#at least they kept mario wanting to punch a child ^^

[illdothehotvoice]

Guys it's happening. I am finally becoming obsessed with Super Mario RPG

[skylarmoon71]

Leonardo x Reader Oneshot TMNT 2014/2016

Disclaimer: I own my love for fanfiction, nothing more. Enjoy!!

"I don't trust you." To say those words didn't hurt would be a blatant lie. Standing in the lair with all four turtles around, you blinked, determined not to show any type of weakness. Leo's eyes were resolute after the statement, and the three other turtles grew quiet. 

It started with Mikey's casual teasing. You were so used to it, so when he joked about Leo having a crush on you because he constantly gave you the cold shoulder, you laughed it off. Mikey's wasn't being serious. But apparently it struck a nerve with Leo.

"Leonardo." Splinter heard it all. You could see the way Leo's jaw was clenched, and all you wanted to do was punch him in his stupid leader face.

"Raph is right, you really are nothing but a jerk!" you pushed up your glasses, turning on your heels as you stormed off. You knew the moment you got back to your room you'd fall apart. But you could save a little face. You just needed to ensure you didn't fall apart in front of him. You wouldn't give him that power.

Leo's mistrust wasn't completely unwarranted. Your meeting with the turtles was fairly unique. It wasn't in an act of heroism. You had in fact tracked them down. Like Donatello, you were very good with computers. A master hacker. Because of your little hobby, it provided a lot of room for snooping. In middle school you hacked NASA, and they were none the wiser. By the beginning of high school, you were hooked up to every police scan and federal cases. Everything and anything that you wanted to know was right at your fingertips.

Being an orphan probably didn't help with your moral compass. As long as you knew it was always about seeking our own self interest. You were now a junior in high school. Being a New Yorker was pretty much the usual. Grumpy people, busy bodies. What wasn't ordinary was alien invasions. It alarmed you when there were metal boxes floating in the streets, panic throughout the city. What pissed you off was the fact that it was never addressed as to what really happened that day. The government provided some half assed excuse, and everyone just accepted it. Determined to get to the bottom of your newest interest, you'd stumbled upon something quite interesting.

A fellow hacker, almost as gifted as you. Not nearly as careful though. At the time you had no idea it was Donnie. You just followed the informational patterns that strangely aligned with all the unexplained incidents that occured in New York. Intrigued, you kept pushing, and even decided to confront the individuals that you were led to. Safe to say four giant mutant turtles were not what you were expecting. After nearly having a heart attack, you finally solved the mystery of the vigilantes.

A very unexpected development emerged from your discovery. You befriended them. Donatello was impressed at your technical skills, and you were even more with him. You were born with the genes basically, probably from your parents, but they were created. He adapted his intelligence all on his own, and to you that was astounding.

Months passed, and you found that being with the turtles and even assisting when you could, you felt like you were a part of something great. Something amazing. You were helping people with your gift, rather than using it for your own means of living. All in all, they seemed to like you. Even Raph who probably was the least trusting of strangers warmed up to you. The only one who held a general dislike for you was apparently Leo. 

Since your meeting was a bit forced, he was weary of you. As time went by you thought that would fade. It wasn't like you would reveal their secret to anyone; they were your friends. At least that's how you saw them. Leo obviously didn't feel the same. Not that you cared. If he wanted to act like a douche then you would let him. If he thought those words would make you run he was wrong. You will be back first thing tomorrow. After you were done crying a little to day that was.

~The Next Day~

"Don't worry too much about Leo. Ya gotta give him time. " Raph nudged you on your seat on the couch as you were beating him in mario kart.

"I'm not worried. It's his fault if he wants to keep that giant stick up his ass." Raph laughed out loud and you joined, adjusting your glasses quickly so you didn't lose your spot on the course. Someone clearing their throat behind you made you drop the control. You didn't have to turn to know who it was. Raph was already standing, flipping over the couch.

He was probably there because it was about that time for them to go on patrol. Raph ruffled your hair with a grin. "See ya later kid, I'll be back to beat ya."

"Hah, maybe in your dreams!" Donatello rushed past, handing you a computer. "Thanks for the codes, the servers are moving a lot faster (Y/N)." you nod. "Sure thing Donnie, anything for a brother hacker." you showed him a peace sign smiling. Mikey was the last to join, swinging his nunchucks. "Who's ready to kick some criminal butt!" he said excitedly. Raph and Donnie just turned, not really acknowledging the younger turtle's antics. "Really? No one." he followed behind still trying to get a word from his brothers. Leo lingered there, and it took you a moment to realize he was staring at you.

You frowned. "Don't worry, I'm not going to burn down your home or anything, so you don't have to keep watch. " you stood, pushing your glasses up your nose, heading in the opposite direction. Leo knew he deserved the hostility. After the conversation with Splinter, he felt like he really understood nothing about his feelings.

~Flashback~

"Did they forget that she basically blackmailed us just to see who we were. Why am I the bad guy." He was more than a little frustrated. Even Raph was lecturing him on his statement that day. Raph of all people.

"Leonardo, she's young, just like you. I believe there is another reason you're conflicted about her."

"What do you mean?" He couldn't understand what Splinter was trying to say.

"Maybe you have learned to see her in another light. And it's difficult for you to understand. So your mind is telling you it's mistrust, but is that what you really feel?" His forehead creased in thought.

"What I really feel." He couldn't come up with a good answer. His encounters with you were never lengthy. He barely acknowledged you on most occasions. But when he did, he found that he was watching, or more like studying what you did. Your intelligence, humor, and those glasses that never seemed to stay perched up on your face. Leo's eyes grew wide.

"Sensei I..."

"You have feelings for her." Leo wanted to swallow his tongue. That couldn't be.

"There is nothing wrong with what you feel, however you need to be more careful with your words. (Y/N), despite her resilience is still very much a child. " Leo was still in a sense of shock. Splinter walked over, patting him on the shoulder. "I know you will find a way to make amends with her. Just be honest." he said nothing else, walking off with his hands folded behind his back.

"How am I supposed to do that." If you disliked him before, you definitely hated him now.

~Flashback end~

Leo released a heavy sigh. It would take a lot to take back those words. Right now, all he wanted was to let you know that he was wrong. It didn't matter if you detested him. He just needed to restore the trust he should have placed in you the moment he realized you cared for his family the same way he did.

~~~

"Mikey check out my costume!!" you were sporting a pikachu onesie. It was halloween after all, and you were more than excited to show off the cute yellow design.

"Pika pika~" you mimicked the sound your favorite Pokémon with a smile.

"You're so cute!" he gushed in a baby voice. You giggled, adjusting your glasses. The parade was about to start and you didn't want to miss it. Since this was one of the few days the turtles could roam around without suspicion, you were overjoyed. It was the first outing you had with them all together outside. You bounced on your feet when Donatello and Raph came from around the corner talking about training most likely. "Come on guys we need to get going!" you urged. Raph placed his hand on your pointed hoodie. "Alright hold ya horses. Leo's coming too." You puffed your cheeks at that.

"Great, the world's greatest killjoy is joining us." You really didn't want Leo's strict attitude on your night of fun.

"Speak of the devil." He was walking with his eyes in a book. When he saw everyone gathered his eyes raised. When they landed on you, he stopped completely. You knew it was stupid, but you blushed, because of the awe in his eyes as he looked at you. Your gaze moved down as you grabbed at the tail of your costume, fiddling with it. "Dummy, why is he looking at me like that!" Leo was the last person you wanted to make your heart beat that way. You weren't even wearing tight clothing either, so why the hell was he staring like you were the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. Leo willed himself to look away, placing his book down.

"She looks so cute." Of course he didn't say it out loud. Regaining his cool, he folded his arms.

"You guys ready."

"Yeah dude we were waiting for you." Mikey reached over picking you up, you were laughing the entire time.

"Onward soldiers!!" he shouted. Raph just tapped him on the head. "Dude!" Donnie rolled his eyes.

"If you guys start fighting Sensei won't let us go." he informed. Mikey made a zipping motion on his lips. Leo watched his brothers marching away with you. And a tinge of jealousy rushed through his body seeing how comfortable you seemed with Mikey.

~~~

Walking through the streets you took in all the creative costumes. Bands were marching, people cheering, bodies jumping and prancing to the music that blared through the speakers. Mikey was a little ways ahead, easily making friends in the crowd of people. He looked so happy. Raph and Donnie's eyes were also trained on Mikey. The content expressed on their faces was really indescribable. They usually gave him a hard time, and you knew it was just how brothers acted with each other. He was the youngest, and you were positive if anyone tried to hurt him, they would protect him in a heartbeat.

"Hey there, are you all alone cutie." you were so distracted that you didn't realize you got partially separated from the others. The male blocking your way annoyed you. Raph and the others were a short way up the street. If you could just get past this guy you could join them.

"Sorry but I'm with my friends. I've got to go." He moved closer to grab your hand, and you were about to recoil when a hand came down and pulled you backwards. You stumble into something firm, and when you look up, blue eyes are glaring at the man before you. "She's taken." the guy raised both his hands with a laugh. "Alright hulk no need to get mad. You should keep a better watch on your girl." He backed up, leaving, falling back into the crowd. When he was gone, those electric eyes moved in your direction. He was still holding unto you.

"T-Thank you Leo." you weren't much of a fighter, and you would hate it if the turtles first outing got ruined because you couldn't stay close. "Be more careful, guys like that are nothing but trouble. I'd hate it if you got hurt."

That was the nicest thing he'd ever really said to you.

Wait a minute.

"What did you mean I'm taken? " you raised a brow. Leo let you go, taking a step back.

"I was just..I didn't want him getting any ideas." He wouldn't look at you. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"N-No it's okay. I kinda figured as much." Why the hell were you disappointed at his answer. You should know better.

"By the way, you're costume it's..really nice." you flush, fixing your glasses.

"O-Oh! T-Thanks." You must have been dreaming. Another nice statement from Leo. What was the world coming to? The both of you stood there awkwardly for a while, neither sure what to do.

This was the longest conversation you had with Leo that didn't end up with animosity on either side. Your eyes caught his hand that was hanging, and you took it softly in your own. Leo looked up stunned. "S-So we don't get separated again." you clarified. Raph and the others were already a ways ahead. It would have been bad if you got into another little scuffle. So you started moving to them, keeping a soft grip on Leo's hand so he didn't fall behind. You kept your eyes forward, because you knew if you looked at him again, he'd figure out just how happy you were to hold his hand.

If only he knew how you felt.

~~~~

"Ugh! I hate these so much." you sighed heavily, massaging your eyelids. "What's the matter?" you almost jumped, startled by the concern in Leo's voice. Everyone else seemed taken in their own task. Mikey didn't even turn from his game at your small yell. "I-It's really nothing, just a code. It's been stressing me out for the last hour. "

 Leo took a seat next to you on the chair, turning you in his direction. You just watched him, waiting for whatever he was about to do. He smiled, reaching out and removing your glasses. You closed your eyes not really expecting the gesture. "You have to stop for a while and..." when his words started to trail off you were confused. "W-What's wrong?" He looked so dazed, it sort of alarmed you.

"It's nothing, it's just your eyes...they're beautiful." he muttered.

"Oh boy."

Since the Halloween party, Leo was being especially nice to you. Now that you thought about it, he'd been doing it way before that.

"You're beautiful.." He was very careful not to voice that, still, he could think it. Because it was true. To him you were breathtaking, his only regret was that he'd didn't figure out his feelings before. Maybe now it wouldn't have been so hard for him to be honest about how he felt.

Your eyes were staring in shock, your mouth slightly agape.

"Did you just...call me beautiful." Leo paused.

"W-What?"

"You said...you said that I'm beautiful." surely you didn't imagine those words coming from his mouth. What was really going on here. Of course you were overjoyed. But didn't he still not trust you? Why was he saying these things, looking at you the way he did. Leo stood in ample time, and before you could get another word in he was leaving hurriedly.

"I-I have to go." He didn't offer an explanation, just bolted like his life depended on it. You sat there, flustered and maybe even a little irritated.

"Why the heck is he pulling me in so many directions."

One day he's telling you to your face that he doesn't trust you, then the next he's looking out for you, complimenting you. It was driving you crazy.

"I hate boys." you groaned.

~~~~

The soft knock on his door had his eyes lifting. He stopped momentarily attending to his bonsai tree. When the door opened, his heart staggered for a fleeting second. You walked in, shutting it. Your hands were behind your back, and you could barely hold eye contact with him. Leo wasn't much better. He placed down the small clippers, shifting on his feet. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, concerned about the surprise visit.

"Y-Yes actually." you needed to get a handle on whatever this crazy thing was between the both of you.

"Why have you been acting so weird with me. I know the both of us we've never really been on the best terms. And I guess I don't help that much. But you're the same. You say things to me to piss me off and I get so agitated! " You were shouting, and Leo's head lowered.

"Then you act so sweet and kind out of nowhere and it completely messes me up because I can't read you at all. Do you hate me or not!"

"I could never hate you (Y/N)." That simple statement the way he said it, the look on his face. It struck you right in the heart.

"Why do you do that.." you lips quivered, and you took a step forward, Leo didn't expect to see the tears that were gathering in your eyes.

"Stop giving me hope and then tearing it from me. Y-You have no idea how I feel about you.." Damn it, your intention was never to break down in front of him. Leo clenched his fists, and you raised your hands to wipe away your tears. When you heard him walking towards you, everything in your body stilled. Leo's hand rested on your cheek, and you opened your mouth to say more, but Leo stole whatever words you had prepared. Standing there wide eyed, you could barely believe the feeling of his lips pressed softly to your own. Because of the height difference. He had to lean down slightly. When he pulled back, his eyes flickered open. The glow of his eyes were somewhat surreal.

"I should have never said that to you (Y/N). That day..I was stupid. Long before I had feelings for you. I guess I was just too scared to admit how I felt, so I kept my distance, and created excuses to keep it that way. I'm so sorry that I made you feel like you weren't welcomed. You're just as much a part of this family as April and Vern. "

"Leo.." so the entire time he cared about you, the same way you did for him. He just didn't want to accept it. Maybe he was terrified you wouldn't see him the same.

"Dummy." you mutter. Leo smiled at that, scratching his neck. "I have been an idiot. As a leader I should have understood better."

"Maybe you should stop expecting yourself to constantly know the answer for everything Leo. Somethings just aren't that logical." He knew that, now.

"There's still so much I need to learn. Will you help me?" you blushed, trying to hide it.

"S-Sure. I am a genius after all." you boasted, nudging your glasses.

"Yes you are." you gazed at him, nibbling on your lower lip.

"Leo..that kiss.."

"I'm sorry! That was definitely not okay. I think I just..reacted." You could tell he was still a bit unnerved by it all. He still wasn't completely sure of your feelings.

"I kind of liked it." you mumble. Leo is still, processing your words. When he takes a step forward, you can't stop the quickening of your heart beat.

"Can I kiss you again?" The fact that he asks permission this time causes your heart to do flips. He's standing right in front of you, and his eyes have already zeroed in on your lips. You stop nibbling on your lips when you feel his warm palm on your cheek. He doesn't make another move, waiting for an answer. When words fail, you simply give a small nod. Leo smiles warmly, that all he needs.

He lowers to meet your lips, and as he does, his forehead lightly taps your glasses. You flush in embarrassment, and Leo just chuckles. "Have I ever told you that you're absolutely adorable in glasses." The comment makes your cheeks darken even more, and as you think of a reply, Leo banishes any chance of you forming coherent thoughts. His lips are so soft. And the way he's holding your face in his palms, it makes you want to melt on the spot. Every movement is gentle and almost calculated.

The right amount of pressure and passion. How does he know to kiss so well? It shocks you, the expert way his lips are clashing with yours. It's possible he's seen one to many movies, and like the prodigy he is, the skill was something he picked up quickly. "Leo.." You can't do much but submit to him, and this time. This time there is no doubt in your mind. Because you finally know  his feelings, and he's aware of yours as well. When he picks you up bridal style, you're a bit taken by surprise, separating for a brief moment. As you do so, his eyes are a lot closer, and you can see everything. All his fears, wants, struggles, desires...

It's enough to overwhelm your heart. But you aren't afraid. Not at all. Because this is Leo. He may be terrible at voicing his feelings, but you know for a fact that he won't hurt you. Not at all. His blue bandana does wonders to highlight the similar glow of his eyes.

You can't look away, and you don't want to. Your hand presses to the center of his chest, and right beneath your palm you feel it. The insistent strumming. The look in your eyes changes to one of surprise, and he immediately knows why. "It's...harder for me to hide it when you're so close." This entire time he's been acting so confident and in control. Yet, he's just as smitten as you, Maybe ever more. You grin at that. "You don't have to." You reach up, reclaiming his lips, and nothing in the world seems sweeter than the taste of Leo's lips. And you know for a fact, nothing ever will.

[ladyemberswrites]

I’m Not Crazy, You’re Crazy!

Some ficlet stuff from my Redemption Universe!Au

~ 

Melenor x Alfor 

. 

. 

. 

Alfor never considered himself a very bitter person. Sure, he’s held grudges, but he never found himself embroiled in absolute bitterness. There may be a widening drift between him and Zarkon, but knows in it his heart that it’ll pass. Or so, he wishes to believe. But, the truth of the matter is that he never knew what it was like to feel unholy rage- 

He found Melenor struggling to tip-toe around at the dawn of mid-night looking ragged and sickly pale as she slumped against the walls to keep herself steady, and hurdling to the floor. Her hair stuck to her face, and her legs wobbled, buckling, struggling to keep her weight. 

“Melenor?” 

Her body went rigid “Sire” she turns herself around, only for her knees to hit the floor.

“Melenor!” he rushes to her side “what are you doing out of bed?” he frantically glances over her noting that she had prespirated through her white, dress shirt. She felt cold, and clammy to the touch. 

“I just-” she clenched her teeth, pressing a hand to her belly as her head fell to his chest “I need out of that room.” she murmurs “I can’t stand it. I’m a warrior, not a invalid” she mutters into his sternum, her breath hot on his throat. 

“High General or not, you just gave birth. You should absolutely not be up and about” he slides his strong arms under her knees, and cradles her back. He lifts her with ease and carries her back to her private infirmary room careful not to justle her. 

.

.

.

Allura’s still asleep when they return, she’s swaddled tightly with only her tiny face peeking out from her cocoon of warmth. He places Melenor back on the bed, her tight grimace and knitted brows betrays her feelings all too well, but given her paleness her discontent loses it’s intensity. He undoes her her high ponytail, allowing the cascade of her snowy lockes to fall about her face, she huffs out an air of annoyance as he places her down. 

She hates having her hair down and shoves it harshly out her face. It aggravates her. It’s why he does it “I loathe this entire situation.”

“The hair or your condition?” he asks with a quirk of his brow. 

“Both. but, mostly you.” he gawks at her with wide eyes.

“What did I do?” 

“For starters stop looking at me like that” he blinks.

“Look at you like what?”

“Am I that pitiful to you that you have to look at me with contempt” her voice nearly cracks, her golden eyes turn from him in that moment.

Alfor sighs “You sound just like Zarkon” Melenor snorts.

“At least I can take pride in the fact that I’m still sane” 

“Mel.” 

She snaps back towards him her frecious amber eyes boring the cool blue that is his “You know as well as I, that man has clearly gone off the deep end. The rift did something to him, and you know it. It’s only a matter of time before he snaps completely"

“He just needs time.” he says, not sure if he’s trying to convince himself or her, but at this point did it matter “He’ll see my side of things”

“And if he doesn’t? Then what?" 

Alfor doesn't answer and he's not sure why. Because she's right? Or because he's afraid of jinxing himself. It's one or the other, but he's for certain that Zarkon losing the final thread of his sanity isn't something he wants to image, or see be a reality. Clasping his hands together he stares off into the distance and out the window watching the autumn leaves fall.

"I'm sorry…"

"What?" His ears perk up, his head turns to find Melenor's casted away from him.

"I apologize." Her chest rises "I didn't mean to rub salt in the wound, I know how much he means to you." She murmurs, a rare tinge of red colors her pale cheeks and he couldn't help the slight smile that tugs at his lips..

"You're blushing" he runs his knuckles lightly over her cheek.

"I am not. A warrior doesn't blush as you say"

He laughs in good humor "Ah, but I've seen you blush before, haven't I? Remember, when we made love under the juniberry trees, I saw" 

She made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat, shoving his hand away "It was a trick of the light, fool. I do not blush." She mutters into her pillow. He laughs again but with more heart.

"Will you hush, you'll wake the princess"

"You mean our daughter" 

"Your daughter" she corrects shortly. The good humor in the air dissipates, shattered by the cold reality before him.

"Melenor"

"I cannot be that child's mother."

"Biologically, speaking she is you're daughter" he argues.

"Our laws do not allow it. You know that better than anyone. I cannot be queen, and cannot be Allura's mother. It is simply not allowed" 

"Laws aren't always right-I can-" 

"Laws must be unhold. What's the point of them if we break those that we do not like? What then? What example, you as King, would you be setting for your people? Laws are set for a reason, whether we like them or not." Alfor swallowed, he kept his visage passive and unresponsive.

"We've taken enough liberties. We can't take anymore than the ones we've stole"

"We didn't steal anything"

"You should have taken a rightful queen instead-instead I distracted you, I kept you from your duties." 

"You kept me from nothing. I chose not to marry."

"Because of me"

"Yes. But, even if I didn't love you as I do now, I still wouldn't have taken Orla for my wife." 

"She's nobility"

"She's awful. I would rather be manually castrated than ever bed that woman." He muttered. 

Melenor eyed him, her hardened expression softened at the sight of his grimace. It's childish, the twitch of his lip. To her, he looks boyish and young, but he's right, nobility or not Orla's a repugnant woman. She would never wish her on him, not even her worst enemy.

"You're right. I loathe her entirely"

~ 

Keith discovers two disturbing truths in one night 

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. 

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There's a muffled noise from behind the command center's door. He had assumed Kolivan would be alone. Perhaps, not as his sensitive hearing heard soft whispers. He really wasn't paying much attention to what was being said only that he had a message to deliver from Ulaz to Kolivan and be on his merry way for the night.

He took another bite from his apple, chewing and savouring the sweet flesh as he punched in the access code. The little lights lit up, beeping, the mechanic locks twisting and unlocking with a pop, the door slides with a hiss and with one step, and another bite he enters the room without a second thought.

He finds Kolivan, or more like he finds his back turned to him. 

"Koli-" he freezes mid-bite, he sees two legs that don't belong to the hulk of muscle and alien that is Kolivan. They're smaller, slimmer and dangling around his waist. His lips snap shut as the face that peeks over his shoulder is the last person he'd ever thought he'd see or want to see. The flushed, wide-eyed face of his mother staring back at him startled. Shoulders raised to her ears which slowly fall back as her lilac visage pales under the command center's dim lights.

There's a chill. Something beeps in his ears, and he isn't sure whether the coldness is due to the frigid tension or his body heat just dropped like a sack of iron hammers. The juice of his apple taste bitter on his tongue, dribbling down his chin, and onto his suit. Like his mother's his ears fall back, and his mouth clamps so hard that his fangs dig into his gums until he can taste iron on his tongue.

He steps back out the threshold hold and watches the door slide shut and leaves the Mamora's base ship and back to his room onboard the castle of lions with Kolivan's rigid backside burned behind his eyelids. The only thing that makes the night even worse than the lsd-induced nightmare he's living is accidentally overhearing a bizarre conversation between Allura and Prince Lotor- 

"-dreadful" 

"I know, but it'll help" he heard the prince grumble in the back of his throat.

"Why does your advisor have a whole barrage of fertility teas in the first place" Keith stopped dead in his tracks and blinked. 

...fertility teas? As in conception?

"They're leftovers"

"From what?" 

"Well, Coran had always dreamed of having a family of his own, hence the teas, but due to an injury he was rendered-uh impotent." 

"I see" he said after a moment.

"It was a devastating blow, poor thing, it's probably why he treats me as if I were his own" 

"Still doesn't explain why he kept all this" 

"Nostalgia" she said lamely "I suppose"

"It's creepy" 

"I know your not one to talk, Mr. Pervert" 

"Drink your tea, Allura" 

"You can't even deny it, can you?"

"Drink your tea, mommy" Keith almost swallowed his own tongue. 

"I'm not a mommy, yet-" he couldn't listen anymore, he left before his ears were assaulted again. He couldn't finish his apple, his appetite had been vaporized to kingdom come. First his mother, than Lotor and Allura- a shudder crawled down his spine, his mind kept making a flushing sound in the back of his head. He heard white noise, he could practically taste the static as he entered the lounge room with its bright, blaring screen and Hunk, Pidge, Matt and Lance's beet-red eyes glued to television set. Mario Party 6's theme song blaring in his ears like some sort of sick joke.

[wwounu]

“Look everyone, can you see the birds on the trees?” You announce as the children walk hand-in-hand in pairs, their heads tilting up to collectively wow at the sight of the birds sat staring down at them, “Let’s try tweeting at them, shall we?” And the class erupts into bird chirps and tweets, receiving blank stares from the animals.

It was adorable nonetheless.

With you at the front, a few volunteering parents with their children in the middle, it made Wonwoo walk at the back with the younger kids and carrying the most equipment (And some of the children if his arms aren’t too tired).

While half of the class were busy staring at the birds and talking about making stick forts later, Wonwoo’s half were quite scared that they were in the outside.

“Yejin, did you see the squirrel over there?” He points to the animal running as the little girl in his arms coos, plastering her hands over her mouth. Wonwoo acts shocked too, nodding along with the little girl, before looking at the boy he’s holding hands with. “What about you Jibeom? Can you see it too?”

The child only responds by pulling himself closer to Wonwoo, holding onto his pant leg and hiding himself.

“No need to be scared Jibeom, Wonwoo’s here.” Wonwoo replies, patting his hair. He looks at Yejin, then down at Jibeom, “Should we sing something to make Jibeom less scared?”

Yejin loudly cheers in contrast to Jibeom shyly nodding his head once, and Wonwoo quickly lets go of the boy’s hand — adding on ‘Hold onto this okay?’ while pointing at the hem of his shirt — to fish for his phone and goes on his playlist, handing the phone to the little girl as he holds Jibeom’s hand again.

“Pick a song you want to listen to Yejin,” Says Wonwoo, hoping the song she’ll choose wouldn’t include anything inappropriate (Because if it was he’d get in trouble by you).

After pouty faces, darting eyes and a lot of hair flying into Wonwoo’s face, Yejin finally picks a song and giggles. Fixing his bucket hat, Wonwoo puts her down — Because his arms feel like falling off — and asks for the phone back, placing it safely in his shirt pocket as the song starts to play.

Suddenly, as if perfectly timed, Yejin starts to yell out the lyrics to Love Scenario, blabbing half of the words since they were too fast for her.

Wonwoo laughs at her cuteness, and begins singing along with her, turning his head to Jibeom and saying, “We can sing together Jibeom.” Soon bobbing his head to the beat as he and the child begin singing the song.

The song wasn’t too loud on Wonwoo’s phone, but the girl’s singing caught the attention of the people in front of them, and they begin singing along.

And surely by the second chorus, the whole class began to sing it. It surprised you that they suddenly started singing, but you found your answer within a second when you see Wonwoo at the back now singing loudly with the children.

You joined in by the chanting towards the end, and caught a glimpse of Wonwoo doing the choreography as the children either tried to copy him or dance in their own world, and by the time the song ended, everyone (Including you) were begging to play it again.

“Mister Wonyu is the best!”

“Wonyu is so cool.”

“I wanna dance like Wonyu!”

“One day Mister Wonyu can teach me to dance!”

“I’m marrying Wonyu one day!”

The comments from the children made you smile hard. You agreed with all of them.

When the children finally had time to play on the nearest playground, it meant that Wonwoo finally had time to relax.

“A chocolate milk for the hard working Jeon Wonwoo,” You say, handing the small carton, “you look absolutely exhausted.”

“I guess, but the kids make it a million times better.” He answers. “But my phone is going to die soon since Minguk used it to play Super Mario Run, and the kids joined in… I’m never letting them play on my games again.”

You punch him softly on the arm, chuckling. “You idiot, you know how they are with ‘the magical world of technology’.” You quote. “Do you wanna borrow my power bank?”

“You angel-“

“Ah, no need to thank me. Also, you should enjoy the sun! Gimme that.” You take off the hat and watch his fluffy hair fall, placing the item on your head instead.

“Hey!”

“I’m joking! But I’ll keep it,” You stuff it into your coat pocket, pointing a finger to the male, “Your skin needs to say hello to the sun once in a while.”

The two of you laugh and talk on for a while, mainly about the upcoming activities in the day, until the mood shifts when a child calls your name, wanting you to push the swing for them. “That’s my cue.” Standing up, you halt in your steps as you search your pockets, turning to Wonwoo. “Oh and,” A small packet of mini oreos are thrown towards him, “that’s on me.”

You smile and leave, jogging to the children.

“Cute.” Wonwoo watches, moving his eyes from you to the packet of oreos, unable to control his smile.

And hour later was the hottest part of the day, so you did your best to watch over the children and do a headcount every fifteen minutes to make sure they aren’t lost in the field — Their task was to either find flowers or do a drawing to present to the class the day after.

The area wasn’t that wide either, but you needed the children to be fully supervised — Luckily, that’s where the volunteer parents come in, so you felt more at peace.

Wonwoo, on the other hand, was with Minguk and other children, all huddled up in one space and pointing at the flowers they’re looking at. Smiling at the sight, someone calls you and jog quickly to their call, arriving to Jina jumping to get an apple.

“Do you want me to get that apple Jina?”

“Please. I wanna draw it!”

You grin, “Well, since you’ve asked so well…” Carefully moving her aside, you look up at the bright red apple and extend your arm to reach it. No use — It didn’t work.

Getting on your tip toes, you try again, but that fails too and your toes get a slight cramp, so it was best you wouldn’t risk it. Even jumping, that apple was too damn high. You’d curse, but with the presence of a child, you kept your mouth shut and reach for the fruit the best you could.

Unexpectedly, something pulls you down in a swift movement and secures a grip around you midway into your jump. Your heart felt like jumping out of your chest and the gesture.

“Be careful Y/N,” The voice calmly says, holding you a bit closer, “I’ll get it, alright?”

You didn’t need to look back to know it was Wonwoo, so you leaned some of your weight on him as he reaches for the apple with ease, the other arm sill wrapped around you.

When Wonwoo gets the apple, the two of you make eye contact for a split second before Wonwoo adjusts his head a little and stretches his arm to Jina, presenting the apple. “Here you go Jina.”

Jina had her jaw wide open. She runs up to the pair of you — Who are still in the same position — as she snatches the apple and runs away, covering her face. Looking at Wonwoo, his face is a mixture of bother and perplexity.

“I… Didn’t do anything, right Y/N?” Wonwoo carefully says, not waiting for your reply before he realises the situation and removes the arm around you, taking five steps away from you and coughing to keep his cool. “Ah, forget I said anything. I’ll be with the kids making the stick houses!” Wonwoo runs off.

The most memorable thing about the field trip was when you were helping the class to pick the best flowers to keep in the scrapbook in class. So many children were in groups and pairs, collecting any flowers that stood out to them.

“Miss Y/N, Miss Y/N!” The child’s voice addresses you, and you see that it’s Minguk that’s calling you over — He’s getting louder these days, maybe all because of Wonwoo breaking his shell.

“Yes Minguk?” Crouching, you get to eye level with the little one and see the flower he’s gripped on tight with his hand, shoving it in front of you.

“For you!” Minguk grins toothily, bowing as if he’s confessing to you. You’re flustered by the action, and take the flower, trying tour best not to die from cuteness nor make your face go red.

Calming yourself, you reply with a kind smile, “How mature of you Minguk, you’re going to be a fine man.” You thank him, patting his head and then looking at the flower, then at Minguk. “But,” Reaching over, your fingers tucking the flower behind his ear, “that’s better.”

Minguk bursts in giggles and babbles a thank you, covering his face with his hands too. He picks up one more flower — A very pretty one — and then runs off without saying his goodbye. It got you a bit sad, but at least he was having a great time, all the children were.

“Uncle ‘Woo!” Minguk calls out again when he’s closer to his uncle. He has a little jump before stopping and watches him befriend the kitty in the bushes while his other hand is holding flowers that he’s collected.

Wonwoo turns, now paying full attention to his nephew. “Oh hello Minguk, are you okay?” In which Minguk bobs his head up and down with his eyes closed. His hand holds out the flower he just picked and it surprises Wonwoo. “Do you want me to look after that?”

Again, Minguk nods and Wonwoo opens his palm to receive the flower, but before he could ask further, Minguk skips off and Wonwoo is left speechless.

Not knowing what to do with the flower, he chooses to relax a bit until a child runs up to him. And so, he watches the bright sun glow over the field and the children enjoying themselves.

He catches you, and how you’re placing the flowers you’ve found into the children’s hair, creating a pretty accessory for them. He especially loved your reaction to the children chuckling when they have a flower in their hair, running to their friends to discuss how nice each other look.

After some deep thought, Wonwoo gets up and makes his way to the grassy field, noticing how much brighter it is with the sunlight exposed. Making his way to you, you notice him sitting with you as he takes out a lollipop from his pocket.

“It’s on me.” He says, not looking at you since you were busy watching the kids

“Gosh, why do you always have to return the favour.” You heave, taking the lollipop gladly. “Where’d you get this from anyway?”

Wonwoo shrugs. “A parent gave me it. It was really sweet of her.”

“Oh I see. Today has been great.”

“Agreed.”

“Promise we’ll do this again someday.”

“‘We’?”

“Class field trip! Everyone really enjoys it, it was a great idea.”

“Oh! Oh…”

“What? Is anything wrong?”

“No, not really. The sun’s just making me speak nonsense.”

“Which is why you,” You poke his arm, “should go outside more.”

“I do! I’m the one that has to go shopping.”

“Whatever smarty-pants.”

“You know what would make this day better?”

“Hm…” You pause and think to yourself, thinking really hard since it’s Wonwoo. “I dunno. What would make it better?”

“Look at me,”

Rotating your head towards him, you stare at Wonwoo before your eyes follow his hand reaching behind your ear, placing the pretty flower that Minguk picked, taking his time to adjust the positioning.

His fingertips felt gentle, caring towards you. When he removes them, he gazes at you with the sun glowing in his eyes and a smile slowly forms on his face, almost lovesick. His eyes refuse to leave you and your heart was pumping through your ears again, the butterflies twisting and turning in your stomach.

“You. You made my day.”

OPPOSITES ATTRACT PART TWELVE — Intimidating!Wonwoo x Easy-Going!Reader

i have the bridge of i am you in my head and like OH MY GOSH felix and jisung pLEASE GET OUT OF MY HEAD HHHH | POLL

one • two • three • four • five • six • seven • eight • eight ½ • nine • nine ½ • ten • eleven •  eleven ½ • twelve • thirteen

masterlist

[kariachi]

Okay, episode Heat of the Moment isn’t gonna happen because the audio was just, so bad y’all. So bad. I couldn’t make out words. Instead I’m skipping forward to Vin Diagram, since fuck it I’m already skipping shit for the sake of seeing Kevin when I can so why not.

As I stated last night, I’m gonna be watching the ‘season 4′ Kevin episodes before finishing season 3 for various reasons, one of which is I fucking want to.

Onward! Give me my boy!

~~

Hi Gwen. Nice dramatic suit-up intro.

Max... Max no.

Ben watches races for crashes (boy what is wrong with you). This race, meanwhile, is a charity event for a sanctuary for endangered animals. How nice.

Ben sees no point if there aren’t explosions. Boy go play Mario Kart or something.

Hi Kevin. What are you skulking about for?

Ben also is curious/concerned

So we at least know this episode definitely takes place directly after Heat of the Moment. Great. That makes my job much easier, I can throw them both up, kinda. Look I’ll figure it out.

Ben: Clearly he’s up to something, I must stop him! Gwen: ....o-kaaaay?

Also yes Ben, that is very suspicious the child going Quad Smack to carry tires. Slow deep breathes.

“Dweeby Dweebyson” You boys are as bad as each other, I swear to fuck.

I feel like this exchange would be more amusing had I seen the episode before this, but it’s amusing enough on it’s own that I’ll allow it.

Also Kevin calling Ben ‘a paranoid baby’ and Ben raring for a fight because like hell Kevin’s not up to something.

These children, everybody. Even Gwen’s just, ‘this is our normal now, one of them sees the other and suddenly tires are flying’

You did start it Ben, Kevin just ended it.

Also hi Vin.

And Vin just picks them up off the ground, treating it like they were just playing which... right now, no, but I do have an image of them five years from now where this is just, how their friendship is. 

Kevin is just having a good day so far. Ben, not so much.

Ben, shocked Vin knows Kevin.

...Vin and Kevin met when Vin caught Kevin trying to steal his car, became friends when Kevin straight up admitted it and Vin decided he could respect an honest answer.

Ben is put out. Very pout. Much Tennyson.

Vin “This child has so much raw talent, I must teach him, guide him into a future as an amazing engineer and mechanic” Ethanol.

Kevin is smug. Probably at least 50% because someone thinks he has talent and wants to nurture that talent.

Kevin and Vin fistbump, Ben dies inside out of pure jealous horror.

Ben, insisting that Kevin is so awful that he can turn a grown man back to a life of crime, and that clearly if Vin wants to be a good guy he should be mentoring him. Because he’s totally all about practicality and Vin’s good name here, not at all about being jealous that Kevin found a really cool mentor. Definitely not. Never.

Oh gods I just realized the Cadobit is a mascot now! And apparently an endangered species? Dudes there’s only one, and they’re not a natural species, it don’t count. Jurassic Park 2 all over again.

Max- certain Vin isn’t a good rolemodel because criminal. Gwen- “maybe we should give them a chance, they might be good influences on each other”. Ben- already running off to put a stop to this blasphemy.

“Look Kev, you get yourself a solid American muscle car and everything you do looks cooler.” I think he knows that, given he tried to steal yours.

Also Kevin is so small he can’t lean the engine bay and have his feet anywhere near the ground. My son.

Hi Ben.

Kevin about to beat Ben’s ass for interrupting his mentor time. If that look doesn’t scream ‘if you don’t have a place to be I can tell you where to go-’

Kevin ‘You have a whole family, let me have this’ Levin

Vin, trying to bring a base level of manners to the children’s interactions. It’s not likely to work, Vin, I’ve met them, they’re just like this. Kevin takes more work than that. Also he seems confused at your comment. There could be a million reasons for that.

Ben trying to pull the ‘Kevin doesn’t have a car and so is not involved’ card. Which is rude, I think.

And lo, Bootleg returns.

Possesses Vin’s car and Vin is impressed.

“I have an alien like that too! Or I used to.” “Bummer. If I were you I’d have kept it.”

Vin telling Ben to have fun in the race, together the three of them are gonna help save a lot of endangered animals, and Ben is most certain that is not the point of tonight anymore. From now on the point of tonight is to prove to Kevin’s only decent adult figure that he should drop Kevin for him.

Kevin doing a donut before heading to the starting line. Nobody who has seen this boy in any other series is shocked. He’d probably do a donut with a jet if given the opportunity.

And Ben kicks Gwen out of Glitch so he can race instead. Note he does this at the starting line. Max come control this child.

Mary Jo! It’s Mary Jo! This episode is officially better just for her being here! No lines but damnit she exists and she’s here, the queer icon of the franchise!

Ben is so very behind because Glitch just is not about that aggressive driving life.

Going Heatblast, Ben please. This is a charity event for fuck’s sake.

Vin being all mentory.

Ben, trying to impress. Just let Kevin have this, Ben.

Vin, calling Ben out on forgetting this is for charity.

Kevin, meanwhile, is just done with Ben existing in the same space as his mentor figure. How dare. Go away.

Congratulations Vin, you are now seeing the messed up child you are dealing with. He’s workable he’s just, got issues that need dealing with and no real way to manage them healthily I think. A good parental figure and a therapist would do this boy wonders. It’s just, nobody ever seems ready to give him either.

Damn, Kevin, fucking chill. He has a decent mentor now and he is not taking threats to that well.

Vin is not pleased.

Well Ben, you’re getting your explosions. Happy now? Also I like how Kevin is apparently throwing the race in favor of fucking up Ben for daring to try to steal Vin. My poor son.

Gwen, forcibly removing Ben’s head from his ass.

Kev vs Vin for the sake of ‘just how much damage is Kev allowed to do’. None. The answer is none.

Gwen calling for a pitstop so she can chew Ben out for fucking everything up for everybody in person.

There was almost an emotional moment there- not a breakthrough but a moment (realized he fucked up the race? check. realizing he ruined Gwen’s chance to participate in the race like she wanted? check. admittance that he did all this purely out of jealousy and that Kevin was doing literally nothing wrong for once in his life until Ben made it his business to provoke him? not even close)- and then Kevin and Vin literally fucking spun passed and suddenly it’s all Rath and back to the fray.

Gwen, grabbing Glitch and joining the fray in hopes of talking some sense into the complete mess that is these people

This entire night is a disaster.

And Kev vs Vin is still ongoing. Kevin’s issues with authority have returned for yet another round. Today on ‘Did somebody really just try to control Kevin? Fuck.’

Why is this episode taking me two hours? Because every time I unpause things get worse.

“Listen kid, when you time out, we are gonna have a long talk about good sportsmanship!” Oh Vin. I was concerned but this gives me hope. I doubt Kevin will stick around for it because, well, Kevin and Issues, but it’s the thought that counts.

Poor Vin’s car

“I don’t even car about the stupid race anymore, this is personal!” While becoming Bashmouth. Oh Kevin. And don’t think I haven’t noticed that the two times you’ve treated things as being personal were when Ben made that comment on your not having anyone to run back to and now, when Ben was actively trying to steal a positive adult figure from you.

Max swears he’s a better role model than Vin. I don’t think anyone really agrees Max.

Vin’s even being encouraging towards Gwen, he really needs to stop. He’s not winning me, I refuse.

Vin carries hunks of meat around. Has he experienced Bashmouth before? Or is he just like this?

He’s just like this.

Luring the boys with a steak.

Welp, Kevin has been distracted by an antenna ornament. Oh child. My son.

“Ben you have to save Kevin, he could get hurt!” “Good!” Benjamin Kirby Tennyson!

Kevin, not happy that Ben is being complimented. Ben? Pleased as punch.

The race is over and Vin is getting tired of fighting children.

Kevin trying to pull the ‘I don’t care anyway’ card with regards to fighting over Vin with Ben. Really these children are just... children.

These boys

Wide-eyed Kevin, a rare sight.

Vin called them 7-yos and the affront on these children’s faces. Also Ben’s talk about molding Vin in the ideal role model, like Kevin did none of that Ben, you are on your own.

Kevin storms off and Vin actively lets him now he can still come to him for help.

Money laundering, Vin, really.

At least the man’s honest about it, and just going along with being arrested.

10/11

[tmntreasures]

Prom Night (Donatello)

Prompt: A boy at your high school, named George, has asked you out; not because he likes you, but because you were his last option. Obviously, you turn him down since you have a turtle boyfriend who was going to meet with you behind the school. On the night of prom, you go outside to wait for your secret love. But the boy who had asked you out corners you outside and acts aggressive…

You made your way into the lair, making a beeline right for Donatello's work station. The event was still fresh in your head and you had to tell the tall mutant about it. You never thought such a thing would happen to you, but it had; and although you tried not to get shaken up about it your body just ignored you.

“Donatello?” You called out as you entered the room, trying not to bump into any of the tables and risk knocking over one of the many liquid-filled beakers.

The mutant turtle was hovering over a laptop that had been built with a variety of different parts from the junkyard. At the sound of your voice he smiled but kept his focus on the project at hand. “Oh, hey! You're here early,” He quickly closed out of the program and shut the laptop. When he finally looked at you he saw just how much you were shaking and was at your side immediately.“Hey, are you okay?”

Once his fingers touched your arm you let out a shaky breath as your mind reeled at what had happened to you at school. A boy from your class—you believe his name was George –had come up to you in between classes and asked you out to prom. You declined of course, but the boy would not take 'no' for an answer.

For the rest of the day he had kept pestering you at any chance he had; each interaction becoming more and more verbally aggressive. Even when you had told him you had a boyfriend taking you to the dance it wasn't enough. He had quizzed you about who your boyfriend was, what school he went to, and other information that was really none of his business.

Even at the end of the school day he persisted; however, he took it one step too far when he had gotten physical. It hadn't been anything painful, all he did was push you forward after you had told him 'no' for the umpteenth time, but the fact that he had touched you made you think he was serious.

You relayed the story to Donatello as calmly as you could but it was difficult to do. George's threat was finally starting to sink in and it terrified you. The feeling of Donatello rubbing your back calmed you down and you managed to take a deep breath. The events seemed to bury themselves as he comforted you and you found yourself resting your head against his chest.

“Why can't people just leave me alone?” You muttered against him.

Donatello kept rubbing your back as he mused over what you had told him. Whoever this boy was, he clearly had no idea who he had been harassing. Your taste in men was very...specific, to say the least. Not to mention that by taking his misplaced anger out on you that this boy had made a very vengeful enemy. However, the mutant turtle would never show that side of himself to you directly, especially since all you needed right now was a shoulder to cry on.

“People are just dumb. Especially boys,” he comforted you, wrapping his arms around your smaller figure to hold you close.

“You're not dumb.” You stated as you felt yourself beginning to relax in his tight grip.

He let out a small chuckle and shrugged, “Okay yeah, but that's obvious.” The two of you giggled a little before he finally looked down at you. “You want me to change the password to all of his accounts?” He made sure to keep a cheerful tone to sound like he was just joking; but in his mind, he realized it would be a good start to the boy's torment.

You grumbled against him and shook your head, “No.” Revenge sounded like a good idea, but you knew if something happened it might come back to you. This boy had already gone physical over a 'no'; you would hate to see what a few prank e-mails would make him do.

He frowned at your absence of speech, feeling upset that his first attempt to cheer you up did not work. “Hey,” he grabbed both sides of your face and tilted your head gently upward. His brown eyes stared into yours as he continued. “It's gonna be okay. You're here, you're safe. And if he tries something again, then the rest of his school days won't be easy.” He smiled when he saw the same gesture form on your face. “I love you. And I'm not going to let a little punk hurt you.”

Although you still felt apprehensive about seeing George in class the next day, Donatello's words were enough for you to forget about it for the time being. You gripped his wrists and gave them a squeeze, your smile growing wider as his thumbs rubbed your cheeks. “Thanks Donnie. I love you too,” You stood on your tiptoes to give him a quick peck on his lips. The moment you pulled away, however, you waved a finger at him and warned. “Don't do anything rash, okay?”

He scoffed and pointed at himself. “Me? Rash? You must be confusing me with Raph,” He put a hand behind your back and began to lead you out of his work area. “But speaking of prom...” The mutant began, feeling his cheeks flush at the idea. Before he had a chance to continue you interrupted.

“Yes, you can come Donnie.”

“Oh, I know I can.” He grinned down at you. “I just want to know what color you'll be wearing.”

The idea of him surprising you made you a little giddy, making you grin from ear-to-ear. “Well, this might shock you but I was gonna wear purple.”

“Yeah?” He sounded genuinely surprised, but there was still a smile on his face. “That'll actually make it easy,” he mumbled loud enough for you to hear, making sure to give you a sly look out of the corner of his eye.

You grinned wider and began poking at his arm. “What? What do you have planned? Tell meee!” Donatello was the type to tell you every plan he had in mind for the sake of consistency; so when he decided to surprise you, it was always a delight.

He chuckled and began to return the pokes teasingly. “It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you. But you'll like it.” He hesitated for a second before adding, “At least I hope you'll like it.”

You giggled and hugged his arm briefly before sliding your hand down to his, intertwining your fingers. “I'm sure I'll love it,” you reassured him.

The words were enough for him and he squeezed your hand. The two of you walked through his workshop in silence for a bit before he finally broke it. “Sooo...about that kid from earlier.” He peered at you over the top of his glasses. “You sure I don't need to give him a scare when he goes to bed tonight?”

“Yes, Donatello. It's fine,” You gave him a smile and bumped his hip with your own. “He's just a sad, lonely little kid. I'm over it now.” You stood on your tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek before tugging on his hand. “C'mon. I wanna beat your Mario score.”

---

The moment you left the lair, Donatello was hard at work making George's life as miserable as he could; not through violence of course, but through his thorough knowledge of computers and other electronics. It was easy gaining access to the boy's laptop and cell phone; the security programs George had installed were cheap, making it almost child's play for the mutant.

At first he did simple, albeit annoying, things. He would close tabs the boy had open, make the phone hang up or switch to speaker during conversations. As the prom date grew closer and closer, his annoyances became worse and worse. He would turn the phone's ring-tone back on during school hours and opened a website with questionable content anytime the boy's computer was being used; as an added bonus, he would make sure the volume was on full blast when he decided to have a video play on that same site. Sometimes, if Michelangelo decided to get involved, they would make status updates on the human boy's social media pages with embarrassing facts Donatello had found while snooping through the boy's search history.

The only time he eased up on the kid was the day before your prom night. There were still a couple of things for him to gather and fix, so he had spent all of his time and energy on those last-minute chores. Once everything was prepared for your date, he began to plan out his final attack on George.

The hours flew by and soon it was time for him to leave. Donatello took one last look in the smudged mirror and adjusted the purple bow-tie around his neck before going to leave. However, he stopped mid-step and went back to grab a little device in the shape of a phone, shoving it in his pocket as he finally left the lair for your school.

There was something off ever since the dance started. You weren't sure what it was, but you could just feel it; as if something, or someone, was causing trouble. With the help of your friends and a few fun songs, you were able to push the nagging feeling aside. After a few hours of dancing, you noticed what time it was and checked your phone for any messages from your mutant boyfriend. You frowned and felt your stomach sink a little when there was nothing from him. Usually Donatello was on time, if not early, for any date you two set up. For him to not even send a text saying he was running late was just not like him.

You shook your head and tried not to think too much about it. He did have a duty to protect the city after all. Perhaps he was just rounding up some bad guys or had to stop a mugging on the way over. Either way, you felt the need to hydrate and quickly slipped away from your energetic group of friends. It was not until you reached the punch bowl that you noticed George from across the crowded room.

The boy looked perplexed and was busy tapping his finger furiously at his phone. A couple of students near him were starting to give the boy odd looks before muttering to one another with grins on their faces or just blatantly laughing at him.

A part of you was glad that, whatever was going on, was clearly embarrassing the boy; but for some reason, any resentment you felt for him was overpowered by your curiosity. You wanted to know why he was so distressed and what was causing it. Very carefully, you dipped behind groups of other students and pillars, trying to avoid any detection. You stopped, hiding behind a row of lockers the moment you could finally hear what was going on over the loud boom of music.

“Georgie listen,” a woman's voice cracked from George's phone. “I know you're a growing boy, but you have got to stop using your socks for masturbation. They get all crusty and nasty if you don't wash them immediately afterward. Oh yeah, don't think I don't know about your 'secret stash' too. You're not as slick as you think you are, mister.”

George's cheeks were a bright red and his jaw was clenched tightly from sheer embarrassment. There were beads of sweat running down his face faster than tears as he tried to frantically hang up. “Oh my god. Mom, just...shut up!” He hissed at the electronic rectangle in his hand.

As much as you wanted to laugh at his torment, the feeling of enmity suddenly resurfaced and Donatello's lack of messages suddenly began to make sense.

“Oh yeah,” the voice continued despite the boy's efforts to mute it. “When you come home, we're gonna need to talk about some these...what is this? 'Kinks'? There's a whole list of--”

You did not stick around to hear the rest of it. It was all suddenly coming together and it made your blood boil. Even after you had asked him not to do anything to this stupid classmate of yours, Donatello still went behind your back and tormented him. On top of that, he was so wrapped up in his quest for vengeance that he had forgotten about you and your date tonight. The mutant ninja turtle had better things to do than hack into a teenage boy's computer and phone.

The metal door slammed open as you stormed outside, keeping your eyes open for any sign of the giant turtle. You paused when you heard his voice and followed the sound as quietly as you could. Soon, you found him sitting casually on a tree branch, speaking into some invention in his hand.

“Also, keep an eye on your drink sweetie.” Donatello spoke, his eyes trained on the window just in front of him. “There are some weird kids in there. You don't want your drink spiked and you wake up in the boy's locker with--” Static screeched from the other line, making the mutant turtle cringe. He chuckled a little and looked at the device in his hand. “Took him long enough to break his phone,” He shoved the little piece of technology into his pocket and began to rummage through his pack. “Time for the good ol' fashioned pea-shooter.”

You shook your head in disappointment and put your hands on your hips. “Donatello!”

He jumped on his perch and almost dropped his pea-shooter at the sound of your voice. His eyes looked even wider behind his glasses as he stared at you in shock. “H-heeeey sweetie! I didn't even hear you come out.” He gave you a sheepish smile and gulped. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough.” You huffed. “I told you not to bother him!”

“I know!” He whined a little and sat up straight, leaning his shell against the tree trunk. The mutant turtle began to fiddle with the pea shooter, keeping his eyes focused on the toy as if too ashamed to look at you.

His lack of eye-contact just fueled your frustration and you stomped your foot to get his attention. “You're better than this Donnie! He's just a dumb teenage boy who did something stupid!”

“I'm a teenage boy too!” He finally snapped his attention to you, his fingers still fidgeting with the pea-shooter. “I'm just not stupid,” he added as he looked away from you.

You frowned a little at his response before letting out a sigh. He had a good point. Despite everything he did, fighting crime, being good with machines, and being the smartest person you knew, Donatello was a teenager just like you. Of course he was going to defend your honor like this. Even though he went a little far, it did wash most of your anger away knowing he would still make an effort for you like this.

However, you were still aggravated that it had distracted him from your date. You crossed your arms and kept your eyes locked on his form. “You could have at least told me you were running late,” you added sternly.

He winced when he checked the time and you could see the guilt spread across his face. “I'm sorry,” he put the pea-shooter away and seemed to hesitate for a second. “Hey. Could you do me a favor?”

A part of you wanted to refuse him but there was something innocent in his tone that made you go along with it. “Yeah?” You asked a little too harshly.

“Could you turn around for a sec?” Despite your obvious aggravation he tried to keep his tone cheerful. Luckily, it was enough to make you comply and he hopped out of the tree without a sound. “Let me see your hand,” his voice was soft next to your ear and it sent wonderful chills down your spine.

The idea of a surprise began to chip away at your sour mood and you did as he asked, holding your dominant hand out but keeping your back to him. He began to slide something soft and elastic over your hand, stopping only once it was at your wrist. Once it was good and snug, he gently pushed your hand out in front of you.

On your wrist was a handmade corsage. The flowers were all different shades of purple, but they were clearly fake as some of the petals were becoming frayed, but the silver ribbons looked fairly new. There were some bits of dried glue poking out too, but the more you stared at it, the more your heart began to swell. Any anger or annoyance you had began to melt away and you could even feel some tears creeping to the edge of your eyes. It was the most beautiful gift you have ever received.

“Ta-da!” He exclaimed with a hopeful smile.

You turned to look at him, after wiping some of the tears, away and smiled. “Donatello it's gorgeous.”

“Really? You think so?” His smile grew and his eyes widened in surprise. “I mean, I know it's not a store-bought one. Not to mention preserving real flowers in the sewer is almost impo--” You cut him off with a clumsy kiss as you had to jump a little to plant it on his lips. He smiled at you and shrugged, wrapping his arms around your waist as he pulled you in close. “Well, if you like it then I guess it's okay.” He bent down and placed a much gentler kiss on your lips.

“I love it,” you whispered once he pulled away. “Thank you Donnie.”

He grinned. “Sooo...you forgive me?”

You sighed in feign annoyance before smiling at him. “I gueeeess. Yeah.”

The two of you laughed as he pressed his forehead against yours. The sound of slow music drifted outside from the school building and you both fell silent, smiling softly at each other.

“Would you like to dance?” Donatello asked, his hands tightening around your waist.

“I would love to,” you answered, moving your hands as close to his shoulders as you could.

You both swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the song, sharing a kiss here and there. Once it was over, the two of you just stared at each other for a long time. “I love you Donnie,” You said softly.

“I love you too,” he smiled.

You paused for a second and raised a brow at him. “You wanna go back to the lair and play some video games?”

“Yes, please.” He nodded fervently. He grabbed your hand and the two of you ran off into the night, disappearing into the lair for the best end to your night.

[captainvictoryboat]

Behind The Scenes 4 (1/?)

Author’s note: So all this scene is from my rough draft (and the part from the sneak peek) so i am sorry that if some details aren’t too good and all. Again, I’m sorry that i cant finish the series, but as i explained i just can;t keep writing this anymore. I will also not be putting the link to the other parts because for some reason i can’t get it to work. So think rest of the posts will be in my blog profile.

This posts wont be linked to the rest of the series, they will just be linked to each other (when i post the rest of what i have) since there are not too many posts. This series also does not have it’s own GIF since i finished neither BTS 4 or the GIF for it. 

Summary: Jin finally sees Jinjin after the tour.

Word Count: 4013

WARNINGS: Physical abuse

Part 2| ALL PARTS 

This is my GIF. I made this for the last part, but i didn’t make a new one.

It was a cold 6 am as he walked down the snow packed sidewalk toward the familiar neighborhood. The exhausting performance of the night before were over ridden by the excitement he had over today.

In one arm he carried a bag of gifts meant for his son while his other arm adjusted the strap of his backpack filled with a change of clothes and other essentials.

Throughout his relatively quiet walk, he mentally prepared himself to the idea of sleeping on the floor of his son’s room for the next few nights and he day dreamed of the activities he had planes for the both of them.

Suddenly there was a distant sound of annoying barks that busted him out f his bubble. Soon he saw a tiny dog appeared almost out of nowhere. It was dressed in a pink sweater with matching pink booties and it was dragging a blue leash from its collar.

It yapped as it ran awkwardly in his direction. Jin couldn’t care less about the dog. He didn’t pay much mind to it until it began nipping at his pant leg. Under normal circumstances, he would have kicked the dog off and walked away, but today was different. Not even the annoying pup could piss him off this early, heck, he even found the small animal to be a bit cute.

He placed down his bag of gifts and picked up the golden furball.

“And who are you?” he asked it.

He noticed the dog’s purple collar “Hmm, let’s see, your name iiiiis… Peach? Wait… isn’t that the names of Jinjin’s dog?” he asked himself.

He brought the dog closer to his face to make eye contact with it. “Are you Jinjin’s puppy? Huuuuh? Are you?”

“Peach?!? Peach?!? Where are you?!?” Jin could hear a small voice from the direction he saw the dog run from.

Within 2 seconds, his now six year old son appeared from around the corner. Jinjin was in his thickest green jacket, a pair of black sweatpants (probably wearing a second pair under them) and in his snow boots. Wrapped around the little face that looked so much like his father’s, was his favorite Mario themed scarf and atop his head was a red beanie with a Mario logo.

“Peach?!? Peach- Dad? Daddy?!?” his son’s eyes lit up when he spotted him. “Daddy!” he squealed as his small legs moved faster.

Jin stood frozen as he took in the image of his son. Jinjin had grown taller since he last saw him. The chubby cheeks he pinched so much were not as chubby as they used to be and he shaven hair was now long enough to be combed down and poke out from his beanie.

Jin placed the dog down, leash still in hand, and opened his arms for his son to run to him.

Jin’s heart melted when Jinjin’s little body jumped to him.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy!” Jinjin chanted as he wrapped his arms tight around him, “Finally you are home!”

Jin didn’t care of his son’s cheerful and loud voice would wake neighbors, he was just happy to see his boy. “Ugh, I missed you Jinjin!” he pulled his mask off and covered his son’s face with kisses. “But, my little Jinsoo, what did I tell you about talking to strangers?!? For all you know, I was a bad man that could have stolen you!” he said with a slightly serious tone.

“But I knew it was you! You always wear the same bear mouth!” his son stated as he pointed to the bear mouth print on his face mask.

“Aish, you got me there, but why are you out here by yourself?!?”

Jinjin shook his head. “I am not alone. I was with Peach and Greg!”

“Greg? Who the fu- Who is Greg?”

“Jinjin?!? Jinjin where are you?!?” a man’s voice called out.

From the same corner his child came from, emerged a tall, thin man. Even at a distance it was easy to tell the man was taller than Jin. What was most noticeable was the blond hair that refused to stay in his black beanie.

“I’m over here!” Jinjin shouted as he waved his arms in the air.

The stranger’s blue eyes locked on Jin and his long legs pushed through the snow. “Hey! Put that boy down!” he shouted with an awkward accent.

Jin simply scoffed, “No!”

The “Greg” person was soon two strides away, his arm already loaded to land a punch when Jinjin finally said. “Greg, look! My dad is here!”

Instantly, Greg stopped in his tracks, slipping on the ice a bit. It took him a moment to catch his balance. “Oh!” he huffed. His cheeks grew even more red. “So, uh, you must be Seokjin?”

“The one and only.” Jin half smiled.

Greg nodded. “I’ve, uh, heard a lot about you…” he mumbled as his eyes danced between Jin and his son.

“And you are?”

“Oh! Where are my manners?” he gave a quick bow and then his hand shot out to give a handshake. “I’m Greg! I-“

“He’s mom’s boyfriend!” Jinjin finished

Jin’s eyes narrowed at the flushed faced man. “I didn’t know that Mina was in a relationship… and with a foreigner no less” he added under his breath.

“Dad, who is Mina?” Jinjin asked in confusion.

He couldn’t help let out a chuckle at how adorable his son was. “Jinjin, that’s your mom’s name.”

“What?!? Mommy’s name isn’t mommy?”

“I can’t believe I missed out on all this cute!” Jin smiled as he squeezed his son’s still pinchable cheeks.

Jin turned back to the man. Greg’s hand was still out for a handshake. However, instead of shaking his hand, he gave him the dog’s leash. “So, Mina’s boyfriend?” He asked in a darker tone. “How long has this been going on?”

“Almost a year.”

Jin blatantly scanned Greg from head to toe. “A year? Is that so? And where are you from Greg? You obviously aren’t from here.”

“I’m from England.”

“And you met Mina how?”

“Friends of friends.” Was Greg’s vague answer.

“I see… Well… Why don’t we get out of this cold?” Jin suggested with a fake smile

The walk to the house was not as awkward as it could have been, Jinjin spoke the whole time. He mostly talked about being so excited for Jin to come home that he stayed up all night and that Greg suggested they walk Peach as they waited for him. His son was a good distraction to his boiling rage. However, just like the small dog, this Greg guy wasn’t going to be enough to upset Jin, at least not yet anyway.

-

His ex stared at him in confusion. “Seokjin? I didn’t expect you here this early.” She said as she let them in the warm house.

“Well hello to you too. As I recall, I told a little someone that I would be here first thing in the morning.” Jin turned to the boy in his arms in fake anger. “Jinjin, I thought I told you to tell your mother.”

“Haha, I forget!”  Jinjin admitted as he hid behind his hands.

His ex rolled her eyes, “That’s what happens when you trust a six year old.”

Jin scoffed.” One has no other choice than to trust a six year old when the mother is acting like a six year old and won’t pick up her phone!” he said through his teeth

“Not answering my phone doesn’t make me a six year old. I was just busy doing some adult things.” She smirked, her eyes gliding towards Greg.

“So that’s what you do instead of being a mother?” Jin asked out right.

Mina’s head whipped back at him, her eyes warning him not to start anything,

He tried hard to hold himself back from doing something he would regret.

“C’mon Jinjin, why don’t we go up to your room and you show me your toys.” he huffed. Jin walked up the stairs, escaping the woman he only somewhat regretted meeting, carrying the boy that made up for that mistake.

He entered Jinjin’s room, it only looking slightly different from when he last visited a few years ago. The walls were still blue, covered in all things Mario. There were more toys thrown everywhere if anything and the bed was a bit bigger for his growing frame.

Jinjin slid out of his hands and ran over to his toy box. “Daddy! Do you want to see my toys?”

“Jinjin I think that can wait a minute. Why don’t you let daddy test out your new bed?” He suggested as he threw himself into the mattress. The bed was too small for him and his feet hung over the edge, but he was so tired, it didn’t matter.

“Jinjin, it is really early, why don’t we take a nap.” He yawned.

“Ok!” Jinjin moved some of the small toys he had left on his bed and crawled up next to him, still dressed in his outside clothes. With his son nestled in his arm, Jin fell to sleep quickly.

-

He awoke to the feeling of little fingers trying to pry his eyes open. “Jinjin, why aren’t you letting daddy sleep?”

“Cake?”

“Jinjin, it is still morning.” He stated as he took a look at his cellphone screen showed 10:45 am.

“But cake!”

He stood up from the bed and took a quick stretch. “Jinjin, let me show you the gifts I got you! We will make the cake later.”

He grabbed his backpack, kneeled by the bed and called Jinjin over.

“Wait! Where is Peach? I want her to see my presents with me!” Jinjin jumped from the bed. “Peach!” he called out as he ran out of the room.

He soon returned carrying his tiny dog. Jinjin jumped on the bed and made Peach sit next to him. “Peach are you ready?” he asked the dog.

Jin kept the bag hidden behind the bed.

“Okay, here is the first present!” At random, he pulled out the gift Jackson had picked out for him. “So this is from your daddy’s friend Jackson. You remember Jackson from GOT7 right? He knew you liked Mario and picked this out because he thought it was a mushroom from Mario” He lied.

Jinjin snatched the box, examining it up close. He was neither frowning nor smiling at his gift. “Hm… Pokemon… I don’t know pokemon a lot.”

“But?”

“But what?”

“But, it is still nice that he remembered you and likes you enough to buy you a toy right?” Jin said, pulling the gratitude out of his only slightly spoiled son.

“Yeah!” Jinjin smiled. “Can you tell him thank you!” he asked, remembering his manners

“Of course! Now time for the stuff I got you!”

Jinjin’s eyes widened once more and he pulled himself up straight trying to peek over the edge of the bed.

“Ok, so I ordered this online so I left it in the box. I only took it out to make sure it was the right size.”

He handed Jinjin the box and the young one attacked it. The box flew across the room as Jinjin found the Mario onesie within it.

“Wow!” Jinjin cheered. “I can be Mario!”

He didn’t even waste time. He ripped off his top winter layer and pulled on the onesie. When all was done, it was only a size or two too big. Good, so that it would last him a while.

“It fits!”

Jin couldn’t help but smile as Jinjin ran over to his Mario hat and put it on.

Jin then pulled out the next gift. “I was in Japan and I remembered how you told me your DS broke, so I got you a new one! They ran out of red ones, but I got you a green one.”

Again Jinjin was in a fit of glee, jumping onto his father with open arms.

Jin’s last gift was a handful of age appropriate games for the new DS, that only made Jinjin more excited to play it.

It wasn’t until his son had calmed down and was indulged in one of the new games, that he decided to get serious.

“Jinjin?”

“Huh?” Jinjin’s eyes were glued to the double screens.

“Why didn’t you ever bring Greg up before?” He asked this softly, scared that Mina could be in the hall and overhear.

“Mommy said not to.” Jinjin said in a zombie like tone.

“Why?” He could feel his anger toward his ex growing.

All the small boy did was shrug his shoulders

“Jinjin, what else has Mommy told you not to tell me?” He tried to keep his voice calm.

“Um…” Jinjin was too focused on the game to really think.” Uh.”

“Jinsoo, pause the game.”

Jinjin did as told. “Um, we might go to Greg’s house this summer.” He finally said.

“Greg’s house? Where exactly is Greg’s house?”

Jinjin shrugged again. “In English. That is what mommy said.”

“English? What do you- England?!?

“Yeah that!” Jinjin said as he played his game again.

“That motherfucking bitch!” Jin thought. “First she doesn’t tell me about that buck-tooth brit and now she is going to take my son to England!” he stood up. “Jinjin, why don’t you put that game away and let’s go down to the kitchen and start baking your cake.” He needed to get his mind off this. He couldn’t afford to get mad now. He wasn’t going to let that bitch ex of his ruin his mood.

Now in the kitchen, Jin searched for the ingredients. He let the stories of Jinjin’s last few months drain out the sounds of Mina’s and Greg’s giggles coming from the living room.

“Uh-huh… Wow…That’s great Jinjin…” He said robotically.

His frustration grew as his search came to an end and the only ingredients he had were eggs.

“What the fuck?!?” he grunted so that Jinjin couldn’t hear him.

He took a deep breath and decided to look a second time. This time with each failed attempt, he was beginning to slam the cabinets and drawers shut harder and harder.

Jinjin not at all phased by his father’s little tantrum, continued to play on the floor with Peach still in his Mario onesie.

However, the boy’s mother soon walked in.

“Jinjin, is that you playing hide and seek with Peach again?” she asked as she walked into the room. She still had a hint of a smile on her face.

Just seeing her face made Jin pissed. “Where the fuck are the fucking ingredients I asked you to get?!?” he snapped

“Ooh! Dad said a bad word!” Jinjin snickered. “Now you have to put a dollar in the swear jar!”

Jin quickly realized that he was still in the presence of his son and tried to calm down for a moment. “Jinjin, take Greg up to your room and show him the presents I got you.”

“Ok!” Jinjin jumped up and ran to the living room. “Greg! Greg! Come see my presents!”

Jin’s angry eyes then locked on Mina once more. Her arms were crossed and she was rolling her stupid ass eyes at him. “I was busy.” Was her sad ass excuse.

“Busy being a whore?!?” he spat

She furrowed her brow at him. “Just because I have a boyfriend doesn’t make me a whore! I have a fucking life Seokjin! I got out, I work, I take care of Jinjin all by myself!”

Jin couldn’t help but laugh at her saying the word “work”. “What do you mean you work?!? You make crappy ass DIYs and sell them to fat lazy bitches online! I am the one that works! I am the one that is providing for you and Jinjin!” he reminded, slowing moving in on her. “I am working my ass off and worried about my son and your over here fucking some random dude!”

“Don’t give me shit just because you are jealous!” she had the audacity to say.

Again he couldn’t help but laugh at her stupidity. “Jealous? Me? Me?!?”. He took a big step towards her. “If anything I feel nothing but pity for Greg because he hasn’t found out what a stupid conniving little bitch you are!” he said through his teeth.

She squinted her beady eyes at him. “I am neither stupid or conniving!” she stated in an actual attempt to defend herself.

Jin pushed her up against the fridge, “Yes you are!” he growled.

“How so?!?” she stood back up only to get pushed back again.

“How about lying about your parents kicking you when they found out you were pregnant. That you wanted to live with me because they were going to force you to have an abortion and move you away somewhere else?!? Or how about threatening to have an abortion when I wanted to break up with you when I found about that lie?!? Then going above and beyond to keep me away from my son for two years, but still take my money to pay for your damn lifestyle!”

“Fuck you!”

Ticked off by her voice, his hand cut through the air and slapped her across the face.

Her hand covered her throbbing cheek, but she still didn’t seem to want to back down.

“And then, you go and bring this European motherfucker into my house and you bring him around my son-“

“He is my son!”

Again his hand attacked her cheek. “How dare you introduce him to Jinsoo! I will die before I let some other motherfucker raise my son! And how stupid can you be to trust someone who can expose everything at a whim?!? He can tell everyone that Jinsoo is my son! The whole world will turn on Jinsoo if they find out!”

“Oh so you can date and let some random bitch around Jinsoo, but I can’t do the same?!?”

Jin could not believe what he was hearing. “Who the fuck could I possibly be dating?!?”

“I know you and Y/n are dating!” she accused.

“How fucking stupid are you?!? Jungkook fucking proposed to her last night you stupid bitch!”

“Oh please! I know you are fucking her! I see the pictures of you and her that Jinjin refuses to remove as his home screen on that stupid tablet you got him. All he ever talks about is dad and y/n dad and y/n dad and y/n!”

“You’re such a fucking-“

This time it was her hand that slapped him. “No! Don’t you dare finish that sentence! I know for a fact that you are dating her! Jinjin told me you all slept in the same bed together!” Mina was too busy blabbing away to notice the fury in Jin’s eyes, his nostrils flaring, his knuckles turning white.

“She and Jungkook are fake and are covering the fact that you are dating her! You all say they have been dating for two over two years or whatever, but she never showed up until a year ago and a half ago! That doesn’t add up! So If you get a girlfriend, I sure as hell can get a boyfriend, so don’t-“

It wasn’t until he punched her mid sentence that Mina let out a scream loud enough to be heard through the house.

He continued to punch her in a fit of rage.

“You fucker!” Greg’s irritated voice shouted as he tackled Jin off Mina. He was able to pin Jin down and unleash a series of blows.

Jin however was not as overpowered as Greg thought. Despite his larger frame, there wasn’t much power behind Greg’s hits. He was nothing compared to Rap monster, Jungkook or V.

All Jin did was let out a grunt as his hands clamped down on Greg’s sweater and pulled him down until their foreheads collided. It was a risky move, but an effective one. Jin wasn’t that dazed and he was able to pin Greg down. Now he was the one on top and he showed Greg what real punches were supposed to feel like.

“So you- think that- you- can just- walk up in- here- like you- own the place?!? You think-you can just- take my place,- take- my family?!?”

His knuckles were more and more raw as he continues beat on Greg, who proved to be a bigger wimp than he thought.

What Jin didn’t see coming was Mina hitting him over the head with the kitchen wok. The slam to the head was enough to daze him but not knock him out

He struggled to his feet and his eyes locked on Mina once again. “Fucking bitch!” he groaned

He made his way up to her only having the strength to pounce on her and bring her to the ground. With the wok out of her hand, she screamed out in fear, her only other form of defense lay across the kitchen floor in pain. “Jinjin! Jinjin! Jinjin call the police!”

“Shut up!” Jin slapped his hand over her slobbery mouth.

He was yelling now. He could feel his throat on fire, but he couldn’t actually hear himself say anything.  At this point he had no control over what he was doing. Not even as his fists continued to hit Mina. They just hit and hit and hit. He let himself go wild because how dare she. How dare she risk ruining the plan they kept up for so long, how dare she decide things for his son without his knowledge, who was she to judge him when she knew nothing about anything!

“Mommy!” Jin heard a small cry.

He looked up to find Jinjin standing frozen a few feet in front of him.

Jin stopped immediately “…Jinjin…?” He moved toward him, but at his slightest movement he saw his son flinch.

Instantly Jinjin began to hyperventilate, his young eyes scattered around the room absorbing the scene in front of him.

“…Jinjin…” He said softly as he slowly lifted himself off the floor.

At that move, tears leaked out of the boy’s eyes, terrified of being the next victim.

“Jinjin run!” Mina screamed in her muffled sobs.

“Shut up!” Jin shouted automatically.

This only made Jinjin scream and cry more. He dropped the new DS he had been clenching on to, covered his ears and crouched into a small ball.

Suddenly Jin was tackled down once more and Greg’s wiry body was pinning him down. “Jinjin run to your room!” he ordered as he landed a punch on Jin.

The life left his body as he heard little foots steps run up the stairs and slam a door shut.

Greg got a few good punches in before Jin came to his senses. With one hit, Greg was down. Jin jumped up from the floor and ran to the stairs. He took three steps at a time until he reached the top

The only door closed was the bathroom and he ran to it as fast as he could. The door was locked of course, but just fidgeting with the doorknob, Jinjin began to cry from the other side.

“Jinjin, open the door!”

“No! “his son screamed.

“Jinsoo… please open the door.” He said in a softer tone. He could feel his heart tearing as he heard Jinjin continue to cry. He felt a lump in his throat as he forced out the words “Jinsoo please, please, please open the door.”

Still there was no response other than crying.

“Don’t fucking talk to him!” Mina’s shrill voice screamed.

Jin turned to his right. Mina stood at the end of the stairs. Her face was bloody, her clothes a mess. In her hand she held a frying pan that she kept aimed at him. “Fucking leave!”

Greg soon appeared behind Mina, armed with a kitchen knife.

“Greg called the cops, so leave now before I tell them exactly what happened when they get here!”

“…Jinjin …” he tried one more time.

“I said leave!” Mina screamed loading the pan behind her head.

“…Fine…” Jin sniffled.

Eventually i will post the next part. There aren’t too many posts so after the official parts, I am going to post the outline i have and the few pictures of the edit.

If you have any feedback or questions about the series. feel free to send me an ask or a message.

[furederiko]

Looking back, over the yea... er, months. That's because the 44th episode of Zyuohger is nothing but your friendly neighbourhood... recap episode!

NOTE: Starting this year, I'm changing the style of my recap-view. Rather than using the usual 'pseudo-live-blogging' style like before, I'm going to exclude the actual 'Recap' part from now on, and prioritizes on my opinions/comments on plot points from an episode. It might still be quite long, but at least this one would be far concised than before. It's also faster for me to work on! LOL. I'll be doing the same with other future titles as well.

- I actually thought since we already had a clip show before (that doppleganger story on episode 27), we wouldn't get another for the New Year. I guess I was wrong. No way TOEI is gonna break their established pattern, right? So yeah, this is a pretty standard clip show, and unfortunately a rather unmemorable one too. Which easily explains why I kept on forgetting to make the review for this episode *sigh*. There IS however, an important side story concerning Azald sprinkled throughout, so if you're looking for a reason to see it, that's the part that might be worthwatching. - Our episode begins with Bard looking for Larry. Yep, I don't think it's ever explained why Bard just took off after helping Yamato and friends as Zyuoh Bird (episode 38)). Even Larry wonders about that. Bard's answer of "I'm sorry, but that will have to wait for later" basically means you need to stay tune on this show if you ever want to hear the reason. As in, "Don't quit while we only have 4 episodes left!". Am I right, TOEI? LOL. - Wow, obvious movie promotion is TOO obvious. And it doesn't even care about continuity issue too. This means Misao is already aware of the Ninningers, eventhough their Versus Movie is only set to premiere today, January 14, 2017. Or perhaps... the event has taken place before the New Year? That's certainly a possibility. Hmmm, I wonder why they aren't pairing ShiroNinger with Zyuoh Tiger? Also, the opening sequence reminded me how Ninninger is crazy about its AkaNinger. We're getting another one in this movie... Aaaargggh. - Hey, everyone is eating New Year mochi. Part of, what I believe is called, Osechi perhaps? Maaan, I would love to try one of that someday. - Mario returns and he immediately reveals his discovery of the Zyuohger's secret. Knowing how caring, helpful, and sincere this quirky uncle has been, can anyone remind me again why it's even NECESSARY to keep the truth from him? I mean, sure they are afraid he might be shocked (like self-proclaimed coward Misao), but after witnessing his considerate kindness and generosity, they really could at least tell him sooner! - Anyway, Mario wants to join the fight, as... Champion of Humanity, Zyuoh Human. UUUGGGH... now I can't get that awful image out of my head. Somehow I'm feeling super grateful that we don't have a Pink-colored member on the team... *sigh* (although a Zyuoh Pig probably would be nice) - Apparently Mario has heard about the story of Bard rescuing child Yamato, but always thought it was merely hallucination. What I like about this remind... er, part, is how Mario is smart enough to understand that there are more Zyuohgers than the number of Champion Symbols. A pretty smooth excuse to recap about what happened to Misao (episode 16). Seeing Mario comforting Misao is pretty moving, methinks. - Misao's backstory is also neatly connected to Azald, giving us the assumption (not confirmation, at least for now) that the Leader might have gone through the same process as Misao. Wait a sec, does this mean we are seeing Azald's backstory? That's BIG, considering Naria and even so-called vengeance-driven Kubar didn't even get one. But... I wonder if it's a little late in the game? - Talking about friends, turns out the Cube Animals don't want to be left out. Unlike "Engine Sentai Go-onger" that constantly showcased the members' Enjins as their individual partners, the Zyuoh Cubes only occasionally showed up to frolic around. To be honest, at this point I've even forgotten that they can solely act on their own. LOL. Quite disappointing that Mario doesn't point out about Cube Whale though, considering Yamato has asked him to make its replica before (episode 34). - Hearing all these, Mario realizes that he doesn't need to join the fight. It's sweet that Yamato reminds him that his uncle is important nonetheless, because he's the 'smile', the comfort, and the... food(eh?) that greets them everytime they arrive home. But must Leo remind us about that lame... cow-breast joke (episode 39)? UGH. Really though, Mario could've been way more than these, if he had known their secret much earlier. A missed opportunity, right there! - It only took 2 weeks and 15 minutes of runtime to get here, but the Zyuohgers can finally hand off their present for Mario. I don't really like that sweater, probably because of the color scheme, but it's a sweet scene nonetheless. Their discussion afterwards is sure hinting towards the finale, huh? Complete with that 'making oath while staring at the shooting-star together' bit. Cliche, much? - Naria scans Azald's body because he's feeling... weird, and discovers that there are 4 Zyuoh Cubes inside him. Since the core Zyuohgers are busy cozying up, Azald decides to target Bard instead. This isn't surprising. After the show wasted their potential for Kubar, there's no one left but to rely on Azald now. I mean, just look at the preview for next episode. - Oh wow, I might be wrong, but it looks like Larry's foreshadowing Bard's death at the end. This can't be good. Then again, we haven't seen much of Bard to actually care about him that deep. All these time he's been absent and acting like a lone-wolf... whoops, lone-bird who RARELY spent time with the Zyuohgers. I doubt his death will give an impact to the team. His only connection is only with Yamato so far, but even that doesn't warrant a higher emotional punch for him. I mean, it WOULD be entirely different if he turns out to be Yamato's real father, but we know that's NOT the case. Oh well, let's just wait and see...

Overall: I don't think it's a good sign for a show if its recap episode feels... forgettable. Wanted to say boring, but well, I'm being generous like Mario so... 'bland' might be a nicer word. I'm still holding out on this show, hopeful that we'll be getting a good to great finale. At the very least, a dcent payoff to everything that's been going on. But even I have to admit, that the trajectory of mine and public's interest isn't really heading to the right direction. The same thing happened with "Kamen Rider Ghost", and it sure didn't end as 'satisfying' as I would have preferred. Next week Tomorrow: Mario meets Larry. Yamato's daddy issue Part Deux. And it's finally Azald's time to shine... (who'd probably bite the dust real soon) PS: Hey, the new show has revealed its first official teaser! Gaaawd, I'm loving these 9-members team the more I see it... XD. Just look at all those personalities they emit from their unique designs! Is it rude of me to want this show to arrive as soon as possible, because that means the end of Zyuohger? Ahahaha...! By the way, this is inline with the fact that they will have a customary cameo appearance in Zyuohger vs Ninninger movie that arrives on Japanese theatres today. We can expect to hear reactions of their debut pretty soon.

Episode 44 Score: 7 out of 10

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[entergamingxp]

DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Meaney’s Top 10

December 29, 2019 10:00 AM EST

Even as I descend into the new year as a cranky old man, I still managed to find some time for video games. Here are my favorites of 2019.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

2019 is the year when I decided to finally own the fact that I’ve become a cranky old man. On the whole, I straight up just don’t care about most AAA console games anymore. They mostly feel so toothless and “built by a focus group” feeling. To me, at least. Whatever, it’s my list.

By the same token, I have absolutely become a devout lover of the goofy, sloppy razor’s edge of brilliance that is virtual reality. I’ve also really enjoyed digging into my backlog a bit.

Here are the games I enjoyed the most in 2019.

10. Creed: Rise to Glory

Years ago, my wife made me a special The Good, the Bad and the Ugly movie print for my wall. It was a gorgeous and extremely thoughtful gift. Long story short –mid-punch, I cocked back my elbow and accidentally smashed that treasured memory.

Later, I lost track of where I was facing and punched my bookshelf, knocking off a flower statue from a late relative. The statue lost a petal, but I guess it’s mostly fine.

My brother went full-pickle bloodthirsty trying to murder someone. He lunged forward and head-butted my Ikea TV stand, crashed the game and the PSVR visor while nearly giving himself a concussion.

Highly recommended experience. Try not to punch your grandma.

9. WipeOut Omega Collection

For those who don’t play VR games, you’ve probably heard of something called “comfort settings.” These vary by game, but basically, comfort settings are the equivalent of admitting you’re too weak and feeble to handle a little baby video game.

Choosing to enable them is the equivalent of saying “this porridge is too hot!” and then including your “opposition to hot porridge” in your Twitter profile. Obviously, I never use comfort settings.

On a completely unrelated note, I vomit hot red wine on the carpet every time I play a few WipeOut Omega races. Then I lie in bed, screaming “Just give me five minutes?! I have a headache. A headache from work!” at my wife and child for the next few hours.

The point is that WipeOut Omega totally owns. This game is excellent in both VR and flat flavors.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for WipeOut Omega Collection.

8. Sea of Thieves

I’m still loving Sea of Thieves. In the past year, they have added a tremendous amount of content to the game. This includes Goonies-style treasure hunts, a dedicated PVP mode and plenty more. In all, the free updates have basically been a full-blown sequel for Sea of Thieves. Rare should be commended for their efforts, now and forever.

Beyond that, Sea of Thieves requires you to make your own fun. That’s the point. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. We don’t get many games that give you the freedom to live without a specific required path to follow. It respects you too much to pretend a guided tour is the same thing as an adventure.

Sea of Thieves is quite possibly my console game of this generation. At the very least, it’s the one that’s provided the most laughs.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Sea of Thieves.

7. Ultrawings

Make no mistake, Ultrawings is basically “a new Pilotwings.”

Confession: I never really liked Pilotwings on SNES and Nintendo 64. It seemed very boring. I just wanted to shoot things, but Pilotwings kept wanting me to care about obstacle courses and smooth flying. Today, in VR with a stick and throttle, I suddenly get it. The thrills of flying carefully through checkpoints and diving close enough to feel the spray of the ocean are suddenly very appealing to me.

It’s one of the great VR experiences that doesn’t get enough recognition. It’s a simple flight sim that anyone can enjoy. Throw on a VR visor and aim a fan at your face. Ultrawings is one of the most immersive games I’ve ever played.

Ultrawings is absolutely a must-have experience for any PlayStation VR owner, and it shows great in party settings. And let’s face it, that party aspect is pretty important for VR stuff.

6. Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

Look, Bungie added more lore and added a whole bunch more PVP stuff. That’s all I asked for. I’m happy with this. At this point, you know how you feel about Destiny 2. I don’t buy video game merchandise…but I own two Destiny Ghosts and both physical Grimoire volumes. I’m in too deep. I serve in the Crucible at Lord Shaxx’s pleasure.

But I absolutely understand why you might hate it.

5. Planescape: Torment

If you’re someone who cares about story and choice in gaming, but hasn’t played Planescape: Torment, hop to it. This was my third play-through of this classic game.

Planescape: Torment is straight-up one of the best-written games ever. If you value quality storytelling, world-building and player agency: this is the game you’ve been searching for.

That’s it. It’s terrific. Play it, Chief.

4. Shadowrun (Genesis)

Back in the console wars of the early ‘90s, I bled Sonic blue. Admittedly, us Genesis fans lost that war. Sonic is now an indentured servant to Mario in his little racing/fighting games.

But somehow, in spite of my zealotry, I never played Shadowrun. Because I’m an idiot. This is EASILY my favorite RPG from the Sega Genesis. It feels like an old-timey PC game that’s been somehow smashed onto the Sega Genesis.

The main mission is to uncover the mystery of your brother’s death. BUT, to do so you’ll need to become a pro-tier hacker guy. And once you get good at this, you’ll make so much money that it will make the main mission trivial. Basically: you play as a hacker/thief/hitman. Your skills involve detective work, computer hackery and shooting people in the backery. You do what you want, when you want. When you get a free moment, you push the story of your brother’s murder, confident in the knowledge that you will eventually brutally murder those responsible.

Shadowrun is so open-ended that it’s downright heartwarming. If you’ve never played it, but enjoy retro games with a bit of jank, it’s a great way to pass the time until Cyberpunk 2077 finally arrives.

3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

I absolutely adore the first Deus Ex. It lived in that raw “CONSPIRACIES ARE FUN!” Art Bell Coast-to-Coast space. But times have changed. I get it. These newer Deus Ex games had to tone down the red-pill dispensary stuff. I don’t blame them. Devs need to make money. That’s fair.

That said, I was pleasantly surprised by Mankind Divided. It dropped most of the global conspiracy stuff in favor of a cool cyberpunk Phillip Marlowe detective story. Surprisingly, it works without feeling like a cop-out. The conspiracy stuff is revealed in the first game, but these are prequels. In the end, I really, really loved it.

On the downside, the ending cuts off a bit too close for comfort, so I hope we get a third Adam Jensen game. That said, it wraps up the smaller mysteries and I really dug this one.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

2. Death Stranding

Look, enough has been written about Death Stranding to fill a crater on the moon. Let’s cut it short and say that I’m on the supporting side. I adore this game.

Sue me, but I love Hideo Kojima, and I love that they let him run naked through the wildflowers for this one. It’s a damn solid hiking game and a fun open-world. I totally understand why a lot of people don’t like it. For me, it’s basically Dark Souls: American Truck Simulator…and that is directly up my weirdly specific alley.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Death Stranding.

1. Elite Dangerous

Speaking of trucking sims, Elite Dangerous is basically space truckin’. You get a job, then you fly for a VERY LONG monotonous time across space, pick up your cargo and bring it back. OR, you can mine asteroids for rare minerals. Or murder idiots for bounties. Or smuggle contraband like Han Solo. Or a combination of all of these.

The emphasis here is on simulation. Elite Dangerous is a painstaking recreation of what it might be like if your engine were to go on fire while you’re in deep space…but you’re not sure why, so you have to quickly dig through menus to find a malfunctioning component. When you finally stop that terrible alarm…space-pirates are outside.

I have three copies of this game. I’ve reset my character multiple times just to try out new user experiences. I love Elite Dangerous.

Hell, I bought a new chair so I could attach my HOTAS to the seat.

I bought a cheap Odyssey+ VR headset so I can look around my ship.

I purchased an onboard computer AI voiced by Brent Spiner so I can listen to Star Trek’s Data explain the cosmos while I tool around in space.

Elite Dangerous is basically a slow-moving night job that I utterly adore. It’s gorgeous. It’s complicated, and it terrifies normal people. I’ll be playing this for years.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor  December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager // Kris Cornelisse, Staff Writer December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 29, 2019 10:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-meaneys-top-10/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-meaneys-top-10

[3one3]

The Sequel - 901

Dave Disaster

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea/BVB players, and random awesome OC’s (okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

Why is he on a first breakfast date? It’s not even like it’s the first time going to breakfast. It’s the actual first date. No dinner dates and coffee dates and lunch dates and this is just the first time they’re having breakfast. It’s a first first date. No wonder he can’t keep a relationship going, André concluded with bitterness after Mario told him to be quiet and leave him alone. He was apparently out with a girl he met and liked, and didn’t need his teammate blowing up his phone. His teammate was at a bookstore, bored. Lukas was hearing some Christmas stories in the kids’ section with a bunch of other little people. Christina was with André in the cafe. She had a latte, a lemon bar, and a magazine. What she didn’t have was any overwhelming urge to entertain him instead of read the magazine.

“Want to go to the cinema later? See a film?” he suggested when he noticed her turning a page.

“Not really.”

She looks pretty today, for a Sunday. There is something that happens when she wears a turtleneck and puts her hair up. It makes her cheekbones look good. I don’t get it. I like her eyes today too. Is that a hint, actually? Did she wear makeup today to get me to ask her to do something better than see a movie?

“What about going out for dinner?”

“If you want.”

“You look nice today,” the player smiled before leaning over to smooch his girl’s cheek. She ducked away, grimacing.

“I’m trying to read,” she complained. He sighed and picked up his phone again. Why not buy the magazine and read it at home, when she’s alone? Instead of when she’s sitting here with me. I’m booooored, he whined to himself.

It was his idea to go to the bookstore. Lukas woke up ridiculously early, so that meant Christina had to get up ridiculously early. She made him breakfast, and played games with him, and watched cartoons, and it had snowed overnight so they even went outside to play in it before more games and cartoons, and by the time Daddy got up, everyone else was stir crazy and wanting out of the house. Daddy’s go-to when he was left alone with Lukas was children’s story time at the bookshop. He checked the weekly schedule, was delighted to find a Sunday event, and announced that he would save the day and get them out and about. All he really wanted to do was go back to bed, or relax on the sofa for a few hours.

He wasn’t supposed to play much on Saturday, at the home of his former club Leverkusen. Maximilian Phillip did his ACL early in the first half, and André was the only logical replacement available. Auba wasn’t even in the squad, due to injury. Dortmund went down a goal thanks to some all too common laughable defending. Then Leverkusen went down a man before halftime. The red card was for a terrible challenge on Gonzalo Castro, who also had to come out of the game thanks to an ankle injury. Shinji came on, and André was hopeful that his inclusion would link himself and Yarmolenko up more with the rest of the midfield, since they were two wholly separate entities up to that point. Then Dortmund still couldn’t score. They had a lot of the ball, but just kept giving it away, or dribbling into nothing, or crossing blind with no hope of actually finding someone. With time running out, Shinji managed to finally exploit the tired legs of the 10-man side. He found a little space out wide on the left, André saw it too and ran there on the overlap, Shinji passed to him, he got his head up to check the situation in the box, and cut the ball back to Yarmolenko, who managed to get it in the net. The game finished 1-1. Bosz wasn’t fired. André was happy to have made the assist, and indeed looked the most useful of the black and yellow lot at times during the match, but two more points lost and another terrible team performance hurt mentally, and playing almost the full match hurt physically.

“Are you going to finish your lemon thing?” he asked Christina after granting her two minutes of peace in which to read her motorsport magazine.

“Yes.”

“Can I have a bite?”

“Yes.”

“Does it have to be a Chris-size bite or can it be a-“

“Babe-“ The rider inhaled sharply in preparation for telling him, again, to shut up, but an announcement over the store’s PA system caught the attention of them both. The parents of Lukas were being summoned to the children’s books department. Her heart skipped a beat. Her partner knew why.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” he remarked right away. “I’ll go see what’s up.”

“I’m coming.” Christina reached for her phone and he waved her off.

“He probably just needs to go to the bathroom. Stay. Your coffee is almost full.”

“If he needed to talk to an adult and give his name, it’s because something is wrong,” she snapped. “He doesn’t talk to strange adults.” She lifted her bag off the back of her chair and started walking away.

“Then you go and I’ll stay with your coffee and your lemon...thing...” the BVB man trailed off, watching her go. I guarantee he’s fine. It’s not like he punched another kid. Worst case, he wet his pants because he needed to go and was afraid to ask someone to take him. He picked up Christina’s fork and used the side to cut a piece of lemon bar.

The actual problem was that Dave was missing. Lukas’ stuffed chestnut pony had gone AWOL. He couldn’t remember where he put him down, or if he let anyone else hold him. Christina checked where he’d been sitting for the story, and around the little tables and chairs where the kids evidently got to color afterward. There was no sign of the pony. She summoned André, who wanted to make the store employees demand to check the bags of every parent in the department, as if one of them intended to steal Dave. Lukas was hysterical.

“Are you sure you brought him in with you?” his mom asked while trying to calm him down. She’d already gone over it in her head a hundred times. It didn’t seem possible that she wouldn’t remember exactly what her little boy had with him when they walked into the store, and the fact that she couldn’t be sure really upset her too.

“Yes! He listened to the snowman story with me!”

“Okay. Okay, well, I’m sure he’s here somewhere, Munchkin,” the worried adult stressed. She tried to wipe at his tears. His face was as red as his tiny hoodie, and his soft blonde hair was standing up all crazy from his stressed out head rubbing. “He couldn’t have just walked out on his own.”

“Yes he can! He goes everywhere!” Lukas argued, sobbing. Christina meant the stuffed animal didn’t leave the store under his own power, and her son was pretty sure he could have. It wasn’t always easy to tell if he understood that his pony wasn’t real and just pretended.

“He wouldn’t have gone without you though,” she told him. That works both ways, doesn’t it? That’s like, “oh he couldn’t leave without you because he’s a stuffed animal and literally can’t” but it’s also “you’re his best friend and he wouldn’t ditch you”. Where is Schü? Why isn’t he doing the Super Dad thing and just finding the pony? “We’ll find him.” Every parent in this place is judging me right now, Christina thought, glancing around the kids’ section. It was full of low bookshelves and decorated like a forest. In that moment, it was decorated like a forest at the North Pole. There was a section right in the middle with lots of pillows and small beanbags with the wooden chair for the story reader, and the life-size artificial snowman. There were plastic tables and tiny chairs in another area, with crayons and rolls of cheap paper. André and Christina both checked the rack of plush toys for a very secondhand looking pony that didn’t belong. “Do you want some water?”

“No. I want pony!”

“Come here. Let me pick you up.” She adjusted the way her arm was around the unhappy tot and lifted him up on her hip. Standing upright felt good after squatting for so long to hug him and try to calm him down. “Do you want to go find Daddy? I don’t know where he went either but I bet he’s easier to find,” the equal parts sympathetic and frustrated equestrian suggested. She then mumbled under her breath, since Lukas wasn’t actually listening to her anyway, “Tall fluffy guy with too much beard and a £2000 navy wool overcoat...how hard could it be...” They departed their post at the then open picket fence style gate that was meant to keep kids contained in there during the story reading. They’d been waiting there to make sure no one leaving the children’s section was trying to do so with another child’s Dave. Christina thought it absolutely ridiculous that an animal sort of named after Cesar Azpilicueta could possibly go missing or cause a problem. After Dirk, she- a Chelsea fan- was confident that Cesar Azpilicueta was the most reliable and trustworthy man in her life, despite his partner’s propensity for gossiping about her in ways that somehow always ended up rather detrimental to the rider, or at the very least, inconvenient, and despite his occasionally off color remarks pointed at her.

Where is he, she groaned inside when André was not to be found at either the registers or the customer service kiosk. He was supposed to be enlisting the help of the staff, who absolved themselves of involvement as soon as responsibility for the hysterical child was assumed by his parents. Said child was still hysterical and his mom hated walking between bookshelves in the otherwise quiet parts of the store- for adult readers- disturbing people while hunting for her husband. She wondered what he could possibly be doing since Lukas definitely didn’t wander into the Psychology books and leave his pony there, as well as how Lukas could possibly still be crying. She thought he ought to have run out of batteries by then.

“Chris!” a familiar and very welcome voice called to her at moderate volume on her way to check the restrooms. Mother and Child spun around and saw exactly what they were looking for- a tall fluffy guy and a small not-so-fluffy-anymore pony. The big Schü presented Dave to the little Schü, beaming.

“Look who IIIIII found,” he said in a singsong way to get his attention. His miniature turned a little from his mom’s chest and relaxed his teary, squinty eyes enough to recognize his favorite friend.

“Dave!” he exclaimed, reaching out with both hands for the chestnut.

“Where did you find him?” Christina inquired, exasperated but very, very relieved. Lukas hugged the pony tight and the tightness of the invisible rope strangling her heart for the previous 20 minutes went away. Not only had she feared the pony was lost and they’d be dealing with nonstop tears for days, the stuffed animal obsessive girl inside feared the heartbreak. She hated seeing her little boy truly hurt, and she knew exactly what it was like to lose a plush pony. Her parents had to get hers overnighted from hotels in other time zones, or drive hours to get him from whichever hotel bed she’d forgotten him under. He was just like her favorite actual pony, and grown up Christina still had him. He lived with his twin on a shelf in the study. The twin was literally the exact same stuffed animal, but he looked a little different because of the different life he led as Aidan’s plush version of real life Spike. Aidan gave him a haircut once, for example, so his mane was shorter than Christina’s Spike’s. She had a black pony that was with her for much of her adult life, as a comforting friend in bed at least. He never had a name, and he too was still around. There was a nonspecific rotation of animals brought to bed when she moved in with André, and some still ended up there from time to time. Lukas the baby zebra- her gift from her husband- had become the only permanent resident though. Dave went to bed with Lukas the baby human every night, and Christina was so glad that wouldn’t have to change. She kissed them both.

“I checked every kid in the store. A girl in a hat with animal ears said she “found” him but couldn’t remember where. The mom apologized and said she didn’t even notice her kid was carrying around a stuffed animal. A likely story,” André scoffed. He was feeling very full of himself. Then he winced at Lukas. “Don’t wipe your nose on him, Mausi.” Mom handed over child and pony so she could get some tissues from her bag, and he suggested they go back to the cafe to replace her latte and get something for Lukas- mostly to try to get him cleaned up and fully calmed down after the ordeal. Plying Prinzessin with sweet, frothy milk and cinnamon espresso might make her forget to start lecturing him about being responsible for his things, he added to himself. It’s no fun to have to search the whole store for the pony but he’s two and a half. I don’t know how responsible he’s capable of being at this point. I think we should just be happy we’re able to leave him with a group of kids and he’s well behaved and secure enough not to need one of us in his line of sight. He had his first sleepover without Mama, Papa, Nanny Espen, or Grandma this week too. He’s always had one of us to tuck him in.

“We should just go home. He’s going to need a nap, I have stuff to do at the barn, I want to watch the grand prix from Paris Masters-“

“I thought you weren’t working today?” the player asked back, dejected. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to work on Sunday when he had off. It was that he knew she didn’t plan to, and something changed her mind. He didn’t want it to have been the missing Dave ordeal, because that was sort of his fault. It was his idea to go to storytime, and his idea to idea to leave Lukas in there with just store employee supervision instead of staying with him the way he usually did. “Why did you put makeup on and do your hair nice if you’re going to the barn?”

“I don’t know. I’m not riding,” Christina shrugged. “I need to finish the training plans for the week, and it’s supposed to snow more this afternoon. I don’t want to be on the roads with the idiots who can’t handle flurries on top of slush.” She was already pulling on her wool varsity jacket, and had one eye in her open tote between her ankle boots to look for Lukas’ knitted hat in there.

“Does that mean you don’t want to go out for dinner later? Should we tell Espen not to come over after all?” André scratched at his beard and watched her get the hat and a tiny down vest from her big bag of mom tricks. I thought we had the big bag today because we were going to spend the whole day out, take him home for his dinner, and then go back out to do something without him. That’s why I called the nanny. I thought she wanted to do stuff today, he repeated. I hope it’s not me. I hope it’s that she had to get up at 5 and now she’s a bit cranky.

“I don’t really care. We have leftover ratatouille lasagna. Or we can go out. Whichever.”

“I still want to go out. Somewhere by home.”

“Okay. So don’t change anything with Espen. Can you turn him around so I can put this on?” Mom held up the black vest, and sounded entirely indifferent about the dinner arrangements. That was a good thing. Lukas was dressed for the elements and advised to hold on tight to his pony for the walk to the Range Rover. He was carried to keep him out of the wet and salt and thus keep his car seat as clean and dry as possible. He fell asleep cuddled with Dave on the way home and barely woke up to have his layers removed for a proper nap in bed. Christina tucked him and the pony in together and hoped the trauma would be forgotten when they woke up. She changed her nice skinny black jeans out for less nice barn jeans, and her stacked heel boots for fleece lined flat ones. André was reheating the ratatouille lasagna when she said goodbye. He wanted to know when the grand prix was, and said he might brave the forecasted snow flurries to go watch it with her in the barn if Espen was there on time to watch Lukas.  

Stall Schürrle- decorated for the season with deep burgundy Christmas stockings and small evergreen wreaths- was eerily quiet at midday. The horses were all out in the 2” of snow in their warm turnout blankets. Tom was off, as usual, and Isandro and Kyle went out for lunch after cleaning stalls, filling buckets, throwing hay, preparing grain for later, and sweeping and blowing the aisles. Mr. Fluffy, the cat, was the only one around to greet Christina. He preferred the barn empty- devoid of dogs and humans and traffic- and seldom hung out in “public”. His food was put out on top of the feed bins each morning while the guys fed the horses, so that the dogs couldn’t eat it, and he usually snuck into the feed room undetected. By the time the horses all had their grain, his bowl was empty. The cat ate his dinner the same way- in secret, while the noisy horses stomped their feet, banged their buckets around, and neighed for their grain. Isandro sometimes left treats for him atop the brush cabinets in the grooming stalls, where only a cat could find them. Mr. Fluffy slept in the garage a lot, sunned himself on the “back porch”, and occasionally took in training from the table in the gazebo. He hunted mice and small birds. But he wasn’t so hardened a barn cat that he wasn’t interested in head scratches. He rubbed against his adopted mom’s leg when she was done stomping the snow from her boots inside the door from the informal courtyard and wash racks behind the grooming stalls, and she bent down to pet him.

“Cold outside, eh?” she asked. Mr. Fluffy didn’t respond. He followed her across the aisle to her office though, but declined an invitation to accompany her inside. It was pretty warm in there. Christina turned the thermostat down when she left for the day, so it wasn’t exactly toasty, but it was comfortable enough for just her thin cashmere turtleneck, and she didn’t plan to be there long enough to bother with adding a few degrees on the digital display. Desk, or couch, she asked herself. Desk, I guess. I need to spread out. She put her cheap grocery tote down on her leather chair and pulled from it her laptop, a plastic container of mixed nuts and dried fruit, and a pair of heavy socks. The next order of business was going upstairs to make an Americano, contemplate eating a piece of fruit from the bowl of snacks for humans and equines, and get a glass of water. Then she got set up at her desk with her socks on and her boots off, with the spreadsheet version of her weekly calendar and her trusty notebook of workout and training notes, condition reports, and vet and farrier appointment details. It was a little too quiet without the radio on throughout the whole place, so she put a suggested playlist on iTunes on shuffle just in the office, and then stared at the monthly calendar under all of the other stuff.

December 3rd. Seven days ‘til the horses leave for London. I need to get Dopey The Dinosaur into canter-around-in-a-tiny-ring mode. I need to do something to get Dirk to realize he’s showing again. I need to keep Nick loose and working. So... The Olympic champion flipped one page back and forth in the notebook, reading and rereading her notes on what she’d done recently with the three horses. Then she started putting plans into the spreadsheet. Calvin was going to jump small courses in the indoor every other day, and she wanted him to work for 20 minutes on the lunge line with side reins on the others. Dirk was going to have an extensive flatwork school on Monday, focus on jumping combinations inside on Tuesday, hack next door on Wednesday, jump inside again on Thursday, flat on Friday and Saturday, and do a quiet hack inside on Sunday. Nick would gallop out on Monday ahead of his chiropractor’s visit on Tuesday. Wednesday would be a short hack, Thursday he could work on the combinations like Dirk, Friday was for serious flatwork, Saturday would be a day off, and he’d do light flatwork on the nice soft footing inside on Sunday.

Christina read it back to herself multiple times, and then went to work on planning the rest of her horses’ work around those things to take advantage of which jumps would be set up which way, and where, where in the schedule she would have time to teach the kids and how what she’d do with them would fit with what she was doing with the rings and fences, and which of her horses she needed them to school for her. There were some immovable objects penciled into the boxes on the desk calendar and bolded on the spreadsheet, like her Christmas market date with André and Lukas on Monday afternoon, Chelsea vs. Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, and Stefanie’s job interview on Wednesday morning and her reminder that her boyfriend was available to watch her have a lesson on Friday evening if Christina was available to give her one, Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night, and Christina’s lunch date with Mario on Thursday. There was a home match at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday afternoon too. It was hard to fit everything in and be able to put a check mark next to each horse’s name for each day, to ensure he was accommodated either with a ride, a workout on the line, or a planned day off. The single sheet of paper with the very tiny font was then emailed to Tom, Isandro, Kyle, and Stefanie, and printed out to be taped on the white board outside. It would tell whoever prepared the horses each day what he needed to be “dressed” for, and it would tell Isandro what jumps he needed to make available in which ring.

That attention to detail was a prized part of her method- her process- that helped her earn all the trophies on the shelves upstairs and enjoy the moments in the photos on the walls all around her. That was what Juan willed her to get back to, and she was trying to do it. She didn’t sit down at the desk at the end of a long day and try to figure out what to do with the horses the next day in the 5 minutes she allotted for sketching out the schedule for the guys, as she’d taken to doing recently. Everything was planned out again. So far it didn’t seem to make any difference in how the horses worked, but it made the business of the barn function more smoothly, and it made her feel better about what she was doing. Things would always get in the way of the schedule. A lost shoe, a bad day, the arrival of an unexpected bad habit that needed fixing, weather- it could all force changes on her carefully planned agenda, and that would be fine. It wasn’t inflexible. But having that structure was some kind of mental reassurance to Christina. Completing the planning stage alone gave her a sense of accomplishment. She readied a piece of masking tape to affix the schedule to the board,  and realized when she sat back at her desk that she hadn’t even eaten any of her snack. It was 3 o’clock on the nose.

I’m gonna text boyfriend to tell him it’s GP time, and then I’m gonna take my trail mix and my water to the lounge to watch on the TV, she decided. It was impossible to really pay attention to anything at the house when Lukas was awake and André was around. They were constant distractions. André behaved better at the barn. He could hang out with her there but see more clearly when he was annoying, getting in the way, or being a distraction. Christina put her barn sneakers on and took her laptop with the other stuff, and stopped on the way to give Kimi a number of kisses and a piece of dried apricot on the crossties, where he was having his ear fur trimmed. Isandro was taking care of the touchup job with the most nimble and quiet of the clippers. The sound still upset Julian in the adjacent grooming stall. Kyle kept talking to him while he combed out his mane, trying to help him relax. Christina gave him a banana chip and a walnut. It took less time for André to come over from the house than it did for her to get the Internet stream from Paris to work, and to work on the TV on the wall. He had to fix it for her. She was trying to connect to the wrong Chromecast device.

“Is this the million-dollar thing you did before?” the footballer questioned once settled sideways on the couch. His girl sat in the roomy, boxy leather armchair directly across from the screen.

“Yeah but it’s not a million bucks anymore. It’s like €300,000 now, which is still enough to draw all the best people.”

“I figured. Otherwise you wouldn’t bother to watch,” he winked. He didn’t really care about the jumping, but he liked to be supportive and sometimes it was helpful to listen to Christina talk about a big class. It helped him learn what was new in the sport, who was on form, what horses were getting good, etc.

“Without having seen how any of these horses have jumped so far this week, I’m going to say Double D wins this with Cornet. The original one. The good one,” she clarified. “He posted a picture of his daughter sitting on him a little while ago. She’s so cute. I’m glad she and Caroline are there with him. He’s been on the road three straight weeks.”

“Are you happy for him when he wins? When you’re not there against him?” André wondered aloud. His wife’s relationship with her teammate was difficult to understand for him, because it was unique. He didn’t know Daniel the way he knew her other guy friends, and he didn’t see that much of the interaction.

“I don’t know. Sometimes, I guess. I would be happy for him if he wins this. It’s a big class. I don’t know or care how he did in Madrid last weekend. Man, there are 10 crappy nobodies before he first good rider. Also, I can’t believe Chloe Reiss is doing this. Chloe Reiss is the reason I want to make money irrelevant in show jumping.”

“Who?”

“Remember when I did the World Cup qualifier in Washington and you came to watch and punched Simon in the face?”

“Yes.”

“The last time I saw Chloe was a couple of years before that, at Washington. She’s from there, actually. We were there with a couple of kids qualified for the Junior Hunters and the eq finals. She was in her first year up from the ponies, with a really popular trainer from that area. She was doing the Children’s Jumpers, which is 3’6 and pretty easy. It’s like entry level jumpers for kids who don’t bother doing Pony Jumpers. They do the last class of the Children’s as part of the evening schedule some night, before the Puissance or the Gambler’s Choice, Thursday or Friday, and I remember sitting in the stands watching her with this chestnut and white paint, like Optimus,” Christina explained in her usual animated raconteur style. “The mare was cray cray. I’m pretty sure her name was Queen Of Hearts and it was totally fitting. Chloe couldn’t even get her around. The riding was embarrassing. Everyone was cringing and feeling vicarious awkwardness for the trainer. It was obvious that she was overfaced and out of her depth. Now, for reference, keep in mind that that same year, people like Jessy Springsteen and Lillie Keenman- people you know- were doing the equitation, the Junior Jumpers, the Junior Hunters, etc. They weren’t doing open jumpers or the World Cup or something. Even Reed was still just doing the Juniors at that point. Katie Dinen even did the Juniors the year after that. Now Chloe is competing against them- Against me! In the big stuff. She’s training with Markus now.”

“Ehning?”

“Beerbaum. She’s only where she is because her parents are rich and bought her ridiculous horses. She just did back to back to back shows with him- Oldenburg, Munich, Stuttgart, 3, 4, 5-stars. She only finished in the top 20 once. Top 20. Once. I wish Americans like Stefanie could come over here and train with Markus, the way she does with me. Instead of just kids with more money than talent.”

“So why don’t you do something about it? Encourage your teammates to train for- Okay, yeah, I see why that wouldn’t work,” André laughed before finishing his thought. He liked to hear his girl get really into a subject. It was fun to hear her passion come out that way, and to see her heart in it too. Her heart was always in the right place on that subject. He was going to suggest she get her fellow top riders to train younger equestrians for free the way she did with Stefanie, but knew it was ridiculous. Christina was in a place of privilege too, just like the kids that irritated her so much. Being rich and being talented were never mutually exclusive. She could afford, time-wise and economically, to train Stefanie in return for a little help schooling her horses. Her teammates couldn’t do that even if they wanted to. They showed every week. They worked for breeders and other trainers. They rode and trained for a living.

“I’m sure Markus is making bank off that girl.”

“He probably sold her a horse bred by his brother, right?”

“I’m not sure. The horse on the order of go was Codarco, who I’m assuming is by Darco. Darco has been dead a long time. A bunch of people still have semen. Not Ludger though, I don’t think. Darco was a Belgian warmblood. You know Olivier and Nicola? The twins? Their dad rode Darco in the Olympics, like before they were born. He sired McLain Ward’s Sapphire.”

“Stop knowing everything.”

“I’ll try.” The expat replaced the lid on her nuts and fruit and leaned forward to put the container on the coffee table. She’d managed to talk through a couple of rounds already while grazing. They were boring and full of knockdowns. All the good riders were in the second half of the order because it was dictated by the results of the qualifying class. Daniel would jump 23rd, and Christian 32nd. Kent was 34th. In and around that area were all the other top guys and girls she wanted to see. She stretched, and yawned, and looked around her burgundy and white themed viewing lounge, maybe for something to entertain her while she waited for the interesting rounds. André noticed.

“Come sit over here,” he suggested. “I’m more comfortable than the chair. And I have a blanket,” he grinned, reaching for the folded Hermès throw on the back of the leather loveseat. His featured rider relocated. They had to spoon because it was the only way to fit on the couch, but they did it more on their backs than their sides, to be able to see the TV.

“Was it snowing again?” she asked after checking the skylights, which were covered by snow anyway.

“Not yet but it’s coming. I think maybe Casa Iberica for dinner, yeah? It’s nice and close, and we haven’t been there recently.” The BVB Bee bent his knees and squeezed them around his wife. There wasn’t enough room for him to straighten them anyway.

“K. Hey have you seen Eric Lamaze’s current #1 horse yet? She’s a Hanoverian mare?”

“I don’t know. Have I?”

“She’s out of a mare by a stallion called Drosselklang. I like the absurdity of that name. Drosselklang.” It sounds more like a sound effect than a name, Christina thought while a very large palm settled atop her head, in front of her ponytail. It just sat there, still and heavy and familiar. The arm attached to it was resting against her right ear. “It’s actually Drosselklang II. So someone thought one Drosselklang wasn’t enough.”

“You’re starting to do that deliriously tired rambling thing, Prinzessin.”

“I know. If I fall asleep, wake me up for...Daniel, obviously, but also...Eric, or Simon if they go first.”

“Got it.”

“So does Drosselklang mean bird sound or throttle sound? I get those two mixed up.”

“That’s because they’re the same word.”

“So which is it?”

“I’m not sure. Don’t you know the person who bred and named the horse? You can ask.”

“I don’t know who bred him. He was owned by the state stud for a long time. Then they sold him to the Czech Republic. He died a couple of years ago at like 30, which is pretty impressive. The lady writing the breeding book asked me if I’m eventually going to sell Dirk to the Verband. They always get the important horses. They have Casall right now, and Mylord Cathargo, and Cornet Obolensky, Corrado, Cassini, Quidam de Revel. I think she knew the answer, but I guess it’s slightly controversial.”

“Why?” the bigger German athlete snorted. André was intensely skeptical and disapproving of any notion that something Christina would do with Dirk could be considered a controversy. He really hated the commonality of horse people passing judgement, commenting on, and being generally critical of what each other do or don’t do with their own animals.

“It could be considered selfish, I guess,” the smaller German half on top of him shrugged. She was far less bothered. “He could cover a lot more mares as part of their program, and bring a lot of notoriety and money for them. It would be good for the breed, in other words. I get that. I understand. I can see why I should do it. But I’ve never even entertained the idea. He’s my best friend and I’m never giving him up.”

“That’s what I say to myself about you every time you stage a revolt.”