#and mr hong ofc

[helianthus21]

this is the one btw

every day i think about that Vincenzo timeloop AU

[reeteee]

I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO WRITE A FANFIC ON THE FOLLOWING --

Hong cha young somehow in Italy/malta where ever vincenzo is, and her life in his life, just like we saw vin's life in her life. You get me?????? Everything. Everything. Her belief about the fact that no one can kill his byonosanhim, the way she's a very competent lawyer, the way she's morally grey yet somehow soft at heart and kind at soul, the way she's crazy crazy weirdo that every single person adores to moon and back, her classic fashion choice, her knowledge of everything luxury, the way she gets angry and keeps even Mr. Consigilere on his toes, her being funny, smart, confident, demanding, unapologetic, cute, quirky and ofc. Her being in love with vincenzo more than he's in love with her. (Obviously duh, if anyone comes at me against the fact that this is clearly a he fell first but she fell harder trope then talk to the wall.)

Her being all this. And her being in Vincenzo's world. In the mafia world, where things are pretty much grey, and she's not baffled as she has dealt with a lot of black already and in Mr. Whipped for chayoung's words, she belongs in mafia.

And vincenzo's reactions to it. To their mundane old married couple chemisty in malta/Italy, or will it be different there? Will they finally finally accept the oozing sexual tension between them and deal with it for our sanity, to their daily things, to him dealing with his business, and her watching him, observing, fascinated, with ofc a lot of views of her own to yap at her mafia boss husband about, him taking her to his favorite places in Italy, showing her off, her meeting the cassano family, ofc everyone will love her, not the ladies tho, they'll ba catty, but in the end she'll win them all, or maybe cha young getting jealous when an Italian blonde puts her hand on vinny's shoulder for more than a second, or vinny's fuming and glaring the man who touched his chayoung to death, them being in love, finally, tenacious, as he promised, and by in love I mean, not just coffee dates, and discussing the demise of an evil company, but more, different dates like, kissing and then making out, furious silly jealously turned into a steaming sex session(yeah we all can imagine how Mr. Vincenzo Cassano, mafia boss, throws people off windows with one hand, skilled fingers holding guns for perfect aim would fuck like; maybe but oh maybe he'll be gentle, cuz it's the love of his life and he don't wanna make her feel wrong in anyway, but then maybe just maybe he couldn't take it one day and rams into her like he never wants to let go off her, like she's the thing she breathes, like if possible he'd like to he as close as possible to her) and yes, about how chayoung wants to kiss him, hold him, touch him, see him naked, without those wretched bolaro suits she now despises cuz she's seen her man without em, and how she holds his neck, kicks him playfully, annoys him to the point he gives up and declares in the most villainous-romantic way possible about how much he loves her and what he'd like to do to her.

Anyways. So.

Can someone please write a fanfic?

No?

Never mind.

I'll write it myself.

[feuqueerfire]

Bloodhounds Live Blogging

I've mostly been watching non-BL kdramas from 2019-2022, so I thought I'd give something recent a try! The whole series dropped yesterday and it's apparently action filmed + good bromance, so this'll be my weekend binge for now

Ep 1 (Jun 10)

Dec 2020

I can't remember having watched many boxing shows/movies before, maybe the Shark: The Movie with Wi Hajoon but I can't even remember if that was boxing or something else

oh yeah fuck I was so focused on the other aspects of the show, I forgot that the main characters have debt apparently agh it's so

ew Suju Siwon

damn, this loan shark really lending them 100 billion won for this hotel, that's wild

the loanshark mans has a scar on his face that he hides with makeup

boxer name: Kim Gunwoo (more like Geonwoo tbh)

oh lol that win was Hong Woojin's imagination? and then he calls Geonwoo a name and gets knocked down as his plan backfires pls

fun Woojin vs Geonwoo fight

ohhh I checked MDL and the main duo is Geonwoo and Woojin?

heh Geonwoo is so endearing with his calm and no-nonsense, serious answers

plsss the way their dynamic is switching when we figure out Geonwoo is 2 years younger than Woojin and then changing again when Geonwoo served the marines earlier? or higher status in some way. a sunbae

pls earnest, honest Geonwoo keeps falling for Woojin's lies every 3 minutes T.T

ahhh these loanshark fuckers going around offering to every store owner - anyway, I know Geonwoo's mother missed reading something in the fine print bc it was mentioned on a reddit on-air thread commend

oh? who's the woman with the tazer and the man who was "a fake" being chased?

ah, so this old man does interest-free loans and tazer girl works for him

these loan shark fuckers are sooooo >:(((( die die die

ohhh that scar on their face is like a gang tattoo?

I love how earnest Geonwoo is while still being serious and a bit naive and optimistic and just cute :> Though he's gonna have to change now that he's been pulled into such violence.

Ep 2 (Jun 11)

these loanshark fucks

D: Woojin trying to get a loan for Geonwoo T.T plsss

oh they have to work as bloodhounds? meaning they're also gonna be loanshark types? - oh they left but why's the title bloodhounds then, will they have to come back?

ohh Woojin taking the disrespect at the beginning of the meeting but being intimidating and giving a same slap back at the end ah

is this an Apple ad lol

ah so that's how Geonwoo and the woman's story connect - the guy who she's chasing is getting loans using homeless people and giving the money to Smile Capital glasses guy

Dream On Capital guy - is he familiar to us or no?

ohh is Chairman Bang the dude with the wheelchair? or is that Mr. Choi? anyway, are they gonna be the bodyguards that the man was looking for?

ah sucks so bad that when searching for loans, they keep being offered loan collector positions

ah security job

so indeed the man is Mr Choi

dang, interesting that Geonwoo is telling his mother he got all the money and how because I feel like a different character would hide it and pay it off in secret. he might've done the same thing if he was working as a debt collector or something instead of security though

Siwon's character from earlier who is apparently a well-connect chaebol with his cop cousin + the loan shark hm what's gonna happen - what's up with getting the loan shark drunk lol

ohh I don't remember this loanshark man calling himself Chairman Bang but I guess he did so in ep 1? so he's masquerading. also I wonder if Mr. Choi himself is just Chairman Bang lol like only Mr. Choi knows who Chairman Bang is + he looks around 60 which is supposed to be his age

ah Siwon's character's name is Beom

plssss Woojin lying in front of Mr. Choi, he has become an actor

damn, another interview step

broooooo just insane amounts of money but also don't pull it all out

ah, they have found the common enemy (Smile Capital)

ofc Geonwoo wouldn't be able to stay still while an old homeless man is beaten up

Ep 3 (Jun 11)

cruel or heatless or cold woman vs upstanding empathetic man ah - although I wish I liked her acting better? the character doesn't feel natural for her idk

plss their excitement at getting rehired T.T

her calling them oppa surprised e fr

Mr. Choi definitely knows the Chairman Bang poser who has the cut on the side of his face - oh mans name is Kim Myeong-gil

ah trio friends now

ohh the loan sharks investing in that hotel are gonna make illegal gambling take place in the casino at the top of the hotel -> send evidence to police -> hotel in ruins -> loan sharks will take over hotel

damn they're beating up Siwon's character just to scare him or what? oh nvm Smile Capital ppl here

damn I wasn't expecting such brutal torture scenes

and now blackmail material by making him strip down?

oh, seems like some of the people in Smile Capital (including CEO) actually worked for Mr. Choi back when he was a loan shark

goddamn so that's how Kim Myeong-gil got the scar on his face and Mr. Choi became disabled

just straight-up bars of gold lol

Myeong-gil is being real or tricking Beom with this trust and sweet talk about him being his donsaeng?

goddamn this crowd of people

I saw a gif where Geonwoo was waiting for some operation to be successful on Woojin or something, will that be due to this fight?

Ep 4 (Jun 11)

oh nooo he's going to Geonwoo's mother

wait, who is this who's stopping them from taking the mother? someone Mr. Choi called right but like who?

oh actually the boss called this man who went to where the fight happened but who was the one who rescued the mother?

oh sashimi knife - that sushi restaurant from before - he's the one who saved Geonwoo's mom

ah the 5 knifers - when those 2 talked about avenging their boys, they mean the 3 knifers the Kim Myeon-gil managed to kill - Lee Du-yeong and Hwang Yang-jung

they ate all the fucking rolled omelets without leaving any for the others? die fuckers

who's spying on the trio going to transfer money? it's probably the smile capital driver dude but somehow it also looks a bit like the knife to me oof

oh noooo yeah it's the driver dude and he got her while the big Beom dude is going to the duo

ah fuck they're sending so many people to capture the trio

damn bruh not a car chase but fucking car crashes

no Geonwoo don't get outtttttt

beat them with bars of gold lesgo lmao

pls their slow jogging with the gold bags T.T

Ep 5 (Jun 11)

okay at least they dropped the gold bag and several boxes bc indeed their lives are worth more + they got most of the money

the big plans of Myeong-gil and his men vs Mr. Choi and his knifers are fun, moreso than the trio because the trio often involves just fighting and some bickering whereas the big players have planning and intrigue and history

ah Mr. Choi offering him an out

lol the knifers and trio convo is so cute and endearing

lol yknow I did think that Hyunju and the biker knifer looked kinda similar so for them to also say it was like lol

wait, why'd Beom just fuck up those people? why mad?

he declined his wife's call? bro are you gonna fucking die? we first saw him while he was in bed with his wife too so

oh he for real slayed Junmin's throat - ngl I didn't fully get what their next step was, like, did they kill him just because he was the one going around intimidating people and stuff?

oh so they're killing Junmin and capturing Im Jangdo driver mans? I remember they said something about getting them to point to dead bodies or something

omg torture scenes D: sanding someone's thing and then using saltwater

Mr Choi got Jangdo to talk

are phones trackable or not? they're keeping Jangdo's phone but can they be found out through that

oh damn Jangdo also saying Myeong-gil and In-Beom are like brothers, they've saved each other's lives before

Ep 6 (Jun 11)

Today's plan was to actually watch eps 2-5 but people say the show is soooo good until ep 6 and it's one of the better eps before ep 7-8 seem different (?), so I think I'll just watch this one too

damn they're using Siwon's dumbass character to track the knifers

D: boil body, grind them up and pour them into the ocean that's so disgusting

who's seung-duk

the way the knifers know of myeong-gil's preliminary plans with the casino but still don't know the extent of how terrible it is

Mr Choi is making vacation plans? dreams of going to Italy? bruh he's not gonna make it out alive, is he

not this happy times where everybody's chatting and drinking and feeling good, we're boutta see serious shit go down huh?

as expected, he's also gonna be a dad, ah my guy i can forsee your death so clearly

okay this young kid isn't Hyunju, right? because the story doesn't fit with her history

oh nvm it is indeed Hyunju

huh? Geonwoo's mother didn't take Mr. Choi's loans though, so

teary-eyed grateful Geonwoo ahh

pls Mr. Choi keeps having parallels with youth like learning what flex is from Hyunju and thanking Geonwoo for teaching him what youth is

ah fuck they've got Mr. Choi's address, it's starting. bro people are drunk and shit now, right?

oh wait they're found the biker knifer Duhyeong's address actually? is that where they tortured Jangdo?

naurrr this Dayoung and his wife scene T.T

let's go knife throwing

damn so fucking bloody

ah rip Duyeong having to sell out the other knifer

bro wtf do you mean someone might have seen the car? take a diff mean of transport then let's go public transit where they can't just pick you off

ah fuck sushi restaurant

oh noooo his apprentice is fucking dead in the room

this sense of foreboding is so

noooooooo Myeong-gil killed Duyeong and his wife after he got the info? D: nooo. I was like dang, it would've been good if Duyeong called Yungjung to warn him but alas he is dead

another hand-to-hand knife fight

ah fuck I can't believe Yungjung is also gonna dye so soon before the fight even reaches Mr. Choi

the knifers didn't get to avenge their 3 brother knifers T.T this is actually so fucking sad man

it's interesting that this whole show is so focused on the fight scenes and intensity but in this episode, we focus so much on the softness of everybody together and the leadup fights and deaths are also so quiet and mostly solitary, this is so fucked

like bruh Woojin's just chilling and having breakfast

these scenarios remind me so much of my recurring childhood nightmare of home invasion by gunda (thugs) and having to figure out how to escape and then being chased while you attempt ah fuck

ah at least Mr. Choi has overcome the hesitancy to shoot though the fact that his safe and everything is wide open is a lot

okay I know he doesn't die because there's some surgery thing later on that's at least successful or something

ah fuck this Beom motherfucker

it's actually crazy that these evil people are straight up just defeating them 75% in like not just "oh they're being cornered but will easily win" but like people are fucking dead like straight up the experienced, big players from this side are just gone

as is the money and the house is aflame

bro fuck Hyunju and Geonwoo coming home to see all this

oh my god I did not expect to get teary-eyed at Geonwoo begging to donate one more bag of blood for Woojin

Fave Ep of the show and just genuinely suchhhh a good episode in general. The humanity and serenity of it drove me to madness.

Ep 7 (Jun 12)

I watched less than 3 minutes of this during lunch and then went to take a little nap and now I'll finish this ep and then go to sleep. I'm just a sleepy guy

and she's gone, the result of Kim Sae Ron's DUI

ah, time-skipped to a healed Woojin

the young girl assigning who's gonna take the top bunk after taking a look at them is so T.T funny

fuckass Junmin lives but the knifers and Mr. Choi are dead how is that fairrrrrrr

I'd be more empathetic toward this man's heartbreak at Mr. Choi's death if he wasn't sleezy toward the woman earlier like yeah fucker, get scammed

I'd be more empathetic toward this character if it wasn't played by fuckass Siwon

won't yall get alcohol poisoning

idk if I'm supposed to be suspecting people of double-crossing or not like people give up info when interrogated but what if it's like Minbeom's brother in law is actually working for Myeong-gil or something, y'know?

Myeong-gil could just use data but sure yep, wifi

did he actually delete some instances of the video or no?

damn, they really did manage to destroy the hard drive just like that? would there not be backups?

are we supposed to know who Myeong-gil called at the end at the serious crimes division? somebody surprising?

I know what people mean by it's a different tone because this is less action-based and more like the shows I usually watch with the planning and secretly attacking rather than fights.

Ep 8 (Jun 13)

bruh ofc the first cop that the brother-in-law would tell about getting the list of victims would be in Myeong-gil's palm

oh fuck they found the place Mr. Choi's friend lived where Geonwoo and Woojin also lived for a bit?

fucking dark ass fight, can't see shit

bruh bad cop good a good view

oh my god they got the whole detective trio?

bro so the 2 male cops survived and my poor girl just straight up got ran over and died rip

oh i see she's in a coma

so we just won't know how they caught the sell-out cop? or we're just supposed to assume they got some info from the fish farm lol

why the fuck did you yell Myeong-gil's name, are you dumb

and then also dropped the knife? you dumb?

and Woojin had also dropped the taser? fr?

you're literally trying to just fuck up the man who killed and ruined hundreds and thousands of people, fuck your "I've become a bloodhound" i need you to straight up kill Myeong-gil or call the cops right now at least tf

well at least keep a couple gold bars for yourself too because you're the poor people who are supposed to be helped too btw lol

siwon playing a fuckass sympathetic kind character is so agh ew also why give him all the money to improve their company image or whatever agh rich ppl like why would you trust a cocky chaebol kid?

well at least they do get 2 gold bars = 1B won = ~1M USD each

Overall:

Good enough, especially the heart of episode 6 but not something I'll be thinking about at all. The characters didn't resonate a whole lot, this focused a lot on just fighting scenes (more than like strategizing, being clever, etc, which is usually what I'm a fan of), the defeat of the villains wasn't really satisfying at all - especially with how cruel episode 6 went down. Also, I don’t ship Geonwoo and Woojin, sadly.

Rating: 6.5/10

[jolselin]

hm. if i were given like the first four episodes of moonlight chicken and asked to write four more i'd write in more interpersonal drama (instead of killing off mrs hong) and in general make everyone more bitter. i've seen a lot of people express similar thoughts and compare the final product with the mock trailer in the latter's favor. that direction - the one with more unresolved conflict and bitterness - seems to be not what aof is fundamentally interested in.

it's easy to dismiss the kind, gentle resolutions to each conflict and say there's many a missed opportunity in the show. while i would agree that mlc would definitely benefit from a couple more episodes and an alangaipa special, it seems that the creative team wanted to convey a different message than some people may have expected. at first i was surprised at the grace extended to heart's parents: these people kept their son isolated from the world for three years and made zero efforts to use sign language, but just like that, after one angry conversation, they start making effort. where's the retribution? why should i, the viewer angry on heart's behalf, forgive them?.. but then, what else are we to do? isn't it better that his parents started making an effort? isn't it better that they moved on? what would the alternative be, heart running away?

same applies to many things in the show. if i were writing it, i would've kept alan more bitter (btw he is my favorite character in the show). i would keep jim and gaipa's relationship more strained (but then, mrs hong's death, sadly, helped them bond again, and i. would not have killed off mrs hong because i prefer other sources of drama). i would not have given jam and li ming the reconciliation that they had, i would maybe not even get jim and li ming to arrive at the full peace they got in the show. i would have especially emphasized wen working for the project that's putting jim out of business and that's really the only thing i would say is a genuine missed opportunity. i'd make saleng and praew stress out more about their upcoming parenthood and their dire financial situation. some of these things could've happened in the show if it had more episodes (i insist we needed more view and mark screentime) but others would never happen because that is not the story the creators wanted to tell. they might be kinder people than i am, or at least interested in kinder stories.

i think i like those kinder stories. they go against my expectations and that unsettles me a bit but then i wonder if it's not better for them to be this gentle. i do not think it was lazy. there's something to be said for the kinder choice, especially since the story resonated with so many people. i appreciate it for what it is. there is, perhaps, a lesson in this kind of storytelling.

(also i guess if they leaned into the drama more the opinions would be even more divisive which i personally never understood but that's a topic for another post)

i judge shows based on how fully they met my expectations. if the show gives me exactly what i think it promised me it would, i usually like it. this is why i rate my school president extremely high even if i can find flaws in it. this is why i rate theory of love higher than most seem to. this is why (we're entering controversial opinions territory i guess) i did not like not me (except for first ofc). with moonlight chicken, it's not that it did not meet my expectations at all, but rather that it went in a direction i had to ponder a bit to truly like. that was an interesting experience. that is not to say that i was not enjoying what was happening onscreen. i love love i love romance i love every scene where wen puts his head on jim's shoulder like he belongs there i love heartliming being as cute as a box of kittens i love when alangaipa are onscreen together for all of their three scenes. this is just me ruminating on one review i saw on mdl.

[hamzaaslam]

RAM Expands Hong Kong Presence with Launch of Two SFC-Authorised Retail Funds

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 November 2024 – Real Asset Management Group (RAM) is pleased to announce the launch of two new Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) authorised retail funds under its public Open-ended Fund Company (OFC): the RAM Hong Kong Government Bond Fund and the RAM Income Fund. From left to right: Mr. William Chai (RAM Managing Director), Mr. Charles Ng…

[eviltiddyproductions]

Vincenzo : Episode 19

Almost near the finish line

In classic Bollywood and TV fashion only one person attacks the protagonist at one time 💀

watching fight scenes at 2.5 is hilarious until something important happens and then you’ve got to rewind 😭

LMAO ofc the building people show up now! this is TV magic. Mr. Nam with the switches 😭😂

Look they’re all getting their title cards too!!!

Everybody is a fighting champion including the chef and just when you think Mr An the intelligent officer will get his office credentials they play President of Vincenzo fan club 🤣 the creators won 🙏

I’ll forgive all the slowness of this show because of moments like these and the shaman ones lmao. they’re so 😭

I wanted someone to punch him so bad and she knocked him out cold !!! #mygirl

no one but me flinched? omg

Mr Cho grabbing 800 friendship lifelines

awww the thumbs up !!! kiss already

NOW WHY is the little brother injured in the thumbnail 😭

the cutest hacker in the existence of hackers. my girl !!!

ofc he managed to pull up a contract to stay by her side. #real

I LOVE MR. NAM SO MUCH

if #they won't hug at least Mr Nam gets to hug

the way i forgot this evil CEO existed lmfaooo, no one cares about you and your evil antics !!! booo 👎

also are we playing evil whack a mole??? one goes down, another one pops up. we're dealing with upgraded lawyer gang now

considering the lawyer gang already know that my people have the guillotine file, wouldn't they be prepared for fall out?

everyone's lighters 10x more powerful and terrifying than my man's. i thought that flame would burn Mr. Nam's hair

'you win' 🤣😭

it is the 19th episode and we're still talking about friendship. #ilost

Sue me I like romance

this hornet judge in a half sleep half drunk stupor is the only person to at least recognise Vincenzo when required. sadly for him, our man's pointing a gun at him rn

it's only been a few minutes but I'm tired of the up down rollercoaster. building people, younger brother stay ALIVE

the way i already know someone will be in the hospital by the end of this episode and that evil CEO is going to go beserk I'm so tired. why are moving this slow 😟

THE PAPERS flying. Look at those two sitting cozy upstairs lmao. I see your frienDshiP

AAAAH look how happy my people are

Her dad would be so happy

Vincenzo saying what I have been yelling since i found out about the real CEO run younger brother run !!! leave the country for a bit

my little bean brother almost drank soy sauce

this episode was testing my patience so I just checked the tags for fun and they once teased a second season???

it's 2023 now so safe to say it's filed under hotel del luna tease? done and dusted i guess

to be fair evil lawyer lady is still playing it smart. she'll be in jail! safe from at least the torture Vincenzo promised.

I'm truly tired of these two evil people though. just get done with your track already. i thought I'd get to chill in episode 19&20. I was wrong 😩

this episode is so filler actually. it's going so slow and we're just sort of stuck watching

'for me and ms hong' slay 😌

the way the Wusang lawyer is number one on his list now lmao why did he have to open his mouth THAT much 💀

she's singing in Italian as my babies don't realise they've been played

aww you can look

she still has those earrings!!!

Vincenzo 🤝 Evil CEO ; typing random words in the laptop after seeing Chayoung

and this is why you should've made a move 😩

they look super cute lol

he practically asked her everything but the time and place of the get together 🤣

she's so cute

also I've just realised MONTHS have passed since they found each other

probably the slowest development I've seen in a relationship since Itaewon Class which took like 6 years but idc about them so I move 💀

SAVE YOURSELF MY SISTER 😩

SAVE YOURSELF LITTLE BROTHER. At least Vincenzo will find her. You're toast 😭

The way this man has ruined his entire life like i wish he at least punched and fought his little brother a little 😔 for once you get to smack hockey pucks on him

My man Vincenzo has had 0 episodes without violence and peace up until now

also I'd die so fast if i lived alone. I literally never have my earphones off.

after 19 episodes he goes after the person who'd set off Vincenzo's alarm bells faster than the others 💀

how am I supposed to even be happy watching Netflix when they just translated sorry sunbae to sorry sweet pea 🤨 like maybe it is what he's implying but I'm still confused ?

he's so nasty but ofc he'd make his younger brother do that

you could've jumped at him tbh, he's alone with a gun and not looking at you but i guess we're going Itaewon class again

oh he was volunteering his death lol

kill your brother instead babe 😭

I LOVE HIM SO SO MUCH I KNEW IT. SMACKED HIS ASS!!! 🎉🍾🎊🥳🤩

gimme a second i need to replay this thrice

oh my god he's actually going after him!!!! even after getting shot. MY BABY !!!

VINCENZO MOVE YOUR ASS OMG

i know my girl's about to be gone because you're untying her hands instead of running 😭

damn younger brother get up 😭

I guess all the romance is happening in 5 minutes in the next episode!

don't think anyone can fumble a finale like Mr. Queen and Flower of Evil though 💀

LET'S GOOOOO LAST EPISODE

[mymelodypink]

I... listened to the album you gave me. To be honest though, "Exercising in the Moon" wasn't that good. But I did enjoy "Blue Scar on the Heart." The melody was nice and I could enjoy the lyrics. I really enjoyed it.

[literaryfic]

Episode 11 breakdown

chayenzo has reached their bonnie & clyde peak in this episode and i’m living for it.

cha-young TORTURING and KILLING the three killers and vincenzo not holding her back

vincenzo letting her take the lead while ‘interrogating’ them... WHILE HOLDING HER COFFEE

at one point he looks worried when she ups the toxic smoke(?) flow (i think he doesn’t want her to lash out and regret what she did) but he doesn’t stop her.

he looks at her when they say they want to answer for their crimes in front of the law and she says “and who would that benefit?”

he’s letting her handle this all throughout the scene, and he’s seeing first hand what she’s capable of, what’s she comfortable with and how far she’s willing to go (which is all the way)

their dynamic has changed a lot from the previous episodes. they’ve truly become partners IN CRIME. (murder couple!!!!).

and as a good husband he tells her he’ll help her throw the people who killed her dad in the tiger’s cage when they’re done using them.

him telling her she belongs in the mafia!!!!!!!!!!! he fully recognised her as one of his own, someone who is capable of the same atrocities as he is and who he can rely on and trust as his equal.

her not reacting negatively when she finds out the extent of vincenzo’s mafia past / when shown the pictures of his killings. she even takes the picture of one of his murders out the prosecutor’s hand....

the HUG scene!!!!!!!!!!!! the chayenzo one, i should say. i think this is the most transparent vincenzo’s feelings have been made for cha-young and the audience to see (excluding the scene where he watches sleep).

first, he doesn’t want to stop drinking and uses the snacks as an excuse to continue drinking until 4 am. i think it’s important because so far vincenzo has done everything he’s said he would do. he does not lie or goes back on his words easily, EXCEPT WHEN CHA-YOUNG IS INVOLVED. the only time he does it for something else, it’s because he breaks the promise of not hurting others. although we’ve seen before how he lied about buying wine, it could just be because he was aware they were being followed and wanted to make sure nothing happened. but here, he clearly says they’ll only drink until 2 am, and when 3 am comes, HE’S THE ONE TO ASK HER TO DRINK UNTIL 4. he uses yet another excuse bc he doesn’t want to part ways with her yet.

then, she apologises for hugging him all of a sudden and he says there’s no need to say sorry, because she was worried. HE NOT ONLY DOESN’T MIND, HE’S TELLING HER IT’S A NORMAL REACTION. i truly think this says a lot bc all throughout the episode vincenzo is being hugged and he HATES it. he’s not a touchy person (except with cha-young ofc) and doesn’t like to be touched. but not only does he hug cha-young BACK, he’s saying she’s allowed to do that. They’re both testing their boundaries with each other.

also, when cha-young tells him she doesn’t know if her heart was beating bc of the situation or bc of her feelings for him, he looks like his own heart is beating really fast!! he swallows, looks away... vincenzo cassano, the mafia consigliere with no fear, is NERVOUS bc of hong cha-young 😭

finally, the HUG. when she says she’s testing to see if she has feelings for him, he smiles bc he finds her cute and he says he won’t move BC HE WANTS HER TO HUG HIM. he smiles as she’s hugging him bc he likes it UNTIL she hugs him harder and he feels nervous again (like he doesn’t want her to hear his fast heartbeat hahaha.) and his holding the chair bc he wants to hug her but he’s holding himself back. and then they look at each other and i just know he doesn’t know what to do hahaha.

meanwhile, cha-young looks at him intensely and i can just TELL that when she says “ah, i was wrong, it was because it was a dangerous situation” she’s LYING YOUR HONOR. she has the softest expression on her face, she’s definitely deeply in love with him lol.

then when she goes back to lie down, vincenzo literally doesn’t know what to do with himself. you can see he’s almost distraught!!! and the way he looks and smiles at her really softly just proves he knows she’s lying as well lol.

i think it’s interesting how the background music from chayenzo’s hug scene introduces his scene with his mom

in this episode vincenzo truly deepens his roots in South Korea, first with cha-young, then his mom, and finally the tenants

it’s also super symbolic that he picks up a thread and gives it back to her haha. it means that instead of serving their relationship, he’s ready to come back to her. he’s healing from the scar of being abandoned and he’s forgiving her.

also am i the only one who thinks the mom lowkey suspects/knows he’s her son? i really can’t tell if she can tell or not....

CHA-YOUNG BEING JEALOUS OF MIRI/POSSESSIVE OF VINCENZO IS SOMETHING I DIDN’T I NEEDED. the way she pushes her chair and hides her face hahahaha... and then she holds his arm!!!!!!

cha-young also puts her hand on his shoulder a lot this episode. they’re so naturally touchy with each other, and the contrast between how vincenzo handles physical touch from literally anyone but cha-young makes it even more domestic 😭

ALSO, vincenzo asking cha-young to come with him when he’s arrested... the parallels between him saying ‘let’s go, lawyer-nim’ when he protects her and ‘come with me, lawyer-nim’ when he’s in trouble...... PARTNERS IN CRIME

the tenants being not only understanding of his past, but PROUD and IMPRESSED???? they respect him much more now than before 😭

the whole Mr. An scene was soooo cool and satisfying!!!!!!

today’s episode was just ‘everyone wants to fuck vincenzo because he’s hot’ and where is the lie???

the tenants throwing him A LITERAL PARADE when he’s back. CHA-YOUNG ASKING IF IT’S A WEDDING HALL WHILE RESTING HER HAND ON HIS SHOULDER AND EVERYONE THROWING CONFETTI AT THEM????? they’re married in canon idc

she even tells him “with all the support that you have, why don’t you make your own family here?” YOU TELL HIM, HE CAN JUST SETTLE HERE WITH THE GEUMGA GANG BC THEY HAVE HIS BACK AND STAY WITH YOU

the tenants telling him about the gold was so funny... hopefully V finds a way to get the gold and they all divide the money equally or something

now the scene where he tortures the arms dealer..... THIS IS THE HOTTEST SCENE IN THE DRAMA IDC IDC IDC

playing the Russian Roulette himself and not blinking an eye i’m— “there’s no limit to fear” your honor i know he murdered countless people but have you seen him at work???? who wouldn’t forgive him

I’m so glad we’re getting darker!vincenzo... i want to see the ruthless consigliere everyone fears !!!! more vengeance and murder everyone !!!!

i’m thankful they didn’t drag on the “who’s babo” story line bc that would’ve been frustrating. when vincenzo called cha-young and told her who junwoo was WHILE SHE WAS WITH HIM!! AND SHE ACTED SO PERFECTLY!!!

also she didn’t doubt vincenzo for a second and she straight up asks him if he’ll stick to the plan (of killing him) without a beat

this episode just showed that everyone in this show is a morally grey villain and i don’t think they’re going to be like ‘the main couple went to jail for a few years to pay for their crimes and then lived happily ever after’. if we follow that logic everyone has to go to jail for something loool. i want them to win with no consequences, get away with everything they did and destroy Babel, idc!!!!!!

[lesjoursdamy]

VINCENZO

After successful dramas like Mr. queen and True Beauty which leaned more towards rom-com, Vincenzo was like a breathe of fresh air. Although this series too has its own comedic scenes, and felt unnatural at times but it nonetheless helped to bring down the intensity of the plot line and provide a comedic relief to the audiences.

Plot-wise, the idea is interesting. A mafia consigliere returns back to his motherland, Korea, to flee from the war between mafia factions and to extract gold hidden deep below the Geumga Plaza. here he meets the plaza residents, hong cha young, and others and faces many inconveniences.

The casting is just chef's kiss. At first, I was questioning how Song Joong Ki will be able to pull off this character given his looks and figure [which gives off a more innocent character vibe rather than a ruthless consigliere not afraid to pull the trigger on anyone]. However, he completely convinced me from the first episode. I really enjoyed Jeon Yeo Bin's take on Hong Cha Young and was really happy to see a strong, independent female lead. Her laugh, over-the-top expressions, and her crazy energy really brought the character to life. Not to forget, the chemistry between the two is unmatched and their craziness, badass nature compliments each other perfectly.

Ok Taec Yeon's portrayal as both a lovable and foolish intern and the evil CEO made me love and hate him at the same time; the transition was pretty flawless as well. And there are not enough words to praise Kwak Dong Yeon as Jang Han Seo; it won't be a lie to say he stole my heart. Apart from the main cast, all the other supporting casts also magnificently embraced their characters. I can't think of any other actors befitting those chaotic characters lol.

I really enjoyed the bgms as well. To me, they had the right intensity and tempo to build suspense. Ngl, I could feel characters' badassness through the pieces.

I want to thank the writers and directors for allowing us to follow the journey of all these characters. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every characters' growth and had great fun watching them all reach their goal [ofc not the villains bc they never achieved their goal].

If you're into revenge drama [which seems to be the trend these days] and haven't binged watched Vincenzo already, I urge you to watch it.

[coolbeansbuddyofmine]

hey ro! for the fanfic ask: 1, 15, 23, 30!

hey whovie! hope you're doing well~

1. favorite fic you wrote this year

oh boy! i know people will say sherlock au, and i would say sherlock au also like 2.5 months ago. but two fics/universes, it shares first place with is a) my hanakimi au for halloweek. i love it to pieces.

and b) my econ students fic. bc duh. im an econ student. that's my fangirl bible and love letter to myself and my discipline <3

so 3. for first place.

which amongst 72 official and countless anon fics that i willst not name, is not a bad ratio.

15. something you learned this year

how to experiment with genres! other than the traditional fic fic, i wrote with different POVs, different styles and creating a bricolage of different text types (i.e chat fic). i learnt reader x character fic that i may write for myself if i feel like it. i learnt action. i learnt porn. i think 2021 was the year i experimented most as a writer.

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

this has earned another oh boy! there are lots of fics i wanted to and then didn't write.

i still have outlines and for the most part, I'm actually done with them but i want to keep them with me and me only.

let's go down the list: i wrote a full-fledged mulan au back in august, wasn't really pleased with it and i never posted it. (cy was mulan, and v, ofc, captain shang. mr nam was mushu and the comedy there was something i was proud of. i might write a mulan 2 for myself).

then, i wrote a fic based on muckraking (which is investigative journalism focused on social development or uncovering social problems) where v was an intl editor journalist coming to sk to meet mr hong over his story. mr hong goes missing, and his daughter cy, has to team up with v to find him. deals with rampant corruption in sk. i did end up writing this, but i liked it v v much that i used my own characters and submitted it for my uni's creative writing journal.

other than that, there was a teacher au with vcy that i never wrote bc lazy also lack of interest. it's a very bland outline.

there was also an epilogue fic with the idea of v exacting revenge on the guys that screwed him over upon his arrival to seoul and stealing his stuff.

i had a v returns fic to the style of swift's how you get the girl and if i ever get the energy to finish it i may publish but for now, nothing.

also hpl au, but that went nowhere other than headcanons and that's fine.

30. favorite fandom to read fic from this year

so there have to be 5 answers to this actually. mostly because my favorite oscillates faster than the pendulum of a grandfather clock.

in the beginning of the year, i was in a full mcu tasertricks obsession. till like april-ish i would say. then life got stressful, and i went back to hetalia, my beloved <3, aushun fics for like a month.

and then for like all of summer, i'd say it was vincenzo easily. but the urge to read fics (aside from a few writers and ideas that interested me) really diminished.

then it was back to the mcu with yonvers. that was fun! other than r*yl*, i love the dark and borderline dark iffy characters (ben solo was an idiot) and i love sunshine women who can kick their asses. this is, unfortunately, the opposite trope for me in irl. i am the grumpy, and mr ro is sunshine.

oh and then, it was back into my anime beloveds. and now, I'm not really reading fanfics other than a few fics I'm following but it's mostly mangas and dark romances from like barnes and noble.

tbh, it's bc there's no one fandom I'm completely obsessed with, and frankly, I'm too busy to even keep with currently airing dramas. so I'm postponing this obsession till when i can afford it.

thanks whovie!

for others that want to ask, here's the link back to the original post

[tinyshinysylveon]

i suddenly got this idea where izuku is an anonymous famous editor for youtubers who hire him to edit their videos because he’s a professional at doing it, and katsuki is an upcoming youtube vlogger who travels around the world and yet doesn’t know how to edit his own videos to save his life, so no matter what he does, he always seem to mess up even the basics of editing (part 1/??)

“i think you need professional help” kirishima says as he watches katsuki trying to drag an edited cut on to his video for the umpteenth time that day “shut up, shitty hair just give me a minute-” an error popup. “did you just.. deleted the video?” “....”

katsuki keeps trying, he even watched tutorials on youtube (while skipping important segments ofc because he can totally do that all on his own!) but his patience is wearing thin until kirishima recommended him to someone who’s known in the youtube community for their famous editing skills 

“..deku?” katsuki stares at his screen showing a youtube profile with the name deku as their username and an icon of all might with edited-in sunglasses “okay look, he may seem suspicious to you, but i gotta tell you bakugou, he’s legit, i’ve seen his videos and they look awesome!” well katsuki will be the judge of that despite this deku having 5 mil+ subscribers than him!

the blonde spent the whole day watching deku’s videos which mostly consists of amvs (anime music videos) and games, especially the ones that required a lot of effort to make, plus he even made tutorials! so he gotta give him credit for that, but alas, katsuki is still somehow having trouble following directions and gave up on the latest tutorial video on how to add an easy transition 

when kirishima came to check in with katsuki, all he heard were multiple clicks and grumbled noises, he let out an exasperated sigh “i can’t believe you’re still trying..” “what the fuck do you want me to do kirishima?” katsuki was trying not to flip his table at this point. “hire him obviously!” the red head yells out as if that’s the answer to their problems “..and how do you suppose i do that?” 

it actually took a lot of convincing in kirishima’s part, but katsuki finally threw away his pride and decided to send a message to deku’s business email that was left under his about page on youtube 

“..i want you to become my editor and help me in becoming the #1 youtube travel vlogger in the community” kirishima reads the message out loud that’s displayed on the screen, “you sure you want to send it like this?” “i don’t see anything wrong with it?” “but don’t you think it’s too.. blunt? no formalities or anything like, hello i’ve seen your videos and i would be honored to have you as my editor, you know?” katsuki just shrugged, “it’s too late, i already sent it to him”

about half a day later, deku replied back, “Good afternoon Mr.Explosionmurder, I appreciate that you requested me to become your editor and would like to discuss further details about our agreement via discord. You can contact me by adding my username, deku#2463. I look forward to hearing from you.” to this day, kirishima still can’t believe his eyes when he read the message

“oi shitty hair, what’s a discord?” 

it wasn’t katsuki’s fault that the majority of time he spent in high school was doing his best to stay on top of assignments and projects, plus being in the A honor roll, he didn’t really get to decide on his career until after he graduated, thanks to the courtesy of his parents owning their own modeling industry, he put the money he saved up to good use in traveling around the world and vlogging it for people to see with kirishima as his traveling partner

he explained all of this and his reasonings to deku on discord once he reached out to him and figured out how to use the platform, but katsuki was still suspicious regarding his video editing skills and wanted to see it firsthand on how his videos would look like as a finished product

deku: fair enough, send me your videos and i’ll see what i can do, until then, if you deem it satisfactory, which i’m confident that you will, i request a 50/50 payment on your revenue. take it or leave it. 

for some reason, katsuki agreed to it without a second thought due to the challenging tone from the message; “i can’t believe you! i told you to trust him! why do you have to doubt him?! haven’t you already seen his videos?!” kirishima was full on panicking at this point, how were they going to make money?! “shut up, i know what i’m doing! i know what’s best for my videos!” it was a good chance too since they’re currently in hong kong and planning to shoot the top 10 tourist spots to visit as claimed by an article he found online

a few days later, katsuki finally got all the videos piled up in one folder and sent them all in a google drive to share with deku just as he requested, he even mentioned to him thru discord message to follow the cues he was giving him on his videos such as when he and kirishima took a stroll and tried foods in the temple street night market; “hey deku, i want you to do a close up of kirishima eating the curry fish ball with erotic music playing in the background” he smirks while focusing the camera on the red head eating without a care in the world and not noticing katsuki making the comment, “mmm dude, mmm you gotta try this, it’s so freakin’ good- wait bro, how long have you been pointing the camera at me?” 

in less than a week, deku sent a reply back with the link to the fully edited video; deku: hmm, not gonna lie, but your cues were actually helpful and dare I say, creative? katsuki took it as a compliment and opened the link to the video file, it was about a few GB so it shouldn’t take a long time to upload on youtube, but.. was it ready? he called in kirishima to watch it with him and was actually prepared for it to look horrible despite deku’s obvious talent except.. it was actually pretty good?? better even?! “what did i tell ya katsuki? i told you he was legit,” his partner boasted, just earlier he was embarrassed when the part about him eating the curry fish ball with the “let’s get it on” music in the background showed up while the blonde just rolled his eyes. 

explosionmurder: thanks, and i just saw it, consider yourself hired deku: happy to be of service! i’m looking forward to working with you, mr.explosionmurder! it would be helpful again if you provided the cues during your journey! :)  explosionmurder: don’t mention it and also don’t call me that, call me katsuki  deku: okay, mr.katsuki! [all might emoji]

kastuki found it odd that he became really eager during the exchange but thought nothing of it

a couple of months flew by and katsuki with kirishima in tow have already travelled in 4 other different countries, he even received about 500k+ subscribers, he’s almost to 1 million! as per agreement, he gives half of his revenue to deku which was okay with him since he still has a lot of saved up money in the bank including kirishima’s since they’re sharing it anyway, most of the time, his communication with deku have been entirely professional with a few emojis in between (usually deku’s part), until today that is 

deku: it must be nice to travel 0:  explosionmurder: pfft, what are you talking about? you now have over 7 mil+ subscribers in your channel since i met you, you can go traveling whenever or wherever you want  deku: i can’t  explosionmurder: what do you mean you can’t?

no reply

since then, katsuki didn’t want to think too much on what deku said and focused mostly on traveling, those videos won’t work themselves! after he finished, he sent over the videos of his recent trip from india over to deku and as usual, deku delivered it back beautifully edited along with a message 

deku: that’s so cool! you guys went to india? *o* [link to video edit] explosionmurder: yeah, you should’ve seen shitty hair when he tried that really spicy curry, which reminds me, you did what i asked right? deku: of course mr. katsuki! as always, i’ve paid attention to every cue you asked for! [saluting pepe emoji] explosionmurder: good good, i didn’t just hire you to sit on your ass all day  deku: haha you’re not my only contractor you know ^^”  explosionmurder: is that what you meant when you said you couldn’t travel because you’ve been busy? way to be blunt katsuki, he mentally berated himself, but at least deku answered this time, although reluctantly deku: ...let’s just say im stuck at home  in that very moment, is when everything changed between them explosionmurder: alright nerd, you sound depressed as hell so i’m going to give you the decision to decide on where we’re going to travel to next, think of it as a reward for all you’ve done for us  deku: asdkjflas that’s too much! T_T are you sure mr. katsuki??? explosionmurder: i’m waiting, you got 3 seconds starting now, 3  deku: america! i’ve been wanting to go to america...

katsuki told kirishima his plans, then the spiky red head gave him a pat on the back and a thumbs up, “so you do have a sentimental bone in your body!” kirishima was almost close to being dead that very same day 

when they arrived to america, he asked deku the list of things he wanted to see and most of them were, “all might amusement park, all might cafe, all might- is there anything else the nerd likes besides all might and superheroes?” katsuki says while viewing the list in the hotel they’re staying at. “give him a break, you said so yourself that he couldn’t leave his house, so this is the least we can do for him and for all the hard work he put in our videos,” kirishima reasoned with him

on the last day of their trip, katsuki did his routine in piling the videos together and sending them to deku with the attached message, “i actually bought you a souvenir if you want it, looked like the type of shit you would like, you’ll see what it is in the videos i’ve sent you” they’ve known each other long enough so he thought why the hell not, it’s just a matter of getting his PO address, and the response to this was immediate, “AAA I SAW IT! THANK YOU THANK YOU!” <3<3 <(^w^<)

it was an all might limited edition figurine only available in the US 

for the first time, deku took two days longer to finish than katsuki expected him to since they’ve started because he always goes through them pretty quickly, maybe he’s too busy making them look up-to-par? whatever the case was, when katsuki received the video, it already had a title for it, “MY AWESOME TRIP TO AMERICA PLUS ULTRA!” kirishima just laughed and told him to keep it in honor of deku so he left it like that, “this better give me some views,” he grumbled and uploaded it the night before they went to bed, he wasn’t really worried in checking it out either because he has faith in deku’s abilities  

the morning after was hectic, katsuki has been receiving notifications upon notifications on the “travel bros” (courtesy of kirishima) twitter since last night, one in particular caught his eye, “i can’t believe deku and katsuki are dating! who would’ve thought!” what?

a short video appeared underneath that came from the video he uploaded, and regretfully never took a look at, showing katsuki saying to the camera as he held the AM figurine, “deku, you should’ve been here, look at what i got you, nerd,” at first glance, it was supposed to look normal (from the original video!) except hearts and sparkles began appearing around katsuki as he smirks up at the camera, what the fuck? besides, deku was suppose to edit that all out! for every cue in every part where he says deku’s name, he was expected to delete them like he usually does! even though it was no secret that deku was his video editor, he distinctly remembers mentioning about him in a video they took way back when they first started out their contract agreement

meanwhile, kirishima was having a field day, he finally saw their video while katsuki kept on seeing other short videos of him on twitter from different segments of the trip in which he either had sparkles or hearts around him, especially when he mentions deku’s name; “bro you won’t believe this, our subscribers grew up to over 1 million last night!” kirishima yells enthusiastically, but when he noticed katsuki not paying attention to him, he looked over his shoulder to check what he was looking at. “oh that, you know those aren’t fanmade videos, right?” katsuki unblinkingly turned to look at him, “you mean..?” kirishima gave him a toothy grin, “yep!” 

a video call from discord, “dekuuuu, what is the meaning of this?” a squeaky voice, “i-I’m so sorry i got carried away and i couldn’t help it! all might was too beautiful including you and-!” “..what did you just say?”

TBC maybe?

[unicornbitchface]

Raat ki Rani

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC

Background: A story set in the colonial past of India.

Beta’d by my lovely friend @madbaddic7ed​​ !

Warnings: harsh languange

...............................................................................................

Chapter 3

The hall looked magnificent as if the ghosts of the past had brought them back to the days of glory. The chandelier was lit up, its jewels reflecting light upon every nook and corner.

The musicians played with vigor, expecting a heavy reward for their best efforts and the sweet-scented welcome of every guest added to the pomp.

Every high born around the state was to be present in the feast, and there they were, happy to make the acquaintance of the new British resident. The only glitch was that the said officer was nowhere to be seen, making the Maharaja jittery and a little annoyed.

Soon everyone would start asking questions, for how long was he supposed to distract guests with starters? With this thought, Ganga nodded at Kulwant, asking him to get an update.

*******

Late again! But the blame was on the delay with the dress they insisted to be worn. What was wrong with the old ones? Nothing when I see them!

Who in their right minds would wear these? UGH. I will have to talk to the culprits after this goddamn feast for that buffoon!

As Damini walked through the seemingly deserted halls of the palace, fixing her stubborn hair, adding a gajra and cursing the dressmaker, she did not realise that she took a wrong turn.

Distressed by her woes of fashion and etiquette that mandated her presence in that debauchery, she walked in a jiffy towards her dear friend, Ashwanth.

The gajra, long forgotten, embraced the side of the marble tile near a very special room. Only the melody of her heavy gold trinkets echoed in the air paired with a certain gift, attracting the attention of a handsome blue-eyed devil who was switching to his suits after giving the Indian kurta a chance.

The sound made him curious like the first night, and his feet dragged him to the halls. Only half dressed, shirt unbuttoned, he looked around and tried to trace the echo. All that he could concur, was a moving shadow with the curves of silk, the bells moving in sync with those voluptuous hips. Coming back to his allotted room, the only remnant of that siren laid across the floor.

The gift.

That smell.

His hand snatched the bunched flowers, as if the grounds would swallow them if he wasn’t quick enough. One whiff and he knew he needed it in his life more than the opium his friends favoured.

So, it belonged to a person after all, and by the accompanying silhouette, a woman.

His woman.

A sudden realization had his pupil dilated, as he went back to the room. She might be at the feast.

If he heard them right, everyone significant would be present in that hall, and she was the most significant.

He chuckled at his poetry, what is wrong with me, he thought. He moved around the room with swiftness but also a renewed interest, humming tunes while he applied a dash of cologne and adjusted his jacket to perfection.

He passed the mirror one last time, stopping to fix his hair. He had to look perfect for his sweet maiden. His brows furrowed, a troubling thought flashing his mind. What if she was spoken for? What if she was claimed already, her heart in someone else’s hands?

Blue eyes turned colder than a foot of ice.

Hands on the desk,

He looked at himself,

A crooked smile gracing, 

Then what?

Then,

A war like no other.

A war that would put Trojan and Mahabharata to shame.

A knock at the door tamed the raging storm in his eyes. Lord Cavill looked up, frowning at the distasteful intrusion upon his whims and fancies.

Ah, the big bad boulder.

“Come in, General! I assume you are here to escort me to the venue?”

“Khamba Ghani Cavill Saab. I heard that the British people are always on time, and yet here I find you, barely dressed for the occasion.”

A smirk laced the British resident’s face as he retorted, “Well you’re not wrong, but I happen to be the guest of honour and I may arrive whenever I may please. In fact, just for that comment, I would like to take a few more minutes before I leave.” And he turned towards his desk and picked up a recent correspondence from the Crown. 

Kulwant couldn’t help but roll his eyes, a movement instantly caught by the blue-eyed man. 

“Keep going! I will take an extra minute for each time you roll your eyes, kind sir.”

It was beyond the General’s comprehension that a man as petulant as this entitled bleached monkey, could even hold the post of a hawaldar in court, let alone be a Lord of some sort. Nevertheless, he was a guest, and of honour at that.

Thus, the loyal servant of the court stood tall and quiet while the firang made his point, albeit unnecessarily.

Once he was done having fun at the General’s expense, Cavill agreed to be escorted to the event. He reached the hall, and couldn’t believe his eyes for a minute. 

The hall looked straight out of a fairytale, and the worth of the mere jewels studded on the walls could help him buy a couple of kingdoms.

He reigns in his musings, and walks toward Maharaja Ganga Singh. 

************

“We don’t have time! Baba will decorate his court with my head! Let’s go!”

“Damu! Come on, wait! You don’t even have flowers in your hair.”

“You think I care, Ashwanth!? I can barely move in this outfit! It’s so heavy and so unnecessary! All for that invader and his honour! What can be more honourable than stealing lands you have no business with, right?”

“Damu, don’t be silly! You’re a princess, and you cannot just march into the hall like a maid! Here, let me put these roses and..Can you just.. oho! THERE.”

“That’s right! I am a princess and this is my palace! Watch me..”

The two friends kept bickering along the way. Anyone who had seen these two would mistake them for longtime lovers, and yet things remained strictly platonic, at least from Damini’s end. 

For someone with an expertise in strategising, warcraft and literature, the princess often missed the veiled looks Prince Ashwanth threw at her. How he always brought gifts, only in exchange for her ruthless company and how he bowed down to all her incessant demands, all for her pleasure.

To Ashwanth, she was the key to his future and beyond. To Damu, he was the ever constant confidant, seemingly balanced and loyal to a fault.

As they moved towards the hall, she made eye contact with her father and naturally started walking to him, just like she has been trained to, her seat to his left calling out to its rightful master. What she didn’t realise was a figure moving in the same direction.

Lost in conversation and the pull of the decorum, she collided with a commoner, which only fueled her frustration.

“Dekh ke nahi chala jata kya? Humare raste aane ki himmat kaise hui?” (Can't you see where you're going? How dare you get in my way?)

“What did you just say?! How dare you use that tone with me?

“Poore mahal mein yeh gorey deemak ke bhaanti badhte hi ja rahe hain! Ek din ka bhi chain nahi hai!”(These white people are everywhere, like pests! Give me a break)

“Damu yeh..”(Damu this is….)

“Honge apne desh mein nawab, yahaan pe inki aukaat humaare naakhoon baraabar bhi na hain! Aur aise kya ghoor rahe hain yeh, laaj lajja kuch hai inko?” (He might be a Lord in his country, but here he isn't worth my toenail! And why are you staring at me like that? Have you any shame?)

Lord Cavill fumed at this disgrace of a woman, one who dared to look him in the eye and dared to speak while addressing him directly. Although he could not understand her words, her tone and posture were enough to get her backhanded, had they not been in the presence of company.  

This unruly child must be taught a lesson.

If anyone asked Lord Cavill, a woman’s tongue is only good for two things, sewing her mouth shut and on his cock whenever he pleased. If he didn’t expect the siren of his dreams to be in attendance, he would have put her in her place. Even if he could not punish this puny, dusky troll, he still had a reputation to defend.

“You listen to me carefully woman! You are messing with the wrong man, and spewing gibberish in some primitive language is not going to save you! Do you even know who I am? You are in MY bloody court and if I please, I can rip that serpentine tongue out of that pretty little hole! So you better apologise!”

“Cavill Saab.. please.. that’s my..”

“APOLOGISE? For what? Standing on my own soil? Or comparing you to a termite? None of which are false in my eyes. So get out of my way and know your place or you know what, go cry to your incompetent Lord!”

A storm raged in their eyes, wrath of all oceans combined in his and a black blizzard stirred concurrently in hers.

“Eyes down now, foreigner. ” The Tigress growled in warning.

The entire hall was suddenly quiet at the outburst. The musicians had stopped playing, and by the look of amusement on their faces, this was not the first time Damini Bai Sa had been the centre of attention.

Ashwanth tried pulling her back, her father was shooting daggers at her, while her siblings stood with aggravated expressions, exasperated by this wild child. It was Ganga Singh, who walked towards the ruckus and roared, which broke the deadly silence that had thickly draped the occasion.

“DAMINI! Are you out of your mind?! Do you even know WHO that is? Forgive me my Lord! This is my youngest child, Rajkumari Damini Bai, and I do not know what got into her, she is nothing like this!”

Renu and Revati Bai snickered at this comment and tried to hide their glee when they could see their father’s plan failing. No way will Lord Cavill bed this wild boar! They were preparing themselves for saving the kingdom, all the while reaping the seeds of pleasure from it.

“Damu, this is Lord Cavill himself. What is wrong with you, my child? Apologise, right now!”

“I would rather do Jauhar..” (light a pyre)

“DAMI..”

“It’s alright, Mr. Singh! I cannot expect common courtesy from uncultured brats like her. It just saddens me that you bear this burden on your shoulders! She certainly must have brought tremendous shame to the title of a Princess!”

Damini was about to give him a piece of her mind when Ashwanth pulled her back and gave her a solid glare.

Lord Cavill continued, “ Forgive me, but Maan Singh and your daughters seem like true blue-blooded beings. Has she been adopted from the streets?” His condescending tone should have had all the swords in the realm drawn up, but the language barrier and a father’s resolution to shove his daughter at him, saved the British neck.

Damini could not tolerate the insult and charged at him, “ Oh this is it! You goddamn plague sore! I will..” but was blocked by Ashwanth who was done watching her embarrass the Rajputana pride like a common whore.

“THAT IS ENOUGH DAMINI! Go take a seat!” The Maharaja ordered. But when she moved to her designated seat, her father grabbed her by the arm and lashed out with gritted teeth, “Sit with the guests. That seat belongs to your Master now. And don’t you dare embarrass me further. You are to serve him, and make sure he is left wanting for nothing. Nothing.”

Tears threatened to fall as the Tigress straightened her back, the princess coming to the fore, taking her position in the room, finding her place in the oppressive hierarchy.

Cavill watched her change her stance, a subtle nod to whatever her father threatened her with and for a second, he was impressed by the precise mutation. That is when he noticed the princess for the first time. Not so bad for a desert kingdom, blooming in all the right places. 

Back home, feisty women were his speciality, and he would often tame the likes of this woman, ploughing through their virgin lands.

His eyes wandered to her navel, as she walked to the guy who took her away earlier. Must be fucking her, and not enough at that! If she were in the right bed, she would be blissed out and her tongue tired. He could see her under him, screaming for an entirely different reason.

As the lust awoke, the mere thought of breaking this ballsy female had blood rushing to his groin, steeling his resolve as well as his cock. He had never bedded a princess, and was primed to claim her body for one night.

If that man could have her, she was fair game to all.

He strode towards the prize, steps decisive and eyes frigid. That is when he heard her voice, lowered but not discouraged by any means.

“Ashwanth, they let him take my seat, MY seat! And how could he say that about my lineage!? It was my seat!”

Ashwanth patiently replied, “ Don’t create a scene Damu, a chair does not define your position in the house, neither does some outsider! And can you please stop talking in English? You know how our people feel about it!”

Damini was feeling suffocated and needed to take a breath, but her luck soured the moment she felt thick fingers grabbing her arm, and felt his breath at the nape of her neck.

“You don’t need to get so riled up, princess. You know you can always sit on my lap like the little bitch you are.”

Damini looked at him with such fire in her eyes that it would have put Hestia to shame.

"Take. Your. Hands. Off. Me."

Taken aback, Cavill's grip loosened and she jerked out of his grasp with a rippling force. Much to the astonishment of the onlookers, she turned on her heel and stormed off.

The pride of her tears matched with the stride of the Tigress, refusing to fall before anyone.

***********************

Hindi Terms:

Khamba Ghani: Rajasthani salutation and a way to say hello. 

Firang: A derogatory term used for Europeans/ Colonisers, loosely translating to outsider.

Saab: Sir

Maharaja: King

Gajra: A traditional weave of scented flowers used as hair accessory by women.

Chapter 2

Tags:

@madbaddic7ed @henrythickcavill @toomanyfandomsshreya @inana999 @maximumninjavoid @mistress-of-ward

[cutiejoshi]

Kpop Fan Profile <3

Thanks for the tag Chey!! ily!! 💕💕 @soonhoonsol

Fandoms: Carat, Stay, Wenee, Monbebe, To Moon, Midzy, Once, Atiny, Army, Dong-Ari and Myday :)

Ult Bias(es): ♡♡ BANG CHANN 🥺💕💐✨ THE SWEETEST MAN TO EVER EXIST ♡♡

Ult group(s)/Soloist(s): Stray Kids, Seventeen, Monsta X

Other Groups/ Soloists: Dongkiz, 1Team, KARD, Chungha, Sunmi, Eric Nam, Oneus, Ateez, Itzy, Everglow, Twice, NCT, and Mamamoo!!

Kpop Albums I Own: An Ode (svt), Heng:garæ (svt), The Dream Chapter: Eternity (TXT), All About Luv (Monsta X), Follow-Find You (Monsta X), Take.1 Are You There? (Monsta X), Take.2 We Are Here (Monsta X), Fly With Us (Oneus), Map of the Soul: Persona (BTS), Love Yourself: Her (BTS), NCT 2018 Empathy Reality Ver. (NCT), NCT 2018 Empathy Dream Ver. (NCT), Clé 2: Yellow Wood (Skz) - a lot of these were gifts from my friends :’)

Other Kpop Merch I Own: Army Bomb Ver.2, some shirts from the concerts, some monsta x shirts, a couple posters of bts,skz, svt and mx, a BTS stamp set (idk how I ended up buying this-) and OH AND A JIN IMAGE PICKET :’)

Kpop Concerts I’ve Been To: The Wings Tour (BTS, 2017), Gravity (Day6, 2019), Fly With Us (Oneus, 2019), Before We Begin (Eric Nam, 2020) - I don’t rlly go to a lot of concerts so idk what happened at the end of 2019/beginning of 2020 but I’d glad I let myself go to as many as I could before the virus became a problem :’)

Biggest Wreckers: Mr Joshua Hong AND AJDHS BOO SEUNGKWAN 🥺🥺💕💕 and ofc hwang hyunjin and min yoongi always bias wrecking me 😌

Favorite Songs: Miroh by Stray Kids, Lost in the Dream by Monsta X and Fallin’ Flower by Seventeen :) <3 and truly I love Who U Are by Kang Daniel

Favorite Albums: Clé 1: Miroh and I am Who by Stray Kids, Teen,Age by Seventeen, and Light Us by Oneus!

Kpop Doppelganger: hmm personality wise I’m similar to hyunjin from stray kids maybe :) or wonpil from Day6! But I definitely don’t look like anyone :’)

this was so much fun!! Hehe I’m tagging: @lunatens @squishy-woozi @vanillajoshh @milkteafairy-hyeri (only if you wanna do this :) )

[yongieee]

i was tagged by @jaehyun-l who apparently would hold me at gunpoint if i didn't do this djsjsjs love your tsundere nature asy!😚😚

anyways fjsdnsj lemme get on with it (i sincerely apologise idk how to add the keep reading thing so sorry to ur fingers for having to scroll- i tend to waffle💀💀💀)

nickname: ash!! my names aishwarya but who can be arsed for that right sjdjdjs so my friends all call me ash!

star sign: capricorn (it's kinda creepy how all the cappie personality traits literalee describe me- mayhaps astrology is accurate!)

height: like barely 5'1 fkdkdkd i am a smol one indeed plus i can't walk in heels so ig i'm destined to be mistaken for a 12 yo all my life👽👽

last film i watched: split!! n that shit had me confused di whole time i had to look up the wikipedia plot to make sense of it💀💀 im dumb oh well🤷🏽‍♀️

last thing i googled: gksjdjdjdn deadline for student loans ffkkckckckf we tryna get this edu-macation amirite laydees?!! acc no i'm normally so unorganised with this shit so I'm trying to sort it out early n not be lastminute.com as usual

favourite musician/artist: i literally listen to anything but my top groups are exo (ofc), shinee n nct! i am an sm hore n a boy group supremacist it seems👁👄👁 in terms of solo artists- sunmi, dean, mr D.O when he finally puts out the rnb solo album we ksoo-ls are all starving for n does taemin count??👽👽 well im putting him anyway jsjdjdk

song stuck in my head- key's one of those nights! amazing song i love him

other blogs- none lool im lazy

do u get asks?- not very often😔😔 but i would like some fkskdksj i promise im really nice

following: 274 blogs

followers: redacted

amount of sleep: im one of those ppl that needs like 8 hours at least to function normally which sucks cause i like staying up but most of di time i dont have the energy sjsjssjs

lucky number: i acc don't have one but i like 3 and 7 for some reason

dream job: i used to dream of being an interior designer when i was small djsjsjs random but yeh- also i've always thought working in music production would be so cool ooh and architecture as well sjsjsj can u tell i'm indecisive🤦🏽‍♀️

dream trip: all the big cities like hong kong, tokyo, seoul n also maybe when i have a s.o which may be centuries from now sksksks somewhere like venice or rome👀

instruments i play: played keyboard until i broke my thumb, play guitar decently n the ukulele is basically a smaller guitar to me so that too jsjsjsjs

languages i speak: english, malayalam, french n im in the very slow process of learning korean🤓

favourite food: ik this is probs not one ppl think about but cheese!! like cheesecake, pizza, pasta, cheese makes everything better n in terms of cuisine, indian obvs, italian n east asian ig

random facts: vkdkkdkd i'm a christmas day baby n also a leftie yes i am a strange child

favourite song: atm metronome by weki meki n replay by nct 127

my aesthetic: ceiling to floor windows where u can see di city below, black tea, gold n silver jewellery, scribbly (illegible) handwriting, dark chocolate, 80s flare jeans

tagging @yiffxing @bisexualbbh @vogueksoo @baekwhore @sesoolay n any other ppl that wanna do it!

[joshuas]

i always call u mrs hong ofc i ship u with shua <3

and myself maybe

PLS WHDSJSJFSDNKFSDJN

tell me who you ‘ship’ me with <3

[diinofayce]

Like A Whisper In The Night - 3

Authors Note: So an early post! I’ve been working on this one a lot, trying to get a decent idea of Layne’s abilities and a hint at who she is outside of The Avengers. I’m so used to seeing these OFCs where they’re healing a broken Bucky and I kind of want to turn it on it’s head a little, have them take care of each other. So bear with me as I work through how I really want to go about that.

Music Note: I’ve been excitedly awaiting DOROTHY’s new album and listened through their entire discography the other day and realized how much their album speaks to the feeling I wanted this book to have. The band will be woven into the rest of this story. All music belongs to them and I would really suggest looking into them, they’re fantastic.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC | Word Count: 7,447 | Warnings: Swearing, Manipulation, Alcohol | Song: Gun In My Hand - DOROTHY

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

~*~

The next day Layne had decided to have a mental health day. She slept poorly, nightmares of Greg Andrews’ memories haunting her. They were mixed in with the girl from Hong Kong and a few from other people she had infiltrated before joining up with The Avengers. In true mental health day fashion, Layne forwent wearing makeup and her long brown hair was twisted up into a heap on the top of her head. She was wearing a thin, black, worn out Motorhead tank top and red flannel pajama pants. She had zero plans of having social interaction with anyone on the team today or even leaving her room. Layne was currently curled up in a mountain of pillows on her bed painting her toenails blue. She took a deep swig out of a bottle of Spotted Cow, the New Glarus sampler pack sitting on the floor next to her bed. It was one of the only home comforts she asked Tony to get for her, the specialty beer only available for sale in Wisconsin. Her stereo was blaring music loud enough to pulse her walls and softly rattle the mirrors. Tony had most of the building set up to be relatively soundproof after Bucky with his night terrors and so far none of her neighbors complained about the volume she kept her music at any time she was inhabiting her room. The guitar and bass hummed together in a deep, melodic tone as the female vocalist rasped over the top of a double bass drum.

“Why did love put a knife in my heart Why did love open up my scars Why did love put a knife in my heart In my bed, in my head, in my heart.

Was it for redemption Was it for revenge Was it for the bottle Was it for the ledge Was it for the thrill that pushes my hope to the edge Why did love, why did love put a gun in my hand?”

It took Layne a few minutes to realize that someone was even knocking at her door under the pounding of her music. She carefully hopped off the bed and opened her door, trying not to smudge her wet polish. Layne was startled again by Bucky being on the other side of her door. She gave a crooked half smile and leaned against her door frame, her arms crossed over her chest. “Well, well, Mr. Barnes. What can I do for you?” Layne tried to play cool, despite the fact that her heart was going a million miles a minute at the sight of him in a tight baby blue V neck shirt that made his eyes seem so much brighter and acid wash jeans.

Bucky looked her up and down really quick, trying to ignore the fact that Layne didn’t appear to be wearing a bra while grimacing slightly at the music that blared into the hallway with her open door. “What is that noise?” Bucky asked, his brows knitting together and looking past Layne. Layne’s smile faltered slightly and she didn’t stop him as Bucky slipped passed her into her room.

“It’s blues rock. Is it too loud?” Layne asked closing the door behind him and then turning down the radio to a more palatable level before she sat back down on the bed and continued painting her toenails.

“Blues-rock, huh? When did that become a thing?” Bucky asked leaning against her couch. Layne reached down and grabbed a Staghorn out of the sampler pack and handing it to Bucky. Bucky took it with a grateful smile and cracked the top off with his metal palm.

“Um, 1960’s? You know, Lonnie Mack and Eric Clapton? No, wait, I guess you wouldn’t. It’s good. I think you’d probably like Eric Clapton more than this stuff; he’s a little more mellow.” Layne pointed her stereo remote and hit a button, Sunshine of Your Love playing softly in the background. “So, this band is technically Cream, but it’s what made Eric Clapton really famous before he went solo. Incredibly talented instrumentalist and his vocals were so necessary for the era.”

Bucky listened and as he intently watched her paint her nails. He couldn’t help but smile slightly at the passion in which she spoke about music. “It’s…groovy?” Bucky asked sounding a little unsure. Layne laughed, a soft bell-like sound that caused tiny wrinkles around her caramel eyes.

“Groovy good or groovy bad?” Layne asked through her chuckle.

“Good. I like it,” Bucky reassured. “More than what you first had playing.”

Layne’s laughter died a little and she nodded, twisting the cap onto her polish and setting it on her nightstand. “Well, when you’re listening outside of your preferred genre you have to separate it out. Start with the words, add the voice, then put in the instruments. But it’s probably a good thing these guys never got picked up, the vocalist just couldn’t hack it,” Layne responded, her tone clipped. She caught Bucky’s confusion and waved her hand before he had a chance to respond. “Never mind Bucky. You never answered on why I’m graced with your presence this morning.”

Bucky hesitated, trying to figure out if he had offended her in some way before getting down to the matter at hand. “Stark called a mandatory meeting and you didn’t show up, so they sent me to come find you.”

Layne’s caramel eyes widened and she dashed over to her desk to check her phone. “Oh, shoot. It died and I didn’t realize,” she tossed her phone back down on the desk and looked at him oddly. “Did they send you because you just found out where my room is?”

Bucky groaned and ran both of his hands through his hair, the orange of the lamps in Layne’s room reflecting softly off of his metal arm. “Vision ratted me out, huh?” Bucky had gone down his list for eliminating rooms yesterday to figure out which one was Layne’s when he was left with two doors that he didn’t know. He chanced the one on the right only to have Vision faze out of the wall next to him. Bucky didn’t even know Vision had his own room. Vision had kindly directed Bucky to the only other door that he couldn’t figure out, the door that happened to be right across the hall from Bucky’s. Feeling like an idiot, he had thanked Vision, not thinking that the android would later go and tattle on him.

Layne laughed again, opening a few drawers in her dresser and pulling random articles of clothing out. “Yes. I was wondering how you managed to find me. You had never been neighborly before, but I figured you found me because of the racket. I’m just going to get changed really quick; you don’t have to wait if you don’t want.” Layne said, disappearing into the bathroom. She took in her reflection in the mirror and grimaced, not expecting to have to leave her room or have anyone in her room she really didn’t put any effort into looking presentable. Layne tried not to think too hard about the fact that she was hanging out with Bucky without a bra on as she got dressed. Putting a little bit of foundation powder on her face and a light coat of mascara she deemed herself relatively okay for a team assembly. She thought a moment on her choice of apparel, knowing it’s not everyone’s version of comfy, but most of Layne’s clothes were concert ready since that was her scene back home. Whenever Layne wasn’t working on papers or in labs for school she was either on or behind a stage. She wondered if Bucky would judge her on the holes and the bare midriff, and then stopped to wonder why she cared so much. Bucky hadn’t put any interest in her until now and she certainly wasn’t looking to turn heads at work.  

Bucky waited for the bathroom door latch to click before striding over to her stereo and popping the player open. A burned disc with ‘DOROTHY’ written across the top in purple Sharpie sat in the tray. “FRIDAY? Can you get me a copy of this?” Bucky asked, looking at the ceiling. Recognizing the name he looked up at the walls and saw the poster with the name DOROTHY scrawled across the front of a woman’s bright red lips, tongue out, and two switchblades crossed on other side poised to cut the appendage off.

“Can do, Sgt. Barnes,” came the response, a little too loud for his liking. He looked up as the bathroom door clicked open and quickly shut the tray, moving back to his spot on the couch.

Bucky’s heart sputtered momentarily as he took in Layne’s torn skinny jeans that settled on her hips and her flat midriff showing below a maroon shirt with Motley Crue stamped on the front. She was throwing a navy blue flannel around her shoulders, buttoning it up to just below her breasts and covering the exposed flesh of her abdomen. She looked up from her buttons, noticing Bucky was waiting for her and let out a dazzling smile that made Bucky’s heart sputter again. He cleared his throat and walked over to meet her at her front door, confused about the emotions he was feeling.

“What’s Motley Crue?” Bucky asked, reaching out carefully and moving the lapel of the flannel aside. Layne tsked and shook her head, looking at him with disapproval, not being able to hide the soft pink flush behind her hair. Bucky wanted to run his fingers across her cheeks and feel the heat that sat there.

“If you’re going to keep showing up at my door, Barnes, we’re going to have to do some music education,” Layne responded, heading off ahead of him towards the common room. Bucky shut her door behind them and took a moment to admire how tight those jeans were for a moment before catching up.

“And why all the holes?” he asked motioning to her pants.

Layne laughed, light dancing in her eyes. “Everyone likes a good draft, Barnes.”

~*~

“Alright, everyone,” Tony started, clapping his hands together when Layne and Bucky finally arrived. “The star of today’s meeting is officially here.” He strode over and took Layne by the elbow she let out a small squeak of surprise as she was drug in front of everyone. Her caramel eyes widened and a flush took over her cheeks as she looked up at Tony and then out at the rest of the team that was either lounging on or around the big leather couch in the middle of the room. The only one that wasn’t being apart of the meeting was Loki, who was sitting off to the side in a window seat with a hefty leather-bound tome.

“What? The star?” Layne asked, her mouth going dry. Was she being made an example of? “Did I do something wrong?” she asked hoarsely.

“What? No! Just after the last couple of missions and watching the tape from your incredible interrogation yesterday I think all of us are a little curious to see what you can do in a calm and safe environment,” Tony explained enthusiastically, clapping his hand sharply in the middle of her back. She sputtered and her flush brightened and she looked around the room for any sign of help to get her out of this.

Steve was leaning on the back of the couch and he straightened and walked over to her. “It’s so that we can all get a better idea of how to place you on missions and how to move forward training you. We know your hand to hand combat is mediocre and your gun skills are sort of lacking so maybe it’s better to keep you back as support, like Wanda. Which is okay, we just need to understand it better and the field is too chaotic to watch it happen and get a grasp on it,” he explained softly setting his large hands on her shoulders.

Layne’s eyesight came up to only Steve’s collar bone; she was close enough to take in the sharp, pine sight of his cologne and fresh tang of his shaving cream. He was dressed in a white button-up shirt and jeans and she couldn’t help but smile as she noticed he missed a button. Layne buttoned it for him quick, startling him slightly before stepping back and nodding.

“Yeah, alright. So what do you guys want to know?” she asked fiddling nervously with her fingers. She dug deep inside herself to find that rock star she had always wanted to be, to pull that confidence out and not shrink down to a meek little girl in front of her teammates. She needed to prove she was strong and that she deserved to be here.  

Natasha raised her hand from where she sat in between Sam and Wanda on the couch in a white tank top and yoga pants, she must have just come from working out. “Can you show us the thing you did with the persuasion?” she asked, resting her elbows on her knees. Layne licked her lips and stepped over the wooden coffee table that was separating them, sitting on it carefully. She held her hands out, palms up, to Natasha who hesitated for a moment before putting her palms down on Layne’s. Layne slowly wrapped her fingers around Natasha’s wrists and rubbed little circles with her thumbs, she caught Nat’s gaze locking Natasha’s green eyes with her own, her caramel eyes lighting up with flames.

“Tell me, Natasha, how old are you?” Layne asked simply.

Natasha ground her teeth together slightly and cocked her head to the side. “Thirty-three,” she responded, sounding breathless.

“I knew you weren't twenty-five!” Sam exclaimed and clapped his hands together. Natasha twitched a little in Layne’s grasp and Layne raised an eyebrow. Natasha relaxed back into Layne’s grip, seemingly placated.

“Do you talk about me behind my back?” Layne asked and Natasha’s expression darkened slightly.

“Yes.”

“Tell me what you say,” Layne cooed softly.

The team watched in fascination as the skin that Layne touched glow with a soft orange light. Sam reached out to touch Natasha’s skin but was stopped when Layne calmly stomped on his foot. As she didn’t have shoes on it certainly didn’t hurt him at all, but it stopped his advance.

Natasha gritted her teeth and her breathing sped up a little. She made a little humming sound and Layne just tightened her grip in response. “That I don’t think you’re up to being an Avenger. That I think that training you is a waste of time and you’re just going to get someone killed,” Nat finally spit out quickly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she took a deep breath and her expression went back into that look of calm complacency.

The others cast worried glances at each other. The Russian hadn’t exactly been quiet about her opinions on the new recruit, especially after the end of Layne’s mandatory ten hours of gun training. Natasha wasn’t convinced Layne would be good at anything other than getting in the way. However, Natasha was always relatively pleasant with Layne when in the same room or during training.  

“Really? How about you tell Loki something you’d never want him to know?” Layne directed sliding her hands up Natasha’s forearms. Layne’s face was calm and passive, she was trying to sound indifferent, but the team could hear the underlying hurt in her voice. Loki looked up with interest for the first time during all of this. He had shown up only because this was supposed to be a team learning experience, he had been working with Layne for months on her skills and none of what she did was very new to him. Even though he had heard and been amused by Layne’s stories of petty vengeance that she would get on her brother’s back home, he had never gotten a chance to witness it in person and was pleased that he got to be apart of her getting a bit of revenge on the red head.

Natasha’s eyes went wide and her skin pale, she shook her head slightly and licked her lips. “No,” she rasped out hoarsely. Everyone knew that Natasha was still upset with Loki for taking over Clint’s heart back in the beginning and they all stared at Layne and Natasha with held breath. No one thought that Layne could convince Natasha into saying something sweet to the Norse God, let alone something she was keeping a secret, the Russian would sooner cut out her own tongue.

“Do it, Natasha,” Layne demanded with more force.

Natasha started making that soft humming noise again, her cheeks flaring red and she bit her bottom lip. Layne stared at her patiently, rubbing Nat’s forearms slowly. “I think his ass looks amazing in those pants he always wears,” Natasha just about screamed. Layne unceremoniously took her hands away, breaking the contact. Natasha gasped, her hands flying to her heart and her skin tinged with a green undertone. The whole room burst out into laughter and Loki smirked to himself, looking pleased, before returning to his book.

“I’ll have to change my wardrobe. I wouldn’t want my ass to distract you on a mission, Ms. Romanoff,” Loki chuckled, serenely turning a page.

“What the fuck, Hardin?” Natasha hissed, venom lacing her words. Everyone’s laughter died out into awkward chuckling. Everyone immediately prepared themselves to have to pull the red head off of Layne before she did any damage to the smaller girl.

Layne just calmly stared into Natasha’s green eyes, her own eyes having cooled and returned to their usual melted caramel color. “I’m sorry that I embarrassed you, but I needed to make demands that everyone knew you wouldn’t want to answer. Although I must say, I had ulterior motives. I definitely thought you were talking about me behind my back,” Layne stood and swung her legs back over the other side of the coffee table so she was standing across from the couch again.

“What did it feel like, Nat?” Bucky asked from his stool at the breakfast counter. He had been watching the exchange just as intently as he had back in the interrogation room yesterday. He could care less about things the ex-mercenary had said and more about how she had been reacting as she was saying it or trying not to as the case may be.

Natasha shook her head, still rubbing at her chest over her heart. “It was like I had sunk into a warm bath and it was like cotton was filling every part of my head. When she asked me a question,” Natasha paused, giving an icy glare. “I wanted to answer, to make her happy. The more I tried to hold the answer back the hotter Layne’s fingers got and it felt like hot coals were sitting in my stomach. Once I answered everything was pleasant again like I was back in the bath. And then Layne let me go and it was like she’d broken my heart. I feel like I have an empty hole in my chest.”

Layne pursed her lips and frowned softly. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a cure-all for that; it will go away by tomorrow.”

“It doesn’t hurt worse than my pride,” the redhead responded sinking into the couch.

“Would it help if I come do a dance for you in just the pants?” Loki called over from his spot in the window, not even looking up from his book.

Natasha just closed her eyes and looked like she was counting backward from ten. Her fingers twitched towards the blade she kept snapped on her hip.

“Alright, alright, team. That was a perfect demonstration, Layne. Maybe a little too perfect,” Steven said holding his hands up. “How are you feeling, Layne? Can you show us taking someone over?”

Layne looked at Cap and chewed her bottom lip. She should have known that they would want to see that. “I could on, like, Clint, Sam, or Tony if they’re okay with it? It’s probably the safest bet. They’re not enhanced or an Inhuman and I don’t really to put Natasha through that too.”

Natasha’s glance shot up at Layne before back down to her lap, it looked like she was giving her a small look of gratitude. Her heart being controlled like that was more taxing than Natasha thought it was going to be. Sam calmly took Natasha’s hand in his own and patted it softly, trying to ease some of whatever Natasha was still feeling.

Tony shook his head and raised a hand to silence Clint who had started to step forward to volunteer. “We were hoping you’d take on one of the big guys,” he said addressing Layne carefully. “Mostly because we were hoping they could fight back.”

Layne whirled on Tony and sent him a steely glare. “Excuse me? Do you have any idea what that felt like? It was like a chainsaw was ripping my skull in half and I didn’t even ask how Andrews was feeling, but I know you saw how an ass ton of blood vessels in his face all burst.”

“Well, yeah, but the big guys heal quick,” Tony said, still sounding chipper as he thwacked Steve on the bicep. “And we have the doc.” Banner frowned, looking uncomfortable by the whole scenario. Layne and him had spoken some when she had come down to work with Banner in the labs; she told him how much she hated taking people over and how their memories always stuck with her. He couldn’t begin to fathom what awful things Layne had seen in that pedophile's brain and he knew she still wasn’t recovered from it.

“Maybe it’s not the best idea,” Clint spoke up, stepping forward. “She mentioned seeing ‘bad stuff’ in Andrews’ head. The worst she’s going to find in mine is Budapest.”

“Budapest wasn’t that bad,” Natasha said softly from her spot on the couch. “Besides, who knows what’s in your head after your possession from the horned wonder back there. You’re fuzzy on some of it and she could dredge it all back up for you.”

“Okay, we really need to get a beer and discuss what you think Budapest was,” Clint said pointing a finger at her and giving her a sharp look, Natasha just raised her hands in the air and shrugged. “And we all have skeletons in our closet. No matter who she takes over there’s a chance she’s going to see some not okay stuff. But I think either myself or Sam is going to be her best bet.” Clint looked to Sam to help back him up and Sam just shrugged.

“We’ve been fighting less and less ‘normal’ bad guys. They’re enhanced now, Clint, or have powers. Maybe since we have the doctor in the house, it’s not the worst idea to have Layne take on Cap,” Sam countered gently. He looked up as Banner let out an oddly deep grumble. Banner tried to cover it with a cough and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Look!” Layne snapped. “I don’t want to do this to anyone. But I’m one hundred percent not doing it with one of the wonder twins.” She motioned to Steve and Bucky. She’s seen them fight physically she didn’t want to have to fight them mentally. Especially not when she didn’t know that she could be fought against, it was new territory to her and she didn’t want to hurt anyone.

“No, you look, we have the doc here for if anything goes wrong. Which it won't. Because you’re great and we believe in you,” Tony reasoned.

“Stop trying to argue that it’s okay just because Bruce is here,” Layne shot back.

Bucky stood up and walked over to the three. “Listen, if she says it’s dangerous then we should listen to her,” Bucky argued back, stepping between Layne and Tony.

“It’s not dangerous! We’re all here, in a calm and safe environment,” Tony said moving to step past Bucky, but he just squared his shoulders and stared him down. Tony frowned and put his hands up. “Fine, okay, you want to play that way. Kid, you’re not cleared for any future missions until you do this so we can see that you can be in control if it happens again. We can’t just knock you out every time you can’t handle yourself.”

Layne opened her mouth to argue and then closed it with a snap. Tony was right; she couldn’t just go out on the field and become a liability. What if she lost control of an enemy and they attacked one of the team by surprise thinking that Layne had everything covered? She let out a huff of air that flared her nostrils and caused Tony to falter as her eyes flared fire for a split second before she nodded in affirmation. Bucky sighed and turned to her, running his flesh fingers through his hair.

“Alright, doll, let’s do this,” he said bracing himself. Steve immediately stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t think that’s the best idea, Buck,” he said softly, scratching his head and giving him a look.

“What? She’s not going to go digging in my brain for anything. Are you?” Bucky asked Layne and she just shrugged.

“I can’t technically look for anything. Like, maybe I can? I haven’t tried. Normally I just get a burst of things when I first infiltrate someone,” she explained, chewing on the corner of her mouth.

Steve gave Bucky and even more pointed look. “What if she dredged up Winter Soldier stuff, Buck? They might have done a fine job repressing it all in Wakanda, but she could accidentally pull it all back to the surface.” Steve asked, his brows furrowed in concern. He rolled up his sleeves and turned his blue eyes to Layne. “Alright, Whisper, it’s you and me.” Bucky opened his mouth to argue, but Steve silenced him with a look. Bucky ducked his head and took a step back, throwing his arms out to the side. He understood that Steve was just concerned for him, but sometimes he got irritated with everyone walking on eggshells around him. It had been two years since he had attacked the Avengers as the Winter Soldier and while he was still plagued with nightmares, they had been less frequent and he was finally starting to feel like he was getting into a healthy space.

Tony clapped Bucky on the shoulder and motioned with his head to move back. Bucky shook Tony’s hand off of him and went to stand behind Layne. Layne looked at him with confusion and Bucky just shrugged. “You hit your face on the floor last time. Don’t need to do that again,” he said curtly holding his hands out on either side of her. Layne cocked her head to the side and smiled softly at this thoughtfulness, placing her hands in his. Bucky’s heart skipped a beat as she entwined her fingers in his and crossed his arms around her waist. He glared at Sam as he snickered a remark into Natasha’s ear, causing her to giggle.

“Super hearing, Wilson,” Bucky grumbled and Sam just smiled wider at him. Clint was giving Bucky the dad eye and Bucky quickly broke his eyes away. Loki had paused reading his book and was watching the exchange with rapt focus.

“Ready, Captain?” Layne whispered. Squeezing Bucky’s hands tightly she took a deep breath, finding her calm center to where she could focus on the beating of her heart and the pulse of blood through her veins. She locked eyes with Steve’s deep blue ones and then everything went dark.

Bucky tensed as Layne turned to dead weight in his arms, he sunk down slowly to the floor and set Layne’s back against his chest, watching his friend intently. Everyone was on pins and needles; Loki had stood and joined the rest of the team around the couch, Clint and Tony were ready to try to knock Steve out if needed, Bruce had come around and knelt down next to Bucky to take Layne’s wrist in his hands and keep track of her pulse. Sam, Natasha, and Wanda all sat forward on the couch looking nervous, Wanda took Vision’s hand in her own.

This was the part Layne always loved, being outside of herself. She felt as soft as a feather, seeing as she had no substantial body or weight. She looked down at the conglomerate of auras, noting that Dr. Banner had two warring inside of him. Layne had never seen Bruce’s aura and she honestly wasn’t surprised to see the calm blue aura battling the neon green. She could see her own body, lit up like a lighthouse in the fog and knew that the army green aura wrapping around her was Bucky and that was not her target. Layne was able to find and hone in on Steve’s aura and pictured her consciousness taking the form of one of Clint’s arrows; she shot herself at the heart of Steve’s aura.

It always hurt a little at first, like getting the wind knocked out of you. Steve’s aura was just as sturdy mentally as she assumed he was physically, it was like ramming into a brick wall. Layne shoved against it and managed to knock Steve’s consciousness out of his body. It happened so fast, the memories hitting her like a freight train.

It was 1940 and Steve was so tiny standing next to a short-haired, clean-shaven Sgt Barnes. Bucky was in full uniform and trying to get Steve to come along with him and two pretty young ladies at a carnival. Steve just dropped his head and waved Bucky on, leaving his friend with a tight embrace before turning away.

The next memory was patched together, flicks of a beautiful woman with brown hair always kept in neat pins and curls changed to a flicker of the woman, much older, laying in a hospital bed. She reached out an aged hand to Steve and he took it, her hand so tiny and frail in his super soldier hand.

The next memory was pain. Layne felt it deep in her core, the pain of losing this woman - who she learned was Peggy. The pain of fighting Bucky on an aircraft and trying to get him to remember who Steve was. The pain of fighting at an airport against his friends to do what he believed was right, the pain of feeling like he will never do enough to serve humankind. The pain behind the fear that he will eventually fail.

The memories passed and Layne gasped, looking out to the rest of the team with vision that was just too sharp and trying to calm the sounds that were just a little too loud. “Oh, fuck. This enhanced thing kind of sucks,” Layne groaned.

Everyone in the room had watched with trepidation as Steve suddenly went rigid before a look of pain crossed his facial features. It was the moment the swear word left his mouth, in his voice, that everyone knew that Layne had successfully entered Steve’s body. Tony walked around to face Steve, sending a quick look to Bucky who looked like he was debating between continuing to hold Layne’s body up or also approach the body of his friend.

“What are you feeling, Layne?” Bruce asked standing slowly and walking over to take Steve’s wrist in his hand to count his pulse.

Layne pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand and took a few deep breaths. “I have some vertigo going on from memories of seeing things from a shorter perspective to suddenly being fucking tall. Everything is very loud and very bright. I can sense Steve is trying to figure out how to reenter his body when I’m occupying it, which is odd because I’ve never noticed it with anyone else.”

Bruce nodded and looked away from his watch. “Both heart rates are normal. I’ll see what I can keep track of if Cap can try to take control back.”

Tony clapped his hands together and smiled. “See, this is all working out fine. I told you.”

Loki’s brows knitted together at the same time Bucky started standing up slowly. “I’d look closer, TinMan,” Loki said coldly as Steve went rigid again.

Layne felt it immediately; it was like stone hands clamped down around her chest it felt like she was being crushed. Steve had found his way back into his body and was struggling to regain his control. Layne flexed her fingers, the muscles and veins popping out along Steve’s fore and biceps with the strain the two were causing. Layne fell to her knees, cracking the hardwood floor as she pummeled Steve’s fists into the ground to catch herself from going face first. Both Bucky and Bruce rushed forward, pushing Steve up to his knees.

“Layne? Steve? I’m going to grab your arm,” Bruce said trying to sound calm, green tinging the outer ring of his irises. “Heart rate is through the roof. One of them needs to let go.”

Bucky placed both hands on Steve’s shoulders, keeping him upright and locked his silver eyes with his best friend’s. Foam started frothing at the corner of Steve’s mouth and a drop of blood ran from his nose. Bucky pulled his metal arm back and was ready to try to knock Steve out until suddenly Steve let out a sizable gasping breath, as if he had been drowning, and grabbed onto Bucky and Bruce for support. Across the room, back in her own body, Layne stirred. Clint and Loki both rushed to her side to help her sit up.

“Heart rate is slowing back down to normal,” Bruce confirmed clapping Steve on the shoulder before going over and confirming the same with Layne.

“Well, that was one hell of a show,” Tony said, looking from the six on the floor to the four on the couch. “I think we learned a lot. What did we learn, Cap?”

Layne shook off the three men trying to ascertain if she was alright to crawl over to where Steve was quickly. Bucky tensed like he wasn’t going to let her near Steve and Layne hesitated. Bucky relaxed suddenly, realizing what he had done, and scooted to the side. Layne looked at Bucky with concern before looking at Steve.

“Hey, Captain, I’m so sorry. You guys said you wanted me to fight you; I didn’t want to you. Does it hurt? Can I get you anything?” Layne pulled off her over shirt and wiped the blood off of Steve’s face. He still looked groggy and like he wasn’t sure where he was exactly. Steve finally looked up at Layne, his blue eyes meeting her frantic and worried look.

“I’m okay, Hardin. It’s fine,” Steve brought his hand up to push her hand away gently and then swipe at his mouth. “That was, just intense. It felt like a boulder hit me in the chest and then I was blind except for a light, but I had a hard time getting to the light.”

“That was your body,” Layne explained softly, clutching her balled up shirt to her chest. Tears were pricking behind her eyes. “It’s always a light, calling you home.”

Steve nodded in understanding and took a deep breath, nausea rolling the pit of his stomach. “When I finally got to the light, I could feel you already there and I knew you didn’t belong. I remember now that the plan was to fight you, but at the time I didn’t even think of that. I just needed to get you out, but I wasn’t a thing with hands or legs or anything. I don’t understand how it happened.”

“It was just your mind, Steve. You attacked me with your mind because I had your hands and your legs and you wanted them back. That’s how it works when I infiltrate in the first place.”

Steve nodded and stood slowly, relying on Bucky for support. He looked down at Layne who was near tears and felt incredibly guilty for forcing her to go through this. “I want you training with someone. I could feel what you’re capable of and while I’m sure you were holding back because it was me, I want to know what you can do if you’re pushed.”

Loki approached Layne and helped the girl to her feet. “I’ve already been working with her; we’ll continue with a swifter time line.” The Asgardian said coolly, looking at the team as if he was daring them to object.

“I’ll help,” Bucky said, raising his hands before anyone could start arguing. “Listen. I’m a lot more equipped to handle mind control powers being aimed at me than anyone else in this room, besides Wanda or Vision. And she needs to go against someone who is enhanced.”

Steve and Tony squared up, shoulder to shoulder, to give Bucky almost identical stern looks. “And if one of those memories she pulls up are the Winter Soldier activation words? Do you come back into your body as Bucky or as the Winter Soldier?” Tony asked with a small bit of venom. It took Bucky back a step; he thought that Stark and him were moving passed everything that had happened as the Winter Soldier and was shocked to hear the small amount of accusation in his voice.

“I saw every memory she did, Buck. If she sees something you don’t want to see, you’ll see it anyway. I tried to lock down certain memories and she saw them anyway,” Steve explained, sounding desperate and a little embarrassed. He wasn’t sure why his best friend was so adamant about putting himself in the way of Layne’s powers, of being the guinea pig.

Bucky growled, sick and tired of being treated like some wounded puppy. “I can handle that. I need to feel helpful here, guys. We could put her in one hundred hours of gun training with Natasha, but it won't matter if she’s still afraid of them. I could run her through the most vigorous hand to hand combat possible and it won't matter if she comes up against someone who’s bigger, stronger, faster. We recruited Layne, gave her a codename because we saw potential for her abilities out on the field. That’s what she has; we don’t give Wanda a gun or hand wraps, why would we do that to Layne? Steve, you’re too busy being Captain America you can’t be here to take the hits again and again. The world still shrinks away when they see me on the field, let me help where I can. We all have dark memories we don’t to think about again, but I’m not afraid of admitting mine.”

The whole room was silent and staring at Bucky. They all knew he was right; they knew this was the best option. It was Tony who finally clapped his hands together and nodded. “Well since that’s settled and we all agree it will probably end up only a little terribly, I’m going to call this the end of the meeting. If anyone needs me I’m going to be reinforcing a suit for when this all goes south!”

Natasha was the first one to leave the common room, sending one last glance of embarrassment and pain to Layne, Clint following after her. Tony took his leave and Wanda and Vision went back to doing a crossword puzzle they had been working on before the meeting started. Bruce made a comment about being in his lab before also taking his leave. Sam stood up and clapped Steve on the shoulder.

“Let’s go get you a beer or twelve,” Sam said leading the still-wobbly captain away from the group and over to the breakfast bar.

Loki turned to Bucky and Layne. “We start training tomorrow at dawn and see how long we can go and decide how often we will meet depending on how it goes,” he said and vanished in a puff of green smoke. Layne rolled her eyes, always thinking his little parlor tricks were ridiculous.

Bucky turned to Layne and shifted awkwardly for a moment. “Did you need a beer?” he asked softly, still feeling bad that he had treated her like an enemy earlier.

Layne smiled softly, her heartwarming with the offer. “No. I think I’m going to go work on some music in my room. Thanks though, Bucky. For everything. I’ll see you in the morning.” She touched the flesh of his forearm softly as she walked passed him and back down to the living quarters. Bucky sighed, his heart hammering from her touch and went over to sit on the stool next to his best friend, taking the beer Sam slid to him. Not that alcohol did anything to Bucky, but even the taste and feel of drinking a beer was calming to him.

“Boy, you got it bad,” Sam whistled, cracking his beer on the lip of the counter. He looked Bucky over with laughter in his eyes as Steve turned to look at him with confusion.

“What? No. I think she’s a good kid and has the potential to be a strong addition to the team. I just want to help,” Bucky insisted, slamming half his beer down in one gulp. He didn’t want to sort through whatever his emotions were with Wilson; Bucky still wasn’t a fan of how he tried to therapist him all the time.

“Whatever you say, man. Whatever you say.” Sam laughed and just pulled the case of beer out of the fridge, setting it on the bar.

Steve took a drink of his beer and looked out the window behind Sam stoically. “If you’re into her, Buck, you should just say something to her,” Steve said. Steve was used to seeing the old Bucky pick up and put down women with ease back in the day, but once they got him back he hadn’t had much to do romantically with anyone. Which Steve understood, Bucky was healing, but maybe it was time to get back on the horse.

“Doesn’t matter. She’ll want nothing to do with me after she’s been in my head,” Bucky said, shrugging and finishing his drink.

“We told you that you don’t have to do it,” Steve argued again.

“He’s being a self-fulfilling prophecy, Cap. He’s afraid of hurting Hardin, so he thinks once she sees whats in his that she won't want anything to do with him,” Sam said, leaning on the counter and raising an eyebrow. “Tell me I’m wrong, Sergeant.”

“I’ll tell you-you're an asshole,” Bucky said and pushed himself off the stool and stomping out of the common room.

Bucky was trying to sort through all his feelings and thoughts on Layne Hardin and put some semblance of sense to them. It wasn’t long until he shook himself out of his thoughts to find himself standing outside her door. Bucky could feel the soft thudding of the bass rattling the door in its frame lightly. He shook his head, wondering how she could stand it being so loud and raised his hand to knock. It was when he caught sight of his raised metal hand that he froze. Bucky opened and closed the mechanical fingers and took a step back from her door. Layne was already going to need all of her focus on figuring herself out; she didn’t need him adding more turmoil to the mixture. Licking his lips and taking a deep breath, Bucky turned from Layne’s room crossed the hall and locked himself in his own.

“FRIDAY?” Bucky asked the air, laying down on his bed.

“Yes, Sgt. Barnes?” the soft Irish voice asked.

“Can you play that disc from Layne’s room, please?”

“Certainly, I’ll play at a lower volume than Ms. Hardin for you as I know you do not like loud noises,” FRIDAY responded and slow, stomping bass drum started followed by a growl of the guitar. Bucky laid there, trying to understand the feel of the music he was listening to before it dawned on him that he had heard the vocalist before. He smiled softly, as Layne Hardin sang from his speakers about whiskey, foolish men, and heartbreak.

NEXT CHAPTER

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