#last gif kinda weird but the entire thing was too important to me and cutting it into two didn't work so | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

neko-rogers · 3 years

Note

hey!! I’m not sure if your inbox is still open but I thought I’d send this just in case! what would you think abt a dark!peter who’s obsessed w s/o and offers to have her stay with him during like the stay-at-home pet of covid so she’s not alone then when it’s lifted he’s like lol you’re not leaving. sorry that’s kinda long and super specific. i absolutely love your writing though!!💗

Jamie All Over

words: 2,040 (no, i should be sorry bc this was chaotic)

tags: didn’t expect it to be this LONG, manipulative!peter parker, grooming, overprotectiveness, slight mentions of sex, don’t expect too much lmao its a headcanon

a/n: hi babe! i wasn’t entirely sure if you wanted this as a one shot (but if u do let me know!)

so you’re pretty unaware of every move peter is trying to do with you, you know? you were not really sure if it was a kind gesture, as the gentleman he seemed to be, or was it just a special treatment

ever since second year and until now as both of you were on your fourth year, he was consistent with his efforts

these moves were moments like when he would carry your books to your next class or confidently invite you to a study ‘date’ at the library after – often times he tells that his friends were invited, but would never show up later on

sometimes he would bring you lunch. you tried to turn it down kindly, but he insists that it was purposely packed as an extra for when he stays late around the university.

it was a lie though. anyone could tell by the way it was prepared looking very appetizing and tasted just as amazing at it was presented.

and as peter had mentioned that he lived alone, you also assumed he was the one to make his meals. you were so sure he doesn’t pack for an extra and intentionally wants to impress you with his skills.

“hey, y/n!,” he calls, “look this eggroll has a cute design!”

he honestly was an epitome of a walking sunshine. his smile seemed so pure and you never felt any ill-intent for every gesture he had done for you

his friends seemed very welcoming the moment he introduced you to his group

you got along with ned who seemed to be just as joyful and funny as peter. meanwhile mj was a bit more of a tough cookie, nevertheless you both eventually got a long better than you expected

however, it came to one point wherein your own group of friends started being disheartened with your lack of communication

“you’ve been spending more time with that parker boy, huh?” “yeah, kinda?” “are you two like... dating?” “oh no! no... no... nooo!”

the moment they frowned at you was then that you realized and felt a little more guilty. you always remembered that friends were supposed to be friends despite the lack of time and effort, right?

somehow you tried to compensate for the lack of time with your friends. but every minute you spend felt more awkward than before

they weren’t sharing the same vibe with you and you were starting to question if it had been always like it – were you only adjusting to them?

you reached out for peter, considering that he became one of the closest and trusted people around the university. plus, he seemed to have genuinely great friends

“do you feel happy when you’re spending time with them?”

“well i used to but recently–”

“then you should stop being friends with them.”

you were upset for a second. the way he instantly told you that cutting ties with them would be the (only) option

he sounded serious on the other end of the line and you were just speechless for a moment. the dead air between lines was evident, but you didn’t know what to say

“sorry,” peter makes up, “i didn’t mean to sound too serious. i just don’t like people who are rude, especially to you.”

“oh, it’s fine. i totally get it.” you felt a batch of butterflies around your stomach. someone actually cared for you!!!

the moment you didn’t hesitate on losing your friendship with your past friends and moved on with joining peter’s group, things felt lighter.

somehow you felt more expressive than you realized. they were open to your ideas and thoughts, just as you were with them. you felt super comfortable and realized that you weren’t holding back on anything anymore

that’s why you had expected your winter break to be better than your past ones

everyone agreed to skate around the ice rink in rockefeller for christmas. along with it, also spending new year’s eve at the time square

news flash: you finally had the cliche new year’s eve kiss, with none other than peter parker!!! hooray!!!

for anyone who had common sense, your feelings for peter had accentuated. you weren’t denying it either, and the boy wasn’t oblivious to it too

he was just so irresistible and kind to you, like, all the time – to surreal, honestly

you felt and KNEW you were spoiled with peter (and his friends, who liked to spend time with you outside too, just not as much as him)

just as you were planning your spring break activities, it had to be postponed for another time

a lockdown had to be implemented around the country as it was under the state of a pandemic

mj and ned told the group that they’ll be with their families since lectures had to be concluded for the mean time

you planned to do the same, but you expected that this situation wouldn’t last long. so you chose to stay in your dorm rather than return to your hometown

completely sucks since you not only don’t get to hang out with your friends, but you weren’t able to see anyone in person...

until you got a text from peter

he was literally inviting you over his apartment since he explained that he wasn’t returning home either

you practically rushed to pack a small amount of clothes for a sleepover whilst not forgetting to wear a mask (bc it’s fucking important ok)

you arrived at his address and a big warm hug ensues

his unit was so tidy and you were convinced he did it to impress you

peter was so happy to see you, acknowledging that you’re also spending a few nights with him

the nights mostly consisted of eating snacks and binge watching movies

however during one of those nights, both of you got a bonus – making out on his couch and further, completely forgetting the television

making out with peter wasn’t awkward at all. most of the time he was the one in control, which you didn’t mind

his hands treated you so gently but the way he teased you made you crave for more than what he was offering

a lot of whining, swearing, and begging – you weren’t aware but he was enjoying it a lot

on his side, he did praise you from time to time, but most of it consisted of raw tension and actions. the room was full of grunts and short breaths

just want to include how sexy peter would be while he moans all over you. like his whole sunshine personality just drained away the moment he places his hands on either sides of your waist

the next day you felt like a princess even though you know it shouldn’t be???

apparently peter prepared breakfast for you and you felt embarrassed walking around his place only in the shirt you wore yesterday and underwear

just when you thought the extra lunch he packs for you was already amazing, the breakfast he prepared whilst being fresh and hot was just incredible

“you really like it?”

“of course! you really have to teach me to cook sometimes”

peter laughs and jokes, “yeah, don’t worry. i feel like we’ve got a lot of time ahead.”

ok fast forward to a few more days when you were beginning to feel like a freeloader. he lets you borrow a few of his clothes as yours were in the laundry

by the time you wanted to stop by your place, peter started to be more... clingy

at first he didn’t want you to go but after a few more debates, he felt defeated and instead insisted on going with you

eventually you caved and let him. it wasn’t that bad either, he talked to you about a lot of things on the way leaving you entertained the whole walk without realizing how far it had been

he helped you ‘pack’ more stuff so you wouldn’t be going back and forth from his place and yours. you felt like you were going out of town for a month with the amount of clothes and products

both of you returned to his place around late afternoon. you felt pretty tired and didn’t hesitate to pass out on the living room couch

when you woke up you sensed that you were in peter’s bedroom, meaning he carried and tucked you during the night

plus! an arm was wrapped around your midriff and you could feel peter’s breathing against your side

you closed your eyes and appreciated the moment. it was cute and made butterflies flutter around your stomach, and you tried not to move much to not wake him up

anyways apparently the pandemic lasted longer, and more serious, than expected (fuck the government and their incompetency)

you spent more time with peter and was thankful that you didn’t spend this quarantine alone

within a blink of an eye, a month and a half already had passed. you couldn’t deny that most, or all, days have been unproductive

eat, cook, watch tv, cuddle, fuck, repeatedly get spoiled??? yeah sounds like the dream

weird though because you haven’t completely brought up to peter if you’re actually in a relationship with him. oh no were you just friends with (a lot) of benefits??

but you also felt like it wasn’t the time to bring it up. neither of you were saying anything so it was best to let it be for the fear that things might go downhill from there

anyways this continued for more weeks, especially since the ‘stay-at-home’ policy was deemed necessary

you started to help him do errands around the apartment just to feel like you weren’t an actual freeloader – but it wasn’t a surprise when he kept insisting that you should relax

more cute moments

more sexy times

and more cuddles during night (peter’s grip became tighter every night, but you shrugged it off assuming that it was just you getting homesick and overthinking)

ok but when you brought up being homesick and mentioned that you planned peter wasn’t entirely happy about it

the way he acted wasn’t just clingy. he insisted that he’d be the one to go and that you were staying

“ok but i’m not a dog, peter?” “i know, honey, but it’s too dangerous outside. i wouldn’t want you to be at risk.” “i wear a mask?? i follow health protocols?? i’ll be fine??” “you don’t understand–”

oh god he was becoming controlling

you tried not to argue anymore, rather ignoring and pushing past him to proceed to the door

and peter instinctively wrapped an arm around your waist and prevented you from walking further

there was a lot of struggling, but you didn’t know he was this strong. literally what the hell.

you tried to scream too but he pretty much threatened you to your core

“let’s talk this out,” he grunts as he secures his grip around you

“the hell? let me go!”

things got more complicated. he did convince you to talk with him (by means of tying your arms and legs to incapacitate you from running and righting)

it was a nightmare. he was really soft and sweet with you, even getting teary eyed after stating, “i only want what’s best for you... for us”

however you could sense the manipulativeness through it despite being making everything else look convincing

“trust me, sweetie, i wouldn’t want to hurt you. it would crush me” “please don’t cry. i’m only protecting you” “people are disgusting, they don’t deserve an angel like you” “don’t worry, i can protect you”

it terrified you to your nerves, sending shivers across your spine

at first you didn’t realize it, but eventually after days of being trapped, you figured he had been grooming you the whole time

he tried to make you dependent of him and somehow he did a fine job. just not enough to completely exploit you

though, it made you question what would have been better in your situation: being conscious of his sly nature with the hope of escaping or being unaware and completely wrapped around his finger whereas letting him continue how greatly he had been caring for you?

486 notes · View notes

dumdumsun · 3 years

Text

And Dusk

A/N: One of my favorites. Enjoy ❤️

Warnings: mentions of violence

Word Count: 2780

—————————————

Chapter 8: Tell Me, Muse

After an awkward-turned-heartfelt conversation between the reunited Allison and Luther about how good they were and the former’s marriage, the two slowly leaned away from each other on their own sides of the table. Allison decided to break the short silence between them. “Have you, um, heard from any of the others? Vanya?”

“Uh, on a farm,” Luther answered with raised brows. “And happy.”

Allison nodded, brows furrowed. “Right… Weird… Uh, Diego?”

“Nuthouse. Klaus?”

“Cult leader.”

“Eh,” He shrugged, Allison laughing aloud. “And, uh, Five turned up a few days ago. What about (Y/N)? You know anything about her?”

Allison froze, her mouth opening and closing. “I… I was hoping you’d know… Five doesn’t?”

“No, he hasn’t found her yet.” Luther’s expression saddened as Allison stared down at the table with a solemn look. “Hey… we’ll find her. She’s tough as nails. I’m sure she’s doing just fine.”

Allison glanced up at him, trying a smile. “Yeah… Yeah, I hope so…”

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

“I don’t see Dad anywhere.” Diego said as he, Lila and Five stood in the midst of the gala. Five turned to him, glass in his hand.

“Just keep an eye out for the Majestic Twelve. I got the upstairs,” When his brother turned away, Five caught his attention again. “Diego, try not to do anything too stupid.” He nodded before taking off, eliciting a soft chuckle from Lila.

Just as the boy ascended the stairs, (Y/N) and Preston had just passed the bottom to slip past Diego and Lila. Preston, after setting the girl’s drink down wherever, held her by the hand and led her to the middle of the dance floor. The two got into position before moving to the beat of the music. Preston tried more than once to steal a kiss, but she would lean away or turn her head in a different direction as if something caught her eye. To say he was getting frustrated was an understatement. She could tell by the quiet huffs through his nose.

“They’re playing our song.” Lila whispered before grabbing Diego by his tie, dragging him onto the dance floor. The only thing separating Diego and (Y/N) was an elderly couple dancing between them. But Diego was too immersed in his dance with Lila to notice his sister. He spun his ‘crazy lady’ around a couple times, causing her to grin. “You’ve got moves.”

“My father insisted on ballroom lessons,” Diego informed before horribly imitating Reginald. “‘One never knows when the paso doble will be the difference between life and death’,” He quoted before slowly dipping Lila. “‘Children’.”

“My mum used to say something along those lines.” Lila whispered, gently pushing his hair back.

“Yeah?” He smiled, eyes moving up when a blur of orange got his attention. He nearly dropped Lila onto the floor when they landed on the person who adorned that color.

“Preston, I don’t think you’ve even applied any of our lessons to our dance.” (Y/N) muttered to her date, who smirked and rolled his eyes. “And why does it seem like you don’t care? I kinda need for you to actually do something right so my dad won’t be on my ass after this.”

“Your dad is nowhere near.” Preston whispered, moving even closer. The girl scoffed and flicked his nose with her fingers. He gasped and hissed as he scrunched up his nose, but before he could scold her about her poor manners, she was pulled out of his hold. Milliseconds later, Lila was spun into Preston’s arms, the boy instinctively holding onto her so she wouldn’t fall. The two stared at each other in confusion and slight disgust as she slowly nodded.

“What a party.”

(Y/N) held onto whoever saved her from her unbearable date, her grip so tight that he softly hissed. Snapping her head up, she gasped at the sight of her brother staring at her with wide eyes and a bright smile. “Diego…”

“Hey, sis.” He wasted no time in crushing her into a hug. Happily laughing, she returned the comfort. Upon close inspection, Lila identified her target. And now she knew that she was important to Diego. The siblings naturally fell into a waltz that Diego flowed along nicely with.

“Look at you, big brother,” (Y/N) laughed. “Not so robotronic anymore, huh?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, it’s been years since I’ve been your dance partner. I had to show you someday. How long have you been here? In Dallas?”

“Since late 1961. You?”

“Got here over two months ago. Shit, you’ve been here awhile… How are you holding up?”

“What do you think?” She chuckled and spun herself under his arm. He got a glimpse of her outfit and hummed.

“Not too bad, I see.” He became serious and leaned in closer. “(Y/N), listen to me, alright? Five was the last of us to get here-”

“Five?” (Y/N)’s steps stuttered a bit, but Diego got them back on beat. “You saw Five?”

He nodded. “But that’s not it. He told me-”

Diego was cut off yet again when (Y/N) was spun out of his hold, replaced by Lila. The woman simply shrugged and nodded towards Preston, who was now holding (Y/N) close and glaring at Diego. He returned the glare before Lila turned his chin so he was facing her. “She’s a little young for you, yeah?”

“What? No, gross. That’s my sister.” He shook his head. Lila raised her brows and led the two in a dance.

“A little sister? How cute…”

“She’s not as little as you think.” He chuckled. “There’s a lot of… interesting things about my family.”

“I didn’t notice.” She giggled, the two of them inching closer until their lips nearly grazed each other. Once again, a certain someone caught Diego’s eye, and Lila noticed. “Well, you are easily distracted.”

But he wasn’t listening to her. “It can’t be…” He whispered before slipping away from Lila, leaving her alone on the dance floor. His journey to Grace seemed to go in slow motion, the man slipping between bodies and clearing the path until she was all he saw. When she turned to him, he was transfixed. It was Grace. His mother who he shut off. “Mom…” He whispered, the woman giving him a look.

“Well, that isn’t the first time I’ve heard that,” Her Texas drawl threw him off a bit. Of course. This was the actual Grace. When Diego’s face dropped in realization, she became more perplexed. “Everything alright, hun?”

With a small smile, Diego stepped closer. “You’re real…”

Nervously chuckling, Grace shifted in her place, blinking rapidly. “If this is your idea of a come-on, it’s not goin’ well.”

“No,” Diego stuttered. “Uh, do… Do you know a… a man named Sir Reginald Hargreeves?” He questioned, crossing his arms.

“Reggie? He’s my date this evenin’.”

Diego raised his brows and widened his eyes. “Your date…?” His expression fell into disgust when Grace nodded in confirmation. At his grimace, she shook her head.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No. No, no, it’s… it’s just, uh… It’s just a lot to process. The… The thought of the two of you… I can’t picture that in my head. That is… That’s nasty.”

Sighing, Grace tried to make sense of this entire conversation. “You’re a little odd, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Diego smiled up at her, enjoying the sound of her soft laugh before his expression fell. “I mean no. Uh… Do you know where he is?”

“He said somethin’ about a quick meetin’, and he’d be right back. That was twenty minutes ago.”

Diego stared at her with a judging look. But not in judgment of her. “Never good to keep a lady waiting.”

“Tell him that if you find him.” Grace lifted her drink before walking past Diego. She was almost out of sight when he called out to her by her name. Not remembering giving it to him, she turned with guarded confusion. But he only gave her a gentle look.

“It was nice meeting you.”

“You, too.”

Meanwhile, (Y/N) had managed to slip away from Preston, making an excuse to head to the little girls’ room. Unbeknownst to him, she walked in the entire opposite direction, swiftly falling into step beside Lila. “Sorry about that whole switcheroo situation. My brother seems to think with anything but his head.”

“Yes, I noticed,” She smiled, reaching her hand out to shake. “I’m Lila.”

“(Y/N).” The girl shook her hand. Lila’s eyes scanned her up and down as she assessed her.

“My, my, you are cute, aren’t you?”

Thrown off a bit, (Y/N) chuckled and slowly took her hand back. “Thank you? So, how’d you and Diego meet?” She asked as the two of them linked arms.

“The asylum.”

“Lovely.”

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

Blinking into a closet inside the meeting room of the Majestic Twelve, Five adjusted his eyes to the darkness and peered in through the small space he had.

“The president is continuing to make inquiries into Roswell and the other crash sites, gentlemen,” One of the men spoke. “And, as you know, we cannot allow him to get his nose into our business.”

As he continued, Five noticed one of the Twelve delicately cleaning a monocle, urging the boy to lean in closer. “I’ve confirmed the motorcade will indeed be turning left on Elm Street. We’ll have our people in place.”

“Gentlemen,” The familiarity of the British accent startled Five for a mere second, but he only pressed himself closer. “This plan of yours seems ill-timed.”

“It’s going to be a turkey shoot.” Another of the Twelve commented just before Five had gotten too invested and unintentionally made noise with a hanger, causing the men to tense and whirl towards the closet. When the face of Sir Reginald Hargreeves came into view, Five could only stare in shock.

“Dad…?”

Reginald shushed the men and stalked towards the fireplace, grabbing one of the pokers and heading straight for the closet. Five and Reginald stood before each other in silence. One unknowing, one not. The next second, Reginald stabbed through the closet, intentionally trying to harm whoever was on the other side. When he opened the door, though, no one was there.

Five blinked into the hallway and exhaled, straightening his uniform before spinning around. Stood before him was one of the Swedish assassins. The boy cursed to himself before he was grabbed and thrown against the wall. Before he could be thrown into the other, he blinked through it and then behind the man, kicking him in the back of the knee and sending him to the ground. Five jumped onto his back and attempted to snap his neck, but the man was much stronger than the boy anticipated. So, he was flipped over and onto his back. Before the Swede could land a punch to his face, Five blinked behind him again. When he saw that he couldn’t successfully fight back, he tried again to blink, but the energy of his power only sputtered. Much like when he first arrived in the apocalypse. He was drained. When he looked up, the man was much closer than before. “Oh, shit…” The boy muttered before receiving a punch to the face.

In search of Lila, Diego rushed up the stairs and turned the corner, only to find his brother getting pummeled by one of the gunmen he had the pleasure of meeting during his asylum escape. Diego began to move towards Five, but was pulled back when a belt came around his throat and constricted his airway. He struggled with all his might, but his attacker did not relent. Moving to stand in front of him was the other gunman, now wearing brass knuckles on one of his hands. Rearing his arm back, he forcefully rammed the knuckles into Diego’s gut, then his face. Diego used his legs to kick the man away and send him to his knees. Taking out one of his knives, he launched it towards him, but it missed his target completely. He was focused enough on the third Swede continuing to choke him. Diego was dragged down the opposite end of the hall as Five, as the Swede with the brass knuckles landed his weapon on the poor man over and over.

Just in time, (Y/N) and Lila reached the hallway, both of them immediately turning in Diego’s direction. The young girl gasped and rushed to her brother without hesitation. Remembering her ‘side gig’, Lila quickly grabbed a hold of her arm, but turned in the opposite direction upon hearing a groan. Her eyes zeroed on Five being punched, kicked, thrown, and her mother’s voice rang in her head.

“Protect Number Five at all costs.”

So, she let (Y/N) go, the young girl never removing her gaze from her brother. The two females seemed to have had the same idea of kicking off their heels, but (Y/N) took her second one into her hand and launched the heel into the face of the man who was choking Diego. Her brother greedily took gulps of air into his lungs as she tackled the man to the ground. He was the shortest of the three, so he was the best she’d get to an equal opponent. (Y/N) sent punch after punch to his face, her small hands forcing themselves around his throat and squeezing. She watched as his reddened face began to pale the harder she squeezed, and right when she thought he’d pass out, he tangled their legs together and flipped them over. The back of her head hit the floor, a groan escaping her lips before she got her treatment right back to her. Lifting her by the throat, the Swede swung her around and pinned her to the wall.

“Eat shit and die…” She gasped out around his hand. He only clenched his jaw and slammed her head against the wall so hard she was beginning to see stars. Diego kicked his own opponent away before grabbing his sister’s attacker by the hair and tugging him back. Barely giving herself time to breathe, (Y/N) grabbed the shortest Swede by his suit lapels and, with all the force her worn-out body could muster, swung him into the wall. She heard a crack when the back of his head hit the wall, the man slumping to the floor. Turning to Diego, the two breathlessly smiled at each other before a voice called out.

“(Y/N)?! Honey, where are you? We need to go!”

“Shit.” She muttered before grabbing her heels and rushing down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Preston was there to catch her before she could stumble down the last few steps. Silently, she dropped her heels to the ground and held onto him for balance as she slipped them on.

“(Y/N), what the hell happened to you? I thought you went to the bathroom.” Preston held her by the waist.

“Uh, I got lost?”

“Well, we’ve gotta go, your mom is worried sick.” He grabbed her hand and rushed them out of the building. Just after Five had looked away from the window where he’d spotted Grace and Reginald, (Y/N) and Preston had just been approaching said adults. Grace let go of Reginald’s hand and gasped aloud, hugging her daughter close.

“Where were you? We couldn’t find you anywhere, darlin’.”

(Y/N) quietly chuckled as her father guided them to their awaiting car. “I, uh… got lost leaving the bathroom.” She lied as Preston held the door open for her. The last person to get in the car was Reginald, but just when he opened the door, a familiar voice sounded.

He turned in the direction of someone calling out to him in Ancient Greek. (Y/N) sat up quickly and tried to look out of Preston’s window, but he was blocking her view. That voice…

“Reggie,” Grace sighed. “What are you waitin’ for? We need to go.”

Without another word, Reginald climbed inside the car beside Grace. As they drove away, (Y/N)’s eyes never strayed from Preston’s window. “Dad, who was that?”

“No one important.” He dismissed, but she didn’t give up yet.

“Why did he recite the Odyssey?”

“I’m not sure-”

“And in Ancient Greek?”

“(Y/N), my child,” Her father exasperatedly sighed. “I do not know. It is nothing for you to worry about. So, stop fretting.”

The girl clutched her dress in both her fists, harshly biting her lip. Because there were only so many people she knew, besides herself, who could recite Homer in Ancient Greek.

—————————————

Taglist: @unfortu-nate-ly @sapphicsyn @m00n-sh @starcurrent @alexander-hamilhoe @youcandalekmyballs @wonderlandfandomkingdom @yrdadjstcallsmekatya @sm0kingcrack @a-t-h-r-e-e-n-a @moatsnow @bubblegumflamingos @starstormssymphony @meowiemari @magicalgothpandamaker @simping-4-fictional-men @hehehehannahthings @harrystylescherrie @rhain3 @himikaphoo @zerocanonlywriteshit @xxeiraxx @camerondiaz48104 @isawachickeninatree @theyaremorethanjustfictional @that-can-of-fizz

#the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #umbrella academy x reader #tua #tua fanfic #tua x reader #tua five #five hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #number five #number five x reader #five x reader #of starlight #and dusk

141 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 3 years

Text

Amphibia: Ivy on The Run and After the Rain Reviews

Hello all you happy people! We’re into week two and after far too long we finally get some answers.. well okay not the ones we thought we were getting but hey you take what you get sometimes. Point is it’s a big week, with a fun ivycentric episode that fleshes her and Felcia out and a far more serious episode that finally explains a few things, not saying what things because spoilers. So join me under the cut for some smiles, some tears, and a bit of Muay Thai and Myagi-Do as I break things down.

Ivy on the Run:

I was pleased as punch to find out Ivy was getting an episode. While I couldn’t say she was a faviorite of mine, I always found Katie Crowns performance exceptional, and her a delight to watch. The character wasn’t bad.. but EVERY episode up to this one involving her was about her and Sprig’s relationship which while really fucking precious left little room to flesh her out beyond a love of ambushes and being into the same kid stuff Sprig was into.

This episode not only corrects that but also takes another suprising leap for the series in having Ivy clearly be the main character of the episode. While this isn’t the first episode to spotlight a citzen of wartwood.. it’s the first where the Plantars are side characters in the plot instead of just as important as whoever got focus or usually more important. Here Ivy is the lead of the episode: We open on her waking up for the day (Or rather having been awake for hours to trick her alarm clock), get a sense of her personality.. and of the episodes conflict: Ivy’s desire to be free and explore versus her mothe’rs constnat anal renttientve insistence she do tea related stuff like fold swans properly. IT’s a decent enough conflict that gets elevated by hte twist at the end.

So she runs out after that to meet up with Sprig, and ambush him because that’s how thier relationship works. And what I really like here is while their relationships still present in the episode it’s thankfully not the focus or even realy lreated. Their clearly together, it’s just not the focus of the episode> Just some nice ranch dressing atop this salad. While they go to hunt for glitter beetles, Anne is teaching Polly, Muay Thai. The martial art of champions.. specifically one eyed ones who like to put tiger in front of their moves. As for why she took it up her mom wanted somewhere to put her energy, as seen in a flashback with a young Anne adorably banging on pans while singing her own version of Wannabe by the Spice Girls. It’s fucking precious.

So the couple happily go beetle hunting i’ts precious.. but Ivy’s patience with her mother starts to run out as her mother loudly interupts her hunt to return her for tea practice: stirring it, setting tables, folding swans that sorta thing. All things she clearly dosen’t WANT to do or like and gives the impression Felcia is trying to force her daughter to become more like her and less like herself which... no. Just no.

Ivy eventually hits her limit with this bullshit, tells her mother off and then stomps off to her room whiel her Mom fails ot understand that MAYBE being hypercirtical of your daughter, even if it turns out you have a good reason, might backfire. Ivy is encouraged by her posters, great scene by the way, to run away and leave town, and take Sprig with her.. whose relcutant as he talked himself up as being really well liked and savy out there but was just okay in practice.

Meanwhile Polly and Anne continue training but Polly can’t get it as she just can’t calm down and focus, and Anne easily blocks her. In constrast Wally shows up, having apparently been watching them.

And picks it up instantly. I can see why; Wally seems a bit scatterbrained due to his weird and wonderful nature.. but we’ve seen him be entirely capable when the chips are down, and to be a talented musician. So while he’d SEEM like he’d lack focus, it’s probably way easier to him than the impatient tadpole who just wants to kick ass without getting it takes a few steps.

Meanwhile Sprig tries to talk his girlfriend out of running away together at 10 only for Sylvia to tail them with those bee phone things she used earlier.. and also be there, as once they clear those out she’s waiting and both end up at the Muay Thai class. Things finally hit their breaking point and Ivy wishes she never had family... and I think this is what finally gets it in Felicia’s head she messed up. She meant well.. but sh’es clearly been so hard on her child that, even if she instnatnly regrets it, she’s willing to disown her own mother if it means getting away from her.

So Felica gives her a way out: Martial Arts Match. Because nothing says parental love like fighting your daughter for her freedom. Though in her defense things are pretty fair: three matches, and Ivy just needs to win ONE by getting a point on her, like in a martial arts competition. I only know that’s what they were going for because I binged Cobra Kai last month along with the first two Karate Kids.

And that refrence isn’t for nothing as Felcia easily dominates the first two matches using Miyagi-Do esque moves i.e. pure defense, and with a Miyagi style lesson inside as for the final one.. she has Ivy repeat the various tea things she’d had her do, and just like that amazing fucking scene from Karate Kid, Ivy can now fight and realizes her mother was training her the whole time, as her mom simply wanted her to be readly and as for why Felcia herself is a karate master, she picked it up while gathering tea as naturally it’s incredibly dangerous in amphibia.

So Felcia let’s her daughte win and expalins she just wanted her to be safe.. which is nice but while her devistaiton earlier clearly shows it, it still dosen’t QUITE justify how hard she was or not telling her why when her daughter is a clear tomboy. I do get the Miyagi-Do training style: it builds muscle memory and means you can defend without thinking, fight without having to plan every punch and kick. It’s brilliant.. but you have to match the training to the student. Daniel hated his traning too.. but Miyagi clearly KNEW he would, knew he’d give out and set it all up that way. Felcia.. nearly pushed her daughter into running away and never apologized. It’s not all terrible as there is the implciation this whole match was Felcia realizing she had to make it clera what she was doing, but it’s still fairly torubling the episode never adresses her behavior outright., even if they make up and Felciia plans to take her along next time. Also Polly punches wally in the face... eh he’l lbe fine.

Final Thoughts on Ivy on the Run: This one was decent. As said the final part feels a bit... ehhh..as it feels they don’t adress Felicia’s controlling attitude enough.. but it dosen’t detract from a pretty fun episode, especially the Muay Thai stuff. That was an unexpected treat. And let’s face it after recently getting in deep with the franchise thanks to cobra kai, I can’t hate anything that reminds me of the Karate Kid. In a good way at least.

After The Rain:

Well this was both a long time coming and as painful as I expected. And after over a year and a half, we FINALLY get some answers.. not ALL the answers but some. Look you know what this episode is about, I know what this episode is about, let’s get cracking in round 2.

So Anne’s got a letter, anne’s got a letter I wonder who it’s from. Marcy.. it’s from Marcy. Turns out she’s ready to go to the first temple, and even sent them a check list: weapons, food (check and check) and armor. Hop Pop already thought of that.. but instead of badass and practical armor.. it’s padded sumo suits that they can’t move in because “less mobility means less trouble”. Or you’ll get eaten by a hawk.. which given this show is probably also on fire and can shoot acid out of its’ eyes. Or lasers. Or acid lasers. The point is their gonna die. THey also naturally need the music box... which Hop Pop about craps himself hearing. Gee it’s almost like not getting the box sooner when you knew damn well abotu the temple thing and that they’d need it kinda bit you on the froggy bottom Hopidiah.

It gets worse for him as while he mentions his ‘contacts” again.. that night he goes to dig it up. Problem is, Anne follows him when she hears footsteps, and while she initially assumes i’ts just him being a weirdo and plans to suprise him... we instead get the gut punch we’ve been anticpating for the last year and a half. Hop Pop shouts about the box being gone, clearly panicked... and Anne hears him, utterly devistated and rightfully FURIOUS. He confesses the truth, clearly feeling guilty for what he’s done and lying all this time but Anne dosen’t want to hear it and storms off.

Yeah as you can tell this is a rough one. So next morning Hop Pop, who clearly hasn’t slept and given his surrogate grandaughter just rightfully walked out on him why would he, confesses to the kids what he did. And while neither like what he did .. they prioritize getting Anne back, sending him to go fix his mess while they find the box.

The box turns out to not be the only thing missing: various other things around town have been stolen, including a talisman that if Maddie dosen’t get it back will have horrifying consequences. Classic Maddie. As for why Swampy Joe has the answer: the magpie beetle, a beetle that emerges once every 20 years to steal stuff to use as a shell to impress mates. They find the box.. but it’s in a seatle of beatles and soon get swamped. Meanwhile Anne’s returned to the cave and... okay i’m just going to have to power through or this episodes going to kill me with sadness. After some bits about her and her rock rocky, Hop Pop finds her and she still has nothing to say to him, again for good reaosn, but before he can get to telling her WHY he did it, they hear the others crying for help and Anne tries to rescue them herself, only helping hop pop do so when he points out they NEED to and even if she rightfully dosen’t trust him she needs to for now. THey save the kids.. and Anne STILL wants to leave.

We then get an even bigger gut punch. It turns out Hop Pop didn’t hide the box for some big reveal.. regarding the box. Turns out it’s not the box itself, his book just says it’s dangerous and w’ell likely find out any specifics it had next week. It’s Hop Pop’s lingering trauma. While we don’t find out why the Box is dangerous.. we do find out what hapepned to their parents. And I just want to say before we get into that Bill Farmer’s acting this WHOLE episode is some of hte finest, if not THE finest in his career. HIs guilt, his pain.. it’s all so raw and palpable. Brenda Song’s no slouch either, Anne’s pain and anger is likewise very well done, but Bill is far and away the mvp of the episode.. and this scene is why.

He reveals he’s been so cautious, so scared for the kids and so overly protective in general.. because of how the kids parents died, something they don’t blame him for but he does: He was out of town on buisness.. when a pair of herons attacked. Sprig and Polly got to the family bunker in time.. their parents... weren’t so lucky. It’s not the big bombastic arc related death we all thought was coming.. but I like it for it’s brutal nightmarish simplicity. They didn’t die some heroic death, they aren’t still here.. they just died like SO MANY background frogs have. Two wild giant animals they coudln’t possibly defend against got em. Nothing could’ve been done no matter what Hop Pop thinks, theirs no way they coudl’ve been saved, and i’ts LUCKY their children didn’t share the same fate. But their gone and it gives a new, awful meaning to Hop Pop’s overproectivness. Before it was mildly justified if a bit strict.. now.. i’ts him trying not to loose what he has left. Trying to hold on tight to his grandkids so he dosen’t loose anyone else.

He hid the box because his trauma and guilt were so severe he did something very stupid, and regretted it ever since and begs anne to forgive him in THE best line read of Bill Farmer’s long and storied career. And she does, hugging her Hop Pop gently, realizing that while he fucked up.. she gets WHY he did.. and that he’s sorry for it. He wasn’t tyring to keep her from going home or any messed up shit.. he just was trying to keep her and his other kids alive. And as Sprig and Polly say it’s not his fault, it never could’ve been.. he can’t help but feel that way. You just feel.. powerless when you loose someone, like you could’ve done something even though 9/10 you couldn’t have and it leaves a hole you never quite fill. So this hit like a truck. But our family is reconclied and the kids get a look at the entry in Hop Pop’s ancestral book. What does it say besides it bad? what does this mean? We’ll find out next week. For now it’s just good to have them all together again.

Final Thoughts on After the Rain: This episode is a masterpiece. It’s exepertly crafted, sticks in a few gags for flavor and only has the sprig and polly plot to help keep the main meat of the plot as light as it needs to be.. and it works. The few scenes we get with Anne and Hop Pop are just plain brutal and exactly what’s needed. It’s one of the series best, painful, raw and with a twist I dind’t see coming. I expected, again like most of us for the kdis parents deaths to be tied into it.. but instead.. it’s just trauma. But it’s satisfying enough that it feels like a great payoff, that it wasn’t some big dark secret like misdirected... it was just an old man who didn’t want to loose what family he had left. And that’s fucking brilliant.

Next Week: THE FIRST TEMPLE BABY! The Plantars and Marcie head into the woods to fight moblins and ggghosts! I mean.. that is what the forest temple is right?

Until then follow me for more reviews, follow me on my patreon your support would be appricated and see you at the next rainbow.

#amphibia #after the rain #ivy on the run #anne boonchuy #hopidiah plantar #sprig plantar #ivy sundew #polly plantar #felcia sundew #one eyed wally #maddie flour #amphibia spoilers

16 notes · View notes

sierraraeck · 4 years

Text

The Second Case (Pt.1)

BAU x OC Aundreya

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

(This is my gif so please give credit if used)

Summary: The second case with the team means revisiting Aundreya’s hometown of Chicago. It quickly becomes personal and requires her to use connections and skills she acquired on the streets. Story two.

Category: Just working a case with the team

Warnings: Normal CM gore. A case involving young teenage girls. Mentions of drugs. Cussing.

Word Count: 4.8k

A/N: Just a reminder that this is all 100% fiction and I don’t actually know how gangs work.

I did start with the team that Monday, and while I was used to things moving fast, their version of ‘briefing’ was a whole new ball game. The first case felt a lot more like a dry run than anything. I honestly felt kinda useless. They all talked so fast, especially Spencer when he rambled facts or had revelations about something the rest of us didn’t understand. As promised, I was stuck in the precinct for the entire week practically, with plenty of badges around to watch me. And trust me, all of them did. I was back at the bottom of the food chain, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in almost a decade. It was infuriating, but I was just glad to be out in the world. Mostly.

Even though the team had supposedly voted to allow me to join them, it definitely didn’t feel that way. No one hardly talked to me. I mean, Morgan and Reid didn’t even so much as look at me, and when they did, it was only to give me a weird look everytime I said something, even when I was right. Especially when I was right.

But I brushed all of that off when I realized what the next case was. We would be headed right back to Chicago, probably the last place someone like me wanted to be seen with Feds.

Garcia flashed three bodies up on the screen. “Abigail Meyers, Josie Wilson, and Mya Burns. All three were found in their backyards, multiple stab wounds, and their throats slashed.”

“Do you have an age on these girls?” Morgan asked.

“Yes. Abigail and Josie were 15, Mya was 14.”

“They had each been reported missing in the morning and were found dead later that evening,” Hotch said.

“Our unsub would have to be sophisticated enough to be able to get the girls back into their own backyards later that night without being detected by the cops or the parents, since they would all be on high alert for the girls to return in case they had just run off,” Reid said. “Any connection between the three?”

“Besides geography, I haven’t found anything, but as always I will keep digging,” Penelope responded.

“What is that in their right hand?” JJ asked. I directed my attention to what she was talking about. Garcia pulled up another photo zoomed in on their right hands. “Apparently, all three had been stabbed straight through their hand.”

“And our unsub just left the knife through their hand at the crime scene?” Derek asked.

“Switchblade,” I corrected before he could get his answer. They all looked over at me. “I’ve seen something like this before. It’s been a while, but this was the signature of a rival gang, the Angels, in Chicago before ours took it over.”

“Stabbing the girls multiple times and leaving the murder weapon was a gang signature?” Rossi asked me.

“No. Not the multiple stabbings. For a gang member that would take too long. But the blade through the hand? That’s definitely a signature,” I replied.

“Okay, so if this is gang related, why the rest of it? The kidnapping, the stabbing, the dump sight...” Jennifer trailed off.

“I don’t know, but three victims in five days? This guy clearly doesn’t need much of a cooling off period,” Prentiss chimed in.

“Exactly, which means we need to act fast. Wheels up in 30.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

When we landed, I went right to the precinct with Aaron and JJ. The rest went to the crime scenes or to talk to the ME.

“I’m SSA Hotchner and this is Agent Jareau and Chambers,” Aaron introduced. The head of the department shook my hand, but held it for a little too long.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” the man asked me.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“Are you sure? I feel like I know of a Chambers,” he pressed.

“Sorry. I think you’ve got the wrong girl,” I replied. He must’ve been new because if he had been there even two years ago, I’m sure people still would have been talking about me. I was just thankful the FBI made good on their promise to keep my escape and new employee status under the rug. JJ and Hotch looked at me, but I just shrugged them off. As if they didn’t already know I enjoyed lying to new people about who I was. I followed them into the office where we were supposed to set up. They already had a board up with pictures and information about the victims. That’s when Garica called.

“I regret to inform you of this, sir, but another girl has just gone missing. Her name is Jayana Orion…” I stopped listening. Jayana Orion. I hadn’t heard her name in a while. She was supposed to be my responsibility. When her mother, one of the only real friends I made during my 7 years on the streets, died, she asked me to do one thing for her, and that was protect her daughter. Of course, Sydney’s husband, Todd, was still around to help take care of her, but she knew that I would be able to handle the possible threats to Jayana better than he would. Instead, I made a dumb decision which left me in a prison where I could no longer help them. And now I had completely failed her.

“... Chambers?” I was snapped back to reality, Aaron trying to get my attention. “What do you think?”

“Sorry, about what?” I asked. I was going to have to compose myself if I didn’t want them picking up on this.

“Reid called from the ME saying that each girl had cocaine in their systems. Does that mean anything to you?”

“Other than cocaine being a popular street drug, no,” I said, still distracted. “Do we know anything else about Jayana?”

“Garcia is looking into it and Rossi is talking to her father now. If he sticks to schedule, we have until tonight to find her.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

“So according to their phone records and laptops, all three girls were talking about how unhappy they were with their parents, but I’ve found no contact between them that is the same,” Garcia said.

“All of their parents agreed that they had been distant lately,” Rossi said.

“So, what? These girls get mad and just decide to run? It sounds to me like this would have to be a stalker,” Prentiss said.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t fit with our gang affiliated profile,” Jareau said.

“Well maybe we got it wrong. Maybe this guy isn’t gang affiliated and just picked up on one of their signatures. I mean, there are no markings claiming responsibility, and no MO that matches a gang to the T,” Morgan offered. I could tell by his undertone that he somewhat enjoyed the idea of me being wrong.

“I still don’t understand. Why the shallow cuts on the arms?” Rossi asked. The room went silent and out of habit, I started scratching my own arm. Wait, my arm. That’s when it hit me. The cuts, the cocaine, the blade through the hand, the backyard...

“Garcia, are you still on the line?” I asked.

“Sure am,” she called.

“Where did you say their phones pinged from last?” Garcia started rattling off places as I dotted them on the map. I could feel the stares on my back as I worked. I turned to face the team. “I think this guy is trying to initiate these girls.”

“What?” Morgan looked at me like I had grown a third arm.

“Yeah. The last place these girls phones pinged are from designated street corners. Each girl stood at a different pick up zone for the Angels initiation. I didn’t immediately put it together because the Angels have been disbanded for almost 8 years. During most initiations, new members ditch their phones, and are forced to take some sort of stimulant or hallucinogenic to make them more compliant. Usually new recruits are asked multiple questions while under the influence so the gang can gage if they think they will be loyal to them or not. If people don’t pass they are usually just released. Traitors, on the other hand, are punished severely. They are usually dumped at a place of significance to them or their partners as a warning. In this case, the place of significance is their own backyard. The blade through the hand was just a way the Angels marked their traitors,” I said.

“So while this guy has them, he initiates them, and then thinks they have betrayed him in some way,” Derek said.

“Which causes him to lash out, which is why we see the overkill, but continues with the rest of the procedures,” Spencer finished.

“That’s great and all, but we still don’t know why he cuts their arms,” Rossi pointed out.

“Well, most initiations have recruits cut themselves and bleed on to, or in to, something of value and importance to the gang, solidifying their loyalty. Plus, most veteran gang members have plenty of cuts on their arms from training accidents or rival gang encounters,” I answered, realizing too late what I’d just invited everyone to do. They all dropped their gaze to my forearms to confirm my theory, which were exposed due to my rolled up sleeves. I quickly tugged them down to cover the small scars littering my arms.

“So that explanation does fit, but how is he finding his victims? Garcia said she found no mutual contact between the girls, but he would have to have some sort of prior contact with them for them to know exactly which street corner to stand on,” JJ said.

“Or maybe these are just victims of opportunity? If these girls ran from their homes, they could have just ended up on the wrong street corner,” Prentiss suggested.

“Or what if there’s a second unsub?” Aaron said. “We profiled initially that this was a gang member. We then completely contradicted our profile and changed to a stalker who would know they were unhappy at home and were just waiting for them to get out of the house. But we could be looking at one of each. A stalker who does all of his contact in person, letting them know what street corner to stand on, then either he or the former gang member picks the girls up and brings them to a second location where they are initiated and killed.”

“Okay, so if there are two of them, finding the stalker is going to lead us to our killer. But where would he go once he’s already delivered a girl to the gang member?” Derek asked.

“He’s probably already stalking his next victim,” Reid said.

“Maybe not,” I proposed. “At the rate these guys are working, they would have already had to know who they wanted to take. I mean, I don’t think this stalker guy can figure out that these girls are having constant trouble at home in just under 24 hours.”

“So what are you thinking?” Emily asked.

“In a gang, there are multiple levels of people. The people in charge of recruiting usually have a certain block or region that they cover looking for vulnerable people they can recruit. So once this guy sees these girls out and around his area, he takes it to another level by stalking them, probably at night when they are with their family. But during the day? He could still be scoping out people in his region,” I said.

“So how are we going to narrow it down? There are plenty of creepy guys on the streets to choose from,” Emily said.

“True. But if things haven’t changed too much in the past 4 years since the last time I was here, I’m pretty sure I know someone who can help us out.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

It took a lot of convincing for Aaron, and frankly the rest of the team members, to agree to this. I wasn’t supposed to be out in the field, definitely not this soon after joining the team, but I knew someone who could help and we were running out of time. Deen had been a loyal member of the Cloaks and later joined my ring of elite criminals as an expert in laundering money. He was one of the most important pieces that kept the streets going. While he was great at laundering, he was better at listening. Somehow, he just seemed to hear and pick up on everything. I knew that if agents showed up, or even if I showed up with one, there was no way I was getting any information out of him. Hell, I was worried he wouldn’t even talk to me alone after this many years. But it was my best shot if I wanted to save Jayana.

“We’re going to a bookstore?” Morgan questioned.

“It’s his front,” I answered. It made me uncomfortable to have to give the FBI this much information on Deen. He and I always worked as a well oiled machine and I wasn’t ready to betray his trust. I was trying to give out as little information about him as possible. I hadn’t even told them his name.

“We are going to have to wire you,” Aaron said.

“No! You can’t do that,” I said.

“We can’t just let you in there to talk to some old gang friend without a wire,” Aaron said.

“You have to. I mean, I’m even worried that he’s not going to talk to me after this many years, and if he’s heard anything about my escape or joining the FBI, which there’s a chance he has, the whole plan is screwed. Plus, he’ll probably know that I’m wearing one.”

“How? Unless you alert him that you're wearing one, he shouldn't know,” Morgan stated.

“If he doesn’t know, he’ll probably check. Then we’ll lose him as a reliable contact now, and potentially in the future,” I countered. “Plus, you already have Reid and Jareau in there pretending to be customers in case anything goes wrong, or you think I’m going to try something.”

I had a point and they both knew it. It wasn’t like I was walking into a trap or like he’d set a bomb in there or anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had set a bomb for emergency purposes, but the team didn’t need to know that. If anything, he was sitting in the middle of my trap, which had always been one of my specialties. The car slowed to a stop and I got out about a block from the store.

“Remember, you are going in there for one purpose and one purpose only,” Aaron started.

“To figure out where this stalker guy is. Yeah. I got it,” I said. I crossed the street catty-corner and pushed open the glass doors. I immediately spotted Reid standing in one of the isles, skimming through a book, and JJ sitting down in a chair just a few feet from the entrance. Neither turned to look at me, already getting the message through their ear piece that I’d entered the building. It felt stupid that this seemed like a whole undercover operation when all I was doing was talking to someone who could help us save Jayana. But I guess it showed how much they didn’t trust me, and the people I was in contact with.

I confidently walked over to the customer service desk and looked the kid up and down. He was probably just out of high school and was definitely a new recruit.

“Hey, can I speak to your manager?” I asked.

He looked up at me. “Is there a problem?”

I grabbed the hem of my t-shirt and the top of my waistband and quickly flashed him the tattoo over my left hip bone. His eyes went wide. “No. There’s no problem. I would just like to speak with him if that’s alright.”

“Uh, sure, ma’am. I’ll, uh, be right back,” the kid croaked, stumbling over his words and rushing toward the door that was labeled ‘Employees Only.’ The tattoo was of a double infinity sign inside a two-ringed circle. The symbol on the left hip bone identified who was a part of my underground ring. The second ring of my circle signified that I was the leader. Deen had a second ring with dashed lines, to show that he was second in command, and as of now, in charge.

I recognized his walk first. Deen had been shot in the knee and it never healed correctly, so he always had this extra bounce to the way he walked. He shaved all of his facial hair and let his jet black hair grow a little longer than I was used to. But his cat-like green eyes were exactly the same. I almost felt relieved when he pulled me into a giant hug. He was just an inch or so shorter than me, which always made me smile when he had to reach slightly up. You’d think all gang members were cold-hearted and ruthless, which Deen could be at times, but he’d always treated me like a younger sister. A younger sister who was in charge.

“Damn, girl! It’s been too long. What the hell are you doing here, I thought for sure you’d be eaten alive in there!” God I’d missed that slight Spanish accent.

“Oh how I have missed that confidence booster,” I teased.

“You know that’s not what I meant. You could kick anyone’s ass any day. Including mine. But seriously, what are you doing here?” He quickly dropped his voice and his expression became more serious, losing the slight shock that was there a few moments ago from seeing me for the first time in a while.

“I wish I were here under better circumstances,” I started.

“But when has that ever worked out for us?”

“Very true,” I agreed. I leaned in closer to him and dropped my voice to a whisper. “I actually need some information.”

“What kind of information?”

“I’m looking for someone.” Deen glanced around the room and his eyes landed on Reid and Jennifer.

“What is going on?” he asked. I knew that he was going to start putting things together soon, so I had to get him to focus on the matter at hand.

“You remember Sydney, yeah?”

“Of course. How could I forget her?”

“Her daughter, Jayana, is missing,” I said.

“Well, have you spoken to Todd?”

“Yes, do you think I’m an idiot, of course, but he doesn’t know anything.”

“You don’t want me to answer that,” he responded playfully. I’d missed our ability to banter in the middle of a crisis, our way of keeping each other’s head above water. “So what do you need my help for?”

“I need you to help me find a guy.”

“There are a shit ton of guys around here, you’re going to have to be more specific,” Deen said. I rolled my eyes at his dry humor.

“Yeah, you jackass, I know that, but if you’d just shut up and let me finish. You remember where the Angels used to set up? The corners where they’d pick up new recruits?”

“Sure.”

“Well, have you seen anyone you don’t really recognize hanging around those spots?”

“Alionth-” he started.

“Aundreya,” I quickly corrected. I flinched slightly at the sound of the stage name I’d given myself once I took over the gang and pushed it way underground. I hadn’t heard it in so long and I didn’t want to be reminded of the last time someone used it.

“Come with me,” he commanded, taking my hand and dragging me behind the ‘Employees Only’ door. “What is going on? You show up out of nowhere asking for information on a guy that I’m sure you could scope out yourself, ask me to call you by your old gang name, and there are two customers in the store who have been here for too long and kept glancing over at us. What has happened to Jayana and why are you here?”

I knew he would start picking up on stuff. “Look. I’ve been out for only a few weeks-” I started.

“Oh yeah! That too! How the hell are you here because I’d bet my life they didn’t just let you go,” Deen asked. He stared right into me, daring me to lie to him.

“I escaped,” I said. His face contorted and he took a small step back.

“You what now?”

“You heard me.”

“That’s impossible. Most people can’t even get out of normal prison let alone ADX.”

“Well I’m here aren’t I?”

“How’d you do it?”

“Can we please focus?” I was getting restless. I knew they were only going to give me a limited amount of time out of sight and earshot before they burst in. Plus, I could feel the time slipping by, each moment as important as the last if we were going to find Jayana alive. “Look. Jayana is my responsibility. It was the last thing Sydney asked me to do and she is in a lot of trouble. If you do not help me, I will have failed Sydney’s dying wish of protecting her daughter. So will you please just answer my questions?”

Deen gave me a skeptical look, but based off the one I gave him, he knew better than to keep pressing for answers. “Yeah. I’ve seen a guy hanging around.”

“Do you know his name?”

He hesitated before answering, “Ben-somethin’.”

“Could you describe him to me?”

“Short, probably my height or a little shorter. White. Dressed like a bad boy wannabe. And now that you mention it, he was hanging around the Angels' old spots.”

“During the day?”

“Sort of. He’d be there early in the morning, then leave during the middle of the day, come back in the evening, then leave during the middle of the night. Like clockwork,” Deen said. I could always count on him to be observant.

“Would you happen to know where he is now?” I asked.

“Those aren’t customers in my store, are they?” he replied, changing the subject. Instead of answering him, I put my hands behind my head and turned around. “Don’t worry, I know you’re not wired. I already checked that.”

Right, the hug earlier. “So you’re telling me you didn’t actually want a hug?” I pouted.

He laughed. “No, I did. It was multi-purpose.” We stood there staring at each other for a while before I decided to break the silence.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t tell them anything about you, not even your name. I tried my best to shield your face from them as well,” I said.

“And as long as I help you out, I’m in the clear,” Deen finished my train of thought. I nodded. He was handling this a lot better than I expected. Maybe leadership over the course of the past four years helped mellow him out. “Damn. I’d heard rumors but I thought that was all they were.”

“I’m still the same person you knew from four years ago. Still doing what I have to do to survive in the best way I can.” He was silent for a while, probably trying to gage how much he still trusted me. “Please, help me. Help Jayana. Just tell me where you think he’d be, and I will get out of here and take those unwanted customers with me.”

He started nodding. “Fine. Fine. I think he’s moving in a star pattern. Starting at the bottom left, then moving up to the point, bottom right, and so on. I still can’t figure out his pattern when it comes to picking up the girls, but if he’s keeping to his usual schedule, he should be at the far right point today. But,” he said checking his watch, “not for long. You might have 40 minutes max before he leaves again.”

I did my best to retain everything he told me. “Wait, how long have you been watching this guy? I mean, how many girls has he picked up?” Deen was like no other when it came to tracking patterns and people on the street, but not even he was good enough to figure out something that intricate in 5 days.

“I don’t know. A couple months or so. I didn’t start realizing he was picking up girls until a few weeks ago.” This had been going on for a couple months? Where were all the other girls then?

“Thank you so much for this. I hope I can come back soon under different circumstances,” I said, already halfway out the door and back into the store. He came behind me and grabbed my arm, turning me so that I was looking at him.

“I hope you can too, Aundreya, but I swear to God, if anyone finds out I cooperated with Feds, or this place goes under because of this-”

“It won’t. And once they trust me more there will be no reason for them to be on my back all the time and I can come here without a plus two. And if something happens, which it won’t, but if it does, you know how to contact me. Over my undead body,” I said. Deen gave me a half smile at our old phrase, which we used to remind each other that we were loyal to the end. Lucky for us, the end always seemed to mean that of our enemies.

“Over our undead bodies,” he said with a nod. I walked toward the entrance where Spencer and Jennifer were still acting like customers. They were supposed to wait until I had exited, then slowly make their departures after me to try and make it look natural. But considering Deen already knew, and as a show of good faith to him, I decided I’d make it easier.

“C’mon guys. Let’s get outta here,” I said, waiting by the door.

They both looked at me like I’d lost my mind, Jareau opening her mouth then shutting it again.

“He already knows. I told you he would. For once, let’s make it easy on ourselves,” I said, holding the door open for them. Reid let out a frustrated sigh as he pushed past me, avoiding eye contact. JJ walked out after him. I quickly scanned the room one last time, but Deen had already disappeared again, and the young boy was back at the front desk like nothing had happened. “You’re doing a good job, kid,” I said to him, and he smiled shyly at my words. I gave him a single nod, then followed the other two out the door.

“What were you thinking?” Reid said harshly.

“What? The guy knew,” I stated.

“But what if he didn’t know? You would have just blown our cover,” Spencer said, the frustration having never left his voice. His upper back muscles around his shoulder blades and traps started twitching, a tell of discomfort I had gotten used to seeing.

“Well he did know, so it was worthless to waste time,” I replied, still following behind him.

“What if it was a theory he had, and you just confirmed it,” Spencer countered.

“Even you don’t believe that. If you did, you wouldn’t have phrased it as a hypothetical. Plus, the quicker I can get your irritatingly large brain back on topic, the quicker we are going to find Jayana,” I pointed out. We reached the car where Hotch and Morgan were sitting, and I recapped everything Deen had told me. Reid called Garcia to update her and start searching for ‘Ben’s in the area with a track record. The rest of us quickly moved towards the corner this Ben character was supposed to be at. We paired off and started canvassing the area. We’d looked for about 30 minutes and found no one.

“How reliable is your guy?” Morgan asked me.

“Reliable.”

“You sure? ‘Cause we’ve been looking for a while and none of them fit the profile or description.”

“Yeah. I’m sure,” I replied. According to Deen, we only had about 10 more minutes or less to find this guy before he took off.

“Has Garcia identified anyone yet?” Aaron asked.

“No, not yet. There are plenty of ‘Ben’s around,” Morgan answered.

“What if we start looking at cars? If this guy is going to leave soon, and based on the distances he’s going, he’s most likely got a car, probably a van,” JJ offered. We paired back off and went around looking for weird people around vans. Which was a surprising amount. Aaron’s phone started ringing, a call coming in from Morgan.

“He’s got him,” is all he had to say before we were both running back to the SUV where Morgan was already pushing a man into the backseat.

Part 2

31 notes · View notes

pastryseungs · 4 years

Text

Strangers From Hell (2019)

Dir. Lee Chang-hee

Writer: Jung Lee-Do based on the webtoon written by Kim Yong-Ki

very long post ahead ~

⚠️ TW // death, murder, blood, violence

SPOILERS !!

Goshiwon: a very small room that students live in while studying for an important test. (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/DoesNotTranslate/comments/5zghif/korean_%EA%B3%A0%EC%8B%9C%EC%9B%90_goshiwon_a_very_small_room_that/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)

Psychopath: a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior.

“be careful with people. people are the most frightening above all else.”

indeed people are frightening. just from this drama, i’m starting to think of going vegetarian. i know its part of the ~cinematic effect~ but the way Ms. Eom (Lee Jeong-eun) handled the meat almost made me gag ;-;. the drama was pretty disturbing too! Seo Moon-jo (Lee Dong-wook) lived a double life as a dentist and someone who kills people for “art”. it absolutely reminded me of Hannibal (2013) because of Moon-jo and Jong-woo’s (Im Siwan) relationship, which reminded me of Hannibal and Will Graham’s relationship.

Strangers From Hell is about a man named Yoon Jong-woo who moves from Busan to Seoul and starts renting a place in a goshiwon. since he started living in Eden Residence, lots of weird things started to happen until his curiosity has peeked when a close acquaintance had gone missing in the residence which claimed to plan on moving out the next week. he then starts finding a few things of the old tenant in his room, which led to him investigating why the Residence was so sketchy.

during his stay in Eden, the usually polite, calm, and composed Jong-Woo has evolved into an irritable and violent person. he usually doesn’t act on his impulses whenever someone from work or from the residence ticks him off until one of his co-workers keep talking down on him for his work performance, which caused him to beat up this said co-worker. personally, the co-worker was actually so annoying.. it would’ve been better if he was warmer and actually taught Jong-Woo the ropes, so he could maybe do better at his job. the co-worker was also ticking me off while i was watching the drama omg.

eventually, this break-down led to him losing a job and meeting up with his boss and his girlfriend to try and patch things up and talk about the misunderstanding. Moon-jo joins the trio, provoking both the boss and Jong-Woo. Jong-Woo’s boss met his demise that night, making Jong-Woo avoid returning to Eden. unfortunately, this plan was cut short after Moon-jo kidnaps Jong-Woo’s girlfriend, Ji-Eun. (Kim Ji-Eun, i was surprised when i found out she had the same name as the character she portrayed)

this then led to a series of killings, until we’re left with the ending that Jong-Woo was part of all of it all along, that he wasn’t really the innocent guy he claims to be. he was apart of Moon-jo’s plan, his art to be exact- dude this gives me Hannibal and Will Graham vibes ✨

it was so sad how late Jung-hwa figured it all out and placed the puzzle pieces together. curiosity did kill the cat but it also has good consequences.

okayyy, on to my thoughts throughout the show:

i was honestly so confused if it was platonic or romantic since Moon-jo likes calling Jong-woo as “babe” / “jagi” / “jagiya”. eh, its probably used to provoke Jong-Woo, since he physically looks so uncomfortable when called with the affectionate nickname.

i can’t help but mention that i felt so bad for Seok-hyun (No Jong-hyun) when watching the show because i thought that he was like the others due to his first encounter with Jong-Woo. i was really praying for Jong-Woo to stay or try to sneak out with Seok-hyun, but during the last few episodes, he wasn’t really in his right mind to do so. also, if Seok-hyun wasn’t so curious about everything, he wouldn’t end up being killed by Ms. Eom and Deuk-Jong/Deuk Soo (Park Jong-Hwan, i honestly don’t know which is which ;-;). but eh, curiosity killed the cat.

i love how Jung-hwa (Ahn Eun-jin) slowly got into the realization that Jong-Woo isn’t entirely innocent as he claims and seems to be. the guy was literally still wearing the bracelet that Moon-jo gave him! the bracelet consisted of the teeth that Moon-jo mercilessly extracted without anesthesia/pain-killers. i kinda compared this to Hannibal (2013) because like Hannibal, Moon-jo likes keeping trophies of his murders while also under the illusion that he’s doing so for the sake of art and finishing his artwork.

that part where Jong-Woo and his old friend from the military was so sad for me. the part where Deuk-jong/Deuk-Soo where breaking the door down with an axe reminded me of The Shining (1980) where Jack Torrace was breaking the door down to torment his wife, Wendy. it was really stupid for the friend to drink the drink that was clearly planted in Jong-Woo’s room to drink. it was the same drink that Ms. Eom laced with some sort of drug to make you sleep and have almost zero control over your body.

dude! Kim Ji-Eun looks so much to Ryujin from Itzy! while watching her scenes, i kept thinking, “Ryujin, Ryujin, Ryujin~”. anyways, Ji-Eun is a really good actress and she plays her part very well. i just think that she has this “girlfriend” vibe now to me lmao. she also looks very innocent too and has this constant concerned expression.. like Ryujin does lol.

alsoooo, LEE DONG WOOK’S DUALITY !! i heard that he filmed Strangers From Hell and Touch Your Heart (2019) in the same year! this dude portrayed Moon-jo really well and i was wondering how he can pull off a tsundere boyfriend and a psychopath so well 😭.

anyways, i love how this show made each character look so disgusting that it was actually so convincing. their acting was so convincing and it actually made me think that they’re a bunch of psychopaths. like i was honestly so disgusted by Hong Nam-bok’s (Lee Joong-ok) character lmao, i was actually thinking what the guy would probably smell like since he doesn’t look like the type to look after himself and only cares about Moon-jo’s art.

in conclusion, i was really entertained by this drama. its been a while since i watched a K-Drama in particular and i’ve been really curious with what this drama is about so i decided to watch it. i’ll probably take a few days to try and move on from this one though lmao.

thanks for reading !!

#netflix #must watch #asian series #film #netflix series #film review #korea #korean #kdrama #k drama #strangers from hell #lee dong wook #im siwan #kim ji eun #drama #i cant sleep

2 notes · View notes

seouledbysisi · 5 years

Text

Ambitious Dreams

Chapter Four

The only seat left was a seat in between Nori and Ash. Ash looked up from his food and eyed the seat. “I mean I don’t bite, ya know?”

Nova half smiled and sat her plate down and pulled the seat out.

“Do I make you nervous?” He asked with a smirk laced across his face.

She shook her head quickly, “no.” She chuckled. “Why?”

“I just get a strange feeling that you’re not a good liar.” He continued to eat.

Nori and Hyoeun were deep in conversation. Nova wondered if she was getting any deeper in his world like she had planned.

Hash would glance over at them every once in a while but he didn’t break the interaction.

“What brought you here?” Changmo asked to break the silence.

Nova wiped her mouth and swallowed a bite before she answered. “Honestly, probably fate. This was sort of my last resort in the fashion world.” She admitted. It was an embarrassing fact but she had to be honest.

“So Korea wasn’t your first choice for an internship?” Marz chuckled, “that’s funny.”

Nova took a deep breath. Irritation gripped her hard. “And why is that?”

“Because you really didn’t want to be here and then you get yourself in a little situation where you’re almost raped. Just seems like too much of a conincidence.”

“Now I almost feel like you’re mocking me because of last night.”

He shook his head. “I would never mock someone because of something like that, it’s not my style. But you just seem like bad luck walking.”

Ash cleared his throat. “Stop, Marz.”

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything but speaking the truth.”

“Just stop while you’re ahead. You’ve been drinking and your mouth is foul so just stop!” Ash warned him again.

“Or what?” Marz stared intently at him.

Ash pushed his food aside. “Or else we’re gonna go outside and I’m gonna show you how to be respectful to a woman!”

Marz leaned back in his chair. “Space and opportunity.”

Ash’s breathing became unleveled. Nova could tell he was angry but she couldn’t understand why. She was of no importance to either of them.

“Y’all just chill!” Hash spoke with authority. “Act like we have some type of sense in front of our guests.” He tossed his napkin on the table out of frustration.

Changmo laughed. “Y’all really acting like little boys fighting over a girl. This shit crazy!”

The whole table went quiet and the guys eyes all drifted towards the girl sitting by Marz.

Her eyes began to tear up. She spoke in Korean and abruptly left the table.

Marz scratched the back of his head.

Hyoeun shook his head. “Mo, did you really have to do that?” He pointed towards the girl who was walking out of the restaurant.

Changmo squeezed his eyes shut. “I really didn’t mean for that to fly out my mouth. I’m sorry, Marz.”

Marz glared at Nova. “I gotta go fix that.” He held the stare for a while longer and then headed outside.

“So am I missing something here? Who is that girl?” Nori inquired.

Nova giggled. “His girlfriend, right?” She questioned as she looked at all the guys.

The silence was deafening.

“Why are y’all being so weird?” She asked trying to get an answer.

Ash licked his lips. “It’s complicated and it’s his story to tell but I guess you could say that she’s- his girlfriend or whatever.”

“Is it one of those things where it’s like they’re together but they’re also not together?” Nori was trying to make sense of this whole situation.

Hash shrugged. “Sort of but it runs deeper than that.”

“Why do I feel like I’m going to get blamed for this whole fiasco?” Nova admitted.

Ash turned to look at her. “Just know that it’s not.”

“But isn’t it kind of? It’s clear that dude is having some type of reaction to her being around and it’s not good. Then we got Ash over here who feeling some kind of way too. It’s kinda shawty’s fault if we really think about it.” Changmo added.

Everyone glared at him.

“And you really have no filter on your mouth!” Nova rolled her eyes.

“I’m just real, and very observative. Ash is sitting here like he’s your protector and he barely knows you. And Marz couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.” Changmo continued.

“Can you just stop talking?” Ash interrupted as his cheeks warmed.

Nori giggled. “No please keep going!” She was loving all this honesty.

“Oh don’t get me started on you. There’s a lot of energy flowing your way too but we ain’t gonna talk about how someone at this table can’t stand the fact that you’re giving all your attention to Keem.” Changmo struck again.

Nova stood quickly. “OKAY! jeez! I think we’ve had enough entertainment for the night.” She grabbed her purse and pulled Nori outside with her.

Hash burst through the doors. “I’m sorry that every encounter we have turns to shit.”

Nori shook her head. “I like a bit of chaos, it make life more fun.”

He nodded. “We’re normally not this high strung.”

Nova distanced herself a bit to give them a bit of privacy.

Ash came outside on his phone. He was speaking in Korean so Nova had no idea what he was talking about. At this point she kind of wished she did. He ended the call and stood next to her.

She glanced over at him and hugged her body. The night had turned a bit chilly. “Food was good.” She broke the ice.

“Definitely.” He shifted a little. “Can I ask you something?”

Nova nodded. “Shoot.”

“If I wanted to hang out would that be a terrible idea?”

Nova turned a little to face him. “Like hang out where and with who?” She was kind of weirded out that he was asking her opinion of what he should do in his daily activities.

“I don’t know...just somewhere....with you, maybe?” He finally bit out.

Nova became flustered. “Oh that’s what you meant. Why?”

“Why what?” He eyed her.

“Why would you want to hang out with me?” She questioned. This baffled her.

Ash chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Guys that look like you don’t hang out with girls that look like me. . .on purpose.”

“Yeah, looks aren’t everything. But even within that I think you’re beautiful.”

Nova laughed. She legitimately laughed in his face. “Cut the shit why are you being so nice to me? I’m sure you get young girls throwing themselves at the chance to be with you all the time. So what kind of game are you playing?”

He grabbed his heart. “Well damn is that all you think of me? I think you’re cool. Can’t that be enough to want to chill with you again?”

Nova sighed. “How old are you?” She asked because for some reason she felt like he was the baby of the bunch.

He covered his face. “I’m old enough! I’m an adult! I’m legal. Besides age doesn’t matter.”

“You get a thrill for older women?” Nova narrowed her eyes.

“Maybe but it’s not just that. I know you’re older than me but I like your innocence. I like how you’re not trying to catch any of our attention yet you’re catching everyone’s in one way or another. I also know that you might have a thing for Marz.” He paused for a moment.

Nova cleared her throat. “That’s not true at all-“

“However, I don’t care because I think you might have a thing for me too if you gave it a chance.”

“I don’t have a thing for anyone. I don’t even know y’all forreal.” She rubbed her cheeks.

He closed the distance between them and brought his mouth close to her ear. “Your cheeks say otherwise. Let’s hangout again! Please.”

“Okay, but I still think you’re too young.” She argued.

Ash grabbed her hand. “And I’m going to prove to you that I’m more of a man than you’ve ever had.” He winked and put his number in her phone. “Don’t be afraid to use that.”

Nova watched him as he walked back into the restaurant. She walked back over to Nori and Hash.

“You ready?” Nova asked.

Nori nodded. “It was really good talking to you out here. I feel like we didn’t talk at all inside.”

Hash smiled. “We didn’t but it’s cool. See you soon, I hope.”

“You will. Just say the word and I’m there.”

A sadness was felt through the air. Nova sensed it. Hash began to head for the door as he passed by Hyoeun.

Hyoeun caught Nori’s arm. “I don’t get a goodbye?”

“I’m sorry. It was so much going on in there that I just-“

He shushed her. “It’s cool. I have tickets to that new grand opening for the amusement park because I’m performing. Would y’all like to come? With me?”

“Yeah! Of course!” Nori spoke immediately.

He smiled slightly. “I need to stay away from you, I’m smiling more than usual. That’s dangerous.” He handed her two tickets and headed back inside.

Nori handed Nova one of the tickets. “I guess he’s not the only one performing.”

Nori shrugged and looked at the tickets. “Oh. Marz will be there too.”

“If looks could kill I would’ve died tonight.” Nova sighed.

“Something is up with him. I really want the details. He barely spoke to his ‘girlfriend’ the whole night. And Changmo wasn’t lying, he did watch you a lot.”

Nova shrugged. “Whatever they got going on I don’t want no parts of it. It’s too much.”

The next day

Nova dreaded going into work. She was sure that the guys had complained about her work at the photo shoot and honestly at this point she didn’t care, she couldn’t change how they had felt. She was ready to be yelled at by her boss but to soften the blow she decided to buy the entire office breakfast pastries.

She walked through the doors to loud applauses. The pictures from the shoot were hanging up on a banner. Her eyes were bulging from so much shock.

Her boss Esmee engulfed her into a hug. “I knew you had it in you. So I got a call the next day after the shoot from the CEO of Ambition Musik and he was very happy with the shoot. He had nothing but good things to say about you. If you keep this up then I’m never letting you go!” She snapped her fingers and one of the other ladies brought a cake out which read ‘Good Work Nova!’

She noticed one of the women standing in a corner on her phone. She clearly wasn’t trying to involved in the celebration. Nova shrugged it off. “I was nervous wreck the whole time!” She admitted.

“Well your work doesn’t show it! That’s all that matters. Were they difficult to work with?”

Nova started to be honest but since they talked her up to her boss so much she couldn’t throw them under the bus. “No. It went finer than I thought it would.”

“Well eat some cake and Lee will let you know what has to be done today!” Esmee patted her shoulder and disappeared into her office.

“Hurry with the cake because we don’t have all day!” The girl from the corner said with a snappy tone.

Oh shit. This must be Lee. She sighed. Well she’s going to be a hurricane. “Nice to meet you too.” She said as she grabbed the cake and followed behind the chick.

“No need for the formalities. I’m just doing my job. Let’s get something clear: we’re not friends and never will be. We’re coworkers, nothing more and nothing less. You probably won’t even last long so it’s really no point in even learning your name.” She handed her a list of duties and clicked away in her heels.

What a way to ruin my day! She thought as she looked over the list.

#ambition #illionaire #kpop #fanfic #stories #kpop idols #soft hours #ash island #hash swan #keem hyoeun #changmo #leellamarz #k hiphop #seoul #the quiett #dok2

14 notes · View notes

mvssmallow · 7 years

Photo

Cloudy With A Chance

Part 17: …of maple butter.

Masterlist

“It’s awesome right?”

“It’s…a drawer of our socks.”

He looks over in irritation but Jiwon just gives him a blank stare.

“Okay, maybe you don’t appreciate it but that took me fifteen minutes. You just dumped everything in, closed it and walked off. That’s not really how you move in.”

Jiwon shrugs apologetically. “It’s just socks?”

He resists the urge to punch him on the arm. “How do you find anything in the morning? Do you go to work with mismatched socks?”

Jiwon looks at him with the slightest tinge of guilt. “Nobody looks at socks! They’re not important.”

He has to roll his eyes at that. “Well, now they’re all in order. I don’t want people thinking I don’t look out for you. I did your t-shirts too by the way. How the hell did you accumulate like forty white t-shirts?”

Jiwon shrugs again, like everything in his life was just some happy accident that didn’t require his active participation. “I don’t know. I need them though. 39 to wear and one just incase someone wants to steal it.”

His face glows warmly. “I put it back after I wore it!”

Jiwon comes behind to hug him to his chest. “Hanbin, if you want the Disneyland t-shirt you can have it. You can have anything you want.”

He already knows the Disneyland t-shirt is safely folded on his side of the wardrobe. He put it there and he’ll return that when Hell freezes over. Maybe not even then.

“Anything? Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Even your snapbacks?”

“Yep.”

“And your Jordans?”

“Sure.”

“And your Winnie slippers?”

“No, you got those for me. You can’t have him back.”

He laughs and turns around in Jiwon’s arms. “I don’t want it back anyway, you kinda ruined them. They’re all shredded. I don’t even know how you did that.”

Jiwon leans in and kisses him on the nose. “They’re not shredded. They’re worn in.”

“You’re worn in.”

“Yeah I know. You’re brand new and mint condition though.”

He grimaces at the compliments. “God, you’re so lame.”

Jiwon’s arms squeeze him tight. “Yeah, get used to it.”

It takes them an entire week to move Jiwon in. His apartment was already small but with another life jammed in, it felt even smaller. Jiwon called it cosy but he’d say it was just shy of claustrophobic. There’s just enough space to hold him back from a nervous breakdown.

Or maybe that was still coming. Maybe this was the honeymoon period and he’s still in shock.

“I can hear you thinking. You okay?”

He rests his head against Jiwon shoulder and nods. “Yeah, this whole thing is just kinda new for me.”

“The moving in thing?”

“Yeah. And the you and me thing. Everything is just new. I don’t know what I’m doing, sorry.”

He didn’t. He’d never been in a relationship that lasted this long or gone this far. He’d never been with anyone who knew anything important about him.

“Well, for a rookie you’re doing alright. I’m still surprised you haven’t kicked me out yet. I think I messed up all the systems in your kitchen.”

He hums against Jiwon’s shoulder as he feels warm hands rub reassuring circles into his back. “It’s your kitchen too now.”

“That all you’re going to say? Not gonna yell at me for putting the tea towels with the plastic bags?”

He shakes his head, soothed by the hands moving across his skin. “I already put everything back.”

Jiwon chuckles. “Knew it. Sorry you ended up with a mess.”

“Sorry you ended up with a nutcase.”

Jiwon tips his face up and whispers in a low pitched voice, “I love nutcases. All the best people are nutcases.”

He can’t even look at Jiwon after that, just buries his face into the safety of that solid chest and holds on for dear life.

**** The second week is a blur. They’re both so busy that they only see each other for ten minutes in the morning and maybe a hour for dinner before collapsing into bed at separate times. Late shifts and deadlines eat up every spare moment between them and it feels more like having a regular roommate than a boyfriend.

It was good in a way, he was so busy that he barely had the chance to overthink the whole moving in thing. There were some things he was already used to when Jiwon had stayed over before: the awkwardness of waking up with bad hair and in a bad mood, constantly battling his rage whenever Jiwon leaves towels on the floor or gets toothpaste all over the sink or frantically rushing to pick up the phone in case it was his parents calling. It freaked him out in the beginning, he’d wake up at 6am every morning so Jiwon would never see him all gross and he remembers shutting himself in the bedroom whenever he had to talk to his mother.

But after awhile, he realised that a lot of those small things didn’t matter. Jiwon learnt not to answer the phone when the parental caller ID was flashing and even better, he didn’t even care how disgusting his boyfriend could be. It was liberating being able to sleep in dirty clothes, eat like pig and wake up swearing at Jiwon’s alarm. He didn’t get judged for it, just a chuckle and sympathetic back rub.

Things were different now though. Jiwon doesn’t leave to go back to his apartment anymore. There was no hiatus or reprieve and that’s something he’s still learning to deal with. There were no longer days where he could come home after work and sit on his couch for hours in silence. That’s gone and he does miss it, the solitude was his most constant companion for so long.

On the plus side, he learns a lot of new things about himself. He learns that he can cook decent food, live amongst the occasional mess and share personal space with another person without having a full blown panic attack (he just has smaller scale panic attacks).

But the thing he loves the most is discovering his capacity to care for another person. Maybe he felt it in bits and pieces before, and obviously he feels it for his sister, but with Jiwon, it’s no longer something that he just wants to do, taking care of him is just something that he does now. Like a blood transfusion, it’s worked its way throughout his entire venous system. It makes him who he is now and he feels human knowing that his heart could do this all along.

****

By the third week things had slowed down for both of them. The holiday season was coming up, which meant time off work and eventually, he thinks with dread, family gatherings.

The magazine goes on vacation before Jiwon’s garage closes so he gets to wake up early and make them both breakfast. It’s not until one random Wednesday that it all catches up with him.

Jiwon is half sprawled across their breakfast table and complaining about garage life again. “Some rich dude is giving his girlfriend a Porsche. I can’t believe it. She doesn’t even appreciate it. She called it a cute little car. That’s like calling Jurassic Park a cute little dinosaur movie.”

He half listens as he flips the maple pancakes over and checks on the coffee. This type of comfortable mundane-ness is what he absolutely loves and would fight to the end to protect. He wonders if Jiwon ever thinks about things like this.

“We had to fit the dumbest customised number plates. You wanna know what it said? BBGRL. I know it’s supposed to be babygirl but what if someone reads it like: babygrowl?”

He snorts as he pours the coffee and sets it down on their breakfast table. “What if they’re genuinely in love or whatever? He obviously just wants to make her happy. That’s nice isn’t it?”

Jiwon rolls his eyes and gives him a look like he’s gone crazy. “Is it backwards day today? You are meant to be the most cynical person ever. Why aren’t you roasting the shit out of them with me? How would you feel if I got you babygirl car plates?”

He laughs and starts stacking the pancakes. “I’d say thank you but poison your breakfast later.”

There’s a split second where Jiwon hesitates siping from his mug.

He grins. “Drink it, baby.”

Jiwon narrows his eyes and takes a long sip out of defiance.

“You know, evil brings out a really nice colour in you.” Jiwon says as he starts cutting into the pancakes and chewing thoughtfully. “Hey, these are really good. Can we have this again tomorrow?”

He tilts his head and can’t help but feel impossibly fond of this messy guy in front of him. 5 foot 9 of crumpled pyjamas, crazy bed hair and a face full of maple butter.

“I was going to make crepes tomorrow. Lemon butter crepes. Yoyo taught me the other day.”

Jiwon groans and it sounds more erotic than it probably should have. “Oh make that. Yeah, I want that too. And those chocolate waffles you made on Monday.”

He doesn’t say anything, just smiles like an idiot into his mug of tea. This is New. This weird satisfying feeling that he’s feeding someone he cares about. Jiwon doesn’t tease him or ask about the silence, he just rabbits on and on about all the cars coming through the garage that week. He wonders when they switched roles. Did they switch roles? He didn’t even notice.

After Jiwon goes to shower and get changed, he turns on their sound system (that he broke and Jiwon fixed) and starts cleaning the dishes as Sunday Morning plays in the background. It wasn’t even a Sunday but it felt like it could be one. He sings along to the music as he packs Jiwon’s Spacejam lunchbox, catching himself smiling at the packet of Oreos he sneaks in because he knows Jiwon is a sucker for them. That’s when his hand freezes.

Oh my god.

You have changed.

You’re packing his lunch now.

You’re the sucker.

“Oh shit! I’m gonna be late!” Jiwon is a blur as he flies into the kitchen, picks up the lunchbox and runs out the front door. Two seconds later he hears the door opening again and Jiwon rushes back into the kitchen to kiss him twice, once on the lips and once on the cheek.

“You’re the best. Have a good day.”

“You too. See you when you get back.”

And then he’s gone again. The kitchen smells like maple butter and a woodsy cologne. It smells like a Sunday morning.

He leans against the kitchen bench, taking in all the little bits that didn’t even exist a few months ago. From the way there’s two sets of plates and mugs to the scattered rap flyers and car magazines on the table to the random hoody (his or Jiwon’s?) that always seems to be draped over a chair.

He doesn’t notice that he’s doing it until his face begins to ache-

He’s been smiling at an empty kitchen this whole time.

****

Left to his own devices, his mind wanders and his fingers get restless. He makes himself a schedule to continue writing his book but the research has him constantly chasing tangents and falling down the Wikipedia hole. He writes in fits and starts, mind always ending up in the same place. Even when he’s physically absent, Jiwon’s presence fills their entire apartment.

There’s a note in his diary about an upcoming mic night and his finger traces over the words as he stares out the window, imagining what it might be like if Jiwon ever got a record deal and could live his dreams out for real. Things would change. Would he be a part of Jiwon’s plans or get left behind?

He doesn’t get much done after that and he’s still thinking about their future by the time they’re in bed that night.

“What do you think you’ll do if you get a record deal?”

“Accept it?” Jiwon laughs. “Why are you asking?”

“I was just thinking about it today.”

Jiwon pulls him closer until his head is resting on his chest. “Thinking about me getting a record deal?”

His hand smooths over the soft hoody next to his cheek as he thinks. “Yeah. Imagine where you’ll be in a year. Someone from a record company will find you and you’ll be all famous.”

“You’re optimistic.” The chest chuckles underneath him. “Where are you in all this?”

“Still living here, trying to get my book written and published.”

“How far ahead have you thought about this?” Jiwon asks with a smile. “Where are we at three years?”

“Oh you’ll definitely be a legitimate recording artist by then. We should get a bigger and better apartment. And you can say no but I want a dog.”

A hand cards through his hair. “You can have two dogs.”

“You know verbal agreements are legally binding right?”

Jiwon laughs again. “Yeah I know. What about in five years? What do you think we’ll be doing in five years?”

“Five years? Better book deal. Better record deal. Better apartment. Two dogs. Maybe we’d split time between here and the US.”

“The US? Why?”

“For all your collaborations.”

Jiwon’s fingers are soft against his skin and he can hear a strong heartbeat under his ear. “What else?”

“I don’t know what else. I want to write a lot more things but it might be hard though because you’d have tours and stuff.”

The hand in his hair moves down to gently caress his neck. “Will I? You gonna come to all my shows?”

“Yeah, I need to keep the girls in check.”

Jiwon lets out a loud laugh, it jostles his head about. “What about the guys?”

He looks up sharply. “What about them? You gonna ditch me when you get famous?”

There’s a kiss against his forehead which does nothing to calm his irrational thoughts, even though he knows they’re just talking fiction. “Nah, I’ll be too old to look for another relationship. I’ll just keep you, it’s less work.”

“I know you’re joking but-”

Jiwon rolls them over until he’s hovering above him. “Do you really think I’d leave you? Famous or not. Do you really think that you’re not my entire plan?”

He looks up at Jiwon’s serious face, surprised by the sudden change in mood. “I wouldn’t really blame you.”

“That’s a really weird thing to say Hanbin.” Jiwon says with a frown. “Why do you always say stuff like that?”

He frowns too, unsure how the conversation went from fiction to real life so fast. “I just mean, if you found someone-”

“-don’t even finish that sentence. Just don’t. I know what you’re going to say. Some bullshit about me finding someone better or normal or whatever. Why do you always think that there’s something better out there? Don’t you see me in your future?”

He reaches up to finger the drawstrings hanging from Jiwon’s hoody. “I do. But let’s face it Jiwon, there probably is someone better for you out there. I’m pretty sure I’m just systematically ruining your life.” He says with a chuckle, trying to lighten up the mood.

“Is it something I’m not doing right?”

He looks up in confusion. “What? Doing what right?”

Jiwon lies back down with a heavy sigh. “This is how all our conversations go. You talk about staying together but you don’t believe it’s going to happen. So I must be doing something wrong if you can’t see us being the end game.”

He rolls over and tangles his fingers between Jiwon’s hands. “You’re not doing anything wrong. I just….I don’t want to jinx it. Because…”

“Because what?”

“Because this is already end game for me. I don’t care if we never get any better than this.” He finishes quietly and snuggles right against Jiwon’s side.

There’s silence for a moment as they both run the thoughts through their heads. He plays with their fingers and holds his breath as he waits for Jiwon to say something.

“You got low standards, Hanbin.”

He smiles into Jiwon’s arm and just like that, the mood changes again.

“Does your low standard have a ten year plan?”

He presses a kiss into Jiwon’s arm and grips his fingers tightly. “Of course it does. We’re going be on your dumb apple orchard with five dogs and really neurotic hyper kids running around screaming their heads off.”

It’s not until it leaves his mouth that he realises what he just said. But it’s too late to take it back.

Jiwon looks over at him with surprise. “I thought you said you didn’t remember any of that?”

He shrugs. “I lied.”

“Why aren’t you freaking out about this?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. It gets less scary after awhile. Anyways, the kid thing is just a crazy dream. I’m going to need to practice taking care of you and the dogs first.”

Jiwon just shakes his head in disbelief and rolls over so they’re facing each other, inches apart. “I’m….I just….”

Sometimes he second guesses himself. Sometimes Jiwon’s impassive face gives him nothing. Sometimes he’s confident about Jiwon’s feelings. Sometimes even Jiwon has his own doubts.

But this time, he’s sure he saw it, the way Jiwon looks at him as softly and with as much focus as the way he knows he always looks right back. It’s just a small moment, a few seconds, but it feels big. It feels huge.

“I know. Me too.”

#cloudy with a chance #it's so short! i'm sorry #i'm working on the next one to make up #but i just wanted one nice chapter #something you think of when someone says Sunday Morning #text #double b

72 notes · View notes