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leggomylino · 5 years ago

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light switch 2 | yandere!seungmin

Genre: Yandere, romance/fluff (sorta?), thriller, a little angst, some comedy

Pairing(s): yandere!Seungmin x reader

Word count: ~8k

Warnings: Author rambling, run-on sentences, mild language (censored), a few memes, moments of high tension and possible anxiety, ooc, and mild abuse/violence

A/N: Requests are open! | Masterlist in bio! | I told you guys I was working on this!! Lol I’m so sorry it took so long! :(( But, nevertheless, here it is! ...And yes, there’s a surprise waiting for you at the end... >u>” Enjoy!! And please be sure to tell me what you think! c: I love hearing from you all~ <3 (For those of you that missed it, part one can be found here)

Oh my gosh it’s finally back

Can you believe it’s finally back

Seriously what took this chick {author} so long to write this sh*t wtfudge man

Okay okay I know I’m sorry

It’s been really chaotic and I’ve had a lot on my plate (and mind) but we’re finally back now and that’s all that matters

My question to you all is

ARE YOU READY TO FINISH THIS THING?!

(enter your response here)

...THEN YEEHAW LET’S GO

Okay so

To recap:

AT A CERTAIN DANDY BOY™ HOUSE

Your mother had just made a phone call to Seungmin asking to talk to you

She wanted to remind you to bring the mail inside before y’all got too comfortable and side-tracked since you told her you were at Minnie’s (a fatal error on your part) and she and your father are out of town on a cliche business trip

Things always go wrong during cliche business trips

Anyway Minnie was pretty confused at first but he caught on pretty quickly that something was up

Something rotten in the state of Your Town Name Here

And knowing that you must have lied he decided to play along, beginning to gather the materials he needed

*cue ominous soap opera music*

“......”

“...Seungmin? Is everything alright?” Her voice is growing more and more worried with each consonant. “Where’s (y/n)?”

“......”

He laughs.

Just laughs for a moment, shaking his head.

“...Yeah, yes, she’s here. Sorry, my connection has been on the fritz lately.”

“O-Oh, I see...can I talk to her?”

“She’s in the bathroom getting cleaned up right now. I’ll have her call you as soon as she’s out...”

He paces over to the blinds, peeking out into the neighborhood from his second story window. Like a lot of cliche villains or suspicious people do. “...but it may be a while. You know how long she takes just to brush her teeth.”

Mrs. (L/n) gives a relieved, but still somewhat nervous chuckle, sighing at the end to ease her tension. “Yes, I certainly do. Thanks so much, Minnie. I know I can count on you to take good care of my little girl.”

“Yes...” He smiles, nuzzling the phone between his ear and shoulder as he’s scouring his room for things: a bottle labeled “Witch Hazel”, some cloth, a copy of his dad’s car key...as well as an additional key he never thought he’d get to use until now. “You can always count on me. I promise she’ll be out like a light before the clock strikes twelve.”

“That’s a relief. In that case just tell her to bring the mail in, would you? Thanks again!”

“It’s not a problem. Good night, Mrs. (L/N).”

“You too dear.”

Beep. He hangs up.

Looks back out the window. Sighs.

It wouldn’t be a problem at all.

“...at least, not for long.”

~~~

Back at Lucas’ house...well really, your imagination...you’re having a nightmare you used to have as a child

You’re walking down the street, minding your own business...

When all of a sudden the sky turns red, then black

The faces of the people around you turn sinister; they look like they want to hurt you

You begin to run as fast as you can, but your whole body is weighed down, like gravity is twice as strong on you

But not on anyone else

So while the people who are slowly turning into monsters are gaining on you

All you can do is cower in fear and pray that it will be over quickly

But then there’s a burst of white light

Like a light switch has been flipped on

And the ground crumbles beneath you, bursts of white shining through the cracks

And you go tumbling down into the earth

Down

Until you land into a pair of soft, strong arms

Your face instantly buries into the figure’s chest, because you know you can trust him

He smells sweet, like lavender and fresh Spring daisies

It’s a calming, pleasing scent

And all the monsters who were chasing you before vanish as they fall into the crumbling Earth, disintegrating into nothing but ash that’s carried someplace far, far away

You look up to see who your savior is

It’s never the same person

At first it was your dad; then it was your sixth grade crush; a couple times it was the cute actor from your favorite movie

But this time, and sadly like the last five times you’ve had this dream since you started high school...that person is none other than Kim Seungmin

He’s looking so ...

There isn’t a word for it

His edges are soft

So are his eyes

And he’s looking at you like you’re responsible for hanging the moon in the sky and making all the stars glow

He has such high expectations for you

From you

That you’re afraid to let him down

To tell him the truth

You aren’t God, after all

But...

......

You just—

“gaAAAAAHHH—!!!”

!!?!?!!!?!

What the heck was that?!?

Your eyes shoot open to the sound of someone crying out

It sounds like a man’s voice...

And it’s nearby

You’re stunned into shock for a few seconds before you can get your body to move, and when you do you grip the plushie in your arms against your chest—

Wait, plushie...?

You look down.

Your eyes are adjusting while a struggle is clearing going on outside

It’s the plushie that Seungmin gave you

The one from your house; you know it is bc it smells like your bedroom

But you didn’t bring this with you...

You’re scared, but you quickly throw yourself out from the safety of the tent—

And immediately wish you hadn’t

The window beside the bed is open

A cold draft blowing in

Lucas is pinned down, struggling

The shadowy figure above him

Is none other

Than Kim Seungmin

He’s ripping something off of his belt-

It’s a syringe

He stabs it into Lucas’ arm with a curse, and not but two seconds later the boy is little more than a vegetable; no longer moving, barely breathing

Holy sh*t

I mean

Holy sh*t--

You gotta bounce sis

You gotta MOVE

Seungmin tosses a bottle of some clear liquid aside in anger, and it spills open in the middle of the floor

The smell hits you pretty quickly; it smells of lavender and fresh daisies

Just like in your dream/nightmare

It makes you feel a bit woozy upon inhaling it

But you don’t completely pass out

Which apparently is what Minnie was going for

There’s a thump as Seungmin jumps to the floor

And you’re scared

Actually, saying you’re scared is an understatement

This is pretty freaking serious man

You don’t think you can meme your way through this one

You can’t move

You just kneel there outside your tent in shock, trying to convince yourself this is one of those nightmares that stems from another; you simply woke up into a new dream is all

But it’s not so

Something in your heart is telling you

This is real life

Seungmin is doing something...

He’s...filling another syringe

Now that your eyes have adjusted, you can see he’s completely surpassed resting b*tch mode

He’s gone off the deep end. Like, he’s really gone this time

Looking so serious and genuine, so certain about what he’s doing...

Yet having lost all the light in his eyes

“Now, (y/n)...I need you to be good and take this for me.”

Uhhhh

No thanks bro that’s okay

P h A t pass on that one man

Phattest pass, phattest pass

You get your legs to finally work as he’s approaching you, scurrying towards the door and only stopping when your back hits against it, because dammit all, he’s still too fast for you

Seungmin is just right there man

He’s got you trapped

His fingers brush over the soft palate of your arm, gently feeling about for a vein

Apparently he wants to be more careful and professional when he drugs you

For whatever reason

You’re back to being immobilized

It’s like your feet are stuck in blocks of cement

Oh dear Lord you’re gonna die ಥ_ಥ

This is it

He wants you dead

He’s gonna throw you and Lucas into some twisted vegetable soup and that’s going to be the end of it

And you may have thought that had it not been for the blue and red sirens flashing outside

Minnie turns around mid-prodding, an obvious cringe on his face, and then suddenly he’s tackled to the ground by none other than Big Brother of the Year Lucas oh praise Jesus you may live after all

Wow this guy is your hero

He’s weak and there’s blood all over his face, his breath heavy as he heaves out desperate words to you

“.....(y/n)........g-get out...s-side.........cops....will take...care of y-you...”

Welp, he don’t have to tell you twice

Through all this, he’s still trying to protect you. He’d been drugged, his face cut into, beaten senseless without warning, yet he was still trying to save you...like a guardian angel or something

...Wow, maybe the author should have made this a Seungmin x reader x Lucas instead hubba hubba

But unfortunately she’s spaghetti and swamped with updates so we’ll never know 🤪🍝

You fling yourself out the door and down the stairs as some officers have just broken down the front door, and you don’t grab no shoes or nothing Lord, you r u n outta that place, choosing to consult with a kind-looking female cop that’s waiting outside on standby

Frantically you gush out what’s going on as best you can, even though you’re not so sure what’s going yourself

Most importantly, you’re sure to tell her that Lucas is hurt first. He needs immediate medical attention from what you gathered in the faint street light pouring in the open window

She comforts you and assures you that they’re handling it, all the while wishing and hoping and praying with every fiber in your being you’ll wake up soon, any minute now...

...but unfortunately, you never do. The reality hits you when Lucas is carried out on a stretcher and Seungmin is forced out in handcuffs.

~~~

You’re at the hospital with Lucas

Seungmin really did a number on him; after beating him black and blue, he pulled out a knife and nearly blinded him

Luckily it was dark and Lucas put up one heck of a fight. He wasn’t on three sports teams for nothing.

He’d put up such a defensive display that Seungmin had just missed his left eye...sadly, though, he got the right one

Lucas lost half his eyesight because of you

You don’t know what to say...what to think, even

If only you hadn’t gone over there. If only you’d just stayed home...or...or maybe...

You swallow as tears begin to fall. What the heck were you supposed to do? You’d had no idea this would happen. You didn’t know things had gotten this bad...

...but you also kind of did

The poem? It was a warning

A threat

You’d been given a heads up long before, and you’d chosen to play dumb and ignore it

And now Lucas would have to be called Patchy for the rest of his life

The only Halloween options he’d ever have are Pirate or...parrot with an eyepatch

And it was all your fault

Thank God Seungmin had been arrested…

...Wait

Seungmin--

Omgosh

He’d been arrested. Kim Seungmin had been arrested.

Why was this just now hitting you so ha--

“Oh my gosh, my baby! (Y/n)!!”

Oop. Mama (Y/n) in the house.

Your mother comes charging in like a swarm of bees, enveloping you in her arms but also giving you a bit of a sting for lying to her like you did. Lucas’ parents had caught them up to speed already, your father glaring angrily but thankfully from the doorway.

After hugging them both and explaining everything from your point of view, they agree to give you a few more minutes alone with Lucas before you’re grounded young lady no TV no video games no books well okay reading is important for your future but nothing enjoyable and no dessert. They also plan to have a serious discussion with you about Kim Seungmin as well. Great.

Not wanting to let you go your father drags your mom out, her protestant whimpering echoing down the hall and they retreat to discuss things further with Lucas’ parents.

Oi vey

What has all of this come to? What are you even doing? How did things get this bad…?

You turn your head slowly from across the room, examining the boy’s eye (or in some ways lack thereof) as you make your way back, settling carefully into the chair beside him.

𝑊𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩𝑡

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑑

𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠

𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑜 𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑...

...You now hate poetry

You’ll never read another sonnet ever again

“Hmn…”

Lucas is waking up

It’s now five o’clock in the morning

You’re both dead tired, but you can only imagine how he must be feeling, being the one in the hospital bed…

……

...This is seriously all your fault

You hate yourself for it

You just

You just…

Ping!

There’s a text on your phone. You choose to ignore it, of course. Lucas is way more important right now than some Instagram or trivial weather update

Tenderly you reach, taking Lucas’ hand...or start to. You hover over it, wondering if you even deserve to be...if you even…

A warmth envelopes your fingers as Lucas takes them weakly into his own, the faintest smile present on his face. He carefully reaches up to pat the white surgical tape and bandages over the upper right half of his face.

“...It’s never going to get any better, is it?” he asks.

You practically jump at the question: “No, it will. It definitely will.”

...Lying to him in order to not cause him any more panic is the best you can do for him now. Pathetic, but it’s better to remain hopeful, at least until he can handle it later.

His smile turns sad as he gazes at you with his one good eye.

“I meant for you.”

……

“......”

You slowly shake your head no

He sighs, turning towards the fluorescent lights on the ceiling that have been dimmed to allow the patient on the other side to sleep. “I’m so sorry, (y/n). This is my fault. I should have just brought you to the police station, and they would have handled it professionally right then and there. I didn’t think...things had gotten this bad.” He squeezed with what little strength he had. “But I’m really glad you’re okay. Did he hurt you at all?”

……………

This man

Was lying in a hospital bed

Drugged

Bruised to a bloody pulp

He’d permanently lost sight in one eye

And he was worried

About you

So author, what was that about no love triangle going on here??

Smh

The only thing you can do is look downward, at the nightstand, the bedding, the far wall...anywhere that isn’t Lucas’ face right now

You don’t have it in you to accept his incredible kindness and heroic humility. You don’t even bother answering his question, except to mutter out, “thank you.”

~~~

So what’s going on with Seungmin now?

Well, glad you asked

Cause you were just about to find out from a friendly sit down with three guest stars on the (Y/n)’s Chaotic Life show: Mom, Dad, and Officer Jenny

...No, not from the Pokemon TV series. Though you had to admit, the resemble was almost uncanny...not that this was anytime for jokes

“So,” Officer Jenny asks, pen and notepad in hand, “I’m sure you must be feeling many things right now, but let’s start from the beginning, if that’s alright. When did this all start?”

Your mom and dad just shared a look before turning to you, your mother gingerly patting and rubbing your knee. “Go ahead, sweetheart. Take your time.”

You take a deep breath and tell her everything you know. From the moment you first met Kim Seungmin, to the moment you first noticed him changing, to the events of some twenty-four hours ago. Your mother and father gave their piece as well, though really they claimed to be completely in the dark to any of Minnie’s chaotic and violent behavior, insisting he was always a sweet and well-behaved boy for as long as they’d know him. It was quite a shock finding out what he’d done.

Minnie…

…

Did you even still call him that? Would you? Could you?

He was practically a murderer. A complete psychopath. And you still had no idea why…

“So what do you think brought out this behavioral change?”

Your head snapped up from where it’d dropped downward, spacing out after having contributed your part of the story

Mom and Dad were glaring at you. Officer Jenny was waiting patiently.

But you had no idea what to say

Because you didn’t know

You didn’t

You didn’t…

...Did you?

Idiot.

바보

Does this sound familiar?

“...I can’t do this anymore, (y/n)...not if you’re not going to listen to me or do as I say. It’s driving me crazy. Don’t you get it? Don’t you f***ing see how I feel about you? Have you really been so dense this whole f***ing time?!?”

“(Y/n). I need to know...tell me, do you…”

“...Do you feel the same way?”

...The part that scared you

The part that really scared you

Was that

You didn’t know…

~~~

That night

After the talk show was wrapped up and everything was out in the open

Officer Jenny reassured your family that you were safe staying at home

Seungmin had been captured and a few officers had done a thorough investigation on your house to make sure there were no cameras or bombs or anything fishy like that

So it was essentially safe and there was no need to go the extra mile of changing identities and moving across the country

Except well

If you’re new to this story

You’re in for a bit of a shock because

Of course the author likes to shake things up :D <3

It wouldn’t be a story without something going wrong

And (Y/n) was just about to find out what that something was

It didn’t happen suddenly that night

Some time had gone by, about a week, maybe a week and a half

You were still pretty shaken up over the whole thing, and stuck in a mental state of Twilight Zone

You knew it was real but your brain almost refused to accept and process it

It was like a never-ending nightmare, too farfetched to be true

Because Lucas had to remain in the hospital for further examination and therapy, you brought all his school work to him

You’d taken a few days off yourself and then insisted you were fine to go back

You needed something to distract you from the reality

But, in reality, it only made it worse in some ways, students swarming you with questions and facility repeatedly asking if you were alright or needed a break

The only place you were allowed to go was the Student Council room, and Lord knows you did NOT want to be alone in that place again

Even though the school had already granted Lucas an extended leave of absence, he insisted you bring him a copy of your homework so he could “keep up with his studies”

But

In reality, he just wanted an excuse to see you. And you liked seeing him as well. It was nice to be in his company and check up on him, and he felt the same

When you weren’t at the hospital visiting and quote-quote “studying” with Lucas, you were either going through the motions on autopilot at school or sitting in your room, doing anything and everything to erase what had happened

That was, of course, easier said than done though

Often you found it hard being at home. It didn’t feel safe anymore knowing Seungmin had been here, so many times before, in the very room you sat in. Laughing with you, smiling, comforting or taking care of you…

He was everywhere. His laughter practically filled the walls and echoed down the corridors, his smile reflected in every glass sheen of sunlight

And when the lights flipped off, so did his expression. It was like you were reliving that horrific night all over again

You had to break out of there, your house and your mind

So you went to the park with a couple of new friends you’d made, Felix and Changbin. They were just as surprised as anyone else to learn what had become of Seungmin, and they’d actually been the first ones to shelter you and protect your privacy on your first day back, when your classmates started popping out of the woodwork to drown you in questions and condolences

As you may or may not have guessed, you’d gotten a new phone, during the Officer Jenny visit, along with a new number

After sh*t had really hit the fan, though, you’d become much less social, only registering your parents, Officer Jenny’s number by request, Lucas, and the day after, Felix and Binnie. Despite your previous crush on Jaemin, that had all but flown out the window and exploded upon colliding with a powerline, and you’re pretty sure after he heard what happened, he probably felt the same

And anyway, again, you’d become much less social since the whole incident. You really didn’t feel like talking to anyone unless it was your parents or these three boys. Maybe Jenny if there was some kind of emergency, which you sincerely hoped there wouldn’t be

...I’m pretty sure that covers everything

Yeah

You were now at the park with Felix and Changbin

Just strolling aimlessly, you in the middle with Felix to your left and Binnie on the right

Your two bodyguards

Felix, you’d come to find out, was a professional at taekwondo, which was nice

And though Changbin was rather on the short side, just his looks and voice alone was intimidating enough

So you felt relatively safe in their company, taking a quiet stroll at sundown

The park was mostly vacant save for a few late-evening joggers or cyclist passing by

Birds and squirrels and other wildlife were just getting settled in their nests for the night, the owls and probably a raccoon or two taking their place

The three of you walked at a steady pace, hands behind your back or shoved in your pockets as you stared straight ahead, at the sidewalk, or the surrounding forest life

...It was peaceful but a little awkward

Probably because you all had the same thing on your minds

Something you all knew you needed to talk about, but had been avoiding to spare an awkward conversation

Instead now there was nothing but Awkward Silence™

“So,” Felix spoke up after your second and a half time around, smiling awkwardly. “How are you feeling today?”

Both boys looked at you. You gave them each a short stare in return before shrugging just as uncomfortably. You knew you needed to talk about Seungmin, but you’d left your house to escape him, not engage him elsewhere.

After a few more paces you noticed the two had fallen a bit behind, muttering to each other in hushed tones:

“She probably doesn’t wanna talk about this right now. Why did you bring it up?”

“Yeah...I dunno, I didn’t know how else to break it in. Sorry...”

“Apologize to her, not me! We’re trying to ease it in, not break her.”

“That’s what I said, bro.”

“...No, you said-- never mind, just go do something.”

“Like what?”

“Like apologize! Am I the only one that knows how girls operate?”

“...Says the man that’s been single the entire senior ye--”

“Shut up and go talk to her!!”

At that point you heard a shove behind you, and Felix came stumbling back up to your left, Binnie steadily catching back up on the right. He gave you a calm and peaceful smile while occasionally casting eyes at Felix expectantly.

Felix took a deep breath while he scratched the side of his head, looking up at the sky for a second before tossing his whole gaze down on you. It almost caught you off guard how intense and smoldering it all was

“(Y/n)...listen, Changbin and I were thinking-- …”

He opened his mouth, but no words came. Instead he pointed toward the restaurant district of town.

“...You wanna grab dinner after this?”

You blinked. Changbin facepalmed, a small groan escaping him.

But then all your stomachs growled, answering the question for you. You couldn’t help but smile, even just a little, as the other two laughed and the three of you headed off toward the nearby city lights.

Your phone gave a small ping! as a notification came up, but you failed to notice it thanks to the nearby rustling of what you assumed was active forest life, a stray cat or maybe a mouse

You had no idea how wrong you were.

~~~

I know, things are starting to get a little slow

Just bear with me, okay?

Cause we’re about to pick up big time

Spoiler alert?

Oops

Anyway

You were now sitting at a small, quiet, but decently populated restaurant

There were a fair number of customers but it wasn’t overcrowded at all, more of a cozy cafe styled place

It was the compromise Changbin insisted you all agree on, he being the most vocally worried about your mental state. He didn’t want you to be overwhelmed by all the noise and chaos of some famous barbecue joint or a popular family restaurant, so after you insisted you could handle it and would be fine (he had been pitching the idea of just grabbing some food to-go and heading back to his place), the boys let you pick a cafe you often passed by on the way to school but never got a chance to try

...until now

Ironically and thankfully they were a particularly special cafe that served dinner because the author said so yeehaw B))

So yes, you’re all sitting at a small booth off to the side, Changbin on one end, you and Felix curled up on the other. You order your food and as you’re waiting, Changbin and Felix are locked in some dumb debate about a few of their other friends while flicking straw wrappers back and forth. They tried to get you in on it at first but, seeing that you’re still in a weird place, decided to leave the invitation open if you wanted to join.

Everything is just so weird right now. You’re still in the Twilight Zone. It just doesn’t seem real at all…

The whole spectacle refuses to leave your mind. You’re coming to accept you can’t get away from it no matter what you try.

Kim Seungmin, from the moment you met him, has always been a part of you. And he always would be. It was just going to be weird from now on because...because…

Ping!

Your phone again?

Honestly it had kind of been doing that a lot before but you’ve been ignoring it because, again, you’re not much for talking to people right now. Or getting involved with any social media events or news flashes or...or uh…

……………………..

Huh??

There’s...a message. From Lucas?

Bro when did he get his phone back tho

You’d been communicating through his mum and the hospital when you weren’t there cause patients can’t have phones so like

Nani the heck??

Wait

Maybe this was good

Maybe he was being discharged early

The treatment had gone well and--

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖧𝖾𝗒! 𝖨 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝖺 𝖿𝖺𝗏𝗈𝗋.

Oh? A favor you say?

You were so there. You kinda owed Lucas your life after what happened.

��𝗈𝗎: 𝖮𝖿 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾! 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖨 𝖽𝗈 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎?

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 :) 𝖶𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗐?

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨’𝗆 𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌.

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌?

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖸𝖾𝖺𝗁 𝖼:

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗇𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌

> - > Bro why he wanna know tho--

Okay whatever

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖥𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗑 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖻𝗂𝗇?

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗅

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝗇𝗈 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒

………..

*gulp*

It’s not?

Why

Why isn’t this okay

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖶𝗁𝗒 𝗇𝗈𝗍? :𝟢

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖨 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖢𝖺𝗇 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗐?

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖴𝗁, 𝗒𝖾𝖺𝗁 𝖨 𝗀𝗎𝖾𝗌𝗌? 𝖢𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗌? 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾

Lucas is typing a reply as your food is being set down, the boys cheering and mouths watering while all you can do is nervously glare at your new phone.

Seriously, what was wrong with Lucas? He wasn’t in danger, was he?

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖨’𝖽 𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗇𝗈𝗐. 𝖯𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾. :(

…

Y’know, this don’t really sound like Lucas

All of this is hella sus sis

But you’re so worried about him anyway, and so distracted by the excuses running through your mind that he could be on medication or what if it really is an emergency that you instead grab your coat and are just about to tell Felix to yeet when something else catches your eye

Ooooooooh boy

Ooooooooh bro

Ooooooooh buddy

It’s uh

Well

All those previous notifications

They’re all news articles and the like, as you already had guessed they’d be

Most of them aren’t very important: Attorney so-and-so does this, City of Hoopla does that, Guy Catches Phone on Roller Coaster, band drops new album and it’s a huge hit, yada-yada-yada

But there’s this one

This one in particular

That nearly makes you break down and cry

I mean

You’re close to screaming sis

It’s pretty bad

You probably know what it is already

Yep: you guessed it

KXX News: Local Malefactor Escapes [Your Town] Jail; Police Baffled

...Okay

Y/n

Y/n--

Don’t freak out y/n

Deep breath sis

Deeeeeeeep breath

Breath nice and deep now…

Oop too late you’re already panicking

Hell I would too sis :( This is some bad juju

But

It’s going to be okay

...Maybe

I mean

You are kinda having a panic attack right now?

But don’t panic bc it’s going to be…

...you just passed out so I’ll be switching povs now

I’ll sort of summarize too since this is about you and - h i m - anyway

Basically you totally black out, the restaurant/cafe panics a bit (the few people who happen to notice) but Felix manages to catch you (thank goodness you were still seated at the booth so you just toppled over on his shoulder more or less)

In five seconds Binnie and Felix come up with a game plan where Felix carries you outside, trying to look as natural as possible, Binnie taking care of the check.

They argue and walk laps around the cafe about whether or not to take you home or the hospital

Home

Hospital

Home?

Hospital!

But when you start to come to, they agree it’s best to get you home to your mother

You fall in and out of consciousness all the way there, the only thing flooding your mind being the faintest scent of lavender and Spring: and Kim Seungmin.

~~~

You were honestly a little surprised when you finally woke up

You were sure seeing those words in that news headline, all in one coherent sentence, was going to be the death of you

I mean, he did want you dead, didn’t he?

He…

…

Sigh

You don’t know

You have no idea what’s really happening

A reoccuring theme in this story

You dunno

You just

Don’t

Know

:)))

But it’s going to be okay because--

Ping!

SCREECH \(ϾAϿ)/ 💦

Bro

Bro man

Your phone almost gave you a heart attack

A real one this time

Oof

Oi vey to hell and back

All of this is really getting to be too much man

You dunno if-- ...well

We done went over this already

You don’t know anything anymore 🙄😔

I mean

What even is life anyway??

You roll over on your bed to snatch the phone on your nightstand, an eerie feeling in your gut

Whether that’s from the fact you’re still recovering or you’re terrified it has something to do with everyone’s favorite Dandy Boy is a toss up

It could also have been the few nibbles of food you’d managed to have before zonking out…

...actually no scratch that, you were still pretty hungry. Which was a good sign, honestly

It meant you were already recovering well and most likely not gonna die

(ღ˘⌣˘)

That was always nice, y’know, not dying <3

So anyway

You glare at the lock screen in the dark, the brightness blinding you for a moment as you’re squinting and fumbling to turn it down

And when you do

You see there’s another message

A message from Lucas

Oop. You forgot about him in your whole fainting episode

Hope he’s okay--

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖸/𝗇. 𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗆𝗈𝗆 𝖼𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗉𝖾𝗇𝖾𝖽. 𝖨 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎’𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗅. 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖺 𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗇 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝖻𝗈𝖽𝗒 𝖻𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎’𝗋𝖾 𝗀𝗈𝗇𝗇𝖺 𝗀𝗈 𝗌𝗄𝗂𝗍𝗓𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍, 𝗁𝖺𝗁𝖺

e-e

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨’𝗆 𝗌𝗈 𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒, 𝖨 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗌𝖾 𝖨’𝗆 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖣𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎?

It takes a minute for him to respond.

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖭𝗈, 𝖽𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗍. 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍.

And then…

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖨’𝗅𝗅 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎.

…

Uhhh

He’ll what now?

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖣𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗀𝗈 𝖺𝗇𝗒𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾. 𝖨 𝗐𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝗅𝗈𝗇𝗀.

UHHH

wat

Sis honestly

what?

Lucas you ho what are you doin you’re sick

Sorta

You on them drugs boy

You needa be staying yer ass in bed so you can--

Ping!

Again?

Oh now what does this crazy bish want??

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖲𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒! 𝖩𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖿𝖺𝗏𝗈𝗋 𝖨 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗒𝗈𝗎

Sure? What is it??

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖮𝗄𝖺𝗒??

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: :)) 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗒/𝗇

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖦𝗈 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝗈𝗋.

………………………………………………………….

Bro man

……

Okay you know what

This is a little too weird

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎? 𝗈𝗇𝗈”

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖸𝖾𝖺𝗁, 𝖼𝗁𝗈𝖼𝗈𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾? 𝖨𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗅𝖾𝖿𝗍 𝗅𝗈𝗅

oooOOOOOH

Oooooh man what a relief

If you’ll recall

Cause ik it’s been a hot minute

In the last episode (Light Switch 1) it was Valentine’s Day

He just wants something sweet =7=” Bro you know that jello sh*t they serve in them hospitals must be nasty af

He just wants some good stuff is all

Who doesn’t want chocolate when they’re sick? Or sad?

But author eating chocolate when you’re sick isn’t good for you do you want to die

Hey bro bold of you to assume--

...anyway

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖮𝗁, 𝗈𝖿 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾! 𝖨 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗅𝗈--

…

Hold on

Wait just another hot minute

…

Sis how he know you keep chocolate in your closet??

He wasn’t here when you shoved everything in there

Heck he ain’t ever been in your house once

…

Enough ellipses you’re just gonna go for it

Screw it

It’s just Lucas

He probs just assumed it was a cliche or normal thing to do

You really needed to stop overthinking things and just

Do It ✔™

So you do it

You walk to your closet and open the door

…

Well you start to anyway

On the way over something catches your eye now that your sight’s adjusted

You make your way to your desk, where a stack of letters and junk flyers are just sitting there taking up space and making the room look trashy

You’re easily distracted at times, and a bit nosy, so you pick up the first flyer on the stack to figure out what it is

Such-and-So’s Pool Service!1!1 We clean--

Yeah okay you don’t care

About that anyway

What you do care about, or what piques your interest rather, is the date

It’s labeled as being delivered almost two weeks ago

…

All of the letters and junk mail are labeled as being delivered two weeks ago

…

You’re about to set them all back down when you see something flapping beneath the gentle circulation of the ceiling fan

A Post-It note?

A Post-It note

It says…

It doesn’t matter what it says

Because you’d recognize that handwriting anywhere, after all the notes he’d written you

It’s from Minnie

𝐼 𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝘩 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒? ;) 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦, 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑎𝑧𝑦! -- 𝐾𝑆 <𝟥

𝑃.𝑠. - 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑒. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟.

Deep breaths deep breaths deep breaths

He was here

He’d been here

He’d come here the night before--

He’d known

You were such a dumdum

Of course you should have known one of your parents would call. Probably your mom-

UGH

WHAT IS THIS LIFE OF YOURS?!

Okay

But

He was arrested so it’s fine

No wait

He got out

He…

...He got out ._.”

And you

Were

Home

Rn??

……………………

Okay time to get those chocolates and move move move

Just make a small right turn and

Ca-chunk.

……………………………………………………

The closet door just...opens

A familiar figure stepping out from the shadows

He’s wearing his favorite striped blue t-shirt and faded blue jeans

And he’s holding a rose between his teeth

He removes it with a muffled sigh, tossing it back into the closet

“I wanted to surprise you but, I should have known it’s just like you to get easily sidetracked.”

He shoves a phone into his pocket

Lucas’ phone.

He smiles.

“Did you miss me?”

He paces over to you, touching your face

Stroking it softly with ghost-like fingers

It’s...cold and somehow oddly comforting at the same time

Sending you down a trail of mixed signals and warning signs all over again

But you can’t move

He’s backing you up against the desk--

Wait yes you can move

You gotta get out of here. Don’t think. Just get out.

Scream! Yell! Do something!

You scream. He places a hand over your mouth, shoving you back down against the desk. His breath is hot against your skin from where he hovers over you just inches, centimeters away…

...Maybe you should have gone for using a brain cell or two instead

“Why are you doing this again? Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?”

You’re struggling but he must have been hitting up the gym again cause this beach is strong

He’s rambling things to you under his breath, but with the pounding in your ears it’s hard to make out everything he’s saying

Oh dear Lord in heaven you have to get out of here

Use your brain cells y/n use your brain cells

PLS

He’s forcing you both to stand upright. He pulls you so hard that the momentum causes the desk to sway, a drawer popping open

A drawer containing your knife. The same knife Seungmin had given you.

He wanted you to sever some bonds?

Okay, you could do that alright

Braincells: Activate!

You go for it

Raising a knee to his xxxx, you shove him back with all your feeble might and snatch that bad boy, whirling around to slash your way out of here if you have to

But somehow Seungmin has become a Superhuman™ and he parries your attack, twisting your arms behind your back and slamming you back down onto the desk

You almost hear him grimace as you cry out in pain, like he’s in just as much turmoil as you

And before you know it a rag is held up over your face, Seungmin gently laying his cheek against yours. Somehow in the span of time all this was going on, he’d managed to throw a mask over his face...

“I’m so sorry, y/n...I never wanted it to come to this...I was hoping to take you quietly…

...But it’s also not my fault you’re so damn difficult all the time.”

Moonlight streaming in through the curtain was blurring together, your thoughts slowly growing more and more incoherent

A scream still caught in your throat, the last thing you recall is again the scent of lavender and Spring daisies. Except it was much stronger now, because that scent was now carrying you somewhere up, up, and away…

~~~

The faint sound of laughter is what awakens you for the 47294907204 time

Seriously how many more times were you gonna clock out like jeez

Not to over exaggerate but man alive

…

……

………

You’re blinking up at the ceiling when it all comes back to you

Seungmin

Your room

Kim Seungmin

Your closet

Minnie

You being carried away somewhere…

It doesn’t take you long to throw yourself up right, but when you do you instantly regret the action, as a splitting headache takes hold of your cranial

It causes you to wince, reaching both hands up to grab your skull...which are, surprisingly...rather heavy…

…

Holy frick and frack you’ve been chained

Your wrists

There are cuffs around them

And you’re literally connected to a bedpost

…………

You swallow

This isn’t good

It’s not good at all

What the heck is going on now…?

You gotta examine your surroundings. You need to stop being in the dark all the time

Time to flip on a light switch brother

Let’s see

You’re sitting in a bed

Your bed

…

Wait

Your bed?

That can’t be right

You distinctly remember, despite the running gag of you not knowing anything, that Minnie had hoisted you off somewhere

He’d deadass climbed out the window or something

You look up and around next

…

It was unmistakable

This was your room: here was your bed, your bookshelf, your desk, TV, closet…

Even your stuffed animals and stationery was here. Exactly as you’ve always had it.

Except, normally your bed was on the right side of the room. Currently, it was on the left

So it was like

A parallel of your bedroom

A weird mirrored version, like you’d stepped through the looking glass…

...You supposed essentially, in some ways, you already had. Starting around high school.

Argh

This was really bad

You had to get out of here

Thankfully the chains were pretty long, so your movement wasn’t too restricted and you could move around for the most part as normal

If you had to guess, you could probably make it about halfway across the room before you ran out of chain

……

A thought you’d never thought you’d be having

Swiftly, you raise the sheets to check your legs

They’re free, save for a few bruises. Yours arms are in worse shape with twice as many and these damned heavy cuff links

This was honestly an outrage

And hella dehumanizing

You weren’t sure what was scarier: the fact that you were sitting in a mirror copy of your bedroom chained like an animal, or the fact that Minnie had done this

…

Seungmin

No more Minnie

He was Seungmin now

Maybe even just Kim

Because you would no longer have any ties to him after this

He was long gone now

It was over

Bam!

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

Oh gosh

IT REALLY IS OVER

HE’S HERE

WHAT WAS—

Wait was that laughter just now?

It sounded...familiar…

As in

Recorded

…

You strained your ears, holding your breath a moment

If you focused really hard

You could just barely hear it

Voices. Sound effects. More audio laughter.

Someone was watching TV

That or Seungmin had sold you to a circus act

Which might have been preferable actually because you really didn’t know if he wanted you dead or not

I mean

On one hand

Why would someone go to so much trouble to make an exact replica of your bedroom?

But on another

There were some major sickos out there…

And you really could never tell what he was thinking

…

No, no, no y/n

No tears

We’re not going to cry

Big girl pants big girl pants

We’re going to get ourselves out of here and hop on the first plane to a new country

Move to Switzerland and start a cute little sheep farm

Change your name to Olga

Marry a huge scary-looking huntsman that was actually very sweet

And spend the rest of your days baking apple pies and schnitzel and shaving wool from sheep to knit fluffy sweaters and sell them on the Swiss version of Amazon

Yeah something like that

Everything was going to be a-o—

“You’re awake.”

ACAHNDUSLILIAHDSLINUFARJDSA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

It’s Kim Seungmin

He’s standing in the doorway

You didn’t even hear the door open

He takes two steps in before pausing to admire what a mess you probably look like

Only to him, you’ve never looked more beautiful

You don’t know this of course, but in his mind: you’re stunning

I mean, absolutely breathtaking

Sitting here in the room he worked so hard putting together for you

Your hair a wind-blown bed-mangled mess the way you toss and turn in your sleep sometimes

The natural glow that radiates off your face when you’re not wearing any makeup

The shine from the rays of faint sunrise as they hit your tear-stained face

It’s a work of art

What he’s worked for since he first laid eyes on you all those years ago

He’s wanted this so badly for such a long time

And it’s finally happening

He’s finally gotten what he’s pined for all this time: you

All that time he took getting to know you, forming a bond, taking measurements and pictures and writing down numbers, formulating the perfect plan

It may not have gone exactly how he imagined it would, but it’d still produced the same results. You were now, finally, his. All that was left to do was to clean you of any ties you had to your past life, and then the war would be over. The climax had come and gone. It was all downhill from here.

He told himself over and over again, that this is what he’d wanted...but yet

A part of him felt almost guilty for some reason

Of course he was happy, but also

…

It this really what he’d wanted?

He wanted to celebrate

But

Though you looked so beautiful

He also didn’t like seeing you so sad

…

It was fine

You just had to get adjusted, that was all

It’s hard being whisked off from one place to another

In a few days you’d be all settled in and then you could both celebrate being happy and alone together

You’d realize what a wonderful thing he had done for the both of you and thank him

And he’d never have to worry about anyone touching you or so much as looking at you ever again

You’d be his special treasure

Something he’d be able to look forward to coming home to each and every day after he landed his dream job as a photographer

Of course, you’d never get to accomplish the goals you’d told him about for your life, but…

That wouldn’t matter after a little time had passed, once you realized you only needed rely on him from now on

And there would be lots of fun things to do at home, he’d make sure of it

He’d take good care of you, here at his father’s old cabin house

And no one would be any the wiser because his parents were scarcely ever home

They were never around, always traveling from one place to another. He’d learned to take care of himself when he was 13, and from then on had been fiercely and undeniably independent

He really hadn’t seen or heard from his parents since, they’d just left him with the house and sent monthly checks to take care of the bills. If he thought hard enough, the last memory he had of his mother was probably at an unexpected Christmas visit when he was 15

And after that, nada

So as one could guess, his life had been very lonely…

Of course, he’d normally preferred being alone and if he was bored, he had Felix and Changbin to check up on him

But that all changed the moment he laid eyes on you

Oh sure, he’d seen you before that fateful rainy afternoon. When he actually bothered showing up to class. But…

Catching you alone that day was like a sign to him

He’d been wandering the back alleys as he normally did

On his way home, he realized he’d forgotten one of his cameras at school

So he had to make a detour to get it

He really wanted to take some shots of the coming storm for a new collection he’d been working on

On the way over, it wouldn’t leave his mind that something was missing…

He needed a host, a muse, a character

Some sort of other life force to give breath to the photographs

They were fine as they were

But just fine wasn’t fine for him

He could do better

Surely there was something—

...Drat. They’d already locked the doors.

He’d have to hoist himself in through a window now—

...And there you were.

He couldn’t explain it

He’d seen you before, sure, rarely, on occasion. But you’d just been a passing figure in the sea of endless faces

Now you were more than that. You were the figure, the face, the missing piece he’d been searching for

But he knew how fickle the human race was. So he’d have to play coy and civil before going in for the kill

If he turned out not to like you, he could always toss you back out into the sea

But the moment he swooped down to catch you from that (minorly hysterical) fall, he’d felt it. The missing spark he’d been waiting for all along.

He couldn’t take his eyes away. You were simply too real, too alive, too beautiful and unwavering

Yet shy and clean and simple all the same

It was a perfect paradox

An acute conundrum

And he was loving every second of it

He knew, in that moment, that he had to

As cringey as it sounds

That he had to make you his

And now you were...almost

It was just a bit further before he reached the light at the end of the tunnel

He’d never be lonely or lost for inspiration again

Because he’d have you

And that was all he needed...

𝑇𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒𝑑...𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 ♥

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ghostofviperwrites · 5 years ago

Text

The DM

Pairing : Kenny Omega/FC (brief cameos by Matt and Nick Jackson)

Category: Comedy/Smut

“I cannot believe you are seriously doing this.” You said to your boyfriend Kenny Omega as you snapped pictures for him. You tried to keep your voice stern and be a voice of reason, but couldn’t quite contain the smile peeking on your lips as you worked with Kenny to mimic the poses from the leaked nudes of Seth Rollins. You had to hand it to Kenny, he was dedicated to this. He had hunted down and studied nude pictures of another man, just to ensure accuracy for his revenge. God only knows what his Google search history was going to show.

“You better believe it baby! That’ll teach him to steal my move.” Kenny responded flexing his muscles as you snapped yet another photo for what was an integral part of The Elite’s plot for revenge. They had been planning this for months, planting seeds and driving up interest through their Youtube series Being the Elite, teasing the fans into a frenzy about what “The DM” was and when it would be released. Now they were finally ready to make their move.

Part of their plan involved naked pictures of Kenny mocking Seth Rollins. So you were appointed official photographer. But hey, you really weren’t going to complain about taking pictures of your gorgeous man proudly displaying what his mama gave him. You had to bite your lip to keep your concentration as the more pictures you took, the more turned on you got. And you really shouldn’t be, given the circumstances. After all, Kenny was really pulling quite the dick move. But that was Kenny. He could be quite petty when he felt wronged. You should be talking him down and making him see reason. And keeping the Young Bucks out of his ear. But it was really hard to remember all that when Kenny was naked in front of you.

Finished with the first pose of him lying on the bed, Kenny moved to stand at the end of the bed, positioning his body just so as he looked at Seth’s picture on his phone. Satisfied he nodded to you to begin snapping away.

After a bunch of pictures you dropped to your knees for a better angle of him standing up while he held his phone up to obscure his face. You snapped what felt like a hundred pics before Kenny was satisfied there was enough of a selection for him to choose from. And judging by the stiffness of his dick, Kenny had obviously enjoyed the attention being focused on him.

“So babe, while you’re down there….” Kenny hinted looking from his cock to you with a hopeful expression. Rolling your eyes you heaved a sigh of exasperation.

“Fine” You said, acting all put upon, before flashing a wicked smile up at your man. Truth was there were very few things you liked more than having Kenny’s dick in your mouth. You loved every aspect of giving head, from the feel of it thrusting into your throat to swallowing the prize that came at the end.

“You’re such a tease.” He crooned stepping closer to you, his hand snaking out to grab a handful of your hair and tilt your head back to the angle he wanted. Eagerly opening your mouth you hummed as Kenny slid his thick cock in, resting it on your tongue as you closed your lips around him. You reached your hand up to stroke the flesh that wasn’t in your mouth as you sucked deeply running your tongue around the soft flesh of his tip making moans escape his mouth. Moving your hands to his hips you looked up to meet his eyes, relinquishing control to Kenny. Taking your cue Kenny began rocking his hips pushing his cock further and further into your mouth until it hit the back of your throat. You gagged at the intrusion, taking a moment to get used to it before Kenny continued pressing deeper into you until his hips were flush with your lips. You breathed in deeply through your nose, concentrating on not gagging as Kenny held himself deep in your throat. Finally when you felt you were dying for air he pulled himself out, ever so slowly while you looked up silently pleading with him. As his cock popped out of your mouth a smirk tilted up the corner of his lips.

“Asshole.” You muttered, a matching grin on your face. He chuckled guiding you to your feet with a firm grip in your hair and pressing a kiss to your lips.

“That’s why you love me.” He replied before turning and pushing you onto your stomach on the bed before sliding off your shorts and panties. “Up on all fours darlin’ I’m gonna make you scream.” You eagerly pushed yourself into the requested position waiting as Kenny grabbed some lube and stroked it all around his cock. A satisfied moan left you as he sunk in your pussy to the hilt in one thrust, your hips instinctively rolling to push your ass back against him as Kenny settled his hands onto your sides. True to his word, it wasn’t long before Kenny had you writhing underneath him, muttering incoherently, screams breaking out as he pounded into you. At one point Matt Jackson pounded on the wall separating your hotel rooms, shouting that Kenny was supposed to be working on his stuff for Being the Elite, not fucking you. That just encouraged Kenny to make you scream even louder.

When you were finished and cleaned up you flopped down on the bed for a nap, Kenny pulling you into his body and enveloping you with his heat. It wasn’t long before you were both sleeping.

You were awakened by the sound of Kenny chuckling under his breath, clacking away at the keyboard of his laptop. Rolling out of the bed you went to look at what had Kenny so amused. What you saw made your hand fly over your mouth as a loud burst of laughter escaped your mouth.

“Why on Earth is Okada’s head on your nipples and dick?” You asked, head tilting to the side as you stared at the image on the screen in confusion. Kenny didn’t respond, he simply clicked on the other picture he had edited and waited eagerly for your response. Deciding to mess with him a bit you leaned in to take a closer look, biting your lip in concentration.

“Hmmm.” You finally responded with a frown. “Maybe your dick isn’t as big as I thought if it can be covered with a tiny briefcase. Seth’s looked bigger.” You squealed as Kenny grabbed for your arm, turning to run only to find yourself tackled onto the bed with Kenny mercilessly tickling your ribs.

“Take it back!” He demanded chuckling at your useless attempts at escape. You sputtered with laughter squirming around to try to escape his torturing fingers. “Tell me how big my cock is, tell me.” He growled. “Tell me I’m no Seth Rollins.”

“Fine! I take it back!” You yelled after holding out for another moment. “Your cock is huge, enormous, so big it hurts. Seth could never compare to you.” You gasped in relief as Kenny stopped his relentless tickling.

“That’s better.” He said pecking your lips and settling himself between your thighs. “How bout I show you again just how big it is?” He thrust his hips down into you earning a lustful moan from you as he pressed against your core.

“No!” Both of your heads jerked towards the door that had just opened revealing Matt Jackson. You all had spare keys to each other’s rooms just in case and it seemed he had taken it upon himself to use his. “No, no, no. You do not have time for Round 2! Get off her!” He grabbed Kenny by the shoulders and pushed him back towards the laptop as his brother Nick followed him in.

“Yeah Kenny, we have an episode to get out and a tweet to craft!” Nick chimed in sitting himself on the desk. “You can bang Y/N later.”

With a pout of disappointment you rolled over onto your tummy, propping yourself up on your elbows as the Bucks stole Kenny’s attention. You snorted as you saw Kenny enlarge the briefcase covering his package on the picture, rolling your eyes as he flipped you the bird over his shoulder.

As you lay watching, the boys worked on editing the final touches for Being the Elite before Nick submitted it for posting. Meanwhile Matt had pulled up Seth’s Twitter apology from when his ex-fiancée had leaked his private photos and read it out for Kenny who was drafting his own Tweet using virtually identical language. There would be no doubt once the episode aired and the tweet went out that this was shots fired at Seth Rollins.

Later that evening in Phoenix, Arizona, Seth Rollins strolled through the hallways with his usual cocky strut. He had just finished his match on WWE Raw for the night and was ready for a shower and to get back to his hotel. His stride faltered as he heard various people twittering and whispering as he passed, but shrugged it off. Entering the locker room he again noticed he was the center of attention as loud guffaws of laughter broke out from the various boys. Getting irritated he turned on his phone and set it on the bench as he grabbed his shower stuff. Just as he was walking away from the bench his phone began blowing up with notifications. With a furrowed brow he pulled up his Twitter feed seeing a ton of retweets to him with a Being the Elite Episode and a tweet from Kenny Omega.

“What the hell?” He muttered as he read through the comments. When he saw the pictures of Omega that were supposedly “leaked” along with the “apology” He could feel his face turning red in embarrassment and anger. He knew Kenny had been upset that he had used his move without asking first, but he couldn’t believe he would make fun of Seth’s personal issue. The jokes had finally died down in the locker room, but it looked like they were going to picking right back up.

#kenny omega imagine #kenny omega fanfic #aew fanfic #njpw fanfic #wrestling fanfic #mywriting #ghostofviperwrites

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eyesfixedonthesun22 · 5 years ago

Text

Black Coffee: Part 3

Summary: Coffee aroma surrounds you as you prepare for a long day of studying in your favorite coffee shop. Your focus is shattered by a handsome stranger demanding a very large favor-pretend to be his girlfriend. Pairing: Bucky x Female Reader Warning(s): Cursing. Innocent fluff. Word Count: 1,613 Beta Reader: My darling honey bun, @supersoldiersruined-me Notes: I wasn’t planning on making this a series...and yet there are now 4 parts to the story in my drafts. ;)

Your body, previously heated at the growing fondness for Bucky, feels chilled as you stir. You hear your name called over and over. It sounds like it’s being called down a long echoing tunnel. The sounds refuse to be made crisp and clear.

Warmth.

Two sources of heat frame the sides of your face. The words start to behave and form sentences.

“Open your eyes, doll. You okay? I need you to tell me you’re okay.” The warmth travels paths up and down your arms. Is someone shaking you? “I’m gonna kill that child.”

“Who are we killing?” Your eyes open and immediately shut.

Ouch. Too bright.

You sit up with Bucky’s help. From the new angle you’re no longer blinded when you open your eyes. “What the hell happened? Why am I wet?”

“Peter thought it would be funny to attack us all with water balloons.” Steve said.

“Only problem is the little asshole has invented a water balloon gun and the calibration was off. Too forceful and rapid fire.” Bucky grumps and glares at Peter.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Barnes. I didn’t even hit her.”

“Don’t apologize, Peter.” You wince a little, moving to a standing position. Bucky’s still examining your head. “I thought it was funny. I’m just the clumsiest person on earth. Next time, aim for the boyfriend.” The word felt foreign on your lips but brought you a stupid amount of joy. Did you have a concussion?

“You tripped, hit your head, and somehow managed to fall into the pool.” Clint snorts.

“Sounds about right.” You shoot him a finger gun. “Really I’m fine.” You try to push Bucky’s examining hands away. Your body sways unconvincingly, completely undoing your attempt at downplaying the injuries.

“No, you aren’t. Let’s go patch you up and get you out of these wet clothes.” You’re ready to protest but Bucky’s steering you back inside toward the elevators. Ruby follows behind.

In the elevator you lean into Bucky’s side. The warmth he radiates feels even more needed now in the A/C cooled interior. His soft shirt against your cheek soothes you. The fabric is saturated with a comforting fresh smell you’d already come to associate with Bucky.

“Wait! How the hell are you dry if I fell in the pool?!” You shoot him an accusing glare. “You didn’t try to save me!?”

“Before I ran over, Ruby was already hauling you up the steps.” You glance down at the pooch. Her previously fluffy fur is plastered to her skin. It drips rivulets onto the elevator floor.

“You must have made a good impression on her, doll.”

You run a hand through the damp hair at her ear, scratching lightly. Silently you thank her extra training. You wonder if Bucky takes the time to teach her himself. It’s not much of a thank you, but her thumping tail lets you know it’s welcome. Rufus probably would have just stood at the edge of the pool and barked; that is, if he would have moved at all. Bucky leads you off the elevator through a richly decorated living space down a long hallway. You follow along wordlessly, taking in the surroundings until you reach his bedroom.

“Ruby. Go lay down.” Bucky commands softy. She shakes herself dry once more before curling up in the giant plush dog bed in the corner of Bucky’s bedroom. “Let’s get you out of those clothes.”

“So that was your plan all along, Barnes.” He’s rifling through his dresser but pauses. “If you wanted me naked in your room, all you had to do was ask.”

The gulp he swallows is audible. “Darling, I didn’t mean- I swear I just- Fuck.”

“I’m messing with you.” Fresh heat rushes to your cheeks realizing how much your chiding had shaken him. Now you were thinking about actually getting naked. Naked for other circumstances. Damn your wandering mind.

He hands you a pair of neatly folded grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Even without them near your nose, you can bet the same fresh scent clings to their fibers. Bucky’s smell.

“Bathroom is through there.” He gestures vaguely. He’s not meeting your eyes. “Just let me in when you’re dressed so I can look at that gash on your head.”

Your hand reaches instinctively to touch at your temple. Ouch. That was a mistake.

In the safety of the bathroom, you let out a breath you didn’t know you had been holding. A quick glance in the mirror has you recoiling at your reflection. The fall into the pool had transformed you into a drowned rat. Your makeup was a lost cause. Sitting in a decorative basket is a collection of towels. You grab a washcloth and wipe the remnants away. Your hair would have to airdry. You tousle it a bit and comb out any knots the best you can with your fingers. You strip off the sopping clothes and hang them over a rail in his shower. After toweling off the rest of the dampness, the soft fleece of the sweatpants and clean cotton feel heavenly against your skin. It was the same feeling you’d always loved as a child. After a day at the beach or pool, changing into soft, clean clothes always felt better against your sun-soaked skin.

You opened the bathroom door. Bucky was laying on his bed spread eagle. His eyes were closed allowing you to study him undetected. He’d taken off the jacket he’d worn earlier today. What you’d previously thought was a white t-shirt underneath was a tank top. One of his arms was tanned a deep brown like the rest of his skin. The other glinted the light from the window in splintered patterns on the wall. He was gorgeous. You wonder how it would feel to see him like this more. What would it be like to walk into a room and see your “boyfriend” snoozing on the bed? Ruby shifts to acknowledge you. Her movement alerts Bucky.

“Nap time?” You ask. Hoping the warble of pitch doesn’t somehow betray your daydreams.

“Sometimes this much socializing takes a lot out of me. I love ‘em. But the quiet is nice.” You smile warmly not expecting such an honest answer. “Let me get a look at your head.”

He has you sit on the toilet while he gets out the first aid kit from under the sink. Thankfully the gash looks worse than it is. No stitches needed he had said with certainty. Bucky kneels in front of you while he cleans the cut. In no time at all, it’s covered with a bandage and antibiotic ointment. He’s still on his knees. The silence between you is pleasant and agreeable but something is nagging at the back of your brain.

“Bucky?” You ask. He’s rolling up the long pant legs of his sweatpants to a suitable length for you. Occasionally, the pads of his fingers graze against your skin. “How long are we going to do this?”

His fingers pause.

“Don’t wanna stay my captive forever?” Despite the joke his expression is guarded. He speaks more to himself than you, “Sam’s bound to figure out I can’t actually land a girl like you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Doll, seriously. You’re kicking ass in school, have an amazing future lined up for you, and you’re way out of my league. All things that are great for rubbing in Sam’s face, but this isn’t right.”

The silence returns.

“It’s not right?”

He scoffs. “Understatement of the year.”

“Wow. I guess I didn’t realize how not right I am. Thanks for enlightening me.”

The vulnerability this stranger had managed to pull out of you in a day was terrifying enough but to have him laugh at you was unacceptable; backhanded compliment or otherwise. Clearly, you’d been delusional earlier and the bump to your head must have knocked you back into reality. He considers me good enough to flaunt to Wilson but not good enough for him to actually date. You stand and stomp towards the door.

“Darling, wait! What did I say?”

“Enough!” you snap. His eyes go wide; putting together the pieces. “Enough cute names, enough fake dating, I’m done.”

“You misunderstood. I meant that you deserve more than a fake relationship and you certainly deserve more than me.” You pause in the doorway. “You’re beautiful and smart. I’ve known you for less than 24 hours and you’ve had me a sputtering mess for nearly all of them. I’m just some guy who asked you for a stupid favor this morning because I told a pathetic lie to my friends. Every fact I learned about you, every quirk, has made me realize how thoroughly inadequate I am.”

Your brain, formerly full of rage fueled quips, struggles to form words.

“I’m not stupid enough to think this is love, but damn if I’m not smitten with you, doll. I scoffed because with every skeleton in my closet I’ve been waiting for you to bail.”

“I did try to drown myself.” You attempt to contain the smirk playing at your lips but fail.

“Gonna have to do better if you’re gonna hang around a gang of superheroes.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“Next time?” He closes the distance between you and hugs you tight to his chest. He can smell the notes of your shampoo mixing with the chlorine as he presses a kiss to your scalp. There’s a short warning boof before the two of you are tackled by Ruby in her own fashion of a hug.

“Can I take you on a real first date?”

“Was this one not lively enough for you, Barnes?!”

#bucky x reader #bucky x female reader #bucky barnes #bucky #marvel #mcu #coffeeshop au #meet cute #fake dating #my writing #my fics #black coffee

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ashes-and-ashes · 5 years ago

Text

Just One More Minute

(Just a little something I found in my drafts. I think the title already indicates it’s going to be angsty. Shrug.)

Just one more minute, he whispers to himself, standing on the wooden platform between stations on a rainy autumn day. He’s 11, his eyes fastened to the metal clock hanging on the side, watching the minute hand tick down to the hour, anxiously waiting for the white smoke and the hissing and the scarlet train pulling up on the rails. There are people all around him, their voices blurring into one another, chattering is odd of his head but Sirius ignores them, eyes still glued to the clock. Beside him, he feels a tug on his shoulder, Regulus’ anxious eyes staring into his own. “Siri,” he whispers. “You’ll come back, right? You won’t leave me with mother?”

“Of course not,” Sirius says impatiently; he’s far too excited to pay his brother much attention. He stands on his tiptoes, one eye on the hands of the clock, watching and waiting for the red train to take him away.

“Just one more minute,” he grumbles, turning over in the bed. The sheets are warm, deliciously so, soft and fluffy and Sirius feels like he could sink into the blankets. He’s not used to this, being woken a gentle tap or a light shake, is far too used to his mother’s screams and shouts and occasionally glass shattering against the wall. He takes a deep breath, the scent of clean cotton filling his nose.

“You said that 10 minutes ago,” Remus says, and hits him with the pillow. “You’re 12. No 12-year-old sleeps that much!”

“This one does,” Sirius mutters and he closes his eyes again, ignoring the pillow being slapped across his face. “Go away.”

Remus ignores him, finally resorting to yanking all the blankets off the bed, exposing Sirius’ skin to the cold air and Sirius sits up. “Oh, for God’s sakes,” he grumbles and launches himself forward, tackling Remus out of the bed and onto the floor. His head hits the back of the wall, his legs thrown over Remus and he can’t stop laughing as he smacks him over and over again with the pillow.

“Just one more minute!” Sirius calls. He’s 13 now, balanced on his broomstick, the air cold and clear as he swooped through the goalposts. The sun was setting, shining just above the Ravenclaw tower, casting spiky shadows all over the Quidditch Pitch.

Beside him, James lets out a yell as he flips himself over, weaving in and out around Sirius, trailing huge loops in the air. Sirius smirks and joins him, spiraling in huge arches and swooping into a dive. “Look at me, Remus!”

“You’re 18 minutes past curfew,” Remus informs him; his lips are turned up in a smile though, his eyes bright even in the darkening sky. “You’re going to give us detention.”

James flips him off and spirals back up, hair streaming behind him and Peter squawks. “You’ll kill yourself!”

“Doubtful,” James yells; he’s so high up that his words barely carry back down. “Shut up will you, Wormy!”

Peter blushes and looks down; Remus catches Sirius’ eyes and smirks. “Are you planning on killing yourself anytime soon?”

“Nah,” says Sirius; he’s lost in Remus’ eyes, the shifting colors, the way they seemed to glow even in the darkness. “I’m gonna live forever.”

“Just one more minute,” he calls; he’s bent over against the wall, the map lying on his legs. It’s his pride and joy - he knows every crease, every tear in the paper, loves the way the lines spiral across the parchment and unfold to the edges.

There were three things he loved at Hogwarts; his friends, the map and Remus.

Sirius bends back down over the paper, ignoring the banging on the door; he has his wand out, tip to the parchment, delicately tracing over the capillary of passageways, the lifeblood of the castle. “Give me a minute!”

��You’ve been in there for an hour,” says Remus; he’s got his mouth pressed up against the keyhole, his voice carrying through the room. “You need to study.”

Sirius stands, throwing his hair over his shoulders in mock anger; he can just barely catch the copper gleam of Remus’ eyes through the cracks in the door. “Homework can wait. I’m making a miracle.”

Remus sighs, leaning against the wood; it let out a pitiful creak. “Some miracle. It’s a plain old map.”

Sirius shakes his head, unable to keep the grin off his face. “Just you wait, Moons. Just you wait.”

Just one more minute, he thinks. Let me survive one more minute.

He’s curled up in the floor, the stone cool against his cheek, eyes screwed firmly shut. There’s the taste of blood in his mouth; he knows he’s bitten through his lip, blood running down his chin in steady streams, into the already large puddle around his body. His back burns, so fiercely that it brings tears to his eyes. The Hall still rings with his screams; he had tried to muffle it at first, letting blood flow instead of noise, but it was too much. He had cried out after the 5th Crucio and screamed after the 10th - his mother was resentless and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to walk for days.

He’s on his side now, curled up, what was left of his button down shirt now stained a dark red. Last time his mother had almost cut open his stomach, and so he had kicked his legs up to protect his torso. It was in vain though - all she had done was stack his unprotected back, burning it and cutting it and tearing it open until he had almost passed out.

He blinks rapidly now, fingers clenched on the floor, trying but failing to rise and bracing himself for the next round of pain.

Let me survive one more minute, he thinks, as he pain hits again. Please. Just one more minute.

Just one more minute he thinks, over and over again like a mantra, like some long-forgotten spell. One more minute.

He can hear the howling, coming from the Shack, can see the faint bursts of light trickling through the trees and Sirius sprints even faster.

Goddamn me, he thinks. I’m an idiot.

Because he was. He had let Snape bait him and curse him, had let himself be so caught up with rage and now he had spilled Remus’ secret. Now Snape was in the Shack and Remus was the Wolf and Sirius was desperately sprinting on legs that barely worked and he wanted to punch something but there was no time. He gritted his teeth, waves of pain shooting up his legs; there was still dark magic in his bloodstream, he could feel it. The world was swimming around him, making everything blurry but he didn’t care - Sirius followed the screaming as he headed into the forest.

“Just one more minute,” he says, Remus’ lips on his own. They were lying in bed together, the last day before school ended, Remus’ hands impossibly soft from where they rested on his hip. His hair was lighter, streaks of sun-bleached blond running through them like bits of gold and Sirius ran his hands through them.

“We’re going to be late,” Remus mumbles and Sirius presses him closer, tangling his legs through Remus’. “It’s fine. Classes are over anyways.”

Remus lets out a small yawn, eyes fluttering shut. “You’re a bad influence,” he mutters, his hair shifting due to his soft breaths. “It’s a wonder we’re all not expelled because of you.”

“I’m a star,” Sirius says and Remus laughs, burying his face into Sirius’ neck. “Be careful,” he said. “Stars are lovely and all, Sirius, but remember. They burn bright and then they explode and die.”

Sirius just shrugs, pulling Remus over him. “Better go out with a bang,” he smirks, and moves to cover Remus’ lips with his own.

“Just one more minute,” he hisses, his hands pressed to the steadily growing stain that was spreading across the bandage. “Please. One more minute.”

He can feel Remus’ heartbeat underneath his hands, the normally steady pulse now threads and weak and Sirius curses. “You idiot,” he hisses. “Absolute idiot.”

Remus gives him a weak smile from where he’s sprawled on the floor. His hand is covered in blood, the grip form where it was wrapped around Sirius’ wrist. “I love you,” he croaks.

“Don’t - “ Sirius begins, but it’s too late; with a small exhale Remus closes his eyes.

Sirius swears, redoubling his efforts, trying not to think about the way Remus’ body stiffened and went cold. “Please,” he whispered, and he didn’t know if he was praying or pleading or begging. “Please. Just one more minute.”

Just one more minute.

He’s huddled in the corner of his cell, his eyes tracking the motions of the Dementors gliding in the corridor around him. The air is bitterly, terribly cold, his clothing damp from the water dripping from the ceiling. There’s the taste of metal in his mouth, his hands sore and aching from where he’s slammed them against the wall countless of times; Sirius ignores the pain as he watches through the bars of his cell.

He’s numb now - even he can tell, lost in the haze of sea water and stone. His heart echoes slowly in his chest, his head pounding and his eyes heavy but he can’t fall asleep. Because that’s when the nightmares start, dark and realistic, the nightmares of Remus dying, over and over again. And he’d rather die, rather be tortured and cut and beaten, rather have his body ripped apart then see Remus dead.

So Sirius stares at the wall, fighting sleep, fighting the numbness and the despair with everything he has. Just one more minute. Stay awake for one more minute.

Just one more minute.

He knows he’s going to die.

The Veil whispers to him, soft and ghostly, filling his head with hundreds of images. He can see them, hovering just below his conscience, all the people who he had killed for and fought for and now would die for; Marlene and Dorcas and Fabian and Gideon, Benjy and Cardoc and Mary. And he can see them as well; the redness of Lily’s hair, the glint of James’ glasses, the locket gleaming at the base of Regulus’ throat. And above him is Remus, hand outstretched, still so beautiful even after all these years. He’s shouting something, his face terrified and by God, all Sirius wants to do is take that hand, pull himself up, let himself be with Remus.

It’s all he’s ever wanted, at the end of all this - the chance to live with Remus, to be with him, the ordinary trappings of an ordinary life. He’s already suffered so much, has gone through hell and back and God all Sirius wants to do is be with the boy he loved.

Please, he thinks, he begs, to the God he knows will not answer. Please. Give me one more minute. Let me at least say goodbye.

But he’s falling, backwards, into a pit that seemed to stretch on forever, and Sirius knows his time has run out.

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lavenderhyrdrangea · 5 years ago

Text

Leap: Part 2

As we ate on the porch and surveyed torrid surroundings that were once vibrant the future was brought up.

“This is just the beginning. There’s so many places I’ve gone with out you,” Asra said.

Such odd wording.

“Places you’ve gone without me?”

“Places we haven’t gone together, yet,” he rectified.

After we finished our pudding, we went to the parched basin to clean our bowls. Asra saw it as an opportunity to hone my magic. I was encouraged to turn sand into water. No easy task but with Asra’s gentle guidance I was certain I would get it. First I tried on my own using a tip he’d given me: seeds in desperate need of water. The visual was enough to get a spurt of dirt and then to fill the basin with a pretty convincing thing that looked liked water yet was still sand. Magic was so tricky. He figured I needed another element to learn the lesson. Hands over mine, he gingerly snaked his magic along my skin and allowed it to thrum deep within my veins.

“Somebody is coming this way,” The beast said suddenly.

The aura withdrew. Asra scanned the horizon. “Coming this way? Weird...”

I spotted a figure approaching from a dirt path. The closer it came the more apparent it was that It was a man. He cast about every which way, eyes darting and brows furrowed.

“Excuse me? Are you lost?” I asked.

He noticed Asra immediately. “Oh, great wizard Asra! You’re back! Do you remember me?”

“Maybe I do. Who’s asking?”

“You don’t remember? Saguaro! We met at the painted daisy festival?”

His dialogue had an untold story woven around it. One if Asra’s, reaction had been any indication, would be an interesting one if he had any intents on sharing it in the future.

“Ooooooh Saguaro? Wow, it’s uh...it’s been a while. How have you been?”

“I’m getting by. Shriveled up. Been coming by every now and again, hoping you’d be around.”

Huh. An old friend. Possibly more? The conversation required me to take the empty spaces and fill them in with my assumptions. I’d been doing that for some time anyhow.

“Great wizard, you are our last hope. The spring has gone dry. We won’t last much longer… Times are tough, so we don’t have a lot to spare. All I can offer is a hot meal and a night of music.”

“Well, that all sounds good but we did have plans. It’s up to my companion here.”

I felt their gazes fall upon me.

“What do you think? What do you want to do?” Asra asked, expectant.

I was surprised this was even a question.

“Come on. Let’s go up out the village.”

Saguaro's face lit up, while Asra shed the anticipation once rife within his frame .

His eyes were tender. “Oh, Izzy. Always with your head on straight.”

“One of us has to be the voice of reason,” I said with mock superiority.

Asra looked at Saguaro. “Sounds like you’re in luck, friend.”

“Woah, really? Such kind Wizards. I totally thought it was gonna be harder than that! You guys are something else. Both of you. I get some really powerful vibes off you.”

“No need to flatter us. We’re already helping.” I reminded him.

“It’s not so much flattering as it is calling it how I see it, Dear wizard.”

“You're perspective. I’ll be right back,” Asra said.

After Asra retrieved his satchel, Saguaro quickly led us to town. Like the surrounding areas of our cabin, much of the ground had been long dried out and any soil that once offered vegetation was dead. How could a town survive this long without water? I peeked at some of the townsfolk, as we passed through. A man stuck his head far out his window in hopes of catching a cold draft. Children tried to play a game of marbles in the diminishing shade. A woman mindlessly and sluggishly ran her hand over her cow’s coat, the aforementioned animal laid on it’s side and stared off into the distance.

We stopped in the town square, in front of where the spring once was.

Asra asked, “This is where it was? The spring?”

Saguaro nodded. “Yup. You wouldn’t know it, but it used to bubble up from the middle there.”

“Wow and now it’s just...” I said.

Asra carefully stepped into the empty pool, and beckoned me over. We crouched at the center of the pool.

“Is it the same deal as the basin? Search for the water? Draw it up?”

“This spring is dry as bone.” Asra tilted his head and tried to figure out how to tackle the problem.” Not sure if we can draw anything up this time around.”

“I’ll try.” I declared.

The ground felt cracked beneath my fingers. No water. Was my magic searching deep enough? Visualization was the key. I thought of waterfalls, and rivers and ponds. I closed my eyes and all I saw was red. The more I tried to put a hold on it the more red everything got. Soon the red bled over the entirety of my vision. Dread’s icy touch sent a shiver down my spine. Forcing my magic deeper, I pushed through it. However, the frantic squirming told me it couldn’t be water.

Asra’s voice pulled me out.

“...drawing a crowd. I have a bad feeling about this. I’d rather you left this one to me.”

“You can join in if you want but I’m not letting this one go. I’m already so close. Let me help.”

He hesitantly laid his hands next to mine. I feel his aura ease into the earth.

“There!” I said “That movement. it’s definitely not water. Right?”

“Keep going.”

I nodded. Perhaps the water was further down.

The ground suddenly tremored. Asra and I looked into each others eyes to steel ourselves as red spewed from the ground and poured up into the sky. Had I drawn fire instead of water somehow? I fell back. I hoped I hadn’t summoned something far beyond our expertise. Cacophonous clicks grated upon my chilled nerves.

Beetles!

They smothered the sky in droves. Once the ground spouted the last of them, they fanned out and scattered.

“Izzy!”

Asra gripped my shoulders in a flash. Our eyes met as the gravity of the situation dawned on us: Lucio was up to something. I read something else in his eyes. Something almost pleading.

“I’m fine if that’s what you’re silently driving yourself mad about.”

Saying nothing, he pulled me into the strongest embrace I’d ever been in. I gave him a squeeze back just as strong. It would tell him everything would be alright. I just knew it.

“I don’t believe it! Magicians the spring!”

“The spring...” Asra said, bewildered.

Fresh water bubbled at our feet. We’d done it!

“Thank you, great wizard! We won’t forget this! Please, let us cook you up a feast like you wouldn’t believe.”

A vivacious burst of joy fluttered around the town. It was as if they were cocooned in trepidation and now they were free. They cooked up a feast while we looked over an artist’s display. We had an assortment of clay figurines to chose from. I couldn’t really find anything that drew me in entirely. Asra on the other hand, surprisingly chose a sly purple fox rather a snake. He told me he identified with it better. It surely did seem to have his bearing somehow. The celebration intensified once food and dance were introduced. Asra opted to feast under an aloe tree overlooking the festivities. I mangled amongst the townsfolk.

Saguaro leaned in to speak to me. “Say,Izzy, Do you dance like your companion? I’ve feasted with Asra before. He can dance all night. “

Oh, that I had to see. Asra was zoned out when I got to him. The dilapidated sunlight cast a gentle glow about him.

“I’ve been told you’re quite the party goer. ”When he remained deep in his own head space, I tried again. “You can dance all night?” Still nothing. “I’m not sure I should take his word for it. How about you show me, me? Want to dance? I know I do. I need to dance some of the cactus off. Who knew it could be so heavy?”

His unseeing eyes came to. “Sorry what? Nadia’s wondering about us to Portia at the palace. Who’s Portia?”

“She’s… I don’t really have time to explain. “Asra popped up his brow. I veered back to my original question. “Do you want to dance or are you chicken?”

“That really is what you said. I thought I imagined it. You want to dance? I’d love to.”

“Yes!”

I jumped up and pulled him by wrist towards the dancing crowd. Music blaring, he wrapped his arms around me and swayed for a bit. “Heh. I didn’t know this something you wanted to see so badly.”

“You’re already such a captivating individual. You excel in magic. You’re charismatic and handsome.”

Pulling back and making sure our were fingers interlocking, I looked into his eyes and said,“Since the universe had to be fair. I was hoping Saguaro was lying for your sake and that this was actually your biggest flaw.”

He chuckled. His blush became more apparent. “My biggest flaw?”

“Everybody has one. Or two. Or three. Even more.”

He spun me around. “I hope I’ve been a disappointment in that regard then.

“Oh, shush. I’ll get you one day.”

After the dance ends, our host thanked us for our assistance.

“Well I am most delighted with his food. It wasn’t any trouble, Saguaro.” Asra replied. Although, I won’t speak for Izzy. Beetles were a surprise.”

Saguaro turned a ghastly shade of white as he went on to explain the beetles presence. The town had known that they were there, and had an understandable fear of the Vesuvians that put them there. They were offered protection in exchange for one third of their cactus crop. The offer was declined and suspiciously, a great red beetle showed up that evening. The same Vesuvians stepped up to help and handled it in exchange for two thirds of their cactus crop. An increase from their last offer. Lucio dealt the last blow. Asra laid a comforting hand on my shoulder when this part came up. The larger beetle shattered into many and they burrowed into the ground.

“And the spring’s been dry ever since? For that long?”

“That’s insane.” I said.

“But now it’s come back. The count is gone, and things are finally turning around!”

We made it away from the festivities unnoticed. Our friend the beast was already waiting for us.

I said after Asra helped me onto his back, “He seemed happy about the fact that Lucio was gone.”

The beast sprang into action.

“I mean, most people would be. He wasn’t the nicest guy.”

He purposefully missed my point but I was flexible. I could drive it back.

“They’re going to be so crushed when they find out that’s he’s back.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

“Magicians trust that their gut, right? Mine says he is. Plus, I told you what I saw back at the palace and you were there with me in the forest.”

“It was an apparition.”

“He could be just as dangerous as a ghost as he would be with a body...”

“Something’s wrong.” Asra concluded slowly. “I can’t deny that but we can’t jump to conclsuions.”

“You don’t want to believe he’s back. Denying his return won’t stall whatever he has coming.”

“It’s not about what I want. You’re right though. We can’t stay in limbo about this. We need answers. It’s why we have to go back to the source.”

“Back to the palace?”

Asra nodded. By the time we made it back our tension receded and the beast had been/was thirsty when we arrived to the little cabin. He groaned for water.

Asra happily obliged, walking over to the dry basin.

“Mind if I try to draw water again?” I asked, trailing his steps.

“We should do it differently this time.”

“What will be so different about it?”

“I’m always giving you words to think about, but obviously the strongest spells are words of your own. So this time, try to empty your mind. The will words will come.”

I knelt in front of the basin and hovered splayed hands over it. I try to bring my thoughts back to the helpful streams, rivers and waterfalls. Clean, clear waters. I imagined the sounds, the splashing, sloshing, and feel. The water would be cold between my toes and lap at my ankles. Upon opening my eyes I see water...or something like it. A closer look revealed to be red.

“But I tried not to see the blood.” I murmured.

“What were you thinking, Izzy?”

“I thought of water surrounding me.”

He pointed out the beetles had also surrounded us.

I shuddered. “They were red too. I might be stuck on that for a few weeks.”

“You’re not the only one.”

He waved his hand over the water and like that it was red no longer The beast beast fell to upon the water, slurping it up greedily with his tongue. Silently. Asra walked into the cabin. I followed.

Trying to find the right words, Asra sputtered. “The beetles are sign.”

“Makes sense.”

He gulped, nodded and went on reluctantly, “I haven’t seen one in years, not before...”

“Before?”

“They used to be a real problem in Vesuvia”

He dodged yet another question.

“How bad of a problem?”

“ They’re not of this world, but they can pass through it. And they cause a lot of damage when they do. There’s no saying what we’ll be walking into when we had back to the city.

“If there’s a chance of this becoming bigger than the both of us... You’d know I rather die than hide away until everything’s over.”

“Don’t say that. That will never happen.”

“You’ve also told me that Lucio couldn’t reach us here and look-- now we’ve got beetles.”

“I’m sorry.”

I closed the space between us so that I was next to where he was near the bed. I wanted to hold him.

“Don’t be. The cards or no, you can’t account for the hiccups in our path anymore than I or anyone else can.”

He reached out to me and I fell into his touch. His caress upon my cheek was gentle and fervent.

“None of this would’ve happened if I stayed. I should’ve.”

“What did I just say? You don’t know that. The only thing different would’ve been that you would’ve been at the palace with me.”

“It would’ve been better that way.”

“Not really. We would’ve still had Lucio running amok. Besides you crazy magic man: You. Don’t. Know. that.”

The way he stared at me looked like he did. Like he was hiding something. He dropped his gaze and though he lowered my hands, he held them tight.

“Izzy...wait. Faust hasn’t said anything yet. We could stay a little longer, at least to get a good night’s sleep.”

“That’d be nice but you know we can’t.”

“Right, we need to get there before the beetles. Now’s the best time to leave. But if I bring you back and something happens to you, how can I forgive myself?”

“What happened to that would never happen?” I joked but it was obvious he wasn’t in the mood. I fixed to reassure him, to tell him that I wouldn’t die. I really did. However, morbid as it was to realize, with Luccio was becoming more and more of the bogeyman I’d imagined him to be neither he nor I could make those type of promises . I shoved the thought to the back to my mind. Nonsense. There was no room for two fatalistic nail biters. He brought me comfort whenever I felt lost and overwhelmed, and endeavored to do the same. I kissed him.

“Thank you.” He took a sharp intake of breath. “ I’m crying over things that haven’t happened yet”

“It’s nothing.”

“Guess we should wake the beast.”

He’d been really apologetic about waking the beast again but, great sport he was, the beast was roaring and ready to go. Asra gently ushered me onto the boar.

Though it looked like our leap ended up with us falling flat on our faces. I was ready to start anew. This time we wouldn’t run. We would do it in Vesuvia.

#My writing #asra #the arcana #Izzy

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minyoonsh · 6 years ago

Text

;nct 127 reaction to

you slapping their ass

and then running away;

idek know what this is.. but i has it in my drafts so. i guess this is kinda crack lol.

this is kinda long

also there’s swearing in this poop, so just watch out..idk

also. some of these are longer than the others, i try to not put any favoritism into this. bcs that’s kinda unfair. so if one of them r longer than the other please don’t get offended. i’m not trying to offend anyone here.

mark

i think mark’s immediate reaction would be just shocked. he was in the studio with some of his members going through some lyrics, when you ripped the door open and smacked his ass before running out yelling, “i’m going to school now, byeee.” and not even a second later you were gone. the other members had different reactions, some had a slick smirk on their face. and some others were just shocked. but most of them were laughing uncontrollably.

mark didn’t really mind it, he would definitely get back at you. he just needed the right timing first.

taeyong

would be shocked as you stood there frozen with your hand still on his butt. you didn’t except that you had guests, and when you ran into the kitchen feeling mischievous. you didn’t see the others on the other side of the room looking at taeyong.

taeyong’s face turned red as he moved a little away from you and you immediately moved your hand back. you weren’t that embarrassed, but you knew taeyong was. his ears and face a quite obvious red. “uhh.. i didn’t know we had guests.” you said and went to grab something to snack on. and since your voice broke the silence the other guys broke into laughter and you looked over at taeyong who was smiling awkwardly at you. you walked over to him and whispered “im sorry baby.” and you kissed his cheeks.

“wow ____, i didn’t know you were into or that stuff.” lucas said with a smug face.

taeil

would be kinda similar to taeyongs reaction. but with much more awkwardness radiating off of him. you once smacked his ass as a joke when he was cooking something. but seeing as he became flustered and shy when it happened. it turned into a regular thing, you tried not to do it too often so that he would stop reacting to it. but it was so tempting when he stood there talking with his member about god knows what. his ass just waiting to be smacked.

you decided to do it anyway, but causal tho. you just walked past normally, pretending that you were going to get something from that side of the room. while you did, you slapped his ass not to hard but you could practically feel how tensed he was as your hand made contact with his ass.

the other members started laughing immediately. sure they have seen taeil be flustered before, but not to this point. “babeeee!” he whisper shouted at you as his ears burned red.

“it was too tempting.” you said and blinked before returning to your room.

johnny

ever since johnny had been on that show where he made the remark, “oh daddy!” let’s just say that you still hadn’t left it alone. you were cleaning that day and decided to put the tv on in the background since you remembered that his appearance was today. you felt calm hearing his voice and his laughter, but as soon as you heard johnny said his remark or whatever you would call it. you bursted out laughing.

you couldn’t believe your boyfriend did that, on tv. (idek if the show was on tv just hang in there lol)

so ever since that, every time there was a nice moment for it. you would smack your hand over his ass and say “oh daddy!” loud. but of course, there was one time the joke backfired. johnny was in the kitched making some drink or whatever. and you decide this was the perfect moment for one of your ‘jokes’. johnny didn’t actually mind them that much, as long as you were in private. of course. so when you yelled out “oh daddy!” and there was a loud smack echoing through the room. and the silence that was followed by it. you turned around and saw jisung, chenle & haechan witting on the couch with wide eyes and blush on their cheeks.

this time it was johnny’s turn to laugh “lol.” he said as he walked into the living room with the glasses acting like nothing happened.

(mom i love him ^^)

yuta

omfg this guy would be so cocky abt it holy shit. when you walked into the practice room and this time you didn’t smack his ass you just grabbed it and pulled him into a kiss. “heyy babe.” you said smiling. you knew that the others were watching, yuta had said to you that he loved it when you did stuff like that. he found it sexy. so you decided this was the perfect chance. “i missed you.” he said and hugged you. but after the hug you sat down on the couch and watched yuta as he was stretching.

mark and jaehyun were staring at yuta so he looked over at them with the biggest smirk on his lips and opened his mouth to say “what?” his voice sounded normal. the other two went back to stretching but definitely wondered what the hell that was. yuta looked back at you and winked before continuing again.

doyoung

i feel like this boi would be kinda flustered, but in a good way i guess. his heart would actually flutter at your action. and you knew damn well that he had that kind of reaction (rhyme lmao). you loved watching his cheeks go pink and starting to fidget on something, often your shirt. it was mostly you who had to initiate skinship, and when you did he absolutely loved it. adored it. so when you did that action for the first time as a joke, he kinda liked it. (not in a dirty way u hoes) and when you did it one day in front of his buddies. he still got the same reaction, maybe just a bit more blush to his cheeks. the others looked at him with cheeky smiles on their faces.

you would put your arms around him and try to make him even more flustered. “babyy stooop.” he would whine cutely, but he sure didn’t actually want you to let go. and thankfully you knew that.

jaehyun

i feel like he’d get kinda mad about it if it was in front of his members, or he would act like it was nothing. depending on who it was with him and which mood he was in. this time, it was taeyong & johnny he was hanging with. playing video games, laying around doing nothing really. they had a week of and that wasn’t so normal. but after a few days they started to miss each other, so they met up. but the first few days had just been you and jaehyun. going to dinners and romantic dates.

but today jaehyun had been teasing you for every little thing, your height, your pronounciaton & your laugh. and you wanted to get back at him with slapping him hard af right on his ass. you weren’t feeling childish at all. you walked into the livingroom. pretending to watch the movie that was on. “babe, could you get me a glass of water?” you said in a cute voice and you knew he wouldn’t say no. he smiled at you and stood up. and as soon as he did that you smacked him hard as fuuck right on his coochie.

you started laughing like a maniac and the two others joining in. all three laughing at jaehyun’s shocked face.

“that’s what you get for teasing me hyunieeee.”

winwin

idk about how this boy would react tbh. i think maybe he would get a bit embarrassed, but nothing much. not blushing or anything like that, maybe a little proud lmao. he was in the practice room in the middle of practicing cherry bomb for one of his upcoming performances. you watched how he danced and you loved it so much. as soon as he was done you run up to his sweaty figure and hugged him. he doesn’t really like skinship with others in public but he let this one go. “what are you doing here?” he asked and looked down at you. the truth was that you were nearby and just wanted to stop by. “just wanted to do this.” you said and smacked him on his ass super fast and then a kiss on the cheek almost as fast as that. and the you ran out of there like there was no tomorrow.

he immediately ran after you, “you’re gonna get it!” he said, laughing at how childish you two were.

his other members didn’t really mind, but their choreographer did. “hey! sicheng! come back!” he yelled after you two. “there’s no use.” mark said while tying his shoes.

haechan

had been driving you nuts all day, clinging to you like wax. only leaving you when you were in the bathroom. and even if you loved it when he was affectionate and sweet, it gets a bit to much right? so you were relieved when some of his members came over and he immediately stopped clinging to you. he tried to do it when they weren’t watching but they sure as hell weren’t blind. they knew he wanted to hang with you and not with them, so just as they stood up from the couch they heard a loud smack from upstairs and a loud voice followed.

“you little child, you don’t get to call me clingy! you are the clingy one!” you said as you spanked him like a child. “____! stooop.” he whined.

the door opened and you two froze as for curious eyes peeked in. what they saw were you standing face to face your hands on his butt and his face almost in your boobs. “yeez, we just wanted to tell you that we’re leaving.” he said. “finally.” haechan sighed and went to follow them to the front door. and when he came back he almost tackled you on the bed and stated tickling you. (no dirty stuff y’all)

ps: i didn’t proof-read this

leave requests for reactions, it’s fun to write:)

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or-something-better · 2 years ago

Text

June 27, 2022

(Evening at the bar)

Sam

Unlocks the Bar and flips on the lights Open for business... Goes to the bar and gets a few glasses out and ready to go. Puts the Beatle’s ‘Let It Be’ on the jukebox to start the night off right.

Ruby

Might be a quiet night.

Sam

Hey, Ruby... and a quiet night would not hurt my feelings one bit. What can I get you ma'am?

Charlie

Hey guys, how’s it going?

Ruby

She IS alive!

Sam

There's the Boss Lady herself, hi Charlie

Alex

Smiles walk in hey Sam and ruby

Ruby

Hello Alex. How are you?

Sam

Hi Alex, come on in. Puts another Beatles song on to play.

Ruby

You taking a breather from the little ones?

Sam

Gets myself a draft beer from the tap Anyone else?

Ruby

I'm sensing a music theme here.... Not yet for me.

Alex

Yeah they are handful and they are good

Charlie

I’ll have one Sammy

Sam

I just finished watching the Peter Jackson Beatles documentary. It’s a gift to the world, that thing...so yes, Beatles on the brain tonight… You got it Draws one up for Charlie, being careful not to over foam Here you go...

Alex

I will have tequila

Sam

Hey! Go big or go home, right Alex? Grabs a double shot glass and pours her a full one, leaving the bottle

Charlie

taking it, then taking a sip thanks Sam!

Sam

raises my own glass in a silent toast. And Ruby.. anything you'd like?

Ruby

I'll have a Pina colada

Sam

Ohhhhh and the Lady is going fancy like chuckles and makes the drink she asked for There you go. Oh just a second, let me go drop the fries hurries to that back to put the frozen fries in the basket and start them cooking. Sets the timer so they don't burn

Ruby

You get to cook this week?

Sam

Don't worry I set the timer, so they don't burn…

(After a few minutes)

Sam

Hears the buzz of the fryer Be right back Takes them off to drain, while I find a large tray. Pours them out and brings the salt shaker and a stack of paper plates You'll have to salt your own.. 'cause you know... Ruby chuckles

Ruby

Thanks Sam, Grabs a fry OW, Hot11

Sam

Laughs Duh, they just came out of the cooker

Ruby

Holds a mouthful of Pina Colada to cool off my tongue

Sam

I feel like this every time someone here mentions a movie or TV show. I thought I'd paid attention growing up, but apparently, I read more than I watch TV. Plays the Beatles We Can Work It Out

Ruby

This is one of my favs, but the record version

Sam

I like some of the remastered versions better after just seeing the Jackson film. You'll have to check it out, really worth the watch

Ruby

on my list.... somewhere in there

Sam

I understand lists... trust me on that. Refills by beer from the tap

Ruby

Nope....can't see you NOT with a list

Sam

Tosses a French fry at her Funny...

Ruby

Ducks.. I have it remastered on the #1 hits album

Sam

That's a really good album. So.. speaking of MY lists... you ready to begin tackling mine at the New Bunker? Going to need some serious cleaning supplies and a bust buster or something. Hasn't been any air circulation in there for what? 90 years?

Ruby

My dance card is open and the further I am from Sebastian, the better.

Alex

The new bunker is not that bad it all cool and we are hiding from Klaus?

Ruby

We'll have to be real careful about handling any of that stuff. No telling the condition of some of it.

Sam

Leans against the bar, eating a fry I saw... Oh, I forgot the ketchup... just a sec runs to get it and bring it back

Ruby

You are one prepared little dude Henry!

Sam

No, Dean and I just stayed behind to try and get an inventory of what's in the place. Pushes her arm I heard the hope in that question

Ruby

What? I was just asking, Sam

Sam

You're such a .. Nope, nope... holds my hands in the air in surrender not gonna say it

Ruby

Probably a wise choice

Sam

I'll have to get you a few of the pictures of this place for Charlie, so that you can see it for real. She worked hard putting all the pieces together for us. Comes around from behind the bar and pulls up a stool

Ruby

She did. It's amazing! It’s nice to hear our group sing

Sam

True That chuckles My brother can sure carry a tune

Dean

walks in hey sorry a bit late tonight

Sam

Well, speak of the devil

Ruby

Speak of the Devil

Dean

Where? Lucifer?

Alex

Hey Dean Smiles

Sam

Different Devil, Jerk

Dean

By the way never do that again you and ruby saying the same thing at the exact same time is disturbing. Bitch

Sam

I can't help it if she's smart Dean

Dean

Um.... No comment

Sam

You want something from the bar, help yourself. We are winging it tonight, man

Dean

Yep grabs a bottle of whiskey from the bar good I will save ya from washing a glass smiles. pop the bottle open and takes a drink, walks up to the stage and takes the mic turning the sound system on and checking the mic sorry feel like singing it this time start singing

Sam

Whistles loudly

Ruby

I'll always think of Stranger Things when I think of the Neverending Story

Sam

Hey, Ruby.. I've seen THAT movie laughs. we rock that shit

Ruby

I can't help but laugh. At Sam and the vision of him as Atreyu

Sam

Back behind the bar to refill my beer from the tap yet again There are other food stuffs back there, if anyone's hungry. You're not just doomed to French fries. I just made them because they're Ruby's favorites

Dean

Burger sounds better than fries snagging a handful of fries just not feeling up to grillin one tonight

Ruby

Charlie go to bed?

Dean

You already know I’ve been working on cleaning a little in the bunker in NO. Found a lot of old guns have a couple that jammed even after I already cleaned them so I think they need retired but you will be shocked at some that actually have a great shot still

Sam

Last I heard she was cleaning up

Ruby

If he could only have imagined.....

Sam

You got some working? Wow. I would have bet against it

Ruby

Tough adulting day. Find any P08 nine-millimeter Parabellums?

Sam

Firearms as old as those belong in a museum. Not sure I'd wanna trust my life to one

Ruby

You could get a good price for one....trust me.

Sam

chuckles Yeah, for most of the stuff I've seen so far in the place. You want to be our Black-Market rep?

Ruby

For a Nazi Lugar...BIG money

Dean

Yes actually

Sam

You're kidding

Dean

Nope and it works

Ruby

There you go

Dean

Bro have you NOT been in the armory? It’s nothing but weapons from the 30s. I will have to show you all of the stash later

Sam

Gives him the no shit Sherlock face Yes, I know Dean...

Dean

grabs the cordless mic and starts singing

Ruby

Keep it in mind Sam. Should you find the need.....

Dean

Dont encourage

Sam

That's kind of a change of pace for you... give him a close look over You feelin okay?

Dean

Hey I dont judge your song choices. slapping you on the back as I walk back to the bar

Sam

Watches him, thinking weird … It does! Speaking of that, I started logging the rooms in the new Bunkers today and have to pick one for myself. Where did you decide to stay? And have you seen any rooms without that FooFoo French furniture?

Ruby

Haven't given it much thought. I suppose I will have to figure that out soon.

Sam

yeah, I fell asleep last night on a sofa. Not repeating that tonight. Hey Dean! Where's your room in the Bunker?

Ruby

How many bedrooms are there?

Sam

Haven't finished counting yet, stopped at five, but feels like it's just a fraction of what might be there

Dean

Um.... Down the hall thinking one...two....three....4....somewhere in there. .. And yes they all have the same weird ass furniture

Alex

I think it lot and I keep my kiddo in my room with me

Sam

Damn, I don't really mind how it looks... but it just seems so breakable I'm afraid if I sit on it, bam! makes a slapping sound on the bar. I'm going to clean up in back, you guys help yourself to whatever your drinking Goes back to wash the fryer basket and shut off the heat

Dean

So much for food laughs drinking down my bottle and grabbing another bottle

Ruby

Watches Sam being Domestic

Sam

Hey! Just cleaning my mess, you want me to throw something on the grill back here for you Princess?

Dean

Princess my ass I’m not your ditch-able prom date as bobby would have said laughing

Sam

laughing too Last chance... not offering again dude

Dean

Yeah bitch

Alex

Drink tequila almost spit and burst out laughing

Sam

Jerk Takes a hamburger patty out of the freezer and throws it on the grill, setting a weight on top of it. Then goes back out You better time that thing yourself, or it'll be over-done for you. Anyone else in the market for a burger?

Ruby

I'm good.

Alex

Yeah I can have one

Sam

Yeah, me too grins over at her I think it's from all the popping to places lately. Messes up my system... Sure, Alex Leave for the back before Ruby can call me out

Dean

checks my watch flip in about 4 minutes and let it cook on the either side for 4 minutes and it should be good

Alex

Thanks you Sam

Ruby

I raise my voice so he can hear me I'm good unless there is a cheesecake back there!

Dean

drinks half my bottle of whiskey FLIP MY BURGERS SAMMY

Sam

Gets a burger cooking for Alex. Cuts a tomato and onion, the lettuce is already shredded, it'll have to do

Dean

POUR A LIL BEER ON THAT BITCH

Sam

Got it! removes the weight and flips the burger. Bring me one from under the bar!

Dean

grabs a can and throws it your way HEADS UP

Sam

Spins and reaches for it, fumbles it a couple times before getting a good hold on it. Wisely open it over the sink, because it's now shook up. Adds the beer to Deans burger and watches it smoke

Dean

Fumble! Oh and he saves it! Touchdown! And the Winchester scores! throw my arms up in the air

Sam

Tosses a couple of buns on plates and adds the burgers. Carries them out Hang on and I'll bring the other stuff, ketchup is over there. points to the bar

Dean

Where’s the bacon and cheese Sammy man your slacking bro!

Sam

Goes back for the veggies, mayo and mustard Don't say I never made you anything

Dean

piles my burger with onion lettuce tomato ketchup mayo and mustard and take a bite oh hell yeah! Just missing the bacon and cheese but it’s perfect otherwise as slightly bloody juice runs down my chin

Sam

makes a gagging sound

Ruby

You ok Alex?

Sam

and of course you'd know that... okay... wonder if we're doing anything special. I guess I should ask someone

Dean

finish my burger cleaning up my mess and finish off my bottle grabbing another

Alex

Yeah Nod

Dean

pops it open drinking it we should let off a bunch of fireworks for all the kids

Alex

Oh yeah

Ruby

what? You going to make some age reference?

Sam

Dean.. you lost me at kids...

Alex

Smiles Olivia Will love that

Dean

Hey you can’t avoid the family bro holidays are family time and yes that includes the kids

Alex

This is going be fun

Sam

As long as I'm not solely responsible for any of them, I'll be good

Dean

Solely responsible for ALL of them laughs

Sam

laughs too, because it’s just too ridiculous to think about

Dean

drinks my whiskey and cleans my dishes putting them away and sit back at the bar drinking oh hey Jo I found some stuff at the new bunker I want ya to check out with me later

Sam

Cleans off the grill and shuts everything in the back down

Alex

Heading back to new bunker

No worries

Dean

You drivin us back to NO? drinks more of my whiskey

laughs yep

Sam

Grabs the broom and starts to give the bar a sweep. Dang My neck is still bugging me from sleeping on that sofa... never again Gettin too old for that I mumble to myself

Ruby

Goes over to Sam while he's leaning over and whisper in his ear.

Dean

Get a room Sammy! laughs never thought I’d say that without it involving sex

Sam

A room? For a broom? You might have reached your limit there, Dean

Ruby

I can pop you two to the bunker, Dean.

Dean

I mean to sleep in instead of on a sofa You sure?

Ruby

Absolutely. You ready?

Sam

OH! might have felt a bit guilty after Ruby's comment I get it now finishes the floor

Dean

Hold on finishing my bottle grabbing couple more and a case of beer since we haven’t got any in New Orleans

Ruby

Sure you have everything? I ask with a smile

Sam

Dean, you expecting to be cut off from civilization for a while?

Dean

It’s a case of beer and a bottle bro normal amount we buy on a beer run

Ruby

Ok. You and Jo ready?

Sam

You DO know we're the only ones at this Bunker, right? chuckles

Dean

Aren’t you taking Sam too? Yep and you drink too

Sam

That I do starts to wipe down the bar

Ruby

Alright, here we go. I pop over to the NO bunker, drop Dean and Jo off and pop back to the bar. How long you gonna milk the cleanup job?

Dean

Could wait for.... disappeared

Sam

laughs You didn't even give the poor man the count!

Ruby

You want me to take you to him so he can finish?

Sam

No.. no. I can catch up with him tomorrow. Looks around at the bar. Everything seems to be put back to rights I'm ready... you ready?

Ruby

I smile 3-2-1 We vanish

Sam

Sighs and looks around at the apartment Ruby, I DO miss my bed here... but I have to lock the bar... can you take me back their please?

Ruby

THAT distracted? Sighs, Pops us back. I'm counting.

Sam

Laughing too hard to work the lock Stop counting you're giving me performance anxiety

Ruby

Oh for Gabe's sake. You've closed the bar before.

Sam

Locks the door and flips off the light. Walks back Okay... count us out of here and then no more talking...

Ruby

3-2-1 We vanish......again

0 notes

believerindaydreams · 4 years ago

Text

Don't mind me I'm drafting

"this was a bad idea" part six. Finally tackling Boone POV.

I am unironically in love with his style, actually.

Huh. Can't feel all my limbs.

Elijah must be twice as paranoid as the Legion, stripping and gassing us. Won't be easy getting out alive here, when I couldn't even make it to Caesar with a weapon. Damn him. No good bringing a knife to a ballistic fistfight.

Hypocrite. Gotta stay alive so I can get back, finish the job properly.

Pretty sure the sky is that color. Not blood in my eyes after all...damn ugly clouds. Wish I had a gas mask. Fountain here is dry but it smells rancid.

Someone's put me in a jumpsuit. Old stuff, maybe prewar. Hell's the point of this? Wouldn't stop a BB gun.

Think I can move some, now. Yeah. Good. Doc's still out cold- damn, he isn't dead, is he? Medic doesn't belong out on the front lines, he never should have been sent with me.

Pulse. He's breathing. Best I can do without any equipment or meds...he has a jumpsuit, too. Kinda short on him, leaves the ankles bare. Exposure could be bad. I don't think that smell is just sleepy gas.

A gun. This is new. No way was he hiding this baby...looks like a grenade launcher, but for microfusion cells. Energy weapon, then, who knows how it works. Not a whole lot of good to either of us then.

Wish I had my beret. Caching it was the smart move, but I don't feel right without it.

"Doc. You okay?"

He chokes in a breath of bad air, spits it out, pulls himself sitting upright against the fountain wall. "All in one piece- do you see my glasses?"

How is it someone this smart didn't see this coming. "No sign of them. Pretty sure you don't get them back until we finish the job."

For a Follower, he has a pretty good knowledge of swears. But then he did work in Freeside.

"This is insane. I'm nothing but a liability, all I'll do is get us both killed."

"Doc. Don't worry about it-"

I usually don't say enough to be worth interrupting but he's mad and panicking, like a gecko in a trap. "Hold your hand up in front of my face, about a foot away."

"Okay." Easy to do.

"Ask me how many fingers you're holding up."

"Okay. How many?"

"I have no fucking idea. I can read a book just fine if it's three inches from my nose, my perception drops off a cliff after that." He puts his hand to his temples for what looks like a favorite tell- whip off the glasses, nervously rub them clean- realises yet again he hasn't got them, resumes swearing.

I let him get it out of his system. Anybody who's been playing suck up to Caesar probably needs it. "Look, don't fret so much. You're a doctor, I didn't figure that you would be any use in combat in the first place."

Just because he can't see doesn't mean I can't. Arcade's suddenly looking real, real shifty.

"I would normally be slightly more help, but- never mind. Moot point as it stands."

Yeah. Probably knows enough to bash in some junkie's skull so he can get from one end of Freeside to the other. "Maybe we can find some glasses around here. Wasteland's full of them."

"Yes, because they're very specialised and almost useless to anybody besides the original wearer, it's like trying to load a missile launcher with shot- I take it back. If you see any, please let me know, anything would be better than this."

This is gonna be a long slog if ray of sunshine is on the skids. "Well, maybe we would get ourselves killed anyway. Only weapon we've got is some damn kind of energy weapon, and if I start pushing buttons on that we might just blow ourselves up."

Maybe it's just how uncomfortable he looks, but there's something downright naked about the doc's face right now. At least I don't need sunglasses just to function, not at this light level.

"Let me see it."

I pick up the gun, wrap his fingers around it carefully. At least they aren't shaky. "Pretty sure this bit is the safety. Stay away from that."

"Mmm." He holds it up close enough to touch his nose, very thoughtful. Better look on that face.

Too bad I don't have any cigarettes to smoke. I keep a watch out while he worries it, fish a few coins from the fountain. Not Legion. Maybe they're worth something around here.

"...you know what, assuming I did get a quasi-functional pair of glasses, I think I could work this."

And it all falls into place. Damn it. Damn him, and Caesar, and the whole fucking Legion. This is too many coincidences to believe.

Only question is, is the doc in on it or not. If he was I'd maul him to death with my bare hands, right now.

"Where would a Follower learn about energy weapons, doc?"

"Oh. Uh...people keep swapping us all kinds of junk for medical services, somebody had to offload it with the Van Graffs. I, uh, picked up a few things from them."

Only thing that keeps him alive is how shit he is at lying.

I mean. He's terrible at it. Anybody who delivered such a stammering mess of excuses to Caesar about how I showed up in his tent doesn't know the first thing about fakery. Else he's been plotting the whole deception from the start.

...and that doesn't fit. No way he could have expected me to show up to the Fort, I chose to do that. To him I would have been just a stranger in NCR kit.

It's all a matter of trust. Do I trust him, or don't I.

Damn it. This seemed a lot easier when it was just me getting killed alone.

"Doc. I can spot you."

"That's great, but calling out directions will be a wonderful way of telegraphing out intentions to an enemy."

"I don't mean like that. Hold the gun up, look through the sights."

"I can't even see the sights."

"Do it anyway."

"...okay. How does this help at all?"

"Swing the rifle around and point it at me."

"Uh. If you insist."

He lets out a ragged gasp when he realises what he's looking at.

I know what he's seeing, because Manny's done it for me often enough. Red target, burning like the cloud over our heads. Something haunted about them both. Death outlined in blood.

"...what is it I'm seeing, here?"

"Don't want to talk about it. Think you can hit what you need to like this?"

"...yes. I could hardly miss."

"Well, good. Time to get off our butts and go beat up the Brotherhood, then."

Smart one like the doc, I don't figure he'll let it go at that.

That he does is kind of a curious thing.

#fallout new vegas

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years ago

Text

The art of the forced fumble

Or, the six types of fumbles you meet in heaven.

Fumbles, for the most part, don’t just happen. They are crafted.

Each player on the defensive side of the ball has his own assignment when it comes to prying a possession loose from its holder. Several pieces have to fall into place just right to get a 240-pound tailback, arms wrapped tightly around the ball as though he were protecting his offspring, to abandon his primary directive.

Sometimes it’s a one-man operation. Other times it’s a collaboration. But each fumble, barring the occasional DeSean Jackson drop at the 1-yard line or Mark Sanchez slide into his own lineman’s posterior, is the synthesis of drills and tape study accumulated from years of practice. No fumble is just a single moment; it’s a stalagmite created from a steady football drip into a defender’s brain.

The process begins before contact is made. Defenders size up runners, assess what they’re dealing with, and weigh the risk of missing a tackle vs. the reward of freeing the ball and ending a budding possession. From there, every motion — from a sturdy wrap-up that pushes a running back’s arms upwards where a teammate can swat it to the turf, to the chase-down punch once perfected by Charles Tillman — is meaningful. In the perfect setting, it’s the destructive force that turns the most sure-handed player into a butter-fingered mess.

How does a play come to this momentum-changing terminus? I had the chance to speak with more than a dozen of this year’s top defensive prospects at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Together, they helped me better understand when they had the green light to swat at the ball, and which technique was their bread and butter when they saw a sliver of daylight. The answers I got ranged from simple to in-depth, but all shed some light on how these players approached each game and each play.

We know what happens once players pile up atop a loose ball. Let’s break down the art of getting it there, as told by some of the most sought-after players in the 2020 NFL Draft class.

Phase I: The defensive linemen set the stage

The first line of defense most ballcarriers face — running backs and quarterbacks, mostly — are the biggest guys on the field. Tailbacks are tasked with not only identifying holes, making cuts, and accelerating to top speed moments after a handoff, but also have to deal with ball protection while being tackled by opponents who may nearly double their body weight.

For tackles and ends, the mission may be different. Players who tip the scales at 300+ pounds man the middle of the field to clog running lanes and shrink pockets. They’re dealing with runners bracing for impact at the line of scrimmage, so their goal is often more on standing up a running back — and allowing their teammates to rip the ball from well-guarded hands — before depositing him on the turf.

Fumble-forcing technique No. 1: The stack

youtube

Khalil Davis, Nebraska (drafted by the Buccaneers, sixth round): Usually if I’m on an offensive tackle and I’m about to do a move, and I see the ball gets out [from QB to RB] quick, I swipe, then I push off so they can never get a hold of me. So I can get to the ball faster. It’s always swipe, then push, to keep them off of me, create space.

I’m an ankle biter. I don’t understand why some guys go up high. If I get your feet, someone else is going to clean you up.

Broderick Washington, Texas Tech (Ravens, fifth round): My hands are kinda big [they measured in at 10-3/8 inches at the combine, larger than Paxton Lynch’s famously big mitts]. It’s kinda hard for me to punch out the ball sometimes.

So I try to be the first guy to the ball and just wrap up the guy and be able to help out my teammates. One of my teammates will be able to come in, rip it out, or punch it out.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t ball focused as well. Being the first man at the point of contact also means getting the first crack at a potentially fumble-prone back. There’s a way to loosen his grip while retaining solid tackling form. Sometimes it’s as simple as getting your arms in the right spot and driving forward.

Carlos Davis, Nebraska (Steelers, seventh round): We practice [forcing fumbles] a lot. It’s really just getting your head on one side of the ball and just punching through right in between the elbow — at that weak spot [where the upper arm and forearm meet].

McTelvin Agim, Arkansas (Broncos, third round): Try to wrap up around the waist. Most of the time, somebody will have the ball up around his waist. If you’re hitting a guy and your arm just happens to hit the ball, most of the time you’ll knock it loose. [If you’re a runner in the backfield] your focus is on not getting hit first, not keeping your arms tight.

Fumble-forcing technique No. 2: The wrap-up around the waist

youtube

Rob Windsor, Penn State (Colts, sixth round): If you see the ball, punch it. It’s real simple. You’re gonna go in and try to hit a guy as hard as you can. But if that ball’s exposed, you’re gonna punch at that ball.

The priority is a little different for the edge rushers making their way around the corner. With more looks at panicked quarterbacks and a little extra space from the epicenter of every play, they have a bit more freedom when it comes to creating a turnover vs. just stacking up an opponent.

Fumble-forcing technique No. 3: The rip

youtube

Derrek Tuszka, North Dakota State (Broncos, seventh round): We do a lot of ball drills, playing cuts, and getting our hands up to block a screen. A lot of it’s just awareness and skill, knowing where you’re at on the field.

Every situation’s a little different. It depends on where they’re coming from, the angle, where they’ve got the ball, which hand, how they’re holding it, if they’re flagging it, or whatnot. There’s all sorts of different ways; you can either punch or rip it — it’s one of those things that changes case by case.

Carter Coughlin, Minnesota (Giants, seventh round): Anytime you see the ball, you’ve gotta try to rip it out. I don’t know if I’d say there’s necessarily a “secret,” but when you see the ball, you go get the ball. You always gotta secure the tackle first. I like ripping it out — if you can get your fingers around the ball a little bit, then give it a lawnmower tug. There’s a high chance it’s going to come out.

On running plays, the defensive line sets the stage for a potential turnover. But when runners break free or quarterbacks set their sights on the intermediate passing game, it’s time for the next level of defense to step up and try to take advantage of what their linemen gave them.

Phase II: The linebackers build up speed and do a little bit of everything

Linebackers have to be versatile. Fast enough to handle coverage duties; big enough to fill gaps and stop charging running backs and tight ends.

Their spot in the middle of the field means they need to simultaneously be tackles and defensive backs. They have to have a hundred different ways to attack the ball — whether it’s stacking a loosed tailback up in the middle of the field, or chasing down a wideout to punch the ball out from behind. That can be the product of a measured attack and a perfectly placed tackle. Or it can be a matter of identifying the needle amidst the hay their teammates have stacked up and extracting it from the pile.

Fumble-forcing technique No. 4: Get your face on the ball

youtube

Logan Wilson, Wyoming (Bengals, third round): It depends on the situation. As the first man in, you don’t necessarily want to be the guy to force the fumble. If you’re the second man in, that’s when you can make a strip attempt at the ball because that’s when [ballcarriers] are about to fall. When guys are falling, their arms go out. The ball starts to come out.

But usually when you’re the first contact, you don’t want to be as eager at it. I like to punch first, then come out and try to rip it.

Markus Bailey, Purdue (Bengals, seventh round): I need to get more detailed on actually punching the ball. A lot of my fumbles forced have been from putting my face on the ball. That’s pretty easy — you can put your facemask right on the rock [while making a tackle]. You see a lot of the guys in the NFL, especially DBs, they take their fist and they actually punch the ball out. You hit the ball with enough force, and guys, their natural running motion goes away from their body, then you can punch it out.

Fumble-forcing technique No. 5: The punch in a pile

youtube

Justin Strnad, Wake Forest (Broncos, fifth round): Our coach always talks about securing the tackle first. Then you worry about ripping or prying or just punching the ball out. It depends on what angle you’re attacking the ballcarrier from.

I like to wrap up first, then if I’m behind them, I’ll use a punch.

Tanner Muse, Clemson, a college safety projected to move to linebacker in the NFL (Raiders, third round): I’m always going for the sure tackle. If I’m ever in a wad of players, that’s when I’ll go for the strip. You see a lot of guys punch the ball, but most of the time it’s not on purpose. Sometimes it just happens.

I like going under. If he’s wrapped up, I go under his arm because a lot of guys are on top of the ball. If you come under, it’ll pop out a lot easier.

Phase III: Defensive backs can either clean up a play or turn a big gain into a bigger swing

The dynamics of a cornerback or safety bringing down a ballcarrier are different than their peers. They’re the last line of defense, and they have to use their athleticism to chase down runners who’ve already hit top speed. That adds new challenges to their equation — and new opportunities.

Ideally, a defense will have cleaned up a running play before it gets to the secondary, allowing defensive backs and safeties to swoop into the stack and swipe at the ball while their teammates complete a harmonized tackle. Other times they’re stuck chasing a wide receiver whose long strides may make them difficult to catch but also require limited ball security away from their chests.

The choice to prioritize a turnover over potentially giving up more yardage is a snap decision every DB has to make. Several of the coverage guys I spoke with in Indianapolis put forcing fumbles at the top of their list when it came to making plays; others are too focused on stopping the ball and preventing touchdowns instead.

Lavert Hill, Michigan (undrafted, signed with the Chiefs): Nah, [there’s no green light to go for a strip]. The best thing is to just get them on the ground. That’s about it.

Javelin Guidry, Utah (undrafted, Jets): First thing: not letting them score. We put in a lot of work at Utah, where we’d been told we’ve gotta stop them from scoring because you’ll always have another chance the next play.

Others have a plan for when a runner breaks free in the second level and a preferred technique for getting the pigskin on the ground. How do they come to that conclusion? It all depends on who’s carrying the ball ... and how.

Myles Bryant, Washington (undrafted, Patriots): You see guys on film running with the ball, running with it away from the body. That’s the natural part — when you run, your arms aren’t naturally tied to your body. Holding the ball, that’s a pretty unnatural move. It’s hard for a lot of guys to really hold on to that ball tight. Any opportunity I have, I’m going to punch it.

Punch is an underrated move. A lot of guys don’t use it. A punch is gonna get the ball out, and I’ve done it a bunch of times.

Kindle Vildor, Georgia Southern (Bears, fifth round): When he’s holding it high, not really carrying it tight, like that [motions about three-quarters to shoulder height with his hands], that’s the visual that tells me to knock the ball out, go get a good punch in.

Fumble-forcing technique No. 6: The punch from behind/hammer

Not sure what was more impressive: Devin White’s chasedown or his forced fumble @DevinWhite__40 @Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/jJVrqz061k

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) April 18, 2020

A.J. Green, Oklahoma State (undrafted, Browns): It depends on who’s running with the ball. Quarterbacks tend to run looser with the ball. Running backs tend to look back and kind of head to the end zone at the same time. Mostly, if it’s a quarterback, I’m definitely going to go for that strip. But if it’s a running back, I’ll go for the strip but make sure I secure the tackle first.

Essang Bassey, Wake Forest (undrafted, Broncos): Every time you tackle as a defender you’ve gotta have a technique. Usually when I’m chasing down the field, I like the hammer technique — over the shoulder. A lot of times you can get that from behind — the guy doesn’t see you coming — or from the side. A straight jab, straight through the ball. Those are two good techniques.

Stantley Thomas-Oliver, Florida International (Panthers, seventh round): The best advice I got was from [FIU safeties] Coach [Jeff] Copp. He told me never be too high, never be too low playing corner. Always be steady. You could make a play, not make a play, but always stay even-keeled. Always stay focused at the task at hand.

[On when he goes for a strip] If it’s the open field, then not too much. But if there’s a bunch of us, I’m definitely going to try to punch the ball out from behind. And with my teammates running behind me, I know they’re going to pick up the ball.

Even if the process is different, the hopeful end result is always the same: chaos

Every defender looks at the opportunity to create a fumble differently. For some, it’s not even a notion until a stop is 100 percent guaranteed. For others, tackling comes first ... until some unaware ballcarrier lets his arms rise a little too high or barrels into a tight squeeze with one hand on the ball instead of two.

There’s no special sauce when it comes to forcing fumbles, no one move that will end a possession. Instead, the art is a combination of awareness, identification, and then the speed and strength to turn a player’s top priority — not giving away the ball — into his biggest weakness.

While most of these turnovers lay blame on the runner and cries of ball security and fumble-itis, the fact the ball only hit the turf 647 times in 256 NFL games in 2019 feels like a borderline miracle. Each punch, swipe, hammer, and pry at the ball is a unique snowflake in a blizzard of shots that end most plays in the NFL.

And when it happens, it’s not a happy coincidence. It’s the payoff of sweat equity.

0 notes

rollin-like-reigns · 8 years ago

Text

this is like the roughest draft but cookie wanted it so here, I give you a really bad chapter (more or less a chapter) of a/b/o romox (ps I’m rlly bad at fighting scenes). if u wanna know how the story’s gonna go just ask, i think the working title is instinct or some shit like that

here are The Goods(tm)

For Jon Moxley, the night is business as usual.

A crowd circling the ring like a pack of ravenous wolves, howling and barking for blood, doesn't matter whose. A ring, square, simple, like any other that he's ever stepped foot into.

His opponent, some nobody trying to make name for themselves at his expense, and between them, all the weapons Mox could ever dream of.

Heaven.

It's quick and enjoyable work. His opponent's bleeding out onto the canvas by the time that Mox is done with him

(haven’t finished this bit)

**************

"I want you to train me."

"What? Train you? Th' fuck do you mean?"

Roman sighs and looks off to the side, jaw working inside his mouth, as if swallowing his pride. He either sucks it up now, or this may as well not happen at all. This could be his only chance. "Look, I haven't been wrestling for long, or, well, at all. You have. You're good. I'm not. I want you to teach me."

Jon remains in silence, looking at Roman with a slightly tilted head, before his mouth cracks out into a smirk that sends off a few alarms in Roman's head, but he keeps quiet.

"Around here you don't learn anything. You just fight. You just get hurt. 'Sall instincts, pretty boy," he says, his rough voice almost like a purr. "An omega like you, you're gonna get eaten alive. There's no chance. Just go home." He waves Roman off erratically, as if he's only partially controlling his own arm.

It's Roman's turn to stand there, and as Jon's words sink in, he feels a stab of anxiety, considering what Mox had just been implying. But he pushes it away, far away. What else did he expect him to say? It's only the truth. He's always known that a world like Jon Moxley's isn't intended for him . . . 'An omega like you'

That's part of the reason why he has do this.

"I know all of that."

There's a pause in the conversation, Moxley's gaze snapping back up to his, eyebrows creased like he's trying to decode him.

". . . So?" For the amount of time he had been silent, Roman had expected a better response. But Moxley looks downright confused. Roman definitely has his attention now.

The thought that this is probably going to be a big moment in his life makes Roman feel weird. His actions now will determine his future, and he's used to making decisions like this . . . but just not . . . like this.

He could be throwing his life away. He could end up dead in a ditch. A lot of unspeakable things could happen to him in Moxley's world, especially as an omega. And there's hardly a chance he'll be successful. It's a tough path to go down.

"I'll repeat myself; I want you to train me," he says, regardless of the thoughts fighting for dominance in his conscience.

". . . Train you, despite all'a that?" Mox says.

"I'm still standing here, aren't I?"

Moxley grins then, and Roman thinks he's said the right thing. He notices Mox tapping his fingers against his collar bone, seeing dark bruises there he somehow hadn't noticed before. Roman can't tell if they're hickeys or from a fight. Maybe even both.

"I guess you are. I like that spirit." Moxley's fingers stop their motion the same time he tilts his head at Roman again, clearly thinking about something. "Alright, how 'bout this? If you can get me down for a three count maybe I'll let ya tag along, huh? Prove you're worth it. C'mon." It's taunting, the way he says it, daring Roman to make a move, to try him.

Like he doesn't think Roman's even a threat.

And he probably isn't. Roman knows shit all about this, about fighting or 'the art of wrestling', and what he does know was learnt wrestling with his brother who liked and watched it all the time at home years ago, when he was a kid and didn't particularly care about all of it.

But if what Jon said is true, he guesses he'll pick the skills up on the way. And plus, he's never been one to back down from a challenge, a trait that has landed him in a lot of shit on more than one occasion. Roman just nods in response, keeping eye contact with him.

Instincts.

Jon smirks again. "'Kay then big boy, let's go." And he slaps Roman right across the face.

Stunned, Roman stumbles back, and manages to regain his balance with the help of a car. He can feel his eyes watering and his cheek stinging, but when he sees that cocky, arrogant smirk on Jon's face, he's never wanted to punch someone more in his entire life.

Bracing himself, he charges and swings out, Jon moving out of the way at the last second and tackling him from behind, both of them crashing hard onto the concrete of the parking lot.

Punches to his back start flowing and all of the sudden pain overwhelms Roman, as the sounds of flesh hitting clothed flesh fills his ears. He manages to twist around out of sheer panic alone and score his own punch right to Moxley's jaw, stunning him long enough to scramble away and get to his feet, panting.

"Not bad," Mox says as he stumbles to his feet, fingers putting pressure on his jaw as he winces. "For a complete amateur."

Roman can feel blood trickling down the side of his face, from the scrape he received from the concrete, his head still slightly dazed. He wipes it away with the back of his hand, rubbing it off on his pants as he glares at Moxley.

"What? No comeback?" Mox taunts. "I thought you wanted to fight?" At that Roman charges again, the only way he can really think of to try get at Jon. This time Moxley stays still, but puts out his arms, grabbing Roman's shoulders, looking to initiate some kind of strength contest.

Roman manages to grip one of Moxley's wrists and twist it away, drawing a small grunt of pain from the dirty-blond. He's kind of surprised by how much he's enjoying this, even when he doesn't have the upper hand.

In his brief victory he forgets about Moxley's other hand, which draws back and lays another sharp slap to his cheek, sharp enough to disorientate him for a second. And a second is all Jon Moxley needs, apparently, because by the time Roman has his wits back Mox rips his hand out of Roman's hold and slaps him just one more time, an insult to injury.

Before Roman even has a chance to recover yet again Moxley is reaching his hand out to get a grip on Roman's hair, pulled tight into a bun. He rips it free, hurting Roman's neck in the process and yanking his head back even further.

Tears welling up in his eyes from the throbbing burn on his scalp, Roman tries to punch, elbow, knee, kick, do anything to get out of Moxley's grasp, but Moxley is on him quickly. Roman doesn't even know what Mox does but he goes from standing to being shoved face down on the ground, Mox's weight keeping him pinned as the air leaves him. A hard knee digs into his lower back and that hand still in his hair pulls back even harder, causing his body to bend in an awkward and painful way, ribs digging into the concrete.

"You're too easy. I think I might just train ya outta pure pity, at this point," Mox sneers down at him, tightening his grip and digging his knee harder. "I mean, you can't even beat me. I'm pretty damn good, but I'm not even the best." It's kind of a rush, the way he can get Roman like this, writhing and struggling in pain beneath him. One of his favourite parts of fighting, if he's being honest, however sick that sounds.

"Fuck you," Roman grits out between clenched teeth, one hand trying to ease the pressure on his back by holding him upright and the other desperately clawing at the one in his hair, nails not long enough to do any real damage to the skin of Moxley's hand. He still tries. He can't think of anything else.

"You gonna tap dude?" Mox laughs, and Roman grunts out a, "No", continuing to try and get free.

Jon simply watches in amusement for about a minute, Roman eventually getting more and more tired as his attempts weaker and weaker, but, he never taps and honestly, Jon thinks that if he hadn't stepped away and released him when he did, he would've struggled until he physically couldn't.

Roman immediately, though slowly, gets to his feet, face cringing from the throbbing pain from his scalp and his back and neck and still looking ready to fight.

"Okay, fine," Mox sighs, testing his jaw again. Still sore. Probably gonna feel it tomorrow.

"What?" Roman says, breathless.

"I'll let ya tag along, if you really wanna." Mox says, seeing anger flash across Roman's face.

"Of course I want to. I wouldn't have fought you if I didn't."

"Just sayin'," Mox smiles as he throws his hands up, almost placating. "Givin' you a last chance to back out. But you obviously don't want to, for some goddamned reason. Whatever," he waves an arm again, the motion just as uncontrolled as before. "Just follow me."

Mox just starts walking away without any further explanation, and Roman does follow him, not entirely sure where Mox could be taking him to. Maybe his house if he has one. Probably staying in a motel.

His thoughts are cut off by Jon barking at him to hurry up, and Roman sighs, complying.

* * *

It turns out to be a motel. A very small, dirty-looking motel that is the embodiment of 'seen better days'.

It's just a carpark surrounded by rooms, no upstairs, and a small reception office of to the side. Moxley cuts straight through the carpark, Roman following a few steps behind him. Moxley unlocks the door to his room and kicks it open, turning his head to shoot a grin at Roman before walking in.

It's about what Roman expects.

(Mox says something here)

"Yeah yeah," Roman mutters as he follows Dean into the cruddy motel room, small and in desperate need of a clean basically everywhere. Roman's pretty sure the small stains he sees on the carpet is blood, and it looks recent.

"There's a gym thingy up the road that I go to," Mox says. "I actually kinda don't have any matches coming up so I'm stayin' here 'n shit. Low cost."

"Right," Roman says. He throws his bag on the ground beside the bed, which, he realizes is the only one in the room, and it's a double.

"Don't mind the stains, one'a my buds had a barbed wire match an' needed a place to stay," Jon continues, looking at the time on the digital clock on the bedside table and sighing.

"Have you eaten, or anythin'?" he asks.

"I'm good," Roman says, taking in the room again.

"Right. Well, this is awkward so I'm jus' gonna go get somethin' for myself. Be back later," he says, and then leaves the room, the door closing with a thud that has finality, and Roman is left alone with silence and the not unpleasant but definitely strange smell of the room.

He sighs and unzips his jumper, folding it up and dumping it on the floor beside his bag and then spotting a door to what he guesses it the bathroom, cringing. He can only imagine what the state of that is if the room is this bad.

Moxley hadn't given him any directions as to where he could put his stuff and so he just leaves it there and runs a hand through his hair, hand coming away with a little bit of dried blood on it. Oh, right.

He slowly opens the door to the bathroom, finding a sink, toilet, and a bath/shower all in relatively good condition compared to the rest of the room. There's a black hand towel by the sink, on some rusty hook, so Roman grabs that and wets it with the tap, the sound the only thing accompanying him, his thoughts relatively still for now.

He wipes away the blood from his forehead with the mirror that actually has mould growing under the surface of it somehow. Roman ignores that and puts the towel back under the tap water, watching the dried blood wash down the drain.

Won't be the last time. Isn't the first.

There aren't any serious physical scrapes or scratches on him other than that so he just leans against the sink, trying to ground himself.

So. He's doing it. He's becoming a wrestler.

I've just made mistake. But, hell, what else was he expecting this to be?

#not even near finished #the absolute AMOUNT of shit I've imagined up for this story is insane #but I'm probs never gonna write it #too much #wayy too much

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heavenlyborne · 3 years ago

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same energy

#;; shitposting #Ughh it's been so hot the last few days #My poor old laptop is struggling #And me too for that matter #Like writing is a struggle anyway but today has been hard #Shitty coping method and humour #:'D #Cut down a bit on the old inbox tho #Some old memes I forgot and others I just couldn't fulfill #Gonna try and clean things up a bit and try and tackle some drafts #Ain't nothing to it but to do it #cw gun #gun cw

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flauntpage · 7 years ago

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Your Wednesday Morning Roundup

Good news: The Flyers gained another point in their quest for the playoffs.

Bad news: The Flyers lost another point in their quest for the playoffs.

Alexander Radulov’s goal, 40 seconds into overtime, gave the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win last night, their first after losing eight straight.

Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov scored the two Flyers goals in the first two periods. Despite outshooting the Stars 14-6 in the third, Philadelphia could not put the puck past Kari Lehtonen.

In other notable results, Pittsburgh lost to Detroit, New Jersey edged the Hurricanes by a goal, and Columbus crushed the Oilers. The Blue Jackets took over third place in the Metropolitan division with the extra point. The Flyers are now two points behind Pittsburgh for second in the division.

The wild card race is still interesting, thanks to the Devils’ win:

Florida having eight games left in the season is huge. If the Flyers can begin to pull away from the Devils, they should be fine in making the playoffs. If they fall behind New Jersey, there’s a good chance the Panthers can leapfrog the Flyers and eliminate them. Florida has a tough game tonight in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Here’s hoping there’s even more playoff action at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers are back in action tonight as they take on the Colorado Avalanche at 10 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia +. Petr Mrazek could start again. Or it could be Alex Lyon. Or we could see the return of Michal Neuvirth.

In other Flyers news, the team signed goalie Felix Sandstrom to an entry-level contract. Sandstrom was a third round pick of the Flyers in the 2015 NHL Draft.

The Roundup:

It’s safe to say we’re still giddy about Markelle Fultz playing Monday night. He still has some things to clean up, but it still was a really good return. And we see him tonight at home against the Knicks at 7 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia!

Before his return, Bryan Colangelo spoke on the Fultz situation that has lingered nearly the entire season.

With the playoffs close, how much can Fultz contribute in the postseason?

Around the NBA, Indiana and Washington won, while Cleveland lost. A win tonight and a Cleveland would mean the Sixers would take over third place in the East.

There’s also some news with their G-League affiliate in Delaware! With the team moving into their new fieldhouse next season, the Delaware 87ers will be renamed the Delaware Blue Coats.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson spoke to reporters yesterday. He discussed a possible reunion with Darren Sproles, Wentz’s rehab, Patrick Robinson replacements, and the Philly Special.

Off a Super Bowl win, how will Pederson evolve his offense?

“We’re still working through our scheme,” Pederson said during the annual coaches breakfast at the NFL owners meetings. “I’ve got two new offensive coaches in Gunter Brewer and Carson Walch, getting Press Taylor comfortable in his new role and Mike in his new role.”

Pederson doesn’t care where a concept or play comes from, it just better be good. The West coast-based offense he learned from Andy Reid and brought with him from the Chiefs has evolved to include the many backgrounds of his staff. But Pederson has also culled ideas from researching other offenses.

“As we study these college kids, we’re always looking at the college world a little bit,” Pederson said. “So we’ll pull some stuff from there. We just break it down by situation — who’s the best third-down offense? Who’s the best red zone offense? Who’s the best short-yardage goal line offense?

“We just kind of pick a couple and see if there’s anything unusual that they did, maybe a formation or a personnel group, something that might benefit us, and see if we can incorporate it into our system.”

Owner Jeffrey Lurie also spoke with reporters. He’s still trying to get an alternate kelly green uniform for the Eagles, but it sounds like the league will take its time.

“I don’t know what entity of the league (is disallowing a second helmet), but in the end it’s probably the commissioner. They have to decide if they want to go with a plan to be a two-helmet plan for the NFL, and that’s not what we do now. It’s a one-helmet league, so there’s ramifications in that, I suppose. But they know with the Eagles, it’s important to us. We really want to be able to have Kelly green jerseys at times, and to make it look really right, you should have matching helmets.

“You’d have to research with (the NFL) on (their objections). There are a lot teams that don’t want that to happen, maybe. Some teams really want it to happen. There are some complications to it, so I’ll just leave them to work it out.”

Lurie’s also very appreciative of the numerous reactions from fans after winning the big game.

There’s also a Jason Kelce Mummers bobblehead. It’s already sold out.

The Phillies ended Spring Training with a 5-5 tie against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Opening Day is tomorrow afternoon against the Atlanta Braves. Go crazy folks, go crazy.

Jake Arrieta gave up four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts in three innings of work He also balked and committed a throwing error. But despite the mixed results, he’s happy with his progress.

“It’s not like you want to go out there and give up a bunch of runs in Spring Training — but [the runs] don’t count,” Arrieta said. “It’s more about getting your timing, pitching in real game situations. You still want to have success and locate, but for me, it’s being able to change speeds, execute quality pitches down in the strike zone and force contact.”

With his first Spring Training in the books, manager Gabe Kapler is pleased with how his team looked.

With Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco still on the team, how should the Phillies use Scott Kingery?

Matt Breen profiles Sam Fuld, a former major leaguer who will help the team with making analytics easier for players to understand.

The team will also honor Hall of Famer Jim Thome in a pregame ceremony on June 14 before their afternoon game against the Rockies.

In other sports news, the NFL and owners agreed to new rules, including tackling changes. New 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman wasn’t happy about it.

“It’s ridiculous. Like telling a driver if you touch the lane lines, you’re getting a ticket. (It’s) gonna lead to more lower-extremity injuries.”

In his father’s #27 and in one of his old homes at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. delivered a walk-off home run in the Blue Jays’ final Spring Training game:

You couldn't script it any better. People wouldn't believe you. #LikeFatherLikeSon pic.twitter.com/yURPB0UqsY

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 28, 2018

Mic every player in baseball from now on:

"I ain't getting this one, boys.”@mookiebetts with the live play-by-play.

pic.twitter.com/F10eL0dzkX

— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2018

The Seahawks cut backup QB Trevone Boykin after he was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend.

Brandon Weeden has a job again with the Houston Texans.

In the news, Einstein Health is merging with Jefferson Health.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un visited China.

American Samoa citizens sue for US citizenship.

Your Wednesday Morning Roundup published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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baadfabrykittyadv120 · 6 years ago

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READING MATERIAL // HEY WHIPPLE, SQUEEZE THIS

*reading and taking notes from ‘Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads’

Chapter 3: A Clean Sheet of Paper Coming up with an idea—the broad strokes

“Print is to [all of] advertising what figure drawing is to fine art; it provides a creative foundation.”

“SAYING THE RIGHT THING THE RIGHT WAY. Remember, you have two problems to solve: the client’s and yours.”

“Dullness won’t sell your product, but neither will irrelevant brilliance.”

*“dullness is represented on the far left side of the left circle, and irrelevant brilliance, on the far right side of the right.”

“Hit the overlap”

“you often lose the selling idea in the act of trying to express it creatively”.”Your job as a thinker and problem solver is to keep both in mind, to spin the strategy without losing hold of it.” “the two most common rejections of your ideas will be “I don’t get it” and “I’ve seen that before.” In other words, either it’s too weird or too obvious.”

“Find the central human truth about your product.” “write down the truest thing you can say about the brand or the product.”

“We try to find that long-neglected truth in a product and give it a hug.”

“find” this truth, not invent it. The best ideas are old truths brought to light in fresh, new ways.

*”instead focused on one of the central human truths about this category—the use of flowers as a ticket out of the Casa di Canine.” (i.e men get out of the ‘dog house’ by showering their lover with gifts)

“Tell the truth and run.”

“We’re Avis. We’re only number two. So we try harder.” Totally believable. More important, I like a company that would say this about themselves. America loves an underdog.” - - -

Perhaps the biggest underdog of all time was Volkswagen. VW was the king of self-deprecation. The honest voice Doyle Dane Bernbach created for this odd-looking little car turned its weaknesses into strengths.”

“Identify and leverage the central conflicts within your client’s company or category.”

“the best work usually come from a place of conflict.” “When a strategy can be built on top of one of these tensions” “There’s a natural energy at these points of cultural stress, a conflict of ideas or themes that can be a fertile place for ideas of force and substance.” “stir a little bit of talk.”

“thematic tension might be simply “deprivation”; having something taken away from you is a platform leveraged for years by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in their iconic “Got Milk?” campaign.”

Look for polarities. Where you find them you will also likely find tension. And where you find tension, you will find creative sparks.

“A FEW WORDS ON AUTHENTICITY.”

“mid-1950s, however, this omnipresent voice of authority started to lose its credibility.” - - - “We’ve become a nation of eye-rollers and skeptics. We scarcely believe anything we hear in the media anymore, and marketers can’t make things true simply by saying they’re true.”

“what people look for today, and what they believe in and are persuaded by, is authenticity.”

*”How can you argue with this Avis ad?” Authenticity is something “you are”

“Admitting that your commercial is a paid message with an agenda is one way to disarm distrust.”

“This generation knows you’re trying to sell them something and you know they know, so let’s just drop the pretense and make the whole exercise as much fun as possible.”

Underpromising and overdelivering is perhaps another way to disarm distrust. Even self-deprecation can help establish authenticity; VW’s “It’s ugly but it gets you there” is perhaps the most memorable example.

“To effectively ‘hype’ something today, you must find a way to cut through ‘the hype.’ . . . This necessitates telling the truth.”

“the brands that are unwilling to have a real and truthful conversation with consumers will become completely irrelevant and therefore invisible.”

“Don’t rationalize away what you [like about their product]. Find the truth they are exploiting that you are not.”

“Try the competitor’s product”

“Find a weakness in the leader’s strength and attack at that point.”

“Avis Rent A Car was only number two.”“come to them instead of Hertz because “The line at our counter is shorter.”“

“Pose the problem as a question”

“not to simply restate the problem in the terms in which it was brought to you; you’re not likely to discover any new angles. Pose the question again and again, from entirely different perspectives.”

“Ask a better question.”

“Don’t be afraid to ask dumb questions.” “we sometimes find simple answers that have been overlooked.”

“Ask yourself what would make you want to buy the product.”

“Dramatize the benefit”

“don’t mean the features of the product, but the benefit those features provide the user, or what some call “the benefit of the benefit.”

“Avoid style; focus on substance”

“Remember, styles change; typefaces and design and art direction, they all change. Fads come and go. But people are always people.”

“They want to look better, to make more money; they want to feel better, to be healthy. They want security, attention, and achievement. These things about people aren’t likely to change. So focus your efforts on speaking to these basic needs, rather than tinkering with the current visual affectations. Focus first on the substance of what you want to say. Then worry about how to say it.”

“Find a villain”

“overpriced product. “ pain or inconvenience the client’s product spares you.” “If the product’s a toothpaste, the villain can be tooth decay” “A villain can come from another product category altogether” ”an indirect competitor”

“Try some of these “strategy starters” and see if ideas start to form.”

“Do a straight on us vs. them approach.“

“Show life before and after the product.”

“Instead of trying to change how consumers think, change what they do.”

“Is there a compelling story about the heritage behind your brand?”

“Can your brand dispense some smart advice about the whole category?” “Is there a story in the founders of the brand? Or in their original vision?”

“Can you turn a perceived negative attribute of your product into a positive? Can you demonstrate on-camera or online your product’s superiority?”

“Can you move your product out of its current category and reposition it in another?”

“Can your brand be insanely honest about itself, admitting to some shortcomings while winning on the important thing?”

“First, say it straight. Then say it great”.

“simply write out what you want to say.” “This is an ad about . . . ” And then keep writing. Who knows?”

“You can tell when ads are trying too hard. Their intentions are too obvious.” “some that grab your attention with their executional brio, but their lack of relevance is such that after you’ve seen them they leave you kind of empty”

“Great advertising combines density of content with the elegance of form.

“Density of content and elegance of form.”

“Don’t let your concept get in the way of the product”

*don’t be a “visual vampire” - “the concept’s execution is so busy it sucks the life out of their commercial message“

*”usually happens when the product bores you. Which means you haven’t dug deep enough to find the thing about it that’s exciting or interesting. Or maybe you need to reinvent the brief.“

“the interesting part of an ad shouldn’t be a device that points to the sales message; it should be the sales message”

“The product, the product, the product. Stay with the product.” “don’t get seduced by unrelated ideas”

“Put the pill inside the baloney, not next to it.

“Dogs hate pills, right? So what do you do? You wrap the pill in a piece of baloney.“

“Customers hate sales pitches. So you wrap your pitch in an interesting bit, and they’re more likely to bite.”

“You gotta wrap that baby right into the middle of the baloney. The two have to be one. Your interesting device cannot just point to the sales message; it must be the sales message.“

“Emotional purchase drivers connect with customers more deeply than rational ones.” “Okay, this campaign is gonna be . . . thoughtful.” Or it’s gonna be angry, or stark, or . . . well, you decide. What’s right for your client? What’s right for the customer?”

“Finding that emotion is often all you need in order to get the ideas flowing.”

“Deciding which emotion to leverage is something you’ll do early in the process.”

“the answer is always a combination of what your product is and whom you are talking to”

“You can change your mind later, but sometimes making this decision can give you focus” - - -

“Stare at a picture that has the emotion of the ad you want to do.” “ for copywriting. You need to be in the mood.”

“emotion is, it may help to put up some pictures that put you in the mood” “have you ever tried to write an angry letter when you weren’t angry?” “the same can be said for copywriting. You need to be in the mood.”

“Let your subconscious mind do it.” “controlled daydream.” “hear what the ad wants to be“

“Try writing down words from the product’s category.”

“Embrace the suck.” “some kind of dopey device or visual or slogan. It could be a client’s geeky spokesperson, a long-running sale with a goofy name, or just some bad footage.“ “Tackle it directly. When you embrace the suck, good ideas often spill out of the very thing your instincts tell you to avoid.“

“The only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really crappy first drafts“ “You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page.“ - -”it’s a workbench” “Write. Keep writing. Don’t stop.”

“Allow your partner to come up with terrible ideas.”

“Even if the idea truly and most sincerely blows, just say,”

“That’s interesting,” scribble it down, and move on“

“see if you can take it and shape it and mold it.”

“Then throw it back to him or her with your idea tacked on.“

*”Just because an idea doesn’t work yet, doesn’t mean it might not work eventually.”

*”not to say aloud every stinking thing that comes into your head. It’s counterproductive.”

“Spend some time away from your partner, thinking on your own.” - “gives you both a chance to look at the problem from your own perspective before you bring your ideas“

“Come up with a lot of ideas.”

“in order to get to a great idea, which is usually about the 500th one to come along, you’ll need to resist the temptation to give in to the anxiety and sign off on the first passable idea that shows up”

“Learning to be okay with uncertainty is part of the process of having more insights”

“Quick sketches of your ideas are all you need during the creative process”.

“Just get the concept on paper and keep moving forward. You’ll cover more ground this way.“

“Tack the best ideas on the wall”.

“helps you determine whether there are campaigns forming” "where there are holes that need to be filled”

“Write. Don’t talk.”

“Don’t talk about the concepts you’re working on”

“an idea talked about is never as exciting as the idea itself.”

“The time will come to unveil.”

*The best ad people I know are the silentbut-deadly kind. You never hear them out in the hallways talking about their ideas. They’re working.”

“Write hot. Edit cold” --- “Once you get on a streak, ride it.”

“Nurture a newly hatched idea. Until it grows up, you don’t know what it’s going to be.”

“If it makes you laugh out loud, make it work.”

“Try something naughty. Or provocative”.

*“it often pays to try to be naughty on purpose.” - - -

“Naughty is good. It gets your client talked about”

“Remember, being provocative just because you can isn’t the point.”

“Be sure your provocativeness stems from your product.”

*“We can’t do that, can we?” - “That’s a sign it’s a strong idea.”

Ask yourself - “Will somebody talk about this idea if we do it?”

“If you’re about to spend advertising dollars on a campaign and you can’t imagine that anybody is going to write about it or talk about it, you might want to rethink it. It means you probably missed injecting a truth or social tension into it.”

“Try doing something counterintuitive with a medium.”

“put your poster in exactly the wrong place”

“What if”

“Things get really interesting when you take this kind of thinking into the digital realm” “BK asked Facebook members to delete 10 of their friends to get a free Whopper“ - - - “These stunts tend to create a lot more talk value than what’s traditionally been called advertising.“

“If you have to do an ad, does it have to be a flat page?”

“Try a pop-up, a gatefold, a scratch and sniff, a computer chip” - “there are less expensive tricks you can try. Sequential ads. Scratch-off concepts. Die cuts. Different paper stocks. Acetate film. There’s even magnetized paper now.”

“Try not to look like, or act like, or sound like, or be like an ad.”

“People don’t buy magazines to look at ads. They don’t buy TVs to look at the stinkin’ commercials.” “Can it be an interactive display in Times Square? In Red Square? Can you turn a building into a QR code? Can your TV campaign be a soap opera? Or an opera opera? Can you make it a video game?” *REMEMBER DO SOMETHING PROVOCATIVE

“a picture is worth a thousand words” “John Hegarty says, “I just don’t think people read ads.”” “visuals work fast.”

“As the larger brands become globally marketed, visual solutions will become even more important. They translate, not surprisingly, better than words.”

“If readers don’t get what you’re trying to say from the visual, they won’t get it.“

“The page is turned.” “Coax an interesting visual out of your product.” “Visualize it on its side. Upside down. Make its image rubber. Stretch your product visually” “always keeping in mind you’re trying to coax out of the product a dramatic image with a selling benefit.” “Take your product, change it visually, and by doing so dramatize a customer benefit.“

“Get the visual clichés out of your system right away.” “Every category has its own version of Tired Old Visuals.“

“Learn what iconography is overused in your category, and avoid it.”

“Show, don’t tell.” “Saying isn’t the same as being.” *”If a client says, “I want people to think our company is cool,” the answer isn’t an ad saying, “We’re cool.” The answer is to be cool. “

“When everybody else is zigging, you should zag” - “If your product is white sheets, write the headlines in mud. If your product is beautiful, show something ugly.”

“search as far outside the boundaries of convention”

“turn everything on its head. Logos usually go lower right, so put them top left. Product shots are usually small, make them big. Instead of headlines being more prominent than the body copy, do the opposite. It’s perverse, but I’m constantly surprised how many times it works.” - - -

“You are not right if in your ad you stand a man on his head just to get attention. You are right if [it’s done to] show how your product keeps things from falling out of his pockets.“

“Consider the opposite of your product.”

*”What doesn’t the product do? Who doesn’t need the product? When is the product a waste of money?”

“Avoid the formula of saying one thing and showing another.” (“But if you use this sort of setup, make sure the difference between word and picture is breathtaking”)

“Make sure you don’t get stuck always doing the ol’ exaggeration thing” “It’s just a little too easy” “will rarely lead you to a totally unexpected solution” “Just be aware”

“if you’re going to do an exaggeration scenario, make sure you base it on a truth”

“Whenever you can, go for an absolute” “Quietest, fastest, cleanest” “middle ground are boring.”

“Metaphors“

*“can be a quick and powerful way to communicate”

“The trick is doing it well” - - -

“Just picking up an image/symbol and plopping it down next to your client’s logo won’t work. But when you can take an established image, put some spin on it, and use it in some new and unexpected way that relates to your product advantage”

“Symbols lifted right off the rack usually won’t fit your communication needs and typically need some spin put on them.”

“they involve the reader.”

“use images already in the reader’s mind, twist them to the message’s purpose“

“If you leave too much out, you’ll mystify your audience. If you put too much in, you’ll bore them.”

“Don’t set out to be funny. Set out to be interesting.”

“Simplicity is all” “Simple is easier to remember” “Simple breaks through advertising clutter”

“If you can’t reduce your argument to a few crisp words and phrases, there’s something wrong with your argument.”

“Keep paring away until you have the essence of your ad“ - “Inside every fat ad there’s a thinner and better one trying to get out.”

“When you have distilled a good idea into its simplest form, you’re in the neighborhood of “great.””

“Learn to recognise big ideas when you have them”

“Big ideas transcend strategy”

*”Doe’s it really have to land precisely on the target to work?” - *sometimes big ideas wander off strategy, and that's ok.

“After you’ve covered the walls in ideas and you’ve identified concepts you really like, stop.” - “and I mean covered the walls”

References:

Sullivan, L. (2016). Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads, 5th Edition. 5th ed. Wiley; 5th edition (16 Feb. 2016).

#advertising

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