#I took 2 extra jobs for the purpose of saving up and quitting this one

[thegreenmeridian]

Camera on my phone is fucked and I’ve decided it’s Art

[skania]

The Final Stroke: Thoughts on Haru's conflict (+Rin)

Okay so reading all the summaries of The Final Stroke Part 1 has left me with A LOT of thoughts. About Haru, about Rin, about Rin & Haru and how all the different character conflicts will be tied together in Part 2.

BUT since I have been waiting YEARS for Free! to feed me some juicy Haru conflict, of course I'm sinking my teeth into that first because peeling off Haru's layers has always been my favorite Free! sport.

It's been a long while since I've tried to get into Haru's head AND I haven't even watched the movie yet so I'm probably wrong, but here goes nothing. As per usual, it will be long and image-heavy because I can't keep things short and sweet to save my life.

Also, it's heavy on spoilers about The Final Stroke so please do not read without reading Fencer's summary first!

AND since it's basically impossible to discuss Haru without discussing Rin and vice-versa, please do also expect a healthy dose of RinHaru.

Utsumi: Indeed; it’s a path Haruka never would have chosen himself. But despite claims that he doesn’t care about winning or losing or scoring certain times, he’s always been attentive to Rin’s presence. [x]

Please assume there's a huge "IMO" attached to this whole post.

In Season 1, we saw Haru struggle to understand that the reason for his emotional turmoil was quite simply that he wanted to swim with Rin again.

In Season 2, we saw Haru struggle because he wanted to follow Rin into the Pro world, but he felt like he didn't deserve to do so because he didn't have a dream and thus, no strong feelings about competitive swimming itself.

Needless to say, there's a pattern.

In Season 3, the series kind of took a detour. Still, it did plant some seeds, the most important IMO being the following:

"After I hit 20, I will be..."

"If you ask me what lies ahead of me, I..."

"You can't survive without throwing something away. I didn't want to throw anything away. But I lost."

"Maybe I don't deserve to compete at the global level."

Road to the World adds some extra layers to all that by showing us just what else is connected to that fear of Haru's.

Because, what do we see after Rin tells Haru that no matter what wall [Rin] faces, the one thing that doesn't change is his desire to keep swimming with [Haru]?

We see the moment Rin tells Haru "aim for the world with me, Haru!". Then, the moment Rin asks Haru what his dream is—right when Haru finally felt free after achieving the dream he had that season, that of swimming with Rin again. Lastly, we see the moment Rin asks Haru "what will you do?" when it comes to choosing between swimming in a recreational pool, or the one used by the National Team.

Every single one of these moments brought Haru closer to his dream—and Rin is the common factor in them all. So when Rin tells Haru,

It's obvious by those flashbacks alone what Haru's answer is. He, too, wants to keep swimming with Rin in that world.

But before the thought can fully form in Haru's mind, Albert flashes through it. We immediately see Haru's disposition change, and the result is the most telling of all.

Just like always, the imagery is on point. Rin and his desire to swim with him give Haru strength and purpose and Haru clenches his fist—but this time, Albert seeps that strength from him until his fist goes limp. And suddenly, Haru doesn't know what to say to Rin anymore.

Because, what Albert makes Haru wonder, is this:

From my limited perspective (like I said before, I haven't watched TFS yet), I think that might just be where the heart of Haru's issue in The Final Stroke lies.

I think a big part of why Haru wants to win against Albert so badly is probably because he wants to prove to himself that he does deserve to be in that world—like Rin. That all his friends are right to believe in him.

And he feels even more pressured because he thinks he's running out of time.

All this pressure to win—not to feel the water better or to be the best in the water he loves so much, but simply to win before he's "ordinary"—does not let Haru swim freely. He doesn’t swim like himself.

He is probably terrified of his own limits and of how close he might be to hitting them, and this fear and pressure are binding him.

Moreover, while Haru decided that he wanted to swim in that world, the truth is that he doesn’t know what the future holds for him.

He has no long-term, tangible plans. Unlike Rin, who wants to win a gold medal, Haru just wants to swim "in the whole world". This, added to the fact that he thinks he’ll be ordinary by 20 and that he has not managed to beat Albert, makes it so Haru is basically blinded to what the future can bring for him. He can’t see that sight.

Part of the reason for this, I feel, is that the series has never addressed the big elephant in the room.

What exactly does Haru get out of competitive swimming, besides swimming with Rin? Because "swimming in that world" is nice and sweet and idealistic, but it doesn't cover the fact of racing itself.

I used to talk a lot about why Haru needed to find a reason to enjoy competing even when it isn't against Rin. That he needed to find a reason to want that for himself. I even thought S3 may finally go for it, but it ended without Haru finding meaning in that "world of wins and losses", as he used to call it.

Usually, he’d look at Rin to point the way forward. And it is knowing that Rin (and to a lesser extent, Ikuya) is there fighting with him and aiming for the world as well that gives Haru some reassurance.

However, from what we know from the summaries, Haru isn’t thinking of them when he swims. He is entirely caught up on needing to beat Albert because of what it has come to represent to him.

There’s also the issue of Haru’s competitiveness. Haru spent a long time suppressing it and only indulging in it with Rin. But he has always wanted to be the best in the water—the one who "feels" it best.

It wasn’t that he wanted to win, or that he hated losing; it was just that he couldn’t simply accept that there was someone who could feel the water more than he could. (x)

So when you combine all of this, I feel like Haru has lost sight of the most important thing—that instead of swimming just to win, like it’s a job, he should swim to feel the water he loves so much and, most importantly, for the team (with his friend’s feelings in his heart).

That way, he could swim like himself and the water won’t be sad nor lonely.

This all sounds like a lot and it is. Haru is all but suffocating under this weight.

So, when Rin comes and tells him that [Haru] will be facing Albert alone—that they aren’t fighting him together, like Haru hoped for—Haru snaps.

It’s not only that what Haru perceives as the biggest obstacle to his dream (Albert) is standing before Haru (alone) and Rin won’t be there to share his struggles, but also that Rin is the reason he’s there in the first place because Rin is the one that made Haru stop wanting to be ordinary.

He’s the reason why he’s gotten to this point and the reason he came into the global stage and ran into Albert. He’s also the biggest thing Haru will lose if he can’t win against Albert—because if Haru’s dream ends, he won’t get to swim with Rin in that world anymore.

And now Rin’s walking away from swimming free and leaving him alone with this beast of a swimming machine and with [Haru’s] own limitations. And Haru feels trapped. He feels bitter. He feels betrayed. Terrified.

And, of course, lost. Because just like Rin once said, "Without you, I have nothing to aim for, you know?"

So, he snaps.

And by burning bridges with Rin, the very embodiment of "For the Team", the one person that he has always wanted to swim with most of all, the one whose feelings he was still connected to above all—by virtue of swimming together in that world, by sharing a dream—Haru now feels like he's truly alone in the water.

Haru is essentially turning his back on the very reason he swims for—in more ways than one. So, he’s becoming a second Albert. Only there to win, not to have fun.

Because that’s the thing. Haru says he’s doing it for his dream, but since he can’t see that dream clearly, he lacks direction. All he can see is the immediate future and all that stares back at him are his own limitations—embodied by Albert himself.

Albert represents, then, the road Haru must not take. Haru can’t be all about becoming stronger simply for the sake of winning—and he must definitely not do so alone. Like Ikuya said in S3, if Haru isn't gaining that strength for someone else (the team), there's no point.

So, since this is Free!, Haru needs to go back to his roots and truly swim for the team once again. But I feel like he also needs to re-contextualize his dream and truly define what it entails, for once and for all. Which, if we go by everything we've seen so far—should involve swimming with Rin.

Only then will he be able to swim freely again.

There's A LOT of foreshadowing and things from S3 that will most likely play a role in that and I haven't even touched Rin's choice to not swim free anymore, but this has gotten really long and I've run out of image slots lmao so I'll just have to ramble about those some other time 🙇‍♀️

[marsipspans]

i finished reading 泾渭情殇 - Jing Wei Qing Shang - Clear and Muddy Loss of Love and have several comments.

Not too Spoiler-y

- The schemes really do last all 300+ chapters and there are a lot of revenge schemes.

- Quite a few parts get pretty dark.

- It’s mostly presented from Qi Yan | Qiyan Agula’s and Nangong Jingnu’s POV.

- Wasn’t sure what to expect when the author said there was a happy ending despite all the things that happened between the main two, but it could apply. One of the better ways it could realistically end I suppose.

- “Ruse of Self-Inflicted Suffering” Indeed. Very applicable. Iconic words for this novel.

- Was enjoyable throughout. There are two Acts in the book basically and it covers the main pairing in their youth to their “retirement”.

More specific comments (w/ spoilers) under the readmore

- The amount of Times Nangong Jingnu is all “Wow, Qi Yan is prettier than woman”. The fact that the ministers in court notice that Qi Yan has not grown any facial hair despite everyone else having grown some and people thinking that she’s shaving because that’s her wife’s preference.

- Qiyan Agula’s unintended pining from the beginning to the end really did end up saving her life lol, kudos to the doting for ur enemy.

- so all three Nangong sisters had relationships w/ women at some point huh. And 2/3 stayed in said relationships. Nice.

- Was Ding You into Qiyan Agula? Was Gu Rolan also into Qiyan Agula? and Nangong Lie for a bit also?

- Qiyan Agula is canonically handsome.

- Qiyan Agula also almost dies more than a few times. The path of revenge is not kind to her. not at all. Needs more post-canon fluff. Where’s the post-canon memory recovery fluff fanfic that the people need. But also the fanfic expanding on what Qiyan Agula does w/ the rest of her life after revenge besides remarrying Nangong Jingnu in that fishing village. Throughout the novel, it seems to be implied that she actually would be a good teacher and it seems to be what she settles on in the end, but that’s because Ding You got it for her so she stopped staying inside all day and pretty much doing nothing. Story ends on that hopeful note that Qiyan Agula probably eventually recovers her memory with Nangong Jingnu, but the specifics aren’t given as the POV is more from an outside narrator than one of the two main characters at this point.

- First translated webnovel I actually finished reading and the one I’ll figure out how to use JJWXC for. I liked the premise and the plot throughout. The prose was unfamiliar to me, but didn’t end up being a pro or a con. I really liked it. Took about 3-ish weeks to get through it.

Specific Chapters

- Ch 65 : QiJing vibing by a koi pond and Qi Yan plays the Xiao. That’s kinda gay.

- Ch 76 : Damn, I wish there was a official design for Jiya. Also Nangong Jingnu almost discovers Qi Yan is a woman bc of the pierced ear, but not quite. Tender moment in this chapter. Nice.

- Ch 110 : A description of Qi Yan’s default appearances (One of the few specific descriptions in the entire thing, for fanart purposes if that ever happens)

- Ch 119 : Jiya and Nangong Shunu did what

- Ch 130 : Twins have been born under fucky circumstances.

- Ch 144 : Qi Yan and Nangong Jingnu have a playful moment in the rain. It’s cute. Fanart?

- Ch 145 : Oh, Qi Yan cried in front of Nangong Jingnu. Stress and guilt is bad for ur health.

- Ch 146 & 147 : Nangong Shunu and Qiyan Nomin did what? Oh, also the Fuma estate was set on fire. R.I.P.

- Ch 150 : Female Empress?! “I don’t want to die” - “Then just don’t lose” Oh boy.

- Ch 152 : Boom, an imperial exam. Qi Yan is only mildly treasonous in her job as main examiner.

- Ch 153 : ���She had once again entrusted her fate and survival to Nangong Jingnu” just like with the fire earlier and the entire thing with Xiao Die.

- Ch 162 : That one nightmare where Qi Yan killed Nangong Jingnu cause revenge. Bad vibes for Qi Yan.

- Ch 206 : Qi Yan carried Nangong Jingnu back to her room and confessed she’s a woman while Jingnu is passed the fuck out from drinking.

- Ch 212 : Qi Yan p much says to hell w/ it after waking up from her poisoning. If u kno what i mean

- Ch 228 : Female Emperor!!

- Ch 231 : Nangong Jingnu is the empress, but there are 73 chapters left. What’s next, when will Qi Yan’s scheming be revealed?

- Ch 238 : Longevity festival or Nangong Jingnu’s birthday p much. Another detailed description of formal Imperial Husband clothing, one of the few so far also.

- Ch 252 : Agula goes to the You province. More clothing descriptions cause I like to collect those.

- Truly, the way that Jingnu is consistently on Agula’s side.

- Ch 276 : Qiyan Agula and Gu Rolan become sworn siblings and there’s a brief POV from Gu Rolan on QiJing as a couple. Jingnu trims a candle and Agula watches for a moment while lamenting that she didn’t learn painting. Gay.

- Ch 295 : The Grand Court Meeting. Reinstate the Husband. All this after Qian Tong put in that complaint. See, it pays to make loyal allies.

- Ch 296 : QiJing meets again.

- Ch 297 : “Who’s the wife” quote.

- Ch 300+ : Ding You is alive after all this time. And is back to help cure Qiyan Agula.

- Ch 302 : Even this late in the story, the schemes really don’t stop, but hm. Interesting.

- Damn, if it wasn’t for Qiyan Agula’s nice ass calligraphy, she wouldn’t have been found. Don’t like the thought of them never meeting again after separating like that.

- Extra 304 : The Masked Person’s backstory! How interesting, there seem to be some parallels between Qiyan Agula and this person.

[sxfik]

darling, you're the one i want

chapter one | two | three ....

read on ao3 • main masterlist • law school masterlist

summary: Kang Sol A was never known for her luck, but she suspected it to be more like a curse when after almost 5 years, she bumps into her rival and the bane of her existence: Attorney Han Joon Hwi. What's worse? She has to work with him and she's sure that she'll either kill him or kiss him before this is all over

After Kang Sol B was freed from the clutched of her mother, her new found freedom spurred her into a night in bed with the mysterious Ji Ho. Yet, when he walks into her office the next day, she is faced with the realization that she is now working with the same man she slept with. What's worse? He's insufferable and she just might have to kiss him to shut him up.

a/n: hello hello! it's been almost a month since i've written a fic and probably even more time since i've truly been active on here. this fic is a product of me, @akinosakiya, @am-bi-vert and @thenerdywriter creating 20 different threads on twitter about an idea (which eventually got turned into a whole group chat just for hc and fic ideas). truly this fic is dedicated to all of them, the hanguk law school gc on tumblr and twitter. this fic is multi-chapter and written from 6 povs (basically it will be pretty long). as always, enjoy!

KANG SOL A was not known for her luck. Maybe it was a curse, or maybe just her destiny to be unlucky in life. She was irrevocably late this morning, despite setting 6 alarms and taking extra care the night before to ensure everything was in order before she left. But of course, in classic Sol A fashion, she was late despite every effort.

She was greeted with the shining sun and chirping birds as she speed walked towards her office building, her hair slightly disheveled in the breeze. Her hand clutched her briefcase as she speed walked towards the office, her lanyard swaying as she moved with purpose.

It had been almost 2 years since she started working for Kang's Toy Co. and 3 years since she graduated from Hanguk Law school. Life had been a rollercoaster since then, an endless ride of ups and downs as she tried to stabilize herself into her new life. She had clawed her way up from the struggle of her 1L year, getting to be an expert on late nights and sleep deprivation. Nonetheless, she graduated with an offer set up at Attorney Park's office which kickstarted her career and her life.

She'd be lying if she said everything was smooth from then on; it was quite the opposite. Just like she predicted, she had to take clients that she disliked and didn't trust, but when you were trying to make rent and put food on the table, it didn't matter. Luckily, she never had to compromise her beliefs too much during those years, and she was able to build her reputation as a trustable and hardworking lawyer in the community.

Soon enough, she was taking on higher profile clients, and gifted with the ability of being picky about who she defended. All of a sudden she was going to events and mingling with the upper class of Seoul. What was a poor girl, raised by a single mother, doing in such a ornate hall, sipping champagne that was worth more than anything she'd ever owned. Yet, those very same events led her to her name twin, Kang Sol B.

Kang Sol B, clean cut and straightforward, was one of her closest friends and CEO of the company she worked for. They met by chance at an event, after a particularly successful case, and somehow, the two women who were so unlike each other, hit it off. They ran into each other by chance again and they met for drinks. Sol B's level-headed, confident attitude balanced her energetic, eager mind. Not to mention, she fit right in with Ye-Seul and her dynamic, the three being thick as thieves. Soon enough, Sol was offered a job at her company as a corporate lawyer and she jumped on the chance at working with her. The rest was, as they say, history.

Shaking off her thoughts, her legs propelled her forward, her vision almost hazy and her mind clouded with the need to rush, rush, rush. The morning was particularly busy, with so many employees rushing into work and walking in their own world. Still, today was especially important as the company is announcing a joint enterprise between two of the biggest toy companies in Seoul. She picked up her pace, nearing the entrance, when, in her frenzy, she crashed into the oncoming figure.

"I'm so—"

"Sorry!"

Her head shot up, her eyes widening at the familiar voice. And there he stood, in all his glory, Han Joon Hwi: Second Round Judicial Exam Passer, and the bane of her existence.

She had the unfortunate luck of meeting Joon Hwi during their 1L, during a particularly intense class where she was grilled to death by her professor. The actual ordeal was a haze, all she could remember was her throat tightening and instant panic flooding her mind and body. Joon hwi, thinking himself some kind of knight-in-shining armor, swooped in to save her, answering in her stead.

And then, he decided to rival her during one of their constitutional code classes, arguing in favor of a law that was, in her mind, despicable. "You have to look at it in perspective," he coolly replied to her smoldering anger when she questioned him on how he could support such a thing. It was set in stone, then, that Kang Sol A did not like Han Joon Hwi.

From the moment they met, it was like he was specifically designed to drive her crazy. The way he smirked, the way his whip smart comebacks would leave her stumped, the way his arms filled out that stupid white shirt, the way he'd look at her like he could see right through her. Just about everything about him made her want to scream.

Dislike was an understatement when it came to Joon Hwi. It was more like a never ending annoyance, his presence and every move frustrating her, making her lungs tight and her heart race with exasperation and irritation.

She was nicknamed Lady Justice, after a particular comment from Joon Hwi himself. If it was to shame her, it clearly didn't work as it only fueled her headstrong attitude. In fact, it spurred her into more arguments with the illustrious Joon Hwi, the temperature constantly rising as they would circle each other and argue until their lungs burned and they were breathing heavy. The whole school would gather to see them spar, the tension so thick that they wouldn't notice the crowd they would draw as soon as the two would even look at each other.

He was the genius of her school, that much she couldn't deny. Still, the what he said about her in their final year...

His hand gripped her wrist, startling her out of her thoughts in an attempt to support her, and his warm touch seared into her cold skin as he pulled her up slightly. Joon Hwi blinked back at her, his face shocked before settling into a familiar smirk that drove her up the wall.

"Long time no see, huh, Lady Justice?" his eyebrow quirked up slightly as he took her in, and the scowl settled into her face. Like this day could have gotten any worse, it was just her luck to meet him.

"Not quite long enough, Attorney Han," she quipped back, snapping her arm away from his grip. She blew out a soft breath, in an attempt to get her bangs out of her eyes to face him properly. He continued to look down at her, his eyes never leaving her face as he chuckled in response.

He didn't look any different than he did 3 years ago, except that his shoulders had grown broader, his chest a little firmer. He wore a black coat, and underneath, his signature black suit that he had worn during his internships during school. His hair was styled differently, now styled up rather than down in bangs that used to give him an innocent look back in their law school years. It suited him.

"So, you work for Kang now?" he asked her, rushing forward to catch up with her fast pace. Her hand gripped tighter on her bag as she picked up her pace, trying her best to not let his sudden presence taint her morning.

"No, I'm definitely just walking towards the building with the large sign that says KANG TOY CO. for absolutely no reason," she replied, her voice laced with impatience.

"You haven't changed one bit, Kang Sol," he laughed, tilting his head forward, blinking and looking at her as if he knew something she didn't.

She paused in her tracks, looking up to the man who scrambled to turn to face her. "Why are you here, Joon Hwi?" she asked him, suspicious of his sudden presence.

He raised an eyebrow in response, and she could feel the irritation build in her chest as she looked up at him, impossibly confused. They stayed in place, their feet glued to the pavement and she forgot all about her earlier mission to get to her office asap. His face hadn't changed too much from their school days, his expression overflowing with mirth and mischief. But his face did hold a tiredness that wasn't seen before, as if the time has taken a toll on him. What happened to you, Han Joon Hwi, for your face to hold exhaustion that was never seen before?

"You'll find out," he replied curtly, before spinning back and walking towards the building. Her office building. She rushed forward now, trying to catch up with him as she looked up curiously, but he avoided her looks as they walked into the office.

They marched on in, flashing her badge at the entrance of the office, and Joon hwi, somehow, managed to follow. Did he start working here and never let her know? Does he even work as a lawyer? How could she not know? She let out a deep breath, trying to calm her racing mind as she walked into the elevator, and he marched in right by her side.

People filed in one after the other into the elevator, everyone in their morning rush to get to their cubicles and start their days. The elevators was filled to the brim, yet Kang Sol was still aware of Joon Hwi's presence, almost like her mind was blaring an alarm that He wasn't supposed to be here.

She momentarily shut her brain off, a task that she trained herself on after her struggles in her 1L, choosing to focus on the people milling around the elevator. Her eyes would flit through every person, and then the ceiling, and most importantly, she refused to let her mind stray to Han Joon Hwi, despite the curiosity eating her from the inside out.

The elevator was next to empty when she reached her floor, and she picked up her pace as she marched out of the elevator before he could. Sol kept her gaze trained ahead, but her body was feeling for the presence of someone else marching behind her.

Somehow, he managed to get ahead, probably with those stupidly long legs of his. His hand jutted out to open the door to the meeting room, and he paused, turning slightly towards her.

"Ladies first," he said, his expression almost neutral. If it wasn't for the slight crinkle near his eyes as he smiled, she would have taken the gesture as genuine and not intended to mock her. The gesture morphed from chivalry to a taunt that he knew something she didn't.

"Thank you, Attorney Han," she shot him a tight smile, before marching her way towards her teammates.

Ye-seul, her best friend and fellow lawyer, caught Sol's gaze and patted to the seat next to her and finally, Sol sank down into her chair, letting out a final sigh of relief.

"You're only a couple minutes late, the director isn't here yet," she said, taking a sip from her hot coffee. Ye-seul narrowed her eyes at her, and then looked up at Joon Hwi, before looking back down at her.

"Oh thank god," Sol, opened up her briefcase, getting out one of her legal pads and a pen incase she needed to take notes, as she expertly avoided her best friend's questioning gaze. The silence between them stretched, as Sol tapped her pen against the paper impatiently and Ye-seul let her gaze bore into her.

"Why was Han Joon–"

"Good morning," the baritone voice of Director Yang boomed across the meeting room, his voice loud despite the lack of a microphone. "Let's go through this meeting smoothly, as it is a very important day for both Kang Toy Co and Seo Media. Today, we have gathered to announce a collaboration for a toy line between both companies."

Applause filled the room as the director paused, looking at each team assembled in the room. Oh. So that's why Han Joon Hwi is here.

"As such, we will be needing our talented lawyer teams from both companies to help draw the legal terms and details between the two companies, as well as negotiate the terms for the toy line itself. This is an exciting time for both companies and we hope that this partnership is fruitful for both parties. Now, I will be announcing the teams and their assignments for this coming quarter and in preparation for the toy line itself," he paused, flipping through the notes he held at the center of the room.

"I'm proud to announce that Attorney Kang Sol and Team One from Kang Toys will be working with Attorney Han Joon Hwi and Team One from Seo Media." Sol's eyes shot up to Joon hwi, both their eyes wide with surprise. "Your teams will be heading the terms of the collaboration as well as working closely with both CEOs for any legal issues that come up," Director Yang nodded to both parties, before continuing down his list.

Her eyes were still on his, her mouth close to gaping open before she quickly shut it and avoided his gaze. Out of all the people, it had to be her that was paired up with him.

Kang Sol A had bad luck, indeed, but she was starting to think it was more like a curse instead.

[dreamingofmilk]

Sugar Babe Chapter 4

We’re back y’all!

Masterlist:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Texts

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Texts

Word Count: 3,018

Synopsis: Things are spicing up with our favorite duo

Warnings: slight smut

Luxury.

Never before have you been introduced to such nice things. Even when you travelled with Erik before for smaller trips, the hotels were nice but they weren’t this nice. Hell most of the time you had to get in a smelly ass taxi to get to the hotel. 

But not here, here the two of you were picked up in the nicest car you’ve seen on the road and taken to the nicest hotel you’ve seen in your life. You felt like Queen Latifah in The Last Holiday, and you had to try your hardest not to gawk at the beautiful ceilings. You clenched your jaw to keep from gasping at the stunning interior decor that the hotel had. 

The wife of Erik Stevens could not gawk at some really nice ceramic tiles. She had to act like she’d seen it ten times before!

However the wife of Erik Stevens did drop her jaw when she saw the very polite hotel concierge guy hand her fake husband two room keys for one room. A room that you really hoped had two beds in it. Though the smirk on Erik’s face told you otherwise.

“What the fuck Erik?” You mumbled as soon as you stepped on the private elevator for the top floors. Erik smiled and crowded you into a corner of the elevator.

“What?” He says innocently as he gently wraps a piece of your curly hair around his thick index finger.

“I know I booked us two rooms.” You stare accusingly up into his eyes. He smiles wickedly at you and bends down to press a kiss to the back of your ear before speaking.

“We have a job to do here. If they saw that my wife took a separate room, especially a lower grade room than I, they might think there’s trouble in paradise and we can’t have that can we?” You rolled your eyes at how right he was. You hated when Erik was right about things you had already decided on. It proved to you that maybe he didn’t need you and you hated that idea. 

You let out a loud moan completely by surprise when Erik bit down on the soft skin underneath your ear.

“I asked you a question. Y/N.” He sucked on the skin underneath your ear, hard. You tried to keep your panting down to a minimum but it was hard, especially when he gripped your hips to pull them closer to him.

You sighed in relief when the elevator finally dinged on the appropriate floor. You gently pushed him out of the way and reached into his front suit pants pocket to pull out one of the room keys. You walked calmly down the hallway to check the room numbers until you found the room. Quickly you put the key in before Erik could stand behind you. Your luggage was already stacked neatly to the side. As you walked into the large main area you quickly realized the hotel suite looked just as amazing as the lobby did. You quickly dropped your purse on the sleek black modern couch and made a beeline for the bedroom. Your fingers crossed that two beds would be waiting for you to claim one.

Your heart sank to your stomach, when you saw only one bed, to their credit, it was massive, but definitely not the two beds that you wanted. There was no way you’d be able to handle sleeping in the same bed with that man, hell you two could barely stay in the same room without him finding a reason to touch you. 

“You did this on purpose.” You turn around to glare at him. Erik walked into the room and nodded in approval with a smirk forming on his face. 

“Nah. Definitely asked for two beds because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Erik sat in the lavish chair next to the window. His legs spread wide, his stance inviting. 

“Yeah right.” You scoff and glance around the immaculate bathroom. 

“I did. I told them we needed an extra bed in case we break the first one.” 

You cut your eyes towards him, disbelief taking over your features as Erik’s laugh boomed through the entire space. Erik swung his legs back and forth as he chuckled under his breath. He leaned over and picked up the local guide.

“Chill. It’ll be fine. I’ll sleep on the couch. It’s big enough.” Erik smiled and flipped through the guide.

“You can’t sleep on the couch Erik you paid for the room.” You sat down quietly across from him.

“Correction the company paid for the room, so WE worked for this room. I paid for the clothes I bought you. So when they get ripped off you won’t complain.” You gawked at him in response. The man had absolutely no chill! Erik smirked at your reaction. “Baby girl you’re going to quit making them damn faces or I’ll give you a better reason to make them.” 

You glared at him, “Erik stop! You play too much!”

He shook his head, a bit of fire in his eyes, “And that’s what you don’t seem to understand Y/N. I’m not playing with you. Not a damn bit. But you are definitely playing with me and I’ll be damned if I keep allowing it. Since you want to keep acting scared things are going to change around here.”

You shook your head, “What the hell are you-”

He clenched his jaw, his frustration clear. “Interrupt me again. See what happens.” He waited a moment to see if you would, and honestly part of you wanted to just to see what he would do about it. But you knew that it would just end with both of you on the bed and you weren’t ready for that, so you backed down. You knew better than to egg this man on. Once he realized that you weren't going to challenge him he smirked. “Hmm, obedient, I can do some things with that.” 

You couldn’t fight the heat that rushed to your cheeks. He was nasty! You huffed and stepped away from him.

“I’m gonna unpack and check out the pool.” You turned away from him, reaching up to untie your hair from the long trip. You pulled one of your suitcases into the closet and started unpacking your clothes. Erik walked in and started to unpack his clothes as well.

“I didn’t pack you any swimsuits though. Didn’t take you for a lounge by the pool sort of girl.” Erik shrugged as he hung up his blue dress shirt. “We can go buy you some more. I’d love to see you try them on.” He winked at you and smiled. 

“Why are you like this?” You huffed and grabbed your swimsuit from the bag. “I packed my own. I have some money you know. There’s a thing called stashed cash that credit stealers can’t get to.” 

Erik clenched his jaw. 

“Why would you spend the cash that you have? What if you need it for emergencies? What about the card I gave you?” He approached you menacingly, his height towering over you. 

“I used it for my rent like you said to. Why would I use it for anything else?” You responded calmly. Seeing Erik like this over money was normal for you. But what you didn’t realize was the difference this time had, was you. 

“Use it for everything. I’m not arguing with you. Save your cash for something important.” 

You struggled not to roll your eyes. Erik always got his way, and you weren’t going to be the one to stop him this time. 

“Okay DAD. Jeez. I’m gonna go to the pool and use it to buy myself some drinks. You know relax a little before I really have to commit to being married to your demanding ass.”

And of course Erik being Erik, he had to get the last word in. “Yeah, I’m daddy alright. You're gonna find out real soon, Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes as you walked into the bathroom and changed into your bikini and cover up. Though you usually didn’t wear one, you’d rather avoid Erik’s perverted gaze. 

“Okay I’ll be back.” You grab your towel, make sure your engagement rings are on, and new designer flip flops and bounce out of the room, excited to explore the hotel. 

—— 

After floating around in the hotel's second rooftop pool, you decide to head to the bar to get the cold alcoholic drink you’d been dying for in this heat. You ask the bartender for the drink that you want, then reach into your pool bag to pull out the card Erik gave you. You stop short when you see cash slid across the table in front of you. 

You turn to the guy next to you to thank him, to assure him that you can pay for yourself. You stop yourself in your tracks making eye contact with a very handsome man. A bashful smile comes over your face. 

“Thank you. But I can pay for myself.” 

“You shouldn’t have to though. A beautiful girl like yourself, shouldn’t even be alone.” 

“Awe you’re sweet but I’m not alone.” You flashed your ring and smiled proudly.

“Damn that’s too bad. All the cute ones are always taken.” The man sticks out his hand. “I’m Jordan by the way. I own quite a bit of real estate out here. I’m in accounting too. Call me if you’re ever looking to get something out here. I’ll hook you up.” 

A polite smile crosses your face as you take his card. A frown quickly replaces it as another hand snatches the card before it’s completely in your hand.

“Babygirl, did you get your drink?” You look up to see the wickedest smile on Erik’s face, his eyes bright with anger. His almost naked chest covered with nothing more than a muscle tee. You look down to see him in swim trunks, a smile crossing your face at the thought of him playing around in the pool with you. 

“Almost babe. They are making it now.” You nodded to the bartender who was putting the finishing touches on your drink. Your mouth watered at the thought of it. You were so focused on the drink you didn’t even notice the hard stare Erik was giving Jordan until he cleared his throat.

“Sorry baby, this is Jordan, a real estate agent. Jordan, this is my bos-“ you felt Erik pinch your thigh, hard. You felt your cheeks heat up as you realized your mistake. “I’m sorry my husband. He can be a bit bossy.” You tried to save it but the curious look on Jordan’s face told you otherwise.

“Nice to meet you. She’s loyal, wouldn’t even let me buy her a drink.” Jordan smirked as he shook Erik’s hand. Erik wrapped his arm around you tightly, his hand resting gently under your breast.

“Yeah well she has the card I just gave her so there’s no reason for that.” Erik pressed a kiss to your neck as you sipped on the delicious drink placed in front of you. You squealed in response to his touch almost dropping your drink. You turn to Erik to scold him when you see his stare is still on Jordan. Quickly you realize you need to diffuse the situation. 

“Babe you have to try this. It tastes so good.” You thrust the straw of the drink towards his lips demanding he take a sip. He sips the drink and smiles at you. 

“Of course you’d get the fruitiest drink there is.” You smile cheekily at Erik and relish in the tight hold he has you in. Then glance back up at Jordan. 

“Erik, Jordan said he sells real estate, maybe he could find you another place if everything goes right?” You glance back at Jordan who watches the two of you with a smile on his face. 

“Sure. I have his card.” Erik waves down the waiter to close out your tab. 

“Let’s go back to the room. I have another drink I wanna taste. It was nice meeting you Jamie.” You snorted at how petty he was acting.

“Jordan, baby, his name is Jordan.” Erik shrugged “That’s what I said.” Once you realized what all he said earlier you balked at his words, staring up at him wide eyed. You watch Jordan frown slightly and move away with his drink. Then you pout, wrapping your lips around your drink again. 

“I wanna swim some more. And you're dressed for it come in the water with me.” You pout more and lightly grip the collar of his shirt. 

“Y/N that was too close! We are fucking lucky that man was way too into you to notice that you weren’t that into me. I mean boss really?” You sigh and put your head down embarrassed. You know you fucked up and at this rate you might ruin the whole deal for the company and that thought was too much for you to bear. 

“I know Erik I’m sorry. I’ll get better I promise.” You grip his shirt tighter. “Please don’t be upset with me. Let me practice right now.” You turn to wrap your arms around his neck and press a few kisses to his scruff. Your legs spread to accommodate him standing between them. 

“I can do it. I won’t let you down. I won’t let the company down.” You pull his head down to level with yours before you press a passionate kiss into his lips. Getting lost in the feel of his skin against yours. Your tongue danced along the bottom of his full lip. You let out a soft moan when his hands enter the equation again. The man was freaking gifted.

A child screaming broke the spell between the two of you and you pulled away, embarrassed to be making out in public like a couple of teenagers. 

Erik smirked, “Keep kissing me like that and I’ll do whatever you want.” He grabbed your hand and led you both toward the pool. He quickly jumped in with no fear of the cold water. You were much more cautious and dipped your toes in to get a feel for the water. Even though you’d just been in there the cold shock was intense. You’d definitely have to ease your way in.

“Baby!” Erik called to you. “What are you doing? Hop in!” You looked up at him and it felt like your heart skipped a beat. Erik had taken off his shirt and his skin glistened in the water. There’s no way his body could be real. You honestly couldn’t look away if you wanted to. 

Erik swam to the edge of the pool, right in front of you and lightly grabbed your ankle. “C’mon.”

You shook your head, half of your brain committing the look on Erik’s face to memory. “It’s too cold. I need to slowly work my way in.” Erik ran his hands further up your leg, to the backs of your knees. He looked up into your eyes with a soft smile on his face. “You’re always so cautious, Y/N. Just jump in, just this once. I’ll catch you and ease you in the water.”

You scoffed, “There’s no way. I am not some small little thing Erik. You’re going to drop me.” Erik rolled his eyes. “Last I checked I’ve picked you up a few times and have I ever struggled to do it?” Bastard had a point. He’s never even shown any strain.

You sighed, there was really no way out of this. “Ok fine, but if you drop me…” Erik’s smile was so bright that you felt a rush of heat to your cheeks. What was this man doing to you? You took a few steps back then after a few deep breaths and Erik's quiet encouragement you jumped in. As promised he caught you before the water passed your hips. You shivered slightly as he held you above him, his laugh ringing through your ears.

"See baby? Things are a lot more fun when you aren't so cautious." He slowly lowered you in the water, watching your face and slowing down when you reacted to the cold water. Once you were at eye level you felt the energy shift around you. Erik had a strange look on his face, one you'd never seen before. He stared directly at you, his eyes bouncing between your eyes and your lips. He pulled you in closer to him and you closed your eyes anticipating the kiss.

When your lips finally met it felt a bit different, like a warm bath or a home cooked meal. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders as he deepened the kiss. You fought back a moan when he started nibbling at your bottom lip. You could feel yourself getting drunk off the feeling of it, completely unaware of your surroundings. Just as you were about to wrap your legs around him he pulled away and lowered you the rest of the way into the water. You looked up into his eyes, trying to figure out what to say that would break the tension in the air, but you were at a loss. 

Erik smiled softly and brushed a piece of hair out of your face. “I did say things were going to change around here princess. I’m not playing games anymore.” Erik slightly splashed you and swam away quickly, you started off quickly hot on his trail. But your mind wandered back to what he just said. What the hell did that mean?

Nearby, Jordan smirked as he exited the pool deck. Who would have thought the great Erik Stevens would have to fake a marriage, and with one of his employees at that? This would definitely be useful information later on. Plus the girl on his arm was so damn tempting, he would be seeing a lot more of the both of them, that’s for sure. 

Taglist:

@chaneajoyyy​ @wawakanda-btch​ @aislinnsilver​ @marvelmaree​ @ljstraightnochaser​ @raysunshine78​ @fdwrites @soufcakmistress​ @girlsneedlovingfanfics​ @toniilaney​ @amira88 @bugngiz​

[ka-za-ri]

Descent Pt. 3

Oh hai. I finally managed to get this chapter out and I hate every word of it. I’m so so sorry if it’s not great or what you’re looking for. Feel free to let me know if you liked it or if it’s as garbage as I think it is. Chapter Index and Obey Me! Masterlist: here Ao3 Mirror: Here Part [1] Part [2] Part [3] Part 4: [4] Part [5] Part [6] Part [7] Part [8] Part [9] Part [10]

Pairing: Simeon x Reader Genre: Smut Wordcount: 6,300 ish Tags: Sex toys, smut, awkward conversations about sex Summary: Simeon is running out of ways to ask you over. In a last ditch attempt, he puts his pride on the line to have the conversation he's been dreading.

Slip

Simeon was running out of excuses to call you over for help. The first time was a serendipitous discovery. The second happened out of necessity. But now that he had the video recording, he was convinced that you would think he didn’t need your help anymore. At least, that was what he told himself. Still, he kept coming up with reasons why he might need you to help him again. If his book was to be successful, he needed all the inspiration he could get.

He couldn’t sleep, he stopped eating proper meals in his mad search for the right materials to work off of. It was all a distraction from the truth. He was willingly falling into your trap of temptation and was doing nothing about it. No matter how many times he wrote it off what he was doing as research or investigation for the sake of his book; there was no denying the fact that he was slipping down into a darkness that he couldn’t save himself from.

The first time he had a taste of you was all it took for him to spiral down a rabbit hole of finding more ways to get you to moan in his presence. He wanted to feel your heat again, he wanted to see you come undone; but he needed to hide behind some reason. He needed more time with you; and he wracked his brain on the daily to figure out how. Of course, seeing you wasn’t the hard part, the most difficult issue was convincing you to keep ‘helping’ his cause. That step would come soon enough; but first, he had to find reason to see you again.

Luckily for him, he kept track of the most arbitrary reasons to celebrate and called for you once more. Perhaps this time, he could persuade you to make it a regular thing. An author was always in need of a muse; and no one else was more suited to the job than you were.

[SMS: COME SPEND THE WEEKEND HERE???! WE CAN CELEBRATE YOUR WORK ANNIVERSARY!!!??]

You laughed when you received the message in the morning. With how busy he kept you with all his drafts and proposals, it was rather shocking just how much time had passed since he was assigned to you. Years had passed and you figured he would have forgotten about the first day you sat down with him to discuss the direction of his work. However, he always made it a big deal about celebrating your tenure with him. It was endearing and you could never pass up the chance to spend some time with him that didn’t involve work.

[SMS: Okay! Let me pack an overnight bag!]

You contemplated what to bring. Part of you eyed the cutest sets of lingerie you owned. Oh come on, like he’d think about you like that. You chided yourself while stuffing some pajamas into your bag. However, the subject matter of his new book came to your mind and you ended up carefully tucking them into the corner of your overnight bag. Just in case… it’ll be good for research.

Even if it was just for a weekend getaway, your overnight bag ended up being crammed full of all sorts of things you thought would be good ‘just in case.’ Why you thought it would be necessary to bring an extra pair of shoes was beyond you. The two of you were most likely going to just spend the whole weekend indoors watching terrible movies and tearing apart the scripts and critiquing the dialog.

A small part of you hoped he would use the weekend for ‘research’ purposes. Just thinking about how intense his eyes were when he ‘helped’ you out the last time you were over had you feeling uncomfortably warm from head to toe. On the off chance that he requested something else from you, you needed to at least be prepared to oblige. Even if his intentions for the weekend were innocent, you needed to be ready for a change of plans. He had been throwing you off guard quite a bit; first with his new book ideas, and now his research methods, he was as unpredictable as the first day you met him all those years ago.

Throwing caution to the wind, you crammed in the tallest pair of platform heels you owned into the bag. At least they were black and would match with anything, especially the lingerie you had chosen. Double checking to make sure you had gotten all the essentials, you threw the bag over your shoulder and made your way over to Simeon’s place.

~~

If there was one thing Simeon couldn’t stand was not being able to convey what he imagined in his head onto a page. With all the literary experience he had; it shouldn’t have been so hard to write something salacious and naughty. He knew the importance of proper research and threw himself head first into finding out all he could. He lost track of the number of times he watched the video of you on his phone. At this point, he practically had it memorized; he knew the exact moment in the recording that you came, calling his name. Every time he thought about it, it sent shivers down his spine. Any other videos he sought didn’t have the same effect as your pretty voice lilting and echoing in his room. No other sources worked in helping him write outside of what you provided him.

If he was going to be truthful to himself, he knew there was no return from the dark path he was going down. But he deluded himself into thinking he was safe. As long as he could upkeep his promise to keep you unsullied, he would come out of this trial unscathed. As it was so far, things progressed easily enough but, he knew he would need your help again. There was an intimacy that was missing in his words. Something just didn’t flow properly and he wouldn’t be able to figure it out what it was until he got to experience things first hand. The only problem was saving himself from falling in the process.

He could only ask for forgiveness if he went too far.

Though the tone of his message had been innocent, he had plans to turn the weekend into a productive one. The only problem was trying to figure out how to tell you what he needed out of you. He felt filthy no matter how many times he showered, his mind marred by the image of your shuddering body. His fingers could still feel your walls clenching around him and the warmth of your body surrounding him. He wanted it. He wanted to experience it all for himself; but to keep both you and him safe, he had to find a way around the most sinful act according to the Celestial doctrines.

The knock at his door brought him out of his reverie and he was faced with reality. For the time being, it was easy to play the host and let you relax. “Rush hour wasn’t too bad?” He asked as you took off your shoes and stepped into the guest slippers at the front door.

“It’s a Friday and everyone is eager to go home after a work week, you tell me how crowded the trains were.” You teased.

He took your bag from you to stow away and he was surprised at how heavy it was. “I said it was just for the weekend, it feels like you packed for a month here.”

You cleared your throat, feeling your cheeks heat up a bit. “Well, I just wanted to make sure I was prepared for anything that might happen.” You shrugged, leaving the interpretation of your words up in the air.

Simeon distracted himself from the lewd thoughts your words brought on while he put your bag to the side. “I already ordered some pizza for dinner. It should be here in a little bit so make yourself comfortable.”

You lost no time in making your way over to his living room, flopping on the spacious couch there and sprawling out. “Comfort achieved.” You announced, which earned you a soft chuckle from Simeon. Even though the basis of your relationship with him was work; it didn’t stop the two of you from becoming friends. He simply had such a soothing aura around him, it was easy to let your guard down and be yourself. Without having to worry about work for the weekend, it was even easier for you to just pretend it was a sleepover with a friend.

He came over and joined you on the couch, a mug of tea in his hand and part of his manuscript in another hand. You perked up when you saw the pages with your notes on them. “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a weekend to celebrate a work anniversary. I didn’t plan on partying by watching you rewrite the first half of your book for the seventh time.”

He chuckled, putting down the stack of papers on the coffee table in front and leaned back to regard you. “So, what do you suggest we do to celebrate then?”

“Anything but work.” You determined. “I don’t know, board games? Movie? Arts and crafts?”

Simeon laughed; it was a sound you could never get enough of. It was so melodic and soothing, you wanted to keep him entertained for the rest of your life. But you had to remember to remain professional. There was no way he thought of you as anything more than a friend or a close co-worker. You were in charge of caring for him and making sure his work got to the publishing house on time; outside of that, things needed to remain casual.

“Well, dinner comes first.” He said, getting up as the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of food. He disappeared briefly before returning with a small stack of pizza boxes. It was way more than two people could eat in one sitting; but that was par for the course on how Simeon tended to order whenever you were asked to stay over.

While dining upon the finest pizza the city had to offer and sipping on soda, you thought over the years you had spent with Simeon and how much he had grown on you. At first, he was exactly what you expected a high profile author to be like. He was cool, aloof and distant. His work was impeccable, but even the best in the field made mistakes and you made sure he knew about them prior to publication. He always held you at arms length, with respect and appreciation, but made sure to never step past the boundaries of professionalism.

Over time, he warmed up to you more, inviting you over to work on editing while he continued to write his manuscripts. Something about having real-time feedback seemed to help get his creative juices flowing. You also ended up benefiting from it as you were  able to edit and get changes back faster than waiting for replies to your email. With how technologically challenged Simeon could be, you often had to wait days, if not weeks, to get a small update. Still, the barrier of professionalism never changed. The two of you simply worked well together and created a sturdy friendship based on work.

Despite that, you couldn’t help but slowly fall for him. It was easy to do so, he was handsome, gentle, considerate; everything you could have asked for in a partner. Being so intimately involved in his career meant you likely knew a lot more about him than many people did. A few years passed and you struggled to hide the feelings you had for him. Every time he asked something of you, it was easy to jump on the chance to see him smile, hear his laugh and maybe receive a bit of praise outside of something related to writing. You managed pretty well, considering how dense Simeon could be; it didn’t seem like he had any idea of what you were hiding from him and the polite respect you gave each other was maintained.

The distinct civility you two had only changed with his new book. After the first time, you had convinced yourself that it was all a fluke. A one time occurrence, never to be repeated. The second time, you prayed that your heart wouldn’t guide your actions and do something you would regret. You could still vividly remember just how bright his eyes were when he was knuckle deep in you and making you cum with no effort at all.

“Are… you alright?” Simeon’s voice cut through your thoughts and you were quickly wrenched back into reality with a half eaten slice of pizza drooping and getting cold in your hand.

“Oh? Yeah. Just thinking about how long I’ve been working for you.” You explained with a bit of a shrug.

“It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?” He concurred, regarding you over his mug of tea, sipping it carefully and trying to parse out your odd mannerisms. It wasn’t the first time he had asked you to spend the weekend over to celebrate a mundane weekend which held no meaning to anyone but himself and you. It was the first time he had ever hidden his true intentions from you and he wondered if you could feel his guilt from where you sat. When you went back to eating, commenting about the quality of the toppings on the pizza, he relaxed a bit. “I wouldn’t be where I am without your help. So, I really should thank you for the time you’ve been with you.”

There was unfortunately nowhere to hide your face from the blush you felt creeping up your neck from your neck. “Well, I’m always happy to help, back then, now, and in the future.” You reassured him. “Gotta make sure we keep your reputation intact, right?”

There it was, the opening he was hoping for. He took the sliver of a chance you had given him and ran with it. Mulling over his words before he spoke, Simeon took a sip of his tea and let the silence settle between you. “You’d help me? Even with this… project of mine being as unreasonable as it has been?”

You understood his reservations in regards to being helped. He was so cute fumbling over his words and his requests. If he just wants me to come over every week to watch me fuck myself, he can say so. You smiled and sipped your soda, waiting for him to push the issue at hand again. When he didn’t go any further, you decided to step up and bring up the topic for yourself. “I’m serious about helping you in any way I can. You’re working on something you’ve never done before, it only makes sense that you get as much uhm… research in as you can…” Your words trailed off at the end and you wondered if you had said too much.

“Really?” Simeon tried to hide his excitement. “So you wouldn’t mind if I asked you to… You know...” He couldn’t bring himself to finish what he was saying. It was too embarrassing to admit he needed help as it was; to tell you out loud that he required more source material for his work seemed to be too much for his poor brain to handle.

You decided to voice his desires for him. “You need me to come over and give you some scene ideas?” You asked sweetly, batting your eyelashes as if it was the most innocent thing in the world.

“I… Yes. That.” He sighed in resignation. “I already have the scenes planned, it’s just the details I don’t have a feel for, so I need some more, you know, that stuff to get an idea of how it’s supposed to be written.”

You couldn’t help but let out a coo of endearment. He was just so cute being all fidgety in his seat and twiddling his fingers together, it was impossible for you to deny him. “Well, if we want to keep our jobs, then helping you with some scenes should be the easy part. You’re the one who has to write them out.”

“You’re really sure?” He breathed, his eyes wide in shock that it had been so easy to convince you. “I might need you more than once. Maybe… We can make this weekend thing a thing?” He suggested shyly. 

“Anything you want.” You confirmed.

It was as if a switch had been turned on him, the excitement and the relief that he had gotten permission to research as much as he wanted changed him into a completely different man. You barely had time to move out of the way before he shoved the coffee table  in the middle of the room to the side and pulled out a trunk he had hidden in a corner.

“So, I got a couple of things in the last week that I think might help. You said it would be easier if you used toys, so I looked a few of them up and picked out some things that either seemed interesting or if they’d help you. I don’t know what you like, but hopefully you’ll find something in here that will suit your needs.” He babbled happily, explaining everything he had done since the last time you had been at his home and you were rather taken aback at the sheer amount of things he had acquired in such a short time.

“Oh God,” you breathed, when you looked at  the veritable collection he had amassed so quickly. It was rather mind blowing just how invested he had become in such a short time. Then again, you should have expected him to give whatever he was writing his all. This though, was a bit much, even for the lengths you were used to seeing him go through.

He could almost laugh at the irony of the phrase. He was sure God had long left his home with how dangerously close he was to falling away from grace. After you agreed to his request, he couldn’t care any less about the free fall straight to Hell. He was getting what he wanted.

“I need to know how these work.” He said, reaching over to put on a pair of glasses and picked up a notebook. “If you could be so kind to allow me to ah… experiment.”

“Are you sure this is all for your novel?” You raised an eyebrow, suspicious that it was all truly for scientific purposes and it wasn’t for personal use.

Simeon faltered a bit before he nodded, his lips set in a thin line of determination and his gaze bounce back and forth between you and the pile of toys. “If I’m going to have enough variety in the scenes to span a whole book, I’m going to need to as much information as possible.” He flipped to a blank page of his notebook, titling it with the date and looked at you expectantly. It was frightening just how clinical he was being with the whole situation.

“You know, you have to go through some of it too...” You countered, you weren’t about to go through a series of sexual tests without conducting a few of your own on him. “You were having problems with the partner last time, right? We can’t have those kinds of issues pop up again.”

He blinked several times, processing what you had to say. You could see his will falter a bit before he went right back into the zone he was in just moments ago. He nodded, mumbling to himself and concurring to your points. “This is true… I’ll have to make sure that the scenario balance is equal. I need to manage that somehow. Perhaps if I recorded like I did last time…”

You giggled, surprised at how straightforward he was being and stepped closer to him, pushing his hair away from his face; an action that broke his concentration and he had to look at you face-to-face. “Relax. I’ll take care of you.” You purred. “You just have to remember what happens.” Taking the notebook and pen from him, you pushed him back onto the couch and straddled him, keeping him in place. “You can keep the glasses though, they’re a nice touch.”

Despite your confidence, your heart was hammering in your chest. Your ears rang and you could barely believe this was happening. You had only ever fantasized about being this sort of intimate with Simeon. When he had pushed you away the last time, you were sure he didn’t see you as desirable. And it was about to happen again. He kept you at arms length, pushing you back when you moved to kiss him. “I… No. I can’t like this with you. Anything but you know...”

You sighed, peeling yourself off his thighs and sat next to him. “Okay, I don’t know. And you’re sending me mixed signals; so let’s get these things out of the way so we don’t get things mixed up in the future.” You declared, putting your foot down. You weren’t about to have him bait and switch on you again. “I’m assuming sticking your dick in me isn’t something you’re really into doing.”

You watched Simeon fidget while he pointedly avoided your gaze. He nodded, unable to speak. It would be the closest thing you would get out of him as confirmation. Still, it did leave a few things up in the air which you needed to clarify. “So, you know I’ve got three perfectly serviceable holes. Is it all three or just one?”

He was in the middle of sipping his tea and nearly choked when you asked him. Fumbling to regain his composure he cleared his throat before answering you. You could tell he never expected to have a conversation like this; but it was necessary to know just how far he would go. “Just… I cannot defile you...”

You laughed at how innocent his words were. Even if you knew what he meant, his words still had multiple meanings and without clarity, you weren’t about to continue.  Reaching out and patting his hair softly, you tried a different method. “Okay, how about this. Am I allowed to blow you?”

A pause, he still refused to speak up, but at least he gave you a nod to let you know that was alright. Good, we’re getting somewhere. “Okay, are you okay with putting your dick in my ass?”

You could tell how differently he felt when it came to discussing his own sex life outside of the one he was writing. He covered the lower part of his face with his hand, rubbing his chin as he seemed to have an internal war with himself. The silence between the two of you dragged on before he finally gave you his nod of approval. “Got it… So, I know what your answer is probably going to be, but I still need to ask. Are you willing to put your dick in my pussy?”

Something broke in him at the question. He vehemently shook his head, shutting his eyes and refusing to look at you, or anything else for that matter. “No. No. No. Anything but that. I can’t. I can’t do that.”

You put your hand on his shoulder, rubbing him gently to bring him back to reality. “Okay, okay, we won’t go that far. At least I know now.” You murmured, keeping your voice low to not startle him into a further panic. “I promise we won’t do that.”

At your reassurance, he heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had been saved from something terrifying. You kept your hand on his shoulder, rubbing comforting circles there until he came back to reality. “I’ll tell you if we go too far… we can have a code word.” He suggested. “I read about it, people call it a safe word.”

You nodded, agreeing with what he said. At least he knows the basics. It’s just a matter of figuring out the rest for him. “So, what do you want to use?”

“Christopher Peugeot.” He deadpanned.

You laughed, using his pen name wasn’t something you expected, but you knew how he detested you calling him that; so it would definitely work in the event things went too far. You hoped you didn’t ever have to use it, but it was a necessary step. “Okay, now that we have all that settled, what did you want to try out on me today?” You gestured over to the trunk full of toys. “I’m sure you’ve got a few things you’re dying to try out.”

The boyish enthusiasm he had before when explaining his collection came back and he got up, rustling around, pulling out a full assortment of toys. You gulped, blinking at some of them and wondered just where he had gotten them. “So… care to tell me how this is all going to fit into a story about a spy?” You asked.

“Well, the main character has to pretend to be married; but she also has feelings for someone else that she works for… and she might also have escapades with her boss… And so she’s with several people and each one of them is different so you know, I have to make sure I get their personalities correct.”

You nodded, trying to put your mind into the main character he wrote. Pretending to work a high risk job while having a wild sex life definitely was quite the departure from the high fantasy setting he was so used to. It really was no wonder he was floundering so hard. It truly was a good thing he was such a talented author; you weren’t sure anyone else could have pulled off the switch like he had.

While he prepared everything he wanted to use for the evening, you eyed what he had chosen and was rather intrigued by the array of toys in his possession. It was only natural that you got rather excited with his experiment, even if it was a rather clinical approach. You would need to change that later.

Simeon laid everything out neatly, taking notes and mumbling to himself. There was something that was so innately sexy about his focus that made made you more wet than the prospect of how many toys he was going to try on you. You waited patiently while he took all the notes he needed. Even if it was going to be a wild night, it was truly supposed to be ‘research’ in the end. “Okay. I think I’m ready.” He announced after arranging and rearranging the order of the toys he set aside.

“Good, I thought I was going to fall asleep with how long you were taking. Where would you like me? I’m all yours.” You gave him a wink and a sly grin, making him stutter a bit. He gestured to the floor space he had cleared up. Hastily, he grabbed a nearby throw to make it a bit more comfortable than the decorative rug he had there.

“Here is fine.” He mumbled and waited for you to get comfortable. You grabbed a few of the pillows from the couches to join the pile of soft things and awaited his next commands.

He stumbled like a newborn fawn, trying to calculate and recalculate the scene he had in his mind to figure out where it was going. Eventually, you got tired of his anxious mumbling and pulled him by the collar to join you on the floor. As soon as he was close enough, you took control of the situation and kissed him. Simeon let out a surprised squeak, at first struggling against the sudden break away from his plans; however, you could almost hear the gears of his mind whirring and clicking as he melted into your arms and started kissing you back.

“So, if we’re going to do this, can you at least pretend to like me a little?” You asked after breaking the kiss. “Helps with the whole getting into the role thing.”

Truthfully, you wanted to have an excuse to kiss him. Simeon at least didn’t seem to have any objections to your demands. He swooped in for another kiss, his hands lacing behind your head and into your hair. His lips were just as soft as you had always imagined them to be. His body heat so close to yours was just as comforting as you had dreamed of. The way he kissed you took your breath away and left you confused as to whether or not he was as innocent as he made himself out to be. Not like you really had time to parse those thoughts out when his lips and hands were all over you, making you dizzy with need.

He smelled like fresh laundry and lemon dish soap. He was everything soft and good in the world wrapped into one sinful package that you had the privilege to unwrap one layer at a time. You could have spent hours kissing him if you could. Eventually, he found himself on top of you, helping you out of your clothes and marveling at how much of a different experience it was when he was properly involved. The irises of his bright blue eyes were blown wide open as he took in every detail of your body. He was awestruck, removing layer after layer of clothing until you were in nothing but your lacy underthings.

It was entirely unfair. One moment you were fully clothed, the next, you were in your unspeakables and Simeon still hadn’t shed a single piece of clothing yet. He was so focused on you and how you reacted, he had completely forgotten about himself. He paused to look at you all sprawled out underneath him on his floor in his home. It was quite a sight and it was the perfect opportunity for you to slip your hand under the over-sized sweater he wore and peel it off of him with one swift motion.

Finally, you were blessed with the image of him shirtless. It was everything you had hoped it would be. His lean body was surprisingly toned for someone who spent his life writing books for a living. There wasn’t a single blemish on his skin and you lost no time in running your hands across his smooth skin. “Beautiful...” you breathed, smiling softly at him.

Simeon quickly found out that the fastest way to get you to stop making him so flustered was to kiss you senseless. His hands did work in taking off the last pieces of clothing you had on. By the time he finally broke away from another heated make out session, you were completely nude and ready for whatever he wanted to test out on you. He kept his lips on you, peppering your jaw and your neck with kisses and soft nibbles when he reached to the side and grabbed the first toy in the line of many.

His hand slipped between the two of you and you felt the cool tip of the toy slide up and down your wet slit. In those moments, he was so focused on your reactions, you got lost in the intensity of his stare. A thin sheen of sweat coated his skin. Even if it wasn’t too warm in the room, the heat between the two of you was absolutely sweltering. You were light headed from the kisses and the chance to finally be with Simeon in such a way. Even if it was all a farce, you were going to take whatever he gave you. At least you would have plenty of material to keep you company on the nights you didn’t get to spend with him.

It was so much better to have Simeon involved. There seemed to be so much more than you doing a favor for the man you worked with. There was a tension, a charge as he held something back from you. You couldn’t place your finger on what it was; but it didn’t matter. All you had to do was accept the toy he was pushing into you. You expected something bigger than his fingers the last time, but you weren’t prepared to be stretched open so suddenly by a larger than average toy. You gasped, arching your back to adjust around it a bit better.

“Are you okay, little lamb?” He asked softly, concern in his eyes as he searched your face for any signs of discomfort. With his glasses slipping down his nose, it was the most endearing sight you had ever seen before.

Little lamb. He had never used pet names with you before. Just that little bit of affection was all you needed to get over the uncomfortable feeling of having the intrusion of the toy being pushed into you with little warning. “I’m fine… You can keep going.” You reassured, rolling your hips towards him.

Looking down, you could see strained his pants had become and you felt rather guilty for being the only one on the receiving end of the whole exchange. However, the moment he started to move the toy in and out of you, your mind went blank and you could only focus on yourself. You knew he could see just how stretched out you were around the phallic device. He could see just how wet you were from making out with him and just how undone you could become when you were around him.

The wet sounds of the toy entering you over and over filled the room and your breathy sighs turned into moans. You clutched at the throw beneath you as you let him use your body for his gain. You’d deal with making sure he got his own just desserts later; for now, all you cared about was pretending the toy inside of you was actually Simeon’s cock.

He was relentless, having calculated just what he needed to do days before you had come over. He knew what he wanted out of your body and he was going to coax it all out of you. The sound of your moans mingling with the lewd wet noises that came from your pussy was an absolutely intoxicating combination and he had a growing problem in his pants that he would need to take care of soon. But, that could wait; the most important part of his research was right in front of him and that needed his utmost attention.

He tucked way the image of your writhing body for later. The scent of your arousal was filed away for later and the feel of your soft skin brushing against his hands as he worked the toy in and out of you was etched into his memory. He didn’t need to record anything this time around, not when the image was so vivid and he was participating so directly with it. It was all he ever dreamed about. There was nothing better than feeling and seeing the scene for himself.

Even if his cock ached for release and his body screamed for him to do something about his own growing arousal, he was only ever focused on how close you were to cumming. The pitch of your moans changed and the way your body squirmed changed when you were getting close to that moment when the dams of pleasure broke. “Eyes on me, Little Lamb. I want to see your face when you cum...” He commanded.

You were powerless to deny him. Your eyes had been screwed shut since he started to vigorously thrust the toy into you cracked open only to see his free hand holding yet another toy. You heard it hum to life and as you started to comprehend what he was about to do, your whole body was set aflame in an onslaught of sensations as he pressed the vibrator against your sensitive clit.

You screamed, your whole body convulsing as he simultaneously shoved the toy as far as it would go into you, filling your hole. You wanted to look away, ashamed at how wantonly your body was reacting  under his ministrations. But his command remained firm in your mind and you forced yourself to look at him as you came undone, screaming his name and shuddering at the force of your orgasm.

There was a hunger in his eyes you never saw before. A primal energy that made you terrified of what he was capable of. Yet, the part that craved him and the company he gave overpowered that and you were thrown into a high of pleasure you hadn’t ever experienced. You couldn’t catch your breath as he was relentless in his trials. As soon as the brunt of your orgasm was over, he tossed the vibrator to the side, pulled the toy out of you and bent down to kiss your deeply.

“You did so well, Little Lamb...” he purred, once again assuming the image of a sex god you saw briefly before. “But I’m far from satisfied with just one trial.”

You mind went blank as you realized the night had only begun. You saw the array of ‘tests’ he had lined up and you knew you weren’t going to get much sleep at all. “Well, don’t let me get in the way of your experiments.”

The way the light caught his glasses when he pulled away made him look a hint maniacal. There was the barest trace of a smirk that played at the corner of his lips when he wrote a few quick notes in his little notebook. Once he was done, he picked up another pair of toys and assessed your still trembling body.

“I hope you’re ready, Little lamb… I’ve only just begun.”

Somehow, you had unknowingly unleashed a demon from within him.

[geekkatsblog]

Reviewing Grey's Anatomy Episodes but this time its Season 17

(To those people on my page who don't watch Grey's Anatomy but are being subjected to this I'm so sorry but I really just like to vent about this show.)

Its season 17 now Yay.

They're dealing with the covid 19 pandemic and I'm sure the writers probably did lots of research to make sure that they had the most accurate representation of the situation in the hospitals and otherwise.

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First we're going to start with the love triangle that is Teddy, Tom and Owen.

Owen

Now this is in no way excusing what he's done in the past for the longest while I've loathed Owen Hunt but..... now I feel sorry for him. He saw he had a problem he went to therapy to get himself right, he was actually a good partner for once and communicated in his relationship, he took his time and didn't jump into marriage spontaneously and then Teddy cheated on him over but dial to be heard by everyone in the operating theater with Owen on their wedding day. (I don't want to sound bad but this might also be karma coming to but him in the ass.) I felt so much 2nd hand embarrassment for him and the pain he had in his face the whole time he pretended not to know about her cheating was just oof. I loved though the end where he drove away for the mean time I really do agree with him taking some time and space before he makes a decision. Most of the times he made a lot of sudden decisions that later came back to bite him.

Teddy

Oh Teddy, she used to be one of my favorite characters from a little after she came to the time she left but now they just carried her character so far down hill that it's hard to keep the same energy I had before, now. Everyone at Grey Sloan is on Owen's side and giving her the cold shoulder and she really wants everyone to mind their own business (I honestly agree though, you're in the middle of a pandemic mind your business and do your job now isn't the time to be shunning coworkers because they cheated.) However when she did explain her side I kinda understood it a bit better. It's still an awful thing to do but I know plenty of people who sabotage their own happiness because they aren't used to it. Hell I do it myself sometimes. But then I was also pissed when she just pretended she did nothing wrong at first. First thing first she acted kinda offended when Owen explained why he hadn't called to cancel the wedding to her. Was it kinda sus? The answer is yes but you literally cheated on him that same day, you needed the extra time sis. Not to mention the several time he hinted to her that he knew and gave her the chance to confess yet she lied through her teeth whenever he hinted at it and flat out lied again when he asked if she had anything to confess. I get the whole sabotage route but God was I happy when Owen got in his truck, drove off and left her.

Tom

I was honestly rooting for Tom in the beginning, despite him being a douche I knew deep down he had a heart somewhere, but I actually started to feel less sorry for him last season when he continued to sleep with Teddy despite knowing her situation which he pointed out to her several times and she still ignored it. I know he loves her but let's be honest, she's going to pick Owen as long as he decides to actually take her back and Tom will be left alone and heart broken with his $100000 worth of boxes in booties and a golf club to measure 6 ft distance between him and everyone else. Honestly I kinda saw a panic attack coming, if they're treating Teddy bad then they're probably treating him even more like crap based on the fact that no one besides Teddy, Catherine and maybe Amelia liked him to begin with. This may also be an unpopular opinion but I actually agree with Catherine for making him resign of chief of all chiefs his head hasn't and probably won't be in the game for a while. At least he still gets to be head of neuro. He bought a whole $100000 dollars in booties alone by mistake during an already tough pandemic between that and everything else going on around him I'm not surprised he broke. What did surprise me was that no one even went near him to help even after the attack was finished. Dislike him or not at least ask him how he's doing geeze.

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Jo and Jackson (Never thought I'd have to put the two of them together in a title.)

Truly the biggest shock of the night besides the trailer for next week which I will freak out about later.

Jo

So Jo has decided that in order for her to feel herself again she has to do the devils tango with someone and because they're in a pandemic and she trusts him she chose Jackson. The night of the appointment to do the deed Jo ends up crying in his mouth. The way she treated him afterwards at first was a little uncalled for in my opinion, I mean she was the one who asked for the favor. But later they talked and it was all cool again. Jo didn't really have that big of a plot this episode so not too much to talk about.

Jackson

Agreed way to quickly to doing the devils tango with Jo if you ask me. Seems a little sus. I really hope they aren't rushing him and Jo into anything give the girl some room to breath and also give Jackson a proper plot he seems to be a plot filler for everyone right now like they have no real purpose for him on the show at the moment. I'm beginning to really think that he was the one who was supposed to die last season. I really do love his and Richard's relationship. Jackson never really had a good father and Webber seems to be filling that spot quite nicely. Him pushing Webber to fight to get better and convince him that his career can be saved was heartwarming. And can we take a moment to talk about Harriet finally appearing from the world of Narnia to bless us with her presence? And boy was she a blessing. That baby that plays Harriet was awesome from her repeating Vic saying she can't be a step mom all to her facial expressions. I hope to see baby Harriet again very soon. But speaking of Vic, did she not know that Jackson was a father? How the hell did she expect to never run into her at some point? Then there's the whole question of what did she even expect of the relationship with Jackson if she never intended to even try to accept being around his daughter? also if she really want to be Robbie Rotten from Lazy town and avoid being around kids, maybe she should call or text first instead of showing up in just a fluffy jacket and nothing else.

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Deluca

Glad to see he finally got the help he needed and is back put tho work. I felt so upset last season when everyone just treated him like crap without trying to help him, but they made up for it a little by trying to help him with the intervention. He was also right about the sex trafficking case and I was so glad to see that he was able to be there as her doctor. Plus he's now also finally in dark blue scrubs it has felt like forever before he got those but I digress. He is now on his way once again to be a kick ass surgeon with the awesome skills hes already showcasing. I just hope he continues to look after himself. Deluca shine like the star you are babe.

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Maggie

Has finally found a man who understands her, he is so nice and kind and caring the whole episode I was mentally yelling go get it hun to the screen. She deserves someone who can take her seriously and understand her awkwardness as well as her tendencies finally she has stepped out of the role of cheerleader and support character and is branching out to something else and I'm here for it. And her yelling at Catherine, to share her piece of mind. I was so proud. Go get it sis.

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Richard

Richard Webber is back in the building, finally the king has returned to himself and already solving problems in day one. At the beginning when he publicly called Catherine a pain in the ass I was so stoked I finally thought that he was done being pushed around by her but then he took her back in the end it also kinda felt like she bought him in order to get him back with the hiring him as the new chief of chiefs but I wish them the best of luck, Webber deserves to be happy. I was also happy to see him and Bailey interacting like friends again. For a while it was awkward between them but now it's like the balance has been restored. Side note, him laughing at Teddy and Owen made me laugh so loudly especially when he asked Teddy if her name was still Altman despite the fact he clearly knew about the phonecall drama, not gonna lie I'd do the same.

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Catherine

Not much there, just her being angry at the pandemic and loss of money, lack of power to save lives as well as trying to win Webber back which she successfully did after firing Koracick and giving Richard his job and finally giving him a heartfelt apology without being petty.

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Bailey

It might just be me but so far despite the fact that it's only been 2 episodes. Bailey seems somewhat better this season. Her guilt over Deluca was definitely warranted but at least she tried to make up for it (and just like Harriet her OCD has decided to rejoin us for a visit from Narnia.) For the past few seasons she's been a slight pain but now she seems more like herself.

Her and Ben are adorable as usual, coming every 12 hours to clap for the doctors just to see her then the cute hand signals they made for each other, between Ben, Link and recently added to the group of awesome partners Winston, I'm beginning to wonder where I can find me one of these super thoughtful understanding handsome men. The two guys that knocked her over as well spraining her ankle really should have to pay or something or at least apologize, they literally just knocked a doctor off her feet and made her wheel chair bound, the chief ro be exact. Her and Webber are on talking terms and well again but she really needs to know how to express concern better. She once told Ben that when she's scared she yells but a lot of things would have gone a lot more smoothly if she'd just reminded him he was a high risk for covid and state her concern for him to begin with instead of barking out orders.

I'm also wondering if shes going to be able to handle the whole Covid situation so well for the whole time, with all the chaos and disorganization with the whole ordeal not to mention the whole fit she had with the germs in the episode. I think it'll be a good storyline now that Grey's seems to be bringing mental awareness back up.

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Link and Amelia

They have now officially reached my list along with Ben and Bailey and a few others that are no longer on the show that have reached the stage of killing the couple goals on this show.

Despite the fact that they're not only raising their own baby but also Bailey, Ellis and Zola yet their relationship is still solid. I'm so proud of my baby Amelia she has come a long way from the woman who didn't even want kids to begin with.

I loved the fact that he wasn't upset over her forgetting his birthday and acted like nothing was wrong, just so she wouldn't feel bad about forgetting. I would have been livid set a reminder on your phone babes. Either way she definitely made up for it later with the whole redoing his birthday thing. Also welcome to the world Scout. Looking forward to seeing them more often.

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Levi

How did it all turn so bad, Nico has turned into such a jerk at this point I'm not even sure I'd be to upset if he left if it wasn't for the fact that I ship the person he was before and Levi so much I'm still hoping that they'll go back to how they were before Nico became a lying hypocrite. At the end I was practically begging Levi to push him away, Nico doesn't deserve it not after the way he treated him and he hasn't even shown a hint of remorse to this day.

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Meredith

The biggest shock of the whole episode. I honestly knew something was going to happen to her from the time she fell asleep and started the dream on the beach. Dreaming of beaches have never been a good sign on Grey's I just thought she was going to collapse from stress because she really had been pushing herself all episode. The thing with Meredith is that she cares so much for her patients and does anything she can to save them, but based on the preview of the next episode and the tests they showed it doesn't seem to be test. And let's just talk about that huge bombshell they dropped by bringing back Derek I never thought I'd see Patrick Dempsey on the show again. By the end of the episode I was already literally shaking in anticipation for the next episode. I know they can't kill Meredith, without her there literally is no Grey's Anatomy. That being said I really hope they don't give her cancer, (I know Patrick is involved with helping a charity for cancer.) And I also really hope she isn't getting alzheimers I just hope it's nothing serious in general. She's been through enough man. I just want this to be a really touching moment where I get to see Merder have some touching moments and it doesn't end up to be Izzie and Denny all over again. I don't think anyone is ready to handle that. I read in a spoiler that there's supposed to be some more visitors arriving on the beach and I'm stoked for it so I really hope it's a real spoiler I'm tired of rewatching the newer seasons to experience some of the old joy.

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Imma need them to give that intern Perez an official recurring contract for the show because he is currently one of the best things to come on that show in years. He's a breath of fresh air.

[inventors-fair]

Mirror-Breaker Commentary

This was a really tough challenge, but you guys brought your A-game. I was really impressed. There was a good mix of ways to fit the challenge, too! Some people had symmetrical effects so you could benefit off your opponent doing things, some people had you steal other people’s things, some people had main-deck cards for the deck that just happen to work when your opponent does the thing, too, and some people just outright said “your opponent can’t do the thing.” All of them were valid, and I was happy to see a nice spread. It also lead to some really wild designs.

The main thing I wanted to focus on this week was one I’ve been preaching for a while: think about the opponent. This was a challenge where you have to design a card for both you and your opponent at the same time. It’s hard to remember that, for every game you play, there’s at least one other player there that your cards are affecting. But enough talk, to the commentary!

@bread-into-toast​

At first I was going to say “wow, that feels overly narrow,” but then I realized that, while it does serve the intended specific purpose of denying Winota her triggers, it also shuts down tribal decks! All tribal decks but one of them, humans. Which is actually a very common tribal deck. But hey, it can’t be good against everything! The body also worries me a bit. I think a ⅓ flyer for three mana is way too expensive to see constructed play unless it does a lot of work, but even in the mirror I don’t know if this is worth the cost. I do like how it curves into Winota and how it has evasion so you can get in hits with a non-human more easily, but I think Winota would rather have a token maker or a couple of cheap bodies. I think at two mana this would have been just about perfect. I like what it does for the most part, even if it is really narrow, it just really needs to earn its spot in the deck.

@dabudder​ - Selective Shields

In the war of tribe vs. tribe, this is what you need. A simple little way to make sure your guys are better than theirs. I also like the cycling, it makes it a little better to main deck, but I still think it’s going to stay in the sideboard, and the cycling is just if the situation to use it never comes up. It’s appreciated, though! Even in a non-blowout situation, sometimes this is just saving one creature from one other creature, or letting one creature not be blocked by another creature. And in those situations, I think this is fine, too! God’s willing is sometimes enough. Spare from Evil even saw a very small amount of play every so often. I also don’t know if the utility of this card pays off more than just playing Brave the Elements, which also protects from targetted removal or damage based wraths. The phrasing of the ability needs to be fixed, though, I think. The reminder text isn’t quite accurate. I think it needs to be phrased “choose a creature type, then choose a creature type,” as dumb as that sounds. I think this card is cool and I like it, but I think there are a lot of better ways to get very similar effects.

@deg99 - Graverobber Cultists

What cheeky little skeletons. They’re stealing my bodies! This is one of the direct hosers, but I think that’s fine. Graveyards decks are one of those things you need to call out specifically in order to interact with. I like the body on this, a 2/2 for two with flash is fine for two mana in either color, but the fact that you need both colors (and that it’s a rare) give you enough wiggle room to power it up just that little amount. Compared to hullbreacher or opposition agent, I like it. It just shuts down the one specific thing you and/or your opponents are doing, but really only once. You brought up that you were a little worried about exhume, but considering the formats that would have that are commander and legacy, I think you’re fine. If you’re not in the mirror, you get some random vanilla creature or a useless combo piece, and if you’re in the mirror this card is good anyway. I don’t really have much to complain about with this card. I think some players would get sick of it like they have with hullbreacher and opposition agent, but considering how rare reanimation is vs. tutoring and card draw, which are also more likely to interact with getting your land drops. Also, art and flavor text are on point, reminds me a lot of what we’ve seen of Modern Horizons two.

@fractured-infinity​ - Psychic Incursion

This one takes a bit to unpack. The cost reduction is actually less relevant in the mirror, as opposed to most entries this week that do the opposite. The way this would work in a normal game is you pay two to wheel some specific card from your hand if you really don’t like them or if you’re comboing off with persistent petitioners or something. But in the mirror (which is when you’re far more likely to play this), you get to get rid of your opponent’s win condition so long as it’s the same as yours and you have it in hand. It’s going to be very scary to be your opponent when you show them you have the win in hand and they don’t have one in their deck. I like the effect, but the costing is really weird. Four mana is already what you’re paying for cards like Lobotomy and Memoricide, so having the downside of having to have the card in hand feels really steep. We’ve even had three mana versions like Dispossess and Lost Legacy. The fact that this can let you “cycle” a card in your hand is also not super useful, since you still have to cast this card, meaning you’re down a card to swap out the rest. I think you could remove the blue or maybe the black from this and still have it work. I like the idea of it, it’s just a little too hard to take advantage of as-is.

@gay-for-ocypete​ - Looking-Glass Lurker

I’m interested at your top-down approach to this, at least so far as I could tell. It’s cool that you took the idea of facing yourself to it’s logical confusion. I think this card has some issues, though. At the base, a five mana clone-anything is all good, though a little pricey for only cloning your own stuff, but this one comes with an effect. Good job remembering to put the ability in the copy text and not on the card itself! But I’m not sure if the game can handle it as-is. Choosing what you’re copying is done at a very weird point in the rules, and I’m not sure the game can “notice” when you’re cloning something. I think you could have just said “whenever a creature with the same name as a creature you control enters the battlefield under an opponent’s control…” It technically would have operated differently, but close enough I think, and it would have definitely worked within the rules. I also think the play pattern on this card is a little strange. Let’s say your opponent plays a clone. If they target your best permanent, then you get to flicker this guy and get an extra copy of your best permanent. In that situation, though, you already have your best permanent in play, and you’re just getting an extra one. Feels kind of win-more. If your opponent is ahead, then they’ll just copy one of their own things, and in that case your stuck with what you’ve already cloned. This requires a very specific situation to be relevant, even in the mirror. With that in mind, I think you could have made this 4 mana. It’s better than Mirror Image which is three mana, but the fact that it can’t clone your opponent’s stuff means it’s worse than Clever Impersonator. I think four mana would be perfectly fair. I like the way you fought cloning with cloning, and using the flicker to do it was really smart, but it’s a little too narrow to be worth the cost of playing it.

@ghoulcaclulator64​ - Relief Agent

The taxpayer. We have much in common. I like the concept of this card. A simple way to get around random tax effects. I also think in the mirror that’s super important because you need to get down your tax pieces as early as possible, and their taxes will slow that down. I have two complaints about the card. First is the body. The three toughness is nice, even if it still dies to bolt, but the low power and lack of abilities really weakens this I feel. You could argue it’s small enough to get under ensnaring bridge, but then it would really want some form of evasion. There’s a reason “hate bear” is the common terminology: two power really helps it make an impact on the board beyond just being a killable enchantment. The second issue this ties into is the power level of this card. This is a very narrow effect with not a ton of use, and while it is very strong at that effect, it still needs to carry it’s weight somehow. Unlike with some other hate bears like Leonin Arbiter, you can’t take advantage of this one in any way, like by playing a tabernacle or Fade Away or other cards that force all players to pay a tax. I understand why, since saying you don’t have to pay additional costs for yourself would be kind of broken, but the fact that there’s no way to get extra use out of this is a little disappointing. One other thing I’ll bring up is the concern of templating. I know what you were trying to do, but I’m not sure if the game can handle it. I don’t know if the game “knows” where the taxes are coming from when you pay extra. My assumption is that this works for both Thalia and Mana Tithe, though I’m not sure if there’s a clean way to phrase that. Your templating here is a little backwards, and as written would make it so I don’t have to pay extra costs when paying for costs for things my opponent’s control. I wish I could offer advice on how to fix that, but the best I’ve been able to come up with thinking of similar cards is just an ability that gives you infinite mana that you can’t spend on anything you control. But like I said at the start, I love the concept. I like the idea of a card that pays taxes for you. It’s narrow but effective.

@gollumni​ - Coercive Commander

Oh hey, crafty cutpurse but it’s permanent! And in white, which seems weird, but I’ll let it slide because it’s kind of like a cross between Anointed Procession and Containment Priest, but I still think it’s a close one. I actually remember reading the M-files article where they talk about how crafty cutpurse was a permanent effect but they were worried it would lead to just a bunch of unfun games, and that it was too broad and not focused at specific cards or situations. Your answer to that was making it a once-per turn trigger, and I think that does a lot for you here. Most dedicated token decks have a mix of little token makers (Legion Warboss, bitterblossom) that you can wait to trigger and break the buffer so you can play bigger effects like Secure the Wastes or Saproling Migration. I think you could afford to make this a little tougher to kill in order to make sure the effect goes off at least once instead of getting killed in response, and perhaps to make it a bit more of a body on it’s own instead of just hoping you steal something big enough to make it worth playing a four mana creature with almost no power in a creature centric deck. Four mana is also a tough spot in token decks, since it’s where anointed procession, parallel lives, second harvest, and some other nice token enablers sit at. It’ll hard to hold up four mana in hopes of getting a big hit off your opponent. But I think you did a nice job of making a more fun and useful crafty cutpurse.

@helloijustreadyourpost​ - Feign Ignorance

Mill, eh? Surprised we didn’t see more mill cards this week. I like how this works. It’s a two mana mill effect, so you will get a benefit off of it no matter what, and two mana mill 6 isn’t too shabby. You can also use it as a very strange sort of tutor, milling some cards but then eventually putting some back. It can also put any type of card back on top, which would be color pie break if this card was just blue or black, but since it’s both, blue can get back spells and artifacts and black can get back creatures, enchantments, and planeswalkers. Lands is the only weird spot, but I think that’s fine. The thing I’m most impressed by is the exact way that the activated ability functions. While the “can’t be milled” clause is clearly there just so you keep your cards no matter what, it also can be used as a sort of counterspell. If you’re targeted with a mill effect, you can activate the ability in response to protect yourself. You can even do it immediately after your draw step and have a whole turn, but at the cost of leaving those cards sit for a whole turn cycle. The other way this is more powerful in the mirror is just that you’ll end up with more to choose from, which is nice, and you can put cards on top if they’re on empty and can’t get those last four no matter what. All that said and done, though, I don’t think this card quite makes the cut. It’s cool and clever, but it just doesn’t do enough. Putting cards on top is just too slow for a lot of mill decks that need a lot of velocity. The way you lose playing mill is if you just can’t do enough milling quick enough before you die. If you play this and spend a bunch of mana to protect yourself, you’ll buy yourself some time, yes, but that mana could be better spent milling! This is a backup plan, basically, whereas I wish it could have been a little more aggressive. I think if the activation was cheaper, or there were a way to recur it, or if it was a little more aggressive in some way it would be more playable. The design is stellar, I just think it’s too slow.

@hiygamer​ - Recounter of Fables

I’ll admit, when I was first thinking of decks to list as examples of archetypes, Adventures jumped to mind, and I like where you went with it. It’s a card that specifically hates on adventures, but also has one! It’s also makes me happy that the adventure side is so weak in any other situation, because that’s how adventures should be: pretty weak. That said, the creature side is pretty much completely playable on its own. In fact, it might be too playable. It’s a three mana gravedigger in the right deck! Granted, Innkeeper is three mana less than beast whisperer and lucky clover is 5 mana less than swarm intelligence, so maybe the discount you get for having all of your creatures be adventures is that high? I also have some color concerns. Blue can return instants and sorceries, but they can’t return creatures. Adventures are both, but they are definitely more creatures than spells (since you can cast the creature without the spell but if you cast the spell you still get the creature). The adventure half is also hard to judge, since it’s almost closer to discard than anything else, but blue occasionally gets “can’t cast cards” effects. It’s really hard to judge the strength of a card based around one of the strongest themes in the most broken set we’ve seen in a while, but if I just look at what we saw in Eldraine, I think this is on par with what Wizards did. I think it’s a bit of a bend in blue, maybe a break, but I can see the argument at least. Perhaps this card should have been white? White gets to stop players from casting specific spells, and white gets limited creature regrowths. As is, this card is fine, a little pushed but only as much as any other playable adventure card.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ - Fighting Medic

I have a soft spot for first strike shenanigans, it always makes for really cool mechanics. The downside to them is that they can really get blown out against removal heavy decks, or control in general. But in the mirror, all of the sudden it has relevance! This card is meant to be an amazing blocker. It blocks and kills any two-toughness creature while saving you from taking an extra two damage. I do wonder if it’s worth the effort, though. If this card just had lifelink, I think it would be better in almost any situation. The best use for damage prevention is if they also have lifelink or some other damage-dependent ability, which aren’t as common as you’d think. I think what really would have made this feel great and useful is if it could prevent damage to any target. That would make this feel more fitting in a creature-centric deck, and it would give it a little more utility on attacks. Right now, it seems hard to get an attack in after a certain point, and if you do you aren’t going to trigger its ability easily (or use it, for that matter). As is, this feels a little too complex for what little it does, and I think just lifegain would feel more appropriate.

@misterstingyjack​ - Wild Challenger

This man really want to fight. Sadly, I don’t know if he’d survive. I think this is meant for big stompy decks, but I don’t know how much they want him. You would need to build this guy big enough to survive the fight, have him survive long enough to attack, hope your opponent has something he can target, and then he might just die after being blocked anyway. You said it works well with combat tricks, but it would require you casting them before players block, which is the worst time to do it, but also if your opponent has a trick it’s such a blowout. This card is either going to do a lot of damage or nothing. Load this guy up with counters and your opponent is screwed. Either you kill their big guy or they only have little guys anyway. I think this guy is enough og a build around you could have pushed him more. Maybe drop his cost by one or give him an ability like haste or trample. I really love the concept, though, I think it’s just not as useful as it looks.

@ozthearistocrat​ - Flame to Fists

Huh. The best way to beat your deck is to… stop being your deck. You thought I was a burn deck but now I am a goblin deck. Like a little version of Hostility. I think this is an odd mirror breaker because if you both have burn, then you’ll both be making the same change to a creature deck. But the difference is that you’ll see it coming. You can go down on life but save your burn, then drop this and a couple burn spells. Meanwhile they can’t deal that last point of damage to you because you’ve made a ton of blockers and they can’t just burn you out. It’s also great if you have this plus are siding in some other removal like a suffocating fumes or a pump spell like atarka’s command. You can of course also do fun stuff like Marrow Shards when you attack to double your force. Still, I think this is going too far into making a deck into another deck. You’re going to be using this less to combat burn and more to go wide with goblins or go infinite with impact tremors. I think this is a pretty cool card, but not really a good fit for this week’s contest.

@naban-dean-of-irritation​ - Through the Gates

This is a tough one to judge. While I understand that the point of this card is to fight against suicide black / aristocrats decks, but it’s just way, way better in control decks. This card says “whenever you kill a creature, gain control of it.” Decks built around multiple creatures dying in a single turn are actually better against this card, since this triggers only once. I’m also not a fan of “one or more creatures die” because there’s some weirdness there. If you deal 1 damage to each creature, then kill an Elvish Archdruid with a doomblade, will the llanowar elves dying count as a separate trigger or the same? Doomblade killed the Archdruid, but damage already there killed the llanowar elves, but they both died by the next time a player has priority. So if you would prefer the llanowar elf, can you get it? I think in order to get this sort of effect, perhaps you could get the enchantment to remove itself somehow. Like, by saying “Whenever a nontoken creature dies, you may exile ~. If you do, return that creature to the battlefield under your control, then return ~ to the battlefield at the beginning of the next upkeep.” It would mess with the card a bit, letting people flicker it for Constellation value, but I think it would make some of the templating easier. Currently though my biggest problem is still just how generically good this is. One free Grim Return every turn is incredibly powerful in a lot of decks, regardless of the matchup.

@nicolbolas96​ - Beast-Tamer Acolyte

Wow, this card is doing a lot! That first ability is super strong, especially on such a high-toughness creature. Ghostly Prison is strong enough that it hasn’t seen print in standard for a while, so making a strong version on a creature that can be hit by Collected Company is a risky move. Luckily, that last ability isn’t going to be doing much often enough to really affect the power level. But that’s not to say it does nothing! As far as this contest goes, this feels really solid. Casting cards from the graveyard is mostly a black or blue (with artifacts) thing, but it exists in white as well, and I can tell this is very specifically thinking of Lurrus. Sadly, you can’t play it if Lurrus is your commander, but if you’re playing something closer to a CoCo build this guy feels perfect. It’s strong, maybe too strong, but the design is really cool and nicely specific.

@partly-cloudy-partly-fuckoff - Revel Inciter

Sucks to be them. If you’re attacking with a bunch of creatures, only being able to attack half as often sucks. It’ll also make it a lot harder to block, which is good for an aggressive creature deck! If I were playing against this, I’d groan, but it isn’t an instant win. What keeps me from really liking this card is that it just isn’t on color. This is a blue or a white effect, even if it affected just white or blue creatures (though especially if it only hit red creatures). I think blue would be a little weird, but blue aggro is a thing. But if this were a white card with no other changes, I think it’d be awesome. Red white aggro is super common, and this would shut down the opponent’s force pretty dang hard. Fix the color and this card is great. As is, it’s just too off-color of an effect.

@pocketvikings​ - Swordstealer

Well, that’s to the point. Your opponent has a sword, but now you do! I like how straightforward this is. I also like how it can see maindeck play as a way to attach your Colossus Hammer or whatnot easily, and the flash even has a lot of use there to get around sorcery-speed removal. The rarity seems really odd to me, since even though the effect is clearly very simple, the interactions and situational nature of it does increase the complexity of it. There’s the classic problem of players keeping this card in hand until they see an equipment in play when they really should just be playing it as a body. The fact that this “attaches” but doesn’t actually gain control of the equipment is also going to cause some issues. This has been the case since equipment have existed, but the fact that the card is literally called “sword stealer” but does not in fact gain control of the equipment is going to mislead some people. I don’t think it would have been that bad if it did literally steal it, preferably just until it was unequipped or until this guy died, just so that players wouldn’t get the wrong idea about how this worked. As a whole, though, I still think this card is pretty well made, and the concept of it is right on the money. A good mix of maindeck playability and incredible power in the mirror.

@real-aspen-hours​ - Sanguine Ignition

I really like this card! Four damage for two mana is one of those things that’s both ridiculously powerful but pretty reasonable. We’ve seen it only once or twice before, ever. 2 damage for two mana, however, pretty bad, but not completely unplayable, as we’ve seen with stomp. I really like this card because it’s really powerful in the mirror, but in the exact way the mirror plays out. You can use this to hit pumped up prowess creatures as well as faces, but have to plan around it just the smallest amount. It isn't’ fancy, it just gives you a great rate on burn. There’s only two things holding it back. First, you can trigger it yourself a little too easily. Simply playing City of Brass gives you access to this. I think that’s a little too easy. A simple “by spells or abilities or opponents control” would have fixed that. The other problem is that it’s both hard to maindeck this card but hard to put it in your sideboard. If you’re building your burn deck, putting extra burn in the sideboard doesn’t really feel good. But at the same time, if you put this in your main deck, you’ll have just a weak two mana shock about half the time, which is not what you want even in standard decks. You could argue that these two problems cancel each other out, and that you can main deck it more easily if you’re playing pain lands and the mirror match just makes it easier, but in that case I think the painland issue wins out and the card’s just too good. However, if you put this in a very specific standard environment with a few ways too deal damage to yourself but not a ton, this card could hit just the right sweetspot of playability. And like I said at the start, I really like this card, and think it’s doing a lot of stuff right.

@snugz​ - Notus, Trustbreaker

Ah, planeswalkers, They never seem to get along. This is actually a clever way to hate on planeswalkers without calling them out directly (one of the reasons proliferate worked well in WAR was for that reason). I like the first ability, as I’m a big fan of modifying things based on how you did a semi-automated action. I do think it’s a little weird that it still hits you, seeing as how you’re the one building around proliferate, but I guess that’s the tradeoff for a powerful plus ability. The minus 3 is fine but I don’t think it is templated correctly. If a card has different types of counters, it’s unclear how they’re dealt with and by who. I’d say something like “Remove X counters from target permanent or player, where X is half the number of counters on that permanent or player. You gain X life.” Functionally I like it, though. It’s a high cost ability considering how situational it is, but with how powerful the other abilities are I think it’s fine. The ult I think works fine, though I’m not sure if you could do things like put flying counters on players or poison counters on creatures, but I’ll assume the comprehensive rules will update to regulate that. Also, based on how Reverse the sands is phrased and the rulings on it, I’m not sure if you can just suck up every counter. But if I assume the best possible scenario (put any counter anywhere), I like it. Also implementing it digitally would be an absolute pain, but I don’t count that against you. So yeah, in total, the card has some weird quirks that I don’t think make it a bad card but do make its place in a deck feel kind of weird. It definitely feels appropriate this week though.

@starch255 - Grand Minimus

Hoo boy, a one mana 2/2 haste. Those have historically been very powerful! What’s the downside? 2 damage basically very time you cast a spell? Okay, that’s close. Balancing aggressive cards like this is very, very difficult. Burn players already play a lot of ways to hurt themself for now reason, like playing fetchlands in mono-red. This doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch. The alternative, goblin guide, draws your opponent cards, which seems like much more of a downside than this! However, you’re right to put this in the contest this week, since if you play this against a burn deck you’re basically getting a half-price eidolon of the great revel, and if your deck is a certain way you may be able to get around it! My biggest issue with this card beyond the raw power of this in the main deck is how good it is on the play. Burn mirrors are already basically decided by who goes first, and this just makes that issue so, so much worse. If you play this and just go swinging every turn and let your opponent shock themselves over and over means you’re just going to win. That’s going to lead to some sad games. But, I think you were going in the right direction. I just wish this could be used more as a comeback card than a push the advantage card.

@stormtide-leviathan​ - Dementia Drinker

I like where you’re going with this. Discard tribal is a strong archetype, and making a card that benefits off of either player discarding is great! Maybe too great. For comparison, cards from Amonkhet that cost two mana would have effects like granting +1/+1 until end of turn or a little ability. This grants permanent counters. Playing this into burning inquiry (already a card being played in discard-focused decks) gives you a 7/7 flyer. Yikes! Even though this card is clearly aimed at 8 rack decks, and I do love it’s synergy with Raven’s Crime specifically, I think it may be a bit too much of a powerhouse in any format. But I love the design! Like I said, cards that make both players discard already see a little play in discard decks, so it’s an especially good place to make a mirror-breaker. The escape cost is also really clever, since your opponent is going to want to make you discard this for sure as soon as possible, but you can get it back as soon as they (or you) get enough cards in your graveyard to take advantage of it. So very good job with the card, I think it might just be a little too oppressive to see print.

@teaxch​ - Magnetic Grips

The equipment that lets you firmly grasp it. If you’ve got an equipment heavy deck, this card could do a lot of work. Free equips are very valuable, whether the memey colossus hammer or the backup plan with a batterskull or just a little extra value with a sword. The fact that this can target opponents' stuff almost feels like an afterthought, but once put in the context of this challenge is anything but! Slowly but reliably stealing equipment from other players is hilarious and terrifying. It’s not an instant win (which is nice), but does feel a little insurmountable, which I think is good for a card like this. My two gripes are that I think it could be a little cheaper considering how little you get out of it sometimes. You need this, a creature, and another equipment, and a reason to not just pay to equip. Though I could see keeping the price, and it just needs something else going for it, maybe a little more P/T or an ability, like haste. I also wish that it would let you steal the equipment until they become unequipped. There’s so many weird interactions, like sword triggers benefitting the players they just hit, except sometimes not? Feast and Famine for example would make your opponent discard a card but they’d still untap their lands. If this just stole the equipment temporarily it would be a lot clearer. I still love this card and this effect, and I think it’s a really cool and clever way of making a card that you would play in your main deck as a combo piece that’s weaker than others in general but amazing in the mirror.

@thedirstside - Betrayer of the Brood

For the Eldrazi mirror, or the tron mirror perhaps more likely. A very expensive and very restrictive counterspell/removal spell, but hey, worst case it’s a 6 mana 5/5 that blows up a land. At 6 mana I think land destruction is fine, especially when you have to build around it, and it’s just weak enough at that that you would really only want to use this in the mirror. That’s what I was looking for! I also like how, despite there already being a ton of hate for Tron in modern, this is a completely different way to do it, and one that’s strong in the mirror (you wouldn’t exactly want to play Dampening Sphere in your tron deck). One awkward part is that, while it can target a spell on the stack, a lot of the bigger colorless spells have triggered abilities when they’re cast, and it would have been really cool if this could have caught those as well. The last thing I’ll say is that it’s very vanilla for an Eldrazi. Once it’s in play, it’s just a 5/5. The triggered ability is also hard to abuse in the decks that would play this, there isn’t a lot of recursion or bounce in those decks. I think this card is pretty well made, but it’s a little too focused on just doing one thing pretty well for a deck that really wants to constantly throwing haymakers.

@vasnirada​ - Salt Dunes

This is a very narrow card, but as a land I think that’s for the best. A simple land that lets you combo off when your opponent plays a land if you’ve got a landfall-heavy deck. Good against valakut or field of the dead. But I think you’re really underestimating how good this is. You fixed the fact that it goes infinite with itself, but I still think it does too much. For comparison, Ancient Freenwarden, doubles your landfall triggers and costs six mana, though it does have an extra three mana effect. Getting the three mana effect left over with just a land drop is really strong. This card is less of a mirror-breaker and more of just an auto-include in any landfall deck. I like the fact that it takes what your opponent is doing and lets you do it as well, but I think it was a bit too powerful. Perhaps if it specified lands put into play that weren’t played? Like, triggering only off of lands that enter from the library. I think that would cut the power enough to not be broken in a way that keeps its intent as a mirror-breaker.

@wolkemesser​ - Gluttony

Well, gluttony seems like the logical conclusion to a food deck. At its base, this is a 4 mana 5/5 with a strong ward ability, that’s pretty strong! But the heavy casting cost helps. The triggered ability is what you’re here for, though. It’s got a lot going on. If anybody does it, this guy gets bigger and harder to block, which is good, but you don’t really want to do it yourself because you’ll get hit for some pretty big damage. I’m mixed on that. I kind of like that it lets you just go “y’know what, I’m just not gonna sac my food any more, I’m just going to kill you,” sort of a transformative sideboard. But it would be hard to do that considering how much sacrifice is in the usual sac deck, but hey, you can still sac to grow this guy!... and get hit for a ton. It’s really risky to play this card in the mirror. If they play a Liliana, Dreadhorde General they could end up hitting you for 8 and killing two of your creatures, and possibly taking no damage in the exchange. I think this card could have been just as good and powerful and fun without the damage effect. It just sort of muddies the utility of this card, and it’s already doing me so much. Don’t take me wrong, though, this is a great entry, and you really got the idea of this contest.

~

Phew! That’s everybody. Good luck next week!

-Mod Mr. ShinyObject

[rezdogsyonder]

Changing

Pairing: Peter Parker x Tall!Reader

Summary: Peter has found his soulmate but does she feel the same? Basically a soulmate au but different

Warnings: kidnapping, drugging,

A/N: Peter is aged up. Also I changed his powers just a tiny bit just one thing and the rest is the same.

This peice is unfinished and it will remain unfinished because I’m leaving tumblr and will not be returning. If you wish to continue this you may.

*********

Fuck. Not right now. Not today.

That’s all you can think as you’re nearly late for your first day as an photographer. It isn’t the first place you wanted to work for but you need the money. Well probably not a “real” photographer. You’re not hired for the job on a regular basis, but for their front page photos of Spider-Man. It’s cool, Spider-Man won’t let anybody else take his photos.

Well, it’s not really your first day but it’s the first day that Jameson is actually considering you as his official Spider-Man photographer. Before you usually would email him asking if he needed more photos and now he is finally now telling you that you’re going to be the official photographer for the weekly Spider-Man pieces.

You have started a blog for the hero and hopefully it will gain traction and maybe you’ll get to make an income from it. But for now you have to sell your photos to the Daily Bugle.

The rent is due Friday and you get a check from the gas station you work at that day, it won’t be enough to cover it though. But with a check after each batch of photos you provide will put you way over the green this pay day.

You’re rushing about your medium sized 1 room apartment. This place was a gem, the only reason this place was as cheap as a studio is because a billboard was directly across from the extremely large windows. Lighting up your entire apartment. It didn’t bother you much, it saved on electricity from never having to turn on the lights and all you needed was blackout curtains in your room.

You are not changing shirts but you squeeze into a pair of black pants. The grey boyfriend cardigan getting tucked in the back, but it doesn’t deter you from running to the bathroom and vigorously brushing your teeth. You’ll have to forgo the entire makeup routine but you have time for foundation and mascara.

Rushing back into your bedroom you pull a pair of socks from the top drawer of your dresser and look at your alarm clock. 9:42. 18minutes till you’re late. Well you know in Jameson’s eyes you are already late but he screams at you no matter what.

Your second shoe is tied, you got your purse and it has your wallet, phone, and keys already. You run out of your room and in the hallway of the complex. Fuck, locking these doors seems to be the longest part of leaving. 3 locks, self installed with the extra long screws. Never needed this much security before but some blind asshole next door seems to always be getting into fights. Like what the fuck, how hard is it to not fight someone, and then he leads them here.

Once the doors are locked and you’re out of the building you look at your phone. 9:44. 16 minutes to go around 2 miles. Well broadway cuts across, so probably less, but anyways you gotta run it. Now you’re not the most fit person, but you are able to push yourself more than what others would think you’d be able to.

Dodging people and avoiding running into the road, you make it to the first turn. Basically a straight shot now, but it seems as though people are wanting to be in your way today. You would love a bike right about now. Though you’d have a really high chance of getting hit by a car. But it’s right about the same risk since you are not stopping at the do not walk signs.

One car almost did hit you, but it braked in time but not without you slapping the hood as you went by. Not on purpose but from loss of balance. Well you probably would have slapped it anyways. Your face burns from the run, and the heat, it is the end of summer but it is still pretty hot out.

Oh god, this is awful, you’re just a more than halfway and you nearly ran into an old man and his wife outside of m&m world.

“Sorry!” You shout back but it’s not very loud and sounds winded. You won’t stop though.

Just a couple more turns. Just two more turns. Just one more. You keep telling yourself that you’re almost there, legs straining the muscles from the over exertion.

You get into the building and run to the elevator. You know you probably look unprofessional right about now but you don’t care. You just need to catch your breath.

You press the right floor and dig through your purse. The small mirror being a lifesaver as of recently, since being late is seeming to become a common ovccurance. You pat your forehead with the sleeve of your cardigan. You don’t look too bad, but not the best. You check the time, 9:58. Not bad, you’ll be just 1 minute early. The elevator ride giving you just enough time to breath properly.

The elevator doors open to the busy floor, and you go over to Jameson’s assistant, not even reaching her desk before she points her pen behind her to his office.

“L/N!” He immediately shouts, “Where are those photos?” He is still looking out the window behind his desk.

“Right here sir,” you pull the envelope out of your purse holding it out for him to take it. Which he does, ripping the lip of the envelope and begins examining your photos.”

“850. Tell Betty on your way out.” He plops you’re photos on his desk.

“850? That’s not my rate, there are 12 photos there.”

“These just aren’t worth your usual rate. 850.” He argues back, you’ve seen this before, had you been any smaller or even sitting he would have put his hands on his desk and leaned towards you to seem intimidating, but right now he looks like a child with his hands balled at his side.

“65 per photo or I go to The Post.” You won’t back down. That’s nearly a thousand, and you don’t want to let it go, even if it is less than 200 more than what he offered but you need it.

He stares at you, he’s turning red now in the ears. You collect your photos calling his bluff.

“Fine,” he grumbles, he presses a button on the small speaker on his desk, “Betty, write out a check for L/N for 975.” He released the button and you put the photos down. “Get out of here, she’ll call when we have another piece.”

“You’re a peach,” you smiled as you back out of his office. “Hey Betty, how’re you doing this week?”

“Just fine, but his wife wants me to control his anger as soon as his meds are sorted. Not looking forward to that.” She finishes filling out the check on her computor, and with one last click that is so familiar to you now, you know she printed it.

“Jesus, I do not want to be here for that.” You step back four steps to the printer and rip off the receipt at the bottom that she needs to keep and hand it to her. “Good luck, because you will need it. Thanks, see you next week!” You wave bye as the doors close.

Letting out a sigh of relief, and tucking your check into your wallet. You’re glad you won’t have to worry anymore. With this check you’ll have four or five hundred more than you’ll need for rent, meaning you won’t have to scrape by for grocerys.

You better hurry though, you have an hour till your next shift at the gas station and you still need a shower.

**********

The hours are going by slowly, with few customers to keep you distracted. Just 4 more hours and you get to call it a night. It has already been 6 hours since you clocked in and there had only been a handful of customers, making the day uncharacteristically slow.

Your phone begins vibrating on the small fridge below the counter, the shift managers name on the display screen. Seeing as there’s no customers you think it is fine to answer.

“Hello? Debby?” You greet subconciously.

“Y/N I have some bad news.” She pauses, “the person who is supposed to relieve you is refusing to come in. She quit.”

“What am I supposed to do? I’ve been here since 11:30, I don’t think it’s allowed for me to work past 1. Wasn’t her shift supposed to last till 8?”

“Yes I know but you are legally allowed to work till 4:30, and that is when I’ll take over because I cannot find another person to cover her shift. It’s only alright because I’m switching your shift tomorrow with Alex and you’ll have the day off to recuperate. Then it’s your usual day off the next so I think that’s enough time to get back to normal.”

“So I’m leaving at 4:30?” Disbelief evident in your voice.

“Yes, I’m sorry, I would get there now but John doesn’t come home until late tonight because he took the graveyard shift at his job and I can’t leave J.C. alone.”

“Yeah I understand, family comes first.”

“Thank you, you’re the best. See ya later.”

“Yeah, see you.”

You put down your phone and mentally prepare yourself for another 11 hours.

**********

Three red bulls, and a seasonal pumpkin spice coffee from the dispenser and it was almost midnight.

Many more customers has came in after the call, the universe seemingly wanting to tire you out further. Then it began slowing down again after 9. The time you were supposed to be going home if Patricia didn’t fucking refuse to come in.

It was about that time that a young man came in, wearing a dark suit but without the blazer. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Light brown hair and pale skin, he looked breathtaking. He quickly rounds to the back grabbing three of the big bottles of water.

“Just these for me...” he trails off as he sniffs, then he looks up and makes eye contact with you.

You two are staring at each other for a few seconds, his stare becoming unbearable and you look away.

“Ok sir... that’ll be 5.97.” You still feel his gaze. Refusing to look up, you bag his things. You hear his card slide through the machine.

“Thank you sir, have a nice night.”

“Yeah... you too.” And with that he was gone. Leaving you to think about this stranger for the rest of your shift.

**********

As promised, Debbie came at 4:30. You left to walk home. It was nice living basically across the street from your work. A short walk, but you still felt a sense of unease.

Looking all around you, you don’t spot any suspicious people. Not even one heading in the same direction as you. You let out a small sigh as you cross the road. But it does nothing to calm your nerves.

You’re trying not to seem panicked as you try to get through the door to your building but it might be obvious with how you’re shaking.

Past the door you let go if your breath that you didn’t know you were holding. Finally able to calm down. You walked to apartment, using the elevator instead of the stairs.

Once at your door your heart beat seems to have gone back to normal, but before you even put your key in the door you feel the hairs at the back of your neck stand up. You don’t know what it is, maybe it’s just a chill.

Unlocking all the locks you go inside, greeted by the bright pink fluorescent lights. You shut the door behind you and drop your bag on the floor. Too tired to care. Moving to go into your room, knowing that you’re not going to change into pajamas either.

Well probably take of the pants. Yeah, jeans are never comfy.

Shoes kicked off, pants off, bra off with some difficulty from your long sleeves, blankets pulled back and you’re ready for bed. You’re getting in when you hear a creek in the living room, but you don’t see anyone so it’s maybe the upstairs neighbours.

You turn around once more to lay down and you feel a pinprick at your neck. You slump over and you feel hands at your shoulders, picking you up in their arms.

Eyes won’t open, and you are quickly losing consciousness.

“Shh, you’re safe with me.”

*********

Your head is pounding, that’s what wakes you up. You still feel groggy and it makes your eyelids feel incredibly heavy. You want to sleep for more but your eyes keep fighting to open.

Once they do you are met with a room that is not your own. Everything is white, except the headboard which is a light grey, matching the bedside table. You look around, about 6 feet from the foot of the bad is a back door and there’s a bathroom to the left of the bed with the door wide open.

You run to the closed door, you grasp the handle but you get a head rush and are unable to turn the handle for a good 5 seconds. It’s no use though, the door was locked, and it doesn’t seem like a regular lock. It seems more advanced, it’s a regular handle but it’s warm, and doesn’t have any keyhole. It’s also not as big as a hotel handle, like the ones with the scanners. Irrelevant, but your mind is running a million miles an hour and you’re trying really hard to not panic.

You realize that you aren’t wearing your pants but a pair of sweats were at the edge of the king bed. You quickly pull them on. Your kidnapper has already seen your ass, but it’s a little bit comforting. Your bladder is full and it is more apparent now than a couple minutes ago.

They aren’t here yet, better be quick. You half jog into the bathroom it has a large sink and a nice looking shower, but you don’t want to use it due to there being no lock on the bathroom door and the shower door is glass. Not even one of those blurred glass doors, it is crystal clear.

You had already peed and we’re washing your hands when you hear a small beep and the locks opening. You’re drying your hands when you hear a knock at the door. You don’t answer.

Another knock, you stared at the door, a low sigh is heard and the door swings open.

It was the man from last night, except now he was covering his eyes with his hand.

“I swear I’m not looking but please come out right now.”

“... alright.” You’re voice is a little rough and just above a whisper.

“Thank you.” He turned around leaving the door open and you follow.

“Come with me.” he waves his hand over the lock and the beep is heard again.

He leads you through the door into a long hallway, when he turned to the left so did you. There’s no point in running when he would catch you in less than 2 seconds.

You pass by 4 doors, one on your left and three on your right. The fifth door on the right you entered and it was an office.

“Sit.” And you did, he sat behind the large desk and leaned forward with his elbows on it. “I need to tell you something that would be hard to hear. Hell, hard to believe, but just know that everything I’m telling you is true.”

You nodded when he paused and looked at you. You felt so out of place and uncomfortable. Heart beating so fast and hard, it feels as though it’s bursting out of your chest. Your hands slightly shaking and feet tapping where you sat on the edge of this obviously expensive chair.

“I’m going to be frank with you alright? You are my soulmate.”

You freeze, “wait... what?” You didnt believe it, he was right. He’s crazy. Soulmates were a rare thing in this world. How would he know? He only knew you for 5 seconds so why does he know? Why would he take you?

“We are soulmates. I felt it when I first met eyes with you, I know that you did too. I took you here because, to put it simply, you would be safe. There are many people after me and if they learned of your existsence they would find you and use you against me.”

“H-how do I know your not lying?” You stare at the lines in the wood of his desk, refusing to look up. When you look him in the eyes you feel the same pull that you did back at the gas station. You hear rustling and you glance up for just a second, then you look back when you realize it’s just his arm that he wants you to look at.

He begins rolling his sleeves like the way you saw last night. Or was it even still the next day? You don’t know. Not seeing any clock or any windows since you were at your home.

Beautiful lines are spread across his forearm and you realize it wasn’t there before. “Can you look at your arm?” His voice is gentle, like he’s trying to be comforting.

You stare at his arm as you pull your sleeve up, then you look down at a blank arm. You pull up your other sleeve just as roughly and see the same tattoo that he has. You touch it gently as though it’ll smear if you are as rough as you were two seconds ago.

“Mine showed up a little after I stepped out of that store. I guess you didn’t notice yours.” You rub at yours and it won’t come off, and the skin isn’t raised as though you have a regular tattoo.

“What does this mean?”

“This means that you are now mine.” You feel tears welling in your eyes.

“So I can’t go home?”

“No, and some things are going to change.” You look at him wide eyed, fearful for the changes that he has in mind.

“So I’m sure you have heard of the powered people of New York, and I am telling you that I am one of them. Not only that, but I am a member of the avengers.” He pauses, you feel his eyes on you and you can only assume he is trying to gauge your reaction. “But I didn’t achieve my abilities through government testing or anything of the sort. I was bit by a mutant spider and I gained the spiders abilities.”

“You’re... Spider-Man?”

“That’s right. Now that you’re here, I will have to give you the same abilities I have so that we will be on equal grounds.”

“How are you going to do that?” You look up at his face.

“I will bite you of course.”

[wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey]

Kdrama recs Part 1

Hullo and welcome to the kdrama life @camsthisky​! The following list is not in any particular order, other than the fact that I start with a more rom/com vibe and head toward more romantic/action or action. All the following kdramas are set in the modern day, and part 2 of my recs for you will be either darker kdramas set in present day or historical dramas.

Let the list begin!

1. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: 

Do Bong Soon is a v smol woman who has super strength and who wants 1. To create her own video game 2. Get her police officer crush to return her affections. Which like, police officer is kinda cute but he ain’t that special. Bong Soon winds up becoming a bodyguard to Ahn Min Hyuk, the extremely rich, kinda spoiled, ridiculously extra CEO of a gaming company who does not like the police for secret reasons, and sadly does not have a good relationship with his family. (He a lonely boy underneath everything.) Min Hyuk finds out about Bong Soon’s powers, is in TOTAL awe of her, offers to train her in fighting, and literally falls head over heels for her.

The caveat with this show is there is a subplot or two that annoy me, BUT I just use the 10 second skip button and it is totally worth it because the romance is super cute—SUPER CUTE (also I have a list of favorite actors and Park Hyung Sik is def on it—one minute he is an adorkable, blushing bby the next he can be intense and sad)

He cute

2. Her Private Life: 

Hello fake-dating!! Ryan Gold (an adoptee who didn’t live in Korea for a while) is a former artist who stopped painting because he couldn’t deal with his Stendhol (?) syndrome (among other traumas). Deok Mi is the classy art curator of a famous museum who definitely does not have any secrets she wants to keep from the world—well, other than the fact that she is the number one fangirl of kpop idol, Cha Shi-an (who also appreciates art) and has a major crush on him. Ryan becomes director of the art museum and there is a whole thing with getting Shi-an involved in an art show.

Following this and a series of unfortunate events a false rumor starts that Deok Mi and and Shi-an ARE dating. It’s a little complicated to summarize, but basically what you need to know is that Ryan and Deok Mi become a fake couple so there won’t be a scandal for Shi-an or violence done to Deok Mi by rabid fangirls. I enjoy the fake-dating trope a lot, and how it becomes real for both of them! The leads are played by Kim Jae Wook and Park Min Young, who both have incredible range. Lots of soft moments in this one! Good kisses, a scene where the faves bake together, and also Ryan wears a lot of deep v-neck shirts and jackets which is an attack on me personally.

The show also contains a bit of angst, which I LOVE. Hand-holding becomes an important theme 😊

RYAN NO

3. Crash Landing on You: Rich South Korean heiress/fashion designer Se-ri accidentally winds up in a North Korean village, and really REALLY wants to go home. Mostly because there are no scented candles or spa-like bathtubs in the vicinity, but also because she could easily disappear into a NK jail and never return. A North Korean captain named Ri Jeong Hyeok finds her and decides not to turn her because, one, he’s a good guy who doesn’t want to turn an innocent person over to what might be her death, and two, turning her over might get his four underlings in trouble for reasons. Said underlings are his family, basically, and they are a deLIGHT. One is an argumentative proud sort who likes to drink and to feel important and who tries to provoke (and gets provoked by) Se-ri at every opportunity, one is a lover of banned South Korean dramas, one is a 17 year old bby who misses his mom, and one is the silent but most loyal follower of the captain. 

Besides all these people, there are two other characters (including a surprisingly wise conman) who become faves and major players in the plot.

There is a great mix of humor, romance, found family, and angst, and I love it very much. A few things don’t go the way I want them to near the end, but a bit of imagination and fanfic can fix anything 

ALSO I FORGOT THE CAPTAIN GETS SUPER SULKY FROM TIME TO TIME AND IT IS HILARIOUS

Show of hands, who thinks they will meet again

4. Are You Human Too: A FAVORITE SHOW OF ALL! TIME!

What do you do when your husband dies and your evil mega-rich father-in-law takes your son away from you and keeps you from seeing him ever? Well, if you are scientist with more genius than positive coping methods, you build yourself a robot son who looks exactly like your real son. Great solution, am I right?

Nam Shin III is the name of my favorite robot son, played by the inestimable Seo Kang Joon. He is the purest bby you will ever meet, being designed so that he never lies and so that he will immediately go to hug anyone who cries. He seems quite a contrast to the bitter human Nam Shin, who hates his gilded prison life, hates his Grandpa, and tries to sneak away from his right hand man, Secretary Ji Young Hoon, his only friend in the world. The girl in the show is Kang So Bong, an ex-UFC fighter who was so badly injured she had to quit. She is at first a bit jaded and mercenary because of her past, but she has a golden heart that just needs to be reminded of its existence.

Not going into details to avoid spoilers, but everything upends when the robot Nam Shin has to take the place of the human Nam Shin. The show is a soft, funny, angsty exploration of what it means to be human, with some good found family throughout. The character development is phenomenal, and the connection between So Bong and Nam Shin III is *chef’s kiss*. I just want to give a shout out to Seo Kang Joon who plays a duel role like you wouldn’t believe, to SKJ’s smile, to the soundtrack, and to the character of Young Hoon, a loyal, steady, and self-sacrificing secretary that we do not deserve  (gosh tho he looks good in blue!)

Look at my robot son getting a long-looked for affirmation! (his lil smile!!!

5. W: Two Worlds: 

This show unique because it  meta as HELL! Oh Yeon Joo is a junior doctor and the daughter of a webtoon artist whose big hit, W, is coming to a close. Much to her surprise, she gets pulled into the world of the comic where she encounters and saves the main character, Kang Chul, a former Olympic shooting champion who was blamed for the murder of his entire family, and whose sole desire is to find the real killer. It’s a good romance between them, and I also love Kang Chul’s relationship with his hyung, which, tho it is not always a main focus, is present and wonderful. Kang Chul himself is both intelligent and adorably bratty, charismatic and angsty, soft and fierce, and he is one of my favorite kdrama characters for sure.

As for the meta, the show does a fantastic job exploring the rules of the comic world, of how one can enter and leave, the importance and power of main characters and supporting characters, and the purpose of an author. There is always another twist coming, and it is just so much fun!

UM SIR PLS POINT THAT ELSEWHERE

6. Healer: 

I watched half this show and never realized that the female lead is played by Park Min Young, same actress as in Her Private Life. Someone had to tell me lol! She’s just so good at playing different people. In this show, she is Chae Young Shin, a reporter for a celebrity tabloid who has big dreams of becoming a famous reporter who investigates stories that actually mean something. She is a bit quirky, very cute, very brave, and probably one of my favorite female leads. She lives with her dad above his coffee/teashop bakery and is friends with all the ex-cons he has defended while doing his other job of lawyering.

Anyway this show is more of a romantic/action drama. To get an idea of the titular Healer, picture what you would get if you took some of Batman and Nightwing’s aesthetics (wearing black, hanging out on rooftops, punching people, flipping around, etc) and put them into a night courier who likes to watch National Geographic and dream about one day going off to an island where he can live all by himself for the rest of his days because oh yeah he is a loner whose only friend is an older woman who sets up his jobs and whom he has never actually met.

There is also an older reporter that Young Shin looks up to, the fun tabloid office where she works, a heck lot of mystery surrounding some tragedy involving a group of reporter best friends/found family back in the 80’s/90’s, and of course both members of the OTP have childhood trauma that has made them who they are today. One of my favorite things that happens in the show is that Healer has to go undercover for a while, Clark Kenting it up in Young Shin’s tabloid office, which overnight becomes a real news agency for reasons.

The action is LOTS of fun, and the romance is really soft and cute, and better still, when there is a misunderstanding or something that gets in their way, they almost immediately talk about it and resolve issues. They TRUST each other and give the benefit of the doubt where many tv couples would break up or get in big fights. I find it (plus the character development) very refreshing.

I couldn’t find a gif of my favorite fight sadly. This will have to do

7. Lawless Lawyer: This has Lee Joon Gi. Watch it.

Just kidding, there are many other reasons to watch the show, but it is true that Lee Joon Gi is one of my favorite actors. The man has phoenix eyes, a jawline that could cut silk, diamonds, you name it, and such a deep well of emotional acting that it literally kills me when his characters rage/weep/love/etc.

Anyway, in this legal thriller/romance/action drama, LJG’s character Bong Sang Pil is a beautiful, very extra ex-gangster/now lawyer who opens his own office, ready to fight villainy and avenge his mom with the law or with his fists, whichever is more useful at the time. He has a right hand man named Manager Tae and recruits a bunch of thugs as his minions, and they all become a weird sort of family as the show goes on.

Ha Jae Yi is a quiet badass lawyer who has no time for sexist idiots and gets her license suspended for smacking one of said fools. She gets recruited to assist Sang Pil, and they find their goals align as both their mothers were destroyed by the villains.

Speaking of the villains? EXCELLENT acting by them all, like they need to go down obviously, but you can’t help but be in awe of a few of them or even get attached to one or two in a weird way. Props to the show for having one of the best female villains I have ever seen

What an icon

Here you get two gifs of him

Sorry I needed to make it a magical three lol

~~

Tune in next time for historical dramas and modern dramas that are a bit darker!

[histrionic-dragon]

Leverage: The Girls’ Night Out/Boys’ Night Out Jobs

Random “read more” cut after a few lines because it gets long.

The Girls’ Night Out Job

Aw, I thought they’d bring Peggy along.  --Ah! Maybe she’ll get involved after all.

Sophie’s outfit is great.

Parker is being a good friend, but awkwardly.

Tara and Sophie working together is-- <3 Perfection

Stolen/fake diplomatic ID: “Great for parking tickets.” I’m really enjoying the grifter banter.

She’s climbing the elevator cable in stilettos!?

Parker’s pride is on the line!  (I forget which specific moment inspired this.)

“The Parker?” :D Parker’s famous! Well, of course she would be, among thieves.

The three of them planning and power-walking down this hallway--! Yesss.

Peggy is involved! With a frying pan! Aw yes.

2 minutes. C’mon, ladies of Leverage, save the day!  --Yes! Evacuation!

(Hardison answers Sophie’s call while climbing a fence to get away from dogs) And weren’t they at a bar labeled “Mexican gang headquarters” earlier? ....What did poker night turn into??

Throw it out the window! And drink! I really do like Tara and Sophie’s approach to all this.

“I just play by a different set of rules”  Yay Parker!

“Same is boring” Awwww Parker. :)

Aaaand Tara winds up with the hot thief guy! Nice touch.

The Boys’ Night Out Job

Aha, it’s the same night! So we will find out why they were in a gang HQ and climbing fences and stuff.

“And don’t say Maggie”-- I love this. They’re such a family by now and it’s great.

“Do not let him go off and sulk”--I love how Eliot is Deputy Nate Wrangler when Sophie’s out. Honestly, I love the dynamic between Eliot and Sophie. Sometimes it’s like she’s a much-older sister; sometimes it’s play-flirty (e.g. Rashoman Job flashbacks); sometimes, like this, it’s “you are the eldest child, keep the house from burning down while I’m out.” But it’s not quite any of those things. It’s just fun.

“Terrorism and peanut allergies don’t mix.”  PFFFFT.  Shelly is....intense, but goofy. I can see how he and Eliot are friends.

How’s Harley? (Hurley?) Oh! That guy! Rehab dude! The one who didn’t really understand why what he did was wrong.  And this time he doesn’t even know--!

The argument about whether the church basement counts as holy ground is almost Monty Python-esque.

“This is the guy who helped me get clean and sober, which is kinda weird, since he’s kinda messed up himself”: Or, Nate Experiences the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known.

Nate is getting hugged way more than he’s OK with.

How did Eliot do that with the umbrella?!

“Sister Lupe!” (heartbroken) “....Sister Lupe.....”

Shelly and Bonnano roughhousing. Good to see everyone’s friends get along.  Also, there is so much orange soda in that fridge, and you can see those words crossing Shelly’s mind.

Everyone is enjoying this, aren’t they? The actors, I mean. Irish mob boss guy seems to like this role.

“That’s your pep talk?” LOL “It’s a little rough.” Heh. And Eliot can’t do much more than that, because then “I’d be thinking about you and Parker, which I never do!”  ...Huh. There’s some extra stress there, not just the exasperation/ anger I’d expect from “Nate’s missing and you’re worrying about relationship stuff!?” It’s more the “I don’t want to talk about this” kind of stress from when he’s talking about Moreau in the park in The Big Bang Job. Not as intense, but similar, that sense of holding something in. Would I notice it if I weren’t primed to look for OT3? Maybe not, but...I’m noticing now, anyway.

“Assertive”--heh. Oh dear . . . Eliot is now like c’mon, man.

Of course Nate would end up pretending to be a priest. In a way, I’m surprised it took this long.

Meanwhile, Eliot beats people up without ruining Hardison’s assertiveness. Eliot is sweet.  (Note: got to go back and see if the bar was full of choked-out guys in the other episode and I just missed it somehow. Like Hardison apparently does.) --So, there’s no way the gang leader was that focused on Mr. Assertive that he missed Eliot taking out everyone else in the room behind him. Eliot’s look at him as they’re leaving is somewhere between “thanks for not saying anything” and “you better not say anything,” and it is great.

Sidenote: I am pretty sure that Hardison actually did not notice, but if he did, I’m pretty sure it’s having the same effect as Parker’s “remember that thing you did with your pretend friends? With the lights and I’m pretty sure there was magic? That was really cool”: It didn’t work, but the fact that Eliot thought it would work, works.

Church escape! How did Nate get to a car that fast?

....It’d be a helluva plot twist if she is a nun.

Eliot’s quest to bolster Hardison’s confidence continues. Assuming Hardison really has a tell, Eliot lost rock-paper-scissors on purpose. And at the line “dogs out back,” he realizes he miscalculated.  --Still, he has to keep up the awkward distraction flirting! Which also isn’t going quite as planned: “ Do you want to touch my gun?” The awkwardness is briefly real (he didn’t expect that, and also Eliot doesn’t like guns).

Bonnano! And Shelly! Who is eating pizza. They clearly gave up on their weird friends ever returning with food lol.

....So wait, what happened to the cancer drugs? It looks like they arranged for the two gangs to be caught with those too, instead of giving them back to Sister Lupe. Hm.

Eliot winds up with “Sister Lupe”--of course. And Peggy ends up with Harley, who has a cat! Cute.

[notajinn]

Top 9 Games Played in 2020: Number 1: Bug Fables

Rising from the ashes of the once-great Paper Mario series comes a game I never expected.

A beautiful little game called Bug Fables.

Where It Excels

Bug Fables is thoroughly inspired by the first two Paper Mario games, and it shows. It uses a similar battle system, a Medal system similar to Badges, and even similar paper-like aesthetics. It would be easy to just say "wow, what a ripoff" and brush it aside.

But this is not a copy-paste of Paper Mario. This is clearly designed with love for those games, and for the people who enjoyed them. This is a game that says "yes Paper Mario was good, but how could it be improved?"

So let's talk about what it does differently (and arguably better) instead.

The story does not have the history of the Mario series to build on, so Bug Fables relies on having to be an interesting self-contained world. It does a good job providing lore as you move forward through the early story, and you can find optional Lore Books that give background into things like why some bugs evolved into intelligent beings, and the past conflicts between different groups. As someone who does not like most bugs in-person, they did a good job getting me invested. The tone is often lighthearted, but able to become serious when needed. The world feels more grounded than Mario, so there's a greater sense of danger during darker plot points.

I loved all three main characters (Kabbu the Beetle, Vi the Bee, and Leif the Moth) by the end, though some take longer to become interesting than others. Each of them feels well fleshed out, and get at least one important backstory sidequest.

And while it initially appears to follow the Paper Mario structure of "find the special items in episodic adventures, then go fight the final boss", it actually feels more like a traditional RPG because the story evolves over time.

In battle, you have three full party members. Each of them have their own HP and specials, and can equip individual Medals. You can change the formation of battle to decide who is in the front (more damage but more aggro) or back (less aggro but normal damage). Importantly you can also pass a turn to another party member, which depending on the enemies and formations may be your best option. For example if you have a bunch of flying enemies, you can just pass an extra turn to Vi so she can continue grounding them. There are certain enemy types that can only be reached by certain character's regular attacks, but you can often use a Special to overcome a lack of reach at the cost of SP. There are even combination attacks that take multiple characters' turns in order to deliver especially devastating specials.Each attack and special also have a unique action command that lets you make them better with good button inputs.

Medals are your equipment replacement, and can give you new active or passive abilities, or just raise your stats. However unlike Paper Mario, most the especially powerful Medals (like boosting your attack) are offset with a weakness (lowering your defense). This means you need more strategy than "I'll just equip this attack-boosting Medal." I'd argue there's less active ability Medals in Bug Fables than Paper Mario, but the greater strategy to the passive abilities makes up for it. There’s even strange setups like giving yourself poison but having +1 defense.

There are two EXTREMELY important Medals that Bug Fables copies from Paper Mario, but in a better way. One immediately defeats weak enemies on the field when you touch them. The other prevents enemies from getting a first strike on you. And Bug Fables gives you both of these extremely early with low MP cost. These make backtracking significantly less frustrating. The backtracking was one of the worse parts of the Paper Mario games, so I appreciate this. You also still get a fast movement option after a few chapters.

Quests are very well organized. You'll find a quest board in every town, and can take as many quests at once as you want. There's a quest log in your menu to keep track of them, and it updates as you go through steps of multi-step ones. And often a quest-important NPC will have an exclamation over their head to make them easier to spot. A lot of them have fun interactions and situations, so they’re definitely worth doing. Only one is a particularly long fetch quest with item trading, but it feels like a purposeful parody.

A lot of strengths in this game come from convenience. For example, you can fast travel between towns almost as soon as you unlock a new town. And you have two-item cooking unlocked from very early-game. These were things that felt unnecessarily gated in Paper Mario. Every party member can also scan the enemy to get stats and provide some information, whereas Paper Mario restricted it to one partner. As a bonus, this means you get three unique pieces of dialogue for every enemy depending on who you have initiate the scan.

Dungeons and their puzzles feel much more involved. There is less emphasis on platforming, and more on using your characters abilities like creating ice blocks. It's a step closer to a Zelda dungeon, which is appreciated. Save stones are well-paced enough to not make exploring feel to daunting either.

In terms of design and sound, it's strong for an indie title. They can't quite compare to a big publisher like Nintendo, but the world and characters look pretty good. And there's at least a few songs I still have stuck in my head.

The game also feels much harder than Paper Mario, which is good because I felt those games were too easy. It can be rough early on when you're learning, but fun once you get the hang of it. The game never gets to a point where you just steamroll everything either, so you'll have to continue paying attention for the whole game. I know some people like to overpower enemies, but I think that gets boring.

Where It Falls Short

While I don't like steamrolling enemies, I do like a sense of progression. And Bug Fables has that in many forms, like levels, and field abilities.

But at no point in the story do your standard attacks do more damage. Paper Mario would give you upgraded boots and hammers and you progress for more damage, but you'll keep hitting for your normal 2 damage here outside of Medals or an optional expensive upgrade. I know that in-universe it may have been weird to explain why Kabbu's horn is suddenly stronger, but they managed to give reasons for Vi not to fly despite being a bee for a long time.

There's also a dungeon puzzle near the end of the game that I found annoying. The solution to one section was actually to defeat a particular enemy. Given I was avoiding enemies at this point looking for a puzzle solution, this took longer than I'd like to admit.

You can also optionally get a fourth sort-of-party member, which I only learned about by accident when looking up Medal strategies. However it is not from an official sidequest that appears on the board, and I honestly missed any hints towards it. I was expecting them to show up in the late-game, but as I was getting ready for the final chapter I still didn't have them. Only when I specifically looked up what to do was I able to find them. I don't mind optional party members, but you need a little more guidance than what Bug Fables provided.

My final complaint may be strange, but...the game does not have a cliffhanger ending. It's a self-contained story that resolves everything important. Which means I don't think they can easily get another game out of this. But I'd love to see another similar game by this team.

Maybe if they do a time-skip and follow a different set of characters, it could potentially work.

Final Thoughts

Bug Fables is yet another indie title that proves you don't need to be a big studio to make an incredible game.

If you like classic Paper Mario, or just fun RPGs, I highly recommend giving it a shot.

[shellyb04]

After watching kdramas on the streaming services I had, I kept seeing recommendations for weightlifting fairy, Kim Bok Joo.  So I found Viki.  Where I have been trapped, falling in love with a new show after new show ever since.

Shows and my ratings are below the cut.

Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Bok Joo Kim Bok Joo is a weightlifter who is finally realizing there’s more to life than just sports.  This features crushes, sweet sweet boys, wholesome ladies, and fluffiness. 10/10  This was SO GOOD!  IT still gives me the happiest of feels to even think about it.  I just fell head first into this drama.  If I had one, teeny tiny nitpick, it would be that I think the 2nd lead is a bit wooden in his acting.  I could never get a good read on him. Marriage not dating Fake dating-Plastic surgeon wants his mom off his back and to stay single.  He falls into real feelings.   10/10  I straight up love this one.  There's drama (the hair pulling in the mall made me shout with happiness).  I love fake relationship dramas and that is what this is, until it's not.  I just seriously adore this one. Princess Hours AU History, Girl finds out she’s engaged to crown prince in an arranged marriage.  She marries him and DRAMA ensues. 3/10  I liked parts of this one a lot, but I just felt like it dragged way too long and kept repeating itself.  Plus the 2nd leads Mom was horrible and I felt no pity for her ever.  The kiss in the middle between the leads was extra good though.

Goblin First supernatural kdrama.  An immortal can only die when his “bride” comes along to pull the sword from his chest.  He meets his bride and the Grim Reaper moves in with him. 9/10  It took me a bit to get use to this one as it was my first supernatural drama.  I had to look up some history for it, which I love doing so that was cool.  Once I was in though, the main couple HAD ME!  The Grim Reaper was also fantastic and I wanted more of his friendship with the leads. Super big BROMANCE in this one. I liked all the supporting cast members as well and the last few episodes had me legitimately sobbing.

What's Wrong With secretary Kim Secretary Kim is the perfect secretary until she quits and her boss will do anything to keep her (cause he loves her, but shh, don’t tell him that.) 10/10  The chemistry is on fire, the leads are amazing and I like the secondary and tertiary stories that are going on all around.  This just lit me up from within.  The only problem was I felt like the reveal of the flashback plot took a bit too long toward the end.

Full House (2004 version) Girls house is accidentally sold to famous actor.  Contract marriage ensues.  MORE FAKE DATING!! 9/10  I'm a SUCKER for fake married, so they had an easy lead. (Also a sucker for couples who fight to cover their feelings so add another check mark there) Once again, it took me a few eps to get into it, but once I did, the Main Couple were my jam.  Fighting to cover feelings is something that I understand and these characters do it in spades.  The family dynamic made me super happy as well.  My only complaint is I HATE HATE HATE the female leads “best friends.”

Fated to Love You Accidental pregnancy becomes marriage of convenience becomes so much more. 7/10  While a bunch of the side plots in this are super cringey, I bump it massive points for the middle to the end of the show.  Now do I think some of the stupidity went on a bit too long? Yes.  Just tell the woman you bought her painting and why!  Could have cut most of an episode out.  But the scenes with the Main Character talking to the baby…just ugh!!! And when I realized he had taken the baby furniture into his room….and eating cake with the baby!!  I was a mess for a few of those eps. Also the main guys laugh freaked me out. But be prepared to CRY in a few places.  

All I want for Love is You Follows a couple who go to school together and she follows him to medical school (even though she is scared of blood).  She’s a dumb jock, he’s a smart sweetie and both are crushing on each other, but hiding it. (He had REASONS, but bleh) 9.5/10  I love almost everything about this Cdrama except the last episode.  They cram months and years of stuff into like 5 seconds.  We don't have time to process that the lead character may be dead before oops nope he's back.  Now kiss and run off camera…what?? But everything leading up to that episode was so good.  The horrible were horrible, but ultimately slightly redeemable.  The main guys stole my heart.   It was everything, (just wish the last ep stuck the landing)

1% of Anything  Girl saves an old man, not knowing who he is.  The old man without her knowing makes her a condition of his will.  His grandson has to marry her to inherit.   9/10  Fake RELATIONSHIPS GIVE ME LIFE!  But seriously this one is pretty sweet, once again it does bog down in a couple of places, but overall, super sweet experience

Oh My Venus Girl who was super hot in high school gains weight and then gets dumped by her bf (of like 15 years).  She decides to lose weight.  Her trainer and she fall for each other in the process. 7/10-the Main relationship was great once it got going, but I struggled with the family/company drama.  I got slightly annoyed at the very end of the show when she was bigger again because of her pregnancy and the man wasn't cool with it.

Fight My Way Four best friends (2 girls, 2 boys) live in a apartment block.  Main leads are stuck in dead in jobs, missing out on their dreams.  But not for long.  Also they realize they are stupid in love with each other along the way. 10/10  A bit of a slower start, but after the like second episode I was in love with it.  I wish the girl's plot had been moved a bit faster earlier on, but overall, SO SO GOOD.  Although the ex-girlfriend in this one serves little purpose.  

The World Owes Me a First Love CDrama, Mobile gaming company CEO and his first employee fall in love while dealing with a new dungeon release for their game. 8/10  Perfectly lovely story with sweet people.  I was pleasantly diverted

Love in the Moonlight Historical Drama-Woman poses as man for plot reasons and accidentally becomes a eunich in the palace.  The Crown Prince falls for her anyway. 8/10  Apparently I really struggle with the historical dramas.  I liked most of this one, until the end when it got bogged down in its own plot.

Coffee Prince Girl poses as a guy to get a job.  The boss is super confused, but falling in love anyway. 9/10  A ton of sweet moments with some fake relationship and gender misunderstandings.  I really liked this one over all.  The moment that the main guy kisses the main girl (thinking she's a guy) is one of my favorite moments. Also a later kissing scene is in my top five favorite kdrama kisses.

You're Beautiful Once again, Girl poses as boy, this time as her twin brother, to help him get into a kpop group.  And while there...falls for one of the members.  The boys do figure it out fairly quickly and decide to help her.  6/10  Okay, but nothing special.  The main girl is good, but probably good she never played the brother.  But that was part of what made it weird.  We heard about the brother for the whole series, but we never saw any personality from him, just sort of heard about it.  And the 2nd female was super evil!

Drunken to love you My first Taiwanese drama.  Leads get drunk and married. They stay that way for the plot. 8/10  Stupid in all the best way.  It did drag a bit and the introduction of the character Daniel felt super forced.  Seriously just super campy and I loved it.

Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me Season 1  Cdrama. Poor girl moves into rich house and Rich boy falls for her (with mother rooting for it all)   1/10  The dubbing was bad, the music was bad, the acting was atrocious and I barely made it though and could not do the second season.

My Princess 9/10 Normal girl finds out she's the Princess of Korea. Love the main couple. A few confusing plot bits in the middle and the two politicians add very little to the story. Ending was a bit confusing, is she still the princess or not? Mask 7/10 Woman is forced to take the place of her doppelganger and falls in love with her new husband. melodrama Main couple is too precious for words. Their romance is wonderful. The 2nd leads (and villain couple) are delicious. The sister is layered and understandable while the man takes moustache twirling to a new meaning. Suspicious Partner 10/10 Law student accused of murdering exbf, works with Prosecutor who loses his job over her case. They fall in love and solve murders. Also Super Adorable and ridiculously attractive. A few slow moments made up for by some really intense ones. Could have probably been tightened up into fewer eps, but all bad points made up for by supporting office characters (Investigator Bang and the CEO are the BESTEST)  Bromance!

And that’s what I’ve seen so far.  Currently watching Touch your heart.  Will let you know how it goes!

[kitchenkingblog]

Blender Reviews

Blender Buying GuideTop Blenders Online – Blender Reviews

Health has become the watchword of contemporary society but glowing complexions don’t usually come through diets of buttered haute cuisine. Most ‘wholesome’ tastes can be rescued with the aid of a blender, a dash of carob and a tablespoon of nut butter. If Mary Poppins were alive today, she’d have suggested a spoon full of cocoa and a high speed blender to make the medicine go down. Similarly, gastronomers and mixologists can achieve little without the ability to perform magic with snow ice and chilled gazpacho. Whether your primary source of nourishment comes from super foods, strawberry daiquiris or pommes puree, you will need to become acquainted with the technicalities of the best blender features for your needs.

Contents

Blender Buying Guide 1

-1) Name your position 1

-2) Creative cuisine or mashed potatoes? 2

-3) Dinner for two or twenty? 2

Top Blenders Online – Blender Reviews 2

Ninja Kitchen System 1100 – Mysticism Meets Versatility- You’ll Be Glad You Got Your Own! 2

Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender Review – Combines Power And Efficiency For Maximum Results 4

Ninja BL610 Professional 72 Oz Countertop Blender  – An Aide In The Kitchen – Affordable Help At Your Fingertips 6

     Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender– Reliable, Durable, And Efficient 7

     NutriBullet N12-1001 Pro Plus 10 pc-At Its Best – You Just Have To Get One! 8

-1) Name your position

If pureed spinach is your idea of a taste adventure, you don’t need potent horsepower and muscular motors. Those focused on improving their cocktail intake demand high speed blenders with ice crushing action. Blenders that can puree, grind and crush food into velvety submission without generating too much heat are a behind-the-bar necessity: They make quick work of icy drinks without melting them into a diluted mess. Foodies require pulse settings which redistribute pesto ingredients beneath the blades for smoother results.

Most blenders come with bells and whistles that take focus away from features that are of genuine benefit: A vast array of speed settings is less important than wattage and torque. An all purpose product has an output horsepower of three or more. A wattage of 1500 will fulfill the cuisine fantasies of the most demanding chef, whilst your simple smoothie aficionado will be satisfied with a more affordable model with two speed settings.

-2) Creative cuisine or mashed potatoes?

Amateur cooks looking for a convenient way to stir, emulsify and froth often prefer wand blenders with low torque. Stick blenders take power from their users, so they needn’t have the wattage to circulate ingredients through the blades. Motor power of 500 watts is sufficient . Thrifty cooks can save pennies by choosing 100 watt stick blenders. Cordless options are lighter, and protective blades keep our fingers relatively safe from harm.

Those who know the difference between crudités and mignardise need blenders that give them intuitive power over speed to produce diverse, exotic blends. Supreme versatility comes from speeds that are not automatically programmed. Instead, they can be adjusted creatively to achieve varying textures and tastes. Pedantic chefs need blenders that can perform multiple functions without stopping to change between manual and automatic action. Seamless setting changes prevent melting that can ruin the texture of ice cream.

-3) Dinner for two or twenty?

Even nonchalant cooks become pernickety when they need to blend their soup in three phases, which makes container capacity a core concern for most. A four cup container will only tolerate half its capacity to make room for spatter. Family blenders need between 40 and 60 ounces with tight seals and an escape hatch for steam. Plastic jars are less durable and hygienic than glass. New high tech BPA free containers are fabricated to prevent wear and shattering. Consumers with common sense expect their containers to have easy-pore spouts but this is not a feature to take for granted. The best blender review sites will point you to blenders that pore without dripping. A large container does not automatically translate as having a large capacity. Commercial users need two liter blenders that can be filled to the brim.

The best blender review sites present the intricacies of accessories, safety features and long term performance that will transform you into a kitchen legend in no time.

Ninja Kitchen System 1100 – Mysticism Meets Versatility- You’ll Be Glad You Got Your Own!

I love kitchen gadgets and I own quite a few. What strikes me with all of them is that they each bring something new and helpful to the table. Now what that means is that a device-whatever it is, will help simplify my life in the kitchen and make cooking for my family that much easier. The Ninja Kitchen System 1100 is so versatile and helpful that I am amazed each time I use it. I love the fact that something so compact can do so much and still look stylish while doing it. This kitchen system is small enough that it can comfortably fit on your counter or go on the road with you, all without skipping a beat.

List Price: $199.99 Special Deals You save: (31%) Availability: In Stock’

Features

• Blend recipe ingredients and juice your favorite fruits and vegetables

• Chop vegetables and fruits for all types of recipes

• Mix the components for your cocktails

• Create scrumptious drinks for family and friends

• Make creamy soups and everyone’s favorite- ice cream

• This kitchen system even comes with the attachments to make dough’s and batters so you can even tinkle with your pizza and cake recipes if you want to

• The base is no slip so you don’t have to worry about the device slipping or moving while you are using it

• The parts are dishwasher safe so easy clean-up is all but guaranteed

• A powerful 1100 watt motor means that no matter the task you set this system to you can be assured that it has the power to do the job and do it well •

Who is it best for?

The Ninja Kitchen System is for any and all proficiency of cooks. From the beginners to the more advanced chefs-everyone can find a recipe or recipes that they can use the system to help them execute. What this can also mean is that you and your family get to spend more time together as well. The time that would have been spent doing some of the tasks that the system can do for you can now be spent with your family. Of course the system can also be used as a teaching aid in small to medium cooking classes. New moms may find this system especially helpful as it allows you to create fresh, from scratch baby food for your little one as well as fresh juices for them. For those on dietary constraints, don’t feel left out. This system allows you to create and prepare recipes that taste great and help keep you healthy.

As with all things there are the aspects that we will like and those that we won’t. The best thing about this system is the fact that it does so many things and can free up so much of your time. The one thing I would say I wish were different is the fact that I can’t customize its appearance to suit whatever décor I have in my kitchen.

Final Verdict

I would tell anyone to buy this system for one simple reason. It does the job so well you’ll wonder why you didn’t get one before. It’s well-built so you won’t have any out of the blue problems to deal with and it’s powerful. You need to get one of your own. The time and energy that this system will save you, will more than make up for its cost at the onset and once you have it in your kitchen you’ll be glad you took my advice.

Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender Review – Combines Power And Efficiency For Maximum Results

If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you know how much of it you spend chopping, dicing, and blending. Even if you don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen you may have the occasional guest over or feel like trying a new recipe, or even creating a nice refreshing margarita, or perhaps a health smoothie. The Ninja sports a unique blade system so that you spend a lot less time trying to get foods chopped and blended, and more time enjoying the fruits of your labor.

The Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender has an updated sleek look which will fit in with any type of kitchen decor, or stow away easily into a cupboard to free up counter space. Ninja products are easy to disassemble, clean, and stow. Pieces (besides the motor of course) are dishwasher safe which saves even more time in the kitchen.

Guide Review – Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender

Rating:220 Reviews

Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours

Free Shipping:Eligible

List Price:$99.99

Sale Price:$63.68

Feature:Ninja new & improved blender Includes 2 Extra prep bowls

Feature:Crush ice into snow in seconds

Feature:Blend frozen fruits into creamy smoothies

Feature:Chop fresh ingredients evenly - no more mush

Feature:New more powerful & 2X faster

Main Feature List

• Large main canister for beverages and blending

• Two smaller canisters for chopping

• Canisters double as storage

• Able to chop ice

• Pulse action prevents pureeing

• Updated design

• Unique motor design allows easy switching between chopping tasks

Who is it for?

This great blender is ideal for either the cooking novice or expert looking for an easy solution to arduous chopping tasks. Onions, peppers, carrots, avocado, nuts, and ice can all be easily chopped with this machine. Instructions are relatively simple and the system ensures that the blades won’t start moving until the motor is fitted properly into the blender. Those concerned with efficiency, durability, and safety will like how well this gets the job done.

Pros and Cons

The Blender is more accurately termed a chopper. It can create drinks like margaritas, and chop up ice for smoothies, but is not what many would think of when considering a traditional blender. The Ninja is a lot more effective at chopping ingredients than a normal blender is, due to the different blade system. When the directions are followed to pulse, the food is chopped to the desired consistency. If you want the chunks smaller, you pulse a bit more. Very simple to use and even more so to clean. You may need to cut larger foods into segments that can fit into the unit, which is the same as a regular blender, and you may want to occasionally move the contents around to ensure that you get uniform pieces.

Why you should buy it?

The easy chopping action of this system makes things so effortless. There is no need to waste food that turns into a puree when you want it chopped instead. The dual blades, one towards the top and the other towards the bottom, ensure that the chopping is evenly distributed. Easy to store, durable, safe, and a huge time saver. For the most part any food that you would normally chop by hand can be chopped by this product. Cut into sections that will fit into the canister and the rest is done in a matter of seconds.

Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender – Final Verdict

Overall, if you are looking for something to help you chop in the kitchen or you want to try creating your health smoothies or margaritas this is definitely worth a try. The blade system is so much more efficient than other traditional blending systems. The Ninja Master Prep Professional Blending system allows you to prepare ingredients for meals in a fraction of the time it may have before. One meal that involves chopping celery, peppers, onions, and carrots may normally take quite a long time, but with this system you can just set up multiple containers then pulse the contents with the motor for a few seconds till you’re happy with the results and move onto the next container. Minimal work for results that look like you spent a long time with the prep work. With the easy cleanup, this is a great kitchen solution.

Ninja BL610 Professional 72 Oz Countertop Blender  – An Aide In The Kitchen – Affordable Help At Your Fingertips

Once you work in the kitchen you are going to need the help of devices that can simplify your job- whatever it may be at that point in time. The Ninja BL610 Professional 72 Oz Countertop Blender t Immersion Hand Blender is such a device. This hand blender does it all- froths, whisks, whips, mixes, chops grinds and blends with so little change of motion that it just may shock you. As the name suggests, this immersion hand blender gives you the option of simply combining all of your recipe components together or doing something more.

Features

When you check the market for kitchen appliances you will see that there are tons of devices on the market that claim to be simple to use and that can be used in so many different ways and yet for some reason or the other they just don’t. You as the consumer need to at least have an idea of what you want, need and can afford before you go shopping and make a choice.

• Six attachments- 4 blades that perform a myriad of functions as well as a whisk and big chopping attachment.

• A powerful base- with 550 watts of power you can be sure that this hand blender will be able to perform whatever tasks you want it to.

• Style- with the option for you the buyer to customize the finish of this hand blender to whatever colour scheme is in your kitchen, you can be sure that you will be able to have versatility in your kitchen as well as style.

• Longevity- this device comes with a 15 month warranty (which is more than most devices of this type comes with

Who Is It For?

The Ninja BL610 Professional 72 Oz Countertop Blender r can be used by people of varying proficiency levels in the kitchen. For the kitchen klutz that is finally learning to cook and wants a simple to use tool that will help them along on their journey to the intermediate guru, those that know the basics and want to venture into more advanced recipes that will enhance their repertoire’, to the gourmet powerhouses who know just what they need in a kitchen device and will settle for nothing less. This hand blender treats with all categories and all skill levels of cooks.

Pros And Cons

As with everything else in life and by extension the kitchen, there will be pros and cons. The biggest pro of this blender is the fact that it’s so versatile. It can be used to make soups, meringues, cakes and so much more. Some might even say it’s too good to be true. The cons- I can honestly say that there don’t appear to be any. For a device of its kind it fulfills all of its design specifications.

You should buy this product if you are looking for a kitchen tool that is easy to use, or if you are looking for a kitchen tool that can fill multiple functions and not cost you anything additional. It’s a must have in today’s kitchen when you want to be able to create and execute recipes in your kitchen with a minimum of fuss.

Final Verdict

If you are anything like me then you want help in your kitchen that is no frills and no fuss and is also not expensive. If you share my point of view then this is the blender for you. Don’t just take my word for it. Do some research of your own and then you decide what will work then best for you and your kitchen.

     Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender– Reliable, Durable, And Efficient

Whether your want to make salsa, margaritas, or healthy smoothies, this blender can get the job done. The uses for this nifty kitchen gadget are only limited by your imagination. Cut onions without the mess and tears in a matter of seconds. Combine spinach, gouda and avocado with ease for the ultimate blend for your next grilled cheese sandwich. This blender is tough enough to shred ice for a snow cone for the kids, or chop nuts to combine with salads. The  Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender offers the functionality of many higher-priced models of blenders at a fraction of the cost.

Ninja has been putting out kitchen equipment for quite a few years now and designs their products with ease of use, safety, and effectiveness in mind. Anyone who is tired of spending hours chopping will be grateful for this piece of equipment.

Main Features

• Large capacity pitcher which holds 72 ounces

• Powerful 1000 watt motor

• PULSE options

• Dishwasher safe components

• Easily removable blades

• Unique 6-blade technology

• Able to crush ice

• Three speed controls

• Special storage for the cord

Who is it best for?

This great blender is perfect for anyone who wants to save time with different types of kitchen preparation, or wants to avoid spending hours in the kitchen. Onions, nuts, ice, and nearly any food can be chopped by the Ninja quickly and efficiently. The pulse option gives you the control to decide the amount of chopping necessary for whichever dish you are preparing. The Ninja NJ600 Pro Blender is easy to use, so beginners in the kitchen as well as those who have been cooking for years will be able to use this effortlessly.

Pros And Cons

The blender is able to chop a number of ingredients with ease and due to the large capacity can handle enough for the whole family or to store for use later. It does not whip ingredients, but does cut through ice and chunks for a smoothie to be sipped through a straw. If you want a thicker smoothie, just add more ice until it is the consistency you desire. Blades are extremely sharp in order to cut through tough ingredients such as ice or nuts, so there are safety features in place to try and protect the user.

This blender is consistent and durable. It handles ice which many blenders are not truly equipped to handle and therefore cannot make snow cones, margaritas or adequate smoothies, while the Ninja can. It has thoughtful safety features, which ensure that accidents won’t happen. The large capacity is perfect for making smoothies the whole family will enjoy, or for putting in the fridge for later. Great for party drinks as well. Also easy to make large batches of salsa or to create your own special salsa recipe.

Final Verdict

Overall the NJ600 Pro Blender is priced reasonably, but offers the performance of a product in a higher price range. This is primarily for chopping and blending, so you won’t end up paying for functions that you are never going to use. The manufacturer warranty is one year and the product will pay for itself very quickly in the amount of time it saves in the kitchen. Onions are an annoyance to chop at best, but by just halving the onions, or cutting into quarters and throwing them into the Ninja you can use the PULSE option to have them chopped in no time without all the tears and stinging eyes. Cleanup is a cinch which makes this a great choice for anyone’s kitchen. The fact that it can be easily disassembled for storage and cleaning make this a solid investment that will see plenty of use in the kitchen and save valuable time.

NutriBullet N12-1001 Pro Plus 10 pc,At Its Best – You Just Have To Get One!

In the course of life, there will be times when existing products on the market, just don’t get the job done and in cases like that some enterprising person makes the leap towards becoming an innovator. TheNutriBullet N12-1001 Pro Plus 10 pc Hi-Speed Blender/Mixer System is a study in innovation and this device helps you realize the innovator within you. The device is a compact 7.4 pounds- which means that it can be stored just about anywhere and with a powerful 600 watt motor you can rest assured that this device will meet and exceed you expectations as far as its ability to get the job done is concerned.

Main Features

• A 600 watt motor base

• A flat blade and emulsification blade

• Two short cups and one tall cup

• Two re-sealable lids for easy storage and mobility on the go

• A manual, pocket nutrition guide and recipes

• The ability to enhance and create new recipes for you and your family’s enjoyment

Who Is It Best For?

This blender is for everyone. It can be used by children (with adult supervision of course) to make smoothies and other frozen treats and even help in the preparation of baked goods as well as it can be used by teenagers for quick go to snacks that are low on the calorie side of things and fill the ache of hunger. Adults can use this device to make scrumptious meals that take up a fraction of the time of similar products and the young at heart can make easy healthy meals as well.

Pros And Cons

Most things in life have their own set of pros and cons. This blender is no different. One of the best things about this blender is its versatility. It can be used in any number of ways, is small enough that it takes up very little space and it boasts a very powerful motor. The only con that I can see this device as having is the fact that the cups aren’t very huge. If you are looking to make a large batch of a particular recipe then you are going to have to do it in stages, which take up more time than you may be willing to spare for the task at that time. Other than that I have a blast when I am using it and you will too.

Why should I buy it

You should buy this device if you are looking for a blender/mixer system that is easy to understand and use, is small enough to be easily portable and has one of the most powerful motors in a device of its kind. Personally, I bought this device because I hate headaches and love to have easy ways of getting a particular job done. This device has simplified my life. I can make marinades for a variety of meat selections at the drop of a hat. I can make the components for both hot and cold soups with ease. I can even make healthy and fast foods for my baby. There aren’t many devices that allow you to do so many things but this device does and that alone deserves your attention.

Final Verdict

There is no reason why you shouldn’t get this amazing blender. From the price (which is objectively set) to its size even to how much it weighs-it all comes together to ensure that you get a device that can do everything you need it to do and more. You just have to get one!

[record-on-the-shelf]

Being a Starbucks Barista During COVID-19

So…I’m a Starbucks barista that decided to go back to work. For those of you who don’t know, Starbucks gave their employees the option of whether they wanted to go back to work or not. We get paid our average hours through May 3 regardless of what we decide. I’ve been with the company for over 2 years now and have never taken a vacation. So of course I took advantage of taking a week off and getting paid to do that. Being who I am, I lasted only 1 week before I got stir crazy and wanted to go back to work. There were also some good incentives to go back to work such as our usual free drink/food and coffee bean mark-outs, but we also get an extra $3/hr, 50% discount and tips. The tips definitely make it worth it (I went from getting $20 to $120 every week!!). Anyways, I got some insight for you on what it is like to work during COVID-19 as a Starbucks barista.

Company-wide: Cafe stores are closed, hours have changed, drive thru and grab-and-go only. Most stores in each district are closed. The amount of stores that are open are dependent on the amount of employees willing to work. We, the employees, are not to blame for stores not being open close to hospitals. The stores are determined based on if they have drive thrus and if they have enough space to accommodate grab-and-go pickup. 

My store: We are only open 7-2 because our district thought it was best to have 2 stores open instead of 1 to alleviate the line a bit. Our line begins forming 30 mins to open and continues being busy until we cut off the line 30 mins to close. Sometimes, the line gets out of hand and wraps onto the main road in front of our building. We have had the cops come and redirect the traffic because it gets bad at times. Typically our line is 30+ cars long and it takes us anywhere from 30-50 mins to get through the line depending on how large the orders are and who is actually making the drinks. People make the decision to get in line despite knowing it will take awhile.

At my store in particular, we get quite a few bad, rude and/or entitled customers.

“Since I can’t come inside to enjoy my drink, can I get 2 free coffees that Starbucks is offering?” Umm..what now? We are in a pandemic and we are not giving you free coffees because of the mild inconvenience. On top of that, the offer is for front-line health care workers to get a free tall hot/iced coffee. The coffee isn’t for bored soccer moms with nothing else to do...

“This line is ridiculous!! You need to get employees that can actually do their jobs.” Sorry you feel that way. We have been trying our best. Taking it out on the employees is not going to solve the problem. On top of that, we don’t have enough employees. If you want the store to remain open, you have to deal with the line. Plus we didn’t hold you at gunpoint to get in line. The only way to make the line shorter is for customers to obey the stay at home order.

“You need to open more stores.” Sorry, we don’t have enough employees. (I had to repeat this at least 3 times per person because they weren’t grasping the concept of work being voluntary.)

My manager and I went out to cut off the line because we were about to close and a woman tried cutting in front of 10 cars to make sure she could still get a drink. I told her that the line goes back behind her, that she was cutting the line, and that we were not taking any more customers. She ignored me, sped to the back of the line where my manger was and lied to her saying that I told her that she could get in line. My manger, not wanting to deal with it, told her that I 100% didn’t say that but let her in anyways to avoid any more lies and yelling.

Customers have attempted to bribe the barista stopping the line to let them in. 

Several customers have ran over our sign with our hours that blocks the drive thru when we close. They think that by getting into the drive thru lane automatically means we have to serve them. Sorry, that is not the case.

One customer yanked and banged on the front door after we closed. Keep in mind, we have 4 signs on our door and I wrote our hours largely on the windows too. He proceeded to look confused, walked around to the side of our building to the drive thru window and started banging there too. If he didn’t leave, we were going to call the cops. Thank goodness it didn’t have to come to that. Our store has made too many calls to the police this past year.

“You guys always run out of food.” We order as much food as we can that makes sense. We have donated so much food to Salvation Army at the end of each day. Trust me, we only run out of popular food and that happens maybe an hour to close. If you come late, there’s a good chance that the food item you want will be gone. 

Customers will crowd around the front door and attempt to drink on the patio. We have to continuously go outside to tell customers to stay 6ft apart and that they have to enjoy their drinks in their car and not by the door.

A lot of young teens come through the drive thru and then park in the lot to spend time with each other. 9 times out of 10, they don’t practice social distancing. Since they are on our property, we can get in trouble too so we try to shut it down as much as we can.

I also spend a lot of time online when I am not at work. I’ve looked on reddit, tumblr, twitter, facebook and the news to see what customer concerns were.

One customer was mad that they could no longer access the free internet we provide. Saying that we “needlessly closed the cafes.” Sir, we are not purposely attacking you. We have to think about our safety as well as yours. If you need internet, several grocery stores have free internet. You can sit in the parking lot and still access it in most cases. 

“Starbucks is not an essential business and shouldn’t be open.” I generally agree with you. However, the amount of healthcare workers that come through and show us immense amount of gratitude makes it worth it. We are meant to be open to serve them. Sadly, we get more people that are meant to stay home, coming in. They make the line too long where some essential workers don’t have time to sit and wait.

Customers have been complaining on reddit that we have been rude. I can’t speak for other stores, but mine has tried to remain positive and friendly. Keep in mind that we are scared and worried just like you. We can only hold back our fear from turning negative for so long. We deal with customers not following social distancing and the stay at home order coming in. They can be mean and downright disrespectful at times. We wish that we could refuse service but we need to keep in mind our policies. Overall, we are stressed to the very limit while working. All stores are. Lines are too long, some cars have families who order 6 custom drinks that take extra time. Then mobile/delivery orders come through with up to 20 drink orders at a time. 

However, there are some pretty great times too.

Customers bring in their dogs to get pup cups. I take pictures of course! They brighten up our day so much.

Customers are generous with tips. We may have tipped the scale a bit by putting two tip jars out with a yes or no questions attached to them. We have done simple questions too like “do you like cats or dogs?” or our best question was “Did Carol Baskin kill her husband?” We have fun with it and so do our customers.

We get customers that are extremely funny or pleasant to talk to while we make their drinks.

We get to meet employees from all around and make new friends. 

We have the honor of serving our front-line workers.

If you decide to come to Starbucks:

Make sure you have time to wait in line.

If you don’t have 30+ mins, mobile order and come to the front door. Please give us at least 5-10 mins if you can.

Pay with card or phone to prevent cash handling. Every time we handle cash, that person has to go to the back room and wash their hands. Save everyone’s time by doing that.

Wear a mask. The CDC recommends it and it gives us more peace of mind.

Don’t touch our hands when we hand you your items. Again, we have to wash our hands, which wastes precious time. 

Only front-line workers get to take advantage of the free drink promotion. 

Have backup food/drink items in mind! Due to the increased volume of orders, we run out quickly. We don’t want you to waste time in line if we don’t have the specific item you want. It sucks waiting so long and to not get anything at all. 

Don’t try to be funny and fake cough. It makes us freak out.Don’t be that person.

Don’t smoke cigarettes in our drive thru. Some of us have allergic reactions to the secondhand smoke. We have told people before. Most don’t listen. We have, in the past, shut the window and refused to serve them until they put it out. We hate doing that but we are not putting our employees in harms way just so you can have a quick high. Wait until you leave our drive thru please and thank you.

Be aware of our hours. Don’t get mad when we stop letting new cars come through. 

Please refrain from ordering at the window. It messes up the groove of the people making drinks. It makes the line stop longer than it needs to. 

Let us know if the food item you want needs to be warmed. Some items come warmed automatically while others don’t. If you come to the window, take your items and then tell us you wanted it warmed up, we have to throw the item away and get you a new one. Don’t waste food. 

Same goes for drinks. Let us know if you wanted it hot or iced, what size and if there needs to be sweetener. The drinks all have their own presets. If you don’t tell us, don’t get mad when we make it to the preset. It is up to you to order correctly. Side note: if you think you are going to pull off the TikTok hack where you purposely order a grande and get to the window and say otherwise, you are mistaken. You WILL NOT get the extra drink for free nor will you get away with not paying for the size up-charge. It has happened way too many times and we are over it.

Tip your barista? We don’t have to be here, but we are. Most of us rely on tips to pay our bills. Some of us got laid off from our second jobs. Some of us have partners that got laid off and need as much extra income as possible. 

In general, be nice. It makes everyone’s day better if you do. We get nasty customers and having great ones help make the day not suck. Trust me when I say that being called a c**t, a b***h, a w***e, etc. for just doing my job to the best of my ability sucks. It makes you not want to come to work anymore. Plus I believe in karma. 

That’s all for now folks! Message me back stories if you are also a barista, I would love to hear how your store is doing. I will block and report trolls so don’t do it. I may update this post or make a part 2 if I have more stories. Let me know if you want to see the dog photos? Umm I think that’s it?

[ivyuns]

hours without you ❆✰

lee minho

genre: angst / fluff

word count: 2.9k

warnings: mentions of mafia but there’s no fighting involved + bad language

A/N: another story from my dream, except this was about my parents and it was horror actually so 🤡

masterlist

-

1 am.

“maybe we should’ve have gotten married in the first place!” y/n shouted at minho. “i’m so sick of you leaving the family during the day and come back with bruises. what would happen if you continued doing it? what would happen to me and miyeon? how would we live?”

all minho could do was look down at his shoes. he didn’t want to disappoint you or miyeon. he wanted to kill all the bad people so miyeon wouldn’t have to witness it, just like what you did in your teen ages. miyeon was just four years old and neither did you or minho want her to see these type of things as minho’s job. making you have to do work from home and miyeon being home-schooled in the future.

without one night of arguing at 1 in the morning would be a routine. it’s like you and minho were arguing, non-stop with miyeon quietly listening in her bedroom upstairs. she wanted to sleep, not hearing her parents who she loves so much from her heart argue. it was now 2 am now and she still heard talking. the next thing she heard was the door slamming and her fathers sobs.

7 am.

miyeon came out of her room to the whole house being quiet. with her tiny steps, she carefully made her way to open her parents door, only to find nobody in the room. so goes down stairs and see her father; sleeping on the couch with dried tear streaks on his face. miyeon whimpered and touched her dad’s face with her baby hands as her fingers when over the bruises and cuts on it.

minho’s pov

my eyes slowly opens to the warmth of little hand. ‘ah, miyeon’. i suddenly got worried after i saw tears coming down her face. “where’s mommy?” with that question, i started bawling my eyes. being in a gang wasn’t easy. especially when you have to protect the two girls you love.

all i wanted to do was save up some money to take the girls to lotte world and i finally did it. except, only one would be left out.

2 am.

y/n’s pov

as i slammed the door shut, i could hear minho’s sobs. it broke my heart but i couldn’t bare of what he’s done to the family. working in a gang, not coming home for family purposes, etc. walking around seoul, with nothing but my phone. i looked down while walking, thinking of the past.

‘i love you y/n. i was going to wait but since you told me about the news and the baby, i decided to do it now.’ minho says softly to you, as he gets on one knee and proposes to you.

‘yes! yes of course i will minho!’

-

‘you’re doing great, honey. just a bit more’ as minho caresses your hand while giving birth. you kept pushing until you heard baby cries. and with that, the tears that were in your eyes were turning into joyful eyes. the nurses hand over yours and minho’s baby and happily says “congratulations. it’s a baby girl” you and minho could stop smiling and crying. “let’s name her miyeon. lee miyeon.” you suggested. “i love it. baby miyeon” minho says and kisses both yours and miyeon head.

the time you and miyeon were resting in the hospital room, minho couldn’t help but shed more tears, joyful tears. miyeon sleeping in the crib next to you and you in the bed. he went to miyeon as he took a peaceful moment to see his beautiful babygirl. “i love you miyeon. me and mommy loves you so much. don’t forget that little one. daddy will take care of you both” minho says gently, as miyeon woke up and instantly wrapped her little fingers around minho’s finger.

you woke up just as you saw minho going to miyeon, but stared at him and miyeon silently. you smiled to yourself, knowing that even if minho is in a gang, he would still be with you and miyeon. every second as she grows and everyday that’s alive.

-

you stopped walking as you stopped in front of your best friend, julia’s apartment. knocking instantly, knowing she’s still awake since this girl has her sleeping schedule ruined. julia opened the door to see you, wearing a sleeveless crop top, minho’s baggy sweatpants, your messy hair that’s down, and tear-stained face.

julia instantly pulled you inside her apartment since she understands the whole part of minho and the mafia and locks the door. “y/n, what happened?” this was the first time you had to go to julia. you and minho would rarely have any serious fights until this week. you were done for the week and all you wanted was minho to spend time with you and miyeon, except that never happened.

you explained to julia of the events that happened with you and minho. you couldn’t help but cry more as you explained everything. you eventually passed out while julia offered you a hug. she knew that you couldn’t handle of being alone so she slept with you; you on her bed and her on the air mattress (that the air pump didn’t even make you flinch at all)

7 am.

y/n pov.

you woke up to a headache and julia softly snoring on the floor. you smiled to yourself and whispered “thank you so much julia. i owe you a big one’. you grabbed you phone from the nightstand that julia had kindly charged for you instead of her own and as soon as you saw the time, you instantly got up. the fact that all of these loud noises you created made julia wake up.

“y/n? what’s wrong?” julia said, tiredly.

“i’m late for work! can i borrow some clothes please?” you exclaimed while you were washing your face. “y/n it’s okay, i called your boss at 6 am saying you have a fever and that you’ll be putting pto until you’re feeling better with the situation”, julia said, walking to you as you were shocked. “it’s okay, go rest. i know how you feeling. and plus with all the stress, the baby could be suffering so yeah!” julia said smiling. you hugged julia and mumbled a bunch of ‘thank yous’ to her. both of you walked into the bedroom and slept.

third pov

minho turned his frown into a smile after he thought about the previous actions from him and y/n. when miyeon saw his smile, she knew it was a fake one, knowing how much he loved y/n and her leaving. but she put on a happy smile, knowing that her dad is almost half happy.

“miyeon-ah, guess what i got for us” minho careful took miyeon off of his lap then placed her on the couch cushion. he went to the kitchen island and saw three tickets; minho, miyeon, and y/n. he grabbed two of the tickets with the names ‘lee minho’ and ‘lee miyeon’. “miyeon. we’re going to lotte world at 10 ok? be ready and we’ll go okay baby?”

miyeon looked at her dad as if she was more excited. she nodded her head and happily went to her room to play with her dolls. leaving minho in the room with his fake smile, slowly turning into a sad smile once again. looking over at the third ticket placed on the island as it read “choi y/n.” he kept staring at it til he noticed something wet touch it. he wiped the tears falling from his eyes.

minho silently passes miyeon’s room and into his and y/n room. he saw the pictures of him and her all around the whole room. he entered the bathroom connected to the room and saw her toothbrush and belongings. he knew you weren’t gone forever. he knew that you would never abandon miyeon as her dad is in a gang. he knew that you were his one and only, forever.

9:30 am.

“miyeon! are you ready? we have to leave soon”, minho knocked on miyeon’s door before entering. he rushed to miyeon after he saw her sitting on the floor, crying while holding a picture of the three of you, as a family. “is mommy and daddy bad f-for each other?” miyeon sobbed, asking her dad a question.

“no, no no honey. me and mommy are okay. she had to go somewhere for awhile okay honey? it’s okay. everything is okay.” minho said, trying not to spilll a tear out as he wiped miyeon’s tears with his thumb. “let’s go okay? we’re going to be late and there won’t be any parking.” with that, miyeon put on her big puffy jacket so she can be warm and held her dad’s hand to the the car.

the car ride was quite peaceful. miyeon was on minho’s phone, watching cartoons and minho had listen to music on the radio. there would be music that would remind minho of y/n, but miyeon knew better and helped cheer up her dad by singing to it. minho’s smile got bigger and knew everything would be okay.

y/n’s pov.

it was 9:00 when you woke up, again. this time, julia was sitting on the air mattress bed, eating cereal and watching netflix on her laptop. she turned around as she heard me shuffling in the blankets. “y/n, lets go to lotte world! you can finally let go your stress during the rides and we haven’t done anything fun with each other since you had miyeon.” julia suggested. with that, you nodded your head and headed to her closet and asked for an extra toothbrush since she has a bunch of unused toothbrushes laying around.

30 minutes later.

me and julia we’re finally on the way to lotte world. we were singing along to any song came up while she was vlogging the entire trip. we arrived at lottle world and began taking pictures. i saw this tall figure and a little girl, holding hands and i couldn’t stop imagining that it was minho and miyeon. i shook the feeling off and continued taking pictures and going on rides.

minho’s pov.

y/n? no it can’t be.

i squinted my eyes to see better if it really was her. i turned around as they caught me and walked with miyeon. i shaked off the thought that’s it was y/n and looked at everything with miyeon.

“daddy! can we go ride the carousel? i wanna ride the horsie!” miyeon exclaimed. “of course, let’s go!” i smiled and walked to the line of the carousel.

-

it was finally our turn and i helped miyeon get on the horse she wanted to go on. buckling her in and held her waist so she wouldn’t fall over when the ride started. miyeon’s smile made me even more happier, but reminded me of y/n’s smile. y/n, can you please forgive me? you didn’t hear my side of the story.

i looked around the park and saw a group of suspicious men in all black clothing. i tighten my grip of miyeon so nothing could happy. there’s no way that i’ll show my mafia side to miyeon. after the ride was over, we headed to take a break from all the rides we went on. miyeon wanted rice cakes so i held her hand tightly and made it to the rice cakes stand. “hello, can i have a cup of rice cakes please?”. the lady handed me the cup as i gave her the money and thanked her. we were on the way to a empty sitting area until miyeon’s hand was out of my hands.

i turned around and saw her being dragged by and he mouth covered. ‘those damn psychopaths’. the men were close to the exit building and i started running. i called changbin and the group for help. they knew how much miyeon meant to me, and it was time for revenge for taking my precious one.

y/n’s pov.

“oh my god, y/n is that yeji, ryujin, chaeryeong, and yuna i see? oh my god i need to go see them” julia screamed, and unlinked her arm with mine and ran off to them. i smiled bitterly and went to the restroom and texted her, “hey i’ll be leaving alright? i’ll meet you at your apartment heheu, bye have a good time!” and pressed sent. i got out of the stall and looked at the mirror while i wash my hands. is this why minho didn’t come chasing me? is it because how ugly i looked? i looked at my face; acne spots, dark eye circles, eye bags.

i got done with the bathroom and heard someone screaming ‘miyeon’. i looked around and saw minho running. i quickly ran next to him and asked him “minho! honey what happened!?” i stopped him and he looked at me. tears coming out of his eyes and wanted to apologize at the moment. but he knew he couldn’t til his miyeon was safe in his and yours arm. “they took miyeon. we need to find her”.

we ran and ran, making the whole park go on lockdown. tears fell down from both of our eyes. we can’t loose our precious gem. thank goodness for stray kids coming in before the whole lockdown happened. all four of them split into two groups, minho with chan, jisung, and hyunjin. the other ones as in seungmin with jeongin, felix, and changbin. minho came up to me and put his hands on my cheeks.

“baby, i know how badly you want to help, but you need to protect our little baby okay? go hide in the bathroom in case they find you. i love you and i’m sorry.” he said, voice shaky since he didn’t want to loose two, now three precious ones. he was about to let go until i said his name. “minho, i forgive you, and please be safe my love.” and have him a kiss on his lips. he smiled in the kiss but broke it. “i’ll be back” and left.

-

you were uncontrollably shaking in the bathroom, trying to hide your sobs as you text julia the situation. you needed to calm down but minho wasn’t in your warmth. you needed him.

minho’s pov.

we kept running until i heard a whimper. we tried to get a grip of the door until it was locked. the many attempts and it finally opened. my heart broke of the sight in front of me. “miyeon! oh my gosh, daddy is sorry. i’m so sorry. please forgive me” i quickly hug miyeon tightly, as if i wouldn’t see her tomorrow. “i’m sorry. i won’t do it again. you won’t get hurt by them okay? you’re safe in my arms”. miyeon threw her arms and her sobs was breaking my heart.

after she calmed down, i picked her up and realized she fell asleep, i silently laughed as her chubby cheeks reminded me of how y/n used to be when she slept in our boyfriend/girlfriend days. we tell the staff that miyeon was safe and the park could continue without being on lockdown. the other group were told to find y/n in the restrooms til jeongin yelled out “hyung! noona passed out! help”. chan had to tell the staff members to close the park and the agreed since it was an emergency reason.

i ran to where y/n was and another part of my heart broke into pieces. i let miyeon down but made the guys protect her from further danger. i put y/n’s head on my lap and gave her my warmth. “y/n please wake up. i need you. we need you.” with that, her eyes fluttered open. “minho” she called. “no honey, don’t speak yet. youre still weak.”

she looked around the bathroom and saw miyeon, safe in the boys arms. she stick out her hands and miyeon came to y/n and hugged each other. i eventually hugged them both.

-

we got up and left the park immediately. it was already sunset and the moonlight was glistening on our faces. i looked to my left and see y/n with miyeon in her arms, sleeping. i took my hand and intertwined it with hers. and gladly accepted it as we walked to the car, having a strange feeling that someone was following him but ignored it since he could be with his family, happy again.

the night we got home, y/n fell asleep in the comforting bed that was waiting for her. miyeon climbed in next to her, snuggling with her and fell into dreamland. after my shower, i went to my bedroom and smiled widely. my two happiness. i laid next to miyeon, making her being in the middle of me and y/n, planting kisses on their heads, then falling into deep slumber.

8 months later.

“congratulations, it’s a girl!” the doctor handed our baby. “babe, you’re stuck with girls” y/n laughed dryly after giving birth. “i’m okay with it, as long as i’m with you guys, i’m fine with it” i smiled.

-

y/n fell asleep on the bed and our unnamed baby in the crib. the nurse knocked on our door and y/n happened to wake up. the nurse asked if we had a name for our baby and i looked at y/n. “can you give us a minute please?” y/n asked the nurse. the nurse nodded and left the room. “how about miseo?” y/n suggested. “although i could eat some miso soup, that’s cute. just like you and miyeon”. y/n scrunched up her nose and smiled. “i love you, lee minho”

“and i love you too, choi y/n.”

i looked over and see miyeon wave at baby miseo, knowing that the boys came by. the nurse came in after the discussion of the baby name. finally, our family of four, who i will cherish and protect at all cost.

after hours without you, i finally have you again.