#but then again yet another male fantasy is having some girl chase after them while they act uninterested so

[yanderenightmare]

the lines "there's nothing cuter than a brat not knowing her place" & "dethroning a queen is much more gratifying than spanking a toddler" ARE SO FUCKING GOOD, my ovaries hurt thinking about them... and so now that ive buttered you up a bit, can I plez request something a lil bit taboo... like don't feel pressured and don't write if it makes you uncomfortable, but RIMMING is a big kink and I want DaddyDeku to force me to lick his taint plez ps BUNNYHOLE & BUNNY-TRAP are my fav thing in this wrld

yandere ! BNHA thirst

goodiebag WARNINGS: s i n, rimming, dubcon/noncon, condescension, coercion, infantilization, degradation, humiliation, this is  f i l t h

MIDORIYA IZUKU - DEKU

“You’ve gotten so good at this, baby.” Deku sighed in moaning, fisting the leash in his hand, man-spreading on the bed with a mountain of cushy pillows propped up behind him, like some thrown, watching his pet’s butt dance where she knelt between his knees, head bobbing up and down as she sucked on his length. “Showing your gratitude.” She slurped at the spit that spilled from her mouth and dripped down past his balls, cheeks hollowing to suckle on him like a lollipop, tongue swiping out to glaze his base instead of gagging when swallowing him down completely. “Pleasing daddy, making him feel so good.” His other hand pet her head, stroked her locks and entangled them with his fingers, letting her know to go down deeper, open her throat for him. “Taking me so well in your mouth, all the way down your throat.” He praised.

Deku let out a sigh as he lifted his legs, laying them down to rest on top of her back instead, which she’d learned meant he wanted her to lie down on her stomach, something that also meant she’d be doing this for a while, that he was happy with her mouth for now and that her little pussy and tight butt could wait a little while longer.

“Kiss it, kiss daddy cock.” He liked watching her pucker her lips and worship him, pecking his spit-slicked pole with precious lip-smacking wet kisses, that had strings of saliva hanging like strings connecting them. She kissed his head, made the mistake of making eye-contact with the bushy-haired male, spiteful eyes looking into his sultry sadistic ones. “So sweet, such a good girl who loves daddy's cock.” The words dripped from him like venom, knowing each word he spewed were a lie.

The shock-collar strained in its perfect custom fit around her throat, tight and unmovable, no matter how many times she’d scratched at it like the feral animal he made her out to be. Buzzing warm metal just waiting for her to step out of line only to make her bow. 

“Aren't you forgetting something, Bunny.” He asked, giving the leash a slight pull, reminding her of another reason he liked having her on her stomach. She gave his heavy balls a lick, starting to lap and lick them into her mouth. “Clever girl, my balls were feeling so lonely.” She moved her hand away from supporting herself on his thigh, knowing he wouldn't be pleased if she didn't use it to tug and yank his cock, keep every inch of him satisfied. “Mmh Baby, good, suck on them, cuddle with them.” The hand fisting her hair pulled her in closer, making her face mush into his manhood, nose and cheeks smeared with slick, a mixture of pre-cum and spit, no tears just yet, not this time. “There we go.” He moaned, sick smile adorning his face as she abided his directions and cuddled with his groin. “You know what else is feeling lonely?” He quipped, and though she felt her gut churn, she knew better than to stop. Ears burning in awaiting his answer. “Daddy's butt.” She went against her better judgement and stopped in her pursuit, wide eyes looking up at him, precious tearful plead springing to the surface, already looking so crushed by the humiliation. “Would bunny show daddy how much she loves him?”

His eyes seemed to gleam like glowing fungus on rotting wood, wild hair looking even more disheveled and crazed, frizzy in it’s unkempt drying after their long bath, his freckled face blushed with a tinge of rouge, making him look so virginaly innocent when she knew he was anything but. The smile gave it all away though, like the sly knife-sharp smirk of a fox, seemingly dripping with drool, ready to sink teeth in its prey. She knew deep down that it wouldn't matter but she tried protesting anyway, tried pulling away though being complete aware of the collar around her neck keeping her exactly where she was, lying defenseless and defeated on her stomach, kept to please her dungeon master and fulfill his every vile fantasy.

She felt the zap, the sweet ticklish tingle before the electricity truly bit in her, chasing all other sensations away, leaving her jolting as the buzz zipped and simmered, spreading and dissolving, leaving through the tips of her fingers and toes, making her pant in whimpers as the first tears of the night finally fell, letting her know she had yet to become the mindless pleasure-toy Deku was grooming and shaping her into, but she could tell she wasn't far from it, soon she’d be bowing on command, soon she’d be chasing it instead of being chased by it, soon she wouldn't even be able to live without it.

His feet met the mattress again, lifting off her back, knees rose around her like a cage as he position his ass into a better angle, face to face with her glossy spit-slicked face, eagerly awaiting how her pretty mouth was gonna close around his tender taint, lick up what spit and already dripped down between his cheeks, burry her little pink tongue as deep as she could inside him. “Kiss Daddy’s butthole bunny, show me some love.” He commanded sweetly, watching as she carved her fingers into the sheets to try and level herself, holding back, her uproar squashed and smothered, put in her rightful place, kneeling and bowing and doing her best to worship her new God.

She did as she was told, lips puckering and placing a quick chase kiss to his warm rim, wishing for that to be it, but fate wasn't that kind and neither was Deku.

“Give it a lick, Baby. Taste it.” HIs hand reached into her bundle of her again, gripping like it did before, pulling her close even as she turned her head to look another way, the shock collar fulfilling its purpose yet again and making her hole body shake with shock, recoil and convulse, a strangled noise coming form her throat before the tremors settled and she produced her tongue, dripping in spit her mouth watered when she bit the inside of her cheek with the electricity ripping through her. “Give me that pink little tongue.” He pulled some more on the leash. 

She gave a weak wince as she licked over the bud of his hole. She felt it pumping beneath her tongue, eagerly fluttering, happy for the attention and lusting to have her wet muscle wiggle inside him. She obliged, knowing how it was best for her to get ahead of his wishes than have him order her with another pull of the leash.

It didn't do much for her except feed his greed. “Come on, you can get deeper.”  He pulled her hair this time, stroked his hand to the back of her head, cupping his skull as he pulled her close, moaning a shuddering sigh, watching her feet dance in the air behind her, kept aloft and intwined with each other. “Look at that little face buried in daddy's ass.” He dropped the leash in favor of holding his cock, stroking himself carefully against her forehead, her nose tickling his ball-sack with her tongue and lips sucking on his taunt asshole. “So good, Bunny. Worshipping your Daddy, being such a good little girl for me.” He groaned, rubbing her face further into him, inside him, listen to her struggle in what sounded like muffled moans into his ass. 

He let go off her head after a while, allowing her to breathe, allowing her burning scalp to heal, to rest before he’d ask more of her.

“Lick up my cock, Baby.” His tone sweet, eyes lidded as he watched her lick from his ass, over his balls, to the very tip of cock, flicking off at the head. “There you go, good girl. Swallow daddy's cock.” She sucked him into her mouth, bobbing her head like a dove, sucking on him, had his cock-head kissing the back of her throat teasingly. “Get it wet, wouldn’t want your cute little butt to tear when I fill you up.” Her brows furrowed, instinctively looking down at what was stuffing her mouth full, not wanting to know what it would feel like to have him pry open her ass. “Don't worry you’re pretty little head about it, you know Daddy would never hurt you.” He chuckled. “I'll return the favor, get your pretty little Bunny-butt nicely wet and ready for me.”

[supersizemeplz]

The Cure

Erik Stevens x Black PlusSized Reader

Another #supersizedfic mini short. This is an oldie that I had to repost because Tumblr took it down. The first part to this post. Heavy SMUT. Enjoy! (This is just a random photo. I can’t remember the one from before)

The cotton comforter fell from the edge of the bed, silent as it hit the hardwood floor. Giving up on sleep, you stopped your tossing and turning. Fuck it. You stared at the ceiling before sitting up, adjusting your bonnet. Your body was hot and you couldn’t help your heavy breathing.

“Another one? Damnn.” Feeling your panties ruined for the third night in the week, you cursed yourself for having yet another wet dream. Your hormones were all over the place. You needed a man. You didn’t know why you craved your roommate, but you did. Maybe you just needed some dick.

Erik was literally down the hall, probably asleep. Though it seemed like he barely took time to sleep. He’d finally came home from yet another mission, a duffel on his arm and his dreads in need of cleaning up. That was usually your job, ending up with him resting between your thighs as he watched television. You’d smile when his fingers brushed against your skin as he talked to you, venting about his trip. Though you felt he only gave you the positive side of it, not that you didn’t appreciate that, you didn’t pursue any deeper questions.

The thought of going to check if he was asleep crossed your mind. Maybe he wouldn’t be. Before your mind could come up with doubt, you were headed down the quiet hall. You seen the light from the television spill from beneath the door. Instead of characters voices, he was playing music.

You stopped at door, tugging on the bottom of the large college sweatshirt you were. Cool air found your legs, but you focused on the task at hand. Two soft knocks were all you gave before cracking the door open, grunts meeting you. And there he was was.

Arms flexing as he finished his set of pushups, he didn’t look away from the floor. Maybe he didn’t hear you. You stepped into the room, leaving the door cracked. Walking as lightly as you could, you made your way to stand in front of the focused male. “Erik?..”

You’d spoken quietly, but he heard you. He’d heard you the first time. His name sounded good coming from you. Erik looked at your toes, taking in the bright paint you’d chosen that popped against your skin. Getting up from his position on the floor, he chuckled as you quickly stepped away from him. “What’s wrong, princess?”

You kept adjusting your shirt, mentally scolding yourself for not putting on shorts. Erik liked seeing your thighs, though he’d never directly said it. It was all in the way he watched you, admiring them jiggle gently with each step.

“I can’t sleep..” You sounded like a small child, fidgeting with your nails. That made you mentally roll your eyes. “I came in here because…well, I don’t really know..” That was partially a lie.

Erik smirked, taking a step to you. You held your breath as he stood before you with that same intimidating face. “How about we chill and I help you figure it out, baby girl?” Agreeing, you followed him to the king sized bed. He climbed on with ease as you stood at the side, not wanting to climb on and flash him with your ass in boy shorts.

“Why you so nervous?” He wore an amused smirk, patting the space beside him. “Its not like I bite.. without permission.” You could feel your cheeks heat up. Climbing onto the bed, Erik admired the curve of your backside before you plopped down.

“Is it that obvious?” You spoke up, leaning back against the headboard. A pillow was cradled by your soft thighs as you hugged it.

“Yeah, it is..” He found a comfortable position close to you, his head resting on your stomach. He’d done this before, claiming it helped him sleep. It did, but he also like feeling you against him. “But just say the word and I’ll get you outta that shy shit, princess.

You playfully nudged him, getting comfortable beneath him. Why were you nervous? He hugged your waist tighter as you played with his dreads. When he was ready to speak again, he asked "You had a bad dream?”

Your fingers stopped their stroking his hair as you licked your lip. It wasn’t bad at all, it’d been amazing. “Not really..”

He kept his hold on you, snuggling against you like a puppy. “Sad?” You shook your head before mumbling a soft no. He loosened his hold, lifting his head to look at you. “Then what’s so bad that it’s keeping you up? Or you just miss me?”

You rolled your eyes at him. Fine ass irked your nerves. “No, I actually need you to stay out of them..” The words were hushed, but by his smirk he heard them. Oh Lord. You covered your face with a groan.

“Don’t be embarrassed, princess..” Erik chuckled as he moved your hands. He licked his lips before he showed his nearly perfect teeth. “I’ve had wet dreams about you too.. if that helps.”

It didn’t. That only made your apex tingle with wonder. Here he was with this raspy ass sleepy voice as he confessed he’d dreamt about you. You stared at his lips as he talked on, describing a recent dream. Something about you cooking for him and he’d bent you over the sink after dinner was finished.

You stopped your daydream when his shoulders shook. Why was he laughing?

“Your fine ass is daydreaming instead of listening, princess..” He now hovered over you, arms holding him up. You’d sunken down to lay flat on your back without noticing. His fingertips trailed up your outer thigh, sending chills through you. “Isn’t that how you got in this situation in the first place?”

You exhaled a shaky breath as you shivered. His touch was electric. “Maybe I should go?” Your nerves started to speak for you. You didn’t really want to leave. His scent was sending your senses to new heights. The faint feeling of his lips grazing your neck had your thighs clenched in anticipation.

“Is that what you really want, baby?” Erik glanced at your thighs that held him in place, locking onto either side of his body. “Cause I’ll stop if you want..” He moved to let you up, but you stopped him. Your hands held his large biceps, holding him. Shaking your head, you finally met his intense gaze.

You finally found your voice. “I’ll tell you my dream since you told me yours.." Moment of truth.

You went on to describe the scenes. Every kiss, touch, and moan. Your thighs tightened as you stared at his plump lips while you spoke. The way your voice softened had Erik in a trance. He visualized everything you were saying, every detail. You finished and he was sure that you could feel what you did to him. It rested against your thigh in its fullness.

"So you dream about me like that?” He chuckled, letting the tip of his nose finally brush against your nose. Your body relaxed beneath him. You were his.

“Yess..” He licked his lips at your voice, letting his fingers trail down your sides. You gasped as he gave your thighs a smack before massaging them soothingly. He held you by your hips as he pulled you flush against his erection. His dark eyes roamed your body, satisfied with the shirt you wore riding up.

“Did I touch you like this?” His thumb pressed against your covered pearl, deciding not to mention the obvious dampness of your panties. You sucked in a sharp breath. A smile grew on his handsome face as he enjoyed your faces. Your hips moved as he gently massaged you.

“Ughh shitt..” Your words struggled in their escape. He’d succeeded in fulfilling your fantasy. Though he hasn’t really started. You were a moaning mess underneath him and you weren’t even naked.

“Close your eyes and imagine me making love to you.. Teasing you..” You closed your eyes, envisioning both your bodies rumbling in the sheets. His hands all over you. You moaning his name. Him teasing you. Your body taking the sweet torture. You gave him your attention as he spoke his erotic scene.

“Imagine this dick rubbing up and down that wet pussy. You dripping all over me and the sheets... I lift your legs and use your sweet juices to make my dick shine. Damn, I can’t get enough of you… I lift your legs up and put myself in position, keeping my eyes locked on yours. And just when I push my tip in, you gas-“ You hummed, pressing a hand to his chest. Your body trembled underneath him. You could feel him. His erection was held back by his boxers, but the imagery was spot on. His thumb continued to massage your clit gently. He groaned as his bottom lip tucked into his mouth. He really did want you.

“I grind my dick in and out of you, leaving kisses all over you... A trail of hickeys from your neck to your breasts. I’m marking my territory, baby.. You moan my name and I speed up. Our skins slapping and we’re breathing heavy… Fuck” He managed to remove your underwear and placed his bare length on your mound. His breathing was low and labored as he left a hickey under your ear. It would be hell if he pushed in your warm waters. You whimpered as he continued teasing you with his tip as it was covered in your slickness.

He was on edge. Temptation had taken over as he’d managed to slip in. Half of him was stroking you slowly, your nails grazing his bare chest. That made his strokes falter for a moment, but he never stopped.

“Imma fuck around and paint your walls. Keep playin..” The warning came out in an arousing growl. He fucked into you quicker, moaning your name softly in your ear.

“Erik!!” You creamed over him, barely shaking. Your nails dug into his chest, making him his in pleasure. He kept going, whispering his wants to you. Searching blindly for something to grab, you found the covers. You pulled the sheet to your mouth and squealed into it. Euphoric shock waves surged through your body as you came, soaking over his lower half. “Please k-keep fucking me, baby. Just like that..” Your eyes rolled back as you came again.

He kept his stroking up after, chasing his own release. You propped yourself on your shaky elbows, staring him down with lust. No woman has had him this turned on before. You spoke to him how he liked, making sure to moan. No needing to fake a thing. “Cum for me baby..” Your nails massaged the back of his head, making him louder.

“Ohh shit..” He cursed as he spewed onto your half visible stomach. A smile stretched on your lips as he looked towards the ceiling fan to calm himself. His chest moved up and down as he caught his breath. He could barely feel his legs but they held him up as he climbed from between your thighs.

His shaky hand cleaned your off stomach with a t-shirt from his dresser. After he finished, he hovered over you again and gave your lips another taste. It got deeper until he groaned. If he didn’t stop now, he’d make sure you’d be wobbling around in a few months. As you both pulled apart, you rubbed his jaw gently. He chuckled.

“I think I’m the cure for your wet dreams.”

__________

(I can’t remember exactly who was looking for this first part but... yeah. Lol)

[aer-in-wanderland]

 구미호뎐 | Tale of the Nine Tailed - Lost in Translation EP01

In which my sister and I sat down with a pint of mint chocolate chip and wrote down everything that occurred to us while watching the fan-subbed version of TotNT EP01. Contains mild spoilers. 

Prologue

We open with an excerpt from the Hyeonjoonggi (현중기・玄中記), which the internet informs me originated in China sometime between 265-317 CE. In Korea in particular, gumiho are typically thought of as being female, but this is an example of a classical text that says they can be either. From what director Kang Shin Hyo said at the TotNT press conference, the premise of TotNT began with the idea of challenging this base assumption by making the gumiho male and placing him in modern-day Seoul. I would translate the passage as follows:

When a fox becomes 100, it can become a beautiful woman, or become a man who has relations with women. A fox that lives for 1000 years communes with the heavens and becomes a cheon’ho (heavenly fox). Its gifts are like that of a powerful shamaness; it can perceive things more than 1000 leagues distant.”  

To my sense, the passage was introduced to show precedent for the existence of male gumiho in traditional folklore, as well as to illustrate that foxes over 1000 (cheon’ho) can be closer to deities than monsters.

On to the show. The year is 1999. I’m surprised the subs left ‘Fox Ridge’ untranslated as Yeou Gogae since it seems like it would be relevant information that the place where the accident takes place is somehow tied to foxes. 

When the imposter parents (who I believe are also foxes) chase little Ji Ah up into her room and her not-dad says, “You little brat!” (or at least, that’s what the subs we’re watching say), this is an example of what’s called ‘code switching.’ His phrasing is somewhat old-fashioned, which in this case helps to give the impression that he’s not human since it’s the cant of creatures in traditional fairytales. For anyone studying Korean, the line is, “요 년 봐라,” where ‘nyeon’ might mean anywhere from ‘girl’ to ‘wench’ or even ‘bitch.’  

Okay, I have to ask. Does no one else in Seoul drive on Fox Ridge? How did Ji Ah have time to go home, get attacked, and then be returned to the scene of the accident (I’m assuming by Yeon) before anyone came across it? 

Also, how did Yeon know where to take her? He tells grown Ji Ah that he just happened upon her after catching the scent of blood, but I get the sense there’s more to the story than that. I feel like this is part of a larger pattern wherein Yeon goes out of his way to rescue someone and then pretends as if he didn’t.

Episode 01 Title Card: What Happened on Fox Ridge

According to Yeon’s alarm, our current timeline begins on Saturday, August 29, 2020, and he has a wedding to attend. 2020 yet no COVID19? I guess this really is a fantasy drama. ;p

The BGM playing while Yeon gets ready is called ‘The Fox's Wedding Day,’ or, more literally, ‘day when a fox goes to be married’ (Yeou ga shijip ganeun nal) and it’s actually Yeon’s theme. I was expecting his theme to be the track entitled ‘Gumiho,’ but I guess not lol

The sun-shower. In both Japan and Korea, a sun-shower is known as ‘a fox’s wedding’ (kitsune no yome-iri/yeou ga shijip ganeun nal), so this is already cluing us in that the bride is a fox (I say ‘bride’ because both these phrasings typically apply to a bride marrying into her husband’s house. The phrasing is different for grooms, who ‘receive’ the bride). This is what Yeon means when he arrives at the wedding hall and says, “That’s because a fox is getting married today.”

It’s strange to me that the bride’s identity has completely dropped out of the subs. She’s Yeou Nui (literally ‘fox sister’), a folklore character of the Brothers Grim-style horror school of fairytales. Her thing is that she’s a gumiho who preys on families with only sons who desperately want a daughter. She insinuates herself into their lives, brings calamity down upon them, and finally, eats their livers. Like most fairytales, there are many permutations of her story, but many of them feature her saying she’s consumed 999 livers. I understand where - absent this context - some people might have seen Yeon as the bad guy here (spoiler: he’s not). 

The subtitle here for Yeon’s line says: “But you need to know that changing your identity isn’t as simple as you think.” What he literally says is:

Yeon: How did you go to ground so completely? You think that if you change your face and your identity, your blood-stained past will change too, right? But changing lives isn’t as simple* as changing subway lines. [*Note: ‘simple’ is in English]

This is the first real dialogue we get from Yeon, and one thing it’s doing very intentionally is showcasing just how much he’s adapted to modern life. It does this both with the content of what he says (talking about changing subway lines), as well as with the amount of English loan words he tosses around. So I personally would have kept the bit about the subway in if I had been translating. 

Yeou Nui’s line was translated as, “Please forgive me,” but it should more properly be, “Spare me,” or “Let me live.” Yeon is an enforcer, not a judge. (Also, ‘forgive’ is another word entirely).

Yeon’s line that’s subbed, “Listen, you fox. How could you dare dream of having a happy ending after eating so many livers?” is the result of what’s called diagonal translation, which is an unfortunate side-effect of subtitling conventions. What he literally says is:

Yeon: Yeou Nui, after eating the livers of countless adoptive parents and older brothers* how can you dream of a happy ending? 

[*Note: The word he uses for ‘brothers’ here is 오라비들, which is a semi-antiquated word, and again, the sort of language used in folktales] 

Yeon’s line, “Here’s a piece of advice” is more literally, “Here’s a bit of advice stemming from experience,” which is the first hint we get in-drama that he’s been in a similar position. 

Nam Ji Ah

We get our first introduction to adult Ji Ah as she narrates the script she’s editing for her TV program on her way to the wedding hall. When Jae Hwan worries about her changing the script without the writer’s permission (again lol), Ji Ah's response translated literally would be: 

Ji Ah: Then let’s go with this. PDs’ livers have to be swollen or coming out of their bodies. 

That’s a pretty disgusting image in English, so I don’t blame the subs for changing it to something more sensical and less graphic. But as a cultural note, in Korea and Japan, having a large liver means to be gutsy or brave. Ji Ah’s character description similarly describes her as, ‘a woman whose liver is [so large it’s] coming out of her body,’ meaning she’s about as gutsy as it gets. 

Okay, call me a cynic, but I loved Ji Ah’s line about not being able to digest wedding food due to the choking atmosphere of forced happiness pfft 

Jae Hwan saying, “Who knows? You may meet your destined partner at a place like this,” as Yeon walks by in the background = Jae Hwan unwittingly hitting the nail of the head #1

Lol Yeon acting like a bored kid held captive at a dinner party while the wedding takes place. Bless Lee Dong Wook because I’m sure it’s all ad libbed. I feel like this could be a game: spot the LDW ad lib. 

The Wedding Hall Incident

When Yeon returns to her dressing room after the wedding, Yeou Nui changes tactics from begging to putting her hackles up and challenging Yeon. Linguistically, that’s marked by her code switching to an archaic cant. Yeon, however, remains unfazed and responds with the most modern thing possible, completely undermining her bravado:

Yeou Nui: Oh former master of Baekdudaegan, what authority have you to condemn us?

Yeon: Get a hold of how she’s talking (rhetorical). Hey, if it wasn’t for you I would’ve been watching American TV shows while eating ice cream today!

Okay, I love the way Yeon materializes his sword. I thought he was (un-)transforming his umbrella at first, but he later does it with a plank of wood so I assume he can do this with pretty much anything?

On the topic of his sword, I posted a gif set not long ago referring to it as a sa’ingeom (사��검), literally ‘Four Tigers Sword’ (referring to the year, month, day, and hour of the tiger when such swords were supposedly forged). You’ll notice it doesn’t have a cross-guard since they’re traditionally ceremonial swords rather than actual weapons. The first sa’ingeom were made during the reign of King Taejo (1392-1398), but I assume they gave him one despite it being somewhat anachronistic because they’re also said to cut down evil spirits and ward against calamity. Mostly, though, it looks really cool and is very traditionally Korean. 

Not for anything, but I love this BGM track that’s playing during the wedding hall fight (‘The Uninvited’). This short action sequence was so great. I wish we could have seen more of Yeon hunting down supernatural baddies. Also more of those gumiho eyes. More gumiho everything in general. 

As he stabs her, Yeon’s line to Yeou Nui in the subs was rendered as, “Don’t do something stupid like falling in love in your next time.” I would have translated this as, “If you’re reborn, don’t do something so [useless] as falling in love.” Again, for anyone studying Korean, the phrase is ‘사랑 따위" (sarang ddaui). ‘Ddaui’ means ‘such a thing as,’ and it’s always used to disparage whatever proceeds it. There’s no good way to communicate that disparagement in English grammatically, so I opted for ‘useless’ in an approximation. 

The BGM that plays the first time Ji Ah spots Yeon leaving the wedding hall is called ‘White Pupils’ (or literally ‘white eyes’). The imagery typically associated with that is death, so I’m curious what inspired the track title. Maybe they mean ‘white eyes’ like the fortune teller since it’s used at fateful moments?

“Who knows? That may be the story you were destined to cover.” = Jae Hwan unwittingly hitting the nail on the head #2

“Were they mass hypnotized or something?” = Jae Hwan unwittingly hitting the nail of the head #3. Thank you, exposition fairy. ;)

Okay, when Ji Ah and Jae Hwan examine the scene, Ji Ah’s line is subbed, “I need to see what that woman of this love story looks like,” which is ungrammatical in addition to being wrong. What she actually says is:

Ji Ah: I need to see the face of that protagonist of the Romance of the Age. [And I believe the ‘protagonist’ she was referring to is actually Yeon ;) This is bordering on meta, seeing as he’s actually the protagonist of the epic romance that is TotNT] 

Kim Soo Oh

The BGM playing while Yeon sits in the park people-watching and then looks pensively at his hand is called, ‘Thread Rings.’ Between that, what LDW alluded to in his VLIVE, and some still cuts I saw of deleted scenes from EP16, I’m convinced there was something more to those rings that got cut due to time constraints. ㅠㅠ

Fun fact: This scene between Yeon and Soo Oh was the first scene of the drama that they filmed.

When Soo Oh asks Yeon what he’s doing there, the sub for Yeon’s response was, “Nothing other than waiting for someone.” That strikes me as off in tone as well as pacing. I would have translated it as, “Just.....waiting for someone.” (which is literally what he says).

When Soo Oh asks Yeon why he’s waiting, the sub says, “Because a fox can only love one person till death.” I don’t really have a problem with that translation, but what he literally says is, “Once a fox takes a mate they never forsake them. Until death.”

Sub: “How are you coping with that?” / “Not well.” > Literally: “Are you okay?” / “I’m not okay.” I actually like the sub here since it better conveys how precocious Soo Oh appears in this scene. He seems to alternate between precocious and adorably dim throughout the drama depending on who he’s with, though when he’s with Rang, it’s mostly the latter pfft

When Yeon turns down Soo Oh’s offer of friendship he says, “Your nose. I’m not big on men with runny noses. And human lifespans are too short to be friends with me.” Yeon's use of ‘men’ struck me as funny since I guess to someone over 1600 years old, an 8 year old and an 80 year old aren’t all that different. Also, Yeon giving serious life advice to an 8 year old is adorable. He talks to him like he’s an adult. 

The Afterlife Immigration Office

Between the BGM and the way the camera pans up the endless levels of shelving, did anyone else feel like Yeon entered Hogwarts for a sec? (not complaining) ;)

For the record, Yeon uses banmal with Taluipa and calls her halmeom (granny). In contrast, Hyeonuiong is pretty much the only character Yeon speaks to in jondaetmal and addresses respectfully as ‘elder’ (eoreushin). He speaks to Ji Ah’s parents politely as well, but it’s mainly because they’re her parents.

The text introducing Taluipa’s character wasn’t translated in the version we’re watching but it reads: ‘The god who rules over the River of Three Crossings (Samdocheon), the boundary between this world and the next.’ The hanja for her name (奪衣婆) refer to her traditional role, namely, removing the clothing of the dead for her husband to weigh on the Uiryeong’su (su = tree) to measure the weight of their sins. This is the same tree that the Uiryeong’geom (the wooden sword that appears in EP13), is allegedly carved from.

Lol Taluipa saying she has to keep up with the times but also using a computer that’s positively ancient (come to think of it, it’s probably from the 80s since that’s her favorite decade)

Again, I’m surprised that Yeou Nui’s character name dropped from the subs completely. The subs here just say, ‘the female fox.’

For Taluipa’s line, the subs say, “You’re to obey the order and capture who you’re sent after,” but that’s a loose approximation. More literally, it should be: “If the higher ups say to bring someone in, then you just have to bring them in.” I’m only mentioning it because the line implys that both Taluipa and Yeon report to someone higher up the chain of command. Otherwise they may be misconstrued as Taluipa’s orders. 

Yeon’s line, “My compulsory military service has gone on for 600 years. How could I not go crazy?” is hilarious when you consider that Korean men are required to complete 2 years of military service, and even that often feels like an eternity, so I think for any Korean, the idea of 600 years of it is just exceptionally cruel. The line is iconic enough to have been included in Yeon’s character profile.

I noticed this a while back, but ‘mountain god’ is being consistently translated as ‘mountain spirit.’ Technically, Yeon is (was?) a god, if a low ranking one in the grand scheme of things (the Korean word is ‘sanshin’ where ‘san’ = mountain and ‘shin’ = god). I understand the use of ‘spirit’ though, since he’s not a god as gods are typically thought of in western mythologies. 

Lol Yeon sticking his fingers in his ears (I would bet money this was also an ad lib)

Taluipa has a line that’s subbed, “Foxes never stay in debt.” More literally, it should be, “They say foxes repay eunhye no matter what.” You can find my explanation of eunhye here.

Wow, the subs really dropped the humour ball on Taluipa’s line here. First off, she says, ‘Right now’ in English. And while the sub says “Do you want your freedom back?” what she literally says is. “Do you want to be discharged?” (since Yeon had just likened his duties to military service).

On his way out, Yeon actually tells Taluipa, “Halmeom, you’re going to go to hell” (which is not the same as the underworld/afterlife as it said in the subs. Taluipa’s job is literally to ferry souls, so she goes to the afterlife all the time anyway). Also, when he says “I’ll pray for it everyday,” his phrasing is that of an elderly person pfft

As I mentioned, Yeon speaks formally to Hyeonuiong, who in return affectionately calls him Yeon-ie or Yeon-ah, which I find adorable.

Lol I’m not used to Ahn Gil Kang playing such a friendly character. Seeing him wheedle Taluipa with aegyo is hilarious. 

Code Red

Somewhat of a side note, I can’t help but wonder, is Shin Joo’s last name ‘Gu’ because he’s a gumiho, a la My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (2010)’s Gu Mi Ho-ssi?

I wish the subs had just left ‘Lee Yeon-nim’ as-is, instead of changing it to ‘Mr. Lee.' As a general rule, I’m in favor of preserving character forms of address when translating. 

Personally, I would have translated the name of Ji Ah’s TV program as: ‘In Search of Urban Legends’ rather than ‘Unveiling Urban Legends.’

I really like the dynamic between Ji Ah and writer Kim Sae Rom. “Should we fight?” / “Yeah, let’s fight~” How great is it that this drama doesn’t have a single catty, bitchy, stuck-up or otherwise obnoxious female character? 

For anyone keeping track, Shin Joo speaks to Yeon in jondaetmal while Yeon speaks to Shin Joo in banmal, underlining their master/retainer dynamic. 

Side note: There are actually multiple ‘types’ of jondaetmal: what I think of as ‘neutral polite’ (i.e. simply adding ‘yo’ to the end of all your sentences), the more formal polite (i.e. ending with ~[seu]mnida), that which elevates the subject, and that which lowers the speaker. The interplay of the four allows for varying degrees of politeness. The way Shin Joo speaks to Yeon is pretty much the highest degree. That doesn’t mean they aren’t close. Polite language can indicate distance but also level of regard irrespective of distance. This applies to Rang and Yoo Ri as well.

Again, Shin Joo calls Ji Ah ‘PD-nim’ but that became ‘that female director’ in the subs. PD-nim is a respectful (and non-gendered) form of address, and it’s perfectly suited to Shin Joo’s genial and deferential personality, so I wish the subs had just kept it. 

I read an episode recap where the recapper mentioned she wasn’t sure what Shin Joo’s deal was. At the time I was confused, but now I think I get it. In the subs, Shin Joo says, “When I’m a seasoned veteran? I’m now up to the point where I’m wondering if I’ve turned into an actual person.” What he actually says is:

 Shin Joo: No way~ How long have I been living in this (the human) world? Recently, I sometimes even have an existential crisis wondering, ‘Am I a person or a fox?’

[So he flat out says he’s a fox here, but that wasn’t reflected in the subs.] 

Fun fact: this was Hwang Hee’s first scene that he filmed with Lee Dong Wook, and the BGM as they exit is Shin Joo’s theme.

I love the way Lee Dong Wook played this scene where they pay their tab. That is all.

It’s only as Yeon and Shin Joo exit the restaurant that we see that the sign out front reads ‘The Snail Bride’ (Ureong Gakshi). This is another folktale in-joke, since the snail bride’s whole thing is that she cooks delicious meals for her human husband everyday. 

For the record, the Snail Bride (Bok Hye Ja) also uses honorific language towards Yeon and calls him ‘Lee Yeon-nim.’ I just assumed it was in deference to his ex-mountain god status, but it turns out she has a personal reason for holding him in high regard as well that we discover in the final episode.

As Yeon and Shin Joo walk away, Shin Joo’s line is subbed, “That show’s actually quite famous.” Since Korean doesn’t require a subject, the sentence is somewhat ambiguous, but I understood him to be referring to Ji Ah herself rather than the show since he says: “[Something is] really famous around the broadcast station.” 

Lee Rang

Lol Kim Beom. How are you 32 years old? 

I love how sharp and no-nonsense Ji Ah is. It’s so refreshing to not have to wait for the characters to catch up to what the audience already knows. 

Rang’s theme that plays as he transforms back into his suave self is so iconic. The music director (Hong Dae Sung) really is a genius. It’s funny when you think about how different Rang’s theme is from Yeon’s. 

Fun fact: Kim Beom shared in his Instagram LIVE that Rang ‘picking the wrong shoes’ was actually intentional. He was testing Ji Ah to see if she’d notice. 

Okay, Rang says here that he likes, “everything about her (Ji Ah) from head to toe,” (not in a romantic way but in a grudging respect/she’s fun to toy with kind of way) but what happened to that? Are we supposed to assume that he would have liked her if she hadn’t been the object of his brother’s affection? But he approached her knowing that’s who she was...? I don’t know. I do know I wish they’d had more scenes together. Their verbal sparring is great.

Side note: One Korean fan nickname for Rang and Yoo Ri that Kim Beom liked was ‘Hoket-dan,’ playing off the Korean for pokemon’s ‘Team Rocket’ (Roket-dan) and mashing it together with the ‘ho’ from ‘gumiho’ haha

Yeon’s obsession with mint chocolate ice cream is a hilarious counterpoint to his status as a cheon’ho and his ex-mountain god title. Point to the writer. In Japanese, this would probably be called ‘gap-moe’.

When Yeon tells the man behind the counter, “When I’m indebted to someone, I’m obligated to return the favor,” he’s once again talking about eunhye. As a fox, he’s supernaturally bound to repay good deeds done for him. As far as I’m aware, this is unique to the drama and not part of the traditional gumiho lore. 

Yeon eating ice cream like a happy kid XD Lol Lee Dong Wook, how are you 39?

Fun fact: Yeon’s line when he answers Rang’s call, “The number you have reached doesn’t exist, you punk” was an ad lib by Lee Dong Wook. The combination of the formal phrasing found in a typical voicemail recording followed by ‘you punk’ is particularly funny. It’s so witty I actually wouldn’t have known this was an ad lib if LDW hadn’t confessed as much himself. 

“Let’s meet.” / “I refuse.” /  “I’ll set your house on fire.” Hahaha What is with these brothers? Are they 1600+ and 600, or 16 and 6? Are the zeros silent??

Bus 1002

Ji Ah: “If possible, pick a different dream. I’ve been on the clock for 22 hours straight now.” I like Ji Ah so much. She’s unpretentious, intelligent, honest, driven, resourceful and witty. 

Lol As Ji Ah struggles with the old man, you can hear Yeon offscreen urging the driver to get moving. Only he calls him, ‘driver yangban.’ Yangban is originally a word for a nobleman, but much like the word ‘lady’ in English, what was once a term of respect is now...not. lol Also, I’m pretty sure this was another ad lib by Lee Dong Wook since it happens entirely in the background.

This scene with Ji Ah piggybacking the old man is so classic spooky-folktale. I love it. 

"You’re the only person I saw.” *Close up of the totem pole* They managed to make that whole sequence creepy despite nothing actually happening. Cool cool cool. 

So our old drunkard is revealed to be a Mokjangseung (mok = wood). Jangseung in general are totems that stand at crossroads and the entrances to villages. tvN published some backstory info explaining Ji Ah’s past with this particular Jangseung and why he elected to save her which I translated here.

Aaaand we’re back at Fox Ridge. I can’t believe I only just noticed this, but the episode title could refer equally to the accident in Ji Ah’s past and this bus accident in the present. 

Of course Rang staged the accident at the site of Ji Ah’s greatest trauma. Also, the fact that he knows that about her is telling. 

Appropriately, the BGM playing as Ji Ah arrives at the scene of the accident is ‘Fox Ridge’ (Yeou Gogae). Iconic.

Back over to Yeon. The first time I watched this I wondered where on earth he was heading in that downpour but it turns out he was in pursuit of Rang, who had given him the slip. 

Seeing Yeon limping injured through the rain ㅠㅠ  Also, while Yeon later tells Ji Ah he carries his umbrella everywhere because he hates his fur getting wet, he clearly isn’t bothered here, choosing to keep it sheathed on his back instead. I guess all bets are off when he’s in Gumiho Mode. 

Detective Baek and Ji Ah speak in banmal and he calls her ‘Nam Ji Ah,’ which I assume means they’ve been friends for a while. 

Wow, good for Ji Ah for having made note of the exact number of passengers in the midst of all that chaos. I certainly wouldn’t have. 

Hospital Encounter

So after Rang gave his brother the slip, Yeon realizes the next day that he’s at the hospital thanks to the news article Shin Joo reads out to him. Idk but I like that shot of the two of them heading out. There’s something vaguely Avengers about it. Which is maybe not surprising given that was another early influence for the show. 

I liked this conversation between Ji Ah and ‘Soo Young.’ We get to see Ji Ah’s own resolve and drive in the advice she offers: “Even so, I hope you’ll become strong. It’s way more fun to be a PD than a victim.” 

As with when he arrived at the wedding hall, the cinematography + BGM as Yeon approaches the hospital with his red umbrella is just A++ 

The BGM playing when Ji Ah spots Yeon approaching the hospital information desk isn’t on spotify or anywhere else that I’ve seen. It reminds me a bit of the ‘Tubular Bells’ theme from the Exorcist (a movie I actually haven’t even seen). If anyone knows what it is, I’d love to know. 

“My only talent is my face~” pffft  Also, decidedly untrue. 

When Ji Ah tells Yeon, “Yes, I’m scouting you, but not for that,” She literally says, “but not for that genre.”

And now the subs say ‘Fox Ridge.’ Okay, then. 

When Yeon says, “From the sound of it, it won’t be well made,” ‘well made’ is in English. Again, the peppering of English through Yeon’s speech makes him sound more modern.

When Yeon says, “Plus, I’m very devoted” his line is more literally, “Plus, contrary to how I look, I’m the devoted type.” Are you saying you look like a player? pfft

Yeon is such a big softie, so why does he keep threatening to kill people? Does he not realize they might take him seriously?

For this entire conversation (interrogation?), both Yeon and Ji Ah are switching back and forth between polite speech and banmal, almost on a sentence by sentence basis. On the whole, it gives the impression of a verbal sparring match.  

“It’s not as if this was a blind date. No thanks on a second one.” lol I do enjoy cheeky Yeon. 

Oh, I love that Ji Ah thinks on her feet. Using her leather bag to lift Yeon’s fingerprints was a smart move. Although, I’m not entirely convinced it would work that well in real life. 

The ‘grim reaper’s outfit’ exchange was a coordinated ad lib between Lee Dong Wook and Hwang Hee. I mean, of course it was lol Casting Lee Dong Wook is the gift that keeps on giving. 

Was that supposed to be Yoo Ri entering ‘Soo Young’s’ hospital room in those boots?

Minor detail, but ‘Soo Young’ calls Ji Ah ‘eonni’ meaning ‘older sister.’ It’s common convention in Korean to refer to people by familial ‘roles’ that fit their general age range even when you’re not actually related. I could digress, but I guess I just find it jarring when they have her addressing Ji Ah by name in the subs since Ji Ah is older and virtually a stranger. 

Okay, when ‘Soo Young’ hears that Ji Ah lives alone, the smile she gives is effectively creepy. 

The contrast between ‘Soo Young’s’ narration and the events of what actually happened on the bus that we see as viewers is great. Point to the director. 

Wow, Rang really just slaughtered a whole bus worth of innocent people without a thought. I feel like we all managed to forget that about him as the show progressed. Hats off to the writer and to Kim Beom’s compelling performance. I actually worried initially that Rang would remain a one-note character because that would have been such a waste of Kim Beom, who is a fantastic actor. I’m so glad that wasn’t the case. 

I love the subversion of viewer expectations when it turns out that Ji Ah knew all along that ‘Soo Young’ wasn’t who she claimed. This is something TotNT does repeatedly and well. We get both the dramatic tension of her being in danger and the satisfaction of her having had the upper hand all along. Point to the writer.

I’m pretty sure Ji Ah knocked that pitcher over with the express intent of using a shard from it as a weapon. Point for character consistency. Past or present, Ji Ah is apparently a ‘stab first, ask questions later’ kind of girl.

The Brothers

“Hey you! I clearly told you I didn’t want a second date?!” Haha Oh, Yeon. 

I saw comments from Korean fans about how Yeon burst into her house with his shoes on here, and now I can’t not think of them when I watch this scene: ‘Entering the house with your shoes on...in the Republic of Korea...Ha...’, ‘Even if you bust the whole house apart, you have to take your shoes off before entering...’ lol

I love Yeon’s line that’s subbed as, “As if, brother.” In Korean, it’s “Do you want to die, little brother?” The word he uses for ‘little brother’ is ‘아우야,’ which, while still used occasionally today, is an antiquated word Yeon might just as easily have called Rang 600 years ago. It’s also, in contrast to the first half of his sentence, quite an affectionate term of address. 

Rang’s line subbed as, “It’s a long story, but the family has a dirty past,” should more properly be: “It’s a long story, but you might say we come from a broken home.” Saying they have a dirty past makes it sound like they’re the mafia or something. Also, as a fun language note, the expression is literally ‘a bean-powder household.’ 

“Are you worried I’ll be sucked into the Underworld?” should be: “Are you worried I’ll go to hell?” Not sure where they got ‘sucked into.’ Rang just means when he dies. Also, I wish the subs would do a better job distinguishing between hell, the underworld, and the afterlife. They’re three different words. 

“It’s because you embarrass me, that’s why.” Lol at the way Yeon covers his eyes. That’s definitely another ad lib from Lee Dong Wook. 

When Rang calls time here, he actually calls Yeon ‘hyung.’ I suspect this wasn’t in the script but rather something that slipped out subconsciously on Kim Beom’s part, since the writer was clearly saving that word for when it would hurt us viewers the most. ㅠㅠ

Yeon’s line is subbed, “Old habits really do die hard,” but it should properly be: “You still haven’t fixed that habit?”

“If you don’t find it until the end of the next month, this woman will die.” This should actually be: “If you can’t find [that] by the next end of the month, your woman will die.” The subject is actually omitted so it’s unclear to what exactly Rang is referring, which is intentional. I also understand hearing ‘your woman’ (ni yeoja) as ‘this woman’ (i yeoja), but when they later flash back to this conversation they use a different take in which the line delivery is clearer and I’m confident it’s ‘your woman.’ This also explains Yeon’s confusion, since at this point he didn’t even know she’d been reborn. 

I Waited for You

For anyone wondering how Ji Ah got into Yeon’s apartment, apparently his house code is 0000 lol

From his expression as he discovers and then watches the video she secretly took of him, I feel like Yeon is impressed with Ji Ah in spite of himself and I’m 100% here for it. 

For the record, from this point forward, Yeon and Ji Ah use banmal with each other. Ji Ah has a tendency to speak to many of the supernaturals in banmal, which is honestly the opposite of what I would have opted for in her shoes. 

Yeon’s question of, “How did you come here?” could mean either, ‘What brings you here?’ or ‘How did you get [in] here?’ in Korean, and honestly they’re both valid haha

Minor note, but she actually says his Korean age is 36, which would be 35 by the typical reckoning...except he’s actually ~1636 so it’s a moot point, really. 

Ji Ah’s line, “Now I can proudly say that it’s fate,” translated more literally would be: “At this point, it really is fate and not coincidence.”

I feel like Ji Ah’s strategy of throwing herself off the balcony here is possibly the only thing she does in this entire show that strikes me as dumb. Like, I’m pretty sure if Yeon hadn’t been both benevolent and able to fly (and she had no guarantee that he was either), letting her just fall here would have been the easiest way for him to resolve the matter/the only thing he could have done. 

Yeon’s line, “Did you just test me?” is one of the rare instances in which he code switches to archaic speech. I guess using his gumiho powers put him in a Gumiho frame of mind. ;)

On the whole, I prefer the instrumental OST tracks to the lyrical ones, but ‘Blue Moon’ is just sooooo catchy. I wish they had continued using it more. 

And that concludes Episode 1. I’ve never posted anything like this before, but hopefully it was at least mildly interesting. Let me know what you think. 

[ahatintimestorybook]

Hopes and Friendships (Witch!MU AU) Chap.1-Speranza, the Magic World

Hey everyone! Got a brand new AU for you all! I know I have no control with creating AU’s.

So ever since I made my Mermaid AU and my Werekitten AU, I figured let’s make a Witch AU featuring our favorite fighting for justice girl, Mustache Girl. I had this idea for a few months now and watched a bit of witch themed shows and movies like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Owl House to get me motivated. I even came up with some ideas during work and when it was slow I’d write down the ideas on receipt paper.

Hope you join in on this new magical adventure!

Enjoy!

The world of Speranza is a magical place where witches, wizards and other magical creatures live. At Speranza’s famous academy, Magia, young witches and wizards go there to enhance their magical skills and hopefully find their own talents. The school is run by a strict, but well known witch named Elizabeth, who hopes to see her students succeed.

However, one student has been under her skin since day one.

It was a normal day at Magia Academy, until a loud explosion happened at the left side of the school that snapped Elizabeth out of her thoughts. The headmistress quickly left her office and marched to where the explosion happened.

“Is everyone alright!” Elizabeth yelled, snapping the door open. The smoke cleared, but the students were covered in blue goo. The students pointed at the student who caused the explosion.

The student in question was a young girl with long blonde hair tied into loose pigtails with green beads and a purple ribbon, and had tawny colored eyes. She also had a fake blonde colored mustache on her face. She wore the Magia School uniform, which was a pale purple blouse with long sleeves, and a plaid purple suspender skirt, long black stockings and purple shoes.

The girl gave a nervous chuckle and hid the two potion bottles behind her back. Elizabeth sighed and glared at the young girl. “Of course, Mu.” She hissed.

Mu was then sent to Elizabeth’s office to be scolded and punished for her recent actions. “This has been the 10th time this month I’ve seen you in my office, Mu!” Elizabeth shouted. Mu sat there quietly as she watched her headmistress pace around her office and rant about every little bad thing Mu did this month. “You made potions flood the school, you got a flock of crows in here, and now this! Just to name a few!”

“Okay to be fair, the crow thing wasn’t my fault. They were the ones who chased me on my way to school.” Mu explained.

“Even so!” Elizabeth snapped, as she slammed the ruler on the table, making Mu squeak. “You’ve gotten in trouble countless times, and I’m at the point of expelling you.” She told her. Mu’s eyes snapped open, as she turned away from Elizabeth. “But,” The headmistress continued, “I will leave you off with a warning, since Tim told me you did the project right.” This made Mu sigh in relief. “But, one more mess up and you’ll be expelled from Magia Academy, and your flying lessons would be confiscated! Got it!”

Mu stuttered a bit, but sighed understanding the consequence if she were to get in trouble again. “Yes, ma’am.” She told her.

“Good, now go back to whatever it is you're doing.” Elizabeth demanded, shooing the girl away. Mu sighed and walked back to her dorm.

A black cat, wearing a pink collar with a potion bottle woke up hearing the door slam open and closed, causing him to freak out. “Boss! Let’s go!” Mu shouted. The cat turned to see Mu frustrated as she changed from her school uniform to her regular witch clothes, which was red with a pink belt and collar with long pink striped socks.

The black cat, named Boss sighed, “What did you do this time?” He asked.

“Nothing!” Mu snapped. “My project got all messed up, and Headmistress Elizabeth thinks I was causing nothing but trouble again!” She ranted.

“To be honest, after all the mayhem you’ve been doing. She would be mad at the smallest mistake you would make.” Boss replied.

Mu growled and grabbed Boss by his scruff. “Don’t piss me off!” She then dropped her cat on her bed then grabbed her broom and opened her window and was ready to go for a fly. “I’m going to fly for a bit. I need a cool off!”

“Now, as you're familiar I need to accompany you if you plan on leaving the school.” Boss told her.

Mu sighed, she wanted to go on her broom flight by herself. Though Boss was right. “Alright, you can join, but just stay quiet for at least 5 minutes.” She told him. Boss then hopped on the broom before Mu went flying off into the sky.

The flight was quiet between Mu and Boss. Mu just wanted to fly as far away from the school as possible just for a while till curfew and then sleep the rest of her frustration off. During the flight, Mu passed through all of Speranza, the colorful lights as the sun started to go down, made her smile.

Later into the flight, Boss saw a ripple by the moonlight, and freaked out.“M-Mu! K-Kid!” Boss tried to warn, but Mu cut him off.

“I told you to keep your mouth shut!” Mu snapped.

“B-but w-we’re about to enter a-” Boss was cut off as Mu and him entered the ripple, which sent them to another world, Earth.

On Earth, there was a young girl around Mu’s age, with brown hair tied into a ponytail and in her lilac space pajamas. She had these witch dolls, monster plushies, and a storybook with the same witches on them. “And then the sweet witch, Aida, used her magical spell to turn the water monster into nothing more than a puddle!” The girl narrated.

She grabbed the witch doll, Aida and pointed it at the plush of a frog like monster. The girl made her Aida doll pretend to do magic and to make it look like the water monster turned into a puddle she grabbed the plush and threw it on her bed, where it landed perfectly on her pillows. “Haha!” She cheered. “The 5 harmony witches could never be beaten!” She cheered.

“Harriet!” A male voice shouted. The young girl, Harriet turned to see her father, a man with brown hair like her, golden eyes, wearing a red and purple plaid shirt, some purple sweat pants, and grey socks. “Harriet, it’s almost 10 pm, and you should be asleep.”

“Sorry dad.” Harriet apologized. “I’m just reenacting my favorite scene from the Five Perfect Witches!” She explained.

Harriet’s father, Luka sighed, shaking his head. “Every scene from that book series is your favorite.” He reminded her. “But, aren’t you a little old for that book?”

“Dad.” Harriet frowned. “Five Perfect Witches are loved by everybody! They show you, you don’t have to be perfect to be anything, being perfect is-” Harriet and her father continued together, “you being you.”

“I know.” Luka reminded her. “But, you’re almost 10 years old, and kids your age should be reading mystery books, horror novels, and books about growing up.” He told her, as he ruffled her head.

“But fantasies are better, and plus everyone loves fantasy novels.”

“Not as much as you do.” Luka then picked up Harriet’s stuff and placed them on her bed. “Now, it’s getting late and you should be getting sleep.”

Harriet let out a yawn, feeling a bit tired already from the mini adventure she had. She crawled into bed, as she watched her father put her 5 Perfect Witch dolls, book, and some of her plushies on the shelf, except for the frog monster and mouse monster plush, which was left on her daughter’s bed. Luka gave his daughter a kiss on her forehead and turned off the lights.

“Night my little witch.” Luka whispered.

“Night dad.” Harriet whispered back. She turned to her side and went to sleep. However, a few moments later, Harriet opened her eyes and got up to go to her shelf, and grab her 5 Perfect Witch book to do some late night reading. She turned on her lamp and started to read her book, clutching her plushies tight. “Wouldn’t it be nice to meet a witch?” Harriet whispered to herself.

A twinkle was heard outside, and Harriet quickly closed her book and looked outside her balcony and saw a silhouette of Mu flying on her broom. Harriet’s eyes widened seeing a witch, a real live witch! “A witch!” She exclaimed in a low whisper. Quickly, Harriet grabbed her house slippers and was ready to head outside for a closer look.

“What are you doing?” Luka asked. Harriet squeaked and turned towards her father, who looked disappointed seeing his daughter hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

“D-dad!” Harriet stuttered. “I-I just saw something outside and wanted to go and check it out.”

Luka shook his head. “Harriet, you can check it out in the morning, right now you need to be in bed, asleep.” He told her, as he ushered his daughter back to her room. Harriet stuttered and tried to tell her father, but she gave up and slowly nodded heading back to her room.

Harriet sighed and took off her slippers. She then went back to her window, and saw Mu was still flying, but something was off about it.

Back with Mu, “Woah! Ah!” Mu screamed as she lost control of her broom. She then noticed she made it to Earth, and freaked out, which in turn caused her to lose control. Soon Mu crashed into a tree, and was knocked out dizzy from the landing.

Back with Harriet, she saw the whole thing and felt concerned for the witch. As much as she wanted to go help Mu, her father would get furious seeing her still awake. “I hope you're okay, witch.” Harriet whispered. “I’ll check up on you in the morning.” She closed her windows and went back to sleep, but couldn’t shake the feeling about the witch.

[juleswolverton-hyde]

Lonely Paws

Genre: Smut, Cam boy AU, FWB AU, College/University AU

Pairing: Cam boy!Namjoon x Reader

Warning: sub!Namjoon, male masturbation, impregnation kink, Namjoon is bad at sex, pet play (wolf pup play... ah dinnae ken, is that a thing?), sweater paws, unrequited love, allusion to unsafe penetrative sex (ALWAYS do it safely, lads and lasses!), exhibitionism, voyeurism, mild swearing/cussing

Summary: When a wolf pup carrying around a heart that is only sometimes loved is left alone, fantasy provided by the owner belonging to another forms a great escape to being appreciated.

Masterlist

Relationships are easily influenced occurrences, sometimes even so much so it is hardly possible to ascribe a certain status to it. Break-ups made undone only to become a steady rhythm of separation and reunion between two people, friendships flowing over into romance after bravely asking for a date yet acting so much so the same it makes one wonder when the connection deepened.

As became the case on the edge of the bed one night three years ago, tipsy on wine and whiskey but likely having ended up there anyway with the same wish even without booze. The same trust required to put into another for scary though rememberable first experiences, something we were not able to put into anyone but each other.

Sighing praise for wanton whimpers after tasting soft lips scented with grapes as bodies collided over and over, Y/N became the first woman to ever truly get exclusive attention despite the plethora of girls at high school and currently at university. Only her digits are allowed to run through ashy chocolate locks, caress round cheeks intentionally or without cause, wander lower and lower to stir up emotional storms that hold no significant meaning to anyone but a wisened spirit.

A mere sex buddy.

But, fortunately, also something of a more important nature.

Her pet wolf.

Because beneath a learned consciousness studying philosophy mainly out of pure interest but also due to not knowing what else to do, goes a persona seeking refuge in the ability to please others over digital highways while having a certain steady direction in the shape of a gorgeous owner.

As is the case during one’s youth, many new experiences are explored mostly out of curiosity and sometimes simply for shits and giggles. Porn is a discovery which combines the sentiments, the former becoming more and more dominant after filming a personal pleasurable session while continuously muttering the name of the wonderful woman who has put a boy in love in the friendzone and eventually putting it online afterwards. The desire to get to know the sensual field grew even more after seeing the positive comments, finding a sense of accomplishment in them.

Acknowledgement.

Something that has never followed the sex with Y/N, who always returns to Jisung, a young producer she met on a holiday in Malaysia. Thus, the strangely deep yet shallow friendship repeatedly ascends and descends, acquiring and losing statuses.

Fortunately, howbeit perversely and sadly, a form of recognition came one day during the cleaning of the bedroom in the house shared with six other men with whom a brotherhood has been established. Save to say, none of them knows what their trusted companion does as a job on the side to make ends meet. 

The pretty lady was cleaning under the bed when fingers traced out the fluffy shape of the recently acquired stone grey tail plug, which was gifted by a long-time viewer after proposing to try something new.

‘Uhm, Joon? What’s this?’ The toy in hand, the secret crush looked questionably at a mortified face caught in a war between Truth and Lie.

Choosing for the righteous side with a soft-spoken voice because it seemed the only way to save a precious unrequited love. ‘I- I can explain. Can we talk for a bit?’

And that is how the revelation of the weekly cam shows came to be, though the detail of doing it out of an urge to be seen as a lover was kept hidden and has been up till now.

 ‘So you do this as an extra source of income?’ This is all she was allowed to know. The truth, albeit the censored version. The familiar voice heard speaking in tones that should be preserved for the busy boyfriend yet were heard by a pup sounded questioning, although there was a weird preluding tone in it as well. 

‘Y- Yes. I hope it doesn’t-’ The attempt at gaining an estimate of the damage the information would inflict upon the sturdy friendship was cut short by a paradoxically misplaced inquiry. 

‘Who’s your biggest patron?’ A question that fully showed the identity of the strange emotion floating beneath the surface just a second earlier, hand clenching the freshly washed navy bedding as teeth gritted in curious animosity directed toward something unknown.

Or, rather, someone. 

Jealousy.

Y/N had actually turned emerald in envious despair.

Which was incredibly out of place for the love of a man for a gorgeous best friend had been unrequited until then. Until the sun sets in the west. However, failing to see that among the sheets the reality is different, fierce protest came against the then deemed absurd demeanour. ‘Does it matter? Y/N, it’s not as if we- ah!’

Out of the blue and as fast as lightning, a familiar small palm held many times while mindlessly fucking or on the rare occasion of genuine lovemaking - at least it was sincere for one party - enveloped denim heated with shameful images of what could be done with the discovered toy. Especially when surrendered to the woman who inherently belonged to another. ‘Nobody claims my wolf for themselves.’

‘Y- Your wolf?’ A slight squeeze awakened the submissive persona within that always surfaces when similar circumstances occur, reducing a baritone voice to needy whining. 

‘Yes, Joonie. Mine.’ A whimper fell from full stunned lips, paralyzed by the digits that had slipped past the rim of jeans and underwear to act upon the primal urges overtaking demeanour, enjoying the sensation of sinning soft skin encouraging release. A mischievous grin began to grow from the snarl on my new owner’s lovely face, continuing to contrastingly sweetly caress the right cheek before petting chocolate milk strands as the knot in the pit of the stomach kept building. ‘My beautiful honey wolf.’

‘Y- Yours.’ The acknowledgement was spoken in the broken manner which has always been a loved aspect of a boy in love and has never failed to make Y/N happy.

The priority of every pet.

Of every man loving their significant other.

To delight the person the heart belongs to. 

‘What’s that?’ Regardless of having heard it clearly, the statement allowing the enchanting mistress to claim full possession of a wolf boy wanted to be heard again if only for personal satisfaction.

The knowledge to be better than the biggest sponsor.

Because she was there first.

Always had been.

Always will be. 

‘I- I’m y- yours.’ It came out on a squeaky breath, the pooling heat below having grown painful and turned even more agonizing when being encouraged further. A kiss on the neck went paired with a careful lick, testing the waters to discover how much this alternative animalistic personality was truly liked despite every instinct urging to act and chase a release into blinding bliss. ‘Let m- me m- make you f- feel good.’

And it was liked. Very much so, judging by the firm grip on whimpering locks driven further to the edge by fingertips sneaking towards the most sensitive part and suggestive tone in the whisper that definitely changed the relationship. ‘Then put on your pretty tail, Joonie, and let’s see how good my wolf really can make me feel.’

Being driven too much to edge already, everything went blank when connecting unprotected after the swift disposal of clothes covering the lower body but not being allowed to recuperate before being forced into moving by the firm grip on the behind and thus left mewling in overstimulation.

However, it is the duty of a pet to satisfy its owner.

The duty of a wolf to satisfy its bitch.

So the warm orange afternoon carried on into lilac twilight, breathing laboured while trying to perform to the best of capability despite clumsy movements that at some point no longer were given feedback but gone along with and thin spurts of gratitude.

Luckily, the pretty owner did not seem to mind it just like the audience tuning in weekly to see a stuttering baby boy did not mind the transformation into a submissive wolf pup which is owned. In fact, it sparked encouraging perverse cooing alongside sincere comments about the innocent sweetness of the situation, praising loyalty and looks.

A bond that remains even when Y/N is absent, keeping up appearances of a normal friendship by readily agreeing to Jisung’s plan to go on a holiday together and thus basically forcing a pup to be left behind. Withal, the wonderful mistress has found a way to make her baby wolf remember who adopted it, who it should remain in service to despite a prolonged absence.

Everything is set up for tonight’s broadcast, the camera set up just at the right angle to capture any increase of sensual excitement illuminated by the few additional not too brightly shining ring lights kept out of the screen. The vague scent of peach hangs in the air among linen and figs, stemming from the liquid aid supporting the transformation from a man into a boy in unrequited love. Furry chocolate ears protrude from same-toned locks and match the fluffy tail gifted recently after visiting the hairdresser together to return from icy platinum to warm brown, quickly falling into sinful teasing - as has become a habit between us - whenever nobody was looking.

To complete the outfit or, rather, the lack of clothes, hands are buried in the oversized sleeves of the striped sweater that was also given as a present because I behaved so well.

No, not me.

The persona.

The pet within.

Indeed.

I.

Because I behaved and even trained to become a better lovable cub though the clumsiness shall never fade, no matter how many hours are spent on endeavours to improve performance. Notwithstanding, as long as nothing is said to indicate evident dissatisfaction, perhaps the way we are is the best despite being stationary.

Clearing the throat a few times to naturally fall into the cute demeanour concealed beneath a wise exterior, fingertips already slightly tease sensitive skin after pulling up an innocent picture of the beautiful woman turned into more than a friend. Slowly, sanity loses itself over the coy smile holding out a fork with a bite of homemade matcha cake, liking it only if she has made it. However, Reason can be prevented from getting completely lost in sensual limbo by stopping all movements before it starts to feel too incredible and fancy conjures an imitating spirit. 

A deep longing sigh escapes at the view on agitated desire, twitching with the need for more yet having to wait in unwanted refraining until tonight’s plan is put into motion. ‘Ok, here we go.’

For the last time, all equipment is checked as well as the connection to the streaming platform. All is well.

Time to begin.

‘H- Hey, everyone. I- It’s me, J- Joonie.’ As soon as the record button is pushed, the stuttering alternative personality who loves wearing oversized sweaters and knows only to obey in order to please takes over fully. ‘M- Mistress is a- away on a h- ho- holiday and I c- coul- couldn’t come with her.’

The first comments about what a shame it is and filled with wonder how Y/N, nicknamed Mistress for privacy reasons, could do such a thing start to flood the chat window. Seeing the pity makes a warm flush spread throughout that rises to caramel cheeks which are swiftly covered by a sweater paw as the other continues to hide the twitching longing beneath. ‘Th- Thank you for your k- kind words. I- It’s a- al- alright, though. My pre- pretty owner has l- left a m- me- message so I’ll re- remember who I belong t- to. It’ll b- be like she’s h- here.’

More viewer reactions, this time praising the adorable stutter and loyalty of a good wolf pup.

Appreciation.

Love.

All that the gorgeous best friend with benefits cannot fully give to the philosophical mind always walking on the sideline, close yet far away. Lies down on the other pillow in the two-person bed after ensuring the heart belonging to another is cherished despite not being owned outside of the agreed-upon relationship.

The lover is inherently and undeniably hers.

Both the man and the wolf.

I am Y/N’s.

‘L- Let’s have a l- look at wh- what Mistress sent.’ From the side, the silver iPhone protected by a transparent case decorated with pastel pink paw prints is retrieved and the messenger app opened, my beautiful owner’s last message being the video meant for tonight.

One hand is already firmly wrapped around hardened heated skin once the recording commences, trying to control the throbbing a little longer. Already sets a cheeky slow pace at the first second showing a beloved bare body of which every inch has been kissed, especially on the days when everything felt futile. 

Speeding up a bit when interest is perked by a fuchsia and twilight purple wolf dildo and the alabaster mess between spread thighs.

‘Joonie~‘ Ears perk up at being called by a familiar beloved voice, breathing accelerating and curiously tilting chocolate milk locks in anticipation of what will follow. ‘You’ve made quite a mess, haven’t you?’

A fake memory replays itself, repeating the moment of placing a wolf’s gratitude inside Mistress after tethering on the edge without being allowed to fall as nails etched beautiful long carmine trails over honey skin to mark territory. She looked more gorgeous than ever among the pale blue sheets, so much more wonderful than a common bitch.

And the mere thought of seeing it again fuels the growing and slowly becoming painful heat between muscled legs. 

‘I know you’re on your rut.’ Impatiently, the wanton hardened shape glides suggestively among the ivory sticky mess, wanting to act on primal desire again but also be a good pup and wait for consent. ‘And I wish I could be there to help you with it.’

‘B- But you a- are here, M- Mistress.’ The delirium already starts to take over fast as the pleasurable pace accelerates yet is not fast enough to completely lose control. The word would have to be given first for that to happen. A good pet waits and obeys, does not come undone before it is allowed. Nevertheless, that does not mean whimpering is not allowed. ‘Pl- Please, I wa- wanna fuck. Kn- Knot you.’

‘But let’s pretend I’m there with you.’

A familiar hand moves the artificial plaything, no, real heated sensual craving closer to where a thick unclear stream flows languidly to coat it in the fluid. ‘You’re a naughty boy, aren’t you? Rutting against my leg all day. Fucking needy.’

‘Y- Yeah.’ It could not be helped because to a barely human mind Mistress looked incredibly alluring and smelled so sweetly of summer figs. And a fortunate oversized clumsy cub was allowed to indulge in the temptation. ‘You l- look so pr- pretty.’

Feeling impatiently brave, an attempt is made at a bodily connection without being given explicit consent. However, the start is quickly nullified and punished with a firm squeeze below that coaxes out a whine hanging somewhere between pain and delight. ‘Bad boy. Did I say you could put your thick throbbing cock in?’

Lips purse into a pout, ears flat against the scalp as a fluffy chocolate milk tail hangs low, speaking softly in apology. ‘N- No. S- Sorry, Mistress.’

‘So impatient.’ Again, all that is allowed is agonizingly teasing gliding among the mess already made, restraint becoming harder and harder to maintain. ‘Not even wanting to do foreplay.’

Slender fingertips move to the most sensitive part which is swollen in agitated red bordering on plum, reducing speech to simple-minded whining not very shy of wanton sobbing. ‘B- But you, ah, d- don’t like th- that. Al- Always, mhm, use j- just lube.’

‘Are you getting desperate, Joonie? Leaking?’ The mischievous palm moves away to give attention to parts left in neglect, a pleased smirk on the mouth kissed many times before in the way it wants. ‘Shit, look at those veins, how thick you are. You’re a big boy.’

‘Y- Yes!’ The mere sliding continues, edging a gradually fleeting soul further to the edge of ignorant bliss. Henceforth, only simply repeating is practically all that is possible in the way of talking. ‘I- I’m a b- big boy.’

‘We’ll use your cum as lube, Joonie. Now- What a shame.’

Nonetheless, consciousness is kicked off into the abyss anyway.

A disappointed sigh obviously stresses the severity of the made mistake. ‘You really can’t behave, can you? Bad boy.’

Luckily, a floating mind can come down rapidly enough to offer sincere apologies for the misbehaviour, trying to nuzzle the neck to strengthen the show of remorse but being denied to do so. ‘I- I’m sorry, Mistress. I di- didn’t, n- no, w- w- wait! I- I’m sen- sensitive. P- Please. G- Give me a- a- ah!’ 

A novel assault on the part which is the utmost susceptible to touch quickens breathing to short shallow breaths, nerves being forced into overdrive by the hurtful overload of contact. ‘I thought you’d be better than this, but it appears I have to teach you manners again.’ A thumb presses hard against the angry reddened skin, tail swishing in sensual panic. ‘I don’t care if you can’t handle it, you’re going to put your dick inside me and keep going until your knot makes my stomach bulge with cum. So, be a good wolf and... and- fuck, Namjoon~’

Accepting the punishment like a good pet, ignoring the pain of overstimulated nerves, the bodily spell is established again after being helped in lining up. Clearly to the delight of my pretty owner, who hums in breathless satisfaction. ‘Fuck, I’m clenching your hard thick cock. Feel your knot already forming, pressing against my pussy.’

The connection is exploited as much as possible, reaching the point of utmost hypnosis when seeing the lewd outline of sensual craving create a little bump in a soft stomach. And that could become so much more if the wishes caused by the rut are seen to fruition, but only if Mistress wants them to be as well, of course. ‘Wa- Wanna give you p- pups, em- empty inside.’

To worsen the chastisement and please the gorgeous woman beneath, hips snap at a rapid pace in the chase to a second shot of white ignorance. Tail high and swishing back and forth in sexual agitated delight, fluffy chocolate brownie ears perk up to zone in on the background noise accompanied by the symphony of skin on skin and barely audible praise mingled with gasps while expanding the mess already made. ‘Listen to that. How slick my pussy is with your thick cum inside. You’ll definitely make me pregnant.’

‘Y- You’d look even pr- prettier ca- carrying our children.’ The mere image of creating our own little pack drives the frenzy for release, imaging Y/N’s stomach rounded and beautiful breasts swollen with milk for our cubs. Finally, we would have something to proudly call our own. ‘I- I love you, lo- love you so so much.’

Determined irises suppressing the equal desperation for blissful blinding make contact, nails digging into the back of the neck and the pain adding to the pleasure of being the sole one for a gorgeous woman. For my pretty owner. ‘You gonna knot me again, Joonie? Make me your bitch, your only bitch?’

The rapid sweeping of the full tail signals being incredibly close to the long-chased climax, a wonderful state of being only the marvellous woman beneath can push her pet to. ‘Yes. Yes, yes! Y- You’re my, um, hmm, o- only bitch. The only, ah, o- one I wa- want.’

The only one I want to bring me to this point.

The only one I feel safe with.

Only her. 

‘Oh my God, oh my God! Joonie! Shit, it’s so big.’ Familiar locks throw themselves into the pillow as a wolf’s gratitude slides in, laughing breathlessly in a moment of selfish pride, ears perked up. After all, a cocoa and honey wolf is the sole being which is allowed to do this, to be more of a lover than Jisung. 

Make Mistress’s belly swell with cubs. 

‘God! Yeah, stretch me open, big boy. Mmm, good pup. Love your cum flowing out of my pussy, the way you make my stomach bulge. Shit~ I love your wolf cock.’

‘Y- Yours. I- I’m yours. Only y- yours.’ Teeth bite down on the bottom lip, the barely aware mind utterly mesmerized by the show of pleased satisfaction. ‘You l- look perfect, M- Mistress.’

For a few seconds, the world slowly begins to turn as breath is regained and composure restored. Happy giggles fill the silence, soft caresses gliding over muscled arms in the aftermath and soothing the impact of the spell when it is nullified. 

‘Fuck, look at how open you fucked me.’ Gaze wanders downward, humming bordering on whimpering at the sight. Richly and languidly, a thick alabaster stream flows between thighs, increasing the arousing mess between them. 

A finger hooks beneath the chin, forcing a lock of gazes. ‘You’ll solely do this to me, understood? As soon as I’m back from my holiday, you’ll actually use me again as your bitch for the remainder of your rut and the ones to come. Do I make myself clear?’

The view causes a loss for words so that frantic nodding will have to substitute the strength of a promise that cannot be formed vocally. ‘Y- Yes, Mistress.’

The mirage fades away with the dawning realization there are comments on the screen, cooing at the fantasy of a lonesome pup which has its paws covered in a sensual mess.

‘R- Right, she isn’t h- here. Heh, how st- stupid of m- me.’ Voice reduces to whimpering, feeling the torn open gap that will not be filled. Left behind in the heart forevermore, even as a farewell is said to viewers sitting distantly behind a screen. ‘I m- miss her. But sh- she’ll be back. M- Mistress always c- comes back. Thank you f- for your kind w- words and keeping m- me company. Paw kissies from Joonie! Bye bye!’

But it is all just a fantasy.

The camera is turned off. 

Just like the belief I shall ever be Y/N’s.

Fully.

Exclusively.

A pillow shielding a deepthroat cup is placed between muscled thighs.

And the preferred method of slightly healing the wounded part of a philosophical mind very easily twisted into a simple animal is given into.

The self-made noise mingling with the lewd sucking takes away the meaning of the burning tears streaming down. 

Because all we have is this unrequited cruelty.

A wolf pup and its owner.

The truth untold.

[prince-claremont-diaz]

from outside looking in

An introspection into isolation, finding yourself and finding your people.

Or essentially, a stream of consciousness about Arthur's life leading up to the events of the season 5 trailer.

Warnings: internalised homophobia, general angst

Word count: 2.4k

Ao3 version

Yes, I wrote an Arthur fic because why the fuck not

For as long as he could remember, Arthur had felt like an outsider. When he was little, he used to play with his action figures alone on the playground, launching them off the swings or scrambling up trees and slides to pretend he was way up high in outer space, simply looking down at the rest of the world. He read comics and books and kept to himself for the most part. As he grew up, his classmates laughed at him for his 'toys' and 'picture books', on one occasion going so far as to flush one of his comics down a toilet. He knew there was something about him that generally kept others away from him, knew he didn't quite act or feel like the rest of them.

Like an alien sent right from one of his stories.

When Arthur first met Basile, however, it was the first time he felt like he belonged.

They met when they were 10 years old, when Basile transferred to his school after moving to the area. Arthur remembered the day vividly. It was the first day back at school and his dad had dropped him off on his way to work early, so he was one of the only kids that had arrived yet. He had been sitting alone at his new desk, flicking through his Hawkeye comic, idly glancing at the other kids chatting at another table when the door to the classroom unceremoniously burst open. With a tiny, high pitch yelp, somebody stumbled into the room, nearly taking out another desk on their descent to the floor. Arthur put his comic down as he watched the newcomer, who had wild curly black hair, getting awkwardly to his feet.

The now familiar bright grin immediately met Arthur from across the room. Dressed in an ill fitting Star Wars t-shirt and sporting a too-big orange backpack, the new boy immediately started walking over to Arthur, ignoring the jeers of the other classmates. He stopped in front of Arthur's desk and held out a marker-covered hand, grinning. "Hi! I'm Basile! But you can call me Baz! I like your comic, too. Can I sit here?" the boy babbled away, already sitting down in the seat opposite Arthur.

Arthur had nodded, his own wide grin melting over his face. "Thanks! I like your shirt!" he exclaimed, pointing at the other boy's t-shirt.

And from then on, Arthur had one other person in his life to keep him company.

For a while, Arthur tried to ignore most of the other people around him. He had Baz, so why should he care about everyone else? Why should he worry about the rest when he was playing video games or watching movies or discussing comic books with his best friend? It was easy to brush away the comments about his glasses or his comics if he just focused on the person that actually liked him. Baz was virtually the only person he cared about and he cared enough for the rest of the planet.

But as he got older, the retorts became harder and harder to let go. The name calling turned from "Four eyes" to whatever slurs they could come up with, chasing him down with jeers and taunts he had no choice but to listen to. Flushing his comics or throwing his action figures turned into pushing him into the lockers or throwing things at him.

It is almost impossible to ignore what stares you right in the face, after all.

The question of "am I gay?" swirled around Arthur's mind for years. Whenever he caught himself looking at Baz for too long or caring a bit too much about a male character, the smallest of voices wondered somewhere in the back of his head whether it was true. Was he gay? Or did everyone else look at their friends the way Arthur did with Baz?

His browsing history was meticulously deleted, all of his secrets hidden away in the depths of the internet where no one else would ever find them. He never lingered long on websites, always sure to keep safer tabs open should someone come into his room without warning. He only ever searched up the burning question or scrolled through the endless chat rooms in the dead of night, looking for the answers in the depth of internet forums and 12 question quizzes. He felt like he was on some quest to find an answer that he was simply keeping from himself, never fully allowing himself the truth.

Soon enough, Arthur couldn't handle it anymore. He hated himself when he caught himself daydreaming about his close friend, cursed himself for being a 'pervert'. He wasn't gay, surely. He'd had crushes on girls, after all. That meant he was straight, right?

Instead of acting on anything or letting himself even look at Baz, Arthur hid away. He spent his lunch periods in the school library, avoiding his friend in the halls in favour of keeping his nose tucked into the latest comic books. He took the long way to and from school to avoid walking the same way as Basile, ducking through side streets and crossing the street with abandon. Whenever Baz tried to talk to him, he shrugged him off, insisting he was busy with school work. His heart raced every time he saw the dark curls at the other end of the hall going to class, dread overflowing his body like a broken tap, shoving him into the corner of the hallway to avoid being seen by his friend.

It is agony to avoid the unavoidable magnetic pull of longing.

"Arthur? Can we talk?"

It had been in the middle of November, the wind unusually violent and unforgiving, rattling the windows of the small cafeteria. Arthur was sitting at one of the big circular tables by himself, poking half heartedly at his lunch, feeling light years away from the rest of the tables in the room. When he looked up to his name, his heart dropped as he made eye contact with a pair of familiar, sad brown eyes standing over him. Arthur had never seen Baz looking so forlorn, like a kicked puppy, clutching his green lunch bag with an iron grip.

Before he could dismiss him, Baz dropped into the seat next to him, dropping his lunch onto the table and pulling out his food. "Baz, what are you—" he had started, glancing over at the sandwich in an attempt to avoid looking up into those damn eyes.

"You're avoiding me," Basile blurted, "Why? I thought we were friends." Arthur glanced up finally, feeling his face flush at the look Baz was giving him. His eyebrows were knitted together and his bottom lip trembled in a frown like Arthur had never seen.

"We are friends," he insisted, "And I'm not avoiding you. I've just been busy."

"You won't even look at me anymore," Baz whined, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I know I'm not the smartest–everyone always reminds me–but I can tell you've been avoiding me for weeks. Just tell me why and I'll leave you alone for good."

But Arthur couldn't tell Basile why he had been avoiding him. He could barely admit to himself just why he felt the need to avoid the only person who had ever made him feel less alone. Deep down, he knew exactly why he forced himself to look away, forced himself to stay away.

But despite this, Basile was his best friend. Neither of them had any other friends besides each other and in his pathetic self-isolation to avoid his own feelings which were staring right at him, Arthur had ultimately abandoned Baz. Baz, who had treated him with nothing but kindness since the day he literally fell right into Arthur's life. Baz, who liked the same things as him and let him talk about his silly fantasies and hobbies. Baz, who never ever judged him for anything at all.

"I'm sorry," Arthur had said that day, swallowing back tears and forcing himself to look into those bright brown eyes he loved yet hurt him so much. "I-I can't explain why, but I'm sorry for avoiding you. You of all people don't deserve that."

No matter what, Arthur knew he couldn't just leave Basile just because he couldn't handle his own feelings. And so, he stopped avoiding Baz. He let them go back to normal, going over to each other's houses to play video games or rewatch movies, bickering about their favourite characters over lunch. He talked to Basile about the pretty girls in their school and let Basile plot out his futures with them, pretending he didn't think it was futile. He vowed to never let his emotions get the best of him. He prioritised their friendship over whether or not he did in fact have a crush on Baz. They had more important things to worry about like going to Lycée in a few months and going to a new school again. It did not matter if he thought Basile's eyes looked nice the way they seemed to glow in the sunlight or his desire to touch his hair or hug him. What mattered was that Baz was still his friend, despite him acting like a dick for weeks.

When they went off to Lycée together, picking different classes from each other, of course their dynamic changed slightly. That had been expected. They no longer shared as many classes together or had time to just play video games together. Basile talked and talked and talked about the hot girls in the years above or the girls he was crushing on for weeks, hardly seeming to notice that Arthur never contributed more than advice and support. They both made friends in other classes, spending more time with them than each other.

Slowly, as Arthur got more used to his new school and new people everywhere, he started to feel better about himself. Sure, he was still a bit of a nobody, mostly drifting from group to group, never quite a part of things. But he still had Basile and he liked his classes enough to get by.

One night, buried beneath his bedsheets, Arthur stumbled upon an article which changed his entire life. Hunched over his laptop, scrolling through the billionth website that night, his jaw dropped. His heart hammered against his chest, blood rushing past his ears and a gasp falling from his lips as he read.

Bisexuality is the sexual or romantic attraction to both men and women or to two or more genders.

With this newfound knowledge, Arthur continued to keep it private. He held the word deep inside his chest, locked away for safekeeping, only to be released in the darkest of nights. He whispered it to himself in the mirror, muffled by the rushing water of the sink, shrouded by the midnight stars twinkling above. He saw blue and purple and pink in everything, in every sunrise and sunset, in every rainbow and article, allowing himself only the smallest of glances. He kept the word safe from the rest of the world, blanketing it and boxing it away with the rest of his old yet sacred possessions.

Even as he kept his secret to himself, he slowly, gradually learned to accept himself. He wasn't wrong for how he felt. He allowed himself to be closer, to reach out and touch, to tease and to smile. He no longer held back as much, caving into his near constant desire to touch. And Baz didn't seem to mind, so what was the harm?

In their second year of lycée, he and Basile befriended Lucas and Yann. He sat next to Lucas in a few of his classes, sharing jokes about their teachers or whispering about the homework. Yann was also a delight, teaching him to skateboard and always lending a helping hand.

Arthur even befriended Alexia, whom he was forced to sit next to in Biology. She was a whirlwind with colourful hair and a friendly smile, making jokes left and right, sending his heart out the window. She was caring and energetic, far more intelligent than he was and beautiful.

Of course, Arthur couldn't stay away from his sexuality forever. When his close friend Lucas came out as gay and suddenly he had a new pansexual friend from the year above, Eliott, it was unavoidable to think about. Alexia talked about being bi often as well, making his whole face flush violently every time. Sexuality and attraction were common topics of conversation in their friend group these days.

When Alexia kissed him on the dance floor at Daphné's party, Arthur felt his entire body erupt at every nerve ending, a force so powerful he could taste static. It was the softest and the shortest of kisses, but it felt like belonging. Arthur could barely believe his luck, holding on tighter to her like he would lose her if he wasn't careful. For weeks afterwards, through flirting and teasing, Arthur fell harder and harder for her, finally getting the guts to kiss her again at Imane's party. And she had kissed him right back.

With Alexia, Arthur no longer felt the need to hide or to repress. He could be open and honest with her, knowing she wouldn't judge him. He no longer felt constantly on edge because of the potential disaster of Baz finding out about his feelings or of the potential reaction of their friends, seeing how they had reacted to Lucas and Eliott. Alexia was special and she liked him for who he was and Arthur could only thank the universe every time he had the luck to even be in her presence.

And now, as he was dancing the night away, preparing to count down to yet another year, yet another decade, Arthur looked around the crowded room. He looked at his gorgeous girlfriend Alexia as she danced with Daphné and Imane and he looked at Lucas and Eliott so captivated and entangled together. He looked at Yann and Emma jumping around as they talked and he turned to Baz as he moved closer. They danced together briefly, smiling, closer than his younger self would ever have imagined.

He looked through the blinding white strobe lights and the flood of blue, grinning around at his friends. He thought back to his entire life and as he looked around the room, he felt a lot less like an outsider than before.

[seb-owns-these-tatas]

Chase Collins - Pacify Her (Pt.2)

Characters: Chase Collins x Fem!Reader

Summary: Your co-workers especially the president of the company you are working at has this grudge towards you because you couldn't reciprocate the infatuation he had for you and so you came marching towards your office with a hot head. Shocking you once you saw a very familiar person sitting on your throne.

Warning: Kinda have sugar mommy content? If you squint at it closely. Oral. (Male receiving!) So MUCH suggestive content. VOCAL Chase Collins. Kinda have voyeurism? HEEHEE. VERY DETAILED. PART 2 and I think there's going to be PART 3 when I finally feel the thirst.

Words: 1900+ (Kinda short. Heehee!)

A/N: PARENTAL GUIDANCE MUST BE ADVICED. THIS IS NOT SUITABLE FOR VERY YOUNG AUDIENCES. LOOK AWAY, PURE TATER TOT. LOOK AWAY. (UNEDITED. RAW. PROBABLY HAS LOTS OF TYPOS AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS. SORRY IN ADVANCE!)

PART 1

You grinned, zipping down your skirt and shimmying out of your clothes. Leaving your black underwear and bra on. "You gonna hit it from the back?"

Chase Collins rolled his eyes, acting like a pent up bitch that you oh-so-love.

"You're one word away from having your anal fantasy over, Y/N."

You laughed out loud, however that laughing was ceased once Chase began to act like a dick and held the back of your head, bringing it down on him with a moan as he kept your mouth on his cock, slowly fucking your mouth with satisfying, slow thrusts that hit the back of your throat.

He grabbed onto your voloptuous hair, tenderly moving it behind your ears to clear his vision as he watch you take his dick so well. "Ah," Chase whispered a moan, making you clench. Jesus, it was so hot. He chuckled to himself, feeling so overwhelmed from the feeling of your hot mouth. His eyebrows cinched together and his mouth parted as he continued to fuck your mouth with agonizing, slow thrusts of his hips. "Now, that's a good girl,"

You could feel his cock twitch in your mouth, his bulbous head hitting the back of your throat that made you gag yet Chase was being one selfish prick at the moment and kept on thrusting with ease, sharp hits that made your eyes water from the sensation. He licked his lips, keeping your head in place and you could taste the salty, sweet taste of his pre-cum oozing out, making you hum in satisfaction.

This was what you needed. Something to keep your mouth shut and something to keep your mind off from the stress.

He maneuvered his hands on the arm rests of your office chair, letting your head go and trusting you with your own pace as he panted on your seat, just feeling your slick mouth slip up and down. The muscles on his torso clenching when you gave off another loud hum. His eyes turning black behind his closed eyelids, never giving you the satisfaction to see him with those sexy eyes of his.

He was still having second thoughts about that even though you already told him that he was sexy and hot with it.

His hands were shaky as he popped the buttons of his dress shirt off, hastily untying his navy blue tie and leaving it around the nape of his neck, looking so delicious and hot. Completely disheveled. He knew what you wanted. Chase knew you on the back of his hand and what gets you off. 

Once he popped the last button off, your baby boy was quick to clasp onto your other hand. The one that wasn't playing with his gonads, obviously. Letting it travel and caress his lean, prominent V-line and torso that immediately tensed from the moment your fingertips touched his hot, sweaty body.

You continued to caress his musculine torso, moaning while you were giving him head as you felt the vein probbing on the flat part of your tongue. He was close. So close.

"I'm close," He breathed out of his ajarred mouth, his words coming out as air out of his nose. You heard him whimper, feeding the confidence surging while feeling him writh like a teenage boy. Oh, the irresistable effects you had on him. Your head went up and down, the part where you couldn't reach was answered with a twist of your wrist before satisfyingly sliding up his cock with a pop.

Automatically, you brought your tongue out as you grab onto his reddish, hard cock. Profoundly sniffing on the underside of his cock, making him whimper a little more louder. Never forgetting to give open mouthed kisses right on his gonads that made him lick his lips for the twentieth time.

You give out a long lick, up towards his bulbous head. Staring up at your gorgeous pretty boy who had his beautiful eyes closed. Your hand was quick to catch on, feeling the protruding veins against the palm of your hand as you pumped him in a fast pace, making Chase moan a loud one.

His moan echoed throughout the office, igniting another big chunk of confidence inside you that made you reach out and grab his jaw with your other free hand, grabbing his attention. He fluttered his dazed eyes in slits, squinting down at you with puzzlement.

"Look at me when I give you head," You purred, keeping eye contact with him. Yet again, he whimpered when he felt you kiss his tip. Your fingers tightened around his jaw, mushing his face. Sounding a bit mischievous and dominant. "Show me those sexy eyes of yours when you cum,"

Chase instantly gave a soft nod, instantly submitting like the good baby warlock he was and you dropped your hands against his lean chest. Caressing the hot flesh with your needy palms. He moaned another while intently watching you give his cock some kitten licks. Deciding that he needed more touch and friction, his own fingers grabbed onto his balls, giving them a tight squeeze as you were licking his cock like a starving human aching for a popsicle.

"Ma'am?" Beverly knocked on the other side of your door. Some important files right on her hands. Her voice was blocked out as you were so into the moment that you had with Chase and so was he, yet Chase knew she was there because she felt her presence from the outside.

"Mmmh," Chase voiced out a hushed moan, grabbing the back of your head and slipping his cock in your wet mouth, staring into your mischievous, glimmering eyes as he immediately went in to plunge in your mouth, thrusting up with short, fast pushes that made you gag. "Yes, yes, yes," He moaned out loud as he finally felt him spasm.

"Ah," Chase moaned another, feeling his balls tighten. His release finally threatening to hit him. His face was completely euphoric, and it was enough to get you off. Though, you didn't have the chance to do so because you were basically choking on his dick. "Ughh," His mouth was in an 'o' and you couldn't help but feel the slick, wet juice moistening between your thighs just by hearing his delicious moans that were solely meant for you and only you.

"Ah, fuck! Such a good girl," He whimpered out loud, as he kept his palms on either side of your head. Keeping you there as you finally felt the hot spurts hit the back of your throat, his cum filling your mouth which made you moan in satisfaction.

Once he emptied everything in your mouth, you dragged your mouth off his sensitive cock. Quickly showing your cum-filled mouth to him as he panted against your office chair. His eyes deliberately fluttered open, and the sight of you and your cum-filled mouth made him emit another moan, sounding like he was trying the latter to hear what was happening inside your office.

He knew and he was one naughty warlock. What was new?

"Oh, God." He took your chin between his fingertips, his eyes intently watching your swollen, messy, red lips. "Swallow everything for me, Baby.."

You were quick to swallow, feeling his sticky, hot liquid fall inside your throat and he hummed, his thumb caressing your lips, catching some of his cum that fell on the side of your mouth as he watch you swallow everything. "Shit," He cussed lowly with a rasp, inserting his thumb on your mouth and you quickly sucked on it. "Please keep me with you forever," Your baby boy sighed, mesmerized by the way you sucked on his thumb like a starved human.

"Men say that whenever their girl gives them head," You muttered as a matter of fact, massaging your jaw that was quite sore from his ministrations. Chase's eyes were glued on you, completely mesmerized because you definitely just sucked him like a goddess and he noticed how you were currently feeling with your jaw, "I'm sorry, did it hurt?" He instinctively reached for your face, caressing your jaw with his thumb.

You raise a brow at that. Well, there was certainly a change in his usual rough mood. Blowjobs can really do miracles for a man.

"I'm feeling dandy, but totally unsatisfied by how horny I am," You crawled out from under your office table, standing up with your wet black lacy panties and bra, hands immediately on your hips to show how insatiable and needy you've become from that hot blowjob. Giving your boy the stink eye as he chuckled, "You know I don't just say that because you basically gave me head," He talked, raking your underwear outfit that was displayed in front of him. Again, he was being lucky today.

You were still glaring at your boy and he practically jumped out of his seat, giving you hungered eyes that wanted nothing but to devour you all day and it made you clench. Finally, you thought. You were gonna have it after a long stressful day. "Damn it, Chase. I'm fucking wet,"

He snickered as he strolled towards you, his hands quickly dragging to your hips, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Oh, I know, baby. You didn't need to state the obvious,"

Here's the part 2 that ya' have been waiting for, buddd! 💕 @anxiousamandapanda

Taglist: @msruchita @albinotigerpython @silverkitten547 @evanstanwrites @bella-barnes(couldn't find your blog, bud. :( ) @suiseb (Even you too. :( ) @captainjoanbarnes123 @so-many-fandoms-for-me @softromanianplum @buckmesideways22 @iamcumberlover @buckyssxxhair @anxiousamandapanda

[jmeddows2]

Guaranteed to blow your mind  (Roger Taylor smut)

Notes: Bear with me, this is my first ever smut. I’m sorry for mistakes and bad writing. English is not my first languages. Inaccuracies can occur concerning the band. (including Deaky joining Queen).  I’m also planning on making more parts of this including sub!Roger. Let’s see how this goes :) Feedback is always appreciated, so I know how to improve my writing.. ALRIGHT let’s do it  Summary: Felicity is a well known and experienced groupie. Roger a rock star on the rise.    Words: 3.7k+ 

Warnings: cursing, sub!Roger  smut: a tiny bit of edging, blowjob, unprotected sex

Felicity, also known as 'fizz Fliss' in the Rock N‘Roll scene always knew what she wanted. She knew it since the day she moved out from her parent’s home at the tender age of only 16 years old. School had never been one of her interests, instead she loved getting in trouble and the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her veins.

Fliss had a big dream, as well as many fantasies. Being a groupie.

Chasing rockstars from city to city, spending the whole night in clubs, drinking, doing hard drugs and having the time of her life with the musician of the night afterwards. She followed bands and artists such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, David Bowie, Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones, just to name a few.

At only 20 years old, she had already made a name for herself. Everyone knew her. Women/ girls wanted to be like her, and men longed to spend a night with her. The 'groupie chasing rockstar scenario soon changed to the opposite. It was the most famous men in rock that all wanted a piece of her and they somehow always gave her a piece of themselves in the form of presents. There would not pass a day without a few parcels delivered to her doorstep, containing the latest fashion, lingerie, makeup, booze, sometimes just money. Most of the parcels had a long journey behind them, many hadmade its way all the way from America and Australia to her flat in London. Besides the adoration and money that was spent on her, Felicity was the muse of many songs that later went on to become classics. When you asked her about how she attracted the attention of all the musicians, she simply claimed that it was all about the glam rock inspired clothes she wore. Beside her well known reputation as groupie, she wasn’t just a typical groupie you’d fuck and chuck. Felicity was often photographed alongside other rock musicians for magazines and ads.

Summer of 1971

 It was very hot day when Fliss stepped into the De Lane Lea Studios in London, to meet up with a band she’d been following since the beginning, which happened to be ‘The Who’.  They’d been there to record their fifth studio album titled ‘Who’s Next’.

 The room where the mixing board was situated was already filled with clouds of smoke, as she emerged and was quickly greeted with a hug.

“Ahh finally. Glad you could come. Missed you, love, how have you been?” Roger Daltrey, the lead singer greeted her with a quick peck on the cheek, while bassist John Entwistle beside them was just about to snort a line of cocaine from the tabletop, that was else covered in bottles of heavy alcohol. Glyn Johns, the producer had already been fiddling with some of the buttons on the mixing board, adding finishing touches to a record from a different band. It surprised her, knowing that Roger (D), John (E), Keith and Pete never liked sharing their studio time. They always used it to full extend, no matter what.

 “you really thought I would miss the opportunity to watch you guys record, huh? I wouldn’t even think about it. besides, I wanted to personally thank Keith here” she was pointed her finger into the drummer’s direction “ for the beautiful necklace. It must have cost you a fortune.” she laughed, clasping the little diamond that graced her decollete and she approached the drummer to place herself in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“yeah it actually did, honey.. but you‘re totally fucking worth it” he replied with a smug smile on his face, caressing her cheek with one hand.

“now come on, baby” Keith fiddled with the pocket of his jacket, only to pull out a pack filled to the brim with white powder. Fliss was quick to realize his intentions, so she pulled her top over her head and tossed it to the floor, leaving her in a red lace bra, another precious present.

 “fuck, see that‘s what I‘m talking about, baby” bringing his hand to lightly grope her breast

“I‘ll buy you 10 of those necklaces. No, I‘ll buy you anything you want, honey” he mumbled and managed to pour a line of the white gold onto the space between her breasts and rolled a 5-pound note to snort it from there. Keith didn‘t manage to catch all of the white powder at once, so he leant his head forward to lick the rest off and rub it on his gums. Their little get together was soon cut off by a loud thump as the door opened and 4 men stood there, totally caught off guard. 4 rather shocked faces. Newbies.  

 “seriously guys? Have you switched to male groupies now? “Fliss laughed sitting herself up in Keith’s lap, to get a better look of them.

 The men at the door seemed really embarrassed, with their heads turning as red as a tomato, except for one guy with long, dark brown hair and high cheekbones. He managed to step forward: “sorry are we interrupting something here? We can come back later?!”

“no, no, come in it‘s alright. Suit yourself” Roger (D) invited the men in with a gesture towards the little table with booze, cigarettes, pills and cocaine.

“Fliss, baby, may I present to you, her majesty: Queen, they‘re new, have some potential AND they are here to record some stuff today” Pete chuckled and winked at her.

 “oh really? And why haven‘t I heard of them yet?” she laughed while studying the men who were still stood by the door having not moved in the slightest. They seemed intimidated. It felt like a game for Felicity and hell, she loved to play. It was true, the band had only started to rehears songs for their first album a few months prior and received a little bit of recognition by playing rather small gigs. They were young, on the rise, seeking attention and where else could you get that from if not from one of London’s most iconic and definitely loudest rock bands of all time?

 “hey hey, I know you. Fuck dear, no I adore you... you are Felicity? Living the dream, right? damn... I bet this was also a present” he winked pointing at her bra. “I‘m Freddie by the way” he took a few steps forward to shake her hand, then heading back to his band mates who still haven’t moved in the slightest..

 “this is her Rog, the girl I told you about the other day” Freddie whispered to the blond-haired boy, gently nudging his side, he just nodded with flushed cheeks. His wavy, dirty blonde hair barely touched his shoulder and his bright blue eyes didn‘t quite know what to focus on, trying to play off the embarrassment. An awkward silence filled the room, until Freddie decided to plunge himself down next to Pete on one of the leather couches trying to lighten the mood. 

“and the others? Do you also have any names? “Felicity stood up from Keith’s lap and made her way towards the men as they introduced themselves to her as Brian, Roger and Mike. Mike was Queen’s bass player at the time and was very soon after replaced by our precious Deaky.

 As the tension and embarrassment settled, the "new boys" managed to get comfortable with a little booze. A magic recipe that always seemed to help loosen everyone up. Roger Daltrey was like the dad of the group, he didn’t take any hard drugs, just sleeping pills, but who didn’t? He also occasionally did a little pot. Roger Daltrey always felt the need to be the tough one, to look out for everyone. He had to, dealing with his bandmates which basically consisted of three addicts. Pete was an alcoholic, John (E) was an alcoholic. All three of them were doing speed and every other kind of drug you could imagine. Roger (D) never touched any cocaine, never had a try of it. He always felt responsible, as singing was his ‘instrument’ in the band and he felt like he would have never been able to master his skills while intoxicated. He tried to lead Fliss into another direction many times, away from her lifestyle, stating points that she would not have a future continuing like this, if she ever got out alive. He just wanted the best for all them, treating them like children of his own somehow.

 “what’s it like, darling?” Freddie asked curiously, he took a sip from his vodka-soda. “I want to know the details, any weird sex habits out there in the world of Rock ‘N’Roll? Any new kinks to know about “he asked flashing his unique, bright teeth at her with a smile. 

“Fred” Brian warned by shooting him a glare.

“Oh, come on Bri, stop acting as if you’re not interested in what this hot little thing here might have to spill” Freddie turned his attention back to Fliss.  “besides I think my good friend Rog here also might be interested” Freddie pointed in his direction, but his blond friend was too occupied having a chat with Keith.  It was obvious that one of his ears was always curiously listening to what she might have had to say. Roger’s eyes also betrayed him by stealing little glances, when he thought that she wasn’t looking.

“ok well... so sorry to disappoint you, but a lady never tells, but” she winked at Freddie and his eyes widened for more gossip as she continued.

“there’s loads of traveling, fine booze, the best cigarettes, expensive clothes and meals, you know the drill” she made a gesture at her body signaling great sex. “a real killer queen” Freddie smiled at her while pouring yet another glass for both of them and they clinked them together, getting lost in another conversation about antiques and all things expensive and glamorous. All of which Freddie admired. “Splendid! I already know we are going to get along perfectly, darling.”

 Freddie moved on to talk to his own band mate Brian again, but the spot beside her on the couch was soon filled by Roger. He clutched his whiskey on the rocks in his hand and was quickly caught off guard.

 -Aren’t you a little too young to drink, Roger? I mean how old are you? 16? 17??? - Fliss asked loud enough for the others to hear as she placed her feet onto his lap, resting them there, while the others started to laugh once they overheard her assumption.

 “no...no I.. I‘m actually 22”  he nervously stuttered.

“Hah I never thought to see the day that Rog can‘t get a word out to impress a girl” Freddie laughed, taking another sip from his alcoholic beverage.

 “no wonder. He‘s probably starstruck, keeps all your pics from the newspapers in his bedside drawer, ever since Fred told him about you” Mike laughed loudly while Roger was getting slightly embarrassed and his cheeks turned pink. No, not embarrassed, he felt humiliated.

 “oh, is that so Roger?”  Fliss said as she got up with a G&T in her hand.

“don‘t mind, do ya Rog?” batting her eyelashes at him, he shook his head and she placed herself onto his lap. Once she was situated comfortably, she smiled at him.

“hi” threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “hi” he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist. Her touch burned into his skin and within seconds his semi could be slightly felt on her thigh. The effect she had on him made her want to play this game even more.

 “oioioi, someone‘s gonna get lucky, huh?” Pete teased, making her playfully shake her head and roll her eyes. “And he might be the only one tonight” she replied, making all of them go quiet. Felicity felt kind of bad for all the teasing Roger had to bear. It was meant to be her job. Hers only.

“I’m not making you feel uncomfortable, am I?” she asked the blond boy with a hint of concern in her voice, brushing his soft hair over his shoulder.

“nnn no, not at all. I’m fine, perfectly fine” Perfect.

 Roger was quiet and frozen as Felicity constantly shifted in his lap. It made him even harder, painfully hard. Of course, she knew exactly what she was doing, as teasing was her specialty. But this boy was different, quiet, nervous, a perfect prey.

 Roger’s eyes nervously scanned the room, silently praying that no one would notice his now throbbing bulge in his pants. Felicity saw it all and felt him violently throb against his pants as her core was pressed up against him. So, she decided to fuel the fire even more. Another specialty of hers.

 She scanned Roger‘s face with her eyes, then slightly started nibbling his ear, which earned a light moan from him.  She continued kissing along his jawline, making his eyes tightly shut. He was trying his best, not to buck into her. “you’re almost too pretty to be rockstar” Roger opened his eyes as she caressed his right cheek, while her other hand was playing with his hair.

Roger swallowed hard, trying not to moan any louder. He was frustrated that he couldn’t do anything about his miserable situation, the fear of getting caught any second creeping up on him. His only goal at this point was trying not to come in his pants right then there.

- Oh I.. I.. thank you.. you‘re p..pretty- he stuttered.

She continued lightly bouncing in his lap, purposely grinding her ass against Roger‘s clothed length, while the most innocent look on her face. A smirk was plastered on her face as she earned another groan from him.

"What‘s wrong, Roger?" she asked innocently.

"You alright, mate?" John (E) asked from the sofa on the opposite side, he answered with a little nod, trying to keep it together.

Leaning closer to Roger she whispered in his ear: "you‘re so hard down there, huh? Do I really have such an effect on you? I didn‘t even do anything."

Felicity kept tracing patterns into the skin of his neck and chest, which was exposed due to his unbuttoned shirt. It was cute how every little touch and pattern traced along his sensitive skin made him shiver.

 - let‘s go out to eat something, guys, we‘ve got the studio all day long, you can record later- Roger (D) clapped his hands together and jumped up from his seat.

 “Roger are you coming or you glued to that couch? “Freddie joked as Roger glared back at him. Roger knew that he couldn‘t get up, not like that, not with a massive hardon. That would be too embarrassing, and the boys would forever pick on him.

 “actually, we‘ll join you later, King‘s pub it is?“ Felicity asked, shooting them a wink.

 Keith nodded, leaning down to her: “alright, honey, take care” the brunette drummer said as he stole a kiss from her. 

 A wave of relief rushed over Roger as there was only him and Fliss left in the room. Well, as much relief as he could possibly get, despite the problem in his pants.

“so, are you a bassist? singer? “Felicity teased as she brought her face close to his, caressing his right cheek, lightly rubbing circles with her thumb.

 “no I‘m m.. 'm the drummer” he stuttered nervously. “you know it‘s not very nice to not look at me when you’re talking to me” she shifted even more back and forth in his lap, feeling his hard cock through his pants. “you’re lucky, I have a thing for drummers” speeding up her movement, adding even more friction.

 “uhh please” Roger groaned looking deep into her eyes. “what Roger, what do you need?” leaning forward, breathing into his ear. “Is this what you need?” she placed a kiss on his left cheek, he violently shook his head in response.

 “what have been doing with those pictures your band member mentioned earlier, huh? Have you been a naughty boy?” she teased, continuing to torture him further, pressing even harder into him.

“y.. yes, been naughty, touching myself to your pictures...want you.... wanted you since the first time I saw you” he whined, eyebrows knitted in frustration.

“oh really?” Felicity definitely had her fun with this. She often adopted the role of the submissive, in fact, a willing sub. But dominating a guy, making him practically melt in her hands, was just another level. Nothing could ever compare to that.

Roger didn‘t manage to get a word out so she grabbed his cock through his pants, palming him that it nearly made him jump out of his skin. He never felt like this before, never this intimidated by any girl, he usually was the one to charm them, tease them, make them squirm.

 “yeah, yeah” he finally admitted “was so bad, wankin’ my cock every time to you mmmm, please, please, want you so bad” Roger cried out, but she brought her face close to his, kissing soon turned into a quick but heated make out session. Her hand made its way between their bodies into his pants, slowly starting to pump his bare length with her hand, brushing her thumb over his tip, making his eyes roll back.

 “alright pretty princess, let‘s see”  

Felicity got off his lap, kneeled down in front of him, he lifted his hips for her to remove his pants and underwear all at once.

Roger’s cock sprung free, hitting his tummy, the red, swollen tip leaking pre cum already. He was slightly bigger than average with a perfect girth, which surprised her, due to his overall tiny frame.

“fucking pretty cock, princess” his cheeks turned pink once more. It was the most vulnerable state, being all exposed in front of her. She ghosted her hand over his length, making him squirm even more and buck his hips. He was frustrated. But she kept on admiring his cock, taking her time. “Please, please I’m begging you! DO something. I- I can’t take it anymore” Roger whined. 

He hissed loudly when her hand was suddenly wrapped around his length, his eyes falling shut.

“ fuck.. fuck feels so good mmm” he moaned in ecstasy.

Roger’s moans were music to her ears “look at me, princess” his eyes fluttered open and she leaned forward to kiss the tip of his cock gently, staring deeply into his eyes. “mmm more please”

She licked the salty pre cum off that was already dribbling off the tip due to his horniness and it spread on her lips. Licking it off, tasting him. Salty and sweet at the same time. Felicity used her tongue to gently lick his frenulum, making Roger cry out her name. She lowered her head once again, taking all of him into her mouth, rubbing his tummy with her right hand.

“oh yess, fuuuuck feels so good, your mouth... you do it so good I’m not gonna last.. mmm” Roger groaned.

Having him beg for her, motivated Fliss to go not even faster, but also deeper, bobbing her head up and down, having him down her throat. Thanks to much practice, her gag reflex was gone, giving him the full experience.

“fuck m’ gonna c..cum m’ gonna cum” she pulled away, earning a disappointing groan. “You didn’t think I was going to let you come that fast, did you?” his eyebrows knotted into a frown. “Please, I was so close” “aww look at you, all red and desperate to finally get off, princess” Rogers hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead as she was undressing herself. “Roger” he flinched,letting his cock fall from his hand as she caught him pumping himself in a fast motion while watching her naked frame.  “I’m so sorry, please, do something. It’s really starting to hurt now. It’s way too much” salty tears started dribbling down his cheeks. He was so desperate for her.  “ok baby” she climbed into his lap, taking his thick cock into her hand rubbing his tip through her folds and the tears kept streaming down his face. She sank all the way down on him, staying there a few seconds to adjust. Roger rested his head on her shoulder as she managed to swipe a few of his tears away with her thumb.  Fliss started bouncing up and down his cock, Roger’s breathing slowly got louder when he was nearing his orgasm for the 2nd time that night. He felt weak, too weak to be able to thrust up into her.  “Fuck Roger, I’m close. You’re filling me up so good” she groaned, speeding up the tempo and circling her hips with one of his hands resting on her hips for support, the other on her breast, toying with her nipple. “mmm coming, you need to get off” “Come for me, princess” tangling her fingers in his blond locks. He started to whimper at the feeling of her still on his cock, one final bounce and she sank all the way down on him, sending both of them over the edge. Roger came with a cry of her name as he released warm, thick ribbons of cum inside of her. His eyes were fluttering, head on her shoulder, as he slowly came down from his high, relishing every wave of pleasure, not wanting the moment to fade away.

 Roger was snapped out of his little trance when she released his cock, making his him squirm at the sudden loss of contact. Being the little tease Felicity was, she reached down between her thighs, capturing some of Roger’s thick, sticky cum and brought the finger to her mouth to taste it. “so good” she hummed against her hand. “Fuck, you look so hot right now” he watched her in awe, mouth slightly open, not believing his eyes, making his cock twitch one final time.

(kind of inspired by this min 3:00) “Marry me” Roger blurted out. She looked at him, expecting him to be joking but his face remained serious. “You’re fucking nuts, Roger” she laughed as they both dressed themselves again, trying to hide every evidence of their previous studio ‘adventure’. He took a seat on the couch and pulled her into his lap again, giving her a passionate kiss. “Will you at least stay with me tonight then?” “Sure, Roger." he held her close, making the throbbing problem in his pants reappear.

[digimonadventuretimelines]

The skies were darker as they invaded the territory of the enemy, a secret mission filled with a tenacious bravery, kind and determined to lead them to the happy ending. However, as he was willing to avoid conflict…

… He had detected by the enemy’s air squad. The Airdramon group chased them in the skies, with the blue phantom dragon dashing in a risky attempt to vanish thru the clouds. It was all in vain, sadly, because those flying lizards with no hands nor feet had fired against them.

“ARGH!!”

They got hit. the digivice in his pocket kept acting like a phone. He heard then some voices:

“Whoa, they got hit!! I heard it!! KABOOM!” said an energetic feminine voice

“H-hey!! A-are you two OK?!” someone tough yet concerned boyish voice babbled “D-don’t dare to die here!!”

“You all, calm down and try to find them…!” a shy boy voice replied with some hesitation “Please, he won’t… like us to get panicked…!”

“Oh C’mon, kids. He’s strong” a fourth and female voice responded them all “... You know that, right?”

“Are you listening to us, big bro??” the energetic girl spoke.

“Hurry, hurry! We need to find them!” the first boy kept yelling.

“I don’t need to see your faces to know that you two are quite nervous right now” the shy boy sighed “They might be OK, but let’s not get panicked or we will be captured…!”

“You three, be quiet!” ordered the older girl “I’m trying to call him! Are you here, did you get hurt...? Please answer…!! You’re strong. Much more than you think…! If weren’t for your tenacious soul, we would haven’t evolved…!! Hurry up..!! Answer me...”

[01 - The World’s Future]

“Hey you two,” A familiar yet older voice called someone “Don’t you have school and work today?!”

The room was in the dark and the only source of light was a TV. Sounds of a racing game from an old rodent’s video game series was blocking the voice of a mother, who kept staring at a male adult and his children playing on an old Game Cube console.

“Did you hear me?” she asked again, “or am I being ignored by?”

It’s 2025, spring to be exact. Flowers are blooming and birds are singing. On days like these…

“I won!! Haha yes!” a kid raised his fist as laughed cheerfully about the nice sweet victory over his father.

“What-- How did you--?!” the man gasped as response.

The kids father then realized something odd and when he looked to the room’s entrance he saw his wife there, staring at him.

“Oops, are we--”

“Yes,” the woman closed her eyes and said in a very annoyed voice “You. Two. Are. Late. Again.”

“Haha, sorry!” the kid scratched his neck, smiling “This old game is exciting, mom!”

This kid, you may ask… It’s your protagonist. He might not be that different from his father or mother, but hey. He’s his own individual. His name? Motomiya Daichi.

Son of Daisuke and Miyako. Wait, are you confused? You will understand everything later.

“Time for school!” The kid exclaimed and left the room, took his backpack and moved towards the entrance.

“Have a nice day!” Miyako wished him, smiling at the boy.

“Thanks mom!” he replied and left the house.

“Wait what do you mean that I’m late to work?!” Daisuke shouted panicky.

The goggles in Daichi’s head reflected the sunshine when he goes chatting with his best friend about the game he had been playing with his father before school.

However, a younger child silently observes Daichi. He has a wild haircut as someone you know very well -- brown eyes, tan skin, a shade of brown more orange-ish… He stared at Daichi, but kept avoiding interacting with the older boy.

Later on the end of that day, Daichi opened the door with a happy smile. Excepting to have his dad & mom to welcome him as usual happens, he started talking:

“Mom, dad I’m home! Kiyoko’s at a friend’s house--”

But once he saw the empty living room and  his mother alone, with some bandages and talking to someone on phone…

“... Mom?” he asked with a frown on his face “Is something wrong? Where’s dad?”

His mother let a silent gasp escape from her mouth. She then turns back to the phone and tells the person on the call about the actual scene:

“I… I talk to you later, Ken. Daichi’s home, I will explain it to him.”

Daichi threw his backpack on the floor and hugged Miyako tightly, lying his head on her stomach. She watched him for a while til ruffle his hair. With a smile, she says:

“It’s okay, I just got hurt at work. Your father is fine, just had to travel to New York, again.”

… I couldn’t accept that. It was all a lie. I was sure, he had vanished. Probably died, and no one wanted to admit that. But… they can’t fool me.

Two years later… On Summer 2027…

“Hey, big bro.” “Big bro…!” “Brother!”

She was getting so so DONE with him ignoring her…!!

“Motomiya. Freakin’. Daichi.”

She was there, hands on her hips and glaring at him. In front of the couch where he was sitting and reading a book.

“Are you listening to?! What is your problem?!”

That girl is, as you expected, his sister. Daichi shifted his attention from the book to the girl. Her having a rose-ish long hair, amber eyes, a pair of pink sunglasses in his head and a hairpin of the said color a la Hikari (when Hikari was young, of course)

In confusion, Daichi tilted his head. She was about to spit fire on him if she had superpowers. She rolled her eyes.

“You’re reading. Again. On a sunny day. Inside. Like, studying on summer vacations.”

“Reading and studying are indeed important,” he closed his book with one hand, and he said calmly yet colder than the winter, “Especially because that would’ve been his last wish.”

“No no,” she was getting upset with that ol’ talk about their dad’s status and whereabouts “don’t talk like our dad were dead. He’s in New York, okay?!”

“I don’t think so, Kiyoko. But I’ll spare you from all of my assumptions.”

She tilted her her in silence. That was so uncalled for! No, her dad is not dead! Sure, he’s super duper famous and has to get some bodyguards like a couple of humans and digimons, but… Why on earth would someone try to kill Motomiya Daisuke, the man everyone adores and feels blessed for his kindness and high spirits?!

“Listen here, Daichi” she started “Our dad IS alive because--”

“Help. Help me. Miyako…!” a mysterious voice echoed in the room “I… I need you. And The Digichosen. Hurry…!!”

“W-what was that voice?!” Kiyoko looked to the ceiling, and when she looked back at Daichi… He had gotten up and passed by her side, following that voice.

“Kiyoko, go stay with your friends,” he said.

The voice led him to a room. The same room he used to play games with his father. Once the door was open, he saw a small pink bunny digimon (who looked like similar to a Chibimon) lying on the floor.

“A… Digimon?”

Another look in the room and he realized the old computer was mysteriously on. It had passed three years from the day his father had (suddenly) disappeared. That room kept closed for most of the time. Has that digimon invaded the room while no one had been paying attention to their surroundings?

Oh, it moved. It woke up and her green eyes met him. Due to the tension, the small digimon switched forms… to a woman. A very familiar woman to Daichi.

“N-Natsu?!” the boy was surprised yet confused

She glanced at the boy, then started looking around to make sure no one had followed her. But why? Why is Natsu a digimon? What’s happening here?!

“Daichan… I need to find your mother, and the rest of the group, very quickly.”

Daichi blinked. A ‘group’ of what? Friends? Adults? Maybe he could just call Taichi and ask for help, but…

“Mom’s at work right now. And I don’t know about this group you’re talking about.”

“The Chosen Children! Don’t you know?”

“My parents and their friends told us some stories about them, but mom is a regular Digimon researcher and not a  legend heroine.”

Oops, she forgot that Taichi and Daisuke alongside the others had decided to make it a secret from their children. Not like they don’t enjoy their glorious past, but they definitely do not desire their kids to risk their lives. Chosen Children -- Or just like they decided to change the term for ‘Digichosen’ -- will always exist no matter what happens.

But, they will fight to keep their children safe and live a happy life. That world already is a chaos with both worlds connected, with both human and digimon groups living in each other’s world.

“I have to tell you a secret” Natsu showed some determination with her words. She had decided to trust that kid, despite Daisuke’s wishes, “Your parents are part of that group. And some of their friends too.”

“W-wait, my late father too?!” it was too much information for him.

“He’s not dead!” Natsu went a bit defensive, but calmed down “He’s… lost in the Digital World. I know I can find him, but I need your mother’s help. Any adult Chosen is fine though.”

Daichi felt strange, his eyes were lively after three years of wild theories and despair. He had lost hope for so much time that he had admitted defeat.

“Can I help you…?” he asked with some excitement “I’m a hero’s child! And I’m good at lots of things, like--”

“I can’t let you help, Daichan” she avoided look at his eyes “Your parents, especially your mother, would’ve killed me if I let you do that.”

“Mom’s not home, I don’t know who’re the other heroes, Kiyoko is with her friends right now… I’m the only one here and if you are in trouble…”

“L-Listen, I can’t let you--!!”

“Besides, the legendary Chosen Children were around my age when they saved the world. Are you saying a kid can’t save his own father?”

Oh, he’s got some kind of Miyako in it…

“... No but-- Miyako’s gonna be mad at me--”

“My father would’ve let me help you because he knows I’d be safe with you~”

“He-- He wouldn’t--” she felt conflicted, imagining Daisuke telling her he was proud of her for taking care of his children while he hadn’t been around.

Natsu felt totally defeated by that fantasy. Daichi laughed, smirking and resembling very much his father.

“O-Ok! Motomiya Daisuke would’ve been so much happy to have his own son adventuring into the DigiWorld and saving him and it!” she was quite noisy now “Daichan, I’ll protect you with my life! I’m going to die for you!!”

“C-Cut out the part of ‘dying for me’ and let’s go!” he had regrets… oh boy.

She opened the gate with the computer and then… Both her and Daichi were absorbed by the screen’s light.

------------------------------------------------------------

“Your brother is annoying.”

Kiyoko had to agree with the short boy, while the second boy had been there in silence, just watching them chatting.

“I know that” she seemed a little upset yet “Like, what’s wrong going to play some sport or game OUTSIDE?! Or I dunno, read a book but in the park?!”

“That’s why he’s a sore loser.”

“I’d have preferred he was the same Daichi from years ago!”

“Yeah, at least he wasn’t annoying and goody-two-shoes like now!”

“Can you believe he thinks my dad is dead?! No, not just that, he definitely talks like if my dad is dead!”

“Tch, how insensitive he is… My dad would’ve said something if mr. Motomiya had been dead for a long time!”

“My father would’ve said too” the third kid said with a quiet voice “He’s not only an officer but also a best friend for your father, Kiyoko...”

“I know, I know!” she snorted “Daichi’s definitely upset because it’s taking too much time for our dad’s return.”

“At least he’s going home someday…” the first boy clenched his hand.

“Please don’t like if uncle Taichi were dead, Taisuke…”  the other boy asked.

“M-my bad, Eiji…!” Taisuke babbled “I meant like… N-Never mind!!”

------------------------------------------------------------

“W-where are we?”

“Daichan, this is the Digital World, or DigiWorld to make it short.”

Exotic plants with bizarre formats and colors… The skies being like a watercolor paint… A few data and circuits running through the scenario, strange vending machines in the middle of the florest…

Everything was new for him, like if he had opened the door for a brand new experience. It was different from books and photos, seemed much more better to live in. He had heard a lot about the DigiWorld, except his parents never let him go there and always said he had to wait a little more. When was this “little more” if not now? He’s good at surviving the summer camp, interacting with the digimon as well. How can it go wrong?

“Now listen,” Natsu looked at the kid with a serious glare “Whatever you heard about this place, know that there’s an actual civil war happening here, your father and the others had been dealing with. Stay closer and do not go walk alone.”

“What’s… What’s happening?”

“So, you’ve heard about that one time Yggdrasil went nuts and tried to separate humans and digimons from each other? Your father and mother discovered it and tried to stop, but they, Ken and Iori got captured instead. Taichi and the other seven saved us all but… Something went off.”

“I… I didn’t know that-- Wait a minute!? Taichi… Yagami Taichi?!”

“You have to learn a lot of things I guess.”

“Why didn’t dad tell me before…?”

“He…” Natsu looked found some difficulty to word that answer, “He was going tell you a little later.”

“Was he…?”

“... When you were about to turn ten, he had decided to tell you but… A little unfortunate event happened. But I’m sure I can find him, I can…!”

She was acting suspicious, like avoiding to say something. What was the ‘secret’ she’s keeping away from him…? Did something happen to his dad?

“What happened to him…? Do you know something, Natsu...?”

She didn’t answer and avoided look at him during their walk in the forest. It got on Daichi’s nerves so much because he wanted to know, he really wanted to help there but Natsu’s silence was worse than passing through years thinking his father had been dead.

And when he finally got some concrete clue about that mystery…

“Natsu! Tell me now!” his voice sounded serious, he definitely gritted his teeth like when Daisuke does when angry “I’m his son, I have to know!”

“I… I can’t tell you now!” she babbled “I’m sorry but maybe we should go home--”

A lightning needle has passed through them and all she could do was rise a pinkish forcefield around her and the boy. She knew… The one hunting her down, the one she had been trying to hide from... was there. Now some regret hit her conscience, putting Daichi in danger like that! He does not have a digimon partner! And she’s not partnered to him! Plus, she’s not even Daisuke’s partner but just a mere ally digimon who had ‘adopted’ by Daisuke a long time ago.

“Wha-what was that?!” the kid gasped “Is it… A digimon attack?!”

“Stay quiet, please! And run…!” she grabbed Daichi’s hand and left the place, with a shadow following them in the woods.

[nomadicism]

What are the differences between a typical Super Robot protagonist and a Real Robot protagonist?

Hi thank you for the Ask!

I touched on protagonist traits in “Shōnen Mecha Protagonists”—and while that post focuses on male protagonists—those traits are a good starting point because the differences between the typical Super Robot protagonist and the typical Real Robot protagonist are more related to the setting and tone of the story, and the age of the protagonist, than they are to the mecha genres themselves.

The differences are not many, as the premise of any mecha story is that, somehow, the main character(s) come into possession or command of one or more giant robots that are instrumental towards resolving the main conflict of the story. That premise requires certain traits, backgrounds, attitudes, and abilities.

Approach to Age:

The few differences that exist are determined by the interplay between: setting, tone, and age. Both Super Robot and Real Robot can take place in fantasy or science-fiction settings, and both can have light or dark tones. Given the origins of the mecha genre as a whole—a reaction borne of Japan’s collective multi-generational trauma from the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—even a story with a “light tone” will be a little dark at times. A “true” (for lack of a better word) light tone is usually only found in parody, and sometimes (but not always) stories where the protagonist is a child (8-12). That is why the differences between Super Robot and Real Robot protagonists are determined by age relative to setting and tone, rather than genre.

What you’ll end up with is something like this: a 14-16 year old protagonist in a Super Robot story is likely to have more in common with a 22-26 year old protagonist in a Real Robot story than they will a 9 year old protagonist in a Super Robot story. The 14-18 range is weird and is where all the teen angst and drama will be found, and yet 17-20 is a common age range for highly competent protagonists regardless of Super Robot or Real Robot. Protagonists under the age of 14 are less common, but they have a set of typical traits (re: my Shōnen Mecha Protagonist post). When their traits vary greatly, then they are not a typical protagonist, and the story is likely to be a genre outlier. 

Real Robot stories have certain sub-genres can get very specific (for lack of better word) and that reflects on the protagonists. A Police Procedural set in a Fun or Slightly Dark Future will have adult protagonists piloting Real Robot mecha, but that’s very different than a Total War set in the Very Dark Future where adult protagonists are also piloting Real Robot mecha. The adults can be the same age category (usually 22-26, but 18-22 happens as well), and they will share many typical mecha protagonist traits, but the will have some key differences in attitude and some skills/abilities, due to setting and tone, and not due to the mecha genre.

Example: Chirico Cuvie from Armored Trooper VOTOMS could fit into the world of Bubblegum Crisis, but he’s going to have a hard time relaxing and connecting to anyone in the world of Mobile Police Patlabor, whereas Sylia, Priss, Nene, and Linna could easily cross into Patlabor, and Noa from Patlabor (and some of the other supporting characters) could make it in the world of Bubblegum Crisis, but only Sylvia and Priss could survive in Chirico’s world (though it will be hell for them), and I’m pretty sure Noa wouldn’t last a minute there, but maybe Isao and Captain Kiichi would. All three of those stories are Real Robot, and the protagonists are all 18 and up (most between 19-24). The ability of these characters to survive or cross worlds is bound up in their attitudes, skills, and abilities.

It’s hard to explain because there really isn’t a 1:1 comparison for Super Robot when it comes to very specific Real Robot settings and their protagonists. Bubblegum Crisis and Mobile Police Patlabor for example are in a class by themselves. Whereas Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Mobile Suit Gundam, Aura Battler Dunbine, and Aoki Ryūsei SPT Layzner are all very different Real Robot shows despite their military/war settings. The protagonists in those stories all share traits that make them typical Real Robot protagonists, but they also have quite a few differences that are informed by setting and tone.

Super Robot stories with a military/war setting don’t usually get specific enough to have very different kinds of war stories. What you get instead with Super Robot, are variations like Sentai-themed Combining Mecha, Space Fantasy, Alien Invasion, and Cosmic Horror.

Approach to Attitude:

A trait that is important, but strangely less determined by the genre, is a character’s general attitude. One would think that attitude would differ between the genres, but dark-and-serious protagonists exist in both, as do light-hearted-and-not-serious protagonists. Again, age determines a lot here, and there is this thing where younger characters start the story with one attitude and grow into another as the story progresses.

Note: When I say “not serious”, I mean that the attitude is not defined by brooding, or existing in a condition of perpetual angst and ennui, or lack a sense of humor, or super mission-focused, or excessively battle-hardened. 

Example 1: Wataru Ikusabe (Machine Hero Wataru), and Kei Katsuragi (Super Dimension Century Orguss) are “light-hearted-and-not-serious” protagonists but their age determines how that is expressed, with Wataru being the genki boy with a heart of gold (think Son Goku from Dragonball), and Kei being a bit of a skirt-chasing rogue. Both are brave and are good heroes. Machine Hero Wataru is a Super Robot mecha story, and Super Dimension Century Orguss is a Real Robot mecha story. Both stories take place in another world (or dimension) where their respective protagonists are teleported to within the first episode. Machine Hero Wataru’s other world setting is mostly fantasy with magic, whereas the other world setting in Super Dimension Century Orguss is a military science fiction setting with some fantasy elements (it’s technically also the same world as the one he left but also the future, it’s complicated). Wataru is 9, and Kei is 20. Since Orguss is a Real Robot story, Kei is in the military and trained as a mecha pilot. Other than that, Wataru and Kei are more alike than they are different.

Example 2: Amuro Ray (MS Gundam) and Ryoma Nagare (Getter Robo) are both teens around the same age, and they get their giant robots as prototypes under stressful conditions (under attack). Gundam pioneered and defined the Real Robot genre, and Getter Robo was the first Combining Mecha Super Robot show. Both stories involve a war, Gundam has a war between nations, while Getter Robo has an invasion war. Amuro and Ryoma share typical traits, but have different attitudes, with Amuro being more light (aging into a slightly more serious attitude) and Ryoma starting off dark but hot-headed (thus his seriousness is undercut by his aggression). Those attitudes have more to do with the setting and tone than the genre. Compare them with Aki Manabu (Dairugger XV, Super Robot/Combining Mecha) who is like a mid-point between Amuro and Ryoma and also a little older. 

Example 3: Jeanne Fránçaix (Super Dimension Calvary Southern Cross) and Noriko Takaya (Gunbuster) are both 17 years old and have typical female mecha protagonist traits (some of which are shared with male mecha protagonists). Neither are taken seriously by their respective teams/leaders but for different reasons. Jeanne’s attitude is light-hearted-but-a-little-hot-headed and rebellious, she gets into trouble a lot. Whereas Noriko is clumsy-but-determined-and-very-hot-headed. She’s not a quitter, has talent, but she’s also a mess in the beginning. Both characters can be stubborn, are “cute girls” (it’s trait!), have crushes on “competent-and-serious older men”, and level-up their skills during character development. Southern Cross is Real Robot in a far future science-fiction setting (not Earth), and Gunbuster is Super Robot in a future Earth setting. Both involve a war. Again, they have more in common with each other than not, and Noriko becomes something of an archetype for protagonists in later shows (including Shinji Ikari, as she is the first real deconstruction of the Super Robot protagonist). The very few traits which are different between Jeanne and Noriko are related to the setting, tone, and plot of their stories. Either could easily exist in each other’s worlds and roles.

Finally, the more I think about it, I’m not so sure that there is a “typical” Super Robot protagonist in anime made after 2000. Super Robot anime from 1995 through today tends to be less about sticking with earlier genre conventions, and more about mixing everything up, trying new things, deconstructions, genre-blending (e.g. romance story with mecha but not explicitly Super Robot or Real Robot), and sometimes being edgy for the sake of being edgy (excluding parody). For example: Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and Apollo (Genesis of Aquarion) are young (14 and 13 respectively), and both shows are Super Robot with religious/quasi-mysticism themes and concepts. Shinji and Apollo are very different characters, and neither of them are typical Super Robot protagonists, even though they have some of the traits found in most mecha protagonists. Evangelion is responsible for opening the flood gates of genre deconstruction and subversion, while Genesis of Aquarion is part of the post-2000s trend of Super Robot genre-blending, where the genre is less explicitly mecha, and yet the main characters are piloting Super Robots. 

[soaringlanddormitory]

Considering that I'm about to attend an exam that's gonna take 5 hours (I'm dying ;w;), I kind off want something to look forward to and hngh, your writing makes my day. So if it's okay I'm going for another one: 👽 - Alien Invasion AU👮 - Cops/Robbers AU🔮 (Noboru and Takara), 🔫 (Moe and Kei, cuz you both write them amazing) ☀ (EtsuNe, I need a lil OTP in my life), 🔪 (ShigeChi, I need a continuation or I die)

Okie dokie!! thank you so much for this but also good luck on your exam!!

This got really long but I honestly enjoyed all of it

👽 - Alien Invasion AU

It wasn’t something that the two were expecting to come, but they still had to prepare for the worst. Suzume was one of the greatest shooters inside the current Army, and it was no surprise that she was part of the Elites. She carried the gun with her arms before looking at the rest of the members. “I hope you’re all ready.” It was no surprise that she was famous, she would help anyone if they asked for it… maybe except Shigeo- as if he’d ask anyway.

One of the Elites looked around and saw the crowd cheer, and when the door opened, it was time for war against the aliens. Before Suzume could join in, she spotted a lady who had an injury. Her eyes widened as she saw this, she instantly went to the girl to check on her arm. “Yuriko! Oh gosh, are you okay?!” 

She was concerned over the other female who had a bleeding arm. She knew that the army could handle whatever was coming to them, but to see someone injured, she was unsure if she would be able to continue to be a part of the fight. 

The pink haired girl blew her bangs away before showing a smirk. “I can handle this. this isn’t the worst thing that happened to me. And if the aliens think that a simple arm injury would make me scared- they’re wrong~!” She stopped holding her arm. Yes, it was injured but it wouldn’t stop her. 

“You might be able to move around, but doing this is dangerous! I know what you’re capable of, and I definitely know you’re strong. Elite or not, you still have the power of one.” Suzume knew that she might be able to handle the circumstance, but she ws still worried about the girl.

“You trust me, don’t you?” Yuriko stared at Suzume, with a small smile on her lips and Suzume only nodded. “Then let me fight, I wouldn’t want to be a queen who doesn’t fight together with her army.” 

Suzume began smiling back at her. She was right. She could see the similarities she had with Yuriko, and their passion for fighting and winning was one of them Especially if it were to save people younger than her. “If you say so.” Suzume prepares her gun again before looking out the door. “Let’s do this, Yuriko.”

👮 - Cops/Robbers AU

Yes, Noboru knew that he was one of the well known cops inside the whole police station of Tokyo, but he didn’t know about the other head police officers in the other places of Japan. He was about to meet one of them so that they could discuss the matters of capturing a well-known criminal who was going around Japan. 

He waited inside his office and he stared at the door. He always wondered how the head of Kyoto was like. Was she someone who was mature? Someone who was responsible? He hoped she had at least one of those traits because he had enough of too much nonsense with the other supreme officers.

The door opened to reveal a girl with white hair and purplish eyes. A little fang could be seen on her face and she waved at the male. “Hello, Noboru!” Wait… First name already? she hopped to the male with the biggest grin on her face, and she sat down on the chair that was across him. “So what are we going to discuss, hm~?”

The girl wasn’t someone who he expected at all. She was the head of Kyoto?! She seemed playful and the kind of person who would love to annoy him to death. He tried not to judge quick and he only decided to hand her some papers. “This case. The unsolved one. It’s been three months and no one was able to solve the case yet.”

“Gah! Papers are boring, Noboru! If you want to show papers like this, just show it to Kazuo! He’s much, much, MUCH better than me in this! Just pitch me! Tell me all about the case in one minute!” She placed her arms on the desk before placing her head on it.

Noboru twitched slightly. Yes. She is probably someone like the officers in Tokyo, and he was very disappointed. “Should I really explain this all to you? Word by word? Because if you want every information, one minute will not be enough to solve it. You have to read the files.”

Takara sighed before grabbing the papers and she began to scan through it. “By the way! I’m Takara Tsukasa.” She randomly brings up her name and he only sighed. He wouldn’t be able to deal with this.

But who knew that with her help, they’d be able to solve the case in just a week?

🔮 - Fantasy AU

“Noboru! Noboru!!” A female followed the male around and he only made his horse fun faster. “Hey!” She called out to him and he went too far for her to call out to. She pouted a bit before giving the sack of coins to Ran and Kazuo. “You two, hold these. I’m running after him!” She placed bother of her sleeves up before she ran after the male. “How dare you ignore me!”

Now two of their party members were gone. Kazuo only stared at the empty path in front of them before facing Ran. “Do you think we should chase after them?” He wanted to ask for the opinion of what they should do before he did anything and Ran only had a smile on her lips.

“I think that we could leave them alone for a while.” She simply replies before she looks at the sack of money that the female tossed to them. “I’m surprised she had two of these. She was a thief, right? Did she steal this from Noboru?”

“She probably did. Probably wanted to tease him and that’s why she called out to him but he chose to ignore her.”

After a couple of minutes, Takara was suddenly with Noboru, with his horse resting and Takara squishing both of his cheeks with her hands. “How dare you run away from me using your horse! I only wanted to make a joke!” She puffed her cheeks.

“You’ve been making jokes through the whole trip. I don’t know what to tell you.” He then brings out some points. “First, you made a joke about me being a knight in shining armor because I have a white horse with me.” He gestured to his horse then at himself. “I don’t even wear armor and you annoyed me during the whole trip, calling me “Night Prince Charming on his Trusty Stead”.”

“It’s funny.”

“Yeah, maybe at first but you repeated it the whole trip… Plus, I’m not even a knight. I’m a fighter.”

“Fighter and Knight are the same thing to me.”

“They’re not the same thing!”

“I hope you lost your money while you were speeding with your horse!” Takara placed her hands on her hips and once Noboru checked his pockets, her “fake” pissed off expression changed to a happy one. “You didn’t notice~?”

“Where the hell did you place my reward?”

🔫 - Mafia AU

Today was one of the times where the famiglia had to talk things while sitting on the table. Kei only watched as Kiyoko and Masashi discussed about what they should be doing, but he was getting irritated by each moment Masashi talked. Why would he want everything to go his way? The world does not revolve around him, that was basic common sense!

Kei rolled his eyes before standing up and walking away from the group. He ignored the yells of his eldest brother and before he was grabbed by the shoulder, her closed the door behind him before running away. “Damn it. Why is he always like this?” 

Yes, sure. People might find him rebellious, but it’s understandable. He missed the old atmosphere he had with his brothers, but after they were presented to the whole Yakuza thing… A lot of things changed.

He wouldn’t say it out loud, but he truly missed how he and his brothers used to be close. He missed those times where he actually enjoyed spending time with his brothers. But now? There was too much to take in, and he couldn’t really say he enjoys their presence.

He was able to reach the roof and he held a gun in his arms, he looked around and looked for a possible target he could shoot. He didn’t aim for a person, he wanted to aim for a material object. Maybe a tree or a rock. Before he could do his hot, he heard a familiar voice behind him. It was the Messenger of the famiglia.

“Kei.” She stated his name bluntly and he only placed his hand away from the trigger to face her. “You made Masashi angry.” She didn’t show any emotions on her face but he only sighed before focusing back on his gun. “You should at least listen to everything before you leave the room.”

Moe was older than him, and he should be respecting her… But he couldn’t really see her as someone older than her because of his appearance. He did respect her more than her brothers though. “I know, but I wanted to relax.”

Moe blinked once again before she poked his cheek and this caused him to jump backwards by her sudden reaction. “Be more reasonable next time.”

He didn’t really understand what she meant by that, but she walked away after those words. Kei only raised an eyebrow as the small girl vanished from his sight.

☀ - Mythology AU

It was a normal day inside the place where the gods and goddesses lived. There was a meeting where they had to talk about how their followers are and also the count of blessings they have received in that specific week. After the meeting, the gods and goddesses went back to their areas… Maybe except two of the divine beings who had some matters to discuss.

Nene glared at the male who she faced. “There was something  I didn’t mention in the meeting.” She quickly says and Eizan only stared at her, not caring about what she was going to say. But he always found her pretty interesting, especially when he expression turned cold. 

“And that is?” Eizan asked, a smirk building up on his face. He completely knew what she meant, but he’d love to hear it from her own mouth. Despite how he acted, he really did find the Goddees of Intelligence as a wonderful woman. I mean, who wouldn’t?

She had such wonderful eyes, it was so cold that she could make a mere human shiver. Her voice could literally sound pretty calm even if she threatened someone with death, she lead her followers to the correct path with simple ways. She was truly someone amazing, but he’d never tell her that.

“One of your followers decided to trick mine into their death.” Her voice got colder. “I want to ask if you had anything to do with it.” Her voice sounded a bit pissed, but she was keeping all her cool. Honestly, he had nothing to do with it. He never told his followers to do anything unless they asked him through prayers.

“Do you really see me as an evil man, Goddess of Intelligence?” He brings this question up and she only closed her eyes slowly. He was right, she was smart enough to know the truth, but sometimes the truth inside her head can be a lie so all she wanted to do was to confirm if his had anything to do with it. “I wouldn’t make my followers kill anyone unless they ask me who they must kill.”

“I don’t completely trust you with your words. You are the God of Trickery.” She turns around to walk away from the god, but for a short moment, she looked back to give him a deadly stare. “A fair warning. If you ever aim for my followers or me… You better watch your back.”

“I will, Kinokuni Nene.” 

Eizan was quiet and he only stared at the goddess. A grin appeared on his face. Yes, his feelings for her was right. He admired her so much for her strength and talent, and there were times that he didn’t want the Goddess of Love to notice his feelings for the goddess.

🔪 - Yakuza AU

Chieko didn’t know what to do, but she did think that she should trust the man who was currently protecting her. I mean, did she have another choice? If she disobeyed him, she probably had a bigger chance to have some injures, or may even worse… She didn’t want her family members to worry about her. “Fine, I’ll follow what you say.”

“Excellent. For now, stay there.” Shigeo replies before aiming his gun at a couple of people, with one swift move, he was able to shoot them down. “Follow my pacing and my direction.” He hands her an extra gun that he had and he began walking away. “That’s for emergencies. I hope you know how to use it despite being protected all the time.”

She held the gun with her hands and she followed what he said. “Of course I know how to use this.” She starts talking to him again. “I might be protected my whole life, but it’s bold of you to assume that I’m unable to use this object. Something I’ve seen other yakuza members hold all the time.” 

He didn’t bother looking at her for a long time, but he only took a glance before focusing on the people who were coming. “They were right, Chieko Marui. You really are a unique one.” There was amusement in his voice and she only flushed slightly. 

There were no people who complimented her like this because they were too careful with their words since she had a rich family background and her family had some ties with them. 

“You don’t need to tell me that…” She tried to snap out. She may be flattered at the words he said, but this wasn’t the time to be thinking of someone’s words. 

After a few minutes of shooting and reloading, they finally reached the designated area. 

Shigeo placed his gun in his holster before looking around. “It seems rather safe here, but we should be going back to your place. There will be another car coming here in some minutes.” He lifted up his sleeve to look at his watch. “10 minutes, to be exact.” 

“So, what should we do while waiting?” She asked, a bit curious on what he’d suggest. “Maybe you could finally tell me your identity.”  She was curious about the name of her “savior” since he did not look like someone from the Ibusaki family, nor was he a familiar face. Shigeo only grinned before lifting her chin.

“What? Interested in me already?” 

Her eyes widened and she placed his hand away from her face, her face red from his gesture. “Of course not!” She denied any ideas that was coming in his mind. “I think asking for someone’s name is a completely normal thing to do! I’m no normal girl who’d fall for a man who saved her life.” 

He will never take back his words. this girl was truly unique.

“I only wanted to test you.” He gave an excuse before he decided to think of something else he could tell her. “I’d tell my name when we arrive at your place. Or if you prove to me your worth before the car arrives.” He wanted to see if she would be able to do this task in a span of 5 minutes.

“You’re going to tell me anyway.” She shrugged. “So I don’t see a reason why I should prove anything to you.”

He chuckled and focused on her. “You’re smart and patient. I like that.”

A few minutes passed and Chieko felt something was wrong. She looked around at her environment and observed each area carefully. In a split second, she pushed the man she just met away and shot the gun he gave in case any “emergencies” happen.

Shigeo watched as he saw man fall. She aimed for his leg, making sure she wouldn’t kill him. Not even he got to notice that, and her aim was precise despite the man being far away. “Oh? You really do know how to use it. I didn’t even notice that.” 

He was being completely honest, and his gut feeling was completely right. He confirmed it with the shots she took. 

“Seems like I’ve proven my worth.” She handed him the gun he made her borrow. “Did I?”

God, he knew that despite being with her only for a week, he’d never get tired of her.

“Shigeo Eizan.”

[askthestabbystabbysquad]

M-may I please have how the slasher's met their s/o's? Please & thank you...!!

(The cute anons are making their stay here permanent!! I’m not complaining in the least. Better than anon hate!)

Michael: He stared at the male/female in front of him in shock. Were they blind? The knife was CLEARLY visible in his hands, and yet, here they were, asking him to help them with a crazed and panicked look on their faces. Perhaps they thought the knife was a fake? “Please!! I really need your help!! I’m being chased and I need help!” They sobbed, hugging their exposed arms and shivering in the cold. Then he saw a group of men approaching them, guns in their hands. He tilted his head in a confused manner, looking down at the trembling figure before him, then looking back at the approaching men. “Oy! y/n! Get back here! We ain’t done yet!!” The trembling stopped as they wailed and stood, their bleeding legs now oblivious to him.

He didn’t know what came over him, or what prompted him to put a hand on the trembling male/females shoulder and reassuringly pull them closer, but he did without any more hesitation. These men disgusted him for some reason. And the second one of them came into his reach, they founds their throats slashed. The others stood, staring in shock, the alcohol now clearly present on their breaths. They started backing away, despite having a weapon that could kill more easily than a knife. He let go of the trembling person at his side and stalked forward, glaring under his mask, ready to take them out, when he heard a gunshot and felt a sting in his chest. One of the men had shot at him, and lowered their gun, a smirk on their face. “Ha! Take THAT you freak!” He slurred, obliviously not noticing that he hadn’t fallen over dead or in pain. He killed them off, then turned to kill the shivering person on the ground, but stopped when they looked up at him. “Thank you for saving me. Don’t worry. I won’t tell…” They stated, tears falling down their faces. “And if you need help with that bullet wounds, then I’d be happy to help you.”

Jason: He’d heard the shouting and screaming, not to mention whoops from his cabin. He could tell that they were at the lake. He could hear them jumping into it. He stood, yanking the machete out of the floor, then he stormed out the door, ready to hack them apart. He walked with ease through the woods, determined to eliminate the trespassers in his territory. He wasn’t prepared to see what was before him. There was, of course, a party, but there was a male/female shouting at the others, scolding them and pointing at the speakers and telling them to turn them off. “This was supposed to be party-free and that we weren’t supposed to be making dumb decisions!!” “Whatever lame ass!” A girl snarled back, pushing them to the ground. “You weren’t even invited!” They protested, getting up slowly. “I invited myself, bitch.” The girl snapped.

They were shoved again and then had a drink spilled on them, the gang of drunks quickly turning on them, and pouring their drinks on them too. They got up and wiped the alcohol off of their faces, then glared intensely at the girl that had pushed them over. “You know what, (Insert hated bitches name here)? I’m DONE with your APPALLING behaviour! I’m sick and tired of you inviting yourself to weekend get away’s to ruin my life! I’m not taking anymore of your bullshit!” they roared, before slapping her across the face and storming off. The girl lay on the ground, holding her cheek in shock with wide eyes. Jason murdered everyone at that camp that night, then hunted down that girl, who had packed up her things and left moments after they had been pushed down and had alcohol dumped on them. He’d spent months stalking them. Their name was apparently (y/n), and they’d been under great amounts of suspicion after the slaughter. But meeting them was an accident. He’d been careless, and forgotten that they were going to garden that day. He now stood, towering over them, his machete in hand, ready to strike, when they smiled up at him. “You’re the one I need to thank for getting rid of those ass holes huh? Well, thank you Mr…. Uh… What’s your name?” He looked around in panic, before shakily holding up his hand and signing his name. They watched intently, and then smiled. “Thank you very much Mr.Jason Voorhees. I appreciate you dealing with those jerks.”

Freddy: This guy/girl was a tough one to catch. The second they’d woken up in the boiler room they’d taken off, immediately slapping a hand over their mouth. But he knew where they were He kept popping up in the corners of their eyes, and he sometimes even called their name and chuckled. “Shit shit shit! Why, of all the times I manage to fall asleep, do I have to have a creepy ass lucid dream?!?” They muttered under their breath before they turned a corner. Tired with this game of cat and mouse, Freddy popped up in front of them as they did so. “Found you bitch!” He roared before finding himself in incredible agony. They’d kicked him square in the balls and run off screaming “Not today motherfucker!!” He recovered quickly and gave chase. They were pretty fast, and seemed to be an experienced lucid dreamer by the way they bent their environment, which was frustrating the dream demon and making things difficult for him. “That’s enough! I’m done letting you play with MY turf!!” He shouted and flattened out the dream, putting them in an endless black.

They stopped running and simply dropped to the floor, crying. “Uh, the fuck?” “Why NOW of all times?!? I’m to stressed for this! I have to study for finals not fall asleep!! I only have a week left! Please, just pare me and let me pass my finals! I NEED to make my parents proud! I NEED to do this before my dad dies!!” They sobbed, their palms on their eyes and their fingers knotting in their hair. He blinked in confusion before walking closer, slowly. “Do you know who I am?” “You’re Freddy Krueger. The Springwood Slasher. I had to study your case. I didn’t think I’d fall asleep studying though and then actually meet some dead guy who killed kids!” They shouted, before sitting up, their eyes wild. “I need to pass this final. I need to graduate law school to make my dad proud. Please, please PLEASE! I’m BEGGING you! He’s only got a month left! I can’t afford to fail!” They stood and got into his face, tears streaming down their cheeks. “Uh, yeah. Fine. Sure. But might I suggest actually sleeping or at least drinking some fucking coffee? You look like shit!” He stated, and they laughed. “Yeah. As everyone’s been telling me for the past month.”

Pinhead: The male/female before him quivered in fear, tears rolling slowly down their cheeks as they pressed themselves closer to the wall as they held a badly damaged arm, bruises adorning their bodies. Their soul shone with a purity Pinhead hadn’t seen in humans for a long while. “W-who are you?” They timidly asked, fear in their voice. He responded simply by blinking and kneeling down, and taking their arm in his hand. “I was sent to collect your soul in exchange for (Insert hated persons name here)’s. But yours is far too pure to be tormented.” He stated, the male/female cowering away from him, and wincing at his touch. He studied the wounded limb, feeling the broken bone encased in the soft flesh and muscle. He sighed. “As your soul is far too pure, I will spare you, and take theirs instead. You must get this fixed, for your time will come, and I will be there to drag you to hell.” He stated, picking them up under their arms and putting them back on their feet.

The clung to his arm with their good arm. “Wait. Take me with you. Anywhere is better than here with (Hated persons name)! I can take torture! I can take abuse! I just…” They trailed off, starting to sniffle. He gave them a confused look and studied their bruised, yet angelic face closely. They looked to be ready to give up. He let his hard expression soften and took their face gently in his hands. “Your soul isn’t permitted to be in such a place as hell, and you must understand that your soul is uncorrupted, unlike so many who have gone through torment. This is why those whose souls are already corrupted are going to attempt to corrupt yours. If you do not wish to be dragged to hell and tortured until your soul is torn apart, then I suggest you stay strong.” They looked down at their feet. “But what’s it worth when I’m all alone?” They quietly asked, which made the Cenobite feel a twinge of something reminiscent of pity, or guilt. He shook his head. “If anything, do it for yourself, regardless of weather or not you are alone.” He stated, before leaving them standing in the small apartment to go and collect the unfortunate soul that had made an unsuccessful bargain to save their soul.

Hannibal: He stared at the rather attractive librarian that had strolled over to see if he’d needed any help. “Oh! That’s a wonderful book sir! You have very good taste!” They stated, their eyes lighting up as they looked at the selection of books he had in his hands. He chuckled. “I’ve never read it before, but surely if someone as charming as yourself has read it and confirmed it’s quality then I’ll have to read it.” The male/female blushed and looked away shyly and coughed. “O-oh! I didn’t mean anything by it. But I’m not a fan of fantasy and this has changed my mind.” They rushed over their words before disappearing to go help another visitor to the library. He looked at the book they’d been referencing and chuckled. It was supposed to be a rather unknown book, but he’d been waiting for it to appear again. The cover of the book was deceiving to most, and he knew that it held multiple recipes for cannibals, hidden in the text all under the guise of a supposedly fascinating story. He walked to the counter to check out the books he’d selected and gave the librarian from earlier a polite smile as they rushed to help him.

“Are you in a rush?” “Oh, no, I just like to work fast, simply because I never know who’s in a rush or not!” They stated with a smile, before a flash of headlights from a passing car shone in their eyes from the window behind him and momentarily blinded them, the screeching of tires loud outside. Their face flushed red in anger as they slammed a book down. “That’s it! I’m so sorry sir, but I need to make a call. Please, wait a moment.” “Do take your time. Does that happen often?” They sighed as they walked towards the phone on the far side of the desk. “Unfortunately, the teenagers have found it funny to do burnouts on the front yard of the library as soon as it starts to recover. Of course, some of them find it funny to do when they’ve found something to drink and are drunk or high, and someone was almost hit the last time this happened. Please, do be carefu-” A car crashed through the window and toppled a bookshelf as it sped and screeched out of control towards the desk. The librarian shoved him out of the way moments before the car struck the spot he’d been standing moments ago. They lay, their legs pinched in between the car and the desk, unconscious and bleeding. He stared in shock at the people piling out of the car, who were screaming and crying. One of them threw up and another passed out. Someone had called an ambulance as he tried to push the car off of the polite and charming librarian, checking for a pulse every few seconds. He intended to visit them as a thank you for saving his life.

Norman: He’d seen the car barely pull into the motel driveway when it died, and someone stepped out and began pushing it, their body quickly becoming drenched in the downpour of rain. He grabbed a raincoat and ran outside to help them. “H-hey! Do you n-need help?” He asked as loudly as he could. They turned to him, squinting on the rain. “Yes please!” A male/females voice rang out as they shoved their car once again, trying to get it to move. He ran to their side, almost slipping on the muddy ground as he did so. He shoved the car, and with their combined efforts, got it to start rolling towards the nearly empty parking lot. He helped them get some luggage out of their car and carry it inside, just as a tree snapped in half due to the force of the wind. He pulled his hood off and hurried to get them a blanket so they could warm up. “Bad storm huh?” They asked. “Y-yeah. Apparently there’s a t-tornado somewhere nearby and we’re g-getting some w-wind from it o-over here.” “Really?” “Y-yeah, somewhere in the woods.” They took a towel he’d offered them and dried off before accepting the blanket and wrapping it around themselves. “Sorry about the mud. But I saw that there was a motel and thought I’d stop in and get some gas, but it really looks like I’m staying for the night.” He smiled shyly.

“I’m n-not complaining. W-we have a lot of va-vacancies, so you shouldn’t have to worry a-about any n-noise.” “Oh? That’s a wonder why. It’s such a homely little motel. Do you do taxidermy?” “O-oh, yes.” He smiled before leading them to a room that they could stay in until the storm passed. “D-did you eat?” He asked before he unlocked the room. “Oh, no I haven’t. Are there any restaurants in walking distance?” “No, th-this is the only building for a while…” He stated, twiddling his thumbs. “I-I can make you dinner i-if you w-want.” “Oh, no I don’t want to bother you…” “I-it’s not a bother.” He smiled, getting one back. “Thank you so much. I’ll give you a hand, uh… What’s your name again?” “Norman. Norman Bates. You?” “Y/n.”

Billy: He rubbed his head, the glass shards falling off the top of it. He glared up from in his mask at the male/female that had smashed a vase off the top of his head. They grabbed a baseball bat and raised it. “WAIT! WHOA! SHIT!! HOLD UP!!” He yelled, scooting back against the carpet, his hand above his face. “Why should I?” They hissed. “Because, uh… I have a wife and kids?” “You know, usually in a horror movie, the killer is the one being bartered.” “Yeah, I- Wait! You watch horror movies?” “Uh, yes. Why?” “Then who was talking to me on the phone?” He asked, confused as all hell. “Uh, that would probably be (Insert sibling/family members name here)…” He shot up to his feet. “ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!?” He hollered before turning to the stairs. “There’s someone else here?” He growled.”Uh, yeah. You didn’t realise that?” He growled before turning to them.

“You got lucky. Remember that.” “Uh, bro, I was the one kicking YOUR ass.” “Sh-shut up!” He whined. They laughed and patted his shoulder. “Tell you what, you stay here and watch the end of this movie with me and I won’t call the police.” “What movie?” “The Shining.” “DEAL!!” He hollered, seeing that the movie was paused only five minutes in. He also noticed a lack of popcorn. “Uh, were you going to make popcorn?” He sniffed the air, smelling something burning. Their eyes widened. “SHIT THE POPCORN!!” They rushed into another room, which he assumed was the kitchen and yelled to the holy heavens above. “NO!! IT’S GONE!! ALL GONE!!” They wailed before running back out and dramatically falling down onto the couch and covering their faces with their hands. “I’ve failed to make popcorn once again.” He laughed and shook his head. “You know what? I think that I’ll leave and come back later for that movie. That’s a promise.”

Stu: He had fallen through the sunlight and was now laying on his back with a gun pointed at his face. He put his hands up, wincing when the glass under his back dug in just a bit. He looked up at the male/female who seemed to be close enough to an actual officer, but he could tell otherwise. “You…” They said, their eyes widening. “I thought you were someone else…” They stated, backing away, eyes wide and fear evident in their behaviour. “Oh? Who would that be?” “None of your business. All you need to know is that I have something I need to do before I die, and I don’t think you’ll be the one to stop me.” They snarled, glaring at him. “Do tell. Perhaps we could help each-other out a bit.” “How so?” They snarled, tightening their grip on the gun. “You want someone dead, don’t you?” They almost dropped the gun in shock. “I can see the look in your eyes, and your reaction proves it. I can kill them for you. All I need is a name and a phone number, maybe even an address. BUT!” He stood up and got closer, taking off his mask and pulling a few shards of glass out of his back. “You have to promise to help me out here.” He pushed the gun aside and got in their face.

They swallowed loudly. “I want out of here, and I want a place to stay for the next little while so the police will lose my trail.” “And you’ll kill him? You’ll really kill him?” “Do you like scary movies?” “They’re my favourite movies…” HE smiled wickedly. “If you can give me accurate information about him, I’ll help you. But if you don’t and I get arrested, that question can save your life there love. And then the others can too.” He shoved them to the floor, putting the voice changer up to his face and then he spoke. “So, what you’re saying is, you’ll let me come and go when I please in exchange for my services?” “Y-yes.” “Fine then. Who is it you want dead?” Their eyes shone with hatred and anger. “I want (Insert most hated persons name here) dead. I want revenge…” They snarled, a bloodthirsty look in their e/c eyes, their face scrunched up in anger and hatred. “Oh? Why them of all people?” “They killed my family and got away with it because they had money. Kill them and you can come and go whenever you want, and I’ll cover for you.” They stated, holding out their hand. He took it in his gloved and bloody hand, then shook it. “We have a deal.”

David: He’d heard the screaming and yelling from a while away, over the roar of his motorcycle, which drowned out most of the other noises. He signalled for the others to continue to the hangout while he went to investigate and then veered off onto the side road. He felt his teeth grind together at the familiarity of the place that he’d once called a home. He could even see where his old home had stood and it truly angered him. He could sense that someone had intruded into his old territory, which was still technically his. He sped up, urging to bike to go to it’s top speed, which still wasn’t enough, but he stayed on it, simply to keep the illusion of being human up for a little bit longer. He could already feel his fangs poking at the inside of his lower lip. He parked in front of a section of woods that the yelling was coming from the got off, strolling it at a pace compared to that of an Olympic sprinter, running full speed to reach the finish line. He really was furious as he tore into a small clearing, where a gang of people was having a very vocal argument.

“Ladies, gentlemen. What do you fucks think you’re doing here?” “Who invited you pasty?” A male asked, before spitting in his direction. He could tell these people weren’t the upstanding citizens, as was oblivious by the bound and gagged male/female in the middle of the circle, who was covered in scratches and bruises, and was probably royally pissed off judging by the way they were violently shaking to try and get out of the rope. He laughed and easily strolled forward, before flashing his fangs and letting out an angered hiss at the supposed hot-shot, who screamed and jumped back. “Freak!!” He hollered before pulling a knife and charging at the angered vampire, who then tossed him over his shoulder and walked with confidence towards the bound man/woman that had looked up at him with wide and terrified eyes. He didn’t understand why he helped them but he did so while scaring the gang that had intruded shitless, even mortally wounding a few of them. He picked them up and led them back to his motorcycle, turning back to the gang to glare. “I’m giving you all one hour to leave or I come back and finish you off myself.” He threatened before leaving the old forgotten town behind and taking the shivering human that clutched onto his back during the ride back to the city. “Thank you… What’s your name?” “David. You?” “Y/n.” They stated, before pointing at an apartment building. “I live in there…” “Then that’s where I’ll drop you off.” He smiled and did just that, giving them a tiny threat to ensure that they wouldn’t go talking about him before leaving them in their doorway.

Carrie: She saw the male/female doctors face, kindly smiling down at them the second her eyes opened. “Hello miss! Please, stay calm. We’re here to help. You were found in the woods a few days ago, but you appear to be fine, so you should be able to go home soon!” They cheerfully said. “I’m doctor y/n, what’s your name honey?” “… My name is Carrie…” “Your last name?” “I don’t remember…” She lied, watching her abilities, making sure that she wouldn’t be discovered. She’d been so tired, hungry and cold in those woods, that was all she remembered before she lost conscience. “Oh. I see. Do you remember where you’re from?” “I don’t have any family.” She firmly stated, trying to get them to take the hint that she didn’t want to talk about herself, to which they responded by shyly looking away. “Right… I’m sorry to hear that ma’am. Do you need a glass of water? Something to eat?” “No. I just want to be left alone.” She hissed moments before a light bulb exploded over the nurses head, causing them to jump and shield their head, before glaring up at the bulb. “I thought I told maintenance to fix that bulb… Sorry about that Carrie, we’ll get that fixed up right away. I’ll leave you alone for now, but please, I want you to realise that I only want to help you feel more comfortable.” They stated, smiling, before walking out.

She stared at their back before looking up at the light bulb. “I though I did that…” She shook her head, reassuring herself that she had, in fact, made the bulb explode. Her powers wouldn’t disappear, now wold they. She tried, and succeeded in lifting a vase in the corner of the room and brought it over to herself before looking at the brightly coloured flowers, just as the nurse walked back in with a maintenance man, who fixed the light bulb without saying a word as the male/female nurse huffed in the corner, smiling at Carrie whenever they caught her eyes. Once the bulb was fixed, the maintenance left and the nurse walked over. “Do you like the vase? I thought your room looked a little bland, so I brought them in. I can get more if you’d like.” “Stop being so fake.” She hissed, putting the vase on her bedside and glaring. “You’re being fake.” Their eyebrows rose and their eyes widened then they laughed. “I understand you know that it’s my job to be polite to patients, but I do want to be nice to you Carrie. I mean it. I like you. You seem different, and that’s good. You’re a calm person. Usually someone would be panicking when they woke up in the hospital.” She glared even more. “No, you’re being fake. Nobody thinks different is good.” “Well, I do. That’s different, isn’t it?” They smile, before looking at the flowers. “You know, I think I’ll bring more for you. Unless you’re allergic to pollen, that is. Then I’ll bring you some fake flowers.” Carrie groaned and slapped a pillow over her face. “…I’m not allergic to pollen.” “Good! Next time I think I’ll bring… Pink flowers.” They stated, smiling. “A shade that’ll compliment your eyes. I really like them. They’re pretty.”

Samara: Samara crawled out of the screen, hearing someone screaming at other people. “I TOLD YOU DIPSHITS NOT TO WATCH THE TAPE!! I TOLD YOU!” They shouted, knocking something over. She stood now, ready to take the lives of the people in the room, until a board came flying at her, smacking her in the face. She froze in shock. Never had someone actually fought back by hitting her with a board of wood. She raised her head a little, catching sight of the male/female who’d thrown the board, who ran out of the room, a rock in hand as their only weapon. She followed, feeling a little intrigued, but not enough to spare their lives. She followed them outside, where the two other people who had been on the room before had started screaming as soon as they saw her. Samara moved pretty slowly, but sped up just a little bit. The third, the male/female who’d been the one to hit her with a plank attacked mere seconds before turning and running alongside the road instead of crossing it. She followed them to get rid of the threat of any more injury, putting the other two to the side of her mind. She’d get them later. 

Her target moved much more quickly than her, but she was always one step ahead of them. She was always on their heals. She now moved at an average jogging pace, anger clouding her thoughts as they ran faster over some train tracks, a train farther along down. They stopped and looked back at her, a large pipe in their hands. “Leave me alone. I didn’t watch your tape!” They snarled, pointing the pipe at her. She tilted her head, only a few inches from the tip of the pipe. “I didn’t! I swear! I left the room when the tape was put into the VCR!” They stated, trying to move to the side so they could run away, fear clearly written on every inch of their face. She watched them make a dash for the tracks, but their foot touched the metal bar, and a jolt of electricity sparked as they were thrown backwards. The train then passed, the wind blowing violently as they lay, unconscious by her feet. They had a burn mark on their now empty hand from the hot metal of the pipe, which had been thrown out of their hand when they got thrown. She starred at them for a bit, before crawling into their phone and giving the emergency dispatch their location. She didn’t know why, but she left them be, choosing to go after the other two. She planned to pay the male/female a visit later on to see weather or not they truly watched the tape or not. 

[restlessmaknae]

Paradox [pt.7]

Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Word count: 1925

Genre: angst, drama, a bit of fluff

Pairing: Lee Donghyuck (Haechan); Yu Dayoung (OC)

Setting: non AU

Warning: mentions of character death, suicide, hints of depression

Chapter warning: -

They were so young, so talented yet so desperate.

Paradox of us (The paradox of you&me)

 People say that we were a wrong pair from the start. We were never meant to be together, it was never written in the stars. We met anyway and we fell in love. That’s when I realised what loss really was. That’s when I learned what love was.

Although coming from different companies, experiencing different training methods and being completely different, I think our paradox was one of a kind. It’s my favourite so far; the paradox of us, the paradox of you&me.

 Dear Donghyuck,

There were times when I believed it would work out. It turned out that I was wrong. I was only chasing a fantasy out of my reach. Life is not a dream, after all. I had to learn the hard way.

I wanted it to be as easy as the start. Without telling silly fibs, without hiding behind masks and without constantly being terrified. However, as trust exists, so does fear. Fear of the future, fear of failure, fear of the unknown. There are so many types of fear and you were only one of them. My greatest fear.

How easy it was in the beginning, right? Joking around without being afraid that we might hurt each other’s feelings. Yet, when one starts to care, insouciance is not a definition anymore. We love, we receive love, we hurt and we get hurt. It’s all part of the system, it’s all how it works. It was just a matter of time until we discovered it for ourselves. After that, there was no turning back. We were trapped in the prison that was called ‘love’.

Our relationship was the stern winter longing for the bright spring, never actually taking the warmth into consideration that will eventually make it disappear. As long as we could play with fire, as long as we didn’t fade away with the burning ashes, we were alright. We got burnt so many times, I don’t even know how many times but the hours we spent together with talking, gazing at each other or just lying beside one another definitely paid off. I wouldn’t regret anything.

The first few months were the so-called good times. We knew nothing about what was waiting for us. It was my mistake, I know. I never let you see how I was shaking in fear every time we parted our ways because I was afraid that we would get caught. But that wasn’t what really teared us apart. It was me, my own stubbornness and my own stupid body that made things turn out the way they did.

Believe me, I wish I could change but there’s no way that I could do so. The doctor says that I can’t do this anymore, I would only make it worse. Trapped in the cage of expectations with the weight of the pressure on my shoulder, I feel like I’m constantly being twisted. What is right and what is not? For who should I make sacrifice? What is my duty and what is the purpose of life? Is that the same thing?

Being confused in your own feelings and terrified at your own thoughts is the worst feeling in the world. You can’t be mad at someone else, the enemy is within you…

Remember how you always said that I would make it? I believed you because I wanted to believe that it would actually happen. I wanted it to be true but until I met you, I couldn’t afford to cherish the thought. It was a mere illusion for me, a dream that I couldn’t reach. It was the air that my lungs sought after; the medicine that I was ready to be given and the drug that kept me on toes, motivating me to keep going, pushing me to my limits. Pushing me until I fell.

In the end, I only have regrets regarding my debut. I shouldn’t have been so stupid, I should have just stepped on my dreams and walk towards another goal of mine. I was too adamant and that turned out to be my greatest weakness.

What I don’t regret is the things that we’ve done together. When we were together, our happiness doubled. When we were together, our sadness lessened. I know it sounds silly since it’s an equation that is far from even logical. But it’s the equation of love, so it doesn’t need explanation.

The hardest part was still yet to come. We couldn’t be prepared for what was following. The days got undeniably harder and so did the war that I wanted to win. It seems that I was an easy opponent and gave up easily. People usually think that if you commit suicide, it was the easy way for you. I have to tell you that it wasn’t. I’m not saying that I was brave and I really should have done it but you can’t imagine how many times I’ve changed my mind. I was constantly thinking about my family, the company, my dream and you. It wasn’t easy at all.

The thought first crossed my mind when Dr. Lee said that I should give up on my dream to become an idol. My body wouldn’t be able to handle it. You know that I’ve said that it was because of all the stress and pressure that was taking hold of me due to the upcoming debut of the Tender Thorns. Yet, I wanted to believe that I can do it.

That’s why I made the deal with the company.

To tell you the truth, I don’t know what it will feel like. Falling, flying with the wind and being free… But I know what I’ll be thinking of. Because amidst all the darkness and grief, you were always there. My beaming light. I’ll be thinking of that light. I’ll be thinking of you.

 And after that… well, I don’t know what will happen. You will probably blame yourself, saying that it was your mistake but let me tell you that it wasn’t. If you hadn’t been there, I would have done it even earlier. So, please, accept my decision and do me a favour.

When I’m not going to be there, please, be the one who smiles. The one who brings laughter and the one who gives hope for others. Be as radiant as you were and continue to be the beaming light for others. Last but not least, never be afraid to love again. And be loved.

I love you, Donghyuck. I should have said it earlier.

 Love,

Dayoungie

 With the letter in his hands, reading her words for the hundredth time, Donghyuck couldn’t help but shed a tear. He felt lonely again and the whole situation made him remember how much he really missed her. He blamed it on the wound that her loss caused which still couldn’t fully recover. It wasn’t as aching as in the beginning but it still hurt. Every single time he read her letter, it was less and less heart-wrenching but the hollowness hadn’t faded yet.

“Donghyuck, come on! We’re coming up next!” Youngho hollered gleefully and opened the dressing’s room door. Poor boy almost had a heart attack when his band member showed up in the room, grinning widely at his scaredy-cat friend.

“Why are you so scared?”

“I was just…” he was hesitating whether to admit that he was reading Dayoung’s letter or say an innocent, little lie. In the end, he decided to tell the truth. “I’ve just finished reading her letter when you came in,” he confessed sheepishly, looking down at the paper in front of him.

He didn’t need to say whose letter it was, Youngho knew it perfectly. In fact, he was the first who got to know about Dayoung’s last words since he was there when the doctor gave it to Donghyuck. He said that they had found it in the girl’s hand when they were operating her. His name was written on the back, so after they had clarified that he was the so-called Donghyuck, he could finally seize it.

At first, he wasn’t even able to read until the end, he bawled in tears after 2 paragraphs. The more he read, the worse he felt. It was tearing him apart, knowing that she had planned her suicide beforehand and he couldn’t figure out that she was up to such a terrifying move.

Yet, he wanted to do her the favour that she had asked and it meant that he couldn’t blame himself. It was one hell of a ride, to say the least, but he managed to move on and start living again. The fans noticed the change in his bubbly behaviour but he had to keep it as a secret due to Dayoung’s and his contract. On top of that, it was about his private life and although he loved his fans like family, he wouldn’t like to share the burden with them. It could have destroyed him even more.

“Oh, I see,” Youngho nodded and awkwardly ruffled his hair. “Do you need a moment to recollect your thoughts and−“

“No, I’m fine. Let’s go and rock this stage!” he immediately cut him off, giving him a thumbs-up. The leader smiled gently and slung his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulder.

Although he was nervous as hell, the current NCT sub-unit’s stage with Youngho – aka Johnny -, Yuta, Ten, Mark, Hansol, Winwin and Kun – turned out to be pretty successful and when they took their seats in the audience, some of their sunbaenims congratulated on their energetic and jaw-dropping performance. Donghyuck boosted a proud grin but he knew that the most exciting part was still yet to come.

They were nominated for the ‘Best Dance Performance Male Group’ and ‘Best Music Video’ awards along other bands like BTS, EXO, GOT7 and Monsta X and it would be an understatement to say that they were shocked when they won the latter. Donghyuck literally froze when he heard their name, questioning whether he had gone totally crazy or he had a problem with his hearing.

Nonetheless, they walked onto the stage and started their winning speech. First, it was Johnny who gave one since he was the leader of the sub-unit and the member who had trained the most, then, it was the international members’ turn - Winwin, Kun, Ten and Yuta. Mark thought of the international fans and said thank you in English, too, while Donghyuck didn’t prepare anything special, he said what was already arranged with the boys.

“I would like to dedicate this award to a very special person whom we had lost this year. I met her exactly a year ago and if she was here today, I’m sure she would do her best to make everyone happy. Please, in memory of Yu Dayoung, join me and observe one minute of silence for her! Thank you!” he bowed respectfully, his eyes scanning the reaction of the other idols.

The stadium stayed totally silent for a moment and then, one particular band stood up and the others emulated their action one by one. Soon, the whole audience got to their feet and no word was exchanged for a minute.

Donghyuck – who was doing his best to cover up his gratitude – looked up at the ceiling, wondering whether Dayoung would be able to see this.

I love you, too, Dayoung. No matter where you are, you will always be my beaming light.

[reveriesforyou]

The Bookstore

Hey guys! It’s me again, and I sorta wanted to write a Tom meet-cute because I daydream about those 25/8? This is just soft, fluffy and sweet, I hope you like it! Author’s note: Tom is my screensaver and I went to Barnes and Noble today and the girl that was ringing me up was really, really nice and we were talking about Marvel because I was buying a comic, (I finally found Spider-Man Blue, three cheers for me!) and she was literally like, “oh my gosh, you and Tom would be super adorable together! I can just see it now!” And I sort of died? So this is just a story branching off of that? The Bookstore “Is that your boyfriend?” The saleslady asked, referencing the girl’s phone, as a smile that stretched from ear to ear crossed over her features. “He comes in quite often, has mostly good taste in books, although, sometimes his choices are questionable at best. Likes fantasy and adventure, some good, some not.” The girl’s eyes widened and her mouth flopped open and shut like a guppy’s as she attempted to stutter out an appropriate response. Tom Holland was the girl’s screensaver, and no, he most definitely wasn’t her boyfriend because he had no idea that she existed. Even if he had stumbled across her fan account, she’d just be another fan to Tom, maybe she’d even stand out for being an ultimate creep. “He’s a very polite boy, you’re so lucky! My daughters are only interested in self-obsessed assholes.” The lady began to scan her choices, continuing to rant about her daughter’s apparent bad taste in men. The girl was still struggling to comprehend her situation. The saleswoman clearly knew Tom, who apparently came in often, as did she, so she couldn’t really say that he wasn’t her boyfriend without looking like an utter and complete weirdo. Pondering, she bit the inside of her cheek. Their paths had never crosses, so what could be the harm in indulging in a little fantasy? “We’ve been dating since last Spring,” She said, not daring to look into the kind eyes of the saleswoman. “Ah, I see. I bet you two look absolutely adorable together, maybe turn him onto some high quality literature next time he comes in, eh?” The woman smiled from across the counter, waving the girl’s new Philip Roth books in the air before handing them over. Reaching for her five purchases, the girl smiled and nodded, “I’ll do my very best!” She called and waved as she left the store. Over the next few days, Tom wandered back into the bookstore. Navigating his way down the store’s narrow aisles, Tom searched for something that he could read on the plane that he’d inevitably be boarding sometime soon. He paused every so often to pick up a book, glance over the summary on the back, and reshelve it to it’s proper home. After shuffling down another section, he came across the very same saleswoman who had helped the girl moonlighting as his girlfriend. “How come you guys never come in together? She knows some good authors, I’m sure she’d love to help broaden your horizons.” The saleswoman said, maintaining her position, crouched over to straighten and tidy the shelves. Tom looked around, unsure of who the woman was speaking to, because as far as he knew, none of his friends knew about this store. They opted for Barnes and Noble, while he prefered to dig. “Yes, you. I just met your girlfriend and she’s lovely. Great taste in books.” The woman said again. Scratching his head, Tom wasn’t exactly sure what to say, so he played along, not wanting to be rude. Surely she must be confusing him with someone else, because he didn’t have a girlfriend to share books with, as much as he’d like one. “Yeah, we just have different schedules, she’s usually in class when I peruse the bookstore.” Tom said, bending down to help the woman on the floor. “She’s very cute, and very sweet. It’s nice to see young people reading something that isn’t their twitter feed.” The woman said, taking one last glance at the fixed up shelf, before nodding decisively and standing up. Tom stood as well, chuckling, “My Dad’s an author, so reading has always been apart of my life.” “You guys are lovely, let me know if I can be of any help.” The woman began to walk away and Tom shook his head and laughed. “How do you know that my girl is my girl? We never come in at the same time.” Tom asked suddenly, curiosity leaking into his bloodstream. “She comes in more often than you, buys more books than you, and you’re her screensaver. It’s quite cute, actually.” The saleslady called out. There it is, Tom thought, she might be a fan. He couldn’t think of any other reason that he’d be her screensaver. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Tom smirked and picked out not one, but two books. One to leave at the register for her the next time that he came in, and one for him to read while he was on the press tour. “That is so thoughtful! She’ll love it!” The woman said from behind the cash register, clapping her hands together. “I’ll make sure that she gets it, alright? Wanna put a little message in it, promise I won’t peak! I’ve got a pen right here!” She chirped happily. “Yeah, alright, I’ll actually do that. Could I please borrow your pen?” Tom asked. Drawing a heart to conclude the note to his ‘girlfriend’ that he’d never met, he said thank you one to the lady one last time and left the store. The very next morning, the girl pushed her wallet back into her purse at the bookstore’s register, waiting for the same saleswoman to finish ringing her up. “Saw your boyfriend yesterday, left a little something for you.” The saleswoman smiled, turning around to sift through the books on display behind her to find Tom’s choice for the girl. The girl felt the fiery licks of scarlet coloring her skin again. Her hands shook, surely Tom thought that she was a mega, ultra stalker. He’d probably left her a note begging her to kindly fuck off. She wished Mother Earth would swallow her up the same way it did to Sita in ‘The Ramayana.’ “Don’t be embarrassed, silly, it’s endearing.” The woman handed her a book titled, ‘Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair’ by Pablo Neruda. “He’s paid for it, of course, and he left you a little note on the first page. Lent him the pen myself.” “He really shouldn’t have,” the girl stuttered, her hands almost noticeably shaking as she held the book within her palms. Inside, Tom had scribbled out, Seeing as you’re my girlfriend, I thought it was only fitting to leave you at least twenty love poems. Left you a song of despair as well, seeing as we haven’t met yet. Love always, Your devoted boyfriend, Tom

“Could I go back and pick one out for him as well?” The girl asked, feeling a tiny bit braver after reading Tom’s cheeky message for her. “Of course! I love this, I wish more couples did things like this for each other, it’s endearing!” The saleswoman smiled, shutting the register. After picking out an appropriate novel, she left the store, smiling, blushing and practically gliding on air. Later that very afternoon, Tom was chased by the overbearing coldness of the afternoon breeze, and his own excitement over whether or not she’d received his present, back into the bookstore. Not even bothering to look at anything, he came to a halt in front of the saleswoman, who upon seeing him enter, tore through her display to retrieve the novel that she’d left for him. “Did she get it? Did she like it, I haven’t heard from her yet.” Tom asked, beaming at the woman. “She loved it! She loved it so much, in fact, that she’s left one for you as well.” She handed him a novel called ‘One Day.’ “She’s left a love note for you as well!” Tearing the book open, Tom came across her delicate handwriting sprawled in black ink. Here’s to hoping that I meet you one day. With all the love in my heart- Your mystery girlfriend Fighting the urge to hug the book closer to his chest, Tom made a choice. “I’m going to go pick her a book out right now, and I’m going to wait right here until she comes back in. I want to give her this one in person.” Tom turned on his heel to search for the perfect book for to give her, when the saleswoman informed him that she’d already been in today. “Alright then, I’ll be back first thing tomorrow.” Tom blushed, but continued on his way down through the shelves, desperate to find the perfect book for her. Deciding on ‘You,’ by Caroline Kepnes, Tom paid and left the store, planning to return right when the bookstore opened. The very next morning, Tom was perched in a cushy, plush chair, obscured by stacks and shelves housing novels, waiting for her. He’d positioned himself perfectly, ensuring that he could see the register at all times, but that the people at the register wouldn’t be able to spot him, unless they knew where he was hiding. He was completely on edge. Every time the door opened, he’d practically leap to his feet, only to be met with disappointment because mostly everyone who wandered in off the street was either male, or too old to be his mystery girlfriend. Finally, when Tom had all but lost hope, a girl so otherworldly beautiful that Tom truly debated in his mind whether or not the girl was even a girl, he briefly wondered if she was an ethereal fairy of sorts, floated into the room. Her hair reflected light the same way that waves in the sea did, and her voice was so soft and warm that it sounded as he imagined his favorite hot drink would taste. She waved hello to the saleswoman before diving into the poetry section, hidden deep within the store. Jumping to his feet, Tom rushed to finally meet her, rolling the book he planned to give her in between his palms. Checking his hair one more time, Tom came to a stop next to her. “Excuse me miss, I was just wondering if you happen to be my mystery girlfriend, who apparently has better taste in books than me?” Tom’s confidence was evaporating as she turned around to face him. She was even prettier up close and Tom wanted to scratch his own eyes out for beginning the conversation with such a shit line. Thankfully, she smiled, a strawberry jam colored blush widening across her delicate features. “That would be me, but unfortunately, you’ve caught me off guard and now I don’t have anything to give to you.” Her eyes refused to meet his own for more than a few seconds. She could barely believe any of this. First, her celebrity crush and her happened to both shop at the same bookstore. Then, he goes along with the charade of being her boyfriend, and even leaves her gifts, and now, he was standing in front of her. He looked like Prince Charming and her brain was turning to mush. “Lucky for you, I don’t mind. But, I do have a book for you.” Holding the novel, ‘You,’ out to her, he began to sway from foot to foot, nervous that she’d hate it. “Funny enough, that’s one of my favorite books,” She laughed, “But are you planning to kill me?” She referenced the plot of ‘You,’ which was more or less a horror story, hardly the conventional romance. Stuttering, Tom attempted to clear his name. “I just thought it was fitting, seeing as we met in a bookstore, and so did Joe and Beck,” the main characters who become romantically involved in the novel, “And really, I just wanted you to have the line about the mouse in the house.” “Are you going to get a cat to chase me out?” She teased, and Tom laughed. “Absolutely not, you’re just all I’ve been thinking about. I wanna know you, and learn from your apparently epic choices in literature.” Tom said, leaning in closer to her. “Than sit, and I’ll pick you something out?” She questioned, shyly moving to sit on the floor, her arm curled around more than a few options. The pair scooched into one another one the floor, and the saleswoman watched, smiling from her spot at the register. Her two favorite customers were finally together. Her eyes twinkled as she turned the radio onto a station that played only love songs. They read love poems, and love stories together, so it only seemed fair that they listened to only love songs as well.

[thefragileglass]

Valerian and why you shouldn’t watch it.

This is full of spoilers, so if you don’t take my advice and actually go see it, don’t read this, I guess.

I don't want people to think I hated #valerian bc it's a dumb space movie. I LOVE dumb space movies- that is why I went to see it, that is what I wanted. I want people to know that I hated it for SO MANY other reasons.

So, the first...4 minutes (?) are pretty interesting. Cool aliens. Timelapse of progress, etc.

Then we travel to 400 years in the future on a paradise island. Very pretty. I was immediately apprehensive when the obviously female alien that was a completely different species and culture untouched by humanity- had titties (but still slightly covered them up) and wore a skirt. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with these things, but i just find it pretty suspicious that a completely different species and culture would 1. have the same parts and 2. have the same hangups about who can display them.  If you have such a limited imagination about anatomy, at least have some creativity about the culture, I mean, c’mon. Not to mention the fact that the titties were covered but still enticingly uncovered and it was all obviously done to tantalize male viewers. It was like being punched in the face by the male gaze. Like obviously, if we don’t want to at least subconsciously fuck her, there’s no way we can possibly care about her! And I’m deliberately calling them titties bc she was naive and childlike- so pure in her uncorrupted state of innocence (eye roll). Ugh- it just makes it all so much more icky. Then there was the very thinly veiled reference to some “primitive” culture (side-eye) where everyone is, again, so naive and peaceful and just live in blissful ignorance. It is then Very Important to the plot that she dies so that the Main Character can save this poor, primitive species. This is like, the 6th minute of the movie.

Then, we meet the Main Character.

Oh man, where to start? We’re introduced to him being a total asshole to Secondary Character, who is introduced walking towards us in a bikini. Phew, another woman to look at, I was getting worried, it had been like, a whole 10 seconds since I had one. Again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a woman in a bikini- it's the way the scene is shot and who the scene is for. So then we start off with some weird sexual wrestling- which it didn’t seem that SC was into- and then we find out he’s her superior officer. In the space military. And he’s actively trying to convince her to have sex with him, but obvs she doesn’t want to bc he’s a ~*~ playboy ~*~ and won’t commit to her by forgetting everyone on his “playlist”. When I say actively, I mean he’s literally following her down a hallway. And when I say convince, I mean he’s literally just bragging about how great he is by listing awards and commendations he’s gotten. Who acts like this?! I have no explanation about MC’s behavior, but to paraphrase Allison, SC acts like how men think women act, with the reasoning men imagine women use. Regardless of the fact that I don’t think her reasoning makes much sense, no matter what it was, we’re supposed to believe that she’s just playing hard to get. Like, you know they’re going to get together at the end and so the audience is just supposed to assume that she secretly likes him and thinks he’s endearingly oh so silly and that she’ll change her mind eventually, as women are wont to do. It’s obvious that MC thinks SC is just playing hard to get too, which is why he acts the way he does- acting as if their relationship is a matter of “when” and not “if” and so its ok for him to act as if he has the right to talk and act like that bc they’re basically already in a relationship. It’s also obvious that the writer/director/producer thinks the same thing, which is why MC never gets called out for what this is- sexual harassment. This is so terrible for people to see and internalize.

Then they talk to a superior who scolds SC about dressing appropriately on a mission. Then MC asks SC to marry him, even though she’s still been very clear that she’s not into it at all. But of course, everyone thinks she’s just playing hard to get, so obviously she’ll want to get married. And then they go on a mission, which, to be fair, I think was a pretty cool concept of another dimension and such. Like, if it wasn’t steeped in all this other shit and this movie was the fun space romp I wanted, I probs would’ve thoroughly enjoyed. That is, except for the fact that SC goes on this mission in a DIFFERENT fucking bikini! She gets scolded about wearing a bikini and then CHANGES HER CLOTHES TO A DIFFERENT BIKINI and a little scrap of a coverup. “To blend in with the tourists.” IN THE DESERT. We see the other tourists- I’m pretty sure no one else was in a bikini- I cannot imagine a flimsier excuse. It is just so obvious to me that the director or producer or whatever man made these costuming decisions just wanted to have SC in the least amount of clothing for the longest amount of time. She’s in the military on a mission for god’s sake! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character so blatantly disrespected by a movie before or I’m just too angry to remember if I have. Also on this mission, they basically leave their people to die and then all they comment on is how SC’s “dress” got ripped. And then they’re going to meet up with the commander, so they finally dress in their military uniforms, and her’s is a mini skirt! Like, at this point, I’m just glad it wasn’t a green bikini, I guess.

So then some action happens they mouth off to the commander and MC is off being an expert pilot chasing some things while SC roots for him and tells him to be careful and he crashes and she’s worried, yadda yadda. And then to find him she has to talk to birds to hire a submarine captain to steal a jellyfish from a big whale thing so that she can put it on her head and it can give her visions of where he landed. It also gives her visions of the past hour that we literally just saw so that she can realize that she really does care about MC and so she can finally catch up to the men and understand that she WAS playing hard to get this whole time. I honestly think this whole plot sequence was specifically so that she could wear her hair down for a little bit. Also, somewhere in here, she straight up says “oh, you think humans are predictable? Then you obviously haven’t met a woman before” before she shoots something. Haha, woman are so mysterious and hard to understand. She finds him, and then argue about how he wouldn’t even thank her for finding him and some other stuff that is totally out of character for SC up to this point. And then he rebukes her while sexually harassing her some more and it's all terrible. Then she gets captured- bc obvs it's been awhile since MC’s been the hero- so we def need to give him the chance to save her.

Sigh. Ok- so, in order to save her, MC has to go to the red light district to get an alien who can change shape, named Bubble, to disguise him into where she’s being kept. OBVIOUSLY  the way to introduce this character is to have her (obviously a female) perform a strip show changing into all of the different male fantasies we haven’t gotten to see yet- including some super fun cultural fetishization! It has been 4 minutes since a woman was scantily clad on screen, so they have to make up for it somehow. <allison>I think it’s worth noting that despite the MC declining an actual lapdance/sex, it is made perfectly clear that he is enjoying the show for the MUCH-LONGER-THAN-IT-NEEDED-TO-BE DANCE. *Shot of female character spinning in a lace cat-suit followed by shot of MCs drooling* </allison> After the show, which the entirely straight male audience of the movie (bc ugh who else would be watching this movie) is extremely glad to have seen, she comes up to speak with MC. Its pretty clear to me that this is some kind of human trafficking situation bc “she’s been practising since she was 4.” And she comes up searching for validation from this asshole who’s been objectifying her and if he didn’t need her for his mission of saving his damsel would probably not care about the situation at all. Overall, it's a pretty horrifying exchange- not just bc of its inherent awfulness but also bc the movie treats it as if it's not a huge deal. MC offers to help “free her” after the mission if she’ll help him, and she agrees. <allison> OH SHIT DON’T FORGET WHEN BUBBLE BECOMES BABY-MC and MC SAYS “GO BACK TO YOUR NORMAL FORM” AND SHE GOES BACK TO HER NATURAL FORM AND HE LOOKS DISGUSTED AND SAYS “YOUR OTHER NORMAL” AND SHE GOES BACK TO SEXY-LADY. </allison>

While this has been happening, SC has been interacting with her captors who are trying to make her put on a dress. She’s been in pants for WAY too long- like, 7 whole minutes of screen time. Next we see her, she’s in a pretty white dress, walking down a long aisle to present herself as a meal for the big, fat evil king guy. And just as she’s about to be eaten, her ONLY plan, despite being a military officer, is to scream for MC. We’re all so lucky he was actually in the room to save her! She certainly didn’t know he was there, so if he hadn’t been there, I guess she would’ve just been eaten. Oh no, what’s a girl to do?

Fighting, running, quips. Bubble dies in the rescue. Of course she does! She served her purpose, so screw her. Who cares about the tragedy that was her life and the promises that MC made- he saved the damsel, so everything else is cannon fodder. There was literally NO REASON for her to die, if they didn’t want to try to deal with her story any more, they could’ve just had her leave or something. Idk, I guess I forgot female characters don’t exist when not in proximity to the MC.  

So then we get back to the white savior plot where we find out the commander was the bad guy who killed this whole race of primitive people...just because? I think he crashed an enemy spaceship into the planet just to kill the enemy and it exploded the whole planet? Not too sure. There are a couple of neat transphobic remarks bc the life force of the alien lady that died at the beginning has been possessing him bc she chose him to save their people. MC and SC have the pearl MC stole and the little creature indigenous to their planet, which the aliens need. MC has this whole crisis about not giving them the creature bc “that was our mission and I’m a soldier and I follow the rules” when he’s literally been breaking rules and challenging authority since the BEGINNING of this godforsaken movie. And then SC convinces him that loooove is the answer and why she’s been resisting him this whole time bc he’s never been in love. And then the boring, average white guy saves the poor, helpless primitive people. And then, of course MC and SC get together bc we all knew she was just playing hard to get the whole time, anyway.

[movieswithkevin27]

Hollow Man

Throughout his career, Paul Verhoeven has been criticized for his films' rampant misogyny, violence against women (rape is a constant), and strong violence. Hollow Man, unarguably his worst film, embodies all of these. Yet, as always, it is through a unique lens. While Verhoeven himself claims that anybody could have directed Hollow Man - and he is right - few could have pulled off the antagonist of Hollow Man (Kevin Bacon) in the fashion that Verhoeven did. Turning this heinous man into a compelling antagonist to protagonist Linda (Elisabeth Shue), Verhoeven makes this film one that is squarely about the dangers faced by women in a world dominated by men, their ambitions, and their potentially nefarious intentions with women. It is unfortunate, then, that the rest of the film is so bland.

This thematic consideration is introduced quite early. Sebastian Caine (Bacon), is a brilliant scientist who discovers how to not just make animals invisible, but how to make them re-appear again. Confident that his experiment will work on humans, he uses himself as the test subject. Unfortunately for him, things go wrong and he stays invisible. Unfortunately for everyone else, Sebastian is a truly wicked man and a perfect portrait of toxic masculinity. Wishing to own Linda, Sebastian is immediately incensed when he sees another man in her bed when giving her the news about his initial breakthrough. Yet, he never gives up the chase and continuously makes advances on her to try and make her "his" once more. When he learns that she is dating co-worker Matt (Josh Brolin), his rage only becomes more pronounced. Thus, it is no surprise to see Verhoeven set the film up as being Sebastian versus Linda. In dream sequences, Linda imagines being raped by the invisible Sebastian and that is exactly the plight she must face. Verhoeven, like many male directors, is often obsessed with putting women in dangerous situations out of a fear that women in the world are in danger. Linda is put in this position in the film via her connection to Sebastian before his invisibility. Now, with him invisible, it is only natural that he will continue to act on his belief that Linda belongs to him and nobody else.

Yet, Sebastian, as with many men who possess this dangerous toxic masculinity, believes that he is owed any woman's body. Leering at a woman undressing in the apartment across from his in a disturbing act of voyeurism - in sequences that feel like a Verhoeven-led interpretation of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window - Sebastian continuously is disheartened when she closes the blinds before revealing her nude body. Not taking no for an answer, he quickly takes advantage of his invisibility and opts to rape her. Driven out of a desire to demystify the woman and assert his ownership of his body, Sebastian's act of violence is driven by a need to see her nude and is an urge he cannot put away. It is primal, violent, and thoroughly disturbing. At work, he sexually assaults veterinarian Sarah (Kim Dickens). The sequence is similarly alarming and brilliantly approached by Verhoeven.

On the surface, however, if Sebastian were the protagonist, this would be troubling. Instead, by making him the antagonist, Verhoeven turns it into a terrifying display of rape culture in the world with Sebastian Caine being the embodiment of any man who believes that women owe him sex or to simply see them nude. By doing this, Verhoeven turns Hollow Man into an unexpected, but chilling, realization of the classic "male fantasy". Ask some young men what they would if they were invisible and you will get the answer that they would spy on women in the locker room or through the window. It is a classic "boys will be boys" answer that will likely elicit laughter from the right crowd, but is a chilling confirmation of one thing: some average men would sexually harass, sexually assault, or even rape, women if there were no consequences. Sebastian is one of these men. Before raping the girl across the way, he tries to talk himself out of it before realizing that nobody will ever know. He lives out work fantasies of seeing Sarah naked who he views as "feisty" due to her constant fights with him. By making Sarah be the one he assaults at work, it is a smart tactic to show how Sebastian craves power. She emasculates him by challenging him and his decisions, thus he must ensure he can reclaim power over her and make her subordinate to his manly strength. After watching Sebastian's terrifying reign of terror on the women of the city, it is hardly a surprise that he is reluctant to give away his "power". It is the only thing that makes him feel like a "complete" man with the way in which he gets the sex he wants with who he wants, even if they do not want the same. It may even be able to restore Linda's body to him if he can sneak past Matt. It is a chilling depiction of the dangerous and possessive toxic masculinity that lurks in the background of many average people. Except, Sebastian is able to express this toxicity and the results are absolutely chilling.

By turning Sebastian's status as an antagonist into an exercise in bringing toxic masculinity to the forefront to ensure it is stamped out, Verhoeven smartly makes Linda the protagonist. As a final girl, she is quite strong, but she is also the source of Sebastian's internal anger towards women. She is what causes him to be such a cruel, twisted, and wicked human being, due to how she dumped him. By rejecting him, she unknowingly lit a fire within Sebastian that could never be put out. Unfortunately, Verhoeven does often undermine this in the final conflict. Though Linda takes care of many obstacles and even brings a great challenge to Sebastian, she would be incapable of defeating him entirely without the help of boyfriend Matt. Coming to her rescue on multiple occasions, Matt often is the savior of Linda. In fairness, Linda does finish off Sebastian and does save Matt at various points, but if the film is one that is about a woman fighting back against a man who has a perverse sense of ownership of her, it would have been an improvement to have her be the one to square off with him on her own. In hindsight, this is really one of many clues that Hollow Man is not a good film.

Aside from these strong characterizations and the excellent special effects - especially in any injection sequence - Hollow Man is decidedly mediocre. The characters and effects are classic Verhoeven, but the film really, really struggles plot-wise and with the dialogue. Including forced swearing to try and ensure the audience that this an R-rated film, weirdly written lines and scenes, and an all-around poorly written script (aside from characters and the themes behind them), Hollow Man naturally slumps into being a rather pale science fiction horror film. With a typical set-up, a gung ho scientist, and then a slasher finale when he refuses to be made visible again, Hollow Man is a film that never really hints at originality. Its science fiction roots in the first half are obviously strong, but have been done before in numerous films and hardly breathes new life into the "God-like science" film trope. By the time it turns into a slasher film with bodies turning up left and right in the lab, the film continuously rehashes old tricks on how to reveal the Hollow Man and never bothers to make its kills interesting or unique. Instead, it ends exactly how one would expect with nary a whimper or thrill, leaving us with the final girl and her boyfriend to square off with the big bad guy. Though the fight is given strong stakes and presence, it takes too long to get there, laboring through prolonged scenes of tracking and killing inconsequential characters or cat-and-mouse games that end up not impacting anything and never capture the audience's attention.

In spite of a strong depiction of toxic masculinity and rape culture, Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man is not a good film. Its themes and smart and well-developed, but its dialogue and plot are absolute travesties. The dialogue is awkward, stilted, and never rolls off the tongue. The plot is derivative, unimaginative, and lacks any sense of intrigue, wonder, or originality. Compared to other Verhoeven films, Hollow Man stops at the satire and themes without ever bothering to consider the rest of the picture. Even when some believe his other films begin to dangerously embody the very elements of society that they satirize, it is hard to ignore that the plots of those films are nonetheless finely tuned with well-defined events that both progress those themes and compel. In Hollow Man, it nails the former but the latter is a decided miss with a plot that is dreadfully dull to watch.