#also yes the full combo came after i burned my fingers.

[acanthemp3]

today i managed to mildly scald my fingers while straining pasta and have to unravel about 6 hours progress of crochet bc of a fit issue AND have my crown implant snap off while flossing. but also i drew something decent and full comboed miwaku geki on special for the first time. so overall id say today is a win

[bonnyskies]

come back to me [epilogue] ⇢ jjk

you’re willing to do anything to save your marriage, even if that meant you’d have to sacrifice your own happiness to do so.

pairing — husband!jungkook x malereader

genre — angst, sexual themes, idol au, exes to lovers-ish au, open relationship au, marriage au, parents au

series warnings — infidelity (kinda?), swearing, bisexual!jungkook, jealous!jungkook, insecure!reader, unhealthy relationship, unrequited love-ish, slow burn, use of alcohol, mentions of divorce problems, (more could be added in future chapters)

word count — 2.6k

author’s note — this is officially the end :)

masterlist

Two years have passed since your anniversary, and nothing could be better.

Life was great, and you mean it this time. The feeling of waking up every morning and being in Jungkook’s arms created a warmth inside your chest that you never wanted to go away—and it seemed he felt the same way.

“Good morning,” you heard Jungkook whisper against the back of your neck, his voice low and raspy.

“Good morning,” you whispered back, feeling your heart flutter at the feeling of his arms tightening around your waist and placing kisses along your bare shoulder. “Happy anniversary, my love.”

Jungkook smiled against your smooth skin, moving his hand that was resting on your waist up your stomach, fingers dancing gently across your abdomen. “Happy anniversary, baby.”

“So what do you want to do today?” You ask, shuffling around so that you were now facing him, chest against chest, face against face. “We can have a picnic at the park together—you know, the one with that brand new jungle gym and the rope pyramid?”

“That sounds great,” Jungkook agrees while sliding his hands up and down your bare back and pressing tender kisses along your collarbone. “We can go to that deli restaurant across the street from the park and order that meat combo plate we got last time.”

“Yeah, we can!” You instantly nodded vigorously, already feeling your mouth watering at thought of the meal.

“Alright great,” Jungkook shot up from the bed, and you couldn’t help but blush at the sight of the many dark bruises and bright red scratch marks you left on him as he slid a pair of sweatpants and shirt on. “I’ll about go get the kids ready, you call the deli and order the food, okay?

You nodded your head, also getting out of bed and slipping on some clothes—and yes, kids, as in plural.

A week after your anniversary two years ago, Yeonha went into labor and gave birth to a baby girl, and you’re not lying when you say that she is splitting image of Jungkook. Anybody with eyes can easily tell that she is his daughter. They both share many characteristics, like hair and eye color, and they both have the same bunny smile that makes your heart skip a beat when seeing it.

You hate to admit it, but at first you thought it would be awkward when meeting her, especially since she is the child of your husband and his ex-girlfriend, but it wasn’t. You can’t lie and say your heart didn’t flutter when seeing her for the first time when Jungkook brought her into the house, in his arms, sound asleep—and the sight of that made you want another baby if you were being honest, but of course you couldn’t say anything, not when he just had one.

And as for Yeonha, sadly she’s still in your life. Jungkook and her have shared custody over Mina, so that means you have to see her at least twice a week when they meet with each other to get Mina from one another. But luckily you don’t have to speak to her at least.

Again, life was perfect now.

“Minho, make sure to watch your sister!” Jungkook shouts, watching with concern as the two kids sprinted excitedly to the playground.

“They’re fine, Jungkook. See,” you pointed at Minho who was currently helping Mina onto the swings before pushing her gently back and forth. “Now,” you then unwrapped the meat combo plate you got from the deli and handed Jungkook a slider and a can of strawberry soda. “Let’s enjoy our anniversary, okay?”

“Best anniversary ever,” Jungkook teased, clinging your two soda cans together and pecking your lips softly before taking a small sip.

The two of you then began to dig into the food, taking fairly large bites into the small sandwiches. “This is delicious,” you spoke with a full mouth, “We haven’t had this in like—forever.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees, taking another bite of his sandwich. “It’s been what—two months since we’ve been there, and it’s still delicious as ever.” He then glances over at you, lips curling up at the sight of your ketchup stained mouth and full cheeks. Even now, he thought you were the most beautiful, most handsome man his eyes have ever laid on. “I love you.”

His words were sudden, surprising you and making you stare at him with wide eyes and a full mouth. “W-What?”

Jungkook chuckled at your shocked reaction before repeating, “I love you, and I’m sorry that we can’t have a normal anniversary with just each other, alone.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize, darling.” You were quick to reassure him by placing your hand on his bicep and giving it a firm squeeze. “It’s your weekend with Mina and I’m okay with that, you know I love her like my own.”

Your words warmed Jungkook’s heart. You were right, you do love Mina as if she is your own child and that makes him so happy.

When Mina was born Jungkook was afraid that you two would start to drift apart again. Because after all, you were helping raise your husband’s child that wasn’t yours, and that can make things complicated.

But you proved him wrong.

The moment Mina became a part of your life you treated as if she was your own without any doubt, and that made Jungkook’s heart swell. He can’t tell how many times he has woken up and found his daughter in the kitchen with you, handing you the ingredients and helping you cook breakfast.

Jungkook thought there was no way he could love you anymore than how much he does now, but he was wrong. As he stood by the stairway, watching you two bond he could feel his heart triple in size inside his chest. You are definitely someone he doesn’t deserve to call his husband.

“You’re the best,” came out of his mouth faster than his mind could comprehend it. You simply shook your head, attempting to dismiss the topic but he continued. “No seriously, you’re the best husband anyone could ever have. Anyone else in your position would’ve left and never turned back but you chose to stay, and I can’t think of a way to show you how grateful I am.”

“I can’t think of a way either,” you agreed with him, smirking as you leaned over and brushed your lips against his teasingly. “It might take me the rest of my life to think of something. Do you mind waiting for that long?”

When hearing the teasing tone of your voice, he then said, “I don’t mind one bit,” before pressing his lips firmly against yours, the kiss being short yet passionate.

The rest of the day was like this, you and Jungkook being in the each other’s embrace, watching both Mina and Minho play together at the playground. It was peaceful, and calm. The four of you stayed at the park until nighttime, where the sun was starting to set and the moon was beginning to come out.

When going home, you were expecting to have a family movie night or something similar like that, because every weekend when you two have Mina it always comes to that—not that you were complaining because you loved family nights. But you definitely weren’t expecting to hear Jungkook say to the two kids to pack their bags and that they are going to stay with your mother tonight.

“W-What are you doing?” You ask the moment you enter the house, Minho and Mina sprinting up stairs to do exactly what their dad told them to. “It’s your weekend with Mina, I told you that I’m okay with spending our anniversary like this—”

“But I’m not,” Jungkook cut you off, placing his hands on your waist and pulling you to his chest. “You deserve the best. And don’t worry, one night won’t hurt—and it’s a three day weekend so I get Mina an extra day.”

You were hesitant at first, but when he started to leave tender kisses along your neck, making you become weak in the knees you couldn’t help but cave in, a hint of blush forming on your cheeks. “Okay, fine.”

“You don’t sound so excited to have the night to ourselves,” Jungkook muttered inside your neck, placing even more kisses down to your slightly exposed collarbone. “You know, it’s been almost a month since we have had time to ourselves—”

“Appa.” The sound of Mina’s loud, cheerful voice caused you and Jungkook to instantly separate, turning to see the two-year-old girl and Minho sprinting down the stairs with their backpacks on. “We’re ready.”

Jungkook licked his lips, trying to hide the swollen signs of them. “well, I’ll go take them to your eomeoni and be right right back, okay?”

“Okay,” you smiled back at him, pecking him on the lips and giving both Mina and Minho a kiss on their forehead. “Have fun you two, love you and behave.”

“Love you too appa,” they both shouted out, running past Jungkook as he opened the door for them and went straight towards the car.

Just as you were about to close the door, Jungkook kept it open with his foot in between the gap. His last words to you before leaving left you stunned and utterly speechless.

“You better be prepped and ready by the time I come home, baby boy.”

Jungkook couldn’t deny how stunning you were, even while you laid right beside him, both of you completely bare, sweat glistening off your bodies and chest heaving up and down, trying to regain your breath.

He can’t remember that last time you two have went this hard. It’s been half an hour since you two both have reached your release and he could still see you trembling underneath him, feel you clawing at his back and tears of pleasure shining in your eyes as he thrusted deeply into you. The sight was breathtaking.

“This thirty-three year old still got it,” Jungkook spoke up in a raspy voice, making you chuckle as you shifted your body onto your side to face him, running your hand up and down his bare torso.

“Yes you do,” you grinned up at him, leaning down and placing a couple tender kisses along his exposed, sharp collarbone.

A peaceful silence then consumed the bedroom. The two of you enjoyed the calm atmosphere that succumbed you both, savoring this moment since you two haven’t had any time for yourselves ever since the day Mina was born—not that any of you were complaining because she is a gem no doubt, it was just you two are a married couple and still would like to have time for yourselves every once in a while.

You could slowly feel yourself slip into slumber, but Jungkook’s next words made your eyes shoot wide open, nearly bulging out of your head.

“Let’s have another baby.”

“W-What,” you sat up on the bed, leaning back against the headboard and stared down at him. “Have you completely lost your mind? We already have two kids.”

“I know,” Jungkook copied your same position. “But I don’t know, I really want another kid, don’t you?”

“Of course I do—” you tried to say but then he cut you off, continuing.

“Then why can’t we? We both are in a perfect place in our lives,” smiling widely, Jungkook took your hands into his and squeezed them tightly. “You just got a promotion so you now work from home, and BTS is over, we finished our last tour last month so that means I’m going to be home now more than ever. Come on, let’s have another baby, please?”

You remained silent, and when Jungkook noticed your hesitation a frown formed on his lips. “If you don’t want another kid then that’s okay with me, I’m just wondering if you want one as well.”

Your heart clenched when seeing his downed expression, your thumbs immediately caressing the back of his hands comfortingly. “Jungkook, it’s not that I don’t want another kid because I do, but Mina is only two-years-old, don’t you think it is kind of early?”

Jungkook shook his head instantly, “No, I don’t. We always talked about having a big family, and now that we’re both in a comfortable place in our life, what’s a greater time than now?”

His words brought a large smile on your face. “Then let’s have another baby.”

“Really?” Jungkook stared at you with wide eyes, mouth gaped open.

“Yes really,” you quickly nodded, and next thing you knew you felt Jungkook’s lips crashing onto yours, moving his body so that he was now hovering you, hands moving down to your thighs and pulling you flushed against his body.

You couldn’t but moan against his lips when you felt his hands begin grope your ass, squeezing the flesh of your skin. “You do remember I’m a man, right? So that means I can’t get pregnant,” you teased, pulling away from his lips to stare at him.

Jungkook’s lips curled up into a smirk and whispered, “doesn’t mean we can’t try,” before bringing his mouth back down onto yours.

The night was again filled with the sound of your moans, Jungkook’s groans, and his skin slapping against yours.

And when morning, the first thing you did was call the same adoption agency that Minho came from and now, the two of you were officially added onto the list.

Life may be perfect now, but it was only going to get even more better from here on out.

BONUS:

“Alright Ms. Lee, I’m going to need you to push one more time and the baby should come out,” the male doctor that sat in front of you and Jungkook stated.

The woman that was laying on the hospital bed had tears in her eyes as she nodded her head, releasing a loud cry before doing exactly what the doctor said. And soon, the sound of a baby’s cries filled the delivery room.

“It’s a boy,” the doctor says, handing the baby boy to one of the nurses so that they could clean him up.

“Thank you so much, A-yeong.” You grasped onto the woman’s hand, bowing your head gratefully and at same time Jungkook also asks, “How are feeling?”

“Really tired,” the woman answered, skin shining with sweat and chest heaving up and down from exhaustion.

“Well you only have little time to rest before we have to go again,” the doctor spoke up again, “The second baby should coming out any second now.”

You and Jungkook both froze, “S-Second baby? We were informed that there will be only one.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” the doctor shrugged his shoulders. “On the record it says, Lee A-yeong, female, age thirty-one, having twins.”

You turned to Jungkook, eyes wide but shining with excitement. “We’re having twins,” you said, voice trembling out of happiness.

“We’re having twins,” Jungkook repeated your words, sharing the same joyful expression as you before leaning down capturing your lips into a sweet, passionate kiss.

Soon, another baby’s cries could be heard, making you two separate. Your eyes then met the baby’s ones, making your heart flutter inside. “This one is a girl.”

“Oh my god,” Jungkook gasped, hand over his mouth out of shock. “We have another baby girl.”

After the nurses cleaned both babies, they each handed you and Jungkook one. “So, have you two thought about any names?”

“Well, I’m thinking of naming the girl A-yeong,” you suggested, glancing at Jungkook for his opinion while delicately running the tip of your index finger along the baby girl’s chubby cheek.

“I like it,” Jungkook agrees.

A-yeong smiles and bows her head thankfully. “Thank you for naming her after me.” She then asks, “what about about the boy?”

“How about Junghyun?” Jungkook says, rocking the baby boy in his arms gently back and forth.

You instantly nodded your head, “Yeah, it’s cute—definitely suits him.”

“Hello there little ones,” Jungkook gets closer to you so that he can see the baby girl, A-yeong asleep in your arms. “Damn, they’re so precious.”

“Hey, watch your language,” you scolded him, “we’ve got babies right here.”

Jungkook chuckled and pecked your forehead. “Welcome to the world, Jeon A-yeong and Jeon Junghyun.”

Life may be perfect? No, life is perfect.

the series is officially over, i’d like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this entire series. i love you all so much, there’s no way i could’ve been able to finish this without you guys.

TAGLIST:

@xworldwidecutieguyx, @yoongis-soulmate, @jikookvfans, @heartfeltscribblings, @blazedprince, @btsfaris, @sonderkook, @angel-moni, @http-je0n, @magic-fox-555, @moonfairyjoon, @taozibun1, @ephemeralkookie, @thesquiglybumblebee, @httpjazel, @justqueerandhereforthetea, @dreamer95, @singabon-roll, @shaybeans, @fancykoos, @galaxyeyedjungkook, @nlnkm, @you-need-namjesus, @teuteusstuff, @moon-asia, @julia-pacheco-blog, @0minabean0, @pjmislovely​, @polly-wifu, @jinsonaz, @unsolvetheheckoutofit, @multihoneyfairy, @xavi-in-kpopland, @daydreamerblues, @kurochan3

[cosmicbash]

this is hella specific but my personal sadistic liking i guess, but imagine kells and em were rough fucking and em goes too far and kells actually starts to cry in pain and takes a few seconds for em to notice but when he does, his whole personality does a 180° and he becomes the sweetest motherfucking thing

im not sure if u saw my post where i said i like crying kells/ soft em combo

When they first started fucking it was always rough. There was teeth, nails, blood, like the two of them were trying to tear the other to pieces just as badly as they were trying to meld their bodies together.

Eventually things started to even out, their fucking softened the same way their voices and touches did.

Actual feelings blossoming and a relationship rising from the scorched earth they liked to think their original beef had caused.

They couldn't call it hatefucking anymore, not when the hate was gone and something warm and scarily close to love had slithered in its place.

So now their sex was mostly normal, tinted with moments of softness or the rushed clumsiness of some spontaneous hookup. But, that didn't mean the roughness was completely gone.

They'd fucked that way in the beginning for a reason. It was good. Colson's nails cutting into his back or along his scalp to try and futilely pull on his short hair just felt invigorating. Like it lit a fire deep in Marshall's stomach that he'd long thought smothered.

They still fucked hard, and fast, just not as often. Sometimes after a nasty argument to get out the anger, other times just because the blonde came to him with that challenging glint in his eyes begging for a punishment.

Tonight was the latter.

Overall it had seemed like a perfect day, their voices soft and smiles softer over the course of a rare breakfast together and an even rarer lunch. The usually annoying call of a 'required' industry party appearance actually pleasing Marshall for once just because it meant he had an excuse to linger in LA, to publicly visit the same event as his boyfriend with little suspicion. Colson had stayed overnight to steal the whole day together in preparation. It was perfect.

So of course Marshall should have seen the devious little plan of his boyfriends coming. Colson always buttered him up before he got bratty.

It started with batted eyelashes and flirty licks of icing off some silly cupcakes, and ended with some other douchebag snaking his slimy presence into Colson's bubble. Stealing away attention that wasn't meant for anyone but Marshall.

The sparkle in Colson's last glance his way had announced the request for tonight's sex better than any words the blonde could have simply used instead.

So that's what Marshall gave him when they got back to the hotel room, a firm fist in the back of blonde locks. Colson's arrival an infuriating 20 minutes later than his own.

Per usual the younger rapper barely struggled, the glee on his face at Marshall's jealousy so much stronger than any desire he may have had to play along with a few feigned huffs.

It was hot, seeing Colson smile so catlike up at him with every rip of expensive cotton and snapped threads through Marshall's trembling fingers. He honestly didn't know if he wanted to strangle the brat or grab him like something precious. Colson just knew every button to press to get him riled up and angry. Teetering on the edge of real rage and violent jealousy that might have fucked up his marriage but somehow never truly settled here between them. Because looking into those sparkling mischevious eyes Marshall somehow always knew it was fake, that no matter how many times Colson and he played this game the blonde would never actually cross the line and cheat or hurt him.

The fire in his stomach burned white hot on nights like this. Where his hands could curl tight around Colson's wrists and risk leaving bruises both along them and the small of the boy's back where they sat pinned. Marshall's other hand roughly stretching open a hole he can tell has been fingered already in the car or maybe even at the party itself in hopes he would just bend it's owner over and force his way inside the moment they met back up. But that was a risk Marshall wouldn't take, not one where his assumption could seriously hurt Colson, no matter how many times he found the blonde already slick and ready. Because yes it was rough, and they still clawed at one another and bit mutual bruises along pale skin but it was also still more like making love than the angry hate fucking they'd had in the beginning.

Which is why as his hips snap in their rapid pace and his fingers cut into Colson's skin Marshall faintly notes the shift in his boyfriend's spine. Colson's still moaning, still rocking back to meet his harsh thrusts but theirs a silent thought nagging at the back of the older rapper's brain about it. Like there's something right in front of him that he just can't decypher yet.

The sex swamped part of his mind only urges him to go harder, reminds him of how his boyfriend has only come once so far and how utterly beautiful he looks overstimulated and trembling from a second uninterrupted orgasm. Brushing the blip of concern off as a moment of overthinking while he chases down his own release.

Marshall's eyes have slipped closed and his fingers tightened to that nail cutting grip when he hears it. The slight change in pitch to Colson's cries, not enough of a warning for his own hips to slow down. Not with how tight his stomach is getting and ready to burst his balls feel while he somehow finds the ability to speed up his fucking. Thighs clapping loud and fast against Colson's like he's going to fuck his way right through the other man. Increase his tempo until the seperate beats turn into one long ring.

Colson jerks beneath him then, not in his own release but away from his grip like the fire in Marshall's stomach has finally leeched its way outside to burn him. The usual chorus of "ah, ah, ah-" replaced by a wet sounding and higher pitched copy. Less pleause and more pain. Cutting through the older rapper's own roaring pleasure like a hot knife.

He's seconds away from coming. Just a handful more of thrusts and he could be pumping the tight hole clenching double time down on his cock full, but Marshall's heart has already dropped.

He's out of Colson in an instant, not caring how dizzy his own movements make him or how his cock throbs agonizingly for release. The fear bubbling up is too strong for him to care. "S-shit, Col, baby, I-I'm sorry-"

He's on his side, rough fingers now jarringly delicate as he curls around the blonde to pepper a dozen apologetic kisses along his shoulders. Careful as he turns Colson's flushed face to see the genuine tear tracks that have wettened perfect cheeks. A complete contrast to the harsh grab and jut of thumb into jaw hinge he'd done only an hour earlier on in the night.

"Shh, baby, I'm sorry, shh, where does it hurt?" There's a hundred different things rushing through Marshall's mind. Second guesses on how prepped Colson had been, how harsh his last bite was, on the belittling terms his dirty talk had included. What he could possibly do to fix the tear stained mess he's creates on his boyfriend's beautiful face.

"No-" Colson's voice is still tight, his eyebrows scrunched. "Don't-" a hiss and Marshall's stomach can't drop any deeper. But then crytal blue eyes are opening to meet his and the unmistakable sound of a bitter laugh is tumbling past Colson's lips.

The look shot is way sparkling with the request of forgiveness. "Just my hip-" And Colson's smiling at him, weak and sheepish like knows a reprimand is coming his way. The heavy wet weight of tears hanging on his lashes softening his eyes to emphasize that boyish charm the older rapper was smitten by.

His hip. The one he'd injured last week falling off stage and swore up and down to Marshall was fine all week. The brunette wants to collapse back onto the bed in relief and also smack his idiot of a boyfriend aside his head for terrifying him like that.

He settles in the middle with a sigh and soft bump of their foreheads together. Palm cupping Colson's wet cheek and eyes closing to thank whatever deity above exists that he didn't actually cross that invisible line inside himself and directly hurt Colson on his own.

"I love you." Colson's voice is still a little rough, still silently asking for forgiveness, and Marshall can't help but sigh again and try to smother that insecurity with slow kiss. Fingers softly skating through bleached hair and body rolling cautiously close to connect their skin.

"I love you too-" he sweeps away the salty tears with some scattered kisses. Fingers leaving his boyfriends hair to stroke down over the hot jut of unknowingly tender skin he'd been further injuring. "You idiot." The insult could be directed at either of them. Colson for lieing and himself for forgetting how dismissive his boyfriend could be of his own health.

"It- it wasn't that bad-" Marshall finds his mouth smothering an argument. Not interested in hearing the same childish defense from his boyfriend. Mentally he's already searching for the contact of his wonderful chiropractor to schedule Colson an emergency appointment and just how quickly he can get the precious man into a warm bath to soothe the ache.

[olderthannetfic]

Escapade Vid - The Untamed

I could say this was my attempt at meta on an underappreciated character and that's why I wanted to vid Wen Ning…

Nah, I just think he's hot.

Wen Ning has this adorable babyface and big eyes. Just my type. And then he got a goth makeover and became a creepy zombie, increasing his hotness by ten thousand times. The Living Dead was everything I wanted except for dubcon possession porn, and it both irritates and cracks me up to see how many people find it OOC and badly made. I agree the colors are an abomination though--but more on that later.

I like Wen Ning the best because 1. He's hot and 2. He's one of the most competent characters and compromises his morals the least. Mianmian might be one up on him given how her story turns out, but in a whole series of craven idiots, I like the suicidally moral characters, especially when they're competent.

And also JC. Because I like his face. (What? I never said my Untamed feels were deep.)

I wanted to make this vid last year, right after Escapade. I spent forever finding a song, and I'm glad I did it then because it was a nightmare. I can find love songs easily, but I don't really care about WN/WWX, nor would most love songs fit that. It's clearly one-sided, but WN is also clearly totally happy to follow him around forever. Happy love songs are out. Pining angst is out.

WN is also motivated by high ideals more than specific family feelings. WQ wants to protect her family. WN wants to repay his debts. WN is a shy doofus on the surface when we first see him, and he acts flustered around most of the older characters, but this is deceptive. I feel like the most revealing scene is when he pops up at Lotus Pier, ready to grab JC and take on his entire clan. In what universe was this a good idea? What is he even doing there? Why did it actually work???

I wanted a song that encapsulated WN's quiet stubbornness. The trouble is that like 99% of popular music is either about romance or about being a confident badass, and most of the confident badass music is "Fuck you, ex boyfriend, I'm stronger now". I did not want an ex boyfriend song. A bunch of other songs are macho, flexing dudes talking about how they'll win the sports competition. Obviously, that was out. There are a very few songs like Try Everything, but they're awfully perky for covering Wen Ning's entire story, including him getting, you know, gruesomely murdered.

I honestly can't remember how I found the song I picked. I was probably listening to Happy Hanukkah on endless repeat and saw it in the Youtube sidebar. (Look, it's a great song for all times of year. Shut up.) Matisyahu has many amazing songs that build and move in ways ideal for vids.

I then sat on this source/song combo for a year because, well, it sure was a year. But when we got close to Escapade, I realized I wanted to finish it for the con.

Clip choices:

I'm not going to include the full lyrics on their own since they're in English and on every lyrics site. Instead, I'm putting the relevant bits between my explanations of what I chose and why. A lot of it came together quickly. I knew I wanted to include cute WN moments, like him being bullied by kids, and they wouldn't fit in the main narrative, so I had to put them in the intro.

Feel like the world don't love you They only wanna push you away Some days people don't see you You feel like you're in the way

I had a lot of trouble with 'push you away' since, generally speaking, no one does push him away. However, this is a vid from Wen Ning's own perspective, so it felt like an acceptable match to use the part where Wen Qing tries to leave him behind as they go on a hunt. She's objectively correct to do so given what happens, but Wen Ning is clearly upset that she tried. He doesn't want to be protected, especially at the cost of other people's safety.

Today you feel as if everyone hates Pointing their fingers, looking at your mistakes You do good, but they want great No matter what you give they still wanna take

I was very clear from early on that I wanted to use 'mistakes' for what Wen Ning is actually upset about: ruining Jin Ling's life. Of course he feels super guilty about what he did, despite it not being his fault, but the specific fallout Wen Ning is going to care about is a kid's feelings, not the political drama. That gave me the idea for what to do with 'good' and 'great'. More than most characters in the series, WN is not impressed by the power structure or reputations--scared, yes, but not impressed. WN likes bringing people food, at little things that are quietly good, and their society does not value that. (Cf. everything about Jiang Yanli's betrothal before Jin Zixuan catches feelings.)

'No matter what you give' I used for a shot that is probably not going to read as anything in a convention vidshow. He's bruised up, so I was hoping it would read properly visually. The actual context of the shot is WN having been thrown in the dungeon for being a traitor to the Wen. And yet, when the Wen are defeated, does he get a pardon? Nope, ignominious death. It really didn't matter what he did: these factions are all thoroughly corrupt and the entire system is garbage. It's all power-hungry assholes and sanctimonious prisses ripe for manipulation. All that mattered was that he was a Wen, and the Wens were either on top or being exterminated.

Give your love and they throw it back You give your heart they go on attack When there's nothing left for you, Only thing that you can do, say

The next part is WWX being an ungrateful little bitch. He's understandably stressed, but it still cracks me up that he's all up in WN's face and WN is literally only there to help him. WN might feel an obligation, but WWX sure isn't earning it here.

'When there's nothing left' I wasn't sure about. WN hitting rock bottom is arguably when he gets killed or maybe when they're in the burial mounds, but that didn't work with my structure. I chose to put a montage here of all the times that WQ tells him to stay safe by ditching WWX. I sympathize with WQ, but as WN comments in one of these scenes, he's following their own family code that she taught him. WQ cares so much about protecting WN (and the rest of their little part of the clan, but let's be real, it's mostly about WN) that she's willing to collude with a mass murderer just to keep him safe. Maybe it's only because he's a younger sibling, but WN seems to see things a lot more clearly. I laugh every time he's like "Uh huh, uh huh" as she lectures, and then the next scene is him running off to do something dangerous again.

Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Fight like a warrior, Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Live like a warrior

For this round of the chorus, WN is burning his Wen clan membership in a fire, and the heroic thing is running away, living to fight another day. WN has no ego, nor would ego be helpful here.

Buuuut, equally, being an actual warrior means hurting people, and while he was literally mind controlled into murder, that still couldn't have happened if he hadn't been already involved in violence and fighting. Violence you regret is also part of this life, and so is accepting responsibility for your actions. (Sure, he's very literally not responsible here, but WN doesn't know that at the time and doesn't feel that even later.)

There's some things you should let go, They're only gonna pull you down, Just like weight on your shoulder They are only gonna make you drown

I swear The Untamed has the best casting for a variety of face types. I recognized everybody from the moment they appeared… Except for Su She. Whom I forgot entirely and couldn't recognize at all. Doh.

It wasn't till I was clipping the whole series for this vid that I realized that the reason Wen Ning gets possessed here is that he's the only one to notice Su She's plight and go to his aid right away. I think on first viewing, I read it as him just getting possessed before he could get in the air, but that's not what's happening at all. His dumb ass stayed behind to try to help someone. Seriously, fuck Su She. They live in a grotesquely shitty power structure, but WN responds in admirable ways, while Su She just whines that he's not on top.

We all swing high, we all swing low, We all got secrets people don't know We all got dreams we can't let go, We wanna be brave, don't be afraid

WN's secret is that he gets possessed so easily and why. WQ is refusing to tell WWX in this scene, but he has figured out something is up and gives her a talisman for WN, which shows up later in the plot to great emotional effect--though not in this vid, alas.

The butterfly reveal was one of the first things on my timeline as I recall. I have Many Feelings. Also, this is me, so yes, I totally ship them. >:D

WN and WQ showing up to accept responsibility is kind of a dumbass move, but it's definitely brave. I enjoy how WN just keeps barrelling through the plot in a way that should mean he's the cute woobie who dies early on to prove the world is bad… and that instead leads to him being one of the strongest fighters, making it through the series, and finding A-Yuan again. (Though, okay, he did that first thing also. Heh.)

I ended on Jin Ling because I was so struck on rewatch at how the juniors first meet Wen Ning.

Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Fight like a warrior, Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Live like a warrior

I dimly recalled this fight, but it wasn't till I was clipping that I realized just how much focus each of them gets and how WN is literally strangling them and such. I just remembered him fighting people, not who. It's hilarious how quickly after this (in their timeline) we have doofus woobie WN being cute and them being like "He's my murder zombie! ♥"

For this chorus, I focused on that change. WN is rescuing them. "Yesterday" is their scared faces. Here, being a "warrior" is apologizing to JL. And maybe WN doesn't really owe an apology, but JL does deserve one. Almost no one in the series seems to give a shit about how JL is feeling.

And then my favorite scene with my two faves! WN is finally telling JC what he has probably wanted to for ages. WN is a wuss when it comes to himself, but he gets righteously pissed when someone else is being mistreated. The yesterday he's letting burn here is his promise to keep quiet… along with viciously burning down every bit of self perception and hubris JC ever had. Ouch!

Your heart is too heavy from things you carry a long time, Been up you been down, tired and you don't know why, But you're never gonna go back, you only live one life Let go, let go, let go, let go, let go, let go,

Bless the sequel movie for literally being entirely about Wen Ning's internal struggle. The way he breaks free of the bad guy's hold is by accepting the past and letting go of his guilt over things he can't change.

Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Fight like a warrior,

He's just so hot in this movie! This first chorus is him coming out of the hallucination, having beaten his self doubt and then beating on the villain.

Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Live like a warrior

Okay, in actual canon, JL mostly joined them because he was competing with LSZ like the bratty little asshole he is, but I wanted to highlight how JL got over himself enough to join the other juniors on team WN. Also, WN defends both him and LSZ in this scene in ways he couldn't back then.

Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Fight like a warrior,

This I wasn't planning on at all. As I was clipping the whole series, I was thinking that WN's possessed footage here wouldn't be narratively useful since he went and got taken over again, but when I rewatched for visually impressive stuff to use interstitially, I realized that--holy shit--he's defending Jin Ling in this scene. And he succeeds. I included both a shot of Jin Zixuan, which everyone caught in the vidshow, and a shot that nobody mentioned: Wen Ning's bloody fist after ripping JZX heart out to go with Wen Ning's bloody hand on the sword in the present as he struggles to keep it from Jin Ling. Here, fighting like a warrior means keeping the sword off of JL, even if WN can't defeat the spirit or resolve the entire situation himself.

ALSO I HAVE MANY FEELS ABOUT JC JUMPING IN FRONT OF JL.

Today, today live like you wanna, Let yesterday burn and throw it in a fire, in a fire, in a fire, Live like a warrior

Sometimes, WN is not that sweet. He traps this dude in a hell of his own making instead of letting him kill himself because Wen Ning can be a vindictive little bitch. And then he strides off into the matte painting sunset.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Other vidding notes:

I totally wanted to do something with Chinese characters, but there wasn't really space, and after much dictionary-searching and asking, it's clear that Chinese does not use morality metaphors involving a compass pointing true north. But that effort was not wasted since I needed a good font for my other vid.

Vidding The Living Dead turned out to be a pain. I had completely forgotten it was in another aspect ratio. The shots look much more beautiful before one crops them. That said, none of them are that beautiful because the entire film has this atrocious green color filter over it. It's like they're all wading through mud at all times. Ughhhhh. I spent so long trying to fix the color on that final scene to be at least a little pretty for my vid.

Still, the film had exactly the emotional tone I wanted. It very much skewers the fanon that WN is entirely the bashful wimp he appears to be on the surface when we first see him. It makes overt the change that we see over the series. It's also fundamentally different because it's a situation where WN is the senior person and in charge of someone. We've seen him babysit a small child, and we've seen him around the juniors with lots of people of his generation also there, but we've basically never seen him out from under WQ and WWX's thumbs. It's only natural that he's acting more authoritative here. His smackdown of the villain is very much in line with how he treats JC during the golden core reveal. WN is not a forgiving guy when he thinks someone has been selfish and awful.

Throughout this vid, there are shittons of color, speed, and motion effects. I don't normally use a lot, but it turned out to be a lot of fun this time. I should find another project to use effects on.

The vid:

Available on AO3.

[synvamp]

HAPPY PLACE 7

Just love me! Fluffy, slow burn, angst!Qrow has met his match and Clover begins to reel in his catch... 

(Part One HERE)

Title: Healing

Fair Game – Part Seven / 10?

Rating: M

---xxx---

  The briefing started at 8:30 sharp. Qrow was on time but distracted. He watched Clover’s biceps tense and relax as he ran through the mission allocations. They were so defined. Qrow knew the guy was strong but arms like that… it was just excessive.

  How the hell am I meant to focus?!

  “..and Qrow,” Clover said, his eyes just flicking to meet Qrow’s haggard morning gaze for a split second.

  Wait, what? But he hasn’t finished the assignments yet…

  “…and I’ll go with Marrow and Harriet. It’s about time we got onto the grim that have been skirting the southern walls. Any questions?” Clover asked, pausing that perfunctory split second that all managers seem to have in common, “Alright then, good luck out there.”

  Qrow blinked.

  Yang and Blake wandered over, smiling at a shared joke.

  “Clover let you off the hook today?” Yang smirked.

  “Seems so,” Qrow mused, spacing out over her shoulder. Clover was laughing with Marrow about something; the boy’s tail was wagging like crazy.

  “Well, at least we’ve got something fun to do! Sphinxes and Manticores are always good to work up an appetite and it’s beef tonight!”

  Blake smiled, “It’s meatloaf.”

  “Ugh! Oh well, I guess there’s always dessert. Hey, are you with me?” Yang waved a hand in front of Qrow’s face.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.”

  “Well it looks painful,” Yang laughed, “Come on! We can’t sit around all day, we’ll miss the transport out,” she grinned and bounded off.

  Qrow watched as Clover put his hand on Marrow’s shoulder and guided him out of the room. Just before Clover walked through the door, he turned and gazed at Qrow with those perfect turquoise eyes, flicked his wrist in half a salute and was gone.

  The day passed in a blur. It was nice to hang out with Yang and Blake. He always enjoyed Blake’s quiet, no bullshit manner and Yang was… Yang. She really was Tai’s sunny dragon. All joy and flames. They worked him hard and kept him distracted. Between the grim and the banter, the day flashed by. It was almost enough to stop him from thinking about Clover… but not quite.

  Why did he allocate me to a different team? Why didn’t he even talk to me?

  But it wasn’t like Clover had brushed him off… he’d given him that seven thousand watt smile and that cocky salute…

  “Oh no, he’s gone again,” Yang said, “Qrow… Qrow… come back to me! Don’t walk towards the light!”

  “Ah, shut up…” he grinned.

  They were walking back into the mess hall and Qrow could smell the meatloaf.

  Yang looked at the plates and slumped in disappointment. Blake gave a tiny smile of I-told-you-so and went to sit with Ruby and Weiss, who were arguing about peas.

  “Mint is disgusting,” Weiss complained.

  “But it’s like eating peas after brushing your teeth!” Ruby enthused.

  “My point exactly,” Weiss said imperiously, prodding the peas on her plate as if they had just crawled out of a tar pit and died there.

  Qrow looked across the room. The Ace Ops were at the next table, well… four of them anyway.

  A deep, confident voice called out from behind him, “Look who’s finally back.”

  Qrow turned slowly; Clover was standing behind him with a tray of dinner. He looked at the tray then back to Qrow again. “Meatloaf day. I guess my luck has finally run out.”

  “I kind of like it,” Qrow said.

  “What have I told you about punishing yourself?” Clover smiled, “Meatloaf is self-harm Qrow and you deserve better.”

  Qrow smiled in spite of himself. The little spark of joy flickered in his chest but then the doubt surged again, “Why did you send me away today?”

  “How about you get yourself some… let’s just call it food… and come sit with me?”

  “Alright,” Qrow marched off and grabbed dinner. He actually did like meatloaf. It reminded him of a huntsman he used to know. Great guy but a terrible cook… all except the meatloaf which was actually glorious. Funny how it’s the little things that you remember.

Clover was sitting at a table by himself slightly away from the others. Qrow wondered if they should sit together… but he pushed the doubt down hard in his chest. He wanted to know what was going on a lot more than he cared about his laughable reputation right now anyway.

  Clover looked up as he dumped his tray on the table and huffed into the chair.

  “Long day?” he asked, green eyes twinkling.

  “Long enough,” he looked at Clover with accusing eyes.

  “Hey, hey,” Clover raised his hands in a gesture of peace, “I decided we should have a little space.”

  “You decided, huh?”

  “Yes. I wouldn’t want you to get sick of me now, would I?” he smiled warmly and Qrow did his best to try to remember that he was annoyed.

  “I guess not…” Qrow muttered, poking his meatloaf. It was grey. Maybe Clover had a point.

  “Why, did you miss me?”

  “No!” Qrow said, far too quickly.

  Clover laughed, “Well, I’m guessing that you haven’t cleaned your quarters?”

  “Amazingly, no. I hired a maid service and they sent this absolute hottie so I was kind of hoping that he would come b..”

  “No way,” Clover shook his head, “but nice try. In that case, if you’re feeling lonely you could always swing by my quarters around eight tomorrow. I thought a night in might be nice.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “The day after today? Unless you can’t wait of course.”

  Qrow glared at him.

  “Alright then, I’ll take that smouldering rage as a yes. See you tomorrow night.”

  And with that, Clover stood up, flexed that amazing ass of his and strode off.

  ---xxx---

Qrow couldn’t sleep and spent a good hour prowling the barracks before dawn. He knew that he was hoping to meet Clover, hoping that he was also pacing the halls, hoping that he was out here… somewhere… maybe even looking for him.

  But he didn’t see anyone. The day passed in a haze of sleep deprivation and coffee. Clover sent him out with Jaune, Ren and Nora this time. It felt like a favour of sorts because he could really use a distraction and Nora was… a hell of a distraction.

  Today they got beef. Yang was thrilled and even shouted Ruby down when she tried to start a food fight, pleading with her to save it for one of the many days when they didn’t actually have something edible.

  Qrow couldn’t focus. Clover wasn’t there. He’d been there for the briefing, made an excuse about having executive meetings and vanished.

  I bet he’s doing some stupid massive romantic thing, getting things ready for tonight. What an idiot.

Qrow smiled to himself and thought about the soft pink glow that spread across Clover’s cheeks when he was embarrassed. How can someone be so confident and so easily flustered?

  Qrow went back to his room and had a shower; he put on a black shirt and jeans and just sat. Somehow, eight o’clock finally came around.

  He learnt his lesson and waited until eight to leave his quarters. Even then he still hovered on the threshold of Clover’s door, heart sputtering in his chest. Finally, he knocked softly.

  “It’s not locked,” he heard Clover call from inside.

  Qrow opened the door. Clover was lounging on the couch in sweats and a dark green t-shirt. He had a game scroll in one hand and a fight scene in full swing on the screen in front of him.

  He was playing ninja warrior.

  Clover glanced up at him and smiled, “Hey, come in, sit down. I’ve just got one more round.”

  Qrow did as requested. It was strange, being here in Clover’s room. Not being the centre of his attention.

  Qrow let his eyes wander. There was a landscape painting on the wall, a beautiful sweeping view of a green valley with steep peaks rising on either side. Majestic. Tranquil.

  There was a couch, a TV, a bed, a bookshelf, a little kitchenette… everything neat and normal.

  Qrow thought of his own room, which was a merciless black hole brimming with chaos.

  This guy really has his shit together.

  Clover delivered an epic combo, ending the match.

  Show off.

  Clover grinned and held the controller out to Qrow. “A little birdie told me that you are no push over.”

  “Well, you should always believe random animals that speak to you.”

  “I take it on a case by case basis,” Clover grinned, “I bet Yang I could beat you. She has this ridiculous opinion that you’re some kind of ninja legend.”

  “Well, I suppose I can’t disappoint my nieces can I?”

  “That’s never going to happen.”

  Qrow looked at him.

  He felt tightness in his chest and a smile welled from somewhere deep.

  He kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the couch, “I am going to own you.”

“That so?” Clover laughed, moving so there was more room.

  They played for an hour or so, their talk becoming easier as the time wore on. Clover was actually better at ninja warrior even than Qrow, much to his delight.

  “I bet you’re cheating,” Qrow laughed, as he got his ass handed to him yet again.

  “You’re just old.”

  “You did not just say that!” Qrow laughed and turned to poke Clover in the ribs.

  Clover put down his scroll and wrapped his arm around Qrow’s shoulders. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

  “No, I think I’d fall asleep.”

“Thanks,” Clover chuckled.

  “No, it’s not you I just slept really badly.”

  “We could call it a night. I can walk you back to your room if you want,” Clover’s fingertips pressed ever so slightly on Qrow’s shoulder.

  “It’s dark.”

  “Yes?” Clover said.

  “It’s a long way.”

  “I suppose it is,” Clover agreed.

  “It seems like a bit of an inconvenience.”

  Clover put his hand on Qrow’s cheek and kissed him. He just wanted to live in the smell of him, the taste of him. To just drink him in.

  “I suppose you could just stay here,” he said softly.

  “If you insist,” Qrow leaned forwards taking one slow and fulfilling kiss in return.

  Clover turned and wrapped the slighter man in his arms, picking him up, pulling him onto his lap.

  He felt Qrow’s long fingers caress him, one hand tousling his hair and the other untucking his shirt, “Would you like to move to the bed?” Clover asked, smiling to himself as Qrow’s fingers moved quickly onto his shirt buttons.

  “Here is fine,” Qrow breathed into his ear as he pulled Clover forward to pull the cloth from his back.

  “Well,” Clover mused, slowly taking his belt off, “Let’s see if I can keep you awake then.”

    ---xxx---

Part Eight

[psi-psina]

05/09 Niigata LOTS

SE 詩踏み 咀嚼

蜷局 腐海 理由

New song (zankoku ?) New song (omae) 輪郭 THE BLOSSOMING BEELZEBUB

Ranunculus 人間を被る Punk song (GO MAD) Ash Revelation of mankind

EN 鼓動 The inferno THE IIID EMPIRE Beautiful Dirt 羅刹国

Same as yesterday, I wrote this last night before passing out after eating 3 fish taco’s and 3 glasses of red wine so this may have effected my memory a bit but I hope it is somewhat readable :)

Today was absolute FIRE. The setlist yesterday was better (my fave) but the guys were WAY more into it today, especially Kyo. I am so shit at outfits and I am really sorry. Today I only remember Kyo and Die's because I was closer to kamite in front of Shinya today. (it was so nice!!!) Die wore the outfit from the album promo photoshoot, Kaoru was definitely not wearing his (full) photoshoot outfit and I don't think? Toshiya was either but I can't remember anything else, I am sorry. Kyo's outfit was fantastic, he wore a white sleeveless blouse and his black skinny jeans with the ripped knees and over that his giant alice auaa...suspenders? It’s a big rectangular skirt that he can put his arms through as well, they are fucking awesome and he made WAY better use of them than he did when he wore them in Osaka *__* He wore his rosette badge again, on the front of the suspenders. And he wore his headgear from mode of DSS, with a black hair extension down the right side of his face and his white contacts. He was also wearing his new mac lipstick & gloss combo. I'm not sure if he had his grill in but I think he did? Damn it looked so good! I'm not usually a big fan of headgear on Kyo because I really prefer to be able to see his expressions more freely but even though this gear covers most of his face it actually enhanced his expressions. It just really....suits him? He wears it really well, I love it.

The whole front section of the set was very atmospheric. Niigata's response to Soshaku wasn't quite as lusty as Osaka's was, but ahh people were moving so much during Toguro and just feeling it SO MUCH. BLISS. Fukai was a stand out tonight, I caught Die's eye near the start of it and we looked at each other briefly, I smiled at him and he smiled back <3 he's so lovely. Die got my attention during Fukai today, I'm sorry Kaoru (ILU). The Fukai mosh was also Bliss. Kyo got us to sing a LOT, he called on us in the first chorus and other parts of the song, he screamed for more and ripped his monitor out so he could hear us better and we GAVE IT TO HIM. ❤️ Riyuu got lots of movement as well today, and went down even better than yesterday. Then I think it was during this interlude that everyone was pretty quiet, and then Kaoru sidled up in front of shimote with that cocky swagger of his and there was this sudden ROAR for Kaoru from shimote which got everyone in the middle shouting for him as well 😂 Then Kyo came back to the front and tilted his head back in that demented snarl-grin he's doing lately and everyone roared at him. Then it was time for the new songs again and it was much the same as yesterday, I can't remember much because I was going crazy. >.< They are just too good.

Kyo made the fox 🤘 at the end of Rinkaku when he was calling the demon. Beelzebub was FANTASTIC today! The flatness of Kyo's mood yesterday had a big effect in Beelzebub, but today was completely different. He was a lot more intense. After he bundled up his cord-intestines and dropped them, he was looking down at them sullenly and kind of waved at them. He deeply growled 'kyou wa kono mama nemuri ni tsukitai' in this transfixing pose...it was fucking Amazing (it's really stuck in my memory) and again after 'ugoku kometsubu ni...' he was trying to stomp on some phantom creepy-crawlies again. He went to town on his mouth towards the end, he did not drool everywhere today but rather uh, deeply fingered his mouth and played with his tongue. He was brazenly eyeballing people up on his crate while doing this, he looked right at me and it was UNCOMFORTABLE.

The interlude between Beelzebub and Ranunculus was really...intense? Idk, legit, no one even moved, the place was so enchanted and thick with anticipation it was just...magic. Ranunculus was also more emotional today than it was yesterday, there was a fair bit of movement from the fans and Die was very passionate during the chorus. Then Ningen was up, oh man...Those moments of stillness as Ranunculus closes out and you are absolutely SODDEN with 5 million emotions and could literally just die and then those deep melancholy chords open up Ningen and Kyo steps forward and raises his hand and calls out and everyone calls back and you can FEEL THE INTAKE OF BREATH as the riff comes crashing in and then !!!!! AAAHHH!!!! IT IS BURNED INTO MY MEMORY!! I know a lot of people did not like Ningen but fuck it is so good live, it is SO emotional and the dynamics just COME ALIVE. I really like the sound of the studio ver but it is flawed, and in some ways hampers the song a bit.

The punk song came next and fans were GETTING DOWN, there was DANCING and so much jumping. God it was so much fun and I could see how satisfied Kyo and Toshiya were with the response. <3 Ash was MESSY. Kyo got us to sing excessively and spent a lot of time at the edge of the stage monitor-less which just makes everyone go crazy. The ending thrash was epic, someone behind me grabbed my shoulders and was going so hard they were shaking me (NO COMPLAINTS JUST GIVES ME MORE MOMENTUM). When the song ended they were kind enough to disentangle from my hair without pulling it 😂 Then Revelation oh my god. Revelation is a song I didn't enjoy at all right through 2015 but amazingly it has grown on me and I now enjoy it even though it is still too chaotic and dissonant and exhausting. It's so brutal as a set closer I kind of wish they would just open with it laskdjf. I best remember Kyo shrieking "NIIGATAAAAAA" and at some point someone getting their arm in my mouth asflkjs idk what happened but I definitely got like the sweat of 5 people in my mouth then. Gross. And lol at Kyo making us sing "michinaki michi o" like lkajnfl yes Kyo, stretch us to the very limits of your ridiculous vocal range. The ending thrash was, again, absolute filth and when I emerged all I could see was Kyo towering up there on his crate with this MALEVOLENT look on his face. He turned and left the stage and the other guys followed promptly.

The encore was BEYOND. Kaoru, Toshiya and Die all came out wearing the white goat tee with the sleeves cut, And Kyo changed into a plain black blouse and removed his headgear. I could see at the end he had red and black eye makeup on. Shinya was wearing the white tee with the patches all over it I think. Then Kodou just completely set everyone on fire. skjdnffa. Kyo pointed right at me during Kodou, what even. I clapped eyes with him and Die a few times tonight (it's just where I was) but he really took me by surprise ;_; at the first chorus of Kodou as he was walking around his crate to stand at the edge of the stage Kyo put a hand over his heart and lunged forward pointing right fuckin at me looking me in the god damn eyes as we sang 'KOE KOROSHITE ME O FUSAIDE' together. It was like being ATTACKED. Dazzling. Unbelievable. 😭 He stood right at the edge and ripped out his monitor and sang his heart out going mic-less here and there and looking at people HARD and screaming more more more. Kodou owns my entire soul.

I lost my damn mind again during The inferno, someone had grabbed hold of the back of my shirt and was using my back for support and fuckin growling and I was straight up just snarling and shaking my fist at Kyo every time I surfaced from thrashing. Kyo was having some trouble with his mic tonight (the sound was dropping out a fair bit) but during The inferno it completely died. He turned back to the sound guys gesturing at the dead mic then threw it down and turned back to the crowd and snarled at us without it, gesturing wildly and smacking himself and going down in a crouch and fans went NUTS. And a moment later one of the guys had restored his mic and after a tentative moment (he was shy of the mic for a moment as he tested to see if it was working....it was...Cute  lakjsnflgkadf) he was back in full force. All happened VERY quickly and by the end he looked WELL pleased.

My part of the crowd almost collapsed during IIID it was heaving and bouncing so much and the guys started going EVERYWHEREE. Idk if it was during IIID or Beautiful but Kaoru came over to stand right in front of us and the crazed snarls of "KAAAOOORRRUUUUU!!!!" and wordless howling actually made me LAUGH because he totally DEADPANNED us like "Ehh? Is that it??" Then he smirked and went further over to kamite. BITCH. (Eta, pretty sure it was Beautiful actually) Is2g i am lucky my shirt didn't get ripped during IIID because it was insane and Kyo kept shouting for more more more more until he got drowned out by the screaming. I got a bit of nausea/stomach pain briefly towards the end like whelp going a bit TOO hard rn. My throat and the right side of my ribcage/right shoulder blade feel bruised as hell idek what happened. Feels like I pulled the muscles.

Then straight into Beautiful Dirt which was just as fuckin relentless alkjsnf Kyo swooped over to shimote during the second verse and showered them with some attention because Kaoru was over in kamite quite a lot and Toshiya and Die had come to the centre. Even with Kyo right over on Kaoru's side everyone kept screaming "SAIKOU NO BARAADO O OKUROU" with no encouragement every time alskjnf. Had a great moment with Die, he was right in front of us at the very edge and he was looking at everyone with such affection. Such a warm expression and I couldn't help it I just went 'DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE' and flailed at him and was surely smiling like a fool and everyone around me was calling out to him as well and his face just GLOWED lALKJSNFA he smiled at us again and bowed and flipped his hair the way he does and then moved away ;3; Kaoru and Toshiya joined forces at some point, Kaoru lounged on the edge of the crate briefly. I don't know what Kyo was doing after he came back from shimote, it was the roughest part of the song and I was thrashing. I totally get why Kyo gets us to sing "saikou...." every damn time because it's BEYOND EXHAUSTING. He LOVES making us struggle ksdjgnklf.

Kyo's MC at the end was a lot more enthusiastic tonight, he called twice to the men and women, shouted without the mic and did the usual riles and pounded on his chest. He got shirtless for Rasetsukoku tonight and...yeah, it was crazy. I'm struggling to remember anything it was just solid thrashing and roaring from all involved and giving my all took every ounce of energy I had I HAD NOTHING LEFT FOR OBSerVATION. I can't actually remember how it ended or what Kyo or any of the guys were doing until the post concert gift-giving. I did see Kyo's new tattoo very clearly tonight though, it looks good! Kyo stayed back, which was nice. He showered fans with a couple of bottles of water and wiped off all his makeup onto a towel and threw that in. He then got the bucket of water and DUMPED the whole thing onto one guy on the rail in front of him and tossed the bucket in too. He crouched down and slapped hands with the fans on the rail as well <3 I heard him sing out 'bye bye!!' as he straightened up again and i love the way his face scrunches up with emotion as everyone sings bye bye and waves back to him. He left with a couple of fox kisses. <3

Kaoru and Die threw a lot more picks today and I FELT Die's pick in my fingers but it escaped me 😭 A girl behind me just kept screaming thank you thank you thank you all of them. ;__; Shinya and Kaoru were fucking adorable, Shinya came to the front after he threw all his drumsticks with the uchiwa and fanned us! It was! Adorable! Then he threw the uchiwa to the Kyo pit. Kaoru was eyeing him as he strutted around and after Shinya left he took his own uchiwa and fanned shimote with it and BLEW ON THE FANS lksdhfnl he is such! a dork! I love him oh my god. As Die finished up his gift-giving he stood just in front of us and just looked at us, his eyes looked really glassy at the end? I was like, did you cry?? And man he looked tired, and really emotional. But he was just looking at us and clapping and smiling and we started a chant for him and he just looked so....overwhelmed and thankful oh my god. Sweetheart. 😭Kaoru was the last to leave again and he kept stopping and lingering to get that last little bit out of us....GAH. Then we all wobbled out.

To cap this experience as I was going to cloak I stood near a little girl while fumbling for my ticket, who saw me and turned to me, absolutely THRIVING, and said ‘KONNICHIWA’ with the most beautiful smile on her face and I was just like alksjnfliaj OVERCOME and said “konnichiwa sweetheart!!” to her and she like...squealed and just stared at me and her mum was laughing. Her mum said hello to me as well ;3; Fans with kids are the absolute best. The little girl wasn’t wearing a tour shirt but she was proudly sporting the hanged-man muffler towel and was just LOVING LIFE skldjfn. I love her ;___;

Niigata...thank you for these memories. I will always treasure these nights. ❤️

[chubby-derek-and-friends]

Two Scoops - Part 2

Stiles slid the plastic bowl across the table top, next to the one Derek was already eating out of.  

“Mmmph…Okay,” Derek mumbled through a full mouth, “I will concede that pistachio and cherries jubilee do work really well together.” 

Stiles smiled at the older boy as he watched him scrape the last of the pink and green ice cream with his spoon. “Told you so,” Stiles chided, “the sweetness of the cherries really goes well with the slight salt of the pistachio!”  

“Mmm,” Derek swallowed, “And the tartness goes with that meatiness that the nuts give it. Then again, you guys have one of the best pistachios I’ve ever tasted, so it’s not surprising that other flavors go well with it.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes. Derek had been coming into Finstock’s before and after his life guard shifts for two weeks now, and he never failed having some comment to make on the individual flavors. Not that it stopped him from eating the ice cream combinations that Stiles dished out.  

Derek licked the spoon clean and pushed the empty bowl aside, pulling the new one towards him. “And what do we have here?” 

Stiles stood up and assumed a fancy waiter stance with his arm held across his abdomen, and affected a fake nasal accent. “Our last dish for this evening is a delightful rainbow sherbet, accompanied by our decadent triple fudge brownie,” He said. “It might seem like a strange combination, but our head chef thinks it’s one of his finest creations.” 

Derek raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Head chef?” he asked. 

“Mmmmmyes, Chef Stilinski is quite well known in the ice cream world for his bold choices and very talented tongue.” Stiles replied.  

Derek raised his other eyebrow, causing Stiles to blush at his own unintended entendre. Aside from the occasional faux pas on Stiles’s part, the main limit of his and Derek’s interaction was still this, server and patron. Derek’s taunt on that first visit to the shop seemed to have been nothing more than a friendly joke between friends, if the rest of their exchanges were anything to go by. Derek was polite, funny, kind, and totally uninterested in Stiles, to Stiles’s complete and utter frustration.  

“Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” Stiles asked, tapping his fingers on his leg nervously. 

Derek took a huge spoonful of the combined flavors and stuffed it in his mouth. “Mmmmmmm” He hummed, “Give my compliments to the chef!”

Stiles chuckled half-heartedly as he dashed back behind the counter. Ducking down behind the coolers, Stiles silently berated himself. Why the hell did he keep doing this to himself? Derek was obviously just a nice guy who liked ice cream, he wasn’t interested in Stiles, and he never would be. 

Stiles peeked over the counter so he could see Derek sitting in the booth across the way. The older boy was looking at his phone with a frown on his face. He seemed upset about whatever he was reading. His eyebrows were furrowed, and Stiles could picture the wrinkle between them that showed up when Derek made a face like that. God, how he wished he could go over and smooth out that wrinkle, kiss the anger off Derek’s face, run his hands through Derek’s hair…No! No, Stiles! You need to let it go!  

Stiles turned around and slid down the cooler to the floor. In a couple of weeks, Derek will be off at college and you will still be a junior in high school and no one wants a dork who works in Finstock’s ice cream parlor as a boyfriend, especially a guy like Derek. No matter how much he likes your ice cream combinations. Stiles let his shoulders sag sadly. He also really needed to mop the floor, it was disgusting. 

Above him, someone cleared their throat, causing Stiles to jump. He quickly stood up to find Derek leaning over the case, staring at him.  

“Hey,” Stiles said lamely. 

“Hey,” Derek echoed. His eyebrows drew down, “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah! Yes! Yep! Totally okay!” Stiles replied, too enthusiastically. “I’m right as rain. Which is a really weird saying, you know? Like, who thinks rain is right? I mean, maybe a farmer thinks rain is right. And California is in a drought right now. I wonder if it came from a country where rain doesn’t happen very often? Or maybe it came from a place like England where it rains all the time? Do you think-“

“-STILES!” Derek interrupted.  

Stiles took a breath. “Oh, yeah, sorry. Maybe I need to lay off the sugar.” 

Derek smiled at him. “Maybe. Though you were right about that flavor combo too. “ Derek held up the stack of empty plastic bowls he had in his hand. “Really good stuff.” 

“Thanks,” Stiles said, reaching out to take the trash from the other boy. Derek handed it to him, letting their fingers brush for a moment. Stiles felt goose bumps spring up across his shoulders from the contact.  

“So what do I owe you?” Derek asked.  

Stiles shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about it.” 

Derek sighed, “Come on Stiles, this is your job. Finstock can’t be happy that you keep giving away six free scoops of ice cream every day.” 

Stiles smiled. “Actually, since you started coming in, we’ve been getting more business, so I think you’re actually helping.” 

“Uh huh,” Derek said, unconvinced. An unexpected burp burbled up from Derek’s stomach, causing him to blush. “Oh, excuse me,” he mumbled, patting his stomach.

Stiles took the opportunity to glance down at Derek’s body. His shape hadn’t changed that much, but where his tank top used to almost hug his abs, now there was a distinct rounding where the definition used to be. Stiles licked his lips unconsciously. The idea of Derek putting on weight because of the ice cream Stiles was supplying him sent a thrill of excitement through Stiles, though he didn’t really know why. He just knew that he wanted it to continue.  

“So,-” Derek said, snapping Stiles attention back to his face, “-I really feel like a need to repay you somehow. Maybe…” Derek’s chin dipped down bashfully. “…maybe I could take you to dinner?” When Derek’s eyes came back up to Stiles’s face, it was to see a look of utter shock.  

“Dinner?” Stiles asked. 

“Yeah,” Derek replied, “You know, food? The evening meal? You? Me? Eating?”

Stiles was still not understanding. “You want to have dinner? With me?” 

Derek started to look concerned. “Yeah. That’s what I said. I mean, we don’t have to. I don’t, I mean…you don’t…fuck.” Derek backed away from the counter, his face falling. ‘You’re straight, aren’t you? Fuck, I really messed this up. Crap!” Derek turned towards the door like he was about to bolt, which was the only thing that got Stiles moving. 

He practically jumped over the counter to grab Derek’s arm. “Wait!” He said, half hanging off the glass case.  The plastic bowls made a thwack as they flew out of Stiles's hand. 

Derek froze, his face somewhere between afraid and hopeful. 

Stiles swallowed, then steeled himself to look up into Derek’s eyes. “I would love to have dinner with you.”

There was a beat, when neither of them moved, then Derek let a small smile start to bloom across his face. “You would?” 

Stiles nodded, not really trusting himself to speak. 

“Like,…as a date?” Derek added. 

Stiles smiled, feeling suddenly ridiculously happy. “God yes.” 

Derek’s smile blossomed, causing his eyes to crinkle. “Really?” 

Stiles nodded again. “Of course I would!” 

“Okay,” Derek said, “um…I’ll pick you up when you get off?” 

Stiles smirked. “Wow, getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren’t we?” 

Derek frowned, “huh? I…Oh,” he said, blushing.  

Stiles laughed. Finally, it was Derek’s turn to make the innuendo! 

Derek tried to look put out, but it only took a few moment before he was laughing loudly along with Stiles. All the tension that had built up seemed to drain away and both boys relaxed. 

Stiles used his free hand to wipe his eyes. “Okay, so, you’re gonna pick me up at 7?” He asked.  

“Yeah,” Derek said. He smiled and looked into Stiles eyes. “I’m really excited.”  

Stiles smiled in response. “Me too.” 

Derek turned to leave the store, more sedately this time. 

“Um, Derek?” 

Derek turned around, looking back at Stiles who was dangling awkwardly off the cases. 

“Can you help me get down before you leave?” 

Derek rolled his eyes as he walked back and half-lifted Stiles over the cases and put him on the ground.  Stiles found himself pressed against Derek’s body, his hand resting against the softness at Derek’s waistline. Stiles licked his lips as he stared at Derek up close. Derek’s breath seemed to catch at their proximity.

After a moment, Stiles pulled back. “See you in an hour.” He said softly.

Derek nodded. “See you.” 

Stiles watched the older boy walk out of the shop. From behind, Stiles could see that Derek had tiny love handles blooming over the waistband of his trunks, and that his ass was definitely bigger than it used to be. 

 Stiles licked his lips again as a pang of desire burned through him at the thought of feeding Derek more ice cream. He had some research to do.  

[notveryglittery]

ssps prompt #10

summary: “Well I definitely do not want to be included!” “…Dee, would you like to play Twister with us?” words: 1,600 / ships: platonic dlamps? everybody’s here, kiddos. warnings: brief unconsciousness, mentions of previous injury/burn, minor injuries, potion use, a tiny bit of self-hatred. sympathetic deceit. notes: we made it!!!! for everyone that stuck through it, thank you so much. this is the first chaptered anything i have ever finished and i hope it’s satisfying. i improvised 90% of it but i think i managed to tie up all the loose ends! here are links to the parts that got us here:  cursed roman (6), missing hoodie (7), sudden puppy (8), detective logan (9)

and of course, massive shout out to @sanderssidespromptsummer for coming up with all of these prompts and running this whole thing!!!! 

Roman dropped the hands he was holding and collapsed.

“Ro?!” Patton cried, jumping out of his chair by Virgil’s bed and rushing to the prince’s side. “Is he okay? What happened?” He pulled Roman into his arms and patted him gently on the cheek. “Did you win? Oh, hi, Deceit — Will Virgil be okay??”

“Shhhhhhh,” Remy interrupted, appearing at Patton’s shoulder, and resting a hand on top of his head. Patton calmed slowly but surely, his panicked breathing subsiding and the tension in his shoulders melting away. The puppy Patton had practically adopted padded around the pair on the floor, whining.

“Roman’s okay,” Logan began, pulling his satchel off. “We had an encounter with the Dragon-Witch. I assume his fight with her and the magic he cast afterwards—” (“magic?” Patton whispered), “—took more energy out of him then he let on. And then, he went and sunk us out of the Fantasy Realm and directly to this room, which was foolish, to be quite honest.” Logan approached Virgil, who was stirring from his sleep due to all the noise, no doubt. “We did win and Virgil should be okay.”

Deceit took a step back, edging closer to the door. Patton caught onto the hem of his pants leg and looked up at him from where he sat, Roman still cradled against his chest. “Did you help?” He asked quietly. Tears were shining in his eyes.

Deceit caught Logan’s gaze from across the room. “He did,” Logan answered for him.

“Nice,” Remy shot finger guns to Deceit.

“Hhhnnn,” Roman groaned.

Patton gasped and looked down at him. “Ro, honey?? Take it easy, you’re safe now.”

Roman did the exact opposite of taking it easy, because of course he did. Flailing out of Patton’s hold, he sat up, and looked around the room with wide eyes. He eventually found Logan at Virgil’s side and staggered up; he swayed and very nearly fell over. Remy vanished his tumbler (was he ever without it?) with a wave of his hand and caught Roman before he could hit the floor again.

“Chill out, boss,” Remy scolded. “Sit down, I’m going to get the first aid kit.”

Patton got to his feet and guided Roman to the chair he’d previously been occupying. “I’m not worried about me,” Roman complained, gesturing to Logan. “Give him the potion already!”

“The what?” Patton asked, looking between the two.

Logan retrieved the bottle and removed the cork from it. “This was in the Dragon-Witch’s lair. Roman used a truth telling spell on her and this is the only thing that will break his curse while also stopping her from getting to anybody else.”

Roman was leaning over Virgil, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. “His temperature hasn’t gone down, has it?” He asked Patton, worry thick in his tone. He took a fresh cloth from the bedside table and dipped it in the bowl of ice water. Laying it on over Virgil’s skin, Roman looked again to Logan. “It’ll work, right?” He sounded desperate.

Logan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I do not know.” He swirled the bottle slightly in his grasp, watching as the liquid moved with the motion. “This is all very… foreign to me.”

“Only one way to find out,” Deceit spoke up, stood exactly still where they’d left him. There was no doubting how uncomfortable he felt in the room but his expression gave him away easily. He was just as worried as the rest of them.

Roman slid his hand under Virgil’s head just as Remy reappeared. “We’re patching you up next, gurl,” he told Roman, setting the first aid kit on the end of the bed.

Lifting Virgil’s head carefully, Roman waited for Logan to move next. Logan put the opening of the bottle to Virgil’s lips and poured. Virgil seemed conscious enough to understand what was happening and he was certainly dehydrated, so he didn’t hesitate in downing the entire thing. Roman let him back down, resting his head against the pillow. Logan put the empty bottle into the satchel and then allowed Roman to disappear the entire thing back to his room.

For a moment, they all stood with bated breath. It looked again like Patton might start crying. The puncture wounds and burn on Virgil’s neck began to shimmer, glowing the very same blue as the potion, before the light faded, and his skin was left unmarred. Remy whistled, low. It was several more minutes before Virgil moved. His eyelids fluttered, adjusting to the light, and Patton hurried to turn off the ceiling light, and turn on the lamp in the corner of the room. When Virgil lifted his arm to try and press a hand against his head, he only got about a third of the way, before his arm flopped back down.

“Ugh,” he groaned.

“Oh my god,” Patton sobbed before throwing himself on top of Virgil.

“Ah!” He exclaimed, startled. “What—” He blinked, looking at the scene around him. Roman and Logan stood on either side of him, Remy was at the foot of the bed, and… Was that Deceit by the door? “Oh.” He said finally, as his last memory came rushing back to him.

“Yes, oh,” Logan said and they could tell already that he was about to launch into a long winded speech. “What you did was incredibly dangerous, Virgil. It would have behooved you to work together with us on helping Roman out of his predicament. The Dragon-Witch is an adversary that only he has faced before and, despite how perilous this was, she could have done much worse to you.” Virgil was surprised to hear Logan’s tone grow tight with… fear? Worry? He knew the logical side was capable of emotions but to be concerned over him?

Patton was still sniffling but he’d curled up next to Virgil now, instead of laying on top of him, and quite possibly suffocating him. Roman spoke next. “I shouldn’t have simply thanked you for what you did to save me from such a terrible fate—” He sounded frustrated, quoting himself. “I should have sought you out and made sure that you were okay. It wasn’t very princely of me. I am… very grateful for you.” Roman was going to need reassuring after this, Virgil could tell already, and Virgil was going to make sure he’d be the one to do it.

“Kiddo,” Patton whimpered and Virgil turned his head to look at him. “You’re so brave for helping Roman. I love you so much, you did such a good job.” Virgil’s cheeks flushed hot but it was a welcome warmth after the fever he’d been suffering from all this time.

“Alright, Roman, your turn.” Remy said, snapping his fingers. Roman glared at him but stripped out of his shirt regardless. He was covered in minor scrapes and bruises from his battle with the Dragon-Witch but they all knew that if it wasn’t taken care of now, he’d never get around to it himself. While Remy took care of Roman, Deceit shifted closer. Virgil eyed him warily.

“I’m not glad you’re feeling better,” Deceit sneered, but there was far less malice to it than usual. “Finding the antidote to your stupid mistake wasn’t a hassle at all. Leave the idiotic heroics to Roman, why don’t you?”

“Hey!”

“He helped Logan and Roman,” Patton whispered into Virgil’s ear.

“… Thanks,” Virgil said to Deceit. He glanced to Roman and smiled tiredly at him before looking to Logan and giving him a small nod. “I’m… gonna take a nap now,” he told Patton, “you’re really comfortable.”

Patton contained his squeal, barely. The puppy scrambled onto the bed and curled up against Virgil’s other side. “Okay, sweetie, I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

[~] [~] [~]

By lunch time the next day, Virgil was feeling fit as a fiddle. Or, as fit as a fiddle as the embodiment of Anxiety could be. Thomas, thankfully, hadn’t felt any different during Virgil’s bedrest. Whether it was because it was short-lived enough or because the curse hadn’t had enough time to fully set in, the others couldn’t be sure. Roman had gone back to the Fantasy Realm that morning and adjusted the power balance. The Dragon-Witch wouldn’t be taking advantage of his weaknesses anytime soon.

Patton was making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Logan was setting the table when Roman came bounding down the stairs. “I’ve just had the most brilliant idea!” He shouted, startling Virgil, who’d been curled up in a beanbag in the corner, reading a book. The puppy snoozing in his lap stayed fast asleep. Virgil glared at Roman, who continued, too excited to notice. “A game after lunch! I found this tucked in the back of the linens closet!” Only now did Virgil realize Roman carrying a box.

Patton peeked through the cutaway between the kitchen and the dining area. “Twister?!” He asked eagerly, recognizing the colored dots.

“Pass,” Virgil said in the same moment Logan declared, “no, thank you.”

“Now listen here,” Patton immediately began to reprimand. “We’re finally all back together and healthy! We’re having some good old family fun! In fact…” Patton stomped out of the kitchen and to the foot of the stairs. “Deceit!” He called up to the second floor.

It took a few seconds, but Deceit eventually appeared at the landing. Before Patton could even start, Deceit took one look at the box in Roman’s hands, and shook his head. “Well, I definitely do not want to be included!”

Patton’s hands curled up beneath his chin. His Puppy Eyes and Pout combo were suddenly in full effect. “… Dee, would you like to play Twister with us?”

An hour and a half later found them full on lunch and stood around the Twister mat. Remy, sitting on the back of the couch, with a puppy nipping at his toes, flicked the spinner on the board. “Right foot, green.”

[septembersung]

After Life

TVD, post-canon. Spoiler warning: Unbearable cheesiness, and again, if you haven’t watched through season 6, you probably don’t want to read this.

(1/7: Til Death Do Us Part)

2/7. On the Other Side of the Line

Elena and Damon have been happily married for several years. Elena just started her medical residency and Damon has been bartending. Everything is going according to plan - until they get a surprise.

Elena stumbled through the door, took three shuffling steps to the couch, and sprawled face first across it. Rhythmic chopping sounds came from the kitchen bar that also served as their dining table.

“Damon?”

“Mm-hm.”

“It’s two in the morning. Why are you cooking?”

“Because my lovely wife just got home and I remember what happened the last time she didn’t eat before she went to bed.”

“I’m too tired to remember.”

“You overslept and had to face another shift with nothing in you. It was a nightmare.”

Elena groaned. “Why am I doing this, again?”

“Because you love helping people, and medicine is in your blood, and you want Mystic Falls to have a good Gilbert doctor. Even if her name is Dr. Salvatore.”

Elena grinned into the couch. “What’s for dinner, Chef Salvatore?”

“Steak and eggs. The classic too-late-for-dinner, too-early-for-breakfast combo. With onions and tomato and green pepper.”

“When we move home, you should open a restaurant.”

“Actually, I was thinking of buying the Grill.”

Elena woke up a little in spite of herself. “Seriously?”

“What good is a family fortune if I can’t enable my own terrible business decisions?”

Elena’s eyes closed again of their own will. The next thing she knew, the smell of food was dragging her back to wakefulness. “What time is it?” she grunted.

“Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you’re overworked and exhausted?”

Hunger won out over weariness. Elena pushed herself upright and took the plate gratefully, shoveling a big forkful of eggs into her mouth. Damon settled in next to her on the sagging cushion, a half-finished tumbler of bourbon in his hand, watching her with a guarded, thoughtful expression.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked after a minute.

Elena, nodded mouth full.

“I know how hard you’ve worked for this. But you can’t kill yourself with work now, or you won’t be able to do it later in your own practice.”

Elena quirked an eyebrow at him but kept eating.

“You just seem…” How could he say it, without offending her? “More tired than even this situation calls for.”

Elena swallowed a big bite. “You think I’m burning out? Or… not going to make it?”

“No, no, of course not. Something just seems to have changed and I’m worried about you.” He reached out and stroked her hair, curled his fingers at the back of her neck.

She leaned into his touch as she finished the last bites. “Come to bed with me?”

He took her plate and set it to the side with his glass. “With pleasure.”

She was asleep three kisses later, but Damon sat up for a long time, watching her deep breaths and thinking.

The alarm went off too early. Or rather, on time, but any time an alarm had to wake you up was too early, as far as Elena was concerned. She rolled over and smacked it harder than was really necessary. The coolness and emptiness of the bed next to her woke her up more thoroughly than the electronic shrieking. “Damon?”

“In here.”

He was studying his face in the bathroom mirror. “Do you think I’m going gray at the temples?”

Elena wrapped her arms around him. “Even if you are, it’ll be attractive on you.”

“There’s coffee. But first…” With a flourish, he produced a small plastic cup.

“What’s this for?”

“I need you to pee in it,” he replied seriously.

“What?”

“Please? For me?”

“You want me to pee in a cup.”

“Well, yeah. You’re gonna spend the rest of your life having other people do it, you might as well get some practice in yourself.”

“Please tell me you’re not contemplating something… supernatural. This isn’t, I don’t know, like needing part of me for some gross spell or something?”

“Elena!” Damon’s mock-offense tone was set off by his I’m-perfectly-serious expression. “How many years has it been since anything remotely supernatural happened in our lives?”

“Well… there’s Caroline.”

“But she doesn’t visit very often. And she’s the most normal vampire I’ve ever met, she hardly counts.”

“True. Okay, fine, I will pee in a cup for you. Weirdo.”

After she handed it over, Elena went to find coffee and breakfast. She fixed a big plate of leftovers, but when it was finally hot and ready, she found she couldn’t stand the smell of it.

Something clicked.

“Oh my God.” She raced to the bathroom. “You should’ve just said!”

“I honestly can’t believe it took you that long to figure it out.”

“Where is it?”

Damon held up the foil wrapped stick.

“Don’t trick me like that. If this is… actually what’s happening… we should face it together.”

They read the instructions together. Damon unwrapped the pregnancy test, and Elena inserted it into the cup of urine for the required seconds and laid it flat on the counter. He set a timer on his phone. Elena turned and left abruptly. “I can’t watch.”

So Damon waited, and saw the dark control line bleed in, and two seconds later - there it was. Positive.

The line darkened. The timer went off. Elena didn’t come back.

“You want me to bring it to you?” Damon called, voice strangely steady. His heart pounded unevenly. He met his own gaze in the mirror, defiantly. This is really happening. After two hundred years, this was finally, really happening.

“I can’t look,” came her muffled voice.

“Yes you can. And you want to.” Damon strode to the couch, gently took away the pillow she’d covered her face with, and held out the stick. “We’re a family, Elena.”

Fear and joy flashed across her face. She took the test from him, hand trembling.

Damon cupped her face with both hands, something hot and bright and big blooming in his chest. “Elena.”

He could see all the worry and questions and self-doubt in her eyes. How could they do this? So much sooner than they planned? With the residency, by themselves, far from home?

“This is it, Elena. This is the beginning of the rest of the happily ever after I promised you on our wedding day.”

“Damon.” Her hand touched her stomach. She took his hand and pressed it there. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this is actually happening. I’m terrified, and I’m… happy.”

“So am I.”

She kissed him then, and everything was right in the world.

[chikkachu]

Supergirl AU - NaLu ficlet

A/N: Your requested prompt is finished @s-a-r-a-r-a , I hope you like it. It’s angst with a dash of fluff - my favourite combo. Sorry for any mistakes, I’ll check it thoroughly later. Superhero AU. To clarify it’s based on the TV show. 

“Natsu, I said stop!”

Grabbing onto his wrist and jerking her body weight backwards to stop his movement, the argument between them wasn’t going to be solved by running away.

“Why are you so mad?” Natsu swivelled his body, the hand gripping onto on his wrist causing her stumble. Standing close enough their noses were touching, Lucy noticed the deep shades of green that made his eyes.

“You lied to me,” she said. Palms sweating and her unoccupied hand clenching into a fist. She hated confrontation, especially with the man in front of her.

“I don’t lie.”  Cheek twitching and crossing his arms, her hand dislodged from his person.

Refusing to allow him to retreat, as he so often did when they discussed important matters, she placed her hand on his forearm. Lucy noticed him peeking at her from the corner of his eye.

“Omission is the same thing.” She said, her tone gentle to coax him from his sour mood.

“No, it’s my business.” Ouch. Like a cornered animal, lashing out with on point barbs, he knew would hurt was a defence mechanism she anticipated. It didn't lessen the sting.

“Not when it puts the public in danger!” Lucy could see him clearly in her mind’s eye, beautiful sunset red scales, and a spectacular wingspan double the length of his body. In her surprise, she found herself wondering how he managed to hold them up, then remembering the muscle she likened to woven steel. From her spot, Lucy could see his skin ripple, propelling himself upwards in a vertical take-off.

Wind blowing Sakura locks, he arched his back, wings snapping out to enable a smooth glide as he breathed molten fire towards the enemy. Thankfully the streets had been evacuated, the heat liquidising metals and turning stone to magma. In front, car roofs bubbled before collapsing inward, traffic lights crashing to the ground as the brackets succumbed to the sea of red scorching the air.

“Oh?” He said, stepping into her space, “Am I ruffian now Lucy? Am I a beast to you?”

Green eyes stared to the side of her face, refusing to look her in the eye. Dimples formed in his cheek, jaw clamping down in response to his thoughts. Race had always a touchy subject for Natsu, a Draco. A race known to be fierce warriors, their society was brutal, winner takes all and the weak serve as slaves to the strong. Or at least that’s what she had been taught by her tutors on Celestia. It provided a rocky foundation for the start of their relationship.

“No.” Lucy rasped, blood pounding in her ears, chewing her lip.

“You don’t even believe that.” He said, voice tight and clipped. Lucy knew he was retreating into a safe-space. The people around Natsu assumed he was loud and obnoxious all the time, quick to make his feelings known. Lucy knew this to be a truth, she also knew when a matter bothered him on a deeper level. He was quiet. Natsu avoided “talking feelings” with a skill she wished he’d use in diplomatic situations, instead of pouring fuel on the fire.

“I do,” Cupping his jaw, she pulled his eyes to meet hers. He wasn’t hiding anymore. “That’s not why I’m upset.”

“I’m finding that hard to believe after our first meeting.” Natsu shifting his weight mumbled into his scarf. She took that on the chin, it certainly wasn’t a Mills and Boon eyes meeting across the room moment. Old prejudices surfacing as two people from feuding races eyed each other up. Hostile intentions clear, Makarov wisely paired them together. Natsu served as her guide and partner, with the threat of punishment if he didn’t treat their recruit with due professionalism.

“That was then, this is now.”  Her upbringing was that an upper-class girl, her head pumped full of the prejudices writhe within the aristocracy.

“I thought you were different.” Bitter words hung in the heavy silence between them. Close to tears, her hands slipped from his face to hit his chest.

“I’m supposed to know you better than anyone else!” A warm grip on her wrists halting her movement. Giving in, her fist clenched onto his shirt, tearing the tight nylon material. Lucy forced herself closer to the heat of his body. Even amidst an argument, she found his energy comforting.

“What?”

“I told you everything about me, you know me better than I know myself.” Warts and all. She didn’t hold back when it came to Natsu. He didn’t break her walls, he burned them to cinders. All her secrets, her weaknesses, laid bare at his feet.  

“Then I find out that you are royalty, through necessity rather than trust.” Lucy knew enough about Draconia to know the red scales adorning his body signified the heir of the fire king, Igneel.

“It hurts Natsu. You mean the world to me and I trust you with my life, but you don’t trust me with yours.” He had saved her once again, knew that her elemental transformations had a time limit. Slipping through solid structures the enemy proved elusive, taking her to limit of her earthen queen form, Virgo. Power fading, serrated claws dove for her throat before flames engulfed him.  

“You said,” He began, glaring past her head.  

“I know what I said Natsu!” Frustration tugged at her heart, hands weaving into his hair she dragged him down. Seeing green eyes clouded by his boneheaded stubborn behaviour, it sparked her own anger, “that was before us…”  

Silky stands bunching between her fingers, Lucy pushed her lips to his. Feeling his body tense, she kissed along his top lip, feeling the cracked texture. He was never one to keep up with skin care like her. It wasn’t a deterrent. The pad of his thumb caressed her chin, pressing down encouraging a deeper kiss. Tongues meeting before their lips moulded together, Lucy shivered as they rolled. Fingers stroking her cheek coaxed her mind into a hazy state, thoughts of his musky forest scent and low grunts making her crave touch.

“Lucy…” Natsu rumbled into her mouth, his body weight pressing into her torso. His mouth quirked upwards as he pulled away, his lips brushing her cheek.

“Why are you holding my ears?” He chuckled, bumping their noses. Jumping back, rose blossoming across her porcelain skin as she realised her hold on him. She hadn’t been paying attention to what her hands had been doing during their kiss.

“Because you’re a butthead who runs away!” Lucy shot back, pink eyebrows shot up at the outburst.

“Butthead?” She had been spending way too much time around Natsu and Gray, childish insults now flowing off her tongue without thought. Natsu looking incredulous at her choice of language left his mouth hanging open.

“Yes, I think it’s an apt description.” Considering his words earlier, Lucy dared him to challenge her.

“Yeah, you’re right.” To her surprise Natsu didn’t put up a fight, choosing instead to cradle the back of her head, tucking her face into his sternum. As hugs go it was awkward, she didn’t mind. Her choice involved tracing her hand down his arm, hairs tickling her fingertips on her way down.  

“This is our problem, we don’t communicate the important things” There was a time and a place for fun, serious conversations were a necessity. Prodding the warm flesh of his palm, a smile playing on her lips as he straightened his hand out, tangling their fingers in the process.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

[kazosa]

Second Chances - Jeff x Reader: Chapter 3

Summary: Reader and Jeff work a project and become fast friends. The project ends and they go their separate ways, neither forgetting the other. With Hollywood being a small community, you two bump into one another either at events or projects, but there is always something keeping you apart. Will the obstacles ever end? Chapter 3 Summary: Last lunch break for Reader & Jeff Warnings: language (probably), slow burn, bit o’ fluff A/N: I have a few ideas to continue this, but it’s still developing. Leave comments, let me know if you want to be tagged, etc.

Word count: 1176

MASTERLIST

Tags: @jasoncrouse @jml509 @katymacsupernatural

Last Day of Production

    The producers wanted one last full day of filming. In their infinite wisdom, they saved the last scene to be filmed as one that the whole cast was in. Things were not going well. There had already been a makeup and wardrobe SNAFU and the boom truck broke down. That truck was critical in getting the master shot for the last scene. It had to be fixed and fast. In the meantime, you had to scramble to help get the next shot set up so you didn’t lose too much time.

     You didn’t realize that your break time had come and gone until your alarm sounded. More than a little disappointed that Jeff hadn’t come to get you, you tried to let it go. He must have had a good reason, right? Doubt made it’s way back in your head. Even when you’d been busy before, he’d waited for you. Had he waited and you just didn’t see him? He wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye.

     You caught the eye of the first AD, Todd, and signaled to him that you were taking your break. He nodded he understood and you made your way to the catering tent.

     Julius, the caterer, had your container waiting for you under the heat lamp. In his now familiar handwriting, you saw your name written on top of the container. Julius was a sweet old man. He must have been about 900 years old and had gotten off the fashion train somewhere in the 70s. Every day, he had on a different, spectacular polyester combo.

     “Thanks, Jules!” you called out.

     “Miss (Y|N), is that you?” you heard his voice from somewhere deeper inside the tent, beyond where you could see.

     “Yes sir. Where are you?”  you said.

     From somewhere further in the tent, Julius emerged. Today was a blue paisley shirt and brown pants. He was still tall, but you could tell he was once a bigger man since the retro clothes now hung loosely on his frame.

     “(Y|N), that boy was here askin’ after you,” Julius said.

     Your spirits soared, Jeff hadn’t forgotten about you, after all. You also loved Julius for calling a 33 year old man a “boy.” You were definitely gonna miss Julius.

     “Oh yeah? What did he want?” you were curious.

     “He didn’t say, just asked if you’d been in yet. I think he’s got a surprise he’s cookin’ up for you,” he said.

     You couldn’t hold back a smile. If Jeff was planning a surprise, it meant you were on his mind more than he let on. It was a sweet gesture no matter what it was, especially from your b... From your friend. He’s a good friend, you reminded yourself.

     “Too bad that boy is married,” he emphasized, “ ‘cuz he’s sweet on you.”

     “You think so?” your cheeks felt like they were on fire.

     “Sweetheart, anyone that’s got eyes can see how you two look at each other,” he pointed at your food box, “You take that to the picnic table. I bet you’ll find him there.”

     You thanked Julius for your lunch and wished him well, telling him you hoped to see him again. He just waved and said, “small town, honey.”

     Walking toward the picnic table, you had to think, was it really so obvious? Did Jeff really have feelings for you? You knew you had a massive crush on him, but he was older and, more importantly, married. Was your crush more than just a crush? Was Jeff even aware of what others seemed to clearly see?

     You rounded the corner that led to where the picnic table sat. Jeff was sitting on it backwards with his elbows resting on the table. He saw you and stood up smiling that spectacular smile of his, his arms stretched wide. You noticed that the table had a red and white checkered cloth on it and two boxes. One box was larger than the other, the smaller being more flat. Jeff was walking toward you.

     You were still dazed from what Julius had told you, so when Jeff swept you up into his arms, you just went with it. He spun you around and set you down.

     “It’s about time. I was getting worried that you’d be gone all day,” he said. “C’mon, sit down, I’m sure you need to.”

     How did he always know what you needed? You sat down at the table with him on one side, you on the other. After devouring your sandwich in a very unladylike way, you were starting to settle down. Jeff told you that he came by to see what you were doing, but didn’t interrupt because he needed the time to find the table cloth and other items that were on the table.

     He wanted you to open the larger of the two boxes first.

     You lifted the lid and inside, there was a small, personal-sized chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a #1 in piped frosting on the top.

     “I though you needed a congrats-on-kicking-ass-on-your-first-job cake,” he said.

     “Oh my God, you’re the best. Thank you! This is so nice!” you said. You were so grateful you’d met him. He really was a good friend.

     Together, you both at the cake. It was delicious and you were stuffed. It was going to be hard to finish the rest of the day! The small box on the table was calling out to you. You were dying to know what was inside. Obviously, it was for you, but what could it be?

     Jeff took the box in his large hand, making the box look smaller than it is. You could tell he was having a hard time trying to think of how he was going to tell you about what was in the box.

     He put it on the table and pushed it to you.

    “I just thought you might like this and when you wear it, I hope you remember this experience as a good thing,” he said sounding incredibly shy.

    You opened the box to reveal

     Your hand went over your mouth immediately, hoping to staunch the gasp you were sure was audible. You’d told Jeff way back on the first day you met that you had stars tattooed on your feet and that it was your lucky symbol. Looking at the necklace he gave you told you so many things. Taking it out of the box, you tried to put it on, but your hands wouldn’t work.

     “Does that mean you like it?” he asked sounding hopeful.

     You couldn’t do anything but nod. Were you going to wear this necklace and remember this shoot as a good experience? Hell yes.

     Jeff came around to your side of the table to help you. You held your hair out of the way for him so he could see. His nimble fingers managed the small clasp easily and you felt his fingertips brush the tender skin of your neck, giving you goosebumps. You knew you would always wear the necklace.

     Somewhere in your haze, you made your plan for the next evening’s wrap-party. Autopilot took over (thank goodness) and you wrote your party plans in your binder. Jeff said he was going to wear jeans and a t-shirt, because “fuck ‘em and this stupid movie.” You did remember telling him you’d wear something nice if you could.

     “Sweetheart, as long as you’re with me, I don’t care what you wear,” he said.

     Be still my heart.

[kekoaskorner]

For years I’ve been watching the VMA’s and it’s been one of my musical highlights but lately the video music awards weren’t the same anymore. A big part of that problem is MTV. They’re programme changed from music videos to reality TV shows which is a pity. So even though it is called music TV it’s not showing any music unless you wait until 1 pm and watch all night – but who has time for that?

Enough moaning let’s have a look at this years line-up. Katy Perry is hosting the show again – what a treat! She is funny and has experience and does always a good job. P!nk is awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award 2017 – her 7th Moonman. Past winners are Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Madonna. So let’s see what she has in store!

The guest list looks pretty average if you ask me. It used to be the hottest stars but now there’s a lot of newcomers with only a few top acts. But you never know, it might be the best show ever – doubt it! 🙂 So let’s watch it now:

The pre-show was super boring and filled with long commercial breaks so I was tempted to turn off the TV and go to bed. But luckily I didn’t and saw P!nk, Carey Hart and Willow in matching outfits and it was just the cutest! They seem like a normal family and throughout the evening we got to see lovely family moments. During P!nk’s red carpet interview she said:

I used to get grounded for watching MTV and now I’m on it. It’s full circle.

Finally after a long hour the show started! Katy Perry came back from outer space just to host the VMA’s 2017! Kendrick Lamar opened and did a good job. His rhymes were dope and surprisingly without swearing so the performance wasn’t muted. He had a burning man and a back ground. P!nk wouldn’t have liked that! 🙂 (Click here to read the review of her Berlin concerts)

Hostess Katy Perry

Ed Sheeran was next and his “Shape of you” got everyone dancing. He brought out a US rapper Lil Uzi Vert to remix his song and to co-perform Lil Uzi’s Song of the Summer “XO Tour Llif3”. I really loved this combo! Paris Jackson held a political speech when instead she was there to present Best Pop Video. It went to “Down” by Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane. Fifth Harmony lost their fifth member and they didn’t take it lightly which we saw in their performance later on.

Julia Michaels was nominated for Best Newcomer and performed half of her song “Issues” the rest was cut off for commercials. Maybe that’s why she lost Best Newcomer to Khalid who sang the full song during the Red Carpet show. After the commercial break we got to witness Taylor Swift’s video premiere to “Look what you made me do” and apparently the old Taylor is dead. I really don’t understand why she would give Kanye West so much limelight. She should have been the bigger person and just let it go but we all know that she isn’t that kind of person… see Bad Blood. No I’m not sharing the link here because I do not support this at all.

Shawn Mendes stole Coldplay’s Xylobands and lit up the studio during his performance of “There’s nothing holding me back”. I just love that song and he’s legal now, girls! (His words :-)) Lorde’s performance was quite unexpected. She put a cassette into a recorder and her song “Dynamite” started. She didn’t start to sing but she danced throughout the whole song. It was kind of weird but also funny and I did like what she did with the performance.

Lorde

The Award for Best Dance went to Zedd and Alessia Cara. Pete Wentz (All One Tree Hill Fans have a little crush on him) presented it and yes Fall Out Boy has got new music coming! Katy Perry came on stage with a fake baby and I am not sure if DJ Khalid really crashed the stage with his real baby and fought her about who has the best baby.. WEIRD! Anyways they announced the next performers. It looked like Fifth Harmony were back together but then the fifth person got pulled back and so they were only four to perform the winner song. Bam take that Camila! Gucci Mane had a guest appearance too and the girls finished in pouring rain!

Best Collabo won Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift but both had no time to pick up their award. Goes to show how much a moonman means in this business – Not a lot anymore.. This guy from a band called bleachers picked up the awards. But behold you don’t need to google him. He performed during the pre-show and it was awful. The instruments and the his voice were out of tune!

Jared Leto took the stage to remember Chester Bennington and his friend Chris Cornell. He did an amazing job and it was a memorable moment worthy of those two amazing musicians. After the 100th commercial break we saw Miley Cyrus’ VMA comeback. It was okay and very different to her last show with Robin Thicke and the infamous foam finger. Instead of naked people she had old people and babies dancing in rockabilly 50’s style on stage.

Best Hip Hop went to Kendrick Lamar who quickly accepted the moonman and off we went to a pink birdie who nearly showed her nipple if she had one.. Let me tell you it looked like Barbie! She announced our next performer in VEGAS, BABY! Demi Lovato was “Sorry not so sorry” and had a strong voice and did a brill job with entertaining the people in the pool!

oznor

oznor

Finally my highlight of the evening! P!nk flew in a pink Cadillac and rode a lawn mower and performed all of her hits at one point she even mashed up three songs (“Don’t let me get me”, “Just give me a reason” and “Fucking Perfect”) into one! And then she went on to sing her new single “What about Us”

P!nk’s speech was breathtaking and I had to make sure I didn’t start to cry. She said this to everyone but especially to her 6 year old daughter:

She said to me out of the blue, ‘Mama, I’m the ugliest girl I know,’ And I said, ‘Huh?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, I look like a boy with long hair.’ And my brain went to, ‘Oh my God, you’re six. Where is this coming from? Can I kick a six-year-old’s ass?’

P!nk then went on and said that she went home and made a powerpoint presentation of androgynous rockstars like Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Prince, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Janis Joplin, George Michael and they are all artists who live their truth, are probably made fun of every day of their life and carry on and wave their flag and inspire the rest of us. So she said:

I asked her what do you think of me. ‘I think you’re beautiful’. Well, thanks! 🙂 So when people make fun of me, that’s what they use: They say I look like a boy or I’m too masculine or I have too many opinions or that my body is too strong. And I said, ‘Do you see me growing my hair?’ And she said, ‘No, mama.’ ‘Do you see me changing my body?’ ‘No, mama.’ ‘Do you see me changing the way I present myself to the world?’ ‘No, mama.’ ‘Do you see me selling out arenas all over the world?’ ‘Yes, mama.’

“So, baby girl, we don’t change. We take the gravel in the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so that they can see more kinds of beauty. …And you, my darling girl, are beautiful. I love you.”

Isn’t this the best speech you’ve ever heard?! Made my night and my day after. Thank you P!nk for being you ❤

Kyle had the hard task to perform right after P!nk and well yeah it was nice… So the 2nd biggest award of the night was Artist of the Year and everybody’s darling Ed Sheeran won. With a super cute but quick thank you he left the stage again. Alessia Cara sang her wonderful song “scars to your beautiful” and while she got undressed and got her make-up taken off she was able to maintain a steady voice. I like her! 🙂

Ke$ha presented Alessia Cara, Khalid and Logic who all tried to raise awareness with a song against suicide attempts- “1-800-273-8255” is a powerful song especially if the three artists were joined by survivors who had a white t-shirt on where it was written You Are Not Alone! Very meaningful moment especially in light of the deaths of Chris and Chester.

Jared Leto

30 Seconds to Mars are back!! I loved their performance of “Walk on Water” for which they used a thermal imaging camera. It looked absolutely incredible! WOW you have to see this. Travis Scott quickly jumped into the picture too.

Back to Vegas DNCE performed together with Legend Rod Stewart his song “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?!” Just a little note on the mustache of Joe Jonas – that’s a no no. Can we appreciate now how a 72 year old totally out rocked a 28 year old! Video of the year was awarded to Kendrick Lamar for his song “Humble”.

Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj closed the show with “Swish Swish” and absolutely slayed it. A basket ball court was put on stage and with that I’d like to appreciate the huge production this show is – even if it isn’t like it used to be.

So what did you think of tonight’s VMA’s? Are you happy with the winners and who was your favourite performer? Let me know in the comments below.

    MTV Video Music awards 27.08.2017 For years I’ve been watching the VMA’s and it’s been one of my musical highlights but lately the video music awards weren’t the same anymore.

[travelforone-blog]

Memoirs from last month

Part 1: Vincoloppet, Sturup GP, ABC løb Photo by: Michael Strömgren

Hiss Spun by CHELSEA WOLFE

Vinco

Track: tough, loooong kantvind sections and climbs, prognosis said kantvind and warm Team: Emil, Glenn and me. Ah yes, and Sebastian? Plan: Attack like zee Germans, don't let the peloton breathe until the attack sticks, then defend

Race

I attack, out of the box Emil attacks Glenn attacks Dude grabs my leg in kantvind and pushes me back as we are fighting for position Ride up to the dude, extend finger: DO ... NOT ... FUCKING ... TOUCH ... ME ... AGAIN repeat Lap 2 Emil attacks so hard I was just like: woah, amazing ... He's left there for a while, finally some bridge, we have a break Offensive mode ON In theory: chase down any attempt by Lunedi to bridge In practice: maaaaan, chase down every, like EVERY attempt and stick to the cup leader from Lunedi with red Cervelo, be Quintana to his Froome, almost die in kantvind section while trying to bridge, barely manage to hold on Serious crisis averted Lap 3 After about 5 attempts the dude finally breaks away (not that he's that fast, nooo, my legs were numb and gone) What was left of matches burn trying to bridge in kantvind climb, matches burned ... I give up Form a small chasing group Yell at people for not working Glenn yells at people for not working Finally we're going, we have about 20-30s to first chasers But since the swedes are happy just to sit in klungan so they can wave to their families while they scream HEJA PAPPA we never achieve much WAS IT FUN? YEAH? MUST BE SOOOOOOO MUUUUCH FUN TO DRIVE A DAY AND THEN SIT IN THE KLUNGAN MMMMMMM Håkan disrupts the rhytm in at last climb, does not go well with me, swearing and tight moves, he ends up in gravel, upright Håkan's comment later: I'm ok, you can yell but you can't swear (fair point). I also paid the starting fee so I can YEAH WHATEVER Since I do not like sprinting for 20th place I make a monster pull, Glenn does not get the memo ... Emil does not have sprinter legs, ends up 6th Meh

Summary

Should have bridged

Random impressions

Din Gata plays badass hiphop just as we slowly drive through the crowd to the road #malmörepresent Fistbump Per from the car as he waits for B start, hiphop still blasting Strömgren lost Emil's car keys, Emil was not happy Glenn called me after the race to check if I am ok, he said he did not dare talk to me after the race, I seemed too angry apparently AC in the car does not work

Sturup GP

Team: it seems me, Daniel and Anders (what a weird combination) Plan: GO FULL BERSERK

Race

BOOOOM Get the holeshot I Stay up front I chase I accelerate I slay I slay Per goes, with another dude I go Trying to brige, still trying to bridge, hmmm, still here, bridging, yeah .... nope, get caught There is like 100000000 Lunedi riders so no chasing Eventually Åhus brings Per back Attack some more Accelerate some more Get almost taken down by Daniel from Ringen Really, Daniel? Anyhow, from what I see at least someone (= me) is having fun The rest? The rest are ... well, waiting for last lap it seems last lap I don't remember really, kinda the most boring part of the race, Per came second, the OTHER Lunedi dude came 1st Woah, much drama, such action

Summary

Should have bridged

Random impressions

Jakob looks cool with a tooth missing, just like me in 5th grade Rafael did a good job in HSport, but got dropped last lap It seems everyone is either having a kid or making a kid or thinking of making a kid Crits in Sweden are booooooooooooring I still don't get Lunedi, what's the plan? Bore us to death?

ABC løb

Go to race pretty much just to hear Eva scream at us speak Danish to us again Also, nice track, google it, the one by the small pet crematorium Team: me and Glenn Plan: attack, attack, attack, then defend

Race

Plan executed perfectly, we have Glenn in the break Defend Chase down people, demotivate them This goes on for like 3 laps At some point end up in a second break with the leader of the 4 day cup from Christiania team, we have like 5-10s on the peloton Looks good, but they have a dude up front, right, so we're ... Confusion, 2 accelerate, me and Christiania dude get caught In retrospective, I should have contributed and we would have bridged, forming a 10 man break Anyhow, regardless of my flawless performance of defending (I got complemented on that) Glenn drops from the break My turn Throw in a couple of attacks and accelerations, but since we're like all tired it does not go well Get stopped by a bus jammed in a narrow section We sprint for 25th again ...

Summary

Should have bridged

Random impressions

Christiania guys were handling bottles to riders on the wrong side of the road Random A girl got really upset 2km to go, no one knows why Borrowed a pump from A class cup leader Passed a stopped bus 2cm from mirror while chasing and doing 50+ Trampen dude made a wrong turn in an intersection because he got blocked by a car + horse trailer combo Flagvakt was shady AF, good thing Anna was not racing

These help me do what I love, go pay them a visit: Musette 184 RACEDAY