#I would not be able to pace a whole detailed story

[andy-wm]

Moving out, Moving in

Mission accomplished by sleight of hand?

This is just a collection of thoughts so it's probably full of holes, but it seems to me that Jimin and Jungkook always have a plan in motion.

I guess it's not surprising since they live and work in a fast paced environment in which most of their waking hours are scheduled to the max. It's not just the day to day that's planned down to the wire, their albums and tours are planned years ahead of time and coordinated with military precision.

Their lives run on plans and schedules

Random anecdote: Someone I was friendly with a couple of years ago worked on the BTS Samsung ads as a translator. She described how she was expected to be awake and ready to take calls and edit copy at literally any time of the day or night. Hybe does not sleep. There are staff all over the world, working around the clock. Time is money.

We've all heard these stories, right? So we can imagine the project/event management going on there. The place must run like a Swiss watch.

When you live like that it becomes your normal, so i have no doubt ALL the members are used to planning out their lives.

Also, when you have hardly any free time you use it carefully. If you want to do anything you have to plan and schedule it.

I'm not suggesting they project manage all these things on their own. What's the point of having an endless well of money if you can't hire people to help you make life happen the way you want it to. But I am saying they would know that if they don't plan it, it aint gonna happen.

So, back to Jikook and their plans.

Solo albums

Despite how different their solo album were in terms of musical styles and themes, their promotional materials were astonishingly similar. From colour palettes to photo styling to identical outfits they were far too similar for it to be a coincidence. In fact, if those albums had been people walking down a street they would have been couple dressing without a doubt.

Are You Sure

The travel adventures they squeezed in between deadlines and performances must have been carefully orchestrated too.

Home sweet home

And let's not forget Jungkook finding time to design, plan, and execute the building of the Itaewon house in between everything else.

They plan down to the fine details. And they also play the long game. It's how they're used to operating.

Keep that in mind as i move onto the next thought. This is the interesting bit...

Military service.

It's a reality for every able bodied man in Korea. For a group like BTS it's another thing that would have been carefully considered. Enlistment timing, yes, and every other variable they could choose: locations, divisions, roles etc.

They would have been thinking about their options for MS from the time they were eligible to enlist. Jungkook would have been acutely aware that his tattoos would prevent him from doing anything in security. But that didn't prevent him from inking up his whole arm.

So, we can assume other plans or priorities for MS existed even then.

And those plans included a major decision:

Companion enlistment.

They would have thought carefully about this, having heard all the horror stories of how it can go wrong.

Besides that, despite being dismissed as no biggie by most of the fandom it is extremely rare for idols to enlist as companions.

I did the research. There might be one other occurrence of this. Enlisting at the same time does happen (still rare) but as companions... almost never.

It meant their enlistment was even more newsworthy. They must have known it would highlight their closeness. Was that a conscious choice too?

Maybe.

Everyone, not just jikookers, knows they're inseparable now. It's proof for those who needed it that their relationship is genuine and not fan service.

If they were concerned about how their relationship was perceived i guess thats a bonus. But they coukd have just been more visible in Seoul.

So I'm still asking myself... why?

Why take the chance? Why risk the relationship? So many couples just have to deal with the MS separation, it's simply a fact of life. All the other members had to go through it alone. Jimin and Jungkook could have done it too. They spent months barely seeing each other when they were on solo schedules.

And I'm absolutely not denying they most likely wanted to be together if at all possible. But besides that, what could be gained? Its a long game, remember... so what could be their ultimate goal here?

Where will this lead?

What comes next for them?

Logically the biggest thing for any of the members one they've completed their MS, is their adult life. On a personal level it's the next step.

Nobody is naive enough to think these guys are still going to play boyfriend to the fandom. Not when Hobi our sunshine, who wouldn't even show his armpit on camera, describes the Sweet Dreams lyrics as BEST HOT SEX and then adds 'am I right?' with a smirk because he knows ARMY are all adults too (or that's the part of the fandom he's choosing to engage with).

There's going to be an expectation - or for some ARMYs a resigned acceptance - that the members will actively date, maybe settle down and have a long term partner or a family. But it's only acceptable for those who are going to date or marry a woman. It'd have to be an unknown and discreet or better yet totally secret lover if they're with any other gender.

Which brings us back to Jikook

So what might adult life look like for our lovebirds?

<<content warning: unbridled speculation>>

As a person who believes they're in a long term intimate relationship with plans for a future together, i think they'd want to share a home.

Could they share a home & future?

Imagine the absolute pandemonium that would ensue if Jimin and Jungkook suddenly paired up and set up house together. It would be wild. Possibly the most scandalous thing to ever happen to kpop. The press would roast them, carve them up, and serve the to the nation for dinner. Every conservative right wing mouthpiece would have an opinion on their morality. It would be hideous.

Unless....

Unless they didn't need to suddenly pair up because they were already living together!

Like maybe... as companion enlisted soldiers. And not just any ordinary soldiers but cream of the crop, highly commended, much adored soldiers. Soldiers who have done their nation proud together.

By enlisting together they've already bridged the possibly fatal social chasm they needed to navigate (aka rampant homophobia) if they wanted to move in together.

They ALREADY live together

They've done the hard bit.

It would be no big deal, really to continue to do so. All they'll be doing is relocating to the house in Itaewon.

And my goodness what serendipitous timing... the build was completed while they were snuggled up in their barracks so there's no awkward in between stage. They can just slide right in to their cosy new home and nobody can really say a thing.

What a cunning plan

Now before anyone yells at me of course i have no idea what their plans are. Zero. Nobody does except their trusted circle. This is entirely fabricated. But ya know what?

It's also entirely possible.

💜🏠💛

[that-one-p00k1e]

— distractions | ೃ⁀➷˚ ♡ ⋆｡˚

Muichiro Tokito x gn!reader || kind of a part two of this, but can be read separately

c/w: none js fluff Ig

Made this at 3-4AM bcs brain is peak and goated at night🗣️🙏🏻🔥🦅

Muichiro has a habit of staring off into space.

He's easily distracted by trivial things and loses memory of what was previously mentioned or discussed.Despite this, he's still able to regain focus when necessary. Such as during the Hashira Meeting, for example.

Yet outside of serious situations, his mind slips off ever so gracefully into his own world; putting his whole attention to the one being that catches his interest.

The cloudy sky and windy day made perfect weather for a picnic. Settling on the checkered blanket under a cherry blossom tree, you neatly laid out all the food you prepared. As you patted the spot next to you, the young Hashira propped himself comfortably on the vacant seat. Not long after, the both of you began eating in silence; enjoying each other's company in a comfortable peace and quietness.

Well, until you filled it in.

You started off with simple questions; asking how his day went, what are his plans for the week, or if he had any upcoming missions to complete. With him giving short and simple answers, you gradually began to move out of topic and ended up telling him stories of how your day went. He didn't ask, but neither did he mind. Placing his chin on the palm of his hand, he reluctantly listened to you rambling on.

You talked with enthusiasm and excitement, pouring your heart and soul as you squealed and giggled over the littlest of things that piqued your happiness. The way your eyes lit up when you mentioned something so trivial occurred during a walk; the way a proud smile tugged at your lips as you spoke about defeating a powerful demon; all of these small details brought a fluttering sensation to the boy’s heart. After consultation with the Love Pillar and Insect Pillar, he knew what this feeling was, now. This… was love, wasn't it?

He took in your features closely, his gaze tracing down the smooth surface of your cheeks, eventually landing on your lips. His curiosity piqued; a sense of longing urging him to move forward. He was distracted yet again, and couldn't keep his eyes off of them as you kept on babbling. Your voice was a muffled melody by now; a music playing in the background. Beginning to understand what all these feelings were, he wanted to embrace it; to express it his way and cherish it with you. But would this be the right time? Would it be selfish of him to try and claim you as his? He didn't know, and he was willing to find out.

Not letting another moment slip past, he gently leaned in and closed the distance between the two of you, halting your speech as a warm sensation washes over the both of you. He let his eyes close, savoring the tender and sweet feeling of being in such a physical gesture with you for the first time. Meanwhile as you were taken aback at first, you eventually closed your eyes and let yourself melt in the moment; your heart beat pacing faster by each second.

As the lovestruck Hashira slowly pulled back, his empty eyes gazed at you deeply, a soft breath of satisfaction escaping his lips. You took a moment to regain composure, trying to comprehend what had just occurred as your face tinted with pink.

“W-what… What was that fo-”

“I love you.”

Those three simple words slid off his tongue ever so softly, like a music box that had been waiting to be played. It felt like everything was a fever dream. Were you having a dream? Or were you just having a fever that you didn't know you had? All you knew for sure, was that his feelings for you weren't unrequited.

“I… love you, too,” you finally managed to say in return, feeling your stomach twist and turn as you finally mustered up the courage to.

Hearing your reciprocation, a small smile tugged at the boy's lips. His hand gently crept up to yours, interlocking your fingers as he brought your head onto his shoulder with the other. He rests his head on top of yours, letting out a sigh of contentment at the warmth of the close proximity. Slowly, the two of you drifted off to slumber; bathing in the comfort of one another underneath the falling petals of the cherry blossoms.

[bullet-prooflove]

Can you do #3 Like why, why are you only vulnerable when no-one's around? From the Miss Atomic Bomb list for Jake and Jenna??

And if you’re not feeling this prompt for them can you give us a tease as to what happened after Allen’s Bar

Tagging: @kmc1989 @shanimallina87 @calirindo @alisbackalleybbq @djs8891

Companion piece to:

The Other Family - Jake didn't realise his father was still alive...

Surreal - You locate Jake after he disappears.

Break Your Heart - Jake's heart is broken in the aftermath of his father.

Black Eye - You find Jake injured on the porch.

Allen’s Bar - You find out what happened to Jake.

There are consequences to your actions, you knew there would be. You’ve arrested enough assholes and testified at enough trials to know the Navy won’t let one of their master of arms get away with assaulting a civilian.

“Forfeiture of two thirds pay for three months.” You’re told when Ally collects you at the police station. “I managed to convince them that the circumstances didn’t warrant the three month confinement. They took that into consideration.”

“Any news on Jake?” You ask, flexing your bandaged fist. You hadn’t realised how much damage you’d done to it at the time, you hadn’t even felt it until they had the doctor take a look at it.

“He made it through the surgery.” Ally tells you as you step into the sunshine. “He’s in recovery at the moment, they’ll let you see him in a couple of hours.” She looks away, casting a glance towards a woman with red rimmed eyes sitting on one of the benches. “That’s the wife, I think you should talk to her.”

“I don’t want to talk to her.” You say frankly, tucking your hands into the pockets of your jacket. “She must have known…”

“She didn’t.” Ally says as she slows her pace. “She didn’t know she was married to a fugitive, that he killed Jake’s mother, she didn’t know about Jake…”

You sigh as you come to a stop because that’s the other reason the Navy were so lenient with your punishment. You’d managed to apprehend a murderer, one the police had in their sights for decades. Nobody had known until they’d ran his fingerprints and Fredrick Harrison had come back as Fredrick Seresin, the man who had beaten his first wife, Jake’s mother to death in a meth crazed rage.

You dread revealing those details to Jake, you dread telling him about this whole sordid thing because by responding the way you did, you’ve ripped his world apart, thrust all those dark secrets into the light. Everyone will know that he’s the son of a murderer, and they’ll judge him for the sins of his father.

He won’t be able to forgive you for that, you know it deep down in your heart.

“She won’t wanna speak to me.” You tell Ally, scuffing at the gravel beneath your feet with your sneaker. “I just destroyed her life.”

“That’s exactly why she wants to speak to you.” Ally says, clasping your hands in hers. “She wants to know about Jake, the type of man he is, I think she’s scared that her sons…”

Ally trails off but you pick up the gist. She wants to know if that level of depravity is hereditary, if there’s a chance her sons might turn out like their father. Jake had the same fears about himself, he still does when his head gets a little messy.

“Alright.” You say, your gaze straying to the woman on the bench. “I’ll talk to her.”

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[oceaneyesinla]

I needed to write Chuuya, because he has taken my whole heart

Divider by @/cafekitsune

Chuuya pushed open the door to his office, intending to cross the room to his desk and finish the paperwork still outstanding from his last mission. It had been pushed aside in recent weeks due to unrest in Yokohama, which could only be solved by yet another uneasy alliance with the ADA. It wasn't what he wanted to spend his evening doing, but the quicker he finished, the quicker he could get home.

Instead, he stopped dead just a couple of paces inside, blinking slowly at the sight before him - you, his girlfriend, waving at him from the fancy velvet couch he splurged on when he became an executive. Of course, having you there wasn't a problem; on the contrary, he loved having you nearby, and he would never pass up an opportunity to see your pretty face.

Problem was, you never should have been able to get into the building, much less up to the executive offices, only a floor below Mori-san's own. He would criticise the Port Mafia members protecting the building, but he knew from experience just how cunning you could be, and working with Dazai day in, day out only made you more of a menace.

“You don't look happy to see me, Chuuya.” You pushed out your bottom lip in an exaggerated pout, and you had never looked cuter. He moved to cradle your face, running a thumb over your plush lip.

“You know that's not true, angel. I'm just wondering how you got in here.”

Your pout was quickly replaced by a bright smile and a mischievous shine in your eyes, “A master can't reveal their secrets! What if you block my entrance and I have to find another way in?”

“Pretty sure nothing would stop you for too long. I know you and shitty Dazai memorised the place years ago.”

You took his hand in your own, pressing a kiss to his palm even as that cheeky smile remained in place, “That doesn't sound like something we would do. Anyway, I only did it so I could come and see Chuuya whenever I want.”

That, he was grateful for. He had already been envisioning you, shuffling around in an empty apartment, waiting for him to come home. Having you here, sitting pretty for him on his couch, was the best motivation for him to finish up quickly. After all, his girl needed to eat, and he needed to wrap you up in his arms in your shared bed.

“Can't leave straight away, angel. Mori-san needs this paperwork.” He tried to soften the blow by smoothing a hand over your hair, brushing a few stray strands behind your ear.

Your smile morphed into something softer, and he loved you a little more for understanding just what being a Port Mafia executive entailed, “I figured. You've been running yourself ragged the last few weeks, partnering up with us. I came here to wait for you, so we can go home together.”

His sweet girl. He leaned down, pressing a chaste but loving kiss to your lips, reluctantly pulling away to take a seat at his desk. As he started to write, pen scratching against the paper, you pulled out a book - the latest volume of your favourite manga, he noted with a smile.

It turned out the work was a lot more bearable when every so often, he could flick his eyes upwards and watch you enjoy your manga; silent gasps and mouthed words escaping you every so often. It was entertaining, to be privy to your excitement. He knew he would get a detailed retelling of the story thus far, and he couldn't wait.

With a final signature, his work for the evening was done. Mori-san could have it first thing in the morning. Right now, he had far bigger priorities. You had stopped shuffling in the last few minutes, and when his eyes travelled to you, he had to hold back an affectionate chuckle.

You had turned onto your side, facing the room, your manga tucked into your arms like the world's most uncomfortable teddy bear. Your cheek was smushed against the fabric of the pillow tucked under your head, and he thanked his past self for investing in such expensive cushions. Only the best for his girl. To top it all off, your mouth was slightly open, little puffs of air escaping you as you slept.

All in all, you looked silly, you looked comfortable, and you looked like the most beautiful thing he had ever set his eyes upon. How he got so lucky as to have you in his life, he wasn't sure, but he would never take your presence for granted.

With a smile he knew was far too fond for a hardened Port Mafia executive, he tidied up his loose ends and made sure everything was in order. Once he was ready to leave, he quietly approached the couch, slipping one arm under your knees and one under your back, gently lifting you up and cradling you against his chest. He tried to jostle you as little as possible, but years of living in the darkness of Yokohama's underworld meant you stirred anyway. You relaxed almost instantly, though, resting your head against his shoulder and nuzzling against his neck.

“We goin’ home?” Your words were muffled by the skin of his neck, and still sleep heavy. He tightened his arms around you just a little, holding you closer against him.

“Yeah, angel, we're going home.”

You pulled away from him just enough to let him see your sleepy smile before your head thunked against his shoulder once more. He didn't need to look to know you were already slipping into sleep again.

Getting out of the building was easier than he expected - he had visions of bumping into Mori-san, or Akutagawa. Thankfully, the only person he saw was Gin, who took one look at the precious cargo he carried and pointedly looked away.

He slid you into the front seat of his car, carefully buckling you in and pressing a kiss to your forehead before circling to the driver's seat. When he got in, he turned his head to find your eyes watching him, slow blinks doing nothing to mask your adoration. He felt a flush in his cheeks at the attention - after all this time, he still wasn't used to your open, unshakable love for him.

“Love you, Chuuya.” You reached out to squeeze his hand, and when he tangled your fingers together and lifted your hand to his lips, the smile you gave him could have lit all of Japan.

“Love you too, angel.”

[faireprina]

Stockholm Syndrome ⚡️

a/n: Wrote this like 2 weeks ago. Proofread but probably has a few errors in it. Don’t be afraid to point it out. I haven’t decided but I may actually end up writing a more detailed story on this.

Pairings: Aged up!Killua Zoldyck x Reader/OC

Warnings: NSFW, Stockholm syndrome, manipulation/brainwashing, pregnancy,

KILLUA ZOLDYCK, as your kidnapper, who keeps you locked up in his room within the Zoldyck family mountain. Never lets you get the chance to wonder what the world is like outside his bedroom walls, after he snatched you away from your training as a butler. You consented the day you signed the contract with his family to work with them. Knowing this, he gaslights you every time you talk about wanting to be free. 

“Free? You came here yourself, darling. You chose this life and now you have to bear with it.” 

His tone was sweet but the look in his eyes showed nothing but obsession and a threatening glare. Warning you to drop the topic and accept his love.He grabs your jaw and kisses you when he see the look of defeat on your face. The kisses are gentle but passionate, his hand lets go of your face and travels down to the neck line of your shirt. You know what he wants.

KILLUA ZOLDYCK, who wants to create a family with you. He ran away from his family and now it’s just you and him. He pounds into you at a steady pace, whispering to himself how good you feel and how badly he wants a baby. You lay there, forced to accept and take it, not being able to reason with him. You two aren’t ready for a baby but what can you do? Killua wasn’t going to listen.  Your mouth is wide open and you’re squeezing his cock so nicely. Your walls are sucking on him so good and he can feel how badly your body wants his cum.

“You love it when I give it to you like this, don’t you? Love it when you’re nice and full, huh? Can’t speak? Oh well I’ll keep going until you can answer me.”

You never do answer him, even after hours  of fucking. You can feel Killua’s whole body twitching and his hips are massaging into you. You know what’s coming and as he’s soon filling you up with his warm baby batter your mind starts to go blank. Absorbing any brainwashing lessons he wants to train into you during your moment of vulnerability.

KILLUA ZOLDYCK, who throughly trains your mind and body before he leaves to take the hunter exam. Makes sure you know to behave while he’s gone. You’re currently 7 months in heading to the end of your 3rd trimester with the pregnancy, the doctor had shared the news and congratulated you and Killua on your first baby. You’re having a set of twins and Killua was extremely happy when he heard the news. He went as far as buying a permanent place for you 2 to settle down in with your new comers. Buying the best baby equipment. 

“Remember, even if I’m not here I’m still watching you. I know who you’re talking to and if I were you I would cease all contact. I will not hesitate to kill whoever you get close to, you may carry my child now but 2 months from now you won’t be. So let’s not make it difficult, right dear?” 

You feel nothing but fear for your safety and you heed Killua’s words, staying a diligent wife waiting for his return. Sometime had passed and you’ve given birth to his adorable baby boy. When Killua finally returns he tells you all about failing the Hunter Exam and then retaking it, Heaven’s arena, the auction and other events that had went on. He met his child and has doted on him since his return.

KILLUA ZOLDYCK, who waste no time after you put your toddler down for bed to start his “pussy inspection.” Checking to see if you were the same as when he left you, pleased to find out you were untouched.

“So proud of you! Thought I’d come to an unclean wife and I would have to cleanse you but you were so good for me, waiting.”

He waste no time getting started on baby number 2. You just hope he won’t disappear on you again.

[ghostfacesvalentine]

HALLOWEEN DAY 28: The Exorcist- Jason Todd x Fem!Reader NSFW

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Warning: NSFW! Brief mentions of horror movies/demonic movies but nothing going into detail. Mmm idk cursing, Jason being dirty lol whore. What do u want from me.

Type: Blurb

Request: N/A

Word count: N/A

Prompt: Reader tried to get Jason into the movies she likes, but Jason likes to multitask.

Notes: This is literally nothing but pure smut. Sowwy. Had a similar experience to inspire this and I figured it fit Jason perfectly. What do you think?

Jason never really cared for horror movies, especially the demonic ones, but when you were in fuzzy socks and little Halloween sleep shorts that left nothing to the imagination, he couldn’t resist. “Yeah whatever you say”

Listening to you yap away about the story and what’s true in it and what isn’t. He’s drifting in and out as you talk, you’re buzzed and both of you chose to stay in for Halloween. It’s your favorite holiday and you had to beg him to take it off. He didn’t put up much of a fight and when he sees you all glazed over and excited about the movie you finally convinced him to watch, he can’t help himself.

It wasn’t like there was much else to do tonight anyway, it was a weekday after all. You made popcorn, had snacks sprawled out, you prepared for this in hopes that he would be able to get into scary movies with you, specifically The Exorcist.

Before the introduction of the characters, Jason had you on your elbows, hands warm inside the leg holes of your pajama shorts, only pushed them aside with your panties to expose your slick folds. Your back was deliciously arched, his hands gripped your whole asscheeks as he lined himself against your entrance. “Come on baby, we can both still watch the movie” he snorted, mouth watering at the wetness he felt with his tip. He gripped the back of your head, making you face the TV screen as he impaled you with his cock, you breathed out a sharp moan when he stuffed himself in all the way.

“Fuck.” You hissed out as he pulled you back against his hips, you couldn’t see him, your hair messily in the way of your vision as he began to pound himself into you.

Jason’s eyes rolled back as he picked up the rhythm, the screams and shouts of the movie became distant in his ears as he only focused on your moans and breathless voice. The more you whimpered and jolted away, the stronger his grip felt, pulling you back in place as you felt yourself becoming undone.

“What else can you tell me about this movie doll?” He asked genuinely, but you were so caught up on the way his dick stroked your insides. Before you could acknowledge the feeling of his tip bulging into you, he pulled out then thrusted back in. You couldn’t keep up with the pressure, his knees were in between yours, splitting them more and more apart as he kept up his pace.

You buried your face into the mattress, your hair was anxiously in the way of your breathing. Usually in other times, he would be more handsy but he was on a mission to make you cream all over his thick girth. You didn’t even have time or energy to remember what movie you were watching, only focused on the tightness of your belly.

The praying and screaming remained on the screen, your hopeless whines were still audible though and even if Jason didn’t want you to scream out your lungs, he still secretly loved when you couldn’t help yourself.

“Such a good girl, fuck. You feel great princess, wanna paint your walls” he breathed out, his thrusts becoming sharper than the rest. You felt your body twitch, your walls clenched up as his dick grazed your g spot at the right pace. “Be an angel and give me your hand.” He hissed, but you couldn’t understand, too caught up in the fuzzy feeling as you felt your body squirt into the sheets. “Or not.” He told himself as he grabbed your hand to cup his balls. Jason tilted his head back as he felt your hand tense up, feet squirm beside him as you felt your orgasm come in waves and he felt it squeeze his dick deliciously. “My fucking baby.”

[sindar-princeling]

3.3k word long RoP review because I'm cranky

I have already been sharing my more detailed notes from each episode here, but with this post I wanted to gather all my feelings and frustrations into something more coherent.

PLOTLINES AND PACING

It's been said before, but show has WAY too many plotlines - or rather, it has an amount of plotlines it can't manage. 12 plotlines (the broad plotline of the rings, Celebrimbor and Annatar, Sauron and Galadriel, Adar and orcs, the Stranger's identity, Nori and Poppy and their own struggles, the dwarves plus their rings plus the balrog, the dark wizard, Elrond and Durin, Numenor (which I'd say has two distinct plotlines, too), Isildur's plotline, and Theo's teased plotline with the Southlanders) doesn't have to be too many, but you have to be able to juggle them. Once again, I want to mention Lost, which started with a terrifying amount of 14 MAIN characters (and give or take five million side characters) - and while people grew to have different opinions about the show as it went on, you cannot deny seasons 1 and 2 are incredibly strong and remain some absolutely iconic pieces television. The creators took those legions of characters and RAN with them, and it was incredible.

If you only have 8 episodes to work with, you need fewer plotlines; if you want more plotlines, you need more episodes. From a purely mathematical perspective, even if you divided your time equally, with 8 roughly hour-long episodes and 12 plotlines you'd get 40-45 minutes per plotline. Then, you're left with a question: can I write a satisfying arc for 40 minutes of screen time? Can I write five, ten, TWELVE of those?

(It would have been easier, of course, if the RoP plotlines interacted with one another, but they rarely do. Usually, when you give 5 minutes of your limited time to one subplot, no other subplot gets to take part in it.)

Except, RoP doesn't divide its time equally. Nori was on the screen for what felt like 15 minutes, and in reality couldn't have been much more, because this subplot was completely sidelined; the same can be said for Gandalf, Isildur, Theo, and Arondir. To make a story something engaging, something moving, you need to either give it time to grow, or be an extremely skilled writer who can rewire someone's brain with ten lines of dialogue. And RoP fails at both.

The strongest points of this season were moments when it was focused on two, three plotlines at once, not more. That's when you could see it at least had potential to be engaging; that's when it all felt less chaotic, and like you could finally immerse yourself in the story.

Celebrimbor and Annatar

They were definitely one of the most interesting subplots this season, and the focus on it let Charles Edward shine. His performance easily the best in season 2.

It was a solid 7/10 plot. I still felt that it left a lot to be desired - I wanted Sauron's deceptions, Celebrimbor's realisation, the creation of the rings, and the whole dynamic between the two of them to pack more of a punch - but it managed to be a thread connecting a few plotlines together, something this show desperately needed.

What felt most ridiculous was the torturing scene, with Sauron shooting at Celebrimbor from a bow from a few steps away. It made me want to laugh during a moment when the last thing you want your viewers to do is laugh.

Galadriel and Sauron

I cover them more in the 'Characters' section. In terms of pacing, the conflict between them was somewhere in the background the whole time until their confrontation came, and it was, you know. Perfectly inoffensive, and just- correct.

All I'm going to say here is that the fight scene from episode 8 was written in a very generic way, and made me cringe quite a lot. The choreography felt off - it was kind of slow, and the use of the crown of morgoth made me roll my eyes a few times. It felt like it was meant to be just a showy addition to a fight, making it more "intimate" because they needed to stand closer for Sauron to be able to use it. "You want to heal Middle-Earth? Heal yourself." throws herself off a cliff where he can then easily retrieve the rings when she's unconscious remains one of the top three worst moments of both season two AND season one.

On a personal level, I fucking hate the romantic undertones they keep giving them on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.

Dwarves

Making the balrog be one of the final scenes in their subplot in season one, only to make everyone wait for it until the finale again, was, of course, nothing more than a cheap tactic to keep people engaged. All in all, though, the Dwarves' subplot was one of the top ones in terms of the amount of things I liked. I appreciate that they leaned away from the antisemitic stereotype of them being inherently greedy. The stone listeners/singers are still one of the most original and fitting pieces of lore this show came up with, and their love for the stone and the mountains shines through in a moving way. It still annoys me that the race they gave Scottish accents to is more crass and swears more than the English Elves, though. It's so, SO annoying.

I'm kinda indifferent to Durin III. His subplot was pretty standard, but the final change of heart was terribly abrupt, and the last shot with him was so action movie-y you'd think it came from Fast and Furious 15.

Adar and the orcs

Adar's subplot continues to carry some of the most original and thought-provoking ideas of the show, as well as challenge some of Tolkien's writing in regard to the orcs. It's executed in a kind of messy way, but I appreciate that it's here. I wonder where it will go now that Adar is dead, because I'd love to see more morally complex orcs, who are in many ways victims of Sauron to the same degree as other races.

Nori+Gandalf, Numenor and Isildur

Nori, Poppy and Gandalf got kinda laughably little time, and so, the subplot achieved very little. Gandalf's search for who he is was already annoying to me, but then he and Nori got separated and the subplot got split into two. In Gandalf's subplot, we got Bombadil (more on that later), in Nori's, we got a new hobbit race. The show wants the two to be a non-insignificant part of its emotional core, but devotes no time for it. Make it make sense.

Numenor was… strange. It's a political drama, but all that happened in this season was more or less: Miriel is going to be queen- jk, Pharazon is going to be k- just kidding again, it's gonna be Miri- SIKE AGAIN. It was repetitive, and the manipulations and plots were frustrating instead of intriguing. (And again - that's because there was no time given to this subplot.)

Isildur has got to be the most useless subplot I've seen in a hot second. Net zero events. Net zero emotional involvement. He meets a girl, they kiss after two days even though she's taken, he can't take her back home to Numenor. He talks to Theo once. The end. Waste of everyone's time.

The Dark Wizard

It just made me sad, because for a while there I was hoping we'd see Rhun in a different way than before, but no, it's still a Land Of Shady People. :/

CHARACTERS

Sauron

Sauron felt bizarrely underutilised considering we're in a show called "Sauron: The Things Sauron Helped Make". He's the Deceiver! His plots and manipulations should have reached the levels of Elias from TMA or S2 Ben from Lost - when they succeed, you feel so sorry for the protagonists, but it's so immensely satisfying. You are in awe of the scale of the plans they pulled off, or how often they manage to make protagonists believe them.

(Remember when you see Vader at the end of Rogue One and his entrance is just chilling? THAT'S doing an iconic villain justice. We should have got moments when Sauron is utterly terrifying, but they never really came.)

His infatuation slash interest in Galadriel adds nothing to the show apart from some truly juvenile levels of drama between them, and some terrible, generic dialogue. They would have been one of each other's strongest focuses, anyway - they're one of each other's greatest enemies. The specific kind of romantic tension they got only takes away from their personalities.

Sauron is also one of the best examples of RoP creators flattening meaningful themes and events from Tolkien's works. Mordor is not a land killed slowly and painfully by Sauron's presence, where the evil literally chokes you and drains your will to live - it was just "activated" one day! The Nazgul are not horribly twisted souls of men who have no will of their own because they gave in to the rings - they just got rings that are more evil because they have Sauron's blood in them! Sauron is not an ambiguous figure with many names and forms, many of which are terrifying husks - he's a literal pile of black goo for a while. (??????)

(No, seriously. ??????????)

Charlie Vickers managed to make him kind of okay, I'd say? But the wasted potential never stops being painfully apparent.

Galadriel

Oh, my beloved Galadriel. Oh, what did they do to you.

The complex, mighty Galadriel, who is ambitious, proud and desires power, who wants to rule a land of her own, who finally decides not to be a Queen, but a Lady of Lorien, precisely because she knows what her greatest weakness is. Who is not tempted or touched by Sauron, and no-one would ever suggest she is - her hunger for power is entirely her own.

I know Tolkien had a thousand different versions of Galadriel, but one thing she was not, was absent from her own story. RoP Galadriel's story revolves around Sauron and the rings, and her greatest ambitions were taken from her and put into Sauron's mouth in season one in one of the most infuriating writing decisions I've been unlucky to witness (also sexist as fuck). The show does not allow her to be respected, or powerful, or wise - she is at fault for Sauron's return, and treated like an idiot for it. The romantic undertones of the subplot make it even worse, turning her into a young woman with a crush who now needs to prove to people around her she can still think straight.

I hate what they did to Galadriel, and the caricature they turned her into.

I'm also not a fan of Morfydd Clark's portrayal, I don't think she fits this character, but the script choices are what pisses me off the most anyway.

There is also a lot to say about the fact she looks like one of the youngest elves, when she should be either much older (than for example Gil-galad or Elrond) or roughly the same age (as Celebrimbor). The way she's presented in RoP, Galadriel is young and hot-headed, and constantly told off by older men. NOT the feminist breakthrough in Middle-Earth that Amazon wants to pretend it is.

ALSO making Elrond kiss her… Why does she have to be put in those unserious situations that feel like fan fiction in the worst possible way,

Celebrimbor

The best character this season, mostly because of his portrayal - Charles Edwards didn't stand out to me in season one, but I truly liked him a lot in season two. The script, once more, doesn't pack too much of a punch, and leads him through some non-sensical events ("the perfection of three, thrice perfected" why does this make sense to him?), but his emotional moments hit because of the quality of his acting. Without him, this season would have been truly barely tolerable.

Gandalf and Tom Bombadil

Putting these two together because they both flabbergasted me in a pretty similar way.

I don't think the kind of plots they chose for these characters are right for them. An initiation plot for Gandalf who's already in Middle-Earth is not a choice I like - I'd love to see him learning from Nienna in Valinor much more. Still, I can see trying to portray his beginnings in ME. But amnesia? Having to find a staff because… what exactly? Having to be told everything about himself? Those are such generic choices for such an iconic character!

Show me Gandalf getting to know the land he's supposed to guard. Show me Gandalf meeting the Ents, the Elves, wandering, weaving the web of connections and friends ans allies that he always has, show his skills in bringing people together, like he does for all of LOTR.

Choices regarding Bombadil were bad, in my opinion. I've already said it, but for the sake of making it a separate post without 30984098 links - I think making Bombadil a mentor figure was strange. I don't think it works (again, talk about Nienna!). Bombadil is random help when you need it, almost like a narrative equivalent of- maybe not exactly a deus ex machina, but a small-scale divine intervention nonetheless. He appears when you need him and disappears right after, and you can continue your journey, but he won't join you. He's not a guide or a mentor.

Making him a mentor took away from how original a character he is - but the worst offender in that regard is still the fact that they gave him Gandalf's line from the books (the one about many living people deserving death, and many dead deserving to live). Once again, they were just hammering iconic quotes into the mouths of different characters and it's. First of all lazy (even if you change two words), second of all, very annoyingly on the nose, third of all, there are so many ways to subtly show characters' influence on one another, and straight up copying quotes is not creative, it's not original, it doesn't tell you anything about the character who adopted that quote other than they can repeat stuff. Did they have any feelings about it? Do they agree completely or do they add their own spin on it as they go through life? You'll never know! The only influence you are shown is: character A heard something from character B, then later said it word for word to character C. It makes character A little more than a sieve for a glass of water - they don't have thoughts or feelings, they don't transform the things they hear, they don't filter things through themself. What falls out is exactly what came in. RoP did it with Sauron and Galadriel in season one, and now with Gandalf and Bombadil. WHAT'S the point. Also I'm not sure this quote even fits Bombadil that well. He's a force of life and joy, but he has no problem with commanding things to obey him, like Old Man Willow. He's 100% a benevolent character, but probably not someone who would say "who are you to rule over powerful forces", at least in my opinion, because few rules actually touch him, if that makes sense.

HOWEVER. I did like hearing him sing all the time.

Others

Putting all other characters here, because I don't have as many thoughts about them. I love Miriel and Elendil, they have a great dynamic and along with Pharazon are the strongest parts of the Numenor subplot. Kemen and Earien annoy me so much. Nori and Poppy have painfully little personality. Durin and Disa, when they get good moments, are GOOD, but the script doesn't always let them shine. Gil-galad was good in episodes 7 and 8, forgettable in the rest. Elrond is kind of all over the place - they gave him a few interesting things to do, like brutally killing an orc to show just how ruthless Elves can be - but those things don't fit him, they should have been given to someone else. Adar saddens me because he got the mcu villain treatment where he makes good points, but then does unrelated inexcusable things so that you don't root for him too much.

Also, Celeborn continues to be "dead", and I fear to ask how they will handle his "reveal".

LORE

Oh boy, okay.

All I will say is that to each their own, but some of the lore choices simply piss me off. Why is mithril important to the Elves' survival? Why is everything about Sauron Like That? Why was Mordor created in a day? Why is the order of everything completely backwards?

The constant references to LOTR are a mixed bag. Some of them I liked ("pity will not defeat Sauron" when we know it will, the appearance of an Entwife), some of them were too on-the-nose for me to enjoy - the direct quotes, Old Man Ironwood, every time someone said "the lord of the rings", Sauron being present for the Doors of Durin being made.

I feel like the best thing this show could have done lore-wise, that would have taken care of so many issues, would have been putting most of their focus on making the world feel clearly like the world that will later diminish into the world we know from LOTR. Why make some unnecesary, non-sensical lore when this would connect your show to Tolkien so clearly? Worldbuilding is Tolkien's thing, and his world is one of the most recognisable out there. When the setting feels like Middle-Earth, everything that happens in it automatically feels more Tolkien-like.

You don't need to pay THAT much attention to worldbuilding with every author, but you absolutely do with him.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

I don't have opinions on all technical aspects, because I always tend to focus on plots, characters and themes and am not very good or familiar with the technical side of filmmaking, so these are just some of my assorted thoughts.

I still enjoy the music in RoP; it may not be one of the most memorable soundtracks I've ever heard, but you can hear the references to Howard Shore's score (something that I learned was fully intentional), especially in the instruments used, and the "sound palettes" certain places and characters get in the process. I have no musical vocabulary so I can go on vibes only, but especially the orcs' themes feel close to Howard Shore's. It's a nice but still subtle way of connecting these two worlds.

I don't fully agree with people saying this show looks good. The costumes are still very simple, often just one layer of clothing with an added belt and some jewellery. Some characters don't change their costumes even once? I don't think Disa ever wore a different dress; at the very least, she spends most of the time in the same one as she did in season one. I'd say the costume designers weren't given enough time to work on them, because you can often see vision, but it always feels unfinished. Most of the time, armour looks better than everyday clothes, so you can't help but wonder if the everyday clothes were done in a rush.

Make-up on elven women is so modern-looking it breaks whatever immersion the show manages to build. I hate it so, so much (whoever decided Mirdania would look like that I am looking RIGHT at you and judging).

Annatar's wig was simply Not Good.

OVERALL

I feel that this show is both infuriatingly bad, and boringly mediocre; both slow, and fast and superficial. There's too few and too many things happening at once. It says so much, but it doesn't have anything actually meaningful to say, any connecting thought or feeling or motto. Emotionally, it feels empty.

It's hard to imagine future seasons being good enough to redeem the first two. And honestly, it just makes me sad.

[queeries-book]

This season is paced more like a novel than a TV show.

TV shows and serialized fiction try to predictably give you one pay off per installment. People want to have a repeatable experience when they sit down to watch a show on a weekly or daily release schedule.

Whereas, in a novel, there isn't an expectation that each chapter deliver a similar experience. Chapters are paced differently in different parts of a book. Readers don't mind as much because they are self-pacing their reading. If one chapter is unsatisfying, they continue reading until they get what they're looking for from a reading session. Or, if a section is especially dense, they can slow their reading or split it into small chunks.

So, interestingly, this season is written a bit like a book, with some episodes being more heavy on setup and others being more heavy on payoff. For me, this is why watching on a weekly schedule is a strange experience, and occasionally unsatisfying. I would like to be able to self pace my way through the season, as I would when binging it. So: - Episode 1 was a lot of pay off on the cliffhanger the previous season ended on. The big question we had was "What will happen to our main characters after their daring plan? How will the company retaliate against them?" and we got lots of answers and twists and turns. - Episode 2 was mostly a lot of setup. We're creating the conditions for outie Mark to start searching for Gemma. We are filling in important information about what's going on at the company. We're learning interesting character details about Helena and Harmony. But we didn't get a whole lot of excitement or answers we've been craving. - Episode 3 gave us some payoff. We got to see some of the usual MDR highjinks. We got goats. We got an emotional moment between Irving and Felicia. And we got the big dramatic payoff of reintegration, which was exciting to see. It was set up by the previous episode. - Episode 4 was a bit of misdirection followed by a big payoff. A dramatic moment of the Helena reveal, some exciting conflict, a big character arc moment of glory for Irving, a love scene (of sorts). It crammed a lot of pay off into the last 10 minutes or so. - Episode 5 was a lot of setup again. It established the new dynamic back at MDR after the loss of Irving and grappling with Helena's betrayal. It's set up the challenges that would have to be resolved later: Mark's avoidance, Seth's performance review, and his threat against Mark. It set up the big question of "How will Mark handle the blackmail threat?" and then kind of left us. - Episode 6 was a whole lot of payoff. It paid off some of the questions that were set up, but also it gave us a lot of fun stuff we were craving. It showed Mark coming clean, a sweet moment with him and Helly, some drama with his reintegration, and two absolutely crazy, awkward, and humorous scenes: one with Irving and Burt, and the other with Mark and Helena. It ended on a big dramatic, life-threatening moment. It gave us a lot of what we had been craving: answers, humor, office scenes, and danger. - Episode 7 was a long-awaited payoff about Gemma. Answers about the central question that has been plaguing us the entire series. It barely set up anything. - Episode 8 seems like more setup. It's feeding us information about Harmony and her backstory that I think will come into play in an important way. And it sets up a collaboration between her and Mark and Devon. It didn't really pay off with answers, though they did give us some fun drama, and some surprising information.

All this to say, I think consuming this season similar to a book, that is, binging it, will be very satisfying.

Watching on a weekly schedule is a bit inconsistent as an experience. I enjoy all episodes (equally) (JK, not really), but some feel like an unsatisfying stopping point for the week. I don't think it's because any of the episodes are bad for where they are in the story, but that they are not satisfying as a weekly installment.

[gamerism]

pirate game rambling and thoughts, including ending stuff

majima gaiden/pirate yakuza/pirates in hawaii or whatever other stupid name you want to call it feels to me like a culmination of everything rgg studio has learnt from the critical reception of yakuza 6, the majima saga in kiwami 2, kiryu's gaiden and kiryu's story in infinite wealth even. in regards to how it handles majima, who is present in his story (saejima, nishida, minami all get screentime), how the ending is approached, and so much more.

i can find so little fault with it as a send off for the character. the pacing of the story is good, it stays a little longer than kiryu gaiden did (as much as i love the length of that game, it wouldnt be bad to have an extra few hours of story) but doesn't get bogged down by wasting too long on tangents or taking so long to tell its story you start to forget the details of the early game (i love yak 0 and IW but this is a problem). everything in the final chapter was just awesome, one amazing scene after another. and that post credits scene....oof.

i know some folks are already crying to the heavens that majima's characterisation is destroyed here or that hes just reset to yakuza 0 but i humbly disagree with both. we see a different front from majima than just the mad dog, same as we did in 0 (and even kiwami 2 saga honestly but whatever), but that's great! majima as a character has been in a holding pattern since 1988 with how he presents himself to others and what we therefore get to see of him. yakuza 0 illustrates perfectly why this is, but its still a massive weight off to see something finally shift.

in the early game, when majima remembers the least about his past, he's the most unguarded emotionally. he hardly projects any cruelty towards others, and even then only towards those actively threatening him (or noah). majima has not been a one-note cruelty only shithead since the original yakuza 2! i don't know why some ppl are Mad when we get to actively see more of the tenderness he's capable of, but rarely shares.

i love the detail that he gets more ruthless as the game goes on. in part because the stakes just keep rising and the people he wants to protect (the rich family) are in deeper and deeper danger but also because more and more of his memories return. like that moment where he threatens rodriguez and shigaki's pinkies. chapter 1 majima wasn't acting anything like that at all. we see the cowl of the mad dog slip further and further back into place, until saejima calls majima out in one of my favourite scenes in the game.

and yet. and yet majima still remains complex and vibrant and full of multitudes after that point. he uses that classic cruelty as a tool, but he doesn't wield it with the same reckless abandon as the past, he uses it with precise precision. (this, i think reminds ppl of yak 0, as he acted much the same there). he also continues to show deep kindness to the people he's come to care about, not closing off that exposed weakness the way he would have in the past.

nor does he blow saejima off when the man calls him out to his face for chasing an impossible dream to give kiryu good health again. thus directly exposing another weakness.

i think, this is exactly what i was hoping we'd see in this (presumably) final big send off for this character. him growing past the limits of the mad dog persona. he's not transformed to a point beyond recognition, but there starts a subtle shift the moment noah approaches him on that beach, that he allows to grow within him. until we are finally presented with someone who is truly prepared for the death of the yakuza as a whole, in a way that he wasn't at the dissolution. majima 5 years prior, in the words of ichiban, had left the yakuza but it hadn't left him. he now, really feels like he's been able to move on. become someone beyond all it shaped him to be for 40 odd years. how could any fan who loves majima (as the statistics say most of us do) ask for more than that?

[megadoomingir]

Hello! I read your fanfic "stop me" and it inspired me to create a whole sub-blog dedicated to an au I came up with.

Are there any tips you have for writing things out like settings? And also just general pacing cuz I seem to struggle with pacing lol

Hello! And goodness me- I was recently told ‘artists inspiring artists’; please carry that with you as you work on your AU blog and any other stories you come up with! Keep the energy flowing! 🙌

And what a great question! Let me see if I can break things down for you and, hopefully, be helpful. :)

Let’s start with settings. Let’s say you’d like to write a battle. Swords clanging, guns firing, knuckles cracking, whatever it is. The battle itself, whether big or small, has no form or real function unless you know where it’s being fought. Fighting on a beach is going to be written differently than on the streets in a city or even along a mountain path. You have to take into account the terrain and the relationship it has with your characters. Not just where their feet are planted but what hazards could arise (misplaced stones/shells, trash/human objects, boulders/trees/bushes, SO MANY THINGS-). Even the little details, the weather, the natural world, the smells, all of it, comes together to create the scene. So hmm… Let me try something. I’m not going to tell you where the setting is. I’m going to describe it…

Dawn had long since passed. The crash of the waves and the salt in the air only added to the tension growing amongst her soldiers. Her lieutenant was trying to be subtle, kicking the heel of his boot against his calf to dislodge sand collecting between his toes, but it only made her fill with more anxiety. The discomfort was as palpable as the bite of the cold wind across her face. She could smell winter’s breath, its breeze like frozen fingers in her hair. Her army’s banner twirled above her on a post. It would be the first thing her opponents saw as they crawled over the dunes to meet their end.

Now let’s analyze this. They’re on the beach. It’s the seaside. It’s cold, miserable, windy. Everyone is on edge. Instead of directly saying ‘The battle was on the beach…’, I described the territory and some of the issues they’d be dealing with. I even give the time of day. I don’t need to talk about how maybe there’s a cape nearby or an outcrop of boulders, unless it be pertinent to the story itself, but I give enough detail that someone could close their eyes, smell the salt, feel the cold and hear the waves. Don’t overload your settings to start, but be very mindful of what is important to tell your story. Since this woman’s army stands at the beach, that sand is going to affect how they’re able to move, run, dodge, etc. Focus FIRST on the most important details to your story’s environment, then add other details as needed. If the detail has no impact on your characters or the progress of the story, then it probably isn’t needed anyway. Let me give another example of this, so you can see the difference!

Milo needed the latest and greatest appliances, especially in his state-of-the-art kitchen. He never cooked and refused to learn. Among the wooden countertops that he felt matched the blue walls and low-hanging white tiles, his utensils were stacked neatly and covered in dust. He had flowering plants in pots by the window. Next to the kitchen was his favorite room, his woodworking shop.

Ok, this was hard for me to write because I didn’t want to talk about his kitchen at all and really wanted to detail his hobby- But let me explain that! Pretend we are writing a story about this ‘Milo’ and his woodworking shop that he runs out of his home. That’s the first thing we should be describing! If it’s important later that he needs his kitchen, we can describe it gently in the beginning. But pretend we talked about his shop first already-

He’d never really noticed it all before. The stacks of nonperishables he never cooked, the neat rows of appliances and utensils never touched- some still tightly bound in their original packaging- and all of it, all of it, covered in a fine layer of dust that had never once caught his eye. Well, it caught his eye now. And as the surmounting list of cleaning tasks grew larger, Milo��s stomach dropped with the feeling of knowing he had only an hour to clean… and an hour to learn how to cook.

Oh Milo. Shouldn’t have put that off. XD Now that it’s important to the story, we can describe his kitchen. Could be family, a friend or even someone new in his life coming over. The point is this: if you’re writing about Milo’s woodworking shop that he runs out of his house, and it happens to sit next to the kitchen, don’t describe the kitchen unless it becomes a major part of the story. Maybe he needs to grab a cup of coffee out of there and reflect on his life choices. Or he has a tantrum and breaks a cup. But unless his coming into the kitchen for say, breakfast, is a super important moment, don’t describe how he makes two poached eggs, three slices of toast with butter, fresh squeezed orange juice and a handful of bacon. Sounds like a great breakfast. But does it give him food poisoning later? Is the breakfast itself important because his late mother made it for him and it was the last thing she made for him so he eats it every day? To sum it all up, focus on the details that drive your story forward or have place and reason among your characters. I’ve written Milo for only a little bit, I just made him up, but from what we can already see, he’s an artist, probably good with his hands, but clearly neglects parts of his house and he doesn’t know how to cook. He’s probably struggling with other aspects of his life that are spiraling out of his control and where he finds control is in buying things he never uses. His house is probably hoarded in on top of everything else. If I were to write a story about Milo and his woodworking shop, I would want to keep my details of his environment important to his story.

As for pacing… I feel like a majority of my childhood was filled with great movies and TV shows. Some, when I watch now, are really fast-paced and I feel robbed of the larger story I could have had with an extra season or even a TV show out of a movie premise. Take a look at the media you consume. What movies and shows are you watching currently? Do they feel wrapped up a little quickly or too fast paced? Or even the opposite? Are they dragging on and on without telling much of a story? Part of how we as writers tell stories is based largely upon our exposure to media and experiences we’ve had. When it comes to translating all that into our own written word, pacing can be hard to master.

Let me be clear: it took me years to master pacing. Practice, practice, practice does help. Not perfection, but improvement. There’s always the ability to do better later on. If I were to read my very early works, I would cringe at the sight of it. But it’s what helped me develop my skills as a writer. My advice would be to look into writing privately for yourself, something you don’t post, and something you can quietly dissect without outside influence telling you how to do it. Read it aloud so you can hear the story (as reading it and hearing it are very different and can help you spot problems) or even have your computer read it to you (check your computer’s Voice under System Preferences, if you have it).

How does your story end? It’s one of the most important questions a writer can ask themselves when they come up with an idea. If you don’t have an idea for the ending, your pacing will definitely be off because your story is on a journey to nowhere. I’m fortunate in the sense that when I have an idea, it’s one of the first few things I establish in my head. ‘I have a story about this and these are some things that happen in between and this is how it ends.’ Stories that have no defined end tend to drag on too much and stories that don’t have foundations to build off of will move too quickly.

So to summarize: when it comes to settings and environments, you need to imagine in your head what the territory accomplishes for your characters and your story. What details are important to them to push the story forward? What needs to be understood immediately and what can be told later? Highlight the most significant aspects first. Let your characters’ interactions with their world help describe the rest. And when it comes to pacing? Absorb what you can through media. Analyze the pacing in movies and TV shows. Ask yourself ‘did they write the pacing too fast/too slow? Am I satisfied/agitated/bored with the length of the story? Does it make little sense how it pulls together?’ And don’t limit yourself to watching only the good stuff, consume bad stories, too. You will learn so much by watching bad shows and movies because we as humans notice the bad over the good consistently. (If you have a friend who seems to always complain about their car, you’re going to think they need a new car. But wait-! How often does your friend compliment how well their car drives? How often does anyone? You’re not going to spend your days praising your vehicle, you’re going to complain when this simple blip in your life is doing something wrong.) So watch bad media, too. Sci-Fi movies are easy to do that with. Any movie ‘made for TV’. I can provide you a list of ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ to study from. All movies that I would name, good or bad, are done so with love.

And let me say this…:

You will struggle. You will revise and rewrite and reimagine whole sections, and that is the beauty of your creation. To be seen and understood in your way and then reformed to be better seen and understood by others. Your writing will only improve the more you do it. Don’t be afraid to explore the limits of your abilities and push them. :)

[pandapenguinnn]

Ok I won't get into TOO much detail but here's my review of the DMC 2025 anime (spoilers included)

What i liked:

-The ost was absolutely FIRE

-Animation was fluid and was really eyecatching. It ESPECIALLY shined during action scenes (minus the 3d models of the demons i didnt like that too much) and White rabbit/Lady's backstories.

-action packed. Though the pacing was a bit wonky to me, I still enjoyed the fight scenes and felt that the same "rush" id get whenever I play the games.

-The Bunny villians backstory. It's tragically poetic how humanity, who represented "light" rejected him, and the "darkenss" of hell accepted him with open arms. Plus he was an overall cool villian.

-The voice acting was amazing, despite me not liking some characters, their voice actors did wonderfully, my favorites being Dante (still hilarious he has Nero's voice) and Enzo.

-I actually didnt mind the characterization of Dante in this anime. I liked how his shit talk meter was amped up a bit more in the anime. Minus that though, I still felt like he kept his charm and attitude. He was cocky, hardheaded, etc. BUT I totally understand some ppl who didn't like how he was portrayed. However imo, his characterization was not THAT BAD, it wasn't brutally murdered like Lady's was.

-I did enjoy the dynamics in this anime and how the characters interacted with eachother. It made me laugh and smile like a idiot numerous times.

-Overall, it was just genuinely fun asf to watch. I wholeheartedly enjoyed myself watching this anime, despite my gripes with it. Would I watch it again in its entirety? Honestly no, I'd watch certain episodes/scenes.

Dislikes:

-Hated, absolutely DESPISED Lady's character and how it was handled in this anime. They took her character, crushed it up, and spat it back out into this badly written form of "I'm a tough girl" by having her angry 24/7, and cursing every 3 seconds like a middle schooler realizing they can write cuss words in their fanfictions when mommy and daddy aren't watching. Lady is usually this regal passionate woman that CAN kick your ass, but look good and do it with a sultry smile on her face. The lady in this anime just rubs me the wrong way tbh, she feels like an entirely different character. I especially knew this character wasn't the woman I know and love when the anime played the scene of her explaining Sparda's backstory. It's a complete whiplash on how she explains the story in the anime vs how she explains it in the games. She is one of my biggest gripes in this show this paragraph doesn't even scratch the surface on how I feel about her portrayal.

-Not really the anime's fault, more so netflix, but this show having 8 episodes was very disappointing. I was hoping for atleast 12, but I digress.

-I hate. Hate. HATED the American imperialism politics happening in this anime, I truly did. It ESPECIALLY got worse for me when I was on the last 2 episodes. I just couldn't. It was completely unnecessary and honestly at times ripped my immersion right out. Of all animes, Devil may cry?? Fr????

-In speaking of politics, I don't like how the whole subplot of demon refugees seeking shelter from hell, and the government detaining/killing them felt like a nod to the very real life situation of immigration. It honestly felt unsettling when I noticed people that pointing out, and after thinking about it I can't unsee it. And don't get me started on how America somehow invaded a portion of hell and started killing demons left and right with no problem, even able to BUILD A BASE TO LOCK UP MORE LESS POWERFUL DEMONS. Once again: Why..???

-Dante's powers in this anime were portrayed alittle inconsistent, especially when it came to lady. I get she can't beat him in brute strength, and can out smart him, but no way yall had Dante get packed up by a taser and a needle. And even had him sedated long enough to be locked up in a damn suspension tank. 💀

-Why in the fuck is the technology in this anime so advanced?? Like hello?? Why am I seeing holograms and plasma blasters? Devil may cry has weak world building, but its enough to kinda explain itself. And if you play dmc, you know the technological influence in that series is very weak, even with the excuse of "B-but it's the governent!!"

-i dont MIND the series trying to humanize the demons. But I would have much rather not have that subplot forcefully inserted in the show. Cause imo, humanizing some of the demons kinda takes away the weight and influence of Sparda's character. The whole point of his character/backstory was that he fought AGAINST the natural evil of his kind and dared to rise against an entire realm for the sake of humanity, making him a hero and a iconic figure. Not only that, DMC makes it clear that demons in hell hate/resent sparda for what he did. You could argue it brings more depth to Hell, and yes I understand that without this subplot the White rabbit wouldn't have been created. BUT, like I said, I dont hate this change, just feel like this does take away some of the weight of Sparda's story in this anime.

Overall, it give this anime a solid 7/10. I totally understand ppl who love this anime as well as ppl who hate it. But despite the division in opinions about this show, I'm kinda happy it's bringing DMC back on some ppl's timelines as well as influencing more to indulge in the games. The rise in DMC fanart and content has made me so very happy honestly cause this is one of my favorite video game series not just because dante but because in general it's a stylish and incredible action packed game!!

Quick disclaimer: these are all my personal opinions you can for sure disagree or agree on them. At the end of the day Dmc is special to many ppl including me and I understand those who feel passionate about the anime and how it handled things. If you liked the anime, great! I'm glad you did. If you didn't, no worries!! It's ok to be disappointed!

Ty for coming to my tedtalk😌

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hey this is pretty out there but I'm a virgin who's trying to write sex scenes and my biggest concern is I won't be able to convey the emotions and feelings right... any tips?

It would be super helpful 💖

Writing a Sex Scene Without Experience

The thing about sex is it's not just one thing that's experienced one way. No one can say "write it like this" and you're good to go. The whole act--the build up, the actions, the feelings, the emotions--all depends on the specific people involved, who they are, what they know, how they relate to one another, exactly what happens, past experience, even personality and mood. And to top it off, all of those things matter for the person writing it, too.

This is why experience is really helpful if you're trying to write a sex scene, because you can take that experience and knowledge and put them through the filter of your characters' personality, mood, experience, etc. And obviously, you can't really do that without experience because you have no baseline to filter through your characters' own point-of-view.

So... that said, there are two alternatives you can fall back on if you need to write a sex scene without experience:

#1 - Get Fictional Experience - Believe it or not, fictional experience does make a difference, and by "fictional experience" I mean watching TV shows and movies with sex scenes, reading books and stories with sex scenes, and reading informational articles about sex scenes. You don't even need to read or watch anything explicit... there are various "spice" levels to all of it. How explicit you get into things is entirely up to you, so you can match the level of fictional sex scenes you experience to the level of what you want to write. Just be sure to pay close attention to build-up (including what the relationship and interaction are like beforehand), body language, facial expressions, actions, etc. (And when reading these scenes, pay special attention to word choice, pacing, and sensory detail.) Also: although I'm not going to write such a guide, there actually are writing guides out there (including whole books) that go into detail about how to write these types of scenes. You'll still want to filter the information through your own characters' POVs, however.

#2 - Fade to Black - Some writers without sexual experience choose not to write sex scenes at all, instead using some form of a "fade to black." I talk about different ways to do that in my post Non-Explicit Sex Scene. There's still plenty of opportunity for exploring the deep romantic feelings that lead up to and follow intercourse, but you don't have to worry about fitting those feelings into the actual sex act. I have a lot of posts in my Relationships: Romance master list of post that can help you with all of that.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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[erintoknow]

2024 reading roundup

i managed to read over a 100 books this year, which is, personally nuts, for me as a pace, especially when i feel busier then ever. the joys and benefits of downtime at the desk job, i guess? the bulk of what i read is YA which is ostensibly for professional reasons as a ya librarian but i was still able to sneak in a few decent adult grade books at least

this is probably also the most trans fem authored fiction i've read in a single year (hooray), in large part things to having a resource like @thetransfemininereview now whereas before i just kinda out in the woods poking at rocks with a small stick, praying the library will pick things up

so like, here's a sampling of some books and a few thoughts; trans fem authored books listed first ofc ofc:

These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein

goodreads says i read this in december but i swore i picked it up over the summer - anyway, transfem protag, transfem author, sorta cyberpunk noir murder mystery deal. really enjoyed this book, especially with how it played with cyberpunk genre conceits while still feeling like it's not just importing stuff unchanged from the 80s.

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

i'm still stuck waiting for a library to get the Translation State ebook in so i thought i'd give Leckie's fantasy novel a spin; this was great. i'm uncultured swine apparently (joke) so i didn't pick up on the very end that at least half the book was a twist on Hamlet but i was on board from pretty much first page. the use of 1st and 2nd person with the narrator being a character in the story telling the events of the novel to another character in the story was great. loved the world building and finished the book hoping Leckie will come back to this concept for another go in the future

might be my top book that i read in 2024?

The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy

i really want to talk about this book, but i'm not sure what to say. i didn't realize going in that this would be YA (just because the protag is teen doesn't always equal YA and all) but, yeah, it's very YA. it feels like a gender flipped tamora pierce novel and i gather that was extremely intentional. our trans girl protag trades places with her best friend who was promised to a coven of witches and 'disguises' herself as a girl so she can do so

i liked the book and i'm looking forward to the continuation but the whole thing kind of feels like a dream on review after reading, specific details are hard to grasp onto. the narrative voice of protag feels a lot younger to me then 16, more like 12 or 11 maybe, which felt off? but didn't overly detract from the story which gets into some pretty high stakes!

the ending felt weirdly forced with the big-bad duchess just deciding not to press the advantage and go for the throne after everyone else is exhausted from fighting the big climatic battle, but sure, okay, this is a world where an entire country just collectively agreed to live by anarchist principles so clearly human cognition works differently in this setting

Magica Riot by Kara Buchanan

i read like three different magical girl books/novellas this year which feels wild. anyway, this was great cotton candy treat of a book. a solid entry in the 'everyone is nice to the trans girl for once' genre of trans fem fiction, our protagonist gets to become a magical girl, make friends, and save the day, hooray! it looks like this is going to be a series, which yes, sure, i'm sold

A Little Vice by Erin Elkin

i picked this up on a whim without really knowing what i was getting into and ended up really enjoying it. trans fem egg protagonist is stuck on the sidelines while the plot of a magical girl show plays out at her school with her best friend as one of the lead members. lotta angst and big feelings in this one. i understand this was originally a scribblehub serial? it certainly seems to follow in the scribblehub tradition of 'make as oblivious a headcase of a trans fem egg as possible' but whereas i've bounced off of that before the combination of addressing dsyphoria/angst/and sunk cost fallacy got me hooked - you know i love my sunk cost fallacy characters. also, i wanna add: the metatextual conceit with how each chapter is framed was a really cute touch and really completed the whole vibe

and a sampling of some non trans fem work i chewed through this year:

A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon, translated by Anton Hur

i picked this up after seeing it get a lot of positive press and... i don't know? maybe it's because i'm missing something about the culture context the book was written in / released into, or because magical girl stuff largely missed me as a kid (i got sucked into digimon instead of sailor moon), but this really fell flat for me. like, i wouldn't call it bad but it felt stale and kind of a surface level take? maybe i would feel better about this book if i hadn't been lead to believe going into it that it was saying something deep and profound

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

this book fucking rocked, let's be clear - it might be my top non-trans fem authored novel of the year? our protag is a trans boy in an old appalachian mining town who's family has been in a generations long bloody and violent feud with the sheriff's family dating back to a coal miner strike. YA gets a lot of rightly deserved derision i think (i've read enough stinkers this year) but White knocks it out of the park every time and this one was no exception.

Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner

horror story where a trans boy and his ex, a trans girl while running away to california get stuck in a small town where locals sacrifice a girl every year to the local monster - so who in this scenario gets to decide who counts as a girl?

this was a really fun book, full stop, no notes. easily in my top 5? 10? for the year and not just because i share a name with the trans girl.

The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe

the sequel i didn't know i wanted, or existed - a follow up to Sharpe's previous book, The Girl's I've Been, which was a fasted paced thriller that kept you engaged even has it jumped back and forth between past and present. The follow up here is more of the same, and while i don't think it follow recaptures the magic, it manages to take the same basic premise and both up the stakes and add a new twist on events that i still came out with a pretty good time

Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew

surprise non-fiction entry - this was a really great and thoughtful little book on how we currently approach ability aids and technology and how we might do better, if you see it, i recommend picking this one up

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

what if ender's game but not by a homophobe? okay, that's a bit reductive. Some Desperate Glory follows Kyr, a child solider who grew up in a fanatical fascist cult on her painful and reality bending journey to learn empathy. Kyr never really becomes a 'good' person by the end of the story, and she's aware of that, but her journey through self deprogramming her monstrous beliefs set to a backdrop where humanity lost the war (and their homeworld) against an alien empire was way better executed then i expected going in. this book is going to be peak 'your mileage may vary' but is absolutely worth giving a shot

[jarofstyles]

Azure- Indigo 5

Helllooo my loves! Here is part 5 to indigo. It's really cute I can't lie, I'm proud of this story :')

Check out our Patreon for 100+ exclusive writings and early access to the next 3 parts of Indigo.

Series Masterlist

WC- 5.4k

-------------

Y/N had forgotten how Harry appeared to other people. 

She had been almost floating on air the rest of the weekend, a smile permanently on her face as she walked about her apartment, tending to chores and making sure to take time to look after her tattoo. She had been diligent about her research beforehand, yes, but it was even more imperative now that she kept the piece in pristine condition. 

They’d been texting frequently. Once she had gotten home, he had responded back and it simply hadn’t stopped. There were pauses, warnings from him that he had a client coming in or he was going on a run, but most of the weekend had been spent texting him, giggling at her phone, getting to know him a bit more. His texting style was a bit similar to how he spoke, a bit of dry humor sprinkled in. It seemed he was a little more bold through the phone as well, messaging her with smooth flirtation and obvious interest in her stories. He asked involved questions, checked in on her multiple times, but he wasn’t overly bearing. Y/N felt like she was being hand fed bits and pieces of the man that had always puzzled her. 

“So who’s the guy that had you pretending you’re not smiling at your phone?” Over brunch, Y/N’s friend Julia had caught on to her sneaking peeks at her phone, smiling to herself and trying to pace responses. It wouldn’t be hard for anyone to notice this. Y/N couldn’t be subtle if it could save her life. Once you got to know her, it was even more obvious that her feelings would be displayed out for anyone to see. A real heart on her sleeve type of girl. 

Y/N hadn’t wanted to bring him up initially, but the excitement to finally dish about a guy she was actually excited about seeing- even if it was only one planned date- had her mouth almost ready to burst. She didn’t want to tell anyone in their initial friend group because… because what if it didn’t work and then everyone made it super awkward? Y/N did not do good with that sort of pressure and honestly, she would most definitely cry if someone teased her for not being able to keep up with Harry. 

Julia, however? Sweet Julia was a former coworker, mostly removed from that group of friends and it was easier to dish when she hadn’t met him. 

“Well…” Y/N tucked her hair back over her shoulder, fiddling with her napkin. “It’s a guy I’ve known for a bit. He’s actually the one who did my tattoo.” Lifting her arm she motioned to the ink that her friend had previously fawned over. She had a few tattoos herself and had been impressed at how good it had turned out despite some of the detail being scabbed over. Y/N had taken a bit of the moisturizer Harry had given her out after their drinks and shown her, the whole thing. 

“Ohmygod- a tattoo artist?” Her friend’s eyes widened. “The one who did that one? You sly thing… did you get down and dirty in the studio? Oh my god, you gave it so good he had to see more of you? Y/N, you’ve been holding out on me!”

Y/N gaped, floundering for a moment before housing her friends with wide eyes. Her voice hadn’t exactly been quiet and she could feel the lava burning underneath her skin. She loved Julia, but she didn’t have a sense of volume sometimes. “Jules!” She hissed, shaking her head. “No! I didn’t- I didn’t do anything in the studio. No, he was completely and utterly professional and sweet.” There was a weird need to defend Harry’s honor. 

In reality, there was no true idea in her mind if Harry did that sort of stuff before. With how attractive he was, she was sure people attempted it but she doubted he would actually do so. Not when he had worked so hard on his shop’s reputation. He’d told her all about that when they’d gone out afterwards.

“Ok, then what the hell happened? What is his name? Let me see him, immediately.” Her expectant hand shot out, looking at her with a raised brow as Y/N chuckled at her friends' antics- and her audacity. She was lucky Y/N loved her. 

“His name is Harry.” Her voice was soft as she typed his username into the instagram search bar. “He’s a tattoo artist. I met him through our friend group. He’s a friend of Sarah’s. He did my tattoo at his own shop. He owns it himself, and he’s got a few people who work there too.” Pride bled from her voice as she pulled his profile up and handed it over. There weren't too many of him. He had a few tagged, a few photos on his own, but it was mostly his tattoo work and random things here and there. “He’s got a few awards and done a few famous people’s work. It’s so cool. He drew my tattoo up right next to me in his office, his process is so interesting.” 

The girl was chirping about him as if she was already smitten, a dreamy little smile on her lips slipping a bit as she took in Julia’s expression. “What?” 

“Nothing! Nothing- not a bad look, I promise.” Julia hurried to correct her face but she turned the phone back to Y/N. “This is him? The one in the black?” 

It was a photo of him she had seen the other night while she did her obligatory snooping in his tagged. A tight black tee shirt with the Harley Davidson logo on the chest covered his torso and tight fitting black jeans covered his bottom down to his brown boots. His arms bulged slightly as they were crossed over his body, a pint in hand as he looked at the camera. The other hand held out a middle finger over his arm, a cold scowl on his face. His piercings glimmered in the photo, an obvious flash used. It was part of Sarah’s summer photo dump, one he had commented a simple eye roll emoji for despite liking it. Y/N’s snooping was thorough. 

“Yeah… Isn’t he cute?” Y/N asked nervously. It wasn’t that she needed her friend’s acceptance. She liked Harry either way. It would just be nice to not feel a bit off guard when she had expected a squeal back from seeing him. Harry was hot, that was no question. Even if you simply spoke to him without seeing his physical appearance, it was more than obvious he was just an attractive man in general. 

“Cute isn’t the word I’d use. He’s good looking but… He’s a little scary for you, isn’t he?” 

While she knew that the question was most likely an innocent one, it raised her hackles a little bit. Sure, maybe he looked a little scary. Maybe he was intimidating to most. But that didn’t have much to do with anything. “No, I don’t think so. He’s incredibly sweet and kind. He didn’t even charge me for my tattoo and tried to venmo me back his tip but he’s… He’s a little shy.” It had been apparent to her when he had told her why he had been so silent around her. “He tells awful jokes and he’s taking me to a drive-in movie this weekend because he remembered that I liked the one they’re showing. He’s really thoughtful. I know he’s got tattoos and piercings but that doesn’t mean-”

“Woah, slow your roll, Cinnamon Bun.” Julia placed her hand over Y/N’s. “I didn’t mean anything mean by it. Not at all. I’m sure that if you’re with him, he’s a nice guy.” Her face showed guilt for working Y/N up, scooting her chair closer to her. “I just mean he seems a bit intimidating. You know that I’m used to seeing you fawn over more sporty guys, the cleaner cut ones. It was just that he’s different from the norm for you, babe.” 

Y/N’s wind sank and her sails dropped as she realized what her friend had meant. Of course it hadn’t been meant in malice, but she still worried. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to jump on you like that. I just think.. I think he’s had a lot of people assume a lot of things about him in the past and it makes me weirdly protective of him. I know I’m kind of his opposite in a lot of ways and it makes me a little insecure because I know people will definitely call it out. Your meaning isn’t bad but eventually people are going to see I don’t seem to be the normal type for him.” 

That was the truth. Y/N had seen peeks of girls he had flirted with or gone off to hook up with and they didn’t exactly look like her. Not at all. 

“Oh, babe. I’m sorry.” Julia sighed. “No. I didn’t mean it that way. If anyone has shit to say, fuck ‘em. I was just surprised. You’ve never been the bad boy aesthetic type but hey, if he’s nice to you that’s all that matters. As long as he knows you’ve got a miniature blonde friend who’s ready to attack ankles at any moment for hurting you and knows how to hide bodies… we’re all good.” 

Y/N had let it go. Julia meant well, but this was exactly why she wanted to wait a bit to let their friend group know they were… something? Seeing each other? They hadn't even gone on a date yet so it seemed to be a stretch to say dating, but whatever it was. Not until it felt steady. They’d all worry over her and warn Harry off when in reality, all he had done in the past was be anxious and let Y/N read him wrong. 

She wanted to protect him from the ribbing and the questions and let them get to know one another in a more intimate way privately. It would be something she would have to bring up to him later…. But how?

—-------------

H: Hi, gorgeous. What are you up to?

Y/N: Hi hi :) Just got done making cinnamon bread. 

H: And are you bringing me a piece of that tonight? 

H: Please say yes or I’ll probably cry. 

Y/N: Of course, crazy. What do you take me for?

H: A goddess, if you continue bringing me baked goods. 

H: But please remember that there is a snack counter there and I will be happy to buy you whatever you want from there or pick up something beforehand. 

Y/N: I really can pay for some of it myself. I feel a little bad making you pay for everything, you’ve already got the tickets. 

H: I’ve got the tickets and more. If I’m taking you out, I’m paying, sweetheart. Nonnegotiable. Your payment can be some of that bread, if it makes you feel better. 

H: I’m just happy you said yes and are giving me a chance after I’ve made an ass of myself. 

Y/N: H :( no

Y/N: You didn’t mean to make me feel bad. I internalized it and maybe you need to work on communication a bit but honestly, It’s all water under the bridge!!! I’m really really excited to go out with you. 

Harry ran his hand over his face. His wrist ached from the 6 hour session the day prior but he was more than a mess of nerves now that the time for their date was almost here. He vacuumed out his car, cleaned it, sprayed with some sort of spray, and replaced the little vent air freshener. The whole thing. His range rover wasn’t ideal for this sort of thing so he had chosen his vintage convertible. The bench seat could lay back and provide more lounging space- and that’s exactly what he had wanted. 

This had been his first dream purchase once he started making more money at his shop. As soon as he finished his car payments on the Range Rover, he had set his sights on a vintage car to cruise around in by himself during the warm nights, a good sound system having been modified in it so he could lose himself in thought while driving down the coastline. This car was his baby. Soft yellow exterior with a pinstripe detail, the smooth car appealed to him immediately. He’s spent months scouring sites and driving to look at different listings but this one had his heart immediately. There hadn’t been too much to change on it, but he had made his personalization with black and white fuzzy dice hanging off the rearview mirror, said sound system, and refreshed seats. The car had been his reward for the hard work and his endless backaches from being hunched over tattooing. 

It had been a no brainer to choose this one but he did worry about if Y/N would think he was being overly flashy. Harry had never been one to show his money off to the masses, instead choosing to invest a lot and keep everything quiet. He’d seen some friends, seen his own clients even complain about how people used them for money and with the concept being newer to him, he wanted to be responsible. He’d read too many financial horror stories on reddit to risk it. His mates guessed he made a decent amount considering how much his minimum was and how picky he was with clients, and sure he picked up the tab a lot without saying who did it, but he tried to keep himself a bit guarded with that. He hoped that if this continued with Y/N- which god, he was praying it would- she wouldn’t be upset with him keeping that a bit of a secret. 

To be honest, he was overthinking every single thing. Despite appearing cool, calm and collected in his texts, he had felt like his thoughts were running out of his head at max speed. Realistically, he knew Y/N wouldn’t have said yes if she didn’t want to. She’d have been more than justified if she had, but somehow Harry must have done something right to get the karma to have not only her forgiveness, but her affection. Even the slightest bit. 

Triple checking his outfit, he had felt silly brushing his overgrown hair out of his face but still made sure that there hadn’t been some miracle stain that showed up on his tee shirt or new rip in his pants. There wasn’t, as suspected, and he finally made himself leave the house. The car had the blankets folded in the trunk, along with the two oversized pillows he had purposely chosen despite being a bit chunky. They were straight off his bed, the best ones he had ever found. The plush purple blanket was oversized, a steal from a liquidation store he went to just to feel like he could ‘treasure hunt’ was big enough to cover the seats, and he had a few different ones for Y/N to choose from in the back. 

Was she a faux fur blanket girl? Linen? Crochet? Plush? Velveteen? Another obscure but endearing thing he wanted to carve out of her. 

The drive to her place consisted of Lana Del Rey and the top up of the car. It was obvious it was a convertible but he was trying to keep the warm breeze as a shared experience for them both tonight. The real nerves had hit outside of her stairs, his phone dipped back in his pocket once she had told him she was on her way down. His palms were sweating, a constant reminder of himself to not fuck this up playing on a neverending loop in his head. 

The world went quiet for a moment, though, once Y/N opened the door and shot him a smile so sweet that it almost hurt his own teeth. 

Every time he saw Y/N he had been in awe of her beauty, but it hit a little different now. She had dressed up for the purpose of going out with him. Her lavender colored dress with slightly puffy sleeves, casual as ever with its soft looking fabric, but seeing something like that on her was bringing it to a new level. It swished on her thighs, brushing an inch or so above her knees. Sandals were on her feet and a cream colored oversized bag that resembled one he brought to the beach was hung over her shoulder, snapping against the pavement as she descended the stairs and made her way over to him. 

“Hi!” She chirped, eyes sparkling slightly in the afternoon sun. Sunset would happen in just 30 or so minutes and he had to wonder how his brain would handle seeing her in a golden glow in his car. On a date with him. “You look really handsome, H.” 

It was so opposite what people would assume of a man with his general outward demeanor and rough around the edges appearance. His cheeks heating and having to swallow a lump in his throat to unknot so he could reply to a simple compliment, you’d never expect it. Harry liked that maybe only Y/N would be able to uncover a part of him he kept hidden to protect himself from hurt. The iron armor he kept guarding his heart seemed to melt to molten metal when she reached up to take a hug from him. She smelled so fresh, like laundry in the best way. The warm type right out of the dryer, unsullied from any possible contaminants. She smelled brand new, a start over for him. 

“You always seem to outdo yourself in how gorgeous y’look when I see you.” His guts had returned when he was hugging her, unable to see her reaction. Somehow, Harry could remain stone faced when drunk people came in demanding ink, when he’d gotten in fights at bars during that rougher period, but he couldn't control himself around a soft little doe of a girl like Y/N. 

“Thank you.” She grinned, pulling back with her eyes finding his until her attention was stolen by the car behind him. “Oh my god… Is this a new car?” 

Pride bloomed in his chest as she fawned over his car, one of his prized possessions that she was slightly bouncing on her toes as her hand ran over the hood. This was the reaction he had been hoping for. “Well, technically it’s an old one.” The joke was cracked with a smirk, making Y/N laugh and his chest feel full. 

“No shit, funny man.” Her hand pushed his bicep. “I mean, when did you get it? I’ve never seen you drive this, just your Range Rover.” 

“It’s sort of a special occasion car. Drives down the coast mostly, sometimes car meets if Niall finds one and tells me to bring it. I got it a while ago but the other car is more practical so it stays in the garage while I put the milage on the other one.” He placed a hand on the handle to open up her door, letting her take a look inside. “It’s really special to me. I try t’be careful with her.”

“Her?” Y/N rose a brow as she sat herself in the seat, wiggling around as she got comfortable. “Should I be jealous?”

Her own flirty jokes made Harry relax a tiny bit more. He wasn’t the only one feeling this, and it made him feel a whole lot better to hear it from her. “No, no. She’s got nothing on you, darling.” With a wink, he closed her door and jogged around to his side and patting himself on the back for not choking at the response he just gave. 

—---

Y/N’s own body was buzzing with nerves. Sitting in this fantastic car that she knew her grandfather would absolutely lose his head over, Hozier’s ‘Abstract’ played through the radio and her hair was fluttering around as Harry drove through the streets towards the destination. The sun was warming her cheek, hand dipping up and down as she let the wind pass through her fingers. There was some chatter but mostly a silence that Y/N found to be quite comfortable. Harry wasn’t an incredibly talkative person in general but he seemed to be a lot more open when it was just the two of them. She was enjoying this, the overall energy pretty good- a bit nervous and giggly but what first date didn’t start off like that? 

“How did you even find out about this?” Y/N turned to look at him as they waited in line to park his car and let them scan the code he had open on his phone. “Like, I didn’t even know there was a drive-in so close to us. I still feel like a newbie here sometimes but.. It was really thoughtful. I never thought I’d get to see this one on a big screen since it had come out before I could have watched it.” 

“I remembered you liked that movie we were seeing when I was scrolling down instagram. It was weird, I knew there was one but I never interacted with anything about it so… The algorithm must have helped me out.” He laughed, running his thumb over his lower lip to hide his smile a little bit. “I know people normally would say a movie on a first date would be a little eh, but we know each other a little and it’s your favorite. It’s outside, too. Anything is ten times better under the stars.”

Y/N loved that. That was true, but for someone who had been so nervous to speak to her before he was sure as hell doing a good job finding all the soft pleasure spots in her brain and stroking them. Clicking off things on her mental list she didn’t know she had. “I’m glad it did. I’m excited, especially with a car like this, it’s incredible. You did a perfect job picking this out.” Truly, he had plucked a dream scenario from her romantic underbelly and brought it up to the surface. 

“Good.” He smiled, pulling up to the person scanning their tickets. It was pay per car, so it hadn’t been too spendy, but Harry was more than going to make up for it. His relief was clearly lifted off his shoulders as she expressed her approval of his choice. He’d probably fall on down the sewer if she hated it. 

Their spot was a place in the middle and towards the back. There were only about 50 spots, and they had definitely been a bit fucked with traffic but at least they werent in a corner. Cutting the car off, he took a breath before turning to her. “We’re gonna pull the top down and uh, the bench seat flattens out. So it can be easier to stretch out.” He flexed his hand around the gearshift, watching as her face brightened. “I’ve got loads of blankets in the trunk and two pillows too. M’not trying to be suggestive but it’s easier to get comfortable.” Harry wanted to make this the most memorable date- in a good way. The knowledge of the fact he knew for a fact other guys in the group fancied her and could talk to her without seeming like an ass used to make his stomach hurt, but it was such a relief to have her with him now. She was way too sweet and understanding but he adored the fact that she had particularly chosen him to go out with. Y/N wasn’t a prize, she wasn’t an object, but he felt like he was a winner for getting to spend time with her. 

“Here-” He took his wallet out and slipped one of his cards out. “Go and get whatever you want for the movie and we can get proper food after.” The cool plastic was paced into her palm, his fingers closing her own around it so she didn’t drop it. “Whatever y’want and I mean it. They’ve got those chocolate bars y’like, I saw online. Buy the whole candy case if you want. I’ll get this fixed up and meet you over there to help carry it.” 

Y/N wasn’t going to argue, her jello like knees shaking as she walked over to the retro shack. It was unreal. Harry had seemed to put a lot of thought into every step. His mention of knowing her favorite chocolate was there and that he’d remembered it even just having heard it in a very tipsy conversation she’d had with Charlotte with Harry ‘glaring’ at her across the table. Apparently, he had just been focusing on her answer and not wishing she would drop dead. Who’d have thought? 

Rocking on her feet, Y/N looked over the menu and made her mind up pretty quickly- an absolute miracle for her- as soon as she saw the selection of drinks. Usually she wasn’t a carbonated bev type of person, but when she saw you could add little flavors into them, she was more than happy to order a sprite with strawberry flavoring. She had only been a few places where they’d done so before, so she was taking it. She went with a Root Beer for Harry and another bottle of water to split, a large popcorn and a side of the cheese sauce that she lovingly called plastic cheese like her mother always had. As much as she was tempted, she chose 3 things of candy. Sour, sweet and chocolate. The array. 

Swiping his card felt a little wrong but secretly, she was happy that he had insisted. There had been many a date where the man hadn’t even offered, or who thought buying a lackluster meal meant he should have access to her body. While she didn’t need him to pay, the gesture was what she liked. Harry had been nothing but respectful once he had actually opened his mouth to talk to her. 

Placing the lids on the drinks, she had placed them on the tray but frowned slightly at the idea of walking across the field balancing them and not dropping them. Thankfully she felt a large hand on her own as the tray had been swiftly taking into his grip. The tray that had seemed ginormous in her own hands looked small in his. 

“Told you I’d come to help. You don't need to be carrying it.” 

Again, Y/N didn’t feel like arguing as she let him lead her back to the car, his lack of clumsiness making her look twice as bad. She’d stumbled three times, the uneven terrain making it a little difficult with the dents the cars had carved into spots in the lot. Thank the sky above she had let him take it. Her mind had been on that but was taken out of thought when she saw the set up. It was so cute, Y/N almost let out a coo as she watched him place the tray on the close trunk. It had been set up like a bed, three blankets overlapping each other on top. 

“Didn’t know the kind of blanket you liked so I brought a few.” 

If he got any more adorable, Y/N would lose it. 

“You did? That’s so sweet, H.” She whispered, slipping her shoes off as he opened the door to let her get in easier. There was no way she was about to mess up the thing he had put so much thought into. Her eyes went to the plushy one, lifting that one as Harry removed his boots. “I claim this one.” 

Harry added the blanket preference to his Y/N list mentally. 

“Perfect.” He nodded. “Did you want to share or do separate ones?” 

The days were perfectly warm, but since the sun had been setting the cool night had been settling over the place. It got nippy, and Y/N was selfish and curious. “Sharing is fine.” She peeped, spreading it across her lap and holding it open for him. This would bring them closer. His thigh was near hers, sitting sprawled out as he carefully balanced the tray to sit in front of them. 

This was just… good. Harry was obviously a little nervous still, but Y/N was laughing at his jokes, she had been interested in what he had to say. It wasn’t the fake half assed listening most people did. She asked detailed follow up questions and laughed at the right times, especially when their hands met when trying to grab some popcorn as the trailers before the move began. 

They were shifting closer to one another, slowly allowing it to happen until Harry suggested laying back. The popcorn setted between them, He put a second blanket on them when he noticed her shiver slightly. Y/N was trying to figure out how to ask to cuddle with him without asking outright, but it was hard. All he was doing was being respectful but she wanted to be closer to him, wanted his arm around her and the cold to disappear. It felt like everytime they brushed that she got pleasantly flushed. 

“Y’cold still?” Harry whispered, another shiver getting his attention. He didn’t need to know it was from his hand brushing the popcorn from her thigh over the blanket. 

“Yeah, I run cold” She said softly. “Can we get closer? Body heat is a bit better.” 

Harry loved it. Her innocent expression but obviously wanting to get closer, to be held by him specifically. “I’m never going to say no to having’ you close to me, sweetheart.”

His arm was lifted and she ducked underneath, his body turning slightly on his side so she could get close and lean into him, the blankets pulled to their chins and his hand falling to her arm where he began to run his fingers over. 

Y/N wanted to squeal, but she settled for a happy little wriggle disguised as getting comfortable. He was indeed much warmer than blankets, but his fingers running over her and her cheek pressed against his shoulder with his body heat leaking through his shirt made her warm right in her stomach. His touch felt so good, comforting and exciting all at the same time. So far, this had been the best date she had ever been on and it really had just begun. 

—------

Y/N was so beautiful. 

Harry had been paying far too much attention to the girl curled up against him like a little kitten. Purring as he stroked her bare skin once his fingers had gone under the blanket for her. The screen illuminated her face as she watched her movie, his lips watching her lips as she silently recited lines and giggled at the right moments. He was learning a lot just watching her reactions. The yearning on her face during the softer romantic scenes, what things got little giggles, what made her cringe. How long her eyelashes were and how her nose curved, the tiny marks on her face he had never seen. 

This was the type of date he had always wanted to have. To go out with a girl he genuinely liked, who saw more of him than met the eye, who wanted to get to know him. Someone who could make him loosen up a bit. He’d not had any goals for this besides having her enjoy herself and hopefully grow to like him more. Enough to give him a shot of dating her. It made him realize how his past in bed hadn’t made him feel a fraction of the excitement or even pleasure that this did. Simply sitting with a girl he had a massive crush on holding onto his shirt, watching her beauty in real time. There was no feeling of rush with her. As much as he was truly attracted to her, he was happy with this. Maybe a kiss or two would throw him over the moon. Just being in this scenario felt like a dream come true.

He was sure the movie was great, but the vision in front of him was far, far more interesting to him. 

[themattress]

Untitled Kairi Post

Y'know what? In a way, Kairi was tragically doomed as a character from the very beginning.

"Oh, because she was a love interest and damsel in distress!"

No. Myths, fairy tales and, well, Disney movies have used those tropes for ages, and if you're doing a story where a huge point is the influence of those things, it's kind of a given that the leading lady be a love interest and damsel in distress. And the writing is smart enough to put a twist on the trope given that Kairi's distress is much less than it appeared to be because she's Sora's love interest and he's her's, and after Sora saves her she saves him right back.

"Oh, because she wasn't a playable character or party member!"

No. It would have been nice to have the playable puzzle solving-based Kairi sequence they initially planned at Hollow Bastion, but I can understand why it was removed given how it would slow down the pace following what is perhaps the signature sequence of the game. And in any case it doesn't have any bearing on how things went for the rest of the series, given that Riku also was not a playable character or party member (he just had a crappy AI when pretending to help you fight Parasite Cage all so that he could kidnap Pinocchio).

"Oh, because she was stuck in a coma the whole game!"

NO! God damn it, how much must the game beat the point into your stupid head!?

And who could forget?

Stop laughing right now.

Kairi. Not just "her heart". KAIRI. Since the heart = the person.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it exposes some serious sexism if one goes with the "Kairi was in a coma" line for KH1 and yet says "Ventus was inside of Sora" post BBS, since it's literally the exact same situation except that Kairi was always awake within Sora's heart as opposed to Ventus only waking up at the end of 3D. It's why Sora felt things regarding Hollow Bastion, why he experienced the memory of Kairi and her grandfather, and why he saw and heard Kairi multiple times. He wasn't hallucinating; that was always really her.

So, enough beating around the bush. What did I actually mean, then?

Well....let's start at the beginning.

Kairi's arc in the original Kingdom Hearts is not just told through the writing. Utilizing a video game as a visual/audible medium, it is also told through animation, voicework and music. During her introductory cutscene, we see Kairi asked by Sora if she remembers the world she was born in before being sent to Destiny Islands. "I told you before. I don't remember." She answers this sincerely. "Nothing at all?" Sora responds. That's when we see this detail.

"Nothing." Kairi is lying. She doesn't remember everything given the trauma caused by being forced out of her old home, but she does remember just enough to understand why it was traumatic. She had a comfortable life there, and a family. She was happy. And then it was all gone in an instant. Now, on Destiny Islands, she is similarly content ("Well, I'm happy here.") and fears risking that same loss. And yet a small part of her still yearns for the past. She loved what she can recall of her past, as she loves her present. She fears only the future.

Riku's fixation on his existential woes and the mysteries of the universe, while also putting her up on some sort of pedestal like she's something special, is not helping at all. Something about it feels wrong to Kairi...wrong and uncomfortably familiar. It's making her very anxious.

But Kairi has someone to lean on and help her keep up an optimistic, cheerful front, perhaps enough to talk herself into believing it: Sora. And during this scene, we hear the track "Kairi I":

This track reflects Kairi's character in this moment. While there is a subtle undercurrent of worry, her heart is strong enough to not let it get to her and look on the bright side as she looks out to the sun setting over the ocean. With Sora's reassurance, she is able to feel as though her home and friends won't change or go away no matter what happens on her, Sora and Riku's planned voyage, which allows her to feel anticipation for it. All finally feels right.

Of course, things were not right, and Kairi ended up in heart form as her body and soul were lost to darkness along with Destiny Islands. From Kairi's POV, she is now in the Station of Awakening (aka Dive to the Heart) and can do little but watch Sora's adventures as she can see them through his eyes, not fully putting it together why she can and where she truly is.

In the scene at Merlin's House, we get to hear "Kairi II".

While it's similar to "Kairi I", there is now a more somber and mysterious feel to it given the present circumstances. While she doesn't know if Sora can hear her, Kairi wistfully waxes nostalgic over how Merlin's House reminds her of the Secret Place on Destiny Islands. And while Kairi feels sad over missing that place, she's also happy that there are places like it elsewhere in the universe. She's clearly learning as much from Sora's journey as Sora is.

Finally, we hear "Kairi III" in the flashback with little Kairi and her grandmother.

And while it starts out reflecting Kairi's childhood innocence, it ends up turning...almost sad. The reason why being one of the most overlooked details of the scene: at the end of the grandmother's story, she disappears, and little Kairi is shown moving her head all around looking for her. This isn't actually part of the memory, but a reflection of Kairi's heart. She knows that she had a grandmother and that her grandmother isn't here anymore, but she can't remember how her grandmother "left". But she at least still exists...within her heart.

Speaking of which, once Kairi's heart returns to her body and Sora loses his heart in the process, Kairi puts her foot down. She may have learned how to better deal with and accept change and loss, but a line still has to be drawn somewhere and Sora is that line for her.

Thus is she able to save him. Later, we see her worry about the future and things changing again when she questions whether anything can be the same between her, Sora and Riku again after the corruption Riku had underwent. Once again, Sora boosts her optimism.

More importantly, he helps her learn, as he does, that even when separated you can take strength in keeping your loved ones (metaphorically) in your heart, and that even if things change and Kairi is cut off from the people and things she loves, they will always exist within her heart, just as with her grandmother and the story she told her about light and darkness.

This is why, in the end, Kairi is able to let Sora go and yet still feel content.

From "Hikari" (JP):

I'll stop doing pointless things like thinking about the future. Today I'll eat delicious things. The future is always before us, Even if I don't know it.

From "Simple and Clean" (EN):

 Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all.  Nothing's like before.

This is a really good, really well done character arc.

It's also a very human character arc.

Yes, there are a lot of fantastical things going on, but when you put all of that aside, what are you left with? A young girl moves away from her old home and everything that she ever knew and loved, which gives her anxiety about the same thing happening with the new home and everything that she's come to know and love from it, which now includes a certain boy. She fears the future; she fears change. In the end, she ends up staying in her new home - but the boy moves away! However, through her time spent with him she's learned to accept this because he'll always be a part of her heart, which is something that won't ever change.

When put that way, it sounds positively mundane, and by and large the KH fandom - and Tetsuya Nomura himself for that matter - don't want or like mundane stuff like that. They want the crazy, the overdramatic, the angsty, the flashy, the anime tropeyness they're familiar with. This is why they were unreceptive to Kairi's arc to the fullest degree, as in many of them are literally unaware it even happened because they were too busy fixating on the archetypal Japanese media-style dick measuring contest between Sora and Riku (which is also far deeper than they tend to give it credit for, btw, but I digress). And if that's the case, then the question gets raised: why bother focusing on or expanding Kairi at all? She doesn't "sell".

THIS is why Kairi was doomed from the start. It's not her fault. But it's sadly the truth.

[bigtreefest]

Chapter 5: From the Ground Up

From: You Catch More Bees With Honey Series

Pairing: Mob! Bucky x Farmer! Reader

Summary: It’s time for Bucky to take charge in your absence.

Word count: 4,065

Content/warnings: Interrogation, restraints (not in the sexy way), allusions to violence, swears, name calling, pet name usage, female reader, kissing, horseback riding?

Author’s Note: I REALLY loved writing this chapter. This is where we start to see the other storylines of the Outta Nowhere AU emerge, so keep an eye out as those get released.

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

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Bucky was mad-no, he was seething as he paced back and forth in your home office. It was in the wee hours of the morning when his private jet had landed on the local airstrip. Within that same hour, Sam had personally escorted in the little nerd responsible for a good third of the turmoil going on in Bucky’s head: Jake.

Sam had taken the liberty of pre-binding his hands and duct taping his mouth shut. Bucky was going to enjoy ripping the goatee straight off his mousy little face.

Five hours ago

As soon as Steve had gotten off the phone with Bucky, he called the construction crew. They kept them on call for things like this, but the two of them never thought the stakes would be this high. It wasn’t often that someone important and non-expendable was put in this type of danger, let alone someone Bucky cared about. As he was finishing up the call and directing them towards your house, Sam reached out to him with a sticky note.

On it was a name and the address to an apartment in the city, along with Sam’s scrawled ‘pick her up on your way over.’ Steve nodded as he hung up his call and placed another, grabbing the duffel bag he kept packed by the door and heading out.

Three Hours Later

Bucky hadn’t left your side since the rocks collapsed. Luckily, the two of you had been able to find a small gap in the rocks where you both sat. It wasn’t large enough to keep air circulating, but it was big enough to at least allow the two of you to talk with each other. You and Bucky had shared so much, from him sharing his first business operation with Steve, to you detailing crazy college stories of when you, your roommate, and Curtis would hang out.

Bucky laughed along. There was a whole side of you he never knew. He had studied intently what showed up on paper, and he knew the hardships you’d faced from your deep conversation last week, but this? This was a whole new, more playful side. He was surprised to see your spirits so high despite the situation.

“I do not believe that one bit. No way you were climbing up clock towers at school just to steal the clock hands, or a random brick or whatever. You’re too straight-laced.”

You laughed and rolled your eyes as you leaned your head back against the stone wall. “Oh please, people already pay so much to go there, if anything, I had more than the right to do it. Our money pays for that stuff. Technically we owned it. Not the school.”

Bucky snorted. “You didn’t even pay tuition. Didn’t they pay you to go there?”

“That’s besides the point, Bucket. Fight the man. And anyway, if you think I’m straight laced, you should meet my roommate.”

Bucky grimaced. “Yeah, about that. She’s on her way here right now.”

Your ears perked up. “Decks is on the way? Oh, that’s good. She’ll be super helpful. She’s so organized, although, I can’t imagine she took well to whoever had to interrupt her beauty sleep. Who’s the poor guy?”

Bucky sharply inhaled. “Steve.”

“Oooo hooo hoo.” You laughed. “That’ll be a fun one for both of them. They’re either gonna love or hate each other. What are all the rest of the ETAs?”

Bucky looked at his watch. Well, really, he had been checking his watch this whole time to monitor his pulse, which was over 100 consistently since the tunnel buckled. He was shaking with concern for you, but kept his voice level to keep you calm, a trick he and Steve had worked tirelessly to master. “Ummm… looks like the construction crew should be here within the hour. And I’ll bet Decks and Steve will be pulling up any minute.”

You hummed in acknowledgment. “Anyone else coming that I should know about? So I can figure out where they’ll best fit around the farm? Decks is great with the animals.”

You hadn’t heard all of Bucky’s or Curtis’s phone calls earlier since they stepped out of the cave to make them with better reception. Bucky didn’t want you to know Jake was on the way, mostly because he knew you’d make him promise not to hurt the rat, and he didn’t want to have to make that promise with the high likelihood it would be broken. He decided a better move would be to change the subject.

“So where did the nickname ‘Decks’ come from anyway?”

“Oh! Well it’s actually-“

Bucky heard footsteps near the mouth of the mine. He did his best to politely cut you off. “Wait, Honey, I’m so sorry, quiet for one second.”

He sat there and silently listened, the rustling becoming closer and clearer until he identified it as hooves clopping gently against the soft ground. He heard Curtis’s voice say something vaguely before he moved to get his feet underneath him and brush off his pants.

“I think Curtis is here with Steve and Decks. I don’t want anyone else to come in, just in case it’s still too unstable. Can you tell me exactly what you need them to do?”

You nodded, even though you knew Bucky couldn’t see it and began to lay out the instructions. Decks and Steve weren’t here to clean out the tunnels, they were here to help keep the farm running until you were freed, and no one knew how long that would take. It was best to keep only those who could be closely trusted around until this was all figured out. God forbid the authorities come knocking, or worse yet, Cole. Bucky held onto your every word before briefly leaving the tunnel to relay the information.

Bucky returned to you shortly after instructing Curtis to take Steve and Decks back to the house so they could rest before their long day tomorrow. Everything needed to run as smoothly as possible to not raise suspicion from your absence, which they were going to claim was due to a corn crop farmer’s conference out in Iowa if anyone asked.

After another hour with you, Bucky let you know the construction company arrived and was starting to stabilize the ceiling so they could dig you out. “I’ve gotta go deal with some business, so I’ll be back soon. Plus, I can’t get in the way of these vehicles. But say the word to one of the crew and I’ll be back here in a minute flat. I promise.”

Bucky’s promises meant a lot. That was something you had learned in your conversations. He never said something unless he had a plan to deliver. A man’s word was everything in his line of work.

“Okay, I’m going to hold you to that!” You yelled back.

Bucky chuckled. “I’m going to send Sam back here as soon as he arrives. He’ll keep you company.” And with that, Bucky made his way back to the house.

So this is where Bucky found himself, walking back and forth menacingly behind Jake, who had been tied down to the guest chair in your office. Jake’s eyes shifted back and forth with nervousness as he tried and failed to hold back whimpers and near-hyperventilating breaths.

Bucky had been silent for only ten minutes. He liked the way it made them squirm. He could sit and stare all day, completely unbothered, as anyone he interrogated slowly lost their mind. Of course, there were other, more fun ways, to get information, but he wouldn’t dare mark up your home. He’d never let the one they called ‘The Winter Soldier’ be unleashed in your sanctuary. This is the closest he would ever get, though, and it would never be seen by you.

Bucky stalked around Jake and crouched in front of him. “A milk maid came in here and told me that you’d given him information about this farm. Care to share?”

Jake shook his head vigorously and whined through the duct tape over his mouth. Bucky leaned in closer. What was more terrifying than being yelled at by him? Bucky with an alarmingly level voice.

“Sorry, I couldn’t quite catch that. I can help you talk a little better, but you’ve gotta be quiet. There are people upstairs sleeping, and I can’t guarantee they’ll be as nice as me if you wake them. Promise to be good?”

Jake nodded carefully and slowly. Bucky reached for the tape at the corner of Jake’s mouth and ripped it off quickly. Jake’s head lurched forward, his mouth open with a silent scream between gasping breaths. Bucky examined the sticky side of the tape. There was no hair on it. The steam from Jake’s mouth must’ve reduced the stickiness just enough that it didn’t cause damage. Shame.

Bucky slammed his hands over Jake’s on the armrests of the chair. “Tell me everything.” He gritted out between clenched teeth.

Jake giggled uncomfortably. “Uh….there’s not really much to know, mister…sir….does this have to do with Peach? I thought she owned this farm now. Where is she?”

Bucky growled. “That’s not important right now, but yes, this is about this farm. Tell me everything you told the guy with the soft hands and the jackets that were too crisp to indicate a day of work in his whole life.”

Bucky had no intention to associate that with his own designer crisp suits that he wore everyday back in the city. That was different, it was a totally separate line of work, plus, he wasn’t trying to pose as something that he’s not when he wore them. Anyway, he’s not the one on trial here.

“Oh! You mean Cole? Fucking prick.” Jake mumbled looking down and to the side. “I can promise whatever he said to you was a lie. That guy’s always been awful. He hides a demon face behind his handsomeness.”

Bucky didn’t want to be on Jake’s side, but he couldn’t argue with that. But to keep him talking, Bucky leaned in closer, moving his hand towards the knife on his belt loop. Jake flinched and raised his hands in surrender as much as he could with his wrists tied down.

“Okay, okay, I promise I didn’t say much. At least not on purpose. I was at an investors party up in San Francisco when Cole bumped into me. He was bragging about how he had just inherited his parents’ company and it was way bigger than when we were in high school. Frankly, I didn’t care, I make an effort to forget about a lot from back then, mostly him, so I tried to disprove him by saying that there are still nice little farms around despite his family’s efforts. I told him I still had my mom buy me honey that Peach makes, herself.” He hung his head in shame.

Bucky huffed as he leaned back against your desk and crossed his arms. “Well, way to go. You know, they painted you to be some genius, but you’re an absolute idiot.”

Jake looked up and scrunched his nose. “Well I actually prefer the term loser, bu-“

Bucky raised his hand to stop Jake from talking. “I really don’t care. What matters is that you’ve made a mess for Honeybee that inconveniences all of us. I’ve gotta be the one to work on cleaning this up while she’s otherwise occupied.”

Jake cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow in confusion. “Who the fuck is ‘Honeybee?’ Are we talking about the same person?”

Bucky sighed and wiped a hand over his face, stopping with it covering his mouth. He looked at the helpless man in front of him. How had you ever dated this guy? If he used to be great, what on Earth happened to him? “God, you’re slow to catch on. Yes, it’s the same person, but I don’t think the sweet peach you used to know and love is in there anymore. Not after you abandoned her. And especially not after you gave up her operation on a silver platter to Cole.”

Jake swallowed as he caught on. He had seen the devious glint in Cole’s eye when they had run into each other, but just thought it was a product of Cole’s braggadocious success. Not his complete hunger for domination. Despite the way Jake left, he still cared for you. He didn’t want to see the thing you loved taken away, especially by the guy who caused him so much grief. The guy your family defended him from on so many occasions. He felt awful. You’d taken care of Jake when he was around, but when the opportunity came for him to do the same for you, he failed.

Tears began to well up in his eyes. “I’m so sorry. Whatever I can do to help, I will, please, misterrrr…….”

Bucky’s shoulders pushed back in arrogance. Jake squealed all the information he had and didn’t even know the name of the man interrogating him. That wouldn’t do, especially if Bucky wanted to eventually release Jake back out into the wild once this was all over. He made a mental note to have someone coach Jake on how to not give up sensitive intel so easily. But for now, Bucky would take advantage of the ease of informational access.

“Barnes. You get to call me Barnes.”

“Ooh! So like a cool nickname only I get to use? I feel so special.”

Bucky chuckled dryly at that. Jake really was clueless. “No. Not at all like that.” Bucky leaned forward, elbows on his knees as his face inched closer to Jake’s.

“Now tell me everything you know about the mines.”

Jake’s eyebrows raised. “Oh? Those old things? Yeah, Peach and I used to make out in the-“

Bucky waved his hand again as he closed his eyes, unable to look at Jake for another second. “No. Skip that part. What else?” He quickly said, dismissively.

“I know they’re old? Like crazy old and probably prone to collapse at this point. But Pe- I mean, your Honeybee does some occasional civil engineering contracting work. She could probably easily whip up a plan to reinforce them.”

Bucky looked at Jake more intently. He liked the way Jake said his Honeybee, but he couldn’t let that distract him right now. And anyway, you were very much your own person. Far from his. If anything, he was yours. He knew about all your business endeavors, but not those kinds of specifics. “Keep talking.”

“Yeah, I kept up with her after school-well, more like I asked my mom to keep up with her. Apparently she’s like, designed bridges for town and stuff. Why? What’s going on with the mines?”

“That’s not technically your business.” Bucky stood there, debating on his next move.

Jake’s eyes lit up as he gasped loudly. “Oh my gosh. Is she in trouble!? Did she get hurt in a mine!?”

Bucky slapped his hand over Jake’s mouth and whisper yelled at him. “What did I say about keeping it down?”

Jake winced and whispered back. “Sorry. Does Curtis know?”

Bucky nodded. “Yes. And he’s upstairs sleeping. Don’t. Poke. The Bear.”

Jake nodded again. He was being so compliant, Bucky figured he could let a few more details slip. Maybe Jake was a little smarter than Bucky gave him credit for. “She’s trapped in one of the smaller caves. I’ve already got a construction crew digging her out.”

“Wait wait wait. You guys have a proper plan for this, right? You’ve gotta put supports in first and then calculate the load-bearing rocks. You can’t just go willy-nilly digging or it could get worse.” Man, based off that language, Bucky had no doubt Jake truly did grow up around you.

“Good observation, Jakey. That’s where you come in. I know I could’ve just called you if I wanted to know what you told Cole, but I needed you in person to know how serious I am. Grab your little computer and we’ll get going so you can run the calculations while Honeybee talks you through them. You can still ride a horse, right?”

Jake moved to get up, only to be stopped by the restraints. Bucky turned around from the door, voice dripping with fake sympathy. “Oh, that’s right, my bad. I’ll get you untied and then we can go.”

Sam was talking with you about where to put which construction vehicles when he heard hooves make their way to the entrance. Bucky dismounted the back of a horse holding a laptop, followed by Jake who was riding ahead of him on that same horse.

“Not a word of this, Samuel.” Bucky growled lowly into Sam’s ear with clenched teeth. “I’ve already threatened the kid with the same.”

Bucky still had no idea how to ride a horse on his own, but would never admit that, so he was actually extremely grateful that Jake could take the reins. Sam had taken the other horse to get to you, leaving only one back at the house for him and Jake to use.

Bucky handed Jake the laptop and patted him on the back harshly, making it more of a shove. This led him to the small hole where you and Sam had just been talking.

Bucky followed at a quicker pace, reaching the area just before Jake could and held his arm out in front of the blond to bar him from going any farther. “Hi Honey, it’s me. I brought you a little present to help out, I hope you’re not mad. It’s your old friend Jacob from high school. Say hi.”

“Jake? Like… Jensen?” You responded, trying to look through the small hole unsuccessfully.

“Yeah, Peach, it’s me. I’m here to get you out. A-and Mr. Barnes wants you to know he’s been nothing but kind to me.” Jake clutched his laptop firmly to his chest, leaning over to be heard better through the small opening.

Bucky gave a stern nod to Jake for already responding well to his coaching on the way over here. Jake sat down by the hole where Bucky had sat before and got to work.

“Okay, Bee. Like I told you before, you say the word and I’ll be here in a minute. You can time me.”

“Where are you going?” He could hear the slight worry in your voice.

“To run a farm. And by that, I mean listen to Curtis.”

You giggled. “Okay, Bucket. See you soon.”

He looked back and smiled before turning towards Sam and pointing into his chest. “You tell me the second she’s close to getting out. I’ll be there.”

Sam nodded. “Sure thing, boss. Need help getting back up on your horse?”

Bucky was already turned away and heading back to your house. He waved a hand dismissively. “No. I’m walking.”

Sam chuckled as he watched the mob boss trudge away. He knew something had shifted in Bucky’s feelings. And he definitely had his suspicions that Bucky couldn’t ride a horse.

When Bucky returned to your house, he didn’t go upstairs. He feared the creaking of the steps would wake Decks, Curtis, and Steve. Plus, he knew he wasn’t going to sleep. Why would he when there was so much to do to help you? He would just get in the way at the mines, so he went into your office. He pulled out the files and article you had planned to show him the previous night regarding Cole from the kitchen, and as he sat down in your chair, he saw a contract with a familiar watermark. Shit.

Fuck. Shit. Bitch.

The letterhead was from ‘Turners Farm Corporation,’ which he had expected, but the associated law firm was ‘Hansen & Co.’ Bucky had his fair share of law firms in his back pocket, but this was not one of them. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Lloyd Hansen was something of Bucky’s rival in the city. He was an unhinged lunatic. Where Bucky ran things with honor, poise, and calculated movements, Lloyd was messy, unpredictable, and reckless. He’d been trying to make multiple steps into Bucky’s territory, geographically and business-wise, but Bucky had done a decent job at shutting it down thus far.

And now Cole was in cahoots with Lloyd, well, not him directly on paper, just his bitch-ass sister who ran the firm. Bucky couldn’t believe-well, actually he could. He could believe that Cole would have teamed up with Hansen to build enough power for a takeover, especially considering it didn’t add up if Cole was making these moves on his own.

Fired by frustration that more than supplemented the sleep Bucky lacked from not just tonight, but this whole week, he snapped a picture of the contract and sent it to Sam. Sam would make sure it made its way through the right channels and contacts still back in the city. For now, Bucky had a more important priority than personally dealing with business: You. He had never been so grateful for Sam.

As he skimmed through the final page of the contract Cole had proposed to you, the first rooster crowed. Bucky got up to gather the eggs and make breakfast like any other day in the routine he’d grown so familiar with over just the past two weeks. But instead of cooking for you, he was cooking for the small army that came to your aid.

Curtis came barreling down the steps first, followed by Decks, and then eventually, Steve, who slumped and slinked down the stairs, reminiscent of Bucky’s first day doing the same. At least they were able to get themselves up.

Bucky plated their food, Curtis eyeing him with a small smile that Bucky failed to notice, and he sat down in his normal spot to start eating. He honestly didn’t have the appetite to do so, but he knew he’d crash without food since he already wasn’t sleeping, so he forced it down, preparing to go over the assignments with everyone once again.

Steve would be doing what Bucky had last week to set up the farmer’s market since it was scheduled to go again. Decks would be taking over the tasks you had, feeding the animals, and then doing sales with Bucky since people already knew his face. No need to raise more suspicion by introducing two new people to an event you were usually at.

Once everyone cleared their plates, they got to work, doing everything they could to be of assistance for the mob boss who was very evidently on edge.

It was early afternoon when Bucky got a call from Sam. He immediately picked it up.

“We’re close, boss. Only a couple more large boulders to go before there’s a big enough gap to pull her through.”

Bucky dropped the empty crates he was carrying onto the floor of the storage shed where he was returning them from the farmers market. Lucky for him, the storage shed was much closer to the mines than the barn.

Bucky was full-on sprinting in a way no one had ever seen. He never had to once he rose to power. All he did was walk, his long strides alone commanded enough respect. But this wasn’t about pride. It was about you.

He arrived at the mine entrance, breathing heavily, just as Sam was holding your hand, helping you step over a pile of sand and pebbles. Jake stood awkwardly to the side as you looked up from your feet to see Bucky quickly moving toward you. A smile took over your face and you sighed in relief. He scooped you up and spun you around before setting you down again and using his large hands to frame your face. Bucky didn’t care about the dirt and grime that had built up on the two of you. All he cared about was your safe return to his arms.

You watched as his eyes darted between yours and down to your lips. You wouldn’t hold back anymore. He had put all his resources into saving you, helping you. Without wasting another second, you leaned up on your toes and smashed your lips into his. When you pulled back, Bucky lost consciousness, collapsing in your arms.

Next >

Bonus A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Tbh I thought some moments in here were so funny, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!! Likes, comments, reblogs, and asks are sooooo appreciated!!! If I could, I’d make a secret handshake with you through the phone for following this plot line with me. 😉🤠

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