#i think i'm allowed to not only project onto them but also make stupid little posts analyzing them

[introspectivememories]

too many of you guys think nico is the loser and not lewis for letting the divorce go on for so long. like they're both losers about each other. emotionally constipated idiots who can't talk about their toxic homoerotic friendship that imploded on itself like 8 years ago and are now making it everyone else's problem. yeah nico's on television or in beer gardens talking about lewis all the time but like every other month some reporter is like "lewis, what's your favorite moment in your career?" and lewis no hesitation is like "oh man, karting, y'know? everything was simpler then" and then spends another six months skirting around nico's name. like this whole thing they're doing in the media isn't some kinda extended foreplay for them. they're both still pressing on the bruise to make sure it's still there!!! every few months, they're literally just asking on public television, does it still hurt for you like it does for me? and like clockwork, someone will release new information about them or one of them will say something about each other (in my heart, he's still my best friend/yes... and teammate) and the answer will remain the same, yes, of course, always.

#lewis is unarguably more famous than nico. like i feel like this a fact. and yet every other day nico is in the press saying some crazy shit #about lewis. if i was famous i woulda shut that shit down soo long ago. my ex-bf is in the press talkin bout me constantly??? that feels #like such bad pr and yet!!! lewis has not done anything. why? cause he likes it!!! cause they've never moved on from the 1st moment they #broke each other's hearts. like this is genuinely insane. #im always so nervous to post my thoughts on brocedes cause so many of you were here b4 me and have a better understanding on them #and like being a wrong is like a death sentence to me but still please tell me if i got them completely wrong #i have a lot of thoughts on lewis and his reluctance to talk about nico... most of them being that one quote from emma #if i loved you less i might be able to talk about it more #ok obligatory disclaimer: a lot of this is hyperbole. i don't think that they're asking lewis that ? every other month #but there are like at least 5 interviews where he talks about karting like they're his most precious memories #so make of that what you will #and obv i don't know these people but as someone who's brain chemistry has been permanently changed by them #i think i'm allowed to not only project onto them but also make stupid little posts analyzing them #anyway yeah #f1 #lewis hamilton #nico rosberg #brocedes

[countlessrealities]

@advnterccs sent:

After the few hours were up, Rick immediately portaled his way over to his counterpart. He snuck up behind him, covered his eyes with his hands. "Trust me, j-just follow me, okay?" Only to lead him through another portal.

They were in the middle of the dining room and he uncovered those eyes. The lights were off, the room illuminated by the candles in the middle of the table. The dining table was covered in rose petals. Two freshly cooked meals were at the table. A little fancy and something home-made.

His hands dropped onto those shoulders, squeezing gently. "I-I hope this can make up for me forgetting about the gift, y-you might not think it's nothing, but shit, I feel really fucking bad," He whispered. "So let me treat you like a fucking king for the rest of the day, alright, I-I even baked you a cake."

He snorted. "Don't worry, I-I'm not going to sing you happy birthday, we'll just cut the cake and eat it."

{ To your Rick from my Rick !! // special candlelight dinner date for them uwu }

Those two hands covering his eyes out of the blue startled Rick. It wasn't that he hadn't believed his counterpart when he had said that he would make it up to him. He did believe him, because he knew that his other self meant it, but that was the problem. So, he had hoped, foolishly, that the whole ordeal would just be forgotten.

So, after leaving his boyfriend's house, he had settled in one of the most superficial levels of his underground lab, drinking away the time as he moved from one project to the next, failing to find something that could hold his attention. He had thought that putting some physical distance between them would have made suppressing the urge to apologise easier, but it had soon became evident that this too had been wistful thinking.

"R-Rick..." He started, but all the other words he wanted to say died on his tongue. The love of his life was asking him to trust him. How could he deny him when this was the only being in existence he would trust with everything?

Teeth sinking in his tongue to keep himself quiet, Rick allowed himself to be guided, distractedly recognising the tingling of a portal on his skin as they crossed the space-continuum to land back in hs boyfriend's living room.

Under other circumstances, the little spectacle that welcomed him once he was allowed to see again would have made him melt. The living room had been transformed into an almost dreamy location, with the soft glow of the candle and the faint scent of the rose petals filling the air. The food that was waiting for them looked absolutely delicious, even more with the knowledge that his counterpart had cooked everything himself, just for him.

It was beautiful, it was touching, it was perfect.

However, that just made Rick feel like the biggest asshole of the multiverse. And when his other self confessed that he was feeling bad because of something he had done, his beliefs were confirmed. His boyfriend had been planning on just ignoring the day and not only he had forced the other to acknowledge it, but him feeling like he had to go through all this trouble was also on him.

He had been so stupid. He should have known better. Why had he thought that they should celebrate their birthday when their lives were feeling even emptier than before?

Yet, he knew that he couldn't speak his real thoughts, nor showing his true feelings. The guilt, the self-loathing, the anger, the frustration. He had to hide them, not to make it even worse, not to hurt the love of his life even more than he had already done.

Conjuring his best smile was as painful as swallowing a handful of glass shards, but he managed anyway and he made himself take his boyfriend's hand, so he could drop a kiss on his palm.

"B-Baby, you have nothing to apologise for. I-I promise." I should be the one apologising. "T-This is fuckin' amazing. Y-You are fuckin' amazing." I don't deserve you, not when I can't get even the smallest thing right. "T-Thank you, Rick. F-For real." I'm so fucking sorry. "I-I couldn't have asked for anything better."

He even managed to push out a believably amused laugh at his other self's joke, leaning into him as he was guided towards his spot at the table.

He would power through the whole night, making sure that his counterpart saw nothing but him having a good time. Once he would be once again alone in his lab, then and only then he would have let out the bile that was clogging his throat and lungs.

#[ ic :: c137 Rick ] #&& Rick Sanchez #[ v. Rick Double Morty and Trouble ; timeline split :: c137 Rick ] #[ ˢᵀᴱᴾ ᵀᴴᴿᴼᵁᴳᴴ ᵀᴴᴱ ᴹᴵᴿᴿᴼᴿ ᴬᴺᴰ ᴸᴱᵀ ᴹᴱ ᵀᴱᴸᴸ ʸᴼᵁ ᴹʸ ᴰᴿᴱᴬᴹˢ ᶠᴼᴿ ᴼᵁᴿ ᴰᴱˢᵀᴵᴺʸ :: ʀɪᴄᴋ & ʀɪᴄᴋ ] #advnterccs #[[ my Rick appreciates it but he feels like he forced your Rick into doing this ]] #[[ so he's feeling like shit and he's mad at himself ]] #[[ but he's gonna put on a facade for the whole night ]] #[[ bc he doesn't want to upset your Rick -sigh- ]]

[just-another-miserable-prick]

Aight, we're doing this. It's headcanon time.

This is engines 1-6. This is all Sodor High School AU canon btw.

Thomas Gail:

Freshman. Tiny gremlin child. Full of energy and straight up refuses to shut the fuck up. No, he physically can't shut the fuck up. Prankster #1. Much like James, he's very over the top, but instead of his looks, I mean his pranks. Like, this little bitch wrote a whOLE ASS FUCKING MUSICAL for an APRIL FOOL'S PRANK. FOR REAL. (I'll make a post about that whole mess, it's the best fucking thing) Protects Percy with his l i f e.

Edward Belwett:

Senior. Braincell #1 of 2 of the entire Steam Team. Extremely farsighted but simply does not realise that it's a problem. Poor guy just thinks everyone sees the world like he does. (I dare you to try and change my fucking mind, also @zellezel, I'm stealing this, thank you very much) The caring dad friend and the team's designated therapist. Guy's got Rapunzel hair (as in floor length) and only James is allowed to touch it. Why? Let's just say the story involves fire. If you manage to piss him off, good fucking luck. Trans king.

Henry Holt:

Junior. Braincell #2 of 2 of the Steam Team. Very kind, gentle and anxious introvert. Absolutely fucked mentally AND physically (thank his mother- or rather birthgiver for that one) While he is a pacifist, he's known for having lost his cool a grand total of 2 times. (One of these involved Edward) Legend has it he threw a chair once. No one knows the truth though, except for the witnesses. I'd advise everyone to just stay on his good side for their own sake.

Gordon Rask:

Junior. HOO BOI, man be f u c k e d beyond belief. 6th of 8 siblings, parents are divorced, dad's an alcoholic, lord knows where mom went ("no hard feelings tho, good for her" says our local mess of a highschool junior), most of his siblings already booked it, life really went: "Welp- What could go wrong? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" *dumps entire content of the Trauma Truck™ on this one guy*. So damn jealous of Scott and thinks or rather hopes that people don't notice. They notice, don't worry. ("I do the exact same thing he does and he gets all the recognition?! What about me?? What am I doing wrong?!") No wonder he's got such a bad temper.

James Bragg:

(This may or may not be me projecting my own issues onto this bitch) Sophomore. Almost homeless, as in his house, or rather what's left of it, could collapse literally any minute- (which it does at one point-) he tries to cover up his misery in public by acting like he's a vain, self-absorbed little sassy twink, and it seems to do the job. For now at least. When he's in private or alone with someone (aHeM, Gordon-) he's a m e s s in pretty much any way you can think of.

Percy Klein:

Freshman. Thomas' adopted brother and tries to be a voice of reason when Thomas is about to do something stupid (or illegal cuz Thomas w o u l d). Normally fails to stop his brother from committing his silly acts of mischief but hey, at least he's trying. Precious baby. If you somehow manage to anger him, he'll cuss you out in fluent German. Then it's over for you. He might as well be summoning a demon for all I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (<- this coming from someone who studies german. I hate that fucking nightmare of a language.)

Ships? OH HELL YEAH!

To preface, these are just my preferences. If you ship something else, go ahead. As long as it's not like- Inc*st, p*dop*ilia, you know- disgusting shit. Or anything that involves Spencer. This is a Spencer hate blog. ANYWAY

Henry X Edward:

yes yeS YES Y E S- Yea this is my OTP, I fucking love these two, they are my life force and I want them to be my dads- in my mind it's the "slightly more social introvert X anxious mess of an introvert" dynamic and it's the cutest fucking thing. Edward confessed first, on Valentine's day! :D

Gordon X James:

Two fucked up guys looked at one another one day and thought "I could… try to fix him?". That's literally it and I love them. Like they're both absolutely fucked up to no end so they're really the only ones who understand the other's struggles and could help without making shit even worse. Love that they both have someone there for them :D.

Thomas and Percy are brothers in this AU ^^ I know I said it before but I'll say it again.

Thanks to @zellezel for inspiring me to finally write this thing :)

#ella's rambles #ttte humanized #ttte au #ella's canons #Ella's AUs #<- finally I cam use that damn tag. #ttte thomas #ttte edward #ttte henry #ttte gordon #ttte james #ttte percy #god this took so long to make holy fucking jesus christ #ttte headcanon

[choolantanavt]

this is a secret post only tumblr is allowed to have

STOP!

Are you on Tumblr right now? If not, you are not allowed to continue. This post is a secret, only allowed on Tumblr and nowhere else.

This is your final warning. I will eat every single pair of pants you own, I swear to GOD.

ok, theyre gone? good.

I wanna talk about random story threads I've been thinking about in my mind, because if I write them down then they become just a little bit more real.

This is Eliza. She spent most of her young-adulthood as a "Celestial Guardian," empowered by one of Four mystical stones that contain incredible power. (She's a Magical Girl. That's it. Don't need to think too hard about it.) As her and her other Celestial Guardians grew up and went through high school and into college, the other three members of her team ultimately left. One was severely wounded after fighting an incredibly tough opponent and never fully recovered; one grew distant with the others and ultimately vanished into the wider world; while her third and final teammate cracked under the pressure and renounced her Guardianship. This leaves Eliza alone as the Guardian of the Celestial Stones. For years, she fought her way through the hordes of enemies who seek to steal or destroy the stones, but the fight has not been kind to her.

Now, in her mid-20s, Eliza is TIRED. The poor girl has spent so much time as a Guardian that she's beginning to realize she doesn't actually... know what she's doing? As long as she could keep fighting, she had a purpose, but underneath that she struggles with her identity and her future. She's living with her parents, juggling whatever dead-end jobs will take her terrible schedule and random disappearances, all to keep on protecting, what, a bunch of rocks?

She's getting tired of it, but unlike her other teammates, she is still dedicated to the cause. So, Eliza, on top of her other responsibilities, has taken it onto herself to find the next generation of Guardians to protect the Celestial Stones.

So, it's a Magical Girl who's grown up and realized she can't be a Magical Girl forever. So, she wants to find the next generation of young, impressionable kids to take her responsibilities off her shoulders so she can live her life.

Even now, as I was writing out the ideas I had, I kind of realized how much I'm projecting onto Eliza here. Mid-20s, what amounts to a dead-end job, still at home with the parents, struggling with a sense of self and identity?

haha

Anyway, in my head, she's still friends with the 3rd member of her team, because instead of ending up injured because of a fight or vanishing, she stayed around. I have no ideas about this friend of Eliza's at all. I also have absolutely no ideas in my head about the other two teammates (Except that the one who vanished absolutely gives me future Antagonist energy--like she's going to reappear as some sort of Tech Start-Up Billionaire who wants to use the Celestial Stones to mine Bitcoin or something stupid like that). I don't even have any ideas about the kids she'd have to find to take on the mantle of Celestial Stone Guardian!

Share your thoughts with me, but remember. This is for TUMBLR ONLY. This is my secret, private, oops all shit fart hole where I can make anything--I don't need Twitter to hear about this.

I'm tempted to not tag the post, but I do *kinda* want people to like... see it? We'll see.

#drawing #oc #magical girl

[martensite-triangulation]

Rambles and reflections under the cut

That "women imagine themselves with a big scary love interest because of irl issues" insight applies to me very much because when last year I Examined My Kinks™️ I came to the conclusion that I'm into them party because *gestures around vaguely* and partly because of my dogwater of an ex. This is how I process all that shit

Of course what helps me tremendously in exploring those things is the fact that there's nobody in my life right now who is, like, saying shit like that to me earnestly with their whole heart. I can explore yandere mindbreak scenarios because there's nobody in my life to go "you can't think for yourself and you're stupid if you think otherwise" and I can explore pregnancy scenarios (vanilla or otherwise) because there's nobody in my life to go "I might not be able to make you pregnant but I'll still throw a massive fit over the idea of you getting a hysterectomy". You see what I'm driving at?

And part of me exploring those scenarios right now is because I had them happen to me and I NEED PROCESSING. I am processing them through a pretty fictional girl

Ah, and this brings me to my second point. I also used to be team "projects onto a fictional guy because projecting onto a fictional girl would be too raw and direct for me". Up until 2 years ago, when my ex despawned out of my life and, together with him, all the Problems and Issues that came into existence with him (or some even existed before him). So projecting onto fictional girls was good to go

And oh, projecting I'm doing. I have found out, also through Examination™️, that right now it's that very lack of any degree of separation is what makes it cathartic for me. The rawness and directness of projecting onto a fictional girl is no longer a bug - it's a feature

Cause y'know, despite everything, existing as a woman where I live is still SO DAMN HARD. The mainstream here is still stuck in the "ehm actually a woman belongs in the kitchen" phase so I'm coping with it as best as I can. Through a pretty fictional girl

Oh right, and doing it all to a fictional girl instead of a fictional guy allowed me to up my degree of fucked upness. When handling fictional guys, I was afraid of going deeper than surface level because, well, that's not my department and I just go there. But fictional GIRLS? Ohoho. Buddy now THAT'S my department. Want an alphabetical or a numerical order of the fucked up shit I'm doing to her? It's so much fun dealing with your problems and anxieties through a fictional girl. Please please if you (general you) will be ready (only when you will be ready. Like I did) to go one step deeper in projecting onto characters, PLEASE try out projecting onto a fictional girl. You will NOT regret it

Uh right, this ended up being all over the place so TLDR:

I indeed am working through my problems and anxieties of being a woman (cause again, I don't live in the USA so the general public is still stuck in the "women should be in the kitchen" mentality here) through fictional awful guys

I am throwing those fictional awful guys at a very lovely fictional girl

I used to also practice the "throwing fictional awful guys at fictional guys" thing until I no longer had the issues in my life which made projecting onto a fictional girl so FUCKING hard

(alternatively, the unserious and funny explanation to why am I projecting onto fictional girls is because hey guys is that not what you wanted? I am being a good little girl you see, I am not barging into mlm spaces by projecting onto fictional guys, I am staying in my own lane and projecting onto fictional girls like a good girl)

#mine #I had a very nice and detailed Kink Examination™️ post on my previous blog where I figured all this out on the go while I was typing it out #Too bad it went kaboom when I destroyed my previous blog :'(

[anarmorofwords]

I kinda wanna write a better version of tlh where Tatiana is still insane but there's no Belial bc that makes zero sense to me

In this version there would be:

Kamanna done correctly with actual genderqueer rep and not toxic relationships

Barbra and Oliver bc fight me she didn't die

Genie and Filomena bc I love them and all the lightwoods are queer

The gracelet doesn't even happen bc I refuse to write that

Grace is pretty much still the same but she breaks off their(hers and james') relationship bc she notices that he loves Cordelia

No bad James. He's not a shitty person to Alastair, and he doesn't treat Cordelia like a sex object

Anna puts a stop to Kellington and Matthew's relationship before it gets serious. She also tries to get him to stop drinking all the time

Alastair apologizes around seeing them again for the first time. The merry thieves are a little reluctant because of some of the things he did but they don't actively try to keep him away from events that they're at

Matthew notices how Alastair looks at Thomas and locks them in the sanctuary with Genie and Cordelia's help

Grace gets badly injured due to a mistake in necromancy and Christopher helps her treat it without letting people know

Lucie meets Jesse, and falls in love ofc, so in order to bring him back successfully she asks Malcolm to train her in using her magic

Matthew opens up to his mom about the incident. She doesn't blame him at all and instead apologizes for often putting her work before him

Matthew finds out about Charles and Alastair because he found Alastairxs break up letter to Charles

Matthew, the mother hen he is, decided to attempt to murder his older brother, only being stopped by James who had been there at the right time

Kamala ends things with Charles and tells Anna that she still loves them and hopes that she will give her another chance

Anna told her that they needed time to think, and that she is worried how Kamala's reputation will be affected if anyone besides their friends and Anna's family finds out

Kamala respects her decision and doesn't contact her until Anna's ready to talk about things

The merry thieves don't ignore Christopher and they actively listen and help him

The merry thieves also aren't terrible to Grace bc they realize she's been isolated alone with Tatiana and 1) she might not understand what's saying/doing is wrong or 2) that sometimes she's trying to push them away so her abilities don't accidentally make them do something

Good tid parents

James and Alastair being respectful to each other despite personal differences

Matthew, Alastair, Kamala, Christopher, and Grace being besties, or as I call them, the neglected squad

No fetishizing mlm/wlw

Domestic cuddles and taking care of the other one when they're sick

Jesse/Lucie/Matthew pairing bc I love them and I refuse to pick between lucie/matthew and lucie/jesse

Christopher teaching Grace the elements(at the time) on the periodic table

Tatiana dies at the end yay

It's very unpolished and I'm open to b hearing any feedback and/or suggestions that anyone may have

The idea came to me and I decided it would be best if I told someone before I forgot

hi, I'm sorry it took so long,but I wanted to properly answer this and I keep having either internet connection issues or little time

DON'T BE SHY, WRITE THIS 👀

In all seriousness tho... THIS IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION?!? I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START I AM UTTERLY IN LOVE WITH THIS IDEA, I NEED IT

Look, I've been on the verge of rewriting ChoI, and I keep saying I want someone to write a TLH that will live up to its potential, but I've never actually came up with a proper idea for it, and you?!! YOUR BRAIN DARLING THIS IS GENIUS

ok hold up I'll just react to each and every single one so

yes please?!? I mean it started off so sweet in EEV?! Also actually genderqueer Anna and not dancing around the subject like CC is doing now?! That's what they deserve, and that's what we all deserve too

yesss please. also just,,,, Barbara, the feminine, not-wanting-to-fight-which-doesnt-make-her-less-badass queen that she is, getting the page space and appreciation she deserves

that's actually brilliant?!? it would be so great, just imagine the new girl arrives for her travel year and Genie is completely awestruck. I'm so invested in Joshwood it's difficult to imagine not having them, but this is actually the only valid alternative?!

ok that's fine. I think it could still happen and be done well, but tbh for now... the gracelet doesn't seem to have done anything relevant to the plot itself? I mean yeah it messed up James's life and Jordelia, but what did it give Belial? Tatiana? nothing. It makes no sense atm.

could be! maybe she's still encouraged by Tatiana to befriend/seduce him, but without the gracelet it doesn't work out? or maybe James somehow manages to realize that she's in danger and he actually like,,,, kidnaps her? idk idk

yes. YES. just,,,,z James is a sweet compassionate literature nerd who accidentally makes a good leader and he actually cares about people, and not just judges them from his high horse; he does still have hero syndrome, but he's kind and respectful and overall a good character

ANNA INTERVENES ABOUT KELLINGTON PLZ. PEOPLE ACTUALLY NOTICE MATTHEW'S STRUGGLES. JAMES DOES, TOO, BECAUSE THERE'S NO GRACELET.

ok yes, so what about: basically TMT don't harass Alastair and accept his apology, and realize they were also being stupid and mean at times at the Academy (especially Math). Matthew doesn't want to accept Alastair's apology, because of The Sin, but his behaviour alerts the rest of TMT and they inquire what's wrong and he tells them about the sin and that's how he later tells his parents (because his friends encourage him) and as you say, she just hugs him and reassures him it's not his fault; so after that Matthew slowly begins to heal and accepts it wasn't Alastair's fault, and also since they've kind of adopted/started including Alastair in things, he can't help but notice he's actually changed and he even starts to grow fond of him

then like you said, Matthew notices Thomas likes Alastair PLEASE HE SO WOULD. I'm not sure about the Sanctuary, if it actually happens (I'll get to why later on), but him and Lucie get really invested in the matchmaking schemes, they include Genie/Kamala because these two are friends with Alastair (both? Or at this point only Kamala?) but they also share some Moments during their scheming/talking about love 👀 (yes I'm a Fairdale shipper, I think it's time to expose myself lol)

Which leads me to (sorry I'm going off order rn) YES YES YES LUCIE AND MATH PLEASE. A FELLOW SHIPPER, HELLO, NICE TO MEET YOU. But since we're actually fixing him then we can give Jesse a personality and I'm totally down for poly Math/Lucie/Jesse

Lucie seeking Malcolm's help in secret, morally gray heroine style?!? no, it's probably not legal. but also has there ever been a Shadowhunter like her? If the Law doesn't expect such situations, it can't really forbid them...

Plz Matthew ready to strangle the carrot when he learns about their relationship, YES. sure, maybe he's still not the biggest fan of Alastair, but he's seen how much the boy's been through and starts to develop an attachment to him, and besides, NO ONE DESERVES TO BE GROOMED AND TREATED LIKE THAT. He's SO MAD at Charles, and he confronts him about it - remembering Kellington as he does, and it makes him sick to think his brother would do the same thing to someone. Maybe he gets very emotional over this and later finally tells his friends about Kellington? Maybe they didn't know before, only Anna did? So when they all realize what was happening then they comfort him etc? Or maybe it's just Alastair that learns now, and the others knew before, and they share a bonding moment over that?

Injured Grace seeking Kit's help is a genius idea I didn't know I needed

Kamanna giving each other time and space and deciding they need to question their relationship and figure out if it actually makes sense would be great. Anna realising she's very privileged and Kamala doesn't have those same opportunities, and also in general realising coming out should never be pressured or forced. Just,,,, Anna being self-aware and respectful towards Kamala. Well-written Anna. Plz. Also Kamanna is actually developed and not just "in love" because,,,,, they're attracted to each other? Maybe even remaining friends while Anna makes up their mind?

yeah just TMT being more compassionate and less judgy because they're not written by Judith so her bias isn't projected onto them

It's not a want, it's a need. They adopt Alastair and Grace eventually. Like, maybe not literally - although, Grace? - but you know what I mean.

I think they all should just have various friendship dynamics and switch between them, because people need more than one friend group

no fetishizing, no watching your brother make out with his lover, yessss

yes domestic cuddles, affection, taking care of wounds, all those things. plz.

Gracetopher bonding over science yes

obviously. or maybe she's imprisoned?!

ok, now for some more notes/my ideas etc., if you don't mind:

I actually think Belial could still be featured? After all, I don't think Tatiana could do much on her own, and since she seeks help from demons, it makes sense to include a Greater Demon as well. But Belial would have to be a stronger villain, written better; I'll think more about this

if that was the case, the serial killer plot could still happen, but be done better. and it would allow for a scenario I talked about with @littlx-songbxrd to happen, where it's Alastair who's falsely accused of murder. It creates a great opportunity to explore some things, because we know Alastair is much more likely to be seriously suspected, considering all the prejudices and bad rep his family has and all that

...what do you say to well-written Jordelia? 👀 Cordelia hasn't been obsessively in love with James since childhood, she only had a crush then. And now that they meet again, she's fond of him but not in love, not straight away. They're both grown up, and different people, but as they spend more and more time together, they fall in love. What if Cordelia gets to flirt with some other boys first? What then. What if she ends up choosing James, instead of going for the only boy she's ever had feelings for and idealized since childhood. What if we even make it friends-to-lovers and have James be a little jealous at some point?! but not in a possessive awful way, just "oh damn oh no"

Now I won't know peace until this exists BUT THANK YOU

#ask answered #thank you this is brilliant #alt tlh #save for later #the last hours #tlh #anti cc #yes I'll be adding/thinking more about this I AM OBSESSED

[depths-of-your-soul]

Just 'cuz

Pair: Katsuki Bakugou x reader

Genre: Slight angst, fluff

Summary: A group has let themselves into your life and within that group, there lie a guy who seem to treat you better than the rest.

Notes: I'm sorryyyyy!! I'm an angst lover and I like the sudden buildup that lets it seem more heartfelt ksksksk

Your life was worthless. You had nothing exceptional about you. You weren't pretty, smart or fun to be around. You didn't know how to talk to others, always getting scared just to look at others in the eye.

Simply living day by day for no reason, you wanted to completely disappear. You wanted to... But you couldn't. You loved your parents, the only people who you can talk to comfortably without getting judged. They were the only reason you still live on - to repay their sacrifices.

Often though, you would be pulled into a group whose warmth always seemed to radiate to you. There was rarely a time when you felt left out when you are with them, making you look forward to hanging out with them. You felt at home with them for some strange reason.

There was Mina, a very funny and cheerful person, you always looked up to how outstanding she is. He fluffy pink curles bouncing on tune with her glees and movements with her face beaming.

A kind sould called Sero was one who is less hectic than the rest was always there to encourage you to speak up whenever he saw that you have been quiet for a while. He always was there to help you tape anything when needed, a very generous person, so to say.

Next, there was Denki, a slightly perverted guy who still respects women more than a certain someone. He knows when his teasing and perversion was too much and would apologize when you get uncomfortable with his comment.

In addition, Eijirou is always very polite and is quite a gentleman, always talking about how manly he wishes to be. The person who would call out to you whenever he sees you alone with your thoughts, his kindness had always touched you.

Last but not least, the 'leader' of the group, Katsuki. He was often the type to not let anyone come near him very so often. Always complaining and getting angry and annoyed about everything, most people would be frightened by his presence, moving out of his way in fear of being glared at by him. He was like a walking volcano that can erupt at any moment.

One thing to note though, is that he would always tolerate you sitting cloae to him whenever there was little space to sit, especially in the cafeteria. He would often pull you to his side when you did not know where to stand while you can conversations.

Once, you were hanging out with them when you almost got hit by a person who was running only to be pulled close by Katsuki, telling you to be careful or else he kill you. In spite of his harsh words, you knew they were empty promises that was only worried for your safety. His tone towards you were always soft, gentle and filled with empty threats that would never come true.

His vermillion eyes would always lurk towards your direction, often locking into each others orbs before going back to chatting with others, fully knowing that he was still watching you. It might have seemed creepy and uncomfortable if it were other people, however his gaze would somehow give you a tinge of calmness.

This group would always make you feel loved, as though they wanted you to be there with them. Soon, the amount of times you felt un-need vanished. Your days became such adventures, new stories forming each and every single day you lurked around them.

To add to that, you also talked to Katsuki more, feeling blissful whenever he agreed with your opinion. Out of everyone in the group you were closer to Katsuki and Eijirou.

Eiji will always make you hyper through his overwhelming enthusiasm whereas Katsuki ensures your safety and tolerates your stupidity. You wishes for such endearing days to never end.

One day, you were out with Katsuki and Eijirou for a project. The three of you went to a park to conduct your experiment and investigation for your group work.

It was all fun and good, your investigation went smoother than expected, allowing your work to finish soon. Therefore, the three of you decided to go to a nearby mall while Katsuki gets forced to follow.

Going through shops was a lot of fun. The clothes, toys, items and decorations were all beautiful. You have never seen such a sight before you, your vision seemed to see sparkles at every item you see.

For the last stop of the day, you three entered a cafe at the far corner. It was designated at the far corner of the mall, its view was exhilirating. The sun would strike through the window, giving a calming atmosphere to it.

Eijirou went to the counter to order takeaway meals for the three of you, leaving you and Katsuki to sit down near the counter.

You sat down across Katsuki, admiring how his relaxed muscles move as he sat down. The sun hitting his face outlined his defined face, vermillion orbs showing sparkles that seemed like fire within.

Upon meeting his gaze, your face gleamed with approval at his raised eyebrow. The relaxed face and posture of Katsuki was something he only showed you.

His resting face, without and facade, was a sight that you loved witnessing. The already eye candy turns into such a mesmerising statue, beholding you one of the wonders of such a high quality product.

How you wish time would stop. To have a picture of his vulnerable state within your grasp. Was it too much to ask?

Your mere wish of time stopping was a jinx, a hex so to say.

In a blink of an eye, you found yourself being photographed. The flash of the camera and the snicker of the photographer bringing you down to earth.

Turning to see who it was, you were horrified to find your former 'friends' looking at you with disgust, whispering to themselves with coy smiles.

Your memories come gushing out of you. Dark times that you wished to never think of beholding themselves within your very eyes. The monsters that you wished to never come across has caught up, ready to eat you up again. Their snickers and comments bringing tears to your eyes.

"Oh? I didn't know you had guts to even talk"

"I see that you're still as gloomy as before."

"Will you ever change? What a waste of a life."

"Did you find someone who finds you useful again? Good for you~"

No. Stop. Don't say all of those infront of him. Let me off this one time, please. Spare them the troubles, I beg you.

Their words echoed in your mind like a bell constantly ringing. You couldn't move, not even an inch. Every muscle was tense and your heart beated as though you were nearing your last breath.

In spite of your circumstance, Katsuki was only staring at them, like a cheetah about to ambush its prey. Thinking that he would not make any move, you were proven wrong.

"What about you four?" he asked. "Aren't your personalities even worse?"

He was glaring at them with contempt, hatred in his eyes obvious to the naked eye.

"And who is this guy?" One of them ask, not assessing the situation.

He stood up.

They fell.

Silence.

You couldn't even see what happened before realising that they were on the ground, bruises covering them like rashes.

Eijirou who saw the whole thing as he was about to get to you guys quickly pulled the both of you out of the cafe, apologizing for making a comotion.

Processing what had just happened, Eijirou's nagging fell on deaf ears. Your eyes locked at Katsuki's infuriated expression.

As the three of you make your way back home, you wondered what would have happened if not for Katsuki. Would you have been humiliated to no end then and there? Would they have once again attacked you with their chain of words?

Pulling onto the hem of Katsuki's shirt, you asked him the question you've tried to hold back, "Why did you help me?"

His gaze fixed onto yours, pulling you into the depths of his ruby-red eyes.

"Just cuz'"

#bnha x reader #bnha #bnha x you #boku no hero academia #mha #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x reader #bnha bakugou #bnha bakugo katsuki #mha bakugou #katsuki bakugo imagine #mha katsuki #katsuki bakugo x reader #bnha katsuki x reader #katsuki x you #katsuki x y/n #bakugou imagine #bakugou x you #bakugou fluff #mha bakugō #mha bakusquad #mha bakugo katsuki #bnha fanfiction #bnha bakusquad #bnha bakugō #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x fem!reader #my hero academia #my hero academia bakugou #my hero academia blog

[alwida10]

The tragedy of Loki of Asgard

Or why I think the Infinity War Loki should stay dead.

TW: suicide, depression, narcissistic behavior

To understand this essay you need some basic understanding of the family dynamic in Odins family. The dynamic is one of a narcistic parent who has a golden child he projects his own awesomeness onto and a scapegoat child . The parent ensures himself the support of the golden child and makes himself the very center of attention, which is what a narcisst tribes for. The golden child longs to remain golden child and refrains from criticism of the parent. The scapegoat child strives to finally get out of the scapegoat position by pleasing the parent. To bad the child can’t do so because it gets not the blame because it did something wrong but because there must always be someone to blame. Therefore possible explanations and things the parent presented as desirable aren’t really that. Now, a golden child sooner or later gets used to blame everything on the scapegoat. It might even learn to control the scapegoat by blaming him the same way the parent did (aka the scapegoat longs for positive attention/affirmation and therefore does everything the golden child wants him to).

Now, in Thor Ragnarok Odin says ‘I love you my sons’ before he dies, placing the two of them more or less on equal positions for the first time ever. (I know there can be good arguments made, but just let’s assume it’s possition zero they start at.)

Pretty soon both end up on Sakarr, Thor in prison, Loki in the Grandmasters favors. Loki visits Thor in prison, suggesting teaming up, even though it endangers his position (the Grandmaster could hear about it, Thor would probably claim the higher position etc.) At that moment Thor doesn’t have anything to offer. Yet, he stonewalls, blaming Loki for all bad that happened. (For a much more detailed spot -on analysis please read this post where @i-dreamed-i-had-a-son even correctly predicted Loki’s death).

The whole dynamic in the prison is Thor falling back into the old family dynamic. Only that Odin is dead now, and the position of the prime narcisst is open. Now, narcissm is often correlated with abusive behavior, as written in ‘why does he do that? - inside they mind of angry and controlling men’ by Lundy Bancroft. In another post I found many of the things she describes can be observed in Thor’s actions in Thor Ragnarok.

But let’s get finally come to the elevator scene which is the heart piece of my explanation. Remember – Loki is at this point starved for any affirmation or positive reaction by his family. After Thor rejected Loki’s plan, he accepted Loki joining his plan. Thor lures Loki by claiming they should talk right before they enter the elevator. For a starving person this is huge temptation. But Loki did live with his family for eons and is certainly aware of it being a trap.

Right from his first appearance in Thor 1 (before the coronation) we learn that Loki never lowers his guard when it comes to admitting feelings. In that scene he said he loved Thor but directly glossed it over with a joke. After all what happened in Thor 1, Avengers and TDW Loki would never let himself appear weak by outright asking if Thor does still hold any positive feelings mg a for him. So he uses reverse psychology (claiming something against your own wishes, hoping the other disagrees and thereby affirms you.)

LOKI: Here's the thing. I'm probably better off staying here on Sakaar.

The problem with reverse psychology is when the other person agrees with it, it hits you right where it hurts the most.

THOR: That's exactly what I was thinking.

LOKI: ...Did you just agree with me?

THOR: This place is perfect for you. It's savage, chaotic, lawless. Brother,you're going to do GREAT here.

Thor follows up by insulting Loki and pushing him away hard. Why? Because he knows Loki has nobody else to turn to. Even after TDW Loki returned to Asgard. For one part because he’s still loyal but certainly also for the lack of alternatives. And Asgard will always include Thor. Thor knows Loki won’t be able to leave him.

LOKI: Do you truly think so little of me?

Loki is hurt, obviously and it’s very much visible on his face. To make sure no blame can be laid open him, Thor uses gaslighting.

THOR: Loki, I thought the world of you. I thought we were gonna fight side by side forever. But, at the end of the day, you're you, I'm me… I don't know, maybe there's still good in you, but let's be honest, our paths diverged a long time ago.

Loki is wounded by Thor's willingness to discard him. But he masks his feelings.

LOKI: It's probably for the best that we never see one another again.

Thor pats Loki on the shoulder, placing the obidience disk. And this action proves that the manipulation on Thor’s part was intentional. Why else would he have done it? (Everyone claiming ‘Loki betrayed Thor endless times, please read this meta). Thor knew that by pushing Loki away hard enough he would trigger a desperate act of reactive aggression. He did so to push Loki back into his place (which is beneath him, as far Thor is concerned). As soon that has happened Thor gives his little self righteous speech.

THOR: Oh brother, you're becoming predictable. I trust you, you betray me. Round and round in circles we go. See, Loki, life is about, it's about growth. It's about change.But you seem to just wanna stay the same. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you'll always be the God of Mischief, but you could be more.

Briefly summarized:

you suck, and I don’t think you’ll ever be worth my affection. If you want to try tho, here is your option.

Of course, to prove Thor wrong Loki is forced to resume his subservant position he had at the beginning of Thor 1. He can only ‘prove his worth’ by doing Thor’s bidding and supporting his plans. And that he does. He convinces kork and his crew to join him and brings them to Asgard where he receives his reward by Thor acknowledging him in a not-aggressive way. He even fulfills Thor’s plan, knowing that henceforth he will be blamed whenever someone remembers Asgard’s destruction. In Thor’s ‘coronation scene’ Loki stands at the side, behind the Valkyrie (yet, still at the right side. That surprised me, tbh. The ‘right hand of the King’ is a prestigious title and I didn’t believe TW would have allowed Loki that. But he’s still only second on Thor’s right.)

Anyway, Loki is back in the position he had in Thor 1 with a lot of added baggage and no Frigga to rant to when everything gets to bad. And then Thanos appears. Under Thanos Loki would suffer even more than under Thor (remember the Other’s ‘no barren moon..’ speach.) So basically he’s caught between two horrible fates.

Loki’s death scene itself has been criticized a lot and everyone knows the butterknive-discourse. It can only interpreted in two ways: either him being stupid or him being suicidal. Based on all written above and the fact that he already tried to commit suicide at the end of Thor 1, I can only believe the second to be true.

It has another point: Tom said Loki’s arc was finished. I was confused and unhappy about this statement, but now I am coming to piece with it. Tom loves Shakespeare, including Hamlet and Coriolanus. Those are tragedies. Tragedies are characterized by the protagonist being ruined because of a dramatic conflict that leaves him only two choices, one being death and one being worse. So perhaps this is his very own version of the tragedy of Loki of Asgard.

#Loki meta #long post #meins #MCU loki #anti thor ragnarok #anti taika waititi

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Dangerous Love (Pt. 01 of 13)

Pairing: Bruce Wayne (Batman) X Harley Quinn's sister!Reader

Word count: 3K

Summary: You're Harley Quinn's sister, Havoc, one of the many villain's of Gotham. But you've been caught, and has been tortured constantly for an year in Belle Reve. But when your think your life can't be anything else than the nightmare you find yourself into, Bruce Wayne, the Batman, takes you in for a project. He has a program to rehabilitate villains, and you're his lab rat. But soon enough confusing feelings start getting in the way. You know falling for Bruce is stupid. But can you keep your heart under control?

Next part (02) ->

{Justice League - DC Masterlist}

×

Opportunity:

Your mind can't help but wonder what will happen next. Where they're taking you. In your state, half-dead, you feel they pushing you on a hospital stretcher. It's a sick pleasure of theirs, to numb you, yet allow you to understand what's going on around you. It's supposed to be part of their torture, as if they could scare you. They can't. The pain they inflict don't reach you anymore, you're beyond that. It's hard to breathe like there's a pressure on your chest, and you feel the fog that threatens to overcome your mind.

“I can't believe we're doing this.” A distracted, dull voice says. They're hovering over you, you're sure, a smile on their faces. These people aren't better than you, you concluded. They're all villains too, only backed up by their position and by the civilians who would never condemn them for hurting people like you.

“I don't like it either, but the orders came from above.”

It must be nasty if they don't like it. You wish you could move, you wish you could blow the fog away and get up. Then you'd crush their skulls on this stretcher and run. But you're motionless, completely vulnerable to your personal monsters. They enjoy seeing you like this, all of you actually, often saying they're job is to make you pay for everything you did. And many of the villains locked up in here paid for it a hundred times over.

“Don't worry, Mark. She will be back with us in no time. A slut like this wouldn't recognize a good opportunity like this even if fell from the sky.”

Opportunity. What kind of opportunity? You've been waiting a year for an opportunity to flee this place. Belle Reve is hell on Earth, the only prison you can't seem to overcome.

“Put the whore in the ship and fly this damn girl away.”

A fist connects to your stomach, and you feel your body moving, jerking up and falling back to the bed. The pain, hot and rough, spreads through your ribs. It happens three times over, and the blows come from different directions. You know why they like to do this when you're in this state. Because they know that, if you were awake, they'd regret it. They know you'd beat them so bad they'd swallow their pride and apologize. You're burning up, trying to make your body respond to the commands, but it's useless.

“Put her to sleep now. Higher her dose.”

You feel a needle in your neck, and slowly, you sink, to the back of your mind. Bracing yourself for whatever comes next, you decided to enjoy as the world ceases to exist, at least for a while.

•

The journey back to consciousness is like climbing an invisible ladder. The first thing you realize is that you can breathe without any restraint, which is always a good sign. Before opening your eyes, you make sure you can move your body. You start with your feet, then the legs, torso... Then your hands... Your hands are tied together, lied on your stomach. But you seem to be functional. Big mistake. Finally, you open your eyes, finding a white ceiling above. No place in Belle Reve has a white ceiling like this. Checking the surroundings, you find yourself completely alone in a bedroom. A normal bedroom, you suppose. The bed you're in is a king-sized bed. Two nightstands, a wardrobe, a dresser, two armchairs. Two windows on the left side, a door on the wall before you and another on the right. One of them must a bathroom. Bathrooms have mirrors and boxes, made of glass, which you can break and use as a weapon.

You wonder what kind of game is this. What new kind of torture they came up with. Make you believe you're somewhere better, safe, and then attack you all over again? They can't believe you'd fall for that. Not you. Sitting up, your eyes are focused on the windows. That man said that is was an opportunity. And you can use any kind of opportunity. Ignoring the handcuffs around your wrists, you get up in a single motion, using the nightstand to support your weight when the whole world spins around. Regaining your balance, you go to the windows, pushing the curtains away. And you find bars. Just a minor inconvenience.

Outside, what you see isn't the familiar desolation of Belle Rave surroundings. Despite the darkness, you can see a garden, grass, and high walls. On the corner, almost out of sight, you see tables and a pool. What kind of place is this?

A noise on the door makes you turn on your heels, full alert. There's nothing you can use to defend yourself, so you'll have to count on your bare hands. Your eyes fall on the handcuffs and a desperate feeling builds up. You start pulling, violently, trying to set free. You feel as the metal starts ripping the skin, reopening old wounds. Twisting your wrists, you try to at least separate your hands, but the metal doesn't surrender.

The door is open and you're forced to look up, hands ready to put up a fight. Your whole body is burning as if anticipating the war you're about to start.

“Miss (Y/N) Quinzel.” The man starts, not seeming to be surprised at all. He's tall, muscular, wearing a suit and tie. “Please, sit.”

“You bought me, didn't you?” It hits you all of a sudden, and a smile comes to your lips. They sold you away like an animal, how original. A good way to get rid of you, you must admit, but unlike they think, you can recognize an opportunity. Allowing you out of Belle Reve was a huge mistake.

“No, I didn't buy you.” The man casually walks over one of the armchairs, gesturing at the other one after taking a seat.

“It doesn't matter.” You stand there, eyes alert, watching his every move. You're also aware of the door, left unlocked.

“I'm here to explain what you're doing here. Where you are and why.” You're not listening, you're thinking. If you move through the bed, you can get to the door before he even knows what's happening. You're small, which makes you fast. If you jump from the bed to the ground in your run, you'll land right by the door. Once you're out, all you gotta do is keep running. He won't be able to reach you. Muscles are heavy, and this man has many. He's slow.

“Do you think I care?” You ask, waiting for his eyes to leave you, just for a second. You just need a second.

“No, you don't.” Lowering your hands a little bit, you notice how his eyes fall on it. On the blood flowing out.

That's when you move. You step on the bed, following your plan strictly. You jump to the floor, opening the door and fleeing. It doesn't matter where you're going, you just need to keep moving. You hear his footsteps behind you, and it brings a smile to your lips. It's been a while since you had a chance to do something like this. The adrenaline, the rush is as good as you remember. Stumbling downstairs, your eyes find a hall, and that's where you go. The wind messes with your hair, fresh as freedom. You find a door, which is locked, but it doesn't slow you down, you soon start moving again. You reach a kitchen, huge, and your sharp eyes find a knife and you move to grab it. The next thing you notice is a window, with no bars. The man's footsteps fill your ears as you climb up the sink, opening the window and sliding through it, hitting the ground hard on the other side.

Being outside is unbelievable. The fresh wind, the dark sky above. When we the last time you've been outside? You can't remember. Move, you tell yourself. Holding the knife tight with both your hands, you start running again, your barefoot feet hurting on the rocks. You soon see the gates. If you cross it, you're free. You'll be back in the streets, home. Just one last set of bars to overcome. Once you reach it, you drop the knife, holding onto the cold, black metal bars. Your head hurts, and you're a little dizzy, but that's nothing you can't deal with.

Taking a deep breath and biting back a smile, you look forward, to the other side, and start climbing. You don't even process what you're doing. It doesn't matter how tall, how hard will be the fall, you'll do this.

Pulling yourself up, a laugh escapes your lips. They thought they could keep you imprisoned forever. They don't know you, they don't know what you're capable of.

A strong arm encircles your waist and you're pulled back. All air leaves your lungs, but you immediately recognize the enemy. You shouldn't have dropped the knife. The man throws you over his shoulder, and you're quick to attack his back. Using hands and elbows, you punch him, again and again, but he doesn't seem to care. His grip on your thighs grows stronger as your assault on his back gets worse. He's carrying you back to the house, and when he crosses the front door, you kick him hard on the stomach. He flinches a little, which makes you smile and kick him once again, harder this time. The man loses his balance, and you take the chance to push him aside and fall to the floor.

There's no time to take in the pain, you have to move. You're pulled back into his grip, his hand grabbing your ankle. You kick him, not sure where, but a groan leaves his mouth. You must admit you admire his strength. Your guards use to be knocked out very easily.

“Stop it.” He commands, and you smile through the fight. He pulls you up again, over the shoulder. As he tries to climb up the stairs, you push, kick and punch, and he falls a few times, but manages to get you back into the room.

“Put me the hell down!” You yell, sliding down and punching his face.

“Damn it.” He angrily mutters, holding both your wrists. The man uses his weight to push you to the armchair, using his body to keep you there. You fight and scream, hurting him any way you can.

You then feel ropes around you, tight against your chest and stomach. When he stands up again, a bleeding lip, you can't move, it doesn't matter how hard you try. The man touches his lip before going away, closing the door violently.

“I'm sending her back to Belle Reve.” He tells someone, saying something else you can't hear.

‘A slut like this wouldn't recognize a good opportunity like this even if fell from the sky.’ That man's voice comes back to your mind, filled with disgust. You can't let him be right. You can't let this opportunity pass. If you're sent back, you'll prove to him right. No. You have to think before acting, you need to stay here. You almost succeed today. In one year at Belle Reve, you never got anywhere close. Here, you have a chance.

Two hours later, the man is back. He doesn't seem to be angry, just a little mad. Annoyed. You keep your mouth shut, watching as he takes a deep breath and sits on the armchair set in front of you.

“Are you done fighting? And yelling?” He asks, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

“Are you sending me back to Belle Reve?” It's the only thing you care about.

“No. Not yet.”

“Who are you?” You're struggling with the want to try to set free, to break the handcuffs, to rip the ropes, but you have to control yourself.

“I'm Bruce Wayne. The Batman.”

“You're going to kill me.” You burst out, a particularly loud laugh escaping your lips and bouncing through the walls. The only reason why Batman would tell you his secret identity is because he plans to kill you. “How much did they pay you? Or how much did you pay them?” You manage to say when you finally stop laughing.

“I'm not planning to kill you. I want to rehabilitate you.”

This makes you laugh even more, ignoring how serious he is. He gotta be kidding. “That's a good joke, I must say.”

“Are you done?”

“Are you done, Bruce Wayne?” You stop laughing, looking at him, dead serious. “Because as much as I enjoy a good joke, I need to know why the hell am I here.”

“It's not a joke. I want to prove a point. I want to show people that villains, as they call those like you, can still be brought back to society. Fully recovered. Not everyone, but some might still have a chance.” Bruce's eyes fall on your wrists. The blood is dry, staining the skin.

“You picked the wrong villain, Bruce Wayne. I assure you I don't belong to the group that can be... Rehabilitated.”

“I'm the one who decides that, not you.” Bruce get up to his feet, coming to stand before you, then kneeling. He takes your hands, moving the handcuffs a little to reveal the wounded skin underneath. “I can remove these and clean the injury if you promise not to try anything.”

“I could kick you right in the head,” you tell him, a smirk on your face. “So damn hard you'd pass out and I'd be free to go.”

“If you could do that, you wouldn't announce it.” He stands up again. “I'll be right back.”

You watch as Bruce leaves the room, locking the door. Is it true? Does Batman really want to rehabilitate a villain? You already bumped into the Dark Knight a few times, but managed to run. Now, you're his prisoner. This can't be worse than Belle Reve though, you hope. He comes back minutes later, with a box. Laying it on the bed, you watch his every move. It's something like a first aid kit. He really meant that when he said he would clean the lesion.

“You don't have to attend to my wounds. This is how it works: the blood is washed away in the bath, and the wound is left to heal by itself.” Speaking slow, you explain him how they do things in Belle Reve. A doctor is only called when someone tries to commit suicide. Other than that, your bodies are left to deal alone with any injury.

Bruce doesn't answer. He searches for something in the nightstand behind you, and when he comes back into your sight, he ties up your legs, ankles and knees. “Seriously? Don't you think I've-” You bite your tongue when he pulls your wrists through the handcuffs, causing a sharp pain to spread through the lacerated skin. “That was unnecessary.”

Silently, he opens the handcuffs and you suddenly feel relieved. You feel freer now, even though you're all tied up. You watch as Bruce carefully cleans the wound, wrapping a bandage around your wrists. It's curious to see someone doing such a thing. Before Belle Reve, you had to tell those who worked for you to patch you up. It was always fast, and painful because you just wanted it to be over so you could get along with your things. Then, in that hell... Not even that.

“I will leave you to rest,” Bruce says when he's done, closing the box. “There is soap on the bathroom for you, shampoo, and hair conditioner, as well as all the personal things you'll need. If you believe you need anything else, let me know.”

“Is that your plan? To just leave me here? You really think this will change who I am?”

“You don't know what my plan is.” He makes a pause, looking down at you. “I will untie you now. If you try to run, I will knock you down, and I don't care if you're a girl.���

“Woman.” You correct him, smiling. “And I'm not scared of you, I don't care if you're huge.”

Bruce stands there, thinking. Wondering if you'll run again. But you won't. If you do, he will definitely throw you back in that hole. Taking a deep breath, Bruce kneels down again, untying your legs. He then moves to stand behind you. and the ropes fall loose. You feel his eyes on you, paying attention, but you don't move.

“I'll come back to see you tomorrow.” That said, he leaves.

It takes a while until you finally move, getting up from the chair. Everything you need is Bruce to put down his guard, to trust you just a little bit. An opening, it's everything you need.

Ignoring the ropes laying around your feet, you move to the bathroom. As soon as you open the door, you remember the showers in Belle Reve. How you hugged your knees on the cold concrete floor, under the assault of the high-pressure water as someone held the hose. This is different. Walking around, you notice the small pile of clothes on the sink. A white shirt, light gray sweatpants, and underwear. You notice the white towels, the hairdryer... Taking your clothes off, you step into the box, opening the warm water and letting it soak your body.

You let it all go for a moment, enjoying what a normal shower feels like. You don't need to hide your naked body, the water isn't too cold or too hot, it's perfect, gentle on your skin. You take your time, washing Belle Reve off. You wash your hair too, smiling to smell the strawberry scent from the hair conditioner. Your lilac hair has brown roots for the entire year you spent in prison.

The bathroom is filled with smoke when you step out of the box, drying yourself and putting the clothes on. Staring at the mirror, you wonder when was the last time you saw your face. You look the same, and your not sure if that's good or bad. After drying your hair, you find a brush and starts detangling it.

Going back to bed, you imagine how good it might be to have a life like this every day. Clean clothes, soap, warm water. But that's not your life. Your life is on the streets, underground, beneath an old mall long destroyed. There lies your riches, your money, your things. That's where you belong, where you need to go back to. And you will. Batman won't stop you.

×

@redwolf-7 @glitterypinkkitty @mybabyboytony

#bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #imagine bruce wayne #bruce wayne imagine #imagine batman #batman imagine #ben affleck batman #imagine suicide squad #suicide squad x reader #suicide squad imagine #harley quinn imagine #bruce wayne x you

[loopy777]

Non-Review: Free Comic Book Day 2021 - The Legend of Korra (Also Featuring Avatar: The Last Airbender)

With all the hype around 'Suki Alone,' it looks to me like most of the fandom missed that an additional Avatar comic with a story from each cartoon's era was just released for Free Comic Book Day. You can read them for yourself on either Dark Horse Digital or Comixology where it's mislabeled as being for ages 17+ (free accounts are required for both), but I'm sure one of the reasons you all love me is because of my willingness to jump in between you and these comics like the deadly bullets they can be. Well, I'm happy to die (metaphorically) for the sake of (a little anonymous internet) love, so I'm doing a full snarky review for each ten-page story. Also, I'm bored, and it's more fun to make fun of mediocre stuff than to praise stuff I like.

It's time for me to review "Free Comic Book Day 2021 - The Legend of Korra (Also Featuring Avatar: The Last Airbender)" or more specifically "The Legend of Korra: Clearing the Air" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender: Matcha Makers."

CLEARING THE AIR

The cover makes this look like a story about Jinora and Ikki having a sibling conflict. That's a lie. The Air Sisters arguing is merely the inciting incident for Tenzin telling a story of his youth. I should note that, as inconsequential as the Air Sisters stuff is, it's actually written very well because it posits Ikki as a victim of circumstance and Jinora as a bully who terrorizes her little sister with threats of getting thrown in jail by Metalbenders for an accident, cementing the characterization from the cartoon. This is not sarcasm. I really do think Jinora is presented by LoK as a Holier Than Thou little snot who just so happened to be naturally gifted with magic spirit-powers, but for some reason the rest of the fandom doesn't agree with me.

Anyway, Tenzin comes in to find the arguing (and Meelo just running amok for the fun of it and so far these characterizations are perfect), and rather than telling Jinora to shut her stupid face, he delivers a tale of his youth about conflict resolution.

So the meat of the story is how, when Tenzin was "a few years older" than Jinora, a pair of vandals got onto Air Temple Island and burned some graffiti into the spinning-panel things that Korra will destroy out of frustration during her Airbending training. Literally, the vandals are depicted as scorching the wood with enough smoke to be seen across a plaza. Tenzin goes after the vandals and they flee across the bay back to Republic City proper (one of the vandals is a Waterbender with a surf-plank). Tenzin pursues, catches them, and attacks them hard enough to smash some dockside crates. They are all then arrested by Metalbenders and dragged before Chief Toph. She's going to let Tenzin go (yay Toph!) and throw the vandals in jail (YAY TOPH!) and makes this face, and this entire comic is worth it:

However, Aang arrives and instead arranges to forgo the jail-time in favor of an Air Nomad Conflict Resolution Ceremony. This is nice and in-character, but I'm totally with Tenzin that these vandals should have been thrown in jail. They literally burned insulting graffiti into antiques from a genocided culture. But instead, Aang demonstrates conflict resolution by having Tenzin explain why he's hurt and what needs to be done to redress the wrong. And so the vandals help Tenzin scrub the graffiti off the panels with water and rags and mops- how, I don't know, since they were literally burned.

They also do a ceremony thing where they each take turns bending their element into a central space between them to 'clear the air' (GET IT GET IT HA HA IT'S ALMOST LIKE A PUN BUT NOT), so it's a good thing they were all Benders because this is kinda racist. This fixes all the problems and everyone is friends. Yay!

In the present, though, things are not so nice, because Tenzin's kids are still screaming at and provoking each other. Korra comes in with Asami at the end to ask what's going on, and Asami says nothing, so I still think everyone is characterized with perfect consistency with the cartoon.

I made this sound silly, but (aside from the spinny-panels getting cleaned with a little water and elbow-grease, which doesn't matter because Korra will eventually blow them all up anyway), I actually like this one. It has Tenzin demonstrate how much he's always had to work to be the Perfect Air Monk that everyone expects him to be, and Aang acknowledges how this is unfair but that Tenzin will never let him down no matter what. It also has Katara come in at the end (for just one line, boo!) to acknowledge that this was an especially easy little conflict for Tenzin to practice on and he'll eventually face worse. I found it a nice adult moment in a story that's otherwise clearly aimed at 8-year-olds.

The art is good. It's simpler than the LoK cartoon, with flat colors, but it captures the story and has enough liveliness for everyone's character to come across in their look and body-language. The brief action-sequence where Tenzin attacks the vandals is well done, moving quickly but showing the full flow of the fight and every move Tenzin makes.

MATCHA MAKERS

Apparently, "Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally consumed in East Asia" according to Wikipedia. I had to look that up. I'm curious how many people understood the full reference in the title, especially since these comics are aimed at kids too young to be allowed on the internet.

This is a very simple story about Iroh in his tea-shop in Ba Sing Se. He has an assistant/waitress named Feng, a new character who wears glasses, ruining the hopes and dreams of all the fanfic-writers who were so sure he'd rescue Jin from the Lower Ring. A frequent patron of the tea shop is an elegant, older lady (very clearly Upper Ring material) named Li-Mei, who cannot go a single panel without giving Iroh a HEY BIG BOY look. She is very clearly smitten. Also, I feel the need to clarify that she knows his name is Iroh, so apparently Ba Sing Se is okay with the Dragon of the West serving tea to their wealthy. I don't say that as a criticism, I'm just noting it.

That night, Iroh meets up with his friends- the Pokemon-style spirits that we saw in Legend of Korra. (I don't know if they're the actual spirits from LoK, or just new spirits in the same style. This is because I would sooner grind matcha into my eyes than rewatch Book Spirits.) He serves them his special blend of tea and talks about how he's totally into Li-Mei but isn't going to pursue it because he's feeling old and doesn't want to take a risk. At this point, I could stop describing the plot because between the title and what I've said so far, I'm sure you could figure out every single plot beat that will follow.

The next day, the spirits trip Feng so that she drops Li-Mei's tea and Iroh needs to bring a replacement, and they've drawn hearts on top of the replacement tea with foam or sugar or milk or whatever. I don't know because I've never bought tea in a place that will even put the bag in the hot water for me. Iroh gets out of the situation without starting any love-affairs and runs into the back to tell the spirits to knock it off, dudes, they're totally embarrassing him! The spirits respond by giving him a flyer for a romantic restaurant. I don't know how they got it, so I can only assume that some Upper Ringer had their mail diverted.

Iroh refuses, so when Li-Mei orders more tea and he brings it to her, the spirits hover just out of her sight and threaten to smash the furniture. I am not making that up. They literally threaten to smash Iroh's furniture unless he asks the lady out. He submits to their tyrannical threats, Li-Mei happily accepts the date, he happily accepts her acceptance, and the story comes to a close. Iroh thanks his spirits friends for opening him up to new experience, but hopes that next time (so I guess Iroh is signing up for Tinder after this?) they won't threaten his shop.

At best, I can describe this story as 'harmless.' But it's been a long week and I just got a bunch more extra work at my day job that I really don't want to do, so I'm going to go ahead and call this story 'dumb.' It's rote, leans towards humor without actually being funny at all, and turns the spirits of the setting into Pokemon. And not even the cool dragon kind.

The art is strangely stiff. The coloring is soft and nice, but the drawings seems more 'assembled' than actually drawn. I swear there are even a few panels that reminded me of 'How I Became Yours' with janky poses, horrifying expressions, and just enough resemblance to the original cartoon to make me think a screenshot was partially traced and then ruined. (I'm not accusing the artist of tracing, BTW. I wouldn't even condemn the artist for tracing if they did. I'm just describing that HIBY feeling I got.) It was so stiff that rather than hear Iroh's dialogue in Mako's rich tones, I instead imagined Greg Baldwin doing a stiff Mako-impression with no naturalism to the delivery.

This story is definitely worthy of its "Also Featuring" billing. I'd rate it below Gene Yang's Mai and Suki FCBD short stories, but above everything else he wrote for Avatar.

So there you go. Overall, this is very middle-of-the-pack for Avatar FCBD stuff. It's very much of the nature of the 'Team Avatar Tales' stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Iroh story was a leftover from that project. On Free Comic Book Day, you often get what you pay for.

[chiliiscereal]

Here’s the link for the full version ^ ——

Sister dear (Steve x sister reader)

(This is preseason one to show you what the background is on the whole story)

(let me know if you think this should be published as a separate book!)

You and Steve had a rocky start to being siblings.

You were born four years apart.

He was born in a time when your parents actually loved each other. They had time for birthdays and family weekends together. They went out to the park on saturdays. They were a picture perfect family.

It just so happened that when you were born, your father stopped being quite so faithful to your mother. When you came into the world, your father was in Europe on a business trip. And he wasn't only up to business.

Little Steve had adored you at first. He always wanted to hold you or play with you.

But then their parents no longer had time for him.

It was always work... and taking care of you.

It slowly changed over the years to only work, as your mother could no longer trust your father. Steve was left to watch you for weeks on end. He was good at it at first. He used to watch you carefully. He used to make sure you were happy and well...

Until he could no longer see his friends.

He was ten. You were five.

He began to leave you at home. At first it was only for thirty minutes while he went to the park. Then it was an hour every day during his elementary school days while he went to the movies.

You were seven when you began cooking your own meals.

You TRIED talking to him. You really did.

You tried catching his sleeve whenever he breezed past. You tried showing him crafts you made. You tried playing music you thought he might like.

That ended with twelve year old Steve pushing you away.

It ended with your works of art thrown in the trash.

Your music cassettes were thrown onto the road.

Your mother made sure both of you knew to never walk into the middle of the road, so you could only cry as some unknowing stranger destroyed your wonderful music. The music you had saved up all your allowance for. The music that you had thought your older brother would like. The music that you thought might bring you two together.

When your mother and father returned, you tattled.

Steve was grounded for a whole week.

But he always needed to have the last say. So he sold your boom box and spent all the money on comics. He threw your sketchbook in the quarry water. He shoved you to the floor, saying that if you ever tattled again then you would join your drawing book in the cold water.

You stopped trying to give Steve your attention and love. You no longer wished he would spend more time at home. So you began exploring the town by yourself at the age of nine. You didn't really have friends to hang out with so you would browse through stores.

The arcade was your favorite place.

You loved showing up early on Saturday mornings, before Steve was even awake, and leaving behind a new high score on the dragons lair.

Why?

Because it always riled up a group of boys your age. They had no idea who kept beating them over and over. Every Sunday morning you watched them walk in... only to scream a few seconds later about how someone had beaten their score by ONE point. Again.

You loved having some sort of connection to them. Even if they didn't know it was you. Or even who you were at all. They were a weird little group, strictly sticking with only other A.V club kids. Besides, you hardly ever talked. What would be so special about you?

It also didn't help that your older brother had begun to build himself a reputation. When you were ten, he began to be known as king Steve. You knew he bullied one of the kids (wills) older brother while beginning to flirt with another's (mike's) older sister.

You knew this because your father began forcing Steve to drive you home from school. That was the rule he set when he gave Steve the car.

Every day you trekked to the high school, only to watch Steve hang around Nancy Wheeler and push Johnathan Byers. You would have intervened and told him that you really didn't want to wait twenty minutes (out of sight) for him to be done. But the last time he did that he made you ride the way home in the trunk of his car.

When you were eleven, you started hanging out at Melvald's convenience store in the town square. Your favorite time to go there was at 7:00, because Mrs. Byers would always work the morning shift.

Wills mother was really quite wonderful. Every time you walked in she greeted you with a smile and lowered her magazine.

——-

"Whatcha lookin for today, kiddo?" She smiled softly, leaning on the counter to watch you browse.

"Any new cassette tapes." You shrugged, fingering each music case that caught your eye. "Do you have any Clash? I... lost mine." You didn't lose it. Steve broke it when he heard you mutter about how much you hated Tommy H.

"Yeah, we got a new box of cassettes delivered this morning." She hopped up and waved for you to follow her to the back room. "I miiiight have snagged a Clash cassette for you when I saw it." She grinned as she held the door open for the young girl.

"You didn't need to buy anything for me!" You gasped. You knew that the Byers needed all the money they could get. "Can I pay you back?" You immediately began digging through your pockets for spare change.

She placed a guiding hand on your back as you both entered, pulling you away from your search. "Oh no it's fine! It's the least I can do for my most frequent visitor."

She plucked the music case off the shelf and handed it to you. "You go to Hawkins elementary, right? You should talk to my son. Will. He also loves the Clash."

You turned red and clutched the cassette. "I've...seen him around before. I don't know how to talk to him."

"Oh it's easy!" She grabbed the spare paper and crayons you always used when you visited. "You just need to find common ground. For example," she pulled up a stool beside her for you to sit at, "you both like to draw!"

You placed down the paper and got working on your art. "Will it make a difference if I draw cartoons and he draws realistic? What if the difference is too big for him to want to talk to me?"

"It'll give you more to talk about!"

——

So began your quest to pursue friendship.

You attempted to speak to Will and his friends in the hall.

They were talking too loud about their latest campaign to hear you.

You tried asking to sit by them at lunch.

They were too busy launching potato's at the ceiling to notice.

Right when you almost gave up... Will and you were paired together as partners for a history project.

——-

'Don't mess it up, don't mess it up', you told yourself over and over as you moved to sit by Will. 'Don't be weird. See if he'll talk first. Don't be clingy.'

Wills was equally quiet. He just read through the rubric of the project and stayed silent.

'What can we talk about... what should I say?'

A drawing poking out of wills bag caught your eye. It looked like a wizard casting some sort of spell.

"I like your drawing!" You blurted out, wishing you could just shut up.

Wills jumped, startled. "Yeah... umm.. it's from... uh... it's from our last campaign.." he began fiddling with his thumbs, unsure of what to say to a girl. "Our DnD campaign... I mean."

You nodded along. "I like to draw to! I've never... I've never played DnD before... so I like to draw people."

Will cracked a shy smile. "I'll show you my drawing if you show me one of yours."

You agreed hesitantly.

He took your cartoon and you took his master piece. You desperately wished you could draw like him. Your cartoons looked so simple, as Steve always said.

"You're a cartoonist!" Will smiled, holding the paper out in front of him. It was a caricature of Mrs. Byers. "You must be the girl my mom sees at her job!" His eyes were wide with recognition. "This is so good! I wish I could draw cartoons. But whenever I try... they look like potato's." He laughed.

You flushed a deep red. "I... I'm also the one that beats your scores every Saturday." You admit.

His jaw dropped. "No way. We've been trying to figure out who that was for months! We formed a whole list of people to interrogate!" He ran a hand through his hair.

You giggled. "I can prove it... if you want. Next Saturday I could show you and your friends? At the arcade?"

"Yeah! I'm totally down to hang out at the arcade!"

——

Will had brought you to the A.V club after to ask the rest of the party. You had protested at first. What if they didn't like you? What if they said no? You would look so stupid! You tried to use your brother driving you home as an excuse.

But if you brought Steve up... no. You couldn't start a potential friendship like that.

Will proposed the ideas to everyone excitedly.

It seemed that Lucas had a problem with it immediately.

——-

"Sorry Will, but we can't." Lucas shook his head. "We've got plans."

Your heart dropped.

"Wait," Dustin frowned and turned to his friend. "What plans? I wasn't aware of any plans."

Lucas crossed his arms. "Remember? Our campaign?"

"We don't have a-."

Lucas elbowed him harshly and looked at you. "Can you leave for a second? We need to talk. ALONE."

You nodded and stepped out of the room. "Yeah totally! Just let me know when-."

The door slammed in your face.

You know you shouldn't have but you pressed your ear to the door anyway.

"What's your damage?" Mike Wheeler hissed quietly.

"Don't you know who she is?" Lucas accused.

"No... should we?" Will whispered in confusion.

"That's Y/N Harrington!" Lucas spat out.

"Steve Harrington's little sister." Dustin stated, now understanding.

Mike groaned. "The douche bag my sisters hooked on?"

"Yes! What if she's exactly like him?"

"You mean a total mouth breather? A player? An absolute jackass?"

You sunk to the floor. Of course Steve ruined the only chance you might have of a friendship. How could she think that these kids would look past her family's reputation? No one ever did. Even her teachers expected her to be disruptive and rude.

"Guys." Will intervened. "I talked to her in history."

"What?!"

"Traitor!"

"What about the party?"

Will lowered his voice, causing you to lean a little closer to the door. "She doesn't act like him. She never called me any names. She never told me that I'm a freak. She tried to talk to me about art."

"Steve definitely doesn't appreciate art." Dustin mumbled.

Wills continued. "She's a cartoonist. And I think she might be like us. You know who kept beating our dragon lair record?"

"Who?"

"Please tell me it wasn't Troy."

"Y/N Harrington."

"WHAT?!"

"IT WAS HER?!"

"GIRLS PLAY VIDEO GAMES?!"

#for you #bookish #wattpad #fanfic #steve harrington #stranger things fandom #stranger things #upside down #steve harrington fanfiction

[bananxjin]

Trophy Wife || 2

↦ Coworker!Seokjin x Reader

↦ WC: 8,282

↦ Drama || Angst || Fluff || Slow Burn

↦ Trigger Warnings: Light depictions of smut, drinking

↦ Summary: You thought you knew what you wanted -- You were sure you knew what you wanted. You thought the be-all and end-all was a loving, domestic marriage with your fiance, Touru Kim; the love of your life, the future father of your children, and the man of your dreams, but things happen. Events begin to unfold, and the relationship falls apart. You see the true colors of your husband-to-be, and you realize that maybe he’s not what you built him up to be. With everything laid out in front of you, you knew the be-all and end-all was a loving, domestic marriage.

Just not with Touru.

✨ Masterlist ✨

It became easy to separate your work life from your personal life. You were starting to build some solid relationships with your coworkers. Seulgi and Irene all but begged you to go to happy hour with them sometime, and Namjoon had become a bit of an older brother to you. Not in a way where he looks out for you (Although he does that as well), but more so like when he’s not busy being customer service manager, he’s giving you shit and cracking jokes. It was in some way a relief to you. A relief from the stress you knew you’d have to go home to. A relief that you were actually able to get along with your coworkers. Work became a safe and happy environment for you.

Even Seokjin -- with his cringey dad jokes and doing dorky little dances anytime a good song would come on -- Had started to grow on you. Oh, were you thankful for Seokjin. Even though most of your job came to you easily, there were still thing’s you had a hard time learning and projects you knew you wouldn’t get through on your own, and that’s where Seokjin became somewhat of a blessing, always finding the time and patience to help you where he could.

You quickly learned Seulgi was the last person to go to because although she was a wonderful manager, she had her ways about her. Particularly being like that mother that says, “If I find it, I’m going to beat your ass when I get home.”

Kyla was the first person you’d like to ask, but Kyla was in her final year of high school, so all too often, you’d end up being scheduled to work with Seokjin instead. You were hesitant to ask for his help. Of course you were hesitant. Something about him didn’t sit right with you to begin with, and his very presence in your life left a mark on your relationship. Once you got past all of that though, you found that Seokjin was actually a very nice, very genuine man.

He didn’t act any sort of way that made you uncomfortable. He wasn’t rude when you’d make mistakes, and oh boy did you make mistakes. He was just… Seokjin. So plainly and unabashedly Seokjin. He made small talk with you, asking about your home life and your parents, things like that. You were pretty vague when it came to your family, but he didn’t pry, instead telling you, “I understand, you don’t have to explain yourself.” With that dumb smile he always offered you.

Then he started telling you stories of his friends. Like how he and his old college roommates, Yoongi and Hobi took a road trip, and somehow they ended up leaving Hobi at the truck stop, and they didn’t even realize it until he called them yelling about how they’d left him behind! Or how he knew Namjoon from undergrad, and he actually helped Seokjin get this job. “He really ended up saving my ass, too.” Seokjin breathed as he stacked the last two boxes of whatever you’d been hauling onto the highest shelf.

“I’m working on my masters right now, and my job at uni ended up falling through, so I was like… Legitimately fucked for a minute.” He laughed. “But we ran in similar social circles, and we started talking. He told me how our store needed a new mens lead, and now…” He raised his arms before letting them fall back at his sides, “Here I am!” He giggled.

You smiled, “That’s great, honestly! I’m so happy for you!" You beamed, “But wow, mens lead. And yet you’re always so quick to help Kyla and me in other departments. I don’t know, it seems like you’d be too busy for that.”

He shrugged, “I mean it’s mostly on Tuesdays and Sundays I’m super busy, but you really don’t have to worry about that. We’re coworkers, and I’m more than happy to help where I’m needed!” He explained, a big smile and his one dimple poking through. The works, really. “Don’t ever be afraid to ask me for help.”

Something about that -- His look, the sincerity in his voice, and the fact that you’d quickly realized you two were alone in the stockroom -- The very thing causing tension between you and Touru. It made your heart leap. You caught yourself smiling, and all too quickly were you ready to jump back into work mode.

“Well, I’ve got other things to do now, but thanks again!” And with that, you’d dashed off.

Now here you were. Still in the midst of an argument with your fiance, and after giving Seokjin the cold shoulder for, what? Two weeks now? You’d probably just lost one of your best friends as well.

__

It was with heavy feet that you carried yourself down the stairwell and into the family living area. It was a beautiful Sunday morning. Natural sunlight flooded your house. You hoped that would help set the mood a little bit. Dressed in your lilac silk robe and white lingerie underneath, you were ready to do anything to end this extended feud with Touru.

Not that getting fucked by Touru was a bad thing, but you hated ending arguments this way. You felt like you were giving up. Not only would he deem himself right, but he was also getting rewarded for it, so what does that leave for you? You tried not to think too much about it. It’s whatever, right? It’s not like arguments ended this way very often, so engaging in this ‘fuck and forget’ thing isn’t inherently bad. Right?

You leaned your body weight into the archway leading into the living room, gazing at your fiance with docile bedroom eyes, just waiting for him to look up from his tablet. You knew he was busy getting numbers ready for the end of the third quarter and all, but you knew -- Rather, you hoped in this special circumstance, he’d make some time for you.

“Oh, Touru…” You called out in a soft, sensual tone. You didn’t quite break his focus, but you did catch his attention. The hard lines in his face softened at your beckon call. He lifted his head the slightest bit in curiosity, letting out of a soft “Hm?” but his eyes never strayed from his screen.

Your fingers fiddled with the loose knot holding your robe together as you flirted with the idea of being a tease or just letting him have it all. “I know these last two weeks have been kind of rough on us, and I'm sorry. I was sorta hoping I could make it up to you?”

He’d allow his gaze to slowly trail up your body just as the knot had come undone. The white lace underwear a stark contrast against your skin glowing underneath the sunlight, and the bra while sexy remained just modest enough to cover what was really important.

You couldn’t help but feel small under his gaze, longing to take back what’s always been his. He laid his tablet on the glass coffee table as he rose to his feet. He managed to unravel his tie in the few steps it took for him to hold you in his arms again. It felt good having his lips on yours, and his warm hands grasping at your waist, pulling your body against his.

“I’ve missed you.” He murmured against your lips, “I’ve missed you so much. I’m sorry things haven’t been easy lately, but I think we’ll be able to make up for our lost time this morning.” He kissed down your jaw and the side of your neck. You couldn’t help the smile when the soft timbre of his voice tickled your skin.

And yet, something felt out of place.

You forced yourself to focus on him. The hickey he was sucking into the hollow of your throat, or the way his fingers grasped at the back of your knee to pull it around his waist, pinning you against the archway in a submissive manner…

But your mind was elsewhere.

He hoisted you up, wrapping your legs securely around his waist as he carried you to the bedroom, whispering something about how good he’s going to make you feel, but you barely heard him. You choked on your own voice as his teeth grazed the new bruise blossoming in your skin. You thread your fingers through his blond hair, willing yourself not to speak for fear of what you might say.

Your back hit the mattress, the robe fell away from your skin as his warm lips descended down your chest and tummy. Soft whispers of ‘I love you’ over and over like he was reciting a mantra to you and only you, but your heart wasn’t in it this time. You screwed your eyes shut, willing yourself into the moment, but all you could see were lips. Those pink, pillow soft lips stretched into that million dollar smile.

You forced your eyes open, but they were soon falling shut once again as lips descended unto the one place you needed him most. Your voice betrayed you, moaning out in a raspy tone like you hadn’t used it in months. Your toes curled in, fingers finding Touru’s hair again.

Yes, this was it. Your body was finally starting to relax. This was exactly what you needed, and it felt good. It felt so good to have your fiance back. “Touru, Touru please…”

You wondered if his dimple was visible when he was going down on you like this. Even if it’s not, you’ll get to see it in his bright smile when he comes back up. Big smile on his face and covered in a thin sheen of sweat and your essence. Until you remembered...

Touru doesn’t have any dimples.

__

You didn’t get to orgasm. Although, Touru doesn’t need to know that.

Touru…

How unfair of you. To lay there and let him pleasure you to your heart's desire while you think about another man. It’s not even like you wanted him to be there! And you tried! You tried really hard to force his image out of your head, but he’s so intrusive! Everything about him from his broad shoulders to his stupid laugh. Sure he’s attractive, but he’s so full of himself. Not to mention, he’s not the man you’re in love with.

With Touru snoozing beside you, you’d decide you were safe to slip back into your robe and escape to the bathroom to clean yourself up, and maybe cry a little bit. You couldn’t figure it out, you’d barely even spoken to the man after his little ‘play money’ comment. Or calling your fiance a rich daddy’s boy. He’s so disrespectful and has no consideration for how you feel, and yet…

You gripped the edges of the sink as the tears began to flow. Maybe all of this was just because part of you was still mad at Touru. He had started the fight after all, and over Seokjin no less. Maybe subconsciously, you felt guilty for silently admitting to Touru he’s right to dislike your coworker when you knew Seokjin was a fairly decent guy. Certainly not someone Touru needed to worry about.

You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. Whatever this was, it was a one time thing, you reminded yourself. You made quick work of cleaning your face, going the extra mile to ensure there were no traces of tears or guilt.

You tiptoed into the room to find Touru already awake and sitting up on the bed reading something on his phone. Smiling, you crawled over the bed on your knees and wrapped your arms around his bare shoulders, “Hey you,” you giggled, pressing your lips into his neck. “Whatcha reading?”

He hummed, “Just texting my dad. They’re planning for a company dinner in the next couple weeks. Apparently there’s an independent loan service just out of town who’s about to go under.” He explained in a monotone voice, “Dad’s making reservations now, and we’ll discuss buying their company and taking their workers under our wing.”

“So you’re gonna be busier than ever when all of this comes to a head?”

“Pretty much.” He sighed, nudging you off him so he could stand into a stretch. He started picking his clothes up off the floor. “I’ll be the one making preparations to introduce new people into our systems, setting them up for training, maybe outsourcing them where we need them more.” He went on as if he’s explained it one hundred other times. It was rare Kim Co. Loans bought out other companies, but once it happened, it meant yours and Touru’s life had to be put on hold. It was something you fully expected — Anytime it came to the company or his family, you were expected to adapt your everyday life around them.

“Do you know when all this is gonna start?” You asked casually, “You know we're supposed to go look at like, three different venues in November, right?”

“I know.” He sighed like he’s heard it all before. “I just… If we find another one we really like, I don’t want to lose it again.”

You felt bad bringing it up again, but you’ll never forget how brokenhearted you felt having your dream wedding brutally ripped away from you. You were so excited, with Touru’s approval, you were able to reserve your wedding date for what was supposed to be this year at a botanical garden in the countryside. You began planning decorations, wedding colors, bridesmaids dresses -- Everything centered around having your perfect wedding at the botanical gardens. You’d finally be the flower fairy you’d always dreamed of being.

Then April, Touru’s little sister found out where the wedding was being held. She went mental on her older brother telling him how stuffy it’d be in the middle of summer and how sick she’d get spending even just a couple of hours in a “plant infested biome”, and if her brother’s fiancee insisted on having the wedding there, then she wouldn’t be attending. Needless to say, Touru cancelled the reservation almost immediately, and without even consulting you.

“Don’t worry,” Touru reassured you, kneeling down so he could cup your cheeks in his hands, “The Botanical Gardens wedding just wasn’t meant to be.” He whispered, “But that just means that the place we do end up getting married at will be the perfect place. It’s going to be magical, and you’re going to be so happy, you won’t even remember why you were upset about that place.”

Although you could feel tears of anger welling up behind your eyes, you willed yourself not to cry. You pulled your lips into a tight smile and nodded stiffly, “You’re right.” You sniffled. “It doesn’t really matter where we get married. At the end of the day, as long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy.” You whispered. He smiled, “And I’ll be happy with you.” He whispered as he pulled you closer to press a soft kiss to your lips.

That was all that mattered. As long as you get to marry the love of your life, you should be happy.

Right?

__

It was a surprisingly slow night. For the customers, at least.

But not for Irene who had made it her mission to convince you to cover an overnight shift. She briefly mentioned it when you walked in for your shift, but you were polite in turning her down. “Ah, I don’t think I can.” You told her, “I have to be home to make dinner for my fiance of an evening, and I don’t think he’d be too happy if I was here working instead.” Which wasn’t a lie. If anything, it’s an understatement, you thought to yourself.

Irene scrunched her nose a bit, “Oh, you wouldn’t need to be here until ten O’clock, sweetie!” She laughed, “That’s plenty of time to get dinner and everything out of the way, isn’t it?”

You really felt bad having to turn the shift down, but you knew how Touru would feel if you took it. You smiled sweetly, “I’m really sorry, Irene. I don’t think I can…”

She sighed, clearly disappointed, but accepted her loss. “It’s fine! I’ll figure something out!”

A couple hours later, as you were rushing out of the Women’s dressing room, arms full of folded shirts, Irene approached you again. “Hey, (Y/n)! Got a minute?”

“Uh…” You came to an abrupt stop as she just appeared in front of you from seemingly out of nowhere. “Uhm, I guess I do.”

Irene giggled, “Great! Hey, do you think you’d be interested in covering a night shift for me next month? I know it’s not hours that you usually work, but you’ll basically be doing the same thing, except you’ll be moving new items onto the floor, and some of our older stock into clearance.” She explained,  “It’d mean a lot to me, (Y/n). I wouldn’t usually ask you, but one of our overnight associates just went into labor, and she’s not gonna be back for a few weeks, and you’re the only other associate I can ask.”

The only one? What about Seokjin? You cleared your throat as she spoke. Seeming to take the hint, Irene moved so you could run the shirts back to their proper places, but she followed behind you, awaiting your answer with baited breath. “I know, Irene. We just discussed this when I came in, but I already said-”

“Oh, right. Right. You can’t come in because of your fiance, I forgot.” She mumbled while tapping her chin. “I think I wrote that down somewhere, but… Oh, shoot. I must’ve left my notes back in my office.” She sighed, let her hands fall to her sides. “You’re sure there’s no way you can cover? You’ll be making extra money after all!”

You frowned when she told you exactly how much extra you’d make, and that was per hour! Couldn’t she tell she was putting you in a tight spot, or would you really have to spell it out for her? “I’m really sorry, Irene. My answer is still no.”

She tried again during your break, but as soon as you saw her approaching you, you dialed Touru’s number. Luckily he picked up on the second ring. “Hey, baby! How’s work going?”

You knew better than to call him at work, and even got scolded as a result, but you weren’t sure what else to do. You could see the way she rolled her eyes out of the corner of your eye, but she ended up walking away.

Irene was hunting you down by the time you got back on the floor, and once she found you, it was all over but the crying.

“How many times are you going to ask me?” You demanded. Clearly annoyed at how she was handling this situation. Truthfully, you wanted the extra money -- Who wouldn’t? And really, you wouldn’t mind working the extra hours either. But everytime you even started to consider the idea, there was always that little bug of a reminder in the back of your mind, reigning you in, pulling you back. “No!” It yelled. “If you agree to take the night shift, it’ll just start another fight. It’s not worth it.”

Irene frowned, “Please, (Y/n)! It’s just this one shift, and it’ll give me enough time to find a temp to replace Misty while she’s out.” She begged. “You’re literally the last person I can ask. What can I do? I’m willing to offer you anything within reason if you’ll do this for me.”

You sighed, considering her offer. “Are you able to move any of my other shifts around?” You asked.

“Yes! Is that something you’d be interested in?”

You thought about it for a second. Touru’s father had already scheduled that expensive dinner, and it was way out of town, and Touru insisted you go with him even though you had an early shift the next morning.

You peaked a glance at her and oh god, of course she’s giving you sad puppy eyes.

“The last weekend of November. I want that whole weekend off. Friday through Sunday.” You bargained, crossing your arms over your chest. “That’s the only way I can do it.”

And just like that, her face lit up like a christmas tree. All smiles and clasping her hands together, acrylic nails making a scraping sound as they clashed against one another. “Yes! Yes, that’ll work! You’ve got yourself a deal!” She exclaimed, absolutely tickled with excitement. She bounced on her toes and clapped her hands together before pulling you into a tight embrace.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, (Y/n)! You don’t even know how much this means to me!” She giggled. You cringed at the thought of having to explain this to Touru, but this could actually be a good thing! Maybe the two of you could enjoy your weekend together after all!

“It’s no problem at all, Irene.” You said, clearing your throat as she pulled away from you. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”

She gave you another bright smile before turning to walk away from you. “Thanks again, (Y/n)! I’ll be sure to let Jin know as well!”

...Huh?

“What? Wait, why do you need to let Seokjin know? Irene!” But she’d already walked away from you.

You stood there, dumbfounded and staring off at the empty space in front of you.

Well it’s not like it’ll just be you and Seokjin! There’s other overnight associates, you reasoned with yourself. It’s a big enough store! And if we're gonna be putting things out all night, then we won’t have time to bother each other! It’ll be fine.

“Hey, (Y/n)!”

Speak of the devil.

“Are you very busy right now?” Seokjin chirped over the radio. You were almost surprised when you’d heard your name in his voice. It’d been a couple days since you’d snubbed him for the comments he made regarding your relationship. Several hours since you’d fantasized about him while your future husband was fucking you into the mattress.

The two of you hadn’t spoken much until now, outside of when you had no choice be it involving customers or general topics regarding work. You’d managed to stay annoyed with him (Whether he knew it or not) up until this weekend, when you couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Suddenly, something changed. Even now, when you felt like you should be upset or annoyed with him at the very least, his voice still managed to do something to you. Something you couldn’t quite pinpoint, and may have even been a little scared to find out.

Taking a slow, deep breath and pressing the button on your mic, “It's not too bad. Do you need some help?”

“I do, actually! Do you mind meeting me in the Men’s dressing room?”

You decided to just forget about the night shift for now as you made your way over to the Men’s department. Foot traffic had slowed down significantly about an hour ago. With only you and Seokjin on softline tonight and your side more or less being tidied up, you were just walking around looking for extra work for yourself, straightening shelves as needed, hoping to help a customer or two if they needed it.

A little further ahead, and you soon found a man’s back retreating into the confines of the Men’s dressing room. A man with fluffy dark hair, and broad shoulders that you knew by now you’d recognize anywhere. You wondered if he saw you coming, and what he had waiting for you.

Of course, when you followed close behind, you found the last thing you were expecting to see. “Oh my god, where… Who…”

“It was all in one room.” Seokjin replied, a tight smile etched into his face. Sat before you on the floor of the dressing room was a mountain; a literal mountain of clothing that stood at damn near the same height as your waist. You fell back on your heels, letting your butt hit the wall behind you. It wasn’t even the workload that put you off, you’d probably have all the folding and re-hanging done within an hour give or take, but the fact that you’d be confined to this little space with a man you were clearly attracted to…

Would it be rude of you to tell him you could do it by yourself? Seokjin sighed, breaking you out of your reverie, “Well I guess we should get to work.” He said, falling to his knees. “If you think this is too much, you don’t have to help! I just figured…” He chuckled a bit, losing the right words to say, “I don’t know, but don’t feel obligated is what I’m getting at.”

“No! I said I would!” You responded a bit louder than you’d intended. You fell to your knees on the other side of the clothing pile and began sorting through what you could, folding what looked like it deserved to be folded, and setting aside the items that needed to be hung.

“Thank you.” He said softly. His eyes met yours as he shot you with That Smile. That same fucking smile he used on your first day. Your breath hitched, but you smiled back anyway. Something definitely felt off about him tonight. He was quiet, maybe even a little detached from the situation. He always has something to say; moments like this were never quiet with him. Something about it just didn’t feel right, and despite your presumptuous opinions of him, seeing him like this made you feel bad.

“Did you sleep well last night?” He asked, voice breaking the heavy silence. You hummed, “Well enough, I think.” You reached for another pair of jeans, but your hand retreated too quickly when your fingertips just barely brushed his. You didn’t miss how his eyes caught yours for just a second before focusing back on his task. Did he look sad just then?

“My… Uh. I mean, Touru and I finally resolved some of our problems last night. I think.”

“Touru’s your boyfriend, right?”

“Listen,” He sighed, letting the jeans he’d been trying to fold for the last two minutes fall lazily into his lap, “I’ve been thinking about what I said that one day. About your problems. Your fight with your fiance that I clearly knew nothing about.” He laughed humorlessly. Oh god, he’s really gonna confront you about this, huh?

“Fiance, actually.”

“Fiance. My bad.” He chuckled, seeming to relax a little bit. “That’s good! I know it can be really stressful not getting along with the one you’re in love with, but those problems are always temporary thankfully.” You nodded along, hoping you didn’t look as uncomfortable as you felt.

“I just wanted to apologize.” He finally said. “I know this probably sounds like it’s coming completely out of left field, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how hurt you looked and sounded when you left, and you had every right. I was kind of a jerk with the way I responded.”

You busied yourself with folding as he continued to talk. You didn’t dare look up for fear he was staring at you, but instead focused your gaze on your hands, praying he couldn’t tell they were trembling. “I meant to say something sooner, but I didn’t really know how to bring it up, and I was kind of scared I’d make it worse, but…” He sighed again, composing himself. “I figured it’d be better to just go ahead and say I’m sorry. You don’t have to forgive me immediately, or at all if you don’t want to, but…”

You finally snuck a glance at him. Surprised to have met your gaze, he quickly averted his towards the empty changing room beside him. His cheeks tinged a light shade of pink. You had to bite your lip to keep yourself from smiling at how awkward you two were acting.

“I want you to know I’d like to be your friend someday, (Y/n). Like an actual friend. You can talk to me normally and confide in me when you need to, and I know now I need to have a softer approach with your feelings and I’ll remember that next time. I just hope I didn’t leave a bad first impression, and-”

“Seokjin.” You called out, your stupid fat grin hurting your face from how cute his apology was. His head shot up, big brown eyes wide with curiosity and worry. Big brown eyes that melted any residue of anger or annoyance left in your system. God he’s so goofy looking, but he’s really sweet as he can be, isn’t he? The genuine remorse in his voice, the way his eyes trembled with worry that maybe you’d never like him.

“Seokjin, everything’s okay. I forgive you! You don’t have to apologize or keep explaining yourself to me.” You cleared your throat, this time you’d been the one to look away from him. Oh god, your anxiety was catching up to you. What if Kyla told him? What if he was acting like this because of what you said? No, that doesn’t seem right at all. Seokjin is nothing like the character you had in mind. He’s just genuinely like this.

“I should be apologizing to you as well, actually.” You spoke up after a moment of silence.

“(Y/n)...”

“I think I just got scared.” You admitted to him. “I don’t like opening up to a lot of people, especially not when it comes to my problems with Touru. People suddenly become relationship experts when it comes to other people's lives, but…” You took a deep breath, “I guess what I'm trying to say is I appreciate your apology, and I appreciate you not trying to fix my problems for me. And I’m sorry for storming out the way I did. And if you felt like I’ve treated you any differently this last week, then I’m sorry about that, too.”

Seokjin stared at you silently for a long moment. Then he burst out into a fit of laughter, “You didn’t offend me! You have no reason to apologize!” He choked out. You smiled awkwardly, but before long, his infectious laughter had you joining in as you too, quickly realized the situation. “God, look at us! Two idiots who’ve been agonizing over something that wasn’t even that big of a deal.” He continued, trying to catch his breath. You smiled, “I don’t want us to have problems, Seokjin. I mean it when I say I enjoy your company, and I really enjoy working with you.” You explained shyly, “If the offer is still open, then I’d be happy if we could go back to being friends.”

Seokjin had a child-like look of wonder cross his face for a moment as if that was the last thing he’d expected you to say. You were worried for a moment that you came across the wrong way, but a wondrous look was quickly replaced with a smile. “I always considered you my friend, (Y/n). I’m just glad we’re finally on the same page now.” He laughed. Of course he never stopped liking you. He was never mad at you, he was just waiting for you to not be mad at him. Seokjin wasn’t a bad guy, you just needed to take the time to get to know him for who he was.

Although making friends these last few years hasn’t been that easy. The only two people you’d really hung out with anymore was your best friend, Dahyun and her girlfriend, Chae. They tried looping you into their friend group awhile back, and it was nice seeing those girls when you tagged along with the lot of them. Unfortunately though, it felt like you’d been so busy with planning your wedding, you rarely even got to see your friends anymore. Just another reason why you loved this job as much as you did.

After falling into a comfortable routine with Seokjin for a bit, he’d finally spoken up again. “By the way, (Y/n)...” You looked up curiously.

“You don’t have to keep calling me Seokjin.” He said with a wink,

“Just Jin is fine.”

__

You and Dahyun finally had a match in your schedules that week and agreed to meet up at the bar. It felt like the two of you didn’t get to hang out as much recently. Although with Tourus father's company helping this small business get back on their feet, you were hoping this meant you’d have a little more time for yourself.

“Hm. Just seems to me like everytime you guys try to move forward with the wedding, something comes up, and suddenly he has to put it off.” Dahyun said, casually watching the swirling liquid in her martini glass, “I don’t know. I think he has his own dream wedding in mind, but he’s just building up to it so it doesn’t seem like he had to ruin… Your dream wedding. Know what I mean?”

You wouldn’t really say he intended on ruining your dream wedding, but you definitely wouldn’t put it past him to push his idea of the perfect wedding instead. “I don’t really think that’s the case, Dahyun.” You sighed, “Touru wouldn’t be that selfish; he wants to see me happy, too. We just… Have to come to a compromise. That’s all.”

Dahyun rolled her eyes. “The wedding is supposed to be about the bride. He’s gonna get his way about everything else in the relationship! I just don’t understand why-”

“Well, technically it wasn’t him this time! His sister said-”

“Fuck his sister!” Dahyun shouted, slamming her glass down and nearly busting the bottom. “God! I can’t stand her! She’s such a bitch! I’m telling you, I know she was trying to set Touru up with that fucking friend of hers last year.” She insists through clenched teeth. “Touru wouldn’t cheat on me, he loves me too much…” Your own voice sounded meak in your ears. You were perfectly confident that your relationship was strong, still it didn’t feel good to think that his own sister of all people would try to replace you.

“I know April and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, but she can be really nice sometimes…” Dahyun raised a brow at you, “She can be nice sometimes.” She echoed. You nodded. Still unconvinced, Dahyun crossed her arms across her chest, perfectly manicured nails dramatically curled around her biceps as she leaned back into her barstool. “Enlighten me then. When was the last time she showed even a small act of kindness towards you?” She asked.

You sighed, “Dahyun, please don’t start this-”

“No, seriously. Something small. The bar is so low at this point.” She retorted, “Even something as small as a compliment. Sending a ‘Happy holidays’ text. Anything.” She continued, reaching out to pick her drink up again, touching the rim to her ruby lips, “I’ll wait.”

Before you could form a response, you jumped at feeling someone clap you on the shoulder. “(Y/n)! Fancy meeting you here!”

You knew that voice. Of course you knew that fucking voice. The man with fluffy black hair, his hand still grasping your shoulder, looked over at the girl beside you. “Who’s your friend?”

“I’d like to ask the same thing!” Dahyun said, a shit-eating grin smeared across her face. She offered her hand to your coworker, “I’m Dahyun, (Y/n)’s best friend. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Awe, how sweet! I’m Jin!” He replied, shaking her hand, “(Y/n) and I work together!” He said, finally releasing your shoulder and taking the barstool on the other side of you before promptly ordering his drink.

“Oh, I forgot you were a working woman now!” Dahyun laughed. You could clearly see Jin’s mouth moving, crescent eyed smiles as his eyes shifted between you to your best friend and back again, but you couldn’t hear what he’d said. You turned back to the bar and idly swirled your drink, quietly sulking over the fact that you were now a party of three instead of a party of two.

Was it really so bad? Dahyun would never rat you out to Touru about Jin showing up here. She wouldn’t have anything to rat out anyway, you reminded yourself. It’s just sheer coincidence that he showed up while you were here. Even so, this was supposed to be a girls night out for the two of you. What right did he have just barging in? “So what brings you here tonight, Jin?” Dahyun asked cheerfully.

Jin shrugged, “I was actually supposed to meet my date here, but she flaked on me. I saw (Y/n) over here and figured I might join you guys for a drink or two.” Jin responded, nudging you with his elbow.

Jin was supposed to be on a date?

“Awe, so you’re not here to swoop (Y/n) off her feet.” Dahyun giggled, catching you off guard. You sputtered mid-drink, hastily scrambling for a napkin, “Dahyun! That’s completely inappropriate!” You scolded her. Jin had been laughing beside you and seemed to pay you no mind, “He’s my coworker!”

“She’s actually a tough nut to crack!” Jin chimed in once he could catch his breath. “Oh believe me, I know! You should hear us go back and forth about-”

You turned and grabbed her bicep, giving Jin a full view of the back of your head, “Hey. Can we not do this right now?” You asked seriously. “Chill out, (Y/n)! We’re just joking around.” She rolled her eyes and nudged your hand off her arm. Jin hadn’t even given her joke a second thought as he put in his order with the bartender.

The night went on like that for quite some time. Jin and Dahyun making merciless jokes about you, Jin talking about your guys’ work -- Although he tried to drag you into the conversation once or twice, your responses were short and sweet. After a while Dahyun started telling him some story from your guys’ college days, you just tuned them out until their conversation ended up meshing with the rest of the background noise.

You ordered another drink with your attention barely focused on your phone in front of you, and you decided to unlock it. Your mind was in a haze, and you couldn’t really keep your focus on anything other than your own bad mood.

You smirked to yourself as you opened your chat thread with Touru.

Last message sent over an hour ago saying, “I understand. I love you!” With a heart emoji. You frowned.

Touru often used to tell you you’re selfish. He’d mostly say it during arguments, but he wouldn’t let you forget it. You remember when you were still in college, he said, “It’s like you live in your head so often, you don’t even see how you’re making other people feel!” Or something along those lines.

He even had the nerve to ask if you cared about him or his feelings, and that one really hurt. Wasn’t that how he convinced you to drop out of nursing school? You couldn’t remember. Or you didn’t want to.

Jin’s squeaky laugh broke you out of your thoughts. You cast a glance over at him for a minute, but he’d already been looking at you. He kept smiling like he was waiting for you to say something. Did he ask you a question?

Maybe Touru was right about you, but who cares. You rolled your eyes at Jin and called the bartender back over. You didn’t know what it was; you didn’t want to dampen the mood, really! The least he could’ve done though, was ask if the two of you were okay with it.

You scrolled mindlessly through your texts, completely skipping over Touru’s “Don’t talk to any guys, and call me if Dahyun starts acting stupid.” spiel. You didn’t want to hear it again. Nights like this, you couldn’t stand Touru’s overprotective bullshit. God forbid you go out with your friends. Actually take some time to enjoy yourself.

You hesitated, your unfocused vision just staring at the wall of text before you finally decided to delete it altogether. You couldn’t take it. You swore if you had to see it one more time, you’d probably just start in on him.

Yeah. You know how to start shit, but you never win, your insecurities berated you.

You’re too much of a sap, always giving into him way too easily. That’s why you let him fuck you senseless last time. Just so you could keep pretending you have a perfect relationship.

“Oh my gosh, you’d love my girlfriend then! Her name’s Chae, and she’s constantly playing that game, too! You guys may have even been on the same server once or twice!” Dahyun’s laugh felt like a wakeup call, dragging you out of your lonely little pity party. You dropped your phone, screen down on the bar. By now, you were nursing your forth margarita, and you were feeling out of sorts. You peaked a glance at Jin. He said something to the bartender, but you couldn’t hear him. He must’ve felt your eyes on him when he turned, shooting you with that adorable dimple smile of his.

You snarled your nose and scoffed at him and turned back to Dahyun, about to tell her you were ready to go, but something stopped you. Her face was scrunched up in concern. You swallowed, trying to rein in some sobriety. You placed a comforting hand on her arm, “Hey. Is everything okay?”

It took her a minute, but she nodded a slow nod, never looking up at you. “Uh. I’m not sure actually. I think something came up with Chaeyoung.” She mumbled. Your eyes widened, “Woah, is she alright?”

“Yeah, but… I’m gonna go check on her.” She quickly got up and started gathering her things. “Just in case. Don’t worry about tonight, okay? I’ll put this all on my tab, yeah?”

“Wait, I can go with you!” You replied, jumping out of your seat a little too quickly. Suddenly, the world felt like it was tilting off its axis, and you could feel yourself stumbling back, but your shoulders just barely grazed someone's chest before you felt them catch you.

“Hey, maybe you should sit back down.” Jin said, trying to lure you into your seat. “I won’t sit back down! Dahyun, is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine, but I really need to go. Jin-”

“I can get her home, it’s fine.”

The world felt like it was spinning a little too quickly. What on earth was going on? “(Y/n) I’m really sorry! I promise I’ll make it up to you!” Dahyun said quickly, pulling you into a tight embrace which felt like it lasted an eternity. You blatantly refused to hug her back, instead opting to keep your arms tight against your waist, and your hands balled up into fists. “Just…” You breathed, trying not to let your frustration get the better of you. “Just let me know when you get there. And let me know if she’s okay?”

Dahyun smiled, “Of course I will.” She quickly waved goodbye to you both and hurried out of the bar. “C’mon. I think I should be getting you home as well.” Jin said, ushering you towards the door.

__

You pouted all the way back to your place, just barely uttering directions when Jin asked for them. It was weird, you were angry; you knew you were angry, but over what, you weren’t sure. You’d long since forgotten about Jin interrupting your outing with Dahyun. Having him there was probably more fun than you had anticipated. Not that you’d know, you spent most of your night drowning yourself in sadness and alcohol.

Your first night out in months, and you completely ruined it. Way to go, (Y/n).

“That’s the house up there, but… Can you just drop me off here?” You asked solemnly. “Here?” You could feel Jin giving you a funny look, but you just nodded at his question. It was less than a block away, but you knew better than to let Jin pull up right in front of the house. Even as drunk as you were, you only knew how Touru would react if he saw another man dropping you off instead of your friend.

You unbuckle your seatbelt and reach for the door handle, but Jin’s hand grasped your wrist first, mumbling a small “Hey,” Before you could escape. You stopped, turning just a little bit to show you were willing to listen.

“Sorry, I-” He quickly released your wrist and took a deep breath, “I just wanted to say I had a lot of fun hanging out with you and your friend tonight, and… I’m sorry if you felt like I butted in on your guys’ night.”

His voice sounded so small by the end that you had to check on him just to make sure he hadn’t started crying.

Well, now you felt guilty. “Hey,” You placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry if I seemed a little rude tonight. I just missed Dahyun was all; we haven’t seen each other since I started working, but I promise we had a lot of fun with you, too!”

Jin smiled at you. “I may have a confession to make as well.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. “I… I didn’t actually have a date tonight.” He sighed, “I go to that bar pretty often actually to drink and just be around other people, but when I saw you, I thought…”

You took in a deep breath, you weren’t sure how to respond to that. Part of you really just couldn’t wrap your mind around it -- Kim Seokjin, comedic king and pun connoisseur was lonely?

“Well…” You sighed, “I won’t tell anybody, but for future reference, you don’t have to make something up just so you’ll have somebody to drink with.” You explained softly, “Just a simple, ‘Hey, can I sit with you guys?’ oughta do the trick.” you wink at him. His cheeks began to flush as he giggled, but you couldn’t tell if it was from the alcohol or something else. You could tell your own face was warm. It’d also just occurred to you that your hair is probably sticking to your forehead, and your makeup was probably a little on the runny side, but Jin didn’t seem to care. Or if he did, he certainly wasn’t going to say anything about it. Always the gentleman, you thought to yourself.

Hesitantly, you reach out for his hand resting on the gearshift. You covered it with your own and thumbed over his knuckles, “I’ll see you later, okay Jin?” He offered you a silent nod and a small smile. “Goodnight, (Y/n).”

Your hand retracted as you finally got out of the car, and walked the rest of the way to your house. Jin sat there silently, watching you. Making sure nobody bothered you and you got inside safely.

He could just barely make out your silhouette as you walked by the window when a second, taller figure appeared. He stared -- Openly gawked as they pulled you into them and you looked up, clearly expecting a kiss which the taller figure happily provided. “Must be Touru…” Jin partially mumbled, partially slurred to himself. Something settled into the pit of his stomach as he watched for a moment longer. He could tell how giddy you were by the way you’re clearly bouncing on your toes, and the taller figure -- Touru, wrapped his arms around your waist and dipped his face into the crook of your neck.

He could feel his dick twitching as his thoughts began to linger. Imagining those were his hands on your hips instead of Tourus. Wondering how soft your skin probably felt, or the taste of your lips after drowning several margaritas. Fuck, you looked so good tonight. So pretty, and he couldn’t stop staring at you. You’d even caught him a few times, but you didn’t seem to think anything of it. Or you just didn’t care.

He wondered if he ever crossed your mind. If you ever felt a rush when the two of you would touch. He knew damn well the feeling of your hand on his did something to him tonight. Something he wasn’t expecting. It couldn’t have had that strong of an effect on him though, could it? Obviously it was, otherwise he wouldn’t still be sitting here just a few feet from your house like some creep, feeling mesmerized by your touch.

As if needing a reminder of where he was, he quickly realized Touru had pulled your shirt over your head at some point, and his hands were cupping your breasts. You seemed to enjoy it as your hands grazed his stomach, teasing the lining of his pants.

Jin belched and finally drew his eyes away from the scene, almost in disgust. “Fuckin’ weirdo. She’s not even into you.” He berated himself. Deciding it’s pretty late and he’d already seen more than enough, he turned the key in the ignition and the car rumbled to life. It isn’t until he’s already shifted into drive and turned back onto the main street that he’s realized…

He’s definitely jealous of your fiance.

#hey there!! #I've never bore witness to a posting schedule??? #so here's chapter 2!! #bts x reader #bts #kim seokjin #seokjin x reader #jin x reader #magicshopnet #non-idol au #retail au #slow burn

[anotherriceball0326]

Stay updated on my fanfiction chapter releases here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355238/chapters/64235383#workskin

Chapter 2: "Let's Watch a Movie!"

“Don't look so happy to see us, carrots.” Arisa teases.

“Where are you two off too this lovely evening?” Saki questioned.

Both girls knew for months that Kyou had it bad for Tohru. He was such a stubborn and ornery guy, but they couldn't help but notice how he melted whenever Tohru was around. In fact, they often took advantage of the fact that he could never say no to her. It was quite amusing.

“Kyou was just going to take me up to the roof for a nice chat.” Tohru said innocently.

“A chat, huh?” Arisa sounded annoyed “What's this all about you little punk?! You better not be trying to corrupt our sweet Tohru?!”

“How indecent.” Saki gasped.

“IT’S NOTHING LIKE THAT!” Kyou shouted “WHY THE HELL DID YOU TWO FREAKS COME HERE ANYWAY?!”

The girls chuckled. They knew how easy it was to get under his skin. They did it playfully of course. Deep down they liked Kyou, but they genuinely were worried for Tohru. As genuine as Kyou’s feelings appeared, they couldn't help but worry that he may break her heart And that is something that they couldn’t bear. That is something that would break her…. Despite being her usual cheery self, they knew that Tohru’s heart was fragile. They also knew that Tohru was carrying a heavy burden lately and they didn't know exactly why.

Tohru was much harder for them to read. They always assumed they knew everything about their good friend, but the fact that she hid living in a tent from them really slipped them up. They saw the way she looked at him and how she blushed whenever they teased her. They noticed how Kyou and Tohru acted as they walked home together, like they were already a couple.

That was the main goal of the night. To figure out what’s going on between these two. Arisa and Saki made a pact. They would do what they could to push these two and expose how they really felt about each other. Besides…Kyou was a good guy. Sure, he had his faults. He had a mouth on him and his manners were severely lacking in more ways than one….but…

They knew that he made Tohru happy, happier than they had ever seen her before. Definitely the happiest since her mother's accident.

And that's all that mattered right? That Tohru was happy. That's all they could ever ask for from someone like Kyou.

“Uo-chan, Hana-chan, it's sweet of you both to worry, but Kyou would never do anything indecent. He’s a perfect gentlemen" Tohru said as she grabbed Kyou’s arm.

The girls noticed Kyou immediately blush and look away, but he didn't back away from Tohru nor did he even attempt to release her arm.

He really is changing isn't he? Tohru does have that effect on people. She always has. I mean only sweet Tohru would see the good in a person, even someone as angry as Kyou.

But his anger is different somehow. He seems lighter, softer. It was as though Tohru was slowly peeling away his hard exterior and expressing his true nature to the world.

Both girls looked at each other and smiled. They knew that they were both thinking the same thing.

“Alright, well sorry to interrupt your night, but I guess you'll both have to settle with hanging out with all of us.” Arisa joked.

“Oh no! I'm so glad you all are here! This'll be a great night, right Kyou?” Tohru glanced at Kyou with pleading eyes.

“Yeah, whatever…”Kyou grumbled.

The girls and guys all started flooding into the house.

As they pushed past Kyou and Tohru, Kyou felt her grabbing onto his arm even tighter than she had before. “Thank you, Kyou.” Tohru whispered as she pulled him in close so he could hear her better. “I know you had other plans, but I promise to make this up to you.”

Promise to make this up to me? What does that mean? Kyo thought.

His heart began to race as he dissected those words carefully.

Okay…this is the opportunity to truly impress her. The chance for him to show how much he loved her and how great of a boyfriend he could be.

Boyfriend…

That word hit him harder than any word ever had before.

What did he know about being a boyfriend? How does a good boyfriend act?

Kyou’s nerves were starting to get the best of him.

He so badly wanted to respond to Tohru, but he was quickly interrupted by Momiji’s obnoxious whining.

“Tohru….let's watch a movie! Haru brought a good one! It's about a little girl whose family gets devoured by zombies and….”

“ZOMBIES?!?!” Tohru’s demeanor immediately changed. Her face lost all color and her knees began to quake.

“Yeah, it's a real tearjerker.” Haru said sarcastically.

Kyou had a flashback to when they went to the haunted house.

Stupid Momiji and Haru…. Had they not learned anything from the last experience they had with Tohru? They clearly don't know her at all!

Kyou placed his hand on the small of Tohru’s back. He lowered his voice in an attempt to avoid an audience.

“Tohru..” Kyo whispered.

Tohru’s body relaxed to his touch. His voice soothed and distracted her from her current fear. She looked into his soft Amber eyes and caught herself feeling lost in their glow.

“Yes!?” She asked nervously as she became aware of the audience that was surrounding her.

Despite Kyou being discreet, the other teenagers couldn't help but watch the show. It was like watching a live action romance novel unfolding in front of their very eyes.

“We really don't have to watch. We can always do something else.” Kyou comforted her.

Tohru thought for a second. She didn't want to disappoint anyone, especially Momiji. He looked so excited about the movie. And after all, she promised herself that would be more bold since she knew that one day she would be out on her own…. alone.

Completely alone.

A sudden image flashed into Tohru’s mind. It was the image of Kyou…locked up…. In a place that was foreign to her and she knew she'd never be allowed to visit.

Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Tohru??” Kyou looked at her with worry.

Tohru snapped out of her despair and balled both of her fists in front of her.

“I can do this!” Tohru shouted eagerly

Kyou snickered. “Okay…okay, no need for the dramatics." Kyou said as he playfully bumped her head with his fist.

THAT’S NOT SOMETHING BOYFRIEND’S DO. IDIOT!

Kyou scolded himself.

“On one condition.” Tohru added. “Kyou-kun needs to sit next to me.”

Kyou was surprised by her demand. That was just it. She didn't ask, she demanded. Kyou was impressed. He always admired her humble nature, but felt she deserved to be more honest about what she wanted. She deserved to be selfish.

“Of course, dummy. “ Kyou blushed. “I need to make sure you don't pass out from fear.”

The group made their way into the dining room. They moved the furniture around to create a big open space and placed pillows and blankets everywhere they could.

Tohru found a spot in the back of the room. She figured it would be the best spot. It would make it harder to see the television and more difficult for everyone to see her silly reactions.

“Who wants popcorn?!” Momiji shouted!

Momiji passed out small bowls to each of the groups.

Yuki was sitting with Haru, Kagura and Momiji. Arisa and Saki were sitting side by side. Then of course there was Tohru and Kyou.

Kyou could feel Kagura staring at him and Tohru. Tohru didn't notice of course, but Kyou felt the rage that exuded from her. If looks could kill, Kyou would have been a dead man the second she set eyes on him that night.

Kyou knew it was going to be awkward between him and Kagura now. After their "date", Kyou expected Kagura to treat Tohru differently. He never directly said it to Kagura, but he could tell that Kagura knew his feelings for Tohru and that she was the reason why Kyou would never love her. He hoped that Kagurs would be mature about the situation, but her aura was concerning.

Oh well... he thought. Tonight is about me and Tohru.

Haru inserted the DVD and moved to his spot like a stealthy ninja. Arisa and Saki threw pillows at him after he pretending to trip and fall on top of them. Yuki shook his head at Haru’s immaturity, but found himself unable to hold back his laughter.

“SHHHHHH IT’S STARTING!” Momiji screamed. “Oh my gosh! A zombie!

“SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The whole group shouted in unison.

Tohru chuckled. Kyou looked at her as she enjoyed the group’s shenanigans. He smiled warmly .

I'll never get tired of that laugh. He thought.

To be continued...

#fruits basket #fanfiction #kyou sohma #tohru honda #kyo soma #kyo and tohru #kyorhu