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beyondspaceandstars · 3 years ago

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While You Sleep

Epilogue (Chapter 20)

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: N/A, mainly fluffy Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.

A/N: thank you all so much for reading! I’ve never really done such a full-length fic before so I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I had so much fun writing it and I’m even working on a spin-off series centered around Steve. I’ll have links to that coming soon (I don’t think it will be available on Tumblr)

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

One Year Later

“I don’t know, doll, it seems a little small,” Bucky said as you two wandered around the two-story suburban.

“Small?” You chuckled. “You got some big plans, Barnes?”

Bucky eyed you. “I got a few ideas, Mrs. Barnes.”

You held up your left hand, your engagement ring twinkled from the sunlight shining into the empty master bedroom. “Future Mrs. Barnes.”

“Close enough,” Bucky shrugged with a ridiculous smirk on his face. You pushed his shoulder lightly.

You two had made some major moves in the past year - you almost couldn’t figure out how you actually got here. It felt like just yesterday you were begging Bucky to retire and now here you two were looking at homes. Engaged.

Bucky had even gotten a local construction job (they were quite impressed with how much he could carry) and, in a grand moment of impulsivity, cut his hair. He claimed it just made it easier with his job but you felt it held a bit more meaning to him than just that.

But no matter the reason, you very much loved the shorter look, taking any chance you could to run your fingers through it. Including now, as you two looked around in one of the other rooms of the home. Your realtor had specifically called this one a children’s room. You and Bucky had pretended not to hear that.

“I don’t think it’s horrible,” you said and you did mean that. The home was fine. It was average, what could be expected for a house in the suburbs of the city. It wasn’t so far away that you were out of reach from the others but still gave you guys a fresh start.

Bucky sighed. “Yeah, but it’s not wowing you.”

You shook your head. “No, it’s not. Maybe we’ll have better luck with the next one.” Bucky agreed and you two descended the stairs meeting your realtor in the kitchen. That was probably the best part of the house and you hated to watch it go but you weren’t keen on buying an entire home for one room. You explained your situation to the realtor and she agreed. You planned to meet next week at another home she thinks you two would find to be much more suitable.

You departed shortly after and decided on a little cafe to stop in at for lunch. You ate on their patio, looking out at the suburban landscape. There was a park not too far away completed with a baseball field and jungle gym. A Starbucks sat kiddie-corner from the cafe. It seemed like the perfect area for you two.

“I can’t believe this,” you mumbled, a bit accidentally. Bucky didn’t miss it. His brows furrowed at your words.

“What can’t you believe?” He asked. “This lunch? The sandwich is really good.”

You smiled. “No, I meant I can’t believe… This. All this. We’re sitting here having lunch, engaged, after looking at a home. This is life right now.”

Bucky nodded, picking at the side salad he had got with his sandwich. “I didn’t expect to be here.”

You didn’t know what to say. He had expressed these beliefs vaguely before but you hadn’t pressed, maybe a little nervous for what he would say.

Bucky continued, “I- When we first started moving forward, I was convinced something would go wrong. It all seemed perfect, too perfect. I thought there was a way I would mess it up or you would realize I’m not actually what you want or - or just something. I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I never thought I’d have the guts to propose or you’d have any reason to say yes. I certainly didn’t think you’d want to move in with me permanently after…”

After everything you had seen. You didn’t need him to say anymore. You felt it, you knew it. You also had to admit, it had taken quite a few therapy trips for you to get more stable and confident in your newfound life. As for the dreams… They came and went. Sometimes they were normal, just depictions of Bucky in regular life, but any moment of distress would overshadow them. But it was nothing — absolutely nothing — compared to the violence you had once witnessed. You’d take these times of distress over it any day. You were happy you were getting along. Both you and Bucky had put in work and, so far, it was panning out.

“Bucky,” you said, “I couldn’t have imagined my life turning out any differently than this. This… This is perfect, in the best sense. You’re not going to mess anything up and, well, I guess if either of us does, we’ll get through it. I think we always do.”

Bucky’s eyes began to water but he ignored it and reached for your hands over the table. You allowed, holding him tightly.

“Thank you, doll,” he whispered, “so much.”

You chuckled a bit, fighting back the tears. “Gosh, we really a dramatic pair, aren’t we?”

Bucky matched your amusement, playfully rolling his eyes. “I guess so, but we work.”

“By some crazy, twisted Fate.”

Your soulmate hummed in agreement. “That’s definitely one way to describe it.”

You two shared a laugh then turned back to your meals. Where you two went from here was a bit uncertain. Would you find a home? When would you get married? Would little ones be on the horizon? You didn’t know the answers but you knew you two would figure it out.

You had your soulmate and he was beyond anything you could’ve ever dreamed of.

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lubdubsworld · 4 years ago

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Change of heart (Chapter 7)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Summary : Times are changing. After years of being oppressed, werewolves are taking a stand against humans , demanding equal rights and fair treatment. Heading the movement is Kim Taehyung, the breathtaking heir to the Kim fortune and one of the few remaining Alpha werewolves in the country. His disdain for the human race is well known and well warranted. They killed his family after all….. He wants to change the world , to put humans in their place but when his five year old daughter takes a shine to their very human neighbor , maybe he has to start with a change of heart , first.

: Pairing : Taehyung x OC / Werewolf AU!!

Genre : Romance, Explicit Content.

Chapter 7

The incessant buzzing of his phone was what woke Taehyung up, his entire body aching something fierce.

He groaned , spitting what felt like damp hair out of his mouth, blinking against the shaft of sunlight pouring into the room through the slats of the large windows . His bedroom faced the river, and every morning the sun spilled right into his bed , lighting the room up . He loved waking up to warmth and sometimes it made up for the absence of a warm body next to him on the bed.

But today, with her wrapped around him, he hated the intrusion....wanted nothing more than to burrow into the bed and stay there for the rest of the year.

It took him a second to realize that Mirae was lying on top of him and he was still, technically inside her. He had been so completely gone the previous night that he could barely remember a thing.

Other than the fact that he hadn’t had sex that good in his life. Ever.

Cupping the back of her head gently and wrapping one arm around her waist, he carefully rolled over, laying her gently on the bed next to him. She whimpered when he slid out of her and he winced when a rush of fluids spilled out of her, drenching his thighs and the sheets.

Bits of the night began to come back to him then.

Vague memories of fucking her to within an inch of her life.

Guilt began to coil around his insides as he pushed the hair of her face. She looked like she had been mauled by an animal. Hickeys bloomed all over her neck, her jaw and even on the fleshy curve of her cheeks. Her hair looked matted with sweat and damp and cum . He had a mental image of her then, weakly crawling away when he tried to push into her for the fifth time, and she had been too sore to take him , begging him to let her suck him off instead and he flinched when he remembered holding her down against the pillow and fucking her mouth.

He’d managed to keep his knot out of her mouth, but he’d also had a really fierce orgasm, and his release had pretty much ended up all over her.

His phone was still ringing and he reached across the bed to grab it, answering the call before checking who it was.

“Taehyung...are you alright?” It’s Dr. Lee and Taehyung blinks, surprised.

“Oh..yes. Dr. Lee , is everything okay?”

“I was only calling to check up on you. My sister told me that you were taking Ms. Yoon home and it made me wonder. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, doc. In fact better than fine. My head is surprisingly clear. I was fully prepared for this thing to last like a week but I feel normal already.”

Dr. Lee laughed.

“Perks of biting your actual mate and not an impostor. How is she, by the way?”

Taehyung relaxed a bit, staring at the girl in his bed. He gently stroked the hair off her face, running the back of his fingers across the smooth skin of her cheeks.

“She’s ... fine.” He said roughly, “ Or as fine as you’d expect her to be.” He added as an afterthought, remembering that she had tried to get up from the bed for a drink of water and her legs had given out almost at once.

“And the mating mark? Did you dress it up like I told you?”

“Yes... It wasn’t that deep but you should probably drop by tomorrow and take a look at it anyway. “ An incessant beeping told him he was getting another call and he quickly apologized and hung up on the doctor taking the other call.

“Tae, the shipment isn’t here on time. We’ve been trying to find the CI who gave us the info and the fucker seems to have run aground. Either that or Yoon’s men got to him.... “ Seokjin’s voice trembled with frustration and anger.

“Oh...fuck hyung that’s bad. Okay, what does Namjoon think? “

“Namjoon says that we should go ahead with drilling that dude we caught during the raid last week, Jaehyun or whatever. He thinks he may have some clue because he was fucking one of the bigger suppliers’ daughter.”

Taehyung groaned.

“What about the reports from the lab? Did they test positive for any other controlled substance? I know we’ve only focused on a couple of them ...I don’t want to be blindsided by anything. “

“That scientist dude is a pain in the ass, refuses to talk to anyone but you and definitely only in person. “ Seokjin scoffed.

“That’s fine.. I’ll be there in an hour. “ Taehyung said sharply.

Seokjin made a noise of disapproval.

“What? Namjoon told me you were with your mate.... You’re going to leave her?”

Taehyung rolled his eyes at that.

“She’s not my actual mate hyung. As in... what we have isn’t like official or anything. She agreed to it because I asked her to help me out and she knows that this isn’t anything more than a business arrangement. I didn’t even want to do it but...sometimes you do things for the greater good....”

He moved to get up out of the bed , levering himself up to stand. He felt better than he had in weeks, his body thrumming with vitality and his mind sharp and clear.

“She’s human right? Is she actually okay?”

Taehyung scoffed at the implication .

“I’m not leaving her bleeding and unconscious, if that's’ what you’re wondering. I bought a bunch of pain stuff for her.... the kind humans use.” He felt that pang of disappointment again.

She was incredible....beautiful and kind and full of heart, yeah but the fact that she was a human was ...... It was just cruel to her.

. He had spouted some nonsense to her about wanting to do this everyday for the rest of their life but nothing could be farther from the truth than that. The idea of having to handle his bedmate with kid gloves made him jittery and nervous.

She was so fucking fragile and he had struggled so hard last night, holding back, over and over again and she had still come out of it completely wrecked.

If she were a wolf, she’d be perfectly fine by now. Healed and happy and probably even up for some morning sex.

And yes the last bit made him sound like a horny bastard but come on, he was a healthy young wolf and an Alpha at that and his libido had always been on the higher side.

He shook his head as though to clear the way his thoughts were heading. It was ridiculous that he was even thinking about this. It was over. He had claimed her. She was his. His wolf was calm now. He could go about his life without having to worry about going into rut or losing his mind at the thought of another wolf near her.

And he would not feel guilty about it.

there was something called the greater good. In the grand scheme of things, one night of discomfort would not cost her anything. But what he was doing was going to change the world for his people.

Seokjin’s voice filtered in through his thoughts.

“At least tell her before you leave, Taehyung. You’re literally the kind of bastard who would do something as insensitive as leave her after you mated her and then act like you did nothing wrong. ”

Annoyed , Taehyung hung up without replying.

Glancing at her, he moved to touch her cheeks again. She was asleep. Sound asleep by the look of it. It would be far more insensitive to wake her up. He would go and meet the guy about the lab results and get back here before she was up.

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“Ow.”

I groaned , muffling my agony against the white sheets as I tried to will myself to get up. Breathe through the pain, I told myself firmly. You do not want to spend the entire day like this. You need a shower, stat.

“Taehyung?” I called out weakly, for what felt like the tenth time. But the eerie stillness in the room told me I was alone in the apartment.

I fumbled with my phone, fighting the urge to call him. If he had left, there had to have been a reason , a reason important enough for him to leave and it struck me again that I had been a little hasty, agreeing to this.

Fueled entirely by my wish to get rid of the excess amount of cum all over me., I dug both my elbows into the bed, lifting my self up to my hand and knees. The pain radiating from my spine, settling deep in my center and the harsh abrasions on my insides.....all of it was a reminder that I had definitely bitten off more than I could chew.

The first thing I did was grab the pain killers on the table, popping three of them into my mouth and dry swallowing. It was a little past eleven in the morning and I was starving. But I had to get a shower first.

The trip to the bathroom was an ordeal and I had to fight tears, just to stand.

Okay. Maybe a bath was in order than.

I fumbled with the taps, watching warm water fill the ceramic tub, sweating a bit in the humid room. I glanced at my thighs, lightly stroking the bruises and watching them bloom purple under my fingertips.

The pain was already ebbing, the tablets doing their thing and with my head a little clearer, my thoughts felt heavy. Regret churned, curdling in my gut and I could taste heartbreak on my tongue.

Sleeping with him had been a mistake.

A colossal fucking mistake, I thought desperately. I was already feeling abandoned and miserable. I wanted to throw on some clothes and go find him in his office . Wanted to curl into his lap and then refuse to leave.

But mostly I wanted to kick myself for feeling that way.

Taehyung wasn’t ..... available for any kind of relationship.

He was an Alpha werewolf and important man.

An important bureaucrat. Someone with power and responsibility. A man driven by his need to protect his kind and destroy anyone who meant him harm.

A man who would do anything to get his way , even if it meant seducing a human he didn’t even like.

And he had seduced me I thought , feeling unaccountably upset at myself.

In the vivid light of day, with my body aching so fierce and my head spinning , I could remember everything that happened the previous day with a sort of vivid clarity. And it was almost an out of body experience, like watching the whole thing happen to someone else.

The way he had framed his words, the soothing comfort, the reassurances. That stupid fucking dance in the living room with the most cliché song in the world, it was like something straight out of a chick-lit novel. Something only a naïve, immature , desperate woman would fall for.

What a cruel heartless bastard, I thought angrily. There was no way he didn’t know the effect of his words and actions on me. There was no way he didn’t know that he was purposely playing the part of a loving partner just to break down any defenses I may have put up.

And like an idiot I had fallen for it.

Staring around at the apartment and realizing he had just left me to fend for myself, without so much as a note....... After spouting all that nonsense about making sure I was comfortable.

And I realized with a jolt that he really only meant it for the sex. All that affection, all that concern had been just for the few hours he had me in his bed. When he meant he wanted to make me feel me meant it only for when we were having sex.

Now that he had got what he wanted , he was back to being the guy he actually was.

A complete stranger.

It made me feel so incredibly foolish .

Wetness spilled onto my foot and I realized the tub was overflowing. I closed the taps quickly before pulling the drain to lower the water level a bit.

Climbing in, I settled back against the hard edge of the tub, letting my eyes flutter shut as the warm water soothed my sore muscles.

“You’re up?”

Jungkook’s voice startled me, and I nearly went under.

“Careful.” Fingers gripped my shoulder, pulling me back to stability and I gasped out, running a hand over my face to get rid of the water.

“You... Where did you come from?” I stared at him , gripping the edges of the tub and watching him.

Jungkook looked like a breath of fresh air, hair slightly damp and clad in a white t shirt and blue jeans. He was grimacing a bit, eyebrows furrowed in evident annoyance.

“This entire room reeks.” He complained, turning on the ventilator in the corner of the bathroom.

I groaned, settling back and just staring at him as he rummaged in the cupboard, pulling out a few bottles, a fresh wash clothe and bottle of body wash.

My body hummed in delight at the thought of actually being cared for.

“I’m not even kidding, is this what having a mate is like? You look like you were in a fight with a thorny hedgerow.” He commented, making his way over , but not before stripping out of his shirt and wiggling out of his jeans.

I hummed, enjoying the view for a second as he finally settled on a small ottoman, right next to the tub.

I gave him a sweet smile.

“Why are you here?” I whispered. He reached over to press a kiss to my forehead.

“Hyung told me to come. He got caught up with work and he feels bad about leaving you here all by yourself.”

“Kim Taehyung....told you to come take care of me. Sounds fake but okay.”

Jungkook laughed.

“To be fair he actually told your brother. But Yugyeom’s busy and he also doesn’t want to see you naked and so he gave me a call.” Jungkook carefully squeezed a dollop of body wash onto the cloth, before gently smoothing the soft linen against my skin. His gaze held mine as he carefully lathered up my shoulders, my collarbones and the curve of my neck. He took care not to touch the dressing on my neck, where Taehyung had bitten me.

I smiled when one finger stretched out, tracing circles on my skin . Jungkook was too young to be subtle , and I felt a pang of guilt when I saw the very obvious look in his eye.

Arousal looked so blatant on his handsome face, lips parted, slicked wet. Eyes heavy and intent as he gently rubbed the skin near my throat, thumb now curving around my neck , gently pressing in.

His gaze met mine and I held it, feeling his hands move lower, fingers curling lightly on the curve of my breasts. When I felt the brush of his thumb on the hard peak of my nipple, I grabbed his wrist.

Tugging his hand away gently, I used my free hand to lightly flick his forehead.

“Behave.” I warned.

His gaze turned pouty and he let out a breathy, “ Just wanted to make you feel good noona.”

“You made me feel a billion times better just by showing up here today. But, I don’t want you to get mauled by Taehyung in case he’s feeling territorial again. ” I smiled, shaking my head. “ I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you go wait in the bedroom and I’ll call you when I’m done so you can help me out. of the tub.”

Which in itself , probably wouldn’t be necessary. The pills had done their trick and other than feeling well fucked, I didn’t particularly hurt.

“He doesn’t deserve you.” Jungkook’s voice was petulant , eyes clearly showing how upset he was. He moved back a bit but made no other attempt to leave.

“I thought you liked him.” I chuckled lightly as he carefully arranged the body wash and the washcloths near the tub. I reached for it myself, carefully scrubbing over my skin, for now ignoring the way Jungkook kept his eyes trained on my body as I pulled my legs up to wash them. It was odd, how little his gaze affected me compared to how my body had reacted to Taehyung last night.

With Jungkook it was...just physical.

I liked being touched , so I enjoyed sex with Jungkook.

With Taehyung it had been something so much more.

The very idea of Taehyung touching me, the idea of him wanting to touch me..that had been so overwhelming.

And so sex with Taehyung had blown my mind.

“What do you mean, like him? “ Jungkook frowned.

“It was always Tae hyung, this and Tae hyung that...” I teased. “ You were never subtle about your little man crush on him.”

I carefully grabbed the showerhead, wetting my hair gently.

Jungkook scoffed.

“Of course I like him. You can’t be a wolf and not like Kim Taehyung. He’s done so much for us.” He grabbed the shampoo off the counter but before I could take it from him, he squeezed a bit of it into his palms and sank his fingers into my hair.

“Let me do this for you, noona.,” He muttered , voice deep and soothing and I couldn’t contain the moan that escaped, his fingers feeling like heaven as they carefully lathered up the damp strands, massaging my scalp till my eyes fluttered shut.

“Taehyung has things he needs to do and ...well, I agreed to this just so he could avoid any distractions.” I said gently, reaching out and lightly touching his arm.

“That doesn’t give him the right to hurt you though. “

I laughed despite myself.

“Why do you think he hurt me?”

Jungkook stopped his ministrations.

“You wear your heart on your sleeve.”

I felt my breath catch at that. This thing with Jungkook, it wasn’t exactly the sort of thing where I felt comfortable enough sharing my feelings for someone else with him. I felt awful, embarrassed and annoyed that something I hadn’t even fully known myself was , apparently obvious to the world. .

Embarrassed because it would never be reciprocated.

Annoyed because I should have nipped this thing in the bud.

But I couldn’t talk about this now.

“It’s not... “ I hesitated. “ It’s not going to be a problem. For me. I’m going to fix it. “ The dull throb of the bite on my neck mocked me, even as I said it. I had agreed to something momentous , something that carried a lot of consequences behind it, and I had done it on a whim.

Taehyung with his honey dripping tongue and gentle but firm hands had made me dance to his tune so perfectly. But now that the act was over, I was definitely in danger of drowning.

“ So, you’re just going to hang around while he does his own thing.” Jungkook frowned.

“Actually she’s free to walk out anytime she likes.”

Taehyung’s voice broke through the bathroom like a clanging cymbal and I jerked out of the tub in shock.

Jungkook startled too, eyes going wide as he scrambled to his feet.

Taehyung looked like he had stepped right out of a magazine.

He was wearing a perfectly pressed pinstriped white button down and teal green slacks , a slim patterned tie , in hues of green and red, perfectly knotted at the base of his throat and he also had on a waistcoat, fitting him like a glove, setting off his broad shoulders and trim waist.

He had his hair styled into a perfect part, the thick silky locks arching into perfect side bangs that fell into his eyes.

Eyes that held a whole lot of fury as they took in the sight of me, naked in his tub while an almost naked Jungkook had his fingers buried in my hair.

“I thought you would still be sore from last night....but I suppose that isn’t true, if you felt the need to call for your fuck buddy so soon?” He drawled casually.

I felt anger swell inside me.

“ Jungkook was kind enough to help me out because I couldn’t even move.” I gritted out.

“A feat that required him to strip to his boxers?”

“Hyung, just chill. If I fucked her you would be able to smell it. “ Jungkook snapped, moving to shrug his clothes back on.

Taehyung ignored him , grabbing a pair of fluffy white towels from the linen closet.

He gave me a look.

“You done?” He asked shortly.

And somehow, its the sheer disinterest in his tone, the gaze that may as well be directed at a stranger on the fucking road..... That is what really stings.

I felt like the entire weight of every bad decision I had ever made in my life had just dropped on my head. Almost sagging from the sheer hurt permeating my entire body, I grabbed the edge of the tub and levered myself up, not even bothered that I was completely naked.

I stepped right out of the tub, completely ignoring the way my limbs practically screamed in protest at the movement.

I held my hand out for the towel, completely ignoring, Jungkook’s hasty, “ Fuck” or the way Taehyung’s eyes that had gone as wide as saucers.

He held the towel out and I yanked it out of his grip, wrapping the fabric around my body.

Taehyung let out a harsh, “ Get the fuck out of my house.” at Jungkook who quickly grabbed his jeans and stumbled out with a rushed.

“I’ll call you noona.”

I glared at Taehyung, refusing to so much as acknowledge him as I pushed past him into the living room.

“Jungkook wait, I’m coming with you.” I called out angrily and the wolf stopped, looking surprised as he finished pulling his jeans on, fumbling with his buttons.

“Leave, Jungkook.” Taehyung snapped.

“Uh....” Jungkook stared between the two of us.

“Why the fuck are you still here?” This time Taehyung’s voice was louder, deeper, bordering on a true snarl and Jungkook recoiled.

“Fine. I’ll just get a cab then.”

I turned to the bag with my clothes, grabbing the first thing I could get my hands on.

Taehyung’s voice came from behind me , tired and weary.

“Please don’t leave.”

I stopped, closing my eyes and willing myself not to completely lose it.

“Please , just.... I know I shouldn’t be angry. This thing with us is ...nothing.” He said softly, which , fucking ouch . Having him actually say it was so much worse.

But he wasn’t done.

“ Its just a fucking favor you’re doing me, i know that is what it is. We don’t owe each other anything I know , but if you're gonna see Jungkook just... not in my house okay. I didn’t like him with you...in my house.”

I turned around to stare at him.

“What do you think I was doing with him in your house Taehyung? He came over to help because Yugyeom was busy. You were the one who asked him to check up on me....weren’t you?”

Taehyung ran his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t fucking know...all I know is that my wolf smelled you and another alpha and-”

“You know you’re the only were who speaks like that...” I said angrily.

Taehyung blinked.

“Like what?”

“Like you and your wolf are two different entities. Like you can do any thing you want and then blame your damn wolf for it. And its beginning to piss me off.”

Taehyung flinched at that.

“I’m just... I’m trying to do this in a way that our lives don’t get fucked up. I can’t... Your father....”

“I know. I know my fucking father is a scumbag and that he needs to rot in hell and I am willing to help you do it. But if only you could just.... give me a fucking break .,...”

“I know...and I’m sorry. I just... I’m in a mess. Your father got rid of three of the dealers we could tie him to and it looks like there are other people involved in this whole thing. Other powerful men. I’m just... I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do this without getting someone close to your father.”

I stared at him.

“Well, its not me. He hates my guts... He would never confide in me.”

“But he has a soft spot for a really close friend of mine....I believe you’ve met him....his name is Cha Eun Woo.”

I froze.

“Taehyung....” I groaned in disbelief.

“I wanted to ask you if you would pretend to date Cha Eun Woo...”

I felt like my head was about to splinter in two.

“Just long enough for me to get the info I need. Eun Woo is good at what he does and he can easily get into your father’s good graces, get him to confide in him and we could bring this entire fucking racket down...but the only way Eun woo could have access to your father would be through you.... “

Taehyung sounded desperate as he spoke, and I felt dangerously close to crying.

“So it wasn’t enough that you got to fuck me? You’re just gonna pimp me out to your friends now...” I choked out.

“Fucking hell, Rae...That’s not what this is....This is for the...”

“Greater good.....yeah... I know.... I fucking heard you today morning on the fucking phone...Telling your friend how you had to suffer through a night with me for the greater good. And that's just perfectly fine....what I really don’t understand is why you had to fucking pretend like you actually gave a shit about me.... “ I choked out , my eyes dampening against my wishes .

Taehyung froze, eyes wide.

Something awfully close to pity began to swim in them and I swallowed the bile rising up my throat.

“Fine. Tell your fucking friend to come pick me up.”

I couldn’t bring myself to even look at him.

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Author’s Note : Feedback is love.

Let me know what you guys thought.

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#taehyung smut #taehyung fanfic #taehyung au #bts smut #bts fics #bts au #taehyung werewolf au #bts werewolf au #taehyung fics

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paranaturalpop · 4 years ago

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I shoot awake some nights thinking about the brilliance of the hitball arc. It gets so increasingly absurd as it goes on. It has the pacing of the most over-the-top Shōnen sports manga. Alliances are formed, secrets are revealed, characters have entire emotional arcs after which they are fundamentally different. and ITS JUST A GAME OF DODGE BALL. The stakes are real, people actually get hurt, but the characters remain within the bounds of the rules of this game of dodge ball to the point of braking a kid's arm for it. The whole class cloud of turned on Hijack right away like they do at the end because of the golden switch, but they don’t, because their in that middle school mind set of not having ‘permission’. OF COURSE no one goes and gets a teacher (except violet). Of course everyone keeps following the rules. it’s ridiculous, its satire of itself.

and then, later, we learn why this all happened. The big bad, the ‘insidious infiltrator’… is a kid. He’s a kid too. He went along with this convoluted high-stakes game and broke Max’s arm because he’s a child. He didn’t know any better.

its the same story if you flip perspective from the activity club to hijack. Instead of this grand show of camaraderie against and intruder it becomes Hijack's big heroic solo showdown against a crew of bullies and their misguided enablers.

One of the things that's so great about Zack Morrison’s righting is that every character is a fully fleshed out individual with their own clear motivations. Every kid in that hittable arc is viewing themselves as the ‘hero’ of this story. Max, Dimitri and Izzy are fighting an ‘insidious’ paranormal intruder, Johnny and Cody are protecting their friends, the student council is upholding their duty to the school rules, and Hijack is on a super-secret mission to help his mom ‘save the world’. Everyone has good intentions, but they’re opposed anyway.

The hitball arc isn’t just satire of over-the top kids media, its very literal. These character’s immaturity and self-centered thinking leads to this real over-the-top ordeal that could have been prevented at anytime.

Its the same thing Isaac (who was conspicuously absent from this arc) struggles with all the time. He sees himself as a constantly victimized potential hero and is struggling to reconcile that self-image with his actual actions witch are… consistently less than heroic. He’s not the nicest person. He wants to be, but just like Hijack, he’s sees life as a TV show or comic where he’s the main character, and everyone else is with him or against him. It’s not a coincidence that Hijack and Isaac finally meeting was so climatic. They where both essentially at the same stage in their very similar arcs. They both hurt Isabel and Max specifically! Hijack and Isabel had their moment of understanding, followed by Isaac apologizing to max, and Isabel reaching out to Isaac. Everyone has to learn to see things from other’s perspective, witch may sound trite to adult readers, but be honest, how good where you at that in middle school? and you didn't even have to fight body-snatchers ever probably!

It was a perfect choice to leave the audience out of the loop on what Hijack’s ‘deal’ was. He looked and acted like a monster! We were all rooting for the characters we already knew and liked! We had to learn to step out of our main character centric thinking at the same time that the actual characters did.

oof this is all really rambley and i don’t think I’m even getting my point across. basically what i’m saying is:

Disclaimer: Vice-principal is an exception to all of this. idk what the fudge her deal is and I hope I never know. A full adult watched all that hitball stuff happen and pretended to be a floating child the whole time instead of the authority figure she really is who could have just stopped it all immediately. She did this to get info on someone who might have done stunts on a bus???? NO layers JUST villainy.

#pnat #paranatural #meta #pnat meta #this aint my best work but i had to get it off my chest #do i tag every character i mentioned in this?#nah #hit ball #hitball #hit ball arc #hitball arc #zack morrison #@ anyone who think that arc was too long: fight me #it was paced like a serialized action comic on purpose!

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teatimecrumpetsandsugar · 4 years ago

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freefall (voltron; pidge/lance)

Heyo! This story is based on a request from @jabbloo !

Hi!! I'm not sure if this is the right place for it, but I couldn't find your ask box AJDKSKDS ; I'd like to request Pidge/Lance discovering a planet where it's very lush and green and full of plant life, and it turns out you can essentially snowboard on slippery algae hills, so they grab some boards and go at it!! :D thank you for your consideration!! ❤️❤️

I’m gonna write this to the best of my ability for you- thank you so much for making a request! for the record, if you don’t see an ask box anywhere it’s because I’m really new to Tumblr and have no idea how to do any of this- I set up the request post with the instruction of a friend, so I’m hoping I learn over time! Anyway, onto the story :D

Btw, feel free to let me know if I didn’t touch on the prompt the way you wanted and I’m happy to go back and rewrite it or make a part two- I actually had a ton of fun writing this and wouldn’t mind doing more of it!

/ \

“It’s really... green,” Pidge comments, grimacing at the monitor, “Are you sure anything sentient lives there? I’m not seeing any signs of manmade structures here.”

Allura tilts her head slowly, “Maybe we’re missing something? I mean, the beacon definitely came from here, so there has to be some kind of civilization...” She gestures her hand towards the surface uncertainly, “...Somewhere.”

Pidge glances back at the rest of the team, cocking an eyebrow, “Do we go?”

Most of the team seems just as unsure, but, when her gaze locks on Lance’s, she sees a sparkle in his cobalt blue irises. She heaves a sigh, fondly rolling her eyes at his exaggerated pout, “What do you think, Lance?”

A wide, toothy grin takes up residence on his face, and he turns to the rest of the Paladins with an enthusiasm she wishes he’d have for any other important discussions, “It’s so pretty there, you guys!” He pauses, seeming to realize that isn’t a valid argument, and tries again, “If there really is a community there asking to join the coalition and we don’t go, it wouldn’t look good for us. Plus, it’s gorgeous and wouldn’t be a bad place to see up close- please, please, please can we go?”

Pidge turns her gaze back to the monitor, taking in the thick foliage and sprawling canopies of leaves they can see just from a satellite image of the small planet- it is objectively pretty, and she can’t fight the smile that tugs at her lips as she imagines the delight on Lance’s face. One was arguably more beautiful than the other, but that was more a matter of opinion than anything else, really.

She turns to Allura, hesitant, but the older woman already has a pleased smile on her face, “Lance is right- we should go, just to make sure it’s really empty.”

/ / \ \

It really is just as beautiful as it was on the monitor.

When the airlock opens, a burst of warm, sweet-smelling air hits her face, trees almost as big as the castle itself surrounding them. The warm orange light of the planet’s solar entity breaks through the thick canopy of leaves sparingly, forming cracks of blazing light on the forest floor, yet, somehow, there are flowers and grasses of all kind flourishing everywhere underfoot.

She can’t help but marvel as she realizes that all of these trees must be thousands- or perhaps even millions- of years old, small creatures nesting all along them and forming a glorious symphony of chirps, purrs, and soft buzzes of all kind around them.

She turns to look at Lance, marveling at the way the rich, blazing orange light hits his face, defining his each and every feature in a way that takes her breath away- the blue of his eyes is even more captivating than normal, twinkling with complete, blinding euphoria.

He smiles brightly, barking out a short, giddy laugh before snatching Pidge’s hand from her side and taking off running towards the trees. His excitement is contagious, even as she stumbles over her own feet trying to keep up with his long strides, and she finds herself laughing loudly as she follows after him.

It takes a while to weave completely through the trees, but, when they do, he stops suddenly, peering out over a vast cliff. She runs straight into his back from her own momentum, clinging to him in surprise when she realizes the ground is a lot more slippery here than it was in the woods. Curiously, she peaks around his tall, lean frame, a soft gasp pulling itself from her throat as she sees what’s on the other side.

The hill they stand on is steep, overlooking a vast basin and another sprawling forest, the orange sun shining high in the sky over the horizon and reflecting perfectly off of the shallow water in the center of the serene area. The shore is lush and green, dotted with colorful pinpricks Pidge can tell are flowers even from miles away, and the world seems to be at her fingertips, completely still and perfect in that moment.

She’s caught off-guard when the ground under their shoes begins to give under their combined weight, suddenly beginning to slide- Lance suddenly topples over, dragging her down with him with his grip on her hand, and the two of them soon find themselves sliding down the hill at a high speed. She cries out in surprise, followed by his hectic, raucous cackling as they plummet towards the ground at breakneck speeds, only to follow the hill’s gentle slope and slide to a stop on the basin’s shore.

For a moment, they’re both completely silent in surprise, laying on their backs with their gazes locked on the rich, pink-hued sky and rich violet water lapping gently at their ankles, breathing heavily from the sudden motion.

And then Pidge starts laughing. At first, they’re subdued little giggles, fits and spurts of amusement tickling at her throat, before she realizes how absurd it’d been and truly begins laughing, eyes crinkling at the corners and chest heaving, breath stuttering with each unceremonious snort that creeps in. Lance turns his face to the side to watch her in awe, a crooked grin slowly rising to meet his eyes and his own bright, delighted laugh breaking from his chest in a moment that’s truly absurdly them.

“It’s algae!” Pidge cries breathlessly, nose flushing pink from her stuttered breaths and warm brown eyes falling shut, “I was wondering why the grass got so slippery, but it was never grass at all! This body of water was probably formed by water running under the surface- it’s probably also why the grass and plants are surviving without enough sunlight!” She grins in realization, excited by the discovery, “This planet is at least 65% land-dwelling algae but it all looks so natural I didn’t even notice at first!”

She opens her eyes again, slowly turning to look at Lance, expecting to find him confused or asleep, but, to her surprise, he’s watching her with rapt attention. Her nose wrinkles in confusion, confused discomfort pressing against her chest, before he gives her a ridiculous smirk and says, “I love when you talk biology to me.”

She stifles a loud, surprised snort, laughing brightly until she registers the edge of honest reverence lurking just beneath it and her breath catches, “I like that you listen, even when you don’t get it.”

He pauses, unsure how to continue now that he’s gotten this far, before perking up suddenly, “You wanna go snowboarding on it, Pidge?” She squawks out a laugh, sitting up, “Would it even be snowboarding if it’s algae? Isn’t that just... algae-boarding?”

He pouts playfully, and she rolls her eyes fondly, “I’m just messing with you, Lance. We gotta find boards first, though...”

The pout is gone faster than it appeared, an excited smile taking its place as he shoots to his feet, pulling her up with him, “Come on! Come on, come on, come on- we gotta find something to use as a board, Pidge!”

She laughs again, letting him pull her along back towards the castle, knowing it’d only get more and more hectic as the day went on and looking forward to every second of it as long as he was by her side.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron plance #voltron pidge & lance #voltron pidge #voltron pidge gunderson #voltron lance #voltron lance mcclain #voltron #vld #vld pidge #vld lance #vld plance #fanfic #requested

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cloudywriter · 4 years ago

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i never got to say i love you - 3

honestly no idea how this actually worked out but i did find it in me to pick it up where i had left off. i’ll keep working on this story and see where it goes but i think i have a few ideas. it’s not very long but it’s a start ya know. it looks nice right now too but don’t worry the angst will be there soon. xoxo

masterlist, main masterlist, AO3

~~~

From that fateful night on, Feyre spent all of her free time in the art building’s studio not even returning to her dorm until long after dark. Quite frankly, she was a little embarrassed. She showed up outside of Mor’s door fully prepared to ask her to please quiet down only to be reminded of how ridiculously dressed she was and then to top it all off after that all she did was stare at Rhysand until she ran off stuttering like a fool which was so unlike her.

She had a close call one afternoon in the dining hall but was able to make a speedy escape.

Of course, the one time she decided she should work and study somewhere that wasn’t the art studio she ended up in the library. It had been fine until they strutted in, strolling down the center of the library as if it it was a catwalk. A group of girls next to her looked up at them, giggling and blushing, and quickly averted their gazes when Cassian shot them a swift wink.

Feyre just kept her head down, trying to concentrate on the book of art history in front of her but just knowing he was in the same room as her, that she was in his vicinity had her mind unable to comprehend anything but that fact. Should she just stand up and leave? Would that draw more attention to herself?

She quickly deduced she could not wiggle her way out of this one.

Feyre propped up her textbook in hopes it would shield most of her face while she finished up the chapter and then she promised herself she could make her leave.

The scraping of a chair across the tile floor informed her she was not going to be so lucky. She zoned in on the words in front of her, she was not going to look up.

“Art history,” a voice read aloud.

Feyre looked up and arched an eyebrow at the man in front of her. “Congrats, you can read.”

“Are you an art major?” He asked, leaning back in his chair.

“I could be or maybe I just enjoy a little art history. What are you majoring in making obvious observations?”

“Is that a new major? Because I’ll admit I’d love to take it up,” Cassian commented, crossing his arms and tucking his fist underneath his chin.

Feyre didn’t deign to respond instead she leaned further back in her chair once again focusing on the textbook.

That was until the remaining members of the trio wandered up to Feyre’s table as well.

Cassian turned around a little and gestured to Feyre, “Hey guys, I’m just hanging with my girl, Fey. You know, the one who came to yell at us last week and then drooled over Rhys.”

Feyre slammed her book flat on the table, “I did not drool!”

Cassian shrugged, “I don’t know I think I had to whip up a few drops after you left.”

Feyre just knew her bright red face betrayed her.

Rhys only laughed, a deep, sultry laugh that sounded the way expensive velvet felt. “It’s alright Feyre, darling, I’m used to it obviously.”

“Oh, don’t call me darling,” Feyre sighed, burying her face in her hands. Rhysand only smirked in response, drumming his fingers on the edge of the desk.

Azriel and Cassian were hunched over, studying something on Cassian’s phone while Feyre desperately tried to pretend they weren’t there. Rhys kept on drumming his fingers, completely disrupting Feyre, to be fair she was dyslexic and she required quiet in order to sit and read.

Feyre reached out her hand, holding a pencil, and wacked Rhysand’s fingers. “Stop it!” She whisper-yelled at him.

“Feyre, darling, you wound me,” he purred, leaning back to slip his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. On almost anyone else Feyre would’ve thought the leather jacket looked stupid but it just worked on Rhysand.

Rhysand was quiet for a moment when he spoke back up, “What does one do with an art degree?”

Feyre lifted her eyes from the page in front of her, “Gods, you sound like my sister.”

Rhys cracked a smile at that, “I don’t mean it in a negative way, of course, just curious.”

“I just want to spend the rest of my life doing something I love and I happen to love painting. I know it's not the standard but I wouldn’t be happy in a 9 to 5 desk job,” Feyre explained.

Rhys nodded, he looked as though that statement had resonated with him.

At that moment both Cassian and Azriel stood up, “Hey, Rhys, Mor is texting us that she wants to meet at Rita’s for lunch. You coming?”

Feyre glanced up, making direct eye contact with Rhys, “No,” he says in a husky voice, still looking into her eyes, “I think I’ll stay.” Feyre concentrates on her book again, a small, secret smile poised on her lips. Cassian and Azriel make their exit with knowing glances passed between them.

Cassian and Azriel had only been gone for around five minutes, Feyre was trying her hardest to appear unruffled by Rhysand’s presence, her eyes glued to her book though they weren’t reading a thing. Rhys then broke the silence, “Are you hungry?”

Feyre raised an eyebrow, “Are you?”

“Famished.”

“Strange, pretty sure I saw you turn down an invite to lunch a few minutes ago,” she replied simply.

“I go to lunch everyday with Az, Mor, and Cas, but I don’t go to lunch with you, Feyre, darling. I thought I might switch it up.”

Feyre gave him her best unimpressed expression even though her heart was pumping in her chest. “You’re a shameless flirt.”

“Well, what do you say?”

Despite Feyre finding Rhysand annoyingly attractive she was hesitant to accept his invitation. She had just transferred schools, she was in the market for some friends, but the haunting memory of her failed relationship crept in like a spider knitting a web of doubt.

Feyre banished that spider, “Fine.”

+++

Rhys had taken Feyre to a cute little coffee shop that served the best sandwiches in Prythian as Rhysand had claimed. Feyre didn’t have any room to disagree. Their conversation came easy, it felt natural, not stiff like the beginning of most budding friendships. They argued, joked, and even poked fun at each other the entire time.

Rhysand continued with his brazen, flirty attitude and persistent usage of the endearment ‘darling’ much to Feyre’s dismay. It was irritating but charming, it just seemed to be wholly Rhys.

Now, Rhys and Feyre were walking side by side back towards the dorm buildings. The conversation proceeded to flow easily. When they were about to enter the courtyard adjoining the separate dorm buildings, Rhys flopped onto a bench just a little ways off the sideway. Feyre raised her eyebrow at him.

“Sit, darling. All this walking after eating and I’ll get a cramp,” he reasoned.

Feyre rolled her eyes, it certainly wasn’t that but she entertained him. She took a spot a little bit down the bench from him and leaned her head back, staring up at the tree overhead and the afternoon sun beaming through its leaves.

A question popped into Feyre’s mind and she pivoted towards Rhys, “What are you majoring in?”

Rhys’s beautiful face turned into a grimace as he turned his attention from the same tree back to her.

“Business,” he finally supplied.

“You seem disappointed by that,” Feyre commented. Rhysand looked away as his head bobbed in a noncommittal yes.

“I wanted to major in English, really. I love books, stories, even poetry as mind boggling as it may be sometimes,” Rhys let out a small chuckle, mostly to himself. “I love language too, the way you can manipulate and articulate it, it’s remarkable. I would be more than content to pour over books the rest of my life or share my passion for stories and language with others.”

“Then why do business?” Feyre knew she was probably prying but her curious nature always got the best of her.

“My father,” Rhys admitted. “He’s a businessman you know, convinced it's always the way to go whether you truly enjoy it or not. Doesn’t matter if you’re happy if you have a stable job and are making good money in his eyes. Not to mention, he demands I work with him at his company after school. I lost the will to fight him on it, just easier to appease him at this point. Books will still be there.”

Feyre let the words hang in the air between them. She knew, of course, the feeling of being unsupported but still her family hadn’t forced her hand. Feyre reached out, resting her hand lightly over Rhysand’s in silent support while still giving him the option to pull away.

He didn’t. He wrapped her small hand in his own and turned his head toward her.

The wind tousled his black hair back and forth with each turn of its direction. In the sun’s light his eyes were bright, framed by thick lashes. Feyre wished she could freeze time and pull out her paints to capture the image. The overwhelming desire to do so took Feyre by surprise. Since leaving for Velaris that deep yearning to paint a particular scene, a moment of inspiration so strong it paralyzed her, hadn’t been prominent. Truly, it hadn’t been there for a while. She usually had to force out a drawing or painting for an assignment.

Then Rhys gave her a gentle smile, it looked how Feyre imagined touching clouds would feel. It brought a funny feeling to her stomach.

“Do what makes you happy, Rhys, always,” she added so quietly she thought her words might’ve been blown away by the breeze before they even reached his ears.

Yet, Rhys squeezed her hand the smallest bit.

~~~

well this is for you @maybekindasortaace

let me know if you wanted to be added to my feysand taglist or my rowaelin taglist or both, ya know

#feysand au #feyre x rhysand #feyre and rhysand #feysand fanfic #a court of mist and fury #a court of war and ruin #a court of frost and starlight #a court of thorns and roses #acotar fanfiction #acotar au #acotar #rhysand #cassian #azriel #morrigan #feysand #feysand fluff #feyre x rhys #i never got to say i love you

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rivalsforlife · 4 years ago

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thoughts on aai2?

oh no I don’t know if I’ll be able to think of anything mean to say because I love aai2 with all my heart, it makes me feel so much.

It really feels like a love letter to Miles Edgeworth’s character and really digs into him and his motivations and history and then centers an entire game around that. The central question of “should he be a defense attorney or stay as a prosecutor?” is one that’s probably been on a lot of people’s minds since the first game when he makes that comment to Phoenix, and even moreso after T&T where he pretends to be a defense attorney on Phoenix’s behalf. And aai2 not only comes up with an answer to that but also gives justification for that answer in a way that’s extremely heartwarming and absolutely fits Miles’ ideals of Truth And Justice, as well as showing how exactly he would NOT be fit to be a defense attorney (that one dialogue in the Imprisoned Turnabout where he’s talking about finding the truth of the case and then Kay jumps in and says “but Mr. Edgeworth, remember we’re not just doing this for the truth, we’re doing it to save Simon!” meanwhile Miles... completely forgot about that.)

I feel like anyone reading this should already know that I’m going to be getting into very spoilery territory with this and I will tag it accordingly, so I’m just gonna go for it: Simon Keyes. What a villain. Not only is he a surprise villain but one that you can sort of see coming, his motivations are sympathetic and he’s an excellent foil to Miles (which the game itself points out) plus he is so so so good at targeting everyone’s emotional weakness, which is like my favourite thing from a writing standpoint, when you get to see the villain talking and they make some comment and you shout “YEAH HE HAS A POINT” in the audience. The game tries to brush it over, but I hear you, Simon, and you’re so right.

“You will focus on the truths most convenient to you to prove your argument?” That’s like basic human confirmation bias, but also something that the games tend to do a LOT, and Miles had done quite a bit of throughout the game. Kay’s found on the roof with all this evidence on her? It must be planted, there’s no way his dear little Kay could be a murderer. But once it turns against Simon, Miles isn’t as interested in saving him, he just needs to keep “turning things around” to fit his line of logic so far.

“You never really cared about saving me, you just wanted to pretend to be a defense attorney like your father?” Maybe Miles did care a bit about saving him, but it’s quite clear he’d completely abandon Simon and turn against him if it turned out the truth wasn’t on his side. Plus, he wanted to explore that history Gregory left him, the childhood dreams he’d been forced to abandon. But he has changed as a person, since then, and he can’t completely go back to the person he used to be, but he can still grow and escape the worst of himself, and take that trauma inflicted upon him and use it to fight against the corruption he was molded to perpetuate!! UGH it’s so good I am feeling things about Miles Edgeworth again.

The new characters are also excellent for developing his character. Ray is the connection to Gregory and as a result Miles’ childhood that Miles hasn’t had in such a long time, and is able to provide him with guidance on his past while challenging him on if he wants to pursue it. (Seriously, get rid of the creepy jokes and Ray would definitely be one of my favourite characters.) Justine is a parallel to AA1-Miles, still believing blindly in the system and thinking it will always dispense justice (just look at how the reveal that MvK forged evidence for a false verdict shakes her) -- she still has a strong sense of justice, but it’s restricted by her faith in the rule of law. Sebastian is like Bratworth, in a way, naïve and being used by a father-figure in order to enact their own agenda, and in the end, is forced to learn that person never had his best interests in heart and learn how to move on from that as a prosecutor, despite that person being the one who put them on the prosecutor’s path to begin with... pretty much figuring out how to reshape their destiny.

And the game doesn’t just focus on these characters, it focuses on all the bonds Miles has with these people, and also explores the various ways a parent-child bond can present itself (healthily, unhealthily, complicated or not so much, biological or adopted) and the influences of that on the children. From Miles+Greg to Sebastian+Blaise, even Franziska+MvK, Kate+Jeff, John+Justine, even Simon+Dogen vs Simon+Gustavia... the game spends so much time fleshing these out and their impacts on the people involved. It’s also just a game about human relationships in general. Miles learning how to express himself properly to say thanks, or say how much people mean to him. Miles showing actual respect for Gumshoe. Gumshoe finding his own reasons for being a detective that’s not just about helping Miles. Franziska learning how to move on from what her father did to decide her own path. Miles and Kay, I hope everyone knows how strongly I feel about Miles and Kay, that father-daughter type bond has a permanent place in my heart now. Kay, who is lost and clinging to this image of her father as a Great Thief and trying to follow in his footsteps to be a hero just like him, and then deciding in the end to make her own path in life. Sebastian feeling lost and alone and abandoned but finding the courage to stand up with the support of the people who care about him. Miles being a pillar of unwavering support for these two kids, who he can see so much of himself in, trying to set them on a better path in life. And I can’t forget Phoenix, who doesn’t ever appear and isn’t mentioned by name, but whose influence you can feel through all of Miles’ actions, as the man who saved him, who showed him the value of bonds between people, who, in essence, taught him how to love and be loved and open his heart to others again!

This game has so much love in it, it’s really about love -- platonic love, familial love, the absence of love and what affect that has on people like Simon, how love can save others from turning down darker paths, the extent that love can drive people to do ridiculous things to save those they care about, how love can change people for better or for worse, how it can be a vulnerability but also a strength. It has one of the things I really love about AA, this focus on bonds that aren’t romantic, because none of the major relationships focused on in the game are romantic but you can still feel so much love that all of these characters have for each other.

WOW this is going on a while I should probably stop. I have a lot of feelings about this game. I just wrote more instances of “love” than I ever think I have before. Um, in conclusion, I love this game? Like it has its flaws (pacing issues... all the jokes Ray makes...) but overall it’s probably the game that makes me feel the most, every single time I watch a playthrough or play it myself (totaling several times now) I just find more to love and it still always makes me feel things. I honestly don’t know if I can be objective about it haha.

#aai2 #aai2 spoilers #long post #aa rants #? it's not negative at ALL this is like tonally the complete opposite of my others #I feel too much now agh I'm going to need to lie down to process these feelings #asks

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five-rivers · 5 years ago

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Not the King

Danny isn't the Ghost King. Really, he isn't. He doesn't know what they've been telling you, but it's not true. @imperfection-at-itsfinest

"I'm not the Ghost King," said Danny.

Danielle blinked up at him. "But-" she said.

"I'm not," insisted Danny, glaring at the two one-eyed ghosts that had brought her here. "I don't know what they told you, but I am not the Ghost King. I mean, I'm not even a full ghost. I'm still in high school. It would be ridiculous to make me Ghost King, right? It would be insane, right?"

"I-" said Dani, taking in her surroundings, the high ceilings, the dais, the green-burning torches on the wall, the green plush carpet on the floor beneath her feet. "Where are we?"

"Nowhere," said Danny, too quickly.

"The palace of the High King of All Ghosts," answered one of the eye ghosts.

Danny glared. "She wasn't asking you," he said.

"Well," said Dani, "it was more of a general question, honestly. So, you have a palace, now, huh?"

"It is not a palace. And I don't have it. This is just- just an administrative building."

"Danny, there's a throne."

"An administrative throne. It's kind of like the office chair of the Ghost Zone."

"Infinite Realms," corrected one of the eyeballs.

"This is like... A lobby. A reception lobby," continued Danny. "Completely normal, so you can go now."

"Is it normal to be chained to administrative thrones?" asked Dani. Because he was. Chained, that is. They were glowing green and probably phase proof both to humans and ghosts.

"Yes."

"So, you don't need to be rescued?"

"No, I'm fine. I always escape eventually. This is the fifth time."

One of the eyeball ghosts turned to Dani. "Please. We're begging you. Talk some sense into him."

Honestly, where were their mouths? Did they even have mouths?

"I'm perfectly full of sense, thanks. You're the ones who're nonsensical."

"He's been like this for months," said the other one-eyed ghost, mournfully.

Dani looked between Danny, chained to the throne, and the one-eyed ghosts. "Talk some sense into him about what?"

"About his kingship!" The ghost spread his hands wide.

"I'm not a king! I'm a C-average student from America and I'm not even dead yet!"

"Yes, you are! You died years ago! Why are you making this so difficult?" shouted one of the ghosts.

"Doesn't count! I came back!"

"You celebrated your deathday last year!"

"Danny," said Dani, cautiously, "you're wearing a crown."

"Isn't a crown," said Danny, shaking his head, furiously.

"Then what is it?" asked Dani, genuinely curious as to what he'd come up with, but also starting to be concerned.

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. "It's, uh, it's a hat."

"Pretty fancy hat."

"Well, it is a ghost hat."

"It is not just a hat!" growled one of the eyeball ghosts. "It shows your position as-"

"Final dispute arbiter!" shouted Danny, drowning out the other ghost. "It's the ceremonial hat of the final dispute arbiter, but I really don't want the job. Too much paperwork. Too much, uh, reception work."

"Reception work where you're tied to a throne."

"Office chair, but yes. I keep telling them I don't want it. They won't listen."

Dani looked between Danny and the other ghosts once again.

"Can I have one of the rooms in your palace?"

"So, uh," said Dani, phasing through the wall into Jazz's room, "I heard that Danny is not the Ghost King."

"Yeah," said Jazz, not looking up from her formidable book, "we've all heard."

"What's up with that?"

"Oh, you know, just Danny being Danny, honestly." There was an edge of worry there.

"He doesn't actually believe all that about office chairs, does he?"

"If you're asking me if he's delusional, the answer is yes," said Jazz.

"Stop making fun of me!" yelled Danny from the other room.

"Stop eavesdropping on me with your super-hearing!" Jazz shouted back.

"It isn't my fault these walls are paper thin!"

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he knows what's going on. He just doesn't want to know."

"Right. And for those of us who don't know?"

"Didn't the Observants tell you?"

"The who?" asked Dani.

"Eyeball ghosts. Very pushy."

"Oh. Yeah. Mostly they just yelled at Danny."

Jazz rolled her eyes and put aside her book. The title was Common Law in the Infinite Realms.

"The Ghost Zone needs a king," started Jazz.

Danny stuck his head through the wall. "It got along perfectly fine without one for hundreds of years."

Jazz, without taking her eyes off Dani, removed her shoe and threw it at Danny. It hit, dead center, and the ghost boy withdrew, shoe in his mouth.

"Nice aim," said Dani.

"Hey!" said Jazz. "Give me back my shoe!"

The offended article flew through the wall and landed neatly on Jazz's bed.

"Anyway," she said. "The Ghost Zone needs a king. Or wants a king. Or maybe it's just the Observants who want one. Either way, by ghost law, Danny's the rightful king because he beat Pariah Dark in single combat."

"Okay, that's cool. So, why doesn't he want to be Ghost King?"

"I think mainly he doesn't want to be responsible for a whole universe full of people."

Dani nodded. That would do it.

"So, he's in denial."

"Yeah. That, and I think he thinks that he can negotiate his title down if he tries hard enough. Of course, he won't talk to me about it, because he has an irrational fear that, if he acknowledges that it's happening, he'll be trapped."

"Well, I mean, that's reasonable," said Dani. "A lot of ghost things are actually like that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like, Danny and I are officially cousins, because that's what we said we are."

"Huh. I guess I hadn't gotten to that part yet," said Jazz, glaring at her book as though it had done her a great personal wrong.

"Maybe the crown thing also is supposed to do something," suggested Dani. "Like, if he says, 'okay, fine, I'm the Ghost King,' it binds to him or something? Like, maybe it melts on to his head, and he can't get it off? It is on fire."

"Wow. Thank you for that horrifying image that will never leave my brain," said Jazz. "Thankfully, that probably won't happen. Didn't happen to the last guy."

"If you're the king, does that mean I'm a princess?"

"I'm not a king," said Danny, glaring down at his homework. He furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Technically, I'm a knight."

"What, really?" asked Dani, flipping herself so that she was sitting upright in the air. "Since when?"

"Dora knighted me. It was a while ago. I guess that'd make you a lady, then."

"Does that mean you can sword fight?" asked Dani.

"Yeah. She had one of her other knights teach me. I beat Vlad in a sword fight, a couple of times. He likes to think he's good, but he really isn't."

"Wow, you just described, like, fifty percent of his personality."

Danny snorted.

"I hear Danny has a new job," said Dani, squeezing in-between Tucker and Sam as they walked to school.

On the other side of Sam, Danny groaned loudly.

"Oh, yeah, we all know," said Tucker.

"We figure it's only a matter of time before ghosts start showing up at the school to congratulate him. Or, you know, fight him for the crown," said Sam.

Danny got a contemplative look on his face.

"Don't you dare lose on purpose," warned Sam.

"But, just imagine, the Box Ghost-"

"No. Remember Pandora's box?" asked Sam.

Danny deflated.

"You know," said Dani. "You probably won't even have to do anything. Like you said, there hasn't been a Ghost King in ages."

"You don't understand," said Danny. "The Observants hate me. The only reason they'd want me to do something like this is because there's baggage. Well, I'm not doing it."

"So, it isn't just because you think the title will do something to you?"

"Better safe than sorry, right?" said Danny. "If they are going to force me into... something, then I'm not getting extra supernatural hooks set into me because of the job title. Last thing I need is some kind of fine-print that means I have to let the Observants run my life. No way. They're not getting me like that."

A ghost portal opened up underneath Danny's feet, and he fell.

Dani found him tied to the throne again, crown floating over his hair. He looked absolutely livid. So did the several dozen Observants glaring at him.

"You must take up the title!" said one of the Observants, angrily.

"No," said Danny. "I'm not the Ghost King. I'm not going to be the Ghost King. Find someone who actually wants to do it!"

"There is no one else who can do it!"

Dani cleared her throat. All eyes turned to her.

"Look, have none of you people ever heard of a compromise?"

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were waiting in front of the Fenton Portal when they got back. Danny had sulked the whole way.

"Well," said Jazz. "What happened?"

"I'm not the Ghost King," said Danny, sullenly. He flew up through the ceiling.

"You'd think he'd be happier about that," said Tucker, looking up.

"Is he king now, after all?" asked Sam.

"Nah," said Dani. "He's the Ghost Prince. I'm a princess, now, by the way, so you have to call me 'your highness.'"

"I'm not doing that," said Sam.

"That's fair."

#Danny Phantom #phic phight #phic phight 2020

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leatherbookmarking · 3 years ago

Text

fuck that ! im gonna talk about them deadboyz!! shame is for the WEAK

overall:

belong to a much less known subsidiary company of jinhit no jgs isn’t worth the joke entertainment. if they were in any other company they would be super rookies but jgs is keeping them in the basement and it’s not even his own basement

initially i think there were some high stakes in it for jgy...? something like ‘you produce the songs and make their chores and if you flop you’ll never be on stage again’ but?? i don’t know now tbh

would have been really popular (they are Good) but less known company, etc, and also some rumors around the time of their debut made it so they’re only knows because ‘they’re kinda good at dancing aren’t they’

general concept is uh... cool dudes, kinda fucky but not too much...? gotta think about the baby (a-yu)

THE MEMBERS: meng yao (leader, main dancer, vocalist), wen chao (oldest, main rapper), su she (main vocal, dancer), xue yang (rapper, dancer, unofficially: moodmaker, if by ‘mood’ you understand ‘horror at whatever has just come out of his hellish mouth), wen ning (dancer, vocalist, sometimes rapper), mo xuanyu (vocalist, the Baby™)

MENG YAO:

leader, single-handedly responsible for making these rowdy boys (wc&xy) stop wanting to kill each other

has probably auditioned for every single company there is. was in the nie company for a bit, but it was still a mess freshly after the previous owner, nmj’s father, has died, nmj has struggled (being a producer, not a businessman) so when it turned out they’d have to let some trainees go, the other trainees made it so meng yao was the one to leave. then he temporarily was at wrh’s company where he got kind-of-semi-famous as one of wen qing’s main back dancers (the one she’s interacted with the most) during her last performance. then the company went kaputt and jgs has snatched him off for himself, and then... put him... in the basement.... for two years... after which he gave him a chance, and voila

insanely hard-working. an all-rounder. mainly he excels at dancing, but his vocal and rap skills also Fuck. persona? impeccable. he’s learning to write and compose his own songs and he’s doing well, but he can’t even upload his stuff on soundcloud, because... you know why. has doubled as a manager in their early days. also, dimples.

the fans had tried to make a dad/mom dynamic with him and uh... wen chao...? since they were the oldest and pretty much the opposites, but quickly gave up and he’s now simply known as yao-ge due to his stern but loving persona. (yao-jie, sometimes)

DOES do the split. it was his rookie trick for a year after they debuted, but he simply is just like that. one show host asked him “is there definite proof that you have bones?“ and meng yao only shrugged humbly

WEN CHAO

oldest, has been a trainee for the longest time, hasn’t debuted because... well... he wasn’t good... and that was because he’s felt too safe in his dad’s company. WELL ABOUT THAT,

his older brother wen xu has debuted Long before him, but after a few years his group disbanded, he moved on to modeling and then stopped after a couple of years, too. (he got married.)

you know how i said their image is ‘cool, a bit fucky’? well, he’s 40% of that fuckiness. he’s been told again and again that idols aren’t supposed to date/have dating experience, but he still can’t get the hang of it

yes, he and jiaojiao were an item back in the wen days. she’s a trainee at some other company now but they still hook up sometimes

initially was intent on maintaining a cool, calm and collected image... then he met xue yang and threw that idea outta the window. paradoxically, they’re interesting together, not only as rappers but also as... high-energy, chaotic energy makers of the group...

this is a happy au, so: initially he’s thought everything is bullshit, these talentless fucks are dumb and he should already be a top idol. by the time of their debut, he agrees that meng yao is one crafty motherfucker. a year after their debut, if anything happened to any of his boys, yes even xue yang, he would kill everyone in the room, etc, etc BUT YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT.

SU SHE

unfortunately, was added before their first comeback (second release) and therefore controversial. fortunately, his vocal completes the group’s image and musical flavour

was a trainee in yinshen ent where he really admired their top idol, lan wangji, until... he got to know him (?) when they were sent to compete in a survival show and decided lan wangji ain’t shit and is, in fact, a stuck-up self-centered bitch. the survival show crashed (unrelatedly), but still some serious words were exchanged. during Some Company Problems, quite a lot of trainees have left, but he was the one who left with a Bang.

joined that one subsidiary of jin ent because of meng yao, who, just like in canon, recognized him, said he loved him in (song he’s performed in the survival show) and with this he cemented his position as su she’s new Boy Who Makes Him Go !!!!.

slowly replaced meng yao as The Man Who Does This Face at the other lads’ rowdy behaviour.

fans remember he was :/ at lan wangji, so his persona wouldn’t work anyway, but he does make quite a convincing kind dude-next-door.

stubborn side of the fandom’s next candidate for the mom member, because... he’s ridiculously prepared and reliable. who carries hydrogen peroxide in their daily use backpack? this boy !

it used to be rubbing alcohol but i had too many reasons to apply it internally, he once says mournfully, and this is how xue yang discovers he has a sense of humor, sort of

unfortunately, has the juiciest ass in the group. unfortunately, because

XUE YANG

responsible for: being inappropriate. the other 60% of fuckiness, really enjoys getting into wen chao’s personal space (since wen chao is That straight dude) and just... doing whatever to make su she Scandalized.

but he’s so cute we’ll forgive him. at least until the next time he does a surprise butt grab

very agile! dance line along with meng yao and wen ning. apparently he was a stunt guy...? apparently the lived in the streets...? apparently he went to the same dance school as meng yao...? no one knows his past. no one has seen his kid photos. did he go by another name...? insert the what are birds gif but make it who is xue yang.

adds sound effects to real life. also in his raps, sometimes

started hugging and initiating physical contact with people to assert dominance to be annoying, but ended up actually liking it, even though the one he does it comfortably with is meng yao. just like... back hugs? resting his chin over a-yao’s shoulder? it’s neat. sometimes a-yao pats his hand or taps his nose absent-mindedly and it’s super neat. if he notices you noticing it, though, he will BITE

most popular member, but everyone likes him for different reasons and has a different uhhh headcanon about potentially dating him. bad boy xue yang/cute bratty didi xue yang/sweet boyfriend xue yang, etc, etc

no one knows how, but apparently he knows the iconic duo from a small company, xiao xingchen and song lan...? or rather, song lan pretends not to know or notice him, meanwhile xiao xingchen is very cute when they’re interacting, and basically it prompts a lot of dating rumors, especially since they’ve been spotted having hotpot.

WEN NING

su she was the one to join last, but actually it’s wen ning who’s the least popular member. i’m just so quiet that people don’t notice me, haha, he says while being 180cm tall and having killer charisma when he dances

seriously, what’s up with that? it’s almost like he’s a different person, a possessed one to add to that. huh!

in contrast, his voice is very gentle and even cute, and he often sings quietly to himself. sometimes to other members (there’s a video of him singing what seems to be a lullaby to mxy), sometimes to little animals (there’s a video of him singing to a tiny frog he’s found during a walk). gentle boyfriend wen ning but it’s CANON

in contrast to the contrast, he doesn’t rap often, but when he does, it’s like... who’s that?? another member??? dualism king

when wc/xy cause problems on purpose, he doesn’t react/allows them to tease him/slap his ass/bump into him when they’re fighting. he seems like a calm, gentle guy so when they’re in a variety show and it’s Time For A Punishment, of course he gets to decide/wield the squeaky hammer, WHEREUPON ‘yang-ge, three weeks ago you ate my yoghurt even though i specifically asked you not to, so...’ (whacks xy’s ass into next tuesday)

nice, sculpted shoulders make for very good pillows

MO XUANYU

a Baby, but watch out: a horny one. fully on board with xue yang’s Inappropriate Ideas Of Entertainment. there’s a video of them doing some Rather Dirty dance moves while meng yao and su she make pained faces in the bg

fashion king. make-up king. none of his selfies are bare-faced, he always has some red eye shadow/blue eyelashes/yellow blush/black lipstick going on. sometimes even at the same time. paints his nails and toenails as well. somehow yao-gege doing his make-up makes him fall asleep one minute in. (cute)

his sincere smile is a 100% foolproof way to just... melt everyone’s hearts. in wen ning’s case: with a smile as well. meng yao and su she: an eyeroll (fond). xue yang and wen chao: ‘oh, fuck you’. but it DOES

most of the time though when he does sajiao it’s totally weird. (on purpose, on purpose)

tiny boy. skinny boy. once he turned to the side and vanished. even though most of the time in videos the other members sooner or later end up giving him food! (at some point wen chao says ‘it’s so that you’d shut up’, causing a-yu to start talking animatedly, spitting crumbs into his tea. serves him right)

has a potential to end up as a vocal god. currently however his favourite method of doing things with his voice is SCREAM

famously examines what things are by putting them in his mouth/licking them. he is a little creacher. he cannot change this

bites

#shut up shrimp #ye..lls.........#some other time i'll have to write about what the other dudes are doing in this au #idol au

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ladyonfire28 · 5 years ago

Video

youtube

An interview of Adèle in Cannes in 2017 for 120 battements par minute.

A couple of people have asked me to translate it so I did it. Besides, what Adèle says about the violence that oppressed people experience and how it’s necessary to protest and be violent sometimes to be heard feels very relevant today...

0:01

Interviewer : “Hello Adèle Haenel - Hello - Happy to see you again for this very beautiful film 120 BPM. I was born in 1980 so I was little during the Act Up period but I watched it on TV and my mom would complain and say « another violent thing ». There was that bad reputation that didn’t correspond to the real purpose and activism of Act Up, which is something that I realized when I watched the film. And I wanted to know if you also had a bad image of it because of the media.”

Adèle : “Well first of all I think it’s very upsetting that we would call « violent » people that are oppressed. Because we can’t see the violence of the powerful people but it’s always there, through the barriers they’re putting. So it bothers me when we blame people who can only express themselves and be heard this way. So when we tell them « there’s other ways to say this ». Well no actually. Because there are things, if we just talk about it and we tell each other « see you in a month » well in the meantime people are dying, and have their lives destroyed.”

“So the violence of Act Up is a symbolic violence. And yes we can discuss it and it’s discussed in general meetings, we see it in the film. But it’s a symbolic violence against real violence that is done to people that are dying without knowing from what. So it's completely legitimate. And same gores for other issues.”

*noise in the back ground*

“I’m just waiting for this to be over”

“yes I hear”

“It’s not an ideal place”

“Not it’s not. But anyway, I think it’s also because of the way it’s received. It’s just like when we talk about strikes, we always say « ugh they’re on strike again » , but from what I see and think, 90% of the time strikes are justified. If people are striking, there’s a reason, their life conditions are getting worse. Going on strike is a commitment, it’s not just people saying « well let’s in bed, I don’t care I don’t wanna work, I’m lazy. » That’s what media try to send as a message, that people who are politically committed are either violent or lazy because they’re rail workers who don’t wanna go to work”

“But we’re talking about a social fight, it’s very important for things to be spelled out. Because this is also a weapon: to divide all the people who could unite because we have a common interest; 90% of people have a common interest. Of course there are differences inside the group but there’s a shared interest for more equality. And there’s an interest that is not shared at all but that exists and it’s to divide to dissipate all the energy : « they have more of that, you have less of that, he’s a lazy person » etc. Those adjectives are very annoying.”

« So anyway, I think Act Up’s operating modes at the time were completely justified and thought through. It’s not a violence that is useless. And even if it was the case, it wouldn’t matter. »