuck does not tolerate individualism from his sons, and so uses emasculating language. Furthermore, he does not value feminine three-dimensionality, as shown by how he treats Amara’s wisdom. She too is painted “Strange,” because his perspective of individuals rings hollow. Amara does not fit Chuck’s restrictive, mental stereotype of Hokmah.

In the finale, Dean is "Chuck-downgraded" from the masculine Adam to the Woman in the Gray Robe, and then, her tongue gets cut out. (Chuck’s “mirrors” usually favor Dean as the masculine Marlboro man.) It's...hmmm. Quite sadistic, really, what happens to Dean. It shows how 2D and hierarchical Chuck treats gender. Also, Dean loved Cas. If Dean didn't love Cas back, this death would have been more heroic and less...maudlin and back-stabby, I think. (There’d have been no need for bury your gays.)

In terms of modern society, Cas is actually more strange than Seraphina. He's a superhuman force in the shape of a man. He's diametrically opposed to Chuck's idea of Hokhmah, which is in fact the Idea of Blurry Wife. Chuck wants traditional, picture-perfect wives: he wants Lisa and Amelia and fake!Mary and Blurry Wife. Not strange women like Rowena or Eileen or worse—ursurper figures like Lucifer, Michael, Castiel, or Jack.

I clumsily talk about this idea of the Nephilim family unit in the tablet meta as well as the idea of joining/sundering Heaven and Earth in this forbidden love meta, but I think what I want to say is that Cas represents both the poetic specter of Strange Path/Folly and the Corrupt Idea of the Unnatural, Enochian Sire of a Nephilim.

Some believe the fallen angels who sired the Nephilim were cast into Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6) (Greek Enoch 20:2), a place of "total darkness."

Sounds a lot like the Empty, huh?

///

Is Blurry Wife Chuck's approved idea of Hokmah? Perhaps. Seems like The Perfect Sam-Fam is network-approved!

It's a twisted idea, isn't it? That the "impure" Nephilim family was Washed Away leaving only this bizarrely cookie-cutter, picturesque one in its wake. Jack was born on Washaway beach, and Dean and Cas became increasingly paired with flood and water motifs as the relationship escalated.

So anyway, this negative view of Lady Wisdom can in fact carry us all the way through the finale and the destruction of the human-angel Nephilim family unit. Because of this, the finale echoes on a homophobic note that reverberates through most who see it, even when they can't put their finger on why it feels that way.

Cas, Jack, and Dean are buried.

Cas is thrown into the Empty/Darkness, like the legendary Fallen Sires of the Nephilim. (He even exits through a punishment symbol, a pair of handcuffs.) Jack becomes like the Nephilim before him, a cursed untethered spirit, barred from existing in an earthly body. Then, there's Dean, the human partner, who is stabbed in the back in a brutal Execution and cursed to wander in search of the connection he is disallowed from having (that's what The Winchesters feels like, no?).

It's wicked.

///

Further reading:

This has a nice chapter on Hokhman, which goes into some of the root words used in the poems themselves. (It's chapter 6.)

Above excerpt from "Ḥokhmah ." Encyclopedia of Religion.  Encyclopedia.com. 22 Aug. 2023 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>

#asks #spn + lady wisdom #spn + hokhmah #spn + hokmah #spn final #the cas vs chuck battle royale theory

[bellenthigale]

BACKSTAGE FUN

Women have always led the way in politics and business‚ but it has only been in recent years that they have begun to fully empower one another. One of the most fascinating ideas is femininity. The particular experience of being a woman is made up of a complicated and lovely combination of traits. Because every woman experiences femininity in a unique way‚ it is so fascinating and dynamic. Every woman has a distinctive style of expressing her femininity‚ and there are a wide variety of ways to do it. Each woman expresses her femininity in her own particular way‚ whether that be by adopting stereotypically feminine traits or creating her own version of it. In order to be a strong woman‚ you must defend the moral high ground while also supporting other females. When we band together to support and encourage one another‚ women may become a powerful and important force in society. Women empowering women is prevalent in many spheres of life‚ including the business and the family. Defending each other’s rights‚ standing up for what we believe in‚ and using our voices to question the existing quo are additional ways that women may empower one another. By standing up for each other and the causes that concern us all‚ we can bring about the change we want to see in the world. Creating a supportive and respectful atmosphere is the ultimate goal of women empowering women. The goal is to create an environment in which women can fully express who they are and realize their potential. It is about supporting one another‚ having faith in one another‚ and cooperating to improve the world.

The Parisian cabaret Le Crazy Horse Saloon‚ also known as Le Crazy Horse de Paris‚ is well-known for its stage performances featuring naked female dancers as well as for its varied magic and variety “turns” in between each nude performance. In other places‚ its owners have contributed to the creation of similar cabaret and burlesque shows. The term “Crazy Horse” has been utilized in the names of unrelated enterprises. L’ART DU NU‚ which translates to “the art of being naked”‚ is a term used to describe a classy Parisian arrondissement. It is the renowned Crazy Horse‚ which has remained unmatched for almost fifty years as a revolutionary creation that exalts the female form as both an artistic expression and a source of amusement. In its exquisitely furnished theater on the Avenue George V‚ directly across the street from Yves St. Laurent and next door to the House of Balenciaga‚ the Crazy Horse show has been viewed by more than five million people. It has gone through three major stages of development since Alain Bernardin founded it. Alain Bernardin‚ an amateur artist and full-time antiques dealer‚ launched the Crazy Horse in 1951. He had long been entranced by two seemingly unrelated ideas: the American Western film genre‚ with its mythical saloons and legendary events‚ and the beauty of the female form. On May 19, 1951‚ he performed his debut performance in the cellar of a classy structure on Avenue George V‚ close to Place de l’Alma. It signified his attempt to rebel against the Left Bank and St. Germain des Pres’ post-war fashion restrictions. Bernardin was attracted by the “Taboo” nude acts that Boris Vian was staging‚ but he wanted to produce something that was more eye-catching than the standard American striptease while yet being suitable to a broad audience. On a single girl‚ without any choreography‚ he experimented with projected light and color. Along with other advances‚ he experimented with strobe-like effects. Even today‚ Doda d’Hambourg and Rita Renoir are remembered with affection as some of his dancers who went on to become legends in their own right. .The 1960s saw the beginning of a cultural and creative revolution in both France and America‚ and the Crazy Horse show adapted to the new trends in ways that boosted its notoriety and reputation as an artistic powerhouse. In addition to Pop Art and Nouveau Roman‚ New Wave Cinema‚ Neo-Realism in European art‚ Avant-Garde fashion‚ and a resurgence in interest in the performing arts‚ this was a moment of Neo-Realism. Bernardin started to turn from the unique to the group. He used one or more dancers to transform his figures into what he called “living pictures”. Each song evolved into its own spectacle with its own choreography‚ scenery‚ and lighting. There was a steady supply of fresh concepts and innovative musical accompaniment. The sublimation of art into the female form was Bernardin’s intended result. Women were art‚ and art was women.

My most recent performance was at the renowned Crazy Horse Paris cabaret in France. Even though my presence on the show wasn’t a surprise‚ when the word about it broke‚ folks were astonished and were looking forward to it‚ especially BLINKs. I can state with certainty that the audience members present at the performance were impressed with the other dancers’ and my performance, as well as our exuberant visuals‚ during the performance. I had on a stunning costume that was both seductive and comfortable‚ and I had on a pair of heels as well. For my performance‚ I danced on stage and just enjoyed it‚ much to the audience’s joy. I enthralled the audience by synchronizing my movements with the music. I performed both solo acts and ensemble songs with the rest of the cast in five special shows from September 28 to September 30 at the French cabaret. Only the fans who won tickets to the events were able to witness me play at the Crazy Horse but there was a rigorous no-recording rule there. I posted some snippets‚ some of the pictures of what I wore‚ of my enticing and appealing performances and look at the cabaret on Instagram for BLINKs who wanted to see how I dressed for the evening. You must have seen my most recent Instagram upload at this point‚ I’m hundred percent sure. What do you think of my look? Did it made your haw dropped? Just kidding. I’ll never ever forget this particular instance. The fact that my 언니‚ the other members‚ were present to encourage and supported me during my performances in the show added to its memorability. After a 14-hour flight‚ Jennie언니 arrived days after Jisoo언니 and Rosé언니 with a huge bouquet of flowers‚ but Jisoo언니 and Rosé언니 arrived on Day 1 of the show. Due to the fact that they were in Paris for YSL‚ Dior‚ and Chanel Paris Fashion Week‚ they seized the opportunity to witness and support me. They all went and supported me despite their hectic schedules‚ and I really appreciate it a lot. In addition‚ many well-known artists also visited and watched; Rosalia herself was also present‚ we had a picture together with Jisoo언니 and Rosé언니.

BLINKs! I appreciate all of your love and support‚ which you gave and showered me from the start all the way through the end of my show. You guys waited outside the venue patiently‚ and I am really touched by your unwavering support for the me‚ as well as the other members. My appearance and performance was a tremendous hit with the crowd‚ and the Crazy Horse show is known for its risqué acts. At Crazy Horse Paris‚ it was such a fantastic experience. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to making this fantastic experience possible. You guys can call me whenever you need someone to fill that place; I’m really excited and looking forward to appear on the show again.

[mykingdommusic]

ETERNAL WHITE TREES debut album "The Summer That Will Not Come" will be released on April 21, 2023 and for sure it is a mandatory listening for you who have your musical background in the most melancholic dynamics of Metal and Post Rock of KATATONIA, SWALLOW THE SUN and NOVEMBRE. Let's know the protagonists of this work, starting from Gerassimos Evangelou, already LORD AGHEROS' mind, soul and body who is here the singer behind ETERNAL WHITE TREES' decadent, nostalgic and beautifully painful universe.

1.   Give us a short presentation of ETERNAL WHITE TREES and let us know more about the choice of this suggestive moniker.

The Eternal White Trees are 3 friends who, outside of their personal musical projects, get together as kids on the weekend to put their experiences, grown over the years, into music. Between a glass of wine, a laugh and a melody born on the keys of a guitar or a piano, they decide to bring this creature to life. The comparison of these three figures with immortal trees is a must. Resistant and fearless to the changing of the seasons, over the days, over the years, always there, always together.

2.   ETERNAL WHITE TREES represent a new name in the Italian Metal scene but the three members of the bands are part of the scene since a long time. What did you push to give shape and soul to this new creature?

Everything was born naturally, without any pretense. The more time passed, the more we realized that the composed material was the offspring of every single personal, musical and life experience and that, united with those of the other members, it took shape in a completely spontaneous way, without forcing. An indissoluble bond even in music, a unique empathy and feeling.

3.   How are ETERNAL WHITE TREES different from the previous projects where you are involved?

If we talk about musical styles, we notice that the lack, or almost so, of a singing in screaming, blastbeat and convulsive riffs that can lead you back to some musical stereotypes is completely absent. But that melancholy and devastating vein is always present, softened by clear singing and double voices to create even more effect. Putting feelings and emotions into music is something that characterizes us individually in our personal projects, if you combine them, imagine what comes out.

4.   What does it represent to you personally?

Doing what we do, without forcing it, completely spontaneously and naturally, without anyone prevailing over the other but rather putting each one's own ideas is something unique nowadays. The fact that you get to make it happen with your closest friends, both in music and in life is priceless.

5.   The sound of ETERNAL WHITE TREES can be represented like a bridge between old school of Gothic Metal (Novembre, October Tide) and actual vision of Post Dark Rock (Katatonia, Swallow The Sun). In which way these bands have been part of your musical pantheon?

Personally, Katatonia is a band that has accompanied me a lot over the decades, with its style changes, certainly not easy listening, but among all those mentioned, I can safely say that they have an important place in the tracklist of my emotions.

6.   "The Summer That Will Not Come" is the title of your debut album. Can you describe it in a few words?

It's a mental journey that I took during one of our sessions, I imagined an expanse of snow and trees everywhere, covered with snow, but in this cold context there was always the warmth of a fireplace in your home, where you lacked nothing. Where any harbinger of spring was all but extinguished, so what would it be like to prepare for all of this? If you compare it to everyday life, you will notice that change is almost an expectation, an obligation, losing the beauty of the moment, the moment that will never come back.

7.   Behind ETERNAL WHILE TREES: - 5 favorite bands: Katatonia, Soen, Empyrium, Ulver, Agalloch - 5 essentials albums: Katatonia "Dead End Kings"; Ulver "The Assassination of Julius Caesar"; Empyrium "Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays"; Archive "Lights"; Aphrodite’s Child "666" - 3 essentials movies: "Interstellar", "Lord of the Rings Trilogy", "The Gladiator" - the song you wish you had written: "Interstellar" theme!

[mystlnewsonline]

How to Promote Your Cannabis Seeds Business

(STL.News) According to the UN, cannabis is one of the most widely used substances in the world.  People use cannabis for medical and recreational purposes.  However, this plant was illegal in the United States throughout the 20th century.  During this time, US lawmakers were concerned about the risks and benefits of cannabis use.  But over the years, canna has been proven to help people suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder and other illnesses.  This has prompted many legislators to reconsider their attitude toward cannabis. Since 2012, marijuana has been legalized or decriminalized in 38 states and Washington, DC.  As more states legalize marijuana, there are more licensed cannabis retailers in the United States, promoting safer and healthier cannabis use around the world.  They are also looking for opportunities to stand out from the competition and maximize their sales.  Below, Dmytro Syvak gives some tips on SEO for cannabis seeds. A mixture of emotions, PR, and celebrities There is a classical but always working technique called “problem-solution.”  “The time is now” campaign was mixed with emotions.  Everything is very precise: there are three people who need help in the form of medical cannabis.  These are representatives of different groups: - A mother who needs pain medication for her child; - A man after a car accident; - A soldier who has lost his leg. “I can’t do this anymore,” the woman cries.  The solution is found immediately – medical cannabis.  The black-and-white video ends with a sense of urgency and action: “The time is now.”  You can use these tricks to bring some emotion to your advertising. This campaign has become much talked about in the US.  The advertisers wanted to show the video during the Super Bowl in 2019, but the broadcaster, CBS, refused due to regulations.  Hundreds of media, including top-rated ones, wrote about the story of the ban.  Since the situation was related to American football, the opinion of former player Nate Jackson appeared in many articles.  Once he has prescribed an opioid after a severe injury, but he relieved the pain with marijuana instead.  Imagine how persuasive his words became: “This is not about getting high.  It’s not about becoming a stoner.  The NFL doesn’t have to worry about that.  Let them think about football, not marijuana.” Normalization of the topic An innovative thing like medical cannabis combined with a traditional advertising medium like outdoor advertising is “normalizing” the topic.  And normalization is probably the main task of drug communication.  In addition, billboards are one of the few legal forms of cannabis advertising in the US.  However, the advertiser is required to prove that 71.6% of the billboard audience is over 21 years old. Here, the same technique is used as in the “The time is now” video, showing ordinary people.  It “normalizes” even more than a billboard standing in your street.  This trick is applied in one more campaign.  The “Forget Stoner” campaign highlights working people and combats the stereotype of “cannabis and stoned teenagers.”  There is a wide range of users who use medicinal marijuana for a variety of reasons: chronic pain relief, anxiety, and other prescriptions.  This is the message of the campaign. Investment in education The more a person knows about a subject, the better they perceive it.  Communication campaigns using this technique create mini-media and cultural projects on the topic of cannabis.  For example, online text media with articles and news.  Also, almost all communicators actively use such a tool as email newsletters.  A direct and one-to-one channel of communication with your target audience is well suited for a product that has many limitations in its communication.  This is also what makes the confrontation of SEO vs Content Marketing even more exciting.  In addition, sending emails is easy to automate and is a fairly pocket-friendly channel. We also want to highlight a campaign called the Weedmaps Museum of Weed.  It has guided visitors through the history of cannabis, moving from one place to another, through time and space where cannabis was commonly – or stereotypically – used.  Here we celebrate the victories and shed light on the most terrible moments of the past of this cultural phenomenon. How Bitcoin is affecting the cannabis industry Bitcoin could stimulate the growth of the cannabis industry.  This can be done in several ways: Secure transactions Bitcoin could play a key role in cannabis retailers’ e-commerce strategy.  In any e-commerce business, consumer trust is essential to increase sales and conversions.  By offering buyers the option to pay with Bitcoin, marijuana sellers can build relationships with their buyers.  In addition, the retailer can help customers feel secure in their transactions without the fear of potential verification. Brand awareness The legalization of cannabis is making its way throughout the United States.  Despite this, legal cannabis retailers should seize every opportunity to promote their brands.  For example, a legal cannabis retailer might offer discounts to consumers who make payments in Bitcoin.  This allows the retailer to offer a clear promotion that can capture the attention of consumers.  At the same time, clients can take advantage of the promotion to save money on cannabis purchases. A legal cannabis retailer can use Bitcoin to support its daily operations.  To realize the full value of a Bitcoin investment, a retailer must plan accordingly.  Legal cannabis sellers can get started with Bitcoin at any time.  In doing so, they may quickly discover that Bitcoin can help them grow and advertise their business. Read the full article

[kaiparker-avengerssmut]

Mission Shenanigans

Pairing | Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings | smut, fingering, vaginal sex, unprotected sex

Word count | 2385

Summary | while on a mission undercover, you and Bucky are forced to share a bed. Very dirty things ensue

Masterlist

"If we're just pretending to be a couple, why do we have to actually sleep in the same bed? Do you really think they're going to break in and catch on of us sleeping on the sofa?" You scoffed, hands perched on your hips and as shook your head at the super soldier in front of you.

"Maybe." Bucky smirked, his answer short but almost full of a lingering promise of more. You rolled your eyes at him, itching to slap that cocky smirk off his face and also maybe accidentally let his cock slip into your mouth whilst doing so. Oops.

You couldn't help it, really. I mean, Bucky is gorgeous. He truly is a specimen, all muscles and cocky smirks and metal arms. Oh and the metal arm? You were dying to know how the metal felt against your skin, against your lips - your lower lips-

"You there doll?" You were grabbed from your little train of thoughts (sinful thoughts at that) by the man in front of you snapping his fingers in your face.

"S-sorry. Lost in thought. What were you saying?" You stuttered, cheeks flushing pink as you averted your gaze to a vase on the table that suddenly became awfully captivating.

"I said that we should go out and get some wood for the fire before it gets dark." Bucky drawled, rolling his eyes now when you hummed in agreement whilst nodding absent-mindedly.

You were on a mission to get some info on a potential lead on a rising HYDRA group in southern France. You were in a cabin like area near some forest that almost seemed out of place, posing as a young couple that was newly wed and wanted a honey moon abroad. So far you pulled off the part perfectly, playing the most stereotypically-American tourists in Europe you could be. You got overly excited at the smallest things, told everyone you spoke to that you adored their accent, insisted on eating at French restaurants only, and local ones of course.

It was the perfect ploy - the only downfall being Bucky's metal arm causing him to stick out like a sore-thumb. So the super soldier has been miserable in public, roasting in the summer sun whilst clad in leather gloves and long-sleeve shirts.

What you had failed to mention to him that the sight of droplets of sweat collecting along his brow and sliding slowly down his neck got you all hot and bothered. So hot and bothered, in fact, that you found yourself desperate to stick your hand between your legs to quell the growing ache blossoming there.

But you couldn't because Bucky was insisting that you both share a bed. Originally, you had just planned on taking the sofa in the other room and get yourself off but that plans obviously gone out the window.

"Right, well. We should go now." Bucky said, cutting through the awkward silence that had settled comfortably between you two. He grabbed your arm, tugging you out the small cabin and towards the woods.

So, three hours later, you found yourself full of food, groaning with the amount to had consumed. Chewing your last bite, you set your cutlery down on you plate, which was almost immediately swiped by Bucky.

"With cooking like that, you've just become my most dangerous friend, Barnes." You chided, a smile finding your face when he chuckled softly, the edges of his eyes crinkling adorably. He set your plate with his in the sink, turning on the water and drizzling some dish soap into the basin. He sipped his hands quickly on a towel before discarding it on the work surface and turning to face you.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it, doll." He smiled, arms crossing over his chest. With the hot summer heat, he'd changed into a tank top almost the second you entered the cabin, so his bulging bicep was on display as well as that metal arm that you adored. His hair was thrown into a bun at the back of his head, a few framing pieces fallen out around his face and it made him look beautiful.

"I'm gonna go shower whilst you clean up." You suddenly announced, pushing up from your chair and bursting from the room. You walked swiftly down the hall, into the bedroom to grab a towel before you were entering the adjoining bathroom.

You moaned as the warm water soothed your aching muscles, the steam clouding up the bathroom as you hummed the song that'd been stuck in your head for god knows how long. Taking a deep sigh, you massaged the shampoo into your hair, the feeling of your nails scraping against your scalp a welcome one.

After washing the suds from your hair and wiping down your body with a sponge and some lemon scented soap, you shut the water off and pulled back the curtain of the shower. Careful not to trip as you stepped out of the tub, you grabbed the fluffy white towel sat waiting for you on the counter and patted your hair until it was only damp, before drying off your body. You wrapped the cloth around you, holding it up just above your breast, clutching it there so I didn't fall down as you tiptoed back into the bedroom.

The door whined is I opened, the handle banging against the wall as you crept into the room.

"Hey, doll." Bucky smirked, lounging on the bed and resting in his palms. Your eyes bugged out of your skull, you jumped slightly, the shock of seeing him there shirtless and with sweatpants handing loose over his hips caused your grip on the towel to stop long enough for it to fall. Bucky smoothed his tongue of his lip, biting down on it as his eyes roamed your body.

You were still in shock, not moving from where you stood, towel bundled at your feet and arms awkwardly by your sides. Bucky whistled, slowly standing and taking a few strides so he was stood in front of you.

"You look even better than I thought you would." He mumbled, licking his lips again before his hands found purchase on your hips. His eyes were searching you, blue edges fading as black lust petered out from his pupils. Your breathing was heavy, mind foggy but all you could comprehend was the half-naked super soldier stood in front of your naked form, hands - one comfortingly warm one chillingly cold - resting on the bare skin of your hips.

And I just made you needy and slick with want. And that had to be the cause of the words that found themselves upon your lips. Your eyes flickered between his and his lips - his soft, plump pink lips - that were just begging you to kiss them.

"If you don't kiss me in the next three second I'm going to scream." You murmured and he breathed a laugh through his nose before his lips crashed to yours in a lustful, earth-shattering kiss. Bucky's hands travelled over your sides, squeezing your waist before going higher until one wrapped around your neck possessively, using the grip he had to walk you back until your back came into contact with the door you had entered from, his metal hand bracing against the wood for support.

Your moan let him know it was exactly what you wanted and Bucky tightened his grip slightly on your neck, a gentle squeeze to test the waters that had you groaning against his lips. He tilted his head to the side, feeling the kiss even further. It was a dirty, messy, sloppy thing - all teeth and tongue and unadulterated desire. When his lips finally left yours, they trailed down your neck, leaving open-mouthed, wet kisses over your throat and your collar bone. A hand found it's way between your quaking legs, finding nothing by slick and slippery skin as the tips brushed through the collecting wetness at the apex of your thighs. He groaned at the feeling, letting his digits dance through the liquid before one was slipping into your quivering hole.

"Bucky!" You gasped, hands reaching up, grabbing and clawing at his shoulders for purchase as his thumb connected with your little bundle of nerves. Your hips bucked violently into his hand, a low and rumbling chuckle falling from those perfect, pink lips. Another finger entered you, both of them curling - curling just right, hitting that spot deep within you.

You came with a  cry and shaky legs, your body falling limply into Bucky's as he retracted his fingers, revelling in the wanton look in your eyes as he licked them clean.

"Delicious." He hummed, pulling off his fingers with a pop. Before you could protest, the brunet had scooped you into his arms, hoisting up up with his hands under your ass - groping and squeezing as he pinned you to the wall with his hips. Your arms were wrapped around his neck by now, fingers tangling into his long, brown hair as his lips never left your skin.

"Fuck, Bucky, please." You begged, but you weren't really sure what you were asking for.

"You want me to fuck you?" He whispered in your ear, a moan slipping past your lips. "You want me to fuck you in the middle of a mission like a whore?" He husked and you moaned even louder - knowing the word should offend you but it did anything but, the combined sensation of his hot breath fanning over your cheeks, his prominent bulge pressed to your folds and his hands resting on your bare sides overwhelming your senses. His hands moved down, fumbling with the drawstring on his sweats before he was pulling away slightly, pushing them and his boxers down his legs eagerly. You brought a hand down too, letting your fingers trail over his abs before you were marvelling at his cock - hard and leaking, red tip curved up against his stomach - which was now smeared with Previn that you were desperate to lick off. But he wouldn't let you from his grasp.

Instead, you both let out a moan when your small hand wrapped around Bucky's cock, Bucky shivering slightly at the coldness of you palm. He kissed you again hard, tongue smoothing over your lips before it was pushing its way into your mouth, tangling with yours and stroking over the muscle in languid strokes. You fisted his hair, relishing in the groan he let out as you tugged. You smiled into the kiss at his reaction, but pulled away to squeal his thumb flitted over your clit again.

Bucky moaned when his tip ran through your wetness, hand wrapping around his length as he lined himself up with your core. Bucky leant in, pecking your lips.

"Ready?" He mumbled and you moaned his name, letting out a loud moan when he sheathed himself inside of you in one sharp thrust.

"Fuck, Bucky!" You moaned and he let his thumb rest on your clit, teasing circles rubbed over it making the knot in your stomach forms already, blue eyes now turned black as he looked into yours.

"I want you to come around my cock, pretty girl" He murmured, forehead resting against your as he begun to thrust. Your hands clung to his shoulders, your nails digging into his skin only spurring Bucky on as his pace became slow but strong, knocking the air out of your lungs with every thrust. His breath was hot on your cheeks, eyes keeping yours prisoner and a small layer of sweat coated your faces.

The whole scene was erotic, so it only pushed your further to the edge when he began moaning and groaning, your own sounds vibrating around the room. Your fingers traced over the scars littering his shoulder, before clinging to the cool metal and moaning out at the contrast against your flushed and hot skin.

"Good girl." He moaned, the praise sending a new wave of wetness tumbling down to your core, his cock pushing in and out of you effortlessly now with how much lubrication you were supplying. Bucky's hand moved from the door, fingers wrapping a round your throat again and pushing your head back against the wood.

"This pussy's gonna make me cum so hard, sweetheart, so fuckin' hard." He mumbled into the skin of your neck, dropping his head to nip and suck at your jaw line. You knew there'd be marks there tomorrow, but you couldn't care less in that moment as your walls began to clamp down on his in a vice grip.

"C'mon, cum for me. I can feel how close you are." Bucky moaned and your mouth dropped open into a silent scream, eyes rolling back into your skull, his pace picking up as he tried to push you to your release.

When you came it was a mind-shattering orgasm, eyes rolling back and hips bucking, stomach tight and legs shaking around his waist.

"There we go, good girl." Bucky groaned, chasing his own release now as he used you for his own pleasure. "Shit, y/n." He moaned, stilling his hips as a final thrust sent him over the edge, cumming in you in hot spurts.

Your breaths mingled, the smell of sex invading your senses as you head dropped forward to lean against Bucky's shoulder.

"Fucking hell, Buck, that was-" you panted.

"Amazing? The best sex of your life?" He supplied, hand massaging your hip as you both calmed down.

"Something like that." You giggled. He chuckled too, and you gasped as he felt him thrust shallowly into you again. How was he already hard again? You figured that the serum must have affected everything. You groaned, and Bucky smirked down at you.

"Ready for round two?" He asked, walking with you in his grasp over to the bed.

"If anyone does break in tonight, they're in for one hell of a show." You smiled weakly, Bucky dropping you into the sheets and crawling over you.

"They sure are, Doll."

#smut #image #images #marvel #steve rogers #marvel smut #captain america #chris evans #chris evans smut #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes smut #winter soldier smut #winter soldier #winter solider fanfiction #seb stan #sebastian stan #sebastian stan smut #Sebastian Stan image #marve image #avengers smut #avengers #the avengers #marvel actors #marvel fanfic

[yurimother]

How 'She-Ra' Delivered on Queer Promises and Helped Revolutionized LGBTQ Representation

DreamWorks's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has already cemented its place among the short but rapidly growing list of children’s animated shows with impactful LGBTQ representation. Showrunner Noelle Stevenson made it a point to push and fight for more diverse characters in every aspect from race, to personality, to sexual and gender identity. However, the finale of the GLADD Award-nominated program delivered on a revolutionary promise built up throughout all five seasons and completed one of the greatest queer narratives ever seen in children’s media.

As She-Ra progressed, Stevenson became more encouraged and inspired to pressure executives to allow more and more explicit LGBTQ characters and relationships. While ever-present in the series, season one only featured a background couple, Spinnerella (Noelle Stevenson) and Netossa (Krystal Joy Brown), and of course, the famous dance sequence between Catra (AJ Michalka) and Adora (Aimee Carrero). While this amount of representation is comfortably leagues ahead of the vast majority of cartoons, the show only upped the ante and the amount of representation from there. Season 2 introduced viewers to George (Chris Jai Alex) and Lance (Regi Davis), Bow's fathers. The series presents them in a normalized fashion as a happy gay couple in love that built a family together. Jacob Tobia's non-binary Double Trouble featured heavily in season four, making them one of the first non-binary characters in children's animation and one of the first to holding an integral role in the show, a major step in representing such identities.

The many achievements and strides She-Ra in LGBTQ representation featured in She-Ra will doubtlessly affect other projects in the industry and help further programs walk a similar path. However, the greatest queer story inShe-Ra is the spectacular series-long arc exploring the relationship and dynamics between de facto antagonist Catra and protagonist Adora. The former friends, who grew up together in the ranks of the Horde, turn enemies at the start of the series after Adora gains the power of She-Ra and betrays Catra, joining the Rebellion.

Fans quickly began speculating on the nature of Adora and Catra's relationship during season one, mainly because of the Princess Prom dance scene. After the young women shared a charged and sinister dance, fans quickly began supporting and analyzing "Catradora." The next three seasons would gradually and gracefully define both characters' complicated feelings for each other. Initially, Catra attempts to rationalize Adora's leaving as a relief or else forces herself to appear apathetic towards it. She continuously uses the excuse that she is no longer living under Adora's shadow to gradually build up more power, rising through the ranks of the Horde while stepping on those who helped her.

While Catra's motivations are appropriately layered and complex, it becomes clear that she is attempting to win approval, to be less alone than she has felt since Adora abandoned her. She seeks others' approval, including her abusive maternal figure, Shadow Weaver (Lorraine Toussaint), and the cruel Hordak (Keston John). However, Catra does not realize until confronted by Double Trouble's gut-wrenching and emotionally resonating analysis of her psyche. They inform Catra that the reason she is alone and abandoned, she pushes others away. The realization that her problems and loneliness are by her own doing combine with her guilt for betraying her allies Scorpia (Lauren Ash) and Entrapta (Christine Woods), leads Catra to an emotional breakdown.

Thee fifth and final season of She-Ra opens with Catra still plagued by loneliness and self-doubt. She starts to form a bond with Prime's captor Glimmer (Karen Fukuhara), seeing her guilt reflected by Glimmer's regret for trying to use the Heart of Etheria's power. Eventually, Catra learns about Adora's impending rescue attempt and the villainous Prime's plants to capture her once she arrives. Ultimately, all the feelings and circumstances surrounding Catra clash together as she remembers a childhood promise that she and Adora would always be friends. The revelation that she loves Adora finally causes Catra to turn and do "one good thing," protect Adora. She frees Glimmer to prevent Adora from walking into Prime's trap; thus, Catra becomes the Horde's prisoner.

Adora's character arch is much less tragic than Catra. The "frenemies" clash multiple times throughout the early seasons with an ever-shifting dynamic that hints at their intricate relationship and confused romantic feelings. But, at the end of season three, Catra's reckless plan against Adora almost leads to Eternia's destruction. As Catra taunts and blames Adora for her suffering, Adora seemingly ends their conflicted relationship, noting that Catra's misdeeds are all her own, "You made your choice, now live with it."

In the final season, Adora has lost the powers of She-Ra. But, she continues to charge into battle headfirst, exposing herself and her tendencies to put other's wellbeing before her own. This tactic mirrors why Adora left Catra's side in the first place all the way back in the first season. She places more importance on duty and service to others than herself and her friend. Later, while Adora, Bow (Marcus Scribner), and Entrapta are traveling towards Horde Prime, Catra sends a signal to their ship, apologizing for everything she has done while teleporting Glimmer to them. Adora decides that she cannot leave Catra behind, and the Best-Friend Squad hurries to rescue Catra from the Horde. Adora saves Catra not only from Prime's vile clutches but her loneliness too. Adora's exclamation "You matter to me" is a powerful and victorious moment, as the two friends turned enemies unite, and acknowledge their connection.

Unfortunately, even after the Adora and Catra are together again, conflict continues to rise between them and with themselves. Catra feels unlovable because of her past and so convinces herself that Adora will not accept her feelings. She continues to struggle with abandonment, especially when Adora willingly takes the responsibility of a suicide mission to destroy the Heart of Etheria, yelling, "It doesn't always have to be you." Sadly, Adora again abandons her, putting the good of everyone else above herself and Catra. Acknowledging that Adora, "Always sacrifices everything for everyone else," Catra runs away. However, upon realizing that Prime is moments away from taking control of the Heart and killing Adora, Shadow Weaver and her run to rescue the girl she loves.

As Adora journeys to the Heart, she sees and an illusion of Catra, envisioning that her friend meets her to approach the suicide mission together. Soon, Adora faces a vision of Mara (Zehra Fazal), the previous She-Ra, who tells her that she does not always need to sacrifice herself and is deserving of love too. She becomes trapped without her powers by a first-ones' guardian until Catra and Shadow Weaver save her. Telling Adora to go on, Catra stays to fight the beast in vain. Moments before destroying the Heart and herself, Adora finally chooses to return to Catra, to put Catra and her own happiness over her sense of duty.

As Adora and Catra approach the Heart, the former almost succumbs to Prime's power and has one final vision. Adora dreams of living a life in peace in Brightmoon alongside her friends, Glimmer and Bow, and with her loving, playful partner Catra by her side. In the apparent final moments before her death, Catra reaches out to Adora. At last, the two confess their love for each other and embrace in a momentous kiss, restoring She-Ra's power to Adora. Renewed in strength and standing beside her beloved, Adora finally destroys Horde Prime. The series ends as Adora and Catra plan to travel together and restore magic to the universe and fades to black as the couple prepares to take their next journey together.

as Adora and Catra plan to travel together and restore magic to the universe and fades to black as the couple prepares to take their next journey together.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has always been a powerhouse of LGBTQ representation, especially the final season. For example, it heavily features former background characters and married couple Spinnerella and Netossa in leading roles, as Netossa attempts to recover her wife’s mind from Prime. However, the relationship between Catra and Adora is not only the series highlight but a revolutionary in LGBTQ representation in children's television.

LGBTQ history in children's media and cartoons is disappointingly brief and, at times, unpleasant. Early examples mostly featured coded queer characters with harmful and stereotypical traits, such as the Silver Spooner from Dexter's Laboratory. Some works were able to include less harmful depictions. Networks allowed characters like Richie from Static Shock, who is gay, to exist as long as their identity was kept extremely subtextual.

Slowly some more limited progress was made, and a few less offensive or hidden characters were permitted to appear in one-off and minor roles. Nelvana's Canadian animated sitcom, 6teen included many vague but most neutral references to homosexuality and eventually a one-off character Jean, who says that she is "gay" and has a girlfriend. Notably, this 2009-episode marks not only one of the first moments of a character confirming their sexuality but also using the word "gay." This feat is so rarely replicated even in LGBTQ family media that even giants like Steven Universe do not include it. Outside of pedantic educational programs on minor networks, it may be the only time someone said "the-G-word" in such media until 2019's Kippo and the Age of Wonderbeasts  (live-action sitcom Andi Mack on Disney Channel also used the term that year). Sadly, American showings cut 6Teen's references to homosexuality, and the episode featuring Jean never aired at all outside Canada.

When most people look back to the beginning of the recent small boom in cartoon LGBTQ representation, they point to The Legend of Korra. In 2014, the series finally ended with female leads Korra and Asami taking hands and going on a private vacation in the spirit world. The Korra moment set the LGBTQ fandom on fire. Even so, the show faced incredible resistance and backlash. After the final episode aired, creator Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino had to go online to confirm that the somewhat ambiguous finale indeed depicted a same-sex romance. They then began to face backlash from a section of the fandom who believed bringing this badass bisexual moment to television was only for fanservice or to forward an agenda.

The Legend of Korra was a revolution in modern children's television, putting cracks in the oppressive dam that kept such dynamics out of the limelight and slowly pushed back against the status quo, allowing for more LGBTQ representation. Now, over five years after Korra, numerous children's programs feature queer characters in minor and supporting roles, often more explicitly than Korra was able to do. The Loud House includes a main bisexual character, and there are queer characters and couples in multiple works, including but not limited to Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, and Craig of the Creek.

The most notable LGBTQ representation in a children's cartoon comes from Rebeca Sugar's incredible creation, Steven Universe. As with She-Ra, LGBTQ characters make up a large portion of the cast and it features several groundbreaking LGBTQ scenes, including the iconic wedding of Ruby and Sapphire.

Sadly, many of these works had to fight tooth and nail or suffer through horrific backlash because of their dedication to diversity. Alabama banned an episode of Arthur that featured a gay wedding, and the depiction of lesbian mothers in Clifford the Bid Red Dog caused some parents and organizations to speak out against it. Perhaps most famous of all, Rebecca Sugar had to struggle to put LGBTQ representation on the small screen. Ultimately, to make the wedding scene happen, Sugar had to lay everything on the table and was willing to see themselves separated from the show and have it end to bring their vision to life. Unfortunately, many other countries censor the show to remove LGBTQ content. Still, Sugar's tireless work has pushed the boundaries of LGBTQ representation in children's media so incredibly far, allowing shows like She-Ra to exist.

The recent rapid progress of LGBTQ representation becomes apparent when comparing She-Ra to the "originator," Korra. The series share similar themes and mutually place importance on diversity in its main cast. At the climax of both programs, two female main characters became romantic partners for the other. However, the differences are what truly sets them apart and highlights the progress representation has made. Back in 2014, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes was the most action Korra could feature.

However, a myriad of queer characters and identities perforate She-Ra, all of which are more apparent and obvious thanks to actions including kisses, confessions, and other actions. This difference is especially true in season five, where even the title cards feature Netossa and Spinnerella engaged in a passionate kiss. Of course, the main couple was permitted a full on-screen confession and kiss, as Catra and Adora locked lips in the final episode. Finally, many "critics" complained that Korra and Asami's relationship came out of nowhere, despite it progressing the show’s last two seasons. If one were to assert the same claim about She-Ra, they need to completely ignore how Stevenson built Adora and Catra's romantic relationship as a fundamental aspect of the show from the very start.

She-Ra's depiction of queer characters was deliberate, explicit, and incredible. Not only did LGBTQ side characters express their identities in a variety of ways, but the main couple also got to show their love with both words and a kiss. Furthermore, and perhaps even more importantly, the main couple in She-Ra got a happen ending and a future for them and the viewers to imagine and look towards with excitement. Sadly, many LGBTQ characters and couples do not get to experience such conclusions. For decades, queer relationships ended in tragedy, often with the death of one or more queer characters killed off as part of the "bury your gays" trope. Even if the characters live, narratives rarely provided a happy future for those with queer identities. Sadly, this trend is alive and well. Recent examples include Adam from Voltron: Legendary Defender and Annika and Neha from The Dragon Prince.

Stevenson actively set out to avoid this trope in She-Ra, telling the Los Angeles Times, "I can't see another gay character die on TV for the moment." Not only did she not kill Adora and Catra, or any of the show's other queer characters, she gave Adora and Catra, the two lesbian leads in love, a happy ending. The show even offers viewers and Adora a glimpse of one possible future for the couple in the final vision of domestic bliss in Brightmoon. Both Adora and Catra struggle and suffered greatly, but they were allowed a happy ending and the opportunity to look forward to a life together. For the two main characters of a children's cartoon to achieve such a fantastic ending in such an explicit way is a genuinely revolutionary moment of representation, proudly standing alongside defining scenes like and Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding in Steven Universe. Importantly, both shows are made by queer creators, showing young viewers that people like them can achieve and create great things and that there are those out there fighting for them. For these reasons, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is one of the single most significant works of LGBTQ representation in children's media.

Queer representation in children's media matters so much, likely more than it does in any other medium. It normalizes LGBTQ identities for families and sends a powerful message to all LGBTQ children who may be feeling sad or alone or sacred: 'You are not alone, you matter, and you are accepted.' These words, implied with every positive depiction of queer identities, save so many children and young adults from unnecessary suffering and sometimes even saves lives. Noelle Stevenson and She-Ra will likely create giant waves in the medium just as Steven Universe did before it, and generations of queer people, myself included, wait with bated breath to see what results from it.

#She-Ra #yuri #gay #catradora #lesbian #lesbians #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #queer #news #essays #article #girls love #wlw #catra #adora #noelle stevenson #non-binary #cartoon #cartoons #history #shera

[serenityseventeen]

Dino (이찬):

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

“Man in a Movie (2)”

synopsis: Two weeks had now gone by during Chan's two month stay, and almost every day and night, he's greeted by your short conversations, beautiful smiles, and short but satisfying waves of hello or goodbye. To Chan, there was just something about you that made you linger in his mind, even during long nights.

parts: one | two | three | four | epilogue

genre: romance, CEO au, hotel au

characters: ceo!chan x hotel housekeeper!fem!reader, ft. housekeeping manager!jeonghan, front desk clerk!joshua, barista!wonwoo, secretary!seungkwan, actor!soonyoung

word count: 3,814

a/n: Happy 6th birthday to DAY6! I hope they don't renew their contracts with JYPE/Studio J and do something like Got7 (a bit blunt but...yep.)! + Tomorrow is In The Soop again! I'm excited for the Mafia game and the racing(?), In The Soop brings me a lot of healing ^^ + gif credits: @woozi

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Chan was seemingly always busy.

You're just a part of the hotel staff but every day, you wanted to greet him with a hello and talk with him like how you two did on that night when you two first met, two weeks ago. However, the most you could get were quick waves and flashes of smiles.

In your perspective, the two of you hit it off. You could recall the way his attractive eyes stared at you when you talked. It looked like he was just as much into the conversation as you. Both of you, that night, exchanged names, opinions, and agreements, even calling each other by first names was an agreement you two made.

Not only positive things were shared in the conversation you two had. You two had respectful disagreements and bickered about whether one scene was more beautiful than the other, only to agree that both scenes were breathtaking.

Chan was nothing like the stereotypical CEO that movies and dramas showed; he wasn't cocky, full of himself, or always high in luxury.

There were many times when you saw him ‘acting out of character’ or more like being himself. To you, Chan was a human who conveyed the impression that he appreciated all the small things in the world.

A few hours ago, when you were taking out the trash with the hotel manager Jeonghan, you saw Chan. He was outside beside the flowery bushes that decorated the sides of the tall hotel. However, what made you stop and stare was when you realized that he wasn't looking at the beautiful, blossoming flowers on the bushes. There was a floret peeking its head out from below the flourishing flowers that overshadowed it.

Chan was staring at that small yellow flower. You found yourself smiling as he gently stroked the bud as if it was a cat. You could see his mouth open as he spoke softly to the tiny flower and that just made you realize that the CEO, director, producer, actor, and the man you admired was nothing like how he seemed on television.

The scene was just so beautiful that you had to take a picture. The sunset was coming down at the perfect time, just enough to peep into the photo while hiding behind the walls of the hotel building.

The vibrance of the golden daylight and blooming flowers mixed with Chan's softly colored suit was the perfect combination to create a breathtakingly aesthetic photo. You snapped a picture and were glad that it captured all of the aspects you wanted, his white suit, the yellow floret, the mid-day sunshine, and the flower bushes.

You couldn't stop staring at him and it wasn't until Jeonghan called for you that you took your eyes off him and decided to walk back inside. Of course, you couldn't help but glance back as you walked.

“Hey, Y/N,” Jeonghan called to you, who had your elbows resting on the table and your hands holding up your face like you were stuck in a daydream.

You were sitting in the lounge bar of the hotel, waiting for Wonwoo to make your evening tea to end off the night.

You originally thought that Jeonghan's call was a part of your memory but it wasn't long until you realized that it wasn't and the real Jeonghan was calling your name while massaging your shoulders. He wasn't very good at it in comparison to Joshua, who gave the best back and shoulder massages, but you were glad to get one anyway.

“You must be so tired, now I understand why you decided to take a three-day vacation starting tomorrow,” Jeonghan said, nodding slowly. “Being a hotel housekeeper is a really tough job. You have to clean well and flawlessly in a short matter of time... I envy how you have the energy to do that.”

You chuckled. Jeonghan was more of a friend than an acquaintance at work. He was a caring hotel housekeeper manager and would always put the staff's health and safety first. He was also a master when it came to calming down angry guests. Jeonghan just had that soft, calming voice, and angelic look in his eyes and smile that everyone would immediately feel calmer.

Even now, his sweet tone was making you feel relaxed. Working days and nights wasn't easy but the hotel paid extremely well and you needed the money if you wanted your dreams to come true.

“I have almost no way to spend my vacations,” You said, letting out soft giggles at Jeonghan's shoulder massage. It didn't relieve your muscles but made you feel a bit ticklish, so you couldn't help but raise your shoulders and remove his hands from your shoulder. “So I think I'll spend most of my time here. Will that be okay?”

Jeonghan smiled. “Of course that's fine.”

At that moment, Joshua came walking in with one cup of tea. He set it on the wooden table, sliding it over to you, and sat down in front of you.

You thanked him and took a sip.

“What were you guys talking about?” Joshua asked, sitting down comfortably in front of you. He had his hands clasped on the table. The lounge was decorated beautifully and sometimes, you thought that maybe you'd film something in here one day. Just the overall vibe of the historical paintings and wooden furniture made your heart pound.

Jeonghan chuckled, as if planning a scheme, and sat down beside you. He crossed his legs and replied in a not-so-quiet voice, “Nothing much, just about Wonwoo's totally not obvious crush on the guest that always comes down for tea every morning.”

You laughed. Housekeeping manager Yoon was sometimes like a troublemaker kid, who would always play pranks, plan schemes, and joke around often, despite always being seen like an angel who brought peace to angry hotel guests.

Wonwoo, the barista who made the best tea ever, cleared his throat from the back of the lounge, at his working station. “You're not as quiet as you think you are, Mr. Yoon.”

You smiled and laughed. You glanced at front desk clerk Joshua Hong, your best friend, who was sitting in front of you, then at manager Yoon Jeonghan, who seemed like a caring father, and then at barista Jeon Wonwoo, who was like a brother to you. They never failed once to make you feel safe and lift your spirits.

You loved that the staff could make you feel like a hotel, the place where people come and go, feel like a home.

-

Chan gazed at himself in the mirror, trying to find what made his extremely expensive brand-name suit exactly so glamorous.

He turned his body halfway to the right, then halfway to the left, his hands tucked inside his pockets. Chan tried to pose coolly, like he was a model on the runway, to try and see what made the suit so special. Of course, the only reason that he was wearing such a luxurious suit was because it was gifted from one of his dear friends, Kwon Soonyoung, who was also a famous actor that acted in one of Chan's hit movies.

Chan never really cared for what he wore until recently. Being quite a youngster, the passion-driven man was interested in a horde of things, and one of the things he recently became interested in was fashion and discovering his fashion style.

The rich suit he had on right now was made of fine material, it was smooth with a bit of softness. The dress shirt was white and the jacket that was a part of the suit was slightly tinted khaki, matching with the ankle cut pants. Chan liked that it made him look professional, graceful, CEO-like, and modest, but it wasn't exactly his style.

Who said that a CEO must always wear a suit?

Chan shrugged and turned to the large closet, changing out of the gifted tuxedo, into something more comfortable, a white shirt and casual black sweatpants for the night.

He jumped onto his flawlessly white bed and pulled the blanket right under his armpit before lying still on his side, staring at the large window. He had been so caught up with work and business that he hadn't been able to properly take a look at the beautiful scenery.

From floor 7, he could see everything. Though it was dark and the clouds were hazy, the blue waves of the sea continued to clash against the shore. Right now, for some reason, he wished to be down there, at the beach, enjoying the calming sound of the sea surf.

The person he wanted to spend time with, down on that sandy beach, was surprisingly, you. Well, you were the first person to pop up inside his head when he firstly wondered, “If I could be with one person down there on that beach, who would it be?”

Maybe he was longing to have another conversation like the one you two had on the night you two first met. Chan turned over so that his back would be flat on the ground, now laying down crookedly on the bed, his head near the edge of the left side of the bed. The stuffed pillows weren't feeling comfortable so he decided to get his head off them and use his arm as a pillow instead. He was no longer wearing the blanket but instead laying on it as if it were the covers.

For the past two weeks, you two didn't get to talk much. From time to time, he would see you talking with Joshua, the man at the front desk, and as he passed by to leave the hotel and get to work, you two would wave at each other.

You two couldn't talk that often. It was just sometimes that he would see you doing some cleaning late at night on his floor. Sometimes, you wouldn't even notice that he was there.

He recalled a few days ago when he saw you dusting the lamps that were attached to the walls. He was a bit shy but he wanted to talk to you so he gathered his courage and walked toward you, dressed casually just like how he was now while laying on his bed.

You were such a hard worker. He talked with you a little bit but before he knew it, Chan was getting distracted by your focused eyes and delicate movements as you dusted the lamps.

Sometimes, you didn't feel like a fan of his.

Sometimes, you did, and you would go on and on about his films and the way he made them. Chan was still confused about what exactly you were. The two of you were friendly enough to be friends but at the same time sustained a fan and celebrity relationship.

Even if you were considered a mere fan amongst the millions he had, something about you was different.

Right as Chan was going to fall asleep while thinking about you, he was interrupted by his phone, which was sitting on the bedside table, below the double floating lamps that were still on. Chan sat up and picked up his phone.

BOO SEUNGKWAN HYUNG.

Wondering what the call could be about, Chan answered the phone. He was met with Seungkwan's tired voice.

“Mr. CEO, have you checked your emails?” Seungkwan asked, knowing that Chan had an undying habit of sleeping without making sure he checked his emails and messages. Chan was obviously way too laid back about everything meanwhile Seungkwan, his secretary, was in constant worry about the business.

“I forgot to check, I'm sure there's nothing that needs to be looked over anyway. You have the company under control, right?” Chan replied, still laying down on his bed. With one hand holding the phone to his ear, his other hand fidgeted with his silver necklace that had a small diamond pendant.

“Right, the company is doing fine, but you need to build a habit of looking at your emails! How long has it been since you became the chief executive officer of Dino Films?”

Chan felt like he wanted to laugh. Sometimes, even though the two of them had been in the business industry for quite a while, he still found it hard to take Seungkwan seriously. Even Chan knew that at times, he was a bit immature, but that was because he was still young and the childish side of him still stuck by his side.

Chan laughed softly while staring up at the smooth, white ceiling. “Half a decade. Half a decade since we began this business but you still don't seem like my secretary.”

Seungkwan scoffed from the other side of the line before continuing, “You should look at your emails more often, especially now that you're far away. The meeting plans for the next three days have been canceled due to issues at home.”

Chan nodded. “Then, what should I do for the time being? Tell the finance department to send me the records of-”

Before Chan could finish telling Secretary Boo about his plans for the next few days, Seungkwan cut him off by saying, “Don't even think about work, Chan! I have everything covered, spend the next three days like a vacation, okay?”

“What are you talking about? I'm the CEO, I have to work. Plus, I already took a day off from work because of the weekend, this week barely started and you want me to not work??” Chan was a bit confused by Seungkwan's actions. Usually, he would be complaining about the workload he got and the number of responsibilities he had to cover. “Don't tell me… you're trying to get promoted!?”

Seungkwan laughed, making Chan laugh as well.

“I'm not trying to get promoted, though that would be nice! You know how tiring it is being your secretary?” Seungkwan replied, his voice calming down. Sometimes, Chan was just so glad to have Seungkwan in his life. “Anyways, spend the next three days doing something fun. Get a tour guide and walk around the city and seaside, you haven't even properly seen the scenery, have you? Just do something fun over there while you're at it!”

“Fine, fine, whatever, but stop with that caring tone, you sound like my mother!” Chan playfully replied. “I'm hanging up now, Seungkwan, good night.”

“Make sure you get some rest, Chan. I better not see you working tomorrow! Good night!”

Chan placed his hand by his bedside and stared up at the ceiling for a bit. A tour guide, a tour around the seaside, that didn't sound like such a bad idea. He was a millionaire already with his fantastic films being hits everywhere around the world, so hiring a tour guide was no problem. However, Chan didn't want to be spending time with a stranger.

Laying on his pure white bed, with a dim golden light from the lamp, Chan kept thinking, losing himself in thoughts about work. Chan was a good listener and found that his secretary's advice was usually more useful than his own, but now, he was contemplating whether or not to take the day off.

Out of the blue, you came into his mind.

Yeah, the thought of you was sudden, but while lying awake in his bed, Chan just thought that you were the perfect tour guide candidate. He recalled a short conversation you two had when passing by each other about a few months ago, about how you moved to the seaside to make money but found yourself getting attached to the place.

Chan had just come back from a meeting at that time, around 6 pm, and greeted you, who was coincidentally on the 7th floor doing some evening cleaning near his room. When Chan saw you, he bowed respectfully and found himself clutching his black leather briefcase a bit tighter.

“Hey, Y/N,” He said comfortably. Waving to each other almost every day and having short conversations in between for the last two weeks allowed the two of you to feel like friends, though numbers had not even been exchanged yet. “How is work today?”

You turned to him with a smile, leaning your back against the smooth brown walls of the hotel corridors. In your hands was a rather dirty red cloth that you were fidgeting with.

You replied with a soft sigh and looked up, into his eyes. “I'm doing fine with work. My body feels exhausted, I think I might take a few days off soon though.”

With a slight worrying shake in his voice and a concerned glisten in his eyes, Chan replied, “It seems like you work very hard. Don't you feel overworked? I see you nearly every day and night, you said you work two jobs here, right?”

You nodded while still holding a stiff smile. However, you did feel slightly happy inside that the person you admired the most, Mr. Lee Chan of Dino Films, had remembered seemingly trivial details you told him. The fact that you were having a somewhat friendly relationship with him was making your days brighter.

After your silence, Chan's curiosity made him say, “I'm just wondering… what made you choose this place? It's a luxury hotel by the seaside. Is it because of the scenery that you want to work here often?”

His question made you smile. You two hadn't talked about more personal things and Chan's question felt like a step to crossing that fan and celebrity friendship boundary.

“I just...” You thought about it for a second, averting your gaze from his monolid eyes to the wall opposite the one you were leaning against.

Was it the caring and kind housekeeper manager Jeonghan that made you choose this place? Or your best friend, the selfless front desk clerk, Joshua? Or perhaps it was the cool barista, Wonwoo, who made the best tea for the evenings? Or was it because of the pay that made you stay?

After thinking for a moment, you turned your eyes back to CEO Chan, who was waiting for your answer, his hand that held the key card to his room frozen while halfway inserted into the hotel door card reader.

“I just like it here.”

Your final response left Chan wondering more about you. He tilted his head a little and withdrew the card from the card reader, placing the key card back into his pants pocket. The suit he was wearing was black.

“Why do you like it here?” Chan asked. This moment, to him, felt like a scene in a movie. A romance movie. It would have been described as a scene of bonding, Chan thought.

You smiled softly and with a slight twinkle in your eyes, you replied, “The people here are like my family. I like the shimmering sun, the ocean waves, and the shore. This place and the beach are like my home. The moment I moved here, I bonded with the place. I've always been quite good with directions so now I know my way around every corner of the city and every room of the hotel. It's like a person who's comfortable in their own house.”

Chan nodded, unable to find a proper way to reply. It was strange to him how a place where people stay temporarily felt like home to someone else. He had never heard that before.

Chan pulled out the key card again as you stood up straight, removing your back from the wall. Chan had noticed that you don't change out of the housekeeper uniform even when you become the night janitor.

“Oh well, I think I need to go do more cleaning on some upper floors,” You said, pointing up with your finger while still maintaining a genuine smile. It seemed like you truly felt like this place was home and Chan could feel your attachment to this place.

“Wait,” Chan said, still holding his key card. Something about you made him want to know just a bit more. So, he said, “Can I ask one more question?”

You nodded reassuringly. “Sure, ask away.”

Chan was a bit hesitant since the question seemed to be out of context but at the same time, he could see that it did have some sort of relation with the conversation you two had. Chan wet his lips and let out a somewhat nervous breath before asking, “Do you live by yourself?”

Your heart skipped a beat while looking into his eyes. Feeling a bit of shyness overcome your body, you turned away, oppressing your excited, shy giggles. You nodded, feeling like your relationship with him was getting a bit closer.

“Yeah, I do live by myself, in an apartment unit about this big,” You exaggerated the size by pinching your fingers together to show him while squinting your eyes.

Chan chuckled. “Have a good night, Y/N.”

You felt your insides jump around. “You too, Mr. Lee.”

Chan opened the door of his hotel room but shook his head toward you, one foot already inside his room. “Don't call me that, it makes me sound old. Just call me Chan.”

With a kind smile that showed through his eyes, Chan went inside his room, closing the door shut behind him. There was a click as the door automatically locked and he found himself lingering by the door until he heard the wheels of your cleaning cart push away against the tan carpeted floor.

Maybe you were the perfect tour guide?

Chan couldn't help but laugh at his thoughts. It was getting even darker and there he was, on his bed, staying up late thinking about the moments you got shared. He knew that you were probably going to be busy, why would you ever have time to be a tour guide? Is it going to be a different situation for him just because you were a fan of his works?

Chan didn't want it to be like that, you getting out of your way to do something for him just because he was someone famous.

With a sigh, Chan brought his hand to his necklace that was resting on his chest and began to twiddle with his diamond pendant necklace again.

“Will she be free…?” Chan thought out loud, staring blankly at the ceiling, his necklace wrapped around his pointer finger.

Shaking off his thoughts, Chan turned off the lamp, letting the darkness of the night sink into his hotel room. The only light was from the windows, where the round moon was shining brightly in the evening sky, and the city lights glowed from far away.

Getting ready to sleep, Chan yawned and closed his eyes, muttering to himself, “Whatever, I can just spend the day by myself… if I get bored, I can always go back to work.”

What exactly would make tomorrow fun?

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© serenityseventeen

time finished: a few days ago

#seventeen kpop #seventeen #svt kpop #seventeen imagines #svt imagines #seventeen scenarios #svt #seventeen fluff #svt fluff #이찬 #디노 #이디노 #seventeen dino #dino seventeen #lee dino #dino #dino scenario #svt dino #dino svt #dino imagines #lee chan seventeen #lee chan imagines #lee chan #lee chan scenario #svt chan #seventeen chan #chan scenarios #chan seventeen #chan svt #dino x reader

[shepard-ram]

Hello I'm light anon and i bring you the first chapter of an au i started awhile ago with the help of Ender anon (hi love you/p) , the supernatural au named Abnormalities and its very long

Abnormalities

Chapter One - Phasmophobia 2.5k words

:readmore:

“Prove it then.” 

Of course, Sap and Dream’s arguments always lead to some sort of challenge. Ever since you met them in middle school, it’s been like that. Sap would say something, Dream would fire back because Sap was clearly wrong in his eyes, and it would spiral from there. Today’s topic of debate: The existence of the paranormal. Specifically, ghosts.

What sparked it? A cheesy horror film you picked out for the monthly movie night. Your stereotypical ghost film with lazy jump scares with bad effects and acting.you only bought it so you four could laugh at it. You Guys laud sprawled on the couch while Sap took up the floor. All was well, Until Sap proclaimed that real ghosts wouldn’t be that shitty. Dream, heavily disagreed that ghosts even existed. George didn’t take a side but you backed Sap up. The world is to weird not to have ghosts in it.

”Oh absolutely.” Sap nodded, agreeing with your assessment.

Dream rolled his eyes “Sure, sure, just how are you going to prove me wrong? There isn’t a ‘haunted building’ anywhere in town.”

 At that moment George decided to speak up “What about the old willbeck farm?, the one a couple miles out of town. I always heard it was haunted by a kid or something.”

“That stupid place?  Those were just stories are parents told us to keep us from trespassing.”

You shrugged. “It’s a start.”

Next thing you know, you and sap blew your paychecks on ghost hunting equipment. You ordered the basics, an EMF meter, a good camera, a thermometer, you even bought a ‘Spirit box’ and some smudge sticks, all too spite Dream who complained that you were being scammed. 

You both ended up begging George to use his car to load up your equipment as he was the only one to have a large enough car for your equipment. He relented after a day of relentless begging. 

The Willbeck farm was a 40 minute drive from your home, which left a lot of room for discussion.

“You three are idiots.” 

You leaned forward to poke your head over the passenger seat. “You didn’t have to come, you know. You could have stayed back and do boring things like dressing up patches or something.”

He turned his head with narrowed eyes. “And make sure you guys didn’t fake your ‘proof?’ Not a chance.”

You laugh. “You’ll be the first one we feed to the ghosts.”

You bickered back and forth until George announced that they had finally made it. Not even seconds after he pulled into the clearing in front of the property, you and Sap practically kept out of the car and rushed to the trunk to get your gear. After distributing equipment amounts your group you took your first look at the house

The Farmhouse was much larger than you remembered reading about. It was a huge two story red building with a faded white trim. The word around it looked like it had been rotting for years and it definitely smelt like rot. AMany of the windows were broken in, and the glass was a gross brown color. The roof had some holes in it and the gutters had been ripped from the roof and laid scattered around the outside. A large barn was off to the side and had the same kind of wear to it. The entire property was surrounded by a torn up wire fencing, which had a lot of crows perched, eyeing you intensely. The Erie feeling the house gave off was intensified by the soft sound of the wind and the loud crow caws. 

If houses had a criteria to be haunted, this one checked off all the boxes

Sap let out a low whistle before lightly nudging your arm “Dude, this place makes your home look tiny!”

You scoffed at that. Sure your rented home was small, but was cheap enough to pay for while you worked your way through community college. A one bedroom, one bath, a combined kitchen/living space, all on top of a double garage was all you needed. 

It was a slow walk to the porch, all of you hesitant to actually set foot in the run down building. The steps creaked under you, and the wooden boards sunk slightly. You were at the head of the group, so you were the first one inside, taking a couple steps in the large foyer. It was full of outdated furniture, something you’d see out of the early 90’s. A large staircase sat to the left, hugging the wall as it pushed into the upstairs.  There was a door to your right, leading into what you believe was the kitchen.

You held the camera up and you got a good shot of the room, if there were no ghosts you’d at least have some cool photos.

The four of you spread out into  the room observing every corner of it. Sapnap was the one armed with the EMF reader. He waved the hand held device trying to get something, anything to read. He did manage to get one, honing onto a stuffed cow that was nestled into the couch.

It was dusty, like everything else in the room. Otherwise it was in semi good condition. It was... cute. Too cute to just be sitting in this old farmhouse for the rest of time. Dream had other opinions.

“That means nothing. It’s just a cow.” 

To be fair, it was the first time either of you had used this kind of equipment. You decided to put it in your bag, hoping to study it later. It could be a fluke, but you guys couldn’t bow down now!  The hunt has only just begun.

Every room on the first floor was subject to an EMF and Temperature checks. Dream and George fucked around while you and Sap scanned for anything that could be more than a fluke, the only thing that could be found was in the kitchen. A small carved statue of a crow.

It gave off the same readings as the cow plush, so perhaps it wasn’t a fluke. You found it sitting on the open windowsill, it was so life-like you almost mistake it for a living crow. Something was telling you that it was probably the oldest thing in the house. You gently placed it in your bag with the cow, another piece to your growing collection.

You took a moment to glance out the window. There were way too many crows sitting on the wire fence to be normal. It was the beginning of summer, so crows even migrate?

With the first floor cleared, you lead the charge upstairs. The floor boards only got louder with every step. You quietly asked whatever prime deity was watching that neither of your group would fall through the floor. The whole house felt unstable.

The top of the stairs lead you to a Hallway. It was small and only had two doors and at the end of it stood a large magnificent bookshelf.

You took the first door on the left accompanied by George while Sap and Dream opted to poke around in the hallway, formally splitting the group for the first time.

The room wasn’t very Large, nor could you tell what it was supposed to be used for as pretty much everything was covered with sheets of some kind. There were a couple of uncovered boxes laying on top of things, so it wasn’t completely boring. A couple of minutes of scavenging later, George called for your attention.

“Look at this” George presented you a beautiful lute from one of the few uncovered boxes. It was crafted out of a dark wood and had what you thought was engravings of fish along the sides. How old was this thing? Was it even usable?

“Let me see!” You asked, setting down the camera before making a grabby motion towards the lute, which was met with a questioning look from the Brit. “I want to see if it’s in tune.” 

He decided that it was a good enough answer before handing over the old thing. You strummed the strings, and it sounded surprisingly good, despite the cloud of dust that came off it. You paused for a brief moment before playing a quick melody, just a song you played back in middle school for a recital. You hummed along until yelps from outside and many thumps. 

You quickly set the Lute down and follow George out the door, fearing that something had gotten your two friends. However, instead of a gory mess, you saw Dream standing holding a book, while a whole pile of them at his feet, a few inches away from the bookshelf. 

“The shelves just collapsed on themselves.” He quietly said. The look on his face was puzzled, like he was still trying to figure out what had happened. 

“Or maybe,” Sap started. “The ghost doesn’t like you touching his stuff.”

“I’m keeping it then, the ghost doesn’t need it.” 

“What’s the title of it?” You asked as you fake over to view the damage. Dream opened the book and flipped through it. 

“It’s old, There isn’t a title nor is it in English, old English I think.”

What was such an old book doing in a relatively modern house? You shake the thought away and motioned for Dream to give it to you. “I’ll hold onto it, I want to see if I can get it translated.” Another treasure for your growing collection.

You turned back to check on George, he wasn’t next to you, instead he was messing with the final door, seeming to unjam the lock and push into the room. You decided to grab the lute and take it as a keepsake.

Picking it up again made your head feel... loud. You couldn’t tell which thoughts were yours and which were intruding. A pair of eyes were watching you somehow but the room was empty. Panic rose in your chest, your heart was beating so so loud. A cold hand touched your shoulders, yet you couldn’t tell if it meant you harm or not.

“Hey... are you okay?”

And it stopped. Everything was clear again. You turned your head to look back seeing Sap poke his head through the door. “You’ve been standing here for a while.”

You nod, “Yeah yeah... we should- we should stop splitting up.”

You’d only find out later that the Lute has the same effects that the other two objects did.

The house search was a bit of a bust. The only ‘Supernatural’ experience you had was the EMF meter going off and the strange experience with the lute which you opted not to tell your friends about, writing off as the Erie nature of the house getting to you.

Finding nothing else interesting, you took one last look at the entrance room before stepping out. You feel a weird sense of longing, something pulling at you not to go. You tried to shake off the feeling and you walked back to the car, just to put all your goodies away in the trunk. 

All that was left on your to-do list was to check the outside area and the barn. Being the person that you are, you went straight to the barn. They boys could handle the rest of the property alone. alone  The building had no doors you waltzed right though the entryway. Despite never actually being in a barn, it looked right to you.

It was devoid of any livestock, but there was Hay everywhere. Light shined through the holes in the ceiling, making the room clear enough. The soft blue liquid that was spread across the hay-

Wait. What?

Doing a second take revealed that the whole barn has some weird blue goo smeared everywhere. It looked too Fresh to be painted, it looked wet. There didn’t seem to be a set trail, just pools of it. You found most of it by a ladder that led up to a new section of the barn.

The blue substance was dripping from the loft of the barn. 

It had to be.

And you were right! Sort of. Finally dragging yourself up the old latter not really minding the blue that now stained your clothes, you found the source.

He was standing- floating?- there, as if waiting for someone. The man was tall, taller than you or any of their friends, absolutely towering over you. His entire pallet was muted, his skin was fucking Grey. His attire was strange too. Something out of a renaissance fair. What was the strangest was that he was translucent and bleeding? Out of a cut on his chest. That blue substance oozing out of his stomach onto the floor boards.

He smiled.

“You found me, little songbird.”

The temperature drop had you shivering, but that also could have been from the absolute terror of seeing a real ghost.

That loud feeling returned in full force, directing your attention onto him.. You had to go. But it was like you were frozen place. He moved to cup your face, cooing as he looked you over.

“It’s not polite to touch things that aren’t yours, yet you handle them with so much care... I don’t mind.”

He wasn’t acting out of malice, thank prime, but It didn’t make it any less uncomfortable. He was too close.

“.... pretty songbird. My pretty songbird.”

A beat past before you could hear your friends calling for you. Your head cleared for a moment so you took it and ran. Practically flying down the ladder and hurting yourself in the fall. Ignoring the pain you booked it to the car right past Dream and Sap, who were standing by the entrance to the barn.

“We- We have to go. Now. Please we need to... to...” you couldn’t really tell what you were saying, everything was moving too fast. Great Prime, that was a real ghost. You- You were talking to a ghost. A Ghost called you a Song bird. 

A Ghost.

That ended your hunt right there and then. You weren’t in a fit state to keep going. Especially not when you’re covered in... whatever this blue stuff is. You’d come to find later that you had a blue hand print on your face, right where the man had cradled your face.

You’re so out of it, you don’t realize when your friends are guiding you up the stairs to your home. One of them says something about leaving the loot in your garage, but you don’t really care. This is a future problem. You give a small thank you and a swift goodbye before passing out the second you feel your pillow under you.

So deep in sleep you don’t realize that your tiny home has a few new residents wandering about. 

Or the fact that one of them watched over you as you slept

-----------

I AM SIMPLY ASHAMED OF HOW LONG IVE BEEN PUTTING THIS OFF IT WAS A CRINE TO NOT LET Y'ALL SEE THIS EARLIER. LIGHT YOU'VE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB AAUAUGGG

#submission #tw. yandere #c: dream #c: george #c: sapnap #c: wilbur #💡 anon

[hwangsies]

GALVANISING GREEN

(definition: galvanising (adj): to be affected by something as if by electricity)

pairing: slytherin!hyunjin x slytherin!reader

summary: hyunjin convinces you to break into professor longbottoms greenhouse with him at night, however he didn’t expect you to snoop around and get intoxicated by a plant that doubles as a strong aphrodisiac.

warnings: light angst, bad attempt at lining this up with the generation of harry and co’s children lol, somewhat involuntairy intoxication?, hyunjin is cocky, long flashback again(shocker!) smut as in: implied oral (f receiving), fingering 

6.2 k words,

enjoy <3

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(read part 2 here)

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"Psst" you furrow your brows as you concentrate harder on the essay you’re writing for your herbology class.

"Pssst" you hear from your right again as you shake your head.

"Pssssst"

"what??" You snap your head to the right to meet victoires green-turqoise eyes before she flicks a piece of paper at you.

'Open' she mouths to you before giggling inaudibly.

You roll your eyes at what your gryffindor best friend might've just wasted 1 good minute of your time on.

Normally you arent this persistent on getting things done instantly, but you know herbology isn’t something you’re talented at.

If there was a word to describe the opposite of a green thumb, you would use it to describe your talents in herbology.

Every plant you try to be nice to (ranging from harmless to deadly), has either died, attacked you or did nothing good for your grade.

So, already slightly pissed off, you open the neatly folded piece of paper.

Her handwriting is awful, and because she hexed it, the font dances around so it takes you a second to decypher what she had written.

Hwang keeps looking at you like you're his next meal, babe!

Once you read it, a scribbled version of the heart eye emoji appears below the words, slowly opening its mouth to have little drops of animated drool rolling down the paper.

You feel the blood rushing up your neck as you look up, across the long table you were sitting at and to the one next to it, where yours and hyunjins eyes meet.

His lower lip is trapped by his teeth, when he realises you are looking back at him, he releases the rosy flesh and chases it with his tongue before trying , yet failing, to hold back a grin.

You look at victoire next to you.

She grinns widely and whispers, almost completely inaudibly "attagirl"

At which you hastily shake your head and stick your tounge out at her before quickly gathering your things and leaving the big hall with victoires quiet snickering still in earshot.

If she only knew, you think to yourself as you rush down the hallway , pressing your books tighter to your chest.

~flashback to three days ago~

You groaned and let your forhead fall onto your herbology book.

'I hate this' you muttered to yourself in a , what you felt like, never ending loop.

"I feel that" you got startled and whipped your head up as a yelp slipped past your lips.

Hyunjin grinned at you before draping a cloak over the chair and taking a seat across from you at a small table in the slytherin common room; his own books in his hand.

You chuckled embarrasedly as you ran your hand through your hair, trying to make you look somewhat presentable for the handsome boy.

"Dont worry, i dont judge you" he smiled and plopped his books on the table as well "stuck on herbology too, huh?" He peeked over.

"Yea, professor longbottom is going to behead me" you joked "i dont get it, how am i supposed to write an essay about my experiences with magical plants when all i ever get them to do is...die, or nothing at all" you shook your head in defeat.

He giggled cutely as he gathered his chin-length blonde hair in a low pony.

You couldn’t help but stare at him, the way the yellowish lights of the doungeons illuminated his features was too perfect.

The feline eyes ,the blunt nose and his thick lips. In combination with his sharp jawline and dark eyebrows, it was easy to be intimmidated by his looks.

You kind of had a thing for him for a while now, but then again so had almost every girl in your year. Him and his best friend james were by far the most good looking guys in your year.

The difference between hyunjin and his best fried however was that his friend knew he looked good and liked it to be known and acknowledged.

Hyunjin was open-minded and sweet, aslo a little shy from time to time, but he also had his cocky moments, especially with girls.

So they weren’t that different, both being players and heartbreakers to a certain extent.

They were popular due to their success in each of their quidditch teams, hyunjin being the seeker for slytherin and james for gryffindor, following in the footsteps of his famous father.

They started out as rivals but became inseperable over time, successfully breaking the stereotype that gryffindors and slytherins couldnt be friends.

Nowadays the only things they’d get competitive about was quidditch and girls.

Even though hyunjin and you were in the same house and year, you didnt have that much to do with each other.

Due to him being more popular and, well, more talented in everything he did; but also because your friendgroups rarely overlapped.

There was this one time in the 5th year where you two were close to becoming friends.

He had asked you for help with his little cousin who had started dating someone you used to be friends with, around that time you noticed that you liked him for the first time.

In the end, his cousin broke up with said boy and you somehow lost sight of each other again.

And so the crush on him kind of faded into the background, it wasnt something you were always thinking about, but you knew it was there when you spoke to him or when he was too close.

But the stories that you heard from other girls kept you from imagining more with him.

"I dont even know what the last plant was that he showed us in class, i always feel like sleeping" he said laughingly, before opening his book and opening his pot of ink as well.

You chuckled softly in response.

You watched him for a few seconds, reading his book, scratching the back of his head and furrowing his brows while his lips pushed fowards in a pout so cute, you would be insane if you didnt want to kiss it away.

After what felt like an eternity, you looked at the clock to see it was already past 11.

Since it was a friday and you didnt have class the next day, you didn't jump into bed immediately.

"This is bullshit" hyunjin muttered and looked up "what the hell do i know about what this plant looks like, i dont even know how to pronounce the name" he groaned, slightly frustrated.

He pointed to the name written in his book and showed it to you “look”

"Oh, i think i've seen this name on a pot in professor longbottoms greenhouse" you recalled.

"Yea?" You nodded at him.

"Okay" he closed his books and stood up "lets go"

"Huh?" You looked up at him confusedly.

"Lets pay the greenhouse a little visit" he grinned.

"Have you gone mad? No way, do you know in how much trouble we could get into?" You asked rethorically.

"Chill, james lent me this" he held up a dark brown cloak.

"What is that?" You asked, just as unbelieving as before.

"His dads invisibility cloak" he answered quickly "come on, we'll stay there 10 minutes tops, i just want to see what that plant looks like"

"Okay, well have fun doing that, alone" you retorted.

"Noo, y/n i need you to show me to the plant, you know where it is" he pouted.

"Please" he was definetly using his charms, which is why you felt so stupid when you sighed an ‘okay’ after he begged a few more times.

You closed your books and got up as well, hyunjin quickly draping the cloak over the both of you.

"You go in the front, you're smaller" he commented.

"Allright" you muttered and moved in front of him.

"We have to be quiet when we go outside, or the fat lady is gonna snitch on us" you felt his breath over your ear.

"okay" you said shortly, getting nervous over the fact that he was this close behind you.

Once out of the commonroom you walked up the stairs managing to do so without tripping over each other and blowing your cover.

Once you arrived on the ground floor, you headed for the back door, which brought you to the garden and the greenhouses.

The moment you reached out your hand for the door handle, it got pushed open slowly.

Hyunjin pulled you back instantly and pressed himself with his back against the stone wall as he gripped your waist with one hand and held the other over your mouth because somehow he sensed how close you were to yelp out.

What he didn't know was how he made the situation worse for you because your back was pressed against his firmly built chest and your lower back against a certain bulge.

"shh" he breathed against your ear, so quietly you almost didn't hear it.

Mr filch groaned as he stumbled inside and fumbled at the doors lock, the door itself still wide open.

You felt hyunjin push against your waist slightly from behind to get you moving, so you complied.

Quickly rushing outside, you got startled at the loud bang of the heavy door falling close behind you two.

He removed his surprisingly soft hands away from your face, his body however didn't move an inch.

You slightly turned around to him in disbelief.

"now what?" you started freaking out, because how were you going to get back inside?

"what?" he asked back.

"how in the hell are we going to get inside again smartass? He locked the door" you gestured with your hand.

"alohomora?" he answered cockily, at which you flicked his forehead.

"you've been here for 7 years and don't know that that doesn't work on the main doors?" you asked infuriated.

"okay, chill. I know some other ways" he said calmly, still rubbing his forehead.

"what do you mean chill?? What other way-" he cut you off.

"just trust me alright?" you couldn't see him well but his eyes still sparkled in the dark.

So you just sighed.

"come on" he carefully pushed you forwards by your waist; you were pretty sure he would remove them after a few seconds but they stayed there until you entered the greenhouse.

He quickly discarded the cloak and threw it onto the big wooden table in the middle of the spacious house, next to a big book on 'advanced herbology'.

"lumos" you said, making the tip of your wand light up; hyunjin mimicing the same thing.

"now, where did you see this plant?" he asked you.

"uh, I think it was over there in the corner" you pointed to the other side of the house.

"okay" he mumbled and made his way over there.

You looked around yourself and looked at some of the plants, when you heard a thump of some sort.

You whipped your head around to look for hyunjin, you spotted him rubbing his forehead.

"nothing happened" he raised his hands playfully.

You sighed in relief "hurry up, and try not to kill yourself"

"why?" you could hear his grin "cause you'd miss me?" he snickered.

"no, because I’d wanna do that myself if we get caught" you retorted, at which he chuckled.

"ah, got it" he said, holding his wand closer to the plant in the far right corner of the house to get a good look at it.

Turning around, a shimmering dark green flower caught your eye, it shined as if it was reflecting the light from your wand.

You took a few steps towards the window sill, the mysterious flower was standing on, in an equally green pot, on which in a deeper green the words 'galvanising green' were engraved on.

It was sparkling, yet there was a glass dome over the flower; which was weird because no other plant had anything of that sort placed over them.

You thought it was so pretty: the way it sparkled, some sparkles leaning more into a teal color, others more in a deep grass green.The stigma, which was protruding out of the petals was pulsating in a dark ocean green, it was as if it hypnotized you. inviting you to free it and take a closer look.

Slowly you lifted up the dome.

"okay lets go" you heard hyunjin speak somewhere in the distance, but it was uninteresting because the flower was drawing you in and nothing else mattered.

"y/n what are you doing" he seemingly came closer, making his way through all the pots and plants standing around.

After placing the small dome on the window sill, next to said flower; you got closer to it with your face.

"y/n!" hyunjin sounded stern "you don't know what that is, stop it"

Still, you took a whiff of the sprakling plant and it felt like a punch against your chest as it flooded through your lungs, throwing you back instantly.

You gasped for breath as you stumbled backwards, right into hyunjins embrace as he leaped fowards to catch you from falling.

"shit" he slowly sat you down on the ground and got in front of you "fuck y/n" he patted your cheek lightly when you coughed.

He looked up at the plant and quickly got up, placing the small glass dome over it again, holding his cloak covered hand over his nose and mouth.

"galvanising green?" he muttered, reading the inscription on the pot before looking back at you sitting on the ground and holding your chest.

Crouching down to you, he held a hand onto your forehead "are you okay?"

You cleared your throat a few times "uh-mh- yea I think so"

He nodded, carefully holding up his wand to look at your face a little better; your cheeks were a little rosy but other than that you looked normal.

"normally we should go to professor longbottom if something like this happens, but he would kill us right now" he chuckled worrily before his gaze fell onto the big book on the table in the middle of the house.

"I'll just check out the plant to be sure okay?" he said, you nodded, smiling embarrassedly.

He got up and quickly got his hands on the thick 'advanced herbology' book, opening the heavy sides and turning the pages.

"I don't even know why I did that" you spoke softly.

"its okay" he said genuinely.

"no, I'm serious, it was as if it controlled me or something" you kept going.

"hmm" he hummed, clearly to busy looking for said plant in the huge book and not listening.

"phhuuuh" you breathed out after a minute of silence and started fanning yourself.

"is it getting hot in here?" you inquired.

"green...green" you heard hyunjin mutter "there it is!" he said.

Tracing his finger under the lines he was reading, his eyes widened.

"fuck" he mumbled to himself and looked over to you, you were plucking at your shirt to get more air onto your body.

"hyunjin" you gasped "im so hot" your breathing getting shallower.

"okay, uhm okay fuck" he repeated himself and reread the little part of the page again and again.

The Galvanising Green plant is a type of flower, first analyzed in 1987, this plant is very rare in Europe.

Its effect on humans is easy to depict. For women it is a strong aphrodisiac where as for men just a small amount of the pollen can lead to severe headaches and diarrhea.

Part of him was glad that he didn't have to go through headaches and diarrhea, but a different part of him would've preferred it; because now he had to handle an extremely horny version of you?

As if the normal you wasn't enough to make him feel some type of way.

He read a little further than that before coming to your help again.

"jinnie" you mewled as you started to take off your slytherin coat.

"stop" he held it up your shoulder "listen" he placed one hand on your cheek as he brought his wand up to your face.

Your pupils were blown and your cheeks were now completely flushed.That, and your continuous ragged heavy breathing told him that you definitely inhaled more than enough pollen to trigger this response from your body.

"what?" you breathed.

"it's a really strong aphrodisiac, that's why you're feeling like this" he tired to stay calm.

"huh?" your eyes widened "oh shit" you let your head fall back.

"how do I make it go away?" you asked breathlessly, grabbing onto his bicep.

"the book says you have to work it out of your system otherwise your body will go into a shock state because of all the pollen and hormones it produces" he tried explaining to you.

"huh?" you sounded again.

"come here, get up. We'll go inside first" you complied.

"what do you mean 'work it out of my system'??" you asked him as you left the greenhouse on shaky legs, hyunjin wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you from falling.

"well" he blushed as he looked down at the invisibility cloak, he had grabbed in the last second, draped over his arm "are you seeing someone at the moment?"

"uh-n-no?" one of your feet gave out for a millisecond but hyunjin caught you before halting you in your steps.

"was that a question or an answer?" he locked eyes with you as he draped the cloak over the both of you.

"a-mh- answer" you stuttered.

"okay uhm" he kept his eyes trained on the secret path back into the castle, james had told him about.

"I'll bring you to your chambers and you'll have to do it alone then" he mumbled.

"alone? What? Do what?" you breathed heavily, suddenly you felt a rush of warmth in your nether regions at which you whimpered.

"you have to..." he cleared his throat "well... work it out of your system" his eyes widened and his head snapped towards you when you moaned.

"y/n? you okay?" you had buried your face in his shoulder.

"shit" he mumbled "here we go" he pointed to a wooden door "just a minute and we'll be inside okay?"

"hmm" you whined.

You walked through said door into a tunnel you'd never seen before; normally you would've scolded him as to why he knew these kind of things but you had other problems right now.

Not a minute later hyunjin tapped onto the wall, which indicated the end of the tunnel, with his wand in a weird pattern.

But somehow it worked and another door appeared, leading the two of you into a small broom closet.

"you have to be quiet now" he whispered, you nodded your head as good as you could and bit your lower lip.

Leaving the broom closet, you stepped into the hallway of the seventh floor of Hogwarts.

"hyunjin, you cant just leave me alone" you whispered desperately when the same tingling warmth returned.

The pollen of the plant overtaking your brain so much that you didnt even care as to how that weird door brought you into a broomcloset that connected to hogwarts again.

"shh" he shushed you before speaking as well "y/n I don't know how else to help you"

That was a lie, of course he knew what he could do.

But that would be unethical; he didn't want to take advantage of you like that.

"you have to help me" you clawed at his coat "please" you whimpered and it went straight into his pants, which he felt guilty about.

Suddenly a door appeared a few meters in front of you, just a second after he'd spotted it, he heard footsteps from behind.

"shit shit, fucking shit" he ushered you to walk faster before quickly opening the door and rushing inside.

When he looked at the door from the inside, it disappeared; leaving only the brick wall.You had already ripped the invisibility cloak off the both of you.

Looking around this mysterious room, he spotted a luxurious king sized bed with nightstands on each side and dimmed lights; that's when he knew where you two were.

"no fucking way" he mumbled, having never before seen the room of requirement.

"hyunjin" his thoughts got interrupted by you dragging him at his coat and stopping right with your back to the bed.

"please help me" you looked up at him with big teary eyes, he could hear your heartbeat, that's how affected you were by the plant.

You discarded your coat, before pushing his down his shoulders as well.

"y/n no" he said, but his coat already laid on the ground.

He caught your wrists when you reached for his belt "y/n you cant think straight, you don't really want this"

"yes I do" you stomped your foot on the ground "I really do" you said quieter as you came closer.

"please jinnie" you freed your wrists from his grip and peeled off your plain black tshirt you always wore under the coat “this is your fault to begin with!”

His eyes stuck to your lacy black bra as you undid the button of your jeans and pushed them down your legs.

He felt his cock stir in his pants when your matching cotton panties were revealed and you stepped out of your jeans, kicking them to the side.

You took advantage of his slow reflexes and looped your arms around his neck "please" you whispered before attaching your lips to the skin under his jaw.

He swallowed hard "fuck y/n" his hands grabbed your waist, making you push yourself against him more flush.

"okay okay" he sighed in defeat, you looked up at him "I'll help you, but we're not going to have sex!"

"hyunj-" you started again.

"y/n I'm serious I don't want to take advantage of you" you swallowed and nodded, eyes big.

"okay" he ducked down a little and plucked you up from the ground by the backs of your thighs.

You squealed in excitement.

"Kiss me" you pleaded after he laid you on your back and slotted himself in between your legs.

His lips were slightly parted as he looked down at you, eyes scanning over your features.

"Okay" he whispered before pressing his lips to your.You instantly moaned into his mouth when his togue pressed against yours.

The next thing you did would've never happened if that plant hadn’t make you hornier than 10000 bunnies.

You took one of his hands and brought it down to cup over your core, mumbling a whiny 'please'.

Hyunjin hissed through his teeth when he felt how soaked your panties were.

He palmed your throbbing cunt roughly, shooting a spark of pleasure up your spine aa he encouraged you to rutt your hips against his hand.

"Oh my- hyunjin" you yelped out after he had discarded your panties and slipped a finger into you.

“okay?” he asked when feeling how tight you were, at which you nodded agressively.It was almost embarrassing how excessively aroused you were ; hyunjin however didnt have alot on his mind in that moment.

All he could focus on was how pretty your flushed cheeks were and how lost you were in the pleasure he was providing you.

His thumb found your aching clit and drew circles over it while pumping his middle finger into you.

"thats it baby, you like that?" He asked a little hesistantly, not sure how you felt about dirty talk, but seeing your chest arch up and hearing your whimpers only spurred him on.

"Hmmmh" you whined "fuck-oh" he looked down at you in awe when your pretty lips shaped into an o form.

"Fuck i'd love to taste you right now, so desperate hm?" He hummed into your ear, it sending straight into your core.

Your back arched off the bed and you clawed at his soft black shirt when his lips found your neck.

"Yes-yes fuck hyunjin-" you cried out when he started sucking at a particular sensitive spot, coming apart shortly after with yelps of his name, clenching around his finger furiously.

"Better?" He asked after a minute, looking down at you, you chest was heaving and a light sheen of sweat covered your body.

"A little" you said quietly.

"Need more?" He asked like the gentleman he was, gently letting his finger slide out of you.

You nodded poutingly as you ran your nails through his hair at the back of his head.

"What you said about tasting me..." you looked up at him shyly "w-would you?"

His eyes widened, would he?

He wanted to, really badly.

So, he heard himself stutter a "yeah" as you unclasped your bra.

The low moan that slipped past your lips when he sucked one of your nipples into his mouth made his cock stir in his boxers.

"you're so sexy" he mumbled against your stomach before suckling at the skin just over your belly button.

"take off your shirt" you pleaded, to which he grinningly complied

You moaned when you felt a new heatwave wash over you at the shight fo his toned torso; gasping when the blonde haired boy reinserted his finger into you.

"arh yes fuck" you groaned, grasping his hair when he started leaving wet kisses on the junction of your legs.

Feeling your arousal being at a height as if you didn't just get off again, you whimpered, realising he was teasing you as he switched between thighs.

"please don't tease jinnie" you pouted, he grinned at the nickname, he loved it but would never admit it.

"mmh- what do you want me to do?" he grinned up at you, his fingers moving too slow inside of you for your liking.

"use your mouth" you begged "please" he almost felt guilty for how much he liked hearing you beg for him.

"how could I say no to that pretty pout" he teasingly nipped at your thigh making you squeal.

-end of flashback-

Just as you speak the password to the fat lady and the door opens, you hear running behind you and a voice "hey! l/n"

Of course you recognize the voice, so you sigh and turn around "hwang" you say, plastering a fake smile on your face.

"you've been avoiding me" he grins as he catches up and steps into the slytherin dungeons at the same time.

"hmm have i?" you mumble, not looking at him directly.

"yea, even though you so clearly couldn't get enough of me two nights ago" he bites his lip and raises his brows cockily when you stop and look up at him.

"listen, I was drugged by a fucking plant okay?" you argue "and you even promised me to never bring it up again, so what the fuck do you want?" you ask.

"never bring it up with anyone else babe, I thought we could talk about how much fun we had together?" he reaches for your waist, at which you slap his hand.

"would you not?" you whisper "there are people here" he just chuckles at the way you blushed slightly.

"okay, I'll make it easy for you hwang, what do you want?" you stem you free hand on your hip sassily.

He breathes in as his eyes wander over your face before his lips curl into a smile and he reaches for you hand "come with me?"

You huff but don’t fight his hand enclosing yours "where?"

"somewhere we can talk in private" he states calmly.

So you follow him out once more, you should've known where this was going but only really realise it when he pulls you in a broom closet.

Books still pressed against your chest with one arm, you hiss "what the fuck? I thought you wanted to talk"

"chill miss goody shoes" he giggles before his eyes fall onto your books "gimme those" he mumbles, taking them from you and plopping them on the ground behind him.

"hyunjin!" you exclaim, mad that your books were getting dust all over them.

He just snickers before coming closer.

You involuntarily press your back against the wall because he’s closing in on your personal space.

"what do you want?" you ask him for the nth time, a little quieter this time.His hands find your hips as he wedges a strong thigh in between your legs.

"I missed you" he says quietly, the lighting in there is bad but you can see that his eyes are fixed on your lips.

"huh?" your breath was shaky.

He grins before leaning in slowly, giving you the opportunity to stop him, and when you don't, he presses his lips against yours.

You kiss him back without thinking, your hands finding their home in his long hair when he gently rolls his tongue against yours.

The grunt that comes from him shoots straight into your pants, you feel how he presses his body into yours; the thigh between your legs getting pressed into your sensitive core.

Moaning against his lips at the new friction; he pulls at your bottom lip with his teeth before moving down your jaw with his lips.

You let out a shaky breath when he reached that one spot on your neck, directly under your jaw.He smiles against your skin before sucking on the soft spot at which another moan leaves your lips.Growing desperate, you start rocking your core against his thigh more obviously.

Hyunjin releases the soft skin from in between his lips, grabbing your jaw with one hand as he looks down at you ministrations.

"need something, pretty girl?" he grins, the nickname has you keening; the friction provided by his thigh being nice but nowhere near enough to get you off.

"please" you just mumble before he kisses your lips again.

Together, you undo the buttons of your cloak before he unzips your jeans and slips his hand into your panties.

-

"w-wait, hold up girl, you're telling me you haven't had sex yet?" victoires gaze bores holes into the side of your face as she sits down across from you on your bed.

There was no way you couldn't have told her about this whole situation you had gotten yourself in.

"no!" you snap your head towards your best friend "we just did a lot of other stuff" you cross your legs to sit more comfortably.

"but I don't plan on sleeping with him anyway" you shrug your shoulders.

"why?" your best friend grins "I thought you were sick of being a nerd and a virgin"

"bitch" you tsked and smacked her calve that was closest to you "you're a nerd as well"

"yea" she snickers "but im not a virgin because I don't feel the need to only do it with someone I'm in love with"

"hmpf" you let yourself fall back onto your back "whats so bad about that though?" you ask more quietly.

"nothing" she lays down next to you "I'm just kidding...but does he know?" you shake your head.

"no, I feel like he'd just call me a prude or miss goody shoes if I told him" you mumble.

"well then he's definitely not the right one to do it with" victoire comments, you just nod.

-

The next morning you’re sitting in the big hall, chatting with victoire as usual, as breakfast was being served.

Suddenly you felt a woosh of air on your right as someone sat down in a hurry.

"hey l/n" you glace to your right to see hyunjin "hey weasley" he nods at victoire opposite from you and him.

When you look over at you best friend you see that james had sat himself next to her, grinning just as big as the blonde boy next to you.

"uh hi?" victoire speaks for the both of you.

"listen up, we graduate in a few weeks and graduation ball is soon as well..." hyunjin starts, still grinning from ear to ear.

You frown, victoire mimicing your expression, both of your gazed flickering between the two boys.

"..so??" she gestures with her toast in hand.

"so...how bout it?" james continues "let’s go to the ball together" he turns to victore before gesturing to you and hyunjin "and those two"

You giggle when seeing victoires face scrunch up in disgust before she flicks james forehead.

"eww potter, I'm not going to the ball with you, that'd almost be like incest. Plus I'm trying to get laid afterwards" you laugh at james shocked expression to your best friends words.

"what do you mean incest babe? Just because we've known each other for so long doesn't mean..." he keeps on rambling to your best friend as she stands up and turns to you.

"excuse me" she exhales annoedly, you chuckle and nod before she walks away, james at her heels, still talking.

"so what about us?" you flinch a little, almost having forgot about hyunjin next to you.

"uhh, I don't know" you say, looking down at your plate.

"why not?" he nides your arm with his elbow "we like each other" he scooches closer "we have fun together" lifting his hand and softly tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear as he speaks.

You move away from him "yea about that, I think we should stop" you quickly say before getting up to make your way out of the hall as well.

"hey" he catches up with you quickly "why? did I do something wrong?" you roll your eyes as you keep walking.

"I didn't tell anyone about us! I swear! A- and I think y-you know, you're hot, I'm hot; I think we'd look really good toge-"

"can’t you accept a no?" you suddenly stop in your tracks, frowning annoyedly as you tell him off.

"woah- hey I just wanna know why you hate me all over sudden" he looks hurt.

"I don't hate you hyunjin" you sighed "but I also don't like you; you play with girls like they're dolls and when you had your fun you throw them away and I don't want to be thrown away, no matter by who" you breathe in.

"okay okay" he holds up his hands in defense "first of all, everything I had with 'all of these girls' you are talking about" he quotes you, gesturing air quotation marks "was two- sided! They knew what they were getting into, I never lead a single one of them on"

"mhm I'm sure that's why they like you so much now" you speak sarcastically while crossing your arms infront of your chest.

"you're making it seem like I slept with the whole school y/n!... I didn't! just to be clear..." you roll your eyes again.

"Its not my fault when-"

"when what?" you feel yourself get angry "when they fall in love with you?? because you're sooo irresistible??"

"is it so hard for you to believe that I'm not that interested in you? Is your ego that big?" you caught yourself before you got too loud, staring into each others eyes for a few seconds.

When he doesn't react to your statement you turn on your heels, ready to walk away again.

"I kinda hoped you were actually" you stop, turning around to him again when he continues "because I actually like you"

"so that's what you call not leading someone on, yea?" you ask rhetorically.

"I'm not leading you on y/n I'm serious" he walks up to you again.

"you're only interested in me because you haven't actually fucked me yet, hyunjin" you deadpan and walk away for good this time.

-

"girl" victoire exclaims as she walks into your chambers, you look up from the homework you’re doing on your bed a few days later.

“how do you always get in here?” you ask, reffering to the fat lady being very strict with non-house members in the chambers.

“the fat lady loves me!” she shrugs her shoulders, plopping down on your bed.

"alright, what is it?" you look back down to finish writing your sentence.

"I just saw hwang in the hallway, he looked beat" she huffs "and with beat I mean way way  worse than the last few days" she eyes you scribbling something onto your paper.

"hm" you respond.

"what did you do to him?" she asks.

"what do you mean? I protected myself from being just another girl on his list" you continue writing.

"are you sure?" victoire persists "I mean whenever you sat next to each other in class, even after the plant incident...he seemed genuinely happy with you next to him"

"well, sucks for him I guess" you mumble, not looking up, instead turning some pages in your book.

You did feel sorry in hindsight, you shouldn't have talked to him like that. He had always shown you respect and you didn't reciprocate it.

It is just really hard to believe that he'd actually be interested in you, since he was well...kinda perfect at everything and you were just very mediocre at everything.

He is so good looking, and even though he calls you hot and pretty you yourself don't really believe it.

Like,... what do you have that he can’t find in a prettier girl?- "y/n?" victoire speaks up.

"huh??" your head snaps up at her.

"I said... are you sure that you didn't just push him away because you're scared of the fact that you may like him back?" 

-

(a/n: i was inspired by this jungkook fic i read on here like a year ago but i couldn’t find it for the life of me, all i remember is that it was called ‘golden hour’ so if anyone knows what im talking about please tell me so that i can give proper credit! thank u!...also i know the fat lady originally guards the gryffindor common room but i couldnt think of anything else loolll...)

#ik halloween is over but fall is the most hogwarts season there is for me loll anyways.. #i left it open for a part 2 if yall are interested #wont be mad if not tho kk #stray kids #stray kids smut #skz #skz smut #skz hogwarts!au #stray kids hogwarts!au #hwang hyunjin #hwang hyunjin smut #slytherin!hyunjin #slytherinhyunjin smut #hyunjin smut #hyunjin hard hours #skz hard hours #galvanising green

[delacyrose224]

Long Story Short

-Pairing: guitarist!Jin x reader (named)

-Premise: You've been hurt in past relationships, but there's a goofy guitarist that seems to be passing every test you throw at him. Now what?

-Genre: rock band!AU, fluff with a sprinkle of angst (as always)

-Warnings: cursing, douchebag Namjoon, shirtless Seokjin (which always deserves a warning for heart health)

-Word Count: 4.8k

-Author's Note: This is conclusion to the evermore trilogy/Gold Rush universe. Based off of 'long story short' by Taylor Swift, but once again, you don't need to know the song to enjoy!

*Bzzt bzzt*

You hear the buzzing of your phone from across the room where you’re curled up in a blanket watching tv. Who the heck is calling you on a Saturday morning at 10am? You fling the blanket off yourself and pad over to your bag, fumbling through its contents until you find your phone, angrily screaming your ringtone even louder as you remove it from its hiding place.

Incoming Call: Jin

Uhh...okay. You’d gone out on a date with him a few days ago, and last night you and your best friend had hung out with him and his band. That didn’t explain him calling and interrupting your me time on Saturday morning.

“...hello?”

“Margot?” Jin sounds far away from the receiver for some reason.

“...live and in person. Well, not in person. You know what I mean. What’s up?” you reply, not knowing where this is all going.

“Can’t I call a pretty girl on a Saturday morning because I miss her?” Jin retorts, still sounding far away from the phone. Good thing he’s not here to see the flush creeping onto your cheeks.

“You can, but you literally just saw me last night. Like 12 hours ago, less even. Why do you sound like you’re calling from outer space?”

“You’re on speaker...I guess I should have started the conversation with that bit of information. I’m making the boys brunch because I’m apparently the only one who can cook around here,” you can almost see how hard Jin is rolling his eyes at this statement.

“Hi Jungkook! Hi Yoongi!” you raise your voice to make sure you’re heard in their apartment.

“...hey.” you hear Yoongi close by, followed by Jungkook yelling across the room. “Hey M!! Jin won’t shut up about you, I think he might be in loooooove,” he singsongs.

“And that’s enough of that,” Jin swiftly turns off speakerphone and you can hear him much more clearly all of a sudden.

“Is it true? Are you in loooooove with me?” you mimic Jungkook’s voice.

“Have I ever told you how pretty your singing voice is?” Jin deflects smoothly. You’re so taken aback by the response, you don’t know what to say next.

“As I see I have made you speechless-I tend to have that effect on women-and men, actually...the world is just stunned by my beauty, honestly. No one is immune,” he derails quickly from wherever he was originally going with his sentence, and you giggle.

“Jinnie-you called me at 10am on a Saturday morning, because why…?” you steer the conversation back to where it needs to go.

“Ah yes...I called because I wanted to see if you wanted to cash in on that second date I promised you earlier this week tonight?” he questions.

“I think I would like that,” you smile, remembering your first date three days ago. He had taken you to dinner at a hole in the wall diner where he seemed to know all the elderly waitresses by name, and after the two of you had gone to a drive-in movie.

“Great. I’ll swing by your apartment to pick you up at 7, if that’s okay?” he sounds a little unsure of himself, unusual for him.

“Sounds perfect. Is there anything specific I should wear?”

“Just something casual, nothing fancy. I’ll see you then, pretty girl.”

“See you...oh, and Jinnie?” He hums in response.

“I missed you too,” you smile.

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

You flop back down on the couch after hanging up with a smile on your face. Jin’s very sweet, and not quite what you expected. He’s the lead guitarist for the band Gold Rush, who you’ve been a fan of for about half a year. You’d happened to catch them as the opening act for another band you’d gone to see, and immediately had fallen in love with their music. It didn’t hurt that all the band members were cute either...you’d only seen them that one time as an opener, until you’d seen a flier for a show of theirs at The Dynasty, a small local bar. You’d immediately decided to drag your best friend to see them, making it a game with yourself to try and get Jin’s attention, and to your surprise, it had worked. He and the drummer, Jungkook, had asked the two of you to hang out after the show. After grabbing food, Jin had asked for your number and taken you out on a date the next day, eagerly promising you a second the following weekend.

If you were being honest with yourself, Jin fell into the trap of being your ‘type’. He was in a band, could sing and play guitar, and had healthy (bordering on sometimes too much) self-esteem. He reminded you of your ex, Namjoon. Also in a band, also a lead guitarist, also could be full of himself. All Jin was missing was an undercut and a few scattered tattoos. You supposed Jungkook had enough for the two of them combined.

You sigh deeply as you wrap yourself back into your blanket. Namjoon had destroyed you when it came to relationships in some ways, even though he had started off as a rebound from another toxic relationship. He had fallen into all the stereotypical ‘guy in a band’ tropes: his needs were more important than yours, he had cheated on you multiple times with groupies, and he gaslit you when you tried to talk through what was going on. You had put up with his shit for far too long, until your best friend had opened your eyes to how different you’d become. Quiet, less likely to speak your mind, and even less willing to be social. Once you’d left him, you’d felt a giant weight lifted off your shoulders, but it had made you extremely wary of relationships.

Jin was cute, and you didn’t see the harm in a couple of dates. He was funny and talented, and he hadn’t pissed you off yet, which was a win in your book. There’s no way he was actually interested in a real relationship...he was clearly a flirt, as you’d witnessed the night you met when he gave you his guitar pick, and he was too busy. He was in a band that was trying to break into the larger music scene in your city. You’d both have your fun, and move on with your lives.

Right?

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

You busy yourself the rest of the day by completing household chores. By the time you’re getting ready for your date, you’ve managed to vacuum, do several loads of laundry, wash the dishes in your sink, and rearrange your bookshelf in your bedroom. You hop in the shower at 5:30, and contemplate your outfit choice while washing your hair. A sundress should work...it’s been warm outside lately, but it’s still cute while being casual. You’ll wear sneakers with it just in case you end up walking somewhere.

You throw on said sundress and sneakers after toweling off, and decide you’ll go for fun accessories-specifically a pair of dinosaur earrings and a crossbody bag in a bright shade of pink, swiping on a lipstick to match. You smile in approval at yourself in the mirror just as you hear a soft knock at the door.

You step into your living room, opening the door to see Jin looking rather nervous. “Hey handsome,” you grin. He’s wearing a pair of dark wash ripped jeans with a lavender hoodie that’s a little too big on him. Cute.

“Hey you...you look nice,” he returns your smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You ready to go?”

“Yep! Where are we going?” you ask as you grab your keys and shut the door, making sure it’s locked behind you.

“Well, I figured we could start with a walk through the park. It’s still light out for a little while, but we might be able to catch the sunset...there’s also a great ice cream stand off one of the trails, so if you want to, we can grab some. After, I figured we could come back to your place and watch a movie, your pick, obviously. Does that sound okay?” he glances over at you as you both take the stairs down to the ground floor of your apartment building, opening the door for you as you reach the outside.

“Hmm…” you pretend to think as you turn to walk the two blocks to the park. Jin’s eyebrows raise, as he quickly jumps to conclusions-that the park was the worst idea you’d ever heard.

“I think it’s perfect. I’ll race you to the park, loser buys the other ice cream!!” You laugh and sprint off in the direction of the park, silently thanking yourself for wearing sneakers.

“You little...oh, come on!” Jin starts running as well, his long legs giving him an advantage as his wide strides let him catch up to you quicker than you thought. You’re neck and neck for most of the second block, sweat starting to form on both your brows.

“You’re...not...beating...me!” You huff, nimbly dodging around a pedestrian walking their dog.

“Oh...really?” Jin breathes out harshly, leaping over someone’s spilled smoothie in the middle of the sidewalk. You can both see the entrance to the park, it should only take a minute more to get there...suddenly, Jin puts on a burst of speed, sprinting his way to the entrance before you can even say anything in protest.

You arrive a few seconds later, huffing and puffing as you place your hands on your knees, trying to catch your breath.

“I believe you were saying something about me not beating you? What was that?” Jin is beaming, his eyes glinting mischievously as he looks down at you.

You still can’t manage to catch your breath enough for a response, so you settle instead for glaring daggers up at him.

“C’mon, loser. I promised you a leisurely walk, so let’s go...even though you already took us both for a run no one asked for,” Jin chuckles, grabbing your hand as you stand up and interlocking your fingers.

Your face warms, and not just from the sprinting. You’re surprised that Jin isn’t annoyed with you for pulling the stunt you just did...it wasn’t like you planned it exactly, but it worked well as a sort of test to see exactly how much nonsense Jin would put up with. So far, more than you thought he would. You smile to yourself.

“What’re you grinning about now? If it’s another race, I give up, you win!” Jin exclaims loudly, drawing stares from several passersby on the trail you’ve chosen.

“Shhh…” you shush him, trying to place a finger in front of his lips. He playfully bites at it before kissing it quickly. Your eyes widen. “People are staring,” you half-whisper, slightly embarrassed.

“...and? Let them stare. I’m on a date with a pretty girl, and I don’t care if the world knows! Isn’t Margot wonderful?!” he raises his voice for the last bit, that mischievous glint back in his eyes. The warmth from earlier returns, creeping even further up your face. You must be entirely red by now by the levels of heat you feel like you’re radiating. Jin takes advantage of your flustered state by taking your other hand and pulling you close. He wraps both arms tightly around you and buries his face in your hair, kissing you lightly on the top of the head. You pull away, eyes widened in wonderment at his actions. Who is this guy? You can’t quite figure him out.

“What? You’re pretty, I’m lucky you’re on a date with me, and I’m an affectionate guy. Sometimes. Well, maybe only with you. But only if you’re okay with it…” Jin rambles. His ears look close to emitting steam with how red they’re turning...you’re glad you’re not the only one being thrown off your game with how this date is going. It’s endearing how he switches so easily between being confident and shy depending on your reactions to him.

“C’mon, Jinnie...I think I owe you some ice cream, right?” you smile as you reach for his hand, leading him further along the trail you were walking along.

You walk along quietly for a bit, the silence only broken when Jin coos over dogs as you pass them. It warms your heart to see just how kind and soft he truly is...not what you expected from your previous experiences with a certain lead guitarist.

As you round a bend in the trail, Jin picks up the pace significantly, forcing you to speed walk to catch up. “Hey, where’s the fire?” you question, legs starting to burn as you attempt to keep pace.

“Huh? Oh sorry, the ice cream stand is just up here, I got excited.” He gestures ahead of the two of you with your intertwined hands. Sure enough, there’s a small ice cream stand a few paces away.

As you walk up, you see that the stand is manned by a kindly looking old woman who looks like she could be your grandmother. “Oh, you two are such a cute couple! How long have you been dating?” she asks.

“Oh, um...this is only our second date,” you answer, feeling slightly awkward.

“Could’ve fooled me! He looks at you like you hung the stars in the sky. What can I get you?” Jin coughs suddenly at the old woman’s observation, his ears reddening for the second time that night.

You look over to the menu propped up on the counter of the stand.

Vanilla

Chocolate

Strawberry

Mint Chocolate Chip

Cookies and Cream

“What do you say, Jinnie? Strawberry? Mint Chocolate Chip?”

“If I wanted to have mint flavored anything, I would have just brought my toothpaste with me...mint chocolate chip? How can you think so lowly of me?” he pouts at you, supremely offended that you even suggested such a thing.

“Okayyyyy...didn’t realize you were so picky about ice cream flavors. What do you want, then?” you roll your eyes at him, but not without grinning.

“I’ll take a vanilla cone, thankyouverymuch,” he replies grinning back at you.

“One vanilla cone, and one cookies and cream cone.” You hand the woman cash and she begins to fill your order. Soon after she is handing you both ice cream encased in freshly made waffle cones. You both thank her and continue your walk along the trail. You bite into the top of your ice cream, relishing the coolness in the warm evening that surrounds you.

“...you bite ice cream?” Jin is staring at you open-mouthed in horror.

“Yes? If I just licked it, it would all melt before I could eat it. Don’t judge me!” you glare over at Jin.

“Oh too late for that, sweetheart. First you asked if I wanted mint chocolate chip ice cream, and now I find out you bite your ice cream? What are you, a serial killer?” he raises an eyebrow at you questioningly.

“Wouldn’t you love to know?” you turn menacingly towards him, brandishing your cone like a weapon. “They call me...The Ice Cold Killer. Beware!”

“Ooo, I’m scared. Someone help me,” Jin chuckles, his empty hand raised in surrender as he takes a lick of his ice cream.

“You should be scared, handsome,” you continue walking towards him, raising your cone ever so slightly with each step.

“...what are you doing? Oh no, you don’t!” Just as you go to smush your cone into his face, he grabs both of your wrists. “I think not,” he grins, lowering your hands to the level of your waist.

“Boo, you’re no fun,” you pout, looking up at Jin. When he’s this close, it seems like he’s towering over you...and as you make eye contact, you notice his attention keeps flickering between your eyes and your lips.

“Oh, I can be lots of fun,” he whispers lowly as he leans in closer to you, so close you can feel his breath on your lips. Just as his lips start to ghost over your own, someone clears their throat behind you. You both spring apart, whipping around to see who’s interrupted you.

Tall, dressed in all black, tattoos scattered across both arms. A sneer on his face as he takes he two of you in with his gaze.

Namjoon.

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

“Well, well, well...how’s it going, Margot? How’d you end up in the middle of the park with this loser?” Namjoon asks. You have no clue why he’s here, and it feels like you’re suddenly trapped in a nightmare. Jin looks confused, glancing between the two of you, trying to figure out how you’re connected.

“Don’t think too hard, lover boy. I can see the steam coming out from your ears with how hard you’re thinking about this-Margot and I used to date.” Namjoon provides, still with that same smirk on his face. Jin’s eyes widen in understanding, but then narrow again as he processes the way he’s being talked to.

“It’s Seokjin, actually. What are you doing here, Kim? Didn’t Gold Rush beat your stupid band in our last exhibition?” Jin spits out harshly.

Namjoon doesn’t deign to give him a response, instead turning back to you. “Margot, really...this is who you went to after me? You know he has no talent, right? Yoongi writes all their songs, and Jungkook is the visual draw for their band. I expected better of you…” he chuckles. “But maybe not...you never did know what was best for you. You let me walk all over you, didn’t you?” he smirks.

Jin moves to reply, but you’re faster. “Yes, I did let you walk all over me and treat me like shit for entirely too long, Namjoon. Thank goodness I had people in my life that cared enough about me to open my eyes to how much of a giant ASSHOLE you were...and Jin? Jin has more talent in his pinky than you’ll have your whole career-I would know because I spent entirely too long going to your boring shows. Jin has treated me better in two dates than you ever have! And how’s this for knowing what’s best for me?”

You stride forward, ice cream cone in hand, until you’re directly in front of Namjoon. Eyes wild, you lift your cone and smash it into his chest. Cookie bits and ice cream smear into his shirt as your waffle cone shatters into pieces on the ground.

“You bitch!” Namjoon roars, rearing back, looking for all the world like he’s about to slap you. Before he can get very far, a large hand wraps tightly around his wrist.

“Leave. Now.” Jin is glaring darkly at Namjoon from behind you. As Namjoon starts to speak, Jin tightens his grip. “I said...leave.”

Namjoon jerks his hand out of Jin’s grip and rubs his wrist where the other man’s hand was. “Fine. You two deserve each other,” he glares as he marches away.

Once Namjoon is out of sight, Jin immediately turns to you. “Margot, are you okay?” he rests his hands on your shoulders, looking into your eyes.

You’re frozen in place, still shocked at everything that just happened.

“...I just smashed an ice cream cone on Kim Namjoon…” you utter softly.

“Yes, you did. And it was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen, if I’m being honest.” Jin rubs the back of his neck sheepishly with one hand, chuckling.

His comment brings you back into the moment. “Everything that just happened, and that’s all you can think of?” you ask him in disbelief.

“Not all!” Jin retorts. “I have a lot of thoughts right now: 1. How did the two of you ever date? 2. Why am I not surprised that he’s a giant asshole? He always is the worst any time we play shows at the same venue. 3. Yeah, my third thought is that you standing your ground and giving him what he deserves is hot, so sue me.”

You laugh. “Three thoughts isn’t a lot of thoughts, but yes, we did date a while, biggest mistake of my life. I fell for the tortured, tattooed lead guitarist thing.”

“Should I get tattoos then? I mean, I thought I was handsome enough as is, but if this,” he gestures at himself, “isn’t enough, then I’m happy to oblige. Your name in a heart with an arrow through it? A skull with a snake around it? You say the word, beautiful, I’ll do it.” he smirks playfully at you.

“Be careful what you wish for, or you’ll end up with a tattoo on your ass,” you giggle as you elbow him.

His eyes widen in momentary fear. “I’m kidding, silly. Let’s go back to my place and watch a movie.”

The two of you walk hand in hand through the rest of the park, Jin passing you his ice cream cone to share since yours ended up destroyed.

“I guess you really are The Ice Cold Killer...of ice cream cones, that is,” he remarks as you walk through the exit and head back to your apartment.

“I told you you should be scared.”

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

You both sink down into your couch once you arrive at your apartment, Jin placing a blanket over the two of you.

“So, what’s the feature presentation this evening?” he queries, putting an arm around your shoulders.

“Moulin Rouge!” you happily reply to his chagrin.

“...isn’t that a musical?” he asks, to which you nod in the affirmative.

“Is that a problem?” You knew that musicals were another one of your tests for the guys you dated. You did honestly enjoy them, but you needed to know if the men you dated would put up with them.

“Nope. I mean, I don’t think I would pick one, but I said it’s your choice. Plus, you’re the one who destroyed a douchebag tonight, so your pick is definitely earned.” He settles back into the couch as the movie starts to play, and you place your head on his shoulder. It fits perfectly into the crook of his neck, and the smell of his laundry detergent mixed with the park you just walked through is extremely comforting. So comforting in fact, you can feel your eyelids getting heavy about a third of the way through the movie.

The lack of background noise is what slowly wakes you up...the movie must be over. When did you fall asleep? You lift your head off of Jin’s shoulder, only to see he has remnants of tears on his face.

“Jinnie? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, you’re awake,” he says, quickly swiping at his face to remove any lingering evidence of his tears. “I...I cried at the end of the movie, that’s all. Satine died! Musicals are supposed to be happy-I’m appalled!”

Your heart feels like it’s blooming with all the warmth that’s spreading through your chest as you look at the man beside you. As you begin to say something in response, your eyes catch the digital clock blinking from your microwave across the room. 12:30AM.

“Oh, it’s late...do you want to stay over so you don’t have to go across town at this time? The busses stop running soon anyway.” Jin’s eyes grow wide at your question.

“N-Not like that! I meant to sleep, just sleep. Only if you want to!” You bury your face in your hands in embarrassment.

Jin reaches out and removes your hands from your face, tilting your chin up with his finger so you make eye contact with him.

“I’d love to,” he smiles softly at you, his hand remaining on your chin, pulling you slowly closer to him as he moves closer to you as well. Your faces are inches apart again, his breath ghosting over your lips.

“Is this okay?” he breathes.

You grab the sides of his face in response, crushing your lips to his. He is impossibly soft, and warm. His hands wrap around your back again, tenderly bringing you as close as he can to himself. He’s holding you as if you are tethering him to Earth, like you are what hung the stars in the sky. You sigh into the kiss, and he takes that as a cue to deepen the kiss further. He’s more insistent, holding you tighter. Before it can get too heated, you break apart for air.

“Sorry I got a little carried away,” he chuckles, gently pushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. You laugh as you clearly get a look at his face.

“What?” he pouts at you.

“Come here.” You stand up, pulling him with you to the bathroom attached to your bedroom. You flip the light on, positioning him in front of the mirror. As both of your eyes adjust to the extra light, his widen impossibly-he’s got pink lipstick messily smeared around his mouth from kissing you.

“So much for world wide handsome, huh?” you laugh.

He turns towards you. “I’ll have you know, I am handsome no matter what I look like!” he huffs indignantly. Nevertheless, he turns the faucet on and starts to wipe away the makeup.

You leave him to get ready for bed in the bathroom while you trudge to your closet to find something to change into, settling for an oversized tee with shorts. As you close the door behind you, Jin leaves the bathroom in only his boxers. Your eyes become wide as saucers as you notice his lack of clothing in addition to how in shape he is.

“Oh, um...sorry, I usually just sleep in these. I can put my shirt back on if I need to?” he questions shyly.

“No, you’re fine, I just don’t normally have half naked men walking around my apartment,” you laugh quietly.

Jin climbs into your bed and starts to scroll through his phone as you head into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed yourself. You climb in beside him ten minutes later, turning your lamp off and staring up at the ceiling...you’re not sure exactly how this is supposed to go. You’re not in a relationship, but you’re in the same bed, and he had seen you completely lose your cool on your ex. What was even appropriate in this situation?

After what feels like an indeterminate amount of silence, Jin speaks into the dark.

“So...what exactly happened with you and Namjoon?” he sounds nervous, his voice much quieter than normal.

You sigh. “We met after one of his shows. He was charming at first, but then he started making everything about him and his band. Then he cheated on me. Three times. Gaslit me when I tried to talk to him about it. Long story short, it was a bad time,” you grimace, even though you know Jin can’t see you.

“...come here.”

You’re surprised that this is his response, but you comply by scooting next to him. He wraps an arm around you and squeezes tightly.

“You know I would never do any of those things, right?” He looks down at you with such warmth in his eyes, you can’t help but fold even further into him, your head on his bare chest.

“...I know,” you whisper, body still tense from talking about your ex. Jin traces shapes onto your back, helping you slow your breathing and relax.

Just as you’re about to fall asleep, Jin’s voice vibrates through his chest beneath you.

“I can’t believe my girlfriend is The Ice Cold Killer…” His own statement amuses him so much, his squeaky windshield wiper laugh makes an appearance.

“Hey! Who said anything about me being your girlfriend?” You prop yourself up enough to look him in the eyes.

“Oh please, if you thought after tonight I wouldn’t try to take you off the market, you are sorely mistaken...you’re perfect, pretty lady.” He smiles at you, faltering once he sees you raise your eyebrows at him.

“...only if you want to be my girlfriend, of course,” he adds softly.

You narrow your eyes at him. “I’m not perfect,” you state simply, lowering yourself back down onto his chest. Namjoon had made sure you knew that much.

“You’re perfect to me.” Jin leans down to place a tender kiss on top of your head.

You look back up at him. “You know you’re going to have to be one of my henchmen now, right? The Ice Cold Killer can’t do everything on her own.”

“Oh, I know. I plan on starting henchman duties in the morning when I make us pancakes, love.” Jin smiles softly down at you as you attempt to snuggle even closer.

It’s only the second date...but Jin feels like home. Maybe you’ll survive this relationship after all.

#seokjin fanfic #seokjin x you #jin x reader #jin x yn #bts fluff #bts one shot #bts rock band au #seokjin x reader #jin x you #jin fanfic #jin fluff #seokjin fluff #seokjin x yn

[peppersonironi]

Duke Thomas VS The "Good Child" Stereotype Chapter 2

Next chapter for my Duke Thomas Big Bang fic is up!

(Once again, a hearty thank you to my betas @queerbutstillhereand @theycallme-ook)

Read On Ao3

It was four am on a Friday morning, a week after Duke had decided he’d had enough of Bruce’s - and the other’s - incorrect opinion of him.

It was so early in the morning, that the main group of bats had been trickling back from patrol over the past hour or so. Stephanie and Cassandra had arrived first, followed by Jason ten minutes later. Then Tim had gotten back from his route with Harper, and Kate and Bette had stopped by for a bit (but eventually left for their own homes). Dick came home next, and Bruce had returned last with Damian.

Everyone was in varying states of winding down, with Stephanie at one end of the spectrum wearing silk pajamas, a fluffy robe which Duke was sixty-seven percent sure was Bruce’s, and bright pink bunny slippers Duke was positive were Dick’s. On the other side, Bruce hadn’t even pulled off his cowl, and was sitting down in front of the Batcomputer to work on a case.

Though Duke thought that Tim deserved his own category, dressed in a strange combination of disco track suit and kevlar body armor, and was hunched over three cans of energy drinks and a quart jug filled with espresso shots.

Duke leaned down to double check that his boots were laced up - one time he hadn’t, and had then proceeded to trip and fall into a garbage pile. Not. Fun.

He looked up, however, when Bruce clicked open a case file. So did everyone else, as if drawn by some invisible force.

They all clearly saw as Bruce hovered his mouse over a link which had been typed in sometime while the big bat had been away. The only hint to what it could be was the note reading “New Evidence.”

Bruce grunted in what for anyone else would be an exclamation of curiosity and went to click the link.

Which clearly went to YouTube.

In unison, all the bats’ eyes widened in realization. You see, in a family such as this one, pranks abounded. So they all had painstakingly memorized that series of letters and numbers.

They all knew what it meant.

Suddenly, the Batcave lit up with the dancing form of one Rick Astley. It was everywhere. On the several large monitors that made up the Batcomputer. The various screens spread across the caves. Everyone’s phones somehow were affected. As well as the X-Ray machine in the med bay, which was showing a skeleton dancing.

Bruce jumped up, rage full on his face. “Who did this? Make it stop!”

No one answered, all too frozen in shock at what had happened.

“Who…” Dick whispered from beside Jason, “Who would be that brave?”

“Yeah,” Jason whispered back, “Rick Rolls were banned at the 2015 family reunion after you played it two hundred and thirteen times in a row.”

Dick grinned, “those were good times.”

The two eldest boys began to bicker, Jason complaining that Rick Rolls were a part of the war crimes banned by the Geneva Convention, and Dick saying he “liked it: so there.”

Meanwhile, the song was reaching the chorus, and the other bats finally began to react. The three girls were dancing on top of exercise equipment, popping bottles of sparkling cider - or was that champagne? For their own sakes, they should hope it’s the former - they had pulled out of what seemed to be thin air.

Damian was in the corner, trying to get Titus to dance to the music - though he glanced around every so often to make sure that no one was noticing his moment of fun.

Tim was still nursing his collection of drinks like an alcoholic nursed a bottle.

Bruce was practically foaming at the mouth by that point.

“This is NOT FUNNY!”

That, of course, made everyone just start laughing harder. In the corner, Steph started to do the macarena completely off-tempo from the music. Cass seemed to be chugging the cider that Harper was pouring into her mouth.

Just then the holographic training simulations lit up, and Rick Astly began making his way across the cave, dancing all the way.

Bruce glared up at the semi transparent form of the singer, as if trying to force him into submission.

“T-pose to assert dominance!” Jason called, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“Yeah, that’ll totally work, B! Trust us!” Dick called as well.

Bruce took a moment to turn his head and glare at the two former Robins, who only smiled like the angels they clearly thought they were.

The image was not aided by the two giant stuffed swordfish just pulled from Jason’s utility belt.

“En guarde!” He cried, and tossed the one in his left hand at Damian, who had been trying to reassure his dog that the giant man wasn’t real.

The thirteen year old screeched, but caught the four foot long fish by its fin.

“This is animal abuse!” He cried.

“It’s not abuse if it’s dead!” Jason countered, and attacked the youngest bat with a passion.

As the duel progressed, Cassandra tried to raise her hand and gurgle out a bet on who would win, but began to choke on the liquid.

Harper cursed as she tossed away the sixth bottle of cider and tried to give Cass the heimlich maneuver.

Dick, meanwhile, pressed a button on one of the many consoles spread around the cave, and several stripper poles came out of hidden storage via hydraulics. He grabbed the nearest one, and began to dance.

“I THOUGHT I DISABLED THOSE?!” Bruce bellowed, as Dick began a twirl.

Stephanie, however, didn’t seem nearly as dismayed at the sight of the poles. She herself smacked a button next to her, and several disco balls dropped down from among the stalactites to join the fun. She then began to morph her macarena into an epic macarena. A few flips here, and a few pantomiming choking your enemies there. And a whole lot of randomly throwing glitter bombs at, well, everywhere.

But especially at the nearest authority figure.

Damian tripped over a bucket during his fight - apparently left over from Alfred’s earlier cleaning spree - and the soapy liquid spilled across the floor.

But, of course, them being the bats, Alfred didn’t use normal soap.

Huge bubbles began to farm from the liquid, the longest almost three feet in diameter, and rise up to the cave’s ceiling. The suds spread around, eagerly began to mingle with Stephanie’s glitter.

A solitary bubble, relatively small, floated over to Bruce’s head, and popped on one of his cowl’s ears. He was not amused.

*****

Five minutes later, everyone was lined up next to the Batcomputer with heads bowed in either shame or disappointment.

Bruce walked up and down the row, the perfect imitation of a drill sergeant. His glare matched as well.

“This is an outrageous breach of protocol,” he was saying, “the Batcomputer is not a toy, nor something to use for your own amusement. It is a serious tool-”

“Then why’s it called the Batcomputer?”

Bruce froze and whirled on Dick, who had chosen that inopportune moment to speak up.

“Because you were nine years old and saying no to you would have gotten me a meltdown.”

“It seems to me, Bossman,” Stephanie began, tenting her fingers in an attempt to act serious (the effect was strange combined with her bathrobe and slippers) “That you are perfectly happy to let Dick get away with things. But in this situation, with women present, you are strangely cold. This shows blatant sexism on your part and in this essay I will-”

“That’s enough, Stephanie.” Bruce cut off as a round of snorts and giggle erupted from the group of bats.

“You do realise that no one here is going to speak, right?” Jason asked, “You did teach us to resist torture. And - pardon my french, Alfred - but you are no fucking way close to the level of torture I’ve gone through. Namely waking up to Batcow sitting on top of me.”

“Are you commenting on her weight?” Damian demanded, glaring daggers at Jason.

“I said no such thing.”

“ Boys .” Bruce demanded, rubbing his temples. “Jason is right - not about Batcow’s weight - but I’m not going to get any of you to talk willingly.” He paused and made eye contact with every single bat present, trying to reach into their souls.

“Therefore,” he continued slowly, “I’m giving you one last chance. Otherwise: No one gets cookies from Alfred for two months. ”

The shock was immediate. Alfred’s cookies, of all kinds, were worth more than gold in the Manor. The ability to not have them? And for two months? Bruce truly was a cruel hearted tyrant if he was willing to go to such lengths.

Duke gulped.

“Fine, then.” Bruce said simply when no one answered. “I guess we’ll just have to check the security footage of the Cave.”

Why didn’t Bruce think of that earlier? He clearly wasn’t trying to give the kids an easy way out.

Bruce stalked over to the computer and began to furiously type at the keys, pulling up the footage for the past few days. The group watched in a tense silence as Bruce rifled through the multiple recordings, searching for the culprit.

“AHA!” Bruce grunted, upon finding a specific time stamp. There was a figure emerging from the shadows. He paused and then slowed down the video so they could all see who it was.

There were several gasps as the figure came into the light, looked around, and made his way to the computer. They had shown their face, not even bothering to hide.

Everyone whirled to Duke, then back to the screen.

“No way,” Harper whispered under her breath.

Because the person on the footage, who was now adding the link to the case file and hooking up bluetooth speakers, was Duke Thomas himself.

Bruce’s eye twitched.

There was a general consensus among the resident vigilantes in the cave at that time: Duke wasn’t going to live to tell the tale.

Duke felt uneasy under their scrutiny, unsure of what to do. This was his plan, after all. To be seen differently. But so far the lack of accusations or uproarious debate was disconcerting.

He looked up at Bruce, awaiting his reaction. Bruce didn’t meet Duke’s eyes.

“Hrn,” he grumbled angrily instead and whirled on Tim. Said teenager was barely standing up straight - well, he was leaning on Steph heavily - and blinked wearily around the cave. He didn’t seem to understand what was going on.

Bruce’s eyes narrowed for a long moment before he whipped around and furiously began to mess with the playback settings on the footage. Everyone stood still, not daring to move while Bruce grumbled under his breath.

Finally Bruce straightened and pointed dramatically toward the screen.

“There,” he grunted out, and everyone subconsciously leaned a little bit forward.

They didn’t see anything different from before, though Bruce’s finger did bring their attention to one of the bats that flew across the upper left hand corner. A few seconds of footage later, and yet another bat flew across in a similar pattern. Not exactly the same, so it wasn’t really out of the ordinary. Lord knows the bats would randomly fly out and into their hair much more than necessary.

“Note how the figure is disturbed when each bat flies across the screen,” Bruce said in the same voice he used when talking about a case - cold, impersonal, and yet like he was giving a college lecture.

No one spoke, not really sure what to say. I mean, what was the correct course of action when your father figure suddenly refuses to accept reality, and is grasping at the most unlikely of straws?

“I know this technique anywhere,” Bruce said more to himself than the line of vigilantes. He turned, completely passing over Duke, and set his sights on Tim.

“Timothy Jackson Drake,” Bruce growled, stalking forward, “What possessed you to doctor this footage?”

Tim didn’t respond, only mumbled incoherently and leaned onto Steph some more.

Bruce was furious, bearing his teeth as he spat out his response: “Now is not the time to use the anti-torture training I’ve given you.”

Tim nodded slowly and draped his arm on top of Stephanie’s head.

“You should know better than this,” Bruce began, “pranks are strictly forbidden in the cave, as you very well know. And in addition, I taught you better at framing than this. You choose a victim that could actually be considered as a suspect. Trying to pin the blame on Duke was your undoing - he would never do something like this.”

Duke cringed slightly, as the rest of the bats glanced Duke’s way. All were a mix of confusion and awe.

This … was not how this was supposed to go. No, screw that. That was an outrageous understatement. Things ‘not going according to plan’ would have been Jason randomly blaming Harper for the mess on no grounds - or maybe Bruce not bothering to check the cameras, opting instead to just ground everyone.

But blatantly ignoring evidence and then lecturing someone completely unrelated? No, this was too much. It couldn’t be real. This was some kind of scare-tactic wasn’t it? Duke was too much of an adrenaline junkie to be bothered by the usual ‘hanging upside down over a busy road’ schtick.

But then Bruce moves on to possible culprits Tim could have chosen instead - did he seriously think that Ra’s Al Ghul would Rick Roll them?! - and Duke lost hope.

“Uhh, Bruce?” Duke asked after the ten minute mark.

The Dark Knight turned and faced Duke.

Duke scratched the back of his neck. “Do you think I could head out for patrol now? It’s getting light out, and since you’ve clearly got this covered… I thought I could scoot out?”

Bruce was nodding before the end of Duke’s request. “Yes, go. I’ll deal with Tim. You don’t need to worry - you won’t be blamed. It clearly wasn’t your fault.”

Duke nodded slowly, and covered his disappointment with a small smirk. “Thanks, B.”

He jogged over to the edge of the platform and dropped down beside his Signal-Cycle. A routine mounting, a quick putting on of his helmet, and he was off.

Duke was scowling as he left, wondering what on earth had gone wrong.

*****

“Did you see that smirk?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Did he blame Tim on purpose?”

“How, though? To make such a tactical move -”

“It would have taken a shit ton of planning.”

“Can we get back on the fact that Bruce was fooled?”

“Or who fooled him?!”

#duke thomas #duke thomas big bang #batfam #fanfiction #my fanfiction #bruce wayne #stephanie brown #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #harper row #cassandra cain #damian wayne #batfamily