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lubdubsworld · 3 years ago

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⋆⋆✵ Perfect Imperfections ✵⋆⋆

Chapter 1

Genre : Arranged Marriage AU! Angst! Explicit Sexual Content.

Rating : 21+

Warnings : Ableism , Chronic disability. OC has limited use of her left leg, Emotional infidelity? Mild Cheating ( nothing very physical.. a kiss or so )

Summary : Marrying Jungkook is a mistake. Falling in love with him? Definitely the worst exercise in masochism .

~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 2

No one tells you how easy it is to imagine yourself in love with a beautiful man. Especially when you don’t have a clear understanding of what love actually is.

When I met Jungkook, even knowing he was in love with my sister hadn’t done much to douse the flames of hope and attraction. He was a lot of things that other men in my life weren’t. Kind without being pitying. Concerned without being overbearing. He took care of me without making me feel helpless. And there was always such a thin line between these things that I found myself impressed by his ability to toe the line so well.

Jungkook took care of me without making me feel like a burden and I suppose, some part of me had assumed that this could, in due time turn into love. But I was clearly wrong.

Jungkook and Liza had been kissing in the hallway of their hotel room and someone had taken pictures. My father and his had managed to get them taken down but the news was already out, spreading like wildfire . My phone began ringing sometime around eight in the morning and hadn’t stopped. It was now a little past one in the afternoon and I felt queasy, despite the assurances that it was all being taken care of.

It was the pity in everyone’s face that I couldn’t bear.

I wasn’t hurt. Angry, yes? Upset? Of course. But I wasn’t hurt because there really was nothing to be hurt about. Jungkook didn’t love me. He was in love with my sister . He had made it clear, through his words and his actions, over and over again. At this point, I could see this debacle as nothing more than a possible way to get out of the marriage. Perhaps, my father would approve of a divorce?

I glanced at the article again.

The photo is just so annoyingly clear, I thought with a grimace. If it was a little blurry, I could convince myself it wasn’t him and her. But it was clear. That was my husband with his lips locked with my sister’s. Against my better judgment, I read the article again. It was a gossip column, of course there would be nothing good in there. But sometimes curiosity can be a persistent thing.

I felt my skin crawling as I realized that the phrases were all pretty true. There was no gossip here. Just plain facts.

And then my eyes reached the end of the article.

Of note is the fact that Jeon Jungkook’s wife is disabled and perhaps the virile young man is merely looking for pleasure he can’t find in his own marital bed.

I swallowed, quickly exiting the page and tossing the phone on the bed, away from me. I stared out of the window of our bedroom, the large doors left open to let air and sunlight in. There was a tall sycamore tree right outside out bedroom and the branches almost reached in and I stared at the rustling leaves, trying to scrub my mind clean of the words I’d just read.

But it was impossible.

It wasn’t something I hadn’t thought of. The stark difference between me and Jungkook, physically. He spent five days a week in the gym and they were right. He was a young man with healthy sexual appetites.

I’d never cheat on you. Jungkook’s voice from a week ago still echoed somewhere inside my skull.

I sighed, playing with my wedding ring.

I wasn’t a virgin when I married Jungkook. Hadn’t been one , when I got into the accident either. My then boyfriend, a tall strapping lit major had been a very sexual guy as well and our libidos had matched pretty well. But I’d been an athletic nineteen year old, able to bend like a pretzel at his whim and there was just endless time and endless stamina and just a whole lot of attraction . We had spent hours, exploring each other the way college kids do. Weekends in bed spent trying every possible permutation of sex positions and kinks and I’d discovered all the things I liked. All the things I didn’t.

But then the accident had happened and well, when you’re in crippling agony, sometimes sex takes the backseat. I’d been focused on my recovery, on making sure that I came out of this at least with the ability to walk and I’d succeeded. Burying the part of me that craved a man’s touch, it wasn’t easy but it was necessary.

And then Jungkook had happened.

Sex with Jungkook hadn’t been difficult. Not really. I wasn’t completely crippled after all but it was also nowhere near as exciting as it could be with someone who had full use of her legs. I knew that. It was kind of obvious. But I hadn’t dwelt too much on it because to be honest, Jungkook hadn’t looked like he’d minded. He had seemed to enjoy himself .

But then reading about how he probably hadn’t enjoyed it definitely stung.

Worse yet, probably half the country was reading it with me. I felt nauseous. Did no one think that they should have left the last part out of that article? It was terrible enough without adding that bit about me.

A faint buzzing made me turn to the bed.

I glanced at my phone as it rang, my father in law’s name prominent on the screen.

Showtime, I thought with a grimace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I suppose it was too much to hope for , expecting that boy to keep his dignity. This is outrageous.” Mr. Jeon’s loud voice rang through the foyer of the house and I flinched, gripping the edge of the futon as Sana jumped a bit . She sat next to me, holding my hand carefully. Moral support I supposed but I was feeling entirely too blasé about the whole thing. None of this was unexpected, I thought miserably and I wasn’t feeling up to pretending otherwise.

“I still wish they’d talked to me about this.”

My brother in law’s voice broke me out of my thoughts. The man looked like he’d been dragged through hell and back and I felt a pang of genuine sympathy. He looked wrecked and it was obvious she was in love with my sister. Resentment coiled thick and deep inside me. Resentment and envy.

With no effort at all she had charmed both the Jeon brothers, I thought bitterly.

Jeon Jihyun looked absolutely stricken at the thought of losing his wife.

“I’ve asked Lisa to take the first flight out. She called me this morning, hysterical. It was something done in the heat of the moment. She .. She’s very apologetic. I believe her and I’m willing to forgive her. We’re…. We’re thinking of starting a family together. ” He said softly and my stomach turned.

I felt my skin go ice cold as I wrapped my arms around myself. Shivering just a bit, I lightly squeezed Sana’s hand. She looked at me in askance and I had to swallow to get my voice out, throat dry. The words made me want to retch. I could imagine how Jungkook would take this news.

“Can you get me my shawl? It’s in the green room.” I said hoarsely. She bowed before moving away from me and when I looked back up, Jihyun’s gaze caught mine.

“This must be hard on you.” He said softly and I flushed, staring down at my knees.

“Not like I can run from it. Literally or figuratively.” I smiled without mirth.

“Jungkook is …he’s just confused. He needs some time to sort himself out. I’ve asked him to take a break and come back to Seoul after a couple of weeks. The separation would do him some good.” Jihyun said quietly and I sighed before nodding. What else was I supposed to say to that anyway? There wasn’t much I could do, my influence on things almost nonexistent at this point.

“Are you going to give the boy a break, Jeon?” My father demanded, staring at Jungkook’s father who sighed.

“Yes. I’ve been trying to get these damned reporters off our back. They’re all over the place. And yes, I think Jungkook should stay in Japan for a while. We’re starting a new distribution branch there and I wanted him to scout places and possible vendors. I’ll tell him to hash out all the details before coming back.”

His phone rang again and he excused himself . I watched him leave the room, trying to make sense of his words.

How long would it take to build a whole branch in Japan? I had no clue. But it could hardly be done in a few weeks, could it?

“That’s.. That’s a long time.” I said hesitantly and my father frowned.

“is that a problem?” he asked.

I sighed. There was no point keeping this to myself. I was supposed to go to the doctor’s tomorrow. And well, it would be better if they heard it from me first.

“I.. I’m pregnant.” I said quietly.

The silence that followed was deafening. I stared at the carpet, not able to bring myself to look up at them. I could guess, what I’d find there. It was what I always found in people’s faces.

“Oh, sweet child.” My father’s sigh made me look up and there it was. The pity. I felt sick to my stomach. Sana returned, settling the hand knit shawl over my shoulders and I wrapped it tight, before glancing at her in some desperation. She smiled reassuringly, settling next to me and gently taking my fingers in hers. The warmth grounded me for a second and when Jihyun growled, I stared at him.

“I… I didn’t know. Fuck, I’m going to kill Jungkook. This fucker…” Jihyung swore and my father sighed, clearly thinking hard.

“you can’t be staying alone now.” He said softly, sitting up and cracking his knuckles, and I swallowed. I wouldn’t bear it if they tried to take me back home. I had hated it there.

“ You must come back home with me.” He said softly but I quickly shook my head.

“ No.. No I won’t. I … Please.” I begged, the mere idea of going back to my childhood home a nightmare. My mother would kill me with just her sharp and vindictive words. I was in no shape to put up with her verbal and emotional abuse. It was one of the things that had made me agree to marry Jungkook in the first place.

“Well, you can’t stay here by yourself.” My father protested. I’ve been by myself my whole damn life, I wanted to scream.

“I’ll be fine. I have Sana and the others to help me.” I said tiredly. My father shook his head before turning to Jihyun again.

“Is Namjoon still working on his book?” My father asked him and Jihyun frowned. The name elicited a tug in my memory and I turned to stare at my father, confused.

“You remember him? He used to tutor you when you were hi High School.”

I had a brief flashback to dimples and almond shaped eyes. I remembered him vaguely. Very vaguely. But nowhere well enough to want him to live with me, alone or not.

“Dad…” I protested but he held a hand up to silence me, nodding at Jihyun .

“Namjoon? Kim Namjoon? ” He shook his head. “ I’m not sure. Why?”

“I think it would be good if he moves in here. His father was telling me that he was looking for a place to stay, now that he’s moved back to Korea. ” My father said softly, staring at me and I stiffened.

“Father…” I began desperately and my father shook his head.

“Don’t argue. He was a dear friend of yours. I don’t think you should be alone at a time like this. And I think Jungkook would approve. Like Jihyun said, the kid needs some space to sort himself out. Let him finish whatever business is going on in Japan.” My father glanced at Mr. Jeon who looked at me with guilt.

“I owe you an apology , on behalf of my idiot son.”

I looked away, not sure what to say to that. I hated the man quite passionately. Jungkook wasn’t perfect… far from it. But this man had taken a sledgehammer to my husband’s mind and heart at every turn. The disdain, the condescension, the sick way he favored his brother over him, the way nothing Jungkook did was ever good enough. It had all taken a toll on my husband. I had watched it chip away at Jungkook’s self confidence, at his mental health.

“I think more than anything, you owe an apology to your son. You knew he was in love with Lisa and yet…. You forced him to marry me.” I said quietly and the room went eerily quiet. My father rounded on me , eyes blazing.

“Leah!!! Apologize, now!” He roared and I looked away.

“You’re all the same. Ungrateful and entitled.” Mr. Jeon said sharply, before turning to his son. “ I’m leaving Jihyun-ah. Tell me when that wife of yours get home. I want to talk to her.”

He shared a half hug with my father before stalking off and my father grabbed his jacket as well.

“I’ll leave as well. Your mother is being quite hysterical. Apparently, all her friends are hounding her about the article.” He sighed and I nodded , watching him shrug on the jacket before nodding at Jihyun and then following his friend out to the front doors.

Jihyun stayed standing , watching my father’s form disappear through the door before turning to me.

“ Are you alright?” He said quietly, moving to kneel in front of me. Sana stood up, bowing before leaving and I watched her disappear into the hallway leading to the kitchens. Jihyun’s fingers wrapped around mine, brushing my knees and I stared down at him.

“The question is, are you alright?” I brushed the hair off his face. He sighed.

“No. No I’m not. I’m angry and jealous and very much filled with resentment towards my brother.” He said honestly and I laughed, tugging on his hand and patting the seat next to me. He straightened before moving to settle next to me and I leaned on his shoulders, sighing as he wrapped on around me, the warmth of his body comforting .

“Are you going to give your marriage a chance?” I asked carefully.

“She told me she was going to break things off for good. We.. We’ve been talking about it. Starting a family, making this work.” He said quietly. I nodded. It was understandable. Unlike Jungkook and I , Jihyun had a responsibility. He would need a son and even though people liked to act like they didn’t care much about gender, like they didn’t care much about having children , it was sort of an unspoken rule. First son of the house ? You had to have a male heir to carry the family name.

I wondered how that conversation had gone between Jungkook and Lisa. It didn’t really match the photo I’d seen.

“I suppose Jungkook probably put up a fight. He genuinely wants to end up with her. He… He tells me often that he loves her and can’t love anyone else. ” I wondered if I ought to feel embarrassed or insulted.

But the truth was, I was numb to a lot of things that had once hurt quite a lot..

The conversation with Jungkook about my pregnancy had definitely cleared things up for me. There was nothing there worth salvaging. Chasing something that wasn’t real , that was foolishness. Especially when I had a very real baby to think about. A child that counted on me to make the right choices.

“I don’t think he did. She spoke to me last night and said that he agreed. Of course that was before the article came out. I’d like to think she didn’t lie to me but I’m not sure.”

I sighed, settling in closer to his chest. He was warm and firm, solid and reliable. I wondered if it would have been easier, if my father had just married me off to Jihyun instead. Jihyun and I …we were alike. We had been friends , even from childhood. Had watched with fond adoration as our younger siblings had fallen madly, wildly in love. Jungkook and Liza had been drawn to each other from the first. Inevitable.

Jihyun and I were more carefree. We didn’t feel things that intensely and perhaps that was why we could sit here in the calm of the afternoon air, quiet and introspective when we ought to be furious and raging.

“ Should we run off together? You and i?” He said suddenly making me laugh.

“Very much incapable of running.” I reminded him with a grin and he squeezed my shoulder .

“I’d carry you.” He said simply.

“Where would we go?” I asked curiously, indulging the fantasy for just a few minutes.

“Somewhere far away. Maybe India? There’s so many people there and we could get lost in the crowds.”

“That does sound appealing.” I smiled and turned to look up at him. His face inches from mine, not as handsome as Jungkook but strong featured and kind. “ But I’m not alone anymore. I have a child.”

His gaze dipped to my lap.

“Yes. Jungkook’s child.” He said thoughtfully.

“No. Mine. Nobody else’s . Just mine.” I said quietly. Jihyun’s gaze softened. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of my head.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, echoing his father’s words.” On behalf of my idiot brother, I’m sorry.”

And where Mr. Jeon’s words hadn’t made any sort of impact, Jihyun’s made my heart clench and ache in the worst way. Self pity was something I loathed but sometimes, being handed the short end of the stick at every turn in life makes it impossible to not feel sorry for yourself.

Tears stung, welling up in my eyes and spilling over my lashes like water bubbling out of an aquifer.

I blinked slowly, not bothering to wipe them as they traced a path down my face, dripping into the fabric of my shawl. In a moment of clarity I wondered what Jungkook must be going through now. Nothing good for sure.

It definitely said something, that I still worried for him. Sighing, I let Jihyun hug me closer. I would take advantage of his kindness for a few more minutes. It had been a while since someone had held me like I mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I called Jungkook that evening.

It wasn’t an easy choice but my heart ached and my mind raced with unanswered questions. I didn’t want to get lost in my own thoughts so I didn’t overthink it. We were still married. I was allowed to call him.

He picked up on the third ring.

“Where are you?” I asked quietly and Jungkook’s groan made my face heat up a little.

“I… Leah?” He sounded groggy. I glanced at the time. It wasn’t late.

“Are you sleeping?”

He didn’t reply for a few minutes.

“I’m sorry about what happened. We.. We didn’t do anything else. It was just.. it was a kiss. Just that.”

“Are you still in the hotel?” I asked quietly ignoring his words.

“ For tonight, yes. Dad wants me to stay with a friend of his. I’ll be going over to their place tomorrow morning.” He replied .

Silence followed for a few seconds.

“Namjoon is moving in tomorrow.” I said stiffly.

Jungkook didn’t respond for a minute or so.

“Yes. Father said it’s a good idea. And I agree. You shouldn’t be alone while I’m here. He’s right. Hyung’s a nice guy. He’ll help you out.” Jungkook said softly.

“Liza came home. She wanted to talk to me.” I said quietly.

Jungkook didn’t reply and I sighed.

“I told her I wasn’t going to talk to her before I talked to you. I don’t… I don’t want to say anything to her that I haven’t already said before. But I still want to know your thoughts on all this. Your plans, that is. I take it you weren’t happy with her ending things.” I said stiltedly.

Jungkook didn’t reply for a few seconds.

“Things between us ended a long time ago, Leah. It was over when we both agreed to marry other people. Maybe even before that, I don’t know… I … I guess I just didn’t want to acknowledge them.” He said quietly. “ She’s different, now. Even that kiss felt so wrong. She’s moving on. I’m glad in a way. She deserves better than me. She deserves someone like hyung. He’s better than me in everyway and-”

God I wanted to strangle him.

“So why did you kiss her?” I snapped. “ If you’re so generously letting her go why would you…” I stopped.

“I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me. It was barely for a second.” He muttered. “ whoever it was must’ve been videoing us for a while.”

I had to remind myself that in the grand scheme of things, this little detail made no difference.

“Right.” I sighed. “ So, you won’t be home for a while?”

“Six weeks at least.” He said quietly.

I tried to keep the disappointment down. I still wanted to see him, just to make sure he was okay. But I knew that was just the pregnancy hormones talking.

“Okay.” I said simply.

“How are you? Did you go see the doctor?” He asked softly and the question surprised me. I was half sure he had forgotten.

“No, not yet. Maybe in a couple of days.” I scratched at a small stain on my skirt. Lime juice and baking soda, I thought absently. That should get the stain out.

“Its pretty late. You should go see the doctor, Leah. I.. I looked stuff up. They say you have to be on pre natal vitamins, folic acid and iron supplements and you have to have a balanced diet. I called Sana earlier and told her to speak to our doctor and get a diet chart for you. She said she’ll do it soon. So , please take care of yourself.”

Jungkook sounded entirely serious and as always my brain felt muddled, unable to process why he did the things he did. He had looked things up about the pregnancy and that implied some sort of interest, didn’t it? But ….. he had also kissed my sister so what was I supposed to do with this?

“I’ll call you.” I said shakily, drained. I was done for the day.

“Right.” He said softly. “ Namjoon hyung will be there tomorrow right? Should I talk to him? He could take you to the doctor.”

“No.. That’s fine. I’ll manage.” I said quickly.

“You’re sure?” There was genuine worry there.

“Yes.” I sighed.

“Alright.”

Silence again. I exhaled shakily.

“Should I hang up?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah. Good night. ” He breathed.

“Good night, Jungkook.”

Click.

I stared at the wall, gently lowering the phone and placing it on the bed next to me.

She deserves better than me, his voice echoed in my head.

Well, so did I.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namjoon looked nothing like the twenty one year old college student I’d seen a decade ago. I knew he was a successful novelist and I’d read all his books. They were mostly philosophical or commentaries on life and emotions. I enjoyed the way he wrote : melancholic and deep but also clear and easy to understand. It was like staring at a particularly deep pool, being able to see all the way down to the bottom because of how clean the waters were. But once you put your feet in, the depth always surprised you.

“That’s a lot of books.” I laughed, gripping the edge of the door frame as I watched him stumble under the weight of a crate full of bound books. Namjoon’s messy brown hair peeked over the top, and when he adjusted the huge load to stare at me, I caught sight of his handsome face stretched in a dimpled grin, eyes glinting.

“Research.” He grunted, straightening himself up and I watched the flex of his muscles as he carefully moved to place the crate down in one corner of the large bedroom that I’d had cleaned for him. It was on the west wing of the house, parallel to my own bedroom that I shared with Jungkook . Namjoon had spent three years working as a professor somewhere in Indonesia. And I knew that he’d spent a year backpacking all over Scandinavia. I stared at his tall strapping figure, watching him set up his writing space carefully, sorting out boxes and electronics.

He had driven here in his Range Rover and I knew all his clothes were still there in the back of the car.

“Should I ask the footmen to get your clothes?” I asked and he glanced up at me, frowning.

“Footmen?” He looked confused and I rolled my eyes.

“Namjoon…” I said chidingly and he grinned again.

“I keep forgetting you’re filthy rich. Makes me wish I should have beaten Jungkook to the game and bagged myself a rich wife.” He winked. It was a joke but there was no mistaking the hint of interest in his eye. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part. Being married to Jungkook had definitely made me question the attraction I held for men so it felt good, having someone as handsome and whole and successful as Namjoon look at me like that.

“I’ll ask them to get your clothes. You should shower and settle in. We’ll meet for dinner tonight.” I said quickly and he nodded.

“You’re going to be okay heading back to your room? Let me know if you need help.” He pointed at my feet and I nodded. It was sweet of him to offer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner was surprisingly not awkward at all. Namjoon had a lot of interesting stories to share and I found myself clinging to ever word in rapt attention. He spoke about all the folklore he’d run into in different places, how he thought that no matter the culture, there were always some common things you could find in every one of them. He also talked a little about his next book, which he hadn’t named yet.

“It’s about second chances. Forgiving and moving on.” He said, taking another bite of his braised pork and moving to make another lettuce wrap.

“ Heavy stuff.” I said thoughtfully. “ Most of my writing is commercial. I just try to sell stuff to reluctant people. It’s not much but it keeps me occupied and it’s always nice to make money that you can call your own.”

“It’s because you don’t write for yourself. When you start writing for yourself, you can truly be who you are.” He said firmly and I nodded in agreement.

My writing in college had been vivid and bright and filled with life. But after the accident, it had turned grey and gloomy. The words seemed to drip with loss and longing and I didn’t enjoy it, because it was a reminder that I was no longer the vibrant, attractive fulsome girl I once was.

“Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of.” I smiled. “ Being who I am. I would rather pretend I’m at least a little alright.”

Namjoon stared at me, thoughtful.

“You used to run track.” He said softly and I grinned.

“You remember.” I said, pleased.

“Of course I do and you were captain of the volleyball team as well. You used to organize all those hikes and treks and stuff.”

“Yes I did. I loved the outdoors.” I stared out of the window.

“Loved? Past tense?” He tilted his head. I stared at him, shaking my head.

“What kind of question is that.” I shook my head. “ Look at me. I’m not trekking anytime soon, considering how the last time ended.”

“You can still go out.” He frowned. “ When was the last time you went somewhere?”

I shook my head.

“Oppa…”

“Listen. You know me. You’ve known me for more than a decade. Do you honestly think I’m going to let you rattle around this old house like a ghost when you should be out there taking in all the sunshine you can get?” Namjoon placed his chopsticks down and linked his fingers together, staring at me.

I stared at him, and it was definitely there. The concern, the affection. Not that different from when I was sixteen and struggling to understand what pathos meant.

But now there was a definite undercurrent of attraction. Back then it had been childish, the wild crush of a teenager on her hot tutor but now, now I knew that he was so much more than just a hot guy.

“I’m pregnant.” I said softly, more a reminder to myself than anything else.

Namjoon grinned.

“We’ll steer clear of horse riding and alcohol. Anything else you can just let me know.”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“I think I’m getting one now.” I deadpanned.

“Because you’re nervous.” He grinned.

“Because your dimples look too adorable.” I retorted.

He laughed.

“I’ll talk to Jihyun and we’ll go see your doctor first. Then we’ll go out and have a nice picnic.”

“Namjoon, I can’t…”

“You don’t know that.” He said firmly.” You don’t know if you can or can’t because you’ve never tried. Listen I love picnics and I love going out and I want company. I’m agreeing to be stuck with you for a while and the least you can do is give me company at a picnic. You know how big a loser I’d seem like if I went by myself?”

It was like I was sixteen again getting brow beaten into things by a tutor who just hated the idea of not getting his way. I shook my head fondly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fourteen weeks. Three and a half months.

I stared at the ultrasound, feeling a multitude of things, not all of them good. The baby was growing well and I had all my prescriptions filled. Namjoon had offered to come with me but I had refused. It was too intimate and he was still a stranger. I did take a photo of the ultrasound and sent it to Jungkook.

/Jungkook called me back almost at once.

“You went to the doctor?” He asked, sounding a little breathless.

“Were you running?” I asked, surprised.

“Not really. I’m supposed to be meeting one of the vendors for lunch and I thought I could walk to the restaurant but its farther than I thought.” He huffed.

“Everything’s fine. Baby’s due in July.” I said quietly.

“Summer. That’s good.” He replied. “Right?”

I hesitated. What did that mean? What did it matter when the baby would be born?

“Because winter would mean it being too cold . Summer we can take the baby out and stuff without worrying too much.” Jungkook said softly.

Oh.

“How’s work?” I asked awkwardly. The non conversation was getting tedious. There was just so much to talk about and it was obvious that both of us weren’t in the mood to actually ask or answer anything worthwhile.

“Did dad say something?” Jungkook asked quickly and I frowned.

“No. Why?”

“He wants me to join hyung in the corporate office. Leave the smelter units.” Jungkook sounded subdued and upset and I felt sympathy well inside me.

“Join him? As what?” I asked quietly.

“Head of the marketing department. I’ll be reporting to Seokjin hyung.” Jungkook had clearly started walking again, breath coming in little exhales.

“You don’t want it?” I asked confused, not sure if this was a good or bad thing.

“I mean… I have a degree in Business and Finance. Hyung’s the CEO , I was hoping I’d be the CFO.” Jungkook sighed, “ But I suppose I should be grateful he didn’t disown me altogether after what happened earlier.”

I stayed quiet and so did he.

“We need to talk . When you get back. You … I know you don’t like sharing about what you feel but you owe me an explanation.” I said firmly.

“I know. But I meant what I said when I left. I’m going to be there for you and the baby. You’re still my wife. That’s not going to change.”

I ran my fingers over the ultrasound.

“Did you also mean the part where you said you can’t stand me.” I said bitterly .

Jungkook didn’t reply.

“I… You know I didn’t. That was just something I said on impulse. I’m sorry. You’re… You’ve been nothing but good to me. And honestly, just the fact that you’re carrying my child is proof that I can definitely stand you.” He sounded just a little hoarse.

I bit my lips, staring up at the door when I heard a knock.

“Leah? I’m going to have some tea in the garden … You wanna come with?” Namjoon’s voice rang through the room and I froze.

“Oh.. Oh.. yes. I’ll be down.” I said quickly, nodding . Namjoon pointed at the phone and gave to thumbs up before moving back out.

“Was that Namjoon hyung?” Jungkook’s voice came over the line.

“Oh… yeah. Yeah, he’s… he wants me to have tea with him in the gardens.” I said awkwardly.

“That’s nice. You should go. Get out of the house once in a while.” I didn’t know what to say to that so I stayed quiet.

After another minute or so of silence, Jungkook cleared his throat.

“ I got that form you sent in for me to fill, about my medical history. I’ll fill it up and mail it to the doctor’s office. Is that alright?” He asked hesitantly. “ If not I can fly back home. If they need me in person or something.”

I frowned a bit.

“They don’t need you in person, Jungkook of course not. Mail it, that’s fine.”

Another pause.

“This is really happening huh? A baby. We’re having a baby.” The exhaustion in his voice was palpable and I wondered.

“Yes. We are.” I said simply, not having anything else to elaborate on. It was happening. I was torn between pleasure at having something to look forward to and guilt at forcing Jungkook into a role he wasn’t ready for. But , for better or for worse we were married. The child was his. It would be a Jeon.

“ I’ll do better.” He said quietly. “ With the little one. I’ll be better.”

Tears these days, sprung up out of nowhere I thought miserably, furiously swiping at my face.

“Leah?” His voice came over the line. “ Leah are you there?”

“I need to go.”

“Alright.”

“Take care of yourself too, Jungkook.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loneliness .

It’s such an odd sort of feeling. Sometimes you get used to it so much, that you forget all about it.

It stays , a part of you that doesn’t make much of an impression on you until one day, suddenly it becomes unbearable,

Until you get a glimpse of what it’s like to not be lonely.

And then suddenly it’s like a deep chasm of longing and desperation just opens up inside you, craving love and warmth and company with a hunger that feels like it can never ever be satisfied.

I’d never paid much mind to the fact that my life revolved around myself, my writing and the flowers in the garden. Not until Namjoon had come, demanding to be felt and seen and heard .

Namjoon hadn’t joked about not letting me rattle around the house. Our days were spent sprawled on the lawns of the Jeon estate, each of us occupied with our own writing . Namjoon typed away on his laptop while I preferred my leather bound notebook. It was oddly soothing, lying there on the clean cut grass, the sharp blades rubbing against my bare legs, as I leaned back against a tree trunk, watching Namjoon’s furrowed brows as he wrote.

Namjoon had changed in a lot of ways and yet he was still somehow just as I remembered, focused and often lost in his own head. He was a contemplative man and seemed to spend as much time reading as he did writing.

“There’s a poetry club that meets every Tuesday in Gangnam. Would you like to come with me?” He asked casually, about a week after he’d moved in and I considered it. The paparazzi had finally stopped hanging about the estate and Jungkook had called the previous night with a ETA for when he would be back.

Four weeks at most, he had said firmly and I wasn’t sure if I was feeling all that excited for his return anymore. Days spent with Namjoon were more exciting. He included me in every little thing and I was addicted.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this was probably wrong. Namjoon was sweet and kind but I was still married. But on the wake of that thought came the bitter reminder that there was nothing between Jungkook and I. He was in love with someone else. Why should I deny myself the joy of Namjoon’s company over a relationship that really wasn’t a relationship at all.

Namjoon treated me as an equal, teased and flirted like there was nothing wrong with the two of us living like this, together and away from the rest of the world and I liked it. It made me feel like perhaps happiness wasn’t such an abstract, unreachable thing after all. That perhaps I could find happiness like this. In friendship and mindless conversation with a man who didn’t see me as a burden.

“I’d love that.” I said with a smile, letting my fingers knit together with his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Scorned wife getting even? We spotted the recently cheated on Mrs Jeon getting cozy with a strapping, buff hottie in a private restaurant last Friday and we can’t help but wonder if perhaps the reclusive lady is trying to get back at her husband by flashing her own boytoy.” Namjoon read cheerfully from his phone, looking way too entertained as he showed me the zoomed photo of us holding hands over the dinner table .

“That’s quite the description they’ve put for you.” I grimaced, sipping my chamomile tea slowly. My father and Mr. Jeon had reacted with their usual anger, threatening to sue the gossip rag for libel but it was pointless. They would keep being intrusive rats. There was nothing much to be done beyond enduring them.

“My agent’s losing his mind. He’s been at me trying to get me to agree to book signings and public appearances and he’s pissed that this is the way I get introduced to Seoul’s High society. Poor guy.” Namjoon chuckled and I felt guilt churn.

“I’m sorry, Namjoon. I really didn’t think they’d be following me. I mean… usually they’re only tailing Jungkook but I guess with the whole thing with Lisa , they’re just looking for ways to make things worse.” I said hesitantly.

Namjoon hesitated, staring at me for a few seconds.

“We never really talked about how things are.” He said quietly. “ Between you and Jungkook, that is.”

I ran the edge of my chopsticks on the brim of my soup bowl.

“ There’s not much to say. He’s…. He’s still sorting things out. With my sister.” I smiled a little. It ached a lot less, I realized with surprise.

“They loved each other deeply.” Namjoon said softly. “ that sort of thing doesn’t go away that quickly.”

I nodded.

“Of course. And I’ve been …understanding of that. I like to think.”

“But its unfair to you. You deserve to be loved too. Fully and well .”

I leaned back to stare at him.

“Are you offering?” I laughed, teasing.

Namjoon didn’t smile, leaning forward instead.

“Depends. Will you ever consider leaving him, for me?” He said seriously.

My heart turned over inside me.

“Namjoon…” I choked out and he reached out and lightly touched my palm.

“I know how marriages work with people like you, so I think I should draw boundaries now, if I want to keep myself safe.” He smiled a bit.

“I’m pregnant. With his child.” I swallowed and Namjoon’s brows went up.

“I thought it was your child. Yours and no one else’s.”

I felt torn, staring at him and wanting to say that I didn’t consider Jungkook as the child’s father, not in the way most people did. But I also remembered my husbands determined voice, the way he kept insisting that he wouldn’t neglect the child.

“Its not about Jungkook or the child, Leah. Its about you. You married Jungkook knowing he was in love with your sister and that tells me that you listen to your parents. You don’t want to stand up against the rules set by our parents and I don’t fault you for it. But I can’t let myself fall for you, knowing you’re going to be bound by your obligations to yurr family.”

I shook my head.

“Don’t fall in love with me.” I said easily. “ You’re right. My family comes first. And whether I want to be or not, I’m bound to Jungkook for life. So don’t fall in love with me.”

He smiled and nodded.

“Alright then.”

“Do you want to move out?” I asked bitterly and he looked genuinely surprised.

“What?”

“You clearly think I’m trying to seduce you or something when really, I-“

“Hey. Hey, Leah…no. No alright, that’s not what I meant. These two weeks, it was amazing. I love your mind and you’re easily one of my favorite people on this planet. We’re friends. And we’ll stay friends no matter what but you must know why I said what I said. You’re a beautiful woman and I’m a lonely guy.” He smiled a bit, “ I just don’t want to make it hard for myself when you want me to leave.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jungkook arrived back in Korea on a cold, rainy morning and against my better judgment I let Jihyun and Lisa drag me to the airport. It was some kind of publicity stunt, that much I could fathom but I didn’t know if Jungkook was in on it. I hadn’t spoken to him in a few days, he had been busy wrapping things up with the new branch in Japan.

It was another bad day for my leg and I found myself leaning heavily on my sister, her arm wrapped around my waist as we walked over to the waiting area. I could already identify a few men with cameras staring at us discreetly. Paparazzi . I saw them move their cameras down to the now obvious curve of my stomach and I swallowed. I could already imagine the articles wondering who the father was : Jungkook or Namjoon.

“You alright?” My sister asked worriedly and I nodded, not looking at her. Lisa hadn’t been discouraged by initial refusal to speak to her, keeping at it till I finally caved and let her visit me at the estate. She didn’t love Jungkook anymore, she insisted . It was over. They were over . She wanted to give her marriage a chance. Very sweet and nice, that. And it was obvious that she wasn’t lying, what with the way she and her husband kept

Jihyun and Lisa had made amends with each other and it annoyed me that they seemed to be madly in love with each other all of a sudden. Like the past couple months hadn’t even happened. I stared down at my wedding ring feeling stricken. Was it unfair that I resented them for this? Why hadn’t the two of them thought of this, of breaking things off and moving on before the damn wedding. And then maybe Jungkook and I would have had a real marriage too.

Bitter and hormonal was definitely not a good combination I thought with a wince, fingers splaying on the curve of my lower belly. It was so odd, being pregnant. The extra weight somehow foreign but also …so soothing. The last scan had shown that I had an anterior placenta and that meant that I may not feel movements for a while. I didn’t mind, having found comfort in just tracing my palm over the bare skin of my stomach.

“There he is.” Jihyun’s voice made me look up and ure enough there he was.

It wasn’t the longest we’d been away from each other and yet, I felt my heart leap at the sight of him. He truly was a very handsome man, I thought miserably. And no matter what people said, it was infinitely more difficult to hate your husband when he looked that good.

Jungkook’s eyes caught mine first and I saw the way his gaze dipped straight to the curve of my bump. Even from the ten feet between us , I saw hi lips part in surprise , eyes going wide. It probably hadn’t felt real to him till now, I thought biting my lips as he carefully handed his bags over to the two chauffeurs who had rushed to help him.

Jihyun wasted no time in bounding over and hugging his little brother tight.

I glanced at the man who had been taking photos, pleased to see the surprise in his face. Was he hoping that the CEO would punch his little brother in the face ? Idiots. Lisa stayed by my side and I exhaled shakily.

“ Dad told me something and I want to know if its true.” I said quietly.

She didn’t reply.

I took a deep breath, still watching the two brothers embrace each other, Jungkook’s face buried in Jihyun’s shoulders. I could see him shaking just a little and I felt my gut clench.

“He told me that …that you never told him that you wanted to marry Jungkook. That when he suggested Jihyun you agreed at once.”

She looked away.

“Lets talk about this later.” She said quietly.

“Does Jungkook know?” I demanded. “ Because he spent that first month of our marriage cursing our father out for forcing you to marry Jihyun. Forcing. And dad says that he did no such thing. So what is the truth.”

Lisa didn’t respond.

“Jungkook knows.” She said finally, “ I told him… the truth. When we were in Japan.” and I laughed in disbelief.

“Was that before or after you kissed him?” I snapped and she looked genuinely pained.

“Leah, I never meant to hurt you or Jungkook.” She said shakily.

“My God.” I shook my head. “ I always knew you were a selfish, greedy person but I didn’t take you for being a liar and a deceitful coward. ”

She stared down at her feet.

“Yes. I’m greedy..” She whispered “ And you may not understand it now but I did it for you and for Jungkook.”

She moved away and I watched as Jihyun pulled away from Jungkook, still holding his arm as he held a hand out to Lisa. The smile on her face seemed genuine as she took her husband’s hand and I shifted my gaze to mine. Jihyun and Lisa walked away to their car and Jungkook stepped closer to me, his face stoic and impossible to read.

“Leah.” He said quietly, dark hair falling into even darker eyes.

I didn’t reply, merely stepping up to gently press my palms on either side of his face.

“Welcome back.” I said softly, before reaching up and kissing him full on the lips. Jungkook’s entire body went stiff as a board at the gesture but he didn’t pull away , thankfully. It felt cold and impersonal and barely lasted a few seconds but hopefully the man had gotten a few good shots. I closed my eyes for effect, running my thumb over the clean shaven curve of his jaw, before pulling away slowly.

I peered over Jungkook’s shoulder, just to make sure and sure enough, the man was moving closer to get better angles. I smiled a little. Good. That should hold these vultures off for a while. I turned back to Jungkook and his eyes followed my gaze catching sight of the man with the camera and his entire body seemed to go stiff with anger.

“Why did you do that?” He growled and I bit my lips.

“You know why.” I made to turn away but he gripped my arm, hard. So hard that I winced.

“What are you doing?” I asked panicking, glancing at the man who was still watching.

“Since when did you start pandering to those pigs?” He whispered angrily and I flinched.

“Your father wants to introduce you to the Board of directors this weekend.” I whispered quietly, “Most of them read the news Jungkook. The last news about us can’t be about you cheating on me.”

“That’s my business. And I’ll deal with it. We’re not doing this, Leah. I’m not putting on some kind of act just to please my fucking father.” He looked furious and the taut line of his jaw made me flinch.

“I’m sorry.” I said quickly, guilt churning inside me. He was right. I shouldn’t have done that without talking to him about it but I knew that the scandal with him and Lisa wouldn’t go down well with the Board. And the Board generally had a direct say on who got hired to top managerial positions.

“I just want you to get that job.” I said softly and he stared at me, stiff body relaxing marginally.

“Let’s just go home. Yeah?” Jungkook said tiredly and I bit my lips.

Less than fifteen minutes since he came home and we were already at odds with each other.

The most ill suited couple in the universe, I thought with a grimace as he stepped right next to me and wrapped a hand around my waist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a very terrible tendency to forget taking my pills. So I generally left them by the bedside table. Stepping out of the shower, I found Jungkook sitting on my side of the bed, examining the bottle carefully. I tugged on the white t shirt I had on, suddenly embarrassed because it was Jungkook’s

I’d asked to borrow a couple over the phone, simply because I no longer fit into my own and the ones I’d ordered weren’t here yet. Jungkook had agreed but still, it felt awkward when he was wearing the exact same t shirt himself.

He turned around when I moved to the vanity to put on moisturizer for the night and through the reflection I saw his gaze linger on my attire.

“Aspirin? Didn’t know that was part of pre natal vitamins?” He said seriously and I blinked., surprised. I turned around to stare at him, licking my lips nervously.

“How much research did you do?” I asked, genuinely curious and he flushed.

“I had a lot of free time. “ He said defensively. “ These six weeks.”

I frowned, before turning back to grab the small pot of night cream from the draw.

“My blood pressure is a little elevated. My mother had pre eclampsia with my sister and they just want to be careful.”

“Pre eclampsia?” Jungkook’s voice was fraught with nervousness and I turned back to see him almost white as a sheet.

“Jungkook…I.. its nothing serious.” I said hastily and his jaw went even more taut.

“What do you mean its not serious? Do you even know what it is?” He demanded.

“Do you?” I snapped back, annoyed at being treated like I was an errant child.

“I know that it’s the leading cause of maternal death during birth.” He all but shouted and I flinched.

“Okay…that’s only in extreme cases.” I held both my hands up. “ it’s a bit too premature to be panicking over that.”

Jungkook opened his mouth, as though to argue but then seemed to calm himself down.

“When’s your next check up?” He asked casually.

“This weekend. But its okay, Namjoon is-“

“I’ll come with you. I.. I want to come with you.” He said quietly.

I stared at him, feeling too awkward to outright refuse.

“You have the meeting with the Board. This weekend.” I said softly.

“So?” Jungkook shrugged. “ I’ll just tell them your appointment and health is more important to me. Besides isn’t that what you wanted? The reason you kissed me at the airport? You want the board to think we’re happily in love. I think that would be an excellent way to show them that. ”

Jungkook stared at me , head tilted curiously, daring me to deny what I had old him myself.

Sighing, I nodded.

“Alright.” I managed a weak smile. “ You can come with me.”

“Namjoon hyung left today, you said?” He asked casually.

I nodded.

“I should send him a bottle of his favorite wine for taking care of you so well. You look good.”

“He did it because he wanted to. Because he enjoyed it.” I retorted, his words rubbing me just a little wrong.

Jungkook smiled although it was more of a smirk.

“I’m sure he did. But I’m here now. And I did promise you that I’ll be there for you.”

“For the baby.” I said sharply, not liking the way he looked. The things he seemed to b implying.” You promised me you’d be there for the baby.”

“And right now, said baby is inside you.” He grinned now and I felt my pulse quicken at the sight. Jungkook didn’t smile with me. It wasn’t something that happened. At all. “ So I’ll have to take care of you.”

I stared at him, biting my lips.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. “My sister told you she never wanted you so now you want to start fucking me again?”

It was cruel. A terrible thing to say and I regretted it at once.

The smile faded.

“What?”

“ I…fuck Jungkook.” I groaned.

“is that what you think of me? Need I remind you that you were the one who came to me all those months ago? I never…. I would never force myself on you, Leah.” He looked like he’d been stabbed and I heart clenched.

“Jungkook , I…”

“I’ve been honest. Through all of this I’ve been honest to you. I lied to your sister, I lied to my father and fuck I even lied to myself. But I’ve been honest with you , Leah.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?!” I cried out, despairing. “ You were in love with my sister and –“

“And she wanted to marry my brother.” Jungkook yelled, standing up and turning to me, eyes blazing. “ All along. Know what she told me Leah? That it was never supposed to be me. That five years of us being together…it was because she was in love with my brother and she couldn’t bear the thought of being alone. She started dating me to make him jealous and when she saw that I spent so much time with Jihyun she stuck around . So she could spend time with him.” He shook his head.

I stared at him, horrified.

“Jungkook….”

“I thought I could never feel more pathetic than when I stood there listening her tel me how she never felt a single thing for me. But wow…. Thank you for proving me wrong. Because right now, standing here begging you to let me a part of the child we both made knowing you only see me as some kind of pervert just looking to get into your bed….” he shook his head,” I feel worse. I feel dirty.”

My throat went dry.

“You know what?” He moved to the closet and to my horror he grabbed a bunch of his clothes and a small suitcase. “ I’m going to go get a Hotel room.”

“What? No… Jungkook, wait!” I rushed to his side, grabbing his arm but he threw my hand off quickly.

“Ask Namjoon hyung to move back in. Better yet, tell dad the truth. That you think I’m disgusting. That the thought of me being in your life makes you sick. Tell him you want a divorce and-“

“It’s a girl.” I exhaled sharply.

Jungkook went completely still.

I swallowed, my heart racing so fast I couldn’t catch my breath.

I took a deep breath and moved to lightly touch his back, fingers splaying on the broad expanse of his shoulder blade .

He turned around at that and my heart lurched at the tear tracks down his cheeks. He looked wrecked.

“ A girl?” He whispered.

I bit my lips, nodding.

“We’re having a little girl.” He looked a little shell shocked.

“Yes. And hopefully, she isn’t as dramatic as her father.” I said softly, grabbing the dozen or so t shirts he’d pulled out of the closet and pushing them back into the shelves.

Jungkook didn’t protest, still staring into space, probably just taking the news in. I felt awful for one second because I hadn’t even cared all that much when the technician had told me.

I closed the closet door and moved back to the vanity trying to process all that had been said in the last five minutes, only to feel a headache come on. I would think about it tomorrow.

I finished braiding my hair when Jungkook’s voice came from the bed.

“If you don’t want me to intrude into your space you can tell me. I’m okay with only getting information about the baby.” He said quietly.

I stared at myself in the mirror.

I turned to him slowly. i took a deep breath, considered that what i was going to say would likely change everything between us. But i had to.

I’ve always been honest with you Leah, He had said and I decided that perhaps he deserved some honesty in return.

“I think I’m in love with Namjoon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note : these two are such a mess istg.

ooh i don’t have a taglist for this so please comment if you wanna be on it.

#jungkook smut #jungkook fics #bts smut fics #bts smut #jungkook arranged marriage #bts arranged marriage au #bts fanfic #bts smut fic #bts fics

503 notes · View notes

miraculouscontent · 4 years ago

Text

Didn’t Need Burrow (April 24th-May 3rd)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette is exposed to the world as Ladybug by the end of the series. This is largely so Adrien gets to bask in everyone knowing that HE ended up with Paris' protector on his arm, emphasizing her status as a trophy that he won.

This feels too likely, I hate it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After being badgered into trusting her with the Fox, Marinette tries to convince Alya that she can't expose herself as Rena Rouge any further, and should take advantage of the Fox's long-range capabilities to stay hidden. Alya dismisses the danger; if she tries hiding at all, it doesn't take long to reveal herself, claiming it's unheroic to hide. Shadowmoth then targets her personally, with Marinette taking the blame.

I WOULD EXCUSE THE FOX THING IF IT STAYED LONG RANGE BUT I’M WAITING FOR THEM TO RUIN IT

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Rather than outing Ladybug, Alya reveals *herself* as Rena Rouge. She claims that this is fine since Hawkmoth already knows her secret identity... and besides, it gives the LadyBlog more cred!

Because why not I guess, the bar for her is already so low.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be forced to give up Guardianship/go through the memory wipe... but continue as Ladybug. This is mined for Sadrien AND resets LadyNoir; she no longer recalls all the annoying shit he's pulled, offering a fresh start. May lead into Reversed Rectangular Romance with Chat Noir pining after the old Ladybug while she develops a crush on her brooding partner. He's so ~dark~ and ~mysterious~ and gives her such ~wistful looks~!

Marinette gets to give up guardianship but at what cost. (also, that last line about Chat being dark and brooding)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a Shocking Twist, Emilie is revealed to have been evil and manipulative like Chloe/Lila, and presented as solely responsible for her husband's jerkassery. This sets up GabNath as endgame with Gabriel absolved for all his misdeeds. (Any similarities between Emilie and her son's behavior are summarily ignored.)

Because Adrien is male, obviously. He gets a pass.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: A lot of Adrien's supposed childhood friendship with Chloe was actually with Zoe. Which is supposed to give the new character some instant connections and serves as another proof of Chloe being irredeemable. Bonus: Marinette finds out and whether or not she spills the beans, it will be something she'll get called out for.

So, either a retcon or Adrien comes off as even more of a liar in “Origins.”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will tell Marinette outright that her responsibilities mean she's not allowed to be happy. This is used to garner sympathy for HIM - Isn't it sad how his duties have completely consumed his life? Clearly he needs help learning how to unwind and relax! Meanwhile Mari's drowning in the background, but this isn't about HER, now is it?

I’M SO SAD

WHYYY

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien discovers Gabriel's secret and hides the truth, forbidding Plagg from telling anyone. Not just to protect his father/family, but because he's not ready to stop being Chat Noir. No villains means no reason for heroes, and he doesn't even know his lady's secret identity yet--! Naturally, his reasoning is treated as totally understandable and sympathetic, even as he enables the conflict to continue indefinitely.

“CHAT BLANC” VERSION 2.0 I HATE IT DX

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Hawk/Shadowmoth starts aiming to *kill* the exposed/temp heroes in order to prevent them from potentially joining battles. This only happens during akuma fights (so that it falls upon Ladybug to 'set things right' with her powers). Chat Noir makes minimal (if any) effort to protect them, relying upon his 'partner' to carry the day instead and bring them back.

Ladybug: *trying to save everyone*

Chat Noir: *filing his claws in the background*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be pressured to make others permanent heroes and let them have their Miraculi full-time. This sets up for Hawkmoth to eventually get his hands on the Miracle Box, meaning any Miraculi that haven't been distributed are now in the villains' clutches. Not only does this dramatically cut down her pool of allies, Marinette gets to be guilt-stricken over failing all her duties and not listening to their demands while she had the chance.

Marinette, you’re such a fAilUrE as guardian!!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe will turn out to be another love interest for Adrien - only it's as the New-Bee with *Chat Noir*, enabling the dreaded Reversed Romo-Rhombus dynamic with Ladybug becoming jealous of their chemistry.

girls are such jealous types, haven’t you guys heard? :)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug gets a new default look (for the sake of selling more ML merch in Real Life), trading the spotted onesie for another form-fitting spandex suit that 'highlights her feminine charms' even more. This is treated as a sign of her 'growing up'.

wow i hate it

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya shipping Marinette with both Adrien and Chat Noir after finding out her identity.

I am 100% not here for shipping shenanigans.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will be responsible for leading Lila to suspect that Marinette and Ladybug are connected. Though Alya may actually *realize* that she slipped up, she won't warn Marinette about the potential security breach, not wanting her to get upset/any more paranoid than she already is.

And of course, this will be used to make people “sympathize” with her. See, she cAreS about Marinette’s feelings, how can you be mad at her for this??

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be more plots where Marinette's 'lesson of the week' is that she must learn how to better control and suppress her emotions, and that she is literally not ALLOWED to be upset because Hawk/Shadowmoth will win if she does. At the same time, Adrien is encouraged to marinate in his own unhappiness over Ladybug not giving in to his advances. If the danger involved ever comes up, it's presented as purely Ladybug/Marinette's fault for rejecting him.

I’m starting to think some of you are ZAG insiders because wow that sounds likely. DX

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: A recurring theme in episodes featuring the 'girl squad' will be Marinette meddling too much, as her efforts to help them cross boundaries THEY aren't comfortable with. If she dares to bring up their past insistence that friends don't keep secrets, they'll call her out as a hypocrite while refusing to acknowledge their own hypocrisies.

“Marinette’s boundaries? Who??? No, Marinette, what about THEIR boundaries???” - the writers

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien will feel sorry for Chloe and regret the role he played in her losing her Miraculous. This is mainly a vehicle to help explain why everything that went wrong with her/Queen Bee is totally, 100% Marinette/Ladybug's fault, along with showing how forgiving Adrien is and how he 'sees the best in everyone', and is clearly right to do so. Bonus: this is combined with him distrusting the NewBee for not being Chloe/making her jealous.

*sigh*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe will get akumatized out of anger over the New Bee, and Ladybug is blamed for her insensitivity/forced to apologize to her.

I’m still stunned at the mental gymnastics they go through to make Marinette/Ladybug apologize to people.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will confirm the popular fan claim that Ladybug and Black Cat bearers are, in fact, soulmates/bound together by destiny. Chat Noir gleefully rubs this in Ladybug's face; her disbelief and horror is played entirely for laughs at her expense. Adrien's behavior escalates further afterwards, bolstered by the knowledge that it doesn't matter how shitty he gets, as she belongs to him regardless.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In addition to confirming the notion that Ladybugs and Black Cats are 'meant to be', it's revealed that other Miracli are destined soulmates, like Foxes and Turtles or Butterflies and Peacocks, and other random Miraculi pairings that 'coincidentally' align with various official ships.

brb, need to step away to scream on my porch

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: At least one episode will have Marinette mess up a potion, preventing her and the other heroes from enjoying its benefits during a big fight. This is blamed either on her anxiety causing her to overthink it or on her being a poor student, lamenting the fact that she didn't have more time with Master Fu. (Bonus if Su-Han takes advantage of this to slam Fu; extra bonus points if Mari defends him by insisting *she* was the one who screwed up, not her master.)

It’s like a main course of Marinette blame, oh my god.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will make various sexist comments about Marinette and the other heroines, implying that they were all poor choices Because Girl. Since nothing says 'Girl Power' like insisting they must prove themselves to doubtful men who will never fully accept them. After all, Marinette is the only one who ever learns lessons; therefore, Su-Han will never grow out of his 'old-fashioned views'.

And when the writers are called out, they’ll go, “bUt hE’s jUst oLd fAshiOned”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien gets his Ring revoked by Su-Han for misbehavior. This is depicted as a terrible miscarriage of justice, and Marinette must convince Su-Han to return the Ring without learning who Chat Noir is. The more terrible the inciting act, the bigger the bonus points; did he skip another battle like Glaciator? Pull another Syren-level stunt? Cataclysm another innocent? Who cares? Sadrien is Sad, and that's the biggest crisis of all...

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien pulls another Syren-level stunt (or worse); rather than holding him responsible, Su-Han berates Marinette for her poor leadership and failure to keep him in line. Bonus if she confides/vents to Alya afterwards only for Alya to AGREE with Su-Han that she's failed at being a good partner to Chat Noir. Fever Mode activates if Alya implies Marinette's failure is due to her inability to admit her feelings for Chat Noir and/or confess to Adrien.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will pull an Adrien re: Lila, refusing to openly support Marinette against her. She'll claim that they need to 'gather evidence' first before exposing her to everyone. In practice, this means that Alya is willing to continue feigning ignorance, pretending that she's taken in by Lila's lies, while Marinette continues to suffer since she won't play along. Any evidence-gathering we see Alya engaging in is minimal, if she's shown doing it at all.

This is 150% one of the most accurate Alya-Lila confrontations I’ve seen from these predictions.

I hate it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: When confronting Lila, Alya will insist that 'Ladybug told me herself' that they aren't friends. Lila attempts to convince her that Ladybug is lying to try and protect her; this either works or spurs Alya to declare that LB 'hates liars', making her suspicious of Marinette's potential connections to the superheroine.

Alya

Alya why

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will only treat Marinette with anything approaching a veneer of respect while she's Ladybug. (As in 'Transformed/wearing the spotted suit/actively superheroing'.) Her behavior towards her 'regular BFF', meanwhile, will continue to degrade.

and, as a alternative:

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Having learned that Marinette = Ladybug, Alya shows less and less respect towards the superheroine. (Not that she displayed much in the first place, but you know what they say: familiarity breeds contempt. And Alya's convinced that she knows her SO WELL, despite all signs to the contrary...)

Thanks. Hate them both. T_T

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will end up outing Ladybug in a moment of anger. Though this is treated as impulsive and spur-of-the-moment, the act itself hints otherwise. (For example, she posts it on the LadyBlog; that post had to be *written up* first, and she likely had to think about what evidence she'd use to back up her claim... Not to mention if she includes pictures or video. Showing that Alya thought about it well before her 'tipping point', no matter how she claims otherwise.)

okay but you missed the part where Marinette is blamed for it--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Tikki's comments about kwamis not understanding love are foreshadowing that they will later claim that Ladybug and Chat Noir's relationship has shown them what true love is. Because none of the other relationships they've ever seen or experienced in their long, looooooong history compare to the Four-Cornered F**kery.

Tikki sure knew a lot about love when she commented on all of Marinette’s love issues.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Kagami will come to regret 'impulsively' breaking up with Adrien for being a lying jerkface, while Luka moves on and finds happiness with somebody else with relative ease. Because guys are allowed to move on with their lives while girls have to wallow in the miserable mires of wish-you-were-(still)-mine. Woes--!

no but see Adrien is “worthy” of love while Marinette isn’t

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette is either responsible for the secret Juleka's keeping (such as trusting her with a Miraculous) or inadvertently sets Rose on its scent in the first place, making her *supposedly* responsible for the strife which follows.

We already know that it’s not Juleka’s secret at least but Marinette could absolutely still set Rose off.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be taught techniques/given a power-up that shuts off her emotions completely, or simply reaches the point where she figures out how to do so on her own. This is ultimately shown to be a bad thing/another mistake not because of the toll it takes on her psyche, but because the fully repressed Marinette/Ladybug no longer has any interest whatsoever in Adrien, and *we can't have THAT!*

Us getting to see Marinette not crushing on Adrien... but at what cost?

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya posts more embarrassing content on the LadyBlog, making it look like Ladybug keeps screwing up/making mistakes. Marinette asks her to stop, worried that she's undermining people's faith in her; Alya blows off her concerns and accuses her of getting a swelled head/becoming a 'control freak' about her image, insisting it's no big deal if people see she's human while refusing to treat her as such. (Meanwhile none of Chat Noir's mistakes/misbehavior make it onto the blog.)

“Bonus” if Alya gets particularly huffy because it’s jOunrAliSm and she’d be bIAsEd if she took down something that made her fRiEnD uNComOFTablE.

elflynns-horde-of-stuff said:

Don't need a burrow: The upcoming episode "Guiltrip" is gonna be 50% Sadrien. And we won't even get any new developments on his character for it.

so the usual

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that Ladybug holders are 'natural good luck charms' for everybody around them, but are punished by karmic backlash for even the *slightest* hint of selfishness (or self-consideration). Hence Marinette's whole plight, which is still presented as her fault for not being able to reach an impossibly perfect ideal. (Anything we learn about Black Cat holders, meanwhile, is purely for Agrestangst and has no bearing on anything observable within the show itself.)

Honestly, with the bad luck Marinette had in “Origins,” you’d think she’d be meant for the cat and been taught about the values of destruction and just being able to Go Off on people, or how to spin her bad luck into something good (or the black cat miraculous in general helps her channel her bad luck, such as making her Cataclysm stronger or being able to give her bad luck to others).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The show ends with Marinette and Adrien getting together, with Marinette declaring that everything she went through was worth it and that she's 'incredibly lucky' -- that the fact fate brought them together is 'nothing short of Miraculous!'

The sheer level at which I just cringed in immeasurable.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: A S5 episode will drop before S4 is finished.

Oh! Ahaha, we’ve got a wavelength, anon! I actually already added that one at some point.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: The series will not really make Rose/Juleka canon. They will imply it but the official language used in the episode will be "best friends". Yet on Twitter the creators will pat themselves on the back repeatedly for it

I mean, this already partially happened in “Reflekdoll” so--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It'll be confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that Adrien 100% knows about Marinette's crush when he uses it to manipulate her. Plagg comments on it, and Adrien affirms that he knows, but her feelings don't compare to his own for Ladybug. ('And aren't worth sparing' goes unsaid, but is naturally implied.) Naturally, his manipulation of her is treated as 'clever', and any pain or mortification she feels as a result is just gravy.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien reveals to Plagg (and the audience) that he's fully aware of Marinette's crush, but refuses to acknowledge it because he doesn't want to 'crush her dreams', comparing it to how Ladybug keeps rejecting him. Making the situation entirely about HIM and how HE feels, even showing some resentment towards her for HAVING that crush for HIM to deal with. Marinette and her feelings are painted as just an ANNOYANCE that he's ignoring, heedless of the impact upon her.

wow i hate them both

thank you, both of you

</3

#category: salt #Didn't Need Burrow

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violenceenthusiast · 4 years ago

Note

Ask from trans Dean getting male body headcanon, I'm trans too and I guess it's like that fic debate about how some trans people like more serious fic that are more realistic? And some more, myself included, the fantasy not like real life way such as magic person casts spell or shapeshifter ( oh jeez are all shapeshifters in spn trans?? God I wish that were me)

Like if I woke up with my ideal body and as long as i still looked like me to others (it's magic I'm bending it) it would be dead cool, so I imagine Dean as being like me

Although I would push against your male female argument bc like there is a difference like if you've a female body you can get female organ specific issues like idk ovarian cysts? But I get what you mean the only place male and female labels makes a difference when it comes to medicine really imho

But yeah magic angel bf take my boobs there's only good for holding my phone up in bed

this seemed like the day to finally get to this ask.

i don’t mean this in a normative way at all, just factually, being trans does not preclude you (or me, or anyone) from holding harmful/cissexist opinions about transness and/or saying harmful things. and rhetorically i think language is powerful and can do a lot of work on how we think about things (just like the reverse is true. it’s a cyclical thing to me). so i’m hardline against “male/female body” terminology, like i said in the last ask i think that rather men (trans and cis alike) then have male bodies and same for women.

but also scientifically the view is flawed, if only for the fact that it doesn’t take into consideration intersex people, let alone all the other reasons. like. even if we were to classify “male bodies” as “people born with penis/external testes/prostate, and without vulva/vagina/uterus/ovaries”, first of all yuck why, and second of all even that is not even a particularly cohesive category medically speaking? and with cis men and cis women, the statistical variation within groups is just as large as the variation between groups? it’s all a bimodal distribution yk!! like. there are tendencies true of given groups but at anything below that macro level is useless, AND for a given thing being said, while it’s technically true of group A, it’s dishonest to pretend like it isn’t true for a large part of group B too! and again there’s always gonna be those in the middle of that distribution- trying to force those ppl to one side or the other of the distribution is lazy first and ill-advised second because in doing so we would miss so much truth about what it means to be human? like literally just missing out on so much data to collapse what is in truth a range of values into two categories, 0 or 1. i truly do not get the need for M/F at all (this is not an invite for randos to try and come find the one hyper-specific situation where they think actually the distinction is needed don’t you know)

also (sigh sharing about myself to get my point across as always but.) on a basic level like. i have a genetic marker that predisposes me to breast and ovarian cancers, i am acutely aware of my body’s medical realities. but anyone who calls my body “female” is getting decked. that is simply not what’s going on here. if i get top surgery, my risk for breast cancer is still gonna be more than that of the average cis man, and my risk level will go down for me but what’s my risk level compared to an average cis woman then? also like i’m on testosterone so what does that do to the categories’ meanings? what category does my mom go in if she’s had an oophorectomy and a hysterectomy? defining such categories based on physical traits is messy and misguided at best, pointless and harmful at worst.

and to bring it back around to spn i’m still like. i think there IS a lot of yummy trans body magic wrapped up in the angel power lore. but i hold that there should be choice in that? like a storyline where cas offers to change dean’s body (change!! not “fix”!!!!! you didn’t say that i’m just generally noting the distinction bc i see that a lot!!), or where dean asks cas for that..... those hold SO much power. but a cas that just changes dean’s body around in big ways without his consent or involvement in the decision.. idk it icks me out generically and feels ooc for cas for me specifically. because cas is so about free will, rebellion, finding divinity in humanity and in choice/self-determination, and cas is genderfucked too so like. idk i really feel like cas sees dean’s soul in hell and it’s Self Recognition Through The Other time. like abstractly i agree that it’s enticing to think about waking up the way you want to be like magic. it’d be nice to skip on the rough realities of what it would take to get there, if possible at all. but actually thinking about that literally happening?? and not knowing it was gonna happen?? i think it’d be fucked up.

#idk what to tag this #and again im sure others will feel differently but.#and sorry to my followers for once again using anons as a soap box opportunity #trans dean #asks #anonymous #long post

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lost-in-the-80s · 4 years ago

Text

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Pairing: Axl Rose x (fem) reader

Words: 2,546k

Requested by: @sugwinter

Summary: You, one of the most prestigious actresses in Hollywood, meet Axl Rose at a party and the two of you just can’t stay away from each other.

A/N: I’m sorry Tarantino, but the title fitted too well for me not to use it. Thanks for the request, darling! I LOVED this concept!! I hope you like it 💗

Note: This is the second version of it, since I didn’t like the first one. Tell me what you guys thought of it :)

Tag list: @roger-taylors-car @ladieswttda @teasid @metalheartofgold @slashscowboyboots @ginny-rose-sixx @rumoured-whispers @normatural add yourself to my tag list :)

Once upon a time in Hollywood, there was a smart young woman named Y/N. She had always been ambitious and very determined so she knew she wanted to be an actress at a very young age.

When she was 16 she started running after her dreams. Coming from a poor neighborhood in Los Angeles, she’d take the bus every day after school and go to Hollywood, distributing resumes at every set she could find, hoping to get any type of work that could bring her closer to her dream.

The chance came a few months later when she was hired to be the director’s assistant. Her work consisted of getting coffee, organizing his table, staying with him while filming and distributing the scripts to all the cast members.

He was directing a sitcom and one day the main actress didn’t show up for the filming, realizing that the two of them looked alike, he asked Y/N to take her place during that day.

She did such a good job, that the following year he called her asking if she would be interested in taking part in a movie.

That was the first of many jobs, 10 years had passed after that. It was 1991 and Y/N was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, any movie with her name on, joined countless people in cinema lines just to see it.

She didn’t just make movies and series, but she extended her career, taking part in some modeling jobs for major brands and appearing in video clips.

That’s how she met Steven Tyler, the infamous vocalist of Aerosmith. She had said in an interview that Aerosmith was one of her favorite bands and got surprised when the band’s manager got in touch with her a few days later asking if she would want to take part in a video clip of theirs.

Doing small talk before the footage they found out they had the same zodiac sign, Aries. After that the two of them got really along, Steven invited her to have dinner with him and his wife and soon all of them became good friends.

That’s how she ended up here, on March 26th in front of his mansion, a bottle of expensive wine wrapped as a gift in one hand while the other rang the doorbell.

“Y/N! Come in!” It was Steven’s wife.

“Hello, Teresa, how are you?” She hugged her.

“I’m fine!” She smiled tenderly at Y/N.

There was rock music blasting from the speakers sprawled around the living room, where lots of people were dancing and having fun together. Steven was known for having many friends.

“Ste!!” She shouted, lifting her arms to get a hug from the man.

“Y/N! I’m happy that you came!” He hugged her while smiling.

“Happy birthday!!” She let go of him. “Here, I brought you a gift.”

“Ohh, this is one of my favorites!” He smirked checking out the bottle. “I’ll take it to the wine house before someone decides to drink it.” He gave her a small smile, turning around.

That’s when she saw him. He was talking to some people, his hair half-covered by a blue bandana. He was already looking at her, smiling in her direction when their gazes met.

A shiver ran through her body at that moment. He was beautiful, an adjective she hardly used with men. But damn, she had never seen a man like that before. Everything on him looked perfect, his beard, his hair, his eyes and the shape of his face.

He lifted his beer in her direction and she gave him a small smile, contemplating if she should go and try to talk to him. However, a friend of hers showed up, blocking her plans.

After a few minutes of talking her friend walked away, but the ginger man had disappeared. Walking towards the kitchen she got herself a beer and went to the backyard where some people were smoking, including Steven.

“Can I have one?” She asked, stopping beside him.

He handed her the cigarette, without saying anything. The two of them just stayed there, looking at the night sky in silence.

“What’s up?” She frowned, turning to look at him.

“What do you mean?” He looked down at her.

“You’re quiet tonight.” She drank from her beer, still looking at him.

“That makes two of us.” He smiled at her.

“Fair enough.” She grinned. “You go first.” Y/N pointed at him with the bottle while taking the cigarette to her lips.

“I was just thinking… I’m already in my forties.”

“Annd?” She prolonged the question, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought I’d be dead by now.” He said giggling, making her laugh as well.

She shook her head. “Quit using it and I’m sure you’ll live a very long life, Tyler.”

“I’ll try, I’ll try.” He puffed some smoke. “What about you? What’s going on that little head of yours?” He touched her forehead with his index finger, giggling at his own gesture.

“There’s a guy inside…”

He raised an eyebrow, instigating her to keep talking.

“He seems familiar.”

“How does he look like?”

“He’s ginger, with a bandana and leather jacket.” She dragged some smoke.

“Oh, that’s Axl. He’s from Guns n Roses.” He threw his cigarette on the pavement, stepping on it.

Realization took hold of her face. “Oh yeah. Paradise City! I remember now.”

“Did he catch your eye?” He asked smirking.

“You know how I am. I’m weak on the knees for a ginger.” She smirked back.

“Let’s go inside then, I’ll introduce the two of you.”

She followed him inside the house, putting out the cigarette in an ashtray she found on the way.

They found him in the kitchen, putting some punch on a red plastic glass nearby the counter.

“Axl!” He shouted over the music, stopping nearby the man. “There’s someone here I’d like you to meet..”

Fuck, Steven. You really know how to be discreet. She thought to herself.

“Axl, this is Y/N.” With a hand on her back, he led her closer to him. “Y/N this is Axl.” He grinned at them.

“Nice to meet you.” Axl said, extending his hand for her to shake.

She shook his hand giving him a small smile.

“I was just telling Y/N that you guys released a new album this year…” Steven looked at her.

“There’s two of them actually.” He answered while taking a sip from the punch.

“So I’ve heard! But I didn’t get the chance to listen to them yet.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty recent… Did you listen to the previous ones?”

“I did! They’re quite impressive, I must say.”

He smiled at her. “I’ve seen some movies of yours too.”

“Oh, did you? What did you think of them?”

“They’re… quite impressive.” He mocked her while grinning.

She giggled.

“Ste, can you help me with something?” Teresa showed up, hugging Steven from the side.

“Of course my darling.” He hugged her back. “Sorry guys.” Giving them a small smile he left with Teresa.

“Punch?” He asked seeing that her bottle was empty.

“Yes, please.” She placed the bottle on the counter.

Axl handed her a glass, their fingers brushing against each other when she took it from his hand, making a strange electricity run through their bodies.

“Do you live here? In L.A I mean.” She asked before taking a small sip of the beverage.

“I do, even though I’m never at home. I’m out on tour now, came back just for a few weeks.”

“It must be really tiring to be always traveling.”

“Well, it is, but it’s worth it. After all I get to do what I love.” His eyes shined while he spoke and she smiled at his passion.

A tall guy came to the counter trying to get some punch for himself, making the two of them move.

Starting to lead him towards an adjacent living room, she asked. “Have you always wanted to be a singer?”

“No really, my family is very religious so I started singing in the church’s choir. Then someone told my mother that I could sing and she made me take classes almost every day. It was very exhausting, but it made me realize that I actually liked to sing.”

Arriving at the room, nobody was there and the music made itself lower, allowing them to talk in a normal volume. They sat on the purple velvet couch.

“I would’ve never guessed. And are you still religious?”

“I mean, I don’t go to church anymore, but yeah, I’m still very religious.”

She nodded drinking from her glass.

“What about you? Have you always wanted to be an actress?”

“Yes! I remember being 3 or 4 and sitting in the living room, I’d point to the TV and tell my mom that I wanted to do that.” She smiled with the memory, her eyes getting a different glist.

“That’s a sweet memory.” He smiled at her.

And so they carried on with the conversation, talking about their favorite things and their ambitions, never letting an uncomfortable silence fill in. Even if they were sure that if the silence set in it would not be uncomfortable. The two were too comfortable with each other for this to happen.

Axl was leaning against the couch casually, his legs spread open while S/N had removed her high heels and was sitting with her two legs sprawled on top of the couch.

“And how did you end up in Los Angeles?” She asked.

“Well, when I was 16 or something, this boy from my school, he’s my rhythm guitarist now, he started a garage band with some other dudes and asked me to be their vocalist.”

He paused getting closer to her.

“In the beginning, I was very shy, there would be days where I’d literally leave before I could sing anything. But after some time I got used to it and eventually realized that it was nice to rehearse with them.”

“However the band didn’t work out and when Izzy graduated high-school he moved to L.A, he said he’d start a band here. He asked me to come with him, but I was kinda scared of coming to a big city like this, so I stayed in Lafayette.”

He looked around, realizing that the music had stopped. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t listened to anything for a good while. “I think we’re the only ones who are still here.” He giggled.

“No shit! What time is it?” She touched his arm, turning it towards her so she could see the time on his wristwatch. “Fuck, it’s almost 5 am.”

“Wow. We should go then.”

“Yeah!” Getting up she got her heels and purse and followed him through the house.

There were some people passed out in the living room and Steven and Teresa were in the kitchen, nearby the sink, talking quietly.

After saying their goodbyes Axl and Y/N exited the house. The cool breeze involved their bodies, even though they could see the sun starting to shine on the horizon.

“Did you come driving?” He asked.

“No, I got a taxi actually.”

“Come, I’ll give you a ride then.”

They got into the car and Axl started driving slowly down the street. “Where should I take you to?”

“I live in Venice.”

“Alright then.” He turned right in a bifurcation.

Checking the interior of the car, Y/N realized it was a convertible one. She gasped. “It’s a convertible! Open it up, please!”

He giggled pressing a button that opened the bonnet. “Why are you so impressed? I’m sure you have at least three of these in your car collection…”

“I don’t have a car collection. I don’t even have a car” She turned around on her seat. The bonnet was fully open and she enjoyed feeling the breeze on her hair.

“Why not?” He frowned, looking at her for a brief moment.

“You’re gonna laugh at me.” She sat still on her seat, placing her feet on the dashboard.

“I promise I won’t.”

“Fine… I don’t know how to drive.”

“Wait. What? But what about all those movies where you were driving?” He looked at her, trying to see if she was joking.

“I wasn’t really driving, silly.” She giggled.

He laughed along.

“Anyway, you were telling me about how you ended here.”

“Oh yeah! So, Izzy came to L.A and I stayed for two more years. I got a job and stuff, but I was always getting in trouble. I’d spend the night in jail and they’d let me go in the morning ‘cause it wasn’t a big deal. But then I got in trouble one more time and they told me they’d arrest me for real if they got me again. So I realized I should leave the city.”

“Hmm, so you’re a bad boy…” Y/N smirked.

“I guess so…. But you’re no saint yourself! You’re not best friends with the press…”

“Well...yeah! The problem is that I don’t know how to be politically correct, I just know how to be me, and people don’t usually like when you give them your honest opinion.”

He looked at her and saw that she was looking through the window.

“On top of that, I have a high tendency of not giving a fuck… I like to live, you know? I like to go out and enjoy every moment, I like to live in the present. But apparently, you’re a bad influence if they see you leaving a club at 3 am every weekend.”

With every word she said, the more he wanted to know about her. She was so much more than what he had thought.

It was a long drive to Venice and accompanied by the soft music playing on the car radio they talked all the way, never getting tired of each other’s voice.

“That’s my building.” She pointed to a big white building in front of the beach.

“Fully delivered.” Axl said smiling, stopping the car in front of it and turning around to look at her.

“I really liked spending time with you.” She smiled.

“Do you think we could do it again on a date?” He asked expectantly.

“I’d love that! What about Friday?”

“Friday’s good for me. I’ll pick you up at 7 pm.”

“Okay.”

The two of them just stayed still, looking at each other without saying anything.

“Is it too early for me to kiss you?” He asked smiling.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you try it?” She smiled back.

And so the two of them leaned in, involving each other in a quick kiss that turned into a passionate one.

After a few seconds, she pulled away, catching her breath and opening the car door.

“Goodnight, Axl.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

Little did they know that this was the beginning of a beautiful love story. Full of struggles and problems but that eventually worked out. They found a way of accepting their differences and getting along in a way that few couples could do. And after many years people still talked about them, after all, they became the most iconic 90s couple.

#harley writes #axl rose #axl rose fanfic #axl rose fic #axl rose x reader #axl rose imagine #guns n roses #guns n roses fanfic #guns n roses fic #guns n roses imagine #guns n roses x reader #gnr #gnr imagine #classic rock imagine

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fnf-brain-rot · 3 years ago

Text

We're In This Together [Pico's School AU] Chapter 2 - Donut Rendezvous

Today was the day..

Wednesday..

It was a half day, being the day before a teacher work day. They didn't have school on that Thursday. Teachers had donuts available to them in the break room every Wednesday.

Pico and Darnell have been planning this for months.

They got the whole class on their side, having started a little protest in the cafeteria. "We're tired of adults hogging the sweets to themselves!" They cried out to the other students. "This time we take the sweets for ourselves!"

They were being normal at first, all arriving when the bell rang, sitting in their seats, and listening to the lecture. Most of the students shot each other knowing glances. Pico was the leader of this rendezvous, of course. On his signal, the others would move.

Ten minutes into class now, Bee was curious about the restlessness of the other students, looking around himself, having made eye contact with a few. Right, he's new. Pico had a grand idea. He'd lead in the front with him, like his queen of the army or something. He snickered at the thought, looking down at his blank paper. Right, perfect move. He and Darnell looked to each other, then nodded.

It felt quiet. Too quiet. The seconds ticked by loudly from the clock above them. Usually the teacher that buys the donuts would buy two boxes, which should be enough for two classes to feed each student one time.

Oh, right, the other class was in on it too. This would be big.

Pico stood up from his seat, slowly, as to not alarm the other students. Mrs. Fee's back was turned to the children, the woman mindlessly explaining some math equation and writing on the chalk board. He walked over to Bee, gently grabbing his hand. "Bee-" He almost started, but Pico covered his mouth, as to not alert Mrs. Fee as well. "Follow me.." He whispered. Bee nodded and stood quietly as well. The two shimmied from between the desks, and Pico held up one finger.

One...

Two....

Three...

The cacophony of screeching desks an chairs startled the woman up front, and many children began to yell at the top of their lungs, mostly those also known for causing trouble. A thunderous rumble of feet crossed the floor, and Pico raced for the classroom door, Bee just barely able to keep up with him. He threw the wooden slab open, and bolted out of the classroom, not looking back, but he could hear the monstrous amount of kids following him.

"Beep!! Beep bop!!" Bee cried over the noise, then heard the door next to theirs slam open. The second class took the message, and now raced after the other. Pico could hear Darnell's laughter over the noise as the group of students scattered around down the hall. It was a straight shot to the break room, right down the hall. Their school had no security, all they had to worry about were the teachers.

"What are you kids doing?!" The voice of one of the teachers rang out, muffled by the sound of stomping feet and ecstatic screams. "Scatter!!" Pico yelled out. Some of the taller kids blocked view of Pico, Darnell, and Bee, entering the room in which the donuts resided. Bee stood off to the side, hiding behind the wall as Darnell closed the door behind them. "B-Beep?? Brappity-"

"Yeah, you weren't here for instructions. You see, me and Darnell been planning this for a long time." Pico began to explain it to the shorty, quickly grabbing one of the boxes. Still warm. Nice. "Darnell grab a bag." Darnell saluted and went to look for a plastic bag. They would snag a little under half the donuts exclusively for themselves, being Darnell, Pico, Nene, Gigi, by Nene's begging, and Bee, because Pico said so.

"Bep bop.." Bee breathed out. Pico could damn there hear his heart thumping in his ears. It wasn't over yet. "Darnell, assess the situation." Pico then ordered. Darnell poked his head out the door. "No teachers in sight, sir." He responded. "Good, let's book it." Pico grinned maniacally, Darnell holding the door open for him and Bee.

"Boop bepoo?" Bee pointed at himself, and Pico raised a brow. Their next stop was their secret spot, but they had to go past the main office to get outside, since the doors were chained during the day. "Why did I grab you? Well, cause you would have been left alone in there with Cassandra." Pico gagged as he said her name. the goths wanted no part in it. He didn't care, more donuts for everyone else. "Now come on, there shouldn't be anyone in the office right now." He led the two past the glass room, which as he stated, was devoid of any staff. They most likely went to deal with the kids, which the screams still echoed faintly down the halls.

They scampered past the view of some cameras, then accessed the side door. The empty area behind some trees across the walkway was visible. They were in the home stretch. "Hey, Darnell, carry one of these will ya? My arms are dying." Pico huffed softly, and Darnell snurked. "Whatever you say, sissy." He teased. "Hey, I'm the leader of this whole operation. I ain't no sissy." The ginger shot back, making Bee giggle lightly.

They made it without error to the hiding spot in the trees. Bee fumbled with his hands awkwardly, staring at the bag of donuts Darnell held. Pico laughed a little, setting one of the boxes on top of the other on a tree stump. "Wait just a second there Bee." He walked over, elbowing the smaller's shoulder, who winced a little, but rubbed it with a goofy smile. "Those are the special donuts. We're gonna go heat them up in the lounge." Bee made a face. "During lunch dummy."

"There's a part two to this plan??" Darnell quickly asked. Pico shook his head. "I just know how to get in and out. Me and the janitor are on good terms. I'm close to him letting me into his closet." He nudged the brown boy's arm, and they made their way back into the building.

_______________

"Now, I don't know what's gotten into you kids, but this behavior is unacceptable."

Mrs. Fee had decided to give the kids a lecture after they all returned to their respective classrooms. "The only one who didn't leave was Cassandra, which means the rest of you get workbook homework for the rest of the week." Darnell groaned, but Pico had a shit eating grin on his face, his cheeks flushed in triumph. "Fucking worth it." He muttered, holding his fist out to Darnell. "Yeah, I guess." He responded with quiet laughter, returning the fist bump. the other kids probably thought it was worth it. Hell, Pico controlled the distribution of the donuts. They better think it's worth it or they ain't gettin' shit.

Pico looked over to Bee, who was smiling and kicking his legs a little, fiddling with his pencil. That whole ordeal must have filled him with quite the adrenaline. "Stick with me, and you'll be on top of the food chain dude." He had told him when they were coming back in. Bee didn't seem opposed to the idea, but he still didn't wanna scare him off. They did things like this pretty often. Having the parents Darnell had, usually others had to get involved so just those two, or three, including Nene, wouldn't get in trouble.

After the end of first period, Pico waited for Bee by the door, of course being teased by Nene and Darnell as they left. Bee stumbled a bit as he threw his big bag on his shoulders, walking over to Pico with a big smile on his face. "You like that chaos, huh?" He asked the boy, returning the grin. "Beep boop!" He responded, bouncing on his toes a bit, and they left the room.

"That's just how it is in this school. Of course I'm the instigator, got kind of a reputation. I make my father proud." Pico laughed a little. His ego was inflated as hell considering the dads he has. Well, dad. Steve didn't like to entertain the chaotic nature those two shared. Said he didn't like to lose sleep while those two jousted with frying pans at two AM.

"Bep bop.. Skdoo beep.." Bee muttered softly, a bit of a bitter tone to his voice. "What, your dad doesn't like that kind of mess?" Bee shook his head in response. Must be on closer terms with his mom huh? Yeah, he's lucky he had a dad who didn't suck ass. "Well when lunch rolls around, you can have your donuts, okay?" Pico reminded him to reassure him. He didn't wanna see the sad look on the kid's face. He was too bright to be frowning like that. "We could work on that homework together too, if it'll make you feel better." He then offered him. There it is, that bright smile.

Man this kid was just so precious..

_______________

History was mostly uneventful, save for Bee falling asleep in the middle of writing a sentence. He must have crashed from all the excitement. It was so abrupt that his face banged against the desk, and his head shot back up as he let out a yelp. Pico snurked from beside him, and heard some others begin to laugh as well.

Once the class had ended, Pico made sure he and Boyfriend were the first ones out, so they could run and grab the donuts. Thankfully the boxes were still there, untouched. "Come to papa." Pico rubbed his hands together, and lifted the boxes. he hoped all the glaze didn't melt off, it's hot out here.

They made their way back into the school, walking in through the side door to the cafeteria, where all the students waited eagerly for their treats. Darnell, Nene, and Gigi caught up to them when they saw them enter. "Wow, you actually managed to pull it off. I'm impressed." Gigi commented lightly as they set up the boxes on the end of one of the lunch tables. Pico cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening as he put a hand on his chest. "Well, they don't call me Pico "danger" Neil-Griffiths for no reason."

"literally no one calls you that." Nene snorted. Bee held back a laugh, turning his head away, while Darnell just openly cackled. "Whatever, I like my name." Pico scoffed in response, then opened one of the boxes. He was right to be worried. It's a mess in there. "You sure they'll want these?" Nene asked him, doubt in her voice. Pico waved his hand dismissively. "They're idiot kids, they'll take anything with sugar in it." Bee reached for it, but Pico smacked his hand away. "We get the nice donuts. Darnell?" Said boy held up the large plastic bag of almost half a box of donuts. "You sneaky.." Gigi mumbled, sweating nervously. "That's capitalism for you. Now take the best looking ones outta here, and we'll let them have the rest- quit your yappin', you'll get your turn!" Pico glared at some kids that had gathered around the table, and allowed his buddies to grab whatever ones they wanted. He had a mind to sock one of these greedy children in the face.

He often forgets he's a child himself, but he doesn't associate with these gremlins.

Once each of them were satisfied with what they got, the group began to move to leave out of the cafeteria. Pico stayed behind to whistle, signaling to the others to come get their donuts. And like a pack of starving dogs, the children rushed over, once again, save for the goth kids, who glared at Pico knowingly. the ginger only flipped the bird at them, and ran off with the others.

"What are you guys doing for the half day?" He heard Gigi talking to the others. She and Bee were walking pretty closely. Pico stayed back a bit, narrowing his eyes at the little pit in his stomach. He felt nauseous, or something. He didn't know, but he didn't like it. He didn't linger on it for too long though, noticing Bee glance behind him. "Bep!" He slipped between Nene and Darnell, who looked to see where he was going. They cooed when they saw Bee grab Pico's hand, which made the taller flush exponentially. Geez this guy could pull. He must have been an annoying toddler.

"C'mon man, how are we gettin' in?" Darnell then asked as Pico was brought to the front. Pico laughed to hide how flustered he was, then cleared his throat. Literally everyone, except for Bee, weren't buying it. Oh whatever, he didn't need to convince everybody. "Simple, just walk in." Pico walked over and opened the door. "We're on schedule, so the teachers should be on their way in a little bit. Hurry and throw that in there." The others filed inside, looking around and snooping through drawers. "Nice. Sharp scissors." Nene pulled a pair of scissors out of the metal cabinet, and Bee flopped onto the couch, letting out a content, "Beeeeeeep.." Gigi laughed and sat beside him, causing his face to go red.

Pico forced himself to look away, as to not seem weird.

_______________

As everyone wouldn't shut the hell up about, school ended early. Pico was so ready to leave, he even had a couple spare donuts. He stashed them away in his backpack for safe keeping. "Geez P, how do you understand Bee so well so fast?" Darnell had asked them, the group hanging out in the front of the school. "I dunno, it's like.. telepathic." Pico looked to the blue headed boy in question, who was mindlessly tapping away on his phone a a bit away from them. "Bee, you're sitting in the middle of the staircase, someone can trip over you." Pico pulled him closer, just barely missing some kid who wanted to launch himself off the top stair. Dumbass..

"Bop.." Bee mumbled softly, turning his body to face Pico, then continued what he was doing. Gigi and Nene talked with each other some bit away. He didn't care to listen in, they were probably chatting about girl stuff.

"Hey, who the hell rides a limo?" Darnell grumbled in question, and Gigi's head shot up. The horn from said vehicle honked loudly, and some people stared at it. "God, that's so embarrassing.." Gigi covered her face. "That's mine.."

"What?!"

"Beep?!"

The group had shouted simultaneously, and the red head girl giggled. "What are you, rich??" Darnell questioned her, and she made a nervous sound. "I'll explain some other time. See you guys!" She gripped her backpack and ran off, the group watching as the door opened for her, and she hopped in. It left just as quickly as it came. "Huh.." Darnel murmured thoughtfully. "New objective. Find out if Gigi is rich." Pico joked lightly, and Nene scoffed.

"Knock it off. You've done enough today." She went and sat with the three. "Hey Bee, you wanna hang out with us today? We always stop at this playground on the way home." Pico then offered. Bee hummed in thought, but paused when he noticed Pico give him the puppy eyes. He giggled, then held up his phone. "Bee bo bop." He responded. "Is that.. a yes?" Nene questioned. "He'll text his mom." Pico answered for her, standing up from his spot. "Wizard." Darnell mumbled, and followed suit.

Thankfully Bee was able to go. Pico thought he would have to rant to his dad about mean parents.

_______________

Pico wanted to do everything and absolutely nothing all at once.

He sat in his favorite spot near the slide, Bee sitting beside him. "Behp beppo." He muttered nervously, and Pico scoffed. "We steal the playground every day, those kids should know better by now." He huffed. Bee went quiet after a moment, and Pico looked up to him staring at him. His cheeks flushed red. "Uh.. What?" He then asked. The boy only responded quietly with "Hm?" as if he were spacing out. Pico clicked his tongue and looked away again. "Hey, you got your mic, right?" He then asked. Bee popped out of his trance almost immediately, and nodded excitedly. He reached into his back pocket and pulled it out. "Bee-dep?" He then asked the other, and he nodded, a light smile on his face.

Bee seemed ecstatic to sing for him again, and so he did, gaining Nene and Darnell's attention as well over some time. Just like at P.E, they listened to him sing for quite some time. It was calming, Pico would argue he enjoyed it the most.

"You know, you should hang at my place sometime. I got games and stuff." Pico offered, about an hour after Bee's little jam session. "Beep?" He turned to look at him. leaning against the bars of the playground structure. "I mean, I live with Darnell when my dads go off in the army. Oh, you get to meet my dads sometime! They're cool. I'll be completely honest, one of them will tease you for speaking in bee-bops." He then snickered lightly at the thought.

"Baps?" Bee tilted his head, holding up a two with his fingers. "Yeah, technically, I call them both dad. They're real close, but they're not married or in a relationship or anything." Pico then hummed softly. Sure they also sleep in the same bed when they're at home, but that's just because it's more comfortable than bunkers out where they are.

Bee hummed in thought, then nodded. Cool. It's a date.

Yes, he meant to think that.

It's a date.

Pico's mind swirled with thoughts of what he could do when they met up again. He pulled one of the donuts out of his back pack. It was a little mushed, but still good. He ate at it slowly, wanting to savor the taste. He could eat cold donuts, they were fine. He caught Bee staring at him again, then raised a brow. "What? What's up?" He then asked, his voice muffled with food. Bee's cheeks flushed, and he pointed at the donut. "Oh.. I can give you a piece." Pico looked down and tore off a piece of the treat, handing it to Bee, who took it thankfully. He popped the entire piece in his mouth, a happy "mmmmffff" emitting from his throat. Pico laughed a little. "You like donuts, huh?" He teased him, and Bee curled up a bit, still chewing away happily so he could get every little bit.

Pico spent the rest of that afternoon with the three. Darnell and Nene definitely understood Bee a little bit more after today.

Even if it is just a little bit.

#picos school #darnell pico's school #nene pico's school #boyfriend x pico #fnf boyfriend #fnf girlfriend #cassandra pico's school #nene x girlfriend

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taehyung-rambles · 4 years ago

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Who Was the Center in Each BTS Era? (Up to Permission to Dance)

As an opening statement, I’m gonna advise anyone reading this to look at my blog to see if I’ve done this with the B-sides yet because I plan to in the future, which should be a pretty interesting post.

So, this post is exactly what it sounds like. As if I haven’t gone through the BTS eras enough on this blog (and I will continue to do so), we’re going through them again because sometimes I just wanna binge all the BTS music videos. What we’re gonna do is look at a few different options for who ended up being the center--if their was one--for all the BTS eras.

Those options will be: no center, center, co-centers, secondary center(s), and MV center(s).

Before anyone else says it: I know Jungkook is the center of BTS, but BTS have always been really flexible with their positions, and believe it or not, Jungkook isn’t the sole center most of the time. So, that’s why this post can even be a thing.

A couple things to bear in mind here: this is not based on line distribution. This will apply to the B-sides more than the singles, but there are times--even with BTS singles--where one member may not be the most represented within the song, but they were clearly chosen to center or co-center the song. Of course, more times than not, the center or centers are the most represented, but not always. There’s one high-profile one toward the end in which that is the case. Obviously, when I say “secondary centers,” that means that the member isn’t as prominent in the era as they would be if they were a co-center, as this would mean they and one or more of the other members are equally sharing the load.

This list also has zero to do with biases. I bias Taehyung like nobody’s business, but--and I’ll say it upfront now--he’s not been the center in very many instances (at least, not in the BTS singles; if you’d like to know about his time being the center in the B-sides, check that post out). Also, I’m considering almost all aspects of BTS’s eras when making these decisions. I’m thinking about the MV, I’m thinking about the choreo, I’m thinking about the vocal; the only thing I’d say I’m only considering sometimes is the marketing. I’m not going out to do a bunch of research on how BigHit advertised these songs to people for this post, so there won’t be a lot of talk about photoshoots or interviews or anything like that. That being said, I’ll probably talk about it when we get to Dynamite because the marketing for that was everywhere, and it’d be difficult not to know which member(s) they were pushing the most to sell that song.

Finally, as you can see by the above list, I’m going to be mentioning a MV center or centers--if it applies--for each MV. This is, obviously, something that can’t be done in the B-sides version of this post. The reason I’m adding it here is because there are quite a few examples of BTS MVs that really heavily feature a certain member when they aren’t that prominent in the vocal or the choreo. However, as the MV is also a part of marketing for the song, whichever member(s) were chosen to be the face of the MV have an important, central role to play. In fact, in many ways, the members that end up being MV centers without being a center in any other way often become one of, if not the, face of the era for a lot of fans. So, clearly, the MVs hold a lot of weight, and can sometimes overshadow the actual track for many people.

DISCLAIMER: Most of this is based on how I perceive the face(s) of these eras. Some of my conclusions are weird, and I can’t explain them, but it’s what I feel is true about these songs. Ergo, yes, there’s gonna be songs where two members have the same part, but only one feels like a center. Sue me. All the members have their different ways to shine, and that’s what makes BTS the best.

Center: Namjoon

Namjoon just feels like the center of No More Dream. If you’re listen closely to the vocal, he’s obviously a big foundation for the song to stand on since he’s got all these supporting parts. Those parts add up to make him the member--no questions asked--with the most airtime in No More Dream. That’s not really why I chose Namjoon for this position, though. No More Dream really felt like an introduction to BTS with Namjoon as the MC. I guess a better way of saying that is that Namjoon really came off as the leader of BTS in this era. So, I didn’t really have to think much about who I was giving this position to because it seems obvious.

Secondary Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

So, I feel like some people would say Jungkook’s the center of this era, and that’s fair. The reason he’s listed as a secondary center here is because he didn’t feel like he had much in-your-face presence; it was more like, if you were looking for Jungkook, you could find him within the song and the choreo easily. I don’t know if that makes sense. It’s not like the chorus is a background piece or Jungkook’s rap verse isn’t fire, but he just isn’t as prominent as Namjoon is.

Jimin is much less of a secondary center than Jungkook in the No More Dream era, but if you consider the choreo, Jimin is extremely prominent. It’s one of those situations--which happen more often than you might think--where a member doesn’t actually feel that present in the track itself, but if you are visually consuming it in any way at all, that same member sticks out the most. That’s how Jimin is here.

No MV Center

I thought hard about whether Jimin and Namjoon should be in this category because of the insert shots, voiceovers, and the choreo, but I think that has more to do with the entire package of the era than it does with the MV alone. The conclusion I came to was the MV doesn’t have a center. This section probably seems redundant, but it’ll make more sense once we get to an era that actually has an MV center or two.

Center: Jimin

This one’s probably pretty obvious to most people. I mean, this is a Jimin era. Usually, eras that are so heavily weighted to one member are Jungkook eras, so it’s interesting that the We Are Bulletproof Pt.2 era was such a Jimin era. I don’t know how to go into this further, but Jimin’s got the most parts--parts in the chorus, namely--so Jimin’s also the center in the choreo the most. I mean, I know this isn’t about taking the person who has the most airtime and giving them this position, but sometimes the eras do translate literally like that, and thus is this one.

Secondary Center: Namjoon

I was surprised, going through the MV, how much Namjoon appeared like a secondary center. I’m realizing that, for most of BTS’s early career, Namjoon was an important anchor for BTS’s music. That’s how it was in We Are Bulletproof Pt.2. It’s because all these parts that seem more like part of the beat than actual, singable parts go to Namjoon, so his presence runs underneath the entirety of the mix.

No MV Center

I know it seems dumb to talk about this when I say there isn’t a center in the MV, but this is kind of where I get to talk about the other members and how they fit into the era like, for instance, if any of them were close to being considered a center. Surprisingly, We Are Bulletproof Pt.2 is kind of the exact opposite; it didn’t seem like the MV really tried to enunciate any member specifically. Like, even in No More Dream, you could tell Namjoon was featured a lot, but this era didn’t do that. I found that interesting. I guess it’s probably because they were all just dancing on a chess board, but ya know.

Center: Jungkook

I couldn’t tell you why I don’t co-center Jimin with Jungkook, but Jungkook really feels like the face of this era. I don’t know if it’s the fact that he starts off the song--after Namjoon’s intro--or because he starts the choruses or what. I guess it might be because it’s a chorus that repeats during its two halves, so Jungkook’s voice is the one you’re going to pay attention to, since it comes first. Plus, this song was obviously produced to compliment his vocal tone because his voice is, not only layered under the other members’, but has more punch to it than the other vocalists’, as well. By that logic, clearly Jungkook was supposed to be the center for this era.

Secondary Centers: Namjoon & Jimin

So, as far as Namjoon goes, it’s the same thing I’ve said already: he’s working as the foundation for this song by filling in all the extra bits that support the track. Jimin, though, I wasn’t planning on adding--and I’m not really adding him because of the choruses. By the end of the N.O choreo, you’ve got Jimin in a central spot to finish off the performance as the instrumental closes out. As that part is so long and so clearly focused on Jimin, I couldn’t not put him down as a secondary center.

MV Center: Jungkook

Here we have our first MV center. Now, I will say there are stronger examples of an MV center, but Jungkook was obviously the main character in the school scenes of this MV. Of course, the school setting didn’t last the whole MV--and it’s not like the MV stopped and turned into a short film for a quick second like we’ll see later--but Jungkook still stuck out.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

So, I really struggled trying to pick out which members were the most prominent in this song, but we’ll talk about why with the next member. Jungkook and Jimin are the centers of this era for basically the same reasons. Both of them are on the chorus, and--more importantly--both of them stick out in the chorus. Both of them have these opportunities to be charismatic that they use really well, and both of them are out front during the choreo most of the time. It all adds up to them giving off “center energy.”

Secondary Center: Taehyung

I really thought Taehyung would be a co-center, as well, but he disappears halfway through the song. To be clear here: if we’re talking about the parts that Taehyung had in this song, and if those parts had ranged the entire song, Taehyung would be the sole center of this era. Like, watch any performance of this song, let alone the MV and dance practices, and tell me he doesn’t give off center energy. Anyway, after his parts are over, Taehyung falls to back of the dance formation and effectively vanishes--which is a real shame because he makes this era for me. Enough of my biased rambling--long story short, the first half of Boy in Luv has Taehyung as a center, and the last half doesn’t. A secondary center is the option that meets in the middle.

MV Centers: Jin & Yoongi

Straight off the bat, because of the scene during the bridge, Jimin and Jungkook are also kind of MV centers, but I’m not looking for “kind of’s” here. Jin and Yoongi were the ones who had the flirty scenes with the actress in the MV, so they stuck out a whole lot. It created a bit of a story around each of them and their characters in the MV, and the other members didn’t really have that.

Center: Jungkook

Who was jumping out their skin being surprised by this one, am I right? I mean, if we even talk about the choreography alone, this would be super obvious. When I first started learning about idol groups, this song is what I thought a “center” meant. This is obviously no shade to Jungkook himself because the members probably didn’t really have a hand in who was getting the most airtime or how much airtime that would be in comparison to everyone else, but BigHit really wanted to push Jungkook for this song.

I guess it was probably because he’s the youngest, he has a clear and soothing voice, and he’s the exact type of boyfriend material that’s easy to sell to young fans. I know this song has deep meaning that came from Yoongi, but the way this song was presented was so fluffy and soft, and my guess is that Jungkook fit the bill to be the face of it.

No MV Center

I mean, yeah, Jungkook stuck out the most, but that was because of the choreo, which is already covered by the center position. As far as the MV itself, no member stuck out more than another beyond the choreography. Jin, of course, does have his moment with the rose, but a.) that’s a part of the choreo, b.) it wasn’t long enough for him to be considered an MV center anyway, and c.) that piece of choreo can’t even make him a secondary center because the vocal line distribution was so heavily tipped in Jungkook’s favor--again, not throwing shade at Jungkook; just stating how the song is divided up. The long and short of it is that, while the choreo had central-ish parts for Jin and definite central parts for Jungkook, the MV didn’t do anything more with them than with the other members. No MV center this time.

Co-Centers: Jimin, Taehyung, & Jungkook

Just to give myself a backdoor here in case I change my mind on this later, I’m gonna say that I was sure the 95s would be secondary centers here, but after watching the MV and really paying attention to the choreo and line distributions, I think all three members of the maknae line stood out equally during their parts. Actually, the 95s do have a stronger vocal presence than Jungkook does, but Jungkook owns the choreography, so it more or less balances out.

I will say that Taehyung doesn’t feel as prominent as Jungkook does on the chorus, so that’s what made me want to put him down as a secondary center. However, the post-chorus is absolutely enough to make Taehyung stick out like Jimin and Jungkook. Jimin--dare I say--is the most center-like out of all three of them as far as general feeling goes. Again, considering everything, they’re all equal, but Jimin really reads like a center in Danger.

MV Center: Taehyung

All the members have got their individual scenes in the MV that are used for the inserts, but Taehyung’s scenes were clearly supposed to be the central ones since they, you know, ended the MV with him cutting his hair off. Even besides that, though, Taehyung’s parts in Danger came along with the best camera work and set design. I mean, there’s a better way of saying that, but I don’t know what it is. Like, go the MV and look at the first post-chorus so you can see how they framed Taehyung during that part. That really made him feel like the central member in the MV.

Center: Taehyung

This is one of two (or few, depending on when you’re reading this because new music is always coming out) eras in which I can 100% say for certain that Taehyung is the sole center. If we’re talking B-sides, that number might increase a bit, but as far as singles go, Taehyung really does not get the opportunity to be the sole center that often. Anyway, explaining this would be like explaining the obvious. The brief for this era was “impish bad boys that look like they’re thirsty as fuck.” And Taehyung fit the brief.

No, but seriously, BigHit clearly wanted to sell War of Hormone as a song by a bunch of punk kids that have just a little bit too much fun, and if 2014 Kim Taehyung wasn’t a little punk, I don’t know who would be. Not because Taehyung’s actually a womanizing asshole--Taehyung’s clearly the softest and kindest person ever to exist--but because he can tap into that sensual and mischievous type of character really easily. He’s an actor after all. Plus, there’s the whole “sexy growling thing” they obviously wanted in the vocal, and Taehyung’s the go-to member for that.

Secondary Center: Jungkook

Here’s why Jungkook is the War of Hormone era’s secondary center: they needed a cute member to calm the whole thing down. I’m now going to put myself in the mind of BigHit as they were producing this track.

“We can’t have Taehyung out here killing everyone with his growls and his expressions and that tongue thing he does. We’ve clearly gotta put a soft bad boy character in there so this song doesn’t entirely decimate our fanbase. Put Jungkook in.”

In the same way Taehyung fit the super-duper bad boy brief, Jungkook fit the cutie pie bad boy brief, and that was needed to balance out Taehyung’s parts in this era. All vague descriptions aside, Jungkook was used as a support for Taehyung in the War of Hormone era, or that’s what it felt like, at least--despite Jungkook having more airtime. If, in any universe, Taehyung ever went easy on us, this era could’ve been a co-center era for the two babies of BTS. However, Taehyung chose violence, so Jungkook didn’t get a chance to pop out as much. Considering their overall discography, though, I’d say that’s fair enough.

MV Center: Taehyung

I’m mostly saying this because of the end of the MV where the actress--or her character--picks him, but also, Taehyung’s stage presence in this song kind of makes him the MV center anyway. Not the choreo--even though he’s the center of that for a lot of the time, too. I’m talking about his attitude, his expressions, his gestures, and on and on. That kind of made him the central figure, for me. Plus, you know, Taehyung got the girl or whatever.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

This song is so freakin’ weird because Jungkook has exorbitantly more airtime in the studio version of I Need U, but Jimin features really heavily in the choreo because they give him most of Jungkook’s final chorus when they do it live--which obviously means that Jimin centers in the choreo the most. So, it’s like: listen to the song, and Jungkook’s the center, but watch it live or in the dance practice video, and it’s Jimin. Either way, both of them read like centers to me. Even though Jungkook is in the song a lot, and therefore, has a big presence, Jimin’s vocal is the one I associate with this song because it fits so well while sticking out just a skosh.

MV Center: Taehyung

Most of me was thinking that there wouldn’t be an MV center for this era because every member had a story that ends up getting carried into the Wings album era, but then I remembered that the original MV for I Need U literally stopped everything dead so Taehyung could hit his in-verse father in the head with a bottle. And then, after that and a couple seconds of showing a few of the other members, the MV cuts back and forth between hardcore violence and Taehyung laughing with the other members.

The MV goes, “Wow, look at this. Taehyung’s so happy. Oop, now he’s stabbing his father with a broken bottle--oh, he’s happy again, that’s nic--oh. Oh, no he’s back to stabbing his father--no, look, he’s happy, so... Damn, that’s a lot of blood.” I mean. I don’t know if they knew already that Taehyung was good actor or what, but BigHit nearly gave him a short film all to himself. So, yeah, I’d say Taehyung takes the center position for the I Need U MV.

Center: Jungkook

I’m kind of naming Jungkook here because I feel like I have to, but I want you to know that the For You era is really close to not having a center, in my opinion. It’s more so the parts they gave Jungkook that made me put him down as a center. He starts the song, he ends the song, he’s got the first chorus, and there are parts where you go, “Oh, they’ll probably let that member sing here,” and then you get to the next line, and you’re like, “Ah, no; they went with Jungkook.” That’s not a bad thing, mind you, because Jungkook’s vocal is perfect for this song; it’s just that Jungkook had more airtime than the other members by a good bit. Again, I’m not making this list according to that, but it’s gonna be a factor in a song where every member sings on the choruses.

MV Center: Jungkook

Do I need to go into this a whole lot? Jungkook’s trying to get money to see this girl he likes, so the whole MV is about how the other BTS members are struggling alongside Jungkook but put together the means for him to go see the mystery girl. That’s the K-drama, and Jungkook is the lead. I mean, fair enough; Jungkook could definitely be the lead in a K-drama.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

I know this is a hardcore Jungkook era, but Jimin sticks out, like, a lot. At the very least, you’ve got to credit the choreo to Jimin in the same way you would for Jungkook. I mean, yeah, Jungkook’s vocal pierces the entire song, so he’s obviously going to center for this era. He’s a forefront figure in the choreography, as well, and putting him in that costume for the MV is essentially assault. However, I think Jimin managed to make his presence just as big through the choreo and his unique vocal tone. So, I’ve got to give the Dope era’s center position to both of them.

No MV Center

Since this MV is basically just the choreography, I can’t say Jimin and Jungkook were centers just because they were the choreography leaders for Dope. Actually, I thought the overall MV was almost equally representative of each member since they all had a different concept with their wardrobes.

Center: Jungkook

I mean, Jungkook just permeates every single cell of RUN. The choreo, the vocal, and nearly everything else are extremely centered around him. There’s not really a whole lot else to say. When there’s such a large difference between line distribution for the members, it makes it obvious that that member will be in the center of the choreo most of the time, as well. That’s the case for Jungkook in the RUN era.

Secondary Center: Jimin

This era is a little bit like the I Need U era, but Jimin doesn’t stick out quite as much. He does stick out enough to be considered a secondary center, though, because he’s also highly represented in the vocal, so he’s got mirroring parts in the choreo. Jimin doesn’t have as much of a focus in this era as Jungkook does, but it’s close.

No MV Center

I thought this would be like the I Need U MV, but it really wasn’t. You’d think Jungkook’s the center because of the bit where the camera zooms in on him while everyone is partying, and then the rest of them are gone, but there’s also several bits where Jin has close-ups while he spaces out. Or maybe Jungkook could’ve been the center because, after the music stopped, he looked back at the camera. But that can’t be it either because Taehyung had bits like that of him falling into and coming out of the water at the beginning and end of the video. Maybe it was Jimin because he got pulled into the room toward the end of the MV, but it was Namjoon who was pulled in at the beginning. Basically, they were all well represented, so there’s no center to speak of.

No Center

This song isn’t really supposed to have a center, is it? I mean, we can talk about who had the most airtime, but that’s not what this is about. I think this song was supposed to be a message from all the members, so one member wasn’t going to stick out more than others. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

MV Center: Taehyung

Taehyung being the MV center is stretch, and I know that, but he does have bit of a role that makes him stick out at the end. It’s kind of like Jungkook being the center in the For You era--it doesn’t feel totally accurate to give it to him, but it also feels inaccurate to not give it to him. There’s that little bit at the end of the MV where Taehyung steps out of the maze at last and the other guys are waiting for him on the other side. Taehyung’s also the one to look back at the plane or camera or whatever at the very end; basically, Taehyung gets more solo shots in this MV than any other member, as far as I can tell without actually counting, so he takes the center position.

Center: Taehyung

I wasn’t actually planning for Taehyung being the sole center for this era, but I feel like I can’t really justify anyone else co-centering with him. Taehyung does feature fairly heavily in the choreography, but a lot of the reason he ended up the solo center for the FIRE era is because of the part he was given. As someone who had heard “bow wow wow” everywhere before even knowing what K-pop was, I’d say it’s safe to call Taehyung’s part the most globally iconic--though Yoongi’s part is obviously the most iconic within ARMY. Plus, the end of FIRE is almost a full minute of just Taehyung’s solo with group vocals around it, so. I mean, he’s got hella presence in this era, no doubt.

Secondary Centers: Yoongi & Jungkook

Initially, I thought Jungkook was going to co-center with Taehyung because Jungkook is extremely centered within the choreography, but the “eh eh oh eh oh” part feels more like a supporting piece--which is absolutely fine, by the way. However, Jungkook is pretty damn close to being a center for the FIRE era because his vocal is absolutely everywhere, and he’s the center for most of the choreo. As an aside, I kinda wanted to add Jimin in this category because of the 333, but ultimately, that wasn’t enough to support him being a secondary center, for me.

Yoongi, I’ll be honest, I’m kind of putting in here because he feels like a center for the era after all the attention his opening line got. If I’m looking at the choreo or even the vocal, Yoongi doesn’t stand out as much as it seems (though his verse in FIRE is one of the best rap verses in BTS’s discography; fight me about it), but the fact that he opens and closes the song has a large overall impact on my perception of the FIRE era. Yoongi is definitely one of the faces of FIRE, at the very least.

MV Centers: Jin & Yoongi

So, though Yoongi wasn’t the main center for this era, in my opinion, the MV does make it seem like he is. Which, I guess, is mostly because of the opening scene before the music actually starts. But whatever; Yoongi still sticks out regardless. For Jin, I don’t know if it was because he doesn’t have that much airtime or what, but the scenes in the MV that focused on Jin were really focused on Jin. No other member got that kind of solo within the MV, so Jin’s parts seemed like they were meant to be special.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

I don’t know how to explain why this is how it is, but this is how it is. It’s one of those eras where the amount of airtime does predict the centers because of how much more airtime Jimin and Jungkook have compared to the other members. I mean, that’s what a main and lead vocalist are for, I suppose, but it ends up with these two being pushed so far forward in the Save ME era that you can’t really make room for another co-center. They’re also the two with the most central pieces in the choreography, but that’s obvious with how much airtime they have. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, either, because BTS’s discography celebrates all the members at one point or another. It’s just that Save ME was a song that suited Jikook the best, so they’re the obvious centers.

No MV Center

Since this is an MV that’s literally just choreography, there’s obviously not going to be an MV center. I mean, if you wanna say that Jimin and Jungkook’s parts meant they had more close-ups, and so they’re the MV centers, then fine, but that’s a bit of a cop out.

Center: Jimin

This is one of the few--maybe even less than that--clear Jimin eras where Jimin is the only center. It’s not really that he has so much more airtime than the other members, but Blood Sweat & Tears is a song that just fits Jimin. He actually doesn’t have much central time in the choreo until the end and at the beginning, but it’s another one of those feelings I’ve got. I’m not saying this to alienate the other members because I actually do have my own opinions on who owned this era (check that post out on my blog, by the way), but this song makes Jimin shine the brightest. Every member has a song that does that for them, and this is Jimin’s.

Secondary Centers: Hoseok & Jungkook

Are you screaming at me for not considering Hobi a co-center? In the studio version of Blood Sweat & Tears, I’d probably put Hobi in as a co-center, but considering everything from the track to the choreo to the live performance, Hobi’s presence is just a touch smaller than Jimin’s. Just a touch. Like, they split his post-chorus with Jungkook live, and Hobi isn’t really a center in the choreo after a certain point, so it’s a bit like Taehyung in Boy in Luv.

As far as Jungkook goes, he’s not really a strong secondary center for this era, but he’s enough of one that he has to make this list. Part of it is because of his additional parts in the live performance and the choreo, but it also feels like Jungkook was meant to act as a visual and performative support for Jimin. I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else, but it does it me.

MV Centers: Jin & Taehyung

I was gonna put Jimin here, too, but he only got that one shot at the beginning where Yoongi covered up his eyes that felt like it was really Jimin-focused. Taejin, though, had their own little mythology film going on. The Blood Sweat & Tears MV is the prime example of “this member doesn’t actually have much going on in the song, but the MV is all them, baby.” That’s how it is for Jin in this era. A lot of people say Jin is one of the ones who owned this era, and a lot of that has to do with the MV, what with the statue-kissing and all.

Tell me why I don’t feel like Taehyung was as big of an MV center as Jin even though Taehyung had a shirtless scene with slits on his back where his wings apparently used to be. I don’t understand, either. But I’d say a shirtless scene with wing slits is a pretty good reason to be included as an MV center.

Co-Centers: Jin, Taehyung, & Jungkook

After consulting the choreo because, you know, the MV doesn’t have it, I came to the conclusion that, both vocally and choreographically, these three are the centers for this era. Spring Day was initially an era that I thought didn’t have a center, and I don’t think it does have a super defined center, but I do see Jin, Taehyung, and Jungkook as the more prominent members. For one, the choreo really clearly centers around Taekook more than the other members, but there’s also the fact that all three of these members really stick out in the vocal itself. I landed on these three for my co-centers, but Spring Day is really close to not having a center at all.

No MV Center

I thought this was going to go to Jin because I thought I remembered him featuring in the MV a lot more, but he didn’t really. Actually, I’d say Taehyung and Jungkook are closer to being MV centers since the beginning has a little scene with Taehyung before the music starts, and there’s a bit around the bridge in which Jungkook has some solo-ish focus, but those things still aren’t quite enough for this position. All the members had their own inserts and settings, so it felt fairly equal all around.

Center: Jungkook

This was another era I was sure didn’t have a center, but Jungkook’s extremely prominent. Actually, I thought, if anything, the rap line would center in this era, but even they don’t seem nearly as prominent as Jungkook. It’s just that the lyrics are really repetitive for the vocalists, and Jungkook bleeds through all the vocal line parts. At least, it really feels like he does. As far as the vocalists go for this era, Taehyung’s vocal is the only one that sticks out, aside from Jungkook’s. But Jungkook’s vocal sticks out above all the other members--in terms of prevalence, mind you; the best parts of this song are obviously the rap verses. As such, he’s really active in the choreography, as well. It felt like I, more or less, had to give Jungkook this era.

Secondary Center: Taehyung

I can’t tell you why I’m putting Taehyung down. I was about to move on from this section, and my brain said, “Think about the chorus,” and so, I ended up here. This is all about that feeling I’ve talked about already. I think it’s because Taehyung’s the one that starts the chorus, and he’s got really powerful choreography to go along with his already powerful vocal. It makes his presence in the track and the live performance feel a lot bigger.

No MV Center

I mean, yeah. It’s a choreography-driven MV. When you’ve got the bits with them running or whatever, Jungkook centers a bit, and Namjoon kind of feels like an MV center, too, but a lot of that has to do with the choreography being shot the way it was. It’s the same with Taehyung since he got some great framing during his choreo parts. But prominent choreo parts do not an MV center make.

Center: Jungkook

I mean, there’s not really any way to get away from this one. I don’t blame BigHit, though, because Jungkook’s clean vocal is literally made for bright pop songs like this one. It makes sense that they’d want to use a vocal that blends in with the instrumental so well. As we know, the vocal affects the choreo, so Jungkook felt like a strong foundation to this song that the other members built upon. I don’t think many would argue that Jungkook is the sole center for the DNA era.

No MV Center

Can you believe I’m not putting down Taehyung, Hobi, and Jimin as a type of center, even though most people think this was Taehyung’s era, Hobi’s best work, and even though Jimin is the only other member on the chorus? Somehow, even though they all feel prominent in my memory of this era, diving back into it revealed that Taehyung is only prominent in the intro, Hobi is only prominent at the end, and Jimin is only prominent on the first chorus. How weird, right? They’re all almost secondary centers, though.

Anyway, that had nothing to do with the MV center, did it? There isn’t a true MV center because this MV is mostly the choreo. However, Jungkook is the closest one to being the center, simply because he’s got that little whistle bit at the beginning. Obviously, one scene isn’t enough to list him here, though.

Co-Centers: Yoongi & Hoseok

Don’t ask me why I didn’t put down Namjoon, too. I wish I could say something other than “because this is what felt right,” but that’s the situation. I’m sure most people would say Hobi is the sole center of this era, and that’s entirely fair, but I felt like Yoongi brought his presence to MIC Drop just as much as Hobi did. The two of them, more or less, have the same amount of time in the center for the choreography, as well. Again, I wish we could be talking about Namjoon, too, but despite him having the most airtime in this era, he didn’t feel quite as front-and-center as Hobi and Yoongi. His verse is still fire, though.

Secondary Centers: Taehyung & Jungkook

Should I be doing this because I feel like it’s true? I guess we’ll find out. I don’t know; it seems pretty clear to me that JK and Taehyung were meant to be secondary centers for this era since they got the most central parts in the vocal line the most often. I feel like this is partially influenced by the fact that both of them murder the choreo when they’re in the center for MIC Drop, but I really do feel like these two stuck out.

No MV Center

Let me tell you, though, if we were bringing choreography into this discussion, Taehyung in the MV would make this list easily. He’s so aggressive in the MV, you know? No, but, this is another choreo-based MV. You know the drill by now.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

This one’s another obvious one for most people, I would imagine. Actually, at first glance, this looks like it’d be Jungkook’s era as a center, but Jimin has a lot of prominence, as well. The best way to describe it is that Jimin was the strong support he’s meant to be for Jungkook considering their positions as main and lead vocalists, as well as lead dancers. However, because of the refrain, Jimin then ends up also feeling like less of a support and more of a center in his own right. Basically, there was a lot of good give and take between Jimin and Jungkook for the FAKE LOVE era, which is why I ended up seeing both of them as co-centers.

Secondary Center: Jin

I’ll be honest--I don’t really get the feel of a secondary center from Jin in this era, but I can tell that that’s what he was meant to be. He’s very present in the vocal, and that translates to him being present in the choreography, as well--which ends with him in the center, if you recall. I don’t think this era is quite the era for Jin as a center, but he does still feature really prominently, regardless of how my perceptions may be situated.

MV Centers: Jin, Jimin, & Jungkook

This is another instance where I thought Jin was going to seem like a stronger MV center than he was, but it’s really the visuals of him toward the beginning-what with the windows shattering and all--that stick with you. I still think the theater of Jin’s scenes are enough to consider him an MV center. For Jimin, his piece wasn’t as stand out, but you can tell Jimin had extra focus on him when compared with Taehyung or the rap line. In the scenes between the last pre-chorus and the last chorus, Jimin did have a scene where most others didn’t, so he felt like enough of an MV center to include here.

Jungkook is probably obvious. He had a fairly long scene in between the last pre-chorus and chorus, so there’s that, but the overall MV seems to have more images of him than the other members. I imagine Jungkook was probably the main character for this story, though all the members had really cool set pieces and insert shots.

No Center

I really was gonna sit here and be like, “Oh, yeah! Namjoon’s obviously the center!” But, listen, everyone’s parts in IDOL stick out so much that I don’t think it’s fair to say that Namjoon was the sole center. In fact, I’d say Jimin is actually the closest thing to being a sole center in this era, but it’s really only vocally because, as far as the choreography goes, he feels just as well represented as the other members. Ergo, this era is too chaotic for any one member to take the spotlight. Namjoon is the face of IDOL, though. And, vocally, Jimin’s pretty damn close.

No MV Center

I mean, the chaos was too much. Yes, Jimin has special focus on the bridge and during the final dance break on the chorus, but again, that’s just one piece of the whole. At the beginning, you’ve got a lot of shots of Taehyung, and then you’ve got the rap line having multiple focuses since they have two verses each. Jin and Jungkook got some cool focus during their parts, too, so an MV center isn’t really possible to find.

No Center

Jimin sticks out the most in this song, don’t get me wrong, but that’s mostly because his vocal on the chorus sounds so special. It doesn’t exactly work out to be even in a literal sense, but the vocal line at least seem like they have equal airtime in this era since they all get to sing on the chorus. That meant that a true center wasn’t going to be a thing, especially since it’s almost one of those songs where every member has their piece and then they disappear for the rest of the song.

No MV Center

I mean, should I call Taehyung the MV center because of the beginning and end? I don’t think so, since it was only a few seconds each time, and the rest of the MV was choreography. I mean, Taehyung did kind of feel like the face of the MV because of that, but I don’t know that it’s enough of a reason to put him down here. He’s the only option for an MV center, anyway. Maybe I’ll feel the need to change this later. We’ll see.

Center: Jimin

I’m still convinced that this was supposed to be an era dominated by Jimin. We’ll talk about Taehyung in a second, but when I first watched the Boy With Luv MV, I thought that Jimin was the clear center. I still do, even though my opinions on who owned the era are a bit different. Jimin is pronounced in the choreography, but his vocal is exactly the right color for a song that’s this bubbly. The choreo obvious matters a lot, but I think Jimin’s voice, more than anything else, is the face of this era. I know that sounds weird because of what I just said about Airplane pt.2, but that era was more like, “Wow, Jimin sounds so unique,” and the Boy With Luv era is like, “Jimin is the song.” So.

Secondary Centers: Taehyung & Jungkook

Jungkook does not feel like a secondary center to me because I find that he gets lost a bit in the Boy With Luv era, but like in the FAKE LOVE era with Jin, I know that Jungkook was meant to be Jimin’s support for this song. Jungkook feels nearly as pronounced in the choreography as Jimin does, and his clear vocal serves to fill in when necessary for this pop track, which is one thing Jungkook’s vocal color does best.

Taehyung, though, for all intents and purposes, shouldn’t really be a secondary center since his standout parts are the opening to the choreo and the parts on the chorus he shares with Jin. However, I don’t think you can find me any ARMY that genuinely deny that Taehyung isn’t, at least, one face of this era. Most people I’ve seen discuss the Boy With Luv era ardently agree that Taehyung owns the era, no questions asked. Whether it makes sense within the standards we’ve laid out for centers so far or not, Taehyung, his vocal, and his visual absolutely dominate this era. In terms of being the face of an era, Taehyung may come out on top as the sole center, but for the purposes of keeping this list objective, a secondary center he shall be.

No MV Center

Again, like, this is another situation in which Taehyung would be brought up if we were talking about the choreography; so would Jimin. Their visuals are so heavily tied to this MV, but it’s all attached to the choreography. Outside of that, no member had more solo focus than another.

Co-Centers: Jimin, Taehyung & Jungkook

I know some of you will be upset that Jin isn’t in this list, and I understand. Initially, Jimin wasn’t going to be in this list, either, but his vocal felt like it fit the tone of this song the best. Actually, here’s how I came to this conclusion: Lights was made for Jimin’s vocal tone, but Jungkook and Taehyung clearly stick out the most. As such, Jimin doesn’t necessarily have less prominence than the babies of BTS, but the babies of BTS were strong in this era. Jimin still deserves to be a co-center because of how well his vocal fits this song, but Taehyung and Jungkook were fucking power vocalists in the Lights era, so they’ve got to be centers, as well.

MV Center: Jungkook

This MV feels a bit like the Magic Shop VCR; it’s a lot like Jungkook is frozen or lost, and the other members find him. It’s not so pronounced like it has been for other MV centers, but it was still clear to me that Jungkook was the main character for this MV.

Co-Centers: Jimin & Taehyung

I mean, this would be an obvious choice if you really listened to Make It Right. When we don’t have choreo for a song, we’ve got to look at the vocal, right? The 95s are all over this track. Admittedly, the live does take just a touch of that away from them during certain performances, but the studio version of Make It Right is littered with Vmin. First of all, their solos are pretty pronounced anyway, but even if you listen to the crowd vocal on the “Oh, I can make it right” lyric, you usually only hear Taehyung plus the rest of the members singing in a clump underneath him. And if it isn’t Taehyung you’re hearing on the main vocal, it’s Jimin. Or Jimin and Taehyung. Like, I don’t know if it’s because these two have the most unique vocal tones in BTS or what, but their individuality really shone in the Make It Right era.

No MV Center

Unless the MV center is ARMY? I don’t know; Make It Right is one of those stage mix MVs, so it wasn’t gonna have a real MV center anyway. Unless the MV center is that animated couple that’s in the original version of the music video? Nah, I like the the idea of ARMY being the center more.

Center: Jungkook

I don’t need to go to the MV for this because Jungkook’s got hella pipes that’s he’s using for a hella long time during the bridge of this song, and that’s so much center energy. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an era that feels like all the other members are about equal, and then there’s Jungkook. It is what it is, though; I mean, the man is the center of BTS, after all. If I’m being really honest, though, the bridge is the only thing that makes Jungkook the sole center of this era. If Jungkook’s solo on the bridge wasn’t a part that caused the rest of the song and choreo to stop dead, the ON era probably wouldn’t have had a center at all because I don’t feel like Jungkook was all the pronounced anywhere else in ON. I guess me putting him down as the sole center tells you how impactful the bridge was, though.

Secondary Center: Jimin

It’s the “hey na na na” line, you know? No, but really, both in the choreo and the vocal, Jimin is a big foundation for ON. I mean, obviously Jimin has parts besides that line, but even as a whole, Jimin feels like a part of the basic structure for, both the track, and the choreography. I’ve felt this way about other members in previous eras, and I don’t know how to explain it well; think of it as though Jimin is a part of the beat. It’s essential to ON’s sound, even though it may not always stick out as an individual piece.

MV Center: Jungkook

Jin did have a bit of focus at the beginning, and I almost put Taehyung down as an MV center because there was a good bit in the middle where it was literally just Taehyung, but the entire story of the MV revolved around Jungkook, like, escaping slavery or whatever. I mean, the man blew into a conch shell and ran up to the top of BTS’s Pride Rock; if that’s not MV center energy, I don’t know what is.

No Center

I’m gonna keep it a buck with y’all: the vocalists nearly all sound the same on the chorus of this song because of the effects on their vocals. It’s kind of cool, though, considering the message of the song. Like, the lack of individuality is almost an extra piece to the lyrics, but I swear to you, Taehyung is the only one who sounds distinct on the chorus of Black Swan. As such, no one could’ve really been the center for this song. As you can probably tell, the vocalists are usually the centers--if there is one--and that’s because they get the choruses, which repeat the most; they have more opportunities to be the centers. In an era where their uniqueness is stripped away, there’s not going to be a center.

Also, if you’re asking, “Well, if Taehyung is so distinct, why isn’t he the center?” the answer is: because all the vocalists have basically the same parts. Yoongi, actually, would be the closest, in my opinion, to being a type of center for this song, but the chorus is the base of Black Swan, and so Yoongi doesn’t quite fit, either. Nothing wrong with an era without a center, my friends. Just means more central time for every single one of our boys.

MV Center: Jimin

Clearly, this was going to be the case. I don’t actually find Jimin to be that prominent in Black Swan, but the MV is what makes everyone say Jimin is the face of this era. And there’s a good reason for that. The Black Swan MV is such a wonderful platform for Jimin’s gorgeous, gorgeous artwork. It was like a portfolio of his talent, and it’s absolutely captivating watching him dance. Of course, Jimin does have a small bit of centralization that the other members don’t have in the stage choreo, but the MV is where Jimin got to really shine. Black Swan is really the only era where, rather than a song fitting a members vocal, we got to partake in a song that complimented a member’s dance style. I hope BTS do more with this kind of combination later for other members because Jimin getting to shine like this was really lovely.

Center: Jungkook

There’s really no other reason for this other than Jungkook’s vocal is very nearly the entire song as far as vocals go. Again, sometimes airtime predicts the center, and in this case, Jungkook has, like, double the amount of airtime when compared to the other members. So, obviously, Jungkook representing this era was the overall goal. Stay Gold is another one of those songs that benefits from a vocal tone like Jungkook’s, so that’s probably why Jungkook got such a large focus for this era.

No MV Center

Taehyung’s the closest thing to an MV center since he’s got that bit at the end where the camera focuses on him while he releases magic from the tree or whatever. So pretty he looks in the Stay Gold MV, by the way. If you’re watching all the way to the end, it does feel like, “Wow, Taehyung’s a bit of a main character,” but it’s really only at the end. So, no MV center this time as everyone had really beautiful set pieces that got shown fairly equally.

Center: Taehyung

Call me biased; call me whatever you want, but Taehyung’s presence is so fucking strong in Dynamite. Yes, Jungkook has a lot, a lot of vocal focus; yes, he centers in the choreography the most, but have y’all seen Taehyung’s attitude? Dynamite is the second era on this list that I’m sure Taehyung is the sole center for. Here’s where we’re gonna talk about marketing a bit. Taehyung’s visual was used to absolute death for the Dynamite promotions. I’m assuming it was because the retro look was especially fitted to Taehyung’s style, but Taehyung was everywhere. Not to mention the parts in Dynamite Taehyung got were really important pieces of the song--such as: ending the song. The choreography, as well, though not centered around Taehyung, was absolutely dominated by him regardless because of the way he decided to carry himself in this era. I don’t know; maybe I’m seeing things other people aren’t, but to me, Taehyung was obviously supposed to be the face of Dynamite.

Secondary Centers: Jimin & Jungkook

I don’t think Jimin is as strong of a secondary center as Jungkook, but I do still think Jimin’s role in Dynamite was really important. It’s sort of because he was a foundational piece, but it’s also because Jimin came off as bubbly and fun during the Dynamite era, and I think that helped to sell the overall visual of the song.

Jungkook, I’m sure a lot of people will say, should be the center for this era. I feel like I can kind of tell that an attempt was made to have Jungkook be the center, but then Taehyung and his charisma kind of ended up blowing up once Dynamite was released. Jungkook, to me, has the true foundational pieces of Dynamite. The beginning of the choruses, for example, are the catchy parts of the chorus, but not the punchy parts of the chorus. You see what I mean? Jungkook did have the first verse, too, of course. I’ll say this: vocally, Jungkook is absolutely the center of this era. It’s just that, as a total package, he didn’t stick out quite as much as Taehyung.

No MV Center

I mean, the beginning makes it feel like Jungkook is the MV center, but every member has their own set and solo shots. Plus, you’ve got the improvised choreography and the insert shots where every member appears to be equally represented. I don’t really see Dynamite as an MV with a definite member at the forefront.

No Center

So, there is a definite excess of Vmin in Life Goes On, which I think is beautiful because their vocal tones are full of emotion, but I don’t think that necessarily means they’re the centers of this era. If we were going based on airtime, Taehyung would be the sole center because of the amount of airtime he’s got, but again, I don’t know that it’s fair to call him a center for just that reason--even though Taehyung is very prominent in the vocal. Mostly, Life Goes On is a song BTS is giving to ARMY, so it feels like they’re all singing it to us, and no single member sticks out more than another.

MV Center: Taehyung

Jin does have a bit in the MV, just before the final chorus, where the camera stops on him for a moment, but it’s only that one part, so I couldn’t really call him an MV center. Taehyung--in the original version of this MV, at least--was definitely the one leading the narrative. Most of the MV was the boys having fun or singing to the camera, but there were also the clips of Taehyung driving BTS around, looking at an arena, longing to perform; it seemed like Taehyung was chosen to convey BTS and ARMY’s feelings about the pandemic and how much we all miss each other.

Co-Centers: Jin & Jimin

I gotta be honest: getting a handle on the Film out era is kind of difficult because it feels like such a fragmented song--and that makes it beautiful, but it’s hard to pin down a representative for this era, even though it definitely feels like there is one.

Obviously, I’ve decided that there are two. Again, without choreo, we’re looking at the vocal. To me, Jin and Jimin’s vocal tones stood out the most in Film out. I found both of their contributions to this song to be absolutely stunning, but even being objective, Jin and Jimin seemed like they were supposed to be the ones sticking out this much. I assume that’s because this is a very ethereal song, and I think I can confidently say that no other member has the monopoly on songs that sound like Film out than Jinmin do. Jimin’s angelic adlibs and falsetto was the thing I noticed right away when listening to this for the first time, but the more I listened to it, the more Jin came to the forefront, as well. We may only have vocals to go on for deciding a center--especially since Film out wasn’t marketed much--but Jinmin’s vocals really took center stage for this era.

Secondary Center: Taehyung

I really don’t know what it is that makes me see Taehyung as secondary center for the Film out era and not Jungkook, but Jungkook didn’t feel that prominent at all, despite having written the song. Taehyung felt like the anchor for Film out, which is something I noticed within my first few listens. Jin and Jimin were definitely the shining stars, in my opinion, but Film out still needed Taehyung for balance. The last half of the song is where all three of these members shine the most, and I think it’s really clear that Taehyung’s vocal was able to add a depth of emotion to Jimin and Jin’s. I think secondary centers, to me, are the members I can tell are being used as supports for the center or co-centers, and that’s what Taehyung was for Film out.

MV Center: Jin

This is the exact opposite of Life Goes On, actually, because Taehyung was the one who was last seen in the MV, which makes it tempting to see him as an MV center, but Jin was the one present in the narrative for the whole MV. I don’t know what that narrative was for certain, but I think it was something like looking in from the outside and getting lost in some kind of metaphorical storm. Jin was the one doing all that. So, he’s the MV center, for sure.

Co-Centers: Taehyung & Jungkook

Jungkook is a co-center, in my opinion, because it feels like he was supposed to be. I can’t really pinpoint what it is about Butter that makes Jungkook a co-center, but he’s got airtime on every chorus, which means he’s gonna be prominent in the choreo, as well. That’s probably what it is, now that I think about it. The chorus is the money piece of almost every song, so Jungkook being chosen to be in each of the choruses is a big thing.

Taehyung--look, I don’t know what it is about Taehyung, but the fact that he went from a single line in No More Dream to being this central in one of BTS’s biggest eras is insane to me. Like, listen. Taehyung got to start and end two seperate choruses--which means he’s pretty prominent in the choreo, but he’s also prominent anyway because he’s nearly always in the front--and he got to sing half of each verse. That never happens with Taehyung. Vocally, Taehyung has the most “I’m the motherfucking center” energy than he’s ever had. Something about this era has Taehyung way out in front, and I think that’s so fun since he doesn’t always get that opportunity.

Secondary Center: Jin

I wanted to put Jin down as a co-center; I really did, but the slight difference in vocal prominence between him and Taekook is what made me give him the secondary center position. Jin is still really prominent in the Butter era, though. I thought Jin really outdid himself with his vocal tone in Butter, and he’s been killing the choreo every single time they perform. Jin really does feel like one of the faces of Butter.

MV Centers: Jin & Taehyung

I wasn’t gonna put down an MV center, but didn’t Jin and Taehyung’s MV scenes stick, like, way the fuck out? Jin in that lineup scene did me in, for real. I wasn’t thinking straight for days afterwards. Plus, he’s got that scene during the second verse where he’s in that chair, looking like he owns three islands, and that feels like super big MV center energy. Then, you’ve got Taehyung in the elevator, which is one of his sexiest MV scenes, period. The attitude on him, I swear. The orange suit was the end for me, honestly. I know I just talked about how hot Taejin are, but the way they carry themselves is why it felt like they stuck out in the MV more than the other members. I feel like I can’t deny them the MV center title.

No Center

This is another song that isn’t really supposed to have a center, you know? Permission to Dance is meant to send this hopeful message to ARMY and people around the world, and I just don’t think a center was necessary because the center is BTS as a whole. At the very least, no one really stuck out to me as a sole, or even, co-center. It felt like all the boys shared the load of sending us this message, so I can’t put a center down for this era. I think, for a song like this, though, that’s a pretty damn good thing.

No MV Center

Again, this was really an equal opportunity kind of era. Other MVs have really focused on each of the boys having their own set, and one member often sticks out because of that; the Permission to Dance MV, though it had solo shots of each member, was mostly just the boys, all together and having fun. I mean, Jungkook had that solo dance bit, but that wasn’t enough to sway me.

Okay, that’s it, for now. Let me know what you guys think in the replies. I tried to keep my opinions out of this because I was just looking for which member(s) BigHit was trying to use to sell each era. I’m excited to do this with the B-sides since there’s only vocals to go on, but doing this for the singles was super interesting. Thanks for reading!

#bts #bangtan sonyeondan #kim taehyung #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #jeon jungkook

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shoichee · 4 years ago

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GoMs + Kagami as Persona Users

Headcanons on the Generation of Miracles (and Kagami) if they were to become a persona user in the world of the Persona series (Kuroko and Momoi included)

@akichan-th THIS IS FOR YOU

Warning: KNB series spoilers !!

Kuroko Tetsuya

since his presence is nonexistent in the real world, as a phantom thief, he’d probably desire to be a noticeable hero, you know? even in the 22.5 OVA, he told Kise that passing around wasn’t fun but he was going to do it for the sake of the team

his phantom thief outfit would be flashy in a sense of maybe eye-catching color schemes, or bold patterns

his attire could be baggy/oversized navy blue/black street clothing with TASTEFUL neon-colored accents and his mask would be a neon-colored huge sports shades/goggles situation (i was about to say some trendy sunglasses but sunglasses don’t stay on at all); he’s a skater boy ???? basically??

like, his PT attire could very well be a Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight DLC outfit 👀 it has those vibes

persona element is curse and let me explain why: he doesn’t have the gifted physique like the other GoMs and he’s cursed to rely on others for him to make a difference, and his motif has always been “shadow” ALSO he’s the PHANTOM sixth player YOU CAN’T CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE

he’s a front-line battler, but his skills are very support heavy: support skills that increase attack and defense for his teammates; i also wanna say he has spells that inflict dizziness ailments because in the anime, players are always losing their shit and whipping their heads around to find this tiny boy LMAO

he would definitely have a signature move that would direct all enemy attacks and status moves to himself for a set amount of turns to aid his teammates

his persona would have an extremely high Endurance and higher than average Luck stat but everything else is an all-time low

i’m going to say it, his shooting weapon is gonna be a paintball gun filled with neon paint just to fuck with the shadows and still make it HURT

code name would be “Umbra” (which means innermost part of a shadow) or “Ghost;” imagine some PT member shouting, “Oh no! Umbra’s knocked down!” and all the shadow sees is this brightass, neon kid on the floor

i would love his codename to be “Shadow” but there’s already the term shadow to describe the monsters in the metaverse

Kise Ryota

he views a “rebel” as your basic punk

since he’s a model, he knows japanese punk fashion very well

guess who’s gonna come into the metaverse being this hot ass punk boy? Kise motherfucking Ryota

black spike collar

lots of those tiny chains and harness/buckle action somewhere

ripped black leather pants that give Joker’s own leather pants a run for its money PLUS WITH SHINY BLACK BELT

lots of patchwork and stuff

THIS IS WHAT MORE OR LESS I’M TALKING ABOUT IF YOU WANT VISUAL REFERENCES

his mask would totally be a visor goggle to add further to the punk theme

part of me is biased that Kise is a blondie and “kise” is based off of “yellow” and Ryuji is blonde and so now i headcanon him as the electric element

okay, but since he’s an “all-rounder” he’ll probably be able to access mid-tier level attacks of all elements, including almighty to an extent

but if i was basing his element off of personality, he’d be ice for sure; he’s actually cold-hearted to people whom he doesn’t consider “worthy” and the anime only showed his friendly side because most of the time, he’s shown talking to his friends and people he respects

speaking of all-rounder, his stats would be all high all around, with his Magic stat peaking the highest

Midorima Shintarou

this boy is a bit tricky to figure out what his PT attire would be

he doesn’t have any time to think about “what he would be as a rebel” type of thing

however, if he were to desire to become something, i’d say he would want to be a supernatural being who can distribute good luck for himself every day

think of those JRPG wizard/mage/warlock outfit motifs (and they match up nicely with the idea of astrology and horoscopes); probably lots of brown/beige/hues of green scheme? or a black/various colors of purple for a FULL on witch vibe

it makes sense too because as someone who always shoots from afar and never dunks, mage classes always cast from afar and never attack up close to their opponent

and his frog puppets remind me of a witch’s animal familiars LMAO

there you have it

his mask would be a dark dark purple or a pure black domino mask that has little stars littered sparingly everywhere on said mask

his shooting weapon? my guy is stacked on staves ready to cast long-range spells

wind element for sure (because his basketball shots all catch air with lots of hang time | (• ◡•)|) with tons of gun skills

signature move would be a magic skill that never misses no matter what (his range is the entire metaverse)

his persona stats are also pretty well rounded but his highest stats would be Magic and Luck, with Endurance being a close runner up

Aomine Daiki

also hard to figure out a PT attire for this guy

according to KUROFES, his alternative career would be a police officer so i would think he despises criminals and the Phantom Thieves altogether ?

if anything, he’s more suited for the S.E.E.S. investigation team in Persona 3

Aomine doesn’t give a fuck, but he has a soft spot to protect others so like having a gun evoker definitely suits him more than a mask summon BRJWBDJW

i see him as a fire element, but his persona would have a lot more physical skills than anything else

bonus: since he used to be Kuroko’s “light,” he can have some mid-tier level bless skills

to make a reference his “formless” shots and forms, as well as his rapid changes of pace, his signature move would be a 5-hit physical skill that changes targets with every hit

statwise, his Agility stat is the highest out of everyone in the GoM, and his Strength and Endurance would be runner up stats; his Magic stat would be extremely dismal

Murasakibara Atsushi

this guy thinks about nothing but food and how he hates Teppei-species people basketball, so honestly he’s not interested in the Phantom Thieves business

like what? Murasakibara dressed in a getup? it’s a big “press X to doubt”

so i envision him to be more suitable for Persona 4, where he has to confront the other self that loves basketball and truly does care about people, and he had to be honest and accept that side for him to attain a persona

would he ever go back to the said “persona world” to go fight some shadows? unless there’s a good reason why he should or you bribed him with snacks, he won’t budge an inch

just give this man a Persona 4 school uniform and he’s ready to fight

his persona would primarily have physical skills, with lots of “wall” support skills, element “break” skills, and lots of passive skills (lots of nulls/resists) available for it to learn

highest stat for him would be Strength, then Endurance, and surprisingly have Agility as the runner up

he’s a huge tank of a persona user

Akashi Seijuro

i’ve talked about his PT outfit in this headcanon here, including his mask and why

hear me out, since this man is good at everything in school, and since there are archery clubs in Japanese schools, i wouldn’t be surprised if he was a Robin Hood with the scopes; what am i tryna say? his shooting weapon would be bow & arrows

i feel like people would automatically think he’s a bless/curse element like Akechi since “he has two sides,” but i feel like it’s not exactly right? if anything, i headcanon him to be more of a psychokinesis element

why? i want to attribute that to his emperor’s eye and his perfect passings, both each specialties from their respective “sides” of Akashi, and that requires extreme precision, almost to the level of “telepathy”

there’s also everyone thinking he can see the future too i mean

in the end, Akashi’s dual sides merged into one again, so having a whole bless/curse element wouldn’t even make sense anymore

but i will say, this man deserves to have a persona with almighty skills back to back

this guy isn’t the captain for no reason

so his persona would utilize psychokinesis and almighty skills, with special buff skills that increase critical rates for his allies (to refer to the fact that his passings enhance other players); his persona would also enjoy a large selection of passive skills to choose from to either be ultimate support or ultimate offensive sweeper

to also reiterate from the mentioned headcanon i linked, his code name would either be “Crimson” or “Scarlet”

his persona is a literal glass cannon, referring to the fact that Akashi is actually a mentally fragile basketball player; extremely high Strength, Magic, and Agility (but not as high as Aomine though) stats, average Luck stat, but extremely low Endurance stat

Momoi Satsuki

Momoi, i think, would envision herself in the metaverse as someone who’s never underestimated because of her usual demeanor or physical looks

even me, i got fooled thinking she was just only a fanservice girl and not this incredibly intelligent girl who was critical to her teams’ successes

so i would think she would imagine herself to be in a huge respectable position of power, like a lieutenant or general, who can command others and strategize to victory

her outfit would be similar to the attire from the Assassin’s Faith set from Love Nikki with the black Army Floppy Hat from the Army Major set on top (also from Love Nikki)

color scheming i can imagine a lot of black/white with gold trimmings/accents here and there

her mask is a Venetian eye mask i can literally see it; it’s so pretty with the gold plating !!

her role would definitely be a navigator + analyzer/tactician from the backlines, so while she isn’t in the battle most of the times, if worse comes to shove, she’ll be in the frontlines as a last resort

in other words, she’s a Futaba, but she isn’t a sitting duck and can fight if needed

she has an incredible Luck stat, higher than average Agility stat, but average stats for the rest (Magic, Strength, and Endurance)

ailment, healing, support, and buff skills are all at her disposal, along with some gun skills (which can definitely be broken when paired with her high Luck stat)

“Duchess” (a woman having a noble rank) would be a really cute codename for her

Kagami Taiga

why do i literally see him as a shinobi (ninja)

i have no idea why i do, but i think it’s just his name:

“While Kagami's name is associated with the ‘tiger’, Himuro's name means ‘dragon’. In Chinese mythology, the Azure Dragon of the East and the White Tiger of the West are eternal rivals. This rivalry is further expressed in their surnames: ‘Hi (氷)’ means ‘ice’ while ‘Ka (火)’ translates as ‘fire’.” - KNB wiki

so i literally see both Himuro and Kagami as rival clans duking it out

jokes aside, Kagami is a very honorable player, but he did at one point exhibited a “darker side” to himself, playing selfishly and being arrogant in the beginning

shinobis were considered to be “dishonorable” and “beneath the honor” of the samurai in their eras, so i feel that this could be a great image for what Kagami thinks is a “rebel”

being a ninja would make use of his jumping skills too

i imagine him in a fitted black halter neck top (so his abs are for us to see), with an iconic long red scarf wrapping his neck and hanging down to his waist at the back side

black forearm guards/wraps?

and then he has mahogany/dark red??/black???? loose cloth wrapped around his waist, like how you would tie a jacket over your waist ?? and then black nu-bakama pants and finally some dark boots for those pants to be tucked in

no one can convince me otherwise, but he’s gotta have a red full-face oni mask with black horns and some golden tiger stripes on the sides of the mask and around the eyes

HIS PERSONA ELEMENT IS BLESS BECAUSE HE IS KUROKO’S “LIGHT”

he would totally have some almighty skills and “Heat Riser,” a move that raises all of the user’s attack, defense, and accuracy/evasiveness (because the colors of the move’s animation remind me of Direct Drive Zone, something that was pretty much unlocked by Kagami for the team)

his persona is one of the OP/late game personas where all their stats are amazing across the board; even if his stats were high all around, his “lowest” would be his Luck stat

codename for him is “Tiger” no one cannot argue with me for this one NRNEIJFEO

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wonderful-writer · 4 years ago

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08 - Hallucinations

Summary: As Y/n, Bellamy, and Clarke embark on a day mission to visit an aid depot, tensions run high when Clarke attempts to talk with Bellamy about the exodus ship and Jaha. As Y/n and the others hallucinate, she talks with someone she hasn’t seen in a very long time.

Word Count: 3.80k

Based Off: 01x08 “Day Trip”

You were healed enough to start walking around, but Bellamy made sure that you knew you couldn’t do any heavy lifting. So you were on food duty with Jasper and Monty, who kept eating the Jobi nuts as a snack while they worked.

“You know, if you did your job instead of eating our supply, we might get this done quicker.” You commented with a raised brow.

Clarke came to check up on you for the second time that day as Monty and Jasper talked about the grounder, leading you into your tent. “How are you feeling?”

“Bored out of my mind.” You admitted. “Bellamy won’t let me do anything besides pack away and sort through the food and I’m dying to do literally anything else.”

Clarke laughed at your words as she wiped down your wound and replaced the bandage. “Well, I won’t be in camp today, and neither will Bellamy. Get Jasper to clean around the wound before you go to sleep if I’m not back, okay?”

“You’re leaving camp? Where are you going?” You asked, hopeful that you could tag along.

“They gave us coordinates to an aid depot that could keep us safe throughout the winter.”

“Can I come?” You asked and Clarke immediately protested.

“No, you’re not healed enough.” You begged her even though she kept saying no.

“Look, you’ll be able to check my wound and replace the bandages while we’re there, and you can help if anything happens to me. I promise I won’t carry anything too heavy, I can bring the food and medical supplies so you won’t have to.” She sighed at your words but nodded anyway.

“Fine. But if you rip your stitches, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. From both me and Bellamy.” You hugged your friend in thanks and started to stand up with her help.

Just then, Bellamy poked his head through your tent’s flap as you let go of one another.

“Clarke, let’s go.” He pulled his head out of the tent and you grabbed your pack, heading over to the food as Clarke stalled.

“Why are you taking the food?” Monty asked.

“I’m going out with Clarke and Bellamy,” You replied simply, taking a small sac of Jobi nuts and showing them into your bag.

“No you’re not.” Jasper cut in protectively.

“Don’t worry, Jasper. Clarke is gonna be with me the whole time, and if anything happens she can help me. I’ll be fine.” You assured him. You grasped his hand tightly before letting go and walking over to Clarke and Bellamy.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Bellamy asked defensively.

“With you and Clarke.” You said casually, strolling along until Bellamy caught your arm.

“No, you’re not. It’s dangerous and you haven’t fully healed yet.” He bore holes in your face with his eyes, but you ignored it.

“I asked Clarke and she said it was okay, so I’m going. I have medical supplies in my bag in case anything happens, and I promised I wouldn’t do anything that could rip my stitches.” You pulled your arm from his grip and walked with Clarke as he sighed and trailed behind.

You made your trek in silence, snacking on the Jobi nuts you packed with you, until Clarke spoke up.

“You know, the first dropship is gonna come down soon.” She said, swallowing a jobi nut. “Pretty sure you can’t avoid Jaha forever.”

“I can try.” Bellamy snipped, ducking to avoid a branch.

Clarke pulled out a map as you looked at the wasteland of what looked like a part of a city. You tucked your nuts back into your bag as Clarke said that the depot was supposed to be in the area.

“There’s gotta be a door.” Bellamy guessed.

“Maybe he’ll be lenient.” Clarke suggested.

“Look, I shot the man, Clarke.” Bellamy snapped, fed up with her talk of Jaha. “He’s not just gonna forgive and forget.”

“Let’s just split up, cover more ground. Stay within shouting distance.”

As Clarke moved down the hill and Bellamy moved in the opposite direction, you caught his arm. He turned to look at you, his expression tired.

“Hey, are you okay?” You asked, tone genuine.

He sighed, but answered with a hesitant, “Yeah.” Before walking off again, leaving you to turn and explore the other side of the hill.

Not long after, Clarke called out to you and Bellamy. “Over here! I found a door.”

You slid down the hill and walked over to where they were to find Clarke trying to pull on the handle. “I think it’s rusted shut.”

Bellamy broke the lock with his axe as they pulled the heavy door open. You went down after Bellamy, Clarke handing you and him flashlights.

“Do you really believe this place hasn’t been touched since the war?” Bellamy asked.

“You never know,” You responded honestly. You trudged through the insanely dark aid depot in relative silence, aside from a sigh and the sound of footsteps. As you went down the stairs, Clarke caught sight of a skeleton.

“Hell of a place to die.” Bellamy commented. You said nothing, but quickly brushed past the body.

“So much for living down here, this place is disgusting.” Clarke stated. You nodded your head, knowing that she couldn’t see you.

“Anything left down here is ruined.” You said, taking note of the water damage.

“They must have distributed most of the supplies before the last bombs went off.” Clarke said. You all opened different containers, Bellamy’s had glow sticks and Clarke found some blankets.

When you opened yours, there wasn’t much in it. Just a few empty ration packets and a sword. It caught your attention, so you picked it up. You unsheathed it, the sound catching Bellamy and Clarke’s attention. You smiled at the weapon, shiny and in pristine condition.

You looped the sheath around your belt, just above where your daggers still rested on your thighs. Bellamy tossed the glow sticks down the hall to help light the way as Clarke told him that at least it was something.

“Well how about a canteen or-or a medkit or a decent fricking tent?” Bellamy raged. He slammed his hand down on an oil barrel, noticing the sound it made had indicated that it wasn’t empty. He opened it and saw that it was full of some liquid that he hoped could be water for us to drink, but upon sticking his fingers in it he realised it was grease.

Angry, he kicked over the barrel, hearing something fall out of it. You all turned your attention to it, Bellamy shone his light on it to reveal a shit ton of guns. The three of you took the guns out of the water and cleaned them off, making sure none were damaged. Bellamy painted an x on one of the blankets and hung it from the ceiling as a makeshift target.

“This changes everything. No more running from spears.” Bellamy said as he made his way back to you and Clarke. “Ready to be a badass, Clarke?”

“Look, I’m not gonna fight you on bringing guns back to camp. I know we need them but don’t expect me to like it.” She told the man.

“We’re lucky the rifles were packed in grease. The fact that they survived means we’re not sitting ducks anymore. You need to learn how to do this.”

You sighed and picked up a gun. “I mean it is pretty cool. I, for one, like the protection of a gun. Beats getting stabbed at close range.” You joked with a smirk, and Bellamy turned to you, taking the gun from your hands with a stern look on his face.

“You aren’t going anywhere near a gun until you’re healed. Understand?”

You scoffed at his words and moved to the side, leaning up against the container of blankets. You felt upset at the fact that he was keeping you from learning how to properly learn how to shoot a gun and let Clarke have one even if she didn’t want it.

You didn’t see a problem with having a gun before you were healed, but apparently Bellamy did. You watched him and Clarke as he got really close to her, and it unnerved you.

“I’m gonna get some air, this place is stuffy.” You told them, walking away and ignoring their weird looks.

You grabbed your bag and walked up the stairs and down the dark hallway, back up the main staircase and into the fresh air. You walked deeper into the woods than you probably should have, but you didn’t care. You didn’t understand anything anymore.

One minute you were in the woods and the next, you were in darkness. You couldn’t comprehend anything, reaching blindly out into the void. “Bellamy?! Clarke?!”

You ran around, panicked, until a spotlight came down on you, and then someone you thought you’d never see again. “Mom?”

She smiled at you and held her arms out for a hug. “Hi, honey.”

You ran to her, but as you tried to hug her, she vanished. You turned again and there she was.

“You’re not actually here,” You concluded. She nodded sadly and walked closer.

“You’ve grown so big,” She noticed, small tears glistening in her eyes. You nodded at her sentence before she spoke up again.

“Listen to me, Y/n. I don’t have a lot of time.” She warned.

“But I’ve been watching over you. And I know you’re upset at your father, and you have every right to be. But he’s worried for you. He heard about your wound and he’s scared.” You scoffed and rolled your eyes, but let her continue.

“Y/n, don’t blame him for what happened to you, please. He loves you with his whole heart. He didn’t trust himself to take care of you after I was gone, he couldn’t. He loved you and he didn’t want to screw up.” You felt her hands on your cheeks, even if she wasn’t there.

“And that boy that you’re friends with, Bellamy? Do you trust him?” You nodded at her.

“I trust Bellamy with my life, mom.”

“Good. He’s good for you. And you’re good for him, I can see it.” She gave a big smile.

Tears leaked out of your eyes and she began to speak again. “Bellamy is a great man, stay with him. You need each other more than you think.”

There was a knowing look in her eyes and you nodded again. You felt her start to fade away as she told you one last thing. “I love you, bug.”

“Mom?!” You called as she faded with a smile. “Mom, come back! Mom! Please!” You fell to your knees and let the tears fall.

You closed your eyes and when you opened them back up, you were in the forest again. It was much darker than before, the sun completely set. You heard talking nearby, and you assumed it was Bellamy and Clarke. “Bellamy?”

You stood up and made your way to where you heard the voice, still a little bit loopy from the vision you just had. When you made it to the clearing you saw Bellamy lying on the ground and Dax standing over him with a gun to his head. He attempted to shoot Bellamy but his gun clicked. Bellamy reached for something you couldn’t see, but when he held his hand up, there was nothing there.

You noticed Clarke standing a few feet behind Dax with a gun of her own, and got her attention quietly, then signalled for her to wait. You then ran as fast as you could, picking up speed as you went, then running into Dax’s body as hard as you were able and sent him toppling to the side. You straddled him as he put his hands out to push you off, but you managed to fight them off and punch him twice in the face.

It was then that Dax got the advantage and rolled over, so that he was now on top of you, with a knee to your chest. He grabbed the discarded gun and stood up, kicking you in your left side before moving over to Clarke. She tried to shoot him as he explained that Shumway said no witnesses, and you held onto your wound as you struggled to stand up.

Your hands were wet with your blood as Bellamy attacked Dax and fought him off, but Dax had the upper hand and hit Bellamy with the butt of his gun before attempting to choke him with it. Clarke ran up to Dax and tried to get him away from Bellamy, but Dax kicked her down before she could try anything.

As Dax did so, Bellamy had a window of opportunity and grabbed the bullet that fell from Dax’s gun and shoved it into the side of his neck, effectively killing him. Bellamy panted at his actions and went over to you, hoisting you up by your shoulders and dragging you to the tree Clarke rested herself on to recover from being winded.

You were sitting between the two of them and were reminded of their actions, but didn’t think about it much as you remembered that you ripped your stitches. Groaning in pain, Clarke turned her attention to you, even though she still needed a few minutes to recover herself.

“Stop, Clarke, I’m okay.” You protested, but didn’t move when she lifted your shirt.

“You’re okay, Bellamy.” You told your friend, but the look on his face said otherwise.

“No, I’m not.” He disagreed. “My mother… If she knew what I've done, who I am- she raised me to be better, to be good…”

“Bellamy-”

“And all I do is hurt people.” He cut you off. “I’m a monster.”

“Bellamy, look at me.” Your hand reached up to his cheek, forcing him to look at you. “You are not a monster. The things that you’ve done, Bellamy, you did to protect the people you love. And I understand that. You were willing to do whatever it took to find Octavia and to keep her safe.”

“You brought a grounder into camp and if you hadn’t done so, I would have died. Bellamy, you know that the chancellor survived and because of all that you’ve done for the camp, he might help you. And I can make sure of it.”

“How?” Bellamy asked tiredly.

You moved to pull yourself up, but Bellamy helped you instead. “My father can help, if I talk to him. I know, I hate him, but if it gets you out of being killed, I think it’s worth it.” You gave him a small smile as he asked who your father was.

You looked down at your wound as Clarke began to sew it up again, wincing. “My father is Marcus Kane. He can help -- that is, if he doesn’t hate me.”

“I doubt it.” Clarke cut in softly. “As soon as the radio was working he asked for you, if you were okay.”

You nodded and absorbed this information, thinking back to your mother's words. ‘He loves you with his whole heart.’

Clarke finished up your wound and replaced the bandages as Bellamy looked back up to the sky. His arm was still around your torso to support you, but you didn’t mind it. Once you all found the strength, you carried all the weapons you could find, along with blankets and whatever else was salvageable back to camp.

You only carried the blankets as Bellamy and Clarke dragged the guns. When you got back to camp, everyone was in a panic because the grounder escaped.

“Let the grounders come,” Bellamy interjected. “We’ve been afraid of them for far too long, and why? Because of their knives and spears. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being afraid.”

You smiled at Bellamy’s words. You knew that he was talking about something entirely different, and you were happy that he was going to face Jaha instead of running from him. Clarke and Bellamy shared a look as they revealed the many guns they found to the camp, while the delinquents gasped in astonishment.

“These are weapons, okay? Not toys.” Clarke told the camp. “And we have to be prepared to give them up to the guard when the dropships come. But until then, they’re gonna help keep us safe.”

“And there are plenty more where these came from.” Bellamy resumed. “And tomorrow, we start training. And if the grounders come, we’re gonna be ready to fight.”

Later that night, you had Clarke set up a meeting for you and Bellamy with Jaha. She tried to protest and ask if you were okay with her going in instead, but you were persistent. “If push comes to shove, I’ll talk to my father. I won’t like it, but I’ll have to face him eventually, and if it keeps Bellamy alive and with the camp, then it’s worth it.”

She only nodded and went to go get him for you. You took a deep breath and wiped your palms on your pants, until Bellamy came up to you.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked.

“I should be asking you that question.” You laughed, before heading into the tent.

“Mr. Blake.” Jaha addressed as you sat down and put your headsets on. “I’ve wanted to talk to you for quite some time now.”

“Before you do,” You spoke up. “I’d like to say something. When you sent us down here, you sent us to die. But miraculously, most of us are still alive. And a large part of that is because of him. Because of Bellamy.”

You looked over at him with a small smile before continuing. “He saved my life, among the many others here. He’s one of us, and he deserves to be pardoned of his crimes just like the rest of us.”

“Y/n, I appreciate your point of view, but it’s not that simple.” The counsellor said.

“It is.” Bellamy spoke. “If you want to know who on the Ark wants you dead.”

Jaha looked up from his hands and into the camera before speaking. “Bellamy Blake, you’re pardoned for your crimes.”

As the words left Jaha’s mouth, a dam of relief flowed through you. He wasn’t going to be killed. You got to keep your best friend.

“Now, tell me who gave you the gun.”

“Commander Shumway, sir.” Hearing the name gave you flashbacks, one you didn’t want to have. These kinds of flashbacks induced panic in you, and all you could see was his face. You whimpered in fear, the image of him beating you as his friends laughed striking fear in your heart.

You felt a hand on your wrist and in your panic, you screamed and shook it off, falling out of the stool you were in. Your breathing picked up and you felt a weight on your chest, causing you to start hyperventilating. There were hands on your cheeks and you didn’t fight them, you couldn’t focus enough to do so.

Everything in sight was blurry, memories of the Ark blending with your sights of the tent you were in. You felt a pull and then your face was pressed against something, but you still couldn’t tell what it was until Jasper’s voice filtered into your ears.

“You’re okay, Y/n. You’re okay. You’re on Earth, remember? You’re not up there anymore, he can’t hurt you. Just breathe with me and you’ll be fine.” You copied the movements of his chest and soon enough you were back on Earth, in Jasper's arms, with a panicked Bellamy in front of you.

“S-sorry.” You smiled awkwardly.

“Are you okay?” Jasper asked, and you looked up to meet his eyes.

“I’m fine now, Jasp. Thanks for helping me out. I haven’t had a panic attack in years.” You patted his arm and he released you, so you got up and hugged him before he left the tent.

Bellamy’s eyes were still locked on you and you tried to comfort him, but counsellor Jaha cut in. “I apologise, but there’s someone here to speak to Y/n.”

“Who?” You asked as you turned to the camera.

“Your grandmother.” Your heart swelled at the thought of speaking to your grandmother again, and Bellamy left the tent to give you some privacy. You slipped the headset back on and sat on the stool as your grandmother came on screen.

Tears welled in your eyes as she smiled warmly at you. “Hi, Nana.”

“Hi, darling,” She greeted. “How’s Earth?”

“It’s fun down here, Nana. It’s so green and smells fresh, you can plant the tree down here and it’ll grow nicely. The rain feels amazing, too.” You raved. Her laugh filtered through the headset and you almost cried. You missed your grandmother more than anyone else.

“I miss you, Nana.”

“I miss you, too. But soon I’ll be on Earth with you and we can plant the tree together, okay?” She proposed. You nodded gratefully and wiped the happy tears from your face as there was a comfortable pause.

“So, who’s the boy?”

“Nana!” You called. “There is no boy! I’m too busy running a camp full of teenage criminals to have any boys in my life, besides Jasper and Bellamy.”

A smile grew on her face as she looked at you knowingly. “Ah, so his name is Bellamy.”

“Nana, it’s nothing like that!” You spluttered. “Bellamy also runs the camp, and he’s just my friend.”

“Okay, okay,” She raised her hands in mock defense. “I’ll see for myself when I get there, bug. But it sounds to me like there’s a little more that’s going on than what you think.”

“There’s nothing to see, Nana. He’s my best friend, and he helps lead camp, that’s all.” You explained.

“I know there’s more to it than that.” Vera prodded.

“Okay, so he saved my life a few times, what’s the big deal?” You admitted casually.

“I knew there was more to it, there always is. A grandmother can always tell.” Vera smirked and you laughed.

“There isn’t anything more to it, Nana. Like I said, he’s my best friend.” You shrugged.

“I’m sure he is, sweetheart. They’re telling me I have to go now. Would you like to talk with your father?” Your eyes cast downwards at the mention of your dad, but you looked up to meet your grandmother.

“No, I’m okay. I’ll see him when he gets here, and I’ll see you then, too, okay?” You told her, and she nodded.

“Bye, sweetheart.” She blew you a small kiss and you returned it, seeing her small smile once more before she got up and left.

Taglist: @soullessbabee | @hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis | @dummythiccwitch | @sireddobrev | @gxvrielle

#bellamy blake #bellamy blake imagine #bellamy blake series #bellamy x reader #bellamy x you #bellamy x y/n #this is war series

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thisiswhymomworries · 5 years ago

Note

If I may contribute to your statement about how much Agamemnon deserved death, it wasn’t just his daughters wedding day. He arranged for her to be married to Achilles so that she would be within convenient murder range. If I remember correctly, at least in Euripides’ telling of the events, even Achilles thought the whole thing was awful when he realized what was going on. So yeah, there is no telling of the story in which I feel bad for him.

oh yeah, you’re absolutely correct that Agamemnon totally set that up and arranged for her to be married solely to get her out of the house to be killed

and Achilles WAS like “hey what the fuck this is my wedding too--well. not anymore I guess >:/”

ALSO Agamemnon is the bitch who started the Biggest Dick Slap Fight with Achilles about the distribution of loot, which led to Achilles having his Big Sulk and refusing to fight, so Patroculus put on his armor and fought in his place--shout to him by the way!! he has the highest kill count in The Iliad, NOT Big Baby Achilles--and was therefore eventually killed by Hector

so the order of fuck ups is:

Agamemnon makes a stupid ass promise (to Artemis I believe) at the beginning of the war to sacrifice whatever he sees first when he arrives home

immediately sees his daughter, who ran out to welcome him first bc she loves him

realizes now he has to kill her otherwise the gods will be mad and he won’t be able to join / or will doom The War expedition

doesn’t just stay home!! like yeah, he made a regular human promise ala WWI alliances where if something happens to this other guy over here, then fucking everybody in their dog has to go to war over it, including him, but this is YOUR DAUGHTER my dude, just stay home

Decides to go ahead and kill his daughter, I guess!!

lies to his wife (Clytemnestra) and to Achilles (ally) that he’ll marry Daughter to Achilles before they go off to war

when Clytemnestra brings Daughter down to get married, he instead ties her to the alter / pyre and kills her while Achilles is like “whoaaa what the fuck”

all so he can go to this stupid war that again, Does Not Involve Him. he only promised that if Other Guy’s shit got fucked up (ie, his wife Helen getting abducted), then he’d help out but like,, Helen maybe wanted to go to Troy anyway and also still ultimately not his problem

yes breaking promises his a huge No-No but also so is literally all of these other fuck ups he does, so why not just do One (1) fuck up and also NOT kill your daughter\

Goes to war and tries his hardest to fuck THAT up too!!

so the whole point of killing his daughter is that he HAS to go help fight in this war and then when he gets there, he’s useless

coulda just stayed home, moron

he starts a Biggest Dick Slap Fight with Achilles--ACHILLES--over who gets the best loot by pulling that he technically has rank as a king or something but he didn’t do shit

Achilles Big Mad

so basically this guy made direct eye contact with the Greeks’ BESTEST most special warrior, lied to him, killed his would-be wife, snidely pulled rank, took away another woman he wanted (that’s the “loot”), and pretty much fucked her while loudly reminding The Best Warrior he ain’t shit

like,,, ?? the Greeks DID NOT need him there!!

Achilles--their best warrior--refuses to fight, Patroculus fights instead, gets killed, Achilles mourns for three days, they basically come This Fucking Close to losing the war--which has already stalled for ten years btw bc they can’t actually get inside Troy, so the “war” thus far is basically just glorified yelling “meet me in the fucking parking lot you bitch” and sometimes someone from Troy would in fact come out to fist fight someone in the parking lot, aka Hector vs Patroculus (RIP)

if Achilles hadn’t been sulking, maybe he would’ve won the fist fight vs Hector, and Troy would’ve surrendered after losing their leader

but that doesn’t happen so Odysseus does the horse thing to get the soldiers inside Troy and they sack it, but the point is that Agamemnon DIDN’T DO SHIT except make things worse

Comes back home and immediately insults the gods

Clytemnestra does kind of set him up for this by asking leading questions, but they’re so Babey Basic. like,, if a woman asks “hey do you think you’re better than the gods” just say no!!

there’s a red carpet, which is a huge honor for the gods alone, and it’s Super Super Obvious Clytemnestra is goading him into hubris but Agamemnon “Can’t Think Critically” the Daughter Killer is like “oh fuck yeah I’ll accept honors only reserved for the gods because I’m just as good as them DO YOU HEAR THAT GODS I, A MORTAL, AM LOUDLY PROCLAIMING HUBRIS WHILE SYMBOLICALLY STEPPING ON YOU GEE HOW COULD THIS GO WRONG”

didn’t seem to put any thought into how Clytemnestra, a woman, was supposed to hold onto the throne for him FOR TEN FUCKING YEARS but then when he comes back, he rolls up like “hey, honey what’s up with you? me?? oh yeah, I had fun killing our daughter, going to war, fucking other women. LOTS of other women, I even fucked Achilles’s woman. yeah, yeah, that’s just the kind of leader I am Babey!! but anyway, you’re going to give the throne back to me and let me start making decisions as king for the whole country after I killed your daughter, nearly cost us the war, and loudly insulted the gods, right? Right??”

Guess who just got MURDERED

yeah it’s the asshole who deserved it. like, the Agamemnon specifically makes sure to recount how he killed his daughter as she begged for her life and then flashes forward back to the present where he insults the gods, just to make sure we know he Really Really deserves it

not even by modern standards! the audience was at least supposed to understand the promise he made to Artemis was dumb and shitty, that regardless of whether he was “”forced to do it”” he did still kill his own child, AND he committed hubris

Clytemnestra even has a monologue about what the fuck else she’s supposed to do: there are no laws she can turn to, and as a woman, she’s not allowed to get revenge, so her only other option is to just hand the kingdom back over to this Moron and keep sucking his cock or whatever while pretending he didn’t murder her child

basically, if someone kills one of your family members, you are morally obligated to kill them

Agamemnon MUST get his shit wrecked due to hubris

Orestes (their son) has been off dicking around and sulking, and he doesn’t want to kill Agamemnon, and anyway, all he did was kill his sister! does that really count?? seriously though, does it? spoiler: the ultimate answer is No, killing women does not count as killing a person bc women are not people

this message brought to you by Athena (ironically)

also some shit about how women aren’t actually involved in motherhood or creating a child, so a mother isn’t really a parent, and that’s why Orestes gets to kill Clytemnestra via The Greek Obligation For Revenge

Clytemnestra decides Fuck That

she holds Agamemnon accountable and kills him as he must be killed in order to avenge the killing of their daughter

she tosses a net on him while he’s in the bathtub and stabs him a million times with a spear, while laughing maniacally and bathing in the rain of blood that spurts out

as is her parental RIGHT for avenging her daughter

except the problem is that she’s Not A Man, so she ““isn’t allowed”“ to kill a man

and also that the reason Agamemnon deserved to die is ultimately decided to be his hubris, because Women Are Not People so it was OK or whatever for him to kill his daughter bc that didn’t count

therefore Clytemnestra double wasn’t allowed to kill him / avenge her and should have sat around waiting for the gods to kill Agamemnon I guess, but there’s no indication any of them actually planned to do that

they just used her to do their dirty work, so if anyone in this story was fucked into a corner by the gods, it’s Clytemnestra, not Agamemnon

Orestes then has a big long story about killing Clytemnestra

like fuck his sister I guess?? he wasn’t doing shit about revenge and his moral duty to kill the killer of his family when she was sacrificed but now that his shit idiot dad got himself killed, nooow he’s all about His Moral Duty

so he kills his mom

and he’s kind of sad about it and worried that now he deserves to die too because he killed his mom, and it’s a super fucked up sin in Greek World to kill your parent

hence the deus ex machina--literally, how this trope got invented

they lowered an actor playing Athena from the rafters and had her proclaim that Women Aren’t People, so it was probably OK or whatever for Agamemnon to kill his daughter and since women have nothing to do with the creation of a child, and just hold that little sperm-baby inside them like a cup until it magically comes out with zero effort or risk to them, then Women Aren’t Parents so Orestes didn’t reeeally kill his parent

#greek mythology #ancient greek #ancient greek mythology #the agamemnon #clytemnestra #ask #anon #answered #mine

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ships-inside-your-head · 5 years ago

Text

harrowed

If Izuku did not know better, he would say that All Might was his usual, happy, though sometimes awkward, self. Everyone else would agree with him without hesitation, causing the green-haired uneasiness - because he knew better. All Might was in pain. Of course, he was pretty much always in pain, after all, his left lung and stomach were missing, but today was one of those days when he felt worse than usual. It was so clear for Izuku, why could not anyone else see it? Instead, he had to watch All Might fight through the day with a (tortured) smile and a lively (played) gait. And nobody said anything. That his classmates did not see it, he knew, they did not know what to look for, let alone know him well enough to see the signs. But none of the teachers, of All Might's colleagues, who knew full well about his physical condition, said or helped him, somehow, that ... astonished and terrified Izuku. Did they not want to help or didn’t All Might want help? Or what was worse ... did they not recognize the signs as well? He ... he did not know if he should do something or not. His mentor went out of his way to make sure nobody knew about his bad day, but he could not watch him tormenting himself, hour after hour. So he asked Momo for a strong pain gel during breakfast break, which unfortunately she had to refuse because she did not know the exact composition and was not sure how ethical it was to make painkillers from her fats. Izuku collapsed, Momo looked at him questioningly. "Why do you need a pain gel, Midoriya? Did you hurt yourself? Why don’t you go to Recovery Girl? "The dark-haired woman asked, he blushing. »I-it’s! It's not for me, it's for someone else! "He tried to reassure her, but she still frowned. "Especially then you should be careful, you do not know if the other person can handle anything," she reprimanded him gently and his face fell. He had not thought of that. What if Momo could actually make the ointment, but All Might would have been allergic to it ... that would be a disaster. Only the thought caused tears in Izuku's eyes. "Oh ..." he just mumbled and Momo gave him a sympathetic look. "Your will to help is admirable, Midoriya, but maybe that's why you should really consult Recovery Girl. She can probably help you a lot better than I could. " He nodded. "Probably. Thanks anyway, Yaoyorozu. "Before she could say anything, Aizawa-sensei's harsh voice rang out. "Midoriya, Yaoyorozu," the two flinched, even though he was literally jumping in the air. "On your seats, do not waste my time." Momo was already sitting in her seat, only Izuku was the only person left, and he hurried to his chair not to provoke Aizawa-sensei. He seemed to have slept poorly. So he waited bravely until the hours were over and the lunch break was rung by the ringing. As soon as this happened, he was out of the room at lightning speed. He urgently needed to go to Recovery Girl. ☆

Recovery Girl was definitely not thrilled to see him. "What happened?" She groaned, looking at him as if she wanted to wrap him in cotton wool. He was offended for five seconds. Then he realized that he was only here when he had broken something, which was not very little. "Nothing happened to me, I swear!" He soothed, and he saw that she was clearly relaxing. Her expression softened and he could almost claim to have seen a smile. "Well, why are you here then?" "I need an analgesic for All Might's side. He's been in pain all day, but he does not say anything and nobody will notice! " "He's in pain?" She asked, frowning. "Then why does not he come to me and get something?" Her expression grew gloomier. "I do not know ... but I already have an idea how to get him to take a break and apply the ointment - but that only works if I get the salve soon, otherwise the lunch break is over and I have reached nothing and- « "Midoriya. Take a breath and give him that, "then she shoved a tube into his hand, probably digging it out as he fell into his mumble storm. "Thanks, Recovery Girl!" He shouted after her as he was off again. Izuku had a mission to fulfill.

☆

"Jirou! I need your help! "The green-haired youth shouted into the classroom and the said person started. "Midoriya, what is it?"

"Can you help me find All Might?" He asked her and she just blinked at him in surprise. "What?"

"Well, you can hear heartbeats with your quirk - at least I guess - and I was hoping you might get it where he is because I-"

"He's on his way here," she said without beating about the bush, and he could not even pout that he was interrupted, so relieved he was to know his mentor was almost here. "Thanks, Jirou!" He hurried out of the room and in fact almost collided with his blond teacher.

"My boy, be careful before you run around someone!"

"All Might! I need your help! "He exclaimed, and instantly the older man's eyes grew sharper. "How can I help you-?" Izuku looked around uncertainly and his counterpart. understood "Come on," he said to the boy, who followed him only too willingly. The blonde led him into the staff room, which was currently vacant, and they both sat down on the couch. Izuku was considered earnestly.

"Do you have problems with One-For-All again?" He began, and the green-haired boy shook his head in a hurry. He did not want to fool his idol, no matter if it lasted only a short time. Now his mentor looked confused. "But ... why did you come to me and ask for help?"

"Because you're in pain and no one notices," the younger one said with a sad expression, and All Might's expression softened. "Young Midoriya ... I'm always in pain, why-"

"But today is a bad day for you! I've been seeing you tormenting yourself this entire morning, forcing you to work and making everyone smile - and no one notices! "He almost sobbed, but he managed to quell his tears. It was not he who was in such bad shape. "So I went to Recovery Girl and she gave me a painkiller for you, for your scar. May I ... may I apply it? "His voice was only a whisper, his gaze lowered, so he did not notice All Might's shoulders sinking as if a burden were falling from him. Neither did he see the tears in his mentor's eyes.

"My boy ... it would be a great relief for me," the blond mumbled, stroking the smaller person over his full, fluffy hair. Izuku looked at him as if he alone were responsible for any wonders of the world. All Might took off his blazer and his shirt while Izuku rummaged the ointment out of his pockets and immediately smeared it on the badly healed scars. His counterpart winced with a slight whimper, which brought tears to his eyes again. The meat felt hard and hot and swollen. "Sorry, All Might," he whispered instead, and was appeased. "It's alright. You just want to help, like a real hero, "it sounded so proud that he almost felt unwell when he heard that.

"But it's perfectly normal to want help if you see someone in pain."

"Oh no, many do not realize when you're suffering, and even then, not everyone is willing to help," the elder explained, sighing in relief as the ointment began to seem to be working. "Is it better?"

"Far better, thanks." Izuku shook his head. "It's the least I can do for you." All Might had nothing to say to that, and so they both remained silent until he had the ointment evenly distributed and carefully massaged throughout.

"You should go if you do not want to be late - you know how Aizawa is," the blond man gently reminded him, and the boy startled when he saw the time. "Oh no! All Might, I'm so sorry, but I have to go! You stay here and rest, I tell Aizawa-sensei that you do not feel well! Bye, All Might! "He shouted so fast that he could scarcely follow and raced out of the staff room. All Might just blinked, but not very surprised. His boy was just like that, it was difficult to change. A weary, though satisfied smile crept to his lips. He looked around, grabbed a blanket that lay under Aizawa's place and covered himself on the couch. It was not long before he sank into the land of dreams.

☆

"Midoriya, why are you only coming now?" Aizawa demanded, grumbling, and the green-haired man froze for a moment before regaining his composure. "Um, I helped All Might! He is not feeling well, so I made sure that he gets something for the pain and rest. I'm sorry I'm late. "

The dark-haired man looked at him suspiciously. "How did you know All Might was not feeling well?" "I recognize it when someone is in pain and I can assess his facial expressions and gestures well, may I change now?", He tried to get away, because this conversation became more and more unpleasant. His teacher stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Hurry up."

Izuku nodded in agreement and hurried off. With narrow eyes the pro-hero looked after him. "The problem child helped Yagi, huh?" He murmured softly before heading into the hall to supervise the training of his students.

☆

When All Might came to class 1-A accommodations in the afternoon, he was promptly approached by Izuku. "All Might!" He shouted louder than he had intended, which immediately caught the attention of the entire class. "How are you?" He persisted, for the question had not left him all afternoon. The former Pro laughed and ruffled through the child's green hair. "Much better, my boy! You've been a great help to me! "He said loud and booming, and with relief Izuku realized that his body language matched these words as well. He sighed. "Thank God."

"Fucking Deku, how did you help All Might ?!" Kacchan demanded, and Izuku jumped back slightly. "U-um, All-Might had some problems earlier, so I helped him, that's all, Kacchan!"

The explosive blonde looked at him suspiciously, but did nothing that more than relieved Izuku. "Young Midoriya was only helpful, young Bakugou," All Might confirmed, and Izuku's stomach became a cold stone. All Might did not really want to say it ... it would be much better if others knew too, so that they could help. The current one-for-all user gave his predecessor a watery, insecure smile. He would not reveal anything if All Might did not want it. No way.

#midoryia izuku #yagi toshinori #all might #katsuki bakugou #aizawa shouta #eraserhead #momo yaoyorozu #recovery girl #chiyo shuzenji #jirou kyouka #fanfic #hurt/comfort #fluff #dad might #translation from german #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

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classlesstulip · 5 years ago

Text

Alright, I mentioned a while back that if anyone was interested, I would post some of the things that didn’t make it into my fic’s and the like. HERE’S THE FIRST ONE!

This particular one is how “Sugar Daddy” was going to start.

He was exhausted, irritated, angry, frustrated, and he felt like his head was about to explode. From the moment he woke up, Julian's day had been shit. This was just the icing on top of the shit cake.

Last night, he and his now-ex had broken up. He had suspicions for a while that she was cheating and it was confirmed in the most explosive way possible.

It's not every day that you catch your girlfriend snogging a guy at the bar you WORK at. Or you call her phone, have her deny it, and continue to do so even when you're both staring the other straight in the eye from across the bar. After having at it, he tossed her shit out. By that point, it was near 4am and they had attracted the whole floor of the apartment building.

Thinking that was that, he essentially took a short nap before getting up for his Epidemiology lecture. After, he had to rush to his residency, getting stuck in the subway when power to the car went out. Getting chewed out by the Ward Director, he got vomited on, along with a volunteer accidentally spilling a tray of urine samples all over him.

Suffice to say, one would think that things couldn't get worse. Alas, one would be so very wrong. Because that night the bar was packed because of a late-running football match, and Millwall fans are fucking dicks.

After everything that happened, he decided to treat himself. Picking up a curry, he made his way to his unit just to find some stranger knocking on the door. Thinking they were looking for someone and had gotten lost, Julian decided to do a good deed and help the poor guy out…

...just to find out his ex had signed him up on every hook-up site and app she could find, posting his personal ADDRESS for anyone to see.

He should just go back to Russia.

***

Rubbing his eyes, he flopped back onto his bed, laptop balanced between crossed legs. On the glowing screen was his open email, message after message and advert after advert for different ‘mingling’ sites displayed.

Grindr, Tinder, Bumble, the whole shebang. Literally dozens, including ones he didn't even think existed.

(Some guy named GoatBoy69 on pissparty.com keeps emailing him, wanting Julian to ‘let loose’ all over his chest while he gets railed by his boyfriend. Julian just wants to vanish into the ether.)

Hearing another chime chirp from his computer, he groaned in emotional agony. Every five minutes he got something from one of the sites, the most active one being a hardcore BDSM sugar baby finder. It hasn't even been a full day since their breakup and he literally has a hundred messages from this site alone.

Julian would be lying to himself if he said that having a bunch of rich people want to bone him and pay his tuition wasn't a powertrip. Any other time he would be gloating. But, considering he hadn't signed up in the first place, he was just frustrated.

Another chime coincided with a knock at the door. Sighing in tired resignation he went to answer, ready to repeat his spiel once again. Flinging open the door, he saw no-one before looking down.

A short woman stood there, dressed in a power suit that probably cost more than what he made in a year. Her long mahogany hair was pulled up in a bun, and she had dark eyes. Like a few others before her, she held a duffle bag that no doubt held all sorts of sordid sex toys.

For some reason, this was the last straw. All of the anger, frustration, and just downright sadness hit him all at once.

Something must have shown on his face because her expression turned from one of controlled flirtation to concern in an instant. She shuffled him back into the apartment, set him down in his breakfast nook, and made him a cup of tea.

“From the look on your face, this was not your doing, hmm?” She had a nice voice, lower than most women. It was soothing to his frayed nerves.

“Ah, no, um, miss. It was not, Prew, my ex-” she held out a hand, cutting him off.

“Say no more. And let me guess? She signed you up for everything under the sun?”

Julian could only give a subdued nod, sipping his tea. He had curled his long fingers around the stoneware, trying to suck in the warmth it provided. “I emailed most other sites, explaining what happened. They've, ah, been very understanding. Along with my bank. Some sites had a registration fee. I didn't know until one mentioned a refund.” Checking his account balance nearly gave him a heart attack; he only had £5.84 to get him through the rest of the week.

And it was only Tuesday.

She hummed. “Have you seen the pictures?”

His heart stopped.

Pictures. Prew had posted PICTURES!

His guest sighed. “I'll take that as a no. Here,” pulling out her phone, she tapped the screen a few times before passing it to him. On it, he could ‘see’ his profile.

Username: CumDump069

Sex: Male

Gender: Male

Orientation: Everyone and everything ;)

Tribe: Hard bottom, sissy

Looking for: Someone to boss me around and hurt me hard! ;lick emoji;

His face went red when it got to the kinks section. Some were actually quite truthful, while others were quite disgusting.

(Now he knows why GoatBoy is so interested in him.)

His heart stopped at the pictures. Some were quite innocent. One was from their day at the beach a few weeks back. The others were personal. Things that should have been kept between them.

(A small part of him was puzzled; the ‘Mods Favorite’ pic was taken of his shirtless back as he sprawled in bed. Others were more risqué, so why is this a fave?)

Glimpsing through some of the comments, he passed her phone back with a snort of disgust. “No, I hadn't. Those were personal, just between us.” He felt hollow, violated. Another muffled chime was heard. Julian sighed, cupping his face and leaning on his elbows.

“Hmm, give me a minute. Oh, the name's Lucille, by the way.” Tapping on her phone again, she placed a call. It only rang through for a few moments before getting picked up. A man's voice could be heard, but it was too quiet for Julian to hear what he said.

“Hey, Ty. What's going on?” Some gibberish. “I know, I know. In fact, I'm sitting in front of him. Thing is, he didn't do it.” An incredulous sound. “Mhmm, ex-girlfriend. Think you can help out?” An affirmative sound, followed by a few more sentences. Lucille turned to him, “do you mind if I put this on speaker? Ty just wants to ask you a few questions.”

“Why not? My weeks already ruined.”

“Awwww, don't be like that. Ty's pretty good at taking care of things. A total Daddy. And you,” she gave him a slow once over, a smirk pulling at her lips, “look like someone Daddy needs to take care of.” Before Julian could sputter out a denial, she put the phone on speaker.

“Hello?”

Julian went redder than a brick house. Lucille snorted, not missing the effect such a dark and growly voice had on him. “He-hello? I'm, uh, Julian. Thank you for helping me?” Dear lord above, he hopes the other didn't hear his voice crack.

“It's no problem, sweetheart. Us kinkster's take things like consent seriously. Now, do you have your computer in front of you? I'm going to be doing some things to your account before we close it.”

Dashing to get his laptop, he plunked it down before sitting. Navigating to the site's main page, he gave an affirmative.

“Nice. So, I'm going to start by locking your profile and changing the username. Afterward, it'll get wiped of your info and a disclaimer put up. Then, it'll be left as is for a few days so word will get spread of just what happened. A week later and it'll disappear like magic.”

“Question. Why leave it up, and not just delete it?”

“Well, your ex probably has you on a couple of different sites, and our community isn't just limited to using just one. This is the quickest way to spread word and have others keep an eye out. As it is, some of your info is already on the deep web.”

Julian's heart sank.

“Unfortunately, honey, the damage is done. All we can do is control. Lucky for you,” Lucille threw him a saucy wink, “a lot of us who use the site have some power and influence. We can keep quiet a bit of your info out of the wrong hands.”

“I'll also give you my personal number, in case some people won't take no for an answer. I'm not worried about our members acting...improper, so much as the damned vanilla community. Fuckers don't understand that no means no.” Ty rattled off a number, one that had an international code.

After a few moments of silence, Julian then saw his profile change. All the photos and info vanished. Stuck to the top of the page was a banner, disclaiming this page as being a ‘compromised account, not to be pursued’ with a small screenshot of what had been listed. Another beat later and his eyebrows vanished into his hairline; a multi-paragraph legal disclaimer popped up, stating things like ‘impersonation’, ‘distribution of personal assets’, ‘revenge pornography’, and a list of sites that are also on the lookout.

This guy has done more to stop and fix the issue than his bank did. And when he called the police, he got laughed at.

“So, that's that. Now for a profile name. You want anything in particular? Unfortunately, I can't leave it blank. The foundational coding throws a fit if left blank.”

“If you let him pick, he'll go with something cutesy. Don't do it.”

“I am beyond the point of caring. I'm tired. I'm hungry. My day has been shit. He can call me ‘kitten’ for all I care.”

“Mmmhhhh, so if I pet you, will you purr for me?” Ty's voice went darker, a strong heat coming through. Julian covered his face as he groaned in mortification. The other let out a rumbly chuckle. “Gotta say, babe, may want to be careful. You can give a guy ideas…”

“Tiberius. Leave him alone.”

“*snort* Oh, you're no fun anymore. Fine, I'll leave sweetheart alone.” A few beats of silence, Ty grumbling under his breath. “There. Got you a new name and everything. I've put extra security on your account in case your ex tries anything. I'll send it to your email. I've also taken care of your registration fee. It's been marked as expedited, so it should be in your account by morning.”

***

Lucille left after everything was wrapped up, also leaving her number as well. Feeling much lighter than before, Julian slept soundly. His good luck must have carried over because his classes the next day were canceled due to a burst pipe, and his supervisory doctor, Dr. Satrinava left him a message to have the day off, he looked like hell.

Having a day off for the first time in a while let him do some much-needed housekeeping. Starting a load of laundry, he tackled the dishes as it ran. Looking into his fridge and pantry reminded him he needed to do some needed grocery shopping. Wondering about what he had to work with, he opened his banking app. He wasn't expecting much, knowing that refunds take a few days to process. He just needs enough to get by until the weekend. Seeing his checking account, he nearly dropped his phone, fingers going numb.

There was £5,000 in his account. He didn't even have a full £1,000 the day before this bullshitfest started, having just paid his rent and utilities. Where the fuck did this come from?

Heart going mad, he looked through his recent transactions. The usual deductions were clear as day, and he could pinpoint the start of Prew's transgressions. Scrolling through, he made a mental note to email a few other sites he must have missed. Coming to today, there was only one thing posted.

March 22nd, 2018 (Con't):

www.darkdelights.com

-£99.99

www.ashleymadison.com

-£19.99

www.sugarandsting.com

-£100.00

March 23, 2018

www.sugarandsting.com

+£100.00

Roman Financial

+£6000.00

Account Balance: +£5007.45

Sinking into his kitchen chair, he gave a shaking exhale. This must be a mistake. There is no way that that money is his. He doesn't even know of a Roman Financial!

***

One panic attack and several hours of being on hold later, and Julian had a few answers. The transfer came directly from a personal bank account. Getting passed around to different levels of the fraud department revealed that the individual called in the transfer and had Julian's account info. Put on hold again, the investigator called Roman for further inquiries. Getting patched into a conference call, the personal accountant of the originator confirmed that yes, it's legit, no, no need for thanks, it's a gift, and will he be okay for right now or does he need more funds until everything is sorted out?

(Julian is embarrassed to admit that he made a sound not unlike an angry teakettle when asked that. He swears he heard the accountant smother a laugh.)

Finishing up the call, he had an internal battle with himself. He knows for a fact that the money has to have come from someone who was a member of one of the ‘sugar baby’ websites. Two of the ones he was signed up for had a listing for a checking account, but both were to what must be Prew's account.

Which means a moderator had to have done it. The question is, why? Is it hush money? Is it a bribe? Settlement?

Or is someone making good on picking him up as a sugar baby? If so, is he spending this money (on greatly needed essentials, granted) implying his agreement to such an arraignment?

He'll need to call Ty on this.

***

Fixing up a cuppa, he curled up on the couch. Wrapping a blanket around his shoulders, Julian scrolled through his phone before selecting Ty's number. Listening to it ring through, he hoped he didn't wake the other. International numbers can be so unpredictable.

“Mrrh’lo?” A rough, gravelly voice rumbled through the speaker. Julian winced, knowing that he did, indeed wake the other man.

“Ah, sorry to wake you, Ty,” he felt so guilty. “But, um, something came up and Lucille made a comment last night that leads me to believe you can answer it and ohgodI'msorryto-”

“Nah, calm down, sweetheart. I've shoulda woke hours ago,” a loud yawn could be heard in the background. “What's goin’ on, babe?”

“...what's sugar baby etiquette?”

“Ooooh, you lookin’ for a Daddy? I'm available if you're interested. I know I certainly am.”

Redder than a hydrant, Julian explained. He stumbled and started a few times, not being familiar with being so frank. He'll flirt up a storm, tease you nice and good, but being this blunt?

Never heard of her.

“Eh, if the accountant says not to worry, then don't. You would have been told directly and in no certain terms what's going on. Hell, a signed contract needs to be established before the relationship can go. If they try to goad you into this, using the money as an excuse, call me. Our site has a top-notch team of rabid lawyers.”

Julian felt himself relax. It's not normal to trust a literal stranger this much after everything that happened, but he has no real choice. It also helps that neither Lucille or Ty are twigging his ‘Stranger Danger’ alarm.

Hearing a chime from his laptop, he opened it. Among the now-familiar deluge of mailbox porn was a friend request.

“I've sent you a request. My handle on Sugar and Sting is ‘NightmareFuel’. A few members are feeling a little worried, so if you're open to it, I can make your profile interactive.”

Julian was left feeling speechless. He's lived in Cambridge for nearly four years, going back home to Kursk rarely. He has few friends this far from home, despite the efforts of Dr. Satrinava, and his ex-girlfriend is doing her best to make him miserable.

And here is a group of rich, kinky bastards who want to make sure he's okay.

***

During dinner, he accepted both the request and decided to make his profile public. Within minutes, he had over a dozen requests, each attached to a message asking how he was doing. Composing himself, he accepted and responded to a few. One linked to a ‘Misc.’ chat board, saying it was kink-free and a good hangout. Logging in, he was bombarded with a variety of greetings, both typed and voice. Dozens of men and women, sounding like they came from all over the world, were treating him like an old friend.

Sweetheart: Hello? It's nice to meet you all.

BangCOCK!: finally! fresh MEAT!

FuckBoysGet$$$: dont you fcuking start

Snek_Boops: Hello! (waves)

Qween: Good evening.

Sweetheart: Wait what? Why is this my handle?

BangCOCK!: (looking @ Fuel)

FuckBoysGet$$$: (looking @ Fuel)

Qween: (looking @ Fuel)

Snek_Boops: Fuel did it!

NightmareFuel: fuck all u motherfuckers suck my dick

Fuck you, Ty. Fuck. You.

***

The next few months, school really ramped up. He was moved to the labs, analyzing samples and diagnosing illnesses. The bar finally got another bartender on hand, along with additional bouncers, lightening his load significantly.

Things with Prew continued to go downhill. He had changed the locks a few days after she left but isn't able to move until his lease is up. He may still be stuck there because not many other buildings have flats within his budget. He's trying to find a better job, but not many places offer good pay and are willing to work around his schedule. Dr. Satrinava is putting out word to her colleagues, but not many are in the market for a student that still has another three years to go before being a fully viable employee.

At least once a week some rando will show up, knocking on his door. Most left him alone when told what's going on, one revealing they found his info on a fucking bathroom stall. A few tried to get handsy regardless. He's already had to send some off with broken noses, one with a broken arm. Last week, he punched a guy so hard that he dislocated his finger along with the guy's teeth.

(Dr. Satrinava gave him the most disappointed look he's received from anyone other than his mother. Due to his splint, he's been relegated to ‘File Boy’.)

His resolve is starting to wear thin. He needs to get out, he needs sleep, and he needs a job that will give him the flexibility required to continue his education. He's thought of asking Ty and the others if they know of anyone willing to hire him, but he doesn't want to lean on them too much. Two already are helping him understand some of the weirder concepts of evolutionary biology.

Looking at his bank account again, Julian sighed. He may not have a choice. Tapping a well-known contact, he shot off a text. Getting a skype invite back, he opened his laptop before launching the app. Putting on his headphones, a wave of nervousness washed over him: with only one exception, all interactions between himself and Ty had someone else present in some way. Granted, they talk nearly every day through Sugar and Sting's chat function but never solo. Until now.

“So, you said you needed a better job?”

Julian jumped, having drifted off. That same low heat pooled in his gut, a familiar friend that comes around every time he hears Ty's voice. “Ah, um, yes. Prew has scrawled my address on many, um, loo stalls and it's just, just-”, he gasped, exhaustion and fear collapsing over his chest. “I just can't take it anymore. I can't sleep, my job sucks, I've had to fight off sever-” Ty cut him off.

“Fight? People have tried to hurt you!? You should have called me when this started! *sigh* Sweetheart, when I said call me if you need help, I meant it. Shit like what your cunt ex did can last for months, if not years. Just…*grumbles*.”

Julian's chest felt tight. “Sorry. I didn't mean to anger you. It's just…”

“Haaaa, I know. And I'm not angry at you. Just the situation. When this started happening I did a bit of background on you, and having such a good, hardworking person get dicked over by some self-perceived princess gets me mad.

Can you give me a few days? I assume you're not looking to be ‘acquired’, so getting something tossed your way may be difficult. I also take it you're looking for something medical-related?”

“Yes, please.” He was quiet, feeling bashful.

“Alright, I'll send you what I find. I may know of a few leads. Have a nice night, Sweetheart.”

#the arcana #julian devorak #tiberius principia #sugar baby scrap

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eternal-reverie · 5 years ago

Note

Ventus, Skuld, and Ava for the character meme?

Ooo alright I’m going to try my best to be more concise!

Ventus

First impression

I think the first time I saw him was in the kh2 secret ending?? Everyone thought “Roxas!” so that’s not unique It was jarring to see this happy go lucky attitude that Sora usually has… in this Roxas lookalike. Then actually playing BBS, I remember finding him very sweet but disappointed he wasn’t as interesting as Roxas? Or to put it differently, his storyline did not seem as compelling as Aqua’s and Terra’s within the same game. This lasted for several years, I did not understand the hype behind him until….

Impression now

khux really cemented in my love for this boy. It felt so odd to see him placed so far in the past but now some things make more sense for him? We briefly see his self-doubt when MX exhorts him to use the darkness and I’m so glad that we see that again in khux in full force. His imposter syndrome is pretty relatable and whatever will happen to his new friends here in khux should strengthen the case of his fear of losing friends in BBS. I don’t know, just the idea of a boy his age intertwined in the heart of a war conflict is really compelling.

Favorite moment

I was going to say when he forcibly unfreezes himself to save Aqua or the moment when he wakes up to save her again in kh3. Those were epic, but my hands down favorite moment is when he opened his arms up to embrace chirithy at the end of kh3 ;~:

Idea for a story

Chirithy sharing stories of Ven’s time in the dandelions to Aqua and Terra would be cute and possibly mind-boggling for those two. Or just a story of him catching up with chirithy after this whole time.

Unpopular opinion

My unpopular opinion was Ven not being able to hold a candle to Roxas but my stance is different now. I guess my unpopular opinion could be that Ven is absolutely not the culprit behind Strelizia’s death??? I mean look at him. He’s a literal baby.

Favorite relationship

This might belong in the above section but I feel like the rest of the union leaders are the better friend group for him rather than Aqua and Terra??? Maybe it’s because they feel more parental while the union leaders feel more like peers? It’s strange to say that since he’s closer to Aqua’s and Terra’s ages than the more apparent age disparity between the other union leaders and him. Ephemera’s and Skuld’s welcoming a friendship towards him really made an impression. Brain and Ven is pretty fascinating too with how brusque Brain is towards him about being assertive.

Favorite headcanon

Ven is the kind of kid to collect things. Just out of pure fascination and sentiment. He goes through a rock phase, feather phase, stamp phase, etc things like that where he carefully finds the containers to put these items to cherish and study. Those items represent moments he would hold dear, like a small rock that Terra accidentally tripped over and they would all laugh or a coin Aqua gives Ven to buy a snack with, but ends up not spending it since it was so shiny. So all these things have a heavy sentimental value to him, and if someone were to take it away or deem it as junk, he would get really upset.

Skuld

First impression

A NEW KH GIRL!!!?!?! WITH LONG BLACK HAIR???? that i could possibly cosplay one day??!?

After that initial impression, she fell under the radar for me since khx was hard to get into back then. But once khux came out globally, she became easier to see and get attached to since she does hang out with player more than Ephemera.

Impression now

I love her strong convictions and I can never tire of looking at her design. I really want to draw her more often.

Ȋ̴̩̘͆͋̑ ̶̡͚̫͛͘͘ẇ̷̧̖̺̻a̴̫͊̍̾̚ń̵̓ͅt̵͔͍̩̅͜ ̷͇̭̏̊͜n̵͎͎̈́̈̽̄̒ó̷̟͕͙͖ͅt̵̮̒h̶̰͖͉̤͑̀̑̃̚į̶̤̤͍̩̈́̈́n̵͈̮͙͕͊͘͝͝g̵͔͕̞̙͗̕ ̸̼̫͇͖̼͊̐̿̾b̶̛̻͖͙̠̯́͝ȧ̶͙̤ḓ̷̽̾̆̕ ̵͔̰̐͆̚t̷̹̬̿̃ô̸͉̻̺ ̵̡̃̐͊ͅẖ̴̻͂̂͑ͅą̶̡̭͇̣͌͘p̴̰̮̐̒̿p̸̻̆ȩ̸̦͍̌n̵̲̦͉̬̰̓͌͊ ̵̧̻̟̭̃̑̈̒͜t̶̘̼̊̓̊ǫ̷̦̎ ̵̙̩̪͎̄͊̄ȟ̸͇̥͉͘ͅͅẽ̶̠̝͂͝r̷̼͑̿̌̕

Favorite moment

She absolutely had her moment when she descends from the light and player calls her a goddess like yo what other character carries that divine energy besides her??? ok maybe strelitzia but that’s a sad example

2nd favorite moment: her conviction against the shift pride rule. She had a firm opinion and wasn’t going to be swayed. Respect.

Idea for a story

Skuld is a great planner and organizer, to the point of pushing herself being so busy as a leader. One day she’s sent off with Ven to look for additional materials for Brain’s experiments but really it’s just a guise for the other union leaders to organize an appreciation picnic for her :D She’s at a loss for words, Then, Ven let slip that it was all Ephemera’s idea which he denies, distributing the credit to everyone else. They have a picnic among the dandelions with lots of sandwiches and pastries, all of which are her favorites.

Unpopular opinion

I don’t think i have any!

Favorite relationship

Skuld with Player is honestly my favorite thing to see. She’s there through the thick and thin for them. Her friendship with Ephemera is so interesting as well since they were in a party together. I miss seeing their interactions.

Favorite headcanon

If you ask her nicely, she’s totally down with doing your make up. She had a lot of practice achieving beautiful makeup looks. She’s those kind of people that are really put together and radiate positive energy, that one can’t help but try to emulate.

Ava

First impression

The foretellers were revealed such a long time ago it feels. I think Ira and Ava stuck out to me the most, the former because I love unicorns and the latter for the pink color scheme of her foreteller outfit. She seemed like the most approachable foreteller since she hung out Ephemera that one scene.

Impression now

She seemed like a straightforward character, always striving to do what’s right but right now I have a lot of doubts. Her clash with Luxu starting the war…her not being present in the kh3 eplilogue. She’s just so hard to grasp now??? And with the new screenshots of her with Brain…

Favorite moment

Her fawning over the chirithy in the test tube MoM kept!

Idea for a story

This is so simple but I want to see her ordering dinner with the other foretellers. Just dinnertime conversation ranging from official talk to annoying things that happened that week for them. Aced gets all worked up and so to mitigate that Ava requests the waiter to bring a candle-lit cake to the table. Once the cake is brought over, the whole restaurant bursts into singing happy birthday, since it is someone as important as a FORETELLER right there. Aced becomes so confused that he forgets what he was upset about and just hesitantly accepts the cake. Gula tries and fails to hold back his laughter. Ira and Invi are late to react, but they join in laughing soon after. After everything calms down, Aced demands who did this, but Ava just gives an innocent smile.

Unpopular opinion

I don’t have any for her either. I guess I’m just tired of the fact that she has the bigger union? I’m just biased since I’m in Unicornis 😆

Favorite relationship

Her relationship with Gula is so tender ;~; and her relationship with MoM is so intriguing. His manner is much more serious whenever he interacts with her.

Favorite headcanon

In her spare time, she like to make trinkets, charms and jewelry to give as gifts to wielders in her union. They often don’t expect her unique gifts.

#khux #kh #kingdom hearts #ventus #skuld #ava #foreteller ava #asks #this took a really long time too x_x

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qqueenofhades · 7 years ago

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Starlight & Strange Magic, Chapter 2: In Which Garcia Flynn Blows Things Up

Rating: M Summary: Lucy Preston, a young American woman, arrives in England in 1887 to teach history at Somerville College, Oxford. London is the capital of the steam and aether and automatonic world, and new innovations are appearing every day. When she meets a mysterious, dangerous mercenary and underworld kingpin, Garcia Flynn, her life takes a turn for the decidedly too interesting. But Lucy has plenty of secrets of her own – not least that she’s from nowhere or nowhen nearby – and she is more than up for the challenge. Available: AO3 Previous: In Which Lucy Preston Makes An Entrance

For a long moment, even as the zeppelin continues to burn and thunder down in pieces, which hit the grass like meteors just a few feet away from Lucy, the world seems eerily silent. So this is him, the man buying enough guns to start a dozen turf wars, who has just shot down a passenger airship and is a wanted criminal across the city – what the hell is he doing here? Aside from the literally flamingly obvious, and he clearly doesn’t intend to be here much longer, as he’s halfway across the lawn and almost out of sight. There is every good reason in the world for Lucy not to go anywhere near this man, especially given what he has just done. If they can prove it was him, at any rate. He could just be a garden-variety psychopath who enjoys watching the world burn (is he Jack the Ripper?) All of it is very likely. But nonetheless, Lucy starts after him.

She has to weave an obstacle course through the hail of fiery debris, sees someone trapped under a plank, and stops to haul it off them, helping them to their feet and telling them to run while still staring ahead into the darkness for Flynn. He is hurrying across the park, has almost reached the London Zoo on the far side, and Lucy has to outright run, never the easiest feat in long skirts, to keep him in sight. He pushes through the gates of the zoo, as if he’s just going to go chill out in the monkey house and wait for things to calm down, and Lucy fights a demented urge to laugh. Or is he going to make a clean sweep, and blow this up too?

Either way, no time to dawdle. She ducks behind the gatehouse as Flynn, as if sensing he’s being followed, looks around sharply. She draws the Colt out of her pocket, checks that a round is chambered, and debates whether to leave her bag behind, as it’s heavy and will slow her down. As well, it contains the rifle that Karl gave her earlier, which might be an unpleasant tip-off that she has now popped up twice to uninvitedly involve herself in his scurrilous business. But if she drops it here, is she going to be able to get back to it?

Very cautiously, she peers out an inch, careful not to break from cover. Flynn has apparently decided that he’s in the clear, because he starts to jog again, and Lucy decides it’s too risky to leave her bag. So she edges out and stays low, darting through the decorative shrubbery and brick-cupolaed, shingle-roofed buildings. London Zoo in this age is no enlightened model of animal welfare; they’re kept indoors in cramped cages, and Lucy can hear distant howls and gibbers and shrieks as they smell the smoke and panic. With flames still scorching the sky an eerie orange behind her, it gives the place an unsettlingly infernal air, as if she has stumbled down into hell in pursuit of the devil, and these are the torments of the damned. She raises her gun, eyes stinging as she squints. She can possibly wing Flynn from here, but it’s risky. If she hurts him but doesn’t finish him, he will be very motivated to run back and express his displeasure. She is a small woman, and he is a tall and formidable-looking man with clearly extensive experience in this sort of thing. She is under no illusions that she can take him hand to hand.

Up ahead, Flynn alters course sharply, cutting toward a small shed behind the African mammals enclosure that might, for all Lucy knows, actually contain a live lion. She hesitates. She has no obligation to go after him alone; she’s a civilian, he’s crazy, and there will be plenty of awkward questions and red flags raised if she is caught with him. Any chance of decent intel on Rittenhouse while she’s in London, not to mention the rest of it, could go up in (more) smoke. But he’s just vanishing inside, and after a final instant, she flings herself after him.

The shed is low and dim and smells strongly of animal fodder, and Flynn has his back to her, checking what looks like a makeshift electric chair. It definitely is something he is going to tie someone to and commence on further unpleasantness, at any rate, and one of the three crates of guns acquired from Dooley this morning is set to the side. Where the other two are, who knows. Probably distributed to his henchmen, who are – what? Dragging survivors off the airship and shaking them down for all their valuables? Is this the most over-the-top and spectacularly overkill jewelry heist in history? If he wanted that, why not just hit up a bank, or –

No time for that. Lucy has the drop on him for an instant longer, and she had damn well better take it. She raises the Colt, training it on the back of his head, and cocks it with a click. “Put your hands up and turn around slowly.”

There is one brief instant where Lucy has the vaguely satisfying impression that he has been completely taken off guard, is shocked and horrified for it, and is scrambling to think how to respond. Then Flynn does as ordered, raising his hands and turning around slowly, so she looks at him full-on for the first time. A flip of dark hair falls over his forehead, and his eyes glitter in the sharp, angular lines of his face. His nose is long, his eyebrows dark and expressive and somehow managing to communicate a singular amount of sass before he’s even said a word. He surveys her up and down, clearly not expecting to be held at gunpoint by a petite woman in tweed and velvet. “Let me guess,” he says, not sounding terribly concerned. “You’re the one that Karl was complaining about this morning.”

This, to say the least, is a rather blasé reaction to someone pointing a gun at your head, no matter who they are, and the smiling-sociopath theory ticks up a few notches as a possibility. His accent isn’t English, or for that matter Irish; it sounds European of some sort. Slavic, if Lucy had to guess. The Times did say “gipsy,” which could mean anything from Czech to Romanian to Hungarian, though most of that is presently part of the Austrian Empire. Mysteries of origin aside, Lucy can already tell that everyone is right. He’s a terrible pain in the ass.

“You shot down that zeppelin,” she says. “Didn’t you?”

Garcia Flynn shrugs. “So?”

“So?” Lucy takes a few steps closer, can see his eyes following the barrel of her gun, and knows as before that if she does fire, she better not miss. Or for that matter, let her attention slip for a single instant. Despite the faint, stinging residue of smoke, his gaze is almost tocker-level unblinking, until she wonders if this man is somehow also powered by wheels and gears instead of flesh and bone. It’s cat and mouse, but even though she has the gun, she has a strong feeling that she’s the mouse. “Is that just what you do, murder people for fun?”

“I – ” Flynn looks first confused, then exasperated, then angry, as if he can’t believe that this tiny historian can appear from nowhere and think she is entitled to an explanation for his recent spectacular spree of homicidal recreation. “Who the hell are you? You’re no peeler, not that they’d risk popping their monocles and taking on women. Just get out of the way, you have no idea what you’re interfering with. We’ll call it square once, but if you try again – ”

“Why did you shoot it down?” Lucy tightens her grip on the gun and aims it between his eyes. As far as her marksmanship skills go, she is not Annie Oakley, but she can hardly miss a broad target less than three yards away, especially when he’s standing there and staring a hole through her. “What’s this, planning to take someone hostage and torture them – for what? Fun? Information? Feed them to the tigers once you were finished, cover your tracks?”

Flynn raises one of those insolent eyebrows at her, as if to remark that she said all that, not him, and he admires her vivid and gruesome imagination. He takes several steps closer, outright daring her to pull the trigger, until they’re only a few feet apart in the dim, earthy-smelling shadows. “You’re brave,” he says. “Coming out here alone. I can respect that. One last offer. Get out, or I kill you. I don’t want to do that, but I will.”

Lucy raises the gun, as if to remind him that one of them is empty-handed here, and it isn’t her (not that she thinks he’d actually need a gun to do it, and she has let him get within grabbing range without firing, she needs to back up). But just then, the door of the shed bangs open, and Lucy whirls around just in time to see Karl and one of the thugs from this morning, dragging an unconscious man. Her gaze locks with Karl’s, there is a mutual and very unfortunate moment of recognition, and she remembers an instant too late that she should not have taken her eyes off Flynn. But he isn’t quite lunging at her – he’s taken too long to react, he’s still just standing there – and as Karl drops the man’s arm, draws his own gun, and points it at Lucy, Lucy spins and fires at Flynn. It’s a wide shot, fast and reckless, just trying to create enough disruption for her to escape, but he stumbles backward, hand to his neck, and a spurt of blood slaps the dark air. She hikes her skirts, hurdles over the unconscious man in her way, and bursts out into the night. There’s a lot of shouting from inside. Karl and the ancillary thuglet might be after her to pay her back for wounding the boss, and whatever temporary truce she established with them in the Croft is very definitely off. She puts her head down and runs like actual hell.

Lucy is winded, gasping, and stabbed agonizingly with a stitch by the time she navigates around the still-burning wreckage of the zeppelin, out a side gate, and into the dark streets of London. This is not a safe time to be wandering around any city, especially this one, and she remembers that the automaton could be waiting for her back at the boarding house. She puts the Colt back in her jacket and removes the tocker dropper instead, checking that she knows how to load and prime it, then pulls the pump to send a crackle of blue energy coruscating in the barrel. If she isn’t careful running with it, she’ll electrocute herself instead, so she dials back the charge, but keeps it tightly in hand. Her heart is hammering, her mouth is dry, and she feels in a state of mild shock. She doesn’t know why. It’s definitely not the first time she’s shot someone.

Once she’s put some distance between herself and Regent’s Park, and because Lucy physically can’t run anymore, she slows to a crawl. Her feet are absolutely killing her, and she might just shuck the boots and walk the rest of the way barefoot, but that is definitely a horrible idea. She limps and labors, wonders if she’s really up to facing that thing if it’s there, and diverts course into one of the narrower, shabbier lanes of Covent Garden. She staggers up to a certain establishment with a red-glass lamp before the door, heads inside, and buys a room with the last of the money she has with her. It comes with a whore named Bella, who is probably about sixteen and looks younger, and Lucy tells her to go to sleep. She pulls off her overskirts and her boots, winces at the mess of her feet, then crawls into the bed and very determinedly does not think too much about what she’s lying on. She wondered if she might lie awake, but instead she passes out to a level barely compatible with continued brain function.

It takes a long time for Lucy to be stirred the next morning, remember why exactly she feels like total death, and why she’s lying in the none-too-clean sheets of a bed in a Victorian brothel. Filmy, indeterminate sunlight slants in the grimy window, and while she will definitely want to wash thoroughly when she gets back to the boarding house, it’s better than being murdered by one of any number of potential culprits. Lucy sits upright slowly, grimacing, and catches sight of Bella digging through her bag, as most whores will when a client (even if, in this case, only in the loosest sense) falls asleep. “Hey. Hey, leave that alone.”

Bella jumps and drops the bag with a clunk. She looks at Lucy guiltily, and with a hint of fear and respect alike. “I’ve never seen a lady as has so many guns, mum.”

“Yes, well.” Lucy rubs her face. “Never mind that. Did you steal anything?”

“No, mum.”

“Are you sure? It’s important.”

“No, mum.” Bella holds out her hands, as if in proof. “Only nick from the ones who deserve it.”

Lucy grimaces. After a pause she says, “Have you heard of the Church Penitentiary Association? It’s for women of your – of your profession. It’s not a workhouse, and it would be better for you than here, could teach you a different kind of trade, if you want. I could take you over there.”

Bella goggles at her as if Lucy’s asked if she wants to walk on the moon. “The what?”

“The Church Penitentiary Association for the Reclamation of Fallen Women.” It’s a mouthful, and Lucy hopes it still exists here, since as far as she knows, William Gladstone established it in 1848. For everything you can justly say about this era, at least the institutional church is concerned with actually helping widows, orphans, the poor, the homeless, prostitutes, thieves, and other members of the invisible underclass, in a way that other incarnations of it could take a lesson from. Protestant evangelism and social reform is very much afoot, in other words, and Lucy just doesn’t want to leave this child here to get brutalized by however many more men. She can’t save all the whores in London, but still (and besides, you won’t want to be a lady of the evening in Whitechapel in 1888). “Look, I know where it is, I’ll take you. Do you want to go?”

Bella looks justifiably frightened, as if this is a trick or test to catch her out or take her somewhere even worse. “Mr. Carr, he who owns the house. I don’t think he’d be ‘appy.”

“Well,” Lucy says, nodding at her bag. “Guns.”

“Why’d you do that, mum?”

“Because I’d like to.” Lucy stands up, and immediately regrets it as her raw-hamburger feet hit the floor. She can’t face the prospect of stuffing them back into her boots, which is a problem, but maybe she can just suffer it for a little longer. “If you want to go.”

Bella considers that. Finally she offers, “I can please you if you want, mum? I know how to do it with ladies.”

“No, no thank you,” Lucy says hastily. “I don’t want that in exchange, or anything else. If you really want to stay here, I suppose I can’t stop you, but… I just thought I’d offer.”

The young whore blinks, still confused and waiting for a catch, but then she looks up and firms her chin. “I wouldn’t mind seein’ you shoot Mr. Carr, mum, and that’s God’s truth. S’pose if them church types are too bad, I can run away again.”

With that, she gets up, puts on her slippers, and grabs a small calico bag out from under the floorboards, which probably contains all her worldly possessions. Lucy wonders what her parents died from – typhoid, dysentery, cholera? Any of the epidemics that still can take out entire tenements, though less so since Joseph Bazalgette finally finished his pioneering outfall sewer system about ten years ago and reduced the virulent pollution and stink of the Thames. Bazalgette is one of the unsung heroes of the Victorian or any era, a civil engineer who saved countless lives and introduced the concept of modern sanitation systems and waste treatment, but as Lucy has noted, even the new technology and science and magic (if that’s what you want to call it) available here has not made the lives of the grindingly poor any more enjoyable. It almost personally offends her. All this possibility, and you still don’t do anything with it?

She sneaks Bella down the back stairs as the rest of the brothel is waking up and doing its morning laundry and shooing out hungover johns who want to stay later without paying. They emerge into the alley without being caught, and walk as quickly as Lucy can, but she gets Bella to the headquarters of the Association on Harley Street and into the care of a pair of ward sisters. Bella squeezes her hand with her small, grimy ones, and solemnly promises Lucy that if she can ever help her sometime in the future, she has only to say. She won’t forget this, mum, she won’t.

Lucy tells her it’s all right, makes her promise not to run off, and then finally departs, feeling like she’s been beaten with a nightstick and desperate for a proper bath and sleep. She can’t help but wondering if she has now added Mr. Carr, who sounds like the kind of well-adjusted, respectful-of-women, and not-at-all-violent man who owns a brothel in Victorian London, to her sizeable list of enemies, once he finds out that some of his property is missing and a funny American woman was the last person spotted with her. Between him, Flynn and his gang, the automaton, and Rittenhouse, it will absolutely be a miracle if Lucy gets out of this city alive. Maybe she should just leave for Oxford today. It seems safer than staying here any longer.

At last, Lucy staggers up to the boarding house, where Mrs. McBride is volubly relieved to see her. “Thought ye might have gotten mixed up in the airship disaster, Mrs. Preston. Hear about that? All over the papers this morning. A zeppelin crashed in Regent’s Park, and Mr. Stanley missing. A terrible shock for everyone, sure. But they’ll sort the villain that did it, you’ll see.”

“What?” Lucy has already decided that she does not need to tell this nice middle-aged Irish Catholic landlady the least thing about how wildly eventful her last twenty-four hours were, nor that she almost sorted the villain herself, but at that, she frowns. “Mr. Stanley?” That name sounds familiar. “Which Mr. Stanley, and why is he missing?”

Mrs. McBride pushes the morning edition of the Times at her. A black-and-white photograph of the burning zeppelin is splashed all over the front page, and the banner headline blares, AIRSHIP TRAGEDY SHOCKS LONDON; FAMED AFRICAN EXPLORER MISSING; CULPRITS STILL AT LARGE. Underneath, the article goes on to explain how the passenger service arriving from Brussels last evening was downed by an unknown incendiary device, crashing in Regent’s Park with considerable property damage and public terror. Loss of life has been thankfully minor, as most people managed to escape in time, but there are still six confirmed dead, as well as ten or twelve unaccounted for. Several dozen have suffered injuries of some degree, and both Houses of Parliament are in an uproar as they demand a full investigation into the outrage and prompt punishment for those responsible. Everyone from Irish republicans to anarchists to Marxists are being blamed, sometimes all at once. To compound the insult, Henry Morton Stanley, famed for his voyages to the Dark Continent of Africa, may be a victim. He was traveling aboard the airship, and has not been seen hide nor hair of.

At that, a bolt of lightning goes down Lucy’s back. Henry Morton Stanley – yes, he’s one of the major explorers of the Victorian era, he of “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” fame, upon locating the lost Scottish missionary deep in the African bush. He goes to find the source of the Nile and the Congo basin and other expeditions to Africa that earn him the pomp and approval of imperial Britain, including eventually a knighthood. He’s also a terrible, terrible person even by nineteenth-century imperial British standards: virulently racist, fond of force, instrumental in opening central Africa to plundering, colonizing, and exploitation, and the right-hand man of Leopold II of Belgium in running his genocidal empire in the Congo. He’s supposed to be in Africa right now, in fact, but if he was returning from Brussels to London, he was probably meeting Leopold on the down-low. As she stares at the photograph of the esteemed explorer, Lucy realizes that she knows exactly where Henry Morton Stanley is right now. Or rather, where he was last night. In a shed out behind the African mammals exhibit at the London Zoo, unconscious, as she jumped over him and ran.

“Mrs. Preston?” Mrs. McBride frowns at her. “You look a bit peaky, if you won’t mind my saying. Perhaps I should put the kettle on?”

“That – that would be nice.” Lucy sits down heavily, still staring at the newspaper, as the landlady bustles into the kitchen. Her head is whirling. Did Flynn shoot down an entire airship just to get his hands on Stanley? He must have been tipped off somehow, learned that he was planning to travel on that crossing, and pulled together this whole operation at extremely short notice. While Lucy can’t say that she disapproves of the irony of feeding Stanley to lions and tigers, as she suggested last night, she doesn’t see Karl and the others going to the bother of saving him from the crash just to kill him outright. Flynn was going to pump him for information, or at least he was. Then Lucy shot him in the neck, which probably threw a wrench into his plans for the evening. What the hell?

Mrs. McBride returns with her tea, which Lucy sips in a state of extreme distraction. Flynn did say that she didn’t know what she was interfering with, and this suggests a considerably more sophisticated degree of strategy and intention than just blowing something up to see it go boom. Knowing Stanley was going to be on the airship. Getting enough weaponry to take it down, and then successfully doing that. Having his men in position to drag the explorer out of the wreckage and convey him to a prepared location for interrogation. Ask him – what? It can’t just be how he sleeps at night, though Lucy wonders that too. Unless –

Oh God. Is Stanley Rittenhouse? He fits the profile a little too well, but not every terrible person in history has been part of a cultish secret society. Sometimes people are just awful dicks because that’s humanity for you; you don’t get the luxury of putting them all in one bad-apple box. But given that Lucy is here because there is reason to suspect that Rittenhouse is trying to expand their operations, and because she was just thinking yesterday that they might target Queen Victoria, they have plenty to offer Stanley. Maybe that is why he cut his expedition short and returned to Europe. Is Leopold part of the package too? You’d hardly think he could get any worse, but if Rittenhouse has promised to make sure that his regime endures –

This is at least plausible, much as Lucy wishes it wasn’t. But the problem is that it would require Flynn to know, or at least suspect, that Rittenhouse had made overtures to Stanley. Which in turn would mean that he knows… about Rittenhouse.

That isn’t possible. That isn’t possible for any number of reasons. He could have been targeting Stanley because he’s actually an ass-backwards vigilante Dark Knight who is giving racist imperial mass murderers what they deserve. And since Lucy doesn’t know if Stanley is in fact Rittenhouse, or even approached by them, this is a lot of conjecture with very little solid basis. For all she knows, Stanley is involved in shady business deals and owes a lot of money to Flynn’s racketeering schemes. Lucy is not about to put her back out of joint rescuing this jackass, but she would be unwise to let this go entirely, and she needs to be careful. People must have seen her around the Croft yesterday, with Dooley and then with Karl, and it must be already whispered in the underworld that Flynn is responsible for the airship downing. They’re not going to take the risk of grassing on him to this strange American woman. (Definitely for the best that they have no idea how strange.)

Lucy is still dangling from the horns of her dilemma when the door opens, Mrs. McBride looks up, and utters a sharp sound of consternation. “Seamus! What happened to you, love?”

“I’m fine, Mam.” Her son in fact looks quite a bit less than fine, as he has a handsome black eye, a cut on his cheek, and blood running from his nose. “Gang of gobshites in the street, they threw a paving stone at me and said it was probably the filthy Catholics had blown the airship up. Scarpered like cowards. I promise, it’s not that bad.”

Mrs. McBride does not appear inclined to take his word for it, and as she is fussing over him with hot water and a cloth, Lucy doesn’t feel that the time is right to butt in and ask if either of them spotted a large and dangerous automaton outside last night. Instead, as she does know exactly who blew the airship up, she can’t help but feel obliquely responsible, even though she isn’t. She gets up, goes upstairs, and has a quick wash. Then she changes out of her bedraggled clothes, forces her abused feet into a pair of much sturdier and plainer shoes, and reloads the Colt. Puts the derringer in her jacket, the tocker dropper in her bag, and thus liable to clank slightly when she walks, heads out.

London is abuzz with nothing else but whispers of the drama. Everyone seems to have their own theory on what has happened, though most of these lack even a vague acquaintance with the truth (possibly for the best). Lucy makes her way back to University College, where – apparently properly chastened by Ada yesterday – Hubert the porter meekly lets her into the Royal Historical Society archives without complaint. The Analytical Engine seems to be running, though there is a weedy undergraduate in a three-piece suit who is instructing it to fetch him apparently everything ever written on Ancient Rome, and who gives Lucy a miffed look that she won’t just stand there and let him hog it for the next five hours. Finally, when she’s cleared her throat for the third time, and he has enough to be getting on with anyway, he scoops his books out of the tray and scurries off, and she waits for the gears to cool down a little. Then, since this time she has a better idea what to look for, she says, “Garcia Flynn AND crime AND London.”

It’s known as a Boolean search (George Boole was another contemporary of Ada and her intellectual circle, a mathematician and logician who helped establish the technological information age) and Lucy figures it will work here. That way, she won’t get results about every godforsaken Flynn that has ever been written about, but just whatever contains Garcia Flynn, crime, and London together. That should make it a lot easier to sift through.

Indeed, the stacks of newspapers and a few booklets that roll through the trapdoor are much less intimidating in size, and Lucy scoops them up. She will only be able to access information in the public domain, and which University College owns a copy of – in other words, she won’t get any secret state papers or private dossiers that the Government (she has found out that Gladstone is still prime minister, doubtless Not Amusing Victoria, who famously complains that he speaks to her as if she was a state meeting and not a person) might have compiled on a known threat. But maybe it will get her started.

It does, at that. The first reference she can find to Flynn’s presence in London is in February 1885, just after the end of the Berlin Conference – a three-month-long event where the European powers formalized the “Scramble for Africa” and all staked their claims as to who got what piece of it. Lucy recalls that Stanley was there as an American delegate, even though he’s English (or strictly speaking, Welsh) by birth. Otto von Bismarck chaired the whole thing, and among other things, it’s where the gathered European powers confirmed Leopold of Belgium’s right to his “Congo Free State” (viz., murdering up to ten million Africans for rubber and ivory). Has Flynn been hunting Stanley, or other attendees of the Berlin Conference, all this time? Yes, that is the kind of sordid and evil world-domination event that Rittenhouse would want to get in on, and there could have been all kinds of potential recruits that they might have tried to tap as a result, but that still assumes that Flynn knows about Rittenhouse. He can’t.

Lucy rubs her eyes, trying to focus on the lines of smeared old type. The papers, when they mention Flynn’s activities at all, do so in the disparaging tone of the establishment who can’t understand why this upstart doesn’t see that society is perfect the way it is, and it’s not very informative. There are dark rumors. In January 1886, one of the more sensationalist newspapers, the Daily Trumpet, informs its readers that the mysterious crime lord Garcia Flynn killed his own wife and child, which Lucy takes with a considerable grain of salt. However, the claim is then repeated in the Telegraph, with somewhat more information: the murders took place in 1884, in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, the coastal sliver of Croatia that is presently part of the Austrian Empire. Flynn ran for it after that, and has otherwise not behaved like an innocent man.

Considering that he threatened to kill her when they were face to face at the zoo, Lucy has to admit that it doesn’t seem out of character. She puts the papers down with a frown, thinking that the last thing she needs is a repeat engagement with this man, especially after she shot him and disrupted his carefully planned capture and interrogation of Stanley. But she also has questions that she can’t see an easy way of getting an answer to, and she doesn’t want to leave London, wise as it may be to do so, without them. Assuming that she’ll still be alive in a fortnight to go up to Oxford seems like a gamble, but as Bella said, she does have guns.

Lucy gets up, puts the newspapers back in the tray, and leaves University College, stepping out and trying to decide on her next move. She could go back to the Croft, as Flynn is clearly well-known and infamous there, but good luck trying to get someone to talk, and Dooley, if he just sold three crates of weapons used in the scandal of the decade, has probably packed his bags and gotten the hell out of Dodge. Finally, Lucy remembers that there’s a pub on Tower Hill that caters to the same general clientele as the Croft, and indeed is informally known as Traitor’s Gate, after the portcullis in the Tower of London where condemned prisoners entered by boat from the Thames. Someone there has to know something. She can try.

Traitor’s Gate is not the kind of place that should be visited by night or even, for that matter, by day, but Lucy is armed, and she is used to people underestimating a small and outwardly not-frightening woman. She takes a hackney to Fenchurch Street, then gets out and walks. It’s a cold, sour-looking day, wind whipping hard off the murky Thames, and she claps a hand to her hat to stop it from blowing off. A few passing gentlemen give her odd looks, as if an unescorted lady is a terrible affront to their patriarchal sensibilities, but at least they don’t push it.

Lucy reaches All Hallows-by-the-Tower, an ancient Saxon church where William Penn was baptized in 1644 and John Quincy Adams got married in 1797, crosses the garth and looks for the door at the bottom of the steps, and uses the same key she did for the Croft to open it. There’s a long, low tunnel that briefly forces even her to stoop, and then she emerges into a taproom built into the ground. She can hear the thump and treadle of steam pumps rattling through the pipes in the brick walls, keeping the Thames from flooding in. It’s warm and dim and smells like tobacco and cheap alcohol. There aren’t many patrons here in early afternoon, but all the heads that turn toward her wear expressions that are far from friendly.

Lucy takes a deep breath, reminds herself that she has as much right to be here as anyone, and touches the Colt in her skirt pocket, reminding herself that it’s there. She strolls up to the counter and leans on it. “One whisky, please. Neat.”

“We don’t serve ladies.” The barman, sporting an impressive set of mutton-chop whiskers and a stained serge waistcoat, doesn’t even turn around. “Especially not strangers. Suggest you leave, mum, before it’s difficult.”

Lucy grits her teeth. Slightly louder, as if he might not have heard her the first time, she repeats, “Whisky. Neat. And I’m not a stranger, by the way. What exactly would Flynn think, if you didn’t serve me?”

This, obviously, is an utter bluff – Flynn is the last person in the world who would care whether or not she got served in a bar, given that she, you know, shot him – but she intended to make the barman panic, and it works. He whirls around, stares at her up and down as his brain clearly cannot quite process how she might know Flynn, but can’t take the risk that she doesn’t. He grudgingly pulls one of the whisky bottles off the rack and decants it into a glass, and Lucy pushes a few coins over the bar. She takes a very small sip, as whisky isn’t her usual tipple, but it’s rare enough to see a lone woman drinking in public at all, let alone such an uncultured working-stiff libation as this, that she’s definitely drawn notice. Good. She can’t really find Flynn herself, so the best option seems to be to let him find her.

Lucy nurses the whisky in brief, burning bits, supposing that they probably don’t have a kitchen here to order late lunch, and wonders how long it’ll take. Depends on how angry Flynn is, most likely. She has seen a few men whispering in the corner and glancing at her, and one of them gets up and casually drifts out. A faro game has been abandoned, and the glowing green dregs in a glass, along with the distinctive whiff of anise, means that someone has been drinking absinthe. Lucy almost wants to try it, just for the experience, but she needs to keep a clear head right now. She hopes this doesn’t turn into a shootout, but she has to be prepared for anything.

At length, the man who left reappears, as Lucy has mostly finished the whisky and feels just buzzed enough to be fearless. He goes back to whisper to his comrades, and then they all stand up, crack their knuckles, and start toward Lucy. She lets them think she hasn’t noticed for a moment longer, then gets to her feet, draws the Colt, and turns around. “Afternoon, gentlemen.”

There are startled looks at the presence of a firearm, which strikes her as stupid – she had one yesterday, she nailed their boss with it, did they think she suddenly forgot? There seems to be a brief discomfort with the idea of getting rough with a woman, but the one nearest to her appears to feel that he can shoulder the noble burden. He makes a grab for her, Lucy whirls aside, and the barman squawks in distress. “Mulroney, don’t, she’s one of – ”

Mulroney is clearly about to inform this idiot that no, she definitely is not one of theirs, but at that moment, a door swings open with a bang, a hush falls over the entire taproom, and Lucy doesn’t even need to look around to know who just entered. A chill goes down her back – yes, she wanted this to happen, but she’s now officially on extremely thin ice – and she knows that this coterie of experienced criminals are not scared of Flynn just because the Daily Trumpet prints hand-wringing articles. That is a certain and definite power, to silence an entire bar when you saunter in, and she turns her head, though she doesn’t need to confirm, to see.

Garcia Flynn looks much too tall for the low-ceilinged room, and has inclined his head slightly so as not to hit it on the mossy bricks. The side of his neck is clumsily stitched up – it looks like he might have done it himself – and he’s wearing a white shirt, suspenders, and crisp pinstriped trousers that look too nice for these breeds of ruffians. His suit jacket is slung over his arm, and he throws it over the back of the nearest chair; the other man who was sitting at the table grabs his drink, jumps up, and vacates it at high speed. There’s a holster strapped over Flynn’s left shoulder, containing a heavy Prussian revolver, and that’s only the gun Lucy can see. He probably has half a dozen more God knows where.

“Afternoon,” Flynn says, once he has deigned to break the silence. Even without the smoke, his voice is gravelly, rough and intense. “Anybody going to buy me a drink?”

There’s a collective scramble as the patrons hurry toward the bar, the barman is already pouring something, and Flynn reaches over for it with the same cool, unhurried demeanor. He takes a sip, staring straight at Lucy. With a graceful, sarcastic gesture, he says, “I don’t believe we have been formally introduced, madam. You are – ?”

Lucy hesitates just long enough to make it obvious that she’s fishing for a lie, and Flynn gives her a warning look. “I wouldn’t.”

“Lucy.” It feels kicked out of her, but she draws herself up and stares at him as defiantly as she can. “Lucy Preston.”

“Lucy Preston.” He repeats it, his accent giving it a particular lilt, then jerks his head at the table. “Well, Lucy. We have to stop meeting like this, don’t we?”

It’s on the tip of Lucy’s tongue to ask him where exactly he gets off saying that to her at their second meeting, but since the choice is clearly either to sit down by herself or have the goons drag her, she makes her way over and takes the chair with cool, icy dignity, smoothing her skirts. Flynn sits across from her, which doesn’t really reduce his size. He solidly blocks out the air around him, broad-shouldered, barrel-chested, and arms heavily muscled, and he could clearly snap her like a twig if he took a mind to it, even if she might be able to get a few shots off first. She instinctively shifts back, trying to establish more space, but it doesn’t work. She just has to stare at him, as everyone makes a valiant effort to look as if they’re going back to their business and have just made a tactical decision to become abruptly blind, deaf, and dumb. Then, plucking up her nerve, she says, “Where’s Stanley?”

One of Flynn’s eyebrows raises. Then he shrugs. “Read the newspaper this morning, then?”

“That and a few others.” Lucy clenches her hands in her lap. “Apparently you have a reputation.”

Flynn grins, as if he doesn’t see why he should bother denying it. His teeth are very white and straight; he probably has a nice smile when he isn’t, you know, being psychotic. “What do you want, Lucy? Turning up here after what happened last night? That is very foolish, don’t you think? Especially now that I know your name. I already told you once to get out of my way. You should not count on there being a twice.”

Lucy has no reason to believe he doesn’t mean it, and is well aware that she is already playing with fire (literally, given his apparent propensity for explosions). She needs to choose her next words carefully, and he lifts his glass for another drink, never taking his eyes off her. She did shoot him last night, he’s not about to underestimate or laugh off her danger, and though she senses he might be genuinely impressed, it’s not enough on its own to protect her. Finally she says, “I’m not interested in rescuing Stanley. I was just wondering why you wanted him.”

“He is a dick.” Flynn still appears to be enjoying this somehow. “Isn’t that enough?”

“Yes, he is, but no, it’s not.” Lucy holds his stare. “How long have you been trying to get your hands on him? Since Berlin?”

That, finally, catches Flynn off guard. He glances away, and his eyes have lost their amusement when they flick back to her. “So you have been reading up, haven’t you? What else did you find out about me?”

Lucy hesitates, but only briefly. He has to know, or at least guess, that she’s come across it. “You killed your own family.”

Flynn’s mouth twists. He doesn’t answer at once to confirm or deny it, though he polishes off his drink in a long slug, throat muscles working, then shoves the glass aside and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Who are you?” he says instead, low and sleek. “Some plucky American lady detective who has read too much Arthur Conan Doyle? You walk in here – in here – and think I’m going to tell you what I’m doing. . . why?”

“Because.” Lucy really isn’t sure if she should do this, but she’s backed herself into a corner now, and sometimes the only way out is through. “I’m wondering if it has anything to do with Rittenhouse.”

There’s a moment of total, stunned silence, and then Flynn’s eyes flare like West End floodlights. His hand flashes out, fast as a viper, and snatches her wrist, half-dragging her over the table toward him; she knocks his glass off and it falls to the floor with a crash. “What,” he breathes in her face, half a whisper and half a snarl, “do you know about Rittenhouse?”

Lucy would normally be too busy being floored that he knows about Rittenhouse, but he still has hold of her wrist, and his grip is bruisingly strong. She pulls at it to no avail, trying to loosen his fingers, until he finally looks at her face, seems to decide that she won’t run, and lets go very slowly. “Is that why you were there last night? To kill me and rescue Stanley? You’re one of them, aren’t you? Of course. That explains it. Well, Lucy Preston, I’m very sorry, but as that’s the case, I am unfortunately going to have to – ”

“I’m not one of them anymore. I used to be.” Lucy can feel her pulse hammering in the indents of his fingers. “They took everything away from me. I’m – I am not loyal to them.”

If Flynn doesn’t believe this, she’s toast, but something about the rawness and anger in her tone catches at him. He sits back and stares at her as if the Rosetta Stone has just dropped into his lap, as if this might be a new and exciting opportunity he has never considered. Lucy’s head is still spinning, because – how? To put it in the simplest possible terms, Rittenhouse is not from his reality. There is no way, at least that she has ever encountered (and that is a lot) for him to know.

There is a very, very tenuous pause as both of them size each other up. Flynn licks his lips, looking as if he’s on the verge of marching her off to continue this conversation somewhere more private, and Lucy is pretty sure she’ll have to put up a struggle if that happens. Then the door bangs again, making everyone’s heads swivel once more, and a large, red-faced man storms in, waving a heavy stagecoach pistol. “Where is she?” he bellows. “Where’s the American bitch? Heard she was here, bring her out!”

Lucy has just enough time to consider that her plan to reveal herself to the underworld has really gone far too well, but she has no idea who this man is, much less why he would be looking for her. But as she jumps up, Flynn grabs her adroitly from behind and spins her around in front of him – evidently he feels that if there’s any chance of shooting, it’s her turn to catch a few bullets, especially since she was the cause of him doing so last time. He also seems interested in discovering the source of the commotion, and calls over, “You mean her?”

The angry bloke wheels around, spots them, and comes charging over. Lucy is starting to have a bad feeling she knows who he is, and in another moment, that hunch is unfortunately confirmed. “You! Are you the bitch who stole my working girl? You’ve robbed me, thieved me! Either we go right now and fetch her, or I’ll make you go back in her place!”

“Mr. – Carr?” With him in front of her, spraying spittle, and Flynn behind her, arm still around her neck, Lucy is honestly terrified, and her knees feel like water, but she struggles to lock them and speak as calmly as she can. “I presume?”

“Yes, you bloody well presume, bitch. What did you do with my Bella? The girls said she vanished from the house this morning, with some meddling American cunt. You fetch her bloody back, I said, or you can – ”

“Mr. Carr, you have absolutely no right to Bella, or for that matter, any of the other women.” Lucy wonders if she can get to her gun, but her arm is awkwardly pinned to her side by Flynn’s grip and she can’t solve all of her problems by shooting them. There are too many witnesses, and to say the least, she’s already in enough trouble. “I’m not going to tell you where she is, and I’m certainly not going to take up her former employment, so why don’t you just – ”

At that, several things happen at once. The first is that Mr. Carr spits full in her face, thick and phlegmy and whiffing vilely of tobacco, the second is that she lets out an involuntary squeal of disgust and struggles to get it off, and the third is that Flynn, never letting go of Lucy, shifts his grip on her to the other arm, draws his revolver, and shoots Mr. Carr point-blank in the head. The report, directly next to Lucy’s ear, is deafening, and she can only hear a muffled, tinny ringing on that side, in a way that means it’s going to take a while for it to come back. There is an explosion of blood and brain and broken skull, and Mr. Carr goes down cold.

In the split second while everyone is staring at the dead brothel owner, Lucy moves. She jabs an elbow ferociously into Flynn’s gut, stamps on his foot, and twists herself out of his arm lock, punching him hard in the face as he lunges at her. He drops the gun, she grabs a drink from a nearby table and throws it in his eyes, then vaults over it, tearing her petticoat on a loose nail. The crowd is already pushing and jostling to every side, some toward Flynn and some toward the dead man and some for the goddamn exit like sensible people, and he can’t catch up to Lucy, especially as she reaches the passage on the far side and runs flat-out. Oh God. She doesn’t know why Flynn shot Carr, aside from the fact that he was clearly a mad dog and was going to make trouble, but she certainly isn’t staying to ask. Oh God. Flynn knows about Rittenhouse. How, how does he know about Rittenhouse? More than that, he was ready to kill her if she was working for them, and does that mean –

Lucy doesn’t know. Right now, she just wants as much space between her and this place as possible, and she doesn’t dare look back. Finally reaches the end of the tunnel and scrambles up the stairs on all fours, scraping her palms, and staggers out into the cold dusk. Shit, it’s past sunset, she’s too late. She can’t go back to the boarding house now (and it might not be smart to go back for a while, what with the draco dormiens she has sharply and repeatedly titillanded in the oculus). It might have to be Harley Street after all. Maybe she and Bella can be roommates.

There’s a crash from the tunnel below, and distant shouting. Lucy doesn’t wait around for further inspection. Once more, like escaping London Zoo last night, she runs.

#timeless #timeless ff #garcy #garcy ff #lucy x flynn #starlight & strange magic #steampunk au

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