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jodibodie · 3 years ago

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I Have Some Feelings

To start let me just emphasize how much I love and adore this show and always will. This was my covid show. Both of my kids loved “Lucifer” and always said I should watch so at the start of covid I binged it and when I say binged, I mean all 4 seasons in a few days and have rewatched so many times I’ve lost count. I think it is timeless, engrossing, original and all around amazing. The writing and the cast were all excellent. The writing was smart and consistently strong and that is so rare. Funny, sad, poignant, it hit all the notes with very few plot holes or missteps. There is not one episode in the entire series that was not engaging. Even if I didn’t like an episode, it was still well done. What a rarity.

The cast is scary good. Completely underrated. Just all phenomenally talented. I don’t remember the last time a cast was this strong. From the core group to both reoccurring and guest stars, the cast was just fantastic.

Tom Ellis, no words. The man deserves to choose whatever he wants to do acting wise. He should have people breaking down his door. He can truly do it all and do it all well. He took a character that if portrayed by a lesser actor could have come off as a complete asshole and made him one of the most sympathetic and loveable characters in recent history. Ellis made a crime solving devil, a promiscuous man-child that occasionally breaks into song and the evidence room into a beloved character that has become an icon.

Lauren German, WOW. She is just so damn good. She can break your heart one second and have you laughing the next. She makes Chloe real, and people don’t realize how hard that is. Chloe is smart, kind, tough and gorgeous but she’s also an insecure dork. She’s us and German just brings it.

DB Woodside I’ve loved since “Buffy”. He is a phenomenal actor and who knew he could bring the laughs so well? His expressions were classic. Clueless angel indeed. Amenadiel could have been very one-dimensional but because of Woodside’s talent he became fully fleshed out and full bodied.

I have no doubt Lesley-Ann Brandt has a huge career in front of her. She took a character that very well could have been hated, a demon and made her into one of the most human characters on the show. Kudos to her for taking a tough role and making it her own.

Kevin Alejandro is another actor I’ve loved for a long time. He also took a character who if we’re going to be honest here did so many unlikeable things that he should have been truly despised but because of Kevin’s portrayal he was beloved. Great actor and a terrific director.

Rachael Harris IMO is the downlow MVP. She was literally the rock and again, with a lesser actress the role could have been a throwaway. The normal human, the sounding board but Harris imbued her with so much more. Her spit takes, sarcasm and her obvious compassion was what made Dr. Linda an unforgettable character. Once again just perfect casting.

Aimee Garcia was a great addition. She made Ella a fan fav and put so much heart, joy and sincerity into Ella never once did you doubt that she would prevail no matter what was thrown at her. Garcia was just fantastic, and I want her skin care regime.

Scarlett Estevez pulled off the one thing I thought almost impossible. She took the role of a young child and made it so I didn’t want to cringe. She portrayed Trixie so beautifully from day one that she was a true pleasure to watch. Even though Trixie was super precocious Estevez never made her obnoxious. I loved Trixie and I have never said that about any child character in an adult show. She was wonderful and has an amazing career in front of her.

That said, I’ve got some feelings now that I’ve seen the finale and have had some time to digest it all. I love that Chloe and Lucifer had eternity and I agree that they had to be separated for Chloe’s lifetime. Didn’t like it but it’s the logical path. She’s human, he’s not. The ageing thing alone necessitated them not being together long term on earth and that’s just to start the list. They had to had to be apart for the short term to get their eternity but the duality of Lucifer's ending and Amenadiel's didn't sit right. Amenadiel as God got to have it all. His calling, his family etc. while Lucifer had to give up everything. I also don’t buy the “If he came up from hell, he could never leave them again” defense. I call bullshit. Amenadiel managed, plus, missing out on the day to day is a huge sacrifice and by Lucifer missing out on the day-to-day Rory could still have had the hatred she needed to drive the story. Popping in for birthdays, graduations, weddings, etc., the big stuff does not a father make. Not being there for skinned knees, first heartbreaks, and all the little things a daughter needs her dad for can build up tons of resentment. Boom, absentee father, just like his dad was. That provides all the millennial angel angst you could ask for. I have a daughter; it doesn’t take much.

The Trixie issue was huge for me. Can Chloe see her in Heaven? Will she be able to travel to Heaven and visit Trixie, Penelope, Dan, her father? Chloe hesitated leaving Heaven in 5x16 because she couldn’t bear saying good-bye to her dad again. It seems as if Chloe sacrificed everything for Rory including Trixie. I want to preface this by saying. I liked Rory and loved the actress. I didn’t however like how it was as if she were their only child. When Lucifer spoke of family Trixie was not mentioned. Their family day, the same thing. She didn’t need to be there, I get that the explanation regarding Rory would have been way too much to get into but just a mention of her, how awesome it would have been to share this day with her would have worked. It seemed as if Lucifer went from, “I would do anything to protect that little Urchin” to “Trixie who”. Trixie was a character that we watched grow up and she meant something to us. I hate to say this, but the writers did Trixie and the viewers dirty in this regard.

This show was built around a few premises. Free will, honesty, redemption, sacrifice and family, both blood and made. The ending completely negated almost all of these. Chloe and their entire family were made into the one thing Lucifer abhorred the most which are liars. Their daughter was brought up surrounded by lies. What did they tell Trixie? The poor kid just lost her dad, and she was pissed at Lucifer when he went back to hell the first time. Did she grow up hating him because as far as she knew Lucifer left her mom again without saying good-bye and this time it was even worse because Chloe was pregnant. I get that the actress who plays Trixie had limited availability but seriously. A quick good-bye.

“Hey Urchin, you won’t understand why for a long time, but I have to leave. You know I never lie so I can’t explain why but know that I love you and your mom and one day I hope you can forgive me.”

A 30 second scene would have worked.

As all the characters learned throughout the series, omission of the truth is just a form of lying and there are always repercussions i.e., Chloe and Father Kinley, Dan shooting Lucifer, Maze finding out about Lilith and even Ella not being told. As far as free will, both Chloe and Lucifer had their free will taken from them in the end. By Rory forcing them to abide by her wishes, their free will was forfeited. It was a huge manipulation on Rory’s part and considering how much Lucifer hated manipulations it just didn’t sit right.

Parents making huge sacrifices I get. Chloe and Lucifer sacrificed everything for their child. Unfortunately for me this sacrifice, the way it was written seemed contrived to pull out maximum and IMO unjustified angst. I love angst. Hell, this is my favorite show. I thrive on the angst. But as I wrote earlier, all the anger, angst and hatred towards Lucifer could have been achieved without having Lucifer completely out of the picture. I have two kids and my husband, and I have made huge life altering sacrifices for them as many parents do but being there for the day-to-day little things was what made the difference in their lives and cemented the close relationships we have with them.

“Yeah, dad you were great. Showing up for the fun stuff, always swooping in for the big finish to play the hero then ditching us when things got tough. When Grandma was dying where were you? Nice that you showed up for the funeral but the six months leading up to it…we needed you and once again you weren’t there. When T got sick, when Jen broke my heart, blah, blah, blah…”

Even the whole Chloe dying scenario. They could have written it that rage Rory traveled minutes before Lucifer got there. Have him pop in right after Rory comes back. There were so many ways to achieve the end game they wanted other than the way they went. It seemed contrived and as if they took the easy way out to get where they needed to go. The Rory rage that was the catalyst for her traveling back in time and Lucifer finding his calling could still have been accomplished without the whole Lucifer disappearing storyline.

Now that I’ve finished my diatribe there’s a couple of additional things I would like to say. Lucifer is and always will be one of my favorite shows of all time. There are not enough words to describe the comfort and enjoyment this show has brought me. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the producers, cast and crew. You truly created something special.

To the fandom. Please do not let a polarizing conclusion rip apart the fandom. The only other fandom I was a part of tore itself apart so badly that the FBI got involved. Hence why I waited for 15 years to dip my toe in again. Everyone invested in this show has the right to their feelings. Debate is fine, baiting and bullying are not. The Lucifer fandom like the show is very special. Without the fandom we wouldn’t have gotten any conclusion so don’t let opposing viewpoints tarnish what has been a magical journey.

#lucifer #season6 #spoilers #lucifer spoilers #lucifer season6 spoilers #lucifer morningstar #chloe decker #trixie espinoza #rory morningstar #luciferseason6 #tom ellis #lauren german #db woodside #lesley-ann brandt #rachael harris #kevin alejandro #scarlett estevez #brianna hildebrand

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artificial-ascension · 3 years ago

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Murder Park

Deathnottober day 2, murder. L drags A and B to an amusement park but then someone gets murdered so they step in to solve it.

(Story time: So on October 2nd, I was out of town because we were going to an amusement park in Ohio. And I have all these prompts saved on my phone for each day by just the prompt name meaning on that day, I woke up and checked my phone and I had a notification for ‘murder.’ My brother also got that notification because Google calendar dumb. So we all joke about me scheduling a murder with Google calendar and it’s a reoccurring joke all day and then I got the bright idea to have someone be murdered at an amusement park and call it a DN fic. The wrench thing is also relevant because we were talking about wrenches in line at one point and my brother asked my dad if the big wrench in his garage could kill someone. So here we are. Also because I just don’t think we talk about L CANONICALY liking roller coasters enough.)

Alias note: A is using Alan and B is using Belvedere because I don’t think B is capable of just going by like ‘Blake’ like has to be some dramatic ass name.

@deathnotetober

A and B were both extremely pissed off. L was taking a weekend off and had decided to go to an amusement park and wanted A and B to come with him. A and B would’ve declined. However, Watari forced them to go, so now, they stood at the front of the park they didn’t even want to go to.

“Let’s go to the back of the park first to avoid lines.” L said in his monotone voice.

“Sure, whatever.” A grumbled.

B said nothing but instead stared at L menacingly.

They walked through the park, looking around at the decor, which was Halloween-themed as it was fall, much to A and B’s liking as it was their favorite holiday, and seeing the park decked out in skeletons and other spooky things made them a bit happier. They got to a ride in the very back, and L was right, no line. They kept doing that until about mid-day when the lines were sufficiently long no matter where they went. Now they had to stand in line and wait. After they were finished waiting, they sat down for a drink as it was sweltering out, and poor albino A was wearing long sleeves. Plus, they’d been walking or standing for 1 ½ hours with the only times to sit being on rollercoasters where they were constantly tossed around at high speeds.

After their break, they pushed on, being dragged around by L the entire time. Both of them were considering killing him somehow, but that would make A the new L, and he wasn’t ready for that. They ate lunch after a while, which was actually quite enjoyable. Then they rode more rides. At about 6:30, they were in line for the last rollercoaster on their list. The sun was setting, and the air was cooling, much to A’s happiness.

“This time, I get to sit next to A.” B asserted. B’s least favorite part of this was that rollercoasters tend to pair people in groups of 2 or 4, not 3. He was the one who had to sit next to strangers seeing as L always wanted to sit beside A even though A was HIS boyfriend.

“Mhm… yes sure….” L hardly acknowledged B as he was too busy inspecting some of the bolts keeping the ride anchored to the concrete ground.

Once they were on the ride, it was dark, and they got to see the park at night. The lights were lit up, and fog machines covered it in a hazy mist giving it an early look. It was quite the sight. Once they were down, they got to enjoy nighttime on the ground. They walked back to a plaza that contained A’s favorite decorations, a creepy pirate ship. The fog was very thick there, and employees were walking around dressed as zombie pirates scaring people. Three of them all decided that if they were jump scared, they’d either kick the person or cry, so they all walked around the fog cloud.

This proved to be a good idea as when they were walking away; they heard a blood-curdling scream. Which, considering a bunch of people were being jump scared, that shouldn’t be too weird. However, A recognized the screaming voice as an employee, who were quite easy to identify even by voice as they were yelling complete jibberish rather than screaming in fear like the other park goers. A turned his head to the sound just in time to see another employee come out of the fog screaming incoherently. B gripped L’s hand in fear as his acute sense of smell picked up the strong tang of blood in the air.

“L,” B trembled, “I smell blood.”

“I think we’ve witnessed a crime.” L said, trying to sound nonchalant but B sounding slightly afraid and A clinging to his side made it hard for him not to be scared because, after all, A and B were not easily frightened.

L stepped back a bit and pulled A close to him. On the other hand, B had remembered he was a Wammys kid, so this was no time for him, of all people, to be scared. Although, he was just a bit fearful that the killer would come after them next. Though that was not the case as once the chaos died down and someone turned on the fog machine to see what had happened, they saw a gruesome scene in front of them with no killer in sight.

A corpse of a young woman laid there, her head smashed in from the side pouring blood and brain matter onto the pavement. Guests screamed in disgust, and the street devolved into complete chaos until park security came and roped the area off. L, A, and B had watched the entire scene play out and stepped forwards after everyone had calmed down.

“Excuse me,” L said, raising a hand, “We three happen to be detectives. We can handle this.”

The park security was more than suspicious at that claim until L pulled out a fake FBI badge he kept on him for times like these, “We’re FBI. Child prodigies. We’d like to take a look at this crime scene.”

The security members looked at each other for a moment, then decided to take L’s word and let them inspect the body. B knelt next to the corpse and examined the wound, putting his forensics and CSI training to good use. L and A stood by waiting for an opinion from B, considering he was one of the few kids who specialized in forensic pathology rather than actual deductive work.

“Alan, what do you think?” L asked with his thumb placed on his lip.

A raised an eyebrow at his alias being used but answered non the less, “I think we need to question the employees and people she was here with, but more importantly, not let anyone leave the park.”

“And why do you say that?” L prodded some more. He already knew why A’d make that call; he just wanted to make sure A knew why he made that call.

“Checking with the employees is obvious along with interviewing the people she was herewith. Making sure no one leaves the park is so we don’t lose any suspects. I’m mostly interested in keeping the employees here, though.” A said coldly.

“Oh,” L turned his head to A, “And why employees?”

“It’s just- a shot in the dark… is all….” A trailed off. A had an issue with making claims with no basis and wild leaps of faith during investigations. He knew L didn’t operate like that, but it was just in his nature to do it.

“Well, Alan is right.” B interrupted as he stood up, “This wound was made by a hard, slim object hitting the skull with tremendous force. My suggestion would be a wrench and a large one at that.”

“Right… And no one brings wrenches to an amusement park unless they need to work on something, which points to an employee who works in Maintenence or, at the very least, has access to a tool room.” A said, looking back to L for approval.

“Yes, that’s what I’d say s the most likely conclusion.” L said calmly.

A smiled, knowing L thought his deduction was correct, “So then we should question the employees here?” A asked.

“Yes, you work on that while I speak to her part members. Belvedere, you keep looking at the corpse.” L said, referring to B using his alias as well.

B was a little angry he was being demoted to corpse inspection, but he was fine with that. He enjoyed the dead bodies. A took a deep breath and approached the employees who were dressed up at the time and spoke to them all, trying to get as much information out of them as possible. Likewise, L spoke to the girl’s party. Afterward, the two met up again to discuss.

“So, what did you get?” A asked.

“She was a college student from out of town here with her boyfriend, who is also not from this area. She had no contacts here, so there’s n reason anyone in the area should have a grudge against her. And you?” L responded, immediately assuming A was looking for connections, which he was.

“The employees say everyone who works in this part of the park has access to at least one tool room, so no one is ruled out except for the few who were out in costume as they wouldn’t have had time to retrieve a wrench while working here. It is to be noted, however, that the employee who screamed when the corpse was discovered had a reputation among the others as a bit of a promiscuous lady, so plenty of other employees had a reason to hate her, considering the relationship drama. That, combined with what you said, makes me believe that an upset coworker killed our victim accidentally while the real target was the employee who first discovered the body.” A said proudly.

“Impressive….” L mumbled, “Now we just need to find who did it from our list of suspects.”

“Right, I think we should figure out what size wrench killed her. Considering not everyone has access to every tool room, and each one contains different tools for each ride.” A turned to B, “Any idea as to what size wrench we’re dealing with, Belvedere?”

“Judging from my measurements, it should be a… 4? I would fit what I believe is roughly a 3 inch bolt. That’s what Google told me.” B shrugged.

A and L scowed at him.

“I’m GAY. I don’t know anything about tools!” B yelled.

The two of them rolled their eyes, “Well, what ride would use that size?” A asked.

“The ride we were just on, of course. The paint was chipped around the bolts at the bottom of the ride in a way that resembled the marks left by a wrench. This is unlike the other bolts on other rides, which are painted over perfectly, meaning only that one was receiving constant maintenance. Conveniently, those bolts were 3 inches in diameter.” L stated his own deduction this time without having A explain his thoughts—this time, A mentally kicked himself for not noticing that minor detail. He shouldn’t have, but he didn’t while L did. Just another way, L was still much better than him.

“Ah, perfect!” A turned to the employees, “Are there any people who work on that ride,” A pointed to it as he did not know its name, “Who would have a grudge against our intended victim?”

“Well, Steve would. He’s kind of a creep. If it were anyone, it’d be him.” one of them said.

A turned back at L and smiled. L nodded his head in approval. They had a suspect, just in time too, the cops had arrived, and the three reported their findings before leaving. The park had to be closed early, but it was starting to rain, so they didn’t want to stick around. L bought the two of them some things from the shops, and they all went back to their hotel.

“So A, noticed you were pretty scared there.” B teased.

“Shut up, so were you.” A replied.

“You both had a good reason to be. I’ll admit even I was startled by such an event.” L said.

“Whatever… I was scared. But I had you two, so I’m fine.” A rolled over, trying to hide his blush.

“Aw, you trust us to protect you? That’s adorable. I’m touched.” B placed a hand on his heart.

L sat down next to the two of them on the bed, “B, you were trembling, so really I was the one protecting you two.” “Yes, it’s a miracle we all made it.” B rolled his eyes.

“You’re very ungrateful. I saved your life back there, you know.” L was joking, but it seemed hard to tell with his monotone. Though A and B could tell, seeing as they were used to it.

A hugged L, “Well, I’m grateful.” he said before kissing L on the cheek and then laying down, “Good night. I’m tired.”

L touched his cheek as his face went a bit pink, “Good night, A….”

“I’m also tired.” B said before crawling under his blanket, “Good night, L.”

“Good night, Beyond.” L moved to get off their bed, but A stopped him.

“L,” A asked, “Could you sleep in our bed? To protect us?” A said in a half-joking manner.

L understood what A meant, though, and climbed in between the two. A curled up against him immediately. B took a minute before deciding he also wanted to cuddle and nuzzled into L’s back.

In the morning, L was watching the morning news before A and B woke up. The story of the amusement park murder came on, and he learned that Steve had been arrested where he confessed to the murder. A was right in his deduction, aside from the small part where L had figured out the ride staff to look at. However, that was a very small detail, though he hoped A didn’t beat himself up over it. Either way, they both did a fine job solving it. L turned off the tv and laid back down between his two succors, deciding to get some more time in with them before he had to leave them again.

#Death Note #a death note #death note a #L Lawliet #beyond birthday #deathnotetober #my fics

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interplanetarytraveler · 4 years ago

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My prediction for other actors who could be in How I Met Your Father

How I Met Your Father has been announced with Hilary Duff playing Sophie. Here are my other predictions.

Main Characters

Sophia Bush- I could see her being a Barney-like character. She has the early 2000s-star power and needs a good TV show to latch onto.

America Ferrera – She left Superstore, so she needs a new project. She’s usually cast as the POC best friend who keeps her white counterpart in line, but I’d like it if she played the fun, quirky Marshal character.

Milo Ventimiglia - Though his ‘humor’ is very dry, so I’m not sure this would work, but he’s got a relationship with the creators and will be out of a job next year as This is Us is ending.

Brenda Song – Also more of a want. I just love Brenda Song. I think that she is hilarious and doesn’t get enough credit. I know she’d be open to something like this as she previously worked for Hulu during the show Dollface.

Jackie Cruz – She may be a bit too famous for this as she is in movies now, but I could see her playing one of the main friends who is trying to be successful in her career, but keeps being passed over.

Noah Reid – I could see him being a front runner for main love interest. He was just on a really successful show, but now he’s looking for something else to be in and looking at his IMDB he hasn’t found anything else to be.

Reoccurring

Manny Jacinto – More of a want than a belief. I think that he could play the main love interest with such charisma, but I don’t think it will actually happen. I feel like he’s going to pick roles that are bigger than this. Because I think there’s no way this actually happens, I put him in Reoccurring, because maybe he could date Sophie for a little bit.

Milana Vayntrub – She keeps almost having her breakthrough and then it doesn’t work. I could see her playing a reoccurring character where she’s dating the main love interest and she’s so nice that Hilary Duff can’t hate her.

One Offs

Ashley Johnson – I think that she could be a one off character who dates the main love interest and all of the friends comment that she and Sophie look so much alike (even though the only similarity is that they are both blondes).

Hilarie Burton & Bethany Joy Lenz – I just think that if Sophia bush got cast it would be funny to see her One Tree Hill cast mates guest star. These women love each other, and I know they wouldn’t turn down the chance to work together, again. For Hilarie, I’d like her to play a woman who Sophia Bush’s character tries to date, then realizes that they would be better off as friends, sort of as a nod to the fact that in early One Tree Hill seasons they were repeatedly called lesbians.

Jason Mantzoukas – I could see him being a one off as a character who one of the main’s dates and wishes that she hadn’t, but the other characters love.

#Milo Ventimiglia #America Ferrera #Sophia Bush #How I Met Your Father #Hilary Duff #Brenda Song #Jackie Cruz #Noah Reid #Manny Jacinto #Milana Vayntrub #Casting #Ashley Johnson #Hilarie Burton #Bethany Joy Lenz #Jason Mantzoukas

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naturaldaisaster · 4 years ago

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This may be a sacrilegious question for a static quake blog, but what are your thoughts on Sousa and Daisy?

You know what? I will always love Daisy and Lincoln, but y'all know I’m Daisy’s girl through and through, and only want the best for her. That was why I liked Lincoln. Here is why I like Sousa, and why I suppose Daisy likes him, too.

(I’m a bit rusty on writing Daisy, forgive me)

+++

She thinks about Lincoln sometimes, but it is far from anything happy, or romantic, or nostalgic. She thinks mostly about the empty gravesite. About the call she had to make to his family, and about standing behind a distant tree as his father, and his mother, and his older sister (she never knew he had a sister. She never knew his mothers name) watched the empty casket lowered into the ground. She thinks even more often of his body. If any of it survived. If things decompose in space, like they do on earth.

She has a reoccurring nightmare, that she wakes up in his arms. She knows it is him because he always buzzes, just slightly. No one but she could sense it — he thought it was because of her ability to control molecular structure. She usually tuned out when he tried to reason through it all for her — a bit too much science for her taste. Regardless, she can feel his buzzing body curled around her spine, his arms wrapped lightly around her middle, his fingers tangled through hers.

Calling it a nightmare is perhaps overkill, as that is all it is. She, in her bed, tangled up in him. Warm, safe, and home.

The nightmare is when she wakes up alone.

In fact, most all of her worst nightmares have been the waking. It was better, for a while, when she joined the team. When she could wake up in her little cot and know Fitz was right next door, that Jemma was just a bit down the way.

It is a silly fear she learned in foster care — that even if the adults want to comfort you, when you wake screaming in terror, they won’t be there forever. They may not even be there twice. That people do not reliably come for you, when you scream, when you are vulnerable. That it is better not to expect them to at all. And she is okay with that. It has made her strong.

She still feels it, a wrenching ache in the hollow of her gut, every time she wakes up alone. Her aloneness is an affirmation, a ritual sacrifice to her own strength — or she tells herself so, anyway.

It was hard to get used to waking up with Lincoln. It wasn’t that she hadn’t woken up with other people before him. But it was different, with him. She knew right from the beginning that he loved her. She even knew, without acknowledging the sheer danger of it, that he would do anything for her. Lincoln was hers, in a way no one had been before. He would be there through every nightmare.

Then he wasn’t, and the cocoon of safe, warm, home that they built in her bed crumbled away, piece by piece. All that remains is her memory of his skin against hers, and the way wakefulness tears him from her, and now more than ever before she thinks whatever fates there are out there, prefer her alone.

These are all things that race through her mind as sleep, that constant nemesis, holds her just on the edge of utter helplessness as Malick and his goons circle her with needles and scalpels and worse. She gets flashes of the doctor, and as she balances on the edge of consciousness, she feels Lincoln there, holding her. And gone. There, and gone. And the doctor, at the edge of her vision, isn’t the doctor at all - but Fitz, and then even he is gone, too. Jiaying peers over Malick’s shoulder with disappointment, a “didn’t I warn you?” clear on the tip of her tongue.

She knows there is no way out of this. Her powers are muffled in her core — she is numb and lightheaded and can’t even find an edge of strength to grasp to, to tear them up out of her.

The room and the uninvited guests in it are starting to spin, now, and all she can do is squeeze her eyes closed tight and wait for the movement to stop. It doesn’t and she drops her head sideways, pressing her hot cheek into the ice cold table. It grounds her, and she inhales slow and deep, savoring the momentary stillness, even if pain crowns in her spine. Pain is real and manageable and physical. She needs physical. She needs real.

But the table where she has pressed her cheek is warming, and her body isn’t her ally right now— longing to give into the addling drugs to relieve the pain. The wall is just beginning to move when she catches the slightest glimpse of something soft and brown peering at her. Then, the wall blinks, and all of a sudden the picture becomes clear. Sousa is behind it. He is there. He is keeping an eye on her.

All she can see is that warm brown eye, but when he catches her looking, the wild concern melts into something softer, something that feels like him coming up behind her and pressing his hand firm and polite to the small of her back as he shot the (shockingly, less psychotic) Malick brother the most piercing of warning glares. He is feet away, but she is wide awake and she feels his drive still intact. She feels the ghost of his steady hand against her back.

She feels Sousa’s presence there even as the drugs wash her back out into unconsciousness.

Then someone is smoothing her hair, and her head isn’t pressing uncomfortably against cold metal anymore. Sousa is talking to her— she can feel his voice vibrating in the pit of his stomach, near where she is pressed up against him. She is having some trouble processing his words — her head is too muddled. But his fingertips just keep stroking her hair from her face, gentle and soothing and constant, comfort and warmth thwarted only just by the steel handcuffs at his wrists, rattling in her ear.

A sob threatens to tear through her at the ease and insistence of the touch. At how desperately she wants to tell him to stop, to run, to get as far away from her as possible. That things that hold onto her get broken.

“Stay awake,” he coaxes her, and he leans in a bit as his jangling hands travel down her spine, barely there, brushing over a particular white hot core of pain mid-back. She can feel blood seeping from under the half-assed bandage slapped over the intrusion, creeping down her waist and certainly seeping into her shirt. And he lays there, just a moment, close enough she can feel the heat off of his body, his deep words still reverberating against her.

He says the same thing again, she thinks, but all she really hears is a pleading, “stay.”

She hears herself in the word.

But he seems to decide against holding any pressure to the sensitive spot on her back, hesitating just barely before his fingers are back in her hair. He has her blood on his fingertips now, and she feels the red trail he leaves on her forehead.

“We’re going home,” she makes out as he cradles her head now, definite and insistent. “But you have got to fight.”

His grip is something fierce, and his thumb is calloused. The callousing of his thumb is so rough that it scrapes along her forehead as he strokes her hair. She is going to introduce him to lotion, when they get out of here. She lets the hum of his voice wash over her and engulf her, breathes in and out with the gentle, insistent tempo of his fingers — keeping her awake. Assuring her he hasn’t left.

She clenches her fists, reaching inside of herself as piercing pain shoots up her arm. She hasn’t been silenced, exactly. Muffled is a better description. When she breathes in slow and deep, she can still feel the barest hum of her powers at her core. It is a smoldering coal in an ice-land, and there is nothing to let it catch on to. Nothing to encourage herself to burn.

It is burning, after all, this thing she is. Time has made it better, has given her greater control at least. But control requires focus, and focus requires energy, and with no energy, with all the synapses in her nerves dulled and tangled, she can’t pull it out of her. She can’t coax the powers to life.

She lifts her arm with all the energy she has left, instead. Opens her palm, wet and warm with her own blood. He stops stroking her hair to pry the glass from where it has embedded into her skin without hesitation or preamble — and that is more comforting even than his hands in her hair.

When she wakes up on the Zephyr, the first thing she sees is Sousa.

“Thought you were staying in the 70’s,” she tries to tease, but her heart isn’t quite in it. The hard surface she is laying on makes her uneasy, draws her back to Malick’s barn. She can feel her powers tingling beneath her skin now, at least. “If you thought they were bad, you really shouldn’t see the 2010’s.”

He smiles crookedly, but she can see the barn in the darkened edges of his gaze still, too.

“Tried on some of those…. floppy bottom jeans. Looked in a mirror. Never got on a plane faster than I did trying to get away from ‘em.”

“I feel like it is probably a bad time to tell you about skinny jeans, then.”

His brow furrows and his head cocks ever so slightly, in a look of confusion that makes her grin. Momentarily, an image of him in well fitted jeans does cross her mind, and… that is less funny, so much less funny that she can’t help but bite her lip. Just barely.

She has been so distracted by him that her pains are only beginning to catch up with her now. She is still distracted enough not to care too intensely, but he mistakes the change in her expression for pain, and concern creases into his brow. He reaches for a nearby crutch — not his own, though. A fuzzy memory of him carrying her suddenly snaps into focus and her cheeks burn. He moves stiffly.

“Agent Simmons said she had some painkillers,” he mutters hurriedly, “to get her when you woke. I can —“

“No, don’t,” she says, too quickly, as he pivots slightly for the door. He stops immediately short, glancing back over his shoulder at her. She swallows, taking her next words more slowly. “I… just am not excited about getting any more drugs pumped into me right now.”

He doesn’t push her. Doesn’t question her. He is still a moment anyway, just staring back at her. It is understanding there, hovering between them. He still doesn’t move.

“I should tell her you’re awake,” he finally says with finality, but he doesn’t move. He is waiting for her approval.

She doesn’t want him to go.

“Don’t,” she repeats. “Please. Stay. I want you to stay with me.”

(He stiffly moves his chair closer to the head of her bed and asks her about skinny jeans. She tells him they are made to make asses look good, and he only looks scandalized for the briefest flicker of a moment, before he laughs warm and full.

She falls asleep talking to him, her body still taxed and worn.

There are warm fingers tangled in her own as she drifts back to consciousness, and she braces herself for cold to overcome her, as reality strips him away.

When her eyes blink open, Sousa has drifted into what looks like a very uncomfortable sleep in the seat beside her. His calloused fingers are woven through hers.)

#fucking fuck there is a fic under that read more i swear tumblr is just being a dick about it #aos #agents of shield #daisy johnson #daniel sousa #do they have a ship name?#i am so out of the loop lol #tbh this could be a friendship!fic with mild attraction too if that is what you prefer #idk i just am happy about them and daisy fucking deserves the world #dousy #sousy

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jyunshiim · 4 years ago

Text

An Oath to Thy King༆

Genre: Angst | Fluff | Romance |

listen to: love poem | i hate to admit

summary: Childhood friends face struggles and are faced with secret promises that no one knew about until her 18th birthday.

TW: a little suggestive but no nsfw

A King has been born. The palace was overjoyed with the birth of the new king who was ought to take the throne on his 19th birthday. The current reigning King’s smile painted across his honey toned skin beckoning all his servants to attend his wife. The palace was as blithesome as it had ever been, with servants, helpers and even some guards visiting the sweet, blessed baby boy, cradled in his mothers arms as she coos at him jubilantly. He was gifted many things by many of the King’s companions and people who worked for him and he helped. “One day son, you will take my throne and rule our kingdom,” he smiles at the child, his finger brushing against his soft cheeks “but for now, you are my little Prince Taehyun,”.

A couple years went by and at the age of 5, Little Taehyun met his first friend. He was a year older than him but they got along from the first day bonding over toy cars and hide and seek. On a balmy spring day the little ones waddled and sprinted around the lavish rose bushes, hiding behind the hedges giggling gingerly before the other pounces out and startled the other. The would often tackle each other to the floor and tickle on another on the luscious verdant grass, sweet laughters filling the soft warm atmosphere. On Beomgyu’s 6th birthday there was a party at the palace on behalf on King Kang, since Beomgyu’s father was a close friend and a worker for him. The balloons were decorated around the dining hall and the guest lounge, blue and green streamers hanging from the tall ceilings and a little Taehyun excited about gifting his best friend a gift he begged his father to buy. When the king ordered everyone to assemble at the guest dining table, allowing the young Beomgyu to sit at the top of the table, he ordered his butlers to bring his gifts in but before that took place, you come running in with a box. Taehyun smiles ear to ear. “Father, yn is here!” he runs up to her and grabs her petite hand and pulls her towards Beomgyu and you tried to reach the table to put the gift in front of him but the King takes it from you gently helping you place it on the table. The gifts come in a Beomgyu’s smile was ever so precious. As the sun was pondering on the horizon, Taehyun, Beomgyu and you were sat on the balcony that was connected to Taehyun’s bedroom; the view was of the kingdom and the fragrant rose garden just below him the the vine covered archway at the end of the garden. It was no regular garden, it was a garden that the king made for his wife before they got married hence why the archway was at the end with some green space. The you and the boys played together in Taehyun’s room as the parents were in a meeting discussing important matters. It was a warm evening, the ambience so enthusiastic, the warmth of the air embracing the three of the children on the balcony as they exchange gifts. “open your present Beomie” Taehyun giggled clapping his hands, his cheeks a light blushed pink and his honey orbs filled with pure happiness and joy. Beomgyu ripped open the silver wrapping paper swiftly to reveal a velvet box. Beomgyu gasped, the stars in his eyes illuminating his face and the smile growing on his face when he realises what it was. The box contained a bracelet made out of gold with the three of your initials on it, ‘Taehyun, Beomgyu and Yn’. Although, a little saddened you looked down; a little disheartened you present wasn't as good but Taehyun comforted you. “yn! it’s okay! don’t be sad please” he frowns and hands you a little box too so the trio of you all had the same friendship bracelet. “OH MY- Taehyun thank you so much I love it so much we’re all matching now!” Beomgyu squeals in excitement. He opens your present and it was a crocheted teddy with ‘CB’ oh his chest with a little heart. “you are my best friends forever!” Beomgyu squeals with excitement as he tackles the pair of you to the floor. The two giggle under Beomgyu; “B-Beomgyu get up,” Taehyun giggles. “You have to call me Hyung i’m 6 and you’re 5,” Beomgyu plays around teasing him. “Yeah but IM a Prince!” Taehyun throws his stuffed cat at his head before it fell off the balcony. “NOO! kitty” Taehyun frowns whilst looking down from his balcony looking at his toy wedged between two rose bushes. “It’s okay Taehyun, you can get it tomorrow morning, your father said that you have to be asleep soon, we have to go,” Beomgyu frowns. As soon and Beomgyu uttered, rainclouds began to sheathe the blueish sky, turning them a dismal grey. Thunder and lightening began to arise, causing Taehyun and Beomgyu to become a little frightened. “hey, it’s okay! Beomgyu you have the teddy i gave you,” you point out before tiny Taehyun turns to you hugging you. “im scared i don’t like the thunder,” he whines. Your father and Beomgyu’s father wait at Taehyun’s door waiting for the pair of you to go home. “don’t worry, I’ll get kitty tomorrow,”.

Six years later, your 10th birthday. You could remember this day almost perfectly as if it were a vivd dream that reoccured over and over again. The skies were painted a beautiful cerulean blue with specks of alabaster clouds dancing gracefully above you. The warmth of the sun grazed over your skin, gleaming over your slightly blinding you playfully. The bees buzzed around you and the joyous feeling in your stomach felt so exhilarating. “YN!” Beomgyu yelled as he saw you sitting in a slight daze holding your puppy plushie, sitting on your hand-built porch your father built; “happy birthday!” he smiled his puppy like features peering at her past the small gate. She skips over to him and opens the gate and he hugs her, as best friends do, and he passes you a little basket with some gifts. “I got you some of the best baked goods for your birthday as well as a little charm to!” he hands it to you. Your heart fluttered as if there were a million butterflies swarming inside. Beomgyu had always gifted her something on her birthday since they lived in the same neighbourhood but as for Taehyun, he wasn’t allowed out of the Palace as much as he was used to. Taehyun was often stuck in his tenebrous palace, studying ‘Royal etiquettes’, general studies, practicing fencing and also Korean literature too. It was tedious and at the age of 11 he barely understood the literature he was given but the King demanded he know each and every book inside and out. Taehyun would sit at his window seat each evening, gazing out into the nothingness of the town craving to venture into the main markets, the small forest and the mountain gardens just outside his palace. He held the leather book between his soft palms analysing and marking each sentence and word to learn about it further. Being so young yet so lonely meant he was able to focus on literature and reading and by the time he was 18, each and every word would be engraved into his mind. The palace was vast, but the emptiness of the building added to the loneliness.His father claimed it was only to make him ‘mature’ and to ‘teach’ him the ways of a royal but you and Beomgyu thought that it wasn’t fair. One afternoon, Beomgyu went outside Taehyun’s window and threw small stones to get his attention. It looked like Beomgyu was the Knight in shining armour and Taehyun was the damsel in distress but in reality it was Taehyun who was the imprisoned Prince and Beomgyu the resilient friend. That was until The King spotted Beomgyu and was asked to leave the palace grounds immediately and was reported for breaking and entering. That was indeed his first warning. As you and Beomgyu sat together in front of your house, your father approached you with a serious expression on his face; “we are ordered to go to the King’s palace for an urgent meeting,” he informs her. “Can I come too, Sir?” Beomgyu asked your father. “of course Beomgyu,” he ruffles his chestnut hair before holding your hand and making his way to the palace

“Dont go anywhere too far okay sweetie,” your father reminds you. Of course you obey your father, you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. “okay father i wont,” your sweet smile warming his heart, as well as Beomgyu’s. As soon as you and Beomgyu walked into the palace, a servant was escorting Taehyun to the main entrance before his dejected expression uplifted and his eyes were like two shining marbles glistening in the palace lighting. “oh my! you guys came!” His happiness was through the roof when he saw you both. There was nothing more exciting to you than to sit with your best friends in the rose garden that held significant sentimental value to the Royals. You, Taehyun and Beomgyu sit outside in the rose garden watching the stars gleaming, the spring breeze sending slight shivers down your spine as the heavenly bodies setting the dark abyss of the night sky aglow; “happy birthday, Yn” Taehyun hugged not forgetting your birthday. “Thank you! you didn’t forget!” you giggle hugging him tighter, his arms gently embracing you.

Years went on and You and Beomgyu gradually became closer since your father used to work with his father and also for the King. Taehyun became busier and busier the more the three of you grew up and the King limited the amount of time Taehyun could spend outdoors and outside the palace and meeting his friends and spending his precious time was useless to the King. By the time You were 17, Taehyun was completely unavailable to go outside and meet his friends which made you distant from Taehyun since the Palace grounds were now out of bounds. He was cooped up in his lavish palace, being served by his servants and butlers, everything in a silver platter whenever he asked for something, his bed being three times the size of him with sheer curtains draping over the frames, red and gold bedding fitted with almost no creases every time he got into bed, his attire always ironed and chosen for him; what a perfect life, right? However one thing that he couldn’t demand for was time. Although, You and Beomgyu didn’t know what happened behind closed door.

One winter’s night, ivory snowflakes glided on to the greyish cobble path sheathing the walk way as you and Beomgyu walk home together. You pulled your scarf over her face slightly to warm her icy cheeks, the piercing cold reddening your skin. Beomgyu’s hands were deep in his coat pockets and an idea sparked up in his head; “hey wanna go somewhere?” Beomgyu asks.

“like where? it’s freezing” you whine as you show her pinkish fingertips, pouting at him. Beomgyu puts his arm around your shoulders, “the barn house? our usual hang out spot” he chuckles and then smiles before the realisation hits you. You felt a bit stupid but Beomgyu found it oh so endearing. “ohh yeah, sure, I have nothing to do. My father is at the palace at a meeting again, he’s been going to a lot of meetings recently” you scrunch your nose before Beomgyu taps his cold finger on the top of your nose playfully before bolting ahead. “h-HEY!” you whined again as Beomgyu starts running. “Come and get me,” he teases as he runs down the street, laughter emitting into the icy atmosphere. The both of you end up at his barn house out of breath and sheltered from the blizzard that was about to hit the town, collapsing on the sofa’s he had there. “I win,” Beomgyu’s smug face teases, his vexatious energy radiating off of him. “only this time,” You warn jokily. Beomgyu prepares some hot drinks for you to warm up your frost bitten hands; When you held the cup of hot cocoa, the warmth flooded your body rapidly melting away the icy sensation in your hands. You looked up at Beomgyu as he was cleaning up the spillages, his messy hair over his forehead; and her mind reminisced.

Beomgyu looked different to what he did 7 years ago but it was clearly because of how he aged. He was 19, only a couple years older than you but his features were more defined and he just seemed so beautiful. His chestnut brown hair framed his charming face. His eyes, pools of dark cocoa always gleaming in the light and his skin a soft honey tone. You both sat together in the barn house which you both often did when you had nothing to do or had no plans such as tending to the Kings needs or desires and would talk about your secrets or things you were feeling~ thats how you both became closer over time. As you both sit cozily with the fireplace burning the logs Beomgyu threw in, you sigh and gaze at each other. “So anything today?” Beomgyu asks, leaning into the couch swinging his head back so his brown locks fell back. You thought for a bit and tilted your head slightly and sighed, “have you ever loved anyone before?” you ask nervously. He stops mid sip, licking the whip cream off his lips and smiling back, “I don’t know, have you?” He asks back. “perhaps,” you shrug. “what do you mean perhaps? do you have a crush on anyone? if they break your heart I will beat them up,” he threatens and puts his fists up punching the air making you giggle. “no.. I don’t know, don’t worry forget i even asked,” she shakes her head. “uh? you can’t just do that?” he scoffs and then silence deafens the room. He suddenly pounces on you making you yelp, his hands wrapping around your waist and tackling you to the couch. You were trapped between the couch and Beomgyu, his arms either side of you and his face directly in front of you. There was slight tension between the two of you, you gulp nervously. “i guess you still wont tell me?” he gives a playful little smirk before you push him away. Your heart was beating out of your chest. You divert the attention and sit up on the sofa, “i miss Taehyun, he hasn’t been seeing anyone lately,” you sighs, “ahh yeah me too, I do miss him,”

Their childhood had always been with the young prince but the King established new rules for Taehyun as he grew. It was as if he were trapped in a cage unable to escape from his preordained future he had waiting for him. Being a Prince wasn’t easy and in Taehyun’s case, being the only son, there was more pressure on him. - On the same night, when the blizzard hit the town, Taehyun gazed outside his tall glass windows that were draped in red and gold embroidered curtains and sighed. He sat in bed writing a letter which he did since he was 11 ever since he couldn’t go outside. It was like a diary account only to a specific person, his best friend of course.

‘To my best friend, It has been a long day for me. I woke up at 5am and had breakfast at 5:30am making sure it was filling and nutritious and then starting my fencing training at 6am. After that I was tutored for 3 hours which was tiring and boring but it’s what my father wants. Lunch was lonely, i remember how we used to run amongst the rose bushes and you used to pretend you were a royal. it was cute i must say. I miss those days so much. My coronation is so soon and it’s nerve wracking, i’m sure you’d be there right? to see me finally turn King and I’ll let you stay here and we can be together again.’

The King’s personal servant knocks on the door and asks Taehyun to go to sleep. The hope and light in his eyes dissipates into the nothingness of his bedroom but before the servant left she left some valuable information. “Prince Taehyun, your father has asked me to tell you that there will be a compulsory meeting with your father to discuss some important matters next Friday.” she bows. “oh okay..” Taehyun responds. Next Friday. That was Taehyun’s 19th Birthday. When a royal is 19, they would need to be taught everything a budding King would need to know and what they should do. It wasn’t easy. Also marriage was to be organised by Taehyun’s father so the royal bloodline would stay intact but of course Taehyun wouldn’t be able to choose his lover... As the lights were turned off, white alabaster specks began blanketing the window pane, Taheyun pulled his sheets closer to his face pondered for a while. I miss you...

“Yn,” her father calls out reading a letter that was from the King himself. “yes father?” you walk into the room where your father worked and he turned around handing you the letter, “ this is from the King to you sweetheart,” you take the letter into your hands and unfold it, reading it as you walks to you room. You stops. “invited to a meeting with the King and the Prince?” you say to yourself.You think about it. Beomgyu knocks at the door just before you closed your bedroom door, so instead he opened her window. “Hey yn wanna go on a walk?” he asks holding two hot drinks in his hands and a little white wooly hat sitting on the top of his head.You looks at the letter and back at him. “yeah hold on, lemme get my coat,”. “what’s that?” he asks as he passes the drink to her and points at the royal letter. “some meeting I have to attend next week,” you say. “just you?” Beomgyu asks curiously. “yeah I guess so? I think my father will come too,” you assure herself. Beomgyu nods his head in affirmation and then thinks for a little bit and decides to go somewhere else; “let’s go somewhere different today.” Beomgyu’s cheerful charming smile suggests and of course you went along with it, sipping at the saccharine hot chocolate, the warmth of the liquid swirling in your mouth, the softness of the melted marshmallows colliding with the savour of the dark chocolate. He grabbed your hand, fingers unintentionally interlocking and he ran to a special place, special to him anyway. After passing the stalls and passing the little meadow where you, Taehyun and Beomgyu used to frolic, Beomgyu took you to a desolate garden which was situated on higher ground not too far away from the palace. “wait this is the hidden garden you found when we were kids ,” you gasp. The tree was beginning to blossom and the flowers were spread across the concrete and between the crevices. There was a bench which wasn’t there from when you could remember. “I built this bench here so we could sit here and enjoy the view,” Beomgyu expressed to you. “BUILT IT?” you respond shocked! You both sat down on the bench, close together as you rested your head on your best friends shoulder.

The stars gleamed down reflecting off the town’s architecture, the sheen of the town making you feel nostalgic. You sigh but you didn’t realise that Beomgyu was lovingly gazed at you, his finger tips fiddling with your hair that cascaded over your shoulders. His heart began to palpitate when you realised he was playing with you hair. “you having fun there?” she teases sitting up and facing him, your sultry, pinkish lips caught his eyes and his eyes. The chilling breeze raised the hairs on the back of your neck, or at least you hoped it was the breezed and not his delicate touch. His doe eyes were like two Tiger’s eye - the beautiful warm toned gemstone- and his blushed cheeks were like red apples. “Why are you staring at me like that?” you let out a slight giggle although there was a glint of admiration and love that you denied to yourself, but before you could laugh it off, Beomgyu’s hands cupped you face. A gasp left your lips before it even got the chance, it was swallowed up by his tender kiss, the velvety sensation of his lips against yours. This was your first ever kiss.

He felt confident and you didn’t seem to want to pull away but there you were, in his arms letting him guide you his hands around your waist. Perhaps it was the unconscious desire and the tension that had been present for years but you let him kiss you, of course giving the same energy and you allowed him to adulate her innocent lips with his own. Once he calmly pulled away, their eyes met; “I’m sorry, I know i shouldn’t have without asking but-” Beomgyu was interrupted by you, “if i didn’t like it i would’ve pulled away, no?” the atmosphere was awkward but it was clear to see you and Beomgyu had a fire burning within. After that day, they would meet in the same location and often share an act of affection, nothing was official since Beomgyu wanted to wait until your birthday to surprise her with flowers. He kept his feelings concealed and away from their ‘friendship’ respecting your choices but ever since that day when he asked if you liked anyone, it just made sense to him and of course he shot his shot. His heart fluttered every time he saw you and that was when he was 100% sure that he was in fact in love with you. It was your 18th birthday: You had to go to the meeting before you could do anything celebratory. You wore something flattering and formal to present yourself appropriately. The flowers were fragrant and blossoming, the soft sun light beaming over you as you skipped your way to the palace but as you arrived there, the King, the Prince and two guards were waiting for you. There was uneasiness lingering in the air; you began to feel suffocated, your throat closing slightly. Something wasn’t right. “Good morning Ms. L/N, please, follow us through to the meeting room,”. You looked over at Taheyun, the light in his eyes absent and empty. “hey Taehyun, how have you been?” you whisper, playfully smiling as you always did. “i’ve been fine, busy too,” there was no smile, nothing. “ i missed you so much,” You walk next to him and whisper and you swore you saw the corner of his lip curl slightly before dropping again...

Taehyun’s POV:

‘Her voice was like a breath of fresh air. Hearing her made my heart sing and seeing her was as if i were dreaming. She looked so... beautiful. Why is my heart beating so fast? Why have my ears gone red’ That was my thoughts. I had a crush on Yn since we were kids and it never changed, but it felt stupid to me that I had a crush on her for so long. “Why is she even here? was she supposed to be the designer for the coronation?” I thought again. The room felt bright again, her ecstatic energy radiating warm oranges, vibrant pinks and shades of yellow painting the aura of the dismal room but there was also the sense of comfort and being at home. I still dont know why my father invited just her, It didn’t make sense until my father began to speak at the table.~

The king seated you all down and he began to speak instantly. “ Thank you for coming to the meeting Yn,” he greets you with a simple thank you before he begins his main point. “I have gathered the Prince, myself and you all to discuss Prince Taehyun’s coronation,” It sounded rather simple, perhaps you were supposed to hold the crown at the front or even decorate for the function? “I would like for you, Yn to marry my Son, Taehyun,” The King smiled proudly after letting hell run loose within Your mind. You and Taehyun lock eyes with worry and shock. “ sorry father, what did you say?” Taehyun gulped in fear of speaking back to his father since he knew the consequences. “Son, in order to be a King you’d have to marry and continue our bloodline. You wouldn’t want to disappoint the family do you?” The temper of the King was gradually rising, “your father made a promise to me 8 years ago that you would marry my son since i have helped your family with fortune and let you live on my land,” there was complete silence between the two. “this isn’t me asking, this is me telling you that the marriage will occur before the coronation of Taehyun and therefore you would need to be at the palace for your fittings and other preparations,” The King said rather calmly as if it were such an easy thing to accept. How were you supposed to tell Beomgyu that she’s marrying his best friend, the prince?Your heart shattered at the thought of turning your back on Beomgyu; the vacant chasm in your chest only growing more and more as the King spoke. “ I shall let you both talk about this matter,” The King ups and leaves leaving you both alone, in silence.

“so..” Taehyun begins “ how has life been treating you huh?” he asks sounding genuinely interested in what you’ve been doing without him all these years. “oh um...” you start off. What do you start off with? The fact you’ve been lip-locking his best friend or that you have feelings for Beomgyu. “um well I have been studying a lot and often just taking walks and hanging out with Beomgyu,” You nod, her fingernails dug deep into her skin under the table. “How is he? I miss him quite a bit but I cant have anyone over until.. well..I’m king,” he sighs frantically biting his lip as a habit, rolling his eyes, . “Im sorry my father blackmailed your father,” Taheyun gulps “Just for the sake of my father, do this marriage thing.. but you can love anyone you want” His words ring in your ears. “ so you’re saying that I marry you for your publicity and your reputation but I can go on and live my life?” you asks feeling your stomach go bitter. Taehyun nods with a sombre expression. The silence was every so deafening and all you wanted was to run away from this mess but you didn’t want to leave Taehyun. “um so what have you been up to?” you try to change the subject but you instantly felt regret. “training, learning how to be king, i dont know it’s the sae every day from 5am every morning,” He sighs and a servant brings him water and places it in front of him. “You see that,” he eyes the water that was placed, “whatever I do, something is given to me even if I dont need it,” he scoffs. Taehyun wasn’t having a good time in the palace and your heart ached to see him this way. Before you could say anything else, a guard comes in and notifies you that you have been asked to be escorted out to make your way home. “i’ll see you soon Taehyun,” You run up to him and hug him, standing on your tiptoes. He has gotten a lot taller hasn’t he?

That evening you left the palace after being escorted to the front gates, jumping down the stairs before suddenly looking up to see Beomgyu with a bouquet of white and red roses waiting at the entrance with a charming smile on his face.You swore he could’ve been mistaken for a Royal. “how are you my love,” he says handing her the flowers and you accepted them, the aroma of the fresh flowers bringing memories back to Taehyun’s rose garden, before walking beside him and replying to him. “i’m fine,” although Beomgyu knew you long enough to know that you weren’t fine. He stopped you and put his hands on your shoulders; “what’s wrong?” he frowned, his glossy coffee bean orbs gazing back at you like a lost puppy. He didn't like seeing you sad, he made sure you were smiling and would dry your tears whenever you were crying. “It’s nothing,” you say before standing on the tip of your toes to kiss him, stumbling since you lost your balance but Beomgyu’s arms caught you. Not long after, he took you to your special place again, her head resting on his shoulder whilst saddening thoughts raced through your busy mind before Beomgyu broke the silence. The moonlight was beaming over the two tonight as the trees calmly rustled, dancing with the wind, whistling melodically. “Yn..” he begins clearing his throat, “After all these years i have made it clear to myself that-” he was interrupted by you, since you knew exactly what he was going to say. “you love me? that’s what you’re going to say right?” your voice cracked, your throat drying making it hard for you to speak. “I was, yes, I was also going to ask for you to be my girlfriend because I love you so much,” you couldn’t lie to him, you didnt want to hurt him. “The King and my father had a deal that I’d marry the Prince in return for what the King had helped us with,” your voice was hoarse and you could feel your eyes pool. Beomgyu’s bright, elated smile dropped, his sparkly eyes dimmed and his flame burnt out. His aura was grey, almost as if a matchstick lost it’s flame. “you.. the prince..” he scoffs, the corner of his lip curls half upset and half hurt, “of course, because you’re the only daughter out of the King’s companions... ” His head was in the palm of his hand. You put your hand on him gently and despite the butterflies and warmth he felt he couldn’t accept the Prince’s to be wife to be so intimate with him, it felt wrong to Taehyun and to himself. There was silence before Beomgyu decided it was time to take you home. It was midnight and all you could do is walk beside him in the darkness lit up by the street lamps, the air dense and humid with a slight breeze. You got to your house, the lights all turned off, everyone must’ve gone to bed. You turn around to Beomgyu, his sorrowful face looks at you; “have a goodnight yn,” he says before he leaves. There was no kiss goodbye, not even a heartfelt farewell. He just left.

From the following day and onwards you had to go to the palace regularly and often had to meet Taehyun. There was a dress fitting in which the Prince and yourself had to attend although you didnt want to go. The room was only occupied by a tailor, a dress designer, the Prince and yourself. The uneasy atmosphere making you feel anxious. “ G’day, Princess,” the tailor and designer bowed to you. Princess didn’t settle with you well at all. “we have picked out a few dresses for you to try and to get fitted for you,” the pair smiled before handing you a few dresses to go and try on. You went through a few of them and Prince Taehyun shook his head to most except one. It was a muted blue dress, with a tulle skirt that did make you feel like a princess. The bodice was embroidered with little blue flowers making it look like a miniature flower garden as well as the bottom of the tulle skirt. The veil was also a light blue which was attached to a white flower headpiece which was small and elegant. Taehyun’s eyes widened at the beauty he saw. “you look uh...” he struggled to find words to say. “pretty?” you finished his sentence as he nods to confirm what he thought, his cheeks burning up a crimson hue. “oh it seems like Taehyun likes this one, we shall get the measurements done as soon as possible,” the pair begin to take your measurements, tape measures around your body. You were already treated like the Princess and it felt.. weird. You learned about many Royal etiquettes over time, every time you went to the Palace and it was a big jump from being a regular towns person to a Princess. Not something you would expect every day.

On a spring morning, Taehyun stands out on his balcony letting the cool, placid atmosphere sink in before he was interrupted by his father’s servant. Frustration took over his body, his fists clenching and his ears turning red, he despised his father and his fathers servants. He exhaled before turning around to see you standing there in a royal dress you had been styled in. “The King has asked me to leave The Princess with you until he calls you both down for the last meeting before the-” the servant was interrupted. “marriage okay, you may leave.” his tone was stern and his button eyes turned fierce and filled will hurt, anger and sadness. “yes sir,” the servant closes the door before he was left with you alone. “so, is this royal treatment any fun,” he sighs leaning against the frame of his balcony arms crossed. “i dont know..” you reply as you dig your fingernails into your skin again and Taehyun notices. He walks over, still furious from earlier, and grabs her wrist. “what is this? why do you keep doing it?” He asks, a taint of worry in his eyes but his tone sounding angry, his brows furrowed. “don’t do it, you always did it as a kid when your father yelled at you for getting lost in the palace,” he chuckles, easing off a little, reminiscing about the past; “remember how it was so easy to be kids,”. He remembers something and makes his way over to his bedside table. “ i have something to show you,” he says before getting a little wooden box out of his draws and opening it. The box was filled with letters, things he wanted to share with you and also a brooch he kept from his 16th. you looked through the crumpled papers and there was many letters addressed to his ‘best friends’ and some that weren’t addressed to anyone. The papers were discoloured and crumpled and also tear stained which you assumed from the random smudged ink on the letters. you read the letters carefully each one of then addressed to ‘best friends’ until at one point it changed; it wasn’t addressed to anyone. What happened there? you ask Taehyun and he looks down thinking of how to say what he was thinking. “Over time being in pure isolation, I missed your laugh, your energetic aura and i guess over time I developed a strong liking towards you and i can’t deny that,” he shrugged “so i just wrote whenever i felt my heart ache,” . The silence grew louder again. “you liked me? for how long?” you put the letter down. “since i don’t know, it just happened but you and Beomgyu seemed to have a stronger bond and it made sense so i tried not to get involved” Taehyun slowly closing the draw, observing the way the muscles in your face tensed up and the way you clenched your jaw. What did you feel? anger? sadness? frustration? you didn’t know what you felt but you knew for a fact it wasn’t positive. “did i say anything yn?” Taehyun lifts your chin up with his finger, the worry inundating his glossy, almond eyes “did i say anything to upset you,” his hand rests on your knee. You had to work up the courage to tell him but you couldn’t do it. The cowardice.

Beomgyu waited outside your house as he always did which was strange to you since he hasn’t spoke to you for a week or two. You walk up to him in your tailored dress, made just for you, and he turns around. “hi,” he speaks forcing himself to smile before looking you up and down; You could almost hear his heart flutter... or was that yours? “Beomgyu, h-hi,” you stutter since apparently you forgot how to speak! “What are you doing here?” you ask him inching closer to him. “I came to say sorry, none of this is your fault and to be quite honest, i hope, over time you do love Taehyun,” his smile appears, his real, genuine smile. “of course I still love you and i will do anything to protect you but sometimes it’s just the right person but in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong life....” he rests his hands on your shoulders before pulling you into a warm embrace and you could feel your tears pooling at your eyes. You grasp his sleeve before burying your head into his chest and let your emotions run free. You were confused and lost; you felt lied to by your own father and felt like you were a part of a game, a stupid pawn to be played with. You didn’t want to hurt Taehyun or Beomgyu but there was only one path to take. “i’m so sorry Beomgyu..” you sob into his chest as he caresses your head gently.

The more you hung out with Taehyun the more the bitter taste in your mouth left, the tense atmosphere was lifted and everything felt so...comfortable. You would go to the palace nearly every day to ‘reconnect’ with Taehyun. One day Taehyun’s father would organise a dinner for just the two of you to supposedly grow feelings for each other. The table for the two of you was set up in the well known and loved rose garden, a cylindrical wax candle in the middle illuminating the seating area prepared for you both. The chairs were in ivory white covers and the table cloth was a blood red. A vase was gently placed by a servant, the roses delicately presented. Your eyes locked with Taheyun’s as he pulled the chair out for you, you couldn’t help but smile. “what’s that smile for huh?” Taehyun teases, easing out of his ‘professional’ royal upfront and showing his real persona. “nothing,” you smile playfully before tucking your chair in, “why are you smiling so much for?” you tease back. His cheeks blush up a soft pink before he begins to speak again, “because I’m spending so much more time with you and it feels like we’re kids again,” he fiddles with the friendship bracelet he still had on. “kids, except me and you are getting married very soon which I understand was way out of our control,” Taehyun nods in agreement. “how are you feeling though?” Taehyun asks you. You couldn’t lie but you felt like there was a swarm of butterflies in your stomach, your cheeks burning up at the question. Are you falling for him? It’s too quick right? You ponder for a little bit. “i’m feeling.. I’m feeling great,” you smile at him, and everything felt as it were merging back into colour again. What was happening? It felt like some sort of epiphany. The evening went as planned, the pair of you talked and caught up with all sorts of things that happened. Soon after, for the second meeting between you both arrived which was a couple days before the big day. You waltz into the Palace happily to meet Taehyun but abruptly stop when you see Beomgyu with his father in the meeting room with Taehyun’s father. Your heart stops and everything goes grey again. You see Taehyun being escorted to you by his servants. you wanted to run and hide. Your eyes were so fixated on Beomgyu and he saw you; thats when your heart shattered when he smiled back and waved, his sweeter than bubblegum smile making your throat go dry. Once Taehyun approaches you he sees you focused on his best friend moreover, his best man. His hand rests on your shoulders and Taehyun smiles at you before gesturing to walk with him. You hoped he didn’t see your reaction to Beomgyu but unfortunately he did. “hey, are you okay? did anything happen?” Despite Taehyun assuming one thing he didnt want to come to conclusions without asking you. “I- uh, y-yeah,” you stutter, but he knew you werent telling the truth. He lift your chin up with his finger making your eyes meet his. “please Yn, tell me what’s bothering you,” he pleaded. He just wanted you to be okay and besides, telling the truth is better than lying. “Beomgyu and I-” he cut you off, “had a thing but my father forced you to marry me and you felt hurt and every time you see him your heart aches?” You could see he was feeling hurt, but not because you liked someone else. He felt hurt because he knew this would happen , that you would fall for someone else, he felt hurt for taking something away from you that made you happy. “Taehyun, listen I feel hurt because yes i did like him but he told me to move on and it just feels painful here,” you put you hand on your chest “and ... after all these weeks if being with you i-” He listens and then speaks “you’re falling for me?” there was some silence. “it’s okay, don’t force yourself,” he says, holding your hand as his fingers interlock with yours. Suddenly you begin to ease.

You both went to his room, the balcony doors were wide open and you go to stand outside to get some air. You inhale the crisp air and exhale. You look out into the town and let your mind roam free for a little while but as you do you feel Taehyun’s hands wrap around your body and his head rests on your shoulder. You didn’t move, you didnt’ want him to move. It was comforting. “are you okay with this?” he asks you, and you nod your head in response. You could feel your heart beating faster but you could also feel his too. Beomgyu walks out of the palace and sees you on the balcony and gives you a smile and a thumbs up. You smile back at him before he walks away. Once Taehyun raises his head, you turn around to him, your watery eyes glistening in the sunset. “what’s wrong?” he asks but without any warning you cup his face and pressed your lips against, on the tip of your toes to reach him. Once you part , he had a shocked expression on his face but with nothing said, he presses his lips to yours again, one hand above your waist and the other on the nape of your neck. Whilst you both share something so passionate such as this kiss, he guides you to his bed; as you sit on his bed, you look up at him. You couldn’t believe what was happening. “are you okay with this,” he asks as you nod. instead of a gentle passionate kiss, his lips crash onto yours, Taehyun gently lowering himself onto you. An hour or so later, the pair of you were notified about dinner and Taehyun asked for his stylists to help you both pick out dinner attire. Although you couldn’t just forget about the moment you spent in his room despite it being impulsive, it meant something. Especially to you, as if it were a conclusion to whatever chaos disrupted your mind.

~a few weeks later~

It was warm springs day, the sun was beaming through Taehyun’s window. He sighs as he wakes up and it hit him what day it was today. The Royal Wedding. It wasn’t long until the servants came in with his attire and his pin to go on his blazer. It felt surreal that i would be marrying my best friend and even the thought of it was nice but of course i did feel bad for, although ever since that one evening in my room it felt like all our questions were answered from one simple kiss. okay simple may be an understatement but regardless... Thoughts raced through his mind before he thought to ask about you; “where is yn?” he asks and the servants look at him blankly, “The Princess,” his voice sounding slightly angrier. Taehyun didn’t like how foolish his fathers servants were and luckily enough his status gave him authority to teach the imbecilic servants the correct way to approach him and pay attention whilst working. “she is getting ready your highness, should I get her for you?” one of them asks. “just give her this,” he takes his pin off his blazer and hands it to the servant. You on the other hand, were getting your dress fitted and hair done for such an important day but you couldn’t get one thing off your mind; what Beomgyu told you that one night. He wanted you to be in the right hands, perhaps he thought he wasn’t good enough and Taehyun was better for you but that evening you spent with Taehyun felt like a solution to all your questions. The King and the guests all gather in the beloved rose garden where you, Taehyun and Beomgyu grew up together, sitting under the white archway every time you visited; Taehyun stood at the front with Beomgyu as his best man, standing behind him. Of course he’d be the best man, since Taehyun didnt have very many friends. “treat her well okay,” Beomgyu pat Taehyun’s back. The music queues as petals began to suddenly fall from above you. You inhale sharply, is this really happening? You see your father waiting for you so he could walk down with you and Taehyun at the end waiting along with Beomgyu. “yn sweetie, i’m sorry for making you go through this,” her father apologises as he walks with you until you got to Taehyun, “don’t worry, i understand and i can make this work,” you smile at him before you stand face to face with Taehyun, looking a beautiful as a Prince could be with his elegant white suit with his gold finishes here and there, gold epaulettes on his shoulders along with the gold friendship bracelet that the three of you had on. As the ceremony begun, Taehyun took your hands into his gently and stood up tall. The atmosphere felt magical, like you were some cinderella in your baby blue gown, holding the future King’s hands; you couldn’t help but forget about everything and get lost in Taehyun’s eyes. It was time for the vows and Taehyun went first.

“From being children to blossoming into the young adults we are now, i promise to keep you safe from whatever harm comes in the way. I will promise to love you and take care of you and support you in whatever you choose to do and listen to you. I want to be your safe place front start to end, hand in hand you and I Yn. Even from the sidelines i will cheer you on and make sure you are happy and loved because you deserve every bit of it .This is the beginning of our journey, and I hope to spend every little bit with you.- Taehyun”

You exchanged your vows. The guests were in awe, applauding the newly wed couple as you both slip the silver rings onto each others finger before it was official. You were officially married to Prince Taehyun and had the new title as Princess. As everyone was free to enjoy the function, Taehyun offered his hand to walk you back down the isle and make your way to where the main function was held which was inside the palace. “congratulations Prince Taehyun and Princess,” Beomgyu smiles whilst bowing respectfully before you punch him playfully like the old days. “stop, it’s weird,” you smile a little “well I am a respectful being, am I not?” he nudges Taehyun. “Of course,”. The King notifies everyone that the dance will start soon and of course Taehyun help his hand out, bowing down at you, offering the first dance with you formally. “Would you care to join me on our first dance,” he asks you, and without a second thought, you take his hand. The lights dimmed and everyone watched the new couple dance together for the first time. Taehyun’s soft gaze making your stomach flutter, his hand on your lower back leading you to the music. “everything okay?” he asks and you nod. Beomgyu watches from the side, “that’s my girl..” he sways gently with the music as you and Taehyun dance. Little did you know, those vows were written by Beomgyu and he wrote it on the behalf of himself as well as Taehyun. Taehyun appreciated Beomgyu helping him write the vows since he felt the same too but it was time for Beomgyu to move on.. just like you moved on with Taehyun. Taehyun stood on his balcony that night thinking to himself and you ask him what was wrong before you got nothing but silence. You did what he did to you and wrapped your arms around his torso and you never felt so sure about your feelings now. “My love,” he turns around before hugging you again so your head rested on his chest so you could hear his beating heart “what’s gotten into you?” he asks. “I like when you call me that,” you mumble into his chest. “well you’ll hear it a lot often now,” he says cupping your face, before kissing your forehead. You finally got the courage to say those three words to him, after making sure your feelings were true; “Taehyun.. I-I love you..”~ “I love you too” he whispers back

Meanwhile a lot goes through Beomgyu’s mind; “I can’t give up on you... but i might as well forget you.. to help me but i cant stop thinking about you..” His mind races as he goes home to the 2nd bouquet of flowers that he bought for you that one night to keep him company..., now withered and fallen..

#txt taehyun #txt #tomorrow x tomorrow #au #fanfic #readerxtaehyun #readerxbeomgyu #bts x reader #txt x reader #fem reader #soobin #yeonjun #hueningkai #friends to lovers #kpop #kpop au

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laurasimonsdaughter · 5 years ago

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Hiya, I'm currently trying to find some inspiration for a fairy tale based concept I have and I was wondering if you knew any fairy tales with poisoned or cursed food? I know there's the obvious Snow White or Hansel and Gretel, but I thought there might be some more obscure ones you know. If not, it doesn't matter too much. Thanks so much for all of the fantastic content you give us all, I always look forward to seeing your posts on my dash!! Xx

Hmm, food is very important in many fairy tales, myths and legends. But it’s usually how one deals with food that carries a curse, rather than the food itself.

I know a First Nation tale from what is now called British Columbia (possibly from the Tsimshian or the Gitxsan, but sadly the children’s book I know it from doesn’t say) that tells of three brothers that share responsibility as leaders of a large settlement. But when a terrible winter with a terrible hunger comes over the land and a stranger clad in a bearskin comes to visit, the two elder do not give him anything to eat. The youngest brother does share his food, even though he hardly has anything left. The stranger turns out to be the Prince of the Bears, true sovereign of this land by the river Skeena. As punishment he turns the unfeeling elder brothers into bears and tells the younger brother that only he is fit to rule a people living on his land.

In Andersen’s “The Girl that stood on the load of bread” a vain girl throws a good loaf of bread into a puddle in the marshland so she can walk across without dirtying her pretty shoes. She sinks into the swamp and has to work for the marsh woman who cooks up the summer mists in her brewery. (I choose not to remember the rest of the tale, I don’t like it much.)

The German fairy tale “The Hut in the Forest” tells of three girls who, one after the other, all get lost in a forest and end up as guests in the secluded home of an old man, who lives in the woods with a hen, a cockerel and a cow. The two eldest girls cook for themselves and the old man and make a bed for only themselves, which cause the old man to mournfully lock them in the cellar. The youngest of the three, however, fed the animals first, then cooked for herself and the old man, and made sure to make two beds. The following morning she wakes up in a palace and a handsome prince explains that he and his three attendants had been transformed by a wicked witch and that for her kindness, to animals as well as people, he wishes to marry her. So the sisters get freed from the cellar, the parents get summoned to the wedding, lessons are learned and happiness is had.

The only stories that come to mind where it is the actual eating of the food that carries the curse, are stories that have to do with, well, women having pregnancy cravings.

The most famous one nowadays is probably Rapunzel, in which a woman has such a craving for the leafy greens growing in the garden of a neighbouring witch, that her husband is willing to go and steal them for her. This, of course, results in him getting caught and having to promise the witch custody of their unborn child.

Another reoccurring trope, that I mostly know from Scandinavian tales, is the queen who is told by a witch or wise woman to eat one of two things to get pregnant. Usually flowers, but occasionally onions. She always ends up eating one and liking it so much she eats the second one too. The repercussion is that she gives birth to not one, but two children. One of which is beautiful and obedient and one of which is troublesome. Such is the case in “Tatterhood” where the eldest princess is wild, loud and unkempt and in “Prince Lindworm” where the eldest prince is, well, a giant serpent-dragon.

None of that seems like what you asked for, but I hope it can be an inspiration either way! Also thank you very much, I’m so glad you enjoy my blog

#laura babbles #magic food #fairy tales #folklore #ask #anon #thank you! this was very fun to look up #actually...I might have to write a post about magic fruit now #cause there's a lot of magic fruit around #grimm #andersen #scandinavian folklore #german folklore #first nation folklore #?#I don't know how to tag that actually

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vostara · 5 years ago

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Hypnophobia — 02

zwei — dear lucifer, don’t pull your hand back now

pairing: ares x original female character (beatrix)

blurb: “I happen to be in desperate need of money.”

word count: 2.7k+

title inspiration: dear lucifer - spiritual front

Only one pair of eyes (mine) proofread this due to some personal issues delaying my writing schedule. Please forgive any grammatical errors that I have sadly missed.

This work is cross-posted on AO3.

01 | 02 | 03 | ... series masterlist

The standard room at the Chicago location of the Continental is simple, but elegant. When a guest walks into their temporary home, they can expect a large plush bed covered in dark gray and white sheets. Walls are painted a soft ivory. Gray curtains are draped in front of wide windows, allowing guests the ability to block out the light pollution bleeding in from the streets and the other buildings. When they enter the bathroom, they are greeted with spotless white marble, dressed with glistening gold trimmings. And on the counter they will find at least three white towels, folded to a crisp perfection. A white clawfoot tub, with an attached shower head, rests against the wall farthest from the door.

In room 1431, this sleek elegance is tainted by various cosmetics scattered on the floor. Many of the items are used to hide the permanent darkness that has settled in the space beneath the eyes, as well as the reoccurring bruises that disrupt the skin. Some items are used to reintroduce life on dull cheeks. And a handful of products are designed to provide a perfect seductive pout.

Beatrix sits on the bathroom floor, in the center of her organized chaos. Her focused gaze is settled on the large gold ring adorning her right hand, the same one she had taken from Luca’s corpse. The ring is almost immaculate. Its perfection ruined by a small scuff right at the edge. Luca had taken great care in maintaining the item’s integrity.

After one last lingering glance, Beatrix gets up from the floor. She looks at her reflection in the mirror and frowns. In an attempt to bring some volume back to her hair, she runs her fingers against her scalp and gently ruffles her hair at the roots. She then smoothes down the fabric of her fitted black dress, buffing away the wrinkles that had formed. Finally, she reaches for a pair of rectangular emerald earrings and secures them in place.

Beatrix leaves the bathroom and approaches the bed, where more items had carelessly been thrown. She pulls on a long navy coat and closes it shut with a tie around the waist. She slips the Camorra ring off of her finger and reaches for a slim black clutch. The woman pops it open, double checking that her purse contains a spare berry lipstick and a pocket knife, and then drops the ring inside.

~ ~ ~

Fifteen minutes later, Beatrix enters the Red Line train to Howard. She heads to the back of the car and takes a seat. The crowd is on the sparse end, for a typical Friday night. Many of the usual party-goers have opted to skip the bars and rely on the booze they’ve hoarded in their apartments.

“This is Harrison.”

The doors ding as they slide open. Several passengers enter the train, including a man with tanned skin and neatly trimmed facial hair. He is sporting an all-black ensemble of tapered slacks, a large coat, and a collared shirt that doesn’t quite cover up the rose tattoo on the left side of his neck. A large oval cut sapphire, set in the center of a gold ring, is on display on the middle finger of his right hand. Without sparing a glance at the other passengers, the man turns and heads toward the back of the train.

The doors ding once again and slide shut.

“Jackson is next. Doors open on the left at Jackson.”

The man slides into the seat next to Beatrix.

“Transfer to Blue, Purple, Orange, Brown, and Pink Line trains at Jackson.”

A few moments of silence pass, while the man quickly examines the other passengers. There are small clusters of people preoccupied with loud conversations. Those riding the train alone have earbuds glued in to block out the constant buzz of the CTA.

The man breaks the silence. “Any trouble with that boyfriend of yours?”

“Things didn’t quite work out.” Beatrix responds. “I figured it was time to move on.”

“You keep any memorabilia?”

Beatrix opens her clutch and pulls out the gold ring. “Just a small trinket.” She holds the item out to him.

He turns his head towards the object and takes it out of her hands. The man brings the ring close to his face and examines it. He hums softly and then places the ring in the pocket of his coat. “I’m sure he didn’t need it,” he remarks.

Silence follows.

“The client is growing impatient.”

Beatrix turns her body to fully face the man. “Eli, this isn’t some entry-level contract. It takes time to get through all of the red tape.”

Eli smirks and raises an eyebrow. “You wasted much of that time sleeping with the wrong person.”

The woman swallows. “I misjudged his commitment.”

The man hums and slightly nods his head. “I told you to forget about the little guys, didn’t I?” He frowns. “I told you to head straight for the man in charge.”

“I was trying to establish a safety net.”

Eli chuckles, “When has a safety net ever been useful? When have you ever gotten through anything completely unscathed?”

Beatrix doesn’t reply.

“Can you handle this assignment?” He turns toward Beatrix and stretches his right arm to rest it behind her on the seat.

Silence.

Eli continues, “This isn’t your usual… task.”

“Why bother handing it to me, if you think I won’t cut it?”

The man smiles. He lifts his left hand and tucks a strand of hair behind the woman’s ear. “I didn’t think you would take it.”

“This is Jackson.”

The train doors slide open.

“Transfer to Blue, Purple, Orange, Brown, and Pink Line trains at Jackson.”

A group of drunk teenagers stumble onto the train. A tall blond male cackles a laugh, before beginning a tale for the entire train to hear. The doors slide shut behind him.

“This is a Red Line train to Howard. Monroe is next. Doors open on the left at Monroe.”

“You’ve just been so,” Eli pauses, “boring, since Paris.”

Beatrix breaks eye contact and shifts her attention to the salt stains on the floor.

Her companion leans in and whispers in her ear. “Where did my vicious Killer Bee go?” He teases.

Her response is instant, a warning. “Don’t call me that.”

Eli laughs and pulls away. “Touchy, touchy. Why does dear Izzy get all the fun? Even when I’ve known you far, far longer than any of your other so-called friends.”

Beatrix shifts her gaze back to Eli.

“I think it’s a perfect name for a girl like you. A cute little play on words, yeah?” He places a finger underneath her chin and tilts her head up slightly. His thumb rubs across her bottom lip, smudging the lipstick. “Wear sapphires next time.” He comments. “I like it when you’ve got some blue on.”

“This is Monroe. Thank you for riding the CTA Red Line.”

Eli releases the woman and stands up. “I’ll be in touch.”

He walks off the train.

Beatrix releases a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

“Lake is next. Doors open on the left at Lake.”

~ ~ ~

Assuming that one has befriended the right people, finding Santino D’Antonio is far from a challenge. It isn’t often that the son of the man leading the Camorra goes unnoticed. Even those outside of his niche in society tend to stop and spare a glance towards him. It’s almost more difficult to ignore him: a finely-tailored gentleman, whom is flanked with a herd of well-dressed bodyguards.

The problem has never been whether Beatrix could find Santino. She knew exactly where he was, just moments after she first accepted the contract.

No, the problem was gaining a private audience with the man. The problem was initiating a conversation that doesn’t rouse a permanent suspicion throughout the duration of their relationship.

From her seat at the bar, Beatrix had a clear view of the Italian man, dressed in his perfectly tailored three-piece navy suit. His black curls are tamed on top of his head. And a gold Camorra ring was being illuminated by the flashing lights. With one arm propped on top of the dark leather booth, he takes a sip of red wine. Though Santino has a deathly bored expression on his face, he still exudes an air of arrogance to him.

On the other side of the booth is Angelo Ricci, an up-and-coming member of the Romano crime family. He frowns and slams his fist on the table. The man shouts something, but the blaring music drowns out the noise.

Beatrix sighs and takes a sip of her Shiraz.

By this point, the men had been in a heated discussion for over an hour. It appeared that no one was making progress in this negotiation, nor would they arrive at an agreeable compromise within the next hour.

Once again, Beatrix takes a sweeping glance at the small army of bodyguards that are loitering the areas surrounding the booth. Her eyes settle on the only woman in the bunch. The woman’s dark brown hair is cropped short and parted on the side. She is dressed in a tailored black suit, identical to her colleagues. Her shirt is buttoned all the way to the top and finished off with a black tie. Her hands are crossed in front of her, allowing Beatrix a glimpse at the tattoos marking her skin.

A few moments pass, before the female guard’s gaze shifts away from Santino and focuses on the spying assassin.

Beatrix straightens her posture and allows a small shy smile to appear on her face. She lifts her glass, as if to make a toast, and then downs her remaining wine.

The woman reveals a small, but flirty, smile. Barely a moment later, she shifts her attention back to her boss.

As Beatrix sets her empty glass on the bar, she watches Angelo finish off his Bourbon before getting up. He once again shouts something at Santino, before storming away. His guards briskly take off after him.

Grabbing her clutch, Beatrix stands up and makes her way towards the booth.

Just as she approaches, a large body blocks her path. One of Santino’s bodyguards. “Where you heading, miss?” He questions.

Beatrix paints her face with a warm smile. “I’d like to speak to your boss, Signor D’Antonio.” Her voice is laced with a false sweetness, highlighting the underlying threat.

The guard glances behind him.

Santino’s gaze shifts from his wine glass and onto Beatrix. After his eyes do a quick scan of her body, he directs his attention to the woman Beatrix had just interacted with. “Ares,” he calls.

The woman’s eyes dart to the man.

He motions for her to approach.

Within the blink of an eye, she’s by his side, ready for his instructions.

Santino makes eye contact with Ares and says something to her. Ignoring Beatrix, he turns back to his glass of wine and takes another sip.

Ares nods and approaches Beatrix. Without a moment’s hesitation, she reaches for the woman’s clutch and opens it. Seeing the knife tucked away, she pulls it out and sticks it in the back pocket of her pants. She hands back the clutch, and then begins to pat down the woman. She runs her hands along Beatrix’s ribs, waist, and hips, before reaching a hand up the woman’s dress to check the inside of her thighs. Her hands glide across the woman’s soft skin, before coming in contact with a discrete thigh holster. Quickly, she pulls out the dagger that had been secured to the assassin’s left thigh. Ares shoves the dagger in her jacket pocket, as she moves to stand up again. Finally, she hooks a finger on the front of Beatrix’s dress and pulls it away from her body. After making sure no weapons are tucked into the cleavage, she gives Beatrix a wink and then lets go of the dress.

Beatrix approaches the booth and slips into the spot that had been previously occupied by Angelo. After setting her clutch to the side, she places her elbows on the table and leans her chin on top of her clasped hands. “I finally get to meet the Santino D’Antonio.”

“And who am I meeting?” The man responds, his speech thick with an Italian accent.

Beatrix smiles. “At the moment, no one of significant importance.”

Santino makes an annoyed tutting sound. “Are you here to play games? Miss Nobody.”

The woman tilts her head and frowns. “You can call me Beatrix.”

“What does Beatrix want with me?”

“An opportunity.”

Santino blinks.

“Mr. D’Antonio, what are you doing here?”

The man shrugs his shoulders. “Drinking a glass of wine.”

“Typically, you enjoy your wine in places much nicer than this shitty bar full of dancing drunks.” Beatrix shakes her head. Her lips are pulled upwards, forming the smallest of amused smiles. “You’re not here for the wine.”

The Italian man swirls the wine in his glass. “Have we met before?”

“Santino—”

“No,” he interrupts. “Signor D’Antonio.”

Beatrix pauses. “Signor D’Antonio, I know the Camorra don’t visit Chicago, as much as they used to. You undoubtedly have power here, but not enough to warrant the frequency of your visits. I know that you’ve been having meetings with Angelo for several months now. And I know that those meetings don’t appear to being going well for either of you.” The woman leans back in her seat. “I think that you and I could share a mutual interest. I have a pretty good feeling that an alliance with the Romanos is not your goal, is it?”

Santino takes a sip of wine.

“No,” Beatrix says, “I imagine you feel that the Romanos are mere peasants, compared to you. All they have is a fallen empire. A pile of bricks they’re hoping to rebuild into something,” she turns her head to glance at the crowded dance floor, “not quite as pathetic. And now they’re trying to kiss your feet and beg you for help, but they’re too proud to do so without forcing you to compromise.”

The man doesn’t respond.

“As much as you’d love to, you can’t get rid of Angelo yourself. Nor can you be openly involved in sending somebody, outside of your circle, to do it for you. Because even though you believe the Romanos to be worthless, their name still holds value, respect, and loyalty from enough of the right families. Families that could retaliate, should you make the wrong move.”

Beatrix chuckles.

“Now,” she continues, “I’m certain you would be able to sway these families back onto your side. It would be easy, right? You just need to be your charming, charismatic self. Throw a few parties. Get them drunk off fine wines and distract them with pretty women who are willing to do anything for a buck. You might even promise these families a big lump of money, a favor, or even your loyalty, though that would be nothing more than false and fleeting. But really, would you want to do all of that work, over a situation that’s just a mere headache?”

Santino places his glass on the table and leans towards the woman. “Are you here to propose a solution?”

Beatrix smiles and leans back onto the table, closer to him. “I know that you’ve got plenty of money to burn. And I happen to be,” a pause, “in desperate need of money.”

“What do you gain from this deal?” The man narrows his eyes.

“I don’t care about your petty mafia games, Santino. And I also don’t care much for Angelo.” The assassin blinks and straightens her posture. “I care about financial opportunity, and I want to snatch it up before the next guy comes along.”

As Beatrix reaches into her clutch, she notices all four of the guards tense and reach for their guns. Without flinching, she pulls out a tube of lipstick and sets it gently on the table. “Consider my proposal. And should you be interested, return my lipstick to the Continental.”

She snaps her clutch shut, stands up, and turns her attention to Ares. “Hang on to my knives, won’t you? I’m sure they’ll find their way back to me somehow.” She winks.

Beatrix spares one last glance at Santino, before making her way out of the bar.

A/N: hello~ thank you so much for reading chapter two! if you liked what you read, please consider a quick reblog to share my work. i’m just a small blog with a small following, so every reblog truly helps me reach out to those who might enjoy my work.

if you would like to make sure you don’t miss any future updates, consider following this blog and/or my twitter @ VostaraFics. if you truly need to make sure you don’t miss any updates on this fic, please message me and i’ll tag you every time a new chapter is uploaded!

extra info! i am releasing writer’s notes, which are posts where i reveal (minor) canon details that didn’t make it in the final cut, alternative scenes that got scrapped in the writing process, and my general thought process while creating this series. you can check out the notes for chapter one here. notes for chapter two will be posted tomorrow.

anticipated release date for chapter three is may 23rd.

#john wick fic #ares john wick #ares fic #ares x reader #ares x original character #ares x original female character #ruby rose #ruby rose fic #ruby rose x reader #ruby rose x original character #ruby rose x original female character #film: john wick #john wick #v.writing #fic: hypnophobia #vostara #posting just a few minutes early bc why not #series: she drowns in liquid gold

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years ago

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Michael in the Mainstream: Epic Rap Battles of History

In September of 2010, a series began that would spend the decade growing, expanding, improving, and even attracting controversy: Epic Rap Battles of History. The concept is simple - take two characters from history or pop culture and have them get into a rap battle where every single line is loaded with clever allusions to the participants. From there, it can go in really any direction - rappers can jump into the middle of a battle, rappers can team up, battles can be heavily skewed in one direction… there’s a lot of variance.

Watching the series grow into something as impressive and well-done as it is nowadays has been quite an experience. The first battle, “John Lennon vs Bill O’Reilly,” is honestly pretty bad by today’s standards, with a weak beat, poor costumes, bad impressions, and just a general lack of polish. But it did have something to it, something that would come to light as more and more episodes were released - Peter Shukoff and Lloyd Ahlquist really had a knack for rapping. I think the best part of the series over the past ten years is watching them go from the green rappers in that original video to incredibly talented and clever writers, singers, and actors, delivering stellar performances left and right in the more recent seasons.

With their first decade behind them, I’ve decided to go season by season and look at what worked and what didn’t as the show grew and evolved. I give an overview of each season, talk about some of the strengths and weaknesses they exhibited, and then go over the best and worst characters and battles of each season.

So, as the announcer says at the end of every intro... BEGIN!!!

Season 1

It’s hard to totally hate this season, but boy is it hard to love it. This was their first season, and their first batch of battles, so I think a little leeway needs to be given here; it’s clear they’re trying to find their footing and see what works and what doesn’t in terms of matchup and characterization. This leads to a lot of the battles of season one feeling really weird in hindsight, with the infamous “Genghis Khan vs The Easter Bunny” being the most standout example.

However, that’s just the most notable bit of wonkiness; there are plenty more decisions and matchups that really seem baffling in hindsight. One of the biggest ones is when Peter portrayed Lady Gaga in a rap battle against Sarah Palin of all people. This leads to a lot of the jokes Palin lobs being a bit more uncomfortable than they would have been if a woman played Gaga; this is notably the only time a female character has been portrayed by a man to this date.

Beyond that some of the matchups are just really nonsensical or rely too much on outdated memes. The worst offender in both regards is probably “Abraham Lincoln vs Chuck Norris,” which features Peter delivering one of his greatest performances in the series as Lincoln against a Lloyd-portrayed Norris who does nothing but spout “Chuck Norris Facts” thst we’re tired and unfunny even back in 2010. Likewise, Vince Offer popping up as backup for Billy Mays is pretty of-the-time, but that battle is actually good so it gets a pass.

Still, there are a lot more battles that do work or at least show a lot of promise. Look no further than the second battle in the series and the one that put them on the map, “Adolf Hitler vs Darth Vader.” While it’s a bit basic lyrically and not quite up to the later standards of the series, it’s easy to see why this became as big as it did. Zack Sherwin and George Watsky get their first guest spots here as Einstein and Shakespeare respectively, and both of them kill it in their roles, with the former even being part of one of the season’s best battles. It’s definitely easy to see why these two are the most reoccurring guest stars in the series.

Ultimately, season one is uneven and experimental, but shows a lot of promise. I think the datedness of some of the battles, particularly in regards to the ones featuring characters like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga; using these two in particular so early in their careers really robbed us, particularly in the case of Bieber, whose decade-long downward spiral would have made for some really interesting disses. Then there are characters like Mr. Rogers and Genghis Khan, who are just wasted on completely mismatched opponents. There is good stuff here, but it lacks the polish later battles would have, making it hard to recommend revisiting this one. I’d say that with a few notable exceptions, you can safely skip this season.

Best Battle: “Albert Einstein vs Stephen Hawking” is probably the best battle of the sesaon; while the original Hitler/Vader battle is iconic, this one was one of the more clever early battles and if nothing else gave us the first Zach Sherwin performance and an awesome and faithful rendition of Hawking.

Worst Battle: “Genghis Khan vs the Easter Bunny.” As if it could be anything else.

Best Characters:

Lloyd: Abe Lincoln, despite being in one of the weaker battles of the season, immediately cemented himself as one of Peter’s best characters, and it definitely helps he has some pretty hard and creative disses, particularly his line involving Chuck Norris crying his cancer-curing tears on his filmography. It’s no wonder Lincoln is the only president who keeps coming back.

Peter: Darth Vader became one of the most iconic characters in the first few seasons for a reason, and despite his weaker lines here than in his sequels, he still manages to be as cool and intimidating as Darth Vader in a rap battle should be.

Guest: Albert Einstein was Zach Sherwin’s first appearance in the series, and what a first appearance it is! It really isn’t a shock he has been invited back time and time again, as he is an absolute blast in this battle.

Worst Characters:

Lloyd: Chuck Norris is the clear loser in terms of Lloyd’s characters this season. He’s nothing but a string of tired memes, and offers no insight into Norris at all. Frankly it would have been nice if they ripped into Norris harder, seeing as he’s a right-winger, homophobe, and Trump supporter. Portraying him as some cool, unstoppable force really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Peter: Lady Gaga, hands down, and it’s not that hard a decision. She was portrayed terribly and it really is a shame they didn’t wait until later in her career to use her, because there is so much more interesting things to say about her now than back when they made the rap battle and the most interesting things to riff on were the stupid rumors that she was a hermaphrodite and her weird outfits.

Guest: Alex Farnham’s Justin Bieber is whiny, obnoxious, gets few good lines, and is more than a little mean-spirited; keep in mind, this was made early in Bieber’s career, when his only crime was being a kid with a music career who made songs some people hated. It just seems cruel, and considering how he would turn out a few years later, a world of missed opportunity… but that’s par for the course for season one.

Season 2

Season two was the proverbial “growing the beard” moment for the series. Coming out a month after season one, the new episodes already seemed bigger and more polished, starting off strong with a rematch between Hitler and Vader more epic than the original. Things continued solidly until the season peaked with the masterpiece that is “Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates.” That battle was a huge game changer, and took the series to new heights, heights the rest of the season after struggled to meet.

The big problem is that about half of the battles post-“Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates” are incredibly forgettable or even bad. “Doc Brown vs Doctor Who” is on the forgettable side, as is the first-ever election battle, which pitted Obama up against Mitt Romney. Romney alone should tell you why this battle is so forgettable; it’s a battle you really had to be there in the moment for, and is frankly a good argument as to why election battles should not be done. It’s not awful by any means, but it really isn’t memorable or relevant.

On the bad side, we have “Frank Sinatra vs Freddie Mercury,” “Batman Vs Sherlock Holmes,” and the infamous “Adam vs Eve.” The former two mostly suffer from awful characterization, with Sinatra being set up in the same way Justin Bieber was to be the clear loser. There’s nothing wrong with a curbstomp rap battle obviously, but considering how Sinatra is NOT a reviled figure like Bieber, this one goes over very poorly. Batman on the other hand mainly suffers from being horribly characterized and having extremely repetitive verses, with both his verses basically reiterating the same points. Neither battle is godawful, but they don’t really make good cases for themselves.

Then there is “Adam vs Eve.” This battle is widely regarded as the worst battle of not only the season, but THE ENTIRE SERIES. There is a very good reason for that: this battle is a massive departure from the style and tone of the series. Adam and Eve here represent stereotypical sitcom man and woman; there are very few Biblical references and the whole thing is very one-sided in Eve’s favor, with the battle basically ending with Adam apologizing for calling Eve a bitch… after she spent the past few minutes insulting his sexual prowess and penis size. There are a lot of double standards here, and it would only have been worse if God’s planned cameo was kept in, where he unambiguously sides with Eve.

But let’s not pretend like these are more than exceptions that prove the rule. Season two is remarkably solid, to the point where some battles have aged far better than you would expect. The prime example of this is “Cleopatra vs Marilyn Monroe;” at the time derided by audiences as just a battle consisting of nothing but slut-shaming, looking back it is a very strong yet lighthearted entry between two incredibly intense battles that has a great beat, clever lines, and strong performances from the two ladies. There are a couple of other underrated gems of the season but this one takes the cake.

The season is notable for a lot of big firsts. This is the first season to nab mainstream celebrities as guests, getting Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, and Snoop Dogg himself to portray Gandhi, MLK, and Moses, respectively. Unsurprisingly the battles featuring them are some of the very best of the season. It’s also the first season with a woman vs woman battle where both characters are portrayed by women, to much better results than the previous one. It’s the first season to have a two-on-two battle, with the second battle of the season featuring the Mario Bros battling the Wright brothers.

The biggest first however was the new style introduced in the finale: the Royale. This style of battle is basically a one on one to start, with each rapper getting one verse and then after the second rapper’s verse a third party barged in to school them, followed by a fourth and then a fifth. This first one featured famous figures from Russian history: Rasputin, Stalin, Lenin, Gorbachev, and Putin, and it is fun and hilarious, though Putin’s portrayal is definitely a product of its time and clearly made before people realized how evil he is.

This season also has some notable missed opportunities unique to it. The first is that there is a whole scrapped battle that was even teased in the trailer for season two, which would have had Hillary Clinton rapping against King Henry VIII. Peter and Lloyd were disappointed with how the audio came out and so permanently shelved it, though the audio is available online. It would have been interesting to see how it would have turned out, though the audio does not paint the best picture and the battle likely would have been forgettable. Still, it would have been interesting to have both parties in the 2016 election battle be returning rappers.

The second is that, to date, season two is the only season to use video game characters, with Mario, Luigi, and Master Chief being the sole representatives of the art form. This gets weirder with every passing year, as video games continue to become more mainstream and characters like Solid Snake, Samus, Phoenix Wright, Lara Croft, and Kratos continue to be popular suggestions for battles. It just feels like a lot of opportunities are being missed, though there’s always hope now that fans have more say than ever.

Overall, season two was a big, confident stride forward for the series. While there are a few stingers and forgettable battles here and there, the majority live up to the title of the series. I’d say that, moreso than season one, this is a great starting point for the series, This season marks the beginning of what I’d like to call the Golden Age, and I would say there are very few episodes here you should skip.

Best Battle: “Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates,” which is not as easy a decision as it seems considering the quality of the season overall. Still, this one probably holds up the best out of all of the episodes, with the rhymes, flow, disses, and beat all being legendary and the surprise interjection from HAL 9000 being nothing short of awesome.

Worst Battle: “Adam vs Eve,” which again, is probably also the worst battle of the entire series.

Best Character:

Lloyd: Gorbachev is the winner here. He’s just a funny, goofy ditz of a Russian leader, and he definitely schools all of the other arguing Russians. His beat is unique and a lot of fun, which definitely helps him stand out even more.

Peter: Peter has a lot of great roles this season, but it’s hard to not give the win to Santa, because Peter was able to hold his own against SNOOP DOGG. Speaking of which...

Guest: Snoop Dogg’s Moses is the standout in a season with no shortage of cool guests. I mean, come on, it’s Snoop

Worst Character:

Lloyd: Adam, hands down, and keep in mind Lloyd also played the now-irrelevant Mitt Romney this season. Adam sucked so bad a bland politician outdid him.

Peter: I’m not sure who told Peter to play Batman like that, but… yeah. Batman sucks here. I hope they bring him back and do him justice someday.

Guest: Jenna Marbles is completely wasted as Eve.

Season 3

Out of the three Golden Age seasons (2 - 4), I think season three is the most uneven and messy. While there are obviously some great battles here - it is part of the Golden Age after all - there are a lot of bad and awkward battles, or at the very least there aren’t as many great battles to make the bad ones seem less egregious. The tone is set by the season opener, the third and final battle between Hitler and Vader which despite a cool Boba Fett cameo ends up feeling underwhelming and boring.

The real issue with this season is that, while there aren’t too many genuinely bad battles this season, even the good ones feel a bit off. For the bad, we have “Miley Cyrus vs Joan of Arc,” which wastes one of history’s most badass woman against a flash-in-the-pan pop star; this battle has very few defenders, and gave woman back woman rap battles even more (undeserved) flack. To the season’s credit it doesn’t really get worse, and the only other weak battles are “George Washington vs William Wallace” (which not only conflates the fictionalized version of Wallace from Braveheart with the real one, but makes George Washington way more boring than he should be) and “Rick Grimes vs Walter White” (which feels like a ratings grab riding off of the coattails of two popular shows, though Lloyd really kills it as Walt).

For the good ones, a lot are held back from the lofty greatness of season two’s best by disappointing flaws. “Superman vs Goku” is fun and performs the miracle of making Ray William Johnson cool for two minutes, but it just feels way too short, especially considering the massive histories of the characters. The finale has a similar issue with shortness; “Artists vs Turtles” pits the TMNT against their namesakes, and the first verse and beat are fantastic, but the turtles get absolutely shafted on lyrics and the whole battle comes off as feeling uneven. This wouldn’t be so bad if this wasn’t a four-on-Four battle. “Stephen King vs Edgar Allen Poe” is so close to being great, as it has fantastic lyrics and a great Watsky performance, but Zach Sherwin chose a weird, raspy voice for King that brings the battle down a bit. It’s kind of sad that a battle between ERB’s two most popular guests is hampered by such an odd choice.

Still, when the season is great, it is GREAT. Key and Peele return, this time playing MICHAEL Jordan and Muhammed Ali respectively, and they kill it. Weird Al shows up playing Isaac Newton and, as expected, is amazing in his battle against Bill Nye. And the series introduces a new, very interesting type of rap battle - the story battle/gauntlet battle. Basically, there is one consistent rapper, and they rap against multiple opponents in succession, usually with some sort of storyline. And what better story to turn into a rap battle than A Christmas Carol? Scrooge goes up against Donald Trump, J.P. Morgan, Kanye West, and the Grim Reaper to learn the true meaning of Christmas, and it’s every bit as awesome as it sounds.

Season three is definitely a good season, and the weaker battles are still worth a listen even if they do have some issues; the only one I’d say is unlistenably bad is “Miley Cyrus vs Joan of Arc” due to how offensive the wasting of Joan is. I feel like people listening to this season will have wildly different opinions on which battles are good, bad, and great, so even if it feels a bit wonky there’s no denying it’s worth a listen.

Best Battle: “Donald Trump vs Ebenezer Scrooge” is a real game changer, and is not only fantastic, but as its only use of profanity is censored you can reasonably play this at a holiday party! If you ever need your quick fix of the Dickens classic, this is the way to get it, as this is remarkably faithful and very good at condensing the story into a rap battle.

Worst Battle: “Miley Cyrus vs Joan of Arc” is just absolutely unforgivable; Joan deserved a more fitting opponent than Cyrus. Katniss was often a suggested opponent, but I feel like even that would be bad, as Katniss has faded from the cultural consciousness over time unlike someone like Harry Potter. Still, Joan deserved way better than to be wasted for some throwaway curbstomp battle.

Best Characters:

Lloyd: Lloyd shows how good it feels to be a gangster with his portrayal of Al Capone, which manages to elevate the battle a bit higher despite the rather cheesy (but not bad) portrayal of Blackbeard opposite him.

Peter: Death, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, is utterly chilling, devoid of humor, and delivers one of the most legitimately terrifying verses in the series. This is why this ghost doesn’t usually get to speak in adaptations - because not only is he utterly terrifying, he steals the whole show. Peter really killed it with this one.

Guest: A lot of good guests popped in this season, but only one of them was Weird Al as Sir Isaac Newton. His flow is incredible, showing he has come a long way from “I Can’t Watch This.” He even gets a fast rap segment where he gets to show off his “Hardware Store” skills.

Worst Characters:

As uneven as the season felt, Peter and Lloyd actually managed to stay remarkably consistent; Lloyd didn’t play any character I can say was ‘bad’ by any stretch. For a given value of “worst,” Peter’s Donald Trump just pales in comparison to Lloyd’s a couple seasons later. But again, as uneven as the season was, Peter and Lloyd really didn’t do bad. This is the point where the duo really began to come into their own and develop as performers, with them rarely turning in a bad performance from here on out.

The guest, on the other hand... Michelle Glavan’s Miley suffers from the same problems Bieber did two seasons prior - except her battle feels less like a funny curbstomp battle and more like they actually tried to make Miley Cyrus on the same level as ST. JOAN OF ARC.

Season 4

This is, without a doubt, the absolute best season of ERB. This is when they truly found their groove, knew what they were doing, and did nothing but pump out hit after hit after hit. It’s to the point where there is really only one bad battle in the season, and it’s not nearly as offensive as previous season’s stinkers.

Right out the gate this season proved itself by ditching the old tradition of Hitler and Vader and instead delivering up a highly requested matchup - in this case the Ghostbusters and the Mythbusters. The real treat isn’t merely the pitch-perfect portrayals, but the appearance at the end by the B Team and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, which cemented this as a fantastic and unique opening. From here, it was almost nothing but fantastic battles until the midseason finale, which was a battle royale of film directors.

Many argued that the season lost steam upon coming back from break, as “Lewis and Clark vs Bill and Ted” was a bit underwhelming as a return, but from there the season picked up with the criminally underrated “David Copperfield vs Harry Houdini” and then continuing up with the quality, the season peaking with “Eastern Philisophers vs Western Philosophers,” a fantastic showdown between some of the greatest thinkers of history. Somehow “Shaka Zulu vs Julius Caesar” kept up the pace, but I will say the season faltered a bit at the ending.

While “Jim Henson vs Stan Lee” is not bad, and is especially sweet and heartwarming in light of Stan Lee’s death, the use of Walt Disney as a soulless supervillain representing the monopolistic tendencies of his company and not the man himself is a rather contentious choice. It doesn’t help that the battle feels a lot more mellow and peaceful, which mostly has to do with the two men battling. It frankly feels like this should have been the midseason opener and the philosopher battle should have been the finale, since the latter battle feels a lot more epic and climactic.

The only truly bad battle of the season is, unfortunately, “Oprah vs Ellen,” which did nothing to alleviate the stigma of women characters in rap battles. I feel like the major issue with this one is that Oprah just has terrible lines and delivery, with some of her lines having painfully forced rhymes. Not helping is that it came hot on the heels of “Jack the Ripper vs Hannibal Lecter,” one of the best battles of season four’s first half.

Still, that’s a small blip on this season’s radar. To wrap things up on a more positive note, this season features perhaps the most unique battle in the franchise: “Zeus vs Thor.” Not only is it the only battle between deities so far, it is also the only battle animated entirely with Legos. It not only helps it stand out due to its unique style, it makes the battle more timeless and not prone to aging poorly in terms of visuals. It’s just overall a showcase of the brilliance of Peter and Lloyd - which is really something that can be said of the whole season.

This is, once again, the very best season of the show. It’s almost nothing but incredible, fantastic works from start to finish. Even the couple of battles that I feel are a bit weak tend to have some good stuff going for them. This was really where the series was at the top of its game, and I genuinely feel that there was nowhere they could go from here but down… and down they did go.

Best Battle: In a season full of fantastic battles, the gold medal still undoubtedly must go to the philosopher battle. The awesome beat! Laozi beatboxing! Nietzsche! It’s really something special.

Worst Battle: “Oprah vs Ellen,” for the reasons stated above. It’s not even so much that it’s bad as it is really underwhelming and filled with awkward lines, but it does stick out as notably poor in an otherwise stellar season.

Best Characters:

Lloyd: This is another Stellar season for Peter and Lloyd; it’s hard to pick just one great performance, but Lloyd voicing Stay Puft is certainly a hilarious treat.

Peter: Peter’s portrayal of Julius Caesar is one of the best showcases of his acting talents this season. I’d say it’s tied with Robocop, who Peter also knocks out of the park.

Guest: This season was absolutely stellar in regards to guests, so honestly picking the best is really a tossup. A personal favorite of mine is Dan Bull’s Jack the Ripper, who is equal parts chilling and entertaining.

Worst Character: It could only be Oprah, what with her painful rhymes and poor verses. That being said, she’s probably the only rapper I could stretch to call bad this season, as Peter and Lloyd has no bad showings and the other guests were pretty great.

Season 5

Welcome to the Dark Age. Season five is without a doubt the most divisive season of the series, and I do feel that that is a bit unwarranted because there are some truly fantastic battles here, probably more than there were in Golden Age seasons like three. The major issue with this season is not really a problem with the battles themselves, but a two-pronged meta problem: burnout, and the toxic fanbase.

The burnout was a long time coming. Peter and Lloyd had been doing ERB nonstop for half the decade at the point this season came out, and as the finale of the season, a rematch between Peter and Lloyd, showed the two were tired, frustrated, and hitting walls in terms of creativity. They obviously loved the series - there was still plenty of passion, creativity, and wit in the battles - but they needed a break, especially since Peter had recently become a father.

The other issue was far less predictable. When the 2010s began, making fun of Nazis and conservative ideology was cool, fun, and pretty much what anyone with a functioning brain was doing. But over the 2010s, a lot of radicalization began occurring due to social media and its ability to give platforms to awful people who shouldn’t be allowed to talk. Nazis, alt-right, conservatives, anti-SJWs, they all started building up over the decade and trying to wage a culture-wide war on sensitivity and empathy, instead trying to convince others that the plight of those who are disadvantaged due to how the ruling class structured society is not worth addressing and that things are fine the way they are. Trump’s depressingly successful presidential campaign did nothing but embolden and strengthen the resolve of these creeps, and that kind of leads into the three most contentious battles of the season - “Frederick Douglass vs Thomas Jefferson,” “Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton,” and “Bruce Banner vs Bruce Jenner.”

“Frederick Douglass vs Thomas Jefferson” got a lot of flack for seemingly being one-sided in Douglass’ favor, with him almost solely attacking Jefferson for his owning of slaves and not really establishing himself well. While the battle isn’t particularly engaging and I didn’t really come out feeling like I learned much about Douglass, a lot of the criticisms at the time seemed more focused on being angry that this battle addressed that slavery was actually a thing at all and that the battle watered things down to “Jefferson bad!” This is of course disregarding that even Douglass admits in his final verse that Jefferson did a lot for the country, but that we need to address the bad parts of him more than we do. Still, this was small potatoes compared to the latter two battles.

These two battles are what made Pete and Lloyd really pause due to the negative reactions both battles garnered. The election battle received a lot of criticism for seemingly having a “left-wing bias,” as despite it following a similar structure to the previous presidential election battle, Lincoln’s appearance was a lot more focused on berating and abusing Trump. One needs to keep in mind though that Trump had already definitively shown he was a racist, misogynistic scumbag at this point in the presidential race, all of his lines were based on things he actually said, and he was pretty much the strongest rapper in the battle, getting in a lot of good disses. The battle is only “one-sided” in the minds of people who want to be angry at everything; it’s no more one sided than any of the Hitler and Vader fights, it just so happens that one combatant is more evil than the other and so deserves more abuse.

“Banner vs Jenner” seemed to get flack almost entirely due to its acknowledgment that trans people exist. I will be the first to admit that Caitlin Jenner is not really the best person to be using to push a pro-LGBT+ message, especially considering her political leanings, but the fact remains that there was a massive influx of transphobic comments in regards to the battle, mostly with very tired “The connection is they are Bruces who turn into monsters Lol” jokes. This drowned out a lot of legitimate criticisms of the battle - namely, that Jenner got to ramble on for several bars in her second verse while Hulk barely got to get in any good jabs. It’s even more disappointing because the first verses for both rappers was fantastic, and the second half of the battle looked to be shaping into something great… and then Jenner rambled on and on and on. But it was hard to find much constructive criticism because there was just so much hate and tasteless comments. Stuff like that upset Peter and Lloyd, as they had assumed their fanbase was more progressive and forward-thinking, but with how the internet works, they severely misjudged the kinds of people who had infested their fanbase.

It really is a shame that those battles tend to overshadow the entire season five conversation, because boy are there some really great battles here. There’s underrated gems like the overhated “Wonder Woman vs Stevie Wonder,” strong female rappers like Julia Child in her battle against Gordon Ramsay, long-requested matchups like “James Bond vs Austin Powers,” and even a great story battle with “Ivan the Terrible vs Alexander the Great,” which has Ivan murdering his way through historical figures with “The Great” in their titles. It’s a lot of fun, and Peter’s performance as Ivan is a showcase of his talents.

However, the season’s greatest contribution to the series is most definitely the penultimate battle, which is “Theodore Roosevelt vs Winston Churchill.” This might very well be the most epic battle in the series: the ever-popular announcer for ERB’s news jumping in to battle the only man in history who could possibly be ballsy enough to stand up to him. It’s to the point where even as the battle ends, the two are still roughly on even footing and it’s hard to say who won. If this had been the season finale, or even the series finale if they had decided not to continue, things would be perfect.

This season is overshadowed by controversy, and it really isn’t totally fair. Most of the controversy is around the guys trying to be more progressive and for punching hard at Trump but not Clinton, and while I can’t say I love the results (the controversial battles are definitely the weakest of the season) it really shouldn’t be held against them for trying to be socially conscious and they certainly should not be shamed, berated, or told to leave politics out of their battles (rap is an inherently personal genre, so politics are always going to find a way in, especially if the characters they’re portraying are, you know, politicians). I think a lot of great battles are overlooked, all because of the more controversial ones, and that’s a real shame, because this is a solid season only held back by the controversy it found itself mired in due to the state of the internet at the time.

Best Battle: “Theodore Roosevelt vs Winston Churchill,” naturally.

Worst Battle: “Bruce Banner vs Bruce Jenner,” though it entirely comes down to how the second half of the battle was handled; having this be the battle was not in itself a bad idea, and was actually pretty clever. The poor, lopsided battle biased in the favor of a character who is a terrible person in real life simply because they’re trans (or at least that’s kind of the vibe the episode gives) really doesn’t help. Frankly I wish they had given the first trans character in the series honor to someone more worthy, like the Wachowski sisters.

Best Character:

Lloyd: Teddy Roosevelt is the obvious choice, but I almost feel like it’s cheating since he is a mainstay on the channel. If we discount him, Frederick the Great is the clear winner for stealing a whole battle in twelve bars.

Peter: It’s honestly a tie between Austin Powers and Ivan the Terrible. Peter really rocked it with his performances in this season, and those two are some of his best roles ever.

Guest: In one of the most out-there yet awesome guest spots ever, we have T-Pain as Stevie Wonder, ditching the auto tune and delivering sick rhymes while tastefully portraying Stevie’s blindness.

Worst Character: Once again, Peter and Lloyd manage not to put in any bad performances, which really is a testament to how far they’ve come as entertainers.That only leaves one spot, the guest, and it really has to go to the elephant in the room: No Shame’s Caitlin Jenner.

I don’t really blame No Shame here; because she had the unenviable position of playing Jenner in the first place; Jenner is not exactly a beloved figure in the LGBT+ community or otherwise, and while it is cool they got a trans rapper to play a trans character, I feel like backlash here was inevitable just because of who it was.

What doesn’t help is that Jenner rambles on for a ludicrous amount of bars, getting in way more disses than Hulk did and not having any of her negative qualities addressed, which is especially baffling considering her real life political leanings and manslaughter charge being ripe for mockery. It ultimately comes off as tokenism, like they were trying to force a win for the first trans character by handicapping her opponent and ignoring her flaws, which ultimately backfired as most people give the win to Banner/Hulk as opposed to Jenner.

I really hope ERB does a trans character again, because there are plenty of interesting trans people throughout history, but I really hope they avoid the pitfalls Jenner fell into and make it a fair and balanced rap battle.

Season 6

After a hiatus that lasted through 2017 and until the end of 2018, the boys dropped a bonus battle to show they were coming back. And lo and behold, in the spring of 2019 season six dropped! While it is only half over by the decade’s end, one thing is for sure: Peter and Lloyd are back in top form.

The battles this time around seem to be a lot of highly requested matchups, which is not a huge shock - I believe certain tiers of donors who support them get a direct line to speak to the people behind ERB. It’s to the point where Robin Williams appearing in the comedian battle Royale was not the original plan, but he was so highly requested they added him in. Continuing the trend of popular requests opening seasons, this one kicks off with the long-awaited “Freddy Krueger vs Wolverine.” It’s clear how much their lyricism has improved, and the visuals in the battle are incredible, setting the bar high for the season.

Most of the battles in the first half sadly don’t try and go for creative backgrounds, sadly; only “Joker vs Pennywise” and “Jacques Cousteau vs Steve Irwin” really do interesting stuff with their backgrounds. Still, the other battles make up for it in other ways, typically with deft lyricism and great flow. In fact, even though not all the battles are top-tier, it’s telling that the weakest battle so far is “Mother Teresa vs Sigmund Freud,” which only suffers because of how repetitive the disses get, especially on Freud’s end - Teresa’s flow and disses hit hard, Freud has a solid second verse, and the best is very fun. The worst thing I can say about it is that it feels like a holdover from season two, and considering this has been a matchup they’ve wanted to do for a long time, it wouldn’t shock me if it is.

The production values are astounding, and the overall visuals are the best in the series, but alas there are some hiccups. Freddy Krueger and Thanos in particular look a bit off; their battles are obviously not bad, but the costumes leave something to be desired, though considering these guys aren’t a multimillion dollar film studio it’s fair to cut a little bit of slack. What can’t be excused, however. Is the constant use of outdated memes, the worst offender being a reference to “What Does the Fox Say” in the rap battle between Che Guevara and Guy Fawkes (Side note: it is absolutely hilarious that Guy Fawkes and Joker both debuted in this season, considering… well… this). Almost every battle so far this season has contained a dated visual or lyrical reference, though they don’t really ruin the battles.

Overall, the season is extremely good so far, and showcases perfectly how far Peter and Lloyd have come since that first rap battle between John Lennon and Bill O’Reilly. The flows, the beats, the lyrics, the costumes… it’s all so good now. Long gone are the awkward days of the early seasons, and the burnout that was evident in season five is truly gone. These guys are having fun again, and I look forward to the rest of this season in 2020.

Best Battle: So far this season has almost been nothing but smashes, but perhaps their greatest accomplishment is “The Joker vs Pennywise,” which manages to play off the relevancy of both killer clowns while giving us some of Peter and Lloyd’s best performances to date, with Peter in particular doing a phenomenal Mark Hamill impression. The battle is also a bit longer than usual, with each rapper getting three verses, allowing them to cram in numerous references. Joker is definitely the wittier and funnier rapper, but Pennywise has a much better flow, which honestly plays to their actor’s strengths. This is my personal favorite battle of the series.

“Jacques Cousteau vs Steve Irwin” is honestly tied, as it also plays off the duo’s strengths and is very fun with an energetic, badass beat.

Worst Battle: A lot of people point to “Vlad the Impaler vs Count Dracula” for its slow pace and goofier take on Dracula, or “Ronald Mcdonald vs The Burger King” for being recycled from their “Flash in the Pan Hip Hop Conflicts of Nowadays” side series with very little in the way of improved lyrics. On both counts I disagree; I think both are good battles, with the latter being one of my favorites due to how goofy it is. So far, though, the battle that was the biggest disappointment was “Mother Teresa vs Sigmund Freud.” This was one a long time coming, but the payoff isn’t quite worth it. Most of the jokes on Freud’s side are incredibly repetitive, and in general his flow is weak compared to Teresa, who just absolutely kills it with creative and witty deliveries. It leads to this weird feeling of Freud being a season one character in terms of quality, which is a real shame.

Best Character:

Lloyd: Lloyd just oozes the charisma of Steve Irwin and Robin Williams when he plays them, easily making them the standout performances of this half of season six.

Peter: Peter brings his A-game as Joker, as mentioned above, but he also manages to be incredibly chilling and awesome as J. Robert Oppenheimer, easily outdoing Thanos in their rap battle. Oh snap!

Guest: This is a season of ties, it looks like, cuz Jackie Tohn as Joan Rivers and Gary Anthony Williams as Bill Cosby really change the tone of the comedian royale for the better. Cosby barely gets any lines, mind you, and spends most of the battle drugged and getting abused by Tohn’s Joan Rivers, but there’s just something hilarious about the ERB guys getting Uncle Ruckus to play a drugged-out Cosby. As for Rivers, she’s just perfect.

Worst Character: Visually, Thanos is not the best, and lyrically, Freud isn’t great, but I don’t think either of them deserves to be called ‘the worst.’ So far, this season has managed to avoid any overt stinkers.

And so we come to a close. Ten years of rap battles, ten years of growing and improvement, ten years of a rollercoaster ride of quality… it really is amazing that Peter and Lloyd have consistently managed to come back to this series and find new ways to breathe life into it. Considering their more recent videos, I can only hope they keep up this level of quality into the next decade. Here’s to another ten years of ERB!

…

Oh, alright, I’ll talk about the bonus battles. So far, there have been two: “Deadpool vs Boba Fett” came out between seasons four and five, and “Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg” came out a few months before season six kicked off to show us all that, yes, the boys were back, and they weren’t messing around. Both battles are pretty indicative of the time period they were made; “Deadpool vs Boba Fett” has that extremely high level of quality in terms of writing and characterization that season four did, and “Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg” has the sort of rejuvenated, fresh feeling the season six battles have. I will say I much prefer the former than the latter, as the latter does at least somewhat come off as an attempt to recapture the glory of “Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates,” only with two far less charismatic inventors, but it’s still pretty fun and clever in its own right. “Deadpool vs Boba Fett” is, without a doubt, one of their best battles ever, and does justice to two of the most beloved ensemble darkhorses in all of media. I can only hope any bonus battles in the future are up to these two in terms of quality.

Now with all that said… here’s to another decade of ERB! May they only continue to grow and improve in the 2020s!

#Michael in the Mainstream #Review #web show review #epic rap battles of history #ERB #rap #nice peter #epiclloyd #history #rap battles #comedy #Youtube

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smoochcal · 6 years ago

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numb without you (part one)

a/n: hello its been a while since I have written something along the lines of a blurb/series but we are gonna try to give it another go. enjoy this piece (1/??) inspired by some late night conversations with my friend el (MAJOR SHOUTOUT TO EL WE LOVE EL!!) about bestfriend!luke and how one night at the club has an odd turn of events. don't have a playlist necessarily for this series, but I was listening to the song numb without you by the Maine while writing this and it fits perfectly with Luke’s POV hence the title so give that song a listen while reading this if you'd like

pairing: readerxluke (initially)

word count: 1.8k

summary: you go to the club with luke and friends

rating: PG-13

warnings: swearing, mentions of alcohol and smoking, slight suggestive content

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Y/N’s POV:

Just one night. That’s all he asked of you. I mean it’s the least you could do. You can’t even imagine the amount of times Luke had come to your rescue. You owed him this. Besides, best friends have each other’s backs. So, you quickly zip up your dress and put on your heels. He was picking you up at 7:00 and the clock on your phone reads 7:05. Already not off to a good start for the night but you run out the door grabbing your purse.

You meet your best friend at the end of your driveway. You give him a hug as he tucks the stray piece of hair behind your ear. This isn’t something out of the ordinary for you two to do on a Saturday night. His friends were part of a partying crowd and he always invited you so he had someone he could lean on. Partying was one of the last things you wanted to do tonight, but you couldn’t let Luke down.

“Are you ready to go?” Luke asks, smiling ever so slightly your way.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” you say smiling right back, trying not to seem as unenthusiastic as you feel towards this night.

He opens the passenger door to his Ranger Rover and motions for you to climb in before getting in the driver’s seat and heading off to the club.

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The two of you arrive at the club at 8:30, starting the night out early. You and Luke were the first two there, but that didn’t bother you at all. He ordered you some food, knowing you haven’t eaten yet and you split whatever he ordered for you, a common occurrence for when the two of you are together. Although you would much rather spend tonight with him at his place watching Hairspray for the fourth time under a blanket fort, this club isn’t the worst place for you to be. Especially with him.

Around 9:45 the rest of his bandmates and their friends arrived at the club. The guys all gave you hugs and mumbled hellos as they made their way to the bar. You could tell tonight was different than the others, but you couldn’t quiet put your finger on it. You tried to ignore that bad feeling bubbling in the pit of your stomach, blaming it on the two drinks you had consumed prior to the arrival of the rest of the group.

It’s nearing 11:00 now and the crowd on the dance floor is only multiplying each time you blink. Your table consists of almost too many heads to count. Ashton is with one of his reoccurring flings. You’ve been introduced to this girl several times but you can’t remember her name for the life of you. Next to them were Michael and Crystal, who announced their engagement earlier in the year. Two peas in a pod, they’re never not together and you hear the butt of the jokes the guys make about how whipped Michael is for her.

You sit next to Michael with Luke on your other side. Calum sits on Luke’s other side and you can’t help but notice the miscellaneous girls that aren’t a normal part of your crowd taking up the remaining seats between Calum and Ashton. Not that this is particularly uncommon that a new girl or two joins y’all for a night out, but they’re usually familiar faces. You’re sure they know someone at the table, maybe friends of Crystal’s or something, but you decide not to worry about it any longer.

Eventually you and Luke get up from the table, making your way to the dance floor since everyone else has too at this point. You’re dancing around with your mismatched group of friends. It’s honestly pretty embarrassing considering you and Calum are the only ones who can technically bust a move or two. The two of you have always had some kind of unspoken promise to one another that you would never show off around the others purely to save them from the embarrassment of being showed up.

After about an hour or so on the dance floor, you see Calum excuse himself from the group and slip out the club through a side door. You know the routine; he does this every time you’re with him (and Luke for that matter). He went outside to smoke, a nasty habit he can’t seem to quit, but you never minded. The club is insanely packed at this point and you can the bass of the song in your chest. The crowd and the atmosphere is starting to get the best of you. You love closer to Luke and motion for him to lean down so you can say something in his ear.

“I’m gonna go outside to get some air. I’ll be right back,” you mention to Luke, practically yelling directionally into his ear.

He either understood you completely or just enough to get the gist but he nods his head and tells you to hurry back. You nod back to him and quickly slip in and out of bodies in order to reach the door you saw Calum slip out of moments before.

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Luke’s POV:

There she goes disappearing again. I would say that I mind, but I truly don’t. She wanders here and there, it’s just a part of who she is. She looks stunning in that black dress she wore tonight; I should’ve told her that when I picked her up earlier. I should have told her a lot of things that I haven’t in a while. I think I’m falling for her, or rather I think I have been falling for her and I’m seconds away from being completely in love with her. She’s been my best friend for years and I don’t want to do anything to ruin that, but I also don’t want to miss my shot. It’s a very delicate balance and the suspense is nearing the point of me cracking and telling her everything. I just don’t want things to change between us for the worse.

I think I love her, fuck. I love her. She only ever gets her heart broken into a million pieces every time another guy jumps into her life. She always expects them to be in for the long haul, but it always seems like they’re gone just as soon as they appear. And that is absolutely not fair on her part. She deserves the world. She’s been there for me through every heartbreak, every album release, every tour and now that things are slowly getting back to normal, I go and fuck it up again by falling in love with the most wholesome person I know. The person who has been there for me through it all. The only person who could convince me to watch every Disney princess movie willingly with minimal eye rolls. She convinced me to go to Disney World with her twice and I didn’t complain about the number of pictures I had to take of her with her favorite characters. Nor did I mind the number of times she made me sing along to various musical soundtracks on our long car rides to the beach.

I’ve even written a couple songs about her, not to her knowledge of course, but they’re about her. They’ve always been about her. And standing here now, splashing cold water on my face in the bathroom of yet another shitty club that I have been to time and time again I am finally coming to the realization that if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be here. She has inspired me to do so many things including moving on when I didn’t think I could even get out of bed that morning. All in all, at the end of the day it’s her. And I feel like a major dumbass for only recognizing this now. I am in love with Y/N.

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Y/N’S POV:

I finally stumbled outside and took my first deep breath of the night. I really am being overdramatic about tonight, but this scene is getting old quick. Especially this particular club I swear I have been here with Luke more times than I could count on my hand within the past two months. I understand that him and his friends are rock stars or whatever and have been for the past five years that I’ve known them, but this is getting tiring quick.

You take another deep breath and lean against the cold brick wall exterior of the building where your best friend is most likely downing another beer and attempting to groove to the beat. You almost laugh at the thought. You can feel the corners of your mouth turn into a smile. Just then you hear a light chuckle followed by the familiar scent of menthol.

“What are you doing out here?” Calum asks, a sly smile plastered across his plump red lips.

“Just needed to get some air,” you respond coolly, quickly remembering that he can get on your nerves easily if he rubs you the wrong way.

“Well don’t let me get in the way of that,” Calum replies, smirking yet again.

“What is that supposed to mean?” you mutter, crossing your arms for both warmth and in slight retaliation of whatever this man beside you is trying to imply.

“Nothing bad, sweetheart, just used to you getting your way most of the time and I don’t want to be the one that changes that,” he says as he puts out the cigarette he was just smoking moments before.

“Sweetheart? Who are YOU calling sweetheart?” you practically yell at him.

Calum just smiles again, laughing a little at the change in your tone. He looks you over quickly trying to be inconspicuous with his obvious actions and failing.

You shake your head, not knowing if Calum really just looked at you the way you thought he did. You’re four drinks deeps and he’s easily six and you both know this can’t end well if you both keep it up. But what do you have to lose?

“I’ll tell you what. If you wanna go around calling me sweetheart, be my guest but if you better start putting some money where your mouth is,” you state as you keep yourself from letting the drunken giggles overcome your body.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he explains as he puts his right hand on your left hip and catches your bottom lip in between his teeth before quickly attaching his lips to yours allowing you to taste the mix of mint and nicotine on his tongue.

This is gonna be a long night, you think to yourself as he backs you onto the brick wall you were leaning against just minutes before.

#luke #Luke hemmings #Luke hemmings blurb #Luke hemmings imagine #5sos blurb #5sos imagine #5 seconds of summer blurb #5 seconds of summer imagine #luke blurb #calum #calum hood #best friend!luke #cth #lrh #baby daddy!calum #5sos #5 seconds of summer

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haremofhetepheres · 6 years ago

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My Gold of All Gold

~ 𝓢𝓴𝔂 𝓯𝓾𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓽 𝓱𝓮𝓻 ~

Part 2 || Part 3

Jovially, royals and guests from across Arda, had gathered into the Great Dining Hall. They had all been spread out through the entire hall; many dwarves drank their mead while guffawing at silly tales and stories.

Beside them, their Ones, gossiped, also laughing merrily. Despite for the fact of being hardworking, dwarves loved to gather to tell stories after a drink or two and roar in laughter, even if it were for no special occasion. But this evening it was different. This evening there were two occasions why everyone was so content.

The first event was that Erebor had been finally reclaimed and restored to its glorious peace. Thorin was crowned King Under The Mountain, right after the defeat of Azog the Defiler and the rest of the Company had a place to call home.

The second reason as to why there was such a grand celebration was because Fíli was married to his beloved wife, Sigrid, daughter of Bard. The guests that had arrived, had also brought with them lavish and magnificent gifts from their lands for the happy couple. Along with these gifts, they had also brought their cheerfulness.

Of course, everyone was happy that day. It was a celebration, hence the name of it. But you were not...or at least, you forced yourself to be. How selfish that must sound, right?

However, you had a truly painful reason not to be, content that is. And it was quite difficult to think of it, without it bringing tears to your eyes. It had to do with the dwarven prince. The one who was married.

As you thought of him, your eyes wandered over to the dais where the royal family and their friends were dining. Fíli had sat beside Thorin’s right and holding his big calloused hand, was Sigrid. She was pretty and in her white wedding dress, she looked even prettier. Her rich, dark hair had been curled up and a beautiful braid was very much evident, as it had been purposefully tucked behind her ear. Her skin seemed as pure as the first thick blanket of snow while her emerald eyes gleamed with joy.

You watch the pair of them as Fíli leans over to whisper something in her ear which earns a soft laughter from Sigrid, rendering Fíli’s features to be graced with a handsome smile. Even her laugh was lovely. You thought to yourself before you stared down at your plate, sighing sadly.

“It is an insult to have to sit below a human.” A dwarrowdam hissed behind you. Slightly, you turn your head to see her speaking with her friend as they, both, cast their eyes to Sigrid like you had done a few moments ago.

“We cannot complain, Freida.” The other replied bitterly. “She is married to the prince, in time, she’ll become the Queen.”

‘She’ll become the Queen...’ You repeated those words in your mind, like a mantra as if you wanted to continuously torture yourself. To torture yourself for having so foolishly fallen in love with the dwarf prince since the beginning of the journey.

You had tried to keep your distance from Fíli during the journey so that you would all focus on what was more important than your measly love interest. Yes, you talked and sparred together many times but you were keeping your feelings hidden from him. You had decided to let him know of what you felt for him after the reclaim of Erebor, but it seemed you were too late.

Fíli, your sweet, darling dwarf, had fallen in love. And it was not with you.

You were truly happy for him but in your mind, you continuously cursed the day when you lay in tears on your aunt’s lap and she reassured you, “You will have love, sweetheart. He will come, your prince will come. You simply must be willing to open your heart and let him in. Let him love you.”

Well, apparently, you had opened your heart, your feelings, and your emotions and you regretted more than ever. Because like your previous aching heartbreaks, the dwarf prince was never going to love you. Looking over at the royal table, you decided upon something that you would most definitely regret later on. But it was too late as you had reluctantly begun to walk over to the royal table.

The Company turned their attention to you as you ascended the steps, slowly. You folded your trembling hands tightly together and with a shaky voice - trying not to cry - you whisper, “Kili, may I please speak with you?”

The dark-haired dwarf’s orbs bore into your own as he snaps out of his daze. “Sure, sure, of course. Let’s head out to the hallways where it would be more quiet and less overwhelming.”

You nod as you wait for him to come around the table and join you out at the hallways. As you wait, uneasily you decide to cast your eyes one last time to Fíli, who surprisingly you caught to have been looking at you with an expression you could not pinpoint. His blue eyes resembled the colours of the ocean, shimmering and crashing beneath the sunset. Looking into his eyes was not only hypnotizing but it seemed as if though you were staring at a fragile piece of turquoise glass, which laid in the sand, glistening in the bright sunlight.

You offer him a final smile and turn to Kili, who lightly grabbed your elbow and led you out of the Great Dining Hall. At the entrance, you stopped and his eyes were laced with concern and confusion. You could not take it anymore so, you let the tears cloud your vision as they quickly trickled down your cheeks. From one then, it continued like an endless waterfall.

Alarmed, Kili widened his eyes and took a hold of your hands, “What’s happened, (Y/N)? Why are you crying? Should I be getting my bow and arrows?”

You laugh through your tears as Kili lightens the tension and mood. The young dwarf smiles and brings his thumbs, wiping your tears away. “No, Kili. I don’t think this time would be a wise choice.”

“Then, perhaps not,” he agrees. “But tell me what is bothering you?”

You sigh and momentarily shut your eyes before finding the courage to tell him. “I am going to leave Erebor. After all, this marks the end of my adventure.”

“What?” Kili says as his eyebrows instantly knit in confusion. “Why? Please, do not do this (Y/N) or at least rethink it. Listen to me, if this is about the time uncle said those terrible things to you, you must know that he was - ”

“No, Kili, this has nothing to do with Thorin.” You reply, swallowing uneasily. There was an uncomfortable few minutes of silence and when you lower your head, Kili gasps, comprehending the sudden meaning of your answer. “(Y/N),” He whispers but you shake your head, not wanting him to say anything about it.

“Please, do not make this any more harder than it already is.” You plead as you reach from under your sleeve, producing a stone with a dwarvish engraving that said kidhuzel, which meant ‘gold of all gold’. That was the first and only word that you learned in Khuzdul. It was a word that Fíli had taught you and he made you promise to remember it while thinking of him.

“Please, return this to your brother. Not today. I don’t want him to think of this on his happy day. Maybe when you deem it to be right.” You say, placing the stone on his hand as Kili ran his index finger over it. “Gold of all gold.” He read and you squeeze your eyes shut, forcefully pushing your tears back.

“Wouldn’t he want you to keep this?”

“Yes, he would.” You reply, breathlessly. “But every time I look at it, it makes me tear up.” He nods understanding and looks back to you. “Kili, tell him I will forever remember and keep the promise. Tell him I loved him even if he might not have loved me in return.”

Fresh tears began to sting your face and the sadness you felt seemed to float through the atmosphere. “Let him know that I thank him. For making me believe in love...again. Even if he did not feel it, it was quite real for me.”

Kili nodded once more and reached to embrace you. You wrap your arms around him and rest your head upon his shoulder. For a while, you remained like that, in a comforting silence as he soothes you by rubbing circles on your back. You sniffle and let him go. “And I thank you for all those silly stories and pranks that seemed to aid me from my worries and overthinking. You are a good friend, Kili.”

“Nonsense, you do not need to thank me, lass. I had known from the start, you’d helplessly fall for my charming personality.” He replies, winking mischievously as he did so, rendering you to laugh wholeheartedly.

“Well, I will miss you, my charming dwarf.” You say, placing your hand on his shoulder.

“As I, you, my little Thumbelina.” He replies, using the nickname from the stories you had told the Company and implying that you were short for a human. Sighing, you turn to leave from the Southern Gates, not believing this was truly how it was to end. You had dreamed of it to be much more differently...and happier.

“Oh and Kili,” You call to him before he’d enter the Great Dining Hall. He turns and regards you with a curious expression. “After tea with Bilbo, you are welcome to come to my house for dinner.”

He smiles widely and bows, “I’d be honoured, lass. And so would the Company.”

You watch him till he retreats back to the noisy hall and you walk away slowly, each footstep resonating in your head as you thought of the reoccurring memories of the journey you had taken apart in. Your tears, once again, clouded your vision and you let your sadness engulf you while you headed out to the Gates.

#the hobbit #the hobbit imagine #fili #fili durin #fili imagine #fili durin imagine #fili x reader #kili #kili durin #kili imagine #kili x reader #the hobbit films

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tydelwve · 6 years ago

Text

Blame It On Me

Characters: past Luke x reader, publicist named Karen, James Corden

Word Count: 1643

Warnings: angst. I know I should have done fluff for my first fic but this one was just calling my name.

Summary: When Luke lies about your break up, what happens when you reciprocate?

Beta(s): @suburbanaesthetics

Author’s Note: This is the first 5sos fic I've done in a while, so I hope you like it! It’s based off of the song Blame It On Me by Chrisette Michelle. The song will be in bold, and I had to change a few pronouns, so those changes will also be italicized. Feedback is always appreciated! enjoy xx

The animosity towards you and your past relationship with Luke was so bad that your publicist need you to make a public statement.

Obviously, that statement was posted on Twitter, and it read:

“Sometimes you can work it out. Sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you’re forced to watch everything fall apart, it’s out of your hands. Sometimes leaving is easy. Sometimes it ain’t. Sometimes it hurts to know the loving we had is slowly fading away.

You can say whatever you like.

Blame it on me. Say it’s my fault. Say that I left him outside in the cold with a broken heart. I really don’t care. I ain’t crying no more. Say I’m a liar, cheater—say anything that you want—as long as it’s over.

I ain’t no quitter. I just ain’t the type. I tried to see him through… I tried to make it to the finishing line.

You thought it was meant to be, yeah?

I’ll admit, so did I. Every once in a while, everyone thinks they figured it out. Sometimes you’re not right.

Yes, I love him, but I really gotta lose him. Freedom’s where I want to be. Yes, I’ll probably always love him, but I’m moving—gotta do this for me.”

Within thirty minutes, your tweet went viral and #BlameItOnLuke was trending. People were shocked to hear you speak up about the relationship that just ended a little over a month ago. You were on every news website, and the entire ordeal meet more people pumped to watch your interview with James Corden.

No one truly knew what happened except you and Luke, but he was more than willing to throw you under the bus to keep his name in the clear in all the interviews they had after the break up.

Meanwhile, you just took it off. The hate never bothered you. You were telling yourself things worse than what one of the fans could’ve said.

Now that everyone knew you were ready to speak your truth, the game had completely changed. Everyone was ready and waiting to hear what you had to say.

“Welcome to the show, Y/N Y/L/N, everyone,” James said as you made your way to the seat near him. The crowd cheered and whistles as you waved in their direction.

“Thank you for having me, James. It’s been so long since I’ve been here,” your smile was wide as you readjusted yourself to get comfortable in the seat.

“Last time you were here, you were promoting a movie and sporting a ring on your finger. Now, one of those things isn’t happening today. No more ring,” James said in awe as you nodded.

You held up your empty left hand for everyone to see as you said, “A lot can change in a year. People change and so do promises.”

“We will get to that in a second. Let’s talk about Love, Simon. You were among the actors on the cast that was very vocal about the importance of the movie and the message that it wants to send out. Why is this film important to you?”

“The biggest message the we’ve promote is that straight shouldn’t be what people assume your sexuality is as soon as they meet you. The people a part of the LGBT+ community are more than the stereotypes placed on them, and we feel that this movie proves that there’s nothing wrong with loving who you love.”

James asked you a few more questions before the million dollar question came into play. “Now, a month ago, you and Luke Hemmings broke up. He was very vocal about his side of the story, but a few days ago, you brought to the world’s attention that he may have not being telling the truth. Why, after so long, did you feel like you need to speak up about the situation?”

•flashback•

You sat on the couch and scrolled through the hate comments you had received. Ever since you and Luke broke up, you found yourself reading what others had to say about you.

Your publicist came in and immediately took your phone from you. “We need to talk,” she said. Her eyes were tired, and her was voice steady. “I can’t do my job of getting you good publicity if everyone thinks you’re a flake, Y/N. You need to make a statement about this situation with Luke.”

You looked down and fiddled with your fingers. “I can’t, Karen. It will just make the situation worse.”

“Worse for who?” she questioned. She rubbed her temples before she stated, “I don’t know what happened between you and him, but I know you. You left him because it was your last choice. He had to have done something, and your letting him run your name into the ground!”

“He has millions of fans looking up to him. Don’t you think they would be crushed to find out that he’s a fucking cheater!” you exploded.

The room fell silent. “I caught him when I surprised him and came home early from set. He promised me that he wasn’t seeing her anymore, but there she was underneath him,” you spoke lowly.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that, but this is why you need to speak up. You need to make a statement by the end of the week or I will for you. Why the hell are you still protecting him when he’s shown he isn’t going to do the same?” she walked out and left you with your thoughts.

•end of flashback•

“I decided that I was done protecting him. My publicist really made a convincing point. I’ve realized that by waiting so long to say anything, my words will not hold value with his fans. It’s Luke’s turn to speak up,” you said.

“Well, hopefully we will get that soon. Thank you for coming on today, Y/N.” Corden closed the show, and you went home.

A few hours later, there was a knock at your door. You opened it to see and unexpected guest.

“Luke? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Can I come in? Can we talk, please?”

You moved out of the way any let him inside. He looked around your house like a lost child before he took a seat in the kitchen.

You took in his look as he fiddled with his fingers. He wore your old ring around his neck. His hair was disheveled, and his clothes didn’t match.

He couldn’t even look you in the eye.

“I told the boys what actually happens between us. They told me to get off of my high horse and come speak to you,” his voice was soft.

You took a seat across from him. “Well if you just came to say sorry—“

“I never deserved you,” Luke cut you off as he finally looked you in your eyes. “You always had my back. You were always there for me. Instead of showing you the love you deserve, I cheated on you. You didn’t deserve the disrespect I showed you and our relationship.”

A stray tear ran down your face as you said, “Why did you lie about what happened?”

“I was scared,” his voice cracked. “If I would’ve stayed silent, the media would have painted me to be the bad guy because I always talked about you. I didn’t want to be ridiculed for a stupid choice that I shouldn’t have made.”

“At least your reputation wasn’t drowning. I took all of the hate to protect you. I actually thought you had a better reason than being scared. This has gone too far, and you need to make this right.”

You placed your open laptop in front of him and he looked at you wide eyed. He took a deep breath and logged into his Twitter to live stream.

You sat beside him as he began to record live. “It is currently 2AM, and I am at Y/N’s house because I have to be honest for a fucking change.”

You could tell that he was about to break down when he looked down at his fingers, so you spoke up, “We broke up because of things that Luke did. It was a reoccurring thing that I thought had stopped a year earlier.”

Luke looked up and said, “I had been seeing another girl behind Y/N’s back. I would love to say the generic stuff, but I knew what I was doing, I knew it was going to hurt her, and it wasn’t a mistake. It was a conscious choice that I made.”

“About a year earlier, I caught Luke with this girl, and he promised that it was a one time thing. He made sure that I knew he only loved me, and I stayed.” Tears welled up in the corners of your eyes.

“The day we broke up, she came to my house to surprise me and saw me with that girl. We had a huge fight and she broke up with me. I didn’t realize that actions had consequences until right then. She had been nothing but good to me, and I took advantage of her kindness. I’m sorry for lying to all of you. I guess I should end it here. Good night, guys.”

He turned to look at you. “Y/N, I am sorry for how I treated you. I hope one day you find someone who deserves you and appreciates you. Find someone better than me, okay?”

You nodded and pulled him into a hug. He relaxed as he wrapped his arms around you.

“If I told you that I have a friend that would be perfect for you…” Luke started.

“I’d tell you to slow your fucking roll, Hemmings,” you laughed.

And from that moment, everything was okay.

#luke hemmings #luke 5sos #5sos #5 seconds of summer #luke x reader #luke x you #ty masterfind

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violetrose120 · 6 years ago

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Save Me

Chapter 1: I Need Your Love Before I Fall

“Taehyungie…,” Jimin mumbles through drunken giggles and kisses, arms wrapped around Taehyung as they stumble down the brightly lit hallway of the dorm. Jimin tightens his hold on Taehyung, earning him a pinch on his ass. Jimin yelps in response, but his cry is cut short as Taehyung reconnects their lips. They finally reach their desired destination-- the dorms. Taehyung struggles to pull out his keycard and insert it to unlock the door, but somehow he manages. They somehow manage to also get through the door and shut it behind them without any mishaps. Jimin peppers kisses along Taehyung’s jawline and neck. Jimin’s plump lips graze and suck Taehyung’s neck, causing Taehyung to groan in response to the attack on his neck. Taehyung lets out another deep groan and places his hands on Jimin’s hips.

“Jump,” Taehyung whispers.

Jimin jumps up just enough for Taehyung to lift him up, and he wraps his legs around Taehyung’s slender waist.

Jimin’s back hits with a ‘thud’, and he moans as he is shoved up against the beautiful white wall of the entryway. The sound rings in Taehyung’s ears and tumbles through his mind, making him feel all kinds of not-so-innocent puppy love for the man in his arms. His lips are back on Jimin’s in a second, and he indulges himself as if he’ll never get to kiss Jimin again.

He pulls away, breathless, only to have his breath taken again when he looks at Jimin, illuminated by the city lights and the full moon shining through the dorm window. Jimin’s pastel blue hair looks more like faded silver, and his brown eyes seem to shine from within-- the brown turning into pools of molten gold and copper, almost taken over by the dilation of his eyes.

At this moment, to Taehyung, Jimin is the most beautiful person to ever exist. The boxy smile that graces Taehyung’s handsome features hurts his cheeks, because, at this moment, he has all of Jimin’s attention. Taehyung gives Jimin a playful kiss, tugging his bottom lip between his teeth and lightly pulling.

“I really want you, Jiminie,” Taehyung says, his smile faltering, “but are you sure about this? I will stop if you want--”

Jimin grabs hold of Taehyung’s tie and gives a sharp tug, loosening the tie and pulling Taehyung towards him-- pushing their lips back together.

Taehyung doesn’t fight when Jimin tugs his jacket off of him, nor does he argue when Jimin pulls his lips off of his to say, “Bedroom, now,” as he unbuttons his shirt and exposes his chest. He obliges to Jimin's command, pulling Jimin off from the wall and carries him through the dorm. Taehyung and Jimin had shed most of their clothes by the time they reach the bedroom. The next thing Jimin feels is the fluffy duvet on Taehyung’s bed.

Their lips collide again, the hint of alcohol evident in both their mouths, and that’s how they stay for a short while-- Taehyung leaned over Jimin on his bed, one arm supporting him and the other holding Jimin’s waist, and one of Jimin's arms wrapped around Taehyung’s neck while the other roams his chest. When they break apart again it’s because Jimin's hand finds its way to Taehyung’s zipper.

“Jimin, are you sure about this?” Taehyung asks, this time with seriousness evident in his voice, “I think maybe we should sto--”

Jimin tightens his grip on Taehyung’s neck and pulls him down to connect their lips again before Taehyung can finish voicing any concerns he had.

“Taehyung, please stop talking and just love me, okay?” Jimin says, irritation in his voice showing as he becomes impatient.

Still buzzed from the alcohol he had, and very confused at Jimin’s tone, Taehyung obeys. He loves Jimin in every way he asks, and it’s a little sloppy at times but it’s perfect to Taehyung. While chasing their high, they didn’t hear anyone come home-- or hear someone open the bedroom door where they were eloping.

Jungkook passes the restrooms once again, becoming more and more impatient as he continues to wander around in search for Jimin and Taehyung-- who had wandered away from their spot at the bar.

“Where did they go? They can’t have gotten that far while Tae is that drunk, right?” Jungkook whispers to himself.

Taehyung had been downing far more shots than he can usually handle, so Jungkook figures something is off; now both Taehyung and Jimin have disappeared, and he’s worrying. Taehyung disappeared first, and Jimin followed to go check on him. Now they’re both gone, and no one knows where they are. Jungkook had wanted to check on Taehyung, but Jimin insisted that Jungkook go find the others while Jimin checks on him. Jungkook hadn’t thought much of it and ignored Jimin’s insistence on the matter; now that they’ve disappeared, he’s worried about them.

Similar incidents to this have become a reoccurring thing over the past couple of months now; Taehyung would attempt to drink his entire body weight at random points in the day, and Jimin would help him back to sobriety. This has confused all the members-- ‘Why has Taehyung been drinking so much?’ ‘Is Taehyung okay?’ and similar questions have crossed through every member’s mind. ‘Just stressed over our rehearsing.’ ‘Touring is tiring, just needed a drink.’ were the only answers they got-- vague excuses they’ve all made before when they didn’t want to talk about their problems. It’s been bothering Jungkook. It even seems weird to the other members that Jimin has continually insisted on being the person to sober up Taehyung.

Jimin and Taehyung have spent a lot of time together recently, and Jungkook doesn’t particularly mind-- they’re all very close, so it is not unusual. Since they don’t get much time to themselves between touring and making comeback preparations, they take all the time they can get to be with each other. Lately, though, Jimin hasn’t been as affectionate with Jungkook as he used to be. He has been very reluctant to go on dates, or spend time with him, or even speak to him. They rarely share any intimacy between them anymore; they no longer cuddle after practice, kisses are sparse, and their sex life is extinct at this point. The only thing they ever share anymore is their bedroom. If Jungkook wants too, he can easily say that all of Jimin’s love and attention is going to Taehyung recently-- but that can’t be true, right?

Anxiety hits Jungkook hard as the thoughts pile themselves one after another on top of each other in his mind, forcing tears to well up in his eyes.

His mind doesn’t help when it starts to supply his anxiety with evidence; memories of stolen glances, hands touching for just a tad too long, Taehyung blushing when Jimin looks at him.

The welled up tears fall freely when he realizes that that is flirting, that is all the things he and Jimin used to do before they officially got together.

The words stumble out of his mouth in a mumble before he can have a chance to process them or think rationally,

“Is Jimin… cheating on me?”

The force of how much he suddenly doubts Jimin hits him hard-- or maybe he’s been doubting Jimin all along? Maybe it was when Jimin first pushed him away to keep him from kissing him, maybe it was when Jimin called to cancel one of their dates in favor of taking care Taehyung while all the other members were definitely available and could have taken care of Taehyung in his stead.

He tries to ration with himself that Jimin will never do that to him, he would never-

The word tastes terrible and bitter in his mouth even though he’s not saying it aloud,

He would never cheat on him, right? Suspicions further fill his mind, taking him farther into the deep end of negative thoughts about his boyfriend.

Did they use Taehyung’s drunken state as an excuse to leave and go off somewhere together, leaving Jungkook here standing next to the men’s bathroom, crying his heart out?

Namjoon is watching him from across the room, trying to keep a close eye while still entertaining the guests that came his way. Now, one of the newer female idols is desperately trying to keep Namjoon’s attention, but he keeps his eyes focused on Jungkook, only giving neutral and generic answers to the girl. He starts to worry more when Jungkook stops in the middle of the room. Jungkook just stands there for a few minutes, seemingly not doing anything-- but that’s what worries him. He stares at Jungkook, about to politely excuse himself from the rookie idol when he sees Jungkook's slouch, his shoulders shaking. Jungkook’s hand comes up to cover his mouth, and his shoulders jerk-- Jungkook is crying.

Namjoon quickly excuses himself and ignores her when she asks if they can talk later. He makes a beeline for Jungkook, small ‘pardon and ‘excuse me’s passing his lips as he slowly pushes himself through the small crowd. He pushes past a couple more people, and he begins to clearly hear that Jungkook is crying, there’s no doubt about it now.

“Kookie, what’s wrong?” Namjoon questions as he finally steps in front of Jungkook, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jungkook looks up, his hand hovering in the air, and an uncovered sob escapes him. His eyes are watery and red; tears tracks are staining his cheeks.

“I-it’s no-othing,” Jungkook replies, wiping his face with his hand. He isn’t able to hide that he is crying, at least not to Namjoon, “I’m fine, Namjoon.” He smiles brightly through watery eyes, and it almost looks like he isn’t even upset. Namjoon knows better than to believe that; Jungkook always hides his emotions even if someone catches him.

“Jungkook, I know that isn’t true. I can tell, you look terrible.” Namjoon gave him a once over, his suit is wrinkled, his hair looks like he’s run his hands through it more than needed, his face is slightly reddened, and his whole body looks tense.

“I’m fine, Joon, I promise,” Jungkook's smile drops as he turns from Namjoon’s line of sight, “I’m just tired. The drinks I had earlier are finally getting to me. I’m… gonna head home for the night.”

Namjoon’s frown deepens at this answer, grabbing Jungkook’s arms he gently tugs on him.

“Jungkook…,” Namjoon’s own stern tone surprises him, and as Jungkook turns around, with sadness painting his features, he speaks with a gentler tone.

“I know you haven’t had a single drink tonight, so please don't try and make that excuse. You were energetic and excited up until about fifteen minutes ago, what happened?” He asks the question knowing that he probably won’t get an answer, but he hopes Jungkook trusts him enough to talk to him about whatever is going on in his head.

“Nothing!” Jungkook snaps at him as he takes a step away from Namjoon, shoving him off his arm, “I told you I’m fine. Just let me go home…”

Namjoon’s eyes widen at his outburst and takes a step back. He blinks and watches as Jungkook turns around and begins to leave, leaving him standing awkwardly by the bathrooms.

Namjoon takes a deep breath before he calls out to Jungkook, “Jungkook, be careful, okay? Call me when you get there!”

Jungkook doesn’t respond, but he looks over his shoulder at Namjoon once more before continuing on. Namjoon decides it’s best to leave him alone for now, he’ll call later to check on him. Now he has to either find or contact Jimin and Taehyung. He’s been wondering what’s going on, and maybe whatever is going on has to do with Jungkook.

Jimin’s and Taehyung's sudden closeness hasn’t gone unnoticed to Namjoon-- it’s his job to notice things that involve the members-- and most of the members have gotten suspicious too. It’s natural that Jungkook is upset over Jimin's and Taehyung's disappearing together without a word, but Namjoon lets it go. If something is wrong, then Jungkook will tell him-- he always comes to him about these things.

Jungkook walks into the dimly lit dorm, the light from the moon and city lights is not enough for him to see the whole dorm clearly, but just enough for him to not trip and fall on the slight ledge in the walkway. He walks further into the silent dorm without turning on any lights-- too tired and mentally worn to bother with lights.

Jungkook looks up and takes a deep breath, hoping that his and Jimin’s shared bed would just appear already so he can go to sleep and wake up with Jimin next to him-- or, even better, Jimin could already be waiting for him in their bed. He’s probably watching dancing videos or a dance competition.

He enters his and Jimin’s shared room to see Jimin lying on their bed in one of Jungkook’s sweaters. Jungkook smiles and steps in to the room, shutting the door behind him.

The click of the door shutting behind him makes Jimin look up from his laptop where he is watching what looks to be dance practices, he smiles and pushes himself up from where he is lying down.

“Hey Kookie, welcome back.” Jimin slowly gets up and walks over to where Jungkook is.

“Hey Jiminie, you left early?” Jungkook asks cautiously, hoping to avoid a situation where Jimin ignores him after only speaking a few words.

“Yeah, I… wanted to come home, but I didn’t want to bug you about it so I just brought Taehyung home and waited for you to get back.” Jimin gives Jungkook a shy smile.

They stand in silence for just a moment, and then Jimin takes another step towards Jungkook. Closing the gap between them by wrapping his arms around Jungkook’s neck.

“So you… aren’t mad at me for something? Or don’t like me anymore?” Jungkook says, holding eye contact, and waiting for the bad news of Jimin no longer liking him to come forth in Jimin’s words.

“What are you talking about, Jungkookie?” Jimin sighs, “You know I lo--”

His train of thought is cut off by doubt, and tears begin to fill his vision again. He takes a few shakey steps with tears threatening to spill from his eyes, his mind fills with scenes of Jimin ignoring him because he no longer likes him. A thought presses its way to the front of his mind-- it’s an image of Jimin draped in Taehyung’s arms. Before he has the chance to be angry at the image for existing, or be mad at himself for bringing it into existence, he slips on something.

His arms shoot out beside him in an attempt to balance himself again. Once he finds he balance again, he looks down at what made him slip. He squints to see what it is in the dimly lit living room. The little bit of light from the city and the moon doesn’t help him to see what it is, so he gives up and bends down to pick up what it is.

He grabs it up from the ground and holds it more to the light-- it’s a black, sequined Gucci jacket.

“This… this is Taehyung’s jacket…” Jungkook whispers into the darkness.

He doesn’t want to think about it, he just wants to go to be and see Jimin. He wants to think that maybe Taehyung just dropped it here because he was feeling sick and didn’t want to ruin it-- but he couldn’t get the nagging voice out of his head.

He turns around and feels along the wall of living room, looking for the light switch. He finds it quickly enough and turns on the light to the lowest setting. His breathing is shaky as he turns around to survey the rest of the living room; there are clothing pieces strewn across the living room. In front of him is two pairs of dress shoes thrown haphazardly on the floor. There are a couple of belts on the floor and a pair of black slacks thrown down with one leg inside out. Jimin's jacket and dress shirt are lay crumpled near the wall, definitely taken off in a rush.

Tears begin to blur his view before they wet his cheeks as he begins to make his way through the living room and down the hall.

He just wants Jimin to have undressed drunk Taehyung and put him to sleep in his own bed before going to their own. He just wants to see Jimin smile at him and tell him that they have the night themselves to rest up and watch videos of cute animals together. He just wants to hold his lover in his arms and tell him how much he loves and appreciates him-- but as he makes his way further down the hall and begins to hear muffled noises. He attempts to blink his eyes clear of tears, he looks down and brings his hand up to wipe his cheeks. Something on the floor catches his eyes-- it’s another dress shirt. He walks further down the hall and see another pair of black slacks. The muffled noises become clearer and clearer as he moves further down the hall, and his tears fall faster down his cheeks the clearer the sounds become.

He feels a stab of pain in his heart when he is close enough to the source of the noise that he clearly hears Jimin praise Taehyung-- he is praising his best friend in bed, his own fucking boyfriend is praising someone other than him in bed.

He feels gross, like he’s been drenched in molasses and forced to walk through a humid forest. His body doesn’t feel right, his heart is racing like he lifted heavy weights for the first time in a long time, and his tears have yet to stop falling. He takes two, three, four more steps before he is right outside Taehyung’s bedroom door; in the time he took those four agonizing steps his feelings have morphed from gross and disgusted to anger.

His body is set aflame with white hot anger and his tears sting his skin as he stares at door, just listening to his boyfriend cheat on him-- something he never thought his boyfriend would do. He trusted and loved Jimin, he was one of his closest friends and his lover, and now here he is cheating on him.

His emotions morph again, this time into a numb sort of anger- directed at himself. He probably let this happen, he thinks as he stares at the door and hears them laugh about something before moaning replaces it. He probably didn’t love Jimin like he needed to, he probably forgot something, or maybe he just let Jimin go.

His world creates an emergency shelter as fast as he feels it collapsing around him, and he shelters himself in anger. He steels himself in the moment he grabs the handle and turns.

He isn’t ready to be broken like this, to feel abused like this, when he sees his best friend on top of his boyfriend. His stomach lurches, and he swallows his own bile as he tries to steady his breathing.

Sick, gut twisting anger returns to him when they finally notice him at the door and attempt to untangle themselves from each other.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletRose120/works

There’s the link to my AO3 if you want to follow I guess...

#jeon jungkook/park jimin #rape elements #noncon elements #bts angst #angst #kpop angst #sad #slight smut #anger #betrayal #cheating #this story is painful #prepare to cry #im a sadist and a masochist at the same time #this is a lot #it gets worse from here

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