#he also has like 9 million boxes to sit in

[eats-the-stars]

upside to a workplace w/shop cats: free kitty time! take a short break to pet one of these little fur-balls

neutral side to a workplace w/shop cats: i have heard each of my coworkers meow at least once, which is odd but neither good nor bad

downside to workplace w/shop cats: one is obsessed with knocking over cups, making water placement a delicate act. also he once knocked a glass bottle of hot-sauce onto one of the machines and i had to clean it all up while he just sat there and took in the free entertainment

#cats #we don't normally have things positioned so they can be knocked over onto the machines #but one of the machines is close to the little countertop area where ppl put their lunch things sometimes #it also has like little sauce packets and salt and things #and the hot sauce bottle was on top of something maybe the microwave? can't recall but something that gave it height #and put it close to the edge by the machine #and none of us expected him to go for the hot sauce #because he normally targets open cups and leaves things like water bottles alone #but not that day! #nope he was meowing for my attention and i was telling him i was busy right now #and then i glanced over and froze when i saw him poised beside the hot sauce #and i was like 'no no noo don't do it!' #and he looked me right in the eyes like 'should've given me scratches then' and bats it right onto the machine #also he has toys and ppl do play w/him especially in the sewing area #he also has like 9 million boxes to sit in #a cushioned rolling chair draped in fluffy blankets specifically for him #scratching posts/cat trees in the upper shop area #another scratching post and a cat bed in the office plus more toys and treats #he is a spoiled cat who gets plenty of attention and has a lot of space to roam and big windows up in the upper shop to look out of #knocking shit over is just extra for him

[denimbex1986]

'The behind-the-scenes details of Oppenheimer’s production demonstrate the craftsmanship and commitment that went into making the film a success. Christopher Nolan’s three-hour biopic of the father of the nuclear bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer has proven a hit with critics and audiences. The film has earned over $240 million at the box office and currently sits at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews demonstrate a widespread appreciation for the movie’s numerous winning aspects, including its thoughtful script, powerhouse cast, and stunning visuals.

As one of the biggest directors working today, Christopher Nolan boasts a thoughtful vision, as well as the resources to pull it off. As such, the story of Oppenheimer’s production is a rich one. The ways in which Nolan chooses to challenge the conventions and standards of filmmaking demonstrate the director’s ambition and skill. However, the film also benefits from the keen insights and creative generosity of the director’s collaborators. Much like the film itself, Oppenheimer’s production paints the picture of a unique and staggering work brought to life by a creative visionary and his diligent team.

10. Oppenheimer's Atomic Bomb Explosion Was Done Practically

The defining moment of Oppenheimer is the successful detonation of the atomic bomb at the Trinity test. For Christopher Nolan, it was important that the Oppenheimer explosion was captured without CGI so that it could be “beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.” For Nolan, this effect can’t be achieved with CGI, something which “inherently is quite comfortable to look at.” Instead, the director chose to detonate a smaller real bomb, using a mixture that involved gasoline, petroleum, aluminum powder, and magnesium flares to produce the blinding light, plumes of fire, and mushrooming effect typical of an atomic bomb. Nolan used forced perspective to give the detonation a sense of scale.

9. Oppenheimer Features No CGI Shots

Oppenheimer’s dramatic explosion isn’t the only surprising use of practical effects. Christopher Nolan even made headlines in the lead-up to the film’s release by remarking that there are “No CGI shots in Oppenheimer”. However, this doesn’t mean that the film employs no CGI at all. Rather, not a single shot in the biopic is made up entirely of CGI. This is no mean feat, since some of the images, particularly the visualizations of atomic particles, would be far easier to render as fully CG creations. In the production of the film, these visualizations were created through a blend of VFX and practical filmmaking that gives the moments real, tangible weight.

8. Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer Look Was Inspired By David Bowie

Cillian Murphy strikes a vivid figure in Oppenheimer. It’s hard to express exactly what sets Oppenheimer’s look apart from the dozens of other suit-wearing physicists in the movie, but there’s certainly an ephemeral quality to the look that makes it feel distinct. Christopher Nolan used David Bowie as an influence for the scientist’s appearance. According to Murphy (via Vulture), the director would send him photos of the rock star in the 1970s, “when he was so skinny and kind of emaciated but had these wonderfully tailored suits with the trousers, that was the Oppenheimer silhouette.”

7. RDJ, Emily Blunt, & Matt Damon Took Pay Cuts To Be In Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer boasts a shockingly stacked cast, from top-tier character actors to screen veterans and even current A-listers in supporting roles. While the movie’s budget of $100 million is high for a dramatic biopic, it wouldn’t be sufficient to pay the usual salaries of some of its biggest stars. Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr. are all big box office draws who could easily demand $10-20 million for a film appearance. However, Variety reports that an eagerness to work with Christopher Nolan encouraged the stars to drop their quote dramatically, although the stars all have deals for a share of the film’s backend profits.

6. Oppenheimer Required The Invention Of A New Kind Of Film Stock

One of the trademarks of the latter part of Christopher Nolan’s career has been the director’s employment of IMAX technology. The director meets the scale of his work by suiting its presentation to the largest screen possible. This commitment created a challenge with the black-and-white sequences of Oppenheimer since black-and-white IMAX film stock did not exist when Nolan began developing the film. Instead of compromising on his use of IMAX or the use of grayscale sequences in the film, Nolan had film stock manufacturer Kodak develop the first-ever black-and-white film stock for IMAX (via Collider).

5. Oppenheimer Is (Almost) Too Big For IMAX

Black-and-white stock isn’t the only new IMAX ground Christopher Nolan broke with Oppenheimer. Around the time of the film’s release, Nolan treated the internet to a look at the IMAX film print for Oppenheimer, which is the biggest ever. The reel is over 11 miles long and weighs over 600 lbs. The director is no stranger to pushing the limits of IMAX projectors; his previous IMAX epic Interstellar required a widening of the standard projector platter to accommodate the size of the 167-minute film. However, Nolan reports (via Collider) that the projector is now at its absolute limit with Oppenheimer since the projector’s arm can’t physically bear any more weight.

4. Oppenheimer's Kyoto Bombing Line Was Unscripted

For many viewers, one of the most harrowing moments in Oppenheimer isn’t a dramatic visual, but an offhanded comment made by a minor character. In the scene where US Secretary of War Stimson (James Remar) discusses which Japanese cities should be targets for the atomic bomb, he crosses Kyoto off the list, remarking that he and his wife honeymooned there. It’s a chilling moment based on actual history that powerfully skewers the calculating remoteness of those involved with the bombing. According to Nolan, the devastating Oppenheimer line was suggested by Remar himself, who had learned the fact while conducting his own research into the character.

3. Robert Pattinson Inspired Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan credits Robert Pattinson, star of his previous blockbuster Tenet, with igniting his interest in the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer. According to CBR, Pattinson gifted Nolan with a book of Oppenheimer’s speeches towards the end of production on Tenet. Nolan became fascinated with the character of Oppenheimer and began to envisage a film that would tell the story. Unfortunately, Nolan wasn’t able to fit Pattinson into Oppenheimer, explaining (via Digital Spy) that the actor is “very much in demand these days”.

2. Most Of Oppenheimer’s Script Is Written In The First Person

Christopher Nolan has long held a reputation as a director who defies conventions, from the backward chronology of Memento to the alternating timeframes of Dunkirk. The director recently revealed to THR that he broke a major screenwriting convention with his Oppenheimer script, by writing large portions in the first person. Nolan explains that, in order to help differentiate the script’s timelines, everything in the film which takes place from Oppenheimer’s own perspective is told in the first person. In the film, this distinction is shown through color grading, with everything outside of Oppenheimer’s perspective shown in stark black-and-white.

1. Cillian Murphy Nearly Played Oppenheimer In A TV Show

Cillian Murphy has rightly seen a deluge of critical praise for his performance in Oppenheimer. Not only does the actor bear a physical resemblance to the real figure, he brings a riveting sense of alienated pathos to the role that effortlessly maintains audience engagement. However, this isn’t the first time Cillian Murphy was considered to play Oppenheimer. In 2014, the series Manhattan, another dramatization of the creation of the atomic bomb, featured the nuclear scientist as a secondary character. According to the series’ creator, Sam Shaw “We wanted Oppenheimer […] to feel alien, or other, in some ways. A thousand percent, Cillian Murphy was on that list.”'

#Cillian Murphy #Christopher Nolan #IMAX #Matt Damon #Emily Blunt #Tenet #Robert Pattinson #Manhattan #Memento #Dunkirk #James Remar #Robert Downey Jr. #David Bowie #Trinity Test #Rotten Tomatoes

[myhauntedsalem]

7 Signs of Poltergeist Activity

1 – Disappearing Object Phenomenon

You put your set of keys or your cell phone down in the place you always put it. You turn around a minute later and it’s gone. The object mysteriously reappears in the very place you always put it or more bizarrely, you later find it in a ridiculous place, like high on a bookshelf, in a shoe box in the closet or some other spot where you’d never put it in a million years. This is known as the Disappearing Object Phenomenon.

2 – Objects Levitating or Thrown

You’re sitting there watching TV, totally engrossed in a dramatic movie, when suddenly the bowl of popcorn you’ve been munching from rises from the coffee table, floats through the air a few feet, then drops to the floor. Or… you’re having a loud argument with your teenage daughter, and as she storms out of the room, books and knick-knacks come hurtling off of the bookcase, as if reacting to the young girl’s anger.

The movement of physical objects like this can be quite dramatic and can be as slight as a box of Tic Tacs sliding a few inches across a tabletop or as amazing as a heavy refrigerator levitating off the kitchen floor.

3 – Scents and Odors

No one in your house smokes, yet on occasion, the distinct smell of cigarette or cigar smoke can be detected in the bathroom. Or as you’re dressing for bed, suddenly the overpowering scent of lilacs fills the room.

As stated above, all kinds of smells can enter your house from the outside, even from a passing car, so such scents might not necessarily mean poltergeist.

Such scents and odors can also be a sign of ghost activity as they might be associated with a spirit or with a residual haunting.

4 – Electrical Interference

Johnny is having a tough time in school, and sometimes when he enters the living room with that scowl on his face, the overhead light and lamps flicker. Or it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and you’re shocked out of sleep by the stereo in the den turning on full blast and it doesn’t have a remote control that could have set it off accidentally, either from inside or outside the house.

5 – Power From Nowhere

That antique clock on the fireplace mantle hasn’t worked in years, but it’s a family heirloom and you like how it looks there, so you’ve kept it. Quite suddenly, it begins to chime and the second-hand resumes moving, even though the clock hasn’t been wound in ten years. Maybe it’s 9:15 p.m. and the little kids are sound asleep in bed when suddenly Billy’s little choo-choo train begins to chug across the living room floor. You think that’s odd, but you switch it off and put it back down. A few minutes later, the little train starts up again. Thinking there’s something wrong with the switch, you open the battery compartment to remove the batteries… but there are no batteries in it!

6 – Knocks, Rappings, Footsteps, and Other Noises

You’re in your office trying to balance the checkbook, but you find it hard to concentrate when your husband is in the other room banging on the wall for some reason. You go to investigate, but then remember your husband is out bowling—he isn’t even home. No one else is. So where’s that knocking coming from? Or the family is at the kitchen table deep into a heated game of Monopoly. Suddenly, all the chatter stops when everyone’s attention is drawn to the sound of footsteps coming up the basement stairs. Dad checks it out, but of course, there is no one there.

7 – Physical Attacks

Twelve-year-old Alyssa can’t stand how her parents are always fighting. The constant yelling and screaming are driving her crazy. She sits on the floor in the corner of her room, crying with her face in her hands. She winces from a sudden pain in her back. When she checks it in a mirror, she finds fresh scratches. Or the poltergeist activity—from unexplained bangs to flying coffee pots—has been escalating at the Ferman household, and young Becky seems to be the center of it all. It got at its worst when visiting Uncle Donald received sharp slaps across the face, seemingly from an unseen hand.

#7 Signs of Poltergeist Activity #ghost and hauntings #paranormal #ghost and spirits #haunted salem #myhauntedsalem

[nosoulsheresorry]

Handful of Kisses

My first ever kiss was with a childhood friend. We’d play house at her place and, as the youngest one, I’d be stuck with the “worst role,” although I’d soon come to find that it secretly was quite a good one. I’d be the dad, she would be the mom and my sister would be the kid. We would send our kid to the school next to the dresser and we’d go back to our home in the closet. There, we’d squeeze in together and sit on top of the blankets on her shelves. I can’t quite remember how it started, but soon it became like clockwork. We’d sit and chat about parental stuff, then we would hold each other, some much needed comfort due to all the stresses of an adult life, and then we’d kiss. It was sloppy and in hindsight quite repulsive, but we were just little kids. i was around five or six and she was just a year older than me. And again, like clockwork, her mom would notice how quiet we were and she’d come in to check on us as we would rush off the shelves and out of the closet, like literally. She told me after the first time that I shouldn’t wipe my lips in front of her mom because it looked suspicious. We haven’t kept in touch, though our parents have. She’s back in Turkey now; they had to move back after a break-in where her dad’s business competitors (or someone hired by them?) held her down at gunpoint.

My first high school kiss was with a boy I did not particularly like. There wasn’t anything wrong with him, but I only really dated him because he liked me. He gave me a quick peck on the lips after I subconsciously dodged him a few times. It was after a date where we saw a horror movie and he was scared shitless. I remember his lips being very big and kind of overwhelming. I ended up ghosting him, which made his friends mad at me, but what’re you gonna do? He ended up dating my best friend at the time just a month or two later. I had no qualms about it, I never cared much for him and they seemed way better together than we ever could’ve been. They broke up after 9 months.

I had this routine with a friend of mine. My parents were very strict, and this was during a very very rough patch in our relationship, so forget a curfew, I wasn’t allowed to go out at all. He’d bike all the way to my neighborhood from the other island and we’d meet up at the park next to my house at around 2AM. We’d smoke some weed, walk around, go to the McDonald’s in the next neighborhood. It was all very sweet. I was so lonely at the time, as you can imagine, so I would cling to his arms a lot, just begging for some comfort. I guess he, understandably, took that as a sign. We’d usually part ways around 7 to 8AM, but this one time I asked him if he wanted to come in to my place. I was getting a bit cocky with how often I’d sneak in and out, so the next logical step was obviously to sneak a boy in. He came in, watched me clean my room like the amazing hostess I am and we ended up watching Bojack on my bed. It’s a twin bed with a million trinkets and boxes on it, but we found a way to squeeze in together. I fell asleep at some point, very careless of me, my room was in the basement and I had no door, anyone could walk down without a sound. That’s when he leaned over and kissed me. It woke me up and I tried to kiss him back, but it didnt feel good. His lips were also quite big, though that has nothing to do with the unease I felt. Part of me was trying to convince myself I wanted this, while the other part was activating my fight or flight. I ended up pushing him away by his chest and showed him the way out, saying something like “my dad will get up for work soon” knowing full well that he doesn’t get up until 10. I hugged him on the way out. It was all very silent. I invited him back the next week to talk it out. I didn’t want to lose his friendship, I couldn’t afford that in the state I was in, but I also really did not want to be kissed unconsciously. I think if that night went a bit differently we wouldn’t be distant acquaintances today. When I tried to reason with him, he started talking about all his family issues… and they were really bad issues. I so badly wanted to hold him and comfort him, but it just wasn’t the time. Why would you tell me all this now? Couldn’t you wait until I was done? I faked some period cramps and started heading home. He walked with me and as I turned the street he asked me if he could kiss me again. I asked him if he listened to anything I said. With a little laugh I said : “Oh, William’s gonna hear all about this!” and he would later use that to blame me for him and William growing apart. He’s taking a sabbatical now, went home to Vietnam.

During quarantine, there wasn’t many options for date spots. We chose the botanical gardens in december. There wasn’t too much to see, not many things grow in the winter, go figure, but the buildings and statues were nice. He kept my hand in his pocket the whole time and we’d walk with our arms interlocked. He was leaving for New York the next day, and he’d stay there until mid-January, so naturally I had to give his birthday present right then. I got him a Mario Game-and-Watch. As we parted ways I watched his bus go by while my hands froze in my own pockets. That night, we were on call, debriefing, as you do. I don’t remember how we got around to it, but he got me to admit that I was waiting for him to kiss me. He asked why I didn’t make a move, and I guess I didn’t really have an answer. I told him I would once he came back. First day back in school, at 7:56AM, we knew where we were going. The quiet part of the 4th floor behind the auditorium. We did the very 2020-teen-romance thing of pulling each other’s masks down. His lips were big too, (I’m starting to think maybe mine are just too small?) but they felt so good. It was soft and delicate, passionate, but nothing near overwhelming. We tried pulling away, as class was starting soon, but we would just end up in another corner kissing again. We both were grinning like idiots once we finally made it to class. Turns out, the teacher was late, the universe was on our side. We started dating shorting after that, he would be my first for many things, as would I to him. We broke up who knows when, who knows how many times, but if I could I would go through our little cycle again one last time. I don’t know what he’s up to anymore.

#hold onto hope like i hold my worst grudges #teenagers baby! #i guess i wasnt a teen in the first one but you get it.

[allyn211]

I keep thinking I've heard everything then . . .

I keep thinking I've heard everything, then . . . Every time I think, "Now I've heard everything," something else comes up and reminds me that no, I haven't heard everything yet. The latest item on the "now I've heard everything" list, also known as the, "What the . . . (fill in the blank)" list? You know how at the Bills-Bengals game this past week, when Damar Hamlin showed up to encourage his team? That wasn't Damar Hamiln. It was a clone. You see, Damar Hamlin really died. So the NFL and the FBI substituted a clone because they don't want to admit that Hamlin really died from the COVID-19 vaccine. This is why Hamlin has not done an interview since he was released from the hospital. And also why, when he went to the Bills-Bengals game, he came dressed in a mask, sunglasses, and hoodie. The person in the SkyBox that was filmed giving the "heart" signal to his team? That was the clone. And by the way, he wasn't really giving the "heart" sign.  He was flashing Illuminati signals. This is the theory floated on Twitter by a particular Tweeter whom I will not name. And sadly, there are those going along with it.  Damar Hamlin decided to troll the trolls by posting a picture of himself posing next to a mural someone painted of Damar making his "heart" gesture and commenting, "Clone". So let's see:   Damar Hamlin collapsed from cardiac arrest on January 2nd. But his cardiac arrest wasn't caused by a rare condition called commotio cordis. Or possibly another type of heart condition. It was caused by the "jab"; i.e. the COVID vaccine. So the NFL went into coverup mode and brought in a body double to play Damar Hamlin. He was trained for 72 hours to walk and behave like Hamlin, including the famous heart gesture.  And it was the FBI that brought in the body double. When he appears in public -- which he has done rarely -- he wears a mask, sunglasses and hoodie so that people won't know that he's not the real Damar. This is why he won't show his face and why he hasn't done an interview since being released from the hospital.  If you sit down and think about it:  - Wouldn't his family sense that there was something "off" about their son? - Why would the FBI be interested in bringing in a body double and helping the NFL cover up a death? - Why would the NFL cover up a player death in the first place? - Wouldn't the team know that there was something "off" about their friend and teammate?  Has it occurred to anyone that the reason why Damar Hamlin hasn't done any interviews is because he's still being treated for his heart condition? That the reason he wears a mask in public is because he has a heart condition and is now immunocompromised?  That he wears glasses and a hoodie in public because he'd probably be swarmed if people knew who he was?  I've read YouTube conspiracy comments about the JFK assassination, the RFK assassination, the 1969 moon landing, and the 9/11 attacks. A few days ago, I blocked a Tweeter who commented that they found it hard to believe that 19 "terrorists" took down a whole country with "box cutters" (the words in quotes are from the tweet.)  Six million Jews died in concentration camps, men did walk on the moon, the birth certificate is real, jet fuel does melt steel, and Oswald acted alone.  Add to that list: Damar Hamlin does not have a body double. It becomes very hard to keep your faith in humanity when you read certain comments on social media. These days, I just look at them, shake my head, and move on after a well-deserved eye roll for the commenter. Just my .04, adjusted for inflation. I  via Blogger https://ift.tt/ZXBOEkh January 24, 2023 at 08:08PM

#IFTTT #Blogger

[tanniesjeom]

when the camellia blooms | pjm

park jimin x kim! reader | 1 | 2

sypnosis: diagnosed with the hanahaki disease, you had only two options - accept a deathly fate, or never love again. 

genre: au, angst, fluff, humor, friends to lovers? maybe.

warnings: many talks of death and dying, minor character death, pain, unrequited love, swearing, talks of past sexual experience while intoxicated, pining, longing, really sad reader, and lots of angst.

word count: 7.2 k

"you would die for her, for him."

"You're dying."

The two words escape past his lips steadily and breathily as your widening eyes linger on the way his hands fiddle with one another out of habit. He sighs deeply and resists the urge to avoid screaming at you and maintain eye contact out of professionalism, pushing back his slipping glasses.

"At this rate, you won't have any more than a month. Had you told me this sooner, y/n, the results wouldn't have been as scarce. But because you waited after almost a year of this, I'm afraid there's not much to do." He pushes his desk lightly to pull away from it, creating a mere distance between himself and the papers which finalized your future's passing. Reaching his collar, he tugs on his tie to loosen it before unbuttoning the first stitch as he looks at you with seemingly stray and angered eyes mixed with sympathy.

Suddenly, his sight wanders the room as he shakes his head repeatedly, scoffing in disbelief. He then smiles, dimples prominent, lip tightened, eyebrows furrowed, and eyes broken, piercing straight at its target - that being you.

Standing up, he takes off his glasses and slams his fist onto the chair's arm rest before running a hand across his hair, softly hissing.

The professionalism is now out of the drain, "You're an idiot, y/n."

"Fucking stupid. How could you not- I mean- how could you not tell me? I'm your brother! We're family. Blood. We're supposed to- we're supposed to tell each other these things and you just fucking- you kept it to yourself all these months! Ten months! And now I'm sitting here being the one to tell you that you're dying? That you're leaving me? I would've done something. I would've helped you, I- I would've killed whoever this person you're in love with is. y/n, please- I just-"

You don't know why, but you felt exhausted.

The ringing in your ears is deafening. Truthfully, you hadn't heard a single thing the minute you received news that you'll be, well, passing away. Not to mention, within 30 days time.

It's not as if you didn't already know about your condition, of course you did. Coughing soft pink camellia flowers every time you see the man that's brought you here is not exactly something that just simply passes a blind eye. You sense it, you feel it, and it hurts.

It really, really hurts.

You also felt awful for your brother. You hadn't meant for it to go this far. You didn't mean to not tell him. You didn't want your assigned doctor to suddenly call in sick and have your brother temporarily take his place. You didn't mean for him to find out this way - such a twisted, horrible fucking way, but here you are.

"I'm sorry, Joon. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to go this far. I just-"

"Were you ever even going to tell me?" He cuts you off, voice low and steady, almost afraid of your coming response.

Your eyes locate his across the cramped room, and one could clearly tell that it's striving its hardest to fight against desperate tears.

"I- yes, Joon. I was. Of course I was. I was gonna do it after this check in actually, but I guess God wanted you to find out sooner than I intended, though He could've just waited a little while longer and it would've been fine." You joke whisperingly, the heavy weight of your heart lightening just a small bit when you notice the corners of his lips twitch and his eyes faintly soften.

Regrettably, that was a lie. You didn’t plan on telling him, not today at least. Maybe not even ever.

The softening air lasts for only a second as his following question makes you hold back the urge to cough up another camellia flower slowly blooming its way to your throat.

"Who is it?"

Genuine, concerned, curious. These were all that he was.

But noticing the way your body went entirely rigid at his words and the way your hand clutched your clothed chest in attempt to shut down what you know will happen next, Namjoon's brotherly instincts causes him to naturally make his way towards you softly, taking small and careful strides towards your fragile state.

And once he's finally reached you, he gets on his knees gently in order for him to be of nearing same height level as you're sitting down, his hands rubbing the back of your hand in a comforting manner.

He does this all before pulling the trigger.

"Who are you in love with, y/n?"

two years back

"Jimin!"

You call out your brother's best friend loudly, who is currently in the midst of doing a one-man stage play in front of the mirror, "Joon's saying you guys need to get going now. Says he has a patient in two hours and wants to go over all sorts of documents before treating her."

Turning around, you scan the living room and dining room for the keys of your friend's car as your brother also asked you to hand them to him since the two always end up on forgetting it until they've already reached the car parked across your apartment's block.

You hear Jimin shuffle behind you, "Really? He wants to go over documents at- 9 AM in the morning?"

Smiling at his attempts of complaint, you nod your head softly in order to play along and answer his rhetorical question, "He really needs to learn how to drive doesn't he? Since he's dragging you along everywhere he goes."

Jimin laughs at your statement, which being an opinion, your brother would argue, 'driving isn't a necessary aspect of life.' But who really thinks like that? Oh right, non-drivers.

“I guess he’s getting too caught up in learning medicine that he forgot to learn how to officially become an adult.” Reaching above the kitchen top, you finally found sight of Jimin's car keys.

How did it even get up there? You think to yourself. It's really high up, so Namjoon must've been the one to leave it as to where it is.

You groan slightly, "Joon, can you get over here! I found Chim's keys but it's too far up high so I can't reach it. Hell I don't even think he can reach this-"

You are cut off when you feel a hand sneak around your waist, making you flinch and suddenly spin cautiously.

Eyes widened. Lips parted. Breath hitched. You let out an inaudible gasp as you come to the realization that Jimin is now in front of you, head tilted with an amused smile on his face, "Excuse you? I can very much reach this." He says, all the while reaching up behind you, inchly leaning forward. At this point, your body is being pressed up against the kitchen counter and his oh-so-very toned front.

This small action is enough to instigate a flaming abyss inside of you as you very much attempt to calm your alarmed heart.

You can feel the cuts and lines of his abs against your chest as he is now standing on his tippy toes, desperately trying to reach the keys on the kitchen top. Anyone that could see his posture would call him adorable, but your body is currently being sandwiched and by all that is high and mighty your mind can't even really process a single thing. Wait, what were you thinking just now?

"See? Got it." Jimin falls back in place as he jiggles his car keys in front of your stone-cold face, smile wide as he giggles softly, "Piece of cake, y/n."

He then proceeds to move on with his life like he didn't just do what the fuck he just did.

Clearing your throat, you blink about a million times in order to gather your thoughts. Your heartbeat is racing faster than the speed of light and your lips have become as dry as a desert. If you had gone standing on your tippy toes just as he did, you would've been a baby hair away from lips touching. The thought is enough to make you grow weak.

Yet as if something inside of you is suddenly turned on, no pun intended, you remind yourself that these thoughts are wrong. You can't be having these apprehensions, they aren't right. Because not only is he your brother's best friend, he also has a-

"y/n?" Jimin's soft voice calls out your name.

Breaking out of your trance, you turn to see him sitting down on the dining table, head tilted downwards with a small smile on his face. The sun escapes your pastel curtains as it slips past the window sill, reasoning with the current ray of golden yellow that has found its home on Jimin’s plump cheek, shining on the left side of his luminous face.

It's absolutely senseless how he can look as beautiful as he does simply by existing, and it makes perfect sense that your finding yourself to liking him more and more.

Just look at him.

You are broken out of your enchanted daze once more as dreaded words leave his smiling lips, "I'm gonna ask her to marry me."

Only then were you brought back to your inadequate reality.

“W- what?” You attempt to speak, but you notice the way your voice has suddenly become noticeably hoarse.

Jimin looks up at you with a smile, the kind that has his eyes almost disappearing.

“Sung. I’m gonna ask her to marry me tonight.”

silence.

silence.

and more silence.

Like a coward, that was all what you could muster to respond with.

And only then did you notice the velvet box on his hands, upon which he is tenderly caressing. Only then did you recognize the questionable romantic script of his one-man stage just moments earlier. Only then did you realize that the reason behind his growing smile are because of her, not you. Not because of what had just taken place.

Only then did you remember that no, you can't be having these apprehensions - they aren't right.

Because not only is he your brother's best friend,

he also has a, now upcoming, fiancé.

present time

"I already loved him then, Joon."

By this time, your brother has stood up and begun pacing back and forth the modest office, murmurs of curses towards his friend escaping past his lips, "-that small son of a bitch."

Smiling softly, you look down in reminiscence of the moments you have spent falling for Jimin. "I guess I've always been infatuated with him ever since our first meeting, but my God Joonie," you pause, inhaling a short breath in attempt to stop tears threatening to spill. "-ever since that day, when he told me that he was going to propose to her, I finally realized that like was the wrong term to use. I realized that I loved him and I just- I lost sight of everything." You cry, small sobs coming from you as you blinkingly look up to try to contain the waters forming in your eyes.

It was true. That day, when he told you about his plans to ask her to marry him, you've never felt more indignant.

Of course you faked it at first, congratulated him and consoled him into truthfully believing that she will undoubtedly say yes. But the minute he and Namjoon left your apartment, you collapsed on your carpeted floors, sobbing loudly and hitting your chest repetitively all the while cursing yourself in your head for ever even considering the tiniest of possibilities that you and Jimin could ever happen.

You also went out that night, got drunk, found a guy, slept with him, and never looked back.

Sure, this may seem like a regular night out for many, but not being the type to kiss and sleep, sex meant a lot to you.

Nothing wrong with one night stands, that just wasn't your particular chosen lifestyle. But you were wasted. You were intoxicated. You didn't know what you were doing. Had you been sober, you wouldn't have done what you did, especially with the person you did it with. So when you woke up in the middle of the night naked in bed next to a familiar face and realized what you've done, you rushingly stood up, got dressed, and left, ignoring the calls of the man you had just been with.

You went straight home and washed yourself for hours, feeling dirty and sloppy and disgusting. You can easily recollect sitting down in the showers, head tucked underneath and in between your legs, sobbing and crying loudly as the steam surrounding you from the warm water kept on worsening.

You hated what you did, and you most definitely despised the reason for what you did, - to simply get over someone else. You felt guilty. You felt ashamed. What would Jimin think? You thought to yourself. And though that truly didn't really matter, the ache in your heart kept on making you believe otherwise.

You didn't notice how your tears have fallen and stained your newly-bought jeans until Namjoon's hands holding a napkin comes within your perception.

Mumbling a small 'sorry Joonie,' you accept his offer and wipe the tears still continuously streaming down your now reddened, warm, and puffy face. As you do this, you furthermore catch sight of your brother's shadow rubbing his face in frustration, matching the groans that you also hear release from him in the background. And without meaning so, you deflate in insecurity.

Hearing the sound of air being released from a pulling force, you look up to see that Namjoon has sat back down, his elbows resting on the desk while his chin rest on his hands. "Does he know about this, y/n?"

You sigh, "No."

"Are you going to tell him?" You hear him ask once more.

Closing your eyes and sniffing lightly, you inhale a steady breath as you answer him for the second time, "I don't know, Joon."

Namjoon looks at you, eyes full of worry and concern. You don't know?

You're his sister, and he loves you. He would do anything for you. If he could shower you with all the love that you lack from Jimin, he would. And he would do it in a heartbeat. But you're dying. You're leaving him. And he doesn't know what to think. He doesn't know what to do. So how could you not know? How could you sit here, in front of him, after keeping this shit for ten months to yourself, tell him that you just don't know?

He feels frustrated. Frustrated over the clearing fact that if you don't know the answer to that simple yes or no question, then how more could you know the answer to when he asks you to make the choice?

The choice - to love or to die.

A very careful, unprecedented surgery that has been performed by professionals only a few times, yet each one has been successful. This seems easy, yeah. A surgery to save your life? Of course you'll do it! But there's a reason as to why this has been done only by a certain small count.

To perform the surgery and live, the price is not the expense, but rather the loneliness that shall come as you spend the rest of your life void of emotions. The surgery doesn't get rid of love on its own, it gets rid of everything that comes with it - happiness, sadness, trust, pain, pretty much everything that one can possibly feel. The only emotion left is indifference, yet even indifference lacks its self-sustainability.

Who would want to live like that?

Who would want to live a life where you just simply exist and nothing more?

He knows that the day will come eventually - when he offers you the choice, the chance to save your life, and he knows it will come soon. But right now, he has chosen to prioritize being a brother over a doctor. Right now, the only thing in his mind is comforting you.

"Okay." Your brother nods, making your eyes widen slightly in shock.

Okay? No scolding? No 'how could you not know?!' older brother reprimands? But then you remember, oh yeah. You're dying. And who could possibly scold their dying little sister?

"I'm sorry Joonie-" You try to apologize once more before he cuts you off again.

"No, don't apologize, y/n. It's not like you could've possibly wanted for any of this to happen, yeah?" He offers you a smile, but you could easily see past its fabricated purpose, "But instead let me ask you this. And I need you, in our deceased parent's name, to be completely honest with me."

You only nod, completely submissive and understanding of his seriousness the moment that he mentioned your passed parents.

"What you just told me, when you first fell in love with him, that was two years ago." He starts, making you nod again in agreement.

"But you were diagnosed only ten months ago."

Your heart drops, and you don't nod again.

"The Hanahaki Disease is not something that gradually begins and comes to existence over the course of time. It is an illness that is triggered. It could be by a sudden forthcoming realization or proclamation of love, or by an event that triggers the heart to completely shut down in overwhelmth. Either way, basing on the timing of what you've said, you should've been diagnosed with the Hanahaki two years ago. But you weren't."

Namjoon eyes you questioningly, but not too much to the extent that you feel uncomfortable, only just enough to remind you of the importance of this conversation, "You were only diagnosed ten months ago, y/n. Why?"

You sit still, not wanting to move, as if your stone figure would somehow make him think that you're not real or that you're a simple figment of his messed up imagination.

"y/n, what happened ten months ago?"

He finishes his question and you swallow harshly only to realize that you're parched, your throat completely dry. You then tilt your head to steal a gaze at your brother, making you catch the way his eyes suddenly widened as if he just realized something of high importance. As if he had just realized the answer to his own question. And that didn't work with you.

Clearing your throat, you are about to answer him in order to cut off his thoughts until the door swings open and you feel your throat compact, - the coughs of a camellia flower slipping its way to visibility -because there he is,

the man of the hour.

"y/n." He noticeably breathes a sigh of relief before making his way to you, engulfing you in a giant embrace. "I was so worried about you. Why didn't you tell me you had the Hanahaki? How could you not let me know? How long have you had it? Who is it? I swear I'm going to murder whoever this piece of shit is that he dared ever making yo-"

"Jimin this is a professional space between a doctor and his patient." The two of you pull away almost exactly the same time as soon as Namjoon speaks up, Jimin's eyebrows furrowing, "Get out."

"What?" Jimin barely gather the voice to ask him as he is completely caught off guard of his friend's erupting vulgar attitude.

"I said-" Namjoon speaks before getting caught off again.

"No trust me, I heard what you said. But what?" Jimin repeats himself, "So you're telling me you're not prioritizing being y/n's brother right now? You're still caught up in this Doctor Kim bullshit? Like you're a real one?"

"Jimin-" You attempt to budge in, sensing that a certain trouble may suddenly come knocking.

"No, y/n. Listen hyung-"

"No, YOU listen. You small piece of shit." Your brother raises his voice, "-don't come barging in here like you own the place or like you have any authority over her. She is MY sister and this is a family matter. So it's best you stay out of it and keep in your lane."

At this point, Namjoon is in front of Jimin, a short distance separating the two of them, "And don't you ever dare speak to me in that tone again. I know you're my friend, but remember to treat me with respect. Not only am I your superior, but I'm also your hyung." He finishes with a serious voice, tone low, and message deep. His earnest eyes piercing through his friend's pained ones.

Jimin, mouth slightly agape being at loss for words and clearly confused at his close friend's unreasonable anger, storms out of the room.

But not before he drags you along with him.

Namjoon is quick to act as he tries to reach for you, but you turn back and look at him pleadingly, signaling him that it's okay and to not worry. And him being the understanding brother that he is, pulls back and holds himself steady.

You can handle him. You’re a Kim. You’re strong.

Strong enough to survive through this.

You’ll be okay.

And as he watches the two of you leave, the door closing shut right in front of him, only then does reality hit Namjoon as his legs tremble abruptly, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden.

Falling down the floor, he reaches onto the desk for assistance as he slides his back down the wooden wall, hands painfully fisted and finding its way to cover his mouth in order to muffle the choked-in sobs perilously escaping him. He proceeds to blink away the tears and bite harshly on his lips, trying to diminish the flourishing grievance in his heart.

His sister is dying, and he doesn't know what to do.

“Doctor Kim? The next patient is ready to see you.” A knocking nurse distracts him and calls out from behind the door, “-shall I send them in?”

Namjoon sniffs heavily and sighs deeply, rushingly grabbing his glasses and adjusting his emotionally wrecked state, “One moment!”

He lets out a soft, shaky breath and reminds himself once more that you’re a Kim.

You’re strong.

You can beat this.

It'll be alright.

You'll be okay.

"IM NOT OKAY JIMIN-SHI!" You voicely whine out to your friend who is currently dragging you along the halls of the hospital and out the technologically advanced glass doors, "What is wrong with you?!" You pull your arm aggressively from his grasp as you bend down, hands resting on your knees while you hastily try to catch your breath. The camellia flower stuck just along the chords of your throat making it very difficult.

Jimin stares at you worryingly, having forgotten of your illness, "O- oh no. y/n, I'm sorry I forgot I- are you okay? Should we go back?" He stutters in concern before you hold up one finger, signaling him to shut the hell up. "-sorry."

Looking at you like this, tired and exhausted from having to put up with all his bullshit, Jimin feels a sudden urge to reach out and embrace you tightly, almost forgetting of his previous encounter with your brother.

And so that's exactly what he does.

You are caught off guard the moment you feel a hand grab your shoulder by means of pulling you closer all the while another rests just at your crook of spine, and although this first makes you stumble in a not-so-very prettily way, your destination is found to be in your friend's embrace, his fragile yet protective arms wrapped around you securely.

Not letting this moment simply pass by, you let yourself melt in his arms as you find the comfort meant to be found in his comforting hug, wrapping your arms around his neck as you slightly stand on your tippy toes. Somehow, your simple action makes him pull you even closer, one hand creeping behind your neck all the while his other is completely wrapped around your waist although this time is tighter than before.

As the two of you stay like this in the middle of the sliding glass doors of the hospital, crowds of unfamiliar voices passing by you and ambulances ringing endlessly against your ear, you let yourself submerge within the passion of your heart.

Amidst the chaos and cries of your nearingly counted days, you find consolation in the arms of the same man that has put you in front of death's door, and quite frankly, you wouldn't really want it any other way. You'll take what is given by the heavens above when it comes to Jimin, because well- you love him.

Unfortunately, that quick and simple thought is enough to make you lose control of your reminded disease.

"y-y/n what's- are you okay?" Jimin pulls away from you abruptly as you break into coughing fits, pastel pink camellia blossoms escaping your trembling lips.

The sight has caught the attention of many civilians, but both you and Jimin remain to be indifferent about them as you or more or less are occupied with your illness all the while Jimin specifically aims his attention on you alone.

"Alright that's it, screw your brother alright?" Jimin exclaims a bit louder than what you're comfortable with as this obviously did not benefit with the proceedingly growing public focus on the two of you, "-we're going back, y/n, it's my fault for bringing you outside so suddenly-"

"No chim, please-" You roughly attempt to speak out, your throat painfully extracting the feeling of abrasiveness, "Please just- let's just go."

"y/n.."

“Please chim,” you cut him off for what seemed to be the fiftieth time, coughing, “-please. I don’t want to be here any longer.”

Hesistant yet concerned, Jimin nods slowly as he assists your side, his hands finding its home around your waist and lower back while you both take short and careful strides. You destination is still unknown, but you didn’t mind. A journey a day with someone you love has never turned out for the worse.

At least that's what you think.

"Really?" You roll your eyes as you notice the familiar lane that Jimin's car just entered, "I asked you to get me out of the hospital area, I didn't ask for a sleepover, Jimin." You jokingly accuse him, but you can't help the smile that makes its way on your puffed-up face as you notice him smoothly take a side-glance at you with a knowing smirk.

"Well I thought that with all that bad hospital air, you might've wanted to breathe in a familiar scent," Jimin responds as the car comes to a stop.

You turn slightly to open the door and step out before you here a meek, "Jankkanman!" and perceive a 5'9 in height blondie come running around the bonnet in order to open the car door for you as a gentleman would. It is such a sweet and casual pantomime, yet an ill-patient diagnosed with an illness of the heart can never bring you any wins. Consequently, his actions only causes your throat to feel strained and compacted for the endless time.

God, how much did you love this man that such a simple gesture makes you want to cough out countless of fully bloomed flowers?

You thank the heavens above for your past endless experiences that allowed you to now be better in terms of hiding your pain as you attempt to smile genuinely, mumbling a small "thank you" in the process before making your way inside his home.

"So," Jimin starts as the two of you plop down his couch, his eyes seeking for yours as he tilts his head ever so lightly, "what should we do today... now that you're out of that hell hole?"

"Chim!" You scold him lightly, "my brother and your best friend just happens to be working in that hell hole, just in case you forgot, and- hey! You work there too, you ass." You accusingly point at him all the while hitting his arm playfully.

Jimin is was a nurse in that hospital. Your brother is a doctor.

He laughs and smiles widely, "Nope. I don't work there anymore, remember? But I did for a while, which is why I can most definitely testify that that place is indeed, a hell hole. And by the way, I'm kind of offended that you pretty much forgot my lost profession just then, y/n, like what the fuck?" He jokes endingly.

Your eyes soften slightly as he mentions his lack of job, yet you still stubbornly choose to ignore his last remark. "Well I sure hope that's not the case since I'll be most likely spending my last days there."

Oops.

The silence that ensues goes inevitably noticed by the two of you the moment those words escaped past your lips, but you paid no mind. That was the reason that you asked him to take you away anyways. You weren't hoping for some cliche romantic bullshit where the two of you simply elope and forget your real worries in your life, no. Instead you were here with the main purpose of facing it.

Besides, even if you did want to leave with him, you couldn't. Remember?

Jimin is the first to break the excessive blockade, "Don't say that y/n."

You sigh, "But it's true, chim."

"I don't give a shit if it's true or not."

"Chim.." You are slightly startled with his sudden outburst, caught off guard in the way his voice slightly raised as his attention and body language are now completely directed at you, "Wha- why are you getting mad?"

Jimin scoffs, almost irritated at your oblivious question, "Why? Because you're talking of dying like it's not a big deal, y/n!" His voice getting louder and louder by every word he spits out, "God, you know you can be so fucking insensitive sometimes. What, did you already forget the shit I suffered when I lost someone? Did you already forget all the fucking shit I suffered when death took her from me?"

At the mention of her, you pause. Speechless. Guilty. Hurt.

Of course you remember. How could you not? You remember the darkest of days as like it was just yesterday.

You remember getting that call in the middle of the night from the contact name of your brother as you slightly answered it in an irritated voice, "Joon I swear to God if you're asking me to drive you to work in the middle of the fucking night I will personally drag your ass right now to get a driver's liscenc-"

"y/n?"

You remember immediately stopping as you recognize the voice that most certainly did not belong to your brother, "Chim?"

"y- y/n."

You remember the outbreak of his sobs as you call out to him, his sniffles and cries becoming more and more prominent as you stumble on your feet, struggling with keeping your phone against and in between your ear and your shoulder as you hurryingly take off to grab a jacket and your keys, "Chim what's wrong, where the hell are you? W- where's Joon?"

You remember the way your heart dropped as your worst fear came to mind, the thought of losing your brother itself being enough to make you wobble in your feet, your heart clenching. He had your brother's phone, and he was crying.

"N-no, he- he's fine, y/n. It's not him, hyung's... hyung's fine."

You remember the way he struggled to find the right words; the way he sniffled and stuttered through forming such a simple sentence all the while you on the other side of the line breathe out a sigh of relief at the information of your brother's wellness, yet feeling slightly guilty that your emotions are in contrast with your friend's.

"It's Sung."

You remember Jimin's worst.

"It's Sung, y/n. Sh- she got in an accident on the way here to visit me during my off hours and- fuck! Some fucking demon pulled a hit and run on her. She was walking, y/n. She walked an hour here and got ran over by someone and.. they're doing an operation on her- hyung's assisting and he just- it's bad. It was really bad and she was bleeding all fucking over and- hyung, he- he left his phone and I didn't know what to do so I just called you- I didn't, they pushed me out of the room, y/n. I need you here. Please, please. Please come here because I'm losing my fucking mind and I need you here."

You remember driving to the hospital as careful as you can with the fear of the possibility of an accident occurring still in the midst of the back of your mind.

You remember reaching the doors of the emergency room and being greeted with a pair of reddened and exhausted eyes that looked up the moment you walked in, "Jin."

He stands up to greet you politely but you stop him, obviously seeing that his reaction upon seeing you is no more than a forced delight, "Let's not do this under these circumstances, okay? You're allowed to feel unwelcoming. It's okay, Jin."

He does no more than mumble a small 'thank you' before going back to his previous spot with you trudging along beside him.

You remember feeling the sorrow of the man beside you as you watch him lean his head back against the wall, fragile streaks of tears rolling down his flushed cheeks. You couldn't imagine his pain, the pain of such a situation where your sister's life is at stake. You wanted to comfort him, to softly rub his back and whisper sweet encouragements against his ear, little white lies that his sister is guaranteed to make it without a doubt. But you couldn't. You weren't here for him, regardless of your history. Regardless of the way you left him the morning after your supposed mistake.

"Uhm, have you seen Jimin?"

You remember the way his void eyes find yours and the way his lips lightly upturn as he gives you a forced smirk, trying to keep up with his image of being Kim Seokjin, Kim Sungkyung's handsome and cocky older brother, "And here I was thinking fate brought you here to me, y/n." He trails off, "-considering how you fucked me then dipped."

You gasp slightly and playfully hit his arm at the blunt mention of your regretted one night stand as you give him a small yet genuine smile, partly glad yet at the same time worried that he can make such remarks during a situation like this.

It was strange really, how everything in your life seemed to be connected. How on the day you felt your heart tore apart the time Jimin first mentioned his planned proposal, you went out and accidentally slept with the soon-to-be-bride's older brother.

Letting out a small sigh, Jin nods his head in the direction of a different waiting room, "He left when I came. Guess he was embarrassed of how fucked up he was but hey- I'm not doing any fucking better am I?" He tells you, subtly pointing at the very visible streaks of tears still falling down his now puffy face.

You get on your feet and turn to leave but not before giving one last glance at the man next to you, a hand softly reaching to rub his shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Jin. I wish I could stay, but-"

"It's okay, y/n. Go." Jin encourages you with a small yet noticeably forced smile, "He needs you."

And so you do, bidding him a soft goodbye before taking off, your eyes beginning to water out of the guilt of leaving a friend in that state.

You then remember being suffocated. Suffocated from the embrace that greeted you the moment Jimin entered your peripheral vision. You remember landing on your behind with a harsh thud from the struggle of Jimin's weight as he continues to seek your embrace for means of comfort, the two of you falling down the floor. You remember getting drenched from Jimin's tears as you cradle him as would a wailing child, rocking him back and forth all the while softly rubbing his back, whispering every bit of amenity that could make him feel better.

You remember feeling your heart physically ache as you fail to notice the tears that have fallen down your own eyes, blurring your sight.

To see Jimin in this state, so broken and hurt and scared, it tore you apart. You wanted him happy. You wanted him smiling. You wanted him. You loved him. And God forbid that you're admitting this in your own mind while his fiance is battling for her own life, but fuck.

You wanted nothing more than to lay down your own life for Sung so that she could continue in existence for him.

If you could, you would take here place.

You would die for her, for him.

You remember pushing back your thoughts as you put focusing on Jimin your first priority. You remember keeping him in a neverending tight embrace as he neverendingly sobs against your chest, his lips leaving prayers you could barely yet still tried to understand;

please don't let her die

don't take her away from me

i love her too much

i still have to marry her.

You then remember hearing a wail of anguish, putting a pause to both Jimin's silent pleas and your eavesdropping as the both of your heads turn to pinpoint from whom the noise came from.

You remember the way Jimin stilled.

"No."

You remember his whisper of such a small, two-lettered word, yet somehow it caused your heart to crumble.

"No no no no-"

You remember having to tackle Jimin slightly as he causes a mess of himself, punching the seats and harshly tugging on his hair all the while screaming wails of pain and suffering, "Jimin please-"

"No- get the fuck off of me! Sung?!"

You remember how Jimin lost sight of reality as he pushes you off of him, your body making in contact with the cold tiled ground.

"SUNG? SUNG! LET ME INSIDE-"

You remember seeing nurses and other staff pull the man you love back as he causes a scene, starting to become physical and violent with the people surrounding him, "PLEASE! Please- I just- I NEED TO SEE HER! SHES MY FIANCE-"

You remember seeing a man dressed in blue make his way near Jimin, a needle in his hand.

"H-hey, no!" You remember trying to catch up to the nurse, attempting to prevent them from giving whatever the shot was to Jimin, "Stop! Please-"

"y/n. D-don't."

You remember feeling a hand on your shoulder which makes you turn around instantly, only to find the culprit behind the anguished scream just moments prior Jimin's outburst.

"Jin." You start, "-they're going to sedate him. That- that's not okay."

"They have to, y/n." Another voice calls out from behind Jin, "I know how it seems and I don't like it either, b-but he's becoming violent. They have to sedate him."

"Joon." You whisper softly.

What a sick and twisted game that life is playing on you, that your brother, Jimin's best friend, Jimin's best man at the wedding being planned, is the one to give news of the bride's passing.

"Sung, is she really.." You trail off, not having the heart to finish your sentence.

It seems neither does he, as he responds with nothing but a simple avoidance of eye contact.

"HYUNG!"

You remember Jimin's faint and tired yet still firm voice as he calls out your brother, "Hyung, you saved her didn't you? You- you were part of the surgery. You saved her didn't you? Didn't you!?" Jimin is weak as he trails off his words as the effect of the syringe takes its course, but that doesn't stop him from reaching out to the three of you, "H-hyung. Tell me you saved her. P-please tell me you saved h-her."

Namjoon doesn't stop the tear that rolls down his hardened face as he only shakes his head, "I'm sorry, Jimin. We did our best. We really, really did. I'm so sorry-"

You remember the way Namjoon's voice trails off your hearing as your throat suddenly feels contracted. You remember the itching pain just within your chest as you find the struggle to breath, your hand clutching it harshly. You remember stumbling back just a little bit as you feel lightheaded, thinking that these were only from the overwhelming happenings in that moment.

But then you cough.

And you cough

and you cough

and you cough.

But no one notices you.

Not even yourself.

Your attention remains still at Jimin, who has now dropped completely to the floor, tears still continuously spilling out of his drowsy eyes. Short breaths are released from his trembling lips as he mumbles words that none of you can understand. He then begins to seemingly reach out for something, someone.

"P-please," He whispers.

And as you bend down almost immediately to attend to his calls, you cough.

And you cough

and you cough.

And still no one notices.

No one except him.

You cough as your eyes find his, barely open yet staring right at you from the lows of the floor.

You remember having to excuse yourself and run to the nearest restroom you can find, legs trembling and stumbling on your way there as you push against the winds of the almost empty halls, still coughing with every step you take. And just as you reach the doors of the restroom, you turn back slightly, just enough to catch Jimin's last sight while his body is being carried away to where you guess is a vacant patient's room, all this before his eyes ultimately close.

Eyes you found lastly staring at you.

You remember finally shutting the door and locking it, thanking God silently that you're in a family restroom hence there is no one else inside. You cough desperately, your throat beginning to feel exclusively sore and your lungs beginning to tighten from all the air being released as you cough and cough and cough again.

You reach out to the sink, gripping tightly onto the white metals as you cough and cough and cough again.

You then brushingly turn to the toilet, your eyes watering and lips numbing as you cough and you cough and you cough once more.

You practically clean the whole restroom, as disgusting as that sounds, from all the moving you made as you coughed anywhere and everywhere. You felt awful for the next person to come inside, now that your bacterium were practically in its every corner, side, and space. You cough again, this time harder, the worst one out of the previous.

You remember sensing a certain feeling rise up, something soft yet itchy, something light yet heavy.

And so you cough, and you cough, and you cough, and you cough,

and you bleed.

And amongst the red is a pink.

A single, individual pink petal from what you would soon find out is a camellia flower - the flower that is soon to be the latter symbolization of death chasing you, growing closer, inching nearer, just about to knock on your door.

So of course you remember Jimin's distraught. Of course you remember Sung's - his fiance's death.

Because her death was too, the ultimate beginning of yours.

taglist for part 2?

#jimin #jimin angst #bts fic #angst bts #bts #bts x reader #jimin x reader #park jimin x reader #jimin fluff #jimin fanfic #bts angst #bts unrequited love #unrequited love #hanahaki #park jimin #bts fanfction #bts one shot #jimin fantasy #bts sad #bts jimin #bts fluff #bts x reader angst #jimin x reader angst #namjoon #fanfiction #jin #seokjin #kim seokjin #hanahaki disease #park jimin angst

[bumblesimagines]

Green Thumb

Part 23

Request: Yes or No

Tfatws and WandaVision are finna take place around the same time cause I said so

~

"I have baggage, not as much as Bucky but.." You stared at Sam, a small hum leaving you.

"So that makes you the better choice?" You tilted your head. Sam chuckled, licking his lips as his head tilted up. He let out a sigh before shrugging.

"Yeah, it kind of does." Sam grinned. You rolled your eyes, chuckling softly. You patted his chest, shaking your head and stepping aside.

"Guess I'll have to think about it." You said, walking away from him.

"Think long and hard about it!" Sam called as you entered the facility. You walked towards your room, entering and noticing flowers on the nightstand. You walked towards it, picking up the note.

'Meet me on the roof at 9 -Bucky'

You smiled softly, smelling the flowers as you sat on the bed. You sighed, placing the note down. Sam and Bucky were both great guys and you cared about both of them. You didn't want to pick between them. You sighed softly, putting the flowers in a vase. You checked the time, taking a quick shower before changing and headed up to the roof. You smiled, seeing Bucky on the roof, staring up at the sky.

"Hey, Ocean Eyes." You greeted, approaching him and taking a seat beside him. Bucky smiled, turning to look at you.

"Hey, tiger." He gently bumped his shoulder with yours. He offered you a box of chocolates, giving a small grin.

"Flowers and chocolates? You really know the way to someones heart." You smiled, opening the box and picking up one of the chocolates.

"Back when we were younger, Steve and I would lay back and look at the stars while listening to some tunes." Bucky said softly, looking up at the sky. You chewed on the chocolate, humming.

"Do you know all the constellations?"

"Only a few.. You?"

"None of them." You giggled, laying back and staring up at the sky. Bucky chuckled, laying down beside you.

"I do like the thought of stars being the souls of people but uh, Carol and the space crew clearly broke that nice dream." You glanced at Bucky. He laughed softly.

"That's sweet. How'd you come up with that?"

"Disney." You replied, scanning the stars from a constellation.

"In Lion King, Mufasa said that the stars were pass kings and in The Princess and The Frog, Ray joins Evangeline when he passes." You giggled softly.

"Princess and The Frog?" Bucky repeated, brows furrowed. You blinked, sitting up and staring down at him.

"Excuse me, you don't know about Tiana and Naveen? The shadow man?" You asked in shock and slight offense. Bucky chuckled, shaking his head.

"Oh my god, you're missing the fuck out. It's a great movie. We need to watch it together." You smiled widely.

"Add it to the list of things we have to watch together." Bucky said, gently taking your hand and lacing your fingers with his.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Wanda. It's (Y/N)... Again. We haven't spoken in a few months. I don't want to bother you too much but I'm worried. Just.. Just send a message saying you're okay." You sighed softly, hanging up after finishing the voicemail. You sighed, getting out of the car and entering the apartment building. You went up the stairs and walked towards your apartment, unlocking the door and entering.

"Babe?" You called, closing the door behind you. You looked up, seeing Bucky with a new haircut. You blinked, brows raising.

"What do you think?" Bucky asked, staring at you nervously. You smiled, placing your keys down and leaning in, pecking his lips.

"I like it." You felt him wrap his arms around you.

"How's the family?" Bucky asked, tilting his head.

"They're good. Laura wants you to join us for dinner again." You smiled, head resting against his chest. Bucky hummed, metal hand gently running over your back.

"Did you sleep well without me?" You asked gently, hearing a soft sigh.

"I had another nightmare." He muttered. You pulled back, looking his features over. You rested a hand on his cheek, frowning.

"I'm sorry, Buck." You leaned in, pecking his nose. Bucky shook his head, smiling at you.

"You're here.. You help keep them away." Bucky said softly. You smiled pressing a kiss to his cheek. You stepped away from him, checking the fridge and sighing at the chinese leftovers.

"I'm gone for a few days and you empty the fridge." Bucky chuckled at your words, turning on the tv. He flipped through the channels before stopping at one playing a movie he liked. You warmed up the leftovers before grabbing two forks and walking over to him. You took a seat beside him, leaning into his side. He wrapped an arm around you.

"I missed you." He said softly. You smiled, raising some of the rice to his lips. Bucky opened his mouth, happily eating.

"Wanda hasn't responded. I'm getting worried." You told him softly. Bucky frowned, placing a gentle hand on the back of your head.

"She never does this. She usually calls whenever she needs me but.." You sighed softly. Bucky kissed your temple.

"Didn't you have a therapy session today? How'd it go?" You asked, tilting your head. Bucky shrugged.

"Same as usual." He muttered. You chuckled softly.

"Buck, if you really don't like her, we can find someone else for you." You reminded him, pulling out your phone when it vibrated. You furrowed your brows at the unknown number, handing Bucky the plate. You answered, placing the phone to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is this (Y/N) Barton?" You didn't recognize the voice.

"Who's speaking?" You asked, glancing at a curious Bucky.

"Monica Rambeau from S.H.I.E.L.D, I was wondering if we could talk about Wanda Maximoff. I know Hayward tried getting in contact with you-"

"Hayward never got in contact with me." You interrupted with a frown.

"Oh.. Uhm, would you mind coming down to WestView, New Jeresy? We have.. A problem with Wanda." Monica said softly.

"Uhm.. What type of problem? Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's fine but.. You might want to come see this for yourself.. You're able to." Monica said. You glanced at your boyfriend, sighing softly.

"I've got to go but I'll send you the directions if you're able to come." Monica said before hanging up. You put your phone down, sighing softly.

"You have to go again?" Bucky asked softly. You frowned, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

"I don't know, Buck. Last time I met with Hayward... I just wanted to murder him." You stood up, arms crossing.

"If it's about Wanda, you should go. I'll be fine, I promise." Bucky stood as well, gently wrapping his arms around you.

"I don't want to leave you alone again." You frowned, staring at him. Bucky pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.

"Tiger, you've been stressing about Wanda for months now. You have something. Follow it." Bucky gave you a reassuring look.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" You pecked his nose. Bucky nodded with a gentle smile. You grabbed your jacket and keys, leaving the apartment. You greeted Yori as you passed him, heading down the stairs and to your car. You entered, glad Tony had given you a car before he passed.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, could you set course for the directions Monica sent me?"

"Course set." You hummed softly as the car began moving by itself. You buckled in, grabbing the steering wheel and taking control of the car. A million thoughts raced through your mind as you drove out of the city. You licked your lips, sighing softly.

"What the hell kind of trouble did Wanda get herself into?" You asked yourself, frowning.

"Uh, (Y/N), you might want to see this." F.R.I.D.A.Y called in a concerned voice. You frowned.

"What's up?" You asked. F.R.I.D.A.Y made footage of the news appear on the windshield.

"The wake of recent events have left us vulnerable. Everyday, Americans feel it. While we love the heroes who put their lives on the line to defend Earth, we also need a hero to defend this country. We need a real person who embodies Americas' greatest values. We need someone to inspire us again. So, on behalf of the Department of Defense, and our commander in chief, it is with great honour that we announce today that the United States of America has a new hero. Join me in welcoming your new Captain America!"

"You've got to be shitting me."

#x reader #x you #x y/n #x male reader #x male!reader #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel x male reader #marvel x you #avengers #avengers x male reader #avengers x you #avengers x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x male reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #sam wilson #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson x male reader #sam wilson x you #wanda maximoff #the falcon and the winter soldier

[supernaturalgirl20]

What Happened in Vegas!

Part 9

Pairings: Marcus Pike x reader

Warnings: Smut 18+, p in v smut, oral (female receiving), tooth rotten fluff.

Summary: Marcus wants to celebrate your engagement which leads to another surprise!

*comments and reblogs really appreciated*

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Marcus had made reservations for dinner that night, saying he wanted to celebrate your engagement before he left Monday. You’d decided to wear a form fitting black dress, something that would really showcase your growing bump. It also helped that it would drive Marcus wild, letting out that caveman possessiveness. You were looking in the mirror when you felt arms wrap around you.

“Hello future Mrs. Pike, you look….gorgeous. I think your trying to kill me wearing this dress.”

You smirked at him through the mirror, “maybe I am, what are you going to do about it?” Growling into your neck, his grip on you tightening a little, “your just going to have to wait until later baby.”

“I look forward to it.”

****

Walking hand in hand into the restaurant, you walk up to the maitre d’, “reservation for Mr. And Mrs. Pike.”

“Yes if you’d like to follow me please.”

Your both seated at a table in the back, Marcus helping you sit before he takes his. Ever the gentleman. Looking through the menu your jaw drops.

“Marcus have you seen the price of the food? We can’t eat here, we can go somewhere…”

He cuts you off by putting his hand over yours. “Baby, this is my treat ok. I want to celebrate with you before I go on my assignment. I don’t care about the money.”

“Are you sure, because I have no problem going to Berta’s diner, I know you love the food there.”

His whole face lights up as he looks at you. “What?”

“Nothing I just, I can’t believe how lucky I am. Your amazing and I love you so much, everything is falling into place for me and I just…never thought I’d have this.”

“Marcus your going to make me cry, I love you to baby so much and so does our baby girl.” He moves his hand off yours and slides it into his pocket. He places a black velvet box on the table. I know I’ve already asked you to be my wife, but I didn’t have a ring. This,” he slowly opens the box, “ this was my grandma’s ring. Mom gave it to me when we went down for that visit. I guess she knew you were the one.”

Your speechless, the ring is beautiful. It’s an oval shaped green/blue sapphire, small diamonds around its edge, sitting on a rose gold band.

“Marcus…it’s…it’s beautiful.”

“It’s still a yes isn’t it?”

“One million percent Yes!”

He takes the ring from the box and places it on your finger. He leans across the table and kisses you.

“When our little angel is born and your feeling up to it, we can plan the wedding.”

“I’d like that, although I really don’t want anything big, just you and me, that’s it.”

“Really, you don’t want the big wedding, white dress, the works?”

“Honestly, no. It’s not me. I like simple.”

Marcus goes quiet, just as your served your food. It’s amazing and by the time you finish dessert your stuffed.

“That was amazing. Thank you baby I really enjoyed tonight.”

“….”

“Marcus are you ok? You’ve been a little quiet.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Do what exactly?”

“Get married.”

“What, eh Marcus are you drunk? We are getting married, I said yes.” You laugh a little but your slightly worried.

“No, I mean now, we’ll not right now, tomorrow. Let’s get married tomorrow. I can’t wait months, I want you to be Mrs. Pike now.”

“Are you being serious.”

“Yes, I want to be your husband. I don’t want to wait.”

“Ok.”

“Yeah..”

“Yeah.”

You both laugh and kiss. The waiter comes with the bill. Once Marcus has paid you both head home.

***

As soon as your through the door you take of your heels. Not a good idea while heavily pregnant! You take off your make up and get into your pjs. When your finished in the bathroom, Marcus is already in bed. He snuggles up to you once you hop in. His hand gravitates towards your stomach, like it does every night. You hold up your ring and look at it.

“My grandad worked is ass off to buy her that ring. He never wanted her to go without. I’ve never seen any couple more in love.”

“Aw that’s sweet. It’s something we can pass on to our grandchildren someday.” He begins kissing down the side of your neck, can feel his growing erection on your bum. “Marcus baby, I know we had a wild night planned, but I’m actually kinda tired.”

“Hey that’s ok, you need your rest. Your doing an important job, growing our little angel.”

“Night love you.”

“Love you to baby.”

***

Waking the next morning refreshed you turn to have a morning snuggle but find Marcus’s side empty. Getting up and going into the kitchen, you find Marcus dressed in a suit serving up breakfast.

“A bit overdressed for breakfast don’t you think.”

“Morning sleepyhead, ok so I have us booked in to get married at 2. Your sure you want to do it this way?”

“I’m positive.”

“Will your mam not be upset, that she’s not even going to be there?”

“Probably but she has seen us all married at this point, I think she’ll let it slide. We do need two witnesses though, which I already have covered.”

“Who?���

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

***

Arriving to the courthouse just on time your greeted with the sight of Sarah and J waiting outside.

“There she is, looking stunning.” Sarah gives you a hug before kissing Marcus on the cheek.

“I actually cannot believe this is happening. Imagine if we’d known that night in Vegas that this is how it would turn out huh?”

“I know, I mean I got super lucky.”

“Your dress is stunning by the way. Perfect for the occasion.”

Marcus walks over to you, “are you ready baby?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

When it comes to the vows you both wrote your own. You go first,

“Marcus, you are the most incredible man I have ever known, and you make me feel so loved every single day. I’m so excited to be standing here today becoming your wife. You are the love of my life, my best friend, my soulmate, my everything. I promise you that I will always be there for you, through the good and bad times, and that no matter what storms we face it will only make us stronger. I love you.”

Marcus is trying not to cry as he begins his vows.

“Y/N, I didn’t fall in love with you, I walked into love with you. Eyes wide open, choosing every step I took. You know I believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we only are destined to do things we would choose ourselves anyway. Baby I would choose you, in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I would find you and choose you. I can’t wait to start this next chapter of our life’s together. I love you baby.”

Your crying, you can’t stop, his words were beautiful. If possible they made you fall in love harder. You both place your rings on each other.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Marcus pulls you into him and lowers you slightly before kissing you passionately.

“Ok ok save that for later you two.”

Sarah hits Jason on the arm. “Hey I was only joking. Anyway what now? Drinks?”

Marcus looks at you before turning to Jason. “Actually we’re going to head home, boring I know, but we only have until tomorrow evening and then I’m gone, so we kinda just want to spend time together, alone.”

“Ah, ok I get it.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Marcus. “You two newly weds go have some fun. See you tomorrow man.”

“Thanks again for today guys it means the works to us.”

“No problem anything for you two. Y/N if you need anything while Marcus is gone ring me straight away.”

“I will don’t worry.”

***

You open the door to the house when your suddenly lifted into the air.

“Marcus what are doing?”

“Carrying you over the threshold, isn’t that what I’m supposed to do.”

Once inside he is on you. He’s frantic, kissing and nipping at any bare skin he can find. He pushes up against you and you can feel his already hard cock. Your so sensitive these days that he nearly has you coming already.

“Bedroom Marcus please.”

He pulls you gently behind him up the stairs and into your shared room. He strips you both at lightning speed before lowering you onto the bed.

“Marcus….baby need you inside.”

He pushes inside you to the hilt, knocking the breath out of you. Marcus likes it slow, romantic, but not tonight. Tonight he is pounding into you hard, hitting your g-spot over and over. It’s not long before pleasure course through your veins.

“Marcus….yes….yes…..harder please.”

“I’m close baby, I need you to come on my cock again. You think you can do that?”

“Yes.”

His pace begins to falter as he nears his release, you come again hard, your cunt clenching him, sending him over the edge.”

He lowers onto the bed beside you and pulls you into him. “I can’t believe your my wife. I’m never going to get tired of saying that.”

Once your cleaned up and back in bed cuddling, Marcus absentmindedly running his fingers along your stomach. “I will be back two week before your due date, but if anything goes wrong, anything, I’m on the first flight home.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

“Me to. I’ll call you everyday and FaceTime when I can.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Night wife.”

Night husband.”

***

The next day is a blur. Marcus told his parents the good news and they were delighted. Now though your trying so hard to hold back the sobs as he gets ready to leave. He sees the sadness in your eyes and walks over to you, holding your face in his hands.

“Hey I promise it’ll be over before you know it. I love you, I love you to my little daddy’s girl. You look after mommy ok?”

“I love, please be safe. Call me as soon as your settled.”

“I love you to, and I promise.”

He kisses you one last time before getting into the car with Jason and then he’s gone. A whole month without him. How will you survive.

A/N: next chapter will be all about Marcus, reader won’t really make an appearance. Finally Theresa arrives. Will she stir things up? 🤷‍♀️

Previous/Next

Tagging:

Everything: @lunaserenade @anaaaispunk @asta-lily @day-off-inkyoto @librariantothejedi @seasonschange-butpeopledont @maievdenoir @elinedjarin @kirsteng42 @javierpinme @dihra-vesa @ikinmahlen @pascal-rascal424 @thorins-queen-of-erebor @loserrlauraa @janelongxox @stevie75 @dindjarinneedsahug @jediknight122 @almaeunice

WHIV: @albertasunrise @nicolethered

Marcus pike: @agingerindenial

(If you want to be added or removed please let me know or fill out my taglist form 😉)

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #marcus pike x female reader #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike #the mentalist fanfiction #pedro pascal x female reader

[alexthedrummerboy]

Darkest Before The Dawn

pairing: willex, past luke/alex

summary: "your parents were never cool again after you told them you were gay.” OR an exploration into alex’s past, his family life, and his relationship with religion

essentially this is all one big angsty headcanon

authors note: basically i’ve been thinking about the gold chain alex wears around his neck and i’ve been way overanalysing what it is and i thought - what if it used to be a cross necklace that his devout parents made him wear?? also i’m so desperate for alex to have more backstory that i’m pulling it out of every nook and cranny at this point

trigger warning: homophobia, bad parenting

ao3

It starts when he’s seven. He’d invited Bobby over to his house after school to play, not knowing that his dad had come home from work early. They’re sitting at the dining table, drawing with Alex’s new 36 pack of crayons when he hears it.

“I just think letting him do all that... art stuff is gonna make him...” he hears his dad say to his mom, “...soft. Girly. We already have one daughter, we don’t need another one.”

Alex doesn’t really understand what his Dad means, but he drops the crayon he’s holding and pokes Bobby on the wrist lightly. “I’m bored,” he says quietly, though his picture remains on the table unfinished. “Can we go do somethin’ else?”

Bobby furrows his eyebrows and looks down at his paper. “But... I didn’t finish colouring my dragon.” 

Alex looks at his Dad in the kitchen. He’s still talking to his mom, both of their heads bowed. He has that look on his face that reminds Alex of the time his mom tried to convince them to go vegetarian for a week. “We can finish colouring later... maybe,” he says. “Let’s go play in my room.”

Bobby takes one last look at his drawing but nods, gently folding the piece of paper in half and tucking it into his backpack. “Okay.”

They walk up to Alex’s room together, hand-in-hand like always. They pass the kitchen on the way and Alex’s dad turns his head, scowling deeper when he looks at their hands. Suddenly Alex feels cold all over. 

“Boys,” he says, deep voice booming. “You’re getting a little old to be holding hands, aren’t you?”

Alex lets go of Bobby’s hand immediately and tucks it into his trouser pocket instead, nodding. Bobby looks like he wants to protest but Alex just nudges him and nods towards his room. 

They walk away and Alex tries to brush the experience off. He doesn’t eat much at dinner that night.

---

His dad makes him quit choir the next year. He’s up in his room practicing for the Christmas festival when he hears three quiet knocks. 

“Come in,” he says, closing his music book. His dad walks in, still in his shirt and tie from work. “Oh. Hi, Dad.”

His dad smiles stiffly. “Alex, what are you doing?” 

Alex looks between his dad and his choir book for a moment. “Practicing for the festival,” he says, a smile growing on his face. “Mrs. Carson gave me a solo for the first--”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” his dad says, pursing his lips. “Wouldn’t you be happier... playing a sport or something? What about baseball? You know when your old man was in school, I was a real killer on the pitch.”

Alex’s tongue feels dry in his mouth the longer his dad speaks. He hates baseball. “Um... I-I like choir, though.” His voice is quiet, barely above a breath. His dad sighs and shakes his head. Alex feels an overwhelming sense of anxiety rise inside his chest. He hates disappointing people.

“I’m just worried about you, son,” he says, sitting down on the edge of Alex’s bed. “Okay, maybe not baseball. How about... soccer?”

Alex shuffles around on his chair. He feels like his heart has stopped beating. “Drums,” he mumbles, looking down at his hands. His dad leans closer. 

“Speak up, Alex.”

Alex looks up, clenching his jaw. “I-I wanna learn how to play the drums,” he says. “L-like that guy from The Rolling Stones.”

His dad goes quiet, scratching his chin like he’s thinking about it, before he smiles and nods. He claps Alex on the shoulder hard enough that it makes him wince. “Drums eh? Sure, we’ll get you a kit and you can set it up in the basement.” As he turns to walk out of Alex’s room, he turns and throws him a cheeky smile. “My boy, the drummer. You know they say girls love drummers.”

Alex isn’t sure why, but that comment makes him feel sick. He stares at his closed door for too long after his dad leaves, his thoughts twisting and turning in his mind.

---

When Alex receives his first cross, he’s 12-years-old. He immediately vows never to take it off. It’s a beautiful piece of jewellery; a small gold cross on a solid gold chain. When his mom slips it around his neck, he feels... protected, somehow. Safe. 

His mom smiles at him tearily as she hooks the clasp around his neck, running her hand down the side of his face. “Congratulations, baby,” she says quietly. “You know, my mother gave me my first cross when I was exactly your age. ”

Alex just smiles and tugs on the chain lightly, feeling the cool metal against his thumb and forefinger. “Thanks, mom,” he says quietly, looking down at where it’s dangling against the soft blue of his button down. 

His sister, Andrea, comes from behind him and knocks his shoulder lightly. Her own cross is silver and smaller than his, contrasting against her light skin perfectly. He doesn’t remember when she got hers. She was four years older than him and got hers when he was just a little kid. “Congrats, Lexi,” she says.

His dad comes out of the kitchen, a bottle of champagne in one hand and two flutes in the other. He’s beaming. “This calls for a celebration!”

His mother looks at his dad and tuts quietly, though she still looks pleased. “Michael, it’s barely 9. We have to leave for church soon.”

His dad simply brushes off her worry. “My son is being confirmed, Linda. We’re celebrating.” He kisses her on the cheek and hands her a champagne flute. “It won’t take long.”

He pours himself and Alex’s mother a small amount of champagne and Alex watches, entranced as they cheers and take a sip. His mother and his father lock eyes before handing their glasses to Alex and Andrea, smiling secret smiles. 

“Just this once,” his dad says. “Just one sip.”

Andrea takes the flute immediately and takes a sip. Alex watches her for a moment before taking his dad’s flute and lifting it up to his mouth.

The bubbles fizz and pop in his mouth. The taste is unpleasant, but... the feeling of his dad’s eyes on him, proud and sparkling with happiness make the experience a million times better.

As they drive to church, Alex keeps his hand firmly clasped around his cross, smiling the entire time.

---

Alex receives his first kiss when he’s 14. It happens in his basement with Luke Patterson. He’d invited him over so they could work on a song together. Luke had discovered him playing drums in the music room one day and had instantly recruited him to join his band, alongside Bobby and Reggie Anderson.

They’d long since abandoned practicing any form of music and were lounging on the couch in Alex’s basement, playing video games on his Sega Genesis. He’s so close to beating Luke at Mortal Kombat. They’ve been playing for 45 minutes and Alex has managed to lose every round so far.

But, with a fatal blow, Alex watches his character drop to his knees as Luke’s character poses victoriously. He groans loudly and leans back against the couch, trying his best not to pout as he hears Luke’s laughter next to him. “No fair!” he exclaims, dropping his controller beside him on the couch. 

Luke smirks, boxing Alex in the shoulder lightly. “Not my fault I’m better at this game than you are,” he says. He’s leaning towards Alex, his face mere inches away from his shoulder. “I’m just naturally skilled.”

Alex blushes and shuffles away from him, leaning into the arm rest and trying to ignore his heart as it pounds away in his chest. “Naturally ugly, more like,” he mumbles. It’s not the best comeback, but he can’t really focus right now.

Luke laughs anyway, punching Alex’s arm again and turning back to face the TV. Neither of them speak for a moment but Alex can feel the air thicken with a strange tension that he’s never felt before.

His hand automatically comes up to grip his cross, the edges of the metal digging into his palm. He takes a short breath in and out, feeling the cold metal warm up in his hand. 

He feels Luke’s eyes on him and he turns. There’s a small smile on Luke’s face that Alex can’t help but return. “What?” he asks.

Luke shrugs. “Nothin’,” he says softly.

Then, he leans in closer. Alex does not pull away.

Before he even realises what’s happening, they’re kissing. It’s chaste and completely innocent; a light press of lips against lips. Alex can tell that Luke hasn’t bothered to put on chapstick in his entire 14 years of life, but he tastes vaguely of grape bubblegum and iced tea. It’s nice. 

As they kiss, he feels his grip on his cross loosen until his hand falls completely slack, landing on top of Luke’s hand where it’s resting on a cushion.

They’re interrupted by the sound of footsteps against carpeted stairs. Alex jumps out of his seat and lands on the floor in front of the couch. Luke loses his balance and falls after him, landing face first in the couch cushion where Alex had just been sitting.

The basement door opens and Andrea pokes her head through, holding two capri suns and a bowl full of chips. She sees Alex on the floor and furrows her eyebrows. “Why are you on the ground?”

Alex clears his throat and blinks down at his knees, trying to hide his shaking hands. “Um... it-it’s more comfortable down here,” he mumbles. 

Andrea shrugs and walks in, placing the bowl of chips and the drinks on the coffee table. “Mom told me to give these to you.” She looks between the TV and the two of them. “I thought you guys were practicing.”

“We were!” Luke says, standing up and walking over to where his guitar is resting on the other side of the room. “We took a quick video game break, but we’re ready to get back to work. Right, Alex?”

Alex nods, but he can’t stand back up. “Right,” he says breathlessly, giving Andrea a weak smile. “Thanks for the snacks.”

Andrea nods, but she looks suspicious. She walks out of the room and shuts the door behind her. Alex doesn’t exhale until her footsteps have retreated completely. He breathes out shakily and draws his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. 

“Hey,” Luke says, running to Alex’s side. His hand hovers above Alex’s back before resting just behind him on the couch. “You okay?”

It takes a minute, but eventually Alex nods and looks up at Luke. “Yeah,” he replies, though his hands are still balled into tight fists. “I’m good.”

Luke nods, his hand tightening and loosening its grip on the couch cushion a few times. “Was that... weird?” he asks quietly. Alex has never heard him sound this unsure before. 

He shakes his head, a small smile growing on his face. “No,” he says quietly, and he means it too. “I don’t think so, anyway.”

Luke nods again, smiling brightly at Alex. “Okay. Cool.”

“Can we not... tell anyone? About that?” He asks quietly, looking up at Luke, eyes pleading. “I-I don’t know if I’m... if that...”

“Alex, of course,” Luke says earnestly, finally reaching over and resting his hand in Alex’s shoulder. “It’ll be just between us.”

Alex nods, smiling weakly. “Cool. Thanks.”

He feels mildly comforted by Luke’s words, but he can’t help the anxiety that grows in his stomach. He stands up and walks over to his kit, sitting down at his stool and twirling his drumstick in his hand.

When he closes his eyes that night, snuggled up in his bed, all he can think about are warm lips and iced tea.

---

He comes out at 16.

It doesn’t go well.

His mom cries like he’s just told her he died... but what makes him more anxious is his dad’s reaction.

He doesn’t say anything at first. Just stares at Alex with that those hard, light eyes. He doesn’t even look angry, he just looks... disappointed.

“Dad?” he says quietly. The word gets caught in his throat.

His dad breathes in slowly and stands up. He walks out of the living room shaking his head. Alex watches him go until he’s completely out of sight. All he can hear are his mothers sobs. All he can feel is the weight of his guilt pressing down on him.

His cross feels like it’s burning his skin through the fabric of his t-shirt. Suddenly it feels like he’s wearing a ten pound weight around his neck. It’s hard to swallow.

He wants to comfort his mom, but he doesn’t even know what he would say. What could he say that wouldn’t make everything worse?

So, he stands up and takes one last look at his mom before walking down the hall. He passes Andrea on the way to the basement. She looks at him and then toward the living room where they can both hear their mother’s sobs. 

“What’s wrong with mom?” she asks, placing a hand on his elbow. The touch burns. 

Alex opens his mouth to speak but the words he wants to say get stuck in his throat. He brushes past her, ignoring her questions and running down the stairs to the basement and shutting the door behind him.

He sits down behind his drums and raises his hand to clasp his necklace, holding it so tightly his hand begins to hurt. He can’t cry. He thinks if he could, then maybe he’d feel better, but... the tears won’t come.

So, he lets go of his cross and picks up his sticks instead, twirling the left one in his hand a few times before hitting his high tom once, hard. It feels good, but the feeling doesn’t last long.

Eventually, he loses himself in the rhythm, hitting each drum harder than the last. He forgets for a moment; forgets about the disaster that had happened just minutes ago upstairs. He pauses for a minute to catch his breath but finds his mind wandering; is his mother still crying? Why hadn’t his dad said anything?

He shakes the thought free before pounding on his drums again. He’s not even beating out a rhythm now; he’s just trying to fill the space with noise to keep his thoughts out.

He’s interrupted when the door opens. It's his dad, holding an empty duffel bag, a somber expression on his face. Alex raises his eyebrows and takes his earplugs out of his ears. “Dad?”

His dad winces when Alex speaks, throwing the empty duffel bag onto the floor. “Pack your things.”

All the blood drains from Alex’s face and he stands up on shaky legs. He’s gripping his drumsticks so tightly, it’s a miracle that the wood doesn’t fuse with his skin. “Wh-where’re we goin’?” he asks, though he has a suspicion. 

“We aren’t going anywhere, son,” his dad says. His eyes are on the carpet. He can’t even look at Alex. “Your mother and I... we can’t have you staying in this house.”

“What?!”

“If you’re going to choose to live with your... affliction,” he spits out the word like it’s poison; and in his dad’s mind, perhaps it is, “then it won’t do to have you living here, corrupting us with your ungodly temptations.”

“Dad--”

His father holds up a hand. “I’ll give you 15 minutes to get your things and leave.” He turns to leave the basement but Alex calls him back.

“Where am I supposed to go?” he asks, voice cracking as he tries to fight the tears that threaten to run down his cheeks. He knows crying will only make him more upset. His father doesn’t turn around.

“You can figure that out on your own.” Then, he walks out. Alex is alone. After a few moments, he walks out from behind his drums and picks up the. empty bag with weak hands and walks up to his room. 

He’s working on autopilot as he shoves clothes and shoes and random items (when will he ever need his model robot?) into the bag until it’s almost full to bursting. He drops the bag on his bed and stares at it. He can’t hear anything; all the sounds around him are dull, muted almost. 

He turns around and catches a glimpse of his reflection in his bedroom mirror. He still looks the same as he had that morning when he’d gotten dressed for school. There are still drawings on the back of his hand in blue and black ink from third period when Bobby and Luke decided to draw on him in lieu of paying attention to what Mr. Peters was saying.

Remarkably, he looks the same... but he couldn’t be more different. 

Alex’s eyes drop to the necklace around his neck. It almost hurts to look at now. He’d done well by his vow; hadn’t ever taken it off, even when Jeremy Matthews teased him about it (and received a firm smack on the head from Reggie).

Shakily, he lifts his hands and unclasps the necklace, holding onto the chain so tight that the links begin to make grooves in his skin. He takes hold of the cross and swallows thickly, looking at his warped reflection in the surface of it. 

He slowly slides the cross off of the chain and places it on his nightstand. The chain, though, he keeps though he doesn’t really know why. He puts the chain back around his neck. It feels bare without the cross on it weighing it down, but... Alex finds he kind of likes it. 

With that, he picks up his duffel bag and walks out of his room. He can hear the quiet sound of scraping cutlery against ceramic and he winces. They’d started dinner without him. 

As he walks towards the front door, he passes the dining table. When she hears his footsteps, Andrea looks up from her untouched plate of food and stands up. Alex shakes his head silently at her, gripping his bag strap tighter.

His parents don’t even look up. He gives Andrea a half-hearted smile and a wave before walking out the front door. He doesn’t bother taking his keys with him; he knows he won’t need to use them again.

The cold, night air smacks him right in the face as soon as he closes the door behind him. Then, without a second glance, he leaves and begins the short trek to Bobby’s house.

---

“So, I was wondering...” 

Willie turns to Alex and smiles at him, squeezing his hand gently. “Yeah?”

They’ve been walking down the pier together in comfortable silence for almost 15 minutes, but the question bubbles up in Alex’s chest before he can control himself.

Alex looks down at their interlaced fingers before gesturing towards the necklace around Willie’s neck. “What’s that key around your neck for?”

At the mention of his necklace, Willie wraps his hand around the key and gives it a light tug with his free hand. If Alex notices how Willie’s slowed their walking pace slightly, he doesn’t say anything. 

“It’s my house key,” he says softly. Alex parts his lips in surprise. “When I was a kid, I... I was pretty irresponsible. I was always losing things in random places. My mom used to tell me I’d lose my arms if they weren’t attached to my shoulders.” The smile on his face makes Alex want to cry. “When my folks gave me my first house key, it felt like I was finally growing up. I was so scared I would lose it, so I bought a chain. I’ve worn it around my neck ever since.”

“Even after...” Alex doesn’t continue his train of thought but Willie understands regardless. He nods.

“When I woke up after the accident, it was actually the first thing I reached for,” Willie says quietly, gripping Alex’s hand like a lifeline. “Force of habit, I guess.” 

“Have you ever tried to visit your place?” Alex asks quietly, steering Willie towards the edge of the pier so they can sit by the water. Willie nods.

“A couple times. After I died, I didn’t visit for months. It hurt too much.” He pauses, looking out over the water as he scoots closer to Alex until their shoulders are pressed together. “I visited them for the first time a year after I’d died. I couldn’t go in. I was too scared, so I just watched from the windows like a total creeper.” There’s a chuckle in Willie’s voice that astounds Alex. He doesn’t know how he can be so cheerful even while talking about something so heartbreaking. “My family moved sometime around ‘89. I haven’t tried to find them since.”

Alex nods, listening to the sound of the crashing waves and seagulls as they fly overhead. He doesn’t feel pressured to comfort Willie at all. He thinks that telling him his story might’ve upset Alex more than it upset him. Instead, he rubs his knuckles with his thumb slowly, his finger savouring the feel of every dip and crevice. 

“What about you?” Willie asks suddenly, turning to Alex. There’s a smile in his eye that Alex never wants to look away from. “Is that gold chain around your neck a remnant from your gangster rap phase, or...?”

Alex laughs brightly, throwing his head back. He can feel Willie laughing too, his shoulders bouncing up and down with every giggle. He stops and breathes out quietly, looking down at his chain and hooking his finger through it. 

“Um... there used to be a cross hanging from it,” he says. “My parents got it for me for my confirmation when I was 12. I basically didn’t take it off for five years.” 

Willie pauses, shuffles closer; almost as if he can tell what’s coming next. He doesn’t say anything, though, and somehow that makes it easier for Alex to keep going.

“When I came out, my parents um... they weren’t very cool about it,” he says, tugging a little harder on the chain. “My dad kicked me out.” Willie’s grip on his hand tightens and Alex lets out a breath. “When I was leaving, I took the cross off. It didn’t seem right to keep it after...” he clears his throat. “I kept the chain. I’m still not really sure why... I’ve been thinking about it ever since I left home. I think it’s just... a reminder of why I left and what I have now.”

Willie smiles, bumping their shoulders together. “What do you have now?”

He looks at Willie and find that he can’t control the smile that’s growing on his face either. Under the setting sun, Willie looks so beautiful; his tanned skin practically glowing and long dark hair moving with the breeze. He leans in and brushes a gentle kiss against the side of his lips. He feels Willie’s hand come up to cup his cheek and he leans into the touch. 

They pull away from each other after a few seconds and Alex smiles again, resting their foreheads together. 

“Freedom.”

#alex jatp #willex #willie jatp #julie and the phantoms #jatp fanfic #owen patrick joyner #booboo stewart #writing tag

[chalkrevelations]

Word of Honor Ep 6, and let’s talk a little about what’s canon, and what’s not, and about the particular slip-slidiness of the line between them on this show.

But first, due diligence: If you are NEW or JUST VISITING, this is a re-watch, so you’re going to find SPOILERS not just for this ep, but for the entire show. Scroll away and come back later if you haven’t seen all 36.5 eps and want to watch unspoiled. Also, heads-up, this got super long, because I had to talk about that stuff up there and then still talk about the ep. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

So, “canon,” as applied to fannish source material (in Western fandom, at least) traditionally has been considered the official stuff – the episode, the book, the comic, the movie – based on the religious definition of  “canon,” the collection of texts accepted as genuine and official within a religion. The word “fanon” – widely accepted fannish ideas – plays on this, as does the fandom concept of “word of God,” or things the Creators have said about the text but outside of it. Is it in the show as it aired or the book as it was printed? Canon. Is it not in the show as it aired or the book as it was printed? Not canon. (Apocrypha? Maybe. Anyway.) Generally, I think we’d say that things like material in the first draft of a script that doesn’t make it through revisions and onto the screen isn’t canon, even if you can get your hands on a copy of the first draft. The final product that airs is what’s canon. BUT this gets super slippery in something like WoH, in a way that’s exemplified in this episode. This ep is one of the places where people who can lip-read Chinese have spotted some significant dialogue changes between what the actors say on-screen and what lines have been dubbed in. (Everybody’s dubbed in cdramas, it’s just the thing that happens. You have your on-screen actors, and you have your voice actors. The ONLY person in The Untamed who did his own voice dubbing, for instance, was Ji Li, who played Nie Huaisang. All the other characters had voice actors dubbed in. In fact, the voice actor for Jiang Cheng in The Untamed is the voice actor for Wen Kexing in WoH.) One of the descriptions of WoH that I’ve heard is that this show was filmed as a bl and dubbed as a bromance. The thing is, nobody tried very hard to hide the shift. There are plenty of places that you can clearly see the actor’s mouths don’t match the dubbing, and they’re not artfully shot or edited to hide this. They’re fully on-screen, mouthing words that don’t match, right out in the open, almost like they want to you to pick up on it. Almost like it’s canon, because it’s right there on-screen, aired in the episode. In my first-watch reactions to Eps 36 and 37, I talked a lot about how the dubbing puts a layer of de-queered no-homo over what the on-screen actors are saying in these places, but if you can see what they’re actually saying and understand it, does that make it canon? What does it mean, both textually and meta-textually, if you can’t believe what you’re hearing – what you’re being told – because it contradicts what you’re seeing? How does that affect what we’re told about Our Protagonists and its “truth,” particularly in the final scenes? How much is the show deliberately working against censorship in this way? How much is it teaching us to look deeper than what we’re hearing on the surface?

Several people have talked about what’s actually being said by the on-screen actors in places where this happens, and I’m going to direct you to AvenueX on Youtube if you want a complete overview, because she’s reliable and has a good compilation that’s easy to find. She has a couple of videos called “Lip Reading for Sugar,” and the March 9, 2021, installment includes the Ep 6 incidences, the most significant of which are: At 3:05 in the ep, when WKX throws himself on Zhou Zishu’s back during the zombie Drug Men attack, calls him “mom,” asks ZZS to carry him, and tells “mom” that “your shoulder blades are the most beautiful.” Only no, Gong Jun didn’t say this, if you watch his mouth compared to the sound of the words. Instead of “niang” (mom), he says “Zhou Zishu.” Twice. “Zhou Zishu, carry me.” “Zhou Zishu, your shoulder blades are the most beautiful.” This is not only important because it emphasizes he’s gay for Zhou Zishu’s shoulder blades, but also because he’s fucking baked on Drunk Like A Dream incense when it happens, and later, ZZS will reveal that Drunk Like a Dream makes you see what you most desire, and he’ll confront WKX about how he “kept calling” someone’s name while he was under the influence of it. This makes no sense with the dubbing we get, because with “mom” dubbed over ZZS’s name here, WKX only calls Zhou Zishu’s real name once while he’s under the influence, at the end of ep 5. That is not kept calling. ANYWAY, once WKX clears his head and flies them away from the Drug Men, back to the a lakeside, there’s another disjunct at 5:05, when the dubbing has WKX tell ZZS not to play hero, that he doesn’t lose face if WKX helps him, and ZZS responds with something about your grandmother’s bear, which AvenueX tells me is a real Chinese idiom, although not for what. What Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan appear to actually have said, though, is that WKX tells ZZS that this was just like a hero saving a beauty, with the implication that ZZS is the beauty, the damsel in distress, and ZZS respons that no, it’s like the beauty saving the hero, without a lick of concern that he’s the beauty, the damsel, in this scenario, just that he did all the work killing Drug Men and now this asshole is going to act like he’s the one who did the saving. At 31:24, dubbing has WKX telling ZZS that he’ll give ZZS whatever he wants if ZZS can get him some of the Drunk Like a Dream, but AvenueX tells me that he actually offers his body in exchange, in a way that implies marriage. And at 32:22, when ZZS asks WKX what he saw under the influence of the Drunk Like a Dream, the dubbing gives us some random story about baby WKX throwing a rat on his mother’s bed, while Gong Jun’s mouth seems to be saying something something about being in the bridal chamber with his beloved … so circling back to our first instance at 3:05, WKX using Zhou ZIshu’s name is now super-interesting, eh?

Another slip-slidey point of canon here is that there are two versions of this episode. The original version didn’t have the rabbit-washing scene. That was an extra that was inserted later into a Special Version ep when Youku reached 2 million subscribers. But the Special Version is now available on Youku’s channel (it’s the one I watched for this re-watch), AND it’s the regular version that’s on Netflix. So at 25:28, we now get this adorable little scene where ZZS and WKX are cleaning two rabbits in the lake before cooking them, and WKX splashes ZZS who pretends to be irritated before splashing WKX back and running away up the riverbank, chased by WKX. It’s flirty and playful and ALSO a foreshadowing of the flashback we’re going to see in a later ep, when they play together for an afternoon as children. Wasn’t canon before. Now it is.

Anyway, even with the (bad) dubbing that we get, this is a fantastic WenZhou ep. We open with them still being menaced by the zombies Drug Men, with a lot of swordwork by ZZS before he starts flagging because of his Nails Issue, whereupon WKX instantly sobers up, goes Evil Ghost Valley Master on Imposter Hanged Ghost who’s controlling the Drug Men, kills him with his Fan of Death, then scoops up ZZS and flies him off to a lake, where he attempts to tenderly check ZZS’s pulse and take care of his wounds before ZZS slaps away his hand like an offended maiden. WKX has to give him the qi smackdown in order to hold him still to :coff: pull down his robes and suck out the poison from the Drug Men scratches on the back of his shoulder. :hands: I remember the first time around, watching this with my mouth hanging open, demanding to know the heterosexual explanation for this. (Also, if you’re rummaging on Youtube, the Five Straight Guys Watching Word of Honor for this ep is not to be missed. They’re a little questionable in their reaction to the poison sucking, but before that, they’re a bunch of squeamish babies over using the dagger to further slice open the wounds to get to the poison, and it’s HILARIOUS. They can’t even look at the screen once the dagger comes out, hiding behind their hands. I love them, more and more as the eps go on, but they are WEAK compared to even the newbiest hurt/comfort fangirl.) There’s some more back and forth between WKX and ZZS about revealing their true selves to each other, no you, no YOU. WKX makes it clear that he knows there’s something really wrong with ZZS, and then they fight, set to romantic music, and ZZS ends up falling in the lake. I do the victory arms (  \o/  ) to myself where I’m sitting on the couch and startle one of the cats, because FINALLY we’re going to get rid of that execrable fake facial hair. ZZS fucks with WKX by staying underwater long enough that WKX panics and also dives in, we get some really cheap and awful underwater effects, and ZZS reveals his face! They end up back on the edge of the lake, drying their perfectly dry outer robes, while they sit around the fire together in their perfectly dry inner robes, but I am not going to complain because y’all. I CANNOT with how smug and pleased ZZS is for just a moment about WKX mooning over how pretty he is. Then he remembers to be an ill-tempered gremlin and pokes at WKX with a flaming stick, but I had to rewind four times just to catch that little moment of satisfaction about being admired again – it’s subtle and gorgeous and Zhang Zhehan is going to kill me with his face one of these days. ZZS demands dinner on this date, and fake-coughs pitifully to get WKX to go hunt something down, while he stays and does his delightful little thinky face as he pokes at the Soul Winding Box they got from Imposter Hanged Ghost. Then we get a shot of WKX looking at ZZS before he heads off to catch some rabbits that confirms he now knows he’s really Zhou Zishu, rather than Zhou Xu.

So, we’ll get back to the Ghost and the Box in a minute, but I do want to mention that this whole ep is layered through with mini-references and thematic stuff. Imposter Hanged Ghost rings his little bell to control his Drug Men, and remember that, we’ll see that again. WKX asks if ZZS came from the Healer’s Valley when ZZS offers him an antidote to the Drug Man poison; we learn later that WKX, himself, is the one who came from the Healer’s Valley. When ZZS gets the Soul Winding Box open and finds a piece of the Glazed Armor inside (Danyang’s, taken off of Ao Laizi by Ghost Valley before he was hung at the gate of Sanbai Manor), he gives it to WKX, tells him to throw it away if he doesn’t want it. WKX says he couldn’t possibly, and that he’ll wear it because it’s his first gift from A-Xu. Compare this to the way Xie’er will wear Awful Yifu’s Glazed Armor around his neck. We also see some of the thematic and referential stuff come up in conversations that form a repeated pattern in this ep of ZZS stressing what a bad and dangerous person he is: He scoffs at the idea he’s from Healer’s Valley, and asks if he looks like someone who practices medicine; WKX responds that he looked like a professional killer (true) who was cruel in the abandoned temple (presumably while escaping Mirror Lake) and frightening to a kind-hearted man like WKX who can’t even kill a chicken (particularly amusing given the prep for New Year’s dinner in a later ep, when WKX is the only one who CAN). At the lakeside and again after ZZS hightails it away from Sanbai Manor when they spot Han Ying there (HAN YING, my beloved), WKX asks if ZZS is a fugitive, what he’s hiding from, and says that he’ll protect him – by reason, because would he kill anyone unreasonably (omg, where to even begin? How many guys have you choked out at this point)? When they’re arguing about ZZS revealing his ���true” face, ZZS warns that most people who’ve seen his real appearance are dead (probably true). WKX says he’s not afraid of death (not his own, at least, we’ll see that the thing he’s afraid of is ZZS’s death). ZZS warns WKX that he’s not only sharp-tongued, he’s ruthless (true). He tells WKX that he’s murdered many people (true) and set them on fire (not unlikely, frankly) and committed many crimes (true, in a way, although they were state-sanctioned, making them legal, if morally reprehensible). This is the ZZS who put the Nails in himself, who talks to himself about what a truly awful shixiong he is, who tells Prince Jin that he’s only good as a weapon. I like how we see this at the same time that we’re starting to see the side of him that’ll preen when someone thinks he’s pretty - this is a process, and it’s subtle, not as high-drama as WKX’s, but it’s there, nonetheless.

We also formally meet Xie Wang in this ep, artfully posed and playing his pipa among the bodies – old and new – of Zhao Coffin Home. He and Changing Ghost have a bit of a slapfight over whose fault it is that Imposter Hanged Ghost, who was actually Long-Tongued Ghost, got killed and got his (Danyang’s) Glazed Armor took by WKX, when Changing Ghost stole it from Ao Laizi, put it in the Soul Winding Box and gave it to Long-Tongued Ghost specifically to deliver it to Xie Wang. Xie Wang is super cool through all of this, and I think we get a sense of how deadly he is by the way Changing Ghost backs down. So, here’s what’s falling together: Some iteration of Ghost Valley is working with Xie Wang and the Scorpion Sect, giving the Scorpions access to the Soul Winding Threads, which we saw used at the Mirror Lake massacre and in the woods outside of Sanbai Manor to kill Yu Tianjie in the last ep. Via Xie Wang, Ghost Vally has access to use of the Drug Men, which we’ve seen at the Zhao Coffin Home (so far), although we haven’t yet been told (I think) how Xie Wang got access to the potions to create Drug Men (we also know ZZS read about Drug Men in a book somewhere, and got enough info to engineer an antidote to them). Xie Wang and the Scorpions have access to Drunk Like a Dream incense, which had to come from Prince Jin’s court, having been engineered by ZZS based on a much stronger formulation. Han Ying, from Tian Chuang in Prince Jin’s court, has been seen at Sanbai Manor, Zhao Jing’s place.

Meanwhile Chengling is doing poorly, with no appetite and getting bellowed at some more by Shen Shen, who would be the worst if only I didn’t know everything I know, which makes me cringe when Zhao Jing refers to Chengling as “my son, now.” NO. RUN, Goldbean. For some more thematic and referential stuff in this ep, WKX calls Chengling a “lonely chick with no one to rely on” and tsks over the fact that he’s “surrounded by hounds smarter than foxes” now that he’s under the care of the Five Lakes Alliance. This is clearly to manipulate ZZS into thinking Chengling is better off with ZZS, but it also sounds like an awfully apt description of Zhen Yan in Ghost Valley. I’m just sayin’.

#zhou zishou #wen kexing #xie wang #zhang chengling #zhao jing #word of honor #word of honor episode reax

[denimbex1986]

'Oppenheimer achieved the impossible by becoming director Christopher Nolan's highest-grossing movie outside of the Dark Knight trilogy, but no one should be surprised by the movie's success. The new biopic is about J. Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the father of the atomic bomb, and how he shepherded a group of physicists to create a world-destroying nuclear weapon during The Manhattan Project. The movie marks several firsts for Nolan, as it's the celebrated filmmaker's first biopic, and it's the first time his longtime collaborator Cillian Murphy is in the lead role. However, the 2023 release actually had a lot working against it at the box office.

Firstly, Oppenheimer is three hours long, and such an intimidating runtime can put potential viewers off. It also limits how many screenings the film can have per day, thus reducing ticket sales. Additionally, the movie is half in black and white, and its harrowing subject matter doesn't exactly scream summer blockbuster. Nevertheless, that's exactly what Oppenheimer became. Oppenheimer has made over $850 million worldwide and is still playing in theaters. That gross is more than any non-Batman Nolan movie, including Dunkirk, Interstellar, and even the instant classic Inception. Several components of the movie's release subtly foretold Oppenheimer's success.

10. Competing With Barbie Gave Oppenheimer More Hype & Promotion

Major Hollywood movies from different studios being released at the same time often lead to one movie becoming a huge success and the other becoming a flop. Movie studios generally tend to avoid sharing release dates for their tent-pole projects for this reason, but neither Universal nor Warner Bros. would budge, leading to the now historical Barbenheimer weekend. Against all odds, both movies were phenomenal successes. Barbenheimer became an event where audiences paid to see both movies on the same day, leading viewers excited about Oppenheimer going to see Barbie and vice versa. As a result, Barbenheimer is the fourth-highest-grossing weekend in box office history.

9. Oppenheimer Was Christopher Nolan's First Movie For Universal

Nolan infamously left Warner Bros. after the studio made the decision to give their 2021 movies day-and-date releases on HBO Max without informing anyone. However, when that lucrative relationship came to an end, Universal won a bidding war for Oppenheimer, and the studio agreed to a ton of Nolan's non-negotiable terms (via IGN). Some of those terms massively helped the movie's box office performance, as Universal agreed to not promote any other movie from three weeks before Oppenheimer's debut to three weeks after its release. The studio also agreed to a huge 120-day exclusive theatrical window.

8. Oppenheimer Received Some Of Christopher Nolan's Best Reviews Yet

Oppenheimer has 93% on Rotten Tomatoes which is the biggest score Nolan has earned in a while. Though Nolan's movies are always crowd pleasers, 2020's Tenet only earned 69% on the aggregate site. Outside the filmmaker's Batman movies, the last Nolan project to get such a high score on Rotten Tomatoes was 2000's Memento, which also sits at 93%. However, Oppenheimer also has an almost-as-high audience score of 91%. Prior to this, Memento was the last Nolan movie to get both a critic score and an audience score in the 90s. Good reviews likely led to audiences who wouldn't otherwise have watched Oppenheimer going out to theaters.

7. Unlike Other Nolan Movies, Oppenheimer Wasn't Confusing

While the actual physics in the movie can be hard to follow at times, Oppenheimer's narrative isn't confusing at all. Movies like Inception and The Prestige certainly challenged audiences, and some of the movies' logic was over the top. Many have argued that the confusion of Nolan's films got out of hand in the 2010s with Interstellar and again in 2020 with Tenet. Even Dunkirk, an expertly made war movie, unnecessarily played with time in a typically Nolan-esque manner. However, Oppenheimer simply tells the story of The Manhattan Project from two different perspectives. Dialing back the pseudo-science worked for the box office.

6. Oppenheimer Had Christopher Nolan's Most Star-Studded Cast

Nolan has worked with some huge ensemble casts in the past, but none have been quite so full of Academy Award winners and nominees as Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer has such an epic cast that Academy Award-winning actors are even in extremely minor scenes. Rami Malek, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for Bohemian Rhapsody, is only properly in two scenes, while Gary Oldman appears in just one scene. The lineup also includes Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and many other bankable stars. Any one of these actors alone would help a movie become successful, but all of them together catapulted Oppenheimer to its $850 million gross.

5. Oppenheimer Doesn't Have An Ambiguous Ending

Most of Nolan's movies have ambiguous endings. It still isn't clear who is Leonard's wife's murderer at the end of Memento, and whether Cobb is still dreaming at the end of Inception has become one of the most-debated questions ever. However, while many audience members wouldn't have a problem with an ambiguous ending, narratives not being properly wrapped up doesn't appeal to everyone. Oppenheimer definitely has moments of ambiguity, and the ending leaves audiences wondering about what every physicist went on to do following their work on The Manhattan Project. However, there isn't an ambiguous ending.

4. Oppenheimer Had An Exclusivity Deal With IMAX

Nolan has always championed IMAX cameras, and he pioneered the film camera being used for more than just action scenes. Given how great of a relationship Nolan and IMAX have, the filmmaker managed to secure exclusivity for Oppenheimer in IMAX theaters. As a result, IMAX tickets made up for 22% of Oppenheimer's box office gross after two weeks in theaters, making $114 million (via Variety). Without that exclusivity on the giant screens, Oppenheimer likely wouldn't have beaten several of Nolan's other movies at the box office.

3. Oppenheimer Is Cillian Murphy's First Leading Role For Christopher Nolan

Murphy has worked with Nolan on several movies, including the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk. However, the actor has never led a Nolan film, and he has never led a movie on this scale before. That doesn't mean the actor isn't bankable. Not only was Murphy perfectly cast as Oppenheimer, but Peaky Blinders has such a huge following, and there's no doubt that fans of the drama series showed up to theaters because Murphy was the only face on the poster. It took the actor and director almost two decades of collaboration for Murphy to become the lead, but when it finally happened, it paid off.

2. Oppenheimer Benefited From 2023 Having The Hottest Summer On Record

One reason why the summer blockbuster exists in the first place is that studios thought they could make money from audiences who simply wanted to sit in a cool, air-conditioned room for two hours and escape the heat (via FSR). That was no truer than in 2023, as the year had the hottest summer on record. According to Reuters, August's record makes the Northern Hemisphere's summer the hottest since records began in 1940. That probably helped Oppenheimer's box office performance. The three-hour biopic was dropping very little each weekend in August, and if it wasn't for the hot weather, the movie might have taken a bigger hit.

1. Oppenheimer Targeted A Different Audience Than Christopher Nolan's Other Movies

Nolan is known for a specific kind of film: huge, spectacular sci-fi action flicks. However, Oppenheimer isn't remotely like that, which could have been seen as a monumental risk, straying from what audiences love. Adding to that is an R-rating, which limits how many people can see the movie. However, there's still a massive market for mature R-rated films, something that studios seem to have forgotten. Oppenheimer proves that. Despite being shot in black and white, being three hours long, having dark subject matter, and being R-rated, Oppenheimer is still one of 2023's biggest movies.'

#Oppenheimer #Christopher Nolan #IMAX #Cillian Murphy #Inception #The Dark Knight Trilogy #Dunkirk #Peaky Blinders #The Manhattan Project #Memento #Rami Malek #Gary Oldman #Robert Downey Jr. #Emily Blunt #Matt Damon #Bohemian Rhapsody #Tenet #The Prestige #Interstellar #Universal #Barbie #Barbenheimer

[sombreboy]

Corrupted | yandere!myg

▎ 18+ ▎ xtremity; 6 ▎ pairing: yandere!myg x y/n ▎ genre: smut, mafia au ▎ word count: 5.8k ▎ warnings: toxic/possessive behavior, myg cuts kth, oral(f!rec), cursing/dirtytalk, unprotected sex. 

You're the sweetest of fruits, the aura of purity surrounding you sparks a fire within Min Yoongi that has him utterly smitten with an obsessive need for you in every way possible. He brings you into his world as his personal secretary, but in reality he doesn't need it. What he craves with his entire being is to corrupt the pure angel that is you with his carnal desires.

Min Yoongi.

The most powerful and renown of men within the mafia realm.

Feared by companies, feared by men, desired by women.

He's extremely intelligent and a delicate planner, loyal to the bone if you've earned it & utterly merciless, thus have grown to become what people would call an invincible man. No one dared to try to play him at this point. Many have tried, and they'd be politely greeted with their boss' heart on a silver platter. And word travels fast

With a flick of his wrist he could end anybody's opportunities and connections.

Everyone wanted to become his ally, because if you can't beat them, join them, as they say.

And with power, comes responsibility.. And a disgusting amount of wealth.

Dirty cash, yes. But money is money to him.

Throughout the years he'd been building his empire, starting from the bottom until he's so high up nobody could dream to get even remotely close to his level.

But something was missing in Min Yoongi's Life.

Even with this incredible amount of power, which he loved... He loved it, the power kink he's developed ingrained within him along with other questionable ways of getting his adrenaline pumping.

But he's grown quite bored of the one night stands. Those girls were already dirty, corrupted and let him do whatever he wanted. They were gladly a whore for his cash, and it was a fun time killer for a while... But it's grown oh so dull.

As if fate was on his side (hah), his world was turned around when he was going through the sent in applications for the position to become his personal secretary. He technically didn't need it, but 'some work load off his shoulders' didn't sound all too bad, as his right hand Taehyung had urged him to finally do something about.

He sighed in disappointment as he flipped through the resumes. To be honest, he didn't bother to read most of them, and simply took a quick glance at the photos provided of the applicant.

''Hey boss, did you look through the apps yet?''

Taehyung carefully closed the door behind him before strolling up to stand next to Yoongi's large office chair, bending slightly to get a view of the papers as well.

''I am currently, as you can probably tell.'' Yoongi answered, a mild annoyance in his voice as he crumples up one of the papers into a ball before throwing it at Taehyung, whom only scoffs in amusement.

''What about this one? She's very qualified.'' Taehyung continues as he leans over the desk to point at the woman's previous experiences.

Yoongi sighs, ''She's perfectly qualified, but if you look closely you can also see that she's worked for one of our competitors. Can't trust that.''

Taehyung raises his eyebrows followed with a quiet 'ah', skimming through the stack of papers himself in silence.

That's when Min Yoongi suddenly leaned forward in his chair, causing it to shriek out by the sudden movement, startling Taehyung.

''Let me see that one again. Go back.''

Taehyung's eyebrows were drawn together in confusion, but he did as told and went back to the one resume his boss seemed oddly interested in. He picked it out of the stack, and quickly Yoongi snatched it from his hands to put it flat down on the desk in front of him.

''Boss, she's not qualified at all...''

''Silence.''

Yoongi fished out his reading glasses from his pocket and put them on, bringing the paper closer to his face to get a proper look at your face. His tongue snaked out to wet his lips, a common habit of his when in deep focus. A new feeling came to life within his usually so monotone soul. Well, it wasn't new... He knew exactly what this emotion was.

''I want her here by tomorrow, Taehyung.'' He said as he handed the paper over to his right hand man.

Taehyung was shocked, and it was obvious in his expression, ''T-tomorrow? That's such a short notice, Yoon-''

''I'm sorry, but did it sound like I was asking you, Mr. Kim? Tomorrow, 9 a.m Sharp. I shall have her desk in order for her outside of my office by then.''

Taehyung looked at your photo as he licked his lips in thought. He's seen this look on his friend-... boss this way only once before. And it didn't end well, because he ...'let her go', as he'd been told to phrase it.

''Yes... I'm on it, right away.''

Yoongi observed his right hand man exiting his office, a fire burning up in his core as he clasped his hands on the table whilst staring blankly into nothingness.

This time he wouldn't make the same mistake.

This time he'd have more self control. He's certain of it.

You were over the moon when the news reached you over the phone, a certain Mr. Kim personally congratulating you for being hired as the secretary for the Mr. Min Yoongi himself.

You'd been throwing out resumes everywhere, and never in a million years did you expect to hear back from this one. It was a long shot, but turns out that miracles do happen.

''Thank you, thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Kim!''

A vibrating chuckle echoed through the call, ''Don't thank me, Mr. Min personally asked me to hire you.''

You remained silent, not able to properly register what was just said.

So Taehyung continued,

''He also requires you to be available to start right away, tomorrow. 9 a.m.''

You choked on your own breath, ''Tomorrow? That's..''

''A very short notice, I'm aware. But there is no room for negotiation, so if you would please accomodate to his wishes...''

You nodded, blushing when you realize he can't see you, so you croax out,

''Y-yes, It's no problem. I'll come tomorrow.''

Taehyung giggles, this time sounding a lot more lighthearted,

''9 a.m, don't be late. Good luck- I mean... Congratulations. It will be a pleasure to work with you.''

And with that, this Mr. Kim hung up on you, leaving you in the silence on the other end.

A wide smile spread across your face as you went to bed that night, excited for new opportunities and a higher paycheck.

8.45 a.m

You anxiously stepped into the grand building entrance, dressed in your favorite work appropriate outfit.

It was simple, really; A cream white dress-shirt fitted to your curves with a flattering v-neck, matched with a black waist high pencil skirt that ended just above your knees, topped off with a pair of cute, black low heels.

You were greeted by a handsome young man standing by the front desk, confidently striding over to you with a box-shaped smile on his lips as he reached his hand out to grab yours,

''Good morning, Miss L/N. Im Kim Taehyung, you spoke with me on the phone last night. On time, even a little early. You're putting in a good impression already.'

You bow before accepting his hand, which he shakes lightly before letting go. He gestures with his hand for you to follow him into the elevator.

Standing there, he presses the button to the floor on the very top, watching the doors close before redirecting his attention to you,

''If you have any questions regarding any matter, don't hesitate to ask me. It is my job after all.''

He looked almost apologetic, and you shoot him a soft smile,

''Thank you. I'm curious, actually...''

''Anything at all, I will do my best to answer you.''

''Well,'' You shift the weight on your feet, ''I don't really know much about secretary work... And I'm quite nervous that I won't live up to Mr.Min's expectations.''

Taehyung's smile softens, a vague hint of concern in his eyes. He puts his hand on your shoulder in reassurance,

''Don't worry too much. That's why I'm here, to teach you and guide you. We know your experience isn't as high as it could've been, but Mr. Min insisted for it to be you.''

You look up at him with confusion, ''Why did he insist?''

Taehyung bit his lip, knowing he probably said too much. He shook his head with a dismissive smile,

''I believe he saw potential, and the fact that you have no past experience means we don't have to worry about other companies being behind you to try to get at our company.''

You froze for a second, his choice of words kind of didn't make sense to you. But before you were able to say anything else, the elevator doors opened.

Taehyung let his hand move from your shoulder to the small of your back to guide you out of the elevator, ushering you to walk next to him.

He halted at a big desk in the lobby outside of an office with a big sign hanging on the door,

Mr. Min Yoongi.

You put your purse down on the big desk. Your desk. It was a lot fancier than you imagined, and the large office chair looked extremely comfortable and high end, almost like a throne.

Meanwhile, Taehyung knocked on the office door to your new boss and carefully opened it, leaning in to announce your arrival. He came back out, nudging his chin in the office's direction,

''He's waiting for you.''

''Oh, I better head in then. I'm nervous...'' You straightened out the pencil skirt while Taehyung walked up closer to you with a reassuring smile, placing his hand on your shoulder once more before speaking,

''Good luck.''

And with that, he returned to the elevator, a small wave thrown your way before the doors closed on him.

You took a deep breath, straightening your posture before carefully opening the door, peeking inside.

''Don't be shy. Come in.''

Closing the door behind you, you finally let out the breath you've been holding. He beckoned for you to come closer,

''Have a seat.''

You sit down in front of him, hands clasped in your lap as you finally get a good look at the man you're now working for.

He was incredibly good looking, pale clear skin, blonde hair that was neatly styled to frame his face. He was dressed in a very expensive suit, definitely personally tailored to fit his frame like a glove.

His eyes, however, were completely unreadable. Beautiful, yes, the feline-like shape and intense stare piercing through you like a sharpened knife, but there was no indication of any emotion whatsoever.

Until his lips curled up in a gummy-like smile, instantly softening his entire expression. He was almost too beautiful.

To be honest, you had expected somebody older. Much older, considering the grand Company and it's reputation (which you didn't know that much of, but you did a tiny bit of research before getting here.).

''What are you thinking about?'' He interrupted your thoughts.

You smiled shyly, looking down at your lap, twiddling your fingers anxiously,

''It's silly...''

He leaned forward, his chin resting in his palm as he keeps his gaze fixed on you with genuine interest,

''Tell me.''

You nod, one hand running through your hair to put strands of it behind your ear. The action alone had Yoongi's chest erupt into fireworks, mouth already watering at the flustered state you're in. He loved feeling so powerful, the status difference between the two of you so apparent.

''Well, I was just thinking that you weren't at all how I imagined the Min Yoongi to be.''

He tilted his head to the side, a smirk playing on his lips,

''Oh? Then what did you imagine 'The Min Yoongi' to be?''

''I kind of imagined you as an old man, considering..'' You gesture around you to emphasize, ''All of this. How did you manage to create all of this at such an age.''

He scoffed, amused, ''Understandable.''

''It's just impressive, is all.''

The praise hit him differently. He's never heard his success to be described as 'impressive', and he's sure you wouldn't say that if you knew the things he'd done to get here. But still... When it came from your lips, he almost felt proud.

''And now you're part of it.''

A long moment of silence followed, Yoongi simply keeping his eyes on you as if he's dissecting you with his eyes. You slowly started to feel fidgety, not sure what to do or say in this situation, and he was thriving off of it. The uncertainty in your eyes, the way you kept playing with your hair. He finally broke the silence by pulling out a stack of documents from his desk drawer and dropping it in front of you with a loud thud, causing you to jump in your chair.

''I want you to digitalize these documents for me and then send them to my e-mail. Everything is set up for you on the computer by your desk, and if you have any questions just call for Mr. Kim or give me a knock.''

You were surprised by the sudden change from conversation to business, but you stood up and took the Heavy stack of documents into your arms, bowing politely at your boss,

''Yes.''

He placed his hands on his hips, clacking his tongue once in disapproval,

''In here, you're to address me as Sir... So, try again.''

You exhaled quietly, his entire change in demeanor making you feel both weak and excited at once,

''Yes, sir.''

He nodded, a flick of his wrist to usher for you to leave.

''Good girl. Dismissed.''

You bowed once more, a blush on your cheeks before hurrying out of his office to get to work.

Yoongi threw himself back against the backrest of his chair with a groan as soon as the door closed behind you. Hissing curses to himself as he looked down on his lap, the strained fabric caging his prominent erection had given him hell Throughout the entire conversation. How did you affect him so greatly?

Fuck, he wanted you so badly already.

He wanted to take this slower. He really did. Give you time... Enough time to maybe love him too.

But he's so incredibly impatient.

''Min Yoongi... Control yourself.'' He whispered to himself as he palmed himself through the fabric of his dress pants, a soft, vibrating groan rumbling in his chest at the thought of you on your knees underneath his desk.

Just a little more patience.

You were finally getting the hang of this, but you sure hoped he didn't expect you to finish this entire stack today. It was way too much.

You leaned back into your chair with a sigh, glancing over at the Clock.

Crap, you hadn't eaten lunch yet! And the day just literally flew by.

Just as if on call, Taehyung waltzed out of the elevator with a big boxy grin on his face as he came up to you.

''Hello, secretary. I was gonna ask if you've had your lunch yet? Me and some coworkers are having some takeout on the floor below if you'd like to join.''

You were almost about to say no, but then your stomach protested,

''Actually, that would be Lovely. I'm starving!''

You got up and walked towards the elevator with Taehyung before halting, glancing over at your boss' office.

''What about Mr. Min?''

Taehyung shrugged, ''He never eats with us.''

You pout, ''Do you ever ask?''

Tae looks guilty, ''Not lately.''

''What?! I bet he's super hungry too, I'm gonna ask.''

You strode over to the office door without a thought, not listening to Taehyung's protests in the back before knocking and opening the door without waiting, peeking in to simply see the back of Yoongi's chair facing you.

''Sir?''

The chair turned around slowly, the very same handsome man as you saw this morning looking slightly less put together in a way staring back at you. Something was different, yet not.

''What can I do for you, y/n?''

''I-I was just... gonna ask if you wanted to come with me and Tae- Mr. Kim downstairs for lunch...If you're not too busy.''

You didn't know why, but the air felt thicker in his office, and you felt as if you shrunk underneath his gaze.

He licked his lips in thought before nodding,

''I'll be right there. Go ahead without me.''

You couldn't help but smile, giving him a nod before closing the door, heading back to Taehyung, who's looking at you dumbfounded.

''He rejected you, didn't he? I told you he-''

You held up your hand to silence Taehyung, a victorious smile on your lips,

''He said he's coming, but we could go ahead.''

Taehyung's jaw dropped before breaking into an amused smile, ''No way...''

Yoongi stood up from his chair, taking a moment to take a good look at himself in the large body mirror on his wall. He ran his fingers through his hair as to fix the slight mess he'd caused. How inconvenient that you'd walked in on him just after he'd relieved himself off some well needed stress.

How couldn't he, you drove him mad, his body is aching for you already.

He was surprised that you'd asked him to join you for lunch, and part of him was thrilled. This was a good step, a good development. You must already feel something for him. You're closer to being wrapped around his finger.

As he made his way down to the staff room, he saw you sitting with his other employees, chatting and smiling. You looked gorgeous.

But Yoongi was boiling at the way you smiled, because it wasn't directed towards him, but towards his own right hand man, Taehyung. And he had the audacity to smile back, sitting way too close to you.

The entire room fell silent when they noticed Yoongi's presence, he casually sat down across from you at the table, as the space next to you was already occupied by Taehyung.

''W-welcome, boss.'' Jung Hoseok exclaimed with an uncertain smile.

Yoongi nodded in acknowledgement,

''What are we having?''

You smiled widely, completely oblivious to the tension between the others at his presence, pushing forward a takeout box in front of him,

''Chinese! It's delicious, try it!''

Yoongi scrunched his nose. He hadn't had takeout in years, accustomed to a more expensive taste at this point. But it was you... You offered this to him. The others anxiously shared looks, knowing that if they were the ones who would've so casually offered this to him, he wouldn't have reacted all that kindly.

''Thank you.'' He simply responded as he opened it, grabbing a pair of chopsticks before calmy diggin into it.

Everyone's eyes widened, but as soon as Yoongi looked up they hurried to continue eating and chatting as if their stern boss didn't just THANK the new employee.

You smiled, ''Good, huh?''

Yoongi nods, saying nothing as he chews his food. He almost looked harmless, cute even with the way his cheeks puffed up when they were full of food.

You turned to Taehyung to continue a conversation that you had going on before Yoongi's arrival. He listened in, and it was purely business talk, but the way you were leaned in and so casually addressing his by his birth name had Yoongi's blood boiling once again. This was no good. His right hand man knows that you were his, his only. HIS. He better step back on the casualty.

Taehyung didn't. He smiled back, conversing way too nicely the entire lunch, and it did nothing but spur Yoongi's possessiveness on.

He's too far gone. He knew that. There's no way he'd be able to wait longer, he needed to claim you before anyone else did. At least that's how it felt in his world.

Yoongi put his food back on the table when he finished, taking a sip of his water before standing back up, making the chair scrape and screech against the floors which silences everyone once more.

''I'm heading back. Thank you for the lunch.''

Everyone bows and nods at their boss, including you. He gives Taehyung a piercing glare before saying one last thing,

''Mr. Kim, stop by my office when you're finished.''

''You asked for me, boss?''

As he's done countless of times before, he steps inside of Yoongi's office, striding over to stand in front of the familiar desk. He kept his hands in the pockets of his dresspants, swallowing tightly as to where his adam's apple bobs heavily. He knows it couldn't be good.

''Sit down, get comfortable.. Why would you act as if I'm a stranger to you, hm?''

Taehyung hesitantly sits down in front of Yoongi, whom is sitting frozen in Place with his hands clasped together on the table before speaking once more,

''Mr. Kim Taehyung. You're my right hand, aren't you?''

Taehyung nods.

''But first and foremost, you're also my friend, correct?''

''Correct..''

''So you're loyal to me, no? You'd do anything to prove your loyalty?''

Taehyung didn't like where this was going, but he nodded with a confused expression.

Yoongi suddenly lunges forward, a tight fist grabbing onto Taehyung's collar to pull him forward over the desk until their faces are merely inches apart.

''Then you will understand why I am doing what I am about to do.'' Yoongi growls out.

Taehyung reaches up to claw at Yoongis tight hold, gasping for air,

''W-what the fuck Yoongi... Let go!''

Yoongi holds him in an iron claw grip as his other hand reaches to grab onto Taehyung's wrist, then lets his collar go. Taehyung gasps for air, not registering when Yoongi pushes Tae's palm flat down on the desk Surface and holds in in Place as he reaches for something in his desk drawer.

''Boss, what is this about, w-what are you– FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!''

Taehyung whines out in pain when Yoongi had pulled out a small, golden plated knife and didn't hesitate for even a second before letting it chomp down at the tip of Taehyung's ring finger. It was just enough to cause immense pain, a bleeding, but not so much that it'd be noticeable in the long run. He had considered taking a whole finger, but since Taehyung was his closest friend, he felt generous.

Yoongi let go and sat back down in his chair, calmly watching Taehyung hiss and curse as he hid his finger to keep pressure in the fabric of his shirt. He looked up at his boss with anger, and fear, and Disappointment.

''What the fuck was that for, YOONGI?!''

Yoongi clacked his tongue as he cleaned off the blood from his knife with a napkin,

''For overstepping boundaries.''

''I OVERSTEPPED BOUNDARIES?!'' Tae yelled while staring at the knife.

Yoongi stared up at Taehyung, ''You're being too friendly with what's mine. You know I don't like that.''

Taehyung scoffs, ''YOURS?''

''Taehyung...''

''Seriously, I'm worried about you Yoongi, and I stay by you through it all. But what if you end up repeating the same shit you did four years ago? I already see the way you look at y/n.''

Yoongi's eye twitched at the reminder, stopping his movements of cleaning the knife, ''Watch your mouth. That's none of your business.''

''Isn't it though? I'm your right hand, I'm supposed to give you my advice if needed.''

''You're supposed to keep your mouth shut if you want to keep your job... And your fingers.''

Taehyung admits defeat, and sighs, ''Anything else?''

Yoongi shakes his head, ''As long as you understand.''

Taehyung gets up and walks towards the door, looking back at his friend...boss, one last time with a concerned expression,

''Just... She's too pure... Don't repeat the same mistakes.''

Yoongi's jaw clenches,

''I'm different now. Dismissed.''

Yoongi had kept his fair distance the following week, letting you simply do your job. Everytime he saw you interact with any of the other employees, he was seething. He kept his eyes on you as often as he was able to, just watching you work. The way you'd tuck your hair behind your ears, to the way your nose scrunched when you were focused.

His chest fluttered, his soul burned.

His flesh craved yours.

You were the sweetest, purest person he's ever encountered, and he knew this was the fact from the very moment he saw your face on that photo. He could tell, he knows people, their faces. You were so innocent, filled with hopes and positivity.

Everything he wasn't.

The desire to corrupt your purity was more intense than ever, and he'd decided; tonight he was gonna indulge in what he's been craving. And he always gets what he wants.

Suddenly life didn't feel so dull anymore. Honestly, ever since you joined, every day has been anything but dull to Yoongi. He almost loved the torture he put himself through by not just ravaging you on day one. Watching you, pining for you. It was new, this Alien feeling of wanting something so badly.

But patience was at an all time low, it was time. He needed you.

You answered your office phone,

''Mr. Min's office.''

A dark, familiar chuckle echoed on the line,

''Hello there, angel.''

A nickname your boss had given you the past few days... Angel. You were still not used to it, a blush on your cheeks at the petname.

''H-hello sir. What can I do for you?''

You were kind of confused why he decided to call your phone, he was literally in the room behind yours.

''There's so much you could do for me, angel. But let's start with you coming into my office, I need you.''

You furrowed your brows, ''You need me? I'm already working on the documents you just gave me–''

''No, no. This is much more important.''

''Oh?''

''I'm waiting.''

Click.

Yoongi stood up as soon as he heard your footsteps approaching, striding over to you as soon as the door opened, pulling you in to push your back against the door to force it closed behind you. He towered over you like a predator, instantly making you shrink down into a prey.

''S-sir, what are you doing...''

Yoongi's pupils were blown wide, breaths shallow but Heavy as he stares at you,

''I need you....Fuck, angel, only you can help me.''

You shrink down further, almost slowly sliding down the wall. Yoongi lets you, and as you sit down in a squat he's dropped down to his knees with you, his palms pressed against the door as he leans closer to your face,

''Do you think you could help me?''

You look down at the floor, heavily blushing,

''I-I'm not sure what you mean...''

He grabs your chin to direct your attention to his face, the expression on your face of fear mixed with confusion makes his cock twitch.

''Do you need me to spell it out for you? I've wanted you since I first laid eyes on your pretty face. I can't contain myself any longer, I can't... stay away from you.''

Your mouth falls open in realization, your cheeks reddening even further. He stares at your plump lips before leaning in to Place a soft, experimental kiss. He groans at the taste,

''You're so sweet. Too sweet. Too pure, aren't you?''

You exhale sharply, and he withdraws to look at your obvious expression.

''Are you... untouched, my angel?''

You hide your face in your hands, heart racing so fast it feels like it's gonna burst out of your chest. But you nod.

Yoongi feels a wave of this incredible urge once more, his cock hardening even further at the thought of ruining you completely.

''I'd be your first...''

He stands up, pulling you up with him as he leads you to his desk and lifts you up on it, spreading your legs for him as he steps inbetween to pull you in for Another kiss. He whispers into your lips between chaste kisses,

''I'd be your first... And your last... Your only one... You wanna be mine, angel? Hm?''

You feel the heat rushing through your body, the familiar burning sensation rushing down to your core growing more intense with every kiss.

''Tell me, angel.''

You nod, whispering a breahy 'yes'.

He groans into the kiss as his hands pull your skirt up over your ass pushing himself closer to grind his clothed erection against your clothed core. He nips at your lips when he hears your small whines, and pulls back with a frustrated noise rumbling from his throat,

''As much as I love teasing, I have basically been teasing myself for days waiting for this very moment.''

He drops down to his knees in front of you, spreading your legs further as you lay back on the desk. He swiftly pulls your panties down to expose your tight little slit for him, and he licks his lips in anticipation, no longer able to wait.

''Mine.'' He whispers, moreso to himself before giving your clit a kiss. You Breathe out quietly, and he dives in once more to let his tongue taste you.

''Mine.'' He repeats with a soft moan as he alternates between licks and kisses, finally drawing out more noises from you. It still wasn't enough, though. He wanted you to be a screaming mess for him, begging for more.

''Delicious and soppy, all for me.''

''yes, yes..'' You whimper out, not able to focus as you put your arm over your eyes to hide in shyness. Yoongi easily slides one finger into your cunt while still licking at your clit, moaning once more when he feels your pussy already tightening around his finger.

''You're gonna cum already, angel? Have you ever been fingered before?''

You shake your head, ''Not by...somebody else..''

''Oh, my dear...'' Yoongi chuckles before sliding a second finger in, curling them slightly to provide a pressure towards your sensitive spot as he finds it. You buck your hips against his fingers as your moans grow louder, and your cunt gets soppier and dripping down to his knuckles until there's a wet puddle growing on the table.

''My good girl loves this... Look how fucking dripping wet you are.'' He growls  out, speeding up his fingers whilst licking your clit faster. You whine out when you finally cum, back arching and pussy pulsating as it contracts in a vice grip around his fingers. He keeps fucking you with his fingers, digging deeper to draw out the most beautiful sound of your painful whines of overstimulation.

''T-too much....'' You cry out, but he continues.

''But you feel so fucking good, it sounds so sexy when you whine for me..''

''A-ah s-sensitive, Sir, sir.....!''

Yoongis lips curl up in a wicked smile, finally pulling his fingers out of you, smearing the wetness on his fingers over your clit as he slowly rubs your sensitive nub in circles, drawing more twitches from your body. He fucking loved it.

''Oh, you're so precious.''

He stands up again, admiring the view of your totally messy wetness.

''Now...'' He pauses while he unbuckles his belt, pulling his pants and underwear down to his hips to pull his painfully hard erection out, ''I'm going to claim what's mine.''

You spread your legs further when he positions himself between your legs, lips agape and breathing heavily while looking up at him, ''Please...''

His lip twitches as if he wants to smile at your current state, so fucking beautiful. And all for him.

''You want my cock that badly?''

You nod, ''Yes, please...''

''Your first, last, and only...'' He hisses out when he lines himself up with your entrance, finally pushing himself in without letting you adjust properly. You cry out, a mix between pain and pleasure in your voice, the perfect sound in Yoongi's ears as he moans softly with you.

''Your cunt feels so fucking good already... And it's all mine to use.''

He places his hands on your waist to pull you down a Little until your ass hangs off of the desk, giving him the perfect angle to thrust himself into you roughly, drawing more moans from your throat.

''I'm gonna use your little pussy every single day from now on, this is the only thing I want you to do for me from now on. Nothing else. I'll get a new secretary. All you gotta do is be mine.''

You nod, chanting out 'yes' with every snap of his hips becoming faster and rougher. His eyes are blown wide with desire and admiration at the way your body sinfully bounces beneath his ministrations.

''I love you. I love you, I fucking love fucking you.....'' Yoongi growls out, making a point out of every word with a thrust, the wet soppy noises of his skin slapping against yours like music to his ears.

His cock hardened further inside of you, reaching spots neither your or his fingers ever could. You cry out , arching your back for him when you feel your second orgasm building inside of you like an incoming wave.

Yoongi slows down when he feels your pussy tightening, lifting you up to carry you. He sits down in his large, throne-like chair with you on top of him, you leaning over to Place your palms on his shoulders to keep yourself in Place. He roughly grabs your ass to Bounce you up and down on his cock, the raw strength in his hips and arms making it more than easy for you to ride him.

He nips and kisses at your breasts, leaving small love marks here and there and admiring the way your skin bruises from his lips. He grows greedier, fucking up into you with less rhythm as he feels his own high reaching him,

''I'm gonna fill your little pure pussy up with my cum, angel. Your first. Your only. You're mine, baby, you're mine. Tell me.''

He growls as he bites your neck, this time definitely rougher than before as he listens to the beautiful noises of your pain, pleasure and incoherent attempts of telling him that you're his. Your cunt squeezes him tightly when you cry out as you cum for the second time.

Good enough, this is exactly the state he wanted you in.

''Mine.'' He snarls out before holding your ass in a bruising grasp,  pushing you down on his cock whilst bucking his hips up into you, stilling when he cums in hot, pulsating ropes to fill your pussy up at last.

He hisses out curses and praises, staying like this for a moment as he litters kisses all over your neck and chest.

You're like a ragdoll on top of him, breathing heavily and whimpering when he rubs circles on your bruised ass.

Yoongi nudges your head to make you look up at him, your cheek pressed against his chest as your doe eyes stare back up at him.

You smile, your usual small, precious, innocent smile, and he can't help but give you a gummy smile back.

His hands move up your back to play with your hair, leaning in to place a kiss on your forehead and inhale your scent before whispering,

''You belong to me now.''

© sombreboy 2020. Do not repost, edit or translate.

#bts smut #yoongi smut #yandere bts #yandere yoongi #mafia yoongi #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #yoongi x yn #suga x reader #suga x you #suga x yn #suga smut

[thr-333]

Mismatch- Part 9

Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020

“yeah sure thing pal”- my friend when I asked for something to put here

First< Previous > Next

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“Ok, we’ll be arriving at the museum soon,” Marinette tells Marion, who is focusing on his phone.

“Great, by the way how do you feel about a meet and greet before the concert?” Marion confirms the dates with their manager for said meet and greet.

“Hm, It’ll be tough to fit it in, maybe in our free week?” Marion nods knowing it was already set up in their free week, “I don't know Ri,”

“It’ll be fun,” Because a large event in Gotham is always fun and goes off without a hitch, “Besides it’d be kind of rude to do meet and greets in every other city we’re visiting but Gotham,”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Marinette smiles, looking out the window of the bus, “Oh no Kate's going to kill us for deciding last minute,”

“Don’t worry she already agreed,” Marion ignores her confusion, “It’s a week from now, so it’ll be in our free week,”

“What! You already set it up and didn’t ask me!” Marinette raises the volume of their whispered conversation.

“I did you agreed,” Marion reminds her, "Remember we were in the airport, you were staring at Adrien, and I asked quietly,"

“... and you don't see anything wrong with that?" Marinette deadpans, "Or even considered that maybe I couldn't hear you or wasn't listening.

“Huh, didn't consider that,” Marion looks away with a smile not needing to see Marinette's glare

“You are unbelievable,” She lectures raising her volume, "You know I'm not coherent when he's around!"

“When who’s around?” Adrien pops up behind them from his seat next to Nino.

“No one!” Marinette yells, drawing all eyes on the bus towards her blushing.

“Marinette you please keep your voice down, it's aggravating my tinnitus,” Lila says as sweetly as poison.

Marinette rolls her eyes and they both ignore Rose and Sabrina fussing over her.

“Alright class,” Madame Bustier addresses them after they exit the bus, “You’re parents are all quite concerned over yesterday's events, so we all must stick together today, this isn’t like Akuma attacks where you’re expected to go home, I have to know where you are,”

A chorus of ‘yes Madame Bustier’ is heard as they follow their teacher into the museum. They meet their tour guide for the day falling into a similar pattern of Lila’s posse talking throughout the tour. This tour guide seems to be more accustomed to school kids ignoring him, although he does seem pleased that the twins keep asking questions. The class had been given time to look around the Atlantean exhibit. The twins deciding to look over a mural that seemed to depict a past miraculous holder.

“Hey,” They both turn towards a young man with his phone up like he was recording, “You’re the Wayne twins right?”

“Excuse me?” Marion exchanges glances with Marinette, equally confused.

“Bruce Wayne's new kids right?” The guy pushes, taking a step forward.

“We have no idea what you’re talking about,” Marinette tries to explain, taking a step back.

“Alright I get it, want to keep it on the down low, don’t worry I won’t tell anyone,” He assures, Marion looks doubtfully at his phone he makes no effort to put away.

“You’re recording,” Marion states the obvious, which seems to irritate him.

“No I’m not, just tell me!” He demands, Marinette pushes Marion back slightly to try and get away.

“We don’t know what you’re talking about and you’re being very rude,” Marinette scolds, as the camera is pushed nearer her face.

“Why won’t you just admit it!”

“They owe you no explanation,” Kagami appears, grabbing the man's arm and forcefully pointing the camera away from the twins.

“And you don’t have permission to film or take pictures of them,” Chloe plucks the phone out of the startled man's grasp.

“I just-”

“You just nothing- now shoo,” Chloe chucks his phone onto a nearby bench, presumably with the footage deleted, and guides the twins to an empty hallway, “What was that about?”

“No idea, he approached us out of nowhere,” Marion tells the two seething girls.

“He was calling us the Wayne twins,” Marinette supplies more helpfully, “We should probably call Aunt Selina, she might know something,”

She usually did. Kagami and Chloe nod leaving them to the call, but Marion spots them waiting just outside the hallway.

“Hello?” Their Aunt says through speaker phone.

“Hey, Auntie something weird just happened,” Marion can think of no better way to describe it.

“What happened, you weren't attacked again were you?” Her tone is joking but with a hint of doubt, knowing that it was absolutely a possibility with them.

“No this guy came up to us filming, asking if we were the 'Wayne twins'?” Marinette sums up, wording it far more politely than the actual interaction.

“Wayne twins? Just a minute” She hangs up with a beep, leaving them in the empty hallway.

“... So that exhibit huh?” Marion tries to fill the silence, “You think we should investigate it?”

“I wonder if the Atlantean's part of out order of guardians or if they have their own,” Marinette keeps her voice hushed, she opens up her purse slightly "Do you know Tikki?"

“I’m not sure, we Kwami’s were rarely aware of the whereabouts of Kwamis from different miracle boxes," Tikki tells them from the purse.

“Maybe a branch off the order, I mean the miraculous can be powered up to go underwater so working together wouldn’t have been improbable,” Marinette theorises.

“Then any miraculous they held would have likely been in circulation when the temple was destroyed,” Kaalki adds.

"If thats the case then the order probably can't locate them," Marion frowns, glancing at Marinette's backpack that held their miracle box.

"And those that hold them might not know what they are," Marinette adds, after all Alix's family had passed a miraculous down for generations.

“We could-”

“We’re not going to Atlantis,” Marinette cuts Marion off.

“But-”

“No,”

“I thought it was cats that were meant to be scared of water,” He pouts, getting ignored by Marinette.

“To be fair the last time I was in Atlantis things didn’t go so well,” Plagg says, "Plus it was above ground,"

"Then I'll take Kaalki,"

"We aren't going to Atlantis," Marinette scolds, as the phone starts ringing.

“Here's the thing,” Aunt Selina says as soon as she's put on speaker phone, “Apparently some people took pictures of you the past few days with the Wayne family and figured you must be Waynes too,”

“That's ridiculous!” Marion has apparently been spending too much time with Chloe.

“.... yeah people come up with some crazy theories,” Selina sounds strained, “Look don’t worry about a thing, just enjoy your trip we’ll handle everything,”

“Ok,” They both agree hesitantly.

“Alright call me if you have any other problems, anything at all,” They agree, saying goodbye before the call is disconnected.

“Just a heads up, the whole class saw what happened,” Chloe warns them as soon as they reenter the exhibit, “We looked up the whole ‘Wayne twins’ thing-”

“A ridiculous rumour,” Kagami has apparently also been spending too much time around Chloe.

“Long story short, Lie-la’s trying to convince the whole class you two made it up for attention,” Chloe finishes glaring over at the group gathered around Lila. Minus Max and Alix the latter of which looking at the mural the twins had been earlier.

“And succeeding,” Adrien adds pityingly, as some of their classmates glare at the twins.

“By the way,” Chloe elbows Marion playfully, “You didn’t tell me you were child billionaires,”

“Of course we didn’t,” Marion grins slyly back at her, “Wouldn’t want to make you jealous of our diamond toilet, we know how insecure you get with only a gold toilet,”

“Honestly Chloe, how do you get by?” Marinette sighs over dramatically.

“Does this officially make us the rich kid club?” Adrien chimes in, as they walk out of sight of the rest of the class.

“I suppose it does,” Kagami agrees, with her usual stoic tone, but clearly in on the joke.

“We would make a great reality tv show,” Chloe declares.

“Well we have enough money to buy a camera crew apparently,”

“I like your thinking Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe teases, getting a mock curtsy in response.

They continue with the tour doing quite well at ignoring the slides from Lila against them. That doesn't mean they aren’t glad to go back to the Hotel away from her.

“I think we should just order room service,” Marinette cuts through the arguing.

“It’ll probably be safer,” Kagami hands the menu to Nino, who had been trying to convince them to get pizza.

“How unglamorous,” Chloe sneers, like she had with every other option presented, especially Nino's pizza. He had made it his personal mission to get Chloe to eat pizza. Marion was all for it, but not tonight they had to meet up with Batman later.

“We can paint our nails,” Kagami offers, tired of them arguing for the past half hour.

“Yeah if I still had my nail polish,” Chloe pouts.

“I brought some,” Kagami says, much to the other girls surprise.

“I have some back in my room,” Marion adds.

“And I have face masks!” Chloe exclaims running to her room to get them.

“I’ll invite Max and Markov,” Marion offers shooting them a text, “I’ll tell them to pick it up,”

“They don’t have a key,” Adrien leans over Nino’s shoulder to read the menu.

“Max built a sentient robot when we were, like 13, do you really think he needs a key?” Marion finishes typing, getting an instant confirmation.

“Touche,”

“Why don’t you shout us billionaires?” Chloe picks through her food. Sitting at the table with Kagami, both refusing to balance dinner on their knees.

“What? I thought we were the rich kids club, can’t you pay for your own meals?” Marion cringes at the feeling of chewing while wearing a face mask.

“Atlas the rest of us are lowly millionaires,” Chloe slumps back dramatically, fork in hand.

“I’m not a million are or billionaire,” Nino sounds annoyed but it's probably more at his painted nails that Marinette promised they would remove later.

“Neither but I plan to be,” Max had managed to avoid his nails getting painted, but got a face mask to match Markov.

“Oh-ho confident words from the nerd, alright you get early admission, Nino you have to leave,” Marion teases, pointing Nino towards the door.

“What?! I’ll be making millions with my music in no time,” Nino crosses his arms, startling a second later at the nail polish now smeared on his shirt.

“Yeah right,” Chloe scoffs, watching as Marinette fumbles to remove the stain before it sets. Adrien trying, and failing, to help with his still wet nails.

“Thanks, Anyway dudes it was probably a bad idea to spread that rumour on purpose,” Nino says with genuine concern, after Marinette had gotten the stain out.

“What? Nino we didn’t do it on purpose,” Marinette cleans up the tissues and nail polish remover that had ended up ruining her own nails.

“I know,” Nino has a look that screams he definitely didn’t know, “but you probably could have been more careful instead of parading around,”

“We didn’t know we had to be careful,” Marion starts collecting everyone's empty plates.

“Is this what Lila’s been telling you?” Kagami demands, standing to help Marion who immediately sits her back down. Kagami has many skills, house work is not one of them.

“Calm down dude, she just doesn't know the whole story,” Nino picks his plate back up, being the only one still eating,“She’d probably ask but you dudes aren't exactly close,”

“Lila shouldn’t be talking about them behind their backs at all,” Chloe criticises, coming to sit down on the couch now.

“She isn’t-”

“She is,” Chloe challenges Nino, helped by a death glare.

"..."

“... Anyway Nino, do you have any dates planned with Alya while we’re here,” Adrien breaks the silence, not at all searching for ideas on where to take Marinette.

#pop star au #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fic #bio dad bruce wayne #Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020 #Mismatch #badass marinette #Marinette #marinette is mdc #twins au #vigilante au #biodad au #bio! dadbrucewaynemonth2020 #b!dbwm2020 #Maribat #mlb #salt #but like lightly salted #maybe #class trip #class trip au #class salt #Lila salt #lila lies

[potassium-pilot]

Prompt 9: Friable

“Dia, could I ask you a favor?”

“When have I ever said ‘no’ to you, Tataru?”

“Fair point”, Tataru replied as she placed her hand in her pocket and revealed a small crystal trinket in her palm, shaped like a sun, about an ilm tall. “I need to leave for a bit, but I don’t want to leave this alone, nor would I care to lose it because it fell out of my pocket. Could I trouble you to hold onto it for me?”

“This is the least troublesome thing I’ve been asked to do in a long time. Of course I’ll take care of it for you.” Dia took the sun-shaped trinket with her finger and thumb and lifted it close to her face for a better look.

“Thank you, Dia! I owe you for this!” Tataru waved at her and sauntered out of the Rising Stones, leaving Dia to marvel at the inanimate object for a while before placing it within her inventory.

“You know, you ought to learn to say ‘no’ sometimes”, a gruff voice commented aloud. Estinien sat at the table in front of Tataru’s desk, giving a wry smile. “And what’s that supposed to mean, Wyrmblood?”

“Means you run yourself ragged for them already. When do you put your foot down?”

“You don’t say ‘no’ to Tataru Taru.” She sat down across from him. “It’s one of the unwritten rules of the Scions. You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

“Why is that an unwritten rule?”

“Consider it like this; Tataru has watched her friends be murdered and kidnapped before her very eyes and nearly died herself, she was forced into exile alongside Alphinaud and I after that godsforsaken banquet, and she helped me fight a giant turtle man in Hell’s Lid. All this, she’s done and kept the Scions afloat, which was rather difficult when the majority of us were across the rift in the First. None of us would be here without her keeping all the things that would distract us from our duty away from us. If she needs something, I’m damn well doing it.”

Estinien wore a perplexed look on his face. “There’s a couple of scenarios in there that I’ll need you to explain.”

“All in good time. The point is, never say ‘no’ to Tataru, ever. She’s done and seen too much. She can have anything she wants.”

“You can’t always say ‘yes’ to people, or they’ll expect further agreement from you.”

“Good? That means they trust you.”

“That means they think you’re a doormat.”

Dia scoffed at the notion. “This is also my place of employment. What about when you were ordered to do something as a Temple knight? You couldn’t have been able to say ‘no’ to your commanding officer.”

“The Scions are not a military, as I recall. At any rate, are you implying the coinkeeper is your commanding officer?”

“As good as, if not better. Have you ever tried saying ‘no’ to her?”

“I have said no to her.”

An evil curl of her lip began to form into a half-smirk. “And weren’t you chased around Kugane for your efforts?” Estinien darted his eyes away with a scowl. “And then ended up saying ‘yes’ to taking down Black Rose facilities anyways…and then to becoming a Scion?” Estinien growled under his breath. Dia leaned back in her chair and pretended to hold a book. “Or was that in your day planner?” She started a pale imitation of the man. “10am: Brooding. 11am: Jump a million malms in the air. 12pm: Destroy any Black Rose facilities I see. 1pm: Become a Scion of the Seventh Dawn.”

“Don’t you have a crystal to watch?!” he retorted.

“I do, yes”, she reached into her inventory and opened her palm in front of him, “and I’m doing it well, see?”

There was a moment of silence, then the dragoon said, “That’s not the crystal” with a small bit of pleasure in his voice. She popped a very quizzical look and checked what was in her hand herself. A small sapphire charm was staring back at her.

“Shite! I was going to give this to Aymeric last night, and I forgot!” She stared into her inventory with no small amount of desperation. “Well, where in hells is the crystal, then?”

“Don’t ask me. You’re the one who agreed to keep watch of it.”

She sifled through her bag frantically. “I couldn’t have lost it; I was sitting here the whole time!”

“Ah, Dia, Estinien, how are you faring?” G’raha greeted cheerfully, as she continued to search through her possessions while Estinien reveled in his schadenfreude.

A few footsteps later, a shattering sound rang the loudest that any crystal could ever make.

Dia’s eyes widened. She slowly stood up from her chair, took a few very slow steps, and delivered to G’raha a look that could strike fear into the heart of Halone. “G’raha Tia”, she rumbled in a very low voice, “Move your foot.”

G’raha slowly moved his head downward to look at his feet, then slowly returned it to meekly gaze into her fearsome visage. “I’m afraid to”, he replied quietly.

Her voice started to raise slightly. “Move your foot, or I’m moving you!” He almost hopped away, and unveiled the result of her carelessness- the shattered remains of Tataru’s sun-shaped crystal. She gathered as much as she could and dashed back to the table with G’raha.

“You were a crystal once! Do something!”

G’raha stammered, unsure how to reply to a comment like that. “I-I-I can’t! I don’t know what it looked like!”

“Do I have to draw you a picture?! It looked like the sun!” She brought her face closer to his. “You don’t understand. Tataru had me keep watch of it.”

G’raha’s eyes widened and he gave a grimace. “She’ll kill you.”

“Me? Oh, hells no. Us. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me, crystal boy!”

He gulped loudly. “All right, maybe this isn’t so bad. Maybe this is still fixable.” The two of them used their magic to lift up the shards, and start solving the puzzle. Behind them, Estinien stood and laughed under his breath. The distracting dragoon caused her to lose her focus, the shards dropping back on the table. She swung around and barked, “If you’re just gonna sit there and snicker at us, then bugger off.”

“This is too delicious to turn away.”

Dia groaned. “All right, look, I’m sorry I teased you earlier, okay? But when Tataru asks me to do something, I do it, and not because I’m a doormat! It’s because she’s been the one good constant in my life, and she’s stood by me from the very beginning. She’s my friend, and I’d do anything for her because I think she deserves so much more than I could ever give, and now I’m pissed because I couldn’t even do this for her!”

She turned around and finished with, “So you’ll forgive me if I’m not in the mood.”

The two arcanists started their puzzle once again as Estinien slowly walked away from the duo.

“So that’s how you feel about our receptionist?” asked G’raha.

She let out a sharp, quick breath through her nose. “Tataru’s not just a receptionist to me. A normal receptionist would have quit the Scions the moment we were implicated in the Sultana’s murder. A normal receptionist wouldn’t have been secretly learning arcanima in her spare time and use it to help me fight. A normal receptionist wouldn’t have helped nurse the Scions as they laid there unconscious, and fret over whether they’ll ever wake up.” The last struck a pang of guilt in the Mi’qote’s heart. “A normal receptionist doesn’t casually learn airship engineering and build a new one from scratch!” She let out a light laugh after that one.

“She’s as much a Scion as the rest of us.” Dia went quiet for a moment as she started to fit some of the last few pieces together. “She’s the best of us, really.” G’raha gave a empathetic smile. “Have you ever told her this?”

She hesitated, then responded, “…no, not really. At least, not aloud.”

“I think she’d appreciate it if she heard it from you”, suggested G’raha, “It’s good to extend appreciation to those who work so hard for us, especially if it’s as passionate as yours. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you express emotions like that before.”

“Ha, Aymeric can attest to how hard it is for me to express my feelings. If anything, I should be more willing- at least these feelings are completely platonic.” G’raha gave a light chuckle.

The pieces of the puzzle had finally linked together and the sun shined back at the arcanists…

…except for one shard that made an obvious hole in the bottom.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me”, Dia complained. The two stared back at the scene of the crime in hopes of seeing it glimmer behind them. “All right, help me look for that last part.”

“Right.” The two took one step before they heard the sound of latches from the front door.

“I’m back!” Tataru announced gleefully. The two quickly spun around to look at her as she walked back with boxes in her hands. “I was picking up supplies from House Fortemps. Dia, can I have the you-know-what back?”

The two averted their gaze towards anything else and started sputtering, trying to figure out just what to tell the lalafell.

“Uh…” Dia started.

“Well, see…”, said G’raha.

“The thing is…”

The door to Dawn’s Respite had opened and closed and from the doorway. a gruff voice spoke out. “It’s my fault, I’m afraid.” The dragoon stepped out to stand beside Dia. “She handed it to me because I wanted to see it. Stupidly, I dropped it, and well…” Estinien turned around and saw the unfinished result on the table behind them. He gently picked it up and showed Tataru. “You can see what happened. These two came together to repair it.” Tataru took the stone from Estinien and gave it a good look.

“Hm, overall, a very good repair job”, remarked the receptionist nonchalantly, “Though I didn’t take you for one with butterfingers, Estinien.”

She moved to her desk to give it a better look under the lamp. “I’ll need to remedy this missing chunk here, of course.” Tataru noticed a glint of light from the corner of her eye and found the missing piece of the sun. “Ah, there it is!” She hopped off of her chair and picked it up from the floor before hopping back onto it. Gently, she picked up the trinket, and easily fit the last piece into the hole.

“There we go!” She held out the sun in front of G’raha and requested, “G’raha, you were a crystal once. Do you think you could bind this last piece for me?”

His ears drooped. “Why is everyone calling me that?” He obeyed and repaired the last piece of it to make the sun whole once again.

“Yay!” cheered Tataru, “Thank you, both of you. You two are far better at reparations than I am.”

“Than you?” repeated Dia curiously.

“Oh, of course. I’ve repaired this thing about five or six times myself. This is the best it’s looked in a while.”

G’raha and Dia shot their gazes to each other, completely bewildered, while Estinien smacked his head into his hand and shook his head, muttering the word, “Idiots.”

“Well, Tataru, if I may”, G’raha spoke up, “What exactly was it meant for?”

Tataru stayed silent for a moment, then finally sighed and said, “Oh, I might as well. I practically gave it to you anyway.” She took out a long gold chain and a display case the same shape as the sun trinket. “The plan is to encase it in this, a much sturdier glass, and attach it to the chain to create a charm necklace for Dia’s nameday. I trust Dia, so I asked her, and I hoped that maybe she’d forget about it by the time I would give it to her.”

Dia’s mouth went agape. “What?”

“It’s true!” Tataru jumped off the chair one more and walked in front of Dia. “You do so much for us. You’re always going in harm’s way for everybody, and I feel like you get so little for it. Sure, you get a bed, some gil and recognition, but that can’t be the only thing you should get from this. I don’t get to do much for you, and frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever have a proper gift to thank you, but at the very least, I want you to feel special on your nameday.”

Dia was tearing up. She couldn’t resist going down to her knees and wrapping Tataru in a proper hug. “I couldn’t ask you to do any more! You’re the best of the Scions!”

“Oh, Dia, I’m not a Scion!” Tataru exclaimed as she returned the hug, tearing up herself.

“Oh yes you are! You’ve been through too much with us. You’re a better Scion than I am. I’ve barely come by here since I moved into Borel Manor, and you’ve been working yourself to the bone here.” She unwrapped herself from Tataru and stood back up. “I can’t ever thank you enough for everything you’ve done, Tataru Taru, for going through so much with us. I owe you the best gift I could ever give you on your own nameday!” Tataru’s smile wavered, and she wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

“I’m going to find my goldsmith’s set, and I’m going to finish this for you, Dia Sito!” she announced through the lump in her throat, and ran back to the solar to look in storage for her kit.

Estinien gave his usual smile that was barely a smile, and G’raha told her, “Now you see what I mean?” She gave a smile of her own. “I do. There’s only one thing.”

“What’s that?”

She lowered her voice and near whispered. “When the hells is Tataru’s nameday?” G’raha pursed his lips while Estinien quickly removed himself from the situation by retreating back into Dawn’s Respite.

“Let’s find her calendar”, suggested G’raha.

#ffxivwrite2021 #ffxivwrite #ffxiv #my wol #g’raha tia #estinien wyrmblood #tataru taru #i’ve been writing a lot of heavy stuff for ffxivwrite #so i wanted just a simple thing #and ended up making a tataru taru appreciation story #oops #ah well tataru’s the best #shadowbringers spoilers

[seoulwhat]

Virus (#9)

Summary: With a bad virus going around and a strict dad that doesn’t want you out and about, your father’s guard watches over you and you can’t help but become fond of him. 

Pairings: Yuta x reader

Genre: SMUT with aftercare

Warnings: rape, virus, choking, death of a side character

Word Count: 13.5k

You looked through the glass as you continued to walk down the street. Those were about the prettiest high heels you'd ever laid eyes on. They were a deep red, velvet and the wedge of the heel had a little heart on the corner. You HAD to have them. You walked inside the store with your arms filled with your other shopping bags and approached the employee.

"Please tell me you have those red heels on the display window in a size 8," you nervously begged. The employee looked at you and noticed the other bags hanging on your arms. 

"We actually do and it's our last pair."

You bought the heels and walked out happily. You made your way home and placed all of your shopping bags on the floor with an accomplished smile. You walked to the kitchen for a glass of water when your house phone began to ring. You sighed and rolled your eyes, knowing that the only person who calls your landline was your father. 

"Yes, dad?" You answered the phone. 

"I need you to come to the company right now. I'm sending a driver to come pick you up." And that was the end of the call. It was unusually hostile. He normally said how much he loved you and said goodbye before hanging up. 

Five minutes after the call, the driver, your dad sent to get you, rang your doorbell. You opened the door and walked out. The driver, who you knew as Sonny, followed right behind you and opened the door to let you in. Once Sonny was inside, you spoke. 

"Why does my dad want to see me?"

Sonny looked at you through his rear view mirror and shrugged. "I don't know. I was just ordered to get you and wasn't given a reason why."

Finally approaching your destination, you got out of the car once Sonny parked. Your dad's bodyguards followed you closely as you entered the building and approached the door that led to his office. Another one of his workers opened the door for you and you walked inside. The red walls were dimly lit by the lamps he had in the room. He was sitting at his desk, his arms crossed with attitude. An unfamiliar man dressed in all black stood nearby, making no eye contact with you. 

"What happened? Why did you need me to come here?" You asked right off the bat. 

He sighed before speaking. "How have you been?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, confused. "Uh, good."

"What's been keeping you busy?"

You hesitated to answer. It somewhat seemed like he was trying to trick you to say something with his questions. "My puzzle that you got me."

"Anything else?" He said as he put a toothpick in his mouth. 

You shook your head in reply. 

"Want to tell me what you were doing shopping at a time like this?" He threw down several photos of you walking in and out of different stores. They were all taken that day. You rolled your eyes, annoyed at how closely your dads men watch you. 

"I just bought a few things. It's not like I came in contact with anything," you said and took a seat on one of the chairs in the room. 

"Did you get tested today? How do you know you didn't come in contact with the virus and brought it here to my company?"

You snorted. "I'm pretty sure if you thought I came in contact with the virus, you wouldn't have asked me to come over."

"Test her," your dad spoke to one of his men in the room. The man nodded and quickly got out a kit and took a large and long cotton swab out. This wasn't the first time you've been tested. You already knew how it happens.

The man got the swab and roughly shove it up your nose and twisted it around before pulling it out. He mixed a few chemicals together and put the swab in it. The chemical changed to a pink color, indicating that you tested negative. 

"I told you," you said. 

"Y/n, this virus is not funny," your dad said. 

"I know it's not. I'm not laughing."

"Then why aren't you taking it more seriously? So many people have died globally because of the virus and you're out here shopping as if people can't carry it. Not only that, but you didn't even think to wear the mask I got you or the gloves. And thanks to you, I made sure every store you shopped at got closed down. They shouldn't even be open during this pandemic."

You crossed your arms and huffed. "You're so annoying. It's literally not that serious. If it was that serious, the country's government would call for a lockdown period. But they don't. You know why? Because it's not that bad. People are dying because some countries don't have the supplies to help people get better," you spoke. Ever since the virus started, everything your dad did was to avoid the virus. You never saw it so seriously and you didn't understand why your dad did. 

"Okay, well since you don't find it as serious as I do, I'm going to send you off to the Flower."

You uncrossed your arms and sat up. "Don't make me go there."

Your dad shook his head. "I've already planned it. You're going to stay there until this virus has either been eradicated or it's controlled."

"Dad, you can't make me stay there. I will go insane," you said in a low voice. 

"I can make you stay there and I will. Everything you own is being transported from your house to the Flower as we speak," he said getting up. 

"And what if I leave?" You said, testing him. 

"That's what Yuta is for," he said simply. You grimaced at the name as you stared at your dad. 

"What the hell is a Yuta?"

Your dad pointed to the man in the room that failed to make eye contact with you. He was standing still as much as he possibly could with his hands behind his back. "Yuta is from Japan and he's a trained ninja. I thought it was really stereotypical but he was able to outfight all of my men. So I'm going to have him be your bodyguard, keeping you in and keeping other people out."

"You're joking. This man looks like a twig but he can outfight everyone in this building? You're lying," you said in disbelief. You were physically larger than the man. Not by height, but you outweighed him by at least 50 pounds. 

"You'll see if I'm really lying when you try to leave the Flower. Anyways, here are the protocols as follows: Sonny will drop you and Yuta off. You are free to wear whatever I bought for you in the house or you can wear your clothes. You are not allowed to have any sexual relations with Yuta, and I also told him the same thing. He is my worker and you should respect him as such."

"Sexual relations? What kind of person do you take me for?" You shouted in offense. 

"I've known you for 24 years and I've seen how you've tried to seduce my men to get your way. But you won't with Yuta. Anyways, as I was saying. Although we have a grocers one floor below, you will not be able to shop in it. I will send Jaehyun to do the shopping for you whenever you feel like you need groceries. Other than that, you have no other reason why you should leave the Flower. You no longer attend school and you are out of a job so you can busy yourself with the things at the house."

"This is not fair," you said rolling your eyes. 

"Life's not fair, honey. Say that to the millions of people with the virus that wish they could breathe as easily as you can."

You sat in silence on the chair. You eyed Yuta up and down, wondering if he really can defend you if that needed to happen. Many people in the past have tried breaking in to the Flower to get the expensive items inside the building, and at one point, it took all of your dads men to fight off a heist that went down. Fortunately, they intervened but many of your dads men got hurt. 

"Since I have nothing more to say to you, you and Yuta can now leave," your dad spoke. He sat back down on the chair and began to type away on his computer. You got up aggressively, trying to show your anger in your actions and slammed opened the door as you walked out. You walked towards the exit and Sonny was waiting there with the door open. 

"Sorry to hear about what happened, Miss," Sonny spoke. 

"It's fine," you said getting into the car. "It's not like it's your fault."

Sonny closed the door and a few minutes later, Yuta got in to the opposite side of the backseat. Sonny took off to the Flower and the ride was in silence. After an hour in the car, the skyscraper shaped as a large flower began to appear. You hadn't seen the building in about six years. When you turned 18, your dad bought you the building to live in. It was already stocked with several shopping stores and a market. You refused to live in the building guarded by your dads men so you rented out an apartment that was nice and simple. Although you loved shopping and expensive material things, you'd never found an interest in house luxury. 

Once Sonny parked in the underground parking, you got out of the car before he could open the door for you. You approached the elevator and waited for it to open. You took a deep breath before walking inside and Yuta walked in right behind you. The ride up to the top floor took longer than you expected. 

"How long have you been working for my dad?" You asked to break the silence. 

Yuta stood there, staring at absolutely nothing, and ignored your question. 

"Are you not allowed to talk to me?" You asked him, wondering if he even heard you the first time. Yet again, he ignored you. You sucked your teeth, annoyed by the man already. The elevator approached the penthouse and you took out your keycard and scanned it. The two of you walked in. Everything was still in place since the last time you saw it. Oddly enough, nothing was filled with dust. You assumed your dad had it cleaned beforehand. Many boxes of your things from your apartment filled the living room and you decided to just put those away later. 

You left Yuta at the entrance and began to wander around. You looked through the ceiling to floor glass windows and saw the whole city. It was really a beautiful sight and not something you often saw. 

The piano was still in the same spot. Your dad bought it thinking you were going to have time during school to play. Little did he know at the time that you weren't even going to live in the penthouse. 

You walked up the spiral staircase and approached the hallway. The walls were now painted a light pink, different than the ugly green it once was. You opened the door to your room and the wide space surprised you. It wasn't the first time seeing your room but you forgot how big it actually was. The bed was twice the size of your full sized bed at your apartment and the bathroom was inside your room. Having a bathroom inside your bedroom was a different type of luxury. 

You approached your closet and slid the doors open. A rainbow of colors flourished in the closet and you never actually took the chance to see the type of clothes your dad packed the closet with. Different name brands filled the closet, even brands you'd never even heard of before. All the clothes still had tags on them and you couldn't believe the prices of some of the items. 

"Dad wasn't kidding when he said he'd spoil me if I stood here," you spoke to yourself. You continued looking through the clothes, looking for a nice shirt to wear. You took out an indigo colored wooled sweater. It was super cute and soft. You took off the shirt you were wearing and put the sweater on, feeling like a soft blanket was hugging you. 

You opened the bottom drawers, looking for pants. There were about ten drawers and five of them were filled with jeans, all of them color coded. You specifically looked for a black pair and replaced your shorts with the jeans. You pulled out another drawer that had rows of shoes and put on a pair that looked like a normal pair of shoes. 

You walked back downstairs wearing your new clothes and you walked into the kitchen. You opened the fridge to see that it was completely empty, as was your stomach. 

"Is it okay if we order fast food and have them deliver it?" You asked Yuta. He was standing guard by the elevator door, once again staring at nothing. He didn't answer you, nor did he even make a movement. 

"I can't believe I'm stuck in a large house with no one to talk to," you said annoyed. You reached for the house phone and looked at the phone book that the building provided. You pressed the number on the phone and waited patiently. 

"Hello, Flower Grocers," the voice spoke. 

"Hi, can I speak with Jaehyun?" You asked. 

"Speaking," the voice said. 

"Hi, Jaehyun. This is Y/n," you said. 

"Oh my god! How are you? Why are you calling with the Flower's phone?" He asked. 

"My dad is making me stay here because of the virus," you huffed."

"Oh I see. Yeah it's getting pretty bad out there. But how can I help you?" He asked. 

"I don't know if my dad told you but he said I can't go grocery shopping in the building and that you have to do it for me. Do you think you'd be able to get me a few things and bring them up?"

"Of course I can. You know I'm always willing to help you out. Tell me what you feel like eating and I'll get the ingredients and a recipe for you."

You told Jaehyun you felt like eating cheeseburgers and the call ended. Your stomach growled loud at the thought of eating and you looked at Yuta. 

"What are you going to eat?" You asked him. No reply. 

"Are you allowed to eat?" You asked. Still, no reply. 

"Are you going to sleep or is someone going to be switching shifts with you?" You asked. Silence. 

"What if you have to use the restroom? Did my dad not plan any of this? As much as you'd like to not think about it, you're as much of a human as I am and you won't be working your best if you don't eat and sleep."

He continued to ignore you. You shrugged your shoulders. "Fine. Ignore me then. Let's see if you ignore me when you're tired and hungry."

The elevator softly chimed, indicating someone was approaching the top floor. You had a feeling it was Jaehyun and approached the elevator doors to allow him inside and to help him bring the groceries inside. As you stood by the doors waiting, Yuta aggressively pushed you behind him when the elevator dinged. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" You yelled at him. You tried to go around him but he kept getting in your way, stepping side to side to keep you from going around him. You used all your might and pushed him to the side, making him slightly stumble. You scanned your key card and allowed the elevator doors to open. 

"I'm sorry to tell you but this is not a robbery, you dumbass. Jaehyun is delivering my groceries," you shouted at Yuta as Jaehyun stood there inside the elevator. His eyes were somewhat wide and he didn't step out of the elevator. 

"I'm sorry. He's supposed to be my guard but my dad failed to tell me he's a complete moron," you said as you helped bring the groceries in. Jaehyun followed right behind you and placed the groceries on the counter. 

"Wow, this place is huge. I've never been in here," he said. 

"Really? Well you're more than welcome to come and visit me whenever you want. I literally have no one to talk to."

Jaehyun turned around and eyed Yuta who was back in his position. Jaehyun looked at you and raised his eyebrows. 

"He doesn't speak," you said out loud. "He's like mute or something."

"Well, that's not nice," Jaehyun said, helping you take out the food from the bags. 

"Well, neither is he. So I guess we're even," you said. 

The two of you continued to talk and you invited Jaehyun to stay for dinner. He helped you make dinner, prepping the lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and the condiments for the cheeseburgers. You cooked the burgers and toasted the buns. 

Jaehyun approached you from behind to see how the burgers were coming along. "You're only making two?" He whispered. 

You nodded your head. "He ignored me when I asked him what he was going to eat. So I don't really care."

Jaehyun frowned. "You're being a little mean. Why don't you just make him one and leave it out over night for him. Maybe he doesn't want to eat while you're awake."

You took his words into consideration. Yuta was on the job and apparently he took his job seriously. You had to commend him for that. He was here protecting you but then again, he was also babysitting you. You sighed and rolled your eyes, knowing Jaehyun was probably right. You decided to make an extra cheeseburger. You put all the ingredients together and placed it in the microwave for later. You got your burger and Jaehyun's and brought the plates to the table where Jaehyun was seated already. 

"Mmm," he said sniffing. "It smells so good. I haven't had a cheeseburger in a while."

You laughed at his comment. "Jaehyun, we live smack in the middle of a large and busy city filled with vendors that make burgers everyday. Where have you been?"

"Working at the market," he said frowning. "I never have extra time to go out. I'm currently using my lunchtime to hang out with you because I didn't eat lunch earlier. I work as much as I can to get as much money as I can. It's hard living paycheck to paycheck, you know?"

You sympathized with Jaehyun. Unfortunately, you couldn't relate. You never financially struggled because your dad was always there to back you up whenever you needed the help.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea how much you struggled. Working for my dad, I assumed he paid all his employees well considering the amount of money he makes running his company."

Before you let Jaehyun reply, you got up and went to one of the boxes on the floor. Inside, you took out your wallet and pulled out the cash you had. You rolled it up, put your wallet back in the box and walked back to the table. 

You sat down and reached for Jaehyun's hand. You placed the roll of cash in his hand. "It's around $1,000. This is for always being a good friend to me since we were little kids. And this is also for caring more about other people than yourself. You're a good person who deserves more than what he gets."

Jaehyun looked into his hand and widened his eyes at the cash. He began to shake his head, bringing his hand towards you. You pushed his hand back. 

"You know who my dad is. I don't need the money. I want to help you and I'm willing to help you whenever you need it, okay? All you need to do is ask."

His eyes began to water and you could see how hard he was trying to hold in his tears. A large smiled formed on his face and he looked up at you. "Thank you so much for this."

You smiled back in reply and then looked down, knowing he must be uncomfortable crying in front of you. You picked up your burger and took a large bite out of it. 

Jaehyun sniffled and then laughed. "I can't believe I'm crying when I have a burger right in front of me."

You smiled at his humor and the rest of the night, Jaehyun seemed happier. 

Time ticked by and before you knew it, Jaehyun had to go home. He had to get up early the next day to open the market. You said goodbye to him as the elevator doors closed.

You cleaned up the table and did the dishes. There was not much else to do. It was getting late and it's not like you had anyone to talk to. It was barely 9 P.M. and you sighed.

You turned to Yuta who seemed to not have move a single hairbreadth since he went back in position. You stared at him and checked him out. He wasn't too bad looking. His hair curled around his neck and it was a light lavender color. Parts of his hair hung over his forehead just above his eyes. Speaking of his eyes, they were almond shaped but they were actually mesmerizing. His nose was long and curved at the tip, perfectly matching the rest of his face. And his lips, his lips were long and light pink. For a second, you thought you saw Yuta look at you and then look away. This made you want to approach him. 

You walked slowly towards him. You stared at him, wondering if he was even breathing. You furrowed your eyebrows, confused by the man. He didn't speak, and you wondered why. You were finally face to face with him, allowing you to see his perfect and sculpted face up close. He was just as beautiful up close as he was far away. His hair looked so soft and you had the urge to touch it. 

"Can I touch your hair?" You asked. He didn't respond and continued to look as if he was upset about something. He didn't answer, so you slowly reached up, expecting him to stop you. But when he didn't, your hand came in contact with his hair. And it was soft. You moved hair strands out of his face and pushed it softly back. Like always, he didn't move a single bit and you wondered what would make him crack. 

"You know, I think I'd have a fat crush on you if you actually spoke to me," you admitted to him. It was like talking to a wall, so you weren't even remotely embarrassed to speak your mind. 

"Would you tell my dad if I tried to make a move on you?" You asked him. You laughed when he didn't respond. 

You took a step back away from him. "Don't worry. I won't. Or at least, I'll try not to. You know, a girl has needs and being stuck in this building with an attractive man that I can't have won't do me any good."

You walked away and into the kitchen. You opened the microwave and took out the burger you made for Yuta. You brought the plate over to him and placed it in front of his face.

"You know, I don't know what's wrong with you, but I made you a burger. I know you're going to get hungry. I'll leave it right here beside you just in case you want it, okay?"

You took out one of the kitchen chairs and place it beside him. You put his burger on top and made sure it wouldn't fall.

"Anyways, I'm going to bed. Do you want the lights on?" You asked. Yuta huffed like if you were getting on his last nerve.

"Hey! You made a sound! That's progress! I'll leave the light on for you. Goodnight and sweet dreams, Yuta."

A few weeks had passed and it was the same routine. Jaehyun would shop for you, he'd come up for lunch and then leave by evening. Yuta still hadn't said a word, although, he did eat the food that you would prepare for him. You weren't sure when he had the time to use the restroom or take care of himself because you had never seen him do it while you were awake. 

One early morning, you woke up and Yuta was not in his position. You furrowed your brows and wondered where he went. 

"Yuta?" You called out to him. The house was huge and you had no idea where he might be. Leaving the house also ran through your mind but Yuta seemed so uptight about following the rules, you doubted he left the building. 

You continued to walk around the house, looking for Yuta. He wasn't in the basement where all the wine was located. He wasn't in the attic where all of your old memories were located. He wasn't in any of the bedrooms, living room, game room, kitchen. You had no idea where else to check. 

You called out to him once more. "Yuta? Where did you go?"

You started to feel stupid, assuming that he probably did leave the house and you were there alone yelling out his name to no one. You heard footsteps from behind you and you quickly turned around. Yuta was walking out of the hallway that was across the living room, the one place you forgot to check. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and it was hanging unbelievably low. He was completely naked from head to toe and the only thing hiding his dignity was the towel. He approached you and your eyes widened more with every step he took towards you. The closer he got, the better you were able to see his defined abs, the water dripping down his body, his hair wet, and the great smell of men's body wash. He had a ball of clothes in his arms and as he approached you, he handed them to you. You looked up at him, confused and furrowed your eyebrows. 

"What's this?" You asked him. He didn't reply and instead just stared at you. He watched your movements as you scanned through the wad of black clothes in your arms. 

"Are these your clothes you were wearing before your shower?" You asked him. He closed his eyes momentarily and nodded. 

"Do you want me to wash them?" You asked him, assuming that's why he gave them to you. Again, he nodded in response. 

You smiled at him, happy that he wasn't just a stone standing by the elevator. You felt giddy inside knowing that he actually responded to you. It wasn't vocally but it was still a response nonetheless. 

You put his clothes in the washer and then went up to your room and grabbed a shirt and a pair of sweats that looked like could fit him. You brought them down to where he was waiting in the living room. You approached him and as he turned to look at you, a small glimmer hit your eye. You looked down to what it was and it was a belly button piercing. 

You gasped out loud and your mouth dropped open. "You have a belly button piercing?"

He didn't respond, only stared at you. You walked closer and bent over to see it clearly. He had a belly button piercing and a silver curved bar went through it. "Oh my god, you have a belly button piercing. That's so hot."

You kept staring at it and then you felt his eyes watching you. You looked up at him and he had no expression on his face. You didn't know what he was thinking. You stood up straight and took a step back. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I brought you some clothes that I think might fit you. You can wear these until your clothes are ready."

You handed him the clothes and he bowed before leaving. He walked back into the hallway that he came out from and your curiosity got the best of you. You didn't really know what was in that hallway. You knew there was one room down that way, but it was only a storage room. You followed the same path Yuta took and walked down the hallway. As you approached it, three doors appeared. Confusion crossed your face because you didn't remember there being three rooms in the hallway. You opened the one door that you were familiar with and like you thought, it was the storage room. You opened another door that was right across from it and it was an unfamiliar bathroom. You wondered where Yuta went. You thought he might have went back into the bathroom, where he showered, to put his clothes on. You approached the last door and opened it, slowly, and it looked like a bedroom. Your eyes instantly made eye contact with a naked Yuta and you gasped out loud and slammed the door. You walked out of the hallway and stood as far away from it as possible. 

Heat rose to your face and you fanned yourself. Your skin began to prickle with sweat, completely embarrassed that you saw Yuta naked. It was a sight to see but the fact that you saw the one and only man in the house naked made you feel flustered. 

Yuta walked out of the dark hallway wearing your clothes. They fit him quite good but that wasn't what was running through your mind. Yuta looked angry and he was approaching you quickly. You got scared and your feet quickly took you up the staircase. You could hear his footsteps right behind you and you ran to your room as fast as you could. You slammed the door and locked it. Yuta banged on the door a few times and then it went silent. 

He had a right to be mad. Here he was, professionally working, and his bosses daughter sees him naked. You decided to stay in your room for the rest of the morning and afternoon.

You didn't have much to do in your room. The only thing your room was equipped with was a large bed, a bathroom and clothes. You wished you had a tv but the only tv in the house was in the living room, and you weren't about to walk back out there with an angry Yuta that can fight off all of your dads men. You decided to just lay in your bed and wait for the time to pass by. Before you knew it, your eyes began to flutter close and you fell asleep. 

When you woke up, you noticed the sun was setting. You had no idea how long you slept because you didn't even know what time you fell asleep. You got up and out of bed and opened your door slowly. You looked down the hallway in both directions to see if the coast was clear to leave. You didn't see Yuta so you made your way out. You walked down the stairs on your tiptoes and scanned the living room as you came down. You didn't see him. You walked into the laundry room and noticed that his clothes were gone, so he must've put them in the dryer. He wasn't in the kitchen so you assumed he was in the bedroom down the hallway. You didn't want to watch tv because that would create noise and Yuta would know you were out of your room. You decided to take out a puzzle that you bought a few years ago but never actually started. 

It was stored in one of the boxes that you had yet to unpack. You took it out and began to lay the pieces out individually on the floor by the piano. The floor to ceiling windows helped you use the natural light from outside to do your puzzle but it slowly began to fade into darkness. You're not sure how much time passed by but you managed to put 5,000 puzzle pieces right side up and find all the corners and piece them together. You were so busy with your puzzle that you didn't even recognize the footsteps approaching you from behind. Minding your own business, you continued with the puzzle. 

"What are you doing?" A deep voice spoke into your ear and you screamed in terror. You quickly turned around while seated on the floor and Yuta was bent over you, trying to see over your shoulder what you were doing. 

"Y-you spoke," you managed to say. Yuta squatted down to your level and made eye contact with you. He nodded in response. 

"You can speak," you said in disbelief. So he wasn't mute after all. Images of what happened earlier flashed through your mind and you began to squirm. You knew you had to apologize to him. 

"About earlier, I'm really sorry-"

Yuta put his hand out to stop you, but you continued talking. 

"I promise, I didn't see anything," you lied. "Regardless though, I should respect your privacy. I just didn't know those rooms were in that hallway. When my dad bought me this place, I remember there only being a storage room."

Yuta nodded in response to confirm your thoughts. 

You raised your eyebrows. "So there was? I knew I wasn't crazy!"

"Your dad had those rooms built in for me a few months ago when the virus barely started," Yuta spoke. His voice was deep but very smooth. You could listen to him speak forever. 

"Is there a reason why you're barely talking to me now and didn't want to these past few weeks?" You asked him. He shook his head in response. 

"Please talk to me more. I really like the sound of your voice. I might go insane if my voice is the only one I hear all the time."

"Maybe," he replied and took a seat next to you. He began to help you with your puzzle and said no more. You noticed he was still wearing the clothes you gave him. He looked comfortable and less of a robot than he did yesterday. 

Not much of the puzzle was finished an hour later. You and Yuta managed to separate the pieces by color but after that, you got tired of sitting on the hard floor. You stood up and Yuta looked up at you in curiosity.

"Are you hungry?" You asked him. He nodded. You walked into the kitchen and checked out the fridge. Unfortunately, you only had a few veggies but there wasn't even enough to make a decent veggie meal for the two of you. You checked the time to see if you could still order groceries but they close at 8pm and it was already 8:45pm. 

"Yuta, we have a problem," you said from the kitchen. You could hear him approaching you and you looked up from the fridge to him. "We don't have food to make."

You could see Yuta running through his thoughts and then finally looked back at you. "I can pick us up something to eat at a fast-food place but you have to promise me you'll stay here."

You smiled and nodded your head. "I promise I'll stay here."

Yuta walked down the hallway to his room and came back out with a sweater. He waved goodbye to you and left.

Being alone in the house, you let out a large sigh that relieved tension in your back. You didn't realize how tight your muscles were being around Yuta. Several weeks had passed by from the time you were forced to stay in the house and you wondered how long this quarantine was going to last. You hated it. You could've been out at a club right now, having drinks and dancing. But instead, you were at home with a man that feels uncomfortable to say more than 20 words to you.

You continued to think in silence and wonder what was it that made Yuta want to speak. Not only that, but Yuta left his job posting. After all those past weeks of staying right by the elevator door, and suddenly he left you at home alone to get food. It was really odd and you couldn't really find a reason why he's not acting the way he has been. 

You sat down on the couch and laid your head back with a sigh. For a second, you wished you had a dildo to satisfy yourself and keep you busy when there was nothing else to do. Unfortunately, all of your toys were at your apartment and you doubted your dad's men packed those for you. 

To see if your assumptions were right, you checked the boxes to see if they managed to pack your toys. Everything was thrown messily in the boxes so you began to search deep inside them. To your surprise, you actually found them below a couple of other things. You took out your favorite toy and turned it on, the vibration instantly making your core throb. You wondered if you should play with yourself until Yuta came back. You thought for a second, realizing that Yuta didn't have a car to take and he was probably walking to get the food. 

You laid down on the couch and lowered your pajama pants and underwear. You flipped on the dildo and pressed it against your clit, making goosebumps appear on your skin and a shiver run throughout your whole body. It had literally been weeks since you last satisfied yourself and now that you're breaking your hiatus, it felt so good. 

You continued to let the vibration massage your clit. You pulled up your shirt and bra and ran your hand up your body to one of your breasts. You tweaked your nipple and the pleasure from both the toy and your nipple began to run through your body. You moaned loud as you felt your climax approaching. You inserted the dildo inside your pussy and simultaneously, the toy vibrated on your clit. Multiple parts of your body were being stimulated and your body began to shake. You knew your orgasm was approaching and it was coming quickly. You tried to go fast all the while shaking, and then you heard someone clear their throat from behind you. Your climax completely dissolved as you froze in terror and turned the toy off. You didn't move from the couch, too scared to turn around. You quickly pulled your shirt down along with your bra and tried to bring your underwear and pants up while sitting down on the couch. The noise could only come from one person and you were already dead embarrassed. 

You stood up from the couch, hid the toy behind your back, and turned around with your eyes closed. You were sure you were tomato red and you were too embarrassed to open your eyes to see Yuta's expression. 

"Um, I brought us food. There was a food vendor right outside the building so I got us some burgers and fries," you heard Yuta say. "You can open your eyes."

You opened your eyes slowly and rubbed your face with your hand out of embarrassment. This was probably the worst day of your life, being forced to stay quarantined running second in place. 

"I am so sorry," you finally spoke. "I thought you were going to be gone for at least twenty minutes."

Yuta put his hand up and nodded. "I get it. Come eat."

Passing by the boxes on the floor, you threw your toy inside quickly and approached the bags of food. Your stomach growled and Yuta handed you your food.

"I'll be right back," Yuta said and walked down the hallway and into his room. You brought your food and his to the dining table and waited for Yuta to come back. As you waited, you searched for the right words to say to apologize correctly. People say things are okay all the time, but they don't always mean it. 

Ten minutes had passed and he still wasn't out of his room and you were starving. You decided to just eat and apologize to Yuta once he comes out. You managed to finish your whole meal and Yuta still wasn't out. You began to worry a little about him, wondering if he was okay. You threw your trash away and slowly approached his bedroom door. You knocked softly and spoke. 

"Yuta? Are you okay? Your food is getting cold. I was waiting for you to start eating but you're taking too long so I already ate."

His bedroom door swung open and he was really red in the face and looked sweaty. You looked at him with surprise and worry. 

"Yuta, why are you so red? Are you okay?" You put your palm to his head and he was really warm. "Are you getting sick? You feel feverish. Do you need medicine?"

Yuta shook his head in response and continued to walk out of his room. He sat down on the table and you sat with him to accompany him. As time ticked by slowly, the flush in his face slowly subsided and his skin went back to normal.

He finally finished his meal and he sat back in satisfaction. You checked the time and it was pretty late and you looked back up at Yuta. 

"Can I ask you something?" You asked Yuta. He nodded. 

"It involves a verbal response though," you mentioned. He nodded his head to signal you to go ahead. 

"These past few weeks you had been so uptight about doing your job and not talking to me, why is today the day you decide to interact with me? Not only that, but you left your spot where you always stand and you're actually eating in front of me."

Yuta sat forward and intertwined his fingers. "Your father called me and he asked me how I was doing. He's a pretty caring man and I was really surprised when he asked if I was taking care of my own needs. I am a man of truth so I told him what I have been up to. Although the bedroom and restroom were built for me, I was not going to enjoy them if your father didn't first give me permission. He asked me how was our relationship turning out and I told him I hadn't spoken to you once. He was shocked at how many weeks passed by and we hadn't spoke but he encouraged me to talk to you. I had no problems with you, I just take my job seriously."

You nodded your head, impressed by everything he said. You were also mesmerized by his voice. He finally said more words than you can count on your fingers and honestly, you really didn't want to stop hearing his voice.

You took a deep breath, knowing what you wanted to say but not knowing how to say it. "Listen, about earlier. I know you said it was okay, but out of respect, I need to give you a better apology. This is embarrassing for me and I know it really caught you off guard. I should've been doing that in my room rather than the living room. I'm really sorry you saw what I was doing."

Yuta lightly laughed and you looked up to him. He was smiling and then he spoke. "It's really fine. I get it. We have needs to tend to and we are first and foremost, humans. It was actually kind of hot to know what you were doing."

Your eyes widened at his response and you felt the temperature in the house rise by a few degrees. You could feel your cheeks and ears getting hot and you quickly looked away to hide your fluster. Again, Yuta laughed at your silent response. 

"It's getting late now and I think we should go to sleep. I haven't had a decent sleep in three months," Yuta said. 

You nodded and quickly got up from your chair and threw your trash and Yuta's trash away.

"Okay well I'll see you tomorrow," you said to him. He nodded his head and watched as you turned around and walked up the stairs. Once you were in your room with the door closed, you let out a huge sigh of relief, not knowing how irregular you were breathing. You could sense a sexual tension rising between the two of you, but you could never make the first move. Although your confidence can drive you to say certain things, you didn't have enough confidence to take action.

You threw yourself on your bed and checked the time on your clock. It was already midnight and you were thankful for how late it was because although you took a nap earlier, you were tired. 

The next morning, you decided to call downstairs to the grocers to buy more food for the house. Since Yuta was now eating, you knew you had to order more food and enough for at least a week. Just like routine, Jaehyun answered the phone and you told him the list of food you wanted.

"I'll be up in about an hour," he said before hanging up. 

You decided to do a few chores around the house to keep yourself busy until Jaehyun came up or until Yuta woke up. Nothing was really messy but you cleaned whatever was visible. The kitchen was cleaned thoroughly, you mopped, dusted, did some laundry and tried to clean as much of the tall windows as you could. Eventually, the elevator dinged, indicating that Jaehyun was coming. You scanned your keycard to let him up but when the elevator doors opened, an unfamiliar man stood there with your groceries.

"Um, who are you?" You asked him. He was really good looking but his good looks didn't make you any less suspicious. 

"I'm here to bring you your groceries," he stated. 

"Where's Jaehyun?" You asked. 

"He had something to do so I offered to take these up to you."

You nodded your head, giving him the okay to come inside. "Jaehyun usually puts the groceries away."

The man nodded as he was bringing the food in from the elevator.

"Let me know when you're done. I'll be upstairs putting away some laundry," you told him. He nodded in understanding and with that, you grabbed your laundry basket from the wash room and went upstairs to your bedroom. 

You began separating your clothes. The ones that needed to be hung up, the ones that needed to be folded, your underwear, socks and miscellaneous particles were all separated into their own groups. You began putting them away and before you knew it, all of your clothes were stacked neatly inside your closet. As you were putting your clothes basket away in your storage closet, you heard your bedroom door open. You assumed it was the grocers man telling you he was finished.

You heard your bedroom door close and lock and out of confusion, you walked back out to see what was going on. The grocers man was standing at the door staring at you. 

"Uh, can I help you with something?" An uneasy feeling washed over you body, as you watched the man stand in front of your now locked door. 

"Actually," the man spoke. "You can."  He smiled at you but it wasn't a regular friendly smile. He took a step towards you and your instinct told you to take one step back. He continued to walk towards you and before you knew it, the back of your legs hit your bed. 

"What are you doing? You do know I have a watchman in my house, right?" You told him. 

He laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, but where is he now? He's asleep, isn't he? Yuta, the man that should be watching Felix Reyes' daughter, is dead asleep and he won't be able to hear anything."

The last part of the mans sentence made your heart race even more than it was before. You looked at your surroundings, searching for a clear path to leave your room and run downstairs, but he was blocking the only pathway to the door. He noticed what you were doing and laughed. 

"You're not going anywhere until I feel like I'm done."

"Why are you doing this to me?" You asked him. 

"Because your dad owes me money but for some reason, he thinks he's too high and mighty to pay me back. I told him I would get him where it hurts the most; can you guess what that is?" He slowly reached into his back pocket and took out a large silver object. He pressed a button and you realized that it was a switchblade. 

"Wait," you said with your hands in front of you. "I have money. What if I give you the money?"

The man evilly smiled and laughed. He continued walking towards you and your feet brought you to try to run around him. You were mere inches away from your door before he grabbed you by the waist, threw you over his shoulder and carried you to your bed. He threw you down and instantly climbed on top of you. You began throwing your fists, trying to aim for his face but he kept moving. He got ahold of both of your wrists, pinned them above you, and put the knife to your neck. 

"Keep moving and see if I don't slice your neck and leave you dead on your bed," the man threatened. Tears began to run down your face as the coldness from the blade stung your skin. 

The man, sitting right on top of you, began to scan your body, and you wriggled in hopes that he would get off of you. 

"Please, don't hurt me," you begged him. 

"I won't sweetheart," he said, sliding the knife across your cheek. "What I plan on doing to you, oh I promise you'll enjoy it."

The mans breath fanned your face and although his breath did not smell, you felt like you were about to throw up. His body odor made your head spin and you became nauseous and numb at the same time. You shook your head, not wanting this to happen to you. 

"You have a fucking hot body," he said. He dropped the knife onto your bed and used his hands to grope your body. His large hand roughly grabbed your breast and you cried out in pain. Quickly, he placed his hand over your mouth. 

"Make anymore noise and I'll kill you and that man downstairs."

Silent tears continued to run down your face and you wished you could fast forward to when this was done. With your eyes closed, you tried to think of something happy; going back to a time where you were actually happy with your life. It was a time when your mom was alive, before she died from cancer.

Your mind numbed your body and silenced everything around you. Although you couldn't feel or hear what was going on, you knew what was really happening. You continued to lay underneath the large man, no fight left inside your body. 

You began to feel like you couldn't breathe. It almost felt like the weight of the mans body was crushing you and you began gasping for air. However almost instantly, the weight was lifted and you opened your eyes. You were no longer seeing the man that was above you but instead saw the white ceiling in your bedroom. Slowly, your hearing came back and shortly followed was your sense of touch. You could hear grunting and loud thumps throughout your bedroom but you didn't have the strength to sit up and see what it was. You had no idea where that man was but you were thankful that he was no longer on you. You continued to look at your ceiling, the white paint making you feel at peace. 

"Y/n," you heard someone say. It was very muffled and you were confused. You couldn't recognize the voice and you didn't have the strength to move your gaze to the sound. The only thing you managed to focus on was the ceiling. 

"Y/n, are you okay? I need to take you to the hospital."

Whoever was talking to you lifted you up off of your bed and began carrying you out of your room. You didn't know what was going on and slowly, your vision turned black. 

"I promised to take care of you and I couldn't even do that," you heard the voice say before your hearing subsided into darkness. 

;;

The first thing to wake up was your hearing. You knew you were still asleep but you could hear what was going on around you. You could hear beeping, almost as if you were staying in the hospital. It didn't smell like the hospital though. It smelled like...home. 

Normally, hospital beds are hard and uncomfortable, but whatever you were sleeping on was soft. However, you knew it wasn't your bed. You know your own smell and the smell of the blankets and pillows surrounding you, although was not your own, was still very comforting and you couldn't find the reason why. 

Your brain was now waking up but your body was still asleep. You tried to tell the rest of your body to wake up but it just wasn't happening. You could smell food and you wanted to get up so badly, but your eyes wouldn't open. Your hands began to twitch, fighting to move. You decided it was pointless to fight with sleep so you stopped trying to force yourself awake and instead waited until your eyes opened when your brain wanted them to. 

Before you knew it, you began to open your eyes. You slowly looked around and noticed you were in an unfamiliar yet familiar room. You couldn't pinpoint why the room looked familiar. You began to scan everything: looking at the blankets, pillow, wallpaper, the dresser, closet. It almost seemed as if you had seen the room before. 

You slowly sat up and stood quiet to see if you could hear anything outside of the room. It was silent and you could no longer smell the food that you once smelled before. You got out of bed and recognized that you were in pajamas that you didn't know you owned. You approached the bedroom door and opened it. 

You walked out of the room and finally realized where you were. You were sleeping in Yuta's room. But how did you get there?

Your feet walked you out of the hallway and into the living room. Jaehyun was sitting on the couch and you stood there confused. You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. You struggled with your voice and you were confused as to why you couldn't say anything. You tried to call out to him but once again, your voice failed you. 

You continued to walk up to Jaehyun and finally he saw you from the side of his eye and looked up at you with shock on his face.

"Y/n," he said. "You're awake."

His words made you stop in your tracks and you drew your eyebrows in. Why would you not wake up?

He got up from the couch and approached you, tears beginning to form in his eyes. He slowly brought his hands up to your shoulders, as if to be cautious, and when he realized you were allowing him to touch you, he brought you in for a huge hug. His arms wrapped around you tightly and he began sobbing into your shoulder. You didn't know what was going on and you had so many questions.

Jaehyun pulled away from the hug and looked at you with teary eyes.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. 

"I feel fine," you managed to croak out. Your voice was completely hoarse and you grimaced at the sound of your own voice. Jaehyun smiled at your reaction and reached down to hold both of your hands.

"Why did I wake up in Yuta's room?" You asked. 

Jaehyun's smile faded away quickly and he looked at you with sympathy. "Y/n, do you remember what happened? Do you know how long you were asleep for?"

His questions brought more confusion to you. You shook your head in reply. Jaehyun grabbed your hand and brought you to sit down with him on the couch. He began speaking with a soft voice and as he began to tell you what happened, memories of that day began to flood your brain. He said you had been asleep for weeks and the doctors didn't know why you fell into a coma.

"Yuta tried taking you to the hospital but because of the virus going around, they turned both of you down. However, a doctor came to see you and was so confused as to why you fell into a coma after what happened. His conclusion was that your body was trying to recover from a traumatic event."

Tears began falling down your face. You began to remember vividly what happened that day. The day that Jaehyun was supposed to bring your groceries.

"You were supposed to be here," you told him through a trembling voice. "You were supposed to bring my groceries. Not that man."

Jaehyun grabbed you by the shoulders and hugged you, trying to comfort you. "I know. I should've been there. I should've fought the guy off but he hit me over the head and gave me a concussion. I was knocked out for a few days and I regret every single day for not thinking he was more suspicious when he volunteered to bring your groceries up."

"Where's Yuta?" You asked him. Jaehyun looked behind him and you followed his gaze. There Yuta stood, right by the elevator door, just like he did the first few months he watched over you. You gasped and stood from the couch. You ran up to Yuta and embraced him. You cried right into his chest and continued to hug him. When he didn't return the embrace, you looked up at him. He had a stern look across his face and he didn't look down at you once. 

"Yuta?" You called out to him. "Why aren't you looking at me?"

He ignored you and didn't speak. You pulled away from him and stood back. "Yuta? Why are you ignoring me? Talk to me, please,” you begged. 

"He's back to the way he used to be, Y/n. He hated how off guard he was that day and he went back to not sleeping, eating and always guarding the door."

You shook your head and continued to cry. "Please, Yuta, don't be like this. Talk to me, please."

He didn't say a word and like Jaehyun said, he was back to the way he was before. You turned away from Yuta and turned towards Jaehyun. 

"Where is that man?" You asked. 

"Yuta killed him when he found the man on top of you," Jaehyun said. 

Frustration was now taking over your emotions and you were upset that Yuta already killed the man. If he was still alive, you'd kill him yourself. 

You felt frustrated that you had been raped. You felt frustrated that Yuta was back to the way he was before. You hated that he blamed himself for what happened. You hated that the man was dead already. You hated that you had slipped into a coma for unknown reasons. You hated that you had to stay in the Flower. You hated this virus going on. You hated everything at the moment and you were slowly being filled with anger at everything around you. 

Jaehyun left and went back downstairs to the grocers and you were once again left in silence.

;;

A year had passed since the incident and Yuta was still not talking to you. Every few weeks or so, he would switch shifts with another guard that your dad hired so that Yuta could have his time to sleep, eat and take care of his other needs. He never ate the food you made for him, he never slept and he never left his post. It made you upset every time you tried to talk to him and he would ignore you. You were annoyed that he blamed himself for what happened when in all honesty, there was no way Yuta could have predicted what would happen even if he wasn't asleep that day. 

You had tried whatever you could think of to sway Yuta. You tried putting delicious food in his face, you tried telling him jokes, tickling him, you tried every possible way to make him laugh. You tried to seduce him and that completely backfired when you got a call the next day from your dad about how he had warned you about seducing his men. 

Another year had gone by and you had grown to ignore Yuta. He was acting like a statue in the house, almost like an ornament or decoration. Jaehyun was no longer working at the grocers downstairs and moved onto creating his own business. You lost the only friend you had in the building. The virus had gotten worse and there was no vaccine available. You were practically at home alone. 

"Please talk to me. I feel like I'm going to go insane," you begged Yuta. It was your birthday and you hadn't spoke to a single human in a year. "Yuta, please. How much more do I need to beg you to talk to me. It's my birthday and I haven't spoken to anyone in months."

You walked up to him and stood close in front of him. You grabbed his face and smashed his cheeks together, the first skin-to-skin contact you've ever had with Yuta since he started watching over you. You pinched his cheeks and you could tell he was trying his best not to give in to your tactics. Suddenly, Yuta grabbed both of your wrists and held them up. He looked you in the eyes and you could tell he was annoyed with you. He threw your hands down in irritation and then looked away from your gaze. 

"That's progress,” you simply said. 

The next day, you did the same thing. This time, he didn't stop you. You ran your fingers through his hair. It was now a light brown with blond highlights and it looked better on him than his lavender hair.

"This hair looks really good on you," you told him. You continued to run your fingers through his hair and he didn't move a single bit. 

You brought both of your hands to his cheeks and again smashed his cheeks. His pink lips puckered up and you laughed at the face that was formed from smashing his cheeks. You looked down to his lips and you had the sudden urge to place your own on his. You wanted to, so badly, but you didn't know how he'd react. You brought your face close to his, lips almost touching, and Yuta's eyes widened as he looked down at you. He didn't stop you, and when he didn't, you softly placed your lips on his. The kiss was very gentle, you were worried that if you got too carried away, he would push you away. But he didn't push you away and you continued to kiss him. 

His lips, although at first were frozen, began to move along with yours. His eyes closed and finally began to mold with yours. The tender kiss created a new hunger within you. You pulled away from the kiss, your breath and Yuta's unsteady, and you took a step away from him. 

"All I want is attention from you," you told him. "The security for this building has quadrupled. I don't see the reason why you need to work so hard."

He kept his eyes closed and sighed. He shook his head. "I can't bring myself to lose concentration."

You stood there, his voice almost making you cry, and took in every thing he said. You hadn't heard him speak in over two years and you felt like it was something to throw a celebration for.

"What happened to me in the past, is the past. I've received therapy for what happened and I promise, I'm okay now. And like I said, the security has quadrupled since that day. There is no reason for you to work like a dog. I'm not saying to stop being my guard, all I'm saying is to stop working so hard. Don't ignore me. Give me some type of attention. I will be happy with anything."

Yuta sighed and shook his head. He looked up at you and his face went hard, going back into his security position that he was in.

That night, you promised yourself you won't give up until Yuta is back to the way he was when he first started talking to you.

The next morning, you woke up, showered, put your favorite perfume on, your favorite lingerie and then put a pink silk robe on top of the red lingerie set that you were wearing. You did your hair in large curls and put some makeup on. Today was the day you were not going to quit until something good happened.

You walked downstairs and saw Yuta standing there. The black combat boots with the black cargo pants and black long sleeve shirt he was wearing made your core throb. He had been wearing the same thing every single day for the past two years but for some reason, it was hitting different that day. You approached him with a smile. 

"Good morning, Yuta," you said to him up close, making sure he could smell your perfume. "You're looking a little tired. Let me massage you."

You got closer to him and began to massage his shoulders. His muscles were hard and your fingers weren't strong enough to give him a good massage. You continued though, for about ten minutes and then stopped. 

"How did that feel?" You asked him. He ignored you. 

"I did my hair and makeup today. How do I look?" You asked him. He took a quick glance at you and then went back to staring at nothing. 

"I got ready just for you," you told him. You got close to him again and ran a finger from his head to his lips and ran the pad of your thumb over his bottom lip.

"These lips are seriously the best," you told him. "They've created a new desire within me when we kissed yesterday. Now, I don't think I can stop thinking about them."

You saw Yuta look at you but when you looked at him, he looked away. You stood on your tiptoes and brought your lips slowly to his. Not once did he look at you. 

Your lips made contact with the corner of his lips and you gave him a gentle peck, your lipstick remaining on his skin. 

"Oh! I almost forgot to show you. I'm wearing something new. Want to see?" You stood right in his line of vision, where he was constantly staring, and made sure he was looking at you. You untied your robe and let it fall off of your shoulders but held it around your waist. You could see Yuta began breathing quicker and that made you feel slightly accomplished. 

You slowly let the robe fall off the rest of your body, showcasing the red lingerie to Yuta. His eyes widened and you smiled at his reaction. You slowly approached him and noticed his eyes were now following you.

"What do you think?" You asked him. He was looking at you, up and down, and he looked almost hungry for you. You turned around and showed him your ass and softly grinded your ass against him. 

"Does the back look okay?" You could now hear his breathing and you giggled. 

"Don't be afraid to touch," you told him. You grabbed both of his hands and placed them on your ass. On his own, he began squeezing your ass. He slapped it once really hard, and you jumped and yelped. 

"Do you like what you see?" You looked at Yuta over your shoulder. He nodded and continued to massage your ass. 

"Answer me out loud," you told him. 

Yuta paused for a second and then aggressively brought your body up against his and wrapped his hand around your throat. You smiled and looked up at him from the side of your eye. 

"Is this what you wanted?" He said in a deep voice. You nodded, your core instantly throbbing and jumping in excitement for what's to come. 

With one hand on your throat, Yuta brought his other hand and slowly slid them inside your lingerie panties.

"This looks so goddamn hot on you," he whispered into your ear. Goosebumps rose all over your body as he got closer to your swollen bud. 

He slowly slid a finger across your slit and took in a deep breath when he felt how wet you were from just his hand on your throat.

"Fuck, you're so wet. And from what?" You could hear the taunting in his voice and you had never heard anything sexier. 

He brought his now wet finger to your clit, and slowly, he began tracing circles. Your legs instantly bucked and it threw off your balance. Seeing your reaction, he began to go harder. Your legs began to shake and you weren't even close to coming yet. You knew that you wouldn't be able to stand upright when the time did come. 

"Yuta..." you called out to him out of breath. "I don't think I can stand. My legs are shaking too much."

He pulled his hands away from you quickly and before you could turn around to face him, he lifted you up bridal style. He walked the both of you into his room and placed you on his bed. He stood at the edge of his bed, staring at you with a hunger that you've never seen before. 

"Tell me what you want," he demanded. 

That caught you off guard. You had never told someone specifically what you wanted.

"Tell me, or else I won't do anything," he threatened. 

You could feel yourself blushing and you internally groaned. This man just had his hand down your underwear yet you feel like it's an impossible mission to tell him what you want. 

"I-I want you to make me feel good," you said simply. Yuta evilly grinned and then laughed. 

He shook his head. "No, tell me specifically what you want. If you have the confidence to start this, you have the confidence to tell me what you want me to do to you."

He wasn't going to let you get away with not saying it. You closed your eyes, opened them, and looked at him before answering. "I want you to eat me out until I come and then I want you to fuck my brains out until I come again and can't move."

Yuta's eyes dilated that instant and it made him look almost scary. He climbed onto the bed and approached your legs. He laid on his stomach and brought his face close to your core. "Like this?"

You nodded and he placed a kiss on your clitoris through your panties. You could feel the pressure and it made you throw your head back. He continued to kiss you in between your legs and it created a desire that was slowly growing with each second. 

"Please Yuta," you pleaded. 

"Please what?" He asked. He knew exactly what. 

You sucked your teeth in annoyance and removed your underwear yourself, since he wasn't going to do it. He smiled and laughed before going back in between your thighs. 

He placed his lips around your clit, and sucked, causing you to buck into his face. He continued to suck and your legs were shaking while your body began to arch from the bed. 

"Oh fuck, Yuta, that feels so good," you whispered. He placed a finger inside your pussy and you could hear how wet you were. 

"Fuck," you heard Yuta say. He began fucking you with his large finger and continued to suck on your clit. His soft tongue glided against your core of nerves and you could feel your climax approaching fast. 

"Yuta, fuck, I'm going to come," you squeaked. He sucked on your clit harder, his teeth gently touching, and you squeezed your eyes shut. Your body convulsed and your legs shook uncontrollably as you gripped Yuta's hair. He continued to play with your clit and you tried to pull away, but Yuta had a grip on your thighs to keep you near him. 

"Fuck, that was so hot," he told you. 

Yuta pulled away and sat up and waited for you to come to. You slowly sat up and looked at him. His hair was a mess and his lips glistened with your come. He looked sexually delicious and you got up on your knees as well and smashed your lips on his, tasting yourself from his mouth. 

Yuta quickly removed his shirt and you began to unbuckle his belt. He removed his shoes and pants and he was there half naked. You could see his erection tenting his boxers and your little friend downstairs started acting up again. 

Yuta got off the bed and gestured for you to do the same. "Get on your knees," he said. 

You did as he said and he grabbed his belt from the bed. "Give me your wrists."

You gave him your wrists and he used the belt to tie them together. "I want you to suck my cock."

He dropped his boxers to his ankles and his cock flopped out so quick it almost hit you in the face. He looked down and stared at you, waiting for you to start off the blowjob. 

You got closer and reached for him. He smacked your hands and you dropped them. "No hands," he said. 

You got up higher on your knees and wrapped your lips around the head of his cock. You let your arms dangle below you and tried your best to suck him off. 

“Fuck yes, you’re such a good girl,” Yuta groaned as he pulled all of your hair into his fist. You continued to bob on his cock, trying to go as deep as you can. Yuta saw you struggling and grabbed your face and began bucking into your mouth. His aggressive thrusts had you gagging and your eyes watering, so Yuta slowed down and then pulled his cock out of your mouth. He bent over and pressed his lips against yours, using his tongue to taste himself inside your mouth. He pulled away and stared at you. 

“Such a beautiful girl, with her makeup running down her eyes,” he said caressing your bottom lip with his thumb. 

“Get up,” he said. He helped you get up and he climbed onto the bed. “Ride me.”

Nervously, you awkwardly climbed onto the bed and brought one leg on one side of him and straddled him. Placing your tied up hands on his chest, he helped guide his hard cock towards the entrance of your pussy. 

“Tease the head,” he commanded. You began swaying your hips back and forth and allowed the tip of his cock to get wet with the entrance of your pussy.

“Fuck, I know you’re going to feel good,” Yuta said under his breath. He stopped your hip movements with one hand and with the other, he lowered you down onto his cock. The fullness that began to fill you up made you clench around him. 

“If you do that again, I might just come inside you,” he said. Your eyes rolled back once he was balls deep inside. You hadn’t had any sexual attention in a few years and this was definitely better than your toys. 

“Fuck my cock,” Yuta said. You began bouncing your ass up and down his cock as your chest pressed against his. You made eye contact with him and held it there. Yuta began biting his lip and his eyes rolled back until his eyes shut.

“Fuck, your cock is so good Yuta,” you told him. He opened his eyes and grabbed onto your neck and began to roughly pound up into you. The slight oxygen loss and pleasure filling your body quickly built up your climax and before you knew it, you were shaking and clenching on Yuta’s cock. Cursing under his breath, he thrust harder into you, wanting to feel you clench all the way through. Without a warning and disconnecting, Yuta flipped you over so you were underneath him. His large hand continued to stay wrapped around your throat. He undid the belt that tied your wrists together and freed your hands. Your legs wanted to close on their own but with Yuta in between them, they couldn’t. 

“Oh no, I’m not done with you yet. You’re going to come on my cock one more time,” he said. He wasn’t going soft and was aggressively pounding into you. Every thrust knocked air out of you and every time you tried to open your eyes, they ended up rolling back into your head. Your gripped onto his forearm, subtly wanting him to choke you harder. 

“Choke me harder please,” you asked him. He smiled down at you and did just as you asked.

“I’m going to come again, oh my god,” you whispered to him. He quickly reached down in between both of your bodies and began rubbing your clit as his cock pounded your pussy and his hand cut some of your oxygen off. You instantly stopped breathing and your gripped onto the closest thing nearby. You arched your back and your legs began to shake immensely. The pleasure that was once little, grew stronger and spread throughout your whole body. Your eyes stood close and your climax hit you hard. Your body convulsed and your pussy clenched hard around Yuta’s cock. You were so immersed with your own climax that you didn’t even know that Yuta’s came as well. 

“Fuck,” Yuta sputtered. The two of you came down from your highs and you finally opened your eyes. You looked up at Yuta who was staring at you with a small smile on his face. You smiled up at him and brought his lips down for a kiss. He pulled away and quickly got off of you and let you lay there to catch your breath. As he got off the bed, you noticed several scratches leading from his shoulders to his back. 

“Oh my god, Yuta, did I do that to you?” He turned around and you pointed at his back. He turned and looked at his back in the mirror and his eyes widened. He checked out the long scratch marks on his back and then smiled widely. 

“I love getting souvenirs,” he said to you. You blushed as he smiled at you and you couldn’t help but giggle.

He walked away into the bathroom and a few moments later, walk out with a rag. He gently helped clean you up, making sure to be considerate of your sensitive area. Once finished, he and you went underneath his covers. You turned to him and cuddled into his chest. 

“Are you happy now?” He asked you. You nodded and looked up at him with a smile.

“Don’t ignore me anymore, please?” You pleaded. He kissed you on the head, his lips lingering for a few seconds.

“Okay. I promise, but when I have to be serious about my job, you have to let me. Okay?” You nodded in response and he gave you one more forehead kiss. 

After laying down in his bed for a while, he took a deep breath that caused you to look at him. He looked down at you and smiled. 

“Ready for round two?”

#Yuta x reader #Yuta x female reader #yuta smut #nct smut #yuta nakamoto #yuta choking #choking #rape #aftercafe #virus #female reader #nct127 smut #yuta nakamoto x reader #yuta nakamoto x female reader

[news-of-the-day]

2/14/22

US inflation hit a 7.5% annual rate of inflation, the highest in forty years. (WSJ)

The Ukrainian situation is ongoing with parties saying talks are still on the table. German Chancellor Scholz is also now personally involved, traveling to Kiev and then Moscow. Biden and Putin had a phone call, but it wasn't fruitful. (Politico)

Afghanistan is experiencing extreme dire straits since the fall to the Taliban. One of the issues is the Afghan government housed $7B of its money in the US, and the US froze those funds upon the Taliban takeover, so the group had no money to provide for infrastructure, medical needs, etc. Biden announced families of 9/11 victims could try to get about $3.5B of that, which is deeply angering a lot of people. (NYT)

A Canadian court ordered Ambassador Bridge between Canada and the US to be reopened, and the police spent most of the weekend clearing out the truckers who blocked it. There are still plenty in Ottawa, and Prime Minister Trudeau is looking for ways to clear that out. (Globe and Mail)

The International Court of Justice ordered Uganda to pay the Democratic Republic of Congo $325M. I am going to have to extremely abbreviate the context of the Second Congo War in this explanation, so please bear with me. Essentially the Rwandan Genocide spilled over into the DRC (then called Zaire). The Tutsi fighter group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), is based in Uganda, and when it saw the DRC's government was favoring the Hutu and attacking Tutsis, it invaded with Ugandan support and installed its own president, Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila started having difficulties holding onto power, so he called in foreign aid, and what followed was a war that involved nine countries, left millions dead, stripping of DRC's natural resources, rape, child soldiers... Seven years ago the ICJ demanded Uganda pay $11B, but Uganda is poor as well and said it could not afford that amount, so that's why it's been dropped to $325M. (Independent, Voice of America)

I was asked by several people about the mask mandate in NYS. The mandate required private businesses to demand masks and/or vaccines, but now that it's expired businesses can choose on their own to have those rules. The mandate is still in place for restaurants, gyms, and venues. Masks are still mandatory for schools (for now), public transport, hospitals, nursing homes, and jails. (NY1)

Even when he was president, Trump and the National Archives had a tense relationship. Legally he had to relinquish all of his paperwork, but he had this habit of tearing up papers, which the National Archives then had to tape back together. With the current January 6th investigation, it came to light Trump took a lot of records with him to Mar-a-Lago, including stuff that was classified. The National Archives had to get boxes from his residence, and threatened to get the Justice Department involved. (The Hill)

Someone asked for clarification on the RNC censuring issue. On paper, censuring doesn’t have any consequences, it’s just an upper body telling a politician “you messed up.” That's about it. I’m not familiar with the national committee procedures, but in congress usually the person has to sit through a panel where their colleagues tell them how much they messed up, which is really humiliating. Censures are relatively rare (the House I think has only censured less than twenty people in the last century), so when it happens it’s a pretty big sign the politician did something really, unequivocally bad. That’s why this is a big brouhaha because the RNC is saying it’s a horrible thing to be involved with the committee that’s trying to figure out what happened on the January 6th.

As I stated before, on paper censuring doesn’t do much, but there are usually unofficial consequences that follow. Like the congressman may find it’s harder to get their bills through or they may be removed from some committees. I’ve never seen a national committee censure before, but my guess is the RNC won’t put as much support behind Cheney and Kinzinger now, like less money or assistance for reelections.

#news #ask #ukraine #canada convoy #second congo war