#show how he can work inside hos limit even being hated because of his personality and action but at las needed because a silver tongue

[room217prayer]

I actually hate how Rhysand commands and impone himself to the other High Lords.

I really, really, hate it and him so much, why SJM do you have to give everything to one character and to his little group?

#screaming because whyyyy? I hate so much the “not for u but for him yes” mentality #I would've actually like him if he was the villain he is suppose to be #if she actually wrote him cunning INSIDE the limit she imposes in the story to the other characters #he doesn't need to be the strongest (which he's not when needed) the most gentle and just of the all #show how he can work inside hos limit even being hated because of his personality and action but at las needed because a silver tongue #because a silver tongue / threatening / bargain could work a long way and be more interesting than whatever #was the HL meeting ever was... where Beron (damn him) shine and I actually liked him there #Just give me more FAE! Not this “grey” character that's not so #acotar critical #sjm critical #anti rhysand

[silver-wield]

(1/3) Agreeing with the 🌼 anon. That blogger didn’t use “woman empowerment” but she did use “female assertiveness”, and she’s actually an abuse victim herself. Only problem is that she seems to invalidate people who’ve had different abusive/uncomfortable and toxic experiences with behaviors like Aerith’s. I think she raises some good points about the use of the word “abusive” in fandom spaces, but her assumption that the people speaking out haven’t suffered abuse is what makes me critical.

(2/3) She’s recently talked about how Tifa forced Cloud to do things as well. I’m of the opinion that the two situations are largely different for a variety of reasons. Cloud never outright tells Tifa “no” and has it ignored. His grumping is often just a front. With Aerith, on the other hand, he’s consistently uncomfortable. Forced to take little to no pay for his work, faced with people who don’t take no for an answer, and is prevented from leaving by Aerith intercepting him.

(3/3) I said “prevented from leaving” when I should have said she exhibited some truly stalkerish behavior and jumped out at him in the darkness from an alley as he was trying to go. It’s not exactly shining behavior on her part. Especially when she then delays his leaving even more. I think it’s strange to grasp for a lot of people because Cloud doesn’t put up more of a fight, but I also think some manipulation tactics were put into play.

(4/5) Anon who agrees with 🌼 again. The issue has been bothering me a bit because she does raise a good point: why doesn’t Cloud ask anybody else for help? I was wondering if you could answer that question (no pressure, of course). What bothers me the most is that this blogger keeps assuming people are mentioning this as a way to justify hating a character. She implies that the people speaking up haven’t experienced abuse and that they only know it as an abstract concept.

(5/5) That’s incredibly damaging to a lot of people. I myself liked Aerith as a character once I got to know her better, and actually ship her with Cloud (I’m a multishipper), but there’s no ignoring that Aerith acts very strange in chapter 8, at the detriment of Cloud’s consent, comfort, time, and stability. The fact that so many people have spoken up about this isn’t a coincidence. People with bad experiences are coming out and getting disregarded. That shouldn’t be happening.

Apologies for the long post 😅 I hope you don’t mind. I’m pretty impassioned about this issue, honestly. Because I do actually agree with the blogger on multiple points, but find that she seems to keep missing the issue and hurting other people in the fandom. Cloud doesn’t need to be held at gunpoint to be put into an uncomfortable (and possibly dangerous - he doesn’t know Aerith all that well) situation. She’s right about how certain words are misused, but she’s dodging the heart of the issue.

Honestly, it’s exhausting how these people take concepts they don’t understand and slap them on shit that’s the exact opposite like if they scream they’re right enough people will believe them. 

It takes as long as your browser and typing speed to look shit up.

Assertiveness is the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive.

WITHOUT.

Assertiveness is not gender oriented, so what the fuck even are people blabbing about now? Female assertiveness? Gimme a break. Being assertive is a character trait. Some people are naturally assertive, while others need to learn how to stand up for themselves. Like a particular spiky haired protagonist.

Aerith’s not assertive, she’s pushy because she doesn’t respect Cloud, and respect is part of being assertive. Being able to get your point across without being a douchebag about it. Like how certain people are constantly screaming how they’re right and dragging everyone else through the mud. Those people aren’t assertive because assertiveness is a positive trait. It implies confidence in oneself and one’s ideals. There’s no need to be a dick to people because they believe in their viewpoint and see no reason to pull others down. 

Ex: I’m both assertive and can be a dick because one of my other traits is petty bench, but on the whole I’m assertive without activating that petty bench mode until people piss me off because I operate on a respect and respect alike policy. If people come to me and give me shit then they shouldn’t expect flowers in exchange. 

Back to the thing.

Aerith talks over Cloud, ignores his opinion, bullies him into doing what she wants “this is the plan, Cloud, and you’ll learn to love it” and deliberately ignores the fact he says no. That line creeps me tf out and it obviously does Cloud too because he literally steps up to her and says “what?” in an aggressive voice. Cloud has a limit and Aerith was very close to going over it. 

Cloud. said. no.

And guess what? Cloud’s not assertive. Not for himself. Not until he’s pushed beyond normal means.

He couldn’t say no to Jessie, despite not being happy about the job. He couldn’t refuse to help Aerith, despite not wanting to fight Reno -- he knows how tough Turks are, he’s not an idiot -- and then he got compensated with a date that made Reno call him a weirdo (and he never accepted it either, so Aerith’s yet another person in sector 5 who took him for a fool). So, yeah, no goddamn wonder Cloud’s reluctant to argue when Aerith could ruin his hard won reputation inside of an afternoon. He says “That wasn’t the deal” when she tries to force him to stay, but can’t keep insisting when that doesn’t work. Because Cloud is shy af. Were people not paying attention to the promise? To CC? That’s real Cloud and real Cloud makes up the core of soldier Cloud. He’s a shy, awkward boy who could barely speak to his crush. He didn’t get along with others because he’s introverted. He’s quiet and reserved. Just because he kicks all the ass doesn’t change that about him. 

Cloud isn’t a talker. Everyone knows this about him. It’s a canon fact. So, not being a talker, being reserved, quiet, introverted, unable to speak up for his own sake when he wants something that together showcases someone who isn’t good at standing up for himself. He tries. He tried so hard to refuse Aerith, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He either got lost trying to get home or he put up with the pushy girl who keeps making him do shit he doesn’t want to. He sighs and pulls faces and doesn’t look happy. He wants to go home. He still said no several times to her whenever she tried to waylay him further. She didn’t care about what he wanted. That doesn’t make her assertive. It makes her the asshole because she has no respect for him.

People think that because he called Jessie desperate that it meant he wanted to stay with Aerith. That he’s capable of speaking up for himself. Nope With Jessie, he’d had a long ass day of work and longer ass night, been excluded by both Barret and the Avalanche trio, made to break into Jessie’s house (which doesn’t sit well with Cloud’s actual moral compass), then did a bunch more difficult shit fighting off Shinra and then literally jumped off the plate. Okay?! Cloud had a long ass day and it was like 4am by that point and he was tired. Anybody tries to say after that much work they’d be nice Imma call them a goddamn liar. 

Aerith refused to tell Cloud the way home, absolutely prevented him from leaving, made him do a bunch of work for shitty or no pay, belittled and insulted him, then barricaded the hallway so he couldn’t escape and stalked him to the exit when he escaped. He literally pulls a yessh face after reluctantly agreeing to let her show him how to get home. And then when they get there she withholds vital information for how he can actually get into the sector (or did people not notice him saying the giant gate was shut too?) until she gets what she wants out of him. And he sighs. Again. He has no say in anything because Aerith doesn’t listen to anyone but herself. The only reason he starts being nice to her is she tries to get info about Zack out of him and Cloud’s a nice guy who feels sorry for her. He knows he’ll never see her after this (or did people also misinterpret that reaction to Elmyra? Probably, since the only person he’d want to make a normal life with is Tifa, so being told he can’t is gonna get a reaction duh), so why be a dick to a girl who’s obviously upset about her boyfriend? Literally the second he saw Tifa -- barely even saw her because he knew that was her from the back of her head, her shoulder and hands -- he ran to her. He forgot Aerith even existed. But, sure, please do focus on the fact that he respected Tifa enough to do as she asked after an entire goddamn day of being disrespected by someone else. He’s not gonna treat Tifa the way he was just treated by Aerith. He actually cares about her.

And what did they think the message in Stand Up was? It’s not about dancing ffs. Andrea’s telling Cloud not to be afraid to be himself. That means speaking up for himself too, not about being real Cloud, which is a message he wouldn’t even understand at that point because he’s soldier Cloud and not aware of real Cloud. Andrea figured out Cloud right away. He saw a boy who’d do anything for the woman he loved, even let himself get pressured into something he’d be embarrassed by. That’s what stand up means in relation to Cloud. 

Tifa never forced Cloud to do anything. She asked him to go with her to collect filter money, then immediately backtracked when she realised she’d have to pay him for that too. Cloud agreed and smiled at her. She also let him keep all of the money they got, which in the end gave him a grand total of 2150 gil, not the 2000 he was promised, so they overpaid him to make up for the delay.

She also asked him after the first quest “what do you want to do now?” and he said “Dunno,” so she made a suggestion. There’s no force behind that. He could refuse and go take a nap or something. She spent the day getting him work and helping him with that work, so much so that he was fully prepared to split the fee with her. Unlike with Aerith. 

I could go on and on about this because I’ve gone over that chapter so many times. I don’t just replay odd chapters to get stuff, I replay the entire game, so I get to see the development of everything as it unfolds and see those connections between things that I overlooked before because I was too busy looking at something else. People think because they spend umpteen hours in sector 5 that Cloud did too. Nope. Cloud was there for around 11 hours before he left.

It was morning when he woke and since in December the sun would rise around 8am, that’s the earlier possible time that it could’ve been. In fact it could’ve been later. Cloud and Aerith spend several hours getting back to the sector so that it’s close to dinner time when they arrive. She then makes him do odd jobs for a few hours and then they eat and Cloud has a nap -- because he literally has a dream. You know, that thing people keep clinging to. He can’t dream if he’s not asleep. When he wakes up it’s dark and since it’s past dinner time, it’s around 6-7pm when he escapes and makes for the sector 6 exit. And that’s chapter 8. 

Chapter 9 takes around 4 hours for them to complete. They spend a couple of hours fighting in the coliseum, then Cloud messes around while Aerith’s getting ready, which from Madam M seems to take around an hour. That leaves the rest of the time for the honey bee inn show, getting Cloud changed, walking to Corneo’s and the bit in the dungeon. Then they get dropped in the sewers. 

Do you see how little time Cloud actually spent with Aerith? He’s known her for like 15 hours total before he reunites with Tifa. And people think he fell in love with her? Ew. Even Disney knew better than to try that. 

#ship war #for common sense #long post #for the cinnamon roll

[tokumusume]

tokumusume’s list of best and worst movies and dramas watched in 2019:

There’s a new category this year. Inspired by kpopalypse, welcome the Honorable Mentions! Movies that weren’t exactly bad but also weren’t good. Movies and dramas are qualified to enter if I watched them for the first time this year, not that they were released this year. Click on ‘keep reading’~~

Best Movies:

1.      Parasite

Another masterpiece from the director of Snowpiercer (let’s pretend Okja never existed). A poor family con their way to a rich household. Choi Woo-Shik from The Witch (see below) is the eldest son and mastermind, fabulous as always. Definitely the best movie of this year. For me, movie of the decade.

2.      The Witch Part 1 The Subversion

This movie is amazing, hard to describe without spoilers. A perfect mix of Stranger Things and Hanna. Choi Woo-Shik can come to my house and kick my ass anytime. I can’t wait for part two.

3.      Death Trance

Visually stunning, kinda like Amemiya Keita’s style in early Garo or Mad Max. I wish the movie was longer and the characters were better fleshed out, Ryuen the monk and the little girl had so much potential... The most interesting thing about this movie is how sexualized the main male character is compared to the female ones, and apparently, the swords were designed to look like veiny penises (can’t find a source for this info), and yes, they do look like veiny penises. The final showdown is heavy with sexual energy. Have I already said that Ryuen deserved better? #RyuenRights

4.      Gintama 2: Rules are made to be broken

The barber shop scene is a fucking cinematic masterpiece. I never laughed so much like I did with this movie. The way it doesn’t take itself seriously, the meta jokes, everything is perfect. Even better than the first one.

5.      Kingdom

While I think that some fight scenes were way too long (like the bamboo forest one), the dynamics between Shin and Hyou/Eisei were highly entertaining, at least in my shipper eyes. I like that (SPOILER) the King of the Mountain People is a woman and not once they try to call her Queen. She is a King. Hashimoto Kanna is adorable as a Ten, Kanata Hongo does a great job as Eisei’s psycho brother, Sakaguchi Tak waves his sword around, the usual stuff but with added layers of dirt and sweat.

6.      Bravestorm

A movie I lovingly call “Japanese Pacific Rim”. Full of Kamen Rider stars (Hino Eiji! Misuzawa Haruka! That girl from Heisei Generations, the one with a sword! She has a sword in this as well!) and giant robots (god, I love giant robots!), I waited so much for this movie and it exceeded my expectations. I just wish I could’ve watched in theaters, it had a limited showing in my country.

7.      Twelve Suicidal Children

What begins as a murder mystery ends with a twist you won’t see coming. All of the actors are amazing, but special mention to Sugisaki Hana and that guy from that one boy group I forgot the name but can’t be bothered to Google.

8.      Gakkou Gurashi

Four girls and their teacher try to survive the zombie apocalypse trapped inside the school. This one destroyed me for days.

9.      Forest of Love

I’ve watched some Sono Sion movies but nothing prepared me for this. Be aware of extremely gory sequences and sensitive topics. Hinami Kyoko is so amazing as blue-haired, punk girl crush Taeko that I totally didn’t notice she was AkibaBlue in Akibaranger.

10.  The Host

After watching Parasite I decided to go on a Bong Joon Ho binge and watched this horror movie. Not as good as Snowpiercer and Parasite in my opinion but heart-wrenching nevertheless. The little girl is the star of the movie.

11.  The Hungry Lion

A story about the dangers of social media and slut-shaming. I want to punch Mizuishi Atom in the face.

12.  Cromartie High

A little absurd comedy about yakuza-style high school boys (played by middle-aged men lol) forming a club to battle aliens summoned by themselves just because. It made me laugh like a child. A hidden gem.

Honorable Mentions:

1.      River’s Edge

Depressing as fuck. Warning: the cats die. It’s not graphic but it’s traumatizing. Yoshizawa Ryo is a gay boy who sleeps with old men for money. There’s a graphic sex scene (not Yoshizawa, sadly) where my only thought was “That thing is gonna get stuck in there! Use a condom!” Can’t remember much from it except for these three scenes.

2.      The Disastrous Life of Saiki K

Yamazaki Kento has the acting chops of a dead fish but it comes handy for playing a teen with psychic abilities and zero social skills. Hashimoto Kanna is one of the prettiest girls in Japan. Yoshizawa Ryo with white and blueish hair looks more like Sakata Gintoki than Oguri Shun in the Gintama live action. The end is a huge let down but the fun ride is worth it.

3.      Ano ko no, Toriko

Congratulations to Yoshizawa Ryo, he has FIVE movies in my list of favorite movies this year! This is to make up for crowning GIVER as the biggest waste of time of 2018, this list is totally not biased, lol. “Ano ko” could be just another romance movie but the (very) little insight into how the entertainment industry works and not focusing on school life made me love it. Poor Sugino Yosuke being left behind again, when will this boy get the main girl?

4.      Monstrum

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but it’s pleasant enough to fill a rainy afternoon with a lot of blood and spilled guts. Hyeri of Girl’s Day is the heroine and Choi Woo Shik is the commander she falls in love with.

5.      Weirdo Go

I confess I watched this one just to see Ji Li (aka my snake son Nie Huaisang) dressed as a woman but it was enjoyable and not that problematic.

6.      Real - Kanzen Naru Kubinagaryu no Hi

Directed by the same guy that did “Creepy” and “Before we vanish”, there are lots of twists you won’t see coming. And a dinosaur. A fucking dinosaur.

7.      Tomodachi Game: The Final

The movie loses its focus halfway through then picks up again minutes before ending. Yoshizawa Ryo delivers again as the sadistic Yuuichi, much like his role in Gintama. The plot twists are the star of the movie.

8.     The Living Dead

Sorry Wen Ning. I saw the plot twist coming in the first 30 minutes of the movie, not very smart of the writer. His personality did a 180° turn for worse and I’ll demote the movie to an honorable mention for it. Gao Han is cute though, I would like to see him as a better character.

9.      Backstreet Girls

Some recycled scenes from the drama to situate the viewers, a completely new story for the movie, it is certainly funny and enjoyable, if you can get past the forced gender reassignment surgery background and transphobic jokes (you shouldn’t get past it btw). I like the soundtrack.

Best Dramas:

1.      The Untamed

Do I need to say more?

2.      The Tale of Nokdu

This Korean romance had everything to be a mess but it wasn’t!!! *claps* I don’t hate the main female character and the whole palace politics actually kept me interested until the end. The complete shift of atmosphere mid-season was strange at first but ultimately very welcomed.

3.      The Naked Director

Netflix original Japanese content is amazing. This one is a look at the life of a legendary porn director in the late 80s, I learned a lot about the history of Japanese porn and censorship (yay pixels!) and went looking for his, erm, works. Very graphic, 69/10 don’t recommend watching with people in the house.

4.      Channel wa Sonomama!

I don’t remember it well but it’s about a news station and what is like to be a journalist and it was very interesting and funny.

5.      SCAMS

Forgettable. Sugino Yosuke with black hair cons old people via phone calls.

Worst Movies and Dramas:

1.      The cat in their arms

The cats spend 90% of the movie in human forms, and halfway through it they simply abandon the cats’ plot to show a fucking long montage of a weird guy painting a picture of a nude girl. It’s also super creepy to see a grown-up man acting like a cat, getting belly rubs and eating cat food from a bowl. Yoshizawa needs to choose his roles more wisely.

2.      Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

A waste of Suda Masaki’s talent. Can Japan stop casting Tsuchiya Tao already?

3.      Samurai Marathon

Almost two hours of dirty men running through a forest. Maybe Japanese History experts will enjoy it, because I certainly didn’t.

4.      Lady Vengeance

While there are legit great moments, I didn’t find this “classic” to be anything special. The animal cruelty was too much for me.

5.      Hot Gimmick

This movie makes Bohemian Rhapsody’s editing look like a work of art. There are more flashing cuts than a T-ARA music video. I have no idea who likes who, who’s banging who, what even are they saying. Too much poetic shit for my like. I wanted to see Shimizu Hiroya naked. I was bamboozled.

6.      The Divine Fury

While some parts were interesting, at the end I still don’t know if the protagonist is possessed by a demon (if yes, then why would he help a priest destroy his friends?) or if he was blessed by God when his father died and talked to him (the glowing hand thing, why and how??). The exorcism parts are really, really scary, or maybe I’m just a chicken, but I had to avert my eyes. The best (only) part is that the protagonists are hot. Hello Woo Do-Hwan, you can sacrifice me to Satan any time…

#tokumusume awards #2019 #Parasite #Gintama #The Untamed #The Tale of Nokdu #Yoshizawa Ryo #long post #jdrama #kdrama #jmovie #kmovie #cdrama #cmovie

[pitviperofdoom]

Fundraiser Commission #2

Thank you for donating $20!

Prompt: “Shigaraki, Dabi, and Toga go to Disneyland (no ships please, unless you wanna include a bit of Dabihawks in which case I will love you forever)”

Sadly I couldn’t fit the Dabihawks in there, sorry! I ended up going AU with it, hope that’s okay!

---

Like most things that made Touya drag his feet and roll his eyes and desperately pretend not to care, it was Himiko’s idea.

She came prancing into the bar while Tenko was hard at work mopping up nose blood by Fuu’s table, because some drunk idiot thought it was a good idea to reach for her chest. “Ten-chan! Ten-chan, guess what!”

Instinct almost made him snap at her for using even a shortened form of his real name, but the only other people in the bar were Kuro and Touya, so he let it drop. “Himiko, I don’t care who you fell head over tits in love with today, I’m not helping,” he said without looking up.

She pouted, her face scrunched up in a way that made her nose even more button-like than usual. “You’re no fun, Ten-chan. Besides, it’s not even about a crush this time!”

“Stop the fuckin’ presses.” Satisfied that the floor was clean, Tenko plunked the mop back in the bucket. “What’s up?”

She bounced eagerly on the balls of her feet. “Want to go to Disneyland with me?”

For a moment he simply stared at her, blinking owlishly as he processed the question. “What.”

From the pocket of her sweater she produced two slips of paper and waved them about. “I got two all-day passes! Let’s go to Disneyland, Ten-chan!”

He squinted at her. “Where the fuck did you get two all-day passes to Disneyland.”

“I won a sweepstakes!”

Tenko stood there, still holding on to the mop handle, processing this slowly. “When did you enter—no.” He threw his hands upward. “You know what? I don’t wanna know. Fine, you won a sweepstakes. Let’s go with that. Disneyland? Great!” He caught his breath, already mentally calculating the fastest way to save up the price for a third ticket.

Blissfully unaware, Himiko tackled him with a hug around his middle and a squeal of delight.

---

Touya was doing inventory in the back when Tenko flung the door open. “Good news! We’re going to Disneyland.”

“Congratulations,” Touya answered, without looking up from his clipboard.

“You’re coming too,” Tenko informed him. “My treat! You don’t have to worry about your ticket, and I’ll buy you an obnoxiously over-priced lunch, courtesy of the mouse.”

Touya shot him a disbelieving look, and the pencil in his hand began to smolder. “Tenko, what the hell. Who else is coming?”

“Just you, me, and Himiko,” Tenko answered, and was cut off by Touya groaning loudly. “C’mon, it’s Disneyland! Haven’t you ever been to Disneyland before?”

“Oh sure, yeah, the old man used to take us every weekend. We got pictures of him posing with Goofy.”

“Great, then—wait, really?”

“No, you fucking idiot!” Touya snapped. “I wasn’t even allowed to watch movies until he decided training me was a waste of time!”

“Oh,” Tenko said softly, and for a moment Touya thought the conversation was over. “Ohoho.” Something about Tenko’s tone made him look up, and he found Tenko staring at him with wide eyes and a grin that showed just a few too many teeth.

“Tenko, what—”

“I get to show you Disneyland,” Tenko said gleefully.

“Yeah, no.” Touya turned back to the inventory. “Have fun with Himiko, bye.”

“Touya, come on,” Tenko gritted out, walking into the back room and closing the door behind him. “You have to come. You can’t make me go alone with her!”

“Why not?” Touya asked. “She likes you better than me.”

“Because I need you to help me rein her in so she doesn’t get me perma-banned from Disneyland!”

It was frustratingly hard not to laugh at that. “What do you need my help for?” he asked. “What makes you think I’ll be any better at keeping her from biting the park staff than you are?”

Tenko shot him an impressive stink-eye. “Oh, I’m sorry, which one of us was an older sibling again?”

“Oh, what, you think that means I’m genetically predisposed to wrangling infants? That’s weak, Tenko.” He turned away with what he hoped was finality. “Have fun without me.”

After a moment of silence, Tenko answered, “I mean, we will. I didn’t think you’d be so bent on missing the show.”

Damn him, that was a good point. “If you’re so excited to drag me to a corporate shitshow of obvious pandering to a target audience, then why do you want me to come on the one day you’re pretty much guaranteed to get kicked out?”

“Because everybody and their grandma will have a camera and internet access, and if we end up plastered all over the internet, there’s a chance somebody’ll look at it and say, ‘Hey, isn’t that Endeavor’s kid getting maced by Minnie Mouse?’”

Touya whipped around to scowl at him. Tenko offered a disarming smile.

“Bullshit,” Touya retorted. “The mascots don’t carry mace. Do they?”

“Nah. Disney’s kind of obsessed with their squeaky-clean image. Did you know that if you die in Disneyland, they won’t let the paramedics call it until you’re out of the park so they can pretend nobody has ever died in Disneyland?”

“How many people die in Disneyland?” Touya demanded.

Tenko blinked. “None, weren’t you listening?”

For a while, Touya stared at him. Tenko stared back. This was a losing battle, and he knew it. Tenko had the patience of a brick wall. “You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”

“No.”

Touya put down the clipboard with a thud. “God damn it. Why are we friends? I hate you.” He turned back to glower at him. “When are we going?”

---

Obviously Himiko pouted when she found out that Touya was coming along on their little impromptu day trip, which was why Tenko waited to tell her until they were about to leave. She liked his company enough to prefer it over anyone else’s, and that wouldn’t do. Exclusive one-on-one positive contact with Tenko and Tenko only did not a well-socialized human being make. Tenko wished he could have invited some more people, but Himiko had sprung this on him on incredibly short notice, so there was no time to bribe anyone else to do it. Besides, his pocket money was limited and a day pass to Disneyland was like, eight thousand yen.

So they were going with Touya, and if Himiko wanted to complain about it, then Disneyland had plenty of distractions available. Once they got through the line, of course.

Tenko and Touya passed through the security check without any problems, because they weren’t stupid. Himiko, naturally, set off the metal detector.

“God damn it,” Touya muttered under his breath. “Why did we bring her again?”

“They were her tickets,” Tenko hissed back. “Technically, we’re the ones who brought you along.”

“Oh, yeah. Why did you bring me again?”

“What’s left of my sanity,” Tenko said out of the corner of his mouth. On the other side of the security gate, Himiko offered a cherubic smile that showed off just a little too much gumline, as the long-suffering security guard pulled a small metal device out of her purse. It was a nail clip, with attachments: a file, a buffer, a cuticle nipper, a cuticle pusher—basically any metal tool required in a manicure. It was like a Swiss army knife without the knife.

With a sigh, the employee put the manicure set back in her bag and waved her through. Himiko joined them with a skip in her step, and together they made their way past the entrance and into the World Bazaar.

“Did you seriously need to bring that?” Tenko asked. “What, are you planning on setting up a nail salon in the Space Mountain line?”

“Nope!” Himiko chirped. “I just didn’t want them to look harder.” She kicked up one heel so she could reach it with her hand. From inside her sock she produced an actual Swiss army knife.

“Himiko, what the fuck—”

---

“I can’t believe you actually bought those,” Touya said, glaring as if Tenko had personally affronted him.

“Bought what?” Tenko said innocently, reaching up to touch his mouse ears. “These? I brought these from home.”

“You still bought them at some point!”

“I think they look cute, Ten-chan!” Himiko hung onto his arm, squeezing tight enough to measure his blood pressure with her bare hands. “Don’t listen to him, he’s no fun! They look super cute, especially with your hair!”

Tenko let himself preen a little, because at least someone had good taste.

“Are those rose gold?” Touya asked.

“Maybe.”

“And you seriously shelled out for that?” Touya pulled a face. “Last month you tore me a new asshole for wanting to buy hero merch.”

“Oh fuck you—hi.” Tenko paused to wave at the park employee who was leveling a cheerfully pointed customer service smile at him. “Touya, you wanted to buy the store’s entire stock of Endeavor merch just so you could burn it.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Touya said sullenly. Himiko pouted, because she usually tried to avoid agreeing with Touya on principle.

“Uh, one, pollution,” Tenko said, counting off on his fingers. “Two, your money management sucks and you need to get it together. And three, you’re still giving money to the guy you hate. If you really want to snub him, just shoplift it. Or bootleg it. And speaking of which, that’s exactly what I did.” He gestured vaguely upward.

“Those are bootleg Mickey Mouse ears?”

“Bought ‘em from an artist on Etsy,” Touya said proudly. “The mouse had just sent her a cease-and-desist, so I got a pretty sweet deal.”

“Ten-chan, can I wear them?” Himiko asked. “I’ve always wanted Disney ears!”

He tugged on one of her side-buns, making her squeak. “Don’t waste your money, you already got ‘em.”

---

“I’m in hell,” Touya said serenely, slipping further and further down in his seat. “This is hell, right? It has to be hell.”

“I’m getting more of a purgatorian wasteland vibe,” Tenko remarked. “Like, this isn’t quite on the level of, say, Chuck E. Cheese, in terms of children’s media hope-abandonment, but… I dunno. I can imagine this playing as I eternally wander in search of penance for my past sins, or something.”

“I’m just waiting for one of those furry bastards to step off the stage and straight-up eat a kid,” Touya said, earning a glare from a nearby grandmother. “Like that one, with the guitar and the pouty mouth. Imagine that guy just unhinging his jaw like a snake and swallowing a toddler in the front row.”

“Huh.” Tenko leaned on one hand, squashing his cheek to the side. “Yeah, I could see it.”

Two seats down, Himiko continued to bounce and sing along to the twanging country music, blissfully unaware of the dull-eyed mother of three popping an aspirin and glaring at her.

---

“Okay, so we’ve been through the World Bazaar, Westernland, Adventureland, Critter Country—”

“I wanna go on Splash Mountain again!” Himiko cheered, throwing her hands in the air excitedly. She nearly punched Touya in her enthusiasm, but he quickly sidled out of the way, pulling the map close so that she wouldn’t tear a hole in it by accident.

“We can do that later,” he informed her. “We’re in Fantasyland—hang on, why am I the map guy?”

“You’re the oldest,” Tenko said.

“This trip was your idea! I didn’t even want to come!”

“Really? Because that wasn’t what you said when we got off of Thunder Mountain—” Tenko spotted a nearby face character and hung an immediate left. “Oh hey, I just found our next stop.”

Touya lowered the map. “What? Where? If we want to fit everything in before the park closes, then we have to hurry up and get to—”

“Yeah-yeah-yeah whatever,” Tenko called over his shoulder. “This won’t take long, I just want a quick selfie with Alice.”

Touya caught up to him just so that Tenko would see his incredulous look. “Why?”

Tenko stared back. “Seriously? That’s my favorite Disney movie!”

“Since when?”

“Since I saw it! How do you not know this already?”

“I did!” Himiko piped up. “It’s my favorite, too! I love the Red Queen.”

“No, wait a minute.” Touya squinted at him. “You told me literally an hour ago that your favorite Disney princess was Aurora because, and I quote, ‘I, too, want to sleep for a hundred years and let some other asshole fight a rosebush while I enjoy my coma.’”

“Oh, yeah, I was just being a dick,” Tenko said. “Alice in Wonderland rules. No dead parents bullshit, just eighty minutes of plotless colorful mindfuck.” Before Touya could protest any further, Tenko ducked in to grab his selfie. To his credit, it did take less than a minute. Tenko wasn’t picky about selfies. Unfortunately, Himiko immediately wanted one of her own, which then became three, and then ten…

The Alice jumped, and for a split second she seemed to struggle to stay in character.

“Oops!” Himiko chirped. “Did I pinch you by accident? Sorry!” Before the Alice could reply, Himiko darted back to the boys.

“Okay, you both have your stupid selfies,” Touya said impatiently. “Now can we hurry up and get to—”

“There’s a gift shop!” Himiko shrieked. “I’m gonna go see the gift shop!” Before either of them could answer, she raced off through the crowd.

Touya groaned loudly before Tenko dragged him after her. “Yeah yeah, hurry up and let’s catch up before she stabs someone.”

It was easier said than done; the store was packed and the aisles were almost mazelike. “Is there a fake weapons section?” Touya asked. “We’ll probably find her there.”

“Nah, this is mostly clothes…” Tenko looked around. “Maybe… there! I see her!”

“Where?”

“By the costume dresses, come on!”

Sure enough, to their immense relief, they found her pouting over a rack of child-sized princess dresses, with minimal carnage left in her wake. “None of these will fit me,” she fretted.

“Duh,” Tenko said flatly. “Adults can’t cosplay in the parks or they’ll get confused with the face characters. Kids get a pass because nobody’s gonna mistake a four-year-old for a Disney employee.”

Himiko looked close to wailing as they gently herded her from the store. “But—but—”

“I’ll buy you one online when we get home, now come on before Touya throws a tantrum.”

Touya folded up the park map and slapped him with it.

---

“Guys! Guys! Ten-chan look! Look at that Cinderella! She’s so pretty!”

“Himiko, there’s a line!”

“You can’t just trample children, you’re gonna get us kicked out!”

“Me next! Me next! Ohhhh, I want a dress like that! Ten-chan, won’t I look pretty in that dress?”

“HIMIKO!”

---

“Personally,” Touya remarked as they stood outside the park gates near closing time. “I can’t believe we didn’t get kicked out.”

“We had some close calls,” Tenko said. “I thought we were done for back at the Cinderella castle for sure. Also five minutes ago. I can’t believe we actually got out of that.”

“You guys worry too much!” Himiko said blithely from behind a bush. “I’m very charming.”

Touya scowled. “Himiko, you literally had to turn into a different person and point security in the wrong direction.”

“And they believed me, because I’m charming!” Himiko stepped back out onto the sidewalk, once more clothed and wearing her own face. “Thanks for the clothes, Ten-chan.”

“I figured you were gonna need them at some point.” Tenko rubbed his eyes wearily. “Let’s just go home so I can take an aspirin and sleep.”

“And find a Cinderella dress for me online,” Himiko added.

Tenko’s headache kicked up a notch. “Damn it, I was hoping you forgot.”

“Nope! I remember everything you’ve ever told me.”

---

“Hey Ten-chan. Ten-chan.”

“Yeah, Himiko.”

“I just wanted you to know I was kidding about the princess dress. I don’t even need it!”

“Mm-hm.”

“Wanna know why?”

“Yeah sure.”

“You’re not even looking! You have to look.”

Distracted, Tenko turned to look at her, and promptly fell out of his chair when he found himself staring at the Cinderella face character from the park, smiling Himiko’s smile.

“Is it too much?” The disguise sloughed off of her, revealing the Alice face character instead. “How about this, Ten-chan? You said Alice was your favorite, right?”

“Himiko, what the fuck.”

#my hero academia #shimura tenko #todoroki touya #dabi #toga himiko #commission #fanfiction #tales from the pit #dad night au

[tellywoodtrash]

Sanjivani - Weeks 2 + 3

This is now my lunchtime show (replacing random topical news comedy like Late Night with Seth Meyers, Last Week Tonight, Patriot Act, etc.) It’s a nice show to consume that way; I’m not super-involved in it, but it decently holds my interest for a solid 20 minutes as I shove something in my gaping maw.

Overall Plot

Marginal improvement in plot as the show and characters settle in. We learn more about the backgrounds of Ishani and Sid, and their relationship becomes much better. The Shashank/Anjali/Juhi/Vardhan dynamics are also nicely built up, and frankly the more interesting overarching plotline of the show.

The Medical Stuff

They seem to be going for a Grey’s Anatomy type of vibe, I think, focusing on one or two cases over the week. Nothing as interesting as in Grey’s, here it’s more routine kinda cases, but there does seem to be more focus on medicine than there ever was in DMG, which I’m kinda thankful for. While yes, I’m interested in the interpersonal dynamics, I also wanna see these people do their jobs (rather than just canoodling/having angsty fights in stairways and on-call rooms.) With other shows, I really really hate when a day goes on and on for weeks, but in this show, it’s realistic. Residents do often have to do 24 - 36 hour shifts, and each week being about one shift, it’s well-encapsulated; I like how the show flows from one day/shift/case to another.

The Acting

The seniors (Mohnish, Gurdeep, Sayantani) remain the best part, as expected, turning in consistent performances. Surbhi’s performance has toned down considerably, and that’s a big relief. The show would have been unwatchable if she hadn’t. Namit is still weak in some regards (like crying; god that one scene in Week 2 was really bad) but is getting better. He’s best in scenes where he has to be soft and considerate (comforting Anjali/Ishani/Sanya/Neeti etc.) or taking charge of things, coz he plays both these aspects confidently. I also like the chemistry when paired with Surbhi, because he plays off her really well. Only upwards from here, I should hope. The others are.... eh. They’re background characters, so they do what is expected of them.

The Characters

Sid: Sid’s the character that’s grown on me the most compared to the first week. They’ve thankfully toned down his fuckboy-ness waaaaaay down (not sure why they decided to introduce him that way, when it doesn’t even seem to be true of his character aside from in the pilot.) We find out a little more about his social background/family, and it explains why/how he is the way he is. I appreciate his camaraderie with Ishani; he’s obviously fond of her, and attracted to her as well (but in a casual way), but knows she has a lot to learn about how this place works and tries to be a good supporting team member to her, but not to the point where he lets her run amok. He tries to justify his ways to her, but is also willing to let her try her own things in the off case it does pay off; but always has a Plan B in his back pocket, because he knows things don’t work out as expected around here. I like his quiet confidence and integrity, but that he’s also willing to not mince words and/or throw hands if and when absolutely required. Not very realistic of a doctor, but eh, this is Tellywood. Chalta hai.

Ishani: Thankfully, Ishani has mellowed down quite a bit and isn’t as intolerable as she was in the first week. She’s quickly learning that things at Sanjivani are not as they appear and that her initial judgement of Sid was way too hasty/harsh, and has formed a delicate alliance with him. Not to say that she isn’t a stickler for rules anymore, or approves of his on-the-fly, jugaadu/sometimes outright wily ways to skirt around the rules, but she’s trying her best to maintain a balance; in how she tries to help the people who need it, in the most forthright manner. But she’s definitely more comfortable being flexible with “the rules” than she realizes. Her germophobia prevents her from getting comfortable with Sid’s physical proximity whenever he tries to comfort her/express thanks, but I think she appreciates the sentiment.

Shashank: God, I’m so grateful he’s still here. He’s kind of out of sorts due to the surgery, but he’s still very aware and involved in what’s going on in Sanjivani. His gentle battle with Anjali persists, with the latest episode making him give some leeway to her, quite unwillingly though.

Juhi: Beyond Shashank’s surgery, she didn’t really make much of an impression on me in these 2 weeks. She takes the COS job in a spur-of-the-moment decision, purely in an emergency situation, than really actually wanting it. She does a good enough job, stern and smart with the rioting mob/Vardhan, and compassionate and understanding with Ishani, but I do anticipate lots of trouble coming her way in the position. Especially with Rahul lurking mysteriously in the shadows, in cahoots with Vardhan.

Anjali: NOT ENOUGH ANJALI AS I WANT!!!!!! All we do see Anjali doing is either be hysterical during surgery, or sulking over not getting the COS post. For godssake, she’s an HOD, a competent doctor in her own right, can we see her at work too? I want to see her be the kickass boss bitch I know she is; maybe taking a few of these many million juniors under her wing and mentoring them? (She seems to have a good relationship with Sid, it would be nice to see that extend to some others too?) There was one good scene between Shashank and her where they peacefully discuss their issues at the end of this week, but I really need Anjali to DO more than just be standing around feeling bad for herself/manipulated by Vardhan/sniping at Juhi/being passive-aggressive at Shashank. I like that she was upfront enough with Juhi about not liking her, but I don’t like how they’re centering her whole character around just that. You’ve already done this character dirty in one iteration (DMG), please do not waste this chance to showcase the complex personality she is!

Vardhan: A kinda compelling asshole. He has a son that he keeps talking to on the phone, whom seems to dote on and wants to make the best impression on. But harkatein kaafi kameeni. But I also feel marginally sympathetic to him, because he’s trying his best to keep Sanjivani afloat financially. Drs. Shashank and Juhi’s bleeding-heart ways are admirable and all, but the ground realities of running an organization are quite different; and Vardhan is answerable to multiple people above him about it. So yeah I do hate him when he’s doing pettyass evil shit like booting a poor person off a donor list, but in some cases - esp. PR/admin/financial issues, I can see where he’s coming from. I just wish they’d stop making him so caricatureish in his villainy at times and kept him a slick evil, like most corporate types are.

Rishabh: Asshole Jr., but not at all compelling or complex like Vardhan. Just an outright classist asshole, looking to suck up to Vardhan and other richie-rich fuckers and get Sid in trouble. He’s the most annoying part of the show, honestly, constantly lurking around with his phone and filming Sid. Jeez, get a damn life, loser.

Rahil: So sweet and unproblematic, why don’t we see him more (instead of the irritating Rishabh)????? GIVE US MORE RAHIL!!!!!!!

Asha & Aman: They might as well have made them twins, coz they’re so alike (even have matchy-matchy names!) I despise when they unthinkingly run their mouths and blurt out whatever the hell they’re thinking, even to waaaay senior doctors like Juhi and Shashank. Their no-filter admonishments are quite welcome in the case of Ishani though, where they drill some sense into her head. Ultimately, they do have their hearts in the right place and are sincere doctors (if not the most knowledgeable), and I enjoy them in limited amounts; like in the scene where they’re watching Sid and Ishani brawling over the liver.

Asha: Tu idhar mitti ka dher bana khada hai, inki fight rok na??? Aman [watching Sid and Ishani literally bucking at each other while holding an icebox with a liver inside it]: Abbe pagal ho gayi hai ke, baukhlaaye hue saand se ho rakhe hain. Dulatti nahi khaani maine inki!

Neil: Like Rahil, he seems to be sweet and unproblematic, but I get the feeling that he suffers from some kinda health issue? He fainted at the first case out in the field (the bomb blast), Aman mentions he fainted again seeing a corpse that could donate a liver, and he seemed very out of breath when he came to inform Sid/Ishani about another liver donor. I find it hard to believe that a first year resident could be this squeamish about things you get used to by the end of med school, so I really think there’s something else going on here. Is he going to be the Dr. Omi equivalent (the tragically ill character) of this season? I would like to see more of him (than the other jr. residents), because the actor is very measured and likable.

Rahul: We haven’t SEEN him yet, but we have heard him and what we’ve heard......... Does not bode well. I haven’t seen Sanjivani 1, so I don’t know the character as such, but wasn’t he the lead? They’re bringing him back but as an antagonist? Seems quite out-of-character, but I am veryyyyyyyy intrigued about this development, and especially how Juhi fits into all of this.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

#sanjivani #sanjivani (new) #tt reviews

[nubnubblr]

If You Do. 23 Thea's Birthday {Part.2}

JACKSON

I walked towards the side gate because that's where Thea told me to come through. Mark waited for me before he walked in. There were only a handful of people here, a few of the dancers from the bar I recognised but didn't remember the names of. Thea's friend that had been stabbed by her other friend. Drew wasn't here and neither was BM which I found a little weird because I thought they were best friends?

"Okay, so you showed up. Can we leave now?" Mark commented.

"No, look a table of food," I shooed him away as Thea walked out the back door.

MARK

"Oh look, Jackson brought his douche," I heard Charlie comment, no surprised she was dressed like a girl whose favourite accessory is a pole.

I rolled my eyes making my way over to the snack table, some other guy was also standing there.

"Hey," he gave me a weird look.

"Hi," I nodded.

"How do you know Thea?" was he trying to make casual conversation?

"I don't," I shrugged.

"Party crashing?" he joked.

"Look's that way, I just stole this bandana off some guy as I walked in," I retorted.

"Your secret's safe with me,  you should try those cupcakes, they're so good,"

"Thanks,"

"Do you know many people here?"hHe asked.

"Just one, but he's a little busy right now,"

"You can come chill with me if you want? Saves you standing there like a loner. People might realise that you've party crashed," he smirked.

CHARLIE

Doobin was giving me sex eyes across the garden, I looked away as quickly as I could, with Thea distracted by Jackson I felt a little like a third wheel which made me want to walk away. But I didn't trust myself to do that either. Where was Yuri?

Anger surged through my body at the sight of Mark sitting and talking with Sam. Who did he think he was? Sam is my best friend, and I hate Mark. It's not like Sam hadn't heard about Mark, he was there when I was venting to Jae, why was he talking to that idiot? My anger turned into frustration which only fueled the desire to have sex, especially with Doobin.

"Sorbet," I turned to Thea.

"What?"

"Sorbet," I repeated.

"Uh, you know everyone right? I'll be right back, I just have to deal with something," she smiled at Jackson who just nodded, apparently not at all finding my sudden interruption weird. I would have judged him for it if I wasn't so busy judging myself for having to find a cockblock so I don't sleep with a 19-year-old.

"Dude," Thea frowned at me once Jackson had walked away.

"What? The Sorbet was your idea, and Doobin being here is your fault,"

"I've rung Yuri, twice, he's not answering and I offered to uninvite him, you're the one who came up with an excuse to have eye sex with him all night you sick freak,"

"Well, you don't just sit an addict in front of a table of cocaine because they say they're sober and it's fine,"

"What's he cut with?" she asked thoughtfully.

"What?" I frowned.

"If he's cocaine, what is he cut with?"

"Can you take this seriously?" I huffed.

"You're cocaine addiction?"

"Dude,"

"Sorry, I'll try and call Yuri again,"

"He better have a good reason for being late," I sighed looking around the back yard. Haka was coming through the gate with a girl and an orange hair guy who was super attractive.

       "He's still not answering," she shrugged.

"Have you slept with him?" I pointed at the orange hair guy.

"Haka?" she frowned at me.

"No, the guy with the orange hair,"

"Oh, not to my knowledge," she shook her head.

"That's not exactly reliable,"

"Dude, I don't even know who he is, he's probably friends with Haka" she shrugged.

THEA

"Okay then," she nodded walking over to the guy, she said something to him, he seemed surprised but nodded. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside.

Haka walked over to me with the slim attractive girl, I was assuming that she was his date. She was really pretty. I wasn't sure why she would date Haka, not that he wasn't attractive, he just wasn't on her level of attractive.

"Hey, where is BM?" Haka asked.

"Not here, why?"

"Because I brought him a date, that stick up his butt needs removing. By the way, this is Somin, This is Thea, the birthday hoe," he introduced up.

"Happy birthday," she smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, I don't know when or if BM is going to show up. But you're both welcome to join the party, enjoy," I smiled finally getting myself my first drink.

I may have drunk it a little too quickly, like 30 seconds quick, but it was my birthday, I was supposed to be at least a little tipsy by now.

"Hey!" I heard Benji's voice, I turned around as I opened my second bottle.

Benji was walking in followed by McKay who seemed sulky and a little less himself than normal, Dabit, and Cory. Those four had become pretty good friends, they hang out all the time without me which is rude considering I introduced them.

       They were all dressed really well, but Cory was so attractive it took me a minute to form a sentence. Which was a little embarrassing because even though he is attractive, I don't normally consider him as someone I would sleep with. I completely understood Charlie's thing for a guy in a suit, especially a pinstriped suit.

"Here comes trouble," I commented.

"You're already here," Cory retorted.

"Rude,"

"Why aren't you wobbling yet?" Dabit raised an eyebrow.

"This is only my second drink?" I shrugged lifting the bottle to my lips.

"Well, we have four more on you already, except McKay who volunteered to be the designated driver. Catch up," Benji tilted the bottom of the bottle so I had no choice but to drink it quickly or wear it.

"Dude," I smacked him when he let go of the bottom of the bottle, now that it was empty.

"Another one?" he smirked.

"Take your tipsy friend and go away," I instructed Cory.

"On it, but first you have to have a shot with us"

JACKSON

"Does she sleep with everyone?" Mark frowned at Sam.

"No?"

"Really?" he pointed at Charlie who was escorting an orange-haired guy into the house.

"You don't know they're going to sleep together. Charlie's not the type," Same defended her.

"Mark," I frowned.

"What? I was just asking,"

"You're Jackson's friend?" Sam asked.

"Yeah,"

"Huh," he frowned.

"Guess he heard about lunch," I smirked.

"I wasn't the only one being a dick,"

"So you admit you were a dick?"

"No, I was retaliating to her dickish behaviour,"

"She gets moody before a show, it's the stress. She isn't usually that bad," Sam commented.

"See?"  Mark raised an eyebrow.

"He was defending her,"

"Hey!" someone yells, I turned around to see four guys around Thea, one of them basically force-feeding her a drink. She smacked him and they talked then poured shots.

"Who are they?" I frowned asking Sam.

"Trouble," he sighed.

"You said one," she said loud enough for us to hear it, her friends were filling the shot glasses for a second time.

"Huh?"

"They like to think they're encouraging Thea to have a good time, really they just help her get drunk so much faster than she normally does. It's not like she needs the help drinking, but when she is at her limit they continue to encourage her. She's not the easiest person to deal with when drunk, but by the time she needs assistance they're long gone," Sam explained.

"Shouldn't we do something?" I frowned.

"There isn't really much you can do if you don't know how she works," he shrugged.

"Can't you do something?"

"Still healing from a stab wound," he pointed at his shoulder.

"Shawn's got her," he nodded to a shorter guy with blue ripped jeans and a white shirt, he sort of reminded me of a T-bird without the leather. He has gotten up from where he was sitting with the rest of the dancers. I remembered him as the guy who was looking after Thea at the bar the other night, a very drunk Thea.

He ushered the other four guys away who had already convinced her to have four shots. She wasn't looking so good. They were fine, they had drunk the first shot but not the other three. They weren't very good friends.

THEA

"Go away, it's not even dark yet there is no need to get her drunk so early," Shawn frowned at the boys ushering them away.

"No one made her drink," Benji defended.

"Go," Shawn stated seriously.

"Grumpy," I started as I felt the alcohol starting to hit me which was weird because it didn't normally affect me so early.

"Christ Thea," he frowned wrapping an arm around my waist to stabilize me, he escorted me to the bench seat, probably so I didn't fall and instructed me to not move.

I had an overwhelming tired feeling, which I didn't usually get so early in a night of drinking, but I also didn't normally drink quite so much in such a short time frame.

Yuri walked through the back garden followed by  Kiwoo and Minsung. He was over an hour late. He was attractive in a suit, I mean seriously. It's no wonder he is the only guy both Charlie and I have slept with.

       "Hey! You! Come over here!" I yelled.

"You're in trouble," Minsung taunted, grabbing Kiwoo wrist and pulling him away from me.

"Happy birthday," Kiwoo smiled.

"You better have a very good reason for being late," I glared at Yuri.

"Lyolik was sick," he answered.

"Oh gosh, is he okay?"

"I'm here," he nodded.

"Why is she crying?" Shawn frowned between me and Yuri.

"His cat was sick," I pouted.

"He just had a little hairball, he's fine," Yuri assured me.

"Oh, you're on Charlie duty," I stated matter of factly.

"Why?"

"Because," I paused trying to figure out how to tell Yuri that he needed to make sure she didn't have sex with Doobin, without actually saying that.

"She is trying to avoid hickeys," was what I had managed to come up with,

CHARLIE

That was the worst sex I've had, Not that it was bad, but compared to the guys I have slept with he was at the bottom of the list which just left the craving for Doobin stronger. Palette cleanser my ass. I left the spare room before he did, the fact that I still wanted to sleep with Doobin made me mad.

I headed outside, Yuri was chatting with Thea and Shawn who was trying to feed her food.

"Where the crap have you been?" I frowned walking over to them.

"Hey!  Hey, stop," Thea yelled towards me.

"How drunk are you? I've been gone twenty minutes," I frowned.

"Those four aren't the best influence," Shawn nodded towards her 'friends'

"Oh yeah, they're great at creating chaos, not so much at dealing with it later. But back to my point, why are you late?" I frowned at Yuri.

"Hey, I said stop. Lyolik was sick," Thea frowned.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, but apparently I'm your baby sitter for the night?"

"According to who?"

"Me, just in case your sorbet didn't help,"

"It didn't,"

"Well, now you're in hickey protection,"

"Is that supposed to be like witness protection?" Shawn frowned, I had momentarily forgotten he was here, or at least that he is Doobin's brother.

"Yeah," Thea nodded still laughing.

"From who?"

"No one," I frowned.

"Oh my god, why are you here?" Thea stared at Shawn, the alcohol was clearly taking full effect.

"Someone has to stop you from falling on your face," Shawn frowned at her.

"Why would you stop her from falling on her face? That is literally the only reason I come to her parties," Jae walked through the back gate.

"Why are you so late?" I frowned at him, I had only just realised that he hadn't been here.

       "My bass player was supposed to pick me up from work with our stuff but apparently he decided to just come here, have you seen him?"

"Hey bro," the orange-haired guy walked up from behind me. Thea started laughing again.

"Thea, shut up," I frowned.

"But he just came here," she continued to laugh.

"It can't be the first time someone has decided to just leave him stranded," I tried to divert the conversation.

"Please tell me you didn't sleep with Thea?" he sighed closing his eyes for a moment.

"Which one is Thea?"

"The one laughing,"

"No, I didn't sleep with her,"

"Wait, so you did sleep with someone?" he frowned snapping his eyes open.

"Yeah he did," Thea cheered.

"Thea," I frowned.

"Please tell me you're gay,"

"No,"

"I take it back, tell me you slept with Thea," Jae shook his head looking more annoyed than I had actually seen him in a long time.

"No, I slept with her, I'm Brian by the way," he smirked pointing at me.

"You slept with Charlie?" he glared at Brian.

"That's Charlie?" he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Dude, seriously? there are like a hundred dudes here, why him?"

"Process of elimination, take out the ones Thea has slept with, because I work with them, and the ones I won't sleep with like you because ew. All that was left was him,"

"You slept with a ginger," Thea burst out laughing.

"We need to have a conversation," he narrowed his eyes further at Brian before pulling him away.

"Not into orange sorbet?" Yuri asked casually which only made Thea laugh more.

JACKSON

"Do you want a drink?" I asked Mark and Sam who had just been chatting away like old friends.

"Nope," they shook their heads.

I felt a little third-wheeled by those two and Thea hadn't come over to talk to me since I first got here, and she had been both surrounded by people and a little too drunk for me to want to risk approaching her.

On my way over I overheard someone speaking in Cantonese, I automatically turned around to see who was speaking in my mother tongue and if I was just hearing things. I wasn't, a black haired guy in a black suit was speaking to a guy who was leaning his head on his shoulder.

"Are you Chinese?" I asked in Cantonese. "No," he replied in English which made me think that maybe I had been hearing things. "Oh, sorry," I frowned shaking my head. "I can speak the language though," he stated in Cantonese as I realised he would have had to know the language for him to answer my question.

CHARLIE

I watched Jackson sit and join Kiwoo and Minsung in a conversation. Clearly, I wasn't the only one unhappy with the Mark Sam team-up. I continued looking around the garden to see what everyone was doing and if they were enjoying themselves because I knew that would be the first thing Thea asked me in the morning, okay maybe not the first thing, it would probably follow; 'Did you sleep with Doobin?' And 'Did I do something stupid?'.

Speaking of Doobin, I hadn't realised I had been staring at him, he had though because he was smirking directly at me, I say smirking when I reality it was more of a perve glare.

"Hey," Yuri nudged me. "What?" "Unless you're going to go and jump him, stop staring," he mumbled. I would have been worried about Shawn hearing him if I couldn't see Shawn dealing with Thea. Who was a little extra out of control tonight?

"Charlie, can you please get my bag from my car?" He called. "What? No, I don't even know what your car looks like. I have to check on something inside," I frowned getting up and making my way in the house.

I quickly glanced back at Yuri who hadn't decided to follow me until he noticed me staring at him. He laughed at my dilemma but followed me inside.

JACKSON

Charlie got up and walked inside with her tall model looking, friend. Shawn let out a sigh and instructed Thea not to move, she laughed and mimicked him. he moved all the breakable things away from her and told her that he would be right back.

She has seemed to sober up a bit since all of the alcohol her friends fed her took effect, but that didn't mean she wasn't still drunk. I was beginning to think that being drunk was her resting state.

"So, how do you know the oh so dignified birthday girl?" Minsung asked.

"Uh, I don't really know her, I mean we've been talking for a few weeks getting to know each other but from what I've been heard about her from everyone else, I don't actually know anything about her," I stated.

"I'm going to get another drink, do you want anything honey?" Kiwoo asked.

"I still have one," he smiled.

"What you've been hearing?" he prodded for more information.

"Mostly about her sex life," I shrugged.

"Don't listen to everyone else," he shook his head taking a sip from his beer bottle.

"It's kind of hard not to,"

"Everyone likes to blow it out of proportion, yes she has slept with a few guys, but not as many as everyone else likes to say she has. Not that she really shuts down the rumours, in reality, she has only slept with a handful of guys, it just seems like a lot because she's still friends with them so they're around a lot,"

"It sounds like you know her quite well," I frowned.

"I haven't slept with her if that's what you mean, I've just known her since high school. I used to date Charlie,"

"So, can you tell me anything positive about her?"

"I can, but will you believe me?" he questioned.

BM

"I'm just going to the bathroom," Somin smiled at me getting up.

"Do you know where it is?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, no" she looked a little embarrassed.

"Just go up the stairs, turn left, go through that door and there is a door on your left,"

"Uh,"

"Do you want me to show you?"

"Would you mind?"

"Come on," I shook my head directing her through the girls' house.

On my way back outside I noticed Benji was now sitting next to Thea who wasn't really in the best mental state, she leant over and whispered in his hear, I'm sure if I was closer I would have heard what she had said, she's not very good at whispering when she had been drinking. He pulled a face, contemplating what she has just said to him then nodded. She tried to get up, he had to help her. Honestly, he wasn't doing the best on his legs either, they started to head inside. I might be mad at her but she was still my best friend and I didn't like the idea of Benji taking advantage of her drunken state, even if he wasn't so clear-headed either.

I took a step to intervene but Shawn was already in the process, he glared at Benji who seemed to be trying to make his point. Shawn looked mad, almost as mad as he had looked last night when he was yelling at me. Thea seemed entertained by the whole thing, Shawn shook his head lifting her over his shoulder, which was kind of funny because he wasn't a tall guy, he was only slightly taller than Thea. She didn't fight him, she just went limp until he put her down in the seat she had just gotten up from.

JACKSON

"That girl is a mess," Mark commented.

"It is her birthday," Sam defended.

"Charlie's?"

"Dude," I frowned.

"I'm just kidding," he rolled her eyes.

"No, you're not," I mumbled.

"She really isn't anything like you think she is," Sam continued to defend her.

"I would have to take your word for it," he shrugged.

"I'm sure her opinion of you is wrong," Sam commented.

"I would have to take your word for it," I smirked, Mark rolled his eyes at me.

"Oh my gosh, you're here!" Thea yelled across the garden, looking directly at me.

"He's been here the whole time," someone commented, I wasn't sure who.

"Come and sit with me," she tried to stand up.

"You should probably go over there before she decides to try and come over here," Sam stated.

"You think she'll make it over here?" Mark asked curiously.

"No, but she'll try and she'll become very difficult for whoever tries to stop or help her,"

"That sounds kind of entertaining," he shrugged.

"Hey, come sit with me," she called.

"I'm coming,"

"I would think twice about that," Mark commented.

"You should stop drinking," I frowned at him.

"Yeah, I'm the one who should stop drinking,"

I just rolled my eyes making my way over to the table she was sitting at with Shawn. She was staring off into the bonfire that they had started not too long ago, she seemed pretty determined to go over to it when it had first been lit, Shawn had made sure she stayed put.

"Jackson, you're here," she smiled when I sat down next to her.

"I am," I nodded.

"I didn't think you were going to come," she pulled a perverted face.

"He's been here basically all night,"

THEA

I woke up sandwiched between two buff dudes, I opened my eyes to the ceiling, Shawn was on one side of me, Austin on the other. I tried to move but they had me pretty securely in place. I'm not really sure why they were both in my bed, I also wasn't sure that them having me sleep on my back was the safest option.

It took some effort but I finally managed to wiggle free, neither one of them moved, one of them, I'm assuming Austin had a box of Advil and a bottle of water next to the bed with my name written on it. It was adorable really, I'm sure Shawn had told him I don't get hungover, no one really believes it at first. I left it there because I was sure one of them would probably need it.

I stretched sliding on my pants walking out the door as Shire emerged from under my bed, he jumped up between the two boys, curled up into a ball and went back to sleep. Closing the door behind me I heard noises from the kitchen like someone was cooking in there noises.

Doobin was cooking away, normally I would have intervened straight away, I hate people cooking in my kitchen, they always do things wrong. But I watched him, he was cleaning up as he cooked, he wasn't using metal in my frypans, he had even washed the dishes that were already there.

"What are you doing?" he raised an eyebrow,

"Watching you, what are you doing?"

"You're a creep. I'm cooking breakfast. Someone was talking about how you would be cooking breakfast for everyone in the morning because that's what you do but you looked pretty out of it last night so I wasn't sure what time you would be up,"

"Charlie doesn't eat breakfast," I stated. There was no way this kid would be cooking breakfast for an entire house of hungover people, this had everything to do with Charlie.

"Okay?"

"You don't look like you're going to damage anything," I stated, more to myself than to him.

"Do you want an extra set of hands or are you good?" I offered.

"I'm fine,"

"Okay, don't use metal in my pans and I'll allow you to continue,"

"Don't swear at me,"

"Okay, I'm going to go and wake up your brother," I smirked.

"In a house full of dudes? You really are a weirdo,"

"Like you would turn it down if she offered, and your brothers in this house you sick freak," I stated walking down to my room. Austin had woken up, or more accurately had been woken up by Shire who was currently sitting on Austin's chest getting attention from the cat lover.

"Hey,"

"Hey, can you like, get out, and take Shire with you?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to have sex with Shawn," I stated.

"He's still asleep,"

"Not for long, now out you go, and keep a close eye on him, make sure he doesn't get out,"

"I probably wouldn't be a good idea for us to sleep together again huh?"

"No, but Doobin is cooking breakfast,"

"Okay, We're going, be safe kids," he winked picking Shire up which was weird because he never really let anyone pick him up.

"Get out," I laughed.

#GOT7 #Jackson Wang #Jackson #Mark Tuan #Mark #Yi Eun #Markson #Jae #Park Jaehyung #yellowpostitman #The Rose #Woosung #Day6 #BM #Sam #Sammy #Kim Woosung #Kim Matthew #Relatable #Love Story #Drama #Drabble #Big Tittie Committy #Big Tittie Guy #Jia Er #Yi En #The NubNubblr #Fan Fic #Fan Fiction #if you do

[ontherockswithsalt]

A Made Man

(ao3 story link)

A/N: A birthday night game of Truth or Dare reveals some fun Joble facts. ;)

Chapter 42.

"What's the weirdest thing you've ever done while masturbating--?"

Noble recites the question and it was a bad time for me to be mid-gulp on my drink because I nearly don't swallow it.

"Dude." I chuckle, turning my head to cough as I adjust on the sofa beside him. "I can't. This wine my sister brought is not gonna cut it if you want me answering questions like that. Ever done?"

He holds up the rectangular question card to me. "That's what it says, man."

"Don't you only ever do one thing while you're jerking off?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

"I don't fucking… choke myself with a belt if that's what it's asking--"

"Hey." He cuts me off. "We agreed this is a no judgment game."

Holding up one innocent hand, I lean forward to set my glass on the coffee table. "I'm not. But I don't have a good answer for that. I mean I'm pretty--" And then I brush one palm across the other with a smack. "Efficient."

Noble tips his head back and lets out a pleased laugh. "No frills?"

"Yeah, I don't need all that."

"Alright." His amusement tapers off and he shakes his head. "That answer's no fun but what can you do? Hit me." He slides the container of questions closer to me.

The snow outside started to fall again mid afternoon and didn't really stop. Noble and I were content to stay in and avoid the weather. Takeout delivered and red wine and him in my t-shirt while we play this idiotic game of Couples Truth Or Dare he got me for Christmas is all I could want in a birthday night.

"Truth or dare?" I clear my throat as I pick a card. 

"Truth."

I groan when I see the question. "I knew this was coming. Have you ever had sex with more than one person at the same time?"

With a thoughtful inhale, he sits back, rubbing his fingers across his forehead like he's searching his memory. "Uh. Sort of."

I smile. "Sort of?"

"There were two other people there, but I technically only had sex with one of them."

My head angles a little and I lift my eyebrows in anticipation of more of this story.

"The other one just… y'know. Participated. In other ways."

"What?" I laugh.

"It was a long time ago at a party," he explains. "It was two girls. To be honest, I don't really remember how it all unfolded. Let's just say I could have not been there, and they would have had just as much fun."

My fist drops to pound the couch and I lean back on the cushions to crack up. "You weren't very useful?"

"It wasn't…" He chuckles. "What I had imagined. Threeways are overrated."

"You've just seen too much porn," I tease. "It set you up for a letdown."

"Well what about you?"

"It wasn't my question," I evade, scooting the box his way. "It was yours."

"Yeah, that's a no," he figures and I have to laugh. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Oh-ho." The happy tug at his cheek charms me when he looks over the question he just pulled. "When was the first time you knew you were attracted to me? Oh hell yes, please."

"Oh my god," I groan as I reach for my wine. 

"The first time you laid eyes on me?" He assumes. "The first night we met. You, just a regular guy minding his business. Me--"

"Stop--"

"A handsome stranger. Or had we met before? you asked yourself--"

"It wasn't that night," I insist. "If we're being honest here."

"Fine."

I stall with a deep breath, blowing it slowly between my cheeks while I think. "That's a hard question. Because when I was working that case, and when I ran into you a year later, those were like, two different worlds. I would say in hindsight, I found you attractive when I was working undercover. But at the time, I didn't realize it."

"Alright so fast forward."

Pausing for a sip of my wine, I swallow hard. "You've always made me feel something. When I knew it was attraction was probably while I sat and watched you make dinner that first night in your penthouse."

Noble blinks like that wasn't the answer he expected. "Really?"

"That was the first time something… flickered. And I didn't try to tell myself it was nothing."

His eyebrows jump. "Flickered--"

"Mm-hm." I nod. "Now was I sitting there like yeah, I'd let him fuck me? No."

He chuckles. "That came after we opened the second bottle."

With a smile, I drag my teeth across my bottom lip. "I'd have to think about that one. But it was probably sooner than you think."

"So when I kissed you…"

My brow slants and I look at him. My chest still heats up a little at that memory. 

"Were you into it, or no? Like at that point, did you want to?"

"Yeah. I was asking for it."

He exhales a soft, appreciative laugh. "You really were. See, for me, I still didn't know. It's almost as if I kissed you to be like alright you little fucker, you wanna flirt that hard and be off limits to me? Here, remember me always." 

A loud laugh escapes me. "You just did it to fuck with me."

"No, I mean, I thought you were damn cute. But I was like, there's no way this can happen. Who do you think you are? After all the shit that went down, you're just gonna roll up in here with that face and get drunk and put your hand in my hair?"

Amused, my mouth opens in surprise at his accusations.

"After I hate-stroked it to thoughts of you for months?"

My eyes squeeze shut and I tip over on the couch. "Wai-wai-wait!" I call out amid another burst of laughter. "Please talk about that."

"No, no this is your question."

"I need you to tell me more. Please. You jerked off thinking about Jimmy Riordan?"

"Look--" Of all things, this flusters him and I find it pretty hilarious. "I wasn't fucking… pining for Jimmy or some shit."

"So what were you thinking about?" I question. "Jerking off to thoughts of killing me?"

"No!" His brows pull together, resentfully. "Not like that. I hated Jimmy but I also… I don't know. Miami was lonely at first. You would just sort of pop up and I'd go with it."

"Pop up how?"

"Like, I used to think about you giving me head in my Porsche. What would have happened if I'd just kept driving that night we went to see Phil."

"Holy shit." My eyes narrow, accusing.

"Don't holy shit me."

"No, I'm into it," I assure him. I won't lie, that's hot and I'm not too good to entertain the same fantasy. Then with a soft chuckle, I repeat his phrase under my breath. "Hate-stroked it."

He laughs. "I did. It was effective."

"Alright truth or dare?" I let up on him, fishing inside the game box for a new card.

"Dare."

I make an intrigued little noise as I flip the paper over and act like I”m reading. "I dare you to pretend we're parked in your Porsche and let me suck your dick."

Digging his teeth into his bottom lip, he grins and reaches toward me to snatch the card. "You loved that Porsche. I'm tired of the lies."

I smirk. "Maybe a little."

"Isn't it illegal to have sex in a car, Officer?"

"Depends on where you're parked."

Noble glances over at me, one intrigued eyebrow raised and I mirror the look. Then he returns his attention to the card he took and reads his own dare aloud. "It says… kiss your favorite non-sexual body part of mine."

I pick the card from between his fingers and sit back. "Of mine. It's your dare."

"Hm." He considers it with a hum. 

"Non-sexual?"

"All of your body parts are sexual, babe," he says.

"Well I appreciate that."

He makes this big show of stroking his jawline as he considers it, his gaze roaming over me. "Take off your shirt," he instructs. "I need to make an informed decision. I can't just throw out my selection without adequate research."

Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I scoff. "Give me a break." But I lean forward to pull off my shirt. I won't deny him. 

"Stand up."

With a smirk, I push myself up off the couch and toss my shirt aside. 

"Pants." He flicks his thumb over his shoulder, motioning that they need to go. 

Obliging, I hook my thumbs in the waist of my sweats and slide them off before I step out of them. 

"God damn." His reaction is immediate and I have to laugh. 

"You act like you've never seen me almost naked before."

He shrugs. "Yeah I know but usually I'm busy." His gaze falls as he looks at me from the couch. Then his index finger twitches to urge me closer. "Come here."

"Non-sexual," I remind him. 

"Mm-hm." He hums, distracted as he slides to the edge of the couch where I stand in front of him. "That's bogus. I don't even know what that means--" He says, trailing his palms up the sides of my thighs to my waist. "But shit, man. What is this?"

"What is what?"

"This." Grazing the low ridge of my hip, he trails his thumb there in fascination. Meanwhile, his other hand slowly starts to drag down the waist of my boxers, basically like screw this game. "This… cut right here is fucking sexy babe. It’s probably always been there, but I'm very appreciative right now."

I manage a cursory glance down at myself but I'm mostly interested in the way his hands are on me and I lean closer to him. "I don't know. Maybe when I know you're coming to see me, I work in extra leg lifts."

He scoffs. "I hate you."

“I thought I get a kiss.”

Gripping the edge of my underwear, he tugs it further down and touches his lips right at the slant of my hip, low on my stomach. “There,” he decides. “My favorite. No contest." Then he playfully swipes the edge of his tongue there before glancing up from underneath his eyelashes. "Okay, so it's your turn, right?”

This little act of his, orders to take my clothes off, his controlled tease like he's all turned on but playing by the rules has me eager for his every move. And I'm about to be the one who breaks. 

Moving in, I prop one knee on the couch cushion and grasp his wrist to urge his hand from my boxers. Then I sink to his lap, and tilt against him. I can feel his straining stiffness between us as I squeeze his wrist and warn him with a smirk, "You're damn right it's my turn."

#jamie x noble #just two bros bonding over casual truth or dare

[the-curse-of-fantasy]

Hateful Love - Chapter 6 (Draco Malfoy)

The wolf slowly stopped in front of Bailey and gently nudged her arm with it’s nose. When the wolf didn’t get any kind of response, it closed it’s eyes and howled. Once it finished howling it circled around Bailey and lied beside her with it’s head opposite hers. It put it’s paw on her side as it stayed in the storm with Bailey. 

Three people were approaching the room everyone was in. The people were professor Snape, professor McGonagall and professor Dumbledore. They slowly walked into the room and saw the state of the place. Seeing the wolf and Bailey lying on the floor, Draco and Mr Thompson on the other side of the room from her and Steven’s wand as the only remaining thing of him. 

They all slowly walked around the room. Draco and Mr Thompson shot up with a gasp, both looking confused and concerned. Draco checked over his body, finding no sign of him even being hurt. He looked down at his arm as it burned and saw the Elves of Fyn healing symbol slowly fade into his skin. McGonagall walked over to them and both helped them up.  

McGonagall-”It’s good to see you, Jason”

Mr Thompson smiled slightly. 

Draco-”Where’s Bailey?”

McGonagall looked at professor Dumbledore who had just stood in front of the wolf and Bailey. 

Draco-”Is she okay?”

Draco’s voice was full of panic and concern. 

Mr Thompson-” Albus, is she okay? Where is she?”

Dumbledore-”Snape, take Draco back to Hogwarts”

Draco-”No! I’ve got to see her! I’ve got to make sure she’s okay!”

Snape pulled Draco away despite his shouts of protest to stay. McGonagall walked to Dumbledore with Mr Thompson beside her. The wolf looked up at the three and whined. 

Dumbledore-”You did everything you could to protect her”

The wolf put his head back onto the floor. The three looked at Bailey’s life less body and all bowed their head. Mr Thompson thought for a second as he recalled the line from the book. 

Mr Thompson-”She can survive”

Both professors looked at him confused. 

Mr Thompson-”The book said... But until then, this girl is safe, from all damage including death and fate... that curse is the only thing keeping alive”

McGonagall-”We’ve got to get her back to Hogwarts”

Dumbledore-”No, there’s no time. There’s a time limit on these type of things. Bailey’s get to get the right spell on her in a certain amount of time for her to survive”

Mr Thompson-”We’ve got to take her to my place. I’ve got all the thing”

The wolf stood up and stretched it’s back. Dumbledore looked at the wolf. 

Dumbledore-”You have got to run faster than you have before, through the woods and to the cabin”

Dumbledore carefully picked her up and Mr Thompson sat on the back of the wolf and Dumbledore lied Bailey across his lap and on the wolf and McGonagall took her robe off and lied it over Bailey’s body. 

Dumbledore-”We’ll go back to Hogwarts, inform the students. Especially Mr Malfoy”

Dumbledore looked back at the wolf. 

Dumbledore-”Her life is depending on you. Go save your sister”

The wolf snarled and started running at high speed. Running out the bank and taking shortcuts to the wood, then running through them like it was nothing. Dodging away from trees, even with the rain, the storm and how dark it was, it was running like it was running the pathways for decades. After a few minutes of running a pack of 10 wolves started running with them. Like they were cheering on the wolf carrying Mr Thompson and Bailey. 

Mr Thompson-”Ash!”

The wolf ran faster with a low growl, causing Mr Thompson to hold on tighter. He looked down at Bailey in his arms. 

Mr Thompson-”Hang in there, Bailey”

The wolves ran up to the cabin and Mr Thompson carried her inside and lied her down on a bed in the back of the house. He started running around the house, finding the supplies he needed to get Bailey back. The wolves surrounded the house, to guard it and make sure no one interrupted. While all the wolves were stood outside, pacing around the house, the auburn wolf was always scoping out the area and then sitting by the front door. They were protecting Bailey and he was certain to let no one touch her. 

Dumbledore and McGonagall walked into the room and started helping with mixing the ingredients. 

McGonagall-”Do you think this will work?”

Mr Thompson-”I hope so. I can’t afford to lose her. She’s like a daughter to me”

Dumbledore-”Then we better be quick, the moons almost up. Ash will give us the signal with a howl”

They started surrounding Bailey with berries that came from a blackthorn bush and they lied her wand on her chest. Mr Thompson poured some of the liquid into her mouth and then sprinkles some onto her skin. He put the things down and sighed just before the wold howled. Mr Thompson closed his eyes as he started chanting the paragraph long spell. A black and green mist surrounded Bailey and when the spell was done the mist flew into her hand and onto the arrow scar but another scar appeared on her wrist. Bailey’s chest rose and fell as she started breathing again. McGonagall sighed with relief as she let out a nervous chuckle. 

Mr Thompson-”Oh, thank you”

He mumbled his words to himself and the professors were quickly gone before she woke up. 

Bailey woke up with a gasp and her hands trembling. She looked around and as soon as she saw Mr Thompson she hugged him as a few tears left her eyes. 

Bailey-”I’m so happy you’re alive. I didn’t know if it was going to work”

Mr Thompson-”I’m okay”

Bailey-”Where’s Draco?”

She pulled away from him and stood up, her body was still week and achy. 

Mr Thompson-”Bailey, relax. Draco’s alive. He’s fine. You need to heal. Go take a shower, we’ll get some food into your system and some sleep and then you can go back to school”

Bailey nodded in agreement and they did just that. Bailey had a show and washed all the dried blood and dirt off her skin, every wound was there but with the water flowing over her body, they closed up but left scars. Some were to deep to close but they healed, just not fully. She had food and she got a good night sleep with no nightmares. Bailey was still beaten up with every bruise and cut on her body but she looked healthy and she was alive, that’s what mattered. 

Mr Thompson-”You’ll write to me, yeah?”

Bailey-”Definitely. I’ll visit you every chance that I get”

Mr Thompson-”Be careful out there, kid. We don’t know if that was the end”

Bailey-”I know”

Bailey looked down at the floor. 

Mr Thompson-”Is something bothering you?”

Bailey-”He called me a killer... and I killed him. I proved him right”

Mr Thompson-”Bailey, you saved two lives, you are not a killer” 

Bailey nodded slightly and went on her way back to Hogwarts. When she arrived at Hogwarts, things changed. People noticed her and spoke to her more but that soon stopped quickly when they remembered that it was partly her fault that it happened. 

Everyone was in The Great Hall talking amongst themselves. Harry, Hermione and Ron talking about the danger of what Bailey went through. Others around the hall talking about Bailey. Some good. Some bad. Bailey was sat at her Slytherin table in her uniform but with a cut on her bottom lip, her forehead and her cheekbone as well as a bruise on her cheek bone and a bruise on her chin with cutes and wounds still scattering her body and the Elves of Fry healing symbol scared on her forearm. Her knuckles cut up, her arms with scratches on as well as her legs and also her hand wrapped up with a bandage with a little bit of blood seeping through. She was in immense pain but she wouldn't let it show. 

Draco’s chin was in the palm of his hand and his eyes were on the bandage wrapped around Bailey’s hand and the marks on her knuckles. He couldn’t help but feel guilty and have this massive urge to huge her right there and now. He looked at Bailey and saw the marks on her face, he swallowed a small lump in his throat before she looked at him and he looked back at the bandage but he had to keep his reputation. 

Draco-”Nice face, Coleman”

He took his hand away from his face and smirked slightly, referring that the marks makes her look better. Bailey smiled sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. They both smiled to themselves when everyone became quiet as Professor McGonagall tapped her spoon on her glass. 

Dumbledore stood up and put his hands out so everyone looked at him. He said the standard. Said how well this year as been, announced the points of each house and to no surprise, Gryffindor won. 

Dumbledore-"I'd like to hand out personal points to three students in Gryffindor. Hermione Granger is rewarded 10 points for bravery and using her knowledge for the good. Ron Weasley for loyalty and courage and Harry potter for nobleness and loyalty. That leaves Gryffindor on 4965 points"

People applauded and cheered for the table. 

Dumbledore-"I'd like to hand out points to a certain someone in Slytherin--"

Everyone started mumbling in The Great Hall. Confused. Bailey looked down her table, wondering why any of them would get rewarded points. Draco looked at Bailey causing his breathing to hitch as her eyes locked with his for a split second. 

Dumbledore-"I'd like to reward Bailey Coleman--"

Bailey's eyes widened slightly as she took her eyes off her glass and put them on Dumbledore, blushing from embarrassment with just her name being called for points. All eyes went on her and she let out a shaky sigh. 

Dumbledore-"Bailey Coleman went on one of the most difficult quests anyone has been on in the centuries of Hogwarts. Even more difficult than what any of us have been on."

He gestured to all the professors sat along side each other. 

Dumbledore-"Now, Bailey had one of the hardest decisions to make. Let the school be destroyed, or save all of us. Bailey was the only person that could do it. She made the right choice. Not only did she battle creatures beyond what we knew existed but she also battled with herself. Pushed herself along the whole way and defeated everything to keep our school safe again. Many of you... most of you have a grudge against Ms Coleman because of how she is--"

Bailey-"Oh god"

Bailey mumbled to herself as she put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes from more embarrassment. Draco let out a small snigger as he smiled to himself. 

Dumbledore-"Cursed. Angry. Chaotic. I like to think of Bailey as enchanted. She did you all a good thing. A remarkable and incredible thing. She put her life before all of yours. She sacrificed herself to save a close family friend but as well as student in this hall who snuck out and will be getting detentions for it”

Bailey looked at Draco and he was already looking at her. She raised an eyebrow as a small smile appeared on her lips before she looked back at the Professor. 

Dumbledore-"So, for loyalty, bravery, using her knowledge correctly, being noble, courage, intelligent, strong, productive, generous... and for putting her life in front of everyone's in this school and protecting us... I reward her 150 points. Leaving Slytherin on 5115 points"

The Slytherin table jumped up cheering and jumping of joy as Dumbledore changed the flags to Slytherin. Everyone surrounded Bailey as they got applauded for by a few people, including Harry, Hermione and Ron. 

Ron-"She deserves it"

Harry-"She really does"

Hermione-"She is something"

Everyone sat back down and Bailey rolled her shoulders to get less tense. Draco smiled slightly and reached into his pocket which reminded him of her ring. The feast went on longer than normal in celebration of Bailey’s survival and night time came around quickly, although, Bailey couldn’t sleep. Bailey roamed the halls until she saw Draco leaning, looking over a balcony. She walked up to him and mirrored his position, finishing with a sigh. 

Bailey-”Hey”

Her voice was soft and quiet. 

Draco-”Why are you here?”

Bailey-”Look, I saved you. I healed you. I should be getting a thank you”

Bailey smiled to let him know she was joking and he returned the smiled. 

Bailey-”What brings you out here?”

Draco-”Can’t sleep”

Bailey-”Yeah, me neither”

The conversation was dry until something personal slipped out about manipulation. 

Bailey-”We were born in a messed up century, Malfoy. We're gonna be manipulated and abused. People are going to associate us as rebellious and mentally deficient...  so... what I've learnt and decided to do is... be rebellious and mentally deficient. If they want something to run away from, then I'm gonna give them something to run away from. And that's been my motto since I was 5. It's worked well so far"

He nodded slightly as Bailey let out a defeated sigh. 

Bailey-"Look, I'm never going to understand what kind of crap you're going through but... I can tell you this. We both grew up in rough patches with manipulation and fear. It was like we had this disease and anyone that came near us would rather be seen dead. So, one day, I thought, "Screw it"... "If they're gonna run from me for no reason then I'm gonna give them a reason to run." And so I gave them a reason to run. Why have the ability to do something if your not going use it?"

Draco looked at Bailey as she looked at the sky. His eyes scanned the side of her face and followed her jawline. He looked at her lips and then at her eyes which caused his heart to flutter. His breathing hitched as she let out a deep sigh. He looked back at the sky and sighed. 

Draco-"Coleman, I've got a confession"

Bailey-"That doesn't sound like a good thing"

Draco ignored her comment and she looked at him and he kept his eyes on the sky. He hesitated for a few seconds, thinking of how to say things.

Draco-"Bailey... I--"

He cut himself off with a sigh. Bailey swallowed a small lump in her throat, knowing it was serious because of him calling her "Bailey". They both looked at the sky and stayed in silence for a few seconds before Bailey spoke up. 

Bailey-"Draco... um--"

Draco-"Why are you doing this?"

Bailey-"Doing what?"

They both looked at each other. 

Draco-"Treating me like a person"

Bailey starred into his icy blue eyes for a few seconds. 

Bailey-"Because I know how it feels to be called a monster and for everyone to hate you”

Draco stood up straight and swiftly and from his sudden movement, Bailey took a step back, leaving her leant against one of the support beams. Draco slowly leaned in, brushing his lips with Bailey’s to make sure that he didn’t hurt her because of the cuts and when she showed no sign of pain, he gently placed his lips on hers as he put his hand on the side of her neck. 

To his surprise, Bailey kissed him back. She put her hands behind her back against the wood of the support beam as their lips stayed pressed together. Draco traced his thumb over Bailey's cold skin then slowly pulled away. His icy blue eyes met with her emerald green ones. They both swallowed small lumps in their throats as Draco moved his hand away from her skin. 

Draco-"Your cold"

His voice was barely above a whisper. 

Bailey-"I'm always cold. That's what happens when your cursed"

Bailey smiled slightly as Draco's eyes flickered down to her lips then back to her eyes.

Bailey-”If this is your way of thanking me for saving your dumb arse... then I think I’m going to be a lot nicer and more helpful”

They both smiled.

Draco-”As long as your way of saying your welcome is the same way I thank you”

Bailey-”Deal”

Bailey pouted her lips slightly as her body relaxed. Draco smiled to himself and moved a strand of hair behind her ear. He slowly pecked her lips one last time with his hand brushing against her. While their lips were still pressed together, Draco took his robe off and pulled it over Bailey’s shoulders. She pulled away and gently bit her bottom lip. 

Bailey-”Smooth one, Malfoy”

Draco-”With many more to come”

He raised his eyebrows as Bailey smiled to herself. He left a lingering kiss on her forehead before walking away. Bailey walked the opposite way and they both looked back at the same time with smiles on their faces. When Bailey got back to her solitary room, she wrote Mr Thompson a letter, like she promised. 

________________________________________________________________

This might be the final part, I’m not too sure but I had a lot of fun writing it. It’s not the best but the story line was fun to think about. Enjoy reading and please lend feedback if it is needed. 

Have a nice day! 

Enjoy! 

#draco #dracomalfoy #wizardry #draco dracomalfoy wizardry harrypottter hermionegranger ronweasly dumbledorehogwarts cursed curse enchanted mystery wolf

[213hiphopworldnews]

Unraveling The Paradox Of Jay-Z’s Billionaire Social Consciousness

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On the second verse of Jay-Z’s “Moment Of Clarity” track off his 2003 Black Album classic, he contended that: “I dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars,” admitting that he scaled back his lyrical gifts in a bid for mass appeal and the financial rewards that come with it. That admission has always been regarded by rap purists as an acknowledgment of “selling out,” but per usual, the pragmatic lyricist was able to defend his thought process with rational perspective.

After noting, “truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense — but I did 5 mil’ — I ain’t been rhyming like Common since,” he rhymed the following:

“When your cents got that much in common And you been hustling since your inception F*ck perception! Go with what makes sense Since I know what I’m up against We as rappers must decide what’s most important And I can’t help the poor if I’m one of them So I got rich and gave back, to me that’s the win/win”

With an estimated net worth of $900 million, he’s gotten even richer since 2003, and embodying that “win/win” scenario has been his MO more than ever lately. The son of Brooklyn went from surmising that his “presence was a charity” on Magna Carta Holy Grail‘s “Nickels And Dimes” to being a silent benefactor for a range of needy people and organizations. He’s bailed out hoards of people on multiple occasions and has quietly donated to Black Lives Matter. He’s paid legal fees for Meek Mill as well as back taxes for Lil Wayne. He went from surmising, “less is more…it’s plenty of us (successful Black executives)” on Drake’s “Pound Cake” to being one of hip-hop’s biggest advocates of Black ownership and representation.

His Roc Nation entertainment company has not only made (most of) his pre-rap day ones rich, it’s become a refuge for ‘90s bred contemporaries like Fat Joe, The Lox, and Jim Jones, who he huddled together under the Paper Plane flag as the last bastions of a bygone era of hip-hop.

You can argue about whether Jay-Z is the best rapper all day, but he’s undoubtedly one of the most important. He said from the gate on 1996’s “Dead Presidents” that he was out for Presidents to represent him. Somewhere along the line, he realized that having money was not a trait in itself, but a tool and an opportunity to help his people. But the 49-year-old’s conundrum is that while he’s enacting virtuous gestures and promoting self-empowerment in his lyrics, he’s also vying to become a billionaire in a world where “billionaire” is becoming a slur to the everyday people he seeks to help. He’s always expressed disdain with the entertainment industry’s higher-ups on racial lines — but he’s still one of them. That’s why his “win/win” walk between capitalism and progressivism is a precarious one, and one of the most fascinating paradoxes in hip-hop history.

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He’s given back in various manners, but is there such thing as a true “win/win” scenario while sustaining and ascending a system of capitalism predicated on winners and losers? How much can one movement uproot a historically racist institution like the entertainment industry while abiding by its tenets and partnering with its sovereign figures? Jay-Z’s timeline is ripe for examination as people explore those questions decades from now.

On 2001’s “H To The Izzo,” for instance, Jay-Z laid his game out with more lyrics that exemplified his laser-focused agenda:

“I do this for my culture, to let them know What a n—a look like when a n—a in a roaster Show them how to move in a room full of vultures Industry is shady, it needs to be taken over Label owners hate me, I’m raising the status quo up I’m overcharging n—-s for what they did to the Cold Crush Pay us like you owe us for all the years that you hoed us We can talk, but money talks, so talk mo’ bucks”

He’s always been aware of the music industry’s exploitative practices, which reflects America’s inherent racial inequality, and sought to change the circumstance from the inside. His musical mentor Jaz-O experienced unfavorable contracts much like that of the Cold Crush Brothers he referred to on “H To The Izzo.” In the early ‘90s, Jay himself had to maneuver out of a “shady” situation at Payday Records. After not being able to find a new deal, he and his Roc-A-Fella Records brain trust of Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke decided to release his debut Reasonable Doubt album independently through Priority Distribution. After Reasonable Doubt’s success, he made a lucrative move that’s defined his business model: He partnered with Def Jam and moved up the ranks.

A decade later, in 2006, his “Operation Corporate Takeover” freestyle revealed the plan for the next phase of his career: “Operation take over corporate, makeover offices / Then take over all of it.” At that juncture, he had elevated from Def Jam’s flagship artist to the President of the label. Overseeing Def Jam’s signing of successful acts like Rihanna, Neyo, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, and others made him one of the music industry’s most in-demand figures. He gloated on the freestyle that “I’m getting courted by the bosses, the Edgars and Doug Morris’, Jimmy I’s and Lyor’s’,” referring to industry titans Edgar Bronfman, Doug Morris, Jimmy Iovine and Lyor Cohen, respectively.

As he’s continued to ascend the entertainment field with a lucrative portfolio of ventures such as his Tidal streaming service, Roc Nation Sports agency, and alcohol brands Dusse and Ace Of Spades, it’s clear that he doesn’t want to simply be courted to serve the agenda of those “bosses,” but wield his resources and influence to help his people in a way those predecessors would never care to.

On “Smile” from his 2017 4:44 album, he rhymed “respect Jimmy Iovine / But he gotta respect the Elohim as a whole new regime.” On “What’s Free” from Meek Mill’s Championships, he delivered one of his most impassioned rebukes of that old regime, including rhyming “they gon’ have to kill me, Grandmama, I’m not they slave.”

Those lyrics are paired with a social agency exemplified by donating over $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter and other social justice groups, as well as bailing out protestors during 2015’s Baltimore uprising. He’s also helped numerous rappers in their time of need. Meek Mill told The Breakfast Club in 2018 that Jay-Z helped pay multi-million dollar legal fees he might not have been able to cover himself as he fights an unjust probation sentence that he’s currently out on bail for.

Lil Wayne told concertgoers earlier this year that Jay-Z quietly paid off his back taxes. “He helped me when I was really, really, really down,” Wayne emphasized. While Wayne was embroiled in a legal dispute with Cash Money Records that held up the release of his Carter V album, it was Roc Nation who worked with him because, as Wayne says Jay-Z told him, “I just want to help you man. In any way I can.” And impressively, he offered all of that help without volunteering his good deeds. In fact, his friend and journalist dream hampton noted in 2015 that he prefers to keep his charitable actions quiet.

Jay-Z and Roc Nation hired a lawyer to help 21 Savage with any legal assistance he may need for his deportation hearings after being detained in Atlanta by ICE on Super Bowl weekend. It’s clear that he longs to help his peers and community “win,” and is offering some of his fortune to fulfill his “Nickels And Dimes” theory that “the greatest form of giving is anonymous to anonymous.” But perhaps an even greater form of giving is everyone having the means to share with each other. It’s questionable how much collective progress can be made for the whole when the richest 1 percent in the United States have more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.

On “What’s Free” he gloated, “I’m practically living tax-free,” a revelation that no one outside of his most ardent supporters could have been impressed with. Amazon made $11 billion in profit in 2018, and it’s likely that everyone reading this paid more than their $0 tax bill. President Trump has yet to release his personal tax returns to the public, but he likely benefited from the tax breaks that many of his wealthy friends enjoy. As President, he’s in position to widen the wealth gap with policies like his recent tax cuts. America’s middle class is losing out while the 1% are hoarding their wealth.

But the trouble with the 1% isn’t limited to tax breaks. In a 2017 New York Times op-ed, Jay-Z bemoaned that the criminal justice system “stalks” Black people like Meek Mill and others. He also produced a docuseries about the late Kalief Browder, who was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack and couldn’t afford his $3,000 bail to get off of New York’s Rikers Island. He later died by suicide, and many people around him speculate that the torment he faced at the jail contributed to his premature death. From a money-bail trap to jails charging fees for incarcerated people to call home to veritable slave labor, these exploitative practices are in place to help the rich stay rich.

So much human and environmental suffering can be traced back to capitalistic greed at the cost of humanity. That’s why even when billionaires give back or try to empower the general public with empowering rhetoric, it doesn’t exactly feel like a “win/win” scenario.

Jay-Z didn’t create the free market, but he’s certainly benefited from it and has made corporate bedfellows of questionable morals. He criticized gentrification on “What’s Free,” but he faced criticism within Brooklyn for being a figurehead of the then-New Jersey Nets’ move to Brooklyn in 2012. While many of his fans were excited at the prospect of him expanding his portfolio and helping bring basketball to Brooklyn, nearly 3,000 downtown Brooklyn residents were displaced. And while he rightfully stands with Colin Kaepernick and refused to perform at the Super Bowl, his Roc Nation Sports agency still has several NFL players as clients.

It’s impossible for anyone to completely divest from capitalism, but there’s a wide range of practical possibility between abstaining and becoming a billionaire. There’s no great profit without great cost for others, which is why it’s fascinating to see how Jay-Z grapples with his evident sense of social responsibility while also living by the tenet of maximum profit. At times, it must feel like pouring into an empty glass with a hole in the bottom.

Perhaps that’s why he rhymed the following on “Smile:” “Blood diamonds drippin’ with guilt, I still ain’t trippin / that’s life, winners and losers.” The line refers to the human toll of Africa’s violent diamond economy, and how he feels complicit in the circumstance by buying jewelry. Does he ever feel that way in a larger sense about how he amassed his fortune? As much as he theorized about Black capitalism on 4:44, the reality is that it’s difficult for most “losing” low-income Americans to reach middle-class status, much less generational wealth without a one-in-a-million gift.

While Jay can’t help the poor if he’s one of them, an overwhelming amount of the 1% only help themselves. It’s what stains them all as the primary culprit for late stage capitalism’s failure, regardless of the rare few with an intact moral compass. The best thing Jay could do to help the poor is using his immense influence to shift the mindset from harping on generational wealth as the key to uprooting Black people out of poverty to demanding more from the establishment to even the figurative playing field.

His “win/win” mindset is nobler than that of Floyd Mayweather, the exceedingly rich boxer who only seems to take a brave stand and extend his hand in the boxing ring, but it’s still flawed. When Jay rhymes, “What’s better than one billionaire?” on “Family Feud,” I often think to myself, “a thousand millionaires” instead of his summation of “two (billionaires).” We don’t need billionaires to help us win, we need that wealth distributed more fairly to be able to fund our own own victories. The reality is that no one should be a billionaire, even a virtuous one.

While we can applaud Jay-Z’s actions and root for him to continue to make strides in the industry, the buck has to stop at ogling his wealth, or aspiring to be similarly rich, because the pursuit of that “win/win” scenario will require direct or complicit involvement in a lot of loss for others.

source https://uproxx.com/hiphop/jay-z-virtuous-billionaire-win-win-theory-charity-giving/

#hiphop #hip hop legend #hip hop history #hip hop #music #trending #hip hop news #ballin #hip hop scen