#Do I really want ot reach out and attempt to make new friends or is it just County Fair Season
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Do I want to try reaching out to new people and try RPing again, or is it just 3:30 in the morning
#I've been in a writing block for like a year now and it's BUGGING ME#and I kinda miss throwing ideas and concepts and dialog off someone#But waugh I am so bad at... speaking to people............#WAUGH!!!!!!#Do I really want ot reach out and attempt to make new friends or is it just County Fair Season#I'll give you a hint;#I'm taking my Niece to the county fair this weekend!
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*taps mic*
Umm, hello. Welcome to my presentation.
Hi! ✨
Since I'm rebranding and starting a new "volume" of my story, I decided to create a master recap for you lads. I think this was also a good moment to post this because I've received some new followers/readers that might be confused on what the fuck is happening.
Honestly, this was the only way I could make it work hfudihhiudf. Hope it was useful.
Obviously this recap doesn't have half the lore or depth you'd get from reading the whole story, but it should be enough to refresh your memory and/or for you to get into Where the Waves Crash without being clueless!
I'll place some links here, anyways, just in case someone is interested:
STORY'S MAIN PAGE | FULL STORY CHRONO | CHARACTER'S PAGE
✨ I'll also place a more complete written version of this recap with links to key chapters under the cut ✨
Thank you all for the support on the "rebrand", it really has made me feel even more inspired and motivated to continue with this hobby 🥺💙
BETHANY
Beth was born to a family of farmers in Brindleton, a coastal village in rural England.
She’d help around the farm and care for her two younger brothers, Edward and Matthew, while also attending school, by her mother's request.
At school, she became very close to her friend, Mary.
Her mother passed away during the birth of her youngest brother, Phillip. For that reason, her father, Edgar, pulled her out of school.
Mary would visit and sleep over often to keep her company.
As time passed, Beth realized she had romantic feelings for her friend. Even though they were reciprocated, Mary’d always push her away.
Before leaving to Finishing School, Mary accepted her feelings. The two girls began a romantic relationship.
While the girls were apart, Beth got to know William - a young man she met previously - better. They became good friends. She also developed a smoking habit through him.
Without her father’s approval, Beth attempted to get into the local College for a literature course, but failed her exam.
After a heated argument, Beth made a deal with her father to get married in exchange of permission to retake the exam and get a higher education.
While Mary was in Bridleton for the holidays, Beth officially proposed to her by giving her her later mother’s ring.
Beth kept writing weekly letters, but got confused and hurt when Mary suddenly stopped writing back.
Her father told her the truth about his nervousness in allowing her to pursue higher education, which made her feel even more emotionally trapped.
Adding up to it, her dear friend William asked for her hand in marriage, leaving her lonely and lost
Finally, she learnt about Mary’s engagement and reached a breaking point. Not enough to make her cry, but a breaking point nonetheless.
Beth is left unsure of what she will do with her life. She knows she has a choice to make, but she’d rather not have to make any decisions ever again.
MARY
Mary met Beth when they were 6 years old, on their way to school.
She was the one who instigated their first kiss. And their second. But also pushed her away once or twice due to fear.
She came to terms with her feelings before she left to Finishing School in Germany.
And kept in touch with Beth weekly through letters.
During her Winter break, Mary travelled back home. She then promised to leave everything behind and be with Beth once finished.
For that reason, Mary denied her suitor’s proposal.
Her father, Charles, became suspicious and found her exchanged letters, which led to him blackmailing Mary into becoming engaged.
Mary wrote a last letter to Beth explaining the situation, but it was intercepted by the School’s headmistress, by Charles’ request.
Believing that Beth is informed, Mary goes on with her parent’s preparations for her wedding and gets ready for her School graduation.
TIMOTHY
Tim had been a close acquaintance of Mary for years and was expected to become her husband one day.
He was told to propose to her. She denied him at first, but said yes the second time.
Tim mentioned a family holiday to Normouth in July, and Mary’s father took the opportunity to set a date and location to their wedding.
During his last month in town, Tim went to an exhibit where he saw Will and Beth. He, then, bought a Kodak from William’s father.
Tim is currently on his way to his family’s estate in Normouth for their holidays. Mary’s family is expected to join them in a couple of weeks.
WILLIAM
William met Beth during Mary’s 16th birthday ball.
He was the one who instigated her to pursue an higher education.
He is currently in a Business major at Battlemere College as a request from his father, but is truly passionate about film. Here & here.
Started to fall in love with Beth as their friendship grew. Here and here.
Which eventually led to him proposing to Beth.
William is yet to receive Beth’s answer, but is patiently waiting for it.
EDWARD
In childhood, Ned had a good relationship with his older sister.
They had a fall back once he announced he didn’t want a higher education.
Ned began noticing his sister’s suspicious behaviours, but always failed in an attempt to reconnect/get her to speak to him about it.
And, as time went by, the contrast between his and his siblings’ beliefs became more apparent.
Already suspicious of his sister’s relationship with Mary, Ned attempted to get on her good side by comforting her. Yet, it only pushed her away even more.
SUSANNA
Sue was a good friend of Beth’s, even though they’ve always had different opinions. It was through this friendship that Sue met Ned.
Sue and Ned weren’t very close in childhood. But they developed good communication and, eventually, fell in love.
They got engaged but were told to wait until Beth was wedded to be able to marry.
Even though the wedding was on stand-by, preparations were still being made.
After the Norman family’s horse passed away, Edward’s father decided to reconsider his decision and allowed Ned and Sue to set a date for the wedding so they could use Sue’s dowry to afford a new horse.
Sue is eagerly waiting for her dream Autumn wedding and her life alongside Ned and his family.
MATTHEW
Matt always felt different and distant from his family. He’s an introverted person, which made him very observant.
He started to notice how his sister was treated differently from their brothers.
Matt backed Beth up in every situation against their father’s conservative views and helped her keep herself educated, in case she’d retake her exam. Here and here
He had a brief relationship with a local girl named Charlotte.
But, a couple of years later, was spotted kissing a man by lake Battlemere - though people couldn’t identify him.
He kept pretending nothing happened, in an attempt to get things to normal, and eventually got accepted into the local College.
Finally, he told Beth the truth about his sexuality.
Matt is very excited to introduce his boyfriend to Beth and to finally move out of their farm.
PHILLIP & DOROTHY
Phillip’s mother died giving birth to him.
He found comfort getting involved with music from an early age. He later learnt it was a shared interest with his late mother.
In the music group, he met Dorothy, a young girl from Willow Creek, USA.
Beth helped him bake biscuits to Dottie in an attempt to make her feel a bit better after the pub incident.
Dorothy became friends with Phillip due to their common interest in music.
She Helped Phillip start getting some closure on the guilt he feels for his mothers death.
During a night out, Dottie was harassed by a man. Phillip tried defending her, but things couldn’t be fixed so simply. They talked about it as the encounter scared them both - on different levels.
At the moment, Flip and Dottie are very good friends. Flip is infatuated by her, but is trying to suppress it because he knows she is still overwhelmed by the pub incident. Dottie is concerned with her reputation around the village.
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HAPPY IS HER
Warnings: Unrequited love.
Pairing: Zuko x Mai x f!Reader
Characters: Zuko, Mai, Uncle Iroh, Azula, Ty Lee, Ursa, Avatar Aang (mentioned)
Requested: No.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor the gif. Credit to the owners.
Summary: You remember the time that lead up to Zuko's coronation.
A/N: I feel like Mai is often villainized in some fics? Which definetely works in some cases, but in this one i just wanted to do something nice for her as well. So yes, you get to actually be Mai’s friend in this shot. She’s a queen. Hope you like it!
Zuko had a beautiful face.
It was something that you'd discovered in your childhood, and it still caught your eye now that you were an adult. Maybe even more so.
Growing up next to him, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee enabled you to see how much he'd grown. You remembered running around in the gardens and training in the palace grounds, playing all those silly games with them. Being the daughter of a Fire Nation General enabled you to spend a lot of time with the prince and princess.
“Mom, can you make Zuko play with us? We need equal teams to play a game,” Azula explained, running up to the Fire Lady and her brother while you, Mai and Ty Lee watched. “I’m not cartwheeling!” Zuko declined. “You won’t have to. Cartwheeling is not a game, dumb-dumb,” the princess crossed her arms, but he shot right back. “I don’t care! I don’t want to play with you,” Azula payed him no mind, instead persuading her mother. “We are brother and sister. It’s important for us to spend time together. Don’t you think so, mom?” her big golden eyes, a common trait of the Royal Family, looked at Ursa expectantly. “Yes, darling, i think it’s a good idea to play with your sister. Go on, now! Just... for a little while,” she gave in, strolling on without the prince. He didn’t seem particularily enthusiastic but he stepped up next to you, causing a blush to rise on your face. Luckily, nobody seemed to notice.
“Here’s the way it goes,” his sister said, plucking an apple from a tree. “Now what you do is, try to knock the apple off the other persons head. Like this,” After placing the fruit on Mai’s head, Azula proceeded to take a few steps back, standing between Ty Lee and Zuko. “Zula, are you sure this is a good idea?” You asked, unsure about the game. “Of course it is, silly. It’s going to be fun!” Mai didn’t look to pleased with her task, tough she stood still in front of the fountain, balancing the apple. But it didn’t stay that way for long. Azula produced a flame, using two fingers to coordinate it towards her target. The leaves of the fruit atop Mai’s head were aflame in a second. She screamed, causing Zuko to run forward and pushing her into the water-fountain, resulting in both of them landing in the water. Azula cackled, placing a hand on your shoulder. “See? I told you it would work!” Ty Lee nodded and pointed a fiinger in their direction. “Awww, they’re so cute together!” A flicker of jealousy rose in your chest, but you pushed it down quickly. Zuko didn’t respond, he only stood up and walked away, huffing. Mai wasn’t in a good mood either. “You three are such... ugh!” she didn’t really finish her scentense, but anyone could see how upset she was. “Come on, let’s get you out of here,” You said, reaching out. She took your hand reluctantly and once she stood on solid ground, Azula and Ty Lee dragged her with them to find some dry clothes. You, on the other hand, were already running after the prince. “Zuko, wait!”
Many memories of Zuko were forever branded into your mind. Even then you'd stolen glances at him whenever you felt unobserved. But that was before he participated in an Agni Kai against his father.
You’d turned your face away when it happened. Zuko lost, his screams echoing through the halls, even when he finally got to the healers. Since then a glaring red burn mark graced the skin around his eye. A reminder that would last for life. And that wasn’t even the worst part of it. He was banished. Burdened with the hopeless conquest to find and capture the Avatar. You’d cried as you hugged him goodbye, almost certain you’d never see him again.
"Do you really have to go?” you mumbled into his shoulder, staining it with your tears. The embrace was rough. He recoiled in a matter of seconds, pushing you an arms-length away. It wasn’t the loving touch you were used to. “Yes, i have to. I need to restore my honor, (Y/N),” he said, his tone devoid of any emotion but anger. “But Zuko-,” he interrupted you. “No!” fire was blazing in his eyes. You’d never had his anger directed at you before, and now that you did, it shocked you into silence. “Just leave me alone,” he said, turned around, and walked away. You stood there, rigid, until General Iroh moved to your side. “Please don’t take it personally, (Y/N),” he folded his hands in front of his stomach, looking after his nephew, who was stomping onto the deck of his ship. “He is very desperate right now,” You nodded shortly. “I know,” A sigh left your lips. “That’s why it hurts even more,”
There was nothing. Nothing you could help with. You were losing your best friend and the only thing you could do was watch. Years went by without word or sight of either Zuko or Iroh and not a day went by without remembering them. The prince may be banned from the Nation, but he couldn’t be banned from your heart.
Needless to say you were ecstatic when he returned. You all seemed to be. In the few days spend on Ember Island you all discovered something about yourselves, and each other. You, for example, discovered that you were still very much in love with Zuko. Being with him, talking to him, laughing with him... it all seemed so easy that it ripped your heart apart to see him with Mai. But nevertheless you were more shocked than relieved when she ended things with him.
“Zuko?” you’d followed him after he stormed out of Chan’s house, finally finding him on the steps of their old residence on Ember Island. “What happened?” You sat down next to him. A few moments passed in silence, with both of you lost in thoughts. He didn’t look at you, but eventually he started to speak. “Mai ended things between us,” “Oh...” you weren’t sure what to say... but maybe pretty words weren’t needed for once. Zuko looked stricking under the moonlight, almost unreal. It was a sight so pure that you were reconsidering the idea in your head, but eventually you just followed your heart. “Come here,” He furrowed his brows. “What?” You sighed. He was still angry. After all those years he hadn’t learned to let go. “You need a hug. Come here,” And this time he did. He felt warm, just like he did back when you were kids. Maybe not everything had changed completely, you thought. Maybe things truly could turn out okay.
So when he left once again, for the Avatar, you had to make a choice. With Mai and Ty Lee by your side you eventually stood against Azula, helping Team Avatar to escape the Boiling Rock.
“You should’ve feared me more!” Azula roared in anger at your betrayal. You and Mai had known the consequences of restraining the quards and helping Zuko to escape. And yet you did it. Both of your wirsts were behind your back, bound with a rope, making it almost impossible to defend yourself. But honestly? In this state you would have no chance against Azula. Not even with Mai by your side. The only thing that kept you sane in that moment, was knowing that Zuko had made it out alive and safe. The princess made her move, bringing her fingers together to produce her flames, but it never came to that. Ty Lee blocked her chi faster than anybody could realize what was happening. Azula grunted and gasped as she fell to the floor of the plattform. “Come on! Let’s get out of here!” Ty Lee ran over to try and pull you and Mai away, but the guards surrounded you before you could attempt anything more. “You’re all fools,” Azula growled, still laying on the ground, until the men picked her up. “What shall we do with them, princess?” her face was disorted with rage. “Put them somewhere i’ll never have to see their face again!”
And now that Sozin's Comet was over, Zuko became the Firelord.
He looked like a true leader in the traditional robes, laced with red and gold. A proud expression graced his face, as you looked up at him. His smile genuine and happy. He'd become a wonderful man fit to rule the Nation. Grown more mature with his experiences, something that showed in the look on his face and his posture. And in that moment you were sure. Zuko had never been more beautiful than in this very moment. His amber eyes shined in the sun, glimmering full of love as he looked at Mai.
Deep down you'd always known that the two of you weren't meant to be. You'd known when you were little, playing by the water fountain, the two of them blushing whenever Azula teased them. Or when he was back, leaving the palace in the evening, going out to see her. And you'd known when Mai recieved a goodbye letter, before he joined Aang. Because you didn't.
Now you were stuck in the crowd, applauding the new Fire Lord. Watching as he was joined by the Avatar and pulled Mai into a hug. As the tears welled in your eyes, you felt a hand on your shoulder, squeezing softly. "You're not to blame, (Y/N)," Uncle Iroh's calming voice soothed your nerves, as it did so often before. "The heart wants what it wants,"
You nodded, throat burning from the bottled up emotions. “You’re probably right,” Like he always was. “Happy is her. It was never me,”
You, daughter of a former general, should now become advisor to the Fire Lord. But honestly? You couldn't. And you couldn't bare to tell him. Watching him with Mai filled you with joy. So much joy. And pain. Your two closest friends had found each other to form a beautiful bond. Who were you to take it from them?
So this time, again, Mai was the only one to recieve a letter. It sat on your pillow, were she'd certainly find it. The both of you had formed a habit when you were young, often sneaking into each others bedrooms once it was late, talking about every thought that clouded your minds. Everything but the fact that you were in love with her boyfriend.
Dear Mai,
I want to say that I’m sorry. I need to. By the time you’re reading this letter, i am gone. And i want you to know why.
First of all i want to apologize that you and Zuko will have to look for another advisor who will stand in my place, for i am not coming back. Please don’t search for me, or try to reach me. This is the path i have chosen for myself.
I don’t want to blame you for my disappearance, and yet i have to tell you why i had to leave. I am in love with Zuko. I have been since we were kids. Nobody ever noticed. And i never said anything, because i didn’t want to hurt you. I love you, Mai. I love the both of you so much, it hurts. And i can’t deny the fact that i would’ve liked to be where you are right now. But i know that you love him. And you make him happy. I can live with that. Though seeing you two together every day is something my heart can’t seem to bear anymore. I’m cursed to love someone i cannot have. I don’t want to have. Because i see how joyful you are, now that the two of you can finally be together. I don’t want to be the person to destroy that bond in my jealousy.
In conclusion i thought it would be best to remove myself from the situation. And from the position offered.
I’m going to miss you so much, you have no idea. I want you to know it’s not your fault. And that i am always with you in mind and heart. Nothing i have ever done was harder than writing this letter. No fight was ever more brutal than leaving you, my friend. I wish you all the best. And i love you.
Your best friend,
(Y/N)
You’d asked yourself often... why him? Out of all people, why did it have to be him? But if you had to be genuine with yourself, you knew exactly why. Zuko was someone who had to face a lot of trauma to be who he was now. To be who you loved. His strength, his humor, the way he rubbed his neck when he was embarrassed or the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. You could name countless reasons why you loved him. But you also knew all the reasons why you shouldn’t. And Mai. The stunning, silent, wonderful Mai. She deserved everything and more. And spirits, you wished them all the best in this world.
"Thank you, Iroh," you whispered blinking back the tears, before you turned around and went. You left behind your best friends, the Fire Lord, your Nation. All was lost as you your back faced the crowd, climbing into the next carriage. It was finally over. Once and for all.
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A Heart To Heart Conversation (Not Literally Jesus Christ Where Did You Even Get That)
YOOOOOO made it with one hour to spare but ya girl still has her submission for the @secret-shifters gift exchange! This is for the lovely and talented @hiddendreamer67 who I was so fucking excited to write for! Also side note, I started a fic before this one but it was taking too long for my taste so I popped out this sucker instead. That being said like............why waste a perfectly good fic.............why not finish it eventually...........and still gift it to her since it’s techinically her prompt lmaoooo
I will go back and edit this post to include the AO3 link when I publish it :3c
Anyways
Warnings: Mild depictions of gore, fearplay; obviously, it’s all I know how to write whoops
Some people are great talkers, others are fantastic listeners. Some listen so well, in fact, they’re willing to destroy a government lab for you.
“Stop, please, I don’t want to hurt you!”
As if Derrick stood a fucking chance against the massive creature that was currently inching closer to him, crouched low to fit within the compound’s hallways. The alarm ringing was making his head pound, an unfortunate addition to his dizziness he’d been overcome with as soon as he saw the first body. Well, bodies. It had wiped out nearly every scientist and researcher in that sector as soon as it was freed from its cage, growling and hissing all the while as it dug its teeth and nails into the panicking humans. How it escaped at all was still a mystery and probably forever would be. As soon as it clawed its way through the protective lockdown doors into gen pop, all hell really broke loose. Guards tried and failed to take it down, hoping to wound the monster at best so that it could be recontained, but even as more backup arrived with heavier artillery, they never stood a chance. It was fast, it was strong, it was pissed, and it seemed to have a taste for blood and bones.
He didn’t know if it had any sort of plan beyond escaping the observational cage it had been trapped in for years, seemingly going into halls and sectors at random to slaughter the hapless scientists seeking refuge. The only reason Derrick had survived this long was simply because he ran and he continued to run. There was no use trying to hide, it was too good at tracking, so instead he did his damnedest to stay ahead of it. It had been working pretty well until he was stopped by the door at the last hall, a dead end to safety potentially. The only problem being his fucking keycard wasn’t high enough clearance to open it. He could hear it getting closer, hear the screams and crunch of bodies and deep growls that echoed all around. His breathing became more ragged the louder the sounds grew, knowing it was just one final turn away from being at the far end of the hall with a straight shot right to Derrick. No, no, no, he didn’t want to die like this. Not at the hands of this beast, not at the hands of...shit, what he thought was almost his friend.
It was his job to observe the creature in its confinement at night and take excruciating notes about every sigh and twitch it might make. It was truly as boring as it sounded, especially when the creature was awake a majority of his shift but only laid on the floor, quiet and still. It looked depressed and Derrick didn’t blame it. It had long since been locked away before he had even started at the organization, subjected to trials and tests day in and day out for hours so that the scientists could jot down these amazing discoveries. He had no idea what they planned on doing with all this data they were collecting given that this whole place was top secret, the creature certainly never meant to see the light of day. Or rather, people were never meant to see the creature. It’d cause mass hysteria. So, one evening, a few hours into the terribly dull silence he started talking aloud. Not to anyone in particular and not about anything exciting, just idle chit chat with the wall, really.
He never expected the creature to perk up at the sound of his voice, eyeing him curiously as he continued on. He certainly never expected to turn his head back towards the massive bay window to see it sitting much closer than before. Still watching him with wide, yellow eyes and tilting its head when he quickly shut his mouth. It had never moved so close before, hell it never even showed interest in him before beyond a few glances when he’d first enter the small overhanging room. At the same time, it didn’t appear aggressive or annoyed with his mindless ramblings. In fact, when he had stayed quiet for a minute during their staring contest, it chirped at him. Like it was...encouraging him to talk again. So he did, nervously at first before getting back into the flow of whatever random thought he had at the moment. And every time the creature would just sit and listen, its full attention on Derrick, with the occasional dozing off in the midst of his longer topics. He wasn’t sure how much it actually understood him. After all, it never listened to any directions it was given during another trial, but then again that could have just been out of spite and defiance. It didn’t speak English to his knowledge as it had never once given him a reply, but that didn’t mean it didn’t know it.
It never really responded, but there were quite a few times it would react to whatever he was saying. He theorized it was basing most of its assumptions off of whatever emotion he was portraying in his speeches. When he was visibly upset about some incident with Travis down in aquatics, it would whine. When he was excited about some great news he was dying to share with someone, it would chirp. When he was exhausted for one reason or another, unable to keep his eyes open or his stories coherent, it would purr. Almost as if it was trying to lull him to sleep, which it succeeded in every time with its soft white noise. If he were to be honest, he genuinely looked forward to his evening shift just about every day. Derrick could get so much shit out of his head and off his chest without having to worry about what the creature would think about him later. Maybe this was just a trick of the mind, but...it almost seemed just as happy to see him as soon as he would appear in that bay window, immediately twitching its ears up and moving closer.
Clearly, the mutual bond was not reciprocated.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, why the fuck would the creature like him? He was just another human that stared at him for science and soon enough he’d be just another human ground under its palm until his organs burst. Perhaps it just liked hearing the sound of his voice, anything being better than the silence it was constantly surrounded in, or maybe it had always been sizing him up for a snack. He had never written any of these emotional reactions down. He didn’t...well, it was hard to put in the right words, but he just didn’t want his superiors to have that knowledge that could understand feelings for the most part. That it appeared to like him. That it could be docile. Almost like he was trying to protect it from more severe and psychological tests they would surely run. He wondered if things would be different if he actually did report his findings, like if they could have prevented whatever triggered its rage strong enough to rip down doors and walls.
It was creeping closer now, claws clicking along the concrete floor. It was absolutely soaked in blood, especially around its mouth and hands. The way its tail jerked side to side reminded him of an irritated cat, which he didn’t take as a good sign. It wasn’t like Derrick actually had something to protect himself with like he so claimed. His bluff was called in an instant and it made a throaty rumble in response to his threat. It had been difficult to see at a distance with the flashing, red light acting almost as a cheap strobe, but now that it was only a few yards away, he could very clearly tell there was something hanging from its mouth. Something large and dripping and red and oh Christ it was a body. He hoped the poor bastard wasn’t alive anymore for mercy’s sake, firmly clamped between its jaws and impaled on its fangs. Was that a sign of things to come for him? He pressed as much as he could against the lock door in a vain attempt to somehow phase through to the other side and reach safety. With no such luck, he slid down to sit on the floor instead and covered his head with his arms curling in tightly on himself. He was shaking something terrible and tears still managed to find a way to escape his shut eyes. This was never how he imagined he’d meet his end, but either way he didn’t want to see it coming. Maybe if it did like him just a smidge, it would grant him a quick and painless death. He doubted it, though. It sounded like it enjoyed the struggles of its prey far too much.
Derrick could tell when it was hovering right above him. Its shadow engulfed him, blood dripped steadily into a puddle in front of him, spreading out across the floor until it actually touched his shoes. Fuck, he couldn’t help the sob that escaped him. He was scared. Strangely enough, it didn’t...do anything to him as seconds ticked by agonizingly slow. Staring at him, he presumed? Just how it would when there was a safety window between them. Something heavy landed in front of him with a disgusting squish, splattering more blood onto him. When the silence stretched on again, he hesitantly cracked open an eye to see what was supposedly laying at his feet and immediately wished he didn’t.
It was fucking Travis. Or what was left of him, anyways, torn to shreds and missing a few vital chunks from his body. Derrick wanted to throw up, but his throat was already choked up with more panicked cries. He looked away from the corpse, not wanting to take in anymore of the gory details and instead looked at the face of the creature. It didn’t look upset in the slightest, not like how angered it had been dismembering every other unlucky human in its path. Instead, it just stared back at him with those same wide, yellow eyes, tilting its head at Derrick’s lack of reaction. It leaned down to nudge the body closer to him with its nose, pushing it against his legs and rumbling curiously. No, no, no, get it off, get it off!
“S-stop! I don’t fucking w-want it!” He cried, kicking his legs out to shove the remains away from him. What was he supposed to do with it anyways!? Why was it showing off its latest kill, like it was seeking his approval, like it--
...like it did it for him.
The night before last, he and Travis got into it again in the break room. He was already pissed about being transferred to the division the creature was in and leaving his previous work behind. It could have been because Derrick happened to be the only one there or because he was one of the younger hires, the asshole decided to take his frustration out on him instead. Snide comments turned into full on insults and all Derrick wanted was some goddamn coffee before he clocked out. Waiting for the machine to finish brewing wasn’t worth it at this point, he could pick up a cup somewhere else on the way home. He tried to leave, but Travis blocked the doorway and he, not being in the fucking mood, tried to shoulder past him instead. It was very much not appreciated as the next thing he knew he was being pinned against the wall, the lapels of his coat clenched in his fist. He was absolutely ready to throw hands with this guy before he backed off suddenly, another coworker entering the break room with a cheery greeting and total obliviousness.
Maybe he should have told his superiors about the incident, but he chose instead to vent about it to the creature the next night. As soon as he mentioned when it got physical, its ears flatten back and it growled, though Derrick was too consumed by his own emotions to really care about its apparent threat display. After that was when it had clawed its way to freedom and started its rampage. That...that couldn’t have been what set it off though, right? There had to be other catalysts surely. However, it didn’t change the fact how eagerly it was presenting the mauled corpse of his aggressor, almost as if to say look! For you!
Did that mean...it really did understand him? It understood enough that Travis had tried to attack him and he was not his biggest fan right now. He had been really worked up during that little rant, too, probably making it sound worse than it actually was. Either way, it didn’t like that and took matters into its own hands. Or, mouth rather. This must be its interpretation of protecting him, killing the threat before it could strike again. Good thing he wasn’t one to usually bad mouth coworkers or the creature possibly could have had its massacre sparked by Derrick being mildly annoyed that Sarah always forgot to clean out the coffee filter when she was done.
The creature looked at the body as it was kicked back towards it, whining slightly. Was it upset that he didn’t accept its gracious tribute? That wouldn’t start another fit of anger, would it? He thought it just might when he scoot forward those remaining few injuries to press its face against Derrick’s trembling body. Its bloody mouth transferred an unfortunate amount of gore onto his clothing, but he had other things to worry about, like how close its fucking mouth full of fangs was to his more important organs. The nose buried into his chest rubbed gently, trailing up his neck and to the side of his head. Purrs rumbled with each quiet breath, taking care not to accidentally deafen him. He still cried out when the creature invaded his personal space, though he didn’t have much room to struggle as he was pinned between the door and the face. He whimpered regardless, trying to turn his head to avoid being nuzzled and ultimately failing.
If he thought the impromptu cuddling was bad, he was in for a worse shock when the creature pulled back just a hair, foolishly thinking that it finally had its fill of smelling him or scenting him or what the fuck ever. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy, not when a black tongue darted out from smiling lips to lick him from his stomach to the crown of his head in one, quick swipe. Now that made him actually scream out some sort of pathetic, strangled sound, squirming about as he was lapped again and again and again.
“N-no, don’t, p-please!” He begged uselessly, “D-don’t kill m-me, please, p-please, don’t e-eat me!”
Much to his surprise, the creature actually pulled away from him after that last remark, tilting its head questioningly again. While Derrick was in the middle of his panic attack, doing his damnedest to keep his cries from becoming too harsh, it crossed its arms and rested its head on them, watching as he tried to collect himself to no avail. When it seemed like he was starting to slip deeper into his episode, it started to purr. Quiet and soft, a nice noise to help drown out that increasingly annoying siren. And the worst part was that he really was actually starting to calm down. Not that he liked being so scared he couldn’t breathe, but it was the sheer fact that it was the creature bringing him comfort when it was the one who terrified him in the first place. His sobs quieted down after a few minutes and when they were ragged breaths instead, it started to chitter. Little chirps and purrs and throaty noises he could only assume were directed at him since that’s where it was staring so intently, though the sounds meant nothing to him. Was that how it felt when he used to talk to it for hours on end?
Was it trying to talk to him to soothe him, because him talking to it made it feel relaxed?
He supposed their time together was a much needed break from being poked and prodded and tested and it started to associate Derrick with that mini luxury. The talking probably gave it a sense of company considering he had no fucking clue if and where other members of its species resided. Maybe this friendship wasn’t as one sided as he thought. Maybe it cared so much about the stupid little human that would blather his entire shift that it was willing to rip the facility inside out just to get rid of his bully. One by one his muscles started to uncoil their tension until he was sagging against the door. His breathing was still labored, but he could at least get a steady breath through his nose rather than his gasping mouth. A minute tremor in his hands was all that was left of his previous quivering and his headache was now replaced with a cloudy exhaustion. The creature was still making its imitation noises, only tapering off when Derrick managed to raise his head up and look at it.
“You won’t hurt me...will you?” His voice was so small and weak, it was a good thing the creature had fairly strong hearing.
It responded by bumping its nose into his chest again, smiling all the while. Affection. It liked him. Hesitantly, he raised a hand and gingerly placed it on the creature’s cheek, giving it a tiny pat.
“...you...you know we’re fucked when the army comes...right?” They were a last resort when all other failsafes went south and had yet to be deactivated. It wasn’t their job to find and help survivors, it was their job to make sure nothing about this event was leaked into the public. Be it the experiment itself or scientists who could potentially blackmail the directors.
It shifted to push itself back into a crouched position, lowering towards him with its mouth open. He flinched and turned away which seemed to be exactly what it wanted, clamping down on the back of his shirt and jacket and narrowly missing giving his back a nasty scrape. Derrick all but squeaked in surprise when he felt himself be lifted up, dangling a few dozen feet in the air. It was like he had the same POV as the creature, watching its hands paw at the locked door until claws were able to scratch through the metal in large gouges. Wiring and mechanics were exposed as a result and with a little more tearing and pulling, it opened the entry wide enough for it to slip through, Derrick in tow. Huh. Guess keycards we’re always a necessity.
He hadn’t the faintest idea where they were headed, but it seemed like the creature had a general sense of direction and so far it was taking the correct route to the surface, to outside. For the moment, he didn’t have a single thing to say and simply let himself sway with the creature’s gait. Its intentions with him after they escaped into the world above were pretty vague at best, but he couldn’t really find the energy to care right now. As long as the military hadn’t beaten them to the exit, they’d be fine.
They could talk later about their really unconventional future later.
#secret shifters 2020#g/t#gaint/tiny#fearplay#macro/micro#g/t fearplay#my fics#oh my god i hope you like it#im sorry if the paragraphs are kind clunky???#google docs and tumblr and ao3 all format them differently otz#also my beta is asleep so guess what hasn't been proofread because this girl has no reading comprehension#MEEEEEEEEE#but also like for real i hope you like it#and if not#i give you permission to curse me
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So Listen Dear, Won’t You Meet Me Here While I’m Bringing in the New Year
So Listen Dear, Won’t You Meet Me Here While I’m Bringing in the New Year | Reddie | Teen and Up | 5,627 words
Summary: “Fuck you, I would have gotten it eventually,” Richie shoots back, even as he rushes to save the game quickly, and then tosses the controller to the side. “I’m bored," he declares loudly.
He stares resolutely at the TV the same way he’s been avoiding Eddie’s eyes most of the night, like he’s too nervous to meet Eddie’s gaze.
“You were the one who wanted to play video games all night,” Eddie grumbles, glaring at the side of his face. When we could be making out instead, he complains in his own head, but refuses to say aloud.
**
It’s New Years Eve, and Eddie’s just waiting for Richie to make a move already.
—
Title from "Bringing In A Brand New Year," by B.B. King. I was inspired by this (x) tik tok and I know it’s way too late for New Years but take this New Years fic anyway. This is also set 2016 but the boys are teens. Thanks to @imnotinclinedtomaturity for the beta I love you.
Ao3 Link
—
Stan (10:16 PM)
so has he made a move on u yet?
Eddie (10:16 PM)
fuck you stan you know he hasnt
Stan (10:17 PM)
i told u ud have ot be the one to suck it up kaspbrak
Eddie (10:18 PM)
I hate you.
Stan (10:18 PM)
ur just mad i was right. i knew richie wouldnt have the balls to follow through on his plans to jump ur bones tonight
Eddie doesn’t dignify that with a response, instead choosing to toss his phone onto the edge of Richie’s bed with a huff. Richie, who up ‘til then had been blatantly (and perhaps a little desperately) trying to pretend he hadn’t noticed Eddie was on his phone, glances at the discarded phone with far too much interest.
“Who ya texting, Eds?” he asks, feigning indifference but missing by a mile. Eddie wants to roll his eyes at just how transparent his best friend is, but he really shouldn’t be surprised. Richie has been on edge all night, more often than not turning to Eddie to say something, and then changing his mind last minute, so of course the moment Eddie’s attention isn’t on him, he’d be concerned.
“Your mom,” Eddie snarks back, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation. Richie snickers, but his heart clearly isn’t in it. He keeps darting his eyes towards Eddie’s phone, and then back to the TV screen, where he’s been playing Kingdom Hearts for the last hour, as if he wants nothing more than to take Eddie’s phone and find out for himself.
Do it, Eddie begs him internally, eyes narrowed at the back of Richie’s head.
Richie doesn’t, but Eddie hadn’t really been expecting anything different. Richie hasn’t been picking up on anything Eddie has been hinting at recently. It’s starting to feel like nothing short of screaming his intentions from the rooftop will work to knock some sense into him.
In fact, he’s been sitting at the head of Richie’s bed for the last two hours, sprawled as invitingly as he could imagine in a pair of sleep shorts and one of Richie’s jackets. He looks good, he knows he looks good.
More than once he’s stretched himself towards Richie, pressing their thighs together and tossing his ankle over Richie’s, but rather than encouraging Richie to just do something already, it had only succeeded in Richie giggling nervously and, after the third rendition, retreating half way down the bed.
Richie has been sat cross legged down there for the last hour and a half, and Eddie doesn’t know what to do to salvage the damn night. He can’t exactly chase Richie, because so far drawing any attention to Richie’s weirdness, or Eddie’s blatant attempts to flirt, has only seemed to spook him, and any attempt to broach the subject — that subject being the fact that Eddie wanted to date him — only made Richie clam up more.
Eddie has been waiting the last couple of months for Richie to just… come out with it already, ever since Janice had asked Eddie to be her date to homecoming, and Richie had gone into such a fit he hadn’t spoken to Eddie for a week. Eddie had been so mad at him for being a dick and ignoring him, but every time Eddie’d tried to catch him on his own, Richie would disappear. For three days straight he’d been to all of Richie’s favorite hang out spots and hadn’t seen hide nor tail of him until the end of October when Eddie stumbled out the back of the Chemistry building and accidentally overheard a private conversation between Richie and Bev.
He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop but… Richie was his best friend, and more than anything else, Eddie had been hurt by the sudden refusal to speak to him. He hadn’t even understood at the time, hadn’t made the connection to Janice at all, until he’d heard Richie confessing to Bev, his voice hesitant, quiet… hurt.
“It’s only a matter of time before someone asks Eddie out and he says yes, Bev,” Richie had sniffled miserably. “What am I supposed to do then, because I sure as fuck can’t pretend to be happy for him? It’ll break my heart.”
Ever since then, Eddie has been trying to tell Richie that Eddie doesn’t want a girlfriend. In fact, Eddie isn’t interested in girls at all. He’s far more interested in his foulmouthed best friend, despite his better judgement.
Richie doesn’t seem to get it, though. The following Monday, Richie had started speaking to him again as if nothing had happened, and any time Eddie attempted to bring any of it up, Richie would say something so nonsensical and infuriating that Eddie couldn’t help raising to the bait.
Now it's been over two months and Richie is still pussy footing around despite the fact that Eddie has been flirting with him this entire time. He’s dropped so many hints about his own fucking feelings that now all of the Losers know he’s in love with Richie, and their sympathy is quickly waning.
“You need to just tell him outright, Eddie,” had been Bill’s sage advice after the millionth time Eddie had practically sat on Richie’s lap in the hammock and Richie had responded by jumping out of it. “He’s an idiot, and obviously terrified you’re going to reject him if he so much as breathes on you wrong. He’s not going to realize you like him back when you’re flirting with him the same way you’ve been flirting with him your entire friendship.”
Eddie had told Bill to fuck off, and hid in his room for the rest of the night, frustrated at his own inability to sack up, as Bev would put it.
And truthfully, Eddie doesn’t know why he hasn’t just blurted it all out yet, but every time he’s even come close, he’s felt almost faint with anxiety. It hasn’t helped that everytime Richie senses a serious conversation coming, he diverts the conversation as fast as he possibly can. Richie’s lack of desire to actually fucking talk about this isn’t exactly comforting, despite the fact that Eddie knows Richie likes him.
But it’s New Year’s Eve tonight, and Stan, sick of watching Richie and Eddie dance around each other, had confided in Eddie that Richie was planning on confessing his feelings tonight, if he could only convince Eddie it would be worth pissing off his mom to spend the night.
Spending any amount of time with Richie was worth it, but if it meant Richie was going to admit to how he felt, Eddie wasn’t going to miss his chance.
Except… so far, Stan’s assumption that Richie wouldn’t have the guts to tell Eddie the truth seems to be the most likely outcome. Eddie sighs at the thought, unsure what else he could possibly do to make it clear to Richie that he’s more than receptive to Richie’s feelings..
All Eddie can really think about just then, however, is how shit Richie is at Kingdom Hearts.
“You’re doing it wrong,” Eddie grouses loudly, as Richie makes another attempt to defeat Luxord, and the loud death animation plays out on the screen.
“Fuck you, no I’m not,” Richie shoots back, stubbornly clicking “restart” and beginning the fight all over again. Eddie sighs loudly. This is the fifth time he’s seen Richie attempt this fight tonight, and each time he’s fallen to the same fucking trap. It's probably thanks to the fact that Richie hasn’t actually been paying very much attention to his game at all, apparently too busy fidgeting in place and sending Eddie obvious, but nonetheless longing, looks.
“You just have to pay fucking attention,” Eddie grumbles and shifts onto his knees, crawling determindedly over to Richie. Richie looks over his shoulder at Eddie, a nervous look in his eye, tongue sticking out in concentration. Richie shifts with Eddie, leaning forward like he wants to get away. Eddie wants nothing more than to shove him off the bed already. “Look, see, when he turns into a card you just have to —”
At Richie’s side now, Eddie reaches for the controller in Richie’s hands, and jerks it into his own.
“Hey!” Richie complains loudly, but doesn’t fight it. Instead, he practically recoils, and moves over on the bed so that he’s on the edge, a large gap between him and Eddie’s knees. Eddie does everything he can to ignore it, and starts mashing buttons on the controller.
“See, look, if you just fuck with the camera you can tell which card he’s and then —” Eddie unleashes a combo attack on Luxord in the few seconds that he’s stunned, before Luxord changes tacks.
Eddie doesn’t bother handing Richie the controller back, because Richie doesn’t ask and Eddie is tired of sitting around looking tempting when it’s clear Richie isn’t going to fucking do anything about it. Irritated, Eddie unleashes his anger on the game instead. “And then when he does it again, you just —” Again, Eddie manipulates the camera until he knows exactly which card Luxord is in, locks on, and beats the shit out of him all over again.
“Alright, alright,” Richie grumbles, pouting and reaching up to throw his hoodie over his head, casting his face into shadow. Eddie rolls his eyes at the way Richie fiddles with the drawstrings there. Eddie recognizes it as one of Richie’s nervous ticks, and if he hadn’t known Richie was working himself up to confessing tonight, that would have been a good red flag that Richie wanted to do something.
Finally, after three more rounds of doing the same shit, Luxord dies, and Eddie thrusts the controller back into Richie’s hands. Richie takes it cautiously, sneaking a look at Eddie’s irritated face.
“There,” Eddie exclaims proudly. “I told you you were doing it wrong,” he adds smugly, and settles himself more firmly into the spot he’s taken up residence in. Richie will just have to deal with Eddie in his space, and if he wants to sit on the very edge of his bed with one foot pressed to the floor, only barely keeping him up, then so be it. Eddie’s tired of making this easy on him.
“Fuck you, I would have gotten it eventually,” Richie shoots back, even as he rushes to save the game quickly, and then tosses the controller to the side. “I’m bored,” he declares loudly, and drags the remaining leg he has on the bed up to his chest, wrapping his arm around it and resting his chin on his knee.
He stares resolutely at the TV the same way he’s been avoiding Eddie’s eyes most of the night, like he’s too nervous to meet Eddie’s gaze.
“You were the one who wanted to play video games all night,” Eddie grumbles, glaring at the side of his face. When we could be making out instead, he complains in his own head, but refuses to say aloud.
“Yeah, but you’re so much better at it,” Richie whines, and tosses himself backwards on the bed. His hood acts as a halo around his face, dark curls spilling out of it, as Eddie turns his body to stare down at him. Richie meets his eyes for half a second before his cheeks turn bright red and he looks away again. “Hey, I’ve got an idea!” he declares suddenly, and sits back up. He turns giddily to Eddie and declares, “Why don’t you play Dark Souls?”
Instantly, Eddie groans. “Fuck no!” he complains, “The last time I let you convince me to play Dark Souls, you spent the entire time making fun of me when I got my ass kicked. I’m not doing it again!” Eddie practically shouts at him.
Richie is cackling on the bed, grinning like an absolute lunatic at Eddie. It’s the first time all night things have seemed semi-normal between them. “That’s the best part, Edwardo!” Richie exclaims brightly. Eddie groans loudly at the nickname, but Richie steamrolls past him before he can say anything. “No one wants to watch someone being good at that game, it’s boooooring,” he sing-songs, dancing in place.
“No!” Eddie refuses, reaching out to shove at Richie’s shoulder. “I refuse! Pick something else!” he demands.
With a pout, Richie turns and drops back onto the bed. This time, his curls are what halo his face, and they’re so cute that Eddie wants to bury his fingers into them. Eddie has to fight a blush at the stupidly cheesy thought, and turns away.
“Fine,” Richie grumbles, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “You pick something then,” he adds, still pouting.
Sighing, Eddie reaches out to pick up Richie’s controller, and exits out of Kingdom Hearts. He scrolls through Richie’s downloaded games in search of a different one — not Dark Souls.
The clock in the corner blinks 10:32 PM, inching closer and closer to midnight. Richie only has an hour and twenty-eight minutes left to follow through on his supposed plan (and, unknowinglingly, prove Stan wrong. Eddie’s not so certain he’s going to manage it).
“For someone who spends so much time on his PS4,” Eddie complains, “you don’t have very many games.”
“It’s not about quantity, Eds,” Richie snarks back, shifting to prop himself up on his elbows, “It’s about quality. Oh!” he exclaims as Eddie skips through his games, “Crash Bandicoot! Eds, Eddie, Edwardo, Eddie Spaghetti,” he rattles off, shooting off the bed and grabbing for the controller. “Come on, we have to play that!”
He’s so excited he doesn’t seem to notice the way his fingers cover Eddie’s for a moment, but Eddie sure does. It sends a spark of heat down his back and he swallows thickly, releasing the controller.
“Fuck you, that’s not my name,” Eddie complains automatically, frowning. Richie isn’t listening to him. Instead, he’s opening up Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and debating between the three options. “Wait, I thought I was choosing the game,” he adds as an afterthought, not really caring but arguing out of habit.
“You were but you took too long,” Richie shoots back, sticking his tongue out. Eddie rolls his eyes, but doesn’t bother arguing. It had been thirty seconds at the most. Richie is just impatient. “Besides,” Richie adds, eager as ever, “We can take turns defeating the levels,” he insists, and finally settles on Warped.
“Take turns my ass,” Eddie grumbles, but settles himself more comfortably on the bed regardless. He’s taking up the majority of the middle of the bed again, and Eddie isn’t surprised when Richie chooses to fit himself back against the very edge again, one leg propped on the floor to keep him stationary. His leg is bouncing nervously as he darts his gaze back and forth between the game and Eddie’s face. “I don’t think you know what take turns means,” Eddie adds, stubbornly ignoring Richie’s gaze.
“I do, too!” Richie claims, pouting. A smile twitches at Eddie’s lips, but he chooses to ignore it. “I’ll even prove it to you. You can go first!” Richie insists, and this time presses the controller into Eddie’s hands.
Rolling his eyes, Eddie takes it and starts the first level.
It turns out that Crash Bandicoot is one of the worst decisions Richie could have made, because they’re both disastrous at it. Within the first ten minutes, they’ve lost every single one of their lives, and they’re forced to start the level over from the beginning, rather than from the last checkpoint they’d hit. This only serves to make the game even harder, and Eddie isn’t the least bit surprised when he and Richie end up fighting over the controller.
“It’s my turn!” Richie screams in Eddie’s face, giggling as he wrestles him for the controller.
“No it isn’t! I haven’t beat the level yet!” Eddie argues back, struggling against Richie’s longer arms. As is par for the course for the two of them, their wrestling isn’t the least bit careful. In fact, Eddie’s fairly certain he’s going to have a bruise on his jaw tomorrow from where Richie had hit him with his elbow, but Eddie doesn’t mind. It’s always been satisfying to roughhouse with Richie.
“Yeah but you used our last life!” Richie shouts at him. “That’s pretty much the same thing! It’s your fault we had to start the level over!”
“Like you haven’t done it a million times already,” Eddie growls, finally shoving Richie off of him.
Richie goes careening off the bed, and hits the floor with a loud thump. Startled, Eddie drops the controller on the bed, and crawls across the sheets to stare down at where Richie has landed, eyes wide. Richie is staring up at him dazed, blinking rapidly as if trying to reorient himself. Eddie bites his bottom lip.
“Fuck,” he whispers, and leans down to grasp onto Richie’s wrist. “Are you okay?” he asks softly, waiting for Richie to grip onto his wrist in turn before dragging him up and into a sitting position. Eddie lets go of him, and Richie reaches up to press tentative fingers to the back of his head. Eddie winces when Richie winces.
“I’m fine,” Richie groans, and drops his hands to the floor on either side of him. He takes another moment to gather himself, before leveraging himself to his feet. Instinctively, Eddie leans backwards until he’s sat back on the bed and out of Richie’s personal space. “You pack quite a punch for such a little guy,” Richie comments playfully.
“Oh, fuck you!” Eddiee screams instantly, reaching for the pillows at the top of Richie’s bed. As soon as he’s got one in his grip, Eddie starts pummeling Richie’s face with it. “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!” Eddie shouts, as Richie laughs and bats futilely at the pillow. “See if I ever worry about you again!” Eddie complains, huffing loudly.
It takes another few smacks of the pillow to Richie’s laughing face before Eddie finally relents.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, sheesh,” Richie says, still laughing. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he offers sweetly, using that stupid smile he always uses on grown ups to get out of trouble. Eddie huffs and crosses his arms over his chest.
“Yes you did,” Eddie argues darkly.
Richie laughs again. “Okay, yes I did,” he agrees, nudging at Eddie softly, and then shuffling onto the bed next to him, “But I only do it to rile you up,” he admits. The moment the words are out of his mouth, Richie starts blushing and looks away.
Eddie, shocked at the confession, can only stare at the side of Richie’s face, terrified of doing or saying anything in response that might scare Richie off.
They’re silent for a moment, nothing but the sound of their game echoing around the room. The sound is annoying, considering how many times they’ve died in such a short period of time, but Eddie can also hear his heart beating roughly in his chest while he waits anxiously to see what Richie will do next.
Finally, Richie clears his throat. “You know, Eds,” Richie starts, his voice soft and tentative, the way it has been on and off all night. Eddie’s eyes dart to Richie’s face, and he feels his heart clench up tight in his chest. Is this it? Is this the time? Is Richie actually going to tell him—
With a huff, Richie shakes his head and gets up off the bed. He doesn’t say anything else, wringing his hands at his sides again instead, and Eddie’s chest deflates.
“Come on,” Richie says, completely changing the subject, “Let’s see if we can get to the boss before midnight.”
With darting, anxious eyes, Richie looks for the controller he’d just been sitting on, and snatches it up quickly as soon as he locates it. Then he throws himself back onto the bed, this time pressed up against the headboard, curled into his small pile of pillows.
So, no. Not this time, no point in Eddie getting his hopes up again.
Freshly annoyed at Richie’s new positioning once again away from Eddie, Eddie reaches up and snatches the controller from Richie’s hands.
Richie lets it go without a fight, eyes wide and unsure.
“It’s still my turn,” Eddie explains tersely, and turns back to the TV screen, where he can see the time 11:12 PM sitting innocuously in the corner, mocking him.
Eddie doesn’t know why he thinks it, but somehow he feels as if Richie hasn’t confessed by midnight, Richie isn’t going to confess at all.
With a sigh, Eddie tries the level again. And again. And again.
They do make it to the boss, eventually.
Richie’s the one to beat level 5, though it takes him a good 50 times to do so, and only then because the fourth level had been pretty easy and Eddie had managed to farm more than a couple of lives. He’d gone so far as to play another round of keep away with Richie to play the level a second time, to which Richie had sat in his corner and pouted.
But now they’re on the first boss, and Richie has refused to hand the controller back over.
“You got two turns with level 4!” Richie argues defiantly, “We’ll take turns with the boss. Everytime one of us dies, we hand the controller off!”
Grumbling to himself, Eddie relents, and, starting to feel uncomfortable sitting in the middle of the bed, moves to the top to settle in next to Richie. Eddie leaves some space between them this time, unwilling to put himself through the depressing experience of Richie pulling away from him again.
Richie still shoots a terrified glance at him, and scoots over the tiniest bit. Eddie does everything he can in his power not to roll his eyes too obviously, and nods at the game instead. “What are you waiting for? Start it already, dumbass.”
So Richie does.
Shockingly, the boss is pretty easy to beat. He’s so easy, in fact, that Eddie doesn’t even get a go at it, and while Richie laughs and cheers for his own victory, Eddie swipes the controller from his hands and starts level 6.
It’s inching nearer and nearer to midnight. He can see the clock glaring 11:47 at him. The year is almost over, and Richie still hasn’t confessed to him. Eddie isn’t sure if he should even be expecting it anymore, given how many times Richie has stared at him and then clearly chickened out without saying anything. It’s disappointing, when Eddie had come over that night feeling so hopeful.
Stan had warned him to keep his expectations low. None of their friends seemed to have any confidence in Richie’s willingness to confess, regardless of whether or not Richie had said he was going to do it. Eddie had just been hoping…
Well, he’d been hoping that maybe, by midnight, they would have talked about their feelings and Richie might have kissed him. The longer the night goes on, though, the less and less likely it seems that Richie actually will.
Eddie is so deep in his own thoughts that he doesn’t even notice it when he runs out of lives on level 6. He sighs, frustrated, when the game starts back over outside the level, and he turns to hand the controller off to Richie.
Their eyes meet. Richie’s are wide and terrified. His hood is pulled up over his head again, hiding part of his face in shadow, and he’s playing with the strings again, tightening and untightening his hood over and over again. For a moment, the look on Richie’s face is so startling that even Eddie feels nervous.
And then Richie says, “It’s almost midnight,” with a tremble in his voice.
Eddie nods his head slowly, feeling that familiar quiver in his chest that tells him the hope is building.
This time? he wonders.
“Yeah, it is,” Eddie agrees after a moment, unsure.
He does his best not to make Richie feel any more uncomfortable than he already does, and stays as still as he dares. He wants to reach out and take Richie’s hand in his, wants to drag his fidgeting fingers away from the strings of his hoodie, wants to shift forward so their thighs are pressed alongside each others’, wants to lean his forehead against Richie’s and beg him to kiss him.
But he doesn’t.
He doesn’t, because he knows that Richie is scared, and he knows what it’s like to be scared. Eddie’s spent his whole life being scared. He’d grown up being told all the ways he could get sick if he wasn’t careful, being told that he had allergies he didn’t have, and illnesses that wouldn’t stick. There had been a time in Eddie’s life where he couldn’t go one hour without taking another set of medications, and his inhaler had been his best friend.
So he understands being scared, and maybe that’s the real reason he hasn’t pushed Richie on this. Eddie knows that forcing someone to get over their fears isn’t going to fix anything, not in the long run, anyway — they have to want to get over them themselves. And Eddie is willing to wait.
“Fuck,” Richie mutters to himself, fingers tangling tight in his hoodie strings. His hands look like they might be shaking, but Richie is fidgeting too much for Eddie to know for sure. “Fuck, uhm, Eddie?” Richie asks nervously, eyes darting all around Eddie’s face, avoiding his eyes completely.
“Mm?” Eddie replies, breathless, his own eyes wide and nervous. He flattens his hands down hard against his thighs, and begs himself not to touch, to not scare Richie, to not push him.
“I’m—” Richie starts, cuts himself off with a sharp inhale, then starts again, “I’m going to do something now, but if you hate it, just tell me, okay?” he babbles nervously, finally detangling his fingers from his hoodie strings, only to clench them deeply into his jeans.
Eddie’s breathing speeds up, and his hands are shaking now too.
“Richie,” Eddie whispers, aiming for encouraging and falling short. He can hear that his own voice is shaking.
Richie doesn’t seem to notice, barreling on, “I promise it’s fine if you don’t like it. I just want to — I just want to try…” Richie’s voice trails off as he gulps, eyes darting all over Eddie’s face. He opens his mouth to say something more, but hesitates, and then starts to retreat into himself, clearly losing his nerve.
Eddie panics.
Before Richie can try and back out of it once again, Eddie blurts,“Kiss me.”
The words are half garbled with breathlessness, almost a gasp between them, but Richie seems to catch on. His eyes go wide, and he inhales sharply, struck dumb. For a long moment, they just stare at each other, Eddie with his heart in his throat, and Richie absolutely stunned. Finally, Richie bursts into a flurry of giggles.
He releases the strings of his hoodie to instead press his fingers to his mouth, laughing loudly around them, and gasps, “oh my god.” Richie is trembling all over as he drags his hands away from his mouth and wheezes, “holy shit,” the shock more than a little apparent.
Unable to help it, Eddie starts smiling as well, fingers clenching tight into the fabric of his jeans. “Richie!” he demands, giggling. “Come on, asshole!”
The I’m waiting feels heavy between them.
“Dude!” Richie shoots back, absolutely beaming now, and without another moment of hesitation, he reaches out and threads his fingers through the hair at the back of Eddie’s neck.
Eddie will never forget the way it feels when Richie tugs him into their first kiss. The sensation is like a shot of electricity to his spine, and he gasps before their lips even touch. He can feel his heart in his throat, beating so hard he shakes with it, and then Richie’s mouth is on his, and the feeling is like fireworks going off in his head.
Eddie doesn’t mean to groan. The sound is just ripped out of him, shocked and needy. Richie’s lips are hot against his, and he despite all of his previous nervousness, he doesn’t seem nervous of this at all. Maybe it’s because the scariest part is over, or maybe it’s because Richie knows Eddie wants it too. Regardless, he doesn’t seem to be holding back now.
Richie is a shockingly good kisser, and he takes Eddie’s bottom lip between his instantly, sucking so softly and sweetly that it's more a tease than anything. When he introduces teeth, it's the tiniest nip, and it drives Eddie absolutely crazy.
The way Richie sighs against his lips makes Eddie shiver. It takes Eddie a moment to realize that he’s raised his own hands to fist his fingers into the back of Richie’s curls, knocking off his hood and holding on tight in an attempt to prevent Richie from pulling away even the tiniest bit. Richie’s other hand has found Eddie’s waist, and it’s only when Richie yanks Eddie in closer that Eddie realizes he’d begun to melt backwards into the bed.
Gasping at the feeling of being held tight, Eddie shoves himself further into Richie’s personal space, until the warmth of him is seeping into Eddie, and Eddie is practically in Richie’s lap.
Their mouths come together again, and again, and again, their breathing hot and heavy between them.
Eddie’s heart feels like it’s going to burst. HIs entire body feels like it’s on fire.
“Fucking finally, asshole,” Eddie groans into the kiss, pulling lightly on Richie’s hair in punishment. Shocked, Richie laughs, and kisses Eddie even more enthusiastically, the wet sound of their mouths loud in Eddie’s ears. It’s almost all that he can hear, the faint sound of Crash Bandicoot so far away it might as well be in another room.
It feels like they make out forever, making up for all the lost time they could have spent doing this. Richie’s fingers dig deep into Eddie’s hip, and Eddie tugs on Richie’s hair unapologetically. Richie’s tongue sends sparks down Eddie’s spine every time he drags it against his lips, against his own tongue, against the back of his teeth. It feels so good that Eddie never wants to stop kissing Richie.
With every shift of their mouths, Eddie shifts his body closer to Richie’s, until finally Eddie manages to knock Richie over and lands on top of him with a small oof.
“Holy fuck,” Richie gasps, shocked as their mouths pull apart. His eyes are hazy when they meet Eddie’s, his mouth wet and red.
Short of breath, Eddie can only manage to gasp back, “Holy fuck.”
For some reason, this makes Richie laugh. He slams his head back against the bedsheets with the force of it, and lets his eyes drift closed.
Hovering on top of him, Eddie releases Richie’s hair to instead prop himself up, unable to help the way he grins down at Riche.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for months,” Richie admits breathlessly, grinning as he finally opens his eyes again and looks up at Eddie. Eddie laughs and rolls his eyes, knocking his forehead gently into Richie’s.
“Yeah, I’m not an idiot, I could tell,” Eddie admits a little brashly, leaning in to peck Richie’s lips before Richie can tense up too much.
“You could?” Richie asks into the kiss, sounding shocked at the admission. Eddie nods, and kisses him again, and again, and again — soft little pecks that don’t turn into anything more.
“Yeah,” Eddie agrees, nuzzling their noses together. “I’ve been waiting for you to grow a pair and do it already,” Eddie adds teasingly, and drags his head away from Richie’s long enough to look him in the eye. “Seriously Richie, I’ve been waiting for months,” he complains good naturedly, some of the irritation gone now that it’s out there — now that Richie’s kissed him.
“Oh,” Richie replies, eyes furrowing until he’s frowning. Surprised at this change in demeanor, Eddie pulls back from Richie again and shoots him a worried look.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, panicked.
Richie glares at him. “What the fuck, you asshole!” he whines, scrabbling at Eddie’s back until Eddie falls fully on top of him. “You knew this whole time, and you didn’t say anything?” he groans, wrapping his arms tight around Eddie and squeezing the life out of him.
The hold makes Eddie giggle, and he shoves his face into Richie’s neck, breathing hot there. “I’ve been trying, fucknuts! You’re just too fucking stupid to notice when someone’s flirting with you!” Eddie argues back, giddy with it.
Richie shakes his head against Eddie’s neck and says, “You know, you could have kissed me, too.”
The words are softer than the rest, a little coy and shy. Eddie feels his heart melt at it, and he pulls away from Richie’s neck slowly.
“I guess,” he agrees quietly, but doesn’t explain himself. He doesn’t think he has to, with the way that Richie is looking at him. Despite Richie’s grumblings, he thinks that both of them know Richie had to be the one to kiss Eddie first.
Sure enough, it takes a moment, but eventually Richie rolls his eyes and says, “Alright fine.” Then he lifts one hand to press it into Eddie’s hair, and pulls him in close, “But did you know that I love you?” he whispers right up against Eddie’s lips.
Eddie shivers, and laughs softly, eliminating the last few inches of space between their mouths with a searing kiss, before whispering, “Yeah, and I love you too, dumbass.”
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The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter Nine: Group Therapy
Characters: Captain Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)
Summary: A familiar drink brings back steamy memories for Shane (by popular demand), a ghost from the past picks a fight with the present, and the future hangs in the balance for our heroes.
Behind on the drama? It’s cool. I gotchu.
Word Count: 3.7k
Warnings: Language, mature themes, violence, smut, alcohol consumption, more feels than you can shake a stick at.
Author’s Note: Guys. Listen guys. I know this chapter is a tad late…not that I have deadlines, I just know y’all want more sooner than I can always get it to you. It’s also, though, a bit longer than most of the previous installments have been. I hope you guys enjoy it. I think it’s my favorite chapter so far…I definitely cried the most writing it…you’ll see why…I’m not sorry. Initially, for some reason, it was hard to stay focused. (I blame my own emotions and feelings clouding my ambitions. Can’t let that happen anymore. Even though the same factors apply. I’ve gotta keep my head in it!) I’m actually pretty sad that there won’t be very much more of this story…they’ve been such good friends to me. I may just have to find a way to keep them going in follow-up drabbles. I don’t know. But I’m open to suggestions.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.
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Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)
X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@
It wasn’t top on Shane’s list of things she wanted to do tonight, but it had been ages since she’d gone out with her friends. It wasn’t totally because she’d been seeing Sy. But more recently, he had become the most prevalent reason she ended up bowing out. Because she had plans with him, or she needed to do things that she hadn’t gotten or wouldn’t get done because of plans with him unless she skipped out. They were bad excuses, but those of an introvert weren’t usually top-shelf, anyway.
It was Heather, the other secretary Marsha and her husband Alec, some of her fellow PTs Cory and Juan, and both OTs, Olivia and Miranda there at Cade’s that night. And Shane and Sy, of course. They were sitting at two tables close together, and after dinner, the guys got up to play darts while the ladies ordered a round of shots.
Heather both requested and paid for the tray of tiny glasses full of dark liquor. Shane knew the aroma all too well. Those were full of Jack Daniels. And she got tingly just thinking about the spirit, especially now.
“Let’s drink the first round to Shane.” She passed them around and held one up. “For landing captain sexy pants over there, and for being happier than I’ve seen her in actual years.” Heather clinked to the middled with the other girls as they completed the toast with cheery responses of “to Shane!” With intermittent whoops and cat-calls. She felt funny saluting herself, so she said nothing, silently dedicating her own drink to the guy she wasn’t expecting, wasn’t even asking for, but who’d been gifted to her, by God Himself, it seemed. Whoever or whatever or why ever, she was grateful for him.
She downed the full measure of whiskey, feeling the familiar pleasant burn down her throat and reminisced about the last time she’d had the drink.
~~~~~~
“No you’re cheating!” She slurred at Sy’s kitchen table.
“Not how I see it!” He smirked, that crooked grin mixing with the alcohol in her already impaired system making a heady and dangerous concoction.
“You’re delib’rately using my PT career against me!” They we’re playing “Never Have I Ever.” And he’d just used “never have I ever measured somebody up with a big protractor.”
“Hey, you’ve been trying to get me with ‘never have I army this, and never have I army that.’ And you just can’t and now you’re mad about it.”
“Ugh, I’m not mad, I just…don’t like cheating okay. Fair play. I’m a Hufflepuff, through and through!”
“As a Gryffindor, I resent your implication against my honor! And I say, drink twice.” They’d run out of mixer, and were down to the straight liquor. She was fine with it. She loved the sweet, oaky burn of Number 7 as she held small swallows on her tongue. Relished the burn of it on the tender skin of her lips like a rough kiss. She took two shots at his insistence.
“Never have I ever…fired a gun!” And they both drank because she had chosen a “never” that she “had ever” on purpose. She liked feeling this way with Sy. She liked being able to abandon her control and feel safe in so doing. Knowing that he wouldn’t let anything hurt her. Including herself.
His eyes began to glimmer in a way that she could always tell meant he was thinking something particularly salacious. Which typically meant something good was about to happen.
“Never have I ever…fooled around in a kitchen.” He waited a beat, then slowly stood, taking a long stride to stand directly in front of Shane, towering over her as she sat limp from drinking and more than ready for whatever he was planning. The kiss he gave her was almost instantly hungry, devouring, consuming. A wild fire that would spread throughout the forest of her. He pulled a stool out from under the table near her, barely having to break the contact and sat down in front of her on it. She leaned into him now, the boneless feeling now overtaken by her craving for him. She tugged at his casual blue tank top that stunned her because of the way it matched his eyes so well. She needed him closer. His hands rested on her thighs, mostly bare in the shorts she'd chosen for tonight, simply for their comfort, and not because they provided any sort of easy access. Not on a conscious level, anyway, she told herself.
His grip was tightening but the pain of the pressure didn't matter. His thumbs and fingers were rupturing tiny blood vessels and she registered the pain and the fact that she would have bruises in the shape of his claiming grip but all that really mattered was that he was there. Near. Present. And touching her.
His hands moved, sliding up her legs, their trajectory shifting inward, their aim to open her up to him.
She was nothing short of willing.
He reached down to the seat between her legs and pulled her closer to him. Yes, she thought. He's too far away. Even though she could smell the whiskey on his breath even as she tasted it, still sweet on her own tongue. He laid a gentle hand on her left cheek, an almost chaste gesture, that snaked into something entirely different as it descended, brushing her neck, between her breasts, and over her abdomen, tumultuous from his touch and the drink.
He made it finally to her apex, easily brushing aside the fabric of her shorts, and teasing her there over her underwear with a soft, measured touch. She threw her arms around his neck, a wordless plea for him to go on. But her body was at odds with her mind.
“Sy, I wanna go slow.” She meant she didn’t want to end up in his bed tonight. Well, not that she didn't want to…
"Don't worry, sunshine. I'll take it real slow." he assured her, pretending to misunderstand her meaning as he teased her over her panties. She couldn't have spoken to correct him even if his lips hadn't taken an urgent hold on hers. His firm but frustrating touch was leaving her speechless and breathless.
Finally, he moved her undergarment aside to touch her, skin to skin. To pull a sweet, euphoric moan from her with just his fingers. He had been right about taking his time. It took him ages to find that space inside her that brought her to her pinnacle, but he made the wait enjoyable, all the same. She had a feeling he could have gone right to it, if he’d wanted to, but since she’d asked for it…
He grinned and chuckled into her mouth a bit as he toyed with her. He finally spoke,
“Hot damn, girl, you should have told me you needed me this bad.” He added a second finger to his game of search and destroy.
She could only grasp at his bare shoulders and the fabric of his shirt in an attempt to ground herself. He quickened, then slowed in sweet torture until her cries of his name became over loud for his neighborhood. The last build up, he added his thumb , brushing it against her aching center.
It hit her in waves of bliss as every muscle in her body responded to his localized, expert touch. Her vision blurred and for a second she could see the electricity flowing through air and matter and into her. Since when did THAT happen to her when she came?
“Sy!” She whimpered, a plea for him to stop but also to never stop.
“I know, darlin’, it’s alright. I’ve gotcha. Go on and let it out.” And she barely realized another climax had been building in her before she was falling headlong into it again, just as intense as the first one. He slowed, gently soothing her body after its small death, rubbing her neck and shoulder on the right side with his free hand.
He took his right hand away from her heat, brought it up to his mouth, and tasted her on his fingers. He poured them both another shot of whiskey, they threw them back, and once she had caught her breath from it all, she said,
“I don’t know the score, but I think you’ve won.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the present, she felt too sober to handle the bombardment of questions coming from her coworkers, no matter how pure their intentions.
“So are you guys a couple, like officially?”
“Have you met each other’s folks?”
“Do you think he’s the one?”
“What is he like in bed!?”
“I bet he’s an absolute fiend!”
“Nah, guys ya think that about are always so vanilla.”
“How big is he!?”
All of these questions seemed to come at one time, or at least before she could answer the previous ones, and it made her head spin.
“Listen, girls. I’m gonna go get myself a strong drink, and when I come back, I’ll answer one question at a time, so figure out the order in which you’ll be asking, and a punishment system for interrupting. Fair?” The hens all nodded their beaks in agreement as she stood to go to the bar. She reminded herself to add a disclaimer when she got back to the table about having veto power over questions she felt weren’t appropriate.
As she stood at the bar waiting for her turn with the bartender, she tensed as she heard an all too familiar voice say her name.
“Shane Benton.” He said in a charming tenor that she now found obnoxiously boyish.
“Elliott Thomas. What misdeed did I do in a past life to end up back in the same room with you?” He ignored her jibe.
“You look well.” He said, surveying her as if he intended to make a purchase.
“Okay.” She would not give credence to half assed, insincere compliments.
“Who’s the guy you’re with tonight?”
“That couldn’t be any less your business.”
“You’ll always be my business, sweetheart.”
She rolled her eyes. “Funny, you didn’t seem to give a shit when we were together.”
“Come on, tell me where ya met this meat head.”
“Back off, Elliott.”
“Come on. He’s in a plaid shirt. He looks like he’s trying to cosplay the Brawny man. How quick does he pick you up?” He raised his eyebrows, driving home his attempt at double entendre.
The rage came suddenly, without warning, and manifested in a firm slap from her right hand to his left cheek. It landed solidly enough for him to have to stretch his jaw and feel it, as if making sure it was still there.
"Well, still got some spunk. Good to know. Not so fast--" he grabbed her wrist as she stepped away from the bar, but she was saved the trouble of getting out of it with her favorite self-defense maneuver, by the solid wall of red plaid and denim topped with his favorite black Chiefs hat. Sy had apparently noticed her altercation at the bar and elected to step in.
"What's goin' on here?" he asked, not brusquely, but so coolly that it was almost friendly. Elliott let go of Shane's wrist immediately and threw his hands up.
"No trouble here, man. Just a little friendly conversation between two former lovers." he said, oozing pure, stinking hubris.
"Oh, you're Elliott. Nice to meet you, man." Sy reached out to shake the man's hand. "I've actually been wanting to thank you."
Elliott looked confused. So was Shane. This guy had broken her heart. What was Sy intent on thanking him for?
"I wanted to thank you for fucking up so bad with this kind, beautiful woman, this graceful and forgiving saint, that she couldn't stand the sight of you any longer. Who knows. If you hadn't been such a dick, she may not have been free to be with me today." all of this, Sy said with Elliott's hand still in his. Shaking it. Apparently not too firmly. Until Sy leaned in very closely and whispered something to Elliott that made him go several shades of puce, and grimace, pulling his hand away, which Sy eventually relinquished.
After Elliott had tucked his tail and ran away, Shane found herself in a far less merry temperament than she'd come in with. She and Sy decided to leave. They said their goodbyes, Shane promising more answers as soon as she could. And they left, her arm around his waist, and his around her shoulder.
About halfway to Sy's truck, Shane heard a solid ping near her ear and the shattering of glass on the pavement nearby, followed by a low growl from deep in Sy's chest. They halted in their stride, Shane turning quickly around, Sy turning more slowly and intentionally in the direction of his would be attacker.
Elliot stood beside the brick exterior of the bar with three other men, none of them within 50 pounds of Sy, and hardly a match for him…individually…but together, she was concerned. She would absolutely try to help fight these guys, but she couldn't take out more than one with the potential weapons she had on her person that she could inventory off hand. Plus, if she had to fight Elliott…he'd get into her head…she knew it. Thank God she didn't know the other guys. She'd hope to get one of them.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" Sy said, back to his polite self, not worried about potentially getting into a street fight in which they were outnumbered two to one.
"Just thought you'd like to tell my buddies here what you said to me in there. I mean, I gave them the gist, but I think they'd like to hear it from you." Elliott puffed.
"Ah, somebody can't keep a secret." Sy sigh scolded him, wagging his finger at him as if he was a misbehaved child. "I was gonna let it all go as long as you left us alone. Did you mention that to them before you got them into a whole mess o' trouble?"
"Tell them, you fuckin' coward."
"Big talk from a guy who had to make it four to one before he confronted me." Sy accused.
"Four to two." Shane squared her shoulders, standing next to Sy, and attempting to make herself look more formidable, which was next to impossible given the fact that the man beside her was a massive army captain and she was just…herself. But she'd be damned if she stood by and let Sy take all of this on when it was all because of her. Plus, she didn't want him to reinjure himself.
"How about you jump in if I need ya, sunshine." He whispered to her. She didn't move or reply. "But ya know, since ya asked so nicely, I will oblige. I told this piss-ant friend of yours after he physically accosted this lovely lady here, in no uncertain terms that if he EVER touched MY GIRLFRIEND again, he'd be begging for death for hours before I had mercy on him and put him out of his misery and that his body would never be found." He eyed each of the men before him, his fiery gaze a physical force upon them, letting his promise to Elliott sink in. "Now if y'all wanna defend a man who would put hands on a woman, and then proceed to physically assault a United States Army veteran like myself, I can come up with similar guarantees for all of ya. And carry them out here tonight. But y'all look like ya've got a lot o' shit ya still wanna get done in this life with limbs and dicks intact. So I would encourage all of you fine gentlemen to walk away from this situation."
Two of the men, surrendered, claiming Elliott hadn't mentioned that he'd hurt Shane or that Sy was a vet. One of the men asked to shake his hand and thanked him for his service. The smallest member of Elliott's group, however, remained with him. Shane thought she recognized him after getting a better look. He'd been at a few events she'd been to with Elliott's friend group. She thought his name was Kyle. Clearly he was one of Elliott's oldest and most loyal friends. He still looked skeptical. Unsure that the two of them alone could take Sy. Shane thought he was right to be worried.
"Come on, Kyle!" Elliott summoned his friend to the fight.
"I dunno, man. He's a soldier and I mean…look at him. Look at us!"
"You pussy." Elliott walked up to Sy.
"You don't want to do this, friend." Sy warned.
"I'm not your friend, asshole. You stole my girlfriend." he swung wildly at the larger man, but missed. He was unsteady, Shane could see now, from excessive drink. She hadn't noticed inside.
Sy remained still for one punch that landed weakly on his jaw, barely displacing it. "Are you done, there, Mayweather? We even? Now that you got to hit me?"
"We are not done. Not until one of us is on the ground." Elliott insisted.
"Fair enough." Sy socked him with a jab straight to the nose, knocking him dizzily to the hard asphalt of the parking lot. Kyle came up to him to drag Elliott to a nearby car as his head lolled forward like a rag doll.
"I'll get him to the ER. Explain to them what happened. You guys get home safe. And thanks for not killing him. Or me." Kyle said as he opened his passenger door. Sy helped heave Elliott's comatose form into the seat and shook Kyle's hand.
Shane's eyes were still wide at the entire chain of events. Her adrenaline supercharged from her readiness to fight alongside her man. Which, she was both relieved and disappointed that she didn't have to do. But there was another thing on her mind. She had been mentally replaying what Sy had said to Elliott played over and over for more reasons than his chivalrous and heroic conduct.
When they were in the car and headed to her house, Shane asked him about it.
"So…you called me your girlfriend tonight." she looked at him.
"Shit, Shane, I'm sorry. I've been wanting to ask ya for days to make things official, and I just haven't found the right time. I was gonna ask you over drinks tonight in front of all your friends, but then that asshole fucked it all up. I even have a gift for you." he fished around in his pocket for a small, flat box, and handed it to her. She flipped up the spring loaded lid of the black velvet box, and inside, on a tiny pillow of black satin was a silver necklace with a silver charm. An "S" in an elaborate script with a small emerald set in the lower hook of the letter. "And if you don't want to make it official, you can still keep the necklace, because the 'S' can be for 'Shane,' and the stone can just be an emerald, and ya don't have to think about it like it's my birthstone, and I--"
"Sy, hush. Of course I want to be your girlfriend, officially. I've been dying to say it myself. And I love the necklace. It's perfect."
"Really? You mean it? All of it?" she'd never seen him so desperate. She had no idea why he thought she might not be serious. But she did have an idea of how to prove it.
"Stay with me tonight, Sy."
"It's still early yet, babe. I'll have plenty of time--"
"No, I mean, I want you. Tonight." How could she be more clear than that?
"Oh, you mean…but I thought you wanted to wait until my treatments were over?" He asked, as if he didn't want to get his hopes up just yet.
"When you were on the phone with my boss that day, you said something that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Something that's gnawed at my will and resolve ever since. You said that life was too short, and you didn't want to wait to be happy when you could be happy now." she was verging on tears. "Well, I'm tired of waiting too, Sy. You make me happier than I've ever been, and I don't see the point in ignoring what we really want anymore. Because the fact is, Sy…the fact has been for a while now," she laughed at her own foolishness for stifling and ignoring it all this time, "I love you. And I think I have from the moment you first called me ma'am." She was fully crying now, and the tears had broken through down his cheeks, as well.
He pulled into her driveway and jumped out of his truck, still running, headlights blazing into her yard. He jogged around the front, but Shane, being uninjured had caught up to him without the benefit of a head start. He caught her up in his arms as if she'd stay there forever. They sobbed tears of joy and relief as they kissed each other with abandon, silhouettes against the footlights and exhaust courtesy of the Ford Motor Company, the PowerStroke engine roaring a soundtrack for this moment as it idled.
"I love you, Shane. From the moment you found me dreading therapy all alone that first day and cheered me up instantly. I knew." he brush the tears and hairs away from her face and held it, scrutinizing her features in the high-beams as if he intended to draw her from memory.
"I didn't know you were dreading it." she laughed, lightening the mood a bit.
"I was. A lot. Never had a lot of luck, especially recently, with PT. Until you."
She smiled, and looked at the truck, a third party to their romantic moment now more obvious to her.
"You're wasting gas."
"Hang the gas. I'm wasting time with you. You wanna go inside?" he asked. She nodded.
"You go get your purse. I'll be right around."
Sy shut off the truck and took his keys out, locking the vehicle from the fob after his arm was back around Shane and they were walking up her front porch steps.
Up Next: Chapter 10- Myofascial Release
#netflix sand castle#sand castle#captain syverson#captain syverson fanfic#captain syverson x ofc#syverson smut#sigh for sy#Smut#henry cavill#henry cavill fanfic#henry cavill smut#henry cavill x ofc
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Learning to love ALL of Star Wars
I’ve grown a lot the past few years, and with that I’ve came to appreciate a lot more things about what I love. I’ve went from bitter and spiteful about what I don't have to appreciating what I do have, and at the centre of that storm is Star Wars. A franchise I’ve only really been invested in the last year.
The beginning
So I was always a “fan” of Star Wars, sure. I grew up with the prequels and I was excited when Disney was releasing their new movies. But the past year is where I really got invested and found a whole new love for the franchise. And strangely enough, it was through the simplicity of Lego. You see, I started watching videos by Brickvault about Lego Star Wars minifigures, and something about seeing the toys I loved as a kid from a modern perspective took me right back to wooshing my Jedi starfighter around my room. From there, I started moving away from Lego and dipped my toe in theories, lore videos and eventually discussion and review videos, the turning point being Cosmonaught Variety Hour. Now, I have some opinions on the guy now, but Cosmonaught was perfect for me at the time. He was opinionated, entertaining, but most importantly knew his shit, and I liked that. His videos on Star Wars are pretty good, and really helped form my opinions back then... In a bad way... Now I’ll make this clear, this is NOT on Cosmonaught, it was just how impressionable I was as a person back then. I’m just saying how his video affected me on a personal level. Up to this point I didn’t really understand the hate for the prequels besides the fact they were “bad movies” and “people don’t like them”. Cosmonaughts video on the prequels gave me those reasons, and I finally felt like I got the distaste for those films. However, like they say... A little knowledge can be dangerous, and boy was I about to learn that lesson the hard way...
The fall
So here I am, knower of all things, the CORRECT things... I’ve watched my fair share of videos from a handful of sources, I know my shit. I’m making my opinions known, and I’ve become that friend. But whats this! A dissenting opinion!? My boyfriend actually likes the prequels more than the Original Trilogy!? SACRALAGE!! I must prove him wrong! And prove him wrong I...! Did not... In fact, something rather bizarre happened... He convinced me. I was stubborn at first, but I’ll admit, my wall got broken down at long last. He (bless his soul for dealing with me) managed to get through to me exactly what it was he loved about those films, and it wasn’t just the nostalgia. I had always seen the politics of the Galaxy like most other people did, some boring preachy nonsense that had no place in Star Wars, but I came around to it. Granted with a little help from the Clone Wars I managed to piece together just what it was there was to like about these films... I wont say they’re perfect, far from it. But internally they have so much more going on compared to the Original Trilogy. The Era has some of the most fun and expandable concepts and ideas in all of Star Wars, and while it may not be as iconic, the visual artstyle of it all is still its own recognizable brand of Star Wars. And almost like magic (or my phone spying on me) youtube started recommending videos that disagreed with Cosmonaught, and I got my first taste of how his video wasn’t as sound as I thought. Now as a side note: I still like Cosmonaught. He’s a funny guy who like I said knows his shit, but he obviously isnt the be all end all right and wrong which I hadn’t quite learned. I can enjoy his content while disagreeing with it, and I think thats just fine. I find myself disagreeing with a lot of creators I watch now and he’s just joined them. But hang on, we’re missing something here... A certain... Mouse? Perhaps?
The dark times... The Disney Empire...
So hop back to modern day for a sec, this timeline pretty much lines up with the end of the Disney movies right? So how do I feel about those? Well... When the first three came out, I liked them. Like everyone else I was loving new Star Wars. As a young art student, I loved Rogue One and TLJ for their stunning visuals, deeper themes and their attempt at something new and fresh. I loved the throne room fight scene, the light speed ram and how Rogue One had such a bitter sweet ending. But ho ho no one else felt that way! And whether it be peer pressure or my love of dumpster fires my opinions changed like that. I laughed at the Rose Tico and Snoke memes, I hated the Canto Bight subplot and poor Luke being butchered on screen like that, and then there's Rey... Solo came and passed. I refused to go see it, as I did with TROS which came out around the time I was getting back into Lego, and along with the prequels I was watching video essay upon video essay about why the sequels sucked and how to rewrite them. Some of them coming from a positive place, others... Not so much.. And so my hatred for them grew as I got back into the franchise and came to appreciate the originals for what they done great, and loathing the new films for lacking that same spark. And unlike the prequels, I didn’t really get enough pushback to change my mind. But what I did get was the full brunt of spite and hate the fans had for these new films, and honestly? It was depressing.
Hate leads to suffering.
I finally reached my rock bottom. I genuinely reached a point where I debated giving up Star Wars for the sheer amount of negative feelings I had towards the state of the franchise (which might I add is valid if you ever end up feeling that way about something you’re meant to be enjoying).
I struggled to get past how Disney “ruined” Star Wars, and clearly nothing was going to change. 40 Years of history had been wiped out and the new timeline was a contorted mess, and the amount of discourse and disagreements in the franchise honestly did not help at all.
Nothing was simple, everything had a catch. You like how Kylo was irredeemable in TLJ? Well he’s redeemed in TROS. TFA is a fun film but it sets up a lot of the things people hated about the sequels so you cant even just head canon that the other two never happened. And then...
Saved by Lego
There was Lego, making the best of a bad situation. It didnt care if you didn’t like that Palpatine was back (somehow), it didn’t care about the clunky prequel dialog, and it didn’t care about the thousands of retcons from the entierety of the franchises existence.
Whether by contractual force or not: It was pure, distilled Star Wars.
I loved how a set with Rey could stand beside a set with OT Luke and thats just how it was. It put into context that this was reality, and I could either be bitter about what could have been or accept what was, which wasn’t easy and I’m still not really over it. But I reached a place where I could accept the fun in all of Star Wars, that I liked how some of these characters looked, that these characters all existed in one Galaxy, and it was nice.
And it led me straight back into...
Learning to love Star Wars
One of the most important lessons I learned in the past year was trust your gut. Sure, hear out other peoples take on something, and if it changes your opinion all the more power to you. But don’t fight the fact you felt something in that initial reaction. I liked the prequels as a kid, so why don’t I as an adult? Is it because i outgrew them and see them for the disasters they are? Or is it because a someone who watched them as a fully grown adult that grew up with the OT was underwhelmed?
And to that extent... I rewatched TFA and TLJ with an open mind and an open heart. The result?
Im indifferent towards TFA. It has fun character moments and has a decent adventure, for what it is its good. But I actually found myself enjoying TLJ after all these years of hating on it. I liked their take on Luke, I liked the mutiny subplot, it didnt push the story forward leaps and bounds but it was a more methodical take on the franchise and for the I liked it. It wasn’t perfect, its biggest flaw is how bleak it can feel and its lack of doing anything interesting with its setting, but it does do a fair amount of decent things and I’ve come to appreciate it for that.
I’m planning to watch TROS at long last soon, so maybe I’ll update it here. But what I will say is that I hope Lucasfilm don’t give up on the sequel era and characters quite yet. There is still a lot to love here as much as you may not like it, and I hope that they can explore more interesting meaningful themes and narratives in external media that they couldn’t in mainline films cough cough Stormpilot cough cough...
I know not everyone will agree with how I feel now, heck a lot of my problems I had still stand, but I’m at peace with it all now. I just want to sit back and enjoy this franchise for what it is. While I might not forgive Disney for its severe mishandling of... everything (a rant for another time) I’m content just not them supporting to the best of ability.
Star Wars is in such a unique position where each generation has a different stance and appreciation for different parts within the franchise. The prequels were hated until its fans grew up and started defending it, The Clone Wars was hated until its fans grew up and started defending it, and the sequels ended last year, their fans haven’t quite got their voice yet. But I’m interested to hear what they have to say.
#star wars#star wars trilogy#self reflection#thoughts#meta commentary#star wars prequels#Star Wars Sequels#lego star wars#my post
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Kiyotaka Ishimaru x Mondo Oowada-Dead Boy Walking
Slight NSFW Content
Kiyotaka Ishimaru was happy. He was the star pupil of Class 78 and the designated Hall Monitor. He was set to go very far after graduating from Hope's Peak Academy. What more could he ask for?
"Ow!"
The Ultimate Moral Compass turned at the quiet exclamation. He noticed his close friend Chihiro Fujisaki rubbing the back of his head. Taka noticed a balled up piece of paper come to a stop next to Makoto Naegi's feet. The strict rule follower narrowed his eyes as he looked behind the Ultimate Programmer. He noticed Junko Enoshima covering her mouth, a hint of a smirk peaking over her hand. Makoto looked down as the ball hit his foot. He raised a brow and picked the object up.
Kiyotaka reached across the aisle and held his hand out. "Makoto Neagi, would you please hand that over to me so I could dispose of it?" He commanded in his normal booming voice.
Maokoto jumped a bit and nodded, handing it over. "Y-yeah! Of course, Taka." Taka all but snatched it out of the Ultimate Lucky Student's hand and immediately unfolded it, giving it a read.
Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer, makes a very pretty girl, doesn't he? Maybe he should stop lying to his classmates and reveal what he really is.
Taka stiffened, his eyes shooting over to Chihiro, his friend continuing on his work with a downtrodden look on his face. Kiyotaka was the only one Chihiro ever told his secret to. How could Junko have known?
The boy in white looked over to the Ultimate Fashionista, who was staring at him with a smug grin. She gave him a finger wave before turning away from him. Taka narrowed his eyes before standing up quickly, causing the desk and chair to screech across the floor.
"Teacher!" He called. "It has come to my attention the Junko Enoshima was bullying Chihiro Fujisaki by throwing this at her!" Taka held the ball between his fingers. His small friend looked up at him, a grateful smile on his face.
"I was just trying to get "her" to stop lying, Teacher!" Junko said innocently as she stood, placing a hand over her heart. Taka glanced back and gave her a look of warning. He noticed that the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, Mondo Oowada, did as well. Junko ignored both of them as she made her way to Chihiro's seat. "Chihiro here has a dirty little secret." She said in a sing songy voice. She pat the boy on the head, causing him to stiffen up. "Dontcha, Fujisaki?" She gave the programmer a knowing smile.
"Junko that is enough!" Kiyotaka exclaimed, point his finger at her. "Leave Chihiro alone!"
Junko smirked, turning to Taka. "Aw, you're only stopping me 'cause you already know the secret, tattletale." The fashionista pouted. "Why don't you share with the rest of the class?" She held her hand out to everyone, who look extremely uncomfortable.
Kiyotaka glanced over at the teacher, who stood with crossed arms. "Miss Enoshima, that is quite enough." He said with narrowed eyes. "Apologize to Miss Fujisaki and sit down or I must send you to the Headmaster."
The pigtailed girl smirked. "'Miss' Fujisaki? Don't you mean-"
Taka's eyes widened and he dashed over to try to stop Junko somehow. But someone was faster.
Before he could even blink, Kiyotaka saw Mondo standing beside Junko, his hand over her mouth as he glared down at her. "I don't like laying my hands on chicks." He growled. "But if ya would kindly shut the fuck up and sit down?"
Junko looked up at Mondo, her eyebrows narrowed angrily. She moved away from him and went back to her desk. The biker huffed and popped his collar before sitting back down as well. The hall monitor blinked, still stunned, before he shook his head. He pocketed the paper ball, not wanting someone to fish it out of the trash, and sat back down as well.
The class eventually ended, and like usual Kiyotaka sat patiently at his desk for everyone else to leave. And like usual, Chihiro waited with him. Also like usual, Junko stuck her tongue out at him and called him some rude name. But unlike usual, Mondo was still in the classroom, leaning against the back wall.
When it was just the three of them, Chihiro ran over to Taka excitedly. "Thank you so much, Taka!" He chirped. "I was way too scared to stand up to Junko."
The star pupil smiled down at his friend brightly. "But you're getting more confident!" He pointed out. "Don't think I haven't noticed!" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am very proud."
Chihiro smiled and looked over his shoulder to Mondo. He gestured for him to come over, so the biker leader pushed off the wall and made his way there. "That's actually thanks to Mondo!" Chihiro informed the Ultimate Moral Compass. "He's been training me!"
Taka's gaze went from Chihiro to the muscular man approaching the two. He crossed his arms and looked him up and down. "Why did you ask this...rule breaker to train you and not me, Chihiro?" Kiyotaka asked, giving the man before him an unimpressed look.
The man with the pompadour scowled. "Maybe because he wanted help with getting stronger, not learning how to be a kiss ass." Mondo retorted.
Chihiro looked between the two nervously. "I...I thought the two of you would be friends..." He said quietly.
The men looked down at him, before returning to glaring at each other.
"I'm sorry, Chihiro, but I've seen Mondo Oowada's record." Taka said bluntly. "He is only trouble and has no regard for safety."
"Yeah, sorry buddy. No way I can be friends with a guy who has an entire pole stuck up his ass." Mondo spat.
Kiyotaka's eyes narrowed angrily at that insult, much to Mondo's amusement. "Why on Earth did you tell this...this delinquent your secret?!" The rule abider exclaimed, turning his head to Chihiro.
The Ultimate Programmer swallowed, clearly uncomfortable. "W-we saw each ot-other at the-" He tried to explain.
Seeing his friend was having difficulties, Mondo placed a gentle hand on his head and gave him a smile. "Calm down. I got this." He soothed. The young boy nodded, taking a breath. Mondo turned back to Taka. "We ran into each other at the gym. I noticed he was having trouble, so I offered to spot him. He mentioned he was trying to get stronger, I offered to train him, and after a few training sessions he felt close enough to me to tell me the truth." He grinned at his friend. "And I'm honored." Chihiro giggled softly.
Kiyotaka analyzed their interaction. Mondo seemed to genuinely care about Chihiro, and vise versa. He did stop Junko from spilling his secret. But how could sweet, kind Chihiro ever become friends with such a thug? He's the type of person Taka would want to protect his close friend from. So it makes no sense.
"I'm still not sure if you should be hanging around him." The role model thought aloud, putting a finger to his chin.
Mondo narrowed his eyes and took a step towards him. "I don't think that's your decision to make, asshole." He growled, shoving a finger into Taka's chest.
The man stumbled backwards slightly. He glowered at the biker and brushed his uniform off. "It was merely a suggestion, but if your way of becoming stronger is to always resort to violence, than perhaps I should try to enforce it."
Mondo's face turned red and he reeled his fist back.
"Stop! Please!"
The man stopped and turned, seeing his small friend with an outstretched hand looking terrified.
"Please don't hurt each other!" Chihiro begged. "I'm sorry I made you two meet. I thought you'd be friends but I was wrong!" He looked to be on the verge of tears.
Mondo looked at him for a moment before turning back to Kiyotaka, who was looking past him at the programmer. Mondo scoffed and backed away. He spat on the ground in front of Taka before heading out the door. "See you at training, Chihiro." He called as he left.
"Are you alright, Taka?" The small highschooler questioned, running up to him.
The hall monitor nodded, glaring at the puddle of spit on the ground and stepping around it. "Excuse me for saying this, but your new friend is a brute." Taka said bluntly, looking to his friend.
Chihiro sighed. "He can be like that, yeah."
The man in uniform smiled and rolled his shoulders. "No matter. You should go to your dorm. I have to clean up the mess he left behind. I'll see you later!" The two waved, and Chihiro left the room.
Taka grabbed the cleaning supplies and cleaned up the spit Mondo had left on the floor. His thoughts kept going back to him. He obviously knew of him before this. He'd heard his name during role call, he'd seen and heard him during class, but most prominently, he'd seen his record when helping the headmaster. It was a sight. So many rules broken, both small and large. Graffiti, littering, fighting. He was dangerous. However, his actions still fit his Ultimate title so...he stayed. Kiyotaka sighed in annoyance. Why did there have to be an Ultimate Biker Gang Leader anyway? Or any other criminal Ultimate? Why is the school encouraging crime? He didn't understand it.
Taka stood, finally finished cleaning. He dusted off his uniform again as he made his way out of the classroom, making sure to turn the lights off and lock the door. He made his way down the hall, keeping an eye out for any rule breakers on his way to his room. He didn't see any, but he did see a particular rule break leaning against his door. He came to a stop in front of him with crossed arms. "Waiting for me in front of my door?" Kiyotaka said, shaking his head. "Do you really want to fight me so badly?"
Mondo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I...actually wanted to apologize." He muttered.
This caught the man in white off guard. "Wait...what?"
"Yeah..." The biker muttered. "I thought about it on the way to my room. Since we're both Chihiro's friends, we should at least attempt to get along, right? Instead of instantly going at each others throats."
Kiyotaka looked to the side as he gave it a thought. He nodded slowly. "I suppose that makes sense." He agreed.
Mondo nodded as well. "Good, good. We're in agreement then." There was an awkward silence for a moment. "So...what should we do to...get to know each other?"
Taka thought for a moment. "The best way would probably to do what we both enjoy. Participate in each other's interests."
Mondo groaned. "Ugh. I don't want to grade papers or stand in the hall yelling at people." He muttered.
Taka laughed. "Is that what you think I do for fun?" He laughed with a smirk.
Mondo returned it and shrugged. "I don't fucking know, man. Probably."
The hall monitor shook his head with a smile. "Well I can assure you, I have an activity in mind the both of us will enjoy."
"Dude, you fucking box?" Mondo gaped at the gloves Kiyotaka was currently putting on.
The man in white chuckled and nodded. "You aren't the only one that likes to stay in shape." He replied as he tightened the strap of the glove and went on to the next. "The other pair is over there." He gestured with his head.
The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader still looked surprised, but he made his way over to Kiyotaka's dresser and grabbed his second pair of gloves. "I usually prefer to just use wrappings." He told his sparring partner. "But since we're being all buddy buddy and shit, sure. I'll use these."
Taka spat out the strap after finishing tightening the second glove. "You spar with only bandaged hands?" He asked, moving into the area they had cleared out for their sparring match.
Mondo nodded as he hit his now gloved fists together. "Usually, yeah. I like the feeling of fist to face." He chuckled. "But I guess I don't want to actually hurt ya, so this makes sense."
Taka smirked and took an offensive stance. "Well if that's the case then we are getting somewhere." He stated. "However, I don't know if you even could hurt me."
The gang leader barked out a laugh, copying the role model's stance. "You serious? Dude, I would've pulverized you if Chihiro hadn't stopped me."
The Ultimate Moral Compass threw a punch, which Mondo blocked with his fist. "I had plenty of space to avoid you. I was simply giving you the illusion of control." Kiyotaka said cockily, moving around his opponent.
The taller of the two raised a brow, clearly amused. "Uh huh. I'm sure." He shot his left fist out at the man in front of him, which was easily blocked. "You know, when you aren't busting me for walking too quickly down the hall, you're pretty alright." Another blow was thrown.
This struck Taka in the arm, causing him to stumble backwards. He powered through it and shot the one who had hit him a grin. "Nice hit. And yeah. When you aren't littering the halls, you're pretty fun." As he finished speaking, he lunged to the side before throwing a punch.
This caught Mondo off guard enough for the hit to land on his shoulder. The biker chuckled and rubbed the spot. "Fuck. That actually hurt a bit. You're stronger than I thought."
The two continued exchanging blows for nearly an hour, until the two were tired and sweaty. They threw the gloves to the side, and Kiyotaka went into his bathroom to grab them both towels. He returned and threw one to Mondo. "I think this was a success." He said with a smile. "I can safely call you...a friend."
Mondo chuckled and wiped the sweat off of himself. "Yeah. At the very least we ain't tryin' to kill each other."
Taka nodded in agreement and threw his towel into his bathroom, intending to send both the one he and Mondo used to the laundry soon. "I wouldn't mind spending more time with you in the future." He told the biker. He approached him with a wide grin and held out his hand.
Mondo looked down at him with a strange look. He looked...conflicted? Confused? He seemed to snap out of it and smile at Taka, shaking his hand. "Yeah, same here." He tossed his towel into the bathroom as well. "This was actually fun, Taka. I'll be seein' you around." He made his way to the door, the two waving goodbye.
The next day in class was uneventful. Junko was quiet the entire time, which admittedly worried Kiyotaka more than her causing trouble. Regardless, class came and went, and everyone left as usual. Taka and Chihiro stayed, Junko called the hall monitor a slur, the ropes. But like the day before, Mondo had stayed behind. When the young programmer noticed this, he got worried. He put himself between the two as Mondo approached.
The biker smiled down at him and pat his head. "Hey, don't worry buddy." He assured his friend. "Taka and I worked everything out, right, dude?" He looked up at the rule follower with a warm smile.
The man in question nodded and smiled down to Chihiro as well, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, don't worry, Chihiro. Mondo and I are friends now!" He said in his usual booming tone.
The young boy looked up, surprised. "Wait, really?" He asked. When the two nodded, he smiled happily and jumped in place. "That's great! So we can hang out together?!" He looked between the two men excitedly. They both chuckled and nodded at him. The programmer clapped happily, before letting out a gasp. "Oh! We could train together!" He exclaimed. He looked up to Mondo. "Is that alright?"
The biker looked up to Taka, who nodded at him, a grin on his face. The man with the pompadour ruffled Chihiro's hair. "'Course it is, kiddo." He chuckled. The small boy looked ecstatic and grabbed the newly befriended men's hands, rushing out the door to the gym.
"So we're going to go on to twenty pounds, alright, buddy?" Mondo said to Chihiro as the programmer set his gym bag next to the bench press he had chosen to use. He had already gone into the changing room and put on his blue tracksuit.
The determined young man nodded as he took his place on the press. "Yeah! That sounds good!" He took a deep breath and looked between his friends with a smile. "You'll both spot me, right?"
The two nodded. "Of course, Chihiro." Taka replied, giving him a thumbs up. The prize pupil was wearing a red tracksuit and had a towel draped over his arm. Chihiro giggled carefully lifted the weight from where it rested, beginning his reps.
Mondo looked over at Taka, the rebel in a black tracksuit. He smirked at the towel. "You got one this early? You haven't even worked out yet." He teased.
The black haired boy rolled his eyes. "Funny." He replied, giving his new friend a grin. "I got it for Chihiro." As he spoke his friend's name he glanced down at him, making sure he wasn't having trouble. Seeing as he was doing fine, he glanced back up to Mondo. The biker was looking him up and down.
"You really are surprisingly fit for someone so...stuck up." The man in black mumbled.
Taka looked at him surprised. "That was...a bit insulting." He said quietly, rubbing his arm and looking down. "I thought we were getting along."
Mondo's eyes widened and he placed a hand on Taka's shoulder. "Oh, no, dude! Fuck, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I always saw you as a teacher's pet. I didn't know you were so...tough." He punched the other man's arm, a grin on his face.
A smile returned to the hall monitor's face. "Ah! That's what you meant." He shrugged. "As I told you, I enjoy keeping in shape."
Mondo laughed softly, carefully leaning on the bench press. "You are much cooler than I thought, bro." He held his fist out for Taka.
The man stared at Mondo. "Did you just call me...bro?" He asked.
The biker's face fell slightly, and his fist dropped. "Well, yeah. I thought since we were getting closer..."
Taka held his hands up and shook his head. "No, no, no! You misunderstood me this time." He chuckled. "I'm...honored. I don't have a lot of friends." He smiled brightly and held his fist out for Mondo.
The gang leader returned the grin and bumped his fist against the Ultimate Moral Compass'.
The two laughed as they smiled at each other, bringing their arms down to their sides.
"O-ok. I think I'm done for now." Chihiro panted bringing the weights back up. Both Taka and Mondo rushed forward to grab it, and their hands touched as they did so. They glanced at each other and laughed it off as they helped their small friend. Chihiro threw his legs over the side of the bench as Kiyotaka handed him the towel. He wiped his face and took a long sip of the water bottle he had brought with him.
"You did really good today, Chihiro!" Mondo congratulated him. "You're getting better every day."
"Only because of you, Mondo." The programmer beamed up at his muscular friend.
Taka watched this with a smile on his face. He can't believe he had thought so poorly about Mondo. He's been helping Chihiro so much. The once self conscious boy has become so much more confident. He's become stronger, mentally and psychically. All thanks to Mondo. He's really sweet to him as well. He's actually a really kind guy after all and-
Kiyotaka stood up straight. He glanced over at Mondo and saw him carrying Chihiro on his bicep, the two of them laughing. He gulped and rubbed the back of his neck. Mondo glanced over at him and raised a brow. He placed the young boy down and went over to his newly acquired friend. "Hey, you good, bro?" He asked, placing a hand on Taka's shoulder.
The star student smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. "O-of course bro! Just fantastic!" He exclaimed.
Mondo chuckled. "Cool. Well, Chihiro wanted to go back to his room and work on his little project. We could go back to my dorm and hang out if you wanted?"
Taka nodded. "Sure, of course. We could do something to get to know each other even more."
"You read my mind, bro." The biker chuckled as the trip left the gym.
Mondo and Kiyotaka said their goodbyes to Chihiro as he went into his room. The two then went into Mondo's. Taka sat on the gang leader's bed as said man locked the door. "So, what are we going to do?" The role model asked as Mondo sat beside him.
The rebel rubbed his neck and looked to the side. "Well...I know this is gonna sound dumb 'n cheesy but...I thought we could just...talk."
Kiyotaka blinked at him.
Mondo sighed. "Goddamn it." He ran his hand over his face. "Look, boxing and shit is fun and all, but if we really wanna be 'bros' and all, which I actually do, we should get to know each other for real. For instance." Mondo cleared his throat. "I had a pet dog named Chuck." The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader coughed into his hand and turned away, shielding his face from Taka. "He...he died...a while ago. I miss him."
Kiyotaka nodded slowly. "I am very sorry to hear that." He comforted his friend, patting him on the back.
Mondo just shrugged and rolled his shoulders before turning to the star pupil. "So what about you?" He asked. "I noticed Junko always gives you a hard time. She keeps calling you curses and shit. What's that about?"
Taka frowned and rubbed his arm. "I don't actually know." He admitted. "She seems to have some extreme hatred for me, but I haven't the slightest why." He sighed as he looked up to Mondo. "I think she's angry at me for always getting her in trouble for constantly bullying other students."
The biker narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Well I can get being pissed at you for gettin' them in trouble." He began. "But not if it was for bullying someone. That shit's not cool at all, especially if the person isn't strong enough to defend themselves." The man growled and gripped at his jacket.
Kiyotaka looked at him, a soft smile forming on his lips. "You...have a caring heart for someone that comes off so tough." He said quietly.
Mondo smirked at him and chuckled. "Don't fucking tell anybody." He warned teasingly. "I have a reputation to keep." The two shared a laughed for a moment. As it died down, Mondo looked back to his friend. "So she's just being really petty?" He questioned, bringing his original question back up.
The hall monitor looked down at the floor. "It's more than just that." He muttered. "I...I think she's trying to sabotage me."
The gang leader raised an eyebrow. "And why do you say that?" He asked.
Taka sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "She's been doing things that would hurt me." He explained. His eyes looked away. "I...think what happened with Chihiro yesterday was because of me."
Mondo furrowed his brow. "And how the hell is that the case?" The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader asked, grabbing the black haired boy's shoulder and turning him to face him.
The boy in white looked looked at the taller man sadly. "I don't know how she learned of Chihiro's secret, but she knows I'm close to him. By revealing it to everyone it would not only hurt Chihiro, it would hurt me, because she knows I care about my friends dearly."
Mondo nodded along. "Yeah, I've noticed that." He smiled at the ruler aibider warmly. "You looked about ready to tear into her just for getting close to Chihiro."
"Well, he's my closest friend." The hall monitor admitted. "One of...my only friends."
The rebel watched the man in white as he scratched his arm sadly. He felt a sharp pain in his chest he couldn't explain as the shorter boy looked so dejected. Mondo watched the other closely.
"Junko has also been...spreading rumors around about me." Kiyotaka continued, scratching his head. "In an attempt to ruin my reputation, I believe."
Mondo narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember any rumors he had heard about the boy. Junko spread rumors all the times, but Taka was such a teacher's pet with such a clean record that any rumors were sure to stick out. And sure enough, one popped to the front of his memory. "Oh yeah, I remember." He began, turning to Kiyotaka. "She started tellin' everyone you were gay."
The star pupil stiffened and nodded. "Yes. She did." He confirmed quietly.
Mondo rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it's none of my business, but...are ya?" He questioned, glancing slightly over at his friend. "'Cause there's nothin' wrong with it if you are."
Taka sighed loudly and stood up. "I should get going." He said, heading towards the door. "It was...really good to get to know you some more, Mondo."
The biker frowned and stood up, following him. "Bro, did I upset you?" He asked worriedly.
Taka shook his head as he continued towards the door. "No, of course not. I just noticed how late it had gotten. I will see you in class tomorrow."
Mondo watched as the black haired man placed his hand on the door handle. He bit his lip as he argued with himself on what to do. Finally giving in, he sighed. "It's fine if you're gay, Taka. 'Cause I am."
The man at the door froze.
He slowly turned around and stared at Mondo with wide eyes. "...What?" He whispered.
The gang leader shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Since we're getting to know each other and shit, thought you should know." He mumbled under his breath.
Kiyotaka looked Mondo up and down. "You...you are..." He blinked. "How are you so open about it?"
Mondo shrugged again. "I just learned not to give a shit about what other people think." He informed the other. "I know it throws a lot of people off. They think someone like me would be off fucking chicks, but nah. I get a lot of shit about it, but it doesn't bother me at this point."
Taka looked up at him in awe. "You just...throw everyone's expectations away without a thought?"
The biker nodded. "Yeah. Fuck what other people think. It only matters what I think about myself, right? And I think I'm pretty fucking cool." He looked down at the moral compass. "So...yeah. Just thought you should know."
Kiyotaka felt a smile form on his lips. "I...thank you for telling me." He said sincerely. "I can see how you've helped Chihiro so much."
Mondo shrugged. "S'no big deal." He muttered, turning his face away from the boy. He was attempting to hide a blush that had appeared on his face.
Taka took a deep breath. "In lieu of this information." He bit his lip and nodded. "I do believe I am gay, yes."
Mondo looked over at this, a smile on his face. "That's awesome, bro!"
His friend shook his head. "But it isn't. Not everyone is accepting of people like us, Mondo. And if I want to become Prime Minister one day..." He trailed off, though fear was beginning to take hold on his face.
Mondo walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. When the shorter man looked up, he saw Mondo had a comforting smile on his face. "Hey. I know that there are some fucking dicks out there. But you're amazing, Taka. You can get anywhere you want in life, and being who you are won't stop you." He smirked. "And if anyone tries anything," He hit his fists together. "I'll fuck 'em up."
Kiyotaka chuckled softly and smiled up at the taller man, the fear in him disappearing. "I...appreciate that, Mondo." He replied quietly. "I'm very glad we became friends."
Mondo nodded in agreement, the comforting smile back on his face. "Me too, bro." The two stood like that for a while, just a few feet apart. Mondo bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck. "I...fucking hell." He cursed.
Taka looked up at him, confused. "Is everything alright?" He asked.
Mondo ran his hand through his hair. "I...shit. I kinda wanna kiss you." He rushed out.
The man in white looked up in surprise. "Y-you want to kiss me?!" He exclaimed.
Mondo nodded, the blush returning to his face in full force. "I mean I've always thought you were kinda cute. And you look good in that uniform. And this time we've spent together...I think I've grown a fucking crush on you." He looked away and shook his head. "But you're still battling your feelings and trying to understand everything. So just forget it." He turned to walk away, but was stopped by a hand on his bicep.
When he looked back, he noticed Taka's face was completely red. The boy let go of the other's arm and folded his hands together, fiddling with his fingers. "No, it's alright." He stammered. "You...you can kiss me."
Mondo turned back completely to the boy in white and swallowed. "You sure?"
Kiyotaka nodded shyly. "I may still be coming to terms with accepting who I am but...you are the first person to show me it is alright to be...myself. That I shouldn't be afraid of another's opinions. And I can't lie and say that I haven't felt myself become...attracted to you recently."
Mondo's face brightened a bit as he took as step closer to the man in front of him. He slowly leaned down to Taka's height and tilted his head to the side as he ghosted over the black haired boy's lips. The shorter man's eyes flickered between the biker's own lavender eyes and his lips. He swallowed nervously as Mondo smiled softly and finally pressed their lips together.
Kiyotaka's eyes fluttered shut as his hands gripped at the gang leader's undershirt. Mondo placed his hands gently on both of Taka's hips, pulling him closer to his chest. He rubbed the red eyed boy's sides comfortingly as he deepened the kiss.
It was all a lot gentler than Taka was expecting from Mondo. It was a very pleasant surprise. The star pupil smiled into the kiss as Mondo slowly pulled away. "How was that?" The biker asked quietly. He brought a hand up to Kiyotaka's face and cupped it.
The moral compass gave a small smile, a tinge of blush on his cheeks. "I enjoyed that." He replied. "A lot."
Mondo nodded in agreement, running his other hand through Taka's hair. "I did, too."
Taka bit his lip as his face grew even redder, a very school inappropriate thought crossing his mind. "I...would kind of like to do more...with you...?" He said meekly, glancing up at the violet eyed boy.
Mondo looked surprised. "Are...are you sure?"
The boy in white nodded. "Yes. I...really like you." He held tightly onto the muscular man's jacket. "You make me feel...safe."
A smile formed on Mondo's lips. He placed his thumb under the shorter boy's chin and tilted his head up as he planted another kiss on his lips. Kiyotaka placed his arms around the gang leader's shoulders as his eyes closed once more. The brown haired boy slowly walked forward until his partner's back was pressed against the wall near the door. His hands went back on Taka's hips as Mondo's mouth left the red eyed boy's lips and traveled down to his neck. He kissed it softly before giving it a gentle bite. Taka let out a quiet gasp as he grasped the back of Mondo's jacket. The biker chuckled and kissed his neck again. "Did you like that?" He whispered into the black haired boy's ear.
Taka nodded. "Yes." He murmured back. "...Do it again."
Mondo smirked and obliged, biting down on the moral compass' neck once more with a little more force this time. He let out another gasp, which turned into a whimper as Mondo sucked on his skin. The biker gave Taka's hips a small jerk, pulling the boy in front of him flush against him. He pulled away from Kiyotaka's neck to look into his eyes. He couldn't help but smile when he noticed they innocent boy's eyes were shut, a happy smile on his face. Mondo cupped Taka's face, causing him to open his eyes. The gang leader gave him a serious look. "I need to know." He said in a low tone. "Are you serious about this?"
Kiyotaka swallowed and nodded. "I-I am." He stammered. "Unless you don't want to-"
"Oh fuck no!" Mondo interrupted him, grabbing both of the boy's sleeves and yanking them behind himself, causing the black haired boy to stumble into him. Mondo placed one hand on Taka's back and another on his hip. "I wanna fuck you so bad." He growled. Taka shivered, causing the man in front of him to chuckle. "I just wanted to make sure you really wanted this. I'm guessing this is your first time."
Kiyotaka nodded. "It...it is." He confirmed. "I'm a bit concerned, if I'm being honest." He smiled lovingly at Mondo. "But I trust you. And I want this."
Mondo said nothing else. He had heard all he needed. With a smirk he grabbed Taka by the wrist and led him to the bed, once they had reached it, he gave the smaller man a light push, making him fall backwards onto it. He began to strip his clothes eagerly. Looking over, he noticed Kiyotaka unbuttoning his uniform hastily. The two locked eyes and gave each other a loving smile as Mondo made his way over to help his partner out of his clothes.
"You sure you have to go?" Mondo asked, the covers lazily covering his bottom half.
Kiyotaka nodded as he slipped on his uniform pants. "Unfortunately I have to walk the halls later." He sighed, putting on his shoes now.
Mondo rolled his eyes. "Can't you just skip that? Stay with me." He laid his hand out on the bed.
Taka looked at it and smiled. He placed his own in it and gave it a squeeze. "You know I can't do that." He told his lover sadly. "I promise when I'm finished I'll come back."
Mondo brightened up. "I'll fucking hold you to that. That's a promise between men." He said, tugging on Taka's hand. The smaller boy was pulled forward, landing awkwardly in Mondo's naked but blanket covered lap.
Kiyotaka chuckled and nodded. He leaned up and gave Mondo a kiss. The biker placed a hand on the back of the black haired man's head and pulled him in, deepening the kiss. After finally pulling apart, Taka finished getting dressed and turned to go. "I really enjoyed everything tonight, Mondo." He said sincerely. "Thank you."
Mondo smiled and nodded. "So did I, Taka. I'll see you later."
Taka left the biker's room with a love stricken smile on his face.
Kiyotaka was still buttoning and straightening his uniform as he closed Mondo's door behind him.
"Well, well, well! What do we have here!"
Taka froze at the all too familiar voice. He whirled around and felt his stomach drop at the sight of Junko. The fashionista was smirking and making her approach to the boy in white. "Disheveled appearance, unbuttoned uniform." She gave Taka a sniff as she stopped in front of him. "Smell of sweat." Her smirk widened as she chuckled evilly. "You're fucking that psycho gang leader kid? Seriously, Ishimaru?" She barked out a laugh and shook her head, the evil grin still present. "You are finished now. Wait until the entire school finds out that perfect record Kiyotaka Ishimaru is actually a filthy little slut." As she finished speaking, Junko was mere feet from the frightened boy, her smug face not far from his own.
Taka clenched his fists as he felt tears form in his eyes. "Why...why are you so determined to ruin my life?!" He screamed, clenching his still not completely buttoned jacket.
Junko didn't answer. She just gave him a finger wave before she turned on her heel and walked away. Taka watched for a moment before he turned around and reentered Mondo's room.
The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader was beginning to get redressed when his door suddenly opened and closed. He spun around and saw Kiyotaka, tears pouring down his face. Mondo's eyes widened and rushed over to him, not caring that he only had pants on. He pulled his lover into a protective embrace. "What happened, Taka?" He asked, stroking his back comfortingly.
"That fucking bitch." Mondo growled as Kiyotaka finished explaining the situation to him. The two had moved to the bed, where Mondo was still rubbing Taka's back.
"I don't regret doing it." The moral compass said quietly, looking up at Mondo. "But my reputation is ruined now."
Mondo sighed in annoyance. "I don't see why it's anyone's fucking business." He said. "You're gay. So what? We fucked. So what? It doesn't change a God damn thing. Anyone who isn't a complete fucking asshole will agree."
Taka shook his head. "But I'm not supposed to do such...activities." The Ultimate Moral Compass pointed out. "I'm supposed to encourage and show case school appropriate behavior."
The biker narrowed his eyes. "Even in your free time? Even when you aren't at school?" He took the distressed boy's head in his hands and gave him a warm smile. "Taka, you need to stop worrying about other people's bullshit. What they think about you doesn't matter. Even if your reputation does get ruined, you can rebuild it easily." He placed a kiss on Taka's lips. "And I'll be here to protect you from anything, you got that?"
The red eyed man smiled despite himself. He felt his worries disappear, and he nodded. "Alright, Mondo. I'll try." He placed his arms around Mondo's strong shoulders. "Thank you so much."
The gang leader smirked and grabbed Taka's hips. He placed the shorter boy so that he's straddling the brown haired man. He leaned down and kissed Kiyotaka, placing a hand on his back and pressing him close to his chest. "I'll always be here for you, Taka." He assured him. "Always."
There was silence for a moment before Taka spoke. "So...are we boyfriends, now?"
Mondo laughed loudly and nodded. "I'd sure fucking hope so after earlier." He gave the boy a smirk. "You're an amazing fuck."
Taka's face became beet red as he buried it in Mondo's chest. The biker chuckled and ran his fingers through the boy's hair. "Of course it's not just that. You're amazing at everything. You're kind and smart. I'm lucky you want someone like me as your boyfriend."
Taka looked up, the red in his face dying down. "You're amazing as well." He told the purpled eyed boy. "You're really strong, and you've got a very kind heart. You care about others a lot."
Mondo smiled softly and kissed his boyfriend's forehead. "Guess we make a pretty good match, huh?"
Taka nodded, laying his head on the other's chest.
The next day in class, the two walked in together. They were holding hands at the behest of Mondo. He thought it would be best for them to oust their relationship before Junko could.
But it seemed they might have been too late.
For when they entered the classroom, everyone's eyes shot to them. Or more specifically, them holding hands. Junko crossed her arms smugly. "I told you all it was true." She said, pointing at the couple. "I saw Kiyotaka coming out of Mondo's room right after they fucked!"
Taka's grip on Mondo's hand tightened, and the biker gave his boyfriend's hand a gentle squeeze. "It'll be fine." He whispered.
"Is this true, Taka?" Chihiro asked, looking between the two. "Are the two of you really...dating?"
Kiyotaka took a deep breath before answering. He glanced at Mondo, who smiled, encouraging him. The moral compass nodded. "Yes, we are!" He said enthusiastically, attempting to keep up his usual booming tone.
The whole class was silent for a while. Taka was beginning to get nervous until a chorus of "congratulations'" and "I'm so happy for the both of you" and "you two look adorable together" rang out. Both Taka and Junko looked surprised at this reaction, though the former quickly smiled brightly as he looked up at Mondo, who flashed his boyfriend an "I told you so" smirk. The latter, meanwhile, grit her teeth in annoyance and flopped down in her seat.
The chatter quickly died down as everyone went back to their work. Taka and Mondo smiled at each other lovingly as they gave one another a kiss before heading to their seats.
Kiyotaka Ishimaru was very happy. He was the star pupil of Class 78 and the designated Hall Monitor. He was set to go very far after graduating from Hope's Peak Academy, and he had a strong, loving and protective boyfriend who accepted him for him.
What more could he ask for?
#danganronpa#kiyotaka ishimaru#danganronpa kiyotaka#mondo oowada#danganronpa mondo#ishimondo#fanfic#fanfiction#request
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TROS, mixed feelings
I’m going to try and get all my thoughts in order about The Rise of Skywalker. I had some general points I wanted to write about but lost my focus when I came home to a pet emergency.
The first thing I want to say is that the movie is good, in the sense that the spectacle is enjoyable to watch. There are some amazing sequences and some awesome beauty shots. One that sticks out to me is Rey walking to the throne room and it’s this really wide shot of her underneath that large mass and the blue lighting in the back.
So the pros are:
Beautiful shots I’m sure were taken straight from awesome concept art
Good action movie if you aren’t emotionally invested/don’t know much about star wars
I did find myself enjoying it at parts, but it was at surface level. With each new plot development, I felt the established canon collapsing in on itself and it was upsetting if you decided to focus on the plot.
Kylo and Rey / the Force side of the plot continued to carry the trilogy. There were many cool things done with the force bond, including objects being passed through their connection.
Getting confirmation that the Sith kill one another so their souls transfer to the younger stronger vessel and then continue to get passed down
More talk about the Jedi and Sith in general. I personally always enjoyed this part of star wars more than the rebellion plots
Now onto the cons...
Just.. too much. Way too much plot stuffed into one film, which then contributed to too much force-fed exposition, and just too much dialogue. Characters literally NEVER stopped talking. Less is more, and that showed when the most powerful scenes were ones where the characters would just shut up for two seconds and let the audience form their own thoughts.
Characters were being dragged by their hair through this plot. Their actions and dialogue didn’t feel like it came from internal motivations, but because the plot needed the characters to do things and therefore they did.
The attempts to throw in new characters into the plot, which leaves them half-assed and better off giving that screen time to characters that are already established. I understand there was backlash against Rose’s character but the solution shouldn’t have been to just erase her relevance.
The forced trio dynamic.. it just doesn’t work for these three... Rey spent some time with Finn in TFA, spent a whole movie away from the Resistance in TLJ, and is now forced by the writers to stick around Finn and Poe when she continuously is breaking off from them anyway. They’re all constantly arguing with each other, and the tone is off. They were going for a cute bickering between friends but they all just seemed annoyed with one another.
Chewie’s death fakeout was so absurd. They really tried to explain it off with “it must have been a different ship!” when they were in the middle of the desert and there were no other ships to be seen. It was so forced and dumb it was difficult to feel anything.
The overall lack of direction for Finn’s character in this trilogy. I kept holding onto hope for Finn’s character to stick the landing in the final episode, but the writing failed him. His love for Rey is dialed to 100 and he keeps chasing behind her when she is ten steps ahead. It’s just sad to watch at this point, especially when the story has already established the foundations of Finnrose. The romance set up was completely trashed by this movie in favour of him chasing after a girl who has no interest in him. His entire story this whole trilogy revolved around Rey.
Leia’s Jedi training past we’re just finding out about now..?? I feel this was completely tossed in with no regard to spinoffs. I read Bloodline and there was absolutely no mention or fit for Leia to have done Jedi training (to the skill level of constructing her own saber no less). This is a cool idea, but again it felt STUFFED IN.
Lack of presence from the force ghosts when they’re needed makes their appearance lackluster. It feels deeply cruel for the Skywalkers to not reach out and speak to their own blood when he needed it most, especially Anakin who if he spoke to his grandson in the FIRST FILM, Ben would have been on a complete different trajectory. The OT force ghost characters not reaching out to Ben makes their presence in these newer films all the more bitter. Ben was so desperate for guidance that it resulted in manifesting a memory of his non-force sensitive father. The scene was touching, but it was literally Ben having to talk himself through his decisions all alone while Rey gets love and support from thousands of generations of jedi when she needs it.
Rey’s god force abilities. Now listen, I’ve been adamant about defending Rey’s capabilities in the force, but TROS has just made it too impossible for me to continue to feel that. She displayed far beyond what her skill level should be after receiving minor training from Luke and then some nondescript training from Leia. She used force lightning, life force transfer and healing, and lastly turning Palpatine’s own lightning against him when he’s in a state stronger than he’s ever been before, and the explanation for all of this is...
Rey is a Palpatine... I had made a tinfoil hat theory about this back during TFA. She has the accent and her character story starts out in the ruins of a Star Destroyer. I guess it could have been a decent reveal if they had spent the last two movies actually building that. Over the years I had come to love the idea of Rey truly being no one, that the force didn’t only favor those with bloodline. It could call on anyone, even those who by the world’s eyes is worth nothing. Rey Palpatine should have never been a thing, and Palpatine showing up in these movies at all when Anakin’s entire 6 episode story arc was him eradicating that evil for the love of his son. Anakin’s powerful and sacrificial actions really lose weight within the story when the evil was never really killed.
Things that mattered werent dwelled on enough for the audience to process them. The movie was so eager to race to the finish line that information/events that should have deeply effected the characters didnt.
Im biased but I truly believe that Ben shouldnt have died. That's not how his arc should have ended. It's far too cruel, especially because his death was unceremonious and as an audience we were expected to move on because LOOK!! everyone's hugging!!
The ending felt deeply uncomfortable. It's like watching a tragedy but with happy swelling music in the back and characters smiling.
So yeah.. I feel like there's more I could say but Im sure other people have said the same things with better words. Despite my list of complaints being large it genuinely was entertaining... As mentioned if you try not to focus on the plot too much it can be really good at a surface level.
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Beetlejuice 12/18/2019
This will be long but this is a compilation of everything that stuck out to me about the show! Spoilers Obviously
Who was in the cast:
Sophia Anne Caruso- Lydia
Alex Brightman- Beetlejuice
Kerry Butler- Barbara
Leslie Kritzer- Delia
Adam Dannheisser - Charles
David Josefsberg - Adam
Act I:
The theater was GORGEOUS, the stage was beautiful, the music before the show was so good. The crowd was so excited, the ushers were so nice. It was just a wonderful experience before the show even started
Invisible started and I almost cried. Sophia is such an amazing singer, and hearing her sing live? She has so much power in her voice it gave me chills
I also liked looking through the ensemble and recognizing the cast members
The costumes were so stunning
The minute Beetlejuice arrived on stage everyone started clapping for a solid minute and he just waited there with a big grin on his face
OH MY GOD HIS SINGING was amazing
The sandworm was HUGE like I knew it would be big but it was literally huge
I was surprised that a lot of Beetlejuice’s jokes fell flat, they were hilarious
He said something along the lines of “I feel so out of place...like a gay republican”
I died
The MAITLANDS seeing them for the first time was so good!!! David plays an amazing Adam. Adam needs ot be protected at all costs, he is such a good husband
Barbara would do this low and growly voice during “Not Yet” and it was so funny.
Beetlejuice just hanging around them before they died was very funny. He would have one liners that were just hilarious
When the Maitlands fell through the fucking floor boards, I knew it was gonna happen but like it still shocked me
THE SAD PUPPET SHOW
Literally five minutes after he found out there was a kid in the audience Barbara says “You give me the creeps” and he goes “Well you give me a boner!”
The whole being dead thing reprise was SO GOOD. It was so amazing to watch live
Charles is so much more RAUNCHY than I expected, very sex oriented lol but so blunt about it
LYDIA
Can I just say that Sophia Anne Caruso plays teenage angst SO WELL. Like I 100% felt the sadness Lydia was feeling, it was so palpable
Just once more what the fuck did Lydia think was happening??? How dare she be surprised that they were moving. Like I love her but come on...
There’s a point during the scene where Lydia straight up gets this evil look on her face, starts giggling and goes up to Delia all innocently, trying to make it seem like this is hard for her to do and she’s breaking through. She does the whole “knock know” and when Delia said you don’t open the doors Lydia straight up started crying and said “I guess you’ll never know”
Dead Mom made me sob, Sophia has so much power when she is singing. There were points where Lydia would be near tears and it was so sad but so incredible.
Fright of their lives was very funny. BUT THEY CHANGED THE KATHRINE HEPBURN joke.
Adam is such a supportive husband
I also loved: “What are things that make you scared” and Adam goes “THE ELECTROAL COLLEGE! WHY DOES OHIO HAVE SO MUCH POWER” and Barbara deadass goes “Can I change my answer”
“WEll that was a soliloquy so you’re the rude one”
LETS HAUNT THIS BITCH
“No Reason” was also very funny, Delia tries so hard. This woman dabbed, did Fortnight dances, and just is a ray of sunshine. It’s just not what Lydia needs. Lydia was so savage during that song she took zero shits
Delia looked so upset when Lydia said “and good people die” It was very obvious she knew Lydia was talking about her mom, she went over to hug her but Lydia went under her arm
LYDIA MEETING THE MAITLANDS so adorable
Lydia telling the story about her mom. She looked so happy to have someone to talk to about it.
“Every year me and my mom would build these haunted houses but it was during the summer so nobody was expecting it. One time she dressed up as the ghost of edgar allen poe! I thought she was so scary, but nobody knew who she was...because people don’t read.”
Also Adam is adorable, his dad joke made the whole audience groan
Lydia just needs to affection. She was like “I don’t have many friends...it’s nice to know I have you guys in the attic.”
Delia: “That was the most impressive rogering you’ve ever given me” Charles: “I’m very good at sex”
ICONIC
Charles proposing and Delia being so happy, so cute. But then Lydia runs in and Delia has to hide
LYDIA IS SO DRAMATIC. I’m talking she's fake fainting about the scary ghosts, collapsing to the floor. A+ performace, it was so funny
WHEN LYDIA FIND DELIA heart breaking. She was crying I just wanted someone to hug her. The Maitlands looked so concerned, Charles didn’t make any attempts to comfort her which kinda made me pissed at him because he was being very selfish. Also when Lydia cried, “I wish I was dead.” he didn’t even bother to follower her. Do better Charles
Beetle juice's multiple limbs very funny gag
Also he started scatting
Poor Lydia :(
Lydia started like having a mental break down when BJ started singing “I’m gonna have a new best friend!” like someone please give this girl a break. She so smol
Beetlejuice stopping her from killing herself
“Say my name” was SO INCREDIBLE
the line “and kill him” was said so quietly that he was like trying to have Lydia not hear him
FAKE CARTWHEEL
Any time Lydia said Beetlejuice a light would shine on BJ but then go out when she would go beeeeeee- “cuz/” “being” “be a doll”
Nice lighting touch
The lighting, in general, was amazing
Lydia was so intrested in the possesion of Adam and Barbara it was so cool to see the little glimmer of a plan forming in her head
SHE PUSHED BJ off the roof and when she goes “what he was already dead” the Maitlands just kinda shrug like “she right”
Charles and Delia trying to High-five but missing? Cute ass couple, they are actually really cute together
Maxie Dean is a creep and has ZERO RIGHTS
Lydia’s yellow dress and how excited Delia was and how relieved Charles was
Day-O was fantastic Lydia looked so happy but then it started failing and instantly she got very angry but a sad kind of angry. She had such a look of hesitation on her face when she summoned BJ but she went through with it when she looked over at her dad and he was giving Delia a kiss.
You could see in her eyes that Lydia almost instantly regretted it when she saw just how chaotic he was being, but she just kept going because she thought she had no other alternative.
Charles reaching out for Lydia before he got pushed out of the house and Lydia looking at him as if she just wanted him to come and get her? HEART BREAKING
“It’s our house now kid!”
Intermission:
I got a cool cup and bought some merch. Very cool
Act II:
When Skye came on stage someone behind me said “Who is she??” like bitch just WATCH
Dana was amazing as Skye, Skye deserves the world she is so pure
LYDIA so chaotic as Skye definitely has a bby crush on Lydia
“Boo. Hope I didn’t scare you!”- Skye
Then Lydia scares her, Skye starts hyperventilating and Lydia goes “you’re fun!” and Skye says “I like you too!”
Poor Skye :(
Poor everyone in “That Beautiful sound”
Lydia SMILING. Any time she smiled it felt like a blessing. She seemed so happy
The clones do acrobatics in the aisles I did not expect that, it was so intense
NPR where tote bags come from
“And a book you’re never going to read” “the hand book for the recently decease?” “yep but you’re not recently deceased so...do you wanna see a sad puppet show??”
Beetlejuice looking so betrayed when Lydia left....
Lydia upstairs with the Maitlands. Omg Lydia looked so cute when she was holding the book and just kinda swaying in her spot when she was talking about it
“and we? We are old book smell people”
Lydia loving the smell of old books? Cute, adorable, 10/10
Adam being a dad
ADAM BOOPING her nose with the chalk. I would DIE for them
Lydia yelling at the maitlands when they won’t help her find her mom. WOW she had so much anger behind her voice but it was so sad because you can tell she was trying not to cry
Barbara 2.0 was amazing
Lydia walking across the stage trying to open the book :(
Charles and Delia coming back for Lydia and both of them flirting with each other...like bruh you’ve come to rescue your daughter please help her....
Beetlejuice tricking Lydia :(
Delia falling off the couch and just seeing her crawl off stage to do her Ms. Argentina quick change. ICONIC
Lydia accidentally exorcising Barbara was SO MUCH SADDER THAN I HAD EXPECTED like Lydia was having a mental breakdown she was os upset and lost and confused
When Beetlejuice showed up her face went so pale and she looked so scared.
“Well you wanted your mommy so this is what you get!” I CRIED that was so uncalled for
When the whole family was trapped Lydia really looked like a scared little kid because she is...like you forget how young Lydia is but there are several moments in the show where you are reminded that she is a scared, and lonely little girl who misses her mom
Charles trying to reach out to her but being chained to a wall, heart breaking. This scene made me so sad in general
Lydia agreeing to Marry him but her voice cracking and sounding so scared :(
THE HUG SHE GIVES BARBARA before she runs off
Charles pushing Adam and Barbara down so he could follow her
The whole Netherworld scene was so good
Poor Lydia was being pushed around, and pulled, and dragged, she looked so scared. Like she would try to run away from people but they would just grab her and pull her back. She looked like she was hyperventilating and just needed a hug but any time Charles got close to her
Lydia calling for her mom in the Netherworld and crying
HOME WAS CHILLING
Charles and Lydia making uP sobbing, I legit sobbed
OTHO’s real name being Kevin...very funny
Delia had NO MERCY when she found out his name was Kevin
Adam’s name plack being “Sexy”
BJ fliritng with Adam in general was pretty funny
When BJ didn’t buy the wedding thing and went to go kill Charles Lydia did no freaking hesitate and went to go grab the art peice to kill him with
ADAM FOR THE WIN
Creepy Old guy was very funny
When BJ came back to life and everything was shaking on stage Sophia straight up yeeted her hat off stage, I laughed so loud even though nothing else funny was happening on stage
Lydia looked so mortified when she killed BJ
Juno coming back for Lydia and Lydia actaully looking scared, but then the threat paused and Juno tricked BJ with love, and then went right back to Lydia. The whole family trying to protect her...veyr soft
BJ AND THE SAND WORM
Bj giving Lydia the cowboy hat
Jump in the line made me CRY
Lydia flying :D
End of Show
Instant standing ovation
I got to stage door and got autographs from Presley, Dana, Kerry, and David
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Saudade - Ot 7 | 09
Ot7 BTS
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Rating: M (Mature)
word count: 2,188
Trigger Warnings: Hospitalization (rehab, mental institute). Mental health issues (Text Reason to 741741 if you need to reach out for help). Insinuated M x M (if you squint hard enough). Substance abuse (alcohol, pills | call 1-800-662-4357 if you are dealing with this). Weapons (gun, knife). Smoking (cigarettes, weed). Mentions of suicide/attempted suicide (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255). Violence (murder/attempted murder). Mentions of blood. Mentions of therapy sessions (these are not accurate representations, please leave it to proper professionals). Mentions of physical abuse (Call 1-800-799-7233 if you are dealing with domestic violence) WE DO NOT GLORIFY THESE WARNINGS/TRIGGERS; THIS IS A FICTIONAL STORY, AND DOES NOT RELATE TO ANY OF THE MEMBERS. IF YOU ARE DEALING WITH ANY OF THESE, PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR ASSISTANCE, OR THE NUMBERS LISTED ABOVE.
↤ Previous | 09 | Next ↦
January 14th, 2018 | 15:20
“I think he’s starting to remember.”
Yoongi’s words reverberate like a threat in his brain as he downs another bottle of soju, disregarding the shot glass he’d previously been using. The desire to quiet the voice overrides the need to take things slow. Namjoon stumbles, colliding softly with the wall. He shifts, his back sliding clumsily down until his ass hits the ground and he releases the bottle, hearing it roll across the floor a bit from him.
From his pocket he pulls out the drawing Yoongi had brought and his heart begins to thrum furiously beneath his ribs. A smudge of the graphite used tints his fingers as he unfurls the paper. Swallowing hard, he stares at the dark image, the strokes seemingly etched hurriedly on the page as if the artist felt the inspiration would disappear from his mind before he could finish it.
As he continues to stare, the raven becomes a blur, Namjoon’s eyes beginning to lose focus. Could things have been different if he had tried more? If he had intervened and forced them to talk it out, would things not have gone so far? Would they all not be so estranged from each other?
Letting his head fall back as despair washes over him, he turns to gaze over at the afternoon light streaming into his place from two square windows high above a small table and chair set against the container wall. In his peripheral vision, he makes out the tattooing needle, ink and supplies he has stored in that area and sits up, eyes widening slightly. He stumbles up onto his feet, sauntering over unsteadily before plopping down into the chair, his mind now locked on one thought only.
Tattoo the bird as tribute.
Even in his inebriated state, he doesn't worry about making a mistake. This was the one thing he was good at. His fingers are nimble, steady as he opens a new needle and attaches it to the nail gun along with the ink. An incessant buzzing soon fills the quiet space as his brows furrow in concentration.
He barely feels the pain of the needle as it rapidly punctures his flesh repeatedly, delivering the black ink to the space beneath his skin. At the faint sound of police sirens in the far distance, a memory from the prior year comes to the forefront as he focuses on each line and stroke. A memory of him and Taehyung as they’d been tagging a concrete hedge in the middle of the night. After a few drinks, the two had grown bored, looking for something to do. Taehyung had brought a few cans of spray paint and suggested they add a bit of art to the playground not too far from where they were. He hadn’t really been down for that, but Taehyung had insisted and he didn’t want him to go alone. It wasn’t long before they had reached the spot and Taehyung began spray painting the area.
They chuckled and teased each other as Tae colored the cement, both too busy enjoying themselves to notice the police car patrolling the area. Blue and red lights flashed across the wall, alerting Namjoon first. Straightening, eyes-wide, he tapped Taehyung’s arm, his chin jutting out to the area behind him, simultaneously snatching up his younger friend’s backpack. Taehyung turned, mouth and eyes turning into large O’s before the two began to run.
Though their feet pumped swiftly, eating up the pavement, they were no match for the police and were soon caught, the officers none too gentle as they slammed them against their vehicle. Namjoon couldn’t help but grin over at Taehyung as the cuffs clicked into place around his wrists. Taehyung returned the gesture with a boxy smile of his own, even as one of the officers opened his bag, the spray cans spilling out onto the asphalt below. His smile dissipates as the officer grows rougher with Namjoon, yanking him harshly, hurting his arm as they straighten him up. It was then that Namjoon noticed the shift in Taehyung’s eyes go from mirthful to worried.
He had been concerned with how the officer was treating Namjoon, but he had also come to realize that his parents would be notified of his arrest and were not going to take it well. Especially his father. Taehyung’s father was very strict and was known for physically showing his displeasure in the way of bruises and nicks that would decorate his skin.
Namjoon squeezes his eyes shut, shaking his head as if to clear the images from his mind. Letting out a heavy breath, he stands, walking towards a tall floor mirror he has leaning against the opposite wall. He’d placed it there for his clients to check out the ink he’d apply to them. Namjoon turns his forearm towards the mirror, twisting his wrist left and right as he takes in the image he’d permanently etched there.
A lump forms in his throat, as he remembers receiving a frantic phone call from Jin just a few days after Taehyung and he had been arrested.
“Slow down, Jin-hyung. I can’t understand a word you’re saying,” Namjoon urged.
He could hear Jin take in a breath and let it out before he made another attempt to convey his message.
“It’s Taehyung,” he began again, his voice shaking terribly. “He...Jesus, he tried to kill himself, man.”
“What?!” Namjoon exclaimed, his heart falling with a thud into the pit of his stomach.
“Look, we’re nearby,” he’d informed him. “Can-can I just bring him over? I can’t do this on my own.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Just have a towel and some clothes ready...for both of us.”
“Wha…”
But Jin had hung up without elaborating and after a few seconds of staring at his phone, random scenarios accosting his mind, he’d sprang into action, grabbing towels and clothes for Jin and Taehyung. And he’d been right. It had not taken but about ten minutes for them to reach his place.
After Jin had pounded on his door, Namjoon opened up to the sight of Jin holding up their younger friend. Taehyung raised his head slowly, his cobalt blue hair plastered to his head and face. He moved as if his head weighed tons, his eyes meeting Namjoons almost reluctantly. The dark orbs swam with guilt and exhaustion. Snapping to, he reached forward to help Jin bring Taehyung in.
The two assisted Tae with undressing and drying up. There was a lavender tint to his lips, his face pallid and devoid of it’s usual tanned color. His skin was icy to the touch. Namjoon shivered fearfully. They dressed him quickly and Namjoon had to bite his tongue to keep from demanding what had happened. He led him to his sofa bed while Jin went into the bathroom to switch into dry clothes.
Taehyung didn’t speak as he crawled onto the pull out bed, his eyes already fluttering closed as his head touched down on the pillow. Namjoon tucked a thick blanket around him, squeezing his shoulder gently before straightening up. Jin was just stepping out of the bathroom, his dark brown hair slightly dishevelled.
“Can we talk outside?” Jin questioned, glancing over at Taehyung’s presumably sleeping form.
Namjoon nodded and grabbed coats for both of them. Zipping them up, they stepped outside, puffs of steam expelling from their mouths as they met the cool Spring evening.
As the door clicked behind him, Namjoon could no longer wait for the details, demanding, “What happened?” Jin ran both of his hands through his hair in exasperation, his usually plump lips pressed tightly together in a thin grave line.
“My being there was just pure chance, ya know?” he started, head shaking as he paced back and forth. “I keep trying not to think about how differently this night would have turned out had I not had the fucking sudden urge to go night fishing.”
“Jin-hyung,” Namjoon insisted. “Just tell me what happened.” He paused, staring at Najmoon, his eyes full of terror.
“Like I said, I went to the pier to go night fishing, fish bite good in this type of weather.” He closed his eyes, trying to get himself back on track. “Anyway, I had casted my line when I saw the moonlight gleam off of something in the water. At first, I just thought it was a dolphin, but it wasn’t moving. I turned my flashlight towards the object and realized it was a person. I didn’t even think twice. I took off my clothes and jumped in.”
“Jesus,” Namjoon swiped a hand down his face in surprise.
“I couldn’t really see their face, I just grabbed them and swam with them to the water's edge. Once on shore, and we were beneath a street lamp, the blood drained out of my body when I saw it was Taehyung. He was so pale, his lips blue. God, I panicked for a moment, but it was just a moment. I performed CPR on him and it worked, obviously,” his hand signaled towards the door.
“How did he end up in the water?!” Namjoon exclaimed.
“When he came to, he didn’t want to say, but he finally admitted he had climbed up the scaffolding and jumped in. Since he doesn’t know how to swim, he was hoping he would drown.”
“What? Why?”
Jin shook his head, “He said he didn’t want to be a disgrace to his family.”
“Shit,” Namjoon cursed, biting at his lower lip. “His father must have reamed him pretty badly for him to want to go to this extreme.”
“Yea,” Jin agreed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of the coat.
“Look, I’ll take care of him tonight,” Namjoon dropped a comforting hand on Jin’s shoulder. “Go home, get some rest. I’ll talk to him. He’s going to be ok.”
Jin nodded, “Ok. I’ll call in the morning to check up on you two.”
Jin had left then and when Namjoon re-entered his home, Taehyung’s eyes were open, staring out, unseeing.
“Tae?” Namjoon called softly, and his eyes refocused and landed on him. “You’re ok. You’re safe now.”
“He told you,” he whispered, despondently.
“Of course he did,” Namjoon sat down cross-legged before Taehyung. “We are all brothers after all and we don’t keep things from each other.”
“Yeah,” he sighed.
“You want to tell me what happened?” Namjoon probed. “I mean, what made you want to do this?”
Taehyung drew his body into the fetal position, his brows drawing down tightly.
“My...my dad didn’t take my arrest too well,” he admitted. “He beat me when I came home and told me I was a disgrace and had brought dishonor to our family. I figured killing myself would restore my family’s honor.”
Namjoon’s eyes glittered with unshed tears, as he tried to remain strong for his young friend.
“No. Killing yourself will not restore your family’s honor, Taehyungie,” he told him softly. “Living an honorable life will. Don’t do anything to get arrested again and work hard. That’s all you have to do. Can you promise me that?”
Taehyung sighed, but nodded. “I promise.”
“OK then. Let’s get some sleep.”
Putting down a comforter on the floor, Namjoon curled up underneath a blanket next to the sofa bed, and slept knowing Taehyung was alive and well next to him.
Namjoon picks up the soju bottle he’d released earlier and throws it angrily at the mirror. What had happened to their brotherhood and their promise to never keep things from each other? The glass shatters, falling in a glittering cascade at his feet. He looks down, his reflection a broken image across hundreds of shards. He catches sight of the white lily tattoo on his other forearm that he’d previously given himself.
“Namjoon, listen, it’s Jin,” his hyung sighs heavily into the phone. “I got a missed call from Taehyung earlier. He’s been arrested again. He asked me not to tell you, but you know what happened last time and I couldn’t…. You have to get him out. We can’t let his parent’s find out this time.”
Namjoon replays the voicemail left the previous night, cursing himself for drinking that night and not bothering to charge his phone.
Namjoon takes the picture of the bird and walks to his kitchen to grab another drink, whiskey this time, pouring it into a short glass. Pulling a lighter from his pocket, he brings the sheet towards it as he flicks it open. The paper instantly kindles, growing brighter as the flame licks up the dry surface. Namjoon’s eyes follow the chard edge as it swallows up the initials that had been scribbled on the back. When there is nothing but a corner left, he drops it into the amber liquid. As the hiss quiets, he brings the alcohol to his lips. The ash and whisky slide down past his lips to mingle in his gut with the beer and soju he had previously drunk. Jin's pale face flashes before his eyes just as he passes out in a heap on the floor.
#bts#bts fic#bts writing#bts ot7#bts ot7 fic#bts Namjoon#bts rm#bts seokjin#bts jin#bts yoongi#bts suga#bts hoseok#bts jhope#bts jimin#bts taehyung#bts tae#bts v#bts jungkook#saudade#chapter 9#psychological thriller
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The King - 6
Pairing: Koh!Tom x reader
warnings: Fluff, smut
Summary: Tom and y/n are getting married.
A/n: I marker where the smut starts.
<- previous
———
The last day had come, the last day where y/n known as y/n y/l/n, the fiancee of the king. After this day she was y/n Holland, Queen of hell. It was written in the stars that this would happen.
Even though Tom hated heaven, like he said on many occasions, he would be fine with y/n wearing a white dress to show her purity, to show that a small part of her was still from heaven. However, y/n decided on a black gown that fitted her body tight. It was a flowery pattern at her top and it gradually became wider after her the bumps of her formed ass.
Her make-up was done with precision, her eyes were smoky and her lipstick was a bright red, it sprung out from the black shades that covered her body and face. Y/n wore black heels and had a bouquet of red roses. The entire setting of the night was then again, black and red. It showed her love for hell and how y/n didn’t belong anywhere except in the arms of Tom down in their kingdom.
All the maids were surrounding y/n making sure every part of her look was complete, to know that they weren’t missing anything. Even the lace black lingerie y/n was wearing was carefully picked out by them. The fabric was picked out with Tom in mind, there was no beating around the bush, y/n wanted to look amazing for him at the wedding night. She wanted to have her last piece of purity taken away from her and she wanted it to be filled with lust and love.
“Are you ready, miss y/l/n” one of the souls asked y/n. “I am” y/n smiled at the maid, it was y/n’s wedding day and she was ready for it to be the best day of her life.
Together they walked through the corridor to the hall where the ceremony would be officiated. Dominic was waiting there, he would walk y/n down the aisle since y/n lacked a father. “Thank you y/n, he doesn’t show it but Tom needed you”
“Thank you sir” it was a big compliment for y/n, she knew that she was there to help Tom, but because of that little sentence she knew that her help was working.
“Let’s go” Dominic held his arm out for y/n to link hers with. The bridal march started to play and together they walked down the aisle.
Tom was waiting for his beautiful bride to join him so that they could be forever forever, joined for eternity by a vow from the heart.
“And I thought you couldn’t get any more beautiful” Tom whispered to y/n. “You look beautiful too” y/n bit the inside of her cheek to restrain her from kissing Tom.
The ceremony started and y/n and Tom couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. They slowly devoured each other with their glances. Tom was wearing a fitting suit with a sleek black tie. He looked hot with his normally messy curls slicked back.
“You may now kiss the bride” the officiator said. He didn’t need to tell Tom twice. Tom grabbed y/n’s waist and pulled her closer to his body. They shared a deep kiss.
Everyone clapped as they parted, “nice job mate” Harrison patted his back. Together y/n and Tom walked away from the hall where the ceremony was officiated.
~~smut~~
The minutes flew by and soon they found themselves in front of the ballroom where the reception was going on.
They entered through the doors and the soft music for their first dance started playing. “May I have this dance” Tom bowed. “You may” Y/n chuckled before curtsying. They swayed over the floor to the rhythm of the beat. They were in perfect sync as their bodies moved against each other.
Y/n felt Tom’s breath fawning on her bare shoulder. They had been intimate like this many times before, their bodies pressed against each other while the sexual tension rose. This time, y/n had another plan for the end. The only reason that Tom’s cock hadn’t been in y/n’s body was because of y/n. She was too scared to let anything happen. However, this night was their wedding night and she had been swallowing birth control pills for the last few days so that she could feel him bare. This was their first night and it would be very memorable if it was up to y/n.
“Tom” y/n looked up in his eyes, her own were blown with a strange mixture between love and lust. “Yes darling?” Tom looked at his queen with a new look, because she had a new look. Instead of seeing those innocent eyes Tom grew to love, he saw dark orbs that were mentally ripping off his clothes. “Let’s make out first night as husband and wife count” Y/n whispered seductively in his ear.
Tom wasn’t going to say no to this, he had been waiting one year for this moment, instead of having the pleasure to place his cock in someone he had to make do with his own hands. It was painful but worth it, because the reward he would have when y/n’s head would bob up and down his dick would be victorious.
They said their goodbyes to their friends and family and hurried down the corridor to their bedroom, where they had shared many nights, but none would top this one.
“God darling you look ravishing in that dress, I can’t wait to take it off” Tom muttered before attacking y/n’s lips, he licked the bottom of her lip to ask for entrance. Y/n gladly opened her mouth and their tongues danced together. “Then take it off” y/n didn’t know where this confidence came from, but she didn’t mind as Tom clearly was enjoying it. “Whatever you say”
He zipped open the back of the dress and it fell to the ground, pooled at y/n’s feet. Her black lacy underwear were on full display and Tom marveled at the sight. “God darling, you’re going to be the death of me” Tom ripped his tie away and strutted closer to y/n. Her body trembled as Tom stalked over, like hunter and a prey.
“Are you sure you want this?” he asked her, he didn’t want to push any limits, it was all about her comfort. “I’m sure Tommy” the nickname rolled so sweet pit of y/n’s mouth. They shared another kiss, ot was rough and demanding, it showed that Tom was in charge here.
Y/n tugged at Tom’s shirt letting him know what she wanted. Tom ripped his shirt off and discared the rest of his outfit. It left him bare and his cock was erect, already dripping with some pre-cum. Y/n followed, unclasping her bra and shoving her panties down, the lace was soaking wet with y/n’s arousel.
Tom reached out to grab a condom, but y/n stopped him, “No need I’m on the pill” she blushed slightly at the bluntness of her words. “You’ve been expecting this?” Tom raised his eyebrows slightly, he was feeling proud in a weird way. “Well- I- I want this”
“Well then I guess I have to please your wishes” Tom lined himself up with y/n’s entrance, he was feeling ecstatic by the feeling of his bare tip at her pussy. “Tell me if it hurts” he slowly entered y/n making sure she could adjust to his big size.
“Awh Tom~” Y/n moaned as his manhood entered her. Her nails found Tom’s back and she tried to hold anything, but her attempts for steadiness caused red claw marks on Tom’s body. He waited in there for a while to make sure that y/n was comfortable. He might have waited too long because y/n started moving her hips to get some friction.
Tom took the hint and he started moving out of y/n, before moving forward again. The thrusts were slow and senual. Tom placed his head in the crook of y/n’s neck as he kept thrusting. “Tommy~”
“Keep it up like that and I won’t last long darling” Tom groaned out. Y/n’s words alone could drive Tom insane. Their moans filled the room as they continued to reach their highs. It wasn’t long after that Tom’s thrust became messier and y/n’s walls tightened.
With their screams echoing through the room the came, their juices mixed as they released. The pleasure rang through their ears as Tom’s soft cock was still in y/n’s body. They stayed like that for a while, Tom’s head in the crook of y/n’s neck and his dick in her body. They were closer than ever, they laid in a silence as they processed what happend.
“Thank you this was amazing” Y/n whispered. “It really was” Tom pulled himself out of her, he turned them around and wrapped his arm around her fragile body. “I love you baby” Tom kissed the top of y/n’s head. “I love you too Tommy” y/n snuggled closer to her husband’s body. They were happy in each other’s arms, they were the king and queen and they were bonded for life.
———
Masterlist
Taglist: @loxbbg
The King taglist: @mazzellhoe @sarah-moss2015 @laucontrerasv @wonders-of-the-multiverse @theelilbritt @tragicluver @quacksonhq @danicarosaline
#tom holland reader insert#tom holland fic#tom holland x reader#tom holland fluff#tom holland smut#tom holland imagine#tom holland fanfic#tom holland fanfiction#tom holland imagines#tom holland#koh!tom x reader#koh!tom holland
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...You know, I have been thinking a bit about this past decade. My memory is crap to be honest but looking back at it... It sure was a mess of ups and downs.
It started with me leaving highschool after failing the second year, as I’ve grown too tired and annoyed by the dumbness of its teaching methods. In that year then I have started attending to a, uhm, I think I can call it a specialization school for making comics. Despite having turned 18 in those years, I was still very immature, and ended up leaving that school as well as I considered their final goal to be bullshit (even tho now that I look back at it it kind of had sense).
Still, while I have ended up disliking that school, as I both hated the fact that they said they welcomed all styles when in the end they still favored non-manga styles and the fact that I ended up hating one specific classmate that even made me get sick at one point... I am thankful for that school. Before then, my dumb immature self was your typical “ew western media sucks, manga and the anime is the best!!!”, but that school make me open up to western media... and I started appreciating it more. It led me to eventually discover VALVe’s games, specifically Team Fortress 2, and I have met so many friends with it. And while I hated how my art was taking western inspirations from my full One Piece-influenced style, and I still hate to this day how my art had suffered in those years, I am thankful for it, because my style is now more unique and personal and I actually like it.
In those years I have also obtained my driving license and a motorbike to drive with, which ended up with me giving up with it between the bike being difficult for me to handle, and attempted getting a scuba diving license as at the time I loved the idea of learning the activity, to which I ended up giving up as I really couldn’t deal with the salt water getting in my eyes, and the one time I was actually able to do a successful immersion, I ended up with my inner ears getting an irritation and causing any successive immersion impossible in order to get the license.
But then, after I left that school in the middle of the second year of three, things just... started spiraling downwards. What followed was half a decade of pretty much lurking in my room. I rarely got out of my room, I often refused to go out with my family, and the first signs of depression started showing up. And if that wasn’t enough, in those years we had my sister’s first puppy dying shortly after she bought it, her second dog giving me headaches, mom discovering she had glaucoma and started treatment to at least slow it down, to which she started getting into depression as well, my dad leaving home because he was tired of maintaining us, leaving one daughter barely doing anything with her life, the other daughter who at the time was still struggling to continue university and had a young dog to take care of, a wife who just went through an operation to her eyes and was horrified at the idea of not being able to drive anymore, all three of us without any kind of income of our own, and two aging cats of which one was starting to show signs of sickness, in complete shit. That episode caused mom to have a serious breakdown and was hospidalized and successively put into recovery.
What followed that episode was years of complete mess. My depression got worse, sis found love and left home to stay with him, mom came to meet a person who she felt love for and at the time helped her recover and come out of her heartbroken shell, which while she was happy with him, both me and sis saw something was wrong with him. And soon enough, a couple years later his true nature started to show, but mom was too blinded through anti-depressant meds and other stuff and it took her 3-4 years before she was finally able to leave him just this month. Until then, it was a complete mess between them and us.
In these recent years however, between all the mess that happened to which I only have bad memories of, something good did happen. I started learning more about myself. Thanks to a failed attempt at consulting a psychologist, who turned out to be an old incompetent witch, I was finally able to figure out the one fear that was ruining me all those years, it turning out to be a fear of others’ judgement upon whatever I am or do. And while I still didn’t get over it, it has helped to at least aknowledge it.
Then, the best year for me happened. In 2017, as I had given up on trying to get attention and a following after so many years of envying other artists I admired, I got into a game I would have never guessed I would have ended up liking. I started having fun with my art and ideas again, drawing mostly for myself. And just like that, I started getting quite the following for the content I delivered for it. My art made a lot of people happy. I can still remember the warmth in my heart from those days.
Then it got even better. Not even half a year later, I randomly doodled one particular character, from an old project I had given up on working on for the lack of interest on it, during a stream. My watchers loved him. They wanted ot know more. It sparked the itch to revisit the idea just for the hell of it. I drew a little more for it. People loved it. The happiness I felt in those days was immense. I kept playing with that project. People loved whatever I drew. It was liek a dream.
But dreams eventually end, and between what was happening in real life at the time and the shift of attention getting away from my content, it contributed in my depression to come back with a vengeance and make me feel worse about myself.
Then, 2019 arrived. This year was, a complete mess, even more than the previous years. Mom was struggling between leaving her companion who turned out to be a piece of shit and trying to finally start gaining any money with her new job who she has been struggling with for the past 2 years. And I have reached a point in which I was seriously scared of my future, and eventually accepted the offer my sister and mom proposed to me. As in temporarely move to my sister’s new home in order to find a job in her area. What I found was a seasonal job, which turned out to be hell for me. This was the worst summer of my life... but it also allowed me to grow as a person. I came to realize I was still a kid and needed to grow up, I finally got comfortable with driving on a road... but eventually returned home after the job ended as I didn’t want to be a bother to my sister. I was convinced that now that I had a vehicle of my own, it would have been easier for me to find a job in my hometown’s area. That was a mistake. Then mom returned to live back at home definitely, with her ex companion keeping tormenting her for all these months... and I ended up with the car incident in which my bike ended up getting damaged beyond repair.
I feel like I’ve taken steps back and returned at page one with my life... but you know what? I’m optimistic. I feel motivated in making something out of this year. I WANT to conclude something out of this year.
This past decade has been a mess, but I’m optimistic that this new one can, and will, be better. It just starts with a thought.
“I want to be productive.”
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Work Things
a Clauses and Contracts short ft. Kennyo
Modern AU
Word Count: 1534
A/N: Please accept his completely self-indulgent Kennyo fluff.
~☆~
Keena Kumo
Picrew: https://picrew.me/image_maker/27323
~☆~
A frustrated huff blasted from Keena's lips as she pranced in place outside the carnival gates. Wrapping her arms around herself to retain heat proved to be in vain as the same chilling winds that turned her breath white snatched away all warmth into the twilight sky. How was she supposed to know Old Man Winter would decide to blow through town several weeks early? It was a freak of nature and a horribly timed one at that! And no matter how great she looked in the black sleeveless blouse, it just wasn't cut out for this kind of weather.
"Miss?"
She turned on her heels just as a particularly strong gust of frost laced wind whipped her hair across her face, skewing her balance and sending her face-first into the sidewalk pavement. Or at least it would have, if not for the enveloping warmth of a summer's day that helped her back on her feet.
"Kennyo? Thank you!" Was it her imagination or did his cheeks blush a shade of red that matched her hair? Just as she focused her attention to confirm it for herself, Kennyo rolled his shoulders to shrug off his jacket.
"You're freezing," he grumbled while settling the garment around her, the transferred heat acting as a balm on her chilled skin. "Why didn't you wait for me inside a shop?"
"In my excitement to get here, I forgot my phone at home to message you and didn't want any chance of you thinking I stood you up." There! It's not my imagination, he did blush! The blossoming color was a welcomed sign to her nerves. It wasn't much of a secret to the rest of accounting that she had been crushing on the executive since meeting him shortly after the merger was announced.
To ensure a smooth transition of accounts, Keena was chosen and placed on a special OT finance team that had spent several months occupying office space on the UTT marketing floor. Lead accountants, of course, sat directly in front of the managerial offices at the head of their bays and squarely in his line of sight.
And danger zone of coffee spills, but that's another story.
The weeks following one particularly disastrous fateful morning saw plenty of shared smiles and banter between the two but neither taking the extra leap until Shingen himself popped in unexpectedly and all but refused to move from his selected place against the wall as he chattered amicably with several ladies on break.
"And what of you, Goddess? Will you be joining us?"
"Hmm?" Keena glanced up from her computer and found several eyes upon her, the tell-tale sign she hadn't paid the visitor any attention. "Joining who for what?"
The tall executive feinted a shot to the heart before grinning down as a round of giggles sounded around her from the other ladies. "Every now and then the departments get together for social hour. I was just letting your team know they were welcomed to join us this Friday night. I'll be there as well of course."
"Oh, well… that sounds great but, uh…" What was wrong with her? Wasn't she just lamenting last night over wine that she doesn't get out enough? Yet, now that an opportunity arose, here she was backpedaling and looking for a scapegoat.
"Not this time, Shingen."
All eyes turned toward the dark-haired manager still sitting at his office desk but not at all ignoring the ongoing conversation. "Ms. Kumo will be attending a work… thing."
Praises!
"A work… thing?" A single, auburn eyebrow rose as Shingen's grin grew wider while turning toward his friend and mimicked Kennyo's voice inflections. "My friend, you don't ever attend work things."
"This one's different."
"I can see that…" A bark of laughter with a quick glance back to Keena. "Who else will be attending?"
"Middle managers."
"From where?"
"Everywhere." Kennyo dropped the papers he'd been flipping through and leveled Shingen with a raised brow of his own. "Now, would you move along and allow everyone back to work?"
And so that Friday night saw her attending a very Not Work Thing with the soon-to-be Director of Marketing. As well as the following five Fridays, plus two Saturdays when she joined him in volunteering at the local animal shelter. Now, they were attending an autumn carnival together. However, he was so reserved even when they had Friday dinner and drinks together that she was beginning to think her feelings were completely one-sided. Yes, they interacted every day and he always gifted her a small smile in morning greetings-- something no one else received, she noticed-- but that didn't mean his feelings ventured beyond friendship.
So, blushing at only a vague hint of anything romantic? Very good news.
"Won't you get cold though? The carnival will be here next week and we can go somewhere else tonight if you like."
"No need to worry for me, Miss." A breeze threatened to strew several locks of hair across her face again until his fingers reached out almost instinctively to gently brush them back in place. Once satisfied with their placement, his hand fell back to his side and while he nodded to the entrance. "Shall we go?"
"Yes! I am ready for corn dogs, cheese curds, and deep fried Twinkies!"
"Fried what?"
"It's a carnival, Kennyo. Everything is fried, coated in sugar, or topped with bacon. Sometimes all three." The look of horror that dashed across his face sent her into a fit of giggles that only sobered when they finally passed through the admission gates.
Lights, music, and laughter filled the evening as the duo made their way through the crowds to various food vendors, fun houses, and game stalls in an attempt to win the featured prizes. Two goldfish and a purple panda later, Keena happily chowed down on a deep fried confection of the chocolate variety as they exited the carnival to head home.
"Sure you don't want a bite?"
"Positive." Kennyo responded without hesitation.
"You don't know what you're missing…"
"Aside from indigestion and heartburn?"
Her nose wrinkled teasingly as she finished the treat and turned her attention to the two water filled bags Kennyo carried. "Jack and Rose?"
"Pardon?"
"The fish. They need names, right?"
"So you choose that movie?"
"Hey, that movie is a classic of our time." She retorted as she contemplated further. "Han and Leia? Wesley and Buttercup?"
"What makes you think they'll be a couple?"
"Rocky and Bullwinkle?"
Rumbling laughter spilled from a grin that warmed her more than the jacket still about her shoulders. If the smiles he greeted her with every morning were gifts, then this was a blessing from a thousand benevolent deities that stole both breath and words from her. He still had the hint of a smile when he looked down at her again.
No wonder he keeps a perpetual almost-scowl on his face at all times… he'd cause half the floor to faint if he smiled more.
She must have been staring again for he cleared his throat and glanced to his watch. "It's getting late. Are you ready to head home before it gets any colder?"
No... no I'm not! "I suppose," she sighed instead, choosing the adultier response. The fish probably needed to get out of those bags anyway. At least he'll get to see where I live! Maybe I can ask him in and--
No, bad Keena! Down, girl, down!
Not trusting her mouth to keep the insinuating invitation to itself, she kept conversation limited to short navigational directions until they were finally at the stop of her apartment building. "Same time at the shelter tomorrow?"
"Yes, if you'd like to join me again that is, not that you have to. I'm sure that there are a number of other ways you'd rather spend your Saturday." His eyes shifted to his shoes as if he were inspecting an invisible stain to hide another flash of pink over his cheeks.
It's really not fair how cute you can be sometimes… Keena stepped onto the first step and stood on toe tips to place a chaste kiss across one of those reddened crests. All before she realized what she'd done. Or considered his personal space. Or even asked? Oh God, what did I do? He'll never--
Her internal panic was cut off by Kennyo's lips on her own cheek, mimicking her actions with the same gentleness he handled newborn kittens at the shelter. Warmth blossomed from the soles of her feet to her ears and even under where his nose still lingered, as if he too were wondering if this moment were real. She wanted more but didn't dare push him too fast. She met his gaze and within swirled a reflection of her own desire for more yet reservation as if he were scared of pushing her too fast. He needed it in words.
"Kennyo…" her voice was barely more than the puff of white that lifted between them. "Kennyo, it's ok."
Those beautiful onyx orbs widened a fraction as he processed her words before gently brushing a mass of crimson curls over one shoulder and closed the remaining space between them.
~☆~
Master List // Ko-Fi // Ao3
~☆~
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What’s wrong with the characters in TROS
Obviously, Spoilers.
None of the characters were treated properly in this movie. And, before we go one by one, there are some things to consider. First and foremost, Rian Johnson went deep with trying to understand what each one of them would do and why. So, in a way, he’s given JJ the perfect outline of what they should do next. The only thing he had to do is listen. But somewhere it went wrong, so we went back to one dimensional archetypes, lifted straight from the OT. More mythical, less human, more standard, less unique. Let’s take a look.
Finn
Let’s face it, if and when somebody really stole John Boyega’s script, the only thing they found there was the line “Rey” randomly scheduled for different points in the movie. There is an attempt to make up for that with Force-sensitivity, but that’s a hint that you just don’t drop in the last movie of a trilogy. And that’s what TROS is supposed to be, a finale to the two movies that came before. And with Finn’s complete lack of knowledge or understanding of the Force that we’ve seen in the comics or books, it really has no place there. Where was that famous story group? Maybe taking a day off.
Finn has nothing to do in the movie, since there was no story for him. He just tagged along with Rey or Poe, became a general through nepotism, even though there were much more experienced people for that job, and ultimately, he was just there as a plot device several times.
Rose
That’s one of the worst cases. JJ spent a lot of time saying how glad he is to Johnson that he’s cast Kelly. Then he simply didn’t write a story for her either. Because you know, galaxy is not a place for a righteous optimistic girl. (Unless she’s a Palpatine)
And I would’ve written more, but well… it was wrong and that’s just it.
Poe
Poe already has a backstory. So what do you do? As a writer, you try to understand how to work his guilt from TLJ into TROS. But as someone who’s trying their best to undo TLJ, you just throw it all away and play off of similarities with Han. He’s charismatic, shoots well, flies well. Done, make him a smuggler. The whole unnecessary retcon kind of might work for general audience, since most people never learned anything from his past. With TLJ they’ve learned who he is now, but did they even need more? He already went through all the needed changes, to get him to lead the rebellion.
The only in-character moment was his rant at Rey, where he says that she is the best fighter, and they need her.
The most out of character moment is him blaming his so-called friends for being an ex-stormtrooper and a Scavenger. Man, you chose to do that, they were forced into it.
Zorii
Why was she even there? Nepotism maybe? Cool costume? Merchandise? I don’t know, but she was not there to serve the story.
Allegiant General Pryde
Pretty much the same thing as Zorii.
Hux
Poor character. I mean, really. He was a fanatic of the First Order, of the Empire, and all the evil regimes. This was pretty well pictured up to the point when one brave writer decided that his hate for the newly self proclaimed Supreme Leader is stronger than his hate for… let’s call it lack of Order. It seemed from his story, that he’d be the first in line to pledge allegiance to the Emperor. But surprises never cease in TROS. Not for a moment. Also, JJ deals with him in a matter of minutes. Done, and done. Next.
Jannah
What a cool character, for a show or a spin off. She has potential, I’ll give her that. Naomi Ackie is likable enough to carry her own show. But there was no need for her in TROS. Partly because it’s way too late for new characters, and partly because she’s also not given much to do. That mumbo-jumbo about the Force and troopers defecting, that’s a nice sentiment. But also could have been done by any random trooper.
Leia
Let’s not talk about her being in the movie, let’s stay on character topic. Her Jedi training was just a very random last minute concept, probably straight out of Legends. And she could’ve just as well been giving Rey pep talks or reach Ben without it. So that’s more of a “just why” moment. The part would have been the same, the lightsaber wouldn’t have existed, but that is still very fixable.
Palpatine/Snoke/All the Sith
Just why would you even bring him back? Anakin brought balance, killing him, got his redemption, taught the audience the primitive rule that only death is truly redeeming (which worked fine in the 70s), and Palpatine died. But then he was back because reasons, and we don’t need to see how or why. He also now is All-the-Sith-in-One, and very very powerful. Apparently, at least one character spends their off screen time learning. So… good for him?
If they wanted ancient evil, I’d rather they went with Plagueis. He could’ve seen the rise and fall of the Empire, he could’ve fooled death and he could’ve easily fooled his apprentice along with Kylo and obviously Rey. It even works perfectly within the concept of balance where “Darkness rises, and Light to meet it”.
To be even more honest, I’d prefer that TROS was just concluding the trilogy, without bringing up old bad guys. There is still plenty of those in the next-gen.
Rey/All-The-Jedi
As every imaginable critic has already stated, one of the most inspiring messages of The Last Jedi was “you could come from nothing and become something”. And this way Rey would have been a perfect representation to any girl of how you build yourself with the help of your friends. That is what fairy tales are usually about. That or space princesses, heirs to Palpatine, who, we have to believe, had a son. At this point it would be way better if the stranger on Pasaana did randomly name her Solo (imagine that).
But my verdict is that Rey’s story in this movie wasn’t necessary, and was a rehashed story of Kylo Ren. Think about it, he was fighting the light in his bloodline, and tried every imaginable thing to destroy it, but still couldn’t. Not that it’s a bad idea, it’s just that we’ve seen in already in 2015. The character had a clear path ahead of her after TLJ, but again, she was forced into a completely different story. Just because she wants to be a Jedi really bad, doesn’t mean that she is immune to the Dark Side, because she’s not immune to fear. One scary vision of her on the Dark Side, and that’d be enough. Not to shoot lightning, but to go a bit dark, effectively pushing her adversary closer to the Light. And that would’ve been fine.
But she had to be All-The-Jedi instead, didn’t she. Funny how that’s now a thing, and we still have separate Force Ghosts of Luke and Leia (but not a certain Solo). This whole things falls apart, and if someone just reread the story at least once the day after it was finished, they would see it.
Somehow, the movie comes down to Palpatime defeating a Palpatine, and Skywalkers were in this Saga there for the show.
Kylo Ren/Ben Solo/The last Skywalker
His story feels fairly well done, except for a few moments. Because in TLJ, hу killed Snoke, we were lead to believe that he would come into his own. We also know what a nerd he is, so he probably has some knowledge of who Palps is, and how his kind operates. Now when he delivers the line “I killed Snoke, I’ll kill you”, I believe him. When he starts asking questions, I don’t. And that’s because it’s written, it’s there on paper, but that’s something the character refused to do willingly.
This happens a few times, and probably the cringiest of them all is when the writer forces him to say that Rey is a Palpatine. Because that’s the first time we hear that out loud, and aside from thinking “No-nо-no not that”, we experience a case of disbelief. That’s not how we wanted this to go, and that’s not how the story was supposed to work.
Then there are wonderful scenes with Rey and with Han, the ones we were always supposed to get, and then the awaited redemption. That was the story, the one that resonates with his character. What does not is what happens after — yeah, the pit. The last Skywalker spends his final battle, the destiny of his bloodline in the pit, while the Jedi choose to support Rey.
His death is another choice that I deem unnecessary, and a bit lazy. You need to live with your mistakes and learn to forgive yourself, while working through your issues. But sure, death it is.
Overall
Probably the biggest mistake of this movie is letting a Palpatine take the Skywalker name, and letting the last Skywalker be pretty much forgotten. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Rey’s supposed bloodline defines her, but it just doesn’t sit well with me. She’s lost someone important, a soulmate, and so many fans felt the loss, imagine how she supposed to feel. Her next stage would be Dark Side, because she by no means can live with that. And that’s far from a hopeful message.
A happy ending for this space fairy tale would’ve been the only reasonable choice.
#tros#the rise of palpatine#the rise of skywalker#tros spoilers#reylo#rey#kylo ren#ben solo#finn#poe#rose tico#general hux#star wars#long reads
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Chapter 2: The Elven Kingdom
Lynn was starting to regret her decision as she walked in the middle of the group of… rather annoyed ‘elves’ down the street. One of them had attempted to tie her hands which -- no. Wasn’t happening. It was bad enough she was going somewhere with half a dozen group of kids she didn’t know, she wasn’t letting them tie her hands up while she was at it.
Honestly if they’d dealt with Lyssie earlier she wasn’t sure WHAT they expected as a reaction to that BUT a black eye. My knuckles hurt… I need to leave the punching to Lyssie, she thinks absently as the now half-blind elf glared at her.
They led her down the street, past the house next door, and the one next to that, and the one next to that… it was obvious when they reached the place. Besides it being the last one on the end of the road -- no, wait, it looked like there were more further down, past the train track? -- she could see a massive… platform? Wrapped around the tree in the back yard with flags flying off of it, and more kids in similar costumes up in it.
Ah, well, that explains the distinct feeling I’m getting of being watched.
Lynnea was herded into the house, through the living room and out the backdoor of the kitchen -- was every house here set up the same way? -- and into, as was proclaimed on the giant banner hanging overhead, the Elven Kingdom. She was so distracted by the almost impressive amount of detail put into the backyard ‘kingdom,’ that it took her a moment to realize that she was still being pushed forward, stopping in front of a platform near the back fence.
Three boys her age were on top of it -- two standing on either side of a deck-chair turned throne, and one sitting in it, “So,” the kid-presumed-king started, “YOU’RE the new kid everyone is talking about.”
Not quite, but we’ll go with that. Lynnea shrugged a little.
Ooooh he didn’t like that, “What’s your name?”
~&~&~&~&~&~
There was a loooooong moment of silence before one of the elves Kyle had sent to bring the New Kid to him finally spoke up, “He doesn’t talk, elf king. He thinks he’s hot shit or something.”
Kyle glanced over at Stan, who shrugged helplessly. Not like HE could make the kid talk if he didn’t want to… Kyle exhaled, standing up from the throne and walking to the edge of the platform it was built on, looking down at the kid, “You’re playing for the wrong side dude!” He folded his hands behind his back, starting to pace back and forth, “What did Wizard Fatass tell you? That the humans are all goodness and justice? He’s the most corrupt, evil asshole here! Ever since he took the stick he’s made everyone’s lives hell unless you’re paying HIM to let you be in HIS army!”
Stan was watching the new kid closely as Kyle launched into a speech that was about 40% trying to reason with this guy, and 60% lambasting Cartman. This could easily be a trick that the humans had set up -- he wouldn’t put it past the fatass -- but… the new kid just looked confused.
Something wasn’t adding up here, Stan realized. All their information said that the New Kid had run into Butters a couple hours earlier, when the elves had caught him staking out the newly bought house at the end of the block. By all accounts, when the elves had raided Koopa Keep, the New Kid had been there, already sworn into Cartman’s army and helping defend the place.
But this kid wasn’t armored up, they didn’t have a weapon, and they’d come peacefully when asked. Well. Relatively peacefully, he amended, seeing the black eye that one of the Enforcers was nursing. And while they were definitely listening to Kyle, they didn’t seem to actually be comprehending anything he was saying. Almost like…
“Your Majesty,” Stan tried to interrupt. Kyle kept on, having worked himself up into a rant about Cartman now, “Elf King?”
Nnnnope.
“Kyle!” Stan finally shouted, breaking character.
Kyle startled, looking over at him, “Dude, what?!” Stan pointed at the new kid who looked -- confused.
Hella confused.
Kyle frowned, then his eyes widened in realization, “You… have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?” He asked.
The new kid shook his head, and a huge grin broke out across Kyle’s face, “Ha! Yes, I knew that cheating fucking fatass was lying!”
“But my king, the messenger ravens --” Chris started to protest.
“Cartman’s a fucking master of manipulation, he’s probably got Butters or Scott or someone dressed up and going around pretending ot be the new kid,” Kyle said, coming down off his dais to be on level with the guy, “Okay, look. Cartman’s a cheating bastard and a racist asshole. He’s the one who sent Butters down to your house to scope out when you came outside so he could snatch you up first. I mean, he’s called his army the KKK.”
The new kid’s eyebrows went up practically to their hairline, “Yeah, I know. Look, we REALLY need to keep the Stick of Truth away from the humans so Zaron can go back to not sucking for everyone not in Kupa Keep. Think you can help us out?”
At this rate, Kyle might not even need to threaten to tell everyone that the New Kid was a butthole.
The new kid tilted their head contemplatively, and made a gesture with their hand -- it took Kyle a moment to parse it as a ‘go on,’ “Wha -- oh, right, you probably want an actual explanation, don’t you?” He asked. Years of being friends with Kenny had given him at least SOME knowledge of how to read body cues, “You… really don’t talk at all, huh?”
The New Kid shook his head, miming a zipper over his lips. Right. So either couldn’t talk, or was REALLY dedicated to the whole mute thing.
Well, Kenny was wearing a dress, this was not the weirdest thing to happen this week.
“Alright. Lemme start from the beginning then,” Kyle said, hopping up to sit on the edge of the platform, “Deep in the forests of Zaron, the Drow Elves of Larnion have been at war with the humans of Kupa Keep for as long as anyone can remember…”
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