#and like the ending was satisfying but also left enough room for unanswered questions

[milliesfishes]

just finished My Lady Jane WOAH that show is nuts

[thekingofwinterblog]

My Hero Academia - How NOT to do an Open Ending

In 2022, the American animated series Amphibia ended with an open ending that left all of it's ships up in the air, and the question of where the main characters would go from there up to the reader.

That might be a rather weird way to open an essay about how My Hero Academia failed, but the reason I do so, is to illustrate a point.

Namely that there is a way to do what Hori tried to do with MHA right.

Amphibia ending has the main human trio of that series reuinte after a long timeskip, with all 3 of them having found their passion in life and built careers for themselves, and while there are some suggestions that Sasha and Anne are a bit closer than what might be apparant on screen, it ultimately left the situation of their romantic relationship at this point, and from there on, up in the air withouth confirming or denying anything, beyond the fact that they for whatever reason drifted apart in highschool, but have come back together again at this point in time.

It left you with enough pieces to figure out the specifics, and how you can understand how things got from one point to another, while still giving all the characters a satisfying payoff, continued the shows themes, had no real plot holes, and wheter you ship any of the characters in question or not, it didnt ultimately matter for the quality of the ending.

The fun part about an open ending is that there is room to speculate, so long as it manages to balance all of the above.

A story does not HAVE to end on the main characters hooking up. it does not have to end with tying every single character up in a relationship and showcasing the beginning of the next generation. It does not have to have a definite ending that gives all the answers to be good.

That is one way to end a story, but it's not the only one.

There certainly are stories that NEED to end like that to be good, stories with a greater mystery, or revenge tales, or who's entire story was about one, specific romantic relationship are shit endings if they ultimately end on an open ending withouth answers.

within the context of MHA, Hori managed to weave this balance very well with it's villains.

The story of the Todoroki family in particular has all the definite endings, and tells us where all the players ends up... but it also leaves the possibility, and question of wheter or not dabi ultimately managed to make peace with his family or not up in the air.

This is a good, satisfying, tragic ending.

Spinner and compress both end up in jail for the rest of their lives, but Spinner resolves to write a book, that for better or worse will tell the league's version of the story. It's not AS good an ending as the above, but it still works just fine.

Clearly Hori CAN write a good open ending that still gives closure.

Which is why it's so baffling that MHA 430, ends up doing EVERYTHING WRONG as far as an open ending possibly could.

It has no closure, it has plot holes aplenty, it manages to leave the question of will they or wont they unanswered, not by being ambigious, but by telling us, in the most unintentionally agressive manner possible that it did NOT happen, and most damningly of all, it shits all over the Story's themes.

MHA ends with the cast all grown up in an "and the adventure Continues!" ending, similar to justice league Unlimited.

That's not a BAD way to end it... The problem is EVERYTHING ELSE in this chapter.

Because we learn WAY too much in this chapter. the gaps in the timeskip is filled... but not in a good way. instead in an infuriating manner that pisses you off if you actually starts to break it down.

Let's start with Izuku being forgotten.

So i have seen some people try to shut down criticism about the fact that Izuku didnt win fortune or fame, by noting that from the thematic point, being a hero was NEVER about that from Izuku's point of view.

And that is true... but this argument misses the bigger and more obvious problem.

The story REFUSES to tackle this from that angle.

As many have pointed out, this is a BAD outcome ending for Izuku.

He returned to being quirkless, he had to settle for a job that wasn't being a hero, he has been mostly forgotten after his one big highlight, and his friends have effectively begun to move on.

And he does not care.

At all.

Hell, a 14 year old izuku who for one brief moment gave up on his dreams to chase a more realistic future, has more genuine and mixed emotion and mixed feelings in one shot, than Izuku has about actually living through a much more bittersweet scenario.

Hell, the one moment Izuku has when he looks genuinely down in this chapter, is when Aizawa admonishes him for not being strict enough with his students.

Basically the premise here is sound. Izuku ended up in a bad personal ending to set up the return to actual heroics at the end of the chapter... And that could have worked if it committed to that.

If he was portrayed as actually having regrets about his lot in life. you know, the same thing All Might's ENTIRE STORYLINE was built around!

MHA has ALWAYS been a human story that confronted the fact that people had regrets, and problems, and they need to be honest about them to deal with them.

To not bottle everything up inside and pretend the problems arent there.

For the story to end, with Izuku doing EXACTLY THAT is a slap in the face that goes EVERYTHING this story has preached about how you need to communicate with the people around you. the entire point of chapter 429, the CHAPTER RIGHT BEFORE THIS ONE!

Then of course there is the whole "Everyone Growing apart" thing too.

Now, it's not as bad as the early translation made it seem, but the point still stands that despite the entire chapter right before the end then emphasises how everyone went their separate ways.

This chapter COULD have shown us moments where Izuku is still in contact with the rest of his class, but it does not. instead it emphasises how distant he is becoming from the rest of his former friend group. He is the lone one out, the one guy who seemingly is no longer in regular contact with the rest.

The reason for that, is that Hori wanted to make the moment where he returns to the fold that much more impactfull... but it does not work, because it basically tells us that none of the class was able, or willing to make the personal sacrifice to keep in regular touch with him during those 5 years.

But FAR more egrigiously, and spitting in the face of the Theme of actually communicating and talking with the people you care about, is HOW Izuku gets back into the game.

Apparently they spent the last 5 years pooling their money to finance a high tech suit for him to fight crime in.

And i get it. I get what Hori WANTED to do with this. He wanted to show "See, Class 1-A didnt forget Izuku after all, they still love him!".

Thats the intended message.

But the problem is, it does not work. and in fact, not only does it NOT work, but it completely goes against EVERYTHING that the story has been trying to preach for the entire 10 years of it's run.

The rest of class A never told Izuku about this. ever. Why? apparently because they wanted it to be a surprise. So they just let him go on with his life for 5 years, all while none of them really bothered to keep in regular contact with him.

There is... so much wrong with that.

But before going over the way it just hammers in the point that actually talking with the people you love isnt important after all, let's go over how this entire stupid plan could have backfired SO badly on the part of class A. Hell, it kinda did actually, if not quite as spectacularily as it could have.

What if Izuku had gotten married and moved overseas during this period? What if he had gotten married in Japan, but his entire family dynamic and plans had revolved around the fact he had a job that did not require moving around much and so got to spend a lot of time at home? Hell, even within the context of what actually Happened, U.A is still going to find itself suddenly short of one teacher who his classes relies upon, if he actually wants to go pro for real.

There are so many ways this stupid 5 year scheme of secrecy could have backfired, and it does not take a genuis to be able to see them.

basically the entire class planned out Izuku's life ahead of him withouth telling him anything about it, withouth giving him the context or preparation for how to plan his future with it in mind, and how none of them seemingly cared about how this might upend his actual personal life.

And thats just the logistical issues.

Morally speaking, this just repeatedly hammers in how this final chapters just completely abandons the themes of how you need to actually work, talk and discuss your personal matters and feelings with the people around you.

1-A did none of that.

They let their relationships with Izuku cool, when they didnt have to, seemingly with the idea that it didnt matter in the end because he'd join them anew as a hero later anyway, and they could catch up then.

Which leads me to discussing the one, actual ship who's ending actually DID matter from a storytelling perspective.

Izuku and Ochako.

Now i have seen so many bad takes across the web from the people who are happy this did not happen, or argue that it does not matter.

But the brutal truth is, it does.

And the reason it does, is not because Izuku HAD to end up with Uraraka, or even that they had to be together in the final moment of the series.

It's because one of the longest running stories of this manga had NO ENDING, NO RESOLUTION, and rather than that, it wants to suggest it might still happen anyway... Despite unintentionally KILLING IT in the most infuriating way possible.

Out of all of the cast, it is Uraraka's character who is butchered by this stupid 5 year plan, to the point it even taints her entire new character direction at the end.

Uraraka ends the story having reformed the Quirk system for people growing up, helping those with difficult quirks get past mental problems... But just all the rest of her class, she chose to neglect her relationship with Izuku under the seeming thought process that she could patch it up later... Or that she could finally confess her feelings.

I'll let Shigaraki speak for my feelings on this way of thinking.

"You heroes hurt your own families just to help strangers. You heroes pretend to be society's guardians. For generations, you pretended not to see those you couldn't protect and swept their pain under the rug. It's tainted everything you built. That means your system's rotten from the inside with maggots crawling out. It all builds up little by little over time."

The intended message of MHA is a refution of this... but in this final chapter, Shigaraki's words ring true, at least as far as class A is concerned.

As they became Heroes, they neglected the one amongst them who needed the most support and instead went off to, as shigaraki put it, Help Strangers.

They pretended that Izuku's situation in the moment did not matter, because in the long haul it would all be worth it.

And just like their predeccessors, it taints everything they do.

But Uraraka most of all. If you ignore the romance angle, she has started a massive program to help strangers in need... while also neglecting and frankly mistreating someone she loves and cares about her who needed her support in his weakest period.

If you do take Romance into account, it gets even WORSE, because then you have to accept that Uraraka ultimately rejected the message that she preached with Toga, the thing that got the blonde girl to turn coat for her.

She in the end did not manage to live a life where she actually was able to do what she wanted to do, and instead remained the exact same wishywashy girl who refused to actually be open about her feelings.

Instead, she, in her final shot of the series, is in the exact same spot she was back then. A girl who would forever pine after Izuku, but never be able to open up about it.

Which would be a bad enough way to end her character on... But then when you take into account that she also participated in the 5 year plan, and there is nothing to suggest she kept in touch with him more than the rest, just makes it so much worse.

I have said before that with this ending, Uraraka's love story was an objective waste of time, and i stand by that.

Hori didnt have to end the series with Izuku and Urarak married, engaged or obviously in a relationship, but by refused to actually make it happen, and lumping Uraraka in with the entire rest of the class, he instead did something way worse.

He made it abundantly clear that regardless of what Uraraka's feelings on the matter, the relationship to Izuku was not something special. She was NOT his Hero in the moment when he actually needed one.

Neither as a friend, or as a love interest.

Her actions tainted everything else.

And of course, there is the big plot hole of this chapter.

The single biggest, and most obvious hole that is just gaping through it, that for this story to work you have to completely ignore.

Namely that 1. All Might is one of the richest peoples in the world. Class A should not have had to actually fund Izuku's suit. All Might could, and SHOULD have done that all on his own. and 2. That this tech EXISTED 8 YEARS AGO!!!!

All Might's armored suit made him one of the most powerfull figures in this entire series.

Sure it was a bit experimental, but it WORKED! it was not some unstable prototype that coudl explode at any moment, it would have worked just fine as an actual permanent power up!

For this entire stupid 5 years of Sidelines Izuku to work, you have to just PRETEND this massive hole does not exist.

And it's not a small hole that you can justify that the characters didnt think about it. It's there, and it's MASSIVE.

The only reason it's not talked about as much as all the rest is that while this is the big Material problem of this chapter, everything else is so much worse because it attacks, destroys, and taints pretty much every theme MHA had over the course of it's long run.

---Edit---

Apparently there is a throw away line in the Trivia section of Volume 39 that All Might apparently spent almost his entire fortune on his Mech suit.

Meaning that while this isn't quite the plothole I assumed it was, it IS still TERRIBLY communicated within the story itself why All Might didn't just fund Izuku's suit themselves.

---

The themes that more than anything else was what set it apart from every other battle manga that ever existed. The Human themes of actually talking to the people around you that made MHA a special story, far more than it's superhuman battles ever did.

That is why so many people are pissed off about it.

It's also why MHA is such a textbook example of how NOT to do an open ended story.

Hori could have kept the details about Izuku's life, be it his personal or proffesional life incredibly vague, beyond the basics... but he choose not to, and instead peeled back the curtain... but rather than showcasing depth, it just made the whole thing fall apart by giving us the specific details that we did not need, and which pretty much tainted the entire ending down to it's core... All completely unintentionally.

He didnt have to show that Izuku had NO specific remaining bonds with any single members Class A that were still more important to him than the rest.

But he did.

He didnt have to go out of his way to show that Izuku was completely forgotten by society at large.

But he did, and subsequentially did not actually choose to explore that.

He didnt have to show us deep, long, internal monologues from izuku's perspective where he is cartoonishly at ease with his lot in life.

But he did.

He was too specific and detailed about the things he NEEDED to keep vague, and not specific about the details that we actually needed to know, and so it all collapses in on itself in a mess of broken Themes and morals, and shattered logic, and above all else, he managed to carelessly and unintentionally cheapen every single relationship Izuku formed with the rest of his classmates over the course of this story.

[zerm2v0hg]

'Murder Drones' Finale - First-Second Thoughts and Impressions

So, the finale of Murder Drones came out three days ago, and I have some thoughts, opinions and reactions to it. (Some spoilers below if you haven't seen it yet.)

On the first viewing, I thought there was a bit too much humour and it felt a bit too forced in the early part of the episode, not so much in the later part.

Helluva dramatic entrance on V's part. On one hand, I'm rejoicing that V's alive, plus I do think that more than what we'd gotten by Episode 6 can still be done with her character (whether that's in a canon second season or solely in fanfic continuations). On the other hand, it does have the "undermines the impact of the death scene that they're not really dead" effect on Episode 6's ending.

I can imagine that quite a few people will be annoyed that J ultimately got the Jerk with a Heart of Jerk treatment and knowingly sold out to the Solver, but on the second viewing, seeing how she was obviously hurt by V's rejection and was icing it down when she said she never needed her or N, plus the reveal that J survived in the end credits, I think there's still enough room for a second season or fan continuations to do more with her character after Solver!Cyn's death. That having been said, I do feel a bit annoyed that the revelation of J's true loyalties got pushed this far back.

Now, one major problem I had with V and J's battle is that it was too fast-paced, and the dialogue too condensed and difficult to make out, to the point where it wasn't until I turned on the subtitles during my second viewing that I made out the reveal of J and V's deal with the Absolute Solver here.

Similarly, I was constantly confused on my first viewing by the red-eyed Sentinel going after Lizzie, Thad and Khan, as it made me question my initial assumption that the Sentinel had sided with V due to its malfunction and probably saved her from the other Sentinels at Episode 6's end. I think this and the above dialogue issues are areas where the episode's compressed runtime made the narrative viewing suffer. :P

I was really, really fearing for the heroes' lives several times throughout this episode. :)

I enjoyed Solver!Cyn being a quirky and expressive but absolute nightmare, and their final dance-off with Uzi, N and V.

I quite liked how Solver!Cyn made full use of the Mind Screw "which parts of that were real" element of the Solver's hologram trickery to make the title fight bewildering, keeping us constantly on our toes, unsure whether or not what we're seeing is actually Uzi being drawn into a vulnerable position by more illusions. And then there's Solver!Cyn's Shapeshifter Guilt Trip.

In most media where a shapeshifting/illusion-casting villain pulls a Shapeshifter Guilt Trip on the hero, Fourth Wall Myopia stops it from affecting the audience as much, and when the trope is done poorly, it even makes the hero look like an idiot for falling for it. But when Solver!Cyn turned into N mid-stab; with all the Mind Screw that the Solver's holograms perform, I was honestly questioning if Solver!Cyn really had used a hologram of theirself to "which parts of that were real"-trick Uzi into stabbing the real N. :O

Man, I was surprised by just how SATISFYING I found it when Uzi melted Solver!Cyn's core, considering how goofy that eldritch digi-Satan is. :)

I'm a bit frustrated by the questions that have been left unanswered as of the finale, like why the Absolute Solver is doing what they're doing with turning planets' cores into black holes, and the other planets besides Earth that it apparently destroyed before being spread to Copper 9 by the lab experiments. And... apparently, Copper 9 is suddenly back together in one piece at the episode's end, even though Solver!Cyn shattered it like an egg when she put a black hole in the core... ,:-S

I'm also not sure about the reveal of V's motivations with her deal with the Solver - to me, it doesn't seem to fit with V's interactions when she thought Solver!Uzi was the Solver back in Episode 4. (Granted, it's not the only thing that feels convoluted in the series, with all the post-pilot retcons concerning JCJenson/the Absolute Solver and also V's post-pilot characterisation change, but still.)

Now, that shot on Khan when he pulls his Big Damn Hero move:

Did anyone else, the first several times they saw this, instead of seeing a remote in Khan's hand, think they were seeing him using the Solver abilities, with the signature hand-gesture and with a monochrome [null] singularity in hand instead? It took me a while to realise that was the door remote from the pilot in his hand, with the black part standing out while the rest was accidentally camouflaged, and stop having these questions rattling around in my head: "Khan has Solver abilities too now?! What’s that about?? Do all worker drones have some kind of Solver abilities and that’s why the Solver wants to wipe them out?! Did Nori somehow transfer a fragment of her own Solver to Khan when they were together and they made Uzi?! Why didn't they explain this at the episode's end??!!"

"No-one traumatises these weirdly-hot robots but ME!" Uzi x N may have become canon (and TBH, I don't care for it, especially with the way canon has done it, and I felt it could've been completely left out of the episode without anything changing). But was Uzi's comment there hinting that GLITCH are seriously considering making N x Uzi x V canon in future? :3

I quite liked the series-bookend in the final pre-credits scene. :) Heh, Uzi's "and also now I can do THIS" moment showing off the inhuman powers and monstrous transformation she's gained when lampshading her narrative journey was so relatable. :3

Man, Doll's memorial in the end credits was humorous! :D (And I don't blame Uzi, N and V for not looking impressed with the whole thing after the stuff Doll did, not least to them, and when Doll had seemingly much more agency over her actions than N or Episode 4's Solver!Uzi did to boot. XD)

I think the finale could've done without that post-credits scene, especially while the chances of a second season are up in the air, or it could've at least recontextualised it to make it clear whether or not Cyn/the Solver/whatever's left of them inside Uzi is still evil at this point.

One last peeve I have is that Uzi overcoming the Solver's possession through the power of love "coodies"-mortification and a bitch-slap was one thing, but her suddenly being able to turn the tables and possess Solver!Cyn in the finale when she's barely had half an hour to recover from the climax of Episode 7 feels like it came out of nowhere with no foreshadowing. Though that one moment didn't seem to contribute to the plot except to establish why the Solver doesn't just body-jack Uzi again during the finale, so I'm willing to let this one go a bit.

[neokids]

Fortune's Fool: Act XI

Masterlist (read previous and future ones here!)

Act XI

Tw: Lots of blood, character death, violence, murder, guns, knives, weapons, foul language, self-inflicted wounds, suicide, overall graphic content

“Miss Hwang,”

Yeji turned around to see a messenger awkwardly standing, he was oddly keeping his distance as if she carried the contagious madness.

“Yes?”

“Your parents ask for your presence in their office. They would like to speak to you right now.”

And they didn’t even bother to check what had happened downstairs in their own house, how thoughtful.

“Regarding what?” Yeji asked, anticipation building up causing her to fiddle with her fingers behind her back. “They did not say. They just asked for your presence. Immediately.”

Yeji let out a sigh as she made her way upstairs, she glanced back at the pool of blood all over the living room, how on earth would they clean this up. She also noticed her relatives talking so casually amidst the scene, as if nothing happened. As if it wasn’t contagious.

As she approached her father’s office, the door immediately opened. Yeji was taken aback by the sudden appearance of her father holding the door for her, it was as if he was waiting for her all along.

“You asked for my presence? Are we to discuss recent matters?” Yeji asked as soon as she sat across from her father and mother. Lord and Lady Hwang only looked at each other as Yeji noticed something in her father’s hands. He held a creamy white envelope sealed off in a rich gold stamp. She eyed it as well before glancing back to her father.

“How are we going to get rid of the bloodstains downstairs?” Yeji asked again, leaving her first questions unanswered.

“We’ll call for someone to clean it up.” Her mother said, dismissing Yeji’s current worries.

“Mama, it’s the madness. It’s in our house now, who knows who else will suffer. It could be a viral contagion, we should ask the other servants if they made contact with the ones who tore their throats out.” Yeji explained, ultimately regretting the decision seeing as her father narrowed his eyes at her in confusion while her mother eyed her quizzically.

“What made you assume it was viral?” Lady Hwang asked simply, no tones of suspiciousness in her voice.

Yeji froze as soon as she realized she blurted out a piece of information she found out from Jeno, but she had to remain calm. Her mother wasn’t the type to stay silent when she finds something suspicious, she was the type to confront someone directly.

“Hearsays,” Yeji replied calmly, “At this point, anything is possible.”

“Moving on,” Lord Hwang said firmly, clearly wanting to dismiss the current topic. “Summoning you here to talk about this madness wasn’t the reason we called you here.” He pushed the thick white envelope he was holding towards Yeji.

“What is this?” She took it, observing the intricately written gold letters curve with elegance. It was heavy as well.

“An invitation,” Lady Hwang explained, “To a masquerade ball from the Chinese.”

Yeji opened the envelope recklessly, wanting to get it over as soon as possible. She read that it was indeed an invitation from the Chinese, specifically signed by a man named ‘Xiao Dejun’

“It’s going to be held next week in the gazebos,” Lord Hwang added as he redirected his attention to the other stacks of paper on his desk. “They want to celebrate the joined forces and powers of Korea and China!” He recited flatly as Yeji read the exact same lines on the invitation.

We are extending our warm welcome to all of Viper-gang members, it reads in royal blue ink.

Yeji heard her mother scoff, causing her to tear her attention away from the invitation and towards her mother. Lady Hwang had a clear expression of distaste on her face, obviously not buying whatever the Chinese had written on the invitation. “If they wanted to celebrate, then they should start remembering that this is our country, not theirs.”

“However,” Lord Hwang added, as if he didn’t hear what his own wife had to say, “If they wish to celebrate, then let us celebrate.” Her father said sternly, he looked up to his daughter staring at him with a mouth opening and closing, finding the right words to say. “Also I believe there is another invitation somewhere in that envelope?”

Yeji rummaged through the invitation to reveal another card, this one bright red in color and had silver lettering,

It was from the Lius.

But it wasn’t for Yeji, it was for her father. Mr. Liu was requesting another meeting despite how many times they have been turned down. A few weeks ago, Yeji turned him down only for her to turn down his son as well. She didn’t know why they were so adamant about selling their product, they weren’t prominent nor known whatsoever. In fact. Nobody knew who they were or where they came from.

“Well,” Yeji said as she slid the envelope back to her father’s hands, “Why should this concern me?”

Something about the silence irked Yeji, the silence contained unleft words from both Lord and Lady Hwang’s mouths. They were waiting for something, an answer, a follow up.

“Well,” Lord Hwang began, “I would greatly appreciate it if you were to go with me,” He finally said as he folded his arms against his chest.

“You’re not certainly making me go to this ball, right?” Yeji asked to confirm, eyes shifting to her father who had a serious expression on his aging face to her mother who looked like she wanted to end this conversation immediately.

“It’s always your choice, Yeji.” Her father said flatly. Something to know about Lord Hwang is that he never took no for an answer, especially when it came from a family member. Better yet, his own daughter. “But I prefer if you would.”

“Appa,” Yeji whined, “I did enough partying in America to last me the rest of eternity. Surely the Chinese could discuss and bargain all they want, but in the end we always know they will never have the final say in this country.”

“Yeji,” Lady Hwang scolded.

“What?” Yeji retorted, righteous.

“No, she has a point.” Her father said as he raised a hand to stop Lady Hwang, “They only wish to mingle and propose their products to me, I would let you go if it weren’t for a certain someone requesting your presence.”

Lord Hwang had his gaze pinpointed on her. Yeji however, remained silent. She blinked once, then twice. She already knew where this conversation was heading towards.

“I see,” Yeji decided to say plainly, she didn’t want to press on whoever requested her presence. Judging by the sent invitation from the Chinese, and a separate invitation from the Lius, it was already a dead giveaway.

Yangyang Liu.

“We need all the power we can get. We need the forces, the allies, the security and comfort knowing that we will continue our reign in this city. I need you to be my little translator when they mutter something in Mandarin, thinking I can not speak their mother tongue.”

Yeji made a disgruntled groan from her throat. “As you wish, appa.” She stood up and took the letter from her father’s hands once again. “I’ll go as you wish!” She exclaimed as she tried to walk outside Lord Hwang’s office. Just as she was about to reach for the doorknob, her mother suddenly spoke up. “Wait,”

So. Damn. Close.

Yeji turned around as she cocked a brow, “This….Yangyang,” Lady Hwang started “Why is he requesting you?”

Lady Hwang said his name as if it held meaning to her. Lady Hwang thought that it had some effect on her, she didn’t know that that effect would be her getting annoyed more than anything.

Yeji pursed her lips into a thin line, “He is Mr. Liu’s son, obviously.” she replied, apathetic. “I believe the main reason why they requested for another meeting is because they are still trying to sell their product to us.”

“Is he handsome?” Lady Hwang asked, curious for herself rather than her own daughter.

“My god, mama.” Yeji replied as she tried to stop herself rolling her eyes. She walked towards the door again, hopefully able to leave this time. “He is just using me, this is just business. If you would excuse me, I have to–what the hell are you doing?”

The latter part was directed to Hyunjin, who was standing right in front of her as she opened the door.

“Relax,” Hyunjin smiled a very much fake smile, “I was on my way to the balcony.”

They both knew it was a lie–Hyunjin not bothering to try and make a more believable expression. Yeji closed her father’s door with a loud thud. She waited for her cousin to say something, but he only stared back, his plastic smile not leaving his face.

“Well do you have anything to say to me, Hyunjin?” Yeji asked, crossing her arms. Hyunjin’s smile only grew wider.

“Only one,” He said as he eyed the door, knowing full well that Lord and Lady Hwang could hear their conversation, “I just can’t wait to go to this party, jiāchǒu bùkě wàiyáng.”

Yeji stiffened, satisfied with the reaction he had caused, he turned around merrily and left. He shoved his hands to his pockets as a whistle from a song left his lips.

The family’s shame shouldn’t be exposed.

“Méiyǒu shé me kě jiēlù de,” Yeji muttered. She stomped as she went down the stairs, glaring at the relatives who were still near the crime scene, happily going on with their latest gossip they just had to share. She made a beeline towards the kitchen to see Karina seated on the counter chomping down on an apple. She had no idea how Karina managed to find an appetite when she was seated right in front of a huge stain of blood.

“So?” Yeji asked as she tapped the counter beside her cousin.

“What? Oh, I gave up trying to remove the stains ten minutes ago.” Karina answered as she took another bite of her apple. After chewing for a while, she tilted her heads towards the side as she looked at the stain.

“It kinda looks like a dog, don’t you think?” She asked as she looked at Yeji who looked at her with a concerned look on her face.

Yeji only stared at her as she swallowed her bite. “Too soon?”

“Way too soon,” Yeji replied, shaking her head. “You busy? I need your Rover ties.”

“For the nth time–” Karina answered, rolling her eyes as she tossed remnants of her apple towards the trash bin, “I do not have Rover ties. What am I finding though?”

Yeji grinned, one thing she loved about her cousin was her eagerness to play spy and to go to unknown grounds. “Jinyoung Park’s address.”

Karina only needed to wrinkle her face, not quite surprised for the sudden request. Yeji could ask her to go get the weirdest most bizarre things, and she would still oblige. Yeji didn’t need to reason out her request as Karina leaped from the counter and feigned a salute to her cousin, her lips turning into a quick smirk. “Yes sir!”

…

“Lice?” Jeno echoed in disbelief

“Lice-like,” Kun corrected, head shaking in the process. He examined a strip of skin he collected from the corpse Jaemin and Haechan brought back to them. They could see the tiny bulges of pockets where the dead insects resided. Jaemin was turning pale while Haechan had his fingers placed on his mouth.

“They jump from one host to another like lice through the hair, I believe they only die when the host dies.” Kun went on as he further pressed onto the membrane, beside him was Doyoung audibly gagging from the sudden autopsy they had to perform. Nevertheless, the Neos had seen far stranger things.

“Oh good heavens,” Jaemin suddenly blurted, feeling dizzy as he gripped onto the table. “We could have been infected.”

Haechan made an exaggerated groan, “They’re dead already,” He said as he motioned towards the insects and the dead body.

“And yet you made me dissect that,” Jaemin retorted, recalling the previous scenes. He shuddered, suddenly remembering how disgusting it was. His body was on full vibrate mode, “How–”

“Gentlemen,” Jeno prompted, his fingers drumming the table he leaned on. He suddenly felt like all the oxygen from the lab was being sucked out, he couldn’t breathe. He had already woken up with a throbbing headache since he wasn’t able to get a good sleep. He tried to redirect Jaemin’s and Haechan’s attention back to Kun, but it didn’t work.

“I told you, my hands were full.”

“You were holding two knives, you could have easily slipped them in your goddamn pockets.”

Jeno gave an apologetic smile to Kun, there was no way he could get Jaemin and Haechan to stop. When the two weren’t busy discussing theories or other normal things, they would argue. Most of the time, it would be about nonsense things that shouldn’t be worth debating over. They would get so engaged in each other until you could see one of their faces going red, or vines starting to pop out from their necks.

“As I was saying,” Kun continued, realizing the two men infront of him had no signs of stopping anytime soon, “since we have much more advanced resources in our facilities than all of Seoul, I could try manufacturing a cure, if that sounds good to you.”

“The only thing that sounds good to me is when you finally shut the fuck up!” Jaemin suddenly exclaimed to Haechan, causing Kun and Jeno to turn their attention once again to them.

“Yes,” Jeno pleaded, making Kun smile a boring smile to him. “That would be great. Thank you, Kun–”

“Don’t thank me yet, Mr. Lee.” Kun tutted, “I can’t manufacture anything without you and your friends’ help.” Kun’s last statement effectively made Jaemin and Haechan to stop fighting. They exchanged glances and slowly turned towards Kun, who was serious as a priest giving a sermon.

“Anything,” Jeno promised, making Jaemin quirk a brow as Haechan nudged him to prevent hearing his whining. “I need to run live experiments,” Kun nodded to himself, “Yes, a live victim. You must find me a live victim.”

“A live–”

This time it was Jeno’s turn to nudge Jaemin’s side.

“Noted,” Jeno said quickly, hoping his two friends would stay silent, “we’re on it. Thank you, Kun. Truly.”

When Kun nodded to them, Jeno pushed himself off the table he was previously leaning on. He quickly dragged both his friend and cousin towards the exit. Jeno was rather quite impressed when Jaemin managed to stay silent the whole time they were making their way towards the doors, not hearing a single whine nor complaint leave his lips. It was only when they were under the dark sky clouding the city did Jaemin finally burst.

“Ya! What the hell?! How the hell are we supposed to find a live victim?! Who the hell would be our live victim?! You know what, don’t answer that. I volunteer in Haechan to be the experimental–Ow!” Jaemin’s rant came to a stop once he felt Haechan’s palm smack him on the head. Jeno sighed as he continued to walk, kicking a few pebbles blocking his way. Jaemin, full of energy as always, was bouncing.

“Careful,” his cousin warned. “Might trip on a pebble.”

“You’re giving me a headache.” Jeno replied as he turned around.

“How are we supposed to know a victim is a victim?” Jaemin went on as he ignored them both, “We only know they were infected once they have succumbed to it! Not to mention they only have a solid five minutes left before they die.”

Jeno shut his eyes momentarily, when he opened them again he felt like he could fall asleep that instant. “I don’t know.”

The walk home was just Jaemin and Haechan bickering once again. Jeno barely contributed to their usual debate for his headache only grew worse. Once they reached the entrance of the main mansion, Jeno could only muster a quiet farewell, leaving Jaemin and Haechan to stare at him. They understood him though, they knew Jeno always got silent when he had too many thoughts clouding his head.

Jeno meekly opened the heavy entrance doors. All he needed was a quick nap and maybe a few pills to ease his throbbing headache so that he could come up with a plan for Kun’s–

“Jeno,”

Jeno’s head jerked up to his father looking down on him from the top step of the staircase. His eyes narrowed at him per usual, his lips forming into a thin line.

“Yes?”

Without saying a word, he extended his hand to give Jeno a piece of paper. He thought that his father would come down to meet him midway, but Lord Lee only remained where he stood. This caused Jeno to hurriedly come up the stairs to keep his father from waiting. The piece of paper turned out to be an invitation with a name and address written in reflective silver ink.

“Find him,” Lord Lee sneered when Jeno looked up for an explanation. “I have heard from my advisors that the Rovers may be the center of all this madness.”

Jeno’s fingers tightened on the invitation he held, “What?” He asked, quite taken aback on the sudden request, “But the Rovers have been trying to be on our side for years–”

“Yet we push them away everytime,” Lord Lee refuted, not interested in what his son had to say, “Obviously they are changing strategies, trying to side with the Vipers seeing as we lost them. Before they could do anything we must counter them immediately. Stop them.”

Was it simply the Rovers’ strategy? Were they trying to kill all those in a gang or mafia so that the violence could finally stop? Were they trying to panic the crowd so that the crowd would listen to them? So they could rule over?

“How am I to stop a whole political party?” Jeno murmured quietly, “How am I to–”

Before Jeno continued, his father had slapped him on the head causing him to grip on the stair’s railing to prevent him from falling down the stairs. He moved away from his father, hoping he could avoid a second hit. He shouldn’t have countered his father vocally when he was an arm’s length away.

“I gave you a name and an address, did I not?” Lord Lee snapped, growing impatient with his own son. “Go. See how true the word on the street is.”

With that, his father returned to his own office, not even bothering to glance back at his son. He gripped the piece of paper tightly, his head throbbing worse than before, Jeno inhaled before muttering bitterly,

“As you wish.”

[duhragonball]

Did they find the Lion?  A Part 8 retrospective

The final chapter of Jojolion came out, and I feel somewhat dissatisfied with it.    I was afraid it wouldn’t have enough room to give proper closure to everything, and I think I was right.   It did a better job than I expected, but my expectations were kind of low.  

@semercury​ asked me if they found the lion, and I was like “I... guess?”  That may have been more cryptic than I meant for it to sound, because in my mind the “lion” was this name I had for whatever the point of the story was supposed to be.   Part 8 started out with a thick air of mystery, and it felt like the challenge was to figure out just what the hell was going on.    Along the way, it seemed like I had a pretty good idea what was going on, but I also wasn’t sure what the main goal was.

I want to keep this spoiler-free, so I guess I’ll use a familiar counterexample.   They found the “lion” in Part 2.   Good triumphs over evil, missions are accomplished, and characters grow as people, but I feel like there was more to it than that.  Battle Tendency was about Joseph discovering his grandfather’s legacy and accepting his role within it.   Lots of characters wrote him off as a clown, but he proved them wrong with his wit and tenacity.    He also wrote off a lot of other characters as unimportant, but he slowly came around and realized that they meant a lot more to him than he wanted to admit.   Part 2 ends with this detailed epilogue for every major character, and guess that’s why I found it so satisfying.   Each story has it’s “lion”, and Part 2 successfully found it’s “lion”.

I can’t really say the same for Part 8.  I feel like I still don’t understand who Josuke “Gappy” Higashikata is.   The main plot threads are resolved, but I feel like there’s a lot of unanswered questions.  So I’m left to wonder if that was a deliberate creative decision, and maybe those plot threads were never important in the first place.  But if that’s true, then why am I so fixated on those danglers?

I think that I’m not alone on this, because there’s already talk of Part 9, tentatively (?) entitled JoJoLands, and most of the early speculation I see is that it might be a direct sequel to Part 8, picking up where Chapter 110 leaves off.   I suppose that’s possible, but it seems more likely that Part 9 would just go off in a wildly different direction, the way JoJolion went off in a different direction from Steel Ball Run.   So I feel like there’s some wishful thinking going on here.    People weren’t satisfied with Chapter 110, and they want JoJoLands Chapter 1 to be JoJolion Chapter 111.  

I had similar frustrations with Vento Aureo on the first go-round, but that was mainly because I read such a crappy translation, and the story kept refusing to go in directions that I wanted to see it go in.   Re-reading it gave me a new appreciation for the story, so maybe I need to re-read Part 8 sometime.   Only, I’m not in a really big hurry to do that.   I just finished it, and I’ve been following the thing for four years.   I feel like there should be more to crossing the finishing line than the victory lap.  

On the other hand, this sea lion did appear in Chapter 99, so that’s pretty cool.

[chayacat]

Devil’s Sweet Star (41)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader  

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut  

***

My kingdom for something. It is a fairly well-known and old sentence that is used very little today. But... for you it would be: My kingdom for something that relaxes me. What for? Let's say your awakening was... Disturbed. Jed was still sleeping for once; it was quite surprising considering that he is always the first awake to go to work. But you have to believe that his evening was... Exhausting. So, you are the first one standing. And on your nightstand, you found a piece of paper. What is written on it leaves you in no doubt about the identity of the author.

*Hoggins is dead. We see each other tonight, Honey. Be ready. *

That's it. It's done. And now it's up to you to honor your share of the deal. An entire evening with Ghostface. But it is far too early. You wish you had a little more time, just to find an excuse for Jed to not be there. What can you do? How are you going to do? If Jed sees Ghostface... And if Ghostface sees Jed... God only knows what could happen. This is why you are stressed today. But you found the excuse of the festival and the journalists to not worry everyone. Although in itself this is not really an excuse, because you also tense for this reason.

What do journalists in other cities think of you? of your pastries? of the festival in general? Were they satisfied? or disappointed? What will they write about you? So many unanswered questions... For now. Several options are jostling in your head: The first is that they loved everything. They will write a very good review about you, about the festival, about the city. People from other cities would come, even tourists, to visit the city and take the opportunity to go to your café. And if they also appreciate... they could come and live there! So, the city would get a little bigger, and your coffee would be better and better known throughout Ohio.

The second option? It’s that they are... neutral. They didn't hate it but didn't like it either. As a result, they will write a fairly neutral article, which will not change much. Or it will attract a few tourists, who will make Roseville a city where spend your holidays quietly... but nothing more.

And the last... it's that they hated it. After all, and without wanting to offend Jed, journalists are quite particular. They are quite snobby; they have tastes...how to say... Let's say they enjoy luxurious places at poor little country festivals. So, when you send them to this kind of place, they're not necessarily cheerful. So just to annoy everyone, and especially the city, they write negative articles, where they criticize everything, invent fake stories and fake anecdotes just to get revenge. And so, they could do the same with the Roseville festival. They could write an article in which they would criticize everything, tell anything. It wouldn't really benefit the city, just like it would be for your coffee. Because if you want to expand, you need good reviews. But also, good reviews of the city. And unfortunately, it’s not with the Roseville Gazette that this can be done. It has to come from the outside world.

But let's remain optimistic! there's no reason they hated it, right? You were working in the back of the shop. At least you try because with all this stress in you... it’s difficult to concentrate. Amy who saw you from the counter, because she turned to you from time to time, brought you a cup of tea, a smile on her lips.

“I thought it would relax you. Do not worry! I'm sure that everything went well and that we will read good returns in the days!” she said cheerfully.  

“Thanks Amy, I guess you’re right. I should relax and hope for the best. How is it in the café? we have a lot of customers?” you respond with a smile.

“Oh yeah! As usual I want to say. Corey runs everywhere but hey, I feel like it doesn't mind him more than that... quite the contrary.”

“Hahaha It's true. You know, there are people who can't stay in place. They have to move, do something all the time otherwise they get bored and find everything boring. Corey is surely that kind of person who doesn't like to stand by and do nothing, just like me.”

“AMY! New orders are here! Hurry up!” Shouts Corey from the counter.  

“I'M COMING! I have to go back to work! Don't forget boss, breathe and relax. Everything's fine. We had the hardest time. Everything will be fine now.” said Amy before going back to the counter.  

You smile as you watch Amy go back to work. She’s right, you have to relax. But... unfortunately for you, the hardest part has not yet passed. The hardest part is coming tonight. And you don't know what to do with Jed. How to convince him to not be at the apartment tonight? Without offending him? Unless there is a miracle, unless he has to leave on his own to find another scoop or go to the scene of a murder, it’s impossible. But hey... so far, you've been lucky. You could have been killed by Ghostface, and he decided to leave you alive. You could have been the victim of an assassination, and Jed protected you. You could have been there when this guy ransacked your coffee, and yet you were already at home when it happened. So, what could go wrong tonight?

It's better to not think about it anymore. It will happen... what will happen. For now, you need to focus on your job and nothing else. Tonight... it will be a different story. The day went off without a hitch. Customers came and went, some with a smile, others a little grumpy, some were stressed, others confident. There was everything, and everything was needed in this world.

Melina and Mattew arrived laughing, and sat down at a table. Amy took their order and Melina asked her if you were there. Amy told them you were in the back of the shop baking March cakes. You gave them a small greeting with your hand, which they returned to you with a smile. You put down your tea towel and leave the room to go see them. And as usual, they were making fun of each other.

“Only 3 slices of cake? I don't believe you. You are a little glutton, OUR little glutton Mattew. 3 parts is only the aperitif for you.” Said Melina laughing.  

“Hey! I swear to you that I am telling the truth! I didn't want the boss to give me an eternal sermon! You know how he is when you don't respect his instructions... I have often been paying the price...” responds Mattew.  

“That’s true.”  

“My poor Mattew... I hope at least you were able to enjoy it when you got back.” you said smiling.

“Nah, I left my shares to Chris. He must also take advantage of it. With work it's hard right now." responds Mattew

“Awn it’s too cute. He's really lucky to have you.”

“Oh! I almost forgot! Jed asked us to warn you that tonight he will be coming home very late. He must apparently go to the scene of a new murder committed by Ghostface. Another innocent inhabitant who died by his cold and heartless blade.” Said Melina.  

“Oh. O-okay. Poor guy...or girl.” You simply respond.

When I was talking about miracles... here is one. It saddens you to learn that Ghostface is being killed again, but it suits you for tonight. Jed will return very late, until he comes back, Ghostface will surely be gone. Luck is still on your side for now. You talk for a little while with Mattew and Melina before they go back to work, and so do you. The rest of the day was quiet, although towards the end you received the call from Mr. Parkson and your Aunt Marnie.

The first one informed you that everything was finally settled for the succession and that the inheritance had been divided at your request between your uncles and aunts. Nevertheless, they have asked that you receive a share of this inheritance as well, so you should expect an upcoming transfer to your bank account. Mr. Parkson greeted you and wished you good luck for the future, hoping that time will heal your wounds. He also informed you that if he learns something about your parents' death, you will be the first to know.

As for your discussion with Aunt Marnie, it was simple. She was taking news, knowing how you were doing, if you needed anything and if everything was okay with Jed. You couldn't help but laugh at her mother hen attitude, it was so adorable coming from her. Your uncle Joey had finally decided to talk to you on the phone. And just by his voice, you felt that it made him feel better to hear you and chat with you. He was fine, some back problems, but nothing very bad according to him. You still tell him to pay attention to him and to not force too much if he does not want to end up stuck in bed for days. He laughed, saying that you reminded him of his sister, your mother, when she was still of this world. He hung up saying that he loved you and hoped to see you soon. You answer him the same thing before hanging up in your turn.

You walk home, without a hitch, and once in the apartment, you sigh with relief. It feels good to finally be at home. And you'll get even better after a good shower. In any case, you will have to prepare. Ghostface is coming. And welcome him in work clothes... is not really a good idea. So, you take clean things, go to the bathroom and take a shower. You leave the room after a few minutes and decide to prepare food. Since you are not very hungry, because of the stress of Ghostface, a simple salad of tomatoes and cucumbers will be enough. You were doing the dishes, when you heard footsteps that you would recognize between a thousand.

“Well... I really hoped you weren't going to come tonight. I thought maybe you'd be lenient and give me an evening off.” you said without turning your back, hearing HIM chuckling.  

“Sorry Honey, but unfortunately, a deal is a deal. And then... spend an entire evening by your side... I will certainly not refuse.” said Ghostface.  

“Is he really dead? Are you sure?”

“Given the state in which I left him, I can tell you that he is indeed dead. He ended up... like his creator. On a nice wooden cross, crucify by me. If you could have been there... you would have been amazed by my art.”

“You’re a twisted devil.”

“And you’re guardian angel. I am both. Then... Where do we start?” Ghostface replied.

“What if you finally told me who you are? Remember? it was part of the deal. A whole evening with you in exchange for your true identity.” you respond, facing him.  

He sneered before approaching you slowly, but with a determined step. He gently pressed you against the worktop and you could guess through his mask that he was devouring you with his eyes.

“Do you REALLY want to start with that? This is just a small detail... we can deal with that... later in the evening.” he said with a softly voice.  

“Deal is a deal. That’s what you said. No true identity, no evening with me. And anyway... Jed will return sooner or later.” You respond with a provocative look.  

“... Fine. As you wish. But regarding Jed... I don't think... that he will bother us tonight. In fact, he will no longer bother us.”

“What do you mean? What did you do to him??? ANSWER ME!”

Ghostface sneered before exploding with laughter before backing up and closing the curtains properly so that no one outside could see what was going to happen. He went back in front of you, now standing in the center of the room and gently removing his mask. And the face that was underneath... No... That's impossible... you didn't want to believe it.

“J... Jed?” you said shocked.

“Hi...Honey. I’m home.” He responds with a sneaky smile.

You couldn't believe it... you didn't want to believe it. Since all this time... he lied to you. Since all this time... the man you loved, was the one who at night came to see you under this mask.  

Since all this time... your guardian angel... was also the devil you are trying to drive away.

***

(My right arm finally doesn't make me suffer anymore! what a pleasure! Gone is the horrible feeling of being hit in the arm! I will be able to write fully! But I also can't wait to go back to bars, restaurants and more... but for that I have to have the sanitary pass. And it won't be until September. What a hell! The next chapter will be the continuation of this one, but from the point of view of our dear Danny! I hope you’ll like this chapter like the others ones! Well, it's time for my brain to rest! Have a great weekend to you all!  See ya!)

[zackcollins]

watching airplanes || nolan patrick

masterlist

Author's Note: I really should be writing that Pierre-Luc Dubois thing. I just don’t have any idea what I want to do with chapter 5 at the moment, so... have this instead. I wanted to write something so I went looking for writing prompts on here. I found this idea and kinda rolled with it. This is my first time writing for Patty, so please be gentle. Sorry for being so slow with the Pierre-Luc Dubois thing. I’m doing my best but inspiration for the fic has kinda hit a wall right now. I’ll try to find inspiration again soon. Promise!! GIF credit to fly-guys!!

Warnings: There’s a few mentions of anxiety, so I’ll include that here. I don’t think anything is too graphic, but I just want to be safe rather than sorry. If you see anything else, feel free to tell me and I’ll include it for you.

Word Count: 2k+

Title: Watching Airplanes by Gary Allan

Additional: The reader is gender-neutral! I’m kinda on a gender-neutral reader kick right now. If you guys would like a gender specific reader, feel free to request one. I’m more than happy to oblige. Also. This is my longest one-shot fic in a long time. I hope I did a good job with it. Let me know if there’s any mistakes or anything that needs fixing. I’ll do my best to fix it!

Additional 2: The locations I used, save for maybe the skate park, are actual locations in Winnipeg. I was so invested in this that I Googled places in Winnipeg that the reader could visit. I also used the petname “small fry” for the reader because I set their hometown as Charlottetown, PEI and PEI is known for potato farming. Hope all of that makes sense! Hope you enjoy this as well!

Looking out the window of the plane, you saw the skyline of Winnipeg coming into view. You grinned because you knew what that meant. It meant that you were close to pulling off the surprise meeting you had planned with your boyfriend, Nolan.

As the plane flew closer and closer to Winnipeg, you felt anxiety well deep in your gut. To compensate for it, you started bouncing your legs in what little room you had in between your seat and the one in front of you. You ran your hands across your things a couple of times to try to quell some of the nervous energy but all that succeeded in doing was creasing some of the wrinkles in your shorts. The person in the seat in front of you glared at you as he took out one of his earbuds.

“Do you mind not jostling the back of the seat,” he asked, pointing to your legs. “I have a bad back and sitting in these seats is bad enough already.”

You held you hands up in surrender as you quickly stopped moving your legs. “Yeah, sorry.”

The man smiled faintly as he stuck his earbud back in and turned his attention forward.

You sighed and ran your hands across your thighs in an attempt to keep your legs from moving. It worked but they ended up twitching a couple of times with anxious energy.

A few minutes later when the plane was announced to be in descent, you felt a little bit of your anxiety ease. You were one step closer to your end goal and that made you feel excited because you were closer to seeing Nolan.

When the plane landed, you felt some more anxiety wash away. You were now safely on the ground and wouldn’t have to worry about a crash getting in the way of you seeing Nolan. You had watched one too many episodes of Mayday the night before you flew. Seeing all of those crashes and catastrophic failures had psyched you out to the point you were convinced something was going to happen to your plane. You weren’t proud of the fact that you had done that but you had told yourself that you were preparing for the worst case scenario, however unlikely it may be.

You let the thoughts of plane crashes and catastrophic failures push themselves to the back of your mind as you collected your carry-on bag. You didn’t want to keep thinking about that while you were in an airport. You would likely drive yourself to some form of panic response if you continued to think about the worst case scenario while surrounded by a bunch of planes.

As you made your way off the plane, you walked calmly to the baggage claim. Watching the carousel spin was soothing what little anxiety you had left. There was something about the repetitive, circular motion that evened out your breathing and heartbeat.

It was a few minutes later when the baggage started to appear on the carousel. You approached it in hopes of finding your baggage among the first few options. You were surprised when you found it, seeing as the flight had been sold out and would’ve had a plethora of baggage. You quickly grabbed your baggage and made your way out of the airport.

When you were standing in the parking lot, you pulled out your phone and ordered an Uber to your hotel. As you waited for it to arrive, you decided it would be a good idea to text Nolan. He had no idea you had come to visit him. You were hoping by receiving this text he would be as excited to see you as you were to see him. As soon as you sent the text, you slipped your phone back into you pocket because your Uber pulled up to greet you. After stuffing your bags in the trunk of the car, you confirmed the address and were on your way to the hotel.

Once you were in your hotel room, you checked your phone again. You noticed that Nolan had texted you back. Excited to see what his response was, you quickly opened the text. You nearly dropped the phone when you read what it had to say.

To: Small Fry

From: Patty Cakes

You’re in Winnipeg??? I’m in Charlottetown! I came to surprise you!

You sat on the bed and ran a hand through your hair. Sighing, you placed your phone face up on the nightstand. You needed to let it sit for a minute while you processed what was happening. You had flown all this way to surprise Nolan and he had had the same idea because he had flown all the way to your hometown to surprise you. It was beyond you how the two of you could’ve possibly had the exact same idea on the exact same day... yet, here you were. You thought that if you both could concoct the same scheme and execute it on the same day, maybe you really were meant for each other.

As you sat there, contemplating what to do next, your phone vibrated against the nightstand. When you looked at it, there was another text from Nolan. You ran a hand through your hair as you picked your phone up to open the text thread.

To: Small Fry

From: Patty Cakes

How about you tell me some places I can visit while I’m here?

A soft smile spread across your face at the prospect of that. The fact that Nolan wanted to make the best of this weird situation by exploring your hometown made you feel really great.

To: Patty Cakes

From: Small Fry

Yeah! I can do that! Will you tell me some places to visit here in return?

Nolan’s reply came almost immediately.

To: Small Fry

From: Patty Cakes

Of course, small fry.

The first place Nolan sent you was his favourite skate park. When you got there, there were a few kids skating around and a few other people swinging on some swings in a little playground to the left of the skate park. You smiled as you watched the kids playing and having fun. When one of the swings became available, you quickly bolted for it to swing for yourself. You had always enjoyed swinging when you were younger. It was calming to you and helped relieve stress. There was something about the constant back and forth motion that you found soothing and relaxing. Swinging today was helping relieve the anxiousness of being in a strange city without Nolan. When you were satisfied that you felt better, you stepped off the swing and made your way to the next location Nolan had suggested.

This location was the botanical garden. Nolan had said walking through the flowers was soothing and seeing them in full bloom was always a wonderful sight. As you walked through the garden, you decided that you agreed with him. The wide array of colours was breathtaking and the aromas and peacefulness of everything was incredibly calming on your psyche. You could drift into many a dream land here if you had the time. After taking a plethora of pictures of the flowers, you moved onto the next location on Nolan’s suggested list.

The next location was the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. You found the tour guide to be incredibly knowledgeable and helpful with every question that was asked of her. You left with none of your questions unanswered and much more knowledgeable than you were when you entered. If you had the chance, you would go back and you could guarantee you would learn new things the next time you went than you did this time.

The final location Nolan suggested was something called The Forks. He explained it as something similar to a mall but not quite a mall at the same time. You found the description incredibly confusing but it made a little more sense when you actually got to there. It was complex of shopping outlets and dining establishments that looked like they were housed in historical buildings. Nolan told you to go wild and go to whichever shopping outlets and dining establishments that looked interesting to you. You took that to heart and by the time you were done shopping and eating you had accumulated a brand new outfit and three pairs of shoes. You had also eaten a hamburger and ice cream from a diner-type establishment in the back corner of the complex. All in all, you had a blast and would totally come here again—hopefully with Nolan next time.

When you got back to the hotel, you text Nolan to let him know that you had a blast going to all of the locations he had suggested. It took a few minutes but Nolan did text you back.

To: Small Fry

From: Patty Cakes

I’m glad, small fry! I had fun at the locations you suggested too.

You went to reply but Nolan texted you again.

To: Small Fry

From: Patty Cakes

Can I suggest one more location though? It’ll be quick because I know you’re probably exhausted and just want to relax.

To: Patty Cakes

From: Small Fry

Sure. One more is fine, Patty. Where am I headed?

To: Small Fry

From: Patty Cakes

FortWhyte Alive. It’s a wildlife area. My sister, Aimee, is gonna meet you there.

You sent a quick confirmation text before trudging out of your hotel room and down to wait for an Uber.

When you arrived at FortWhyte, you noticed a young woman standing by the park entrance. She was holding a sign and what appeared to be an iPad. When she saw you get out of the Uber, she waved you over. You walked hesitantly over to her. You eased a little bit when you noticed that she looked strikingly like Nolan.

“You must be Aimee,” you said, smiling.

“Yes,” she smiled back, placing the iPad on a nearby picnic table and propping it up with a kickstand. “You must be (Y/N), Nolan’s partner.”

“That would be me.”

“Perfect,” Aimee said, pressing a few times on the iPad.

You blinked when Nolan’s face popped up on the screen.

“Hi, small fry,” Nolan said, waving at you. “How’re you?”

“Fine,” you replied, waving back. “It just sucks that we aren’t here together.”

Nolan hummed, pointing to the sign Aimee was holding. You had failed to notice if anything was written on it, having been too focused on the iPad. When you did read it, you felt your mouth go dry as your eyes flicked between the sign and Nolan on the iPad screen.

“Nolan...” you trailed off, running a hand through your hair.

“What does it say, small fry?” Nolan coaxed, biting his lip.

You bit your own lip, heaving a shaky sigh. Aimee looked at you encouragingly, a small smile on her face.

“’Will you marry me, (Y/N)?’” You said, feeling tears prickling the corners of your eyes.

“Well? What do you say?”

You nodded, looking at Nolan as the tears fell down your cheeks. “Yes. God, yes.”

Aimee put the sign on the picnic table and reached into her pocket. When her hand came out, she was holding a ring box. She handed it to you and squeezed your shoulder. You smiled at her as you opened the box. You gasped as you looked between the ring and Nolan. It was nothing special but it was exactly the ring you had been looking at the last time you had been in a jewellery store. You felt the tears fall harder as you slipped the ring on your finger. You handed Aimee the ring box as you showed Nolan the ring on your finger.

“It’s gorgeous, Nolan,” you said, wiping the tears away with your other hand.

“I’m glad you like it,” Nolan said, smiling widely.

Aimee squeezed your shoulder. “Congratulations, you two.”

You smiled at her before looking back at Nolan and seeing the giant grin on his face. You felt butterflies swooping in your stomach and your heartbeat quickening. You had never felt so loved in your entire life.

“I love you, Nolan,” you blurted.

“I love you, too,” Nolan replied without missing a beat.

Today had been the weirdest day of your life but Nolan had proved that weird didn’t always mean bad. What you had thought to yourself earlier in the day definitely rang true now.

You two were meant for each other.

[shinxeysartgallery]

What’s ur opinion of fma 03

Well, I might as well do a full opinion piece, eh? I've seen the entirety of FMA '03 (including CoS and the OVAs), and I honestly didn't really care for it that much overall. I can't really say it was bad or anything like that, though. There were things about it that I honestly hated, but stuff about it that I liked, too. I'll go through them both here under the cut. (Spoilers for likely both animes and the manga.) Also, this is gonna be a bit long, so brace yourself. And before I begin, I just want to say that this is my own personal opinion and isn't meant to hate on '03 nor its fans.

I think the main thing I disliked about FMA '03 was how it seemed to focus way too much on drama at times and it made the story kinda drag, imo. I'm not saying that having drama is bad at all, but there were several points when I was watching the show where I just got bored because literally nothing was happening other than characters talking. It was enough that it made the pacing feel really off, imo, especially around the 5th Lab arc. On the contrary, the first two episodes in particular seemed really rushed to me. The ending was the next part I didn't like. Whether you count the 52nd episode or CoS as the series finale, it just honestly wasn't a satisfying ending. There were still loose ends that were never tied up or acknowledged, and it just wasn't really a good ending overall (not necessarily a bad one, but not a good one, either). CoS was also like a fever dream, I swear.

Other than those two main things, the rest are tiny gripes, mainly about changes.

-The fact that the Gate is tied to the real world and the entire plotline surrounding that was really weird. That whole plotline is part of what made the ending so crappy to me, tbh. I think removing that part from the plot would seriously improve the overall story.

-The Homunculi's origins. Granted, the storyline surrounding that was done well, I just honestly wasn't a big fan. I do much prefer their origin story in FMAB/the manga. Despite their story being done pretty well, there were still some holes that were left unanswered by the end. One in particular being that Envy mentioned that Lust was the "new Lust", and that was brought up several more times within the show. I believe it was mentioned with Sloth and Wrath, too. So that brings the question: What happened to the old Lust? The old Sloth? The old Wrath? Also, since in this version, they're created when someone attempts human transmutation and then fed red stones and they're all named after the Seven Deadly Sins (relating to the sin of their maker), what happens if eight people attempt it? What happens to that eighth Homunculus? When Scar's brother made Lust, did Dante go and kill the old Lust to have room for the new one? You never do see the old one or get mention outside of them existing at some point, so is it possible there's two Lusts, and if so, where IS the old Lust? Well, we'll never know, because that was never answered! :D

Also in regards to their origins, most of them have an origin story; Wrath was Izumi's baby, Sloth was Ed and Al's mom, etc. But what about Pride and Gluttony? We know Dante created them, but who were they? Where did they come from? Why did Dante "revive" those two? How is Pride able to age, while the others can't? At least FMAB/the manga gave an explanation for that because FMA '03 sure didn't.

-Also the fate of some of the characters/alternate characterizations. Most notably, what happened with Shou Tucker. And my god, some of the changed character designs were UGLY, ngl. I get that they changed the art style and coloring a bit because of budget (or at least that's what I've been told), but man... Like Dolcetto, for example. I love the guy, but my god, his '03 design is ugly. What did they do to my poor boy? :(

-And finally, sometimes the soundtrack seemed to drown out the voices, and that got kinda annoying. But that's minor.

Well, this wouldn't be a full opinion if I didn't also talk about what I liked about the show, now would it?

-For starters, I REALLY loved Lust's character arc. The mystery of her origins? The questioning of humanity? The eventual betrayal of Dante? Chef's kiss Beautiful. I actually prefer this characterization to her canon one, ngl.

-On the subject of the Homunculi, I also really loved this version of Sloth and Wrath. They were cool. And this version of Sloth is more interesting than the canon Sloth, ngl

-I like several of the other '03-exclusive characters, too, but especially the Tringham brothers. They're precious... <3

-I also like how Martel got to do more in this version. I wish the same could be said for the other chimera, but I'll take what I can get. lmao

Also I know I said I hated a lot of the altered character designs, but I actually kinda prefer Martel's '03 design. IDK I just think the pink tattoo especially suits her more than the green.

-I also really loved the dynamic between Mustang's group. Not sure which version I like more, tbh, they're both great.

-While bits of it are kinda shaky in places, I do think that '03 adapts the beginning better than FMAB in several cases, most notably, the Dublith arc minus the second half of Greed’s arc (ESPECIALLY the part about Ed and Al's time on the island). It actually includes the train and Youswell episodes, too, so that's awesome (still dunno why FMAB cut those, especially considering the important context of the latter, but whatever). Granted, other things, like the 5th Lab arc, I think FMAB did better, but it didn't do EVERYTHING better.

-The overall soundtrack is awesome!

Overall, I still think FMAB is the better anime, but they both have their flaws. After all, we know the manga is the best version! Still, though, I don't think the original anime should be ignored because there are some good things that you miss out on by not seeing it. Who knows? You might decide you like the OG anime more. And if you do, that's awesome.

[bxllafanficc]

¡Skate/sing your hearts out! (Yuri Plisetsky x reader)

(part four)

Part one. Part two. Part three. Part five. Masterlist

Summary:After last year's cancellation of Figure Skating Grand Prix, Yuri Plisetsky finds himself unable to bring out his inner skater after a year of doing nothing but enjoy life like a regular teenager. That's when you enter the picture; We Are Voice Grand Awards's currently hottest competitive vocalist come first place two years in a row. Just like the other competitors of Grand Prix, it turns out that Victor and Yuuri faces the same issue. With an arrangement between Victor and Yakov, they agree to travel to Japan and hire you as a mutual coach for Yuri and Yuuri to help bring back the emotion into their performances like before, maybe even more intense than ever. Yuri however, who's never experienced issues with his coaches before, for some reason finds this one particularly difficult to coexist along with in their (reasonably) odd partnership. Warnings: none

*Your POV*

Your eyes scanned through the fully stocked room that came to be yours a couple of days ago. Fairly large and a great window where the sun came to welcome you each morning. Not even the blinds could stop it. Now it was fairly dark inside since the sun was about to go down. You reached for the light switch and scanned through all your products and belongings for things that you could possibly move somewhere else.

The grunt of the Russian skater behind you caused you to turn around. As you did, he stopped and returned your stare, as if waiting for you to announce something. There was a lot that you needed to clean up. If you had known that you'd be expecting a roommate, you'd already have done so. Guess Victor forgot to mention that too, eh?

The visible twitch in the corner of your left eye was impossible to force back. Just at the mere thought of unintentional (?) screwups of the one and only Victor Nikiforov. Now, just because he was your childhood friend, it didn't mean that he wouldn't receive a massive ass-whooping if he as much as repeated the same mistake three times the same day now the few remaining hours of the day. If only you could get that message through.

And, you kind of did. Just not to the man you intended. Yuri at the receiving end of your stare was just about to open his mouth to say something, what you assume, sour when he noticed the twitching of your eye. Surprisingly, it shut him up before he started. He kind of shielded himself behind one of his bags and eyed you carefully.

Shit, wrong Russian dude.

"Sorry, that was meant for Victor." You let out a sigh and helped him with one of his bags out in the hall. You got a simple nod from the boy just before you passed him in the doorway.

He's been acting all quiet and confused ever since you tended to his wounds. Was something you said unclear? Maybe you should make sure the two of you were on the same page. 'Later...' you thought.

Yuuri and Victor hurried to the entrance of your room with a couple of more bags.

"So what do you think about it, Yuri? Pretty special eh?" It was Yuuri who spoke up, probably just as an act of friendliness. Though, you could understand how a punk like Yuri might take it as teasing.

"I'm not staying here. There's- there is no way I'm sharing a room with another person. I should have my own room. Why can't Victor and (Y/n) share a room and I get my own?!"

Ah, there he is. You were starting to get worried that he might actually turn nice. Then you'd have to call an ambulance just to ease Yakov's mind if he ever found out.

"With that thief? Nuh-uh. He already owes me an entire bottle of lotion, a mascara and a lipgloss. And for some reason, my throwaway razors are gone too. I'm not endangering any more of my stuff to him!" You shot a glare at Victor but he intentionally pretended not to hear nor see you. Seriously?

"Just lock them up or something, I don't care. Maybe I should just sleep on the couch. Give me one reason why it's worth sharing this room with you."

You didn't really know why you felt so opposed to the thought of him sleeping on the couch. You should be relived that you wouldn't have to share room with The Russian punk. But you still mumbled the one sentence after taking a brief moment to carefully word out your reason.

"What did you say?"

"... I have a cat."

The silence following almost made you feel like the scene of these weird soap operas that streamed on tv once in a while. But you did have a cat. A beautiful sacred Birman with the eyes of an ocean. And you knew about Yuri's fascination with them. Victor mentioned it somewhere along the lines when discussing his arrival days ago. And if you had to give him one reason, then that would be the one. It's probably the only reason too.

"Where." It wasn't a question. It almost made you giggle but you kept a straight face. Victor who knew the reason behind your words, almost cracked under the pressure.

"He's probable sleeping under the blanket on my bed, as always-"

Yuri pushed Victor aside with a stern 'move' and headed for your bed. A little anxious, you followed him through the entrance, afraid that he would be like one of those crazy catpeople who never stopped bothering their cat. You worried because you were one of those people. But because your cat was rather clingy too and you always had a bunch of stuff to do daytime, it kind of evened out the contrast. Two crazy people were too much, you figured.

"Well, we'll go off now and let you two bond now. Don't forget that we're having afternoon tea in an hour!" And with that, Victor and Yuuri was out of the picture. For awhile.

A round uneven pile under you blanket made Yuri stop at the end of the bed. You stood beside him as he lifted the blanket, revealing the fuzzy ball that was your cat. Round eyes stared up at the both at you and the cat stretched it's back, making a 'u' position.

"His name is Magnolia. You'll have to apologize to him for interrupting his sleepy time though." You half expected Yuri to scoff at your statement, thinking you were taking the animal too seriously. But the baby voice he used to communicate with Magnolia next almost had you taking a step back.

"Hi, Magnolia... 'm sorry, pretty boy. You'll have to forgive me, I'm afraid." He kept on talking to the sleepy cat as he extended a hand for him to smell. Magnolia yawned and gave the hand a sniff before sitting up, eyes intensely staring into the boy's soul. You could tell by the hesitation of Yuri's petting hand that he really wanted the cat's approval. He cat kept staring him straight in the eyes which usually means bad. Though, the purring heard from his belly said the opposite. You finally relaxed a little. Magnolia is very picky with who gets to touch him and you were expecting a bite, honestly.

"He's always been so stare-y... I've figured that he only stare at people he like or something he finds very interesting." You crouched down beside Yuri and rested with your arms at the bedside.

"Like owner, like cat, I guess then. I feel like he has the exact same piercing gaze you gave me earlier." Yuri grinned smugly at you and turned back his attention to the ball of fur who stood up, stroking its back to your chin. A little heat rose to your cheeks and you hoped Magnolia covered it up well enough with his body. It was kind of true. And you couldn't really deny it. You always did watch things a little to intense. But just because you found people very interesting, always seeking to improve your understanding and emotional range at any given time. So you shrugged your shoulders and coughed a little when the cat made sure to get his butt all up in your face too. This habit, you had noticed, was a trait almost every cat held within them.

"You're going to object or what?" Yuri caught your attention again and Magnolia moved away from your face just in time. So he was expecting some kind of denial.

"You're not wrong... You've just got the wrong idea of it."

"What do you mean?"

"You should probably start getting yourself settled here. We only have one hour."

"You didn't answer me." Yuri's remark left unanswered as well as you stood up and threw a bag at him. A light 'oof' slipped through him as the heavy thing hit him right in the stomach.

"Hey!"

You grinned and opened another bag, pouring the internal onto the floor. Tons of clothes splattered on the floor. Everything in-between black training clothes to underwear and a pajamas with cat prints. A keychain with a chibi cat and a stuffed animal of a tiger fell out on the floor lastly on top of the pile. Yuri quickly made his way to the clothes and gathered them in his arms, trying to hide them away. It was worth taking an extra look at the blush staining his cheeks. You wondered if you'd just met a fellow catmerch fan as instense as you. No, this was far crazier than you! Especially as you recognized the keychain being a print of his own cat that you'd seen on a social media Yuri Plisetsky fanpage once.

"Y-you can't touch my stuff! Nor see it!" His voice was a good blend of anger and a thick stain of embarrassment.

Maybe it wasn't ideal poring someone else's belongings onto the floor. But you knew that look that Yuri bearded only moments ago. The cat had taken him as his loyal servant and Yuri wasn't intending to move until he had satisfied Magnolia's every need. If you let that happen, it would take the entire hour you had to clean up the room. And you clearly didn't have that time.

"Just hurry up and help me then if I'm not allowed to touch it!"

"Fine! And move your stupid clothes and stuff over to your half of the room!"

(A/N: Shoutout to my cat who gave me the entire butt-in-face idea through experience. I really owe you one, you little jerk<3 Also, what have you thought of the story so far? I bet you Victor has planned a familiar exercise for tomorrow's day of training. Just a little helping hand to get Yuri back into shape, y'know;))

[darkmindsotome]

Sun and Secrets

Fandom: Love365 Masquerade Kiss  

Pairing: Kei Soejima x MC

Word count: 3,448

Warning: NSFW Smut

Written by: darkmindsotome

Tagging @voltage-vixen as requested. Prompt #2 and 3: Applying sunscreen and Untying a bikini top.

Darkmindsotome Masterlist

---

Sun and Secrets

One of the best things about having a boyfriend who is friends with someone that owns resorts is the fantastic locations that suddenly become available for you to take last-minute vacations in. It was also one of the drawbacks as The Resort King has a penchant for asking for payment in strange ways.

Sighing to myself I look at the small camera Kazuomi had pushed into my hands after I asked him to help with suggesting somewhere to take Kei. It filled me with a nostalgic sensation as his voice in my head told me that he would help on the condition I be sure to take lots of pictures for him.

I really didn’t know how to respond to that as it felt one step too far into the whole voyeuristic scene than I was comfortable with and I knew full well my boyfriend would be against our time together being exposed, even if it was by one of his best friends.  

“We are on vacation and you are already sighing like that?” A cute English accent came from behind me. I swear this guy materialises out of thin air sometimes. Casually dropping the camera back into my suitcase, I turned to see Kei looking at me. His face was a mask of concern but I didn’t miss the playfulness in his eyes. “We came all the way here, have a whole island to ourselves and you are still not happy.”

He shook his head in mock exasperation. His soft blonde hair rippled in the breeze from the open doors that had an unprecedented view of pure white sand and impossibly blue sea. The questions remained in my mind, how long had he been standing there and how much has he actually seen?

“I am happy, I am here with you after all I wasn’t sighing because I was upset.” I replied masking how startled he had made me.

Ever since we first met this man had proved he was observant, calculating and able to predict with accuracy what was on my mind. It made my job more of a challenge than I had ever experienced before and being his girlfriend now instead of the agent sent to spy on him didn’t change the game between us much. Our jobs still meant we had secrets from each other, but it was still unnerving how few I could keep from Kei.

“Oh? You know how I feel about lies.” He came close enough to me to hook one finger under my chin tilting my head so our eyes were locked.

His crystalline gaze had a bottomless depth that easily held me in place. Elegant alabaster fingers traced the contours of my body, his touch was so slight it sent goosebumps over my skin. His perfectly crafted movements led his free hand to my neck where it rested as my pulse grew louder in my ears with the exacting pressure of his grip.

My eyes fluttered shut with the familiar chill that was him. Even in a tropical climate, he maintained his own low body temperature, it really was like he lived in a bubble of his own protected atmosphere.

He traced the artery in my neck with a single finger, giving the choker he had given me a small tug. My heart jumped as I instinctively reacted to his every move. What I once found to be suffocating had become comforting, his particular slow poison had truly infected my system.

“… Kei.” His name comes out as a breathless whisper on my lips.

“Look at me.” Opening my eyes as commanded, his sweet exotic scent that was like religious incense filled my senses. Those amber glass eyes reflected only me as they drew closer and his lips connected with mine.

“Mhm!”

It was a kiss designed to silence me. One meant to remove all thoughts and ideas, turning my mind into a blissfully blank slate that could only be coloured by him. He wanted my full attention, commanded I gave it. In return I reciprocated his kiss, giving in to his desire with a silent prayer that this wouldn’t end. As it turns out it was a prayer that was to go unanswered after he removed himself from me drawing back slowly. He left just enough of a gap between us that I could still feel him without either of us actually touching. He was a masterful tease.

“Did you find your swimsuit?”

“What?” My senses were returning to me and I only just partly caught that he was even talking to me. He didn’t miss a beat in breaking out in that knowing smile of his that told me he was thoroughly enjoying the look of euphoric fog that was probably causing me to have a funny expression on my face.

“That’s what you were coming in to find, wasn’t it? Or were you up to something? I know how sneaky you are.” He leant close just to whisper that last part. His breath ghosting over my nape as his lips brushing against my ear lobe turned my goosebumps into a widespread tinkle all over my body. As turned on as I was, I was also more than aware of what would happen if he looked in the bag on the bed.

“No! I was just looking for it.” Before he could get a better look, I called on my experience as a spy and put on a performance of coltishness. I was banking on it helping to get him to give up looking for clues that would satisfy his own curiosity.

“Alright I’ll leave you to get changed then I was just making some iced tea anyway.” Kei shrugged and left the room. I breathed a sigh of relief aware that I still couldn’t really let my guard down as he seemed to have given up far too quickly. 

Truth be told I had considered going with a one-piece that had a pattern exposing sections of skin and then discovered this cute bikini and given up on it. Kei always gave me dresses that were of course his preferred colour, black. They all, however, followed a very feminine and classically vintage pattern.

Running my fingers over the fabric of the bikini top, the black ruffles caught my fingers as I adjusted the strings and tied them behind my back and neck creating the halter top. The same ruffle design was on the bikini bottoms and I tied the strings in bows on my hips completing the look.

I marvelled at how well the simple design hugged my curves. It was one thing trying it on in a store and another thing to wear it on a trip. I left my sarong draped over the edge of the bed deciding against wearing it and checked my reflection in the mirror one last time hoping Kei would love this style as much as I did. *

Kei was lounging on one of the chairs outside when I found him. The shadow of the palm leaf umbrella casting shadows over him. He was wearing a pair of shorts with an open shirt and had a book in hand quietly reading. When he noticed my arrival, he placed it down next to him and gave me a heated stare.

“I thought you would have gone for a one-piece.” Kei said leaning back even more into the shadows. It was at times like this his Princely mask slipped allowing me to catch a glimpse of that Devil inside.

“You not like this? I thought it was cute.” I pretended not to notice, evading his charms by giving a small twirl on the spot.

“It is and very exposed. Come here I’ll help you put some of this on.” Kei reached out for a bottle of sunscreen he had placed next to the jug of iced tea on the small table by the chair. Standing up he held out his hand as if he were asking for a dance, my traitorous heart still fluttered every time he did that.

“Thank you.” Having no reason to refuse I placed my hand in his allowing myself to be guided by him to the chair.

As I sat down, he brought my hand to his mouth and set gentle kisses across my fingers all the while his upturned eyes never left me. I was caught between the icy chill of his touch and the lingering warmth of his body still present on the chair beneath me.

“Now then.” He hummed with pleasure, pulling my hand towards him as he placed his other arm over my shoulder.

As Kei brought his body slowly closer my own naturally tilted flat against the chair. Every reflex I had as an agent should have been telling me this was wrong, but when it was Kei his particular brand of dominance was more a declaration of how things were meant to be rather than a show of imposing force.

There was always a way out, an escape from his clutches. He did, however, have this way of making you feel like this was where he had always been. It lulled you into an inability to do anything but simply follow his orders. It was something I had come to crave about this man. He hovered over me unmoving, pinning me beneath him easily with no effort at all.

He popped the cap on the bottle in his hands and cold white cream dripped against my flushed skin. His hand began moving in circles against my stomach as he rubbed it in, spreading it with the same polite dedication he showed when removing my stockings.

“Er… Kei?” When he said he was going to help this was not what I thought at all. My question met a blank look of complete indifference as he responded to me.

“Mhm?”

“I can do that part myself.” I lightly protested.

Watching him as he silently tended to me made me feel shameful as if I were witnessing something completely innocent and I was the only one to have such lustful thoughts. Knowing Kei as I do now, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to discover that all of my inner turmoil was part of his devilish plan.

“You wish to take away one of my privileges as your boyfriend? How cruel.” His hands slipped under the bottom of the bikini top his fingers brushing over my breasts causing me to moan and wriggle at his touch.

“Mmm…”

“Lay still for me.” He pinched my nipples in unison, my back arched from the chair. As he continued on his path of fondling and simultaneously coated me in SPF I found myself unable to move. His command was a weighty desire I wished to fulfil. “I simply cannot tolerate your beautiful skin becoming damaged. I’ll have to be sure to be very thorough.”

As I focused on the one hand still reaching up to cup my breast I became lost in his eyes now tinted dark with lust. His temperature was rising I could smell his sweet scent stronger now, sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh it was taking my senses from me. Covering them, coating them in his poison. I completely missed his other hand as it found itself poised at the apex of my thighs. The heel of his hand pressed and rubbed against the fabric and his fingers traced the outline of my entrance so close yet so far from the desired interaction and friction I wanted.

“Ahhhh…”

“Are you going to tell me now?” His honeyed voice was in my ear making me tremble more as he continued his attack.

“Tell you?” My question was met with him pinching my nipple and rolling it between his fingers. His hot breath was like fire as it scorched my neck where he sighed against it.

“Such a bad girl. Did you think I would forget? You have been harbouring thoughts of someone else haven’t you?” He retracted his hands from me causing me to let out a mewl in protest.

I knew this was something to do with earlier, I knew he had given up and left the bedroom to quickly for something not to be bugging him. His head was cast down and away from me, the mood from second ago became lost in the tropical wind. I sat up and moved closer to him, chasing him. My pulse picked up this time in a panic as I chased his hands with my own, desperate to get him to see whatever he was thinking had a reasonable explanation.

“Someone else? Kei I wouldn’t – AH!” I found myself pushed back down this time face first as my wrists we held over my head. I could feel his legs resting either side of my hips straddling me. For someone who typically didn’t take an interest in keeping fit, he was fast and agile. I could have thrown him off but I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to hurt him.

“I told you I don’t care for lies. Your body is so honest perhaps it would be quicker asking it.” His voice had taken on a gravelly tone. I knew he was fighting between his devil and himself right now. Even if he was slowly learning, it still hurt that he felt the need to hold back with me.

Still pinning my hands over my head he trailed kisses down my spine hitting every node of vertebrae as he went. I moved under him as he ground his hips into my ass revealing exactly how turned on he was.

“Mmm, Mhm… oh, God!”

“Well?” He persisted in his questioning. I swear sometimes he can be so god damned single-minded on things.

“I wasn’t thinking of someone else there’s only you.” I protested as his mouth latched on to the choker giving it a tug causing my breath to hitch at the sudden restriction on my throat.

“Really? So a certain interfering friend didn’t say something to you before we left?” I was all too aware of his lips as they trailed along the length of precious metal around my neck. I felt a faint tug at my hips and knew he had untied the bottom half of my bikini. The fresh air catching me and my arousal caused me to blush. What I didn’t notice was my top had also been liberated, until he began to wind it around my wrists.

“How did you? Oh jeez!” I cried out as he yanked on the restraints.

“You were huddled together talking so closely it was all I could do to stop myself pulling you apart.” This was Kei emotional. A man who showed none usually and even less self-awareness. This was the man I loved struggling with what he had never felt before. I felt myself shudder under him the pleasure of knowing I was trapped in his web. A slave to his desire to control, possess, dominate completely.

“He’s your friend. Kazuomi wouldn’t –” I writhed as he blew trails of air over my skin unwilling to touch me for the time being.

“You don’t know him like I do I wouldn’t let my guard down around him so much if I were you.” Kei’s voice was firm. He didn’t normally raise his voice so this display shocked me.

“I don’t think it’s him I need to worry about right now.”

“You still have the ability to talk back? I really can’t be doing my job properly.” A hand snaked up under my arm and settled on my neck, encouraging me to expose it to him as he attacked me with blistering kisses, peppering them along the side of it. As he inched his other hand between my legs over my hip, the hand at my throat moved. His fingers filling me up from both ends at once.  

“Mmph!”

“Tell me.” His voice sounded like a desperate plea as he worked his hands faster in different patterns expertly destroying me. “You’re my good girl, aren’t you? So… tell me.”

He pulled his fingers from my mouth the moist tips tracing their outline. I relented the information I had if for no other reason other than to try to free him from whatever images his imagination had conjured.

“He just wanted some holiday photos.”

“Oh? Shall I take some now?” His weight was still pressed over me like a blanket while the fingers that were inside me produced a familiar small camera. 

“What did you!?” My eyes blew wide with shock.

“It’s a stunning view. What do you say? Shall I snap a few pictures for him now?” Kei gave a dark chuckle playfully angling the camera in my direction. I felt completely exposed, more so with the lens pointed at me than I did laying in the open-air tied up beneath him.

“No!”

“No? Is that not what you had planned on doing anyway?” He was teasing me. He had to be. The refined English gentleman seemed a million miles away from the demon currently with me.

“No! I didn’t really want to. I don’t want him to see –” I moved my arms unable to loosen the tight bindings above me.

“What a coincidence because neither do I.” Kei tossed the small camera away towards the ocean before he began drawing patterns over my skin with his fingers. “Our time alone is our time. I truly hate it when another man is on your mind. First HIM and now my friend. Are you doing it on purpose to provoke me?”

“No! I told you there is only you. You are the only one on my mind Kei. When I’m not with you I’m always thinking of you.” I was relieved to finally be free of the burden of that little secret. 

I knew he would probably never forgive Boss for before, but I didn't want him to start worrying about his friends too. I should have said what had happened sooner, clearly, Kei is not the only one still learning to adjust to this relationship. My training as a self-sufficient elite agent would be harder to shift than I first thought.

“How much more are you planning on making me suffer?” Kei asks as if he were in pain. 

I tried to get a better look at him only to see him in the act of stripping away his own clothes. The sunlight glistened off of his gloriously white porcelain skin. The scars on his arms fell under the shadows cast by the umbrella above. In my temporary freedom while he removed his shorts I rolled on to my back. The sight of me still bound was reflected in Kei’s eyes as clearly as if they were mirrors.

Without waiting any longer he climbed back on top of me. His face buried into my heaving chest as he gave a few pumps to his own arousal with his own hand. He kissed and sucked on the skin between my breasts before bringing himself up and supplying a passionate biting kiss. As his tongue slipped past my lips he entered me, filling me up, finally joining us together.

*

I have no idea how long we spent making love. We alternated between a ferocious need to slow temptation and sensual desire. Our bodies rocking together in union finding our own harmony in chaos.

I felt blissfully happy and completely boneless like jelly afterwards. Kei was unwilling to let me leave and in a change of pace, that felt out of character, wrapped an arm around my shoulders locking me to his side on the chair.

“Did I go too hard on you?” He ran his hand through my hair. The soft sensation felt great after the pounding our bodies had just taken.

“No, I’m ok.” Turning my head I nuzzled into his palm, a move that brought a smile to his face. I really loved that look.

He had picked up his glass of iced tea that was now lacking in the ice department. I watched his tilted the glass and swallowed the chilled amber liquid. A faint smell of lemon from the tea mixed with our combined scent.

“Thirsty?” Kei enquired noticing my gaze on the glass. I nodded before I had a mind to do otherwise and saw the devilish smile of his a fraction too late. His lips covered mine and the refreshing tea that was in his mouth filled mine.

“Mhm…”

Something tells me this is going to be on hell of a vacation. Not that I was going to complain, as someone once told me the road to Paradise beings in Hell.

---

[bigpokico]

Heyo, could I pls request a make out session between reader and tobio but they just keep laughing and giggling cause they're just so in love??? Thank u so much, good luck!

I got,,,way too into this,,

Kageyama shielded his eyes from the sun while he watched you walk towards him, the bright setting light behind you creating quite the ethereal glow that surrounded you. The young man gave you a lazy, comfortable smile from his spot on the sandy floor of the beach.

“My, my, you look rather comfy,” you commented teasingly, prodding his side with your toe. Not saying anything in reply, Kageyama shifted his position to accommodate room for you on the large beach towel. You kneeled down and practically rolled into your spot next to him, causing Kageyama to give a quick chortle from watching the awkward movements.

It was days like these where Kageyama found himself surprisingly affectionate. Just the two of you, not one other person seen for miles, both of you wanting nothing more than to simply spend time with each other. A day that could not be made better in his book.

You both laid on your sides to face one another, bodies instinctively scooting closer and closer to shorten the space between you that felt a little too great. His arm reached over to wrap around your waist, as did yours in return, to his satisfaction. Your skin felt...warm. That was all he could describe it as, not only physically but also in describing the odd feeling that ran through his being everytime he seemed to touch you. It was a warm day, which he could really appreciate.

You noticed that your boyfriend had briefly zoned out, and so you decided to bring him back with a small, soft peck to the lips, a smile still accenting your face. His eyes snapped back into focus and you couldn’t help but to let out an amused giggle, finding it almost funny how often he could space out, even at the most random of moments. You gave him another kiss, to which he returned properly this time, “What were you thinking about?” Asking this, you thought you would get a simple answer, maybe even a shrug. Which is why you let out a short yelp of surprise when Kageyama very suddenly rolled himself on top of you, leaving you lying flat on your back as he hovered over you. One hand placed next to your head for support, the other hand cupping your cheek, Kageyama’s eyes crinkled blissfully as he stared down at you, himself getting to fully capture every detail of your heated face from the new angle.

You were about to ask what he was doing, but before you could even open your mouth to make a sound, your boyfriend found his lips on yours, causing you to produce a muffled noise of pleasant surprise against his mouth. Slowly, your lips began to move in a lazy rhythm against each other, your head now crooned upwards to meet his unpredicted affections. But before you could get too into the kiss, however, Kageyama pulled away from you for a brief moment to let you catch your breath. After a couple of seconds passed, you expected him to meet your lips once again, but it seemed his plan was to keep on surprising you today.

Instead of picking up the kiss from where it left off, Kageyama shocked you by starting to place light, peppered kisses all along your face; your cheeks, your forehead, your lips, your nose, everywhere. Not only was the act itself extremely surprising to you, but the sensation was terribly ticklish. Your hands pushed against his chest half heartedly, and in between loud laughter and loud gasps, you managed to ask, “What is with you today?” A question left unanswered. The words were meant to be stern and chiding, but as you spoke between elated giggles at this energetic affection from the usually restricted athlete, you were not being too convincing. After a few more seconds had passed, Kageyama finally ceased in his flippant kissing.

“What,” you began, breathless from the previous fits of laughter, both of your hands still pressed to his chest, but now remaining there solely for the contact of his heated skin, “was that all about?”

Kageyama’s hand left your cheek to run itself up and down your side soothingly, an old habit of his. “Just felt like surprising you,” he answered matter of factly, his signature cheeky smirk revealing itself in place of the satisfied smile he once wore. You put on a pout to feign irritation, but the act was entirely half hearted as your right hand reached up to run itself through his hair, gently tugging on his earlobe as your form of payback. Without warning the boy above, you sat yourself upwards, which pushed Kageyama to sit on his behind, your pairs of legs intertwined with each other as you now practically sat on his lap. Thankfully, the towel the pair of you laid on was large enough to accomodate this much movement, otherwise you would have found sand in the most unfortunate of places for weeks on end.

This time, with you on top, your arms wrapped around his neck to pull him in closer for once again, another kiss. You grinned against his lips, head tilting slightly to gain whatever more contact you could manage. His hands found themselves resting on your hips, rubbing back and forth slowly against your lower back in comforting motions. Not wanting to pull away yet, you inhaled through your nose. His smell was a mixture of the crisp ocean and his sweat, and you found yourself adoring it. A thought creeped up in the back of your mind which caused a blush to spread onto your face ever so mildly out of embarrassment for having a notion so cheesy. You wished that you would remember this moment for as long as you lived. The smell of him. The way his skin against yours warmed you up in the purest of ways. The way he couldn’t get enough of you, just as you couldn’t get enough of him. All of it. If you could relive this moment with him on loop for eternity, you were positive you’d be completely fine with that.

Kageyama could tell that your mind was traveling, and so he lightly pinched you in the side. You pulled away from him quickly and gave a small, startled yelp. It hadn’t enough force to hurt, but just enough to surely catch you off guard. “How are you going to be making out with me and zone out? I’m offended,” he commented, you knowing he wasn’t anywhere near serious. You threw your head back and gave out a full laugh, one contagious enough that he started to chuckle as well. With a light hit to his chest, you clicked your tongue, “Well, do you wanna know what I was thinking about?”

The boy beneath you nodded, his fingers lazily tracing circles into your lower back. Before responding, you leaned forward and pressed your forehead to his, an action so simple yet so intimate it cued a blush to spread across his own face now. “I was thinking about you. You and me, here like this forever. Well, to me, it doesn’t sound too bad,” you said to him quietly, voice barely above a whisper.

For the first time today, Kageyama truly didn’t know how to respond. Your words had his heart pounding away beneath his chest, blood rushing all the way up to his ears. Your eyes caught his sudden bashfulness and you giggled knowingly once again, placing a peck to his lips for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. “I love you, Tobio.”

…

The two of you stayed like that until the sun fully set, the temperature of the night air beginning to grow uncomfortably cold. Holding hands, the two of you now walked along the shore on your journey towards the city, moving mostly in a comfortable silence. Your attention was caught, however, when Kageyama called your name. You looked over and your eyebrow quirked upwards in curiosity as you noticed his strange demeanor. Before even speaking, he seemed already flustered, the end of his nose and the tips of his ears visibly red, despite it being so dark. “Earlier,” he started, his voice not much louder than a mumble, “you asked what I was thinking about.” To his comment, you simply nodded, silently urging him to continue. That’s when he stopped walking, turning so he could look at you head on while he spoke. His grip on your hand grew tighter, giving your wrist small, self-encouraging squeezes. “Well, I was just thinking to myself...how I know I’m ready for this, for you. Forever.”

His words were ambiguous, and yet you knew exactly what he meant. You gave him a knowing nod and smiled calmly. Without saying a word, you brought the hand you held up to your lips and pressed a slow, fragile kiss to his knuckles, a gesture shockingly intimate on both of your ends. After moments of calm, relaxed silence shared between you two, the walk home continued on, with you walking ever so slightly closer to him than before. It was a cold night, as most beach nights were with the wind definitely not helping matters.

And yet, at that moment, the only sensation you could feel was warmth. With Kageyama at your side, you were warm.

[kmindset]

Grief & Hybrids: Three

❧ synopsis. Ready to begin healing from the death of your boyfriend, you become a volunteer at the local hybrid home. When you catch the attention of seven hybrids you begin to open your heart again. But are you ready to move on?

⁣❧ pairing. hybrid!ot7 x reader

❧ word count. 1.5k

⁣❧ warnings.  Mentions of traumatic event, Sexual Language, Strong Language, mentions of death

    ⁣⁣    𝒶𝑜𝟥    ❦    𝓀𝓂 ���𝒾𝓇𝑒𝒸𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎   ❦    𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝑜𝓃

Sorry it’s short but I wanted to release something as it has been a while Reposting with the new format.

Problem number one: Your car is a five-seater.

Instead of speaking to the curious hybrids, the main priority is finding someone to help bring them home.

“Barbara!” You catch her organizing the large stack of leftover pamphlets. “I have a dilemma. Could you help me? My car isn’t big enough for all of them.”

“I didn’t drive today but my son is coming to take me home. He probably won’t mind helping out.”

You gave a grateful nod and went to speak with another volunteer.

“This isn’t going to end well.”

“Having a home is good enough for me.”

“She can barely look at us.”

“Roof over our heads.”

“She must hate us.”

“No smoke inhalation.”

“Whatever.”

You didn’t have any words. There were many things you know you should have said but instead, you depended on the radio to fill in the silence. The ten-minute ride wasn’t too bad though. The three most familiar were quick to jump in your car, a tall doe-eyed boy being dragged along by Taehyung. The feline from Alana’s bed, Yoongi, didn’t seem like he wanted to talk. The three in the back however only lasted about two minutes before whispering excitedly to each other. You made eye contact with them a few times through the rearview mirror.

“They’re going to be a handful,” Yoongi muttered with a chuckle, his gaze never leaving the window. You were sure only you heard him as the three were in their own world.

You believed Yoongi. And there were still three others.

Once you reached the house, the demeanor of the three shifted back to tense and unsure.

“My goodness _______!” Barbara was staring in awe at your home. Her son and the others were behind her.

“I didn’t expect any of this so it may be a little messy. Follow me.” You led everyone into the house. The spacious front room was basically untouched. The large tv was dusty. The fruit on the table would have surely been rotten if it wasn’t wax. Completely untouched. Most of the time you were curled up in bed jumping between every streaming service. The TV in your bedroom was probably the main thing your electric bill was spent on these days.

“Since you’re here you could follow me while I give them the tour. You would be the one doing most inspections anyway right?”

From the way she appeared to be in love with your home, it didn’t take much to convince her. You led everyone down the stairs. A large area in the middle was lined with doors.

“The one straight ahead is my room. The others are free for you all to claim.  Every room has an en suite bathroom. The hall to the left leads to the library. There is also an entrance from the upstairs as it is two stories. The hall to the right leads to the theater and game rooms .” Everyone was shocked even the ones that hadn’t spoken. The tour continued with the upstairs. Your office, the kitchen, the living room, and the top library entrance.

“My word! This is wonderful. I was curious as to how you would fit all eight of you if your car couldn’t but this is more than enough.”

You shifted on your feet. “I suppose it is a good reason to upgrade to a van.”

“You may need a church bus darling.” she joked. You chuckled some as she and her son began walking to the door. You gave multiple thanks for helping you out before finally being left with the men again. This time was much different though.

“I CALL THE ROOM NEXT TO HER!” Taehyung blurted. Your face turned red.

“I CALL THE ROOM WITH TAE!” Jimin yelled next before the two took off.

“Hey stop running!” The one with brown hair yelled as he chased behind them. The broad shoulder one followed close behind as well as the one with the sunny smile.

“I’m assuming the gravity of your decision is now hitting you.” You jumped as you hadn’t realized Yoongi was still there. He walked away behind the rest before you could respond. “I call the room on the other side of you.”

Again your cheeks burned with a sort of embarrassed tinge.

It was finally settled. Jimin, Taehyung, and the koala, Jungkook, who are the maknaes you found out, would room together. Yoongi and Hoseok, then Jin and Namjoon.

There was an extra room but no bed yet. Depending on how the arrangement worked out you would invest in more furniture. That thought made you stop. That was a long term plan. Were you planning on letting them stay?

It was too early for even a second of that thought. Luckily the hybrids that were excitedly exploring outside your bedroom door brought your thoughts back to the present. The sounds of feet going back and forth made you wonder what they were up to. A quick glance at the clock which showed 1:50 am brought the day’s fatigue down all at once. Before you knew it, you were engulfed in something familiar. Your theatre. You were standing in front of the door, the smell of smoke becoming almost insufferable.

“D-Darling? Darling, what is that smell?”

Flinging the door open, the smell hits you almost as hard as the flames burning angry orange before your eyes. The sound of his puppy-like cries urge you forward. The fire grows looking like skyscrapers of flames.

“Where are you?? Darling?”

A broken cry of your name startles you. The iron-like grip of hand stopping your movement and the dream at once.

You shoot up. For a moment not registering the soft sheets you are tangled in or the sweat from every part of your body. Nor the hybrid pulling you close at the sound of your horrified breaths.

The familiar feel of comforting licks startles you right off the bed. “It’s only a dream. It’s only a dream. Please-” Your hushed and scared whispers cease as gentle hands grab your wrists.

Eyes watering, you look at the person in front of you. It is not him but only

“-Jimin. R-Remember?” The empathetic eyes looking back at you remind you of the present. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I couldn’t sleep but I could hear you from the other room. It sounded like you were having a nightmare. I-I just wanted to make you feel bett-”

Before he could finish, you were scrambling to your feet. “It’s alright Jimin.”

You quickly left the room. Unsure of where you were going, it was no surprise to find yourself heading toward the kitchen. Almost at the archway, you paused. One more careful step you were in the room you used to spend large amounts of time in. Something stopped you again.

A figure snacking in the dark. This was no moment for socializing.

But his ears perked up and he called your name.

“I was too hungry to wait until morning but too shy to come ask.” He chuckled. The inquisitive look on your face must have shown more than you wanted to as he spoke again. “Seokjin. Or just Jin.”

You attempted to sputter something like an excuse but he only chuckled again. “ It’s fine. We’ve never spoken so I can understand you not remembering. It’s a shame though, my face should elicit a better reaction.” A shameless grin was on his full lips as he took another bite of the leftover chicken. After a moment of silence, he pats the seat next to him.

Reluctantly, you take a seat. No words come to mind so you take to examining the profile of your new tenant.

“Alpaca and fox.”

“Huh?”

“Double hybrid. Alpaca and Red Fox. Twice as special and three times as handsome.” He picked up a wing and took a big bite making a satisfied noise. “Wow, I’ve never had chicken this good.”

The unintentional praise turns your cheeks pink.

“The food at home is ok but nothing like this. Well, there was one day a few weeks back but-”

“Would you like any tteokbokki?”

His perked up. You took that positively.

A few minutes later, a small thing of microwave tteokbokki is already being devoured by his eyes.

“Go ahead.” you encourage.

He digs in with no more hesitation.

Between the food, he manages a good look at you. He could smell the uncertainty and hint of fear before you even sat down. Like Jimin, he heard your distress but was less comfortable in entering your room. The scent coming from you was much calmer. He was even pleased to see a tiny smile on your face. He was curious about you. The surprisingly good* food in your fridge, the surprise gesture that allowed them a home, no matter how temporary, and especially the trauma he always noticed behind your eyes. Even in the shelter, passing you while offering a friendly smile, he could see it. Something about hybrids makes an unmistakable pain wash over you in contrast to the slight pride he could sense at that moment. It was apparent and heartbreaking.

But right now was nice. He stayed quiet.

He could handle unanswered questions if you continued smiling.

[bluesfortheredj]

The Sweet Escape Chapter 5.

Wed 21st June

You wake up with a fuzzy head after not getting a lot of sleep the night before and memories of what happened yesterday soon come flooding back; the good, the great, and the downright awful way the day ended. Your head was still spinning from everything that had happened and it was making you feel so sick you thought you were about to throw up any second. Gwilym had video called his fiancée last night, you’d heard snippets through the wall, but you’d put your headphones on for a couple of hours so that you could block it all out and let him get on with it in private. It wasn’t for you to hear, she needed to hear what he had to say, not you. You felt cheated once again thanks to him not being honest with you, and it was the worst feeling in the world after finally letting him in to your life.

You should have stuck to your guns.

You should have kept pushing him away.

You should have known better after everything that had happened.

When you swing your legs out of bed and begrudgingly get out from underneath the warm covers, you spot a folded white sheet of paper that’s been pushed underneath your door, and you immediately know who it’s from. You go and pick it up with a heavy sigh, then reluctantly open it up to see a hastily written note from Gwilym.

(Y/N),

I knew the engagement was a mistake from the moment she said yes – the pressure of everyone around me moving on with their lives; getting married and having children became overwhelming and I thought that the best thing to do was join them.

I didn’t mean to involve you in any of this, it’s my mistake that I need to fix, and I promise I will. Being with you today has ignited something within me that I never thought would come to life again.

Please believe me when I say I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry.

I didn’t mean for any of this to happen but my heart just couldn’t stop itself when I saw you, and I followed it blindly without thinking of the consequences.

I didn’t mean to fall for you, but I did.

The engagement is over, it never really began anyway.

Please give me a chance to talk to you face to face. After dinner, on the cliff path. Please. X

A tear falls from your cheek onto the paper unexpectedly as you realise that you’d also foolishly followed your heart instead of listening to your head, and you can’t help but remember the words that you’d heard being exchanged between him and his fiancée.

“You don’t want to go through with this, do you?” she’d asked immediately upon answering.

“I… I can’t.”

“Well the 30 unanswered calls and god knows how many texts told me that. You could have at least said something before you ran away.”

“I didn’t run away, I needed some time and space-”

“I knew this was going to happen. I fucking knew it.”

“What?”

“As soon as I said yes to you, you turned into someone else, and now I can see already that you look more like the person you were before you asked me the question,” she’d snapped.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Me?! Why didn’t I say something?! Why the fuck didn’t you? I loved you. I wanted to make it work.”

“I’m so sorry. So very sorry, Rosie. I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing you can say. I’ll get your sister to pick up your belongings from mine and drop them at your parent’s. You can do the explaining to them. Goodbye Gwilym.”

You wince at the memory of her cutting him off like that, knowing that he would now be dreading going back home, but it couldn’t soften your heart and how you personally felt about him; you were still filled with anger and hurt at it all. It didn’t even come into it that he deemed the relationship over, the fact of the matter was that he had been engaged when he kissed you, and after what you’d had happen to you, it was the worst thing in the world he could have done.

You trudge towards your door after getting dressed, then hold your breath as you listen for any movement from the next room, and when you’re satisfied that Gwil’s not around you sneak out and into the breakfast room before anyone else.

“You’re early!” Danielle smiles as you walk towards her, but her grin soon fades when she takes a proper look at you; your eyes dark and heavy from lack of sleep, your mouth turned down into an unintentional grimace, “are you okay?”

“Just feeling under the weather today, I won’t be here for breakfast I’m afraid,” you sigh to exaggerate the fact you didn’t feel well.

“Not a problem darling, do you want some toast to take to your room?”

“No, no, I’m fine. Thank you though.”

You quickly slip back to your room until you hear Gwilym exit to go to breakfast, then make your escape while everyone’s eating and drive out to one of your favourite beauty spots to just sit and think things over in the tranquil surroundings of the countryside. Your thoughts soon turn to how you can avoid going to dinner, but dammit you were a fucking adult and had to face this head on instead of running away and hiding from it all; pretending none of this had ever happened. The buzzing from your phone soon drags you back to the present moment and when you see it’s your mum you almost burst into tears right there and then.

“Hello,” you answer meekly.

“What happened sweetheart?” she sighs. She was your mother, she knew already.

“Oh, mum,” you sob, “it’s a mess.”

The next hour or so is spent alternating between conversation and crying both on the nearby bench and then in your car when other people appear, and your mum listens to everything you have to say carefully until you run out of tears and words.

“And why did you bring his note with you when you left the guest house?” she asks, much to your confusion.

“Well, I… I don’t… I just put it in my bag, I don’t know why. Is it relevant?”

“You tell me.”

“Well I guess I just wanted to read over it again before dinner.”

“Because you want to give him the chance to talk to you? He’s obviously very taken by you, and he hasn’t held back in expressing his feelings about you, even if it is a rather short period of time. Who can blame him though? You’re beautiful, intelligent-”

“Mum.”

“What? I’m just saying, you can’t blame him for liking you… Even if he has gone about this the completely wrong way and made himself look like a total and utter arsehole in the process.”

You manage to let out a short laugh at her observation of the situation, he has indeed made himself look like a complete prick to be honest.

“Hmm,” you hum in agreement, “I definitely agree with the arsehole bit.”

“But, on the other hand, he has done the right thing his side with breaking things off.”

“But he didn’t tell her he kissed me.”

“Things were over as soon as he ran away like a cowardly muppet. He didn’t need to say anything about the kiss, love. It wasn’t you that broke them apart, that’s all down to him and the fact that he never should have proposed in the first place.”

“Yeah,” you sigh, “true. Still doesn’t change the fact that he wasn’t upfront with me though.”

“Oh of course it doesn’t, and I fully expect you to give him hell for that, especially after what happened with Russell… But I would give him a chance to talk to you face to face. It doesn’t mean you’re okay with anything, and it doesn’t even mean you’ll talk to him for the remainder of your stay, it just means you’re mature enough to hear what he has to say and give him a bit of a bollocking for acting like a twat at the same time.”

“Haha!” you laugh, “he’s definitely getting a bollocking, don’t you worry mum.”

“You really like him, don’t you?” she asks, already knowing your answer.

“Yeah… unfortunately.”

“It’s not unfortunate at all, you needed something to take your mind off Russell. It’s just a shame he’s a bit of a twit,” your mum chuckles.

“Just goes to show there’s no such thing as a perfect man!” you reply, “I should have known there’d be something wrong with someone so handsome.”

“Well it could be worse, just try and think on that. Now you get something to eat please, and then text me when you’ve spoken to him tonight.”

“Will do. Love you.”

“Love you too darling.”

You let out a long and loud sigh as you tilt your head back on the head rest, then put your phone in your bag along with the note you’d read out to your mum, and decide on where to go for lunch; all that crying had really worked up an appetite.

The time goes far too quickly for you, and you find yourself clenching your teeth the entire drive back to the guest house. You wait outside for a few minutes before eventually undoing your seatbelt and making your way inside, then you rush to your room and shut yourself in until you absolutely have to leave it and face Gwilym again. Your stomach couldn’t help but feel nervous at seeing him again, it was a wild mix of emotions that you felt, and when you take your seat in the dining room your heart is racing inside your chest. He walks in not long after you but stays silent as he nods and smiles to the other guests who are already seated, then he looks directly at you, the sadness in his eyes evident already as you quickly turn away for fear of crying.

“Are you-” he begins.

“How are you feeling now darling?” Danielle interrupts, positioning herself between your tables to block his view.

“Better, thanks,” you nod as she places your starter down in front of you.

“Good to hear,” she smiles as she gives your shoulder a squeeze.

Gwilym takes the hint and doesn’t attempt any further conversation while you’re eating, then you make the first move as you exit the dining room before him, taking a slow stroll up the garden and eventually out onto the cliff path. Your fingers wrap around the cold metal of the fence that separates you from the sea below as you await Gwil’s arrival, and as soon as you see his familiar figure lingering next to you, your grip gets a little tighter.

“I’m sorry. So very sorry (Y/N),” he sighs, “I didn’t-”

“Why?” you butt in quietly but confidently, “why did you do that to me? It was quite literally the worst thing you could have done.”

“I didn’t realise that Russell had cheated on you, I was stupid to do that, I wasn’t thinking straight at all...”

“I mean, I realise that your relationship was over before that happened, but it doesn’t change the fact that you were still engaged when we kissed,” you sigh, letting go of the fence and turning to face him properly, “do you know how shit that made me feel? Being involved in a situation that was dangerously close to what had just happened to me, but on the other side of it?”

“I’m sorry,” he sighs defeatedly, “I don’t know what else to say. There was no excuse for how I acted, I simply shouldn’t have done it without properly ending things first. Russell was a fucking prick to do that to you, and now I’ve acted like a prick. I’m not really a prick though, honestly, and all I did was follow my heart… and I know you did too, otherwise you wouldn’t have let me in like you did. I betrayed your trust, and I’ll never forgive myself for doing that, because it’s true what I said yesterday, you deserve everything that’s good in this world.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose, half to stop yourself from crying and half because he’d just said everything you wanted him to say even though you didn’t want to let him off that easy on this.

“Come and sit with me,” he offers, taking your free hand and leading you over the to bench.

You both take a seat; his arm automatically draping around your shoulders and his thumb rubbing your t-shirt comfortingly.

“I don’t expect to be forgiven straight away,” he says quietly, “but I’m not going to just leave things like this. I can’t. I’m in too deep. I need you in my life (Y/N), and I don’t think you realise the effect you’ve had on me these last few days.”

“Well, I obviously made you forget you had a fiancée yesterday…” you say with a sideways glance.

“I deserved that,” Gwil nods, “that was a dick move on my part, I hold my hands up.”

“Mhmm,” you hum in agreement.

Within a matter of seconds he’s on his knees in front of you, holding your hands in his as he meets your confused gaze with pleading eyes that were glistening in the dim street light a few feet from the seat you were on.

“I will do anything… anything… to spend the next few days with you. Please. Give me a chance to show you I’m not a complete dickhead,” a stray tear falls down his cheek, but his grip on your hands only tightens as he awaits your answer, “I promise I’ll make it up to you by the end of the week.”

“When we’ll inevitably go our separate ways...” you sigh, seeing the end before it’s already begun.

“We won’t,” he replies, shaking his head furiously from side to side, “that won’t happen because I won’t let it, but we don’t even have to think about that yet. Just follow your heart one more time and I swear I won’t let you down.”

You slip a hand from his and his face visibly drops at your action until you reach out towards him slowly and wipe away the tears that had fallen upon his cheeks while he was speaking. There was a hell of a lot of making up to do, but if he believed that he could do it all by the end of the week, then who were you to stop him from attempting it? You relent, signifying your decision by giving him a single nod, and his face lifts instantly into a smile.

@painthatiusedto @winnielinleigh @queenslandlover-93 @excellentbecca @peachllobotomy @lovemarvelousfics @lovemelikeyou1997 @readinghorn @godohammers @timeandpixiedust @lv7867 @fuckyou-imspiderman @aynsleywalker @the-baby-bookworm @chlobo6 @tenement-funstah @rogmeddows @drivenbybri @mazzellosjoe @muralskins

[acdeaky]

day at the museum

warning: fluff

note: this is the first soulmate AU i’ve done and i love it? the whole idea i had and everything. i love it. enjoy some tim murphy fluff

word count: 1.9k

‘soulmate’s names show up on the inside of each other’s wrists when they come into contact with something regarding the other.’ or so the book says. ‘black lettering of the soulmate’s full name will appear once contact has been made.’ the book also says. ‘contact may never be made, for those unfortunate few. but for those who make contact, it’s only a matter of luck whether you meet the other or not.’

(Y/N)

it was a normal day at work for you. you got in early (as usual) and allowed yourself tome to tidy and set up the class room for the hoard of 25 9-year-olds who would shortly come bustling into the room. everything was set and organised when veronica (the head of fourth grade) walked into the room, handed over a pile of paper with a sweet smile.

“i see your tattoo’s finally showing,” she mentioned, pointing at the black writing on your wrist as she handed over the letters.

“oh,” you glanced down at it. “that must have shown up this morning, i haven’t seen it before today.”

“maybe you’ll meet this ‘tim murphy’ at the museum.”

you giggled at veronica’s remark. “i’ll be too busy watching the kids to meet my soulmate.”

“never say never.” she smiled before stalking out of the classroom, leaving a lingering thought in your brain. as you put the papers down, you saw that it was a school visit to the american museum of natural history. a week ago, the fourth grade began learning about dinosaurs; a very exciting and aweinspiring topic for a group of 9-year-olds. although you loved the museum, thinking about having to spend a whole day there walking them around made you feel whoozy. that was, until, you saw that an expert would be guiding you and the class around, making your job a whole lot easier.

the trip would happen a week to the day, giving you ample time to teach the class the rest of the course on dinosaurs before they excite themselves silly at the museum in the next week. as soon as you had finished reading the whole letter, the bell rang, signalling the arrival of your class. noise and corruption from the hallway soon died down once the children where in their respective classrooms, but once you mentioned the trip, the class erupted again, the excitement being too much for them to handle.

once they were calm, the letters were handed out and placed safely in each of their bags. you were bombarded by questions about the museum, the exhibits and the guide who would show you all around. you answered each question as best as you could, leaving the questions about the guide unanswered. you too wanted to know who this person was.

TIM

it was a normal day at work for tim. he arrived at the museum at 8am, knowing he was early for when his pay check started, but caring little about that. like usual, he inspected the fossils, checking for the tidiness of the exhibit and positioning of the bones (once, an elderly cleaning lady had knocked over a bone or two and tim swore to checked every dinosaur in the morning since then).

when he was satisfied with his check, he made his way to his office, preparing himself for whatever tour or paper work john (the head of the paleontology department) had for him. tim barely had time to sit at his desk when john walked in. there was no stack of papers in his hand, only a note which signalled that tim would be a tourguide today.

“good morning, mr murphy,” john smiled as tim stood. “another tourguiding note for you,” as tim took the note, he realised it wasn’t for today. it seemed he had been booked in for a tour a week to the day for a class who had been studying dinosaurs recently. “i know it’s in a week, but i wanted my best paleontologist for the job.”

“thank you, sir.” tim took the compliment almost sheepishly. john extended his hand for tim to take, which he did.

“i see your tattoo’s showing, murphy.” he mentioned, twisting tim’s wrist slightly to show the black lettering.

“that must have appeared this morning. i haven’t seen that before.” tim looked at his wrist, his mind wondering to when it could have appeared.

“maybe she’ll be a teacher of the group, this ‘(y/n) (y/l/n)’.”

“maybe.” tim’s voice was soft, still looking at his wrist.

“i’ll let you get back to work, murphy,” john walked backwards towards the door, his eyes never leaving tim. “there’s some theses i want you to look over!”

“okay.”

“now, murphy,” john ordered, leaving the office and expecting tim to follow. “murphy!”

“coming!” that was the last time tim looked at his tattoo that day.

(Y/N)

the week went by fast. the excitement of the children learning about dinosaurs relight your love of dinosaurs, too. although work was hectic, what with the children being so excited, you loved every second of it. now, it was the day of the trip. each child was packed with food, crayons, paper and knowledge as they all, one by one, pushed they way onto the bus.

you had drawn the short straw of sitting towards the back to keep an eye on them, but not before you had checked each and every seatbelt was clipped in. the museum was about 30 minutes away, meaning you’d only have to watch the students for a short while.

they entertained themselves with little games, quickly passing the time before you arrived at the museum. just pulling up in front of the grand entrance brought a new buzz in the air. the extravagance of the museum had brought everyone into a stunned silence. the children had clamoured over one another to get a view of the museum, pushing and shoving to look out of the window.

as much as it was your job to settle them, you yourself had to marvel at the entrance. it’s grand pillars doing wonders for the scenery. eventually, the bus stopped outside of the museum and the children hurried to grab their bags. they quickly got off, leaving you last to check everything had been taken.

the whole class quickly found themselves in the entrance of the museum. it wasn’t too busy, there were a few people around, but it was quiet nonetheless. you and veronica tried to settle the children while you waited for the tour guide. for him.

well, you hoped it would be him.

TIM

the week went by slow. the theses that john had asked him to read over took longer than either of them had expected. many of them were accurate and detailed, others wouldn’t have been enough to get their degree. with deadlines approaching, tim had to work quickly.

as he was preoccupied with the theses, he missed out on the enjoyment of tours and guiding families or class groups around his favourite exhibits. the thrill the children would get when they saw a dinosaur fossil or one of the giant structures would melt his heart and, honestly, he would admit that he missed that.

tim reminded himself each day that it was one day less until his next tour. reading the theses made him happy that there were people who loved paleontology as much as him, but on the other hand, they were so boring. many times tim had found himself falling asleep at his desk due to his sheer boredom. being in his office all day had really taken its toll on him.

once the day of the tour came around, tim woke with more excitement, and nervousness, than he had done since his first day. knowing that he could possibly meet his soulmate, he wore his best shirt and blazer, ready to make a lasting impression on her. it was his favourite shirt; purple with white and red stripes.

he arrived even earlier than he usually did. double checking (and even triple checking) the exhibits, tim didn’t stop looking around until everything was perfect. everything had to be perfect. for you.

well, he hoped it would be you.

MUSEUM

it wasn’t long until you saw a man who looked official walking towards the group. he had a blazer on and underneath was a purple shirt with white and red strips. you instantly decided that you liked his shirt, regardless of who he was. as he walked over, you tried to read the lanyard which hung around his neck, but just as you thought you caught sight of his name, the lanyard was taken off and placed into his pocket.

“morning explorers!” he greeted the class cheerily as they all turned and beamed towards the man. “are you ready to meet some dinosaurs today?” a jumble of replies followed his question, making you, veronica and the man chuckle.

“i’m doctor tim murphy and i will be your guide for today; how about we start at the beginning of the entire world with the big bang?” a louder chorus of cheers followed his question as the man, tim, began to walk towards the first exhibit. the children seemed in awe of him already as you and veronica followed behind.

“doctor tim murphy, eh?” she nudged your elbow with hers, seemingly more excited about this than you. “you’ve gone and landed yourself a doctor, Y/N,” she giggled with you. “and he’s not too bad looking either.” you almost stopped walking at that. she wasn’t wrong, it had crossed your mind, but you weren’t going to say it out loud.

you and veronica stayed back for the whole tour. both of you agreed to allow doctor murphy to guide the children around and stay back unless absolutely necessary. except, there was nothing you were needed for. the children behaved perfectly, hanging on to tim’s every last word.

once the tour had ended, tim lead you all into a large room while fossils and dinosaurs bones galore. the children instantly went around the room, darting towards different fossils and bones. tim quickly glanced around before walking towards you and veronica.

“i’m sorry i haven’t spoken to you much today, i get carried away with the tours sometimes.” he spoke bashfully, a light blush covering his cheeks.

“it’s okay, doctor murphy,” veronica discreetly nudged you. “i’m going to have a look at the fossils, don’t wait up.” she strode off, leaving both of you alone. before she completely left you, though, she turned around and gave you the thumbs up over tim’s shoulder. he saw the blush which lightly covered your cheeks, but chose to ignore it.

“i’m y/n y/l/n,” you put your hand in front of you. “it’s nice to meet you, doctor murphy.” tim took your hand and shook it, not even thinking to check your wrist discretely for his name.

he suddenly remembered, “y/n y/l/n? as in this y/n y/l/n?” he asked, twisting his wrist around so you could see your name in bold letters on his wrist.

“tim murphy? as in this tim murphy?” you copied his actions and showed him your wrist, revealing your matching tattoo of his name in bold. neither of you could believe why was happening. tim couldn’t even process the next thing that came out of his mouth, until,

“hi.”

-

TAGLIST: @never-kept-the-same-address @j0hn-deaky @sohoneyspreadyourwings @brian-maybe-not @deakysbabybooty @1001-yellow-daffodils @retromusicsalad @hardcoredisneynerd @painkiller80 @leatherjacketmazzello @scarecrowmax @mebeatlized @seesiderendezvous @alright-mrfahrenheit @someone-get-a-medic @miamideacon @chlobo6 @teenagepeterpan @spacedust1124719

extra tag for character: @dr-tim-murphy

[shadowedlove97]

Quick thoughts before I head to bed:

- The kids not being Ultimates originally doesn’t surprise me. I think that’s the one thing Tsumugi said that WASN’T a lie. Because we see proof of that in the prologue.

- I’m not sure how I feel about the message personally, but not because I necessarily don’t agree with it but because I’m...unsure fully on what that is? I hear it wasn’t a call out towards the actual fans and that Kodaka confirmed this in an interview, but the game.... really feels like it is? I also am not sure about the whole equating fiction with lies. In the context of the scenario it makes sense, but in the context of the message of the game as a whole... That feels like an oversimplification? Also “fiction/lies can change the world” is uh...yeah true, but also a very...complex thing. 

- Back on the fake Ultimates thing...while I don’t mind it and had called it from the beginning (I think it was kinda obvious honestly and that the game was really hoping that you’d forget about the prologue after everything) it’s like... We also fell in love with the children how they are now right? So I’m like “okay I love this child but also if they’re like actually really bitter I don’t know if I could take it” sort of thing.

- I...don’t fully like that Danganronpa in-game, aka the past two games and the anime, are just fictional and part of a show that eventually...spiraled into a real killing game? I believe V3 is mostly an AU so technically in another universe in the lore the previous games and the anime DID happen, but like... I’m still majorly conflicted on that. It’s not like it was written terribly either: I think it was written fine. I just... Don’t like that sort of plot? Just like I don’t like the plot of Sonic 06 for this reason - it kinda...makes other games (or in 06′s case, the game you’re playing) feel null and void even if it wasn’t technically.

  - Also tbh, while killing games themselves aren’t too farfetched to me in that other novels have done it via Hunger Game sort of scenarios, and we DID have Gladiator fights at some point in history... I think that the fact that it started fictional, but then turned into real murders at some point....breaks immersion for me? Because unless the first two games and the anime are the only “canon” material in-universe and all the real killing games put on as new “seasons” are made by a group of fans hosting it on some obscure website ala Red Room style shit, I can’t.... I can’t imagine they’d somehow get away with it? Of course it could be part of Monokuma and Tsumugi’s lie that it’s as far reaching as they say but.... 

- I also have a problem with how ambiguous it is. I don’t mind ambiguous endings normally: half of the anime I watch have ambiguous endings and one of them I even call a masterpiece (seriously, go watch Violet Evergarden). My issue is that it leaves so many questions unanswered. I’m sure that was intentional, but I never liked that style of ambiguous endings. The endings I liked in this style answered MOST questions, but only left one or two unanswered. Or otherwise left the fate of the characters up to you. The original TRC (before CLAMP started and put the sequel on hiatus...), Violet Evergarden, 91 Days, even Code Geass kinda (I think it got debunked but I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole again), and Sakamoto (as humorous as it is) all had endings that fit one of these categories. 

TRC you didn’t know the fate of the cast (particularly one of them). It was not a happy nor a sad ending. It just was. And whatever they did next could be whatever. You knew the cast was alive, just that one important goal was not and could not be met at that time, and whether or not they can meet it is up to you. 

The rest made you uncertain on the fate of specific characters and whether or not they were alive. Sakamoto is a weird one in that it’s ambiguous on if the character uh...is just leaving at the end to go to who knows where (he says Mars but I think the show calls that out) or that he’s actually a terminally ill HS kid who doesn’t want to tell his friends he’s dying and that when he “leaves” it’s actually symbolic of the fact that he’s dying. There are a lot of hints both in the manga and the show but uh I try not to think about it too much bc Sakamoto is first and foremost a comedy and if I ever rewatch it I don’t want to keep thinking about how he’s actually dying the whole time. :’) (Apparently there was an OVA that “disproves” it but it’s not based off of the manga at all [the manga ended where the original anime ended] so I don’t count it.)

I feel like V3 left the wrong questions unanswered. It’s supported in game that they were never Ultimates, that this “killing game” has been going on and on, that the tapes are false, and that what they are like in the prologue are probably how they actually are, but that’s basically the only things we can say as fact. They honestly didn’t give us enough info on how that worked. 

There’s some implication that Tsumugi was also brainwashed essentially, but that’s something that should have been confirmed. The “cosplaycat criminal” was also a weird line. We understand that Rantaro was a survivor of the other killing games because the ending scenario probably has happened over and over again before and him and someone else was “punished” but it doesn’t tell us more than that. Was Tsumugi a survivor too and the second one would end up being the new “Mastermind”? Who is “Team Danganronpa” in context of lore and not real-world? A mega-corp or a deranged group of fans that found a terrifying subset found online? Do people think it’s all fake and that they’re actors or do they know these people are actually being killed? I really feel like these are the sort of questions that needed to be answered. 

Whether or not the other kids are actually alive because maybe it was a simulation of sorts or maybe there were fail-safes (I don’t think so though even if I want that), how the 3 canonly-surviving kids adapt, if the outside world is as peaceful as Tsumugi says or some sort of dystopian... I feel like these are the sort of questions that are suitable for an ambiguous ending. These are the sorts of questions that don’t need to be answered in order for the ending to be satisfying, while also leaving intrigue and a lot up to the player.

I just... I don’t know. I have a lot of Feelings about this ending. 100% looking up fanfic later though. Especially mastermind!Shuichi fanfic that either changes up or answers some of the unanswered questions.

Also need to see an AU fanfic where these kids are the Ultimates they say they are, but they’re set in the original Danganronpa world and there’s either no killing game or Tsumugi was a Remnant of Despair and it’s actually set sometime during the Tragedy in secret.That would be fun.

[annabethbreakstherules]

OUAT and why “mystery box” narratives are doomed to fail

Once Upon a Time premiered on Oct 23, 2011 to 12.9 million viewers and fairly positive reviews from critics who praised the performances of the main cast, the surprisingly complex and interesting takes on storybook characters, and the impressive special effects. This quote from the Wikipedia page essentially summarized what was so compelling about the show (and hints at ultimately why it failed):

“‘Rick Porter gave the pilot praise for bringing together the central theme, saying "No other new show this fall is attempting to tell a bigger story, and we're hoping the rough patches smooth out and it fulfills the potential that's there in its very strong cast and premise.’”

Once wasn’t unique for its fairytale remixes, which was also being done concurrently for a time on NBC’s Grimm, but for it’s intrigue and mystery. Emma Swan is pulled into the uncanny world of Storybrooke and into a scheme much bigger and more complicated than she could imagine.

Premiering a year after the controversial Lost finale, OUAT was propped up as the next project from Lost producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, promising a series built on unknowns and mysteries that unravel as time goes on. The first season utilizes the Enchanted Forest to give the audience hints and clues that line up with discoveries Emma makes in the town in the real world. It’s laden with pockets of missing information that get revisited and stories told out of order to better serve the overall narrative. It works. The first season was critically and commercially successful, pulling audiences in the 12-9 million range in the Sunday night slot. However, as time went on and the show unfolded, things changed and the show declined in viewership and quality. A lot of the qualms with the latter season of the show stem from the fact that from the second half of season 3 onward it essentially became a weekly hour long commercial for Disney properties, with the recent or upcoming films and their characters being woven into the story. Certainly this is likely true as the show originally so compelling for its unique take on characters that challenged their pervasive PG interpretations but also didn’t simply turn to the original Brother’s Grimm tales. However, this shift is storytelling is a side effect of the larger problem the show faced that it failed to overcome, ultimately ensuring its eventual downfall.

OUAT was sold as a mystery box show, but it ended as your average villain of the season supernatural/fantasy show bogged down by Disney and recycled plots. No matter what direction this show took, because of the original premise being rooted in a mystery box plot, like the previous project the show runners worked on, it was bound to come in contact with narrative problems. 

Part 1: The JJ Abrams and the Lost finale of it all

What exactly is a “mystery box”? Here is a link to a TedTalk where Abrams himself describes the concept: https://www.ted.com/talks/j_j_abrams_the_mystery_box?language=en 

Essentially, he breaks down the power of mystery and specifically how his conception of mysteries and the unknown as opportunities for incredible feats of human imagination factored into the creation of Lost, where the first two episodes, which he wrote and shot with Damon Lindelof in the span of 11 weeks and set up a bunch of questions that end up driving the plot of the subsequent episodes and seasons. In his TedTalk, Abrams talks about how mystery boxes stand in for unknowns that when revealed, often lead to much broader and deeper truths that speak to things bigger than the narrative itself. This was supposedly the idea behind Lost. 

However, this didn’t end up being the reality. Abrams exited the show in the third season and (allegedly) pretty much left the new showrunners and writers room with little idea of what was inside the mystery box he’d set up. Thus, it was up to people who didn’t create the show to guide it through three more seasons and attempt to land a satisfying ending. The details of the finale aren’t important, what matter is that it came with a lot of controversy. Fans found it confusing or unsatisfying and felt it ultimately failed to provide good answers to the questions it set up. While not relevant to this story, Abram’s handling of the Star Wars sequel trilogy suggest a pattern of setting up a mystery box he doesn’t intend to answer himself (and then fumbling when he attempts to solve the equations he wrote). 

Opinions on the finale have changed over time, but in 2011, just a year after the show had concluded, ABC and Kitsis and Horowitz were very aware of the precarious view many people had of the show’s conclusion. With OUAT, ABC was clearly trying to recapture the magic of Lost, where the television mystery became a massive phenomenon as people wrote think pieces and articles, tuned in every week for more clues, and talked about their theories online. They wanted another show that would keep people guessing and, therefore, encourage them to discuss it publicly and drum up more interest. However, they knew they couldn’t afford to fumble the bag this time and risk alienating people who were unsatisfied with Lost, but had enough good faith to give the show a chance. Kitsis and Horowitz saddled themselves with this task, despite likely having no real idea how to best address the problems Lost had. The concept of “the mystery box” was championed by Abrams and he had yet to really prove a mastery over the thing he created. This motivated the decision making behind the structure of the show for better or for worse. 

Part 2: Looking inside the box too soon 

Lost was built on the question of what exactly was going on with the island and whether or not the people on it could escape. OUAT was built on the question of what was going on in Storybrooke and what it had to do with Henry’s book of fairytales. The Enchanted Forest identities of Storybrooke citizens, who cast the curse, and how to break it were shrouded in mystery and slowly revealed through flashbacks and Emma’s own investigation.  It was pretty compelling TV that provided a few good gasp worthy reveals over the course of the season. It all built towards the final reveal that Emma was the Savior, the fabled hero of the Enchanted Forest, the daughter of Snow and Charming, and that True Love’s Kiss is the way to break the curse. The curse is lifted and everyone regains their memories. The mystery is solved. And therein lies the problem. 

The entire marketing campaign around the show either capitalized on the fairy tale aspect of the show or the mystery, usually both. Every episode trailer was about what information the flashbacks would reveal next, what new characters we might meet, what we might learn about characters we already knew, and what Emma and Henry would learn about Storybrooke itself. The genre of the first season of the show is obviously a mystery and a good one with several branches that, while connected, all had their own unique and complex answers or causes. The majority of these questions were answered in the season finale, which seemed an odd move from the network and producers who brought audiences the six season long Lost, where even in the finale things were left unanswered. 

It’s clear ABC and the showrunners wanted to capitalize on the success of the show while also trying to rectify the problems that had plagued it. One of the reasons the finale to Lost was likely going to be unsatisfying to many no matter what it contained, was that the show had simply been on for long and there was so much speculation and hype about how it would end that there was no way anything they could write would live up to fan expectations. Additionally, over the course of six season, plot holes began to build up that one two-part finale could never hope to make sense of. That’s the burden of putting long narrative mysteries on TV, they’re hard to land. This is why we’ve seen many shows that revolved around mysteries or crimes turn to the anthology format where every season poses a new question that is solved in a limited amount of episodes. This was likely the intent behind “looking inside the mystery box” at the end of OUAT’s first season; it was better to present a coherent and condensed mystery narrative than drag it out and risk creating a mountain of contradictions. This isn’t a terrible call, especially because Kitsis and Horowitz and their writers delivered on the promises they set up and presented great characters. It was a great set of 22 episodes. Had the show ended after 1 season, there would be little to talk about, it might even be regarded as one of the most competent mystery shows ever to air on a major network. However, the problem doesn’t lie in the first season, but what comes after it. 

Part 3: What happens now? 

OUAT managed to pull off a feat that should not have been possible considering the circumstances. After solving most of the mysteries that drove the plot and made the show interesting in season 1, they somehow managed to pull of a second season that didn’t drastically decrease in quality. In fact, on Rotten Tomatoes, season 2 has the highest critic and audience scores. The team behind the show had left just one stone unturned in the final episode of season one: what was the ultimate fate of the Enchanted Forest after the curse? 

The dual settings of the storybook land and the town had never collided. The showrunners took advantage of this and capitalized on the new dynamic of Emma going to the Enchanted Forest. Suddenly, in addition to the flashbacks that continued to flesh out recurring and new characters and the going-ons of Storybrooke, Emma’s adventures in the present of the Enchanted Forest became a third arm to the narrative. The show was still pretty exciting and had some fun twists and turns, but it was fundamentally different. It was no longer about small town social politics, intrigue, and putting together the pieces of a past in a magical world that how somehow leaked into reality. While the show had always been based in fantasy, the mystery kept it grounded. The second season launched it full speed into the fantastical and committed itself to being a strictly fantasy show. Regina remained a prominent antagonist, but the new villain was her mother, Cora, who became the first in a long series of villains who stayed around for a half to a whole season before either being defeated or fading into the shadow of a new big bad. There was no longer a larger ultimate goal the show was heading towards as it had been in its first season. The show’s identity had completely changed and this created a lot of problems.

Part 4: A wuick summary of the decline

The first season was fairly streamlined with each episode serving a clear purpose in pushing the mystery forward, with the new goal being to simply defeat the new bad guy, filler episodes began to crop up with some frequency as the writers tried to shoehorn in as many fairy tale characters as they possibly could. The flashbacks also began to double back. In order to line up with the new big bad narratives each season, the backstories of many characters had things retroactively inserted into them that didn’t really line up with what the audience already knew of the characters. 

The writers also kept trying to chase the magic of the first season, introducing new curse after new curse and continually undoing Regina’s character development to keep her as a constant antagonist. The show had nowhere to go, so the writers began throwing things at the wall and seeing what stuck. There was time travel and rewriting the past, there were other fantasy worlds where characters from other public domain stories that weren’t traditional fairy tales lived. The show ultimately did a soft reboot and basically recreated the storyline of the first season in the final season with Henry taking up Emma’s mantle of main investigator. And it was all...pretty lackluster. 

However, the biggest downfall of the show came in season 4. Season 3b had seen the writers managed to weave in Oz, which was featured because of the upcoming Disney flop Oz the Great and Powerful, and create a moderately interesting character and plot through the introduction of Zelena. This seemed to embolden them, because, whether forced by ABC and Disney execs or inspired by the massive commercial success of the film, a Frozen plotline was introduced. This wouldn’t have been too terrible had they not ripped the character designs and stories directly from the film itself. With Oz they’d put their own spin on the world, but Elsa and Anna received no such treatment. They were simply carbon copies of their film counterparts, which felt wildly out of place in a world where Peter Pan was Rumplestiltkin’s father and Prince Charming had an evil twin brother. Viewership began to decline in earnest over the fourth season, yet the writers never really learned their lesson, with most new introductions to the show being fairly similar to their previous appearances in films. 

The show had the benefit of continued good performances and the foundations of good characters. They also chose not to introduce a true love interest for Emma until the second season and didn’t begin to develop their relationship until the third. Their continued success hinged fairly squarely on the shoulders of shippers who cared more about Captain Swan than the actual narrative of the show. 

The turn to weak season to season plots was ultimately what hurt OUAT as the writers clearly ran out of viable ideas long before the show ended. This turn was ultimately necessitated when the show continued to be renewed despite having fulfilled its premise so early on. 

Part 5: Conclusion and the future fate of “mystery box” shows

Lost was fresh and unique and exciting when it premiered; there was really nothing else like it on TV. The desire to recapture what Lost did continues to this day (see NBC’s Manifest feat. OUAT alum Josh Dallas). However, should Lost be something writers try to recreate? The show had mass popularity, but the finale can routinely be found on lists of worst TV finales or TV finales that ruined shows along with the likes of Dexter and Game of Thrones. Lost ultimately failed to deliver on its promises. Some fans may enjoy the ending now or have come to understand it after rewatching the show a few times, but its still pretty controversial, enough so that pretty much every anniversary of the finale is marked by interviews with the cast and crew and articles about whether the ending worked or not. A successful mystery story shouldn’t leave audiences wondering if the mystery was actually solved. 

OUAT certainly doesn’t have the fanfare surrounding it as its predecessor. The show croaked to a finish in 2018 with a fraction of the viewership it had in its first season. OUAT had a really strong first season, proving that mystery box narratives can work in an episodic structure and come to a satisfying end. However, the problem was that the show continued on past that, shedding its mystery identity for a time and then desperately trying to go back to it when things began to turn. 

The show pretty strongly supports the thesis that mystery box shows might only work for one season. If stretched for too many seasons they either become extremely convoluted and impossible solve in a way that the audience will understand and enjoy or eventually have to solve the mystery and shift to a new structure to stay fresh (see Westworld which somehow manages to do both). Anthology mystery shows seem to have the right idea. However, what OUAT proved is that when a mystery box has a planned answer, they make for good television with satisfying payoff. 

This isn’t to say OUAT couldn’t have continued on extending the mystery of the original curse into more seasons. I see a world where it could’ve occupied a majority of the second season, with more questions being raised. However, OUAT suffered under network and showrunner fears of repeating mistakes. Drawing out a mystery over multiple seasons hadn’t, so they shied away from that. The premise of OUAT was brilliant and interesting, capitalizing on past trends while also adding a the new element of fairy tales; this brilliant premise and strong mystery was ultimately its downfall. Like many shows that were once Tumblr darlings, OUAT has some of the best seasons of television early on, but now many former fans are embarrassed to have been associated with it. The puzzle was completed too soon, yet fans wanted more content. The result was lazy and lackluster storytelling that have greatly tarnished the initial success and genius of the show.